"What happened?!"
"Coulson said something about her going after someone on the list but Hydra was there already with the technopath. They got the precog and took down her Osprey. Everyone on her team is… they're gone. Everyone b-" The wailing cry that made it's way out of Santana's throat cut the blonde off and was so, so heart wrenching. Quinn wiped away her tears as she watched Rachel comfort the other brunette.
"Hey, hey. She's alive, Santana. She's alive and stable and already on her way back here." The Latina nodded from her spot in Rachel's arms.
"I'll be there in a sec. Open the door, Rachel." The blonde said, disconnecting the call. Rachel reluctantly got up, opening the door for Quinn before sliding back in the bed to wrap her arms around Santana. The blonde sighed as she climbed onto the bed and to Santana's other side, wrapping her arms around her.
"She'll be okay, Santana. They'll be here soon and my dad will help her. He's the best doctor on base." Santana nodded shaking. She trusted Leroy. Believed he'd do everything within his power to save her Mami. She couldn't lose her. She couldn't. Being here and learning more and more about her father had buried a fresh sense of grief into her heart and adding her mother to that was unacceptable.
She'd just have to trust them. Trust that shield would take care of their own. In the meantime she had two of her favorite girls to ease her frantic worry and ground her.
/
"I never thought this would happen to me. I thought I'd be fine." Maribel said with a sigh, rotating the wrist of her new arm with sad eyes. It reacted perfectly, but she felt the absence of the arm she'd been born with.
"You are fine, Maribel. Leroy is growing a dermal layer to put over your arm and it'll grow to link with your skin. We're lucky you're alive at all. You know that." Colson explained with his customarily even and soothing tone.
"Your right. You always are. It's fine. Have you told them I'm awake?" She asked, referring to her daughter and her friends. She almost didn't want her to see her like this.
"Yes, though I instructed Rachel and Quinn to have her eat before she comes. She hasn't eaten or slept in two days and wasn't happy when she was told she couldn't come see you while you were unconscious. They should be here soon. I'm going to go. I still have a team checking on Quinn.
"Quinn? Did something happen when I was gone?" She asked seriously, instantly switching back into work mode.
"She told me her father called her an investment. She's been undergoing the junior agent exams. Her scores are good. Nearly too good. Her accuracy at the shooting range especially." Maribel frowned, thinking.
"Did you have Leroy run a scan? That word, investment, it means something. Have him run a check on her gene sequence, maybe." She recommended.
"You think he engineered her." Coulson said seriously, eyes narrowed in thought.
"I think it's certainly possible and something they would do. Look at her. She's everything they originally stood for. I suppose we'll see." He nodded.
"We will. When he's done with you I'll have Leroy run the scan." He nodded before turning to leave, greeting the girls as they walked in.
"Mami!" Santana called loudly, sprinting into Maribel's arms. She was careful with her right, keeping it down.
"Hey, mija. I'm okay. Shh." She said gently, rubbing her quaking back as she cried into her chest.
"You're okay? Look what they did to you. Your arm, Mami!" She said angrily. She motioned to the armor plated mechanical arm dismissively, looking devastated. Rachel and Quinn stepped closer to rub her back, all three of them hugging her a moment later.
"We're glad you're okay, Maribel. We were all worried." Quinn said with tired eyes. The mother raised her good hand to muss up Quinn's hair with a smile.
"I'm fine, Quinn. Leroy should be ready to put skin on my arm any moment. It'll grow in and it'll be like I never lost it. Thank you both for taking care of my Santi." The blonde and brunette nodded just as Rachel's father came over, motioning for them to move as he had Maribel spread her fingers. He slid the strange looking skin over her hand and up her arm until it met with the skin of her shoulder seamlessly. She flexed her fingers and arm, feeling the warm skin with her other hand. It was strange.
"Just like new. Quinn, I need a scan and blood work from you." The blonde just nodded, stepping into the machine that closed around her a few seconds later.
Santana, Rachel, and Maribel came over to look as Leroy sent the scan to Colson. The machine lifted back into the ceiling and Quinn stepped over, holding up her hand as Leroy pricked her finger, collecting her blood in a plastic agitator tube. When a bandaid was put on her finger, he put the tube in a machine, setting it to activate as the sequencing was brought up on the screen.
"Have you ever been sick before, Quinn? Not including your pregnancy and the time Santana gave you mono, obviously." Rachel asked, arms crossed under her chest in thought.
"Maybe...I don't think so. If I have I don't remember. Why? What is this about?" She asked cautiously.
"Disease resistance, cancer resistance, enhanced senses, musculature, agility, and so on. He really did." Maribel muttered to herself.
"I don't understand what's happening. Who did what?" Quinn asked.
"Your father genetically engineered you, Quinn. Sort of explains why you've always been so damn good at everything." She told her seriously. Quinn just robotically nods, beyond shocked. Of course he would have done something like that.
"What does this mean? Do you have to lock me up? I'm dangerous or something right? What if there's... I mean what if-"
"Quinn, calm down for me, sweetheart. If there was an activation switch it would have been picked up in the scan. The only other option is inlaid programming which Shield or even Santana can deal with." Rachel said, trying to calm her.
"I didn't see anything. Went back as far as Lucy. Saw no programming."
"Okay. I just don't want for him to ruin everything I'm starting to build here. I've found something I want to do. I won't let him take that away." Quinn said seriously. Rachel nodded and Santana patted her shoulder, rubbing the blonde's back when she fell into her arms.
"Okay, I need to go report in. Girls, Leroy, I'll see you for dinner." Maribel said, waving with her new arm as she left.
"We should probably go back to work too. Headed to the gym." Quinn shared a look with Rachel and they followed as she walked out of the med lab and to the elevator.
"Santana, we don't think it's the best idea for you to return directly back to what you were doing before. It drains your energy, and you've been neither eating or sleeping for the last two days. We think it may be a better idea to rest, eat, and get you calorie level back up again." Rachel told her, pressing the button that would take them back to their quarters.
"I'm fine. I just want to work off all this anger. I can't sit around anymore, alright?" She said honestly, sighing as the elevator let them out on the crew quarters floor. She rolled her eyes at them as they followed her into her room, turning their backs on her as she changed into her standard body suit and boots, clipping her badge back on and slipping her phone in her pocket.
"We're just worried. The safe room is still busy and if you're tired you have less control over your power, right?"
"That's not how it works, alright? And like I said I'm fine. Why don't you two go find something to do that isn't pestering me." She just needed to do something. The entire ordeal with her mother being hurt by those Hydra bastards had lit a fire in her. A raging flame she couldn't extinguish. At the least she'd hit the muggle gym. Beat on a bag like it was the one that'd killed five Shield agents and nearly killed her mother.
"Please don't be hostile, Santana. We care about you. It's why we were here with you while we waited for Maribel to wake up and it's why we're here now. If it was either one of us in this situation you would do the same." Rachel said, her arms crossed over her chest in frustration.
"She's right. We know that-"
"You don't know what this feels like, Quinn! You couldn't! Neither of you understand! Just fuck off!" She yelled, that rage fueled fire coursing through her veins, just below her skin. It flowed like boiling water, the steam escaping with her breath. Rachel's pissed off eyes narrowed at her for half a second before she was yelling too.
"She's my mother too!" She yelled unintentionally, clearly having meant to say that with less volume.
"What?" Santana asked, deflating as the rage was tempered by her confusion.
"Can we all please calm down? Rachel, what do you mean?" Quinn asked.
"I just mean she feels like it. She's been the only woman in my life since forever. She doesn't see me that way, I know that. But it's how I feel. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. If you must do something, stick to the regular gym, please. I need rest, I'll most likely see the both of you later." She said tiredly. She turned and left, Quinn turning back from watching her leave to glare at Santana.
"I get that you're hurt and afraid right now. I'm understanding to the best of my ability how you've been feeling. But Rachel has been just as hurt and pushed all of that aside for you. How about you consider that the next time you think about lashing out at her like that." She said, sighing before she left to catch up with Rachel.
Santana sighed deeply, falling back onto her bed in anger at herself. How could she yell at them like that?
/
"Rach, slow down!" Quinn ran after her, slipping in her door before she could close it. Sliding it closed behind her with one hand, she wrapped the other around the petite girl to hug her to her chest, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm fine." Rachel repeated, falling into Quinn's strong but gentle hold with a barely repressed tremble. Fighting with Santana felt horrible. She felt too close to her now. They were friends, we're intending to be more before everything happened. That'd been put on pause and rightfully so, while they'd waited for more news on Maribel's condition.
She and Quinn had grown closer as well. They'd spent two days taking care of their friend, feeding off of each other's care for her to get through those frightening days, focusing on Santana and ignoring their own panic and pain.
"I don't think so, Rachel. You're hurt and I understand. It's just you and me right now. I know how afraid you were and I'm right here with you, you don't have to pretend." She spoke quietly, sitting down on Rachel's bed with the tiny 'wizard' in her arms, rubbing her back and breathing her in. The tears came silently, but soon enough she was sobbing, Quinn having to breath slowly to help Rachel match her rhythm.
"It's alright. Maribel is fine. I've got you, sweetheart. I'm right here." Rachel nodded into her chest, gripping at her just slightly tighter. Soon enough, she fell asleep in her arms.
Quinn laid her down under her covers, climbing in herself after a moment of cautious hesitation. As she pulled the blankets up to cover them both, she wished Santana hadn't of blown up at them. That she was here with them, comfortable, close, and feeling as safe as Quinn always did with the both of them.
As she settled on her back, looking up at the blank grey ceiling, Rachel whimpered quietly in her sleep and crept across the bed until she was comfortably cuddled into Quinn's side. Pressing a kiss to the brunette's forehead, she couldn't help but frown at the thought of her father ever yanking her away from all of this. Away from her future...away from her girls.
/
Hours later, Rachel's door chimed and the brunette grumbled quietly as she was roused from her sleep, taking a moment to find some levity in the adorable scene of Quinn's wild blonde hair, laid around her head like a lion's mane.
She stood from the bed and crossed the room, immediately noticing Santana's face on her tablet when she grabbed it. She opened the door, a scowl twisting her features as she glared at Santana, stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind her.
"What do you want? Come to tell us we couldn't understand because neither of us have mothers that love us? Maybe you just came to yell again. If that's the case then why don't you fuck off this time."
"What? That's not what I said at all!"
"It's what you were thinking. Why else would you have told Quinn she couldn't understand? Look just go away. You can save your pity apologies for someone who doesn't know that's what they are. Quinn and I aren't some verbal punching bags for you to beat up on when you don't know how to handle your own emotions. God, the last thing either of us needs is someone else who's only pretending to care about us." Rachel wrapped her arms around herself tightly, leaning back into the door and keeping a focused ear on Quinn to make sure she didn't wake. She refused to let Santana lash out at her that way again.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, Rachel. I apologize, I lashed out because I was hurting, and confused, and felt restless and I felt like the only thing that could fix it was space and time to myself. I should've known that all I needed was the two of you. I should have just listened to you and Quinn. You were only trying to help me. I'm sorry about all of that, but I'm most disgusted with myself for making you and Quinn think that I don't care about you. I care about you so…so much Rachel. Both of you. I wish I had better words to explain how I feel, or that I had better words than sorry to tell you how regretful I am for the way I acted, but I don't, so I can only show you both, if that would be okay. If that's something you both want."
"Of course I want that. I just don't want this to devolve into us being antagonistic towards each other again. I don't want to feel the way you used to make me feel, Santana. You said we were pestering you. Like you couldn't get away from us fast enough. I don't like feeling like me just being around is some kind of burden on you. Like you're just tolerating me, like before, just more effectively. I need for you to promise me you'll at least try to tell us how you're feeling next time. If all you needed was space and some time you have to know we would've willingly given it to you, right?"
Santana sighed, desperate to reach out and touch Rachel, to hug her tight to her chest and breathe her in. To share all of the rapidfire thoughts and emotions that she felt and yet just couldn't vocalize. She wasn't sure that level of vulnerability was quite in her reach yet. To tell someone how much of her heart they occupied was to give them the chance to break it. She'd learned that the hard way.
"I know, Rach. I know you would've. But you're no burden, Estrella. And I'm not just tolerating you. I love spending time with you, just being with you. I hate that I made you feel like that. I promise I'll let you know both how I'm feeling to the best of my ability… as much as I can manage."
"You're sure? I know all of this happening has sort of tossed us all together without us having much of a choice, but I don't want you to feel like you have to-" No longer able to resist her need to touch, carefully pulling Rachel into her arms.
"Estrella, I promise you that I'm around you, with you, because I want to be. I'm an idiot, and I acted out like one; but when I'm with you and Quinn, just the three of us? There's no place I'd rather be. I mean that. I really am sorry though. The last thing I ever want to do again in my life is make you feel like you aren't the beautiful, wonderful, woman that you are." Rachel sighed into the hug, finally relaxing enough to lean into Santana and the warmth of her touch.
"Okay…Thank you. I think I sort of really needed to hear all that."
"I swear I'll repeat it all as many times as you can stand to hear it if that's what you need, babe. Now I've just gotta apologize to Quinn, too. After she wakes up, I mean. She deserves the rest. Both of you do. Thank you so much for taking care of me Rachel. You were there when I needed you most and that means a hell of a lot to me." She pulled back enough to lay a series of innocent kisses against Rachel's forehead and cheeks, grinning down at the wide smile her favorite star was wielding.
"Anytime, Santana. For now, as far as resting goes, would you like to take a nap with us too? I'm still pretty exhausted if I'm honest. It's been a harrowing few days."
"I'd love to. We can even cuddle up on Q. She's a serious cuddle monster, you know. Just like you." Rachel just chuckled and led the way back to the bed, extending herself up to kiss those full lips she was already so addicted to.
After a few moments they separated, both of them climbing into the bed to curl around Quinn from both sides. She sighed lightly in her sleep and Rachel smiled over at Santana laying on the other side and relaxing even further. Moments later, her eyelids fell shut and she fell asleep.
/
When Quinn woke, she felt distinctly relaxed. Comfortable, safe. It didn't take her long to identify the weights to her left and right as Rachel and Santana. A smile developed into a light, giddy, laugh. Her girls had talked, things were okay again. She hoped they had also set their burgeoning romantic relationship back on track, too. They deserved to be happy. And maybe she could carve out a thin slice of happiness for herself, content herself with having two wonderful best friends. She could be the third wheel. She was good at it, was all too familiar with doing that for Santana and Rachel, even, in a strange sort of way.
All she had to remember was keep moments like this one preserved in her memory. Moments when the world and it's ferocity seemed to fade away and all that was left was her and her girls. As sudden as the realization of her desire for the three of them had been for Quinn, her feelings for them each separately were something she was comfortable with. Something she had grown to accept over time. She'd known for quite a while that she would never be with Santana or Rachel. But that was okay. She was okay.
She woke from her thoughts when Santana pulled herself in closer around her, quietly sighing out a wistful 'Q'. She let the way that made her feel lull her back to sleep.
/
With a soft grin on her face, Santana snuck back into Rachel's quarters, though far less quietly this time. She was wheeling a cart full of food into the room behind her, one of the rear wheel's squeeking a little as it went. When she gazed over at the girl's she found them finally waking, however slowly, so she set the cart at the end of the bed and climbed up to press worshipful kisses to both of their heads.
"Brought food, you two." Rachel's stomach grumbled and she blushed, looking down and rubbing a stray hand over her abdomen.
"Sorry. What did you bring?" Quinn sat up slowly, yawning and stretching like a lion-maned kitten. When done, she leaned into Rachel, laying her head down against the wizard's shoulder.
"Burger night. Got you a bacon double, Q bear. This is all for you, Estrella. Dig in, and you don't need to apologize about your stomach, kay? You and that hungry belly of yours are adorable. Right, Quinn?" She reached over to hand Quinn her plate and then took her own once Rachel had moved to sit near the end of to bed to consume her burgers. As much as she was sure both she and Quinn would rather be next Rachel at the end of the bed, she caught her eyes and took a deep breath, all too ready too lay out as much of her truth as she could manage during her apology.
"It's okay, San. I know you were just feeling lost and restless and you didn't know what to do. Just please talk to us next time? That's all I ask. It's barely been a few days but I feel good about being as close as the three of us have become, and I hate fighting with you." Santana nodded, pulling her favorite blonde into her arms.
"I know, babe, I'm sorry. I'm gonna be working on the talking thing a lot in the future. And I know that if there's anyone I could talk to about how crazy the whole thing made me feel it's you two. I promise I'm going to do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. I just want you to know I didn't mean anything I said, and that you're never bothering me, okay. I love having you around. I can't even imagine dealing with all of this stuff without you here with me, you know. Thank you so much, Q. I mean for taking care of me while I was a mess. I don't know how I would have gotten through it without you there, too. I guess I'm trying to say that I… I really fucking care about you, and I'm sorry if anything I said or did made you feel like that wasn't true."
"Oh…" Quinn's eyes had gone wide, and she took a few deep breath's some mix of what looked like hope and confusion in her eyes.
"Baby girl? You okay?" Rachel turned to look back at Quinn, or more astutely, at her chest, and the racing heart buried within.
"Yeah, I'm…I'm great. You're welcome. Anytime. I've got your back, S."
"I know you've got me, Q." Before Quinn could think of a coherent sentence, Santana was kissing her cheek.
"Come on, babe. Eat. I got you bbq sauce for your fries and everything." Quinn just inhaled with a quiet giggle and reached for her plate and then started eating.
/
"Sir." The man with the blonde hair looked away from one of the surveillance camera's displaying the newly attained technopath mutant and the tests they were running him through.
"Report." He ordered, german accent still rich in his words to the day.
"Agent Wentz is dead. The investment is aware, and the Lopez girl has unlocked her matter manipulation abilities. We believe both of them to be close to the Berry girl, they will be difficult to retrieve when the time comes. I also believe, sir, that the investment has begun training to become a shield agent. I believe that if we let this lie for much longer, we may lose the opportunity to put your plans into action. I propose that we move now. If they – "
"Enough. Broaden your view of the board, Mattern. We wait. Get me Fabray."