Beautiful Life

Tegan has a scares, she appreciates beauty, and she gets pleasantly surprised

"Your girlfriend is pretty Tegan." She froze at the words, she knew that voice, and she hated that voice.

"Why are you here?" She asked, looking around for Sara.

"You let me in Tegan. You invited me." His words were laced with hatred.

"I would never do that." Tegan became frantic, she didn't see Sara anywhere.

"Every night you let me in here Tegan." Something wasn't right, she hadn't seen him in years, how was she letting him in every night?

"I am not letting you in." He laughed at her, a terrifying, humorless laugh.

"Oh but you are." He grinned at her, but only with his teeth, his eyes were cold and terrible.

Tegan looked around the hotel room again, unable to find Sara.

"Are you looking for her?" He continues smiling.

Tegan forced a nod. She didn't want to answer him, but she couldn't resist.

"She's right here." He motioned to the floor behind him. Sara was just lying there, bruised and bloodied, whimpering silently. He kicked her once in the ribs, "I'm thinking about keeping her. I haven't had anyone to throw around since your mom."

"Get out!" Tegan shouted, trying to wake up, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!" She screamed as loud as she could.

She woke up screaming, shouting at him, "Fuck you Gabriel!" She shouted as she woke up. Her stomach twisted when she noticed that Sara wasn't in bed with her.

"Tegan?" Sara's terrified voice came from the bathroom door, "Are you okay? Did you have another memory?"

Tegan shook her head in response, "It was a dream. He beat you Sara. I was absolutely terrified."

"It's okay Tegan," Sara comforted her by walking over and gently rubbing her back, "He can never hurt me. He doesn't even know I exist."

"You don't know that Sara." Tegan was still shaking from the dream.

"I do know that Tegan." Sara planted a kiss on the top of Tegan's head.

"How can you know that?" Tegan let a few tears roll down her cheeks, "I don't even know if he's still in prison."

"I looked him up during the week," Sara pulled her into a tight hug, "He can never hurt us Tegan. He hung himself two weeks ago in prison."

Relief immediately washed over Tegan. All of her thoughts and fears of what would happen when he was free, what he would do when he found her were immediately gone.

"No one can hurt you again Tegan." Tegan cried into Sara's shoulder, "He's gone. He'll never come back."

Tegan cried for several minutes, not out of sadness, but not out of joy either. They were the tears that had been waiting to be released since she had last seen him. They were the tears of pent up fear and anger. And now they flowed free, giving Tegan the relief she needed.

She fell back asleep fairly quickly after the tears stopped coming. She dreamt of sweeter things after that. More dreams of Sara, dreams of Sara without Gabriel in them. When she woke up in the morning she had to think back and decipher what had been real the night before. The memory of Sara telling her about her dad was definitely real, and Tegan let out a few more relieved tears.

'She looks like a perfect angel.' She thought as she looked at the stretched out form of Sara.

Tegan pulled the sheets up over Sara's shoulders gently. She didn't want her to wake up yet. She wanted to watch her sleep, it was comforting to her. The early morning light was barely peeking through the curtains and landed softly on Sara's perfect angular jawline. There was a dazzling beauty that came with the sun, something about the way it made her skin look, that entranced Tegan completely. A heavy breath was followed by Sara adjusting in her sleep. In her adjustment she moved to her side, resting her hands under the side of her head, acting as a second pillow. Tegan smiled at the movements, thinking about how it reminded her of when kids snuggle with their blankies or stuffed animals. It was adorable. So innocent, but yet in a way it gave Tegan the feeling that Sara needed to curl up to comfort herself. Maybe she always slept like that in an empty bed; in the fetal position, using her own soft hands as a pillow. Tegan reached out and brushed back a few loose hairs, placing them gently behind Sara's right ear. Sara's eye twitched at the contact, her dream had probably changed when she felt the presence of another person in the bed with her. After a few seconds of Tegan silently watching, Sara's lips curled into a small smile. She hoped it was something to do with her. Maybe she had entered Sara's dream when she touched her. They were probably having a good time in Sara's head right now. Tegan actually felt jealous of the version of her that was in Sara's head at that moment. She laughed at her own jealousy, causing Sara to stir.

"Good morning bella." Sara mumbled out groggily, trying her best to sound awake.

"Hello angel." Tegan showed off her gums with her smile, "Will you ever tell me why you left heaven?"

"It's a secret," Sara grinned sleepily, "It's about a girl. And that's all you get to know."

"I promise I won't tell anyone why." Tegan mock pleaded for more information.

"One more hint then." Sara sat up and supported her wait on her elbows, "The girl I came for is stunningly beautiful."

Tegan blushed at the additional adjective, "Can I meet her sometime?"

"I don't know if that's entirely possible." Sara grinned and pulled Tegan into a sweet kiss, "Maybe someday though." She teased and Tegan playfully pushed her back down on the bed.

"Come on, go take a shower so we can go get breakfast."

Sara obliged, standing up off the bed and walking toward the bathroom. She grabbed fresh clothes on the way. A grin crossed her lips as she removed her shirt, tossing it behind her, earning a gasp from Tegan.

"Don't tease me like that." Tegan groaned as Sara closed the door behind her.

When Sara returned to the bed after her shower ended she looked at the clock, "It's eight-thirty."

"Yeah." Tegan nodded, "Ted asked if we were going to the studio soon. He had breakfast an hour ago. So we might have to grab food and leave, eating on the way."

"Sounds fine." Sara smiled and kissed Tegan on the cheek, "So long as I get my coffee."

"Let's go then." Tegan held Sara's hand as they walked from their room to the elevator. Ted tried to walk in behind them, but she pushed him away and hit the close button, laughing at his shocked expression.

"What? Why did you do that?" Sara asked, confused about the exchange.

"So I could do this." She turned and pulled Sara in for a kiss, gently biting at her lower lip as she pulled away.

"Oh." It was the only thing Sara could think to say.

Tegan smirked and kissed her again, slipping her tongue passed Sara's waiting lips, and only releasing when the elevator dinged, telling them they were at the ground floor.

Tegan grabbed a bagel and hastily applied the cream cheese before grabbing a cup of coffee. She turned around and noticed that Sara had done the same.

"Great minds think alike, eh?" Sara chuckled and took a bite of her bagel.

"Come on let's go, Ted's waiting." They walked out of the hotel to where Ted was standing.

"Hey guys, cab will be here any second now." They both nodded, "I slept so much better last night."

Tegan blushed remember their conversation from the previous morning, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," He had a mischievous grin, "That lady from the other night didn't scream last night."

It was Sara's turn to blush; she turned a deep shade of crimson.

"I hate you Ted." Tegan shook her head, fighting against the smile that was trying to appear.

"No you don't." He grinned at her, "You love me Tegan."

"I'm not so sure about that Ted." She chuckled and turned to Sara, "Don't be embarrassed Sara."

"But he heard us!" She hid her face from Ted.

"Yes," She placed a hand on Sara's shoulder, "And if he knows what's good for him he'll put in ear plugs tonight." Both Sara and Ted chuckled.

"You can count on that." Ted smiled at them.

"Good." Tegan reached down and grabbed Sara's bum, eliciting a slight yelp, "Because I'd hate for you to never be able to look at me the same."

"It might be too late." He chuckled and waved at the can that had just pulled up to the front of the hotel.

As he walked away Tegan grinned at Sara, "Don't worry about him Sara. I can guarantee he's heard worse."

"I wasn't worried about that." She shook her head, "I just felt a little uncomfortable over the fact that he heard me, well, you know."

"I know what?" Tegan played dumb.

"I'm not saying it." Sara laughed at Tegan, "We're in public."

"It was worth a shot." Tegan laughed along with her, "Are you still embarrassed about Ted?"

"Nah," She shrugged it off, "I guess it's not that bad."

They got to the studio just before nine.

"I thought you guys wouldn't show." The receptionist smiled at them.

"We slept in." Tegan answered, feeling bad about missing out on a couple of hours that could have been spent in the studio.

"Let it be noted that I was awake at six-thirty," Ted raised his hand as he spoke, as if he were talking to a teacher, "And that is not sleeping in. They were just lazy."

"Really?" Sara smiled at him, "We have ways of keeping you up at night. Ear buds will not be enough." She laughed as Ted's jaw dropped.

"I admit defeat." Ted bowed slightly to Sara, "I take it back. You weren't lazy. You needed your rest to recover from the previous night." He grinned and hurried through the studio door.

"I thought you guys seemed awfully close." The receptionist smiled at them, "How long have you been together?"

"A couple weeks." Tegan shocked herself with her answer; it hadn't felt like only two weeks. Apparently people were wrong when they said good times go by fast.

"Well, you guys are cute together." She complimented them.

"Thank you." Sara smiled at her and walked through the door.

"Good morning guys and gals." Chris was smiling, "Are you ready for today?"

"What's happening today?" Tegan wanted to get right to business.

"I decided to do some work on S O S." He smiled, "So, Ted, grab a guitar and plug it in. I'm going to work on the keyboard. And I want you girls to just sit tight for a bit."

Tegan watched intently as the two men collaborated. Ted matched everything Chris asked for, and Chris messed around with effects on the guitar and keyboard trying to get the exact sound he wanted. After close to thirty minutes of messing around with the different affects he addressed Sara.

"Do you think you could play this on a steel guitar?"

"Sure." She nodded and retrieved the guitar from the wall, "I've never played one before though."

"Just play the same way you did on the acoustic."

She did. Something about the steel guitar brought an intensity and seriousness that had been missing.

"Perfect." He smiled and went back to the keyboard, "That is what I want for the album."

"I like it." Tegan gave Sara a reassuring look, "It sounds really cool."

"Yeah, me too." Sara had a huge smile on her face.

"Good," Chris agreed with them, "Cause it is perfect for the song. If you want to record that guitar now, go ahead. I'll just save it for when I start putting things together. Or you can wait until we really get into recording; it makes no difference to me."

"I'd love to do it now." Sara smiled, "While it's still fresh."

She grabbed the guitar and quickly walked into the booth. She played along with the song that was coming through her headphones and when she finished she received a thumbs up from Chris.

"That was great." He told her when she exited the booth, "That will make it a lot easier when I start bringing in other musicians."

"Oh yeah," Tegan spoke up from the couch, "I don't know any drummers. So hopefully you know someone who can play for the recording."

He grinned, "I have someone in mind."

"Anyone I've heard of?" She was hoping it was someone from a band she liked.

"Most likely, his names Jason McGerr." Tegan's jaw dropped, "He's actually coming down here in a bit to have lunch and to talk."

"What?" Tegan came out of her shock, "He's going to be our drummer?"

"As long as he isn't against it," He shrugged, "And he seemed interested when I talked to him last night."

"That's so awesome!" Tegan bounced on the couch, "I love him! He's so good!"

"Yeah, I know." Chris chuckled, "I'm in a band with him."

"Yeah, true." Tegan chuckled as well, "I can't wait to meet him."

Jason got to the studio at around eleven-thirty. When he walked into the room Tegan thought she might faint again.

"Hi, I'm Jason." The big man held out his hand to Tegan.

"T-Tegan." She stuttered and shook his hand.

"Sara." Sara smiled and shook his hand.

"And I'm Ted." Ted waved from the couch where he was still playing guitar, enjoying every minute of being back in the saddle.

"It's nice to meet you guys." He smiled at them, "I was told you were looking for a drummer."

"Yeah," Chris spoke for them, "I think you'll love their music. It's really great. And I think you can bring a lot to these songs."

"Alright." Jason nodded, "Play me one of their songs and I'll let you know if I'll do it."

He quickly scrolled through the files on his computer and clicked on Dark Come Soon. Tegan heard the familiar, rough recording, of her EP.

"It's good." Jason said about half way through the song, "I'm in."

Tegan was pleasantly surprised. She had expected him to listen to a few songs and then she thought she'd have to beg him to play. But he was in. And he had decided it in less than two minutes. Too say she was happy would be a terrible understatement. She was elated, ecstatic, walking on the clouds. Her dream of being a musician was coming true. She was recording with the most beautiful woman she had ever met, and for one of her favorite guitarists from the last decade. Plus, there was no more threat of Gabriel reentering her life. Things couldn't be better for Tegan Quin. Her life was finally starting to pick up. She was heading somewhere. And she was lucky enough to be doing all of that with the woman she loved.

That night she stayed up in bed just watching Sara sleep. It was the most peaceful thing she had ever witnessed. When she fell asleep she had thoughts of Sara, and only Sara, filling up her dreams.