Hold me closer

We're a wreck

Everything was still, even though Quinn and Nia were moving at an elevated speed. Everything was silent even though the breaking metal around them could be heard at a high volume. Everything was upside down, then the right way around, then upside down again. Quinn and Nia were fully alert as the car flipped over and over again, they must've driven at a very high speed. They kept their eyes still on each other as they were thrown around, until the car finally stopped upside down.

"Fuck!" Quinn hit her head on the roof of the car as she was dropped down by gravity. Nia was lying in front of her, breathing heavily, gasping for air. Quinn used whatever strength she had left to kick the backseat door open and crawl out. Nothing but sheer will gave her the strength to pull open the front seat door and pull Nia out. When their shaking bodies finally united, their racing hearts calmed each other down.

People were gathering around them as they just sat there, on the ground in the middle of the road, holding one another. Quinn closed her tired eyes and let the sounds fade away, allowing herself to feel nothing but Nia's prescense. "We're okay. We're safe." At that point, Quinn's whipers were as much directed at herself as at Nia.

Quinn helped Nia stand up, and people started coming up to them. So Quinn took out her gun, not ready to trust a single soul, and everyone backed away. She took Nia's beat up hand in her own, and then they ran. Towards a better world, towards a safer fate, who knew. But as long as they were together, they didn't care.

An hour later

Quinn kept them to forgotten paths and unused roads, not wanting to risk anyone else knowing where they were. Despite not ever having known French, Quinn had once lived in Paris for a year as part of a job. That particular client liked traveling around town, and as a result Quinn had an internal map of certain parts of the city. She knew which streets were safe or not, where to find help and where to go only if you were looking for trouble.

Considering the amount of cops that were corrupt, the "trustworthy" people that were supposed to help them after the gala were now out of the picture. Right now, Quinn wouldn't trust anyone but herself and her closest friends. What she was focused on right then was simply getting them both out of harm's way for the night. Quinn and Nia dragged along the streets, tired feet carrying tired bodies. "There it is." Quinn pointed to a broken neon sign currently spelling out 'À la Pris otel'.

Nia could barely keep her eyes open, which Quinn was happy about right then. The hotel was... not exactly five stars. The pros it came with though, included complete privacy. Quinn introduced them as "Hayley Thomas" and "Chelsea Ryder" at the reception and paid for a double room with cash. Not a lot of it luckily, since they had very limited funds at the moment. They stumbled into their room, and Nia immediately collapsed in bed.

The adrenaline had left Quinn's body a while ago, but somehow she was still alert. Maybe it was because she needed one of them to be, and Nia definitely wasn't a candidate right then. It was late at night, but Quinn couldn't go to sleep yet. She sat next to Nia on the bed and laid down a large blanket over her body. Her head was pounding from all of the quick decisions she had to make that day, and her heartrate still wasn't completely steady. Quinn gave the sleeping Nia a tender kiss on the forehead, and went in to the tiny bathroom.

She looked at her beat up face in the mirror, noticing some minor scars. As she scanned the rest of her body for injuries, she noticed that Nia's scarf around her arm was completely soaked in blood. Quinn found a first aid kit in the bathroom cabinet, which didn't surprise her. With as many drug addicts as there most likely was staying at that hotel, the owner probably put it there as a precaution.

Quinn unwrapped her arm carefully. She quickly cleaned the wound with alcohol and then used a large amount of numbing gel around it. She put a towel between her teeth to bite in so that she wouldn't wake Nia, and then started stitching. Quinn had done it before, more than once in Iraq. But the pain didn't become any less because it wasn't her first time, and her tired right arm was struggling.

Quinn turned on the shower with low pressure, as if that wasn't the only option. She stood under the shower hood, feeling the warm water hit her skin. As many good showers as she'd had after stressful days, that one was a top contender. Quinn got back in her dress that used to be beautiful but was now all ripped up, and then she finally got her rest. She laid next to Nia in bed, listening to her breathing for not long until she fell asleep.

Quinn woke up from the sound of her phone vibrating. She knew it was most likely Hal calling, rightfully worried, but she didn't want to risk that someone may be able to track her phone. She had no idea who were after Nia, where they were from or how they communicated. The thing she could be certain of based on the bombs and the cops, was that these people were no amateurs, and that they probably knew their way around Paris.

Nia yawned and rolled around in the bed to face Quinn. "Good morning, gorgeous." Quinn blushed heavily. Despite everything that happened last night, Nia looked incredibly beautiful this morning. Quinn came closer until their lips met, and that kiss to start the day was just what she needed. They held each other's faces and took in each other's love. Today is a new day.