October 26th, 1678

This time, Brittany woke up feeling much better. Her arms didn't feel as sored and her legs only hurt a bit. The bruise on her abdomen was the only one that really bothered her this morning.

She looked around the cabin searching for a tiny brunette but didn't find her. Brittany sulked; for some reason she really wanted to see the beautiful girl early in the morning. She was also really hungry and Santana was her only source of food. The blonde felt heat rising to her face at her own thoughts; that didn't sound right.

Just then, the woman of her thoughts stepped into the cabin. She was carrying all sorts of tropical fruits in her hands but that wasn't what surprised Brittany, but the fact that the woman was wearing completely different clothes from the previous day. Clothes that looked similar to her own masculine ones, but much more fitted, like they were made to fit her clearly toned body. And before she could stop her own mouth, she blurted it out.

"Why are you wearing masculine clothes?" Santana startled and ended up dropping a few bananas on the ground, not having realized that the blonde was even awake when she came in. She looked at the blonde after picking up the fallen bananas and setting them on a large leaf. She found Brittany staring at her with her blue eyes full of questions.

"You wear masculine clothes," she deflected with a shrug, and watched the blonde fidget with her hands nervously.

"And these are my clothes." she said with finality, sitting down by the fruits to start pealing them. It was too early for talking, and her bad mood was already aggravated by the sore muscles on her back, but she still felt bad for snapping at the blonde.

Brittany didn't know what to do or how to respond, so she just kept staring at the woman; it was really incredible how she could look so gorgeous even while wearing masculine clothes and sporting a deep frown.

Santana finished pealing and cutting the bananas, mangos and papaya with her dagger and stood up to take them to Brittany's bed side, handing the bowl, aka coconut shell, filled with fruits to the blonde.

Brittany hesitantly took it; Santana still hadn't said anything but girl still muttered a quiet thank you in return. And after the brunette curt nod of acknowledgement, they both started eating their breakfast.

Halfway through her bowl, Santana was getting enough of the uncomfortable silence; that she had instilled herself, and decided to just tell the blonde the truth and clear things up; even if it was just to ease her own damming conscience.

"Brittany," she started making the blonde lift her gaze to meet hesitant brown eyes.

Santana took a deep breath before continuing. "I know you are a pirate,"

"Wait what? No, I'm not." Brittany protested dropping her food with a clang as she started fumbling with her hands on her and averting her eyes.

"Brittany, thar's no need t' lie," Santana reassured letting some of her crew's accent sip through, while picking something from her pocket "I know, and I also know that 'tis be your Cutlass and eyeglass." she said revealing Puck's eyeglass in her hand and pointing towards Brittany's Cutlass strapped to her own waist. Brittany's eyes widen at the revelation.

"Are you a psychic?" Brittany asked a mix of awe and shock laced in her voice.

Santana released a soft sigh before turning serious and shaking her head. "No, Britt."

Brittany felt her stomach do somersaults and it had nothing to do with the fact that Santana knew she was a pirate and everything to do with Santana calling her by a nickname.

But Santana didn't stop there and the blonde didn't even have time to enjoy the feeling as the woman interrupted Brittany's thoughts.

"I know this, cause I'm a pirate too."

Brittany's eyes widen even more as she took in Santana's words. She stared stunned at the woman, Brittany finally processed the brunette's attire, scolding herself for not noticing before. Santana was wearing typical pirate clothes, well no really typical Brittany thought, but a similar version of what Will usually wore when he was being casual but with slightly less quality; with her cutlass strapped to her tiny waist, something that suddenly seemed a lot more dangerous to her.

Her eyes shot up to the brunette's face at that thought. And she's stuttered nervously "A-are you a Captain?"

Santana startled, surprised that Brittany would make the connection so fast. She thought for a moment about lying to her to avoid seeing the forlorn expression that was already forming on the blonde's face when she would realize who Santana really was, but something within her just refused to lie to this woman, so she replied, defeated.

"Aye, yes I am."

Brittany completely deflated at her answer, and it all came crashing down on her. She felt so stupid, she hated feeling stupid. Tears swelled up in her eyes, as she thought about what this would mean for her. How the brunette was probably just playing her with her strange kindness, she was right in thinking it was too good to be true.

Brittany's stunned and broken expression went straight to Santana's heart and she chaste herself for feeling like this. She never cared what anyone thought of her before. She was proud of being the captain of a successful pirate ship. This blonde woman was throwing her emotions completely off.

Deciding to leave Brittany to take in this newfound information since the blonde hadn't muttered a single word in the last 10 minutes. Santana got up and made her way to the cabin's door. Stepping outside, she took a deep breath and for the first time since she found the blonde, she blocked the door with a piece of wood. She didn't want to make Brittany her prisoner, but she feared that in her state, it was possible she would try to flee and Brittany was still in no condition to do so. Again, Santana found herself asking why she even cared so much. And she couldn't come up with a satisfying answer.

She scoffed at her own behavior for the millionth time and went to gather some dry wood for the fire later. Santana cursed the heavens that she had found some pretty useful things in here but still hadn't found a drop of alcohol in this god forsaken island. That would make all her work at least a bit more bearable.

The hours dragged on and Santana could barely get anything done. She found some wood and left it by the side of the cabin, not daring to go inside just yet. She tried fishing something for lunch but failed miserably, and one particular fish had managed to bite her toe, leaving her even more pissed off.

When the sun was slightly past its highest point, Santana finally decided to go back. There seemed to be more clouds than usual in the sky so she needed to hurry up. But not wanting to go back empty handed she decided to get some fruits; she reprimanded her coward self for not going back earlier cause Brittany was probably really hungry by now. So she cut down some fairly low coconuts and grabbed some fruits on her way back to the cabin.

Minutes later, as she stood in front of the worn yet intimidating door, Santana rested her head against the aged wood and released a deep sigh. Why was this bothering her so much? Why did it even matter what this blonde stranger thought?

Even so, she couldn't help but dread going inside. What if Brittany had figured everything out and recognized her as The Santana Lopez, the captain of La Canoras. Being a pirate herself, the probability was that Brittany was the enemy; she had far too many, and would try to kill Santana if she knew. Pirates were scheming people and Santana's head was worth a lot of money after all.

But for some reason, something in Santana's mind told her that Brittany was different. She still couldn't fathom how someone so sweet and genuine could be in this type of life. And it pained her to think of what might have made her turned to this life. Santana shook her head trying to get rid of these disturbing thoughts and finally gripped the piece of wood that was keeping the door closed.

Opening it, Santana found Brittany with her back turned away from the door, seated a couple meters from her makeshift bed. The blonde seemed really concentrated on looking at the floor.

Hearing the creek nose of the door, Brittany turned her head to see Santana standing by the entrance with her hands full of fruits and staring right her back. She wanted to smile at the brunette, but she shouldn't. She didn't know Santana's intentions for saving her, and the fact that the brunette had yet to disclosure them, made her uneasy.

Brittany's experience with other captains had not been good before. She knew how pirates were, and they never did anything that wouldn't benefit them in some way. So she just turned her head back to her drawing on the floor.

Santana slowly approached Brittany from behind. Smiling slightly at seeing the blonde drawing what looked like a mermaid on the floor. But she could see Brittany tensing as she reached her side. And the smile disappeared from her face, replaced by a frown at seeing the taller girl's reaction, but she sighed to herself in defeat, after all this was the expected reaction.

"Here's t' food." she said deflated, placing a few of the small little fruits at the blonde's side. Brittany just nodded her head in acknowledgment and took the food without a word.

Santana moved to sit just a couple meters away in the cramped cabin, to crack a few coconuts open with a sharp rock. As she hammered the rock with force against the coconut, she seemed to release some of her pent up frustration about her current situation and the sound of the coconuts cracking and the grunts she was releasing were the only things that could be heard for minutes.

She only stopped when she was breathing heavily with sweat dripping from her forehead and there were no coconuts left to break. Though, Santana must admit to herself that she did feel a little better afterwards.

Drinking some coconut water after eating at least 2 papayas, Santana caught Brittany staring at her from the corner of her eye. Even then, the blonde seemed to notice and averted her eyes again.

Looking at the girl for a few seconds, Santana realized something.

"You moved." she mumbled surprised, more to herself than anything.

"I was bored." Brittany replied with a shrug, startling the brunette with her cold tone, something foreign to her ears.

Santana couldn't help but frown at the blonde "You shouldn't have, you need to rest."

"Why do you even care?" Brittany snapped, wiping her head in Santana's direction and meeting her eyes. She had an unreadable expression, several emotions seemed to battle to come to surface, but Santana couldn't decipher which ones. Though she was sure hurt was one of them.

After a few tense moments of intense eye contact and deafening silence, Santana still didn't seem to come up with a response for the blonde's question, so Brittany was the first to break their gaze and go back to her food.

Looking at a recently cracked coconut, Brittany felt stupid and confused. Why was Santana being so nice to her? She didn't know. But it kept confusing her, and she didn't like feeling confused. Maybe all of this was just part of Santana's game to trick her.

"Why are you keeping me here?" Brittany blurted it out, minutes later.

Santana hesitated for a second before stammering out. "No, I'm not." Though she felt like she needed to explain further. "I'm just tryin' to help, you're not a prisoner."

There was a brief silence before Brittany spoke up again, anger clear in her eyes as she questioned the brunette with her arms crossed. "Then why did you lock the door?"

"I-I…" Santana stuttered and couldn't get the words out. Brittany's intense gaze kept her rooted to the ground and speechless. She broke their gaze, staring at the floor in embarrassment. No one had ever made Captain Lopez speechless before.

Distracted, as she struggled to find her own voice again, Santana didn't even notice that Brittany had moved closer to her. She only lifted her eyes when it was too late, and a body was already tackling her to the ground. She embarrassedly realized, not for the first time.

The brunette released a grunt at hitting the cold dirt floor and felt her hands being pinned above her head, as heated blue eyes hovered over her. Not only she mentally kicked herself for letting her guard down and letting this happen. But she wanted to kill her brain because the only thing she could focus in that moment was on how gorgeous this woman looked on top of her. What the hell was happening to her?

The cold press of metal on her neck brought her back from her inner monologue. Her eyes widen as she realized Brittany had grabbed her dagger and was now pointing the object towards her. Damn, this woman is fast.

Brittany released Santana hands but kept the dagger firm against her neck.

"I'm so stupid!" Brittany angrily huffed as she slammed her free hand on the ground, angry at herself. Santana just froze as dirt hit her face and she stared in confusion and shock at the blonde.

"So are going to sell me to the next smuggles that come by? That's why you helped me? To make more money?" she shouted inches from Santana's face as hot tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

Brittany had no idea why she was reacting like this. This woman was a pirate; a pirate caption for that matter. And this was expected, it's not like the brunette had lied to her.

Years of bend up frustration sparked a reaction from deep within her.

I need to do this. To survive, she told herself, Santana would probably do the same to her in the near future. Yet, she couldn't help the way she felt. Why did it matter that this stranger disappointed her? They barely knew each other, yet knowing these were Santana's true intentions hurt more than when Sam had beaten her into a pulp and threw her at sea to death.

"That's what you do," That's what he did. She finished in her head after a while, deflated, but the dagger remained firmly in place.

Santana sensed there was more to the story. Perhaps the outburst wasn't just about her anymore. She found herself being honest with the woman. Once again.

"I don't know why I saved you okay? I have no idea. I've never done anything like that before." Santana said defensively but truthfully. She really didn't know why she did any of it; or at least she didn't want to admit to herself. But seeing Brittany with such a hurt expression and her eyes watering caused a pang in her chest, and it had nothing to do with Brittany's weight on her.

"Also, I thought you would leave, that's why I locked the door." She finally managed to answer the blonde's question and decided to clear things up "You can't be out there like this," She said motioning towards the bandages in Brittany's arms.

"Wh-Why do you care?" Brittany repeated her question, her voice thick and muddled as she eased up on the dagger and sat up on the brunette but keeping the eye contact. She might have just met the woman, but she had always been good at reading people and she could see the earnestness in her voice.

"I…I don't know." Santana averted her eyes uneasy with the question and its implications. This had been the question playing in her head for days now. And she was sure of the answer now, even if she couldn't admit it aloud. She liked Brittany. She liked this strange beautiful woman, and not like she liked her friends or anyone else, and that's what scared her the most.

Her brain started functioning again and she took in what Brittany had said moments ago and spoke with a frown. "But I would never sell you."

Brittany's hard expression faltered at the words and determination in brown eyes. But she remained in her position for a few moments of silence before asking, her voice coming out in a crack. "W-Why?"

Santana opened her mouth but nothing came out. Shit, Santana thought. She literally had nowhere to run; she had never felt so vulnerable in her entire life. But there was something about Brittany that made her ask herself, did she really have to run this time? Even if she was a pirate, something told her she could trust the blonde and the fact that Brittany hadn't killed her yet had to mean something; maybe Brittany was having the same doubts as her.

"Cause I like you." the brunette closed her eyes at her own frightening admition. She couldn't believe she just said that. She had never said that to anyone before, beside her parents.

The silence stretched, and Santana was too afraid to open her eyes and look at the woman on top of her, but she felt the cold blade leaving her neck and peeked one eye open after a while.

Blue eyes were staring at her intently, she couldn't read the blonde's expression but she didn't seem mad anymore or hurt. Santana thought she saw a hopeful look in those amazing eyes.

It took a moment but the corner of Brittany's lips quirked in a small smile before she muttered in a quiet voice. "I like you, too."

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Surely, Brittany didn't mean the same like as Santana did, but it was enough for her heart to swell and a warm feeling spread through her body as a mirrored smile appeared on her own face.

Both women just stared at each other for a while, too transfixed in each other to realize both were subconsciously leaning closer. Only inches separating the two. Until a loud thundering outside startled them apart.

Brittany got off of Santana and hissed with the movement. The adrenaline had worn down and she was starting to feel the pain coming back after doing too much effort for her still recovering body. She mumbled a 'sorry' before handing the dagger back to Santana in an act of truce.

Santana took the dagger but kept eyeing the blonde's injuries with concern. "Are you alright?"

Brittany nodded with a small smile, she wondered how someone so genuinely sweet could be a pirate Captain.

There was another thunder. Santana flinched, retracting into herself. Brittany noticed her reaction but didn't say thing.

The outside noise subsided and after seconds of silence, Santana spoke up again.

"Did you finish eating?"

Brittany nodded, embarrassedly looking at the discarded food she had left on the ground before jumping Santana.

The smaller girl got up and gathered all the leftovers so she could take it outside. Brittany just observed her from her spot on the floor.

As soon as the cabin's door was opened, a strong rush of wind came in and almost knocked Santana out. She dropped everything to the ground in haste and struggled to close the door. She picked up a few boards on the ground and used it to seal the door shut.

"What the hades was that?" She huffed out, gasping for air by the door. She listened and noticed the sound of heavy rain hitting the ceiling. She was so wrapped up in Brittany, she didn't even realized it was raining, certainly not this badly.

Brittany just looked concerned in her spot and asked if she was alright. The question and whatever she was saying fell on deaf ears and Santana just brushed the woman's concern off with a wave of her hand.

"Was that a hurricane?" Santana caught that part of the sentence though. And she felt the need to reassure the frightened woman.

"I don't know. It's possible but I don't think so. It's probably a tropical storm." Her words meant for both of them as she tried to convince herself. But Brittany looked worried as she gazed at her.

"But don't be alarmed, we will be safe." We'll be safe, she chanted in her mind, desperately willing her own fears away.

"How do you know?" Brittany asked, her eyes still fixed on the girl with the blank stare. Her words though, seemed to have taken Santana out of a trance, as the woman finally looked back at her.

"See that?" Santana pointed toward the lower part of the cabin's wall. Brittany nodded but still had a confused look on her face. "The base of this cabin is made of stone, old but reinforced stone, so it shall hold up well enough." Santana continued trying to reassure the blonde, but to tell the truth, the shudder in her bones told her she couldn't be sure how much the cabin would hold against a real hurricane.

Santana sat by her 'bed' and hugged her knees, retreating back to her own thoughts. Brittany noticed how small the girl looked while hugging herself and how silent everything was for several minutes, apart from the loud thundering that started again and increased in every flash of lighting.

She also noticed how Santana flinched every time the thundering could be heard.

It was obvious Santana wasn't feeling well and the storm outside had something to do with it. Brittany wanted to comfort the girl but she didn't know how without starling her so she decided to distract the brunette as best she could.

"So you live here?" Brittany asked in an attempt at small talk, she knew took a guess at the answer but also wanted to learn more about this intriguing woman. So she waited.

Seconds went by until Santana replied curtly.

"No."

Santana still looked tense because of the storm, but upon glancing at Brittany she soften her voice slightly. "I was stranded just like you were."

"Ohh," Brittany dragged the letter but scrunched up her face in confusion before asking "If you don't live here, and are stranded as well. How come you had a change of clothes?"

Santana went to reply but was interrupted by the blonde's rambling.

"Do you walk around with a secret magic bag? Or perhaps you really are a mermaid and can shift your own clothes?" she wondered aloud, lost in her own unusual thoughts. She couldn't shake the feeling that there must be something special or magical about Santana for her to be real.

The brunette just loosened her grip on her knees and wore a small smile while listening to the taller girl's ramblings. If it were anyone else, she was sure she would have smacked them on the head for talking nonsense, but every word that came out of Brittany's mouth just made Santana appreciate more and more the way this girl perceived the world around her.

Santana didn't miss the irony of Brittany thinking she was a mermaid. La Sirena Sangrienta, She usually hated that nickname; bitter men were the ones who called her that, the ones that couldn't deal with their losses. But she didn't think she would mind if Brittany ever called her that. She hoped that if Brittany hadn't realized who Santana was by now, that she remained oblivious for the time being.

"That would be really grand." She finished with hopeful blue eyes staring at Santana.

The smaller girl just gave her a smile and shook her head. "Sorry, Brittany. It's not that exciting." Brittany pouted slightly at the answer and watched as Santana pointed at the old chest in the back wall.

"That's where I get the clothes. And the blankets." she pointed towards the blankets and sheets resting on Brittany's bed and her own excuse of a bed.

"That's a nice looking chest," The blonde replied staring curiously at chest from where she sat. Santana just hummed along. "Is it yours?"

"Nay, I just found it here. Well, I guess 'tis mine now." She reasoned with a smirk.

Brittany was happy that she managed to distract Santana at least for a while; the brunette seemed much less tense now that she was distracted. So she kept making conversation.

"There such pretty clothes in there though." Santana nodded, but she didn't really care about clothes especially dresses, they only made her life harder and it was more difficult to move in them, but she had to admit that a nice nightgown was very comfortable to sleep in.

"I bet Kurt would love it," Brittany said still looking at the chest with a dreamy expression. Santana couldn't control the surge of jealously that sparked with Brittany's comment. She had no right, she knew that. But she couldn't help it. Who was this Kurt? Who was he to Brittany? The fact that Brittany was dressed as a man and she posed as one on the ship should have reassured Santana but it didn't. What if this guy knew about her secret and they had some sort of secret affair? Was he desperately looking for her right now? Where was he when Brittany was getting hurt? Or was he the one that hurt her?

Santana's thoughts were spiraling out of control and she decided she should change the subject as fast as she possible. She wasn't ready to know the answer to those questions; she didn't think she could take it.

A flash of lighting interrupted Santana's thoughts and she could feel her body tensing up again. Seconds later the loud thundering followed and she hugged her legs tighter.

All Santana wanted to do was sleep, her body was tired from all the work she had been doing and the uncomfortable place she had been sleeping in. All she wanted was to go to sleep and for when woke up and everything would be over.

"I-I'm going to bed." she mumbled without looking at Brittany as she slowly crawled her way to her dreadful bed. Brittany nodded and also moved to her own bed. The blonde was glad her injuries seemed better but the effort she did earlier really took a toll on her already sore muscles.

She lied down on her back and stared at the ceiling for what felt like ages. She couldn't sleep and the loud thundering outside didn't help, also the fact that after each loud noise she would hear a gasp from Santana's corner.

Brittany moved to lie on her side, looking at the trembling form a few paces away from her. She could clearly see the brunette was still awake as she tossed and turned every few seconds, seemingly having a hard time with the storm for whatever reason.

Before she could stop herself the blonde mumbled "Santana?"

The soft whisper of her name made Santana freeze in her spot, she slowly turned and looked in the direction of the sweet voice calling for her. There, she found Brittany intently looking at her, her eyes gleaming in the faint light of the fire.

Santana couldn't properly find her voice so she just hummed a response.

"Can't sleep?" Brittany stated the obvious.

"Y-yeah" Santana confirmed her voice cracked a bit even if she didn't want to show how she was feeling to the blonde stranger.

"Do you want to sleep here?" Brittany asked nonchalantly. Santana's eyes widen at the question and her mouth gaped in disbelief.

"I bet it's more comfortable and it can easily fit us both." She justified, making her point. Santana did think it wasn't a bad idea, and they finally seemed to be in good terms but she was torn. In one hand it was a show of good faith on Brittany's part, and she might not want to admit it just yet but she would love to be that close to the blonde. On the other hand, she would be that close to Brittany; she didn't know if she would be able to sleep either way being that close to her.

Deciding to take a chance, Santana nodded in agreement not trusting her own voice.

Brittany scooted a bit to the side and made room as Santana crawled her way to the bed. She visibly flinched halfway there when a bright flash of lighting illuminated the whole cabin for a second.

When she got to the bed, she lied on her side facing away from Brittany; too embarrassed to actually face the blonde. Santana took a deep breath trying to calm herself. This storm was affecting her more than she'd like to admit.

She could feel the warmth coming from Brittany behind her and it did help relax her for a moment, before the next lightening flashed illuminating the cabin again, followed by even the deafening noise of thunder; it sounded like the world was ending outside.

Brittany saw how Santana's shoulders were still trembling. She was close enough that she could feel the girl shivering. She figured this must be hard for the brunette. Especially when she was supposed to be a fearless pirate, but Brittany knew that everyone was afraid of something and Santana probably had a reason for it.

Without saying a word, she pulled the large blanket that covered her body to surround both of them, effectively wrapping her arms around the smaller girl and brining their bodies closer together. She waited for the rejection and to be slapped away, as she felt Santana tense at first touch but nothing happened. She heard Santana releasing a deep sigh as her body seemed to finally ease a little. The brunette sank into the bed, and dare Brittany say, into her embrace. And surprisingly, it didn't take long before the blonde heard Santana's breathe even out, finally succumbing to sleep. Brittany closed her eyes and enjoyed their momentary closeness as she started to drift off as well.

Ahoy, me beauties! Hope that was nice surprise!

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. We learn a bit more about both and more interaction for them. They are stranded, they don't really have a choice (*Evil Laugh*).

I was so happy to see people were still reading so please let me know what you are thinking. It motivates me each time.

All mistakes are totally mine. But I'm forever looking for a beta on this one.

Ducks