Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

A/N: A longer chapter for you guys, since I've been sort of MIA recently! Sigh, exams, why do they even exist? Haha I hate school. Wow, over 50 favourites and 90 likes! Thank you guys for taking the time to read this fanfic! A big fat ILOVEYAALLLLLL to those who reviewed as well! You guys all made my day.

After the rescue mission for Quinn and Brittany, the slightly bigger group made their way back to their home base. Santana became her old HBIC self, implementing several 'rules' so that the group wouldn't, as she so politely put it, 'destroy her fucking property'.

Rachel had taken up residence in a decent sized room beside the unholy trinity, while Puck and Mike were given the other rooms down the hall from theirs, on the second floor. They had all agreed that staying on the first floor would be dangerous, and a risk that none wanted to take. So, Puck had volunteered to clear out Karofsky's previous dwelling, and was delighted to find the shotgun nestled protectively under the bed. Mike was slightly disappointed that he didn't get any cool firearms but Rachel took pity on him and handed him her extra gun, which prompted him to thank her profusely and do a little jig in the hallway.

She had rolled her eyes. Boys, and their obsession with weapons of destruction.

They established a timetable (at the insistence of a certain diva) and had guard shifts that rotated every other night. The boys would stay alert throughout the one night, while the two girls would stand guard for the next. Puck wanted to be paired up with one of the cheerleaders, but a death glare from Quinn was enough to make him cower and accept defeat. He did whine and pout for some time, until Mike told him that he was being very unmanly, to which he responded by straightening out and stopping his little temper tantrum.

That didn't stop him from bitching about it from time to time though.

Overall, everyone seemed to be getting along well, Rachel observed. Santana was a more laid back version of herself. She had stopped insulting her entirely, only referring to the Diva as midget or berry, much to her annoyance. Oh well, it was better than being called 'man hands' that's for sure.

Brittany was still her bubbly and cheery self, occasionally sweeping Rachel up in random hugs and twirling her around the kitchen. Surprisingly, the dutch dancer was a pretty good cook. After the first week of the McKinley high rescue, she had taken it upon herself to cheer everyone up in the only way she knew how. Cooking. The girl had whipped up a meal worthy of a five star hotel, and everyone had devoured the meal in a matter of minutes. The entire group agreed that Brittany was now their national treasure, and should be in charge of meals from then on. Needless to say, no one ever went a day without tasting a delicious dish comparable to that of an orgasm.

Quinn however, was a whole other story. Rachel suspected that she hadn't truly gotten over that whole Sue Sylvester debacle. They both rarely talked, only stopping to trade words when either Brittany or Santana was around. Their talks were painfully polite, but she would take what she could get. The boys knew that the unholy trinity was dating and they okay with it. Rachel had gleaned that information from the day of rescuing the Latina, so she wasn't particularly surprised when the girls came out to all of them. The 'relationship' between Quinn and Rachel hadn't improved much. Rachel felt tense around the blonde girl, maybe it was the aftereffects of the frequent slushying or bullying, the diva pondered to herself. Regardless of how strained their relationship was, they all still had a job to do. Survival was their number one priority.

The neighborhood houses had been picked clean, since they frequently went scavenging to ensure that they would have enough supplies and medicine in case something uncounted for would happen. Luckily, Mike had spent his summers working part time at Burt hummel's car shop fixing up vehicles, so he managed to salvage one of the trucks they found in the street (with Puck's help) while Rachel's own car was kept in the garage for escape purposes, he told them.

Rachel liked their little tight knit group. It was like the friends she never had before the end of the world. She was content, so to speak. But, she would eventually discover that, sometimes, it simply wasn't enough. Humans always wanted more. If they had something good, they would want something better. It was ingrained in them, to desire, to want things.

It happened three weeks after the rescue mission. Rachel didn't notice anything particularly strange about that day. She continued her routine as per usual. They had their usual noisy breakfast courtesy of one Brittany pierce, and decided their plans for the day. Puck and Mike were in charge of the scavenging today, and they had decided to travel to a farther neighborhood to get more supplies, since the surrounding houses were empty. Quinn and Britt were sent to bed since they were keeping watch the night before.

"Be careful Noah, Mike." Rachel said, as she placed the packed lunch and weapons in the back of the truck. She double checked that their equipment were in working order and gave them thumbs up.

"Don't worry Jewbabe. We're badasses, nothing will happen that we can't handle."

Mike popped his head out of the truck to add a reassurance of his own.

"We'll be back before it gets too late. We wouldn't want to miss any of Brittany's food. The stuff that the girl can make with some meat and eggs is seriously crazy." He said, and smiled when Rachel threw her head back with laughter. She patted the back of the truck and made a motion with her hands, waiting until the truck exited the compound before shutting the thick iron gates. She headed back into the house to escape the sweltering heat.

"Santana? Where are you?" The diva called out, her voice echoing throughout the large house. The girl in question appeared from the room which they used as storage, glaring at Rachel. "Keep it down midget; Q and S are sleeping upstairs." She grumbled. Rachel shrugged sheepishly and followed Santana back into the room. On the floor, she saw several wooden boards laid out haphazardly all over the room. She spotted a bag of nails in one corner and cracked a small grin.

"Well, what do we have lined up for the afternoon? I'm hoping it doesn't require our presence outside of the house." Rachel said jokingly, and ducked when a limb came flying towards her. "Hey!" She shrieked, and stumbled forward when she tripped over a hammer, stubbing her toe on a plank of wood. Letting out a shriek of pain, she sat down, rubbing her bruised toe.

"Hah, serves you right. Now get over here and help me with this shelf before I go all Lima heights on your ass." Santana threatened, trying to look intimidating. It was betrayed by the growing smirk on her lips at Rachel's display of clumsiness. "And try not to hurt yourself."

With a sigh, she stood up slowly, flipping her hair back dramatically which made the other occupant in the room roll her eyes. Rachel stepped towards one of the planks, and hoisted one up with surprising ease. Santana watched on in shock, her jaw unhinging as the tiny brunette was seemingly unaffected by the sheer weight of the wood. She had trouble even lifting the damn thing! Yet, Rachel could do it so easily, like it weighed nothing? Ouch, there goes her pride. Mumbling nonsense under her breath, she moved to help the girl, oblivious to the smug look Rachel was sending her.

By the time they finished putting up the shelf, two hours had already passed. Both girls, bodies slicked with sweat and some splinters to show for their handy work, stepped back to admire the finished product.

"Damn, we did a great job." Santana said, eyeing it with approval. A sense of satisfaction blooded through her tired body. At least she wasn't entirely useless, she thought bitterly.

"Thankfully, we managed to finish it putting it up without hurting ourselves," Rachel commented and nudged the girl lightly, "Although, there were a few times I feared for your life."

The taller brunette scoffed in a mock insulted manner, "Says you Berry. At least I was tall enough to put up the upper shelf." She grinned when the Diva stomped her foot and glared at her with the intensity of a thousand suns. For a vertically challenged dwarf, she certainly was scary; Santana noted when she inched back a little. Hey, even she got scared sometimes okay? Not that she'll ever admit it.

"Now see here Santana Lopez-" She stepped towards the taller girl, "Ohhhh you used my full name. I'm so scareeeeed." The girl teased and laughed when Rachel flushed slightly, her tan skin becoming slightly red. As she was ready to give Santana the rant of a lifetime, her feet hit something solid. The diva suddenly squeaked when her she tripped on the hammer on the ground, and was sent spiraling towards the other girl. Both their eyes went wide with shock and they ended up falling backwards, Santana's back meeting the floor with a loud thud followed by a pained groan.

Her mind spinning, she tried to sit up when her hands grabbed something insanely soft. She froze. Rachel was suddenly acutely aware of the proximity of Santana's body, she could feel the Latina's bountiful curves pressing against her chest and she blushed when her hands accidentally brushed over a particular area, causing the other girl to stiffen. The diva tried to shift her weight and stand up, but somehow, her body seemed to think differently, every small movement causing both bodies to rub with a delicious friction.

Santana felt her arousal spike when Rachel's palm accidentally pawed at her breasts, and squashed down a moan. Her mind was blank, and she couldn't think of anything but the softness of the other girl and the desire that sliced through her when she saw Rachel look at her with startling intensity, warmth swirling in the chocolate pools of brown. She didn't know who leaned forward first, but their mouths met softly and Santana let out a purr when she felt lean, strong hands wrap around her waist.

The mouths moved in sync, nipping at each other's lips, and Rachel felt her panties starting to soak through. She was no longer lying on top of the other brunette, but straddling her waist, both kissing fervently. She moaned when Santana slipped into her tongue into her mouth, exploring and wrestling with Rachel's own for dominance.

Rachel dug her nails into the latina's back, delighting at the sound she elicited as she dragged her nails down the vast expanse of flesh there. Her mind was cloudy, and she couldn't think about anything except the cloying scent of mint and sweat coupled with sweet, sweet taste of Santana's lips and-

Santana.

Brittany and Quinn.

Her girlfriends.

And then Rachel was flying backwards, with her hand over her mouth as she felt the sudden weight and horror of what just happened settling on her shoulders. The guilt bubbled from her stomach, and felt like heavy lead as she stared into Santana's eyes now filled with confusion…then realization.

Rachel let out a sob and took one step backwards. Then two more steps. Her back met the surface of the wooden door.

"I-I'm…"

Santana watched as the diva's eyes filled with tears, a lone drop making way down her smooth cheek.

"I-I'm sorry…"

She turned, and ran.