Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 51st cycle. Now cycle 52!

This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Steps 44-53, Breathe & Push, chapter 8.

"Almost & Just Nearly"
World B: AU!Rachel/AU!Santana, Jesse, Quinn
World A: Rachel, AU!Quinn
Berry-St series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

WORLD B

She might have thought it would bother her, having to sneak around, hide what they were doing, but to be honest she wasn't minding it so much right now. She actually liked getting pulled into closets and darkened offices by Santana, to feel the need and the hunger she had as she captured her mouth, let her hands explore… Every time it was like the Cheerio grew bolder, extending her explorations further and further. The first time she had let her fingers go under Rachel's shirt, they had been late for class.

On this day, it was the first time Rachel had taken back just a bit of control, instead of letting her have it all, and she had been the one feeling for flesh. "Rachel…" she heard Santana call, which she interpreted as her being headed in the right direction, until… "Your phone…" Rachel sighed, looking back to it, abandoned on a shelf. "Keeps receiving messages…" She smirked, pressing her lips back to her neck.

"So? Are you afraid I've been stepping out on you? Because I can promise you that is not the case. Santana was quiet a moment, lost in what she was feeling, but then she remembered herself and carefully pushed Rachel back.

"Someone might be looking for you, and they might come here, so just look, alright? If everything's fine, we can…" Not needing another reason at all, Rachel had retrieved her phone. When she read the messages, she saw that Santana had been right. Someone was looking for her… two someones in fact. Jesse and Quinn had to see her, from what she got. She kept a straight face as she read. As much as Santana had her secrets that needed keeping at the moment, Rachel had hers. Santana didn't know about this two worlds mess, and Rachel wanted to keep it that way.

"Looks like you're right," she breathed, pushing her phone into her pocket, reaching to tug her clothes back into an undisturbed order. "I should go. I'll see you for Glee, alright?" she looked back to her, caught her smiling. "What?"

"Come here," she stepped up, fixing her hair for her with a care that took Rachel by such surprise that she had to move up and kiss her again, just once and gently so. "Yeah, about that," she pointed to her lipstick, what was left of it, and the smudges left by it.

"Right…" Rachel nodded, reaching for her bag. She had fixed herself up, said her goodbyes, and then she was off to find the pair who had summoned her. She'd have to try not to sound too pissed off about it, for having interrupted what she had going on. They had no idea about her and Santana, and until the girl was ready to have people know, that was how it would stay. Still, when she showed up, it was with a slightly sharp "What?" Jesse and Quinn looked to her, and she pulled it back. "You wanted to see me?"

"Where were you?" Quinn looked at her like she could see something but hadn't quite figured out what it was. Rachel didn't leave her a chance to figure it out.

"What, I didn't have my phone on me," she shrugged, coming to sit with them. "So?"

"We've been talking," Jesse started.

"Okay?" Rachel asked, waiting for him to go on.

"We're nowhere nearer to getting home now than we were when we got here…" Rachel sat back, shrugging. "Well, you are…" She bowed her head. "Question is why."

"Maybe I was a really good girl…" she started, then laughed at the unlikelihood of this. "Maybe the other me did something. You two would know, she was with you. So why am I here?"

Jesse considered her words, and they weren't without effect. She was right, if it was something to do with the other Rachel, his Rachel, then he should have known, should have been able to go with her… Maybe he didn't deserve her, for what he'd done to her before…

When he got up and left the cafeteria where they sat without a word, Quinn got up to follow, but Rachel found herself speaking up. "Leave him be," she told Quinn, joking voice gone. The blonde looked back to her. "He needs time to himself."

xxx

WORLD A

Rachel had been sitting in the choir room. Their Glee practice was done for the day, but she didn't feel like going. After spending the day seeing Jesse and Quinn's relationship in full bloom, it just felt easier to stay here a while. She was leafing through some of their sheet music when she heard the door shut behind her and she jumped, startled. She turned and found it had been Quinn who had shut the door. "What are you doing?" Rachel asked her. Quinn came up to her, staring almost intensely.

"I have an idea," she spoke.

"Okay?" Rachel hesitated.

"I was thinking about what you said, about that day when you were in the auditorium, and you sang a Bon Jovi song for some reason."

"I'll be there for you…" Rachel recalled, smiling to herself.

"What if that was it? The song… I swear I heard him mention something like that, your Jesse, when I was over in my own world with him." Rachel considered this, her heart beating with hope.

"You think… he sang it, too? Like, at the same time?"

"Maybe… I've seen crazier things happen… Hell I'm living them now," she looked around.

Rachel considered this. She could imagine it… a call to one another, in song, of course… It would have to be, for them, if anything. They lived music. It had united them, it had torn them apart, and it could reunite them. There were still so many unanswered questions, but they didn't matter, not now.

"And if we sing again, then… he can come back?" Rachel slowly asked, trying not to let hope be too strong. "Him and… the other you."

"Worth a shot," Quinn nodded, breathing with just as much hope; she wanted to go home, too, her and her Jesse.

"Same song?"

"I don't know," Quinn shook her head, and Rachel thought about it.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"I just thought about it now, Jesse's probably wondering where I ran off to."

"Okay," Rachel nodded after another moment's thought. "I'll give it a try. Thank you, Quinn, really," she smiled.

"Good luck," Quinn hesitated before moving up and hugging her. They shared a look and Rachel left the choir room. If she went now, would he be there, on his side?

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!