A/N: Hey everyone! As promised, here's the first chapter in the sequel to New Reality. TO NEW READERS: PLEASE READ MY STORY, "THE NEW REALITY" BEFORE YOU BEGIN. THIS STORY DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE WITHOUT THE BACK STORY.

I don't own Glee

"Welcome to New Lima," Marge said, pride filling her words. "We're all former refugees, or in the case of some of the younger ones, children of former refugees. We are a community in the sense that we work together for the common good, but you won't find any restrictions here on how you choose to live. Everyone is expected to help out in whatever way they can, but there are no roles, no punishments, no violence whatsoever. You and your friend are welcome to stay here if you'd like."

Kurt had no words prepared for this situation. He had no idea how to work through the plethora of emotions that were hitting him at that moment. His inability to speak and the reasons behind it must have been evident on his face, because Marge let out a chuckle and patted him gently on the back.

"Take a look around and get back to me, okay?" she asked. "I'll be right over there when you've made your decision."

Kurt barely managed a nod as he started walking slowly toward the group of people in front of him. He'd barely gotten close enough to reach out and touch one of the travelling tomato vines in a small square garden when he heard a familiar voice call out his name. A voice that he hadn't heard in weeks and that he never expected to hear again. A voice that he fell in love with all over again in that instant.

"Kurt?"

Kurt whipped around in search of the voice that spoke his name. His vision immediately narrowed in on the figure standing about ten feet away. Waves crashed in his ears, static filled his mind and his peripheral vision became blurry as every ounce of his energy was focused on that singular figure standing stock-still in front of him.

"Blaine," he breathed, barely audible even to himself. He was almost afraid to speak it allowed. Fearful that if he said the name aloud, that the boy in front of him would vaporize into nothingness. Had he been out of civilization that long? So long that he would be hallucinating within minutes of arriving at this safe harbor?

Before he had the chance to answer his own questions in his mind, he was almost knocked over by Blaine's hug. He could feel the tremor in his grasp and he wasn't sure which one of them was shaking so much. Maybe it was both of them.

"I can't believe it," Blaine's voice sounded in Kurt's ear. "I never thought I would see you again."

Kurt couldn't speak. Not yet anyway, he could barely stay on his feet at this point, although he was certain that if his legs did give out, Blaine would have held him up with his strong grip that he showed no signs of loosening.

"That day in the cave," Blaine continued, once it was apparent Kurt wasn't going to answer. "That day, I was so afraid they'd capture you, and then Santana and I…Kurt, it was awful. She didn't want to, but it was the only way, and—"

"Shh," Kurt hushed gently, finally finding his voice. His hand seemed to move on its own volition up and down Blaine's back. "It's okay, it's all okay now, you don't have to explain it all right now."

"God, I just…I just missed you so much and…Kurt?"

Blaine was more than a little confused when Kurt tensed up suddenly and pulled away from him. His eyes were darting around nervously as he slowly backed away from Blaine.

"What's wrong?" he asked the disheveled and exhausted, yet seemingly highly alert-looking boy in front of him.

"We can't," Kurt began, panic rising in his throat. "We were just…someone could have seen us, I wasn't even thinking—"

It finally clicked in Blaine, the reason why Kurt was suddenly afraid. He approached his love slowly with a small, reassuring smile playing on his lips.

"Kurt," Blaine said, reaching out for Kurt's hand again. Kurt obliged. "It's okay, it's not like the Community here. You can be with whoever you want here. You can be yourself. We can be ourselves."

"You mean they won't, we won't be punished?"

Kurt's eyes grew wide and Blaine felt like he was having to physically keep his own heart from falling apart at the sight of it.

"No," Blaine's smile grew wider. "In fact a lot of the refugees here are just like us. That's why they escaped in the first place."

Kurt let out a huge breath and nodded wordlessly for a moment before his eyes lit up again. "Oh my God, Santana! Is she here? Blaine, please tell me she's okay."

"She's fine," Blaine answered. "She's around here somewhere. We got here almost two weeks ago. She's been….really angry, I guess. About the group being separated and losing Marina, but now that you guys are here….God, I still can't believe it."

As if on cue, the boys heard a pair of screams about a hundred yards away. They turned their attention to the source of the squeals and witnessed Santana and Marina reuniting under the watchful eyes of the other refugees. Santana rushed towards Marina and as they embraced they sank to the ground, overwhelmed with emotion. Kurt started to head in that direction, but he felt a soft tug on his wrist.

"Let's give them a little time," Blaine suggested. "Besides, there's something I want to show you."

Santana couldn't believe her eyes. Her little sister, her life, her everything, was finally back in her grasp. They were on the ground, dust kicked up and gritty sand gathering in the creases of their elbows and behind their knees, but she didn't care. She never really let herself believe that Marina was gone for good, and now she's glad that she hadn't tortured herself with the mourning process. She silently sent up a thank you to Kurt for keeping her baby sister safe.

"Is Kurt with you, is he okay?" she had the presence to ask after a few silent moments.

"Y-yes," Marina gulped in-between tears. "He w-was amazing, San. He saved us."

Santana hummed softly, trying to calm her sister, and herself to a certain extent.

"I know," she answered softly. "You're safe here now. We're all safe now. This is where we're meant to be."

Santana meant every word she said. The moment she and Blaine arrived here, the moment they'd stepped foot inside of New Lima, she felt at home. The air was more inviting, more welcoming than anything else she'd ever experienced inside the Community. Of course, there had been a tense moment with the group that had been patrolling the area outside the wall, guns drawn on each side. But once everyone had figured out everyone else's intentions, they were welcomed immediately into the camp. As much relief as Santana felt, finally being in a safe place away from the wretched confines of the Community, she refused to allow herself to feel settled and happy. She was still missing a huge piece of herself, because Marina and Kurt weren't with them.

She knew Blaine felt the same. All it took was one look at his battered, defeated face to see that he was experiencing the same emotional devastation that she was. They refused to leave each other's side for more than a few seconds in those early days, the irony of their relationship not lost on either. As the days went by and they became more acclimated to their surroundings, they ventured out a little bit more on their own within the camp, but never for longer than an hour. It was too painful to be away from each other for longer than that, after they'd lost so much.

But everything was different now. They were reunited, the whole group. Santana could hardly believe that the plan had worked. It wasn't as easy as her naïve, overconfidence had led her to believe when they were hashing it out several months ago at her and Blaine's kitchen table. But in the end, it worked out. They were together again and they could live happily and with the freedom she felt they'd earned.

Of course, she was reluctant to believe it was going to be that easy. Surely, after everything they'd been through, she couldn't expect the path to be easy from here on out. But for that exact moment in time, when she was hugging her sister and hearing her laugh again for the first time in God knew how long, she allowed herself to bask in the soft, warm belief in a happily ever after.

"Where are you taking me?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Just wait, you'll see," Blaine answered. His voice had an excited, almost giddy lilt to it as he led Kurt by the hand across the yard. Kurt could see up ahead that there was a group of rudimentary looking buildings, some constructed out of logs, some out of a rudimentary-looking brick material. Most of them had thatched roofs, but some of them had wooden covers. There were also several of tents off to the side. When they got closer, Blaine veered them in the direction of the tents, finally stopping in front of a canvas tent of moderate size.

"Well," Blaine spoke, a hint of pride in his voice. "This is it."

"This is…what is this?" Kurt couldn't figure out why Blaine was so excited.

"This is home," he answered. "At least for now. As soon as I get strong enough, some of the others are going to help me build a permanent home. Well, it's supposed to be for Santana and me, but now that you and Marina are back, I think I want my own place. You know, for you and me."

Kurt watched as a deep red blush invaded Blaine's cheeks.

"I mean, that is, if you um….I mean, if you want a separate place, that's—"

Blaine was abruptly cut off by the presence of Kurt's lips pressing firmly on his own. He let out a small whimper of protest before he realized this was exactly what he wanted, what he'd been missing all these weeks. He allowed his embarrassment to wash away as he sank deeper into Kurt's embrace. After several blissful moments, Kurt pulled away and looked at Blaine with an indiscernible smirk.

"Aren't you going to show me your tent?"