Day 2

They woke the next morning at dawn, none well-rested. They ate in amiable quiet, picking at their limited food supplies.

The group began to rummage through the suitcases the boys brought from the cabin yesterday. The girls searched for more hospitable clothing and found little. Most of the luggage was filled with clothes for a night out in New York City, not hiking through a humid jungle.

"Alright, cadets! I will be taking a few of you on a search for the rest of our plane. The rest of you will continue making camp. One thing everyone will do is stay with the group. Is that understood?"

Sue nodded at the murmurs and wide eyes she received from her speech. Walking over to Quinn and Sam, she advised, "You'll need the right footwear, Fabray. I expect you to keep up."

Quinn glanced up at Sam in confusion before watching Coach Sylvester walk away.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Quinn shook her head, rummaging through a stranger's suitcase, "It'll give me something to do. Keep my mind off the fact that we're stranded in the middle of nowhere."

Sam inwardly groaned as he watched Coach Sylvester talk to Finn. They got along for the club and the team, but every since the debacle with Quinn, he hated the guy. The last thing he wanted was an all day trek through a dangerous jungle with him. Not that it mattered, if Quinn was going, there was no way he was staying back.


Quinn turned her head, her face scrunched in amusement. They'd been walking for hours now, blindly following Coach Sylvester.

Sam followed her closely, catching her twice when she stumbled on stray branches. Even with Coach Sylvester's voice ringing in her ears to catch up, she still felt a blush crawl up her skin at the feel of Sam's hands gripping her waist, strong and sure.

For the last twenty minutes, he'd been humming softly behind her; the sound now evolving into quiet mumbling.

"What are you singing?"

Sam's head snapped up. He looked caught for a moment, before he flashed a crooked grin at the blonde girl in front of him. "Take Me Home Tonight."

Quinn continued walking, watching the ground beneath her carefully. "Seriously?"

"Yea! That's a great song," Sam began to sing, his voice still soft, but the words now audible:

Take me home tonight

I don't want to let you go till you see the light

Take me home tonight

Listen honey just like Ronnie sang

Quinn laughed, finishing the lyric, "be my little baby"

"Yea! That's what I'm talking about!"

Finn stopped abruptly in front of her. "What are you two doing?"

Sam walked the few steps till he stood by Quinn's side. "We're trying to make this adventure a little more bearable."

Finn glared at Sam, opening his mouth to retort when Sue cut him off, "Are you girls done chatting? We have a lot of miles to cover before dark."

Quinn rolled her eyes, brushing past both boys. Sam followed her, pushing Finn's shoulder with his own as he walked past. Finn scoffed, but kept his mouth shut, Coach Bieste's words ringing in his ear.


Will pushed against Puck's chest, blocking him as Susan grabbed David's shirt, pulling him back roughly.

"What the hell is going on here?" Coach Bieste's voice rang out.

"This punk won't shut up about the crash!"

The boys glared at each other, their bodies still strumming with adrenaline and anger.

"I don't care what it's about! Find a way to get along!"

David shook his head, taking off for the opposite end of the beach. Blaine quickly followed, shooting a glance over his shoulder at the rest of New Directions.

Puck walked towards the water, muttering obscenities under his breath. Falling into the sand, he watched the waves lap up the beach, the steady rhythm making him want to scream.

He hated being stuck on this friggin' island. He hated that the day after their plane crashed, everyone acted all calm and accommodating. They'd just survived a fucking plane crash, the normal reaction was anger.

And then that Warbler kept droning on and on about possible causes for the explosion, like it hadn't really happened to him. Like it was something they'd just seen on the news and he was analyzing it for one of his pretentious classes at that private school of his.

He looked up to find Rachel softly sitting next to him in the sand.

Closing his eyes, he sighed heavily, "Not now, Rachel. I'm not in the mood for one of your pep talks."

Her voice was quieter than he'd ever heard it, "That's good; I don't have one."

Feeling like a jackass, Noah shifted towards her. She shook her head, lifting her hand. "I'm fine. I just want to sit here, if that's ok."

Noah nodded, watching her out of the corner of his eye; like he had since the crash, maybe even before then. He kept his distance, hating that he could still feel her small hand in his, hating that he felt an unnatural need to protect her and feeling powerless to do anything.

She wasn't his. If he could just keep that mantra going, maybe he'd actually believe it and his reflexes wouldn't go into overdrive every time she stood near him.


Thirty minutes later, they all stared up into the trees, finally face-to-face with the nose of their plane. The trees in this area of the jungle were dense and tall, and the plane lay at the top, its weight barely supported by the branches beneath.

"Get going, ladies."

All three teens gaped at Coach Sylvester in surprise.

"I'm not going up there."

"Sure you are, Frankentein. If you want to go back to your precious glee club, and tell them we didn't find the radio because you're delicate sensibilities, I'll be happy to turn back now and settle in for our long stay here on this island. Otherwise, start climbing."

Quinn rolled her eyes, mumbling, "Let's just get this over with." Turning to Sam, she asked, "You in?"

Startled, Sam found himself nodding before he even knew what he was agreeing to. She placed her hands on his shoulders, giving him a jolt of confidence. It didn't matter, if Quinn was in, so was he.

Bending down, he clasped his hands together. Quinn placed her foot in his palms, jumping up and catching the lowest branch in her hands. Letting out a grunt, she pulled herself up. Carefully, she placed her feet on the branch, her fingers clutching the tree for leverage.

Turning to Finn, Sam asked, "You coming?" before taking a running leap and catching the branch. Hoisting himself up, he followed Quinn's ascent, climbing up towards the plane.

Sighing heavily, Finn grudgingly jumped up, his fingers easily reaching the limb.

Finally at the top, Quinn stopped to catch her breath. The tree's limbs were denser up here, making it easier to climb. The plane however sat at a nearly vertical angle, making the journey to the cockpit that much harder.

Sam lifted himself up, sitting across from her, grinning in child-like excitement. "Ready?"

Quinn scoffed, smiling despite their situation.

Leaning over her, Sam grasped the aisle seat in the last row, hoisting himself into the plane. Kneeling on the seats, he reached down, easily grasping Quinn's hand and pulling her up onto the seats with him.

Quinn grasped Sam's arms tightly as she tried to find her balance at this new angle. Sam's hands dipped down to her waist, his fingers strumming along the edge of her top.

"We can wait for Finn."

Quinn glanced up, momentarily jarred by their close proximity. Swallowing hard, she nodded quickly, feeling the rapid beat of her heart hammering in her chest. "Yea, we should wait for Finn."

"You know, I've always hated planes." Quinn scrunched her eyebrows together, her face hidden in his shoulder. "The first time I flew alone, I thought I was having a panic attack. I sat next to this random guy and he told me his secret to flying. Close your eyes, imagine your favorite place, and count back from 100. It worked. I still do it every takeoff."

Quinn's stomach stopped turning. Feeling braver, she glided her hands over his arms, laying her head on his shoulder. Whispering, she asked, "Where did you picture?"

Sam chuckled, his breath ghosting over her ear. "A beach."

Quinn smiled, relaxing into his embrace.

Hearing a rustle of leaves behind her, she quickly pulled away, ignoring his gaze. She turned back towards the aisle, shifting to hang her legs off the side of the row. She swallowed hard, reminding herself they were on a mission.

Finn sat heavily on the branches below them, his breathing labored.

"You ready for this?"

Smirking at her challenging tone, Finn dropped his head, before meeting both Quinn and Sam's gaze. "Let's do this."


The rain at the beach quickly turned to a downpour. Everyone scrambled to find some type of covering, whether it was a tarp or a metal sheet from the plane.

Brittany huddled next to Santana, calling out for Artie to join them.

Artie shook his head. "This is the best I've ever felt. I'm not wasting it!"

Dancing in the wet sand, he sang loudly,

I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive in your ocean
Is it raining with you?
Laughing, Brittany and Santana ran out from under their blanket, joining Artie:

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion

Will smiled as he watched the rest of his glee club begin to file out, laughing in the rain. Tina and Mike twirled around the circle; Kurt grabbed Rachel's hand pulling her out into rain despite her squeals of protest. Mercedes danced around David and Blaine, everyone belting the next verse:

I want to breathe in the open wind
I want to kiss like lovers do
I want to dive in your ocean
Is it raining with you?

Will glanced over at Emma. She sat on her heels, tears filling her wide eyes, staring at the scene in front of her. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand in her lap, squeezing it tightly in his own.

She laughed as a stray tear fell down her cheek, "We're going to get through this, aren't we?"

Will gave her a genuine smile murmuring a hell yes, before pulling her out of their makeshift tent. She squealed in delight, clutching his shoulders as the rain pelted them. Holding her close, he spinned her in the sand, loving the feel of her breathless in his arms.