A/N – Thanks again for the continued interest in this story! This chapter is being posted earlier than expected and that's simply because I'm splitting it in two because it was getting out of control long. So instead of 4 chapters, it's looking more like 5, sorry to keep changing it. Again, I don't own Glee or Nothing but the Water by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Part three – Civilization

This ole world has brought me pain.

Tina and Brittany hugged excitedly while Santana smacked Sam's shoulder playfully before tousling his shaggy blonde hair. They all shared an awkward glance as Puck continued to hold Quinn tightly after rushing and scooping her up into a bone crushing hug. The blonde blushed when Puck finally settled her back onto her feet but still kept an arm draped over her shoulders.

"Ok, so can someone explain to me why my house is home base for you people?" Santana asked once the friends settled down from their greetings. "And how the fuck is the electric fence still working?"

Puck laughed. "Why not your place? Ma and Pa Lopez sure know how to stock a pantry. Not to mention the basement…have you seen the supplies down there? Were your parents' doomsday nuts or something?"

Brittany lightly grazed Santana's arm when she noticed the smaller woman tense at Puck's choice of words. "Puck," she said still lightly rubbing Santana's arm, "do mind telling us what's going on? Where are our parents? My place was wrecked. Where is everyone?"

"That's the thing," Sam interjected. "We're not really sure. I'd been out in California hanging out with Puck when DC was hit. We just got in the car and started driving. By the time we got here…New York had been hit…and Detroit and Chicago…hell just about every major city was hit somehow. Lima was pretty much empty when we got here, except for looters."

"Yeah." Puck said sullenly, running a hand over his shaved head. "We're lucky we got in here. A lot of houses have been ransacked or even torched. But this place is like a fort and we've been able to pick up a signal on an old AM radio we found in your basement. It's a fucking mess out there. Apparently California is just gone, blown off the map. We got out of there just in time."

"What about Mercedes?" Rachel asked softly. "Why isn't she with you Sam?"

The blonde sighed. "She broke up with me six months ago. I went out to California hoping to change her mind but…She wouldn't even see me. Had I known California was going to be blasted I would have dragged her out of there and thrown her in the trunk of the car if I had to…"

Tina dropped a hand to his shoulder and smiled sadly. "Maybe she got out…we don't know. I talked to Mike the day before Chicago was hit. He said he was coming here to meet me and we'd go north into Canada. He hasn't made it here yet…But he will, I know he will!"

"What kind of signals have you picked up?" Quinn asked, hoping to change the subject from her friends' absent lovers. "Santana and Brittany found a picture with 'Fort Drum' written on the back of it in Britt's house. Any idea what that could mean?"

"I've been here in Lima for about a month now." Tina said quietly. "I came straight here after talking to Mike and there were still some people here…Burt and Carol Hummel, Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury. They were heading to Fort Drum, an army base in upstate New York. Apparently that's where Finn is stationed and he got word to them that they were taking in survivors."

At the mention of Finn, everyone glanced at Rachel. She squared her shoulders but said nothing before Tina continued. "There was no sign of my parents so the Hummels tried to get me to go with them but I couldn't leave until Mike got here. It was just chaos, everyone scrambling to get out. Looters had already raided the stores and even burned down some of the houses. I didn't see your parents Britt but maybe they went too. And maybe yours too Santana, I don't know."

Santana reached and clasped Brittany's hand in her own with a squeeze. "Kurt would be so glad to know his dad was ok." The blonde said softly. A somber silence settled over them at the mention of yet another lost friend.

"What about my mom?" Quinn asked quietly from her spot next to Puck after a few more moments of silence. "And my house…we were planning to check out my place and Rachel's after checking Brittany and Santana's. I want to go to my house."

Puck looked like he might be sick suddenly and scuffed his foot on the floor. "What?" Quinn exclaimed. "Puck?"

"You can't go there." He replied lowly. "Promise me you won't go home Quinn. Promise!"

The blonde looked shaken for a split second before raising her head defiantly, looking every bit like her former head cheerleader persona. "Don't tell me what to do Puck, I'm not a child. If you know something about my mother you tell me right now!"

Tina stepped closer, prepared to comfort Quinn or stop her from rushing out of the house depending on how the news was taken. Puck clenched his jaw.

"I'm so sorry Quinn." He said softly. "Looters…They hit your house, practically burned it to the ground. And your mom…Sam and I buried her but…she was in the kitchen and it didn't burn so there was blood-"

"That's enough." Brittany interrupted. She stepped closer to Quinn who remained frozen, fighting the tears that began to spring up in her eyes.

The shorter blonde was trembling with the effort to keep her emotions in check. "Alcohol, any alcohol in this basement?"

"Quinn." Brittany said gently.

"Just leave me alone." She muttered before disappearing through the doorway that led from the kitchen to the basement.

Puck looked torn as he watched her go. He took a step toward the basement door but Santana stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. "Give her a little time to herself. She can't sneak out of the basement, there's no outside door, just this one. Just give her a few minutes ok?"

Puck finally nodded and moved to the table, being sure to sit where he could see the basement door. Tina motioned for Sam to also take a seat at the table where she quickly helped him roll up the sleeve of his shirt where a bandage covered his forearm. Tina gently unwrapped the bandage to reveal a long, angry looking cut that had been stitched.

"It's looking good." Tina muttered as she leaned in to get a better look. "No infection or anything, that's good."

Sam smiled gratefully as she began to wrap a fresh bandage around his arm.

"Hey, did you stitch that?" Santana exclaimed. At Tina's brief nod, Santana narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Where in the hell did you learn that? I mean I know Asians are smart and all but no way have you had time to go to medical school."

Tina chuckled. "I worked part time in an animal hospital to help pay for singing lessons. It's amazing the things you can pick up after you watch enough animal surgeries."

Santana turned and quickly ushered Brittany closer. "Can you take a look at Britt's arm too?"

"San, my arm is fine. It's just a scratch." Brittany insisted.

But Santana was already gently pushing the blonde into a seat and pushing up the sleeve of the t-shirt Brittany was wearing. Tina finished wrapping Sam's arm and quickly moved closer to the blonde. Santana once again began to chew on her nail nervously as Tina examined the healing wound on Brittany's arm.

"It's not too bad." Tina said softly. "You don't need stitches or anything. I'll just put some antibiotic ointment on it and you should be good as new."

She pulled her small makeshift first aid kit closer and pulled out a small tube. Brittany hissed when the cream hit her arm.

"That stings." She said with a pout. Santana stepped closer, eyeing Tina almost menacingly at the blonde's exclamation of pain.

"That's a good thing." Tina said, ignoring the feel of Santana's eyes drilling holes into her. "That means the medicine is working. It's gotten a little infected around the edges; this will take care of it."

Brittany smiled finally. The sight made Santana relax, if only slightly. When Tina finally stepped away from the blonde, Santana dropped to her knees next to her. She leaned in and blew softly on Brittany's arm, hoping to ease the sting.

Brittany reached with her uninjured arm and tucked dark hair behind Santana's ear, smiling sweetly. "Thank you San."

Santana blushed slightly as she stood back to her feet. She cleared her throat awkwardly when she saw her newly rediscovered friends smirking at her show of affection. "So, what do you say we head on out to Berry's house. That was the plan after all. You can keep an eye on Quinn right?"

"Oh, uh, no." Sam mumbled. "That's probably not a good idea."

"Why the fuck not fish face." Santana snapped.

Sam sighed and glanced at Rachel who had been observing quietly. "Because Tina and I just came from that side of town. The Berry house has already been hit by looters. But don't worry Rach, there was no sign that anything happened to your dads. They probably got out with the rest of them. But that side of town is crawling with those sick looking freaks."

Rachel's jaw dropped incredulously. "I highly doubt they would just leave without me! We have to look for them! What if they're holed up somewhere waiting to be rescued from those infected looters!"

"Rachel," Brittany said softly. "They had to have known New York was bombed. They couldn't know we lived. If they're not here then they probably did go to Fort Drumstick with the rest of them. It's good they're not here…not like Mrs. Fabray. And San, I don't want to leave Quinn, not right now. She needs us."

Rachel sighed and shrugged. At the mention of their best friend's mother, Santana and Brittany exchanged a sad glance. "Come on B." Santana said softly. "You're right. Let's go check on Q and see what she wants to do now."

Brittany nodded and the two slowly made their way down to the basement, unsure of what state their friend would be in. They stopped short when they found Quinn sitting in the middle of the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks and a rifle in her lap.

"Holy shit Q." Santana muttered.

Brittany eased forward until she was on her knees directly in front of the shorter blonde. "Quinn? Honey, talk to us…without the gun please."

Quinn wiped furiously at her cheeks before setting the gun off to the side. Brittany tentatively dropped a hand to the other blonde's thigh, rubbing soothing circles. They sat for a few more moments in silence before Quinn was able to speak.

"My mom tried, really tried after Beth was born ya know?" She said, her voice thick with tears. "She was so proud. Of me for getting into Yale…of herself for being able to stand on her own two feet after leaving my dad. I thought I'd find her here. Oh God…they killed my mom!"

Brittany pulled Quinn closer and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Santana scooted in closer as well and wrapped her arms around them both as Quinn buried her head on Brittany's shoulder and sobbed.

xxxx

When the three finally emerged from the basement, the day was mostly gone. Quinn was quiet as they joined their friends around the table. Puck slipped back into the room from checking the perimeter when he heard them shuffle in. He gently squeezed Quinn's shoulder in passing.

"I'd still like to go to my house." Rachel said softly.

"No." Puck replied immediately. "We don't go out after dark and it'll be dark before long."

"Why don't we go out after dark?" Rachel continued, refusing to back down.

Puck and Sam exchanged a dark look. "Because there's nothing but trouble in town now after dark." Sam replied. "Looters and all. It's not safe. And there are more of those guys around like the ones you ran into when Kurt…"

"Microwaveables…or radioed or whatever." Brittany mumbled. "What are they doing here?"

"The only thing we can figure is that they're moving away from the bigger cities." Sam replied. "We heard Cleveland was even nuked. Cleveland for Christ's sake! Have you gotten a good look at those guys? They look like zombies."

"We saw." Quinn said evenly. "Are they the ones that killed my mom?"

Puck clenched his jaw and nodded slightly. "They were crawling all over the place. It's like they've all gone insane."

"It's the radiation poisoning." Rachel added. "We spent two months in a fallout shelter with our landlord and he would rant and rave about the effects of radiation poisoning. It does pretty much drive you insane. And make your hair fall out…and you don't know want to know what happens to your insides."

"Mush." Brittany interjected.

Santana reached and took the blonde's hand in her own. "Puck, you never did explain how you've kept the electric fence going."

Puck smirked. "Like I said, your parents' know how to stock a pantry and a cellar. They had three generators down there. Did you know about that shit? Generators and guns, a shitload of food and bottled water. Even alcohol. They had a few drums of gasoline down there too so I just hooked up the generators to the fence and the fridge. No lights though, we don't want anymore of those infected freaks spotting us. A few got fried on the fence trying to get in, not pretty."

"We have to decide what we're going to do next." Quinn said, ending the gruesome conversation. "We can stay here and do nothing or we can get the fuck out of here and try to find our…your families."

They all glanced at each other, no one sure what to say. Tina finally spoke up first. "Well I'm not leaving without Mike."

Santana turned to glare at her, ignoring Brittany's pleading look. "Are you shitting me? You're just going to sit around here waiting for boy Chang when you said yourself that Chicago was wiped off the map. What are you gonna do when the gas for the generators runs out? No way, that's crazy!"

"It's not crazy Santana!" Tina insisted. "What if Brittany hadn't been with you. Would just leave her?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Of course not, but that's not reality! Reality is…we're in the middle of a fucking nuclear apocalypse. We have to stick together and I sure as hell don't want to just wait around here for one of those sick fuckers to slit my throat. We'll leave Mike a note saying where we went in case he ever shows. You stay here alone waiting on him and you're as good as dead. You want him to come here and find you like that?"

The friends continued to argue about what to do, even over the small dinner Rachel and Brittany prepared. Quinn was quiet for the remainder of the evening, lost in her sorrow and thoughts.

Even the next morning as the others were once again discussing whether to go or stay, Tina was adamant she would remain behind. It was finally Quinn who pulled her aside. No one knew what she said to convince her to go but Tina finally agreed that she would leave with the others.

They quickly set about loading the Lopez supplies into the back of the SUV. "We're going to need another car; we don't all fit into one." Puck said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he dropped another case of water into the back.

Santana scratched her neck as she gazed out across the yard to the closest neighboring house. "Maybe the Wilson's left one of their three Escalades behind. Baby, you feel like using your mad skills this early in the morning?"

Brittany stretched with a yawn and nodded. "I'm always up for a good car jacking."

Rachel chuckled behind them. "Mind if I come too? I could use a break from all this lifting and I could keep watch to make sure none of the infected spot you."

"Sure hobbit." Santana replied with a smirk. "Sure you don't just want to learn how to jack a car? It's ok if you do…can't be a little princess forever."

"If I have to remind you one more time of the great lengths I have already gone to for you and our little merry band of survivors I may just…just…just go all Lima Heights on your ass!" Rachel exclaimed.

Santana barked out a laugh and Brittany nodded in appreciation. "Good one Rach!" the blonde replied. "You're really picking up on the badassery. Just next time…it's 'on yo' ass', not 'your ass.' Just sounds more fierce. But great progress!"

Puck shook his head chuckling at the three. "That's great and all but I'm not comfortable with you three going out without protection."

"Protection?" Santana asked incredulously. "What the fuck do I look like Puckerman? And correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Brittz here just whoop yo' ass yesterday with a frying pan?"

Sam laughed and clapped Puck on the back. Puck on the other hand scowled. "Still, I'd rather someone who actually knows how to use a gun to go with you guys."

"Don't worry, I'm going with them."

They all turned to see Quinn saunter out of the house with a rifle slung over her shoulder.

"Damn…that's hot." Brittany mumbled.

Santana glared at her girlfriend before turning back to Quinn. At a loss for what else to do, she simply shrugged and nodded in agreement. Puck was practically drooling as Quinn strode past.

"Well, come on, we don't have all day." The three scrambled after Quinn as she began to walk away from the house.

They waited until the gate swung open and then carefully walked down the long driveway to the Wilson's house. It too was surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence but unlike the Lopez home, there was no power to keep the electric fence activated.

Brittany squatted in front of the locked gate, staring at the locking mechanism thoughtfully before setting to work. Santana just smirked as the gate swung open a few minutes later.

"That one was tough." The blonde said with a pout. "Took twice as long as it should have."

"Well seeing as it was an electric gate and you managed to get it open with a hairpin and your chewing gum, I'd say it was still quite the success." Rachel replied, still somewhat in shock.

"Aw, thanks Rach." Brittany replied with a wide smile. She bent and chastely kissed Rachel on the cheek before heading onto the Wilson property. Rachel squeaked at Santana's jealous glare.

Both brunettes scrambled after the tall blonde with Quinn taking up the rear keeping a watchful eye out. They were unable to raise the garage door from the outside so Quinn and Brittany had to hoist Santana up and through a broken window. From inside the garage the brunette opened a side door, allowing the others inside where a lone SUV sat waiting.

"Rachel, keep watch outside and yell if you see anything." Quinn ordered.

She nodded and slipped back outside, rounding the corner alone. Brittany stepped to the car, frowning when she found the door locked. "Who locks their car in their own garage? Paranoid much?"

The blonde set to work while Quinn paced by the door and Santana watched over Brittany with a lustful gleam in her eye. When the door popped open, all three smirked.

"Rachel, you ok?" Quinn called. "Rachel?"

The roar of the engine filled the garage as Quinn strained to hear Rachel's reply. She turned and waved for Brittany to dismantle the wiring. The taller blonde frowned but quickly twisted the wires to disconnect the engine.

Rachel's screams were already echoing through the door when the engine cut off. Quinn turned and sprinted out the door to help with Santana and Brittany close behind. As they rounded the corner of the house Quinn was already shouldering the rifle. Rachel was at the far end of the house screaming and struggling with the man on top of her.

She managed to scramble out from under him just long enough for him to grab her from behind and sink his teeth into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She shrieked in pain as he flipped her backwards onto her back and continued to rip at her shirt.

Quinn planted her feet and took aim, briefly holding her breath as she squeezed the trigger. Rachel screamed again as the man's head whipped sideways, blood spraying everywhere as the bullet ripped through his temple. They rushed toward her as she frantically swiped at the blood she felt splattered on her cheeks.

"Rachel? Rachel are you alright?" Santana and Brittany asked frantically, trying to calm the other woman.

Quinn nudged the fallen man's shoulder with her foot, flipping him over to lie on his back. The sight of his gray, sunken face made bile rise in her throat. Rachel's blood from the bite wound still trickled from his lips and his eyes were blood red and unseeing. From this close distance she could also see the bald patches on the man's head. He had even lost his eyebrows giving him an even ghastlier appearance.

Rachel finally stopped screaming as Brittany helped wipe her face clean. Quinn quickly raised the rifle again at the sound of footsteps thundering up the driveway. Puck and Sam came storming around the house, handguns ready. The blonde lowered her weapon.

"It's ok, we're ok." She called. "Right Rachel? You're ok right?"

The brunette could barely nod in response she was trembling so badly. Brittany hugged Rachel close, soothingly stroking a hand through her long hair. Santana reached and pulled the ripped portions of Rachel's shirt to cover her exposed chest as the boys came rushing up to them and then stood to block her from their view.

"Give us a second guys." Quinn said softly before turning back to her friends. "Rachel, can you walk?"

Rachel seemed to have calmed slightly and she finally nodded, still huddled closely to Brittany. Santana and Brittany helped pull her to her feet and helped steady her. They all tried to shield her from the sight of the infected man sprawled on the ground with his head blown open.

"You guys help Rachel; I'll go restart the car." Brittany said softly. "But don't get close to the door; I'll have to drive through it."

Just to be safe, Santana fell a step behind to make sure Brittany got into the car and got the engine going without any trouble. The sound of metal hitting metal made them cringe but as they rounded the garage, Brittany was hopping out of the driver's seat to help Rachel into the back.

"We got lucky, full tank of gas." Brittany said with a smile. "And super lucky that Quinn is a sniper."

"No shit!" Santana exclaimed. "Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that Quinn?"

The blonde shrugged and re-shouldered the rifle. "Skeet shooting at the country club I guess. My dad had to be good for something."

"So hot." Brittany whispered. Santana just frowned.

They pulled the SUV away from the house and back into the Lopez estate where Tina stood anxiously guarding the supplies and second car with another rifle. "Are you guys ok?"

Brittany nodded, once again disconnecting the wires and killing the engine. "Yeah, she does have a…bite mark if you could take a look at it? And we need to get her another shirt."

Tina scrambled to help Rachel inside to clean the wound.

"I'm sorry." Quinn muttered rubbing her forehead. "That was stupid. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight alone. Fuck!"

"Whoa, it's ok Quinn." Santana replied. "Don't beat yourself up…everything turned out ok. It could have been way worse."

"Tell that to Rachel." The blonde snapped before stomping inside the house.

Brittany dropped a hand on Santana's shoulder as they watched Quinn disappear inside. "We're gonna have to keep an eye on her…I'm worried." Brittany said softly.

Santana nodded and reached a hand up to cover Brittany's resting on her shoulder. They all quickly moved to finish loading the two cars waiting for Tina to finish with Rachel. Santana stood by the second SUV gazing back at her home as they all piled into the cars to head out.

Brittany slipped behind the brunette and hugged her, resting her chin on the smaller woman's shoulder. "Maybe someday we'll be back. You got everything out of your room you wanted right?"

Santana nodded and swallowed thickly. She turned then and they both climbed back into the SUV with Quinn and Puck in the back seats. Tina, Rachel and Sam were sitting in the first car waiting for the others to get settled.

The friends had voted to head to Fort Drum, not having any better option. So, as the afternoon sun burned from the sky, the friends pulled away from Lima without looking back.

xxxx

The friends once again stuck to back roads hoping to avoid the more populated areas where looters and the infected seemed to be gathering. They only had to stomp on the gas pedals once to rush past a group of looters who tried to force them off the road.

They drove until about an hour before sunset. They then pulled off into a small clearing and the men began erecting the two tents they had packed away. Brittany and Tina went with Rachel into the first tent while the others made camp.

Santana made sure to keep close to Quinn, much to Puck's chagrin. The brunette couldn't bring herself to care about Puck when Quinn's face finally split into a grin at Santana's continued, well-intentioned bitching.

Sam managed to get a decent fire started and they each warmed a can of ravioli for dinner. Later that evening, after the sun had set, Quinn sat gazing into the fire, her rifle right next to her. Santana quietly sat down next to her while Puck watched from across the fire.

"Get out of that head of yours Fabray."

Quinn glanced at Santana and quirked a brow. "What are you talking about Santana."

The brunette smirked and nudged her shoulder slightly. "Don't think I don't know you Quinn. I do. I know you're upset about your mom and you have every right to be. And you're beating yourself up right now for letting Rachel get caught alone. And you're probably feeling guilty about killing that guy."

Quinn didn't respond, instead she just poked at the fire with the stick in her hands. Santana didn't let the blonde's silence thwart her. "Well you shouldn't…feel guilty that is. What if you hadn't been there? Who knows what would have happened to Rachel. And that…well that could have been anyone…Brittany even. So I feel a whole hell of a lot better knowing you're around with that thing. So, keep it close by…please."

Quinn finally met Santana's gaze and sighed. "It shouldn't have happened at all…but thanks."

Santana smiled softly and nudged her again. "Absolutely. I want you to sleep with that damn rifle. If for no other reason than to scare Puckerman out of knocking you up again."

Quinn and Puck both sputtered as Santana hopped up and away from them, the blonde blushing furiously.

"Well," Santana called over her shoulder, "I'm off to see if Berry is ready to let go of my girlfriend. You two behave yourselves. The apocalypse is no time to bring a child into the world."

At that, Sam announced with a chuckle he would take the first watch, leaving Quinn and Puck alone by the fire. Puck moved to settle in next to her and with a sigh, Quinn leaned into him and dropped her head onto his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and the two then sat quietly gazing into the flames.

"I've been so freaked out and busy trying to survive that I haven't even taken a second to wonder where Shelby and Beth are." Quinn said softly.

Puck rubbed her arm soothingly. "Don't worry, I've thought about her enough for the both of us…I really hope they're ok. If I knew where she was I'd go get her in a heartbeat. But part of me doesn't want her to have to grow up in a world where people kill each other over canned ravioli."

Quinn glanced up into his troubled face. She pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder and sighed. "You're a good guy Noah. I'm really glad you're here."

Puck smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple before they returned their gazes to the fire.

xxxx

Santana popped her head into the tent where Tina and Brittany were sitting with Rachel. The blonde glance up and smiled at the sight of her girlfriend.

"Tina, you ok to stay here with her?" Brittany asked quietly, already scooting away from the sleeping woman and trying not to wake her. Tina nodded and shooed her away with a somewhat sad smile, her thoughts automatically drifting back to Mike.

Brittany slipped out of the tent and took Santana's hand, pulling her toward the second tent that was set up a short way away from the others but still relatively close for safety sake.

"I was expecting Quinn and Puck to already have claimed this one." Santana said as Brittany pulled her down onto the sleeping bags covering the floor of the tent.

Brittany chuckled and pulled Santana closer, the smaller woman settling her head on the blonde's chest and snuggling contentedly.

"Puck's a good guy." Brittany mumbled into Santana's dark hair. "But he better treat her right or I'll have to find that frying pan again."

Santana laughed and squeezed the blonde, throwing a leg over Brittany and twining their legs together. "That was easily one of the hottest things I've ever seen…that and your badass car jacking, lock picking hotness."

Brittany smiled and palmed Santana's ass, swatting playfully. "Is Quinn ok?"

Santana hummed out a sigh and nodded against the blonde's chest. "I think so. Is Rachel?"

"Yeah, just shaken up but she's ok. Tina is going to stay with her tonight."

"Good." Santana replied. "Quinn might crash in here with us later…much later hopefully."

Brittany laughed again when Santana moved to fully straddle her, a saucy grin on her face. She leaned down and kissed Brittany, her hands sliding up under the thin t-shirt. The blonde moaned into the kiss, reaching up to pull Santana flush against her.

Santana smiled against her lips. "Tell me B…am I making you hot?"

Brittany nodded eagerly, canting her hips upward in anticipation. Santana slid down the blonde's body slightly, trailing kisses down her neck as she went. "And you think I'm hot right?"

"So hot." Brittany panted, tangling her hands in Santana's dark hair, urging her to move lower.

The brunette sat up then abruptly and glared at the woman below her, causing Brittany to whimper at the loss. "Hotter than Quinn with her gun?" Santana said evenly with a scowl. Brittany's face registered shock first and then she whimpered.

Santana couldn't help but chuckle at Brittany's expression. The Latina wasn't certain if the hurt pout was from Santana ending their make out session or the fact that Brittany was actually worried the brunette's feelings were hurt.

"Santana…of course!" she exclaimed, not registering the fact the other woman was smiling. "You're my girl! You're super hot all the time! You don't need an awesome gun to be hot…wait…are you messing with me?"

Santana's smiled bloomed into full blown laughter before dying down to soft chuckles as Brittany stared expectantly. "I'm totally messing with you. In what universe would baby mama ever be hotter than me?"

"Oh I don't know…that gun makes her pretty hot." The blonde replied with a smirk.

"Is that so? Well why don't you go see if she'll go down on you…I'm not really feeling it right now. And since you so obviously prefer her…"

Brittany's face fell. "No, San I was kidding, I swear! You're perfect and I love you and…are you messing with me again?"

Santana was already almost doubled over in laughter.

"Oh, you are so gonna get it!" Brittany exclaimed, finally laughing as well.

With strength that never ceased to amaze Santana, the blonde flipped them with almost no effort and the Latina found herself pinned beneath a smirking Brittany. She pinned Santana's arms above her head with one hand and quickly began tickling the brunette's exposed side with her other.

xxxx

Quinn stopped in her tracks just outside of the tent she was planning to share with her friends when the loud giggling turned to breathy moans.

"Think I'll just give them a few more minutes." She muttered to herself. She turned on her heel and headed back for the fire where Puck just shook his head at her return.

About an hour later the blonde quietly slipped back into the tent and smiled at the sight of the blonde lying on her back with Santana on her side, her face pressed into Brittany's neck. The brunette had her arm slung across the blonde's slim waist.

Quinn dropped down on Brittany's free side and also scooted in close. In her sleep, Brittany draped an arm around Quinn's shoulders and pulled her even closer. The smaller blonde smiled and reached to take Santana's hand, resting them on Brittany's stomach.

"'Night Q." Santana mumbled in her sleep.

"Goodnight Santana." Quinn whispered, feeling safe for the first time since the world was turned upside down.

xxxx

"I don't like it." Santana insisted the following day.

They had pulled to a stop after a few hours of driving when the gas began to run low in the original SUV. Unfortunately the gasoline at the Lopez house had been almost completely gone after keeping the electric fence going for weeks.

"Well Santana," Sam replied patiently. "What do you suggest we do, keep driving and wait to run out of gas sometime when we're surrounded by looters? This car won't make into that town down there. Its better we split up and a few of us take this one down into town and get some more gas. We bring it back here and we're back on the road."

"But why do Brittany and I have to split up?" the brunette insisted.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Brittany." Quinn said firmly. "Tina and Sam have been making these runs for weeks now, they're good together. Just like you and Puck are."

Santana crossed her arms tightly over her chest with a scowl on her face. Quinn sighed and stepped closer, her voice low. "Besides, Rachel is still pretty shaken up…Brittany is good with her. And by the time you guys get back we'll have camp ready and warm food waiting for you."

"Not just the canned shit?"

Quinn smiled. "I'll even toast you a sandwich over the fire. You'll think you're back at that Italian place in the City with the brick oven."

"Blackmail." Santana mumbled. "Using my stomach to short-circuit my logic. I hate this! Things get fucked up when we split."

Brittany pulled the shorter woman into a tight hug. "It'll be fine San. You'll be back in no time. Don't worry about us…in fact; I'm more worried about you since our sniper won't be with you. Be careful ok?"

Santana nodded and pulled away from the blonde with a frown. She and Puck hopped into the back seats while Tina and Sam slid into the front.

"Puckerman!" Brittany called before they pulled away. "Don't forget about that frying pan!"

Puck cringed at the memory but nodded before the SUV pulled away. The three left behind watched the car until it faded from view.

xxxx