It was well into the night and a thunderstorm was revving up as they got to Gimbel Brothers. The lot was deserted. Five spacial jumped them past the entrance before glancing around the store. The interior of the store was so dark. Only a bluish light gave them some visibility around the store. They hunted around first for a flashlight before making it to the women's section of the department store. Eventually, they found their goal in the middle of the women's department. Five smiled up at Dolores.

Rachel grinned at him.

"A bit of a shame…she looks nice in that wig. You really want to rob her of her legs?"

"Shut up."

She examined the racks of clothes while waiting. She knew he needed a moment. She began pulling items she liked off the racks. She wanted to stop looking like a neon sign as soon as possible. This skirt wasn't easy to move in.

"Dolores. It's good to see you. I've missed you…obviously. Well, I…it's been a rough couple of days."

Rachel, who had been looking toward the opposite end of the store was jarred as she suddenly heard Five scream.

"No!"

Knowing that couldn't be good, the girl dove to the floor behind the racks of clothing. She was just in time as gunshots started firing. Crawling to the edge of the racks, she checked back to see Dolores's top half fall to the ground. Huh, Rachel thought to herself before trying to spot Five. He wasn't in front of the assassins, which was good at least. That was until he ran out and grabbed Dolores. Rachel cursed at the risk before rushing down low to where he was now hidden. He was just about to rush off when Rachel reached them.

"Stay with Dolores!" Five commanded her.

"I can help, you know!" she hissed.

"Stay!"

Rachel looked at Dolores, picking her up in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

"He has a hero complex when it comes to us. We know it. He makes quite an entrance though, doesn't he? Sorry about your legs."

Within a minute, Five was back with a backpack that the two of them shoved Dolores and the clothes Rachel grabbed into. Five grabbed Rachel's hand and they booked it through the store while being shot at. Rachel finally got a glimpse of their attempted killers. She mentally groaned realizing it was Hazel and Cha-Cha. They were good at their jobs, so it wouldn't be easy to drop them. Five tried to jump, but his powers pushed back.

"Shit! Come on!"

"Keep running!" Rachel urged.

The two of them hopped a sale's rack near the front, trying to dodge bullets. A police car pulled up at that moment, distracting the assassins. Rachel pulled Five down into the cash register area. The two sat there breathing hard, Dolores held by Five. The two of them waited a bit for the two to run off before the police came in. Once they were sure they were gone, they snuck out the back and headed back toward the Academy.

They got back in the early hours of the morning. As they made their way upstairs, they ran into Allison and Luther.

"Five? Rachel? What the hell happened to you?"

Rachel looked between her clothes and Five. They looked like they'd been roughed up.

"Are you okay?" Luther asked," Can we help?"

Luther reached out a hand for Five's bleeding right shoulder but Five grabbed it.

"There's nothing you can do. There's nothing any of you can do."

Letting go of Luther's arm, he turned and stormed off to his room. Rachel gave them an apologetic wave and followed him. Getting up to his room, he slammed the door shut and lay Dolores down on the chest at the foot of his bed.

"You know," Rachel said, pulling her newly acquired clothes out of the bag," I'm wondering if you aren't jumping well because you haven't slept in over a day."

"I don't have time for that," he told her, stripping off his jacket and white shirt. The girl rolled her eyes as she pulled off her shirt and the extra vest underneath. She'd been able to snag a few bras at the store. It was hard to escape gunshots when you felt too free. In a matter of minutes, she was dressed in black jeans, a black tank top, and a royal blue cover shirt tied loosely at her stomach. By the time she was done, she found Five giving himself stitches from his bullet wound.

"You seriously have ants in your pants," she complained, taking the job away from him and finishing it herself," You should really wash the blood off."

"No time," he said, getting dressed again.

"Time, time, time," Rachel muttered under her breath.

She gave up as he packed Dolores back up and headed for the window. Rachel moved to follow him, but he turned and held a hand out.

"You stay and sleep. I'm just staking out Meritech. I'll catch up with you later."

"What?!" she demanded," But we're a team!"

"Stay. Seriously."

Rachel growled slightly as he disappeared out the window. She couldn't lie and say she wasn't exhausted. Lying down on Five's old bed, she closed her eyes. She was asleep before she knew it.

-Post Apocalypse: Seven Years-

Rachel lay on her blanket by the fire. It was winter. Outside their shelter raged a blizzard. The building they made as their home for the winter was an abandoned bank vault. It was cold as hell, but one of the few things that survived whatever happened. Luckily over the past seven years, Five and Rachel and stored up on blankets and become professionals at starting fires. Dolores lay in a corner on her own blanket as Five scribbled into a notebook he had found. He did this most evenings when the light was gone. When they couldn't be out searching for resources, he did his best to find a way back to the past. Rachel wondered how people would even react if they showed up in 2002 at the age of twenty instead of thirteen. Well, Sir Reginald and her father would probably take it as a fun research project at least. Her mother would cry, feeling as if she'd missed out on the best years of Rachel's life, and Five's siblings would probably be jealous. Many of them wanted to be adults already by the age of thirteen.

Rachel pulled her blanket tighter as she watched Five working on his equations. He was still the relatively serious, sarcastic, and smart individual she grew up with. Now he was just harboring a new beard, barely coming in just yet. His hair was also quite long, covering his eyes from her view at this point as he scribbled away at his book. He'd hit his growth spurt at about seventeen, so now he was a lot taller than her instead of just the two or so inches he had on her when they first got stuck in the future. There weren't any mirrors still truly intact anymore, but she'd noticed her hair get darker due to sun exposure. She had also gotten tanner, which was good. She had always been sickly pale as a child due to the serum.

Her eyebrows lifted as Five suddenly looked up at her.

"You're burning a hole into my skull. What do you want?"

Rachel was quiet for a moment before she rolled onto her side.

"Is Dolores asleep?"

Five looked toward the mannequin and turned back to her.

"Yeah, why?"

Rachel wondered how to best phrase what she wished to say. She decided to start out simple.

"What do you like about Dolores? What…what makes her attractive to you?"

Five furrowed his eyebrows and put down his notebook. Getting up, he moved around the fire to sit facing her on her blanket.

"Well, she's smart. Funny. Charming, understanding, caring, clever-"

Rachel held up her hand. Wrong approach. Being around Five and Dolores sometimes made her feel like she was crazy, too. Treating her like a real person even though it was mostly in Five's head.

"Okay, she's perfect, I get it. Let me try and get to my point another way. What about me is…unattractive to you? What makes Dolores better?"

Five's eyebrows lifted in surprise. The two had long ago given up on being embarrassed around each other as you couldn't have any privacy when your goal is to survive and communicating needs can sometimes be life or death. So here she was, looking him dead in the eye looking for honest answers. Yet he felt embarrassed.

"I just never really considered it," he told her.

Rachel made a face at him.

"You never considered the only walking and breathing individual by your side since the day we arrived here?"

"Look, one day we are going to go back, and I just figured…" he trailed off.

Rachel sat up and pulled her legs under her to sit cross-legged.

"Yes?"

Five sighed at her pushiness.

"I figured you'd find someone there. We all kind of assumed you'd eventually like Diego back. Maybe even get feelings for Ben since you two were always friendly."

The young woman couldn't help but scoff at his words.

"Yes, when I go back as a twenty-year-old, I'll end up with one of them. Or I'll magically find someone else who understands the PTSD I'll have. Oh, or I'll die here sooner or later wondering what it would be like if someone actually had tried to like me instead of a…instead of Dolores."

Her breathing started to pick up, so Five reached out and put a hand on her upper arm.

"Will you calm down? I'm sorry if you feel insulted that I made a connection with Dolores."

Rachel let out a long exhalation in an attempt to calm herself. She then looked down at her hands.

"Is it because you felt guilty about us being stuck here? It was easier to talk to and fall for Dolores instead of me?"

Five reached out and pinched her cheek. He'd always done that when he talked about his feelings and wanted her to shut her powers off.

"OW!" she protested, looking up at him with an offended look," I didn't say that because I was sensing your emotions, jeez. I knew how you felt when we first got here, I just put two and two together, you bully."

Five couldn't help but laugh at her. Knowing that she wasn't using her power let him relax into his feelings as they sat there by the fire.

"You're not wrong. And it isn't like I dislike you or haven't…wanted you. Dolores is great, but there are limitations. She isn't a person and sometimes you just want…to be comforted by more than words. It's like with your anxiety attacks. You calm down when people hold you, not just try to distract you. There have been times when you'd just reach out at the right moment and I'd think about it, but…then feel guilty."

Rachel smiled at his honesty.

"You shouldn't feel guilty. It just happened. Your dad said time travel was difficult to comprehend and, as shitty as it is, he was right. It is what it is."

Her eyebrows then furrowed as she looked at him.

"Now what is this about liking Diego? Or Ben?"

Five shrugged.

"You know Diego had a huge crush on you. You couldn't have been that dense. Vanya used to talk about how she wanted you as a sister and hoped you might get together with Diego or Ben since they were nice to you."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh. Vanya was such a sweet girl. It was too bad she had such a complex about being ordinary. She shook her head at Five.

"I knew about Diego, but…I always kind of saw him as a brother. Ben…eh, it isn't that much of a stretch, I guess. I just never saw anyone that way. I honestly figured I'd never get married."

Five could see they'd encountered something that Rachel felt uncomfortable about. She began rubbing at her hands, a nervous tick she had. Five took one of her hands to keep her from doing that action.

"Why not?"

Sighing, Rachel squeezed his hand.

"That serum that gave me my powers. It didn't just cause seizures, the anxiety, the…paleness. It..."

She took a deep breath.

"I always dreamed about what my life would be like as an adult. Have a husband, a nice house, and…kids. But, um…not too long before we left 2002…I had a doctor's appointment where the doctor found out that I…can't have kids. It's complicated to explain, but it took away something that I looked forward to and made me feel like…I'm broken. I never got around to telling Vanya because it was hard for me to accept. That's why I figured I'd never get married. I assumed that any guy would want his own kids so…"

"No."

Rachel looked up at his response.

"Nothing is wrong with you and not all guys want kids. I can say that from experience. Few of my siblings looked forward to the idea of parenting after seeing how Dad did it. The right guy wouldn't care, I know that much."

The two just looked at each other, the fire beside them lighting their eyes with orange and red. In the quiet, the snapping and burning of wood sounded loud in their ears. Rachel was the first to look away with a small laugh.

"Anyway," she continued," Don't act like Ben and Diego were the only ones I got along with. Klaus was eventually fine, and I had no problem with you when you weren't scaring me half to death. Why would I dislike you when you were the only one of your brothers who helped with my anxiety attacks? Remember that time I had an attack after being kidnapped?"

Five looked away somewhat embarrassed.

"I was just the only one smart enough to remember what to do…"

"Then, there was the birthday rose that magically appeared in my uniform jacket every year before I went home. I always looked forward to that the most. And before you try to play dumb, two years in a row I checked every five minutes to see if one appeared and the only person who could have done it was you. I strategically asked everyone else before you and their emotions would have given them away."

Five couldn't help the impressed look on his face.

"So, you can use your powers as a lie detector. Interesting. Okay, fine. You're right, it was me."

Rachel looked up at him shyly.

"My point there is that…I could have easily fallen for you, too. Okay? And…unfortunately for both of us I've managed to do just that but one-sided…while stuck in the future with you as the only other remaining person…who likes Dolores instead of me."

Five glanced toward the sleeping mannequin before looking back at Rachel.

"Why can't I have feelings for both of you?"

The woman raised an eyebrow and laughed slightly.

"Really? You suddenly like me now that I've told you how I feel?"

"Not suddenly," Five protested," I've thought about it. I just…didn't think I deserved to have you like me, so I never sought it out. I've always found you attractive…and kind. You're patient and observant. Your positivity is something I can't bring myself to have and I…am just happy to be around you because of that."

Rachel wondered what was really going on in Five's brain. Did he really like her or was he being nice to accommodate the fact that they were stuck together and 'might as well?' Did he really love Dolores or was it compensating for his guilt? What did it say about her that she liked someone with this issue?

"Well, I do like you. Because as sarcastic and egotistical as you are, you're still nice. You care about things way more than you let on. And you're a good person."

Five looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment from her words. Rachel just smiled and went on.

"I suppose it would be really mean of you to break up with Dolores to be with me, especially since you still like her. You can't just leave one of us abandoned somewhere. I guess I can accept that. You think Dolores might be mad?"

Five shook his head with a smile.

"I think she'll be as okay with it as you. We're the only two people left after all. She's smart. She'll get it."

Rachel laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, she's always struck me as being understanding like that."

It was quiet between them once again until Rachel squeezed his hand again.

"Hey, have you and Dolores kissed?"

Five's face went red in the firelight.

"No…"

"You think she'd be mad if I was your first kiss, then?"

He turned and looked at her and shrugged through his awkwardness.

"I don't think so."

Taking that as permission, Rachel leaned forward. Five met her halfway and they shared their first kiss. Then their second. And third. The kisses became needier and eager as Rachel pulled Five down on top of her. He was surprised by her aggressiveness. Her personality was so mild, usually, but he wasn't complaining.

"Let's go further," Rachel urged, looking up at her partner.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Five asked, surprised by how quickly she was moving.

Rachel nodded.

"Please?"

He pulled her legs up over his hips as he pressed himself harder against her. She didn't have to ask twice as Five had no problem accommodating her wishes.