"Quinnie?"

"Mom.."

"Oh goodness Quinn, what's wrong honey?"

Quinn's face was wet with tears, and her eyes were swollen and red. It was obvious she'd been crying for an extended period of time. Judy missed the days where she could be at home when her daughter returned from school, but she knew that her new job and new found independence was good for the both of them. She'd never have expected to come home to this though.

"She—she went right back to him, Mom. After everything... I just don't get it." Quinn sobbed.

Judy had no idea what her youngest daughter was talking about. "Who went back to whom, honey? Is this about Santana and Noah? I never knew you had feelings for him.."

Quinn might have laughed if her heart wasn't aching so strongly. "No, Santana's with.. Rachel, Mom—"

"Rachel and Santana are..?"

That time Quinn couldn't help but snort. Judy smiled at the noise, glad that she could make her child feel at least a little better. She still wasn't certain what got Quinn so upset but she'd do whatever she could to make it right.

"No Mom," Quinn giggled. "Rachel.. she's with Finn again." Quinn finished quietly.

Judy wasn't sure how to approach this. She hadn't heard of a Finn. She'd found out Quinn was living with the Noah boy for a short period of time, but no Finn. "And you.. you're in.. like.. with Finn?"

Quinn let out a long sigh as she wiped her eyes. Judy noticed the set of her jaw which meant Quinn's mind was set and she was determined to get through.. something.

"Not Finn," she said quietly but with a firm stare. Oh.

"Then... Rachel?" Judy asked unnecessarily. Quinn nodded her head once, her eyes never leaving Judy's. Judy realized that she was waiting for a reaction, for Judy to turn her back on her again and thrust her out into the streets. She focused on breathing normally although the thought that her daughter obviously didn't feel safe and secure in her home tore at her heart strings. She didn't know what to say, so she simply said "Oh, honey.." and pulled Quinn into her arms. Quinn let out a relieved breath and sobbed again.

They sat like that, with Quinn halfway in her mothers lap, grasping onto her for dear life for almost an hour. Judy still didn't know what she could say to Quinn. She loved her daughter, she was never going to let her out of her sight again, and she promised when Quinn moved back in she'd support her, and she planned on doing that. She thought maybe Quinn had fallen asleep in her arms when she murmured "Maybe I should give Burt Hummel a call.." Quinn's giggles meant the world to her in that moment, and she kissed her head and contemplated ordering Chinese for dinner. She'd have to research "homosexuality in young females" later, but for now she felt like indulging in some egg rolls.

"I love you Quinnie." She whispered, giving Quinn another squeeze.

"I love you too, Mom." Quinn smiled. Judy knew she also loved sweet and sour chicken.

—AiZ—

"Quinn?" Rachel cried next to her. Quinn still hadn't spoken, Beth was still whimpering and reaching for her, and Santana was still speeding towards the highway entrance ramp. They'd be much calmer when they got the hell out of Detroit, but it would take a while to recover from such a close encounter of the worst kind. "Baby, please." Rachel whimpered. She was highly aware of Beth behind her, but she had to protect her from an erractic and unstable Quinn. Quinn would never forgive herself if she unintentionally did anything to harm Beth. She kept her body firmly between the two of them. She felt Beth's tiny hands grabbing at her shirt, but ignored it for the time being.

"We need to stop," Santana cried. "I need.. I need a minute."

The Rav-4 pulled into the inside lane on the highway, so they could see any potential danger coming at them from a distance. They were all extremely on edge. The Rover pulled up closely behind them.

"Quinn.. say something, anything, baby.. please." Rachel sobbed. She didn't know what to do. She needed some reassurance that it was still Quinn in there. An angry or scared Quinn would do.. but catatonic Quinn was.. terrifying.

Santana had her head resting against the steering wheel and was desperately trying to calm herself down. She felt like.. she didn't know what she felt like but she knew she just wanted to go home to her Mami and Papi and just wake up already from this fucking nightmare. She missed them so much. She missed Brittany. She'd been pissed to find out that the girl wasn't graduating and had held the fact from her. She'd been lying about grades for months, turning down study sessions and just blowing off everything important to their escape from Lima. She'd been so angry, and she hadn't spoken to Brittany since their fight before graduation.. now she just wished she could talk to her. She wished she knew Brittany was okay.

Jesse came around to the drivers side of the Rav-4 and his sudden appearance startled Santana until she realized it was him, then she flung open the door and into his arms and let go. She cried so hard that it reminded her of her Abuela. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Would she ever get the chance to see her again? Would Abuela ever get the chance to see what a great person she'd become when finally she allowed herself to blossom? She lamented everything that she thought would never be repaired, the people she thought she'd never see again. Jesse lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the Rover so they could cry together.

Sam had tears streaming down his face, but he couldn't focus on that now. They were in an unknown area just outside the Detroit city limits, and they were not out of danger. He replaced Santana as driver of the Rav-4 while Mike took his place as driver of the Rover. They had to at least get to a state park or something, then they could shift around supplies and all curl up in one car together. As he pulled back into the lane, he glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Mike was following, then at Rachel, who looked back at him with tears streaming down her face as she clutched a whimpering Beth to her chest. Quinn seemingly ignored all of them.

—AiZ—

"You're taking this exceptionally well." Quinn said as her mother gaped at her newly pink head. "I mean, I figured you'd lecture me or.. demand I change it back or.. something"

Judy glared at her daughter. "You know Quinn, you're not convincing me that you're a mature young adult when you act out like this."

Quinn snickered."Come on Mom, its not so bad. I like it, and I promise I didn't do it just to get a rise out of you" she smiled, sitting down next to her mother. Judy had been reading in bed, waiting for Quinn to get home. Quinn had found a new group of friends over the summer who she said accepted her and helped her express herself. Quinn hadn't mentioned that the Skanks often went around vandalizing business buildings in downtown Lima, and enticing patrons to buy alcohol for them by giving them a show of two hot young girls making out. Quinn also neglected to mention her new smoking habit. Judy could smell it on her. She sighed.

"I get it Quinn—I've been doing the research you know—and I know what this is. You're testing me to see how far you can push before I betray your trust again. Honey, you've got to stop this. I let you hang out with those.. girls.. at first because the Google said that you needed a support group and its just you and me right now. I love you, honey, I promise I'm not going to turn my back on you again. I'm trying to regain your trust and give you some freedoms and a little independence, but if you keep pushing me I wont have a choice but to ground you.. and I haven't had to do that since you were thirteen." Judy smiled. "This is your home, Quinn. I'm your Mom. I'm sorry, and I know that will never be enough after what I allowed to happen, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to show you that I love you and support you from now on."

Quinn was motionless throughout her mother's speech and she stared at her until Judy finished with a smile. She blinked back her tears because dear God, she didn't know a person could cry so much. She inhaled harshly through her nose to calm herself and swallowed a lump in her throat before meeting her mother's patient eyes. "Okay," she said. "But I really do like this hair." She grinned.

"Are you sure you're not trying to get anyone else's attention?" Judy smirked. Quinn's eyes widened. "You know I talked to Dr. Berry the other night," she raised an eyebrow at Quinn, amused by her uncomfortable squirming "and he politely invited me to a show they're putting on at that theater downtown you've been loitering around. Seems his daughter Rachel has been there all summer, attending their acting camp."

When Quinn realized her mother was teasing her, she gave her a half smile. "She's been spending all her time with Finn, Mom. He picks her up like everyday after they let out.." she murmured, fixing her stare at the opposite wall.

Judy felt her heart soften for her love struck little puppy. She'd never seen Quinn like this except when she and Santana had fought over.. what did they—oh. Oh! Well, she hadn't seen her Quinnie like this in a while. Quinn was beautiful and smart, and such a sweetheart when she let people in. Judy just wanted her baby girl to be happy. She didn't need to be moping around all summer doing God knows what with those.. Sluts.. or whatever they're called.

"You used to tell us to call you 'The Amazing Quinnie', do you remember that?" Judy nudged her with her shoulder, and Quinn smiled.

"Yeah, I do. Santana and I watched David Blaine at a slumber party with Britt, and we were convinced we could do some of the tricks if we tried hard enough."

"You were. I remember you girls 'practing' your levitation skills" Judy teased.

Quinn snorted. "Yeah, that went well. Britt argued that we just weren't starting high enough and tried to jump from the tree house. Santana and I agreed that we needed to find something else to obsess over before Britt got seriously hurt."

Judy giggled and hugged Quinn into her side. "Maybe that was a tiny bit irresponsible of me to let you girls think you could... fly." Judy paused to form her words properly. "But at the moment, Quinnie, you believed that anything you set to do was possible. I'd seen that determined spark you get in your eye and I just moved out of the way. I thought to myself, maybe it just isn't possible for the rest of us... but The Amazing Quinnie might just find a way."

Quinn giggled at her mothers words. She was such a dork as a kid.

"I was happy your father worked late and never got the chance to interrupt your practices," Judy continued. "It was more important to me that you knew that anything was possible, Quinn, and it still is." She said as she looked seriously at her daughter. "You are still amazing. And just because you can't be with her now, doesn't mean you wont ever get your shot."

Quinn smiled. "But we never did learn to levitate."

Judy snorted. "Well you just admitted that you gave up trying."

Quinn laughed and buried her head in her Mom's shoulder. She was so greatful for this second chance that sometimes it felt unreal.

—AiZ—

Lakeport State Park was off their trail quite a ways, but they just wanted to rest and the GPS had directed them there and it felt far enough away from Detroit that they could relax a little easier. The fact that there was a military issued humvee at the entrance booth allowed them to breathe a little easier. The attendant Ranger assured them that the area had been quiet that week and that they should be alright, but to not let their guard down too far and to sleep safely in the vehicles. There were cabins on one side of the grounds, but they still didn't find much comfort in being too close to people. It felt almost like a western film, the air was tainted with lawlessness, hostility, and betrayal for survival; and anyone who wasn't a part of their group was suspect. They couldn't just go around handing out trust. Rookies mistakes like that got you robbed and left for dead.

Quinn could feel the weight of Rachel's body leaning against her. She lifted her arm to allow Rachel to curl into her body, and Rachel immediately did so. She buried her face into Quinn's neck and shifted Beth in between them so Quinn could feel her daughter pressing into her ribs. Beth frowned up at her and she looked down at her little face. She felt an intense shame for checking out on them, she ran her hand over Beth's head and placed a kiss a top Rachel's.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She sobbed. Rachel was crying again too.

Beth sensed their distress and stretched her tiny arms in an attempt to guide them into a group hug. "Its okay.. its okay Quinn and Waychoo.. stop crying." She whispered with the most sincere sad face neither of them had ever wanted to see on her.

They both squeezed her tiny body and she laid her head on Quinn's chest. She was okay now, and she wanted them both to be. She was also interested in continuing her nap, but she'd never admit that.

"I love you both so much," Quinn whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Please don't leave me again Quinn," Rachel whined. "I-I know you had to save us, but please.. there's.. we have to talk about it before you just take off and try to.. to sacrifice yourself!" she argued.

"I know. I'm sorry." Quinn repeated. "I cant promise that I wont do everything I can to protect us, Rachel, but.. I promise to at least consider less reckless strategies."

"Its okay Quinn" Beth repeated.

Quinn smiled down at her. "I know baby. It is okay. You're so wonderful, you know that?"

"Yes." Beth stated simply. Quinn couldn't help but giggle and kiss her head again. She really was a wonderful girl. And although the circumstances absolutely sucked she cherished the opportunity to see this wonderful little person more and more each day.

—AiZ—

They'd decided to spend the night at the campsite and continue their journey North the next morning. That night, they'd shifted all the supplies into the Rover and congregated in the cargo hold of the Rav-4. They each ate cold spaghetti O's out of a can and looked at their supplies with disdain at the fact that they would soon be getting low. No one wanted to entertain the idea of running into those things again. They'd hold off as much as possible, and maybe shit would get real when they couldn't avoid it anymore.

It was the first time, when Santana and Mike had plowed through the bodies. She was taking it much harder than he was, because it really hadn't hit him yet. But Santana had been quiet and glued to Jesse for the rest of the evening. She'd killed them. She'd ran them over like road kill. But isn't that kind of what they were? Just corpses?

They'd been so lucky to avoid them for so long. It had been three weeks. Three weeks of running and avoidance. But how long was that going to last? How long would they be emotional about it before their skin toughened, and they stopped questioning the humanity behind killing the undead? How long before Beth was acquainted with this insane new world they'd been fighting so hard to shield her from? Just.. how long?

Quinn couldn't do this anymore. They needed a plan. They needed to prepare themselves to survive this for the long haul. None of them would admit it but they'd all been hoping that this was just some sort of fluke situation that the government lost control over momentarily, but that they'd be back to fix it. Who knew what the hell was going on at that medical conference and if they'd found a cure. They needed answers. But first, they needed to accept this nightmare as their new reality. They had to, or it wouldn't be their lives anymore, because they'd cease to be alive. Quinn wasn't gonna give up this time. She'd finally gotten everything she'd wanted and she wasn't ready to let go.

"We need to protect ourselves better." Quinn stated in the dark. She was holding a dozing Beth on her chest. They were all packed in the Rav-4 like a can of pringles, but they felt better being close together. Quinn was in the middle because she needed to lie flat for her back—and so Beth could sleep comfortably on top of her—with Rachel and Sam on her left, and Mike, Santana, and Jesse on her right. They were all facing her.

"I agree." Sam said quietly. "We cant put ourselves in a position like that anymore."

"This might sound odd," Rachel murmured, her breath tickling Quinn neck. "But I think we should hit up a book store, or a library. There's a lot to be learned here and though our group is much more knowledgeable than any of us would be alone, we would benefit from extra research."

"We need a medical book." Mike added. "We need to know what to do should we need medical attention since we cant just dial 911 anymore."

"Okay," Quinn agreed. "What else?"

"We need melee weapons. And we need to learn to protect ourselves with our bodies in case we're ever unarmed." Sam said. "We need martial arts training videos or something."

"I took karate as a kid" Mike smiled. Quinn snorted and Rachel giggled.

"No you didn't," Rachel said, "we were in ballet with Britt when we were kids Michael."

"Why you gotta call me out like that Rach?" He whined. They all snickered. "I'm still pretty ninja though."

Quinn hummed. "Okay, so we need something practical like a few baseball bats, some self defense Dvds, and some health books. What else?"

"We need more clothes.." Santana whispered. Quinn reached an arm around Mike to touch her shoulder and encourage her. "We've all been wearing the same stuff over and over, with only two sets of clothing each. That could cause sanitary issues that we need to avoid."

They all agreed. Clothing might seem trivial but it was getting colder every day. Most of them had long sleeves and light jackets, but where they were headed that wouldn't be enough.

"Jesse? What do you think?" Quinn asked. He had been silent for the whole conversation.

Jesse swallowed against a knot that had built in his throat. "I'd like to offer my sincerest apologies to the group," he said softly but firmly, pulling Santana even closer into his chest. "It.. it was a mistake on my part to let my guard down so easily—"

"Jesse.."

"No, Rachel, please. Let me.. I have to apologize. Because of my neglect you risked your life Quinn. Santana had to.. be the first to experience a kill, and you Mike, did too. I put Mike and Sam in a situation that left them surrounded.. and I.. I'm the elder here. I'm supposed to have two years more common sense than the group and.. I let you down in a major way. I cant express how deeply my regret runs for my actions."

The group was silent before Quinn reached out to squeeze his hand. He was furthest away from her behind Santana, so she couldn't see his face. But she knew he was sincere, even though no one really blamed him.

She was curious though. "Where exactly did you go, Jesse?"

"I had to poop." He responded easily, causing the group to laugh at his expense. He didn't mind though, the were all alive with the ability to laugh, that's what was important.

"So we good then?" Sam asked when the group sobered.

"I think so." Quinn responded. "I know we need to get more rice, as many canned goods as possible, and you and Mike need better hunting gear. Maybe some books to improve your technique. We need more clothes, medical supplies and books, melee weapons and self defense Dvds. In fact, we need to pick up some regular Dvds too—we're human, and will need entertainment. We are lucky if this place really is solar electric." Quinn paused.

"We've covered food, health, self defense, and entertainment. What else are we forgetting?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, but that's a good start." Quinn replied. "When we touch base in Algonquin Woods tomorrow, we'll set up and get comfortable. After we make sure its safe and we can rest easy, we get to work. We'll set up our runs for what we need and go from there. Is that a plan?"

They all murmured in agreement before closing their eyes and trying to get some rest.

—AiZ—

Quinn couldn't feel.. much of anything. She knew she was lying down, and she was certain she could hear her mother's voice, but she hadn't yet opened her eyes. It almost felt like she was floating. She briefly wondered if she, Mack, and Santana had finally found a way to overdose on pot. They were working on their friendship and hanging out again, and Santana held her own with the Skanks. They actually really liked having her around, and Quinn was happy that she could spend her time surrounded by people who accepted her for who she was.. even if she hadn't figured that out completely yet.

She could hear the beeping of a machine. It reminded her of... wait... where was she?! She slowly fought to open her eyes and call out to her mother.

Judy had alerted the nurse as soon as she realized Quinn was awake. Quinn's hazel eyes were big and wet and imploring her for answers. She grabbed Quinn's hand and tried to reign in her tears, but a few rogue ones escaped onto her cheeks.

"You were in an accident honey. You're okay. Everything will be—" Judy was cut off by a sob the wrenched its way through her throat. They'd been through so much together the past few months and Judy desperately wanted to know if they'd get a reprieve. Quinn was growing up but she was still her baby girl, and Judy had to watch her suffer time and time again like a tragic character in a poorly written soap opera. She could barely hold herself together but she would. For Quinn. "Everything will be okay. You suffered a bit of damage but the doctor will be here to explain the next steps and we'll fix it, okay?"

Quinn just nodded and stared sadly into her mothers eyes. She wondered just how much she'd aged her mother recently. How much more would she put the woman through before she regretted letting Quinn back in? "I'm so sorry, Mom."

Judy's grip tightened slightly on Quinn's hand at the guilty tone. "Honey, no. Why are you apologizing? This was an accident. It wasn't your fault." She placed a kiss on the back of Quinn's hand. "Please Quinn, just get some rest honey, everything will be okay"

Quinn's doctor came and ran a few tests to check Quinn's vitals and explained the situation. He explained that Quinn had been hit by a truck on her blind side. The impact caused damage to her lower spinal column leaving her in temporary paralysis of her lower extremities. He talked to them about treatment options and physical therapy, but Quinn hadn't been able to focus on the state of her own body. She was too busy worrying about Rachel.

She had been on her way to visit a distraught Rachel so that she could find out what was wrong and comfort her. Rachel had called her extremely upset about something and her fathers couldn't help calm her down. She was talking to her on her cell as she drove through a heavy downpour to get to the girl. Then.. she got hit.

"Mom, where's Rachel?" She asked.

"I'm sure she's on her way honey, it took me a while to contact her fathers and its storming harshly outside. We're in Columbus, because your father requested you be sent here." Judy said, watching for Quinn's reaction.

"Daddy? What... why? Where is he?"

"He was here earlier.. but he left, honey. I'm sorry.."

"Its.. fine. I'm surprised he came at all." Quinn sighed.

"Honey, I know he has a very terrible way of showing it, and refuses to acknowledge his mistakes.. but he does cares about you, Quinnie." Judy said. Her eyes were pleading with Quinn to believe her but she knew it was unlikely she would.

The moment was interrupted by a nurse announcing that Quinn had more visitors and that she'd send them in. Quinn didn't have to look up to know that Rachel was the first to enter the room, followed by Santana and Mrs. Lopez, the Berry men, and Shelby.

"Quinn.." Rachel spoke softly with tears in her eyes.

Quinn simply opened her arms and let Rachel—gently—fall into them. She felt Santana sit next to them on the hospital bed, careful of all the cords and plugs, and she allowed herself to soak in this room full of people who loved her and were concerned about her. Her heart felt full and warm, even as her chest ached to breathe.

A/N: I had a family emergency which I had to fly home for and stay with my grandmother for a while. When I asked if she had WiFi in her apartment building, she responded "What is WiFi?"..in case you were wondering what took so long, haha. Everything's all gravy now though and I'm home so AiZ continues.

I have a question though. I'm working on the sequel still and Russel plays a huge part in it. I like trying to redeem Russel in fic, so what do you think? Should he be a villain in the end or a good guy?

Thanks for reading. :)