Judith, it turned out, was just as glad to get off the boat as Amy was. The disappointment of finding empty island after empty island was getting to her. After they left the last island, she broke down into tears in her cabin while the captain brought the boat back to land.

Amy realized her mother wasn't dealing with this. She wasn't strong enough to take control of the search anymore.

But Amy was. When she, Hiram, and her mother reached land, Amy pulled her phone out, glad to finally have service again. She called the one person she knew would be able to help them out—the one person she knew could fly a plane and who wanted to find her brother as much as she did.

"Hello?"

"Finn," Amy breathed into the phone, walking away from her mother who was being helped off the boat by Hiram. The plan was to head back to Rachel and Puck's house to regroup and replan before heading back out on the search—this time by plane, however.

"Amy?" Finn asked, feeling a bit confused. Why would Puck's younger sister be calling him? He and Puck had been best friends up until the plane crash where Puck had stolen his girlfriend, Rachel. Finn didn't resent him for it anymore, of course, but the two hadn't spoken in years.

After graduating high school, Finn married Quinn before enlisting in the army. They had a daughter, Kelly, a few years later. Kelly was nine now, soon to be ten.

Quinn had left Finn three years ago for a bartender she met on a cruise ship. She'd run off to Bermuda with him, leaving Finn and Kelly alone in Lima. Finn had gotten injured two years prior when the jeep he was driving in Iran hit a mine and blew up. He survived, but lost his left leg in the accident. Finn had been in rehab for months and Quinn had been supportive right up until she left.

"Yeah, hi," she said, chewing on her fingernails as Hiram helped Judith into a cab, waving Amy over. She nodded once, holding up a finger to indicate she'd be a moment. "So, uh, how are you?"

"I'm fine, but I'm getting the feeling you didn't call me to catch up. I mean, I don't even remember the last time I saw you. You must have still been in middle school," he said, laughing a little.

Amy bit her lip. "I don't know if you saw the news recently but—"

"Yeah. I'm sorry about your brother. I know I didn't call before but—"

"Finn, stop. Please. I'm not calling to yell at you or anything like that. I know you and my brother kind of had a falling out when he stole your girlfriend after saving her life and ended up marrying her. I'm calling because I need your help, Finn."

"My help?" he asked. "With what?"

"Finding them. They're alive, Finn. I just know they are. We've been searching, but going by boat isn't helping. I need someone who can fly a plane, and I remember your mother saying something about you learning to fly after your accident."

"Amy, that's just a hobby. I don't know if I'm the best—"

"Finn, I'm desperate," Amy said, her voice breaking. "I've been stuck on a boat for almost a month with my insane mother and one of Rachel's fathers. I haven't been able to call or text anyone this whole time. My boyfriend and I broke up because I quit school to go on this crazy search for my brother and his wife. I'm losing my grip on life, Finn. Please. I need you."

Finn looked over at his daughter who was sitting on the couch in their living room watching a movie. The closest thing he had to a brother was Kurt, and he knew he'd go to the end of the earth to find him if he disappeared.

"Alright," he said into the phone. "I'll help. Just give me a few days to get things taken care of here. I'll meet you in LA at Puck's house on Friday. I'll take care of everything, don't worry. Just stay strong, Amy. We'll find them. I promise."

xxxxx

Puck woke up the next morning to a pair of lips placing light kisses along his shoulder and neck. He turned his head to the side, opening his eyes a little as he saw Rachel lean her head down, placing another soft kiss underneath his ear.

He rolled onto his back, startling her a little. "Morning," he greeted, a grin on his face. Puck clearly remembered last night, how Rachel had let him kiss her, then slept in his arms all night with just her bra and panties on. High school Puck would have talked Rachel out of her panties, but grown up Puck knew it was a bad idea. He still didn't know where he and Rachel stood, and adding sex to the mix would just complicate things.

Rachel took a seat on his chest, her tank top back on her body. He spotted her cut offs over to the left, though they still looked soaking wet. She leaned her head down, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Morning," she giggled, her hands resting below his shoulders.

This Rachel right here, this was the Rachel he fell in love with. The fun, giggly Rachel who was fun. The one who was carefree and woke him up by kissing him and sitting on his chest. He wasn't sure when that Rachel had disappeared, but she had. Puck hadn't seen her in years, yet now she was back. He wasn't sure if it was the almost dying or being stuck on an island with only one other person that had caused her to re-emerge, but he wasn't complaining.

Puck sat up a little, placing a hand behind Rachel's neck and pulled her face close to his, capturing her lips in a gentle yet long kiss. Of course, they both had morning breath, but neither seemed to care at the moment. Rachel's eyes closed as she kissed her husband and her hands rested on either side of his face as she enjoyed the moment.

Puck was the one who broke the kiss, eventually pulling back to look at her. If he was being perfectly honest, she was a mess. Her hair was tangled and sticking up every which way. The makeup she had put on last night was now smeared on her face, giving her the appearance of a deranged raccoon. She smelled like a cross between a wet dog and a foot, and her breath was a tad offensive.

She'd never looked more beautiful.

Puck wrapped his arms around her waist as he sat in the sand with Rachel in his lap. She rested her chin atop his shoulder, her arms around his neck. Her chest was pressed against his and he could feel her heart beating slowly. He smiled, pressing his face into her hair ever so slightly.

"We should probably head back to camp soon," he murmured, feeling quite content where he was. "I'm sure you must be hungry—we didn't really get much of a dinner last night," he added, his thumbs drawing circles on Rachel's hip.

"Mm, yeah," she breathed, turning her face to the side as she started kissing over Puck's shoulder once again. "I am hungry," she whispered into his ear, her tongue running over the lobe as she pulled away.

Puck had no idea what had gotten into Rachel right now. She had really decided to actively try and win him back instead of letting him do all the work. The fact that he was being pursued instead of the opposite was…well, it was pretty hot if he was being totally honest.

Puck let his hands slide up under the back of her shirt, his fingers tracing the contours of her spine as they inched up, eventually reaching her shoulder blades. Naturally, Rachel had lost a lot of weight since they'd crashed. There wasn't much to eat, and even with the fish and the boar, both of them were eating a lot less than they were used to. Puck could feel the bumps of her vertebrae sticking out of her back, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't just make food appear, but he knew he'd have to cut his meals a little to make sure Rachel got enough to eat. After all, it was his job to keep her alive.

Puck pulled her in close, kissing along the side of her neck as she let out a small laugh, his beard tickling her skin. Without a razor or shaving cream, Puck had been unable to maintain certain aspects of his physical appearance. The result of that was a bit of facial hair on his chin. At home, Rachel would have complained—she liked it when he was shaved and smooth. But here? Well, she seemed to be enjoying it, actually.

"I like your beard," she whispered seductively in his ear, her hands running down his back. "It's sexy."

"Well, that's something I never thought I'd hear you say," he muttered into her skin, his lips moving across her neck until they'd reached the hollow of her throat. Puck knew he needed to stop while he was ahead or he'd do something he'd regret later, so he reluctantly pulled away.

Rachel pouted at him, seemingly offended that he'd pulled away when she was so obviously willing. Puck stood up, his arms still around her. He set her on her feet before turning away, grabbing his shorts from the ground.

He pulled them on, buttoning them. They were still pretty wet, but he wasn't about to walk half an hour in his boxers, even if they were the only ones here. Puck found his shirt on the ground and pulled it over his head as Rachel dusted the sand off her cut offs. They both pulled their shoes on before he turned back to Rachel.

"Want a ride back?"

She looked at him, confused by his statement. She didn't see how he was supposed to give her a ride back. It wasn't as if he was in a car or had a bike, but when she saw him bend his knees a bit and offer his back to her, she grinned, getting what he meant.

She laughed, jumping onto his back. Rachel wrapped her arms loosely around his neck as he grabbed onto her legs, hooking them with his arms. They left the beach the way it was, both of them knowing they'd be returning in the near future. Puck made a mental note that he'd have to travel back here alone and build a small shelter when Rachel was sleeping.

It was then that he thought of the fire back at their camp. Well, it was definitely out now. The rain would have taken care of it. Well, he supposed it was worth it. He and Rachel's relationship was still up in the air, but it was getting back on the right track now. Her head resting on the back of his neck was proof of that.

On the way back, Rachel kept going on and on how she wanted to explore the island more. They'd been here for weeks, yet they'd only seen a small part of the island. Puck tried protesting, but Rachel brought up the fact that if she hadn't gone exploring the other day, she would have never found the beach.

That shut Puck right up.

He finally agreed that they'd go exploring later once they'd eaten a little, but only if they stayed together. Even though nothing had happened to her when she went out on her own, he still didn't feel comfortable with her walking around the island on her own with no one there to protect her.

Rachel, obviously, took offense to that, but she was slightly touched. No, she didn't like being seen as someone who was weak and needed to be protected, but the fact that Puck cared that much about her brought a smile to her face.

When Rachel and Puck made it back to camp, the sun was rising a bit more in the sky. Puck bent down to make it easier for Rachel to climb off his back. The fire was definitely out, no smoke even rising from it. The fire had wrecked the logs that had been there, meaning Puck was going to need to get some more before he could restart the fire and cook them some food.

"Well, I'm going to brush my teeth and rinse off while you do that," Rachel said, walking towards the suitcase in search of a new set of clothes to change into. "No use to have both of us smelling like a foot with offensive breath."

Puck gave her a look before letting out a laugh. He watched Rachel grab one of the few pairs of shorts she had packed along with another tank top. He saw the lacy frill that belonged to one of her pairs of underwear and shook his head. "Don't forget your knife," he reminded her. "You keep forgetting it and I'm not going to let you go anywhere alone anymore," he teased.

"You act like I would actually listen to you. I'm a lot tougher than you give me credit for," she said, running her hand over his shoulder as she walked past him. "I won't be long," she called before disappearing into the jungle.

"Remember, no shampoo today!" he called after her, unable to keep the smile off his face. This wasn't even low level flirting, but it felt like the way things used to be. They used to tease each other mercilessly all the time. Puck thought that over as he started collecting some dry logs from the edge of the jungle, assembling them in a pile after clearing the wet, used ones away, leaving them in a pile. He'd toss them later.

He went about finding some tall grass and dried palm leaves to use to help start the fire, not finding much. Everything seemed to still be drenched or destroyed from the rain the night before. Normally, he'd be regretting leaving the camp in the first place, but it was totally worth it. He couldn't regret that.

Noah went about finding some smaller sticks he could use to actually start the fire, finding a few dry ones buried beneath piles of leaves a little further in the jungle. He was about to head back to the beach and start the fire so he could also rinse off (and maybe catch a glimpse of Rachel getting out of the water at the same time), but Rachel's scream stopped that.

He froze where he stood, instantly regretting letting her go into the jungle on her own. It was only because he was feeling so high after their night together that he even agreed to that in the first place. She wasn't tough enough to brave the jungle on her own, even if she had found that beach without him. She needed him to protect her.

Dropping the wood in his hands, Puck turned, sprinting the path that lead to the lake in the middle of the jungle. He hadn't heard Rachel scream again, but maybe that was because she was too hurt to scream. He picked up the pace, making it to the lake in record time.

Where he found Rachel standing in the shallow part of the lake, topless.

Rachel stared at him for a moment before letting out an embarrassed sound, dropping into the water, her hands covering her chest under the water. "Noah, what are you doing here?" she asked, her face bright red already.

"But…you…I heard you scream," he said, looking off to the side, though his eyes kept going back to her…and her naked body hiding beneath the cook water.

"Hey, don't think I don't see you trying to sneak a peek, perve," she teased, gesturing for him to turn around. He obliged, hearing a gentle splash as she climbed out of the water. He gave her privacy as she changed, then turned back as she was pulling her shirt over her head. "It was more of a yell. I jumped into the lake and I was excited is all. Why, did you think I was hurt?"

"I—"

"You so did! Ugh, you don't think I can do anything on my own," she protested, bending over to pull her sneakers on, tying the laces as she kept her eyes on the ground. "You're going to have to trust me enough to let me clean up on my own, you know. You're acting like an overprotective father, which is doing the opposite of turning me on, you know."

"I wasn't aware it was my job to spend all day turning you—Rachel, look out!" Puck leapt forward, pushing her down and to the side, causing her to fall to the ground. She was about to lay into him for pushing her over, but she didn't.

Puck was being pushed back into a tree by a very large boar, complete with two sharp tusks protruding from his snout. Puck was bigger than the boar, but he'd been caught off guard, too busy pushing Rachel out of the way to save himself.

Rachel watched helplessly from the ground as Puck was slammed into the tree. She winced as she saw the boar maul Puck, his tusks disappearing before reappearing a moment later, bright red.

"Hey!" she shouted, distracting the boar for a moment. She pulled the knife Puck had made her out of the back of her shorts, flinging it through the air. It buried itself in the boar's neck, causing the animal to let out a loud, pained squeal. Not giving it a moment to recover, Rachel printed over to the animal, yanking the knife out of him before reaching around, slitting the boar's throat. She used her foot to push the dead animal away as Puck groaned, falling to the jungle floor, his back propped against the tree.

Rachel, her hands covered in blood, wanted to throw up over what she'd just done. She'd never killed anything like that before. She'd fished, but never actually slaughtered a living creature. But now wasn't the time. Rachel fell to her knees, pushing Puck's hands away from his abdomen. She pulled his shirt open, gasping ad the deep gash along his side. It was bleeding, but luckily wasn't gushing blood.

She doubted he'd appreciate hearing that, however. Puck was groaning in pain, trying to push Rachel's hands away.

"Noah, stop!" she scolded, gripping the help of her tank top as she pulled it over her head. "I have to stop the bleeding." She pressed the tank top into the wound, causing him to let out a yell of pain. "I don't have anything here. I'm going to have to leave you and head back to the beach for—"

"No, don't leave me," Puck groaned, unable to move due to the pain and blood loss.

Rachel kneeled in front of him, dressed in just her shorts and a bra. She placed her hands on either side of his face, causing a bit of the boar's blood to get on his cheeks. "I have to. You can't do the saving all the time. It's my turn now." Puck was struck when he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. Rachel pulled his face close, pressing her lips to his for a moment. "I'll be right back, I promise," she whispered, standing up. "Please, don't die," she said before turning her back to him, sprinting away from him and in the direction of the jungle, hoping she'd find him there when she returned.

Rachel didn't even look around as she ran through the jungle, determined to make it back to the camp and head back to Noah as fast as she could. She broke through the trees, stumbling onto the beach. Rachel skidded into the sand, knocked off her feet for a moment. She got up, sprinting over to the suitcase.

She fell to her knees, pulling out her makeup bag, as well as a few more shirts. She grabbed a few of their homemade canteens before heading back into the jungle, running as fast as she could towards where she had left Noah.

Luckily, he seemed to still be alive and awake, though he was moaning loudly with pain. Rachel, gasping for air, dumped the supplies on the ground beside him.

"Rach," Puck moaned, glancing at what she had brought. "I don't think clothes and lipstick is going to help me right now."

"Well, I see getting injured hasn't stopped you from being a smart ass," she quipped, shooting him a look that was a mix of worry and annoyance. She pulled the top off one of the canteens, pulling the shirt off his wound before pouring water on it, attempting to clean it off.

"Fuck! That hurts!" he shouted, his head slamming back against the tree.

"You already have a deep cut on your side. Let's not try and add a brain injury to the mix," Rachel commented, pulling out a container of alcohol pads she used to remove makeup. She pulled one out, using it to clean off her hands. She bit her lip, looking up at Noah. "This is going to hurt," she warned before taking another one, wiping around the cut.

Rachel almost blushed at the language he was using. His hands were balled into fists and were slamming into the ground. Rachel worked as fast as she could, but it was hard to see with the blood that was still pooling out of the wound. She wanted to stitch it up, but she needed to get it to stop bleeding first.

"Okay, I'm going to pack it with some clothes for now and hope that will help stop the bleeding. I'll try and sew it up later," she said, taking a new shirt of hers before pressing it into the wound.

Puck winced in pain. "Sew it up?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I'm not just going to leave that thing open. It'll get infected, and without an actual doctor here, you'll die." Rachel took one of Noah's shirts, tearing it in half before wrapping it around his waist, using it to keep her shirt pressed into his wound.

"Well nurse Rachel, I never knew you knew so much about health," Puck taunted.

"I don't. That's common sense, stupid." Rachel picked up the shirt that had been in his side before, putting it back on. The thing was covered in blood, but it was better than going around dressed in just a bra and shorts. "We should get you back to the beach so you can lie down and rest for a bit. Here," she said, bending down and placing his arm over her shoulders. "I'll help you."

"Rach, I'm too heavy for you. It's fine. I'll…I'll just stay here."

"What, so you can get attacked by another boar who's avenging his step-mother or whatever? I don't think so. Stop underestimating me and just listen to me," she said, a bit of force behind her voice. Puck arched his eyebrows, surprised at how she was acting. Nevertheless, he obeyed, putting his arm over her shoulders.

He was even more stunned as Rachel easily helped him to his feet. That, of course, caused a whole new round of pain. He much preferred sitting on the ground to standing and being forced to walk.

"When'd you get so strong, shortie?" he teased.

"Please. I go to the gym five times a week. Do you think I'm there just watching other people work out? I don't want to be this little girl people take advantage of. I want to be able to actually stick up for and defend myself."

Puck smiled a little, surprised by this new Rachel he was discovering. If she'd hidden this, who knew what other secrets she was keeping from him. Puck considered that thought as she helped him back to the beach, in pain the whole way.

AN: Thanks for all your reviews guys! This chapter was getting a bit long, so sorry if the end seems kind of just thrown on there. Hope you like it so far. Feel free to let me know what you love and what you hate!