"They've been in there for a while," Sam said to his wife, finally breaking the ten minute silence that had fallen on the space in the car. "Should we do something? I mean, should we go in there or something?"

"And risk getting caught in the middle of whatever it is Rachel and Santana got themselves into? No way. I'm thinking we leave and head back to Lima. They all need to work out their problems and the only way they're going to do that is if forced," Quinn replied, her eyes narrowing at the door to the bar they were parked in front of.

"That's kinda cold, babe," Sam laughed out. "Who's to say Rachel and Santana won't leave the guys here?"

"And who's to say they won't make up?" she asked smartly in return. At his skeptical look, she put on the one smile she knew he was never able to resist and reached a hand over to rub up and down his thigh. "Besides, it would give us a night free of all the drama going on. No Finn or Puck showing up to sleep on the couch; no Rachel and Santana wanting a girls' night in. Just you, me, some candles …" she trailed off, her fingernail tracing an obscure patter high on his thigh. "And I'll give you a behind the scenes look at what Victoria's Secret really is."

Sam stared at his wife for a moment before gulping and throwing the truck into drive.

He silently apologized to Puck and Finn as he drove away as fast as possible considering the number of police cars that were in the area.

-x-

"I'll catch a ride with Sam, Kurt and Quinn over to the station," Finn said as he gripped Rachel's hand tightly as they exited the bar shortly after Puck had been carted off in a police cruiser. "I'll explain everything to them and we can meet you over there."

"But …" Rachel whined, her hand tightening its hold on his. "But I don't … we …"

"I know, baby," Finn said as he turned to face her. "You and me? We'll talk this out after we get the idiot out of jail. But we're going to be fine." He paused to brush some hair back from her face and tuck it behind her ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied as she lifted up onto her toes and pressed her lips against his. "You're my hero for coming out here tonight," she continued with another kiss. "But I'm still mad at you."

Finn sighed and shut his eyes, his chin falling down to knock against his chest. "Figured as much."

Her eyes scanned the road and saw nothing but the two remaining police cars. "Did Sam and Quinn go to park somewhere to wait for you?" she asked with an arched brow.

"Nah," he responded as his eyes swiveled around, his eyes traveling the street quickly. "They're right …" His eyes fell on the empty space where he knew Sam had stopped his truck. He was about to wonder aloud where on earth they could have gone when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Sorry, dude. Q promised to make it worth my while. Good luck, man.

"That stupid fuck," Finn muttered.

"What's wrong now?" Santana asked as she joined the Hudsons and handed Rachel her purse.

"Sam and Quinn took off. He betrayed me and Puck for a booty call."

"Don't even pretend you haven't done the same thing on more than one occasion," Rachel pointed out.

"Never when someone was in jail," Finn stressed.

Santana took that moment to appear at their sides. "Well, there's no use just …"

"Ma'am?" a voice called over Santana's shoulder.

"One minute," she said without turning around. "There's no use dicking around …"

"Excuse me, Miss Lopez?"

"I said in a minute," she responded, her back still to the other person. "We need to go …"

"Santana Lopez?" the young man insisted.

"What?" Santana asked sharply as she turned around to come face to face with some rookie officer. "Listen, Gomer. I'm trying to have a grown-up conversation with my adult friends. Go sit on the curb and I'll be with you in a few minutes." She rolled her eyes and turned back to Finn and Rachel. She was about to continue with their conversation when she felt her hands being pulled behind her back. "…the fuck?"

"Santana Lopez, you're under arrest," the young man stated as he cuffed Santana.

"What the fuck for?" she asked as she struggled to get away from her arresting officer.

"Well, why don't we start with resisting arrest and see what else we can come up with?" the young officer smiled as he turned the struggling Latina towards his squad car. "Ma'am. Sir," he added to Rachel and Finn with a genial smile as he walked away with a cussing and wriggling Santana in his custody.

And that was how Santana Lopez was arrested on a Saturday night in Dayton.

-x-

Thirty seven minutes later, Santana had been booked for Public Intoxication and Resisting Arrest and thrown into a holding cell.

"I'm nowhere near fucking drunk!" she shouted to anyone who would listen to her. "I'd have a hell of a lot less clothes on if I was drunk!"

"I can attest to that," a voice mumbled behind her.

When she turned she saw that she and Puck were in the same holding cell. And they were the only ones in this particular cell. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Cool your shit, Lopez. I promise I won't fucking talk to you. Jesus. You think I fucking asked for your ass to be thrown in here with me? They must have known I'd try to fucking off myself with just you in here to keep me company until Sam and Q get here to bail me the fuck out."

"Newsflash, tough guy. Sam and Quinn took the fuck off and left you and Finn hangin'. Someone's gettin' laid right now while you're rotting away in jail. Again," she added snarkily as she dropped onto a bench and crossed her arms.

"Newsflash yourself, princess. Your ass is in here too," he shot back.

"What happened to you not talking to me?" she asked through her teeth, her back to him.

"You're the one who won't shut the fuck up," he spat.

"What are you in second grade?" she asked with a sneer as she swiveled to face him. "You're going with the she started it defense?"

"Speaking of defenses, at least now if they actually let you become a lawyer with your newly-minted criminal background you'll be able to commiserate with your undoubtedly high-paying clients because you've been there."

"God. You're such a fucking dick."

"Kinda makes you wonder why you've stayed with me for this long," Puck mused as he reclined back against the wall.

"Shut up. We're not talking about it."

"Fine with me," Puck shrugged. "But that's really the only thing I'm willing to talk about right now. So if we're not going to talk about yesterday's shit fest, then you can shut the fuck up and not say another damn word to me." And then he closed his eyes.

The motherfucker. Closed. His. Eyes.

Santana was ready to scream.

Where the fuck were Finn and Rachel and the bail money for her?

-x-

As soon as the door to the hotel room was closed, Finn pressed Rachel (gently) against the wall and brought his lips back to hers.

Thirty two hours was way too long for him to have not felt his wife's lips against his.

"Finn," Rachel panted out as his lips moved down her neck. "Finn, we need to go bail out Santana and Puck."

"Later," he promised as his fingers began to unbutton her cardigan. "I've missed you."

"I'm still mad at you," she protested weakly.

"I know, baby," he whispered against her collar bone. "I know you are and I know you think I deserve it. But right now, I need you and I know you need me. I can see it in your eyes. So let's just, I don't know, pause for a minute. Or an hour. However long. Because I missed you and I need you and I love you."

"Okay," she breathed out as her fingers moved to the bottom of his shirt to pull it over his head. "But as soon as we're done we're getting dressed and I'm going to be mad at you again."

"Deal," Finn responded as he lifted his wife into his arms and moved as quickly as possible towards the bed.

-x-

This was probably one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to him.

Sam and Quinn hadn't even made it to Huber Heights before they had to pull off and find a Holiday Inn Express.

Which is how Kurt found himself in a tacky hotel bar called Zazz, a dirty martini in his hand and crappy, drunken karaoke as his current soundtrack.

If he didn't need a ride back to Lima so badly he would so not be there.

He brought his glass up to his lips as his eyes surveyed the room.

Straight. Straight. Taken. Straight. Creepy. Old.

… Hello, gorgeous.

That he could work with.

He slowly slid from his stool and made his way over to Tall, Dark and Handsome. The man had his back to him and it was all Kurt could do to keep himself from "Pulling a Puckerman" and whistling like some dog in heat.

He tried a million different lines in his head ranging from offensively bad ("Are you pants made of mirrors because I can totally see myself in them") to downright awful ("Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see!") and he dismissed them right off the bat.

He was about to surrender to the gods of poor social skills when Tall, Dark and Handsome turned around.

"Well, as I live and breathe. If it isn't Kurt Hummel."

"Holy shit," Kurt muttered to himself, eyes wide. "Jesse. Jesse St. James."

-x-

As soon as Finn helped Rachel finish dressing, she crossed her arms and glared at him. "Time in."

Finn sighed and hung his head. "Rach, baby, I know you're angry with me for taking Puck's side and I know you're angry at my reasoning and … I just know, okay? But I don't think he was wrong for telling her."

"It's not that he told her, Finn," she said as calmly as she could. "It was that he knew she wasn't ready for it and he shouted it at her."

"She wasn't listening to him."

"Is that what you think?" she asked him softly, her brow furrowing. "That he was trying to tell her that he loved her and she was, what, dismissing him? Talking over him?" She shook her head. "That's not what happened at all. I don't know how it started," she continued, "but I know that it somehow escalated into Noah yelling at her that they were in a relationship and her admitting that she did want a family with him … eventually … and him screaming at her that he loved her and he wanted to marry her. She was already so keyed up and then that? He knew what it would do to her, Finn. She's just … she's scared," she said softly. "She doesn't know what to do with the intense feelings she's having and, you know, Noah's always said he was never getting married. She didn't want to tell him that she wanted that with him and then have him bolt. Because, let's face it, Finn, we both know that if it wasn't on his terms, that would've been a completely real situation."

Finn stared at his wife for a long moment, completely shocked at what she had told him. Sure, he and Puck never really talked about what had happened, but Puck made it seem like Santana just wouldn't listen. And maybe that's the way his best friend felt about the whole thing, but Rachel was an outside observer. She had seen what went down and wasn't one of the two people truly involved.

"I just … I thought it was her being stubborn," he admitted softly.

"Part of it was," she responded in the same tone. She reached up and pressed her palm gently against his cheek. "She's not completely innocent in this whole mess either. But he scared her yesterday and she lashed out. Like she always does. She told me …" she took a deep breath. "I cannot believe I'm about to betray the Sisterhood," she muttered to herself. She took a deep breath and looked back into her husband's eyes. "She told me she knew he loved her for a while and she knew she's in love with him but she was afraid to tell him because …" she took another deep breath, tears in her eyes and said, "because it would give him the power to hurt her. And you know San. She always does anything and everything possible not to get hurt. She said if she didn't give him her heart he couldn't break it."

"But if she doesn't give it to him he can't protect it either," Finn responded as the back of his fingers ghosted over her cheek.

"I know," she nodded as a tear slid down her cheek. "I just want them to be happy."

"I know, baby," he responded. "So do I." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

A few minutes of silence passed before he whispered, "Is the fight over now?"

She giggled wetly and nodded. "Yes, Finn. The fight is over now."

.xo.

Dedicated especially to tjcrowfoot and egyouppt. I know you're both having a rough time but know that I love you and am here for you no matter what. You're amazing friends and, honestly, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be writing. –hugs. kisses. pds. (and yes, that stands for exactly what you think it does.)-

"The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. " ~ Unknown

You're both nuts but I'm completely certain that when all is said and done, you'll be great oaks. And Cory and I will have picnics in your shade. (Too much?)