Chapter 10 – Only Human

"Did you really like it?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Quinn said with a light laugh. "Why don't you believe me?"

"I do," Rachel replied, and Quinn raised her eyebrow. "Okay, it's not that I think you're lying, but maybe you don't want to hurt my feelings."

"Rachel, the restaurant was good," Quinn said, taking the brunette's hand. "It's not a place I would have thought to go, but I really liked it."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

Quinn laughed. "Yes, and don't ask me again."

"Okay," Rachel said, smiling back. "How about a walk through the park? I thought maybe we could stop by that ice cream shop on the other side before we go home."

"Sounds perfect," Quinn answered.

"I've been thinking," Rachel said as they entered the park. "This is the last week of Glee before winter break and I think we should do a duet for the assignment. It's been far too long since I last sang with you and I think it would be an excellent way to close out this year."

Quinn shrugged. "Okay."

"You agreed to that very quickly," Rachel commented.

"While I'm not a huge fan of performing in front of everyone, I do like to sing with you," Quinn stated.

Rachel pulled Quinn to a stop and tugged on her hand until they were face to face. "You like singing with me?"

"I like doing everything with you," Quinn replied as Rachel's arms wrapped around the back of her neck. "That shouldn't come as a surprise."

"Come with me," Rachel said, grinning up at Quinn.

"Where are we going?" the blonde asked as Rachel grabbed her hand again.

"You'll see," Rachel replied, looking over her shoulder at Quinn, and pulling her along.

Quinn quit asking questions and let Rachel lead her wherever she was taking her. She walked along the path for a few seconds before veering off, toward the trees at the edge of the park. Normally Quinn would have protested—you never knew what was going to be hiding in the woods in that town—but it was still daylight out, so she didn't think they were in much danger. Plus, she really wanted to see what Rachel had in mind.

"What are yo—"

Quinn was cut off when Rachel crashed their lips together. Rachel's hands landed on her hips while Quinn buried her hands on her girlfriend's long, dark hair. It only took a few seconds for Rachel to run her tongue along Quinn's bottom lip, wanting access. Quinn happily granted it and their tongues instantly found each other and tangled together.

Rachel hands began to wander after only a few seconds, making their way up Quinn's shirt, and landing on her stomach. Her nails gently scratched Quinn's skin before she laid them flat and began pushing Quinn backwards. A few moments later, Quinn's back hit a tree and Rachel's hands continued their progress upward. Part of Quinn knew she should stop Rachel—a wooded area next to a park was definitely not the place to do this—but the other part of her didn't care.

A few moments later, Quinn maneuvered them, so Rachel was the one with her back against the tree. Rachel's hands were stilled between them as Quinn leaned into her, giving the brunette no room to move. Quinn took Rachel's bottom lip between her teeth, causing her girlfriend to moan. Rachel pushed her back slightly, breaking their kiss, and trailed her hands the rest of the way up, stopping when her fingertips hit the bottom of Quinn's bra.

Quinn swallowed thickly at the look in Rachel's eyes. She seemed to be seeing that look more and more from the brunette, and she knew exactly what it meant. If Rachel was anything like her, she knew she was going to go crazy if they didn't do something about this soon. Lately, a simple kiss would quickly turn into something more, and the only thing that usually stopped them from going further was that they were always in the wrong place. Just like right now. Quinn wanted their first time to be special and she wasn't going to do it in the middle of the woods or a cemetery or the training room.

"We have to stop," Quinn said, putting her hands over Rachel's to make sure they didn't go even further up.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"You know why," Quinn husked.

"Let's gone home, then," Rachel suggested.

"I thought you wanted ice cream," Quinn said.

"I don't care about ice cream," Rachel replied.

"Is Leroy there?" Quinn asked.

Rachel shook her head with a smile. "He said not to expect him home until late. So, what do you say?"

"I say let's go home," Quinn said, smiling softly back.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Quinn said, craning her neck to the side to see if she could see anything beyond the car in front of her

There were a few cars stopped, including one police car. There were, however, quite a few people standing around, and they were all looking at something. Whatever it was, though, Quinn knew it couldn't possibly be anything good. Not with the police there and such a large crowd gathered.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked when Quinn began to pull to the side of the road.

"I'm going to see if I can find out anything," Quinn replied. "I have a bad feeling about this." Quinn put her car in park and looked at Rachel. "Do you want to wait here?"

Rachel shook her head and said, "I'm coming with you."

Quinn turned off the engine and pulled her keys out of the ignition before looking around for her bag. She didn't think she was going to need it—she hoped not, at least—but she figured it was better to be safe than sorry. She grabbed it from the back seat just as Rachel stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her, and waiting for Quinn at the front of the car. Quinn quickly checked inside her bag to make sure she had everything she could possibly need and then joined Rachel outside.

"What do you think it could be?" Rachel asked, standing on her tippy toes as she tried to look above the ground.

"This is Lima," Quinn stated. "It could be anything."

"I can't wait to be able to move out of this town," Rachel said, sighing.

"Yeah," Quinn whispered.

She knew it was unlikely that she would ever be able to leave. It was on the Hellmouth, after all, and the town needed a Slayer. And considering she was the one and only Slayer in the world, the only way she would ever get out of the town was if she died. Rachel often talked about her future in New York City as if she had no doubt that's where she would end up, but Quinn also knew her own future just as well as Rachel did. She was going to be stuck in Lima for the rest of her life, fighting evil, until the day she died. Rachel always included her when she talked of New York, but Quinn knew better than to dream of such things.

"Are you alright?" Rachel asked.

Quinn hummed as she looked at Rachel. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You just looked—" Rachel shook her head. "Never mind."

Rachel stuck close to Quinn as they walked through the crowd. Several people sounded and looked disgruntled that they were making them move out of the way to get to the front, but Quinn didn't care. She needed to know what was going on if she was going to be able to do anything about it. When they finally reached the front, there was police tape that was holding everyone back and an officer standing by, asking everyone to step back. There was only one other cop on the scene, and he was looking at the dead body.

"Who would do that to someone?" Rachel asked, turning away from the scene in front of them.

Quinn sighed and shook her head. The body was hung between two trees and the man's arms and legs all had ropes around them, so he was tied between trees. The body was a few feet off the ground and it appeared his throat had been cut. If there were any other injuries or another cause of death, Quinn couldn't see them from her vantage point.

"Is there something around his neck?" Quinn whispered to Rachel.

The brunette looked again for a moment and then said, "I think so. Is it a symbol of some kind?"

"Everyone, get back!" the officer called.

"Come on," Quinn said, taking Rachel's hand.

There were sirens in the distance as Quinn led Rachel back through the crowd. No one else was moving, but rather than stick around, Quinn and Rachel walked back to the car. They were silent for a moment as Quinn tried to remember everything she saw and Rachel just looked like she was going to be sick. Quinn couldn't blame her, though; there had been blood covering the body as well as the surrounding area. It was obvious he had been killed where he was, and Quinn wondered if he had been tied up before or after his death took place.

"I wonder what kind of demon did that," Rachel said with a sigh. "Obviously one with sharp claws."

"That doesn't really narrow it down," Quinn remarked.

"That's true," Rachel replied.

"It looked like his neck was—"

"I know," Quinn said when Rachel didn't finish her sentence.

It didn't matter; she knew what she was going to say. It looked like his neck had almost been completely cut through. It was definitely one of the worst scenes she had come across. Usually, they just found people whose blood was drained or just their bones or at the worst, a missing body part or two.

"She would tell Coach Beiste now or wait until morning?" Rachel asked.

"It can wait until morning," Quinn answered.

"Okay, but we should probably start researching tonight," Rachel replied. "I'll see if maybe there have been similar incidences in the past."

Quinn nodded and let out a long sigh as she started her car. So much for her and Rachel going home. And their evening had been going so well up until that point. If only she had taken a different road home, they wouldn't have found out about the death until the morning, and they could have finally had their perfect evening together.

Rachel glanced to the side at Quinn. She could see how tired the blonde was and Rachel was a little worried, though she wouldn't voice it. She knew how much Quinn hated it when she worried about her, but Rachel couldn't help it. She knew Quinn had gotten up in the middle of the night to research Dustin, which she had been doing a lot recently. She didn't think Quinn was aware that she knew or that she would often watch her for a little while before going back to bed. Quinn hadn't said anything, but Rachel could tell how worried she was lately. She just wished Quinn would talk to her about it, but she was trying to wait until the blonde was the one who brought it up.

"I wonder if Artie will get us into the Medical Examiner's files again," Rachel commented.

"I don't know," Quinn replied.

"I know he's been busy lately, but we could try," Rachel suggested.

"Maybe," Quinn replied.

Rachel softly sighed and turned to look out the window. Quinn had been so quiet that morning—much quieter than usual—and she couldn't figure out why. She didn't know if it was just because Quinn was tired, if it was because she was worried, or if it was something else entirely. She should be used to it by not, but she hated not knowing what was going on in Quinn's mind. Rachel sometimes wondered if Quinn really trusted her or if she was holding back because of everything that happened with Shelby. She was certainly better than she used to be, but Rachel still felt like Quinn was holding back sometimes.

When they finally pulled into the school parking lot, Quinn's car was one of the only ones there. The Cheerios' cars were there, but it was still too early for most of the students. Rachel wondered if Coach Sylvester even let them off for winter break or if they had to be there early even then.

"Does Coach Sylvester have practice over the break?" Rachel asked.

"Every day," Quinn answered.

"Even Christmas Day?" Rachel asked.

"Even Christmas Day," Quinn answered. "If people don't complain, though, she usually only has a half-practice. It's as nice as she gets."

"Do you ever regret quitting the Cheerios?" Rachel wondered. "I know I've asked before, but—do you?"

"Not really," Quinn answered. "I guess it was nice getting to do it with Brittany and Santana, but at the same time, Santana and I were at each other's throats during every practice. She wanted to be on top and didn't like that I was." Quinn looked at Rachel after putting the car into park. "But, no, I don't regret it. If I was still a Cheerio, I would have even less time than I already do, and I already don't get to spend enough time with you."

Rachel smiled. "I guess that is true."

Quinn smiled back and then the two got out of the car and walked toward the building. She couldn't be happier that they only had four more days of school left before having the next three weeks off. She knew there would still be the usual Slaying and research, but at least they wouldn't have school on top of that. Maybe she and Quinn would actually get to spend a day or two together without being interrupted. Maybe they could even get the perfect night together that Rachel had been dreaming of for months now.

"Do you think Coach Beiste is here?" Rachel asked as they neared the locker room.

"I think I saw her car in the faculty lot," Quinn replied.

As they walked into the locker room, several Cheerios gave them cold looks. They were more so directed at Quinn than her, but she knew they were wondering why either of them were in there. They no longer bothered to slip into the training room unnoticed; it sometimes took too much time. Time that was valuable in some cases. Thankfully, Coach Sylvester had threatened everyone with expulsion from the Cheerios if she ever caught any of them going into the room. It probably only made them more curious about what was inside, but as far as she knew, none had ever dared to try to enter.

"I'm glad you're here," Coach Beiste said the moment they walked inside, holding up a newspaper. "There was a killin' last night off Manning Street."

"We know," Quinn replied.

"We were there," Rachel added.

"We've already started looking into it, but we haven't found anything yet," Quinn said, throwing her bag onto the bench.

"Is there anything the newspaper's not reporting?" Beiste asked.

"We haven't read it yet," Rachel said, taking it from the older woman.

"We got there after it happened," Quinn stated. "We were coming back when we saw the crowd and the police lights. I don't think they had been there very long, though, because there was only one police car there. More were coming when we left."

"A family found the body and called 911," Rachel said as she read the paper. "Those poor children are going to have nightmares for the rest of their lives."

"Did you see anything unusual?" Beiste asked.

"Not really," Quinn answered.

"He did have some kind of pendant around his neck, but it could have just been a necklace," Rachel said.

Coach Beiste nodded. "Do you remember what it looked like?"

"Quinn drew it on a piece of paper when we got into the car," Rachel replied.

"I want to see it," Beiste commanded.

"It's just a triangle with circles at the corners," Quinn said, reaching into her pocket, and pulling out the slip of paper. "Have you see it before?"

"I don't think so," she answered, shaking her head.

"Quinn and I will keep looking," Rachel promised.

"Let me know if you find anything," Beiste said, handing the piece of paper back to Quinn.

Quinn moaned as Rachel slid her hands down her sides and hooked them around her belt. The brunette smiled at the sound, still amazed that she could ever be the cause of it. Even though she and Quinn had been together over a year—off and on at least—at times it felt like a dream. The fact that Quinn would want someone like her, love someone like her—it almost didn't feel real. She wondered if she would ever stop feeling like that or if it would continue to amaze her until the day she died. Whether or not she finally got used to it, Rachel knew how lucky she was.

"We should get back to researching," Quinn said, breaking their kiss.

"I know," Rachel agreed.

Rather than stop, though, Quinn pulled her closer, bringing their lips together once again. Rachel parted her lips, giving Quinn entry, and the blonde's tongue slipped inside, reclaiming her mouth. This time, Rachel was the one who moaned when Quinn's tongue slid and curled around hers. She could feel Quinn smiling against her mouth, obviously proud of herself, so Rachel slid her thumbs along the skin just below her belt. The motion quickly wiped the smirk off Quinn's face as she groaned and lifted up slightly.

Rachel willed her hands not to move again, because she knew if they did, they would end up in very dangerous territory. They were at school, they were supposed to be researching the killing, and they only had about fifteen minutes before lunch was over. Despite that, Rachel felt like her skin was on fire and that she was going to combust soon if she didn't have some sort of release. It was becoming a real problem for her, and she knew it was becoming one for Quinn, too.

"I think I'm going to need to bleach my eyeballs."

Rachel ripped her mouth away from Quinn and tried to discreetly remove her hands away from the blonde's waistband. Santana zeroed in on the movement with a smirk, though. Rachel glanced at Quinn, who looked annoyed, and then looked back to Brittany and Santana. The latter was still smirking at them while Brittany pulled on her arm.

"We should leave them alone," Brittany said.

"This is my room," Santana protested.

"It's not your room," Quinn argued.

"That's my bed," the vampire said, pointing to the corner of them. "I'm surprised we didn't find you two humping on it."

Rachel quickly looked away, feeling herself blushing. It was certainly crossed her mind to make use of the bed in the room, but she didn't want Santana to know that. Unfortunately, her face was probably a dead giveaway, which is why she was avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked, sitting up as Rachel removed herself from her lap.

"Britt wanted to know if you needed help," Santana said, walking the rest of the way into the room.

"We don't," Quinn said between clenched teeth.

"I know you sexually frustrated or whatever, Q, but—"

"I'm not," Quinn interrupted.

"Just don't pop Berry's cherry on my bed," Santana continued.

"This is not happening," Quinn mumbled as her cheeks turned red.

"Santana, we were simply kissing," Rachel said as she stood up. "Some of us are able to control ourselves."

"Can we stop talking about this?" Quinn asked.

"Why?" Santana asked with a smirk.

"San, you're embarrassing them," Brittany softly said.

"So?" Santana asked. "That's part of the appeal."

"They're your friends," Brittany pointed out.

Santana rolled her eyes, but said, "Fine."

"Thank you," Brittany said, kissing Santana's cheek before turning back to Quinn and Rachel. "Have you guys found anything, yet?"

"A few possibilities, but nothing that sounds exactly like the killing," Rachel answered. "We're still going through the books.

"Maybe if you didn't have your tongue shoved in Q's mouth, it might be easier to read," Santana stated.

"Do you want any help?" Brittany asked, nudging Santana in the ribs.

"If you would like to help, we'd love to have you," Rachel answered. "Right, Quinn?"

Rather than answer, Quinn hummed and crossed her arms over her chest. Rachel just smiled at Brittany and Santana, hoping to diffuse the situation. Santana was obviously in one of those moods where she wanted to push Quinn's buttons, which meant she and Brittany were going to have to be the referees. It was nothing new for either of them, though. For the past week, anytime Santana and Quinn were in the same room, they were arguing over one thing or another.

"Here," Rachel said as she looked around for a book, grabbing the nearest one. "You can look through this one."

As she handed the book to Brittany, she glanced at Quinn, who still had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Thankfully, Brittany took Santana's hand, pulling her toward the bed and away from Quinn. Once they were on the other side of the room, Quinn unclenched a little, but still looked annoyed.

"Hey," Rachel said, running her hand up and down Quinn's arm.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"Brittany just wanted to help," Rachel pointed out. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Too bad she had to bring Santana along," Quinn mumbled.

"I know," Rachel softly said as she squeezed Quinn's arm. "Just try not to let her get to you; it's what she wants."

"That's easier said than done," Quinn replied, looking in Santana's direction, and rolling her eyes.

"Can you see who that is?" Quinn asked when she heard her phone.

"Where is it?" Rachel asked, grabbing Quinn's bag.

"It should be in the side pocket," Quinn replied.

Rachel rifled through her bag for a moment and then pulled out Quinn's phone. Quinn glanced at her as she tried to keep her eyes on the road. She was going faster than usual because they had gotten a late start. They had both been up late into the morning, researching in the basement. Rachel had been the first to wake and then Quinn woke to find the brunette in a panic. Quinn promised Rachel they wouldn't be late for school and she was trying to make sure she kept that promise.

"It's Coach Beiste," Rachel said, putting the phone back in the bag. "She wants to see us."

"Did she say what she wants to see us about?" Quinn wondered.

"She didn't say," Rachel said with a shrug.

"She probably just wants to know if we found anything," Quinn reasoned.

Quinn tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her that wasn't what it was about. She didn't want Rachel to worry until they actually knew what it was, though. Even though she tried not to think about it, she couldn't help worrying that someone else was dead. It always seemed like when one person died, a string of deaths soon followed.

"We're going to be late for class," Rachel commented.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," Quinn replied.

"Of course I'm going with you," Rachel stated.

"Beiste can write us a note," Quinn replied.

Quinn drove the rest of the way to school, trying not to speed too much, knowing Rachel would scold her if she did. By the time they pulled into the parking lot, it was almost time for the first bell to ring, but rather than walking to their respective classes, they headed toward the training room. Quinn hoped to go unnoticed, so she grabbed Rachel's hand, pulling her toward a hallway they didn't usually take. She didn't want to go past either of their classes and risk being seen by one of their teachers.

"We would have just made it," Rachel remarked when the bell rang just as they entered the locker room.

"I told you I would get you to school on time," Quinn said, looking over her shoulder, and giving the brunette a smile. "Too bad it was for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing," Rachel said, looping her arm around Quinn's.

"Yeah, but you're still going to be late for class," Quinn replied, opening the door to the training room.

"I'll write you a note," Beiste said, obviously overhearing them. "Someone else is dead."

Quinn sighed and asked, "Where?"

"Sunridge Heights," Beiste answered. "Where all those fancy houses are."

"That's all the way across town from the other one," Rachel said with a frown.

"And this time it was a woman," Beiste added.

"Do we think it was the same demon as the last one?" Quinn asked.

"Take a look," Beiste said, handing her a picture.

Quinn cringed as she looked down at it. It was a picture of the body and it looked like the woman was killed in the exact same way. Not only that, but she immediately noticed the woman had on the exact same necklace as the man from the other night. Rather than being tied between two trees, though, the woman was tied between a tree and a fence post.

"Where did this come from?" Quinn wondered as Rachel took it out of her hands to look at.

"Before the cops got there, some kid took 'em and posted it online," Beiste answered.

"That's terrible," Rachel said, scowling. "What if her family sees this?"

"I know, but it means we got more information than what the paper's sayin'," Beiste replied.

"Two in two nights," Quinn said, walking over, and picking up the newspaper from the counter. "I wonder if that means there will be another one tonight?"

"Maybe," Beiste replied. "I want you out on patrol tonight. I don't know if it'll do any good, but maybe you'll get lucky and catch 'em before they kill someone else. How's the research goin'?"

"We're looking, but we haven't found anything yet," Rachel answered. "We've come across more than one demon that kills by cutting their victim's throat, but the way they're tied up seems specific. There must be a reason for that as well as the necklaces."

"I wonder if they were wearing the necklace before they were killed or if it was put on them," Quinn said.

"That's a very good question," Rachel replied. "If they were both wearing the necklace prior to their deaths, maybe the two people have something in common. Maybe they knew each other. I think we should go after school to talk to one or both of the families. Maybe they can tell us something that will point us in the right direction."

"If they would even talk to us," Quinn said.

Rachel shrugged. "It couldn't hurt to try. The worse they can do is ask us to leave."

Quinn paused for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. We'll go after school."

"I'll see if I can find their next of kin during lunch," Rachel replied. "Do you want to meet me in the library then?"

"Sure," Quinn answered.

"Now that we have a plan, we should really get to class," Rachel replied. "Will you walk me?"

"Won't that make me even later to first period?" Quinn playfully asked.

"I don't think an extra minute or two will matter too much, do you?" Rachel asked with a smile.

"Hey," Quinn said, coming up behind Rachel, and wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist.

"How was class?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "It was okay."

Truthfully, she hadn't paid much attention to what was going on in class; she wasn't even sure what the teacher had covered. Being so close to winter break and with everything going on, it was hard to focus. She just kept thinking about the other night, trying to think if there was anything she'd missed. Anything that could help point them in the right direction. She also kept thinking about later in the day when she and Rachel went to talk to the families. She had no idea what she was going to say to them or how she was going to convince them to talk to her.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.

"I'm fine," Quinn answered automatically.

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Quinn asked back.

"It would be understandable if you weren't," Rachel said as she closed her locker and turned to Quinn. "Maybe you're a little more used to it than I am, but I've had nightmares for the past two nights."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Quinn wondered.

Rachel shrugged and said, "I didn't want you to think I couldn't handle this. I don't even know why it's affected me so much; it's not as if I haven't seen terrible things before. It was just so—"

"Bloody," Quinn finished for her.

"Yes, that," Rachel replied.

"I know," Quinn said, furrowing her brows slightly. "I may have had a nightmare or two myself."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded. She probably would have had more if she'd gotten a little more sleep the past two nights. After waking up from her first, though, she had gotten up and went back to doing research. In it she was watching a demon kill the man, but she could move or even shout. After it was done with the guy, he started coming toward her and she realized she was bound between two trees just like the man they found. Just before the demon got to her, she thankfully woke up, but it left her shaken and unable to sleep.

"Is that when you got up?" Rachel asked.

"You knew I got up?" Quinn asked back.

"I've noticed you doing that a lot lately," Rachel remarked.

Quinn shrugged her shoulder and said, "It's nothing."

"Okay, but if you ever decide it is something, I'm here," Rachel said. "Even if you just need someone to keep you company in the middle of the night."

"You do enough already," Quinn replied.

Rachel sighed, clearly disappointed, but Quinn wasn't going to ask her to get up in the middle of the night just because she couldn't sleep. She was the Slayer, so she didn't need as much sleep as a normal person, but Rachel did. She knew Rachel always wanted to be there with her, but Quinn was still adamant about things not going back to the way they were. She was okay with letting her help with research and very occasionally accompanying her to certain places, but she didn't want her to get overly involved. She wanted Rachel to have a life outside of fighting evil, and she didn't want to risk Rachel falling behind in school just because she was too tired.

"Can I walk you to class?" Quinn asked.

"Two times in one day," Rachel commented, a smile appearing on her face. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I know this is probably silly now, but do you still want to do that duet?" Rachel asked.

"I forgot about that," Quinn admitted.

"I figured," Rachel replied.

"We can still do it, though," Quinn said.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "Because we don't have to. I know there are a lot going on; things that are more important than a duet for Glee."

"I'm sure," Quinn answered.

"Well, then, I will be sure to choose a song by tomorrow," Rachel said. "We can rehearse during lunch if we don't have something more important to do. If not, we can do a quick rehearsal another time. It's not as if we haven't sung together before, so hopefully we won't need a lot of time to prepare. I'll also be sure to choose a song we both already know as to minimize the time spent memorizing the lyrics. Does that sound okay?"

"It sounds fine," Quinn answered, reaching out, and entwining their fingers together.

Just before they got to Rachel's third period classroom, she pulled her to a stop and leaned down, placing a soft kiss to her lips. As she went to pull away, Rachel quickly put her hands on Quinn's cheeks, preventing her from going anywhere. Quinn didn't exactly protest; instead, she let go of the brunette's hand and placed it on her hip, instead.

"Is that all you do now?"

Quinn groaned at the sound of Santana voice as she pulled her lips away from Rachel's. "Is this all you do now? Do you just follow us around, waiting for the most annoying time to appear?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "You're not that interesting, Barbie. But seriously, you need to just do it already before you start humping in the halls."

"On that note, I believe I will go to class now," Rachel said, leaning up, and kissing Quinn's cheek. "I'll see you in the library at lunch."

The moment Rachel was out of earshot, Quinn glared over at a smirking Santana and said, "I really should have staked you when I had the chance."

"Are we really just going to walk around and hope we run into something?" Santana asked. "That's your big plan?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Quinn asked in annoyance.

"Yeah, get better at research," Santana replied.

Quinn sighed; she didn't want Santana there—she wanted her far, far away from her, actually—but she hadn't wanted to help Rachel and Brittany with researching, so the latter suggested she go with Quinn. She was being nothing but a pain in the ass, though, and Quinn wished she would just leave. Of course, she wouldn't tell Santana to go because she knew the vampire would stay out of spite. Instead, she tried to endure her in hopes that she would eventually get bored and leave on her own.

"You really should have let me be the one to go to the families," Santana stated. "Maybe I could have gotten something out of them."

"And how would you have done that?" Quinn wondered.

"You'd be surprised how much the threat of violence motivates some people," Santana replied.

"Their daughter just died," Quinn said, rolling her eyes. "I don't think threatening them would be the best way to go about it."

"It couldn't be any worse than you," Santana retorted.

"You couldn't have even entered their houses without an invitation from them," Quinn noted.

"Whatever," Santana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Quinn shook her head. There was no way Quinn would ever let the vampire talk to the family of the two deceased. Santana wouldn't stop bringing it up, though, saying she could have done better. It had mostly been a bust, but they did know there didn't seem to be any connection between the two people who were killed, and neither family ever remembered seeing the necklaces they were wearing. Quinn assumed they were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Unfortunately, that mean they still had nothing to go on. She'd hoped there would be some connection that would lead them to whatever did it or at least give them an idea of any other potential targets.

"Why are we here?" Santana asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Because we had to start somewhere," Quinn answered.

"But why here?" Santana asked.

"Because it's where I chose," Quinn replied.

"There's nothing here." Santana stated.

"You don't know that yet," Quinn argued. "Of course, if anything was here, it's probably not here any longer since someone can't stop talking!"

Thankfully, Santana stopped talking and continued following along. Well, she wasn't so much following along, but wondering off randomly and eventually making her way back over to Quinn. Personally, Quinn didn't care what the vampire did as long as she left her alone. She was absolutely driving Quinn insane with her comments and questions, and she had been for weeks. Santana was never really one to be nice, but she had been especially antagonistic lately, and Quinn had no idea why, which only seemed to make her find it even more annoying since there didn't appear to be an actual reason for it.

"So, Q, have you and Berry done it yet?" Santana asked.

"Oh my god!" Quinn said, throwing up her arms. "Why are you so concerned with my sex life?"

"From what I can see, you don't have a sex life," Santana stated. "That's the problem."

Quinn rolled her eyes and continued walking, trying to ignore Santana, but the vampire just followed her and asked, "Do I need to lock your asses in a room, so you'll finally get it over with. All this sexual tension around you two is enough to make a person throw up."

"I don't want to talk about this," Quinn said.

"Too bad," Santana replied. "What the hell are you waiting for, Q?"

"Santana, it's none of your business," Quinn said, turning around, and looking the vampire in the eyes.

"You're making it my business when I have to watch you two making out in the halls," Santana replied.

Quinn sighed, shaking her head. "We were not making out."

"Seriously, what are you waiting for?" Santana asked. "You're not still brainwashed by mommy and daddy dearest, are you?"

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"That sex is wrong or whatever shit they spouted," Santana replied. "Because I have to say, you and the midget are never going to last until you're married."

"I'm not trying to," Quinn said.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Santana asked.

"For the right time," Quinn replied. "For when I don't have to worry about someone dying because there's a demon out here trying to kill people."

"There's always going to be something out here trying to kill people," Santana said, rolling her eyes. "There is no right time. You're always going to be the Slayer, so there's always going to be something in the way. You could die any day; Rachel could die any day. Take it from me, okay? You never know what's going to happen and you're wasting all this time for some bullshit reason.

Quinn sighed and reluctantly admitted. "I just want it to be special. For her and for me."

"It'll be special because it's you and her," Santana stated. "You love each other, though I have no idea why; that's what's going to make it special for whatever." Santana held her hand up. "And don't thank me; just do what I say."

"I wasn't going to," Quinn replied, giving Santana a reluctant smile.

Quinn slowly opened her eyes, but quickly closed them again, groaning at the bright light that was coming through the curtains. She stretched and turned away from the window, trying to get the sun out of her face. When she finally opened her eyes again to see what time it was, she found that it was past time for her to get up and her alarm was turned off. She was certain she set it the night before, though, and she couldn't remember it ever going off.

She quickly threw the covers off and hopped out of bed as she stifled a yawn. Despite that fact that she was just waking up, she still felt exhausted. She and Santana hadn't gotten back until after four, so she'd only gotten a few hours of sleep. Unfortunately, even though she was patrolling for nearly eight hours, she'd come up empty handed. They killed a few vampires, but they didn't find what they were looking for. She just hoped Beiste didn't tell her another person was dead when she walked into the training room.

After going to the bathroom, Quinn made her way toward Rachel's room and poked her head inside, but the brunette was already out of bed and she didn't hear her shower running. She wondered if she was in the basement to do some research before school, so Quinn headed down the stairs, toward the kitchen. When she walked into the kitchen, though, Rachel was at the stove while Leroy sat at the island, reading his newspaper as he drank some orange juice.

"Ah, she's finally awake," Leroy said when he spotted her in the doorway.

"Good morning," Rachel brightly said, looking over her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind that I turned off your alarm. I know you got in rather later, so I thought you should have a little extra sleep."

"I wondered how I didn't hear it," Quinn said, walking over, and sitting down on one of the stools. "Are you making breakfast?"

"I am," Rachel replied with a smile. "Eggs and bacon for you and Daddy."

"You didn't have to do that," Quinn said.

"Speak for yourself," Leroy replied. "It's about time she makes herself useful around here."

Rachel huffed as Quinn laughed and asked, "Does that mean I need to fix breakfast tomorrow?"

"No, you're keeping the world safe," Leroy replied. "My slacker daughter can do it again."

"I resent that," Rachel said as she turned around with the frying pan in her hand. "I may just give Quinn all the bacon for that comment."

"Don't you dare," Leroy replied.

"Will you be nice to me?" Rachel asked, moving the pan out of her father's grasp when he reached out for a piece of bacon.

"I suppose," Leroy replied.

"Then you may have some bacon," Rachel said, putting three pieces on his plate before giving Quinn the other half.

"So, is it a good or a bad sign that you were out so late?" Leroy asked, looking at Quinn.

"Bad," Quinn answered with a sigh.

"Well, the good news is no one died last night," Rachel informed her. "Daddy looked all through the paper."

"Did she tell you about it?" Quinn wondered.

Leroy nodded. "Kind of hard to miss. It's all everyone at work was talking about. I think everyone's shook up because of the body found in Sunridge Heights. To my knowledge, it's the first time anyone had been found dead there. It's always supposedly been the safest neighborhood in town."

"People need to learn that nowhere in this town is safe," Quinn remarked.

"Believe me, I've thought about moving on more than one occasion," Leroy replied.

"Really?" Rachel asked. "You never told me that."

"I wanted to, but your father never did, so we stayed," Leroy said.

"Oh," Rachel replied as she turned back to the stove.

"What do you two have planned for today?" Leroy asked.

"School, research, patrolling—the usual," Quinn answered.

"How was it last night with Santana?" Rachel asked as she brought the eggs over.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I don't know why Brittany had to volunteer her to come with me."

"She just wants you two to get along," Rachel said. "She thought spending some time together would help." Rachel sighed. "Okay, don't tell anyone I told you this, but Brittany said Santana's jealous."

"Of what?" Quinn wondered.

"That we've been spending so much time together," Rachel answered. "Brittany told me she hadn't exactly said anything, but she can tell. She feels like there's no room in your life for her anymore. That I'm not only your girlfriend, but your best friend, and Santana feels left out. And I think Brittany is right; it would certainly explain her behavior. She's acting out because she wants attention."

Quinn wanted to argue that she spent just as much time with Santana as she always had, but it would be a lie. She didn't get a lot of free time, and anytime she had it, she always spent it with Rachel. It was hard juggling everything and it hadn't really occurred to her that Santana would care enough to feel neglected.

"I'll try to spend some time with her over winter break," Quinn said.

"I'm sure Santana will appreciate it," Rachel replied with a smile.

"I have an idea," Rachel said, standing up.

Quinn threw her book to the side and asked, "What's your idea."

"The necklace has to be significant," Rachel said. "There has to be a reason for the two victims wearing it, right? Since neither family had ever seen it before, I think whatever killed, them put it on them. I know we haven't found the symbol in any of the books yet, but I think it must be part of a ritual."

Rachel furrowed her brows, seemingly lost in thought, and Quinn didn't interrupt. She didn't know where the brunette was going with this, but it wouldn't be the first time Rachel had an epiphany that eventually led them to what they'd been looking for. She had quite the knack for it, actually, and Quinn mused on more than one occasion how she would make a better Watcher than any of the actually Watchers she'd met.

"I need a map of the town," Rachel announced.

"I think there's one on top of the bookcase," Quinn said, standing up.

She walked to the bookcase and grabbed the rolled up maps from atop it. She unrolled them, looking for the one of Lima that she knew was there somewhere. There were several of the town from varying decades, but she eventually came across the most recent one and tossed it to Rachel. The brunette immediately opened it onto the desk, grabbed the nearest pen, and drew two circles on the map.

"This is where the first man was found," Rachel pointed toward the upper part of town before pointing the pen at the southeastern corner, "and this is where the woman was found."

"Okay," Quinn replied.

"I think it's possible that the neck is telling us where the third killing will take place," Rachel looked around. "I need a ruler."

"I don't think there is one," Quinn stated, grabbing a nearby book. "Will the edge of a book do?"

"That'll work," Rachel said, taking it from Quinn, and setting it down on the map. "I think I have a protractor in my bag."

"Here," Quinn said, grabbing her own bag from the floor, and rummaging around for hers.

After handing it to Rachel, Quinn watched as Rachel carefully drew the lines from the two murder sites to a third location. She looked down to see that it was in another neighborhood. More specifically, it was in the middle of Willow Lane, at the small park she'd been known to patrol for vampires.

"What about over there?" Quinn asked, pointing to the opposite side of the map.

"Oh, I suppose there would be two potential locations," Rachel said, leaning over the map, and drawing the other two lines.

"Next to Doyle Cemetery," Quinn said, looking down.

"I know it's a long shot, but—"

"No," Quinn interrupted, putting her hand on Rachel's lower back. "I think it's a good idea. I'll go as soon as school is over."

She normally would have went at dark, but the first person was found before the sun had completely set, so it may be too late if she waited. The only problem was she needed to be two places at once. In any other case, she would have sent Santana to the other place, but since the sun would still be up, she couldn't exactly do that.

"What are you thinking?" Rachel asked.

"Who's going to go to the place I'm not at," Quinn replied.

"I can go," Rachel offered.

Quinn shook her head. "No, I'm not having you there."

"Why not?" Rachel asked. "You need someone to go."

"I'll ask Brittany," Quinn said. "And Santana can join her as soon as the sun is down." She looked at a frowning Rachel and reached out, taking her hand. "I know you want to help, Rachel, but you already have. I don't want to put you in danger; I know you can fight, but you're still human."

"I know, but—" Rachel sighed.

"Hey," Quinn said, pulling Rachel closer. "You help me in ways that you don't even realize. I know you want to go out there tonight, but you can't. This is my fight, and I don't want any of you to have to go, but at least Brittany can cast a spell if it comes to that."

"I know," Rachel replied. "I just hate waiting at home. I still feel so useless there."

"You're far from useless," Quinn stated. "And if you want, you can continue doing research. Who knows if this is going to work or if it'll even show up tonight. If it doesn't, we have more time to figure out what I'm going to be up against."

"I'm sure Santana is going to be thrilled that you're potentially putting Brittany in danger," Rachel commented.

"I know," Quinn wryly said. "If there was another way, I would do it, but there isn't unless you can think of one."

"Unfortunately, no," Rachel replied.

"I should probably find Santana and talk to her," Quinn said, not relishing the thought of having to do it.

"Can I come with you?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know; it might be dangerous," Quinn joked.

Rachel laughed lightly and said, "I believe I can handle it."

Quinn stifled a yawn and sat up straighter, trying to keep herself awake. It was past eleven and she'd yet to see any sign that anything was amiss. Since the area was so open, she was sitting in her car, trying to stay as hidden as she could. There wasn't exactly much to hide from, though. She hadn't seen anyone in at least twenty minutes, and even before that, the people were few and far between. If things continued the way they were, she was going to have a very long night in front of her.

Her phone chimed next to her and she grabbed it, finding a text message from Santana. She'd been sending them every little bit to let her know they hadn't found anything, but mostly to complain. The vampire wasn't happy with her for sending Brittany alone and she was certainly letting her know it. Quinn tried to tell her that she hadn't been happy about it, either, but she had no choice. Just as she was about to reply, she saw something out of the corner of her eye and quickly hid the light from her phone.

There was a woman walking down the sidewalk and a man about thirty feet behind her. She could tell he was picking up his pace, closing in on the woman. They both looked human, so Quinn remained in the car, but she had her hand on the door, ready to open it. The faster the man began to walk, the more Quinn felt like something was wrong. Her phone chimed again just as she grabbed the sword that was lying beside her, while never taking her eyes off the two people.

The man was only a few yards behind the woman when she looked over her shoulder. She made no indication that she knew him, which put Quinn even more on edge. The woman began walking a bit faster, but the man only sped up as well, practically jogging. A few moments later, he grabbed her around the waist and put his hand over her mouth just as she began to scream. Quinn was out of the car in an instant, running across the street as the man began dragging the struggling woman into the small park. It wasn't what she was looking for—he certainly didn't look like a demon—but, instead, she'd run across a vampire looking for its next meal.

"Help!" the woman screamed, freeing her mouth for a moment.

"There is no help," the man replied.

"You're wrong about that," Quinn said.

When he turned toward Quinn, she punched him in the face before grabbing his shirt and throwing him several yards onto his back. Quinn expected him to get up immediately, but he just groaned and writhed around on the ground for a few second until he eventually tried to sit up. Quinn wondered if it was so sort of ploy to catch her off guard, but when he pulled out a knife from his waistband, it became clear she was dealing with a human.

"A mugging," Quinn said. "That's new."

The man tried slash at Quinn with the knife, but she easily blocked him, grabbing his wrist, and flipping him onto his back. When she hit the ground, he tried to get up, but Quinn gave him a swift kick to the face, knocking him out. Quinn looked down at him with a sigh and picked up the knife from next to him, tossing it to the side in case he woke up anytime soon.

"How did you do that?" the woman asked from behind her.

"Martial arts training," Quinn lied. "Are you okay?"

The woman shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. "He was going to kill me."

"You don't know that," Quinn replied. "I know it's bad, but he was probably just going to mug you."

"No, he told me he was going to slit my throat like the others," the woman stated.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"He said he was going to tie me up and slit my throat," the woman said, wiping her tears away. "I knew I shouldn't have been out this late, but I just got off work and my car wouldn't start, so I had to walk home."

Quinn looked down at the man and noticed straps going around his shoulder. When she turned him over, there was a backpack on his back and she roughly pulled it off. Opening it, she found some rope inside and another knife. She felt around for anything else; the main compartment was empty, but she did feel something hard in in front pocket. She unzipped it and reached inside, pulling out a necklace just like the ones on the two murdered people.

"What's that?" the woman asked, sniffling.

"Do you have a phone?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, but it died at work," the woman answered.

Quinn nodded and calmly said, "My car is over there; my phone should be on the passenger seat. Call 911 and tell them we may have found the person who committed the two recent murders."

"Oh my god!" the woman said, covered her mouth with her hands.

As the woman turned and ran toward the car, Quinn took the rope from the man's bag and quickly tied his hands together. She had no doubt she would easily be able to overpower him, but she was afraid she would kill him now that she knew who he was. And she wasn't going to take a human life even if he was as evil as any of the demons she'd faced.

Quinn quietly closed the front door and then pulled off her coat. She knocked her hip into the table as she hung up the coat, but it thankfully didn't make too much noise. Rachel may sometimes wait up for her, but Leroy would have been long asleep, and she didn't want to wake him.

She walked up the stairs and down the hall, looking in on Rachel as she passed by her room. The brunette was sound asleep, so Quinn walked to her room and grabbed her pajama pants and a clean top. She went to the bathroom, where she quickly changed and brushed her teeth. She thought about taking a shower, but she was too tired for that, wanting nothing more than to just crawl into bed. Instead of going back to her room, she walked back to Rachel's room, and laid down next to her as gently as she could.

"You're home," Rachel mumbled.

Quinn laughed lightly. "And I thought I was so quiet."

"You were," Rachel replied. "I was just barely asleep, though.

Quinn hummed and wrapped her arm around Rachel, who turned over so they were face to face. She wasn't really surprised that Rachel was awake; no matter how quiet she was about coming into the house, Rachel almost always woke up. It was as if she sensed the moment Quinn came through the door. It made Quinn feel bad about always coming home so late, but at the same time, it was nice to be able to talk to her before falling asleep herself.

"Did you find anything?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Quinn answered.

Rachel sat up. "You did?"

Quinn nodded as she pulled Rachel back down. "Yeah."

"Why don't you sound very happy about it?" Rachel asked. "You didn't find someone else, did you? Please tell me we weren't too late."

"No, we weren't," Quinn said with a sigh.

"So, the demon is dead?" Rachel asked.

"There was no demon," Quinn stated. "It was a human."

"What?" Rachel asked, whispering harshly. "A person did that?"

"Yeah," Quinn answered. "He tried attacking this woman tonight. I thought he was a vampire, but as soon as I started fighting him, I knew he was human. I assumed he was just a mugger or something, but then I found the rope." She sighed. "And then I found another one of those necklaces, and I knew it was him."

"That's—" Rachel shook her head.

"We called the police, so I stayed until they came and they questioned me, of course" Quinn said. "I lied and told them I just happened to be at the right place, at the right time. One of them seemed to know I was lying, but I think she was just happy they caught the guy, so she didn't give me a hard time."

"The woman he attacked was okay?" Rachel wondered.

"She's fine," Quinn replied. "Physically, anyway. I'm sure she'll be traumatized for life."

"I can imagine," Rachel said. "It would be hard to know that you came that close to dying." Rachel paused. "Do you have any idea why he put the necklaces on the victims?"

"I don't know," Quinn replied. "Maybe he was just being cocky. You know, he was telling people exactly where the murders were taking place, but he was still getting away with it. Or so he thought. I doubt he counted on anyone figuring it out. It's just further proof that no one should underestimate Rachel Berry."

Rachel laughed lightly and then said, "I'm just happy it's over."

"What time is your alarm set for?" Quinn asked.

"The usual," Rachel answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Can you set it for an hour earlier?" Quinn asked.

"Of course," Rachel replied. "Are you supposed to meet Coach Beiste early?"

"No," Quinn said, snuggling into Rachel's neck. "I told my girlfriend we could do a duet this week and I intend to keep that promise."

"Really?" Rachel asked, and Quinn could feel her smile.

"I thought we could rehearse in the morning," Quinn said.

"I would love to," Rachel happily replied. "I have a list of songs that you can take a look at in the morning."

Quinn shrugged. "Any of them will be fine."

"I want you to choose," Rachel said, running her hand up and down Quinn's arm. "I don't think it's fair that I'm always the one to make the final decision. You should get to sing a song you like."

"I'm sure I'll like any of them," Quinn argued.

"Please," Rachel said, kissing Quinn's nose.

"Okay," Quinn relented.

"Thank you," Rachel replied.

Quinn sighed in contentment and said, "Two more days of school."

"And then we'll be free," Rachel added. "I can't wait."

"Do you have any plans yet?" Quinn wondered.

"To spend as much time with my girlfriend as I can," Rachel answered.

Quinn smiled. "That sounds a lot like my plans."

"I guess we're in luck, then," Rachel said, scooting closer to Quinn, and draping her arm over Quinn's waist.

"Yeah, we are," Quinn replied with a soft smile.