Disclaimer: I don't own Glee

A/N The next chapter will be the last...

Chapter 18: Hope

Rachel was working alone at the store. Since the place was empty, she took advantage of the calm to stare at the ring Santana had given her. She couldn't help it lately; she was always playing with it, touching it or even at night, when no one could see, wearing it.

When she wasn't thinking about Michelle and Santiago, she was thinking about how she wished she could find a love as strong as theirs; a love that would travel through time and never die. She wanted someone who would still make her heart jump ten years later. A girl could dream, right?

The diva was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear anyone come in.

"Michelle?" A man's voice called.

The brunette jumped in surprised and hastily hid the ring underneath her clothes. She looked around and saw Cole standing in front of her. Great… "Cole." She frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"What was that?" The man inquired coldly.

"What was what?" The petite girl asked innocently. She needed to play it cool, of all the people who could find out about the ring, it had to be him. This was dangerous territory.

"Don't play stupid with me." Cole said angrily.

Rachel looked around, silently hoping someone would come in and save her from the situation but it didn't look like anyone would enter the store soon. "Please, Cole, calm down. I'm afraid I don't understand what you are talking about."

"Oh but I'm sure you do." The man glared at her before shaking his head. "I warned you, Michelle, you should have listened." He quickly stormed out of the store.

"What just happened?" The Jewish girl asked herself out loud. She really needed to talk to Santana, she had a bad feeling about what was coming.

That night, Rachel went to the barn with a sick feeling in her stomach. She could feel a change in the air and all she wanted was to be close to Santana. The girl was in such a hurry to get to the barn that she had failed to notice the person following her since she had left her house.

After 20 minutes of waiting and imagining the worst, Santana finally joined her. "Where the heck were you?! I was worried about you!" The diva asked as soon as Santana closed the door.

Santana's smile fell. "Hum, hello, nice to see you too."

"I asked you a question, Santana." The diva crossed her arms defiantly.

"Jeez, are you my mother?" The Latina rolled her eyes. "I was with Mary, she needed something and when I noticed the time, I rushed here. What's up with you?"

"Well if you weren't so busy with Mary, you would have known already." The brunette snapped. She knew the girl was spending more time with Mary the past few days but whatever they were doing wasn't an excuse to be so late.

The raven-haired girl frowned. "What?"

"What part of what I said wasn't clear, Santana?" The petite girl glared. "I know I'm just your friend but I thought these meetings were important for you too."

"I'm confused. Where is this coming from?" The tan girl slowly approached her friend.

"What was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow? You know how tense things are lately, your little private time with Mary should come after…" Rachel could feel her blood start to boil. She was waiting here, worrying that something had happened to Santana while she was just having fun with her friend and it made her angry and jealous at the same time.

Santana crossed her arms and scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Your girl on girl action shouldn't be a priority." The diva knew she was being petty but she couldn't help it.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The Latina questioned annoyed. "There is nothing going on with Mary, what the fuck is wrong with you? And of course I care about these meetings, I rushed like a crazy woman to get here and see you."

"I don't know, Santana, maybe she should be the one wearing the ring you didn't want me to give you back." The brunette quickly removed the ring and put it in Santana's hand.

"You're fucking annoying." Without thinking, the tan girl grabbed Rachel's hand and slid the ring back on her finger. "If you could pull your head out of your ass for two seconds, you would see Mary and I are just friends and the reason why I'm late is because I was helping her with a patient of hers, a dude Cole punched because he was pissed at something. I needed to ask him some questions."

Rachel's heart skipped a beat at the gesture and suddenly it hit her. The jealousy, the need to see Santana and be close to her, the affectionate gestures, everything made sense now. Along the way she had developed a crush on Santana but had refused to acknowledge it. "I… What…"

"Wait a minute…" The raven-haired girl paused to look at her. "Are you jealous? Is it what this is all about? It's not about me being late but about me hanging out with her."

"I, no!" The petite girl could barely focus on the conversation anymore, too overwhelmed by her revelation. She had even forgotten what she wanted to say to the Latina before she arrived, it said something.

"Bullshit!" Santana scoffed. "Seriously, are you that insecure that you feel threatened by the only other friend I have here?"

"It's not about friendship." Rachel insisted.

"Then what?" The taller girl snapped, clearly irritated.

The diva tried to find something to say but only came up with "I just don't want you to be hurt."

"What are you talking about?" The Latina raised her hands up in frustration.

"I saw you two hug and be really close, it could end up badly…" The brunette trailed off. The conversation was taking a turn she wasn't ready for.

"So you came up with the same conclusion as all the other pricks in this town?" The tan girl replied with hurt in her voice.

"That's not fair!" The petite girl said offended. She had nothing in common with the people of this town.

"And you think it's fair of you to be such a bitch right now, for no reason?!" The raven-haired girl argued.

"There is a reason!" Rachel cried as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Then fucking tell me why!"

"Because I realised I want to be the one you do that with." The Jewish girl whispered

Santana raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Do what?"

"Being coupley..." The diva sniffled.

"You…" The Latina's breath hitched.

"Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic…" The brunette shook her head, trying desperately to compose herself. "Why would you want something more than friendship with me, right?"

"I …" The tan girl was at a loss for words, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to speak.

"It's okay, Santana," The petite girl assured, wiping her tears away. "You don't have to say anything. Just forget I said anything. I'm just gonna go home." She stepped away, trying to hold back her sob but Santana stopped her, reaching for her arm and pulling her towards herself. Her breath hitched at being this close to the girl. She stared at her lips and before she could say anything, Santana leaned forward and kissed her. It felt amazing, the kiss was hesitant but tender.

"Maybe you're not the only who wants more." Santana breathed out when she pulled away.

"What?" Rachel was out of breath and dizzy.

"Maybe I needed to hear you say it to realise what I was feeling too." The raven-haired girl confessed.

"You mean…"

Suddenly, Cole barged into the barn. "I knew it! I knew you two were together." Without warning, he punched Santana square in the jaw.

Santana fell on the ground too surprised to react. Rachel quickly stepped in front of her. "Stop it, Cole."

The tall man pushed her and kicked the Latina. "I'm going to kill you, you hear me?" He screamed.

The diva pushed him again. "Leave us alone!" She yelled. When the man didn't stop kicking Santana, she grabbed a piece of wood and hit him with it.

The man stopped and looked at the girl. "You disgust me." He slapped her then paused as he heard voices outside. He tried to catch his breath before saying. "You better enjoy him because I'm going to come back with some friends and finish what I started." He spat on Santana before storming out.

Once Rachel was sure Cole had left, she kneeled down next to Santana. "Oh my god, are you okay?" She brushed some hair away from the girl's face and saw blood on her lips.

"No…" Santana said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The diva kissed the girl's forehead. "We need to leave before he comes back. Can you stand?"

"To go where?" The Latina asked in obvious pain as she sat up. "We're fucked…"

"No, don't say that, it's not too late." The brunette helped Santana stand up.

The tan girl hissed in pain and leaned on Rachel to stay upright. "There is no safe place, Rachel, we're dead. At least, I am."

"Santana…" The petite girl cupped the girl's cheek and carefully wiped the blood away from her lips. "Wait… Safe place, the saloon! We have to go there!" She said suddenly.

The tan girl's eyes fluttered at the touch. "Weren't we supposed to avoid the place because of the fire?"

"Carmen protected it," Rachel pointed out. "Even if the fire starts, we'll be safe."

"Then what?" The raven-haired girl sighed.

"Then we'll find a way to leave and survive the night so we can go back to our time."

"That's your plan?" Santana questioned. "Hide and hope we can survive long enough to go back to the future?"

The Jewish girl nodded. "Do you have a better idea?"

"No, not really…"

"Then let's go." Rachel stated. "You can lean on me if you need to."

Santana smiled slightly. "Yeah…"

It took the girls a long time to get downtown. They had tried to stay hidden and out of the road as much as possible to avoid running into Cole and his friends. Once in town, Rachel and Santana snuck inside the saloon thanks to the back door being left open.

They were rushing toward a room upstairs when they bumped into John, Cole's friend who was in love with poor Mary. The man was doing up his zipper and belt as a girl walked past them with a smile.

John looked confused until he realised what was happening. "What are you doing here?"

"John, please, just leave and don't say a word." Rachel tried, hoping the man wouldn't make a scene.

"You have no business being here. I…"

Santana grabbed her gun and aimed at him before he could finish. "You nothing."

The diva looked at her friend a bit frightened. "San?"

"Take his gun." The Latina ordered.

"What?" The brunette asked confused.

"Take his gun." The tan girl repeated, not tearing her eyes away from him. The man tried to reach for it but she swiftly approached him and put the gun against his temple. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She took his gun and passed it to Rachel before putting her hand around his throat. "Here's what you're gonna do. You're going to leave this place and you're not gonna say shit to anyone, got it? Or I'll find you and I'll shoot you in the nuts."

"I…You…I…" The boy stuttered.

Santana rolled her eyes. "That's what I thought. You play it tough with your friends around but you ain't shit. Now leave before I change my mind and shoot you right now." John looked at her wide eyed before running away. The Latina glanced at Rachel to make sure she was okay before moving down the hallway, to find a room to hide.

The petite girl took the gun. "But…"

"Don't even start. Shut up and followed me…"

Rachel seemed to know better than argue on this one and followed the girl silently.

Rachel and Santana had been in the room for almost an hour and so far no one had knocked on the door and asked them to leave. Santana knew it was too good to be true. Even if John hadn't warned the owner of the saloon, she was sure the man had run to Cole to tell him what happened.

"What are we going to do now?" Rachel asked, finally breaking the silence.

Santana turned her gaze from the street to look at her friend. "Wait and see." She shrugged.

"That's it?" The diva frowned. "You don't think John is going to come back with Cole and the gang."

"Oh he will…" The tan girl assured her.

"So what are we going to do once they're here?" The brunette needed to know the plan, she wasn't the type of person who could just "wing it" when she was in this type of situation. She was scared for her life and Santana's and coming up with a plan was the only thing that might help her calm down a bit.

"Save enough time to make an exit. The owner won't let them barge in with guns so they can kill us. Murder in one of his rooms is a bad publicity, even if it's a Mexican…"

Rachel didn't get the time to answer before Santana spotted Cole and his friends approaching of the saloon.

"Santiago, I know you're here. Come out and Michelle won't be hurt." Cole shouted from outside.

Santana laughed despite herself. The diva stared at her. "What's so funny?"

"The coming out part." The Latina explained. "If he knew my Michelle was a little gay, he'd lose it." She chuckled.

"This is really not the time for jokes, Santana." Despite liking how Santana called her 'my Michelle', they needed to focus on the situation at hand. "And we'll have to talk about what happened later."

"Yeah, it's definitely not the time for that topic." The taller girl paused before adding. "I liked it though." She said before looking through the window again.

Rachel smiled at the comment before looking outside. There were almost a dozen men outside and they didn't look like they were going anywhere. "Do you want me to try and talk to him?"

The raven-haired girl shrugged. "The floor is yours."

The brunette cleared her throat before shouting. "Cole, it's Michelle. Please, violence is not the solution. Take your friends and go before anyone gets hurt."

"It's not too late, Michelle. We don't have anything against you, just come out and you won't get hurt. Come on, think about your future, Santiago is not worth it." The man shouted back, causing another snort of laughter from Santana.

"We didn't do anything wrong!" The petite girl yelled defensively.

"I warned you, Michelle. You have to follow the rules." Cole reminded her.

"You're not the law, Cole! Please, leave us alone." The brunette tried again.

"Not going to happen."

"We're not going anywhere." Santana sighed. "We need to wait and see if they get tired of standing there like morons."

"It doesn't look like they're leaving anytime soon." Rachel stated wearily.

"Well if it's any consolation, if Carmen really did cast a spell, we're safe as long as we stay here."

"We can't stay here forever." The diva pointed out.

The Latina sighed again. "I know..."

An hour later, only two men had left. It was clear the rest of them were ready for a fight and wouldn't leave. The situation was clearly a dead end and the men were starting to get restless.

"I should go out and keep them busy while you leave through the back door." Rachel offered.

Santana looked at her friend. "Who said he's not gonna hurt you as soon as you step outside?"

"I don't know but it's worth a shot." The diva said, trying to convince herself. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

The Latina shook her head. "Well I'm not, so find something else. Besides, they might be waiting for us there."

"Santana…"

"We're stronger together." The tan girl growled. "End of discussion."

"I would hardly call that a discussion." The brunette muttered.

"Seriously?"

The petite girl glared annoyed. "We're gonna have to agree on a plan at some point."

"I know but…" Santana was interrupted by a commotion outside. "What the fuck?"

Both girls moved closer to the window and saw John, Cole and Andrew argue. John was pretty agitated and had a torch in hand.

"Oh my god, the fire…" Rachel breathed out.

"That's how it started." Santana declared. "Those pricks got tired of waiting so they set the building on fire so we would come out…"

After that, things went downhill fast and the girls could only watch as John threw his torch through the window and some of his friends followed suit. They saw people running in every direction as the gang watched the flames slowly consume the building.

"We need to get out now!" The diva panicked.

"Okay, let's check the other rooms to see if we can leave by a window." The raven-haired girl ordered.

"You couldn't have come up with that sooner?" The brunette said incredulously.

"Well excuse me for not knowing the fire would be today of all days." Santana dragged Rachel toward the door. As soon as they stepped out of the room, they could feel the heat of the flames coming from downstairs. "We need to hurry!"

They searched a few rooms, getting more and more frantic after realising there was no way out. "Oh my god, we're going to die here." Rachel cried.

"Not helping!" Santana exclaimed as they reached another room. Thankfully, this one had a window looking out on the building next door. "We can jump from here."

"What? Are you crazy?" The diva exclaimed. "That could be deadly!"

"Do you have a better idea? Because right now it's either that or burn to death." The Latina pressed.

"But we're supposed to be safe here!"

"Yes, well I don't see the wicked witch of the east fly to our rescue right now," Santana said sarcastically. "So, we can't really wait and see."

"She was crushed by a house, Santana, it would be Glinda, the good witch of the North that came to our rescue, or if you insist the wicked witch of the…"

"Really not the issue here, Rachel, you need to jump!" Santana pressed.

Rachel leaned closer to the window and saw the distance between the two buildings. "I… I can't… It's…"

"Rachel, we don't have a choice." Santana insisted. Suddenly, they heard a crashing noise. Santana looked outside and saw the building on the left was on fire too. "I'll go first, okay? And I'll catch you from there."

"But…"

"Do you trust me?" The tan girl asked.

"Yes." The petite girl said without hesitation.

"Then we can do this." The girls locked eyes for a moment, as if they were both trying to reassure each other. Santana nodded before carefully stepping over the window. She took a deep breath, holding on the edge before jumping. She crashed on the roof, barely making it. She hissed in pain and pulled herself forward. She stood up slowly and motioned for Rachel to follow suit.

The brunette took a deep breath before shakily stepping over the window. She wasn't a fan of heights but she knew she couldn't stay inside the saloon. She took another deep breath before leaping forward, hoping Santana would catch her.

Once they were both safe on the roof, they took a few seconds to look around them. The town was on fire, some people were running away, other were desperately trying to stop the flames with buckets of water. The weirdest part of all was that the fire inside the saloon seemed to die whereas the flames were raging everywhere else.

Rachel and Santana climbed off the roof and hand in hand, started to look for a place to hide.