A/N This chapter is for the awesome review I just got today from Kyzel. So, you've managed to snag my attention with your review. The 'I'm setting up my camp here.' Got me. I am so thankful you love this story because I've got a soft spot for it. I had to find the next chapter for you because you deserve it. I didn't think this would get much traction because it hasn't so far but your review sparked that need to give you what you asked. Thanks for the love. Until next time. I do not own glee or any of it's characters or storylines.


The woman had been carrying her mother for some time now and hadn't stopped for a break. Her mother hadn't woken up either.

They had finally reached a small mountain covered in snow. "This way." The woman guided.

The small group began walking on a path up the side of the mountain that went unseen by the naked eye. The trail leading in a wrap around manner.

The woman guided the way, being sure to cradle her mother with care. The higher than trekked the more began to pick up. The chill in the air began to lower in degree. They finally reached the lip of a cave.

The cave was pitch black until the boy walked further in some how navigating in the dark.

Than he returned to the woman's side while she still held her mother.

She couldn't see what they were doing until some how the woman lit small a flame than lit a that Beth realized was actually tiki torch.

Beth's mouth dropped open at the sight of fire.

It being so long since she's seen it.

The group walked further into the cave with the woman once again as their guidance and the boy their light.

They walked up what looked to be a hand made stony path in the caves ground.

Slowly but surely the biting cold wind dimmed down to a chill in the air.

As they climbed stepped to higher inner ground, it began to get warmer which baffled the hell out of Beth. Finally they came to a flat open space in the cave.

Beth's eyes widened more at the living space the group had seemed to acquire for themselves.

The woman walked over toward one of the soft looking make shift beds, though it was on the floor and just a couple of blankets.

The sheets and quilt looked so inviting Beth just wanted to crawl into it.

It really has been too long since she's felt comfort. However; her mother needed it more and she'd rather freeze her tail off than allow her mother to lay anywhere else.

As long as her mother was safe and taken care of, Beth didn't care what happened to her.

The woman gently laid the blonde down and immediately began inspecting the wound.

She pulled a knife from her waist belt and just when Beth feared she was going to stab her mother or something equally as horrifying.

The woman cut her mother's pant leg open and revealed the gruesome sight.

Beth bit her lip to hold in her sob at view.

Her mother's calf was swollen to an unimaginable size.

The foot itself was turning a deep dark purple with some bluish green hue's.

The teeth marks of the bear trap had obviously went deeper than they thought as her bone looked mangle under the skin.

In all honesty, she knew her mother may never walk again.

should it become infected, in all likely hood, she could die from the infection alone, anyway.

Medicine was no longer obtainable in this world and if you were lucky enough to make it through the main cities without being killed.

You still had to be careful in the hospital's as well because they were always lurking.

The woman kneeled back in sadness before nodding to herself and standing up.

She walked over to Beth looking her in the eyes.

"We need supplies. There is no way she'd go without catching an a infection. I need to go before the sun rises." The woman spoke.

"But what about help? You can't go out there alone, I'll go with you." Beth spoke determined.

The woman stood silent for a moment. Beth could see the cogs in her brain turning.

"I'll take Caspian. You will stay here."

"What?! No way! I'm coming. She's my mother and my responsibility." Beth argued.

The woman smiled softly at her which pissed her off for some reason but the feeling instantly vanished when the woman's hand took hold of her shoulder.

The woman spoke in a soft understanding tone.

"That may be so but you don't have to be strong right now, Brave one. Right now, your mother needs you. Caspian and I will be back as quickly as possible. But I won't argue about this at the moment because we are running out of time. She will need you here in case she wakes up. Bailey will stay with you until we return."

Beth's eyes began to become glassy, in under a second tears erupted.

"It'll be ok, brave one. I promise." The woman assured.

The blonde nodded. "Thank you.." Beth whimpered.

"No need to thank me. Just be patient. We'll return soon. If the torch begins to run low there are more over there." The woman pointed and Beth nodded

Than the woman turned to the boy Beth assumed to be Caspian.

"Come on, we're wasting time." The woman said than rushed back down the steps and out into the cold with Caspian.

Beth turned toward her mother's motionless body to see the little girl laying her head on her mother's chest and fast asleep.

Beth thought it was weird but still adorable. Weird because the girl didn't know her mother at all.

Adorable because she had secretly always wanted a sibling.

Seeing a red headed child on her mother's chest could almost trick her into believing that her mother wasn't injured.

That the world wasn't over and they were out camping for god knows what reason.

Beth walked over to the huddle of blankets and leaned against the cave wall sliding down next to her mother and the sleeping girl. Wrapping her arms around her knees.

Her tears came without shame. How could this happen?

They had been so careful. How could her father just abandon them?

They could have pulled that trap apart if he had helped but no. He ran like the coward he is and always will be.

She shouldn't be surprised though.

He was useless to them when the world was fine.

How could she expect him to suddenly become a man when the world went to shit.

She sighed as she leaned over placing a soft kiss to her mother's forehead.

"I love you, mom.." Beth whispered.


Beth had been pacing the room for god knows how long.

Her mind playing out so many twisted scenarios as to why the two hadn't returned yet.

The room had grown a chill after the woman and boy left.

She knows the sun has already risen because she followed the path back to the lip of the cave.

Her eyes took in the scenery and she gasped in awe at the miles of stretched out land of trees covered in snow.

It looked like a winter wonderland.

Granted, from that height the wind was strong and she struggled a little to stay up right every time a gust of wind hit.

She realized that since this all started, they must have covered so much ground that they were no longer in Lima.

There wasn't a city in sight, actually. It was all woods.

Eventually she heard the whirring sound that gave her nightmares in the distance but you could tell it was far away and just echoed across the trees.

Beth rushed back up to the hidden space and hasn't budged since.

She was becoming worried though. Her mother still hadn't woken up.

She heard steps approaching and scrambled to her feet in fear and anticipation.

Than sighed in relief when the woman and the boy returned with.. Camping gear?

A few extra sleeping bags and more quilts? Beth's eyes bulged.

Her group had never been able to even snag an umbrella but here these two are with enough supplies to share with a few people at a time.

'Holy cheesuz! Is that a pot and pan?!' Beth thought wildly in giddy happiness.

The two walked further in depositing all the items they acquired in the corner.

The woman rushed over to her mother speaking in worry.

"I'm sorry it took so long to return. I had to go to a special place to get the herbs I needed but thankfully, I got them." The woman said with a smile at Beth.

The woman than turned her attention to Caspian. "Caspian, set up the wood." She instructed.

Beth's eyes widened in surprise. "You found dry wood? How? It's covered with snow for miles." Beth asked in amazement.

"We have been on our own out here for time now. We know every inch of land. Don't worry your big brave heart about that." The woman said with a wink.

Beth smiled a genuine grateful smile. She was still worried about her mother, though.

The woman stood up and walked over to the wood that Caspian was gathering into a safe stack, at the farthest corner of the cave.

It was nearly pitch black except for the torch they had lit.

The woman helped to place the wood appropriately.

"Alright, I'll be just a minute." She told Beth in reassurance as she turned to leave.

"Wait, where are you going? What about my mom?"

"Patience, Brave one. I must make sure the boulders above the fire are aligned properly so we won't kill ourselves from smoke inhalation. Than I promise I will tend to your mother." The woman assured.

"Ok.." Beth spoke softly.

The woman existed back out through the steps.

Almost ten minutes later she heard the boulders above where Caspian was currently waiting with the wood, shifting above him.

Soon she felt a light layered breeze sweeping through along with some light from the sun.

It wasn't terribly cold but chilly enough to get freezing cold over time.

Soon she heard a muffled whistle sound through the cracks above the soon to be fire.

Caspian nodded than laid the torch against the wood.

Beth watched in amazement as it lit in a small manner than slowly grew to a decent height.

Soon enough, that light layer of cool breeze vanished.

She watched in awe as the smoke slipped through the cracks of the boulders above the fire, not filling the cave space they were in. The room warmed considerably.

Beth's eyes welled with tears as she felt warm and toasty, it was the greatest luxury.

Her eyes gazed down at her mother and realized the little girl was no longer with her.

Beth walked over and took her mother's hand in hers.

The woman came up the steps minutes later.

She immediately pulled her sack over to them along with a mortar and pestle stone set.

The woman pulled other items from her sack as well.

They were different types of plants. The woman handed over a few thick pieces to Beth along with a knife.

"Here, slice off the skin and scrape the juices from the inside into this." The woman instructed as she passed the mortar and pestle over.

Beth took it and immediately began doing as she was instructed urgently.

She hadn't notice the woman's warm smile and gaze directed at her.

The woman gathered the other items she needed and walked over to the fire where Caspian and the little red headed girl was sat.

The woman laid the pot on a iron table like surface. Caspian had placed on the tip of the flames as a barbecue grill would lay over it's own flames.

She pulled a bottle of water from her sack and uncapped it.

Beth's attention zeroed in on the water and grit her teeth as she felt her thirst finally hit her.

Beth was fascinated by the woman. She was calm, poised and level headed.

She watched as the woman peeled the skin off certain plants and chopped others in to sizable pieces, throwing them into the pot and stirring them in.

Than she switched to the pan and began making another concoction with more plant.

Being sure to save the skin of the plants and laying them near the fire.

The woman finally stood up and brought the pot with her.

She kneeled beside Beth and gently took the mortar from her.

Beth watched as she added dry plants and began mashing them together with the gel like substance that Beth had peeled and scraped from the plant the woman had instructed her to.

After the woman finished mashing it together. Creating a yellowish creamy but mushy, sticky substance. She sat it to the side for a moment.

She turned to the injured blonde on the makeshift cot.

"Ok, so what I'm about to do will scare you but I have to do it in order to not only save her leg but possibly give her the ability to walk again. Do I have your permission?" The woman asked calmly.

Beth's eyes were wide with uncertainty.

On one hand, so far these people had helped them but on the other she didn't know them at all. What if she caused something to actually happen to her mother.

But than again.. What other choice did she have? Either way, her mother was in danger.

Beth swallowed thickly. "You.. You have my permission."

The woman nodded with an assuring smiled.

"You truly are brave." The woman spoke softly and Beth smiled sadly.

Than the woman took the first cup and shuffled toward her mother's leg.

She took the mushy substance she had created and lathered it along her mother's entire calve and foot.

Beth watched questioningly. "It's to numb her foot." The woman answered the unasked question.

Beth's eyebrows hit her hairline at the news that this woman basically made a natural epidural.

The woman than stood up and grabbed the second pot to rest next to the first pot.

Than she walked back to the fire to grab the now warm skin of the plants.

After she set everything up she turned to Beth seriously.

"Once I start, you cannot stop me. You can either stay, watch and learn as you help assist me or you can sit by the fire if you don't think you can handle it. But once again, I must warn you. You cannot stop me once I start."

"I want to help."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

The woman took out her knife and walked over to the fire, burning the blade.

Beth's stomach bottomed out when she realized what the woman was doing.

The woman walked back over and kneeled at her mother's foot. She lightly grazed the heated knife over her mother's injury.

Her mother didn't wake in agony as she thought but than again it could be that she's in a coma because she's been unresponsive for hours now.

She could hear the wheeze in her mother's breathing.

Her breaths were uneven and weak.

The woman glanced at Beth once more before making the cut into her mother's leg.

Beth's eyes widened though she expected it and her heart thudded madly in her chest but kept her cool remembering what the woman said.

The woman's hands went from cutting her mother open, to her fingers in the open incision messing with the bone. She moved with accurate precision and determined, quick concentrated hands.

"Wha.. What are you doing now?" Beth asked fearfully.

"Realigning the bone that snapped." The woman said casually.

Beth's eyes bulged out their sockets.

Beth's stomach churned as bile tried to claw up her throat when she heard the woman snap the bones back into place.

Beth's eyes shot to her mother's motionless pale body.

No reaction. That worried Beth greatly.

The woman's hand covered in her mother's blood reached for the mortar. Beth grabbed it and held it up for the woman to easily access.

The woman smiled a calm grateful smile.

She scooped up a hand full than began lathering it into her mother's open wound around and against the area where the bone snapped.

Than she gestured with her head toward pot she first heated above the fire.

She took a glob full and spread it into the bone and flesh around the bone.

After that she removed a medical packaged items that turned out to be needle and thread.

Beth's eyes widened once again at yet another object that she thought was unobtainable.

The woman began sewing the inner flesh first than made her way back out of the wounds incision as she sowed it neatly and professionally shut.

Once she was done, she used the large leaves that they scraped clean of it's juices and began wrapping them around her mother's entire calve and foot.

The woman used some sort of plant twine to tie it in such a perfect wrap, it almost looked like a actual boot.

Quinn had lost a good bit of blood, that terrified Beth but the woman's calm demeanor helped to calm her.

The woman grabbed another sack and began emptying it.

Beth's shock hit the roof once more when all the simple necessities to start a simple manually monitored IV drip were laid out before her. Many packs to last a good few weeks.

How did this woman manage to get hospital supplies was beyond her.

They weren't even near any abandoned hospitals.

Unless she already had them on hand which would explain a lot.

She watched as the woman expertly found a vain and inserted the IV than placed the bag on one of the tall camping gear bags they returned with.

The woman than turned to Beth and handed her the steaming second pot that she had created with the plants.

"Drink, Brave one." The woman spoke softly. Beth looked hesitant. "It's ok, I promise." The woman assured.

Beth couldn't explain it to anyone but she felt completely safe with this woman.

She grabbed the warm pot and brought it to her lips.

She moaned deeply as the flavors exploded in her mouth and she felt warm liquid for the first time in so long.

She began chugging it so desparately the broth began spilling out the corners of her mouth.

What ever was in that pot made the ache in her stomach feel instantly full.

The woman handed her a bottle of water as well.

Beth chugged it down in under a second.

Her throat dry from lack of hydration and hoarse from screaming or yelling.

Once she had finished she felt her body become sluggish with achy sleep.

It had been hard sleeping the last two days before this happened with her mother.

The blonde curled on the ground next to her mother's bed.

"Tsk Tsk, Brave one. Stand please." The woman spoke sweetly.

"But I want to sleep next to my mother."

"And you will but first we have to make you both comfortable." The woman assured softly.

Beth watched as the woman and Caspian unfolded two camping cots.

The kind that is raised three feet from the ground.

Her eyes filled with tears instantly as she watched the woman pull the blankets and quilts to make the bed as comfortable as she could.

There were even pillows.

She couldn't remember the last time she slept on one.

Once the cots were finished, looking as comfortable as clouds.

The woman slow and gently lifted her mother bridal style once again.

As Caspian just as carefully held her mother's foot upright.

They laid her in the bed care and made sure to use the extra pillows to elevate her leg. They wrapped the blonde in two quilts.

Than they opened the next cot making it just as comfy for her as they had her mother's.

They lined the cot next to Quinn's with only one foot of space between them.

The woman gestured with her hand.

"Come now, Brave one. It's time to rest."

"B..But.. But what about you guys? Your sleeping on the floor."

"We're fine. Don't worry about us. Our beds are comfortable. Now, lay down and get some rest."

"Umm.. May I ask?" Beth started unsurely.

"Yes?" The woman gave her such fulfilling attention that only a mother could.

"What's your name?"

"It's Rachel." The brunette with round kind chocolate eyes replied warmly with a soft smile that made Beth feel like she was cocooned in a womb of the sun.

"Rachel." Beth repeated with a smile.

"Yes and what's your name, Brave one?"

"Beth."

"Well, Beth. It is such a pleasure to meet you. I know you don't know us and you have no reason to trust us but I want you to rest. I want you to relax and sleep the best you can because your safe here. Nothing will hurt you or your mother. I promise you that." Rachel spoke with pure candor shining in her eyes.

Beth's eyes began to well at the words.

"Oh no, Brave one. Don't cry." Rachel cooed and Beth lost it. She began sobbing as everything hit her hard.

This fucked up world.

Not eating or sleeping.

Constantly running for her life.

Her mother injured and she isn't even sure she'll wake again.

Her father abandoning them when they needed him most.

All of it! She was tired and here this woman was in a world full of hate and literally dog eat dog kind of environment but she was choosing to be kind and helpful.

Beth couldn't take the woman's generosity like it was nothing. It meant everything.

She felt herself being pulled into strong arms as the woman hugged like her mother would if she were awake and whispered reassuring words in her ear.

Beth hugged this complete stranger back and felt so much sadness begin to leave her. Peel away from her like a second skin.

"It's all going to be ok, Brave one. I can tell your mother is a fighter. She'll wake up when her body is ready to let her, Ok?" Rachel spoke so soothingly Beth felt herself calming down almost instantly. "But right now it's time for you to rest. In the morning we'll talk more, I promise."

Beth nodded as she wiped her tears.

The woman helped her to lay down and tucked her in, to Beth's surprise and gave Beth a kiss to her forehead. She felt five years old again.

With that, the woman turned on her heel and left the blonde to her bed.

Beth saw the little red head and Caspian crawl into their own bed of blankets on the floor and felt bad that she and mother were comfortable but they weren't.

The woman came back with washed hands.

She crawled into her blankets which happened to be the one her mother just bled all over but the woman acting unaffected by it.

Beth laid her head back down on the pillow. The second her head relaxed along with her body as she sunk into getting snuggled in the quilts, she groaned in pleasure.

She hasn't felt a warm comfy bed in so long it felt entirely unreal.

"Sweet dreams, brave one." Rachel whispered.

"Good night." Beth replied just as softly but passed out within seconds of the words leaving her lips.