Summary: Rachel has always lived for her future. Fortunately, she has her fellow gleeks and a certain Mohawk sporting badass to teach her about living (and loving) in the present.

Pairings: Puckleberry, Bartie, Chang-squared, hints of Samtana, mentioned Brittana, hints of Klaine. Puck/Rachel/Santana/Sam friendship, Faberry friendship.

Warnings: This contains spoilers up to "A Very Glee Christmas". It pretty much goes AU after that for obvious reasons.

Disclaimer: I don't own this show or anything related to this show. If I did, there never would've been Brochel and the disaster that was Klaine breaking up because Blaine cheated. As if. And what was up with the sudden Bram relationship…. Point is, I don't write for this show. Kinda obviously.

Author's Note: Hello all! Here is the next installment. Please read the Author's Note at the end of the chapter. Got a bit of a dilemma going on and need some feedback. Thanks! Hope you enjoy.

New York, New York

In the end, Rachel did not have to rip Quinn's pretty little blonde head off because while it wasn't quite as serious as she made it out to be, life was somewhat changed. As it stands, Rachel would be keeping an eye on Quinn and Tina's budding sisterhood because it seemed to lead them to do… questionable things. And if anyone out of the glirls were going to be questionable, it was her and Santana…. She really was going to need to reevaluate the amount of time she spent with Santana. It was having an effect on her moral compass. And not in a good way.

"So let me get this straight, when you two took off this afternoon, it was so you could follow Mercedes around," Santana said, staring at Tina and Quinn who stood in the center of the hotel room. "And you found her doing something so shocking that it was going to turn the whole glee club on its head?"

"Was she hanging out with the competition or something?" Rachel asked. "Because that's about as shocking as I think Mercedes can get."

"She's dating Finn," Brittany chimed in. Rachel and Santana both turned to question her seemingly off the wall comment when they noticed the shocked (and disappointed faces of both Quinn and Tina). Brittany shrugged. "I thought everyone knew that. Oh, this is like that that time when we weren't supposed to know that Quinn had a boyfriend but pretty much everyone did."

"How did you know?" Tina asked in disbelief.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "How did you just now find out?

"I'm sorry. Can we get back to the issues at hand here which is that Mercedes and Finn are together?! Since friggin when?"

Quinn crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "From what Tina and I gathered, it's been going on since prom night. You know they went together, right?"

"Wait, Finn and Mercedes went to prom... together? I thought Mercedes went with Kurt."

"It was like some kind of group date thing," Tina replied, waving her hand. "But then Kurt pretty much ditched them throughout the prom so he could stalk Blaine. And I guess one thing led to another and here we are. Mercedes and Finn are a couple. We totally caught them kissing and holding hands at the Bronx Zoo today!"

"You followed them all the way to the Bronx?" Santana arched an eyebrow. "You two are kinda scary together. You know that?"

"Thank you," they replied in stereo. "So now you all know." Brittany cleared her throat. "Ok, so now you two know because Brittany has apparently known this whole time. The question is what we are going to do about it."

"What are we supposed to do about it?" Santana asked. "It's not a big deal. Everyone in this club has hooked up with someone else."

"Yes, but it's Finn!" Tina emphasized. "In case you missed the giant clue by four here, he's not exactly known for being the best boyfriend in the world." Both Quinn and Rachel glared. "You can thank me later for pointing out what you're both too chicken to say. Finn sucks as a boyfriend. And as much as Mercedes can be a pain in the ass, she doesn't deserve Finn and his capriciousness."

"So… intervention?" Rachel suggested.

"Intervention!"

And so that is how an hour later, Mercedes Jones found herself seated in the middle of Rachel's room with Tina, Quinn, Brittany, Santana, Rachel and Kurt all staring at her. They made the choice to bring Kurt in after much deliberation. While Blaine may have been the obvious choice for the glirl intervention, he was tainted by the boys. And Mercedes might respond better with the more familiar face of her best friend in the room. After being informed of the reasons behind this hastily thrown together intervention, Kurt was naturally very much on board with the plan.

"I know that you're confused as to why we've asked you here," Quinn started. "And so help me, Britt, if you open your mouth!" she cleared her throat. "Anyway, I know that you're confused but…"

"You guys are concerned about me dating Finn," Mercedes interrupted. For the second time that evening Quinn and Tina looked shocked. If it wasn't such a serious topic, Rachel might've been amused. "I saw you two when we were at the zoo. Tina, for future reference, when trying to 'get your ninja' on, you might want to hide the neon pink streaks in your hair. And Quinn, the same goes for. Bright blue is not the best ninja color."

Both girls looked at their attire and sighed. "I quit. This ninja business is not all it's cracked up to be."

Rachel shook her head before focusing her attention on Mercedes. "Ok, so nothing changes. You still went on a date with Finn. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that a cute boy that happens to be my friend asked me out and it was nice. What's so wrong about that?" she tilted her head to the side. "Unless you guys think that I'm not good enough for him."

Santana was the first to break the incredulous silence that settled over the room with an ungraceful snort. "Because that makes total sense. Look Aretha, you and I were not built to be besties because we're too damn similar. So you know that I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you. Guys like Finn seem perfect on the surface. They pay you a couple of compliments, make you feel pretty but then they end up treating you like crap and tossing you to the side once they get whatever it is that they're looking for."

"And what exactly do you think Finn is looking for from me?"

"I don't actually know but I do know that Finn is a crap boyfriend and possibly crap human being. He's only going to use you, Mercedes, and even you don't deserve that."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Did it ever occur to any of you that I'm not stupid? I'm also not naïve. I don't think that Finn and I are going to have some epic love that's going to last the ages. I don't even think we'll get to the love part. But I like hanging out with him. And he makes me feel like I'm actually someone important. I don't understand why I don't deserve that."

Rachel sighed as the intervention went downhill from there. This wasn't quite what she had in mind when it came to talking to Mercedes about her new relationship but she supposed it made sense. Of course the girl would be defensive. Wasn't Rachel the exact same way when Mercedes and Kurt were questioning her about Puck? Back then the idea of Puck being in a loving, committed relationship with the same girl was probably confusing. But that was the image that Puck put out into the world… at the time. But he changed. And so did Finn. Maybe it was time to find out how much.

Rachel slipped out the room without saying a word. She knew her absence wouldn't be noticeable at all given the heavy debate going on back there. She walked down the hall, following the sounds of teenage males. While the girls were doing their intervention, the rest of the boys (and Lauren) were playing video games. She walked into the room that Puck was sharing with Blaine, Mike and Sam, to find the four crowded together on one of the beds while the others were sprawled around the room in various positions. Puck paused the game when he noticed Rachel sticking her head in the door.

He opened his mouth to say something when he noticed the look on her face. A smirk tilted his lips and he turned towards Finn sitting on the floor in front of the other bed. "Time to go face the music, Hudson. Better go now while Santana is still using her words." Rachel didn't even ask how he knew what she was doing there. If Brittany knew about Finn and Mercedes then of course Puck knew. She wouldn't be surprised if those two actually did share a brain.

"Did I do something wrong?" Finn asked, climbing to his feet. Puck ignored him in favor of restarting the game. Sam cursed as he was busy watching the drama unfold. He elbowed his best friend in the ribs and his attention was back on the game. Finn sighed and joined Rachel outside the room.

They walked in silence until they were by the elevators. There were several couches and cushiony armchairs set up by the elevator banks to form a mini lounge area. Rachel sat down and motioned for Finn to have a seat. He chose to sit in the chair opposite hers despite there being enough room on the couch for them both. She shrugged, folding her legs up and resting her hands on her lap.

"Do you like her?" Rachel finally asked. "I mean, like really like her. No tricks. No caveats. Do you like Mercedes for Mercedes?"

Finn took a deep breath. "I know what everyone in this club thinks of me. And I've earned that. I started off this year on top and now I'm so far down, I don't know if I'll ever get back up. And I'm not sure that I want to." Rachel blinked. He smiled softly. "In case you haven't noticed. Popularity and I do not make for the best decisions."

Rachel shook her head, laughing quietly. "No, I don't suppose you do."

"Look, the thing is… this conversation is way overdue. I really screwed up with you, Rachel. I broke your heart. I helped make you feel like you didn't belong. I almost broke you. But Puck… Puck saved you. In two weeks, he did what I should've been doing since we first started dating."

"And that is?"

"Make sure that you know amazing you are. Because you are. You're talented and you're beautiful and you're going to make all your dreams come true. Because you deserve that, Rachel. You really do. And I know that Puck is going to be there, standing beside you, pushing you to do it."

Rachel smiled softly, feeling tears welling in her eyes. "You really think so?"

"No, I know so. You two… you two belong together. You both have flaws but you make them work when you're together. He doesn't love you in spite of your flaws. He loves you with them. And that makes him different than me. That makes him better than me." He looked down at his hands. "But even knowing that I screwed up so bad with you. With Quinn. Just in general, it took Puck almost dying for me to get it. It never should've gone that far. I was jealous that Puck got the girl, got the respect and then the solos. I honestly never meant to hurt him.

"I remember seeing the car hit him that day. I remember thinking that he was dead. I went home and I was terrified that any minute we were going to get the call that he was dead. And that it was all my fault. The day he woke up was the day that it finally clicked for me. It finally hit me that I'm a selfish bastard. Puck forgave me for putting him in a coma. He forgave me for screwing up his life. He made you guys forgive me. I'm not taking that for granted anymore. I don't want to. I want to be the guy that deserves friends like that. I want to be a better man."

Rachel's smile grew a little brighter. She could tell that he meant it. He really did mean the words coming out of his mouth. This was the Finn Hudson that she fell for. The one that she could see shining right behind the dumb jock popularity seeking exterior. This Finn was missing for far too long. She held out her hand and he took it immediately.

"Welcome back," she whispered.

"Thanks," he grinned. He squeezed her hand briefly before letting go. "I promise that I'm not after anything with Mercedes. I really do like her. She's smart. She's funny. And most importantly, she doesn't take any of that crap from me. She calls me on my BS. She won't let me hurt her."

"Ok," Rachel finally said. "I believe you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I really believe you. I'll even go call the troops off as I'm pretty sure that they're going to give up arguing with Mercedes any minute now and just decide to take you out directly."

Finn laughed. "Have I mentioned how much more fun things are around here now that we all hang out with each other?"

"It is, isn't it?" Rachel agreed. "Also, just so we're clear, if you hurt Mercedes in any way, I will obliterate your nuts. And then I will turn you over to Santana. Are we clear?"

Finn paled, nodding his head. "Yeah, we're clear." He cleared his throat. "I guess Puck's been giving out how to be a badass lessons."

"No, that was Santana," she smiled. "But Noah did teach me how to be a better person. I think he'll show you too." He nodded again. And that was all that needed to be said between them. Rachel wasn't sure when things changed between her and Finn but she was happy with where they were.

When she started the school year off, she was so in love with the idea of being in love with Finn Hudson. She didn't realize how toxic they were for each other. They really did bring out the worst in one another. She got it now. And then when everything happened with Puck… she never thought she could forgive him. She didn't really, despite what she told Puck on a daily basis. But now, sitting in the quiet of the lounge area, she realized that she could forgive. Never forget but she could forgive. And maybe one day she could learn to be friends with Finn again.

"Hudson!"

That is after she calmed Santana and Quinn down and reassured them that Finn meant Mercedes no harm. Because that seemed to be a little bit more pressing at the moment. She glanced down the hall to find the two former Cheerios storming down the hall towards their quiet little summit. Blaine was with them now, gleefully filming the entire experience. They were really going to have limit the amount of time he spent with Brittany and Puck. She was also making a mental note to ask what genius let Santana near a baseball bat and how exactly did she manage to sneak that one into the hotel.

Given how they started their journey to New York, Rachel couldn't help but silently marvel at the irony of winding up in the bathroom once again. At least this time, Santana was standing beside her with concern in her eyes as Tina was the one hunched over the toilet, vomiting up a serious case of nervousness and possibly every meal from the previous week. Well at least this time the bathroom was decidedly much cleaner than the one at the airport.

"Tina, you good in there?" Santana called once the retching slowed down. She was rewarded with another gag. She winced. "I'm just going to go in there… check on her." Rachel nodded even as her best friend walked away to join Tina in the stall.

She could hear Santana humming something and smiled. Her conversation with Finn from earlier in the week came back to her. Things were much more interesting now that they were all hanging out together. And they really had come far as a glee club and as a family. There was not a single person that hadn't changed since Puck's decision to force Santana and Rachel together during Christmas break. And Rachel knew that biggest change was in herself. She was a different person now.

This was proven to be true when Vocal Adrenaline's star walked into the bathroom just a few moments after Santana left to help Tina. The petite singer didn't notice Rachel standing at the sink as she had a phone pressed against her ear. There were tears in her eyes and Rachel didn't remember her being that small. She looked scared, sad and fragile. Rachel wondered if she looked this bad when she stupidly sent her to a crack house in a jealous fit.

Once Sunshine was done with her phone call, she walked to the sinks and finally noticed Rachel. "Hi," Rachel greeted, weakly. Sunshine looked startled before looking resigned.

"You don't have to try anything. I'm not going out there tonight."

"What do you mean? You're supposed to be on in five minutes."

"I can't. I can't do this," Sunshine burst out. "Singing is supposed to be fun. It's what I love but Dustin… he's a miserable human being. He only cares about winning. I just want to go home. I can't do this anymore. Ever since I came to this stupid town, it's been one mistake after another."

Rachel's heart broke a little more and the guilt twisted in her stomach. She stepped forward, ignoring the flinch Sunshine made. She pulled down some of the paper towels and wet it a little, dabbing at the younger girl's running makeup.

"This is a conversation that is long overdue," Rachel said, quietly. "I'm so sorry for everything I did to you at the beginning of this school year. The person I was back then… I'm not proud of the things I did. I made a terrible decision that could've ended a lot worse than it did. I will never be able to fully express how sorry I am that I made you join Vocal Adrenaline because you were that scared. You're right, they're terrible human beings. I should know. I dated one of them."

Sunshine smiled a little but Rachel could tell that it was forced. "Sunshine, you're amazingly talented. You're as good as me. And maybe, possibly, a smidgen of a fraction, a little better than me. Vocal Adrenaline doesn't have anything without you. You need to go out there tonight and show what you've been working towards this whole year. You can quit after that. But don't quit now. You've come way too far, done way too much to not go out there and show all of New York that you're a star. You can do this."

"Why are you being nice to me? I'm the competition."

"Because you're right. Singing should be about having fun doing what you love. I lost sight of that once but good friends showed me that it doesn't have to be all about winning. It should be about being happy doing what you love. You and I we're not that different. Singing is your passion. It's what drives you. Tonight is a big deal. Singing on that stage where only the best get to perform is huge. You earned that place tonight. And it's not right if you don't take it."

Sunshine gave a shaky smile before doing something unexpected. She wrapped her arms around Rachel's neck and hugged her tightly. Rachel felt the guilt slide away as hugged the smaller girl back. She would always regret what she did but if she could help the girl find some small peace of mind tonight well… maybe she was on the right track after all.

Vocal Adrenaline to the stage. Vocal Adrenaline to the stage.

"That's your cue," Rachel said, pulling away with a smile. "You're going to be amazing. I already know it. But don't worry about Dustin or even the rest of those jerks. Just have fun. And let you shine through."

Sunshine nodded. "Thank you, Rachel. Really. Thanks. And good luck tonight."

"Thanks," Rachel beamed. Sunshine started to walk out the bathroom when Rachel called her back. "Just so you know, there is a glee club where singing is fun. I hear they're always on the lookout for more talent. And just think, you wouldn't even have to audition."

Sunshine smiled, a little more genuinely. "I think I might have to look into that." She gave Rachel one last smile before walking out the bathroom. The door hadn't even closed before Santana and Tina were bursting out the stall to crowd her against the sink.

"What the hell was that?"

"And what have you done with the real Rachel Berry?"

Rachel glared at her two friends before pushing them away. The three girls stood in the odd stare off before collapsing in a fit of giggles. She waited until Tina washed her face and made herself somewhat presentable before grabbing both of their hands. She truly wasn't concerned about Vocal Adrenaline's performance tonight. She was going to go out there, sing the songs that she wrote with her friends and have fun. If they won, that would be great. And if they didn't, at least she was doing what she loved with the people she loved.

They walked the long, winding corridors packed with students racing back and forth prepping for their performance. After a few minutes, they were back amongst their friends. Brittany and Mike were going over last minute choreography with Kurt, Finn, Mercedes and Lauren. Artie and Dave were sitting together with Blaine talking about some ridiculous game they all loved. Quinn was pacing nearby, a habit that stopped as soon as Tina walked over and smacked her on the back of the head. Sam and Puck were huddled together with Jesse in the corner. But for once they didn't look like they were arguing. It almost looked like… they were actually talking? She drifted closer to the three boys.

"Don't let Dustin get to you," Jesse said. "If he's resorting to mind tricks this late in the game, it's because he's worried. He should be. Aside from his star, they don't have much in the way of talent this year. And you guys, well you're all pretty talented."

Rachel's eyes widened at the casual praise that fell from Jesse's mouth. She was happy to note that Santana was just as surprised as her. She nudged her best friend. "Looks like everyone is doing a little growing up these days."

"It's about damn time," Santana murmured. She linked pinkies with Rachel as they watched their friends and waited for their time to perform.

New Directions to the stage. New Directions to the stage.

Rachel took a deep, calming breath. Santana squeezed her hand. "You ready to go get it right?"

Her eyes drifted to Puck who was still standing with Jesse and Sam. He smiled in her direction and gave her a thumbs up. She beamed in his direction. "I already have. But let's go kick some ass."

"After you, midget."

She stepped out onto the stage, taking in the hushed crowd before her. A smile tilted her lips briefly as she realized that this was her place. She could have it all. She could have friends and a family and she could have the stage. And she was going to have fun doing it all. She damn well finally got it right.

"What the hell was that?!" Jesse's voice bellowed over the excited teenagers gathered in the lobby outside the theater. He charged right over to Puck and Rachel. "At what point did you decide to throw in that almost kiss?"

"It kinda just happened," Puck said, almost apologetically. Rachel tightened her grip on her boyfriend. During their duet, both were caught up in the emotions of the song. They almost kissed but Puck managed to pull away at the last minute. But she didn't miss the darkened look in his eyes. He knew as well as she did that theatrics were not appreciated by the judges. The bad mood settled as soon as they stepped off the stage and it looked like Jesse was not about to let him get over it.

"It just happened?" Jesse repeated, incredulously. "Do you have any idea how perfect that was?"

"What?" Puck asked, flatly.

"I was watching from the audience," Jesse went on, as if he hadn't said the single most surprising thing he could possibly say…. Ever. "The whole audience was eating it up. They loved it. I think it actually would been more effective if you two really had kissed."

"But you were the one telling me that over the top dramatics aren't appreciated."

"Yeah, over the top," Jesse rolled his eyes. "You two have natural chemistry together. You look like you're two steps away from jumping each other while discussing breakfast choices. That comes out stronger when you're singing. Especially something that you wrote. The audience was loving it. I don't know about the judges but from what I saw, they were impressed too." He nodded. "I have to say, you did good, Puckerman. But I always thought you could."

"I," Puck started, trailing off. "Uh."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Jesse smirked. He then looked to Rachel. "I could tell you that you and your little friends have made me want to be a better man, but that would be really sappy and kinda pointless. So what I will tell you is that I'm trying. I'm sorry for everything I've done in the past and even in the past few weeks. I've been a dick. But I'm working on changing."

Rachel chewed on her lip before sticking out a hand. "Welcome to the reformed divas club." He laughed, taking her hand. "So are you sticking around?"

"Yeah, actually, Mr. Schue offered to let me stay on board with New Directions in the fall. I was thinking of taking some classes, you know, maybe making this a thing or something."

"You're thinking about being a show choir director? What happened to your making it big dreams?"

"I realized that this is something I'm good at," Jesse admitted. "And it's actually fun. Broadway and show business, they'll always be there. And maybe one day I will. But for right now, I think Schue is going to need all the help he can get managing all of you guys. There's a lot more of you than there used to be."

Rachel giggled. "Yes, I see your point. Thank you, Jesse."

"No, thank you, Rachel." He cleared his throat, looking to the still shocked Puck. "And thank you, Noah. I've always known you could be the better man. The one that could be the true lead of New Directions, on and off the stage. Tonight you proved it. But don't think I'm going easy on your ass next year. I expect you to be coming up with songs to sing during your audition for Julliard. Maybe we can come up with a portfolio."

Puck blinked and nodded his head. Rachel quietly marveled at the almost adorably bashful look on his face. Jesse shook his head once before walking over to Santana. She watched as he started to fumble through an apology but Santana just punched him on the arm and slung an arm around his shoulders. Clearly, she was accepting him into the family too.

"So is it just me or did everyone get replaced with pod people this year?"

Rachel pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Nope, I think it's just you. Everyone seems perfectly normal to me." He growled at her. She laughed, winding her arms around his neck. "I love you, Noah."

"I love you, Rachel." He opened his mouth to most likely say that he was sorry again. But this time Rachel cut him off.

"If you apologize one more time for almost kissing me, I will kick you in a very sensitive place. The only thing that I'm upset about right now is that you haven't kissed me for real."

He grinned. "Well, can't have that," he murmured before finally placing his lips on hers. She didn't give a damn if those stupid judges thought it was inappropriate. Kissing Puck was something she could do all day, every day.

Suddenly a hush fell over the gaggle of students outside. Rachel turned away from Puck to see that there were dozens of students gathered around a paper on the wall outside the theater. The list. They posted the list of who placed. She felt Puck tense in her arms. And as much as she wanted to charge over there and see it for herself, she couldn't leave him. So she stayed with him, watching with the others as Will and Emma crossed the room to read the paper themselves.

"Someone should go over there," Kurt whispered. Rachel turned to see that all of the New Directions kids were huddled together. All eyes were on their teachers. Even Jesse seemed caught up in the moment of tension. Finally, Will made it through the crowd. Rachel had to give the man credit. He started at the top of the paper. His finger tracing a downward path. He tapped a name near the bottom of the sheet and nodded to something Emma was saying. Then they were making their way back to group. "Oh, god. We didn't place. We didn't place."

"Hummel, it's fine," Santana snapped. "So we didn't place. We did our best and we did it with style. We'll just have to do better next year."

"Yeah, next year," the others chorused.

"Guys, I'm so sorry," Will started, chewing on his lip absently. Rachel felt her heart plummet at the unspoken confirmation. Will shook his head. "It looks like we're going to have to dust off a few cover songs after all. I know you guys were really into original songs."

"Wait, what?"

"We're in the Top Ten. We're going to finals!" Will grinned. An excited murmur started amongst the gathered teens.

"But, you were looking at the bottom of the list," Quinn protested.

"That's because we were looking to see where Vocal Adrenaline came in," Emma smiled a little darkly. "I don't suppose Carmel will be too happy with Dustin for not even placing."

Jesse chuckled, crossing his arm over his chest and looking back at his former team. Dustin was loudly berating them. Jesse shook his head before turning back to the New Directions. "Alright, nerds. So you placed. Now you have to impress them one more time."

"I'm calling it now, no more solos for me," Puck announced. "I don't think my heart can take it anymore." Rachel giggled, hugging him tightly.

"You disappoint me, Puckerman," Jesse chided with a grin. "Well, guess that's another thing we're going to need to work on during the summer."

"Thanks, Rach," Puck hissed in her ear. "It's official. You've created a monster. I think I liked him better when he was working against us!"

"You're just mad that I managed to bring Jesse from the dark side when you and Brittany couldn't even do it."

She honestly could say that she didn't care how they did tomorrow. The shocked silent look on his face was totally worth anything that happened with the competition the next day. Whether they came in first, second or even last. Getting one over on her plotting genius of a boyfriend was totally worth it.

In the end, they came in second. First would've been awesome but second was just as good. It was a lot better than fourteen which is where Vocal Adrenaline placed. But for once the underdogs came out slightly on top and it felt good. It felt even better because Will was allowing them to be the silly teens that they were and bask in their victory. Which meant that their very large second place trophy was coming on the plane. Artie initially wanted to buy an extra plane ticket for it. Will compromised and said that he would let them check it at the gate so that they could keep posing with it while they waited for their flight back to Lima. And that is exactly what they were doing.

Rachel smiled as her friends continued to switch places, posing in a variety of groups around the shiny statue. They were loud and giggling and happy. But most importantly they were comfortable with who they were. They weren't trying to hide that they knew each other. Mercedes and Finn were happily kissing in plain view of everyone. Kurt snapped a picture of them earlier and posted it to Facebook. Rachel thought there was going to be an epic meltdown but instead Finn made it his profile picture and updated his Facebook relationship status. Facebook official was something even Rachel couldn't get in the beginning stages of their relationship. But instead of being jealous or angry, Rachel just felt proud of how far her ex-boyfriend… no her friend, had come.

"What's taking Puck so long?" Sam complained. Rachel's brow furrowed as she glanced in the direction of the newsstand. Ten minutes ago, Puck walked off to the newsstand with the intent to buy a New York newspaper for his grandmother. She had a collection of newspapers from every city she ever visited. But she never got one from New York. Puck was determined to fix that for her. But that was ten minutes ago. There were few passengers in the airport so there couldn't have been a line. So what was the hold up?

"Guys, we're about to board in twenty minutes. I want to meet before we get on the plane," Will called over the noise of happy teenagers. Sam and Rachel exchanged looks again before deciding to just go after their wayward friend. They didn't have to look very far. He was exactly where he said he would be. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone.

"I don't think you're really understanding the opportunity I'm offering you here," Dustin said, leaning far too close to Puck for anyone's comfort. He took a step back glaring at the Carmel coach.

"Oh, I think I understand you perfectly," Puck retorted. "If I transfer to Carmel, you'll not only pay all my future medical bills but you'll also pull some strings and get me into the college of my choice. And the only thing I have to do is betray my friends and family."

"You're young. You'll have plenty of time to make new friends. Better friends that aren't quite so weird looking," Dustin assured him. "Think about this, Puckerman. Your mother is already overworked and stretched to the max taking care of you and your sister. Your medical bills are expensive. This deal will help take some of that burden off your poor mother."

Rachel felt her fists clench but she remained on the sidelines, silently watching. On the one hand, she was slightly disappointed that Puck was even listening to Dustin. But on the practical hand, she understood why. The hospital bills from the accident alone was eating up his mother's savings. The ongoing cost of constant monitoring and checkups was practically bankrupting them. The Hudson-Hummel family attempted to pick up some of the bills but Debra refused. She didn't hold Finn anymore responsible for the accident than Puck did. They were of the firm belief that they could work it out. And they were. But this deal, this offer, would make things even easier.

"You're a star," Dustin continued, taking Puck's silence as a good thing. "You think that your little band of freaks would've made it as far in that competition without you. You deserve to be front and center, not hidden in the background. Join Vocal Adrenaline and we will make you a star. We'll make you famous and all of the other concerns you have will be a thing of the past."

Puck nodded slowly. "Yeah, I have to get back to you on that one, Dustin. But thanks for the offer. It's been… really good talking to you." He tipped his head in Dustin's direction before spinning on his heel and walking away quickly. Rachel and Sam watched as his eyes drifted around seemingly looking for something. He saw them and looked surprised before continuing his search.

Finally he spotted what he was looking for. Or rather who as he headed slightly past them towards an airport security agent. Rachel and Sam exchanged confused looks once more and followed after him.

"Hello, Agent Dinozzo," Puck smiled, reading the man's nametag. "I just wanted to report that there was a man acting suspiciously in the newsstand over there. He approached me and made me feel very… uncomfortable. I think he might've been one of those guys you read about in the papers. You know the ones that shouldn't be allowed near schools and stuff. I have mentioned that I'm sixteen years old. Right? Oh, well there's that. Also I don't think he actually has a flight today."

The agent didn't listen much longer. He was already barking orders on the radio to his partner and ordering him to meet him at the newsstand. The man nodded at Puck before running off in the direction they just came from. Fortunately, the angle they were standing in allowed the three teens the perfect view of Dustin being tackled to the ground by several aggressive TSA agents.

"That was even more awesome than I expected," Puck grinned. He glanced at Sam and Rachel. "Did you guys need me for something?"

"Why didn't you take the deal?" Sam asked, seemingly against himself. "He was right."

"He was. It would've been awesome to not have to worry about paying yet another freaking hospital bill but music makes me... I don't know happy. I don't want to be a miserable, soul sucking automaton like the rest of the Vocal Adrenaline assholes. I want to be chilling, writing music with my friends. And I am."

Rachel smiled, taking his hand in hers. "Your mother might kill you for turning down an offer like that."

"I doubt it," Puck snorted. "She'll back any decision that leads to her getting gorgeous completely Jewish grandbabies. And I don't think the Carmel deal would've led to that."

"I don't know. I can actually see it. The dashing rogue male lead of Vocal Adrenaline and the talented ingénue of New Directions. Star crossed lovers divided by fate. Sounds romantic to me."

"Sounds played out," Puck corrected, dragging her back to the gate area. Sam followed behind, snickering. "Sounds like it's been done before and it ended with you covered in egg."

"Still reliving the past, Puckerman?" Jesse sniped as they joined the rest of the gleeks.

"Nope, enjoying my present and dreading my future with you around."

"As you should be."

"Anyway," Will laughed. "I wanted to meet with you all before we started home to tell you that I'm so proud of all of you. You've come a long way since the beginning of this school year. You should be proud of yourselves as well. So to celebrate the growth that we've all made, I decided that after each competition we should reward that individual that has gone above and beyond to make sure that each performance is great. It's a way to recognize the talent that we all have and to honor that. Since I came up with this idea at the end of the year, I decided that we could instead celebrate the one person that has demonstrated the hardest work and inspired all of us to be the best that we could be. The one that in general just embodies everything that we want New Directions to be about."

Rachel hid a smile. She knew where this was headed. Will and Jesse had approached them all individually to get their vote on the subject. She knew without asking who they all voted for. It was really a no-brainer.

"Anyway, you all voted to make sure that it was a totally fair process and it was a unanimous decision save for two votes," Jesse continued. "And the winner of the first ever New Directions MVP award is…. Noah Puckerman."

"What?" Puck asked, flatly.

"Who the hell voted against him?" Santana and Rachel snapped at the same time.

Kurt cleared his throat. "Uh, well that would be me. I voted for myself," he admitted. "I thought we were all doing that. But then Mercedes corrected me and I changed my vote! So it should've been only one vote not for Puck."

"It was," Will mock glared at Jesse. "There was one vote for Rachel (and that was from Puck) and then the corrected vote for Puck." He glanced at the still surprised Puck. "The MVP award is a gift certificate for two to Breadstix as well as $50 gift card to be used anywhere."

"I think our first winner should give a speech," Blaine taunted. This was quickly followed by several more calls for a speech until they were all chanting "speech". However, they fell on deaf ears as Puck continued to stand like a statue surrounded by his friends. His mouth was opened slightly and his eyes were wider than Rachel had ever seen them.

"Puck?" Santana called, catching on that something wasn't right. She tapped him on the arm. He jumped, blinking back into awareness. "You ok?"

"Uh, I, I was just… why me?"

"You're kidding, right?" Quinn asked, incredulous. "Puck, look around. The answer is obvious. All of this is because of you." His eyes widened even more. "You have to know that all of this. This family that we built is because of you."

"I didn't do anything."

"The hell you didn't," Santana protested. "You forced me to get out of my bed the first freaking Saturday into winter break and practically begged me to be friends with Rachel. You crossed the invisible line we all had built up, Puck, and then you broke it. You made it so that we didn't have any more excuses. We had no reasons to pretend not to like each other. And sadly enough, it was the accident and how you handled it that made us more of a family."

"You bought all of us together. Lauren, Dave and Blaine wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you," Sam added.

"Britt helped with that."

"But Dave and Blaine were both your ideas in the first place," Brittany corrected. "I just helped. But you're the one that made everything different… better."

"We're still losers to everyone else but we're more than that to one another now that we're all together on the same page," Artie spoke up. "And as you can tell it's pretty much unanimously agreed that you're the one that sparked that change.'

"So stop being such a girl about this," Blaine said, grinning. The gesture pulled a soft smile from Puck. "Go accept your award, so we can all start fighting about who you're taking with you to Breadstix."

Puck let out a shaky breath before stepping forward to accept the envelope in Will's hands. "Thank you, Mr. Schue."

Will smiled softly before pulling him into a hug. "No, thank you, Noah. Thank you."

"I can't believe that you didn't pack enough meds," Santana complained as Sam steered the car towards Puck's house. On the flight home, they'd all agreed that they were going to spend some time in the choir room setting up the trophy (just another excuse to prolong the New York fun) before heading home. At least that was the plan until a migraine struck sudden and quick and they realized that Puck took the last his medicine the night before. Hence the reason why Santana was bitching and Sam was all but speeding to Pucks house.

"Not my fault," Puck muttered through gritted teeth.

"Sure it is," Rachel countered. He cracked an eye open to stare up at her in disbelief. "You didn't believe we would place that high so you didn't pack enough medication for an extra day. So this is what happens when you don't believe in us."

The lines of pain eased for a moment as a smile worked its way onto his lips. "Et tu, Rachel?"

She giggled, continuing to card her fingers through his hair, pausing every now and then to rub slow circles on his scalp. They pulled to a stop in front of his house in record time. Puck sat up with a grunt of pain that morphed into one of confusion. Rachel, Sam and Santana also stopped short at the sight of driveway full of cars.

"What the hell…?"

Puck was out the car as fast as he could move. Rachel hurried after him, not caring if Santana or Sam were following (they were). Her confusion grew as she recognized her fathers' car. There were a few children gathered outside the house in the front yard, Puck's sister included. Sarah seemed far more subdued than the other children. She was sitting on the front steps talking with another boy that seemed only a few years older than her. Rachel watched as Sarah's eyes lit up at the sight of her beloved older brother. Her companion, on the other hand, looked like he saw a ghost.

"Noah! You're home!"

Puck grunted again as the full gangly mess of limbs that was Sarah Puckerman slammed into him. Sam appeared from nowhere to brace his friend against the added weight and save them both from slamming into the ground.

"Squirt, what's going on? Mom throwing a party that she forgot to invite me too?"

Sarah's face fell as she looked at her brother. "Noah, it's… it's about Nana."

Puck tensed. "Did something happen? She have another attack?"

"Yes. And no, she's not ok. She died last night."

"No, I talked to her last night. She can't be…. She can't be dead because I talked to her!" Puck protested immediately.

"I know. The doctors told mommy that it was a couple of hours after she talked to you. She was happy, you know? That you came so close to winning. Apparently she was telling her roommate all about it. And then…. She was gone."

Puck nodded shakily. He hugged his sister tighter and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to go check on Ma. See if she needs any help with all the company."

Sarah opened her mouth to say something further, her gaze flickered briefly to her friend before she nodded. "Yeah, ok. Also take you medicine. You got a headache, right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Puck said, dismissively. Rachel studied him with a worried frown. His face was pale and pinched with pain. But it was his trembling hands that caught her attention. She remembered her father emphasized that stress was going to be a major trigger for Puck. That it could set off a relapse of his previous symptoms. She was starting to understand what he meant.

Rachel turned around to Sam to alert him but the blonde was on the phone, as was Santana. She caught a brief snippet of their conversation. Enough to know that they were alerting presumably Brittany and Blaine about Puck's grandmother and the fact that they would not be returning to the choir room. Rachel knew that most of the gleeks would be over within the hour. She turned back to Puck just in time to see Puck's legs give out. Thankfully, the boy with Sarah reached him before hit the ground.

"Noah!"

"What happened?"

Sam and Santana abruptly ended their calls in unison and crowded around their friend. Sam eased him away from the stranger, knowing how sensitive Puck was about people seeing him while he was like that. He helped prop him up on his shoulder. Puck managed a weak nod.

"Dude, learn to use your words," Sam chided softly. "You know you're supposed to ask if you feel weak. It's not a bad thing, dude."

"I didn't… I didn't know…" Puck trailed off.

Sam sighed. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Santana cleared the people that had started to gather around the teens away and moved ahead to open the doors to the house for Sam and Puck. Rachel lingered behind for a moment. She noticed that the boy's gaze followed Puck's slow movements. There was a hint of sadness in his features that was strangely familiar to Rachel.

"Thanks you for your help," she said, wanting to erase that hurt look. "My name is Rachel. Rachel Berry. I'm Noah's girlfriend."

"Uh, Jake," he mumbled. She looked at him questioningly. "Just Jake."

"Ok. So did you know Connie?"

"Kinda," he answered shortly. He looked back at the house. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Noah was in an accident earlier this year. He's still not back at one hundred percent. Not that you can tell him that," she offered him a small smile. "I have to go check on him now. But I hope to see you again, Just Jake."

"Yeah," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I think you will."

Ignoring that, for now, Rachel walked into the house. She found Puck sitting on the sofa in the living room with Santana beside him and his mother hovering over them. Sam was pacing slightly behind the sofa, back on the phone and trying to call off the whole gleek army. Leroy Berry was sitting on the coffee table examining his favorite patient.

"This is why we should've picked them up from the airport, Deb," Leroy said, checking Puck's blood pressure. "Stress is not good for Noah. Especially given the amount of physical activity he's been engaging in, Too much by the way. You need to take it easy or you're going to end up right back in the hospital. And I know that you don't want that. I know the nurses want that even less."

"Why?" All conversations fell silent as Puck looked up at his mother. "Why didn't you tell me about Nana? Why did you let Sarah have to be the one to tell me?"

"Oh, baby," Debra shook her head. "You were so happy last night. I couldn't… I wanted you to hold on to that happiness as long as possible. You've been through so much in your life. And I could hear how happy you were. I couldn't tell you about Connie. And that was my mistake. But I know how close you two were. I couldn't ruin your happiness last night."

Puck closed his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose. A telltale sign that his headache was getting worse. "That's it, right? No more surprises?"

"Uh, well…." She trailed off as a woman entered the room. She handed Debra a glass of water. Debra in turn handed the glass to Leroy who gave it to Puck to take his medication. Rachel gave small sigh of relief that at least his headache would be easing off in a few minutes. "Thanks, Tanisha."

"No problem." The woman started to walk away but Debra held onto her arm. They exchanged looks. "Are you sure about this?"

"This is already hard enough. I don't have it in me to hide anything else. Besides Connie wanted them to know about each other. If I didn't know better, I'd say she planned this."

"Nana planned what?"

Neither woman answered. Instead Tanisha slipped out the room, returning a few moments later with Jake. Now that she was getting a better look at him, Rachel found that Jake was probably close to Puck's age. He was in the middle between the two Puckerman siblings. He also looked extremely uncomfortable to be in the living room.

"Ma, what's going on?"

"Noah, this is Tanisha's son, Jake… Puckerman. He's your brother."

"Oh my god," Santana gasped, echoed by Sam and Rachel. Puck's jaw dropped open even as he took in his half-brother. Jake mustered a weak smile that looked more like a grimace. Rachel couldn't believe she didn't realize how much they resembled each other until that moment.

Despite the darker skin and eyes, Jake Puckerman was a carbon copy of his older brother. Rachel and Puck knew each other practically since birth. That was one of the perks of being one of the few Jewish families in the town. She could see fourteen year old Puck in Jake. She saw the boy that made the conscious decision to stop being Noah and become Puck. She could see the same defensive walls and anger in his eyes that was only masking how much he was deeply hurting underneath it all. She could see it all and she knew that Puck could see it too.

Eventually Jake grew tired of the awkward silence and stares. "Look, we don't have to be best friends or anything. I'm only here because my grandmother that I met literally like twice my whole life wanted me to be here. I'll be out of your hair as soon as this is over."

Puck tilted his head to the side. "Wow, so that's what that sounds like. You're right, babe, it is annoying."

Rachel hid a smile as Puck slipped back into his usual nonchalant tone. She knew they would be talking about his feelings on the newest Puckerman after the guests and well-wishers were gone but for now he was putting his own emotions to the side and focusing on his little brother. She twisted the ring on her finger. Yeah, he was definitely a forever kind of love.

"Look, obviously you know more about me than I do about you but maybe that could change. And don't worry, I'm not looking for anymore best friends. I've already got way too many. But brothers, that's new. Think we could try that?"

Jake looked hesitant. He glanced between Puck and his mother. Tanisha gave him an encouraging smile. "Yeah," he finally muttered. "I guess that could work."

"Awesome," Puck grinned. "Your first act is to great the entire extended family."

"Huh?" Jake asked before the answer revealed itself in the entire glee club (plus Will, Emma and Jesse) barging into the living room all talking at once. They stopped talking once they realized there was one more Puckerman in the room than originally planned. That launched an entire new round of conversation coupled with Brittany poking him. Jake was looking completely overwhelmed… but slightly amused. Tanisha and Debra watched them from the sidelines with pride in their eyes. Rachel sat down next to Puck, taking his hand in hers and tangling their fingers together.

"You ok?" she whispered. He gave her a sad look and shook his head.

"I will be," he promised, kissing her forehead. "It's going to take more than a surprise little brother to take me out." Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I admit that just threw me but I remember my parents fighting about a slut waitress when I was a kid. One guess who they were talking about. I gotta say she doesn't seem that slutty to me."

Rachel giggled, burying her face on his shoulder. "Noah, do not flirt with your brother's mother."

"I wouldn't," he protested with a slight smile. "Besides I'm hanging up the cougar hat. I've found the woman of my dreams. And I have no intentions of looking anywhere else." His smile dimmed. "Especially since I promised Nana. I gave you her ring, Rach. I mean it. This, you and me, it's for as long as you can take me."

"Then I guess it's going to be forever," Rachel smiled. "I've known you since I could talk, Noah. And I haven't ever gotten tired of you. Not even when you went through the regrettable slushy throwing stage. You're my leading man. You're my Prince Charming. Every time I think I know you, I find some new reason to fall even more in love with you. Who could ever get tired of that?"

He flushed, smiling shyly. "Ok, I love you too, Rachel."

"Good," she kissed him softly. "Now you might want to save your little brother. I think Blaine and Sam are fighting over who gets dibs on him."

Puck raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the two idiots who shared the mantle of his (male) best friends and rolled his eyes. He stood up shakily but managed to make it over between his brother and the two older teens. Rachel tilted her head to the side watching the scene with a smile on her face. She noticed that though Jake wanted to act tough and that he didn't need Puck, he naturally gravitated towards him. They all did. Though he rarely spoke up in glee club, when he did, people took notice. Matt and Mike joined glee club because of him. When Jesse and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline egged Rachel in the parking lot, it was Puck leading the charge against them. He was a natural born leader. Maybe Jesse was right. Maybe Puck was meant to be the lead of New Directions after all.

*The End… for now. Originally, I had intended to end this story here… and I very well might. But then I started watched Season Four of Glee and I fell in love with Jake Puckerman and the very adorable bromance between Puck and Jake. I found the inspiration I was struggling to find for almost a year. And now there is more to this. Really this story has taken on a life of itself. It's never been my priority story but it's suddenly become one of my favorites. I like to think of it as a logical season two. And so I'm tempted to create a logical version of season three with Jake included in the storyline. I wonder how Jake's story would evolve with earlier exposure to New Directions, especially his brother.

So let me know what you think. Should I continue this path or just let this story end already? I appreciate all feedback. Thanks everyone! Until next time!