Became the Summer. Summer vacation 2013. A little fun, a little romance, a little heartache, a lot of love. Good friends, good weather…good times never seemed so good.

Thanks again to Ryan Murphy and the creative team for developing characters that so many people find rich enough to spin off stories of their own. Said characters belong to them, the original characters and plot lines to me.

This is the third installment of the story that began with "How is This Night Different?" and continued with "The Road Not Taken". It picks up after spring semester break, although it will primarily focus on summer vacation. If you have not read the first two narratives, Rachel and Noah ("Puck") are together and are in process of completing their first year at NYU. Kurt is also in New York, working toward a BFA in costume design from Pace University. He and Blaine are not engaged and are currently "on a break" but still in touch (and close…and likely getting back together). Quinn is at Yale and Mike is in Chicago at the Joffrey Academy of Dance (but is transferring to a university in New York for a more academically well-rounded BFA in Dance). Santana is at OSU (along with Dave Karofsky), Mercedes is in LA, Sam lives with Rachel's dads, and the high school kids are still at McKinley. Jesse St. James is also at NYU and has officially "come out".

And that's what you missed…in this slightly altered universe…of "Glee".

Chapter 1

Rachel Berry was standing on a stage in a huge auditorium, wearing a sapphire-colored gown and diamond chandelier earrings. She smiled graciously at the thunderous standing ovation as she accepted the award. "Thank you, thank you," she gratefully acknowledged, beginning to read: "I want to thank the members of the Academy for this unexpected honor…I'm at a loss for words…" Rachel looked up from her carefully typed, neatly stapled, multi-page acceptance speech as the applause had suddenly evolved into sarcastic laughter. The front row contained Hollywood "A-listers": Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Anne Hathaway, Santana Lopez…wait, Santana Lopez? As she scanned the row, her eyes were drawn downward, and she noticed that each person was holding an oversized white plastic cup filled to the brim with a thick, colored substance…O – M - G…slushies. All at once, the content of the cups was thrust forward, a bizarre rainbow-colored mass of shaved ice, corn syrup, and artificial flavorings inching its way toward her in extreme slow motion. Rachel's feet were leaden and fleeing was impossible; she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emanated forth. Panic filled her eyes and her head jolted back…

"Baby, are you OK?" her boyfriend of nearly a year, Noah Puckerman concernedly inquired as he glanced at her before refocusing his eyes on the road.

Rachel shook the sleep from her head and took in her surroundings, inhaling and exhaling deeply before calmly answering, "Yes, Noah, I'm fine, thanks. What time is it?"

Noah glanced at the dashboard clock, answering, "Around eight-thirty, Rach."

"How long have we been on the road, Noah?" she questioned him.

"About three hours now, Baby," he replied, wondering if it might be a good time for a "bio break". "Do you need to stretch your legs? We can pull over at the next rest stop…"

Rachel smiled gently; she loved this man. "That sounds like a terrific idea, Noah," she agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled off the road into a rest stop outside of Youngstown Ohio. Noah parked the car and they headed inside from the crisp late-March morning to go to the bathroom and walk around for a bit.

Within the rest stop was a small food court with tables and chairs, along with a myriad of fast-food restaurants. Being Passover, ordering food was out of the question, but Rachel was more than prepared. "Noah, are you hungry?" she gently inquired, touching his forearm to gain his attention, which had momentarily shifted to all of the taboo goodies that ordinarily wouldn't have garnered a second glance. "I brought tons of food, so we're well-stocked," she admitted with a grin.

"I wondered what your dads were loading into the car this morning," he admitted. "OK, woman, tempt me…what would you recommend?" he teased as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, navigating her toward the exit nearest the car.

"I baked matzoh farfel muffins yesterday, and there's cream cheese, and fruit salad, and we have a thermos of coffee."

"Did Bubbe Esther bake them, Rach? Hers are the best!" he admitted, slyly adding a disclaimer, "But don't tell my Nana I said that."

Rachel kissed him, just a peck on the lips, and then replying in a mock-serious tone, "I promise not to reveal your secret." Smiling, she continued, "To answer your question, though, I baked them. I hope I can do her recipe justice."

Noah beamed proudly at his girlfriend; "No time like the present to find out," he confirmed, winking at her.

They returned to the car and Rachel sorted through the carefully packed food to gather together their morning snack, and the couple walked back to the food court armed with sustenance. As Rachel served the fruit salad, Noah poured coffee, and then each teen removed a muffin from the plastic container. Noah bit into his greedily as Rachel watched, her face a mixture of fondness, amusement, and concern that her offering had lived up to her grandmother's legacy. As Noah swallowed, his face broke out into a huge grin. He took a sip of coffee before complimenting, "Rach, these are great!"

Rachel breathed a small sigh of relief. "Thank you, Noah," she replied, helping herself to some fruit salad. "Usually Bubbe bakes a double-batch, but this year, she entrusted it to me," she explained.

"They're awesome, Rach; here," he said, breaking off a small piece and feeding it to her.

"You're right; they are good," she agreed, offering, "There are plenty, if you want seconds."

"Thanks, I'll probably take you up on that," Noah teased.

They ate their meal in momentary silence, broken shortly thereafter by Rachel inquiring, "Noah, how did your visit go with Carole?"

Noah's face reflected the loss they all felt since Finn's untimely passing. He paused momentarily before describing, "It was kinda sad, but mostly it went well. She'd been going through Finn's things, and she put aside something for me."

Rachel looked puzzled, wondering what it might possibly be, and she tentatively asked, "What did she give you, Noah?"

Noah smiled nostalgically, answering, "She found some of the toys we played with and thought I might like them as a memento, maybe even for my kids, some day." He looked at Rachel almost shyly after his admission, and her face flushed with the realization that those would most likely be her children, as well.

"What were they, Noah?" she gently prodded.

Noah chuckled, replying, "There were two 'light sabers', a sword, a dagger, and a plastic hook for your hand. Sometimes we would play 'Han Solo' and 'Luke Skywalker'. Artie always wanted to be 'Yoda', and, one time we even got Mike to be 'Chewbacca'." He paused, smiling at the memory of little Mike Chang's attempts at making "Wookie" sounds, and then continued, "Finn's favorite was to play 'Peter Pan', though; he would be 'Peter', and I was 'Captain Hook'. Finn thought 'Neverland' sounded pretty cool; ya' know, having adventures all the time and being a kid forever…" He realized what he said and stopped abruptly, sadness overtaking his features.

"That's OK, Noah," Rachel consoled him, reaching out and touching him gently on the forearm. "It was only a game, and lots of little boys want to be 'Peter Pan'. That doesn't mean that they will pass away young." Rachel thought it best to change the subject, focusing on something to look forward to: "Noah, I forgot to ask, but are your mom and Rebecca still coming with my dads next weekend for the concert?"

Noah grinned in response, replying, "Are you kidding? Ma's been itching to check out the place since 'day one', and Becs is practically giddy, she's so excited."

"It's fortunate how the spring breaks worked out," Rachel mused.

"Yeah," Noah concurred, "Kurt had a week to himself, and now we have the place to ourselves until Sunday." He looked at Rachel lasciviously, waggling his eyebrows, to which she responded with a giggle before continuing the train of thought, "And the public schools are out the following week, so Rebecca doesn't have to miss any school when they visit."

"Rach, remind me again, what is this show, exactly?" Noah queried.

Rachel smiled proudly, explaining, "We're giving a concert performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Mikado'." Noticing his slightly confused expression, she continued, "There are no costumes and sets, per se, and just a few props. All of the women will wear black dresses and the men will be in tuxedos. It'll be presented in a concert type of format; leads in front and the chorus behind them on risers." She smiled gently, looking into his eyes, explaining, "The best part is all of the proceeds are being donated toward breast cancer research." Rachel's Grammy, her Dad, LeRoy's mother, was a 15-year breast cancer survivor, making this a cause near and dear to her heart.

"I know how much that means to you," Noah commented. "I was surprised that you went out for something this semester, 'cause I thought you were going to take a break after last term, but I understand why you changed your mind."

Rachel smiled thoughtfully, concurring, "You're right, I had decided not to try out for anything, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to raise money for this. Plus, it's a little 'out of the box' for me, and it sounded like a fun challenge."

Rachel thought back on her audition as she sipped her coffee and began eating her own muffin, on which she had spread cream cheese: She had heard about the project from Cindy Miller, a senior with whom she had become fast friends since meeting during the fall musical. Both girls had gone to audition together, Cindy applying for (and getting) one of the female leads. When Rachel stepped onstage, her advisor, Dr. Greene, was again one of the casting directors. "Rachel, please tell us what part you're auditioning for today," he politely instructed. "I'm trying out for either 'Pitti-Sing' or 'Peep-Bo' today, Dr. Greene," she responded, continuing, "This project means a lot to me because my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor, so I'll be happy to participate in whatever way I can." In keeping with the Gilbert and Sullivan theme, Rachel had decided to sing "Poor, Wand'ring One" from "The Pirates of Penzance". Although her performance seemed to be well-received, she had mentally resigned herself to the chorus and was surprised and delighted to be assigned to "Peep-Bo", the only freshman with a featured role. She had been practicing in earnest ever since (Kurt had kept his complaining to a minimum, as he was a closet "G & S" fan) and was looking forward to the event.

Reinvigorated by their snack, they returned to the car where Rachel would take on the next leg of the journey. The plaza had been quiet and there were only a few cars in the massive parking lot. Taking advantage of their relative privacy, Noah put the (packed) food on the trunk hood, embracing Rachel and kissing her hungrily, which she happily returned with equal fervor. "Ya' know, there's nobody around, Rach…" he suggested, toying with the zipper on her NYU hoodie and unzipping it slowly as he spoke. "We can cross this off our 'bucket list'…"

"Noah, as much as I love you, I can honestly say that having sex in a rental car in the middle of a parking lot is not on my 'bucket list'," she laughingly retorted, retrieving the zipper and pulling it back to a modest height.

"C'mon, Rach, where's your sense of adventure?" he goaded her, but Rachel would not budge. She pulled away, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, emphatically stating, "Noah, I am not having sexual intercourse in a vehicle that we have to return to Enterprise this afternoon. Now, please, get in the car."

Retrieving the packages from the hood, Noah stored the remaining food back in the (now opened) trunk, closed it, and reluctantly slid into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt. Apparently, what was OK to do in his truck in a secluded corner of the beach was not acceptable in a rental car in a parking lot just west of the Pennsylvania border. He turned to Rachel to speak, but she began, instead, reminding him, "You know, Noah, by the time we get back, there'll be at least a couple of hours before we need to be at the Rosens' for dinner…" She smiled suggestively and cocked her left eyebrow.

"Well, then, woman," he said, grinning broadly, "let's get going, we're wasting time." Rachel, happy to oblige, drove off, leaving Ohio, at least for the present, behind them.

Author's Note: Matzoh farfel is matzoh that has been broken into small pieces (it's sold that way). Among other uses, it can be moistened, mixed with eggs (and whatever other ingredients are desired) , and baked in muffin tins. A typical Passover treat, and very tasty.