A/N: I know I drive some people crazy because I don't worry too much about background information. However, you definitely need a little background info for this. It's been ten years since our OT3 graduated from WMHS. Rachel is a tony-award winning performer. She lives in New York City in a tiny one-bedroom apartment because real estate in NYC is crazy, ridiculous. Seriously, they make Seattle look cheap. Finn and Puck are her friends, but their friendship has been facilitated by various forms of social media (god only knows what we'll have in ten years time…) and as a result they aren't as close as any of them might like. The boys do not live in New York and they aren't in this first chapter.

Rachel looked out her apartment's window to the street below. She watched the people hurrying back and forth on their various individual missions. Were any of those people happy? Her latest play had exploded in popularity shocking everyone. It had been a little experimental—it pushed boundaries both artistically and socially. That was why everyone had been so shocked when it took off the way it had. They were making a film and she'd been confirmed to play her role on the big screen. She had to leave for LA next week. Rachel Berry had made it—she had achieved all her goals and dreams. She'd taken Broadway by storm, won a tony award, been in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for the last five years running, sung the national anthem on national tv, she'd been on all the talk shows. There was serious talk that the play she'd just been in, the one they were turning into a movie, would garner her tony number two. And yet…she was sitting here at the window staring out at the street and wondering if any of the people out there were happy. Her phone rang and it was a welcome distraction.

"Hello?"

"Rachel, darling, have you heard anything yet?" It was one of her friends from college, Naomi Halverson.

"I leave Monday morning for LA. I'll be gone all week and I'll come home Friday. If you want to meet me at Bernard's I can give you the keys." Naomi had promised to keep an eye on her cat, Elphaba, while she was gone. It was only a week and she didn't want to have to find a cat kennel for that short period of time.

"Sure. We can knock back a couple drinks and I'll watch you turn down guys." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Fine. This Saturday night at 10 p.m.?"

"Don't we need reservations or something?"

"I don't."

"Sometimes, I hate you." Rachel laughed at Naomi. It was true, though. The Maître d' at Bernard's was completely infatuated with Rachel Berry, Broadway Star. She always got in.

Where did Naomi get off? She was not that bad. She was just extremely busy and her schedule didn't really allow for things like boyfriends. Lovers…sometimes. Rachel was usually careful, cautious. One night stands weren't generally her thing—they just made her feel dirty and used. She'd had a couple boyfriends. She'd actually dated a football player around the same time that she'd sung at the Superbowl. He was sweet, but they'd both had schedules that made dating ridiculous. She sighed. That only brought her back to her earlier question. Where any of the people out there happy?

*glee*

Bernard's was a cozy little restaurant that also served drinks. It was generally considered a good place to start out the night. Rachel and Naomi had enjoyed a fabulous dinner and when Naomi suggested they go out, she agreed. The nightclub was loud and they both danced and drank a little more than normal. Rachel really wished that Naomi would stop smirking at her when she told guy after guy no. Finally, Naomi slid her arm around Rachel's waist and started whispering in her ear.

"So, if we make out, they might realize there's no point in asking."

"You just want to stick your tongue down my throat," Rachel noted.

"Well, there is that benefit, as well."

"Yes, Naomi, but after that I'll get the girls hitting on me instead." Naomi pouted at her.

"I could tell them I'm your girlfriend," she murmured at Rachel.

"Sweetie, just because I got drunk that one time at Eastman does not mean I'm a headliner at the Kitty Cat Club." Naomi pouted some more. That one time had been incredible for her and she'd always been a little bit in love with Rachel ever since. Even though the girl had practically been a nun the entire time Naomi had known her—she was one of the most skilled lovers Naomi had ever had. Rachel was amazing in bed and she had the stamina of the damn Energizer Bunny. She knew Rachel didn't return her feelings. She wasn't sure if Rachel ever had those feelings. It was kind of sad, really.

They ended up running into some friends of Rachel's from her last play. There was a really cute girl who kept eyeing Naomi and she soon forgot about everything else. Rachel might have gone home by herself, but Marcus was there that night so she went to his place instead. Marcus for his part was surprised. He had spent the entire run of the play trying to get into Rachel's pants and she turned him down flat every time. Rachel couldn't have told you why she went home with Marcus that night because she wasn't sure herself. She just wanted to feel good for a little while.

The next morning Rachel got up before Marcus was even awake and slipped out of his apartment. She went home and cried in the shower. There was a reason she never really did one night stands. She hated how she felt afterword. For her, sex had always been something special—a way to express love without words. Rachel got dressed, and started packing. She noticed she had several messages from Kurt. She smiled to herself and called him.

"What's going on Kurt?"

"Did you know this year is our ten year reunion? Did you see the facebook invite from Quinn? I guess she's heading up the committee. Are you going? I'll go if you go," Kurt was speaking rapidly into the phone.

"Whoa! Sweetie, pause for air! Our ten year reunion? I'm not sure. I'll know after this meeting. If we're filming I might not be able to make it."

"Oh, wow. I didn't even think about that. Well, will you call me when you get back? Oh wait! Are you going to see Finn while you're there? I didn't tell him you were coming out there. I swear on a stack of Vogues."

"Kurt, honey, are you high or something?"

"No! No, Rachel, I'm just really nervous right now. I'm waiting to hear back—to see if I got a role."

"Really? Which one?"

"Can't tell you. If I do, I'll jinx it. I'll call you in a couple days to tell you if I got the part or not."

"Okay. I love you, Kurt Hummel. Just remember, if they don't give you that role, they are complete idiots."

"Love you, too, Rachel. Have a safe flight."

"Wait! Kurt, are you happy?" Kurt paused for a minute. What a weird question. He thought about his life. He had a tiny one-bedroom apartment very similar to Rachel's. He was in a long-term committed relationship with a dancer named Nikolas whom he loved very much. He had a fairly decent career on Broadway. Nothing quite as amazing as Rachel, but he was holding out hope that there was a Tony somewhere with his name on it.

"Yeah, Rachel. I'm happy."

*glee*

If there was one thing Rachel could cheerfully do without it was waiting at airports. She hated airport security, she hated hauling ass down 20 gates to catch transfers, and she hated layovers. She was on the phone with Naomi while she was standing at LAX trying to figure out where to go to get her bags.

"Who are the totally gorgeous boys in all these photos?"

"Naomi, are you in my bedroom?"

"Well, sweetie, Elphaba is stuck under your bed, so yeah." Rachel gave an irritated sigh.

"The one with a Mohawk is Noah and the other one is Finn."

"Girl, where have you been hiding them?"

"I haven't been hiding anyone! They were guys I went to high school with. Now, Naomi, get out of my bedroom!"

"But what about Elphaba?"

"Make sure she's got fresh food and water. Don't shut my bedroom door and she'll be fine. She's a cat, they take care of themselves. That's why I got a cat."

"Fine. Miss snooty-pants. I think you're just mad I found out about your boys. I'd keep them to myself, too." Rachel closed her eyes in the middle of the airport. Her boys. No one had called them that in ten years.

"Whatever, Naomi, I have to go. I am totally going to miss my meeting." That was a lie. Her meeting wasn't until tomorrow. Rachel Berry was far too organized to make a stupid mistake like that. She hung up and wound her way around people to the baggage claim. She found her suitcases, and worked her way out to find her shuttle to the hotel.

Rachel felt much better once she'd showered, put her clothes away and gotten slightly drunk in the hotel bar. She talked to the bartender about the best choices for vegan delivery and went back to her room. She ate some sort of vegan noodle thing and passed out in her bed by 9 p.m. (it felt like midnight to her and she'd been up at 5 a.m.). The next morning she was up early, worked out in the hotel exercise room, took another shower, got dressed and met the limo for her meeting. She'd already had her agent and her lawyer look over everything. This meeting was mostly to hammer out details for the filming schedule and for her to meet some people at the studio. It was important, but it wasn't life or death.

The meeting had gone quite well, and Rachel was really pleased. The filming should be completely wrapped up by the time her high school reunion rolled around so she might even go. She probably should go. I mean, what did she have to lose? She would have the chance to see if any of the people she'd gone to school with had done what they set out to do. She wondered whatever happened to Quinn. That reminded her. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through all her contacts. Finally she found the number she wanted.

"Speak."

"Lauren?"

"Who is this?"

"It's Rachel. Rachel Berry?" Lauren and Rachel had kept in touch over the years. Rachel had always liked Lauren's attitude and it had served her well in the pro-wrestling circuit. Rachel had a tiny bottle of Zizes perfume somewhere in the back of her closet. It wasn't quite her style, but she'd wanted to support an old friend and that had been the only size she could afford at the time.

"Hey, Rachel! Are you calling about the reunion? I'm not sure if I'll go. I mean, is it really even worth our time?"

"Uh, no. I wasn't calling about the reunion. I might go. Kurt keeps bugging me about it. I was actually calling to ask you if you're happy."

"What?"

"Are you happy, Lauren? I mean, you've got everything you wanted, right?" Lauren thought about that. She did have everything she'd ever dreamed about. They were talking about doing a reality TV show about her. She had a line of perfume. She was a star. They paid her to wrestle. That was just extra cream. She'd had a couple boyfriends. She'd dated a couple of the wrestlers. She was in between boyfriends at the moment.

"I guess so. I mean, I do have everything. Yeah, I guess I'm happy. Why?"

"I just wondered. You and I, we're pretty similar in that we both went after our dreams and we achieved them. I just wondered if it was everything you had hoped it would be."

"Well, shit, Rachel. Nothing is ever like you dream. Sometimes, it's better. Sometimes, it's worse. Usually though, it's never like you dreamed it because you never understood everything that actually was a part of it. You know?"

"Yeah." Rachel knew exactly what she meant. As a kid, dreaming about Broadway, she never thought about what it would take to make it happen. Eastman really helped her, but it had been brutally hard. It had tested and tempered her in ways she could never have imagined. Some of her fellow students made her tiny little boo-boo with Sunshine Corazon seem like the work of Mother Teresa. Then, living in that closet with Kurt, eating practically nothing because it was all they could afford. When people talked about pounding the pavement—they were serious. Her feet had ached every single night after searching for jobs all day. She and Kurt had slept in the same bed together to stay warm because their heat never worked. God, they'd been so poor, but they just knew if they kept at it—it would all pay off.

"Listen, Rachel, if you do go to the reunion, let me know? I might go with you."

"Okay, Lauren. Hey, wait! Where are you at right now?" This was a completely valid question, Lauren toured a lot.

"In LA, I'm in the middle of talks for a reality TV show. Can you believe that shit?"

"Seriously? You're in LA? Right now?" Rachel could feel herself getting excited. She hadn't seen anyone from high school in a couple years. She didn't count Kurt. He was practically family.

"Yeah? Why?" Lauren sounded confused. She probably assumed that Rachel was in New York because that's where she always was when Lauren had called in the past.

"I'm in LA! They're making a film out of Artistic Explosion."

"Out of what?"

"My last play. They're making it into a movie and I'm reprising my role."

"No shit! So you're in LA right now?"

"Yes!"

"We should totally go out tonight. I'll take you to a couple of my favorite clubs. You will love it."

"That sounds like fun." Rachel told Lauren what hotel she was staying at and they made arrangements to meet later. When she got off the phone, Rachel realized she hadn't brought anything for clubbing. It hadn't occurred to her to do so. She went back to her hotel and asked the concierge to direct her to some place with edgy clothing. She ended up in West Hollywood on the phone with Kurt who was trying to give her directions to a store he remembered from his last visit to Finn. She finally found the place. She walked up to the counter and looked at the drag queen behind the counter.

"Is Marnie working?" The drag queen cocked his pink-wigged head at Rachel and gave her the once over. He frowned slightly.

"Oh my God! You're Rachel Berry!" Rachel blushed. Usually, the farther she got from Broadway, the fewer people knew who she was. No one in LA had recognized her yet, for which she had been eternally grateful. She couldn't believe how she'd once thought that fame was the cure for everything.

"Yes, but is Marnie working?"

"I'm Marnie!" He looked slightly confused and she couldn't blame him. Here was somebody he recognized as a star, but had never met in his life, and she was asking for him.

"Okay, well Kurt sent me. I need edgy clothes for clubbing tonight." Marnie's eyes got big.

"Kurt? Kurt Hummel? He said he knew you, but I never believed him. I thought it was a line." Rachel snorted at that. Kurt would never use her as a pick up line.

"Kurt is as close to me as family," Rachel said firmly. "He and I used to live together before my big break."

"Really? He never mentioned that part. Wow, I feel like such a dork. I am so going to call him and apologize."

"Marnie, apologize later. Dress Rachel now." Her tone was firm and brooked no nonsense. Marnie saluted and dragged her into the bowels of the store.

She left a couple hours later with outfits she would never, ever have worn in high school and two pairs of tranny heels, and boots that made her look like sex on a plate. She took another taxi back to her hotel. She went to her room and took a nap. The time difference was still throwing her off. She woke up refreshed, ordered some take out and started getting ready.

When she was done she looked at herself in the full length mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all. She'd flat ironed her hair so that if fell straight passed her shoulders. Her fringe bangs just brushed her forehead. She ended up wearing silver tranny heels because she felt they would help her hold her own with Zizes. She was wearing a long sleeved tiny black dress. It plunged in the front and in the back, and where there happened to be fabric it clung to every curve. Her makeup was smoky, sultry. She grinned at herself in the mirror. She was so smoking hot people should carry fire extinguishers. She found a necklace that almost enhanced the fact that her neckline plunged almost to her belly button, and put it on.

She walked down to the lobby holding her little clutch bag. She gave a little wave to the concierge who looked like he was going to stroke. She smiled to herself. Perfect. She'd gotten the look she was going for then. She walked up to Lauren who hadn't recognized her at first.

"Jesus, Berry! I might have to pretend to be your girlfriend or we're going to have some major fights on our hands." Rachel shrugged and grinned at Lauren who'd gotten all dressed up too.

"Who know? Maybe we'll have to beat them off you with a big stick." Lauren threw back her head and laughed.

"I knew I liked you, Rachel. C'mon, my car's waiting."

A/N: This is our introduction to Puckleberry Finn: Ten Years Later. As you can see, Rachel's questioning a lot of the things she's worked so hard for, which I think is valid at this time in her life. Anytime a person gets everything they've always wanted…he or she has to consider if it was what they thought it would be. Rachel's incredibly driven, focused and dedicated. Those are all qualities I think are highly admirable, but I wonder if she might take them to the extreme. Then again, maybe the reason none of her post-high school relationships worked out was because each boyfriend was competing with Rachel's memories of her high school sweethearts.