Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.

A/N1: This is my fic for my winning bidder, (miladybronwyn), at the April 2010 Support Stacie Author Auction... I hope you like, girl!

A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N3: Fic title came from the lyrics of 'Sweet Caroline' originally done by Neil Diamond, but also sung by the amazing Mark Salling. :D

A/N4: This fic is now complete.

A/N5: Here is my twist-up on 1x08 - Mash-up. A bit more detail here and again, if I take lines from the show (they'll be underlined), so credit for those go to that episode.

A/N6: Quinn is NOT pregnant, there is no Rachel/Finn and no Puck/Quinn

...

~History~

After the boys versus girls mash-up incident, Will took only a few days to cool off; or his mind got distracted. The news that the school's guidance counselor, Ms. Emma Pillsbury was engaged to the football coach Ken Tanaka, spread like a wild fire in a dry forest. Will had a thing for Emma, but he was married and they were expecting their first child, so he was taken, and Emma only really started dating Ken because Will was unavailable.

By the following week in mid-October, Emma and Ken asked Will to teach them how to dance and to see if he could come up with a mash-up of their choices for a first dance. Ken wanted 'The Thong Song' and Emma wanted 'I Could Have Danced All Night,' which were two completely opposite songs, but Will said he'd see what the kids could come up with.

Before Glee on Thursday, while Quinn and Finn had been walking towards the choir room, some of the guys on the football team threw a slushy on Finn, so when Will approached the club, asking them to try and come up with a song that would go with 'Bust A Move', a song similar in taste to 'The Thong Song', everyone was more worried about why Finn got slushied, and they all knew no one was safe if Finn got hit.

Rachel got slushied at least once a week and Mercedes and Kurt had gotten a few more, too, but since the footballers had joined the club, the slushies seemed to slow down; until Finn got hit; the rest of the team was on the warpath.

Friday morning, Noah stopped at the 7-11 to pick up a soda on the way to school and noticed the 'flavor of the month' for slushies was grape. With a grin, he bought a large one and grabbed a straw and headed out to his truck. He headed to school and downed his soda before he got there and as he walked in, a few of the football guys nodded at him and someone made the comment, "Puck's back." Noah just rolled his eyes and headed for his girlfriend's locker.

Rachel finished putting her things away and closed her locker just as she saw Noah walking towards her with a slushy cut in his hand. By reflex, she clamped her eyes shut and waited for it.

"Gee Rachel, you think that low of me?" Noah asked with a smirk, tugging the straw from behind his ear and tearing the paper away and stuck the straw into the cup, taking a sip of the grape corn syrup before handing it to her, "I bought it for you. It's grape, your favorite."

She blinked her eyes a few times as she took it, staring at the cup for a moment, while her heart began to slow to a normal level, "uh, thank you Noah," she replied, "I, um, I thought that..."

"You thought I was going to throw it on you," he replied with a shrug, leaning forward to press a kiss to her lips, "but if I ever do throw one on you, it'll be so I can clean it off you," he murmured before pulling away.

Her eyes widened, "Noah!" She gasped, a blush covering her face.

He brushed some hair from her eyes, "so, I was wondering if you wanted to work together on some mash-up ideas," he said, "after school."

"Don't you have football practice," she asked, linking her arm with his as they walked down the hallway together.

"There is practice, but I can skip once and a while. Besides, I wanna hang out with my girl and it'll be like old times at camp, come on," he commented.

"Alright, we can go to my house after school, my dads are at work," she explained.

He laughed, "I know. I'll let my mom know I won't be home for dinner," he told her guiding her towards class.

"Okay," she smiled as she sipped on the slushy, "these taste much better when they're not dripping off me," she admitted.

He laughed and turned, kissing her lips and could taste the grape on them, "I agree," he murmured, nipping her lower lip as he kissed her, pulling away after a moment to smile at her. "Enjoy, I'll see you later."

Rachel smiled, "see you, Noah," she waved at him as he walked down the hallway towards his class.

...

~History~

Sitting on the end of Rachel's bed with his guitar in his lap, he was strumming along to her singing 'What A Girl Wants' by Christina Aguilera and they'd been coming up with songs for a while, but he needed a break, "babe, could we take a break?" He asked, leaning his guitar against the edge of the bed.

"Okay," she replied, leaning against her dresser.

He kicked his shoes off and crawled up to the top of her bed, relaxing back on the pillows, "wanna make out?" He asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

Rachel crossed the room and crawled up next to him, "sure," she replied, pressing a kiss to his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close to him, their lips locked together in a continuous kiss as they relaxed and took a break.

After a few wonderful moments together, Rachel pulled away and sat up, "I can't do this," she murmured, biting her lip nervously.

"Why? We're a couple of good lookin' Jews," he replied reaching for her, "it's natural."

She took a deep breath, "I'm... I'm not ready for this yet, Noah," she shook her head and remained sitting where she was.

"Ready for what? Kissing? I think we've already established that you are," he muttered, sitting up and looking at her.

She took a deep breath, "I can't give myself to someone who isn't brave enough to sing a solo. If you don't have the guts to do that then, then how are you going to be bold enough to deal with the ups and downs of loving an admittedly high-maintenance girl like me?"

"Are you questioning my badassness? Have you seen my guns?" He asked tugging up his sleeve.

"Noah, you're arms are lovely, but I'm serious; I... All you want is to be in the background; I'm not going to sit on the sidelines, I'm going to be the star player and I want you to be there with me, but how can you do that if you're always giving Finn the big solos? Noah, please, I'm asking you to try and sing a solo, I know you can do it and you'll be great," she told him, sliding closer to him to run her hand along his cheek.

He thought for a moment, "I'm not asking you or pushing you to have sex, you know that right?" He asked softly.

She nodded, "yes, I know that, but I'm still scared of thinking about it and I don't know if I'm ready for that and I really think you'd feel more comfortable singing in front of people if you finally sang a solo," she admitted nervously.

He sat up and pulled her against him, holding her in a loving hug, "I'm just as scared to do that as you are to think about sex," he admitted, softly, "but for you, I'll do it."

"Really? Because I don't want to push you into it, either."

"You're not; I've got a song I've been working on with the band, so I think it's time to show you guys," he replied pressing a kiss to her lips.

Rachel grinned, hugging him and returning the kiss, "what song is it?"

"You'll just have to wait until Monday," he murmured against her lips, "but you'll love it."

...

~History~

Tanaka was in a pissy mood and gave the football players in Glee an ultimatum about choosing Glee or football and none of the guys were ready to make that choice yet.

Noah was talking with the band, while he was waiting to sing his solo and Rachel, along with the rest of the members, were sitting in seats chatting lightly.

Will finally came into the choir room, "so, any ideas for the mash-up?" No one responded right away, "anybody? Oh come on guys, it's like you're daring me to start dancing!"

The kids laughed and shook their heads, someone saying, "oh no!"

Noah looked at his girlfriend and then took a deep breath, "I've been working on something."

"Oh yeah?" Will replied.

He nodded, "yeah, it's my personal tribute to a musical Jewish icon."

Rachel shifted in her seat curious just what he was going to sing.

"Uh, fantastic," Mr. Schuester waved his hand at Noah, "let's hear it," he said, moving up to an empty seat in the back of the room.

Noah nodded and taking another deep breath, he shifted his guitar and began playing the beginning chords of 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond. "Where it began, I can't begin to know when, but that I know it's growing strong. Wasn't the spring, and spring became the summer, who'd believe you'd come along?" If those words weren't the truth about him and Rachel, he didn't know what were; they met in the summer, he didn't expect her to come along and he wasn't really sure when his feelings changed, but he knew it did at some point. Smiling at her, he continued, "hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you... Oh, Sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good. I've been inclined to believe it never would... Oh, Sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good. Oh, I've been inclined to believe it never would, oh, no, no."

Rachel nodded and smiled brightly at him as the rest of the club clapped for him and cheered him on. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him once he'd set his guitar down. "Neil Diamond," she kissed him, "excellent choice, Noah, and the song was amazing. Did you realize it fits us?" She asked.

He smirked, nodding, "yeah, which is why I picked it. I never thought my feelings would change for you, but they did and hanging out at camp and everything, they were good times and I never wanted them to end," he explained. "I guess you could say you're my Sweet Caroline," he added pressing a kiss to her lips again.

...

~Present Day: Noah~

Monday, June 17, 2019

"Mom, come on! It's like a ten hour drive," Noah called from where he was downstairs; his bags were already in the SUV and so was his sisters; they were just waiting on his mom to finish up.

Arin, since she was studying English, last year, started working as an English counselor at the camp, offering a creative writing class; she wanted to write and figured the best way to get experience in writing is to not only write herself, but to help others write, so she offered it at camp and it was such a success that they asked her to come back.

"Noah, she did this last year, too," Arin commented.

It was eight in the morning and they wanted to be on the road by then, but his mom was still packing up for the summer; they were going to be gone close to eight weeks and she not only had to pack, but had to make sure that she had all the information to pay bills over the phone or online while they were gone.

Noah rolled his eyes, "she's a worse procrastinator than I am; at least I was finished last night," he laughed.

"I think mom taught us what not to do," Arin admitted with a laugh.

"I heard that, you two," Deborah replied coming downstairs with three bags in her hands, "if I had a decent son he'd help me with my bags," she added with sarcasm, looking at him.

Noah blushed and moved over to her, "sorry mom," he took the two larger bags from her and headed outside, returning a few minutes later, "okay, are you sure you have everything?" He asked.

Deborah nodded, "yes, I'm sure. Will and Emma are being kind enough to come over to get our mail and check on things while we're gone and I have all the paperwork I need," she replied.

"Great, let's get going," Noah said motioning outside.

With one final walk around the house, the three family members were loading up into his mom's SUV, "okay, let's go."

The nice thing about this time was that Noah, Deborah and Arin could all drive, so no single person had to drive the whole way.

"This brings back memories," Arin admitted as she sat in the backseat with her brother in the front passenger seat and Deborah driving.

Deborah glanced at them, "yeah it does," she smiled and pulled the SUV out of the driveway and started their journey.

Noah smiled at his family and settled into the passenger seat, other things on his mind, including grape slushies, football choices and Rachel.

...

~History~

After Noah's solo performance, he admittedly was more relaxed at the thought of being in front of people performing, but he knew he'd never pursue it like Rachel was, but now at least he was willing to do it for Glee.

The 'slushy war' as some were calling it, was still in full swing and on Tuesday, Quinn and Finn got hit by them.

It was Thursday, just after lunch and Noah and Rachel were walking arm-in-arm downstairs to the second level of school to their lockers from the cafeteria; she was going on about some guy who won a couple of Tony awards, but he was half listening, "totally interesting," he murmured, glancing at her as they walked. "I know you liked my choice in song, but you never told me what you thought about my mash-up solo," he commented as they stepped off the last step.

She thought about it, "you're still missing the elusive high-B; that's a brass ring for a bari-tenor, but we can work on it," she smiled, pausing in the middle of the hallway to look at him, "you're a great performer, Noah, I just want to say how proud I am to have you on my arm in front of the whole high school."

He smiled at that and as they continued walking, their arms linked together, and out of nowhere, something ice cold was hitting him and he quickly realized he'd been hit with a grape slushy, the thick syrup coating his face and shirt and dripping down. He'd been hit and had a good idea who threw it, but at the moment he stood frozen in the middle of the hallway.

Rachel jumped and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. She recovered quicker and guided him towards her locker and she tugged out a few small towels and then led him towards the nearest bathroom.

Getting him to take his over shirt off, she set it aside with her coat and got him to sit in a folding chair by the sink and soaked one of her towels with warm water so he could wipe his face while she carefully rinsed his short hair, removing as much corn syrup and ice as she could.

He finished wiping his face and handed her back the towel and she set it aside, closing his eyes for a moment, "you're pretty good at this," he murmured.

"I've had a lot of practice. You're actually a lot luckier than me... Your head is shaved," she explained simply, drying her hands on another towel.

He sighed, "I'm really sorry I ever did this to you," he commented looking up as she sat on his lap.

"I forgave you, remember?" She asked softly, "it's okay."

"No it isn't. No one deserves this feeling," he told her, "you know what the worst part is? It's not the burning in your eyes or the way the slushy drips all the way into your underpants. It's the humiliation. I feel like I could burst into tears at any moment. Rachel, I'm sorry, but today when the clock chimes 3:30---"

"You're choosing football over Glee, which means we probably can't be together anymore," she admitted, fighting the tears in her eyes, as she bit her lip.

He looked up and shook his head, "no, I'm not letting this end us. You're my best friend and my girl; I'm not letting you go," he told her, tightening his arms around her waist.

Rachel sunk against him, the faint smell of grape filling her nose, "but if you choose football we'll never see each other," she sighed.

"We'll figure something out; babe, we got through with emails, texts and phone calls and we made it to living in the same town; we're gonna be together, but until the season is over, we might see less of each other," he whispered.

Sitting up, she pressed a kiss to his forehead, "you said you joined the club for us, and now you might leave the club, which hurts me a lot," she admitted, "please, Noah, think on it."

He nodded and watched her leave the room before opening out his kippa and putting it on his head, needing guidance from someone above.

...

~History~

Rachel sadly joined the rest of the club in the choir room, Mercedes, Artie, Tina, Kurt, Quinn, Santana and Brittany all stood watching the clock. Mr. Schuester showed up and also joined them. As the clock's hands hit three-thirty, everyone turned towards the door, hoping to see the guys walking in any moment.

After a few moments past and the hallways were silent, Will sighed sadly, "I guess they're not coming. I'm really sorry, guys."

"I can't believe this, I thought they were our friends," Mercedes snapped, "how can they just abandon us?"

Everyone was wondering the same thing that Mercedes asked out loud and as they continued to look out the door, they all gasped for a moment, seeing Matt and Mike appear, walking towards them. The two boys were welcomed with hugs from some of them and they all continued to wait, hoping two more would walk in.

Rachel bit her lip nervously as she waited, hoping and praying that Noah would decide to pick Glee, but as the seconds ticked by she was beginning to lose hope until she saw a shadow. The shadow turned into a foot, and then her boyfriend was walking into the choir room, one hand in his pocket the other behind his back. She smiled brightly and walked forward to him, meeting him in the middle, "are you sure about this, Noah? Choosing us over the team means you might get a slushy in your face every day."

Noah smirked, glancing up at their friends and then turned back to her, "bring it."

She grinned happily and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, his free arm going around her back for a hug.

Clearing his throat he stepped back a moment, "Rachel, remember when I told you I got you the yellow roses because they were as close to gold as I could get?" He asked.

She eyed him curiously, but nodded, "yes."

He smiled and pulled his other arm out from behind his back, and produced a bouquet of golden roses, "read the card," he said with a smile.

Rachel's eyes teared up as she took the beautiful bouquet and picked up the small card with a heart on the front. She opened it up and seeing Hebrew written she focused on the words, reading, "Rachel, I will love until the last rose dies. Noah," she narrowed her eyes in confusion and then felt the flowers, realizing they were artificial flowers and they had originally been white roses that he'd painted with gold paint and sparkles, "oh Noah," she gasped.

"I love you, Rachel, always and forever," he murmured, reaching up to wipe her tears away.

She blinked her eyes and smiled brightly to him, "I love you, too, Noah, always and forever," she replied, slipping her free arm around his waist and leaned against him.

Noah wrapped his arms around her gently and rubbed her back, pressing a kiss to her forehead and cheek before leaning in fully to kiss her lips; they'd just expressed their love forever in front of their friends and he didn't mind one bit; he was with her for good and he didn't care who knew.

...

... and as they say ... "the rest is history" ...

...

~Present Day: Rachel~

Monday, June 17, 2019

"You're disgusting, you know that? I can't believe you gave up a lead on Broadway, where you're making almost seventy-five-thousand dollars a month; a month, for summer camp," Kurt Hummel exclaimed as he helped Rachel gather up her bags.

"It wasn't exactly seventy-five; more like sixty-five once they took taxes out," Rachel commented as she set a bag next to the apartment door.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "okay, fine, but still! Rachel Marie, the star of Broadway's 'Grease' and you gave it up!"

Rachel sighed, "Kurt, you know why I did. I had my time on Broadway, I made it from a nobody to a star; I won my Tony; it's time for me to move on with my life. It's time to go home; camp is part of my home," Rachel admitted. "You know I saved most of my earnings, too, so I could one day give it up and not have to worry; at least not for a while," she added.

Kurt sighed, shaking his head; he'd made a name for himself in the fashion industry as a clothing designer and every fancy dress Rachel ever wore was one of his designs, "just promise me you'll still dress decently."

"I promise I will, and if I ever have a fashion emergency you'll still be the first person I call," she added.

"Good then," he nodded and picked up one of her duffel bags and her suit case and waited for her. "Are you sure you have everything?"

Rachel dashed around the apartment double checking everything before coming back to the front door and picked up her messenger bag and her smaller duffel, "yes I'm sure," she replied opening the door.

Kurt stepped out and she followed him, locking the door with her key and then locking the deadbolt before walking down the hallway towards the elevator, "now you have the keys, right? And you're gonna get the mail and keep things in order while I'm gone, right?"

"Yes, Rachel, I will. I have the keys and I'll get your mail," he promised.

The two rode the elevator down to the garage and walked over to the black SUV and she hit the rear hatch button and it opened. She set her small duffel in the back and Kurt added her two other bags, "thank you so much for the help, Kurt," she smiled, shutting the hatch before giving him a big hug.

"You're welcome. Say 'hi' to all the campers for me," he smirked, pressing a kiss to her cheek before they pulled away and she moved to the driver's door, "and don't pick up any hitch hikers on the way there and don't talk to strangers," he reminded her.

"Yes, dad," she laughed, opening the driver's door and tossed her other bag into the passenger seat. Crawling up into it, she started the engine and rolled the window down, so Kurt moved over to it, "thanks again, Kurt, you're an great friend; even if we did have some issues in high school."

"You're welcome, Rachel. High school is history," he waved at her, "and I try to be for a few people at least," he winked at her, "have fun and be safe," he said.

Rachel nodded and with a final wave, she was on her way to Pennsylvania. Once off of Manhattan, she headed south to Philadelphia, taking the interstate and listened to music lightly as she drove. Just northeast of Philly, she turned off the interstate and took another one across the Delaware River and into Pennsylvania country until she reached the turn onto a road that would bring her to the college campus. Checking her time she saw it was three-forty-five, "wow, made great time," she said and then her eyes widened as a familiar song came on, "great timing, Neil," she laughed, turning up the speakers as Neil Diamond belted out 'Sweet Caroline' and she couldn't help herself singing along. Neil Diamond was, as Noah quoted many years ago, 'a musical Jewish icon', and she was almost a Jewish summer camp.

...

~Present Day: Noah & Rachel~

Monday, June 17, 2019

"Noah Aaron!" Deborah yelled, "it's one lane going each way, you can't pass someone!"

"Mom, there's no one coming the other way and no cops, chill out," Noah sighed and stepped on the gas and put his signal on, quickly passing the black SUV with New York plates heading in the same direction he was; it was going right at the speed limit.

Once around the SUV he glanced in the review mirror and continued on a few miles per hour over the limit and made it to the college campus, parking in the staff lot where he had the year before, making sure there was a spot next to him free and slid out, closing the door and stretching his arms. Leaning against the side of his mom's SUV, he grinned as the black SUV came to park next to them.

Casually walking around the back of the SUV, he waited until the driver slid out before he walked towards her, smiling brightly, "hey there, Mrs. Puckerman, fancy meeting you here," he drawled, reaching out and pulling his wife against him. "I've missed you so much."

Rachel melted in his embrace, her arms wrapping around her husband's waist, "Noah," she murmured, "I missed you, too, baby, twenty-four hours in Columbus for Arin's graduation, was not enough time to make up for being apart for a month."

He kissed her forehead, "I know, babe, but the house is ready for us to move into and we've got the rest of our lives together," he explained, his lips pressing against hers gently.

At twenty-seven years old, Noah Aaron Puckerman, and his wife of almost seven years, Rachel Marie Puckerman, at twenty-six, have returned to the camp they met at sixteen years ago, but not only are they bringing back sixteen years of memories, a strong friendship and their marriage, they also are bringing their first child; Rachel's three and a half months pregnant.

Noah let one of his hands slide down to her still flat stomach, "how are you doing?" He asked softly.

She smiled, "a lot better now. The morning sickness is gone," she replied.

"I'm so sorry I missed you dealing with that; I should have waited to go back to Ohio," he murmured.

"No, it's alright," she shook her head, "we wanted to do this and we only had a short time to get things taken care of, it's okay, Noah," she assured him, her hand joining his against her stomach.

He nodded, "I love you, Rachel," he said taking her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and lifting their hands to his lips, kissing them softly.

She smiled at him, "I love you, too, Noah."

Deborah and Arin had given them a moment to greet each other, but they were both as excited to see Rachel, so after a few moments, Arin peeked her head around, "clothes are still on, it's safe, mom," Arin laughed.

Rachel blushed, and she and her husband walked to the back of the SUV and the women greeted each other and talked briefly before they started gathering up their belongings from their cars.

It had been a long month apart for Rachel and Noah. When they found out Rachel was pregnant in April, they agreed that it was time to move back home to Lima; her dads still lived there and his mom and sister were there, and they knew they wanted their child to grow up in Ohio, close to family and the friends they'd had that were still there. Knowing they were both going to be counselors over the summer, Noah quit his teaching job in late-April and started making arrangements to go home to Lima to look for a job, which is when his mom mentioned McKinley was hiring a new gym teacher and would need a football and basketball coach, because Ken Tanaka was finally retiring. He applied and went through all the necessary paperwork and that's how he got an interview with Principal Will Schuester, and now, starting the new school year, Noah would be teaching gym, coaching football and after that season, he coach basketball.

Rachel and Noah celebrated their birthdays, only five days apart in early-May and he attended her last show, sitting in the front row and held her in her dressing room after the show as she cried; sad she was leaving, but happy that she had become the Broadway star she always wanted to be and could now move on to the next chapter of her life; motherhood.

Deborah had mentioned there was a nice large house just down the street from her that was for sale, so she spoke to the realtor and after a few phone conversations with Noah and Rachel, when Noah finally got home to Lima, he checked out the house, and they started the paperwork to buy it.

Rachel could have gone to Lima with Noah, but she still had some things to take care of before she could officially walk away from the show, so they agreed it would be better for her to remain in New York and begin to pack up their apartment and start taking care of things there, while he returned to Lima to find a job, get the house, and fix it up, so when camp was over, they could return to New York together, load up their stuff and get back to Lima in a short time, because he only had a little over a week after camp ended before he needed to be back in Lima for football practice which always started before classes began.

At the end of May, after Noah had gotten the job at McKinley, the house became theirs and he started working on fixing up the house, cleaning it and getting it ready to move in, while staying at his mom's house down the street.

With his sister graduating from OSU in Columbus, Rachel didn't want to miss it, so she flew into Columbus the morning of Arin's graduation and her dads picked her up at the hotel and met Noah and Deborah at the ceremony, while Arin was sitting with her fellow classmates. After the ceremony, the six of them went out to dinner to celebrate Arin's accomplishment and then Arin, Deborah, and Rachel's dads headed home to Lima, leaving Noah in Columbus and he and Rachel spent the night together in her hotel room, before he dropped her off at the airport the next morning, promising in about a week they'd see each other again.

The previous summer, Noah had spent in Pennsylvania at camp; something he had wanted to do for a while; and at that time they had an opening for a male camp counselor for the high school students and a basketball coach, so he took it. Rachel was working so she was unable to take time off to go back to camp with him, but as that summer ended, it happened to be the last one the dance instructor would be there for, and while Rachel was going to take the current summer 'off' to go to camp, with the news of her pregnancy, she quit the production, giving her the freedom to take that job, and she was excited to be able to return and spend the summer with her husband at the camp they met at; this was his second summer and it would be her first summer as a counselor, which brought them full circle, because he had been at camp one summer before she started there.

Noah and Rachel were not the only counselors who were married, so they got a private dorm room with double bed, and once they'd checked in, the two headed up to their room and dropped their stuff off, "is our bench still there?" Rachel asked.

He grinned, "I don't know, you wanna go find out?" He asked.

She smiled, "would love to," she replied digging her camera out of her bag.

With their room keys in their pocket, they headed back outside and joined hands, walking down the familiar path towards the lake. The trees had grown up a lot in the last ten years since she'd been there; she chose not to go her final summer because Noah wasn't going to be there. Sure enough, just by the water's edge, with the gravely shore, sat their bench and Rachel grinned brightly, "it's still here!"

He nodded, "yeah it is," he said guiding her towards it and took a seat on it. She followed and he slipped his arm around her shoulders, "the last time we sat here we were confessing that we liked each other more than best friends," he murmured, looking at her.

Rachel blushed as she leaned her head against his shoulder, "a lot has happened since then. You graduated from high school, and started taking classes at Lima's OSU campus. I graduated from McKinley, we got married, in Lima, on the anniversary of the day we first got together right here on this very bench, we moved to Columbus and we started at Columbus' OSU campus; we both graduated the same year from there, then we moved to New York, you got a teaching job and I spent a year working on an off Broadway production, I got Sandy, and now we're pregnant, we're back at camp for the summer and then we're moving home," she smiled, "I couldn't be happier."

He leaned down and kissed her lovingly, "I'm the happiest man I the world," he murmured.

...

~Present Day: Noah & Rachel~

Mid-July 2019

The first week there the counselors got to know everyone else that would be working and started planning out their weeks. Rachel was going to be a counselor for a group of high school girls and teaching the two dance classes they offered over the weeks she was there, while Noah was coaching basketball and was a counselor for the high school boys.

Rachel was actually surprised that they got a room together; she fully expected to be sharing with her mom or sister, but she was very glad she could share with him; since they were teaching different classes she knew she wouldn't see him as much as she did when they were in camp, but they worked it out.

Once the campers showed up, they fell into a routine that did work out well; they would have meals together, separated by morning and afternoon classes and in their evenings, while the kids had free time the two would take some time for themselves, walking around the campus together.

After being there for a month, the first high school group left after being there for three weeks and Rachel was really starting to show, so by the time the new groups started, everyone could tell she was pregnant.

One night on their walk, they paused at the lake and sat on their bench again, "you know, while I was looking for something I found a box of stuff with camp things in it," she said.

"Really?" Noah looked at her, "like what?"

"Our tennis trophies, the shirt all my friends signed the last summer I was here, the picture of us that your mom took just before we parted the summer after we got together," she said. "It kind of brought back a lot of memories," she blushed, "I've been thinking about everything that had happened those few months after my dads and I moved."

Looking at her, he smirked, pulling her against him and kissing her, "I have been, too. I saw that same picture in my room and then I found a Neil Diamond CD in my room and remembered singing 'Sweet Caroline' to you," he replied.

"Me too, and I know those gold roses you made me are in one of those boxes," she admitted wrapping her arms around him, "I'll never forget those," she added.

He smiled and kissed her again, "always and forever and I meant it."

"I know you did, Noah, and I meant it too, always and forever, no matter what," she replied.

...

~Present Day: Noah & Rachel~

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Since camp was still in session on their seventh wedding anniversary, Noah and Rachel agreed once they got home to New York to finish packing and start moving, they would celebrate, but that didn't mean that Noah didn't have something special planned.

After a typical day at camp, they went for their evening walk around campus and stopped at 'their bench', but this time, Rachel didn't know they had an audience of their mom and sister.

"Has it really been ten years?" Rachel asked, feeling as if it was just 'last summer' that they had been there last; the past few weeks at camp making them feel like teens again.

"Yeah it has been," Noah shifted a little to look at her, taking both of of her hands in his, "meeting you sixteen summers ago was the best thing that ever happened to me; for six years we were just best friends and then when we told each other we had feelings beyond friendship right here on this very bench, I knew it would last; I knew no matter what, we'd work things out and we'd be together forever. Your dad getting a job in Lima was unexpected, but it fixed so many concerns we had, because we were finally living in the same town and could be together and even after all the bad stuff that happened, we stayed strong and on this day, seven years ago in front of friends and family in Lima, we promised each other that we would be together always and forever," he squeezed her hands and let go of her right one so he could pull something out of his pocket and then he slid off the bench and knelt down on one knee, still holding her left hand, "you have been my best friend for sixteen years and I have always wanted to do this here," he took a deep breath and smiled, opening up the ring box and showing her the ring inside, "I was thinking next summer, in this very spot we could renew our vows, so Rachel Marie Puckerman, will you marry me again?" He asked softly.

Her free hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in shock, tears spilling from her eyes as she stared at him, knelt down, holding out the most beautiful diamond and emerald ring she'd ever seen, "yes," she choked out, "I will," she nodded, watching him slide the ring onto her finger, meeting the gold band she wore and once it was on, she stared at the ring and stood up as he did, throwing her arms around him and kissing him, "I love you, Noah, so much," she murmured against his lips.

His arms went around her body and held her tight against him, their lips pressed together in an intense kiss and he knew his tears her falling; he never doubted she'd say 'yes', but he always wanted to propose to her there, seeming to bring everything full circle.

As the two pulled from their kiss, staring at each other as their arms still held each other, his mom and sister revealed themselves, both with tears in their eyes. Arin had filmed the whole thing and now wanted to see the ring her brother had been hiding.

While congratulations were passed around, Rachel hugged her mom and sister; they had never been 'in-laws' because Rachel saw both of them as her family; not just her husband's mom and sister. All three women gushed over the ring and he was proud of his choice and was glad they liked it.

Stepping a few feet away, he let them talk plans and baby things, while he calmed his nerves, the question he'd been wondering about for ten years, finally disappeared into the wind, "what would have happened if I didn't realize I liked her more than a friend ten years ago?" He glanced over at the three important women in his life and smiled at his wife, who came over and wrapped her arms around him, as they both silently looked out over the lake, "you know what? I don't want to know," he kissed her forehead and one of his hands slid down to rest on her five-month pregnant stomach, "we're here now and that's all that matters."

...

... it has been said that history repeats itself ...

The End, or is it?

...

Lyrics used: 'Sweet Caroline' as sung by Mark Salling in Glee. Original done by Neil Diamond; credit to the original writer.

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A/N7: So last week I posted two chapters within two days and it's been a week since I last updated, but I chose to hold off on the final post, so now, in honor of Glee day, I'm posting it... As I read through this to edit it again, I have tears in my eyes. I am very proud of this and I am so thankful for all of your reviews, comments, and alerts for this story... It means the world to me, and the person I wrote it for, really did love it, so that is awesome! Hugs to all and thank you for sticking with me on this! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :D

A/N8: I say 'The End, or is it?' because as I write this, I know I want to know more of their future together, so some day, down the road, I might revisit this universe for a short time.

A/N9: Happy 28th Birthday, Cory Monteith! Today, May 11th, is his birthday.

A/N10: The Glee awards is still open for nominations until the 15th of May, so if you like any of my fic (Out of the Blue, Starlight, Became the Summer, Gotta Start Somewhere), head on over to ( http :// community . livejournal . com/ gleeawards/ ) and find out how you can nominate them.

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