A/N: I know I know, you all hate me. I'm very sorry this update took so long but real life got in the way. I started my summer job and so it's been a little hectic this past week. Anyways here it is finally! I apologize for not replying to your reviews for last chapter, but you'll get amazing replies if you review this chapter ;) A special shout out to Detzer and sweetcaroline1986, your reviews always make my day. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: After last night I reaaaally wish I owned Glee, but alas I do not.

By Monday morning, Rachel was ready to pull her hair out. Sunday had started off relatively calm; waking up to her cat Maxx nudging her chin, she had relaxed in bed for a while (okay, so she was avoiding Noah, don't judge). When she finally got out of bed it was nearing 10 am, the latest she had stayed in bed in a long time.

Once she made it into the kitchen, after showering and getting dressed, Rachel saw Noah and his friend Reid sitting at the table drinking coffee and pouring over the letters that Becky had received. Grabbing a cup of coffee, she joined them at the table and the three of them had discussed the situation with her student. They decided that Puck would come in for a meeting with Becky on Monday if the girl agreed, and Reid would continue working through the letters to see if they held any clues to the identity of the author. This is when Puck and Reid decided to take a trip down memory lane; Rachel stood at the counter pretending to contemplate her to do list, while actually listening to the guys talk about their time on the McKinley baseball team.

When Reid finally leaves, Puck joins Rachel in the garage where she had escaped to, to keep working on the kitchen cabinet doors. They work in companionable silence for the rest of the morning. Except Rachel can't forget the feeling of Noah's lips grazing her forehead, and Puck can't help but stare at the long gold chain around Rachel's neck, that's disappearing between her cleavage that's on display from her v-neck t-shirt. And he thinks it's weird, because she's never worn a lot of jewelry.

When Sunday night rolls around, Puck has insisted on going with her to the grocery store, followed her inside when she was taking a break from the cabinet doors to strip wallpaper inside, and cooked her dinner. All while staring at her, the ENTIRE time. Or at least that's what it felt like to Rachel. He's acting like the Noah he used to be over two years ago, except even more attentive. And Rachel goes to bed confused and frustrated.

So yeah, by the time Monday morning comes around, she's ready to get the hell away from this house and get into her office for some much needed alone time.

"Don't forget –"

"I know Noah, just relax. I will call as soon as I talk to Becky." Rachel said rolling her eyes at him. He didn't understand why she was so frustrated with him. Okay, so maybe he'd reminded her a few (six) times that he was expecting a call as soon as she'd spoken to her student. But it was important that Becky talked to someone who knew how to ask the right questions. Being a trained police officer Puck was the perfect man for the job. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to keep an eye on Rachel.

The past two years had changed her more than he had realized. And not just her outward appearance, but her entire outlook. She was no longer the carefree girl he had married, and he couldn't shake the all consuming guilt that surrounded him when he realized he was very much to blame for that.

After Rachel had left for work Puck walked back to the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee. He dragged a hand roughly over his face and let out a deep breath. Being around her again was messing with his head. For example, she would be in the kitchen drinking a glass of water and his mind would flash back to their old apartment, her dancing around the kitchen. It was slowing driving him out of his mind.

He clearly still wanted her; Puck didn't think that would ever change. He just knew he couldn't have her, and he definitely didn't deserve her. So he'd help her get through this problem with Becky, and then he'd leave. It was only fair to her; she hadn't wanted him here in the first place.

Frustrated with his decision, even though he knew it was the right one, he slammed his empty coffee cup down on the counter and stalked to the bathroom, may as well get ready so that when Rachel called he could head straight into McKinley.

Rachel's day had turned to hell. Becky had agreed to talk to Noah about the letters after Rachel assured the girls that he was an old friend, a police officer, and he really wanted to help. They'd just finished the meeting in her office; Noah had asked her if she had noticed anyone paying particularly close attention to her, what guys were showing interest in her, when the letters had started exactly. After the first few minutes, Rachel had started to feel a panic attack rising, so she excused herself. Standing in the hall outside her office, she forced herself to calm down and told herself that they would catch the author of those letters before this progressed any further.

In the time that had passed since her attack, Rachel had come to realize what an idiot she'd been. Hiding those letters from Noah had been by far the most careless move she'd ever made. Had she told him about the letters there was a good chance this whole mess could have been avoided. They would still be blissfully happy in New York City, Rachel starring in The Phantom of the Opera and Noah working with the NYPD. But her own stupidity left her barely holding on to her life after fleeing back to the town she had grown up in, unhappy and alone. Despite her adamant protests that he was not welcome in her home, Rachel found herself realizing that she had missed Noah. And that, that was the most terrifying part of this whole situation.

"Are you okay Rachel"

Principal Figgins' voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He was standing in front of her with a worried expression. Rachel took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I'm fine sir. Just letting Noah talk to Becky in peace."

Figgins looked at her for a few seconds before raising his eyebrow and asking "Really? Because I was just walking up the hall when you practically ran out of your office; I saw your face, you were this close to full-fledged panic. Rachel I needed a guidance counselor and someone to run the glee club, so I've let this slide, but you're running from something. I don't know what happened that resulted in you coming back to Lima, but I can see you're barely keeping it together."

Rachel shook her head, since when was Figgins so perceptive? She opened her mouth to argue, but Figgins cut her off.

"Look I want you to stay, you're great with the kids in glee but you can't help these kids until you help yourself. So if you want to keep your job as the counselor here I'm going to have to insist you talk to someone about your problems"

Rachel was stunned; she thought she'd been successfully hiding her panic attacks. But here Figgins was telling her he knew something was wrong. The only thing running through Rachel's mind was how much she needed this job. Not only because fixing up her house was costing her an arm and a leg, but truly because it gave her something to do, something to distract her from the fear. Figuring honesty at this point was the best way to go; Rachel told the principal just that.

" – so I hope you know how much I need this job, and if it means going to talk to someone about my fears then I guess I'm willing to do that. But sir, I'm not sure how much it will help" she tells him, barely keeping her anger in check. I'm fine!

Figgins nodded and turned to walk back towards his office, calling over his shoulder "It'll help more than you realize Rachel"

Puck watched Rachel walk back into her office with a dazed expression on her face, just as Becky stood up to leave. She sat down behind her desk and placed her hands gently on top of it. Before he even has a chance to ask her what's wrong she's talking and it's almost like having the old Rachel back, if she didn't sound so terrified.

"He wants me to seek out professional counseling, to talk about the issues that have been so much a part of my life for the past year and a half. Who does he think he is? I know how to do my job, I'm helping these kids; I'm helping Becky! But does he see that? No. I don't need to talk to anyone, I've been doing fine just on my own!"

She ends her little speech so indignantly that she slams her hand down on her desk. Puck can see she's furious.

"Who?"

Rachel looked up startled, almost like she had forgotten he was there, and maybe she had. "Principal Figgins. He says if I don't talk to someone about what happened then I can't keep my job"

"Good!" tumbles out of his mouth before his brain caught up enough to tell him that was probably a stupid thing to say. Rachel's eyes snapped to meet his, and he just knew they were headed for another huge fight. May as well go all in Puckerman.

"Quite bluntly Rachel, that's bullshit. You're not doing fine at all. You ran, and came back here to Lima to hide out. You work hard, and you spend all your free time fixing up an old house to fucking keep yourself from falling apart. That's surviving Rachel; you're not doing fuck all to get over what happened! So yeah, good! You need to talk to someone, fucking anyone and start to deal!"

Rachel's face was flushed bright red, and the glare she was sending him would send chills down anyone's spine.

"Well excuse me. I didn't realize this was any of your business Puck!" He flinched at his high school nickname; Rachel hadn't called him that in over 5 years. She must be really pissed.

"I'm doing the best I can. I was tied to my bed and gagged by some psycho who I rejected while I was at NYU! He taunted me with letters for months. And when I was tied to our bed Noah, he took a knife and slowly sliced my skin open, telling me I had to pay for not seeing we were meant to be together. Told me we were finally going to be a real couple, that he was going to make me his! So yeah, I'm surviving because that's really the best I can do right now. But I don't need to spill my guts to some stranger, it won't make all of this just disappear!"

Hearing her more or less blame him for what happened made the guilt that had been his best friend for the last year and a half expand a hundred-fold. Sighing, he stood up and headed for the door.

"Fine Rach, I don't know what else to do" he said before slipping out the door. He walked down the familiar halls of McKinley High trying to outrun the image of Rachel tied up and bleeding, and failing miserably.

He was dragged out of the past abruptly though when he arrived in the parking lot only to find the tires on his rental slashed, and a note under the wiper blade that read "Leave town, she's mine".

Well fuck. This shit needs to stop happening.

A/N 2: I promise you won't have to wait as long for the next update. Go review and it'll be up even quicker! Also feel free to follow me on twitter (/shannonphenix) I often update there when I'm writing.