Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in what seems like forever. I just got back from an awesome vacation and got to see Glee Live! in New York with my awesome Pucklebitches.

Happy birthday Baby Gin! Thank you so much for being an inspiration to me and keeping my love for PR strong even though I'm not feeling the love for the show atm. This story is for you. Thank you for all your input and praise (even if I don't think I deserve it most of the time). You're the best sister from another mister in the world 3.

Mike brought Beth home after dinner and she was so exhausted that she went straight up to bed. He didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone in the house while she was sleeping, so he stayed in the family room and waited for Puck to get home. Puck walked in the door about half an hour later his mind still trying to come down from the clouds. If heaven was a place on earth, Puck was in it the whole time he was with Rachel.

"How was your date, man?"

"It was awesome dude. It couldn't have gone any better."

"Good. I'm glad. Beth and I had a really good day. Magic Mountain was a blast, especially when Santana showed up after lunch."

Puck was very intrigued that Santana had joined them because she made a big deal about having to go into work today. "I thought she was working today."

"I guess she changed her mind. I think we drove her crazy because we were sending her pictures like every fifteen minutes of all the fun that we were having."

"Interesting…do you think it may have had anything to do with the fact that we found you two spooning on the couch yesterday?"

Mike blushed and couldn't look Puck in the eyes. It wasn't often that he got embarrassed like this. "Nothing happened though. We just fell asleep."

"First, in all this time I've known you, I've never known a girl to spend the night at your house. Second, Santana isn't the touchy-feely type. I find it curious that these two long-standing traditions with you two were broken in the same night. Maybe you two didn't have sex, but you can't tell me that nothing happened. Where I'm sitting, something definitely happened."

"You're right man. I definitely do feel something for her. I have no idea what this all means because it's almost impossible to know where you stand with her. She avoids attachments like the plague and I'm nothing like the guys that she's dated in the past. Usually the guys are more like her, I'm pretty much the exact opposite of everything that she looks for in a guy."

"Don't you see? That's why it could be brilliant. Sometimes being with someone who's similar to you just doesn't work. I actually think that you two balance each other. You just need some confidence. You're the best guy I know and Beth adores you. Santana would be lucky to have you."

Rachel came home from their date with her head in the clouds. Noah's insistence on courting her brought her back to when she was fifteen, which was a time when she would find herself getting swept up in a Jane Austen novel…only this time she was the heroine. She felt like sort of a cross between Elizabeth Bennet and Anne Elliot, the heroines of her two favorite Austen novels. Noah was Darcy to her Elizabeth, someone who challenged her in ways she never imagined and he also was Wentworth to her Anne, the boy she fell in love with in high school and came rushing back into her life after all those years. She also couldn't help but notice that it was a letter and confessions of true feelings that brought them back together, just like a letter brought Anne and Wentworth back together. It was so hard not to get too far ahead of herself, even though she knew that they would have an epic ending just like those couples did in their books. She decided that it was worth it to do things the right way and just enjoy the perks of being courted.

She walked up to Santana's condo and put her key in the lock. She noticed that the lights were still on, so she figured that Santana was up and waiting for all the details. She found Santana in the backyard, holding a glass of wine and looking out over the canyon that was just beyond the yard. The stars were gorgeous tonight and for once the sky in LA was relatively clear and smog-free. She didn't try to be quiet, figuring that Santana would be all over her hounding her for details. She had brought a glass with her from the kitchen and sat down on the lounge chair next to her friend, pouring a glass for herself and wondering what had her friend in such a pensive mood.

"Hey San, how was work today?"

Santana was jolted back from her interlude. "Fine."

The one word answer shocked Rachel. Santana was almost always a chatterbox, not always willing to filter her thoughts. "Is everything okay? It seems like you're not even here."

All her thoughts and feelings were swirling around in her mind and she couldn't seem to get it to slow down, but she had to voice them otherwise she'd drive herself crazy. "Rach, how did you know that Puck was the one?"

"Well, it wasn't like there was a neon sign flashing above his head. In high school, I kept him at arm's length because of our histories and our desire to pursue our dreams, but looking back, I sort of let him take up residence in my heart without even realizing it. In terms of my love life, there was always something in the back of my mind reminding me that whatever I tried to have with anyone else would never measure up to the standard that he set in high school. Seeing him again in New York was really the first time I knew for sure that he was the one. It was like all the tension that I held in my body just melted away and for the first time in my life, I felt truly safe. I guess you could say that it was like coming home."

Coming home…that was what it felt like when she slept in Mike's arms. She refused to let herself go down that road though. Puck and Rachel's love story took years to unfold, so there was no way that what she was feeling was love. She shook those thoughts from her head and remembered that Rachel had just come home from her perfect date. "So how was the date?"

Rachel had stars in her eyes all over again. She and Santana gushed over the details about how amazingly perfect it was. "So did you get an answer to your question? About why he insists on you living with me, I mean. I'm not complaining or anything, I just thought it was a bit weird considering that you two seemed like you were one step away from the altar."

"It actually wasn't weird at all and it wasn't him pushing me away like I thought he was." She went on to tell her what he said about his relationship with Beth and Santana's heart melted for the third time that weekend.

"Oh my God, that Puckerman charm is going to be the death of me. He and Beth keep making me look like a puddle of goo. This is not good for my reputation. All of a sudden I'm having these things resembling feelings and I'm not sure I like it."

Rachel knew that there had to be something going on for her to mention feelings because if it was just about her and Noah, she wouldn't be so emotional or worked up about it. Plus, she'd been dying to ask her about Mike. "San, is everything okay? Does this have anything to do with how we found you yesterday morning? I swear I was convinced that you had to have been drunk or something."

There was no point in hiding it anymore. "I can't lie to you. I'm really confused about how things went down this weekend and what it all means. I have never spent the night with a guy and not have it be about sex, but I can also say that I've never felt so comfortable in a man's embrace. You know me…I don't really do the physical affection thing with anyone, so it was strange to me to have that be the only thing we shared and all it left me with was this feeling of dissatisfaction because I just want more of that."

Rachel could see the tears streaming down her cheeks and she moved over to her lounge chair to give her a hug. "Oh honey, I think that you've finally gotten to that place in your life where your career and lifestyle just aren't enough anymore. I think it has a lot to do with Beth coming into your life and seeing Noah and I come together like this. It's natural. I hit my limit recently too. I just knew that all the success I've enjoyed in my career wasn't enough anymore. You want that person to share all the good with. That person who will not only stick around during the bad times, but will also be your rock when things are crazy. You want the guy who will throw himself between you and danger without hesitating. I think this realization is just all so new and you just need to let things sink in. Personally, I would love it if Mike was that guy for you. You deserve a great guy like him, but it will probably take time for you to figure things out. Just promise me that you won't go all Santana and push him away because you're scared of the unknown."

Scared of the unknown…Rachel's words were repeating over and over in her head just before she went to sleep that night. The thing about her relationships in the past was that she always knew that they had an expiration date, even before they started. Whether that expiration date was 24 hours or 3 months, she never knew, but she had never gone into a relationship thinking that it could be forever. She liked it that way though. She liked being in control of the relationship. She didn't take rejection well so she was always on the offensive and as soon as she felt that a guy may be pulling away, she would pull away first to protect her heart. She couldn't start something with Mike with this mindset. She knew that she was sort of the odd person out if this relationship were to tank. Santana loved being in Rachel's, Puck's and Beth's lives and she knew that if things didn't work out with Mike she would either be slowly pushed out of the group, or she would choose to stay away. Puck and Mike were practically brothers and that would never change, and Rachel and Beth would be tied to Mike through Puck, so she could possibly lose everyone. There were too many "what ifs" running through her head and she couldn't wrap her mind around it, and eventually exhaustion set in.

She woke up not feeling any better than when she went to bed. She couldn't decide if what she was feeling was worth risking everything, especially since she had no inclination of how he was feeling about things. The best thing for her to do was to throw herself into work and try to see if things would pass.

Rachel was worried about her friend. She knew how hard it was to come to grips with the realization of feelings so strong. She could tell that Santana had never truly been in love because she had spent her life pushing those feelings away. Rachel knew that she wasn't going to see her friend for the next few days because her pattern was to throw herself into her work and try to ignore whatever it was that was bothering her.

Mike was having trouble concentrating on his life as well. Noah's words kept echoing in his mind. He had never been impulsive in his life…it just wasn't in his nature. His parents were soft-spoken, conservative Chinese immigrants who put an emphasis on stability and security. He had already fought hard to pursue a career in dance instead of going into medical, law, or business school as was typical of most Asians with his upbringing. This conservatism also translated into his love life. He had always dated girls that he knew his parents would approve of, which were quiet, smart Asian girls who would be a good wife to him and a good mother to their future grandkids. Santana didn't quite fit his parents' bill. As well meaning as his parents were, he knew that they were wrong when they tried to push him into a career he didn't want and he fought hard to live his dream. Santana was everything that he was looking for in a partner and more. He just wished that he knew how she felt because with Santana, it was pretty much impossible to tell.

Noah and Rachel were both on cloud nine. Their first date couldn't have gone better, and they got into a rhythm with their communication. They had been apart for years, but things fell into place as if they'd never spent a day away from each other. There was, however, a disagreement about how much time they would spend courting. Noah wanted to spend at least a year like this, and Rachel wanted it to be six months. Their reasons for wanting the different timelines were valid, but for some reason, they couldn't seem to come to an agreement about it. They decided to table the discussion and revisit it later and just enjoy being with each other. Beth was enamored with the story of their first date and thought it was really romantic that they were taking the time to slow down and enjoy things. She gained even more respect for her dad for his reasons for wanting to do things right with Rachel. It made her feel good to feel so important and loved by him.

Now that her dad and Rachel were happy together, she decided to focus her efforts on Uncle Mike and Aunt Santana. She was in the unique position of having been the only one to spend time with them together. She knew that her dad and Rachel had talked to them both separately, but they couldn't possibly have seen things the way that she did.

"Dad, what do you think is going to happen with Uncle Mike and Aunt Santana?"

"Well, that's really up to them, honey. I've done my share of meddling." He looked over at Rachel with a knowing look. "And so has Rachel. It's better if we just let them figure it out on their own."

She could tell that her dad was not going to be of any help in this matter. She waited until she and Rachel were alone before recruiting her. "Rachel, we need to do something. I know them. They're both so stubborn that they'd rather suffer and long for each other in silence than take a chance. You didn't see them together. I know that they like each other. They don't seem like they'd go together, but when they are together, it's magic, just like you and Dad."

Rachel was slightly torn at the moment. She knew that Noah wanted her to stay out of it, but Beth made her point so convincingly. "Beth, I think that I just need to stay out of it and just be a friend to Santana right now. That being said…I don't approve of an outright matchmaking plan, but helping them see the potential, that's a completely different story. I could probably turn a blind eye to that. I know you want them together as much as I do and I know you're resourceful enough to do it with a hand of subtlety. But as far as your dad is concerned, I know absolutely nothing."

Beth's face lit up with excitement and joy. "Deal."