IPOD CHALLENGE

I-pod challenge:

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.

Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward!

4. Do ten of these and then post them

PLEASE NOTE, THIS ONE DOES PROGRESS IN TIME, I'M NOT GOING TO LIST EVERYONE' AGE IN EVERY SECTION BUT IT DOES FOLLOW A TIMELINE.

Chapter 10: You're Still the One

We've been together since way back when…

"Elise Michelle Puckerman! Get your ass down here pronto!" Noah bellowed from the base of the stairs of the Brooklyn brownstone he shared with his wife of 20 years and their 3 children.

Rachel smirked into the sink as she finished rinsing the plates and stacking them in the dishwasher.

Moments later, their oldest daughter flounced down the stairs, her eyes flashing, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"What?!" She snapped, her tone clearly exasperated.

"Don't you take that tone with me. You know EXACTLY 'what' you're down here for. What's the rule?" He shot back, towering over his 16 year old daughter.

His size didn't intimidate her.

"No boys upstairs." She mumbled as she blew a strand of brown hair out of her eyes.

"You got it. Tuck that lip back in and get the punk out of your room. And button up that shirt!" He called after her as she stomped up the stairs.

He turned to face his wife, who'd finished loading the dishes and was now leaning against the sink, an amused grin on her face.

"What?" He asked, approaching her, his eyes taking on a slightly predatory gleam.

"Nothing… Just…I think she's your karma… For all your 'badass' behavior when we were in high school." Rachel replied as she hooked her finger into his belt loops as he came to stand in front of her.

"She's going to be the death of me Rach. I swear to god, I'm gonna have to kill every boy in the greater New York area." The 43 year old former badass groaned.

"You thought Allison was bad." She commented, referring to his oldest child, Allison Fabray-Puckerman.

"That girl is tame compared to El. That girl's the spawn of the dark prince, has been since she popped out." He muttered, burying his hands in her hair.

"And yet you still felt the need to get me pregnant two more times after her." Rachel shot back, running her hands through her husband's closely cut hair.

He laughed. "Like we didn't have a hell of a time making them." He whispered before claiming her lips with his.

After all these years

You're still the one I want whisperin' in my ear

Even now, her spine still tingled when he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, demanding she open her mouth to him.

His arms wrapped possessively around her waist, hauling her closer.

"EWWWWWWWWW!!!" It was the unmistakable shriek of their youngest child Elijah. Rachel buried her head in his shoulder, giggling at being caught making out by their kids-again.

"Diana!" Noah called out, hoping his middle child was in earshot.

He smiled as he heard her prim footsteps approaching.

"Eli, come along, mom and dad are simply expressing their feelings towards one another, it's quite a natural behavior. We should leave them alone. Let's go upstairs, we can practice my routine again." Diana told her 6 year brother, taking him by the hands and dragging the curly haired boy down the hall.

"That one… That one is all you Berry."

"Dear god I know. You know, scratch worrying about Elise. That the one we need to worry about."

Sometimes I never want to see you again….

"You insensitive bastard!!!!" Rachel screamed. A moment later, she was hurling a book at his head.

Knowing his wife was prone to throwing things (hissy fits included) he ducked.

"You're being a bitch." He shot back calmly, which only served to piss her off even more.

"You're an asshole!" She hollered as her eyes went wild while she searched for something else to throw at him.

Her eyes fell on his prized glass football he'd gotten signed by several of his favorite players.

His gaze followed hers. "Don't you even fucking think about it!!" He told her, his voice rose as he advanced to save his treasure.

Elise rolled her eyes as she heard a loud thump come from her parent's room, followed by the unmistakable shriek that could only belong to her mother.

Moments later, Eli ran into her room, eyes wide. Di was right behind him.

"They're at it again." Elise informed the two of them.

Tears had gathered in the young boy's eyes.

"Elijah, it's not necessary to cry. Fighting is part of any relationship." Diana informed him. She may only be 13, but she spoke like a 40 year old relationship therapist.

Elise rolled her eyes at her crazy sister. "Come here buddy." She whispered to her brother, holding her arms out.

He ran to his oldest sister and snuggled into her embrace.

Diana stared at them. "I fail to see how coddling him will help further his understanding of the complexity of relationships."

"It makes him feel better. Something you're clearly incapable of. Now why don't you go find your ballet slippers? Aren't they missing?" Elise suggested, giving her sister a pointed glare.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Sure about that?" The eldest questioned.

Diana stared at her sister for a moment, her eyes widening in recognition.

She let out a shriek identical to that of her mother's and stormed out.

"I AM GOING TO JUILLIARD!! SO HELP ME GOD!!!"

"Baby, sweetheart, they didn't take you this semester." Rachel countered as she tried to quiet her middle daughter.

"I DON'T CARE!! I'm going down there and I'll re-audition and they'll see just how monumental of a mistake they've made!!!!" She screeched as she stormed off, slamming doors in her wake.

Rachel dropped her head to her hands and sighed. She heard the casual, heavy stride of her husband.

"Was I that bad?" She asked in a small voice.

The couch shifted as he sat down next to her. His hand came up to rest on her back.

"Well, you were a bit nuts. But you were driven. You went after everything you wanted. You had balls. Still do. But you made me better Berry. You made us better.

Still the one

That's my better half

They heard pounding on the stairs. They both glanced up to see Diana, pink suitcase in hand, storming towards the door.

Rachel moved to get to her feet. Noah's hand on her knee stopped her. He got up and marched over to his headstrong daughter.

"Hold it!" He called out, halting his daughter in her footsteps.

"You can't stop me daddy. I'm going. I'm going to go follow my dreams. I'm going to show that school just what they're missing. They need me daddy. The world needs me." She announced dramatically.

"You're 17 Di. The world does not need you. Not yet. You need to dial down the drama a notch. You cannot storm into Juilliard and demand they accept you. Your mother already tried." He told her.

Diana's mouth hit the floor. "Mom? You did that for me?" She asked quietly, meeting her mother's gaze.

Rachel nodded, not saying a word.

"Yes, she did. And they called security on her. I had to go pick her up from the police station." Her father informed her, his voice stern and sharp.

"Oh. But maybe-" She started.

"No. Just… Just no. Right now, I'm going to say something, something I said about your mother over 25 years ago. You make me want to set myself on fire. I love you Di, but you do. Now, take your things back upstairs and put it all back where it belongs. I'm sure it's getting wrinkled as we speak." He suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.

He got the reaction he expected. Her eyes widened. She grabbed her suitcase and started up the stairs, muttering something about a garment bag.

He'd turned to head back into the living room when her voice stopped him.

"Daddy?"

"Di?"

"When I'm 18 I'm going to Juilliard. And you can't stop me."

"Baby, I'll do you one better. I'll make sure I get you a map and some brown bags for your shit." He shot back.

She huffed loudly and finished her dramatic exit.

A moment later, his wife threw herself into his arms.

"I might make us better but there's no way I could do this without you, even if you are a softie sometimes."

You're still the one

That makes me strong.

"Are you questioning my badassness?"

"Can you hear it?" He asked his wife.

She swept a strand of her short brown hair from her face.

"I don't hear anything Noah." She replied as she returned her eyes to her book.

"It's SILENCE. Rachel, it's silence. They're gone, all of them. No more loud ass music, no more dance routines, no more pellet guns being shot down the hall. It's silence. It's quiet."

Changing, our love is going gold

Even though we grow old, it grows new

She looked over from her place in bed. "And we aren't even 60 yet."

"No baby, we're still young." He replied, the telltale smirk beginning to creep onto his face.

"We aren't that young." She countered.

"Still young enough to have a little fun."

We're still havin' fun

And you're still the one.

"What kind of fun Noah."

"You know what kind I mean." He muttered before slipping his hand under the sheets and capturing her mouth with his.

You're still the one

That I love to touch

And that's it folks. 10 big ones.

Now let me say, I know these are much longer then they should have been and obviously I took a lot more time then 3 or 4 minutes to write them. But I get carried away. Can't help it.

I hope you enjoyed.