Author's Note: Many apologizes for the lack of updates. My life has been a little ridiculous lately and I keep hitting a wall when it comes to writing. In hopes of working out my writer's block, I jumped on the tumblr bandwagon. If you're interested, you can follow "thesouthway" and get a peak at what goes on inside my head.

In Treatment

Chapter 9: I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)

A minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.

Chuck Palahniuk

Quality performances don't put themselves together overnight. Broadway casts work for months to get everything just right. In Hollywood, those seemingly effortless movie scenes require numerous takes. Olympic athletes dedicate their lives to winning a gold medal. Coach Sylvester's Cheerios literally work their asses off in order to bring home as many first place trophies as humanly possible throughout the year.

Even McKinley's football team, under Coach Beiste's direction, must put in long hours to keep up their winning streak.

It goes without saying that Rachel can't understand why, if all of this is true, her teammates consistently behave as if they deserve to win anything when they are not willing to waste more than a handful of hours on putting together a performance. They are a good team, full of earnest emotion and raw talent, but if they want to compete against serious contenders (like Vocal Adrenaline) then they need to realize that perfect practice makes perfect.

When Santana starts complaining about going over the last sequence, where Maureen and Joanne are finally singing together, Rachel gets a little annoyed. When the Latina fails to understand the importance of practicing the stair sequence (using the "practice" stairs leading up to the stage), Rachel swears she can feel the blood rushing in her ears. And when Santana starts bitching about how tired and thirsty she is and how pointless rehearsing is when they're already ten times better than everyone else, Rachel snaps.

"You can't possibly believe that you could watch a clip on YouTube a half a dozen times, copy the choreography, practice it once, and be done, did you? First off, we're on stage, Santana, and we don't have the luxury of a camera following our every move. You do know that a good performer always keeps her face visible to the audience?"

"Look, Midget, I really don't need this shit from you right now."

Rachel snorts because she's pretty sure Santana doesn't need anything from her except for her vocal talents. Everyone knows about Santana's near obsession with breadsticks (they are the quickest way into her spankies) and Rachel's got a suspicion that if Brittany were just a slightly better singer, Santana would have picked her. If she wanted to be treated like a pair of impressive vocal cords with a hot ass, she would have stayed with Finn.

"I really don't need this attitude from you." She knows she's being a bitch. She also knows she's not really that pissed off at Santana. She's upset because Santana can't take glee as seriously as she takes cheerleading, so her minor anger at the Cheerio gets mixed up with her major anger at Mr. Shue and the glee club and it all boils over before she can stop it.

Instead of walking away, cooling off for a minute, and then speaking to Santana like a sane and rational person, Rachel grabs her trolley bag and marches off the stage. "Let me know when you're ready to take this seriously." She wants to add, 'Let me know when you're ready to stop grabbing my ass every five minutes' but really doesn't want to go there (like Santana's ever going to stop that). When Santana realizes she's not turning around and is actually leaving, the other girl starts screaming at her in Spanish. They are quickly becoming a bad telenovela.

As tempted as she is to translate whatever the hell Santana's saying, Rachel keeps going until she hits the parking lot. It isn't until she's in her car, with the engine started and the radio turned up loud, that she remembers she was going to go easy on Santana. Not because she can't keep up, but, because Rachel caught the look on her face when Brittany wheeled Artie up to the gleeks' table at lunch. After all, Santana might be handsy and bitchy and slutty (and have no concept of personal boundaries) but it's pretty obvious she's more than just in lust with Brittany. Rachel thinks about going back in and apologizing (it's the right thing to do) but she's already put her car in drive and honestly she thinks Santana deserved it. For the most part anyway.

She takes the long way home because she's so incredibly pissed off and she's convinced if she goes her usual route she'll end up in the parking lot of Mr. Shue's apartment complex (where she'll wait for her opportunity to run him over). Dr. Robinson would probably say that she should talk about her feelings before she ends up doing something destructive (like killing Mr. Shue). Rachel thinks about calling Kurt (who's probably the only one equipped to deal with her diva-sized freak out) but realizes he's probably still trying to convince Noah to be the Fred Astaire to his Judy Garland and she really doesn't want to get involved in that.

By the time she gets to her house, Rachel's convinced herself she's fine. She's bottled all her feelings about glee club back up and is no longer on the verge of hyperventilating. Then she almost rams her car into the back of Noah's truck, which just so happens to be parked in her driveway.

"What the hell, Berry?"

He's leaning up against his truck, looking at her like she's finally lost her damn mind (which she probably has), and all she wants to do is throw herself at him and lick his neck.

"Santana Lopez is a stupid bitch." What she means to say is 'Wanna make out?' but when she opens her mouth, that's not what pops out. Noah looks amused, probably because her car is parked and no longer a danger to his truck, and her fingers are itching to tug at his nipple ring or grab his ass or something. She doesn't even care that they're in her driveway and that her dads are probably home. It's probably not healthy to mix anger and sexual frustration but she hasn't had a non-self induced orgasm since Jesse St. Doucheface and she keeps thinking back on their kiss in the cafeteria and the way Noah's eyes stalked her all damn day.

He doesn't even say anything, just pushes her up against his truck and fists his hands in her hair. She's moaning (loudly) before he even starts nipping at her neck because his whole body is so hard up against hers and she's bracing her hands against his arms (his biceps have always been a huge turn on). By the time his mouth slants over hers, she's breathing so hard it's a wonder she hasn't passed out. His mouth is so hot on hers, his teeth pulling at her bottom lip just hard enough to make her gasp, and one hand tightens in her hair while the other skims down her body and cups her breast. Rachel wants to move her hands but feels frozen while Noah's lower body rocks against hers and his thumb brushes back and forth over her cloth covered nipple.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God" is the only coherent thing that passes from her lips whenever Noah's move on to another part of her body (her neck, the shell of her ear, her collarbone) and she wonders if dry humping in the middle of her parents' driveway counts as public indecency.

She's so wound up and so close to exploding that it takes her a minute to notice that Noah's not moving against her or kissing her anymore. Then she hears her daddy's voice (it sounds like he's been talking for a while) and it's like she's been doused with a bucket of ice water.

"Noah, Rachel, I would like to think I'm pretty understanding." Since she can't look at her daddy, she looks at Noah with his heavy lidded eyes and swollen lips and wonders how his fly got unzipped. "However, Leroy's about ten seconds from bounding out of the office and putting the fear of God into you." Which is mostly likely code for her six foot three inch dad bounding out of the house with a baseball bat while he threatens to beat the hell out of her boyfriend.

"Daddy…"

It's weird calling her daddy (who will always be her daddy) "Daddy" while she's focusing on the gold flecks in Noah's eyes. She's pretty sure she sees Noah smirk and she can't help but shudder involuntarily.

"Rachel, honey, I think it's time Noah went home." She manages to keep her mouth shut even though she wants to tell him it's about damn time that Noah gave her an orgasm (she's not that open with her dads). "Noah, Leroy and I would love to have you over for dinner sometime. It's nice to see you outside of a hospital room." Her daddy laughs and Noah laughs and she just stands there because this is just weird on so many different levels.

Noah kisses her on the cheek and hops in his truck and her daddy gently pulls her into the house. Her dad finally comes out to stand in the doorway and glare at Noah (even though she knows he's been helping Ava pick out china patterns since they were six). So, she forgets about being mad at Santana and glee club and Mr. Shue (and being cock blocked by her dads) and talks about school, homework, and all of her various extracurricular activities. Her dads ignore the fact that she was officially with Finn just a couple of days before and she (and her daddy) ignores the fact that her dad walks out of the room to discreetly phone Ava.

Rachel sleeps pretty well considering her life has become a case study in orgasm denial. When she leaves for school the next morning, her dad is at the kitchen table flipping through wedding magazines and talking on the phone to her Aunt Rhoda. She doesn't say anything (even though it's a little creepy considering they're still in high school) because she knows her daddy will put a stop to it in a couple of days (it won't be long before the creepy factor overrides the cute factor).

Also, it's nice to be able to involve her parents in her life again.

She's not surprised that Noah's not leaning up against her locker (morning football practice) but she is surprised to see Santana, Kurt, and Tina huddled around her locker giggling like Twihards who've happened upon Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner making out. Upon closer inspection she realizes they're huddled around Santana's phone watching a replay of her attempt to make phantom Jewish babies with Noah against his truck.

She knows she should be embarrassed but then Tina asks, her voice all breathy, "Is this porn?" to which Santana replies, "I wish this were porn," and Kurt announces her arrival by saying, "Didn't know you had it in you, Slutty McSlutty Pants."

"This is absolutely ridiculous," there's no point in getting embarrassed when it's just going to make them act worse, "besides, I think Satan still holds the Slutty McSlutty Pants title. I was wondering how Noah's fly got unzipped…now I have my answer."

Tina giggles, it's a little stilted since she's been caught red handed, and Kurt fans himself. She seriously hopes he's not going to start fantasizing about another one of her boyfriends but decides, if he is, at least Noah's worthy masturbation material. Santana, who looks more than a little turned on, sashays up to Rachel and wraps an arm around her waist.

"I went over to your house to apologize, Baby, but, you were more than a little preoccupied." Rachel decides to ignore the touching (and the stalking and the fact that Santana recorded them) because apologies rank slightly under orgasms induced by other people, gold stars, and solos on her list of favorite things. "I still really want to sing with you."

Santana's looking at her with big brown eyes and pouty lips and Rachel overlooks the fact that Brittany and Artie are making their way down the hall (she honestly doesn't want to know what's going with that mess) and kisses Santana on the cheek. "Apology accepted, but, I'm going to require more effort in your performance. I don't care dead weight, Sweetie."

The spell is broken when Tina starts complaining about Mike's lack of confidence when it comes to singing (not a surprise considering Mr. Shue doesn't seem to believe that any kind of vocal training is necessary). Kurt quickly chimes in about how Noah is an insensitive asshole because he won't sing a gay love song (like that's a surprise). Santana tells them they're both idiots (Rachel's a little more diplomatic) and keeps cuddling her even when Artie and Brittany wheel past and keep going.

They all walk Kurt to French, she briefly wonders if he said anything to them about Karofsky, then drop Tina off at Physics, and Santana hangs outside of the Spanish classroom just long enough to wink at Noah (who decided to show up to class) and glare at Mr. Shue. When she flounces away, ponytail bouncing, Rachel wonders if this is what it means to have friends.

She decides to hold onto her angry glee club feelings just a little longer. After all, she's pretty sure Dr. Robinson will be excited to talk about something other than Noah for a change. Right now, saving everything for her therapist sounds like a better idea then unloading on friends (who all just happen to be in glee club).

By the end of the week, Rachel is exhausted. On top of dance class, vocal lessons, homework, and convincing her dad to put away his wedding planner for her wedding, she's put in hours of practice time with Santana. It's worth it considering the two of them could probably single handedly bring about another RENT revival.

She's also not the only one who's busy. Noah and Kurt pull off a truly inspiring rendition of Barenaked Ladies, If I Had a Million Dollars. Noah plays guitar and Kurt plinks away at the piano and she's not sure how but they both manage to keep a straight face (especially since Noah makes it obvious he's singing to her and Kurt makes it obvious he's singing to anyone but Noah). And then Noah ends it by swinging his guitar to the side, muttering something about same sex loving, and plants a huge smacking kiss on Kurt's forehead.

Rachel finds out later the only reason he didn't go in for the kill was because Kurt confided he'd never been kissed. She more than rewards him for his sensitivity.

Finn and Mercedes' performance is probably the single worst thing to come out of glee since Mr. Shue's dancing. Mercedes has a hard time blending when she's not part of a larger group (she has the kind of voice that is made for solos and bursting out in the middle of a song and seeking out the last spectacular note) and she completely overpowers Finn (who doesn't even sound like he's really trying). Technically, they hit all the right notes but between the strange dancing and the soulful glances and the fact that they're singing Can You Feel the Love Tonight, it just comes off as horribly, horribly wrong.

Even Mr. Shue sits there, mouth agape, unable to form any kind of pseudo-compliment. And then he glares at her, as if it's her fault that Finn isn't that great when someone isn't propping him up.

Tina and Mike's duet makes her wish, yet again, that they spent more time in glee working on their vocals. Chang-squared is absolutely adorable; she loves their version of Sing almost as much as the original, but, she wishes Mike felt more comfortable with his singing voice. Especially since Tina looks so happy performing with him. Besides, it would be nice if the guys (excluding Finn and Kurt) felt confident about their singing.

Brittany and Artie don't sing together. Artie glares at Brittany, Brittany stares forlornly at Artie, and Santana just sits back looking triumphant. Rachel's confused because it's not like Santana hasn't screwed her way around McKinley and dated other people (while she had Brittany on the side). As much as she wants to say something, she's not comfortable bringing it up. After all, Santana's her friend (or whatever the hell they are) and Brittany's not and she's still kind of upset at Artie for not trying to talk her out of Run Joey Run. Not that she would have listened, but, that's beside the point.

And then there's her duet with Santana.

They're the only ones (besides Noah and Kurt) to utilize the auditorium and she knows that once the curtain comes up that anyone with any knowledge of musicals will recognize the stage set up. They start in the middle of the stage, with the spotlight on Rachel and Santana standing beside her in a white suit that's just a little too slutty for Joanne but otherwise absolutely perfect. She can practically feel Mr. Shue and Mercedes frowning and Kurt smirking; she's pretty sure that everyone else is slightly confused about the staircase (that Santana's dad paid out the ass to have built overnight) right of center and the mock ice sculpture (apparently SantanaandRachel have an admirer in the Art Club) a little left and farther back and the pool table just a couple feet from the front of the stage.

You can hear a pin drop in the auditorium when she belts out, "Every single day, I walk down the street, I hear people say baby so sweet…" When she reaches the first chorus, "…and if you give a damn, take me baby or leave me," and places Santana's arms around her so they can dance sweetly, Rachel can feel the gazes of eleven pairs of eyes. It's then that she realizes she's doing more than just trying to win a gift certificate to Breadsticks. She's trying to prove to everyone (especially Mr. Shue) that she can sing with anyone not just Finn.

She hears Kurt laugh out loud when she lifts up her shirt, singing "…honey bear are you still my, my, my baby…" and dances around the stage. They finally reach the stairs, with Rachel crawling up on her hands and knees (she knows she just added some material to Noah's spank bank), and Santana takes her breath away (again) when she sings, "…you got a prize but don't compromise, you're one lucky baby…" At that point her only thought (besides not missing her notes or her marks) is that she wishes they would have had the time (and money) to put together a more elaborate set.

They finally start making their way around the pool table, finally singing together together for the first time in the performance, "…can't live with them or without them…take me for who I am…" They sound amazing, their voices melding perfectly while they sound angry-sexy, and Santana hits every mark exactly where she's supposed to (Rachel does too, but, that's not much of a surprise).

Santana finally bends over her on the (borrowed) pool table and then they're stalking off to the sound of enthusiastic applause. When Rachel takes Santana's hand to do a little bow at the edge of the stage, she's smiling so hard that it feels like her face might crack.

She keeps smiling, even on the last day when Barbie and Ken (Quinn and Sam) put on the cutest performance (unicorns puking rainbow colored kittens cute) the glee club has probably ever witnessed. Quinn doesn't have a well trained voice (she's breathy and pitchy at times) but she sounds so sweet and in love that Rachel can't help but ignore the rough parts and bob her head along with the music. Sam's like a younger (cuter) Finn; he doesn't have a strong voice but it's nice. The performance isn't technically strong, but, the way they sing together just makes everyone happy.

Except for Santana, who reaches out and grips Rachel's hand really hard halfway through the blondes' performance. She looks like she's ready to kill someone.

Rachel's not surprised when Quinn and Sam win (although she has a feeling that the vote had to be rigged somehow). It just makes things worse when Quinn dips her head and flutters her eyelashes (it makes her look like an angel) and Sam looks like he's just won the high school lottery (which he kind of has except for the whole bitchy born again virgin part).

Just when she's worried Santana's going to do something stupid (like attack Quinn in the middle of the choir room and rip the gift certificate out of her perfectly manicured fingers) the taller girl lets go of her hand to go sit by Brittany (she does, however, glare daggers at Quinn the whole time). Then Noah leans over and trails a line of kisses down her jaw until he settles his lips on the corner of her mouth.

"How about I take you on a date? It's about time I saw my baby all dressed up."

Rachel smiles then and forgets all about Mr. Shue and Quinn and being robbed of her gift certificate because it doesn't matter when she's got Noah (and Santana and Kurt and, sometimes, Tina). But especially Noah. She's still going to stab someone with a rusted piece of broken music stand if she doesn't get any more solos, but this, right now, is just perfect.

She spends her Friday appointment with Dr. Robinson talking and talking and talking about glee (and he mostly just nods and smiles) until the weight on her chest is finally lifted. Then she gets dressed up and Noah drives them to Elida and they eat pancakes at her favorite diner, drink too much coffee, and it's like they're eleven again and thick as thieves (except, this time, she gets to kiss him). Which she does, up against her parents' front door, when he drops her off just before her curfew.

Author's Note: All duets stayed the same except for the obvious ones. Everyone should know how Can You Feel the Love Tonight goes, since it's from the Lion King. If you haven't looked up Take Me or Leave Me on YouTube, you should right now (and make sure it's the Idina Menzel/movie version). While you're at it, you can also look up If I Had a Million Dollars. When I heard it, I just knew it was for Puck and Kurt.

Anyway! I feel pretty good about this chapter. It took much longer than all the others did to write (I'm still not sure why) but I think it turned out okay. I'll try my hardest not to have such a gap between this chapter and the next; especially since the next one will be covering the Rocky Horror Glee Show (with Puck so you know it's going to be awesome).