Hello faithful readers! Thanks for sticking with this story...I'm back in the swing of things, so updates should be coming more regularly. I hope you like this next installment.
Beth was excited that she had Rachel's unofficial blessing to work her magic. She knew that Mike had to have said something to her dad and that Santana had told Rachel what was going on. Having learned to read her dad's moods and facial expressions, she knew that Mike definitely had feelings for Santana, otherwise her dad would have said something to the effect that he didn't feel that way about her, but instead he had said not to meddle, which means there must be something there to meddle with.
The vibe Beth had gotten from Rachel was that Santana was struggling with coming to terms with her feelings. Before things had gotten complicated, Santana had been around the house a lot because she was wherever Rachel was. Ever since things had started unraveling, Beth noticed that she started pulling away, which made Beth think that something must have changed in order for her to change her behavior. The adults in her life were surprisingly bad at communication with each other. They always made things so much harder than it had to be.
If Uncle Mike and Aunt Santana would just stop being silly and tell each other how they were feeling, they would realize that they wanted the same thing. Instead they were both assuming that the other couldn't possibly be feeling the same way because on paper, they didn't seem to fit. They were almost exact opposites of each other, but that's the funny thing about relationships…feelings and chemistry were always wild cards and couldn't always be categorized or put on paper. A lot of times it defied logic, but she had seen what they were like together and she knew that the right thing to do was to give them a little push in the right direction. She was just going to have to dig deep and find some of the magic that she used on her dad and Rachel.
A whole month went by and Beth had gotten nowhere. Mike and Santana had become experts at dodging each other and making sure that they didn't spend time together at all, which made it nearly impossible for Beth to push them together without it feeling too forced. Her dad and Rachel were kind of in a weird place too. Their first few weeks officially together couldn't have gone any better, but Rachel started to feel the urge to settle even more than she already did. She had left behind everything in New York and as she was making the arrangements to move all her stuff cross country and was in the process of switching over her focus to Hollywood and the west coast, she was beginning to feel more and more unsettled. Instead of feeling like she was coming home, she still felt like she was on vacation because she was staying with Santana, and she knew it wasn't permanent. At Noah and Beth's house, she still felt like a bit of an outsider because they had established routines and traditions that she was still learning about. She really admired his reasons for wanting to go slow and do things right, but her need for security was slowly taking over and she was starting to feel impatient because she wanted her life with Noah and Beth to truly begin.
Summer came to a close and Beth could feel that the excitement of their new relationship was starting to fade. Her dad seemed pretty content with the way things were, but she could sense Rachel's discontent. She decided to confront her dad about it. Friday had traditionally been father/daughter time in the Puckerman house, but ever since Rachel came to town, she had been included in this ritual. Beth politely requested that this week it be just her and her dad, and Rachel happily obliged, secretly relieved that she was getting a bit of a break. She and Santana were going to have a girls' night instead.
Noah was concerned that there was something wrong because as far as he was concerned, including Rachel in their Friday night ritual was a welcome change. "Honey, are you okay? I thought that things were going okay with Rachel being here on Friday nights."
"Oh, I'm fine Daddy…and I love having Rachel here with us, but I think she really needed a break."
Noah was taken aback by her words. He hadn't sensed that Rachel was uncomfortable with anything. "Why do you say that? Things have been going well."
"Daddy, I think that you've created some tunnel vision about this whole thing. I know that you're holding back on completely committing to this relationship because of me. I love that you want to set a good example for me, but can I just say that you're already my hero? You are the best man I know and I've learned over the years that you would never do anything to hurt me and that you would protect me at all costs. Losing my mom was really hard, and I got through it pretty well because of you, but I'm not that little girl anymore. I'm a teenager now and I understand a lot more than you think about relationships. Your life has been focused on me for so long that I think you've forgotten that taking care of yourself is a part of taking care of me. You're at your best when you're happy and the happiest I've ever seen you was when you decided to be with Rachel, but I'm afraid that you might be messing that up. Rachel gave up her whole life to be with us, and I can sense that she's getting impatient. She wants to be with you as much as you want to be with her and I don't want to be the reason why you're keeping her at arm's length."
"Do you really think that she's getting impatient? We talked about how important it was for me to set a good example for you."
"I know you did and at the time you were both basking in the newness of your relationship, but I don't think she realized how hard it would be down the line. I know her. She would never interfere with our relationship, which is why she's been playing the part dutifully, but I'm telling you that it's time to take things to the next level. You both deserve it and I promise that I completely understand. It would take something huge and very drastic for you to be knocked from hero status in my heart. As a matter of fact, if you mess this up after I've worked so hard to get you together, I will have a very hard time forgiving you."
Again, Noah was so impressed with how astute his daughter was. She was definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future. "Honey, I guess I've been getting carried away with my protector role and I didn't realize how much it could affect my relationship with Rachel. I know how hard losing your mom was, and when I took over care for you I made a promise that you would never have to worry about losing another parent. I guess I thought that you might feel like I was putting Rachel ahead of you if I moved too fast. I'm sorry I just assumed things about your feelings instead of talking to you."
"It's okay Dad. I sometimes forget that you're actually pretty new to the dad team. You're doing so well for someone who has had to pick it up unexpectedly. I just don't want you to sacrifice your heart for some noble reason when it's not necessary. There's room for both of us in your heart, right?"
"Honey, there's more than enough room. You two, along with Grandma and Aunt Abby and Uncle Mike and Aunt Santana are the most important people in my life. I'd be hopelessly lost without all of you there."
She hadn't thought about Uncle Mike and Aunt Santana in a while because she was so worried about her dad and Rachel. She saw her shot, so she took it. "Daddy, about Uncle Mike and Aunt Santana…I miss them. They haven't been the same for a long time now. It's like they can't exist in the same room at the same time together anymore. You didn't get to see them together. They were magic, just like you and Rachel. Isn't there anything we can do?"
"I didn't want to meddle, but their situation has crossed way over into ridiculous, so I think that it's our duty as their family to make it right…what do you say?" He saw the gleam in her eye and he winked at her. "I probably shouldn't be encouraging this kind of behavior, but you've shown that you can be responsible and subtle about it. Actually, you could probably teach me a thing or two about relationships." They hugged to seal the deal and got to work on their plans to get these two relationships back on track. Putting the Puckerman resourcefulness and charm together was going to prove to be a powerful and effective combination.
Rachel and Santana's girls' night was the break that they both needed. The whirlwind of a summer that they had along with the fall season getting started had kept them both very busy. Santana had officially signed Rachel as a client and was true to her word that she would take care of her and make the transition from Broadway to Hollywood as seamless as she could. They had gone to a spa and left their phones at home so that they could completely relax and enjoy the pampering that the spa was famous for. As they were getting their full-body massages, Rachel decided to take advantage of an unsuspecting Santana. "San, what has been going on these past few months? You've hardly spent any time with us and when I do see you, it's all business. I know I've been spending a lot of time with Noah and Beth, but we do still live together. I miss having you around."
"I've just been really busy with work. I know you, Berry…You want everything to be perfect and seamless and that's not exactly an easy job."
She didn't completely believe her friend. It was true that Rachel had high expectations, but she knew it was just an excuse to avoid Mike and her feelings. "I'll admit that I'm not exactly low-maintenance when it comes to these matters, but I don't want it to come at your expense. You are so much more to me than just a PR rep. I will hire more people if it's too big of a job for you to handle on your own."
Santana knew she was grasping at straws with that excuse. She was afraid of exactly this…someone calling her bluff. There was no use trying to cover with Rachel. Besides, she needed someone to discuss all her crazy thoughts with. "Okay, you got me. Work is just a convenient excuse to stay away, but if I stay still too long, then my thoughts and feelings take over and consume me and I just can't deal with the consequences right now. I'm at a point where I can't seem to go forward and I can't go back…so I'm stuck."
"I don't understand. What's holding you back?"
"You're the only one who knows that I have feelings for Mike. I've never had a relationship with so much riding on it. I've tried to get over the feelings, but they just aren't going away. Moving forward with them scares me to death. What if he doesn't have the same feelings I do? What if we did start something and it didn't work out? I've sized up the situation. I'm the expendable one here. Mike and Puck are basically brothers and if it didn't work out, I'd either be forced out of the group or I would leave because it would be uncomfortable or hurt too much. You and Beth are tied to Puck forever, so there would be no room left for me. I can't deal with the thought of losing you forever."
"Wow, sweetie that's a lot to deal with. It almost seems like you already know what's going to happen, but last time I checked you weren't a known psychic. I completely understand your fears, but I also think that the way this is going to play out isn't set in stone. There is so much that you're presuming and assuming about all this that it's dizzying. Let's keep it simple…you have feelings for Mike. There, you've said it out loud and that's usually the first and hardest step. Now we just have to figure out where to go from here. I strongly suggest you talk to him and try to figure out where his head is."
"I think that you're wrong about admitting my feelings being the hardest step…having the courage to go and talk to him about it, that's the hardest step. I think I'm going to need some time before going for it though. You understand, right?"
Rachel's heart went out to her friend. Baby steps were better than standing still. "I do. And please remember that I'm here for you, whatever you need."
Santana went back to being her crazy busy self after that night. Rachel promised that she wouldn't meddle, so she just sat back and hoped that her friend would gather the courage to take the next step. Things between her and Noah got better, and it was clear that he was taking steps to move their relationship forward. Rachel was now spending the night at their house at least three times a week, and while most of her stuff was still at Santana's, she did move some stuff into their house. She knew that it would take some time to get everything she wanted, but she knew that it was worth the wait.
