"Happy Birthday to you!" Everyone in the room sang.
Rachel looked around and their faces and smiled. It was her 18th birthday and her Dads were throwing her a party. Everyone in Glee Club came, except for Will.
"Make a wish, Rachel!" Finn said cheerfully.
"Yeah, hurry up before I blow out those candles myself!" said Puck.
Rachel beamed. "You guys are the best. Thank you for making my 18th birthday my best one ever!"
"Thanks for the appreciation, babe." Mercedes said. "Now hurry up and blow out your candles!"
Rachel squeezed her eyes tight. I wish I could be with Will again.
Meanwhile, Will and Emma were walking toward the house, both carrying her present.
"This party's gonna be so much fun! And it'll be great watching Rachel turn into a woman." Said Emma cheerfully.
Will smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad too."
Rachel was about to blow out her candles when there was a sudden knock at the door. One of her dads left the table and opened the door.
"SURPRISE!" Will and Emma called as they entered the house. "Happy birthday, Rachel!"
Rachel's eyes lit up. "Mr. Shuester! Miss Pillsbury! I'm so glad you could make it!"
"Hurry up and come on in! Rachel's about to blow out her candles!" Quinn said.
Emma and Will set down the presents and joined them at the table.
"Make a wish, Rachel." Will said, wrapping his arm around Emma's waist. Rachel smiled sadly and stared into the flames that lit her candles.
I'm 18 now. Hopefully my wish will FINALLY come true for once!
She looked back at Will and Emma. They gave her an assuring smile. She returned it and squeezed her eyes tightly closed.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY SUPER TRULY wish to be with Will again! I want us to have our wedding, have lots of kids and live happily ever after!
Finally she blew out her candles. Everyone clapped, whistled and cheered. Will noticed the sad look in her eyes, but she covered it with her bright smile. His heart sank, but he kept a smile plastered on his face because Emma was there, and he didn't want anything bad happening, not at Rachel's party. He couldn't do that to her. But still, he thought, if they weren't broken up, by now they'd be celebrating, just the two of them. Every night he prayed really hard that Emma would soften up and let him have Rachel back, but there were no results yet. Emma would still casually pop into his Spanish class and Glee practice and keep an eye on him. The only time they were alone was when they were with Sue discussing the wedding plans. He wondered what she wished for…
"Open your presents now, Rachel!" said Tina. "I'm sure you got some really cool stuff now that you're eighteen!"
They all went to the living room. Rachel sat in the middle of the floor while all the Glee club members sat in a circle around her. Her dads retrieved her presents and set them in a big pile in front of her. One by one, she opened her gifts and each one seemed to get better and better.
Finn got her Funny Girl on DVD. "I knew you liked Barbra Streisand." He said.
Quinn got her a make-up kit. "To pretty up that nice face of yours." She said.
Mercedes got her a fedora and a pair of diamond earrings. "Work it girl!" She said.
Mike and Tina got her a porcelain Chinese doll. "We hope you like her." They said in unison.
Artie got her a brand new Gucci purse. "I hear they're very fashionable nowadays!" He said.
Brittany got her a Coach wallet. "So no one will steal your money." She said.
Puck got her a ring with her birthstone on it. "No, I didn't rob a jewelry store for it." He said.
Santana got her a karaoke machine. "It was mine, but it reminded me of you." She said.
Sam got her a stuffed panda bear. "You're favorite animal!" He said.
"Thanks, guys!" Rachel said. "These gifts are really sweet of you! I love all of them!"
Emma came up and put down her gift. "I'm sure you'll really like this." She said sweetly.
Rachel politely opened it and gasped. It was a really exquisite music box. She wound the key and opened the box. Everyone oohed and ahhed as they heard the soft twinkling music play. She looked at the box. It was decorated with lots of colors and abstract patterns.
"Thank you, Miss Pillsbury." She said. "It's absolutely beautiful."
Emma beamed. "I'm glad you liked it, Rachel. I saw it in a store and I just knew it was just the right gift for you!"
Rachel looked at Will who was still grinning. "Mr. Shuester, where's your gift?"
Will picked up his gift and placed it in her hands. It was slightly smaller than the other gifts but it was quite heavy. She peeled away the wrapping paper…and was speechless.
Will's gift was a picture frame. The picture was of her singing at Regionals. Bordering the frame were the words Broadway's Bright and Shining Star and on the bottom of the frame in gold lettering gleamed Rachel Berry. Rachel felt herself tearing up and she felt herself choking back sobs. Even though they were apart, he still cared. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Shuester." She whispered.
Will didn't even need to say anything. Just her reaction was enough to tell him that is was exactly what she wanted. And the best part was, Emma actually looked okay with his gift! She didn't looked the slightest bit jealous or angry.
"Okay, all the gifts are opened. Time to crank up the music!" Puck shouted. He bounced over to the radio that was on the fireplace and blasted the music.
Everyone got up and started dancing.
A few hours later, everyone started clearing out. Emma volunteered to stay after to help clean up, which meant Will had to stay too, since he drove them there. Will didn't mind, that meant he would have more time with Rachel.
Rachel, honey," One of her dads said. "why don't you put all your gifts in your room while we clean up?"
Suddenly she had an idea. "Okay, Daddy. But can Mr. Shuester help me? Some of the gifts are kind of heavy."
Emma eyed her suspiciously, but her dad said "Okay, that's fine."
Rachel smiled sweetly and looked at Will. "Gather up some gifts, Mr. Shuester. My room is this way."
He grabbed some gifts and followed her to her room.
When they got there, she opened the door and let him in first. "Just place them on the floor. I'll sort them later."
As he did, she closed the door and locked it. He stood up and when she turned back to him, she had a mischievous smile on her face. "Now we're all alone." She walked over to him and tried to kiss him, but he pulled away.
"Rachel, no. She'll hear us!"
Rachel's grin grew bigger. "Will, she's all the way downstairs on the other side of the house. Whatever we do, she can't hear."
Will felt his knees go weak. He longed to have her, but he pulled away again.
Rachel looked like she just got slapped in the face, and her eyes grew wide. She stepped back and covered her mouth with her hands.
"Oh my goodness, Will!" she whispered. "What's wrong with me!"
He knew she was on the verge of tears again and he didn't want to see her cry so he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She burst out into a fresh wave of sobs.
"Will, I'm so sorry! I've been so needy, I need to let go! And I got your message the other night; it was the sweetest thing I've ever heard! And that gift…it was perfect! You're perfect! I'm not right for you, Will! Maybe we should just end it for good. I HAVE to let go!"
Will grabbed her by the shoulders. "Rachel Berry, don't you EVER say that again!" He snapped. "What we have is real! It's REAL, Rachel! I wouldn't be able to live without you! 'You're the only reason I wake up in the morning, just to see your face! And whether I'm with you or not, I swear on my whole being I would never ever hurt you! Never let go, Rachel! Because I know that I never will!"
Rachel sobbed into Will's shirt again. He held her and rocked her.
"Hey," he said softly. "it's still your birthday. Is there anything else you want?"
Rachel looked at him. "Kiss me." She whispered. "You and I both know you really want to."
Heck, yeah he wanted to!
He leaned down and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back passionately.
"Happy Birthday, Rachel." He whispered when they pulled way.
"Thank you, Will." She whispered back.
About an hour later, Will and Rachel came downstairs.
Emma was waiting impatiently.
"Hey, what took so long?" one of her dads asked.
Rachel made sure to keep a miserable look in her eyes to hide her satisfaction from Emma.
"Sorry, I gave him a tour of my room and then we just started talking. I guess we lost track of time."
Emma nodded. "Well, Will. We'd better get going, it's getting late."
Will followed her out the door. Before they got into his car, he said "Happy Birthday again, Rachel. Make this year last."
"Yes, Rachel." Emma agreed. "This is your most important year. Make it grand!"
Rachel nodded. "I will. Thank you for the gifts, Mr. Shuester and Miss Pillsbury. And thank you for coming!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed them." Said Emma as she got into the car.
"Yeah, and we had lots of fun!" said Will. He started the car and drove away.
Suddenly, Rachel felt numb again. She was used to this feeling though, because she always felt like that when she got home from school every day. She thanked her dads for the party, bid them goodnight and went to her room.
When she walked in, she grabbed Will's gift, hugged it to her chest and pounced on the bed. She looked observed it, admiring his creativity. She noticed that he wrote something on the back of the frame and turned it over to read it. What he wrote would stay with Rachel forever and would help her through this tough time.
To Rachel, With Love. Will Shuester.
I don't think Rachel's dads had names but I didn't think it would be polite to make them up so I referred them as "Rachel's Dads." Sorry if you get confused!
