A/N: So this came together a lot faster than I thought it would, so therefore it's getting posted sooner than I was planning. For those of you who have been wanting Puck and Santana to appear, you're finally getting your wish :) Anything she says in spanish will be translated at the bottom. Enjoy and don't forget to review! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Imagine.
The morning of Jesse's birthday, Rachel found herself waking first, full of excitement for the day.
"Jess, wake up," she insisted, nudging his shoulder this time rather than poking him as she had a tendency to do.
"Rach, it's still dark out, go back to sleep," Jesse insisted.
Rachel giggled before she nudged his shoulder again.
"Please?"
Jesse opened his eyes and glanced over Rachel's shoulder at her clock. While it wasn't that much earlier than they normally woke, it was still earlier than he would have liked. Turning his attention to his apparently wide-awake girlfriend, Jesse raised an eyebrow at her.
"Happy birthday," she said with a grin.
Jesse returned her smile as he leaned closer to her.
"Do I get to claim my first present of the day, then?"
Instead of answering, Rachel simply closed the distance and pressed her lips to his, smiling into the kiss when he pulled her closer.
"Let's just hope our teammates are willing to be especially cooperative today," Jesse said once they'd ended the kiss.
"Do they know that rehearsal is supposed to end early?" Rachel wondered, honestly not sure if her mother had told the rest of the team or not.
"Well, Kurt and Blaine obviously know, but other than that, I'm not sure."
"I guess we'll find out then. Can we stop for coffee before rehearsal?"
Jesse brushed his lips with Rachel's before he answered.
"Sure. You arranged pretty much this entire day for me, the least I can do in return is buy you coffee."
"You shouldn't have to on your birthday, I can buy my own coffee," Rachel protested.
"I know, but I want to," Jesse insisted.
"We could make a deal."
"A deal, huh? What kind of deal are we talking about?"
"You let me cook for you sometime soon, and I'll let you buy me coffee."
"Why wouldn't I let you?" Jesse wondered.
"We haven't exactly had a lot of free time lately," Rachel reminded him.
"That's true. What happens if I don't agree to this deal?"
Rachel smiled innocently at her boyfriend before she answered his question.
"I'll cook for you anyway."
"Then what's the deal for if you're just going to do it anyway?" Jesse asked with a laugh.
"Because I like making deals with you. They always work out for both of us."
"That's very true."
"So do we have a deal?"
"We do."
"Good. I love you, Jess."
"I love you, too, Rach," Jesse whispered as he leaned in to kiss once more before they both started their morning routines.
When she arrived in the kitchen a short while later, Rachel was surprised to find she had gotten there before Jesse.
"Am I just unusually fast this morning or is Jesse running late?" Rachel wondered as she grabbed some fruit and joined her mother at the table.
"I haven't seen him this morning, so I'm not sure," Shelby answered.
"It's not like him to be late for anything."
"I wouldn't worry about it, baby. I'm sure he'll be here soon enough."
Deciding to take her mother's word that Jesse would soon make his appearance, Rachel asked her the same question she'd asked Jesse earlier.
"Does the rest of the team know about rehearsal ending early, as long as everything goes well?"
"No. I'm sure between you, Jesse, Kurt, and Blaine, you can convince the rest of the team to continue the effort they've been putting in the last few days. It seems like a good day for surprises, so I thought I'd keep it between us and surprise the rest of the team," Shelby told her with a smile.
Rachel returned her mother's smile and nodded before she noticed the catalog open on the table.
"What's that for?" she asked.
"Regionals. Since we have the set list picked out, I figured ordering the outfits wouldn't hurt."
"Did you find anything you like?"
Shelby shook her head.
"No. I was going to have you and Jesse look through it, see if you find anything that would go over well with the whole team."
"Sure," Rachel said as she slid the catalog towards her.
Just as she was looking through the outfits on the last page, she heard Jesse take a seat next to her and felt him press a kiss to her cheek.
"What took you so long?" she asked, flipping the catalog closed.
"Genevieve called. She had questions about tonight. Most of which I couldn't really answer, but I tried. I forgot how picky about her wardrobe she is."
"Isn't that a little of the pot calling the kettle black?" Shelby teased.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jesse retorted with a grin as he began to flip through the catalog Rachel had passed to him.
"I'm sure you don't," Rachel agreed with a shake of her head.
Shelby laughed as she stood and began to clean up.
"I'm not sure how I survived mornings without the two of you to entertain me."
Rachel and Jesse shared a grin before they joined in Shelby's laughter.
As the last notes of the final Sectionals number carried through Carmel's auditorium, Shelby couldn't help but smile. Her team sounded better than ever. Rachel and Jesse were fantastic co-leads, both pushing and helping their teammates to be the best they could be. It was part of the reason she'd seriously considered Rachel's request to end rehearsal early. Even with the knowledge that the numbers would most likely need to be re-worked a bit once the new members were admitted, Shelby was very happy with how the numbers looked and sounded. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone saying her name.
"Shelby," Emma repeated, after unsuccessfully trying to get her friend's attention the last few times she'd tried.
Shelby blinked a couple of times before her friend came into focus.
"Sorry, Emma," she said. "I guess I got lost in thought."
"That's okay. All the numbers sound great, by the way. You were just starting the first song when I got here and I didn't want to interrupt."
"Is everything okay?" Shelby asked.
"Yes. This somehow got into my stuff, but I'm pretty sure it belongs to you," Emma explained, handing Shelby the new catalog.
"I was wondering why I hadn't received this yet. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I have a meeting with two more transfer students and their parents in just a few minutes so I need to get going, but I have to say, I think your team sounds better than ever."
"I'll pass that along to them, thank you."
"Bye, Shelby, have a good day," Emma said cheerfully before she left the auditorium.
Turning her attention back to her team, who were now talking amongst themselves on the stage, Shelby stood and began to walk towards them.
"You're not going to yell at us, are you?" Sasha asked as Shelby stepped onto the stage.
"No. Ms. Pillsbury-Howell just gave me the catalog I've been waiting for. I know none of you were particularly pleased with the costume choices in the last one, so I'll let you all look through this and see if you find anything you like," she explained as she set the catalog on top of the nearby piano.
A short while later, after everyone had gotten a chance to look through the catalog, the costume for Regionals was chosen. After marking the page, Shelby turned to her team once more.
"Since you've all been working so diligently and we accomplished everything I wanted to today, I'm going to let you all enjoy the nice day by letting you out of rehearsal early."
"Are you serious?" Sasha asked.
"Yes. We still have rehearsal this weekend, though, so behave yourselves, and I'll see you all tomorrow morning," Shelby answered calmly.
"Thanks, Shelby!" various members of Vocal Adrenaline chorused as they grabbed their things and made their exits.
Once the rest of the team was gone, Rachel turned to her mother.
"No more than a half an hour or I'll come back and get you myself," she said.
"I'll be home within a half an hour, I promise. I just have a couple of things that I need to do before Monday and then I'll be home," Shelby assured her daughter.
Satisfied with that answer, Rachel turned to her best friend.
"Did you drive or do you need a ride?"
"I have everything I need with me; I just need to shower before dinner. My aunt dropped me off this morning, since she had some work to do here anyway. I just need to let her know I don't need a ride to your house, if it's okay if I tag along with you and Jesse," Kurt answered.
Rachel tilted her head up to look at her boyfriend, who appeared to be lost in thought.
"Jess," she said, getting his attention.
"Sorry, just thinking," he said with a smile before he turned to Kurt. "You're more than welcome to tag along with Rachel and me. Blaine is tagging along, too, so you won't be the only one. Let's go find your aunt so we can get going."
"Half an hour," Rachel reminded her mother as she walked off stage with Jesse, Kurt, and Blaine.
Shelby smiled and nodded, following the foursome off the stage and walking into her nearby office.
"Aunt Melinda?" Kurt called as he, Blaine, Rachel, and Jesse walked into his aunt's classroom, where she'd told him she'd be.
Melinda looked up from the syllabus she'd been looking over and smiled at her nephew.
"Hi, Kurt. Shelby let you out early?"
"Yeah. Jesse said he'd give me a ride, so I don't have to interrupt your work."
"It would be a welcome interruption, trust me," Melinda answered with a laugh. "I know Jesse, but I'm afraid I'm not acquainted with your other friends."
"Can't you guess who she is?" Kurt asked, nodding his head towards Rachel.
Melinda studied the petite brunette for a moment. Judging from the way she and Jesse were standing, as well as the fact that she did look like a softer version of Shelby, it didn't take her long to figure it out.
"You're Rachel, Shelby's daughter," she guessed, earning a smile from Rachel.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Burns," Rachel said politely.
"Melinda is fine, except in class. You're my nephew's best friend and the daughter of one of my good friends."
"This is Blaine," Kurt said, finishing the introductions.
"Hello, Blaine, it's nice to finally meet you," Melinda greeted.
"It's nice to meet you as well," Blaine replied with a smile.
"Do you need a ride home?" Melinda asked her nephew.
"Probably. I'll call you."
"Just give me a call on my cell phone when you know; I have a few errands to run once I'm done here. Dean will be home all night, so if you can't reach me, try him at home."
Kurt hugged his aunt quickly.
"Thanks," he told her before returning to his friends.
Melinda smiled and nodded as she watched her nephew leave with his friends and the boy she was well aware he had a crush on.
"Why are we not telling Rachel we're here again?" Puck wondered as he and Santana lounged in Shelby's living room, waiting for her to get home from rehearsal.
"Jesse said he wanted to surprise her," Santana explained. "Which is why we also took my car and not your truck. Rachel would recognize that in a heartbeat. She hasn't seen my new car yet, so she probably won't think anything of it."
"I want to meet this St. James kid, make sure he's treating her right."
Santana rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"I know you think of Rachel as your hermanita, but Kurt has assured you many times that Jesse is crazy about Rachel."
"I want to see for myself," Puck insisted.
"Por supuesto, que sí. Of course, you do."
Before either teen could say anything else, they heard the front door open, emitting four voices-two familiar and two unknown.
"Everything is ready for tonight, right?" Rachel asked her boyfriend as they walked into the house, Kurt and Blaine not far behind them.
"Yes. You can double check if you'd like, though," Jesse answered with a small chuckle.
"I think I will," Rachel said, turning to walk into the living room, stopping short and unable to say anything when she saw who was waiting for her.
"You know," Santana said to her boyfriend. "For a teatrera, she's awfully quiet."
Puck nodded in agreement just before Rachel finally found her voice. Squealing in delight, Rachel quickly hugged both of her friends.
"Noah! Santana! What are you doing here?" she wondered. "Not that I'm not happy to see you."
"Thank your novio," Santana told her.
Rachel turned to Jesse, who smiled at her and nodded.
"Thank you," Rachel said as she hugged him tightly.
"Anything for you, Rach," Jesse responded, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"But it's your birthday, not mine," Rachel said softly.
Jesse pressed a kiss to her forehead before he spoke again.
"I know, but you've done so much to make this, without a doubt, the best birthday I've ever had. I was trying to figure out a way to thank you when I overheard Shelby and your dads talking about finding a time for Puck and Santana to visit before we start school on Tuesday."
Rachel smiled gratefully before she turned her attention back to her friends. A few minutes after introductions were made, she spoke again.
"We all need to shower and change, but the music room is down the hall if you want to check that out. I'm sure my dads already told you to make yourselves comfortable, so you can watch TV or whatever, too," she said.
"Music room?" Santana asked.
Rachel nodded.
"I'll show you," Leroy said as he entered the room.
Rachel pressed a kiss to her father's cheek.
"Thanks, Dad. We'll be back down in a little bit."
Santana and Puck watched as the other four teens left the room, with Puck keeping his eyes on Rachel and Jesse while Santana observed Kurt and Blaine more carefully. Once the foursome was out of sight, the two remaining teens followed Leroy down the hall.
"There's a piano, a guitar, and various other musical instruments, plus pretty much any piece of sheet music related to show choir or musicals," Leroy explained as he opened the door.
While Santana perused the various pieces of sheet music, Puck inspected the guitar.
"If I had an unlimited amount of money, this is the acoustic guitar I'd get," he said he picked it up.
"No wonder Rachel likes this room so much. It pretty much has her name written all over it," Santana said, studying a particular piece of music.
"She and Jesse are in here pretty much on a daily basis for at least some amount of time," Leroy said, leaning against the doorjamb.
"She loves him," Santana said, handing the music to her boyfriend.
Leroy nodded in agreement.
"Yes, she does. The feeling is mutual, trust me. I know you both worry about her, and you think of her as your sister, Noah, but I can assure you Jesse would never do anything to hurt her."
"He seems okay," Puck admitted with a shrug.
"Exactly how I felt at first. You can go ahead and play the guitar by the way, Shelby won't mind."
Puck nodded before he began to play a familiar song. With a smile on his face, Leroy left the two teens alone in the room and walked back to the kitchen, where his husband was currently double checking to make sure he had everything he needed for dinner.
Nearly a half an hour after she'd told her friends she'd be back, Rachel was still in her room, wrapped in her robe, trying to decide what to wear. The outfit she'd picked out earlier didn't seem as perfect as she'd originally thought. When she heard the knock at her door, she assumed it was her boyfriend so she called out for the person to come in. She was surprised to see her best friend standing her room instead of her boyfriend.
"Jesse sent me," Kurt admitted with a grin. "He said you could probably use my help more than his."
Rachel laughed and nodded as Kurt closed the door.
"Help," she said simply, gesturing to her closet.
"I think Blaine and I went out on a date," Kurt admitted as he picked out various items for Rachel to choose from.
"You think you did?" Rachel asked, examining each choice Kurt made.
Kurt nodded, tossing another skirt onto the bed.
"Blaine asked me to help him pick out a present for Jesse. Although I have to admit I don't know why. Anyway, he suggested we could also get dinner afterwards, which we did."
"Did he kiss you?" Rachel wondered as Kurt walked over to stand beside her.
"No," Kurt said with a sigh, making Rachel giggle.
"I didn't realize my first date with Jesse was a date until afterwards," Rachel admitted, studying the choices laid out on her bed.
"Maybe I'm reading too much into things. Friends go out to eat all the time," Kurt said with a sigh.
Rachel picked up a black skirt and a light blue blouse, held them up for Kurt's approval.
"Yes to the skirt, no to the blouse," he said.
"You know," Rachel said as she studied two more of the shirts Kurt had lain out on her bed. "You could always ask him out."
"What if he says no?"
"I doubt he will."
"I'll think about it."
After finally settling on a sapphire blue button down blouse and the black skirt, Rachel went into her bathroom to quickly change. Once she'd run her fingers through her already curling hair one more time, she and Kurt made their way downstairs to join the rest of their friends downstairs.
As she and Kurt walked towards the music room, where she was sure the others were, they both heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it, you go find Blaine," Rachel said with a grin before she turned around to answer the door.
Kurt nodded, walking the rest of the way down the hall. Not bothering to look out the window next to the door, Rachel immediately opened it.
"I know I'm a little early-" Genevieve started once Rachel had opened the door.
Rachel smiled encouragingly at the woman she was sure would one day be her sister-in-law.
"It's okay. What do you have there?"
"I called here earlier, talked to one of your dads, asked if there was anything I could bring. He said he hadn't had a chance to make Jesse a cake, wasn't sure if he wanted one, but I could make that if I wanted. It's the first time I made one using vegan-friendly substitutes, so if it tastes horribly, I'm sorry," she said, the words rushing out all strung together.
"Breathe," Rachel said, taking the cake from Genevieve's hands, which were currently shaking with nerves.
Genevieve closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened them and smiled gratefully at Rachel.
"Thanks, I needed that. I was just so surprised when Jesse invited me last night, and I want to make a good impression with the rest of your family."
"I was nervous about meeting you," Rachel admitted.
"You were?" Genevieve asked, clearly surprised.
"You and Jesse were close once, and I have a feeling you will be again soon. I'm already well aware that your parents don't like me, and I've made peace with that, but you're his sister, I wanted you to like me."
"You make my brother happier than I've ever seen him. I don't know you very well yet, but I'd like to."
Rachel smiled at the older girl.
"I'd like that, too. You look very pretty, by the way."
Genevieve looked down at her dark jeans and teal colored top.
"Thanks. It took me forever to pick this out, though I have no idea why."
"I know what you mean. Kurt, my best friend, helped me with my outfit. Come on, I'll introduce you to my dads."
Genevieve followed her brother's girlfriend down the hall, smiling a little when she heard the familiar laughter of both Jesse and Blaine. Walking into the kitchen, Genevieve had no idea what it was she smelled, but she immediately liked it.
"Dad, Daddy," Rachel said, getting her fathers' attention.
Hiram and Leroy turned at the sound of their daughter's voice, immediately noticing the taller woman beside her.
"You must be Genevieve. I can see the resemblance," Hiram said, the first to speak. "I'm Hiram Berry and this is my husband, Leroy."
"She brought cake, made with vegan-friendly substitutes," Rachel told them, setting the container holding the cake on the counter.
"Did my recipe work?" Hiram wondered.
"I hope so," Genevieve answered with a small laugh.
"If it was his recipe, I'm sure it will be delicious. I'm sure you're eager to see your brother so we won't keep you, but thank you for offering to make the cake," Leroy told her.
"It was no problem."
When she walked into the music room, Rachel saw Puck and Jesse with their heads bent over a piece of music while Santana, Kurt, and Blaine were looking through the various musicals. With a smile, she made her way over to her boyfriend's side.
"You look gorgeous," Jesse said, bending his head towards her to press a kiss to her temple.
Rachel blushed a little as she smiled at her boyfriend.
"Satan and I have news," Puck said, getting his friend's attention.
"What's that?" Rachel wondered.
"We'll be joining you at Carmel on Tuesday," Santana said as she walked over.
"Really? How?" Rachel wondered.
"Our moms got promoted to positions in the new wing of the hospital here in Akron. Since my dad isn't around and Satan's got a job at the hospital as well, we moved. We live across town and our places aren't nearly as fancy as this one," Puck explained.
"Are you going to play football?"
"Try outs are on Tuesday, we'll see. Carmel's team is ten times better than McKinley's, so it's not like I have a guarenteed spot on the team or anything," Puck answered with a shrug.
"Same with their cheerleading squad," Santana put in. "Your show choir seems pretty cool, too, but I don't know if I can do both."
"Shelby might be willing to be flexible, if you put in work on your own time and keep up with everything," Jesse said with a shrug.
"That's weird that you call her by her first name," Puck said.
"She's Ms. Corcoran in class, but Shelby in rehearsal," Jesse explained.
Puck and Santana nodded in understanding as Kurt and Blaine made their way over to the rest of the group.
"Are we going to stand around and talk, or can we sing at some point?" Kurt wondered.
"Will you play something?" Rachel asked her boyfriend.
Jesse chuckled as he led Rachel over to the piano with him.
"Sure, but I get to choose the song."
After nods of agreement from the rest of the group, Jesse played the opening notes of the song as he sang along.
Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try
No hell below us, above it's only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Standing next to his cousin, Blaine opted to sing the next verse while the rest of the group sang back up, with Puck playing along on the guitar.
Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do
No need to kill or die for and no religions too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
With a slight smile on his face, Kurt sang the first chorus.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
From her seat next to Jesse at the piano, Rachel sang the following verse.
Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger a brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing for the world
Taking her cue from Rachel, Santana sang the second chorus.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
At Jesse's nod, Puck sang the last chorus.
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
Take my hand and join us
And the world will live, will live as one…
Hiram smiled to himself as he heard the opening notes of Imagine drift down the hall.
"Is that Jesse?" Genevieve asked Shelby, who she'd been talking with for the last few minutes.
Shelby smiled and nodded.
"I suppose it's been a while since you've heard him sing."
"Too long," Genevieve agreed.
"I'm sure he'll be singing more later as well," Leroy put in from his spot beside his husband.
"What do you mean?" Genevieve asked.
"Rachel and Jesse like to sing along to the musicals, sometimes even mute the sound and just sing the songs themselves," Shelby explained.
"That sounds like my brother. He used to do that when we were younger, too. Drove our parents crazy, which is sort of why I think he started doing it," Genevieve said with a smile.
"Now that sounds like Jesse. I remember Rachel telling me she'd never met anyone else who sang along to the musicals, until Jesse came along."
Before anyone could say anything else, they all heard the doorbell ring.
"That's probably Janelle and Kevin," Shelby said, standing to go let them in.
"If you don't mind us asking," Leroy began once he and Hiram were alone with Genevieve, "What made you decide to re-enter Jesse's life?"
"I never meant to leave it in the first place. It's my own fault we lost touch. I kept putting off contacting him, thinking I would have more time the next day…" Genevieve said as she began to explain the answer to Leroy's question.
Just as she'd finished her story, she heard what could only be described as a commotion enter the kitchen. Shelby, Janelle, and Kevin entered the room first, followed closely by the six teenagers, three of whom she didn't recognize.
"Hi," Jesse said as he walked over to his sister and gave her a hug.
"Happy Birthday," she said with a smile.
"Thanks."
"I recognize Rachel and Blaine, but I don't know the rest of your friends."
"The boy standing between Rachel and Blaine is Kurt, her best friend. The other two are Santana and Puck, Rachel's friends from Lima."
Genevieve studied her cousin for a moment before she turned back to her brother.
"Does he like Kurt?"
"He hasn't said anything to me as of yet, but I'm pretty sure he does."
"I think they'd be cute together."
"Rachel says the same thing. I told her she couldn't interfere, although she wants to."
Genevieve smiled at her brother.
"She just wants her best friend to be as happy as she is."
"I'm glad someone finally sees it my way," Rachel said with a laugh as she walked up to Jesse and slid her arm around his waist as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Dinner ready?" he asked.
"Yes. It smells delicious and I'm hungry, so let's eat."
Jesse chuckled as he and Genevieve followed Rachel over to the table. Taking a seat between his sister and his girlfriend, Jesse couldn't help but smile. Not only had he found the girl of his dreams, who he wasn't sure actually existed until he met her, but she had already made his birthday the best one he could remember. She had planned this dinner, encouraged him to invite his sister, who she also seemed to instantly get along with, and after dinner they would be enjoying some of their favorite musicals with their friends. He couldn't wait.
A/N: Here are the translations for what Santana says in Spanish:
hermanita = little sister
Por supuesto, que sí = of course, you do
teatrera = drama queen
novio = boyfriend