Author's note: This chapter makes this story, officially, my longest running multi-chaptered fic! It's kind of surreal. Also, for those of you that were unhappy with my mention of following the storyline of the show, here's a dash of deviance. I hope you enjoy! And when you read that scene, think of the movie Drive Me Crazy. If you've seen it, remember Chase's original girlfriend and how she leapt out of nowhere to tackle him without warning? That's what came to mind when I wrote the intro to that scene. This chapter revolves entirely around the episode "The Substitute".

Music suggestions: 'Is this really happening to me?' by Phantom Planet, 'Nowadays/Hot honey rag' by Glee Cast, 'Singing in the rain/umbrella' by Glee Cast.

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.

Protecting Berry: Taking things slow

Mr. Schu being absent was already reaping serious benefits.

After the incident that involved Santana nearly causing Rachel serious bodily harm the day before - which brought about the unexpected daydream about Rachel and Santana wrestling each other in a pool of cherry jello, a benefit in and of itself - Kurt had informed everybody that he'd found the perfect substitute to stand in for Mr. Schu. Practice was about to start in five minutes, and due to such the short notice, Puck was forced to fall back on the old "buttered floor" trick to welcome their new sub.

He'd just finished the task and stood upright when Rachel paraded into the room, full throttle. The warning had barely formed on his lips when her feet went out from under her and she was flat on her back. Puck was torn between laughing and reaching out to help Rachel up after her spectacular splat, and figured ignoring the chivalry was the best way to go.

"Yes! It works!" Puck exclaimed, smiling victoriously as Rachel scrambled back up into a standing position.

"Well, at least I didn't fall and break my talent." Rachel stated in a deadpan superior tone, smoothing down her hair and clothes as Artie, Mercedes, and Tina snickered at her misfortune.

He couldn't help it. The uncontrollable, contagious chuckles bubbled up from his chest and he doubled over for a few seconds, his hands on his knees as he attempted to stop laughing so hard. Finn looked lost as to what to do as Rachel stormed away from the two boys, rubbing absently at her right hip as she snapped a peeved insult at the still snickering first row.

He quickly straightened as a hot blond entered the room, presumably their substitute. He almost regretted putting down the butter.

Until she gracefully skated right over it, as if it were a smooth patch of ice. She'd predicted such a prank, and what was worse, he and Finn had practically mapped it out for her.

He was gonna have to be on guard with this one.

Another round of snickering made its rounds as Kurt splatted out even more spectacularly than Rachel had, just as Ms. Holiday began to introduce herself.

He sobered up in time to be the first to reply to her request for names. In the dopiest tone he could arrange on the fly, he put on his best exaggerated dumbfounded Finn expression and spoke. "I'm Finn Hudson, and I'm quarterback of the football team."

He ignored Finn's glare as Santana and Brittany followed up, smothering a chuckle at Brittany's choice.

And as Ms. Holly Holiday called their bluff and began to question them about their song choices, he couldn't help but speak up after the stunned silence that fell due to her asking for their input. Cee Lo Green's song "Forget you" was totally his anthem song about his relationship with Rachel. Especially considering every time she went crawling back to Finn.

Journey was great and all, but he could only perform so many of their songs before his head exploded from all the repetition.

Turned out, she was a phenomenal singer and dancer on top of everything else.

Throughout the energetic performance that had everyone else on their feet participating, he noted Rachel's blatant refusal to join. Well, that was her problem. As much as he liked protecting her, he still liked doing things his own way occasionally. He did have a mind of his own and he was still a badass. A single, red-blooded badass who was still attracted to short skirts, sexy sounding voices, and more than a little rebellion.

Ms. Holiday might just be the temporary cure to his Rachel induced blues. And perhaps the entire glee club's.

Mr. Schu had better watch out, because he had some wicked awesome competition.

ooosoooo*oooxoooooo*ooovooooo

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Rachel donned a surgical face mask and rang Mr. Schuester's doorbell.

Ms. Holiday was taking over glee club similar to a tsunami-sized tidal wave, and Rachel was losing even more popularity than ever before. Even Noah and Finn were smitten with the beautiful, conniving substitute. Glee club could not continue as thus. Severe action had to be taken to set them back on a more stable path. And that could not be done without Mr. Schu.

So, risking infection and her singing voice, Rachel lowered her mask when Mr. Schu was unable to understand her explanation. At his unworried refusal of her claims, she stood and made her ultimatum.

Phase one was complete.

She only hoped that it had its expected impact. She refused to suffer such conditions for much longer.

Especially on one important front. Which led to a crucial phase two in her plan involving a certain mohawked boy and one of their favorite "free makeout period" locations.

She was jealous of a woman practically twice her age. And that was unacceptable.

ooooozoooo*ooouooooo*

Puck was on his way to his class following lunch the next day when an unexpected force tilted him sideways into the broom closet he'd just been passing.

"Rachel?" Puck asked in a perplexed tone, temporarily disoriented from the whiplash speed with which she'd hauled him into the closet.

"Shh." Rachel hushed him in a reprimanding tone, pressing a finger to his lips as she locked the door with her other hand. She then turned to face him. "I needed to ask you something."

"If I think you've gone around the bend? Then yes, my answer's yes." Puck supplied in a deadpan tone after pulled her tempting finger from his mouth. He was surprised by his extraordinary supply of willpower that he didn't flick out his tongue and lick the finger she'd held to him. Especially considering how this room had been one of their hottest, most utilized makeout locations.

A fact that had no doubt not escaped her memory.

"No, Noah that wasn't my question." Rachel replied in a practical tone, huffing impudently at his tone. Crossing her arms over her chest, her shoulders drooped the minutest fraction and her gaze dropped to his chest. "Am I being too unreasonable for wanting Ms. Holiday to be taking things more seriously? I get that nobody likes me, and that Ms. Holiday is everyone's favorite, but does everyone hate me so much that they can't see how I'm just looking out for them?" Rachel asked in a hurt tone, insecurity showing in her posture and expression.

"C'mon, Rach, don't be like that." Noah requested in a comforting tone, his hands rising up to squeeze her shoulders before he even realized he was moving. "It's just nice to have someone that actually listens to what we want, a teacher that tries to level with us. And you should know that not everyone hates you." As he finished speaking, he ducked his head down to meet her crestfallen gaze.

"I feel like even more of an outcast than before. At least with Mr. Schuester, my opinions were criticized by everyone. Now I'm just ignored completely." Rachel confessed in a quiet tone, her loneliness making its way to the surface. "Even you and Finn like her more than me."

Rachel may be an expert at hiding her insecurities behind a blockade of drama queen mannerisms and aloof better-than-thou attitude and words, but the moment she dropped those shields for him, he was a goner. Every time. She knew just which buttons to push to bring his protective instincts bubbling to the surface.

And he'd been doing such a top-notch job of resisting her.

Pulling her in, he leaned down and slanted his lips over hers, his kiss gentle and light, incredibly tender. "You'll always be better than Ms. Holiday in my book. Do you want to know why?"

The tiniest hint of a smile quirked one corner of her mouth as she nodded.

"Because she doesn't get me like you do." Puck answered in a quiet tone, one hand cupping the nape of her neck underneath her hair, letting some of his own hidden insecurity leak out in his expression as he met her eyes. "That while it's cool to be wild and fun, I need some structure, someone to pull me back in line. Only you can do that."

For four panic-filled seconds, he thought she might cry. What she did instead surprised him even more. She surged forward, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and slanted her lips over his. Drowning in sensory overload that was his Caroline kissing him like they only had five minutes to live, he enthusiastically reciprocated, one hand going to her back as the other skimmed down her bare thigh, backing her somewhat clumsily into the door.

Mewling sounds that sounded like a mix of pleasure and desperation filled the air as he hitched one her legs over his hip, lining up their bodies from mouth to pelvis, her other leg clamping itself around his knee.

It didn't matter how long they'd been apart, some rhythms and in-syncness never went away. Reaching down with his other hand, he smoothed his hand over that leg before hauling it up to make it level with her other leg, not breaking the contact of their mouths as they fed each other's consuming hunger.

It wasn't until he felt the subtle brush of her pelvis rocking into his increasing in pressure, and his corresponding reaction to that action as her tongue danced with his, that he knew it was time to back off.

He was not going to break their fast by having sex with Rachel in a school janitor closet.

That didn't mean he wanted to stop, mind you. Just that he knew she'd appreciate his thoughtfulness with more making out in the future.

Attempting to turn down the heat in slow increments, he just about gave up the fight and let her have her way when she bit his lower lip playfully and dug her fingernails into that secret spot that only she'd ever discovered existed. Then fate decided to give him a short reprieve.

The warning bell for their next class sounded.

Jumping in startled shock, Rachel disentangled herself in record time. Tracing her finger around the outside of her mouth while tugging her hiked up shirt and skirt back into place, she willed her heartbeat to settle back into a normal beat. Reaching down, she grabbed her bag and put it back on her shoulder.

"This does not mean we're back together." Rachel stated firmly, daring him with her expression to challenge the statement.

"Of course it doesn't." Puck agreed in an aloof tone, one corner of his mouth lifting as he crossed his own arms over his chest. "We'll just keep it casual."

Not saying another word, Rachel turned on her heel and left the room. Unable to contain it, a full-fledged grin spread across his face. He knew exactly how long casual arrangements lasted concerning Rachel. Maybe he was a little hasty in saying they couldn't have a "beneficial but casual" arrangement from the start.

ooowooooo*oooxoooooo*ooocoooo

"Oh my God! You are like, a total drag!" Ms. Holiday exclaimed in an exasperated tone, throwing her hands up. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

It was nearing the end of the day, and although Noah had lifted her spirits considerably a couple of hours previous, Rachel was reaching a breaking point concerning Ms. Holiday. She was not a total drag! She just had an extremely single-minded focus on being the next Barbara Streisand.

At that point, Puck walked past.

"I have." Puck commented in passing, halting just out of Rachel's reach for effect.

Rachel didn't disappoint.

"Shut up, Puckerman." Rachel reprimanded in a belligerent tone, stepping forward to sock him in the shoulder. She couldn't quite suppress the upward twitch of her lips as he grinned back at her roguishly.

Puck turned to leave Rachel and Ms. Holiday to their "serious" conversation. Rachel felt less confrontational and likely to snap after Noah's intervention. She probably wouldn't even press charges against Ms. Holiday any longer.

"Puck, wait." Ms. Holiday called out after him. She reached into her bag and extracted a few papers and held them out to him. "Here's the answers to the pop quiz I'm going to be giving in Spanish later today. That class is so boring!"

"Aww, thanks, Ms. H." Puck said as he took the proffered test, bumping her extended fist. He barely got two steps away before Rachel stopped him cold in his tracks.

"If you use those answers, you can forget making out with me...or anything else along those lines...for the foreseeable future." Rachel said breezily, the underlying threat clear in her tone as she crossed her arms over her chest and directed her withering gaze at Puck. She'd missed spending time with him in such a fashion, and only having just reacquired those privliges, she would be severely upset if he discounted her threat and took the answers anyway.

Holly looked from Rachel to Puck with an observant eye, an eyebrow raised as she returned her blasé stare to Rachel. A tense silence fell.

Five hesitant seconds later, Puck ducked his eyes away with a muttered curse that turned the air blue and held the test key out for Holly. "Sorry, Ms. H., but I'm gonna have to pass. Later, Rach." Puck grumbled in a forced pleasant tone. Holly eased the test from Puck's reluctant grasp. He was off like a streak of lightening the moment the test key left his fingertips, muttering something about addictive midgets under his breath.

Holly turned her attention back to Rachel. "Okay...not as uptight as I'd originally pegged if you've got a guy like him trained that well. If he were only a few years older..." Ms. Holiday left the thought dangling, a wistful, faraway gaze stealing over her features.

"He isn't my guy." Rachel interjected defensively, feeling the need to clarify as well as pull Ms. Holiday's attention away from her Noah.

"If you say so." Holly agreed noncommittally. "Still, you need to loosen up...a lot. Hasn't there ever been anything you wanted to do, just for the heck of it? Are you sure there isn't something different you'd like to do in glee? Something Mr. Schuester would never even consider?" Ms. Holiday asked in a gentle, prodding tone.

She could feel it spreading through her neural pathways like a mental virus, attacking her one weakness. Ms. Holly Holiday was very good at what she did.

"Well...actually, there is something..." Rachel began musingly.

oooaooooo*ooxoooooo*oomooooo

As he sat back in his seat in the auditorium, he couldn't help but smile and whoop encouragingly as Rachel and Ms. Holiday performed some ragtime Chicago number in red flapper dresses. Rachel couldn't have appeared any happier. In fact, he was certain not even he'd ever been able to produce a look of such...liveliness in the girl that lit up his life like no other.

One day, he was going to look up, and she'd be gone. Off to Broadway, perhaps even performing one of the numbers he'd already seen her belt out on that same McKinley stage she was currently on. He liked to think he was going places as well, but there was no way his star would ever shine nearly as bright as Rachel's. She was born to be famous, and had just the drive and ambition to get her there in record time.

He had her for another year and a half, approximately. They may not be together "like that", but he wasn't about to waste the time he had left. Maybe if he was lucky, she'd want to share some of that time with him as well.

oooowooooo*ooomoooooo*

Sitting next to Noah in the first glee rehearsal with Mr. Schuester fully reinstated, Rachel listened avidly as Mr. Schuester spoke about Singing in the Rain. The musical was actually one of her favorites. Not on her top ten, mind you, but her daddies loved the musical almost as much as Mr. Schu. So she understood his enthusiasm.

She didn't quite get why no one else did, though. Of course, she was a few steps higher on the evolutionary chain than the rest of her fellow classmates.

And then Sam asked when it came out. Puck spoke up from beside her.

"Probably sometime in the fifties. Way before our time." Puck supplied in a bored tone, his arm propped lazily across the back of Rachel's chair.

"The movie opened up in 1952, actually..." Mr. Schu trailed off, looking at Puck with a mildly surprised expression before he continued. "But it's actually pretty timeless."

Yeah, he knew all about the musical. He'd probably even known the exact date, down to the hour, day of the week, and the location of the first screen it had premiered on. Her daddies had ganged up on him on more than one occasion and either forced an actual viewing of the musical or steered the dinner table discussion in that direction. Even Noah couldn't have blocked it all out.

Regardless, that didn't mean Noah was excited about knowing all that information.

Poor Mr. Schuester. Even she couldn't help but stare at him blankly. It may be a classic, but timeless didn't exist before 1980 with her generation. He was going to have quite a task on his shoulders, turning the song "Singing in the Rain" into a glee club favorite.

oooonooooo*ooozoooooo*oooeoooooo

So...what'd you think about that? I couldn't help it, I tell you! I just couldn't! But, they are not back together, as in boy/girlfriend together. Right now, it's more like a friends with benefits kind of deal. I know as well as you that they belong together, it's just going to take some time for them to realize it, lol. I do still plan to include Lauren Zizes into the story somehow. Just not as a romantic interest for Puck. On a different note, I complain to my friends and family until I'm blue in the face about how Rachel keeps taking Finn back in the show, despite how he treats her. Then I realized how many times I've broken up Puck and Rachel in this story. Am I being some kind of hypocrite complaining about Finn and Rachel's on/off relationship?