PLEASE READ: OH THANK GOD! I didn't forget you guys! I'm so sorry! For some reason, Friday night after I had this posted this on LJ and came to upload the file at FF so I could update my chapters, FF wouldn't accept my file. I spent two hours trying and have numerous times since then and FINALLY at noon on Sunday it uploaded. I'm so sorry for the long wait! *crosses fingers that it doesn't happen again!* For those of you who read this here, you might want to check out my LJ account and keep close to that, too, in case (I hope it doesn't) something like this happens again.
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: Feedback is loved! :D The more I get the more I write. ;)
...
The couple got up at five-thirty in the morning and got ready for their day, leaving the hotel at six-fifteen and walked down to the Starbucks they had seen the night before, which had just opened. Ordering warm coffees, they made their trek back towards the hotel. The air was crisp and cool for the early morning, but the young teens kept warm walking close together, her right arm wrapped around his waist, while his left arm draped around her shoulders. Between the aquarium and the Bell Harbor Marina at Pier Sixty-Six, there was an empty pier, Pier Sixty-Two/Sixty-Three that Puck guided them towards, walking all the way out to the very end where they had a beautiful view to the west of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains, while behind them, to the east, was the Seattle skyline.
Turning around to lean against the railing of the pier, just after six-forty, the horizon behind the skyline seemed to lighten and the orange and reds seemed to paint the sky as the sun began to creep up from the east. "How's this for romantic?" Puck asked softly as his girlfriend leaned into him.
Rachel smiled, "it's perfect, Noah, beautiful," she whispered leaning up to kiss him.
Returning her kiss, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him, "great way to spend the morning," he admitted, "with my beautiful girlfriend in the Emerald City."
Rachel blushed at his description, "and my I get to spend it with my boyfriend who never ceases to amaze me," she whispered.
As the pinks and reds began to fade, the two turned back around to get a view of the morning on the water, seeing the sunlight shining off of the metal of boats floating in the water and a ferry was just coming in. Puck glanced to the right, in the direction of their hotel, "well there's something you never see back home," Puck commented, motioning towards the huge Norwegian Cruse Line cruise ship docked at the pier just past them; the Bell Street Cruise Terminal.
"Oh my, it's huge!" Rachel exclaimed, "that's a real cruise ship."
Puck smirked, "yeah it is, babe. I wonder where it's going," he said curiously.
Rachel shrugged as her mind was already on taking more pictures. She'd kept them to a minimum, but as the light got brighter, she started taking more, making sure to get several of the cruise ship, "Noah," she said softly.
"Yeah?" He glanced at her.
"Someday do you think we could take a cruise?" She asked curiously.
Puck turned too look at the large ship; a floating city and nodded, turning back to her, "yeah, I think someday we could do that," he agreed, slipping his arm around her shoulders.
As his left arm wrapped around her, Rachel glanced at his watch, "it's almost seven-thirty, Noah, we should get back," she whispered.
Puck nodded taking her camera, turning around with her next to him and held it up, snapping a picture of the two of them on the pier and then glanced at it, "what do ya think?"
Rachel smiled, "it's perfect," she replied, pocketing her camera as they started back to the sidewalk and headed towards the hotel, pausing just before it to get a few more pictures of the ship before getting back to the hotel and up to their room. Since they were ready, all they needed to do was get their costumes, so once inside their, Rachel went right to the window and began to snap photos of their view, "Noah, we can see the whole ship from here and I see the pier we were just on," she grinned.
Puck moved over behind her and smiled, "wow, yeah you can," he agreed, "come on, better get downstairs," he said leaning over and pressing a kiss to her neck.
Rachel took a few more photos and nodded, following him out the room and down to the lobby. Their bus was parked just outside now, so they headed out, surprised to find they were among the first to arrive. Rachel noticed the Space Needle sticking up above some buildings and she took a photo before she and Puck climbed on the bus, greeting the driver and moving to the middle of the bus to take a seat. As they waited, Rachel flipped through her pictures, "I can't wait to get these on the computer to really look at them," she said showing him one she had taken as they kissed in the pier earlier.
"When did you take that?" He asked, "that was just this morning."
"Same way you took the one of us; stretched my arm out while we were kissing. I think it turned out great. Didn't cut our heads off, you can see the water and the mountains and some of the boats out on the water."
"...And I wonder if they're going to be late. I'm sure those two stayed up late, if you know what I mean," Mercedes' voice echoed.
"I don't think so, I mean we do have a performance," Tina's voice said.
Puck smirked, glancing up to see Tina and Mercedes climbing on the bus. "Talking about us?" He asked with a grin.
"Puck! Rachel! We didn't..." Mercedes ducked her head, "you heard that?" She asked.
"Yes," Rachel laughed a little. "And we went to bed about ten last night and was up at five-thirty so we could go get coffee and watch the sunrise," she explained, pulling up a photo of the sunrise and showed it to both of them.
"Oh wow," Tina grinned, "that's so romantic."
"It was," Rachel beamed, showing them the photo of them kissing.
"Aw, that's so sweet," Mercedes smiled.
Puck noticed his mom and the Cheerios coming onto the bus so he stood up and greeted her, "morning mom," he said pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"Good morning, Noah, have a good night?" She asked curiously.
Puck smiled, "yes, and a great morning," he replied and at her interested look, he continued, "Rach and I got up at five-thirty. Went to Starbucks, got coffee, then watched the sunrise out on one of the piers," he explained, rolling her eyes when Rachel turned her camera to her.
Deborah took it and flipped through the photos, a smile on her face and her eyes widened as she saw the cruise ship photos, "where is that?" She asked.
Puck motioned towards the hotel, "on the other side; the pier next to this one is a cruise terminal," he told her, "saw it just after sunrise," he admitted, "though something that big I can't believe we didn't see it before."
"You probably weren't looking for it," she said handing back the camera and taking a seat in front of them, "those are great pictures, Rachel, and I want copies of the ones of you two," she smiled.
"Of course, mom," Rachel smiled.
It seemed like everyone waited until the last minute to get to the bus, most of them piling on just before eight. Will took roll call and was glad that everyone was there, including the chaperones, so he nodded at the driver.
"Alright, next stop, Washington State Convention Center," the driver replied.
The normal ten minute drive from the hotel to the convention center took almost a half an hour with the busy morning traffic of Seattle. When they did finally arrive, the driver said he'd be back for them at noon.
Going inside the main entrance, Will went to the sign-in table and everyone could hear the current school performing. Will returned moments later with an assistant who guided them to their practice room, leaving them once they had arrived.
"So Mr. Schuester, what goes on today?" Mercedes asked.
"Well, we go on at eleven and we'll find out tonight at seven if we go on to round two."
"How many schools are here?" Rachel asked.
"Fifteen, five from each region. We're Eastern Region, there's a Central Region and a Western Region, too. The top five schools go on, which means we've got to keep strong. They try and get at least one school from each region in the top five, but it all depends on numbers."
"So if only five schools go on tomorrow, why is it so long before we know who wins?" Kurt wondered.
"Because not only do they have to score tougher, they have to also verify that we're performing with at least twelve members and that those members here are registered," he said.
"Now they're concerned about how many members we have?" Tina asked.
"They always were, but this time it's really checked out. There have been schools who have been disqualified because of their lack of members or even a previous performance when there were only ten on stage at the most."
Finishing up the conversation, they went through their songs, 'When You Believe' and 'Umbrella' having chosen to keep 'I'll Be There For You' for the next day, if they went on. Changing into their costumes, as usual the guys were ready way before the girls, dressed in black slacks and dress shoes with a black button up shirt and a bright blue tie.
Puck moved over to where Artie and the band was talking. "Dude, you sure you don't wanna trade places?" Puck asked Artie.
Artie laughed, "no, I'm good. With these songs I feel more comfortable behind a guitar," he admitted.
Puck sighed, "are you sure?" He insisted.
"No dude, he's taking my spot," Finn commented coming over.
"No I'm not," Artie laughed, "guys, you two getting cold feet? This is funny."
The two boys sighed and plopped down in chairs nearby. Artie had opted to play guitar for the songs for Nationals. When Mandy joined, her boyfriend, Travis also joined, giving them an odd number of guys and though Artie didn't mind helping come up with choreography to accommodate his wheelchair, he opted to play the guitar and make it an even twelve to dance, but that didn't mean the guys couldn't fight over who he would replace. "Guys, you'll do great. You know the steps so relax," Artie told them.
Kurt cleared his throat across the room and smiled, "and now I present, the ladies of William McKinley," he said stepping aside as Brittany, Santana, Mandy, Tina, Mercedes and Rachel stepped out from behind the curtain making off the dressing area and waited for the guys' reactions.
Kurt wanted the guys to be surprised, so the girls kept their dresses a secret. Each of them was dressed in a matching sleeveless bright blue satin dress, a with black belt wrapped around their bodies just below the bust and from the belt down, a layer of chiffon flowed, giving the dress the layered look and adding more flow to it as they moved. It was just a few inches off the ground, a good length so while dancing it wouldn't trip them in their heels; now the boys understood why their ties were bright blue; they matched the dresses.
Puck stood up silently and walked over to his girlfriend, taking her hand and gently spun her around, "you look beautiful," he whispered as she stopped to face him again, "so beautiful," he smiled.
She returned the smile, "thank you, Noah," she replied.
The other guys were giving the same words to their girlfriends and friends as they took a moment to admire the group. Mr. Schuester asked for a group photo and the couples wanted photos together before they finally went down. "Alright, Deborah, Burt, stay here with them I'll take the other half over to the other side."
Deborah nodded and Will and Emma took half of the performers over to the other side of the stage; since they would enter from different sides of the stage. As soon as they were situated, the band and Artie went out on the stage and set up before the opening bars of their first song started.
Puck took Rachel's left hand in his right and they stepped out from behind the curtain, walking into the middle of the stage and began a waltz like partner dance as she started the song, "many nights we've prayed, with no proof anyone could hear. In our hearts a hopeful song, we barely understood."
Kurt led Tina out as Rachel sang and as soon as the two reached Puck and Rachel, they joined in to the dance as Tina took over the next set of lyrics, "now we are not afraid. Although we know there's much to fear. We were moving mountains long before we knew we could."
During Tina's solo, Finn and Santana came out from one side, while Mandy and Travis joined them from the other, all four taking spots on the first step of the risers. The four out on stage already took places in front of the new four, all of them starting the chorus, "there can be miracles, when you believe. Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve. When you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe."
Also during the chorus, the last four, Mercedes, Matt, Brittany and Mike, came out and took places in the back row, singing along with them. Tina stepped forward with Kurt escorting her, as she took the next verse, "in this time of fear, when prayers so often proves in vain. Hope seems like the summer birds, too swiftly flown away," Kurt and Tina's dance brought them back to their friends just as Puck and Rachel stepped forward, Rachel continuing, "yet now I'm standing here. My heart's so full I can't explain. Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I'd say."
Mirroring the choreography from the last chorus, the students repeated the words, "there can be miracles, when you believe. Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve. When you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe."
Again, Puck and Rachel stepped out, their dance light, yet elegant as Rachel sang, "and when you're blinded by your pain. Can't see your way straight through the rain. A small but still resilient voice says hope is very near."
One more chorus to go, they joined their friends and repeated, "there can be miracles, when you believe. Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill. Who knows what miracles, you can achieve. When you believe, somehow you will. Now you will. You will when you believe."
As they finished the chorus, the six couples joined together and stood on the risers while Puck guided Rachel to the front of the stage, as she sang the finally words, "you will when you believe." Everyone's heads lowered briefly and the guys bowed, the girls curtseying to the audience as the applause continued.
The girls and guys bowed once more, then stepping towards the risers, taking their places for the second song. Rachel nodded at the band and they began the heavy beat to start 'Umbrella.'
As soon as her part came up, Rachel and Puck stepped from the group so she could start, "you have my heart and we'll never be worlds apart. May be in magazines, but you'll still be my star. Baby, 'cause in the dark you can't see shiny cars and that's when you need me there, with you I'll always share, because..."
The couple stepped back with their friends as New Directions sang the chorus, "when the sun shines, we'll shine together. Told you I'll be here forever. Said I'll always be a friend. Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end. Now that it's raining more than ever. Know that we'll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)."
Mercedes' turn was next, so she and Matt walked out onto the stage, their dance the same as everyone else, but Mercedes sang the next verse, "these fancy things, will never come in between. You're part of my entity, here for infinity. When the war has took it's part, when the world has dealt it's cards, if the hand is hard, together we'll mend your heart, because..."
Stepping back with their friends, they repeated the chorus, "when the sun shines, we'll shine together. Told you I'll be here forever. Said I'll always be a friend. Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end. Now that it's raining more than ever. Know that we'll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella (ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)."
While dancing with her boyfriend, they stayed with their friends as Rachel sang next, "you can run into my arms. It's okay don't be alarmed, come into me. There's no distance in between our love, so go on and let the rain pour, I'll be all you need and more, because..."
New Directions continued their choreography, singing the last of the song, "when the sun shines, we'll shine together. Told you I'll be here forever. Said I'll always be a friend. Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end. Now that it's raining more than ever. Know that we'll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella!" Everyone was standing evenly spaced on the risers as they sang the last word, dropping their heads down just as the band stopped playing and the audience clapped loudly again for them.
Taking a moment to bow, the group of friends jogged off the stage followed by Artie and the rest of the band, congratulating everyone on a job well done. Heading back to their room to change, Artie commented, "isn't ironic that we sang a song about an umbrella and pouring rain in the rainiest state in the continental US?"
"Oh my God, I never thought about that!" Tina laughed as well as most of the others.
"We've known for almost two months that we were singing that song and knew it would be in Washington, but we never made that association until now; wow," Will laughed as the kids began to start changing.
"Yes, very ironic," Rachel agreed parting from her boyfriend to go change.
...
It was Saturday afternoon. Arin and Ethan had gone over to the Berry's for the afternoon, but Quinn got a craving for ice cream that she had finished off the night before, so Ethan offered to take her to the store, leaving Arin with David and Alan.
Their trip wasn't too long, but as soon as Ethan pulled his jeep out of the store's parking lot, he got a suspicious feeling about the black van behind them. The cop in him was always on the look out for odd things and it bothered him because the van had followed them to the store. At first he thought that it was just a neighbor of the Berry's, but as they followed him back, he looked at the girl in the passenger seat, "Quinn, do you know someone with a black van?" Ethan asked glancing casually out his side mirrors as he turned onto Rachel's street.
"No, why?" She asked looking out the mirror near her and saw what he was talking about.
"Because this van has been following us since we left the house," he told her calmly.
"What?" Quinn exclaimed, sinking down in her seat as she continued to look at the mirror.
"Just calm down," he told her softly, "in the glove box is a pad of paper and a pen. Can you get it out and write down a license plate for me?"
Quinn glanced at him, but quickly reached inside, finding the paper he was talking about and waited for him.
"Ohio plate, B-Zero-Nine-Five-Four-Six-A," he said.
"Now what?" Quinn asked nervously.
"When we get out, stay calm, but scream as loud as you can if someone comes up to you."
"You want me to do what?" She gasped, "are you're serious?"
"Quinn, it could be nothing, but if we pull up in front of the house and they get out, we don't know what they could do, so just scream and if something happens, do what they tell you."
"No! I can't do that!"
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, but you've got to trust me, Quinn," he said his voice calm, "trust me, just get out of the car like nothing is wrong and wait for me."
Quinn stared at him for a long moment, "alright," she said softly.
"Now I need you to write something else on that paper," he said waiting for her to get ready to write, "write, call Detroit SRT, Sergeant Adams... Use code Two-Zero-Seven Denmark," he told her.
"That doesn't make any sense," she commented.
"It will to Sergeant Adams," he replied calmly, pulling onto Rachel's street.
"What do I do with this?" She asked quickly.
"Take the paper off the tablet, and drop it on the ground when you get out," he explained, unable to see the driver or anyone in the van because of the darkened windows. "hand me that box of band-aids too," he told her motioning towards the glove box.
Quinn reached for them, "do you have a cut?"
Ethan smirked, "no, but this may be the only way to find us," he admitted reaching inside and taking out two foil packages before handing her back the box.
"Condoms?" Quinn was now really confused.
Ethan rolled his eyes, "no they're not condoms," he laughed a little, "I'll tell you later," he added, slipping the packages into his pocket as he pulled up to a stop in front of the house. Turning off the engine, he glanced at her, "just stay calm."
Quinn nodded and did the best she could, unhooking her belt and opening the door.
Ethan pulled his keys out of the ignition and slid out of the car, his back to the van for a moment, but that was long enough for someone to come up and hearing Quinn scream he glanced over to see someone dressed in all black, a ski mask covering their face, holding Quinn around her chest, with a gloved hand over her mouth. "Fucking shit. This doesn't happen in Lima, Ohio!" Ethan thought just as he felt something ice cold against his neck, quickly realizing it was the barrel of a gun, "what do you want from us?" He asked calmly.
"Drop your keys, wallet and cell phone on the seat, slowly step back and close the door," the man said to him. Seeing Ethan's pause, the man pressed the metal into his neck harder, "do it or I will shoot!" He exclaimed.
Ethan glanced at Quinn again and then slowly removed his wallet and cell phone from his pocket and set the items on the seat and took a step back, closing the door, "what do you want?" He asked again, holding up his hands to show he didn't have anything else in them.
"That's for us to know and you to find out later," he replied grabbing the hood of his sweatshirt; forcibly guiding him towards the open door of the van.
Ethan followed, noticing that whoever had Quinn was guiding her in the same direction, "let her go, she's just a kid," he commented.
"That's where you're wrong," the second person said, Ethan noticing the voice was female.
Quinn's eyes widened and looked at Ethan, but Ethan couldn't figure out what she was shocked about other than what was going on. Ethan was pushed into the van first, then the woman pushed Quinn in a little easier, but as soon as she was in, the woman also slid in and produced a pair of handcuffs.
"No, please!" Quinn exclaimed trying to get to Ethan.
The woman ignored her and grabbed her left wrist, slapping the metal object against her skin until it clipped shut and then she grabbed Ethan's right hand doing the same thing.
Ethan hadn't said a word the whole time, but as soon as the handcuffs were on, he watched the woman get out and close the door, forcing the whole back of the van into darkness. He heard a door shut and the van started to move so he knew they were leaving, but they had no view outside; clue where they were going. He could feel Quinn shaking next to him and though he couldn't see her, he slipped his hand in hers and lifted their arms up enough so he could slip his arm around her and hold her against him, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or Abigail," he whispered.
She sobbed against him, "I'm scared."
"I know you are. I am too," he replied, "but we'll get through this," he promised.
"It's her," she said softly.
"Who?" Ethan asked.
Quinn was quiet a moment before said one name, "Terri."
...
David, Alan and Arin all saw what happened; after hearing Quinn's scream, they all rushed to the window to see two people covered in black taking Quinn and Ethan at gunpoint. They knew if they went outside it could end badly, so they remained inside until the van began to pull away, giving Alan a chance to run outside, hoping to get the plate number. Turning around with no luck, he saw the note on the ground. Leaving it there, he read it from where he was standing and took a photo of it on his phone before going back inside, silently going right to the den and his computer, where he pulled up the yellow pages online to look for the police department number in Detroit. When he called the first number he found, they patched him directly to the SRT office secretary. "Yes, I need to get in contact with Sergeant Adams about Lieutenant Ethan Ballard."
Hearing names she was familiar with, she didn't even ask for his name, she just patched him through to Adams' office, "Sergeant Michael Adams, SRT," he answered.
"Uh, yes, this is Alan Berry. My daughter is dating Ethan Ballard's son, Noah Puckerman," he explained, knowing if he introduced himself first, his response might be taking more serious.
"Oh yeah, I've heard the name, what's up?"
"Ethan and Quinn were just abducted in front of my house and Ethan left you a note."
As soon as the man heard those words, he knew who Quinn was, so he sat forward, "what does it say?" He asked quickly.
"Two-seven-zero Denmark," Alan read.
"Shit! Okay, what is your address? I'm going to contact the Lima PD and have a uniform sent over to your house right now. I will gather up our team and be on our way down. Where is his fiancée and kids? What happened exactly?" He asked.
"Deborah and Noah are in Seattle on their school trip and Arin is here with us. He and Quinn went out to the store and we heard a scream, so we looked out and watched two people holding guns, one holding Quinn and the other with Ethan and put them in a van. I went out as soon as it started to pull away and it looks like Ethan realized something was wrong because in Quinn's writing is a note with the license plate number and the message to call you and what I already told you. I took a picture of it and went back inside, found a number for the police department and now I'm talking to you," he explained.
"Okay, good. When the uniform gets there, tell them exactly what you told me and I'll be in contact."
The two men exchanged numbers and Alan gave him his address before hanging up the phone. David had heard everything Alan said on the phone and as soon as Alan hung up he looked at his husband, "the SRT team is on their way down and a cop will be here soon from Lima PD. Where's Arin?"
"She ran up to Rachel's room," he replied.
...
New Directions had plenty of time between their performance and the results, so on their way back to the hotel they decided they wanted to go to the Space Needle. After a quick stop at the hotel to drop their costumes off, they piled back on the bus and headed towards the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle rises into the sky. The driver dropped them off at the base, telling them he'd give them about three hours to go up and enjoy the view.
Though the day was overcast, there was no rain, so as each person paid their sixteen dollars to go up, they followed the ascending ramp up to the second level of the base where the elevators are and waited. There are only three elevators up, so they had to wait for groups to go up, Puck, Rachel, Deborah, Finn, Burt, Kurt, Mercedes and Matt went up on one and the elevator operator greeted them, "welcome to the Space Needle. It will take us approximately forty-three seconds to reach the top and as we get away from the base you will start to see the city of Seattle from a new perspective. Off to the south is Mount Rainier. To our west is Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Up North is Lake Union, which is connected to the Puget Sound by the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, also known as the Ballard Locks and finally off to the east you will see the city of Seattle, as well as parts of the University of Washington Campus and the Cascade Mountains. A little history on the needle; it was built in Nineteen-Sixty-Two for the Worlds Fair in Seattle and at the time it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at Six-hundred-five-feet. The center of gravity is five feet below ground level and the base of the tower extends approximately thirty feet into the ground." The elevator car stilled as he spoke, and he smiled, "so welcome again to the Space Needle and enjoy your visit," he smiled as the doors slid open and he stepped aside, allowing them to get off.
Filing off the car, they walked into the inside of the observation area, pausing a moment to take in the view, already blown away. Finding their way outside, those who had cameras dug them out, Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes and even Deborah started taking pictures immediately. Puck smiled when they tugged him into a picture, but laughed as they continued to point out things, snapping photos every few moments as they saw something new. Deborah, Finn, Rachel and Puck stayed together as they walked around, taking in the view.
Lake Union was huge, but the buildings looked like scale models. Rachel caught another ferry coming into the docks on the waterfront, but was shocked at how small it looked compared to when they'd seen it earlier that morning.
"It's like we're looking at a very zoomed in satellite image," Puck commented.
Puck could have stayed up there all day, looking out over the city; taking in a view he wouldn't get to see any other way. Though he did enjoy it, others were wanting to go down, so making sure they walked around the entire needle to see every direction, Rachel, Finn, Deborah and Puck headed inside and glanced at the displays set up. Rachel bought a shirt up there that said 'I Made It To The Top' with a picture of the Space Needle on it, and the rest agreed they should get one, so they all purchased one before lining up for the elevators and going back down.
Passing the second level where they got on, the elevator went down one more floor to the gift shop that wrapped around the base. As soon as they stepped in, Rachel immediately went into shopping mode and was dragging her boyfriend around to look at all the gifts. "You're the kind of person these places love," Puck laughed a little as Rachel was picking up key chains, photo albums and stickers for her scrapbook among other things.
Rachel paused, huffing a little, "it's not like we'll ever be back here," she told him, "and I want to remember it."
Puck slipped an arm around her shoulders, "we'll be back, babe," he whispered pressing a kiss to her forehead. "If you like it here, we can make it a point to come back, because I know I'd like to come back," he admitted.
Rachel smiled, "really?"
"Yeah, really," he agreed.
Rachel nodded, "I suppose I don't need to get all this stuff, but there are a few thing I have to get," she explained.
Puck smiled, glad he'd talked her down from her shopping spree; he was being honest. He liked the view and knew someday he'd want to come back with her so they could be alone, or at least not with a large group of classmates.
Through Rachel's picking and choosing, Puck found a few t-shirts he liked the design on and he and his mom picked out some things for his dad and sister. Rachel got things for her dads and Finn got something for his mom and Quinn, but needed advice on the shirt he was getting her, in his hand was a pink t-shirt and a yellow one, "dude, pink's not your color," Puck commented as Finn came up to him, Deborah and Rachel.
Finn laughed, "it's for Quinn. I don't like pink either, but I like the design on it better. I like the yellow one, too, and I know it's her favorite color, so I don't know what one to get."
"Both of them," Deborah and Rachel said at the same time, causing the two to laugh at each other.
Puck nodded, "the women have spoken," he admitted, "what they said."
Finn nodded, "works for me," he shrugged and headed off to look around.
Taking some more time, gradually they all began to pay for their items and head outside to the bus and piled on. Will began to check off names to make sure he had everyone. It was just after four-thirty and they still had plenty of time, but wanted to make sure they had time to go back to the hotel to drop their stuff off before returning to the center for the announcement of who would be going on to the second round; no one having a clue what was going on back home.
...
Aside from the road noise of passing cars, the van was silent. Ethan was trying figure out what was going on after Quinn told him she recognized Terri's voice. Quinn broke him from his thoughts, "do you think they found the note?" She asked softly.
Ethan nodded, "yeah, I do."
"What did all that stuff you had me write mean?"
"The plate number of the van, Sergeant Adams is my friend and he's the second-in-command of my team. Two-seven-zero is police code for a kidnapping and Denmark is our distress word," he whispered.
"Distress word?"
"If we're in a situation that we can't get out of or need help, we use it. Like in this case, if David and Alan contact them and tell him what you wrote, he'll know they are serious and it's not just a joke or something. We don't tell anyone that word unless it's an emergency."
"Oh," Quinn smiled a little, but then sighed, "where are we going?"
"I don't know. If I could see out any of the windows I could get my bearings, but I can't."
...
Kicking back in the convention center seats, New Directions along with fourteen other schools sat waiting for their fate. The set up was the same, a short 'thank you for coming' along with the announcement of the top five schools who would go on to the next round. Clovis East High School from Clovis, California took fifth place and the Wranglers from Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas took fourth. Vocal Adrenaline ended up in third place again and knowing they beat them once, New Directions wasn't as surprised that they took second, since it was technically the third time they had placed above the team from Carmel. Attaché again was at the top, bringing the Eastern Region as the top winners since three schools from there was in the top five.
Walking out to the bus, Puck noticed Finn was frowning as he stared at his cell phone, "what's wrong, dude?" Puck asked.
"Quinn won't answer my messages. I've sent her several and I just tried calling her and it just rang and when it went to voice mail I didn't leave a message. It's not like her to not answer," he replied.
"Dude, it's almost eleven at night back home. She's probably asleep," he told his friend.
"Oh, yeah, that's right. I guess I shouldn't call my mom, then, huh?"
Puck nodded, "probably not a good idea."
...
The Detroit SRT arrived in less than two hours, in two large black SUVs and pulled up in front of the Berry's house, where two other police cars were parked. After talking to the officers there and being introduced to David and Alan, Sergeant Mike Adams took tactical command of the investigation.
The Lima cops tried to say they didn't have jurisdiction in Ohio, but Mike had already gotten a court order to allow them to take primary lead since one of the hostages was a Detroit SRT officer, which Alan verified to the cops. Mike began giving out orders once the Lima PD had backed off, letting them take lead, but offered man-power. Quinn and Ethan's stuff was still in the jeep, but there was no evidence they could get from them, so Mike gave their stuff to David and Alan, which is how at ten-forty-five that night, Alan, David and Mike sat at the island in the Berry's kitchen, watching Ethan and Quinn's phones ringing.
"We can't answer them," David said calmly, "we can't tell the kids. Not until they finish performing."
Mike nodded, "yeah, they can't do anything from Seattle anyway," he agreed.
The house phone rang moments later startling the three men, but Alan reached over to where it was sitting and picked it up, "it's Rachel," he said.
"Just make it short," Mike told him.
"Hello sweetheart! How is everything?" Alan answered listening to her words, "oh that's wonderful! You guys took second! So you have a performance tomorrow? What time? Oh alright, very good. Oh, Quinn? She's, um, asleep," he bit his lip glancing at the other two men. "Dad and I are heading to bed soon, too. Oh really? Well tell him not to worry. I'm sure she'll call. Alright, well have a good night, say hi to everyone for us," he told her, pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up the phone before sighing, "I hated that!"
Mike and David nodded, "they perform tomorrow?"
"Yeah, at eleven again, so two our time."
Before they could talk more, Mike's phone rang and he picked it up, "Adams... what? How long ago? Where?" Alan and David perked up curiously, but listened to what he said, "they won't go out of state, so I want every police and sheriff's office from Cleveland to Cincinnati and every place in between to be on the look out for it. I don't care if it's almost midnight! Damn it! This isn't a fucking lost dog! This is you boss and a girl who's thirty-six weeks pregnant! Do I need to remind you how serious this is?" He snapped, closing his phone and rubbing his eyes, "a traffic camera just on the outskirts of Lima spotted the van going south about six pm. There looking to see if they can find more on there, but they're either avoiding major streets or found a place to hide," he explained.
"Wouldn't they have contacted us by now for a ransom of some sort?" David asked, "criminals always do things for a reason," he added, "sorry, it's the psychologist in me."
"No, it's alright. We may need your help with that. You don't think Quinn's parents could have had anything to do with this, do you?" He asked.
"I don't think so," David said. "From what she told us about what happened, her dad literally disowned her the moment he found out she was pregnant and her mom followed along. She's spoken to her mom once since then and it was to sign school permission trips for a few trips she had coming up."
"So if she tried to call someone, hoping that she wouldn't call her boyfriend, Noah or Rachel, she'd call here, right?" Mike asked concerned.
"We're pretty sure she would," Alan replied.
"Good. Ethan knows that Arin is here, so he probably won't and considering he said to call me directly, he'll probably call me, too."
"I don't know who did this, but I hope they pay," David muttered.
"Oh they will, trust me, they will," Mike promised.
...
Music: "When You Believe" from the 'Prince of Egypt Soundtrack' but I'm using Celtic Woman's version and "Umbrella" by Rhianna... Again major thanks to Ilyssa (elbbubniaevili) for help picking out the music!
...
A/N4: *Hides* Don't kill me! I always knew that Quinn wouldn't be able to go to Nationals with the timing and I knew I wanted to bring Terri back for 'revenge' and this is what I came up with. Originally, it was going to be Quinn and Arin, but I couldn't do that to Arin and bringing Ethan into the picture, I thought he'd be perfect since he's a cop.
A/N5: So you know Attaché and Vocal Adrenaline, but do you recognize the other two schools? Dallas' Lake Highland High School's Wranglers are actually just a dance team, but I changed it to show choir. ;) And Clovis East High School from Clovis, California...
A/N6: This starts here, in '33' and will continue through '36'. More soon. '34' and '35' are mostly written so depending on how many reviews I get, will depend on how soon I post them... ;)
A/N7: No 'references' for the Space Needle details. I'm born and raised in Western Washington and it wasn't until I was 24 that I went up in the Space Needle for the first time. That was only a couple years ago and the experience I described is pretty much what I had when I was there and all the details are things I knew from school or just learning about the Needle in the first place. Hope you liked!