Chapter 44

Rachel groaned as she heard an alarm go off, shifting in bed as she tried to bury her head into the warm embrace of her pillow. She heard someone move beside her, followed by the music being shut off and slowly opened her eyes to look at her surroundings.

"Morning beautiful" James murmured and she saw him turn back over to lay next to her, a smile on his lips as she felt his hand slowly stroke her cheek. "You feeling okay?"

"No" Rachel shook her head, whimpering as she felt the sharp movement spring a flash of pain across her forehead. "I feel awful"

"That's alcohol for you" James answered and she felt his lips against her forehead a second later. "Here, I've got some paracetomol for you"

"Will it make it go away?" She asked, opening her eyes again and watched him turn away and collect a glass of water and two pills off the bedside cabinet next to him.

"I'm afraid not, Rach" He murmured, giving her a sympathetic smile. "It's gonna stay for a few hours but this should make it less noticeable"

"Okay" She replied, sitting up in bed and taking the pills from him; popping them into her mouth before taking a sip of the cold water in the glass to help her swallow them. Taking another sip, Rachel passed the glass back to him and sunk back down into bed, rolling onto her side and staring at him with a small smile; "Thank you for taking care of me"

"Don't mention it" He murmured, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"How come you aren't suffering?" She asked as he shifted her into his embrace, resting her head against his chest.

"I only had a couple before I stopped drinking" He replied, his hand moving in soothing motions against her back.

"Why?"

"I saw that you were drinking with Kelsie and Stacey" He murmured as he kissed the top of her head tenderly. "I wanted to make sure you were alright and no-one tried anything with three drunk girls"

"you're sweet when you're protective" Rachel said, smiling as she thought about how amazing he was. "I'm sorry you didn't get to enjoy the night"

"What?" He asked and she felt him smile through her hair. "Baby, I had a lot of fun; I've never gone crazy and got drunk. I had fun, just sober fun compared to most people there"

"Still, I'll make it up to you" She replied, squeezing him as she hugged him tightly.

"Nothing to make up for Rach" He said, kissing her head again. "How about I go downstairs while you take a shower and see if I can rustle you up one of my omelettes to make you feel better"

"That sounds amazing" She moaned "I love you"

"Love you too" He replied, kissing her forehead before extracting himself from bed and with a groan heard him close the bedroom door behind him.

When she did make her way downstairs, slowly as not to aggravate her hangover; she walked into the kitchen area of Jake's house. A smile crossed her face as she saw James stood cooking her breakfast while talking to Jake, Kelsie and Stacey. Stacey and Jake had become a couple it seemed since the summer, and had stayed at his house overnight along with the other girl.

"Morning" Rachel murmured as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hi Rachel" Kelsie said quietly, rubbing her forehead carefully just as Rachel had done

"You feeling the effects too?" Rachel asked, smiling as she sat down in between the two girls.

"We both are" Stacey replied in a tired voice. "Neither of us have a boyfriend willing to make us breakfast however"

"Hey I resent that" Jake said, raising his hands in surrender "Not all of us have moms that own restaurants"

"Don't be jealous buddy" James replied smirking "It'll be ready in a minute babe"

"Sounds great" Rachel said, pouring a glass of orange juice from the jug on the table. "Would you make the girls something for breakfast as well?"

"Oh he's already going to; we made sure of that" Kelsie said laughing softly. "He insisted that he make yours first"

The five of them sat together in Jake's kitchen for well over an hour, eating breakfast and then just idly talking with one another about the party and how things were going at school and in particular, in their own glee clubs. Jake shared the stories of how intense their rehearsals were compared to the previous year; only Shelbys had been at a similar intensity and James didn't look sympathetic at all to their plight as he sat there next to her, smirking as he softly ran his fingers through her hair as she rested her head against his shoulder.

James and Rachel left to drive back to Lima just after one oclock that afternoon, after hugging the girls and promising that they would visit again in a few weeks. Climbing into James' car, Rachel settled there and closed her eyes; using James' jacket as a cushion against the window as she recovered from her hangover while he drove them home.

They arrived back in Lima a few hours earlier; Rachel finding that she had started to recover from her hangover, luckily just in time. She wasn't sure she was upto facing her Dads feeling awful. James had been an angel, looking after her the day after; stopping to buy her water and a snack for her on their way from to Lima from Akron.

Her Dads hadn't been in when they'd reached Lima, so the two of them settled down on the couch together to cuddle and Rachel enjoyed simply being able to settle alone in the arms of the boy she loved; feeling his relaxing and soothing presence surround her as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

She was woken up several hours later, surprised to find herself curled up in her bed with the covers tucked around her. Smiling as she slowly sat up she realised, judging by the fact that Fluffy was in her arms, that James must have carried her upstairs; Rachel couldn't help but feel touched at the caring gesture. Climbing out of bed and collected his discarded woolly jacket from the bed, Rachel made her way downstairs to be greeted by her Dads and James in the kitchen. The four of them spent several hours that evening together in front of the TV before she dragged James by the hand to bed, eager to cuddle with him and fall asleep in his arms again.

…

I've had a little bit too much, all of the people start to rush

Rachel leans over and turns off her alarm as it plays Lady Gaga out into her room, letting out a sigh as she rolls back over and snuggles back into James' body, a smile growing on her face as she feels his arms tightly wrap around her and pull her even closer into his embrace. She shivers slightly at the sensation of his breath on her skin closely followed by him pressing a tender kiss against her neck.

"Morning" Rachel murmured as she felt James kiss his way up her neck, pausing as he rested his forehead against hers and she opened her eyes and gazed into his. She couldn't help but smile at his beautiful brown eyes staring back at her as he returned it before leaning down and kissing her sweetly.

"I love you" James said softly against her lips, kissing her once more before pulling back and shifting in bed so that he was lying on his side next to her. "Good Morning"

Rachel shifted in bed so that she was lying on her back looking up at him, ,moving one of her hands and linking her fingers with his and pulling it so that their entwined fingers rested against her chest. "I love waking up next to you"

"Me too" He replied with a smirk, leaning down to peck her on the lips. "How are you feeling?"

"My head still hurts a little bit" She murmured, rubbing her forehead gently with her free hand. "I'm never going to drink again"

She couldn't believe that she was still feeling the effects of Jake's birthday party on Saturday. both of them had indulged in a small amount of alcohol; Rachel had felt groggy the next morning and even though she hadn't gone crazy could still feel the effects of a hangover

"It won't last long" He replied, squeezing her hand. "You'll feel better as soon as you get some breakfast in you, I promise"

"Would you make me something?" Rachel asked softly, smiling at him sweetly. "Please baby"

She bit her lip as he laughed at her before leaning down and kissing her once on the forehead. As he pulled away he responded; "Of course I will, go take a shower and I'll see what your Dads have in the kitchen"

"Thank you baby" Rachel replies as he kisses her on the lips before climbing out of her bed.

"Anything for you, Rach" He murmurs, looking back at her with a smirk as he disappears out of her bedroom door.

Around fifteen minutes later and Rachel is pulling her hair into a ponytail as she carefully walks down the stairs. Its cold outside and simply one of those days where she can't really be bothered to do too much with her appearance; throwing on a pair of comfortable jeans and one of James jackets over the top of a red blouse.

Walking through the lounge, Rachel could hear the sound of her Dads voices mixed with James; smiling as she stepped into the kitchen and saw them stood around the breakfast counter. At the sound of her shoes clacking on the laminated floor, the three of them looked over at her.

"Ah good morning sleeping beauty" Leroy called, the other two laughing.

"Morning Daddy" She replied, rolling her eyes as she walked over to them; hugging her Dads individually. "I wasn't sleeping, I was getting ready"

"That's not what James told us" Hiram teased and she shot her boyfriend a glare.

"Don't blame me! All I said was that you were in bed still when I came downstairs" He replied smirking at her. Rachel tried and failed to suppress her smile as she stepped closer to him, leaning up and pressing a kiss against his cheek

"I'll get you back" She murmured quietly, biting her lip as he chuckled softly at her. "This smells good"

"My famous pancakes…well my moms famous pancakes, but I'm the one making them so" He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"How are you feeling this morning babygirl?" Hiram asked from the kitchen table where he was sat holding his coffee mug.

"Better" Rachel said smiling as she rested her head against James shoulder, allowing her eyes to droop when he leaned over and pressed a tender kiss against the side of her head.

Sitting down together, her father asking James about when Andrea was returning from Oregon, Rachel enjoyed ate her breakfast before they left for work closely followed by her and James heading to school, quite content to let him drive her about.

Heading into school, they visited his locker first before going to hers near to the choir room to collect her books for the morning lessons.

"I hope you're not going to throw up on me if I sit next to you" James teased as he leant against the locker next to hers; Rachel glares at him, trying to prevent herself from giggling as she sees him smirking back at him.

"I might do if you keep trying to be a smart-ass" She replies, giggling as he chuckles at her.

"I'm sorry" He murmurs moving forward, his hands making their way to her waist. "I love you and I take no joy from your suffering"

"You better not" Rachel says softly as James leans towards her and presses a tender kiss against her lips.

"Besides" He murmurs as he pulls aways ever so slightly. "You're the most adorable drunk I've ever met"

"Thank you" Rachel replies, biting her lip. "That's sort of charming, not up to your usual level"

"I'm taking it easy, today; you might not be able to handle a full offensive" He says, laughing as he finishes. Rachel giggles and rests her head against his chest, loving the way his arms secure themselves around her. "Come on, lets get to class before I make us skip and just cuddle at my house all day"

Nodding, although she can't help but think that sounds a much better idea, Rachel shifts away from his body and takes his hand in hers as they walk through the McKinley corridors, making their way towards their first class that they share together.

It was a standard day during classes, besides the fact that James nearly burst out laughing when she flinched at the sound of the teacher slamming the doors as they entered; Rachel giving him a kick under the tower as he coughed and covered his mouth with his hand though she could see his smirk as she rubbed her forehead trying to soothe the throbbing headache.

The two of them spent lunch in a quiet classroom together, sitting and talking as they ate before going to their afternoon classes, separating before they would be in Glee that afternoon after their last class.

Walking towards the choir room door after putting her books away in her locker, Rachel smile fades as she sees James stood talking to Kurt inside nearby the piano. It had been a few weeks since she'd been able to talk to her best friend; ever since she had declared her intention to run in the presidential race against him, they had barely talked aside from when either of their boyfriends were around them. James had been absolutely amazing in spending time with her and trying to help her with her problems but it wasn't really the same as being able to talk to her best friend. She'd missed going to kurt for advice when she had fallen out with James over the sex issue and regardless of the fact they weren't talking, she wished that she could have gone to him for advice.

She had decided to run for Student Body President and although at the start it had seemed like a good idea, and her campaign was doing well; thanks to James and Noah's help she was competing with him and Brittany for the win but it had started to occur to her recently that it might not be worth losing her best friend over despite how much she wanted it originally.

"Alright guys, take a seat; we've got a lot to go through"

Mr Schuster's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and smiling at him, she made her way over to her normal seat with James in the back row alongside Noah and Quinn.

"Hey I missed you" James murmurs and she turns to press a soft kiss against his lips before settling in her chair next to him

"Missed you too"

Glee club rehearsal went by quickly, their set list was coming together really well for sectionals in a few weeks time. They were doing two group numbers and the final one was going to be a solo performed by Rachel backed up by Quinn and Tina. They only had three girls in the new directions at that moment in time and wanted to show their diversity between the group numbers led by the boys and then the girls in their own number.

James was staying with her and her Dads that night, his mom having gone home to Oregon on the Saturday night and as they walked out of school after saying goodbye to their friends in Glee; Rachel mind was dwelling on Kurt and her thoughts on wanting to be his friend again. As they drove, James let her be and she was honestly thankful for it; even if she thought it was because he assumed that she was still suffering from her headache.

The two of them sat in her kitchen doing their homework for a couple of hours after work, using the system they'd come up with; James helping her with their Spanish and Italian classes, while she went through and helped him with the mathematic subjects that he struggled with. It was one of their favourite times of the week when she helped him with it, that feeling of him needing her building the closeness of the bond that she felt between them.

When her fathers come home from work, the four of them sit together eating takeout before Rachel and James head upstairs together to lay in her bed cuddling as they watch a film with one another. Its his turn to pick and naturally he picks an action film, at this point she's actually beginning to enjoy watching them but not that she'd ever admit that to James, giving her ample opportunity to just cuddle close to him and enjoy the way his fingers move soothingly through her hair as they lay entangled together in her room.

It's around about an hour into the film when she feels James shift in bed next to her, letting out a low groan as he stops running his fingers through her hair.

"Why did you stop?" She asks softly.

"You're quiet tonight babe" He murmurs, pressing a kiss against her hair.

Rachel moves slightly, so that she can tilt her head up to look at him and giving him a small smile. "I'm just thinking"

"Anything that I can help you with?" James asks, smiling at her warmly.

Rachel bites her lip and squeezes herself closer to him as she turns her head and rests her cheek against his bare chest. "It's Kurt…seeing you talking to him today, before Glee made me realise how much I miss him"

"I thought it might be" She hears James murmur. "I know he misses you as well"

"What were you talking about with him?"

"Jake's birthday…and he was asking if we had a good time" James replied and Rachel smiled. "He asked about you as well"

"He did?" She asks, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"Yeah, he noticed you looked a little worse for wear in class"

"Well, he did always know me well" Rachel replies, hearing James chuckle softly. "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

"I did when you decided to run, and I still do now" James assures her, kissing her forehead again. "You two are best friends and if you can just talk; I'm sure you'll sort it all out"

"I suppose apologising again wouldn't hurt" Rachel adds and she closes her eyes as James holds her tighter.

"It can only help"

…

A/N :

Small Chapter that I'm not overly fond of, but I wanted to get it done just to show how Rachel is thinking about the Kurt thing. Next chapter, they actually talk! AND James gets a new friend ;-)