Chapter 8

Meanwhile, back at the bar… the band was setting up for their evening performance. Noah's band (actually Sam's band, since it was his idea to begin with) was comprised of himself, Sam Evans, Rider Lynn, Artie Abrams, and Jake Puckerman, his half-brother. Yes, Noah has a half-brother; the headquarters for his father's job was in Chicago, and he split his time between there and the satellite office in Lima. Unbeknownst to his wife and son (and eventually, daughter), he also split his affection and sowed his seed, having a second "family" (unmarried, hence no laws broken) there. The men never knew of each other until Jake moved to New York to pursue his education and wound up in a class with Noah. Once they were able to move past their emotional baggage (courtesy of their deadbeat and apparently secretive father), the two became fast friends.

Noah, Sam, and Rider worked together for the FDNY, and Sam named the band "Engine 34" after their station. Artie had been a paramedic who was injured three years prior in an accident on route to the hospital, becoming paraplegic as a result; he currently managed the ER at New York Hospital Queens. Jake was the only one actually in the music industry; he was a studio musician, backing up vocal talent (both well-known and up-and-coming) on their recordings.

Ryder was the percussionist, spending most of his time playing the drums. The other four switched between lead and bass guitar and keyboard, depending on the song. Noah and Sam also provided acoustic guitar for quieter numbers, and Jake would play harmonica as needed. Sam and Artie had brought their wives Brittany and Kitty (respectively). Jake's fiancée, Marley Rose, who frequently sang with the band, was currently in Chicago where her sister had just given birth. Ryder, the youngest at 24, was still living the carefree bachelor existence, having been a willing Jedi Knight-in-training to his dating Jedi Master, "Puck".

Noah kept glancing nervously at the door as he was checking the sound equipment. He stood up for a moment and was grabbed from behind in a warm hug by Brittany Evans, Sam's wife. "What's going on, Puck?" she inquired. "I've never seen you this nervous before."

"I'm not nervous," Noah insisted.

Brittany smiled gently, replying, "OK, if you say so. What's got you so interested in the door, then?"

"I invited someone to come tonight, and they're bringing a few friends," he carefully revealed.

Brittany squealed excitedly "Oh, you mean that Rachel girl? Sammy told me that you were seeing somebody. I am so happy for you, Puck."

"Thanks, Britt," he replied. "This is all kinda new for me, ya' know," he admitted a little sheepishly.

"You'll do fine, Puck. Good luck!" she wished him, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled in response, glancing up to see that Rachel had entered the bar with her entourage and was looking at him, a mixture of hurt and incredulity in her face. He grabbed Brittany by the hand and quickly went to where Rachel was standing awkwardly with her friends.

"Hi, Rachel!" Noah greeted her. "This is Brittany Evans, Sam's wife," he introduced her, and Brittany held out her right hand. "Sam and Britt are from Lima, too; I work with Sam at the firehouse, and he organized the band," Noah hastily explained.

Rachel's expression relaxed and she shook Brittany's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Brittany," Rachel replied.

"Wow… so you're Puck's girlfriend!" Brittany exclaimed to a surprised Rachel. "Sammy says you bake awesome cookies…I wish I could bake…maybe you can teach me?"

"Um…sure, Brittany," a confused Rachel replied.

"Thanks, Rachel; that would be so cool!" Brittany noticed Sam out of the corner of her eye and excused herself: "Ooh, I see Sammy looking for me…talk to you later," she announced, turning swiftly and walking toward her husband.

Rachel regained her composure enough to remember her manners. "Noah, these are my friends: Santana Lopez, Kurt Hummel, and Blaine Anderson. Santana, Kurt, Blaine; this is Noah Puckerman." Hands were shaken all around and pleasantries exchanged, with both Santana and Kurt observing Noah and Rachel with obvious interest; his arm was around her shoulders protectively and her facial expression reflected a contentedness they had not seen in a long time. Once they were seated they chatted for a few minutes, and then Noah offered to buy them a round of drinks. When he excused himself to go to the bar and place their order, Rachel decided to accompany him.

The club was packed, forcing Rachel and Noah to move slowly through the crowd. On the way, a couple of people recognized Rachel and asked for her autograph, which she happily provided.

"Is that what it's like…being a celebrity, I mean?" Noah inquired.

Rachel giggled, replying, "I'm pretty far from a celebrity. I'm no Sutton Foster or Megan Hilty in terms of being recognized, not by a long shot," she explained. "Actually, most people want to know what Faye is like, how is she to work with, you know...I'm just enjoying the ride."

By now they had reached their destination and Noah had ordered their beverages. As they waited, Noah decided to broach the subject that had been brought to light by Brittany Evans.

"Um…Rach…about what Brittany said earlier…" Noah hesitantly began.

"You mean about me being your 'girlfriend'?" she asked softly.

"Um…yeah…I mean, how do ya' feel about it?" he gently prodded her.

A blushing Rachel replied, "If you're asking, I think I'd like it very much."

Noah grinned; this was definitely a "first" for him. "If you're accepting, then I'm asking," he responded with more assurance. Rachel grabbed his shirt front, pulled his face down closer to her level and kissed him soundly. "I'll take that as a yes," he confirmed once the kiss ended, tenderly brushing a stray tendril of hair away from her face.

"Most definitely," Rachel averred with a shy smile, reaching up to remove any traces of lipstick with her thumb.

Back at the table, Rachel's friends watched interestedly as the little scene played out before them, if at a distance. Kurt was the first to break the silence: "Well, that was unexpected," he commented.

"I don't see how, Kurt," Santana replied. "She's falling hard and fast, and by the look on his face, so is he. What's wrong with a little 'PDA', anyway?" she questioned him.

"I don't know…her last relationship was so long ago and so toxic, besides," Kurt reminded them, "I just don't want her to be hurt again."

"Kurt," Blaine quietly interjected, placing his hand over Kurt's, "being hurt's a risk we take when we open ourselves up to somebody else. Loving somebody and letting them love us back is one of the most powerful experiences in life…it's worth taking the risk, don't you think?" he gently reminded his partner, lovingly squeezing his hand.

Kurt sighed; "You're right, Blaine. If we were lucky enough to get together, maybe it'll be the same for them."

"OK, then," Santana cut in, clearing her throat and then grinning slyly, "enough with the philosophizing . I've got 20 bucks that they 'seal the deal' tonight. Any takers?"

Before either man could respond, Rachel and Noah returned to the table with their drinks. After thanking Noah, before Rachel could sit down and rejoin her friends, Noah suggested, "Hey, Rach, would you like to meet the guys?"

"Sure, Noah, I'd love to," she replied; off they went, his arm gently around her waist as he guided her toward the stage where the band was completing their preparation before the set began.

As they approached the group, the flurry of activity that had been going on, i.e. tuning instruments, checking the sound equipment, organizing sheet music, reviewing the evening's play list, etc. screeched to a halt as they fell dumbfounded by the quickly-approaching couple: Puck, their band mate and the biggest "player" in the FDNY had his arm around a woman, both of their faces reflecting feelings that they were certain had never emanated from his (face) before. As he tended to gravitate toward tall blondes with too much makeup and more bosom than nature had intended, the fact that he was holding a petite brunette whose charms apparently were elsewhere than in her brassiere was even more startling.

The duo approached the now stilled platform, oblivious that all eyes were on them, faces reflecting either disbelief or extreme humor at the evolving situation. Noah began introducing Rachel to the group. "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Rachel Berry…"

Upon hearing this, Ryder emitted a "Whoa". Noah looked at him reprovingly while continuing, "Rachel, these are the guys." He motioned to Sam first; "This is Sam Evans, and you already met Brittany."

Rachel glanced up at a blonde young man, handsome in a boyish sort of way and apparently married to the young woman she had met earlier. "Hello, Sam," Rachel said, smile beaming.

"Hi, Rachel…Thanks again for the cookies; they were awesome!"

"You're welcome, Sam; thank you for what you did at the theater."

"Rach, this is Artie Abrams," Noah gestured to a young man in a wheelchair, currently holding a bass guitar, "and this is his wife, Kitty," and he nodded his head toward a blonde woman poised behind the wheelchair, shorter in stature than Brittany, and apparently in her last trimester of pregnancy.

"Hello Artie; Kitty. Congratulations on your baby." Rachel smiled, shaking hands with each in turn.

"Thanks, Rachel," Artie replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"This is Rider Lynn, our drummer," he gestured to a young man sound-checking an amplifier.

"Nice to meet you, Ryder," Rachel greeted. "Didn't I see you at the front desk?" she asked.

"Yeah, that was me," he proudly admitted. "Glad to meet you, too. Thanks for the cookies; they really were great!" Rachel smiled in gratitude for the compliment as Noah turned to the last young man in the ensemble.

"Rachel, this is my brother, Jake," he introduced him.

"It's nice to meet you, Jake," Rachel said, shaking his hand. "Noah, I thought you told me you had a sister," she mentioned, trying not to sound surprised or taken aback.

"Yeah, I do," he agreed. "Our father apparently had a second family in Chicago," he explained. "Jake and I met at NYU, and we've been friends since." Noah paused briefly, his focus now on Jake as he inquired, "Hey, Jake, where's Mar tonight?"

"Her sister just had a baby, and she's in Chicago visiting," he explained with a shrug.

"Well, that's just eff'in great," Noah reacted, disgruntled by the news. "I mean, it's nice for her family, and all, but that leaves us in the lurch."

"What's wrong, Noah," Rachel asked concernedly.

"Marley's Jake's fiancée; we have a couple of numbers that call for a woman's voice, and she sings with us," he explained. "I guess we'll just change up the set list." Realizing that she could help, Rachel grinned broadly. Noah looked at her questioningly, uttering, "What?"

"Noah, I can sing," Rachel stated matter-of-factly.

"Rachel, I can't ask you to give up your night off from performing to sing with us," Noah dissuaded her. "I invited you to watch the show, not be in the show."

"Nonsense, Noah," Rachel gently rebuffed his rejection. "It'll be fun. And it won't be the whole set; you said so yourself: 'a couple of numbers'. Besides," she paused, looking flirtatiously up at him, lowering her voice slightly, "I'd love to sing with you." She smiled coyly at him, and Noah had the distinct impression that she was referring to more than just singing.

Author's Note: As far as I can tell, in the show Marley has no siblings. Oh well, creative license…