Note From The Author—If it seems like I'm being intentionally vague albout the location of Regionals, it's because I am : ) Never having been a part of a Glee club from Ohio I don't have a clue where Regionals would be held, nor do I know what the format is, so I'll be taking some literary license there. Either way I hope you enjoy.
The dream that Puck was steeped in when he woke was the type that would have made his mother smack him upside the head had she known his mind was going in that direction while Rachel was in his arms, or had she known it was going there at all. As he came awake he looked around confusedly, taking a moment to realize where he was. It all came back to him quickly and another little pang ran through his heart at the thought of what he and Quinn had done the night before, despite the fact that he knew it was the right decision. Then Rachel nuzzled closer to his chest and his mind did a 180 in the opposite direction.
No surprise, the dream had been about her; after all he was a teenage boy. But if she kept pressing up against him like that he was going to have a serious teenage boy problem that wouldn't be any fun to explain. Gritting his teeth, he shifted her only to have her snuggle closer. He was on the verge of screaming when his cell phone rang. Fumbling to find it, he had to twist Rachel onto his lap, muttering under his breath. "What did I do to deserve this?" When he got the phone open he barked into it. "What?!"
"Where the hell are you, Puck?!" Mike yelled on the other end of the line.
He shook his head. "What are you talking about?"
"It's freaking noon! Final rehearsal, culminating in us getting on a bus to go to Regionals? Ring a bell, Puckerman? Mr. Schue is freaking out because not only have you gone awol, we can't find Rachel!"
Puck sighed as his friend kept rambling, nudging Berry until those huge brown eyes of hers opened blurrily. "Mike…Mike…MIKE!" There was finally silence on the other end and he breathed another sigh. "Quit freaking out, Rachel's with me; we slept in. We'll get ready, get our shit together and be there in an hour and it'll be fine. We've rehearsed this into the ground, just go over the choreography until I can get Rachel there."
"Wait, you mean you've been with Rachel all night? Man Puck…"
"It's not like that Mike, and if you so much as suggest it is to anyone else I'll sic Berry on you. Oww!" He frowned as Rachel smacked him in the chest. "Nothing, just tell Mr. Schue we'll be there as soon as we can."
Rachel watched as he snapped his phone closed. "I take it they're panicking."
He nodded. "Yeah, and I'm surprised you're not."
"It's still early, just wait." Leaning forward she kissed his cheek. "Everything will be okay Noah."
It was abundantly clear that she was talking about much more than just that day, and hearing her say it was a balm for his aching heart. "I know, but if we don't get ready and get going they're going to send out search and rescue."
She smiled. "I know. I can't imagine why my dads didn't wake us up, but they must have known we needed it." Stepping off of the couch, she stepped in to full on micromanaging Berry mode. "Call your mom and tell her what's going on, I'll send my Daddy over to get your suitcase while we shower and get ready. With any luck we can be there in the hour you promised." When he only stood there with a goofy smile on his face she put her hands on her hips. "What?"
"You're kind of hilarious when you turn into Colonel Berry."
"Go!" she cried exasperatedly, pointing up the stairs.
"Yes Colonel Berry, Ma'am," he said with a sarcastic salute.
He was lucky that her aggravation threw off her aim and the pillow she launched only clipped his ear.
True to her word, by the time they were ready and stepping into the car Rachel was freaking out. They made it to the school just shy of their hour goal, and they were only saved from her task-master tendencies by Mr. Schue's tutelage and Puck's not so subtle reminders that she was going to drive everyone nuts. Everyone was on edge, and it seemed like a miracle that they made it through they're final rehearsal without killing each other.
They could have easily run long, but Mr. Schue was on top of things, and they were on the bus for the drive to the hotel right on time. It was only a three hour drive, but they were all exhausted, and pretty much everyone was asleep by the time they hit the freeway. It was a blissfully smooth and quick ride, and they arrived right in time for dinner, which Rachel spent nervously pushing around her food and eyeing the other Glee club that was currently eating in the hotel restaurant. When they were finished she stopped them all in the lobby.
"Where are you all going?" she questioned.
"To bed, Berry," Quinn answered. "We have to be up early for our rehearsal slot and we're all tired."
Her hands went to her hips and they all froze. She meant business. "We have to rehearse one more time!"
"Rachel, we rehearsed before we left, we've been rehearsing since Sectionals! We'll be fine!" Merceded cried.
She shook her head. "I only think that we'll regret it in the morning if we don't."
It was Brittany who spoke up, and they all could have killed her for reinforcing the neurosis. "Maybe Rachel's right."
Santana sighed, knowing there was no way they were getting out of this. "Fine, we do one run through." Rachel opened her mouth and she raised a hand imperiously. "Listen Berry. We run through each song once, without coreography, in someone's hotel room."
Nobody argued and the Cheerio wasn't budging, so Rachel gave in; she knew when she was beaten. "That seems like a legitimate compromise."
"Good then," Mr. Schue said gratefully. "Up to my room."
It was still relatively early when they finished their run through, but everyone was too exhausted to give a damn. Rachel had gone to the front desk to make sure that they understood that under no circumstances would she be sleeping on the substandard pillow they have provided and to get a replacement. When she returned she found that the only one of the girls sharing her two room suite was visible.
"Quinn, where is everyone?"
The amused girl only rubbed her belly and pointed out the window. It wasn't until Rachel got closer that she heard the intense whispers.
"I can't see, we've got to get closer."
"If we get any closer we're going to drop you!"
"Well do you want to know or not?"
Rachel walked out onto the balcony only to find Tina stretched across the railing with her hands braced on the next balcony over with Mercedes holding her ankles where they would have been hanging halfway across the gap and Brittany and Santana anchoring the pair of them on the main balcony.
"What in the world are you doing?" she cried.
The sudden cry startled Santana and she and Brit momentarily lost their grip, causing Mercedes and Tina to go sliding forward and Tina to let out a blood curdling scream. The entire purpose of their acrobatics became very clear when the scream brought Mr. Schuester and Emma Pillsbury racing to see what had happened.
"Tina what on earth were you thinking?!" Mr. Schue yelled.
"Well we…. Ummm." She looked back at the others but found no help.
With a little smile Ms. Pillsbury laid a hand on Will's shoulder. "I'm guessing that the ladies saw me going in to your room and wanted to know exactly what was going on. Now girls, if you'll pull Tina back so she's safely on the ground I'll tell you why I'm here." It took a minute to maneuver, but when Tina was back on her feet and Quinn had joined the rest of them on the balcony she spoke again. "I came to see New Directions perform tomorrow, and I wanted to talk to Will before I spoke to all of you to say break a leg and return to my OWN hotel room."
The four co-conspirators blushed a bit as Quinn took the lead with a grin. "Thank you Ms. Pillsbury. We'll meet you at the door."
The next morning after a slightly awkward talk with their teacher and former Guidance councilor and a relatively good night's sleep Rachel was not shockingly the first up. She had been down to breakfast and back before Tina and Santana were even up, and Quinn told her several times to quit freaking bouncing around if she didn't want to get smacked.
When the whole of the club made it downstairs they all nervously looked around at the other clubs milling around waiting for their rehearsal times. As they settled their costumes in to the changing rooms they saw plenty of flash and every time they heard someone running through a vocal exercise they about jumped out of their skin.
Still, after their rehearsal time they were feeling relatively confident. Their numbers were top notch, and their coreography was fabulous. All they could do now was watch the other clubs until their slot halfway through and do their very best.
"Okay, so nobody forget, we've got Mercedes on "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going to start, then Don't Stop Believing, then…." Rachel babbled as they made their way to their seats.
Kurt clapped his hand on her mouth firmly. "Darling Diva Berry, we've only just cultivated a friendship, please don't make me kill you now."
"Rachel, we're fine. You've rehearsed and gone over this a million times; you're going to be fine," Mr. Schue reassured her.
"I just…" Kurt's temporarily removed hand clamped back down.
It was Puck who finally got her to back down. "Rachel, calm down. All we can do is watch the other clubs go and sing. Calm…down…"
There was a pause, but she eventually nodded, though not before she licked Kurt's hand. He squealed and wiped the offended appendage on his pants. "You have been spending way too much time with Puck!"
Their competitors were on the top of their game as well, though at least this time nobody was singing the same songs as them. When it was their time to go and change into costumes they were feeling a bit nervous, but not overly worried. The stage was set, they were ready, and Mercedes stepped onto the stage.
She absolutely killed it. When the others joined her on stage they were grinning from ear to ear, as were Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury in the audience. Rachel and Finn led them through an explosive rendition of Don't Stop Believing, and the crowd erupted into applause. After a quick change they burst back on stage for the majority of the club to back up Rachel and Kurt on Defying Gravity.
It was during the final chorus when Kurt was belting out his part that Rachel noticed the pained look flit across Quinn's face. Worry raced through her, and a glance at Puck told her that he was just as concerned, but there was no stopping then. Their final song was Jump, and with breath heaving and hearts soaring, they brought their set to a close. They took a bow, took another, and walked off stage to thunderous applause and cheers.
The moment they were offstage everyone surrounded Quinn; Rachel and Puck clearly hadn't been the only ones to notice her distress.
"Is it the baby, is something wrong?" Puck questioned, fear clear in his voice. Rachel reached for his hand and he took it willingly.
Quinn shook her head. "No, there's nothing wrong per se." She looked up into Noah's eyes. "I'm just in labor."
Note From The Author—Who's ready to meet baby Fabray/Puckerman?!