Mistakes are mine.
Sarah is gripping her brother's hand hard while she tries to understand what Connor's mom is saying into her ear. Puck looks at her worriedly. "We don't know anything specific because what he does is classified. We just got a phone call from his platoon leader saying that he's being transported to a hospital in Germany even though they wanted to announce it in person. His father and I are going to try and find out if we can go see him."
"How bad is it?" She asks quietly.
"As far as we know, a few gunshot wounds. But they haven't said how bad any of them are or where they're located. It could be a lot worse than we are imagining and it could be much less than that."
"Is he going to be okay?" Tears stream down her face. She vaguely registers Puck wiping them away.
"I don't know honey, they didn't say anything about it. I'll call you as soon as we find anything out. I know that he would want all of you to know."
"Thank you for calling me."
"Not a problem. We'll talk soon."
She hangs up the phone and moves onto Puck's lap, crying into his shoulder. He closes his eyes and hugs her to his chest before reaching for her phone. Puck would use his phone to text everyone but she's currently sitting on his lap and he refuses to reach underneath her ass for it. Sending off a quick text to their friends, he sets the phone down and hugs her tightly. It'll be easier to get her calm before asking what happened. It's obviously got something to do with Connor. Luckily Finn, Santana, Brittany and Mike are staying in his building tonight so they're over within a few minutes. They all walk in and see Sarah crying.
"What happened?" Mike looks at Puck before guiding Brittany to sit down with his hand on the small of her back.
"Something's happened to Connor. His mom called Sarah a few minutes ago." Puck smoothes his hand over her hair.
"Should we try and get Rachel on the phone so she can hear too?" Brittany looks around at everyone, landing on Puck last before she raises her eyebrow.
"Yeah, someone call her. You gonna be alright to talk Sarah?"
The younger Puckerman nods and pulls away to wipe her cheeks while Santana dials. "There's no answer." She huffs and dials again, putting it on speaker phone.
"Hey San."
"Hey Rach. Listen, we got some news that Sarah is gonna tell us about. You're on speaker babe."
"What's wrong?" They hear some shuffling in the background along with a door closing.
"Connor's mom called." Sarah wipes her cheeks and moves to sit next to Puck, setting her head on his shoulder. "He's being transported to a hospital in Germany."
Santana curses in Spanish, looking down at the cell phone in her hands. She looks back at Puck with tears prickling her eyes.
"Did she say what happened?" Rachel asks quietly.
"It's classified apparently. But she said they were going to go try and see him. They'll call when they find anything out."
"How bad is it?" They all look to Brittany.
"A few gunshot wounds." Sarah looks down at her lap.
There's a loud banging sound and they all jump. Rachel is talking quietly before they hear some scratching. "Guys, I have to go. Sarah, you know how strong Connor is. He'll pull through. We all just need to think about him. Please call me if there's any update on him okay?"
"Of course Rach. We'll talk to you soon. Love you." The Latina looks over to Finn. He stands up and moves towards her, running his hand through her hair.
"Love you all too. Goodnight."
They all sit there quietly, the sounds of the girl's sniffling filling the room. Puck stands up and runs his hands over his head. He huffs and tries to not let his mind linger on everything that's going wrong right now. Someone has to be strong for all of them, right? "Okay, so dinner…"
"I just want ice cream." His sister looks up at him.
"Um, okay. Black cherry chunk?" Sarah nods. "What do you guys want?"
"Mint chocolate chip." "Cookie dough." Brittany and Santana say at the same time.
Puck makes a face and looks to the guys. "Beer."
He nods at the other men and grabs his keys. Puck leaves out the door to get everything that everyone wants. Once he's in his car, he punches his steering wheel and runs his hand over his forehead. Fishing around his pocket, he pulls out his cell phone and dials Rachel's number.
"Noah?"
"Hey." He looks down in his lap and messes with his keys. There's a stupid Mickey Mouse glove keychain that Rachel bought him when they were down at Disney hanging off the key ring. His thumb absently runs over it.
"Are you okay? I know you probably want to talk to him. Or see him. I can't imagine what you're going through right now."
"I'll be fine once I can talk to him I guess. Is…" He sighs and takes a deep breath. "Is there any way that I can see you right now? I really need to."
Rachel stares down at her comforter. "You can't." She sniffles and wipes her cheek. "And I'm so sorry Noah, but we shouldn't talk until the show is over. I need to focus on myself right now. If there's any news about Connor, please just have San or Britt call me." She ends the call and lays down, staring at the wall.
The call ends suddenly and he pulls his phone away from his ear to stare at it. Puck sighs and starts the car.
About an hour later, he walks into his apartment, arms full of groceries. Brittany, Mike and Sarah are sitting on the couch, the two girls cuddling close together. Santana is sitting on Finn's lap in the arm chair. Puck moves into the kitchen and scoops out the ice cream then grabs some beers. He hands the right items to all the right people before coming back and setting pizza and Chinese onto the coffee table. His bottle of whiskey sits next to the pizza box.
Finn looks over before grabbing a slice of pizza. In fact, they're all staring as Puck downs three shots before reaching over for a slice of pizza. He sighs. All of this has to be harder on his best friend because of everything he's gone through the past month and a half. It doesn't seem like it'll be getting any easier any time soon.
For the rest of the night, all of them just stare at the TV while a movie plays with the volume muted. No one talks. No one changes the channel. Eventually Sarah falls asleep.
"Finn? Can you take her to her room?" Puck asks quietly, breaking the silence in the room.
"Yeah, of course man." They both disappear into her room. Santana, Brittany and Mike all exchange looks.
"I think we'll head out too. I have practice tomorrow and the girls have a team meeting."
Puck nods and stuffs his hands in his pockets. Finn walks back out after quietly shutting Sarah's bedroom door. "You gonna be okay?"
"Yep."
Santana eyes the whiskey bottle warily while Puck moves to lay down on the couch. "You go ahead Finn. I'll be over in a minute." Everyone say quiet goodnights and leave, but she kneels next to the couch. "What happened?"
"What makes you think something fucking happened? Other than what we've already established."
"You look like someone ripped your heart out and set it on fire. Then threw it over a cliff. Your eyes look completely dead and I know you haven't looked that hurt since you and Rach broke up…" She drawls out then stares at him. "You talked to her."
"How can you read me like a damn book? It's creepy." He slightly slurs.
"Because we're almost exactly alike Puck. What did she say?"
"She doesn't want to talk until the show is over." He sits up and runs his hands over his face. "I don't even know what the fuck I did wrong." He sighs. "This time. I obviously deserve the karma or whatever the hell it is that I'm getting."
Santana sighs and squeezes his hand. "Once you two see each other, everything will be different. When you can touch again. I know Rachel pretty well."
"Yeah."
"Goodnight Puck." Santana pats his cheek. She hates seeing everyone so broken. Everyone may think she's a bitch but when it comes to her family, she doesn't want anyone messing with any of them. Even if they are hurting each other.
Brittany walks into the locker room with Santana to her side. All the other girls are there and yawning. None of them are used to being here this early anymore. Plus with everything that happened last night, the two of them are just feeling restless. The blonde leans against Santana and stares at the office door where Will and Shannon are supposed to be coming out of soon.
There are hushed conversations being whispered around the locker room as to why they're there so early but then silence falls upon the room as Will and Shannon finally enter the room. The women in the room all sit up a little bit straighter when Will clears his throat. "Good morning, Ladies. I know it's early but we've got important team business to attend to. As I'm sure you all know, tryouts are starting soon and I want to see each and every one of you in tip top shape because I'm sure that we will have plenty of new girls trying out thanks to the recent publicity of Rachel dating Noah Puckerman and of course their subsequent break up."
Santana could feel the hairs on the back of her neck start to stand up when she realized where this conversation could be headed and she had to fight her natural instinct to start yelling as soon as Will spoke again.
"Speaking of Rachel, we have to consider the possibility that she won't be coming back due to her being on American Idol," he casts a wary eye over at the Latina that has her fists curled but Brittany's hand on her arm in an attempt at calming her down. "I know we all don't want to see her go but it's something we need to be prepared for."
"Will's right, Ladies," Coach Bieste chimed in. "Now Rachel is an amazing wide receiver and Tina is more than capable of filling her shoes but that doesn't mean there isn't someone better at it out there and if that happens then I don't want to hear any," she looks pointedly at Santana, "arguments because our decision is final. That being said, hopefully Rachel will be able to come back and we can have another amazing season."
There are hoots and hollers throughout the locker room. As Will hands out some papers, Shannon continues to speak, "This here is your training schedule. I know you're all going to go through tryouts again just to show the other girls that we're the best but there's no reason why you shouldn't go in with your best foot forward. Make sure your diets are back on track and I expect to see you all in the gym starting this week to make sure you're ready." She looks over at Will to see if he has anything else to say.
"That'll be all for today, Ladies. Have a good day."
Brittany remains seated and looks over the schedule. This doesn't interfere with her schedule at the dance studio or with Mike and Rachel's shows. Really, it's exciting that they'll be getting back to training soon. Playing football was always such a good distraction and stress relief for her. For all of them.
"I didn't even think of replacing Rachel on the team." Santana speaks up.
The blonde looks over and furrows her eyebrows. "Neither did I. We don't have a choice. We've won two years in a row, do you really think we have a chance without Rach?"
"Maybe?" The Latina shrugs. "Have you thought about switching to wide receiver? You're fast enough."
"But I could possibly be taking that away from Tina."
"Tina could take your spot. She's done it before."
They both sigh and stare at the practice schedules in their hands again. Now that they have the training times both of them can go back and tell their jobs when they'll have to be leaving for the season coming up. The two of them eventually stand with a last look at Rachel's locker, wondering who'll be replacing it by the time the season starts, and head towards Santana's car. When they get back to the guys' building, both women hug each other tightly for a few minutes before Brittany smiles and walks out to her own car. Santana quickly drives off and goes to her building where she's been interning with Bryan Ryan.
Brittany pulls up to the dance studio and quickly moves into the building. She moves past all the classes that are in session before walking into an empty ballet studio. Her eyes close slowly while she takes in the silence. After everything that's happened the past two months, all she can wonder is how everything got so screwed up. How so many things could just keep happening to their group. She's not set to teach a class today but all she wants is to be in Mike's arms. There are days when she absolutely hates that he's on the show.
Abruptly, she takes off her shoes and throws them into the corner of the studio with a loud huff. The thud echoes through the room as she sits on the ground and pulls her knees to her chest, crying silently. The person she wants the most is Rachel but she's not answering her phone unless it's about Connor.
Santana leaves the office to go back to Finn's apartment before Rachel's elimination show tonight. She enters the apartment and drops her things into the chair before moving towards his office. He's leaned back in his seat looking at his laptop screen while chewing on a pen. The Latina moves over and sits on his lap.
"Hey baby." He smiles sadly and rubs her back.
She just smiles and looks around the room. This isn't something she's used to, wanting to talk to someone about how she's feeling. What she normally does is show how she feels. It's what she's best at. Santana reaches for Finn's hand and stares at the ground. Normally she can be tough in these types of situations, only because Rachel would be the one freaking out in front of her and she could comfort her instead of just sitting around and thinking. But no one was doing that. Well maybe Sarah would be doing that, but as far as she knows, the girl has been in her room all day. Finn is the one that she should be able to talk to though. So why does she feel so scared to say anything?
He watches as she looks around. Finally she's about to say something, only to close her mouth again. Finn runs a hand through his hair, effectively messing it up a lot more that it already was, causing Santana to laugh a little. He smiles sheepishly at her before picking her up bridal style and heading to his room.
As they both lay down, Finn on top of her, they start to lazily kiss. "Everything will be fine San."
"I know." She avoids looking into his eyes, running her fingers across his collar. "This shirt is ugly as shit."
Finn laughs. "Tell me how you really feel."
Her smile fades instantly. "It's hard to talk about how I really feel."
"Shit, that's not what I meant. I was talking about my shirt…" He braces his forearm by her head so he's not letting his weight crush her. "I know this is hard. Connor's awesome and Rachel isn't here." His fingers lift her chin lightly so they're looking at each other. "But everything will be fine." He emphasizes again.
Santana nods and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her body.
Puck wraps on filming for the week on the show, walking back to his trailer. The red head is leaning against the counter, staring down at her phone with her wide, bright eyes. She glances up and smiles warmly at him before putting the device into her purse.
"How was filming?"
"Great." He gives her a genuine smile. "It's always nice to slip into the life of someone else for a little bit." Puck picks up his phone and frowns that there's not any type of news waiting for him.
"There's only two episodes left for your character arc. But then you'll have some free time until the press junket for your movie."
His eyebrows furrow as he turns and looks at her. "Really?"
"Yes. So of course you can continue going to see Mike and Rachel's shows. Maybe go to a premiere or two. There's a bit of time for the relaxation that seems much needed at the moment." Emma smiles sadly. He's informed her of everything that's happened recently.
"Actually, I was thinking of trying to start a new movie." He rubs the back of his neck nervously. Other than Santana, he hasn't really spoken to anyone about it.
"Are there any roles that you were interested in? Finn has informed me that you've been looking at scripts." Her eyes perk up at the possibility of something good happening for her client.
"Um, more like trying to produce one. I found a script I really like and I'd actually like to help bring it to the bring screen. It isn't one that was sent over to me by Finn, but rather a friend of mine who is a director."
"That sounds lovely Puck. It'll be good for you." Her phone rings and she holds up a finger. "Oh, it's my boss. I have to get going and answer this. We'll talk soon about your idea for the movie okay?"
"See you later Emma." He watches as the woman answers the phone and scrambles out the door while trying to balance her purse.
Puck grabs the script for next week's episode before grabbing the rest of his things and leaving the trailer.
He drives over to the condo, even though he knows he should check up on Sarah. But he knows his sister well and she will come to him when she's ready. Plus she has to work tonight with Finn so they won't be at the show. Opening the door, Puck looks into the kitchen then the living room. It's eerily quiet. Both Brittany and Santana's doors are open so he knows that they're not in there. He respects their privacy.
So he moves into Rachel's room and looks around. His clothes are gone since he actually had to do some laundry and all of her clothes are back into their proper places. Puck moves towards the bed and pushes it back against the wall then collapses on top of it.
There are so many things running through his mind. Why would Rachel not want to talk anymore? He knows that she's under a lot of stress with the competition and on top of that everything with Connor. The thing that's driving him absolutely insane is what he could've done to upset her even further. He's done everything he can to try and prove to her, the best that he can considering they can't see each other face to face, that he's sorry for fucking up so bad. Work wise, everything has been the best it has been since he started in this business. Emma is a much better publicist than Holly ever was. Puck has never felt this good about the direction his career was going, granted he messed up with the whole Quinn thing. Everything feels right, just not complete. Not without Rachel.
Lord Tubbington comes in, meowing and causing Puck to look down. He smirks and picks up the cat, setting him on the other side of the bed. They both close their eyes and take a nap before he needs to get ready for the show.
Blaine and Kurt watch as Rachel paces back and forth by the makeup counter set up for her. Every now and then, she'll stop and look like she wants to talk, only to start pacing again.
"Oh my Gucci. Please stop! What is the matter with you?"
She stops abruptly and stares at them. "I'm nervous Kurt!"
"We get it Rach, but you're making us nervous."
Rachel looks at Blaine and sighs. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried."
She moves to sit down in front of the mirror where someone comes over to work on her hair. At this point, she'd welcome going home. There are so many things she'd just rather to do right now. Finish up her room so she can just sleep for weeks on end in her bed which is much more comfortable than the one in the apartment. Hang out with Brittany and Santana, just eating in the living room and feeling like everything is back to normal. Then knowing how Connor is would be the cherry on top of everything.
Due to the stress and everything weighing in on her mind, she absentmindedly runs her hands through her hair only to receive a glare in the mirror from the woman doing her hair.
"Sorry," she mumbles and sets her hands underneath her thighs. Rachel takes in a deep breath and releases it slowly.
Blaine looks over as he's being called. "We'll talk later." He looks at the petite woman before moving away.
"Spill. What's going on in your mind diva?"
"It's chaotic in my mind. You don't want to know what's going on."
"Rachel, we're friends. You can tell me anything that's on your mind." Kurt pulls a chair up next to hers and crosses his legs.
"I told Noah we shouldn't talk until the competition is over. And our friend Connor got hurt in Afghanistan. I feel like I'm going to be sent home at any given moment. But maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing. I could go on the tour and still play for the LFL."
Kurt sits up and stares at her with a mad expression on his face. "Are you giving up?"
"I don't quit. I never have." That's a lie, the only time she gave up was when she ended things with Puck and ran away, but Kurt doesn't need to know. "But it seems like America doesn't want me to be here."
"They're all idiots Rachel! And you've made it this far. You still have a chance, so stop. Change your attitude and fight for it. Show them you're not scared."
She smiles just as the woman finishes her hair. "Thank you Kurt."
An assistant comes out and gathers all of them up to get near the stage. Rachel shakes out her hands to calm the nerves, hoping to quiet her brain too.
Time flies and suddenly it's the end of the night. She's standing center stage next to Sunshine. The small Asian girl is gripping both of her hands tightly while their host talks. Rachel tries to control her breathing, but her eyes glance over towards her family. Santana is sitting next to her dads and Puck is sitting next to the Latina. But she doesn't expect to see two blondes sitting together talking. Why would Quinn be there and sitting next to Brittany? She quickly shakes her head and remembers what Kurt said. She told Puck that she needed to focus on herself and that's what she intends to do.
A surge of confidence bubbles up inside her and Rachel stands taller, gripping the smaller girls hands tightly in her own.
"And the person going home tonight is…" The petite brunette closes her eyes and tilts her head down. She just wants to focus on his voice and nothing else. "Sunshine Corazon."
Rachel releases a breath and opens her eyes. There are people booing in the crowd but she hugs the girl tighter before walking back over to Holly, Blaine and Jesse. The blonde pulls her into her side while Jesse pats her shoulder and Blaine patting her thigh. She dares to look over to her family. Santana and Brittany are talking animatedly to her dads. She wishes she could hear what they're saying. Her eyes drift to her ex-boyfriend. Puck's sitting there, leaned back in his chair and his ankles crossed, hands stuffed into his pocket with a small smile on his face. He winks at her then breaks eye contact, laughing at something Brittany says before the blonde leans against his arm.
Not the best and it was short, sorry guys. The next one should make up for it.
Allisonerica- You're my 250th reviewer. If you can, PM me a prompt for a drabble/one shot :)
Also, ShadowKitty22 wrote the locker room paragraphs. Thanks so much for the help!