"The basic (theme) is the past catching up with the present… it's how the actions of one affects others in ways you could never know. We find out how these (characters') choices collide." –Howard Wilson

I can tell before I even fully open my eyes that I am alone in bed. When I roll onto my back, I'm more than a little startled by the coolness of the sheets. I find myself squinting at the alarm clock, surprised to find that it's only seven in the morning; far too early for Noah to be out of bed. I can see one of the two pieces of my phone lying right next to it; a glaring reminder of my night. I'm trying to figure out what exactly woke me up, when I hear the noise through the wall.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"What the fuck do you mean, you don't know?" Santana hollers.

I sit up in bed, listening to the sound of my friends in the living room. There is no echo of the television, no hum of the washers and driers, only the sound of my friends.

"It's exactly what I'm saying," Noah growls, "I have no fucking idea what you're talking about." I can hear his footsteps as he paces the floor and I wonder what they are fighting about. I'm just about to get out of bed and make my way out into the living room when I hear it.

"Rachel fucking sat up with me half the night bawling her fucking eyes out. She said I hated her. She said that you and I were going to end up together." I hold my breath, letting the memories of the night before come back to me. I had been so tired, so exhausted, that I had found myself rambling, the words spewing from my mouth. At the time, Santana had looked confused and a bit concerned. I assumed she was disregarding the things I was saying, blaming my lack of sleep. Apparently I was wrong. "She wouldn't be saying that shit if she wasn't worried about your relationship. She's obviously stressed and concerned."

"You guys need to lower your voices," Finn says softly, "You're going to wake Rachel up."

"Let her wake up," Noah snarls, "Rachel fucking disappears for hours. No one can find her, her cell phone is in pieces around the apartment, and San here's acting like it's my entire fucking fault."

"Well maybe if you weren't such a fucking douchebag," San yells, "we wouldn't be having this conversation at all. Seriously, what dude ditches his girlfriend for wings and beer? Are you missing a fucking sensitivity chip or what? She took the fucking night off to spend time with you."

"I swear to fucking god, Santana," Noah roars, "You say another fucking word and…"

Brittany's soft voice breaks through, what I'm sure is gearing up to be an epic fight, with a few simple words. "You guys need to stop fighting."

I'm pulling the comforter off my legs and contemplating exactly what I'm going to say when I feel the drop in my stomach. I sit still for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what the feeling is, when I feel the acid start burning the back of my throat. I throw the bedroom door open, meeting the startled gaze of my friends as I race for the bathroom. I drop down onto my knees and let the contents of my stomach fill the bowl in front of me. Tears are streaking down my cheeks and I'm gasping for breath when another wave hits me. A hand reaches out and pulls my hair out of the way, while another soothingly rubs my back.

When there is no possible way that I have anything left in my stomach, I find myself resting my head against the wall. I can feel the sweat running down my face and neck and frankly it's making me more than a little uncomfortable. Santana shifts next to me, her hand continuing to rub my back as I take deep breaths.

"Ugh," I moan my stomach rolling as I clench my eyes shut. "Kill me now."

"Why would you want to die?" Brittany questions, "That's like so sad."

Finn tries to explain the hyperbole to Brittany while Matt instantly goes into paramedic mode, checking my pulse, temperature, and asking me a bunch of inane questions. When I mention eating at the diner the previous night, he just nods his head in understanding. "It's most likely food poisoning."

I don't like the way everyone is hovering around, looking down at me all fragile and gross. Grabbing the first arm I can reach, I pull myself off of the floor, my body is weak though and I find myself slumping against them as they help me back to my room. When I am finally lying down, I look up and smile softly at Finn. "Thanks for the help."

He nods his head, with a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. I know his worried face; the way the lines in his forehead furrow and his eyes kind of slant. Grabbing the covers, he pulls them up and tucks them around me. It's a move that is so familiar, so tender, that it makes my heart ache. I shift slightly and he moves to sit next to me, his hand reaching up to brush my sweaty hair out of my face. "Why didn't you call me last night?" his voice is soft, a bit sad. "You called San and Britt, but not me." He avoids looking at my face, choosing instead to stare at a small picture of New Directions that sits on one of the two dressers in the room.

I don't feel like I can tell him the truth. There is no way to explain that I didn't trust myself enough. That if I called him, I would be making the same mistakes all over again. So I find myself shrugging my shoulders and avoiding his gaze as much as he is avoiding mine. "I figured you were out with the guys," I lie. I know it's a feeble excuse, one that isn't very well thought out, but there's not much else I can say.

He leans back against the headboard, his legs splayed out over the bed. "But I would have left if I knew that you needed someone to talk to." His voice is filled with sincerity and I feel guiltier than I probably should feel. He's just trying to be my friend, just trying to help me out, and I feel like I need to keep some distance between us. It's not his fault that I'm hurting him, he doesn't understand what's going on.

"Listen, Finn," I sigh. I turn my head on the pillow, so that it's facing him. His hands are fidgeting in his lap and I find my hand burrowing out from under the covers to lie atop his. "It's not that simple and we both know it." He squeezes my fingers for a moment, his eyes straying from the picture on the dresser to me. He looks me in the eye and nods his head, but the sadness is still there.

"You really do love him," he whispers "even with all the fighting and drama, it's like he's a part of you now." I think back to everything I've gone through, we've gone through, and I can't lie.

"I really do," I whisper, my fingers tightening on his hand. "Kind of the way that Quinn will always be a part of you." There are tears forming in his eyes and I can't help but feel sorry for him. We sit in silence for a few minutes, the air heavy around us. "We're talking about trying to start a family." I whisper. "I want to be a mother more than I've wanted anything, even Broadway."

Finn looks over at me and smiles softly. "I think you would make a great mom, Rachel." He leans down and places a small kiss on my forehead, so light I can barely feel it. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes and I'm trying to form some sort of response when I hear the throat clear in the doorway. When I look up, Noah is standing there with his arms crossed and a scowl upon his face. "Having a nice chat?"

"Dude," Finn hops up from the bed, his arms are held up in front of him in a motion of peace, "we really were just talking." I can tell by the way the vein in Noah's forehead is bulging and his nostrils flaring that this isn't going to be good.

"SANTANA," I holler as I try to shove the blankets off of me and move between the two guys. My muscles ache, though, and I'm moving too slow to be of any use. She comes running into the room, her eyes looking at the two men and then at me.

"What happened?" she questioned, taking in Noah's appearance with wide eyes.

"I walked in," Noah's voice is so low and seething that it literally makes the hair on my neck stand up, "and this fucker had his hands and lips on her." His fists are clenching and I know he's preparing for a fight. I look at San and shake my head no quite profusely.

"It's not what you think," I'm crying, trying to stop the inevitable train crash I see suddenly colliding in front of me. "Please don't do this. Just think for a moment, Noah, please." Matt and Brittany are standing in the doorway, watching, but not moving to help. All I can think about is the fact that someone is going to get hurt and it's going to be my fault.

"What's your deal, dude?" Finn asks as he takes a step backwards. "We were just talking about your guys' relationship and about what happened last night." I'm starting to realize that Noah walked in at the exact worst time he possibly could have, when he draws his fist back and snaps it forward. He gets in three punches before Santana gets in front of him, her hands on Noah's chest holding him back and her face staring at me questioningly.

Finn is lying on the floor, his face bloodied. Noah is cursing under his breath, eyes shooting daggers at the both of us. And I just lose it.

"That's enough," my hands are clenched tightly and I'm literally shaking. "You want to know what you walked in on, PUCK." The minute I use his nickname, his hands drop to his side and he's looking at me worriedly. "You walked in on me telling your best friend that we were trying to have kids. He was telling me what great parents we were going to be and that I shouldn't worry. Congratulations. You're officially an asshole."

"You're trying to have kids?" Santana questions, as she looks between the two of us a bit bewildered. Brittany is standing in the background, hands clapping in excitement. Matt moves into the room to take care of Finn, pressing a towel to his nose as everyone stands in silence.

"We were trying," I reply, shaking my head in disgust. I find myself reaching under the bed to pull out a suitcase and throwing it on the mattress. "I can't be here right now. I can't be in this environment. It's just not healthy. Violence shouldn't automatically be your go to mode of defense. I shouldn't have to constantly worry that if I talk, or god forbid hug, one of our friends that you are going to go off." My heart literally feels like it's breaking into a million pieces as I reach into the different drawers, randomly throwing items into the suitcase. I can hear the sound of my haggard breathing echoing through the room, but not much else.

No one moves, even speaks. I can see the look of absolute horror on Noah's face; the realization of what is happening seeming to crumble around him. "No," he whispers. "Baby, no."

"I'm going to be staying at that hotel downtown for a few days, until I decide what to do." My voice is shaking, but I force the words out. The tears are threatening to spill over and all I can seem to think is that I'm officially a failure. I've gotten my second chance and fucked it up worse than the first time. I can't even make it to our original break up date.

"Rachel," Finn mutters from the floor, his hand holding a rag against his lip. "Think about this. You love him. Don't make a rash decision." I see the realization cross Noah's face; Finn is sticking up for him and for our relationship. His body buckles a bit and he sags onto the floor. His head, silently, shakes back and forth in shock.

"I'm just taking some time," I reply, as I hand my bag to Santana, "to make the right decision. I don't know if I can be with someone who has such little faith in me."

Noah's shaking hand reaches out to grab my arm as I go to walk past him. He's as white as a sheet and I can see Matt looking over at him in concern. "Baby, I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I love you."

I lean down and place a gentle kiss on his forehead, forcing the tears back from my eyes. "I know," I reply as I walk out of the room, Santana following behind me. It's the first time that I've never said the words back to him.

Dear sweet Grilled Cheesus that was hard to write.

You kind of had to expect something to happen with the amount of anger/tension that has been building up between Puck and Finn. True?

Thanks to all of you who took the time to review the last chapter, whether it was to beg for spoilers or share your thoughts I loved it!

For those of you who were asking *cough*begging*cough* for me to move all the one-shots from the drabble meme over here, your request has been granted. All of my drabble one-shots can now be found under the story title Puckleberry Twist. So go check them out and let me know what you think!

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