AN: A big thanks to all my readers and reviewers. You all are wonderful and I wouldn't be able to do this without you. I'm still stunned that so many people actually enjoy this story. Thank you all so much!

"…and this is Noah when he was six," Ms. Puckerman laughed, pointing to a picture in the album sitting in her lap.

Rachel covered her mouth as she giggled, looking at the picture of her boyfriend dressed in a sweater with a giant rabbit on it. "He looks adorable," she teased, looking up at him. Puck looked as if he was about to kill his mother.

"My mother knit him that for Hanukah and refused to give him any presents unless he wore it," she said, shaking her head. "I don't think he's ever forgiven her for that."

Rachel had been at Noah's house for a little over an hour, but she was feeling more and more comfortable. His mother was extremely friendly and welcoming, never making her feel weird about the fact that Rachel was dating her son.

Puck's sister, Amy, had been sitting next to Rachel on the couch, never leaving her side. The fact that her brother had brought over a nice girl who was actually talking to her was amazing.

Puck shook his head, having been forced onto the chair while Rachel was sandwiched between his mother and sister. This night was a disaster. As soon as Rachel walked into his house, his mother had instantly swooped in, pulling her into a conversation while he was left in the front room. After that, it was embarrassing stories, followed by even more embarrassing photos.

"As much as I love you showing Rachel picture of me when I was little without any clothes on, can we not?" Puck grumbled when the three girls had stopped laughing at the picture.

Rachel smiled at Noah while his mother clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Oh relax, Noah. They're just pictures."

"No, it's alright," Rachel said, trying to placate both Noah and his mother. "We have been looking at pictures for a while."

"Rachel, I want to show you my room!" Amy exclaimed, pulling Rachel to her feet. Rachel shrugged her shoulders at Puck as she was dragged down the hall and out of his sight.

Puck smiled a little. Well, at least his sister liked her.

"She's very sweet," his mother said once Rachel and Amy were out of earshot. "I can see why you like her. And she's Jewish."

"So you like her?" Puck asked.

"Of course I do. I've always liked Rachel and her dads. They were one of the few families at temple who helped me after your father left. You know, bringing me food and such. I'm so glad you and Rachel are actually friendly now. You know, she is Jewish…"

Puck let out a groan. "Ma, I don't need you planning our wedding now. We haven't even graduated high school yet. At least wait a few years before you decide your only son should get married."

His mother laughed and held up her hands in surrender. "Alright, I promise. I won't be that mother until you're out of college," she teased, walking into the kitchen to check on dinner.

Puck took his mother's distraction as a chance to make his escape and avoid more conversation with her concerning Rachel and a potential future with her. He knew what his mother wanted, and he knew what he wanted—he just didn't know how they'd ever come to an understanding when she wanted him to get married and he had no plans of ever marrying.

And Rachel…well, he had no idea what she wanted. He wasn't going to ask—not yet, anyways. They were still kids. Besides, he'd told her he didn't want to get married and she seemed okay with it. That meant they were on the same page…right?

Puck stopped at the doorway of his sister's room, spotting Rachel on Amy's bed, a scarf in her hands while her eyes were focused on Amy's closet.

"Okay, tell me what you think about this one!" his sister shouted, strutting out a moment later dressed in a sequined dress and heels.

Puck let out a laugh, seeing his sister strike a ridiculous pose. She fixed a glare on him. "Noah, you can't be in here! I'm modeling dresses for the dance for Rachel. She has to pick what I'm going to wear so Jake Phillips asks me to dance!" she whined.

Puck shook his head. "I don't know how I feel about my girlfriend picking out a dress for my sister to wear to a dance so she can get a date," he teased.

Amy stuck her tongue out at him while Rachel tossed a pillow in his general direction. It hit his head lightly.

"Oh, you're dead," Puck growled playfully, running over and tackling Rachel onto his sister's bed, tickling her.

"Noah…stop!" she giggled, trying to push his hands away. "I'm extremely ticklish!" she laughed, writhing on the bed beneath him.

"Amy, come help me tickle Rachel," Puck laughed. "I bet we can get her to squeal like a little pig," he teased.

Amy laughed, jumping on the bed and started tickling Rachel's ribs.

Rachel let out a snort as she started laughing more, causing Puck to laugh. "You snort when you laugh?" he teased. "Looks like I keep learning more new things about you every day."

The two Puckerman siblings continued tickling her until Rachel was giggling, squealing, and thrashing so wildly that Ms. Puckerman came into the room, shaking her head a little. "What are you two doing to poor Rachel? I thought she was being murdered in here."

"We're just tickling her, Ma," Amy laughed, lying beside Rachel after she and Puck stopped tickling her. Rachel was panting, trying to catch her breath as her chest moved up and down rapidly.

"I hate you," she mouthed to Puck, a smile still on her lips. Puck smirked at her, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Well, dinner's ready. Why don't you all come into the kitchen. Unless you want to starve, that is."

"Yay, dinner!" Amy shouted, jumping off the bed and running down the hall towards the kitchen.

Puck slipped his hand into Rachel's, smiling down at her as the two slowly made their way down the hall. "Sorry for abandoning you with Amy," he whispered into her ear.

"Don't be. She's a sweet girl," Rachel promised. "I like her," she said, her eyes now showing any indication she was lying. Puck grinned, putting an arm around her shoulder and holding her close as they walked into the kitchen, Rachel sitting on one side of Amy while Puck sat across the table from them.

Puck's mother walked into the kitchen, carrying a plate of something that smelled good. "Ta da! Salmon!" she said, putting the platter of fish on the table. Rachel's face paled at the sight of the food. She was actually hungry, and his mom had made something she wouldn't eat. Had Puck even bothered telling his mother she was a vegan?

Puck let out a groan. "Ma, I told you Rachel was a vegan."

"Right, I didn't make any meat. This is fish."

Puck groaned again. "Vegan means she doesn't eat any animal products—that includes fish!" he practically yelled. He couldn't believe his mother made something his girlfriend couldn't eat after she invited her over for dinner.

Ms. Puckerman looked visibly embarrassed. "Oh," was all she said.

Rachel shifted uncomfortably, not liking that Puck and his mom were arguing over her. "It's okay," Rachel finally said. "It's not a big deal. I'll just eat salad," she said, feeling her stomach growl. She'd just eat something at home.

Puck shook his head. "No you won't. I'm not having you sit here hungry because my mom fucked up and made you something you can't eat." He took her hand, pulling her to her feet. "I'm going to take Rachel out for something to eat," Puck said angrily, pulling her out of the kitchen.

Rachel cast an apologetic look to Puck's mother and sister as she disappeared from their sight. The door slammed a moment later as Puck and Rachel left the house.

"Jesus, of all the stupid things she could do!" Puck ranted once they were in his car, driving away from his house. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I expressively told her you were a vegan so don't make anything with meat. I guess she thought fish was okay." He let out a few choice words as they came to a stop light, Rachel placing a hand on his arm.

"Please calm down?" she asked. "I'm not mad, so you shouldn't be either."

"But she's making me look bad!" he shouted. "All I wanted was to have a nice dinner and for you to like my family. She had to go and fuck it all up!"

Rachel smiled a little, glad to know how much he cared about making a good impression on her. "I loved you mom and sister. They were so nice to me," she added.

"Yeah, well I still can't believe she made you fucking fish!" he yelled, punching the steering wheel.

"Noah, please calm down," Rachel said softly. And he did. He relaxed a little as he kept driving, eventually pulling into the parking lot of the local Denny's.

"Noah, what are we doing here?" Rachel asked, leaning her head back against the seat.

"I told you, I'm taking you out to get something to eat. Now I don't have a lot of money, so this is really the best I can afford at the moment," he said, leaning over and kissing her lightly.

Rachel smiled, kissing him back. "Alright. But I'm paying," she added, climbing out of the car without giving him a chance to object.

Puck let out a groan, following her and taking her hand. He didn't bother trying to change her mind—Rachel was notoriously stubborn, after all.

The two teenagers walked into the diner, finding it mostly empty. They were seated right away at a booth and given menus, the waitress promising to be back after a minute.

Puck played with Rachel's feet under the table, one leg wrapped around hers. Rachel smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder as she looked over the menu, finding a few things she could potentially order.

Puck leaned down, kissing her once. It was nice having this privacy, even if they were in a booth at Denny's. Puck placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed it once as the waitress came over, ready to take their orders. Puck ordered the bacon burger with a coke while Rachel ordered a veggie burger and a sprite.

The waitress nodded, taking their menus and walking away, leaving the two of them alone. "So tell me about the movie," Puck finally said, wanting to know about it.

"Well, we just wrote the script. It's actually pretty good—I made sure Jesse was faithful to what you were actually like," she assured. "We're waiting to hear back and see if the studio likes it before they start casting and such. Jesse is hoping to film starting in the summer."

"So you'll be going back to LA?" he asked. "What about school?"

"Well, I don't know yet," she admitted. "It depends if I decide to do this movie."

"Decide to? Rachel, you have to," Puck said. He hadn't been okay with it at first, but now he was. For Rachel's sake he was. "I want you to do this. This is your chance to become something. I'm not going to stand in your way of that," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Really?" she asked, running her fingers over his knee lightly.

"Yes, really," he promised. "Just make sure they don't get some asshole to play me," he laughed.

"I will," she said, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. Puck buried his face in her hair, inhaling as they waited for the food to come.

"I love you," he murmured, his one hand running up and down her back.

Rachel smiled a little, loving it when he told her that. "And I love you," she promised, kissing his lower lip once.

Their food came out shortly after that, ceasing conversation as both of them ate their late dinners, glad to have some food in their stomach. When they were good and done, Rachel paid the bill, taking Puck's hand and lead him out of the restaurant to the car.

It had started snowing, causing Rachel to laugh, trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue. Puck shook his head. "You're acting like your five," he teased, coming behind her and wrapping his arms around her middle.

"It's snowing. The whole point of snow is to make you feel like you're a little kid again," she teased, turning around in his arms and rested her hands on his shoulders. She stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his.

Puck smiled, lifting her up off the ground and kissed her back. His one hand moved to the side of her face, cupping her cheek as he lowered her back to the ground, his lips still moving against hers.

Rachel's tongue grazed over Puck's lips, eventually pushing its way through them and into his mouth, finding his tongue waiting there. Puck moved his tongue with hers, tilting her head to the side as he deepened their kiss, his arms wrapped tightly around her small body.

Rachel only pulled away then she started to shiver, her body cold from the dropping temperature. Puck smiled down at her, hugging her tightly. "Come on, I'll get you back to Hummel's house," he promised.

Rachel nodded, dusting the snow out of her hair before climbing into the front seat of Puck's car, buckling her seat belt before he started the car and drove away from Denny's.

Rachel held Puck's hand again as he drove, feeling so lucky to have someone like him in her life. She was just glad everything was back to normal now. She had her boyfriend, her best friend, and she was even back in her hometown.

Puck stopped the car outside Kurt's house, looking at Rachel as he turned the engine off. "Before you go, I have something for you," he said, reaching inside his pocket and withdrawing a small wrapped box. "Happy Hanukah, Rachel," he murmured.

Rachel smiled a little, turning the box over in her hands. "I don't have anything for you," she admitted.

"I don't care. You don't have to get me anything," he promised. "Go on, open it."

Rachel carefully tore away the wrapping paper, pulling out a small velvet jewelry box. She flipped open the lid, looking down at the necklace. It was a Star of David on a gold chain, encrusted with diamonds and amethyst, her birthstone.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. "But how did you afford it?" she asked. This had to be expensive, and she knew he didn't have a lot of money.

"I used all the money I got from cleaning pools this summer to pay for it." Rachel's' face fell. "Don't feel bad," he added, seeing her face. "It was worth it. Let me put it on."

Puck took the necklace from Rachel, his hand brushing over her neck as he put the necklace on her. He kissed the back of her neck a few times before pulling away.

Rachel smiled up at him, kissing him a few times on the lips. "Thank you. I love it."

Puck wrapped his arms around Rachel, the two of them just sitting in the car in silence. "Happy Hanukah, Rachel."

"Happy Hanukah, Noah."