Author's note: Slightly fluffy toward the end, but I needed a break from the angst.

Thanks again for all the people who took time to review, they always makes me want to write more. Just to clarify, I don't have H1N1, but I'm a supervisor/administrator in an Emergency Department, and half my staff has been out sick, which means LOTS of hours to cover. It'll be a nice paycheck, but dang I'm tired.

Rachel sat at the top of the stairs, willing herself not to cry as she listened to his truck idle in the driveway. She vacillated between wishing he would leave and wishing he would come back and apologize. When the engine roared to life, she sighed and felt the hot sting of tears pouring forth. Her body shook with silent sobs as she hugged herself tightly in an effort to fill the empty space he'd left behind. Finally, as the well of salty liquid began to run dry, an overwhelming sense of fatigue permeated her body.

She stood slowly, afraid that her shaking legs wouldn't support her weight and stumbled to her room. Crawling onto the plush bed, she buried her face in a pillow and wished for dreamless slumber. Although her eyes were heavy, jumbled thoughts kept her from nodding off. The carefully folded square of white fabric on her nightstand caught her eye. Snatching it up, she cradled it next to her head and breathed in his scent. Snippets of conversations ran through her head, and she fixated on one sentence in particular.

Baby, seriously, I really need to tell you something…

She's been so focused on the blog that she'd barely heard him at the time. Baby. He'd called her lots of things, Rach, Rachel, Berry, Princess… but nothing as sweet and intimate as baby. It wasn't the endearment itself that warmed her heart, it was the way he had said it. It hadn't been mocking, or exaggerated, he'd said it almost unconsciously. As if he'd been calling her baby for years. She replayed the moment over and over in her head until the memory of his voice lulled her to sleep.

Several hours later, she awoke to find herself clutching the T-shirt to her chest like a security blanket. Disjointed vignettes of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde slipped slowly back into her subconscious as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. A quick glance at the window revealed that it was early in the afternoon, and immediately she wondered what Noah was doing. Just the thought of him caused the ache in her heart to throb anew, but the pain was duller now.

Shoving his image to the back of her mind, she stretched her arms up and pulled herself off the bed. It was time to focus. High school was fleeting, and someday she'd be so famous that people like Puck and Finn would brag about having known her 'back in the day'. She walked to her desk and began flipping through sheet music trying to decide what song fit her current mood, but her heart wasn't in it. After several false starts, she gave up and picked up the small pink phone and started scrolling through the contact list. She didn't know exactly who to call, only that she didn't want to be alone right now.

After three passes through the list of numbers, she was more depressed than before. How was it possible that she had no friends? Acquaintances, yes… but no one she felt comfortable calling out of the blue, just to hang out. She contemplated calling Kurt, or maybe Tina but she decided against it. She couldn't imagine telling either of them about her night with Noah Puckerman. As she started through the list a fourth time, one name struck her, and she hit the call button quickly before she could lose her nerve. After several rings, a perky female voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi Brittany, it's Rachel… Rachel Berry."

Brit laughed. "Rachel! Hi, how are ya?"

"Um… fine, I guess. I was-"

"I'm soo glad you called. I really wanted to say sorry for last night. You aren't mad at me are you?"

"No, of course not, I-"

"Oh thank god, I was so stressed about that."

"You were?"

"Oh yeah, after the way you stood up to Santana –which was EPIC by the way- I was so worried you hated me."

"Hated you? No…"

"Good, Hey I was just getting ready to head out the mall, wanna come with?"

"To the mall? To go shopping?"

Brit giggled. "Of course, what else?"

"Um… I… well, okay… sure I'll go."

Brit squealed. "Yay! It'll be fun, promise. You live over off of Maple right?"

"Yes, I-"

"Great, pick you up in thirty minutes. Bye!"

The call disconnected and Rachel stared at the phone in a daze, unsure of what exactly had just transpired. `She replayed the conversation in her head, and although it still baffled her, she realized she needed to hurry if she was going to be ready to go when Brit arrived. Punching the buttons on her phone, she quickly called her fathers to let them know what she'd be doing. The pleasure in their voices was palpable, and when she'd asked them if she could use the credit card they'd given her to buy some new clothes, she was shocked when they told her not to exceed five hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars, were they kidding? They must really be concerned about her lack her friends.

Rachel dressed in a hurry, and threw her hair in a messy ponytail. She was just putting the finishing touches on her makeup when the doorbell rang. Grabbing her purse and phone, she raced down the stairs and plucked her jacket off the coat rack. When she opened the door, Brittany rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"I'm so glad you called me! This is going to be fun."

The bouncy blonde's enthusiasm was contagious and soon Rachel found herself smiling brightly.

"I'm glad too," she said, "My dads said I could buy some new clothes."

"Oooh," Brit squealed, "Shopping spree!"

They chatted comfortably during the fifteen minute ride, talking about school, Glee and clothes. Brittany hadn't mentioned the party or Puck at all, and while Rachel was curious as to why, she was also relieved. Once they got to the mall Brit was a whirlwind of activity, pulling Rachel into stores she'd never considered shopping in. Rachel found herself in dressing room after dressing room, trying on anything Brittany passed through the door. It really was easier than trying to argue with the girl. Who knew she could be so forceful? Three hours and several hundred dollars later, Rachel found herself sitting in the food court, surrounded by shopping bags, and splitting an order of cheese fries.

"So, you and Matt? You're dating?" she asked.

Brittany's cheeks turned pink as she smiled shyly. "Yeah…"

"How come you guys aren't ever together at school, or during Glee?"

The corners of the smile turned down slightly. "It's… complicated. Well, no… not complicated, more like stupid?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"It's Q and Santana…"

"What do they have to do with it?"

Brit looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure really, I guess nothing… but they're both miserable right now, so…"

"So you don't get to be happy either? That's incredibly selfish."

Brit raised her hands in a gesture of defeat. "It's just the way it is, I guess. Nobody stands up them. Well, at least not until you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone make San lose her cool like that."

"Really? She was upset?"

Brit laughed and told Rachel what had happened after they had been on the porch. Rachel winced at the mention of Puck, but the idea of Santana Lopez being turned down made her smile.

"Matt was so proud of me," Brit said, "it was totally worth it."

Rachel smiled , but the discussion of Puck had dampened her enthusiasm.

"You want to talk about it?" Brittany asked softly.

"Talk about what?"

"About Puck? Did something happen?"

"Why would you ask that?" Rachel said defensively.

"Um… well… no offense, but if I had an empty house, and Noah Puckerman looked at me the way he looks at you, I wouldn't be at the mall shopping."

Rachel's shoulders sagged. "It's… complicated." Thinking about it for a minute, she laughed and continued. "Well, no, really it's just stupid."

A blast of music interrupted the conversation. Brittany smiled brightly and answered the phone.

"Hi baby!"

Rachel listened curiously to the one sided conversation.

"Nothing much, just shopping with Rachel…. Yes, Rachel."

Brittany rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I apologized… Thank you, I realize that… Tonight? I don't know. Who's going?"

Brittany listened for a moment, and then covered the mouthpiece with her hand.

"We're going out tonight," she said to Rachel, "Pizza, maybe Putt-Putt or a movie. Wanna come?"

When Rachel hesitated, Brittany raised a hand, "No Puck, no Finn, no Quinn or Santana, I checked."

Rachel wanted to say no, but the idea of sitting home alone seemed worse, so she agreed.

"Great!" Turning back to the phone, she continued her conversation with Matt. "She coming… yes, I'm serious, do you want to ask her yourself? No, I'll get ready at her house… Okay, we'll meet you at seven."

Flipping the phone closed, Brittany grinned from ear to ear.

"Come on, let's go get ready. Once Puck hears about how hot you looked tonight, he'll be kicking himself in the ass."

Rachel smiled tentatively, wishing she believed that.