Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.

...

Puck got an earful from Coach Tanaka for missing practice, and mentioned the ultimatum that Finn had already told him about. Realizing that the coach's attitude hadn't changed, he knew he did have a tough choice coming.

He spent most of practice running laps and normally he hated it, but it gave him time to think. The song he'd thought of the night before was still as clear as day in his mind and he knew he had to do it; to perform it in front of Rachel and the rest of the Glee clubbers to prove he wasn't the same Puck as before.

"Dude! What the hell is with you?" Finn finally snapped as he and the rest of the guys were changing in the locker room after practice.

"Nothing," Puck shrugged and tugged on a clean shirt.

"Maybe a better question is where has your head been? You were totally out of it today," Kurt chimed in.

Puck turned to look at both Kurt and Finn, now getting the attention of half of the other guys in the room as well, "nothing is wrong with me. I'm fine. I just got a lot on my mind."

"Are you going to tell us where you were yesterday?" Matt asked.

"Come on, Puck, where where you yesterday? It's not like you to not tell us stuff," Finn added.

Puck tugged his bag from his locker and stuffed his things in it, trying to ignore them for the moment. Once his bag was full, he zipped it shut and looked up at everyone, "you want to know where I was yesterday?" He asked and with the nods from everyone around he continued, "I met my girlfriends parents." The words were simple enough and even thought that hadn't been the plan, it did happen, so with that said, he threw his bag over his shoulder and left the locker room; leaving everyone in his wake asking all sorts of questions; questions he didn't feel were there business; at least not yet.

Tugging out his phone during his walk to his jeep, he sent Rachel a test message, letting her know he'd be home soon from practice and would get online as soon as he made a few phone calls.

Chucking his gear into his black Jeep Wrangler, he got in and headed home, calling Artie on the way. At first, Artie thought he was joking, but after promising it was Glee related, Artie gave in, but made Puck promise to meet Monday morning before school to go over the arrangement before he performed it during Glee. Puck only agreed when Artie promised to keep the song a secret from the rest of the Glee members.

At home, while hearing his sister listening to some kids TV show, he chatted online with Rachel, while strumming his guitar to the familiar song; one he'd known for a long time, preparing himself for Monday.

Puck arrived at school extra early and met the band and Artie in the choir room. They played through the song a few times and Puck pointed out that he didn't want to do the full song, just the first verse, so they worked out a good arrangement. They missed the morning hustle and bustle, which also meant that Puck didn't see Rachel come to school with his jacket on.

Rachel had walked into school proudly with Noah's Letterman's jacket on her back, wondering when she would see him that day. She'd buttoned it up and let the waistband sit at her waist, letting the rest blouse below it, some of the back hidden, including 'Puckerman.'

"Oh hell no!" Mercedes shrieked from across the hallway when she saw Rachel.

Rachel froze, but quickly looked around to confirm there was no slushy heading her way, "what?" She asked, continuing on her walk until she reached her locker.

"What are you wearing?" Mercedes asked simply.

Rachel looked down, "I, uh," she wasn't really sure what to answer. They hadn't talked about how they'd tell everyone, but by wearing his jacket it was kind of hard to keep it a secret. "Noah's Letterman's jacket."

"Who's?"

"Noah's," she said again, reaching up to unlock her locker before pulling the door open.

"As in Puckerman?"

"Yes."

"My, my, my, what do we have here, ladies?" Kurt asked walking up to the two young women.

"Rachel's wearing Puck's jacket," Mercedes explained.

Kurt removed his sunglasses and stared at Rachel, "Oh. My. God! You're who he was with on Friday? Wait until the guys hear this! He said he'd been with his girlfriend, but he didn't say who!" Kurt was now beaming with excitement at the news.

"Whoa, wait a second, what are you talking about, Kurt?" Mercedes turned to him.

"Hello, I'm still here," Rachel chimed in, waving one of her hands at them.

"What is going on and why am I just now finding out about this?" Mercedes exclaimed.

Rachel sighed and with her locker still open, she slid her books inside and took off his jacket and prove it was his. Both Kurt and Mercedes gasped, as she hung the jacket in her locker before getting her books again, "it all happened kind of fast," Rachel admitted.

"Kind of fast? Friday to today; you had an entire weekend to start dating him and you didn't even say anything, come on Rachel!"

Rachel sighed, "he came over Friday and we talked and decided to start dating. He met my dads and had dinner with us, then we spent the weekend chatting online. I just kind of forgot to mention it," she told them.

"Speaking of weekend," Kurt sighed, "I have some depressing news," he told them, "well you may already know, Rachel."

"W-w-what?" Tina asked joining them.

Kurt sighed and leaned against his own locker, "Coach Tanaka gave myself, Finn, Puck, Matt and Mike an ultimatum."

Rachel looked down and nodded, "I heard."

"What kind of ultimatum?"

"Well, something is up his jockstrap, so he decided that Thursday at 3:30 there is a mandatory football practice. If we don't show up, we're off the team," Kurt explained.

"B-b-but, we have Glee!" Tina exclaimed.

"That's the ultimatum," Rachel chimed in, "they have to choose between Glee and Football," she sighed.

"Well don't worry, I'm with Glee, but it's those four neanderthals you have to worry about," Kurt told them opening his locker to check out his hair in the mirror.

The bell rang, letting students know it was time to go to class, so the four Glee clubbers broke apart from their conversation to reluctantly face another day at William McKinley High School.

During second period, the news of Rachel coming to school wearing a guys Letterman's jacket was around most of the school, but since no one asked her directly, she kept it between Artie, Tina, Mercedes and Kurt.

Though the couple didn't have any classes in common, but Puck did overhear several Cheerios gossiping about her during class. He smiled to himself, happy to find out she had worn his jacket. During one class someone tried to ask him about her, but he shrugged it off with, "she can date who she wants."

He spent his lunch break alone in the choir room practicing for Glee club that day, not because he needed it; he was avoiding the gossip mill of WMHS. He hadn't seen Rachel since Friday night and even though he wanted to go find her, he wanted to wait until Glee to surprise her.

Leaving his guitar in the room, he headed off to his next class, one he shared with Finn and Quinn. The two lovebirds were already there, chatting, but stopped when he came in. He took his usual seat next to Finn and tugged out a notebook, "don't stop talking on my account," he commented.

"Have you seen Rachel today?" Finn asked.

"Nope, why?" Puck asked, turning to look at him.

"Well, Brittany heard from someone who heard from someone else that she came to school wearing a Letterman's jacket that obviously wasn't hers and Mercedes kind of confirmed it," Quinn explained.

"So, what's the big deal?" he shrugged. "She can date who she wants."

"The big deal is that she's a freak and she's dating someone who has a Letterman's jacket, which means they're like popular," Quinn replied.

"Is there a problem with that? Why should you care? You should be happy that she's not pining away for Finn anymore," he motioned to Finn between them.

"Whatever. I also hear you've got a girlfriend. Who's mom is it this time?" Quinn snapped.

"Enough you two!" Finn exclaimed, leaning forward to break their eye contact. "I wish you two could be civil to each other."

"Good luck with that," Puck commented, sitting back in his seat; ignoring them. For once, Puck was thankful that class started only moments later.

When class ended, Puck ducked out quickly, hoping to get enough space between him and Finn so he couldn't start in on the gossip of the day or the little argument he and Quinn just had.

After two more classes, Puck finally threw his books into his locker and headed off to the choir room for Glee. He had hoped that Rachel would already be there, but found she wasn't. Walking inside, he saw the band, Artie, Tina and Mercedes. The fire in Mercedes' eyes was obvious, and he debated on leaving, but chose to walk over to Artie and the band, greeting them like nothing was going on. He could hear the whispering between Tina and Mercedes, but he didn't care. The door opened again and Santana, Brittany, Mike and Matt walked in, so he moved over to the guys to say hi.

Finn, Quinn, Rachel and Kurt were the last to arrive. He smiled at Rachel, but silently headed back to where his guitar was and threw the strap over his shoulder, waiting for Mr. Schuester. He spoke with the band while the rest started to settle in; joking about their day. So far the slushy war hadn't claimed any more victims, but it was only a matter of time.

Mr. Schuester finally walked in, the door shutting behind him, "so, any ideas for the mash-up?" He asked, the group quieted. With negatives and silent shakes of their heads, Mr. Schuester tried again, "anybody? Oh come on guys, it's like you're daring me to start dancing!"

"Oh no!" Someone yelled as others shook their heads with heavy laughter.

Puck smirked. He took a deep breath and turned to them, "I've been working on something."

"Oh yeah?" Mr. Schue asked.

Puck noticed Finn, Santana, Matt and Mike look at him for his answer, so he nodded, "it's my personal tribute to a musical Jewish icon."

Rachel turned her head to him, a look on her face Puck had yet to figure out, but he knew he had her attention.

"Uh, fantastic," Mr. Schue waved his hand at him, "let's hear it," he replied, stepping up to an empty seat in the back of the risers.

Without hesitation, he began to play the beginning the song he'd been working on all weekend; 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond.

Rachel sat up in her seat as his fingers danced along the neck of the guitar, watching him intently.

Where it began

I can't begin to know when
But that I know it's growing strong

Puck looked up to meet her eyes in time to see a smile tug at her lips.

Wasn't the Spring,
And Spring became the Summer
Who'd believe you'd come along?

His eyes locked on hers and watched her face light up in a bight smile, oblivious to the jealous glare from Finn behind her.

Hands, touching hands

Reaching out
Touching me, touching you

By the time he hit the chorus, Santana was giving Rachel the death glare, but Puck smiled back at Rachel; not caring if anyone else saw them. He felt like Rachel was the only one in the room and he was, after all, singing to her.

Oh, Sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good

She stared at him as he sang, feeling the words fill her soul. She was seeing another side of Noah Puckerman, a side she hoped to be with for a long time.

I've been inclined

To believe it never would

Oh, Sweet Caroline

Good times never seem so good
Oh, I've been inclined

To believe it never would

Oh, no, no

Puck was happily surprised to hear the club join in towards the end, and even more as she sang along. As the last words fell off his lips, he listened to the clapping and cheering for him, but he ducked his head, wondering only what she thought of it. He glanced up in time to see her nod several times with a smile on her face before clapping along with everyone else. He returned her smile and exhaled, proud of himself for proving he could lead.

When Mr. Schuester jumped up and congratulated Puck on a job well done, Kurt was the one to ruin the good mood in the room by letting them know about Coach Tanaka's little ultimatum.

Mr. Schue was beyond pissed when he heard the news; especially when he heard that none of the guys, except Kurt had chosen yet. Not being able to concentrate on anything else, he called it a day for the club, needing to confront Ken about backing out on their agreement.

Puck needed to get his guitar put away, so he couldn't be the first one out of the classroom, but he didn't realize until he turned around that almost all of them were still there, staring at him. "What?" He asked.

Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Santana, Artie, Tina, Mercedes and Kurt were still there. The only ones who had left were Brittany, Mike, Matt and Mr. Schuester, along with the band members.

Finn was still sitting in the same seat he'd been in and Quinn was standing next to him. Santana was next to Quinn, while Kurt, Tina and Mercedes were standing around Artie. Rachel had silently moved to stand next to Puck, a smile on her face as she looked at him.

Finn saw her smile at Puck and he stood up, looking at the two of them, "so you two are dating?" Finn asked, but it was more of a statement.

"Yes, we are," Rachel said glancing up at Puck.

"And you guys weren't going to say anything?" Finn practically demanded.

"Did you ask?" Puck questioned calmly.

Finn looked at Puck, "what do you mean? Of course I asked."

"No, you asked me in 5th period if I'd seen Rachel today. I told you I hadn't; which was the truth. I hadn't seen her. You never asked if we were dating," Puck explained as mellow as he could, "and your girlfriend assumed it was someone's mom," he added, glaring at Quinn. Santana opened her mouth to say something, but Puck cut her off, "don't even try and jump into this one, Lopez," he snapped using her last name. "You broke up with me and we're over, period." At his words, Santana huffed and left the classroom; Puck hoping she finally took the hint that he was over her.

Puck and Finn were standing staring at each other and everyone was worried about what could happen between the two. Finn finally spoke up after a few moments, "why didn't you say anything?"

"What could I have said that you would have believed? Honestly Finn, the Puck you know doesn't really date girls; he goes for cougars. If I had told you that I was dating Rachel you wouldn't have believed it and even if you did, you'd assume I was using her or just trying to get in her pants. Tell me that's not the truth," Puck told him.

Finn's mouth opened and closed several times trying to respond, but he had nothing. Finn Hudson was speechless.

"That's what I thought," Puck nodded turning slightly to pick up his guitar case, "let me just leave you with this. People can change and if you're their friends, then you should be happy for them." He didn't wait for a response, he slipped his arm around Rachel's shoulders and guided her towards the door, leaving everyone there stunned and silent.

Neither looked back as they walked the halls, heading for his locker so he could get his bag. Leaning his guitar case against the lockers, he unlocked his and tugged out his backpack, before Rachel finally spoke, "that was very, um,-"

He turned to her and dropped his bag, pulling her close to him and letting his lips cover hers briefly to silence her. As she melted against him, he pulled away enough to whisper, "can we not talk about what just happened and go hang out?" he whispered.

Rachel blinked several times at his request, but nodded, "I suppose that would be alright, yes," she nodded looking at him, "where?"

He looked at his watch and saw it was just after four, "mine. Mom's working late tonight, but Arin is going to be home soon," he told her softly.

Their conversation dwindled, allowing him to collect his things before walking her to her car. Once she was in, he headed to his jeep and threw his stuff in the back before pulling out of his spot and waiting for Rachel to get behind him. He drove home, making sure she didn't get lost as he pulled up in front of a small two story house. Both parked along the curb and he grabbed his things from the back before getting out of his jeep, locking the door and shutting it. Rachel was also getting out of her car, his Letterman's jacket draped over her arm with her book bag over her shoulder. He met her between their cars, "welcome to my place. It's not much, but it's home."

"It's just fine, Noah," she smiled at him.

"Noah!" A mass of brunette hair flashed in front of them, wrapping their arms around his waist.

Puck wasn't expecting his little sister to be home yet, which concerned him; feeling the grip around his waist getting tighter. "Arin," he started, wrapping his arms around her small frame, "hey, what are you doing here?"

The young girl began to cry, "mom said you'd be home at four and I got here and you weren't here and I didn't have a key to get in and then when I saw it was after four I got scared that something happened to you."

Puck closed his eyes and carefully removed her arms from his waist so he could kneel down in front of her, "hey, hey," he whispered, tugging her into a hug, "I'm here. I'm fine," he told her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "I know you are now, but I was scared," she whispered.

He really didn't have any plans on what would happen that afternoon with Rachel at the house, but this was not how he pictured their arrival. He wasn't a mean guy to his sister; well only when she was annoying him, but when he was at home, he was Noah, the part of him that Rachel was beginning to see, so dealing with his sister didn't embarrass him like it would have if it had been someone else. He pressed a kiss to the top of his sisters head before standing up, backpack, guitar and Arin in his arms and walked up to the front porch.

Arin had been oblivious to Rachel until she began to follow them up to the house. "Who are you?" She asked.

Puck set Arin down on the porch, "Arin, this is my girlfriend, Rachel, Rachel, this is my little sister, Arin," he said looking at Rachel with an, 'I'm sorry,' expression on his face.

"It's nice to meet you, Arin," Rachel said.

Arin looked at her, "you're pretty."

"Uh, thank you," Rachel looked at her, a blush growing on her cheeks.

Puck rolled his eyes at his sister and unlocked the front door, pushing it open, "come on in," he said.

Arin grabbed her backpack that had been sitting on the porch and ran inside, while Puck took his time gathering his things along with the mail and Rachel before stepping inside.

"I'm seeing a whole different side of you, Noah Puckerman," Rachel commented as he shut the door behind them.

"Oh yeah? You're not going to tell everyone at school are you?" He asked dropping his things by the door.

"What? That you have a little sister and you're a big softie with her?" Puck ducked his head to hide the blush forming on his cheeks, but Rachel moved to him, "I won't say anything, but it just proves that you were right earlier, people can change," she murmured before pressing her lips to his.

Puck had been dying for that kiss since Friday night; the one they'd shared at school had been to quiet her, so he didn't really count that one. Letting his arms slip around her, he pulled her close as her tongue brushed against his lower lip. He parted his lips only slightly, giving her the chance to go further, but she stopped, pulling away with a blush on her cheeks.

"Sorry," she ducked her head.

Puck reached a hand under her chin and lifted her head up to look at him, "don't be," he told her warmly, "new territory, I get that."

Rachel blinked at him and silently nodded, embarrassed that she didn't know what she was doing.

...

Lyrics: 'Sweet Caroline' as performed by Mark Salling, but original artist is Neil Diamond