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.
A/N2: I had planned to make this completely AU after Mash-up, but now that I've seen Wheels and Ballads I've decided that depending on what comes up in the episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, just put my own twist on it. I'll mention spoilers above if there are any. (11/25/09: Saw Hairography and most of the topics don't pertain to my fic any more, so the story will be AU after; but we'll see what the next two episodes bring.)
A/N3: The last week or so has been pretty crazy and I've been an emotional wreck, but things are looking up and your feedback and reviews are keeping me going. Thanks so much!
A/N4: Congrats to those who figured out what Puck told Rachel in Part 15. :D I figured it was easy, but a little mystery never hurt, lol.
...
Two weeks after Thanksgiving, Puck found himself unlocking the door to a dark house, stepping inside carefully; aware that Brittany, Mercedes and Tina would be sleeping in the living room. Glancing in that direction, his thoughts were confirmed, seeing the girls asleep on the couches. He set his travel bag and backpack on the floor by the stairs and carefully shut the front door. Throwing his other bag over his shoulder, he climbed the stairs, hoping to get into bed and get a good nights sleep before they had to leave the next day for Sectionals in Columbus.
Kurt had finally kicked him out of the shop at eight even though Burt was still there; making Puck leave so he could get his things ready for the next day. Puck reluctantly left and went to his house long enough to shower, get his stuff, and say 'bye' to his mom and sister before heading over to Rachel's.
Since Quinn was already living at the Berry's, Rachel invited the rest of the girls to say over Friday night, and also asked Puck. He only told her he would come over after work when he found out that Santana had declined the invitation.
Changing into a t-shirt and shorts, Puck slid into bed, setting his phone's alarm and putting it on the night stand; hoping to get right to sleep, but his door opening startled him. Rachel was looking inside when he glanced up, "hey," he smiled at her.
She returned his smile, stepping into the room, "hey, I thought I heard you," she told him, her voice just above a whisper.
"Yeah, just got here," he sat up on his elbow and patted the bed next to him.
She stepped closer she sat down and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips, "are you ready for tomorrow?"
He nodded, "been packed since yesterday," he promised.
"Good, because we have to be at school at -"
Puck leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss, cutting off her words; he already knew what she was telling him, so he took the opportunity to steal a kiss. Pulling away slowly, he smiled, "I know, six am," he whispered.
She smiled and nodded, "you already know," she admitted. "I'm sure we're going to have a fight for the shower, with four girls trying to use the hallway one, but once I'm showered, I'll let them use mine if necessary," she told him, "when are you planning to get up?"
He shrugged, "five-thirty?"
"Noah! There is no way you can get up that late!" She exclaimed, nudging him in his shoulder.
He laughed, "I know, I was just going to see what you'd do." He shrugged again, "I figured I'll get up around four-thirty or five," he told her, "I don't mind taking a shower last."
"You can use mine whenever," she told him, "I'll be up before four."
Puck glanced to see it was almost ten, "and why are you up now?" he asked curiously.
"I wanted to see you," she replied, a light blush tinting her cheeks.
He smiled, brushing his hand through her hair, "I wanted to see you, too, but I didn't want to wake you up," he told her.
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it, "we all went to sleep around eight; but I didn't want to sleep until I knew you were here," she whispered.
Leaning forward again, he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss, letting their lips linger before he pulled away gently, "I'm here and I'll be here in the morning," he promised.
Rachel nodded and gave him a hug before standing up, "goodnight, Noah."
"Night, Rach. Oh hey, wait," he smiled, something just coming into his mind. "Did you ever look up what I told you in Hebrew?"
Rachel stopped in the doorway and blushed, remembering what he had said, but shook her head, "no, I totally forgot," she admitted, "I'm sorry."
He shrugged, "it's alright. Look it up when you think of it," he smiled, "night."
She nodded at him and headed to her room, shutting her door as she entered and going right to her desk. She knew the last thing she needed was stay up any longer, but her mind was thinking of those three words he had said to her. Her hands flipped through papers and notes on her desk until she found the slip of paper he'd written them on and opened up her laptop. Pulling up Google, she typed "aní ohév otákh" into the search bar and hit enter. Seconds later, a results page came up and she looked at the top one. It mentioned those words along with Hebrew in the description, so she clicked on it and gave the page a moment to load. Her eyes scanned over the words and right in the middle, in capital letters, was "I LOVE YOU."
"I love you, really?" She asked herself out loud as she went back to Google and searched for '"I love you" in Hebrew.' A 'Wiki Answers' link appeared and she clicked on it; getting the information she needed. It was a question; "How do you say 'I love you' in Hebrew?" The answer listed the four ways to say it and sure enough, the exact words he had given her were listed as how a man would say it to a woman. A bright smile grew from her lips as she scanned over how a woman would say it to a man, and wrote it down on another paper, determined to learn to pronounce it correctly so she could say it to him. Feeling successful, she closed her laptop and went back to bed, her smile still bright as she drifted off to sleep.
Puck woke about four-fifteen in the morning to pounding across the hall on the bathroom door with someone saying, "dude, Mercedes you've been in there for over a half an hour! There are other people who need to shower." Rolling over in bed with a groan, he grabbed another pillow to put it over his head hoping for a few more minutes of peace, but then Mercedes replied, "I'm almost done, take a chill pill!" The knocking continued for a few moments before it finally went away and the door opened; whoever had been talking must have gone into the bathroom because it slammed shut. He immediately wished his bedroom door wasn't right across from the bathroom, but now wide awake from the sounds echoing in his head, he sat up and looked around. He turned off his phone's alarm and threw on a pair of sweats, then headed for his door. Pulling it open, the hallway was empty and he figured Rachel was up, so he knocked lightly on her door and got a 'who is it?' in response. "Noah," he replied.
"Come in," she answered.
Opening her door, he stuck his head in and saw she was standing at her vanity brushing her hair, already dressed. "Now that I'm wide awake," he muttered moving across her floor in bare feet, "good morning," he murmured, slipping his arms around her waist from behind.
She smiled and leaned back against his chest, "good morning, Noah. Sleep well?"
"Yes, until someone wanted Mercedes out of the shower," he commented.
Rachel laughed, "I'm just finishing up in here. Brittany has been up since three and Quinn got up about three-thirty. They both showered before Mercedes and Tina got up and has been waiting. My shower is free if you'd like it," she explained.
He pressed a kiss to her neck, his teeth nipping the skin lightly, "I won't tell you what I'm thinking," he murmured, pulling away, "I'll go get my stuff," he added.
Rachel groaned, "Noah!" He was already out of her room by the time she realized what he was insinuating and her cheeks turned a deep red. "Argh!" She exclaimed to the empty room before going back to brushing her hair.
Puck returned moments later with a small duffel bag and towel in his hand, tossing both on her already made bed. "What did you call me for?" he asked, a smirk on his face.
She turned to him, her cheeks reddening again, "I just figured out what you meant."
"Hey, I'm a dude," he shrugged, stepping to her and pressing a kiss to her lips, "I do have needs," he admitted casually before grabbing his towel and heading into her bathroom, closing the door partially.
"Oh my God," she whispered, sitting on her bed. Her mind was racing and she felt her heart speed up at the thoughts spinning through her head. Her eyes moved towards the partially open door as the steam from the shower started to filter into her room and stood up, pushing the door open and stepping inside, shutting it behind her. "Define needs," she said firmly.
Puck had the soap in his hands and heard the door shut, so he figured she shut it, but didn't realize she was in there until she spoke, causing him to drop the bar of soap, "what the hell, Rachel!" He exclaimed leaning into the water to wash the soap from his face.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, but averted her eyes so she wouldn't stare at his naked back, "I asked you to define the needs your talking about," she commented.
Rolling his eyes, he laughed a little, "are you serious? Come on, babe, I was giving you a hard time."
"I'm well aware that since we've been together you've been," she paused, "abstinent, but I also understand that your a male teenager who is probably thinking of 'sex' all the time."
His groan echoed through the bathroom as he listened to her. He stepped towards the door and pulled it open enough to stick his head out, "Rachel," he started, shaking his head, "are you sure you want to discuss this while I'm in the shower?"
"Well, we're here and talking about it so we might as well finish," she admitted, glancing at him quickly.
Realizing he wasn't getting out of this, he sighed, "look, I'm seventeen and have a child on the way. I did the cougar thing for a while, and had a few relationships that were pretty much sexual, but I found you and I'm not interested in rushing that; when you're ready, I'll be here. Maybe in the back of my mind I'm scared that I could knock you up; and I also value my life. Your dads would kill me," he admitted stepping back into the shower to rinse off again. Turning off the water and reaching out of the opened door to get his towel, he wrapped it around his waist and stepped out onto her pink mat, "babe, I was giving you a hard time," he laughed a little, "I know how to take care of myself, alone," he pressed a kiss to her lips, having added the last word to make it clear he wouldn't take care of himself with someone else.
Her hands snaked up and held him against her lips, deepening the kiss briefly, before pulling away, "aní ohévet otkhá, Noah," she whispered.
His smile brightened as the words came from her mouth, "you looked it up," he said.
She nodded, biting her lip nervously. She was trying not to stare at his toned chest, but she'd never seen him look so handsome. The tiny water droplets covering his skin glistened from the light of her bathroom and she blushed, "um, I, uh."
Puck smirked, "don't worry about it," he told her, "sex is the last thing on my mind right now and I may give you a hard time about it, but you're fun to tease because you get like this," he smirked, "but when you're ready, you know where to find me," he commented, stepping to the door and heading into her room.
Rachel smiled at what he said and followed him out. He stopped at her bed to dig clothes out; she glanced at her self in the mirror, forgoing any make-up until later in the day and left her room.
"Hey Rach," he called back to her before she left and when she paused to look at him, he smiled, "I love you, too."
She smiled at him and nodded silently; leaving him in her room to get dressed.
"Where the hell have you been?" Mercedes asked as Rachel entered the kitchen.
"I was having a discussion with my boyfriend," she told her, "why?"
"Dude, it's almost five," she told her.
"Is everyone ready?" Rachel asked quickly.
"Yeah, we've been waiting on you two," Quinn commented, motioning to the girls. "What the hell were you talking about for forty-five minutes?"
"Actually, I was looking up a phrase he told me a few weeks ago in Hebrew that I didn't know, so while he showered, I found it online and wanted to learn to say it back to him."
"He showered in your bathroom?" Alan asked entering the kitchen.
"Yes dad, nothing wrong with that," she told him.
"I wasn't going to say that; I was going to say it's a good thing or you all could still be fighting over the shower," he laughed.
Rachel smiled, mentally glad that she got out of that conversation, as she walked towards the coffee pot and filled up two cups. One she immediately started drinking from, while the other she added some sugar and creamer to and picked it up, heading for the island, as Puck walked in, handing it off to him.
Puck accepted the cup and took a drink, kissing her quickly, "thanks, babe," he smiled and glanced at his phone, leaning against the refrigerator. It was a little after five and they were close enough to the school they didn't have to leave for a while, "so who's driving who to the school?"
The girls all shrugged, but Brittany perked up, "I can drive some of us, my car holds four."
"Then Puck can drive him and Rachel, the rest of us will go with you, and I can come back here with them tomorrow night," Quinn said.
Puck shrugged, "works for me, I really don't care," he told them finishing off his coffee.
As the second coffee pot of the morning was finished, the Glee girls started to gather up their things and made trips out to Puck's jeep or Brittany's car. They made one last walk through before saying bye to Rachel's dads, Rachel and Puck and headed off to school.
Rachel picked up her purse from the stairs and threw it over her shoulders, "alright, well, I think we're ready."
Puck nodded, "yeah, me too."
Rachel hugged her dads and they told her to have fun and be careful. Puck hung back a moment and once she was out of the door and on her way to his jeep, he turned to them, not needing to know what they were going to say, "I'll take care of her," he promised.
The two men laughed a little, "you know us too well, Noah," David commented.
"Just in case," Alan held up two bills and handed them to him.
Puck glanced at the two bills and realized they were two one-hundred dollar bills, "in case what?" His eyes widened, "I can't take this kind of money from you guys," he told them trying to hand it back.
"In case you two get a chance to have a few minutes to yourself and can enjoy the time you don't have parents or siblings around," David commented.
"And we're not asking for it back. If you don't use it; keep it for another date," Alan added.
Puck eyed the bills and then reluctantly slid them into his back pocket out of sight for the moment and nodded, "um alright. I, uh, guess we'll see you tomorrow," he told them.
"Have fun, but not too much!" Alan called as Puck headed outside.
Walking to his jeep in the crisp December morning, he slid into the drivers seat and started the engine, both kids waving to her dads as he pulled his jeep away from the curb and made their way to the school, arriving as the girls were unpacking Brittany's car. Puck parked next to the girls and noticed Finn's car was there, as well as Santana's.
Aside from his large football gear bag he had packed for the trip, he had a backpack and his costume bag; all of them had one from Kurt, who refused to let anyone fold their costumes in case they wrinkled. Puck threw his bag over his shoulder and grabbed both costume bags while she took out her suitcase on wheels, and had her purse over her shoulder, "are you sure you've got everything," he asked.
"Unlike some people, I do pack light. There is no point in bringing numerous clothes if we are going to mostly be in our costumes for the next two days or traveling," she commented.
"Good point," he shrugged and after making sure all his doors were locked, the two walked towards the bus.
"Hey Mr. Schuester," Puck commented, seeing the teacher standing by the door of the bus.
"Good morning, Puck, Rachel," he said glancing down at his roster and checking off their names. "We're still waiting on some of the group, some of the band members and Ms. Pillsbury, so head on up and find seats," he motioned inside the bus.
The couple climbed the stairs, finding Tina, Artie, Mercedes sitting in the back; Quinn and Finn were sitting on one side, so Puck and Rachel took the seat across the aisle from them. Brittany was one seat behind them and Mike would for sure be sitting with her, and she was kneeling on her seat, talking behind her to Santana. Of all the club, Matt, Mike and Kurt were the missing ones and as Mr. Schuester said, only some of the band was there.
Not having enough room in their seat for all their bags, Puck chucked his duffel bag and Rachel's suit case into the seat in front of them, much like some of the other kids had done in empty seats so they had leg room.
Kurt, Ms. Pillsbury and the rest of the band members finally arrived, Kurt getting on the bus with three suit cases, "damn, Kurt, you do know we're coming back tomorrow night, right?" Puck asked.
"Of course I know, this is all my hair products and make-up. Do you think I'm letting any of the girls on stage without me doing their hair and make-up?" He asked passing by him to add his bags to where Mercedes and Tina had put theirs and sat down with them.
Puck rolled his eyes and sunk down in his seat, tugging Rachel against him, who was already getting comfortable to sleep on the ride.
Finally, Matt and Mike arrived, being the last ones there. Mike took his seat with Brittany, and surprisingly Matt sat a seat behind Santana. No one said anything as Mr. Schuester started taking a head count again, before nodding at the driver. The doors shut and he took a seat in the front, turning around to look at everyone, "alright, it's about two, two and a half hours to Columbus," he said, "when we get there, we'll be going right to the hotel where we can drop our stuff off and then we'll head over to the convention center. As of right now, we have to check in by eleven am, so we won't have too long at the hotel. You'll probably have to change at the center. Our performance is at four."
"How does this all work?" Mike asked.
"Do you mean how does Sectionals work?" Will asked and at Mike's nod, he continued, "since yesterday schools have been preforming for judges and today is the last of them. Every section of schools, usually three schools each will perform for judges. The winners of each section will perform again tomorrow for the same judges. The top five schools from tomorrow will go onto Regionals," he explained, "so if we win our section today and move on, we have to place in the top five to go to Regionals," he explained as everyone got settled for the ride to Columbus.
Puck was sitting by the aisle, and Rachel was against him with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, so he leaned back in the seat figuring he'd catch a few extra hours of sleep, since she was on her way to doing the same thing.
Some of the kids took the bus ride to nap while others found something quiet to do. Those who slept, only woke up when the bus came to a stop in front of the hotel. Mr. Schuester got off to go check them in while everyone started to wake up. When he was inside, Puck stood up to stretch, giving Rachel the chance as well, and when Will returned, he started passing out keys to those in the front; the band, allowing them to go inside first and moved towards the back where the rest of them were, calling out room numbers and names and passing off the envelops to someone in each room.
"We're on different floors?" Rachel asked as she took the envelope for her room.
"Yes, school policy," he said stepping past them, "you have one hour to be back on the bus with your costumes and be ready to go."
Hearing their 'hour' time limit, everyone gathered up their stuff and made their way off the bus. Puck passed his roommates, Mike and Matt, their key cards as the large group of students found their way to the elevators. Going up to their respective floors, the guys called beds and dropped their stuff off, making sure they had their costumes and headed back down to the lobby, waiting for the girls.
While Puck, Matt and Mike waited downstairs, they couldn't help but notice the crazy amount of kids their age running around the lobby. Some were dressed in costumes while others were dressed normally. A group of three girls walked past in their costumes that looked skimpier than a Cheerios uniform and the three guys couldn't help glancing in their direction, but Matt watched them intently, whistling as they passed; causing them to turn, look and giggle as they continued to walk away.
"Is it just me or did we step into heaven?" Matt asked, staring at their retreating backs.
"I thought you were dating Santana," Puck commented.
"Was; we're over. I don't know what's her deal. One minute she's into me and wants to hang out, the next she's yelling at me. I don't know how you put up with her," Matt admitted, glancing at his friend.
Puck shrugged, "honestly, neither do I. The sex wasn't even that good," he replied.
"Speaking of sex, have you and Rachel -" Mike smirked.
Puck glared at him, "I'm abstinent right now. I'd rather not get someone else pregnant, thank you very much," he snapped.
"Oh, damn, sorry man. I forgot," Mike ducked his head in embarrassment.
The elevator dinged and off stepped Rachel, Mercedes, Brittany and Kurt. Each one had their hands full of their costume bags, but Puck stepped forward and took Rachel's from her, "hey," he commented, "you missed the show."
"What show?" She asked curiously.
"The 'Matt is trying to hook up with the competition' show," Mike laughed, taking Brittany's bag.
"Oh please, just because we're outcasts doesn't mean that every other school's Glee club is," Kurt commented, "not everyone is desperate for a date."
"Ouch, that hurt," Matt put his hand over his heart in mock hurt.
Kurt rolled his eyes, "come on, we should get back to the bus."
Puck took Rachel's hand and walked with her, "you nervous?"
"Not at all, I live for this," Rachel admitted, a bright smile on her face, but feeling his palm against hers, she realized he was, "Noah, you'll be great; you didn't have a problem at the invitational," she reminded him.
"True, but at least then I was dancing with everyone else. Now I'm playing the piano. One wrong note screws everything up," he replied.
Taking a seat back on the bus, she kissed him, "you'll do great," she repeated, "I have faith in you."
He smirked, "I'm glad one of us does," he muttered, "thanks, Rach," he added pressing another kiss to her lips before setting back in the seat.
Getting to the convention center, Mr. Schuester checked them in and each member got a badge to keep with them so they could walk around and not get kicked out by security. Their practice room wouldn't be free until two, so they all found their way to the sidelines; watching some of the schools preform; just to see what they're up against.
The phrase 'the good, the bad, the ugly' came to mind as some of the schools performed. During the time they watched, there were a few schools that stood out with not only a great dance routines and stage presence, but also strong vocals, while others had good vocals, but their dance routines were bland; some had the look, but not the vocals, and most of them had mediocre routines.
Finally getting their practice room, they got a chance to run through their number a few times before they got changed. The girls needed time to get their hair and make-up done, before dressing in their simple black dresses with a red belt, that matches the red tie the guys were wearing with their black dockers and black button up shirt with long sleeves.
The guys were dressed and ready in less than twenty minutes, but the girls across the room were now bouncing around, helping each other out while Kurt was arguing with Mercedes. The argument was over how the girls should wear their hair, and it took some time, but they all agreed the girls should have their hair pulled back so it didn't get in the way during their number.
It felt like it took forever, but they were finally ready and they made their way backstage catching the end of the performance of the group before them. Rachel was standing in front of Puck, his arms wrapped around her waist and as he leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, a hand on his shoulder stopped him, "don't even think about it, Puck!" Kurt snapped.
"What the fuck, Hummel?" Puck exclaimed turning to glare him.
"You can make out with her anytime after, but right now, you kiss her you could ruin her make up and I don't have time to fix it," Kurt retorted.
Puck shook his head and glared at him, but Mr. Schuester stepped in, "back down; both of you. We don't need this right now."
Puck tore his eyes away from Kurt and went back to standing with Rachel as the music from the other group ended.
"Alright everyone, we've made it his far as a team," Mr. Schuester smiled, "so lets just get out there and have fun!"
A stage hand came over and motioned for them to go out on stage once the other group was off. "And now, under the direction of Will Schuester, Lima, Ohio's William McKinley High School's New Directions!"
Puck had taken his seat at the piano and glanced at his fellow Glee clubbers briefly before he let his fingers start their song, closing his eyes to focus on the music and not the people watching them or the flashes from cameras all over the center. His mind blurred through the performance, but caught Rachel's eyes a few times, but words were lost to him until his fingers stopped with the last notes of the song and the center was cheering for them. He stood up quickly and jogged towards the group, taking Rachel's hands before bowing with everyone and heading off the stage, meeting Mr. Schuester, Ms. Pillsbury and Brad, the other piano player and choir teacher, at the side.
"You guys did so great!" Will exclaimed, a smile on his face as he gave high-fives to everyone as they passed.
"That was so awesome, Mr. Schue," Tina smiled.
"That was better than doing a cheer routine," Brittany grinned as everyone headed back to the practice room.
Puck and Rachel had hugged and kissed after the performance, but waited until they were back in the practice room to talk, "Noah, you did amazing!"
"Thanks," Puck smiled hugging her tightly, "you were pretty good yourself," he whispered, pressing another kiss to her lips before pulling away.
With adrenaline high, everyone was bouncing around the room as they changed and collected their belongings before heading out to the bus; going back to the hotel for a few hours until they needed to return for the winners announcement.
Sitting on his hotel bed, Puck remembered the money Rachel's dads had given him that morning and tugged it out of his back pocket. Looking at the bills, he realized something was wrapped inside that he hadn't even noticed before. "Oh my God," he muttered seeing the small square foil wrapper sandwiched between them. He was thankful his roommates weren't in there, so he stashed the wrapped item in his bag before putting the money in his wallet and heading for the door, just as someone knocked on it.
Pulling it open, he found Rachel, Quinn and Finn standing in the hallway. He smiled and slipped out, hugging Rachel, "hey, was just going to go find you."
"Great minds think alike," she replied kissing his lips before the four made their way to the elevators.
Mr. Schuester wanted them to stay close to the hotel, so they walked down the street to a Chinese place and picked up dinner, returning to the hotel to eat. As it got closer to seven, the kids headed back to the bus and were taken to the center, where the performers filled the seats; everyone waiting for the results.
This sectionals was not just for Ohio, it was also for a good portion of the states nearby, depending on how many schools were competing for each state. Vocal Adrenaline obviously won in their section, but as the Northwestern Ohio section was called the students of New Directions, School for the Deaf of Dayton and Jane Adam's Academy all stood up, waiting to hear their fate. Everyone tuned out the speech about who the schools were and who they were directed by, until they heard, "the winner of Northwestern Ohio is," the announcer paused to open the envelope in his hand. He read the words, "William McKinley High School's New Directions!"
"Oh my God!" "Yes!" "We did it!" Were exclamations shouted from the club as Mr. Schuester headed up to the stage to accept their plaque.
Puck pulled Rachel into his arms and kissed her deeply; ignoring the cheers from their friends for moment to focus on just her, until he pulled away enough to see that Mike and Brittany and Quinn and Finn, the other two couples, were in the middle of a similar kiss. "We did it," he looked at Rachel, but then turned everyone, "we did it, guys."
Some of the girls were crying; Quinn quickly blamed her tears on the hormones, but no one cared; they'd won and finally had something to show for their hard work.
Just because they won their section; they still had to perform the following the day and place in the top five to be able to go on to Regionals, in Detroit, Michigan in a few months. With one hurdle was past them, they had more determination and spirit than before, but they all knew they couldn't get cocky or they could loose everything.
When Mr. Schuester returned, everyone wanted to get a look at the plaque, but he suggested they go to the bus, so filing out of the center, the loaded up the bus and passed the plaque around on the drive back to the hotel.
"You know what tonight is, right?" Puck asked Rachel.
"Of course I do," she smiled.
"I brought it along," he told her softly.
"You did? I didn't even think about that, bring it to my room," she replied.
"Alright, I'll go get it," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her lips as the bus came to a stop.
Sharing an elevator with several others, the car stopped on the second floor and all the guys got out, Noah promising to be up to Rachel's room shortly. Matt and Mike went into the room with him, but they didn't stick around long; Matt was going to go check out the 'sights' and Mike was meeting Brittany, so Noah had time time alone to dig the plastic box out of his bag. He glanced inside to make sure he had everything, before slipping his Kippah into his pocket and returning to the elevator. He went up a floor and walked down the hallway to Rachel's room. He knocked lightly, hearing laughing so he knew there were others in there with her.
Rachel opened the door, smiling at him, "hey, Noah, come in," she said stepping aside.
Finn and Quinn were sitting on a bed, Tina was sitting on another with Artie beside her, so Rachel took the box from him and led him towards the table in the center of the room; setting the box down on the table.
"What's in the box?" Finn asked.
Rachel opened it, tugging out the items. "Tonight is the second night of Hanukkah," she said, "this is a Menorah."
"We didn't start last night because I was working and we had to get up early," Noah added putting his Kippah on.
"You guys are welcome to watch; you don't mind, do you?" She asked, glancing around as she put three candles into the Menorah, two on the right side and the one in the middle, standing higher above the rest. (1)
"It's alright, I'm curious," Artie admitted.
"Why only three candles?" Finn asked moving closer to the table.
"The lower candles represent the days of Hanukkah and the higher one is the shamash, it means 'guard' in Hebrew," Noah told him picking up the lighter. "Since today is technically day two, there are two candles and the shamash that will be lit," he explained. (1)
Rachel stepped away briefly to get her Star of David pendant in her hand and returned to Noah as the others gathered around the opposite side of the table to watch.
Noah took her other hand and glanced at her, "do you want me to do this in Hebrew or English?" He asked softly.
Rachel smiled, "I know both, but since no one else does, English would be better."
Nodding, he flicked the lighter and reached out to light the shamash, pulling his hand back to set the lighter aside, staring at the flame as he began the 'Blessing for lighting the candles,' "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights." (2)
His eyes turned to Rachel briefly before reaching forward to pick up the lit candle, tipping its flame against the furthest right candle until the wick lit. He slowly returned the shamash to it's home in the middle of the Menorah, letting the 'Blessing for the miracles of Hanukkah' flow from his lips as his eyes focused on the new flame, "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who performed wondrous miracles for our ancestors, in those days, at this time." (2 & 3)
He smiled softly, repeating the step one more time to light the final candle. "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season." (2) Traditionally the Sheheheyanu blessing was only spoken on the first night of Hanukkah, but since they'd missed it the night before, he added it in, squeezing Rachel's hand as the last words fell from his lips.
She smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around him, "Chanukah Sameach, Noah, aní ohévet otkhá."
Noah looked into her eyes, a genuine smile tugging at his lips as he replied, "Chag Urim Sameach, Rachel, aní ohév otákh."
The two remained in each others arms, emotions high, but they felt a strong connection to each other and that connection was witnessed by the other four in the room.
Their friends had been silent the whole time, watching as the two shared a special religious tradition, trying to understand it, but they easily could see the strong connection between the couple; surprised they allowed them to watch an almost intimate exchange.
Finn was the first to speak up, "Happy Hanukkah, Puck, Rachel."
The couple broke from their thoughts and turned to the rest, "thanks," Noah nodded at him with a smile.
"That was cool," Tina admitted, "I don't think any of us understood the last few things, but Happy Hanukkah," she added.
"Thank you," Rachel smiled sitting down in a seat by the table, "I said 'Chanukah Sameach' which means 'Happy Hanukkah' and Noah said 'Chag Urim Sameach' which is 'Happy Festival of Lights,' either of them are appropriate for the holiday," she explained.
"He said it again," Quinn commented, "what does it mean and what did you say, because it sounded almost the same."
Remembering that Quinn had been around when he first said those words to Rachel, he smiled, "both mean 'I love you.' The words change a little depending on the gender of who is speaking and who they are talking to," Noah replied, taking a seat next to Rachel, lacing his hand in hers.
"Happy Hanukkah. I've never known anyone who is Jewish, so thank you for sharing," Artie said looking at them.
"You're welcome," Rachel smiled.
Noah just nodded; he wasn't used to letting people see inside his life, but the longer he dated Rachel, the more comfortable he felt about being himself. Though most of the religion was not practiced with his family, and they did celebrate Christmas to keep up with the 'norm,' Hanukkah was still special to him and he was glad he could share it with someone aside from his mom and sister; someone he cared for and loved, and could see himself with for the rest of his life.
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References:
1. en . Wikipedia . Org / wiki / Hanukkah
2. en . Wikipedia . Org / wiki / List_of_Jewish_prayers_and_blessings#Hanukkah
3. en . Wikipedia . Org / wiki / Hanukkah_music
A/N5 & disclaimer: The closest to Hanukkah I've been was about 20 years ago when I was in kindergarten and I had a guy in my class who was Jewish. Our moms were friends and his name was Aaron. All I knew was they lit candles on the Menorah and didn't celebrate Christmas, but exchanged gifts on the last night of it. This being said, I knew there had to be a lot more, so I did a bit of research and the three reference links are what I used to get the blessings and more details about the Festival of Lights. If anything is wrong, I do apologize. The underlined blessings are exact from the links above. I am BORROWING the blessings. I do not own them.
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A/N6: I was looking at the December calender when I noticed that the day I chose for them to go to Sectionals was listed as the first day of Hanukkah. I know it starts at sundown the night before it's listed on the calender, so I added this in for a little taste of their Jewish roots.
A/N7: I'm not sure how their sectionals go, but I know they are competing against the two schools we saw in "Hairography," so it would only make sense that each section would have a winner who would go on. We did something like that when I was playing in a jazz band in junior high.
A/N8: My dad was finally released from the hospital Sunday after spending 9 days in there. He's doing better, but pretty weak, but he's slowly but surely getting there. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.