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. (As of 12/2/09: Saw Mattresses and most of the topics don't pertain to my fic any more, so the story will be AU after it; but we'll see what the 'Sectionals' brings.)
A/N3: I am so thrilled to know that there are so many of you that are enjoying this story. I'm enjoying writing it and your feedback is keeping writing. I love you all for your kind words! Keep it coming!
...
They had one more shot; one more chance to prove they belonged in the ranks of Show Choir winners and it came down to their final performance at Sectionals.
In their practice room, New Directions was trying to remain calm and not get nervous as they dressed and Kurt worked on the girls hair and make up again.
Their costumes, this time, made them feel more comfortable; all in blue jeans and black Converse, but their shirts were different. The guys had on matching royal blue t-shirts and since Quinn was showing, but still could hide the baby bump under a loose shirt, the girls all chose to wear a babydoll tee, in light pink, so they could match as much as possible.
While the girls were getting ready, Puck and Artie were sitting in one corner, practicing. Puck was playing the guitar for this song and Artie would be on the bass, so they took the opportunity to run through the song, even if they had it down perfectly.
Rachel walked over to the two boys and put her hand on her boyfriends shoulder, "you guys will do great," she promised.
"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to practice," Puck commented, leaning back in the seat he was sitting on; slipping his arm around her waist.
"Remember yesterday, Puckerman!" Kurt called from across the room.
Puck dropped his arm from Rachel's waist and sighed, "if I didn't need the money I would quit just to get away from him!" His hissed quite enough that only Rachel and Artie could hear him.
The two students laughed at Puck's words, but everyone's attention was caught by Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury who were entering the room, "alright guys, we go on in fifteen minutes," he called out.
"Oh my God!" A shrill voice shot through the room; not from any of the girls, but from Kurt; he hadn't even started to do his hair.
"I'll walk those of you who are ready down to the stage," Mr. Schuester suggested, "just hurry," he added, glancing at Ms. Pillsbury.
She nodded, "I'll walk them down soon," she promised.
Those who were ready; the guys minus Kurt, Tina and Rachel followed Mr. Schuester towards the stage, slipping behind the curtains backstage. Puck hadn't paid too much attention to the schools the day before; it was way to hectic with three times the amount of students there, but now with only twenty schools performing, the atmosphere wasn't as crazy, but as soon as everyone got a look at the school on stage, each member dressed as if they were going to a formal dance, New Directions felt intimidated.
Rachel felt her boyfriend tense up, even if they were just holding hands and then she glanced around at the others, seeing falling looks and slumped shoulders, "come on guys! We're just as good as everyone out there, if not better. Don't let their looks intimidate you; it only proves that they need the flashy appearance to get noticed," Rachel said squeezing Noah's hand.
"I hope you're right," Puck commented turning to look at everyone.
"Right about - Oh my God, what are they wearing?" Kurt gasped as he and the rest joined the group.
"Well said Rachel," Will moved closer to the students, "we have the heart and the determination to show them up with our dancing, singing, and guitar playing," he added the last words for Puck and Artie, "so don't let them get you down," he said looking at each student directly as he spoke. "Just take a deep breath and do what you've been doing all along," he finished.
"New Directions, you're up!" A stage hand called out to them.
Everyone took a deep breath and stepped past the curtains to the stage. Puck hung back until everyone had gone past, then glanced at Mr. Schuester. Nodding at him, he stepped onto stage and walked right to the band, plugging his guitar into the amp. He looked towards Rachel and locked eyes with her. She smiled and then nodded at him; their cue that everyone was ready.
Taking a quick glance at Artie, Puck placed his left hand on the neck of the guitar while his right hand began to strum the beginning of 'My Life Would Suck Without You' by Kelly Clarkson; his first real solo in front of someone aside from the Glee club.
The notes echoed through the center and he smiled as Rachel's voice joined in with the first verse of the song, "Guess this means you're sorry. You're standing at my door. Guess this means you take back, all you said before, like how much you wanted, anyone but me. Said you'd never come back, but here you are again."
Rachel had stepped forward several times during the verse, but she returned to the group as everyone else began to sing along for the chorus, "Cause we belong together now, yeah. Forever united here somehow, yeah. You got a piece of me and honestly... My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you."
Tina was nervous, maybe even scared, but she stepped forward for the second verse and belted out, "Maybe I was stupid for telling you goodbye. Maybe I was wrong for trying to pick a fight. I know that I've got issues, but you're pretty messed up too. Either way, I found out I'm nothing without you," she stepped back into the group flawlessly, just as they began the chorus, "Cause we belong together now, yeah. Forever united here somehow, yeah. You got a piece of me and honestly... My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you."
Rachel appeared next to Puck, as if she was singing the next part to him, her hand on his shoulder, "Being with you is so dysfunctional. I really shouldn't miss you, but I can't let you go, oh yeah." Puck smiled at her, but focused on his second solo in the song, watching her step back to the group as his solo connected her words to the chorus again, "Cause we belong together now, yea-yeah. Forever united here somehow, yeah. You got a piece of me and honestly... My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you. Cause we belong together now (together now), yeah. Forever united here somehow, yeah. You got a piece of me and honestly... My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you."
As the final words of the song left their lips, echoing through the center, Puck let the last chord from the guitar linger a moment longer before stopping it; hearing the crowd in the center clapping and cheering for them. He smiled and bowed from where he was on the side of the stage and as everyone jogged of, he unhooked his guitar and headed in the same direction they had gone, letting the the guitar slip behind his back with the strap. As soon as he stepped backstage, someone was jumping into his arms, "oh my God! Noah you were amazing!" Rachel exclaimed, pressing a loving kiss to his lips.
He returned her kiss, his arms wrapping around her body as he pulled from their kiss with a smile on his face, "thanks babe, you were, too."
"You did fantastic!" Mr. Schuester called, giving everyone a high-five, "I'm so proud of each one of you."
High on adrenaline from their performance, the club returned to their practice room to change. Everyone was jumping around the room as they gathered up their stuff and headed back to the bus to drop things off.
Knowing that there were only a few schools left to perform, the club returned to the center and found seats to watch the last routines. Vocal Adrenaline was the last school to perform. Puck, Matt and Mike had yet to see them in action and had only heard how good they were from everyone else who, at some point, had seem them before the three guys joined Glee.
"Well shit," Puck murmured, his eyes wide in shock at the flashy routine he'd just seen.
"My thoughts exactly, man," Finn commented.
If Rachel hadn't been holding her boyfriend's hand, she probably would have crossed her arms over her chest in a pout, but instead, she sighed, "they're good, but not that good."
With the last performance, other schools began to filter in, finding seats or standing in groups by the stage. Everyone was waiting for the announcement that would soon come.
As the minutes ticked by, the more nervous and impatient everyone got. Watching judges lean to another and talk or pass papers of to someone, all of them discussing performances and scoring each school, did not help the nerves building in everyone there.
"Will they hurry the fuck up already," Puck groaned.
"Calm down, Noah, they have to deliberate and tally our scores," Rachel said squeezing his hand, "relax."
He shook his head, but turned his attention back to the stage, just as a judge was walking onto it with a microphone, "finally!" Puck exclaimed sitting back.
"Thank you to each and everyone of you who performed on this stage today. You all did amazing and we wish we could pass all of you on, but we unfortunately had to make a choice and in my hand are the five schools who will be going on to compete at Regionals."
"Get on with it, dude," Finn commented glancing at his friend.
Puck just nodded, glad he wasn't the only one who wanted them to hurry up. The fifth place school was some prep school and Puck just rolled his eyes as their director went up to accept their trophy. The school who took fourth was one that Puck hadn't even heard of up until that moment. All of their hopes began to fade as the third place school, West Columbus High School, was announced and he realized there were only two more spots left to fill; the odds were against them. He looked at Rachel and then in front of him at Tina, Artie, Mercedes and Kurt, who all seemed to be realizing the same thing he was, but just as he made that mental connection the announcer said, "in second place... William McKinley High School's New Directions!"
"What?" Puck's eyes widened and jumped up with Rachel as it all began to hit him.
"Second place! Oh my God!" Rachel exclaimed jumping into his arms.
Puck held her close and kissed her briefly, letting his brain wrap around their second place finish. Pulling away, he smiled at her, "second place, wow!"
She nodded excitedly at him, "we did it, Noah!" She grinned, kissing him again.
He returned her kiss and held her for a long moment before the two moved to into the aisle, joining the rest of the club. Everyone was jumping up and down, sharing hugs and started cheering as Mr. Schuester returned to them with their second place trophy in his hands.
Taking first place, was obviously Carmel High School's Vocal Adrenaline, but New Direction's didn't even care. Out of over sixty schools competing that weekend, they took second and that was enough to prove they had what it took to be winners.
With Sectionals now over, all the schools began to file out of the center, heading towards cars and other buses. New Directions waited a little bit for some of the schools to leave; each of them getting a chance to see the trophy up close as it was passed around, before they started towards the exit, hearing someone out Quinn's name.
No one knew who was calling her name until the former Cheerio took off in a mad dash to another blond woman, with a guy and two kids next to her.
"Uh, weird," Finn admitted, confused at what his girlfriend was doing.
"Who is that?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know," Finn replied.
The entire group waited, curious to what was going on, until Quinn came over holding hands with the blond woman, partially dragging her towards everyone, "I'd like you all to meet my sister, Rebecca, my brother-in-law Steven, and my niece Gwen and my nephew Alex," she said motioning towards them. Gwen and Alex seemed to hide behind their parents, being shy, but Steven and Rebecca nodded at each of them as Quinn said their names and the club member waved in response. "And this is Rachel, Puck, and my boyfriend, Finn," she finished, stepping towards Finn and taking his hand in hers.
During the introductions, Finn and Puck were both tense; neither knew just how much Rebecca and her family knew about the baby situation. As soon as their names were said, they looked up and waved lightly to them, but wanted her to be the first one to speak.
"It's so nice to meet all of you. It's great to finally put a name to a face," Rebecca explained, "congratulations on second place; you guys did great today," she added with a smile.
A chorus of 'thanks' echoed through the group and Mr. Schuester smiled, "well, guys, lets give Quinn a chance to talk to her sister," he said motioning towards the exit doors. "Say, ten or fifteen minutes?" He asked.
Quinn nodded, "thanks Mr. Schue."
One by one, the students began heading towards the doors, until it was Puck, Rachel, Quinn, Finn and Mr. Schue left, "Puck, Rachel, are you coming?"
"Actually Mr. Schuester, I'd also like to speak to Puck and Rachel," Rebecca said smiling.
"Um, alright. It was nice meeting you," he nodded at the woman and with a wave, followed the rest out to the bus.
Puck noticed Quinn's brother-in-law guiding their two children away from them and his stomach started knotting up, knowing if kids weren't around Rebecca was free to say anything.
"I meant what I said, it is nice to finally put names to faces," she started, looking at the three non-family members. "I know everything," she explained, glancing at her sister before turning to Rachel, "thank you for letting my sister stay with you. When I first found out about what my parents did, I wanted her to come stay with us, but she didn't want to leave school and you offered her someplace to stay. For that I'm grateful," she smiled.
"It's no problem at all. I'm glad I was able to help," Rachel admitted.
Rebecca pulled something out of her purse and handed it to Rachel, "our parents are idiots, but Steve and I have already discussed this and as long as she's living with you, we'll be sending you that every month," she told Rachel.
Rachel opened up the paper in her hand and saw a check written out for two-hundred dollars, "I can't accept this, Rebecca, my fathers already said she doesn't need to pay rent or anything."
She laughed a little, "I figured you'd say that and Quinn said the same thing, but look, I know how expensive medical bills are and maternity clothes are not cheap. This won't go far, but I'm sure it will help, so if you won't accept it as rent, at least take it and you guys can use it however. Just be reasonable," she told the younger girl.
Rachel glanced at Quinn, who was staring at her sister with tears in her eyes, before turning back to Rebecca, "I believe this will help with the doctor's bills," she admitted, slipping the check into her pocket and smiling at them.
Rebecca pulled her sister into her arms and hugged her tightly, "I told you we'd take care if you," she whispered, but the other three could hear what she was saying.
Quinn pulled away from her sister and wiped her eyes, "thanks Rebecca, for accepting all of this."
"Oh, come on sis, if mom and dad knew what I did when I was in high school, I'd have been kicked out a lot sooner than you were," she told her with a laugh, but quickly sobered, knowing the kids didn't have a long time to be there, "as for you two," she looked at Puck and Finn and both boys stiffened, waiting for their lecture. "Puck, I don't hate you, I'm well aware this was an accident and a mistake and that you're taking responsibility for your baby and have gotten a job, but it won't cut it for long; even with medical insurance the vaccines alone are crazy expensive."
Puck nodded, "yeah, I know," he agreed; he'd been thinking a lot about that detail.
"Good, I just wanted to make sure you're aware of it, because even if Quinn is giving you all rights, I still know that she is my niece and if you don't take care of her, I will fix that very quickly," she eyed him, hoping he got the clue.
Looking at the older blond, Puck realized she wasn't talking about helping out, she meant legally and he could tell she was serious, so he nodded quickly, "I will take care of her. She's my top priority."
"Excellent, now that we have that clear, Finn, why haven't you gotten a job yet?" She asked the taller boy.
"Huh? What?" Finn eyed the woman like she was crazy.
"Well, if you care about my sister like she says you do, why haven't you gotten a job to help out? Puck may be the father, but right now Quinn can't work, so don't you think you should be helping out a little yourself?"
Finn's eyes darted between Quinn, her sister and Puck; his mind trying to comprehend what he was just told, "uh, yeah, I guess I should," he said rubbing his neck nervously, "I never thought about it that way."
"Didn't think so," Rebecca admitted. The woman glanced at her husband and then noticed the clock on the wall, "aside from those minor details, I'm glad that my sister has all of you for support. I wish I could be there more, but I will be in touch," she told them as her husband and children joined them, "say goodbye to your auntie, she's got to go home now," Rebecca said with her kids.
"Bye Auntie Quinn," Alex said giving her a hug.
Quinn returned the hug and knelt down to hug Gwen, before standing up to hug Steve. "Take care, okay? If you need anything, just call," Steve told her as he and Quinn pulled apart.
Rachel, Puck and Finn stepped back, giving the family a moment alone, but as soon as Quinn joined them, they all waved goodbye before heading outside to the idling bus. They silently took their seats, this time Puck and Finn sliding over to the windows, allowing the girls to sit on the aisle so they could talk. Once the four were seated, the bus shifted gears and began their two hour trip home to Lima.
"Quinn," Rachel tugged the check from her pocket and handed it across the aisle to her, "this is yours, I'll tell my dads about it, but it's your money. I can't take it."
Quinn looked at her sisters handwriting and smiled at Rachel, "thanks. I told her we were doing alright, you know, but I guess this helps. Not much, like she said, but it's a start," she eyed the check and then handed it back to Rachel, "I'm no good with money. If I keep it I'll waste it, so just keep an eye on it for me, I'll cash it and all, but you should keep it, I can come get it from you when I need it."
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, if I had it, every time I get a craving for something I'd be spending it on that, so yes, I'm sure," she laughed a little. "Thanks again."
Rachel was about to respond, but saw Quinn turn towards Finn, getting comfortable for the ride home; Quinn's signal that she was done talking, so Rachel slipped the check back into her pocket and slid closer to Noah, snuggling up to him while he was flipping through pages in a book. "What are you reading?" She asked softly.
He slowly closed the book, holding his place with his finger so she could read the words. Her eyes scanned over the cover, seeing pastel colored stripes as a background to several baby photos and then her eyes read over the title, 'The Complete Book of Baby Names.'
Puck shrugged, "it's probably stupid, but I didn't have a clue where to start," he admitted.
"No, Noah, it's a good idea. There are a lot of people who do that," she told him with a smile. "It's not stupid at all."
He returned her smile, "thanks. I know I have several months to think about it, but I don't want to wait that long."
"These next few months are going to go by so quick; she'll be here before you know it," she replied.
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," he admitted, "in some ways I want to wait to meet her, to make the final decision, but I still need to come up with some I like."
"You will," she said quietly.
Shifting in his seat, he pressed a kiss to her forehead as he continued to read over the pages, looking for names that stuck out. He'd been thinking about a name for his daughter for over a month, ever since Quinn told him to let her know when he picked one and he had yet to come up with any that he even liked.
He lasted for a good portion of the ride, skimming through pages of names, but in the dim light of the bus, he found his eyes loosing focus on the words, so he closed it softly and slipped it back into his bag, being careful not to move quickly because Rachel was asleep against him. With a smile he carefully leaned towards the window, slipping his arm around Rachel's shoulders and staring out into the dark night as it passed by.
"What am I doing? Is this really the right thing? Can I really do this?" His thoughts were getting the best of him and he couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes, "she deserves to be happy, but can I do that?" He took a glance over at Quinn before returning his attention to the passing darkness, "Quinn's sister is right; on top of medical bills, there's clothes and food and diapers; working at Burt's isn't going to cut it at all; even if I save up now. I can't do that if all my money is going to Quinn's bills. Fuck, what am I going to do? I won't drop out of school; that much I know, but what next? Stay in Lima with my mom and sister forever? Where would I go? What would I do?" He felt Rachel's arms tighten around him, which drew his thoughts to her, "well, New York has possibilities; I mean she wants to be on Broadway, so why not? Wait; what am I saying? I'm seventeen and I'm talking like forever; am I? Is this going in that direction? Well she sure saved me from a downward spiral, but am I who she wants? I must be; she is with me and has made it clear she wants to be with me as long as I want her to be. How did I snag her? I don't deserve her, but someone must be looking out for me." His free hand reached up and wiped his eyes quickly, hoping that no one saw him rub away the tears, but glancing down, he noticed Rachel looking up at him. "Hi," he said softly.
She didn't respond right away, studying his face, as she tried to figure out what had happened, "what's wrong?" She whispered.
He blinked his eyes a few times, taking a moment to still his overactive mind and shrugged, "nothing. I'm fine," he replied.
"Noah, something's wrong," she stated.
With a sigh, he shook his head, "not here, okay? Later," he turned his head back to the window, seeing the familiar lights of the outskirts of Lima.
He knew he couldn't keep what got him all teared up from Rachel, but he hoped she would get the clue he didn't want to discuss it on a bus full of their friends and he was thankful when Mr. Schuester stood up in the front of the bus. "Alright guys, we're almost home," he said, looking around. He had things he wanted to say, but could see some of the students were still asleep, so he gave them a chance to wake up before continuing, "I just want to say that you guys did it. I knew you could and you proved that as a team, we can do anything," he smiled. "Second place out of sixty or more schools; that's something and maybe this will show Figgins and Sue that we are real and worth it."
"What does Figgins have to do with anything?" Rachel asked.
"When I took over as Glee Club director, I had to pay the school to keep it open. Figgins told me that if we didn't place, he would shut the club down and what little funding we had would go right to the Cheerios," he explained, "all this time, Sue has been doing anything she can to keep us from being successful because she doesn't want the limelight to be taken from her or the Cheerios, but we've pushed through and placed. The Cheerios are not the only team who are winners and we just proved that. Hopefully we'll all start getting a little more respect around the school," he smiled, "and start seeing some more funding."
"So that means we can buy more costumes?" Mercedes asked hopeful.
Will laughed, shrugging his shoulders, "probably, but I'm not sure," he admitted.
Mercedes' eyes widened at the thought and immediately started talking to Kurt about costume designs.
"No feathers!" Puck yelled from his seat in the middle of the bus, causing several around him to laugh. "So now what, Mr. Schue?" Puck asked looking at their director.
"Well, we have until February to come up with at least three new songs and dance routines to take to Regionals. We have the funding for the bus, but depending on how much we will get, we might have to do some fundraisers to come up with the money to stay at the hotel. We'll be up there more than a night," he explained.
Puck knew where this was going, "don't say -"
"With the success of the bake sale last time, that could be our first try," Will said.
Puck groaned loudly from his seat, "I knew that was coming."
Rachel patted his shoulder, but didn't say anything as the bus finally pulled into the parking lot of WMHS.
"I'll see everyone tomorrow in Glee and we can discuss Regionals a little more and I'll have talked to Figgins about funding by then, so I'll know more," Will admitted. "Come tomorrow with some song suggestions; I want your input."
As the bus came to a complete stop, everyone stood and gathered up their bags, making their way off the bus, eagerly talking about the plans for Regionals; with new songs and dances.
Puck and Rachel headed for his jeep, Quinn and Finn right behind them. "I was thinking about what Rebecca said," Puck told his girlfriend, not caring if Quinn or Finn heard what he said.
"What part?" Rachel asked looking at him as they reached his jeep.
"The part about my job not going to cut it for long." He dug his keys out and unlocked the back, chucking his bags in the back along with Rachel's and Quinn's.
"Puck, she's just trying to intimidate you, don't let that get you down. You're doing fine. Besides, it's a damn good job right now; worry about that when you graduate," Quinn commented, "I love my sister, but her fancy life sometimes bugs me. She figures if she can threaten legal action that it gets her further in life. Just take it with a grain of salt."
"Yeah, well, it kind of worked. I don't want to loose my daughter, but being a part-time grease monkey isn't going to work for very long."
"Noah, we're not going to let that happen," Rachel said resting a hand on his shoulder, "we all want to help."
Puck nodded at her, shrugging his shoulders.
Finn cleared his throat, "um, there is always the military. I've thought a lot about it myself," he told his friend. "My dad was in the Army."
Puck's eyes flew to Finn, his mind racing. He had totally forgotten about Finn's dad being killed in action. 'Okay, so maybe not the Army or Marine Corps, but what about the Navy?' Puck thought, then smiled, "good idea man. I had totally forgotten about the military."
Rachel's eyes widened, "Noah, what are you thinking?"
He shook his head, "just relax, Rach, it's nothing right now," he replied, resting his hands on her shoulders, "and in time, I'll talk to you all about it."
"Promise?" She asked softly.
"I promise," he told her; meaning it completely. He knew nothing at the moment, but in time he would and then, when he had a better idea of things, he'd talk to her; even if that was a year away.
"Rebecca was right about one thing," Finn commented.
"What's that?" Quinn asked.
"I should be helping out, so I will. Starting tomorrow, I'll start looking for a job; where and what, I don't know, but I'll find something," he explained, looking at Quinn with a smile, turning to look at Puck and Rachel, "that's what brothers do, right?" Finn asked him.
Puck nodded, a smile tugging at his lips, "yeah, it is," he agreed.
...
Music: 'My Life Would Suck Without You' by Kelly Clarkson. I'm a huge fan of hers and have been since she was crowned American Idol. When I heard this was a song in 'Sectionals,' I knew I had to use it in 'Out of the Blue.'
A/N4: Wow, okay, so another tough chapter to write. A lot of emotions for me; and I had some major issues writing a few scenes, but I hope they worked out. What do you all think?
A/N5: Life is getting back to normal around here, so hopefully I'll be able to keep writing and get at least two chapters posted a week.