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: Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: All of the feedback has been amazing! Thank you all for reading and enjoying this. Your feedback keeps me writing. :D
...
Since Winter Break, Puck and Rachel had been sleeping together almost every night, so the first night in Detroit, even though the trip so far had been 'drama free,' Puck still found himself unable to stay asleep. He tried to reason with himself that it was just nerves from Regionals, meeting his dad face-to-face for the first time and emotions to go along, but he knew it was the missing body next to him that was keeping him from decent sleep.
Puck's lack of sleep didn't go unnoticed, especially when the three other guys in the room were up and Puck was out like a light. Kurt was the last to leave the room, his dad infront of him, when he glanced back at Puck still asleep, closing the door. "I'll be right there," He said to his dad, already heading towards the elevator.
Knocking lightly on one of the other doors, Kurt smiled lightly at Rachel as she opened it, "good morning, Rachel," he greeted.
"Good morning, Kurt," she said a little shocked to see him. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes and no, well, yes things are alright, but um, he'd probably kill me for saying something, but Puck didn't sleep well last night; or he spent more time tossing and turning than sleeping. It kept waking me up," he admitted, handing her his key, "I know you don't want to go to breakfast and all, but he's still asleep, so I thought you might want to stop by and make sure he gets up in time to go," he explained.
"Um, alright, thank you," Rachel took the key and nodded, "I will check on him."
"Good, I'll see you later," he waved at her before taking off down the hallway in the direction his dad had taken.
Closing the door, Rachel looked at the key card in her hand and stepped further into the room where Deborah was just waking up, "should I let him sleep or go over and see him?" Rachel asked, knowing Deborah had heard everything.
Deborah shrugged, "well, knowing the sleeping arrangement you two have had for the past few months, I'd suggest going over to see him, but if he's already asleep, maybe just give him another hour or two. We're not going over to the arena until ten-thirty and it's only," she glanced at her cell phone, "eight, so he's got at least another hour and a half to sleep. You should know him enough to know he can get ready for anything in less than a half an hour," she replied rubbing her eyes.
Rachel nodded and agreed to let him sleep for a while longer, giving her an opportunity to work on some homework before she gave into the need to see him and went over to his room just after nine.
Puck was glad to have the room to himself, knowing his roommates had left, giving him a chance for some peace, but when he heard the door open, he didn't get up, figuring it was one of the guys.
"Noah," Rachel said softly and Puck thought had been dreaming, but when she repeated it, he rolled onto his back to see her walking towards him, "you brought breakfast," he replied.
"No, but I could go down to the café and get something if you'd-"
She was standing next to his bed, so he sat up and pulled her to him, his lips pressing against hers as his arms wrapped around her petite frame, "who needs food when I've got all I need right here?" He murmured.
Rachel groaned when she felt his lips press kisses along her neck, "baby, we're not alone," she whispered, "anyone could come in."
Puck sighed at her words, and pulled his lips away, "how did you get in here anyway?" He asked curiously.
"Kurt stopped by before he and his dad went out; gave me his key and said you didn't sleep very well last night," Rachel explained, sitting down next to him on the bed.
"What did he do? Watch me sleep all night?" Puck snapped.
"Noah," Rachel took his hand in hers, "he said your tossing and turning woke him up a few times, so I'm sure he was aware you were not sleeping, and I'm sure I know why," she admitted.
"Oh yeah? Why's that?" He asked glancing at her and then their hands.
"Emotions and nerves for this weekend, with Regionals and your dad," she explained.
Puck shook his head, "no, it's not that, but I did figure it out when I wasn't sleeping last night," he replied looking at her.
Rachel studied his face and then reached up with her other hand and brushed it along his cheek, "I missed you last night, I woke up a few times thinking you'd gotten out of bed. It took me some time to realize where I was," she sighed, "if only we were not on a school trip," she whispered.
He nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips, "cliché, I know, but you don't know what you've got until it's gone," he admitted slipping an arm around her shoulders.
Rachel slid her arm around his back and the two sat together on the edge of the bed for a moment before he reached for his cell phone to see it was almost nine-thirty. "Rachel, did you notice anything between my parents last night?" He asked softly.
"Not really, why do you ask?" She glanced up at him curiously.
"Well, dad is cool and all, but they seemed like, I don't know, like they knew each other more," he wasn't sure what he was trying to say.
Rachel thought back to the night before and shook her head, "it's not like they don't know each other. They have two children together and by the sounds of it were high school sweethearts, so if you saw anything odd, I can imagine it's just like seeing an old friend after being out of touch for years," she said.
"But they have been in touch," he commented, getting up to get some clothes to put on after he showered, "you were there when mom said they've been talking for, what? Almost two years? I didn't put it together until just last night, but back in July, before all this started," he paused biting his lip at what he needed to say.
"When you had your pool cleaning business that was a cover to sleep with the town's cougars?" She asked calmly, "I know, Noah, I'm not blind."
He nodded, "uh yeah, well back in July, mom told me she had a week long seminar that the hospital was sending her to 'up north,' so I had to watch Arin. I didn't mind so much and when I was actually working, because sometimes I was just cleaning pools, Arin was at Mrs. Morgan's, but when mom came back, she brought us stuff from Detroit. She knew then he lived here, so even though he didn't talk to her about his job, I think they might have... Well, now I'm not so sure there was a seminar," he explained.
Rachel's eyes widened at that and looked at him, "that's a pretty big accusation," she admitted.
"I know, and I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but now it's all too much of a coincidence," he told her.
"Maybe she did meet up with him. If I was in her shoes, I'd want to meet with him first to see if he had changed like he said before I'd even think of letting my children meet him," she looked at him, "maybe that's why."
"She was looking at him like you look at me," he whispered, grabbing a towel, "and did you hear how he introduced her? His wife?" He questioned. "And she didn't correct him."
"That has an easy explanation; rather than having to explain himself, he went with something easy; because at some point they were married," she replied.
With a nod, he glanced towards the bathroom, "I've gotta shower," he murmured, "I want to talk more, but please don't say anything to her."
Rachel got up and followed him towards the bathroom, "Noah, I won't say anything, but what if you're right; how would you feel if your parents did get back together?" It was a stretch, but if what he said was true, then there was a chance it could mean that.
Turning around, he smiled, "honestly," he paused, "I've talked to him in emails and on the phone, and after last night, I haven't seen my mom this happy in a long time. I want her to be happy; she never dated after he left and I don't think he did either... It would be weird, but kind of would be a dream come true," he admitted, "I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I want them to be honest with me, that's all; well that and I'm not moving to Detroit," he commented.
Rachel nodded in understanding, but before she could say anything, her phone beeped, so she pulled it from her pocket and read the message before looking up at him, "mom is going downstairs to meet up with Quinn and some of them in the café. I guess I'll head down there, too. Come down when you're ready?"
Puck nodded, "yeah, I'll be down. You called her mom," he smirked.
Nodding, she blushed slightly, "yeah, well, she is the closest person I have to a mom, and someday she will be legally, so why not start out now?" She asked with a smile. "She told me I could call her that a while ago, it's just taking some getting used to."
Puck smiled and pulled her into his arms, pressing a loving kiss to her lips, "I like it," he whispered, "see you in a while," he added.
With another quick kiss, Rachel headed towards the door. Puck paused at the bathroom door, "hey Rach," he paused, catching her attention. When she turned to him, he smiled, "I love what you're wearing," he smiled, stepping into the bathroom.
Rachel felt the blush growing on her cheeks as she returned to her room, glancing in the mirror at her choice of clothes. She knew being in a hockey rink that it would be cool, so she opted for jeans and tennis shoes. Instead of a sweater, she chose a long sleeved gray t-shirt with a blue and pink plaid t-shirt over the top, going for the layered look. With her boyfriend's comment, she knew she had picked out something appropriate, so she grabbed her camera and jacket and headed down to the elevator and walked towards the café when the doors opened in the lobby.
Hearing her name, she looked around for where she it was coming from and looked to see a small girl running towards her, "Arin?" She gasped hugging the girl as she reached her, "what are you doing here? How did you get here?" She asked happily as they hugged.
Arin giggled and took Rachel's hand and led her over to the table where Deborah, Quinn and Finn were sitting, finding her dads were also there, "dad, daddy!" Rachel exclaimed hugging them both, "what are you guys doing here?"
"Surprise," Alan grinned hugging her.
Deborah laughed as Arin sat back down next to her, "when I was going to be a chaperone, we talked about if I should bring Arin along, but since I didn't know how Ethan and Noah would work out, I didn't want to bring Arin along in case things didn't go well. They offered to watch her and if things did go well, they'd bring her up. When you guys went up to your rooms last night, while Ethan and I were talking, I called them to tell them it was alright to bring her up and told them about the game," she explained.
"Noah doesn't know?" Rachel asked.
"Nope, we had to keep it a secret," Arin said.
Rachel smiled and they all chatted lightly until Puck appeared in the entrance of the café. Arin jumped up and ran over to him, the shocked and concerned expression evident as they hugged, but when his mom and Rachel's dads explained what they had just told Rachel, he grinned; glad he could now introduce his dad to his daughter.
The closer it got to ten-thirty, the more people showed up and once the twelve 'New Directions' members, chaperones and new guests were there, they all piled on the bus and took the short ride to the arena. Being dropped off, they were all shocked at how crazy it was. There were people everywhere, some dressed in red to support the firefighters, while others were dressed in blue, supporting the police department. A large crowd had gathered by the doors, waiting for them to open.
Puck had sent a message to his dad that they were there and Ethan came out of the doors dressed in his jersey, quickly getting screams from the police department fans. He smiled at them and thanked them, but pushed through the crowd to get to where the group of students were standing, "hey guys," he laughed, handing off an envelope of tickets to Puck.
"Hey dad," Puck smiled taking a ticket and slid it into his back pocket while he handed the envelope off to Rachel who began to pass them out. "This is like a big deal," Puck commented, motioning to all the booths and people around.
Ethan nodded, "yeah, hockey seems to draw the most people in; this is actually the Detroit Red Wings stadium," he said motioning behind him, "we play a few games a year for charities and fun."
"A good cause," Will commented from the middle of the group.
"Sorry guys," Puck laughed, "guys this is my dad Ethan Ballard, dad this is Matt, Mercedes, Artie, Tina, Santana, Brittany, and Ms. Emma Pillsbury," he said introducing those that his dad hadn't met yet.
Ethan nodded at those Puck introduced and smiled, "it's nice to meet all of you."
Puck motioned towards Rachel's dads, "and these guys are David and Alan Berry, Rachel's dads. They just got here a little while ago," he explained.
Ethan stepped towards the two men and smiled again, "I've heard a lot about you guys. It's nice to finally put a name to a face," he said shaking their hands.
"Likewise, Ethan," Alan replied.
"Nice to meet you," David said nodding at him as they shook hands.
"Alan and David came up with someone else," Puck commented softly.
Arin had been standing behind everyone for the moment, but as Ethan had stepped towards Alan and David, she moved around to stand behind her brother and when Puck spoke, she stepped out from behind him and looked at her dad for the first time.
Ethan's eyes widened as the young girl stepped out from behind her brother; seeing the younger version of Deborah, but Arin had his eyes.
Puck smiled, resting his hand on his sister's shoulder, "Arin, meet our dad. Dad, this is-"
"Arin Marie," Ethan answered, calmly stepping forward and kneeling down in front of her. He wasn't quite sure what to say, but he held out his hand to her, waiting for her to take the next step.
Arin saw him hold his hand out to her, but she had thought long and hard about what she wanted to do, so she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering, "hi daddy," in his hear.
Her words was all the answer he needed before wrapping his arms around her body and hugging her tightly. "You're so beautiful, baby girl," he murmured as he pulled away to look at her again. "God, I'm so sorry," he whispered.
"It's okay, you're here now," she replied, hugging him again before pulling away completely.
"Yeah, I am," he agreed, standing up with a bright smile on his face, looking at Deborah.
Deborah stepped towards him, giving him a long hug and Rachel nudged her boyfriend towards them, wanting to get a family picture before he had to go back inside. One picture was taken before his phone began to ring, a teammate wanting to know where he was, so he reluctantly gave in and said goodbye before heading in to get changed for the game.
As soon as the doors opened, the students and chaperones filed into the arena, finding their way to the stands near the police bench to take seats.
Talking to pass the time, Puck started to notice more cops and family members filling the stands; the cops themselves were easy to tell because their clothes said something like 'Detroit Police' or 'DPD.' He was surprised he didn't see anyone wearing 'SWAT,' supporting their fellow member on the team, but he did notice a lot of guys walking around with black fleece jackets with 'DPD: SRT' written on the back. The guys were scattered throughout the police side of the arena, sitting together or with family members.
The lights in the arena changed and lights focused on the rink in the middle as the fire department team was announced, all of them skating out onto the ice, making one loop around the rink before lining up, facing the American flag that hung nearby. The police team was next, repeating what the fire department had done before lining up facing the flag. The announcer asked for everyone to stand for the National Anthem, so Puck let go of Rachel and everyone stood and placed their hands over their hearts as a prerecorded version of the National Anthem was played over the loudspeaker.
Ethan was easy to spot with 'Ballard' on the back of his jersey above his number, "Noah, I didn't realize it until just now, but your dad is wearing number twenty," Rachel said leaning over to him.
Puck smirked, "I know. It was his number in school, too. That's another reason I always wore it," he admitted, tugging her closer to him, his arm wrapping protectively around her waist as his hand rested on her hip.
Rachel's free hand reached up and brushed against the charm he gave her with the number on it and smiled, "maybe one day our son will wear it," she whispered pressing a kiss to his lips.
Continuing the kiss when he realized the meaning of her words, he nodded with a smile on his face as they pulled away, "maybe," he whispered before turning back to the game to see the faceoff had already taken place and the police had control for the moment.
"What is going on?" Rachel asked.
Puck smirked, "right now the police have control of the puck," he said.
Rachel laughed, "you?"
"No, the little thing they're knocking around on the ice is called a hockey puck," he laughed, now realizing that his nickname was a piece of hockey equipment, "never realized that before," he shook his head.
"Oh, so it's a real term?" She asked.
Puck nodded, "the point of hockey is to get the puck into the goal as many times as a team can," he explained motioning towards the game, "and it can get pretty violent," he added just as two cops barreled a firefighter into the wall.
"Oh my God," Rachel jumped at the shock and looked at him, "is that legal?"
He laughed, "oh yeah."
"Now do you see why I call the hockey guys at school 'Neanderthal Puck-heads'?" Quinn asked, leaning forward so she could look at Rachel, "no offense, Puck, to you or your dad," she added.
Puck shook his head, "it's all good," he shrugged, glancing to the rink as his dad got the puck and was heading towards the goal. "YES!" Puck exclaimed when the puck slid easily into the goal, scoring the first goal of the game.
The game went back and forth. After Ethan's first goal, the fire department got the puck and almost got a goal, but it was stolen by the police, then two firefighters would body slam the cop into the wall to get the puck back. The police would return the favor, so most of it was a lot of pushing a shoving. The first two periods, both twenty minutes each, actually took almost an hour to complete and as the buzzer chimed ending the second period, the police had 10 points and the fire department were behind, with only 8 points.
"God!" Finn groaned rubbing his neck, "hockey is like a tennis match on ice!"
"Yeah, I know," Puck nodded glancing down at Rachel who was leaning her head against his chest and her arms were wrapped around his body, "how you doing babe?" he asked softly, rubbing her back gently.
"I'm so glad you don't play hockey," Rachel murmured looking up at him, "I really thought football was bad, I never thought there would be anything worse, but I was wrong, way wrong."
"Don't worry, I'll never play," he promised pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Though Puck was content to stay where he was, he also was hungry, so he, Finn and a couple of the guys headed up to get food, returning some time later with their hands full of containers of nachos and french fries, along with a large bag of popcorn, typical concession stand food.
As soon as they were settled into their seats again, the buzzer rang to end the break and the two teams came back out on the ice. The firefighters seemed to have renewed energy because within the first five minutes of the new period, they scored four more points, bringing their score up to 12, the police still at 10.
After the fourth new point for the fire department, Ethan finally got the puck and he and the team passed it back and forth until they reached their goal, another point for the police. One of the cops managed to get the puck again and tied up the game, making the last five minutes of the period brutal; the guys got more aggressive and no one seemed to be making any shot they took, which brought out even more aggression.
With a minute left to go, Ethan got the puck and passed it to a teammate as they skated back towards their goal. The player passed it off to someone else and when Ethan was in position, the player passed it back to him, who skated forward just as two firefighters came towards him, but it was too late, he had already hit the puck and it was sailing right between the goalie's legs, just as the buzzer rang to end the game; the police winning by one point, 13 to 12.
"Oh my God! That was incredible!" Rachel exclaimed as everyone began to jump up and cheer for the winners.
"Yeah, it was," Puck nodded, joining in the cheering.
Both teams went out onto the ice and lined up to give each team member a hand shake before the cops took one last skate around the rink earning cheers for their win before they all headed into the locker rooms.
As the stands began to empty, the McKinley group waited for Ethan to come out, since Puck didn't know what was planned for the rest of the day, other than being at the convention center by seven for the results. Will called the bus driver and had them bring the bus over, but they wouldn't leave until they knew what everyone was doing.
When Ethan did appear, he was walking from the locker room, saying bye to some of his teammates as they left from the exit, while Ethan walked towards them, dropping his gear bag on a seat and letting his hockey stick sit on top of it. "So, what did you think?" He asked.
Everyone laughed, but congratulated him for a great game and winning before he got his stuff and they all made their way outside. "What time do you guys have to be back at the convention center tonight?" Ethan asked.
"Seven tonight, figure we'll head over about six, six-thirty," Will explained.
Ethan glanced at the time and saw it was almost two, "plenty of time," he said, "there's one place your mom wants to go while y'all are here, so I figure you'll want to, also, well at least I'm sure Rachel will want to go," he told them.
"Where?" Puck glanced at him and then his mom.
"The Holocaust Memorial Center," Deborah said, "Alan and David told me about it."
"Uh, sure," Puck commented looking at his girlfriend's dads, "have you been there?"
David nodded, "yeah, we went last year, but Rachel wasn't with us," he replied, "go have fun. It's a lot to take in, but it's worth the trip."
With plans made, those who were going back to the hotel piled onto the bus, while Rachel, Puck, Arin and Deborah stayed with Ethan, waving at their friends as the bus pulled away. Heading out to Ethan's jeep, he threw his stuff in the back, "you've seen '8 Mile,' right?" Ethan asked Puck.
"Yeah, why?" Puck nodded.
Ethan smirked, "you'll see on the way," he commented getting in the driver's seat.
Deborah slid into the front seat with Ethan, while Puck climbed into the back behind Deborah and Rachel slid over to her boyfriend and Arin said behind Ethan. "What's '8 Mile'?" Rachel asked.
"Ever heard of Eminem?" Puck asked.
"Um, yes, the candy?" Rachel looked at him.
He laughed, "no babe, not M Eminem, the white rapper."
"Um, oh yes, I have heard of him," she nodded.
"He's in the movie '8 Mile.' It's about a kid who's struggling to become a famous rapper; grew up on the wrong side of 8 Mile Road in Detroit. He breaks up with his girlfriend when he finds out she's pregnant and moves in with an alcoholic mom so he can save up to make a demo... Goes through a lot of shit and the end is a showdown at a local club to find out who the best rapper is, well that's the short version," Puck explained.
"Is it a real road in Detroit?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, it is," Ethan nodded, "it's about halfway to where we're going," he said.
Rachel was now curious and the ride there was silent, but Ethan slowed the jeep down and stopped along the side of the road, "we're on top of it right now," he said.
Glancing out the window, she realized they were parked on the shoulder of an overpass, right above a straight road running east and west, "this is it?" She asked.
Puck noticed the sign and nodded, "yeah," he motioned towards where he was looking. The sign he was looking at had two arrows, one pointing to the left and the words next to it said 'W 8 Mile Road' while the second arrow pointed right and '8 Mile Road E' was written next to that arrow.
"Get out," Rachel commented nudging him towards the door.
"Hey! What did I do for you to kick me out of the car?" He asked with a groan.
She laughed, "so I can take a picture of you by the sign, babe. If you did something you'd know before now," she added with a sly grin.
"Oh," Puck smirked and slipped out of the car with Rachel right behind him.
The two walked ahead of the car and Rachel took a shot of him with the sign in the background before snapping a few photos down the road, able to see the buildings pretty clearly by the sun shining down. Stepping back, Rachel had a good view of Puck leaning against the cement railing so she couldn't help taking a picture of him as he looked over the view.
"I gotta ask," Puck commented getting back in the car and shutting the door, "what is with you and pictures?" He asked curiously.
Rachel shrugged, "I found I enjoy scrapbooking and I want to make one of us," she admitted, "before we graduate. I know you graduate a year before me, but I want to have one through my senior year of all the things we did."
Puck slipped an arm around her shoulders "that's cool," he commented, "have you done any before?"
"I have one of my younger years, but my high school one will be the start of, well, the rest of my life," she admitted glancing at him, a blush on her cheeks.
"And it'll be smokin' 'cause I'm in it, too," he grinned.
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Noah, I'm trying to be serious," she commented.
"So am I," he laughed pressing a kiss to her lips.
The overpass stop had been the halfway point to the memorial and as Ethan pulled up into the parking lot, he cleared his throat, "hate to tell you this, Rachel, but cameras are not allowed in," he commented.
Puck expected Rachel to put up a fight, but she left it sitting in the car with her jacket covering it up, "that's understandable," she admitted.
Before she shut the door, Puck took off his jacket and left it on the seat with hers, just going for the hoodie he had on since they'd be inside. Closing the door, he slipped an arm around her shoulders, "how did your dads end up here last year without you?" He asked curiously.
"Dad and daddy took a small vacation up here. I didn't know they were coming here specifically or I would have come. I just didn't want to go on their vacation," she admitted.
... (Below: info in italics is from the memorial's website; see reference at the bottom)
Ethan reached the door first and held the door open for them, allowing them to step into the lobby first before he followed them in. He had been there before, so he was familiar with what was in the lobby, but the others were drawn to the 'Memorial Flame' over in a corner burning near two walls that listed the number of Jews who were killed during the Holocaust and the names of the concentration camps and other places where they were killed.
While they looked at the walls, Ethan signed the guest book for them, since the museum was free and only took donations. When he was finished, he headed towards them, his hand resting on Deborah's shoulder and motioned towards the next room, "come on," he said.
The four pulled their eyes away from the wall and followed him into an exhibit room that portrayed the time line of the Jewish people with over four-thousand years of history broken down on the walls.
"I thought you were Catholic," Puck commented noticing his dad was wearing a kippah.
"Not since you were like nine months old," he commented turning to look at him.
"What?" Puck had put his on out of respect more than anything else, but seeing his dad wearing one shocked him.
"After we graduated I started the process to convert. That's one o the reasons why we weren't married when you were born," Ethan explained, "it takes over a year," he added.
Stepping into the next room, it turned out to be dedicated to European Jewish Heritage, a little bit about everything anyone would need to know about being Jewish, before World War II.
Puck, Arin and Rachel grew up learning what it was like to be Jewish, even if they didn't always celebrate all the holidays or respect some of the traditions of the culture. Ethan admitted that when he found out about that place just after he moved to Detroit, he spent a lot of time up there to learn as much as he could, wanting to continue on with Judaism and not return to the faith he was born into because he was Irish.
"Ethan, I know this might be a little personal, but what are you?" Rachel asked curiously.
He raised and eyebrow at her question, "a cop?"
Rachel blushed and ducked her head, "I know that, but what are you... Your heritage... I know you're not Jewish by birth," she said softly.
Ethan laughed, knowing her question, but figured he'd give her a hard time before giving in, "I'm pure Irish, lassie," he commented, his voice changing to a thick Irish accent. "Couldn't tell by the hair?" He asked running his hand through his red hair.
"Well, yes, but I just didn't want to assume-"
"He's teasing you," Puck laughed.
"Oh, I knew that," Rachel bit her lip nervously.
Having glanced at the exhibits, they headed towards the hallway that started the World War II section, complete with a life-sized poster of Adolf Hitler and swastika banners hanging around black and white photos. Puck stopped in his tracks as he felt the ice shiver run down his spine. He'd never been that close to the dark past before and it actually scared him.
"You feel it too?" Ethan asked softly standing behind him.
Puck nodded, "its more real than it ever was, I mean, I knew it happened, but this is the first time I've been so close to," he paused to motion around him, the red flags with the white circles and black swastikas feeling larger to him than anything else; those were the symbols forever etched in his mind as the dark past of his ancestors.
The hallway they were in started out discussing how the Nazis came to power and what Adolf Hitler had to do with the beginning of the second World War. It lead into a larger room with photos and stories, along with displays of the real Star of David patches Jews were forced to wear. Off in one corner there was even a real Nazi uniform on a manikin complete with armband along with a display of the various armbands that were worn by Hitler's forces. Signs explained how the Jews were taken to concentration camps and what happened after they arrived.
"How claustrophobic are you guys?" Ethan asked softly.
"I'm not, why?" Puck asked.
Rachel shook her head, already seeing what was coming, "I, um," she bit her lip, "Noah, if you were freaked out back there, I don't know if you should go through there," she admitted.
Puck narrowed his eyes at where she was looking, confused until he saw the sign, "I'll go if you go," he whispered, holding out his hand to her.
Nervously, she took his hand and the five of them stepped into the 'Cattle Car' exhibit, where a video played on repeat of a survivor explaining what it was like to be forced to travel on one like it and what he experienced when he arrived at Auschwitz.
Puck found himself holding onto Rachel tighter; he didn't know if it was to comfort her or if it was to keep himself from freaking out, but as soon as the video finished, the two walked out of the exhibit quickly, the others following right behind them as they walked into an area where pictures and videos were displayed with descriptions of what the Allied soldiers found when they liberated the camps.
"You want to put into perspective how scary this is?" Puck asked.
"Not really, but I think I know what you're going to say," Rachel murmured.
Puck blinked his eyes and glanced behind to see his dad with his arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders and his mom watching a video, "you and I would have been the only ones to get off that car and live more than minutes," he whispered to Rachel.
Rachel nodded, unable to hide the tears that fell from her eyes as he spoke, the words like ice in her veins as the realization at how right he was.
"I'd like to think I'm better than them, now," Puck said a little louder as he stood with Rachel, this time making sure his mom heard. The words she told him many months before still stung, even if he was dating a 'Jewish girl' now.
Deborah attention was caught at his words and she looked at him, confused.
"You forgot what you said, didn't you?" He asked calmly, "we were watching 'Schindler's List' and you said, 'you're no better than them, Noah. Why can't you date a Jewish girl?' and to this day that still hurts," he commented softly.
Her eyes widened, their conversation from that night so many months ago came flooding back to her, "oh Noah, I'm so sorry," she whispered moving over to him, "I never meant to hurt you like that. I was just upset by your choice in girlfriends and I didn't understand why..."
"Yeah, I get it," Puck commented, cutting off her words harshly as he let go of Rachel look at his mom, "but it still hurt that you'd even compare me to that... to them... to a Nazi," his voice cracked as he finished his sentence; before now he had been able to hide how it hurt him, but standing in a room where the reality was so fresh and clear, he couldn't help his emotions take over as he was faced with just what was done with their people.
Deborah stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm so sorry, Noah," she whispered as tears fell from her eyes, "I never should have said that to you."
He had stiffened at her hug, but as she apologized, he wrapped his arms around her, returning her hug, "thank you," he whispered pulling away, glad she had at least apologized. It took some of the sting from her words, but it would be a long while before he fully got over just how much they hurt.
They were almost done with the tour and though they had time, they stepped into the final room, greeted with the more familiar flag of Israel, the Star of David, and what happened after the war with those Jewish prisoners.
Their last stop was where they had begun; in the lobby by the memorial flame again. They all stepped closer to the two walls the flame was lit next to, continually burning in honor of all of the Jewish men, women and children who died at the various camps and sites where large groups were killed.
... (Again, see references below on where I got the info.)
Pausing a moment to respect the walls again, they headed outside into the late-afternoon chill. Rachel had been holding Puck's hand and paused, bending down to retie her shoe, but it was a ploy to get Deborah, Arin and Ethan to walk past them so she could say something to her boyfriend. Once she was sure they were far enough ahead and she really did retie her sure for authenticity, she stood up and looked at him, "I get it now," she said, resting a hand on his chest.
Puck narrowed his eyes at her, "you get what?"
"I get why you told me that the reason you came to me started out because I'm Jewish," she said softly, "because of what your mom told you."
Puck stiffened, the memories of that day flooding into his mind, "yeah, it started out that way," he admitted again, "but-"
Rachel reached up and pressed a finger gently against his lips to quiet him, "but nothing," she held up her left hand, "this means the same, right? You love me and want to be with me, right?"
His eyes started at the ring, nodding, "yeah, it means that and so much more, Rach," he whispered, bringing a hand up to brush against her cheek gently.
Rachel smiled, her hand joining his on her cheek, "then when we get home on Monday you can show me just what else it means," she replied, slipping an arm around his waist to guide a very stunned Noah to the jeep.
He let her guide him to the car; her words caught him of guard, but he composed himself enough to climb back into the jeep, wishing they could be alone for a while, but he pushed that aside to relax for the ride back to Detroit.
The memorial is about twenty-five minutes away from Detroit and none of them wanted a large meal, so they opted for fast-food and Ethan found the closest McDonald's and went into the drive-thru and picked up dinner so they could eat on the way back to Detroit; after promising that they wouldn't spill anything in his new car.
Between eating and Ethan pointing out things on the way back to town, they pulled into the parking lot at the hotel just after five, a good hour before the bus would take them to the center for the results.
Some of their friends were sitting in the lobby on the various seats chatting. Mercedes looked up when they walked in, "oh my God, what the hell happened to you guys?" She exclaimed, catching the attention of everyone else.
Puck looked down to make sure he still had clothes on and found he did, "what?"
"You guys look like you just came from a funeral," Kurt commented getting up and moving towards them.
"Oh," Rachel wiped her eyes, "well, it pretty much was," she admitted.
"I don't get it," Mercedes said.
"It was a memorial for the Holocaust," Puck commented, "you know, Hitler, Nazis, concentration camps?"
Kurt's eyes widened from shock, "there is one of those in the states?"
Rachel nodded, "several actually, there is a large population of Jewish people here in Michigan," she explained, glancing into the café to see the adult chaperones, her dads and Deborah, Ethan and Arin were in there talking.
"Dude what's on your head?" Mercedes asked seeing the blue material on his head as he turned to look where Rachel had been.
Puck turned back to her and ran his hand over his head, "it's a kippah," he explained, taking it off, folding it up and putting it back in his pocket where usually kept it.
"A kip-a-what?" Kurt asked, "whatever it is, it does not match your outfit."
"Does everything with you have to do with clothes?" Puck asked, "it's a religious thing," he said looking at Rachel for help.
"A kippah is a skullcap that is worn by Jewish men during prayer or in this case, Noah and Ethan wore them out of respect for where we were," Rachel explained.
The two nodded in understanding, but let them go so they could go talk to her dads and everyone else before they had to leave for the center.
Puck took Rachel's hand and guided her into the café, her dads greeting them and asking what they thought about the memorial.
"Very informative and real," Rachel commented.
Puck tugged up his sweatshirt sleeves and glanced at both of his forearms, "I still have goosebumps," he murmured, not checking for those, but they were noticed.
"What are you looking at?" Rachel asked, noticing her boyfriend was staring at his arms.
"Somehow I feel like numbers are going to appear," he admitted, "that's how real it felt," he whispered, tugging his sleeves back down.
Not realizing Finn and Quinn were there, it was Finn who asked, "what does numbers have to do with anything?"
Puck sighed, "those of the Jews who survived to get to the concentration camps had numbers tattooed on their forearms," he said softly, "and out of the five of us that went there today, Rachel and I would have been the only ones that would have survived."
"Yes, unfortunately that is the morbid truth," Deborah agreed.
"Oh," Finn bit his lip nervously.
To break the sad mood, Alan spoke up, "Quinn put Arin's things in your room, Deborah," he said glancing at her.
She nodded, "thank you," she replied, "did you guys get a room for the night?"
"Actually we're not staying. We're going to leave after we all get back from the convention center," David said.
"What? You're not going to stay to see us perform?" Rachel gasped.
"Sweetie, we're going to see the video. We have plans tomorrow just like you guys do, so we're going to get home tonight," Alan commented.
"We have plans tomorrow night?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Finn, Ethan and Puck all said at the same time.
Rachel's eyes widened at the three of them and then looked at her boyfriend, "Noah, what are we doing tomorrow night?" She asked.
"Dinner and something else. You'll find out tomorrow," he grinned, seeing her cross her arms in her typical, 'tell me' pout, "no I'm not giving in on this one."
"It's worth it," Quinn commented with a laugh, "you'll love it."
Puck wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead, "I promise you will love it," he agreed.
Rachel gave in and returned his hug, "fine, but I hate surprises."
"Oh that's for sure," David laughed.
Six o'clock arrived and everyone, including Ethan and Rachel's dads, piled on the bus and headed over to the convention center were they found their way through the crowds of students and chaperones to find seats to wait for the results.
At promptly seven, a judge went up on the big stage with a clipboard in his hand and picked up one of the microphones, "thank you to all of the schools who participated in the 2009-2010 school year Show Choir Regional competition here in Detroit. Please know that each and every one of you did an amazing job and we wish we could send you all on, but are unable to, so it is my sad duty now to announce the fifteen schools who will not be preforming tomorrow. Those schools in no particular order are..."
Each school that was called was asked to leave the convention center, so as they were announced one-by-one, there was a slight pause in his speaking to allow some of them to exit before going on to the next school, those schools leaving sad because their chance at Nationals were gone. As the final school was announced, 'New Directions' sighed in relief; they were going on; they were in the top fifteen.
"I wonder what number we placed at!" Kurt exclaimed with a grin.
"Anyone wanna take bets?" Matt asked.
"Oh, dude, good idea," Mike agreed.
"I'm not hearing this," Ethan singsonged from next to Deborah.
Deborah laughed and nudged Ethan, "you're off duty."
"But still; they're underage," he commented.
Content where they were sitting, the judge returned to the stage with a single paper in his hand and began speaking again. "As you know, the top five schools here will go on to Nationals. All of you are candidates for one of those five spots. I'm not going to name each school, but I am going to announce the top five. If this had been the end, these schools would be going onto Nationals, but there is still a chance for one of you to bump them out of their spot."
The chances of 'New Directions' placing in the top five were possible, but Puck didn't expect it, so he tuned out the announcer as he announced fifth place, then fourth place. Third place was a shock, "in third place, Carmel High School's Vocal Adrenaline."
"Well fuck that then, we got our work cut out for us tomorrow," Puck commented sitting back; there is no way they could beat Carmel.
"Carmel had three-hundred-eighty points. The second place school finished with three-hundred-ninety points and the first place school won with three-hundred-ninety-four points. In second place is William McKinley High School's New Directions! First place, Clinton High School's Attaché!"
"Did he just say... Did we... We took second? We beat Vocal Adrenaline?" Puck stood with everyone else, but he was stunned just as much as the rest of them were.
"Please stop by the registration desk as you leave to pick up your judging papers to find out just how you were graded as well as to find out what time you preform. Thank you all and see you tomorrow," the judge finished.
"Oh my God!" "We took second!" "We beat Carmel!"
New Directions congratulated each other and hugged friends and family members before filing out towards their bus while Will stopped to pick up their information.
Walking outside, the four McKinley football players were easy to spot in their Letterman's jackets, just as a group of four Vocal Adrenaline members were in their Carmel jackets.
"Well if it isn't the losers of McKinley," one of the guys called out, as he and his buddies stepped closer to New Directions.
"Tell us how you beat us. Berry sleep with the judges?" The taller of the four asked.
Rachel stiffened at Puck's side and he nudged her towards the group by the bus as he headed for him, "you want to ask that again, cocksucker?" He hissed, lunging forward, but Finn stopped him from throwing a punch; Mike and Matt stepping up with their two friends and fellow footballers.
"Oh come on, there's not fucking way that you guys beat us without a little extra help," the brunette commented. "You guys can't even play football so there is no way you could guys could even manage to beat us at anything else, so what is it? Berry sleep with the judges or did you guys use the pregnant slut over there to make them feel sorry for you guys?"
"Don't you dare call her that!" Finn exclaimed standing up for what they had called Quinn, his turn to lunge forward but Mike and Puck stopped him.
"Who? The pregnant slut; that is what she is right? I mean former president if the celibacy club gets pregnant, come on, we know our competition," the brunette boy jibed at them.
The taller boy smirked, "so if the judges didn't feel sorry for her, then it had to be Berry whoring around with the judges."
"Oh you fucking son of bitch!" Puck lunged forward again at the taller boy, but he stepped back, giving Ethan a chance to run between them and push Puck back. "Don't you ever fucking say that again!" Puck exclaimed, trying to push his dad away from him.
"Oh we're so scared!" He mocked them, "what would have happened if your boyfriend hadn't stopped you?"
Burt rushed in to hold back Mike and Matt while Alan tried to stop Finn from decking the guy who called Quinn a slut.
"Let me at him!" Puck hissed at his father.
Ethan pushed him back, "this is not the place!" He snapped back his hands pressing on Puck's shoulders until his son started moving backwards. Content that Puck had given up, Ethan reached in his back pocket and pulled something black out and turned around, himself moving towards the four Carmel boys showing what was in his hand, "keep it up boys; go on, keep mocking us, all you want, but I don't think your friends would like it if I have you all arrested for harassing a cop!" He snapped.
The four boys froze as they stared at his hand, seeing the silver and gold police badge shining from the streetlight, "uh... no... we, uh..."
"We don't want... We're... Sorry!" The four of them stumbled backwards, glancing back one last time before taking off in the opposite direction.
Ethan calmly took a deep breath and turned around, glaring at his son and then Finn, Matt and Mike. Shaking his head he rubbed a hand over his face, noticing Will was staring at them, having just come out of the building in the middle of the disagreement. "You guys are fucking lucky!" Ethan snapped.
"We could have taken them!" Puck snapped back.
Ethan was pissed because he had to end that fight with his badge, "bull shit and you know it! What would that have gotten any of you? I know. I trip to jail for all eight of you, each one of you charged with assault at seventeen, in another state than you live in, no less! Lets see, suspension from school, no Glee, probably disqualification from the competition, should I go on?" He hissed.
"But they called Quinn a- and Rachel..." Finn tried to jump in.
"So you'd rather put up a fight to defend their honor then to comfort them? You guys know the truth and you've got to get your priorities straight," he commented, his anger receding slightly, "it may be noble, but you've got to know when to pick a fight and now isn't the time," he finished, "lets go," he added motioning towards the bus.
Mike and Matt were the first to turn and head towards the bus, Burt right behind them. Alan and Ethan watched Finn and Puck, waiting for them to turn and go before the two adults even moved.
Puck slowly turned, and started walking towards the bus, seeing Rachel standing between Kurt and David, while Santana and Brittany were with Quinn. Glancing at Finn, Puck realized what his dad said had been right, he should have just stayed and let the guys taunt them.
What upset Rachel wasn't the name calling; she'd grown used to it, but watching her boyfriend head towards guys with the plan to fight them scared her, which is what caused her to start crying, and when Ethan mentioned that all the boys could have gotten arrested for fighting, that upset her even more; the thought that he could have literally been arrested for defending her.
As Puck neared her, Rachel pulled from her dad and moved right into his arms. Puck held her against his chest, "I'm sorry," he whispered pressing a soft kiss on her forehead.
As the two stood there, Puck couldn't help but hear his dad talk to Will, "leave it, Schue, it's done and over with. History has a way of repeating itself for the good and bad," Ethan commented, patting the teacher on the shoulder as he climbed onto the bus.
Knowing they needed to get on the bus, Puck shifted slightly and walked Rachel to the bus, being the last on, since Quinn and Finn had already gotten on.
The bus ride was silent back to the hotel, but before anyone could get off, Will stood up, "it's eight-thirty," he commented calmly, "there is a conference room off the lobby. I want everyone in there in fifteen minutes. I need to talk you all," he said before climbing off the bus, the students and parents following him.
As they filed into the lobby, some of them went up to their rooms for a few minutes, while Will politely talked to the front desk and had them open up the room so he had a place to get everyone one in and once they unlocked the room, those who had waited in the lobby filed into the room, taking seats where they could.
Ethan was leaning against the back wall with Deborah and Arin next to him and Puck had taken a seat nearby with Rachel beside. "Dad," Puck started nervously, catching Ethan's attention, he continued, "I'm sorry. You were right. I should have thought about it before I did anything, but they just..."
"I know, they had no right to say what they did and if I had been in your shoes I would have done exactly the same thing, but if I hadn't stopped you..." He trailed off, knowing he didn't need to finish.
Puck nodded, "yeah, I get it. Thanks," he whispered, "for stopping me."
It didn't take long for everyone to arrive and find seats in the room, so Will went up to the front and looked around. Quinn and Rachel were clinging to their boyfriends like a lifeline and taking a deep breath he started talking. "We go on at noon tomorrow. We don't have to check in at nine, but our room will be ready at ten, so we need to be there before that. The bus is leaving here at nine-thirty. We scored one-hundred-ninety-six on 'Emotionless' and one-hundred-ninety-four on 'You're The One That I Want' bringing our grand total to three-hundred-ninety out of four-hundred points possible; we did excellent. I read through the comments from the judges on the way back and they are all pretty positive. We only really lost some points for our overall performance. But the ten points out of four-hundred that we lost, is no big deal..." Will paused and looked at the kids. "Guys, I know how it started, and trust me, I would have done the same thing, but the schools who are here are very competitive and don't like it when their titles are challenged by anyone, especially newcomers. We're the new school to them; the underdogs and we're moving up the ranks quickly. It's a good thing Ethan had been able to break things up or we might be picking you guys up off the pavement or bailing you out of jail," he commented.
"Dude, we could have taken them," Matt commented, "but what did Ethan mean about history repeating itself?"
Will took a deep breath, "it was April of 1992 and I was a sophomore. Deborah and Ethan were seniors and the Glee Club was going to Nationals. That year it was held in Columbus, so not only did we take a bus down, but also some of our friends and family drove down for our performances. We got our first round results and we took, what, third?" He asked looking into the back of the room to the other two.
Deborah nodded, "third."
"Anyway, the fourth place school thought they should have beat us, so as some of us were walking out to cars after the first round winners had been announced, we were surprised by some of the guys from that school. Me and two guys from the club, Deborah, Ethan and a few others were just walking to our cars and ended with me nursing a black eye and a sore neck."
"Black eye, busted up lip and broken hand from punching the shit out of an asshole who tried to-" Ethan took a deep breath, cracking his knuckles at the memory.
"-push me around when I was almost five months pregnant with Noah," Deborah finished for him. "Which is why I'm so against violence," she added.
Puck's head snapped to his parents, "how come I don't know this stuff?" He asked quickly.
"It was long time ago, Noah. Almost eighteen years," Deborah shrugged, "it worked out, we placed second at Nationals that year, so everything just kind of faded away. Bones and bruises go away and so did what happened, but it's obvious that nothing has changed even if the students themselves are different every year."
The reality of the story settled around the room, but Will didn't want to bring them down, so he hoped to finish their conversation on a high note, "look guys, don't worry about what happened tonight. Just know this. Tomorrow we will prove that we belong," Will smiled, "so lets get to bed early and get some good rest and we'll see everyone in the morning."
"Then I'm sleep with Rachel," Puck commented, "you want me to get decent sleep that's the only way it's happening."
Will froze and looked at him, "well, I don't think that's very appropriate on a school trip," he admitted nervously, "um, can't you just..."
"He didn't sleep at all last night, Mr. Schue," Kurt commented.
"We've been sleeping in the same bed for three months," Puck commented, "her dads know, so do my parents and sister, so I don't give a rats ass about the school trip."
"And I'm going to stay with Quinn," Finn added, "after what happened tonight, I'm not leaving her."
"What happens in Detroit stays in Detroit," Kurt added.
Will sighed, looking around at his chaperones, but gave in, "fine, but don't make me regret this," he said.
One-by-one kids and chaperones started to head up to their rooms, leaving some still there.
David and Alan were still sure they were leaving, so they said goodbye to Burt, Kurt, Quinn and Finn before they went upstairs and Rachel finally pulled away from her boyfriend to hug her dads. "You're in good hands," David whispered to her, glancing at Puck before they pulled away.
"She is," Puck agreed as she hugged Alan.
Arin hugged them and with hand shakes from Will, Deborah and Ethan, Alan and David left the hotel, next stop, home in Lima.
Arin, Deborah, Ethan, Rachel, Puck and Will were the last to leave the room, heading to the elevators. Once up on their floor, Will said goodnight to them and headed to his room, while they stopped at the girls' door. Deborah used her key to open it, finding Brittany packing. She explained that with Puck leaving his room, she could stay with Mike, giving the 'family' a little more privacy.
Thanking her, Puck and Ethan went into Puck's room to get his stuff. It only took a few minutes to gather up what he needed before they were heading back to the other room, just as Brittany was leaving, so her and Puck switched room keys in the hallway.
Finn was came out of his room with his bags, so Puck used the key to unlock the door and the three moved inside, Puck and Ethan dropping Puck's bags on Rachel's bed.
With everyone walking around, Ethan asked Puck to take a walk with him. Puck was a little confused at his request, but went with him, curiously.
"I need to talk to you," Ethan finally said as they got on the elevator.
"Oh yeah? About what?" Puck asked stuffing the key card into his jacket pocket..
The elevator doors opened in the lobby, so the two stepped out, "about your mom and I getting back together," he said calmly as they exited the lobby and went out into the cool Detroit night.
"I knew it!" Puck exclaimed, biting back a laugh. At his dad's wide eyes, he continued, "I was just talking to Rachel about that this morning. Tell me, was there really a seminar up here in July that mom went to?"
Ethan looked at him, "yeah, there really was."
"And you guys saw each other?"
"Yeah, but at that point she didn't know what my job was," he told him, "so we didn't see each other much, but enough."
"And that was kind of testing the waters out?"
Ethan figured he might as well stay there that night than go home and come back, since they all would be up early and he had a change of clothes in a bag that was in the back of the jeep. So while walking out to the jeep, he nodded, "pretty much. It was the first chance she had to get away. Since then we've been talking more seriously about getting back together, but we wanted to talk to you about it. Arin, well, we want her to be happy with it, but I don't think she'd have an issue, it's you we were both worried about. I was the one who wanted to talk to you this summer, but it was your mom who was dragging her feet because of," Ethan rubbed his neck as he opened the back of the jeep and grabbed a bag, throwing it over his shoulder, "the cougars. She said since you started that business she knew there was more going on and you hadn't been the most civil to either her or Arin and she didn't know how you'd react, but when you met Rachel, you changed."
Puck nodded in understanding, "I get it," he said knowing just how much of a jerk he had been the past few years, "have you been with anyone since you two broke up?" He asked.
Ethan pocketed his keys and shook his head, tugging a chain out from underneath his shirt. The chain he pulled out had three things hanging from it and Puck realized it was their wedding rings and her engagement ring, "I never stopped loving her, but I was young, dumb, stupid and scared. I haven't been with anyone."
Walking back into the lobby, Puck stopped and looked at him, "same with mom," he told him softly, "I haven't seen her this happy in a long time. I want her to be happy, but I can't help thinking in the back of my mind that you left us once, what's to say you wouldn't leave again? I mean, shit, you live here, we live in Lima," he told him, "and I'm not moving."
Taking a seat on one of the couches in the lobby, Ethan nodded, "I know. Lima is my home too, and I always knew I'd come back one day, I just didn't know when, which is why I'm already talking to the Lima Police Department and the county sheriff. I'm moving back, because I want to make this work between all of us and I never would ask you guys to move. The SRT is a dangerous life."
"SRT? What is that anyway?" Puck asked remembering seeing the letters on clothes at the game.
"Special Response Team; it's what I am a leader of. SWAT is the more common term, but SRT is our official name."
Puck took a deep breath sitting next to his dad, but looked at him, "so are you talking about getting married again?"
Ethan bit his lip and nodded, "yeah, we've pretty much been dating since July and now that you and I seem to be cool, I think it's time," he said softly. "So, I guess I'm asking for your permission."
Puck eyes widened at his words, "my dad is asking my permission to marry my mom?" He looked at him shocked, knowing from their conversation that it had been coming. Puck kept quite for a moment, adjusting his thoughts. He remembered what he told Rachel that morning, so he stood up, looking at his dad, "it'd be a dream come true," he said calmly, but he let a smile tug at his lips as he held his hand out to him.
Traditionally a guy would ask his girlfriend's dad for her hand in marriage, but given that the only man in Deborah's life was their son, Noah was the only one Ethan wanted to ask and as he spoke, Ethan stood to stare at him a second before shaking his hand, realizing he'd gotten it, the second change he'd always wanted, with Deborah, with Noah, and a chance with Arin.
...
References:
The Holocaust Memorial Center can be found at: http :/ www . holocaustcenter . org/
The information about the exhibits that they went to or through, I found under the about section at their website here: http :/ www. holocaustcenter . org/ ? option=com_content& task=view& id=57& Itemid=10014 I used what they had on their site to describe things, but didn't take too much from them, so I recommend checkin' it out. It's worth reading.
...
A/N4: The 'Holocaust Memorial Center' I happened upon when I was looking for stuff to do in Detroit. I didn't plan it, but I felt like it was fate... Or I just walk into these things, lol, but as much as I didn't want to put a downer in this chapter and I'm not much for history, but I couldn't help it; I needed/wanted to discuss it. Their ancestry hasn't been discussed much, but given Puck's mom's comment in "Mash-Up" when they're watching 'Schindler's List'... "You're no better than them, Noah. Why can't you date a Jewish girl?" I couldn't help bringing this up when I found it.
A/N5: Back in 1999/2000, when I was in 'Honors Sophomore English,' my teacher had us read 'Night' by Elie Wiesel; he is a concentration camp survivor and he wrote a book describing his and his families experiences at the camp. It painted a very vivid and fearful picture of just what happened and to this day, thinking about it gives me chills. It's an excellent one to read, but definitely sad.
A/N6: I did my best to describe some emotions involved in this, but honestly, it's been probably 10 years since I really studied the happenings of WWII in school. I never liked history much, so I avoided it and skimmed through the texts, but I hope I got things as accurate as possible.
A/N7: freshprincess was the first to pick up on the connection to Attaché. LOL I'm an *NSYNC fan and Lance Bass was in Attaché when he was in high school at Clinton HS (pre-*NSYNC). Needless to say; major shocker and big grins as I realized it and was able to put it together here in 'Out of the Blue.' :D
A/N8: A lot has gone on, and I've been a busy bee working on more for you all. Thank you again for all the support and lovely feedback! More soon for all of you! :D