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: Feedback is loved! :D
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Puck stayed over at Rachel's to help her finish packing, teasing her the whole time because he had finished before he came over to her place. Rachel asked him to stay until she fell asleep and he had planned to leave, but he ended up falling asleep next to her, both still dressed and on top of her covers. Just after midnight, he woke to his phone vibrating in his pocket, his hand near it so he felt it. "Shit," he sat up, startling Rachel as he moved, pulling his phone out and seeing two missed calls and a few text messages.
"What time is it?" Rachel asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Just after midnight," he flipped through the messages and saw the missed calls were from his house and then the texts were from his mom except the last one was from his dad, so he opened it up to read, "you told your mom you were coming home at ten; it's midnight and she's pacing around worried about you because you won't answer. I talked her out of calling Rachel's house, but either call or come home."
Puck groaned, "I gotta get home," he murmured, "sounds like mom is going to have a coronary," he sighed.
"Well, I suppose you should since Mr. Schuester does want all the parents to be there so we don't have to leave our cars at school," she explained, "but I don't want you to go," she whispered.
Puck rolled towards her and wrapped her in a hug, "I don't want to go either, but it'll just be for a few hours and we'll have the whole plane ride together," he replied.
Nodding, she snuggled into him for a moment before she let go, "you should go so mom doesn't freak out," she replied sadly.
Puck sighed again, this time sliding off her bed to stand up. Rachel got up with him and walked him downstairs to the front door. Turning around he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her lips, "I love you," he whispered, "see you in the morning."
"I love you, too," she smiled as she kissed him once more before letting go.
Returning her smile, he nodded and stepped out of the door, heading for his jeep. She waited until he was in his jeep before she shut and locked the front door and returned to her room, hoping to get back to sleep because five am was not far off.
Pulling into the driveway of his house, something he rarely did, he parked his jeep and got out, heading up to the front door when his mom pulled open the door, glaring at him.
"I'm sorry! We fell asleep," he told her stepping into the house.
Deborah wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "I'm glad you're alright," she started before she pulled away to glare at him again, "next time you say you're going to be home at a certain time, mean it! For all I knew you crashed your car and were dying!" She exclaimed, "at least if you're going to stay, call and tell us! Or answer your phone or text messages, something!"
Puck glanced at the stairs and saw his dad standing in the middle of them, a smirk on his face, but kept his mouth shut. Puck turned back to look at his mom and rested his hands on her shoulders, "mom, I'm fine. It was an accident. My phone was on vibrate. I helped Rachel finish packing and then we fell asleep. I woke up when dad sent the last text message and I left as soon as I got it. I'm so sorry I didn't answer your calls or texts; I would have if I would have gotten them," he told her, knowing being sarcastic at that moment would not help.
Her shoulders relaxed and she sighed, "I know you are, but it still worries me. Don't make a habit of this," she whispered hugging him again.
Puck returned her hug, "I don't plan on it," he promised as they pulled away.
Deborah stepped to the door and locked it before heading to the stairs, "turn the light off when you come up," she told softly him before following his dad back to bed.
With a smirk on his face, he flipped off the light and headed upstairs, "good night!" He called as they went into their room before he slipped into his room, chucked off his jacket and shoes and slid onto his bed, not even bothering to change.
Five am seemed like it came too soon and Rachel was up as soon as the alarm began to beep, darting around her room to get ready. By six-thirty she was setting her suitcases and tote bag by the door and heading into the kitchen to join her dads and Quinn for breakfast.
It was the last day of school before Spring Break and Quinn wasn't sure if she wanted to go to school, so she figured if she went with the Berrys to take Rachel to school, she might as well go and decide if she'd stay, depending on how she felt after they left.
At seven, David and Alan put Rachel's suitcases into the back of their SUV and the two got in the front, while Rachel and Quinn got into the back, heading off to the school.
Friday, April second, Will had hoped that the kids could attend their classes, but they had to be in Seattle for an early performance on Saturday so there was no way they would be able to attend school, get to the airport and fly to Seattle in time. Will was concerned about the kids leaving their cars in the empty school lot for the time they were gone, so he asked parents to bring them, which also gave them an opportunity to ask questions about the trip before they got on the bus and left.
Pulling into the parking lot of the school, David drove over towards the back of the parking lot and parked next to Ethan's jeep. Will had the bus driver park the bus away from the school so it wouldn't be in the way of kids coming to school for the day.
Sliding out of the SUV, Quinn shouldered her backpack and while Rachel and her dads got her things, Quinn walked over to Finn and Carole and hugged both of them, and then greeted Ethan, Deborah and Puck.
Seeing Quinn appear, Puck realized Rachel wouldn't be to far behind, so he turned and walked towards them, greeting her first, "good morning," he smiled wrapping his arms around her as her dads continued to walk to the group of students and parents.
"Good morning, Noah," she replied, pulling from his hug to kiss him briefly before the two continued to walk towards the group her to join his parents and her dads.
"Hello mom, dad," Rachel smiled at Deborah and Ethan, "no Arin?" She asked.
"Morning Rachel," Ethan replied, "Arin is going to school with her friend down the street. Didn't know if I'd be able to get back in time to pick her up and take her," he explained.
"She says she hopes we have a good time and to bring something back for her," Puck commented with a laugh.
Will had been greeting parents and the kids as they arrived, checking them off his list and when he realized everyone was there, he cleared his throat to get their attention. Seeing them all looking at him, he smiled, "first off, this is a huge step for all of us. It has been a very long time since the Glee Club here has been able to get this far and I'm so proud of each and every one of your kids, band and singers alike," he held out a stack of papers, "take one and pass it around. It's a kind of and itinerary of our trip along with the contact numbers for us. We'll be staying at 'The Edgewater Hotel' that is on the Seattle Waterfront on Pier Sixty-Seven and I know it's not far from the Space Needle, so I know we'll be going there."
"Ballard Locks, too, don't forget that one," Burt commented with a grin.
"Oh hell yea," Puck nodded.
"I'm in," Finn agreed.
"What's the Ballard Locks?" Rachel asked.
"The locks connect the Puget Sound to Lake Washington and some of the 'Deadliest Catch' boats home-port in Seattle and use it to get to their docks," Burt explained.
Puck nodded, "and the Northwestern and the Wizard just got back a week ago from fishing, so they should be in dock."
"Bring me back at t-shirt," Ethan smiled.
"Guys!" Will laughed, "we can discuss the 'Deadliest Catch' stuff later."
Everyone laughed at their tangent, but Will got back on point, "so yes, the Ballard Locks is on the list, too. We get to Seattle about five their time, eight our time so sometime after that I'm sure we'll all be in contact as we're heading to the hotel. We've got an early morning with the performance at eleven, but we won't have the results until seven, so it'll be pretty late, here, when we find out if we go onto the second round. Sunday we'll perform if we go on, but it'll be Monday morning before we know who wins. Unfortunately we don't leave Seattle until Tuesday, so there will be a lot of downtime after Sunday," Will explained.
"When will we know what time to pick up the kids?" A mom asked.
"We get back to Columbus around six Tuesday night, so by the time we get our luggage and get on the bus, it'll probably be close to nine when we get back here to school, so while we're driving back I'll make sure the kids call to let you know when you need to come get them," Will assured them. "So if no one has any other questions, kids, make sure you've got your IDs and everything and lets get going."
As Will finished his speech, the kids glanced through their bags and started saying goodbye to their parents, flashing Will their IDs on the way onto the bus, parents leaving as their kids got on, thinning out the large group.
David and Alan hugged Rachel, Puck and Deborah before glancing at Quinn, "Quinn, you sure you want to go to school? It'd be alright if you didn't want to go," Alan said to her.
Quinn sighed, shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know. I think I should go to keep my mind off things," she admitted.
"Call us if you change your mind," David told her as he and Alan said bye to everyone and headed back to their SUV.
Carole was the next to leave after a long hug with her son and one with Quinn. Quinn really had been serious about using school to keep her mind off things, but she still was really nervous about facing the school day without her true friends around. Puck and Rachel both hugged her and rubbed her belly, saying goodbye to Abigail for a few days, which is when Quinn started tearing up and by the time Finn wrapped his arms around her she was crying.
"Have fun," Ethan hugged Rachel.
"I'll try," she smiled, returning his hug before pulling away.
Stepping back, she noticed Quinn was pretty upset, and she bit her lip nervously. Everyone hated to leave her, she was a part of the group and she should be going with them.
Puck and Ethan shared a quick hug before Puck joined Rachel, waiting for them. Ethan wrapped his arms around Deborah and pressed a loving kiss to her lips before he moved over to Quinn and Finn.
Finn felt his heart breaking as she cried, but he knew they had to go, so he pulled away, "I'll see you in a few days and we'll talk and text," he told her.
"I know. I'm okay... It's got to be the hormones," she told them as she wiped her eyes.
Ethan slipped his arm around her shoulders, "you don't need to be going to school like this," he said, "I'll take you home."
Quinn gave him a quick hug and thanked him before the two turned to watch their friends and family climb onto the bus. "We'll bring back a trophy for you, Quinn," Will smiled, nodding at the two of them before climbing on the bus.
The two left stepped back a little and waved at the bus as it began to pull away, Quinn still leaning against Ethan with his arm around her shoulders.
Puck saw them standing together and the nervous feeling he had been having since Regionals came back to him. He had been able to push it aside, but now it seemed to be stronger than before and he couldn't seem to shake the feeling, so he calmly sunk into the seat and tried to relax, with his girlfriend next to him, silently hoping for a fun trip.
Their flight was leaving the Columbus Airport at twelve-thirty, so they needed to be at the airport no later than ten, so thankfully they were able to get out of Lima just before eight, giving them time to make the two hour trip and still be on-time.
Most of the ride was silent, some of the kids had gone to sleep or were silently listening to their iPod, keeping busy, knowing they would have a long flight to be doing the same thing.
Arriving at the airport just before ten, the bus dropped them off at the entrance and one-by-one the kids got off, taking their check-in ticket from Will before going inside to the Alaska Airlines desk.
The airport was busy, but the check-in desk was quiet, so it didn't take more than twenty minutes for all the kids to get their bags checked and as a group they headed towards security, waiting in line again. During the downtime to wait, the kids started getting nervous. Some of them had never flown before, so they were apprehensive.
Will told them that once they got through security to wait nearby and when they all had gotten through, they could see how much time they had before their flight; to see if they had time to go into the food court and get something to eat or wonder in the shops around.
Almost everyone got through without any hassle, but some had forgotten to take off a watch or their belt tripped the security alarm, but nothing major happened; Kurt even made sure all his nail clippers and files were in his checked luggage so he wouldn't get caught.
Once they were all through, Will took a head count and saw that it was only eleven, "alright, our flight doesn't board until noon, so we have an hour. Be back at this spot in about forty-five minutes and we'll head to our gate," he told them.
Glad for the extra time, the kids and adults headed towards the food court, checking out their options before deciding on something and grabbing tables as they sat down.
"I'm so excited," Rachel commented bouncing in her seat.
Puck raised a half-awake eyebrow at her, "for what? A seven hour flight?"
"No! For Nationals, of course," she told him, "it's going to be amazing! And the Space Needle, it's so romantic up there."
"That it is," he agreed, "did you know it was listed as one of the best places to get engaged?" He asked curiously and as the rest of the table gave him a shocked look he shook his head, "what? I do my research, too," he glanced at his girlfriend, "and I'm not proposing to you, but its a fact I thought you'd like."
Rachel blushed, "yeah, it is," she agreed glancing at the ring she had worn since Christmas.
Time seemed to fly by and the group from McKinley was heading for their gate, arriving just as they started boarding, so while each kid handed off their ticket to be checked-in, Will marked them off to make sure everyone got on, making him the last one to get on the plane and find his seat.
All of their seats were within one section, so once they found their seats, figuring out where people were sitting, the flight attendant told them it would be alright if they wanted to switch seats, so for a few moments, some of the kids switched seats with others and Rachel moved to sit next to her boyfriend.
At promptly twelve-thirty, the plane took off from Columbus and started the journey to Seattle. Puck was sitting by the window, his girlfriend next to him and his mom next to her. He and Rachel were both listening to their iPods, while his mom was reading a book.
Closing his eyes, Puck drifted off to sleep with the help of the music in his ears, only waking up when he felt the airplane land, "are we there already?" He asked.
"No, only in Chicago to refuel," Rachel told him taking his hand in hers, "go back to sleep, babe," she whispered.
Puck nodded, but leaned towards her, pressing a kiss to her lips before sitting back to where he had been and closed his eyes, falling asleep before the plane took off again.
Just after five pm Seattle time, their flight landed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and slowly the kids grabbed their bags and started filing off the plane, staying in a large group as the followed signs to baggage claim.
While everyone waited for their bags to appear, Will saw a man holding a sign for 'New Directions' so he went over and greeted him, finding out he was their driver for their stay.
A few kids went towards the two men and waited with him while Will got his bags and once the large group had gathered and Will was sure everyone had all their luggage, the driver showed them out to the bus.
Climbing onto the bus, finding the seats to be more comfortable than the school bus seats they had been in, they all took a seat somewhere and piled their luggage where they could. Most had taken naps on the plane, but the time change got them a little and knew they'd be going to be early that night, after they got dinner. Once everyone was on the bus, Will took a head count again and after everyone assured him they had everything, he nodded at the bus driver and he started the drive out of the airport and towards their hotel.
The driver was pretty friendly and since he knew they were staying on the waterfront, he came up the back way, so he could point out the shops along the way. He pointed out the ferry terminal at Pier Fifty-Two and all the shops and restaurants between there and Pier Fifty-Seven. At Pier Fifty-Nine, the Seattle Aquarium sat and it was a short drive from there down to Pier Sixty-Seven where their hotel was; The Edgewater Hotel. Pulling up right in front of the lobby, Will stepped off the bus and went inside to check them in, coming out about fifteen minutes later with his hands full of key cards, each marked with names and room numbers.
"Uh, Will, may I say something before they get off the bus?" The driver asked.
"Of course," Will nodded.
"It's dark out. There are a lot of bums down around the shops of the waterfront because it is a touristy spot. Right now there might not be many because of the time of year, but just be careful if you go down there. Don't give them money, just keep walking and do not venture past they ferry terminal at Pier Fifty-Two. That's as far as the shops go down and stay on the sidewalk," he explained, "and also, I'd like to know if you have any specific plans for your downtime. Are you going to stay here or would you kids like to go to the Space Needle or see around town?"
"The Space Needle is on our list of things we want to do," Will said, "and the Ballard Locks."
The driver grinned, "Deadliest Catch fans?" He asked. Some of the guys nodded, so he continued. "I know just where the locks are and also where the boats dock so you guys will get a treat. Just let me know when you guys want to go."
"Sunday morning we may have an early performance and then be free the rest of the day. Can that and the Space Needle be done in the same day?" Will asked.
"Oh yeah, neither are far and the Needle is only just up the road a little bit. The convention center isn't far either, so it's all within fifteen minutes from here."
Will nodded his thanks, "alright, great, well, curfew is at eleven, so I'll be checking on you guys, so hopefully whatever you decide to do, you'll be back before then. And If you do go out, don't go alone make sure you have your cell phones with you," he said, "we need to be back on the bus at eight in the morning, so make it an early night or plan accordingly so we're not having to knock on doors at eight to wake people up," Will looked at them until he saw everyone nod.
Starting out with the band, he passed out keys to them first and allowed them to gather their things and climb off the bus before he started with New Directions. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered, holding out two keys, giving them to Puck and Rachel, "this is our other gift to you guys."
The couple stared at the keys in their hands, realizing they had the same number on them, shocked at what it meant.
"We figured it would be the last chance you guys got to have any time alone before Abigail is born," Finn commented, "it was actually Quinn's idea."
"Oh wow, guys, thank you," Rachel smiled.
"Yeah, thanks, this is awesome," Puck admitted.
Will took a deep breath, "just promise me that you guys will be responsible and not miss the bus or anything," he begged.
The couple nodded, "I assure you, Mr. Schue, you don't have to worry about it. We'll be on time," Rachel promised.
"Yeah, Mr. Schue, we will be," Puck agreed.
Will nodded, "good, and don't forget to reset your phones and watches for three hours earlier so you're not waking up extra early," Will laughed a little as he passed out keys to everyone else.
Puck reset his watch and stood up, throwing his duffel bag over his shoulder and gathered his suitcase and one of Rachel's while she got her other suitcase and threw her tote bag over her shoulder, both climbing off the bus to wait for his mom and Finn.
As Deborah stepped off the bus with Finn right behind her, Puck looked at them, "you two want to go to dinner with Rachel and I?" He asked.
"Uh, sure," Finn nodded.
"That sounds great," Deborah nodded, "lets meet in the lobby in fifteen minutes," she suggested.
Piling onto an elevator, they agreed that was alright and as Deborah and Finn stepped off on the second floor, Rachel and Puck remained, going up to the third floor. Once off the elevator on their floor, Rachel looked at the numbers on the doors as they walked past, until she found their room, "I can't believe that they got us our own room or that they even could," she told him, using her key card to open the door.
"Yeah, it's crazy, I didn't think they could do that," Puck admitted as she stepped inside.
"Oh wow!" She gasped, dropping her bags by the door and moving towards the window.
"What?" He asked setting his bags next to hers and following her towards the window, now seeing the view, "oh yeah, wow," he agreed, taking in the night out side shining brightly with the lights of the waterfront. Seeing lights moving across the water, Puck tilted his head, "I bet that is the ferry," he said pointing out what he was seeing as the lights came up to dock at the pier.
"It is," she agreed, turning around to take in the room. It was small, yet comfortable. There was one large bed in the middle of the room with a table and two chairs sitting in a corner. Next to each side of the bed was a night stand and a lamp, a phone and phone book on one of the night stands. Across from the bed was a stand with a television sitting on top, with another stand nearby with a mini-fridge under it and a microwave on top. By the door was the closet and their bathroom, so Rachel moved over to her bags and picked them up, heading for the bed.
"Unpacking now?" Puck asked.
"Not really, just getting my costume bag out to hang in the closet, I suggest you do the same thing," she told him.
"Oh yeah," Puck nodded and headed for his bags, moving to the other side of the bed with them and dropping them on top, unzipping his suitcase and removed what Rachel was talking about and hung his in the closet next to hers. Turning around he saw her taking things out of her tote bag, "what are you doing?"
"Just taking some things out that I don't need right now. This gets heavy real quick if there is too much stuff in it," she commented, throwing it over her shoulder and pocketing their room key, "are you ready?"
"Yeah, I am," he nodded pulling the door open for her, "after you, my dear," he smiled.
"Such a gentleman, Noah," she smiled, stepping out of the room and waiting for him to step out into the hallway.
"I try," he laughed a little as he made sure the door shut behind him and took her hand as they walked down to the elevator.
Meeting Deborah and Finn in the lobby, they found that the hotel had a restaurant open twenty-four hours, but chose to take the walk down to the waterfront since it wasn't raining. The usual ten to fifteen minute walk too a lot longer because Rachel kept stopping to take pictures or get pictures taken of her and Puck near something.
Reaching the shop area of the waterfront, they pointed out some shops they would like to go into, but at the time of night, some were starting to close, so they made their way to the Red Robin and went inside, finding it busy, but there was no one waiting at the time, so they were seated right away, at a table by the windows looking out over the water.
"Dude, stop moping," Puck commented seeing his friends sad face. "She's fine and so are you, you'll be back home to her in a few days."
Finn sighed, "I know. That's what she told me," he said motioning towards his phone that he set on the table.
Puck nodded and turned to his mom, "did you call dad and Arin?"
"Yeah, they're going over to hang out with David, Alan and Quinn tomorrow," Deborah said.
Their conversation paused while they all looked over the menu. They didn't have a Red Robin back home in Lima, but they were known from the ones in the Columbus area. Their server came over and greeted them, offering them a list of the specials for the day while he filled up their water glasses. Giving them a moment to look, they all decided and passed on their orders as he took their menus and left so they could continue to talk.
Puck, Rachel and Deborah did their best to keep the conversation on topics that would distract Finn from missing Quinn and it worked, so they continued through dinner, chatting lightly about what they wanted to see or do while in Seattle.
As they finished their meal, Deborah paid for dinner and they left the restaurant, stepping out into the cold night, "this feels just like back home," Deborah commented.
"Yeah, except the wind," Puck added, noticing the cold breeze from the water.
Getting back to the sidewalk, Rachel noticed there was a Starbucks on the corner, so she checked to see the time they opened, "I may need to come down here and get coffee in the morning," she admitted.
Puck slipped his arm around her shoulders as they started their walk back to the hotel and Rachel kept stopping them to take more pictures, "babe, you're going to wear your batteries out before the night is out," Puck told her, "and most night photos don't come out, so why waste the space on your camera?"
"Don't worry! I brought extra memory cards and batteries," she grinned.
"Should have known," Puck muttered as they continued their trek.
Arriving back at the hotel, they greeted some friends who were getting back from their dinner and after a brief conversation, the four got onto the elevator and went upstairs. Puck and Rachel said goodnight to Deborah and Finn as they stepped off the elevator and once they were gone, went up to the next floor and headed back to their room, "let me take some pictures of our room before we mess it up," she told him.
Rolling his eyes, he pushed the door open and nodded, "go for it," he mumbled standing back as she took a few photos of their room and bathroom.
"I can't wait to see the view in the morning... Noah, we should get up to see the sunrise!" She exclaimed with a grin.
"Does lemonade have caffeine in it?" He asked, wondering if she had some at dinner and didn't know it.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest in a pout, "no it doesn't. I just thought it would be romantic."
Puck stepped forward, his hand brushing along her cheek, "oh it will be romantic," he whispered, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips, "I'll make sure of that," he promised.
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A/N4: More descriptions today than actual conversations, but I hope you liked it. Day 1 is over and day 2 should be posted soon. Working day 3 and 4 now, so look out for them in the next week or so.
A/N5: Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for my family. I'm doing alright. I'm not sure if it's sunk in yet, but I'm the most level headed right now. It was a shock at first, but I'm good. We'll see what time brings, and writing keeps my mind clear, so I'll be focusing on 'Out of the Blue' a lot. Thanks again! :D