Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)
A/N2: This story is mostly AU after Mash-up (1x08), but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes and music used, I may sneak in a conversation, cover the same topic, or use the same song, but I will put my own twist on it and may use some of the music.
A/N3: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D
...
Monday
Rachel woke up from a dreamless sleep and as much as she missed her content dreams, she knew why she wasn't having them; she wasn't comfortable sleeping. She'd been sleeping through the night, but it'd been restless, because of the generic hotel bed and missing her boyfriend, who held her at night, keeping her safe and warm in his arms.
It was Monday and it was also their last full day in New York. She already started packing, filling her suitcases and trying to fit everything in there, and her dads teased her about having to buy another suitcase or two for their trip home. She knew they were joking, but there was a luggage shop just down the way and she had contemplated it; she also still had time to get one if she did want it.
Getting ready for their next and last trip, Rachel, Alan and David went down to the café in the hotel that they'd been eating breakfast at all week and placed their orders. Once they had their food and coffees, they took a seat at a table. Alan was reading over a brochure of the place they were going, "says here, there is a Titanic Memorial Lighthouse in front of the South Street Seaport Museum complex (1). Why have we never heard about this in all the times we've been here?" He asked curiously, "the museum itself has the largest collection of historic ships (2)."
Rachel blushed, "I think it was because we always came here for other things and we never were interested before. I admit, when the club and I went to Seattle, I got a little taste of different ships, and I liked it, so when I saw the brochure at the Empire State Building, I thought it would be a neat place to visit, since we had never been before," she explained.
Alan passed the brochure over to David, who glanced over it, "it looks like there are shops and the museum, the ships, all sorts of things to do (2). Are we going to spend all day there? Wow, it's all right on the East River and has a view of the Brooklyn Bridge(2)."
Rachel bit her lip, "um, probably not all day. I'd like to see the museum and the ships, but I'm not interested in really shopping, unless it's for souvenirs," she admitted, "I was actually thinking of seeing if you guys would want to go to Ground Zero," she said softly. "I know the memorial isn't complete, but there is a tribute center with a three-D image of what the memorial will look like and I want to see it. We haven't gone in all the years since, and I know I was only eight when it happened, but I'm sixteen now, almost seventeen."
Her dads exchanged glances and David nodded, "if you'd like to go, we'll go," he told her, "you were pretty young to be getting involved with that and the tribute center you're talking about has only been there for a few years. It's not that we didn't want to go, we just weren't sure how you'd handle it, but if you really want to go, we can."
"I do really want to go," Rachel nodded.
Without complaint from her dads, the three finished of their breakfast, and by nine-thirty they were headed to the subway to find the right one to take them to the seaport.
Nestled between the East River and the Financial District of lower Manhattan, sat several well preserved historic buildings. The first thing they saw was the lighthouse Alan had spoken of earlier, and Rachel snapped a few pictures and tried to get one of the plaque on it, describing the meaning of the lighthouse.
The buildings were old, yet they housed modern shops and restaurants, but since they were not interested in that right now, they headed for the South Street Seaport Museum and not too far away, before they stepped inside, they noticed the ships docked on the water.
Going inside the museum, they soon were wandering through the paintings and other collection items that detailed the history of the ships docked there, others like them, and some history of the port and how it grew up over the years.
Noon found them leaving the museum, after making some purchases in the gift shop, and they headed for the ships, paying to tour them, and walking down the dock, Rachel found a great spot to get some pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge, and then her and her dads went up on the deck of a few of the boats, some built in the eighteen-hundreds and were very well preserved for their age.
Having their fill of the ships and walking around, they headed back to the shops and restaurants and found a place to have lunch. Rachel and Puck had been messaging back and forth, but she tried to keep her responses spaced out so she wouldn't have her phone out the entire time. She was getting excited. She knew that in twenty-four hours later they would be back in Ohio and on their way home to Lima; she couldn't wait to see Abby and Puck, and the rest of their family. She loved the week spent with her fathers, but she missed home.
The two men saw the look in Rachel's eyes, and they knew their daughter enough to know what that look meant; she was homesick. "I think it's safe to say this will be our last trip to New York; at least until Abby's a little older and the whole family can come," David said.
Rachel's eyes widened, "what? I... I'm sorry, have I... I've tried not to..."
"Don't apologize, sweetheart," Alan told her, seeing her apologetic look on her face, "we know and understand. You miss home, and so do we. We really enjoyed the chance to spend with you, but we knew coming here that this would be our last trip as just the three of us, but that doesn't mean we can't come back, we can just update our tradition," he smiled, "next time we make this trip, the whole family should come, you, us, Abby, Noah, Arin, Deborah, Ethan and their new one, if they have one. We're all a family now; and it's not right to split us up anymore. Noah is just as much our son as you are another daughter to Ethan and Deborah," he explained.
Rachel got up from the table and moved around giving them both a hug, "I love you guys," she said before sitting down, "and I really like that idea," she smiled, wiping her eyes, "I miss them. I have loved this week with both of you, but I miss Noah and Abby. If I had been told last year on our trip that the next trip we'd take, I'd be a mom and a girlfriend, I wouldn't have believed it and now, I can't see myself as anything but. Coming from me, I know that might be strange, considering what I've been so focused on the past few years, but this time, I saw those plays differently and I realized that I don't need all that to still sing and enjoy my life. I have an amazing boyfriend who loves me and I love him, and I'm going to miss him terribly when he goes into the Navy, but I'm supporting him, and we have a beautiful little girl that I love so much. She is my daughter and I will never think any less of her because she's not biologically mine and it takes a lot more than blood to be a parent, you guys taught me that," she smiled at them, but then her smile fell, figuring since they were on the topic, she might as well finish it, "my only fear is that one day when she finds out I'm not her biological mom, she'll hate me and Noah for keeping it a secret, especially if she finds out Quinn is her biological mom."
David reached across the table and took her hand, squeezing it, "you just said it. It takes a lot more than blood to be a parent. You'll be there for her and if the time comes when she figures it out or asks and you and Noah tell her, she might be upset, but she'll learn the same thing and she probably won't be mad at you, she may love you more, knowing you accepted her as yours when you didn't have to."
She squeezed her dads hand and nodded, "I never thought of it that way," she admitted, sighing, "I guess the best thing to do is to not think about it and deal with it when it happens?" She asked.
"Exactly," Alan agreed taking her other hand, "and you can be and do anything you want, Rachel. If Broadway isn't what you want anymore, that's okay. It is a little bit of a shock, but you have to be happy with your life and if you are happy with what you have and where you are, then you know we're behind you. All we ever wanted was for you to be happy."
"Thank you. I am very happy with my life," she replied, relaxing and feeling a lot better hearing them say that and getting a chance to express her fears of Abby finding out.
Chatting lightly through their meal, and getting onto a less emotional subject, they talked about their trip back home, and as lunch ended and was paid for, they left the restaurant and took the bus towards their next destination.
Arriving at the site, there were many people around, tourists, doing the same thing they were, visiting Ground Zero and paying their respects to all those lost almost nine years before.
Rachel got a few pictures from where they were standing and the three remembered back to what they were doing when they heard it happened, and something clicked in Rachel's mind, "Ethan said it was almost nine years ago since he'd been to St. Patrick's Cathedral... Did he... Could he have come here? He... Was he a cop by then? He left when Noah was six, so yes, he was a cop, but he was in Detroit," her mind continued to wonder what to make of his comment a week prior and after a while looking at the empty pit where one day the memorial will be built, the three Berrys moved across the street to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, unsure what they'd find, but it was a museum, split up into five sections, the past, during the attack, the rescue and recovery, a tribute to those who died and a future(4) with, as Rachel said, a three-D model of what the memorial will look like when it's complete.
Starting at the beginning, they looked through paintings and photos of the past, learning about the area before moving onto what happened. Her dads were a little further past where Rachel was, so when she reached the 'rescue and recovery' portion she scanned the walls of photos and came across a long list of police, fire fighters and aid workers that came from other states and even from Canada to help out. Her mind drifted back to her thoughts of Ethan, and she looked for Michigan, and at the top she saw two familiar names... Adams, Michael - Detroit SRT and Ballard, Ethan - Detroit SRT... She gasped and stood back and took a picture of the list from a distance, then took one of the title up closer and then one of just their names and the state, before turning to her dads, "Dad, daddy," she said to catch their attention.
David was closer to her, "what is it sweetie?"
She motioned to the list, "Ethan's on here," she said softly.
Alan was a few feet away, but he heard what she said and came over to look, "oh I didn't see that list, but there's a picture of him and Mike over where I was," he admitted, moving back to where he had been standing and motioned to a photo of four guys, two of them had NYPD t-shirts on and the other two, without a doubt were Ethan and Mike, years younger.
Rachel felt like she was staring at her boyfriend, a few years older, he looked so much like his father and at that moment, she knew her boyfriend was doing what he was destined to do. The caption read: "Brothers in uniform, Detroit, Michigan's Special Response Team Officers Ethan Ballard and Michael Adams with NYPD officers David Miller and Steven Fletcher. The four men are taking a brief break from sorting through the devastation." Feeling tears in her eyes, she bit her lip, "now I know why he didn't want to talk about why he'd been at St. Patrick's Cathedral about nine years ago," she said wiping the tears away before taking a picture of the picture, then one of the caption and got one of just him. Taking her phone out she pulled up the camera and snapped a picture of Ethan and Mike and added the picture to a message. Adding Ethan's number to it, she wrote, "now I know why you didn't want to talk about why you were at the cathedral about nine years ago... This is in the Tribute Center," before sending the message.
As soon as the message was sent, she heard voices and looked around, seeing her dad speaking with a woman, wearing a shirt for the center. "What is dad doing?" She asked David.
"He's seeing if we can contact the person who took that photo and get a copy," he said.
"Oh," Rachel smiled lightly, feeling butterflies in her stomach, nervous about what Ethan would respond with. As soon as she'd sent the message, she realized there might be more to why he didn't walk to talk about it, and got nervous, waiting for a response.
The woman came over and nodded at them, carefully removing the photo from the wall, "all of the pictures are numbered and are on the computer. I can gladly email you the picture if you want," she said.
"That would be great," Rachel said, hoping she wasn't overstepping any bounds with getting that picture sent home so she could print it out.
The three followed the woman over to her computer and she pulled up the photo files, "we had people submitting pictures from all over, and we just put them in files and folders and have up as many as we could, but as you can see we're still expanding the pictures," she motioned to where the pictures were, "here it is," she turned the monitor a little to show the photo, "I have it with and without the captions, which would you like?"
"Both, please," Rachel said.
With a few clicks on her computer, she pulled up the center's email and Rachel gave her an address to send them to. The woman doubled checked the photos were the right ones and then had Rachel verify the email and once she was sure it was correct, she sent it. "There you go and tell your father-in-law 'thank you'," she said to her.
Just as she said that, Rachel's phone beeped, and she glanced at it, seeing the message from Ethan, "I will do that. Thank you very much for sending them to me. I appreciate it," she added.
"You're welcome. Enjoy the rest of your visit," she replied.
The three nodded at the woman and stepped away as a few people came up to her, and once Rachel had a chance, she looked at her phone before taking a deep breath and opened the message. "I remember that being taken, but I never expected it to be in print or displayed somewhere. Brings back memories. I'll tell you guys about it when you get back if you want to know."
She relaxed slightly, but still, his message was vague enough that she wanted to ask, "if you want to. Is it alright that I sent that? I realized after I sent it that it might not be a good idea; I don't want to upset you."
When she sent the message, she and her dads continued through the rest of the museum, taking some pictures of the memorial model and once they reached the gift shop, they picked up some gifts to take home and Rachel checked her phone, finding another message from Ethan. She opened the message to read, "LOL why would I be upset? I'm not, I promise. Don't worry. Enjoy the rest of your trip; we'll talk later."
Reading his message, Rachel felt a lot better and responded with, "alright. See you tomorrow!"
Without any other plans for the rest of the day, the small family made their purchases in the gift shop of the center and then went outside, taking a final glimpse at the empty space that once held two skyscrapers before making their way towards the nearest subway, so they could return to Times Square and their hotel, and began to close the book on their trip.
As they headed up to the street level from getting off the subway, Rachel, David and Alan headed towards their hotel, "why don't we just stop for dinner now," Alan commented, "it's almost five and it seems pointless to go back to the hotel just to drop of some bags; we'll just make sure we leave with them," he said.
David and Rachel exchanged looks, "alright, that's fine," Rachel nodded.
The three made their way towards the restaurant they were going to eat at and went inside. The dinner rush was just beginning, but they were able to be seated within a few minutes.
With an emotional afternoon, starting at lunch, the family kept their conversation light and relaxed and as dinner came to an end, Rachel had butterflies of another kind in her stomach; she was excited to go home. In the past, she never wanted to leave New York, but for the first time, she was ready to return to Lima. She'd had a fun and relaxing vacation with her dads, but she missed her boyfriend and their daughter, and she knew in less than twenty-four hours, she'd be at home with them again.
Returning to their hotel, they all seemed to settle into packing. They had to be up early for a ten-am flight, and she still had to pack away the gifts she'd bought that day.
Rachel and Puck had been texting throughout the day, messages here and there, but she knew he was still going to study a little for his test and he said he was cleaning up their room, so she was a little worried at what she was coming home to, but as the evening wore on, their messages got closer together, until he needed to take a break to get Abby ready for bed. While they had a break, she changed into her pajamas and started packing.
For the first time since they'd been apart, Puck was the one to call Rachel, once he'd laid Abby down. "Hey beautiful," he said as she answered her phone.
"Noah," she smiled, "I missed hearing your voice," she admitted.
He grinned, "your voice isn't the only thing I'm missing," he muttered.
Rachel giggled, "Noah, I've missed that too, but I've missed other things about you, also," she replied.
"Hey, I'm just makin' it clear where we'll be after dinner tomorrow night," he commented.
She felt her cheeks flush as she held the phone with her ear, folding clothes and items and laying them in her suitcase, "Noah, you're making me blush."
"I bet I could do a lot of things to you over the phone," he added.
Taking a deep breath, she paused in packing, "Noah, I love you and I miss you, but listening to you talk inappropriately over the phone is not something I'd like to hear right now. Can you please stop?"
He sighed, "I know, I'm sorry. When I'm nervous I get like this. I thought I'd be fine for the test, but damn it, I'm worried about it now."
"Noah, you're going to do great. If you did well on the practice test, then you should have no problems with it. You just need to relax and breathe. You'll get through it," she replied.
He took a deep breath, listening to her, "I know, I just... If I don't do well or if my scores don't get me where I want, I have to wait thirty days to take it again. I don't want to say I'm going to do great and get my hopes up and then do crappy. That would suck. I really want this to be done with so I can move forward," he explained.
"I know, Noah, but this is one step in many. You'll do fine. I have faith in you," she replied.
"Thanks, babe," he smiled, "I wish you were here to tell me that."
"Me too, but, just think, your test is at ten, that's when we leave New York, so a few hours after your test I'll be home, so think of it as a treat for taking it," she commented, a smile on her face.
"A treat, huh? And here you didn't want me to talk like that and now look at you," he laughed lightly, "but I'll take it."
"It got you to laugh, so it worked, Noah," she replied, "just relax and you'll do fine."
"I'm trying, babe, I really am," he admitted, laying back in bed, looking around the room. "So what did you do today? You said you were at a seaport and then you went to Ground Zero," he said.
"Yeah," she nodded as she continued folding clothes and packing, explaining their day as she went. She didn't mention the picture of Ethan, unsure if he'd shared her message with anyone yet.
She continued to talk as she packed and after zipping up her larger suitcase and locking it, she set it aside. It was fully packed and heavier than when she'd left Ohio, but it had all her gifts in it along with some of the clothes she hadn't worn and things she wouldn't need for the next day. Laying her smaller suitcase on top of the larger one, she left it sitting open, knowing that would be the bag her pajamas and toiletries would go in, so she'd have to finish packing that in the morning. "Okay, I'm all packed," she told him, "well aside from what I need in the morning."
"That's great, Rach," Puck smiled, tugging the blankets up to him and glanced at the time, "I should probably get some sleep. I want to be up by eight, and I'm sure Abby will make sure I am, but just in case," he told her.
"I understand," she replied, taking a seat on her bed. "We have to be up before six, so I should get some sleep also," she admitted, "I love you, Noah."
"I love you, too, Rachel. I'll see you tomorrow," he replied.
"You will," she agreed, "goodnight and good luck on your test. You'll do great."
"Thank you, and goodnight," he said.
Rachel pulled her phone from her ear and ended the call, setting it on the nightstand and turned off the light before pulling the blankets over her, taking Abby's blanket into her hands and closing her eyes, sending her boyfriend good luck as best she could; hoping he would do well.
...
Tuesday
Puck crawled out of bed just before eight to Abby crying, so he padded down the hall to her room and picked her up, changing her diaper and then headed downstairs to the quiet kitchen, grabbing a bottle for her, "let's see what grandma says this morning," he told Abby, looking at the note on the kitchen table. "Noah - let me know when you wake up. I know you have to leave before ten, so we can talk about what you want to do. Love, mom."
They hadn't moved the kitchen supplies or the food over to their house, or had a chance to go grocery shopping yet, so his parents and sister were still using the house for meals until they had a chance to get things shifted. He debated on calling his mom right away, but chose to wait, in case she wasn't up yet. Once Abby was fed, he headed back upstairs, "I'll be back in a bit. Daddy's got to get ready to go," he pressed a kiss to her cheek and laid her back in her crib, before going into his and Rachel's room and he saw it was about eight-thirty. Grabbing his cell phone, he called his mom and waited for her to pick up, "hey mom."
"Good morning, Noah. Did you just get up?" She asked.
"No, woke up and got Abby changed and fed. She's back in her crib and I need to shower. When are you and Arin coming over?"
"Arin just woke up, and is in the shower now, so we'll be over by nine. Have you eaten yet?"
Puck got up and moved to close the bedroom door, "no, not yet. I'll go shower and then when you guys come over we can eat," he told her.
"Okay, that works. See you in a little while, Noah."
"Yeah, mom," he agreed and hung up his phone. Seeing a text message from Rachel that they had gotten to the airport and were in the security line, he responded with, "woke up a little while ago. About to shower. Can't wait to see you babe!" He set his phone back down on the nightstand, stripped, and headed for the shower.
Ethan had given him the 'all clear' to use the bathroom now, so the day before, he'd moved his and Rachel's stuff in there, things piled everywhere, but at least most of it was in there. He knew there was a lot left to do, but with Rachel home, they'd both be able to do it.
Taking a quick yet relaxing shower, he got out and dressed in some clothes he'd set out the night before; he hadn't moved many clothes, yet, but to avoid an accidental run-in in the hallway, since his mom and sister would be over, he laid some clothes out on the dresser to put on. Once he was dressed, he pocketed his cell phone and wallet and moved into the nursery, picking up Abby, changing her clothes and then headed downstairs with her, finding his mom and sister in the kitchen, "morning mom, morning Arin," he said giving his sister a half hug as she sat at the table and he had Abby in his arms.
"Morning, Noah," Arin responded, "Rachel is really coming home today? Does she know about our move?" She asked.
He smirked, "yes, she is coming home today, but, no, she doesn't know that you guys have moved over to the new house, so don't say anything. I want to surprise her, okay?"
She nodded, "alright. I figured you did."
"Mom, what are you doing?" Puck asked as he watched her write down something on paper as she looked through cupboards.
She paused to check on things on the stove for breakfast, "I'm making a list of all the kitchen things we need. There is no sense in taking all this stuff over to the new house and making you guys buy new stuff right away, so your dad and I will. We probably won't go today, but maybe tomorrow or the next day. When you leave, Arin, Abby and I are going to the store to get stuff for dinner so we can be back before you get home," she explained, setting plates out and then dishing up scrambled eggs and hash browns onto each plate. "Do you know if Finn and Quinn are coming over tonight?"
With Abby settled in one arm, Puck got his plate in his other hand and carried it over to the table and sat down, "no, they're not. They said they'd wait until tomorrow," he replied with a grin.
Deborah laughed a little, "if you don't want us to come over tomorrow morning, tell me now," she commented.
"No, it's fine," he told her, "the bedroom has a door for a reason."
"Okay," Deborah bit her lip, not wanting to continue that conversation; there were things that a mom just didn't need to know.
When breakfast was over, he didn't have a lot of time to hang around, so he went back upstairs with Abby, long enough to get her diaper bag ready for his mom. "Just think, Abby, in a few hours, mommy will be home," he said, "daddy is looking forward to that," he admitted, "I bet you are, too. You did really great this week, but I know once she's home you'll be attached, so just promise me you'll share," he looked at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek as she rested her head against his shoulder.
Her tiny hand was holding onto his shirt, and as he kissed her, she giggled a little and tightened her hand on his shirt.
"You think that's funny?" He kissed her again, this time tickling her lightly with his free hand.
She giggled again and let go of his shirt, batting at his cheek. As her hand got closer to his lips, he opened his mouth and nipped at it playfully, being careful not to get her with his teeth. She continued to giggle at him as her hand went back to his shirt and he smiled at her as he zipped up the diaper bag. Throwing it over his shoulder, he turned towards the door to see his mom leaning against the door frame, "mom! I didn't know you were there," he said shocked.
Deborah smiled, "I know," she pushed off the door frame, "I came up to get her diaper bag and I saw you. I couldn't help but watch," she replied, moving towards him.
"I was, um," he blushed, still not used to showing a different side to him.
"You don't have to explain," she commented giving him a hug. "You also shouldn't be embarrassed to show your softer side, Noah."
He nodded, looking at Abby, who had her head resting against his shoulder, "I know, but I'm still getting used to all of this. Showing my softer side around here is one thing, but in the back of my mind, I keep thinking about what everyone at school will think," he replied, "and I know I shouldn't care what others think, but it's not easy to completely change yourself around people who have only known you one way for so long," he added.
She rubbed his forearm gently before taking the diaper bag from him, "you're right, it isn't easy, but it's your choice. You can let them see someone who is faking it, or not care and be yourself. You know deep down being a jerk and asshole to everyone is not you, so find the balance and I think you're doing a great job with that," she replied.
Puck smiled as he followed her out of the nursery, "thanks mom."
The two headed back downstairs where Puck settled Abby into her car seat while his mom double checked she had her grocery list and her purse, along with making sure things were okay around the house before they left.
Puck had about twenty minutes before he needed to be at the recruiting office for his test and though it was only a few minutes away, he didn't want to walk in right at ten, so since Deborah and Arin were ready, he carried Abby outside and they followed him, heading across the street to his dad's jeep. "I can't believe dad is letting you drive his jeep," Puck commented.
"Well, my car is a lot smaller, so he didn't see the need to be driving this to work, when it would be more beneficial if I had it, so he is taking mine and I'll drive the jeep," she explained.
"I know, it makes sense and all, but I'm just surprised," he admitted.
After making sure her car seat was buckled in correctly, Puck leaned in and kissed Abby on the forehead, "see you later, sweetheart. Love you," he whispered to her before stepping back and closing the door. "So, I'll see you guys in a while. I don't know how long it will take."
Deborah hugged him, "don't worry about it. Take your time, don't rush and you'll do great, Noah," she assured him.
He returned her hug, "thanks mom," he smiled.
She rubbed his shoulders and smiled, "you're welcome."
He nodded at her and then stepped away, waving at Arin before crossing the street and climbing into his jeep. He started the engine and pulled away from the curb, making his way towards the recruiting office, which only took about ten minutes, so he arrived with ten minutes to spare.
Before walking inside, Puck looked at his phone and saw a text from Rachel that he'd gotten during his drive, "we're almost ready for take-off. Just a few more hours, Noah!"
He smiled and hit reply, "awesome babe, can't wait to see you, Rach! Just got to recruiters, wish me luck."
With his phone still in his hand, he walked inside and moments later it beeped, indicating a new message and he glanced at Rachel's message, "good luck, love you!" Smiling, he turned his phone on silent and slid it into his pocket.
"Morning, Puckerman," Jack greeted.
"Morning, Keystone," Puck replied nodding at him.
"Test day, how did you sleep?" He asked.
Puck shrugged, "as good as I possibly could. My girlfriend doesn't come home until tonight."
He nodded, "did you get a chance to study at all over the weekend?"
"I did a little yesterday, but I had something else come up that I had to take care of," he commented.
"Alright, no problem. I was just curious. Come on back," he guided him back to another room with a computer set up, "more privacy since this is the official test. It won't let you start taking the test until exactly ten, but you can still put in your information. It already has my information in it, about this office, so the results can be sent back here."
"Sent back here?" Puck looked at him oddly.
"When you finish the test, the scores are sent to the processing center in Columbus and then are returned to me here, for you. It's done officially, so that way the recruiters don't have to be responsible to score each test," he explained, "I should have them back by Friday, so you only have a few days to wait."
"Oh, alright," Puck shrugged, "so how long will it take for me to do the test?"
"Two hours is the time limit, but most are done around an hour, hour and a half," he explained.
"Okay," Puck nodded and started typing in his information and clicked submit and a message came up that said, "it is now 0957. Your test will begin at 1000."
Seeing the message, Jack wished him luck and left the room, leaving Puck in peace. He took a few moments to take deep calming breaths and tried to focus on the task, pushing aside his nerves and worries. Moments later, the screen changed to the first question, and Puck set to work.
The test was close to two-hundred questions, split into many sections, all focusing on different areas of education, knowledge, and skills. All the questions were multiple choice, so Puck did the best he could to pick the correct answer. He didn't worry himself on which ones he got wrong, if any, because he would never know which ones were wrong, but he knew there would be sections he'd score lower on than others.
As he clicked his answer for the final question, he glanced at the time on the clock; it was a little after eleven-thirty. The screen told him the test was complete and to see his recruiter, so he got up, stretching a little before walking back into the main office, finding Jack talking to a guy.
Jack noticed him, "I'll be over in a second, Puckerman," he told him.
Puck nodded and waited by Jack's desk, tugging his phone out to see if there were any messages from Rachel, but seeing none, he put his phone back, hearing Jack talking to the guy about joining, and then handed him a business card before Jack walked over, "alright, sorry about that," he reached for the printer and pulled out the newly printed papers. He glanced over them and then handed Puck a copy, "here's a confirmation your test was taken and sent to Columbus, so keep that until we get your results back."
"How long does it usually take?" Puck asked.
"About three or four days. Like I said, I'm sure they'll be here Friday. I'll give you a call when they come in."
"Okay, that works. Do you have my number on there? I know that was part of the information I submitted, but did that print out?" He glanced at his own paper, "oh I guess it did."
Jack nodded, "yeah, which one do you want me to call you at? Home or cell?"
"Cell," Puck said, "it's with me all the time."
Jack grabbed a little sticky note and wrote a note and then picked up a tan folder and slipped it in, "the start of your file," he commented.
"Kind of freaky, but kind of cool, too," Puck admitted.
"It is both. I have a question for you," he said sitting down at his desk, and seeing Puck waiting, he asked, "have you thought about what you're going to do when you join, with your daughter, I mean."
"What do you mean 'do with'?"
"Well, you're not going to be married when you go, right? I'm asking because the military usually doesn't want single parents to join."
"I'm not single. We might not be legally married, but we will be later. Before I go, I'm going to make sure there is no question who is taking care of my daughter and who will have control of my money. My girlfriend's dad is a lawyer," he clarified.
"Oh, alright. I was going to suggest either getting married legally or talking to a lawyer, but it sounds like you've already thought about this," he replied.
Puck nodded, "I plan to propose when she graduates from high school. She's a year younger than I am," he explained. "As for anything else, I want my daughter raised here, close to our families and friends. Rachel is going to be going to college at Lima's OSU campus, so she and our daughter can live here while I'm gone and she'll have access to my money, so things will work out. I've been thinking about this for a while," he admitted.
"Okay, great. I just wasn't sure, and I wanted to talk to you about it before we got much further into this and it came up."
"I understand," Puck agreed, "so am I done for now?"
"Yes you are. Unless you have questions."
"None right now."
"Okay, well, then see you later. I'll give you a call when your results come in and then we can set up a time for you to come in and go over them and kind of start things from there."
The two stood and Puck shook his hand, heading outside and over to his jeep. Getting in, he started the engine and noticed the clock on the dash said noon, so he knew Rachel would be landing in Columbus within the next few minutes, so he went home, feeling the excitement building.
As he pulled into the driveway and parked, he took his cell phone out and saw a message from Rachel. "Just got to Columbus and are on our way to get our bags. I don't know how much longer until we are home, but soon!"
He smirked at her message, "make it quick. This is torture!" He responded as he went inside and found his mom and sister packing and organizing things in the lower levels of the house that still needed to be moved.
...
Rachel, David and Alan arrived at the airport just after noon and headed to get their luggage. While waiting, Alan called their hotel to send the shuttle down to get them and take them back to the hotel where their SUV was parked. When the shuttle arrived, they loaded up their belongings and the driver took them back to the hotel. Getting there, while Rachel and David took their things to the parking lot where their SUV was, Alan went to check out. Soon they were loading their bags into the back and heading out of the lot. Knowing it was a two hour drive back home, they stopped at the McDonald's near the hotel and picked up something to eat on the way, so it was one-thirty before they really got on the road back home to Lima.
Rachel pulled out her phone and sent her boyfriend a text message. "Finally got things taken care of and are on our way home!"
Puck, playing with Abby on the floor, got her message and smiled, replying with, "finally! Can't wait to see you, babe!" He picked up Abby so she was laying on his chest and kissed her forehead, "mommy will be home in a few hours," he whispered to her.
Both teens were anxious for Rachel and her dads to get home, and they did message each other during her trip, but he couldn't keep his phone in his hands all the time, since he was helping his mom and sister out and at times playing with Abby.
As Alan turned onto the street and then flipped around to park in front of the house, Rachel tried to stay calm and resisted the urge to take off for the house when she climbed out of the SUV.
The Puckermans were in the back, relaxing in the last few weeks of summer sun and Puck had gone inside to get something to drink when he heard a car outside of the house and he glanced at his watch and saw it was just after three-thirty. Setting his water bottle on the counter, he headed for the front door and pulled it open, seeing Rachel, David and Alan just climbing out of their SUV. Smiling, he headed down the stairs of the porch, "Rach!"
At her name, Rachel turned around and grinned brightly at him, "Noah!" She exclaimed, rushing right over to him.
He held out his arms and as they met in the middle of the path to the house, he picked her up and spun them around, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Hey beautiful," he grinned catching her lips with his as he gently set her back down on the ground.
When their lips met, Rachel's hands moved to rest against his cheeks, holding him in the kiss as they touched for the first time in a week. His hands moved up her body to brush through her brunette hair and when their lips parted reluctantly, so they could catch their breath, he pressed his forehead against hers, his arms tightening around her shoulders, "it's so good to have you back in my arms," he murmured, "I missed you so much, Rachel."
She smiled at him, "I missed you, too, Noah, but I'm home now," she told him.
"Yes you are," he agreed, taking her bag from her shoulder and throwing it over his as he guided them back to the SUV. "Welcome home, guys," Puck said to her dads, taking the larger of the two suitcases from them as they got Rachel's things from the back.
"Thanks, Noah," David nodded, "it's nice to be home," he admitted.
Alan closed the back once he had Rachel's other bag and the four made their way up to the house. Stepping inside, Puck and Alan set her bags by the stairs.
"Wow, it looks different in here," David commented.
Rachel looked around, seeing things looking a lot different than when they left, "it does," she agreed stepping into the living room, noticing the missing items, decorations, books, shelves, and pictures, "you guys have been busy."
Puck nodded, "yeah, we figured we'd try and get as much done before Monday when I start football and mom starts Cheerios practice," he replied, "mom, dad, Arin and Abby are out back," he added motioning towards the back of the house.
As Alan and David moved towards the back door, Rachel started to follow, but Puck snagged her by the waist and pulled her against him, "not so fast, babe," he whispered.
She turned in his arms to look at him, and as soon as she did, she stood up on her tip toes and kissed him, her own arms wrapping around his shoulders as their kiss intensified.
Tightening his arms around her, he continued the kiss, their lips dancing together as a week's worth of nerves, worries, and emotions melted away the longer the kissed. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss, but kept his arms around her, "I love you so much."
Blinking her eyes, she felt tears fall as she nodded, "I love you, too," she replied, shifting her arms to be around his waist and leaned against his chest, "I missed you so much, Noah... I managed, but it hurt. I don't know what we're going to do," she whispered.
He held her close, his chin resting on her shoulder, "we're going to make the best of every moment we have together and I promise you, we won't be apart for long; we'll make sure we see each other. Remember our pact?" He asked softly and at her nod, he brushed a hand along her cheek, wiping her eyes, "I plan to stick to it," he murmured before giving her a gentle kiss, "now that we've had a proper hello and welcome home," he winked at her, "there's someone I'm sure you're dying to see," he replied, taking her hand and guiding her outside, grabbing his bottle of water on the way.
Rachel wiped her eyes and when she walked out into the back deck, she saw David holding Abby and then noticed Ethan, Deborah and Arin.
"Rachel!" Arin hopped up from her seat and ran over to her, hugging her, "welcome home!"
"Thank you, Arin," Rachel returned her hug, "I missed you guys," she admitted looking at Deborah and Ethan.
The two other parents got up and moved over to her, giving her a brief hug to welcome her home, knowing Rachel would want to see Abby. Rachel walked over to David and looked at Abby, "hey Abigail," she smiled, "mommy's home."
Abby turned her head to Rachel's voice and her hand reached out for her, which brought tears to Rachel's eyes as she carefully took her from David and snuggled her, rubbing her back gently and kissing her cheek, "I missed you so much, sweetie," she whispered.
Puck walked over to his girlfriend and rubbed Rachel's shoulders a little as he guided her to a chair, and Rachel sat down and he sat next to her, Abby snuggled contently against Rachel's shoulder.
"So what did you guys do while you were there?" Arin asked.
Arin's question brought out an abridged version of their trip, mentioning where they had gone each day along with some minor details, promising when she had a chance to show them her pictures, she would go into more details and also said once she unpacked, she'd give out everyone's gifts.
Ethan started to grill hamburgers and soon they were settling into dinner, relaxing with their family. Puck offered to take Abby when Rachel was starting to eat and when she tried to hand her over, Abby's tiny hand clung to Rachel's shirt and refused to let go, starting to fuss and cry at the attempt. Rachel shook her head, "it's okay. She's fine here," Rachel settled Abby back against her and kissed her cheek, "mommy's got you," she murmured to her. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, knowing it somehow clicked in Abby's mind that mom had been gone for a while and she didn't want to let go, which made Rachel feel even worse for leaving Abby for as long as she did.
Puck scooted his chair closer to Rachel's and he rested a hand on her shoulder, leaning in and kissing her gently on the lips, "relax, babe. It's okay," he whispered to her.
She nodded and relaxed a little, once Abby had calmed down, finding a way to eat with one hand, since Abby was still leaning against her shoulder. "So what exactly have you guys been doing?" Rachel asked.
"Well, we moved our stuff over to the new house and have been sleeping there since Saturday night," Ethan said, motioning between him, Deborah and Rachel.
"And since Sunday, we've been going through stuff around the house and moving what I want to have in the new house," Deborah explained
"The only place they haven't gone through is the kitchen," Puck added with a laugh.
Rachel raised a curious eyebrow, "what do you mean?"
"We don't have anything in the new house to eat or cook with, so we're going to buy new stuff and then you kids can keep the what's here, so over time you guys can get rid of what you don't want or need and can replace stuff when you're able to," Deborah replied. "Sometime this week I was wondering if you'd like to go shopping with me and Arin to help pick out new things?" She asked, looking over at Rachel.
Rachel smiled, "I'd love to," she nodded at Deborah, "sounds like fun."
"And I'll stay home and watch Abby," Puck added with a laugh, getting up and disappearing into the house. Everyone was curious where he went until he returned with a bottle in his hand and sat down, handing it to Rachel, "she's going to be hungry soon," he said.
"Oh," Rachel blushed lightly; she'd been so overwhelmed at being home and how Abby had reacted to her that she'd kind of forgotten the necessary things.
Dinner ended and their dishes had gotten cleaned up and soon they all headed inside as it got later in the evening. David and Alan were getting tired, so they said goodnight around eight and once the kitchen was clean, Deborah, Ethan and Arin also left, heading back to their house for the night, giving Rachel, Abby and Puck some alone time.
"Come on, let's go upstairs. It's time to get Abby changed, anyway," Puck said throwing Rachel's carry-on over his shoulder and picking up her two suitcases.
Rachel followed him upstairs, Abby still settled against her and both were beginning to show signs of getting tired and as he continued down the hallway, Rachel paused at the room they had been in, "Noah?" She looked inside and saw it was a mess and their bed was missing.
Puck paused outside their new bedroom and turned around, "I might have left one detail out about what we did this weekend, so I could surprise you," he stepped inside, setting her bags on the floor near her closet.
Confused she moved to follow him and as soon as she stepped into the doorway, she gasped, feeling tears in her eyes as she looked around the room, "you... this weekend... Oh, Noah."
He stepped over to her, wrapping his arms around her gently and kissed her and then their daughter, "it's not done by a long shot, but it's getting there. After we moved mom, dad and Arin, we decided to do it. You had already picked out colors, so we went and got what we needed and then Matt, Mike and Finn helped dad and I on Sunday and we got the bathroom and bedroom redone while mom, Quinn and Arin worked downstairs. I spent yesterday moving some of our stuff in here, but I wanted you to be a part of that, so I didn't move everything," he explained reaching up to wipe her eyes. "All the furniture from their room and Arin's that they didn't take and that's not in here is in Arin's old room. We can go through and bring in what you want, I just left the dresser and a few things I knew we'd want or need and brought in my dresser," he added.
Rachel nodded, silently looking around the still kind of empty room, "this is amazing, Noah. I... You guys did it so fast, but I love it. This is our room now... It's not just your room we're sharing," she blinked as tears fell from her eyes.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her hips, his arms still around her, "the room we'll spend the rest of our lives in, together," he whispered.
"I love the sound of that," she admitted, her head resting against his chest as they hugged.
"Me too," he agreed, soaking in the moment with his family in his arms. He felt Abby stir in Rachel's arms, "you want to give her a bath in our new bathroom?" He asked looking at Rachel.
"Sure," she smiled. "I'll run the water if you want to get something for her to put on after," Rachel said.
Puck kissed her again, "I can do that," he nodded, "her soap is in there already, I gave her a bath in there last night," he added.
Nodding, Rachel stepped from his arms and moved into the bathroom, admiring the new things and laughing lightly at the piles of boxes and stuff of theirs just setting around, "oh Abby, there is much to do," she giggled.
It didn't take long for a bath to get set up and for the first time in a long time, Puck and Rachel gave Abby a bath together; he usually came home from work after she'd been bathed, so this was a new area for them that they all really enjoyed.
When bath time was over and Rachel was drying Abby off, Puck emptied out the tub and then both headed into their room to dress her in her night gown and Rachel noticed the time, "no wonder I'm getting tired, it's almost ten," she murmured.
"Yeah, it is. It's been a long day for all of us," he held out his hands and took Abby from Rachel, "why don't you get changed and in bed. I'll put her down."
Abby wasn't fussing as much, so Rachel took him up on the offer, "um, where are my clothes?"
"Clothes in the closet by your suitcases, your pajamas and all your other stuff is in the dresser," he motioned to his parent's old one.
Rachel leaned up and kissed Abby on the cheek, "good night, sweetheart. Mommy loves you. See you in the morning," she whispered, then kissed her boyfriend, "thank you."
He nodded at her, "welcome," he kissed her again before leaving the room and heading into the nursery. He hugged her and kissed her cheek, gently laying her down in her crib and turning on her mobile, noticing she was already starting to fall asleep, so he carefully slipped out of the room with the monitor in his hand and closed the door. Going back into their room, he noticed Rachel's clothes were piled on the floor by her side of the bed and she was already curled up under the covers. "Abby's almost asleep," he said.
Rachel nodded, "she seemed like she was tired," she replied.
Kicking off his shoes and setting the monitor on the nightstand with his phone, he undressed down to his boxers and slid under the covers with her. "Welcome home, Rach," he whispered, slipping his arms around her body and pulling her towards him.
Rachel relaxed, "good to be home," she murmured kissing his bare chest as she settled against him, "and this was a great surprise to come home to," she admitted, motioning around the room.
He smiled, "I'm glad you like it. Part of me was worried you'd be upset for not letting you be a part of this, but I hoped you'd be okay with it and we got the hard labor out of the way, now we just need to focus on getting our things in here where we want."
She shook her head, "I'm not upset at all. You're right, now we need to focus on making it our room, and you started and I look forward to us continuing it," she explained shifting up to kiss his lips.
"I love you, Rachel," he murmured against her lips.
She slipped an arm over his chest as she got comfortable, "I love you, too, Noah," she closed her eyes, "and as much as I'd love to do more, I don't think either of us would enjoy-"
He pressed a finger against her lips, "we've got all the time in the world, babe. No rush. We both need some good sleep and this right here, you in my arms, I've missed this, too," he murmured, "trust me, I'd love to make love to you right now, but I'll take this, because this feels just as good," he assured her.
Rachel smiled and nodded, "I agree," she closed her eyes and relaxed, "tomorrow when we're rested, we can enjoy it more, too," she added.
"There is that, too," he winked at her and settled back against the pillows.
"Noah?" She said softly.
"Yeah, babe?"
"We went to a Jewish museum in New York," she started.
"I know, you sent me a picture of you there, remember?" He commented with a grin.
"Oh yes," she blushed, "well, while I was there, I realized something."
"What's that? 'We're a couple of good lookin' Jews'? Because I thought we'd already established that we are," he smiled playfully.
Rachel giggled at his comment, "we have, but no, that's not what I realized," she paused, "what I realized is that Quinn isn't Jewish."
He eyed her, "what does that have to do with anything?"
"While I'm her mom and I'm Jewish, I'm not the person she was born to; Quinn is. She isn't Jewish, which means, Abby isn't legally Jewish," she told him.
"But I'm Jewish," he commented. "What does it matter if she's legally Jewish?"
"We both are legally Jewish, Noah. You were born to a Jewish mother and I was converted as a baby, but Abby wasn't. The way to become legally Jewish is to convert, much like your dad did and I was. I know we don't celebrate all the Jewish holidays and we do celebrate Christmas, so we're not as Jewish as some are, but if we want to raise Abby the way we were, then I think she should be converted. All it entails is a ritual bath and a naming ceremony (5). I really think we should talk to our families about it and then discuss it with a Rabbi at Temple," she explained, "and possibly try to do it before we go back to school."
He nodded, "I don't even know the last time I was at Temple," he admitted rubbing his face, "I get what you're saying and it makes sense, but can we talk about it later?" He shifted to his side and pulled her against him, kissing her gently, "you're talking about religion while I'm thinking about all the places in our new room we could break in," he said honestly.
Rachel felt her cheeks redden to a blush as she looked up at him, "Noah," she groaned, "I thought we were going to sleep."
"Oh we are, but I'm just telling you why I don't want to talk about religion. Seems a little weird to hear you talking about it while my mind is picturing you -"
Rachel pressed a kiss to his lips, "okay, I get it," she smiled, "we'll talk more later," she added, settling in against him.
"Good night, Rach," he whispered, pressing a kiss against her lips, "I love you and I'm glad you're home."
She returned his kiss, "I am too, Noah. I love you. Goodnight," she replied.
Puck tugged their blankets up over them and then closed his eyes, feeling the need for sleep, hitting him faster than expected and soon both of them were sleeping soundly, curled up with their other half.
...
References (remove spaces):
1. ( en . wikipedia . org/ wiki/ Titanic_Memorial_(New_York_City) )
2. ( en . wikipedia . org/ wiki/ South_Street_Seaport )
3. ( www . seany . org )
4. ( www . tributewtc . org/ )
5. ( www . convert . org/ Conversion_ ) & elbbubniaevili, WillDoXTNA (and her dad), Bookgurrrl
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A/N4: Another chapter done. What did y'all think? It was emotional to read and write, but I hope you all enjoyed.
A/N5: The summer in this fic should be done within another two or three chapters and soon we'll be back to school with New Directions. It's August 2010 currently in the fic and it'll end June 2012, so just under 2 years to go, but it won't take that long to write and don't worry, there will be a sequel, so this universe is far from over. I know I don't want it to end.
A/N6: Real life sucks right now; extra money is nice, but the extra hours at work is crap on my free time, but any free time I do have I'm writing; I have so many ideas swimming in my head, I'm already planning chapters for this fic and for Starlight; now if only I could type faster than 70 words per minute, LOL.
A/N7: I'd like to say a huge thank you to whoever it was who nominated 'Out of the Blue' and / or 'Starlight' for the Glee Awards; it means so much to me! As of June 2nd, the 'seconding' process began and will be open until June 11th and voting begins June 12th and runs through June 26th. 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' are both nominated in the 'Best Work-in-Progress' category as well as the 'Favorite Puck/Rachel' one, so please, stop on by there before the 11th and 'second' them in both categories so they can move on to the voting phase. ( community . livejournal . com/ gleeawards/ )
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