Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this chapter, so all mistakes are mine.
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.
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A/N3: More progression in this chapter.
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"Why exactly did you need to know if I was allergic to dogs?" Quinn asked Monday morning when she and Finn joined the other Glee members at their lockers before school.
Rachel smiled, "we got a dog! Ethan knew someone at work who trains police dogs and one of them didn't pass all the tests, so he was adopting her out. We went and met her yesterday and brought her home last night," she explained, pulling up a picture on her phone of Kona to show her.
"Oh, that's cool!" Quinn smiled, "she's cute. She's a German Shepherd, right?"
"She is," Rachel nodded, "her name is Kona and is about the same age as Abby. Thankfully she's very well behaved, or I think things would be a lot harder."
"It definitely helps that she's trained," Puck agreed.
"How did that conversation come up?" Kurt asked curiously.
"My dad been thinking, for a while, about us getting a dog and brought up on Saturday that he knew someone at the station who had a dog to adopt. He figured, and we all agreed, that once I leave and Rachel is home with Abby, because no one can be there with her all the time, it'd be a good idea to have some sort of extra protection around; or at least Kona can alert her to something that isn't right. It will definitely put my mind a little at ease," Puck explained.
"Mine too, Rachel agreed, "I hadn't thought about that until it came up, but I'll feel safer knowing if no one is around, I've got Kona for company and to keep an eye out."
"That's a great idea, but we'll make sure you're not alone," Finn commented.
Rachel smiled, "thanks. I know you guys will. Trust me, I'll need the company to keep my mind off of him being gone," she said, leaning against her boyfriend.
"It's making things a lot more real, too," Jessica commented, leaning against her cousin's other side, "it's not that far off, is it?" She asked.
"No, it isn't. Less than seven months," Puck replied, draping his arm around his cousin and girlfriend, "but once I get out of boot camp, I'll be able to keep in touch more."
"What do you mean, 'more'?" Jessica looked at him confused.
"I probably won't be able to take my cell phone with me to boot camp or have access to a computer there. I'll be able to write letters during my free time, but that's limited. My recruiter said they're changing things a little so we might be able to take cell phones, but he told me to not expect it," Puck told them.
"Well, shit that sucks!" Jessica pouted, "who writes letters anymore?"
Puck laughed lightly, "yeah, that's why they're trying to change things."
Rachel nodded, "I've already accepted for eight weeks I'll probably only hear from him a few times in letters. It does suck, but it's only for a short time," she said, trying to stay positive.
"Time will go by fast," Puck replied, rubbing Rachel's back and kissing her forehead, "at least that's what I'm told."
"I know," she nodded, trying not to think about it, because that was one thing she couldn't control.
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Once school started, it went by just like every other day did and as the end of the day arrived, the Glee Club members met in the auditorium to continue working on the songs they'd chosen for Sectionals, coming up in a short time.
Ethan was off that week, so not only was he taking care of making sure Kona didn't chew up the house, he also was watching Abby, to give Susan a few days break to get ready for Thanksgiving, so he brought Abby along to Glee. As soon as Abby heard her parent's voices, she was quite curious where she was and once Puck and Rachel got a chance to see her, they got into their practice.
Tuesday and Wednesday of that week was the same as Monday. Ben and Deborah had canceled basketball and Cheerios practice because there wasn't a game at the end of the week like usual, so it gave the teens in Glee who were on one of those times, some extra time after school to practice for Sectionals, because now that they had more people, music and choreography took longer to sort out, but everyone was coming along well and they were all positive they'd be ready.
Wednesday, Deborah took the morning off and Ethan, Abby and Deborah went to one of her doctor's appointments, a check-up, where they did some tests and also did a sonogram. Her doctor was happy to see that all of her vitals were where they should be for a pregnant woman and there were no concerns to be found, so she got a clean bill of health. During her sonogram, they got a few great pictures, but the angle the baby was laying didn't give them a clear view to find out if it was a boy or girl, which to the parents was okay, because they still hadn't figured out if they wanted to know the sex before the birth, or wait.
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Kona was settling in great. Thankfully she was trained enough that they didn't have to deal with a lot of puppy issues and she was already quite attached to Abby. She was never aggressive with anyone holding Abby, but she kept an eye on them and was nearby, as if making sure things stayed 'okay' with her kid.
When Thursday arrived, which was also Thanksgiving, Noah and Rachel got to sleep in a few extra hours before Abby woke them up, starting Abby's first Thanksgiving and Rachel made sure she got a ton of pictures of her dressed in her holiday outfit to commemorate the milestone.
A lot had changed since the previous Thanksgiving; a year prior Quinn was pregnant with Abby, Will had just broken up with his wife, Ethan wasn't around, Noah was still recovering from his football accident, Quinn was living with the Berrys and Deborah, Arin, Puck, Will, Carole and Finn joined the Berrys for dinner. Now, Will and Emma were together and doing their own thing for Thanksgiving. Ethan was in their lives, and he and Deborah were hosting Thanksgiving dinner for their close family, David, Alan, Rachel, Puck and Abby. Quinn was living with Carole and Finn and they would be celebrating Thanksgiving with Kurt and Burt, but since the friends and families were celebrating Thanksgiving separately, Deborah, Susan and Carole got together and decided that even though they were all having dinners apart, they would all go over to the Hudson's for dessert, so they could spend part of the holiday together.
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Since Thanksgiving always fell on a Thursday, school was also out on Friday, so Puck and Rachel got a four day break from school. They spent Thursday, Friday and Sunday together, but on Saturday, Ethan and Puck went up to Detroit for a Detroit Red Wings game, part of the season ticket's they'd gotten for Father's Day that year, giving the father and son some bonding time.
The school week following the holiday, was nothing out of the ordinary, but with only two weeks until Sectionals, it was crunch time. The club began meeting for an hour during their hour and a half lunch break each day, since the basketball players and Cheerios still had practices after school and an away game that Friday.
The original Glee members were not worried; the club had almost every step perfect and their vocals were amazing, but the new members were still nervous and scared they'd mess up, so during practices there was a lot of words of encouragement being passed around from the adult coaches and the original members.
Hanukkah began on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, but because of the busy school schedule for the teens, the families only lit the menorah each night, deciding to wait until the weekend to officially celebrate the Jewish holiday.
The week came to an end with an away basketball game on Friday and then Saturday afternoon there was another hockey game in Detroit that Puck and Ethan went to, but were back in the evening to light the menorah. The following day, Sunday, was when the Puckermans and the Berrys celebrated Hanukkah, with a whole day of eating, gift giving and making sure that they got tons of pictures for Abby's first Hanukkah.
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As Monday came around, emotions were high for the Glee Club. It was their final week before leaving Saturday morning for Sectionals, so they were practicing as much as they could; during lunch and after school, with and without the basketball players and Cheerios, even if it was difficult with a bunch of them missing.
Hanukkah ended on Wednesday, so after school and practices, the Puckermans and Berrys lit the menorah for the last time that year and had dinner together again, but it wasn't as big as Sunday's celebration.
The final day of the week was full of nerves. The Glee met for their final time in the auditorium during lunch for one last practice before leaving for Columbus and even the members who had gone through the competitions the year before were starting to get butterflies for the next day, but they pushed through and managed to run through each of their songs flawlessly, so Will was extremely happy and assured them they'd do great.
That night, the basketball team had a home game at McKinley and Will encouraged the club to go, not only to cheer on their fellow members, but also to get their mind off of the competition. Some of them did go, but others stayed home to pack or relax in their own way, but those who came to the game go to cheer McKinley to a victory.
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Even though Rachel and Puck could have taken Abby along, they opted for Alan and David to take care of her. Deborah, Ethan, Susan and Ben were all going as chaperones, so Rachel's dads were also going to watch Arin and Hannah; the four staying at Puck and Rachel's house with Abby and Kona.
Since the club was a lot bigger than the year before, not only were Ethan, Deborah, Susan, Ben, Will and Emma going, there were also a few other parents going; Burt and Carole would have gone, but Carole had a lot going on at the bakery and Burt needed to take care of the garage.
On the two hour ride to Columbus, everyone relaxed for a while and then Will explained how the competition would work. They'd perform two songs, their ballad and one of their up-beat songs, in front of the judges at two that afternoon. Once they were done they'd have some free time until later on that evening when they'd find out if they beat their opposing schools. If they did, they'd perform their final song the next day, also in front of the judges and the top five schools will go onto Regionals. Will also gave out room assignments, so when they arrived they didn't have to do it then.
Finally getting to the hotel, Will, Deborah and the band director headed into the lobby to check them into their rooms and returned passing keys out. Because they had a lot more funding this year than they did the year before, they only had to have two people per room, so Will put Puck and Ethan together, Rachel and Deborah, Jessica and Susan, Ben and Finn, Will and Kurt and Emma and Quinn, among his other groupings, keeping the couples apart as much as possible, since it was a school trip.
Dropping their things off in their rooms and relaxing for a little bit, they gathered their costumes and headed over to the center. Checking in just before eleven, they got a chance to check out a few of the other groups before making their way to their practice room to changed. After running through their numbers and stretching, the New Directions and their chaperones headed down to the backstage area.
Though nerves were still high for the new members, Tina, Rachel and Kurt took the stage to share the lead vocals for their ballad and as they bowed, the rest of the club joined them and Puck and Rachel took lead for their up-beat song. Once their song ended and everyone bowed, getting a standing ovation, New Directions' members relaxed and celebrated as they jogged off stage to see their chaperones extremely happy with their performance.
After changing and piling back onto the bus, the club returned to their hotel and had a few hours free before they needed to be back to find out the results, when they'd learn if they'd be moving onto the next round of performances.
Almost everyone from the club headed away from the hotel for a late lunch, but some stayed back at the café in the hotel, like Rachel and Puck, so they could have some extra time to call and check in with David and Alan. They assured the teen parents that Abby was fine and wished them luck. Puck was content with that, because he trusted David and Alan, but Rachel needed a bit more convincing; she hated leaving Abby and though she didn't doubt her dads, she still was nervous about leaving her overnight, but she eventually Rachel calmed down enough to hang up and finish the rest of her meal.
Just before six, the club was loading onto the bus and once Will was sure everyone was there, they headed back to the center and went inside to find seats to wait for the results.
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"Rachel!" A voice echoed over the crowd.
Rachel was sitting on the end of the row she and Noah and some of their friends were sitting in and when she heard her name, she turned around, her eyes landing on her two friends, Kelly and Angela, so she stood up, "hey! I was wondering if I'd get to see you guys this weekend," she admitted, sharing hugs with each of them.
"We're up further in the front. We performed last, so we've been wandering around the center since we finished," Angela explained.
"There's like nothing to do, though," Kelly added with a laugh, "but there is a café."
"I should have messaged you. If I would have known that I would have seen about sticking around to watch our competition," Rachel winked at them, causing all three of them to laugh, "are you guys staying at a hotel tonight?" Rachel asked once they calmed down.
"No. Since we're not that far away, we came down for the performance and results, then we're taking the bus back tonight and we'll come back tomorrow if we make it," Angela explained.
"I'm sure you guys will," Rachel assured them.
"You guys will, too," Angela added.
Kelly nodded in agreement and then glanced around Rachel and waved, "hey everyone!"
Angela also said 'hi' the club and those who remembered the girls from Rachel's surprise birthday party back in September greeted them, Quinn and Jessica getting up to hug the girls like Rachel had. "I bet it's nice to not be pregnant during the performance, Quinn," Angela commented.
Quinn laughed lightly, "definitely a lot easier. I'm not afraid my water is going to break on stage, either," she added.
"That would have been horrible, but what a story to tell," Kelly laughed, glancing at Puck.
"I would not want that cleaning bill," Puck muttered, smirking lightly at their comment.
Angela turned to Jessica, "so what was it like for your first performance?"
"Very scary, but it was fun, once we started. Before I felt like was going to throw up," Jessica admitted.
"I still get like that sometimes," Kelly commented, "so I just breathe in and out and it helps to settle my nerves," she explained.
Jessica nodded, "thanks. That's what Rachel told me, too. It works. I'll just have to try it earlier than right before we go on stage," she admitted.
"A lot earlier," Angela nodded.
"So, do we have a truce this year?" Rachel asked the girls, "as in, no rude comments."
"Oh, yes, definitely!" Kelly replied, "Shelby went over that on the bus, but I think the guys were steering clear of you guys anyway, because they got freaked out when Ethan threatened to arrest them."
"Wait a second, what happened?" Jessica asked with a laugh.
Quinn smirked, "it's a long story. We'll tell you about it later."
"Alright," Jessica smirked.
"Rachel, do you want to talk to Shelby? We can show you where she is," Angela said.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Rachel nodded.
"We should probably get back over there; we've been gone a while," Kelly commented, motioning towards where their team was sitting.
"Okay, that's fine."
"I'm going to stay here. It was nice seeing you girls again," Quinn commented, waving at them.
"You, too, Quinn," they replied.
Jessica said the same thing as Quinn and both girls took their seats, so Rachel turned to her boyfriend, "I won't be gone long. I'm just going to go say 'hi' to Shelby."
"I'm coming with you," Puck said, standing up, "whether there's a truce or not, I'm not letting you go over there without protection," he commented, "mom, dad... Rachel and I will be back," Puck said, turning to his parents.
"You just don't want the single guys flirting with her," Kelly smirked.
"There's that, too," Puck added with a grin, draping his arm over his girlfriend's shoulders.
Rachel giggled lightly at his comment, "Noah, I'd never flirt back, you know that."
"I do," he nodded, "still doesn't hurt to keep the comments to a minimum," he said as they followed the girls over there.
Moving up closer to the stage, Rachel spotted Shelby talking to another chaperone and she didn't feel any draw to her; at least not in a 'that's my mom' kind of way. She'd been keeping in touch with Shelby through emails, talking about tons of stuff, but they seemed to keep New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline out of their conversations as much as possible; the last thing they wanted to do was share information that could give either team any insight on their rival, which was also how her contact with Kelly and Angela went, too, their clubs didn't come up at all.
"Hey, Shelby," Rachel said, trying to catch her attention.
Shelby turned and saw her, "hey Rachel," she smiled, excusing herself from who she had been talking to and moving towards them, "hey Noah," she added.
"Hey," Puck nodded at her.
"We thought we'd come over and say 'hi'," Rachel told her.
"I'm glad you did. We didn't get to see you guys perform since we got here so late, but I was hoping to catch you tonight or tomorrow," she replied.
"That's if we move on to the next round," Rachel responded.
"We will," Puck replied, confidently.
Rachel smiled at his confidence and turned to Shelby, "we missed your performance, also. I didn't know when you guys were going on. I guess I should have asked, but the clubs are not usually something we talk about in our emails," Rachel admitted, "same with Kelly and Angela, when I write to them."
"Yeah," Shelby nodded, "I realized yesterday I had forgotten to mention it and was going to email you, but I didn't because I figured you wouldn't get a chance to check your mail before today," she explained.
"Good idea, because I haven't checked it at all today," Rachel replied.
"Same here," Shelby agreed, "too much going on. How is Abby?" She asked, glancing around, "did you guys bring her?"
"No, she's at home with dad and daddy, but she's doing well," Rachel smiled, pulling her phone out to show her a picture of her from a few days prior.
"Wow, she's grown a lot since I saw her last," Shelby smiled, looking at the picture, "is she crawling yet?"
Rachel shook her head as she put her phone in her bag, "no, not yet, but she's close. She pushes herself up on her hands, but then lays back down," she replied with a grin.
Before Shelby or anyone could respond the stage was getting active, so they knew it was getting close to the time to announce who would be going on to the next level, so luck was passed to both teams and Rachel and Puck said 'goodbye' to Shelby, Angela and Kelly to return to their friends.
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There were many 'sections' of three schools each, so it took a while, but as groups found out they won or lost, the seats in the center began to empty. Vocal Adrenaline won in their section, and finally they got to the section that New Directions was in and after naming the three schools in the section, they announced that William McKinley had won and would be moving onto the final performances the following day, so after celebrating with the club for a moment, they moved towards the exit and Will went to find out when they would perform.
On the bus ride back to the hotel, Will told them they went on at eleven and needed to be back there by about nine to get into their practice room, so it would be an early day and they'd have to bring all of their luggage along, because they had check out of their hotel before they left in the morning.
Though the adults and a few of the couples, Finn and Quinn and Rachel and Puck, were used to sleeping together, they all had separate rooms, and stuck with the room arrangements, knowing it was only for a night and by six or seven in the morning everyone was up and packing. By eight, most of the students and chaperones were turning in their room keys and piling on the bus with their luggage, excited and nervous for their final performance.
Heading over to the center, they got right into their practice room and once they were dressed in their costumes and had run through their song one final time, they headed to the stage area just as the previous group came off the stage, dressed in flashy dresses and suits; something New Directions didn't like to wear.
Finally getting their chance on stage, Puck and Rachel led the group in their final performance of the competition. They were flawless as they sang and danced and when the song ended, they jogged off stage extremely excited, because everything they had planned had worked and now it was up to the judges to see if they went on to Regionals.
After returning to their practice room to change, they headed back to their bus to drop off their costumes and returned to the center, wandering around and found the café Kelly and Angela were talking about the night before, giving the teens a chance to stock up on food and caffeine before their long trip back to Lima.
By one the final group had performed and they were now waiting on the judges. McKinley, once they'd gotten their caffeine fix, found seats in the center, near the stage to wait and when Vocal Adrenaline got seats across the aisle from New Directions, Kelly and Angela joined them, getting a chance to talk a little more with everyone.
It seemed like it took forever, but just after two-thirty, the judges finally appeared, so Kelly and Angela returned to their team and everyone waited for the results. The lead judge started out by thanking all of the schools for coming and one by one announced a school who did not make the top five and with every school that was called, New Directions was got even more nervous; they were still 'newbies' to competitions, unlike teams like Vocal Adrenaline, so they didn't really know where they stood, when compared to them.
As the judge said another name, he added, "and those are the final schools who will not be going to Regionals," and New Directions, Vocal Adrenaline and three other teams cheered, because they knew they'd placed in the top five.
Asking for a representative for each of the fives teams to come up on stage, Will went up for New Directions and Shelby went up for Vocal Adrenaline, along with the other school's coaches. Once they were standing up on stage, the judge said the fifth place team and handed their coach a small plaque and he walked off the stage.
Rachel took her boyfriend's hand and squeezed it as the fourth place school was announced and their coach was given a similar plaque as the fifth place team was, "I bet we took second again," Rachel said softly.
Puck nodded, "probably," he agreed, knowing who their main competition was and others in the club who had been through it last year were making similar comments.
A third place position was given to a school from Indiana and with Will and Shelby last on stage, the two schools has a pretty good idea who was first and second, but officially the judge announced that New Directions had taken second, meaning that Vocal Adrenaline was first place and each coach was given a trophy. Shelby and Will shook hands and returned to their teams, congratulating each other as they celebrated; no one upset that for the second year in a row they'd taken second at Sectionals against Vocal Adrenaline; they were all happy to be moving onto Regionals in Detroit.
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The celebration of New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline continued for a while, waiting for Will and Shelby; the two coaches had gone to pick up the information for Regionals and sign for their trophy. As the teams celebrated separately, Kelly and Angela skipped over to where Rachel and Puck were standing, "congratulations!" Kelly exclaimed, throwing her arms around Rachel.
Rachel smiled and returned the hug, "thanks, same to you guys! We're going to Regionals!" She exclaimed, hugging Angela.
"This is so cool!" Angela agreed, "who care's what place we took; we're all going!"
"Exactly," Rachel nodded in agreement.
Slowly the two groups headed towards the exit where their buses were parked, some going right out, some heading to the bathroom or other stops, while others waited for their coaches to join them.
Seeing the trophies again made their success feel even more real and both teams celebrated again for a moment, and when Shelby passed off the trophy to one of the guys to take to the bus, she walked over to Rachel and gave her a friendly hug, "congratulations, Rachel, everyone," she said.
"Thank you. You guys, too, Shelby," Rachel replied, returning her hug before pulling away.
"We're all off to Detroit," Shelby smiled, "and I promise the kids will be on their best behavior, if not, they'll get in trouble."
Rachel smiled, "thanks."
"We'd rather not go through what we did last year," Quinn commented, "so thank you."
Shelby nodded, "I agree. I know schools can get competitive, but I do not agree with fighting," she turned to look next to Kelly, to her boyfriend, Steve, the one who had said the bad things about Rachel the previous trip to Regionals.
"It won't happen again, I promise!" Steve said, holding his hands up in defense.
"It better not," Shelby replied.
Most of the original New Directions members, their chaperones, Shelby, Kelly, Angela, Steve and a few other Vocal Adrenaline members were still inside, but knew they should get going, because they still had to drive back home. Making their way towards the exit, they were almost there when they heard a guy calling for Quinn.
Everyone stopped and looked for the person and Quinn recognized her sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew, "hey guys! I didn't know you guys were coming!" Quinn said, moving towards them.
Rebecca hugged her when they got close enough, "we came last year; of course we'd come this year, but," she bit her lip, "I didn't know... Um... Someone else is here," she said reluctantly.
"Who?" Quinn asked, confused, but as soon as she saw the older blond woman step out from behind her brother-in-law, she knew why Rebecca was nervous. Seeing the woman made her blood boil, "what are you doing here, mother?" Quinn snapped.
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Underlined text from Glee's episode 1x22 - Journey.
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A/N4: Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know! I'm only getting a few reviews per update, so I have no clue what you guys are thinking about the fic. Please tell me! Even if it's just 'loved it'. Your reviews keep me writing!
A/N5: I'm almost caught up to what I had going; at least a chapter ready, after the one I posted, so hopefully updates will come quicker now. Today I'm updating 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' and last week I updated 'Broken Road' and 'Returning Home'. The next updates for all of them should be in less than a few weeks.
A/N6: I have a ton of ideas, but is there anything specific you'd like to see or have happen in here? Let me know!
A/N7: As I update this, it's still 5/30... Today is Deborah's birthday and 5/26 was Ethan's... Happy birthday, Ethan and Deborah!
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