A/N: Just so you know there's a little bit of a fluff moment that's kind of important at the end of the latest mature chapter. I couldn't find a way to transition it into here as well so if you want to read it you'll have to check out the other version. Sorry, not sorry /shrug.
G13- At somepoint I'll tie in Rachel possibly working, right now she's still trying to settle into a new place and it's still early on. Though I'm also fairly certain Noah is going to fight the idea of Rachel working tooth and nail as well. Also I definitely haven't forgotten Noah's sister, she has a pretty big role in this chapter. Thank you so much for sticking with me despite my slowness!
akd25101 - Thank you, hopefully you continue to enjoy where this story is going.
Msallea - I definitely like happy puckleberry. I'm sure that angst will come and go but I definitely want to keep as much happy as possible.
Guest - Definitely love your suggestions for getting involved in activities, playing music together, the support group and continued therapy, and I should definitely write an actual date between the two of them at some point. I love it.
alexa - We'll have to wait and see on Rachel's dads. And glad you support her doing cyber school, she'll still have plenty of interaction with the rest of the gleeks as things progress though so keep an eye out for that.
It had been two days since Rachel and Noah returned from the doctor's appointment with the reassurances that they had a perfectly healthy baby growing inside of Rachel's womb. Tonight though, tonight was the first home football game of the season and Rachel had decided to surprise him. He'd done so much to support her that for tonight at least, she wanted to support him in something that he loved. While she didn't understand football in the slightest, she was fairly sure that didn't matter.
With his mother working that night, Rachel was watching his little sister Sarah and it hadn't taken too much convincing to get her to come along. After fixing a quick dinner for the two of them, Rachel got cleaned up and pulled out a white dress with a red sweater so that she was at least sporting the school's colors. Sarah had put on one of her brother's old jerseys and had Rachel put her hair up with red and white ribbons as well.
They certainly looked like quite the pair as they padded through the school's parking lot and over to the stadium. It wasn't overly crowded but it was busy and after paying their admission, Rachel followed after Sarah as she rushed to the bleachers to find them seats. Rachel honestly wasn't sure how many times Sarah or Mrs. Puckerman had been able to make it to Noah's games but Rachel was determined to make sure that he knew just how proud of him she was by being at as many as she could herself.
Popping a ginger mint that his mother had gotten for her to help with the morning sickness, Rachel listened as Sarah chatted away about the sport. She still didn't understand most of it but she was here to watch him and would take any insights his little sister could provide.
By halftime, Rachel wasn't sure that she could watch anymore. The game was far more violent than she had imagined and every time Noah was hit she found her stomach twisting and a shudder taking over her body. Sarah kept assuring her that he would be fine but Rachel wasn't convinced. It was interesting to watch him along the sidelines with his teammates. It was clear that he had some real friends on the team and she was determined to not let her pregnancy impact that. While she wanted him by her side, she knew that he also needed time to be a teenager or someday he would resent her and the baby, the last thing she wanted to happen.
At halftime, the team was down by seven points, or what Sarah called a touchdown and as they headed off the field, Rachel saw one of the cheerleaders making a pass on Noah. Immediately her blood started to boil but was quickly calmed when she saw him brush the brunette off. Still, the girl was gorgeous and Rachel couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious. It seemed like Noah could have any girl that he wanted but yet here she was pregnant with his child.
She didn't voice any of those thoughts, though she did stew on them for the second half of the game. As the seconds on the clock ran down with McKinley still down, Rachel saw Sarah point out Noah to her just as he caught the ball and broke away from a defender to run down the field. Before she fully processed what had happened everyone was jumping up and cheering and Sarah was screaming next to her about how her brother had just scored to win the game.
In the locker room after the game, Noah was pounded on the back and the guys were questioning him about what party he was going to tonight. Honestly, he had no desire to go to any of them, crawling into bed with Rachel seemed like a much better idea even if he wasn't tired in the slightest and even if she was asleep when he got home. After grabbing a quick shower so that he didn't make Rach sick, Noah threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed out of the locker room.
Rounding the corner to his truck, Noah was taken aback by a pair of arms flinging themselves around his waist and commenting on how amazing that last play had been. When he glanced down he saw his sister and a few feet away, Rachel was leaning against his truck smiling. She was wearing a white sundress and a red sweater and Noah was honestly kind of turned on by the fact that she'd actually come to the game.
After ruffling his sister's hair and accepting all of her compliments and criticisms, Noah moved over to Rachel and after glancing around to make sure they were alone, he pulled her in close and kissed her long and hard. "What are you doing here?" He murmured when he finally pulled back. "Wasn't expecting you."
Rachel could only shrug as she ran her fingers through his 'hawk. "I figured I'd surprise you." She replied, laughing as he pressed his mouth to her neck and brushed his fingers over her stomach.
"Damn nice surprise." He agreed, honestly feeling pretty darn loved by this woman even if he knew they weren't close to saying the words, after all, they'd only been together a few months and rushing things any more than they already had may lead to disaster.
"Were you planning on going out?" Rachel question not going to tell him that he couldn't if he wanted to. When he shook his head she nodded and kissed him again before pulling back. "Sarah want to ride home with me or your brother?" Of course, Sarah wanted some time with Noah and Rachel couldn't blame her for that either. "Alright, I'll see you both back at the house then." She commented, sneaking one more kiss before heading across the lot to her own car.
Arriving back at the house first, Rachel moved to pour herself a glass of water. As she curled up on the couch, she heard voices heading toward the front door and a moment later, Sarah burst through calling out that they'd brought ice cream home. When the young girl discovered her in the living room she quickly handed over a cone of strawberry ice cream and Rachel felt her pulse quicken at the fact that he remembered her commenting on how good it had sounded a few days prior.
The three settled in with a movie and by the time the credits rolled, the bowl of popcorn was empty and Sarah was snoozing on the armchair across from the couch. "You put her to bed and I'll clean up?" Rachel suggested softly to Noah who nodded and picked his sister up gently. She was loading everything into the dishwasher when he came up behind her and kissed her neck before wrapping his arms firmly around her torso.
"I can't believe you came tonight…" He trailed off and after a moment Rachel turned.
"After everything you've done and are doing for me….the least I could do is support you in something you love, even if I don't understand any of it...or like seeing you get hit." Her voice dropped into a concerned tone as she spoke and she ran her fingers over his jaw. Honestly, it was one of her favorite features on him, second to his eyes and the way he was looking at her now just made her gasp. "Noah.." She murmured only to be interrupted by his mouth on hers.
This woman deserved only the best parts of him and day after day he was completely amazed by her. No matter how sick she felt she always got up and did her school work, cleaned up the house and cooked dinner. Honestly, he felt like a bit of a slacker in comparison. And here she was claiming that she didn't do enough for him. "You are something else, Rachel…" He mumbled picking her up and carrying her toward the stairs. They could clean up in the morning, right now he just wanted her, he needed her to see how much she meant to him even if he couldn't say it.