Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This chapter title comes from the song "I Will Dare" by The Replacements.

Anne set down a steaming bowl of Mac and cheese in front of Rachel with a flourish. She stepped back, grinning at the young woman sitting in front of her. Puck, Finn, Santana, and Quinn were all wearing matching smiles as well. Despite the way her cheeks were heating up, Rachel was thoroughly enjoying all of the attention.

"You guys really didn't have to do this," Rachel insisted for the tenth time that night. "It's not that big of a deal!"

Quinn waved her hand dismissively. "Of course it is! You just got the lead in the spring musical. The whole theater department is talking about how amazing your audition was. It totally is a big deal."

Santana pointed her fork at Rachel and arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Don't even pretend like you're not loving this."

"Okay." Rachel relented and beamed at her friends and family. "You guys caught me. This is so great!"

Finn chuckled and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. He pressed an affectionate kiss to her temple and she snuggled further into his side, hugging him tightly before she dug into her cheesy pasta. He really was so proud of her. Rachel had big dreams of making it on Broadway, and the praise she was getting from her audition alone was a validation of sorts. Finn had no doubt that Rachel was going to be a big star one day.

Rachel moaned around a forkful of Mac and cheese. "Anne, as always, this is amazing."

Before Anne could thank Rachel for her praise, Santana smirked and shot a look at Finn. "I'll bet Tutor Berry-Hudson is more turned on by that pasta than she is by you, Finnegan."

Finn narrowed his eyes in a glare at the dark-haired Latina sitting across from him at the table. "I'll have you know that I do a great job of satisfying Rachel."

"He really does," Rachel agreed with an emphatic nod of her head.

Puck closed his eyes and plugged his ears with his fingers. "I do not need to fucking hear this right now! My mother is standing right here!"

"And she can hear you using obscene language," Anne pointed out. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she was giving Puck a look that only mothers had mastered. Puck opened his eyes and managed a somewhat apologetic look. Shaking her head in amusement, Anne left the kids to the rest of Rachel's celebratory dinner.

"So when do rehearsals start?" Quinn asked. She figured it was probably a good idea to steer the conversation away from Rachel and Finn's sex life. From the grateful look Puck shot her, Quinn knew that she had made the right choice.

"Next week," Rachel said. "They still have to hold auditions for the rest of the cast."

"And you'll be done with the musical in time for football season next year," Santana pointed out.

Rachel's brow furrowed in confusion. "Yes, but why does that matter?"

"So you can cheer again, obviously," Santana stated, as if she didn't know why Rachel was purposefully asking dumb questions. When Rachel looked at Santana with wide eyes, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Rachel. You were good at it. We won the Classic with you on the team, didn't we?"

"I would not be opposed to you cheerleading again," Finn said immediately.

Now it was Rachel's turn to roll her eyes. "You're only saying that because you like the uniform."

"Hell yeah," Finn confirmed with a smirk.

Rachel couldn't hold back her smile, or the pink blush that tinged her cheeks. "I'll think about it," she finally said.

Holding up her hands, Santana said, "That's all I can ask for. You can cheer in the fall and do your musical thing in the spring. You'll be well-rounded for college applications and shit."

Everyone at the table gave Santana looks of surprise, and she flipped her middle finger at them in response. Quinn laughed and twirled some spaghetti from her plate around her fork.

"She's right, though. There aren't many theater stars that also have cheerleading on their transcripts. The spot on the squad is yours if you want it."

Rachel couldn't resist the extra resume packer for college applications. Since she and Finn were married, she was going to need of the financial help she could get. "Fine, I'll do it!"

Santana did a little victory dance in her seat that had Puck smiling into his plate of food. "Excellent. Now we have two things to celebrate! Well, three, actually."

"Three?" Puck questioned. "Do you have something you want to share with us, Lopez?"

"Yeah, actually." A smirk that was even a little evil spread across Santana's lips. "I've decided that I'm running for student body president. I have to be a well-rounded student too, you know."

Quinn sighed. "God help Lima High School."

Lining up her shot, Rachel hit her putter against the pink ball and watched in satisfaction as it rolled down the obstacle. It sank into the hole, and Rachel pumped her fist in victory. Turning, she smiled innocently at Puck.

"It looks like I'm going to win this one again, Noah," she pointed out.

Puck narrowed his eyes in a glare. "How many times do I have to tell you that mini golf isn't a fucking sport?"

"You're just saying that because you're losing. And shut up, by the way," Rachel retorted.

Of course, Puck ignored her. He propped his putter on the ground and leaned against it as he studied his best friend with searching eyes. "So. How's married life treating you?"

Rachel waved her own putter in his direction and shook her head. "Oh no, we've talked enough about my life. Let's talk about yours. What's going on with you and Quinn and Santana?"

"Nothing," Puck said quickly. Too quickly.

"Oh please. The three of you can finally be in the same room all together without either of them killing you or each other. That's some major progress."

"True," Puck hedged, but he still reluctant to give much insight on the topic.

Rachel sighed dramatically. "Come on, Puckerman! Do you like one of them again?" To Rachel's shock, Puck's cheeks actually flushed a light pink. "OHMYGOD YOU DO!"

"Rachel! Shut the fuck up!" Puck looked around as if someone might have heard them, but there was no one else up on the room with them. He sighed heavily, because he knew there was no way Rachel was going to let this go. He walked right into her trap.

Puck sent a dark glare Rachel's way. "You're annoying, you know that?"

"You love me anyway," Rachel reminded him. She leaned against her pink putter and pinned him with a look. "So spill it already, would you? It'll be easier for all of us if you just tell me."

"Fine." Puck spun his putter between his hands and looked down at the ground. "Santana and I have been hanging out again."

Rachel squealed and clapped her hands together. She didn't quite understand the whole Quinn/Puck/Santana love triangle, but she just wanted her best friend to be happy more than anything else. As long as they didn't have a repeat of the fiasco from earlier that year, Rachel was fine with whomever Puck picked.

"It's not anything serious," Puck was quick to assure Rachel. "We're just… hanging out."

Rachel waved her hand. "Whatever, as long as it stops you from moping all the time."

Glaring at Rachel once again, Puck threw his golf ball at her. She laughed and dodged him, turning to sink another hole-in-one in the next obstacle. Puck started cursing behind her, which only made Rachel laugh harder.

Standing across from the senior that had been cast as her lead, Rachel waited for direction from Mr. Ryan. He was busy setting up the chorus, and there was another, younger, dark-haired guy in a leather jacket following him around.

This guy, though he was a couple of years older than the rest of them, didn't really seem like he could pull off a leather jacket that well. Her thoughts drifted towards Finn, and she couldn't' keep the smile from forming on her lips.

Now, Finn could definitely pull off a leather jacket.

Rachel was pulled out of her distracted thoughts when leather jacket guy stopped directly in front of her. He smirked at her as he waved his fingers in front of her face. "You know, if you're going to be the lead of this show, you're going to have to pay attention."

Arching an eyebrow, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. This kid was obviously full of himself. Rachel wasn't afraid to admit that she was a bit full of herself too, but at least she knew that she had the talent to back it up.

"And you are…?"

He held a hand out to her. "Jesse St. James. I'm the one who's bringing all of my experience and talent to this high school because of my uncle." He nodded his head towards Mr. Ryan and then stuck his nose up in the air, in an annoyingly superior kind of way. "I've assisted several of my professors at NYU with directing, you know."

"Uh huh." Rachel tried to hide the fact that she impressed, because she didn't want to give this jerk the satisfaction. "Well, since Mr. Ryan is actually the one who's going to be directing this show, I think I'll wait to see what he has to say."

It didn't take long for Mr. Ryan to come over and start them off on their first song together. Rachel had to admit that the senior lead, Matt Rutherford, was actually quite good. Their first rundown actually wasn't half bad (despite the critique that Rachel could hear Jesse giving his uncle).

Another hour passed before Mr. Ryan called it quits on the rehearsal and sent them off. Rachel quickly went for her bag and gathered all of her things up before sliding her jacket onto her shoulders. She only had half an hour to eat something before she had to start her shift at the café, and she wanted to see Finn. He should have been finishing up with their weight-lifting session, and she was pretty sure that she would be able to catch him.

"You know." Jesse St. James leaned against the edge of the stage. "You're actually quite talented."

"Thanks." Rachel checked her phone and saw that she had a text from Puck. He and Finn were going to be waiting for her so they could give her a ride to work. "I know."

"Like, actually really talented. You could probably make it in New York. Have you considered a career on Broadway?"

"Of course I have." Rachel turned on her heel and began to walk out of the theater. "But I'm a junior, so I have a little bit of time before I have to figure that out."

Thankfully, that comment was enough to get Jesse to stop following her. She left the school and headed out to the parking lot, and all thoughts of rehearsal left her mind when she saw her husband leaning against the car. Puck was already sitting in the passenger seat, and it was probably so he could avoid watching his best friend kiss his brother.

That was exactly what Rachel did. She threw her arms around Finn's neck as she soon as she reached him and drew his mouth down to hers. He smiled against her lips, holding on to her waist as he deepened the kiss. His tongue had just slipped into her mouth when Puck started banging on the window.

Finn and Rachel broke apart as Puck rolled the window down. "Would you two stop sucking face for two seconds? I'm fucking starving."

Rachel wasn't going to protest Puck's interruption too much, because she was pretty hungry as well. She ruffled the Mohawk on the top of his head and grinned when he cursed and tried to push her hand away. She climbed into the backseat of the car and poked her head between the driver and passenger's seat.

"So," she began with a cheeky smile in Puck's direction. "Who are you going out with tonight? Quinn or Santana?"

Finn chuckled as he started up the car again and pulled away from the high school. "Dude, you're doing that again? It didn't really work out for you last time, did it?"

Puck shot a dark glare Finn's way. "I know we're friends now, and everything, but you need to cut that shit out."

Finn only laughed as they headed into town, towards Anne's Café. Santana's red convertible was already parked out front, and Rachel made a mental note to call Quinn and hang out with her. She got the feeling that Puck was avoiding her on purpose, and she was sure that Quinn was doing the same.

"So it's Santana again today," Rachel teased as they all climbed out of Finn's car. "If you're not careful, she'll think you guys are going steady."

"Shut the fuck up," Puck grumbled. Even as he spoke, however, he caught sight of Santana and began to smile.

Rachel patted Puck's cheek before she kissed Finn and headed towards the back. Finn took a seat at the counter, allowing Puck and Santana to be alone at a table together. Santana leaned over and greeted Puck with a kiss on the cheek before she took her seat back at the table once again.

"I think, before we start eating, we're going to have to talk about a few things," Santana began.

Puck's eyebrows shot up, and he leaned back in his chair. "Oh?" he asked. He fought to keep his voice as neutral as possible. He knew he had messed up with Santana before, and he regretted hurting her. He wanted to make it up to her, and his feelings for her were still there.

Santana was more guarded now, however. It had taken her a while to open up to Puck, and now he had to start all over again after his affair with Quinn. She proved it by what she said next.

"I'm having fun with you right now, Puck. But I think we need to keep this as casual as possible."

"Casual," Puck repeated. "You want to keep things casual."

"Right." Santana nodded her head, and her face was blank. "You could see other people while we're doing this. I don't have any problem with that. And I'll be seeing other people, too."

A long beat of silence stretched between them. A funny feeling formed in the pit of Puck's stomach, and he sighed. It wasn't like he could protest, after what he had done to her. It didn't exactly sit well with him, but he would do it if it would make Santana happy.

"Okay, then. Whatever you want, Santana."

She smiled brightly at him and leaned over the table once again to press a kiss to his lips.

Wiping down the counter, Rachel smiled at her husband. It was slow at the café, and Puck was still deep in conversation with Santana. Rachel took the moment to simply watch Finn as he ate his cheeseburger.

There was something so calming about watching him. As her eyes followed the strong line of Finn's jaw, Rachel could feel the familiar heat develop in her belly. Her smile widened when she took in his perpetually messy hair. She knew she was young, but she didn't think it was possible to love someone more than she loved Finn Hudson.

"What are you looking at?" Finn asked.

Rachel was pulled from her thoughts, and she blushed at having been caught. Finn's eyes were twinkling, and he definitely knew that she had been checking him out.

"Nothing," Rachel told him. She set the kitchen rag aside and leaned against the counter across from him. "How's your mother doing?" It had been weeks since Rachel had really seen Carole Hudson. She was often busy with the various charities she volunteered for, and she had been helping Burt with his rehab.

"She's alright," Finn said. "She stopped by before I left for work yesterday. She wanted to know how things at the shop were going."

"Your mom has been visiting Burt a lot lately," Rachel said carefully. She had a hunch, and she wasn't sure how much Finn knew about it. When she saw the look on his face, however, she knew that he had been catching on.

"And Burt has asked about her whenever he comes in to check up on the garage," Finn added. "Something is going on between them, isn't it?"

Reaching across the counter, Rachel took Finn's hands in her own. "Probably. I think something has been going on for a lot longer than anyone has realized."
Finn stared down at his half-full plate. "I guess Burt would be good for her," he finally said. "I think he cares a lot about her, and my mom needs someone to make her happy. She deserves it."

"I agree." Rachel squeezed Finn's hands before she swiped one of his French fries. That made him smile, and he pushed the plate towards her.

Puck slid into the chair next to Finn's. "Rachel is such a mooch," he declared. Then he reached over and stole a fry from Finn's plate as well, causing Finn to roll his eyes.

"You're one to talk," Rachel retorted as she narrowed her eyes in a glare. "Where is Santana? She was keeping you distracted, at least."

A pained look passed over Puck's face. "She just left. She had another date to get to, apparently."

"Really?" Rachel arched an eyebrow and shared a look with Finn. "So…"

"So she'll be dating other people while we're dating. She told me I could date other people, too." Puck took another French fry from Finn's plate and bit down on it violently.

Finn looked like he was about to laugh, but he managed to hold it in. "Dude, that sucks."

"Whatever." Puck stabbed at the fries on Finn's plate, one after the other. Finn frowned and moved to pull his plate away from Puck, but the look on Puck's face made him stop immediately. Rachel couldn't stop herself from laughing.

Leaning over the counter, she pressed a quick kiss to Finn's lips. "Don't worry, I'll get you another plate of fries."

The pout that had formed on Finn's face disappeared immediately. "Thanks, baby. You're the best."

Puck didn't look up from the plate of food that he was mangling. "You two are gross," he said.

"Look, why don't you just talk to Quinn again?" Finn suggested. "She still has feelings for you, and I know you still like her."

Puck opened his mouth to argue, but he realized there was no point when he saw the knowing looks Finn and Rachel were giving him. Their whole married, team-up thing was really beginning to get on his nerves.

He cursed under his breath before frowning. "Look, Santana and I are finally in a good place again, even if she doesn't want us to be exclusive or whatever. I know she said I could date other people, but I doubt that extends to Quinn."

"He makes a fair point," Rachel agreed. "We really don't need a repeat of all that crap from earlier in the year."

"Let's just try and make it through the school year without any more bloodshed," Finn agreed.

Puck rolled his eyes at his best friend and his brother. "You're both annoying. Why am I friends with you again?"

Rachel had to admit that she got a thrill out of her rehearsals. Mr. Ryan was an excellent director and teacher (which was more than she could say for his nephew). She really was honing her skill as a singer and actress, and she knew the show was going to be amazing when it finally debuted.

She held absolute annoyance for Jesse St. James, however. Rachel had discovered that he was helping out for an internship, so he was going to be at rehearsals whether she liked it or not. She was loathe to admit it, but he actually was quite talented. Jesse had a habit of jumping on stage and showing them—very dramatically—how a scene should be preformed.

Thankfully, Rachel hadn't had Jesse correct one of her scenes yet. Though she did think it would be amusing to watch Jesse sing "I Feel Pretty."

Rachel pulled a sweater on over her tank top and said goodbye to the rest of the cast as she climbed down the stage. Santana and Quinn were waiting for her in the theater, as they were all going shopping for dresses for the Spring Fling. Quinn had watched the rehearsal with actual interest, while Santana had scrolled through her phone the entire time.

"You know, I don't think I've ever actually been inside the theater," Santana said when Rachel reached them. "It's kind of dark in here."

Shooting an exasperated look Santana's way, Rachel chose not to verbally respond to that statement. Quinn was still looking up on the stage, where Jesse was walking Matt through several of the dance steps.

"He's actually kind of cute," Quinn observed. "He's Mr. Ryan's nephew, right?"

"Yes," Rachel confirmed. "But you think he's cute?" She wrinkled her nose. "He's really not my type."

Santana actually looked up from her phone and took a moment to study Jesse. "I guess he's cute, if you're into that whole disheveled dramatic douche bag actor thing."

"Nice alliteration," Rachel complimented.

"Thanks." Santana looked fairly superior as she finally tucked her phone away. "I've been studying. The future student council president has to have a fairly good GPA, you know."

"Ugh." Quinn rolled her eyes. "We haven't even started campaigning yet, Santana. Give it a rest."

In the interest of keeping the peace, Rachel decided to intervene. "Alright, let's go shopping. I can't believe that I'm actually willing to go on a shopping trip with the two of you, by the way."

"Relax," Santana said. "It's going to be fun. We're going to find you a freaking fantastic dress that'll throw the giant for a loop."

That was why Rachel was so willing to go on this shopping trip. With the rehearsals for the musical and Finn's increasing shifts at the auto shop, they hadn't had a lot of time together recently. The dance was in a week and a half, and Rachel was looking forward to what she hoped would be a romantic night.

"And I plan on finding a dress that will have Puck eating out of my hand," Santana added.

The smile immediately slipped off of Quinn's face, and she grew very quiet. Rachel pressed her lips together and thought of the best way to handle this situation. Puck was her best friend, after all, and it was obvious that Quinn was still hurting.

"I thought you and Noah weren't exclusive," Rachel finally said. Quinn's ears perked up at that, but she was trying her best not to look too interested. Quinn had a made it a point not to talk to Santana about Puck, but she hadn't been able to stop herself from asking Rachel how he was doing.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "We're not. After last time…" She trailed off and became just as quiet as Quinn. The two of them had mended their friendship, but Puck was still a sore subject between them. Santana couldn't believe that Quinn would have an affair with Puck, and Quinn didn't like how Santana was currently treating him. "Well, it wasn't like he disagreed with me," Santana finally said.

As they walked to Quinn's car, Rachel forced a smile onto her face. "Well, why don't we get this show on the road? God only knows how many stores the two of you are going to drag me to."

That seemed to work. Both Santana and Quinn finally smiled, and all three girls climbed into Quinn's car and headed towards the mall.

Over the twenty minute car ride, the tension finally dissolved. The three girls discussed their plans to have dinner before the dance, and then Quinn and Santana were telling Rachel about the after party they were throwing at Santana's house.

It was almost like an out of body experience for Rachel. She and Puck had never really gone to the "popular" parties. Sure, they had had their fair share of get-togethers with the boys from the River Park (where they had somehow managed to sneak beer in from somewhere), but Rachel and Puck had never been the types to go to a typical high school party.

It was kind of nice that Quinn and Santana were talking like it was a given that Rachel was going to attend the party. Rachel had a feeling that even if she hadn't married Finn, she still would have ended up with Quinn and Santana as two of her closest friends.

They headed into the mall and stopped at one of the kiosks for coffee. Rachel had a feeling that she was definitely going to need the caffeine if she was going to survive this shopping excursion. Quinn bought them pretzels to share from another kiosk, and from there they headed to the first store.

Rachel had been in there for a grand total of five seconds before Santana had shoved three dresses into her arms. Too stunned by Santana's alarming quickness to move, Rachel could only stare as Quinn added another two dresses. They had been serious about finding Rachel the perfect dress, and it was clear that nothing was going to stop them from achieving their goal.

"Come on, guys!" Rachel exclaimed as Quinn turned to add another dress (this one two separate pieces) to her pile. "I can only bring six dresses into the fitting room!"

"Oh, who cares," Santana said dismissively. "Just go into the fitting room, and Quinn and I will bring you some more of the stuff that we find."

Despite the fact that Santana was attempting to push her towards the fitting rooms, Rachel stood her ground. "I'm not trying on the really short ones."

"Yes, you are. You have some kick ass legs, Tutor Berry-Hudson. Own it."

"But—"

Quinn appeared from behind one of the racks of dresses. "You never know what it's going to look like if you don't try them on," she said diplomatically. "Just give it a shot, Rachel."

Huffing under her breath, Rachel reluctantly made her way into the fitting room. "Aren't you guys going to try anything on?"

"Oh, we already found our dresses," Quinn said.

Rachel stuck her head out of the dressing room and narrowed her eyes into a dangerous glare. "So this was just a trick to lure me out shopping then, wasn't it?"

"Yup." Quinn didn't look apologetic at all. "And now we're going to find you the perfect dress, and we're going to have lots of fun doing it."

Santana pointed a finger imperiously towards the fitting room. "Now shut up and get changed, before I come in there and do it for you."

Without another word, Rachel slipped into the dressing room and tried on the first dress. It was entirely too short, and the color was completely off, but she showed Quinn and Santana anyway. They went through another six dresses at the store before Quinn declared that they weren't going to find anything here. Quinn and Santana towed Rachel to another store on the opposite side of the mall, and the whole process started again.

It continued for another forty-five minutes before Rachel demanded a second coffee break. She sucked down her latte in record time and ordered another one before Quinn and Santana could drag her off to another store.

Finally, the entered a new boutique that wasn't far from the food court. Rachel's stomach had been growling on and off since the third store, ands he was desperately hoping they would stop for some food soon.

Quinn noticed the desperate look on Rachel's face. "We'll get some food right after we're finished at this store," Quinn said with a sympathetic pat to Rachel's arm.

Rachel made a noise in the back of her throat that was some sort of agreement. As she had before, she accepted the dresses that Quinn and Santana handed her. Towards the back of the store, the two of them whispered back and forth over a final dress before Quinn finally snatched it up and shoved it into Rachel's arms.

When she caught sight of the dress—it was hard to miss since it was completely made of small, delicate gold sequins—Rachel knew that she just had to try that dress on.

She quickly pulled the dress over her head. It had long sleeves and the hem hit about mid-thigh. The best part was the completely open back of the dress. It scooped down to the top of her natural waist, leaving an expanse of skin exposed. Even as she stared at herself in the mirror, she didn't feel awkward, or as if the dress was inappropriate. It was just enough.

Rachel stepped out of the fitting room and turned towards Santana and Quinn's expectant gazes. They stared at her for several long moments, studying her reflection critically.

"Oh my god," Quinn said after a long moment of silence.

"It's perfect," Santana added.

Rachel's shoulders slumped in relief. "Oh, thank god. I was completely worried that we were never going to find a dress! Can we go eat now, please?"

Santana jumped up from the couch she had been sitting on. "You're telling me. I thought we were never going to get finished. At least the food court is right by us."

"You're the one who kept dragging me to different stores!"

"Hey, don't start whining, Tutor Berry-Hudson. We found you a kick-ass dress, didn't we?"

Laughing, Quinn separated her two friends. "Alright, alright. Let's give it a rest." She began to usher her two friends towards the checkout counter. "The sooner we pay for the dress, the sooner we can eat."

When Rachel caught sight of Finn's car in the driveway, she quickened her steps and practically ran into the house. After school, Finn had immediately gone to the garage to get some extra hours in, and Rachel hadn't had a chance to see him before she had gone to rehearsal. Rachel certainly planned on taking full advantage of the rest of their night home together.

Sure enough, Finn was sitting on the couch, eating some leftovers. "Hey, babe," he greeted when he heard the front door open. He looked up at her, his eyes full of warmth as he smiled at her. Rachel felt her heart fill with happiness at the sight of her husband. Sometimes, she couldn't get over how much she loved this man.

Tossing the bag containing her dress aside, Rachel climbed onto the couch. She took Finn's face between her hands and kissed him deeply. Finn responded immediately as he caught hold of her waist and hauled her into his lap.

The kiss died off when they both needed to breath, and Rachel pulled back just far enough to rest her forehead against Finn's. His eyes were hooded and dark with lust, and his hands stroked the bare skin of her back. Rachel hadn't even been aware that he had slipped his hands under her shirt.

"Hi," Rachel said finally.

A dopey smile crossed Finn's lips. "Hi. Um, wow. What was that for?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and tried to shift closer to Finn. "I missed you."

"Well damn." Finn's hands traced down her spine and cupped her bottom. Rachel gasped a little as he pressed her closer to him. She pressed her lips together in an effort to hide from Finn just how much he was affecting her.

Still keeping one hand on her bottom, Finn let his other hand trail back up until he was slipping his fingers into the waistband of her pants. "So, how was your day?" Finn asked.

Rachel could play along with his little game. She took in a deep breath through her nose and smiled sweetly at her husband. "It was good. Rehearsal went well, and I went shopping with the girls. I found a dress for the Spring Fling, you know."

"Can I see it?"

"No. It's going to be a surprise, Finn Hudson."

Finn chuckled and stroked his hand up her side. "It's not like it's a wedding dress, Rach. We did that already, remember?"

"True." Rachel set her hands on Finn's shoulders and rolled her hips forward. Finn grunted and his hands flew back to her hips.

"Okay, that's it. Bedroom. Now."

"Why do we have to go to the bedroom?" Rachel's smile turned mischievous as she pulled her shit over her head. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, and Finn's eyes went wide as saucers.

His arms wrapped her around her, and then suddenly Rachel was on her back on the couch. Finn hovered over her and he smiled at her. Leaning down, Finn brushed his lips against hers.

"I love you."

Rachel wrapped her legs around Finn's waist and pulled him closer to her. "I love you too, Finn Hudson."

Puck poked at the lump of meat on his plate and let out a sigh. "What the hell is the school thinking when they serve us this shit?"

"Dude, I told you not to buy lunch today," Finn said. He took a bite of his sandwich and grinned at Puck, who flipped the middle finger at Finn in response.

With a sigh, he pushed aside his lunch tray. "Not all of us have wives who will make us lunch, you know."

"I'll have you know that I made lunch today," Finn said. "I make a damn good sandwich." He looked over at Rachel for confirmation. She had a tuna fish salad sandwich, and she was currently hiding behind it in an attempt to disguise her laughter.

"Sure honey," she said once she had her laughter under control. "You make a great sandwich."

Satisfied, Finn turned back to his lunch. Before Puck could start whining some more, Quinn sat down next to him at the table with a pizza box. Seeing the look on Puck's face, Quinn smirked and opened it enticingly.

"I may or may not have called to have it delivered when I heard what the lunch special was today," Quinn said.

"Dude." Puck's eyes didn't leave the pizza as he spoke. "I didn't know you could get pizza delivered to school."

Quinn lifted a slice out of the box and took a bite. "I have my ways." She took another bite and tried not to laugh as Puck gaped first at the pizza, and then at her. Finn and Rachel weren't even trying to hide their amusement.

"Please, Quinn?" Puck finally broke down. He couldn't help but beg for a slice of pizza. "Can I have a slice?"

"Oh my god, Noah." Rachel rolled her eyes. "Are you actually whining right now?"

Puck ignored her and turned pleading eyes towards Quinn. She sighed dramatically and pretended to think about it just long enough. When Puck opened his mouth to beg again, Quinn nodded her head and pushed the pizza box towards him.

"Of course you can have some, Puck. I just wanted to make you work for it."

"Hell yeah!" Puck pulled the whole box towards him and picked two slices of pizza up. He laid them so that there was one on top of another and enthusiastically dug in. "Quinn Fabray, I think I might love you."

Quinn's face suddenly flushed bright red, but Puck didn't notice. Rachel looked back and forth between Quinn and Puck and sighed. She didn't know why the two of them were so intent on hiding their feelings for each other. Rachel shot a beseeching look at her husband, but Finn just shrugged his shoulders.

Well, it seemed as if he was going to be no help at all.

Before Rachel could say anything, Puck abruptly changed the subject. "Where is Santana, anyway?" he asked. "She said she was going to do something for her student council campaign during lunch."

A secretive smile spread over Quinn's lips. "Well of course she has a plan. Where do you think I got this pizza?"

As if on cue, Santana climbed up onto one of the tables in the middle of the school's courtyard. "Greetings, students of McKinley High School. I won't keep you from your lunches too long. I just wanted to say that a vote for Santana Lopez for student council president is a vote for pizza!"

The rest of the cheerleading squad came out, all of them carrying multiple boxes of pizza. Naturally, the students in the courtyard loved it. They all descended upon the free pizza and eagerly accepted the flyers that Santana passed out along with it.

Finn chuckled. "Well, that's definitely one way to get everyone to vote for her."

"It's pretty damn effective," Puck agreed. "I mean, who wouldn't want free pizza?"

The last note left Rachel's lips, and she smiled smugly as she looked over at Jesse and Mr. Ryan. On that day's rehearsal, Jesse had had the brilliant idea to record everyone's performances. Later, he and Mr. Ryan would pick them apart to see who could improve in what area.

Rachel wasn't opposed to constructive criticism, but she wasn't particularly looking forward to having Jesse critique her performance. He was honestly kind of a pain in the ass. There was a difference between confidence and being a douche bag. Jesse St. James had passed that line a long time ago.

Mr. Ryan dismissed the rehearsal after congratulating everyone on a good practice. Rachel tried to shove her things into her bag as fast as should, but of course she wasn't quick enough. Jesse successfully cornered her after everyone had left the room.

"I have a proposition for you," Jesse said.

Rachel shot him a disgusted look. "No thank you. I have to go meet my husband, you know."

Jesse chuckled and held his hands up. "It's not that kind of proposition. I have no interest in getting between a marriage." He grinned at her, as if that would make her believe him. "And if you don't mind me asking, what's that about, anyway?"

"What?"

"Your marriage. You're seventeen. What exactly are you playing at?"

Rachel sighed. Ever since she and Finn went public with their marriage, they had faced questions like this. Most of the time, both she and Finn just told people that they loved each other and refused to let anyone get to them. But Rachel didn't like the way Jesse was speaking to her, and it was about time that she finally made someone understand.

"Finn and I love each other," Rachel said. "And yeah, we could have waited, but we didn't want to. There's just something about Finn, something that I can't explain to someone who's never been in love. It seemed like such a crazy idea when he proposed to me, but it also seemed so right." Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "You don't have to understand it. You just don't get to question or judge me for it."

"Wow." Jesse stared at her, his eyes wide. "You really mean it, don't you?"

"I do." Rachel lifted her chin, daring Jesse to say something else. Instead, he surprised her by clapping his hands together and saying the one thing that she had not expected in that moment.

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, why don't we perform a duet together?"

"What? Wait, really?" Rachel demanded. "Why?"

"Because." Jesse jumped up onto the stage and pressed the record button on the camera. "As you pointed out, you're talented. And I'm talented, and this would be a good way to get in some extra practice."

Rachel stared at him for along moment before she climbed up onto the stage next to him.

Barely able to contain her excitement, Rachel parked her car in front of Burt's auto shop. She grabbed the bag of food she had picked up from the café and climbed out of the car.

Finn was just about done with is shift at work and had no idea that she was stopping by. There was a park not far from the garage, and Rachel had planned a picnic as a little date for them. With her rehearsal schedule and Finn's pre-season training for football, plus both of the work schedules, they had to make time to see each other. At least they were together during the whole school day.

Rachel made her way into the garage and wasn't surprised to see that Finn wasn't in the front yet. He was probably still in the back, working on a car. He had an amazing talent for working with cars, and the job paid well. Burt had been good to them since they had gotten married.

Wandering through the garage, Rachel smiled as she remembered all of the times she and Puck had hung out together there. They had had a lot of good times growing up, and Burt had always been there with the, trying to teach them about cars. Neither Puck nor Rachel held much skill in that department, though.

All of the nostalgia made Rachel want to stop by Burt's office to check in with him. It had been a while since she had seen him. Taking a left, Rachel headed down a hallway and towards Burt's office. The door was shut, but as she got closer, Rachel could see that it was cracked open. Lifting a hand, she went to push the door open, but froze when she happened to see what was going on in the office.

Carole and Burt were both in here.

And they were kissing.

Rachel was unable to do anything more than gape at the scene in front of her. The two adults were so caught up in one another that they had no idea Rachel was standing there. It had to have been a full ten seconds before Rachel was finally able to make herself move.

Jumping back from the door, Rachel slowly backed down the hallway. Her heart was thudding in her ears, and her mind scrambled as she started connecting the dots. So that was why the two of them had been acting so weirdly lately—it all made sense!

Rachel had backed herself all the way down into the lobby, where Finn was just coming in from the garage. His face lit up when he saw her, and he crossed the room in three steps and had her in his arms.

"Rach, babe! What are you—" Finn stopped when he saw the look on her face. "Hey. What's wrong?"

A million thoughts ran through Rachel's mind. She had no idea where to start or what to say to him. So she ended up blurting, "Carole and Burt!"

She closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. Smooth. Real smooth.

Finn's brow furrowed. "My mom and Burt? What about them?"

"Um…" Rachel winced and ran a hand through her hair. "I may or may not have seen them making out in Burt's office."

"What?" Finn immediately tried to dart around Rachel in an effort to go to the office. Reaching out, Rachel held her hands up and planted them on Finn's chest. "Rachel, don't—"

"Do you really want to see your mom making out with someone right now?" That made Finn stop, and Rachel was relieved to see that he wasn't angry. He looked confused more than anything else. "And it's your uncle, at that."

Finn rubbed a hand over his hair, causing it to stick up in a million more directions. "Yeah. What the hell is up with that? My mom? And Burt? When did that happen?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I'm guessing right around the time your parents got a divorce."

Things seemed to click for Finn just as fast as they had for Rachel a few minutes ago. He shot a look down the hallway where Burt's office was and stared at it for a long moment. Finally, he shook his head with a sigh and turned away.

"Holy shit." Finn pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed. "Can we just get out of here? I don't really feel like dealing with this right now."

Stretching up onto her tiptoes, Rachel pressed a gentle kiss to her husband's lips. "Of course we can."

Finn smiled and kissed her again before he pulled back. "What are you doing here, anyway? I figured that I'd just see you at home."

Rachel held up the bag of food from Anne's café that she was still holding. "Well, I was going to surprise you with dinner at the park. But then I got distracted for… obvious reasons. So we don't have to go if you don't want to."

Taking the bag, Finn peered inside of it. Rachel had picked up sandwiches and soup for them, and he grinned when he saw that she had gotten his favorites—a roast beef sandwich and potato bacon soup. For her, she had picked up a veggie Panini and tomato soup. Shifting to the bottom of the bag, his smile broadened when Finn realized that she had even bought a slice of Anne's famous chocolate cake for dessert.

"Can we still go?" Finn asked. "I don't want to miss out on this chance because everyone else is being weird."

"Very true." Reaching up, Rachel slipped her hands around Finn's neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him again. "I love you, you know that?"

Finn smiled at her. "I know. I love you, too."

They left Burt's garage and headed over to the park. Ten minutes later, they were sitting under one of Rachel's favorite trees as they at their dinner. The silence between them was easy and comfortable, but Rachel knew that Finn was thinking about what they had just learned about Burt and Carole.

"Come on," Rachel encouraged. "Let's talk about it."

"I don't want to talk about it," Finn said immediately. Despite the fact that he had seen it coming for a long time, it had still been difficult when Chris and Carole had announced that they were getting a divorce. To try and wrap his mind around this new development with Carole and Burt was a lot to take in.

Of course, Finn couldn't keep it in for long. "Is it just me, or is it a little bit weird?" he burst out.

"It's totally weird," Rachel agreed. She had never in a million years thought that she would walk in on Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson making out.

"But…" Finn shrugged his shoulders and stared into his container of soup. "If being with Burt is what makes her happy, I don't want her to stop, you know? She deserves it after everything that she had to put up with from my dad."

Rachel smiled and slid her hand over Finn's. "You're a good son, you know that?"

"Do you think I should say something to her?" Finn asked. "Should I tell her that I know?"

Rachel thought about it for a long moment. The whole Hudson family had a lot to deal with, currently. With the divorce and Finn and Rachel's marriage still being so new, plus with Burt still recovering from his heart attack, they had a lot to deal with.

"I think you should give it a little bit of time," Rachel finally said. "This is obviously still new between them, and you need to give your mom time to catch up with all of this."

Finn nodded his head slowly. He took a deep breath and decided that he might as well push all of this to the side and just enjoy this night with Rachel. "Has anyone ever told you that you're pretty smart?"

Rachel beamed at him. "Yeah, all the time."

I swear, I have an actual plan for this story. It's just been a little slow going. Thanks for sticking with it!