Fic: Out of the Blue, Part 38 by Sapphire (PG-13)

[sapphireej]

 Title: Out of the Blue, Part 38
Author: Sapphire (sapphiresfic)
Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Rachel, Puck, Rachel/Puck, the Glee clubbers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,711
Spoilers: Up to 1x13 ~ Sectionals; just to be safe
Series: 'Out of the Blue' (List of all the parts on my LJ)
Summary: Music, forgiveness, dinner, celebration and concerns
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: Feedback keeps me writing, so keep it coming :D
 

 

~*~

After an emotional Monday, the Glee Club meeting was canceled after school and rescheduled for the next day, Will promising it would be short so Puck wouldn't be late to work. All Will wanted to do was bring up some things regarding the next school year.

When Puck and Rachel walked into the choir room, his arm draped over her shoulders, he froze, a mental image not something he needed at the moment, but what made it worse were the two people involved were sitting in the room, too. "What in the hell are you guys doing here?" Puck asked.

"Hello to you, too, son," Ethan smirked pausing his fingers on the guitar he had in his lap.

Rachel giggled at her boyfriend's side, but stepped into the room and sat down on her usual seat, watching Puck and his parents. Deborah was blushing, but was laughing lightly as she and Ethan were staring at their son.

"Your dad and I wanted to be here and Ethan brought Quinn," she commented.

"Where is Quinn?" Puck glanced around not seeing her.

"She went to find Finn," Ethan replied casually.

Puck glared at his parents as he took his seat by Rachel, "you do realize this is not helping the gross factor any, right?" He asked.

"Didn't think it would," Deborah admitted, "but it'll get easier."

"I can't believe... Well... I can, but just," Rachel blushed.

At his parents blushing, Puck smirked, "what? You think I'd keep that from my girlfriend? Yeah right," he laughed, noticing the guitar in his dad's lap, "you still play?"

"Yeah," Ethan nodded, "I have a couple guitars at home."

"Oh if you only knew," came Quinn's voice from the doorway.

Ethan ducked his head, "Quinn," he shook his head, "later, okay?"

"What?" She walked in with Finn at her side and Brittany and Santana were right behind them.

Puck looked at his dad, "what does Quinn know that we don't?"

"Nothing you can't wait about fifteen minutes to find out," Ethan commented.

Quinn grinned as she took a seat next to Rachel.

Deborah glanced at her fiancée, "what don't I know?" She asked.

He shook his head, "you'll find out," he smiled.

Their conversation dwindled down as the other members began to filter in until Will walked into the room and over to Ethan, "here ya go, all of the originals, I hope I didn't mix them up," he added.

Ethan glanced at the papers, "I'll figure it out," he admitted setting them down on the piano.

Puck and his mom exchanged confused glances and Will sat down on the stool by Deborah, "is everyone here?" He asked and at their nods in confirmation, he continued, "alright, first off, you guys did great; I'm so proud of you all at Nationals. Second place out of... a lot of schools from all over the states is just amazing," he smiled, "and I know yesterday was pretty emotional so we didn't really get a chance to meet and I will keep it short 'cause I know Puck's gotta get to work and I'm sure you all have other plans."

"Dad's cool if he's late," Kurt commented.

Will smirked, "alright, well, the reason why I wanted to talk to all of you, is because now that there are no more competitions, we need to think about next year. There's about two months left in the school year and I spoke to Principal Figgins yesterday and he and I decided we'd like the club to offer a showcase here at school of numbers we've done this year, from competitions and just for fun... We need to keep our numbers up and I know that you all will be here next year, but it wouldn't hurt to have a few more members. There are three middle schools that come to McKinley and we're going to see about offering the same thing to them, in hopes that we could get some eighth graders interested who will be Freshmen here next year," he added.

"What time are we looking at doing this?" Kurt asked.

"Early June," Will responded.

"What? That's not two months, that's less!"

"I know it's pretty short notice, but I think we can manage. The dances that Travis and Mandy don't know, someone will have to help teach them and get costumes for them, but I think we can do it... This also leads into another thing I wanted to talk to you about," he started, "um, most teams have a captain and clubs usually have a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer and I think we need those," he admitted, "I can't teach six classes and keep up with all the music and finances plus keep track of all of you and your grades and," he sighed, "so is anyone willing to ---"

Rachel's hand flew up before he had even finished his sentence and he nodded, "I'm assuming you mean for president?" He asked and Rachel's nod he looked around. "Anyone else or you guys okay with Rachel being president?"

Some laughed at Rachel's eagerness, while others shook their heads, "no, Mr. Schue, if Rachel wants it, she can have it," Mercedes grinned.

"Okay, Rachel, you're president, anyone for vice-president? Maybe a guy to keep the male-to-female voices heard?"

All seven guys in the room remained silent until Finn nudged Puck in the shoulder, "ow! What the fuck was that for?" Puck snapped turning to his friend. Seeing Finn's look he turned to them, "oh hell no... She wants to be president, fine, but I'm playing football and basketball next year and we're going to be parents. I think my hands will be full," he replied.

"Well, if Rachel can find time, I don't see why you couldn't, I mean you guys do sleep together right?" Kurt commented.

Will's face turned red and Rachel ducked her head, keeping silent for a moment, but then turned to her boyfriend, "please Noah, it'll be fun. Come on," she said, wrapping her hands around his arm and smiling at him.

Puck glared at her, but as he looked into her eyes, he sighed, "fine, I'll be vice-president," he muttered.

"Ha! Told you! Pay up you two," Ethan commented from the side of the room, his hand held out towards Deborah and Will.

"Wait a second, you guys bet on us?" Puck asked.

"Yep. I thought you'd agree only after Rachel asked you, your mom thought you'd give in right away and Will didn't think you'd give in at all. I win," Ethan laughed.

Will and Deborah both got up and slapped a five dollar bill down in Ethan's hand before he folded up the money and slipped it into his back pocket as the two adults took their seats, "alright, anyone up for being a secretary?" Will asked.

Tina timidly raised her hand, "I wouldn't mind. I'm a pretty good organizer and take good notes," she said.

"Sound good to me, everyone okay with that?" At their nods Will glanced around, "okay and now a treasurer," he continued.

"I'll do it Mr. Schue," Artie responded, "I want to be an accountant, so it will be good experience."

"If you didn't volunteer I was going to ask you," Will admitted. With everyone settled with who the next years president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, Will glanced at Ethan and Deborah. "You guys wanna talk?"

Deborah shifted forward, "as you guys know Ethan and I are getting married. Some of you might not know when, but it's Saturday, July Seventeenth."

"What? I don't know if we're going to be able to find a dress by then!" Kurt exclaimed.

"We're not having a ceremony," Ethan piped in quickly, a laugh escaping his lips.

"WHAT?"

"We're going to the justice of the peace with a few friends to be witnesses. We'll sign the papers and get married officially there, but we're going to have a big reception that afternoon with friends and family and we'd like you guys to sing; we're not asking for the whole time, but a few songs," Deborah said. "I know you guys do things over the summer so if some of you can't make it, that's fine, but those who can, we'd appreciate it."

"No one goes to the justice of the peace for a quickie marriage unless they're pregnant, are you pregnant?" Mercedes responded.

Ethan laughed harder and Deborah ducked her head, "no I'm not pregnant. We're not doing a major ceremony because we had one when we first got married and don't want to do that again. We will exchange rings at the reception and have already asked Noah to say a few words as we do," Deborah responded.

"Oh I know the perfect songs to sing," Rachel grinned, "I was going to offer Noah and I's services, but this will be even better."

"Oh you were, were you?" Puck raised a curious eyebrow at her.

"Well, it is your parents getting married, so I assumed you wouldn't mind," she said.

Puck laughed, "babe, I don't mind, but ask next time."

Rachel nodded, a blush growing on her face.

Everyone agreed singing at the reception would be fun and Will stood up and started passing out papers to them, "lets see, drums, Finn," he handed him a stack of paper and then moved to Artie, "bass guitar for Artie... Puck's got lead vocals and guitar, and the rest of you guys have background vocals."

"Far away from what?" Kurt asked glancing at the paper.

"Dude, I love this song," Finn commented, "Nickelback rocks."

"It's the only song I'm asking you guys sing," Ethan said.

Rachel glanced at Puck's sheet, "though I have heard of Nickelback, I am unfamiliar with this song."

"Ethan, what is your last name again?" Kurt asked.

"Ballard," Rachel replied before Ethan could respond.

"You wrote this," Kurt said calmly.

"What?" Rachel's eyes widened, glancing at the first page to see the writers names listed as 'Ballard, E., Kroeger, C., Kroeger, M.'.

Puck was silent for a long moment and his finger pointed to the copyright date being two-thousand-five and Rachel gasped seeing it was so far back that they wouldn't have been in contact yet.

"Yes, I did," Ethan nodded, "I submitted it to a radio station contest on a whim and won; the winner got to have Nickelback record their song and put it on their album, 'All The Right Reasons' and at the time I only had the words and the guitar written, so Chad and Michael Kroeger wrote the bass and drums for it."

"What am I missing?" Deborah asked.

Ethan motioned to a chair near him, "come on over and you'll see," he smiled at her.

Deborah got up and moved over to him, taking a seat and raising a curious eyebrow.

"I had a wake-up call about seven, eight, years ago and realized that it could have been the end, and when I made it through, I wrote this... When the liner notes were written the guys had them put 'For Deb' in before the lyrics. So if you find the album and look, you'll see it."

"What's the song?" Deborah asked, unfamiliar with it.

Ethan smiled and took a deep breath, and glanced at his son and the guys, "you guys can sing along if you want," he said softly as his fingers began to strum, the notes filtering out of the guitar before he focused on her, "this time, this place. Misused, mistakes. Too long, too late. Who was I to make you wait? Just one chance, just one breath, just in case there's just one left, 'cause you know, you know, you know..."

Puck and Finn stood up and moved over to them, joining Ethan since they both knew the song, "that I love you. I have loved you all along and I miss you. Been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming, you'll be with me and you'll never go, stop breathing. If I don't see you anymore..."

Ethan smiled at his son and Finn before turning back to Deborah who already had tears in her eyes, "on my knees, I'll ask. Last chance for one last dance, 'cause with you, I'd withstand all of hell to hold your hand. I'd give it all, I'd give for us. Give anything but I won't give up, 'cause you know, you know, you know..."

By the end of the verse, the guys recognized the song, and joined in with the next chorus, "that I love you. I have loved you all along and I miss you. Been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming, you'll be with me and you'll never go, stop breathing. If I don't see you anymore... So far away, so far away, been far away for far too long. So far away, so far away, been far away for far too long, but you know, you know, you know..."

Ethan took a deep breath and blinked his eyes, knowing tears were there, but he ignored them as he stared at her to continue the next part, "I wanted, I wanted you to stay, 'cause I needed, I need to hear you say, that I love you, I have loved you all along, and I forgive you for being away for far too long."

The guys picked up the next part to finish the song, "so keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it, hold on to me and never let me go. Keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it, hold on to me and never let me go. (Keep breathing) Hold on to me and never let me go. (Keep breathing) Hold on to me and never let me go."

As the final chords finished and the guys stopped singing, Ethan carefully set the guitar down and wiped his eyes before moving to her as she stood up, the two wrapping each other up in a hug.

Everyone in the room was touched by the lyrics in some way; it was an emotional song, and the reason for it being written was clear as day now. Claps and cheers echoed through the room at Ethan and Deborah as Rachel got up and moved to her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around him as the rest of the guys filtered back to their girlfriends.

The two adults hugging pulled away and Deborah looked at him, "I do forgive you and I love you," she whispered, but everyone in the room could hear her.

Ethan smiled, nodding as he exhaled, "I've been waiting a long time to do that," he admitted looking around, "and this seemed like the right place," he added, "since we have a lot of memories in here from Glee."

Will nodded, "it was a perfect choice," he agreed, "and Ethan, I was going to ask, but would you be interested in being a co-director? Deborah has already mentioned her concern about the new school year, with football and basketball season for the Cheerios, and their competitions. She plans to remain as a co-director, but won't be around much, so what do you say? You guys want him to help out?" Will turned to the kids.

"Oh hell yeah!"

Seeing everyone wanted him to do it, he looked at his son, "as long as Noah is okay with it," he replied.

The kids looked at Puck and he glanced around, "it'd be pretty awesome if you were," he admitted, a smile on his face.

"Excellent now that all that is settled, I'd like to take you all out to dinner Friday night. We really haven't had a chance to celebrate and when we did win, our minds were elsewhere, so Rachel, as president, why don't you find out where everyone would like to go, make a reservation for twenty and make sure Burt finds out so he and Puck can join us and let us know Thursday at the next meeting."

As soon as Will said that, everyone started spouting out ideas and Puck was the one to whistle settle them down. While the kids calmly told Rachel their suggestions Will, Deborah and Ethan stood back, "this will work out perfectly. Puck won't let them overwhelm Rachel," Will commented.

"Gotta protect our own," Ethan commented slipping his arm Deborah's shoulders.

"... But that only gives us nineteen," Rachel said.

"You're forgetting my sister. We'll bring her along, it's family," Puck commented.

Rachel glanced at everyone else, "that alright?"

"Oh yeah, good idea," Mercedes nodded.

~*~

Between various restaurants that everyone suggested, Olive Garden was the one that seemed to come up the most, so Wednesday afternoon when Rachel called to make the reservations for Friday the sixteenth, they thought she was joking when she said there would be twenty people, but after she remained calm and assured them she was serious, they quickly apologized and promised they'd have a table ready for twenty at six that night.

Rachel and the Puckerman's were the first to arrive, just about five-thirty, but they were soon joined by Quinn, Finn and a few more. Once a good portion was there, they went inside and was led back to their table, everyone taking a seat and as more came, taking seats where they wanted.

Puck, Burt, Ethan and Finn immediately started talking about cars, which is when Burt found out Ethan rebuilt a '1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302.'

"You sold it? That's a classic!" Burt exclaimed.

Ethan laughed, "well at the time when I was almost twenty-five and needed the money, fifty grand was a hell of a lot better than a classic muscle car that I didn't need anymore."

"Fixed or repaired daily," Puck commented.

"Found on road, dead," Finn added.

"We don't like Fords," Puck laughed.

"Neither do I, really, but I have to keep a 'respect' for it since I have to work in Detroit," Ethan muttered, "one thing I won't miss about living in a major car town."

As members arrived, the servers brought over drinks so they weren't overwhelmed with all them at once, and just after six, everyone was present and orders were taken just after so they could get them into the cooks because there were twenty of them to do.

Those sitting nearest each other seemed to be talking, but sometimes they'd have a group discussion and it took almost a half an hour for them to get their meals. Just after everyone started to eat, Will stood up and got their attention, "thanks for coming guys and I want to say how proud I am of each of you for what we accomplished this year. For taking over the Glee Club in September and turning it into what it is now. We did it! We've come a long way from then and we took second at Nationals? Do you realize how monumental that is for us?" Will asked. "The underdog coming out second out of so many schools, we're doing something right. I also am really glad you guys have seen what it's like to be a part of something like this. I'm sure that Ethan and Deborah can attest to how close we were when we were Glee members and now you guys are living it first hand; all of you stepping up for your friends... Throwing a baby shower and offering to baby-sit Abigail when she's born, standing by as a shoulder to cry on when things got tough... We've all become close friends because of it and hopefully ten years from now we still will be..." Will paused and looked around, before continuing, "so congratulations on second place this year, and maybe first next year?" He asked holding up his glass and everyone joined in agreement. As they settled down, Will continued to stand, "we also have three other things to celebrate tonight," he said.

"What's that?" Matt asked.

"Well, in just a few weeks Abigail will be born and it makes me feel old because I remember when I found out her grandma was pregnant with her dad," Will grinned, "so we have that to celebrate. We also get to celebrate two high school sweethearts who were together, broke-up and now after a long time apart, are back together and getting married, so congratulations to Ethan and Deborah. And lastly, I know I am super happy that Quinn and Ethan are here with us right now, safe and sound and back with their families. So congratulations to New Directions, Puck and Rachel, Ethan and Deborah and thank God Quinn and Ethan are alright," he finished a smile on his face.

Some were shocked at his explanation, but agreed he was right, and quickly the table erupted in congratulations and comments to those Will mentioned, who appreciated and thanked them for their kind words as they all settled back into dinner.

As the evening came to a close, before everyone got up, Will reminded them to come to Glee practice on Monday so they could start discussing the showcase. Someone asked Ethan when he was going back to Detroit, and everyone found out it was the next morning, so as they all got up and headed out to leave, while most said 'see ya Monday' or 'see ya later' they all said 'goodbye' to Ethan. He had less than two weeks to pack up his house and knew he'd have time, but wanted to get back and get a good start before starting work again.

~*~

The Puckerman house was awake pretty early, but no one was really out of their pajamas except Ethan and Deborah. Most of the stuff that Ethan brought down from Detroit were clothes, so he planned to leave them, only returning with a backpack of stuff he really needed.

After an early breakfast, Ethan helped Deborah with the dishes, while Rachel, Puck and Arin sat watching Saturday morning cartoons. Walking into the living room, Ethan sighed, he wanted to be there and not leave, but he knew that he couldn't stay just yet, "time for me to get going," he said sadly.

Arin got up and wrapped her arms around him, "are you sure you have to?"

"Yes, I do, but it won't be long before I'll be able to stay for good," he smiled, putting a positive look on things.

Arin grinned, "really?"

"Yes, really," he replied giving her a long hug as he saw Puck and Rachel walk over.

As Arin pulled away, Puck and his dad shared a hug, "see you later, have a good drive," Puck commented as they stepped apart.

"Thanks," Ethan agreed as he wrapped his arms around Rachel, "take it easy, Rachel," he murmured.

"I will try, be careful," she replied as she stepped aside.

"I always am," he laughed a little as he turned to pull Deborah into a tight hug, "I love you babe, see you soon," he told her.

Deborah silently held onto him for a long moment, before she pulled away to press a loving kiss to his lips, "I love you, too. Don't be too long," she whispered.

"I won't be. Might see me in a few days depending on how much stuff we get packed up," he agreed, kissing her again before finally letting go.

Deborah nodded, watching him throw his backpack over his shoulder and open the front door. With a wave and a nod to all of them, he closed the door behind him and headed for his jeep, getting in, starting the engine and beginning his trip back to Detroit.

~*~

Puck worked over the weekend, and Rachel spent some time at her house with her dads, while part of her time, she focused on figuring out what her and her boyfriend were going to do about space in his room. Sunday evening, curled up in bed together, the couple were getting ready to go to sleep, when Puck leaned over and kissed her, "so I've been thinking," he started.

"Oh yeah? About what?" She asked curiously.

"Us getting away next weekend," he told her, "I think we should."

"What do you mean?" She asked again.

"I don't know, just find a nice place to go stay for a few nights. Leave Friday after school and come home sometime Sunday. It'll be our last chance to really do anything alone before Abigail is born," he explained.

Rachel thought about his request a moment before she spoke up, "I admit that I've been thinking the same thing since you mentioned it back in Seattle," she whispered. "I'm just so scared that as soon as we get there we'll get a call that Quinn's in labor."

"Babe, this could be our last chance to go and I really think we should take it. Every time we've gone away it's been with the club and I think we need to go without friends or family with us, just the two of us, our last chance at peace," he replied.

Nodding at him, she agreed, "you're right, Noah. Where would you like to go?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Someplace close, a couple hours away, at the most. Maybe a lodge or place with restaurants, so when we get there, we don't have to leave to go out for food."

Rachel shifted from the bed and got her laptop from his desk and sat back down next to him and opened it up. "I know of a few places in Sandusky that would be nice," she admitted, pulling up a travel page and glancing over it.

"Yeah, Cedar Point, the park, has like several hotels," he nodded leaning over a little to glance at what she was doing.

Rachel pulled up a website for the park he was talking about and went to the hotels and saw 'Castaway Bay' and grinned, "a tropical themed hotel, how about that?"

Puck smirked a little, "going from not wanting to go at all to this, whatever you want, babe," he laughed.

She smiled and looked for information, then paused, biting her lip, "how much did you want to spend?"

"Why?" He glanced at what she was looking at, "two-hundred-twenty bucks a night? Are you serious?"

Glancing across his room and under his desk where that black box from many months ago sat, she turned to look at him, "well, dad did suggest taking a trip before Abigail was born," she mentioned.

"Yeah but I don't think..." Puck paused mid-sentence and shrugged, "well, he did say that... And we haven't touched it yet, except for doctor's bills and necessary stuff for the baby, so I guess it wouldn't hurt," he commented.

"Lets talk to mom in the morning and then if she's alright with it, I'll call and make a reservation before Glee," she replied getting up and moving to his desk to write the number down, then turned her laptop off and joined him back in bed.

~*~

When Puck and Rachel talked to Deborah that morning, she thought it was a great idea and Rachel did make the call for that weekend, and was very excited now that they were going.

After Glee that day, she and Puck collected some more of her clothes and belongings and went over to his house, doing homework and hanging out.

Tuesday morning, Rachel was fine, but by lunch, she was nervous about something and Puck couldn't figure it out, "babe, I don't get what's wrong," he followed her from their usual lunch table towards the offices where she went right into Deborah's, startling the woman who was on the phone. "Again, I ask what's wrong, Rachel?"

Deborah ended her conversation pretty quick and looked at them, "what's going on you two?" She asked concerned.

"That's what I don't know. She's been a nervous wreck all morning," Puck told his mom.

Rachel dropped her bag on the floor and started pacing. "I just realized something... I had a dream this morning and it freaked me out."

"What kind of dream?" Puck asked now really worried.

"The kind that made me think I'm crazy for not thinking of this before!" She snapped. "I don't even know what I'm doing... I've never even held a baby, let alone taken care of one... What if I drop her?" She asked quickly, "I have never even changed a diaper before and now I'm talking about being a mom and I don't even know the first thing about caring for a newborn or infant!" She exclaimed, huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest and stopped to stare at Deborah and Puck.

Puck's shoulders relaxed a whole lot, "thank God it's just that," he muttered.

"What do you mean 'just that?' I've having a nervous breakdown here!" She looked at him, her eyes watery and on the verge of crying.

Dropping his bag he moved over to her, gently resting his hands on her shoulders and shook his head, "that can be taken care of. You've been scaring the shit out of me because I was afraid you were having second thoughts about doing this," he told her nervously.

She gasped at his words, "oh, Noah, I'm so sorry! I'm not backing out of this... I'd never do that," she said slipping her arms around him and hugging him, "I'm just scared," she added, "I don't want to hurt her."

"You won't. At seven I was holding Arin, feeding and changing her, and I never dropped her, no matter much her crying annoyed me," he laughed.

Rachel laughed a little at his added joke, but sighed, "and then I realized that everyone in the club that has offered to help out might not know either. Finn and Quinn don't and Quinn will be the one who's taking care of her while we're at school... What if she..."

Deborah moved over to them and rested a hand on Rachel's shoulder, "have the club meet in the family science classroom on Thursday and I'll take care of that," she promised.

"What?" Both teens asked her.

Smiling, she continued, "just do it and I'll take care of things. It's something I've thought of, too," she added.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "really?"

Deborah nodded, "yeah, not all of them have younger siblings or young cousins they would have grown up around, and as much as I love the idea that they're willing to help out, I would be uncomfortable having any of them watch her without knowing they could at least change a diaper," she admitted.

Rachel exhaled, "okay, I'll let everyone know. Thank you," she replied.

"Now next time you plan to go all nervous, tell me why, alright?" Puck requested.

Nodding, she hugged him again, "I will, I'm sorry, Noah."

~*~

Pulling her car up to the front of the Puckerman's house, Rachel noticed a orange and white U-Haul truck backed into the driveway. At first she got nervous wondering who it was, but when she saw the Michigan plates, she remembered what Ethan had said about him returning maybe in a few days to drop some stuff off.

"That was quick," Quinn commented as she got out of Rachel's car.

"Yes, it is, but it sounds to me like Ethan and his team are very efficient," Rachel replied, shouldering her bag as they headed up the pathway to the house.

Pushing open the door, the two girls stepped inside, seeing Ethan and Mike kicked back on the couch. "Hey girls," Ethan smiled at them, sitting up a little, "how are you?"

"Good," Rachel nodded and set her bag down by the stairs and stepped into the living room with Quinn behind her.

"I'm doing alright," Quinn admitted.

"Good to hear," Ethan nodded, "you remember Mike, right?" He asked motioning to him.

Mike nodded at Rachel and Quinn, "nice to see you girls again. Under a lot better circumstances than last time," he added.

Quinn blushed a little, "yeah, tell me about it," she nodded.

Ethan glanced at them, "so where is everyone else?"

"Noah and Finn stayed at school for a football meeting to discuss next season and Deborah went to get Arin, and then Noah is going to work after that. How long have you guys been here?" Rachel asked after she explained where everyone was.

"Got here about noon and just finished unloading a little while ago," Ethan replied.

Arin and Deborah arrived a little bit later and Finn came over after them, sticking around for dinner, and Ethan and Mike had to get back to Detroit, so they were gonna leave and stop by the shop to say hi to Puck before they left town.

Pulling up in front of the shop, Ethan got out with Mike and headed towards the garage seeing Puck leaning over a car engine. "Hey son," Ethan commented as they walked up to him.

Puck stood up and continued to pour oil into the engine, "hey dad, Mike, I didn't think you guys were coming down today."

"Came to bring the first load of stuff down. Actually heading back now, but thought we'd stop by and say hi before we did."

"Cool," he nodded.

"Finn told us what they're doing for football next season," Ethan said.

Puck nodded, "yeah, I figured the assistant coach, well now 'coach' would want me to wear another number, but he's cool with me wearing twenty, not like I'd wear another number," he admitted.

Ethan laughed, "that's good. Glad to hear it, though."

"Oh hey Ethan, back so soon?" Burt commented walking in from the office.

"For the day, Mike and I brought down some stuff in a U-Haul. Stopping by to see the kid before we go back. Burt, this is Sergeant Mike Adams. Mike, Brut," Ethan said motioning between the two men.

"Hey, nice to finally meet you," Burt said moving forward to shake Mike's hand.

"Yeah, nice to put a name to a face. Never got a chance to meet when we were here last," Mike admitted.

Ethan and Mike stuck around for a few minutes longer, but needed to get on the road, so saying goodbye to Burt and Puck, they headed off, hoping to get back to Detroit before it got too late.

~*~

To knkykty / KittyGoddess415 and WillDoXTNA, who both inspired a few scenes in this chapter. Thanks so much for the suggestions!

~*~

Music: "Far Away" by Nickelback on their 'All The Right Reasons' album. I know Ethan didn't write the song, just borrowing it for the story... Two of the writers are Chad and Michael Kroeger, so that part is true.

~*~

A/N4: 4 pages shorter than the last chapter... Gonna try and keep them around 12-14 pages, so they fit in on LJ post. Was so mad when I tried to post '37' and it wouldn't work no matter what I did, so had to break it up, needless to say by the time I got it posted on FF, I was so out of it, it could have been in another language and I wouldn't have noticed, LOL.
A/N5: Where did I get the car Ethan rebuilt? One of my best friends... Her parents are really into Ford Mustangs and her dad rebuilt a '1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302' and a 'Boss 429.' I'm not much for American made cars, but it fit into the story better.
A/N6: So I was working on 39, but when I get this news I couldn't continue and I also wanted to get a new chapter out for you... ~Cries~ It is with great sadness that I inform you... Captain Phil Harris passed away on February 9, 2010 at approximately 7:30pm PST. You can read my 'blog' about it here. http://sapphiresfic.livejournal.com/18659.html I've complied some 'tweets' and articles thus far and I'm sure there will be more by morning. I had the very lucky opportunity to meet Phil in September and I am very saddened about this. He was a great man and very loved; I will miss him!

 

Comments

[knkykty.livejournal.com]

RIP Captain Phil!

This update was awesome, and I can't wait for their getaway! Loved the song reveal. :) And ah, Olive Garden! That dinner was perfect -- sweet and light and lovely. Can't wait to see how Rach deals with roller coasters... ;) No trip to Cedar Point would be complete without going to the park. Just don't expect me to ever go on any of them. I'm chicken. ;)