Fic: Fly Me to the Moon by Sapphire (PG-13)

[sapphireej]

Title: Fly Me to the Moon
Author: Sapphire (sapphiresfic)
Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Puck, Rachel, Puck/Rachel, fellow Glee friends, Rachel's dads, Puck's mom and sister
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,453
Spoilers: Up to 1x22 ~ Journey
Fic Table prompt: #50 - Moon (table at my journal here).
Summary: Noah pursues his dream and on the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, he becomes the next man to walk on the moon, but his words are a little different than Neil Armstrong's. Spoilers up to 1x22 - Journey. One-shot for fic table prompt #50 - Moon.
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters. I do not own the title; it's the same name as the song by Frank Sinatra.
A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

~*~

A/N2: For this fic, Puck and Rachel were the in the same grade in high school and were Juniors when Quinn was pregnant.
A/N3: If you know my writing, you know I usually detail things pretty well, so in this... There is a big gap between the current Glee we know and the time that I've set this story in, so I added a prologue to explain how Puck and Rachel got to where they are in the story, because as I wrote the story itself, I wanted to know how they got there, so I figured I'd share. It's longer than I wanted it to be, and I've condensed it down as much as possible. I am sorry it is so long, but it does tie in where we know the first season ended and where I started the story itself.

~*~

~Prologue~
Unlike what many thought, Noah and Rachel stayed together after the 'slushy war' when he sang 'Sweet Caroline' to her, she stood by him when she found out that the baby Quinn was pregnant with was his and she was there for both Quinn and Noah when they said 'goodbye' to Beth outside the nursery window before Quinn was released from the hospital. When they found out that Shelby, Rachel's biological mother, adopted Beth, Shelby offered a 'truce' to Rachel, Noah and Quinn. Shelby would keep her distance, but would stay in touch with Rachel through emails, so Rachel had an opportunity to get to know her mother, and Shelby, in return, would send pictures to Rachel of Beth, so if Noah and Quinn wanted to watch her grow up, they could; a win-win for everyone. Rachel got to know Shelby, Noah and Quinn got to watch the child they created grow up and neither had to be 'tied' to the other because of a teenage mistake.

Noah had always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, like many kids do, but unlike most, he never gave up on that. He wanted to 'play among the stars', like the lyrics from an old song by Frank Sinatra said. When his friends saw the telescope in his room, he played it off as it was the best view in the house for his sister to use it, trying to keep up his badass reputation and hiding his dream. He kept his grades up and after Beth was born and his Junior year was over, he and Rachel remained strong and when she saw he was 'college shopping' for schools in New York and noticed his research was about Physics, Mathematics or Astronomy, she asked him what he wanted to do and after almost a year of dating, he told her his dream of becoming an astronaut. Rachel, being the supportive and helpful friend and girlfriend, helped him pick which school was best for him. She had applied to Julliard and they both applied to New York University (NYU) and were nervous to find out if they would get accepted and in March of their Senior year, they finally found out they had been accepted to NYU. She had also been accepted to Julliard, but turned them down to go to NYU to study music and dance, where she also had an opportunity to study other fields, if she wanted.

They graduated in June of 2011 and with a few phone calls to NYU by Rachel's dad, the lawyer in the family, he got them an on-campus two bedroom apartment, usually reserved for married or second-year and above students, so in August, they packed up the belongings they'd need to start out in a new place and drove Rachel's car out to New York City, since their building had a parking space and they wanted to have at least one car.

Once school started they were both knee deep in it, but were supportive of each other. Noah knew he had to focus or he could lose his shot at NASA, so he quickly gave up his bad habits so he could focus on his future and by the end of their first year, they were both doing well.

Wanting to continue with school, they took summer classes between Freshman and Sophomore year and picked up jobs; he in the Physics' lab and she at the school bookstore, so they could have a little extra cash flow than the little bit her dads were helping helping them with, since the apartment was paid for in their tuition money.

Sophomore year was when they had their first major relationship problem; they started to drift apart. They had been so focused on their schooling and their future that their present reality had taken a backseat and after going home for Winter Break to see friends and family, and returning to a new school quarter in January, the two continued to work, go to classes and hardly saw each other, except in bed or on the weekends, but even then, they were doing homework, so they hardly had time to spend as a couple.

By the end of that quarter, in mid-March, Rachel was fed up. The day they had their last final exam, she asked to speak with him and they sat in their living room and she laid out her feelings and what she saw. They'd drifted apart and she wanted to fix their relationship. She was living with him, yet never saw him and she loved him more than anything, but was afraid if they didn't try to save their relationship, eventually it would lead to a break-up and she didn't want that.

Noah knew everything she'd told him was the truth and he had seen it, too, but had been afraid to bring it up because he didn't want to let her go. She was giving him a choice; figure out how they could fix it or break-up and they go their separate ways, but there was no question in the options she gave him, she meant more to him than life itself and he would do anything to keep her in his life.

Agreeing that they wanted to save their relationship, everything got better from there. They cut back their classes and scheduled them so they were at the same time, she quit her job at the bookstore and he cut his hours back at the lab so they could actually have time together and by the end of their Sophomore year they were back to normal.

In their Junior year, Rachel auditioned for the Drama Department's Spring Musical, and while she didn't expect to get the lead, she was cast as the female lead in the production, so after classes, she found herself several times a week in rehearsals, so Noah extended his hours at the lab a little more since she wasn't around as much, but they still spent quality time together.

Noah went to almost every show to support her and their families and some of their Glee friends came out to see her final show and while standing with everyone after the show, a man and a woman, dressed professionally, walked up to her and introduced themselves as casting directors; they help cast the Broadway productions and saw a lot of talent in her and told her to call them when she was closer to graduation. Rachel was stunned at the offer, but she had been waiting for that her entire life and now she was even closer to her Broadway debut.

Junior year ended and their Senior year began after a trip home to Lima for a few months. Both were on the track to graduate in June, but Noah was approached by the dean of the Physics' department and was told that the work he had done in the lab, along with another year of school could get him his Master's degree, once he got his Bachelor's. Noah hadn't planned to continue on after his four years of school, but another year of school didn't seem that bad, so once he graduated with his Bachelor's, he made a plan to go on with graduate school.

Rachel was supportive of him continuing his education and as their final quarter rolled around, Rachel contacted the casting directors and they told her when and where there were casting calls for several productions of Broadway and off-Broadway shows, either new ones starting up, or ones continuing to run with new cast and it seemed like she was auditioning at least twice a week for something.

Three days before graduation, Rachel got the call she had been waiting for - she had been cast as Gabriella Montez in the Broadway production of 'High School Musical: Want It All'. The musical covered the most important parts of the three successful Disney movies and they told Rachel that she not only had the talent, but she also had the look they were going for; a young girl who could pass for a high school student.

While Noah was happy for her getting the lead in a production, he couldn't help give her a hard time for just what she would be working on, since he spent years listening to his sister play the movies on repeat, but in all the teasing, he supported her and was also extremely proud of her.

Upon graduation, in June 2015, the couple celebrated with their parents and his sister, who had come out for commencement, but soon the celebrating was over, and reality set in. Since Rachel wasn't a student any more, she couldn't live in the on-campus apartment they had shared for the past four years, so while their families were there, they helped them find a small apartment near where she had to work, but still close to school so Noah wouldn't have a long commute.

Rachel and Noah went home to Lima, before they moved, to be maid-of-honor and best man for Quinn and Finn, who were getting married in a small ceremony of close friends and family, now that they had graduated from college.

Returning to New York, Noah continued his work in the Physics' lab over the rest of the summer while Rachel began to work on HSM:WIA and in early-September, just before Noah started graduate school to work on his Master's degree in Physics, continuing his minor in Astronomy, as many friends and family as possible came out to watch Rachel's Broadway debut.

Remembering what happened during their Sophomore year, Noah worked his schedule around her days off so they could still spend as much time together as possible and school continued. They couldn't go home for Winter Break, so their family, his mom, sister and her dads, came to New York and soon after school started back up for Noah, his dreams became a reality, too.

In early-April, Noah's advisor, who knew he wanted to be an astronaut, invited a NASA recruiter to come talk to Noah and he was offered a shot at the space program. They were pulling together two-hundred applicants from various backgrounds and the recruiter was offering him one of those two-hundred spots, and over a two year period of time, they would slim down group until a handful were chosen to be on a mission in 2019, three years away.

The recruiter gave him until June to give an answer, since the applicants didn't have to report until August. Noah still had to finish his last few months of school to get his Master's and it also gave him time to talk to his girlfriend and their family about this big decision.

The most important discussion, after the initial shock wore off, was about him and Rachel. Her dads and his mom and sister were fully supportive of him reaching his dreams, but he and Rachel needed to talk about their relationship. Taking the spot meant for two years he would have to relocate to Houston, Texas and after the training was over, if he made it, he'd have to move to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Rachel had signed a contract for three years with the production, and was only a year into it, so there was no way she could go to Texas with him, so it meant they would have to live apart for at least two years.

Rachel was the one to come up with a solution, of sorts. Since she was contractually obligated to stay in New York, she told him he needed to go to Texas and achieve his dreams, and when he was through training, she would be done with the production and they could both move to Florida.

Noah was shocked she'd be willing to give up more Broadway productions, but she assured him she had achieved her dream and would be ready to leave the lights of New York, while she still loved it, to support him, just like he had supported her for so many years. The time apart would be tough, but they would make it work because they loved each other and knew the space would give them a chance to see how much they wanted a future together, wherever that may be.

Contacting the recruiter, Noah told him he wanted the spot, and after some exchange of emails and information, Noah was to report to the NASA campus in Houston, Texas to begin training in early-August.

When Noah got his Master's degree, he chose not to go through commencement again, but his family, Quinn and Finn, Rachel's dads and some other friends came out to celebrate and also knew it would be the last time they saw him for a while, because he was planning to stay in New York for the time before leaving, wanting to spend as much time with his girlfriend as possible.

Packing up two duffel bags of clothes and belongings he'd need or want, like pictures of him with friends, family and his girlfriend, he was ready to leave; NASA was giving him his own furnished quarters, so he didn't need anything else.

They had been together almost seven years and neither pushed the topic of marriage, even after Quinn and Finn got married the summer before. They knew it was in their future, but with him leaving for two years, it was pushed further away, but neither were in a rush to take that leap; as far as they were concerned, they were married, but one day they would make it official, but sitting in their small New York apartment on the eve if him leaving for Texas, Noah presented her with a white-gold band with diamonds embedded into it as a promise that no matter how far apart they would be, he would always love her and would stay faithful to her no matter what. Rachel accepted the ring with tears in her eyes, promising him the same; promising him she'd wait for him forever.

As Noah joined the one-hundred-ninety-nine other candidates for the program, he knew he had his work cut out for him to keep from getting let go. With phone calls and emails, Noah and Rachel kept in touch and by the time they met in Lima for a break around the Christmas holiday, the candidates were down to one-hundred-sixty, and Noah was still in the game. Seeing each other physically for the first time in months, they were just as close and in love as they had been, which was reassuring that they could make it another year and a half with only a few visits at breaks he had from training.

Getting back to Texas, training continued and by summer he was one of one-hundred candidates left. With a break in the summer, Noah went to New York and spent two weeks with his girlfriend, realizing that a year was all they had left to be apart, and now it didn't seem as bad, they could do it, even if they missed the other while not together.

By Winter, another fifty candidates were gone and Noah was one of the fifty left and when he joined Rachel, her dads, his mom and sister in New York for the holidays, they were counting down the days before their move to Florida because they were all hopeful Noah would make it.

Everyone was confused as to why he had to move to Florida; they thought the main dealings of NASA were in Houston, while the shuttles lift-off and land in Florida, but over the years, with cutbacks, they moved all of the main controls of NASA, including the Mission Control Center from Texas to Florida, and now Houston was only used for training new astronauts and as a back-up in case something happened in Florida. Because of the major NASA move, if Noah got into the program, he would have to officially relocate to Florida once training in Houston was over.

As the days ticked down and Noah was closer and closer to the finish line, Rachel was looking for places to rent or buy near where he would be working, but she kept in mind that he might not be picked and if that happened, he would return to New York, but she had faith he would be chosen and she was looking forward to living in Florida.

In mid-June 2018, Noah was given a long weekend to go home to see his sister graduate from high school and when he returned to Lima and McKinley, he realized he hadn't been back to the school since he, Rachel and some of their friends graduated seven years prior. His sister hadn't expected him to come, understanding he was still in training, but she was really happy he came, and many of his former teachers were stunned, but amazed at what he was doing now.

Noah returned to Texas for one more month and by the end of July, he and nineteen other men and women had been chosen for various positions, most were picked to work in Mission Control or for other missions, but Noah and three guys were officially made 'the crew' and four others were picked as back-up crew members; no one knowing the specific mission and wouldn't find out until September when they were finally in Cape Canaveral and could begin training for it.

Packing up his small loft of mostly clothes and some personal belongings that he had collected over time, Noah left Texas and flew back to New York, managing to make it the same day as Rachel's final show as Gabriella Montez. Rachel was many emotions that day, and even though she tried to stay focused on her, all she could think about was about her boyfriend. She was so happy for him and seeing him surprise her just before her show with flowers, two years of emotions spilled over and they sat in her dressing room for a few hours and she slowly calmed down, realizing that now as one chapter of her life was closing, another was just beginning and she was scared, yet excited. Rachel's final show went off without any problems and after, she went out to celebrate with her boyfriend, their friends and family who had come to see her performance one more time, and she planned to attend the cast party the next day with her boyfriend on her arm.

Being the ever planner, Rachel had several homes and apartments ready to look at in Florida, but they needed to pack up their apartment, so once a few days worth of celebrating was over and most of their friends had returned home, Finn, Quinn, Rachel's dads, Noah's mom and sister remained in New York to help them pack. They were packing all of their belongings and loading it into a U-Haul, then Finn and Rachel's dads would drive it down to Florida, with Rachel's car being towed behind it, while, Quinn, Rachel, Noah, his mom and sister flew down to Florida to meet them. After packing was done and things were ready to go, Noah and Rachel said one final 'goodbye' to New York and left it behind, on their way to start the next chapter of their life.

It was mid-August, and Noah had two weeks to help find a place and be semi-settled before he went back for mission training, so they decided it was best to get an apartment. After checking out several the first week they were there, they found one in Cocoa, slightly larger than the one they had in New York, knowing it would be temporary until they found time to look for a house. They were within ten minutes to the NASA campus and only an hour away from Orlando, just far enough away to be out of the major city, but close enough to visit there often if they wanted. With the help of their friends and family, they got the U-Haul unloaded before they had to return to Ohio, leaving Noah and Rachel to start in Florida.

When Noah reported for mission training a week later, he found out the mission: travel to the moon on the fiftieth anniversary and not only just for a celebratory visit, they would also collect samples of atmosphere and other things because they were still toying with the possibility of colonizing the moon and needed newer, more reliable data than what they had. Training was busy and intense, but with his girlfriend by his side, Noah didn't care one bit about how sore he was or how tired he was, she was there and that meant the world to him.

One of the guys on his crew was married, with no kids yet, and she and Rachel got to know each other, since they were living in the same town, and the two began to become friends with something major in common; their significant other was an astronaut.

The fiftieth anniversary of the first manned moon landing was on July 20, 1969, so the shuttle was leaving on July 18, 2019 and they would land on the moon, and on July 20, 2019, exactly fifty years later, one of the crew members would walk on the moon and get to say or do something profound while the world watched. In research from the people at NASA, they found out that Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon in 1969 was born in the town Wapakoneta, Ohio (1), and lived there for a while, too. The town just happened to be just fifteen miles south of Lima, so everyone agreed that Noah should be the one to walk on the moon; it was too coincidental that he and Neil both were from towns in Ohio, their towns only fifteen miles apart.

Rachel settled into the relaxing life of just being a girlfriend, taking care of the day-to-day responsibilities while Noah worked, but she missed her friends. She talked to Quinn a lot online and Quinn admitted that she and Finn were in the process of moving to Florida to be closer to Noah and Rachel; that was in January and by the end of school in June, Finn was done teaching at Lima Middle, and they drove down to Florida; Finn driving a U-Haul pulling his SUV, while Quinn followed behind with her car and in three days, arrived at Rachel and Noah's apartment complex where an apartment was already waiting for them, thanks to Rachel's help, and over a weekend, Noah, Rachel, Finn and Quinn had moved them into the apartment.

The days ticked down and soon they were celebrating Finn and Quinn's fourth wedding anniversary on the fifth of July and by the fifteenth, Rachel's dads, Noah's mom and sister, and some of their friends came down to personally witness Noah going into space and some would be staying the whole time he was gone and sometime after he got back.

~*~

"Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you..."

~*~

~The Story~
July 18, 2019
"You've wanted this since you were a kid and now you're getting your chance, Puckerman, don't fuck this up," Noah thought, staring into the bathroom mirror after shaving away the scruff from the last few days. His mind was racing, but arms wrapping around his waist from behind slowed his thoughts as he turned around, "hey beautiful," he said, leaning down to kiss the lips of his girlfriend of almost ten years.

Her lips curled into a smile, "are you ready to make history?" Rachel asked, her arms draped around his waist.

"I hope so," he admitted, setting the towel down on the side of the sink to hold her, "I'm gonna miss you," he murmured.

She nodded, "I will too, but we got through two years apart while you were in training in Houston; I think we can manage nine days apart," she said hopeful; she'd spent the last week telling herself the same thing, and yet she still felt the same way he did.

He laughed, "yeah, but it's not like I'm going to be a phone call away. Cell phones don't work on the moon," he said seriously, but the grin on his face told her he was joking around.

"They don't? Well, we must talk to Verizon about putting a tower up there," she responded leaning up to kiss him, "come on or we're going to be late."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed and moved from the bathroom, grabbing his t-shirt with his mission logo on the front and slipped it on before following her out of their bedroom and into the rest of their apartment.

~*~

Stepping out of their Florida apartment, Noah slid his aviator sunglasses onto his face and wrapped one arm around his girlfriend's shoulders as they walked towards her car. Standing next to it, was Finn and Quinn, "I can't believe it's really today," Quinn said hugging Noah.

Noah returned her hug and then shook his best friend's hand, "I'm glad it's today. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," he admitted as they piled into Rachel's car.

"So have you figured out what you're going to say when you get up there?" Finn asked.

"Not quite yet, I'm hoping it'll just come to me when I get up there," Noah replied, looking at Finn like he'd lost his mind.

Finn just shrugged in response, trying to play things off; Finn knew what he was going to say, but wanted to throw the girls off the plan.

Rachel drove the four of them to Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and headed for a special parking area for family and friends of the astronauts going up. Noah flashed his badge to the gate guard and they were waved through and she parked next to her dads rental SUV. The four climbed out and Rachel and Noah joined hands as they walked into the building, where the large room was set up for the astronauts to say their final goodbyes to everyone before they were taken off to a clean room to get ready for the flight.

Not only was his mom, Deborah, his sister, Arin, Rachel's dads Alan and David, Quinn and Finn there, but Mike, Tina, Mercedes, Matt, Kurt, Will, Emma, Shelby, Beth and some friends from New York came down to see him make history.

It was just after eleven-am when they had arrived and all their friends were finally there, so Noah began the process of saying 'goodbye' and getting good luck comments from all of them as he did. They still had until noon; the shuttle blasts off at promptly 3:24pm Eastern Standard Time, but those there knew that the last little bit of time, Noah and Rachel would want to be together.

"Thank you for coming," Noah told Shelby, looking at the older brunette and then Beth, who was... literally a cross between him and Quinn; Noah's face and brunette hair, but Quinn was mixed in, giving her the feminine features.

"We almost didn't make it. Mom got lost on the drive here," Beth commented, wrapping her arms around his waist. "When you get back can you show me around?"

He hugged her, "of course. I'll give you a personal tour of the place," he promised.

"Noah?" Beth said motioning down to her level. He took the hint and leaned down, so she whispered in his hear, "I hope she says 'yes'."

He smiled and nodded, "me too," he whispered.

"Puckerman," Kyle Andrews, the flight director, called out from across the room.

Noah stood up straighter and turned to see Kyle walking towards him with several big wigs. "Sirs," he nodded at them and then noticed someone in a wheelchair, a man that looked to be close to ninety.

"There's someone who would like to meet you," Andrews said, "Mission Specialist Noah Puckerman, we'd like to introduce Neil Armstrong. Neil, this is the astronaut who will be recreating your historical walk on the moon."

"Hope you have something better to say than I did," Neil laughed, holding out his hand.

Noah was stunned as he shook the man's hand, "I... I don't know, your words were pretty epic," he recovered, feeling the strength still in the older man's hand, "it's an honor to meet you."

"You too," he replied, "I hear you're from Lima, Ohio."

"Yeah, just fifteen miles from Wapakoneta (1), where you were born," Noah explained, hearing the gasps from his family behind him, "apparently Ohio is the place to live if you want to be an astronaut," he added with a laugh.

Neil laughed, "I agree and I'm happy to pass the torch off to a fellow Buckeye."

Noah ducked his head, "I hope as I follow in your footsteps I make you proud," he admitted.

"You will," he assured him, "you know, in my day, we had to be quarantined for twenty-four hours before we could go up... Now you kids get it easy, but it's also nice to spend the last few minutes with your friends and family. Good luck up there."

Before they could continue their conversation, Noah and Neil were asked to come over to get their picture taken together, this was, after all, the anniversary of Neil's moon walk and NASA wanted to document them together before and after the mission.

"Sorry," Kyle said, looking at Rachel, "I'll get him back to you. I didn't think they'd do this until after," he added heading towards the group now with Noah and Neil, the other five members of the crew who would be going up on the Pegasus.

"Look at him," Deborah said, wiping her eyes, "I'm so proud of him."

"We all are," David, Rachel's dad, said.

"Mom, could you stop crying for five minutes? That seems like all you've done since we got to Florida," Arin groaned.

"I'm just so proud of him, my baby boy, the astronaut."

"He hasn't gone up yet," Arin admitted, "wait until he gets back to call him that."

Noah made it back to his family and friends and as the clock ticked closer to noon, Rachel's nerves grew and she was starting to cry, too, not so much from worry, but from how happy she was that he was going for his dream.

"I'll be fine," Noah assured her, kissing her on her forehead.

"I know you will be," she told him, holding him close, "I am just so happy for you."

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, you know that, right?" He asked softly, looking into her eyes.

"You would have made it, Noah, with or without me," she replied, trying to pass off what he was saying.

He shook his head and kissed her lovingly, "no, you kept me going. You never doubted me when I did and I love you for that."

Rachel blushed, unable to find the right words, so she went with, "I love you, Noah, and you belong here," she motioned around, meaning NASA.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Noah turned around and saw his shuttle pilot, who told him it was time, so with a final hug to the girls and handshakes with the guys, Noah kissed and hugged Rachel one last time, wiped her eyes and promised her he'd be home soon. He slid his cell phone into her hand before walking away, glancing back to wave at everyone, "Finn! You got it, right?" He called out.

"Yes, I do," Finn assured him with a nod.

Rachel looked at Finn, "what is going on?"

"Oh, nothing, Noah just asked me to keep an eye on you for him," Finn replied, trying to cover it up.

~*~

As their loved ones were taken to get ready, everyone in the room was given a red VIP plastic bracelet to wear, to prove they had been in there, so they could be bussed to and from the viewpoint and wouldn't be confused with other spectators.

Once off the bus at the viewpoint, everyone found seats in the bleachers with the public who was also there, along with press and military personnel who were there to witness the launch. Some had binoculars while others had digital cameras or video recorders, and everyone had an eye on the large clock off to the side, counting down the time until the launch.

As the hours on the clock went to zero and there was less than sixty minutes until lift-off, Rachel's nerves began to build. From a distance they could see a large van with NASA painted on one side pull up to the launch pad where the Pegasus shuttle was docked and several people got out, six of them dressed in matching blue space suits and Rachel knew one of them was her boyfriend.

The closer it got to the launch, large speakers began to relay transmissions from Mission Control, Launch Control and the crew, as they went through the long checklist of systems, and then they were asking each member to confirm they were a 'go', and hearing Noah's voice say, "Mission Specialist Puckerman is a go," was one of the scariest, yet most exciting things Rachel had ever heard.

"Launch Control, this is Mission Control, we have a 'go' for launch." Everyone in the stands cheered and soon they were all on their feet to watch as the clock was down to less than ten minutes.

Finn put his arm around Rachel's shoulders as he stood next to her and they watched, and then listened to the final conversation between the control centers and the crew, until they saw the bright orange fire and smoke billowing out from underneath the rockets as they were ignited and the final ten second countdown began, "T-minus ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... We have lift off of STS-501 on the Pegasus on it's way to the moon. Good luck and God be with you, Pegasus Crew."

Tears fell from Rachel's eyes as she watched the shuttle blast off from it's dock, clouds of smoke in it's wake as it lifted her boyfriend higher and higher into the sky. The booster rockets soon fell away and they they heard, "Mission Control, this is Pegasus. She is running smooth and normal. Next stop, the moon."

The launch was now over, so slowly the spectators dispersed, and the families and friends gathered around the bus, which is where someone from mission control was waiting for them and told them that anyone who had the bracelets could come and sit in on the transmissions and video feeds from the moon in two days time, the official anniversary and the day that Noah would walk on the moon.

"Ms. Berry, Mr. Hudson, I'm sure you will be here, but I wanted to confirm it, because Puckerman has requested that you two are in the control room on headset when he does walk on the moon," he said.

"What? Can we do that?" Rachel asked in shock.

The man laughed, "yes, you can. It's been given the green light," he assured her.

"We will be there," Finn said.

"I'm sure you will," he replied, nodding at Finn.

~*~

The first night he was gone, Rachel laid on her side, staring at the empty space in their bed, missing him terribly; it was the first they'd spent apart in almost a year and though she had prepared herself for him to be gone, now that she was faced with it, she hurt and couldn't help the tears that fell as she wrapped her arms around his pillow and begged herself to sleep. She didn't want to be one of those women who couldn't function without their significant other for a few days apart, but after spending two years separated while he was in training and then finally living together again for almost a year, they had grown closer than before and this time there was no way to communicate. She couldn't just write him an email or call him on the phone, so aside from the bits and pieces she got from the liaison at Mission Control and the few hours she'd see of him when they would be there for the landing, she would have to sit and wait and pray that everything would turn out okay.

Waking up on a new day, she went about her routine like normal. She met Quinn and Finn at seven-am, for a few mile jog and when she returned home, she sat down at her laptop to check email, then she would shower and get ready for the day. As her email came up and her messages loaded, she blinked, and stared at the most recent one, almost disbelieving it. The message was from her boyfriend's work email address. She glanced at the time it was sent and it was only fifteen minutes prior and as she read the subject of 'Surprise!' she blushed and clicked it, curious what she would find inside.

"Surprise baby! We have internet and email in space now... I didn't want to mention it before I left in case it didn't work, but once we hit space, we tested it out and it worked so now we can email back and forth or video chat when I'm online. Seeing the time I'm sending this I figure you're on a run with Quinn and Finn, and you'll get this once you get back, so I'll still be online if you want to Skype... Different time up here, but I'm around. Can't do too much until we get to the moon. We're still on secure computers, so we have to be careful what we say, but no one can stop me from telling you that I love you, Rach, and you're my everything. Talk to you soon, Your Noah."

Rachel read the message twice, feeling tears sting her eyes as she smiled brightly at the surprise she really needed. Glancing at the time, she jumped up to take a quick shower before returning to her computer to pull up the video chat program and logged in, hoping he would still be online. A bright smile grew on her face as she saw his NASA screen name online, so she called him. It took a few moments, but he accepted the call and a video of him appeared, and she opened it up so it filled her screen, "Noah," she gasped, seeing him dressed in a gray polo shirt with NASA's logo sewn on it.

"Hey beautiful," he smiled, "I take it you got my email?"

She nodded with a light laugh, "I did. You know me well. Are you alright? Did things go well? Am I really talking to you?" She asked in disbelief.

He smirked, "you really are talking to me," he assured her, "and things are going great so far," he added, "how did you sleep?" He asked curiously.

"Cried myself to sleep and had some strange dreams and couldn't stay asleep. I miss you, Noah."

"I miss you, too, babe. I wish I could be there, but I won't be gone too long. When I get home it'll be like I never left," he smiled, reaching to hold his hand close to the camera.

Rachel did the same thing, and tried not to let the tears fall as she pulled her hand back and looked at him, but seeing him, knowing he was so far away filled her with many emotions, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Rachel."

"Noah, are you floating?" She asked, realizing that his background seemed to be moving.

He laughed, "yeah, it's awesome." He reached out and let go of his computer tablet and then did a somersault in mid-air.

Rachel wiped her eyes and laughed, "I'm so happy for you. This is so amazing and the fact that we can talk while you're up there, just... Makes this easier."

"Yeah, it will," he nodded, taking his computer back into his hands, "once we get to the moon I'm not sure how much time I'll have to do this, but I'll try. Right now some of us are getting ready to sleep for a while, so we're taking our free time to contact our loved ones," he explained.

"If you need sleep, then you should go. Have you been up since yesterday morning?" She asked concerned.

"No, I slept for a few hours, but I'll nap later. Besides, I wanted to catch you before you went out for the day," he added, "because I know you'll have visitors soon," he smirked.

"Yeah, we're going out... With most of the members of Glee here, I was going to show them around Cocoa. Quinn and Finn want to know, since they're just now getting settled. Not everyone will be here when you get back and they feel really bad about it," she added.

He shrugged, "it's alright. That's why we had the party the other night. I understand. Not everyone can take weeks off work. I'm surprised mom was able to, but I think she's got like two years worth of vacation built up, so she deserves some time off," he added.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, she does," she sat back in her chair and took a deep breath, exhaling, "I feel so much better now."

"I know something else that could make you feel better," he told her with a grin.

"Noah," Rachel blushed, "you're not here, don't even suggest that."

"For once I'm not talking about that, but if you go to my dresser, in the second drawer down with all my NASA shirts, there's a box, get it and bring it back here without opening it. I want to see your face when you do," he said.

She looked at him for a moment, before getting up and moving into their room and over to the drawer he was telling her about and after digging under many shirts with the NASA logo on them, she found a single, black velvet box, the size of a business card and stared at it. She quickly recognized it as a jewelery box, so she walked back to her laptop and sat down, "Noah, what is it?" She asked softly.

He smiled, "open it and find out."

Prying open the top, she gasped at the necklace that sat inside, two stars one inside the other. The larger one was her birthstone, the sapphire, the other was his, the peridot. She looked up, one hand wiping her eyes as she stared at him, "Noah, I... This is beautiful. I love it. Thank you," she said softly, setting the box down long enough to reach up and unclasp the necklace she had been wearing.

"You're welcome, baby. You know, a beautiful young girl once told me that metaphors are important and she used a gold star as her metaphor for her becoming a star, and she did. She also helped me reach the stars, so I thought it fit to give that to you on my first space flight," he smiled.

As he spoke, she reached up and carefully put the necklace on and once it was clasp behind her, she clenched her eyes shut, but the tears still fell, so she wiped them away with the back of her hand before looking at herself in the small window showing her video and smiled, "I love you so much," she choked out, resting her hand against the charm, "and this was an amazing gift."

"I love you, too, beautiful. It looks awesome on you," he added. "I can't wait to see it in person."

~*~

Their conversation was enough to keep a bounce in her step the rest of the day, while she showed their friends and family around the area they lived in and she slept great that night, no tears shed and as everyone returned to Kennedy Space Center for the moon landing, she was excited. The families and friends were given a private room to be in, so they didn't have to deal with any of the press while they watched the video feeds from the space craft as it made it's approach to the moon, coming to land, much like an airplane on a runway. "Mission Control, we have touchdown on the moon's surface, I repeat, we have touchdown."

"Copy that Pegasus, we read you loud and clear. Go ahead and prepare for the walk," Kyle replied from his spot in the flight director's seat.

"Roger that, Mission Control."

The video feeds they were getting were from various cameras on the shuttle, so every time Rachel got a glimpse of her boyfriend, she felt butterflies in her stomach that she had never felt before, and when Kyle walked into their room, he smiled, "Rachel, Finn, come with me," he motioned into the control center with a smile.

Unsure exactly why, but excited all the same, Rachel got up and followed Finn and Kyle towards the control room and glanced back at her dads, who just nodded at her with smiles on their faces, which gave her nerves she hadn't had for a while, now a little worried as to why she and Finn were given this opportunity.

Both were given headsets so they could be heard and standing in the middle of the control room, they got to watch the feeds of Noah and the other astronaut going out to film him, suiting up in a white space suit, less bulkier than the ones of the past. "The space suits look different," Rachel said.

Kyle nodded, "technology has come a long way in the last twenty years and the less bulky the suit is, the easier it is to move around in," he explained.

"Mission Control, is that my girlfriend's voice I hear?" Noah asked from the moon.

Kyle laughed, "roger that, Puckerman, your girlfriend and your best friend are here on headset."

"Hey Rachel, hey Finn," he said waving to the camera nearest to him.

"Hey man," Finn said glancing at Rachel.

"Hello, Noah," Rachel smiled, "could you tell me why Finn and I are getting this special honor?" She asked curiously.

"You'll find out," Noah replied, before his helmet went on, "com check, Mission Control."

"We read you loud and clear, Puckerman. Once Harris is ready, we need to test out the camera to make sure it works before you guys head out," Kyle said.

"Copy that, Mission Control," Noah replied.

Once the other astronaut, Alex Harris, was suited up, they tested out the hand-held camera, and after they confirmed it worked, they were given a 'go' to take their walk and the two climbed onto an airlock elevator,that took them down to the moon's surface, just under the shuttle. As the door opened to allow them out, Harris started talking, "Alright, Noah Puckerman, you're about to walk on the moon's surface for the first time, on the fiftieth anniversary of the first space walk. Do you have anything to say?"

Noah looked out onto the surface of the moon and then back to the camera, "the Great Neil Armstrong once said 'that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' and he was right," Noah stepped off the elevator onto the surface of the moon and turned around, waiting for Harris to join him, "and I can't really compete with that, but this moment is also a giant leap for Noah Puckerman," he walked out enough so he was in the light, but didn't need the sun visor to protect his eyes, "you see, I've been with this girl for almost ten years and she's the love of my life. We've been through so much together and she is my shining star. She has supported me on my quest to reach the stars, and here I am, standing on the moon, making history, because of her support and love to guide me, and there is nothing I'd love more than to finally have her as my wife," he paused and slowly knelt down on one knee, "Rachel, you have been 'the one' since the day we got together and I can not see myself without you. I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?" He asked calmly, but to those who knew him could hear the emotion in his voice.

Of all the things Rachel expected, a proposal was not one of them. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth at his speech, tears falling from her eyes. She tried to choke out a response, but the sobs made it impossible. Glancing to her left, she saw Finn holding out an open ring box, a beautiful diamond ring sitting inside. Seeing the ring and after a few deep breaths, she was able to speak, "yes, yes I will marry you, Noah," she said, the tears falling again as she pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. "I love you so much, baby," she added, "and the ring is beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you are, baby," he smiled brightly, "and I love you, too." Noah nodded at the camera, "thanks Finn," he added.

"No problem man, be safe and we'll see you soon," Finn replied wrapping his arms around Rachel as the entire control center and everyone in the viewing rooms broke out in cheers and applause, some knowing of the proposal, but others were just as shocked at his 'out of this world' proposal, all of them offering congratulations and with all the press there, covering the walk, it would only be a few minutes before the world knew of his proposal.

Rachel pulled away from Finn and looked at Kyle, "you knew all about this," she said, wiping her eyes.

"The entire control room knew," he motioned around, "as did the crew, some of their families and some higher ups. Congratulations," he smiled, holding out his hand.

"Thank you," she replied, shaking his hand before turning back to the camera feed to see her boyfriend standing up.

Harris' voice filled the room one more time, "congratulations on your engagement, Puckerman. I think this is officially the most epic proposal ever and I don't think anyone will ever be able to top it, so thanks for taking the standards of a proposal to the next level for the rest of us out there, dude," Harris laughed.

Harris' comment caused everyone to laugh, but Kyle tried to control the situation, "guys why don't you head back to the shuttle and take a break so we can regroup."

"Copy that, control," the guys both said, getting back to work mode.

"We'll go so you guys can get to work," Rachel said taking a deep breath and looking at Kyle.

He nodded, "he can still hear you, so you can talk to him if you want before you go," he added.

Rachel turned to the screen, watching her boyfriend take off his helmet inside the airlock, "Noah, I know you have work to do, so Finn and I are going to go, but I love you, and I miss you and I can't wait for you to get home," she said with a smile.

He smiled at the, "I can't wait to see you again, babe. I'll be home soon. I love you, too."

~*~

Arin, Deborah, David, Alan, Quinn, Finn, Shelby and Beth knew of the proposal, but no one else did, so their other friends there were just as shocked as Rachel was. Once she and Finn returned to the room they had been in, her and Noah's friends and family, along with the friends and family of other crew members offered congratulations and hugs to her as she got emotional again, but was able to calm down, staring at the diamond ring on her hand, something she'd secretly waited for, but never pushed, because they were doing well the way they were.

The press knew that Astronaut Noah Puckerman's girlfriend was former Broadway star Rachel Marie, so of course, as soon as the mission turned from historical and that of an anniversary, to the job they were sent there to do, the press wanted to get an interview with her, and a public relations representative slipped into the family room before the press could get to her and told Rachel she didn't have to speak to anyone if she didn't want to.

Being used to the press from many years of interviews she did when she was Gabriella Montez, she agreed to speak to them, but instead of answering a ton of questions, she told them she was very proud of her fiancé and extremely shocked, but so happy with their engagement and couldn't wait for him to get home so they could celebrate together. She thanked them for their congratulations and told them after he got home and they had a chance to celebrate with their friends and family, she would be happy to say more, but she had friends visiting from out of state who could not stay until the return of the Pegasus crew and she wanted to spend some more time with them before they left the next day, so she excused herself from them to return to her family and friends.

The night of the proposal, they had kind of an impromptu engagement party at the hotel everyone was staying at, to celebrate, but it was also a goodbye party for those leaving the next day, unable to stay too long because of their jobs.

The days following Noah's proposal, Rachel found it hard to keep a low profile while she was out in public with anyone, because she was recognized. Pretty much every news station in the United States and many international ones had broadcast the historical walk on the moon, so his entire proposal was shown, and anyone who didn't watch it live, could see the reruns and websites had pictures and videos of it, or they heard about it in the newspapers that had articles about it; even NASA had a picture of them together on their homepage, offering congratulations on their engagement, so while she spent time with her friends and family, out and about, she was getting congratulations from strangers, but accepted their words with a smile, knowing that the towns near Cape Canaveral had a lot of NASA employees and families, and since her picture had been all over the news, she expected to be recognized a little, but was surprised at how many did notice her. It'd didn't bother her, too much, but it did take away from private time and made her miss her fiancé even more.

With him working, he wasn't able to be online to video chat, but he did send her an email a few days later telling her how much he loved her and couldn't wait to get home to her. He added that he had watched the landing online and was able to see her reaction for the first time, and admitted he got tears in his eyes, again, as he watched her accept his proposal and put the ring on.

~*~

A whole week passed since the Pegasus landed on the moon and Noah's walk and proposal happened. After several successful days of collecting the data needed, they left the moon and were finally coming home.

Friends and family who were still there for the landing, all gathered back in the control room's viewing room, watching the landing from there, because there was no place to view the landing outside and the crew members would have to be checked out before they were cleared to see anyone.

"Meredith, how long does it usually take after they land before we can see them?" Rachel asked the shuttle pilot's wife.

"Usually two hours. All of them have to shower and get a complete physical before they can," she admitted.

"What? Why? How could they catch something when they're in space suits?" Rachel gasped, not thinking about that detail.

The older, more experienced woman laughed lightly, "the tests are to make sure they don't have any problems from the weightless environment they were in or the type of air they were breathing," she told her, "it's routine, and as far as I know, there has never been anyone who has had a problem, so there is nothing to worry about," she assured her, "and don't worry about tonight either," she added with a grin. Rachel blushed and ducked her head. "This is Steve's third mission, so I know what you're thinking about, because I'm thinking the same thing," Meredith commented truthfully, a grin on her face.

Settling in to watch the video from the NASA camera crew out on the runway to get the landing on tape, when the shuttle finally came into view, Rachel's eyes were glued to the screen, "please let them make it safely," she thought, feeling a firm hand on her shoulder and she turned quickly to see her dad's hand. She reached up and joined his hand for a moment, watching as the shuttle got larger and larger on screen until it was finally over the runway.

When the landing gear touched down on the ground, and the parachute shot out to help slow it down, silence filled the room as they waited to hear the pilot, Steve Sheppard, say, "Mission Control, this is Pegasus... We have wheels stop..."

"Roger that, Pegasus, we confirm you have wheels stop... Welcome back to Earth and congratulations on your eight day, twenty-three hour journey to the moon to commemorate the anniversary."

"Thank you, Mission Control, it's good to be home," Sheppard replied as the rest of the crew said something similar.

Everyone sighed in relief now that the shuttle was safely on the ground, completing it's first ever space flight. Wiping her eyes, Rachel watched the live feed as it showed them opening the hatch and climbing down stairs that had been brought over and the camera zoomed in close enough to make out faces, and when she saw her fiancé, she couldn't help the happy tears that fell, relieved that he was home safe and sound. "Just a few more hours and you can see him," she thought, standing up to hug her dad when he walked over to her.

The next two hours dragged on and Rachel, along with a few others, were beginning to pace back and forth. They'd been taken to the room they'd said 'goodbye' to the crew in and it would be where they'd meet them, so everyone waited there. Rachel noticed there were cameras sitting around and Neil Armstrong was there, ready to meet the crew and again, get pictures taken, but Rachel hoped she could at least hug Noah before he was drug into NASA stuff; thankfully there were no news people there, just official NASA ones.

Kyle came out of the double doors and cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. It was just past the two hour mark and he smiled, "though I don't think these guys need any introduction, let's welcome home the first crew of the Pegasus and of mission STS-501," he pulled the door open and the guys walked out, dressed in matching flight suits with their mission patch on one breast pocket, their name on the other side and on their shoulders, one had the US flag, and the other was the NASA logo.

Rachel waited to see her fiancé and when he finally stepped out, he looked around for his family and when his eyes landed on Rachel, he smiled brightly and moved through the crowd towards her. Tears were falling as Rachel rushed forward and jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Noah, I'm so glad you're home," she murmured.

Noah's arms went around her waist and refused to let her go as he clenched his eyes closed for a moment, breathing in her scent, the smell of her shampoo and body wash, mixed with her perfume and lotion was something he'd become so used to smelling that he had missed it, just as much as he missed her, "I'm home, baby. I missed you so much," he said, pulling his head back enough to kiss her.

Their lips met and Rachel didn't even try to hide the tears falling from her eyes as they kissed, nine days of emotions spilling over, but relief joined her tears now that he was in her arms again. Breaking their kiss, Rachel looked at him, "I love you, so much," she smiled, hugging him once more.

"I love you, too, baby, more than you know," he assured her, slowly setting her down on the floor to keep his balance.

Rachel let go of him, not really wanting to, but she knew there were others there who were just as glad he was home as she was.

Noah reached for her left hand as she began to pull away and smiled at the diamond ring on her finger, a ring he'd spent weeks looking for, and now finally seeing it on her hand filled him with warmth and love. Kneeling down on the ground, this time before her, he held her left hand in his, "I want you to know that I wasn't scared to do this in person, but given what we've been through and how metaphors seem to be part of our lives, I couldn't help proposing in the one place that you helped me get to," he smiled up at her, "and I'll ask again, will you marry me?"

Blinking away tears, she nodded happily, "yes, I will," she choked out, emotional from seeing him kneeling before her to propose again.

Kissing her hand right beside the ring, he slowly stood up and wiped away her tears, just smiling at her for a long moment, "Always and forever," he told her, before letting go, knowing he had other people there to greet.

She nodded in agreement and smiled, "always and forever," she replied, standing up on her tip toes enough to kiss him one more time before letting him go so he could say 'hi' to the others there.

~*~

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong

Title and lyrics used are from: 'Fly Me to the Moon' by Frank Sinatra

Rachel's necklace:

(Imagine Sapphires on the outside and Peridots on the inside)

~*~

A/N4: Astronaut!Noah isn't something I've seen before and as soon as I started looking at prompt ideas and saw 'moon' this popped into my head and I couldn't get it to sit still in my head, so I wrote it first. I really like how it turned out and I hope you all did, too. Please review and let me know! This is the first one-shot I've written since February 2010, so please be gentle. For those of you who are reading my other fics, updates will come soon for 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' and if you haven't read any of my other works, I recommend these two WIPs and my two other fics, 'Became the Summer' and 'Gotta Start Somewhere', which are complete Puckleberry fics.
A/N5: Anyone catch the Stargate: Atlantis references? (I'm a huge fan of SGA.)