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sapphireejAuthor: Sapphire (
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sapphiresfic)Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Puck, Rachel, Puck/Rachel, Puckleberry
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,520
Spoilers: Up to 1x22 ~ Journey; just to be safe
Series: 'Broken Road' (List of all the parts on my LJ)
Fic Table prompt: #47 - Protection (table at my journal here).
Summary1: Rachel visits her dads in Lima for the holidays, gets pulled over, her ex from NYC stalks her, threatening her life and the cop who pulled her over helps protect her... For fic table prompt #47 - Protection.
Summary2: Rachel confronts Daniel.
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D
A/N3: Title comes from 'Blessed The Broken Road' a song by Rascal Flatts. I do not own it, just borrowing for the fic.
~*~
A/N4: A super-belated, but much anticipated, birthday fic for a good friend of mine, PKteach. I wanted to write her a birthday fic, and this is from an idea she gave me.
A/N5: The Gleeks were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.
A/N6: AU after 1x22 ~ Journey.
~*~
A/N7: For those of you who read this when it was first posted and before 12/4/2010, when writing this fic, I originally had written that Daniel was supposed to come with Rachel to Lima for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah (because usually Hanukkah ends up being in early-December), but I didn't realize until looking it up that the year this fic is set in, 2016, Hanukkah starts at sundown on Christmas Eve. Finding this out, I went back and changed the 'Thanksgiving and Hanukkah' explanation to just 'Thanksgiving', so I just wanted to let you know, in case I mention just Thanksgiving in a later chapter and you wonder why.
~*~
Rachel gasped, hearing his raised voice and moved into the hall towards the door, but Noah stopped her, "let me take care of this," he said, walking ahead of her and slipped between Daniel and Alan, "how's it going, Daniel?"
"You good for nothing son of a bitch!" Daniel yelled, storming in and pulling his fist back, ready to take a swing at Noah.
"Daniel! No!" Rachel exclaimed.
He didn't listen to her and went to hit Noah in the face, but Noah was able to block him, grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm behind his back, grabbing his other hand to restrain him.
"Let go of me, you asshole, or I'll call the police!" Daniel exclaimed, fighting to get free of Noah's grasp.
"Look here douche-bag, I am the police, so you're lucky I don't call them myself and have you arrested for attempted assault on an officer of the law and trespassing on private property," Noah retorted, "calm yourself down, respect the people you're around and Rachel might be willing to talk to you," he suggested.
Daniel continued to struggle against Noah's strength for a few moments, but when he realized he was in no position to fight, he gave up, "alright, fine," he snapped in frustration.
Noah smirked and let go of him, stepping towards Rachel, "you don't have to talk to him if you don't want to, but obviously he's here, so he must want to talk to you. I'm here if you need me," he reminded her, before moving aside.
Rachel nodded and moved towards Daniel, "I have nothing to say to you, so what seemed so important that you flew two hours and drove two hours to get to me for?" She asked calmly, fighting the urge to start crying.
"I'm sorry," he blurted out, "I... I screwed up. Alana offered and I accepted and I shouldn't have, but you weren't... You wanted to wait and I guess... I should have, but I couldn't resist her..."
"Okay, so I know how that feels, but that was Puck in high school, not me now. I've seen the error in my ways," Noah thought, leaning against the wall nearby, Alan and David standing near him, while Rachel spoke to Daniel by the front door.
"That's really all you have to say?" Rachel asked in shock, "after everything you did to me, that's how you want to end things?"
"I don't want to end things. I came all the way here in hopes that we could start over," he replied.
Rachel shook her head, "no, not happening! You may be able to forget me walking into your office and seeing you fucking Alana on your desk, but I can't nor do I want to. And, I bet you also forgot Clarissa, didn't you?"
Daniel's mouth fell open, "my ex? Of course I have! She broke up with me months before we started dating!"
"Oh, I know that, but maybe you should have deleted her phone number. She called your phone one day and when I saw her name, I answered, planning to tell her you were taken, in case she wanted to get back together. She warned me and said the reason she broke up with you is because she caught you with Alana, too, so maybe you should try dating Alana; you seem to enjoy fucking her... Or are you just looking for a good body when you're not getting enough with your actual girlfriend?" Rachel snapped, "get out of my house, get out of my town; I never want to see you again!" She exclaimed, opening the door further and holding it for him, "GET OUT!"
"But Rachel, I..."
"Goodbye, Daniel," she motioned outside.
At his hesitation, Noah stepped forward, "I believe the lady asked you to leave, or do you need an escort? The three of us have no problem helping you find your way out," he commented, seeing David and Alan standing on either side of him.
Daniel looked at Rachel and sighed, stepping outside and headed towards his flashy red rental sports car and with one final glance back at the house, he got in and sped away.
Once Rachel was sure he was gone, she closed the door and leaned her forehead against it, taking a moment to relax, but the tears still came. As she turned around, she moved right into Noah's arms and began crying; she'd spent two days locked in her apartment, ignoring calls and messages from everyone when she first caught him, but forced herself to focus on going home to Lima to get away from him, so she hadn't had any more 'time' to really think about what had happened, but now, everything came back full force and being overwhelmed, she just broke down in front of the only three men she could trust.
Noah was shocked that Rachel had come to him, but he welcomed her and held her close, letting her cry, "hey, it's okay. You did great, Rach. You're going to be alright. Your dads and I are here for you, okay?"
Choking back a sob, she nodded, "I know, but I didn't want to come home and have to deal with him like this! My first night home is ruined because of him! I just wanted a few days to not have to think about him so I could get over what he did, and then he shows up and brings everything to the surface again! Why couldn't he have waited just a few days?"
"I don't know, sweetheart," David said, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "he probably thought if he caught you on a good day that you might rethink his offer of getting back together."
"That will never happen," she replied.
David nodded, "I know that, but he probably thought you'd be gullible and willing to do anything with just a few sweet words from him and I'm glad you stood your ground; I'm proud of you."
"Me too," Alan agreed, "I know you know you did the right thing and I'm sure you're hurting right now, but Noah is right. We're here for you, no matter what. We don't want you to hurt because of him."
"I'm trying not to, but I can't help it. I feel horrible. I thought I could trust him!" She sobbed.
David pulled Rachel into his arms, "I know sweetheart, and I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but you're better off without him if he's going to do something like that to you," he murmured.
Rachel hugged her daddy and nodded, relaxing for a moment and slowly her sobs subsided and her cheeks got redder in embarrassment that she had broken down in front of them, "I'm sorry, I... I thought I had already gone through this when we first broke up," she explained.
"Don't apologize, Rach," Noah commented, "you have every right to be upset. You were caught off guard and all the emotions from the week came out."
She nodded, "I've never seen him so aggressive before; or even violent like that. I can't believe he was going to hit you," she told Noah.
Noah shrugged, "I'm used to it, so I was able to stop him, but it sounds to me like he's used to girls falling for whatever he says and doesn't like being told 'no'," he said, "that's just what I see," he added.
"I admit he doesn't like having plans change, but I don't know quite how true that is, but you could be right," Rachel rubbed her forehead, "this is not how I wanted to spend my first night home."
"Of course it isn't, but the night is still young. You two should go out and do something fun to get your mind off what happened," Alan suggested.
"Sure, I'm in, if you're up for it, but we don't have to," Noah commented.
"I'd love to; maybe tomorrow night? Right now I'd just love to take a long hot shower and go to sleep," she said sadly, "I'm sorry, Noah."
"Don't apologize," he walked over to her and hugged her. "It's was a big day and sounds like you'll be here a while, so we have plenty of time to hang out," he looked at her, "I can even hang here for a while if you want to take a shower and see how you feel and maybe we could sit and talk after, but if you still want to go to sleep, I'll stay until you fall asleep," he offered.
She smiled, "I'd like that. I'll... I'll go shower then," she motioned towards the stairs.
"Don't hurry, take your time," Noah told her.
Nodding at them, Rachel climbed the stairs and left the three men standing by the front door. When they heard her door shut, they moved back into the kitchen, "I'm really glad you were here tonight, Noah," David said and Alan nodded in agreement.
"Me too," Noah nodded, "and not just because of what happened," he admitted, motioning to the front door, "I missed her. The last few years of not talking to her really sucked, so to see her is amazing and I do wish it had been under happier circumstances, but I'm glad I was able to be here to, um, protect her. I didn't want to step on your toes, but when she told me what happened and then him calling and showing up here really pissed me off and I admit, I hope him seeing me here and acting the way I did, he got a little jealous as some punishment for what he did; even though he deserves a whole lot more," Noah explained.
"Oh yes he does," Alan agreed. "Why did you two stop talking anyway?"
Noah shrugged, "honestly, I don't know. We were both working and she was going to school in New York and eventually our emails just got few and far between until they stopped completely. There's been so many times I've driven past here thinking I should stop, just to ask you guys if she was okay, but I didn't know how you felt about me or if you had moved, so I never did, but I know now that I should have."
"Noah, it happens. I lost touch with many of my close friends from high school once we went off to college; sure we tried to keep in touch, but our lives were different," David told him, "so you don't have to worry about that, it's understandable, but we just were making sure it wasn't from something bad."
"It wasn't," Noah promised them, "I wish we hadn't lost touch, but we can make up for lost time now," he sighed, blushing lightly, "she was the first person to ever really see me as Noah and not the tough Puck that everyone else knew."
"What's that saying? 'There's no time like the present'? Or something like that?" Alan smiled.
"Yeah, you're right," Noah smiled moving into the dinning room to help collect dishes from dinner.
"Noah, you don't have to do that. You're a guest here," David said, taking the dishes from him, "have a seat, relax."
"Come on, guys, I can't just sit and watch you guys do all the work. I'll help," Noah insisted.
The three men busied themselves in the kitchen, cleaning up the dinning room table and counters, waiting for Rachel to return.
Noah wasn't quite sure what all this was getting at, but for the moment, he was glad that Rachel was back in his life and that he could help her through an obviously bad break-up. His thoughts were interrupted as she entered the kitchen in a pair of red yoga pants and a matching t-shirt, "hey, how was your shower?"
She smiled, "relaxing. I really needed that," she admitted, "I'm glad you stayed." She was a lot more relaxed than she had been when she had gone upstairs; she wasn't quite sure if it was because she was home in Lima or if it had anything to do with Noah being there, but for the time being she wouldn't think about it.
"You wanna talk?" Noah asked.
Rachel nodded, "yes, I'd love to. I want to know what it's been like to be a cop. Isn't it scary?"
"It can be," he agreed as they moved into the living room to sit down on the couch. "It's scary when you have to pull someone over in the middle of the night and you don't know if they're going to pull a gun on you, or when you report to a domestic disturbance and find a drunk dad beating up his wife and their kids saw everything, or when you go to a known crack house and see kids my sisters age so drugged up they don't know their own name, or help with traffic when a bunch of teens are in a car accident because the driver, who is also a teen, is drunk. It sure has opened my eyes to how stupid I was in school and like we kind of talked about at diner; it has made me a better person because of what I've seen."
"Wow! I never thought much about the police profession. I mean, I don't drink and drive and I don't do illegal things so the only time I see them is when they're directing traffic or helping security at theater," she admitted.
Noah smirked, "I figured that. So what do you do in New York?"
"Well, I just got through playing Cinderella in a updated version of the classic and in January, I begin rehearsals for playing Sophie in 'Mamma Mia!'. It's not on Broadway, though it used to be, but I'm super excited because the woman that will be playing my mom is Idina Menzel! She's a legend to me! I'm hoping with this show and being able to work with Idina that it's the break I need to get to Broadway," she explained happily.
"Congratulations! I remember you talking about Idina when we were in high school; she's one of your idols, so that's awesome that you'll be able to work with her. You'll make it to Broadway; you've got the talent."
"Thank you," Rachel smiled and looked at him, "do you like your job?"
"Sometimes. I mean, I like helping people. I see my hometown from a different point of view now and it's not always good, but in the general idea, yeah, I like my job. What about you? Theater everything you thought it would be?"
"Yes, but it does have it's drawbacks," she admitted with a sigh, "long hours and limited time off. I know when we were in high school I was always going on about practicing more, but now... Now I wish that I didn't have to work as much."
"Really?" He smirked, "you? Rachel Berry? Work less? I find that hard to believe."
Rachel reached over to nudge him playfully in the shoulders, "Noah!"
"What?" He laughed, "come on, I'm just teasing you."
"I know," she blushed, "and I'm trying not to encourage it."
Noah rolled his eyes and smirked, "fine," he sighed dramatically, "and if I'm being nice, I better suggest we go fix your car light before I have to pull you over again and arrest you," he winked at her, "then again... never mind," he shook his head and continued to smirk.
"I don't even want to know," Rachel shook her head as she stood up, "let me get a jacket and I'll go out with you."
"Okay," Noah nodded and got up, getting his jacket from the closet while she went to her room to get one from her luggage and soon the two were outside, Noah at the back of her car, while she stood near him.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Rachel asked nervously, "I mean, I can just take it to Burt's in the morning and have him do it. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Noah rolled his eyes, "and he'll do exactly the same thing I'm doing," he replied, popping off a small cover in the trunk, revealing the lights and switched them out easily, "I've done this tons of times," he assured her, "now test it out before I put the cover back on," he motioned to the driver's seat.
Rachel slid into the seat and tapped on the breaks a few times and once Noah was satisfied they worked, he put the cover back on and closed the trunk moments later, "see, all done."
"Thank you, Noah," Rachel smiled locking the doors and headed towards the porch.
Noah followed her and as they got on the porch, he put his hands on his hips, "what? That's all I get?"
Narrowing her eyes in confusion for a moment, she moved towards him, stood up on her tip toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "thank you, Noah."
He smirked, "that's more like it," he hugged her, guiding her into the warmth of the house, "we could continue that," he winked.
Rachel gasped and bit her lip, "Noah, I... I'm not ready for that just yet," she told him truthfully, "I like you, but I... I just broke up with him and with what happened tonight and how wonderful it's felt to have you here... I don't want you to think that I'm... I don't want you to be a rebound. If we decide to try a relationship, I don't want it to be because I'm upset over what happened," she said softly.
He could tell she was nervous to say that, but he expected it and agreed with her. Resting his hands on her shoulders he squeezed them gently, "relax, Rachel, it's okay. I'll be here when you're ready and before then, too. If you don't want me to hug or kiss you, tell me and I won't," he explained, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or think I'm pushing you, because I'm not."
"No, you don't have to stop, in fact, I enjoy your arms around me. I feel safe in them," she admitted with a smile, "it's just... this past week and everything... Just give me some time, okay?"
"Got it," he kissed her cheek, "and with that, I should go. It's almost nine and I have to be up at five."
Rachel pouted lightly, "you do? But we were having fun."
"I know we were, but I work seven to five-thirty Monday to Friday, so I can come over after. And if you need anything, at anytime, call me. If I don't answer right away, just leave a message and as soon as I can, I'll call you," he promised her.
"Okay, thank you, Noah, for everything. I'm so glad we're talking again," she told him, stepping forward to hug him
"Me too," he agreed, kissing her forehead as they hugged, "I've missed you," he whispered.
"You've are something I've been missing, too," she replied. "You should probably say 'bye' to dad and daddy," she added.
"I will," he kissed her forehead.
Pulling apart Noah moved towards the den where he knew her dads were and waved at them, "goodnight guys. It was great seeing you again."
"Oh, you're leaving? Alright, Noah, take care and you're welcome anytime; with or without Rachel around," David said.
"Thanks. I will keep that in mind. I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow night, too," Noah added.
David and Alan got up and shook hands with Noah, "goodnight, Noah. Take care and be careful out there. Hard telling what you'll come up on in your patrols," Alan commented.
Noah nodded, "I will. Thanks. Trust me I'm careful. Dude, today I had to pull over someone and you know what? She offered me dinner! It was a warning stop, anyway, but she probably would have still to try to get out of a ticket, if I tried to give her one," he winked at Rachel.
"Noah Aaron! I did nothing like that," Rachel blushed nudging him in the shoulder.
"Oh, and she complimented me in my uniform," Noah threw his arm around her shoulders, "you know I am just teasing you. I know you'd never do either of those to get out of a ticket," he told her truthfully.
Alan and David laughed and waved as the kids walked out of the den, bantering back and forth and the fathers were glad to see Rachel happy after what had happened that evening.
~*~
Rachel and Noah walked back to the front of the house and he opened the front door, "I'll talk to you soon," he promised.
"You better," she warned him, "and you're coming over for dinner tomorrow night, right?"
"Sure, if I'm invited," he replied with a smile.
"Of course you are, I thought we covered that at dinner," she noted.
He laughed, and gave her a hug, "you did, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again. I'll see you tomorrow, Rach," he told her, stepping onto the porch.
Rachel followed him and before he could get too far away, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing her lips to his in a deep kiss. The need to kiss him had grown quickly in her as the night wore on, especially with his light kisses and her kiss on his lips moments earlier; she couldn't wait any longer to really kiss him again; it'd been way too long to remember their teenage selves doing the same thing.
Shocked at her sudden movements, but totally willing, Noah wrapped one of his arms around her waist while the other wrapped around her shoulders, letting the years of being apart melt away from the heat of the kiss they were creating inside and out.
Breaking their kiss to catch their breath moments later, Rachel rested her head on his chest, "I've missed you," she whispered.
Noah groaned lightly and nodded, "the feeling is mutual, babe," he assured her, holding her against him, "you're making it really hard to leave."
She felt his body's reaction to her and she nodded, "I'm sorry I'm not ready," she bit her lip.
"Hey," he brushed his hand against her cheek so she would look up at him and as she did, he kissed her lips gently, "you do not need to apologize for anything. I'll be here when you are," he added, smiling at her.
"Are you sure? I'm... I'm so confused right now," she sighed, feeling tears in her eyes.
Standing on the porch, just outside the open door of her house, he kissed her once more, "I'm sure, Rach. You want to wait? Okay, we'll wait... You're not ready for a relationship? I get it... I'm here when you are ready, okay?"
Smiling, she nodded, surprised, but so thankful that he was understanding, "okay. Thank you for understanding all this, Noah."
"You're welcome. I'm not Puck anymore. I don't sleep around, I don't date girls just to have sex with them; that's gone. I'm single and if you want me to be your guy, then I'll wait until you're ready for it to happen and maybe one night I'll bring home my handcuffs," he winked.
She laughed lightly and blushed, "maybe you should," she agreed, "and I know you're just trying to make me laugh and it worked, but still thank you."
He shrugged, hugging her tightly once more before letting her go as he kissed her lips, "welcome. See you tomorrow, Rach," he said, knowing if he didn't leave now, driving home would be awfully uncomfortable.
Rachel let him go and shivered lightly in the cool night air, "I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe if you're able, we could meet somewhere for lunch," she suggested.
"Sure," he shrugged, "it'll have to be with my partner though."
"Your partner?"
"My partner... as in fellow officer who works with me," he laughed lightly, "he's dying to meet the girl I pulled over today. I wouldn't tell him who you were. We usually don't do traffic stops, but it was our day to be on patrol. When one of us approaches a car, the other hangs back unless we need help, that's why you didn't see him."
"You have a... I didn't..." She blushed, ducking her head, "I didn't know."
"I know, and I didn't bring it up, because it's not a big deal. He's a rookie and I've been working with him about a year, but I've known him a lot longer. If you wanna meet for lunch I can call you when we take our break, usually about noon, and you can meet us somewhere," he suggested.
Rachel nodded, "alright, take care and see you then."
Noah nodded, "go inside before you freeze, but the view is amazing, babe," he grinned as he walked out to his car.
Looking down at her chest, she saw what he meant and tugged her jacket together to cover her, "Noah!"
He laughed and waved as he unlocked his car doors, "now I got something to think about tonight," he added as his final words, before sliding in and starting the engine. Glancing up on the porch, he watched her go inside and as the door closed, he pulled away from the curb and headed to his apartment with a smile on his face, "damn, that was the best night I've had in a long time!"
~*~
Rachel closed the door and leaned against it with a smile on her face, "even with my ex showing up, Noah made tonight so much better! I can't wait to get closer to him. I've missed him so much!"
"Shall we begin looking at invitation patterns?" David asked curiously, grinning as he and Alan stood nearby.
"Daddy!" Rachel jumped as she heard his voice and saw both of their grins, "did you... how much did you hear?"
"Well, considering the door was open and you were letting all the cold air in, I went to check on what you were doing and found you in a pretty intense kiss with Noah. So pretty much everything," David replied.
Her eyes widened and she leaned her head against the door, "I'm... It's..."
"Sweetheart, you're an adult and while it still is sometimes hard to admit that our little girl has grown up, you are free to see and date whomever you like and while you don't need our permission, we'd give our blessing if you chose to date Noah," Alan said walking towards her.
"Thank you," she smiled, giving each a hug and a kiss, "and with that, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight. I love you both," she said.
The two men said 'goodnight', and she climbed the stairs with a dreamy smile on her face, feeling like a teenager with the happy emotions she had building up, but she didn't mind. She knew these were good feelings and that her time in Lima would be amazing.
~*~
A/N8: Here's chapter 2; hope you all enjoyed! Review and let me know what you think. We haven't seen the last of Daniel; he's really gonna cause some problems for our two favorite Gleeks.
A/N9: Since this is 1 of 4 WIPs I have going right now, I'm going to do my best to update as soon as I can. I decided between this one and 'Returning Home' whichever one got more response I would update first and it's tied with reviews and faves, but this one has two more alerts, so this one gets updated first, then 'Returning Home' will be updated, not counting 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' which are also going to get updates soon, too.
~*~
no subject
Date: December 5th, 2010 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: January 22nd, 2011 06:37 am (UTC)