I don't own Glee.

*/*

"Say it," Matt commanded but the petite woman sitting in the chair across the table just crossed her arms and pursed her lips, her face set in undeterred determination. "Shit, Rachel, repeat exactly what I told you."

Her eyes flickered to his and he was afraid of what was about to come out of her mouth. "My name is Rachel Corcoran," She narrowed her eyes at him and Matt growled in frustration. "I live in New York City in a three story walk-up. My mom lives two blocks north of me and my fathers live twenty-five minutes away in Manhatten. I'm twenty-eight years old and I star in small musicals Off-Broadway. I have a fiance..." Her face fell slightly and Matt sighed, his own expression softening. "...Had a fiance."

"Rachel," Matt began and her eyes darted away. "I understand how hard this must be for you. I'm trying to be flexible but I have guidelines I have to follow. I have to stick to the rules but you're making it pretty damn hard," He sighed again, louder this time, and his soft expression disappeared, only to be replaced by his usual hard stare. "The door is right there. If you don't want to follow the rules then you need to go. No one is forcing you to do this. If you want to run back to New York we can't stop you. We can only protect you if you let us."

Rachel pursed her lips and her eyes moved around the room. Matt looked upset and, behind him, Will Schuester silently pleaded with her to listen to what Matt was saying. Her gaze then landed on an unfamiliar man in the back of the room, nestled in a corner, his face completely blank and without emotion. She'd never seen him before and she wondered why he was here. Maybe he worked with Matt and Will.

She sucked in a silent breath and locked eyes with Matt. Her was voice was eerily calm and hollow as she repeated the speech Matt had given her over and over the last few months, "My name is Rachel Berry. I'm from Miami and I work in a small boutique. I live alone in a small studio apartment. I keep to myself most of the time," The breath she let out was ragged and she fought back the tears. "I'm single and I don't have much of a family," She paused, her fingers curling into fists tightly and she looked to Will, hoping he would save her from this.

Matt nodded. "We have some changes, Rachel. You can't stay in Miami anymore."

"No," She shook her head. "I don't want to move again, Matt. I was just getting used to Miami. I've moved three times already in the last seven months. Fort Campbell, Chicago, Miami... I just want some normalcy in my life."

"You called your dads, Rachel, again," Matt told her evenly. "You know that's against the rules. We have to move you. It's for your own safety."

She blew out a breath. "Just tell me where I'm going, Matt."

"Lima, Ohio," Matt said. "We've already got an apartment ready for you there. You've got a job set up at this little diner. You'll get a monthly allowance so you won't have to worry about much."

"Ohio?" Rachel questioned. "That's pretty far from Florida... how is Will going to protect me all the from here? He has a family here, Matt. He can't just leave them to come with me."

"Actually," Matt began and motioned for the man in the corner to step forward. "This is Noah Puckerman. He's originally from Lima and he's currently residing in Columbus but he doesn't mind moving back home for a little while."

"Matt," Rachel furrowed her brow. "I like Will. I trust him. You can't just throw me with someone else."

"Puckerman is a former Green Beret. He's the best you're gonna get, Rachel. With all the drama you've been stirring up lately you're lucky I even found a Marshal that would take you on. He's doing me a huge favor here, Rachel," Matt told her. "You're going with him to Lima."

She looked over to Noah and took in his appearance. He was broad shouldered and slim hipped in Army camouglage. Didn't Matt say he was a former Green Beret? Why was he still wearing camo? His face was calm and his jaw was solid, along with the rest of his body. His eyes stared past her and she frowned slightly.

"He's going to attract attention in that uniform," Rachel said quietly and Matt grinned.

"So you're going to listen to me now?" Matt asked. "I really don't want you getting hurt and Puck is the best you're going to find. He's going to take great of you."

"Okay," She nodded in agreement and then stood up. "So how is this going to work? Will was always introduced as just a friend."

Will looked down at the floor to hide his smile and Matt smirked. "He's going to be your boyfriend." Puck twitched beside Will and Rachel set her jaw firmly. "It'll be a good cover and that way he can always be around you without raising suspicion. No one is going to care if you two are constantly attached at the hip if they think you're madly in love."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're enjoying this entirely too much, Matthew."

*/*

Rachel was waiting impatiently in the big jeep that belonged to Puck when the man himself walked out of the building they'd just been in and headed straight for the vehicle. She took a few moments to take in his appearance again. He had changed out of his uniform, under Matt's order, and was now wearing a pair of loose fitting blue jeans, hung low on his hips, and a plain grey cotton t-shirt. If she didn't despise him just for the mere fact he hadn't said two words to her in the last hour she might think he was kind of cute.

He slid into the drivers seat and she looked away. Most of her things were packed away in the back on his jeep while the rest was already on it's way to Lima. She blew out a breath as he started to pull away from the building, letting her know this was the last time she'd see Miami.

"H-how long before we get there?" She asked quietly after they had been driving for about three hours but his eyes didn't falter from the road. It was already late evening, the sun was kissing the horizon and the sky was starting to be tickled with pink and orange.

"Lima is about twenty hours from Miami," He told her, calm and simple. "I figured if we drove all night and most of day tomorrow we'd get there by tomorrow night."

"Oh..." She replied softly but she didn't notice the way his eyes cut to the side to watch her.

"Let's try to keep the stops to a minimum, Miss Berry," His voice was loud in the quiet of his jeep and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Call me, Rachel." He offered her a noncommital grunt and his grip tightened on the steering wheel. "What's Lima like?" She questioned him just because she'd realized it annoyed him when she pried. He was a quiet person and obvisouly liked his privacy.

"Quiet, small, full of yentas," He voice was rough and she glanced over. "I haven't been there in twelve years."

"So why go back now?" She urged and he sighed.

He shrugged. "Gotta protect you, Miss Berry."

"Right," She clenched her jaw and stared straight ahead again. "Why didn't we fly? Wouldn't it have been much quicker?"

"I don't like to fly," He told her simply.

"Wait," She furrowed her brow. "Special Forces? Didn't you have to ride in helicopters?"

His grip tightened on the steering wheel again. "I don't fly unless I have to. I haven't flown since my last mission two years ago and I don't plan to fly again anytime soon. Look, Miss Berry, it's not really something I like to talk about. My past is my past and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You didn't even let me say goodbye to Matt and Will properly. Why do you have to rush everything? And would it kill you to smile or make some casual conversation?" She crossed her arms.

"Stop," His voice made her shrink back and it was hard to take satisfaction in finally making him look at her. "Shut your eyes and try to sleep, Miss Berry. It's going to be a long ride and if you don't want to be walking the rest of the way to Ohio you'll learn to keep your mouth shut."

She drew in a breath and stretched out slowly in the seat. "Fine," She sighed and watched as he focused back on the road. "Can I just say one more thing?"

"No," He replied smoothly.

"Why'd you choose to go into the special forces?" She leaned towards him slightly to see his face better in the dark. "It takes a different kind of man to do what you do."

"I'm not a Beret anymore," He told her. "I haven't been one in a while. And as for why I chose special forces?" He shrugged and she pursed her lips waiting for his answer. "Being part of something special makes you special, right?"

"Yea," She grinned cheekily. "I guess you're right."

He glanced over at her quickly but his eyes were back on the road before she even noticed. "It's getting late," He noted. "And I don't think you're going to be shutting up anytime soon so why don't we stop at the next town-"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't talk that much."

"We'll get a hotel room for the night. Is that alright with you, Miss Berry?" He bit out her name a bit too gruffly and she crossed her arms.

"I said to call me Rachel," She turned to stare out of the window and refused to even look at him. "And I highly doubt that you are the best Matt could find for me. I thought Seals were better than Special Forces," She smirked when she heard him growl.

Puck already regretted agreeing to do Matt this favor. They'd been friends since right after they both enlisted twelve years ago. Matt had told him it would be an easy case, 'She's trouble, Puckerman, but it's nothing you can't handle, right?' Puck was usually a pretty laid back guy and he liked to keep to himself but there was something about Rachel Berry that made him want to scream. Now he remembered why he'd never been in a relationship with a woman before. His eyes flickered over to her and she was slumped down in the seat, her eyelids drooping as she tried to keep up with the nature zooming by outside the window. He let out a ragged breath and let his eyes dance over her body slowly, his gaze darting back and forth before her and the road.

"Stop staring at me," Her voice was tired and it made him jump slightly. Luckily, she didn't noitce. "Just tell me when we get to the hotel. And try not to pick one that has bed bugs, please."

She'd barely known him for four hours and she already knew how to get under his skin. He shook his head but she didn't miss the minute smile playing on his lips. "Whatever you say, Rachel."

*/*

Thoughts? I don't know much about WitSec or Special Forces so we're just going to bend reality for this fic, okay? I'll try to keep everything as accurate as possible but there may be little faults in this for the sake of the plot.

I'm not sure why but I'm having a hard time writing on my other fics. I'm hoping that writing this will help me get back on track. At this point, I'm only planning for this to be about 7 to 10 chapters.