Jigsaw is my first attempt at a Glee fanfiction, and since it was first started six months ago, it totally needs a revamp which I'm getting to. Anyway, the pairings are canon (for now), and though it focuses on all of the glee club, it's predominately a Finchel fic, just so you know. Thanks in advance for reading, and reviews are really, really appreciated! ~Tribbith

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or anything associated with it. What a shame :(

Finn wasn't sure what he'd expected after Regionals; he'd never bothered to think that far ahead. In his mind at all times had been the firm belief that New Directions would go home with a massive win; screw Jesse St James if he thought he could belt his tunes out better that Rachel Berry. Despite the fact that they were new to the world of show choirs, Finn truly believed that they had what was needed to blow the judges away. They were the underdogs, and in every good movie, the underdogs triumphed against all the jackasses who told them they couldn't do it.

But then Finn remembered School of Rock (a secret favourite of his). Everyone who watched that movie believed that Jack Black would take the kids to victory, and yet, after everything they'd worked hard to achieve, they lost to a bunch of assholes. Watching it the first time around, Finn cursed at the TV, absolutely devastated for the amazingly talented kids (especially Freddie the drummer, who was Finn's favourite, mainly because the kid had skill). Now he knew what it actually felt like, and the reality was much worse than he'd anticipated. If only he'd convinced himself that they would lose!

But no, he'd had faith in his friends, in himself, and in the end, they'd done their very best. This was the only thing that kept him going... well, that and Rachel Berry.

Rachel, unlike Finn, had prepared herself for a loss. Though she could never admit it to anyone, with everything she put her heart into, she made sure to prepare for the worst scenario possible. Whether it was an audition for a commercial jingle or an attempt to score full marks in her English assignment, Rachel forced herself to prepare for a failure, because in reality, she was still just a girl in high school, waiting for her transformation into a star. With every blow came a piece of advice, some mistake to learn from, and because of this attitude, Rachel had grown as a person and a performer.

Therefore, as Miss Sylvester spoke the two words that broke her heart into pieces, Rachel had to admit defeat with some semblance of dignity, regardless of her overwhelming need to kick Jesse in the groin. If she couldn't be strong then the rest of glee club would crumble. So, as she listened to Mr Schue and Puck strumming soft harmonies into her ears, she made sure that only one tear rolled down her cheek.

Will sang with all the emotion that he could muster, since he was exhausted from everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. He stopped himself from crying at the sight of the kids in front of him, who had been exceptionally brave, all things considered. Puck sang perfectly, which Will appreciated tremendously. He'd expected him to make some sort of excuse when he'd first asked for his help, yet the kid got it straight away; Will wasn't the only one who had been disappointed.

He finished his rendition of Over the Rainbow, and after bowing to the unexpected applause, Will made his excuses and left. He needed someone to talk to, and in the circumstances, only one person would do.

Thinking about Emma's argument with Figgins sent a wave of goose bumps along Will's arms. He'd never seen her so passionate, and to think that her fury came from a love of the glee kids, a love of him; it was hard to believe. He walked to her office in a daze, not sure he could stop himself from bombarding her with kisses in front of everyone that passed by.

Glee!

Puck found it surprisingly easy to admit that the club's loss had been a devastating blow for him. For so long, being part of New Directions had been surreal and stupid. He was the hot stud of McKinley, and yet he found himself singing wimpy songs about rainbows and love. Acafellas has been different since he'd joined with an objective; reel in the hot moms. The songs had been manly and sexual, which defined Puck to a T, and from that to friggin' songs about hair! Many times he'd found himself tempted to walk out of the choir room, truly back on the team that threw the slushies, not received them. Hell, even before their Regionals performance, Puck had come to realise that glee was just a girly distraction from crap at home and crap at school, and that it would never hold his attention for long. When Mercedes had voiced what he was thinking, that they wouldn't be friends after glee, she was right. He would be Noah Puckerman, Jewish stud and high class jerk once more.

But then he became a father. He'd watched Quinn in pain, and had felt completely useless because he couldn't help her. His baby girl, his baby Beth, made him realise something - Glee was for losers, and he'd knocked up his best friend's girl; that made him a loser. Even if he wanted to be a stud again, he didn't have the choice because he was a loser, and he belonged in glee, with his loser friends. Surprisingly, he was alright with that.

Glee!

"That was lovely Noah." Rachel was the first to compliment his performance as the rest of the glee club began to wake from their emotional stupor, wiping away tears that had escaped during the song. Rachel gave Puck's arm a friendly squeeze of encouragement, causing Quinn to appear instantly by his side. Despite the time they'd known each other, she still didn't consider Rachel a friend. She sure as hell could sing, no one could deny that, but she was the girl who had pined after Finn for so long, and she was the girl that had blabbed about her baby's real dad; Quinn didn't hate her, but she refused to be best friends.

Now, watching her complimenting Puck sent a shiver down the blonde's body; she was jealous of Rachel Berry. Though Puck had admitted his love for her, Quinn hadn't decided if she could return the favour. Noah Puckerman was a self proclaimed badass, which meant that screwing as many people as he could was high on his priority list. Though she'd once been against the idea of being his girlfriend, without a baby protruding from her stomach, Quinn was beginning to like the proposition more and more; she reckoned she could rein him in if she tried hard enough. To gain his attention, she pretended to brush something off of his shirt before placing a tender peck on his cheek.

"You nailed it," she whispered, smirking at the tiny flash of embarrassment that appeared on Puck's face; she hadn't kissed him in so long.

Finn, who had been watching up until that point, found himself looking away. It had been months since his split from Quinn, and he was finally beginning to forgive Puck, yet seeing the two together did uncomfortable things to his heart. He had no romantic feelings for Quinn at all (he loved his Xbox more than he did her), but she was still a constant reminder of the time he'd wasted in their relationship, and of the guy that he used to be. Rachel had fallen for him from the word go, and if only he'd known the truth about the baby sooner, the two of them could have been extremely happy... probably.

For now, Finn had no idea where he stood. Rachel had kissed him in the stairwell (Best. Kiss. Ever.) and he'd declared his love for her at Regionals, yet had anything actually changed between the two of them? She'd barely spoken to him after their loss, and though she'd rested her head on his shoulder while holding his hand (he missed her touch already), she'd done nothing to suggest that she had feelings for him, let alone the 'L' word. He had a plan though... sort of. Though he wasn't a particularly romantic kind of guy, Finn was determined to sweep Rachel off her feet. Since she was a vegan, was she opposed to receiving flowers? They were being murdered or something, right? He thought about baking a cake (or at least attempting it), but he wasn't sure if milk hurt the cows, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her. While wondering if teddies were made from real bears, Finn didn't notice Rachel's swift exist, soon followed by Quinn's.

Glee!

Will hurried down the crowded halls, eager to be in Emma's presence. He wasn't afraid to admit that he loved her, and though she hadn't explicitly said it, he was positive she felt the same. He rounded the corner near her office and sighed to himself; he could see the beautiful woman working on something, a tiny crease between her eyebrows.

"Mr Schuester?" Will stopped in his tracks; if he wasn't so nice, he would have cursed at the hold up. He turned to face one of his students, a quiet girl called Lisa, who nervously held her Spanish text book in her grasp.

Will let out a quiet sigh. "Yes Lisa?"

The girl looked unreasonably frightened, though after biting her lip and tugging nervously on her hair, she plucked up the courage to address her teacher. "Would... would you mind h-helping me with the homework you set? I'm h-having a little trouble with it..."

Will gave a sympathetic smile while chastising himself. He had plenty of time to talk with Emma, but for now, his kids had to come first. "Sure thing, let's head over to the classroom."

Glee!

Emma hummed along to the quiet blur of the radio as she finished off some overdue paperwork. She often wondered if Will thought she did nothing all day, since whenever he visited her office, she was always alone. She returned her thoughts to the last form she had to fill out, only to realise that she'd been doodling Will's name all over the paper (she'd only written Carl's once).

A brisk rap on the door made Emma jump in her seat, courtesy of Rachel Berry. She signalled for the girl to come in (but not before hiding all traces of her childish scrawls), and watched curiously as Rachel seemed hesitant to take a seat. She seemed almost... embarrassed?

"Hi Rachel," Emma began, deciding to use the silence to her advantage. "I'm really sorry about Regionals and glee being cancelled by Principal Figgins and the fact that I didn't come to see you guys perform and the whole debacle with Jesse St James and-"

"Miss Pillsbury, have you been taking vitamin D?"

Emma's cheeks flushed for a second. She straightened out the papers on her desk while trying to gain some composure. "Look Rachel, I am truly sorry about everything. I should have been there to support you kids, yet due to my fallout with Mr Schuester, I was too frightened to show my face, and that was wrong. I hear you were amazing." She hesitantly raised her gaze to meet Rachel's eyes; it was a relief to see that she was smiling.

"That's okay Miss P. I paid a member of the audience to capture it all on film, so I'll be able to give you a copy of our performance within the week." Emma's eyes shone with tears of appreciation. "Besides, I have some great news to tell you. I assumed that Mr Schue would have passed it on-" Rachel spluttered at the rush of colour in the counsellor's cheeks and hurried to continue, "but anyway, Principal Figgins has given glee club another year!"

It felt amazing to be able to tell someone, especially since Emma's response was so heart warming. Rachel rather liked Miss Pillsbury, regardless of her phobia of germs, and after watching her react to the news, she liked her even more. It was her eyes that were the first to respond. People had made countless jokes about her overly large eyes, yet somehow, they managed to get even bigger as the shock set in. Her mouth was the next to follow as it fell slack, releasing a mixture between a scream and a laugh of hysteria. Emma flew out of her seat, and unable to hide her excitement, she jumped into the air, almost falling in her high heels.

"Oh my gosh!" she screeched as she grabbed Rachel in a celebratory hug. Emma was so pleased that she couldn't be bothered to worry about possible germs on Rachel's homemade sweater. Still, even with her fear of mess, Emma realised how inappropriate it was to hug her students, despite the brilliant occasion. She quickly pulled away, smiling happily to let Rachel know how she was feeling. "That's great news Rachel, absolutely great." Unsure if that was everything, Emma took back her seat, folding her hands daintily while still smiling at Rachel. "Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

Emma was an expert at reading body language, which was a great weapon for fighting the battle of teenage insecurities. Most of the time, the signs were obvious; twitching, sweating, stuttering, that sort of thing. With kids like Rachel Berry, however, it was a little more difficult to interpret, though certainly not impossible. Emma watched Rachel's lip tremble while her eyelids fluttered for a moment; that was all the counsellor needed to know when Rachel replied with a lie.

"Yes, that was everything." She gave her trademark smile as she headed towards the door, but not before Emma stopped her.

"Rachel, you know you can speak to me about anything."

Rachel returned her gaze to Miss Pillsbury, and after thinking it through, realised that she was right; she could talk to her about anything. In fact, Miss P had experience in the matter, which made her sit down, take a deep breath, and tell her about her problem.

"How do you know when you're in love?"

Glee!

Principal Figgins was a tolerant man of sorts. He put up with his neighbour's early morning nude ritual (which involved praying to the sun whilst butt naked), he put up with his wife's constant nagging for this and that (why she needed another pink toilet seat cover he would never know) and he put up with his hell of a job (one name; Sue Sylvester). Still, everyone has a limit, and Figgins was no exception. If he'd known that glee club was going to be such a hassle, he would have kicked Will Schuester out of his office himself so many months ago. Actually, he wouldn't have. Despite the fact that most of the students (and teachers) thought he was incompetent, Principal Figgins loved his job. Sure, it often involved kids soiling in the classrooms and parents complaining about 'hazardous waste', but there were definitely perks too, like... well, Figgins was sure that some perks existed, though he put it down to exhaustion when he failed to think of any.

Therefore, after another year at McKinley, Figgins decided to do a bit of last minute math. He's had a suspicion that he had under spent on the budget thanks to a little incident involving an error when purchasing napkins (long story short, the company providing the school with napkins had delivered five times the amount needed, and after selling them to other schools, Figgins had made a tidy profit). Staring at the small amount that had yet to be spent, Figgins wondered what the best approach was. He contemplated using it to buy more brass birds for his office (there was nothing like a good metaphor, or a good duck), but he decided that would was selfish. He thought briefly about using it to buy more books for the library, but that would involve buying more shelves, and the room wasn't big enough to hold anymore.

Figgins frowned as he listed the possibilities in his head. The sum wasn't huge, but he didn't want it to just go to waste. Maybe he could start collecting brass donkeys...

"Principal Figgins?" Will Schuester knocked on the door, causing Figgins to smile in advance.

"Come in William." He eased himself out of his chair as he held out a hand towards him. "Congratulations on Sue being a decent human being!"

A smile spread across Will's face as he shook Figgins' hand excitedly. "I just wanted to come and thank you sir. I don't know what's gotten into that woman." Both men shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders; it was impossible to understand Sue Sylvester. Will took a seat opposite Figgins (which normally meant he was being reprimanded for one thing or another), ready to talk about a little plan he was developing.

"So, what can I help you with Will? As long as you're not about to suggest keeping the auditorium open during summer for rehearsals, I'm happy to listen."

Will mentally cursed. Well, at least that idea had been put to rest.

"I was wondering about school regulations..." He sat forward in his chair as his hands wrung themselves together; he wasn't sure if it was worth the trouble. "Am I allowed to take the glee kids on a mini vacation?" Figgins' eyes widened in shock, causing Will to stutter slightly. "W-w-wait, I mean, look, I was thinking about like, paying myself or... something." He sighed into his hands. "Basically, if I had parents' permission and organised everything, would it be a possibility? I feel like the kids need rewarding for all the hard work they've done." Will looked up at Principal Figgins reluctantly, and was surprised to see a smile.

"Well, since we break up for summer today, you technically wouldn't need their permission, though if Mr Hummel threatens me because you've kidnapped his son then you're on your own Schue." Will chuckled at the mental image. "As far as payment goes..." Figgins scribbled something down on the budget paper in front of him before counting out money in front of Will. "We have a bit of money to spare, so as long as you keep this quiet, you can use this to fund some of the trip." He happily handed the cash over to a very thankful Spanish teacher.

"Wow, sir, this is amazing, thank you!" Will stood up quickly so that he could shake Figgins' hand, though since it seemed a little formal, he couldn't help but remember the principal's own advice; hugging it out was always the solution. Only slightly awkward, Will threw his arms around Figgins, who patted him on the back.

"I hope you have a good time William, and enjoy the rest of your summer."

Will could feel the wad of cash sitting in his pocket, and with a smirk of excitement, he nodded. "I'm sure we will."

Glee!

Kurt wasn't sure when he'd started loving Finn as brother, rather than an unrequited crush. It was possibly sometime after the 'faggy' incident, because apart from the fact that Finn wasn't gay, Kurt realised that he couldn't date someone who had that kind of attitude, regardless if he hadn't meant to offend him. It surprised him to know that he saw Finn as a proper sibling, (the whole relationship seemed to just sneak up on him) though he was surprised in a good way. He was sure Finn would make an awesome brother, which meant that when he was upset or confused, it was Kurt's duty to help, just like any other brother would.

Therefore, after Mr Schue's rendition, Kurt watched as Rachel Berry left the choir room in a hurry. While he thought that was strange enough, he found it even stranger that Finn hadn't followed after her, especially after all of the hand holding and sickeningly cute shoulder leaning. Despite the fact that Mercedes was already planning shopping sprees and spa treatments (two things that Kurt lived for), he couldn't keep his eyes off of Finn; the boy looked wounded, which only worsened when he realised that Rachel was no longer in the room.

"Sorry Mercedes, I need to take a rain check," he said, practically floating towards his almost-brother. "Finn, is everything okay?" It was a ridiculously redundant question, but it was only polite to ask.

Finn's face, which appeared dazed, seemed to crumple with Kurt's appearance. "No, I'm... Where did... God, what if she won't take me back?" His skin was incredibly pale, which made Kurt's heart ache.

"Don't worry, there's no possible way that she can say no to you." Finn looked a little more hopeful, to which Kurt gave a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's get working."