New story! Yay! Well as the summary says this is a Puckleberry centered story, but not as a romantic pairing. Just as a friend pairing. This story is kind of an accompanying fic to Forever and Always. It will follow the basic storyline. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. I'll put it this way, let's say I was gonna write the 4th season of Glee or whatever this would be one side/story line for the season and Forever and Always would be another side/story line for the season. I have a couple of other stories that I plan to add to my Glee world. One on Jesse and Rachel's relationship, one on Finn and Amy's relationship. ect. I have a lot of story ideas that I plan on posting soon, so keep an eye out! In the meantime, enjoy this story and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. If I did many things would be different. For one I would be in it.

June 8, 2010

"Noah, can I speak to you alone please?" Puck glanced at Shelby with a confused expression, before handing Beth to Quinn and kissing them both on the cheek.

"Um, what's up?" Puck questioned. "You still want to adopt Beth, right?"

"Oh, heavens, yes!" Shelby exclaimed. "What I wanted to talk to you about was what will happen after I adopt Beth. I know Quinn wants a closed adoption, but what about you? Is that really what you want, Noah?"

Puck shuffled his feet awkwardly before replying, "Well, I'm just gonna go along with whatever Quinn wants. I've done enough to hurt her already. I don't really know what I want or what's best for any of us at this point. A decision's already been made and I'm not gonna make this any harder by trying to change the decision."

"I understand, I've been through this too. I know how confusing it can be. I just wish I had made some different decisions then," Shelby shook her head sadly. "Oh well. I can't change the past now, but I can still try to make things right."

"Um, no offense, but what does this have to do with Quinn, Beth, and I?" Puck asked suspiciously.

"What if I told you I have a proposition for you? What if you could receive monthly updates and pictures of Beth? What if you could see her and meet her in ten years?" Shelby asked. "She would be old enough by then to decide if she wanted you in her life. And if she didn't then she could always contact you in the future when she did decide she wanted you in her life."

"For real! You would do that!" Puck exclaimed excitedly. "Wait…what do you get in return? And what about Quinn? I would be going behind her back about this."

"Listen. Having been in the same shoes as Quinn 16 years ago, I know what she's going through. She may think she wants a closed adoption now, but she's going to come to regret it. By the time it's time for you guys to meet Beth, you will be 26. Ultimately she will be thankful you made it so you two could be in Beth's life. Ten years will give you time to get over the initial heartbreak of giving away your child and it will give you time to get your lives back in order. In ten years she will wish she had asked for an open adoption, trust me." Shelby explained.

"And what do you get in return?" Puck inquired again.

"In return, you would keep an eye on Rachel. Make sure she's safe and be there if she ever needs you. You would send me monthly updates and pictures just like I'll be sending you. And in ten years when you meet Beth, you will bring Rachel, so I can see her again and maybe try to fix things between us. I really regret the way things turned out, but I don't think she would accept my apology right now. She needs time. Ten years is plenty of time." Shelby told Puck. "So what do you say?"

"I need an hour to think about it. Meet me down in the food court in an hour and I'll give you my answer then." Puck said before heading back into Quinn's hospital room. Shelby took a deep breath as she watched Puck leave. When she turned around to go to the food court to wait, she said a quick prayer that this would all work out, for not only her benefit but for Rachel, Quinn, Puck, and Beth's benefits as well.

PQPQPQPQPQPQPQPQPQPQPQ

When Puck got into Quinn's room, he was met with silence. Quinn was asleep and she must have let the nurse take Beth to the nursery. Puck quickly walked over to Quinn's bed and grabbed her phone.

Quinn, I went down to the nursery to see Beth. Text me if you need anything. Love, Puck.

Puck laid the phone down on the night table and kissed Quinn on the forehead before leaving. Puck didn't need to ask for directions on how to get to the nursery. He had already been there several times since Beth had been born. When he arrived, he knew exactly which crib to go to. The nurses knew who he was, so didn't bother checking his hospital bracelet when he picked up Beth. "Hey, Beth. Daddy's here to see you again. Momma's asleep right now. She's really tired." Puck sighed, "I'm gonna miss you when you're gone, baby. But Shelby is gonna give you a good home and she'll be able to give you everything you deserve. Everything that your momma and I can't give you. I'm so sorry we can't keep you. And I know you don't understand what I'm saying right now and you'll probably be really angry at your momma and I when you're older, but someday you'll understand that what we're doing is best for you." Beth just stared up into Puck's chocolate eyes with her midnight blue ones. He knew soon that her eyes would change colour and he wondered if she would have his eye colour or Quinn's. He hoped Quinn's, because Beth's little bit of hair already looked more of his colour with maybe a tad bit of red in it. He briefly wondered where the red came from before dismissing it and continuing to talk to Beth. "I have a decision to make and I don't really have anyone to talk to. So even though I know you can't help me, I'm gonna talk to you. Okay?" Beth gurgled at Puck and he took that as a yes. "Well, Shelby offered to send me updates on you monthly and she also said that she would let me meet you when you're ten. And I really really want to take her offer, but in return she said I would have to send her updates on Rachel and when I come to meet you, I would have to bring Rachel with me, so Shelby could see her. You see, Beth, Shelby is Rachel's mom, but Shelby gave Rachel up for adoption just like we're giving you to Shelby. And I wouldn't mind updating Shelby on Rachel and all that, except Shelby really hurt Rachel recently and I don't want Rachel to get hurt anymore. Also I don't want to do anything behind your momma's back. I want her to be able to trust me. But Shelby made a good point. She said that in ten years your momma will really want to meet you, so it's better in the long run if I go behind your mom's back now, because it will help her in the future. I'm just so confused Beth. I don't know what to do." Puck cried as a tear slipped down his cheek. He watched as the tear fell onto Beth's cheek and laughed quietly when Beth's face scrunched up in confusion. As he stood up to lay Beth back down in her crib, Beth grabbed onto his finger and held on tightly. Puck looked down at his baby and gazed into her eyes. It almost seemed to Puck as if Beth was pleading with him not to go. The look in her eyes was one of longing-and of course that was crazy, because let's face it she's a baby-but to Puck it seemed as if she was pleading with him to never leave her. In that moment, Puck made up his mind. He quickly kissed Beth and told her he would be back soon.

He rushed down to the cafeteria and searched until he found Shelby sitting by herself at a table near the door. It took all of his will power not to run to her as he made his way through the food court. "Shelby?" Puck called out. Shelby's head whipped up at Puck's voice and she looked at him with apprehension. "I made a decision," he said. "I've decided I want to take you up on your offer. There's no way I could be out of Beth's life forever."

Shelby's face lit up in a smile. "I was hoping that's what you would choose. Thank you."

Puck nodded at the older woman. All of a sudden Papa Don't Preach began playing from Puck's pocket. He grabbed the phone out of his pocket and checked the text.

Puck, the nurse just brought in the adoption papers. I'm not strong enough to do this on my own. Please come. -Quinn

"Um, I gotta go. The nurse just brought the adoption papers in to Quinn. Thank you for your offer," Puck said.

"You're welcome, Noah. Just take care of my baby, please. She may pretend that nothing hurts her, but if she's anything like me, she's very fragile. Please just keep an eye on her for me." Shelby asked.

"I will. I love Rachel like a sister. I'll make sure nothing happens to her. Please, take care of Beth. Give her the life I couldn't." Shelby nodded and smiled a watery smile as Puck turned to leave the cafeteria. He knew the next few days, months, and years wouldn't be easy, but as long as he could see how Beth was doing every month and as long as he had the hope of meeting her in ten years, he could make it. For now he just had to focus on taking care of one Rachel Berry.