Why We Loved Him
A look into Quinn and Puck's lives as they reminisce about their quarterback.
"Honey." Quinn said as she walked into the kitchen, seeing her husband deep into a non-specific stare as he sat on the counter.
Seeing as that didn't snap him out, she walked up and lightly put her hand on his shoulder. It felt like stone, but she knew he felt it.
"Today's the day, you know." he whispered.
"I would never forget." she muttered somberly, working her hand around his shoulder blade.
"It's been 11 years, and it still hasn't got any easier."
Quinn sat down in the bar stool next to him, "I know."
"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" Two little boys came running into the kitchen, swerving and colliding into their parent's legs, interrupting the zen.
"Hey dudes." Puck was able to crack a smile.
"Boys, how about you get your backpacks and your dad will meet you in the garage, okay?"
"Okay!" Their oldest boy, six year old Evan said, looking back to him, "Bye mommy!"
Quinn smiled and ruffled his hair, "Have a good day at school, Ev. You too, Andy."
Andy, their little 4 year old, nodded profusely and gave her a cute salute.
"You're just too cute!" Quinn gobbled up her little boy and kissed his cheeks.
"Mommy come on, we're gonna be late!" the angel-child Evan pleaded.
"Okay, okay." Quinn set Andy down and they scurried off to the garage.
Quinn looked over to Puck once the boys were gone, "Noah."
Puck exhaled, "Yeah, I'm fine, I better get going."
"Are you doing something special in Glee today?"
Puck shook his head, "No, they see his plaque and the auditorium, but you know, he wasn't their quarterback. He doesn't mean what he means to us."
"I know, honey." Quinn rubbed his shoulders, moving so Puck could stand up.
"It's just…." Puck started to cry, "I'm so lucky, I'm a husband, I'm your husband for God's sake. I get to be a father, and football coach and glee coach, I'm living a dream and my best friend is dead!"
"Hey. Hey." Quinn was crying now too, wrapping her husband up in her arms, "Don't think like that."
Puck sniffled, "I know, I know. And it's not even that I feel guilty, it's just not fair that he doesn't get to have that. He was supposed to marry Rachel, have Broadway babies and sing Don't Stop Believing until the end of freaking time."
"I know, this was not the way things were supposed to happen. But instead of focusing on this toxic stuff, just remember the amazing things about your best friend. The best friend whose girlfriend you got pregnant when you were 16."
Puck looked up through his watery eyes into Quinn's and cracked a huge smile to match hers, "He was so pissed at us."
"I love you, Noah." Quinn smiled.
"I love you too, Quinn, so much." Puck smiled back, "Thanks for keeping me sane, babe."
"That's what I'm here for. Now get our kids to school before they tear the car apart."
Puck nodded, giving her a sweet kiss on the lips and she smiled, seeing the same glimmer in his eye that was passed onto their boys. Although she stayed strong for her husband, she felt the same sentiments as Puck. Here she was, happily married to her soul mate, when Rachel Berry had to watch hers get buried 11 years ago.
Before she went into her office for the day she made the yearly phone call that she dreaded,
"Hello?"
"Rachel, hey." Quinn said into the phone/
"Quinn! So good to hear from you? How's the Puckerman Residence?" Rachel sounded cheery.
"Same old same old, got three boys running around." Quinn laughed, "And that includes my husband."
Rachel laughed and Quinn's heart broke. How hard was it to laugh on a day like this.
"How are you doing, Rachel?"
Rachel sighed, "It's still hard. It's been eleven years and I still miss him everyday. When he….when he died I was worried that I would forget his voice, but eleven years later the voice might be a blur but he's still in my heart, I can feel it."
"I'm so sorry Rach, I just…"
"But you know what, it get's better. I have Jesse, who of all people knows what Finn meant to me. I'm so lucky that I could find love again. I have a great life, sure it wasn't the one I planned in high school, but I'm really happy now that I've moved on."
"Moving on." Quinn muttered into the phone, "I'm happy you were able to do that."
"It's so hard because you don't want to forget...him. But at the same time, I was 20 years old, I had to start the rest of my life. And it's been an amazing ride."
"Well I mean duh, you won a Tony."
"I know right?!" Rachel laughed, "At least that went according to plan."
"How is Mr. St. James?" Quinn asked.
"He's wonderful, we're busily getting ready for our next Broadway production." she excitedly revealed on the phone.
Quinn laughed, "You two have enough drive and talent to sustain a population. Gonna pass that on to some little ones any time soon?"
Rachel returned the laugh, "I'm having a wonderful time being an Aunt to Kurt and Blaine's little ones and I was already pregnant once and that was not fun. Jesse and I have talked about adoption, so when Broadway slows down, yeah you know I would like to be a mother."
"I'm glad." Quinn said, "As great as that Tony probably felt, trust me, there's no greater joy than being a mother."
"Speaking of which, how are your boys, Evan and Andrew, right?"
"Evan is six now, he's in 1st grade and absolutely loves it, he plays baseball now, umm, he's just like a natural born leader in a big ball of energy who everyone loves. And then our little one, Andy, is just the cutest little thing, he's 4 and is really quiet but trust me he has Noah's mischievous personality, which scares me." Quinn laughed.
"He's not going by the nickname Puck is he?" Rachel joked.
"Heavens no, as much as my husband would love that. Well with Noah being so involved at McKinley, everyone loves the boys, it's like I live with three celebrities."
"Thanks for calling, Quinn. As awful as this day is, it still holds us together."
"Anytime, Rachel. Puck and I send our love."
"Much appreciated." Rachel graciously thanked her high school frenemy, "When the opening of the show comes around I want everyone to come to New York for the opener, okay?"
"That would be wonderful." Quinn said, "I haven't seen everyone in so long. I don't even know what half of them are up to." she admitted.
"Kurt and Blaine live in New York, Kurt's a fashion designer and Blaine is a vocal professor at NYADA who does special runs on Broadway, their little girl, Hepburn is just an angel. Um, Brit and Santana are still married, they don't have any kids, but I'm pretty sure they have a room devoted to Brittany's cat. Anyway, they're in Florida, Brittany teaches dance at Miami and Santana owns a nightclub. Mercedes is on tour all of the time, but she lives in L.A, she's a favorite for a Grammy next year. Sam is modeling in L.A., he has a different girlfriend every week." the women both laughed, remembering their ex-boyfriend's playboy tendencies.
"Artie is a film editor in L.A. for Warner Brothers and I don't know what happened with him and Tina but she and Mike are dating again I think? Tina is getting her masters at Columbia in marketing and Mike is dancing at Radio City Music Hall every night."
"Wow. You know what, everyone seems to be doing what they love."
"Well I forgot three of the most important Glee members." Rachel joked.
"Oh let's see, the star, Rachel Berry is now a Tony-award winning Broadway actress and is married to handsome theatre producer Jesse St. James and they live in a beautiful penthouse on Park Avenue." Quinn said, appeasing Rachel.
"And Dr. Quinn Puckerman is a dentist who lives in Lima Ohio with her amazing husband, Noah, who is now a football and glee coach after his tours in the Air Force. They are parents to two boys, Evan and Andrew."
"Stay strong today, Rachel." Quinn said.
"I will. Thank you so much for calling."
"Rachel…" Quinn said before her friend hung up.
"Yes?"
"I know this was like 15 years ago...but I'm so sorry for everything I did to you, and all the ways that I, and even Puck, made your life miserable. You belonged with Finn, we all knew that."
"Thank you Quinn, and I forgave you a long time ago, and so did he. It was high school, things were so much more black and white then. You can't beat yourself up over stuff like this. You held a special place in Finn's heart, and you always will but believe me, and we talked about this, you and Noah were meant to be. I felt him give me a giant "I told you so." at your wedding." she laughed, "He only saw the best in people, and that's why I loved him so much. That's why we all loved him."
A/N: Just wanted to post this little one-shot as my farewell to Glee that I wrote around the time of the finale. It hit me the other day that Glee started six years ago, and I just thought about how much I've grown along with the show (even though I bowed out towards the middle there). I'm sad to see it go, but am happy that it got to touch as many lives as it did. Don't Stop Believing.
Bettakappa