Quinn sat by herself on the bus after sectionals, thinking to herself as the rest of the group chatted excitedly about their recent victory. Of course she was happy they had won but she had more pressing matter on her mind, like where she was going to live. Finn had allowed her to stay at his house for one more night before she had to be gone. The night and day had come and gone and she was still no closer to finding a place to stay. She couldn't stay with Santana; they still weren't on speaking terms after the whole sexting fiasco. She also didn't feel like she could stay with Brittany because that would mean seeing Santana, a lot, and while she was a good friend, Brittany was not the brightest crayon in the box. Quinn had enough money in her account that she could try and stay in a cheap motel, but the thought of it repulsed her. She may be sixteen and pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's best friend's baby, but she was still Quinn Fabray, she had standards.

She was pulled from her thoughts as she felt her phone buzz in her purse. Quinn sighed heavily as she read the name on the display: Puck. Thank God it's just a text, she thought.

"Would you like some company?" the message read.

"Sure," she typed back, though she didn't really know why. Puck was trying to be a good dad, the least she could do was let him.

Quinn watched as he got up from his seat at the front of the bus next to Mike Chang and made his way to the back. She smiled as he blatantly ignored the bus driver's reprimand for him to sit down until he plopped down next to her.

"There," he shouted forward. "Are you happy now?"

Puck turned towards Quinn and visibly softened as he offered her a slight smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi."

"How are you doing?"

"Great," she lied. "I'm so glad we won, it's all so exciting."

"Yeah, it's cool, but that's not what I was talking about."

"I'm fine," she said looking away from him.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Sorry, I don't but that Quinn. How about you look me in the eyes and try that again."

She shook her head, hating the way he could see right through the walls and façade she had so meticulously built up. She hated the way he could practically read her mind and she hated the way she was tired of pretending to hate him for caring so damn much.

"Look," he began. "I get that you want to be all independent and do this on your own, but I think that's a load of crap."

"I've hurt so many people," she said repeating what she had said to Rachel a few days earlier.

"I don't care. Aren't you Christians always talking about forgiveness or something like that? Well, I forgive you, so let me help you. Let me try and do something right for a change."

"Puck," Quinn said with a degree of uncertainty.

"I'm not saying that we should be together, even though that would be freaking awesome. I'm just trying to take responsibility here. I told my mom. Yeah, she was a little upset at first but she is cool with it now."

"Your mother is 'cool' with her only son getting a Christian girl pregnant?" she asked arching her eyebrow.

"OK, well maybe not 'coolwithit', but she has accepted it. I told her I wanted to step up now that everyone knows that I am her dad."

Quinn smiled to herself inside the dark bus. She kind of liked the way that he referred to himself as their daughter's dad. Finn had told her that he would be a good dad but he never referred to himself that way. Plus, she wasn't so sure she should keep pushing away one of the only people who was trying to be nice to her.

"So what is your mom OK with?" she finally said.

"I told her I want you to come live with us," he said.

"You want me to come stay with you? Like, at your house?"

"Yeah and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer," Puck said seriously. "I don't want you staying in a motel or your car or some shit like that. I know you're stubborn, but I can be stubborn, too. I want you to come home with me."

Quinn sighed. She didn't really have much of a choice and Puck seemed so sincere.

"People are going to talk when they find out that I'm living with you."

"Is that a yes?" he said hopefully. "And fuck what people say. Number one, you shouldn't care what they say because they are idiots and number two, if they dare say a damn thing about you then they can answer to me."

"That's actually kind of sweet."

"I can be sweet when I want to be, just don't tell anyone. I don't wanna lose my rep."

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked, remembering the night she felt fat and he brought wine coolers.

"Sorry," he replied tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "You know, I meant what I said yesterday. I want to be with you."

"Puck, I appreciate you letting me stay with you and I know you are trying, but Finn and I just officially broke up yesterday. It may have been a long time coming, but I just don't think I'm ready to dive into another relationship. I'm sorry."

"It's OK. I get it," Puck sighed. "I haven't exactly given you any reason to trust me, but I want you to know that I'm done with that. I'm done with the texting and with Santana. You can check my phone every hour if you want to."

"I don't need to check your phone. I don't know why, but I believe you."

Puck was about to say something when the bus lurched to a halt and the bus driver flipped on the lights.

"Alright everyone," Miss Pillsbury said standing up. "We're back. Great job you guys, Mr. Schuester will be so proud of you."

"I am proud of you guys!" Mr. Schue said bounding onto the bus. "Miss Pillsbury held up her phone and I heard it all. I'm so impressed with how you all came together as a team. To celebrate we will be having a pizza party on Monday after school instead of practice. See you all then!"

Puck stood amidst his cheering teammates and looked down at Quinn.

"You ready he asked her?"

"Yeah," she replied grabbing her purse.

"Cool, I'll drive around to your car and you can follow me."

Quinn was surprised when Puck walked her to her car and saw that she was safely inside before leaving for his own. She sat down, buckled up, put the key in the ignition and let out a heavy sigh. What am I doing? she asked herself while looking in the rearview mirror. Quinn was pulled from her thoughts as Puck pulled around in his black truck and signaled for her to follow him. She was surprised that his truck was so nice, it looked pretty new. Maybe his pool cleaning business was more lucrative than she thought. Ingrid Michaelson played quietly over the radio as they drove through Lima to Puck's house. She followed him down his street, which was in a good neighborhood, and parked her car in front of a pretty decent tan tri-level house. He quickly hopped out of his car and jogged back to her car.

"Can I grab your bags for you?" he asked as she stepped out of the car.

"Sure, they're in the trunk," she replied hitting the trunk release button on the remote. "There's a really big suitcase, a garment bag and a duffle."

"Think you can handle the garment bag?"

"Yeah, it's just my dresses, not too heavy."

"Good, because I read that you shouldn't be lifting heavy things."

"You read that?" she asked as he led her up the flower lined front walkway.

"Yeah, in a book I bought. I swear I didn't even steal it," he said defensively as he unlocked the door and turned on the lights. "OK, so my mom isn't home right now because she probably just left for work."

"Work? It's almost eleven o'clock."

"Yeah, she's a nurse and she works midnights so she is on for seven days and off for seven days. It sucks ass but it pays good. Well, this is it."

Quinn stepped into a modestly decorated living room and looked around. There was a piano, a sofa, a chair and a coffee table neatly arrange around a bay window. The living room opened up to a dining room that didn't really look like it was used very much.

"If you want to drop your bag by the stairs I can give you a quick tour."

"Sure," she said.

Puck led her into the kitchen by way of the dining room and pointed through the sliding glass door to a pool (no surprise there) and a small deck. Next, were a few steps that led down into the family room/den. There was a fireplace, a TV, a recliner, sofa, loveseat and a desk with a computer on it.

"That door leads to the laundry room, which leads to the garage and this door leads to the basement, but it's pretty gross so I would avoid it if I were you."

"Noted," Quinn said simply.

Puck took her to the upstairs which was really just a hallway with four doors and a linen closet.

"The first door on the right here is the bathroom, next is my mom's room. Second door on the left is Sara's room. She is at a sleepover or something tonight. This room is mine."

Quinn pushed open the door and found Puck's room to be fairly tidy, save for a few articles of clothing on the floor. There was a dresser with trophies on it, a desk with a laptop and some textbooks and a full size bed pushed against one of the walls. The walls were sparse save for a couple of sports posters and an Ohio State pennant.

"I have to admit," she said honestly. "This is nicer than I expected."

"Give me some credit," he replied and Quinn arched her eyebrow. "OK, so I might have cleaned it up a little."

"Were you expecting company?"

"I don't know what to expect anymore. You can put your stuff in the top two drawers and I left some space in the closet, too."

"Puck, where am I going to sleep?"

"You can have the bed. We have an air mattress that will fit on the floor next to it. I'll let you get settled in. Are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat?"

"No thanks, I'm fine," Quinn replied.

"Well, I'll be back up in a little while then. Make yourself at home."

Puck turned to leave when Quinn stopped him. "Hey Puck, maybe a sandwich?"

"You bet," he said with a smile and then left.

Quinn began to unpack her life, forcing herself not you compare it to the time she had unpacked before. She put her pants and shirts into the drawers, along with her toiletries and hung her dresses in the closet. It didn't take long to unpack when you didn't have much. Tired of being in her sectionals costume, she grabbed a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt that still fir her and left to change in the bathroom. When she came back, Puck was standing there holding a plate with a sandwich on it and a glass of water. He was floored at how she could manage to look so pretty in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie with her hair in a messy ponytail. The pants clung to all the right places and the hoodie just stretched over the bump that had begun to show. He realized that he must have been staring at her so he thrust the plate forward.

"It's turkey because I know you like to eat healthy, with tomato and lettuce. No mayo, because you think it's gross."

"Thanks," she said taking the plate and glass from him.

"Not a problem."

"No, I mean thanks for everything, for all of this. I've been pretty nasty to you lately and I'm sorry. Instead of trying to trust you, I kept waiting for you to do something stupid."

"Which I did," he admitted solemnly.

"I know, but it was like I was expecting you to mess up instead of giving you a real chance. I don't know why you even bother with me. I mean, I get it; I'm having your baby, but still. I would have given up on me. I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are. I 'bother' with you because I care about you. Yeah, you're having my kid, but I meant what I said when I told you that night wasn't just another hook up for me. I'm going to do what I need to do to prove that to you."

"OK," was all Quinn could manage to get out because she felt tears building in her eyes and a sob choking her throat.

"OK," he repeated, holding her gaze for a moment. "I'm going to go look for that air mattress."

As Puck left again Quinn sat at his desk and took a bite of her sandwich. The day had been long and tiring. The joy over winning sectionals had been replaced by the relief of knowing that at least she wasn't homeless. They had just sung the words "You can't always get what you want/but if you try sometimes/well you just might find/ you get what you need". She always thought she knew what she wanted and what was best for her, but as she sat in Noah Puckerman's room, Quinn Fabray wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe in some weird way, this was exactly what she needed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Puck glanced up at the alarm clock from his spot on the air mattress on the floor. 2:17 am. Fuck, he thought to himself as he shifted his weight. He didn't want to complain, but the mattress was really uncomfortable and he hadn't slept at all. He figured that Quinn must have fallen asleep right away because he didn't hear her move once. Puck was surprised that she had agreed to stay with him so easily. He was pretty relieved that his mom was working and Sara was with friends because he felt like it made the transition a little smoother for her.

Puck had wanted to tell the truth from the beginning, but he respected Quinn's wishes at the time. He knew he was foolish to think that she would drop Finn and come running to him, but he tried to be there for her when she decided to talk to him. Then he had gone and messed things up by sexting Santana. He didn't even know why he did it. He certainly didn't think she would have found out. The truth was, Quinn was different from all of the other girls because she was a challenge and she challenged him to try and to be better and he thought he kind of liked that.

"Puck," he heard a faint whisper. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," he replied sitting up. "What's up?"

"I can't sleep. Did I wake you up?"

"No, I couldn't sleep either."

"I'm sorry you gave up your bed for me," she said rolling onto her side. She leaned over the side of the bed and looked down at him. "Do you want to switch?"

"Nah, I can't let my baby mama sleep on the floor. Only a punk would do something like that. Do you want something to eat?"

"I'm not really having super weird cravings yet," she smiled. "But thanks."

"Sometimes I turn on a movie to help me fall asleep, you wanna give that a try?"

"You don't have a TV in here, do you?"

"No, I watch it on my laptop," he said standing up. Quinn thought he looked really attractive in his flannel pants and grey t-shirt. "Here, you pick the movie and I'll fire up my computer."

Quinn flipped on the lamp next to the bed and thumbed through the selection of DVDs that Puck handed to her. When he turned around he practically stopped dead in his tracks. Damn, she looks so hot, he thought. Never, even in his wildest dreams did he think Quinn Fabray would ever be in his bed.

"You have a lot of old movies," she noted aloud.

"That's because Humphrey Bogart is a BAMF. My grandpa got me into him and Brando."

"Well then, you can introduce me to the wonders of Mr. Bogart then," she said grabbing a disc from the sleeve."

"Gladly. Are you cool with both of us sitting on the bed?"

Absolutely, Quinn thought suddenly. Where the hell did that come from?

"I don't mind," she managed to say. "It is your bed after all."

Puck took the side closest to the wall because he didn't want her climbing over him in case she had to get up to pee. They watched the movie in virtual silence. It was about halfway through when he felt Quinn's head roll onto his shoulder. Puck glanced down to find that she had fallen asleep so he carefully stopped the movie, closed the computer and set it off to the side next to him. Despite all of his efforts, Quinn stirred and blinked a few time.

"Hey," he whispered. "You fell asleep so I shut the movie off."

"Hmmm, good," she murmured and, to Puck's surprise, snuggled deeper into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his.

"Uhh, I guess I'll just stay up here then?" he questioned hopefully.

"Yeah, just stay," she sighed and drifted back off to sleep.

Puck wasn't going to argue so he settled himself further down into the bed and ever so lightly kissed the top of Quinn's head before falling asleep himself.