AU Puckleberry

I only own the story plot. Enjoy!


"Everyone!" The head doctor, Miss Cat said, "We have a new patient joining us. He's a little sensitive, been through a lot so I hope you give him enough space, yet be helpful and friendly at the same time." She gestured towards the door, where a tall, Mohawked boy stood. He couldn't be older than 18 at most, he was staring everybody in the eye, showing that he wasn't afraid but that didn't fool Rachel. She'd seen all different types of cases, her Dad was the therapist here and she'd been coming here since she was ten. Now that she was 16, she could actually help and volunteer.

He stalked forward and stood beside the doctor, "Would like you like to introduce yourself, Noah?" He glared at her and said,

"No one calls me Noah, only Puck or Puckerman." She pressed her lips together, she didn't like taking gruff from the patient but she just nodded her head and put on a smile for everyone else. "I'm Puck or Puckerman. I'm the resident badass at McKinley High and I'm not giving up that title. I don't take shit from anyone. So. Keep out of my way, and I'll keep out of yours." He said. Everyone looked around awkwardly, wondering why he was here.

"Rachel, sweetheart," Miss Cat said, "Show Puck to his room." She flashed him a smile before disappearing behind the doors. Rachel made her way over to Puck, who's expression didn't change.

"Hey, I'm Rachel," She said, giving a little smile. She didn't want to be overly bubbly and make him uncomfortable. He nodded,

"I got that, aren't you a little young to be here?"

"This is the teenage ward," She said, leading him down the hallways, "But I don't live here, I'm just a volunteer."

"So you want to study crazy people when you are older?" He said, "What a career. Put them under a microscope and watch them suffer in their insane little minds."

"This isn't my future career," She said, "I'm going to be on Broadway, I just need hours."

"So this is just something you do in your free time, a hobby?" He said. She just looked at him, before pushing the door open. He slowly entered and sat on the bed, Rachel went to the closet and pulled out some bed sheet. She started dressing the bed in silence while he watched.

"You could help you know," She said, throwing him a pillowcase. He wordlessly picked it up and started stuffing a pillow into it. He glanced at Rachel every so often, watching her curiously. She glanced up once, and caught him staring at her. She offered a smile before looking down but Puck could tell it didn't reach her eyes. Once she finished she smoothed out the sheets and then said,

"You have an appointment with Dr. Berry at 3pm. That's in about, five minutes." She said, "I'll get a nurse to show you were the office is."

"Can't you show me where the office is?" She pursed her lips together before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I suppose I could, but I thought it would be good if you met some of the other employees too."

"What if I don't want to meet anyone else?" He asked.

"You're going to have too, you'll be here for awhile." She said. He just looked at her, and Rachel swears she saw something in the corner begging her to stay. She sat on the bed, on the edge and crossed her legs. Puck sat on the chair, face down and hands clasped together. He was staring down. Rachel took this time to study the new patient.

His forehead was creased, like he was thinking about something. He started blinking, to hold back the tears. He refused to cry on his first day, especially in front of a nurse who was only here for fun. Rachel continued to look at him, his jaw clenched suddenly, like he got angry about something he thought. He tightened his hands together, pressing them so that they almost turned red. Rachel saw his eye twitch as he slowly loosened his grip. He looked back up at her, his brown eyes boring into hers. There was layers and layers of emotions filling his eyes, but in a second they were gone once he realized who he was looking at.

"Ready to go?" She asked, getting up. He nodded, grateful that she didn't mention anything. She offered a small smile and lead him out of the room. They made they way back down the hallways and at every person Puck looked them up and down before staring at them. They shrunk away and he gave himself a little smirk.

"Just because you were the resident badass at McKinley, doesn't mean that you have to be that here."

"And why not? Isn't it good to uphold a title?"

"You are going to be living with these people, everyday for god knows how many years. You should try being nice."

"I will be going to school with my classmates for 'god knows how many years.'" He mocks.

"Do you live with them every second of the day? Spend free time, breakfast, lunch and dinner with them? I think not. But with these people, you will. So try making friends instead of scaring everyone away. Do you want to end up alone?"

"Not everyone can be little Miss Perky and happy all the time. Some of us have gone through stuff."

"Who's says I haven't?" She said, turning to the door and stopping. Puck raised his eyebrow and said,

"The fact that you are wearing volunteer clothes while I'm stuck in the uniform. You're on the other side of the fence, sweetie." He lightly pushed her out of his way and opened the door. Rachel huffed before closing the door, not before smiling at her Dad. He smiled back at her, as she closed the door and then turned to Puck. He didn't miss the interaction between those too. He awkwardly stood at the door.

"Please, sit." Dr. Berry said, "Make your self comfortable."

Puck looked around the room, it was a fairly light room with windows on one side. Dr. Berry was sitting in a large leather chair, he had a notepad on his lap with a pen attached to it. Dr. Berry observed Puck and Puck felt like a lab rat. He quickly made his way to the chair opposite the doctor and stretched out. He looked back, not breaking eye contact.

"So, Noah," He started.

"No," Puck said, "Don't call me Noah. There are only two people in this world that can call me that and you are not one of them. Puck or Puckerman." Dr. Berry bit his lip before nodding.

"I'm sorry," He said, "I'm going to take a note of that, do you mind?" Puck shrugged. "I'll be writing everything down, but if you prefer, I can always record it. I just like to go over the notes after the session, so I can find the best way to help you so you can get out of here and live in the real world."

"Writings fine." He mumbled. Dr. Berry nodded and said,

"So would you like to tell me why you're here?"

"Haven't you heard?" He said, raising his voice a little. Dr. Berry's eyebrows flew up and he said,

"I've heard variations of why you are here. But I would like to hear it from you, since you are the one experiencing it."

Puck took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said, "Can we not talk about that yet? Stick to whatever you've heard but I'd rather not talk about it." He gripped the edge of the chair, forming words in his head that he could scream if his request is denied.

Again, Dr. Berry nodded. He thought it would be best not to irritate the patient on the first day, later on he'd poke and prod, getting some reactions but for now, he'll tread lightly. He did feel bad though, especially for his younger patients, because they'd been through so much in such little time.

"So what would you like to talk about instead?" Puck didn't answer, instead he continued to look around the room. He stared at the pictures on the doctors desk. He saw one of him, hugging another man, kissing another man and one with him and said man holding a baby. There was also a picture of Rachel, she was grinning and holding up a plaque. It was too small for Puck to read, so he moved his eyes to the next picture. He saw one of Rachel, standing next to some light brown hair and blue eyed boy. He was wearing a tux, while Rachel was in a stunning pink dress. They were hugging and laughing, smiling straight at the camera.

"Is she your daughter?" Puck asked, unexpectedly. Dr. Berry raised his eyes, surprised at the comment and quickly composed himself. He nodded,

"Yes, Rachel is my daughter." He paused, "And no, she's not allowed to date patients." Puck shrugged and said,

"Wasn't planning on dating her."

"Never said you were," The doctor eyed him with curiousity, "It was just a statement."

"You were implying something, though," Puck raised his eyebrows and stretched out, "Everyone assumes I'm stupid, just because I'm a resident stud. Hell, maybe I am stupid, but I still pick up on things and I can pick up the fact that if Rachel brings me home for dinner to meet you two, you'll have a gun at my head. So I'll avoid that. Plus, she's not my type. I don't date girls who are looking for something more than just sex."

"So you aren't into commitments… that's interesting."

"You think a guy like me would be?" He gave a lifeless laugh, "Wow. Are you sure you're good at reading people?"

The doctor sighed, "Do you want to know what I've gathered from today's session, Puck? You don't like commitments, you have a tough exterior, you are very good at annoying people, and reputation is everything to you. That's what I know."

"Getting frustrated with me, now are you Doc?" He said sarcastically, "And you're wrong. I don't have a tough exterior, I am tough. There's nothing double sided to me, no person hiding inside. I am who I 'express' myself to be and that's it." He got up and stalked out of the room, "Until next week." He waved. He threw open the door and tried to remember where his room was, but he got lost. He sighed and went to the desk that was there. The nurse helpfully gave him directions to his room, but before he left, he asked to make a call. She smiled and led him to a room, which was totally private. She said she would come back in half an hour, but Puck assured her it wouldn't take that long. She left and he went to the phone. He picked it up and dialed an all to familiar number.

"Sam?" He whispered.

"Puck?" Sam asked confused, "Where are you calling from? Dude why weren't you at school?" Then he paused, "Are you okay? Santana's been acting weird all day and refused to tell anyone what happened."

"I… I tried to kill myself."


Any thoughts? :)