Title: I'd Give All I Have Honey (If You Could Stay Like That)
Category: Glee
Genre: Family
Ship: Puck/Rachel
Rating: PG
Prompt: 'Rachel comes home from rehearsals one night to see her husband, Noah, asleep with their baby (boy or girl) on his chest, with a Disney film playing on the TV.' by briknowsbest – puckrachel drabble meme (part 8)
Word Count: 969
Summary: "We made a beautiful family."
I'd Give All I Have Honey (If You Could Stay Like That)
-1/1-
Her feet hurt. Her eyes stung from exhaustion. And her throat… Well, her first destination was the kitchen, for some soothing lemon tea. Then to Jack's room to silently gaze lovingly at her beautiful, perfect son; and possibly, if she was feeling needy, wake him up just so she could hold and soothe him. What? Don't judge her. She hadn't seen her son all day and she wanted some Rachel/Jack time. Then, after putting him down again, she'd head for bed. If Noah wasn't already asleep, and given the hour she was fairly sure he was, she planned to have him lay out his whole day for her, in detail, and then steal all his warmth and get some long-desired sleep. Right after she filled him in on all the long, exhausting details involving her rehearsal.
When she walked through the door of their apartment, she immediately kicked off her heels. While Noah appreciated her petite body, and the shoes that made her legs look as amazing as they did, she really wished she could get away with flats. Dropping her bag and coat off in the closet, she made her way toward the faintly lit kitchen, rolling her eyes as she remembered how often she reminded Noah to turn off the lights when he was done in a room, and started searching for her tea.
A smile lit her face as she heard it; the faint sound of Aladdin and Jasmine bantering on the TV screen in the family room. Absently, she started talking along with the movie as she put the water on and searched for her favorite mug. With the Disney movie at least half over, she actually considered rewinding it and watching from the beginning, but changed her mind when she accepted just how tired she was. Finding her mug, she rubbed her thumb over the block writing that read #1 Mom. Noah had given it to her on Mother's Day, though she was still pregnant with Jack at the time. Leaning back against the counter, wiggling her toes to get the feeling back in them, she closed her eyes and continued reciting the movie as she waited for the whistle of the pot.
When she walked into the living room, steaming mug in hand, she was singing along with the Genie under her breath, before she stopped suddenly, spotting the beautiful picture they made. Hand to her heart, she sighed wistfully. Noah was fast asleep, sprawled along the couch, an arm tossed above his hand while his other hand cradled Jack to his bare chest. Completely the picture-perfect moment was when she realized they were both wearing the matching pajamas bottoms she'd bought them. The ones that looked like baseball uniforms; though they both had shirts to go with them, the back of each saying Papa-P and Baby-P respectfully, they had obviously chosen not to don those.
She walked closer and sniffled, tucking her hair behind her ear as she knelt next to the couch, dropping her tea mug on the coffee table. 'My family,' she thought, gazing at them adoringly. She reached and combed her fingers through the wispy brown faux 'hawk her son was born with and pressed her fingers to her lips to keep from crying with outright love. Leftover hormones made her a mess and this was not helping.
Sniffling, she wiped at her face and stood to kiss her son's soft head and then her husband's cheek. "My boys," she murmured under her breath.
Despite how quiet she'd been, Jack stirred, his little face scrunching up. Immediately, as if he knew, Noah's fingers started rubbing circles against his back until their son was peacefully back asleep, never having made a peep. Not for the first time, she thought he really was the best father.
Noah looked up, eyes still half-lidded, and gave her a sleepy half-smile. "Hey, babe…" He stretched his legs out. "Wha' time's it?"
She looked over at the clock and frowned. "Late."
He nodded faintly. "How's rehearsal?" He licked his lips, trying to wake up, his fingers still rubbing soothingly at Jack's tiny back.
"Long, exhausting, wonderful…" She shrugged. "We can talk about it tomorrow."
He hummed, eyes falling closed.
"You wanna stay out here on the couch with him?" she wondered quietly, already reaching for the blanket across the back of the sofa to cover them.
"Hm-hm." With a deep inhale, he held Jack a little tighter and sat himself up. Cradling him in his elbow, he stood and started toward Jack's nursery. His hand reached back and found Rachel's as she followed them; he twined their fingers and lifted their joined hands to kiss her knuckles.
She watched happily as he checked and then decided to change Jack's diaper before he brought him over so she could kiss him goodnight and finally laid him down for bed, tucking his blanket in around him. Noah stroked his thumb along Jack's forehead before he backed up again. Rachel leaned over the crib and smiled down at her son. She was happy she had the day off tomorrow; she was going to spend it spoiling herself with mother/son time.
Together, they backed out of the nursery and made their way to their own room, his arm coming around her to hug her to his side. While she undressed and got ready for bed, taking her make-up off and tying her hair up, she looked at her husband already laid out on his stomach, bunching his pillow up under his head, eyes closed.
Climbing in next to him, turning the bedside lamp out as she did, she slipped his arm around her and whispered. "Noah?"
He hummed in reply.
"We made a beautiful family."
His lips quirked in a smile and he kissed her hair. "Yeah we did."
[End.]