Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied, the author does not make any profit from this work of fiction.
A/N: As much of a rebel as Puck had been when he was a teenager, he was a traditionalist at heart...
"Really, you don't have to do that," Quinn insisted. She loved that he wanted to do it, but seriously, Russell Fabray had been out of her life almost as long as he'd been in it. Puck did not need to ask her father for her hand in marriage simply because Quinn did not give a crap about his opinion. Now, if he was to ask her mother, that would be different, Quinn loved and respected her mother - and Judy Fabray loved and respected Quinn, and strangely enough, she also loved and respected Puck. "And anyway, my dad hates you, do you really think he's going to say yes?" she teased and then kissed him deeply to soothe any hurt she'd caused to his ego.
"I know, but," Puck sighed, he couldn't explain it in any way that didn't make him sound like a wuss. "See, my grandpa, before he married my nana, he had to go to Israel to ask her father for permission, and he did," he said, with more than a touch of pride. "He flew to Israel, worked six months on the kibbutz alongside her father and only when he'd proven himself and had her dad's permission, did he fly home to Ohio and marry her, it's the family story that gets trotted out at every wedding, every betrothal," he added and pulled a face, he wasn't sure that Quinn would get it, she wasn't Jewish. "And when my dad asked my grandpa for permission to marry my mom, well, he had to work his socks off just to get grandpa to listen to him, but he did it, he stuck with it, he got permission, they married, they had me," he listed with a huge grin, "it only fell apart when they had my sister too," he grumbled, although they both knew that he didn't really mean that.
"So what you're saying is that," Quinn said as she shuffled to get comfortable in the hotel bed, "you just want to follow your family tradition, yes?"
"Yes," Puck said with a decisive nod, he sighed and stroked his hand up Quinn's naked front to cup one of her amazing boobs, to tease one of her super responsive nipples. "You know I want to marry you, I've wanted that for years and now that you've finished your masters, now that you're completely done with college and you've secured yourself a really great job and I've begun to climb the ranks, it makes sense, you know?" he explained, with passionate intensity. Quinn loved that about Puck, he never did anything half-heartedly, it was always full on, give it all you've got or die trying. "I would have married you when we were sixteen years old if you'd been brave enough to take a chance on me," he reminded her, his words mumbled against her lips as he took her once more to the edge of reason, the response he tore from her body, just by the clever use of his lips and his fingers threw Quinn over the edge of glory. Puck loved to watch her come down. "So, will you marry me?" he asked quietly.
"Oh, yes," Quinn sighed, and then threw herself over him, knocked him onto his back and began such a personal assault on his body, it was a long time before Puck even wanted to get out of bed.
"Yes, I have an appointment," Puck confirmed with the receptionist as he nervously fiddled with his cap in both hands. Unconsciously, Puck checked out the front of his uniform as he waited and adjusted the fit of his jacket slightly, then stood smartly as the woman turned back to him from the phone call to somewhere deep inside the building.
"Mr Fabray asked what this is in relation to," the receptionist said, repeating Russell Fabray's words to the young man.
"It's personal," Puck replied. "Just tell Mr Fabray that it is in relation to his daughter," he added after a second's pause. "And tell him to hurry the fuck up because I'm getting more and more nervous the longer he holds things up and when I'm nervous, stupid things happen," Puck thought to himself.
The receptionist relayed Puck's words to Mr Fabray, she murmured them as she looked up at the good-looking young air force man in front of her desk. "I wish he wanted to see me about my daughter," Pauline Roberts thought to herself and pictured her own adult daughter, lonely and single at the age of thirty-three. "Mr Fabray will be down in a moment," she assured Puck. "Take a seat," she suggested and gestured towards the beautiful, leather, Chesterfield opposite the reception desk.
"Thanks," Puck murmured with a smile and a slight salute with the tip of his cap to his temple. Puck sighed as he sat, he made himself comfortable and forced himself to sit still, he wouldn't even allow himself to tap his foot because he knew, the second Russell Fabray rounded the corner and saw him, if his foot was tapping, he would know how nervous Puck was and would use it to his advantage. "Come on, fuck-face," Puck sighed silently and watched the numbers above the elevator descend from floor twenty-two to the entrance lobby.
"Noah Puckerman," Russell said with a smarmy smile, the one that always rubbed Puck up the wrong way. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked although Puck knew the subtext actually said "get the hell out of my office building and fuck you, asshole".
"I really appreciate you taking the time to see me," Puck replied politely and then swallowed hard, he managed to stop himself from gulping although he did feel really, really sick, like he was going to vomit any second. "I'd like to talk to you about Quinn, about me and Quinn," he announced and hoped that Russell didn't notice the little tremble in his voice.
"What about you and Quinn?" Russell said, he didn't add any feeling, any inflection to his voice.
"Well, sir," Puck began and then glanced at the receptionist who was watching them avidly, listening in. "Could we talk privately?" he asked, uncomfortable under the stare of both Russell and the receptionist and aware that other people could decide to walk past them at any time.
"Fine," Russell sighed in reluctant agreement and turned back to the elevator, Puck followed him. The whole ride up the twenty-second floor was uncomfortably silent, neither Puck nor Russell willing to break to talk to the other. "Ok," Russell said, the second he and Puck were in his office, "what's so secret that you couldn't talk to me downstairs?" he asked.
"Sir, I want to ask your permission to marry Quinn," Puck forced the words through almost numb lips.
"Marry Quinn?" Russell gasped, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You? You want to marry, Quinn?" he demanded.
Puck had nodded to every question. "Yes, sir," he replied and stood at ease in front of the slightly overbearing man.
"You, want to marry, my daughter?" Russell asked slowly.
Again, Puck nodded. "Yes, sir," he repeated.
"The girl whose life you ruined?" Russell asked.
"Yes, sir," Puck said once more, his tone just slightly irritated. "How many more times?" he asked himself.
"No," Russell said slowly, distinctly. He leaned forwards a touch, a nasty look on his face.
"But, sir," Puck began to protest, "we've been dati..."
"Hell. No," Russell butted in, his words even slower, deeper, nastier, with even more meaning. "Over my dead fucking body, Puckerman," he growled and then suddenly, as though his tongue had woken up, Russell hit Puck with a verbal volley that quite blindsided him. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he demanded. "You think, for one second, that I'm going to give the asshole who knocked her up when she was fifteen, fifteen," he reminded Puck, as if he needed reminding, "the guy who didn't even go anywhere near her when she was in the hospital, despite her crying for him every day, you think I'm going to give you permission to marry my daughter? Fuck no," he finished, his anger bouncing sparks off him, straight at Puck.
"I was told that she didn't want to see me," Puck muttered with a scowl. And it was the truth, Frannie, Quinn's older sister had told Puck, quite categorically, that neither Quinn nor the family wanted him to visit. Puck had adhered to Quinn's wishes. Or at least he thought he had. It was something that they hadn't ever discussed, not in the seven years they'd been dating.
"Nice excuse, asshole," Russell sneered, "and the answer is still no."
Puck couldn't see any reason to stay and argue his case, he knew that there wouldn't be much point, he couldn't see Russell changing his mind any time soon. "Fuck," Puck sighed to himself as he stepped off the elevator and out into the lobby. He gave a polite nod to the woman on reception, she smiled nicely back at him. The second he was in his truck, Puck called Quinn. "Hey," he mumbled.
"He said no, right?" Quinn deduced.
"Over his dead fucking body, were his actual words," Puck told her with a slight snicker of laughter. "I think your dad loves me," he mocked facetiously. "Shit," he whispered. "What do we do now?" he asked and pouted at his own reflection in his wing mirror.
"Puck, we are twenty-six years old," Quinn reminded him, "almost twenty-seven in fact, we don't need his permission," she stated and giggled. "As long as we're happy, your mom is, my mom is, who cares what my dad thinks?" she asked and giggled even more. "Even Beth approves of us," she stated quite honestly. "I seriously do not care if my dad approves or doesn't, his opinion means nothing to me," she announced. "And can you come back to the hotel, please?" she pouted.
"Sure, I'm on my way, do you need anything?" Puck sighed.
"No, I'm good," Quinn replied. "Hurry, though, I have something for you," she whispered in a sultry, sexy voice. Puck groaned at the sound, he could picture her laid across the huge bed in their hotel room, he could picture her naked, he felt his pants grow tight. Puck ended the call and sped out of the parking lot, tires squealing as he went.
Russell Fabray watched as the truck sped out of the parking lot. "Yeah, that's right, dickhead, run away," he hissed as the truck stopped at the red light. "And you will never marry my daughter, not even if my life depended on it."
"Oh, baby," Puck groaned as he let himself into their room. Quinn was laid across the bed, she wasn't completely naked, she almost was, but she had some beautiful lingerie on, a pair of spike heeled shoes that screamed 'fuck me' and nothing else. Except a smile.
"Oh, I wasn't expecting you," Quinn teased, totally lying.
"Liar," Puck retorted with a grin as he came down on top of her, his uniform slightly rough against her bare skin.
"Mmmm," Quinn sighed and undulated against him. "You know that it doesn't matter what my dad says, don't you?" she murmured against his throat.
"I know that it shouldn't," Puck replied and slid to the side. "But it does, it really matters to me," he admitted and fiddled with the bow that was nestling happily between her breasts. Puck slowly looked up to see into her eyes, for her to see into his. "It matters," he shrugged.
"Are you sure?" Puck hissed into the phone, his eyes on the bathroom door, he hoped that Quinn would stay in the shower a while longer, he had a couple more people to call, things to arrange. He knew that his reluctance to finalise everything was pissing Quinn off, but until he had approval from her dad, he just couldn't do it. "Ok, so, you get Sam, Ryder and Artie involved, can you do that? Thanks, Jake," he muttered to his brother just before he hung up.
"Who was that?" Quinn asked, she walked into the room while rubbing at her hair.
"No one, reception," Puck replied, a bit nervously, he hated lying to Quinn and she could tell when he did.
"Sure it was," Quinn grinned. "Ok, have your secrets," she thought, "it's probably to do with the wedding, anyway."
"I'll be back soon," Puck whispered into Quinn's hair and pressed kisses to her cheek before leaving her still in bed, still sleeping.
Quinn murmured a sound and turned over, she snuggled into the soft, white, bed linens and found deep sleep once more.
"So we're ready?" Puck asked.
"Yes, we're ready," Jake replied, pissed that Puck had asked the same question about fifty times. "Jose will call when they leave the club house, Matteo will call when they reach the seventh tee, it's up to us to be waiting once they come over that hill," he explained. Again.
"Are you guys all ready?" Puck asked and then ducked as he heard the handful of groans and the names and insults that were thrown at him. Puck rolled his eyes and mocked himself. "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous, what if he says no again?" he asked, worried about the reaction he was going to get.
"Puck, chill," Jake advised. "And they just left the club house."
Puck, Jake, Sam, Ryder and Artie all milled about, waiting anxiously for the next call. Eventually it came. "Cool," Jake replied. "Show time," he grinned at everyone as they all took their places. The second they saw four heads appear over the brow of the hill, they were on.
"Saturday morning jumped out of bed and put on my best suit
Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you
Knocked on your door with heart in my hand
To ask you a question
'Cause I know that you're an old fashioned man, yeah, yeah
Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? (Say yes, say yes)
'Cause I need to know
You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die
Tough luck my friend but the answer is no!
Why you gotta be so rude?
Don't you know I'm human too?
Why you gotta be so rude?
I'm gonna marry her anyway
(Marry that girl) Marry her anyway
(Marry that girl) Yeah no matter what you say
(Marry that girl) And we'll be a family
Why you gotta be so rude?
I hate to do this, you leave no choice
I can't live without her
Love me or hate me we will be both
Standing at that alter
Or we will run away
To another galaxy you know
You know she's in love with me?
She will go anywhere I go
Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? (Say yes, say yes)
'Cause I need to know
You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die
Tough luck my friend cause the answer's still no!
Why you gotta be so rude?
Don't you know I'm human too?
Why you gotta be so rude?
I'm gonna marry her anyway
(Marry that girl) Marry her anyway
(Marry that girl) Yeah no matter what you say
(Marry that girl) And we'll be a family
Why you gotta be so rude?
Rude
Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? (Say yes, say yes)
'Cause I need to know
You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die
Tough luck my friend but no still means no!
Why you gotta be so rude?
Don't you know I'm human too?
Why you gotta be so rude?
I'm gonna marry her anyway
(Marry that girl) Marry her anyway
(Marry that girl) Yeah no matter what you say
(Marry that girl) And we'll be a family
Why you gotta be so rude? (Yeah, oh)
Why you gotta be so rude? (Yeah)
Why you gotta be so rude?"
Russell Fabray's golf companions clapped when Puck came to the end of his song, they were all smiling, laughing a little, whispering to each other about the novelty of a future son-in-law singing his request for their daughters' hands in marriage.
"Well?" Puck asked, slightly out of breath, he was so very, very nervous, but he was thankful that he had the back up of his brother and his friends to support him. "Before you say no, again," he cut in quickly as Russell opened his mouth to speak, "there is something you should know," he added. Puck stood up straight and proud. "I got my deployment notice last week, in three months I ship out to Eastern Africa for six months," he announced, he didn't dare glance at Jake, he knew he should have told him already but he wanted the leverage, needed the leverage.
"Any other mitigating circumstances?" Russell asked, more than a touch condescendingly.
"Errm, well," Puck stuttered with a gulp, "Quinn is...errm...she's well...we're pregnant," he admitted, his breathing very ragged. "Again," he added and then wished he'd just shut the hell up.
Russell nodded and looked down at his feet, he swished the grass with his golf club, as though trying to decide if he should take a swing at the ball or a swing at Puck's head. "Pregnant, huh?" he asked and frowned at Puck.
"Yes, sir," Puck replied and crossed his fingers behind his back. Jake noted the movement but said nothing.
Russell sighed and glanced around, he felt his heart sink. It looked like Quinn had locked herself up with this guy for life. "Kind of leaves me no choice," Russell sighed and looked Puck in the eye. "But it still doesn't mean I that like you," he added as he shook Puck's hand and squeezed it tight. Russell accepted the back slapping congratulations from his golf buddies but his smile didn't reach his eyes when he looked back at Puck and his friends.
"How did it go?" Quinn asked when Puck let himself into their room.
"It worked," Puck announced with a relieved sigh. He fell backwards onto the bed. "I did tell him a little white lie, though," he admitted and grinned at Quinn. "I told him that we were pregnant again," he grinned and rubbed his hand across Quinn's concave stomach. "I'm sorry for lying about that, but he was going to refuse me again and I couldn't think of anything else that might work," he explained.
Quinn gulped and licked her lips nervously. "A-about that," she whispered and reached to the nightstand for a slim, white stick. "Hey," she said, with a wonky, wobbly, nervous smile as she showed Puck the plus sign.
"Holy crap," Puck shouted as he shot upright with the stick in his hand. "Seriously?" he demanded. Quinn nodded. "And you're ok with this?" he pleaded, he needed her to be ok with it. Quinn nodded. "Fuck," he sighed. "Does anyone else know?" he asked suddenly. Quinn bit her lip and shook her head. "Let's keep this to ourselves until after the wedding, I already told Jake and the others I was lying," he suddenly realised, and then realised that it was them he'd lied to and not Russell. "I'm going to be a daddy," he said with a huge grin. "Crap, will I be back from Africa?" he asked. Quinn shook her head. "Babe, I'm sorry," he added and pulled her into his arms. "You know I don't want to leave you, right?" he assured her.
"I know that you don't," Quinn reassured Puck. "And I'm going to be right here, in Lima, with all of our family around us, and our friends," she reminded Puck. "And when you come home, we can take up residence in Dayton and I can start my new career as soon as I'm done with maternity leave from WMHS," she added. "By the way, did you tell my dad that the wedding is tomorrow?" she asked.
"I might not have mentioned that part," Puck admitted. "But hey, one shock at a time, right?"