...
Things Change
by Girlwhoisburningsobrightly
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She was bleeding all over the passenger seat and crying. Puck gripped the steering wheel tightly and pushed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. She was probably only twelve or thirteen, and she had a bullet in her side. The siren was blaring but Puck couldn't hear it over her cries.
"You are doing so good Marisol. You're so brave," Puck said. "We're almost there, just stay awake sweetie!" He tried not to let her hear how afraid he was.
She cried and Puck caught her nodding. When he had shown up outside her home she was already on the ground bleeding with her brother standing over her. It had been a drive by, and Puck couldn't wait for an ambulance so he picked her up and took off before his backup got there. He sucked in a breath as the hospital came into sight then glanced at Marisol.
"We're here sweetie," Puck said and tried to make his voice sound hopeful. He pulled up to where the ambulances drop off people and parked the car as a man came out to help him. Puck jumped out of the car and ran to the other side to get Marisol. He ripped open her door and lowered himself to get his arms under her back. He picked her up as the other man joined him.
"What happened?" he asked as he opened the door for Puck.
"Drive by," Puck said shortly.
The man ran ahead and opened another door and called for a doctor and a gurney. The gurney was soon at his side and Puck gently lay Marisol down on the white sheets. Her blood instantly stained them red. More people began to gather around them, and Puck was about to move out of the way when Marisol grabbed his hand. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her.
"What do we have?" a new voice asked. Puck looked up to tell the doctor when he had to pause for a moment, because he didn't believe whom he was seeing.
"Hummel?" Puck asked. Kurt Hummel looked up at him and his eyes widened for a moment then turned back to the girl.
"What happened Puck?" He asked.
"Drive by," Puck said, focusing back on Marisol. "Found her on her lawn. Brought her here in my squad car. It's probably been twenty minuets since she's been shot." Puck said trying to fill Hummel in as much as he could as they raced down the hall. Hummel nodded then slapped on gloves and gently touched the girl's wound. Marisol cried out louder and tightened her grip on Puck's hand.
"Set up room four, give her a sedative, and some one set up a GSW kit for me." Hummel gave orders, as he pressed down hard on her wound.
They burst through swingings doors and into an empty room. Puck stood next to the bed still holding Marisol's hand. The doctors and nurses raced around him until one stopped and told him he had to leave. Puck nodded and went to let go of Marisol's hand but she wouldn't let him.
"Don't leave!" She cried. Puck hesitated and looked up at Hummel for an answer. He watched him nod to the nurse next to him who was holding a needle. The nurse gently injected the drugs into the little girl's arm. Hummel then looked down at the girl.
"What's your name?" he asked nicely.
"Marisol," the girl whimpered.
"Well Marisol I promise that when you wake up he will be here," Hummel said smiling.
Marisol nodded with her eyes drooping. Hummel shot Puck a glace that said, you better be there. Puck nodded then left the room. Puck wondered back down the hall he came and followed all the exit signs. He ended up in a waiting room and was about to sit down before he remembered his car was parked in the ambulance lane. He rushed over and got back into his car. His radio was going ballistic with calls asking where he was. He drove out of the spot and took up the radio and called back his captain.
"This is Puckerman," Puck said into the radio.
"Where the fuck are you Puckerman?" His captain, Johnson, yelled back.
"At the hospital. The girl, Marisol was bleeding out, I couldn't wait for a ambulance so I took her in my car." Puck waited for a response and got a heavy sigh.
"Is she okay?" Johnson asked.
"Don't know yet, they just pulled her in," Puck said. "What about at the scene? You find the shooter yet?"
"No still looking," Johnson grumbled out.
"What about her brother?" Puck asked. "He was there too."
"He's with Games right now," the captain said.
"Good. I'm gonna go wait on the girl, radio me if there's any news." Puck said and pulled into a parking space that wasn't blocking anything. He plucked the radio off the dash and hooked it on his belt.
"Roger that," Johnson said.
Puck got out of the car and headed back towards the hospital. The radio crackled a few more times but stayed silent. Puck made his way back to the waiting room and went up to the desk. The woman seated behind it instantly looked up at him with a smile.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Yeah, I brought in a little girl, Marisol, and I just want to know if she is doing okay." Puck said.
"Do you know the doctor she was with?" the nurse asked.
"Uh yeah, Hummel." Puck said with a slight uncertainty. She clicked something on the computer in front of her then looked back up to puck.
"There's no information as of yet," she said.
"Okay, well can you just tell me when you know something? I'll be right over there," Puck said pointing over to the chair closets to the door. The nurse nodded and Puck walked away and sat down.
He was a little shocked to see Kurt Hummel here. He had heard he moved to New York after high school, like he had always said he would, but he had always imagined that he would end up on Broadway like Berry did, or making some sort of fashion clothes. He did not expect him to he dressed in powder blue scrubs, that went against everything he ever wore in high school. Though to be honest, who he was now went against everything he ever did in high school too. But all of that had happened over twelve years ago. Those thoughts brought his eyes back down to the radio hooked to his belt, resting against his dark blue uniform. Then, on his shirt he saw a dark stain of blood. Marisol's blood. He jumped up and hurried off to the bathroom.
He turned on the tap and wet a paper towel and tried to soak the blood out. Some came out but mostly he just spread it around. He stayed in the bathroom until he was satisfied with the amount of blood he was able to get out. Puck went back into the waiting room and sat down and, like everyone else in the room, waited.
He got up a few times to go outside and talk on his radio to try and find out anything on Marisol's family or the person who shot her. Games came on the radio and said the brother, Carlos, had seen the car so they were getting closer. Apparently Carlos and Marisol were being raised by their grandparents, Puck didn't find out the reason why, but he did learn that their next-door neighbor was a former gang member. Puck swore, shitty things happen to good people all over but it was worse when it was a kid who got hurt because of it.
Back inside the icy waiting room, Puck eagerly waited for the nurse to wave him over. She just sat there clicking away on her computer and greeted everyone with a fake plastic smile.
Then the swinging doors opened and Hummel stood there. There was blood splashed across his scrubs that made Puck cringe.
"Puck," Hummel called him over and nodded his head down the hall. Puck stood up quickly and jogged over to his former schoolmate. They walked down the hall again, but this time not as rushed. Hummel shed the scrubs and tossed them in a near by garbage can.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Puck asked.
"Yeah, she will be fine," Hummel said confidently. "She was lucky though. The bullet missed everything important."
"Good," Puck sighed. Hummel let them into her room where Marisol was sleeping. Puck smiled to see that she was breathing and still alive. "Her grandparents are coming soon."
"Good," Hummel said. He then cast a look at Puck. "I have to say never thought of you as the police kind," Hummel said with a laugh.
"Yeah well the same can be said for you Hummel," Puck said and also laughed.
"So how did you end up with the NYPD?" Hummel said pointing at his badge on his chest.
Puck opened his mouth to answer when his radio went off. The shooter's car had been spotted and there was now a pursuit, the car was coming this way.
"I have to go!" Puck said and rushed out of the room with Hummel following him.
"You promised you would be there when Marisol wakes up!" Hummel told him.
"Well you are going to have to take my place," Puck said.
"You better come see her Puck," Hummel grumbled as they entered the waiting room again.
"I will. And it's Noah," Puck said as he ran out of the hospital, leaving Kurt Hummel staring after him with a small smile on his face.
...
When Puck got out of his car the guy was already on the ground and struggling against Games large arms. Puck wanted nothing more then to kick the dirt bag in the face but held himself back. Games slapped handcuff on the man and roughly pulled hi of the ground. He had grime on his face and he actually looked scared. He had a gang tattoo on his neck on the left side and Puck glared daggers at him as Games put him into a car.
"How's the girl?" Games asked once the man was stuck in the car.
"She's gonna be fine," Puck said and watched Game heave a breath of relief. "Are you fine with me taking off? I promised Marisol that I would be there when she woke up and I'm not one to break promises."
"Yeah," Games chuckled. "Go on white knight."
"Thanks man," Puck and walked away but stopped for a moment and went over to the car where the man was sitting. Puck opened the door and stared down at him. "What's your name?"
"Fuck off," he spat.
"Whatever man," Puck spat back. "I just wanted you to know that the bullet you sent out hit a little girl. A little girl you never met or knew and you probable ruined her life." Puck growled out. "I hope that stays on your conscious forever."
He slammed the door and didn't look back at him. He went back to his own car and frowned when he saw Marisol's blood still on the seat. He pushed it to the back of his mind when he would get a chance to clean it up and focused on the little girl waiting for him in a hospital bed.
Back inside the sterile building he waved at the same nurse behind the desk and made his way back to where he last saw Marisol. He opened the door and was thankful to see she was still sleeping, but he was surprised to see Hummel sitting by her bedside, asleep. He laughed softly then placed hand on Hummel's shoulder and shook him lightly.
"Humgh," Hummel said eloquently and raised his head and blinked his eyes multiple times. "Oh, you came back." Hummel said sounding taken aback.
"Well I promised," Puck replied. "Thanks for taking my place."
"Yeah, well her grandmother called and said she would be here around seven and I couldn't let her be alone," Hummel said as he wiped sleep from his eyes.
"Thanks," Puck said again and he pulled another chair up next to Hummel. "Don't you have work to be doing or something?"
"No, got off an hour ago," Hummel sighed and reached over to straighten Marisol's oxygen band.
"Why did you stay then?" Puck asked.
"You asked me to," Hummel answered simply.
"Were you always this good of a person?" Puck asked with a laugh. "And since when do you do what I ask?" Hummel laughed also.
"Things change," Hummel said with too much honesty in his voice.
"Yeah I guess we are proof enough of that," Puck snorted. "So how did you end up a doctor?"
"How did you end up a cop?" Hummel repeated the question from earlier.
"It's a long story," Puck said glancing back at Marisol.
"So is mine," Hummel replied almost sadly.
Then the door opened fast and in rushed a frazzled elder woman who was Marisol's grandmother, followed by her younger brother. The doctor and the cop both stood up and let them take their seats. Hummel went into doctor mode and told then that Marisol was going to be fine and went over more medical jargon that Puck couldn't remember. When the old woman was sitting and her tears had dried up Hummel and Puck left them alone. Once back out in the hall Puck faced Hummel.
"So how long is your story?" Puck asked.
"Pretty long and don't you have to get back to work?" Hummel said with some cheek.
"Nah, told my captain I was needed at the hospital," Puck said smoothly. "How's the coffee here?"
"Horrible," Hummel answered.
"Great I'll buy," Puck said with a wide grin.
The old glee clubbers walked together down the hall and to the elevator at the end of it. Hummel pressed the third floor button and Puck leaned against the back railing of the small room.
"You want to go first?" Puck asked. He could see Hummel in the reflection of the shiny elevator doors and caught him smiling.
"I guess." Hummel sighed. "But no interruptions," he threatened.
"Of course," Puck replied smoothly.
They stepped off the elevator and walked into the cafeteria. The stood in line for coffee and Hummel started his story.
"Well I kind of followed Rachel after high school," He said with regret in his voice. "She was going to NYU and I got accepted there to so we stayed together for a while."
"No shit?" Puck interrupted, stunned. "That must have sucked."
"Yes, it really did. And I said no interruptions." Hummel quipped. Puck made a zipping motion over his mouth. "It didn't last long. She is impossible to live with. I moved out after three months." Hummel paused and Puck thought it the best moment to interrupt again.
"You were at NYU for fashion right?" Puck guessed.
"Yeah, and I really though I was going to go though with it but…shit happens." Hummel said softly.
They reached the counter and ordered their drinks then found an empty table near one of the exits. Hummel was right things did change. A lot of things changed. The way Hummel looked had changed. He was no longer so tiny, he had filled out his shoulders more and lost some of the femininity he had when he was younger. His hair was a bit longer and was messy, something the Kurt Hummel in high school would never have stood for. Puck also knew he looked different as well. He no longer had his trademark Mohawk, just a closely shaved head and he was sure he had lost some of his badassness, but not all.
"So what changed for you?" Puck asked and took a sip of the coffee and cringed, as it was as bad as Kurt had said.
"I tried to save someone's life," Hummel said and drank the coffee with out a flinch.
"Wow," Puck said, but mostly to himself. "Me too," Puck said, his eyes wide.
"What?" Hummel asked confused.
"That's why I became a cop," Puck explained. "I saved a girls life."
"When was this" Hummel asked, leaning forwards.
"About a year after we graduated." Puck went on. "I was still stuck in Lima and working construction, had a place of my own, though it was in the shitty part of Lima. Well the shittyer part. I was walking home and there was a girl crying and some asshole standing over her. I ran over, cuz I'm an idiot, and the guy pulled a gun," Puck paused and smiled as Hummel's face fell in shock. "I didn't get shot," Puck said with a cocky smile. "I'm just telling you cuz you look concerned."
"Maybe just a little," Hummel bit back.
"Well he pulled the gun and pointed it at her and I told him to point it at me. He did and then I talked him down. When he dropped the gun I punched him."
"Well something's don't change," Hummel laughed.
"Yeah," Puck chuckled.
"What happened next?" Hummel urged.
"I held him down while Clare, that's what her name was, called the cops. While we waited the guy, Marvin, kept shouting that he was gonna kill her and me. It was pretty awful. The cops came and took him to jail."
"So did you enroll for the academy the next day?" Hummel asked.
"No," Puck said. "I didn't know what to do with myself for three weeks. I kept playing over the scene in my head and figuring how it could have gone so wrong. I called up Clare a few times to make sure she was okay, and after two weeks she was moving away to California to be with her mom. Then Marvin was released."
"What!" Hummel interrupted.
"I know," Puck sighed. "He had a good lawyer. He got out and I ran into him again. No gun, no girl, just ran into him and he laughed at me. That's when I enrolled. I didn't want him to hurt anyone else." Puck stopped and looked down at the coffee he refused to drink.
"Did he hurt anyone else?" Hummel asked slowly, fearing the answer.
"Yeah, Clare," Puck said sadly. "He found he in California and killed her. He's in jail for life now, but I wish I could have done more. I was a cop in Lima for a while them moved to Cleveland then New York. And here I am, trying to save the world." Puck laughed.
"Well you saved a little girls life today," Hummel said smiling. "I think you're on your way,"
"Yeah," Puck said and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "I think I found it you know. I found what everyone is supposed to be looking for, a, uh purpose, I guess. What about you? Is this your purpose?"
"I-I don't know," Hummel said and lowered his gaze from Puck's.
"Well you gonna tell me your story now? It's only fair that you do," Puck said, and Hummel opened his mouth to start but was interrupted by his pager going off. Hummel went white as he read the page and stood up quickly.
"I have to go," Hummel said and started to move away from Puck.
"Wait," Puck said rushing after him. "Is someone sick?"
"Erm yes," Hummel said wincing. "I have to go."
"Wait Hummel you still have to tell me your story," Puck said sternly.
"Okay," Hummel sighed. "Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," Puck agreed. Hummel took out a pen and grabbed Puck's hand and wrote his number on it without asking.
"I'm done at three," Hummel said and stepped away from Puck.
"Ok Hummel see you then," Puck said and waved his hand goodbye.
"Alright, and it's Kurt," the doctor said and left the cop standing in the hallway with a wide smile on his face.
...