***This starts the day Finn found out he wasn't the father of Quinn's baby.

Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray stood at her locker stuffing books in her too-small book bag. Two loser girls walked by, whispering as they went and Quinn pulled the jacket she was wearing tighter around her. She was starting to show and she was always afraid the whispers were about her. She flipped the bag over her shoulder and slowly started trudging towards the parking lot. She needed to find a ride, but she wasn't in a hurry. She didn't want to go to Puck's. She wasn't sure he would have told his mother yet, and even if he had, she was pretty sure his very Jewish mother wouldn't be very accepting of her teenage son's baby mama. She pushed open the heavy door that led to the student parking lot and immediately wished she hadn't. Her mother, Judy Fabray, was standing just outside the door.

She tried to walk past her, as if she hadn't even noticed her mother. "Quinnie?" called the shrill voice. "Quinnie?" She started walking after her daughter. Quinn turned around, trying to stare at her with the same sharp look she used to use as head cheerleader, for some reason, she couldn't remember just how to do it. "You're showing," her mother observed.

"That's typically what happens when you're pregnant," Quinn said quietly, almost under her breath. "Why are you here?" She spoke up a little louder. "You and dad kicked me out, remember?"

"We have a proposition for you, baby," Judy said reaching for her daughter's hand, but Quinn quickly tucked it into her jacket pocket.

"A proposition?" Talking to your mother shouldn't sound like a business deal.

"Mrs. Puckerman called today." Judy paused.

"Did she tell you?" Quinn asked, knowing her parents would be a whole new level of angry knowing she lied to them about the father. The father who wasn't her boyfriend, and was Jewish, something that wouldn't go over well with her Catholic family.

"She did. But that's not important baby. She wants you to marry Noah! Oh, please say you will." Quinn was taken aback. When she had told her parents she was pregnant they seemed in no rush to marry her off.

"Why? Why would I marry Puck?"

"I told your father. He said if you married him, he'd let you have your car. And you could come back to the house and get the rest of your clothes. And, he didn't say it, but I know I could convince him to let you move back in." Judy had tears in her eyes and wrapped her arms around her daughter who remained stiff.

"So you're saying you want me to marry him, so that we won't have to live together? That's crazy mom. Why would I marry him if I'm just moving back in with you?"

"Oh, it would fix so many things. I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier! Mrs. Puckerman is just distraught about Noah's situation and would feel much better if you were properly married. Your father feels the same way. Oh, and the church! You could come back to church! And…." Quinn zoned out, not thinking about the problems it would solve, but the problems it would create. Surely they couldn't expect her to be married to Puck for the rest of her life. Puck. Yes, that was the solution. She couldn't say no. This idea was letting her "get her foot back in the door" with her father, so to speak. If she flat out rejected the marriage idea, he'd never let her come home. Puck. He had to be the one to turn it down.

Quinn carefully considered the expression on her face. She would aim for pleased and grateful. "Oh mom! That sounds so nice! I have to talk to Noah about it though. Will you drive me home? I'll take my car over and talk to him. Don't worry, I'll have the car home before Dad gets home. He'll never know you let me use it." Judy nodded with a large smile on her face and took the book bag off of Quinn's shoulder placing it on her own.

a few hours earlier

"Ma! I'm home!" Puck yelled as he walked through the door to their small house. Mrs. Puckerman started on the couch. She had been napping, exhausted from the long hours she put in at the hospital the night before. "Ma. I gotta tell you something." Puck said, knowing it would be best to get everything out in the open. He was already dreading his mother's reaction though.

"What my boy? What have you done?" Mrs. Puckerman was now fully awake, eyes wide as she searched her mind, wondering what her oldest child could have gotten himself into now.

Puck sat down on the couch and took his mother's hand in his. He and his mother had a strange relationship. She was always hard on him, and he had a hard time following her wishes, but they had a strong connection. He knew she always loved him, and she knew he always wanted to please her, even when he was far from doing so.

"Ma…" Puck took a deep breath and was surprised to feel tears welling up in his eyes. "Ma… I got a girl pregnant," he breathed out. He immediately felt a snap on his face and even though he hadn't seen it, he knew his mother had slapped him.

"Noah! Noah!" his mother wailed with an audible lump in her throat. Puck's reaction was a surprised to them both.

"I'm so sorry Ma! I'm…. I'm so sorry!" Tears rushed from his eyes and his head collapsed onto his mother's strong shoulder. She held him to her. This was the first time she had seen her boy cry since the day his father left them. She rubbed small circles on his back and shushed him.

Puck tried to stop his tears, embarrassed by his sudden show of emotion, especially in front of his mom. He was usually trying to be the man of the house. She was usually the one crying on his shoulder. "Baby," she said holding him away from her so she could see his face, "what girl?"

"Quinn Fabray," Puck said, regaining control of himself. Mrs. Puckerman's heart dropped even farther. She had seen the Fabray girl and didn't care for her at all. Of course, she thought, that's probably how most felt about her precious Noah.

"What are you going to do about this?"

"I wanted to help her, but she told me she wants to handle all this on her own." Puck said with sadness in his voice. "It's a baby girl. It's my baby girl."

"Of course she doesn't want your help, Noah. She doesn't know she can depend on you! You are just some teenage boy to her. You have to prove, Noah. Prove you want to help her and want to know your baby. If you want to, that is. Do you want that baby to be yours Noah?"

"Yeah. Of course I want my daughter! But how am I gonna convince her?" Puck said. This is one of the reasons he loved his mother. She always knew what to do.

"You must marry her! You will get the girl, the baby, and you will be much more welcome at temple."

"Ma…" Puck started, but his mother cut him off.

"You need to Noah. Just think about it. You know it's the right thing to do." And Puck did start thinking about it. The more he thought, the better it sounded.