Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.
A/N: "If anyone knows of any lawful impediment..."
"Staff Sergeant Puckerman," Quinn said, sounding impressed.
"Can I help you, Ms Fabray?" Puck replied, his tone almost smarmily helpful.
"Can you zip me up?" Quinn asked with a sigh, piling her hair up out of the way. "I'd much rather you were unzipping me, but heyho, we have to go this stupid reunion thing, I suppose," she pouted.
"Fuck the reunion," Puck sighed as he dragged her close. "They'll understand, they know I just got back from detachment to the UK," he murmured into her throat. "For fuck's sake, what now?" he shouted at his phone as it chimed on the nightstand. "Ah crap, it's Jake," he sighed, his head dropping a little, almost sobbing. "Yo, dude," Puck said into the phone. "Anything yet?" he asked.
"Nope, it's all stopped, contractions, everything, Marley is totally pissed, I can tell you that, she says hi, by the way. They've got her hooked up to all sorts of monitors and stuff, if anything happens tonight I'll let you know," Jake told his brother. "I just thought that if you can manage to get to the reunion, you can have a drink for both of us," he added.
"Cool, call us if anything changes," Puck replied. "Well, Baby Puckerman seems content to stay there for a while longer," he told Quinn. "Damn, I'm never going to be an uncle," he said with a frown. "Or a daddy," he added silently, although he knew better than to bring that subject up right now.
"Here's to another ten years," Rachel cried, lifting her glass high, everyone around the room copying her and adding their own bits to the toast.
"I can't believe it's ten years since we graduated," Puck said into Quinn's hair as they slow danced, shuffled together in the tented, decorated gymnasium at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.
"Hey, I still can't believe you graduated at all," Quinn joked, leaning back a little to look up at him. "You look so sexy in your dress uniform, flyboy," she sighed. "Want to fly me away from all this?"
"Do I have to remind you again?" Puck gave a put upon sigh. "I don't fly anything, I'm in intelligence," he added seriously.
"That still sounds funny," Quinn giggled into Puck's shoulder. "I love you Puckerman, but even after all these years it still makes me laugh to put both of those words into a sentence."
"What? Puckerman and intelligence?" Puck asked, grinning into her hair. "Yeah, makes everyone smile, that one," he admitted, him included, but actually, Puck was very well respected in his field, Operations Intelligence, in both a traditional sense, using radio waves and also cybersystems.
"I have to talk to you about something," Quinn said quietly, almost shyly, nervously.
"What's wrong?" Puck asked, immediately concerned, wondering how best to help whatever situation Quinn was worrying about.
"Oh no, no, nothing's wrong, oh, hey, it doesn't matter, let's just enjoy the evening, ok?" Quinn said, looking up into Puck's worried eyes.
"Are you sure?" Puck asked, his heart in his mouth, he saw something in Quinn's eyes, a little note of worry, fear, something, he wasn't sure what. "We can talk about anything, you can tell me anything, you know that," he reminded her.
"To be fair, you arrived home exactly," Quinn said as she checked her exquisite rose gold and diamond watch that Puck had bought her to commemorate Beth's tenth birthday, "five hours ago and for the last two hours we've been here," she said, giving Puck the 'do not, for your own sake, argue with me' stare. "So we haven't really had time to talk about anything."
"Sorry, I know and as soon as I got in I dragged you to bed," Puck apologised, realising that she was right, they hadn't had time to talk about anything, not his promotion, not his next deployment - and he still had to tell Quinn about that - not her job as a high school counsellor, not Jake's baby, nothing, they hadn't talked about anything of significance, not even on the ninety minute drive from Fairborn to Lima.
"Hey, flyboy," Quinn teased, "don't apologise for that, in fact, I booked us in at The Courtyard, want to take me there now?" she asked with a huge smile, her teeth nibbling at her lower lip.
"Damn fucking straight," Puck almost growled and turned Quinn towards the tables to collect her tiny purse and her wrap. "Night all," Puck said, ignoring the hoots and hollers. "Hey, I have been back on home soil for less than twelve hours, I am pleased to see her, incredibly so, so we're leaving, now, before I lose what's left of my control and ravish her here, in front of all you guys," he added without a hint of shame.
"When are you going to make an honest woman of her?" Mercedes called, asking the question that was on everyone's lips. Out of all of their group, Puck and Quinn were the only ones who weren't married, they were the only ones of the group who were still in a relationship that had begun - however tenuously - within McKinley walls, everyone else meeting their significant others when they went out into the big wide world.
"Oooh," Puck said then sucked in his breath. "Ohh, now there's that question again," he teased, looking to Quinn, seeing the answering grin on her face too. "See, this is why we don't come to these things too often, people start asking stuff, when are you getting married, when will you have kids, we're cool as we are, we don't need that stuff, right Q?" he asked. Quinn ignored the little niggle deep down in her stomach and nodded. "Later," Puck called as they left the gym.
"If we just take a little detour, we can call in at Lima Memorial, see Jake and Marley, see how things are going, then we can stop off, see your mom, then call and see my mom then go to the hotel," Puck suggested.
"Fine," Quinn agreed, it would put off the discussion for a while longer. Actually, there was no discussion, it was going to happen and that was it, end of story.
"Hi, how are you?" Quinn asked Marley a short while later.
"Fine," Marley replied then burst into tears. "He has no idea," she wailed, leaning in to Quinn's sympathetic embrace. "He doesn't know anything, he's just a stupid man, this is all his fault and the baby doesn't want to come out, it hates me already," she cried, sobbing into Quinn's shoulder. Quinn frowned at Jake and comforted Marley.
"Don't worry, Quinn was the same," Puck told his brother very, very quietly. "She blamed me for every wrong ever done to any woman since the dawn of time," he added. "And I'm fairly sure that the Salem witch trials were nothing to do with me," he said, joking a little to lighten things for Jake.
"Hi Judy," Puck called as they let themselves in at Dudley Road.
"Oh, hello darlings, how are you both," Judy cried, coming out of the lounge with a wine glass in her hand. "Come through, we're just having a little soiree," she trilled.
"Oh hey, Ma," Puck said when he saw his mother in the lounge, then his grandmother and sister too. "Hi, what's going on?" he asked nervously, he wasn't sure he liked this many female relatives gathered together in one place, he was sure it was going to be trouble.
"Nothing at all," Monica Puckerman answered, standing to give her son a hug. "Nice to see you, son, you're looking well, England must have been good for you," she said, kissing his cheek then moving aside for everyone else to greet him.
Puck and Quinn nervously made small talk for the best part of half an hour then Puck couldn't stand it any longer. "We have to go, we need to check in at The Courtyard," he told the women as he stood and took Quinn's hand.
"Oh, err, actually," his sister, Sarah, muttered. "I changed your reservation, I thought you were coming tomorrow not today," she admitted. Sarah worked part time at The Courtyard while putting herself through school, with some help from her mom and her brother. "And the place is full because of the reunion. Sorry," she mumbled.
"What?" Puck cried. "Sarah," he growled. "Now we'll have to drive home, aw crap, I am exhausted, I only got off a flight from the UK around lunchtime, I really don't need to be driving right now and Quinn hates driving my truck, especially at night," he sighed.
"Stay here," Judy offered, holding out her hands to the sides. "There's plenty of room," she reminded them. "Although I would prefer that you didn't share," she admitted. "I know, I know, you've lived together for six years, I know," she said again, "but I can't help my beliefs," she shrugged.
"Judy, thanks for the offer, but actually, tonight, that's just not an option," Puck said, giving Quinn's hand a jiggle and a squeeze. "We've been apart for six months and then the day I get home we have this stupid reunion thing, I'm sorry, I'm not sleeping without her tonight, although I am so tired, it will just be sleeping, sorry, babe," he added his apology to Quinn. Judy gave way. Despite her usual misgivings, she allowed Puck and Quinn to share Quinn's old bedroom. As he'd claimed just a short time ago, Puck fell into an exhausted, jet lagged sleep the instant his head hit the pillow.
"Yep, this better be good," Puck mumbled into his phone without opening his eyes, lifting his head from the pillow or even totally waking up.
"You have a niece," Jake cried, his voice full of emotion, Puck could hear the proud tears. "Ruby Puckerman," he announced.
"Congratulations, that's really cool, bra," Puck mumbled then fell asleep again. Quinn took the phone and the information, giving her quiet congratulations to the young family.
"Do you think he suspects anything?" Judy whispered.
"No, I don't think so," Quinn replied, taking the tray from her mom at the door. "What time do we have to be there?" she asked, just to make sure.
"Two. One forty five would be better, but two at the latest," Judy answered then hurried away to answer the doorbell.
"What are you plotting and where do we have to be at one forty five?" Puck asked, his face still buried in the pillow.
"Errm, we have to be at McKinley," Quinn replied, sounding even more nervous, the cups rattling on the tray she carried to the dressing table.
"What for?" Puck asked, Quinn would probably have been pissed if she'd seen the look on his face, but luckily, he still hadn't lifted his head yet.
"It's a...it's sort of a...it's a dedication ceremony, of sorts," Quinn eventually replied after several efforts at finding her voice. "Oh, what now?" she asked no one in particular when she heard her mother shout her name in a rather strange manner.
"Quinn, could you come here for a moment?" Judy cried in a strangled, barely recognisable voice.
"Beth?" Quinn asked as she approached the young girl at the door. "Beth is that you?" she asked.
"Yes," the crying blond nodded. "You don't know how long it took me to get here, I tried your house but there was no one there, then I got here this morning and found you here, is Noah here too?" she asked. "I know you live together and that he's in the air force," she explained.
"Yes he's upstairs sleeping, he just got back from England yesterday," Quinn replied, swallowing nervously. "What are you doing here? Where's Shelby?" she asked.
Beth burst into tears again. "Please don't send me back to her, she's gone nuts, I think there's something wrong with her, I think she's got a brain tumour or something, she's crazy, beating me up and locking me up in the basement," she managed to say, tears tumbling down her cheeks, her green eyes that looked so much like Quinn's, totally water logged and beautiful, irresistible.
"Oh, honey, I'm sure things can't be that bad," Judy said, hugging Beth close. "But of course you're welcome here, any time, any time at all," she added.
"Yes, with Shelby's knowledge, mom," Quinn reminded her mother. "Beth is a minor, we have to let her mother know where she is, she must be frantic, if you've already been to Fairborn you must have left yesterday," she deduced. "How have you travelled? Were you safe?" she asked.
Beth dodged the direct questions in favour of the hugs from her new found grandmother. "You tell Grandma Judy all about it," Judy encouraged, rubbing Beth's shoulders, comforting her, walking her through to the lounge.
Quinn jogged back up to her room. "Do you have Shelby's number on your phone?" she asked Puck, nudging his shoulder to wake him.
"What? Why?" Puck asked, pissed at being woken yet again. There was definitely something going on today and he was too tired to give a damn.
"Because Beth is downstairs spinning some garbage about Shelby being cruel to her and having a brain tumour," Quinn explained. "She's already been to our house which makes me think she ran away sometime either late yesterday evening or through the night. She's had to travel at least five hours to get to our house from home and God only knows how she's done it, she hasn't said yet but my mother is eating her sob story up and giving her the sympathy she's looking for."
"Fuck, these kids don't get anything past you, do they?" Puck asked, impressed at Quinn's no nonsense attitude. Puck knew that if Beth had been telling him this stuff, he'd have probably fallen for it like Judy, but they knew that if Shelby was ill, if she'd been diagnosed with anything life threatening, the first contact would have been with Quinn, she would have been notified because of the clauses in the adoption agreement.
Puck and Quinn went downstairs to confront the almost teenager. "So your mother is beating you and locking you in the basement?" Puck asked, showing his concern. "I think we should get the police involved, CPS, obviously we have to contact her employer, I mean, she can't possibly be a teacher if she practices child cruelty, now can she?" he asked silkily, looking at Beth's shamed face with one eyebrow raised.
"How did you know?" Beth asked, slumped down on the sofa.
"I work with kids your age and a little older," Quinn replied. "And we talked with your mother, she was frantic by the way, she's had the police out all night looking for you," she told Beth. "And just because your mother won't let you get your tongue pierced, doesn't make it right to run away, now does it?" she asked gently, taking Beth's hand. "And I have to agree with your mother," Quinn repeated the title over and over again, "you're a beautiful young girl, you don't need to pierce yourself or get tattoos just because your friends have, they're the ones who're going to have to live with those choices, not you," she added.
"Come here," Puck instructed, his voice both tender and stern. He hauled Beth into a hug, his arms wrapping all the way around her. "You are the most precious thing that has ever been in my life," he told her. "I know we haven't ever seen very much of you, I know we don't have a real family relationship, just a gift at Christmas and your birthday, but we had to respect your mother's decision about that. The one thing I want you to know, want you always to remember is that you are loved, so loved and you always will be."
"If you love me so much, why did you give me away?" Beth asked, her voice almost lost in Puck's chest.
"It was because we love you that we could do that," Quinn told Beth, sitting down beside her and Puck. "Just think, we were only four years older than you are right now," she said, lifting Beth's hand in her own. "That's not very much, is it?" she asked, Beth shook her head. "Can you imagine being responsible for a baby in just four years time?" Quinn suggested. Again Beth shook her head. "We gave you up not because we wanted to, but because we wanted the absolute best for you and we knew we couldn't give that to you."
After a lot more talking, Beth fell asleep on the couch with Puck's arm around her shoulders. "What do you think we should do?" he asked Quinn quietly. "Should we take her back to Fairborn, let Shelby pick her up from there?"
"What about the thing this afternoon?" Quinn asked, her hand fluttering at her throat.
"We don't really need to be there for that, do we?" Puck asked, pulling a face. "I just want to go home, spend the weekend with you, chill out, get ready for next week and there's something we have to talk about," he sighed.
"You're right, there is something we have to talk about," Quinn agreed. "But we do have to be there this afternoon," she told Puck then took a few deep breaths. "We have to be there because it's not a dedication ceremony, it's our wedding ceremony," she finally admitted.
"What?" Puck cried. "Wedding? Us?" he demanded. "I thought we didn't want to do that?" he asked, his heart beating erratically in his chest.
"Well, I do," Quinn replied. "I want the wedding, the marriage, I want a baby," she said then bit back a sob. "I just thought that if you were faced with it, with all our friends, our families, you'd just say yes. Mr Schue is officiating," she said, tears almost ready to drip from her lashes.
"You really want all that with me?" Puck asked. Quinn nodded. "Seriously?" he asked. Quinn nodded again. "But I asked you years ago, before I got deployed to the Middle East the first time, you said no," he reminded her.
"That was then," Quinn replied with the hint of a frown, remembering when he had asked and his rather childish response to her negative reply. "What do you mean, the first time?" she demanded, finally picking up on what Puck had said.
"Yeah, we do need to talk," Puck sighed.
"You don't say," Quinn muttered, her hands on her hips, a scowl set on her face.
"I've got a six month deployment to the Middle East," Puck announced. "Surprise," he said with fake cheer and enthusiasm.
"When do you go?" Quinn asked with a gulp, she could see her dream slipping away. "You've only just got back from the UK," she cried a moment later.
"I know, I've got a three month prep then a six month deployment then I should be good for at least six months at home," Puck replied, standing up to pull Quinn into his arms. "So what about the plans for this afternoon?" he asked. "Who's all in on it?"
"Mercedes," Quinn growled, remembering the question she'd asked last night. "Seriously, I could have choked her last night when she said that," Quinn grumbled. "And everybody else. Everyone except you, actually. And I can't believe your brother won't be able to be there to be your best man," she cried. "Oh, we'll just cancel it all, we'll do it properly another time," she sighed, resigned to never actually getting married.
"No, no, we'll do it this afternoon," Puck said with a smile, putting Quinn away from him a little so that he could look into her face. "Lucy Quinn Fabray," he said as he got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" he asked.
Quinn couldn't answer as she nodded tearfully. "Can I be in your wedding?" Beth asked, excitement in her voice.
"Of course," Puck answered. "We'd love for you to be in it," he assured her. "Jake," he said into his phone a second later. "Will you be able to be best man via face time do you think?" he asked, Jake agreed even though Marley shouted that he could leave her for long enough to go to the wedding. "Who has the rings?" he suddenly realised he would need to know. "Is that why you insisted on me wearing my full dress uniform for the reunion yesterday?" he asked Quinn, she nodded feeling a little devious.
"I brought you a clean shirt," Quinn said very quietly, "and I have my great-grandmother's wedding ring, it has the diamond in it that she was given by one of the minor royals when he asked her to marry him before she left England, bound for a new life on Broadway."
"Don't I get a ring?" Puck asked, Quinn shrugged. "We have a couple of hours, we can pop into town, is there anything else we're going to need?" he asked, deciding there and then that, yeah, he wanted the outward sign that his life belonged with someone special. "Beth, do you want to come with us? We can pick up something special for you to wear, I don't suppose you have a bridesmaid dress tucked away in your backpack, do you?" he grinned.
"Well, I thought about packing my ball gown and tiara but I changed my mind, I thought it might get too creased," Beth teasingly answered.
"This is just so surreal," Quinn breathed as they jumped into the truck to go do some last minute shopping.
"Sarah and the room at The Courtyard," Puck suddenly cried. "That's why she changed the booking, she better have reserved us the honeymoon suite," he murmured against Quinn's lips just before he set off.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Quinn asked Puck nervously as they stood, side by side, she in a beautifully simple Kurt Hummel creation, he in his full dress uniform. "Oh God I just completely railroaded you into this, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered, repeating her apology over and over again.
"Hey," Puck said quietly, breaking into Quinn's nervous mumblings. "I am exactly where I want to be right now, doing exactly what I've wanted to do for the last ten years," he admitted then bent and gave Quinn the sweetest, most gentle kiss on her shining, trembling lips. "And now, I think they're ready for us, may I escort you down the aisle, Miss Fabray?" he asked with a huge cheesy grin, offering his arm for Quinn to take.
"You may, Mr Puckerman," Quinn replied with a flirty look in her eyes. "I'm glad that we decided to do it this way, both of us together," she added quietly, smiling and nodding at people who had stood to watch their progress.
"Welcome everyone, to this most special, long awaited occasion," William Schuester said as soon as Puck and Quinn arrived in front of him. Puck had to hold in a laugh at the 'long awaited' part, he had to nod in agreement. "I cannot tell you how honoured I am to be able to do this for you," he told Puck and Quinn, smiling at them both.
Mercedes sang quietly as Mr Schue performed the simple service, it was hauntingly awesome. "If anyone knows of any lawful impediment why these two may not be joined in matrimony, speak now or for..." Mr Schue was as surprised as anyone when a voice called out.
"Wait, wait, stop, wait," a woman's breathless voice yelled. "Oh thank God, I didn't miss it," she said as she came to a stop at the end of the aisle. "Beth Corcoran, I will deal with you later, Quinn, Noah, congratulations, Will, carry on," Shelby said, still struggling to breathe, she took a seat near the back.
"Thank you," Mr Schue replied, relief pouring through him, he didn't actually know the protocol if there was a genuine objection, he had no clue what he would have to do. "May we continue?" he asked, looking for approval from the gathering of friends, family, acquaintances. "If anyone knows, da da da da da," he muttered, finding his place again in his notes, "speak now or forever hold your peace," he finished the line then looked around for second. "Thank God for that," he muttered to Puck and Quinn when he was met with silence. Even though they used the traditional vows rather than writing their own, they were still very emotional, Quinn almost lost it, so did Puck. "I now pronounce you, man and wife," Mr Schue concluded the ceremony with a huge smile at the couple. "I really don't think you need any encouragement, do you?" he asked Puck.
"Not at all," Puck replied with a grin as he bent to kiss Quinn, a long, slow, romantic, mind blowing kiss of epic proportions. They eventually broke apart to acknowledge the cheers and applause of their friends. "I love you, Mrs Puckerman," he murmured to Quinn as he hugged her tight before they walked back down the aisle to the reception arranged by Judy and Monica. "And the second I'm back from deployment, we are going to work on adding to our family," he assured her.
"Or before you go," Quinn thought to herself. "If I can arrange all this in just five days, imagine what I can do in three months," she whispered very, very quietly just before they were engulfed in a huge hug from their friends.