Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.
A/N: The year is 2019. When Quinn returned home to Lima from Yale, triumphant with her teaching degree clasped tightly in her hand, she also brought with her a husband…
"Oh, Quinnie, where are you going?" Judy Fabray asked her daughter, her voice a feeble, husky whisper.
"I'm going to the gym, mom," Quinn replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"But you've been at work all day and now you're going out again?" Judy grumbled. "I haven't seen you all day, I feel like I haven't seen you all week," she pouted.
"Nora is in the kitchen, call her if you need anything, she's here to look after you, ok?" Quinn reminded her mother of the nurse that she was providing at considerable expense.
"But I don't like to interrupt her," Judy replied, "I'll just wait till you come home," she told Quinn then patted her hand reassuringly.
"Mom, Nora is employed to take care of you," Quinn explained again, becoming exasperated with her mother. Quinn felt like growling, she took a breath before speaking, her tone even, kind. "Don't you remember? You, Frannie and I decided that you need more help than I can give you, that's why we employed Nora, that's why we moved in here with you, why Nora lives in too."
Since Judy's stroke she had become increasingly forgetful, increasingly frail and at risk of being a danger to herself and others. Quinn and Frannie and their husbands had talked it all out first before talking about it with Judy. The decision had been for Quinn and her husband, because they actually lived and worked in Lima, to move into the huge house on Dudley Road with Judy.
"I'm leaving now, I'll be back in a couple of hours, ok?" Quinn said to Judy, bending to press a kiss to her greying, thinning hair before leaving with a quick wave.
The short drive to the gym was enough to help Quinn to calm down. Lately, every time her mother went into the 'lost little soul' routine, it made Quinn's blood boil, she resented every single second that she had to spend helping her mom, taking care of her mom. Frannie didn't understand at all, she thought Quinn was being selfish because she was getting stressed by their mother. Frannie had told Quinn that if she didn't have three children, a husband and two businesses to worry about, she'd come for a year long holiday to Lima and take care of Judy. Quinn had felt as though Frannie had pressed white hot daggers through her heart when she added that Quinn was lucky that she didn't have children to consider and her husband's business was hardly a life and death situation, plus the fact that she had lots of holidays because she was a teacher. Frannie didn't get why Quinn was even remotely stressed, she thought Quinn should be grateful to be living in a beautiful big house that she didn't have to kill herself to find the mortgage repayments for every month and that their mother's alimony payments covered the costs of running the house. Quinn didn't feel grateful right now. Quinn felt resentful and that feeling was growing, resentful and unfulfilled. Quinn felt as though something, someone was robbing her of her breath, her life, she had to get out. Now. She had to get to the gym and work through this. Work past this. Work to exhaustion.
Puck looked up as a shadow caught his eye, he glanced at the mirrors that lined the wall to see the door to the ladies changing room swing shut. Puck glanced up at the clock. Seven pm on the dot. Like clockwork these last few weeks. Every night, seven pm, she would come in, get changed, beat the crap out of the punch bag, kick the shit out of anyone willing to spar with her then off she'd go, leave the building like the shadow that came in, with barely a word in his direction. Not tonight. Puck had seen enough. He knew enough about Quinn Fabray to know when something was troubling her. Tonight he was going to find out what it was. Tonight the only person she'd get to spar with was him.
Quinn emerged from the changing rooms dressed in her work out gear, with her foot pads and shin guards already in place, her sparring gloves, her helmet and her gum shield in her hands. She carefully placed them on the bench then bowed respectfully before stepping onto the mat. Quinn began a stretching and flexing warm up routine, before jogging slowly round and round the perimeter of the mat, building speed with each lap.
"Go one," Puck called to the group of kids he was teaching, all of them faced him in stance. "Go two," he shouted, they all, in unison, punched forward, "go three," he called, they all stepped and kicked with a shout. "Go one," he shouted, they all stepped back into stance, repeating the pattern over and over to Puck's shouted numbers. Puck kept his eye on Quinn as she ran round and round, saw the changing colour of her face, saw the flush building as she warmed up.
"Ok people, punch bags," Puck shouted to the class. "I want you to line up, show me an axe kick. Ready?" he called then demonstrated the kick, he stepped back to watch, still keeping Quinn in his line of sight. She wasn't making any eye contact with him tonight, making no effort to even notice him, yes something was really, really bothering Quinn Fabray.
Quinn bagged the punch bag at the far end of the row, the one that most of the students hated using because it was just that little bit harder than the other punch bags. Quinn welcomed that right now, the tingling slap of skin against leather, even through the gloves and pads, she welcomed the bite of pain in her knuckles as she punched, felt the fire in her lungs as she kicked and punched faster and faster, harder and harder without respite.
"Quinn," Puck called, breaking into Quinn's concentration. "Could I borrow you for a moment? I just want to demonstrate something," he said, holding his hand out to welcome her to their group, it wasn't really a question, he was the Master and as a student of his gym, his school, she couldn't really refuse. "You can all plainly see the size difference between us," Puck said, standing beside Quinn as she puffed and panted, getting her breath back slowly. Puck glanced at each of the students who were knelt on the mat waiting for him to impart some knowledge. "So, who thinks Quinn can take me down and who thinks she's too small?" he asked, holding his arm up to cut the group in two. "This side if you think she can, this side if you think she can't," he explained. "Looking a little lonely there all by yourself, Sophia," he said to the young girl who was the only one who thought that Quinn would be able to take Puck down.
"I think she can do it," Sophia replied, full of confidence.
"All you other guys are sure she can't?" Puck asked the larger group with a smile, his arms folded over his chest, bouncing on the balls of his feet a little. "One thing I forgot to tell you," he added turning to give Quinn a friendly wink, "even though she hasn't got her belt on, she is a third dan black belt," he said with a huge grin at the class. "And I taught her everything she knows. Let's see which group is right," he said, smiling as a couple of girls changed their minds and decided that Quinn might just be able to knock their Master on his ass. "Ready?" he asked Quinn as they both faced each other.
Quinn bowed to Puck, her eyes never leaving him as he did the same to her. Immediately they both got into stance, turning side on with each other, reducing the body area facing the other person. Puck waited, just a fraction of a second, he knew exactly where Quinn would grab first to take him down, he defended and knocked her hand away when she went for the hold. Quinn was quick, she feinted left but moved right and spun round, grabbing Puck, throwing him over her hip and twisting his arm behind him once he was on the floor. Quinn bent Puck's hand up, pressing on the pressure points till he tapped out.
"Never underestimate someone because you think they're smaller than you," Puck advised from his prone position on the mat. "Cool down, start running," he ordered the group.
"Yes sir," they all shouted before setting off to run laps of the mats then stretching off to finish the class.
"You let me throw you too easy tonight," Quinn commented as she returned to the punch bags, keeping her voice low so that the kids running past didn't hear.
"Sometimes they need to see the little guy winning," Puck murmured, keeping close to her, he looked at her face, saw the sadness in her eyes. "S'up?" he asked. "You don't look happy," he stated, then waited for her to speak.
"Is there another class after this one goes?" Quinn asked with a little nod of her head to the group still running round and round.
"Nope, closing up after they go," Puck replied. "Start stretching, people," he called over his shoulder, watching the kids as they lined up in grade order to stretch their muscles. "Why?" he asked Quinn and saw the sadness in her eyes fade a little.
As the gym cleared, the kids left, collected by parents, each of them talking excitedly about the next class, Quinn removed her protective gear, she sat in the middle of the mats and began stretching, loosening the muscles. Puck walked back into the main part of the gym, turning lights off as he went. He bowed before stepping onto the mats and came to sit facing Quinn. "Now do you want to tell me what's up?" he asked. "I've known you too long, I know there's something," he added with a shrug.
"I don't want to talk," Quinn answered, her voice verging on breathless, she lurched forward taking Puck off guard, "I want you," she growled just before her lips connected with his.
"What about…mmmffmm," Puck tried to speak as her lips touched his, automatically his arms came around her back, he couldn't help but roll over, couldn't help but become the aggressor. Puck lifted his head a fraction and stared deep into Quinn's eyes. "You're sure about this?" he asked huskily.
"I'm sure," Quinn sighed, her hands urging his head back towards hers, groaning with pleasure as her tongue touched his, as his hard body covered hers. Quinn's frustrations melted away along with her clothes, with Puck's clothes, with his every thrust inside her until she felt him explode and fill her. "I don't want to move just yet," she whispered tearfully into his ear, her arms and legs wrapped around him, keeping him as tight to her as she could. "Not yet," she repeated and sought his mouth again, she knew she would have to go back to reality soon enough, she just wanted a few more minutes of fantasy.
"You know what that does to me," Puck groaned against Quinn's throat as she squeezed her muscles tight, keeping his slowly softening flesh inside her. "Think you've got enough imagination to come up with a legitimate reason why you stayed out so late?" he challenged.
"Depends," Quinn countered, flexing her hips in time with Puck's renewed thrusts.
"On what?" he asked, swooping back in to kiss her again.
"Can you satisfy me again?" she asked. "Maybe I should just get dressed and go home now, no one will notice if I'm just a little bit late," she said quietly.
"Is that what you want?" Puck asked, kneeling up between her spread thighs, his now hardening flesh still buried so deep inside her. He rocked and flexed, rolled his hips, lifted hers to pull her closer in to him.
"Mmmm," Quinn moaned, her shoulders and head on the mats, her ass raised as she rocked herself against him, sought her own pleasure. "One more time," she sighed as her eyes opened a little, enough for Puck to see the glowing emerald orbs.
"I thought you were only going to be an hour," Judy whined when Quinn walked back into the house and made her way straight to Judy's room to check on her. "I need the bathroom Quinnie," she pouted.
"Why didn't you call Nora?" Quinn sighed, feeling the frustration growing immediately, counteracting all the relaxation she'd found in Puck's arms.
"I don't like to disturb her," Judy replied sheepishly. "She might be watching TV or something, she might be busy," she explained.
"Mom, Nora is employed to take care of you," Quinn answered, barely able to keep her teeth from grinding together, barely able to keep from shouting, from crying out in frustration. "It's why she's here," she added helplessly, defeated. Quinn helped her mom to the bathroom and waited for her.
Quinn turned as she heard the front door open then close. "Hi it's me," her husband called. "I'm going to shower," he added then Quinn heard his footsteps as he jogged upstairs to their room.
"Yeah, and no doubt you'll fall asleep and that's the last I'll hear from you tonight," Quinn grumbled silently to herself, she could feel the bitter fingers of anger tweaking and nipping at her, roiling in her stomach. Quinn just felt so frustrated. That's the only word she could think of. She was frustrated with everything. She was frustrated with being held back at work by Sue Sylvester who still refused to consider any of the cheer routines that Quinn came up with, despite her own routines being either boring and predictable or downright dangerous. She was frustrated with her mother, making her feel used and put upon. She was frustrated with her sister for leaving everything to her to do. She was frustrated with her husband, she wanted a baby so badly but that appeared to be the one thing he didn't seem able to give her. Quinn slid down the wall outside her mother's bedroom, she landed on the floor and cried. She just cried.
Seven pm. Like clockwork. Puck couldn't help the little smile that touched one side of his mouth. He drew in a breath, excited at just the sight of her. He frowned a little as she walked straight in to the gym tonight instead of the changing rooms.
"Have you got a sec?" Quinn asked quietly as Puck walked towards the edge of the mats.
"Sure," Puck nodded. "Jack," he called to the boy who helped out in class sometimes, he was an experienced kid despite his age, he was also learning how to be an instructor. "Take the class for a few minutes for me," he said, knowing that Jack would take the group of kids through their paces without any harm coming to any one of them. Puck turned and bowed as he left the mats. "S'up?" he asked as soon as he and Quinn were alone in his office, away from the prying eyes of the few parents who stayed to watch their kids learn something.
"I err…I," Quinn started to speak, she couldn't get her words out. Quinn sniffed as she began to cry.
"Hey, it can't be that bad," Puck said softly, taking Quinn into his arms, hugging her tight, giving her comfort.
"It is," Quinn refuted, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "Remember a few weeks ago?" she asked. "That night in there?" she clarified, nodding her head towards the gym. "Well, I'm pregnant," she announced then started crying again.
Puck gulped, his eyes wide, scared, as he continued to rub Quinn's shoulders, continued to comfort her. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice sounding quite unlike him. Quinn nodded her head against him. "How can you be sure it was that night?" he asked.
"Because that was the only time in weeks," Quinn explained. "And the stick said five weeks two days. We had sex, in there, nearly four weeks ago," she reminded him, her voice totally devoid of emotion.
"Crap," Puck whispered. "I hope to God it doesn't come out with a mohawk," he tried to tease, it fell totally flat. "What does your mother say?" he asked.
"I haven't told her yet, I haven't told anyone yet, just you," Quinn replied, sniffing again. "What are we going to do?" she asked tremulously.
"Well, first of all…what?" he shouted at the interruption as his sister burst into the office without knocking.
"Hey Quinn, how are you?" Abbie Puckerman said with a huge grin. "Jack said you were in here," she explained. "He said he thought you were upset, anything I can do?" she asked.
"You can get out and give us a minute," Puck replied before Quinn could speak.
"Sorry," Abbie murmured sarcastically, backing out of the office with her hands held up in surrender.
Quinn lifted her head and sighed, looking up into Puck's eyes with her own damp ones. "I think I'll just go on home, I'll talk to you later," she said, sighing even harder.
Puck nodded and felt Quinn pull away, he followed her out of the office. "Hey," he called as she opened the door to the evening air. "This is a good thing, I'll see you at home later," he told his wife with a smile that grew and grew.
Quinn smiled back, relief showing on her face. "I'll see you later," she repeated, feeling the pressure lifting from her, feeling herself fill with joy. Puck was right. It was a very good thing, they hadn't done anything to prevent a pregnancy since Quinn had graduated from Yale, they both wanted this, they both wanted a family, a baby of their very own. Yes, this was going to be a very good thing.