A/N: This started out as a spec fic, based on a picture taken while some of the cast was on set filming for 3x16-but you wouldn't have a clue what this fic is based off of by only reading this fic. So I'd say this is more of a fic of me projecting my hopes for this kind of story line in the back half of season 3-and based on Puck's "Oh! When's the baby's due date?" line and the Glee club's general obsesion with Rachel having babies.
Enjoy!
"Hey, Finchel!" Puck greets Rachel and Finn in the choir room. Then, leaning to look down at Rachel's stomach, "Little Finchel."
"Puck, you don't seriously—"
"Pants, huh?" Puck comments, inspecting her body from head to toe.
"Yes… It's no secret I wear pants, sometimes, Puckerman."
"Yeah, Quinn wore pants when she was knocked up. So, you gonna announce today in Glee that you're pushing the wedding nine or ten months later, now?"
"No," Finn answers as Rachel can do nothing but critically side-eye him. "May. Just like we originally planned."
"Okay!" Will loudly announces as he enters the room, putting his hands together. All conversation dies, and the students look to their teacher as they take their seats.
"Happy Monday! And you know what that means—new assignment for the week! The inspiration theme that won us Regionals inspired me tto assign you all to sing about what you want but either shouldn't or can't seem to have … Maybe there's something you want, but society tells you 'No,' or what you want, but you know you shouldn't want it."
"So. What we want," Puck says flatly.
"Well, you can make it a bit more risky and personal that that—but … yeah, basically."
"Cool."
"I have the perfect selection!" Rachel chimes, and the rest of the Glee club looks as if they would groan if Rachel having a contribution to the assignment less than a minute before it was assigned was any surprise—but it wasn't.
Except to Finn whose eyebrows shot up. He beamed proudly at his over-achieving fiancée.
Rachel parades to the front of the classroom and gestures widely to her fellow Glee-clubbers as she begins her preamble: "This song is perfect in the face of my current unpopular prenuptials. Everyone says Finn and myself are too young to get married, so I prepared this song in order to persuade my dads our case. Turns out, I didn't need the song! But I'll sing it for you now. Because, despite some ulterior motives for marrying which some of you suspect, our desire to marry is pure and noble; we're in love and always will be. So, without further ado, 'Too Young,' as made famous by jazz legend Nat King Cole."
"They try to tell us we're too young,
Too young to really be in love.
They say that love's a word,
A word we'd only heard,
But can't begin to know the meaning of love.
And yet we're not too young to know,
This love will last, though years may go.
And then, some day, they may recall:
We were not too young at all."
"Hey, dude!" Finn hears, and with a sigh, he slams his gym locker shut. He knows who it is without turning to look for who's talking.
"What is it, Puck?"
"Do you think Uncle Pucky is too much?"
"Puck, Rachel's not pregnant," Finn reiterates for the he doesn't even know anymore'th time.
"Have you asked her?"
Finn rolls his eyes.
"I don't have to," Finn says, feeling his confidence slip. He can't really know for sure, but he's pretty sure she would tell him. He wasn't gonna let Puck freak him out. Puck cut out the mind games about a year ago, but maybe he got bored and brought them back. Well, Finn wasn't as gullible as he used to be, so if Puck was screwing with his head, he'd have to do a lot better than what he's been doing now: which is basically planning his life around hanging with their baby he thinks they're having.
There's a moment of silence. Puck then looks him in the eyes, seriously.
"How much like her mom do you think Rachel is?"
"Well, they look a lot alike. They can both really sing. I think that's about it, though. Rachel's gonna succeed where Shelby failed."
"Do you think she'd just pick up and leave when things got bad? And keep secrets, thinking they're for your own good?"
The bitterness in Puck's tone at the last question makes Finn start. He furrows his brow, disturbed by the thought..
"No, she wouldn't."
"You said it yourself, that fierce and totally sexy ambition that made them so talented. They got that in common, and that also means that they head for the hills when things get rough. Those ambitious career chicks. They gotta look out for themselves. Always looking for the next challenge to kick ass in. Those type of girls, they can't get bored."
"Rachel's not like that. She wouldn't…" he says, looking down. Could he bore her later on? He's not exactly the most exciting guy. He has his video games and listens to pretty much all the same songs most of the time. When they get shakes, he always gets vanilla when she gets the flavor of the month with an annoying, catchy name. She's always trying out these new diets, and he gets excited when his mom makes his favorite recipe of meat loaf.
"Dude, I don't mean it's gonna happen. Just … I just wonder."
"Shelby never got engaged, though, did she? You said she told you she never had a steady boyfriend, even. Rachel has. If it hadn't been for that accident, Rachel would have married me after Regionals—months before we'd even graduated high school. She needs me as much as I need her. She told me once that what we have … It gives her songs flight." Then he crinkles his chin, "At least that's how I think she phrased it."
Puck's face was grim as he stared just past Finn. "Guess you're right. They're different. Rachel'd come back…"
Then he walked away, and Finn stared, confused, realizing that he and Rachel probably wasn't what he really wanted to talk about.
That night as he sat at his computer, distractedly doing homework as he listened to his '90s playlist, he thought about Rachel, wondering if she needed him as much as he needed her. It seemed like she had this NYADA thing going for her, but then it looked like that might be taken from her, and she said she would marry him.
Just a week before, he'd looked at the bleak life of his father and saw himself following his father's footsteps. How'd Mom say it? They both had "similar dispositions for those things." Her saying "those things" was her nice way of saying drugs and self-destruction and basically a life of being a loser who can never hold onto a good thing—like the army, a football scholarship …
But then he realized he had Rachel, and he knew he had to hold onto it. It could be one step away from his father. Being with Rachel forever in New York would at least keep him away from Lima—and keep him from a lifetime of regret.
He thought about what Mr. Schue had said about wanting to do something even though we shouldn't. Like this clinging.
Yeah, he's not an idiot. He knows he's clinging to Rachel, and she's clinging to him. He's pretty sure what Puck was saying was bullshit. She wouldn't just leave and cut him off if things got bad. At least, he's pretty sure.
No, he is sure.
He knows it's considered unhealthy, but he doesn't care. And she doesn't either. It's gonna turn out fine because they both need one another just as much.
So maybe it's not healthy. Like, they always talk about how eating healthy is having a "balanced meal." If Rachel and Finn both need each other just as much, isn't that balanced? Like a see-saw where neither of the kids touch the ground.
Is that what he means? Something about this is making sense, so he just goes with it—and he realizes what he wants to sing for Mr. Schue's assignment.
It isn't until Finn realizes there's only room for one more song in Glee rehearsal that Finn realizes he needs to take his hands off of Rachel's thigh. She's wearing one of those on-piece dresses that look kinda like sleeveless shirts, and he can't keep his hands off her legs.
But he realizes he has to if he's gonna get this song out. Rachel's eyes widen in intrigue because he hadn't told her about his plans to sing. She squeezes his hand as he says that he's basically singing about the same stuff Rachel'd sung about.
"But a little different …" He finishes as he stands up and head to the center of the classroom, taking the place of Mr. Schue, who looks like he wants to say something—but won't. Probably not ever.
"My immaculate dream
Made breath and skin.
I've been waiting for you."
His breath is hot on her chest as she grips his hair and the nape of his neck to bring him closer, closer. His succulent kisses make her whole body hum.
"Finn, please," she gasps as they writhe together on his bed. His parents weren't home, and after Finn's solo, Rachel invited herself over.
She's in agony over his teasing, now. He has had that condom on for at least two minutes!
She can tell he's breathless and anxious, too, but he's not quite lined up with her, so she helps him, kissing down him until their bare torsos align. "Finn, please."
"Who do you need?
Who do you love?
When you come undone."
Finn's sweaty head is on Rachel's chest. She's stroking his hair. They both know what she's waiting for. However, there is no rush. They lie there and breathe one another for several minutes.
Until Finn talks.
"Do you think this is unhealthy?"
"What? Marrying the person you love?" Rachel asks back.
"Marrying before I even know who I am."
"You're changing, Finn," Rachel says, kissing the top of his head. "That's not unique to just teenagers. We'll change a lot in our lives."
"That's what I always try to tell Kurt. That our careers and stuff might be unknown or change a lot, but we'll always be us. Right?"
"Right," Rachel whispers into his hair.
"But what if I turn out to be a loser? What if I can't fit in your life when you're on Broadway? What if I get boring compared to the rest of your life?"
"Don't say that. It's not just my life. It's gonna be our life. And it will not be boring. We're going to travel, and we'll try out new positions every once in a while. We'll have diverse and exciting date nights—"
The door swings wide open, and Rachel shrieks.
"Puck! What the hell, dude?"
"I told him to knock!" Kurt hollers from downstairs.
"And I told him I've seen it all!" Puck retorts.
Rachel dives off of the bed to get her shirt on—leaving Finn stunned at being suddenly alone.
"You're wearing a t-shirt? Seriously, dude?"
"We were in a hurry!" Rachel shouts from behind the bed.
That wasn't true. They were actually getting dressed when the urge hit them again—and—well, yeah, he realizes that's probably what she was talking about that second time. They were in a hurry.
Which is weird, 'cause, usually, when they do it twice iin a row, the first time's usually totally rushed (normally his fault), and the second time's slow (her fault).
Of course, they were lying in bed for like an hour and a half in between the times. They both knew she was waiting for him to speak up. Neither of them really realized how long it would take.
Finn starts when Rachel pops up from behind the bed and plops next to him.
"Puck, are you gonna tell us why—"
"I was just thinking how you don't need this stuff I printed off a website that says you don't need to worry about poking the baby. I didn't actually know that. Kinda wish I did…"
"Is that a box of … baby stuff?" Finn asks, incredulous that Puck is persisting with this baby thing.
"Yeah, a crap load. I lifted baby toys from my grandma and my mom—and bought some new stuff, too. Like, I got a Buckeye onesie, and this awesome hat with a football on it. And, check this out! A cushy book. I got a pink one about an elephant and a blue one about a monkey 'cause we don't know—or do we know if it's a guy or girl?"
"Puck, Rachel is not pregnant! And you need to stop 'cause it's starting to kinda freak me out."
"And, again; have you asked her?"
Finn's eyes dart down to Rachel. He does it so quickly it makes Rachel jump. Then she stomps her bare foot own indignantly.
"No, I am not! Finn, we're not stupid. We're being safe—and if I were, I clearly wouldn't have it!"
"Quinn's nostrils flared up the same way when she first denied it," Puck says while nodding gravely.
"Wait. Does that mean you'd—you'd … abort our kid? Without telling me? But-"
"Finn, there is no child!" Rachel says harshly.
"You gotta talk to me, though, okay?" Finn's intense eyes penetrate her.
"I promise. I mean, of course, Finn. But I'm not pregnant, okay." She grips his hand in both of hers.
She then turns to glare at Puck and warn acidly: "Noah Puckerman! You stop talking about this! You're freaking Finn out, and you're going to make us fight over a child that doesn't exist!"
"I wasn't gonna fight. I'm sorry, Rachel. You're not—you're not your mom," Finn says, bringing his other hand in to hold hers. Rachel begins to look confused when what Puck says next makes her lose her train of thought.
"So. There really isn't?" His shoulders slump.
"Are you disappointedthat a baby you fathered when you were fifteen with a girl you hardly even talk to anymore isn't around?" Finn asks, getting concerned for his friend's mental health.?" Finn asks, getting concerned for his friend's mental health.
"I was hoping … I mean, I know I'd have to really work on my language. Like, when Finn and me are playing video games, I swear like a freakin' sailor, and I knew Berry'd be one of those girls who wouldn't even want her kid to be near cuss words in the womb, but I thought…"
"What?" Rachel takes a step closer to their friend. She thinks she knows what he'll say.
"I miss having a baby around. I miss Beth, okay? Like, really freakin' bad."
"You mean, Shelby didn't go to another school district nearby? Where'd she move?"
"I don't know!" Puck exclaims, exasperatedly sitting on the corner of the bed and letting the box crash onto the floor. "I don't know," he says, quietly, as he grips both of his knees with his hands. "I called her, and she told me she wasn't in New York, so don't come looking for her there. But no matter how many times I asked, she wouldn't tell me where she'd moved to. Then she changed cell numbers in late January, so I'll never know where my daughter is. I was hoping that, if there was a new baby in my life, maybe it wouldn't suck so bad to have Beth just taken from me like that."
"Noah. I'm so sorry. I didn't—I didn't know," Rachel says gently.
"Yeah, no one does …"
The next day in Glee, Puck and Finn started the class with Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine." Finn pounded out the rhythm and gave Puck reassuring looks when he needed them. Puck had a little photo of Beth placed under the strings at the neck of the guitar. He didn't say what the song was for.
"She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as a bright blue sky
Now and then, when I see her face,
she takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long,
I'd probably break down and cry.
Oh, oh, oh, sweet child o' mine!"
After the boys rocked the musical interlude, Puck and Finn began their own take of the repetitious finale, "Where did you go? Where did you go now?"
Rachel sees a tear leak from Quinn's eye, and the rest of the Glee club, spearheaded by Sugar, took out their cell phones and waved to the beat.
"Where did you go? Where did you go now? Sweet child of mine!"
Too young to get married. Too young to have a daughter. Too young to want that daughter. Society says, "No," and they just don't care. Sitting there, watching the love of her life play the drum set with extraordinary skill, like he always does, and watching puck strum himself back to life as he thinks about his daughter he's not supposed to love so much at his age, Rachel realizes that those three have a lot more in common than she thought.
She certainly didn't see that coming!