The day of Finn's departure was kind of grey and misty. It wasn't exactly cold outside, but there was still that chill in the air that seeped into your bones, no matter how much you tried to protect yourself against it.
Puck had woken up early that morning, having had difficulty sleeping the night before due to nightmares about his best friend being killed. It was only after he repeated the mantra of "You need to be awake and strong for Rachel" to himself a number of times that he was able to fall asleep, even though it was only for a few hours.
When Puck pulled up to Finn's house, he saw Rachel's car already parked by the curb; he wasn't surprised. He walked up to the door, knocked once, and then let himself in. Mrs. Hudson looked like she had just been on the way to answer the door. Tears were pouring down her face, her normally friendly eyes sad, her dark hair a mess.
"Oh, hello, Noah," she managed to get out.
"Hi, Mrs. Hudson," he said, and went over to give her a hug. Normally, Puck wasn't exactly a touchy-feely type of guy, but this situation called for some atypical behavior. "He'll be okay," he said, awkwardly patting her back lightly. Finn's mother had always been like a second mother to him, but it didn't mean that he was used to playing the role of comforter to her.
"Oh, Puck, you're here; great," Finn said, coming down the stairs, Rachel trailing after him. "Do you think we could start loading some of my stuff into your truck?"
"Sure," Puck replied, grabbing a bag. When he came back in, Finn was hugging his mother, tears slipping down his face as well.
"I'll be okay, Mom. I'll be in touch as much as I can, okay? Don't worry about me," Finn attempted, but it was a weak reassurance and didn't seem to make anyone feel much better.
"You just take care of yourself, okay? I love you, Finn. Just take care…" Mrs. Hudson managed to choke out, then she let go of Finn and walked up the stairs slowly, as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
"We have like 3 minutes before we need to leave, man," Puck reminded Finn, and he heard Rachel choke out a sob.
"Thanks, Puck," Finn said, glancing at him shortly before turning his attention to his girlfriend. Rachel ran into Finn's arms, tightening her arms around him, and Puck wasn't sure if she'd ever let go. A lump started to form in Puck's throat, the reality of the situation starting to settle in.
Nobody said anything for what seemed like forever, but was actually only a couple of minutes. Finally, Finn loosened Rachel's grasp on him and looked her in the eyes, his gaze so intense, Puck felt like looking away. Then, he lowered his lips onto Rachel's in an action so passionate and filled with emotion, Puck really did look away. He only looked back when he heard Finn start talking again.
"It's time for me to go, Rach," Finn said softly.
Rachel's sobs were perhaps the most pathetic (in the truest sense of the word) thing that Puck had ever heard; his heart twisted just from hearing them.
"I can't do it!" she sobbed, "I can't let you go! Stay here! Please Finn!" she begged, her voice breaking at the end of each utterance.
Finn's voice broke, too, "I can't, Rach, you know that. I signed up; it's my duty."
Rachel threw her arms around Finn again, clinging to him as if afraid he'd disappear into thin air right there. "Don't!" she cried. "Don't! Say you can't because you injured your knee and you won't be able to serve! Tell them something! Anything!" Tears were pouring down her face like a regular faucet.
Once again, Finn lowered his lips to hers, but for only a brief kiss this time. "I love you, Rachel Berry. Don't you forget that, okay?"
"I love you, too," she whispered, her voice raw as Finn extracted himself from her embrace.
Feeling incredibly invasive because of the emotion-charged scene he had just witnessed, Puck didn't even bother asking if Finn was ready to leave. He saw the look on Finn's face and knew it was time. Casting a last look back at Rachel, Puck headed out the door to his truck, Finn only a few paces behind him.
As Puck started his truck, he saw Rachel in the doorway, looking as brokenhearted as anyone could, tears streaming down her face still, but a determined look on her face as well. She smiled a little (or as best as she could), and waved good bye; Finn waved back, then said, "Drive."
The two friends were quiet for most of the trip. It was only when they were about five minutes from their destination that Finn spoke up.
"Thanks for taking me, Puck. You can probably guess why I decided it was best that neither my mother nor Rachel take me."
Puck nodded, sensing that Finn had more to say.
"I want to ask you something," Finn continued. "I want you to watch out for Rachel, okay? I'm more concerned about her than my mother, actually. My mother has her work to keep her busy and her coworkers to distract her and other neighbors to help her out. Rachel has always viewed singing as something that we did together, so her work isn't exactly going to help distract her." Finn gulped loudly, but went on. "I wanted to ask you to promise me that you'll keep an eye out for Rachel, make sure she doesn't lock herself in her room and not come out. Make sure she gets out, remembers how to laugh, has fun sometimes, okay? You're the only one I could think of who would really be a comfort to Rachel; she'll feel like you know what she's going through, more than anyone else." Finn heaved a sigh at the end. "Do I have your word?"
"Yeah, of course. I'll do whatever I can," Puck said. He was just pulling up to the place where he was supposed to be dropping Finn off.
"Thanks, man, I knew I could count on you," Finn said. It was actually the last thing he said to Puck before he left. He wordlessly grabbed his bags, pulled Puck in for a hug, stepped back, and walked away, toward where other people were waiting.
The lump in Puck's throat was starting to feel like a humongous cotton ball, obstructing his airways and his ability to speak. It didn't, however, affect his ability to think, and all he could think was, I just said good bye to my best friend who's leaving to serve in Iraq. My best friend just asked me to look after and comfort his girlfriend, for whom I happen to majorly have feelings, and who is totally devastated about her boyfriend's departure. How do I do this?
A.N. Hey, everyone! Thanks for the reviews so far! Please keep them coming! They really encourage me! Also, I hope you enjoyed this chapter…I wanted it to be very emotional, and I hope I got that across. Please let me know what you think! Happy holidays!