A/N: Thanks for the story alerts, fav story, fav author adds... Now just to get the reviews at the same level, lol. Feels great to know that I'm not all that crazy and other people are enjoying the stories that play around in my mind.

Chapter 3 - Journey

Monday was once again rearing its ugly head as another weekend went by too quickly. Puck had spent most of his Saturday helping Mercedes' dad move what few things Quinn had out of his house and into their spare bedroom on the other side of town. It was weird being able to sleep in his own room again after months of sleeping on the couch so Quinn could have a real bed. Sunday before work, he had found himself wondering if the baby was kicking while he was playing video games. He had grown accustomed to feeling the bumps and movements while he would sit on the couch with a game paused periodically and Quinn would be sitting nearby doing homework or whatnot.

He had tried texting Tina to pull himself out of his thoughts, but he supposed she was busy as she didn't respond until hours later once he'd forgotten what his original purpose had been.

Puck woke up early after a restless night's sleep and decided to try to get to school before first period to see if he could catch Tina by herself for a few minutes. Now that they had come to an ... agreement, he hoped that she would ditch the losers and leave herself open. As luck would have it, when Puck turned the corner to the sophomore hall of lockers there was Tina rummaging around in hers.

The hall was pretty much devoid of life besides the two of them. As he approached, he saw a tiny smile creep up to her lips only to dim when she noticed the sleven cup in his hand.

Puck rolled his eyes at her distrust and held the cup out to her. "Chill out, Asian. It's coffee with an extra espresso shot. Heard somewhere around that you vampires aren't fans of the morning light."

Tina looked at him skeptically until the smell of hot coffee hit her nose. "Oh, sweet, caffeinated nectar of life!" Puck laughed at her absurdity while she took the cup eagerly and took a timid sip. It was just as he said. Straight, unadulterated coffee with an extra kick ... and sugar. Now, how did he know that she liked it dark and sweet?

"I saw you dump like ten packets into your own one time," Puck said sheepishly to her unasked question.

"Oh. What are you doing here so early? I didn't think you rolled into school until at least third period."

"What? And miss seeing you?" he said, pushing a bit of hair back from her face. "Not a chance."

Tina wasn't sure if she wanted to sigh or gag at that awful line. She settled for a small snort. "That has got to be the worst line ever. You need to remove it from your repertoire."

"Believe what you want. So, what were you up to this weekend?"

"Oh you know, just the usual shopping for bondage supplies and new lingerie. I saw a whip that looked like it'd be lots of fun."

"I should've guessed you'd be into all that kinky stuff," Puck said, eyebrow quirked, pulling her flush with his body.

"My gosh, you're easy," Tina said with a breathy laugh. Surprisingly, she made no attempt to move away from Puck's warm body. "I had to work, Puck. I did homework during the mornings and then evening shifts at the restaurant. You did know that that food doesn't just appear through ancient Chinese magic, right?"

"Yeah, what was up with that? Why did my mom call you Shoes?"

"It's Shu Mei. That's my Chinese name. It's the name that is only used with family, sorta like how Noah would be for you, I guess. She's the one who works at the restaurant, not Tina. So don't you dare call me that with anyone else around if you value your life," she said with a pointed glare and a poke to his chest. "I don't think anyone else has ever taken the time to make the connection," she finished quietly, not meeting his eyes.

Puck tucked his finger under her chin to lift her eyes. "People are stupid. And I'm glad no one else has put two and two together, otherwise I woulda had to fight my way to the front of the line to get you." Tina huffed at his words. "You really have no idea how gorgeous you are, do you?" Puck asked searching her eyes. "Well, I guess I'll have to fix that."

He trailed his finger from her chin to brush against her left cheek, allowing his fingers to linger on her skin as he lowered his face to hers. Tina felt him closing in and closed her eyes with a sigh as her free hand gripped the lapel of his jacket. His lips landed somewhere in between on her cheek near her lips. Something little more than a brush of skin against skin. Puck pulled away to see her eyes flutter open with confusion written all over her face.

"I can hear the Queen and the Diva coming down the hall." Tina nodded. She could already hear Kurt and Mercedes arguing even though they weren't in sight yet. "I promised I wouldn't let the cat outta the bag until you were ready," he briefly stroked the side of her stomach with his thumb causing the muscles there to contract. "Be thinkin' about you." With a wink, he turned and disappeared around the corner before Kurt and Mercedes appeared in his place.

"Tina. Yoohoo, Earth to Tina," Kurt said as he waved a hand in front of her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing. Just drifted off. Morning, you know."

"Uh-huh. Drink your coffee. So what was up with that?" asked Mercedes.

"Puck doesn't usually end up showing his face until at least lunch," Kurt added.

"Oh, uhmm." 'Come on! Think, Tina. Think!' "He was just paying off a debt," Tina said as she raised the coffee cup.

"Debt? What kind of bet could you possibly have had with Puck?" Mercedes asked with narrowed eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh, he tried to say that Mario for the Super Nintendo was more successful than Mortal Combat. So, of course I had to set him straight. He was too stubborn to think he was wrong and made it into a bet," she said as she began heading towards her first class.

Kurt and Mercedes followed suit, but gave each other the look that said, "Yeah, I'll believe that when I see pigs fly."

News of Sue Sylvester being a judge at regionals and the subsequent showdown with Mr. Schue in Principal Figgins' office spread faster than mono through the football team. The resulting devastation that each member of the Glee club felt was deeper than the funk that they had spiraled into the previous two weeks because of Vocal Adrenaline. That evening, as each student filed in to Mr. Schue's apartment, the black cloud they each carried grew blacker and heavier.

Sitting on the sofa, Puck wanted to wrap his arm around Tina and pull her to his chest. It made his gut ache sitting so close, seeing her in so much pain, and knowing that he couldn't do anything about it because there were other people around to see it. Looking to the kitchen, he could see that Quinn wasn't doing much better, but she was a trooper and would do what she had to do to keep a strong face for everyone else.

"... the point, Mr. Schue? Coach Sylvester's one of the judges. She's going to crush us."

"Artie, you don't know that."

"Yes, we do. She told us at Cheerios practices," Santana said as she pushed the pizza box away dejectedly.

"Yeah, she said, 'I'm going to crush Glee club,'" commented Brittney.

"The whole freakin' year," Puck said, leaning forward to rest his clasped hands between his knees. "All that hard work for nothin'."

A great choking, sniffling sound came from the middle occupant of the sofa. "I'm sorry. I just really love you guys. You know how many Facebook friends I had before I joined Glee club? Two, my parents." Tears were trekking their way down both of Tina's cheeks at this point. "Rachel was right. Being part of something special, it made me special. I just can't believe it's going to be over in a week."

"Wait, who says it's going to be over?" Finn said from his spot on Rachel's armrest.

"Please," Mercedes said, rolling her eyes. "You think Puck and Santana are even going to acknowledge my existence once we're not in Glee club together anymore?"

"She has a point," Puck said in a gruff, scratchy voice.

"Mr. Schuester, do you think that instead of nominating songs we can all just go around the room and talk about all the things that we loved about Glee club this year?"

After nearly an hour of crying and repressed laughter, the students slowly filed back out of the apartment. Mercedes tried to get Tina to pile into the car along with Kurt and Quinn, but she had said she had a ride. The truth was she wanted to get some time alone with Puck. Going through a session of emoting had left her drained and she wanted, almost needed, to be held close by someone. It really had been torture to sit next to him and not bury her head into the crook of his neck and just let all the tears flow until she cried herself dry.

"Do you need a ride?"

Tina looked down into the sad eyes of Artie. She still hadn't told him about whatever it was between herself and Puck yet. The time just didn't seem right, plus she really had no idea how to even have the conversation. Saying something like, "Well, I just don't think I like you that way anymore. Oh, and I've found someone else who happens to be bipedal," just wouldn't cut it.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm just waiting on Mike to bring the car around. He couldn't find a good spot and had to park on the other side of the block."

"You're sure?" he said looking up at her as his dad came around to the passenger side of their van.

"Yeah, it's cool. See you tomorrow." That said, she leaned over to hug him. She watched the van drive off, lost within her thoughts.

"You know, if I were a lesser person, I could consider that cheating."

Tina felt as if she had just jumped out of her skin. Spinning around, she punched Puck in the shoulder. "Jerk! You scared the beejezus outta me!"

"Damn! You got a nice right hook there, gothika," he said, rubbing the area she hit which did actually tingle with little pins and needles.

"I have an even meaner scissor kick, so you better not scare me like that again."

"I'll keep that in mind. You waiting on someone?"

"Yeah," she said looking up to his eyes. "You." He looked a bit surprised at her words, but she also saw his pupils dilate. She stepped closer and tucked her head beneath his chin. His arms automatically wrapped around her shoulders. Tina took a deep breath. Puck smelled like she remembered, only now a little less soap and cologne; it was more of the pure male smell that was unique to him.

"Do you have any idea how much it sucked not being able to do this while we were in there?" Puck said quietly. "I had to clench my fists every freakin' time I heard you sniffle or do that shudder thing when you were trying to breathe deep."

"I know," Tina whispered as she wound her arms under his jacket to curl over his shoulder blades. "I wanted so bad to just lean over and cry into your shoulder. Puck," she lifted her head to look at him. "Could you take me home? Please."

Puck nodded and lowered his hand to the small of her back and guided her through the parking garage to his truck. He opened the passenger side door and helped her get in before closing the door and walking around the hood to his side.

The ride to Tina's house was quiet except for the low hum of the radio and Tina speaking every now and again to point out which turns to take. He pulled up in front of a nice looking brick, ranch-style house. Putting the truck into park, Puck turned off the engine and looked over to the sullen girl in his passenger seat.

"Hey, stop looking like that." Tina sniffed and looked over to him. "I can't stand seeing you look like this," Puck said as he took her cheek into his hand. He hadn't meant to do it, but he leaned in further until his lips connected with hers. It started with just the chaste brush of lips against lips until Tina slid her tongue out to moisten her lips and ran along the seam of his lips at the same time. That one seemingly innocent action caused him to groan and pull her deeper into the kiss.

He kissed back gently, licking the outline of her lips and lightly sucking her bottom lip into his own mouth. He heard her gasp appreciatively at the light pressure he administered to her bottom lip and ran his tongue over her bottom lip once more. As she gasped, her mouth opened and he took it, eagerly exploring every incredible inch of it. She matched his exploration with her own tongue, weaving an intricate dance of untested passion. He pulled her closer, one of his hands slowly inching down the side of her body. He could feel every single, seductive curve that she had.

Tina could not remember something that had felt even remotely like the kiss Puck was giving her. Her lips tingled. The moment their tongues touched it was as if every one of her tastebuds turned into nerve endings and were firing at full blast. Everything seemed to tighten; her throat, her breasts, her stomach, the apex of her thighs. The danger zone was coming in to sight. Knowing it was better to stop now, Tina ran her hand along Puck's jacket and slowly, very slowly pulled away.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Tina's were still closed, but she had a little grin on her face. "I'll have to remember this as the first time I was able to make you smile."

Her eyes flew open and a pout replaced the smile. Puck laughed and leaned back in to plant a kiss on her nose. He pulled back, opened his door and walked around to let her out. "So, I guess you're going to play the good guy and walk me to my door, is that it?" Tina said hopping out onto the pavement.

"Well, it looks a lot better than pushing you into the grass. I'm guessing Yiyi wouldn't like that, especially after he just watched me kiss his granddaughter, it looks like."

"What!" Tina looked to the front window and sure enough, there was Yiyi with the curtain pulled back and an impassive look on his face. "Oh, great. I'll see you tomorrow, Puck."

"Huh? You don't want me to-"

She pecked his cheek and shook her head. "Just be glad it was him and not someone else. I'll sort it out first and then you can meet him. If they allow you to live afterwards, that is. Punishment for trying to seduce the family's princess could end up in death." She actually did laugh at his look of shock and pushed him towards the truck to break his thoughts. "I'm joking, Puck. But you probably should get going now."

"If you say so. Text me an' let me know how it goes." Puck turned to get into the truck and watched as Tina reached her front door and stepped inside. He finally started the engine and pulled away once the door was closed and the porch light extinguished.

A loud chirping sound interrupted the quiet of the living room. Puck reached for his phone sitting on the side table and opened the newest message.

::Crisis averted. No angry asians after you tonite::

Puck smiled and started texting back. ::Good to kno::

"Who're you talking to?" asked his little sister, Sarah, from her seat at the coffee table.

"None of your business. Finish your homework. It's almost time for bed."

She stuck her tongue out at him, but went back to what she was doing.

::B on ur best behavior whn u meet tho::

::Dont doubt my charm::

::I dnt think that charm works on old men w pretty granddaughters and DEF wont on my dad::

::U dnt kno that. So u gonna tell me what happend?::

::Yeah whn i c u 2moro. ;) xoxo::

Puck stared at the last message and debated about how to respond. In the past, he would have taken it as a sign to switch over to sexting, but it didn't seem right with Tina. This was about more than hooking up for him; this had the potential to be something real.

::lookn fwd to it. sweet dreams, beautiful::

Tina didn't get a chance to talk to Puck the following day during school. There seemed to always be other people around. Afterward, she had to hurry home to change and get to the restaurant. Tuesdays could be unpredictable and she was hoping for an uneventful night so she could focus on finishing her homework for English.

Sitting on the stool at the counter, Tina was correcting a punctuation exercise while stopping periodically to either seat guests or answer the phone for takeout orders. She was in the middle of a tricky comma sequence, when the door chimes went off announcing more guests.

"Hi, welcome to Iron Dragon," she said without looking up.

Puck walked up to the hostess podium. Tina looked as pretty as he remembered her being in her "work clothes". This time, she was in a blue dress with some kind of flower overlay on it and her hair was piled up on her head with lots of spiral curls falling here and there. She looked like a movie star in his mind. "Hey there, Shoes."

Tina perked her head up as the sexy, baritone voice reached her ears. There stood Puck, hands in pockets, looking at her with that stupid grin of his.

"Puck, what are you doing here?" she said, lowering her voice and glancing to the side.

"I came here for food like everyone else. And to get a look at the most gorgeous girl I know who was supposed to talk to me at some point today."

Rolling her eyes, Tina picked up the order pad and gave Puck a hard stare. "Do you know what you want?"

"Oh yeah, but I'm being kept at arm's distance from it," he said with a gleam in his eye. Tina looked at him with the universal "give me one good reason why I shouldn't smack you" look. "Alright, alright. I need one chicken with broccoli and one sweet and spicy pork."

"Just two for tonight?" she said turning to put the order on the order wheel.

"Yeah. Just me and the brat. So spill it."

Tina shrugged as she settled back onto the stool. Thinking back, the conversation she ended up having after she entered the house went much differently than she could have ever guessed. "Not much to say. He just asked the normal questions, you know. Who was that? How do you know him?"

"That's it?" Puck asked skeptically.

"Pretty much."

"You are lucky it was me and not my son."

Puck spun around at the sound of the voice behind him. "Good God! Do all Chinese have creepy ninja skills?"

"We prefer to call them Wu Shu skills. So, this is the young man who thinks he can kiss my granddaughter without the family's consent."

"Yiyi, you said you'd play nice," Tina said from her spot behind the counter.

"Don't sweat it, Ti," Puck said and extended his hand to the older man. "Noah Puckerman. If I'd known I needed permission, I would've gone to you first instead of working to wear this one down," he said pointing to Tina. "She doesn't give in easily."

Yiyi let out a chuckle and took Puck's hand. "No, she can be quite stubborn when she wants to be. I'm Chang Xiao Shen, but you may call me Yiyi, everyone else does."

"See, you were worried about nothing," Puck said as he looked to Tina.

"No. I told you, he was the easy one. Just wait until you end up meeting my mom or worse, my father. Those two will be bad. If it's not my mom thinking her prayers for sending her a nice, Jewish son-in-law have been answered, it'll be my dad giving you the third degree trying to figure out what your 'intentions' are," she said with air quotes.

"Yes, those two are quite the pair," Yiyi said as he looked over Puck. "But I'm willing to go along with my granddaughter. You seem decent enough, just be warned. You break her heart foolishly, you will feel the wrath of a Chinese grandfather."

"I was planning to avoid that anyway, but noted," Puck said with a nod of his head.

"Yes, see that you do."

The two men continued to stare at each other, both trying to size up the other and feel out where they stood. There was a ding of the takeout bell which broke them out of the trance of male observations. Tina walked to the window, grabbed the bag, and started to ring up the order.

"Ten seventy-five."

Puck handed over a twenty and waited for the change. Stuffing the bills back in his wallet, his fingers traced over the back over her hand when she handed over the bag containing his order. He leaned in and left a quick kiss on her cheek. "See ya tomorrow, Ti," he whispered as he pulled away from her.

A hand went up to Tina's cheek without her notice as she watched Puck walk out of the restaurant. She had to remind herself to breathe as her chest had gotten really tight and her heart was now pounding much faster than it should have been. There was a low chuckle from behind her causing her hand to drop as she turned to face her grandfather.

"Ah, young love. Reminds me of how I used to pursue your grandmother."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. And should he do anything that I might have done, we may have to set a wedding date now."

"Yiyi!" Tina gasped. She was shocked to hear such things from her grandfather.

"What? I was young once, too."

"Huh, and here I thought you were always this crafty, old man I know."

"You watch your mouth. Really, the nerve of the youth of today," Yiyi said as he crossed his arm and turned up his nose.

Tina laughed as she walked to answer the ringing phone glad for a distraction from her still burning cheek and contrary relative.

A/N: That's the end for now. I decided to make the part involving regionals, the birth, and after a new chapter, otherwise I would have never gotten this one posted. It took me forever to get the last bit done and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

R/R and let me know what you think. Good, bad, or whatever!