Puck raced through the streets of Lima in a state of nervousness and anger. He was angry that his father was back in town for a whole year with a whole new family of his own. He was nervous because his father was the only person they knew who could donate blood for Rachel right away but he left for a reason; they were not good enough to keep him around. His hand gripped the wheel tightly as he parked his car against the curb in front of where his father lived. As much as he knew Rachel needed this blood transfusion, he couldn't move. It was as if his mind was telling him one thing but his body was doing another. He sat in his car flexing and relaxing his jaw unable to move. He was angry at himself for now being brave enough when Rachel needed him the most. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a tapping against his window.
"Hi, my wife and I noticed you parked outside our…" the older man began as Puck looked up at his father, "Noah."
"It's nice to see you Dad, how long's it been?" he said harshly.
"What are you doing here? How did you find where I lived?"
"Why? Disappointed to see the child you left behind? I can't wait to see your reaction when you see Annie but then again, you'll probably never see her. We all know how you like to run away from your problems." He was mad and he knew that the conversation was the last thing that he needed but he couldn't stop himself from spewing the hateful comments towards his father.
"Noah, I'm sorry. You're right; I was afraid. I was young and was going to be tied down to two kids; I thought I saw my life flash away before my eyes. I know it was extremely selfish of me but I never stopped thinking about you and Annie."
"Still didn't bring you back though did it?"
"I'm sorry Noah. I don't know how many times I can apologize to you so you can finally forgive me but I'm here now."
"There's a reason why I'm here. You have O- blood."
"Y-Yes I do."
"I need you to donate your blood. My friend Rachel lost a lot of blood and she needs a blood transfusion but she has A- blood and you know the deal. I need you to do this for me; it's the least you can do." Puck's dad nodded his head.
"Where is she?"
"She's at St. Rita's hospital right now," he said surprised at the urgency in his dad's voice.
"Is it alright if I ride with you?" Puck shrugged and his father got into the car. The car ride back to the hospital was awkward; both of them unsure of what to say to one another. Once they finally arrived, Puck led his father to the emergency room where his mother was there talking to Mike and Matt. Puck's mom looked up in shock at the man that she once loved.
"Aaron, you look well," she said professionally. Even after what he did, a small part of her still loved him which was the reason why she hadn't dated another man since he left.
"Yeah yeah, introductions and shit later. How's Rachel doing?" Puck asked.
"We really need the blood transfusion. Aaron, come with me." The two adults walked off leaving the three boys in the waiting room.
"Dude, your dad…" Mike said. Puck nodded with his jaw flexed.
"I know Chang."
"So what do we do now?" Matt asked.
"We wait." Puck sat down between Matt and Mike who were unsure of what to say. They knew how much the memory of his dad angered him but they couldn't deny the strong resemblance between him and his dad.
"Don't worry Puck, we're here for the both of you," Mike said placing his hand on his shoulder; Matt followed suit. Puck nodded at his two best friends grateful for them being there. After half an hour, his parents came back to the waiting room.
"I'll love to come to dinner," his dad said.
"Great. I'm not sure when considering what's going on but how does next week sound? You can bring your family too." His father nodded and smiled gratefully. "Okay, I've got to go back to my shift. Noah, if you need anything at all you know where to find me. We're going to check the compatibility right now. It'll be a few hours though." She squeezed his shoulders in comfort before getting back to work. Puck turned towards his father. He wasn't sure what to say to him. He was still mad as hell that he walked out on him and his pregnant mother but he was incredibly thankful that he donated blood to Rachel without asking for any of the details.
"It's okay Noah. You don't have to say anything. Like I said, I'm here for you. I know it'll take time for you to warm up to the idea but I would really like to get another chance with my son." Puck's jaw flexed. Son, what gave him the right to use that word?
"It's very nice to see you again Mr. Puckerman," Mike and Matt added. He glanced at the two grown boys in front of him. They had grown a lot since he left.
"It's nice to you boys too. Anyways, I know you might not want me to be around right now considering the circumstances and I totally understand. I'll get a ride home and-"
"No stay," Puck finally said. His father gave him a small smile before taking a seat beside his son. Time passed by slowly and Puck was beginning to get restless. Matt and Mike had left earlier to get some dinner so it was just Puck and his dad.
"So when did you realize that you love her?" his dad asked.
"How'd you know?" His dad shrugged and leaned back against his chair.
"I can tell. I'm glad you finally settled down. Your mom told me about your promiscuous past."
"So how long have you been talking to my mom?"
"For a while now. She ran into my wife at the grocery store about a year ago. She recognized her from my old photographs?"
"You still have pictures of us?"
"Not a day goes by that I don't look at them."
"Then why didn't you come back?" Puck was angry. If his father missed him as much as he said he missed him then why didn't he come back.
"I knew how much you hated me. I guess I was scared." Puck nodded understanding his father's position. After all, he was going to feel that way in a couple of months once Quinn gave up their baby. Just then, his mom came back to the waiting room; Matt and Mike following with trays of food.
"Mom, how is she?" She took a seat beside him and sighed.
"She's fine right now. She's still in the process of getting her blood transfusion but it's only a matter of time before that finishes. Her nurse is with her right now. I just don't understand why she would do this."
"Mrs. Puckerman with all due respect, you have no idea what Rachel goes through in school," Matt said. Mike and Puck nodded both faces flashed with anger.
"What do you mean boys?"
"Rachel is probably the most bullied person in our school. It doesn't matter that she's a girl, everyone picks on her. The girls hate her. They call her Man hands, RuPaul, treasure trail and all these other names. They draw these dirty images of her on bathroom stalls," Matt explained.
"And it's not even them. Everyone else hates her too. Glee club bullies her every single day. The jocks call her names, and they slushy her every day," Mike added.
"Slushy?" Puck's parents asked in unison.
"They throw ice cold slushies at her."
"That's horrible." Puck ran his fingers through his Mohawk in guilt. "Noah… You did that to her?"
"I was dumb and mad. Even with all the things I did to her, she's forgiven me and I know without a doubt that if they asked her for forgiveness she would forgive them too. That's how big her heart is."
"Oh my..."
"And it's even worse that her dads aren't around. I mean she goes through this all day every day and she returns to an empty house."
"No one should live like that. I am going to get to the bottom of this," his mother said pulling out her phone.
"Hey Jodie," Seth Berry said into his phone.
"Hi Seth, how are you and Alan?"
"We're good. I just hate dealing with out of town trials. They're so nauseating. Alan's been overwhelmed with the new doctor here. I swear I don't know why he just doesn't give up this private practice since he works in a hospital now. Anyways, how's Rachel doing? I haven't heard from her yet."
"Is there any way you and Alan can come back home for a few days? I think she's going to need you guys here."
"What's wrong?" Seth asked his voice filled with worry.
"She's in the ER right now," she took a deep breath before continuing; "it was an attempted suicide. She's in a lot of pain physically and emotionally."
"My poor baby. How is she right now?" His voice was shaky as he tried to refrain from crying.
"She's getting a blood transfusion; she should be fine. Look Seth, the reason I called is because I know that you and Alan are super busy and given the extent of the cuts that I saw I think Rachel should stay with us for a while. Noah practically waits on her hand and foot. And we both know that if you guys give up everything that you're doing because of her it'll just make her feel guiltier." The other end of the phone was silent. Whispering and then muffled sobs were heard faintly in the background. She waited patiently on the phone for a while until Seth could regain his ability to speak.
"You're right Jodie, we just feel so guilty. We'll be on a flight back home as soon as we can. " She returned a few minutes later, a look of accomplishment written on her face.
"What was that about mom?" Puck asked.
"Rachel's going to be living with us for a while." Before Puck could say anything, a doctor and nurse walked out and went straight towards Puck's mom.
"Are you all here for Rachel?" the doctor asked.
