A/N: Hey guys, so before you read this chapter, I just had one quick question: are you liking this story? Because I didn't get any reviews on the last 2 chapters, good or bad, and I really would love to hear what you guys think, so that I'm not writing a story you don't like. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and pretty please leave a review!
Chapter 4:
Soon, Puck and Quinn's days were spent helping Rachel with the glee club and babysitting Beth after preschool, and even though the little girl didn't quite recognize them from when she was younger, the couple couldn't be happier that she was more relaxed around them, and considered them to be like friends of hers rather than strangers.
One rainy afternoon, however, saw Puck and Quinn staying at Shelby's with Beth far longer than they intended to, not that Puck minded; he was happily sitting cross legged in the corner of the room with Beth, playing princes and princesses with her dolls. Quinn, while she smiled at her boyfriend and daughter, couldn't help the worry that sat in the back of her mind as she began to turn on lights as the sun went down; Shelby was never out past 5, and it was now getting on to 6.30! That was late, even if Quinn accounted for traffic!
"Puck?" she called, and he looked up from Beth's dollhouse, holding a male doll with a makeshift crown on its head in his hand.
"Yeah?"
"I think I'd better make Beth some dinner, her mom must be running late,"
"Alright," Puck said before turning back to the game as Quinn went in to make pasta for the three of them, figuring Shelby wouldn't mind her raiding the cupboard, and a few minutes later she was serving spaghetti up and calling Puck and Beth for dinner.
"S'agetti!" Beth said excitedly as she spotted the food on the table.
"That's right!" Quinn encouraged as Puck set her down at the table, and sat beside her, cutting up her pasta.
"Since when could you cook?" Puck asked, his mouth full of pasta.
"Leaving home to go to college kinda forced me to learn," Quinn gave a small smile as a slurp was heard from the beside Puck, and the two turned to see Beth smiling at them mischievously, splodges of pasta around her mouth. "Beth!" Quinn laughed as the little girl grinned at her.
"You made a bit of a mess, huh, monkey face?" Puck smirked "Let's go clean you up," he picked up Beth and took her to the bathroom where he gently wiped her face with a damp cloth. The thunderstorm began to rage outside, and Beth let out a little squeak before nestling herself in Puck's arms "It's OK Beth, it can't hurt you," he cooed gently as he took her into her room.
"I scared!" Beth's bottom lip began to wobble as a particularly loud thunder clap sounded outside.
"I know, baby," Puck said gently, holding her tight and rubbing her back in circles "but it's out there, and you're in here, with me, OK? You're safe with me, I promise,"
Meanwhile, Quinn was just cleaning up the dishes when her phone went off,
"Hi Rach," she answered uncertainly upon seeing the caller ID "what's up?"
"Quinn!" Rachel sounded urgent on the other end of the line "Its my mom, she- she was in a car accident!"
"What?" Quinn tried to keep her voice down, so as not to worry Puck and Beth "Is she OK?"
"No," Rachel's voice was teary "she was k-killed on impact!"
"Oh my god Rach-" Quinn was at a loss for words "Rachel, I'm so sorry! Puck and I will be with you as soon as we can, where are you?"
"W-with my dads," Rachel answered "they're helping me go through anything she left me,"
"Alright, well stay strong, and Puck and I will be there soon,"
"Thanks Quinn," Rachel sniffled before hanging up.
"Puck and you will be where soon?" he asked as he re-entered the living room.
"At Rachel's," Quinn looked up at him as she locked her phone "Shelby- she was killed in a car accident," Puck visibly paled at her words, and Quinn stepped forward to look at him.
"Puck?" she asked, watching him carefully.
"Beth," he murmured "what about Beth?" he said again, louder "Quinn, her mom-"
"Oh my god!" Quinn's hands flew to her mouth as she realized, but a little voice stopped her before she could say any more,
"Quinny?" the couple turned to see Beth standing by the door in the mismatched PJ's Puck had dressed her in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Hi honey," Quinn said gently "sorry we woke you, but we gotta go visit Aunt Rachel, OK? Puck will take you, and you can sleep in the car if you want, is that OK?" Beth just nodded tiredly, and Puck went over to pick her up gently.
"Come on, sleepy monkey face," he cooed, and Quinn fought back a smile as she followed them out of the house and locked the door.
The car ride to Rachel's was tense and quiet, and Quinn swore that Beth would have fallen asleep in her car seat, but the couple turned around when they arrived to find Beth looking at them as quizzically as a four year old could, and Quinn marveled in jealousy at her innocence, trying to think back to a time when things were so simple for her...
Puck scooped up his daughter and followed Quinn into the Berrys' house, where the blonde threw herself at Rachel,
"I'm so sorry, Rach," Quinn muttered to the other girl, who squeezed her for dear life, sniffling loudly.
"Thanks Quinn," Rachel said once she let go of the blonde "have you told Beth yet?"
"Not yet," Quinn admitted "she just woke up," Rachel nodded before accepting a one armed hug from Puck as he shifted Beth higher on his hip.
"Hi honey," Rachel said to her tearily.
"Why cry, Rachie?" Beth asked her sister curiously.
"Because I'm hurting, Beth," Rachel replied gently.
"I can kiss it better!" Beth said excitedly, squirming in her father's arms until he passed her over to Rachel, where the four year old placed a wet kiss on the crying girl's cheek. "All better?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah," Rachel gave a half hearted smile "thanks Bethie," Quinn sighed, nestling into Puck as Rachel handed him back his daughter, and he placed a kiss on his girlfriend's head.
"Shall we get started, honey-?" Hiram asked his daughter as he came into the foyer of the house "Hi Quinn, Noah," he said to the two, and they greeted him in return before he turned to the girl in Puck's arms "this must be Beth," he gave her a smile, which she gladly returned,
"Hi!" Beth said enthusiastically.
"Hiram," came Leroy's voice from the living room "we've got work to do!"
"Coming!" the other man called, and soon the six were sitting around the coffee table, where Hiram and Leroy had spread out all of the documentation of Shelby's possessions.
"Puck?" Beth asked, looking up at him from his lap.
"Yeah Beth?"
"What's happening?" the little girl asked, looking between her two birth parents "Where's mommy?"
"Your mommy isn't here anymore, monkey face," Puck told her gently "she went to heaven," Beth watched him carefully, her bottom lip beginning to wobble as she understood what he was saying "we're going through her stuff and seeing if Rachel gets to keep some of it since your mom doesn't need it in heaven,"
"Mommy's gone?" Beth asked.
"Mommy's gone, baby," Quinn said gently, her heart breaking as she watched tears forming in Beth's eyes before the little girl grabbed two fistful's of Puck's shirt and began to sob into his chest. Puck rubbed her back gently, getting up and talking quietly in her ear as he made his way out of the room to console her.
"Are you ready to get started Rachel?" Leroy asked after a moment.
"As ready as I'll ever be," the brunette girl sniffled; and so the four went through document after document as the night wore on, going through Shelby's possessions and assigning to Rachel what was hers, including her mother's music and sheet music collection, her show choir trophies, and a bracelet that Shelby had bought Rachel when she was first born.
Finally, Hiram picked up the last document, reading over it quickly before looking up at Quinn.
"Beth goes to you,"
A/N: So there you have it! What do you guys think? Don't forget to leave me a review! I really love this story, I'm actually so proud of it, so I'd really like to keep writing it if you guys will keep reading it xo