A/N: Wow, I never really thought I would make it to seven chapters! I just can't stop writing this. Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback, advice and reviews! They are very encouraging. As I hinted to before, this chapter is set close to Valentine's Day and during The Power of Madonna. I think I will be using the episodes as a time template because it makes it easier to keep track of where we are in the season. I'm thinking about nixing Laryngitis all together because I really didn't enjoy it. Coming up in future chapters the Puckerman Family and Quinn will be taking a trip over spring break to visit some more of Puck's family. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee and it makes me sad.

Puck may have recovered quickly from the accident, but his truck wasn't so lucky. The verdict was that it was completely totaled and he would have to look for a new one. Luckily, since it was fairly new, in good condition and had low mileage, he would be getting about ten thousand dollars to put towards a new car.

"What do you think you'll get?" Quinn asked as she drove them to the used car dealership.

"Probably an SUV, maybe a Jeep."

"Not another truck? You loved your truck."

"Yeah, but there wasn't a backseat in it, no place to put a car seat."

"Oh," Quinn replied.

"Plus, the seats in the back of SUV's fold down flat," he said with a smirk and a wink.

"You're such a guy."

"Damn right."

They looked at a few different SUV's before Puck decided on a black 2003 Chevy Equinox. At least the color reminded him of his old truck. Once his mom came and helped sign off on all of the paper work he was able to drive it home. Quinn declined the opportunity to "get a close look at the back seat".

"Come on," Puck urged. "So we can check out what kind of car seat would work best."

"First of all, I know what that look means. Second of all, you're gross and third of all, I'm so not in the mood for that."

"Come on," he tried once more, caressing her cheek.

"No, and if you keep it up you can sleep on the couch tonight."

"Fine." Sometimes, Puck really hated it when she got so moody, especially because he thought the look she got in her eyes made her seem even hotter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quinn and Puck waited in the exam room of the doctor's office. Quinn lay on the exam table, dressed in one of the "God awful" blue gowns, her legs covered by a scratchy blanket. Puck was intently looking at one of the posters about childbirth.

"This is gross," he said, turning towards her.

"Thanks," she muttered sarcastically, looking nervous.

"What's up with you? We've been to the doctor's office before."

"I know. I just still get nervous. What if something is wrong?"

"With our kid?" Puck asked in disbelief. "Quinn, we've got, like, perfect genes."

Before Quinn could answer, the doctor knocked on the door and came in.

"Good afternoon Quinn," she said warmly. "How are we feeling today?"

"We're good, but a little nervous," she replied, smoothing her hands over her belly.

"Have you noticed any changes or have you had any problems since your last check up?"

"She's been a lot more active lately, but no problems."

"Well, that sounds good. Let's take a look at your little girl."

Puck moved up near Quinn's head and took her hand as the doctor lifted the gown and began the ultrasound.

"The heartbeat sounds good. Look, there's her head and those are her feet. It looks like she's sucking her thumb."

"She can do that?" Puck asked.

"Yes."

"She's getting so big," Quinn mused.

"Yeah, well so are you," Puck joked, earning himself a harsh glare from Quinn.

"OK…well, everything looks very good," the doctor said cleaning Quinn off and pulling her gown back down. "Have you been having any cravings or mood swings?"

"I can answer that," Puck chimed in. "Yes and yes."

"That's completely normal."

"Doc, I have a question. How late into this is it still safe to have sex?"

"Puck!" Quinn exclaimed, turning beat red. "I'm sorry Doctor. He was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago and he hit his head pretty hard."

"Quinn, it's perfectly natural for couples to want to remain intimate. Just in case you do want to know, in a pregnancy like yours that is progressing normally and healthily it is safe virtually up until the time your water breaks. However, late into the pregnancy, it is possible for sex to trigger the onset of labor. It is really up to you and your comfort zone. Speaking of which, it is still a little early, but you might want to start considering birthing classes in the next month or so."

Quinn was silent most of the ride home. She couldn't believe how much like his old self Puck was being.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"What do you think?"

"Yes?" he winced.

"Bing, bing, bing! We have a winner!" she said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry! I was curious and I was looking out for our daughter's safety!"

"You humiliated me! Why couldn't you have just looked it up online?"

"The answers were varied."

"So now I look like a slut who can't keep her leg closed."

"No one said that," Puck countered. "You heard what she said. It is 'completely natural'."

"For people who are married."

"Guess what Quinn, people who aren't married have sex all the time. We're not doing anything wrong because I love you and you're having my kid."

"I'm sorry," Quinn said calming down. "I just wish you didn't bring it up like that."

Crisis averted, Puck thought. "I'm sorry for being rude. You want to stop for some ice cream?"

"You know my weakness," Quinn finally smiled.

"We good?"

"Yeah, we're better than good."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The peace between Puck and Quinn was short lived. On Monday during glee, they had been given the assignment of Madonna. Of course, all of the girls and Kurt were completely into the idea, while the boys were much less enthusiastic.

"You just can't handle the fact that she is such a successful woman," Quinn said on the way home from school.

"No, she is just all 'in your face' with her stuff. Hasn't she heard of subtlety?"

"Oh, like you would know what subtlety was if it smacked you in the face?"

Their little spats and arguments culminated into a much larger one on Tuesday morning when Quinn brought up the idea of signing up for childbirth classes soon.

"Do I have to go to those with you? I don't want to be around those fat ugly chicks."

"I can't believe you just said that to me."

"I wasn't calling you fat, just the other ones. They're going to make me feel super uncomfortable."

"How do you think I've going to feel? I'm going to be the youngest one there and everyone is going to be talking behind my back. They are going to say stuff like 'oh look there's the stupid teenager with the boyfriend who has a mohawk'."

"So don't go," Puck said matter-of-factly, ignoring her jab at his hairstyle because he knew that deep down inside she thought it was awesome. "How hard can it really be anyway? Just a few pushes, right?"

"I can't believe you."

"Whatever. I still don't want to go to those classes. I don't have time."

"You don't have time for our daughter?" Quinn asked. "What else do you have to do that is so important?"

"I have school, glee, basketball and I work."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm doing my best."

"I can't talk to you right now without wanting to rip your face off," Quinn said slamming her locker closed. "I'm getting my own ride home since you're so busy."

Quinn's decision to leave school without Puck would have turned out perfectly, if she had actually been able to find a ride home.

"What do you mean you're both busy after school today?" she asked Mercedes and Kurt during lunch.

"Sorry, but we're working on our multimedia Madonna extravaganza," Kurt explained.

"I understand."

Quinn did understand, however, Kurt and Mercedes were the only two people she could count on to give her a ride after school. There was no way she was asking Rachel. Brittany had Cheerios practice and everyone else took the bus home. If there was one thing Quinn Fabray would never do, it was ride the bus home from school. She had never done it and she never would, period. She wouldn't even know which bus to get on. Unfortunately, when the end of the day rolled around she still didn't have a ride home and she was too full of pride to show up at Puck's car after basketball practice was over. Quinn only had one other option, and it was a long shot. When the bell rang, Quinn walked down to the choir room and knocked on the door to Mr. Schuester's office.

"Mr. Schue," she said tentatively. "Can I come in?"

"Quinn, sure, come on in. Have a seat," he said, motioning to the chair opposite his desk. "What can I do for you?"

"I kind of have a favor to ask of you. You can totally say 'no' and I will understand. I'm not even sure if you're allowed to or not."

"Quinn, why don't you just ask me, and we'll go from there."

"Do you think, maybe, you could give me a ride home?"

"I thought you and Puck rode together," Mr. Schue said.

"We did," Quinn replied dejectedly.

"Oh, I see."

Yeah…we sort of had a fight today and I told him I would find my own ride home. Which was a great idea, except Kurt and Mercedes are both busy."

Mr. Schue nodded his head sympathetically. He really felt the need to look out for Quinn, more so that the other members of glee club, because she had been through so much in the past year. He offered her a kind smile before he spoke.

"Of course, I can give you a ride home. Just let me get my stuff together."

Mr. Schuester led Quinn out to the teachers' lot and opened the car door for her. It was February and still bitterly cold in Ohio, so Quinn was happy to be out of the frigid air.

"So," Mr. Schue began. "I know it's none of my business, but if you want to talk about it, I'm a pretty good listener."

"I don't want to unload all of my personal problems on you, Mr. Schue."

"I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't OK. Really."

"Alright," Quinn said with a sigh. "I feel like Puck and I have been fighting a lot lately over stupid little things, which is fine. Couples fight, I get that. But today, he basically told me that he doesn't want to come to birthing classes with me, he doesn't have the time. And then, he made me feel pretty awful about myself but talking about how much he works, as if I don't know how hard it is for him. So, I got mad and said that I couldn't talk to him without wanting to rip his face off. That's when I said that I would get my own ride home, which backfired, majorly."

"I don't want to overstep my bounds, but can I offer a guy's perspective on the situation?"

"Please do."

"It may not seem like it, but we're pretty simple," Mr. Schue began. "Do you remember when I first found out that Teri was pregnant, or, when she told me she was? The first priority on my mind was provided for my family, no matter what. Even if that meant giving up a job that I loved. When the glee club talked me into staying I started working as a night janitor at school, anything to make some extra money. I'm guessing that is how Puck feels, too. It was hard and I was really, really stressed out, but I had friends to talk about it with who had had similar experiences. Puck doesn't really have anyone like that. He doesn't even have a dad he can express his frustration to so he takes it out on you, because, at the very least, you know a little bit about what he's going through. I'm not saying that his behavior is right at all, I'm just saying that I know where he's coming from."

"I still don't really know what I can do about it," Quinn said.

"Let me ask you a question. Be honest. How often do you tell Puck that you appreciate what he does?"

"He knows how I feel about him, Mr. Schue."

"That's not what I asked," the teacher corrected.

"I guess, not very often," Quinn admitted. "When I first moved in with him, I used to tell him all the time. Then we just became so comfortable together. Now I guess I've just come to expect things."

"There is something inside us guys that just craves recognition."

"What do you mean?"

"Guys need to be told they are needed, that we are helping, in order to feel like men. You'd be surprised how much of a difference it could make."

"So you're saying that I should try telling Puck how much I appreciate him?"

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Quinn said with a smile. "You're right, and I think you've also helped me with this week's assignment, too."

"All of that helped you find a Madonna song to sing?"

"Yep. Oh, it's the third house of the left."

"Well, are you going to tell me what it is?" Mr. Schue asked, pulling up to Puck's house.

"Nope, you'll hear it on Thursday," Quinn said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Thanks for the ride and advice, Mr. Schue. It helped a lot."

"Anytime, Quinn. My door's always open. See you manana en Espanol."

"Adios, Senor Schue."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quinn waited for Puck to come home from basketball in silence, thinking about what Mr. Schue had told her. She sipped a warm cup of herbal tea and tried to remember the last time she had thanked Puck for something or the last time she wasn't nagging him about getting the wrong ice cream or using all of the hot water. She honestly couldn't think of one moment in the last week. How awful and selfish am I? she thought. When Puck walked down the stairs after getting home from practice he looked worn out. Has he looked that was a lot lately? Quinn wondered.

"Hi," she offered softly.

"Hey," he replied, avoiding her eye as he shrugged off his duffle and backpack.

"Can we talk? Please?"

"Quinn, I don't have the energy to argue right now."

"Good, because I'm not looking for a fight. Come and sit?"

Puck nodded silently and sunk down on the loveseat adjacent to her spot on the couch.

"Puck, I want to apologize."

"For what?"

"For not telling you how grateful I am for everything you do. I've been a complete bitch to you lately and I'm sorry."

"It's OK," Puck shrugged.

"No, it's definitely not 'OK'," Quinn protested. "You've don't so much for me and our daughter and you work so hard and I realized that I don't tell you nearly enough how much I appreciate it. You took me in when I had no place left to go, you got a job so that you can support our family, you put up with my bitchiness and crazy cravings. Am I missing anything?"

"I rub your feet and back," Puck inputted.

"Yes! How could I forget that? You give the best massages ever. You have no idea how much this all means to me because I haven't told you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably be living at the library with Patches," Puck said with a smile. "Apology accepted."

"Just like that?"

"Yup."

"Well, I wanted to do something nice for you," Quinn said moving over to sit next to him on the loveseat.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"You just look so tired and tense, instead of you giving me a massage tonight, I thought I would give you a back and shoulder rub."

"Now that just sounds too good to resist. Bring it on."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Puck hated Madonna and he hated singing the stupid song with all of the guys, but Mr. Schue had a point. They all needed to make things right with the girls. Ever since he and Quinn had talked on Tuesday night, they were pretty much back to normal. She didn't even wake him up that night to get her a bowl of ice cream, but he knew she had one because the empty bowl was in the sink and there was an empty pint container in the garbage. There was still one thing he needed to do to completely smooth things over.

"It's my turn to apologize," he said on Wednesday night after he trudged in from work and took off his coat.

"For what?" Quinn asked, setting down the pregnancy magazine she was reading.

"For what I said the other day. You know I don't think you're fat. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and your ass is smoking, not to mention your boobs now."

"Puck," she warned.

"Anyway," he continued, sitting down next to her. "I didn't mean that I don't think labor is tough. I meant that you're the strongest person I know. If anyone would not need classes, it would be you. But, since I wanted to show you that I want to be there to help you breath and let you squeeze the shit out of my hand when our daughter is born, I stopped by the hospital and signed us up for classes on Tuesday nights starting in March."

"But Tuesdays are you nights off to relax."

"The class is only an hour, from seven to eight. Still plenty of time for us to kick back afterwards."

"Thank you. I'm not as strong as everyone thinks I am," Quinn admitted brushing away a few tears. "This whole childbirth thing has me terrified."

"You know, I'm going to mess up every now and then. I'm not perfect, but that's why I love you. You smack some sense back into me to straighten me out again."

"And I love you, because you loved me when I didn't deserve it. You've seen me at my worst and you make me always want to be my best."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Although things between Quinn and Puck had finally resolved themselves, new problems were arising in glee club. First of all, Kurt and Mercedes had performed with the Cheerios during the assembly on Thursday and announced that they had joined the squad into order to get more time in the spotlight. Then later that day, during practice, just before the glee members sang their Madonna numbers, a new member entered the choir room. Jesse St. James had transferred from Carmel to McKinley to be with Rachel. Almost everyone was shocked, appalled really, and angry for various reasons. Finn obviously saw him as a threat to his floundering relationship with Rachel. Artie, Mercedes and Kurt saw him as just another road block between themselves and glee club stardom. Quinn seemed to be the only one who didn't mind. She thought it was sweet that he had transferred to be with Rachel and she was glad she had told her to go for it with him. She was trying not to assume the worst about people regarding their motives, except for Santana. She was still a would-be man-stealing slut. Jesse was an amazing performer, he would only enhance their chances at regionals, right? She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

After the uproar died down, Mr. Schue insisted they get on with their numbers. Quinn had chosen to sing "Cherish", with the help of Tina and Mercedes, to let Puck and all of glee know just how much she adored him. It was well received and when she returned to her seat Puck squeezed her knee and said that maybe that Madonna chick wasn't so bad after all.

They all sang "Like a Prayer" together with the help of a local gospel choir. Puck smiled and held Quinn's gaze as he sang the words "It's like a dream, no end and no beginning. You're here with me, it's like a dream…" God, he's so hot when he sings, Quinn thought. She silently reminded herself to be sure to actually tell him that later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The weekend after their Madonna assignment was Valentine's Day. Quinn didn't really have a clue as to what to get Puck so she went with the practical route and got him two-four packs of Red Bull. He had stopped buying it for himself because it was "too fucking expensive". She had also decided to make him breakfast in bed. Luckily, Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday, so Puck was actually able to sleep in and wouldn't notice Quinn slipped out of bed.

The Saturday night before, Puck had a basketball game (shocker, they lost) so they spent the rest of the evening sprawled out on the couch, arguing over what movie to watch.

"Sleepless in Seattle? Quinn suggested.

"No."

"But it's Valentine's Day."

"Not yet it isn't. Texas Chainsaw Massacre?"

"No! I won't be able to sleep for a week," Quinn squealed. "The baby says 'no', too."

"How do you know?"

"Because she is kicking like hell."

"Let me see," Puck said, placing his large hand on her belly. "Oh, you're interpreting it wrong. That, my dear, is a 'yes'."

"It is not. I'm her mother, I would know."

"Well, I'm her father."

"Who just so happens to be wrong."

"OK, fine. No TCM. If you're up all night because of it, you'll just want bacon."

"This is true," Quinn giggled.

They finally decided on The Dark Knight, because "Batman is fucking awesome, he doesn't even have a super power", and Quinn thought Christian Bale was "dead sexy". Secretly, Quinn loved quiet nights at home with Puck. She felt safe and loved. Sometimes, she believed that Puck was really the only person who knew what she was going through. Sure, she could tell Kurt and Mercedes about things, but they could never begin to know just how lonely she felt sometimes. She had gone from having dozens of friends to having a small handful. It was like she was invisible. It was true that she had hated the way people mocked her, but at least they noticed her. Nights alone with Puck were a refuge for her, a safe harbor. Nothing could help her forget a bad day the way just lying in his arms, listening to him rant about some videogame or cars could.

"Hey babe, I'm gonna go shower," he said when the movie was over.

"OK," she yawned, stretching her arms over her head.

"Are you going to bed?"

"Yeah, I'll go in a minute. Too comfy to move right now."

Needless to say, Quinn was not in their bed when Puck finished his shower. He found her still on the couch, but she was sound asleep. He took the opportunity to quietly slip upstairs to his old room and retrieve the small wrapped boxes he had hidden in his old closet. When he returned, he could only shake his head and smile at Quinn. She looked so peaceful when he crouched down next to her and gently shook her shoulder. He hated to wake her up, but he knew from experience that she would be sore and sorry in the morning if he let her sleep on the couch.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, let's get you into bed."

"No," she protested, pouting her lips like a child. "Just leave me here."

"I don't think so," Puck said, sliding his arms under her back and legs and lifting her effortlessly from the couch. "Put your arms around my neck so I can pull the covers down."

Puck carefully placed Quinn onto her side of the bed before climbing in himself.

"Thanks," she murmured, reaching out for him and settling into his arms. "You must be strong."

"Nah, you're still light as a feather."

Quinn woke up early on Sunday morning and crawled out of bed.

"Babe, where are you going?" Puck asked groggily, not even bothering to sit up.

"To the bathroom," she lied, knowing he would easily fall back to sleep. She made her way up to the kitchen and began to fix his favorite breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes. Seriously, he is such a big kid, she thought. When she was finished she placed two plates of pancakes, a cup of coffee, a glass or orange juice and his Red Bull onto a tray and carefully carried them down to their bedroom, setting it next to him on the bed.

"Since when does our bathroom serve breakfast?" he asked sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Quinn said, leaning over to kiss him.

"Oh fuck," he cursed. "That is today?"

Quinn's heart sank for a moment. After all of the surprises he had given her, she really didn't expect him to forget about Valentine's Day, especially not their first one together. Puck noticed the dismay on her face right away.

"I'm just joking. I remembered."

"I made you your favorite breakfast and here is the rest of your present," she said pointing to the gift bag.

Puck reached in a pulled out one of the cartons of energy drink and smiled.

"Thanks, Quinn. I could use these every once and a while. It's either this or I am going to start taking that cold medicine Teri Schuester gave us. I got you a little something, too."

Puck leaned over the side of the bed and reached underneath it to grab the larger of the two boxes he had placed there the night before. He handed it to Quinn and she delicately opened the package.

"Popcorn?" she said, baffled at his gift.

"What flavor popcorn?"

"Bacon flavored popcorn!" Quinn exclaimed after reading the package more carefully. "I didn't even know they made such a thing."

"I didn't either until I googled 'bacon flavored gifts'. You don't even want to know what else came up under that search. But that isn't your real present."

"Puck you didn't have to get me anything else. This is really enough."

"Don't worry, I didn't pay for this."

"Puck!" Quinn chided. "I thought you stopped stealing things."

"I didn't steal this," he replied handing her a much smaller box. Quinn removed the red paper to reveal a small black velvet box. She opened it and pulled out a small gold heart pendant on a gold chain.

"Oh Puck," she breathed. "It's beautiful."

"You like it?"

"I love it."

"Cool, it's my grandma's. She gave it to me and said that my grandpa gave it to her while they were dating. She told me that one day I could give it to the girl I wanted to give my heart to."

"That is so sweet," Quinn said reaching over to hug him. "Will you put it on me?"

"Of course," Puck replied. Quinn held her hair up as Puck fastened the clasp around her neck and smiled. "It suits you really well. Now, I think we should dig in to this feast you made before it gets cold."