She's Fine
Rachel opened her eyes and looked around and her eyes met Puck's. She smiled guiltily.
"Sorry you had to come," She said, biting her lip.
"Never apologize for something like this, Rach," Puck said, and kissed her cheek.
"Can you walk?" he asked, helping her sit up.
"What's the hurry?" Rachel asked.
"I got a call from the doctor. You're dad has lost his sight," Puck said, rubbing her back.
"Then we need to get to the hospital right now," she agreed and slowly stood up, getting her balance.
"My ribs are a little better. I can walk," she said and he put his arm around her waist just in case.
She opened the door and smiled at the Warblers.
"Thank you for a fun morning. Sorry I kinda spoiled it," she said, and was immediately met with a chorus of "No's".
She said her goodbyes to the Warblers and got in Puck's truck.
They drove to the hospital in comfortable silence.
They walked into the room and Rachel walked to her dad's side.
"Daddy?" she asked.
He nodded. A tear fell down her cheek, and she grabbed his hand. She told him about her morning, minus her "incident" because she didn't want him to know that. She babbled on about other stuff, understanding that he wouldn't like the silence because he would have even less of an idea what was going on.
Puck went out to his truck. What he brought back made her smile. He had brought his picnic for her, plus he had brought her an air mattress and some blankets, knowing that she wouldn't want to leave. She told her dad what they were doing and he nodded and waved her to the other side of the room.
Puck spread out the picnic and they ate and talked about many things, for Rachel's dad. He had also brought up his guitar and they sang a lot for him. After they finished, they found that he had fallen asleep. Rachel smiled at Puck and gave him a thank you kiss.
Rachel and Puck talked quietly about everything. Puck found himself found himself telling Rachel about his own dad, who had left. Rachel listened to him. Everything sort of poured out of him. How he had to shield his sister, help out his mother, and help his family survive. Suddenly Puck stopped.
"I shouldn't be going on and on about my dad problems. Not now," he said, shaking his head.
"Puck, never think that I don't want to help you and hear you out," she said, looking deep in his eyes. He nodded.
The nurse came in to check on Leroy for the last time for the night. She smiled at Rachel and Puck as she walked out.
"You should sleep," Puck whispered in her ear. She nodded and changed into her pajamas, which she kept at the hospital.
She got on the air mattress under the blanket and he moved to leave.
"Puck," she said. He turned and understood. He took off his shoes, shirt and shorts and climbed in next to her. She snuggled into him and he wrapped his arms around her. She was cold, and tiny. They were both asleep in minutes.
Puck woke up the next morning and watched Rachel sleep. She looked calm and peaceful. As soon as she woke up she would be back to having a worried look in her eyes and a furrowed brow. He closed his eyes and just rested, not wanting to wake her. She needed all the sleep she could get. Of course that's when she woke up.
He opened his eyes as Rachel moved a little. She opened her eyes and looked at him. They both just looked at each other for a while, the sun filtering somewhat through the window shades. Rachel smiled slightly, eyes still heavy with sleep and moved forward and lightly kissed Puck.
"Thank you for staying," she whispered and disentangled herself from him to go to the bathroom and brush her teeth. Puck sat up. He had never felt this close with anybody before. He didn't know how Rachel did it. Staying as calm as she was. If it was him, he'd go crazy. He sighed and got dressed. Rachel came back in and did the same.
They went out together and talked to the doctor. He said Leroy would be sleeping for longer and longer periods due to his medication. Rachel walked over to the nurse and told her to text her when Leroy woke up.
She grabbed Puck and they walked across the street to a nearby park that had a coffee shop in it. The two got coffee and walked around, holding hands and talking, just to talk. Rachel told him about everything she planned on doing once she got to New York. She had already been contacted by Julliard, asking her to attend a summer program for kids interested in coming once they graduated. She wasn't sure if she would yet. Her dad came first.
Puck was in awe of her. She still had her dreams even though her life was hell right now. He didn't know what he would do. He didn't want to tell her that he had looked up information about NYU and was thinking about applying. He wasn't sure if he had the grades for it. He didn't want to get her hopes up. He couldn't help but dream of being with her in New York, going to all of her shows and exploring the city together. He was jealous of Finn for being able to go on a date with her in New York. He had encouraged it. It was hard to believe that Rachel had been hiding her secret even then. Damn, she was a good actress.
The rest of the day was spent in the park and Leroy's room. Puck held Rachel as she cried as Leroy's hearing slowly got worse. They slept the way they had the night previously.
The next morning, Puck told Rachel he had to be at home to watch his sister because his mother was pulling an extra shift at her job as a dentist's assistant. She nodded and asked him to drop him off at her house. He kissed her goodbye once they got there and she slowly made her way to the house, watching him go out of the corner of her eye sadly. She went inside and took a very long shower, just standing under the water, letting it warm her up. She got out and was half dressed when she found that Puck had left his shirt here the night he had stayed. She put it on and laughed when she saw it was just above her knees. It smelled like him. Then the phone rang.
She picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Rachel Berry?"
"Yes,"
"Your father seems to have completely lost his hearing."
Rachel swallowed, closing her eyes, and leaning back against the wall.
"Thank you," she said. Rachel hung up.
She walked over and opened up the liquor cabinet, grabbed a random bottle, opened it and took a huge gulp, sliding down the wall and just sitting there, staring into space, continuing to drink, tears silently falling down her cheeks.
After a while, she stopped drinking, realizing it had just made her feel numb. It hadn't taken her sadness away, at least for a little while. She sat it down and just sat there.
Puck walked up to Rachel's door at about five, and let himself in with the key she had given him. He walked in to a completely silent house. He sighed and walked into the kitchen and found Rachel, sitting there with a half empty bottle and her headphones in, with dead looking eyes. She had her arms around her knees and looked smaller and more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. He sat down by her, grabbing the bottle and taking a swig, and put his arm around her. They sat like that for about a half an hour. Puck sighed and stood up. He held out his hand. She looked up at him wearily and took it. He pulled her up and picked her up, bridal style. He took her upstairs, put her in her bed, and whispered in her ear that he would be back soon, kissing her forehead.
He went to the hospital. He found Mr. Berry sitting up, waiting for him. He grabbed Mr. Berry's hand. He made his hand a thumbs-up, which Leroy used his hands to indentify as the signal that Puck and Mr. Berry had agreed upon as "She's okay". Mr. Berry nodded and smiled. Puck let his hands drop to his sides and left the room as Mr. Berry went to sleep.
Thanks to Whatnoww for the idea of Rachel trying to drink the sorrows away
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