Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.


Rachel sighed, sinking onto her bed the next night. In thirty minutes she had to be at the Puckerman's house for dinner. Debbie had invited her over for dinner and Rachel had begrudgingly accepted. She and Noah hadn't been on speaking terms since Rachel told him that she was considering adoption. He had been avoiding her all week and she was getting sick of it.

Rachel's dads' wouldn't be home from work anytime soon so she left a note by the phone telling them she'd be home late since she was having supper at the Puckerman's. When she pulled into Noah's driveway she saw his truck parked on the curb and she wondered how awkward tonight was going to be.

Debbie ushered Rachel inside and into the kitchen. "I'm so glad that you decided to come tonight. I thought that after the other night you might be a little wary of me. I didn't mean to upset you if I did."

"It's okay, Mrs. Puckerman." Rachel assured her. "Everything you said was accurate. I apologize for my Father's behavior. He and I are working on some things. I don't think he meant anything that he said about Noah; he was just disappointed in me and was taking it out of everyone."

"It's quite alright, Rachel. Finding out that your son or daughter is having a child in high school can be very upsetting. I know all about Noah's reputation and if my little Sarah was to ever be in this situation with a boy like Noah I don't know what I would do." Debbie shook her head.

"I'm terribly sorry about all of this. Truly, I am." Rachel sighed.

"Come have a seat, Dear." Debbie led Rachel to the kitchen table. "I know that you're not far along in this pregnancy – about nine weeks, right?" Rachel nodded. "But I already have a feeling I'm going to be spoiling you like crazy." She laughed. "You're carrying my little Jewish Grandbaby after all." Debbie reached out to pat Rachel's stomach.

"Debbie." Rachel smiled meekly and when Debbie saw the look on Rachel's face, she paled.

"You're keeping it… aren't you?" Debbie asked, almost desperate.

"Hadn't you heard?" Puck's voice came from behind them. "Rachel's decided to give it away. She's just going to pass it along to strange people like that's not our flesh and blood."

Rachel bit into her bottom lip and tried to fight the tears that were springing up in her eyes. "I…"

"She didn't even ask me, she just decided what she thought was best because apparently, even though this is my child too, I don't a say in any fucking thing that goes down."

"Noah!" Debbie scolded. "Watch your mouth. You do not talk to anyone like that, especially not the girl that is carrying your baby."

Puck felt a little guilty when he saw the tears in Rachel's eyes but that was quickly swept away when he remembered that she was planning on giving the baby up for adoption.

"Yea, well, when the baby is given to some new family you won't be on Rachel's side will you?" Puck moved across the room, sinking into a chair on the opposite side of the table that Rachel would be sitting. "She may be carrying my child now, but when he or she is ripped away from me and handed to whatever people Rachel picks out, it won't be my baby anymore, now will it?"

"Noah." Rachel whispered. "I'm not doing this to hurt you. I've already told you that I haven't even decided anything yet. I would never make this big of a decision without talking to you first."

Puck met Rachel's eyes but looked away just as quickly. "Quinn said you two are going to the agency this weekend. Sounds like you already made a decision."

"We're just going to talk to someone; to see what my options are, Noah. A baby doesn't fit in my five-year plan. I hadn't even considered children because I wasn't planning on having them until I was at least 25."

"Now's a crappy time to start considering, Rachel." Puck spat at her. "You may not have planned for this baby but it's here and it's not going away."

"Why doesn't everyone just cool down?" Debbie gestured for Rachel to sit down. "Dinner is almost ready. We'll eat and then we can keep this discussion going afterwards."

Rachel nodded in agreement, relieved that Debbie had interrupted before either she or Puck said something they would regret.


It was later, after dinner and Debbie had just gotten finished with clearing off the table that Rachel cleared her throat loudly and excused herself from the table. She quickly walked down the hall and escaped out of the house to the back porch. She took in a deep breath and let it out just as slowly. Her hands splayed across her stomach when she heard the door open behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that Noah was standing behind her.

"I'm sorry." She spoke quietly. "I'm… I'm scared, Noah. I'm terrified."

"I know." He replied.

She turned to face him and shook her head. "I don't think you do. This isn't about us, Noah. This is about this baby and what he or she needs; what he or she deserves. This baby didn't ask to be born but it's going to happen and the least we could is make sure he or she is happy. We can do that if we give this baby up. If we choose adoption this baby will have a good family."

"We could be a family, Rachel." Puck stepped towards her. "We can do this. I know it will be hard but we can love this baby. We can give him a good life. I'll get another job. I've been saving my money up. I can do this, Rachel. I'm going to be a good father. Please…" He begged her and she felt the tears welling in her eyes.

"I don't… I haven't decided anything." She told him and blew out a breath. "I don't know yet. I don't know what I want to do but I need to at least talk to someone at that adoption agency. I'm not saying that my decision is final but I need to get more information."

"We can do this, Rach." He dropped to his knees in front of her and his hands covered hers over her stomach. "I promise. I promise to do whatever it takes, just please… don't take this baby away from me."

"Noah." Rachel chewed on the inside of her and then fell to her knees with him, turning her hands over to grip his. "You've given me a lot to think about… and I'll consider it."

Puck nodded before slowly leaning towards her to brush his lips against hers, making her gasp. He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, his eyes downcast to look at their hands intertwined. "Thank you." He whispered softly before pressing another kiss to her lips. For a second he thought that maybe she was kissing him back but then she pulled away, mumbled an excuse about curfew and she was gone.