Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied, the author does not make any profit from this work of fiction.
A/N: Two become three, three become four...
"But why didn't momma and momma Quinn want to come with us?" Beth asked for the tenth time. "Didn't they want to fly with us?" she pouted.
Puck grinned at the cutesy little blonde. "I think they wanted to give us some daddy, daughter time," he told her and chucked her cheek. "Are you ready to take off?" he asked, allowing his own excitement to show through. Puck went through the usual checks and procedures with the control tower and recieved the clearance that he needed. Beth looked at him with such excited, trusting eyes, Puck felt like he was the king of the world.
"Are we really going to be flying? In the air? Really?" Beth cried, she couldn't believe this was actually happening, she couldn't wait to go to school on Monday. "What did you do on the weekend?" her teacher would ask. "Oh, flew a airplane with my daddy," she would answer as though it was something so every day and ordinary. Beth could almost picture Toria Fox's crumpled up, grumbly face and it made her smile so brightly.
"Ok, feel that?" Puck asked as the wheels left the ground. "That's it, we're in the air," he informed the excited little girl by his side. Puck was really glad that he had unlimited use of the Cirrus T-53A light aircraft that the squadrons based at Wright-Patterson used for training flights. He'd asked his CO if he could use a few of his hours to take Beth on her very first non-commercial flight, permission had been granted, and here they were, the two of them, in the air and Beth was entranced, hooked.
"How are you feeling?" Quinn asked Shelby as they climbed back into Quinn's car.
"Exhausted," Shelby sighed, "which is stupid, I mean, he only gave me a local, right?" she muttered. "Thank you for holding my hand, I really appreciate it," she told Quinn. "And I'm sorry for squeezing the crap out of it," she added and blushed slightly.
"That's ok," Quinn replied with a grin, "gives me a bit of insight into what Puck is going to have to put up with in a few months," she laughed. "Are you sure you want me to take you home to your house?" she asked after a slight pause. "Because I'd much rather take you home with me, so that I know you aren't going to go into meltdown," she said with a sly glance at the woman on her right.
"Thanks," Shelby managed to say, but only just, she was struggling trying to string anything together. "Do you think we could stop at the mall for a while?" she asked. "Just maybe sit with a coffee, do some people watching, maybe a touch of window shopping for baby things?" she asked, tempting Quinn more than she could know.
"Are you sure you feel up to that?" Quinn asked.
"Yes, I'm only tired because I didn't sleep well last night," Shelby explained. "Thank you, for making me stay with you last night too, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, you've been a lot more forgiving than I ever could be," she added quietly, and she didn't know how to express it any better, she was grateful, she was so grateful, and yes, she realised that she should tell Rachel what was going on, Quinn was right about that. Quinn gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, then turned the car around and headed towards the mall.
"Look, down there," Puck cried and encouraged Beth to look out of the windows, "look, there's our house down there, that's where me and Quinn live," he pointed out.
"Really? It looks tiny," Beth shouted above the noise of the aircraft. "Where are we flying to?" she demanded.
"We're going to fly over Lima, over nana Lydia's house and grandma Judy's house and then we're going to fly back and land in Fairborn," Puck explained.
"Can we fly over Toria Fox's house?" Beth asked, she hoped that they could, Toria Fox would never be able to say that she'd flown over Beth's house on the weekend, just because her daddy wanted to take her flying. "Daddy, can I learn how to do it?" she asked.
"When you're bigger you can," Puck agreed immediately, and he genuinely saw no reason why he could not teach her to fly once she was old enough to get her licence.
"How much bigger?" Beth demanded, she thought she might be big enough already.
"You have to wait till you're sixteen to get your pilot's licence," Puck told Beth and saw the pout and the frown. "That's the rules, baby, sixteen."
"Mmmm, this is wonderful," Shelby sighed as she inhaled the rich aroma of her coffee.
"I know, I have to come here at least once a week just to sniff the air," Quinn pouted, "since I'm not allowed to drink coffee right now, not even decaf," she grumbled, "and I miss it so much, more than I miss wine or beer," she added. "Coffee, that first sip in the morning, it's like...it's like...it's like heaven must be," she sighed dramatically.
"Coffee's good, but I wouldn't go that far," Shelby laughed, she looked at the face that Quinn was pulling, like she was the most put upon person on the planet, she looked like Beth when she couldn't get her own way. "I can think of things I miss more than I'd miss coffee," she added quietly. "Like sex," she said almost silently. "Oh my God, did I say that out loud?" she asked, blushing furiously when she saw the surprised look on Quinn's face. Quinn nodded. "I did not just say that, it was a figment of your imagination," Shelby stated with an embarrassed smile and then refused to make eye contact with Quinn at all. Quinn held in the giggle but did not say a word.
"Hi, Mrs Puckerman," Julia Dykes said as she came to clear the table.
"Julia, hi," Quinn replied, surprised to see her student, although she shouldn't be, she knew a number of her students held down part-time jobs. "How are you today?" she asked. Julia glanced at Shelby and then quickly back to Quinn. "Don't worry, this is my very good friend, Shelby Corcoran," Quinn introduced.
Julia gulped. "The Shelby Corcoran?" she whispered. "Wicked? Gypsy? Cabaret? Evita?" she asked, listing just some of Shelby's performances, Shelby and Quinn nodded at each suggestion. "Oh. My. God," Julia sighed, obviously star-struck. "Shelby Corcoran. Right here. In Fairborn. Here. And she's drinking coffee at one of my tables," she added, Julia sounded like she was going to wet herself at any moment. Quinn couldn't help but grin.
"It has been many years since anyone recognised me like that," Shelby told the young girl. "My ego thanks you," she added humourously.
Quinn's phone rang, interrupting the moment. "Excuse me," she muttered and left the table to take the call from Puck. "Hi," she said with a smile.
"Hey, we're back on terra firma," Puck told Quinn with smile. "How's things?" he asked, he was vague about it because he didn't want Beth to pick up that there was something wrong with Shelby, time enough for that if they had to face it in the future.
"Good, really good," Quinn replied and glanced over to where Shelby was autographing a napkin for Julia and one for her mom, her grandma, her aunt and her sister, apparently they were all big Broadway fans. "The doctor was very optimistic once he had the biopsies under the microscope," she explained. "I mean, they have to conduct tests and stuff, but he said from the looks of things, Shelby's in the clear, they're cysts and nothing more dangerous."
"That's a relief, right?" Puck replied, and he genuinely sounded incredibly relieved. "I mean, how would we explain that to Beth?" he asked.
"It is," Quinn agreed. "Listen, I've encouraged Shelby to stay with us for another night," she told Puck. "We're going to call in at Sherwin-Williams to pick up some wallpaper samples, we'll be home in about an hour, ok?"
"Cool, take care, I'll see you soon," Puck responded before he ended the call. "You know something?" he said to Beth, she looked up at him and gave him a 'what?' look. "I think we should go home and start dinner," he announced. "Guess what we're eating today," he suggested.
"Pizza," Beth cried.
"Nope," Puck replied. Puck was cooking so it would have to be the only thing that he could cook really well, spaghetti.
"But I like pizza, it's my favourite," Beth announced and looked at Puck with her puppy dog eyes.
"But I don't know how to make pizza except for the frozen kind," Puck answered sadly and it made him feel so guilty, so inadequate, especially when Beth sighed so dramatically.
"It's all right," Beth assured Puck, although she looked at her feet and sighed very, very heavily.
"You really want pizza that much?" Puck asked Beth and jiggled her hand to gain her attention. Beth looked up and nodded, her eyes looked huge. Sad and huge. "Fine, what do you want on your pizza?" he asked, and mentally planned a trip to three possible restaurants to pick up dinner.
"Thank you, daddy," Beth said, she sounded so grateful, she sounded so totally sincere, she sounded like a suck up. Puck rolled his eyes.
"Tuna and olives?" Quinn asked as she looked at her pizza and salad, she was puzzled, totally puzzled, Puck didn't tend to go for a fish topping, he usually opted for endless varieties of red meat, which she grumbled at him for, considering his grandpa had died from a massive heart attack.
"Beth, right?" Shelby giggled and picked up her fork. "Did you get the big sigh and the sad look?" she asked, and caught the guilty look on Puck's face. "She's good, right?" she asked proudly.
"You mean she knows how to manipulate people to get her own way," Puck pouted as he realised that he had been totally played. He glanced at Quinn. "I wonder who she gets that from?" he muttered under his breath.
"That she does," Shelby agreed, quietly ignoring Quinn's snicker of laughter. They ate in silence for a few moments. "Listen, I want to thank you guys," she said quietly, "I don't think I could have managed today without your help, Quinn, I know I couldn't have handled the hospital on my own, so thanks," she added and reached out a hand to cover Quinn's on the table.
"I'm ba-ack," Beth cried as she rushed into the dining room at quite a pace.
"And did you wash your hands?" Shelby asked, Beth nodded. Shelby raised her eyebrow and continued to look at her daughter. Beth blushed. "Bethany Quinn Corcoran, what have I told you about that?" she scolded and then excused them both as she left the table to take Beth back to the bathroom to wash her hands properly.
Puck and Quinn looked at each other in surprise. Puck gulped and spoke first. "Did you know?" he asked, Quinn shook her head.
"No, I didn't know, I had no idea, I never even thought about it," Quinn whispered, she was thrilled, delighted, "did you?" she asked, Puck shook his head too. They both looked up as Beth and Shelby returned, Beth didn't look quite so pleased with herself.
"Sorry about that," Shelby sighed as she and Beth took their seats again. "So, how was your flight?" she asked Beth, to restart the relaxed conversation.
"It was wonderful," Beth replied, she was totally hero-struck because her daddy could fly airplanes and not everyone's daddy could do that, and because after their flight over Lima - and Toria Fox's house - Puck had taken Beth to sit in the cockpit of the huge Hercules aircraft that he usually flew, and then, because one was there at the airfield, he took her to sit in the pilot's seat of a Chinook, the actual pilot of the machine gave Puck a run down of some of the giant bird's capabilities, while allowing Beth to touch buttons and switches. "Can we do it again?" she asked brightly.
"Sure, we'll do it again soon," Puck agreed.
"And maybe momma and momma Quinn can come with us too," Beth added excitedly.
"Maybe," Quinn agreed.
"Mrs Puckerman?" Julia whispered from the doorway.
"Yes, Julia?" Quinn answered as she looked up from the work that she was making. "Are you ok?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," Julia replied and wandered into the classroom. "We're going for the detailed ultrasound tomorrow," she told Quinn, she seemed slightly excited about it. "Connor can't wait, he wants to know if the baby looks like him or not," she added with a smile. "Cathy is coming too," she said and felt a bit embarrassed about it.
"Puck missed that one," Quinn pouted with her nose wrinkled up. "I mean, he didn't want to miss it but he was stuck in Europe and I had to go, my sister met me there, so we both got to watch this little girl dance around on my bladder," she joked.
"On the last scan the baby was still hiding itself, it's a bit ambiguous, we still don't know yet if it's a girl or a boy," Julia said with a slightly strangled laugh. "Cathy says she'd be so excited if it's a little girl because she and Brian gave up a daughter for adoption over twenty years ago," she explained, "and they've only had sons since. Cathy said that she sometimes feels that God was punishing her by never letting her have another daughter," she said and looked at Quinn with a worried face.
"But look at the wonderful sons that she does have, right?" Quinn countered, she didn't want Julia going down the path of punishment and retribution, she herself had been far too judgemental of both herself and other people in her early and mid teens, and it had all been in the name of religion. "Are you settling in ok?" Quinn thought to ask after a moment or two of uncomfortable silence.
"Yes, it's nice living there at Connor's house," Julia admitted, "it's nice having a mom in the house," she added with a small touch of wistfulness. "Connor sneaks into my room sometimes at night, he holds me all night but then has to go back to his brother's room in the morning so that his mom doesn't find out," she revealed with an embarrassed grin. "He has his brother sworn to secrecy so he won't split on us to his mom, but his dad says it's ok, it's not like we can get into trouble, right?"
Quinn smiled to herself, she remembered those days herself, the way that Puck had crept into bed with her once his mom was asleep, how wonderful and romantic it had all seemed to her teenaged self. "And how do you feel about it? Do you want him to sneak in?" Quinn asked.
Julia blushed and nodded. "I like it that he does," she admitted shyly.
"Hey," Connor called from the doorway, "are you ready to go home?" he asked. Julia nodded and slid off the desk to walk towards him, immediately Quinn was transported back, she remembered Puck stopping by classrooms to pick her up and drive her home, she remembered calling in for groceries before they reached home, she remembered arriving home to wonderful smelling meals with strange names, although Puck revealed very early on in their relationship that he'd never known his mom to make so many traditional and Kosher meals, it was like she was trying to remind Quinn on a daily basis that they were a Jewish family and she was an interloper. Quinn remembered the day that he'd begged his nana Beth to have a quiet word with his mom, tell her to tone it down a bit and to remind her that the damage was already done, Quinn living with them wouldn't change anything, the only thing it would do was give him a chance to convince her that he was there for her, for her and the baby. Quinn also remembered the not so good stuff, and the real reason that she had left Puck to go live with Mercedes. "Bye, Mrs Puckerman, see you tomorrow," Connor said politely, interrupting Quinn's private thoughts, before taking Julia's hand and leading her from the class.
"Hey, meet the parents," a mocking voice reached Quinn's ears, she knew immediately that it was the worst bully in the school and that he was directing his nastiness towards Julia and Connor. "Hi mommy, hi daddy," he said in an annoyingly nauseating baby voice.
"Oh," Quinn cried in disappointment from her doorway, "I thought my husband was here when you said that," she added and stared down the blushing boy, he'd had no idea that he would be overheard by a teacher.
"Bye, Mrs Puckerman," Connor repeated and gave her a slight smile before he and Julia left.
"Hey, hey, hey, look at that little face," Puck cried to Beth as they both stared at the screen. "She looks just like you," he whispered just behind Beth's ear. "Don't you think she does?" he asked Quinn.
"I think so too," Quinn agreed, and smiled at both Puck and Beth as they grinned back at her.
"How much longer?" Beth asked, she really liked coming to see the baby on the screen and stuff, but she really wanted her sister to come out now.
"We still have to wait a couple more months," Puck reminded Beth, "but look at how she's moving in momma Quinn's tummy, see that?" he said as the baby's foot pressed upwards, the shape of it quite distinct, quite recognisable.
"Around six more weeks," Dr Reid confirmed and then wiped the gel from Quinn's stomach and helped her to sit up on the couch. "I need you to make an appointment for next week, we'll continue with weekly appointments until you deliver, alright?" he said, Quinn nodded and shuffled to the edge and then put her feet to the floor. Puck stood up and took Quinn's other hand, gave her a little bit of support. "Are you excited for your new baby sister to come?" he asked Beth, she nodded and grinned.
"Yep," Beth answered, and she was, she kept on telling her momma that she was. Beth kept on telling Toria Fox too, but Toria didn't like it because she was a little sister and her momma had told her that she wasn't ever going to have any more babies so Toria would always be the littlest. Beth reminded Toria that she was going to be a big sister at every opportunity.
"Hi, mom, Lydia, Jenna, it's lovely to see you," Quinn said as she opened the door to their moms and Puck's sister. "Frannie is already in the lounge, the girls are too, Shelby is taking Beth to meet Puck at the airfield first then coming here, she shouldn't be too long," she explained and stepped back for both women to enter.
"Lydia, hi," Rachel cried when she saw the other woman, a woman who had been quite prominent during her formative years, the Jewish community in Lima was not huge and never had been, most people were related in some way, or at the very least, they knew everyone.
"Rachel, it's so good to see you, how is New York treating you?" Lydia asked her as she hugged the diminutive brunette.
"It's wonderful," Rachel sighed, her face as expressive as her voice. "I've just been cast in Fifty Shades, the musical," she informed everyone proudly. "We open in April," she said after the murmurs had died down.
"Oh, how fabulous," Frannie exclaimed. "We should have a girls' weekend, we should all be there for opening night," she suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Mercedes toasted with her glass high in the air. "But how about we get this party started?" she encouraged.
Everyone sat down in the lounge and chatted for a few moments until the doorbell rang again. "Excuse me," Quinn whispered to her sister and scurried to the door. "Shelby," she cried and hugged the other woman as she stepped into the house. "That's everyone," she called over her shoulder, "you can bring out the gifts now," she giggled. "That's the only reason I allowed you all to come here today, for the swag," she added, laughing even harder. "Come on, let me see the goodies," she giggled and then clapped her hands together excitedly.
Tina had wanted to do this for Quinn years ago, she had wanted to give her a baby shower to show her support, for all of the glee club to show their support, to both Puck and Quinn, but most especially to Quinn. Puck had thought it was a great idea, he'd even helped Tina to set it up in the choir room, he'd provided the refreshments, he'd bought the stroller and the car seat, he'd even bought a ring. Quinn had freaked out and did the only thing she could think of, she'd run away, run to Mercedes, she'd left Puck and told him that she couldn't take the pressure, couldn't take him hassling her about keeping the baby, she'd screamed at him that she never wanted to see him again, that she hated him, that she would never, ever, want his child. And then she just couldn't take it back. Once it was out there, it was like a pulsing, palpable, living thing, it was impossible to ignore. It was only when they were stood together in front of the nursery window, gazing at their beautiful creation that Quinn had realised how much she had hurt Puck. She'd also realised how much she had to beg his forgiveness. And he had forgiven her. Just like that, he'd forgiven her. Forgiven her for lying. Again.
"And this is from me and Mike," Tina said as she passed over a huge, beautifully wrapped gift.
"Thank you," Quinn sighed as she unwrapped a fabulous arrangement of diapers and newborn baby essentials. "I can't believe we only have a month left to be a couple," she said for the third or fourth time. "Another month and we'll be a family," she sighed.
"I thought we were already a family," Frannie reminded her sister. Judy, Lydia, Jenna and Shelby all grumbled something similar too.
"You know what I mean," Quinn replied and wafted her hand towards her sister. Frannie nodded, she did know, it was a different sort of a family feel.
"Game time," Frannie called to bring everyone back to order. "For a coupon for a mani-pedi at Studio Six, which actually means, as that's right here in Fairborn and the only one of us to live here is Quinnie, that whoever wins this prize will probably donate it to my very deserving sister. Or me," she added with a wink. "Ok, three questions. So, who can guess where Quinn and Puck shared their very first kiss?" Frannie read from the card. "And I have the answers here in this envelope," she announced, holding the pink envelope above her head.
"Oh," Santana cried all of a sudden and furiously wrote something on her answer sheet. "Hey, get your own answer, Hobbit," she growled at Rachel. "I'm just kidding," she relented quickly and hugged Rachel, although she hid her answer sheet behind her back.
"Number two, where were they the very first time that Puck asked Quinnie to marry him?" Frannie asked, reading from her sheet. "And I don't mean when he asked her in Hebrew, I mean the first time that he asked and Quinnie understood him," she clarified. "Number three," Frannie stated once the ladies were looking at her expectantly, "What was the first song that Puck sang to Quinn?"
"They weren't hard questions," Santana commented smugly, "not if you've listened to Quinn or taken notice over the years," she preened. "When I win it, sorry Q, but I think I might just have to take advantage of the coupon myself," she sighed and inspected her fingernails.
"Alright, ready for the answers?" Frannie asked and prepared to open the envelope. "All answers have been supplied and verified by my darling sister Quinnie and my fabulous brother-in-law, Puck. Drum roll, please," she teased. "Number one, first kiss was..." she said and paused for a second. As expected, several people called out their answers.
"Under the bleachers," Santana cried.
"In the science lab at McKinley," Tina shouted a little louder than Santana had.
"At Lima Mall near the food court," Rachel cried.
"Outside the Lima Bean," Lydia yelled, she was sure that she was right.
"In the parking lot at Breadstix," Mercedes cried.
"On the lips," Brittany shouted and then looked puzzled when everyone groaned around her. "What?" she demanded.
"Nope," Frannie said, shaking her head, "and I have photographic evidence," she added and grinned at Quinn again,
"Oh, can I change my answer?" Judy suddenly cried. "I know it now," she insisted and smiled at her youngest daughter who was grinning widely.
"First answer is the only accepted one," Frannie stated. "I think we'll leave that one. Number two, where were they when he asked her to marry him?" she asked and looked expectantly at the ladies.
"Choir room," Mercedes shouted.
"Knowing my son, it was probably a bedroom," Lydia muttered and then sipped at her drink.
"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner," Frannie cried and pointed at Lydia. "Can you be more specific, please?" she asked.
Lydia glanced at Quinn, saw the message she was trying to send with her eyes. "At Dudley Road," she answered thoughtfully, "in Quinn's bedroom," she added to be a little more precise.
"Exactly," Frannie sighed. "You wouldn't like to tell us when, would you?" she asked. Lydia laughed and shook her head, so did Quinn.
"And number three, what was the first song?" Frannie recapped the question.
"Sweet Caroline," Tina called, she remembered listening to Puck singing that in the choir room, the very first time he soloed on anything, and she remembered how they looked at each other. Frannie shook her head.
"Beth," Shelby called, she'd heard the story time and time again, again Frannie and Quinn shook their heads.
Title after title was called out, to every one of them, Frannie and Quinn replied no. "I'll give you a clue," Frannie offered, "it's connected with the photo and the first time they kissed," she said with a touch of mystery, and waved the envelope again.
"Ok, we give up," Santana sighed.
"You're sure? Mom? Do you give up too?" Quinn asked.
"Well, I thought I knew part of it, but I have no idea what song it would be so, yes, I give up," Judy said with a fake pout.
"Ok, so, here it is, photographic evidence of that very first kiss," Frannie announced and pulled an old picture of herself and her best friend from the envelope.
"What?" Mercedes, Rachel and Santana shrieked in unison. "I don't get it," Mercedes added, she took the picture to inspect it closely. "I still don't get it," she frowned and handed the picture on to Santana.
Every one of them inspected the picture and then passed it on. None of them spotted it, until the picture arrived with Lydia and Judy. "Aww," Judy sighed, as did Lydia.
"That is so, so sweet," Lydia agreed. "Look at that," she said and held up the picture for every one to see. "See there?" she asked, her finger pointing at a spot behind Frannie and the other girl. "Here, look closely," she offered and handed the picture back.
"Oh, wow," Tina whispered. "How were we supposed to see that?" she asked. "But sweet, very, very sweet," she added.
"What is, let me see," Santana insisted and took the picture. "Oh, I see it now," she mumbled and pulled a face. "There was never any hope for anyone else, was there?" she teased.
"Not ever," Quinn agreed and stared at the picture once it landed back with her. She hadn't remembered the incident, obviously when she saw just how young they were - still in diapers - but there was something special, memorable about it and Quinn secretly wondered if their bodies, their souls had recognised each other the very first time they met at McKinley, Puck had laughed at her fanciful thoughts, but he hadn't denied it, neither had he given an alternative theory. "So, a couple of months ago, Frannie was looking through some old pictures with Beth and we came across this," she explained and held up the picture. "This is Frannie with her best friend, Caroline, way back in 1996, and right there, on the left you can see my mom and Lydia, side by side on a bench, chatting, they're obviously watching their children," she pointed out. "And there, just over Frannie's shoulder is me and Puck," she pointed to the two toddlers in the sandbox, the young pair had leaned towards each other, their faces pressed together, Puck's hand rested on Quinn's shoulder. "And Puck had been singing a Barney song at me the whole time, he used to just sing it all of the time, right Lydia?" she asked.
"Yes, constantly," Lydia replied with relief that he didn't still sing it all the time.
"Oh, I remember that," Rachel cried. "He was always singing I Love You," she said and looked to Lydia to confirm it, Lydia nodded.
"Yes, and when we went to the park to play, he used to play in the sandbox with this beautiful little blonde girl called Lucy, he never forgot her, he used to talk about her even years later," Lydia said with a huge smile, she was really getting into the swing of things. "And then when he brought Quinn home with him that first time, there was something familiar about her but I didn't work it out, I thought that maybe she reminded me of someone on TV or something," she laughed. "This picture just says it all, I remember it well, don't you?" she asked Judy.
"Oh, I do," Judy sighed and stared at the picture again. "He was a very handsome little boy," she said with a smile, "and my little Lucy was totally smitten with him, I never for one moment suspected that they would end up married years later," she giggled.
"Fate is a wonderful thing," Quinn sighed and leaned back in her seat to give her stomach a little bit of room. "Ok, so what present do I get to open now?" she demanded with a Beth type pout, although she was totally joking.
"Hi," Quinn called as she heard the door open and Puck and Beth come in. "I'm in here, come and see all the goodies," she told them.
"Wow, this place looks like Babies R Us," Puck laughed. "Is there anything left that we need to get?" he asked, he was flabbergasted, he'd never for one moment thought that they would get this many presents before the baby was born. "Did they try to pry her name from you?" he asked and moved a hamper of diapers so that he could sit down.
"Yep," Quinn replied and then blew out a breath to blow the hair from her forehead. "I told them we still haven't settled on one," she added and then tilted her face for Puck to kiss her. "Did you have a good time, flying with daddy?" she asked Beth.
"It was the best," Beth sighed. "Will we still be able to do it when the baby gets here?" she asked, suddenly aware that the dynamics of this new little three-some would change beyond recognition.
"Of course," Quinn replied. "Even when the baby gets here, we still both want our special alone time with you," she confirmed and hugged Beth close to her side. "I love the time we spend reading together, and I'm sure that Puck will take care of the baby so that we can still do that, and I know that Puck loves flying with you, I promise that I will take care of the baby so that you two can still do that together. That doesn't mean that we won't do the same things with the baby," she thought to add, she'd hate for Beth to find out in years to come that they'd done the same special things with her sister, so making Beth feel that the time spent was less special. "But we do want you to have your own, special, uninterrupted time with us, if you still want to, that is," she explained.
"Thank you, mommy," Beth sighed quietly as she hugged Quinn tight around the neck.
"Hey, that was nice, but what happened to momma Quinn?" Quinn asked, her voice was thick and she had tears in her eyes, she was touched so deeply.
"Well, Toria Fox says that most kids call their momma 'mommy' and that she doesn't know anyone else who says momma and the name, like I do with you," Beth explained, a slight frown on her face. "She said that the baby will just call you mommy, when she learns how to talk, not straight away, cos babies don't talk right away, they have to learn, my momma says so," she instructed.
"Right," Puck said quietly, as though learning something new.
"So, I thought that if the baby hears me calling you momma Quinn, she'll call you that too and that won't be fair," Beth said, "like when I called Carlos Spanish onion because all the other kids did, momma said it was mean and I shouldn't just copy," she explained quickly. "So even though Toria Fox calls Carlos that, I don't, I call him Carlos because I don't want to be mean like her, I want to be nice like my momma, like you and like daddy," she said and then smiled so brightly at them.
"Fair enough," Quinn said with a nod. "Did you tell your momma about that?" she asked.
"Yep, momma said it was a good choice," Beth answered and then left Quinn's side to inspect some of the gifts that had been received. "Will she really be little enough to fit inside this?" she asked in awe as she picked up the tiniest, tiniest, onsie that Quinn had ever seen.
"Possibly," Quinn replied and ran her hands over the bulge of her daughter. "And if she's too big for it, I'm sure we can find a teddy bear or a dolly for you that can make use of it, right?" she grinned at Beth, Beth nodded happily.
"This room looks amazing," Quinn sighed. She looked around the nursery, the beautiful palest of pale pink, polka dotted wallpaper covered the walls, the ceiling was white to pick out the dots and the light oak floor was perfect with the matching rugs.
"Do you like the crib there?" Puck asked, he'd sort of followed Quinn's floor plan, but once he had things in place he'd thought the room looked a little unbalanced, so he'd switched a couple of things around.
"It's perfect, it's all perfect," Quinn managed to say, she was overcome, emotional. "We're all ready for you, little girl," she told her stomach. "Any time you want to pop out and say hello, well, we're ready," she giggled as a foot thumped into her hand, almost as if the baby was acknowledging her words.
Puck grinned and stroked his hand across her stomach too and dropped a kiss on Quinn's head, he knew that since she'd begun her maternity leave last week, she was getting anxious for everything to be over, for the baby to come. He was getting fairly anxious too...
"Hey, Puck," Quinn whispered and pinched the underside of his arm. Puck yelped and was awake in a split second.
"What?" Puck demanded, he looked at Quinn crossly. Puck had been in the middle of dreaming about the most amazing blow job that she'd ever given him, it was so realistic he felt sure he could still feel her lips around him, and for the past three weeks he had been so seriously deprived, it had been like being deployed overseas with no way of being with her at all, the only way he could touch her was in his dreams.
"I've been having contractions for the past three hours," she announced and winced as yet another one struck her.
"Three hours?" Puck yelled and flew out of bed. "What the hell? Why didn't you wake me?" he demanded.
"Because they weren't regular, there wasn't anything in particular happening," Quinn explained quietly, "and now there is," she added. "And my water broke," she said in a trembling voice.
"Did you call Dr Reid?" Puck demanded as he hunted around for his pants.
"Yes, he said to make our way to the hospital, he'll see us there," Quinn said while breathing calmly. "Oh, this is getting worse," she wailed as a fierce contraction struck her quite out of sequence with the regular ones that she'd been having.
"Let's go," Puck whispered excitedly and helped Quinn to pull on some yoga pants and a loose top, he collected her bag and the things she'd identified that she wanted with her. "Ready?" he asked, Quinn nodded nervously, her lips were trembling. "We'll be cool," he encouraged with a grin. "We're ready for this, we're so ready," he reminded her.
"I know," Quinn agreed. "Should we call our moms once we get to the hospital or wait till we have some more information?" she asked, to pass the time on the drive. At least the roads were quiet at that time of night.
"I think we should wait till you're set up in your room and then call them," Puck answered after a moment's thought.
"Hi, mom, Judy," Puck called once both ladies were on the conference call. "We're here at the hospital, Quinn's water broke about an hour or so ago, contractions are every three minutes," he listed, going through the information, "and the nurse just checked, she is eight centimeters dilated, so we're on for delivery real soon," he said, he sounded so excited. "Quinn, they want to know if you want them to come right now?" he asked her.
"Yes, yes, yes...yes, yes, yes, yes," Quinn moaned, muttered through her teeth as she fought to keep herself under control. "Yes, I'd like them to come," she sighed once the worst had passed.
"Did you hear that?" Puck asked the two ladies, they answered that they had. "We'll see you in a couple of hours," he added before he hung up. "Do you think they'll get here before she does?" he asked Quinn with a nod at her stomach, before he perched on the edge of her bed.
"I hope not," Quinn groaned and prepared herself for the onslaught of another contraction. "There's no respite, it's just endless, oh, God, call Dr Reid, oh, Puck, I...oh, God, call him, call him," she demanded as everything suddenly stepped up a gear.
Puck rushed to the door to call for assistance, he was met by the door pushing open into him, Dr Reid and two of the nurses on duty came rushing in. "Hi, the monitors at the nurses' station showed a big change, let's get you over on your side, one second Quinn, just give us a second, let's turn you over, there we are," he murmured. "That's it, that's better, Quinn, you're going to feel some pressure, I need you to just relax, there we go, feel that? That's your baby's head, she's getting impatient, I just needed to slow her down a little, but here we go, it's show time," he said with more excitement than Puck would have expected for a man who was woken out of a sound sleep at four in the morning.
The nurses helped Quinn to turn back over, helped her to get into position. "Come on baby," Puck murmured with her hand against his lips, "you're amazing, you can do this," he encouraged. Every single thing they had been taught in Lamaze had just drained out of his head, every single piece of advice he'd been given by his colleagues, by friends, anyone, it all just drifted away and Puck felt himself whiz back to the age of sixteen, felt the uncertainty of what was going on, he felt scared. Exhilarated and scared.
"Oh my God, oh my God, ohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod," Quinn growled, she was slightly upright, her shoulders were up off the pillows, she had one hand thrust under her thigh, Puck gripped the other, but she couldn't even think about him right now, she could barely think beyond the limits of her own skin. "How is she doing?" she breathed, she sounded exhausted, her eyes were closed, she wasn't sure she even had the energy to open them.
"Baby is doing fine," Dr Reid replied, though from his position between Quinn's thighs, he sounded quite distracted. "Get ready for the next one, Quinn," he warned, he had one hand on her stomach, the other was somewhere that Puck didn't even want to think about. "Use the entonox, Quinn, that's what it's there for, don't be a martyr, I'm a guy and even I know this hurts like a son of a bitch," he informed her, teasing just slightly.
"Give," Quinn instructed Puck, he passed the tube to her, held it for her so that she could suck on it, ease some of her pain. "No more, please, no more, I'm done, I've had enough, I can't do this anymore," she wailed. "I want to go home," she cried and then allowed the tears to fall, couldn't stop them actually, "I want to go home."
"Quinn, I need you to bear down for me," Dr Reid instructed. "Come on, give me all you've got, come on Quinn, one more, push for me, that's it, that's it, that's it, push, push, push, push, push," he ordered.
"Oh," Quinn screamed, her entire body scrunched up, every single molecule of her being was focused on expelling the child from within her womb.
"Come on, Quinn, come on," Puck coached, he really wasn't sure he was saying the right thing, he looked to the nurses, they nodded in encouragement. Puck wondered if his hand would ever recover from the death grip that Quinn had on it, but he knew better than to complain, he really knew better. "Quinn, you're doing great, you're nearly there," he encouraged.
"What the fuck would you know?" Quinn screeched at Puck and yanked her hand away. "You're just a stupid, fucking man," she yelled, "what would you know?" she demanded, the last word segued into a primal scream so petrifying, so elemental, that Puck was sure that it would currently be echoing around every single floor of the entire hospital.
"Quinn, here's her head, she's crowning," Dr Reid informed them, "I need you to concentrate now, pant, keep panting," he instructed. "That's it, that's it," he praised. "Wait for the contraction, that's it, push now Quinn, one more big push, push, push, push, that's it," he called, the excitement in the doctor's voice rose as he stood just slightly from the stool, "and here she is, here she is," he cried and swiftly laid the newborn across Quinn's stomach.
"Oh my God," Quinn wailed as she realised that it was all over, that she was now the proud mommy of one tiny, beautiful, baby Puckerman. "Oh, baby, you are so beautiful," she cried as she tried to inspect the shivering, wailing, scrap of humanity. Puck couldn't move, he was transfixed, he was mesmerised, the only thing he was aware of doing was wiping the tears from his face, he couldn't believe she was actually here, real. Quinn cried through every kiss that Puck pressed onto her lips, she didn't think she'd ever stop crying, she was shivering, she was an emotional wreck, it was like every single feeling that she'd ever, ever had, ever in her life, had snuck up on her, blindsided her and overtaken her body. Quinn wondered if life would ever feel normal again.
"Hi," Judy and Lydia both cried when they caught up with Puck. Puck was at the nurses' station asking for some information while Quinn was getting set up in her room with the baby. "How is she?" Lydia demanded, she was full of excitement, she couldn't wait to see her granddaughter, see her, hold her, love her.
"Perfect, she's perfect," Puck sighed, he was love struck, "she looks exactly like Beth," he told them as they walked towards the room.
"And does she have a name yet?" Judy asked.
"Not yet," Puck replied. "Quinn wants to wait until Beth gets here before we settle on a name for her," he explained. "Hey," he said as he entered the room first. "Our moms are here," he informed Quinn, she looked amazing, he'd thought she would look exhausted but she didn't, she looked amazing. "Ok for them to come in?" he asked.
"Of course," Quinn replied, she shuffled slightly in the bed, "can you give me a hand?" she asked with a little pout, things were a tad more tender than she remembered from before.
"Hi," Judy said quietly as she moved past Puck, "oh, sweetie, she is so beautiful," she crooned. "Oh, Lydia, look at her," she sniffed. Both of the ladies were instantly smitten, they fell in love, so deeply in love. "May I?" Judy asked. Quinn nodded, she was an inch away from crying herself, she knew her mom would have tears in her eyes too, and so would Lydia.
"So, have you even got a short list of names?" Lydia asked as she leaned over to see the baby's beautiful face. "Wow, she is Beth's double, isn't she?" she whispered. Puck put his arm around his mom's shoulders and nodded as he looked at the baby too, he felt so proud, and emotional, more so than he would have ever suspected.
"Hello," Shelby whispered, she'd knocked on the door and opened it slightly. "Can we come in?" she asked.
"Of course," Quinn replied and glanced over to where Puck had fallen asleep on the short sofa, his hand resting gently in the crib, which was by his side, he'd taken the baby over there after the moms had left, when Quinn had drifted off to sleep, when the exhaustion had finally taken over. "Hi," she whispered as Beth skipped over to the edge of her bed.
"Can I see the baby?" Beth asked, she was so excited, she was nearly trembling with it.
"Yes," Quinn answered, she lowered her bed so that she could get out of it with a little more ease. "Could you pass me that robe, please, sweetie?" she asked Beth and pointed to the pretty, floral garment that was draped over the end of the bed. "Thank you," she said as Beth handed it to her. Quinn walked the few steps over to the crib that Puck was guarding even in his sleep, she felt every single step in places that she didn't even want to think about. "Here she is, she really, really looks like you did," she told Beth quietly.
Beth gripped the edge of the clear plastic crib and stared, wide-eyed, at her tiny sister. "Wow," she whispered, she couldn't blink, she didn't want to blink. "Did I really look like that?" she asked Quinn, she was full of awe, she couldn't remember being so tiny, she was sure she must have been, but it seemed so surreal.
"Yep, you did," Puck mumbled as he slowly came awake. "So do you like her?" he asked, Beth nodded. "And did you come up with an idea for a name for her?" he asked her, again Beth nodded. "Let's hear it," he suggested and shifted so that Beth could climb up onto his knee and see into the crib better.
Beth looked at everyone looking at her, she loved being the center of attention. Beth took a deep breath to prepare herself to ask, and then she did it, then she came out with it, and shocked Quinn, Puck and Shelby. "Can we call her Toria? She is my best friend after all."