Here's the chapter I think so many of you have been waiting for! I really hope I could do it justice. Enjoy…
Rachel stood silently by her father's bed, her face slightly contorted as she counted the tubes that were connected to his frail body. A thin blanket covered him from just under his arms. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and make everything better, but she knew that wasn't possible.
Pulling a chair closer to the bed, she grabbed his hand, sitting down on the edge of the chair. Rachel patted his hand several times, again trying to hold back her tears.
"Hi dad, it's Rachel." She placed his hand on her knee, covering it tightly with her own. "Daddy went down to get breakfast."
"Daddy says they're monitoring your brain activity to make sure there's no damage." A single tear fell from her left eye. "I know how strong you are."
"I brought a book." She reached down and rummaged through her bag on the floor, producing a small hardback book. She waved it in the air. "I could read to you if you'd like."
"Or I know." She was excited like a small child. "I could sing to you. I know how much you love it when we sing together."
Rachel cleared her throat and tried desperately to block out the incessant beeping from the machine monitoring his heartbeat. She had never seen her father look so delicate. Racking her brain for a song to sing, she finally remembered the last song she heard on the radio just a few days prior.
Heartbeats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
She didn't hear Puck walk into the room, coffee in hand. He stood silently behind her, taking in every word she sang.
Time stand stills
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take me away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
He watched her squeeze her father's hand, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms. Things had been equally awkward between them that morning, neither speaking of the previous night's kiss. He wanted to, but truthfully he had never seen Rachel so vulnerable.
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I love you for a thousand-
Rachel was looking right at Puck, her eyes narrowed. She stopped singing, wondering just when he had come in the room. She blushed slightly before looking away as he handed her a cup of coffee.
"Why'd you stop singing?" He found a vacant chair across the room to sit in. Taking a long sip of coffee, he watched her swirl hers around in the cup.
"I forgot the rest of the words." She lied. She didn't want to admit her heart was still racing after their passionate kiss the night before.
"Has the doctor been in yet?" Puck asked, setting his coffee cup on the floor next to him. He watched her smooth her hand along her father's.
"No, not yet." Rachel stared at her father. His dark skin was paler than usual, dark circles forming under his eyes. He had always seemed so tall to her, but for some reason he seemed smaller lying so helpless in the bed. Both she and Puck were silent for several minutes, the air in the room getting heavier by the second.
"Can we please deal with the gigantic elephant in the room?" Puck sighed loudly, leaning back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head.
"What are you talking about?" Rachel put on her best shocked expression, trying desperately to hone in on the acting classes she had taken in college.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about." He sat the chair back on the floor, leaning forward on his knees. Rachel lowered her head, a slight blush creeping across her cheeks, before narrowing her eyes at Puck.
"I don't think now's a good time to discuss this." She whispered, looking back to her father and then again to Puck quickly. Puck was frowning, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Just when is a good time, Rachel?" He stood up. "You certainly didn't stick around to discuss it last night and I guess this morning was a bad time too, huh?"
Rachel had never seen him this upset before. She watched him pace the floor. Letting go of her father's hand, she twirled in her seat to face Puck.
"My dad doesn't need to hear this." Her voice was shaky and low, but persistent.
"Well I do." He practically begged. Rachel shook her head, rising from her chair. She took Puck's hand, pulling him out into the hallway.
"Look, my father may not be able to speak, but he can most certainly hear what's going on around him." She said, firmly.
"I'm sorry." Puck's eyes softened. "I just think we need to talk about what happened."
"Yes we do." Rachel nodded her head. "Just not here. I need to focus on my dad right now."
"You're right." Puck's shoulders sagged in defeat. He felt like kicking himself. He was being such an ass, even though he knew Rachel needed him more than ever now. Digging in his pocket, he fished out the set of keys to their rental car, handing them off to her. "I'm gonna just take a cab back to your parent's place if that's ok."
"Yeah, sure." Rachel tried not to sound disappointed. She really did want him to stay, despite her displeasure at talking about their kiss.
"Call me if you need anything." Puck smiled, though Rachel wondered if it was forced. She watched him disappear around the nurse's station. Sighing loudly, she whirled around to re-enter her father's room and ran smack into her daddy.
"What's going on angel?" He asked, eyebrows raised just slightly.
"Oh, um, nothing daddy." Rachel staggered backwards. "That was my friend, Noah. You know, he lives across the street from Finn and I."
"Ah yes." Her daddy replied. "I hadn't realized he was accompanying you on this trip."
"Finn couldn't make it and I was really apprehensive flying alone." Rachel caught herself twirling her hair feverishly.
"Well that was very kind of him to fly out here with you." Rachel was almost sure he winked at her, but he turned so quickly she couldn't be positive. She watched him walk back into her father's hospital room, a feeling of dread washing over her.
It was just before dusk when Rachel finally forced herself to leave the hospital, her daddy promising to come home soon after. She hadn't heard from Puck after he left and despite her urge to call him, she resisted. She found him sitting on the couch, the television on, when she returned. He looked weary, almost as weary as Rachel felt she must look.
"Hi." She called out, closing the front door behind her.
"Hey." He glanced up from the television briefly, as she took a seat next to him.
"Did you eat dinner?" Rachel asked.
"No, I thought I should wait for you." Puck clicked the controller, turning the television off.
"Let's go get something to eat." She stood, glancing briefly at her reflection in a mirror that hung in the front entryway. There were bags under her eyes, the stress of the last 24 hours obviously taking its toll on her. Before she could even get to the car, her cell phone was ringing. She answered with hesitation or glancing at the screen.
"Hello?" She followed Puck to their rental car.
"Hey." It was Finn. "I just got into Seattle. Thought I'd call and see how your dad is doing?"
"Oh hey." Rachel lowered her voice. "He's stable. Still not verbally responding to us, but the doctors told us not to be discouraged."
"I guess that's good news." His tone seemed a bit friendlier. It had been weeks since they had a normal conversation, nothing more than a few words in passing. She held her breath, knowing she should tell Finn that Puck had some to Ohio with her, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
"I was hoping for more improvement, but I guess I'll have to be a bit more patient." She sighed, staring blankly at the road ahead as Puck maneuvered through downtown Lima.
"I should be finished with my presentation tomorrow afternoon, so I'm going to see if I can get a layover closer to you. That way I can stop by the hospital for a visit."
"No." She realized she said that a bit too quickly. "I mean, you don't have to. It's just a lot of sitting, nothing else we can really do at this point."
"Are you sure?" He asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Puck glance at her quickly, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Yeah." The guilt was killing her. "I'll probably be home in a few days anyways."
"Well give your dads my best and please be careful." Finn said. "I love you."
"Ok, you too." It was all she could muster up the courage to say; quickly hanging up as Puck pulled into her favorite Italian restaurant's parking lot. He parked the car, turning off the ignition, but stayed put in the driver's seat.
"Finn?" He didn't even really need to ask. Rachel nodded her head in response, staring straight out the front windshield.
"I couldn't even make myself tell him you came with me." Rachel frowned. "What does that say about me?"
"Stop beating yourself up." Puck reassured her.
"I couldn't even tell him that I love him." Rachel's gaze turned to Puck, her eyes moist with tears. Puck started to speak, but instead leaned forward. Wrapping his hand around the back of Rachel's neck, he brought his lips to her head, planting them on her forehead and let them linger.
"You're not a bad person, Rachel." Puck murmured into the top of her head. She nestled her head into his chest, quietly sobbing.
"Then why do I feel so bad for falling in love with you, Noah?" She sniffled; her voice so low he barely heard her.
"What did you just say?" He pulled away from her, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"When you kissed me last night, I didn't want you to stop." She swallowed thickly, looking away. "In fact, I've wanted you to kiss me for so long. I tried so many times to push these feelings away, but I can't seem to."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Puck placed his forefinger under her chin, turning her head to face his.
"No matter what, I've never wanted to purposely hurt Finn." She said, softly. Her brown eyes still wet with tears. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"But it did." His response seemed almost apologetic.
"You're right, it did." She attempted a smile, though it seemed weak at best. Closing her eyes, Rachel held her breath as she waited for Puck to kiss her. It took him a few seconds to realize what she was doing. Pulling her closer, he pressed his lips hard against hers. Her lips were warm as his tongue parted them, darting in and out. The feeling of his tongue on hers sent a jolt of current through her veins. She ran her hand through his short hair haphazardly, both of them breathing harder as she did.
Rachel knew there was no going back this time.
Aghh! So many ups and downs in this chapter, I know. They can't just run off into the sunset yet though…that would be too easy. Rachel needs to deal with Finn and oh yeah…Puck promised to let Rachel hear his song when he was finished with it ;)