A/N - Hey guys! So I finished the next chapter. There are just a couple of things I want to point out:

1. I'm not a lawyer and I don't live in the US so I have no idea what the actual legal requirements are for an annulment, so I just made them up. If someone knows the actual requirements and wants to let me know, that would be great.

2. The story sort of took a turn that I wasn't planning on and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous. I had this chapter planned COMPLETELY differently but when I started writing this is what came out. I hope you guys like it. I have all of these ideas swirling around my head now and I just need to figure out how to put them in the story.

OK, that's it! Thank you again for all of the reviews! It makes me so happy to open my email and see all of the notices! Please keep it up! And hopefully you don't hate it :)

Puck

"Noah, where are we going?" Rachel asks when they reach his truck. He turns to look at her and finds her watching him expectantly. Her lips still look a little bruised and her cheeks are still flushed and he fights the urge to kiss her again.

"I don't know actually…" He shrugs. "I didn't really think that far ahead."

"Well, it's really nice down by the lake this time of day. It should be pretty quiet." Rachel suggests and he stares at her. The lake? The make out spot? Is she really suggesting they go there? Of course, this is Rachel Berry, she probably doesn't even realize that it's the go to place for teens in this town when they want to get a little action.

"Works for me." He nods and opens the passenger door before turning and gripping her waist firmly but gently and lifting her into the cab. She smiles at him shyly before turning to put her seatbelt on but he beats her to it and clicks the lock securely in place, his hands brushing against hers as he does so. Their eyes lock for a second and she reaches out to touch his cheek. He still doesn't know what the hell they're doing but right now in this moment he doesn't care because the way she's looking at him makes him feel like he could do or be anything. Without thinking he leans in and brushes his lips across hers. She sighs a little against his mouth and he kisses her lightly once more before shutting her door and jogging around to the passenger side and climbing in next to her.

She's pretty quiet on the drive. He steals a glance at her every once in a while to find her staring out the window, obviously lost in thought. He can't help but wonder if she's as confused by what's going on with them as he is. They're Puck and Berry for fuck's sake. They're not exactly what you would call the most obvious couple. She looks up when he pulls into the parking lot by the lake and almost looked surprised. He kills the engine and the two of them are quiet for a long time.

"Rachel, I…" He slowly turns to face her and is cut off by her lips on his. Wait? What? "Wait, listen, I…" He reluctantly pulls away from her and she stares up at him, a little out of breath.

"Less talking, more kissing." She grips his shirt and pulls his face back to hers, latching on to his mouth, her tongue sweeping across his bottom lip and he groans before aggressively attacking her lips, eagerly trying to taste as much of her as he possibly can. His hand slid up her leg, pushing her tiny skirt up with it and she moaned against his mouth as he stroked her thigh.

With lips still firmly attached to his, she moved closer to him, throwing one of her (perfect) legs over him and climbing into his lap, straddling him. She rocked gently against him and his hands gripped her hips thrusting against her. After a few minutes - well, he thinks it's minutes, really, it could have been hours, he has absolutely no idea- she pulls away and looks down at him. He brushes the hair from her face as she smiles softly. She presses her lips against his once more before reaching for the top button of the simple white blouse she's wearing. Shit! Fuck! This is exactly what he didn't want to happen (OK, that's a total lie, this is exactly what he wants to happen, but it can't. Not now. Not like this).

"Don't." He barely even recognizes his own voice as he covers her tiny hands with his and she stares at him in disbelief for a second before her face crumbles and she drops her head.

"I'm such an idiot." She mutters and he feels his chest contract when he sees the tears in her eyes and she begins to move off him but he grips her waist tightly pulling her back so they're face to face. "What do you want from me, Noah?" She stares at him, confusion, hurt and embarrassment all fighting for dominance behind her eyes. He doesn't respond immediately and she shakes her head, trying again to pull away from but he tightens his hold on her.

"Do you really have to ask me that, Berry?" He stares at her and sighs. "I want you. I want you so bad that I can't think straight when you're around. But this…" He motions around them. "You deserve better than this." Her expression softens as she looks at him and he leans forward to press his mouth against hers. "I want to be with you Rachel, but not like this, not here."

"So, what do we do now?" Rachel asks, biting her bottom lip nervously and he can't help but smile. She really has absolutely no idea how unbelievably adorable she is.

"Well, I think right now, the best idea is for you to move back to the passenger seat because if you stay where you are I'm probably going to forget everything I just said and take you right now." He raises his eye brows at her and she looks down, blushing furiously when she sees that she's still straddling him.

"Oh my…" She scrambles to get off him and in the process practically falls onto the seat next to him. She quickly straightens herself and looks over at him shyly. "So, um, what's next?"

"Well, I'd like to take you out." He says and looks away from her, suddenly feels incredibly stupid. Jesus, when did he become such a tool?

"Like a date? I didn't think, Noah Puckerman did the whole dating thing." He can hear the smile in her voice and looks back at her to see her grinning at him.

"Normally I don't…" He shrugs, starting the truck. "But you know, you already roped into marrying you so I figure how much worse can it get." He laughs as Rachel's eyes widen and her mouth drops in shock.

"Please, we both know that you practically begged me to marry you!" Rachel glares at him, crossing her arms and he laughs again, throwing one arm over her shoulder and pulling her across the seat.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He kisses the top of her head as she laughs and rests her head against his shoulder and he tightens his arm around her.

Rachel

"Where have you been?" Her daddy is waiting for her when she gets home. She steps into the house to find him standing in the hall.

"Oh, are you speaking to me now?" She bites back, shocking even herself. She's never spoken to her daddy like that before (well besides that whole flip out in Mr. Shue's office but those were special circumstances).

"Don't take that tone with me young lady." He shakes his head. "I'm going to ask you again, where were you? There's no more Glee so you can't use that as an excuse." She says nothing as she looks at him, fidgeting with the hem of her blouse. Regardless of everything, she doesn't want to have to lie to him because he's still her daddy. Of course, she also realizes that her silence says everything. "You were with that boy, weren't you." Rachel bites her lip and looks away. "Damn it Rachel. He's a bad influence on you! Can't you see that? Look at what he's already talked you into doing! Drunk and married in Las Vegas! Is that really the type of person that you want to be spending your time with?"

"Stop blaming him!" She finally snaps. "You don't know him. You don't know anything about him."

"I know that for the last three years he was the boy who threw iced drinks on you every day and suddenly you think he's your Prince Charming? Why? Because he said he loved you?" Her daddy's face softens. "Rachel, you're young and still so inexperienced. Boys like him will say whatever they have to get what they want and once they do they'll be gone. I've seen his type before. I'm sure he can be very charming but you can not let yourself fall for it, because once he gets what he's after you'll be left alone and heart broken and I don't want that for you."

"Daddy, I know that you're worried about me…" Rachel blinked back tears. "But I promise you, Noah isn't like that. Yes, he has done some… awful things in the past, but he's changed. I know he has!"

"OK, I think we all need to just let this rest for now." Her dad appears in the kitchen door. "Rachel, sweetheart, we need to talk to you. We saw the lawyer today. Why don't you come in and sit down."

"What did they say?" Rachel looks up at her dad as she makes her way into the kitchen and sits down at the table.

"Well, because both you are over 18 the marriage is legal but we just have to apply to have it annulled stating that the two of you entered into the marriage under extreme circumstances." Her dad sits down across from her while her daddy leans against the counter, arms crossed. "And as long as both parties are in agreement, it should be pretty straight forward."

As long as both parties in agreement. Her dad's words echo in her mind. She stares at her hands for a long moment before looking back at her fathers.

"What if both parties don't agree?" Her voice is barely a whisper. There's a tiny voice in the back of her mind that's telling her to stop talking right now but she ignores it. She's tired of taking the easy way out; doing the right thing, what's expected of her. She doesn't know what's going to happen with her and Puck but she's not ready to just throw it all away yet.

"Why wouldn't both parties agree?!" Her daddy's voice booms around the kitchen and she cringes. "Damn it, Rachel! I'm not going to let you ruin your life over some boy who only wants you to satisfy some physical need just so he can toss you aside after!"

"Daddy, he's not trying to do that!" Rachel shakes her head in anger, tears filling her eyes. "Why can't you just trust me when I tell you that Noah is not like that!"

"Trust you?" His hand slams down on the counter and she jumps at the bang. "The last time we trusted you, you came home married to some deviant!"

"He's not a deviant!" She jumps to her feet, unable to stop herself. "And he's not using me for sex! If he was, why did he turn me down when I threw myself him?! Why did he tell me that I deserved better?!" Her eyes widen as the words leave her mouth and she stares at her fathers, both of whom are staring at her in shock.

"That's it! You are forbidden to see that boy anymore!" Her daddy's says and she stares at him.

"You can't tell me who I can or can not see." Her voice is shaking and she feels like she's about to burst into tears. She can't believe that she's actually having this conversation with her fathers. When had her life become like this?

"As long as you live in my house, I can!" He slams his hand on the counter again and the tears she had been holding back finally burst.

"Fine! I won't live here anymore!" She screams at the top of her lungs. and spins on her heel and stalks to her room. Tears blur her vision as she digs her suitcase from the closet and opens it on the bed. Without even looking at what she's taking, she starts throwing clothes into the bag without them.

"Rachel, sweetheart, stop." Her dad's voice causes her to freeze and she turns to see him standing in the doorway, his face anxious. "This isn't the answer."

"I'm sorry, dad, I am." She turns away from him, tears spilling from her eyes again and she wipes them hastily with her sleeve. "But I can't stay here with him." She throws the last of her clothes into the suitcase before going into the bathroom to collect her toiletries.

"Your father is angry right now, but we can work this out." Her dad is blocking the door back to her room when she turns back around.

"No, he's never going to accept Noah." She pushes past him, sniffling. "I care about him, dad, and he cares about me. Why can't he see that?" She throws her toiletries on top of the clothes and turns to look at her dad.

"Rachel, honey, he's worried about you." He crossed the room and takes her by the shoulders, looking down at her with concern. "So am I. You don't know even know this boy. I know that you think you have all of these feelings for him but…"

"Don't tell me how I feel." She pushes him away, turning to pull the zipper closed on her bag. "I don't know what's happening between Noah and I, but I do know that he's important to me…." She stares at her dad, tears streaming down her face. "And that should be enough for the two of you." Shaking her head, she drags the bag off the bed and pushes past him again. She starts toward the door but pauses when she sees the two wedding bands still sitting on her vanity. She grabs them quickly and heads for the stairs, ignoring her dad's voice calling after her. She grabbed her jacket, purse and keys and reached for the door, trying not to focus on stab of pain that was shooting through her chest.

"If you leave this house, don't bother coming back!" She freezes at sound of her daddy's voice and she turns her head to see him standing in the kitchen door, arms crossed over his chest.

"David!" Her dad stops halfway down the stairs to stare at the two of them. She stares at her daddy for a long time, her bottom lip quivering as she wills herself not to cry in front him.

"I'm really sorry, dad." She looks up apologetically at her dad. "I love you both, I hope you know that." She turns away, gathering her things and pulling the front door open. It isn't until she clicks the door shut behind her that she allows herself to really cry. She can barely see as she stumbles her way toward her car. She throws her bags in the back and climbs into the driver seat. She wipes her eyes and looks up back at the house. She can see the shadow of her fathers in the window, clearly arguing. She takes a deep breath and slowly starts the car.

10 minutes later she hesitantly reaches out and knocks on the door in front of her, quickly wiping her eyes and smoothing her hair down. She stares down at her hands until she hears the lock click. A second later the door swings open and she looks up.

Puck

The last thing he expected to see when he opened his front door was Rachel, shivering with red puffy eyes.

"Rach, what are you doing here?" He steps toward her, reaching out to guide her inside. "Are you OK? What happened?"

"I didn't have anywhere else to go, Noah." She crumbles into tears and he immediately pulls her into his arms, cradling her head against his chest. "I left." She murmurs into his chest as she struggles to take a shaky breath and he pulls away to look down at her.

"You left? What are you talking about?" He brushes the tears from her face and feels a stab in his heart when she looks up at him and he sees the pain in her eyes.

"I got into a huge fight with my daddy and I left." She collapses against him again as tears spill from her eyes and he hesitates for a second before gently running his fingers through her hair with one hand while the other rubs her back lightly. He has absolutely no idea what the hell he's doing. He doesn't know how to deal with crying girls, and even less with a crying Rachel because the sight of her in tears makes him want to find the person who caused them and make them cry and he can't really do that in this case. Regardless, his pathetic attempts at comfort seem to work because her tears seem to have subsided again and she looks up at him. "I'm sorry to just show up like this, I just didn't know where else to go."

"It's fine." He pulls her back into his arms but he can't help but think that Kurt or Quinn would have been a better choice than him.

"Noah, what's going on?" They both look up at the sound of his mom's voice and find her standing on the stairs. "Rachel? What are you doing here? Are you OK?" The older woman immediately rushes to the younger girl's side. He watches in fascination as Rachel visibly pulls herself together and plasters a watery smile on her face before looking at his mother.

"I'm terribly sorry to just show up like this Mrs. Puckerman…" She breaks off and blinks back tears. "I had a bit of disagreement with my fathers. I apologize. I'll be going." She glances at him quickly before turning toward the door and he suddenly feels like he's having some sort of attack. He can't just let her leave. Not in the condition she's in!

"No, Rachel, wait!" He reaches out to grab her hand and she looks back at him. "Mom…" He looks at his mother, his eyes pleading. His mom looks at him for a moment before turning to Rachel, a soft smile on her face.

"You're not going anywhere, Rachel." He breathes a sigh of relief as his mom approaches and wraps her arm gently around Rachel's shoulders. "You'll stay here tonight and we'll figure this out tomorrow. Did you bring things with you?"

"They're in the car…" Rachel's says quietly and he suddenly snaps into action. Finally something he knows how to deal with.

"I'll get them." He says quickly and his mom nods in his direction. He moves toward the door and Rachel grabs his hand. "I'll be right back, baby." He presses a kiss to her forehead, ignoring the expression on his mother's face as she watches them. He dashes quickly to her car, grabbing her bag from the backseat.

He steps back into the house to find his mom and Rachel gone. Dropping her bag on the floor he makes his way into the kitchen to find his mom boiling the kettle.

"Where's Rachel?" His voice is barely a whisper.

"I sent her upstairs to your room to lie down." She pulls a mug out of the cupboard, setting it on the counter as the kettle starts to whistle. "I'm just making her some tea to warm her up. The poor thing was shivering."

"Mom…" He stares at her as she drops a tea bag in the mug and pours the hot water in. He really wishes that she would look at him because he has absolutely no idea what the fuck he's supposed to do.

"Take this up to her." His mom turns, holding the mug of hot liquid out to him. He nods silently, taking it from her and turns silently to leave the room. "Noah…" Her voice causes him to stop and look back at her. "I hope you know what you're doing with this girl because she just gave up everything for you."

"I think love her, Mom." The realization hits him like a ton of bricks. He's been dancing around his feelings for Rachel Berry for a while but suddenly it all seems clear. He's in love with her and he has been for a while. Long before Vegas.

"You need to know because she clearly loves you." His mom slowly crosses the room to stand in front of him. "I only hope the two of you know what you're gotten yourselves into. Go, before that gets cold." She nods toward the stairs and he turns, grabbing her suitcase before he heads up the stairs. He hesitates outside his bedroom door before setting her suitcase down and knocking quietly.

"Come in." He hears her call quietly and he swings the door open, picking up her bag again.

"Hey, here's your bag and Mom sent you up some tea…to warm you up." He finishes lamely and cringes. "Um…." He trails off as he looks at her, curled up at the head of his bed, arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She looks so tiny and fragile and he's filled with this overwhelming urge to protect her with everything in him.

"Thank you, Noah." She sits up with a soft smile. Well, she seems to have calmed down a bit, which is a relief to him because he can't handle seeing her upset. She reaches out the take the mug from him and sips it slowly. "That's lovely, thank you." She lays it on his nightstand slowly. "I am really sorry for just showing up like this, Noah." She drops her head, staring at her hands. "You probably think I am completely crazy. But I just couldn't stay in that house."

"Well, I already knew you were crazy Berry." He eyes her, praying that she laugh or smile or something and he practically cheers when she lets out a small laugh. "C'mon, push over." He nudges her gently and she looks at him for a second before sliding a few inches to her left. He quickly moves behind her, scooping her up in one quick motion and stretching the both of them out on his bed. He hears her sigh a little when he pulls her back against his chest and he loops one arm around her waist. She absentmindedly plays with his fingers for a second before pulling his hand up and gripping it tightly to her chest and he moves closer to her, pressing a kiss onto her neck.

"Thank you for being here Noah." She turns her head slightly to look at him and his eyes meet hers.

"I'll always be here, Berry." He rests his head against hers and she smiles a little as her eyes drift close. She settles back against him and whispers so quietly that he almost didn't hear it.

"It's Puckerman now."