Rachel knocked on the Puckerman's door at exactly 10:30 am Tuesday morning. She heard Puck yell, "Come in!" so she opened the door and went inside, putting her stuff down on the kitchen counter. She heard crying upstairs, and when she got half way up the staircase, she heard Puck trying to calm Beth down.

"Don't cry Betheigh. I know that you want to be held, but Daddy has to finish getting ready. He has a very important meeting to get to, and he can't be late. Come on, baby girl, calm down for Daddy."

Rachel stepped inside the room. "Need some help?" At Puck's pleading look, she walked over and picked up Beth. She gently bounced the baby up and down in her arms, and within seconds the little girl was quiet.

"Wow, Berry. I'm impressed. She has been crying for thirty minutes straight. I don't even think she stopped to breathe. I knew you were good, but I may just have to reevaluate how good you are. You may get bumped up to awesome."

"Well, I am known in some parts of the world as The Baby Whisperer. Don't tell anyone though. It's a highly guarded secret, and I can not be held responsible for what happens to you should you let it slip."

Puck grinned. "You help me pick out a shirt to wear to my interview, and I promise that I will not be the one to expose your secret identity to the mass population."

"Ugh, the things I do for you. What are my choices?"

Puck held up three shirts, all long sleeve button downs, in blue, tan, and black.

"Wear the black one, with black pants and a black tie."

"I didn't know that I was going to a funeral."

"Noah, what is your favorite color?"

"Black."

"Exactly. You'll be comfortable and not be distracted about what you're wearing. So, put on the damn shirt. Trust me, you look good in it."

Puck smirked and his eyebrow shot up. "You been checking me out Berry?"

"Oh my god." Rachel rolled her eyes, and started toward the door. "I'm taking your daughter and going downstairs before your ego smothers us."

Puck laughed and took off his shirt to put on the black one. He didn't have on an undershirt, and Rachel got a good look at his chest, arms, and abs before he put the black shirt on. Rachel cleared her throat when Puck noticed her looking at him. He winked at her and grinned, but before he could say anything, she turned to the door. "I'm really going downstairs now. You got it from here, right?"

"Yep."

"Noah, don't worry. Just be honest and be yourself. You'll get the job."

"Thanks, Rach." He smiled at her, and Rachel turned around and left.

Noah arrived at the garage at 11:18 am. Burt had asked him to be there at 11:30 am, so he was a little early. He walked into the garage, and saw Kurt behind the customer service counter.

"Hey Hummel. You workin' today?"

"Actually, I'm here more in the supporting friend capacity. Rachel thought it would be good if someone you knew was here. So she called me."

"She did? Well, thanks man. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Have a seat and I'll go get my dad."

Puck nodded and sat down as Kurt walked toward the back. He smiled a little as he thought about Rachel and how he liked being her friend. He can't believe that he had been so wrong about her. The things that had irritated him about her when they first met seemed to be the same things he liked about her now. He had hated the way she was so sure of herself and her future. He thought that she acted like she was better than everybody else, and that was the reason people couldn't stand her.

He now loved the way she was so sure of herself. She had talent and she knew it. She worked on it, and she knew what she was talking about when she made suggestions in glee club. She had worked her ass off for the future that she wanted, and he hoped that she got it. He loved to hear her sing, and he loved the confidence that she had when she did it. He was going to have to teach her to have that same confidence all the time, because he thought it was sexy as hell.

He loved the way that she believed in him. After all the crap he did to her, all the mean comments and public slushies, he could not believe that she would even want to be his friend. He thought back to the "make out" week. He had liked that alot, and it might have started out because of his mom's nagging and a crazy dream, but by the end of it, he had really liked her. He should have known that she would have chosen to be alone in hopes of being with Finn instead of being with him. He was such an ass.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Kurt came back with his dad. Puck stood up and shook Burt's hand. "Hi Mr. Hummel, thanks for meeting with me today."

"Sure. Why don't you come on back to my office?"

"Ok." Puck followed Burt to the back of his shop, nodding at Kurt as he walked past. Kurt gave him a thumbs up and mouthed "Good luck."

"So, Puck, have you ever worked as a mechanic in a garage?"

"No sir. I have never had a job in a garage, but I spend a lot of time working on my truck. And I spend a lot of time at my buddy Mike's house. His dad restores old cars and he taught us how to change oil, replace hoses, and replace brake pads. Things like that."

"You know how to install radiators and transmissions?"

"Yes sir. I've had to work on both of those on my truck, along with a lot of other parts under the hood and on the body."

"Alright then." Burt sat forward in his chair and looked Puck right in the eye. "Listen, Puck, all of that sounds great. You seem like a smart kid, and I have no doubt that you can learn anything that you don't already know how to do quickly. But, I'm gonna level with you here. I keep thinking about Kurt coming home and being upset because he was getting bullied at school by a bunch of dumb jocks. He wouldn't let me call the school. Hell, he wouldn't even give me names. About a month ago, he and Finn were joking around and Finn made a joke about tossing Kurt in a dumpster. Then Kurt said that he would have to call Puck if he wanted to learn how to do it correctly."

Puck looked down and swallowed the lump in his chest. His heart was beating extremely fast and his palms were sweating. He looked back to Burt as he continued.

"Now, I don't consider myself a smart man, but even I can put two and two together. And I know that you guys are friends now or whatever. But as a father, I'm not really sure how to let that go."

Puck looked Burt in the eye. "Yes sir. I understand exactly what you mean. I did throw Kurt in dumpsters. I did a whole lot of even worse things to a whole lot more people. I could sit here and tell you that I did it because my dad left when I was a kid, or peer pressure, or any other lame excuse that people usually say in these situations. But, to be honest, sir, I was just a jerk."

"I will tell you that I am not proud of it. I am truly sorry for everything that I have done in the past, but I have changed. Or at least, I am working on it. I'm trying to be a better person and do something with my life. I have to because I have a little girl at home that needs me to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. I owe that to her. I owe that to Kurt and to everyone that I've ever been mean to or bullied. It's the best way I know how to apologize."

"I would really appreciate this job sir. I am a hard worker, a fast learner, and I am highly motivated to succeed. I promise you that if you give me a chance, I won't let you down."

Burt leaned back in his chair and looked at Puck. After a minute, he nodded. "Ok, Puck. You've convinced me. I'll give you a shot. Be here Monday morning at 8 am. We'll do all your paperwork then."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

"Call me Burt."

"Alright. See you Monday." Puck turned around and started walking back to the front where Kurt was.

"Hey Puck!" Puck turned back to Burt. "I know what it is like to raise a kid on your own. I know how hard it is, and I had Kurt's mom until he was seven. So, I respect you for going it alone with a newborn. I can read people pretty well, and I am happy to help out someone who is trying to make themselves better. I'm taking a chance on you, so don't make me regret it, ok?"

"Ok, Burt. Thanks."

"Ok. See you Monday."

When Puck walked into his house, he was hit with the aroma of cake. Walking into the kitchen, he saw Beth asleep in her swing in the middle of the kitchen. He saw Rachel leaning over a tray of cupcakes, a decorating bag in her hand.

"Those for me?" He laughed when Rachel jumped, then whirled around to look at him. She put her hand to her heart and closed her eyes.

"Oh my god, Noah, you scared me to death." Rachel relaxed and looked at him. "Yes, these are for you."

Puck walked over and looked at the cupcakes. They spelled out 'Congratulations Noa-'. Rachel was still working on the 'h'.

"Optimistic that I would get the job, huh?"

"Um, yeah. Sure. That's it."

"Hummel called you, didn't he?"

"Texted actually. I had to be sure how to decorate the cupcakes." Rachel grinned at him. She finished the 'h' and set it down to complete his name. "Congratulations Noah. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. I did just what you said, and was honest. I start Monday. Which is good cause that means I have five days to find a sitter for Beth. Can you help me do that?"

"Yeah. We can post an ad in the newspaper and on craigslist, and we can even put some flyers up at the community college. I'll make some flyers when I get home, and we can go put them up tomorrow morning, ok?"

"Sounds good." Puck picked up a cupcake and started unwrapping it. "So Rach, I'm curious. What would the cupcakes had said if I hadn't gotten the job?"

"Probably 'You suck'."

Rachel laughed and Puck put his hand over his heart. "Ouch Berry. That hurt."

"The truth often does Puckerman."

"Have I told you how much I like having you as a friend?"

"Not today."

"Well, I do. I don't know what I ever did without you. Can you imagine what it would have been like if we had been friends all this time?"

"Yeah. You would have saved a ton of money on slushies, and I would have saved a ton of money not buying a new wardrobe every year to replace clothes with stains on them."

Puck laughed at the first part of her statement, but by the time she finished, he had stopped and had an apologetic look on his face. "Rachel, I've been thinking a lot about how I used to treat people. But out of everyone, I feel most guilty about how I treated you. I was an ass, Rachel. I don't know how you did it and I am sure that I don't deserve it, but I am so glad that you forgave me."

"Noah, I always wanted to be your friend. I could see the real you that no one else knew existed, and I knew that if I just put up with it long enough, you would come around. Luckily for me, it happened before we graduated and I moved to New York and forgot all about you." She smiled up at him. "And Noah, you were worth the wait."

Puck looked at Rachel, and took a step toward her. She stayed completely still, but he heard her take a deep breath, and he noticed her eyes go to his mouth. He took another step so that he was right in front of her. He leaned down, and then brought his hand up to cup her cheek.

When his hand touched her cheek, Rachel snapped out of her trance. She blinked and put a hand on his chest. "Wait, Noah. Stop. I can't do this."

Puck dropped his hand and took a step back. Rachel went around to the other side of the island, her hand on her forehead, putting some distance between them.

"I'm sorry Rachel. I have just been having these feelings, and I thought that we were on the same page and that you felt the same."

"Stop. There are feelings. I do like you, Noah. Not liking you has nothing to do with why we can't do this. Noah, our friendship is one of the most important things to me. I can't take the risk that we won't work out and lose you as my best friend." Rachel held up her hand to Noah when she noticed him about to protest. "No, don't tell me that I would never lose you as a friend, because we both know that if we dated and broke up, it would get awkward."

Rachel started pacing back and forth as she kept talking. "You have Beth to think about here. You just became a dad and she as to remain your number one priority. And we both know that I am high maintenance, and I refuse to take any of your time ad focus away from your daughter. So, please, let's just keep things the way they are. Get to know each other better and hang out. We have plenty of time, and I promise I'm not going anywhere. Ok?"

"Ok." Puck felt so stupid. He was sure that things were going to be awkward now. Any minute, Rachel would make up some lame excuse to leave, walk out the door, and begin avoiding him like the plague.

"You want to watch a movie or something?" Puck looked over at Rachel and nodded. "Sure."

And just like that, they were ok again.

The next morning, Rachel came over with flyers she had made and they drove to the college and put them up. They stopped at the book store on the way home at Rachel's insistence, and Puck got out the stroller as Rachel unlatched the carseat from the base. Puck lifted the carseat out of the car, and locked it into the stroller, with Beth facing Rachel as she pushed. They walked into the store, Puck following Rachel as she weaved in and out of the aisles.

She finally stopped, and Puck looked up to see that they were in the Teen Fiction section. He groaned and looked at Rachel. "You're not gonna buy Twilight, are you Berry?"

"No Noah." He sighed. "I've already read it. I'm just looking for something new to read."

"Why to you read so much anyway? There are other things you could do, you know."

"I read because I happen to enjoy it very much, and what exactly are you trying to suggest I do instead?"

"You could play video games. That's fun."

"Noah, video games are not educational and it would not benefit me in any way to play them."

"Woah, Berry. I'll have you know that some video games can be highly educational. I think. I mean, not any of the ones I play." Rachel raised her eyebrow. "Look, we could start out with one that would appeal to you. Rock Band. It's got music and you can even sing."

"Well, that doesn't sound terrible. It would be fun, I guess."

"Today?"

"Why not? I'm not really finding anything here anyway. And Beth will probably be hungry when she wakes up. Let's go."

"Awesome." Puck slung his arm around Rachel's neck as they walked to the door. As they were leaving the store, an older woman stopped them and looked at Beth.

"Oh, she is so beautiful. You have a lovely family."

"Uh, thank you, ma'am." Puck let the woman into the store and held the door open for Rachel to push the stroller through. Once they were outside, Puck glanced over at Rachel. She was already glancing at him, and as soon as their eyes met, they both burst out laughing.