By the time Noah arrived at Rachel's house, she'd already been sent to the hospital. He walked in, glancing around at the disheveled living room. He walked into the kitchen, spotting the shattered coffee mugs on the tile.
"You want me to send the crime scene techs in?" one of his deputies asked.
Puck nodded his head. "Yeah, though I doubt they'll find much. Seems like the guy wasn't here too long. We'll have to talk to Rachel to find out what happened."
"Want me to take care of it so you can get back to the Pierce case?"
"No, I got it. You head back to the office and type up your report on the interview with the fiancée. I want it on my desk by the time I get back," Noah ordered.
He watched the deputy give him a fearful nod before quickly leaving the house, terrified of not having his work done by the time Noah returned to the office.
Of course, Noah had no intention of returning to the station today. He was going to sit with Rachel at the hospital until she woke up, and then stay with her until she was perfectly fine. Then, he'd fine the guy that did this to her and strangle him with his bare hands.
Noah left the investigation of Rachel's house in the hands of another deputy before walking out of the house, flipping his phone off in the process. He wasn't going to even pretend to be working while Rachel was stuck in the hospital.
Okay, he was still pissed about what she did. It was his daughter, after all. Though, he understood where she was coming from.
His dad had brutalized his mother every night when Puck was a kid, then walked out on her after Becca was born. Maybe she thought it was in his blood.
But she should have known better. He would have been an amazing father to Caroline. He'd have done anything to make her happy.
Maybe Rachel had thought he would have forced her to move back to Lima?
Well, he probably would have, if he was being honest with himself. He'd lived in Lima all his life. Hell, he was actually successful here. Why would he leave town with all he had going for him?
For Rachel and Caroline, he would have. He would have gone anywhere they wanted. Rachel had always been the most important person in his life when they were together in high school. Becca and him were close, but she was way younger. His mom…well, when she wasn't falling down drunk, she was yelling at him to use his fake ID and get her more booze. Rachel had been the one person he could tell anything to. And if he had known she was pregnant, he would have done anything to make it work.
People would have said that he'd screw things up, that he'd end up leaving her like his father left his mother. But he wouldn't. Puck would have been the best father to Caroline.
Now he'd never have a chance.
Puck pulled his car into the parking lot of Lima General Hospital, driving it into an empty spot before parking and turning the engine off. He climbed out, shutting the door and locking it.
Noah walked into the hospital, instantly being greeted by the girl at the front desk. "Are you here about the girl?" she asked, looking up from her computer. She wasn't more than eighteen—Noah just hoped she wasn't the nurse. How the hell was he supposed to know what girl she meant?
Regardless, he nodded his head. "Yes, Rachel Berry. I was told she was brought here by ambulance," he said, removing his sunglasses.
The girl smiled at Noah, batting her eyes. "She's on the second floor, Sheriff. Room 214," she said, leaning forward a bit.
"Thanks," he muttered, leaving her and heading for the elevator. The girl was visibly disappointed.
Noah headed up to the second floor, finding the room he needed. Rachel's nurse was standing outside the door, typing something on one of the computer carts.
"Nurse?" he asked, walking up to her slowly as not to startle her.
The nurse turned towards him, not even bothering to smile. "Sheriff," she greeted. Noah recognized her—Ella Cohen, Tina Cohen-Chang's step-sister. Puck may have dated her a few months ago on the insistence from his grandmother to date a Jewish girl. It didn't work out.
"So, is Rachel in there?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Yes, but she's been sedated. She's not awake, and I don't think she'd want you in there while she's dressed in a hospital gown."
"Ella—"
"Don't Ella me," she snapped, slamming her hand down on the keyboard. "What, you get bored of screwing me over and leading me on so you decide to go back to Rachel and do the same thing?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, holding up his hands to attempt to get her to stop her verbal attack on him.
"The scars, stupid. On her wrists. They don't look that old in my opinion. What did you do to that poor girl?"
"Nothing!" he said defensively. He was used to getting accused of doing things, but this time he was actually innocent. "Before she showed up in town, the last time I saw Rachel was seven years ago. Scars on her wrists is news to me. I'm here to see if she's okay and find out what happened."
"Well, she freaked out when the EMT tried bandage the cut on her forehead. We sedated her once she got here. Rape kit was negative. She's got a pretty nasty bruise on her neck and a cut on her head, but she'll live. The doctor's on the phone with her psychiatrist in Philadelphia to see what he thinks. She should be awake soon. Now leave me alone—I have other patients." She pushed the computer away while Noah walked into the room.
Rachel was sleeping in the bed, completely still. She had an IV in her hand and was hooked up to fluids. He winced when he saw her neck.
A deep, purple bruise had formed in the shape of two hands. He didn't want to think about what had caused that, but he kept picturing it in his mind. A helpless Rachel lying on the floor, gasping for air as someone sat on top of her, choking the life out of her.
Noah took a seat at her bedside, taking her small hand in his. He noticed the bandage on her head and frowned. He couldn't believe someone had tried to kill her. What had Rachel ever done to anyone? She was the sweetest girl in town.
Noah reached down, brushing the hair out of her face. She had a nasal oxygen mask hooked up to her as she slept.
Noah reached a hand up, wiping away a tear that had escaped from his eye. He'd never expected to see Rachel like this, looking so helpless. She'd always been so strong. Even when she was pushed around at school, she never acted like a victim.
He'd been the one to hold her back from pushing the guys right back.
"Babe, don't. I'm not letting you get suspended or expelled because Karofsky's an asshole," Noah would always say before shoving him into a locker as payback.
Yet, she must have been strong. That was the only reason she was lying here alive instead of in the woods dead.
Like Brittany.
It had to be the same guy. Two girls attacked in a week, both strangled? Maybe Rachel had been onto something and the guy wanted to stop her before she realized who he was?
Theories buzzed in Noah's mind about who had done this, but he couldn't think of anyone in town who was capable of something like this.
Rachel stirred before her eyes opened. She looked at her hand, then up at him. "Noah?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.
"Don't speak," he said softly, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. "You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" he asked kindly, his brown eyes meeting hers.
"I was attacked," she whispered. "At my house. It was after Finn left. Someone came in and tried to kill my by strangling me."
Noah felt a surge of jealousy when she mentioned Finn had been over. Why was he at her house? No, this wasn't the time. Rachel had almost died, and all he could think about was who had been in her bed.
"Could it have been Finn who attacked you?" he asked her.
"I don't think so," she said, her voice barely audible. "He was just at my house for an interview and he was very polite. I can't see him trying to strangle me."
"Did the attacker say anything? Did you see him?"
"No, he wore a mask. All I saw were his eyes—they were green. And he never said anything the whole time he was choking me," she added.
Rachel reached a hand up to her neck, her fingers gingerly running over the bruise. "Did I do something to cause this? Did I offend someone so much to make them want to kill me?" she asked.
Noah shook his head. "You could never do anything to make someone want to do this to you, Rachel. I think—I think we have a serial killer here. Someone who hates women."
"You think I escaped a serial killer?" she asked.
"Well, we'll have to wait and see—though hopefully we catch him before there're anymore bodies," she added. That was the last thing he wanted—more girls dying.
Rachel nodded her head before leaning it back against the bed.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me? Not about this attack?" he asked, flipping her hand over, running his fingers over the scar that stretched across her wrist.
"No, you pushed me out of your apartment. You don't get that story now."
"Rachel, you tried to kill yourself. The nurse said it wasn't that long ago, either. I can guess what caused it. What I don't understand is why, Rachel? Why would you do that?"
But Rachel shook her head. "No. You don't get to act like you care now. You pushed me. What's to stop you from hitting me next? Or killing me? How do I know it wasn't you who tried to kill me back there?" she asked.
"Because I have brown eyes."
Rachel made a sound. "Ever heard of colored contact lenses? You still haven't proved to me it wasn't you."
"Damn it, Rachel. You know me. You know what I'm capable and what I'm not capable of. I could never kill anyone. And I could never hurt you, I promise."
"Prove it."
Noah did the first thing he could think of—he leaned his head down and pressed his lips to hers. Rachel seemed to pause for a moment before she was kissing him back.
Noah's hand cupped her face, bringing her closer to him. Rachel brought the hand not connected to any tubing up, placing it on his cheek. Her eyes closed as she melted into Noah, her lips moving rhythmically with his.
Noah took a seat on the side of Rachel's bed, his lips never moving away from hers. He pushed Rachel back against her bed, never pulling away from the kiss.
There was a beeping and Rachel pulled away, looking up at the monitor next to her bed. "Guess my heart got a little excited," she mumbled, her cheeks red.
Noah chuckled, shaking his head. "Do you believe me now, though?" he asked. "Do you believe me that I would never hurt you?"
Rachel stayed silent for a minute, looking down in her lap. "Yes, I suppose I do. Are you sorry for pushing me?" she asked.
"What do you think? Of course I am. I let my anger get the best of me and I hurt the one person I truly love." There, he said it. All it took was a week for him to know he loved her.
"Love?" she asked.
"Well fuck, Rachel. Are you going to draw this out and make me talk about my feelings? Of course I love you, you beautiful, sensitive girl. I never stopped loving you."
Rachel smiled a little, looking down for a moment. "I still love you too. I never got over you. I guess that's why I never really dated anyone."
"You're telling me you haven't had sex in seven years?" he asked, giving her a look of disbelief.
"I said date, Noah. A girl has to eat, after all. And don't you go getting mad about that. From what I've heard, you weren't so innocent after I left."
Puck rolled his eyes. "People in this town have nothing better to do than talk," he said, shaking his head. "None of them meant anything to me. Not like you did, at least." He placed his hand on her stomach and kissed her lightly. "I guess this is the part where I ask you to go steady or some shit like that."
"Are you sure? I think it would be quite scandalous for the sheriff to be seen taking out the out-of-town reporter," she teased.
"Ah, fuck 'em. I haven't cared what people in this town thought about me since forever. I care about what you think, that's all."
"Well, I happen to think you're quite wonderful and skilled with those fingers and that tongue of yours," she murmured, a blush forming.
"What is this? Is Rachel Berry talking dirty to me?" he teased, tickling her slightly.
"Noah, stop. I'm in the hospital!" she laughed, trying to push his hands away.
"Aw, you're no fun," he complained, lying on the bed next to her, sharing her pillow. "I'm sheriff and I'm not even allowed to tickle someone," he complained.
The door to Rachel's room flew open and a different nurse walked in, a phone in her hand. "Sheriff, it's for you. The caller said it was urgent."
Noah sighed, sitting up and taking the phone from the nurse. He nodded his head and said a few words as his expression changed from a joking one to very serious. He hung up without a word before standing up.
"Noah?" Rachel asked. "Where are you going?"
"Sorry Rach, something came up. I have to go."
"What is it?" she asked, biting her lip.
"Santana didn't show up for work. Her boss sent someone to her apartment, and…" He shook his head, his eyes downcast.
"What, Noah? What happened?"
"Her door was wide open, the lock busted open. There were clumps of her hair on the ground…and a pool of blood."
