Disclaimer: No ownership of anything that is discernibly Glee. Original characters are my creation as is the story line that this fiction is following. The few lines from the song Separate Lives do not belong to me either.
A/N: Thank you to all who have followed, favourited and reviewed, it is most gratifying.
New Directions gathered in the choir room for the last class of the day. There was still quite a bit of laughter about Jacob ben Israel's trip up the flagpole, a few high fives, and at least one person feeling quite proud of making a stand. The atmosphere in the room was good, till Mr Schuester walked through the door and started going on about how they could have gone further in the competition last year if only they'd put in a bit more effort, been a little more serious, not been under the influence of Sue Sylvester.
"Sorry for being in labour," Quinn grumbled sarcastically under her breath.
"And for now at least, we are one man down," Mr Schuester reminded them, pointedly ignoring the mumble from Quinn. "We all know Matt and his family moved away at the end of last year. We need to recruit some new members," he said and shrugged. "Otherwise we're finished."
"We have some ideas, Mr Schue," Mercedes said, looking at the whole group and receiving some nods for her to speak for them. "We're going to perform a couple of times this week during lunch break and we'll invite the students that we already know are interested in singing, to audition. Hopefully it will be enough," she smiled.
"I hope so too, Mercedes, but it's a good plan," Mr Schue nodded and smiled at her before moving to the next item on his list. "Practice schedule for this year. Every Monday and Thursday last period. Every Tuesday and Friday first class after lunch and on Wednesday its first period. Yes Puck?" he asked as he looked up to see Puck with his hand raised.
"Errm, I'm sorry Mr Schue, but me and Quinn can't make it to all of the Thursday classes," he said, hesitantly. "Beth has audiology appointments just about every three weeks. We'll be able to make some of the Thursday classes, but not all of them. Sorry," he finished, waiting for Rachel at least to make some sort of comment about them letting the team down. Strangely enough, no one did.
"Well, that can't be helped," Mr Schue sighed with a tight smile. "How is she, anyway?" he asked.
"Growing like you wouldn't believe," Puck replied, proudly. "And looking more and more like her mommy every day," he said with a smile and a wink at Quinn.
Quinn blushed and looked at the floor. She was still feeling just a touch self-conscious in her new Cheerios uniform, especially as Santana was now in street clothes and looking at her with venom in her eyes. Apparently Santana was still harbouring some resentment, especially towards Quinn.
"Does Coach Sylvester know you're ditching practice to play mommy and daddy?" she hissed, leaning towards both Puck and Quinn from two rows behind. Maybe the resentment was towards both of them.
"Yes she does," Quinn replied, her tone as stiff as her back and shoulders. "And she doesn't have a problem with it because it's for Beth."
"The new football coach is cool with it too," Puck told his team-mates.
"First song of the year," Mr Schue announced, catching everyone's attention. "I've put everyone's names into two hats, girls in this one, boys in this one. Brittany, there is no duck," he shook his head, sighing. "Anyway, it's a duet, a personal favourite of mine and each pair will get to sing it, see which pair does it best. Here we go," he smiled as he pulled the first name out of the blue hat. "Puck," he delved into the pink hat. "You're singing with…Santana," Mr Schue hid the surprise he felt when there weren't any objections. One scowl, but no objections. "Finn," he called as he picked the second boys' name. "You're singing with…..Quinn," Mr Schue was not surprised at the objections for that pairing. Or the scowls.
"The hats have spoken," Santana smirked. "Get over it, Hobbit," she said with so much relish that Quinn could barely keep herself in check. The only thing that made it possible was years and years of training, Judy Fabray style. 'Never allow anyone to know that you are angry'.
"Artie, you've drawn…..Brittany," Mr Schue watched Brittany approach Artie with caution. She still wasn't sure if he was a robot or if he was related to Stephen Hawkins. "Kurt, you get…..Mercedes. Mike and…Rachel. Tina, for now I'm afraid you're on your own, but maybe by the end of the week we'll have a new male member," Mr Schue had to turn away when he realised what he'd said, to hide the hot face he was sure that he sported. A couple of other people had realised what he'd said too and were stifling giggles. "These pairings are set in stone," he said as he wrote the song title on the white board. "No swaps, no take backs, no arguments and no, you can't choose your own song. This is the song. Separate Lives, a Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin number. Here are the lyrics, get together in your pairs and practice. Puck and Santana go first tomorrow, Finn, Quinn, you go straight after," he ended, finally able to turn around, sure that the heat had gone from his cheeks. "Any questions?" he asked. No one answered.
After they all left the room, lyric sheets in their hands, Puck spoke quietly to Finn. "Don't go getting any ideas about her, we might still be living in your world, but we're living in it together, ok?" he asked, nodding meaningfully towards Quinn who was in a huddle in the hallway with several other Cheerios being welcomed back to their ranks.
Finn rolled his eyes. "No problem dude," he smiled over Puck's head to Rachel, who was stood nervously by her locker chewing her lip and wringing her hands. "I'm with Rachel now, it's cool. I hope Santana realises the same thing about you. Quinn can be really, errm," he stopped, not sure how to put it into words.
"Scary? A maniac when she's pissed?" Puck asked, knowing what Finn meant. "Oh yeah, and the rest," he said, knowing from experience that it was true. "And we talked with Santana earlier, I think she gets it," he said, although not with any real conviction.
"So," Santana said as she slinked up to Puck at his locker when Finn drifted away to Rachel, "you and me, together again, just like old times," her voice was velvety, sultry, she gave a huge exaggerated sigh. "I hope Quinn doesn't get too," she reached up to kiss Puck's cheek, managing to find the very corner of his mouth, "jealous," she stroked her hand down Puck's chest and abs before she walked away, looking back over her shoulder and giving him a slow wink.
"Don't even think about it," Quinn ground out through her teeth, appearing at the side of Puck. "Just. Don't," she hissed.
Without a word Puck hooked his hand round the back of Quinn's neck and pulled her towards him, his tongue invaded her mouth as his lips silenced hers. Quinn wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed when Puck finally raised his head, just enough space between their lips to allow them to breathe. "As long as you remember you come home to me. Finn is history, same as Santana," he whispered. Quinn nodded, her hand had risen to grip around his wrist, needing to hold on to something to keep her feet on the ground. "And we are so doing more than just making out tonight, just so you know," his lips were almost on her ear, his breath made her shiver. Quinn didn't object. "Let's go home," he grinned, pulling Quinn by the hand towards the parking lot.
Finn came over after dinner to rehearse with Quinn. Puck called and asked Santana to come over for their rehearsal.
"What about Quinn?" Santana asked coyly.
Puck carefully worded his answer. "She's rehearsing with Finn," he said truthfully. "We have to do this tonight, ready for tomorrow. If you don't want to or you're too busy, it's cool," he said, his voice loaded with boredom, indifference. Both Finn and Quinn were watching him in fascination. They knew that Santana thought, from his few words, that they would be rehearsing alone. Yeah, like Puck was that stupid.
Miriam answered the door to Santana. Puck had asked his mom to say as little as possible to her, just to direct her upstairs to his bedroom. "But it's not just your room, is it Noah?" she asked. "How does Quinn feel about this?"
"Quinn's upstairs too, at the moment she's up there with Finn and that feels a bit weird," he mumbled the last part. "Santana might think she's going to be alone with me but she's not. And Quinn needs to show Santana that she can't come between us, she's not going to break us up," he shrugged. "Mr Schue picked out the names and said we weren't allowed to swap. I'd have picked to sing with Quinn to be honest, our voices go well together, but so far Mr Schue's never given us the chance."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Miriam said with a sigh. "Don't go on too late, Leah will be going to bed in a couple of hours and I'm going over to your Nana's later," she warned. "You're in charge tonight, ok?"
"Its cool mom," Puck kissed his mom's cheek before running back upstairs to hear Quinn and Finn practice the song while they waited for Santana. He sat on the bed with Beth. "What do you think baby? Should we take your hearing aids out so you don't have to listen to Finn wailing off key?" he asked, making Quinn giggle.
Santana arrived a short while later and Miriam did indeed send her straight up to Puck's bedroom. The first person Santana saw as she opened the door was Puck lounging on his bed. "So Puckerman, how do you want…..me?" Santana's husky, flirty question ended on a flat note when she opened the bedroom door further and saw Quinn and Finn stood at the end of the bed looking towards the door. "Oh," she sounded disappointed. "I didn't know you'd be here," she said to Quinn.
"I live here Santana," Quinn reminded her, "where else would I be?"
"Well, not in this room," Santana replied, holding her hands out. "Maybe in your own room or something," she said, then looked around.
Quinn hid her smile. She was so going to enjoy this. After dinner she had very carefully and discreetly left a number of personal objects lying about. Stuff that you would really only keep in your bedroom. "Like I said," Quinn looked Santana in the eye, sitting down on the bed next to Puck and Beth, "where else would I be?" Quinn saw the moment when the truth dawned on Santana.
Glancing round the room, Santana saw the things that Puck had always kept in his room, his guitar, his football stuff, baseball caps, things she'd seen a hundred times. Now she also saw make up, a hair dryer and flat iron on the dresser, pink pyjamas sticking out from under the pillow, ballet flats and sandals on the shoe rack in between pairs of sneakers and combat boots, a black bra with red hearts on it draped artistically out of the laundry hamper. The stuffed lamb she'd seen in Quinn's bedroom at Dudley Road a million times, wedged at the back of the headboard so its little face looked down onto the pillows. "Would you like to check the closet and the drawers too?" she asked Santana, "make absolutely certain I live here?"
"No, I get it," Santana said in a choked voice. "You're together, totally together, a family," she sniffed, turning to watch Puck playing with Beth on the bed while he and Finn waited for the girls to sort it out. "But if you ever break up, he's fair game, right?" she tried to joke. Quinn stood and hauled Santana into her arms as they both laughed and cried together. "What's the deal with the lamb?" she asked, sniffing nodding towards the stuffed toy. "You going all soft and sensitive now you're a daddy, Puckerman?"
"Nah," Puck replied with a wink at Quinn. "It stops the headboard banging. So we're cool now?" he asked, "we can rehearse? Good, let's get this done, there's a Bones marathon on later and I want to watch it," he grinned.
Puck and Santana listened to Finn and Quinn sing their version of the song and it was good. Quinn and Finn listened to Puck and Santana and theirs was good too. Despite what Mr Schue said about not swapping, Finn and Santana tried out the song together and it was better, Quinn and Puck sang it together and it was awesome.
"What we'll do is sing with our original partners in Glee club," Finn began, "then you two sing it together at the end of the week, maybe sneak into the auditorium to do it and one of us will get Mr Schue there somehow," he grinned at everyone. "Deal?" he asked. They all agreed. Puck was really looking forward to singing properly with Quinn for once.
They took a break so Quinn and Santana went to the kitchen together to pick up drinks and snacks and for Quinn to make Beth's bottle while Puck bathed her. Miriam chatted with the girls, making sure she hugged Quinn before they went back upstairs. Miriam really wanted Santana to see that Quinn was not only an accepted part of their family but that she was loved too. Miriam really did not like Santana, she reminded her far too much of Tanya, the woman who had been instrumental in the demise of her marriage.
"So you're still not getting any?" Finn asked quietly as Puck got Beth into her sleep suit. "From what you said earlier, living together in my world, or something? What happened? Did she sober up too much on Saturday night?" he asked with the hint of a grin.
"No, I just felt like too much of an asshole for manipulating her in that way," Puck admitted. "We did talk a lot though and we decided that we are actually dating, we're together now, not just friends taking care of a baby together. But we still haven't," he stopped as he heard footsteps on the stairs. Puck leaned closer to Finn. "She doesn't know that you know that she's always shared this room with me, I told her no one knew about that, so just don't ever mention it, ok?" he whispered as the door opened. Finn nodded his agreement.
Both pairs ran through the song together one more time each before Finn and Santana left together. Miriam got Leah settled into bed then left to go to Connie's for the night as Quinn put Beth to bed.
"What time does your Bones marathon start?" Quinn asked Puck as she walked back into their room.
"No idea," Puck grinned, "I don't even know if there is one, I just thought it was a good way to make sure Finn and Santana left early enough. It's just you and me babe," he said quietly, walking towards Quinn. "I think we should probably lie down," his voice was even quieter, his gaze on her lips. "First day back at school is always tiring, we should probably have an early night."
Puck felt hope soar in his heart when Quinn's arms wrapped around his neck. He thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest when she stepped closer in to him. And when she pulled his head down for his lips to meet hers, well, one thing was for sure, he forgot to breathe.
"Lie with me," Quinn whispered, her lips still brushing against Puck's. "Lie with me, make me feel…" she finished with a squeal as Puck caught her up in his arms and carried her the couple of steps to the bed. He laid her down and came down beside her.
"I am so going to make you feel," Puck grinned, "and I'm going to feel you too, all of you," he murmured as he dipped his head to kiss her.
"Slow down a minute," Quinn whispered breathlessly, "I'm still not ready to…you know, but we can do other stuff, can't we?" she asked, watching the slight touch of disappointment flicker in Puck's eyes. "Maybe soon, but not just yet," Quinn said softly.
Puck didn't reply with words. He replied with his hands and lips. He didn't take things further than Quinn was comfortable with, but before they fell asleep they had both experienced more tenderness, more loving than they had for quite some time. Puck could honestly say that even he wasn't disappointed. Or frustrated.
On Tuesday Jacob ben Israel's blog was strangely void of information regarding his flagpole experience. Neither did it contain any information about Santana's meltdown or about Beth Puckerman and her future surgery. Maybe the underlying threat of a repeat performance from Puck had actually had an effect on the usually thick-skinned annoying dweeb.
Glee's first two performances of Separate Lives were well enough received. Rachel obviously pointed out a couple of sharp notes that she felt Quinn had hit and made a point of telling everyone that she and Finn would have made a much better job of it together. Mike was visibly quaking at the thought of having to sing with such a perfectionist instead of hiding in the background as he usually did.
"Good job guys," Mr Schue said as he clapped both pairs. "Tomorrow we'll hear from Artie and Brittany and Kurt and Mercedes," he said as the lesson ended.
After school Puck dropped Quinn off at home to go to work for a couple of hours. He and his dad had planned to spend some time together working on the truck. Puck had been looking forward to this and he'd done the design for the graphics himself. Ethan had planned the engine, sound system and bodywork upgrades. Everyone else had gone home, it was just Ethan and Puck in the workshop.
"Can I ask you something personal?" Puck asked as they were sanding the repaired bodywork smooth.
"Sure," Ethan replied, stopping work for a couple of minutes.
"Why does mom always call Tanya the 'tattooed freak'?" he asked. He knew his mom didn't have any major issues with tattoos, except when they were on her son's body, so it had always puzzled him.
Ethan didn't speak for a moment. Puck thought it might have been too personal a question and wondered if he'd destroyed the new relationship that he and his dad were having. Then Ethan answered with a wry smile. "It wasn't actually that Tanya had a tattoo that made your mom call her that, it was where it was," Ethan admitted. "And to be fair, when Miriam caught us in my office, that was pretty much the view that she got. It can't have been easy for her to see that," he ended a little sadly.
"That puts a whole lot of other pictures in my mind," Puck replied. "And to be honest, I've got a very active imagination when it comes to the female form," he admitted with a huge grin.
"Yeah well, think butterfly, a huge one that covers the whole of a really interesting place," Ethan said with a wince and a glance towards his groin.
"Jeez," Puck sucked in a breath, "it stung enough on my arm, wow, Tanya had some major balls to get that done," he said, in awe.
"Your mom didn't think so," Ethan laughed. "Enough about that anyway. How are you and Quinn doing? I hope you're taking more care of her than you did before," he asked, his look questioning.
"We haven't actually got that far," Puck admitted, pulling a resigned face. "Not for months. Last time was when she was still pregnant, just before she left to stay with Mercedes. We kiss, we make out, get to third base but that's all she's comfortable with," he shrugged and sighed. "It's cool, I'll wait. I still get to sleep with her every night," he grinned, thinking of how much Quinn gave away about how she was really feeling when she was asleep in his arms, how much she really did want to, how much she was holding back. Puck knew it was only a matter of time before they were as close as the night they made Beth. Except they would be a lot more careful.
Ethan followed Puck home as planned. Miriam had invited him for dinner. The atmosphere round the table was so different from a couple of years ago, even a year ago. There was laughter, fun, joking and talking, even some serious talking. Everyone got involved, including Beth with the new squeals and sounds she was making.
"Will you come with mom and Nana to watch me play soccer?" Leah asked Ethan. "It's tomorrow afternoon," she told him, her eyes hopeful.
Ethan looked to Miriam and saw her nod. "Sure I will," he smiled at his grinning daughter. "What time is it?" he asked, mentally reorganising his day to accommodate the game. Leah told him. "I can do that," he assured her.
Quinn's phone rang towards the end of the meal. It was Claudia, her father's part time nurse. "Hi Claudia," she answered nervously. "Is everything alright?" she asked, her mouth dry.
"Your dad asked me to call," Claudia replied. "Your mother is going away for a couple of days with her church group, I'll be staying with your dad while she's gone. He asked if you would come to visit."
"When?" Quinn asked quickly. "And of course we'll come, just as soon as we can," she looked at Puck with damp eyes. "My dad wants us to visit while my mom is out of town," she told him with a quivering smile. Claudia answered her question. "Yes, we can come by on Thursday after Beth's appointment," Quinn told Claudia. She looked around the table. Puck nodded his agreement, Miriam and Ethan both smiled. They knew how important it was for Quinn to be able to have a relationship with her dad, someone in her family to love Beth as they all did.
"That's wonderful Quinn," Claudia breathed a sigh of relief. "He'll be so happy, I'll see you all on Thursday, bye," she ended the call quickly.
Quinn couldn't hide the happiness she was feeling, that stayed with her for the rest of the evening. She felt such a wonderful sense of peace. To be able to have time with her dad without being under scrutiny, watching how she behaved, what she said, it was just wonderful, she couldn't wait.
Wednesday's Glee class was interesting. Artie and Brittany managed to make Separate Lives into a rap song. And it bombed. Kurt and Mercedes sang each of their parts in their own favourite style. Mr Schue insisted that Phil Collins would be distraught to hear his part sung like a show tune.
"Mike, Rachel, you're up tomorrow. Tina, you'll be with me I'm afraid," Mr Schue gave Tina a sympathetic look.
"Mr Schue," Rachel began. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you and I to sing together. We are better matched vocally after all and I think that Tina is feeling just a little intimidated. Aren't you Tina," Rachel asked her gleefully.
Tina was spared having to answer by Mr Schue's repeat of his words on Monday, no swaps and no take backs and also by a knock at the choir room door.
"Errm, hi," a blond guy said, hesitantly. "Are you still looking for someone to join you?" he asked, glancing round nervously at the students congregated already.
"Yes we are," Mr Schue replied with a smile, relieved that he didn't have to continue the discussion with Rachel. "Welcome, come on in. And you are?" he asked.
"Sam Evans," the blond replied, extending his hand to shake Mr Schue's. "I just moved here with my family. I'm a new kid," he joked awkwardly.
"Can you sing, Sam?" Rachel asked, giving the newcomer a searching stare.
"Ye-es," he replied uncertainly, "I was male lead in Glee in my old school," he announced, looking round and seeing the approval and the interest from the others.
"We're doing a duet this week," Mr Schue announced quickly and brought Sam up to speed. "Tina here needs a partner, how about you two get together today and practice. You can perform tomorrow after Mike and Rachel," he finished with a sigh of relief.
"Don't forget we won't be here tomorrow, Mr Schue," Puck reminded him. "Beth has to get new ear moulds."
"Not a problem, we'll see you here on Friday, right?" Mr Schue replied. "We'll have a breakdown of the week and vote on which pair has made the best job of the duet. Alright, class dismissed," he announced as the bell rang.
"Dad," Quinn whispered through her tears as she hugged him tightly, "it's so good to see you. I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, darling," Russell Fabray's voice was no more steady than Quinn's. "And I finally get to meet my granddaughter properly," he said, pulling away from Quinn to wave to Beth. "Claudia, this is my beautiful granddaughter, Beth Puckerman. Isn't she an angel?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the smiling woman stood slightly away from them.
"Yes she is," Claudia said, coming forward to greet Quinn warmly and to meet Puck and Beth.
"Her full name is Bethany Quinn Puckerman," Quinn told her dad, proudly.
"Bethany?" Russell repeated. "You named her for my mother? Oh, Quinnie, thank you. Thank you so much. She would have been so proud, so thrilled."
"So me singing 'Beth' to you didn't have anything to do with her name?" Puck pouted.
"Of course it did," Quinn replied, going to hug him. "I just decided, after we learned of her problem that she could use a little extra help from above," she shrugged with a smile, "and I know my grandma will always be looking down on her, keeping her safe."
"That she will," agreed Russell. "How are you both managing? School, taking care of Beth, cheerleading?" he asked, pointing to Quinn's uniform.
"We have a lot of help," Puck admitted. "My mom watches Beth through the day when we're at school, and my aunt helps out too. We're really lucky I guess," he smiled, lifting Beth from her stroller and holding her out to Russell.
"Oh my little sweetness," Russell breathed with a shaky voice into Beth's hair. He held on to her silently, breathing in her baby scent, her uniqueness, her. "You are so special," he told Beth, looking into her eyes.
Beth watched the stranger with wary eyes. She lay silently in his lap, staring intently at him.
They had dinner with Russell and Claudia, the meal was very enjoyable. Quinn adored spending the time with her dad. Claudia came up with a plan for them to be able to meet every week.
"Your therapy sessions have moved to Saturday mornings," Claudia reminded Russell. "How about we call and see this little miss," she shook Beth's hand gently as she spoke, "when we're through at therapy?"
Quinn looked hopefully at her dad. "Can you? Please?" she begged. "It would mean so much to me," se turned to look at Puck. "Your mom won't mind my dad coming to visit, will she?" she asked quickly.
"I wouldn't have thought so," Puck replied, certain of his mom's welcoming attitude. "She loves having people come to visit," he assured Russell.
"That would be amazing," Russell nodded happily. "Thank you so much. Thank you, Claudia, I don't know how I'd get through the days without your help and support. Thank you," he repeated softly.
As soon as Beth was in bed, Quinn went down to speak to Miriam. She was more than happy for Quinn's dad to visit every Saturday. "I'm really glad that you'll have some of your family back in your life," she said as she kissed Quinn's cheek. "And how did the appointment go?" she asked after Beth.
"It was fine," Quinn nodded. "Beth has new ear moulds, they made some adjustment to the range of sound that can be transmitted through the amplifiers so Beth will hear even more now," she finished with a smile. Miriam was pleased to hear it.
"Ok," Finn whispered to Puck at his side and waved to Quinn waiting in the opposite wings. "Santana will be here any second with Mr Schue," he said as he took a peek from where he and Puck were waiting. Finn saw the chink of light at the rear of the auditorium from the doors opening to allow someone to enter. "Go," he whispered, motioning to the band to start playing. Puck took a few steps out onto the darkened, empty stage.
"You called me from the room in your hotel…." Puck began singing, looking down at the floor as he walked slowly towards centre stage. As the music grew Quinn took a few steps out from her side and walked just as slowly to meet Puck, he looked up at her, they both sang the next part.
"You have no right, to ask me how I feel…." they sang together, eyes on each other, as if they were totally oblivious to everyone else in the auditorium.
"Well I held on, to let you go…." Quinn sang, her voice strong and sure.
Together they sang the last part, facing each other, Puck's hand tenderly cradling Quinn's cheek, "Find myself looking in your eyes…"
As they reached the final line, all of their Glee team-mates stood and clapped. Mr Schue acknowledged how wrong he had been to insist on no swaps.
"That was absolute perfection, brilliant," he said as he clapped. "And Santana, can I just say how shocked I am of your part in this? Impressed but shocked. Well done," he finished, still clapping.
"Thank you," Puck called, taking an exaggerated bow. "Think we might get a chance to do a duet in the future Mr Schue? We're really good at doing stuff together," he teased, hugging Quinn close, waggling his eyebrows at the rest of the class, his smile huge.
"Oh we know that Puckerman," Santana called from just in front of the stage. "Can you put my friend down now please? We don't want her to get boy germs," she grinned and winked at Quinn.
Quinn looked up at Puck. "It's not your germs that usually make me worry," Quinn teased. "Sounds similar, but it's not germs. I hope you stocked up on condoms," she whispered. "I have a feeling you might be needing them very, very soon."
Puck's groan of appreciation was only heard by Quinn, but then again, no one else had heard what she said to him anyway. That was probably for the best, they could both do without Rachel reminding them of being safe and responsible, they'd already learned that lesson well. Really, really well.
