A/N Thank you so much to my lovely Beta who was amazingly patient with me, considering the massive mistake I made! Thank you PrincessOnyx :D

Sorry for confusing a few people in the last chapter: All explained below I promise! :D

CC: Hehe I know you have your own account now but I thought I would reply here one more time :D Awesomness abound for liking the quote and thank you for your continuing support! :D

Aaron 7

Getting into bed together later that night, Puck wrapped himself around his girlfriend tightly as they laid together in the middle of her large double bed.

"I'm sorry, you know that, right?" he whispered into her ear, his body curled around hers.

"I know," Rachel smiled. "I do need to talk to you about something," she admitted, turning around in his arms to face him. "It is about David, I mean Karofsky."

"I saw you with him today," Puck said, still holding her tightly, "you were hugging him."

Sighing, Rachel pulled herself into a sitting position and sat cross-legged next to her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly, "We grew up together; we were best friends once upon a time."

"Fuck," Puck breathed out, sitting up as well and tossing his legs around Rachel so she sat in between them, "Wasn't expecting that."

"Our fathers work in the same medical speciality as surgeons, so we grew up together… we were friends."

"Were," Puck noted. "I mean, he was as much of a dick to you as I was."

"Yes he was; we stopped being friends not long after I found out I was pregnant."

"I can see you gearing up for a speech, so why don't you tell the story from the beginning," Puck said, tightening the grip on the hands that were gripping his own as she smiled in relief at him.

"Well as I said, we grew up together. Our fathers were best friends, so we grew up as best friends as well. The night I was raped, Dave was supposed to pick me up from dance class but, he forgot. I walked home when I realised he wasn't turning up, and about ten minutes after I left, he remembered and rushed to come and find me, but he couldn't. He looked for hours, and when he finally found me, it was too late."

"He's the one who found you? Wait, he was the reason you walked home?" he corrected, his free hand curling into a fist.

"Noah, it's not his fault," Rachel said. "It was an honest mistake. When he found me, he got help straight away. I was a mess, and he was by me every step of the way as I was rushed to hospital. And it was him who got my parents when I was rushed into surgery and when I later found out about Aaron."

"Babe, the rape... how bad was it?" Puck asked hesitantly. He knew it was a shaky question, but it had been on his mind for a while.

"Bad. He broke a few ribs and my pelvis, and he caused enough internal damage that my uterus eventually had to be removed after I gave birth, as well as various cuts and bruises," Rachel said shortly, looking away.

Biting his lip he leaned over and kissed her firmly. "Sorry," he murmured against her lips.

"It's okay," Rachel said, sweeping away the tears that had sprung to her eyes, "Anyway David - he stuck around for a while after we found out and helped me deal with everything. He was the first person to believe me when I said that I wanted to keep the baby and helped me convince my fathers."

"But..?"

"But, I was an insecure mess, and I continually drove him away. We were both young and not really emotionally equipped to deal with the mess we found ourselves in and so he ran… and I let him."

"You're glossing over a lot of stuff, aren't you" Puck guessed, tugging her closer.

"I guess a little - in the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that Dave and myself dated for about three days before the rape. After IT happened we just never talked about us again."

Puck stretched out his neck and clenched his fist again, his jealous and possessive nature rearing its head.

"Darling?" Rachel questioned, her hands gripping the sides of his head now, "It was nothing. We never would have survived everything. I love you, only you; you are the father to my son, and I want the rest of my life to be with you, and I know that it is more than likely scaring the living daylights out of you, but it's true. I want you."

"I want and love you too, and it doesn't scare me to hear that you want to spend the rest of your life with me because I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. I'm just pissed that Karofsky had you and that he bailed on you when you were going through hell."

"He's angry with himself for bailing as well, and well, I survived, so it doesn't matter anymore… however, he does want to meet Aaron and get our friendship back, and I want you to respect that."

"As long as the dick realises that I am Aaron's dad, I guess I can deal with it," Puck growled.

"No one can replace you as Aaron's dad, Noah, as long as you are sure you want the job."

"Rachel, I want the job - I have had the job for almost 5 months now, and I want it for the rest of my life. I want to adopt more children with you one day, and I want to watch you win that Tony you always harp on about, actually..."

"Actually what?" Rachel asked as he trailed off.

"Well I was looking at the cost of living in New York and college, and it's actually cheaper to live together rather than live in dorms."

"But we have to live in dorms… well I don't have to because of Aaron, but you do."

"Not if we are married," Puck said slyly as Rachel's head shot up to look at him. "Now this aint a proposal because it aint badass and romantic enough, but yeah, you are getting a badass proposal soon enough."

Rachel smiled and leapt into his arms, peppering kisses all over his face. Yes, she knew it was early and they had only been together for a few months, and they were still young, but she couldn't imagine her life without him… and if she trusted him with her son, she trusted him with her heart as well.

"Take that as a yes then," Puck murmured.

"Nope," Rachel said with a cheeky grin, laughing as his face fell, "because you haven't asked me yet."

"Well, when I do, I expect a yes," Puck said, rolling them over and kissing her deeply as his hands travelled along the length of her body, a body he knew better than his own.

"Mommy!" came a scream from the room opposite just as his mouth descended to her breast. With a look of alarm, the young parents launched themselves from the bed and across the landing to their son's bedroom. Rachel running to her son as Noah paused to slap his hand down on the light switch and flood the room in light, his eyes flickering to the now open window, certain he had closed it when he had put Aaron to bed earlier.

"Hush, baby, mommy's here," Rachel soothed as Aaron threw himself into her arms, tears running down his face, and his grandparents and Hannah only seconds behind the worried parents.

"And me," Puck said, sitting down next to Aaron, who launched himself at Puck, the football player glancing at the now pale Rachel who had never seen her son so scared, tears threatening to fall from her own eyes. Aaron was usually a happy and vibrant child, and other than a few bad dreams, he was rarely scared, content in the knowledge that his mother and grandparents and now Noah would protect him from anything, but now he was shaking with fear and sobbing.

"Hey, hey what's wrong, little man?" Puck said, picking him and holding him close, his eyes holding Leroy's and flickering to the open window. Leroy, spotting the look his almost son-in-law gave him, crossed to the open window and glanced out. Nothing could be seen in the blank darkness, however, so he pulled down the sash window and pulled the latch across firmly.

"Saw someone," Aaron sobbed, clinging to his father, "by the window!"

Rachel bit her tongue and tried not to scream as she hurried to the window her father was still standing next to, but when she couldn't see anything, she moved back to her son, hoping it had simply been his imagination.

Hiram and Hannah disappeared to make him a glass of hot milk and get some cookies to calm him down, Puck carrying his son to his and Rachel's room, thinking it would be best to get him out of his own.

"Hey buddy, come on, I'm here, I'm here. I will never let someone hurt you," Puck promised, sitting down on their bed.

"Promise?" Aaron said, his tears drying as he realised his parents were right there with him.

"Promise, me and your Mommy will always be here, we will always protect you."

Leroy meanwhile went downstairs and looked around the backyard that his grandson's and Hannah's room looked out on. Standing directly under one of the trees, he looked around and, seeing nothing but darkness, turned to go back into the house, shrugging and hoping it had simply been Aaron's imagination.

"Noah?" Aaron asked hesitantly, lifting his head from the shoulder it had been buried in.

"Yes little man?"

"This morning you said you would be my daddy if I wanted you to be," Aaron started quietly, "will you be… please?"

"Buddy, I would love to be your daddy," Puck said, hugging him tighter and looking over at his girlfriend whose eyes still glistened with unshed tears, this time ones of joy however.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"That's okay, right?"

"Nothing would make me happier," Rachel admitted, the tears falling as she hugged him and her boyfriend.

"Come on, buddy," Puck said, standing up with Aaron still in his arms. "Hannah and granddad went to get you some hot milk, and then you can sleep in here tonight, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Aaron said, feeling content and protected as he snuggled into his father.

The next day went more smoothly for the family, as did the Saturday that they spent as a family: taking Aaron to the park with just his two favourite uncles who spoiled him outrageously and started to teach him how to play football despite Rachel's objections.

Puck on the other hand decided to slip away under the pretence of doing some paper work for Sheets n Things, but in actuality went back home to talk to his in-laws.

"Hiram, Leroy, can I have a word please?" he asked, finding them in the kitchen after their golf game.

"Of course," Leroy said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar, his husband joining him.

"I want to ask your permission for the right to ask Rachel to marry me," Puck breathed out in one breath. "Before you say yes or no, I want to say my reasons first. I love your daughter and your grandson. And I know we are young, very young, but that just means we are lucky enough to find our soul mates early. And I have been thinking and planning for the future recently - I have a good chance to get into college in New York, but because I would never make Rachel give up her dreams, I will follow her even if I don't get into college, and I have my job back so that I can build up my CV."

"And if you do get into college, what are you planning on majoring in?" Hannah asked from the back door where she had been outside gardening, Rachel's fathers still slightly stunned.

"Sports journalism; I play a lot of sports and my highest grade is English. I talked to the guidance counsellor on Thursday and she said I have a really good chance of getting a scholarship because of all my extracurricular activities, and I can bring my grades up. I really want this," he begged, "I really want Rachel - I always have."

"Well then, how can we deny you," Hiram smiled.

"Our only stipulation is a very long engagement, such as the summer after you graduate," Leroy said in perfect sync with his husband.

"Of course, I can get where you are coming from, and I agree after school would be better," Noah hesitated a little, trying to find the courage to continue.

"Just say it," Hiram smiled, "you already asked for the two most precious things in our lives, not much else you can ask for."

Puck smiled and arched his eyebrows in agreement, "Yeah… it's about me moving in permanently."

"You want to?" Leroy asked in surprise, "I mean you stay here a lot, which we don't mind, but you really want to leave your mom and sister?"

"They don't need me - my family does."

"Well, you really need to talk to your mother about it, but we cannot have any real objections seeing as you stay here so much, but you need to talk to Rachel about it as well."

"Hey, I need to propose first."