A/N: Sorry it's taken forever to update. I never knew how complicated it could get for a 5 yr. old boy to pick out the perfect super hero Valentine's Day cards for all of his classmates (and especially a particular girl, which I'm not crazy about given the fact that my 5 yr. old son is apparently into girls already) and with 2 kids on a massive sugar high for the last few days, it's been stressful. So, thanks for your patience and here's a little belated V-Day chapter… warning, quasi-long paragraphs ahead… oh, and the title belongs to the iconic Tom Petty.

Also, thanks so much to andsoitis2, RandomIsMe, Lovetheday, I'm a gleek1994, MsKylie93, olacindy, and marine04 for your lovely reviews!

Learning To Fly

Puck felt as though he couldn't move, still staring off into the empty space Quinn once occupied in front of him, his hand still raised to where it had previously been nestled against her cheek. His heart was beating fast and he felt the anger well inside of him, feeling as though he was robbed yet again of another moment with Quinn.

Robbed of another moment to win her back.

He swung his head around and looked at the rest of his classmates, all of whom were staring at him intently, waiting with bated breath to see what he would do. Finally, Santana broke the silence.

"Um, I'll go check on Q. See what's up."

Before she could even make it two steps, Puck stopped her, his voice strong in its conviction, "No. This is between me and Quinn."

He gave Mr. Schue a half smile, his teacher and mentor patting him on the back in support before he left the room.

He wasn't stupid. He knew the rest of the class had to be abuzz with gossip by now, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. But he didn't care what anyone else thought. All he cared about now was finding the pretty blonde who booked it out of the choir room just moments before.

Quinn was a creature of habit and while it was completely possible that she could have wanted to go straight home, he knew she couldn't. She left her keys and her backpack in the choir room. He also knew she wouldn't go somewhere obvious like the girl's bathroom or the Cheerios locker room.

No, if she were still here, he knew exactly where she would be.

He quickly made his way to the auditorium, climbing the back steps up to the side balcony where she and the rest of the Cheerios had spied on Finn and the glee club when they started up a few years ago and where she had confessed she spied on them again the first day back their senior year. It was quiet and solitary and she probably thought that was the best place to go if she was looking to hide.

And his guess was correct, judging from the soft sobs coming from around the corner.

He tried to be quiet, not wanting to startle her just yet but still wanting to catch her before she made up some excuse to run off again. But the floor creaked under his foot and he knew he was busted. A flash of blonde hair whipped around to see who was behind her, Quinn quickly turning her head again and furiously trying to wipe away the tears streaming down her face.

"Hey," he said softly.

"You found me," she replied, her eyes focused on the stage in front of her.

"Yeah, you told me once that you came up here to think at the beginning of this year, so I figured you may be here."

"Wow, good memory."

"I never forget things about you."

She let out a humorless chuckle, "I highly doubt that."

"What? What makes you say that?" he asked defensively, "Of course I remember things about you. You tend to remember things about the people you care about, ya know?"

"Oh really?" she asked, her eyes going wider as she shook her head, "You all of a sudden care about me again? That's rich."

"Where the hell is this all coming from, Q? I thought we had a moment there in the choir room," he replied sternly, "In fact, I know we did and I know you felt it too. Why are you fighting me like this?"

"It might have something to do with the fact that you have flat out told me you didn't care about me anymore," she replied, her eyes furious as she finally caught his gaze, "Or wait, maybe it's because I am the most selfish person in the world. Or perhaps it's because you would rather, oh how did you say it… 'raw-dog a beehive' than be with me again. So, no Puck, I don't know where the hell that came from."

Puck swallowed hard as he remembered those very words coming out of his own mouth earlier that year. "You know I didn't mean any of that, Quinn. I was caught up in the moment and it slipped out," he said, his voice quiet.

"As I remember, there was no moment to be caught up in at that point. I approached you at your locker and threw myself at you and you shot me down. Pretty harshly as I remember," she murmured, her eyes tearing up again as she looked away, "And then you came over that weekend and I thought we would be fine, then the Shelby thing…" her voice growing quiet as her words dropped off.

"Quinn, I don't – I didn't –"

"No, it's ok," she interrupted, not really wanting to hear how Shelby was different than the other girls he had been with and how much better she was than Quinn, "I get it. I do. And you were right, I know I was selfish. I pulled some stupid stunts. As a result, I'll probably never see my daughter again and that thought alone terrifies me. But what absolutely kills me is the fact that I lost you too. And that's why I hate that fucking song."

"Q," he started before scrunching his face in confusion at her quick change of subject, "Wait, what song?"

"The song Schue made us sing just now."

"Oh," he sighed before deciding on pushing his luck just that much more, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you hate it so much? It's a good song."

Quinn took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, her eyes glistening as she glanced over at him, "Because it talks about two people trying to convince each other to give it one more chance and salvage the love they both know still exists. That still remains in their hearts. It's just – It's too –"

"It's too what?" Puck asked after she trailed off.

"It hits too close to home for me, ok?" she spat out, tears rolling down her cheeks, "It's all about forgiving the mistakes made and getting past the hurt and pain to try and finding that love again, and to be honest, it's just hard to sing those lyrics with you."

"Why? The lyrics are what made it easy to sing with one another. I mean, we've been there, done that."

She closed her eyes briefly before swallowing hard, her voice barely above a whisper, "Past tense. We've been there…past tense."

Puck continued to stare at her, wondering if this was her way of blowing him off already. He hadn't even had a chance to try and fight back, to fight for her again. To apologize. To tell her how he felt.

"You know, the single most defining moment of my life was giving birth to Beth. Holding our perfect little girl in my arms for the first time. Finally meeting the little life that kept me up countless nights with her kicking, but knowing full well it was all worth it when she was placed into my arms and looked up into my eyes. In that moment, I truly felt like a mom, like my life did have a purpose outside of cheerleading and high school popularity."

She sniffed and wiped away more tears, Puck sitting rapt with attention as she continued, "And seeing you watch over the two of us protectively, the look of sheer awe and joy on your face as you watched your daughter respond to your fingers on her back was incredible. Simply priceless. But standing there with you afterwards as we watched her sleep in the nursery and you told me you loved me for the first time, I finally felt whole for the first time in my life. I felt at peace with everything knowing Beth was healthy and safe and you and I had one another to lean on after she went to a family that could provide for her better than we would have been able to."

"Quinn, you know we could have been there for one another –"

"Wait," she held up a finger, "Just let me get this all out before I lose my nerve."

He closed his mouth and nodded his head, letting her continue.

"But after she was gone, the hole in my heart still existed. It grew bigger and bigger with every day she was out there in the world without me. Every day I wondered who she was or where she was, praying that she was safe and happy and loved, but being without her was slowly driving me crazy. Everything in my life seemed colorless after that, my existence was merely black and white and shades of gray. And then there was you. And you were so amazing and so understanding even though I knew you didn't want to give her up, but you were still supportive and kind and I know now that I didn't deserve your kindness at the time."

"You just reminded me so damn much of her and I couldn't see you without missing her, and I am so sorry. I am so sorry I took her away from you. I am so sorry that I hurt you and was horrible to you afterwards. And I'm so sorry that my stupidity earlier this year caused her to be taken away again. Puck, I am so sorry," she sobbed heavily, her breathing labored as her chest and throat constricted with emotion.

Puck glanced away for a moment, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat and blinking away the light sheen of moisture that seemed to have formed over his eyes. Damn allergies…

"Quinn, it's not your fault. You don't need to blame yourself for any of that."

"Yes, I do. It is my fault. I made the decision to give her up without you. You wanted to keep her and I gave her away without really considering how we both would feel afterwards. Honestly, I thought it would be for the best, but if I knew then what I know now, I don't think we could have given her up. Seeing her now, happy with her," she said, refusing to say Shelby's name, "I couldn't do it over again and not be a part of her life."

"What's worse was when she came back and I roped you into being a part of the plan to get her back. I know it was immature and stupid, but I thought maybe, just maybe, we could get her back and we could be that family again. I started feeling like that hole in my chest was finally healing, that you being there with me and the two of us reconnecting with Beth would help me feel whole again. But when I found out that you told Shelby and you had hooked up with her, I felt nothing but betrayal and anger toward you which was completely unwarranted. It was a dumb ploy, and I know that now," she explained, taking a deep breath in between sobs, "But it just hurt, you know, watching you fall for her. I'll admit, I melted a little when I thought you were singing "The Only One" to me. You sang to Rachel, Mercedes and Lauren and for once, I thought you were singing to me. And it was amazing. And then I saw you looking at Shelby and that jealousy came raging back. It just broke my heart again, and I wished, for once, that you would look at me like that again. I miss that look."

Puck watched her sob for a few moments, his heart breaking with every tear drop.

"Quinn, I'm sorry. I didn't know – I didn't mean – I don't know what to say," he replied, biting his thumbnail, not sure where to go from here. He needed to diffuse this quickly and let her know how he felt before her words and his inaction sealed their fate. "That was a stupid idea on my part and I just – I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't know you were hurting that bad until you came that night to say goodbye, and I shouldn't have even been there in the first place, but even then I had no idea you felt that way until you were there in person saying those words. I thought it just didn't matter to you anymore with the way you've been ignoring me the last year, but I knew from the moment you walked in that night that I was wrong."

Quinn sighed and wiped under her eyes, trying her best to stifle another sob, "Look Puck, you don't – you don't have to explain anything. I know I've done a lot of dumb things in the past and held onto a lot of hurt and resent over the years but after losing Beth again and visiting schools this winter, I feel like I was able to gain a little more perspective on things in my life and what I want for my future. And starting right now, I don't want to live with any more guilt or hurt or resent. So, I'm going to be honest with you."

She took another deep breath before continuing, "I love you, Puck. I've been in love with you for a while but I was always too foolish or in denial to do anything about it, let alone say it back when you told me you loved me at the hospital. But instead of pushing too hard and going about things in a manipulative way like I used to in the past, I'm going to try something new," she choked out, not even bothering wiping away the tears that flooded her vision, "After seeing our little girl again and putting everyone through hell as part of a silly plan to try and get her back, I've come to realize that when you truly love someone and want what's best for them, sometimes you have to set them free if it means that they'll be happy."

"I love you and I truly want you to be happy, even if it's not with me. I don't want my drama and personal hang-ups to keep you away from Beth and Shelby, and as much as it kills me to say this, if you're happy with Shelby and you can be a major part of Beth's life, I'll be happy for you. It may take me a while to get used to, but then again, this isn't about me. I know that now. It's about what's best for Beth, and honestly, coming from experience, every girl needs their daddy to hold them and tell them everything is going to be alright. You're Beth's father and after what I've put you through, you deserve to be happy with them."

She hiccupped, trying to breathe through the ache radiating throughout her entire body, "And that's why I hate that damn song. A song about two lovers on the outs of a relationship agreeing to move past the pain and hurt and give it one more shot. It hits too close to home and seems like too much of a pipe dream to come true, and that's why I didn't want to sing it. I wanted you to be happy and be able to move on without dredging up old feelings and trying to guilt-trip you or manipulate you into giving me one more shot when I know you deserve better than sitting here listening to your head-case of an ex pouring her heart out over missed chances and past regrets. I want you to do what's best for you, what's best for Beth and what will make you happy."

Puck was slightly taken-aback by the bare honesty coming out of Quinn's mouth. He wasn't sure if she had ever opened up like that…ever. A small part of him wondered if this declaration was ruse designed to make him feel even guiltier than he already did for messing around with Shelby. Another part of him wondered if she was simply trying to save face by falling on her sword and apologizing while trying to make excuses for her behavior. Not that he could say his was any better; that much was for sure.

But as soon as she looked back up into his gaze, all of the vulnerability and sincerity swirling around in her eyes made it very apparent that her words were genuine and sincere. She had seemed so lost after giving Beth up for adoption and she was even more desperate and confused once Beth came back into the picture. But after seeing her at Shelby's house that night and watching her agony first hand, he knew how much she hurt and he instantly felt like he would do anything and everything he could to make her happy again. Here she was trying to take the blame for everything when he knew he caused at least half of that pain and that simply wasn't right. Not when he had been so wrong before.

"Quinn, please stop apologizing. You were going through a rough time and I didn't make it any better with how shitty I reacted to everything. I should be saying sorry for hurting you too. I never intended to hurt you and I wasn't thinking when I told Shelby everything and things got out of hand between the two of us and that is all on me. Not you. I think we both made a lot of mistakes and I think Shelby made mistakes, and really, the only innocent person in this whole shit-show drama is Beth. So stop blaming yourself for mistakes all of us made," he replied, his voice soft as he tried to reason with her.

"And honestly Q, I like Shelby, don't get me wrong. She's hot and all, but the only reason I like her is because she has Beth," he replied in response to Quinn's final statement about being with Shelby.

Immediately, he knew he messed up once again as he watched Quinn's face crumple even further, tears streaming down her face at the insinuation as she looked away quickly. "Fuck, ok, that came out completely wrong. What I mean is, I like her and she is a good mom to Beth, but I'm pretty sure I really only thought I liked her, liked her because she had Beth. Please don't take this the wrong way, but as soon as I saw Beth again, I knew I wanted to be a part of her life and I would do anything to see her again. I guess I was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing and I was getting all these weird feelings seeing her again, that I thought – I don't know…"

He cleared his throat before continuing, feeling as though it would just be better to get this all out now in case he never got another chance to make amends and tell her how he felt, "I fucked up too. I saw Beth again and she was finally back in my life, and you and I were not really talking at all and for some stupid reason, because we had broken up and never talked about her after she was adopted, I don't know, I thought you maybe didn't care about her any more. I know now that's not the case, but I was confused and hurt and wasn't sure what to think. But then she was back and I wanted to see our little girl, and one thing led to another rather quickly with Shelby… and afterwards, it felt like nothing. I thought it should feel like something, but it didn't. Once again, I let my little head do the thinking instead of my big head, and once again that got me in trouble. After all was said and done though, I knew it wasn't real. It felt pretty wrong actually."

"I was so blinded by Beth and having her around that I never stopped to think about the consequences of telling Shelby about everything, but I honestly didn't think she would just cut you out of Beth's life. I never would have said anything if I knew that's what she would have done," he explained, his eyes seeking hers as she continued to look away, "But I knew I fucked up big time when I watched you say goodbye to Beth that night. Seeing you like that, knowing how hurt you were and how I had contributed to your pain by being a douchebag about everything, I knew you still cared and I knew I fucked up. You just hid everything you were feeling, but as soon as your walls started to crack and I saw how different you were at the beginning of this year and how much you changed over such a short period of time, I knew it was all a façade. And I didn't do anything to help you out, and for that I am truly sorry."

Quinn's body continued to tremble as she sat there crying silently, still refusing to look Puck in the eye. Puck leaned closer to her and ran his fingers through her hair, slowly trailing it down her arm until his hand met hers. He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers, kissing the back before holding her hand in his lap.

"Q, please look at me," he asked, before a set of watery hazel eyes met his, "You were honest with me, so I'll try something new and be completely honest with you. There is nothing between me and Shelby. What we had was brief and stupid and shouldn't have happened, but there are no feelings there at all. And if I'm being really honest, I love you Quinn. I have since sophomore year, even before I admitted it to you at the hospital."

Puck felt a huge weight lift off of his shoulders at the admission. He had waited so long to tell her that, but he kept letting his foolish pride and stupid sex-shark mentality (or delusion) guide his decisions and he was miserable as a result.

Quinn, on the other hand, felt like she'd been hit by a freight train at the admission. She had been fully prepared for him to accept her apology (hopefully) and maybe even admit he did care for Shelby and he appreciated her support…well, maybe she wasn't quite ready to hear that just yet, but she would have pretended it wasn't as devastating as it would have been…

But hearing that he loved her was a definite shock. One she wasn't quite expecting.

Puck smiled softly at her startled expression, taking advantage of the moment and caressing her cheek, wiping away a few stray tears.

"I know you said you didn't like the song we were assigned because you said it sounded too much like a dream to be believable. But I think you're wrong," he replied, pausing to shift closer to her, "I like the song because, to me, it's all about second chances. It's about hope and finding a way around the rough patches and surviving the pain. It's about forgiveness and love finding a way despite the hardships and mistakes."

She sighed and relaxed slightly, her head nuzzling further into his hand as he continued to speak, "I mean look at us, Q. Look at our lives. How different do you think our lives would have been if it hadn't been for our mistakes, and no, I am not calling Beth a mistake. She was not a mistake. Maybe not planned or expected, but not a mistake. But everything else that happened as a result of the drama and our other mistakes? We wouldn't be here today without enduring all of that. If you think about it, our situation brought people together. If it weren't for our mistakes, like lying to Finn about him being the father or even getting pregnant and your dad being a dick as a result and kicking you out, do you think you would have gotten to be as close with Mercedes and Tina as you are now? Do you think that our two friends Finn and Rachel, who are very happy with one another, would be together now if it weren't for the lies, deceit and betrayal we both committed that year? I don't think so," he smiled, resting his forehead against hers again.

"And you wouldn't have given birth to the most amazing and beautiful baby girl either of us has ever seen if it weren't for our past decisions. She wouldn't be a part of this world had it not been for us being dumb and making a mistake of doing the dirty without protection. And I think that, despite the hurt and pain of the past, we can both agree that she's probably one of the best things that has ever happened in our lives. Without her, our whole world would be totally different, but I wouldn't change anything for the world. We are who we are today because of everything that's happened," he leaned in closer, his lips ghosting over hers as his voice lowered to almost a whisper, "We've been through a lot, but we could give it one more try and fight for what we both know is still between us. I feel it every time I'm near you and I know you had to have felt it in the choir room too. So, what do you say? Give it another try?"

She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head against his forehead, not sure if she was ready to jump back into the deep end with him again. She knew in her heart that she loved him and he was being earnest about giving them another shot, but she's not sure she can take the heartbreak again if it goes south.

Quinn felt his hand against her cheek again, his thumb tracing a soft line down her jaw and she couldn't help but look back up into those warm chocolate eyes, so kind and loving as they gazed back at her.

"I don't know, Puck," she murmured as she worried her bottom lip in between her teeth, "I'm scared. What if we don't work out again? I don't know if I could take that again?"

"Q, I'm scared too, you know, in like a manly way," he replied, smiling when he saw her lips turn up into a half-smile, "But if we think it won't work, it won't. It just feels right between you and me and I refuse to give up without a fight this time. We just let us fall apart last time, but this time, things will be different. I just know they'll be different. Come on, Quinn."

She hesitated a moment but Puck was hell-bent on proving to her that there was definitely something still there. Something worth fighting for.

Slowly, he closed the gap between them, cradling her jaw in his hand as he gently pressed his lips to hers, sealing his promise with a kiss.

Quinn felt her head start spinning at the contact, her chest warming at the easy, familiar slide of his lips against hers. She melted into his embrace, his warmth and support a much lacking feature from her life these past few years.

Puck smiled as he felt her lean in closer to him, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Kissing Quinn was like coming home in a sense, it made him feel like he was safe and finally at peace for the first time in a long time.

Despite all of their drama and problems of the past, there was something comfortable about being with each other. They understood one another, respected one another, and deep down, they would always love one another.

Quinn pulled back slightly and ran her fingertips down the back of Puck's mohawk.

"I missed you."

Puck leaned back in and smiled against her lips.

"I missed you too."

TBC…

One chapter left…wonder how this little foray ends?

Also, I want to dedicate this chapter to my little Valentines: Ella-bear, Jameson, and my little smiley Riley :) Love you all.