Hello everyone! If you read A Forever Kind of Love then you already know about this but if not, then this is a new announcement. Once one of the three stories I am currently working on is finished, I will be working on another one and I already have two ideas for what I want them to be. At the end of the chapter, I'll give the plots and you can decide which one you would like me to do first. Anyway, here is the next part of Too Little, Too Late. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Puck stared at the door, not understanding what had just happened. He and Rachel were having such a great night together and it looked like they were actually going to try the dating thing. Then it was ruined within five minutes of them walking through the door. And all he could think of was how his mother was to blame.

He turned to glare at her. "How could you do that?"

"Noah, she deserved to hear it. That girl kept your child, my grandchild, away from us. She made you miss all the major milestones of parenthood."

"And I've forgiven her for it!" Realizing how upset he was getting, Puck tried to calm himself down and continue. "She's already apologized for everything and I'm not exactly innocent in the whole situation either. I left her right after we had sex, practically smashing her heart into a million pieces so I can understand her mindset when she decided to do what she did. And besides, none of this is even any of your business. This is between me and Rachel and you had no right to speak to her like that."

Maria shook her head. "She's obviously brainwashed you. What happens if she decides to take that little girl and just leave again? You have no say in it because she has custody."

"Rachel wouldn't do that again. We were going to make things work between us so we could be a family with Hailey but you ruined everything. Now she might not even want anything to do with me. So I would appreciate it if you stayed out of things that didn't involve you." When he turned around to grab his keys, he faced Sam and Finn. "So which one of you did it?"

Sam sheepishly raised his hand. "I'm really sorry dude, I thought she already knew. When she started hyperventilating I realized she didn't but it was too late."

Puck rolled his eyes and started to walk out but his mother stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"To try and convince Rachel to still give us another chance. Hopefully you haven't ruined that for me." And with that, he walked out of the apartment slamming the door behind him.

XXXXXXXXXX

After what seemed like forever, Rachel finally reached her apartment. She couldn't get Maria's words out of her head. Would Puck actually consider filing for full custody of Hailey? She knows he said he forgave her but that doesn't mean he couldn't still be harboring ill feelings about it.

When she laid Hailey down in her bed, Hailey looked up at her. "You never told me about how the date went."

Rachel gave a small smile. "It was lovely."

"Are you guys going to fall in love?" Hailey asked, hopeful.

Not wanting to ruin her daughter's hopes, Rachel simply nodded. "Maybe. Now go to sleep. Sweet dreams angel."

"Good night Mommy," she smiled before turning over to sleep. Rachel turned off her light and left out of her room to sit in the living room. After tonight, she doubted that there was any chance of her and Puck falling love.

While she sat there thinking, there was a knock at the door. Confused as to who would be at the door so late, she got up to open the door and found Puck standing on the other side.

"Noah what are you doing here?" she asked, shocked as he made his way inside.

"Look, I didn't know my mom was coming and I'm really sorry for everything she said. She had no right and I told her that. Well, I kind of yelled at her but that's beside the point."

Rachel frowned. "I don't want you and your mother to end up fighting because of me. She was right, I should be ashamed for keeping Hailey from you. And I wouldn't blame you if you still hated me for it."

"Rach, stop. I already forgave you for everything and you've forgiven me for my part in everything. We're not teenagers anymore, we're not going to let people like my mother dictate how we should feel. I meant what I said earlier about wanting to see where this takes us. I want us to try and be a family with Hailey, no matter what everyone says. That is, if you still want that."

She smiled and nodded. "I definitely still want that."

Puck smiled back at her before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Rachel immediately responded, feeling all of her nerves about the situation wash away. He was right. Nothing else mattered but their family and they were going to make this work.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next few weeks went by quickly as the new family spent as much time together as possible. After that night where everything blew up, a dismayed and disapproving Maria decided to go back to Lima and let Puck make what she considered a mistake in engaging in a relationship with Rachel. Even though Rachel was disappointed at Maria's reaction, she couldn't help but feel relieved when she found out that Maria was leaving.

Puck was enjoying his new life as a family man. The best part of his day was when he got to visit Rachel and Hailey at their apartment. But he couldn't help but miss his old carefree life a little. A few months ago, he was a bachelor with no responsibilities but now he had a girlfriend and a daughter who needed his attention and it was starting to get to him.

As he and Rachel drove to get Hailey from school, he tried to listen to what Rachel was telling him but he kept zoning out. When he heard her yell his name, he snapped out of it and looked at her. "Yeah?"

Rachel frowned. "Were you listening to a single word I was saying?"

"I'm sorry babe, I zoned out. I'm listening now, what were you saying?"

She rolled her eyes. "I was telling you that Hailey has her first dance recital tomorrow night so I was wondering if you were going to be able to come."

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Great," she smiled as she checked her emails on her phone. But when she noticed the distracted look on Puck's face, she stopped. "What's going on with you? You've been acting weird all day."

He sighed. "Sorry Rach, I just don't feel like myself anymore. It's starting to sink in that my life has changed now that I have you and Hailey and I'm not saying that it hasn't changed for the better but it just feels strange."

She nodded. "I understand. I mean, at least I had nine months to get used to the idea of my whole life changing but you've only had a few months and now it's like you're a fulltime dad so I get it. Maybe you need a night to yourself to have some fun."

Puck looked at her in shock. "Seriously?"

"Yes. You've been spending practically every day at our apartment with Hailey and me so I think you deserve a break."

"This isn't like one of those tests girlfriends use on their boyfriends is it?" he asked skeptically.

Rachel giggled. "No, Noah. I'm serious, I want you to go out with your friends and have some fun for a night. But not too much."

"Great. Since tomorrow's my only day off, how about I do it then?"

She stared at him. "It's been, what, two minutes and you already forgot what we were supposed to be doing tomorrow night?"

"Oh right, the recital. Well what time does it start?"

"Eight."

"Okay well how about I go and hang out with my friends before and then from there I'll get to the recital."

"Then that wouldn't be you having a night out, just an evening."

Puck smirked. "Trust me, an evening is all I need to get back on track. What do you say?"

Rachel thought about it then looked at him. "Okay. But you better be at that recital. All Hailey can talk about is how she can't wait for you to see her dance."

"Well I'll be there, I promise. Nothing will keep me from seeing my little girl be the best damn dancer there ever was."

She laughed and nodded as they pulled up at Hailey's school. While Rachel went in to get Hailey, Puck couldn't help but feel excitement over finally having some time to himself with his friends. He couldn't even remember the last time he had went out with Finn and Sam so to have this opportunity was going to be just what he needed to get back on track with his life.

XXXXXXXXXX

As he walked into the bar with Finn and Sam the next day, Puck couldn't help but feel like he was back to his roots. The gritty bar life was where he belonged and everyone knew it. But that didn't stop Finn and Sam from remembering Puck had responsibilities.

"You know you can't get super wasted like you used to when we would go out, right?" Finn asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah because if you show up to Hailey's recital smashed, it would not be a pretty picture."

Puck waved them off. "Don't worry about me. I know how to do this." And with that, he walked away to go have his first shot of the evening. He didn't need Finn and Sam to tell him about his responsibilities. Especially when this time was supposed to be about forgetting them.

Although Finn and Sam had their hesitations, they decided to trust that Puck knew what he was doing. He was a dad now so he should know right from wrong. Right?

XXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, Rachel stood backstage watching Hailey stretch and talk to her friends. But she couldn't help but wonder where Puck was. She had tried to call him on her way to the dance school to see where he was but she didn't get an answer. Then she had tried again after she signed Hailey in but still nothing. When she had tried calling Finn and Sam, it went straight to voicemail which was starting to worry her. Where were they?

While she was thinking, Hailey ran over to her. "Is Noah here yet? I'm really excited for him to see me dance."

Rachel tried to hide her worry and simply shook her head. "No not yet sweetie but he will be. Why don't you go get dressed with your friends and I'll be in the audience waiting to see you light up that stage."

Hailey smiled and nodded as Rachel gave her a hug before leaving her backstage. When she got to her seat, she tried to call Puck on his cell phone again but she only got his answering machine. She sighed and decided to leave a voicemail.

"Hey it's me. Where are you? Hailey's show starts in ten minutes and you're not picking up your phone. I'm worried so please either call me back or just hurry up and get here."

After she hung up, she sighed. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let Puck have a night to himself so soon. If he was pulling stuff like this, then he would need more time to get used to being a father and a boyfriend.

XXXXXXXXXX

Puck swallowed his seventh shot, feeling more relaxed and liberated than he had felt in weeks. Everything was going great except he kept hearing a constant ringing but he assumed it was just because of his buzz.

While he was talking to a sexy female bartender, Finn and Sam ran over to him. Sam held out his phone as he tried to get Puck's attention. "Dude, we got to go. Rachel's called a hundred times but our phones were off. You're missing Hailey's recital."

Puck heard him but what he was saying wasn't really registering to his brain. When he finally realized what Sam said, he quickly stood up and instantly regretted it. Luckily, Finn and Sam quickly grabbed him before he fell over. "I need to go. Rachel's going to kill me."

The guys pulled Puck out of the bar and put him in the backseat of the car so he could lay down. As they got in, Finn looked at Puck and back at Sam. "Think Rachel will kill us for this?"

Sam shook his head. "He told us he could handle himself so we believed him. Plus, I think she's going to be too busy trying to kill him first. We just have to get him to that recital." Finn nodded and drove off to the dance school.

XXXXXXXXXXX

To say Rachel was angry was an understatement. She was downright heated. When she wasn't focused on Hailey dancing and having the time of her life on that stage, she was furious that Puck broke his promise and wasn't here to see their daughter perform. They were doing so well together, how could that change in one day?

Afterward, the children were given a small after party to celebrate that was filled with desserts and treats for them. When Hailey ran out of the dressing room, she went straight into Rachel's arms.

"Angel, you were great," Rachel told her. "And don't tell your friends but I think you were the best one up there."

Hailey giggled. "You're my mommy, you're supposed to say that. Where's Noah? Did he see me?"

Rachel frowned. "Actually baby, something came up and Noah couldn't make it."

The little girl's face fell. "Oh."

Hating seeing the disappointed look on her daughter's face, Rachel tried to cheer her up. "Hey, you can always just show him your dance when we get home."

Hailey gave a small smile and nodded. Before Rachel could say anything else, she saw Finn and Sam come in with Puck. Hailey immediately smiled and ran over to him.

"Hi Noah. You missed my dance but I can just show you later."

"Great kid I can't wait," he slurred. Rachel noticed and felt her anger increase but she held it in as she got Hailey's attention.

"Um Hail, why don't you go get some desserts while I talk to Noah." Hailey nodded and ran away as Rachel stared down all three of the boys. "Someone better start talking now."

Finn sighed. "He told us he could handle himself and since we saw how much he changed because of you and Hailey, we believed him. Next thing you know, we find him like this."

Rachel glared at Puck. "How could you do this to Hailey? Do you realize how much she was looking forward to you seeing her dance?"

Puck shrugged. "She seemed fine with showing me later. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

"Noah I understand that all of this is new to you but keeping your promise is a very important thing to both me and Hailey."

He didn't know if it was the alcohol talking or whether it was his real feelings but Puck was growing irritated with everyone ganging up on him. "Well it's not like I asked for any of this. I was doing perfectly fine before you two came in my life and it seems like ever since you've been here, you've stolen my life and I just want it back." Rachel stared at him with hurt clearly in her eyes and that was when he realized what he said. "Oh God Rachel-"

He was cut off by Hailey's dance teacher rushing over to them. "Ms. Berry, Hailey is coughing really badly and her lips are swelling. Is there something that she is allergic to?"

Rachel's heart stopped. "Nuts," she responded before running over to Hailey. When she looked at the dessert that Hailey was eating, she found nuts inside of it. "Oh my God. Someone call 911!"

As onlookers called for help, the guys ran over to them. Puck, suddenly sobering up, ran to Rachel's side. They were going to have to talk about their fight later. Right now, they had to make sure their little girl was okay.

A lot of drama going on right now. Will Hailey be okay? And what will Rachel say to Puck about what he said to her? Find out in the next chapter. And as stated before, here are the plots for the stories I'm thinking about doing once one of the three that I'm working on is finished. Let me know which one you think I should do first as well as your thoughts on the chapter. Bye for now :)

Beneath Your Beautiful-Puck is a heartbreaker at school who has the girls wrapped around his finger to hide how empty he feels inside. Until he meets his match in the tough new girl, Rachel Berry, whose rough exterior is used to protect the secrets of her past. Can these two break down each other's walls and the player will finally be tamed?

Or

Stay with Me-Rachel and Puck lead completely different lives. Rachel is the obedient daughter who lives in a privileged household with her fathers and two brothers while Puck lives his life being part of a gang. When their paths cross, no one could ever imagine that these two could fall in love right? Dead wrong.