My attempt to explain Puck's decision to go to California, while keeping it in line with canon and with the previous chapters of this fic. Not easy, lemme tell you. Enjoy!

Melanie, there's a nod to my favorite of your fics in this chapter. See if you can figure it out! ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of its characters or plotlines.

FAVORS BETWEEN FRIENDS

"Big Brother": FINE

Ironic, really, that he was the happiest he'd been in months after Quinn's accident. When he got that call from Mrs. Fabray that Quinn was in the hospital, possibly dying, everything that had ever seemed important was suddenly insignificant.

He drove to the hospital, fists clenching the wheel as he tried not to cry. Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury were following behind him in their car and Mercedes was in the passenger seat next to him, staring out the window. He knew that if either of them tried to talk, they'd lose it.

The others had stayed back at the courthouse, and he was supposed to call when he had news. The last thing he remembered seeing was Rachel collapsed against Finn, sobbing, but strangely enough, he didn't even really care. All that mattered was getting to Quinn.

"Pray with me?" he choked out to Mercedes, and she started at the sudden noise.

She nodded, and as she began a prayer, Puck tried to concentrate all of his energy on her words and not on what awaited them at the hospital.

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He couldn't help but flash back to the last time he'd been in a hospital room with Quinn. But that time, she was bright pink and vital and screaming. Now, she lay still, machines beeping steadily around her. She was pale, so pale, and bruised, with gashes all up and down her arms.

Mr. and Mrs. Fabray stood at her feet with Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury, whispering tensely. Mercedes gripped Puck's hand, sucking in a shuddery breath as she saw Quinn's chest rise and fall, the first and only indication, besides the machines, that she was alive.

Puck felt his eyes brimming with tears, and he decided not to fight it anymore. Mercedes let go of his hand and wrapped him in a hug, so he sank into her embrace, shoulders shaking in rhythm with hers as they stood together and cried.

One of the monitors began emitting a high-pitched, constant whine, and a doctor rushed in. "Everybody out!" he ordered as he and a few nurses swarmed the bed.

Mr. Schue put a hand on Puck's back to guide him from the room, and he and Mercedes stumbled out into the hall, still clinging to each other.

"What's going to happen to her?" he asked no one in particular.

Mrs. Fabray was staring numbly at the floor, Mr. Fabray and Ms. Pillsbury flanking her. Mr. Schue put his arms around Mercedes and Puck.

"She'll be okay," he told them, sounding much more confident than Puck knew he must feel. "She'll be okay."

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The next few weeks were tough. Quinn was conscious, but she had no feeling in her legs and was still pretty bruised and banged up. He brought her a tub of Chunky Monkey every single day, smuggling it in a bouquet of flowers or a teddy bear or some other small gift.

"I'm going home today," Quinn told him one Friday morning when he stopped by to see her before school.

"Thank God," Puck said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and handing her the ice cream, which she accepted with a wide smile.

"The doctors are impressed with how well I handle the chair. Must have been all that practice during 'Proud Mary.' They said if I feel up to it, I can go to school on Monday."

"All right!" Puck nodded in approval. "You'll kick ass. Artie's already busy drawing you maps to all the wheelchair-accessible entrances."

Quinn laughed. "That's sweet. I talked to him last night. He wants to come over this weekend and work on a duet we can do in our chairs."

"Nice."

"How are you?" Quinn asked tentatively.

"Fine. Why?"

Quinn shrugged. "I know you've had a rough year. And what happened with me … you've been so good to me these past few weeks."

"Hey, don't worry about it."

"I'm not. I just … I know I haven't made things easy on you. And I want to thank you, honestly, for visiting me. It meant a lot."

Puck rolled his shoulders, uncomfortable with the emotional turn the conversation had taken. "No big. You know I'll be there if you need me."

"I love you, Puck."

"Come on, Quinn—"

"No, no, not like that. But trust me, almost losing everything makes you appreciate what you have, and I do. Love you, I mean. We've been through a lot together, and we're always going to be bonded in some way. I know now that I haven't treated you the way you deserve, and I promise to be nicer to you from now on."

Puck's mouth dropped open. He hadn't been expecting that. He cared about Quinn and would always have a place in his heart for her, so to know that she really did appreciate him felt good. He'd been facing so much rejection lately—from Shelby, from Rachel, from colleges—that it felt nice to be validated for once.

"I love you, too," he said as he took her hand, and they shared a smile. "Hey. I've decided something, and I want to see what you think."

"Shoot."

"Since I obviously have no chance of getting into college, and the idea of going to New York is less appealing now that Finnchel will be there," he made a face, and Quinn rolled her eyes in agreement, "I thought about California. I googled it, and there are like eight hundred thousand pools out there, just waiting to be cleaned by yours truly. The cougars there are all super hot, and maybe I could even break into the Hollywood scene. You never know. There are a ton of possibilities."

Quinn nodded. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. I approve."

"I'm glad." He let go of her hand as he heard the alarm on his phone go off. "Time for school," groaned.

"Don't tell anyone I'm coming back Monday. I want it to be a surprise."

"I won't. Good luck working on that duet with Artie."

"Thanks. It should be fun," she said sincerely.

He marveled, not for the first time, at how calmly she was taking her crippled status. Because his chest tightened every time he saw her in that chair. But he had to have faith that she would get better. After all, some things in his crap life had to go right. They just had to.

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At school, he ran into Mercedes and Rachel by the water fountain. Ever since they'd had that harrowing experience together at the hospital, he and Mercedes were closer than ever. But he and Rachel were far apart. He felt a pang as she barely nodded hello. They hadn't spoken since before the almost-wedding, and while he knew that was the best possible way to get over her, it sucked that their friendship had to vanish, too. He definitely hadn't wanted that. But it was like Rachel didn't know how to act around him anymore.

"How is she?" Mercedes asked, after greeting him more enthusiastically than Rachel had. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rachel flinch at the mention of Quinn, but he chose to ignore it. Like it or not, Rachel's feelings were no longer his problem.

"Really, really good, actually," he answered, and Mercedes sighed with relief.

"You talked to her?" Rachel asked timidly.

Puck eyed Mercedes, who shrugged. "I thought you knew. I've been visiting her every day. I'm the one who tells Mr. Schue the news that he passes on at glee club."

"Oh." Rachel became very interested in her shoes, scuffing them against the linoleum.

"She didn't want visitors, but I bribed her with Chunky Monkey," he explained, because Rachel looked like she was about to cry and he had to say something, new detachment policy be damned.

Rachel smiled slightly, but didn't look up.

"Well, I'd better get to class," Mercedes spoke up, looking back and forth between the two of them, exasperation evident on her face. "Walk me, Puck?"

"Sure. Uh, bye, Rach."

She looked up but didn't meet his eyes. "Bye."

As soon as they were out of her earshot, Mercedes crowed, "Damn, what is going on with you two?"

"I know, I know. We were doing so good as friends for awhile, but the marriage thing kind of killed it."

Mercedes quirked an eyebrow at him. "Uh-huh. Well, you know that isn't gonna happen now. So move in already."

Puck sighed. "I can't. I won't do that to Finn. And she's not interested."

Mercedes said "uh-huh" again. But this time it sounded awfully condescending.

"Besides, I need a fresh start. I decided I'm going to California after graduation." It was true: He really did need a fresh start. And it was Quinn's accident that made him realize it. He'd been holding on to his misery over losing Beth, his frustration over Rachel's choice, and the general waywardness of his life, and after he discovered that fact about California's pools, he knew he had to jump on it. After all, it was one job he knew he was good at, he got laid a lot doing it, and he didn't know a single person in California. He needed this to move on with his life. Quinn got a second chance when she woke up from that accident. Cali was his second chance, and he didn't intend on wasting it.

"That's perfect." Mercedes sounded happy for him, so he thanked her. "And you'll be three thousand miles away from both Rachel and Finn. What better way to forget about them and start over?"

He agreed, and they parted ways.

But something about what she said nagged at him all day. Did he really want to forget some of the most important people in his life? And the way things were going, Rachel and Finn wouldn't even be staying together after graduation. What if he could bring Finn with him to California? It'd be like the old days, when they were in seventh grade pretending to be secret agents and sneaking into the girls' locker room. Their friendship would be stronger than ever, with no girls to get in between them. And then Rachel would be free to live out her dreams on Broadway, without the baggage of Finn or her Lima connections weighing her down.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

Now, he just had to figure out a way to convince Finn.