Summary: AU starting from Mash-up. "Because she loved him. She knew she loved him. But she saw him staring at her. She saw it."
Pairings: Rachel/Puck
AN: So Quinn's pregnancy should mark the time change. I hope ya'll like this, and I don't remember when Nationals is supposed to take place so… ^_^ sorry if my timing is inaccurate.
Quinn was seven months pregnant. Quinn was seven months pregnant and Finn and Puck were doing everything to make sure no one could get close enough to kill her. It wasn't that she was annoying anybody, no not at all. It was more that… she was close to driving everyone over the brink of insanity.
They had taken second in Nationals (second to Vocal Adrenaline, of course… damnit) which had her bawling because she "never came in second. Never!"
Glee was still on even though Nationals was finished, just because they all had fun during their Glee club meetings. When Quinn found out she had to sing some cheesy Disney song, she took a music stand and threw it at Mr. Schuester, who quickly ducked behind the piano.
She chucked a textbook at Finn's head and loudly sobbed in the school hallway that he didn't want to have sex with her because he thought she was spoiled goods and because she was as large as an elephant. He immediately tried to make her realize that her beliefs weren't true, but when he tried to make a move she accused him of taking advantage of her vulnerable state.
Brittney was nursing a bruise on Santana's cheek because Quinn damn near knocked her out when Santana jokingly told her that she had kankles.
Lastly, Kurt was much too terrified to approach her after he tore his new Marc Jacobs jacket sleeve right off.
They all, even Mr. Schue, were ready to accept any means necessary to get her away from them until she wasn't so damn hormonal.
"It's just a simple suggestion, Quinn. I think you'd really enjoy using this week we have off at my grandmamma's!"
"Rachel, you know I'm not supposed to travel in my condition," Quinn told her with a roll of her eyes as they walked together to Spanish class.
"We'll be driving the whole way, an hour to two hours! I think you'll really benefit from relaxing in her little farm. The beautiful pond, the puppies, everything there is just an oasis of peacefulness!"
She bit her lip, obviously attracted to the idea. "I'll have to talk to Finn-"
"It's a yes," Finn jumped in quickly from behind them. The two turned to look at him in amusement. "Yes, Quinn, please. For the love of God, go."
"I'm not that bad, am I?" she asked with a frown.
"Trust me." Puck closed his locker door and took Rachel under his arm. They smiled at him, waiting for him to continue. "If you weren't my baby mama, I'd so be strangling you myself."
Finn scowled and pushed even further away from Quinn. "What if I was the baby daddy?"
"I'd kill the both of you!"
"Well, you'd at least have to let her have the baby before you kill her. Drizzle is totally innocent."
"Drizzle is the reason why she's off her damn rocks!"
"Technically, you're the reason why Quinn's going crazy. Thanks, by the way."
"Dude, you totally promised you wouldn't make me feel guilty anymore!"
"I THINK I HAVE A RIGHT TO MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY OCCASIONALLY!"
Rachel shook her head, grabbing Quinn's hand and walking away from the other two. "Their friendship is so odd because of this whole situation."
~*~
When Quinn stepped out of the car, she knew she made the right decision. Two golden retriever puppies were running around in the yard while a leaf slowly descended into the pond below it. There was a visible trail between the trees that had Quinn curious as to where it led to. If that wasn't enough, the house was simple, but gorgeous. "Rach, this is so much cooler than I thought it would be!" she said in awe.
The girl smiled at her but before she could respond, the sound of a door creaking open caught their attention. "There's my precious Ray of sunshine!"
"Grandmamma!" Rachel squealed happily. The older woman made her way over to them and embraced Rachel tightly. When she pulled away to look at Quinn, the blonde gulped nervously. Her protruding stomach was never a great first impression.
"Hello, mam. Thank you for letting me come to your farm."
The woman grinned at her. "And you must be Quinn! Rachel wasn't lying when she said how lovely you were!" Quinn blushed and smiled shyly. "How far along are you now, darling?"
"Oh, about seven, I believe."
"Dear heavens! Let's get you inside before you fall over! Do you know what the baby is yet?"
"She's a girl, mam."
"Oh enough of that 'mam' business! It's Winifred, Fred to you."
"Fred?" Quinn asked with a laugh. "I love it."
"I'm glad you do, darling. Winnie just reminds me too much of that yellow bear that Rachel loves so much."
"Honestly, grandmamma," Rachel giggled. "Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh bear."
Winifred smirked. "Well whatever the name of the bear is, I just hope you aren't planning on naming that baby some odd name either."
Quinn groaned as she gripped her bag. "My boyfriend wants to name her Drizzle."
"Drizzle?!"
She couldn't help but get a silly grin on her face. "Yea, well he loves when it's drizzling because it smells like rain but you don't need an umbrella."
Fred made a face and frowned. "No offense, sweetie, but I hope your baby doesn't get her father's genes when it comes to brains."
Rachel looked at Quinn as they walked into the house. Quinn shrugged helplessly before turning to the woman before her. "About that… I don't really think that will be a problem."
"Why's that?"
~*~
It took 5.5 seconds for Winifred to fully comprehend and accept Quinn, past actions and all. That included everything that the blonde told her, which ranged from bullying kids (including Rachel) to getting drunk and sleeping with her boyfriend's best friend.
It took one minute for Winifred to realize that Finn's best friend, Puck, was also Rachel's boyfriend.
One week was all it took for Quinn to start calling Fred "grandmamma."
One week was how long Winifred waited until they all were ready to go down to Lima so that she could meet these two punks that were dating her Ray of Sunshine and her Quinn Blossom.
To say that Gregory was shocked to see his mother standing at the door with her bags in her hands was an understatement. "Mother!" He said, forcing a smile on his face. "What a pleasant-"
"Enough, Gregory," she said flatly. "What is this about my Rachel dating a boy who impregnated my Quinn?"
He blanched. "To be fair, I didn't know until just recently."
Fred rolled her eyes and opened he arms to welcome him into a hug. "Call the Puckerman's and the Hudson's. Invite the two boys and Quinn here for dinner tomorrow. I have a lot of assessment to do."
Rachel followed the old woman silently up the stairs.
Greg sighed as he took his cellphone out and dialed the number he actually knew. He'd just have to get Finn's number from Rachel later on. "Sarah? Is Noah there? May I speak to him? Thank you, Sarah…. Noah?"
"Hello, sir," He heard.
"Son… you're in a deep load of shit."
Rachel glared as she opened the door and took Noah's hand, yanking him inside. "Of all the damn times to be late, you all decide to be late now?!"
"Don't blame me!" he said angrily. "Quinn and I had to convince her fruitcake boyfriend that he didn't need to wear a freaking tux!"
"It seemed like an important occasion!" Finn argued as he closed the door.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "Everyone just needs to relax. Grandmamma is a very accepting person."
"Not when it comes to the person I'm dating!" Rachel hissed. "Now come on! You've already gotten points off by your incapability of arriving on time!"
"IT'S FINN'S FAULT!"
"Ahem."
Noah and Finn immediately stood straight when they saw the grey-haired woman staring at them with an eyebrow raised. She circled them, trying to find any fault in their clothing. She had overheard the conversation and although he didn't come in a tuxedo, he still came in a pinstriped suit. She rolled her eyes and moved on to Noah. This boy, on the other hand, was only wearing dress pants with a tucked in long-sleeved shirt, and a skinny tie. She nodded in approval before staring at his mohawk. "Dear God," she laughed. "Was your barber blind?"
"Grandmamma," Rachel said, blushing.
"I'm only joking, dear. Now, which one of you is Finn?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"I am, your honor! I mean mam! I mean your majesty?"
"Finn," Quinn groaned in horror.
"I find it amusing that you thought I was so important that you needed to wear a tuxedo to this dinner," Winifred cut in.
Finn grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. Quinn just told me I had to look my best so I rented a tux and then she yelled at me for wasting my money but-"
"I get it," Fred said with a laugh. "So Rachel? Why did you give up on this one? He seems just fine to me." She noticed Puck scowl behind Finn. She grinned and nudged Finn backwards before beckoning the other over. "So you're Puck," she stated.
He nodded, trying not to show that he was intimidated. Finn snorted in laughter when he saw the boy's hands shaking behind his back.
"You got my Quinn Blossom drunk, impregnated her, didn't tell anyone, and then dated my Rachel."
He let out a shaky breath, glancing at Rachel who gave him an encouraging nod. "Er…yea?"
"Why should I trust you with my granddaughter after your track record and ridiculous haircut?"
"Because… Finn loves dogs so much that he has-"
"Noah!" Rachel snapped. "You promised you wouldn't use that stupid lie tonight!"
"I'm sorry! I cracked under pressure!"
Quinn snickered as Rachel hit his arm in annoyance.
Fred shook her head with a laugh. "Now Rachel, you know that violence isn't the answer, no matter how stupid your man can be. Go on now, you two. I still have a few matters to discuss with your charming young men." They moved to walk out of the room but she held her hand up and they stopped. "Actually, you can take this one with you," she said, pointing at Puck. "I'll save you for last."
Once they were alone, Finn held his head high, trying to look confident but failing. "I just want you to know mam that I really love Quinn and I'm not dating her for some kind of revenge thing or anything. We've worked it out and I'm willing to be there for her. I mean I wasn't the easiest boyfriend to her either, so no wonder why she got drunk and stuff. Like who falls in love with another girl when he already has a girlfriend, especially one like Quinn. So-"
"Son, you need to relax."
His mouth closed shut.
"To be honest, Finn, I don't really understand why you trust her so much. If I were in your shoes, I would have never taken her back."
His eyes widened and he stared at the woman in shock. "I… I thought you liked Quinn."
"Oh please. Where do you think Rachel got her acting skills from? There is no way I could ever take in such a… a cheap harlot-"
"Hey listen, lady!"
"It is very rude to-"
"Hey I said listen!" Winifred stopped and glared at the teen before her. "I don't care what she's done, but you can't go around calling her a haret or whatever you just said! I know it's stupid to trust her again, but I do so just leave her alone! You better go in there and tell her the truth because I won't have some, some… mean… wrinkly bitch talking shit about my girlfriend!"
He stood there, waiting for her to respond but was surprised to see the old woman start laughing. She moved forward and hugged him tightly. "Let's hope that your friend Noah that test in the same way that you just did, Finn."
~*~
"Why are you so built? I always thought that my Rachel preferred the tall, lean boys."
"Are you going to do anything about that ridiculous haircut?"
"Gregory, I've noticed that this… parenting has given a lot of freedom to Rachel."
"I suppose we're going to let every hoodlum into this house now."
"Rachel, whatever happened to that nice young man from the country club?"
"A pool boy? Did you say you were a pool boy?"
"Oh but Rachel, darling, that Joshua boy had much more promise. He's on his way to med school you know!"
"And you wonder why I only visit during holidays."
Gregory and Noah were about to lose their minds. Finn was sitting in his chair laughing while Quinn was sending smirks towards the mohawked boy. Rachel looked miserable in her seat between Noah and her grandmother while David sat at the other end of the table, a positive smile on his face. Someone had to keep everything cheerful, after all. After swallowing another sip of wine and a brief awkward silence, Winifred was at it again.
"Now I know I've been quite open-minded about your relationship with David, but I never thought you'd allow Rachel to date such a… ahem."
"I can't believe you went from a future doctor to a pool boy."
"Gregory, your father is turning in his grave right now."
"Now are you part of the Sharks or the Jets? Your tan makes you look like a young Latino."
"Rachel, darling, I was thinking about going to visit Joshua's parents. I think it would be quite beneficial if you came with me?"
"HOLY SHIT, LADY I'm sitting right here! Man, I thought she liked me!" Noah finally shouted in annoyance.
"Noah!"
"No, Rachel," Winifred said with a glare. "Let Bernardo speak."
"Oh My God, first of all, I'm not Puerto Rican. Second, addressing a previous question, I'm full Jewish, which means I won't be ' filling Rachel's head with Christian ideas' not that it actually matters! Yea, I'm a pool boy, what of it? Doctor Joshua Fucktard can suck my big fat-"
Rachel smacked a hand over his mouth, aghast. "Cut it out!"
He pushed her hand away with a glare. "No! No, this is ridiculous! I come here to meet your grandma and instead of actually trying to get to know me she's just been trying to make me feel like shit! What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?!"
The woman stood, glaring at him. "I'd watch that tone if I were you. Who Rachel associates with all comes down to me. You should learn some manners, young man."
"Learn manners?! You've been ragging on me since the moment I walked in here! Okay, so I'm not Finn Hudson or Joshua Fucktard! I don't give a shit! I'm never gonna be good enough for Rachel but you can bet that I sure as hell love her! Isn't that enough for you?!"
Rachel pushed her seat back and stared at him.
"You love me?!"
He nodded firmly and after the initial shock wore off, she jumped into his arms.
"He loves me! He loves me! Well, who wouldn't love me, but he loves me! I mean I love you too!"
"Yea but the head of the family loves Doogie Howser," he whispered to her.
"Don't be silly, Noah," she laughed. "There's no such person as Joshua or his family."
"What?"
Winifred cleared her throat and smiled at him. "Please sit down again, Noah, oh and you can call me Fred. I believe I have a few things to explain."
"… alright what the fuck is going on here?"
"Noah, stop using such fowl language in front of my grandmother!"