Finally, here's the new chapter. It took me a bit to figure out the ending, because I had to paths I could have done, but I like how it ended up. You've all been waiting for some Puckleberry, and finally, here it is. It's still going to take some time before they officially get together, but this is a step. Enjoy!
Rachel had just left for her date and Puck was still standing in the living room. Caleb was looking up at him curiously, his head cocked slightly to the side. After a few more moments of silence, Caleb leaned over and blew a raspberry in Puck's cheek, making both of them laugh.
"Alright buddy, let's go eat some dinner," Puck said with smile, kissing his son's forehead. After a messy meal of cross-cut "not dogs" and peas, which Caleb didn't eat much of, the two boys played with some toy cars and Puck read Caleb some books. An hour or so later, Caleb was sitting in Puck's lap as they watched Toy Story when Caleb began to cry. Puck looked down curiously, pausing the movie and turning the baby to face him.
"CJ, what's wrong?" Puck asked the little boy who only cried harder. He stood up with the baby in his arms and checked his diaper, finding a huge mess. He quickly went to change his diaper, but even afterwards, Caleb continued to cry terribly. Puck pressed his hand against Caleb's forehead and pulled his hand away worriedly. It was incredibly warm. "That's not good."
Shit, what do I do, Puck thought. Should I give him medicine? He's not showing any other symptoms. Fuck! I don't know what to do! He paused, his arms still rocking Caleb in an attempt to soothe him. Rachel would know what to do.
He swiftly pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the number 3 speed dial. After a few rings, Rachel finally answered.
"Noah?" She sounded worried, making Puck feel guilty.
"Rachel, I'm sorry for ruining your date or whatever, but something's wrong," he rushed out.
"What do you mean?" she asked, panic clear in her voice. Puck felt even worse. He didn't like hearing her sound so worried, but he was scared too.
"I don't know. He's got a really high fever and keeps crying and I don't know what's wrong," he replied. "I don't know what to do."
"Take him to the emergency room," Rachel ordered. "Ask for Dr. Fitzgerald and I'll meet you there."
"Okay, I'll see you there," Puck answered before hanging up. He grabbed Caleb's jacket and eased the little boy into it before grabbing his own along with his keys before going out to his truck. He buckled Caleb into his car seat then rushed around to the driver's seat. He barely buckled before he was pulling out of the driveway and on his way to the hospital.
Puck was pulling up at the hospital in a record-breaking 5 minutes, Caleb practically shrieking from his car seat. He parked and ran around to Caleb's side of the truck, unbuckling him and pulling him into his arms, trying to calm him again as he rushed into the hospital.
He went up to the front desk and immediately demanded the receptionist's attention. "Um, I need to see Dr. Fitzgerald," he stammered.
"Sir, I'm afraid you'll have to wait-"
"Listen, lady," he snapped. "My son has a crazy hot fever and he needs to see his doctor, now. If you don't get him, you'll have to deal with my baby mama who's not as patient. So I recommend you get Dr. Fitz." He plastered a forced smile, making the receptionist's wide eyes widen further.
"A-Alright," the receptionist said. "I'll call him. Please just s-sit over there." She motioned to some nearby seats. Puck nodded and took the one closest to the desk.
Only ten minutes later, Rachel was running in, her hand latched to Nick's, making Puck's heart clench in an incredibly unwanted way. He glared for a moment before softening when Rachel released Nick's grip and came over.
"What's going on? Have you seen Dr. Fitzgerald? Have you been waiting long? How is he?" She reached for Caleb and took him into her arms, soothing his hair back and kissing his forehead. "My god, he's really burning up."
"They already called Dr. Fitz," Puck explained. "He should be here soon." He pulled her into his arms, Caleb still crying softly between them, and kissed her forehead. "Everything's going to be fine." He internally smirked when he heard Rachel sigh happily in his arms. A cough from behind them interrupted their moment. They pulled away and looked over at Nick who smiled awkwardly.
Rachel handed Caleb back to Puck and walked over to Nick, making Puck glare at him. The glare soon turned into a smirk when he heard what Rachel said next. "Nick, thank you for this evening and for driving me here, but I think you should go home. You don't have to stay here all night. I can call you when I get home."
Nick looked a little taken aback, but smiled softly. "You sure?" Rachel nodded. "Alright, well be sure to call when you hear any news and when you get home okay?" She nodded again. He shifted his feet and looked down. "I kind of hoped I could have walked you up to your door and-" He was silenced by Rachel's lips on his. His hands gripped her waist gently, her arms latching around his neck. They separated soon after, a smile on both their lips.
"I'll call you later," she promised, squeezing his hand. He nodded, pecking her lips softly before leaving the hospital. She turned back around to see Puck glaring at her. Her eyes scrunched in confusion. "What's your problem?"
"Do you really think it's a good idea to kiss your new boy toy in front of Caleb? I mean, it's the first date," Puck pointed out. "What if Caleb gets attached and you guys break up."
Rachel squinted angrily. "Like you said, it's only our first date. I don't plan on having Nick spend a lot of time with Caleb until we've been together for quite a while. Besides, last time I check," she walked closer and took Caleb from him, "it was none of your business."
"My son is my business," he retorted. "If he gets hurt by this little relationship of yours, I swear-"
"You swear what?" Rachel snapped back. She shook her head. "Don't you even try to make me feel guilty about having a relationship, Noah. You really think I don't know you've been sleeping with half of Lima? Please," she scoffed. "Clearly some things never change."
Puck was about to reply when Dr. Fitzgerald showed up. "Hello Rachel, Caleb. What seems to be the problem?"
"I'm not quite sure," Rachel answered, looking at her son who was sniffling, having calmed down being in her mother's arms. "Noah was with him. He can explain."
Dr. Fitzgerald looked at Puck questioningly. Puck cleared his throat before speaking. "It sort of came out of nowhere. I fed him dinner, but he didn't eat a lot. We played with toys, read books, then we watching a movie when he started crying. He had gone poop, so I changed him, but he kept crying. Then I felt his forehead and he had a really high fever."
The doctor nodded and went to take Caleb from Rachel. "Well let's go run some tests and find out what's going on." He smiled at the two teens and walked towards another part of the hospital. Rachel and Puck looked at each other before following the doctor.
Puck and Rachel stood to the side as Dr. Fitzgerald and some nurses took some tests. After about an hour, he came over to the two teens and flipped over some pages on his clipboard. "Looks like a mild ear infection," he announced. "We gave him some penicillin, but he should be fine within a few days. You did the right thing by bringing him in." Rachel and Puck smiled softly at each other and then at the doctor. "He should be ready to leave in about ten minutes."
Rachel nodded and Dr. Fitzgerald walked away. She looked over at Puck who had his eyes on the small boy lying on the bed with a nurse with him. "I'm sorry," she murmured. Puck looked over at her. "For what I said earlier," she explained. "You have changed, even if your social habits haven't."
"I'm sorry too," he responded. "We made an agreement. I had no right to make you feel bad for going out with Nick." Rachel nodded and the conversation ended there. When Caleb was released, Puck drove them home and walked inside with them. They both kissed Caleb's forehead after laying him down to bed and went into Rachel's room together.
Rachel shut her door and turned around to find Noah lying on her bed. "That was certainly an experience," she sighed, leaning against her door.
He chuckled. "You could say that." He looked up and saw the worried expression still on Rachel's face. "You okay?"
Rachel remained silent but eventually shook her head. Puck stood up and walked over, pulling her into his arms just when the first tears fell. "Oh, Noah, I was so scared."
"I know, I was too," he assured. "But he's okay, everything's okay."
"Thank you for taking care of him," she whispered, her head against his chest. Puck simply nodded and ran his hand over her hair. After a few moments of silence, her soft voice spoke again. "Why do you dislike my relationship with Nick so much?"
Puck sighed. "I don't know."
"Oh, come on, Noah," she complained softly. "Tell me the truth. What makes you hate him so much?" She pulled away when Puck began to laugh. "It's not funny!" she scolded angrily. "How is it fair that you can sleep with whoever the heck you want, but I can't have an actual relationship? I deserve happiness!"
Puck stared down at her. "I know you do! But why can't I be the one to make you happy?"
"What?" Rachel gasped. She tried to pull away further, but Puck held her still.
"You want to know why I hate Nick so much?" he asked. "It's because he has you and I don't. He gets to kiss you and hold you and take you out on dates, while I sit at home like a loser." His arms wrapped tighter around her, his thumbs grazing over her hips. "You drive me crazy, Rach. You're absolutely perfect and all this time together has made me realize that I don't want you to see anyone else. Hell, I don't want to see anyone else." He turned them around and pressed her against the door. "All I want is you."
Rachel met Puck's lips with fervor, her hands grasping his face tightly. He pulled her flush against him and kissed her just as passionately. They moved around the room and eventually ended up on the bed. Puck rolled until she was under him and kissed down her neck, sucking when he found that dip between her neck and shoulder. A soft moan left Rachel's lips, jarring her to reality. She gasped and pushed Puck away.
"We can't do this," she whispered through her fingers.
"Fuck, why not?" Puck groaned, his forehead falling onto the pillow when she squeezed out from under him.
"Noah, we just can't. Think about Caleb," she urged.
"What about Caleb?" he asked. He got off of the bed and stood in front of her. "Don't you think he'd rather his mom and dad be together?"
"I can't risk it," she whispered, her eyes on the floor. "If things don't work out, I can't risk Caleb losing his father."
Puck shook his head and let out a sad breath. "Fine." He ran a hand over his shaved scalp. He grabbed his stuff and started walking towards the door when Rachel's voice stopped him.
"Can you stay?" He turned around and saw her looking at him pleadingly. "I don't want to be alone."
He sighed and dropped his stuff back down on the floor. "Sure," he nodded. "But no funny business," he joked. Rachel smiled softly and nodded. She went into the bathroom, coming out five minutes later in cute, purple star pajama pants and a purple t-shirt. Her jaw dropped when she saw Puck, shirtless and in his boxers, on her bed.
"What are you doing?" she wondered.
"You're in your pjs," he pointed out. "These are mine." Rachel shook her head and walked over, easing into her bed and letting him wrap his arms around her. "Cuddler," he reminded, eliciting a soft giggle from her. They settled into a comfortable silence and Rachel soon felt the haze of sleep drift closer. Right when she was about to fall asleep, she heard Puck speak into her ear. "I won't give up on us Rachel," he revealed. "You and me are supposed to be together, and I'll keep fighting until you realize it." Rachel sighed softly and let the darkness overcome her.
I hope you liked it! Be sure to follow me on tumblr: puckleberryshipper326 . tumblr . com (w/o spaces) for updates and occasionally one-shots. It will be a little while until the next chapter, but hopefully I can do some writing during the holiday break. Please review! I love you all!