Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: Wow! Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: To everyone that is reading 'Out of the Blue' – you all are amazing! Thank you so much for your feedback! This writer is very happy. I'm so glad you are all enjoying this.
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Shortly after Puck, Arin and Finn had a chance to talk, Burt and Kurt left the Berry's with Rachel making Kurt promise to let her know when they got home. Finn also needed to leave so he and Puck cleared off the snow from his car. Puck offered to take him home and Rachel's dads offered to let him stay the night, but he declined both offers and left, promising Quinn he'd let her know when he arrived safely.
After Finn left, Puck was in the entryway of the house, taking off his soaked sweatshirt jacket from being outside in the snow and bent down to untie his boots when his mom moved towards him, "you might want to hold off on that," she said.
He paused as he reached for his laces and looked up at her, "no, you're not driving in this. Mom, come on," he shook his head, standing up to face her.
"Noah, I've got to work tomorrow and we didn't bring anything to stay over with. Either you drive me home so I can get stuff for us to stay the night, or you let us go home and you come get your sister in the morning," she told him softly, trying not to be harsh, but her job didn't end for snow.
Puck sighed, "guess I'm driving you home," he commented grabbing his Letterman's jacket from the closet, needing something dry to put on aside from wet sweatshirt jacket.
"I'll help you clean off your car," Rachel said moving towards them.
"Are you sure?" Puck asked, "we can get it."
"I like being in the snow. I just didn't like driving around in it," she commented, grabbing her winter jacket from the closet.
Puck shrugged his shoulders, "alright," he gave in and followed his mom and Rachel outside.
He started his jeep right away, hoping to warm it up inside and help melt some of the show as they pushed off several inches that had piled up since it began snowing that afternoon. His jeep was small, so it didn't take too long to get it clear, so when they finished with it, he went to his moms car to push off some of the snow, so she didn't have as much to do in the morning when she did end up going to work.
Stepping back into the house, Alan was by the door, "you boys have guts, that's for sure," he laughed, talking about him and Finn having no fear to drive in the snow.
"Well, no guts, no glory, right?" Puck asked with a grin.
Arin hugged him, "be careful Noah," she said.
"I always am," he admitted, returning her hug before seeing Rachel waiting her turn. Arin moved from Puck to their mom, so Puck reached out and wrapped his arms around Rachel, lifting her off the floor, "we'll be fine," he promised, pressing a kiss to her lips as he set her back down.
She hugged him tight and really didn't want to let him go, but pulled away with a sigh, "come back in one piece," she whispered.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and nodded, "I will."
Content with his words, Rachel stepped into the living room with Arin and Alan as Deborah and Puck left the house. Once they were in the jeep and their belts were hooked, he shifted it into gear and accelerated, turning around on the street and heading down to the stop sign. His heavy duty mud and snow tires smashed through the built up snow like butter and as he turned in the direction of their house, he found that the main roads were partially clear, having been plowed enough to see the lanes, but where it had been cleared, a new layer of snow was forming, but for the moment it was easier to drive on.
Deborah kept silent, allowing her son to focus on driving, which Puck was thankful for; he could drive in the snow, but needed to keep an eye out for others. The less used streets were still thick with snow, so when they reached their street, he had to park a couple extra feet from the sidewalk because of the built up snow.
Neither spoke much as they entered the house, going in separate directions to gather up what they needed for a few nights at the Berry's if necessary. As Puck packed his bag, he noticed that more and more of his clothes were ending up at Rachel's and nothing was returning to his room. He didn't care for the time being, but that would have to change soon or he'd probably wear out his welcome at the Berry's.
His mom was still busy, so he got his sisters things ready, sticking some clean clothes into a backpack with her Nintendo DS and some games to keep her occupied, along with a few movies before grabbing her sleeping bag and heading out to his car with her things and his bag. He went back inside remembering he hadn't grabbed his work clothes, so he used a smaller backpack to put them in before going to his mom's room, "uh, I got Arin's stuff, clothes and all, too, so you ready?" He asked wanting to get back to Rachel's.
"Oh yeah, just wanted to check my e-mail," she admitted, "Brad says it's pretty bad out by them and told me not to hurry in super early in the morning."
"That's good," Puck nodded, "or you'll be the patient," he added.
"Did you get some extra sweatshirts for you and your sister? I'm sure she'll want to play in the snow tomorrow," she said standing up.
"Uh," Puck sighed and headed back to his room, grabbing a couple of his football hoodies and some extra gloves, while his mom got some of Arin's, "we should be fine. It's just snow, we'll dry," he commented.
With a laugh, Deborah got her bag and the two headed back out to his jeep. He got in and started it while she went to check to make sure the house was locked up before returning, "you know, I'm noticing this is becoming a habit," she said.
"Yeah, I was just noticing that most of my closet is at Rachel's," he replied. "I like being over there and I know I have to take care of Arin, but I don't want to miss anything with the baby and it's nice I can spend time with Rachel, too. Coming home every once and a while is nice to get away from the hormones, but I guess I just end up there."
Deborah nodded, "yeah, but is that going to be a permanent thing, or just until she's born? I'm only asking because she'll be here before we know it and she can't be bounced between two houses when you want to crash at Rachel's, unless that's where you plan to live after she's born, and if that's the case, we need to talk about it," she told him.
He glanced at her, having thought a little about his current situation, "maybe over the break we should all talk about it," he said softly, noticing the street lights going out. "I think the power just went out," he said putting the jeeps headlights on high.
Deborah glanced around and noticed the same thing, the stoplights all dark, "yeah, looks like it," she agreed.
Puck pulled up to Rachel's house, pitch dark except for a few lights flickering in the living room, so he figured they had lit a few candles. Leaving the jeep running with the lights on so they could see to get their stuff from the back, he also grabbed the flashlight he kept for emergencies and then turned off the engine and the lights before he and his mom made their way back to the house; Rachel opening the door as they reached the porch, "hey, power just went out."
"We noticed," Puck commented giving her a quick peck on the lips as he passed her.
She closed the door behind him and locked it; everyone there for the night. Arin bounded to them, greeting them both with hugs and taking some of her things from their hands. "Finn, Kurt and Burt got home alright, so Quinn went to bed," she explained, "we were waiting for you to get back."
"Well, it's after ten and since the furnace is electric, there won't be any heat until the power comes back on, so we might as well all get some sleep," Alan said.
Everyone nodded and Rachel slipped her arms around Puck's waist, even if his hands were full, giving him a tight hug before pulling away and taking some of the things from his hands. He smiled at her and then glanced at his sister and mom, "you can take the bed in my room, I'll sleep down here," he told them.
Deborah shook her head, "no, it's alright, you take it. I've still got to get up at a decent time to go to work, power or not, so if I'm downstairs I won't wake anyone up," she replied.
"Are you sure, mom?" Puck asked.
"Yeah, it'll be fine," she assured him and set her bag down by the couch.
"Come on, Arin, lets get you settled up in my room," Rachel said taking the offered flashlight from her dad.
Puck took back what was his from Rachel's hands before her and his sister went up to her room. The rest of them followed with Puck's flashlight to the linen closet just by the bathroom. Puck dropped his stuff of in his room while Alan and David got some extra blankets and a pillow for his mom before she returned to the living room for the night.
"I'll get it," Puck commented seeing the two men getting more blankets out.
"You sure?" Alan asked.
"Yeah, go to bed, I want to check on my mom and sister before I go to sleep anyway," he admitted, "and I want to talk to Rachel."
The two men gave in and headed into their bedroom, leaving Puck at the linen closet. He took one of the blankets and tossed it onto his bed and then went into Rachel's room with two, finding his sister laying out her sleeping bag on the floor. "Here are a few extra blankets," he said.
"Thanks, but I've got an extra one. Arin will need one and so will Quinn," Rachel said motioning to her bed with a second comforter already on it.
"Okay," he nodded and handed off one of them to his sister and then stepped across the hall to Quinn's room, knocking lightly. He didn't get a response, so he opened her door and peaked inside with his flashlight, seeing her sound asleep with her phone in her hand. Carefully stepping inside, he slid the phone from her hand and put it on the nightstand, then opened out the blanket and threw it over her. She stirred a little, "Puck? What's -"
"Go back to sleep, it's just a blanket," he whispered, "power went out so it might get cold."
She silently nodded and fell back asleep before he'd gotten to the door, where he closed it, glancing in Rachel's room to see his sister asleep already and Rachel sitting on her bed. He smiled at her, "be there in a few," he whispered, going downstairs to hang up his Letterman's jacket and check on his mom, who was already asleep under two comforters on the couch. Climbing back upstairs, he stopped at Rachel's door, but didn't see her where she had been, so he headed for his room to change, finding her sitting on his bed with the blankets pulled back. Raising an eyebrow at her, he stepped further inside, turning off his light and using the dim light from hers to see. "What's up?" he asked casually tugging off his semi-wet hoodie and t-shirt, grabbing a clean hoodie to sleep in.
"Haven't had a chance to be with you today; well, we were together a little, but not how I planned to spend our day," she admitted softly.
Puck was used to changing in front of guys, so he didn't care if she watched him undress. He leaned down and untied his boots and kicked them off, dropping his jeans and reaching for a pair of sweats, "I didn't really plan what happened either," he replied before pulling on the sweats and walking towards the bed, "but I think it went okay," he told her, sitting down next to her, now able to see just what she had on; a tank top and flannel pants, "are you planning on sleeping in that?"
Rachel glanced down at her clothes and nodded, "yes, what is wrong with it?"
Puck reached for a sweatshirt and handed it to her, "nothing, but when there isn't any heat on, you'll get cold," he replied, "and if you stay in here with me, you dads won't want to kill me as much," he grinned.
"Why would they... Oh," she paused, realizing what they could assume if they saw them together, "but they didn't care when we slept next to each other on Thanksgiving," she commented.
"Right, but Quinn and Arin were also there and we were all on the floor in the living room, not in a bedroom, in a bed," he explained getting up and moving around to the other side of the bed and slid in, laying on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. "Not that I'm complaining; if you're going to stick around," he added with a grin.
The gray sweatshirt he handed her was still in her hands, but she tugged it on, immediately feeling the warmth it gave her. She leaned back in bed and turned to him, "well, I don't see what would be wrong with trying to use body heat to keep warm," she whispered.
"My thoughts exactly," he murmured, reaching down to pull the blankets up over them and then pulled her against his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.
She returned the kiss as she settled next to him, her body shifting as close as she could, before pulling away to rest her head against his chest.
He shifted slightly so he was laying on his back, with her leaning against his side, her head on his chest, her right hand resting over his heart. He pulled the blankets up further and then took her hand in his, "do you like me being here?" He asked softly.
She shifted her eyes to look up at him, squeezing his hand in hers, "of course I do, Noah, what kind of question is that?" She asked concerned.
He moved his other arm around her back and rubbed it gently, "nothing, but my mom and I were talking about something on the way back and I got thinking about it," he told her.
"What about?" Her voice was soft, but he could tell she was worried.
"About after my daughter is born," he said softly, "she wanted to know if I was going to make being here a permanent thing or if I'll just do this until she's born. I guess I have been kind of a Gypsy lately," he admitted. "Crashing here a few nights a week, hardly home, but in and out enough so she knows I'm still alive," he smirked.
She was silent for a long moment, understanding what he meant, "well, I love when you're here and I know you're here to spend time with me and so you can be around Quinn while she's pregnant. I guess I never thought about after the baby is born. What do you want to do?" She asked softly.
He shrugged, "I don't know. I like being around here, too. It's just a difficult call because my mom is right; the baby can't be bounced between both places all the time and I love my house; it's where I grew up, I don't want to leave it, but I like being here with you," he replied.
"I could start spending more time at your house," she said softly.
In everything that happened, Puck had never thought about her staying at his place, which caused him to laugh at the obvious option, "I never thought about that," he admitted, "that could work, but wouldn't it be rude to Quinn since she doesn't have a car?" He asked. "Maybe that's why I never did think about it. In a way, right now, you and Quinn are a package deal, since she's living at your house and doesn't have her own transportation, aside from you, me, your dads, Finn and some of her friends."
Rachel shrugged lightly, "she has a boyfriend, and it isn't out of the way from your house to pick her up," she whispered.
"Good point," he admitted shifting a little to look at her. He debated his thoughts for a moment, "Rachel," he started softly.
"Yes?" She met his gaze curiously.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before speaking, "will you be my daughter's mom?" He asked his voice just above a whisper. "We've talked about it, but now I'm asking for sure, because I want you to be," he added, his voice still low.
She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips at his question, but she'd known the answer since they day he told her the truth, "yes, Noah, I will be," she replied, shifting so she could press a gentle kiss to his lips, her hand brushing against his cheek.
Sealing her answer with a kiss, his hand reached up to join hers, squeezing it gently. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; knowing for sure that she would be his daughter's mom. They'd talked causally about it several times, but he had never officially asked her. He'd thought a lot about everything going on and realized he wants Rachel and only her to be a mom to his daughter, so even though he was pretty sure of her answer, he was glad he had finally asked so everyone would be clear on who was going to her mom.
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A/N4: Wow, I didn't expect this to come out, but I went with it. A little shorter than my last few chapters, but I hope you all enjoyed it just as much. :D More soon!
A/N5: It's taken me since the first of December, but I finally made up my mind on the baby's name a few days ago, so in the next few chapters, Puck is going to reveal it. Anyone have guesses?