A/N: I have noticed that I haven't said anything about Carole in my last chapters and I feel very bad because of that. This chapter will be about Rachel deciding about her offer, and she will be going to Lima with Puck to visit Carole and of course her dads. Sorry about that!
Chapter 21:Coming to a decision.
They were sitting on the plane on their way to Lima. Rachel had felt bad for not having Carole included with Shay, she hadn't called her, or anything for that matter, so she decided to go to Lima for a few days with Puck to make up for lost times. Since it was now Tuesday, she made arrangements to return to NYADA on Monday, that was good because it will give her time to think about Nick's offer.
She couldn't believe she was given an opportunity like that, and she knew she'd be crazy to turn it down, but what stopped her was that she had a responsibilty now, Shay. And she still had to graduate, she couldn't just abandon her education and run off to become famous, even though she knew she might get opportunities for Broadway as well while she is a singer, she still wanted to do it the way she planned.
What bothered her was that she knew Puck would leave again soon, after his opening concert at Bon Jovi which is in a week's time, Rachel was sure that he would get liked, and Nick will arrange his own concert because fans would want to see him, and he would get more known then he would be travelling the whole country, maybe even the whole world, and she didn't know if she could handle being away from him for so long.
She also knew that she couldn't, for a fact, take Shay with her if she were to go with Puck and become famous herself, it wouldn't be fair to Shay, and she also couldn't leave Shay with Kurt or Santana, it was her baby after all, and Shay needed her mom, and dad.
There were so many things that was running through her mind about everything, she didn't even hear Puck speaking to her.
"Babe?" Puck asks Rachel with a worried expression on his face.
Rachel turned her head to look at Puck, she looked down at Shay and she was now awake, she carefully set Shay up and supported her by holding her arm around Shay's tiny body.
"Sorry, I just have a lot going through my mind.". Puck asked Rachel what she wanted to eat, so she said only a simple salad would be fine, so Puck told the hostess and she was off to get their meals.
"Tell me what's on your mind. We haven't really talked about everything lately." Puck said turning in his seat so he was now facing Rachel, he rested his hand on her leg, drawing small circles on the material.
Rachel sighed, kissing Shay on her forehead. "Everything is Noah. Especially this whole record deal thing. It all happened so fast you know, don't get me wrong, I would love to accept it, but there's so many things stopping me."
"I know Rach. I mean, I understand that Shay is a huge responsibility in your life now, and mine too. You can't just abandon her and leave her in the hands of someone else for so long. And there's NYADA too. But, there is a solution to all of this. You can still be at NYADA, and study there, or go through the routine you did when you were pregnant. And Shay, there's always the possibilty of either taking her with you to wherever you're going, Nick understands that, or you could ask Carole to take care of her if you're far away and you don't want to take her with you. Because it won't be fair, she needs a normal life, and she will have that even with all this going on. I will make sure of that, okay? I'm not pushing you to make a decision, I'm just trying to convince you that all this will work out."
Rachel thought about Puck's words carefully. He was absolutely right. She could always if she were to go on a tour, or somewhere far for work she could let Carole take care of Shay, and if the trip won't be for too long, she can take Shay with her. It wouldn't be that bad, and she could still be at NYADA, althought she would have to work extra hard, and her first year was almost coming to an end, then she would be a sophomore at NYADA, if she were to accept all of this, like she said, she would have to work extra hard, and right now she would glady do that.
Her number one priority was making sure that Shay had a healthy life and a normal one, and that could also be possible, she would be with Carole and she would make sure that she has Shay most of the time. Everything seemed so much easier now, and she had to thank Puck for that.
"Thank you." She said kissing him on the lips, as if Shay didn't want them to kiss, she started crying, and they both knew it was because she was hungry. Shay definitely had Finn's appetite.
XxX
"Rachel its so good to see you!" Burt said as he ran up to Rachel when he saw her and Puck coming through the gates.
He pulled Rachel in for a big hug, and when he saw the little baby laying in Puck's arms, he started tearing up.
"Can I?" He asked, Rachel nodded her smiling, Burt took Shay from Puck and carefully laid her in his arms, he stroked her cheek with his thumb, and instantly he got reminded of Finn.
"There's something about her that resembles Finn." He says softly, Rachel kissed Burt on his cheek, then they walked towards Burt's car, Burt couldn't stop thinking about how Carole is going to react when she sees the baby, he knew she was going to start crying.
Driving through her old town, Rachel couldn't help but smile at all the memories she had about Lima. Everything from going to the mall with Kurt and Mercedes, eating out with her friends at Breadstix, sectionals, and Mckinley, it was all coming back to her, and thankfully they were all happy memories. When they drove past the cemetry where Finn was buried, Rachel also felt an instant rush of Guilt for not visiting his grave, she knew it wasn't entirely her fault because she was in New-York, but she was sure to visit the grave during her stay.
Coming to a stop in front of Burt and Carole's house, Rachel smiled when she saw Carole working in the garden, clearly not noticing that they have arrived. Burt knew Rachel wanted to be alone with Carole now, so he and Puck took their luggage and made their way into the house. Carole's garden was beautiful, there was a variety of colors throughout the whole garden, and a bunch of different types of flowers. Typical Carole, she thought to herself.
She, along with Shay that was resting in her arms, walked over to where Carole was busy tending a bunch or roses. Red, her favourite. "Carole?" Rachel's soft voice came through, and when Carole heard it she immediately turned around and dropped the garden tools that were in her hands. She noticed the small baby resting in Rachel's arms and immediately got emotional. It was her grandchild. Hers.
Without saying anything, Rachel gave Shay to Carole, keeping her hand safely around the baby's neck, and her other hand around her tiny body, she stared deep into the eyes of the baby. Seeing her son, she closed her eyes and brought her lips to Shay's forehead and kissed it sweetly.
"Carole, you wouldn't know how bad I feel for not calling you or letting you know how Shay was doing. I feel like a total idiot. I don't want you to think I forgot about you, I'm so, so sorry." Rachel got teary eyed, she really felt bad. Carole walked over to Rachel and pulled her in for a tight hug, careful not to squash Shay between them.
"Rachel you had a lot on your mind I suppose. I completely understand. All that matters now is that you are here, and I get to see her. Come on, let's go inside. Dinners almost ready. I prepared a special recipe for you I found online, long beans with tofu, potatoes &peppers."
"You shouldn't have Carole."
"It's the least I can do Rach."
Carole and Rachel along with Shay entered the house through the back door which directly lead to the kitchen. Burt and Puck was engrossed in a conversation about football, and Burt saw Carole's happy face, he couldn't be more happy himself.
"Hi grandma." Puck said greeting Carole with a tight hug. He missed Carole, to be honest. She was like a mother to him back in high school whenever he would visit Finn. She was the sweetest woman he has ever met. He saw Carole blush lightly at the new nikname, and he couldn't have imagined something better to happen to her at the moment than having her grandchild in her arms.
Sitting around the dining table, Rachel came down from the guestroom from putting Shay to sleep after feeding her. Carole had a old small crib from when Finn was a baby.
"So howcome Kurt didn't come? And Santana?" Burt asks Rachel while he was chewing on his steak.
Rachel chewed on her potato and swallowed. She smiled sweetly at Puck before answering Burt. "Unlike me, Kurt is very busy at NYADA, he is striving to be at his best. And not to mention the shifts he works at the diner is just as crazy. Santana is working extra shifts at the diner too, since she is now living in my old apartment, she has to get the money to be able to live. She said that next year, she's apllying at colleges. For some reason she wants to become a doctor."
Burt and Carole was very surprised to hear the news about Santana. Santana herself didn't know why the sudden interest in medical school, but she wanted to do something different with her life. Rachel was very proud of her, all the years Santana's only dream was to become a professional cheerleader, but where would that bring her. After a lot of lectures from Rachel, Santana knew it was time to find herself another dream, and medical school was perfect. Quinn wanted to become a lawyer, so with them hving to very good proffessions they would sure make a great life together one day.
"That's good to know Rach. But don't feel bad, you were pregnant, you needed the time off, and you're returning on Monday, right? Then there wouldn't be any problem." Burt said sincerely to Rachel, knowing that it wasn't her fault for not being in school right now, although she did get help from Cassandra, Rachel still felt like she was lacking.
Rachel suddenly remembered what she wanted to talk to Carole about. The record deal, and when they noticed the sudden change in Rachel, they got worried. "Rachel honey, is something wrong?"
Rachel nodded her head, swallowing the last of her food. "Carole, Burt. There is something I would like to talk to you about."
They placed their forks and knives down on the table, eager to hear what Rachel had to say.
"When I went to work with Puck before I came here, his producer, Nick, offered me a record deal after I sang to him."
Carole jumped up in delight and immediately went over to Rachel to give her a hug, Burt was right behind her, congratualating her. It was a big deal getting something like this, and what they didn't understand was why Rachel seemed so upset about it. They had asked her, and when she told them about Shay and school, the immediately got understanding. But Carole got the idea in her head that Rachel snd Puck spoke about in the plane.
"She could always live here with us, if you are away, but that won't really be fair towards Shay, she would be travelling too much." Carole thought about other options and suddenly got a idea. "I could come to New-York. Kurt would be there so I won't be alone, and when Burt's not busy he could also come, if that's alright with you guys."
Rachel and Puck both seemed pleased with the idea, and Rachel told Carole that that would be great. Burt also liked the idea, he didn't want the poor baby to be travelling so much. Rachel decided she would call Nick the next day and accept his offer. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all.
"See babe, I told you it wouldn't be a problem." Puck pecked Rachel's lips, and his heart warmed at the sight of how happy Rachel was. Now, the only thing needed to be sorted out was NYADA, but Puck had a plan to sort that out, and that was a surprise to Rachel.
The small family enjoyed the rest of their night by talking about Shay and how Kurt was going crazy in designing clothes for her. And somehow, Beth's name came up, and it only came to Puck's mind where Beth was staying now that Shelby was on her honeymoon. Carole told him that Beth was staying with Mr Schue and Emma, since Mr Schue and Shelby had a good friendship, he didn't even think twice about taking care of Beth. Rachel told Puck they could visit Beth, she would probably be at school with Emma in her office, since Mr Schue was slways running around. And he couldn't be more happy.
They all retreated to their rooms, and Puck and Rachel silently entered theirs, careful not to wake Shay. They both decided to jump in the shower the next morning, so they got dressed in their pj's and hopped into bed. Puck was laying on his back, and Rachel was curled into his side, with her head resting on his shoulder, and her legs tangled in his.
"I love you Rach." he said through closed eyes, feeling Rachel getting up, when he opened his eyes, he saw Rachel resting her chin on his chest and gazing straight into his eyes.
"I love you too Noah." Rachel kissed Puck and kept her lips there for a few moments. He wrapped his arms around her waist making sure she was close to him. He loved being so close to her, and he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. He smiled to himself, thinking about yet another surprise he had for Rachel, he just wanted to wait for the right time and place, and now that he was sure that Rachel would be singing alongside him, he would make it even more special.
A/N:you guys will soon find out what the surprise is. Sorry for the short chapter, but I am planning on making more chapters than i already planned, and what makes it brtter, if you guys like where the story is going, I am thinking about writing a sequel...yay!lol, please lemme know what you thought!