A/N: Holy Macaroni, I am so sorry it's taken forever to update! I really don't have a great excuse besides work and my family life getting a bit hectic around the holiday, but besides that, I owe my loyal readers something by now! This one is a bit shorter than the other chapters and it is a bit fluffy, but it was getting long so I split it into two separate chapters (the second will be posted soon, I promise!) Thank you to everyone who continues to follow and read this story as well as my other two stories The Private Escapades of Puck & Quinn and The Five Stages of Quinn Fabray. You're support has been overwhelming and I want to thank you for all of the notifications and reviews! They mean the world to me!

Chapter 26

The rest of February and March flew by unceremoniously in the Puckerman household. Jameson had proven to be every bit of his father's son as he had become quite the stinker and trouble-maker over the past year or so and without Puck to referee or chase him all over the place, Quinn found finishing out her first year of law school and taking care of him to be more than stressful. And worst part was, it had only been two months since Puck deployed… she was not looking forward to the next seven months until he returned home, that was for sure.

Jameson was a little turkey and had become a pro at getting into anything and everything, the little man earning the name Houdini from Rachel for his ability to simply disappear and hide as a joke (that only he found funny) whenever Rachel would watch him while Quinn was in class.

To add more fuel to the fire, Quinn could barely get a solid hour of studying in at a time, even when other people were watching him for the evening. She'll never forget the torrent of text messages Santana had sent her one night in mid-March while Quinn studied for her mid-terms exams. Basically, Jameson's terrible twos and thundering threes could be easily summed up by the new nickname Santana gave him: Dennis the Menace. After evading Santana's grasp for almost an hour, the three year old managed to overturn a coffee table, break a vase, pull down an entire rung of curtains and take out several picture frames in under 20 minutes.

Quinn simply sighed and made a mental note to make sure and get all of her friends a bottle of wine (or two…or three for Santana) as a thank you for watching her little wild man. After tucking him into bed one night, Quinn finally found time to sit down and relax a bit, wishing more and more every day that Puck would come home soon to help out a bit.

It wasn't easy and with juggling school and being a mom, she found herself stressed out and sick more often than not these days. She was constantly tired, the bags under her eyes looked more like luggage and she felt as though there was never enough time in the day to get everything done and get more than a few hours of sleep a night. She was running on empty and it had only been 2 months since Puck left. Her mom offered to move back in for a while, and while the help would be amazing, Quinn didn't want have to solely rely on her mother to watch over her son all of the time. However, as the days slowly turned into weeks, she didn't know how she was going to survive the next few months without Puck.

Quinn had known what she was getting into when she married Puck. She knew the risks of his job and the reality that he and his team would probably be called into action and could get deployed to any and all corners of the world to serve….she just never really got used to his absence. She didn't think she ever would either.

As soon as her head hit the pillow that night, she was out like a light for a few hours at least. That was until she felt a slight weight push down on Puck's side of the bed and felt a small body press up against hers. She slung her arm around her son just as she did every night when he crawled in next to her around two in the morning and snuggled him close, the warmth his little body emitted comforting her even when she was having the worst of days.

What made matters worse was that for the past couple of weeks she had found herself wide awake in the middle of the night, her body aching and stomach not agreeing with her. While snuggling with Jameson every night Puck was away was comforting, her immune system was having trouble fighting off the winter and spring sickness and viruses. She had been feeling ill a few months ago and had been on antibiotics and while her symptoms dissipated for a while, they seemed to come back full force about a month later. She was completely worn out and seeing as how it was right before final exams, this particular bug couldn't have come at a worse time.

All she could do was hope and pray that her son didn't catch whatever she had because there was nothing more miserable than having a sick child while you were sick yourself.

God, she missed Puck…

x-x-x-x-x

Despite always being busy out in what Tex dubbed "Sand Land," Puck was really starting to miss Quinn and Jameson. He talked to them whenever he could via Skype or instant messaging, but it wasn't the same as being there in person.

He felt horrible that his son didn't quite understand why "daddy was stuck in the computer" and wanted nothing more than to be at home to play with him and tuck him in at night. He wanted to wrap his arms around his wife and hold her tight and never let go. He wanted to be there for his family, simple as that. He adored his time with them and cherished every second, relishing in his son's goofy smile and loving the way his wife's body fit his perfectly when they were wrapped around each other. He hated the separation and the distance and how small and cold his rack felt every night when he went to bed.

He loved his job and was proud to serve and do whatever it took to accomplish the Army's and the rest of the Armed Forces' mission over there, but the more time that passed and the older he got (despite only being twenty six) started making him realize what he truly wanted in life. The Army had been wonderful to him. They taught him plenty of practical skills that would help him in the real world outside of the military as well as instilled deeply-rooted values such as discipline, honor, respect, pride and courage within him. But now that he was no longer the eighteen year old boy searching for danger and adventure, and was instead an adult with a family and changing priorities, he knew he needed something different.

And that is why, before he left, he and Quinn decided that this would hopefully be his last deployment with the US Army. He was getting out. Well, transferring into the reserves more likely than not, and working towards completing the college degree he started online a few years ago, but he knew he could no longer be an active duty Soldier anymore. It was getting to be too hard and stressful on Quinn and she didn't deserve that. She had been quite the trooper these past few deployments, never saying anything negative, and always supported him as best as she could, but he could tell it was wearing on her.

The past several times he Skyped with her she was moody and irritable and looked totally worn out and downtrodden. He knew school was a huge stressor on her as the first year of law school was always described as being hellacious, and while their friends helped with Jameson as much as they could, he knew it wasn't easy for her to pursue her law school dream and be a full-time mother at the same time.

He loved his wife and he knew she deserved better than this.

However, he couldn't afford to think about the future or let his guilt over leaving his wife and son again get to him or distract him. The missions they had been carrying out for the past few months were just as hairy and dangerous as the last time they had been in Afghanistan and he really did not want a repeat of that experience this time.

They were one of the best Special Forces units in the Army and had become well known for being able to execute missions flawlessly but even the knowledge that they were highly trained and highly capable of suppressing any threat against them, the men on his team remained hyper vigilant at all times because they knew better than anyone that anything could happen at any time.

While they had managed to avoid car bombs and IEDs for the most part so far, they had seen their fair share of enemy fire already and with the exception of a stray round hitting Vargas in the rear-end (which quickly made him the "butt" of every joke around camp now that he had been shot in the ass) they all managed to come out unscathed each time.

The insurgents, however, were not as lucky in most situations. Puck knew that he was doing his job and only fired back when fired upon, but he couldn't help the sinking feeling of guilt in his stomach knowing that he shot someone. That he had killed another living human being. Their rules of engagement were simple and clearly defined: they were only to return fire when fired upon first in order to defend themselves and the other members of their unit.

But it never got any easier to swallow.

Despite the fact that these individuals had tried to kill Puck or his friends first and he was well within the laws of war and the rules of engagement to fire back, he still had trouble getting around the fact that these people, albeit international terrorists, probably had families of their own and because of his round fired from his gun, they wouldn't be seeing their families again. He knew he would do anything to protect his family and would rather die before he let anyone hurt them, but he still felt terrible.

He struggled with it for a while, asking Hunt how he dealt with it, how he dealt with being the sniper charged with shooting people from afar, but all he could offer was a sad shrug and "you never really get over it" before trying to rationalize his duty and the violence by saying that it was his job to protect his friends.

There had been several times in the past where Puck and the other members of his team would have been dead had it not been for Hunt watching out for them and taking out potential threats, and for that he was thankful. Parker and Tex basically reiterated the same thing Hunt said too, telling Puck they chose to focus on the fact that they needed to defend themselves and protect their fellow soldiers, but it never really got any easier to come to terms with.

So he did what he was told and did his job, the men throwing themselves into the planning and execution of every set mission, scrutinizing each individual detail until they were satisfied that they would be able to handle anything that may come up while out in the field.

However, whenever they weren't out running around the mountains of Afghanistan on missions or fulfilling their base guard duties everyone was assigned to do at some point, they enjoyed their time off. They played cards or videogames if they were available and sometimes got the chance to watch movies or television shows on their computers if they were able to get internet service. Their unit was stationed at a smaller forward operating area in Afghanistan so they were unable to enjoy some of the other luxuries some of the other larger bases had, such as basketball courts, recreation rooms, full sized gyms and "movie theaters."

Instead, most of the time they occupied themselves with whatever they could find given what little free time they had, usually settling for enjoying their down time and taking naps whenever they could squeeze them in. All in all, it was super-stressful about 85% of the time and boring the other 15%.

It was nerve-wracking and taxing while monotonous at the same time and it was really getting old at this point. What Puck wouldn't give to be at home and relax with a beer in hand while he and his family curled up together and watch a movie…

x-x-x-x-x

After one particularly stressful yet successful mission, his team returned to their unit ready room for some much needed and much deserved downtime. They weren't slated for another operation or base guard duty for a while so the men took the opportunity to simply relax and kick back, hoping to catch an early season baseball game via satellite TV.

While Tex, Hunt and Vargas all argued over which game to watch and Finn challenged Parker in a rematch of a game of darts, Puck took the opportunity to check his email to see what he had missed over the past few days they had been out in the field.

He sifted through the junk mail and typed out a quick message to his mom and sister before continuing down the list of emails. He noticed he had a new message from Quinn from the day prior and smiled, feeling instantly comforted at the sight of her email address.

However, that joy was short lived as his blood turned ice cold and his stomach flipped, thinking he was going to be sick as soon as he read the subject line. He opened it only to find the eerie message: Puck, Please email/Skype ASAP! It's urgent! Love, Quinn.

At least she typed "Love, Quinn" he thought as he quickly responded to her message and tried to get a hold of her on Skype, the words "It's urgent" sending chills down his spine at the thought. He tried hard not to concentrate on the fear and nerves eating away at him and all of the possibilities as to what that could possibly mean, but it was hard not to. He tried over and over again to get a hold of her, finally sending a message to the email account synced to her cell phone trying to reach her, praying that nothing too serious had happened to her or their son or Beth.

He checked the time and subtracted the ten hour time difference, realizing that it would be around ten in the morning back in New York. It was a Saturday and he knew Quinn didn't have class, but what he couldn't understand is why she hadn't responded yet.

He was on the verge of freaking out and trying to locate the nearest satellite phone when he saw the notification that Quinn had signed onto Skype and he quickly connected the call. After a bit of fuzz and desert static from their less than reliable internet connection, Puck was thrilled and relieved to see both his wife and son sitting in front of the screen, Jameson waving at his father with a giant goofy grin on his face while Quinn gave him that soft smile that never failed to make him melt.

"Hey babe, can you hear me ok?" he asked, leaning forward toward the microphone.

"Yeah, we can hear you just fine. Can you hear us?"

"Yep. Hey buddy," he waved at his son, Jameson waving back again and saying hello to his dad before sitting back on Quinn's lap.

They chatted briefly before Quinn asked Jameson to go play with his toys so she could talk to Puck for a few uninterrupted minutes. The little boy scampered off toward his room leaving his mother grateful for the few minutes of peace.

"I love him more than life itself, but he is a handful. Definitely your child," she chuckled tiredly.

"The prodigal son, that's for sure," Puck replied, smiling back before remembering her email from earlier, "So what's going on Quinn? That cryptic message you sent scared the shit out of me. You said it was urgent I get back to you. Is everything alright?"

Quinn's face contorted a bit and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, "Well, I hope so."

"Q, you're kinda scaring me here. What's going on?" he pressed further.

She sighed, "There's something I need to show you."

Puck's face scrunched in confusion, "O-kay. What?"

Quinn's figure disappeared from the frame for a moment before returning a few seconds later, "Ok, you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied, holding his breath and preparing for the worst. His body was rigid and he closed his eyes, not sure if he was ready to see whatever it was she wanted to show him. The way she was acting had him all sorts of freaked out and he was slightly terrified to find out what was so urgent.

"Puck, you need to open your eyes in order to see this," she replied with just the slightest hint of amusement laced in her voice.

He slowly opened his eyes, glancing at the screen where she sat patiently. He saw her holding something in her hand before she moved it closer to the camera for him to see.

It was the size of a picture but he couldn't quite make out what of. It was black and white, but from where he was sitting, it looked to be of fairly poor resolution and quality.

"Uh, what is that? What am I looking at?" he asked.

She held the picture closer to the camera, "Look harder."

Puck leaned forward and scrutinized the picture further, his eyes widening as he saw Quinn's name printed in the upper right hand corner. He looked back at the center of the photograph, recognizing the unmistakable white outline of a head, little arms and a set of feet.

"No way! Is that what I think it is, Quinn?"

Quinn pulled the picture away from the camera and grinned, biting her lip as she nodded.

"You're – You're pregnant?" he asked, his eyes lighting up instantly as a grin spread across his face.

Quinn broke out into a huge smile too before nodding again, "I'm about 10 weeks along."

Puck opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, instead shaking his head in surprise and letting out a happy laugh.

"I know it's too early to tell just yet, but I really think it's a girl this time. It feels the same as it did with Beth," she mused, a hopeful expression consuming her features.

"We're having another baby?" he asked again, smiling wide. "We're having another baby! I'm going to be a dad again!" he exclaimed, the rest of his team going silent and turning their attention to the corner of the room where Puck sat talking to Quinn.

"Are you serious?" Finn asked excitedly from across the room.

Puck whipped his head around to see the rest of his team staring at him, waiting for an answer, "Quinn just found out she's pregnant! We're having another baby!"

Quinn felt a blush creep up her cheeks at her husband's excited declaration to the rest of his team and pretty soon they all appeared behind him on the screen to give them their congratulations and to pat Puck on the back before going back to what they were doing, giving the expectant parents some time to themselves again.

Puck was so stunned by Quinn's surprise revelation that he could barely speak, simply staring at her in a delighted shock.

"So apparently birth control is not very effective when you're on antibiotics," Quinn joked nervously, waiting for Puck to speak up again.

"That's right, you weren't feeling too hot before I left," he remembered.

"No and I honestly haven't been feeling well lately either, but I just thought it was the stress and flu bug that's going around. I should have known. You think I would be better at knowing when I was pregnant by now, but apparently that is not one of my strong suits. This is the second time I've completely missed most of the signs."

"Are you feeling any better now?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, for the most part. Well, besides the morning sickness. I'm just a little tired and worn out is all, but now that I know what's really going on, I'm going to make it a point to take it easier, especially after I finish these finals," she sighed, looking back up into his eyes, "So you're ok with this?"

"Ok with this? Quinn, I'm thrilled! More Pucklings!" he grinned and winked, earning a small giggle from his wife, "And while we may not have been planning for it right now, I really think it's a sign."

"A sign?" she asked, curious to see where this was going.

"Yeah, a sign that we kick ass at this parenting thing and that the Big Man Upstairs thinks we've got this down."

"Well, it's either that or I'm just really inconsistent when it comes to birth control. Either/or."

"Nah, everything happens for a reason."

"You really think so?" Quinn asked, wondering where all of this wisdom was coming from.

"Totally. Just look at how we turned out. We hit some shitty spots along the way, but if our lives leading up until now were a cake-walk, do you really think we would be where we are right now? Do you really think we would be married with a kid and another little one on the way?" he asked, giving her a soft smile, "Every trial and tribulation is part of the plan. We just have to have faith that it will all end up ok in the end."

"When the hell did you get so smart and wise, Sergeant Puckerman?"

"Ever since I read it in an article in Cosmo last month. Not a half bad magazine if you ask me."

"You read that in Cosmo?" she asked incredulously, "I guess I only focus on the dirtier articles," she added with a wink.

"Yes, I read that in Cosmo and don't give me shit about it. It was the only magazine left in the shit-hole of a gym we have here and I needed something to look at while I rode the bike," he said defensively, before his lips curled into his trademark smirk, "But I definitely saved the article about the 72 sex moves to try sometime."

She knew he was trying to get a rise out of her so she decided to play along, "Ooh, keep that… you know what those pregnancy hormones do to me."

Quinn watched him swallow hard before breaking out into a grin and laughing, "Woman, you'll be the death of me one of these days."

"Hmm, death by sex?" she teased, "Not a bad way to go in my book."

"Oh, that would be the best way to go in my book," he replied, his smirk softening into a genuine smile, "But honestly, I really hope our little one is a another girl."

"Me too," she smiled and sighed, "I mean I know we will love our kiddo, no matter what we end up having but I really hope it's a girl."

"When will we be able to find out?"

"I have another appointment in about 7-8 weeks so hopefully by then."

"Good! I want you to let me know ASAP!" he laughed, "And keep me updated on how everything is going too!" He thought about it and counted off on his fingers before continuing, "And if all continues to go well, we should be done with our tour before the baby is born too. I'm just so sorry that I can't be there with you while you're going through all of the pregnancy stuff again. Not that running out for ice cream and Hot Pockets at 3am was my favorite thing to do, but still, I wish I was there to help you out."

"It's ok, I'm a tough cookie," she chuckled, "And my mom offered to move back up here to help with J-Boogie and such while I'm in school and stuff, and I may take her up on that for a while if you're ok with that. I honestly don't know how much longer I can continue going like this, especially now."

"Yeah, do whatever you need! She would be a huge help and even though I know you're trying to do all of it on your own, you could use some help and some sleep. Don't wear yourself out too much. You're carrying special cargo now, you've got every excuse to take it easy!"

Quinn laughed as his lopsided, goofy grin, the one that instantly puts her at ease, and felt her heart swell with familiar warmth and emotion. They continued to chat for a while before Puck noticed the time and apologized for needing to go.

Quinn gave him a soft yet slightly sad smile at their goodbyes, blowing a kiss at the screen.

"I love you, Puck."

"And I love you, Q," he smiled as he saw Jameson amble back up into his mom's lap, "And I love you too, Jammer!"

"Love you, Daddy!"

He gave them one last smile before remembering to add in one last thing, "Oh, and Quinn, tell the baby I love it too."

TBC…