Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.

A/N: Justice is served…

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mercedes asked. "We could have…maybe we could have…" she didn't actually know how to finish her sentence.

"Nobody could have done anything," Puck interrupted gently. "There's nothing we could have done differently, the result would still be the same, we just have to hope for the best now. It's all we can do."

"I'm so sorry," Santana whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "I don't know what else to say." Others murmured their agreement with Santana's words.

"You can't say anything that will make this better," Quinn's voice was even huskier, quieter. "I think I need to sleep now," she managed to say as she closed her eyes again, shutting out the world.

"We'll go," Finn murmured and bent to kiss Quinn's head. "We're all thinking of you, you're in our prayers," he said and hugged Puck too as he stood. "Anything, anything at all, just call, ok?"

Puck nodded. "I know, thanks," he replied and accepted the hugs and murmured words of sorrow and support from all of his friends, as Quinn accepted their hugs and kisses. As the door closed behind them, Quinn broke down again. Puck lay back down beside her, holding her close, sharing his strength with her.


The next morning Quinn urged Puck to go home and get some proper rest. "I don't want to leave you here alone," he tried to argue.

"My mom will be here soon, I won't be alone," Quinn insisted. "And you should either be at work or with Beth," she reminded him, saying the one thing guaranteed to make Puck go home. He would go be with Beth. As soon as Puck left, Quinn rang for the nurse. "I think you should call Dr Chin," she gasped through the pain.

Dr Chin had been waiting for the call and arrived very quickly at the hospital. "Quinn, I don't want you to worry," he said as he looked at the monitor. The scan he was doing at the moment seemed to be in order. "There's a good heartbeat, everything is where it should be. The baby is doing fine right now," he assured her.

"So why is there so much pain?" Quinn asked, trying to breathe through the spasms of pain that she had kept hidden from Puck all night.

"There's probably some scarring or lesions from your surgery, it will cause pain as your womb expands, it's not unexpected," Dr Chin explained. "You're just going to have to be patient and stay in bed for a while."

"How long?" Quinn asked. "What about Beth, there's the trial and I have school…" her voice tailed off as the enormity of it hit her. If she wanted this baby to stay where it was for the time being, she would have to abide by Dr Chin's recommendation.

"I'll want to speak to Noah too," Dr Chin said with a tight smile. "I know when you were pregnant with Beth that you were very active right up till the end. I would suggest you refrain at least for now."

Judy knocked and opened the door. "Hi honey, how are you?" she asked. "Oh, Dr Chin," she was surprised to see the doctor there on a Saturday. "I didn't expect to see you here, is everything alright? Where's Noah?" she asked Quinn.

"I told Noah to go home, he needed to get some rest," Quinn explained to her mom. "And Beth needs at least one of us there."

"Beth is fine with all of us looking after her, so how is everything?" Judy asked again with a glance at Dr Chin.

"Quinn is experiencing some pain, she was worried that it meant further miscarriage," Dr Chin explained to Judy after receiving permission from Quinn. "For now the baby seems to be staying put, but Quinn will need to remain on bed rest and stress should be kept to a minimum."

"So why is she in pain?" Puck's voice at the door startled Quinn. "Is that why you wanted me to go home? You didn't want me here? Why? I don't get it," Puck sounded really hurt.

"Errm, mom, can you give us a minute please?" Quinn asked, giving Judy a sad smile.

"Sure honey, I'll be right outside," Judy agreed and looked towards Puck, she patted his shoulder before she left the room.

"Ok," Quinn breathed. "I've been in pain through most of the night. I thought it meant that I was losing this baby too," her voice was quiet as her hand passed gently over her stomach. "I didn't want you to have to be here for that. It's hard enough," she managed to say then sucked in a sob.

"So? Is that what's happening?" Puck asked Dr Chin.

"No. At the moment the baby is happy where 'he' is," Dr Chin smiled using air quotes for the gender of the baby. "The pain is more than likely from scarring caused by the surgery and it will probably continue throughout the pregnancy. Now here's the important bit for you Noah," he said, his expression becoming quite stern. "I want Quinn to stay on bed rest, no stress and I'm really sorry but at least for now absolutely no intercourse, the closest you can be is to have a cuddle. That's it. We'll do all we can to keep this baby where it is but I need you two to do your part too. Ok?"

"Absolutely," Puck replied and nodded. "Even if it kills me," he added quietly, he looked back at Quinn, her face looked a lot less worried than before. "Can we see it? Will we be able to see what 'it' is?" Puck asked, looking towards the monitor.

"This equipment gives such a detailed image, it's truly amazing, we still won't see for definite yet what the gender of the baby is, but when we do your eighteen weeks scan it'll be just like having a photograph," Dr Chin replied with a smile. "I am going to want to do frequent scans and see you regularly, certainly until we can be sure that the risk of miscarriage is over. And yes, here's the image," he said as he turned the screen round and pointed at the picture.

"Wow," Puck shook his head. "Our baby Quinn, it's real. That's the heart beating?" he asked, his eyes fixed firmly on the screen. Dr Chin nodded in reply to Puck's question. "Wow," Puck repeated.

Quinn half smiled at Puck. "I'm sorry for sending you away this morning. I just didn't want you to worry any more," she apologised quietly.

Puck sat beside Quinn and took her in his arms. "It's ok, I understand, just don't do it again, Quick always, right?" he looked her in the eye as he spoke. "Together. We're stronger together," he reminded her.

Quinn's eyes filled with tears and her chin wobbled as she nodded. "We're going to need a lot of help from everyone. If I can't go to school or look after Beth myself I'll need a lot of support at home. And you still need to work," Quinn's voice was a little more determined.

"You know we'll have all the support we need from your mom, my mom, my Nana. They won't let you lift a finger," Puck insisted. "The stress bit we'll need to work on, especially with what's going on at the moment. And I'll just have to control myself. It won't be easy but if it means this little guy has a better chance I'll do it."

"All together it'll mean this little guy has more of a chance," Dr Chin agreed. "There are still no guarantees though, I need you to be clear on that. The pregnancy is still a high risk. Every precaution is necessary," he reiterated.

"And we'll make sure we follow your advice to the letter," Puck nodded to Dr Chin, "can we call you, you know if there's…"

"Any time. Quinn, you'll be able to go home today, but I need you to remember what we've discussed. Bed rest. And that is absolutely strict," Dr Chin stated then shook Puck's hand and patted Quinn's shoulder before leaving.

Judy poked her head back into the room. "Can I come back now?" she asked.

"Yes mom, you can come back now," Quinn said and held her hand out for her mom to take.

"We'll take care of you. Both of you," Judy vowed as Puck explained exactly what Dr Chin's instructions were. "When can you come home?" she asked.

"Today, but I have to go straight to bed," Quinn shrugged. "I can get up for the bathroom but that's it."

"If it means this little guy stays in there, it'll be worth it," Puck reminded her. "It'll be so worth it," he repeated, Quinn and Judy agreed with him.

When they arrived back at home, Puck got out of the car and went round to Quinn's side to carry her into the house. The reporters and the photographers went wild, taking pictures, shouting questions, asking how Quinn was, how the babies were, what was happening, Puck and Quinn ignored their questions.

Abe arrived a short while later to read a statement to the press. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," he began with a smile to the waiting group of people, then he began reading from a prepared statement. "At the request of Mr and Mrs Puckerman, it is my task to inform you of their sad loss," he said and looked round again. "As reported yesterday, Mr and Mrs Puckerman were indeed expecting twins and yes, there was a problem with the pregnancy," he confirmed. "Sadly, one of the twins did not survive," Abe paused and allowed this news to sink in, to have some impact on the waiting pack. "Currently, on medical advice, Mrs Puckerman is to remain in bed to give the surviving twin the best chance possible. The family have requested that you give them time, Mr Puckerman especially has asked that you respect their privacy at this very trying time, give them peace, give Mrs Puckerman as little stress as possible. Thank you," Abe finished and turned towards the door, he entered the house without saying another word despite the numerous questions that flew at him. Within minutes the item was being broadcast on both local and national news stations.

Puck's and Quinn's cell phones chimed with message after message after message. Friends from school, the football team, Cheerios, Puck's workmates, all sent messages of support and sympathy.

Puck answered the house phone when it rang. "Hello?" he greeted whoever was on the line.

"Noah?" a gruff voice asked. "Is that you? Can I talk to you?"

"Who is this?" Puck asked, recognising the voice but not able to connect it with a name or a face. "Look, I don't have time for this," he sighed into the receiver then started to hang up.

"Wait, wait, Noah, I do feel it. You were right. I do feel it for you and Hannah," the voice cried, he sounded on the verge of desperation.

Puck realised who was on the other end of the line. Seth Puckerman. "You know, I'm finding it quite bizarre that the only times in literally years that you make any contact is when the house is crawling with press," he told his father scornfully. "You always did want to be famous, be on TV. Is this how you want to achieve it? Long lost dad reunites with his children?" Puck asked. "Sorry, not happening," he answered himself without giving his father a chance. "I'd be more impressed if you could make some sort of gesture when there's no media about. Can't see that happening though, can you? Don't call again," Puck advised then hung up. Puck considered leaving the phone off the hook, instead he asked Abe to answer calls for a while, Abe readily agreed to do so.


Puck and Beth spent the afternoon relaxing on the bed with Quinn. They watched some of the videos they'd filmed in Florida, Beth was very brave now, touching Mickey on the TV screen. "My like it Mickey," Beth announced decisively, one finger pressed on Mickey's nose on the TV screen.

"You do?" Puck asked in an exaggerated voice. "Shall we go back and see Mickey tomorrow?"

"NO," Beth shouted, she looked like she would actually cry if they did. "Not want Mickey," she said with a frown.

"Ok, we don't have to go see Mickey again," Quinn told Beth gently. "Daddy's just teasing." Beth climbed back up on the bed and crawled between Puck and Quinn.

"Bad daddy," Beth scowled, hitting out at his chest. "Bad."

"Ah ah, we don't hit, that's not nice Beth Puckerman," Quinn's voice was firm. "Now what do you say to daddy?"

"My sorry daddy," Beth replied, her bottom lip stuck out, tears in her eyes, she didn't like to be told she was naughty.

"I know you're sorry sweetie," Puck said as he hugged Beth to his chest, he hated to see her in tears too. "But you mustn't hit people. It's not nice. Ok?" he reminded her, Beth nodded against his chest. "Shall we go downstairs and leave mommy to rest for a while?" he asked. "We can start dinner maybe?" Beth agreed, glad to be in daddy's good books again.

"My like daddy," Beth announced, smiling once more.

"I'm glad to hear it," Puck laughed as he kissed her cheek, carrying Beth to the door. He glanced back to Quinn. "Try to get some rest, we'll bring dinner up later," he said and waited till Quinn nodded. As he was leaving the room Puck glanced out of the window. "What the…you have got to be kidding me," he shouted. Puck put Beth down on the bed and walked round to the windows, he quickly pulled the blinds. "Leave them closed. At least for now. I'm calling John," he told Quinn, his face set crossly.

Quinn till wasn't sure what was going on till Puck explained to John what he'd just seen. On the roof of the house opposite, was a man crouched, almost perched, with a camera trained on their windows. "No, no idea how long he's been there," Puck answered John's question. "We've been in here an hour, maybe more," he paused, obviously listening again. "No, I just noticed him when I was going to go down and make dinner. Cool, when will you be…yeah I can see your car. Right," Puck said quietly, he had drawn the blind back ever so slightly to see John arriving. He ended his call.

Puck watched John order the photographer, who now seemed to be stuck on the roof, to come down. John knocked at the door and asked the neighbour if he had given permission for the photographer to be on his roof, the neighbour hadn't. As soon as he came down, with assistance from the fire department, John had the man arrested for trespassing, he also confiscated his camera. It was too late to stop the pictures of Puck, Quinn and Beth all laid together on the bed from hitting the news, the guy had downloaded them already while he had been stuck on the roof.

Quinn pulled a face. "So much for no stress, which bit of 'leave them alone' was so difficult to understand? Assholes," she muttered aloud to herself.

"S'holes mommy?" Beth repeated, making Quinn feel very ashamed that she had said the word and her baby copied. Puck was trying desperately not to laugh.

"Casserole. Tuna casserole," Quinn said, very deliberately pronouncing the words. "Mommy said casserole. Can you say casserole?" she asked.

"Cas'hole," Beth repeated. "Cas'hole," then clapped and clapped as did mommy, relieved that Beth had been distracted so easily. Puck was still trying really hard not to laugh.

"Don't you dare blame me for that one," he grinned at Quinn, "especially if she drops it out like at Temple or something. That'd be just our luck, you know that don't you?"

"No one would possibly believe that she's picked it up from me so I'm not worried," Quinn replied, her voice both smug and yet so pious. "Your mom and Nana will blame you anyway," she said with a grin, Puck was sure she was right too. They all heard John call from the top of the stairs. "We're in here John," Quinn called back.

John appeared at the bedroom doorway. "May I?" he asked.

"Of course, come on in," Quinn invited. "Take a seat," she offered with a smile, indicating the bed.

"I think I'll stand," John replied, grinning back. "Hey little lady," he said as he took both of Beth's hands for her to jump and bounce. "Sorry, Quinn," he apologised when he suddenly realised it might not be the best thing to be doing, letting Beth rock the bed about if Quinn was still feeling as sick as she had been a couple of weeks ago.

"It's fine, so what actually happened? How did the guy get on the roof?" Quinn asked.

"He used the porch then just climbed, the owner had no idea," John shrugged. "I've seized his camera, unfortunately he's already downloaded quite a few pictures of the three of you to whichever agency buys his pictures. They're already public domain, it would probably cause more interest if we tried to stop them from being shown or published," John shook his head and sighed. "How are you anyway? You look a lot better than you did yesterday," he added quietly as he reached for Quinn's hand. "I'm so sorry for what happened, Ruth says you're to stay in bed, that…"

"Yes, I'm still pregnant, for now at least," Quinn gave a tight smile. She looked over to Puck, her eyes damp again. "We just have to be as careful as possible and hope that this baby is strong enough to stay here for another six months or so."

"Well, I'll leave you in peace," John nodded. "I only came over to cook dinner, to give everyone a break. I'm glad I came when I did. You might want to check out…" he named a website. "The pictures have been posted on there apparently. Don't look so worried, you all look great actually, a beautiful little family."

Puck's phone chimed with another message, he read it. "Finn says we need to turn on the news again," Puck sighed and turned to the TV on the desk.

"…the Puckermans and their daughter spent the afternoon relaxing at home together following the heartbreaking loss of one of the twins," the newscaster read out as stills of the three of them flashed up in the background. "The trial of Tracy Ingram, the woman accused of abducting their daughter, continues next week. Now to other news."

"We really need to decorate this bedroom," Quinn stated.

"That's it? We need to decorate?" Puck demanded. "We're plastered all over the TV again and all you can say is we need to decorate?"

"I refuse to get stressed over something I can't change. It's already out there, we can't do anything about it," Quinn's voice was incredibly calm.

"Personally, I think that's the best way to be," John agreed. "Don't let the hm hm's," he cleared his throat rather than use the word he would have if tiny ears hadn't been listening, "get you down. You're strong. Together you two are so strong. It's a fantastic positive image of the three of you and I don't care who the jury is, they won't be able to dismiss that from their minds, it's another nail in Tracy Ingram's coffin. Evidence can only do so much. The rest is words and showmanship of the lawyers. It all comes down to who can be more convincing, the defense or the prosecution. This will take a lot of beating by the defense. I know it shouldn't have any bearing on the case but it probably will."


On Monday morning, John had arrived early enough to pick up Hannah to take her to school. Judy, Ruth and Puck were back in court. Quinn was at home with Beth and Sarah. Frannie and Isabelle skyped Quinn, they were staying out of the way right now until the publicity died down again. Mercedes had emailed homework to Quinn on behalf of the teachers. To stave off the boredom, Quinn had already completed most of it and emailed it back to the relevant teachers. "How was today?" Quinn asked as soon as Puck came into the bedroom. "Did she say anything we didn't already know?"

"Well, she admitted everything," Puck revealed. "She claims that your dad promised to marry her and that he intended to alter his will to leave her everything. She says she took Beth to make sure she got what she was promised," he said as he checked out of the windows before taking his shirt and pants off. Puck was still really pissed about the guy sneaking a peak into their bedroom. He pulled on sweat pants and laid down beside Quinn. "How was your day?" he asked, his arm burrowing under her shoulders.

"Mindnumbingly boring," Quinn sighed. "I am seriously going to go out of my mind inside a week having to stay here."

"But it will be worth it," Puck hugged Quinn, "won't it?" he pressed a kiss to her hair.

Quinn turned in his arms. "Of course it will," her sigh was just slightly tearful, "but I need to find some way of keeping up with school, homework. I can't just lie here and vegetate. I can't."

"We'll work something out," Puck murmured and hugged her tighter. "Maybe we can set up online classes for you, skype even, all the classrooms have computers, maybe the teachers will let you take part in class remotely," he suggested.

"That's a good idea," Quinn nodded against Puck's chest. "I might call Principal Figgins tomorrow to ask if it can be set up," she added as she rubbed her cheek slowly on his chest, taking a long deep breath. "I miss you," Quinn murmured, her lips against his chest.

Puck groaned. "You're making this very hard. And I'm not even joking with that, but you know what Dr Chin said," Puck stood up sighing.

"Might be better to wait a few minutes before you go downstairs," Quinn grinned, eyeing the front of his pants. "Beth's first boyfriend, think it quick," she urged.

Puck gave Quinn a narrow eyed look. "My buzz kill isn't working right now. Sorry babe, I'm going to go take a shower, I may be sometime," he said walking away to the bathroom. That made Quinn groan too.


By Wednesday the video link from Quinn's laptop to the school system had been set up and she was taking classes remotely. Quinn was feeling much more involved and able to keep up, Puck was still attending court every day, the jury had retired to consider their verdict after hearing all the evidence and also a victim statement read out by Puck on behalf of him and Quinn, about how Beth being taken from them had affected them, affected her. At two thirty Quinn's phone rang, it was Puck. "Turn on the news. Right now," he demanded, his voice was bubbling with excitement.

"…has been found guilty of kidnapping the toddler, she will be sentenced next week…" the rest of the newscast was drowned out by Quinn screaming. Unfortunately she was still logged into her classroom session.

Mercedes ran to the computer. "Quinn? Quinn? Are you alright?" Mercedes shouted, genuine concern in her voice. "Talk to me, Quinn?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine," Quinn's tear filled voice assured Mercedes. "She's been found guilty. It's over. She's going to jail. It's over," Quinn told her friend then broke down in tears, relief that the woman who had stolen her baby would not be walking the street again for quite some time.

"Oh, that's such good news," Mercedes sighed, her hands clasped together at her chest. She turned round and shouted the news to the class. Quinn heard their cheers and good wishes. "So Puck will be back at school tomorrow then? Mr Jackson just asked," Mercedes asked Quinn.

"I don't know, yes, maybe, yes he should be," Quinn replied, still in a state of shock. "Oh my God, it's over," she repeated.

Sarah appeared at the door with Beth in her arms. She was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm so happy it's over," she said to Quinn even though she could barely speak. They heard noise from outside. Sarah went to look out of the window. "They're back, they're here."

Minutes later Puck appeared in the doorway. "It's over," his voice was jubilant as he landed beside Quinn on the bed. He dragged her into his arms, hugging her tight. "It's all over," he repeated without realising that the whole class was still able to see into their bedroom and were watching with interest. Thank God for Dr Chin's veto, otherwise some of the students of McKinley High might have got an eye opening lesson.

Puck went back to school the next day. One of his first classes was one he would have had with Quinn. The computer was facing the class, he caught Quinn's eye and winked at her as he walked past. Beth was sat on the bed with Quinn, she saw Puck too. "DADDY," Beth called. "DAAAADDEEEE," she shouted again when Puck didn't immediately respond to her.

Puck waved at Beth. "Hey baby," he said, looking round the class a little embarrassed.

"Spidee daddy, sing it," Beth demanded, her face very close to the laptop camera as she patted the screen where daddy was.

"Daddy's at school, he can't sing with you just now," Quinn explained to Beth. "Now you need to be quiet if you want to stay here with mommy, ok?" she reminded the pouting little girl. Quinn looked back at the gathered class and teacher. "Sorry," she shrugged. "Sarah just had to run to the store, she'll be back soon, Beth will go back downstairs when she comes back."

"It's fine Quinn," Ms Hartley smiled, she rather liked seeing Puck looking as discomfited as he had when Beth wanted him to sing with her. The teacher thought it felt a bit weird that one of her students was sat up in a bed that another of her students would be sharing tonight. She knew all about the relationship but seeing it in the flesh so to speak made it all too strange. "Can we get to work now? Alright, who remembers what we were talking about last lesson?"