Beginning Our Life
Last Time: Sarah and Blaine figured out who hooked up last night and who didn't. Finn's afraid of the consequences his actions might bring. Sarah was jealous of how well Nate accepted Puck. Puck suggested Beth come over to fill the spot. And that's what you missed on Beginning Our Life.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs that I may put in here.
It Takes Three
Puck's Point of View
The door shut with a click and Sarah and I glanced at each other. I have a feeling being alone with Nate and Beth is going to be tougher than Grace and Beth; even if we don't go to the emergency room this time.
Beth pulled on my pant leg, "Me color, Daddy?"
I nodded and lifted her up, gently tossing her in the air and catching her, "Of course, baby girl. Let's go in the kitchen."
Sarah trailed behind silently with Nate in her arms. When Beth came, she ran at me first and wouldn't have even said 'hi' to Sarah if I didn't suggest it. Despite how Sarah acted, I knew she was a little hurt by it.
I set Beth down in one of the kitchen chairs, "Markers or crayons, Bethie?"
She thought hard and finally smiled, "Crayons, Daddy."
I nodded and grabbed down Grace's box of crayons from the cupboards. I placed them on the table with a pile of papers, "Here you go."
Sarah gently kicked over Nate's bouncer before gently setting him in it. She sat at the table across from Beth, "What are you drawing?"
Beth didn't look up, "For boy."
Sarah smiled, "For Nathan? That's nice."
"Go with him," Beth continued.
I leaned over her shoulder, "You're going to give that to Nate to take places? You're a good sister, Beth."
She looked up at me, "Food?"
"Are you hungry?" I asked. She nodded. "Ok," I said, "How about I make you a grilled cheese sandwich? Would you like that?"
"Yes," Beth said quietly before going back to her drawing.
Sarah stood, "Puck, want me to go get us Subway? I'm not really in the mood for grilled cheese."
"Um, sure," I said, "Do you know what I want or-"
"I know," Sarah smiled. She bent down and kissed Nate's forehead, "I'll be right back, baby," she moved over to Beth and did the same, "Be good for Daddy."
I waited for Sarah to leave before going over to the stove and pulling out a pan, "So Beth, do you want me to make your sandwich in a shape?"
"Please," Beth stated. I heard her get out of her chair and turned to see her setting the picture on Nathan.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
She looked up, "To boy."
"You know, he has a name," I went and knelt down next to the two of them, "It's Nathan, but you can call him Nate."
"Nate," Beth repeated and nodded.
I picked up the paper where there were four different colored squiggles. Two of them, the green and purple, were much longer than the others, the blue and pink. "What is this?" I asked.
Beth's small hand reached out and pointed at the green and purple lines, "Daddy and Sars," she moved her hand to the other lines, "Beth and boy."
"Oh," I nodded before smiling at the small and kinda weird, but still rather nice family portrait, "I bet Nate likes it, don't you?"
Beth nodded and ran a hand down Nate's stomach, "He likes."
I chuckled and stood to go back to making her sandwich. I was about to butter the bread when Nathan cried softly. I glanced at the clock to see it was time for his lunch as well.
"Daddy!" Beth screamed, "Boy's sad!"
I hurriedly set a bottle on the warmer on the stove and turned it on before running over to them. Gently, I coaxed Beth's hands from her ears, "It's alright. Shh, calm down, you're going to scare Nate."
She buried her face in my neck and sobbed, "T-turn him off!"
I reached a hand out to softly rock Nate's bouncer, "Calm down, bud, you're making Beth upset. Daddy's got your bottle warming up, you can eat in a second."
Beth rubbed her fists over her eyes and stepped back, "Me ok."
I chuckled, "Are you sure?"
She gave a determined nod, "Yes," she wiped her eyes again, "No cry."
I slowly stood, keeping my eyes on both my kids. I went back to the stove to continue everyone's lunch.
"Daddy," Beth whispered and tottered over to me, "Sticker?"
"Why do you want a sticker, monkey?" I asked while grabbing the bottle from the stove.
"To-to put boy in the box for the man," Beth said.
I raised my eyebrows, "Beth, what?"
She stamped her foot, "The box by the car!"
I had no idea what she was talking about, but just shrugged and grabbed a stamp next to the envelopes on the counter; it was the closest thing I could think of to a sticker at the moment. "Here you go," I held it out for Beth.
She happily took it, "Thank."
I nodded, "No problem." I quickly buttered the bread and set it on the pan. I was bringing my hand away when I hissed. A searing pain shot up my wrist; I'd hit it against the edge of the pan. I stepped back to get a better look at it. There was a dark red line where I'd burnt myself. I glanced at Beth, "I'll be right back, monkey. Daddy hurt himself and needs to fix it."
"K," Beth smiled. She ignored me as I left and continued playing with Nate.
As I smoothed on the burn cream, I heard the front door open and close and assumed it was Sarah. Quickly, I finished up and went back to the kitchen, "Alright, who's ready-"
I froze. They were gone. Beth and Nate disappeared.
I ran into the living room, "Beth? Nate? Come on. This isn't funny. Where are you?" I got down on my knees and started crawling around, "Now I'm serious, you two need to come out. Beth, where are you?" I lifted my head up to look straight at the door, "No," I whispered. I stood and threw open the door only to be face to face with Sarah.
She jumped a little, but otherwise stood her ground, "Look who I found," she angrily breathed.
Beth was staring at the ground, her hand held tightly in Sarah's. Nathan was squirming slightly in Sarah's arms and my eyes widened at the stamp on his forehead.
"Yeah," Sarah whispered while walking past me, "Imagine my surprise when I drive up to see Beth attempting to put her brother in the mailbox."
I was still in shock as I picked up Nate's bouncer on the front steps. I hurriedly went back to Sarah and the kids, "What do we do?" I whispered in her ear.
She shrugged while gently peeling the stamp off of Nathan, "I think we have to punish her."
I glanced at Beth sitting in silence at the table; she seemed to know what she did wrong, "I don't want to hurt her."
"No," Sarah shook her head, "We won't spank her, just put her in a timeout."
"Oh," I nodded, "Right, sorry, kinda used to the other kind of punishment."
Sarah kissed my cheek, "I know, baby. Do you want me to do it then?"
I bit my lip and shook my head, "No, I'm her dad."
"Good luck," Sarah took Nate and his bottle to the living room.
I knelt down in front of Beth, "Hey, monkey."
"Hi, Daddy," she whispered.
I lifted her chin in time to see a tear drip down her cheek, "Bethie," I sighed and took her in my arms.
"Sars mad," she cried.
I hugged her tightly before setting her back on the chair, "Well, Beth, I'm mad too."
Her mouth dropped and her sobs increased.
I closed my eyes, "Beth, listen, ok. You cannot mail your brother, he's a person, not a package. Is this why you drew that picture? To send it with him?"
"Sorry, I sorry!" Beth cried.
I swear this was the hardest thing I've ever done. "Beth, you have to go in a timeout," I said slowly, "You can't mail your brother." I lifted her in my arms and carried her to the stairs, "I want you to sit here until I say you're done."
Beth cried harder and clawed at my shirt as I tried setting her down, "No, I sorry!"
"I know," I pried her from me and finally got her on the steps, "I'll be back in a little bit."
I winced as I walked away and Beth continued yelling, "Love! Daddy, love!"
I sat down on the couch with a groan. Sarah set a hand on my arm, "You ok?"
"No," I shook my head and looked down in her lap at Nathan staring up at me as he finished his bottle, "Are you ok, bud?"
He gurgled around the bottle with a smile.
I smiled back, "Can Daddy hold you now?"
Sarah lifted the bottle from his mouth and passed him to me, "So why weren't you watching them?"
I sighed and held Nate against my shoulder to burp him, "I burnt my wrist on the pan."
Sarah placed the burp cloth under Nate's mouth before grabbing my wrist. Gently, her cold fingers traced the dark line, "Are you ok?"
I winced slightly when she added pressure, but nodded, "Yeah. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left them."
Sarah shook her head, "You didn't know Beth would try and mail Nate. You didn't even know she knew what the mailbox was for." The back of her hand ran across my jaw, "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Am I a bad dad?" I whispered.
"No, not at all," Sarah said softly, "Beth needed to know that what she did was wrong. How many times were we grounded or punished because we did something stupid? Too many to count. Every kid needs to learn that trying to mail their brother isn't right."
I chuckled, "How in the world did she come up with that?"
Sarah laughed, "She has a big imagination."
There was a knock on the door and the doorbell rang.
Sarah stood, "I'll get it."
I watched her walk away then looked down at Nathan, "I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I'll make sure I keep a better eye on you next time."
Sarah came back in the room with a surprising face following her.
"Hey," Quinn smiled, "I figured I'd take up your offer and come visit before heading back to Yale."
I stood to give her a quick hug, but not before I could notice Sarah's glare at Quinn's back, "You're always welcome here. Nate missed you, right buddy?"
Nate stared up at Quinn with wide eyes.
She smiled and carefully took him in her arms, "Hi Nathan, how are you?"
"He went on an adventure today," Sarah said while sitting down.
"Really?" Quinn sat on the love seat, "And where did he go?"
"The mailbox," I groaned and fell next to Sarah, "Beth decided to mail her brother."
"Beth's here?" Quinn asked.
To answer her question, Beth screamed at that moment, "Daddy! I sorry!"
Quinn gasped, "Puck, where is she?" She quickly placed Nate in Sarah's arms and started down the hallways, "Bethie?"
I rolled my eyes and ran after her, "Quinn, calm down."
We halted to a stop in front of Beth rubbing her red eyes on the stairs, "Daddy," she cried, "Pwease, I sorry."
"I know, monkey," I lifted her in my arms and held her close, "Daddy had to know that you knew it was wrong to try and mail Nate."
"I know, I know," Beth nodded her head quickly.
Quinn stepped forward and set a hand on Beth's back, "Hi there, baby."
Beth's head snapped to Quinn, "Mama?"
Quinn nodded, "Yeah, it's me."
Beth smiled and reached her arms out, "Mama."
Quinn happily took her and sat on the steps, "I missed you."
Beth nodded and hid her face in Quinn's neck, "Daddy and Sars mad," she whispered.
I felt just as bad as earlier. I knelt down in front of them, "Beth, what you did was bad, Sarah and I want you to understand that so you never do it again." I gave Quinn a pleading look to back me up.
She gave a small nod and turned Beth to be able to look at both of us, "Beth, I want you to know that what you did was wrong. You cannot try and put Nathan in the mailbox. Don't you love him? Do you love your little brother?"
"Daddy love boy, not me," Beth whispered.
I ran a hand over my face. I heard a small gasp and a creek in the floor to tell me Sarah was standing nearby. Quinn's eyes widened and flashed to me with a sad look.
"Beth," Sarah said softly and walked forward from her hiding place. Nathan was wrapped tightly in her arms with a blanket thrown over him. "Your dad loves you the same as before," Sarah continued. She placed Nate in my arms and replaced him with Beth, "Guess what? I thought my parents didn't love me any more after Sammie was born, but I was wrong. My mom and dad still love me; the same with your dad and me and your moms. We all love you just the same as before, ok?"
Beth placed a sloppy kiss on Sarah's cheek, "Love you and Daddy and Mama and boy."
I stood and made sure Beth was looking at me before smiling and saying, "I love you."
Beth grinned widely, "No more stairs?"
I chuckled, "No more stairs."
She looked at Nate, "I sorry, boy. Beth loves you."
"That's my girl," I tickled her stomach, "Now come on, I think there's a grilled cheese sandwich with your name on it."
"Oh, I hungry," Beth squirmed down from Sarah's arms and ran to the kitchen.
Quinn stood with a soft laugh, "Would you mind if I stayed for a little while? I missed her and she seems to be needing some love today."
I nodded, "Of course."
Beth stuck her head around the corner, "Come on!"
Sarah looped her arm in mine, "You're a good dad."
I smiled, "Thanks. I just have to make sure my daughter thinks the same."
~~~~~GLEE~~~~~
"Two, three, seven, five, four, one," I rattled off while covering my eyes.
I heard Sarah snort at the same time Beth giggled. Quinn snickered softly from behind the curtain. Ok, yeah, two of us were nineteen and Sarah was sixteen, but Beth wanted to play hide-and-seek and who were we to deny her?
"Ready or not, here I come!" I called. Nate bounced in his seat and I waved at him, "Where'd Mommy go? Huh? Where's Mommy?"
He stuck his tongue out and bounced some more.
I chuckled, "Fine, I'll find her myself."
I tossed a pillow at Quinn before going to find Sarah. She was kneeling around the corner of the kitchen next to some cabinets.
I rolled my eyes, "Impressive."
She scoffed while standing, "And trying to win points with your daughter by acting stupid is a good idea?"
I gently shoved her, "Shut up. Now where'd she go?"
Sarah silently pointed towards the bathroom with a smirk.
I nodded and tried to make as much noise as possible on my walk over, "Beth? Where's Beth? Is she in here?" I threw open the hall closet, "Nope, not there."
A stifled laughter came from the bathroom like Sarah said.
I chuckled and went in there, "Beth? Are you here?"
"No," she squeaked quietly.
I tore back the shower curtain, "There you are!"
Beth screamed and jumped up, "No! Beth's gone!"
I laughed and lifted her in my arms, "You're such a good hider; way better than Mama and Sars."
Beth shook her head, "Me best little girl."
I kissed her forehead with a smirk, "That's right."
She set her head on my shoulder, "Nap time?"
I patted her back, "Sure. Are you tired?"
"Yes," she breathed in my ear.
I carried her to mine and Sarah's bed where I held her in one arm while arranging the pillows so she won't fall off. Carefully, I set her inside the barriers, "See you in a little bit, monkey."
"No, Daddy," Beth reached forward, "Nap," she patted the bed surrounding her.
"Um, ok," I muttered having never done this before. Slowly, I laid next to her and tucked her under my arm around the pillows, "Just close your eyes, Daddy's right here."
"Love Daddy," Beth whispered before closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
I kissed the top of her head, "Love you too, Beth."
I stared up at the ceiling and listened to her sleep. It was rather calming and pretty similar to listening to Sarah sleep.
Eventually Sarah poked her head in, "Can I put Nate down?"
I nodded, "Yeah, of course."
She smiled and carried Nate to the nursery. I heard her whisper goodnight to him before coming back out, "You wanna come out in the living room? Quinn went out to get some slushies."
I chuckled, "Just give me a minute with girl."
Sarah laughed before stuffing her hand in her mouth, "Oops, sorry. Alright, see you in a few." She tiptoed from the room and I smiled.
Beth stirred under my arm, but continued sleeping.
I placed a kiss on her head and rolled away. Once at the door, I shut off the lights, "Goodnight, baby. Daddy loves you."
I went to the living room and plopped down next to Sarah on the couch.
She leaned into me, "I love you."
I chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, "Love you too."
"Did you know you're a great dad?" Sarah asked.
"Really?" I looked down at her, "Ya think so?"
"Mhmm," Sarah kissed my jaw, "A caring, funny, hot dad."
I laughed, "Thanks, babe."
"Stop it," she muttered and pushed my arm.
The door opened and Quinn walked in with three slushies, "Hey, did they both go down?"
"Yeah," Sarah answered and sat up. She took one of the drinks, "Thanks, Q."
"No problem," Quinn passed me mine then sat on the chair, "So when's Beth going home?"
"Between four and five," I stated. "Thanks for helping out with her earlier," I continued, "I'm glad you came over."
Quinn smiled, "I kinda like this whole mom thing, you know, like really being a mom and stuff. I see how you like it, Sarah."
Sarah blushed, "Nate's my world now, and Beth, and I need to make sure they're perfect. It's fun too. My favorite part is when I do something to make Nate smile or laugh."
I hugged her close, "I think you're both great moms and we all know I'm a great dad."
Both of them laughed, "Don't get too big of a head, Puckerman," Quinn teased, "I'm sure one of them will say otherwise eventually."
I rolled my eyes, "My kids will always love me, I'll never embarrass them like one of you will."
"Liar," Sarah poked my arm, "We will always be perfect parents."
"Come on, we don't want to be perfect," I stated, "That'll take the fun out of it. It'll be fine if we forget to pick them up at practice or accidentally embarrass them in a store because then we'll learn and maybe by the time we're all in our sixties we'll be perfect."
Sarah and Quinn smiled at each other then me, "Sounds good," Sarah eventually said.
Quinn nodded, "I like it."
I glanced between them, "So what now?"
Quinn shrugged and took a sip of her slushie, "Not sure, but this is delicious."
"Except when it's covering your face," Sarah muttered.
I kissed the top of her head, "That'll never happen to you again, I swear."
"Daddy!"
Quinn shot up, "I'll get her."
Sarah waited until Quinn was gone to set her slushie down and climb on my lap, "I was thinking, we should have some fun tonight as a reward for being good parents."
I chuckled, "Really? What are we going to do?"
Sarah smirked and leaned towards my ear, "We're gonna get some ice cream."
I laughed loudly and caught her lips against mine, "That sounds great."
"Doesn't it?" Sarah smiled.
~~~~~GLEE~~~~~
A/N: I wasn't completely sure how to end it, so sorry if it's a little choppy. I have a lot of ideas coming up and can't wait, but until then, I have a one-shot planned that goes along with this, but in the future which I think you'll like. PLEASE REVIEW with any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions! I love when you guys love the chapter!
~~~~~GLEE~~~~~
FinchelFan728 - Now you know!
dance-sing-live - I'm so happy you liked it! And I hope you liked this one too!
smilin steph - Aw thanks!
Tyra - Thanks!
~~~~~GLEE~~~~~
Sneak Peak: "Where's Noah?" "Um," I glanced behind me, "With Nate in the nursery. What's wrong?" "Marley cheated on me," Jake pushed past me, "And I'm going to punch something in like five seconds if no one stops me." I felt frozen as he quickly walked down the hall. Marley cheated?
I don't know why, but I've been waiting for this for a while.
