Quinn's POV
I hold Beth close to me as we hear Puck gathering all the rest of his things from the bedroom, he comes out of the room with a bag slung over his shoulder. "I got the rest of my stuff"
"Okay" I don't look up at him, I can't, it's too hard. I look at Beth and brush some of the hair out of her eyes, anything just to avoid watching the man I love walk away again. He walks over to us and Beth lifts her arms up for him to pick her up, she doesn't know what's going on but it still breaks my heart. I hand her to him and stand up, I watch him kiss her cheek, he tells her that he loves her.
"When will the social worker be here?"
"In an hour, it's the last appointment I have with her before the adoption can be finalized"
"You still sure about adopting her on your own?" I decided it would be best for Beth not to get mixed up in all this, I can work out a custody agreement with Puck later, right now she just needs to officially be in my care before we have to decide how much time she will spend with her dad. I would never tell him he can't see her, but she needs stability in her life and he has shown that he can't provide that.
"It's what's best for her" I look up at him, I really look at him this time and I feel such sadness crash over me. He sets down Beth and steps closer to me.
"It doesn't have to be like this, I am just as committed to being her father as I was on day one"
"That was before you left, how can I know that you won't just leave again?"
"Because my training is now over, I can come back to Ohio now. I only needed to train there because it's where I signed up"
"But you didn't even tell me, that's the problem. You didn't once think to bring it up in all the time we have been living together, raising our daughter"
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for that, this will never happen again"
"But that's just the thing, this is the same old Puck, not able to stay in the same place for too long"
"That was the old me, I promise you that I can and will stay here with you guys, I love you Quinn. I have always loved you and Beth" He now is standing so close to me, he takes his hand and puts it on my face. "Quinn, please"
"Puck" He leans in a kisses me, I wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. I don't want to admit that I am enjoying this but I am less willing to admit that I don't want this to end. He pulls away and I feel breathless, I want to lean in again but he has already moved away. He pulls out a paper and sets it down on the kitchen table.
"This is all my flight information, you just say the words and I won't go, and if not then you will know where to find me" He waits for a second but when I can't find any words to say he walks over and gives Beth one more quick hug, then he picks up the bag from the floor and walks out the door for the second time, and something in my heart is telling me that it's probably the last.
I open up the door and find Mrs. Groff standing there, she smiles at me and I let her inside. "It's nice to see you again Lucy"
"Nice to see you too"
"Where is Noah?"
"Oh, he isn't really in the picture anymore. We just couldn't make everything work and it's best for Beth if we just weren't together"
"Well I'm glad you too my advice with figuring your shit out. The worst thing for a recently orphaned child to be in the middle of dysfunction"
"I completely agree, please sit down" I sit down and she sits across from me.
"So do you have plans to adopt her together and split the custody?"
"I was more thinking about adopting her myself and having an out of court agreement with him"
"That's one way to do it, you don't have to make any decisions right now"
"Okay"
"Well this is supposed to be my last visit and I want to tell you that I am very confident that you are going to be a great mother"
"Thank you"
"And I really want to tell you that I hope things work out the best for you with Noah, I could tell that he loves his daughter and you two were such a great team"
"Yeah" I can't help but smile, just thinking about the time I had with Puck makes me so happy. I stand up and pick Beth up. "I'm sorry, I just can't do this"
"What?"
"I am about to let the only guy who has actually loved me go, I can't do that. I am really sorry to inconvenience you but I think we need to reschedule"
"I don't think that's possible" I put on Beth's coat and her shoes. "What are you doing?"
"I have to go to the airport, I have to stop Puck" I run over to the table and grab the flight information.
"Then I'm coming with you, I don't have my next appointment for a few hours and now I'm pretty curious about how this is going to end"
"Okay well we have to hurry" I grab Beth and Mrs. Groff follows us through the door, I strap Beth into her car seat and get into the front seat. I start the car and back out of the driveway.
"What time is the flight?"
"2:40"
"Well it's 2:00 now so if you don't want to miss him then hurry up"
"But your watching me"
"Well I'm going to be watching you miss the flight"
"Okay" I speed up and keep my eyes on the road but I keep making glances at the clock. We pull into the guest parking at the airport and I unbuckle Beth and the three of us rush inside the airport. I go to the information desk and find out where the plane will be flying out of and rush to buy a ticket so we can go through security. I get to the security check and start to take off my shoes and jacket.
"Ma'me you are going to have to remove the baby's shoes as well"
"Okay" I start to take off her shoes when I see Mrs. Groff getting upset.
"Are you serious? They are baby shoes. She is trying to get to the person she loves and she is going to miss the flight"
"Just calm down, it will be okay"
"Here, I'll take her, you just get there" I kiss Beth's head and then run through the airport to try and find him. I look all around and don't see him. I check the time on my phone and it reads 2:45, it's too late, he's gone. I see Mrs. Groff run through the airport holding Beth.
"Did you find him?"
"No, he's gone, the plane already took off"
"Oh, I'm so sorry" I take Beth from her and hold her close to me.
"It's okay"
"If only we could have gotten though the airport quicker"
"No it's alright, I knew there was a chance that we wouldn't make it on time" I sit down in one of the chairs and put Beth's shoes back on, I try not to cry, not in front of her, I'm all she has now.
The drive back home is quiet, I don't think she really knows what to say to me. I park and get out of the car, she comes over to me and I can see that she's crying now. "There is no need to cry, we did everything that we could do"
"I know, but I just could have tried harder"
"You did everything you could" I give her a hug and when she pulls away she wipes her tears.
"Well I just know you will be such a good mom, call me if you ever need anything"
"I will"
"And I am going to approve you guys, just in case you decide to raise her with Noah"
"Thank you, but I think he's gone for good" I take Beth inside and I set her down next to her toys. I go into the kitchen and try and hide my crying from my daughter, I don't want her to see my cry.
"I couldn't do it" I look up and find Puck sitting there at the kitchen table, his bag is at his feet and his face softens when he sees that I'm crying. "Oh my god, why are you crying?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't get on the plane, I couldn't leave you guys behind. I came back to the house but you guys were gone, I thought you had that meeting today?"
"I did, but we went after you"
"You came to the airport for me?"
"Yes, I couldn't let you leave again. Puck, I love you" I don't wait for him to finish before I kiss him, I've wanted to do this for so long, I've wanted to be with him for so long. When we break apart I smile at him.
"I love you too"
"So we're really going to do this? This is for real this time?"
"Yes, I really want to do this, Quinn I have always loved you and I want to raise our daughter with you"
"Then stay, and don't ever go again"
"I promise you, I won't" I kiss him again and know that this is real, I have always loved Puck and now I know that I'm not going loose him again. I have the love of my life and Beth has her father.
