Part 3

"She is more beautiful then I remembered," Puck murmured as he cradled Beth in his arms.

Puck and Rachel had gone up to her room and Puck had stood beside the crib just watching Beth sleep. After a few minutes she started to stir and he quickly swooped her into his arms as if he had willed her to wake up so that he had an excuse to hold her. Rachel and Puck had worked together to change Beth's diaper and then she was back in Puck's arms.

"She has your eyes," Rachel said, smiling as she watched father and daughter together. She had been worried about Puck's reaction to everything, but this just confirmed to her that she had made the right decision. Rachel tried to stifle a yawn that over took her.

"You must be exhausted," Puck said, realizing how late it was and then added reluctantly, "I, um, guess I should go." He looked down at Beth longingly, almost afraid to put her down and leave for fear that this was some kind of crazy dream and she wouldn't be here in the morning.

Rachel's heart fluttered at the look on Puck's face as he gazed at his daughter. This was what he had been dreaming about since he found out Quinn was pregnant. She couldn't specifically pinpoint when he had become so important to her, but now he was one of the most important people in her life. They had a very normal friendship, but the fact that it was so normal was very odd for both of them. All their other relationships with friends were conditional while theirs wasn't.

"You don't have to go," Rachel assured him. "It's not like this would be the first night you have crashed here. I know Dad & Daddy won't mind. They want to speak to you about everything. Well, they want all of us to talk about everything and we decided that it shouldn't happen tonight, but I am certain if you stay they will bombard you with questions in the morning, but maybe you aren't ready to articulate what you are feeling or what you desire so then maybe you would feel more comfortable going home and then returning tomorrow…"

"I'll stay Rach," Puck cut her off with a chuckle at her rambling. He reluctantly placed Beth back in her crib and stepped towards Rachel's bed.

They looked at each other a little nervously. While it was true Puck at spent the night at Rachel's before, it had never been a conscious decision. When it happened in the past it was because they had fallen asleep watching a movie or TV, but actually making the conscious choice to spend the night together felt a little strange.

"I'll, um, just go change," Rachel murmured as she moved into her bathroom and closed the door.

Puck quickly shed his button down shirt, shoes and shorts leaving him in a wife beater and boxers. He sat down on 'his' side of the bed and waited for Rachel. His mind seemed to be going a mile a minute, totally overloaded with everything that had happened. He had his daughter back all thanks to his best friend, a best friend that it was getting harder and harder to resist the urge for more from. He doesn't know when that feeling started, but it was becoming more and more overwhelming. He had always been attracted to Rachel. Hell, she was hot! But when everything went down with babygate she was the only one to truly stand by him. She was the one who made sure he didn't fall behind in school and that he didn't totally isolate himself from everyone like he really wanted to. While at the time he thought he hated her for it, in retrospect, without her he'd probably be dead in a ditch somewhere. He shook his head from those thoughts and laid down on the bed to wait for Rachel.

Rachel walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas, a pair of grey shorts and a rainbow striped tank top. She looked in the crib to see Beth sleeping then moved to her bed.

"We should get some sleep while we can," Rachel sighed, pulling back the sheet on the bed and crawling under. "I don't know how long Beth will sleep for us."

"Whatever you say, wifey," Puck teased as he eased under the sheet. "I guess babies really do put a damper on a couple's sex life!"

"Noah!" Rachel blushed crimson, clearly scandalized by what he said. Though she couldn't deny the bit of longing she felt at his words.

"Just joking, Berry," Puck laughed. "C'mon, let's get some sleep while we can." He smirked and turned off the lights. "We'll discuss the sex thing later!"

TBC