NYPD GLEE CHAPTER 3
Half an hour later they were sitting calmly in an old Mom & Pop Diner around the corner from the precinct, digging into their respective meals with gusto.
After half his pancakes were gone, Puck decided to end the comfortable silence between them.
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I was a douche, and I'm sorry. You're an awesome singer, and you know it." He gave her a grin. "I figured I'd be seeing your face on billboards 'round the city one day." He said.
"It just wasn't meant to be, I guess. I did the whole Broadway-thing for a few years, but it felt empty after a while." She shrugged, clearly uncomfortable.
"What about you? What happened to the great Noah Puckerman, stud of McKinley, a woman in every . . . well, I was going to say harbor, but street of Lima seems more appropriate." Her teasing smile took the zing from her words.
"Maddie happened…" He looked at her. Rachel had been there during the whole baby-gate debacle of course.
"After her, I kinda realized that there was no way I would want a guy like me getting anywhere near my daughter. So I figured I'd clean up my act, got myself to Ohio State and joined the force straight outta College." He shrugged sheepishly. "I was a jerk. If it weren't for my little girl, I'd probably be one of the guys I busted daily in Narco." He grabbed his wallet and pulled out a picture. He gave it to her.
"This is Maddie and me during Christmas last year." In the picture, a Mohawk-less Noah Puckerman was being hugged by a small girl, around 11. Her hair was a dark brown and two pairs of the same eyes looked at Rachel with the same mischievous smile. She grinned slightly.
"She seems happy." Puck's grin radiated with pride and joy.
"She is. Rhonda and Paul let me come over whenever I'm back home. I'm a friend of the family." He smiled.
"Apropos Lima, have you heard from any of the old gang?" Rachel pushed the picture back to him.
"Well, I know Finn's still there, I bumped into him in the Supermarket last time I was home. Teaches geography of all things. Did you know he married Brittany?" Rachel shot him an incredulous look.
"No, I did not, actually. That coupling is a bit . . . scary, I admit. What happened to Quinn?"
"Streetworker in San Francisco, last I heard. Did the whole reformed Christian-thing for her parents till graduation, evened out the bitchiness, I s'pose. San's actually out there with her, lawyering her way 'round the valley." He couldn't help the suggestive eye-brow wiggle. Rachel hid a grin.
"What about Artie? I know Tina is here, we get together every few weeks for a drink with Matt." She said.
He raised his eyebrows at that.
"Artie's off doing his thing up in Washington. Got involved in politics while in College, I think he's now a Congressman or something? Seriously, when was the last time you went to Lima, Berry?" He chuckled, until he noticed that Rachel had a bitter smile on her face.
"There's not much reason for me to go back. My parents don't live there anymore; neither do any of my friends." She shrugged. "I moved on, I guess."
Wisely, he picked up on her distinct lack of enthusiasm when it came to this specific topic and switched easily.
"So, you meet with Tina every few weeks?" He asked.
"Yeah, she went to NYU with me, got married a few years ago, I was actually her maid of honor." Puck smirked at the thought of Rachel in a poofy dress.
"Who's her husband?"
"Matt, actually. He came out a few years after us with his firm, looked me up for a drink, I brought Tina along and they really hit it off. Their second child is due in November, I think." He was surprised. Rutherford going for the Goth? He didn't think he'd ever seen them talking during high school.
"Seriously? Rutherford and the Goth chick? That's kinda. . . hmmm…" He remembered he really didn't know these people all that well anymore. After all, it had been ten years since he had seen the woman he was now calmly having lunch with.
"Yeah, I know. At first I was quite surprised myself, but they've both changed a lot, and are happy. You should come along next time we meet, I'm sure they'd be happy to see you!" Rachel drank the last of her coke and wiped her hands with the napkin provided.
"So, Berry, what about you? Got any significant other in your life? A hot stud perhaps? I mean, you had the Puckerone for a week, it's only normal to desperately seek something similar, though I gotta tell ya, nothin' beats the original!"
She scoffed.
"That, Puckerman, is none of your business. And trust me; while you might have been exceptional in Ohio, I've had plenty of better ones in the last decade. But hey, maybe you learned a thing or two, who knows, you might just have to convince me again."
She winked at him, before putting money on the bar and leaving him sitting there, staring at her ass as she sashayed outside and strode confidently towards the precinct.
Only when he heard a loud whistle did he jump up and sprint out the door. Somehow, he felt he was going to spend most of the time as Rachel's Partner actually trying to catch up with her. But hey, he had always liked the chase.