Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Note: This, as you'll see, takes place in season 1, hence Quinn being heavily pregnant with Beth, and therefore making Quick believable. Review.
Constant (constant) craving (craving)
Has always (always) been
Constant (constant) craving (craving)
Has always (always been)
He rests his hands on her swollen belly and sighs. "How much longer?"
"A week, at least," she replies softly. "I'm so nervous."
"Don't be," he rubs her stomach. "I'll be right there with you."
"I wish my parents could be there to see it," she whispers.
"Hey, don't be sad," he tilts her chin. "Don't. It's not your fault they're idiots and kicked you out of the house. Didn't Mercedes say you can stay there as long as you need?"
"Yes," she murmurs. "But I still wish my mom could be there to help me."
"You do like her name, don't you?" The Jewish boy asks.
"I told you, I'm giving her up," the blonde reminds him. "I can't…handle her. Not now, not when I'm only sixteen. I want to graduate high school, go to college…I'm not sure I could do those things if I was raising a daughter."
"But before you give her up, can you…can we…name her Beth?" He tries again.
She smiles. "I do like that name. Oh, she's kicking," she moves his hand so that he feels the kick-kick-kick of little feet beating against her stomach.
"I think she likes the name," he grins. "Hey, Beth. I'm your dad."
"And I'm your mom," she laughs. "Wow, soon I'm going to be a mother."
"And I'm going to be a father," he says, amazed. "Never thought I'd say that."
"Noah?" She turns to look at him. "Do you love me?"
He pauses, rubbing her stomach for a few moments before answering. "Yes."
"Do you?" Her green eyes stare into his dark ones. "Do you really?"
"Of course," he says. "And I love Beth, too. You know, she'll still be ours, even when she's not…ours. She'll always be our daughter, even when she's someone else's." He pauses again and straightens up. "Who's…who's taking her?"
"I don't know yet," she admits. "I think the hospital takes care of that."
"I thought Mr. Schue's crazy ex-wife was taking her?" Puck asks
"No, not anymore," Quinn says. "So I'm really not sure. Whoever it is, though, I'm sure will give her a better life than we could provide for her."
"That's true," Puck says, and Quinn detects a hint of sadness in his voice. "I kind of would've liked to have kept her," he confesses. "I know you didn't, but I think we could've been really good parents."
One week later
"Oh…oh, my water just broke!" Quinn cries out, and before Puck knows it, they're at the hospital, Quinn clutching her stomach and groaning as he wheels her inside.
"Squeeze my hand," he instructs as the nurses hook her up to machines. "Squeeze it as hard as you need to, okay?"
"Okay," she whimpers, and grips his hand as another contraction washes over her.
"That's it," he makes a face. "I'm so getting a vasectomy now."
"Should've done that before, you idiot," she glares at him. "You suck. You suck, you suck, you suck!" She falls back as the contraction ends, exhausted.
In what seems like minutes, Puck looks down in time to see baby Beth enter the world, her light hair blonde and wispy, her eyes the same color as Quinn's. "Wow," he breathes.
"Let me hold her," Quinn murmurs, and he hands his daughter over.
"She's beautiful," he says. "She looks just like you."
"I know," she whispers. "But I think she's going to have your smile." She looks up at him, eyes filled with tears. "Do you still love me?" She asks worriedly.
"Yes, especially now," his answer is immediate. "Now more than ever."
Two days later
"Oh, hello, Miss Corcoran," Quinn says coolly as the Vocal Adrenaline coach enters the nursery. "What can I do for you?"
"Which one is yours?" Shelby asks. "Ah, I see her. She looks like you. Are you still giving her up for adoption?" She turns to ask Quinn and Puck.
"Yes," Quinn says. "Do you know anyone who might be interested?"
"I missed so much by giving Rachel away," Shelby says regretfully. "Granted, I was just a paid surrogate, but I missed a lot by not staying in her life, I now realize. I could just start over now, but…" she laughs. "So, what's her name?"
"Oh, we didn't…" Quinn begins to say, but Puck interrupts her.
"Beth," he says. "Her name is Beth."
"Hmm, Beth," Shelby says slowly. "I like it." She smiles mysteriously and walks away, wishing the couple good luck and good health. Hours later, she is signing the adoption papers for Beth Fabray-Puckerman and resigning from Carmel High.
"She'll be a good mother," Puck rubs Quinn's shoulder soothingly.
"I know," she murmurs. "I know she will be."
Up next: Kurt/Blaine.