A/N - It's been a long time since I've updated, and I apologize for that. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, but I had to fix a couple things in this one first.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own GLEE.

Speak Your Mind, Girl:

The next morning Quinn is still really pissed off about what happened. Puck can't just leave like that. It's not right. Maybe they were fighting, okay, but when you're married you're supposed to talk things out right? That's how it works. On top of that, no one walks away from Quinn Fabray. Well, Puckerman. Whatever. She'll find a way to fix this.

He spends the night at Finn's. No real explanation, just a quick 'Quinn's being a bitch,' and everything is settled.

It's about 10:30 in the morning before he decides he should head home. He has to work later anyway. Sighing, he calls out a goodbye to Finn and heads out the door.

Rachel has had a horrible night. Like, really, this is probably the worst one so far. Worse than the night after she sat through their wedding. She did nothing but toss and turn all night, so in the morning she has bags under her eyes, and they're still bloodshot. It is not going to be a good day for her. Dammit.

Quinn is sitting at the kitchen table when he gets home, he thought she'd be at work by now, and just basically demands he 'have a seat'. He does, only because he doesn't want to start shit, even if he knows it's about to get started anyway.

"Where have you been all night, Puck?" Quinn sounds mad, so Puck knows to tread lightly.

"I've been at Finn's. I can't deal with this right now, Quinn, I've gotta get ready for work," he says standing slowly. At her glare he almost backs down, but continues on with what he has to say, "you were a real bitch last night. I'm not letting you say we've been talking about having kids, because we sure as hell haven't. I don't want kids right now," or ever with you, he adds in his head, "and there isn't anything you can do to change my mind," and then he's marching down the hall, Quinn hot on his heels.

She can basically feel the steam coming out of her ears as she follows him down the hall, "Why don't you want kids Puck? You love kids! Or is this so that you can keep holding onto the hope that Rachel will never move on?" He freezes outside the bathroom door, and she grins smugly at his back, "that's right. I know. I know you love her, or at least you think you do. You think you're so sneaky, huh? With all your little longing looks I don't see why you'd think that way. I still don't even understand your infatuation with her, I mean she's the same as she was in high school. A loser."

Puck spins around to face her so fast Quinn is sure her head is what's spinning, "you can say whatever the fuck you want about me, Quinn, but if you start talking shit about Rachel this is gonna get ugly real fast. And I promise, I fucking promise, that you will not win that fight. Back the fuck off of Rachel she didn't do jack shit to you," his glare is so strong she feels the need to take a step back, "oh, and by the way, the only loser I see is you. Rachel made it outta Lima, she won her Tony's she did what she wanted. You stayed here Quinn," and then the door is slammed in her face.

Rachel ventures out of her room and into the kitchen for breakfast, where Brittany and Santana are having a pancake mix fight, and she smiles softly and just watches, lost in thought.

"Santana," high school senior, Rachel Berry, calls, "can I talk to you for a minute, please?" Santana sighs but closes her locker and turns to face the smaller brunette.

"Sure, Berry, what's on your mind?"

Rachel isn't quite sure if this is Santana being nice, or just tolerating her, "it's our senior year, Santana, can't we try being friends this year? I mean I know we've had a horrible past, but I'm sorry for the rude, or disrespectful, things I've said to you in the past, and I know that we could be really great friends," Santana is actually kind of shocked that Rachel can talk so fast and without taking a breath. But whatever.

Santana sighs, "I'm sorry too, Rachel, and you know it's gonna be hard for me, 'cause I'm kinda a bitch to everyone but Britt. You just gotta understand that."

Rachel nods, "I know. But I'm glad we're going to try."

"Rach?" Rachel lightly swats Santana's hand away, "damn, I've been calling you for like five minutes."

Rachel sighs, "I was just thinking about the day we became friends. Sorry for reminiscing," she grins.

"Best thing I ever did, Rach," Santana smiles softly, and then offers her some of those 'vegan pancakes that are so fucking good'.

Even if they hadn't become friends then, Rachel can't see her best friend being anyone but her; and, honestly, Rachel is so glad she let Brittany back into her life. Sure, they'd both been worried, but now, none of those worries seem to matter.

Had his secret glances at Rachel really been that obvious? He isn't quite sure. He honestly didn't think they were, but apparently Quinn Fabray doesn't miss a thing.

Puck sighs as he rinses the soap off of himself and steps out of the shower, he really has no fucking idea what to do here. On one hand, Rachel has been his everything for as long as he can remember, she was there through everything; his father leaving, Beth, even if she wasn't speaking to him at the time, and now his marriage to Quinn? How can she put up with it all? On the other hand, Quinn is his wife now. The mother of his first child, but he knows, he knows, that if he stays with her, he will never have anymore children. Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts, he pushes out of the bathroom, and silently thanks Jew God that Quinn has left.

She's getting ready for work when the doorbell rings, but she thinks nothing of it because Santana or Bitt will answer it. She's definitely not expecting an enraged Quinn Fabray, Puckerman, she reminds herself, to come storming in screaming about how Rachel has always been jealous of her and to just stay out of her husbands life. By the time she's done yelling at Rachel, Quinn is breathing hard, and staring at her red in the face.

"Quinn," Rachel begins slowly, staring Quinn in the face, and watching as even more rage explodes on the blondes face. She doesn't really care though, because at the moment Rachel only has one thing on her mind; and that is to get out what she's wanted to say to Quinn since she was fifteen years old, and she tore her world apart, "you need to shut up for two seconds and listen to me. Noah Puckerman was mine first. Get that through your head. I was the one he cried to when his dad left, I was the one who was there for him when Beth got adopted, as a matter of fact I'm still the one he talks to about anything and everything," and she knows it's petty to be pointing all of this out, and that it just lowers her to Quinn's level, but right now she doesn't care, "have you seen the way he looks at me, Quinn? He looks at me like he should look at you, but he has never looked at you that way; and I can promise you he never will. He married you because he thought I was going to marry Finn; he married you because he didn't think he could have his first choice," Rachel smirks, because really this feels better than it should, "deal with it," and then Quinn finds herself staring at a door, for the second time that morning.

Slowly, Rachel sinks to the floor on the other side of the door, she knows it felt good at the time, but now it doesn't feel so wonderful. She feels like shit. Swiping once more at her eyes, she stands and finishes dressing for work, walks out the front door without a word. Even if Santana's 'I've been waiting for you to say something to that bitch for ages,' makes her smile a little.

Puck is really having issues concentrating on his work today. All he seems to be able to think about is the look of utter heartbreak on Rachel's face as Quinn tells her they want more kids. His day gets even more confusing when Rachel shows up during his lunch break. Is she here to yell at him about kissing her the other night? He isn't sure, but he definitely doesn't like the look on her face.

"Your wife came to my house this morning," whatever it was that he was expecting, it definitely was not that, "so, I figured I should come here and explain what I said before you go home and she twists my words," not that she can make them much worse, Rachel thinks to herself.

"Okay," Puck says, drawing out the word to make it sound like a question.

"Well, she was yelling at me, and I got angry. So I yelled back and I said some things that I'm not proud of," and that look of heart break crosses her face again, "I didn't really mean to say it all; I was just so mad, Noah. I'm so sorry."

Puck shakes his head, "what do you have to be sorry about, baby?"

"I just... I don't really know how to explain it. I was just really mean, and I said that you talked to me about things, and you look at me like you should look at her... And I may have said that you only married her because you didn't think you could have me," she finishes sheepishly.

His laughter is certainly not what she thought would be coming from his mouth, "Rach, baby, someone needed to tell her the truth. Maybe that's awful and I should be yelling, but I really don't care anymore."

When she smiles at him as she's leaving, it touches her eyes for the first time since she's been back in Lima, and he couldn't be more happy about that.

Her heart feels a little lighter knowing that Noah isn't mad at her, and she can't help the little skip in her step and she steps into the dance studio.

'Maybe everything will be okay,' Puck thinks as he closes the shop later that day, 'just maybe.'

Speak Your Mind, Girl.

A/N - Hope you enjoyed!