Hello everyone! I just want to thank you for all of the reviews. They really help in the thinking process while I'm writing. In this chapter we'll find out Rachel's decision and the results of it. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

"Mommy, where are we going?" Hailey asked as Rachel got her coat for her.

"We are going to meet up with Puck and hang out with him today," Rachel answered, hating every word of it. She really didn't want to do this but she knew that it wasn't fair to have her selfishness ruin the lives of her friends. Quinn needed her to do this and in the end, she knew that Hailey needed this too, even if she didn't know that Puck was her father. When they were ready, they left their apartment and went to meet with Puck for lunch.

Meanwhile Puck was already at a burger place, waiting for them. When he found out that Rachel was going to let him hang out with Hailey, he was ecstatic. Finn told him about the ultimatum he had given Quinn and honestly, Puck was grateful that his friend cared so much to do that. Even though he knows that Finn would never break up with Quinn because he loves her too much, he had to admit that Quinn deserved it. She should've never kept Rachel's secret for so long. He understood that she was just trying to be a good friend to Rachel but she should've known that it was in Hailey's best interest for him to know.

He had been so distracted with his thoughts that he didn't realize Rachel and Hailey were walking up to him. When he noticed them, he met them halfway.

"Hi Puck," Hailey smiled. Seeing her smile made him think of Rachel's smile.

"Hey kid. Are you ready to eat some good food? I ordered you and me a cheeseburger and fries and got your mom a salad. Think you'll like that?" he asked. She nodded excitedly and he looked at Rachel, who didn't look happy to be there.

"Come on, Rach. You can at least smile."

Rachel frowned at him as she and Hailey sat with him at the table. "How can I smile when I was practically forced into this? What Finn did to Quinn was awful. She didn't deserve it."

Puck looked at Hailey, who was looking at them curiously. "Hey Hail, while we're waiting for our food do you want to go play the games over there?"

"Yes," she smiled. Puck gave her some money and she ran over to the games, leaving Puck and Rachel alone. He turned to her.

"Honestly, I don't give a fuck what Quinn deserved." He glared at her. Rachel was taken back from how angry he was all of a sudden. "You shouldn't have lied and kept Hailey from me all this time. You let me miss five years of her life. Do you not realize that? I missed her birth, I missed her first words, watching her take her first steps. I missed all of that. And you're not even sorry."

"I can't be sorry. You made it clear that you wanted no part in this after you left me that day. And besides, you're not exactly the most reliable person. You've spent the past few years in Lima, cleaning pools and having sex with married women. How is that good for a child?"

"Regardless you still should've told me. I could've helped so you wouldn't have to go through all of this alone. My dad may be a deadbeat but that's not how I am. I would've stepped up and took care of both you and Hailey."

Before Rachel could respond, their food was ready. He went over to get it while Rachel called Hailey back to the table. When they all sat down together and started eating, Rachel thought about what Puck said. Would he have really stepped up and took care of her and Hailey? At the time, Rachel thought she was doing the right thing but now she's not so sure. She was just trying to do what was best for Hailey and she just didn't want to end up heartbroken again. If he had ended up hurting Hailey just as much as he hurt her, Rachel would feel so ashamed of herself for even putting her daughter through that. Now that Puck knows about Hailey, she just has to figure out how to tell Hailey about her father, if she would even tell her at all.

XXXXXXXXX

While the three walked through Central park, Hailey saw something and pulled Rachel's hand. Rachel looked at her.

"What is it angel?" she asked.

Hailey pointed to a carousel. "Can I get on? Please please please?"

"Okay, let's go." Rachel led her over to the carousel and paid for her to get on. When she got on one of the horses, Hailey looked at Rachel and Puck and waved to them. They waved back as the ride began.

"So explain something to me," Puck said, never taking his eyes off Hailey. "How did she end up eating meat when you're a vegetarian?"

Rachel smiled to herself, thinking of the memory. "I tried introducing her to the whole vegetarian lifestyle but it wasn't working so I decided to just let her eat whatever she wanted as long as it's healthy. If down the road she chooses to become vegetarian that's fine with me but I at least want her to feel like she has a choice. She's a very smart little girl."

"I can see that. Is she in school?"

"Yes, she's in kindergarten at a private school."

"Just couldn't let her do public school, huh?" Puck smirked.

Rachel's cheeks reddened. "No. She deserves the best and that private school is perfect for her."

When the carousel came around again, Hailey waved to Puck and Rachel again. Puck smiled at her, still loving the fact that she was his kid. More than anything he wanted to have a relationship with her. He wanted her to know that her father didn't just dump her mother and not care enough about her to stay around. Everything would be a lot easier if he could just come out and tell her that he was her father.

He looked at Rachel. "So when are we telling her?"

Rachel looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Hailey. When are we telling her that I'm her father?"

"I wasn't planning on telling her anytime soon."

Puck frowned at her. "Why not? You don't think she has a right to know?"

"Noah, she's five. It's not the easiest thing for a five-year-old to grasp. It will just confuse her and cause her to have questions I'm sure you're not ready to answer."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You just don't want to admit that she came from me and you know that once she finds out, she's going to want a relationship with me. How could you deny her a relationship with her father?"

Rachel shook her head in frustration. "Okay, let's get one thing straight. You may have helped create her but you are not her father. You weren't there when she was born and refused to go to sleep at night. You weren't there to help with her first fever, when I rushed her to the hospital because I was afraid that something was really wrong with her. You weren't there for any of that so you can't call yourself her father."

"And whose fault is that Rachel? I would've been there for all of that if you would have told me about her. You made the choice to go through all of this on your own. You chose to be alone in raising her. This blame thing of yours doesn't work if you're the reason that I wasn't there."

"Maybe if you hadn't decided to walk out of that room that morning, I would've had a reason to tell you," Rachel muttered, bitterly. Puck heard her but before he could respond, Hailey ran over to them.

"That was fun," she smiled. But when she noticed the look on her mother's face, she knew something was going on. "What's wrong, Mommy? You have your angry face."

Rachel quickly put on a fake smile on her face. "Nothing, love. We're going to go home now."

Puck glared at her. "What? I thought we were supposed to be spending the whole day together?"

"Well Hailey has school tomorrow so we have to go now." Rachel took Hailey's hand and tried walking away but Puck stopped her.

"You're not going to keep her away from me," he whispered to her so Hailey couldn't hear. "I promise you I will find a way to be a part of her life."

Rachel frowned at his threat but tried to look like it didn't bother her. "We'll see about that."

Puck shook his head and bent down to Hailey's level. "I had fun with you today, Hail. Did you have fun?"

Hailey smiled and nodded. "I had a lot of fun."

"Good. I'll see you later, okay? And make sure you pay attention in school so you can get smarter than your Uncle Sam," he smirked. Hailey laughed at his joke and gave Puck a hug. Rachel tried to ignore the guilty feeling in her stomach while Puck, surprised by the gesture, hugged the little girl back. When they pulled away, Rachel took Hailey's hand and led her away. Puck watched them walk off, making a promise to himself that Hailey will know about him if it's the last thing he does.

XXXXXXXXX

When Puck walked through the door, Finn and Sam immediately bombarded him with questions.

"What happened?" Finn asked.

"What'd you do?" Sam asked.

"How was Hailey when she was around you?" Finn asked.

"Did Rachel seem upset with you?" Sam asked.

"Guys seriously?" Puck asked. Finn and Sam quieted. "Everything was fine. We had lunch, walked around Central Park, Hailey got on a carousel while Rachel and I talked. Nothing big."

"So do you think Hailey likes you?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, the kid gave me a hug before they left. She's a really great kid."

Finn shrugged. "Well a mixture of you and Rachel would be a pretty good kid."

"I guess so. Have you talked to Quinn yet?"

"Yeah, I'm actually about to go there now. So I will see you guys later," Finn gave a small wave before walking out the door. Sam turned to Puck.

"So what about you and Rachel? You guys managed to be civil?"

"Yeah until the last part when she told me that I wasn't a father because I wasn't there for all the big moments. But I set her straight and made her realize that it was her fault that I wasn't there for all of that. At this point, I just want a relationship with Hailey. I want her to know about me but Rachel refuses to tell her."

Sam shrugged. "Dude, you got to remember she's had Hailey all to herself for five years. It's difficult for her to think about sharing."

"Well she needs to get over it. I'm going to figure out how to be Hailey's father whether she likes it or not." Puck went to his room to think about everything that happened while Sam stood in the living room, worried about his friends.

XXXXXXXXX

The next day, Rachel sighed to herself as she left Hailey's room after putting her in her bed for a nap. Today wasn't a good day for her. When Rachel went to pick her up from school, Hailey was in tears because her class was having a father-daughter party and she wouldn't be able to participate in it. Rachel tried to convince her that not every family has a mom and dad but Hailey wasn't accepting it. She just cried until her crying put her to sleep. Times like this, Rachel felt bad for not telling Puck about her but everything would be fine once Hailey calmed down.

While she was in the living room thinking to herself, there was a knock on the door. She opened it to see Quinn standing there. "Hey how's everything going?"

"Pretty good," Quinn said, walking in. "Finn said he'll forgive me so we're going to be okay. How was everything with Puck and Hailey?"

"It was fine but he's determined to figure out how to tell Hailey that he's her father. Honestly, I'm worried. What if he tells her but ends up not even being there for her? Then she'll be left disappointed. I don't want her to go through that."

"You never know, maybe he won't disappoint her. He seems pretty serious about stepping up and becoming her dad. Maybe you should just give him a chance."

Rachel thought about it and smiled. "It was really sweet to see them bonding and watching her hug him after their day together. I've never seen her have so much fun with someone. Not even Finn or Sam."

"That's how you know that you should tell her. She might actually be happy to know that Puck is her father."

"What?" they heard a small voice say. They turned around and saw Hailey standing there with her bear in her arm and her jaw dropped. "Puck's my daddy?"

Rachel sighed, knowing the secret is really out. "Yes angel. Noah is your dad."

"And you didn't tell me?" she asked as her lip began to quiver. Rachel noticed this and went over to her.

"Mommy was just trying to protect you honey."

"You said we're pals. You said we always tell each other everything. But you didn't tell me who my daddy was."

"Honey, you are too young to understand." Rachel took her hands to try to calm her down.

"You're a liar. You just lie to me all the time. I hate you!" Hailey ran to her room and locked the door behind her. Rachel felt tears in her eyes and felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest. She knew that Hailey was only five so she shouldn't take it personally but it still hurt. She loved her child more than anything and now that little girl was so upset with her. It seemed like everything was falling apart. Just from her doing what she thought was in the best interest of her child.

So there you have it. Hailey finally knows the truth. I know she may sound a bit mature but keep in mind, Hailey is a very smart child, especially from growing up around adults so just remember that. But what will happen next? Rachel's decision is obviously having a negative effect on everyone but what will Hailey do now that she knows the truth? Find out in the next chapter. Bye for now :)