Hello everyone! As I mentioned in A Forever Kind of Love, I am now on summer vacation so I will be able to update much faster. For those who remember when I procrastinated on my 15 page research paper for my English class, I wrote it in a week and ended up getting an A on it :) I guess that proves I must be a good writer. Anyway, onto the story. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

"Quinn, I don't know what to do anymore. She's never acted like this," Rachel complained after dropping Hailey off at school. It's been a week and the little girl was refusing to speak to Rachel. She just couldn't bring herself to forgive her mother for lying to her for so long and Rachel had to admit that it was breaking her heart.

She and Hailey were always so close. Like Hailey said, they were pals. All they had in this big city was each other but that seems to be forgotten now. Hailey didn't seem to want to be anywhere near her mother and Rachel just couldn't get through to her. She hated to think that something like this could tear apart their relationship but it looks like that's where it's heading.

Quinn sighed as she fixed her and Rachel some coffee. "Well Rach that was a pretty big bombshell for a five-year-old to handle. You just need to give her some time."

"It's been a week and it's driving me crazy. I just wish I could do something to fix this."

Quinn put the cup in front of Rachel and as she drank, she thought about it. "Well there is one thing you could do."

Rachel saw the way that Quinn looked at her and immediately caught on to what she was thinking. "No."

Quinn groaned. "Come on, Rachel. Things are already out in the open. You can't expect her to just forgive you and forget all about it. She wants to know her dad, let her know her dad."

"Noah doesn't even know that she knows about him."

"Trust me I think he'll be very pleased to hear that you accidentally let out everything. But you need to do this, not only for Hailey but also for you and Puck. You two need to work out whatever happened years ago and then focus on being good parents to Hailey. Otherwise, nothing will ever be worked out."

Rachel sighed to herself, knowing that Quinn was right. More than anything, she wanted Hailey to be happy and even though it may be hard to face Puck, she had to do it for the sake of her daughter. Their relationship depended on this and Rachel was going to make sure that she did the right thing this time.

XXXXXXXXX

It took all of Rachel's strength to knock on the boys' door. She was sure that not only Puck hated her, but Finn and Sam might not be too fond of her right now either. She wanted to turn right back around and go home but she knew that she had to do this so she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a few seconds the door opened to reveal a shirtless Puck.

"Oh, uh hi," Rachel stuttered, obviously flustered. "I was just, uh, around and I uh-"

Puck smirked at her nervousness. "Rach breathe. You've seen me shirtless before, it's not a big deal."

Rachel felt her cheeks grow hot from that comment, making her nerves go away. "Can I come in? I-I need to talk to you."

Puck hesitated before letting her in. While she came in and sat down on the couch, Puck went to put a shirt on with his mind buzzing. Why was she here? They haven't spoken since their day out. Was there something wrong with Hailey?

He came back and sat across from Rachel. "What's going on? Is Hailey okay?"

Rachel sat there for a second, shocked at how concerned he was. Maybe he could actually be a good father to Hailey. "She's fine. Well actually, I don't know what fine qualifies for anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hailey knows. She knows that you're her father."

Puck felt his heart stop. The thing he's been wanting finally happened. But he wasn't the one who told her. "How'd she find out?"

"She heard me and Quinn talking about it and the whole thing came out."

"How'd she take it?"

"Not very well." She felt tears in her eyes, thinking about Hailey's words. "She called me a liar and said she hated me. She hasn't spoken to me since."

Puck wanted to feel satisfaction from knowing that Hailey was upset with Rachel too but looking at Rachel's devastated face, all he could feel was sympathy so he tried to cheer her up. "Hey, she's five. She obviously takes after her mother in the dramatic department."

Rachel cracked a small smile. "I guess so. I just feel like everyone is blaming me for everything."

"Well you kind of caused the situation. If you had told me about her from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this position."

Rachel sighed in frustration. "Noah, do you not remember your part in all of this? We had sex at the party and the next morning, you left me with no explanation. You knew that it was my first time and treated me like I was one of the random whores you pick up from off of the street. When I found out I was pregnant, believe it or not, I wanted to tell you. There were countless times I picked up the phone to tell you but then I just put it down because I figured there was a reason you left: you just didn't want to be with me."

"Rachel that's not true. I just woke up and realized what we did and got it into my head that you might wake up and regret everything that happened. I couldn't handle that rejection so I did what I do best: I ran. I waited for you to realize I was there all that time and when I finally had you, it felt amazing. But then I remembered I was still the Lima loser who you would forget about because you were hooked on someone else."

Rachel sighed. "You were never a Lima loser to me. You were always Noah. The guy who could have any girl he wanted and for some reason, he chose me to have sex with. But when you left, it just told me that you didn't want me as much as I wanted you and it hurt me. It hurt me more than you could ever imagine. I told you, I wasn't that drunk to not realize what was happening. I wanted to give myself to you but the very next day, you ran out on me. When Hailey came along, I was afraid that you would make her feel that way so I couldn't bring myself to tell you about her. I was already brokenhearted, I didn't want the same for her."

"I wish you would've let me prove you wrong instead of just keeping her from me." Puck shook his head, thinking about everything he's missed from Hailey's life. "I've missed so much that it hurts to think about it."

"I know and I feel horrible about that. But you can't deny that you had a part in this. If you hadn't left me that morning, I would've never had a reason to keep Hailey from you."

Puck thought about this. As much as he hated to admit it, part of this was his fault. He shouldn't have been a coward and left instead of talking to her about that night first. "But even so, you still should've told me. I deserved to know that I had a kid."

Rachel nodded in agreement. She was finally realizing that she shouldn't have kept the truth hidden from everyone. In a way, she was being just as much of a coward as he was. "I know and I'll own that. I shouldn't have kept her from you." It was silent for a moment. Both of them took in what the other said and tried to figure out what to say next. Rachel realized that Puck should know something. "I have told her some things about you."

Puck looked at her. "Like what?"

She shrugged. "Well I never actually used your name but I just told her that her father was a troublemaker in high school but eventually he pulled it together. I told her that he had a smile that made me go weak in the knees and that he was very special to me."

Puck went silent after hearing what Rachel said. At least Hailey knew some things about him but he would've liked it more if she actually knew it was him. But this was a good start. "So what now?"

"Well Hailey hates me and I'm trying to fix that. And I was thinking that maybe things could start getting better if you spent time with her."

His jaw dropped. "You better not be screwing with me Rachel. I can't play around about this anymore."

"I'm not joking. It's obvious that Hailey has been wanting a father for the longest time and I think she deserves one. So it's time for you two to start working on your relationship."

Puck jumped up and hugged Rachel. "Thank you so much. I promise I won't let you or Hailey down. I'll be the best father I can be, I swear to you."

Rachel couldn't help but smile at his promise. "I know and I think that you'll make a great father."

Puck smiled back at her, feeling elated from hearing her say that. "So when I can see her?"

Rachel thought for a second. "You can come with me to pick her up from school. I'm sure she'll be pretty happy to see you."

"Okay." Puck nodded. "I think we should sit her down and explain why things are the way they are."

She shook her head. "Noah I don't think we should tell her about this. She's only five, she wouldn't understand."

"I haven't spent much time with her but I've noticed that Hailey is much smarter than you give her credit for. So far, she understands that you've lied to her and kept her from me. Don't you think she should know your reasoning? I bet that would stop her from being so upset with you."

Rachel thought about this. "You really think so?" Puck nodded and she sighed. She wanted Hailey to forgive her for everything and if that means explaining to her why it happened, then she would do it. She just wanted her little girl back.

XXXXXXXXXX

Puck stood outside, waiting for Rachel to come out with Hailey. He couldn't ignore the nervousness in his stomach. This was the first time that he was going to be interacting with her as her father. Not just some random guy who moved in with her mom's friends. He just hoped this wouldn't blow up in their faces.

When Rachel came out, Hailey was following behind her showing no emotion on her face. But as soon as she looked up and saw Puck standing there, her face lit up and she ran to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he picked her up.

"Well your mom thought you might want to see me. Was she right?" he asked. Hailey smiled and nodded, excitedly as Rachel looked on. "Great. But we have something to talk to you about so why don't we get going."

The whole ride home, Hailey couldn't stop staring at Puck. It was as if she found this whole thing to be good to be true. But Puck didn't mind. He was glad that the little girl was so excited to see him. Especially since he felt the exact same way.

When they got to Rachel's apartment, Hailey set her backpack down and sat between her parents. "So what are we talking about?"

Rachel decided to start. "Well honey, as you recently found out, Noah is your dad."

"And we wanted to know if you have any questions about any of this," Puck followed. Hailey thought for a moment before looking back at Puck.

"Why weren't you here?" she asked innocently. "Aren't daddies supposed to be there to take care of the baby with their mommies?"

That question broke both Puck and Rachel's hearts but they knew that they had to keep it together so Rachel nodded. "Yes they are but this situation was a bit more complicated."

"How?"

Puck jumped in. "Well I didn't know about you. When Mommy found out she was having you, she didn't tell me."

Hailey looked at Rachel with a hurt expression. "Why not?"

Rachel took a deep breath, trying to get the strength to answer. "Because Mommy was being selfish. You see, she and Noah had a wonderful night together but then something happened that just made her really sad and not want anything to do with him anymore. And when I found out that I was going to have you, I decided that it would be best if I just took care of you by myself because I didn't want you to feel as sad as I felt."

Hailey looked back at Puck. "What happened that made Mommy so sad?"

Puck sighed. "Well I did a mean thing to her and she couldn't trust me after that. She just didn't want me to do the same thing to you and make you feel as bad. She was trying to protect you."

"Like how a mama bear protects her baby bear?" Hailey asked, trying to make a comparison.

Rachel got a small smile from that and nodded. "Yes, just like that. You see, Mommy just loves you so much and wanted you to have the best life possible."

Hailey frowned. "But I was sad about not having a daddy."

Rachel felt her heart break a little more. "I know and that it is where I made a mistake. I should've told Noah about you so you could have a daddy. But remember, no one's perfect. We all make mistakes."

"Even mommies and daddies?"

Rachel nodded. "Even mommies and daddies. But that doesn't mean that they don't love the child. They just want what's best for them." She made Hailey face her so she could see the seriousness in her face. "Mommy is very sorry for not telling you about who your daddy is and keeping you from him this whole time."

"And I'm sorry for giving Mommy a reason to not tell you about me," Puck added.

"Do you think you can ever forgive us?" Rachel asked.

Hailey sat there in silence, taking in all of the information and trying to decide what to do next. She looked at Puck. "Will I be able to see you and spend time with you?"

He nodded. "Yes. We'll hang out whenever you want. All you have to do is call me."

She looked at Rachel. "Mommies and daddies are normally in love. Do you two love each other?"

Puck and Rachel looked at each other, unsure of how to answer. Rachel decided to answer the best way she knew how. "We will always love each other but for right now, we want to focus on taking care of you and making sure that you know that you are loved by two parents. How does that sound?"

Hailey smiled. "Great. I love having two parents."

As she hugged Puck and Rachel they snuck each other a look, obviously grateful for Rachel's quick thinking. They have a lot to figure out but they were going to make sure that their focus was what's best for Hailey. But neither of them could deny that they weren't wondering how the other was feeling. Was it possible that they could still be in love with each other after everything that's happened?

There it is. Hailey finally knows the cause of the situation. Now they have to figure out how they can be a family. But do Puck and Rachel still harbor feelings for each other? Find out in the next chapter. And in reference to the last chapter, I know that Rachel is a vegan but for this story I decided to just make her a vegetarian so I wouldn't get mixed up over what she eats. Reviews make me happy and make me want to write quicker so please review! Bye for now :)