To: puckzilla[at]gmail. com
Cc: mercedesjones[at]hotmail. com
From: bradellis[at]gmail. com
Subject: Your input

Hello!

I'm well on my way with the book project, and I've recently asked Quinn to give me a little information on her Sophomore year. She's been extremely helpful, except for one area, so I'd like to request your input on Beth's birth.

Please feel free to say as much or as little as you'd like. I simply need a little more information before I get on to writing.

Thank you,
Brad

To: bradellis[at]gmail. com
From: mercedesjones[at]hotmail. com
Subject: RE: Your input

Hey there Brad!

It's great to hear from you again. Glad to hear the project's going well!

I'm not sure what to tell you, or how much Quinn would really be happy with me telling you, but I'll say what I think is probably right and hope that it's what you need.

It was a pretty big shock when we heard she'd gone in labor. I mean, we'd just got off stage after an amazing performance at Regionals, and we were all on this buzzy high after all the adrenaline. We were celebrating. Everything had gone so much better than we expected it to and our hopes were higher than ever. So I guess the shock brought us all back down to earth.

As you know, all of us except Rachel rushed to the hospital. Mr Schue explained to the organisers, and Rachel said she'd stay in case we couldn't get back in time for the results. So we got the hospital, and Quinn was with her mother, and Puck was also going with her because he was the father, obviously. And she grabbed my hand far too tightly and asked me to go with her.

I couldn't speak. I was shocked. I had no idea why she'd asked me, or why she wanted me there, but I nodded – yes, I'd go with her. She needed me, and we'd grown so much closer after sharing the house together, and I couldn't let her down at this moment.

There was a lot of screaming. I can tell you that. I'm not surprised, really, and I guess the whole experience came very close to putting me off having children completely! Not now – I want to settle down with someone and have a family and grow old together with them, but I've yet to find them. We'll see. Anyway, me and Mrs. Fabray tried to help keep Quinn calm, comforting her and everything. She kept squeezing my hand and my wrist – very, very hard, I might add! - and, as I said, shouting a lot of things that mainly made no sense. I do remember her telling Puck that he sucked, multiple times, though. But he just stood there the whole time, completely useless. I don't think he had any idea what to do.

Then when Beth was born, the atmosphere felt completely changed. All the energy that was in the room, that had been building and building just vanished completely. It was very calm, and still and there was just this air of relief. It's really a wonderful feeling, seeing a new life brought into the world. I guess that's a pretty clichéd thing to say, but it's true. You never expect it is, but it is.

I'm very sorry, but I have to go now – got a gig to perform at! If you need anything else, just feel free to let me know.

Speak to you soon,
Mercedes x

To: bradellis[at]gmai. com
From: puckzilla[at]gmail. com
Subject: RE: Your input

Hey there!

It's awesome to hear from you! It was the last thing I expected to see when I checked my emails to see if I had any more free offers of Viagra, but hey, guess something better always turns up when you least expect it! Well, I don't know if this is more awesome, but it's different, anyway.

I don't know if you've got kids or what, but if you haven't, and you've never seen a kid being born, I'll say this: it's the same every time. You watch it on TV, you see it in a film, you're there in real life. All it is is the woman screaming and screaming and saying how much she hates you and wishes you dead. I guess you sort of desensitise yourself to it after a while, particularly if you've seen it more than once. I always watched those birth shows when I was younger just to see if they'd ever slip with a camera or something and you'd get a look where they don't wanna show you. Never lucky, but it's still all the same. I swore to myself that after being with Quinn in there, the only time I ever wanted to hear a woman scream like that again was if I was making her do it.

But the one thing they never show you on these things is what it's like when you see your kid for the first time. Even though the pair of us had decided we weren't going to keep her, you still can't not love her. You see her, know that you made that happen, it's a bit mental. It's like woah, I just created a whole new person, dude! Or something like that. Anyway, it's not something that you can truly get across, that breaking wave of emotions that you can't pick out seperately washing over you and you have no idea what to feel because you're just feeling everything. It's kinda insane.

I don't know what else I can say to you, so I hope that helped. And I gotta run to some benefit Alexandra's parents are running for their company or some charity or whatever. Probably be boring as hell, but I guess it constitutes as "doing something." Whatever.

See you soon,
Puck

To: puckzilla[at]gmail. com
Cc: mercedesjones[at]hotmail. com
From: bradellis[at]gmail. com
Subject: RE:Your input

Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me. You've both been a great help!

And Puck, in answer to your question; no, I don't have children, but I have seen those shows before. My wife enjoys watching them and they make it hard to concentrate when all you can her from the television is rage and shouting. Then again, I'd like to hope that she doesn't watch them for the same reason you do!

Once again, thank you! I may well be in touch again soon.

Brad