A/N: It does seem that everyone is liking the story or at least from the amount of alerts I assume so. lol. But I would LOVE LOVE LOVE more reviews. Thank you to those who have reviewed and that are still reading. And now as promised here is another chapter. =)

"Hello?"

The shock was immediate. Shelby sounded just the same and for a moment Rachel forgot completely why she was calling. All she could think was that it was her mother on the other end of the line and there were so many things that she wanted to say.

She must have waited too long because Shelby once again said, "Hello?"

Clearing her mind of the past, she steeled herself for the conversation that she was about to have. "Shelby, it's Rachel."

"Rachel?" Shelby sounded confused for a moment.

"Rachel Berry." Rachel laughed. "You know, your daughter. The one that you wanted nothing to do with?" Well that was definitely not how she'd wanted to start the conversation.

"Oh." There was a brief pause and when Shelby spoke again her voice was degrees cooler. "What is it that I can do for you, Rachel?"

Awesome. Not even a minute into the phone call and she'd already pissed off her mother. Just what she needed. "It's a pretty long story. But the basics of it are that I have a four-year-old son, Nathan, who is sick. He's in need of a bone marrow transplant."

Another pause. "And that has what to do with me?"

Rachel closed her eyes, bringing a hand to her already pounding head. "The best match is a sibling."

"Again, I ask what that has to do with me?"

"Noah Puckerman is the father."

Puck sat watching as his son slept and wondered if he'd ever get a chance to get to know him. He wondered if he'd ever get to do the things that all dads wanted to do with their sons: play catch, watch football, talk about girls. He'd missed so many important firsts with his son and he didn't want to miss anything else, but what if they couldn't find a donor? What if his son died before he got a chance to get to know him?

Fuck. He wanted to hit something. Or a drink. Or maybe a lot of drinks. He felt so helpless because there was absolutely nothing that he could do. He couldn't make himself or anyone else be a match for Nathan. He couldn't will a donor into existence. All he could do was sit here and hope. Hope that he wouldn't lose this little boy from his life too soon.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Rachel until she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Noah?"

Puck looked up into Rachel's tear streaked face and knew that the conversation with Shelby had not gone as they had hoped. Fuck. He pulled Rachel down into the chair that sat beside him and took her hand. "What happened?"

Rachel swiped at the tears that were still running down her face. "She said no. She said that she wouldn't put Beth through the tests just to find out that she's not a donor." She laid her head in her hands. "She won't even let us test Beth." She looked up and met Puck's eyes. "My own mother doesn't care about her grandson. Do you know what she said to me when we got off the phone? She said good luck. That was it. She doesn't care about me or Nathan. All she cares about is her precious Beth."

Puck chose to ignore the bitterness in her voice as she spoke about his daughter because he got it. Her mother had chosen Beth over her. If that shit had happened to him he was betting he'd be more than bitter, he'd be pissed. But they had to do something about this. They couldn't take no for an answer. They needed Beth.

"I have an idea, Rach. What if we go down and see Shelby?"

"I can't just leave Nathan here, Noah." Rachel shook her head. "I can't leave my baby boy."

Puck gave her a small smile. "That's not quite what I had in mind. What if we have Nathan transferred down to the hospital in Cleveland? We can try talking to Shelby again and we can let her meet him. She won't be able to say no then."

Rachel's face lit up before she threw herself in his arms. "That's brilliant! You're right. There's no way she can say no then."

Puck tensed up before wrapping his arms around her. She'd always fit in his arms perfectly. Up until that day five years ago he'd thought that she was the one he would spend the rest of his life with.

And at that thought he pulled away from her. He couldn't forget what she'd put him through all those years ago. How she'd had no trust in him, had not believed him when he'd told her that he hadn't cheated. Because he hadn't cheated. He'd been too in love, too wrapped up in Rachel to ever think about another girl. She'd broken his heart when she'd left him and he had to remember that. He couldn't let her get close enough to hurt him ever again.

Rachel looked up at him, hurt in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... Never mind." Rachel stood up and walked over to Nathan's bed, running her hand through his hair. "I'm already on a leave from my job. How long until you think you can leave?"

He'd never even thought about Rachel having a job. She was always with Nathan so the thought had never crossed his mind. If she wasn't working how was she paying her bills? And what kind of a job did she have? Did she make it on Broadway?

He actually knew the answer to that question. Against his better judgment he always found himself looking for her name with each new show hit Broadway and her name had never been mentioned. But he wasn't going to bring that up because it didn't matter. It wasn't his business.

"I'll call my boss tonight and see what I can do." Puck stood slowly and headed for the door. "I'll call you when I know something." And without another word he walked out the door, telling himself that it was for the best.

It took them less than a week to get things in order. Puck was taking a medical leave from work that covered his son being sick. He'd still get paid and he had up to three months. He'd sublet his apartment and knew that Rachel had done the same. The hardest thing was getting Nathan transferred. Dr. Nelson didn't think it was a good idea, but Rachel and Puck had pushed for it anyways.

So that was how they'd ended up in the Cleveland hospital room, their son's new temporary home. Nathan had been exhausted from the journey and was now fast asleep while his parents sat beside his bed.

"I guess we should check into the hotel." Rachel sighed as she ran a hand over her son's hair.

Puck shrugged. "Do you want to go see Shelby first?" He looked up at her and saw indecision flash across her features.

"As much as I'd like to put off seeing her as long as possible I think it would be best if we headed over there now." Rachel stood slowly. "You've got the directions, right?"

Puck dug the piece of paper from his wallet and held it up for her to see. "Right here." He held the paper out to her. "I'll drive and you navigate?"

Rachel's nod was terse as she took the paper from his hand before leaning down and kissing Nathan lightly. Puck glanced back at his son just once before following Rachel out the door.

Thankfully the directions were clear and got them there with no problems. It was about twenty minutes later that they pulled up in front of the one-story house. It was freshly painted, the lawn well maintained with children's toys strewn around. The pair of them sat there for a few moments, neither moving.

Puck turned to Rachel. "You sure you can do this?"

Rachel continued to stare at the house as she spoke, "While I appreciate your concern, Noah, I'm a grown woman and speaking to one's mother shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Puck frowned. He hated when she did this shit, when she held in what she was thinking. She'd put up a wall that no one could get over. He reached out, touching her arm slightly. "You don't have to be so strong all the time, ya know?"

"Oh really?" Her laugh was forced and laced with tears. When she turned to meet his eyes he saw the tears swimming in them. "If I'm not strong who will be? I have to be strong for my son."

"Our son. And you're not alone anymore, Rachel, I'm here."

Rachel shook her head, pulling away from his touch. "Let's just get this over with."