Chapter Four: 7 Weeks
After Puck got off the phone to Santana, he knew that he needed to see both of his girls as soon as possible and so after quickly telling his Mom, Ruth what had happened at Quinn's house, he jumped into his truck and started driving.
It wasn't until he pulled into the street that Puck realised he had driven to Santana's house instead of the hospital, he had been too busy wondering if his girls were okay and replaying the moment he told his own Mom he was going to become a Father, twice over.
Puck was surprised at how well his Mom had taken the news, there had been a few tears, but Puck promised her that he cared for both Santana and Quinn and would be there for them 100%. When he said this, he could see in her eyes that she was proud of him for his decision, when he had had such a terrible role-model for a father and she assured him that she would support the three teenagers in whatever they needed from her.
As Puck pulled up to Santana's house, he noticed Maribel outside, pacing nervously up and down the front path, so he knew that Carlos, Santana and Quinn were still on their way home to pick her up. Puck wasted no time jumping out of his truck and hurrying over to the older woman who he had met on occasion.
"Noah?" Maribel's voice called out as Puck approached her. "Did you hear what happened?"
Puck nodded, glad that the older woman didn't seem to be mad at him for the whole situation.
"Santana text me to say they were going to Quinn's house, and then she called me when they got back to the car, I'm sorry I came over here, she told me to meet them at the hospital but I got in my truck and just drove right over here without thinking," Puck's voice was breathless and Maribel could see his hands were shaking, his face pale with fear.
"You're not in any state to be driving, Noah," Maribel informed him. "Carlos will be here in a minute with the girls, you can ride with us to the hospital, okay?"
Puck nodded, blinking back a few tears that were threatening to spill over.
"I really care about them, Mrs Lopez," Puck confessed. "Both of them. And I'm going to be here for them, in whatever way they need me, I'm going to step up and be a great Dad to my babies."
Maribel drew Puck into a hug, seeing the sincere look in his eyes, the worry etched across his face, and she wondered if either Santana or Quinn knew the love this young man had for the two of them.
The hug ended as headlights approached the pair, and Maribel quickly opened the rear door, revealing the bruised and bloodied face of Quinn, which made her gasp.
"Noah, you climb in here with the girls," Maribel told Puck, whose face had turned into a pained scowl at the sight of the blonde girl.
Puck waited for Quinn to move across to the middle seat before he got into the vehicle nervously, seeing Carlos turn around in his seat to meet his gaze.
"I'm sorry, Mr Lopez, I was driving to the hospital like you said, but I couldn't think clearly and I ended up here. Mrs Lopez said I was in no state to drive myself to the hospital from here," Puck stammered, and Carlos felt his face soften at the rambling, nervous words that poured out of the boy's mouth.
"That's okay, Noah," Carlos assured the boy. "Buckle up."
Puck pulled on his seatbelt and when Maribel was in the car, Carlos started to drive again and Puck turned his attention to the two girls in the backseat with him.
"Holy, Quinn," Puck's voice was low as he took in Quinn's features in the darkened light of the car. He brought a hand up to her face, but upon seeing no un-beaten area to rest it, he lowered his hand to her thigh, squeezing it gently.
Looking over Quinn's head, Puck could see the grimace on Santana's face, and he knew she was more hurt than she was letting on.
"San?" He waited for the brunette to turn to him, watched her try to hide the pain from her face, but failing. "Thank you for calling me."
Santana nodded, biting down on her bottom lip to stop the tears that threatened to fall from both the pain in her hand and how sweet Puck was being.
It was only a few more minutes before they arrived at the hospital and Puck reluctantly let go of Quinn's leg to climb out of the car first, helping the blonde girl out and immediately hooking his arm around her waist, holding her close. He led Quinn around to the other side of the car, taking Santana's uninjured hand in his own, lacing their fingers tightly together as he shot her a weak smile.
Carlos and Maribel followed a few steps behind the teenagers, shooting each other a look before they slowed down enough to be slightly further behind.
"I think he's in love with both of them," Maribel said to her husband. "I don't want to see any of them getting hurt."
"Me either," Carlos admitted. "But maybe they'll surprise us and work it out?"
The pair caught up to the teenagers just inside the emergency room and Maribel led them over to the waiting area while Carlos went to speak to the nurses. It was the hospital Carlos worked in, so they knew it probably wouldn't be long before they were seen to, providing there weren't too many serious cases that had come in before them.
Puck pulled three chairs together, letting the girls go so they could sit down with Maribel before he fetched another two chairs for himself and Carlos. Puck took the chair on the other side of Quinn, leaving the seat between Santana and Maribel for Carlos to occupy. He noticed Quinn taking hold of Santana's uninjured hand, and in the light of the hospital room he was able to see the damage across the blonde's face, as well as the grazes across Santana's cheek where Russell had managed to land a few punches.
One of Quinn's eyes was almost completely shut, the bruise already dark, the skin swollen. Her lip had a big gash to it, and her nose was still bleeding slowly. The rest of her normally flawless skin was covered in bruises, cuts and blood and Puck felt his heart ache at seeing her so battered.
"They will come and get us in a minute," Carlos informed the group as he joined them.
"Don't leave me," Quinn pleaded, tears spilling from her eyes as she looked first into Santana's eyes and then with the same intense gaze into Puck's eyes. "Please."
"We won't, Kitten," Santana promised, the nickname she had given Quinn earlier slipping out, but making the blonde girl smile through her tears.
"We'll be right here with you," Puck added, taking Quinn's free hand in his own, his thumb grazing across the top of her hand in a comforting gesture.
None of this went unnoticed by Maribel and Carlos, who shot each other a soft smile once again, both of them wondering what would come from this triangle.
By the time the doctor called them in ten minutes later, Puck had both of the girls smiling again, making up whispered stories about the other patients in the waiting room.
"That guy over there, with the bandaged arm?" Puck raised his eyes to a man across the room who looked to be asleep, his arm covered in a bandage that was stained with blood. "Tried to wrestle a shark."
"Lost a fight with a lawnmower." Santana disagreed, trying to hide her laughter.
"Zombie attack," Quinn giggled, her standard answer for every patient that filled the room.
"Santana and Quinn?" A friendly older doctor called out the two girls' names into the quiet waiting room and the mood between the three teenagers turned serious again.
"Come on, Kitten," Puck teased, holding his hand out to Quinn and helping her from her seat.
"Hey, that's my name for her, get your own," Santana exclaimed, giving Puck a playful shove with her good arm.
"Woah, calm down, Princess," Puck teased, catching Santana's hand as she went to shove him again, joining their fingers instead as he again wrapped an arm around Quinn's waist, following the doctor to the examination room.
A little over an hour later had passed since the doctor had called the girls into the examination room and the small group now stood together, their eyes locked onto a small screen in front of them as Santana lay on the bed, her flat stomach exposed as an ultrasound wand brushed over her skin to locate the tiny baby growing inside of her.
Maribel and Carlos had tears in their eyes as they clutched each other, the sound of the baby's heartbeat filling the room. Puck held Santana's uninjured hand, squeezing it tightly as they made out the image of their baby on the screen and Quinn wrapped her arms around Puck's waist, hugging him closely, knowing it would be her turn to see her baby for the first time in just a few minutes.
"You're about 7 weeks and 3 days along," the scanner informed Santana. "Congratulations."
When the examining doctor had told Quinn and Santana they needed to go for x-rays to check for broken bones, both girls had been worried about the radiation exposure for their unborn babies, and when the doctor had learnt they were yet to have an ultrasound, he promised to line one up for each girl as well as assuring them that the radiation from the x-ray would do the babies no harm.
"Your turn now, Quinn?" The scanner asked the blonde girl who nervously nodded.
Santana stood, pulling down the top of her cheerleading uniform to cover her stomach as she awkwardly got off the table without using her sore arm, aided by Puck.
Quinn took her place on the bed and Maribel and Carlos went to leave the room, beckoning to Santana to follow them when Quinn spoke.
"Please, Maribel and Carlos, I would love for you to stay, you are offering me a home to live in and you have always supported me no matter what, please stay," Quinn begged, relieved when the older couple smiled and nodded at her request. "And San, don't think you're going anywhere, we're in this together, right?"
"Together," Santana agreed, quickly taking one of Quinn's soft hands in her own, holding it tight as the cold gel made Quinn shudder. Puck took Quinn's other hand, this time his arm wrapping around Santana's waist, pulling her to stand closer to him.
The same steady sound filled the room once more, the heartbeat of Quinn's baby and an image came across the screen that made more tears fall from Maribel and Carlos' eyes and made the three teenagers clutch tighter to one another.
"And you're measuring 7 weeks and 3 days also," the scanner smiled. "Congratulations."
Quinn smiled up at Puck and Santana, seeing the look of joy that filled their faces, and she knew was echoed on her own face. Suddenly it didn't matter that her Father had attacked her or that she had been disowned by her parents. She had everyone she needed right there in the room with her and in that moment, that was the only thing that mattered.
A few hours later, after being interviewed separately by the police and having their injuries documented so that Russell could be charged for the assault, Quinn and Santana were free to leave the hospital.
"I can't believe his face broke my wrist," Santana complained, the pain relief having kicked in by now making her more comfortable. "I'm Santana Freaking Lopez!"
"I can't believe a badass like you doesn't know how to punch properly," Puck teased, winking at the brunette who only scowled back at him.
Quinn giggled at the other two as they walked across the car park to Carlos' car. Quinn had received pain relief too, which had finally allowed her body to relax properly and she suddenly felt beyond tired as she leant on Puck for support.
"Tired?" Puck questioned, tightening his hold on Quinn's waist, watching as the blonde nodded. "Sore too?"
Quinn shook her head, she was a little achy but that was to be expected with a fractured cheekbone and she was glad the pain relief was finally dulling the pain in her face to a light ache instead of the throbbing pain it had been.
They reached the car and the teenagers got into the backseat in the same order they had travelled there in, with Quinn in the middle seat and Puck and Santana taking either side of her. The ride home was silent, everyone was exhausted by the day's happenings and each person was wrapped up in their own thoughts for the short journey back to the Lopez house.
When they arrived, Puck once more helped Quinn out of the car, leading her around to Santana's side and helping the brunette out of the car as well, a slightly more difficult task given Santana was now wearing a splint on her injured wrist.
"Thanks for the ride, Mr and Mrs Lopez," Puck told Maribel and Carlos, nodding in their direction. "It meant so much for me that I got to be there to make sure my two girls were okay and to see the first ultrasounds of both my babies."
"You can come in for a bit, if you want, Noah," Carlos offered the young man, having gained a lot more respect for Puck over the past few hours, seeing how he interacted with both Quinn and Santana and the obvious love that was there. "I was thinking we could order some pizza since none of us got a chance to eat dinner yet."
"Thank you, Sir," Puck smiled, and Carlos laughed.
"You can call me Carlos, you know."
The five weary people headed inside, and Maribel suggested the three teenagers head upstairs where the girls would be the most comfortable and she would bring up the pizza when it arrived.
Puck followed Santana and Quinn upstairs and to Santana's bedroom, seeing both of the girls practically dragging their feet up each stair because they were so tired.
"Hey Kitten," Santana said to Quinn after they reached her bedroom. "Your suitcases are still in the car."
Quinn groaned, the thought of going back downstairs to fetch her belongings didn't sound like her idea of fun, but she was desperate to get out of her Cheerios uniform, have a shower and get into some comfortable clothes.
"I'll get them," Puck offered, leaning down to brush a soft kiss against Quinn's cheek when she thanked him. "Be back in a minute." Puck turned to Santana, placing an equally soft kiss on her check before he left the room.
Both girls looked at each other, a slight blush on both of their faces at the sweet gestures from Puck.
"Who would have guessed that boy had a romantic bone in his body!" Santana smiled and Quinn nodded in agreement.
"San, I really want to thank you for tonight, for all of today," Quinn said softly. "And I'm so, so sorry that you got hurt because of me."
"I'd take a million more punches from Russell Fabray if it meant keeping you safe for the rest of your life," Santana replied sincerely, taking a step closer to Quinn, their bodies just about touching now.
Puck came back into the room with the suitcases and Quinn moved to help him bring them into the room properly.
"I'm just going to take a shower," Quinn announced, opening a suitcase and grabbing her toiletry bag. She reached for a second suitcase and opened it, rummaging around to find something comfortable to change into after her shower. Finding a tank and some shorts, Quinn zipped her suitcase back up and shot Santana and Puck a small smile as she headed past them to Santana's ensuite bathroom.
Puck turned to face Santana, noticing how uncomfortable she looked still in her cheerleading uniform.
"You should get changed out of that uniform," Puck suggested. "You'll be more comfortable."
"Sounds like one of your pick-up lines," Santana teased and Puck couldn't help but laugh, the sound feeling good coming out of his mouth after the day they had just been through.
"Like I ever needed pick-up lines with you," Puck reminded her and Santana blushed, knowing the statement was true.
"Can you help me with the zipper?" Santana turned around to face away from Puck, and he stepped forward, unzipping Santana's cheerleader top like he had countless times before.
Once the top was unzipped, Santana paused, realising she was going to need a lot more help than just her zipper being undone for her.
"I can't believe he hit you," Puck seethed. "Either of you."
"Well he wasn't exactly planning on hitting me, but I couldn't watch him hurt Quinn without trying to step in," Santana said quietly, her mind flashing with the images of Russell's fists connecting time and time again with Quinn's perfect face.
"You love her."
"I do," Santana replied softly. "I would do anything to protect her."
"Me too," Puck confessed. "On both counts, loving her and protecting her."
Santana and Puck locked eyes, their confession of love for the same girl should have left the air feeling awkward, but instead it just made them both more bold.
"Did you ever love me?" Santana asked, sounding extremely vulnerable.
Puck reached a hand out to cup the side of Santana's face, running his thumb along her jaw.
"I do," Puck whispered, his eyes staying locked with Santana's sparkling browns.
"Me too," Santana confessed shyly, biting down on her bottom lip. "For a while now, but we always said if feelings came about we would end things, and I couldn't lose you."
"We had the same thoughts," Puck smiled. "And I can tell from watching the two of you that Quinn is in love with you."
"She's in love with you too," Santana told Puck gently. "Has been for years and although she has always tried to deny it, I could see the way she looked at you."
"I'm in love with her too," Puck lightly shook his head. "Wow this is all a little bit complicated, huh?"
"All you need is love," Santana smiled. "And I'm pretty sure we just worked out that we all love each other, that is if we're both reading Quinn right."
The sound of the bathroom door closing made the pair turn around, seeing Quinn standing there in a yellow tank and white shorts that showed off her long, slender legs, a quizzical look on her face.
"What are you reading about me?"
Puck and Santana both looked at each other, their eyes wide, they weren't sure after everything that had happened that day if Quinn needed more complications on her plate.
"Well?" Quinn's voice trembled nervously, even though they could see she was trying to be strong in order to break their silence.
"We were just talking about love," Puck finally spoke.
"Love?"
"Yeah, about how some people might you know, love other people."
"Some people like the two of you?" Quinn's voice was barely above a whisper, feeling her heart start to break as she wondered if Santana and Puck had just confessed their love for each other.
Santana could see the thoughts travelling through the blonde's mind and she knew that they had to tell Quinn what they had been talking about, what they had been confessing so that she got her chance to have her say, otherwise she was going to get the wrong idea and end up hurt.
"I was just telling Puck that I loved him," Santana explained. "And then I told him how I love you as well."
The words slowly sunk into Quinn's brain and a nervous smile played on her lips as she repeated Santana's words over and over in her head.
"And then I was telling Santana that I loved her back," Puck added. "And that I was in love with you as well."
Quinn couldn't help but let her smile grow as the words came from Puck's mouth, then she realised the pair were looking at her curiously.
"Then we were just trying to work out how you felt, if we were reading you correctly," Santana coaxed Quinn.
"I, uh," Quinn started, taking a deep breath as she tried to settle her nerves. "I love you too, both of you."
Silence filled the room as the three teenagers all stood, sharing glances at each other, soft smiles playing on each of their faces as they felt a huge weight being lifted from their shoulders.
"Pizza's here!" Maribel's voice called as she walked down the hallway towards Santana's room, entering to see the three teenagers standing in the middle of the room smiling. "Santana! You should get changed, you look so uncomfortable, mi hija!"
Santana let out a laugh, realising that her top was unzipped, they had just got so caught up in confessing feelings she had forgotten that she was getting changed.
"I'm getting there, Mami," Santana smiled. "It's just a little awkward and painful."
"I'm sure Quinn will help you," Maribel smiled, setting the pizza on Santana's desk along with three cups and a bottle of orange juice. "Call out if you need anything else."
As Maribel left the room, Quinn moved over to Santana, gesturing at her top. "Do you want some help with that?"
Santana nodded, her breath hitching as Quinn reached up to gently pull the top down Santana's arms, trying not to hurt Santana's wrist. After a few minutes the top was off and Santana was left in her bra and skirt, Quinn's eyes struggling to stay away from the beautiful sight in front of her, though Puck wasn't so careful with his eyes.
Santana looked up and noticed the boy watching her, and she blushed a little, knowing he had seen her in far less clothing, but somehow him watching Quinn undress her seemed more intimate than they had ever been before.
"Can you?" Santana gestured with her good hand to her bra strap on her back, and Quinn stepped forward, reaching her arms around Santana and flicking the red bra open with one movement.
Santana held the bra up to her chest as she headed over to her dresser, needing to find some clothes to change into before the three teenagers exploded from their hormones.
Santana found a pair of black shorts to wear along with a white t-shirt and disappeared into the bathroom to get changed.
"Hey Quinn?" Puck asked, waiting for the blonde to look up at him. "Come here?"
Quinn slowly crossed the room, chewing nervously on her bottom lip as she came to stand in front of Puck, her green eyes watching him carefully.
Puck reached out and wrapped an arm around Quinn's waist, pulling her closer to him. With his other hand he reached up to brush a finger down the side of her face, over all the marks and bruises that Russell had left.
"You're beautiful," he murmured, making Quinn blush.
"I'm covered in bruises," Quinn pointed out, but Puck only smiled.
"Still beautiful," Puck brushed his thumb over Quinn's bottom lip.
As Puck and Quinn's lips met in a gentle kiss, the sound of the bathroom door opening drew them apart.
"Q?" Santana's head poked around the side of the door, smiling as she saw Quinn and Puck spring apart in surprise. "Sorry! I just need some help getting my t-shirt on."
"It's okay," Quinn told her, surprising Puck as she gave him a quick kiss on his lips before she moved away from him and towards the bathroom.
Quinn followed Santana into the bathroom and held out her hand for the shirt that Santana was clutching, but when Santana handed the shirt over to the blonde, it left the top half of her body naked, making Quinn forget what she was meant to be doing.
"You okay there, Kitten?" Santana teased, watching as Quinn's eyes hungrily roamed over her exposed body. Quinn's eyes darted up to meet Santana's and Santana was surprised to see Quinn's eyes were a much darker shade of green than they normally were.
"Do you really love me?" Quinn asked in a soft voice, and Santana nodded her head quickly.
"Since we first met. You were the first girl I had ever crushed on."
"You were my first too," Quinn confessed. "Or rather, you're the only girl I've ever felt this way about."
"And you feel the same for Puck?" Santana asked curiously, knowing that Quinn had confessed her love for the boy a short while ago, but she just wanted to make sure they were all on the same page.
"At first I was just attracted to him because, well you have seen him," Quinn smiled. "But then when I was with Finn and we'd hang out with Puck, I realised there was so much more to him than just his looks, and I fell for him, hard."
"And you just kissed him?" Santana asked, and Quinn nodded, wondering now if that had been the right thing to do, since there were so many feelings floating around between the three of them. "Can you kiss me?"
"Can I help you put your top on first?" Quinn teased, holding out the shirt that she was meant to be putting on the brunette.
"If you insist," Santana laughed, lifting up her sore arm as Quinn held out the sleeve.
Santana winced as the movement sent pain shooting through her body, but Quinn moved quickly and carefully so she could move her arm back to a more comfortable position after only a few seconds.
When Quinn had pulled the t-shirt down to cover Santana's body she slipped her hands underneath the material, finding Santana's hips and drew the brunette closer to her.
"Still want that kiss?"