A/N: Mentions of attempted suicide and drug abuse. don't like, don't read.

Puck drove his truck into the parking lot and jumped out, walking toward Sunshine's Daycare. He took a deep breath of cold winter air, and appreciated the fact that it wasn't Lima air (even if it was only Akron),

"Hello Mr. Puckerman!" a blonde eighteen-year old greeted him, and he shot her a smirk. She giggled, then gestured for him to make his way to the playroom, shouting "May—Mr. Puckerman's here!"

May didn't even get a chance to respond before a rambunctious four-year old crashed full-speed into his legs. "!" Beth screamed happily as she hugged his jeans.

"Hey, baby girl!" he replied, scooping the tiny blonde into his arms and lifting her high above his head before setting her gently on his shoulders. "How'd she do today, May?" he asked the dark woman in a bright yellow dress approaching him.

"Girl is spirited, just like every day," the woman laughed. "but today we managed to keep her only chasing Brad and Tim, and stealing four cookies." Puck raised his brow at the words. "Which she did share with her friends, so at least there's something sweet in that wild child."

Puck laughed again, then thanked May and Jenna as he bundled up his girl and headed out to the parking lot. As they made their way home he was deep in thought about what awaited them, only stopping to smile and laugh at the bubbly blonde regaling her day to him.

He walked into the house (yes, they had a small house, thank you very much) and smiled as he smelled spaghetti and meatballs cooking. Italian food generally meant a good day, so he helped Beth out of her winter clothes and followed her as she ran into the kitchen.

Dinner was good, but Puck knew that half-distracted look in Shelby's eyes. Something was on her mind, and though she laughed and gave all the focus she could to her daughter, part of her thoughts were on a future conversation he could feel coming like a blizzard.

And then there it was. "Sweetie, why don't you go watch TV while Daddy and I clean up?" the dark brunette told Beth as she brushed her cheek gently. The girl complied easily, only stopping long enough to hug her father tightly before rushing to the living room.

"So today was okay?" he finally asked, after five minutes of clearing dishes and cleaning the kitchen in silence.

"I saw Dr. Barker," she told him. "He said I was doing quite well; that I was doing great with honing in on my triggers and redirecting my emotions."

Puck didn't say anything (he was never sure he should ask her to explain the specifics of her and Dr. Barker's talks), but nodded to show he was listening.

"We talked about you today," Shelby said quietly, and Puck couldn't help it: he let out a quiet groan. Nothing good ever came from their discussions about him.

"Don't be like that," she admonished. "We just were discussing our current…situation, and Dr. Barker wondered if this was such a good idea, with my progress."

Their current situation. Puck gritted his teeth. He didn't want to be the one to point out to the good doc that the reason they were in their current situation was because of his patient; that the reason he wasn't dating anyone, even though they'd stopped being a couple and slept in separate rooms, was because he was terrified he'd set her off. That something would happen and Beth would be alone, or worse, here….

"He thinks that maybe I should move out, maybe closer to the facility," she finished. "Beth could stay here for the stability, and I could work on standing on my own."

"So you're just going to ditch her?" Puck asked incredulously. "Start a great new life somewhere and forget the four-year old in the other room that goddamn adores you?"

"No, Noah," Shelby countered angrily. "I still want to see her, spend time with her. It's not her…"

Those were the words that stung the worst: it wasn't Beth that was killing Shelby—it was him. He'd been nothing but faithful, nothing but there for her, and yet he was the reason they couldn't be a family.

"I'm not staying in this goddamn house if you move out," he replied, running his hand down his face in frustration.

"She needs stability—"

"She needs her parents! She needs her mom to stay alive and out of the fucking medicine cabinet!"

He knew he shouldn't have said it the moment the words came out. She looked crushed by his mentioning it, and, not for the first time, he wondered if he should have gotten some goddamn therapy of his own.

"I can't do this anymore, Noah," she finally said softly. "I've tried, but every time I see you, I keep thinking you're..." she took a deep breath, and so did he. She was a jealous bitch, and she knew it- there was no point in either of them hashing it out again. "I'm not getting over this soon," she tried again, "and I don't have to tell you that we as a couple just aren't working."

The younger adult sat down in the chair defeated. "I tried," he stated, almost pleading.

He heard Shelby walk towards him, her soft hands gently cupping his chin as she knelt and raised his eyes to hers. "I know. It's not your fault Noah; it just is what it is."

The next month Shelby had moved into an apartment close to a halfway house. Puck put the house on the market the week after, and he and Beth took off for Columbus.