Inchworm: Puck & Finn

"Which one's yours?" Puck looked over at the older man who had paused beside him, nose pressed to the glass as he gazed at the babies resting in their bassinets in the nursery. "That one in the second row, with the pink bow on top, she's my great-granddaughter. Name's Mazie, my third one if you can believe it."

Puck smiled fondly at the baby and then over at the man. "She's beautiful," he complimented him warmly. Fatherhood had a funny way of doing that to a guy. "Mine is the little guy down in front with all the dark hair."

"Looks strong, real healthy," the guy praised with a grin that matched Puck's. "This your first one?"

"Second one," Puck replied. He might not be raising Beth, but she was still his still his little girl. He saw her regularly now and that's what mattered. "I have a ten-year-old daughter named Beth. She's excited about being a big sister. She wanted the baby to be a girl, but I think she'll be okay with a boy once she sees him."

"Does your boy have a name yet?"

"Nathaniel Finn," Puck grinned. "The middle name is after his father."

"Your name's Finn?"

"Noah, actually," he replied. "I mean his other father, my husband. We had a surrogate. I'm the biological parent, but we're both the fathers."

Puck waited for the inevitable reaction he usually got in Ohio. However, the man just smiled at him crookedly before returning his gaze to the nursery. "My youngest son got married a couple years ago to a nice young man named Brock. They recently adopted a three-year-old from Vietnam," he told Puck before extending his right hand out. "My name is Edward. It's nice to meet you, Noah."

"You too, sir," Puck said politely. "Is your wife excited to have another great grandchild?"

"I imagine she would be, son," Edward answered. "We lost my Gloria last year to cancer. We were married fifty-six years, would have been fifty-seven next month." Puck didn't miss the sad, wistful inflection in his voice. "Can I give you a piece of advice, Noah? Don't take a single day for granted. It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness that comes along with kids, but let me tell you, the days go by so fast. Cherish each one of them. Cherish the time you have with your Finn."

Just then, he caught sight of his Finn coming down the hallway. The taller man grinned at him as he balanced an oversized bear on his hip, the same one that Finn had eyed in the gift shop earlier before Monica, their surrogate, had called to tell them it was time. Finn slid the bear to the floor next to the nursery door before coming over to stand behind Puck. He rested one hand low on his back, his chin finding its way to Puck's shoulder. Puck couldn't help but reach up to cover Finn's other hand.

"How's our little guy doing?"

"Nurse said he should be ready for a feeding in about an hour," Puck said without taking his eyes off where Nathaniel was resting. "Finn, dude, I want you to meet Edward. His granddaughter just gave birth to the little girl in the middle row."

Finn reached over to shake Edward's hand before peering over Puck's shoulder at the baby. "She's a looker, sir," Finn praised. "She reminds me a little bit of Beth, don't you think? I guess all babies kind of look the same though. If Nate didn't already have so much hair, I'd be scared that they're going to mix him up with one of the other baldies in there."

"Dad?"

Edward looked down the hallway and then nodded with a grin. "That's my son down there, the new grandpa," he explained. "I guess I should be going. It was nice to meet you boys. You take real good care of that Nathaniel, okay? And congratulations, I can already tell that you're going to be great parents!"

"Thank you, sir," Finn said politely. "Congratulations to you as well."

"Yeah, congrats," Puck echoed, gripping the man's hand tightly. He looked into Edward's kind blue eyes and smiled. He was the kind of father he wished he would have had growing up, the kind that Kurt had and that Finn eventually got with Burt. "Take care, Edward."

"You too, Noah," he returned. "And remember what I told you..."

"I will," he promised. Edward nodded in confirmation and then headed down the hallway to meet up with his son.

When he turned around the corner, Finn turned back to his husband questioningly. "What are you supposed to remember?"

"That you made me the luckiest man in the world when you decided you loved me. I don't ever want to forget how much I need you," Puck answered softly. Finn smiled then, reaching up to cup his cheek with loving affection. "Love you, dude."

"Me too, man," Finn said. "And Inchworm, I love our little Inchworm."

"First Drizzle and now Inchworm. What are you gonna call the next one?"

Finn's face lit up. "There's going to be another one?"

"Yeah, dude, of course," Puck assured him. "The world needs another Finn Hudson."

"Can we name him Luigi?"

Puck had to chuckle and shake his head. "And that right there is exactly why you need me."