A/N: So originally, this story was EIGHT chapters long, but with all of the revisions (and extra scenes... *facepalm*) I'm doing, I think it will actually come to nine chapters and an epilogue. It's funny, reading through this story, a few of these characters are getting a mind of their own and are doing, saying things I didn't write originally (those bastids, haha!). In any case, I really hope that you guys like the revisions/additions. I have to admit that I prefer this version of chapter eight over the previous one I wrote. Go figure.
Also, I really appreciate all of the reviews, favourites, alerts! You guys make me smile. Thank you so much!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.
The following Saturday morning, Rachel and Quinn sat in the Berrys' den, looking for information on adoption centres in Ohio. So far, Quinn had rejected three of the centres and it seemed as though she was about to reject yet another one.
Rachel furtively looked at Quinn. "Quinn," she began, worried that whatever she said next would make Quinn snap at her. Again. For what would be the twelfth time that morning alone. (Rachel was keeping count.) Quinn perked her head up, one of her thin eyebrows raised. "Why don't you just make an appointment with Allen County Children Services? Or at least wait until you can talk this over with Noah?"
Quinn leaned back in her chair, her graceful arms hugging her abdomen.
"Think about it," Rachel continued. "Rather than decide the fate of your unborn child too rashly, you would be with someone who will equally be affected by the choice. Besides, I happen to know that the reason why you can't make up your mind just yet is because your conscience is eating away at you for excluding Noah. I know. I'm psychic." She gave Quinn a pointed look, already considering the matter closed.
Ordinarily, Quinn would have rolled her eyes, muttering how idiotic Rachel sounded just loud enough for her to understand. But now that she had lived with Rachel for a total of one week and two days (Quinn had been keeping a tally…), she had learned to filter most of the things Rachel said and merely answered her, instead.
"Or I could always just hire a lawyer…" she answered, nodding her head slowly, as though explaining something difficult to someone very dense. "Like, your dad, for example."
Quinn's tone of voice and exaggerated body movements weren't lost on Rachel. Having lived with Quinn for over a week had taught her that a death-glare was often more successful than words. She glared at Quinn then, not amused in the slightest with her attitude.
Noticing Rachel's expression, Quinn smiled lightly, relishing the fact that she had managed to silence her so easily. She sighed, unable to fully appreciate her victory because she knew that Rachel was right. Not including Puck in the decision-making was making her indecisive. Granted, Quinn Fabray suffered from indecision every day of her young life, but that was neither here nor there.
"I guess I'll talk to Puck about it later." Quinn said softly, ignoring Rachel's glare. She looked up, still avoiding Rachel's eyes. "Could you help me get in touch with Allen County Children Services, though?"
"That's what I'm here for, Quinn." Rachel smiled. Tentatively, she placed one of her small hands over Quinn's. "I'm your friend."
Quinn's green eyes met Rachel's brown ones and neither could stop themselves from smiling.
"Thanks, Rachel." Quinn may have been without a family, without a home, but she could count on the glee club and its members for support. Rachel in particular had stepped up since December. And Puck... Puck's exceeding all of my expectations.
"I'll, uh… I'll talk to Puck," she added, smiling awkwardly. Hearing those words spring from Quinn's mouth, Rachel beamed. She knew that she was responsible for this turn of events and was feeling quite smug.
Rachel Berry could now add matchmaker to her list of accomplishments. Maybe she'd write about it in her memoirs someday.
Puck rolled over to look at his alarm clock. 9:39 AM. It was early on a Saturday morning for him, but he had promised to pick Quinn up at 10:30, so, rather than roll back onto his stomach and fall back asleep, he got up and got ready for the day ahead.
To say that Puck was nervous was an understatement. He knew that Quinn wasn't keen on meeting with her parents today and the truth was Puck was terrified that it wouldn't go well. And if it didn't go well, it would fall on him. And if it fell on him, he knew that his chances with Quinn would be slimmer than they already were. I'm screwed.
Sure, he'd tried convincing Quinn to be a family with him, but he knew that Quinn didn't trust him. Having her trust him enough to agree to meet with her parents was a huge step in their relationship. He sighed, putting on his jeans, muttering the day's game plan to himself to steady his nerves.
"Pick-up at 10:30. Meet with douche bags. Drive Quinn to lunch. Again. Pick-up at 10:30. Meet with douche bags. Drive Quinn to lunch. One more time. Pick up at 10:30..."
Sliding on his deodorant, it occurred to him that his relationship with Quinn had improved greatly since she'd moved in with Rachel. For one, after their talk that previous Friday, Quinn had agreed to let him pick her up from Lamaze class again. Sure, he wasn't driving her to and from school, but Lamaze was a start. And she didn't argue whenever he sat next to her in glee club.
Then there was that smile she kept giving him whenever she thought he wasn't looking. He shook his head soundly. Fuck, Puckerman! Something is wrong with you. You're growing a man-gina. He looked at his reflection and gave himself a look of disdain. Pathetic.
He pulled his t-shirt on and glanced at the time. 9:47 AM. Plenty of time to get some grub.
As he walked downstairs to the kitchen, he wondered what Quinn would choose to do with their little girl. In the past he'd been vocal about wanting to be with Quinn and be a family (How more obvious does 'I wanna be with you' get?), but he knew that wasn't gonna happen. Sure, she'd calmed down when he'd reminded her that the baby was half-his, making the choice half-his, too, but...
"Hello, Noah," his mother greeted him as he took the milk out of the refrigerator, startling him.
"Mom!" he almost dropped the milk. "What's going on? I thought you worked late last night. You shouldn't be up so early."
"I couldn't sleep," she smiled. "I haven't been to bed yet."
Puck looked down. Was his mom losing sleep because of him? Wow, I'm a turd.
"What are you doing up so early, hmmm?" Sarah asked with a smile. "This is strange behaviour, even for you. Normally you're sneaking back in at this hour."
"I have plans," he replied, pouring his cereal into a bowl.
"Who with?"
"Quinn." He answered quickly. "We're going to her parents'. See if she can move back in."
Sarah smiled into her cup of coffee, as Puck went to sit across from her. She set her mug down, examining the contents and let out a small laugh.
"You know, when you were younger, it always amazed me that you were so attached to Quinn. Even more than you were with Finn." She stared at him, watching as he scooped bits of cereal into his mouth. "Hell, I even put up with Russell because of your friendship to her! That man is a piece of work." She added, shaking her head.
"What do you mean?" He asked, bits of cereal falling out of his mouth.
She sighed heavily, realizing that she shouldn't have said anything to her temperamental son. He looked at her pointedly, urging her to continue. She rose, refilling her coffee, and leaned against the countertop to look back at him.
"Well, let's just say that Russell was a cad," she said reluctantly. Noticing the 'huh?' expression on Puck's face, she chuckled, setting her cup down. "You know, he was... Oh, Noah! Do I really have to spell it out for you?" She asked, throwing her hands in the air.
"Well, ma, I'm kinda taking Quinn to see her parents today," he answered with a hint of sarcasm. "Besides, you brought it up. How bad was Mr Fabray?" He frowned.
"Well," she let out an exasperated breath. This was not an easy thing to talk about... "Russell was flirtatious. You know, flirty?"
"I know what flirtatious is, mom!" Puck answered, annoyed.
"Anyway, that's why you stopped having your play-dates with Quinn. Do you remember? It was just after your dad left?"
Puck nodded, remembering that his play-dates with Quinn had been the one highlight in his life after his deadbeat dad left a gaping hole in his life. After he left, there wasn't much that would cheer Puck up, but Quinn and her bad-ass ideas. They'd once snuck out of the Fabray house and had walked to the McDonald's five blocks over, conning the staff into giving them ice cream on account of them getting "lost" from their mothers. Sure, it had gotten both of them in serious trouble, but it had helped Puck forget about his dad... at least for a little while.
But soon after that, Puck's mom stopped taking him over to Quinn's and Mrs Fabray stopped calling. The only times that he and Quinn saw one another after that was at school and birthday parties. Puck pretended not to care, he was in grade four, after all, and ten year-olds are too old for play-dates, but he missed Quinn. He had always figured that the reason why their play-dates stopeed was because of the stunt they'd pulled at the McDonald's, but now he was learning that it was because Quinn's dad, the one man that actually intimidated Puck (Have you seen the guy's guns? No, literally... he has a collection of firearms in his den... it freaks me out!), was a dick and tried something with his own mother? Puck saw red.
"Did that asshole try something?" he asked, rising from his chair, ready to kick some ass.
"Noah, sit down." She shook her head, walking back to her chair to sit across from her son. "No, he didn't, but he suggested that we do something after your father left. I always ignored him. Like I said, I knew that Quinn was important to you. But after your dad left, he got... more difficult to deal with. That's when I decided to confront Judy about it, but..." she shrugged. "She preferred to believe her husband and kicked me out of their house. That was the end of your play-dates with Quinn."
Puck swallowed hard. How could Mr Fabray be that much of a hypocrite? The man preached about good "Christian" values, but he went and hit on Puck's mom? Hell. No.
"Noah, please don't say anything to him or Quinn when you go to their house. I only told you because Russell is a snake. He'll pretend that everything is fine, but..."
"But he'll be planning something." His mother nodded. "I get it."
He took his dirty dishes to the sink, remembered to rinse them and stuck them in the dishwasher. Before he left the kitchen, he turned to his mom one last time.
"You meant it, didn't you?"
She nodded, knowing exactly what Puck was referring to. "Quinn is family, Noah. And that baby," she chuckled. "Is a miracle. It brought you and Quinn together again after how many years? It's not ideal, but everything happens for a reason."
Puck shifted uncomfortably, leaning his body weight against one of the chairs. Do I tell her? He took a deep breath and buried his hands in his pockets. He blew the air out, and finally 'fessed up.
"Uh, just so you know," he said, furrowing his brows. "The baby is a girl."
He watched as his mother's eyebrows raised and her lips twitched. Finally she let out a happy sigh, her eyes brimming with tears. She buried her head in her hands and Puck saw her grey hair glisten in the sunlight that filtered in through the kitchen window. Awkwardly, he shuffled over to her and placed an uncertain hand on her right shoulder. Almost immediately, her left hand reached up to hold his and she squeezed, sobbing quietly in the kitchen.
She lifted her tear-stained face to look at her boy and Puck saw a look of pure joy on her face. She swallowed and gave one last tremulous breath.
"Tell her what I said about being family, Noah. She has to know that she can count on me, okay? Count on both of us."
Puck nodded, finally leaving the kitchen to meet Quinn and face the Dudley Road douchebags. Oh joy.
A/N: Again, thanks so much for reading! You guys make my day!