Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, our ship would still be sailing on sees of happiness. Seeing as they're not at the moment, I don't. –sigh—

As he closes the door behind him, Puck can still feel himself coming down from the unexpected episode that was Judy Fabray. He knew it wasn't his place, so he stayed silent. He kept quiet for her. That seemed to be his norm now. He knows he can do damage of his own. He's Noah Puckerman. He's the guy who seems to be capable of damage everywhere he goes. He's been taught it's not right to hit a woman. Any guy with a brain knows that. So, as hard a feat as it was, like a good boy, he kept his hands to himself.

Clearing his head of the frustration, he's finally able to take in the florescent lighting of the hall. He takes a minute to note that, unlike the buzz of the afternoon, the night shift is quieter, more peaceful. Here, he finally allows reality to set in. They're actually going to do this. They're actually going to keep her. As elated as he is to know this, Puck can't help but be a little terrified. You wanted this he remembers. As he steps into the nursery, he makes a beeline to the familiar cot. As soon as he takes in her face, he smiles, finally able to push down the momentary fear.

Watching her sleep, his finger trails her cheek. As he does so, he can see her twitch. A movement barely noticeable if not watched closely. It's almost as if she knows. Even though she doesn't wake, Beth turns in his direction, releasing a short breath. A set of approaching footsteps interrupts and he's forced to shift his attention. Puck startles for a minute, noticing that the attending nurse isn't the one from this afternoon. Taking her place is a blond haired woman with visibly high cheek bones. Old habits die hard, he realizes, for he can't help letting his eyes wander her very decent chest. After a minute or two, his gaze returns to her face. The flirtatious smile she has sitting there is hard to miss.

"Well hello there," she purrs. "What can I do for you?" she asks as her arm accidently brushes his. He knows by experience that the two seconds of contact isn't really an accident. Raising a brow, a familiar smirk crosses his face. A small cry stops anything that might be said in reply. Almost instantly, he sees Quinn's face. His inner sex shark tendencies, though hard to contain, have been suppressed.

"I came to see if she could be brought into her mom's room," he says, now refocusing his attention on Beth. "She's been askin' for her." Puck finds himself playing with the thread of her small cap. He lets it glide between his fingers, keeping an eye on his daughter. The distraction allows the urge to strike up a conversation, to become impossible.

"Sure thing," she smiles widely, exposing a set of perfectly white teeth that he can see out of the corner of his eye.

"Thanks," he mumbles, now keeping a far distance from her. Being sure to keep that space wide enough, he quietly steps around her, and watches his daughter as she's wheeled of the room and into the hall. Keeping with the far distance rule, he waits a few steps before following. When they've finally made it out to the hall, she starts talking again. He can't really make out exactly what she's saying but his eyes are traveling down her body again. Stopping at her boobs, he blinks three times before averting his gaze. Puck sees that she's just smiling, that look he often sees in Santana, reflecting in her too. That look he knows all too well. The look that makes him the guy he is.

"Here we are, Mr. Puckerman." Hes a bit startled, not sure where she figured out his last name. He quickly takes in the anklet about the size of his pinky, addressing his daughter's name. The last is obviously his own. Clearing his throat he followers as she leads them into the room. "Oh…" she whispers. "She's asleep. I think I'll let you take it from here," she smiles. Puck does the same, avoiding eye contact. As she walks out, he feels her graze his chest, and for a minute, goes rigid. Keeping that smile, she slips something into his jean pocket. He's done this before; he knows what's written there. He can't help feeling as though he's on the other side. Usually, he's the one to do that to potential candidates. He's proud to admit that he can be a lot sneakier than she just was.

"Puck…" Quinn mumbles from the other end of the room. As soon as he hears her call out to him, all thoughts of the nurse take a back burner. Not bothering to excuse himself, Puck takes his place at her bedside. Watching her adjust to the lighting, he takes a minute to reanalyze her soft features. Taking a last quick glance between them, the excitement is gone. After a more thorough examination, he knows she's not his usual.

Her chest is too exposed, her legs too long. The woman's teeth and hair have got to be artificially perfect. The constant smile plastered on her face makes him cringe. He can't help thinking that the woman's never felt anything other than happy for her entire life. Everything about this girl is…too perfect. Puck is far from that. He's a well-known screw up. He needs someone just as tainted as he is.

Without even realizing he's doing so, he's letting his fingers crawl up her arm. As soon as he does this, he notices how cold to the touch her skin is. He starts an up and down motion with his hand, hoping the friction is enough to help keep her warm. Quinn smiles softly in thanks and rubs sleep from her eyes with her free hand.

"Is she here?" she mumbles. Puck smiles, stopping the exercise long enough to wheel Beth closer to her mother. With momentary struggle, (dealt with silently so he isn't alerted to anything) she puts herself into sitting position, arms already prepared to accept the weight of a little girl. As he brings her over, Quinn can't help noticing the way Beth seems to pretty much fit in the palm of his hand. Her baby's the size of a doll in her father's over-sized palm. Tears settle themselves at the corners of her eyes when she sees how carefully he's handling her. Almost as if he's afraid that with one wrong move he could break her. Puck's hand travels the length of her body, finally stopping a short distance from her impossibly small feet. Quinn smiles as she watches Beth press her tiny foot against his hand.

A smile crosses his own face as he fights the pressure building at the back of his throat. It still hasn't completely sunk in yet. The reality that this little person is his, still feels so surreal. Beth is a mash up of the two of them. Little pieces of both he and Quinn are in this little human being.

"She's so freakin' tiny," he whispers. She nods, watching him brush his eye in secret. She's seen him do it and he knows it. "Somethin' in my eye," he mumbles.

"Uh huh," she laughs. "I'm sure."

"I've got pollen allergies or something," he grumbles.

"Puck, we're in a hospital that's been overly sterilized. Nothing from outside ever makes it in here. You can stop making excuses now," she smiles. He looks over at her, rolling his eyes, somewhat annoyed that she doesn't believe him. She watches him go over every one of her fragile body parts, gruff hands treating them like china. He stops at every curve, like he's memorizing every piece. Again, he stops at her feet, waiting patiently for the two seconds of contact. "I need a shower," she sighs. Puck's eyes hold a few seconds of the familiar twinkle, and she rolls her own

"Need any help?" he smirks. She laughs, shaking her head. She laughs even harder when he looks disappointed.

"If you were going to 'help' me—" she said. Puck just rolled his eyes at her use of air quotes, "—who would be out here to watch her?" He sighs, sending her off with a brush of his hand, in the direction of the private bathroom. "Next time," she whispers, sympathetically patting his forearm. The heat of her breath sends a shiver down his spine, a smirk and raise of his brow telling her he's more than willing to take her up on it.

"You gonna make it okay?" he asks as he watches her shuffle to the bathroom.

"I had a baby, Puck. My legs are still working," she pointed out, secretly touched by his unnecessary concern.

"Just checkin'," he grumbles.

"If you hear a weird crash or scream, that's when you come help me. Otherwise, I'm sure I still remember how to bathe myself." She turns to see a three second grimace cross his face before it's wiped away, replaced with his iconic smirk.

"Don't say I didn't offer my services." Quinn simply laughs, unwinding her matted hair, disgusted that it seems to stick together and out.

"I feel disgusting," she sighs, brushing her arms.

"Shut up, you're fine. Now, go shower before I decide to help you anyway," he says impatiently. When he finally hears the door close securely, he throws his head back, pulling in a deep breath. "I really don't get her sometimes. I don't know. Maybe I just don't understand woman, period. They're never completely satisfied with themselves. They're frustrating. She's frustrating. It must be in your DNA to always be hatin' yourselves. Girls are beatin' down on themselves when they really have no reason to. You gotta be more like us guys. Accept it, embrace it, and use it to your advantage. I know I'm a screw up, but I learned to accept that it's just who I am.

I honestly don't know why you're mom's willin' to give me a shot. I know I don't deserve it. Especially after the way I treated her. She has tough, for some weird reason. It might be 'cause of you, for the most part. But I'm taking whatever I can get at this point. I may have fucked things up—your mom would kill me if she heard me say that—a hell of a lot but this is the one thing I'm gonna be sure I do right. She deserves better than that. Better than me," he whispered.

"You gotta learn to work with watcha got. Good or bad, it's you. And then you find that one person who takes a chance at making you better than what you are. That one person who takes you for every mess you've ever made. That one person who makes you rethink everything you've ever done. That someone who's willing to take you for the mess that you are, and make you a better person. She makes me wanna do better. You make me wanna do better. Just between you and me, your mom might just be it for me. I'm just not completely sold on that yet. The last thing I wanna do is hurt her more than I already have..."

The vibrate of his phone made Puck jump, startling Beth for a minute as she let out a small cry. He frowned when he saw Shelby's name flash across the screen, silently slipping a couple of profanities when he finally remembered that she was supposed to come by today. He lets it continue for a minute as he settles Beth back into her cot. Watching one of her hands come around his pinky, he answers the phone with his free hand.

"Hey Shelby."

"Hey Puck. I was just wondering when exactly it would be a good time to..." She let the sentence go unfinished, afraid she might hit a nerve with the teen, who she's learned, has a questionable temper.

"Sorry but I don't think that'll be happening," he says. The line goes silent now. He wonders if somehow the call has dropped, until eventually, he hears a silent breath on the other end.

"Oh? Has something happened to..."

"Quinn's actually changed her mind," he clarifies. Shelby can tell that there's a smile in his reply. A smile that Puck isn't working too hard to hide.

"I see..." she says carefully. He can tell she's disappointed now and can't help feeling badly for her. Rachel's told them all about her past. Which is part of the reason she seemed to be the perfect choice. That and, the silent unspoken agreement that this way, Beth would still be theirs somehow. They wouldn't be raising her but this way; they would know exactly where she's going. Selfishly, Puck saw it as a way of being more involved than just deciding where she ends up.

"Yeah," he says, more quietly this time as he looks down at his trapped finger, a smile crossing his face. "Listen, I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner. Quinn actually just changed her mind this afternoon," he says, hoping the timeline will help ease the situation.

"Are you sure that you two are capable of...?" For some reason, Shelby can't seem to complete a thought. She's not sure why. It might be the disappointment of having the chance taken away or the uncertainty that two teenage parents actually know what they're getting themselves into. She decides that it's a little of both. She laughs to herself, realizing that her hopes of starting fresh weren't even that long lasting. Why then, did it feel like a part of herself was finally being stripped away? Perhaps it was the unwillingness to finally accept the truth. Any hopes of being a decent mother were finally gone this time. Her shot at redemption wasn't coming.

"We know it's not gonna be easy," he says honestly. "But we're gonna give it a shot."

"You do realize that there's no going back, right?"

"Yeah, we know. Quinn and I have both talked it over and the truth is that we just can't. It's no disrespect to you or anything. We just feel like we should be the ones to do this. We're the ones who had her. We should at least be able to own up and take responsibility for what's ours."

"Well...If you ever change your minds, you know where to find me."

"Thanks," he says gratefully. They can both tell by his tone that he's not going to be changing his mind anytime soon. She sighs again, almost ready to hang up now.

"Good luck," she says, a small smile in her tone.

"Thanks," he says again, not sure where to take this conversation anymore.

"I'll talk to you later, Puck. Let me know if you need anything."

"Hold up, Shelby." Subtle breathes are the only indication that he hasn't been hung up on quite yet. "Listen, I know how much you wanted this to happen. We're willin' to take all the help we can get."

"Just let me know," she says.

"Sounds good." With that, they're conversation is over. The squeak of a door pulls his eyes to look at a newly showered Quinn.

"Shit," she mumbled. Puck smiled privately. It always made him somewhat proud to see her fall from her typical good girl tendencies with the odd cuss word. "Shelby's supposed to be here in twenty minutes. I have no idea what to tell her..."

"Just got off the phone with her. She's pretty upset."

"Understandably," she nods, pulling herself up next to him. Puck finds himself threading through her freshly washed hair. Every once and a while, he catches the smell of peaches. "What'd she say?"

"Not much. I know her whole past with Berry had hopes up pretty high. I told her we were willing to take all the help we can. Seemed to soften the blow a little."

"How exactly are we going to tell them? It's not like we've never hinted at keeping her before today."

"True."

"You lied to my mom, didn't you?"

"Not really..." he says slowly. Quinn looked up to see that he's shifting his eyes, not daring to look directly at her. "I kinda told Mom we were keeping our options open..."

"You thought I'd change my mind," she said.

"Is that so bad?" he whispers, taking particular interest in a curl he's made of her hair.

"I don't know," she sighed. "We could have at least talked about it."

"Quinn, have you met yourself? There's no talking things out with you. You made your choice. All I could do was sit on the sidelines and hope."

"I guess you're right," she sighs. "We're not even ready for this."

"Quinn, we've talked about this," he says with a hint of irritation.

"No, I mean it, Puck. We're not even ready! Where are we supposed to find a car seat to take her home in?" He backs a safe distance away from her now, eyeing her carefully.

"How much would you hate me if I told you that I kinda already have one?" he asks sheepishly.

"What? How...?"

"It's been sitting in the trunk of my car for about a month now..." he admits. Quinn just shakes her head, not even bothering to ask why. She knows he'd pull something like this.. He sees her start to laugh and breathes a sigh of relief.

"You're not mad?" he asks, still not completely believing that she's not at least a little pissed at him for defying her.

"Not really. You and I are both set in our thoughts. We have different ways of looking at things. You were fighting to keep her; I was pushing back with wanting to give her up. It's not really surprising you kept it there, hoping I'd eventually cave. You've been trying to do that for months."

"I win?" he asks with an uncharacteristically cheesy smile. Quinn just rolls her eyes with a shake of her head.

"Yes Puck. You win."

"Puckasourous does it again," he whispers, sending a slight breeze to her ear.

"You are so full of yourself," she mumbles.

"You know you like it," he smirks. Quinn throws her head back, slightly annoyed, and hears a slight pop in her neck.

"Fuck," she whimpers as the sensation travels her body building a small fire that lasts a few seconds.

"Watch your tongue, Fabray."

"Shut up! My neck just twisted and hurts like a bitch," she shot back, slapping him soundly on the forearm.

"Geez Quinn. You don't have to hit so damn hard all the time!" he growls.

"Watch your tongue, Puckerman," she mocked. Puck just sighed while massaging his arm. "Will you just come over here and help me?" she asks painfully. He nods, helping her over to the bed. Pulling her hospital gown back, he exposes her pale shoulder blades, letting his hands brush the rest of her hair over her shoulder. Carefully, he kneads the tension areas in her back, taking an extra few minutes at the top of her spine to take out the knot that's sitting there. He feels her tense and softens the circular motion he's using to relieve the pressure.

"How the hell do you sleep at night?" he mumbled.

"With my eyes closed," she smirks.

"Haha, very funny," he says dryly. "Your entire neck's fucked up." Taking her head between his hands he sends her into a gentle roll and soon hears a quick succession of loosening muscles.

"Ow."

"See what I mean?"

"It's the hospital bed," she says. "The one at home likes me better."

"I can't believe how crappy these beds are," he grumbled.

"It's not a five star hotel."

"Still. If you're gonna have to be in a place that isn't home, at least the bed should be halfway decent."

"One of the reasons I just wanna get outta her and go home," she sighed. Home. She'd said it a number of times before. Over the last few months, that's what the Puckerman house had become. A home she never really had. Now, she could say it out loud without feeling guilty. Why she was feeling guilty in the first place, she wasn't really sure. Maybe it was the hope that eventually her parents would find out where she really was and want to come and get her. She realized now, that what she once thought was home was really just a house. A roof over her head where she was tolerated

There was no real sense of family. She remembered never being able to walk away from a quiet family dinner. They'd all end up fighting over something. And even then it was never all of them at once. There was a silent understanding that they all had their own little corners, and that's where they stayed. Quinn would be up in her room with a textbook in front of her. Her dad had the game blaring so loudly that she could hear it up the stairs and through her door. Judy was always a kind of ghost. Quiet enough to forget she was there, but loud enough to be reminded that she was

Puck's stopped now, bringing his hands to rest on her shoulders. He pulls her back gently, letting her head rest on his chest. His thumb brushing just under her eye is the first indication that she's started to cry. That's enough to lose complete composure. Her small shoulders are wobbling now while larger arms wrap themselves around her. She's a little surprised to be where she is. This isn't Puck. He doesn't believe in any physical contact outside of sex. Even though this sets her back for a few seconds, she lets her body go slack, fingers clawing at the hem of his shirt.

"Why?" she whispers, the single word barely making it around the clog in her throat.

"I don't know, Quinn," he sighs. "They just didn't get it," he decides. She doesn't have to elaborate. He knows what she's thinking. It's not that he's psychic, he just….knows. He gets it. He's been there. Quinn's more than relieved that he just understands. Having to explain why she was feeling a certain way would just make things worse.

"I needed them," she whimpers. I needed my mom…" The only thing she's capable of is crying now. Long, deep cries that seem as if they'll never stop.

"I know," he whispered. Puck's shirt is soaked through with wet hair and tears. He could care less right now about the state of the clothes he's wearing. Quinn's clinging to him with every bit of strength she has. The reality that she's got nothing left, nothing that matters, rattles her to the core. It's just her. It's Quinn Fabray against the world. Nothing but him she thinks. She can't help thinking of how many times she's almost lost him to her own stupidity, her own carelessness.

"Please…"

"Loosen up, babe," he says gently. "A man's gotta be able to breathe," he smirks. She does as he's asked, but not by much.

"I can't…"

"I'm not goin' anywhere," he whispers. "If I do, you're comin' with me. We're in this together," he says, gently pulling bits of plastered hair from her face.

"I've lost everything…" she sobs.

"Not everything," he smirks.

"Everyone…everything that meant something. Everyone who supposedly loved me…All gone." Her body's shaking again, Puck trying to contain her with a firm grip around her. He can't help the three seconds of pain he feels when he hears her say that. He knows she doesn't mean it. He knows that all of this is the product of pain that's been festering for much too long. So he lets it go and just does what he's supposed to.

"Just ride it out," he whispers. Quinn's settled herself as closely to him as she can, gripping him with shaking hands. All he can do is sit there, wishing that more than anything, he could bear at least half the burden she's had weighing down on her.

"I can't do this," she cries.

"You can," he says, using his knuckle to have her look at him. "You can and you will. You're not in this alone."

"I hate her," she gasps. "I know…I know I'm supposed to love her…But I can't." Quinn can't help seeing her mother as a stranger now. Since her pregnancy phase, she saw Judy in an entirely different light. Even today, she was nothing more than a shell of the woman she loved. Most of the blame, she realized, was shot at her father. At the same time, she was capable of independent thoughts and feelings. Judy chose to be a female replica of her father. She hated them both with a burning passion. Yet somehow, she hated her mother just a little bit more. "A girl needs her mom, Puck. Mine just…threw me away…"

"People swear they'll never become something. Sometimes, in the end that's exactly who they are. Deep down, some of us turn into the people we really wish we weren't."

"I don't even know where to start," she sighed. "Mom's supposed to help me and obviously she can't. She won't."

"Mom's willing to help you with whatever you need. You know that."

"I know but it's…it's just not the same…"

"I get it. We'll do the best we can with what we've got. Isn't that how it always works?" She nods, finally pulling away from him. Still, the distance between them isn't much and that's the way she wants it, needs it, right now.

"I'm sorry," she blushes. "You're soaked." As she says this, she can make out his sculpted chest and smirks, mentally congratulating herself.

"Don't worry about it. I look better with it off, anyway," he smirks. Quinn shoves him playfully, finally allowing herself to laugh a little.

"You've seen what's under this thing. You can't tell me you don't agree," he whispers with a quirk of his brow. She feels her cheeks heat up again and ducks, embarrassed, barely letting herself nod in agreement. "I'm just too sexy for a shirt. Shame I have to keep it on…"

"Puck, we're in a hospital. You're not taking your shirt off."

"Oh, c'mon! It's not like they're even gonna know. The door's closed!"

"No," she glares.

"Fine," he sighs, defeated. Quinn can't fight the smile he's been able to put on her face. Maybe, she'll be able to keep it there for a while. She yawns, letting her arms extend just a little. She feels a nose meet her knuckle and pulls back quickly. "What the hell, Fabray?" he mumbled.

"Sorry…"

"It's cool. Doesn't hurt that much. You hit like a girl."

"I do? I wonder why that is…" Again she yawns, this time making sure that she keeps her hands close to her body.

"You should get some sleep," he says as he pulls out from behind her. A knock alerts them to the nurse making her rounds.

"Good evening, you two," she smiles. "How are you feeling, Quinn?"

"A little sore," she admits.

"That's perfectly normal. That's all temporary though. No worries. Now, one of our staff is going to come by and show you how to breast feed, if that's what you decide to do." She grimaces, not exactly looking forward to what that might entail. "Most moms prefer it over the bottle feeding. It's a wonderful bonding experience between mother and child."

"We'll see," she smiled. She nods looking over her chart silently.

"Do either of you have any other questions?" Quinn sees Puck open his mouth and elbows him discreetly.

"Hey, I got a question. Why do your beds suck ba—"

"Puck!" she growls.

"What?"

"Ignore him, please. He's being an idiot," she mumbles. The nurse just smiles writing down the last of her chart updates and says a quick goodbye. When the door is closed behind the nurse, Quinn turns to glare at him sharply. "I can't believe you asked her that!"

"It's a valid question!" he defended. "Isn't any business supposed to have satisfied customers or whatever? Well, I'm not very satisfied."

"Too bad. We're only here for another night. Do you think you could save the stupid questions for when we get home?"

"Fine. Take away my freedom of speech. It's not you haven't taken everything else already."

"Yeah well, you took my virginity, so I think we're even now."

"That was fun for both of us so I consider that a draw," he smirked. "But we'll continue racking up points tomorrow. Right now, my baby mama needs sleep," he said brushing her temple as he left his place on the bed. Quinn's hand pulls him back before he can get very far.

"Stay…" she sighed.

"Can the two of us even fit on this thing?"

"Are you calling me fat, Puckerman?" she asked pulling her eyes open wide enough to glare at him.

"No. I don't kiss fat girls, remember?"

"If I have to spend another night on this thing, I don't think I'll be able to move in the morning."

"And how am supposed to solve that problem?" he smirked.

"Be my bed?"

"Hmm…I don't know…What does Puckasourous get outta the deal?

"A very happy baby mama who can actually carry herself out when they tell us we can leave?"

"Sounds decent enough," he says pulling in behind her again. She smiles, letting her head rest comfortably on his chest again.

"You're still wet," she laughed.

"You sure I'm the only one?" he winked. She shoved him gently and laid back down.

"Why is everything sex related to you?" she mumbled.

"Puckasourous is a world renounced sex god," he smirked.

"I thought he was a dinosaur," she smiled.

"That too." She chuckles quietly, letting her eyes close now.

"Goodnight Noah," she whispers. He flinches for a second when he hears his first name cross her lips. Then he smiles, realizing that for her, it's okay. For Quinn, it sounds okay, nice even.

"Goodnight Quinn. " When he's able to hear that she's fallen asleep, he kisses her forehead quietly before letting sleep take him as well. He knows it won't last long because he's going to be up with Beth in just a couple of hours. Puck knows that he's the one who's going to get up with her for the night. He owes Quinn that much. "Just a couple hours, Beth. Just let Daddy sleep for that long before you decide to wake me up," he whispers.

A/N: Just a dose of Quick to help me keep my sanity. Let me know how it went, please. :)