A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to post; school has been kicking my ass lately. The things I do to learn french are amazing. I wanted to post before Hell-O aired, but that passed, so did Power of Madonna (Like a Virgin made me laugh a lot), so did Home, and then went Bad Reputation. I'd be damned if Laryngitis passed too! So my original plan was to have Quinn give birth, but I rebooted everything because it wasn't very popular. Hopefully this is better! OH and thank you all SO MUCH for the reviews! Now that this is done, hopefully I can write some more, and I really hope all of you stick around! PS, I definitely reached my quota, thank you! See you at the bottom!
Chapter Four: The Way You Look Tonight
The doorbell to the Hudson household rang twice, and continuous knocking followed.
"Mommy! They're here!" Adelaine Elyse Fabray-Puckerman called out to her mom. She ran the front door and unlocked it quickly.
"Mama!" she squealed and jumped into the waiting arms of Rachel Berry.
"Hi Drizzle! I missed you so, so much!" the beautiful brunette greeted back. Rachel pulled away to look into Drizzle's eyes. They were hazel, like Puck's, but she had Quinn's smile and her porcelain skin as well.
"Adelaine Elyse Fabray-Puckerman! What have I said about answering the door by yourself? What if it's not your mama Rachel or your father" reprimanded Quinn as she made her way to the door.
Drizzle looked fearfully at Rachel when she heard her mother call her by her full name. Then she smirked and turned back and hugged Quinn. "Sorry, mommy. I just got excited!" the eight-year old girl justified, and as she turned back to at Rachel, she saw Puck standing behind her, and ran down the front steps to greet him.
"DADDY!" she squealed loudly and Puck scooped her up and swung her around like a rag doll.
Rachel and Quinn scoffed and laughed at the father-daughter exchange. The two women turned to each other and kissed each other on the cheeks in greeting.
"I missed you so much, Rach! It was almost impossible to plan this wedding without you here!" Quinn exclaimed. Rachel shook her head and laughed lightly. "Seriously," Quinn continued, "When it came to the wedding cake picking, I was completely torn! Sure, Drizzle and Finn were there but they liked EVERYTHING! I kept thinking what would Rachel pick? So tomorrow we're going to the bakery and doing it all over again!"
Rachel shook her head and laughed again. "I know, I got your email asking me if I preferred a mocha buttercream cake over a white chocolate – lemon one. Did you really expect me to pick one without tasting both, Q?"
Quinn smiled and led Rachel into her house.
"Where's Puck and Drizzle?"
"Oh, they're probably in the back yard with Finn. As fun as our trip was, I could tell Noah was anxious to come back and work on their muscle car…" Rachel laughed.
"You can say that again. I think Finn spends more time with the Torino than he does with me! And then Drizzle's all interested in it too," Quinn laughed with her, "So…how was Tahiti? You look really tan."
Rachel sighed at the memories of her two-week long vacation, "Amazing. Truly amazing. Every day was spent in the sun, on the beach, tanning, snorkelling, surfing, on the beach in general! But alas, a week into our vacation Noah got food poisoning or some kind of allergic reaction to something in his meal."
She had just finished her run as Maureen on RENT in Ohio, and every night Noah would see her come home exhausted, and her voice slightly hoarse. Noah had gone into the contracting business with Kurt's boyfriend Jesse and flipped houses for a living (as in buying, renovating, and re-selling a house). They were highly successful, but the stress of renovating a house tired him out as well.
It was the night after her last show and after the cast after show party when Noah surprised her with a plan to go to Tahiti for a vacation after deeming that they "fucking deserved a break"…and that he had a surprise.
"Yeah, and that fucking ruined my fun," Noah's voice brought her out of her reverie. Quinn laughed and stood up to greet Puck properly. "I honestly wasted four damn days in our room making friends with the toilet instead of watching Rachel, in her bikini, tanning on the beach!"
Quinn laughed and Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh Puck, it can happen to anyone!"
"Yeah well, it made it damn hard to heal when they don't have ginger ale on tap, but instead rely on natural remedies!" Puck shook his head at all the times the hotel doctor had to rub some God-awful smelling crap on his chest.
Rachel giggled, "Yeah, it had like mahi-mahi fish oil mixed with who knows what else. I was about to sleep on the couch because it stank up the room, but he begged me to stay with him!"
Puck smirked and pulled Rachel toward him. "Yeah well, no allergic reactions gonna discourage my sexual prowess."
"What's sexual prowess, daddy?"
Rachel opened the door to the apartment she owned with Noah. She turned on the light and held the door open as he carried their bags inside.
"I can't fucking believe Drizzle sprang on the topic of sex tonight. And she didn't even let it go during dinner!" Puck complained. He dropped on the couch and rubbed his face with his hands.
Rachel giggled and joined him on the couch. "At least they didn't notice my necklace; it would have ruined the surprise!"
He pulled her on his lap and kissed her tenderly. "Well, it would've been nice if they did see it. Then, I wouldn't have the urge to just spill the beans, Rach." he reasoned, reaching for a chain around Rachel's neck. At the base of the chain hung a beautiful, sparking diamond engagement ring.
"Besides, I think I want you to start wearing this on your finger for everyone to see, instead of hiding it under your shirt."
The next day Rachel was an hour and a half late arriving at the bakery and she was relieved to find out that the pastry chef were friends of Quinn's, and didn't seem to mind. One by one, different slices of wedding cake were laid in front of Rachel, Quinn and Drizzle.
Quinn looked at each slice carefully and glanced at Rachel, who was taking a bite of the white chocolate wedding cake with lemon icing.
"It's… delightful, and delicate. I say maybe for this one," she suggested. Quinn nodded and told the chef to put it into the maybe section. Having Rachel as her second opinion was great; she was vocal about her opinions about each cake, and she brought up little perks to the ones she liked that Quinn didn't notice the first time around (when Finn was with her, he just told her "anything with chocolate". Like that really helped her).
It was at the hazelnut/chocolate ganache slice when Quinn noticed Rachel become a little queasy and asked for some ginger ale. Quinn's friend smiled and fled to the kitchen.
Quinn turned her body towards Rachel and put her hands on her friend's shoulders.
"Are you okay? You seem a little sick."
"I think I might have caught something. I couldn't sleep very well last night, but I figured that might be from some kind of jet lag. And then I woke up with a startle this morning because I had this overpowering urge to throw up! I was in and out of the bathroom at five minute intervals!" Rachel complained.
"What did Puck say?"
"He was worried; he thought I had some kind of food poisoning from dinner last night, but I said that was impossible. And God, I'm just so tired! Everything's wrong with me today!" Rachel whined and burst into tears.
Quinn just watched not knowing what to do.
Inability to sleep?
Morning sickness?
Spontaneous, out-of-the-blue crying?"Do you think you're pregnant?" she asked suddenly. Rachel immediately stopped crying and cocked her head to the side.
Oh she can't be…
"Pregnant?" she repeated. Truth of the matter was that she stopped using the pill about a month ago, when Noah brought up wanting a baby around the house.
"Yes, as in with child. Does…Puck not want anymore children?" Quinn asked. She knew that would be out of the question though; he was a great father to Drizzle and she always heard him joke about having Puckettes and Puckzillas running around the house.
"No, no that's not it!" Rachel shook her head fervently. "I went off the pill last month because he brought up having more children. I just… I didn't think it would happen so fast!" she laughed. Rachel reached into her purse to find her pack of tissues.
"Maybe…maybe I should go to the doctors anyway, just to be sure," she thought out loud. Quinn just smiled and hugged her. "I've been waiting to be a mama to your prospective baby!"
They both laughed and sat back down. Rachel looked down at the piece of cake in front of her.
One bite couldn't hurt…She sucked in a breath and forked a piece into her mouth. "Just then, Quinn's friend returned with a glass of ice in one hand and a can of ginger ale in the other."
"There you are," the pastry chef said, popping the top of the can and pouring it into Rachel's glass. "So we'll keep going now, if you'd like…"
"Actually, that won't be necessary? This cake right here? Utter heaven, and her fiancé had wanted something chocolate too," Rachel stated and nodded at Quinn.
Quinn smiled and nodded at the chef with finality, "We'll take this one."
Meanwhile on the outskirts of Columbus, Puck and Finn met up with Matt, Mike, Kurt and Jesse at their favourite diner.
"…so if Quinn and Rachel are out tasting wedding cakes, where's Drizzle?" Matt asked walking into the diner.
"With my mom," Finn followed behind him, "Quinn said she desperately needed Rachel to go with her since I couldn't describe how the cake tastes without using one word answers. I really hope Rachel chooses one of the chocolate ones, for my sake. The others were so girly."
"So Puck," Mike started. They had settled into their booth and waiting to place their drink orders. "What'd you do in Tahiti?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows.
The other guys at the booth laughed and looked at Puck for his response. Puck rolled his eyes and smirked, "A LOT of what you were thinking. A lot of snorkelling, swimming… and a lot of fucking time in bed without getting laid because I had a fucking atrocious reaction to something I ate!"
Kurt gasped and burst out laughing. "Poor Rachel! A vacation in the sun, in a romantic setting, gone to waste because of your body! Did you find out what you were allergic to?" he asked between fits of laughter. The other guys laughed along with him.
"Whatever dude. 'Poor Rachel' my ass. Once I healed, I sure as hell made up for lost time! And the doctor said it was shellfish. Eh, I didn't really care. It's Rachel who started fretting over the fact that I couldn't enjoy eating lobster and crabs at social events," Puck answered.
The guys made small talk as they waited to make their drink order. Once the waitress came and recorded what they each wanted, Jesse struck up another conversation.
"So Finn, are you excited?"
Finn sighed, "Of course I am. Quinn's the girl of my dreams, despite all the shit that's happened, I'll always love her, and Drizzle."
"…You've had sex with her before, right?" Mike piped in.
"No shit, man."
"Okay, just checking… so how shocked will she be when she's seen that you've grown a pussy on your wedding night?" Mike quipped.
All the guys burst out laughing as Finn just smiled and shook his head at his friend's immaturity.
"You ever think about marriage, Puck?" Matt asked.
Puck drummed his fingers on the table as he contemplated his response. He promised Rachel that he wouldn't tell anyone until after Finn and Quinn's wedding (she was worried it would take away from their time to shine), but he was very tempted to tell them and announce that he was one step closer to making Rachel his forever.
"Of course I've thought about it. How can I not? The only communication I seem to have with my mom nowadays comprises of her either nagging me to propose in the next week or so help me God, or her suggesting ways for me to pop the question!"
Puck threw his hands up in surrender as the guys laughed at his problem.
"Well has Rachel brought it up?" Finn asked.
"No," Puck lied, "She's happy with what we got, I'm happy with what we got."
"Well, just wait until after Finn and Quinn's wedding. She'll have wedding fever, and she'll be dropping hints before you know it!" Kurt piped in. The rest of the men laughed in response and began searching through the restaurant's menu.
Puck smirked. If only they knew…
A week passed and Rachel found herself at a final fitting for her maid-of-honour dress. She winced as she put it on, fearing that she gained weight, but sighed feeling that the dress fit perfectly (she silently thanked the tailor for loosening the waist).
Rachel came out of the dressing room wearing a pinkish-ginger coloured tea length bridesmaid dress.
"Oh Jesus, Rachel. You look beautiful!" Quinn gushed. Drizzle just nodded eagerly in response.
The sales associate spun her around looking for any places that might have needed extra stitching, but finally concluded it fit her perfectly and let her change back into her regular clothes.
Rachel fell down on the loveseat next to Quinn once she was done and closed her eyes.
"Tired?"
"Very," Rachel sighed. "So I went to the doctor's the day after our cake tasting…"
Quinn's eyes widened and turned towards Rachel excitedly. "AND?!"
Rachel smiled and looked Quinn into her hazel eyes, "I'm four weeks pregnant. You'll be a mama in nine months time."
Quinn squealed with happiness and pulled Rachel in for a tight hug. "I'm so excited!" she clapped happily when she let go.
"I think I am too," Rachel gushed. "Oh Quinn, what if he changes his mind about having kids? We're not even married (yet)! And what if he freaks out and leaves me? Quinn, I think I'll die if that happens!" the panic washed through Rachel's body as tears started to form because of her pessimistic thoughts.
Quinn pulled her best friend towards her and started rubbing her back, "Don't be ridiculous Rach! You see how he is with Drizzle, or how he is with babies in general! He loves them… and don't even think that he'll bolt. When he found out I was pregnant, he told me that his dad was a deadbeat. He'd NEVER want to be like that, Rachel. He loves you! You should know better than to doubt that!"
Rachel smiled through her tears and hugged Quinn. "It's my damn hormones!" she laughed. "Thanks, Quinn. But let's keep this a secret until after your wedding. It's your spotlight."
The rest of the week past in a rush. Rachel had close encounters in telling Puck her big secret but had still kept it between her and Quinn. Of course, it had become harder during the week with her incessant trips to the bathroom and craving white cherries; not to mention her super quick bitch fests which made Puck's head spin.
Final preparations for the wedding were made during the week as well; final dress fittings, impromptu dance lessons for Finn and final decisions for flower arrangements and final touches in the catering menu filled their week up.
Soon enough, the day before the wedding came, and again, Finn, Quinn, Puck and Rachel dedicated their time to smoothing out all the knots. The run-through at the church went off without a hitch – the priest went over the different parts of the wedding, what would happen where and went over the rules of the church.
Later that night, Rachel and Puck arrived at the Italian restaurant they where Finn and Quinn were having their rehearsal dinner. Drizzle was the first one to rush over to them when they first walked through the door.
Sure enough, Puck was ready when she ran into his arms and he spun her around and around while she giggled for him to put him down. When he finally did, he smiled at seeing his daughter ready to topple over from dizziness and let Rachel lead Drizzle to the table where Quinn was sitting.
"You're here early," Quinn observed as she stood up to greet Rachel with an amicable hug.
"Yeah well, I was really hungry," Rachel answered, hoping Quinn knew that I meant the baby, "and I was craving the bread rolls they serve here." Rachel put a roll on hers and Drizzle's plate and took a bite out of the warm, garlic flavoured appetizer.
"Remember when I used to carry a container of pickles everywhere I went when I was pregnant?" Quinn remembered thoughtfully.
Rachel laughed and thought back to Quinn's pregnancy too. Everyday at school, Quinn would bring pickles and a nutella sandwich for lunch, and even when she went anywhere else, her bag would be stocked with an adequate amount of pickles that she would be satisfied with.
"Yes, I do remember, and quite well actually. I can't use my pink Coach Hobo bag anymore because it reeks of dill. Oh! And you just reminded me, Drizzle, you wanna do your mama a favour?" Rachel turned to the eight year old with a smile.
Drizzle blanched and looked back at her. "Depends… what is it?" she inquired thinking it would be an impossible mission.
Rachel laughed and shook her head, "Go ask your daddy to get my white cherries from the car. Oh, and ask for your jelly beans too." She winked as Drizzle gasped and made a beeline for Puck.
Quinn laughed and threw her hands up, "I shouldn't have said anything."
Twenty minutes later, Rachel had devoured half of the bag of white cherries Puck had brought her (he was dumbfounded at the rate she ate, and at the fact that before they arrived at the restaurant, she bought three kilos of the fruit) and the original members of New Directions, Finn's mother and grandparents, and Quinn's immediate family had arrived.
Everyone took their seats and their food was served not long after.
"Excuse me everyone, may I have your attention please?" Russell Fabray stood up with a glass full of red wine in hand. All the people in the room ceased their conversations and looked at him, patiently waiting for his speech.
"I think a toast is in order, for my daughter Quinn, and her fiancé Finn Hudson. Quinn," he started, looking Quinn straight into her eyes, "I know that things haven't always been smooth between us, and I can't tell you how much I regret not being there for you nine years ago…" Russell's speech faltered for a few seconds while tears started to well in his eyes because of his remembering of the pain he caused her.
"…but you proved that you could overcome my misjudgement," he continued. "You, along with Finn, Puck and Rachel raised my granddaughter to be a smart, funny young lady. You've always been sure of yourself, Quinny; and I'm sure you knew that it wouldn't be long until your mother and I were on the Berrys' doorstep a little after Drizzle was born, begging to see our grandbaby. I think we also misjudged Finn too."
This time, his eyes left Quinn's tear-filled ones and shifted over to meet Finn's. "Son, you proved me wrong by showing us you could take care of Quinn. You got a job to support them financially, even though you weren't the biological father, but that didn't matter. You just said 'It doesn't matter to me, I love her just as much'. We got along easier, but I get the feeling you're still a tad bit afraid of me; not many people ask the father for their daughter's hand in marriage," he chuckled.
"Still, I've grown to love you both more and more, and Judy and I love to spoil our granddaughter rotten. So let's drink to the joining of the Fabray and Hudson family, and to the wedding of Quinn and Finn!" he raised his glass to that and clinked glasses with his wife and Carole.
Everyone in the room cheered as well and clinked glasses with whoever was at their table.
Rachel turned beside her to clink her glass of water with Quinn's, only to see that she was bawling from her father's speech. Quickly she went into best friend mode, set her glass down and led her into the ladies' room.
It was easy to understand why Quinn was so moved. At sixteen, her dad had kicked her out of their house when she tried to reach out to him, and her mom didn't do anything to stop him. Her family distanced themselves from her; they ignored her calls and her sister became estranged. Three weeks after she had Drizzle, her parents showed up on the Berry's doorstep with diapers and onesies for the baby as a peace offering, apologizing profusely and hoping that their daughter would want to return home. She forgave them, but stayed with Rachel and her dads, saying she wasn't ready to live with them again.
Her parents criticized the way she raised Drizzle, and they fought with her on her decision to move to Columbus with Finn, Puck, Rachel and Drizzle, saying that they wouldn't be able to do it. But she fought back harder, saying that she'd done without the help of her parents before and that she'd prove them wrong. Her father was stubborn and unmoved, but over the following years he'd watched in amazement as she graduated university with honours in teaching, and landed a job a month after, all the while being a mother. Shortly after that, he started warming up to Finn more, and telling Puck and Finn his varsity football days back in college.
"You okay, Fabray?" Rachel asked as she watched Quinn dry her eyes through the reflection of the mirror.
"Yeah, it's just different; I don't hear him say that he loves me very often. It sets off the waterworks," she sniffled and threw out the used Kleenex.
"Well cease fire, because since you've refused to have male strippers at a bachelorette party while your daughter is in the same house, our fantastic friend Britney offered for us to use her gym for some fun," Rachel hinted with a wink.
Quinn stopped blowing her nose into the tissue and looked at Rachel curiously.
"Fun?" she repeated with her head cocked to the side. Rachel laughed and opened the washroom door for Quinn to exit.
"Fun. Like, cardio pole dancing, strip aerobics kind of fun. Carole said she'll sit out and watch Drizzle in the ballet studio. The perks of having a personal trainer/choreographer friend? When she says gym, she means the whole building!" Rachel laughed again as they took their seats.
Twenty minutes later, everyone had finished their desserts and Rachel thought it was a good enough time to announce the party plans for the rest of the evening.
"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" she said as everyone's eyes feasted on her. "So since this is the last night of Finn and Quinn being single, the respective stag and hen parties will being as soon as we leave the restaurant. Ladies and Kurt, after I'm done speaking, meet me at Quinn's car so I can tell you where we'll be going. Guys, go see Noah and Finn at Noah's car and he'll tell you where you'll be going," she instructed and turned to Puck. "Be good," she said and bent down to kiss his nose.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and sat her in his lap. Stroking her cheek, he asked, "How come you get to know where we're going and I don't get to know where you're going? For all I know, you can be going to the same pub!"
Rachel laughed and kissed him softly, "You know that we're not going to the same place because we have an eight year old in tow, and she's not allowed in a pub." She reached behind her to grab her bag. She stood up and pulled Puck up as well. Together, they walked outside and he walked her to Quinn's car.
His arms travelled to her waist to pull her closer for a hug, and she laid kisses along his jaw line. When she reached his lips she pulled back slightly and looked into his hazel eyes. "Don't get too buzzed, Noah," she said seriously, but broke into a smile when he started laughing.
"I won't babe, I promise," he assured her. "Oh, wait a second," he said suddenly and released his hold on her. He turned around and opened the door to the car beside Quinn's and took out a white grocery bag. Rachel's white cherries could be seen through the thin, white plastic.
"You seem to be hooked on these things, it'd be really bad if you finished your current stash and called me to bring you more," he handed her the bag and Rachel couldn't help but wonder if he figured out that she was child.
She shook her head and laughed, "You're so considerate, baby." She stepped closer to him and moved her lips close to his ear. "I'm so glad I'm marrying a considerate stud," she whispered huskily.
Puck let out a slight gasp after she mentioned marrying him. She guided his hand to the front of her shirt, all the while keeping her eyes locked with his. He could feel the engagement ring necklace beneath the neckline of her dress, close to her heart.
Behind her, they heard someone clear their throat, and looked back to see Quinn, amused and quirking an eyebrow at them. "If you guys are done now, I told the ladies where we're going and Rachel we're leaving now. Please detach yourself from the beard," she joked. Puck's jaw dropped at being called Rachel's beard, but he smiled when he saw Rachel doubling over in laughter.
He reached behind her and opened the door for her, pecking her lips again and telling her to have fun before closing the door and heading to where Finn and the other men (minus Kurt) had gathered around his vehicle.
"Dude," Finn started, "I'm the one who's getting married and you seemed more pussy whipped than me!" All the men started laughing and Puck just shook his head, trying not to laugh along with them.
He loved Rachel; ever since they got together, it was hard to separate the two. He knew six months into their relationship that she was it for him. She believed in him, and she's the one who pointed out that he had a passion for real estate and for taking old things and making them better. That's how his house flipping business with Jesse St. James started, and he owed all their success to her faith in him.
"Whatever man, you're the one who's only got one last night as a single man," he fought back and joined the group of men.
"We're going to the new pub downtown, since Quinn threatened to not have sex with Finn on his wedding night if he went to see strippers tonight, and Finn actually BELIEVED her…" Puck announced and rolled his eyes. Finn looked sheepishly to the ground as the others snickered at Finn's gullibility.
"…we're sticking to a boys' night out at a pub, free flowing beer, wings and a UFC match. Everyone cool with that?"
The guys whooped and grunted in agreement. They made a plan of who would catch a ride with whom. Not to long after, the boys were getting into their cars, and Puck found himself in the driver's seat with Finn in the passenger's, Russell Fabray and Jesse in the back.
"Finn, I'm happy to know my daughter has you by the balls," Russell said lightly once they were settled in the car. His quip set off loud guffaws from both Puck and Jesse, and a groan of embarrassment from Finn.
"Okay, make yourselves comfortable, ladies. Changing rooms are at the end of the hallway. Drizzle, the ballet studio is the next door down, but you need to wait for your granny Carole and your cousins before you go in there. Here, take this key, give it to your mommy and tell her to unlock the ladies' changing rooms," Brittany said.
The women stepped into the into the spacious dance studio. Rachel felt her excitement start to rise. She had always wanted to try strip aerobics and pole dancing; her co star in RENT who played Joanne tried it and told her that she felt feminine and sexy. It doesn't hurt to feel sexy, she thought.
She followed Quinn and Drizzle down the hall to the change room, where they set their stuff down on the bench. Rachel took her leggings and tank top out, along with her running shoes.
"Quinn, could you unzip me?" she asked, turning around for Quinn to unzip the little black dress.
Quinn unzipped it smoothly and sat on the bench as Rachel bent down to put her leggings on. Quinn helped Drizzle with her ballet tutu and turned to watch Rachel dig through her bag.
"I really like your necklace," she observed, looking at the gold chain with a dangling, shining charm at the end. Rachel blanched at Quinn's observation and stood up straight.
Quinn's eyes widened when she saw what it really was. "Is that? An engagement ring?! My Lord, Berry! Why didn't you tell me? When? And why are you hiding it?!" Quinn pummelled Rachel with questions while stepping forward to take a better look at the ring.
Rachel stood there for about ten seconds taking in the fact that her secret had been compromised, and she burst out into tears immediately after.
Stupid hormones.
"Mama! Why are you sad?" Drizzle said sounding concerned.
Rachel plopped down on the bench and rummaged through her bag to find a pack of tissues. "I'm not sad, baby, maybe I'm just relieved. But I don't know why I'm crying," she answered with a laugh.
Quinn and Drizzle sat down with her until she calmed down enough to talk in clear sentences.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Rachel shrugged, "I didn't want to get into your spotlight. It's your wedding; the attention should be on you, not me! We were planning to tell everyone at the reception or thereafter."
"I remember a time when Rachel Berry would've done anything to steal the spotlight," Quinn said.
"Yeah, and that same Rachel Berry was too obsessed with becoming a star on the Broadway."
"But you've changed a lot, Rach. You went to OSU with Puck instead of NYU or Julliard so you could stay close to Drizzle. You took a year off after you graduated to look after Drizzle so that I could go to school and not have to juggle so much, and now you're hiding your engagement and your baby so that Finn and I can have our time to shine! You're so selfless, Rachel. You've made so many compromises with Drizzle or me or Puck or Finn in mind so that we can be happy! But Rach, I want to share the limelight with you, even if it is my wedding. These past few years, it's always been me and you; why do you think I've postponed doing so much until you came back?!" Quinn finished her speech with tears in her eyes as Rachel wiped a new batch of tears away.
"I have to admit, you give a great speech, Q."
Quinn laughed and hugged Rachel tightly. "When did he propose?"
"Tahiti, before he got sick. Actually, it was our first night there. During a picnic dinner on the beach. He's been wanting to tell people, but I told him I wanted to wait until after your wedding. He wanted me to wear it, so I told him I'd wear it around my neck for the time being," Rachel explained.
Quinn laughed lightly, "See? Selfless, you compromise to make people happy. But I'm serious, Rach. Wear the ring. Starting now. I promise I won't get offended if people talk about your engagement or your baby at my wedding. Turn around, I'll unclasp the chain."
Rachel turned around and gathered her hair up into a pony tail while Quinn gently unclasped the chain. Quinn slipped the ring off the chain and took a good look at the ring.
"Damn, Puck changed his tastes a lot since he was with you," she joked. Quinn slipped the ring onto Rachel's finger and watched as Rachel looked at it well.
"I concur. I knew those feminine touches around our apartment would do something to him."
"Wait," Drizzle said, hands on her hips. "Mommy said you have a baby. Mama, is she for real?"
Rachel laughed at Drizzle's use of slang and brought her closer to her. "Yes, she's for real!"
Drizzle's eyes went wide and she squealed with excitement before rushing out the door to go tell the other ladies.
Guess what? Mama has a baby and she has a ring too!Rachel groaned at the sudden announcement and stood up to continue getting dressed.
"I guess it's time to come clean," she sighed. Quinn squeezed her hand tightly and led her to the main studio, where all the women had gathered around Drizzle.
Puck's mother Bethany was the first one to spot Rachel in the room. She looked at her future daughter-in-law with tears in her eyes.
"Oh Rachel," she cried and ran to hug a shocked Rachel.
Rachel, confused of what to do, patted Bethany's back to soothe her.
"Oh Beth, I know we're a little young but don't worry; we're not planning for a wedding in the near future," Rachel tried to assure her.
Bethany pulled back and looked Rachel in the eyes.
"Are you crazy? Honey, I'm elated that you and Noah are getting married! I was waiting for him to say something! And a baby? Oh Rach, that's like the icing to the cake! Congratulations, sweetheart!" Bethany wished her whole heartedly and hugged Rachel tightly before gathering her stuff and Puck's sister Rebecca and heading to the change room.
Rachel turned to look at the rest of the women in the room, who were looking at her in shock.
"He proposed while we were in Tahiti, I told him to keep it a secret until after the wedding so that Finn and Quinn can have their time to shine, and I only found out about my pregnancy last week. I have yet to tell him that," she explained all in one breath.
The other women just nodded in understanding and smiled and stalked to Rachel to congratulate her.
"Wait!" she yelled putting her hands in front of her.
All of them stopped to look at her.
"None of the boys can know! At least, not until tomorrow night! I'm planning to tell Noah when we get home as a surprise, but he wants to announce our engagement during the reception! Please, can I trust all of you to not say a word to anyone out of this building?!"
"Of course, Rachel," Kurt assured her, coming to hug her and rub her belly, "and I'm so planning your wedding."
"Yeah, and just be careful while you're dancing. Wouldn't want anything to happen to the baby. Don't push yourself too hard," Santana advised her. They'd bonded after high school while they were roommates and in two classes together, but Santana Lopez still scared Rachel Berry; just a little bit.
"I wonder if anyone bought the Slap Chop I registered from Macy's," Finn wondered out loud. The guys were seated around a large table near the back of the pub and grill, which was only a few blocks away from the studio the women were dancing at.
The atmosphere around the guys was pretty chill, but Puck knew that they would start getting drunk after the fourth beer.
"Dude, that thing is so useless, and that Vince guy looks stoned through the whole thing," Matt stated.
"So Finn, you nervous yet?"
Finn shrugged, "About the wedding, yes. About the marriage part? Not really. I'm just happy to have gotten through these past few months of wedding planning! Sure, it was a bitch having Quinn pay a lot of attention to the wedding, but she was wearing my ring, and playing with it without even knowing, and it made me feel good. I can't wait 'til she's wearing the wedding band too." He smiled and the other men teased him again about being whipped.
Puck couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy.
Everyone could see Quinn's ring, yet no one could see Rachel's.
Quinn played with hers and everyone noticed, while Puck caught Rachel putting her hand over the ring on the necklace and everyone else couldn't see her gesture, because they didn't know what was going on.
He wanted to feel the happiness and possessiveness Finn felt. He wanted to feel in NOW, not tomorrow night!
He had to tell someone. Just one person, and he'd feel a bit better.
"Rachel and I are getting married."
Shit. Rachel's gonna be mad…
Finn, Artie, Russell, James, Matt, Mike and Burt Hummel froze to look at him.
"Son, I think us guys knew that."
"I popped the question during our vacation, and she wanted to keep it a secret until after the wedding, but I wanted to tell someone dammit! Wait, what?"
"She seemed more attached to you, more in love, and she has this glow to her," Burt explained.
"I think she's pregnant," Artie blurted out.
"WHAT?"
"Well, Burt just said he noticed a glow to her, and so did I. And she was eating all those cherries throughout the dinner party, and the dinner rolls, and she left her seat every two seconds to go to the bathroom, she was drinking orange juice instead of wine, dude how did you not notice?" Artie clarified.
Puck thought about it.
She was jumpy."Holy shit, I'm gonna be a dad again!" Puck exclaimed.
Her tears came at ten minute intervals.
She bought almost the whole stock of white cherries from the grocery store.
And she was extra careful about her stomach.
"Holy shit, Rachel's pregnant," he repeated, realization finally dawning on him.
Finn clapped him on the back in congratulations, but Puck scrubbed his face with his hands.
"What's wrong dude?"
"Rachel's pregnant!" he said again.
"Dude, you don't even know for sure, what if it's her time of month? And even if she was, would it be that bad?" Mike asked him.
"Yeah," Jesse added, "You proposed to her, and you've been together for a pretty long time; she's doing pretty well as a theatre actress and our business is doing pretty well. I'm pretty sure you could handle a kid, and your mom would love it, I'm sure."
Puck reflected, again.
He loved being a dad to Drizzle, and even though he and Rachel talked about having kids, he didn't think it would happen so soon.
But he loved her, he knew that for damn sure. He'd love their baby, HIS baby, if there really was one.
"Nah, I guess it wouldn't be," he mulled it over. He looked up to the faces of the men around him.
"Gentlemen, I'm engaged and might be expecting a kid," he announced proudly.
The other men laughed at him and raised their glasses for a toast.
"Hell, I'll drink to that!"
The morning of the wedding, Rachel woke up to the face of her fiancé.
"G'morning," she whispered, and yawned loudly.
"Good morning, babe. Wanna tell me where you ladies went last night?"
Rachel laughed, "It was just Brittany's studio. She taught us some strip aerobics and the basics to cardio pole dancing."
She looked to the clock and saw she had to be at Quinn's in half an hour, and Finn was going to be at their apartment in fifteen minutes.
Rachel heard Puck groan from the image she put in his head. She giggled and whispered closely into his ear, "If you're lucky, I'll even put on a show."
Puck reached to grab her waist but before he could she was already out and getting the clothes she was wearing to Quinn's and the bridesmaids dress out of the closet.
"Hey, you're wearing the wedding ring."
Rachel blanched. She turned around and sat on the bed and looked him in the eye.
"Quinn saw it yesterday on the chain while I was changing. And then Drizzle spilt the beans to everyone else."
"I told all the guys yesterday because I wanted to feel like Finn."
Both of them didn't seem surprised from both of their confessions. Instead, they let out a huge sigh of relief.
"And I thought you'd be kicking my ass about telling everyone, baby!" Puck laughed and kissed her cheek.
"I'm pregnant," Rachel blurted out.
"I know."
"You know?!"
"Baby, Artie's very perceptive. And he pointed out all the symptoms to me last night. I'm an idiot for not seeing it before," Puck explained.
"Noah, I'm sorry for not telling you before. I wanted it to be a surprise for tonight! Are you mad?" Rachel asked, holding his face in her hands with tears welling in her eyes.
Puck felt his heart twinge a little from seeing his girl sad. "Baby, I could never be mad at you, or the baby. I'm over the fucking moon," he assured her, kissing her lightly on the lips as proof.
Rachel smiled into the kiss.
"I'm four weeks along. I found out a few days ago, but I wanted to tell you tonight. But it feels like a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders!" she exclaimed, laughing.
Puck pulled her closer again but before his hands could roam her body, they heard the buzzer, meaning Finn was there.
"Shit," Puck swore.
Rachel kissed his nose and looked into his eyes, "We'll talk about this later, okay?"
She jumped away and hurried to the door to let Finn in.
And as much as Puck loved Finn, he couldn't wait to get his wedding over with so he could spend time with his girl, and his baby.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to clink your glasses together while the new couple have their first dance as husband and wife!"
Everyone clinked their glasses with silverware while Finn led Quinn to the dance floor.
The wedding reception was in full swing and the ceremony had been beautiful. Drizzle made an adorable flower girl while Rachel was beaming as the maid-of-honour. But Quinn, of course, stole the show, looking every inch like a blushing bride.
Rachel snuggled into Puck's side as they watched Finn and Quinn take their place on the dance floor while Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight started to play.
But before Finn could lay his hand on Quinn's waist, she slapped his chest and reminded him about something. He smiled and nodded, and hopped on the podium beside Matt.
"Hi everyone, I promise, Quinn and I will have our first dance, but we wanted to share it with our best friends, Puck and Rachel. What both of them left out in their speeches was that they're getting married too… and that they're expecting," Finn announced.
Rachel and Puck laughed at Finn's shout out and at the whoops and applause from everyone else.
"So, Rach, Puck? You wanna come down here and share our dance with us?" Finn offered.
Rachel heard calls of encouragement from the members of New Directions, including Mr. Shuester and Emma, who had arrived mere hours before the wedding.
She turned to Puck who had stood up and who was offering his hand and cocking his eyebrow.
She smiled at him and took it, and they descended down to the dance floor and placed themselves beside the Hudsons, copying their stance.
Puck started to guide her and kept his lips close to her ear.
"I love you babe," he whispered.
Rachel thanked the heavens that her nausea had calmed down, and she tried with all her might to keep the tears at bay.
"I love you too, Noah."
Puck kept guiding her around the dance floor all the while keeping them glued together and humming the tune of the song into her ear.
"'Cause I love you, and the way you look, just the way you look, and the way you look, tonight…"
A/N: I hope you liked it! By the way, how much did you enjoy Bad Reputation? Wasn't Mark Salling deelish in his wife beater? Yum. Anyway, please leave me a review because they really are a writer's crack! Good? Bad? Yay or nay? Enjoy the rest of the season and uh, oh yes, REVIEW PLEASE!