Wow, been awhile, huh? I'm feeling a lot of inspiration right now since I just had a Glee marathon this weekend. So, if you want me to continue this, let me know!

Chapter 3: Broken

"We need to talk."
Why was it those four little words shot a pang of fear through her entire being, into her very soul? How could four little words be so powerful? Was it the fear of the unknown, not knowing what it was he wanted to talk about? Was it the anticipation she hated? Or the feeling that something wasn't quite right with her husband? Something had shook him to his very core.

Now, she wanted more than ever to know what devastating news Noah Puckerman could have told Finn to have him behaving this way. Rachel had never seen her husband act this way. He was always so tall and proud, not small and dejected. Nothing kept him down for very long. He'd bounce back from this. Whatever it was, she'd be there for him, to support him. Forever and for always. That's what they told each other every night since their wedding.

"Rachel, when was the last time you spoke to Quinn?" he asked quietly, looking off into the distance, just passed her shoulder. He seemed to have a hard time focusing his eyes on one thing, especially on her.

She frowned, confused as to why that had to do with the phone call, but she thought back for a moment before answering. "I think early last week some time. It was Monday. I remember because I was telling her we were thinking about taking the boys to that basketball camp that next afternoon. We had talked about meeting up some time soon since we hadn't seen her in a few years. Why? Finn, what does that have to do with anything?" She tilted her head to the side, worry written all over her face.

Her words broke Finn's heart. The reason Quinn had kept her distance was all his fault. Because of him, he had caused his wife and one of her best friends from seeing each other as often as either would like. It was no wonder every Christmas, Quinn made up some excuse about being busy with work or how her mother was just going to come out and see her. Everything was coming together and making sense. But, that just made the situation that much more difficult to bear. Why had he never packed up the kids and Rachel and just surprised her?

"Quinn….. She…." He had to stop and collect himself for fear of falling apart completely. "She had a meeting in Washington or something." Finn now looked into Rachel's deeply concerned, brown eyes. "You know that plane crash we saw on the news a couple days ago?" he finally just asked, wondering if his wife would be able to connect the dots on her own without making him say the awful words out loud. He didn't think he'd have it in him to do it. Not without breaking.

Rachel shook her head. "You can't mean that she…. That the plane she was on…" Her hands flew to her mouth and she tried not to cry. "She's gone?" Rachel closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek.

Finn reached for her, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. "Yes. That was Puck. And he just called to tell us that she had a little girl. An 8 year old girl."

Rachel looked up at him. "What? No she doesn't."

Finn nodded, "I didn't know about her either, but Puck's been helping her take care of the kid for the past 7 years. She's real."

"Who's her father?" Rachel demanded. "Why would Quinn hide something like that from us? We talk a couple times a month. I talked all about Michael and Bryan. Yet, she never mentioned her own daughter. What's going to happen to her?"

"Puck won't say who the father is," Finn hated lying to her. But, he wasn't ready to tell her the truth. Not yet. He couldn't tear his family apart because of this. "Quinn had left a will. And she wanted us to take her daughter."

Rachel nodded, "Yes, of course, we'll do it. Do you know her name?"

Finn was touched at Rachel's kindness. He was always blown away by her. Every time he thought he understood how big her heart was, she took him by surprise. If she only knew the truth about the little girl. Would she want to take her in then? Rachel had a big heart, but he doubted it was that big. It hurt him to think that Rachel only thought Quinn wanted them to take in her daughter because of how close the two had been. It wasn't because of their closeness that Quinn chose them; it was because of him.

"It's Jocelyn. Jocelyn Mae. I already told Puck to get her on the next plane to Ohio and bring her here. I hope you understand," Finn replied.
Rachel let out a deep breath, the tears threatening to fall down her face. She reached for Finn's embrace, hugging him tightly, her head buried into his chest. In his arms, she felt the safest. Finn would never do anything to hurt her. The trust she put in him was overwhelming. She felt he could do no wrong. But, how much would her world shatter if only she knew the truth.

~.~.~.~

Puck, holding Jocelyn's hand, was looking for a familiar face as they got off the plane. So many people were running around, trying not to be late. It was all for naught. None of them could stop fate. God had His plan for all of them. No amount of speeding would change what He wanted to happen. Why couldn't everyone see that that they should slow down and experience life a bit more. They were all going to die, and so many people never actually got to enjoy it.

Turning his head, he finally saw a familiar face poking out of the crowd. Finn always was a foot taller than everyone else, making them all feel like hobbits or something. Puck's grip tightened around Jocelyn's small hand as he steered her towards Finn and his family. As they got closer and weaved their way through the crowd, Puck saw that Finn was alone, which was strange considering Puck thought Finchel was inseparable.

Finn pulled Puck into a embrace once Puck got close enough. He returned the hug enthusiastically, he needed someone to lean on. Puck felt just as alone as everyone else. Quinn had been his for seven years. Only his. He was the one she went to for advice. She had helped mold him into a better man, a better person. He had hoped the two of them would be able to start a family together someday. But, that had all been pulled out from under him. Just like back in High School. Finn got everything Puck ever wanted.

"You must be Jocelyn," Finn pulled away from Puck and crouched down to Jocelyn's level. "Puck's told me all about you. He said you love dolphins." From his pocket, Finn pulled out a small dolphin beanie baby.

Jocelyn took the stuffed animal from Finn, a forced smile on her face, "Thank you," she hugged it tightly to her body, resting her chin on its head. No stuffed animal could make her mommy come back to her. Nothing could make her stop wanting to cry every time she thought of her mommy or saw an airplane. But, maybe these people could make her feel a tiny bit better.

"Judy didn't come back with you guys?" Finn asked looking behind the two of them before standing up and looking Puck in the eye.
Puck shook his head. "She decided to stay back and start going through Quinn's stuff. She's hoping to get done this weekend in time for the funeral. The funeral is going to be next week. She's been cremated." Puck was looking out in the distance. He had to distance himself from his emotions before he started bawling like a baby again. He couldn't let Finn see him in that state. He had some pride to uphold.

"Well, let's get going back to the house. Rach has gone all out with the food for supper tonight. She cooks when she's upset. Calms her down," Finn turned and led them to his truck in the parking lot. He opened the back, passenger door and let Puck buckle Jocelyn in before he shut the door and headed to the driver's seat. "Jocelyn, I have two boys close to your age that are looking forward to meeting you."

Smiling faintly, Jocelyn turned her attention to the scenery outside the windows. Finn sighed as he waited for Puck to get in before he started the truck and backed out of the parking spot and made his way home. He kept looking back at the child in his back seat looking for any of her features he could call his. She had Quinn's hair, her eyes, her high cheekbones. He knew Jocelyn would be small in her stature like her mother. Her nose and lips resembled his more than Quinn's, however.

"Have you told Rachel, yet?" Puck asked, breaking the silence. He turned his head to meet his friend's gaze.

Finn shook his head. "No." He let out a deep breath. "I don't know how I'm just supposed to dump something like this on her. It was an accident. It was never meant to happen. A one time thing. I never meant for this to happen, for Quinn to have gone through everything alone, for me to have missed out on everything."

"You don't think she's going to look at her and think something's up. Why does she think Quinn chose you guys to be her mother?" Puck asked, agitated.

Finn sighed heavily. "I know. I know. But, I just don't know what to do about it. How to tell her and keep her from leaving me. I love her, Puck."

Puck sighed. He reached into his backpack he had placed on the floor. He pulled out an envelope, Rachel's named written on the front. "Quinn knew she'd have to tell Rachel about everything one way or the other, and in her will, she had a letter addressed to Rachel. I haven't opened it, but I'm guessing it's her way of explaining everything to her. You can let the letter tell her or you can do it."

Finn shook his head, "She's got to hear it from me. Not some letter. I can use the letter after I tell her and hope Quinn's got some words of wisdom in there. I just don't know if I have the balls to tell Rach. This will break her heart. We've been through enough."

"Quinn's been through worse. You owe her this if nothing else," Puck replied, looking straight ahead. "Oh, and she had an envelope addressed to you, too."

"She did? What's it say?"

Puck shrugged, "I didn't open it. None of my business. I got my own letter to read."

Someone once said, "I smile when I look back at the troubles that have strengthened me. What seems to be insurmountable struggles then are now beautiful ornaments illuminating my soul." How true this is. And Puck, I hope you can teach this to Jocelyn. Teach her to look back on every bad thing and understand it just made her a better person. She is better for having gone through the obstacles. I want her to know you can't change your past, but you can let go and start your future.

***

How many phone calls had she received in the past two days giving her condolences or wanting to talk about the past, to reminisce? Fifteen. How many times did she have to pretend she was alright when her boys looked at her, expecting her to be able to hold herself together and do all the motherly duties she was supposed to be doing? Thirty one. How many times had she cried in the last two days? Too many times to count. Every little thing set her off. A radio commercial, a Lifetime movie, a kids show, the sound of an airplane passing by overhead, even looking at her two boys and thinking that Quinn would never get to look at her own child again set her off.

Hovering over the stove, Rachel held back the tears that threatened to fall. She felt so stupid. How could, over the span of eight years, Quinn not feel like she could confide in her? Rachel had thought they were friends. Best friends even. Rachel had told her everything. And Rachel had though Quinn told her everything, too. Quinn had talked about work problems, boy problems, Puck problems, how lonely she sometimes felt, how sometimes she felt like she should have walked down a different path, done some things over. Why did she leave out the fact that she had had a daughter? Had she felt ashamed?

If she felt ashamed, how could she not think Rachel would understand and still be supportive? How could she not trust Rachel enough? Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Rachel sniffled as she stirred the pot. "Bryan, Michael, come set the table!" She hollered into the living room where her boys were watching TV.

They quickly got up and did as they were told. They weren't normally this obedient, but they knew something was wrong and didn't want to set off their mother. They had seen her cry enough lately and didn't want the waterworks to start again. Their father was just as edgy, so they chose to stay in their rooms or play room more than being in the living room like usual.

The boys didn't really understand what was going on as they had never really met their Aunt Quinn, just seen her in skype for a couple minutes or talked to her on the phone. They just knew their mommy hadn't talked to Aunt Quinn in awhile, and that must be what is making their mommy so sad. However, they knew someone was coming to visit, and their were anticipating the new arrival greatly.

Michael recognized the sound of their father's diesel truck pulling into the driveway, and the two boys scrambled to get the table set. Rachel flipped everything on low heat and went out with the boys to welcome the new arrivals. As she opened the door and stepped onto the front porch, the boys shot past her legs and rushed down the front steps to Finn, hugging his legs. Following behind them, Rachel stopped at the passenger side. Puck was out and working on unbuckling the young girl from her seat in the back.

As Jocelyn was lifted out of the truck and set onto the driveway, the truck door slammed shut and Rachel let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. Jocelyn was the spitting image of Quinn. There was something else that was familiar about her face, but Rachel couldn't quite put her finger on what.

Finn came up behind her, slipping an arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze of encouragement. "This is Jocelyn."

Rachel stepped forward, crouching down to Jocelyn's height. "Hi, Jocelyn, I'm Rachel." Jocelyn smiled at her shyly. "This is Bryan and Michael. Would you like them to show you your room and all the toys you get to play with?" Rachel asked sweetly.

Jocelyn nodded her head, "Yes, please."

Rachel stood up and stepped to the side, letting her boys take over. Michael took charge, stepping forward and taking Jocelyn's hand. "Come on, we've got the best legos you've ever seen," he bragged as he pulled her along after him.

Rachel watched the kids disappear into the house before she turned to Puck and pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Puck." She knew how close he and Quinn were. Puck looked into Rachel's eyes. She was so innocent still. She had no clue the trouble she'd be going through as soon as she found out the truth.

If you keep looking for that happy ending, you are never going to get it right.

Puck realized then how right Quinn had been.

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