Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: AU post Mash-up, but depending on what comes up in the new episodes, I might sneak a conversation in or discuss the same thing that the episode covers, but I'll make a note of it in the spoilers section above if I do.
...
The Berry family sat stunned at Deborah's words. Rachel's dads knew that Noah didn't have a father, but they didn't know the real story. Rachel knew slightly more, but nothing like what Deborah just said. Rachel now saw why Noah is the way he is; he protects himself from getting hurt like he was when his father left.
Deborah's story hit Rachel hard, but not because she felt sorry for them, she knew the reason for her tale, but Rachel had already made her decision. "I may be sixteen, but I am more mature than most kids my age," she started, "Noah has opened my eyes to a world that I never saw. I'm finally seeing that singing, dancing and acting isn't all there is in this world and I like that. I've already made my decision; I will be in Noah's life, as well as his daughters, as long as he wants me to be. I'm willing to be a 'mom' to her if that's what happens. We don't know what the future will bring, but right now, that's where I want to be. So you can either accept it or kick me out," she said firmly.
Her fathers saw the determined look in her eyes and her ultimatum was out of the question; they would never kick her out; accepting it would take time. David, being a psychologist, had dealt with all kinds of family cases, but graduate school never gave him a play book for this; this all was uncharted territory. "Tonight has been a shock for everyone," David started, "and Rachel, we would never kick you out. All we have ever wanted is for you to be happy and if Noah makes you happy, then we'll accept that," he paused looking at Alan, "and his child."
Alan nodded, "and I'll see what I can come up with paternity laws for the state," he added.
Rachel squeaked with happiness, jumping up and running around to hug her dads, "thank you dad, daddy," she exclaimed. She then went over to Deborah and wrapped her arms around her, "thank you for telling us and for bringing Noah into this world," she whispered to her.
Deborah smiled, "you're welcome," she replied, returning the hug.
With the tension finally broken, everyone started to feel the adrenaline wear off, which had kept them up a lot later than normal. Rachel's dads told Deborah that she and Arin were welcome to stay as long as they wanted and with that they all turned in, agreeing they'd all be sleeping late.
Rachel had his jacket on all night, but reluctantly took it off, only to lay it on her pillows next to her. She kicked off her shoes and crawled up onto the bed, unable to find the strength to change her clothes.
Her sleep was interrupted by dreams that turned into nightmares; all meshing into her greatest fear of loosing him forever. The dream felt so real, that she woke herself up; immediately beginning to cry, trying to shake the images from her head. Her hands grabbed on to his jacket, pulling it close to her chest, trying to hold onto him with the only thing of his she had.
She had managed to fall back against her pillows and drift off again, this time, dreams and nightmares void of her mind, allowing her a few more hours of sleep until she finally woke up with warm sun hitting her face. Glancing at her bedside clock, she saw it was after eleven am. With a groan she climbed out of bed, her eyes catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror across her room. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were still red and she looked out of it.
"It's a new day," she whispered to her empty room. Standing up, she went into her bathroom and took a quick shower, then dressed in her usual: skirt, blouse, sweater vest, knee high socks and comfortable shoes, before heading downstairs to see who was there.
Walking into the kitchen, she found her dads, Deborah and Arin sitting around the island, all in various states of being awake. "Good morning, well afternoon, everyone. The sun is out; its a new day. I feel great how about everyone else? Any news on Noah?" She asked looking at Deborah.
The woman was half asleep over her coffee cup, shaking her head, "no change. You're awfully chipper," she added.
"Just wait until she has coffee," Alan murmured, a smirk on his lips.
Sitting down with everyone, David told her that he would be dropping Arin and Deborah off at the school to get Noah's things from his locker and take his jeep home. Rachel also needed to get her car, so she said she would go along, also going to their house, too, to help show them the way back to her house without getting lost.
After two cups of coffee, Deborah was ready to go and everyone left, leaving Alan at home with paperwork he needed to do. Pulling into the school parking lot, Rachel realized that the football players were there for practice, now understanding how Deborah could get into the locker room.
Rachel chose to wait by Noah's jeep with Arin while Deborah went into the locker room with Finn, who had met her by the doors. She wasn't gone too long, coming out with two bags in her hand. She put his things in the backseat of the jeep and got into the driver's side. Rachel headed to her own car and followed his jeep back to their house. Rachel sat in the living room while Deborah and Arin collected some things they'd need for the next few days and packed them in a bag to take back to Rachel's.
Rachel parked along the street, in front of her house, like she always did and Deborah parked right behind her, the three going inside moments later. Deborah dropped off their things in the guest room and returned to the living room. She spoke with Alan and David, telling them she appreciated their hospitality, and the guys kept telling her it was no trouble and they were happy to help out. She also mentioned that her boss and Noah's surgeon from the night before, put her on a week of paid admin leave, so she could worry about her son and not deal with work, too.
After their conversation, Deborah went to visit him, sitting with him for a few hours before returning to the Berry's. Rachel met her at the door, "how is he? Is he awake yet?" She asked hopeful.
Deborah sadly shook her head, "no, he's not awake. His vitals are good, but they think he's still out because of the concussion," she admitted, "Dr. Stevens told me that if he's still unconscious, but his vitals keep like they are, then he could move into a normal room; he's thinking at the latest of Monday," she told her. Rachel's shoulders fell, wishing she could see him now. Noticing Rachel's reaction, Deborah continued, "give it a couple days. There is a lot of bruising on his left side from hitting the ground as hard as he did, so he doesn't look the greatest, in a few days the color will be lighter and the swelling won't be as severe. I think that might bother you even more," she added.
Rachel silently nodded, going back into the living room where she had been doing homework and Arin was watching TV.
Dinner was ready not much later and sitting down, though usually not done, this time, Alan lead a prayer for Noah, asking for a speedy and healthy recovery. Rachel finished her homework Saturday night after dinner, and Sunday, Arin hogged the TV, wanting to watch the football, even if Noah wasn't with her, so she could at least tell him about them. Rachel tried watching a game, but her mind was not in it, so she found herself in her room, going through the music on her computer to find a song that described what she felt at that moment. She got down to the bottom of the A's and landed on Avril Lavigne. She scanned the songs and didn't expect to find one, but then she saw 'When You're Gone.' She double clicked the song and let the words fill her room, listening to the meaning of each one as if the song was written about her.
Taking a deep breath, she crossed her room and got her video camera set up, turning it on and once it was ready to record, she turned off her computer, and without the music or any help, she began to sing the lyrics, putting her soul into the words.
"I always needed time on my own, I never thought I'd need you there when I cry, and the days feel like years when I'm alone, and the bed where you lie, is made up on your side, when you walk away, I count the steps that you take, do you see how much I need you right now?" She felt the tears well up in her eyes before she even got to the chorus, but continued on, needing to get it out.
"When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you, when you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too, when you're gone the words I need to hear to always get me through the day, and make it OK, I miss you."
During the break between the chorus and the next verse, she wiped her eyes, "I never felt this way before, everything that I do, reminds me of you, and the clothes you left, they lie on the floor, and they smell just like you, I love the things that you do, when you walk away, I count the steps that you take, do you see how much I need you right now? When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you, when you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too, when you're gone the words I need to hear to always get me through the day, and make it OK," she paused, holding back her tears, "I miss you."
She stepped forward hitting the stop button on the camera before her tears fell and she wiped her eyes, her shoulders shaking as she began to cry again, but this time she felt better; she felt stronger for herself and for Noah.
Taking a moment to compose herself, she connected her camera to her computer and added the video to her files and then uploaded it to her Myspace profile, curious to what hateful comments she would get this time, but she didn't care; no one would bring her down.
She left her room, finding her dads, Deborah and Arin watching another football game and even though it was the last thing she wanted to watch, she joined them, even eating dinner in the living room which they had never done before.
Monday came all too soon and Rachel didn't want to go, but holding her head high, she walked into WMHS. She didn't expect her arrival to change what everyone was doing, but she quickly noticed that the conversations in the halls stopped and people were staring at her. The news of his accident made the front page of the local newspaper Saturday morning, so anyone who hadn't been at the game on Friday night knew the details. The paper also ran a smaller article in the Sunday paper explaining his condition, as well as being supported by his family and girlfriend, Rachel Berry, a fellow student at McKinley. Though the staring wasn't new, the words surprised her as the students began talking again, this time about her and Puck, or his accident, or rumors they heard, but she ignored everything.
She headed for her locker and found the entire club waiting for her. She expected to see the usuals: Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, Matt, Mike and Brittany, but today she also found Finn, Quinn and Santana had joined them. She knew everyone wanted to know if there was any change, but she shook her head, "nothing new, but Ms. Puckerman is going up to the hospital after she takes Arin to school and is going to see if he's stable enough to go into a normal room," she explained.
"So he's still out?" Matt asked.
"If you mean unconscious, then yes, he's still 'out'," she said opening her locker to collect her things for first period. "The doctor thinks it's from the concussion, so once the swelling goes down in his brain, then he should wake up," she added.
Rachel finishing switching out her books and turned to look at them all, seeing the sad long faces, "look," she closed her locker and took a deep breath, "of all the people who should be upset it's me. I know you are all worried about him, but he's alive. His blood pressure and other vital tests are coming back perfect, so he's just asleep for an unknown period of time. Be thankful for that; that's how I'm getting by," she told them.
"It's my fault he's in there," Finn said, his head hanging low.
Rachel glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, "you didn't make him fly upside down and land on his head or land on top of him," she said, "how do you figure it's your fault?"
"Because I threw him the pass. I thought he was open, but I should have thought that the guys nearby would go for him. If I hadn't thrown it, he wouldn't be in the hospital."
"I've been telling him all weekend it's an accident, but he won't believe me," Quinn commented.
"Surprisingly Noah's sister, at ten, is quite versed in the sport of football because of Noah and though I don't understand everything, she said that there was no one else on the field open to catch the pass at the time and when you did throw it, if he hadn't of caught it, it would have been an incomplete and would have lost yardage, whatever that means," she shrugged.
Finn, Matt and Mike exchanged glances, mentally going over the game in their head. Finn's eyes closed as he leaned against the lockers in thought.
"He's right, man," Mike commented, "Andy was the only other one out there to catch it and he had guys blocking him, you had to throw it to Puck." Matt nodded in agreement.
Finn looked up at them, "yeah, I remember that now, I just..."
"No one blames you," Rachel commented, "I don't, no one here does and I know Deborah, Arin and Noah won't either, so don't beat yourself up over this."
Finn nodded, picking up his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder, "I'll try not to, but this just sucks."
"Yes it does, but life isn't always easy," Rachel finished, the bell ringing above their heads.
During her first few classes, Rachel missed Noah walking her to her next one, and was startled when people would walk up to her; some she'd never even seen, to tell her they were sorry to hear or hope he gets better soon. She nodded her thanks, trying to keep as calm as possible, but she wasn't used to people she didn't know talking to her. Reaching her locker before lunch, she found Kurt and Mike there. Mike threw his arm around her, "though Puck isn't here, I don't think he'd mind if I walked you to lunch," he told her.
"I don't think so either," she shrugged, "thank you. It's been weird, people are coming up to me and talking to me that I've never even seen before," she said.
"Congratulations, Rachel, you made the school's food chain," Kurt commented from her other side.
"What? I don't get it," Rachel replied.
"So Puck's status might have gone down from joining Glee, but now that you're with one of us; yours went up," Mike added as they reached the lunch room.
"It's like a scale, right now it's balanced out for you, while the rest of us are still struggling to even get on it," Kurt commented.
Rachel nodded and they headed for their usual table, finding Mr. Schuester walking towards them, "Rachel, got a message for you," he said handing her a piece of paper, "I was in the office when it came in and I told them I'd get it to you," he added, biting his apple and walking away with a nod to the guys.
Rachel eyed the note and opened it, finding someone had written down a message to call her mom. "My mom, I don't -" She blushed and quickly tugged out her phone when she realized who that meant and dialed Deborah's cell phone number. After a few rings, she didn't answer, so she hung up her phone, "that's weird," she said sitting down.
"What is?" Brittany asked.
"Well, I got a message to call my mom. I don't have a mom, but I assumed it might have been Deborah, uh, Noah's mom. I called and she didn't answer, so I don't know who called," she admitted, hearing her phone singing. She looked at it and saw a number she didn't recognize, but answered it anyway, "hello?"
"I can't use my cell phone in the hospital," Deborah laughed, "sorry about that. I didn't know any other way to get your attention without freaking you out," she added.
Rachel laughed, "it's alright. I'm just at lunch with the rest of the Glee club," she paused, as concern hit her, "is everything alright?"
"He's not awake yet, but they moved him out of ICU. He's in room 212. You can come see him after school if you'd like to."
"Oh thank god," Rachel sat back in her seat with a smile on her face, "I'll be there... Wait, it's Monday; Glee club meets after school," she sighed.
"Miss a practice," Finn called at her from the other side of the table.
Rachel thought for a moment, "I'll be up there as soon as school is out, thank you."
"You're welcome. I've got to get a few things, but I'll be back up here before you get here. Arin is going to Mrs. Morgan's today after school. I don't know if it's a good idea to bring her up here just yet, but I'm going to talk to her about it when I pick her up later on," she told her.
The two said their goodbyes and Rachel put her phone away with a smile, "he's not in ICU anymore, but he's still unconscious," she told them, aware that everyone was waiting to hear.
"Does unconscious mean that he's like asleep? Like dreaming, or is he like in a coma?" Brittany asked.
Rachel found Brittany to be a great person, but was very oblivious to reality at times, but at least she asked questions, "I don't know, but I can assume he's probably not dreaming," Rachel replied.
A conversation continued over lunch, but Rachel couldn't even focus. She wanted to be at the hospital in case he woke up; she didn't want him to be alone.
Puck felt like he was swimming in a black pool with no escape. He could hear his mom's voice, talking about his sister and Rachel, but exactly what she was talking about; he didn't know. Something was up, because his mom never talked to him like that, so he had to focus hard to figure out what was going on. The last thing he remembered was the football game. He got a flash of seeing his sister and Rachel in the stands, surprised to see his mom there, too. The next 'image' he got was of him running across the end zone with the first touchdown of the game. The final thing he remembered was jumping up to catch a pass from Finn, falling and then excruciating pain all over his chest and head before everything went black.
He needed to know what was up, and wished he could just ask, but he couldn't. His mom was still talking and a knock on something interrupted his thoughts, so he tried to focus on the voices.
"Deborah, I got here as soon as I could," Rachel commented at the doorway of the room.
Deborah stood up from the seat next to his bed and walked over to the doorway. She'd pulled the curtain back so you couldn't see him from the door, wanting to stop Rachel before she came in. "I've got to warn you, he still looks pretty banged up; for wearing a helmet, he is still pretty bruised," she said.
"I can handle it," Rachel said.
Deborah nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to move into the room, hanging back a moment to watch her; she'd dealt with this situation at the hospital enough to know, no matter how someone told them self it'd be okay, they wouldn't be.
Rachel stepped past the curtain and turned her head to the hospital bed. She thought she had prepared herself on the way here to see him, but as soon as she saw the large tube sticking out of his mouth and the bruise on his left side, "Noah," she gasped, tears coming to her eyes, unable to move forward and turned, right into Deborah. She wrapped her arms around her and sobbed, "I thought I could-"
"I know," Deborah sighed, holding the young girl, "I know," she repeated, having experienced it herself the first time she saw him after surgery. "But he's okay. He's just got to wake up now."
Rachel nodded, taking a few deep breaths to calm down before pulling away, "thanks," she whispered.
Deborah nodded, "it's okay."
Rachel turned back to him and stepped closer to his right side. He was covered up to his chest with a sheet, but both his arms were over it, so she reached for his hand, stopping, "can I hold his hand?" She asked unsure if she should.
Deborah smirked, "yeah, he won't break," she stepped over to the chair in the corner and sat down, leaving the chair she had been in next to him for Rachel.
Rachel picked up his hand, carefully lacing her fingers through his, "hey Noah," she said softly.
Puck felt her warm hand in his and was trying to squeeze back like he always did, but his hand didn't move. He felt renewed life in him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't respond to her, which frustrated him.
Several shrill beeps from a monitor next to Rachel startled her, causing her to drop his hand and jump back, "what did I do?" Rachel asked quickly.
Deborah seemed puzzled for a moment, replaying what Rachel had done and then smiled, "it's a good sign," she commented, "you didn't do anything wrong," she smiled, "he's responding to you."
"What?" Rachel looked at her disbelieving.
"He's still in there," she motioned to him laying on the bed, "he knows you're here and he's reacting to that."
Puck felt like a little kid getting ignored during a tantrum. He wanted so badly to open his eyes, but no matter what he tried he couldn't. Her warm hand was in his again, this time he felt his arm raise up and her lips were against his hand, "Noah, I'm here," she whispered against his lifeless hand.
He felt a spark, lighting the darkness around him and he reached for it, hoping to grab on to something and that's when he felt her hand squeeze his again. More sparks and he took the chance and fought hard, pushing himself to focus on waking up, opening his eyes, squeezing her hand, something to let her know he felt her.
Rachel sat with his hand in hers, looking at him. His eyes were closed, but they were moving, almost as if he was looking around. She was so focused on his eyes that she almost missed him squeezing her hand until she looked down at saw his fingers twitching. "Noah," she said again, this time staring at his hand as the twitching turned into his fingers tightening around her hand.
Deborah stood quickly and moved to his other side, silently waiting to see just where this would go, but hoping to see his eyes open.
Rachel kissed his hand as he squeezed hers and she looked up just in time to see his eyes flutter and finally open for the first time in several days.
It took almost all his energy to squeeze her hand, but the kiss she pressed against his hand had given him enough strength to push his eyes open, immediately noticing the bright lights and blinked them shut before letting them drift open again. He was stiff, but he let his eyes travel to his right and saw Rachel, then turned them to his left and saw his mom.
"I'll be right back," Deborah smiled and disappeared, returning moments later with Dr. Stevens.
"This is excellent," Dr. Stevens commented, moving to the side his mom had just been on, "Noah, can you move your hands?" He asked, watching him move his left hand a few times, "great! Right now you've got a tube down your throat that's been helping you breathe. We can take it out now, but it's going to hurt. Can you handle it, show me two fingers if you can," he said.
Pain; he'd been ignoring it, but it seemed strong now, but he wanted the tube gone, so he closed his hand and held out two fingers for him.
Deborah had moved to Rachel's side, standing next to his head, "Rachel, you may need to move," she said.
Puck squeezed down tightly on her hand, as he felt her move, his eyes shooting to hers.
"Or not," Brad laughed a little, but helped Deborah remove the tape that held the tube in place.
"I'm here, Noah, I'm not going anywhere," Rachel said standing up to allow them more room, but kept her hand held firmly in his.
"Okay, I'm going to count to three and on three I'm going to need you to cough. It will help get the tube out, but once it's gone, don't start talking right away, okay," Brad told him.
Not having any other response, he held up his two fingers again and Brad started counting. On three, Puck forced himself to cough and felt the tube dislodge from his throat, shooting another wave of pain through him, letting a groan escape his lips.
"Good job, baby," his mom whispered pressing a light kiss on his forehead.
He blinked a few times and glanced at the doctor before letting his eyes drift to Rachel. "Rach," he whispered, his throat dry and burning, but her face brightening with a smile as he spoke her name was worth it.
His mom had gotten some water in a cup and he took the hint, opening his mouth as she helped him get some water down to help soothe his throat.
"Noah, do you know where you are?" The doctor asked.
"Hospital," he said, his voice still raspy.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"Catching a football and pain," he admitted.
"You have two broken ribs on your left side and one of them punctured your lung. You also have a severe concussion," Dr. Stevens told him still standing on his left side.
"Headache," Puck whispered, his body waking up with pain waves hitting him from all angles.
"I know, but I need to know how much pain you're in. Can you move your neck at all?"
Puck turned his stiff neck both directions before nodding, "yeah."
"Focus on your pain and on a scale from one to -"
Puck eyed him, "eight," he knew all to well the 'pain scale from one to ten.'
Brad laughed at his quick response, but nodded, "I'm going to start you on some pain killers," he said disappearing from the room.
"How long was I out?" He asked looking between Rachel and his mom, neither had moved from their spots next to him.
"About seventy-two hours, it's Monday," his mom replied.
He was silent a long moment, but didn't get a chance to say anything before the doctor returned and added some medication to his IV drip, "you'll start noticing the pain going away soon and they might make you tired, so don't fight it."
Puck nodded, his stiff muscles allowing him partial movement, but still felt the tug as he did. The doctor fiddled with the monitors quietly before leaving them again. "I'd ask how you two are, but it's obvious, how's Arin?"
His mom smirked, "I don't know what you did to my daughter, but she's being the strong one. She's cried a few times, but has practically been holding us together," Deborah commented moving around to his other side.
Puck smiled, nodding carefully at them. He felt the affects of the pain killers already and through he wasn't tired at the moment, he figured it would come. His and Rachel's hands were still together and he refused to let go, tugging her gently to him, "hey."
She stepped closer to him, afraid to touch him, "hi," she smiled, placing her other hand on their hands and squeezed it gently.
"I'm in pain, but not that bad," he smirked lightly.
Deborah watched the exchange and chose to step out of the room, leaving them a few moments of privacy, which Rachel took the opportunity to lean forward and press a kiss to his lips.
Puck's left hand reached up and brushed across her cheek as they kissed, using her warmth to keep him in reality. He let his hand trail through her hair softly before removing it as she pulled away, her eyes wet with tears, "hey, don't cry," he whispered, reaching to wipe them away.
She looked down at hm, "I've been so worried about you," she replied.
Six months ago, he would have rolled his eyes and told her not to bother, but now he accepted that there were people in his life who did care for him, and though his mom and sister were important, Rachel meant more to him, "I'll be fine," he promised, his eyes landing on a clock across the room and though his head was a little foggy, he saw the numbers and realized she should just be getting out of Glee, "damn, even missed Glee for me, this is a new one," he smiled at her, trying to lighten the mood.
"Noah," Rachel laughed a little and retook her seat next to him, "Glee is important to me, but I've realized that you are, too," she replied.
"It's safe mom," he'd noticed the footsteps, but they'd stopped short.
Deborah stepped forward, "hey, I was giving you two some privacy."
"Thanks, but this hospital is not known for that," he told her.
An eerie silence filled the room for a moment, the only sound was the beeping of his heart monitor. "I thought these were supposed to make me tired," he commented, starting to feel more awake.
Deborah glanced at the IV stand and saw the fluids were draining into his system like they were supposed to. She glanced at their hands, "I'm not one to take feelings over medicine, but I think it's adrenaline," she replied.
Puck looked where his mom had and smiled, "I think this is what woke me up."
The faint beeping startled them, until Rachel realized it was her phone. She tugged it out, "sorry, I thought I turned this off," she admitted.
"It's alright, just don't call anyone on it," Deborah replied, sitting back in her seat.
Rachel glanced at the messages, finding one from everyone from the club, "everyone wants to know if there is any news," she said.
Puck sighed, leaning his head back, "I really don't want a bunch of visitors," he murmured glancing at his mom, "I want to go home; when can I get out of here?"
She laughed at his response, "I don't know. You should be tired and need rest, but obviously you're not at the moment. Now that you're awake there isn't any reason for you to be here, but that's up to Dr. Stevens. I'm on admin leave for the rest of the week," she told him.
Puck narrowed his gaze to his mom, "but -"
"It's fine and paid. You're more important than my job right now," she admitted. At his look, she sighed and got up, "I'll go talk to Brad," she commented.
Once his mom had walked out, his eyes drifted to Rachel again, her eyes were moving back and forth, reading the messages. "Just tell them I'm not awake yet," he told her.
"I hate lying to them," Rachel murmured.
"What's the point of telling them? I really don't want to be here any longer than necessary so I'm going to fight to get out of here tonight," he said.
Rachel eyed him for a moment and nodded, opening up a new message and sending it to everyone from the club, telling them he wasn't awake yet, she'd talk to them the following day at school. Putting her phone away, she looked up at him, "I, um," she sighed, she didn't know when was the best time, but she didn't want to hide it. "The last few days have been weird," she said.
"How's school?" He asked.
She shrugged, "like I said, weird. I never realized how much I enjoyed you walking me to class and eating lunch with me, until you weren't there," she replied.
"I'll be there soon, a couple broken ribs won't keep me down for long," he admitted, shifting in the bed, feeling his head get dizzy.
"But the concussion might," Rachel laid a hand on his shoulder to still his movements.
"Yeah, that," he stopped moving and looked at her. "What aren't you saying?" He saw she was holding something back, but he couldn't pinpoint just what it was.
"Uh, it's nothing," she shook her head, moving her hand back to her lap, "we can talk about it later."
"It's obviously something or you wouldn't look afraid to look me in the eye, what's going on, Rachel?"
She looked at him, the gates opening and she started babbling, "I was upset when we were coming home from the hospital and so many things were going through my mind and Arin was in the car asleep and your mom was there and my dads, and I was thinking and Quinn was being nice to me and I didn't know if it was to be nice or if she is trying to be friends with me so she could steal you away because she doesn't know I know and then I thought I was thinking it and I said it out loud."
Puck's headache pounded in his head as she spoke, her voice changing pitch several times, which made the pain worse and he couldn't focus on anything except the last few words, "okay hold up," he rubbed his forehead with his free hand and looked at her, "usually I can understand your babbling, but my head is not working, so just spit it out," he groaned.
"My dads found out about the baby being yours," she sighed, unable to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry," she added, this time her voice barely over a whisper.
Puck's mind had to catch up with her words, but he didn't feel mad. He didn't know if it was the drugs or if he really didn't care. Either way, he didn't want her to leave, which was what she's trying to do. He tightened his grip on her hand, startling her, "don't go," he whispered.
She turned back and looked at their hands for a moment, "but you're... I thought you'd be mad."
"I'm not; at least I don't think I am, but I don't want you to leave. They must have taken it okay or you wouldn't be here, would you?" He asked.
The meaning of his question hit her and she retook her seat next to him, "probably not," she admitted, "I'm sorry, Noah, it was an accident."
He nodded, this time looking at her, "it was and it's done. I was kind of dreading that discussion with them. So I guess thanks," he laughed a little.
"So you're not mad?" She asked hopeful.
"I'm upset they found out, but at least they're okay enough with it to still let us see each other; they are okay with it, right?" He asked, realizing he could be assuming too much from her being there.
"They are, when they realized that I had found someone to make me happy and that my life isn't only about music and acting," she whispered.
Puck looked at her, stunned at what she said, "you told them that?"
She nodded her head looking at their hands for a moment, "yes, I did, because it's true."
"Wow," was all he could manage to say; he didn't know what else could top that.
"Noah?" She asked softly.
"Yeah?"
"This probably isn't the best time to ask, but what is going to happen when you graduate?" She asked softly.
"When I graduate," he laughed a little, "more like if I graduate."
"You will graduate," she said, "and on time. I'll help you, too," she added, "but I'm serious. I know we've only been together a short time, but with all the talk of the baby and a future, I can't help wonder what is going to happen," she lowered her eyes again and sighed.
Puck silently contemplated her question; something he had thought of before, but never discussed with anyone, "well, a lot of it depends on the baby. If Quinn doesn't let up and refuses to let me have her, then I have no clue, but if I do get her, I'm doing to do anything I can to take care of her, even if I have to work full time during my senior year. As for us," he looked her in the eyes, "every thought I've had about my future has you in it; us together. I've changed a lot in these past few weeks and if this isn't a wake up call, I don't know what is," he motioned to himself in the bed. "It's time to start thinking like an adult and not like a kid anymore, because senior year is going to come and go so fast that we're not even going to realize it's happening until Figgins is handing us our diploma," he commented, sighing slightly as he leaned back.
Rachel smiled, finally getting the answer she had hoped for; that he was thinking of them with a future together, "good, I'm glad we're thinking the same thing," she replied, leaning over and pressing her lips to his.
Puck smiled into the kiss and as she pulled away, he nodded, "good."
"I didn't realize what time it was, but I've gotta go get Arin from Mrs. Morgan's and your dad's are expecting us home for dinner," Deborah said coming into the room, stopping short, seeing them just pulling away from a kiss. "Uh, sorry."
Puck shook his head, "it's alright. When can I go home?" He asked hopeful.
Deborah sighed, "Dr. Stevens is impressed, but wants to give you an exam before he makes the call, but I told him how much you hated hospitals and he says if you're coherent and obviously you're not showing any signs of memory loss, you could go home tonight."
"Tonight? Really?" His eyes widened, "that works for me."
"That's if you pass the exam and can get up and walk around without trouble," she said.
"I, should, um," Rachel blushed, "I should probably go. At least for a while."
Though Noah didn't want either of them to leave, he reluctantly let them go with a kiss goodbye, knowing he'd see them in a few hours.
The two women parted in the parking lot. Deborah went to pick up Arin, while Rachel went home; her dad's happy to hear that Noah was awake. Deborah and Arin arrived about a half an hour later, having stopped at the house to get some clothes for Noah in case he did get released that night.
The energy over dinner was high, everyone getting through the meal quickly. Rachel wanted to go with Deborah back to the hospital, but Deborah figured she'd be home shortly with him, so she talked Rachel into staying at home.
"Time isn't going to go any faster even if you keep looking at the clock," her dad laughed from the couch he was sitting on. Rachel sighed, silently kicking herself for making it obvious.
Two hours had passed and Rachel was beginning to think that he wouldn't be released that night and she wouldn't be able to see him again until the following afternoon. Arin didn't want to go to bed until they came home, or at least Deborah did and it was only nine. Rachel gave in, letting her, but told her if they weren't there by ten she'd have to go to bed.
Rachel, Arin and her dads had been watching TV, so no one noticed the car pull up or them walking up the pathway until the door opened, Deborah stepping in first, Noah right behind her.
"Noah!" Arin jumped up and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Hey sis," he started, "careful with the stomach," he murmured, hugging her with his right arm, while is other arm kind of protected his left side.
The other three went to the door, greeting him. Rachel's dad's shook his hand and told him they were glad he was alright and then headed up to go to bed. Arin didn't want to let go of Noah, but he talked her into it, promising he'd be there in the morning. Deborah ushered Arin upstairs to get her in bed, finally giving the young couple a chance to be alone.
He smiled at her, stepping forward to wrap his right arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him, briefly kissing her forehead as she slipped her arms around his waist, being careful not to hit his side. Once her arms were settled, he slipped his left arm around her shoulders, letting his chin rest on her head a smile on his face, "my Rach," he whispered, his eyes closed, content.
She smiled as she let her cheek rest against his chest, the solid and even beat of his heart filling her head for a moment before she responded, "my Noah."
Those words held strength and emotion, two things both had struggled with a lot in the past weeks, but having each other, they felt like they could overcome anything.
...
A/N3:The song Rachel sang in her room is by Avril Lavigne. It's called "When You're Gone" and is on the same album as "Keep Holding On." The CD is called "The Best Damn Thing."
A/N4: Wow! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, commented and read this story! It means so much to me that you all are enjoying this. Your words are keeping me writing!
A/N5: I hate hospitals and I know I'm not the only one who gets the creeps being there. I struggled with Noah waking up and the first few hours, but I hope you guys like how things played out. Pain killers, for me, don't do anything except what they are meant for; nothing knocks me out, that I've had yet and I've had some pretty gnarly ones before. I can imagine that he is pretty resilient to the drowsiness side of pain killers, so that's how I played it with him.
A question: How does you feel about future-fics? I've got an idea for a sequel to this, so I'm wondering if I'll finish this up with maybe the baby's birth and then do a future fic and during it, have flashbacks to the past. Good idea, bad idea? What do you think?