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: Alright, I had planned to make this completely AU after Mash-up, but now that I've seen Wheels, I've decided that depending on what comes up in the episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, just put my own twist on it. I'll mention spoilers above if there are any.
A/N3: I can't say this enough, but you all are amazing for your feedback! I'm so happy that you are enjoying this! Keep the feedback coming; it's keeping me writing. :D
...
Puck woke again at six with things to do. After taking a shower, he dressed in something besides sweats and left the house with a wave to his mom, going right to the Berry's. He used his key this time, finding her dads on their way out. He spoke to them briefly before they left and he waited for Rachel to come down, "morning beautiful," he smiled at her.
"Good morning, Noah," she blushed at his words and hugged him.
Once she got what she needed, they left, him driving her to school, pulling up in front of the building. "I'm going to try and catch Quinn before she comes into school," he said motioning to the parking lot nearby. "So be on the lookout; she might be on the warpath when she comes in," he said.
Rachel groaned, "Noah, be nice," she said gathering up her bag.
"I always am," he smiled at her, leaning forward to kiss her on the lips.
Rachel returned the kiss and gave him a quick hug before getting out and heading inside.
Puck took a deep breath and once she was in the doors of the school he headed up to the parking lot just as Quinn's car came in and headed for her usual spot. Puck pulled up next to her as she parked and got out, waiting for her, "Quinn," he said.
"Puck," she paused as she looked to see him, "back at school?" She asked.
"No, still out on medical, but I wanted to talk to you," he said.
"About what?"
He tugged something out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"What's this?" She asked and opened out the folded paper to find a hundred dollar bill, "what is this for?" She asked again.
"It's for our baby. I heard you needed money," he said.
She looked at the money in her hand, "Puck, I... Don't you see... Everything good you've got with Rachel will be gone as soon as she finds out and I'll loose Finn. If we just play this off and we put her up for adoption when she's born, no one will have to know," she told him, trying to hand the money back.
Puck glared at her, "that's where you're wrong. You might be ready to just hand her over as soon as she's out of you, but I want to keep her. I want my daughter to grow up with a father, unlike my sister and I. I'm not a deadbeat like him and I want to keep her. Shit, my mom and Rachel are already discussing nursery patterns," he smirked, wishing he had a camera to take a picture of the shocked expression on her face when she heard his last sentence, her eyes wide in shock as they sunk in.
"WHAT?" She screeched out.
"Yep, both my mom and my girlfriend know you're pregnant with my daughter; I chose to be honest with my family, because in my life, family comes first," he said calmly.
Her shock turned into a look he'd never seen from her before. Her shoulders had been tense, but they lowered, relaxing. "I'm sorry I called you a 'Lima Loser,'" she said, taking in everything she'd learned over the past few weeks about him, "you're not."
Puck looked at her, "it's one thing to hear it from people I don't know, but when I hear it from people that I know, it's different. It really did hurt."
Quinn nodded, looking at the ground for a moment, "um, someone is thinking I'm giving her the baby when she's born, I don't want to, but she's psychotic and won't give up on it."
"Who?" Puck demanded quickly.
She debated on telling him, but then realized he might have a better chance of getting her off her back, "Terri Schuester; she's trying to fool Mr. Schuester in thinking she's pregnant and wants me to give her our baby when she's born and make him think it's his. She's crazy!" She exclaimed. "I don't want to keep her, but I don't want to give her to Terri either."
His blood began to boil hearing what Terri was trying, "I'll take care of it," he said his fists tightening. "I want my daughter; I don't care if you don't, I do," he added, "and I will fight for her if I have to."
Hearing his words, she pocketed the money he'd given her, "I see that, Puck. There is more to you than I knew," she finally admitted.
"Look," Puck had calmed down enough to not bite her head off, "you weren't the only one drinking. We both made mistakes and now, we have to live with them. I'm willing to accept it and take care of my daughter. I'll help you out with bills and what you need for the rest of your pregnancy if you'll let me have her," he said, "please."
Quinn could see the look in his eyes and she realized there was no way he would give up, "only if I can still be Aunt Quinn," she gave in, looking at him.
Puck smiled, truly smiled for the first time about the pregnancy and he nodded, "yeah, you can be; if you want to be," he extended his hand to her, hoping this was all he needed to seal the deal.
She extended her hand to his, shaking his hand, "deal."
As he pulled his hand back, he looked up, "who gets to tell Finn?" He asked, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck nervously.
Her shoulders fell at the question, having not even thought yet of the other person involved. "I don't know," she shook her head, "no matter when I tell him he's going to go off the deep end."
"The sooner you tell him the better. The more attached he is to her the worse it will be on him and all of us," he replied.
"This won't end good for you and him; for being best friends, I mean," she warned him.
He shrugged, "maybe. He's the least of my concerns. We both screwed up so I know he's going to be pissed at us, but our daughter is what I'm worried about, and I don't want him to think she's his any longer. If you don't tell him soon I will, no matter what the outcome is, Quinn," he said trying not to be mean, just honest. For being a tough bitch, once he got through to her, Puck could see she was just a scared teenager and he knew exactly what that felt like.
She bit her lip and nodded, "I'll try," she said softly, "I don't know how, but I'll try to tell him soon."
He nodded, accepting that answer for now, but knowing he wouldn't let it go too long.
"Puck, um," she paused, "speaking of telling people, what do I do about my parents? As soon as they find out they will kick me out," she told him. "They are already asking me why I don't where my Cheerios uniform to school anymore."
Puck groaned; he hadn't even thought about her parents. The three parents involved with him already knew, "well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'll figure something out, just give me a few days," he told her.
Quinn nodded, "I should get going, I've got class," she said motioning towards the school.
"Oh yeah," Puck nodded, "so I'll see you later," he told her tugging his keys from his pocket.
She nodded at him and watched him walk for his jeep, "hey Puck," she called before he got in.
Puck turned as he opened his door, "yeah?"
"Let me know when you pick out a name," she smiled to him before turning and jogging towards the school, hoping to get to her locker before the bell rang.
Puck slid into his jeep and shut the door, "a name," he said as he started the engine, "a name," he repeated, another smile creeping across his face at the thought of naming her.
Even though he wanted to go back to the Berry's and think about names, he had other things he needed to do including figuring out what to do with Quinn if she got kicked out and Terri Schuester. "This is going to be a long day," he murmured, heading back to his place to do something before he forgot.
Rachel waited at her locker an extra few minutes to see if she could catch Quinn, but as the bell rang above and no sign of her, she headed of to her own class, a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach.
At lunch time, the bake sale was in full swing again, this time some of the kids had gone and bought donuts and other pastries and everyone was snagging them up, but Rachel sat at the usual Glee table with Tina and Mercedes. Someone slid into the seat next to her and she glanced to see Quinn sitting there; the girl looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldn't, so Rachel started, "hello Quinn."
"Can I talk to you in private?" She asked.
"Um, sure, where?" Rachel asked.
Quinn stood up and waited until Rachel had her things gathered up before walking towards the classrooms, finding an empty one and shutting the door, "Puck told me you know."
"I know a lot of things," Rachel said, wanting to make sure she knew what Quinn was talking about.
"You know the baby is his."
"Oh yes, I do know that," Rachel nodded, it wasn't news to her.
"And you're okay with this? You boyfriend having a kid with some other girl?"
"This," Rachel motioned to Quinn's stomach, "happened way before he and I even liked each other, so how can I turn my back on him when he was honest with me? I can't and won't."
Quinn slid into an empty seat, "I don't want her," she said looking down at her stomach, "I keep thinking that there is a way, but I don't. But he seems to want to keep her and he told me that I could still be Aunt Quinn if I wanted to be," she told her.
Rachel nodded, "Noah is very determined to keep his daughter. I believe not having a father really affected him and doesn't want to know he helped create a child and was never given the chance to be a father to her."
"I got that from him," she admitted, "she's his if he wants her."
Rachel smiled, "that's good to hear. I'm sure he'll be very happy to know that."
Quinn nodded looking up at her, "I don't get you, at all. I've never been nice to you before and even before you and Puck started going out, you were nice to me. Why?"
Rachel moved forward and looked at Quinn, "because you look like your scared out of your mind, because I know I would be if I was in your position and though we may have been enemies at one time, I'm willing to put that in the past and be your friend to help you through this. None of this is going to be easy," Rachel told her, "especially once it comes out that Noah is the father; not Finn."
"I don't know how I'll tell him," she shook her head, "he'll be crushed."
"The sooner you tell him the less attached he'll be," Rachel replied.
"Puck said the same thing," Quinn responded.
Rachel nodded, "he's right." Lunch was almost over and it wouldn't be long until the teacher would return to their classroom, "I think we should go before we get caught in here," Rachel started.
Quinn stood up from the seat and both girls headed for the door, "thanks."
"You're welcome," Rachel smiled at her, "and if you ever want to talk, I'm here," she added, stepping out of the room first with a successful smile on her face as the end of lunch was signaled by a bell above their heads.
Rachel knew that even though a big step had been taken between Noah, Quinn and herself, it wasn't going to just be easy, but she was happy that at least Quinn was willing to give their daughter to Noah and not put up a fight; at least for now.
The day progressed as Rachel figured it would, a normal day, but she was nervous for the 'diva off,' though she would never admit it to anyone except Noah. Stepping into the choir room after school, some were already there. Before she got a chance to speak to anyone, Mr. Schuester arrived, "alright everyone, as soon as our new piano player gets here, we can get started. Kurt, Rachel, are you both ready?"
"Of course," Kurt glared at Rachel from the opposite side of the room.
"Yes, Mr. Schuester, I am ready," Rachel replied, holding her head high.
"What piano player? I thought we had one," Mercedes commented.
Before Mr. Schuester could respond, the door opened and Puck walked in with his sister following behind him, "sorry, Mr. Schue, I had to pick up my sister," he said.
"That's quite alright, Puck. Welcome Arin," Mr. Schuester replied.
Puck nodded and tugged off the hood of his hoodie and the entire room gasped. "What?"
"You're... You cut... You shaved off your mohawk," Rachel said, getting up to move towards him. "You had it this morning," she added, slipping her arms around his waist in a hug.
Puck hugged her briefly, "I wanted a change. Besides; if it got any longer it'd start to curl," he laughed with a shrug of his shoulders.
Arin stood silently behind Noah, nervous to be in a room full of older kids, but Rachel stepped around Noah and hugged her. "Hey Arin," she smiled at her.
"Hi Rachel," she said looking around the room and saw several people she knew, relaxing slightly when she realized they weren't all strangers.
"So you came to see me preform?" Rachel asked both Noah and Arin.
"You could say that," he commented.
The rest of the class had gotten up and was greeting him and Arin with hugs and handshakes. The few that Arin hadn't met yet Rachel introduced her, too, and then they all found their seats again, Arin and Puck still standing.
"So, where's the piano player?" Kurt asked.
Puck cleared his throat and he and his sister moved to the piano bench, both sitting down on it, "that would be me," he said glancing at Kurt and then the rest of the class.
"Say what?" "No way!" "Puckerman? Seriously?"
Puck laughed at their expressions and nodded, "the babysitter I had when I was a kid and now Arin has, taught me how to play and I never forgot. When I talked to Mr. Schuester last week about Glee, he told me he'd already looked and found that musicians count towards the number of students in the club, so I told him I'd play the piano. It'll be a good while before I'm back to dancing and this way you don't need to find a replacement," he explained, "surprise," Puck laughed.
"This is why I haven't been too concerned about finding a replacement," Mr. Schuester added. "And we should probably get to the topic of day."
"Um, can I say something first?" Puck asked.
"Sure, go a ahead," Will commented motioning to the classroom.
Puck set the folder he had in his hands on the piano and tugged out several sheets of paper, glancing through them to make sure he had the right ones together before getting up. He walked to Rachel and handed her a set. "I'm going to say it, this 'diva off' is ridiculous," he noticed both Rachel and Kurt were glaring at each other, and he walked to Kurt and handed him a set of papers, "just hold on you two," he walked back to the piano, handing Mr. Schuester a set and then sat down again, "half the songs we've done are made for a soloist. 'Keep Holding On' is Avril Lavigne, but we turned it into a duet between Rachel and Finn. So if we can do it for that song, why not this one? So I made it into a duet," he told them, "you two both get even amounts of solo time, but share the chorus and a few lines."
"Who are you and what did you do to Puck?" Finn asked looking between Kurt and Rachel and then to Puck.
Puck shrugged, "I've been out for two weeks and aside from my little baking detour I'm board out of my mind. Besides, isn't the Glee club supposed to make the songs we get our own?" He asked, glancing at Mr. Schuester.
Will was shocked at Puck, but nodded, "yeah you're right," he admitted, looking over the papers Puck had given him.
"If you want to to continue with this audition, fine, but you're making this into a huge deal, both of you are," he told them, staring at Rachel and then to Kurt.
"Noah, I..." Rachel paused, looking over the handwritten arrangement he'd done, "I don't know what to say."
"That's a first," Kurt commented from across the room, his eyes still scanning the papers.
The entire room waited for the two to come to some sort of decision, Rachel being the first, "this will work. I'm willing to do this if Kurt is," she said.
Kurt slowly lowered the papers and sat them on his lap. "Yes, I suppose this will work," he admitted, "but have you seen his handwriting? I can hardly read it," he shook his head.
"Gee thanks Hummel," Puck snapped, "I would think if you like the song you'd know the words and wouldn't need to read it all."
Kurt closed his mouth, realizing what Puck had said was right.
"Well, shall we try this out and see how it sounds?" Will asked.
Rachel and Kurt stood up, the papers in their hands as they took a spot in the center of the room. Mr. Schuester took a seat next to the piano and nodded at Puck.
Puck laid his fingers on the ivory keys, watching the music in front of him as he played the opening bars of 'Defying Gravity.'
Rachel began the song, "something has changed within me, something is not the same, I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game."
Kurt followed along and picked up where she ended, "too late for second-guessing, too late to go back to sleep, it's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap..."
The two both took a deep breath and together, sang the chorus, "it's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity. Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity and you won't bring me down!"
Rachel continued on with the second verse, "I'm through accepting limits, 'cuz someone says they're so."
Following along quickly, Kurt joined in with, "some things I cannot change, but till I try, I'll never know!"
Puck split the next sentence between the two, Rachel beginning it with, "too long I've been afraid of-"
"Losing love I guess I've lost," Kurt finished, both joining in to sing the last two lines of the second verse and continuing on the chorus again, "well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost! I'd sooner buy defying gravity. Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity and you won't bring me down! I'd sooner buy defying gravity. Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity and you won't bring me down!"
"Bring me down," they repeated the last line of the chorus one more time and though he had them both singing the last run, Kurt stopped, allowing Rachel to finish the song, "oh, oh, ohhhhh."
The room erupted in cheers and clapping as the two finished their song, and Rachel bounced happily on her feet and hugged the first person she could; Kurt. He was stunned at the hug, but returned it, giving in to the fact that he did miss her company.
Puck smiled from his seat at the piano and shifted so he was facing the class a little more and before he got comfortable, arms were around his shoulders, "thank you, Noah, that was wonderful!" Rachel exclaimed.
"You're welcome," he responded, nodding at Kurt as he saw him looking his way.
"Yes, that was a good compromise to our dilemma," Kurt admitted, sitting down next to Mercedes.
"Excellent job, Kurt, Rachel, Puck," Mr. Schuester said to them, before continuing, "I hadn't planned anything else for today, but starting Monday were going to have to work extra hard. Not only do we need to get a few more songs ready, we also have to re-work the older dance numbers for one less with Puck not dancing right now. How long are you going to be out?" He turned to Puck.
Puck shrugged, "don't know. Normal moving isn't so bad right now, but it's two broken ribs that have to heal, so I'm not making any promises," he said. "I'm thinking at least a month, maybe two."
Will nodded and turned to the club, "alright, so see everyone Monday," he told them.
As everyone got up to leave, they waved at Puck and Rachel, and when Mr. Schuester, Arin, Rachel and Puck were the last ones left, Puck looked at Rachel, handing her his keys, "Rachel, can you take Arin out to my jeep? I need to talk to Mr. Schuester for a second."
"Um, alright, sure, come on Arin. Got to stop at my locker first," Rachel said.
Arin hopped up and waved 'bye' to Will before leaving the classroom behind Rachel.
"Good call on turning that into a duet, you really fixed that mess," Mr. Schuester told him.
"Thanks," Puck stood up after putting the sheet music back in his folder and stood up, "look, something came to my attention this morning and I figured I'd go as close to the issue as I could," he started.
"What's that?"
"Quinn's baby isn't Finn. She's mine," Puck said.
"What the? Are you serious?" Will asked, shock evident on his face.
"Yeah, it was a mistake, but you should ask Finn how he got her pregnant sometime; funny story, but that's not what I found out. I knew the baby was mine the day Quinn told Finn. What I found out this morning is that someone has been trying to talk Quinn into giving up the baby once she's born. Quinn, up until this morning, has not wanted me to have anything to do with her or the baby, but she's finally realized what I've been saying all along, my family comes first and she's carrying my child and I'm not going to give up my daughter without a fight. I want to keep her and this person is making Quinn uncomfortable, but other than adoption, Quinn didn't think she had any other choices until I told her I wanted to keep her," Puck said.
"Okay, so you want to keep the baby as yours and be a single father at what? Eighteen? What is Rachel going to do when she finds out?"
Puck waved his hand at the door and shook his head, "Rachel, my mom and her dads know that Quinn is carrying my daughter."
"Why are you telling me this? Do you need help getting this other person away from Quinn?"
"You could say that," Puck admitted.
"Do you know who it is?"
Puck nodded, "yep, I do. And if it becomes a conflict of interest, I'd be willing to drop Spanish and if necessary leave Glee," he told him, "because it's your wife, Terri."
The folder Will had in his hand dropped to the floor, hearing his wife's name, "that's impossible! She's pregnant!"
"Is she? Or did she think she was and when she saw how happy you were, she couldn't tell you the truth? When she was here at school, she looked to be four or so months pregnant, so by now you should have felt the baby kick," Puck said.
"I haven't..."
Puck could see Will's head processing everything he was hearing. "I didn't want to do this, and I'm sorry, but now that Quinn is letting me have daughter, there is nothing that I won't do to protect my family and if it means exposing her secret, then so be it," Puck said. He tried to keep his voice low, knowing Will had nothing to do with this and it was all his wife. "I really don't know what your wife is doing, but all I'm saying is my daughter is mine and she can not have her," Puck took a deep breath to calm down.
The events since finding out Terri was pregnant was spinning through his head and though he didn't want to believe it, everything Puck said made sense and also explained why Terri would freak out when he tried to touch her stomach, "it all makes sense now," he whispered, "she's been lying to me this whole time," he said sitting down.
Puck nodded, unsure just what to do.
"When we went to see 'Vocal Adrenaline' perform she told me she was pregnant and it was a boy and just after I took Quinn and Finn to get Quinn's sonogram, I made an appointment for us to go to the doctor and he said it was a girl... Oh, she's even got her doctor lying for her," he shook his head, "I should have known something was up when she started freaking out when I'd try to touch her stomach and she never had morning sickness." He scrubbed his face with his hands and then looked at Puck, "wait a second, does Finn know the baby is yours?"
Puck shook his head, "no, that's the next bridge I'll be crossing, and after, I will be figuring out what to do when Quinn's parents find out she's pregnant and kick her out," he sighed, sitting down in a chair near by. "Up until today, Quinn told me I was 'Lima Loser' and chose Finn to be the father. I think between Rachel and I dating, me getting hurt, being nicer to everyone and doing things that no one knew I could or would do, she's seeing that I'm not the loser she thought I was; and if it wasn't for Rachel, I probably still would be that Puck," he admitted.
"You should be the one to tell Finn," Will told him.
"What?" Puck looked up from the floor.
"You and Finn have been best friends for a long time and you should be the one to tell Finn, not Quinn," he replied.
Puck nodded, "I've been trying to figure out which way would be better and honestly; either way, Finn is going to hate us both and probably Rachel for knowing and not saying anything to him."
Will got up and walked towards Puck, holding out his hand to him, "I don't want you to leave Glee or Spanish. This is all about my wife and I, and has nothing to do with you and Quinn. Congratulations on your daughter," he said.
Puck stood up, taking the man's hand and shaking it firmly, "thank you. I am sorry that you had to find out this way."
Will shook his head, "don't be. I should have known all along something wasn't right, but I appreciate that you told me."
"If it comes down to it and you need a lawyer, I recommend Alan Berry, Rachel's dad," he told him.
Will nodded, "I may just be calling him," he replied.
The two stood in silence a moment before Will began to pick up the dropped sheet music, so Puck picked up his own folder from the piano and headed for the door, glancing back to see Will slowly standing up, shaking his head.
Puck sighed, leaving the classroom and walking as fast as he could out to his jeep, finding Rachel and Arin inside talking. He got in the drivers seat and passed the folder of sheet music to Rachel as he started the engine and hooked his belt.
"Took you long enough, what did you have to talk to him about?" Rachel asked.
"Spanish stuff, Glee stuff," he shrugged, "I'll tell you later," he looked at her and motioned towards the back of the jeep with his eyes.
Rachel studied his expression for a moment until she realized he was trying to tell her he didn't want to discuss it around Arin. She silently nodded, watching the road pass by as they left the parking lot. "Is your mom coming over for dinner?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah she is," he nodded, "why?"
"Well, it's almost 4:30; we could go into town and get some Chinese so we don't have to cook when we get back," she suggested.
"Uh, sure," Puck nodded again, this time, making a slight detour and headed towards their favorite Chinese place. When he parked, he handed Rachel some money and told her he'd wait in the jeep, so she and Arin went inside, coming out twenty minutes later with several bags of take-out. Once they were back in, he returned to the road and made it back to the Berry's just about five, the same time David arrived home from work.
Alan and Deborah arrived a bit later and they all sat down to dinner, discussing their day. Rachel mentioned what Noah did for the song in Glee and everyone was impressed by his talent. Deborah was glad he wasn't going to jump back to dancing so quickly and could put his piano skills to use.
After dinner, Puck suggested that his sister go watch TV, and he got the rest of them in the den, furthest away from the living room, so he could talk to all of them at once.
"I talked to Quinn today," he started, "and told her I wanted my daughter and that my family came first and she told me I could have her, because she didn't want to keep her," he explained. "So in less than seven months, I'm gonna be a dad," he said sitting down next to Rachel on the couch.
"I'm so glad you talked to her," Deborah smiled.
Puck nodded, smiling happily for a moment before sobering, continuing on with what Quinn told him about Terri. At first he didn't mention a name, until Alan asked who it was.
"Terri Schuester, also know as, Mr. Schuester's wife," Puck explained.
"What?" Rachel exclaimed, her hand going over her mouth in shock, hoping Arin didn't hear.
Puck sighed, "I don't know all the details, but I think when Finn told Mr. Schuester that Quinn was pregnant and she wasn't going to have an abortion, Mr. Schuester told his wife. She thought she was pregnant and turned out she wasn't, so has been playing him, making him think she's pregnant, trying to get Quinn to give up the baby to her, so he can think it's his. So after Glee today, I talked to him about it," he paused and looked around, "his wife is crazy. She was scaring Quinn and wanted Mr. Schuester to know her baby was mine and mentioned that his wife needed to lay off Quinn. I know Mr. Schuester wasn't behind any of it, but I just kind of clued him in and he realized he should have seen the signs that she really wasn't pregnant, but was blinded at becoming a father. I apologized for telling him, but I wanted it clear that his wife wasn't being truthful to him and my unborn child was being put in the middle and I didn't like it."
"That's why you wanted to talk to him after Glee," Rachel said softly.
Puck nodded, "yeah, I wanted to talk to him before it was too late," he admitted.
The three adults were silent, thinking about what was going on, "so let me get this straight, his wife thought she was pregnant, but wasn't. She told him she was and when she found out she wasn't, instead of telling him the truth, she lied to him and then tried to get Quinn to play along with her and give her the baby, some how making Will think it was his and Terri's?" David asked.
Puck nodded, "pretty much," he agreed.
"Terri Schuester was and always will be a manipulative, stuck-up snob. She'll do anything she can to get her way, even if it means hurting people in the process," Deborah spoke up.
"How do you know?" Puck asked, surprised when his mom spoke about her in past tense.
"Because I went to WMHS. Her and Will were sophomores when I was a senior," she explained. "Glee club placed second that year," she saw the confused looks on Rachel and Noah's faces and laughed a little, "I was there, you never asked," she added. Something clicked in her mind and she leaned forward in her chair, "it sounds like Terri had a hysterical pregnancy."
"A what?" Noah asked.
"It usually comes when a with women wants to have a child so bad, that eventually their body starts showing signs of a pregnancy and may even test positive in a blood or urine test because of the hormones the body is kicking out, showing the symptoms of being pregnant," she explained.
David nodded, "I have heard of those. I have dealt with a few cases of that, too," he added, shaking his head at the thought of how intense the situation had gotten.
"Look," Puck eyed them all, "I'm hoping by confronting Will, that this will keep Terri from Quinn, but it's only the beginning. Someone has to tell Finn that it's not his. I'm giving Quinn some time, but if she doesn't tell him soon, I will. I know it'll probably destroy him, but he needs to know the truth," Puck commented, looking down at the ground, "and there is something else, too."
"What is that?" Alan asked.
"I think it's only going to be a few weeks before Quinn's very conservative parents find out she's pregnant. She told me they are already asking why she's not wearing her Cheerios uniform to school, but she hasn't told them she got kicked off the team. Once she starts showing, they'll kick her out, and I don't know what to do. It's my kid, so Quinn kind of comes with that right now."
The two men in the room looked at Rachel, who looked back, the Berry's sharing a silent conversation. Deborah wasn't quite sure what to say, her mind trying to figure out a plan, until Rachel spoke up, "um, we've kind of already talked about this," Rachel said.
"What?" Noah asked looking at her.
"We talked last week," Rachel motioned to her dads, "I knew it wouldn't be long before her parents find out and kick her out. I figured if she saw you outside of school, she would see the real you and find out you are a great person who wants his daughter. I knew she wouldn't have a place to go and though I would be uncomfortable if she stayed at your place, I asked and she's welcome to stay here. I didn't know this would happen," she motioned to the room, "but at least now she knows you're serious and I'm willing to be a friend to her," she finished.
Hearing that, Puck felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, just hearing that they were willing to let her stay there, "thank you," he whispered, looking at her dads, "this is more than I could ask for," he admitted.
The two men nodded, "you're welcome, but we have some stipulations," David explained.
"Anything," Puck said looking at them.
"We're willing to support her to a point, give her a place to stay, make sure she's okay, but you're going to need to get a job to help with doctor's bills and things Quinn and the baby will need now and when the baby is born," he said.
Puck nodded quickly, "as soon as I get cleared and am back to school, I will start looking for a job. I know I need one," he agreed.
"I also suggest you tell Quinn soon so she has an opportunity to pack her belongings in case her parents don't give her time to do it when they find out," Alan added.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow," Rachel commented.
"Thanks," Puck smiled at her and then turned to his mom, "I want to tell Arin, but I think it should until after the truth comes out at school that I'm the father," he told her, "that way she doesn't accidentally slip to someone."
Deborah nodded, "good idea," she paused and looked at Alan and David, "I honestly don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for this; for everything you've done for us in the last few weeks," she admitted.
Both men smiled, "you don't have to," Alan said, "we're just glad we could help."
"You all have become part of our family," David commented, looking between Puck and Rachel, "no one knows what the future will bring, but right now our children are together, and for that, we look after our family and are willing to help out any way we can."
David's words settled their conversation, sealing a 'pact' between the Berry's and the Puckerman's. For the time being, Noah and Rachel tied the two families together and Quinn would soon become part of that family, too; if only for a short time. The future was still unclear for all of them, but Rachel and Noah loved each other and knew they would grow stronger being together than they would apart.
...
Lots of notes, lol:
Music: 'Defying Gravity' by Lea Michele and Chris Colfer. I prefer the duet version over the individual ones.
A/N4: Some have asked about my take on Finn finding out he's not the father, and it looks like it'll be the next chapter. Haven't even started it, but that's my plan, so look for it soon.
A/N5: Sorry if anyone likes Terri, but unfortunately that woman bugs the heck out of me, so I wanted to nip this canon issue in the butt early.
A/N6: I finished this part Wednesday afternoon before I went to work. Got home after work and watched Glee. What an episode! I won't say anything other than that in case anyone hasn't seen it, but what I will say is the scene between my Puck and his mom in the kitchen when she over hears him and Rachel talking... it was similar to something that happened in Ballads. I was a little shocked when I saw it.
A/N7: So the future-fic sequel is in the works and I got sidetracked working on a manip for it with Puck/Mark and it's kickin' my butt! Hopefully I'll work it out before I can get the story written, lol.