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: Wow! Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: An emotional few weeks, but you guys have been great and your feedback is amazing! Thank you to all my loyal readers and my new ones, too! :D Please remember to comment/review; feedback keeps me writing. I'm trying to keep up with replying, but if I don't get back quickly, I do apologize; your responses are loved, thank you all!
...
"Hello Mr. Schuester, Ms. Pillsbury," Rachel said greeting the two as they arrived for her Christmas party.
"Hello, Rachel, thank you for the invitation," Emma replied entering the house.
"You're welcome. Glad you could make it," Rachel smiled, stepping aside, "come on in. We're all around. Deborah and Arin are here and Finn and his mom, Carole, just arrived. Some of my dads co-workers are here, too. Right now the kitchen is off-limits, Noah kicked us all out," she laughed. "I can take your coats," she added.
Both adults slipped off their jackets and handed them to her, so she could hang them up in the closet, and then stepped into the living room where most everyone was gathered.
"Rachel, are most of the Glee club members going to be here?" Will asked.
"Yes, I believe the only ones who are not coming are Artie and Santana. They went away for the holiday," she explained, "why?"
"When they do get here, Emma and I would like to speak to all of you about a new development that came up after school Friday," he replied.
"Oh, alright, I think we can manage that," she nodded in agreement.
Alan, standing nearby quickly greeted Will, who introduced Emma, and then Alan introduced them to who he had been talking with, allowing Rachel to dash off to the kitchen, silently trying to sneak up behind her boyfriend at the sink.
"I can see your reflection in the window," he laughed, turning around as she reached him.
She sighed, "I tried. Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury just got here."
"I heard," he nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips, "now is there any other reason why you're in my kitchen?" He asked curiously.
Her mouth dropped open and then shut quickly, "you know, Noah, this is supposed to be time for us to spend together; not apart so you can cook," she commented.
He rested his hands on her shoulders, "I'm almost done, just a few more things and I'm all yours," he promised, pressing a kiss on her lips again, this time letting it linger just a moment longer than the previous one had.
As their lips broke apart, she smiled, "okay. You better be," she smirked, "Mr... Well, Will and Emma want to talk to the Glee Club members when they are all here, those who are coming anyway," she added, before stepping out of the kitchen to play hostess.
It didn't take Puck long to finish up the few snack dishes he was working on and set them out with the rest of the food on the dinning table. He returned to the kitchen to clean up his mess and then went off to find Rachel.
While David and Alan were entertaining co-workers and their families, Quinn, Finn and Rachel were keeping up with the younger kids and Glee Club members who were there and as soon as Puck appeared, Rachel took his hand and started walking him around the room, introducing him to her dad's co-workers.
While Puck stood with Rachel as she spoke with one of the lawyers Alan worked with, he noticed his mom talking and laughing with Will, Emma, Burt, David, Carole and Brad. "Oh great," he groaned catching Rachel's attention, "those parents together are not a good thing, we should probably have that meeting if we're going to," Puck commented looking at his girlfriend.
"Oh," Rachel nodded and excused herself before turning around and looking for the rest of the club members, who were scattered around the room. "New Directions, Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury would like to have a word with us in the den," Rachel called out, hoping everyone could hear her.
It took a few moments, but the members shuffled into the den that was currently empty, along with the parents who had come over. Mr. Schuester had asked them all to join the meeting so he could say it all at once. With Artie and Santana absent, he asked for someone to get them on phone so they could be part of the discussion as well, so Brittany called Santana while Tina called Artie and once the two missing members were on speaker phone, Mr. Schuester stood up and looked around at them. "I know it may be a bad time to discuss this, but something happened after school Friday and Emma and I wanted you all to know before you return to school in the new year," he said.
"What happened, Mr. Schuester?" Rachel asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
Will smiled and then continued, "as you all know, after the incident with Terri, Principal Figgins made Ms. Sue Sylvester co-director of the Glee Club," he stated and seeing the nods, he went on, "well, what you may not realize is Sue has been trying to destroy the Glee Club since the day I took it over. Remember a few weeks before Sectionals, the two schools we were against came and we got to see everyone preform? Sue had demanded to have a set-list for Sectionals, so I gave her one, but I told her we were singing 'Don't Stop Believing' and 'Last Name,' which is why I told you guys we couldn't do those songs at Sectionals. I had a funny feeling about giving her the set-list, and I was right. She gave our competition the songs we were doing, in hopes they would use them in their performances, so when we went last, it would look like we copied them. This being said, neither school used our songs, but Grace Hitchens, director for the Jane Adams Academy, reported Sue to the Show Choir board and got her banned from competition; she can no longer be part of Glee Club. Principal Figgins was contacted this week and was told the news. He pulled Sue and I into his office on Friday," Will paused in his monologue to make sure all the kids were getting what he was saying.
"Get on with it, Mr. Schuester, please," Kurt said, leaning forward, like a kid, waiting for the rest of a story to be told.
Will sighed, "Principal Figgins assumed I was always in the wrong when something came up. No matter how many times I defended myself; he always took Sue's side. I tried to tell him something was up, but he didn't believe me because the Cheerios have been winning and bringing light to the school, but when he got the call, he realized I was right all along. When he talked to us Friday, Sue denied giving the set-list away, even though Grace has it on Cheerios letterhead in Sue's handwriting. She cheated in a big way and she finally got caught. She has been removed as Coach of the Cheerios and suspended from the school for an undetermined length of time," he finally finished.
"What?" Brittany, Santana and Quinn exclaimed. "But we have Nationals in January!" Brittany cried.
"We know," Emma nodded, "and Will, myself and Principal Figgins are looking for a staff member to take the coaching position so you girls can go."
"Unfortunately we don't have anyone working at the school right now, willing or able to do it," Will explained.
"Why are you telling all of us this?" Matt asked, "I mean, sure Santana and Brittany are Cheerios and are part of the Glee Club, but now that Sue is gone we can do what we want, right? So this is a good thing," he commented.
"Speak for yourself, Matt!" Santana exclaimed through the phone.
"It's good for Glee, but not for our friends who are also Cheerios," Rachel replied.
Will sighed, "I know this doesn't pertain to most of you, but you all needed to know about what Sue did against the club," Will explained. "But, I have spoken to someone about a job at school that still hasn't been filled and is very worth the move into it."
"What does a job at school have to do with the Cheerios?" Finn asked.
"A coach is not much different than a faculty advisor for a club. One difference is usually a coach has played that sport or been involved before, where a faculty advisor may not know much about the club, but sees it through. There is one person, in this room, who can fill the job and temporarily take over Cheerios, if they are willing, and with Quinn's help, could make sure the Cheerios are ready to go to Nationals in a few weeks," Will stated.
"Well, what job is it?" Kurt asked.
Will was about to speak, but it was Puck who caught on quickly, "Mrs. Lancaster never came back after she got hurt," Puck knew the school nurse pretty well and when she got hurt, she never came back to school. The school nurse position hadn't been filed since, except briefly by Terri. He turned to his mom, "he asked you didn't he? You've got the dance experience from when you were in Glee and you could fill the nurses position," he said, already knowing the answer.
"He called me at work on Saturday," Deborah nodded, "I told him it was a big decision and would have to talk to you first, but yeah."
"I told her she should take it," Brad chimed in.
"Wait a second, you knew, dad?" Brittany asked.
Brad nodded, "Will had asked Deborah to keep it quiet until he had a chance to tell you all, but she spoke with me about it after they talked, considering that I'm technically her boss and also a friend."
"Well, someone better figure out who's going to be coach, because the Cheerios need to go to Nationals," Santana commented, "and I've got to go, so just let me know," she added, hanging up the phone before anyone could respond to her, all knowing she was pissed.
Brittany put her phone away and sat back a little, "well, what are you going to do?" She asked Deborah.
"I guess that's up to my son," Deborah commented, "I want to help out, but going from being a clinical and ER nurse to a school nurse is a big change, but the pay is a little better, the schedule will be more normal, but that means he'll have to deal with me at school."
Seeing as the conversation had gone to a topic that didn't pertain to some of them, a few of the kids and parents left the den, leaving the rest to continue their discussion.
"Noah, say something," Rachel said softly, squeezing his hand.
Puck had gone silent, his mind trying to weigh the options they had. He knew the Cheerios needed a coach and if the pay was better for her to work full-time as the school nurse, she should take it. Hearing Rachel's voice, he glanced at her and then turned his head to his mom, "you did always wish you had a normal schedule so you could spend more time with Arin and I," he said softly, "I guess I'm for it, if you can get the job."
Deborah's eyes widened in shock, surprised he wasn't putting up a fight about it, "are you sure?" She asked, almost disbelieving.
He nodded, "if you think it's worth a change, then yeah. You've always done what you thought was best for Arin and I, so I don't think this would be any different. You've worked at the hospital for so long, I would hate to see you loose everything, but if you think it's best, do it," he told her. He was nervous and was sure he would get teased when the kids at school realized she was his mom, but he didn't care. He had other things in his life to worry about that were larger than her job choice.
"Excellent, I'll call Figgins in the morning and tell him. Debbie Marie back at McKinley," he grinned.
Puck raised an eyebrow at his mom, "Debbie Marie?"
Deborah's cheeks flushed, "I haven't been called that since I graduated, but yeah, I was called that in school. There was another Deborah in my grade and we always got mixed up because they called us both Debbie so I started going by Debbie Marie," she explained laughing a little.
"Well, at least you didn't go by Puck," he smirked, standing up, "we done?" He asked.
At Will's nod, the final students left the den to return to their friends. The party had started around one in the afternoon and was only going until about five or six. Originally the Berry's party was going to be in the evening, but given that snow was in the forecast for the area, they chose to do an earlier party to let everyone get home in case it did come.
As it got later in the evening, guests began filter out until those who were left were the New Directions members and their siblings, while their parents kicked back in the den.
"Thank you all for coming today," Rachel said looking around, "it means a lot to me."
"I had fun," Mercedes grinned.
Tina wanted to admit she had fun, because she did enjoy being around her friends, but she did miss her boyfriend. It also made it worse when the couples in the room got all smoochy, especially when Brittany and Mike started kissing. It has taken the members of New Directions a few weeks to realize that Tina and Mike shared the same last name; it wasn't until she came to school with him one day that they realized they were siblings. When Tina was born, their mom wanted her to share her maiden name, so they named her Tina Cohen-Chang. "Thanks for inviting us," Tina replied, "though I wish Artie could have been here," she added.
Mike laughed, "you're just jealous 'cause you didn't have someone to be kissing all night," he commented, getting a glare from his sister and an elbow in the stomach from Brittany.
A ringing echoed through the room, startling everyone. They all began to look for their phones, until Puck said, "it's me," and tugged his phone from his pocket. Glancing at the number on the screen. If it had been someone he had in his phone already, the name would come up, but curiosity got him, so he flipped it open, "hello?" He answered hearing someone on the other end, but they didn't speak, so he repeated his greeting one more time and added, "look if this is some prank, I'm not in the mood."
"It's not a prank, Noah." The deep voice on the other end startled Puck, especially when he was called by his real name; he only allowed a few people to call him that, so whoever it was knew him by name.
"Who the fuck is this?" Puck snapped pulling away from Rachel to sit forward on the couch anxiously.
The line was silent for a long moment before the caller spoke again, "you sound just like me, son," the man said calmly.
Rachel sat forward as Puck had, watching the color drain from his face as he listened to the caller and she immediately glanced at Finn, who had a clear view of Puck.
"You don't have a son, Ethan! You left him, remember?" Puck hissed his hand gripping the phone so hard that his knuckles were turning white.
Rachel rested her hand on Puck's knee, hoping to help calm him down. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she watched Finn lean towards Arin and say something to her. Arin's eyes widened and she took off quickly in the direction of the den. At the words 'son' and 'left him' Rachel realized the caller was his father.
"Or should I refresh your memory about leaving a six year old son and an unborn daughter?" Puck's words silenced everyone in the room, all of them confused or scared at just what was happening.
Finn lowered his head and rubbed his hands over his face before standing up and moving towards his friend, just as Arin appeared with Deborah in tow, "what is going on?" Deborah asked.
Finn looked up to her, "it's Ethan," he said calmly reaching for the phone.
Deborah's eyes widened at the name and she moved quickly around the couch to her son's side, both her and Finn trying to pry the phone from his hand. With success, Deborah disappeared into another room with the phone, while Finn silently grabbed a frozen Puck and tugged him towards the front door, ignoring the odd looks and confused faces of their friends.
Arin sat down next to Rachel, who was also stunned silent, "Finn knew Noah in kindergarten when our dad left," she explained. "I was born just after Noah turned seven and he and Finn started first grade just after that."
"Was what he said true?" Quinn asked, her hand resting against her stomach.
Arin nodded, but it was Rachel who spoke, "now you see why Noah was so determined to be a part of his unborn daughter's life," Rachel said softly tugging Arin into her arms, glancing at Quinn, who just nodded sadly.
"I'm fine," Arin said with a shrug, but accepted the hug from Rachel.
"I'm glad you are, because I'm not," Rachel whispered softly.
The roar of an engine outside caused Rachel to jump up, rushing to the window in time to see Puck's jeep speeding down to the end of the road. Her stomach tied in knots, but a beep from within the room caught her attention and when she saw Quinn pull out her phone, she got hopeful. Quinn scanned the screen before speaking "Finn says, 'be back in a while. Puck promises not to drive us off a cliff.' That's not very comforting," Quinn murmured glancing up at Rachel.
"Okay, what just happened here?" Mercedes asked.
"Well that's obvious," Kurt commented, "Puck's father, who he hates, called him out of the blue which brought all the hate to the surface that he's probably held in for a long time," Kurt explained.
Arin nodded, "yeah. He's a stranger to me, but my brother really hates him."
"But why did he leave here?" Rachel asked, "and with Finn?" She wasn't asking Arin specifically, but Arin was really the only one who knew this part of Noah.
"He probably didn't want to get worked up in front of you," Mike said, "I'd do the same thing."
"Finn and Noah have been friends since before dad left, so Finn knows where everything came from and Finn doesn't have a dad either," Arin added.
Rachel bit her lip and nodded, worried and scared for what her boyfriend was doing.
Finn sat in the passenger seat of his best friends jeep, silently watching the town race by at a speed definitely over the limit. After sending a text to Quinn to let her know they were fine, he put his phone on vibrate and allowed his friend to take him wherever, knowing Puck needed to get the anger out somehow.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Finn finally asked.
"Not really," Puck muttered, "how the fuck did he get my number? What the fuck is he doing calling?" He snapped.
"Maybe if we hadn't left you'd know," Finn commented softly.
Puck didn't respond to Finn, other than to accelerate the jeep towards the highway; further away from Rachel's house.
Watching his friend break several traffic laws, Finn realized now what Puck meant about not wanting to be his father. "Ethan left Deborah when she was pregnant with Arin; it's no different than if Quinn had let their baby go without Puck having a chance to know her; it all makes sense now," Finn thought as the events of the past month clicked into place. "You're not him. You're better than that," Finn said.
Puck didn't acknowledge he heard Finn until he shrugged, "only because of Rachel."
"Yes, that may be true, but Puck, you raised your sister; you're not just her brother, you're also her father in someways."
Glancing at his friend, Puck shrugged again, "yeah, but if it wasn't for Rachel, Quinn and I probably wouldn't be on speaking terms right now."
"I'll be the first to admit that Quinn is stubborn and pigheaded, but she's letting down her guard, just like you are. You keep saying that we can't let the past run our lives; if they did, we wouldn't be here, but now look at you," Finn glanced at the speedometer and sat back in his seat, "you're driving eighty in a sixty and are pissed at your father for calling. Dude, snap out of this." They were just on the outskirts of Cairo, Ohio, a town just a few miles north of Lima, and Finn was beginning to get concerned, "Puck!" Not seeing Puck react, Finn took a different approach, "just be lucky your father is still alive," he snapped, determined to break through to him somehow.
Puck had been concentrating on the road ahead, ignoring the lights of Cairo as they passed, but as Finn's words hit him, he glanced at his friend. The jeep swerved on the icy road and Puck had to slow down carefully so he didn't loose control, finally coming to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. His breathing was heavy and he rubbed his hands over his face several times before even looking at his friend, "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? I'm not. My dad died fighting for our country and for that I'm proud, but you're lucky your father can call and say hi, I don't get that luxury," Finn said softly.
Staring at the wheel, Puck felt the tears in his eyes for the first time and he quickly wiped them away, "he was dead to me. I had pushed everything I felt about him away because as far as I was concerned, he was dead, but hearing him call me 'Noah' and then 'son' just broke open the dam. He gave up the right to call me those over ten years ago," he whispered.
"Yeah he did," Finn nodded in agreement, "I don't know why he called, maybe he had a good reason. I'm not Ms. Pillsbury, but don't you think doing this," he motioned to the empty road and the jeep, "is just running away from your problem? I mean, when we talked in her office about the baby issue, it seemed to help, even if it was a fresh wound; with this... You do personally know a psychologist, who I'm sure would be happy to talk to you."
Tears fell from Puck's eyes as he stared at Finn; shocked that he was being the voice of reason.
"You've got to deal with this and talk to someone; not break every other traffic law in the book and take off from your girlfriend's Christmas party just because you're mad. I'll be there for you, dude, just like I was when this all started, but you can't bottle this up any longer. Ten years is a long time to hold this in," Finn added calmly.
"I can't let them see me like this," Puck said finally letting go; the tears falling as his shoulders began to shake.
Finn rested a hand on his friend's shoulder, but let him cry, knowing this is what he needed all along; a chance to let go without worrying about what someone thought of him. "It's going to be okay," Finn whispered.
Clenching his eyes shut, he tried to stop the tears, but the dam was already broken, his emotions rushing out with every sob and tear.
Someone once told him that music heals the soul, so Finn reached in the backseat and got Puck's binder of CDs and flipped through them looking for a specific album he knew he had. Finding the disc, he slid it into the CD player and skipped to the fifth track, letting the beat of the drum and electric guitar fill the jeep.
As soon as the words came out of the speakers, Puck smirked, wiping his eyes and leaning back in his seat to listen to the lyrics from Good Charlotte.
"I don't know too much about, too much of my old man, I know he walked right out the door, we never saw him again. Last I heard he was at the bar, doing himself in. I know I got that same disease, I got stuck with that from him. This is the story of my old man, just like his father before him, I'm telling you do anything you can, so you don't end just like them, like them... Monday he woke up and hated life, drank until Wednesday and left his wife. Thursday through Saturday he lost everything, woke up on Sunday miserable again. I remember baseball games and working on the car. He told me that he loved me and that I would go far. Showed me how to work hard and stick up for myself. I wish he wasn't too hard to listen to himself."
Before the chorus repeated, Puck reached forward and turned the stereo off, "alright, I get it," he laughed, wiping his eyes again.
Finn smirked, "good. Now I'm sure your girlfriend would like you to come back, so can we go back?"
Puck nodded and turned his jeep around, heading back to Lima at a more legal speed, giving himself a chance to relax. He glanced at his face in the rear-view mirror and his eyes were red, "damn, I look like Quinn after one of her hormonal moments," he sighed.
"Who cares? They've seen you in worse shape before, no thanks to me," Finn commented.
Shrugging, Puck turned the stereo back on and skipped to the second to last song on the same album. "I know how to play this on the guitar," Puck commented softly as the words came through.
Finn silently nodded, knowing the song just as well as the other, "you should sing it when we get back. This is perfect to explain to everyone how you feel," Finn whispered.
Aside from the music, the two were silent the rest of the way back to Rachel's. Puck was contemplating what Finn had told him, and as much as he hated being the center of attention, Finn was right. He felt better when he was listening to music, playing his guitar or singing, so he mentally agreed when he got back, he'd get his guitar and sing that song.
Pulling up to Rachel's, the boys got out of his jeep and were heading up the walkway when the door opened and Rachel rushed out, running right to Puck. She jumped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as if they'd been apart for weeks. "Noah! Don't ever do that again! You scared me half to death!" She was whispering, but her tone was harsh.
Puck closed his eyes and even if she was a few inches off the ground at the moment, his arms held her tight against him, "I'm sorry," he replied in a whisper, "I couldn't let you guys see me loose it," he added, carefully setting her back down.
Looking up at him, she saw his eyes and reached up, resting her hands against his cheeks, "Noah, everyone is worried about you. You didn't need to leave, we all are here for you," she whispered, "I'm here for you," she added.
He nodded, "yeah, I... I get that now... Look, give me like five minutes and I'll let you guys see what I'm feeling right now," he said softly, pressing a loving kiss against her lips.
As they pulled away, she stood for a moment, "alright," she replied, giving in.
"Just get everyone in the living room," he said gently, taking her hand and heading up to the door.
Going inside, Puck silently climbed the stairs, ignoring everyone's concerned comments or questions. He slid into the bathroom and threw some cool water on his face, hoping to take some of the color from his eyes, but they were still pretty red. With a sigh, he dried his face and headed for his room, grabbing his guitar and then headed downstairs finding the adults scattered around the room with everyone else. "Hi," he started, moving towards an empty chair, "I'm sure you guys are wondering what happened and in this room, Finn is probably the only one who knows how I feel, but for those of you who don't, there's a song that Benji and Joel Madden wrote that pretty much sums it up," he commented softly, settling the guitar on his knee and began strumming the chords to the song he and Finn had just listened to; 'Emotionless' by Good Charlotte. "Hey Dad, I'm writing to you. Not to tell you that I still hate you. Just to ask you how you feel and how we fell apart, how this fell apart. Are you happy out there in this great wide world? Do you think about your sons?" His eyes landed on his sister across the room, "do you miss your little girl? When you lay your head down, how do you sleep at night? Do you even wonder if we're alright? But we're alright, we're alright."
He thought he was past the crying, but he felt the tears sting his eyes again. He didn't hold back as he continued with the chorus, "its been a long hard road without you by my side. Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried?" He met his mom's eyes, "you broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life. It's not okay, but we're alright. I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes, but those are just a long lost memory of mine. I spent so many years learning how to survive, now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive." As he finished the first chorus, he knew the tears were falling, but he pushed on, knowing he was laying everything out on the table. "The days I spent so cold, so hungry, were full of hate, I was so angry. The scars run deep inside this (teenage) body, there's things I'll take to my grave, but I'm okay, I'm okay."
He looked over to Finn and nodded towards the guitar and Finn got the hint, quickly joining in to sing with him, "its been a long hard road without you by my side. Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried? You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life. It's not okay, but we're alright. I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes, but those are just a long lost memory of mine. Now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive, and I'm still alive," Finn paused, allowing Puck to finish the next line, "and sometimes I forget, yeah, and this time, I'll admit, that I miss you, said I miss you."
Finn and Puck joined in on the repeat of the chorus, "its been a long hard road without you by my side. Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried? You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life. It's not okay, but we're alright. I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes, but those are just a long lost memory of mine, now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive." Finn stopped again, giving the last lines to Puck, "and sometimes I forget, and this time, I'll admit, that I miss you, I miss you... Hey Dad..."
As he finished singing and the last chord echoed, he looked around and could tell there wasn't a dry eye in the room; everyone was wiping their tears away and clapping as Deborah moved towards him. Seeing his mom, he stood up and she pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly, "I love you," she whispered through her own tears.
He blinked his eyes a few times, "I love you, too, mom. I'm sorry I left, but I couldn't-"
"I know," she said, pulling away to look at him, "and when things settle down, we can talk," she added softly.
He lifted a hand to wipe his eyes, then reached to her, wiping her own away, "alright," he nodded. He pulled her into his arms again, tightening his grip for a moment before pulling away and turning to pick up his sister, "I love you, Arin," he murmured in her ear as her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Noah, you're the best brother, ever," she replied quietly, "I love you, too," she added.
Hearing her say that, he smiled as he set her down. She returned his smile and moved over to his mom, giving Puck the opportunity to go over to his girlfriend and wrap his arms around her. He didn't say anything, just held her, and he felt her hands rubbing his back.
She looked up at him, "that was beautiful, Noah," she whispered, smiling at him.
"Thanks," he smiled back before turning to the rest of their friends.
Everyone wanted him to know they were there for him, so they all gathered around him and Rachel. Tina and Mercedes were the closest so they gave him a big hug and stepped aside allowing Brittany to hug him, and then he got handshakes from Matt, Mike and Kurt, before Quinn moved forward, wrapping her arms around his body, giving him a tighter and longer hug than anyone else had, but when she pulled away, she looked at him, "you're going to be a great dad," she smiled, "without a doubt."
He nodded at her with a bright smile on his face, "thanks Quinn," he replied.
Finn moved forward and gave his brother a big hug, neither needing to say anything; it was an unspoken conversation only the two understood.
The adults in the room moved towards the group of kids that had converged in the center, Carole was the next to hug Puck, then he shared handshakes with Burt and Brad before they stepped aside and David and Alan both gave him a hug, before finally Will reached him, shaking his hand, "well, I don't know about the rest of them, but I certainly think this could be our ballad for Regionals," he commented, "if you're up for it."
"What? As in to preform it in front of people?" Puck narrowed his gaze to his teacher.
Will nodded, "yeah, I'll have to see if we can use it, but I'm sure we can as long as I can find the sheet music. I really think the guys could pull this off with you singing lead," he told him, looking around at the rest of the guys, "what do you think?"
Mike, Kurt and Matt nodded in agreement, "I believe we could come up with something," Kurt admitted.
Will turned to Finn and Puck who were exchanging glances, "well?"
"Um, I'm in if Puck is," Finn replied.
Puck sighed, but nodded, "yeah, I'll do it," he agreed.
"Great, I'll get to work on finding the music," Will smiled.
Through all the emotions of the past couple hours, no one seemed to notice the snow coming down outside, until Matt pointed it out. With groans around the room, most of the guests began to gather up their coats, wanting to get home before the snow got worse. As most everyone was gone, the only ones who were left were the usual few, Quinn, Finn, Carole, Arin, Deborah, Puck, Rachel, Alan and David.
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A/N4: Sorry to end so abruptly, but I wanted to get something posted for you all to read. I promise 'Part 21' is only a couple days away.
A/N5: This part was pretty emotional for me. I really didn't expect half of what happened, but I went with it and I really would like to know what you think. Some of the topics now involved are taken from my real life, so it's more personal and I know how kids feel when this happens, so I've been there (with a friend who dealt with the same thing as Puck).
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Music: 'The Story of My Old Man' and 'Emotionless' both by Good Charlotte on their "The Young and the Hopeless' album. During 'Emotionless' there is a word I changed; it's supposed to be "tattooed," but since Puck doesn't have tattoos (that we know of and you can't get them until you're 18) I changed it to "teenage," which makes sense since he's a teenager.
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A/N6: I hadn't planned on bringing Puck's dad into the story, but something told me I needed to do it, and I think what I've got planned will be interesting.
A/N7: About the school nurse: in 1x06: Vitamin D, Sue talks to Terri about Mrs. Lancaster, the school nurse, getting hurt. On the Cheerios going to Nationals: in the end of 1x13: Sectionals, Sue mentions she needs the Cheerios to be ready to go to Nationals in 'a few weeks' in Albuquerque.
A/N8: Names: I gave Deborah the middle name of Marie... According to IMDB, Finn's mom is named Carole Hudson, though I do not think it was clearly mentioned in the show... And Puck's father's name is Ethan. Deborah never changed her last name when she married him, and both Arin and Puck have her maiden last name, Puckerman. (At least in my story.)