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: 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: Feedback keeps me writing, so keep it coming :D
...
Puck woke to feeling small hands on his shoulder, shaking him. Opening his eyes, he shifted slightly to see his sister standing next to the bed. Carefully moving to sit up without waking Rachel, he looked at her, "Arin, what's wrong?"
"I'm not fine," she said and in the dim light of the room, he could see her tears.
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, "I didn't think you were," he whispered, "come on," he replied gently getting up and slipped an arm around her shoulders, grabbing his discarded hoodie from the night before and guided her back downstairs. Pausing a moment, he put on the hoodie, sat down on the couch and tugged her into his lap, "alright, talk to me. Did you have a bad dream?" He asked genuinely concerned.
She nodded, "yeah," she replied curling up to him.
"You want to tell me what it was about?" He reached for her open sleeping bag and threw it over her, since he had his hoodie and then grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and threw it over his legs so his feet wouldn't get cold.
"Dad and Quinn died and Terri stole Abigail," she cried. "I thought I was okay, but I had a bad dream and I can't stop thinking about it," she explained through tears.
Puck tightened his grip on her for a moment, "I know, kiddo, I know how you feel," he admitted, rubbing her back gently, "but they are safe and Abigail is, too," he promised.
"But it could have happened," she buried her head in his chest holding onto him tightly.
"It could have, but it didn't," he told her, "you want to know something? I had the same dream the first night I heard about what happened."
She looked up at him shocked, "you did?"
"Yeah, just the thought of loosing dad, Abigail and Quinn, hurt and scared me so much."
"What did you do to forget?"
"I didn't," he admitted, "but I did keep telling myself that I needed to believe they were going to be okay."
"How?"
Puck bit his lip, "well, bad things happen a lot, but if you just believe they'll work out, a lot of times they do. Not all the time, but sometimes," he sighed, "just listen okay?" He asked softly, knowing he couldn't explain as well as the song could. At her agreement, he took a deep breath and gave in, lightly singing the song they'd preformed and he'd said to his girlfriend, mom and Finn a few times while they were gone, "many nights we've prayed, with no proof anyone could hear. In our hearts a hopeful song, we barely understood. Now we are not afraid. Although we know there's much to fear. We were moving mountains long before we knew we could. There can be miracles, when you believe. Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve. When you believe, somehow you will. You will when you believe..." Before he got to halfway through, he realized she was asleep in his arms, "figures," he laughed a little, but gently kicked back and closed his own eyes, letting himself drift off to sleep.
Waking up to an empty bed next to her, Rachel looked to see it was after eight in the morning and she was surprised to find her boyfriend was already gone. Feeling where he'd been, she realized it was cold and the blankets were thrown off as if he'd gotten up in a hurry, which worried her, so she quickly got up left her room, realizing the door was open. Padding downstairs, she stopped to see not only Finn and Quinn, but Ethan and Deborah staring into the living room. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Ethan held his hand up to his mouth, "shhh, don't wake them up," he said as a flash went off and she realized Deborah was taking a picture of something.
Moving further in, she grinned, "aww," she murmured, seeing her boyfriend kicked back on the couch with his sister in his arms, both of them asleep with her pink and purple sleeping bag over her and his upper body and the couch blanket thrown over his legs. She couldn't help it and moved to her tote bag she'd used as a carry on and dug out her camera and quickly turned it on and got a few shots in before they woke up.
"I've known him a long time and that's not something I'm used to," Finn admitted softly.
Deborah smiled, "Noah is a big cuddly teddy bear when he wants to be. He's gonna be a great dad."
Ethan sighed, "no thanks to me," he admitted.
"Don't beat yourself up," Deborah slipped her arm around his waist and guided him into the kitchen, "actually it is thanks to you," she told him, "if you hadn't left, he wouldn't have helped raise her; he's been dad to Arin since she was born."
Rachel, Finn and Quinn followed them into the kitchen; Deborah and Ethan were up for the day and it looked as if Quinn and Finn had just gotten up, going for coffee or breakfast. Rachel excused herself to go take a quick shower and met her dads coming out of their room. She mentioned the cute sight in the living room before she went into her room and got ready for the day, returning to everyone about thirty minutes later to find Arin and Puck also awake and sitting with them.
"Rachel, Ethan and I were just mentioning to everyone that we want to have a little talk about some stuff before we all head home or go to out for the day," Deborah said.
"About the wedding?" Rachel asked with a grin.
"Yes, that's part of it," she admitted.
Puck was in the middle of making breakfast so once he was done, everyone sat down at the island or in the dinning room to eat.
As the kids finished breakfast, they headed upstairs to get dressed or shower. Quinn and Finn used the hallway shower, while Arin and her brother fought over Rachel's until Puck gave in and let her shower first. Once she and Quinn were done, the boys showered and it was a little over an hour before the entire family was able to sit down in the living room.
"The main reason why we wanted to talk you all is because Ethan and I have some news, but first I wanted to ask," Deborah looked at Puck and Rachel, "have you two thought any more about your futures?" She asked.
"What do you mean? We're staying together," Puck commented.
"I know that," Deborah laughed a little, "I mean about what you're doing after high school."
"I've chosen to stay here in Lima and go to school at the OSU campus here," Rachel said, "their vocal and dance programs are at this campus," she added.
Deborah nodded, "what about you, Noah?"
Puck glanced at his sister and then took his girlfriends hand, "I'm not going to keep bouncing around with it anymore, I'm joining the Navy," he told them.
"What?" Quinn's mouth fell open, having not been around for the last few conversations they'd had about it.
Puck nodded, "yeah, can't afford to go to school and don't have the grades to get in with a full ride. Can't work at Burt's and take care of a family on that paycheck," he replied, "so it's been a thought for a while, but I've made up my mind; I'm joining."
"Wow, okay," Quinn nodded.
Finn was just as shocked, but shrugged, "more power to you, dude. I couldn't handle being gone for so long."
"Same here, but I'll have to deal. Rachel's going to continue to live here with Abigail so they can still be around family and friends and I'll come home when I can. It's not like I'm going to join and be in there forever. It'll be just a few years to get some experience or a job skill and come home," he shrugged.
"So you're for sure staying here," Deborah asked Rachel.
Rachel nodded, "yeah, we'll stay in Lima."
"David, Alan, what would you two think if Rachel moved into our house after Abigail is born?" Deborah asked softly.
"Huh?" Alan was caught off guard by the question and David's eyes widened.
"Sorry," Deborah laughed, "I caught you guys off guard, but we've all agreed that Abigail needed one place to call home and not be bounced between two places just so Noah could stay here one night and at home the next. He doesn't want to leave the house he grew up in, so he chose our house as Abigail's. Rachel's going to be around a lot, so we figured she'd want to move in and are offering, as long as you two are alright with it," she explained.
"Oh, it's not that you caught us of guard with the question," Alan admitted, "we just didn't expect you two to bring it up. We've already discussed that and figured she'd be spending most of her time over there, so Rachel, you're welcome to do that, as long as you promise to keep your grades up and remember that you're still under age, so you need to keep us in the loop with what you're doing, since you're a minor. We don't mind you living there, but technically your address will remain here," Alan said.
"And we'll pay for college like we promised," David added.
Rachel was floored at the request and her fathers' response, but smiled, "really? I can?" She asked and at their nods she jumped up and went over to hug her dads before returning to sit next to her boyfriend.
Ethan and Deborah smiled at each other. "The reason why we're asking is because Deborah and I have chosen to purchase the house across the street from ours and we wanted to make sure you two were still planning to remain here in Lima, because I'm going to spend my time on updating and fixing it so Deborah, Arin and I can move in, giving Rachel, Noah and Abigail the house we're in now, but we'll keep it in our name until you guys officially graduate from high school and are married," Ethan explained.
Everyone gasped and Rachel looked at them, "you're giving us the house?"
"What?" Puck's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"
Deborah nodded, "yeah, we are. It's paid off, thanks my mom before she died, so yeah, you grew up in it and want to stay here, so why not?"
Puck eyed the suspiciously, leaning forward, "what's the catch?" He asked curiously.
"There isn't really a catch," Ethan admitted, "other than I'd like to have the master bedroom, master bath, bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen done before we move in and I'd like it done before August, so I'm gonna need some help. I figured you guys will help, but we may need a few more hands, so I was gonna see if you wanted to ask the guys from the club if they wanted to help out. After those are done, I also want to update our master bedroom and bathroom before you and Rachel move into it," he told his son.
"So, considering that I'd be helping you anyway, you guys are still giving us the house?" Puck asked a little shocked.
"Yes, Noah, we're giving you the house," Deborah replied. "As long as Arin's alright with moving," she added.
Arin shrugged, "it's the same street so we're not moving far away, right?" She asked.
"Right," Ethan nodded.
"Then I'm okay with it," she smiled.
"I have a question though," Puck said, "um, Rachel and I aren't even out of high school, is that even possible?" Looking at Alan for an answer, since he was the lawyer.
"Yes and no. You'll be eighteen in August, so it won't affect you, but Rachel will still be a minor until September two-thousand-eleven, so she really shouldn't be living away from us, but you two are going to be parents, so it would make sense that you live together. Like I said earlier, as long as her address remains ours, she keeps her grades up and keeps us up-to-date with everything, we don't have an issue with her living there. Besides, you guys live less than a mile from here," Alan laughed a little, "so we'll be seeing you a lot. The school can't really say anything about it either, since we're giving our children permission for it and Deborah and Ethan are keeping their name on the house, so it's still theirs," he explained. "And your room will always be yours, Rachel, so you don't have to move out completely, but I'm sure you'll want to move the stuff you use on the a daily basis."
Puck nodded and rubbed his face, "wow, you guys are really giving us the house?" He kept asking because he thought was dreaming. At their nods, he sat back, "wow. Talk about major."
Rachel nodded squeezing his hand, "yeah, major is a good word for it," she admitted.
Deborah and Ethan smiled, "we're getting married in the middle of July and the job I'm going to be taking here is with the Lima Police Department, but the person I'm replacing isn't retiring until July and I mentioned we're getting married then, so the supervisor is okay that don't start until August," Ethan explained, "that's why we need to have as much of the house done as possible before then; I won't have as much free time to do it. I have to be out of the house I'm in up in Detroit at the end of this month because it's sold and will be finalized on the last day, but I'll still have to stay up there until all my paperwork and transfer is complete, which could be a month or more, so I'm just gonna stay in a hotel while I finish up there."
"Where are you going to put all your stuff?" Puck asked.
"Drive a U-Haul down here to drop stuff off; most of it can go in the garage until we need it in the new house," Ethan said, "and it could be the end of May before we get it officially."
"Now I see why you need extra hands, that's less than two months to get it done," Puck nodded.
"Yeah, plus getting things set up for the wedding in July and help you guys figure out who's going to babysit Abigail while you're in school," Ethan said.
"Actually," Quinn spoke up, "I figured I'd be taking care of her, at least until the end of this school year, considering I'll be nursing," she admitted. "As soon as I have her, I won't be able to go to school, but my teachers are going to let me finish my classes as long as someone can drop my work off, so I was going to offer it."
"You'd be willing to nurse?" Puck asked glancing at her.
Quinn nodded, "yeah, actually Rachel and I have talked about it. It's important for a baby to nurse and all I'll be doing is homework and taking it easy, so why not?"
Deborah smiled, "thanks Quinn, I was going to suggest it, but I didn't want you to feel obligated, considering the situation."
Quinn shrugged, "I'm pregnant with her, so I can nurse her, just not going to be her mom; just her aunt, nothing more."
"Thanks," Puck smiled at her, "for doing that," he admitted.
She nodded at him, "you're welcome."
"Speaking of babies," Deborah blushed.
Puck groaned, "oh please don't tell me you're pregnant," he begged.
"No, but we're thinking about trying for another one after we get married," Deborah replied.
"So I could have a baby brother or sister?" Arin asked, "awesome!"
Puck glared at his sister and then turned to his parents, "do you realize that if you do have another one, I'll be almost nineteen before they're born, so when they're twenty I'll be pushing forty?"
"Yes, we know that, and we'll be in our late fifties, but it's kind of our last shot; I don't know how many more years I'll be able to have children," Deborah admitted. "The two times he's proposed to me has been on Valentine's Day and we're getting married on our anniversary," she started.
Rachel caught on, "so having another child will bring things full circle. That's a great idea," she smiled, "though Abigail will have an aunt or uncle younger than her."
The two nodded and looked at Puck, knowing Arin had already approved, they were just waiting on him to say something. Puck thought for a long moment, knowing they were asking for his blessing. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I had another sibling," he admitted, with a long sigh, "this one wasn't too difficult," he motioned to Arin. "Can I request a brother, though?"
"Me too! I already have sisters," Arin said looking at Rachel and Quinn.
Both girls smiled, "thanks Arin," Rachel replied.
Quinn's 'thanks' was cut off by Finn, "what am I? Chopped liver?" He asked with a pout.
Everyone laughed, "no, you're the same age as me, so it doesn't count the same. You're still my brother," Puck commented. "And you'll have a little brother running around, too," he added.
"Oh yeah, good point," Finn grinned.
"Before you guys talk kids, shouldn't you be discussing a wedding?" Quinn asked.
Deborah and Ethan exchanged looks, "kind of," Deborah admitted.
"Why kind of?" Rachel questioned.
"We're not going to do the whole marriage like normal. We've already figured out what we're going to do. Get the license during the week, then that morning we'll go to the justice of the peace and sign the papers with a few friends as witnesses. That afternoon, we'll have a big reception somewhere and when we get there, we'd like to have Noah say something and that's when we'll exchange rings, so everyone can see," Deborah explained.
"Me? What am I supposed to say?" Puck's eyes widened.
"We'll come up with something," Rachel patted his knee with a smile, her and Quinn exchanging glances that were a silent conversation about plans. "What are you guys doing for rings?"
"Ethan proposed to me with the engagement ring he gave me the first time, and when we got married we went with gold bands and he's worn them since we split," Deborah started.
"And I don't want to take them off, so we're going with what we wanted to do when we first got married; Claddagh rings. They were harder to find back in the early nineties, but now are easier, so we're going to get them," Ethan continued.
"Once we exchange rings, I'll give him back the engagement ring and he can continue to wear the rings like he has and we'll have the other ones," Deborah finished.
"What is a Claddagh ring?" Quinn asked.
"It's an Irish ring that's given for many things, usually for love, friendship or as wedding rings. It has two hands, holding a heart and usually there is a grown on top of the heart. Depending on how you wear it means something different," Puck explained.
Ethan narrowed his eyes at his son, "how did you know?" He asked curiously.
"You're stealing my idea," Puck muttered, "but it's cool. Not like I'm the only one who wants to wear them as wedding rings."
Rachel turned her head to her boyfriend, "you're already looking at rings?"
"Looked," he clarified, "and made my mind up on your engagement ring and our wedding rings back in December when I got these," he admitted, lifting up his left hand to show the band on his hand. "And no, I'm not going to tell you what it's going to be," he added slyly.
"Um, since we're all here," Quinn started, glancing around the room and waited a moment for everyone to look at her, "while Ethan and I were, um, not here, we had a chance to talk and he told me what his parents did and I can relate. I also kind of feel the same way and I told him something and then mentioned it to David and Alan yesterday. I want to let the rest of you know," Quinn explained, "I'm never going to move back in with my parents. I would like to talk to my mom, but I probably will never talk to my dad again. My sister and I have discussed it and we've decided that we're going to tell our parents that I gave the baby away in a closed adoption so they can't look for her, and I'm also not going to tell them who the father is," she explained. "They don't know who Puck is and I want to keep it that way, so they don't see him in the store with Abigail and wonder. I know we're friends, but I won't let her meet Puck or Rachel, not because I'm ashamed of any of you, I just don't want them to know you just in case of Abigail. For now I'll stay here, but after she's born, I'll spend the days with Abigail and then either come here or stay at Finn's," she replied.
"Wow, you've got it figured out," Finn commented.
She shrugged, "it's not that far off and I had a lot of time on my hands recently," she admitted.
"It's a good plan," Deborah said, "and will help out for school until June," she added.
"I can't believe it's less than six weeks away," Puck said softly, "or less depending on when she actually gets here."
"Yeah, it's not far off. She will be here in no time," Ethan said softly.
"Got a lot to do in a short amount of time," Deborah agreed.
Kicking back to start discussing what they had to do, their conversations continued, but Finn admitted he should get home to see his mom for a while, since he'd been gone for so long. Ethan offered to give him a ride back, and Quinn wanted to go with Finn, so Deborah, Quinn, Finn and Arin gathered up their stuff and loaded up Ethan's jeep, leaving Puck and Rachel with his jeep so they could come over when they wanted.
When Ethan parked in the driveway of their house, they climbed out and got their bags from the back. Deborah and Arin said 'bye' to Quinn and Finn and headed for the house, but before the teens could start walking away, Ethan stopped them, "Quinn, Finn, take things slow," he warned softly.
"What?" Finn looked at him confused.
"Just take it easy. Quinn, you've been through a major ordeal and I know your okay right now, but you never know. That could change and you both need to be careful. You can talk to Finn, me, Deb, Rachel's dads, Noah, Rachel, any of us, but you can't bottle up everything for too long, it's not good, alright?"
Quinn nodded, "yeah, thanks. I'll call you if I have to," she admitted, "um, so I should probably get your number," she added pulling her phone and typing the numbers in as he told her what it was. She quickly gave him hers before she and Finn headed down the street, while Ethan followed the path of Arin and Deborah into their house.
Deborah was in the kitchen getting something to drink when Ethan walked in and wrapped his arms around her, "welcome home, baby," he whispered.
She smiled and turned around in his arms, the bottle of water forgotten as she pressed a kiss to his lips, "you, too," she replied.
...
Rachel and Puck found themselves up in her room; he packed up his suitcases again since he'd dug through them for clothes and added some more things of his he should have at the house and found Rachel hardly unpacking. "Rach, you going to unpack?" He asked curiously.
"Not really, well, yes, but not as much as I normally would... I can't believe I can move into your house," she grinned.
"Our house," he corrected her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I'm still really shocked that they're doing that, too. Did my parents really say they're going to try for another kid?"
Rachel nodded, "yeah."
"It's gonna suck that their big brother isn't there for them, like I was for Arin," he whispered.
"You will be, just like you will be for Abigail, but for a few years you won't be there every day. And we'll all keep you up-to-date, and every long weekend or chance I get off, we'll come visit, Noah, we can make this work," she promised, "so stop moping about it," she replied.
Puck smiled at her, "I love you, you know that, right?"
"I'd like to think you do, but it's still nice to hear. I love you, too," she added snuggling up against his chest. "What do you want to do for the rest of our break?" She asked moments later.
Shrugging, he pulled away lightly, "Burt wants me to work through Sunday, starting tomorrow, so I won't have much of a break and we've got homework to get going on, since we didn't get anything done while we were away."
...
The family meeting had been on Wednesday and the rest of the Spring Break, everyone kept a low profile. Through the gossip/phone tree of the Glee Club, everyone found out that Quinn and Ethan were safe, and thankfully, they respected her wish to wait until Quinn returned to school before they saw her; she just wanted to spend time with Finn. Rachel spent time with her dads while Puck worked, and when he wasn't working, he was at home with his family, and Rachel came over to help make sure the nursery was ready and to be a part of the Puckermans.
Since Quinn was a minor and Ethan was a cop, the Lima Police, local sheriff and the Detroit SRT were able to keep the news of their kidnapping a secret from the newspapers, so no one knew what happened unless they were friends with Quinn or someone in the club, and even then, they were keeping tight lipped on what happened, knowing they didn't want to return to school on Monday and have everyone attacking Quinn with questions.
Ethan told Deborah the whole story of what happened from his perspective and she was pretty shaken up by what he told her. He asked her to keep an eye on Quinn, because even though she was fine at the moment, she was a ticking time-bomb waiting to go off. Deborah promised to watch Quinn, hoping Quinn would be alright.
...
Rachel stayed at the Puckerman's Sunday night and Quinn stayed with Finn, the four planning to go to school the next morning at the same time, so Quinn had their moral support as she faced the new day. Rachel had made the call to their friends saying what time they'd get to school and if they wanted to meet them, they could, but not to ask a bunch of questions about what happened, just know that Quinn would need the support, even if she seemed fine. As the four teens walked towards the school, the entire club was waiting, all offering hugs to Quinn in greeting, respecting Rachel's advice and not asking a bunch of questions.
Going into the school as a large group, pausing at Finn and Puck's locker to get their books, one of the Juniors that had been playing football since middle school with Puck and Finn rushed up to them, "Oh my God, Finn! Puck! Did you guys hear?"
"Hear what, JD?" Puck asked knowing exactly what he was going to say.
"Coach Tanaka got canned! No one knows why, but we're out of a football coach for next year unless we can find a replacement!" He exclaimed.
Quinn gasped, but calmly remained where she was next to Finn, while Puck tried to get rid of JD.
"Oh yeah, we heard about that," Puck nodded, "Mr. Schue found out while we were at National's," Puck added motioning towards the rest of the club.
"Alright, okay, but what are we going to do? It's our Senior year, we have to play."
"On a team that can't win without dancing on the field?" Puck asked with a raised eyebrow.
"But still! It's football!"
Finn rolled his eyes, "dude, deal. I'm sure there's a whole bunch of guys willing to coach. They'll find someone; football practices don't start until the middle of August before the first day of school, there's plenty of time."
JD sighed, giving up his rant with them and went off to some other friends. Thankful that he was gone, Puck slipped his arm around Rachel and walked with her and the rest of the club towards her locker, the girls huddling around Quinn and Finn as if to protect Quinn.
Everyone could tell Quinn wasn't fine, but kept their distance. By lunch, no one could find her. "She's probably running late," Rachel said as she, Puck and Finn sat down.
Their friends were around, but no one had a clue where Quinn was, until Deborah came towards their table, "Noah, Finn, Rachel, can you guys come with me?" She asked calmly, but the look on her face told Puck something wasn't good.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Puck asked quickly, "is it the baby?"
"No," she shook her head, "just come to my office," she said before turning around and heading back the way she had come.
The three exchanged glances with their friends, but quickly got up and gathered their stuff, following the path Deborah had taken, arriving in her office a few moments later to see Quinn sitting at Deborah's desk, talking on the phone with someone, her eyes were red and swollen and she looked like she'd been crying for a while. Deborah closed the door behind the three, "she's talking to Ethan," she whispered.
"...I can't... Every time I turn around, someone is asking me if I know why he's gone... I don't know how much more of this I can take and it's only the first day! No one knows, but if I keep getting upset they're going to figure it out and I don't want to tell them! You were almost shot protecting me from them! I really thought I was fine, but I'm not..."
Puck's eyes widened and glanced at his mom who just nodded sadly, "he told me."
Rachel dropped her bag and sat down in the closest seat, tears welling up in her eyes.
A light knocking on the door startled them all and Deborah glanced to see the principal, so she opened the door, "thanks for coming, Principal Figgins," she said softly.
"Anytime," he replied.
"Yeah... They all are... Okay... Thanks Ethan... Okay," she said softly, hanging up the phone and wiping her eyes, getting up to move towards her boyfriend who was standing by her now. "Ethan is on his way in," she said.
Deborah nodded, "okay."
"What's going on?" Puck asked calmly.
"Your mother filled me in on exactly what happened over the break with your father and Ms. Fabray," Figgins said, "and now we're going to discuss what we should do."
"Do for what?" Finn asked.
"To see how we need to handle this. Emma isn't the person to talk to about this, so the next person is Ms. Puckerman as the school nurse. Also as her boyfriend," he looked at Finn, and then looked at Puck and Rachel, "and as parents to the child she's carrying, it's in our best interests to figure out what we should do, for Ms. Fabray and the child."
"Which is why Ethan and David are on their way," Deborah said.
"My dad?" Rachel asked.
Deborah nodded, "he's the psychologist. He knows more than I do on this," she admitted.
The room was silent for a few moments, until a knock and on the door interrupted their silence and Deborah turned to let Ethan and David in, "thanks for coming guys."
Ethan greeted her silently with a light kiss to her cheek, as he stepped in, standing next to her, while David moved further into the room. "It's no problem," David commented, "anything to help."
"So now what?" Finn asked, "why isn't Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury here?"
"Emma is not taking this well and Will is trying to keep her calm. They agreed to let us handle it and they would support what we decide to do."
"Do for what?" Puck snapped.
"We need to figure out what we can tell the students. The kids are confused and want to know why Ken got fired. The longer they speculate and the more Quinn gets upset, they are going to start putting it together and we really don't want them to," Deborah said. "But the other issue is we need to figure out how to help Quinn. She can't be going through school every day like this and this news might not die down soon."
"My teachers are willing to let me do my work at home if someone turns it in to them," Quinn said softly, "they said they would do that after I have the baby since I wouldn't be able to come to school; why can't I start early?" She asked softly.
"That's up to Principal Figgins," Deborah admitted. "He knows what happened, but when I spoke to him you were fine, so now, things have changed," she added.
"I have already pulled your records and you are a good student and because of this, I do not see a problem in it. I'm going to call your teachers in and speak to all of them after school. If you've already talked to them about finishing up your classes by staying home and having someone turn your work in, I don't see an issue with you starting a few weeks early, as long as you get your work turned in regularly and keep in contact with them through phone calls or e-mails," he replied looking at her.
Quinn nodded, "I can do that. Thank you," she whispered.
While they had discussed her classes, Ethan had taken a seat at Deborah's desk and was typing something up on the computer.
"What are you doing?" Deborah asked curiously.
"Writing what to say," he said as his fingers continued to graze over the keys until he hit the print button with a mouse-click and a few moments later the printer spit out a piece of paper. Reaching over for it, he handed it over to David, "mind looking that over? It's written as if it's from Vice... Sorry Principal Figgins," Ethan laughed a little.
Figgins looked at Ethan, "I knew I recognized you. You played hockey right?"
"Yes sir," Ethan nodded.
David slipped his reading glasses on and took the offered paper from Ethan, his eyes focusing on the words as he read over what had been written.
"Students and Staff,
It has come to my attention that many of you are curious why Mr. Ken Tanaka has been terminated from his position at this school.
Over Spring Break, Mr. Tanaka partook in a criminal act by aiding in the kidnapping of a student at this school, as well as one other person with the student. Due to the severity of this illegal act on anyone, especially a student, the school district terminated Mr. Tanaka, therefore he will no longer be able to teach or coach within this district.
Tanaka is currently in jail, with criminal charges against him. Due to the magnitude of this, the parties involved ask to remain anonymous, to keep their involvement to a minimum. They also ask that if you know something, please do not repeat the information in order to protect the families and friends involved directly.
Principal Figgins"
"That's good," David nodded, "and this way no one has to know who. And we can say the reason why Quinn isn't here is because of the pregnancy, which is possible anyway, it's what? Five weeks away or less?" David asked handing the paper to Figgins.
"Well, officially I'm due May fifteenth," Quinn said, "but it could be sooner, so I'm told."
"I'd say two weeks early," Deborah said with a nod. "Every person is different; some women can work up until they have their child, some have to spend the last month or two in bed because of the stress on their body. Noah was two weeks early, so she could be here any day," she admitted.
Figgins nodded at the letter, "this is good, I will have it printed up and passed out by sixth period. Mr. Berry, you're free to take Quinn home if she would like to go, since you're now listed as a guardian."
David nodded, "yeah, I'll check her out," he replied.
"Quinn, may I assume that Ms. Puckerman will be the one to bring home your school work and turn it in for you?" Figgins asked.
"If she doesn't mind," Quinn replied from across the room.
"No, I don't mind," Deborah said.
"Okay, could you please come into my office after school so you can be there when I talk to her teachers?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'll be there," she nodded.
"Okay, so I believe I'm through here. I'll let you guys talk," he said stepping to the door.
"Principal Figgins," Quinn said softly, waiting for him to stop, "thank you for doing this."
"You're welcome, Ms. Fabray," he smiled at her and nodded at everyone before leaving the office, closing the door behind him.
They were all silent for a moment before David spoke up, "Quinn, can I ask what brought this on?"
"Everyone kept talking about him being fired and I couldn't stand it anymore. I've been up here since just after second period got over," she wiped her eyes, "I couldn't say anything to anyone about it and it was frustrating because I hate him! He helped her and..." She started sobbing, but pushed on to explain, "he could have shot Ethan... It was so close and he had it in his hand..."
Ethan rubbed his hands over his face and stood up, moving towards her, "but I didn't get shot and neither did you, we're okay," he assured her, "we're safe and it didn't happen, so you don't need to keep wondering what would have happened. It's done and over with, so let us help you pick up the pieces. Talk to us."
Quinn lost it, "this is all my fault... I cheated on my boyfriend with his best friend who got me pregnant, then I lied to Finn, and told Puck he wasn't good enough to be a father, so I promised Terri she could have the baby, then Puck got hurt and wanted her and... I told him he could have her, but Terri wouldn't leave me alone, so he told Mr. Schuester and then they got divorced and... And I hurt Finn and now Emma is with Will and it pissed off Ken and now... She kidnapped me to take what she thought was hers and... then you... You were protecting me and you could have gotten shot, all because of me... And if Terri had gotten her, Rachel and Puck would never get to have their daughter," she sobbed falling against Ethan as she did.
Ethan wrapped his arms around her gently, letting her cry as his eyes drifted around the room. Rachel was wrapped in Puck's arms, holding her, both of them were upset, Finn had a look of shock and fear on his face, Deborah was wiping her eyes and David sat silently, listening. Quinn pulled away from Ethan with a soft, 'thanks' before she moved back into her boyfriends arms, "I'm so sorry, Finn, so so sorry," she cried.
Finn wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, "I know you are and I forgave both of you a long time ago," he murmured.
The cop in the room moved back over to his fiancée, pulling her against him and rubbing her back gently for a moment before pulling away, the room silent except for Quinn's sobs.
"Quinn," David said softly, "why don't you sit down so we can talk."
Quinn turned from Finn and slowly took the seat next to David, "about what?" She asked wiping her eyes.
"What you just said. You're blaming yourself for a lot of things you had no control over," he said, "and things that you have already dealt with. You and Noah both admitted you made a mistake and Finn has forgiven both of you. Terri was using you. She knew she was lying to Will and saw you as an easy out because you didn't want to keep the baby. She was so adamant that it scared you enough to tell Noah when he confronted you because he wanted to keep his daughter. He only told Will to protect his daughter and Will and Terri's divorce was not your fault; neither was Ken and Emma's break up," he explained.
"And Terri wasn't thinking straight. She got help from Ken because he was upset over Emma and they both wanted their partner back; they did what they thought was right. Ken figured if Will got back with Terri, that Emma would come back to Ken," Ethan explained, "so don't blame yourself. Terri was mentally unstable which is why she kept flying off the handle when she didn't like something we said or did, so you had nothing to do with her being like that," Ethan added.
Quinn took a couple long deep breaths and nodded, squeezing Finn's hand, "I... I guess that makes sense," she sighed, "I was just... so scared... I didn't understand and now I just... Things are just coming to me..."
"They will keep coming as long as you let them," David said softly, "when you get one, push it away with a good thought... Like that you're fine; that you and Finn are happy together... Something good that will help overpower the bad thoughts or come to us and we'll help."
"I don't blame you for anything that happened," Puck said softly.
"Neither do I," Rachel replied turning around in her boyfriend's arms to look at Quinn, wiping her own eyes, "you didn't do anything wrong, Quinn."
Tears fell form Quinn's eyes as she nodded, standing up and moving to Rachel and Puck, hugging both of them, whispering 'thank you,' before sitting back down after grabbing some tissues from a box on Deborah's desk.
"Dad, can I go home, too?" Rachel asked David quietly, "I can't stay."
David nodded, "yeah, if you'd like to," he agreed.
Quinn was through talking and just wanted to go. Puck and Finn had both driven to school and the current time was in the middle of fifth period. Puck didn't want to miss his sixth period, so he and Finn chose to stay. The whole group walked down to the girls' lockers so they could get their books before saying 'goodbye' to their boyfriends, Ethan and Deborah.
Ethan, Deborah, Puck and Finn promised to come over to the Berry's later, so with that promise, David led the two girls up to the office to check them out for the rest of the day, while Finn and Puck went to their lockers to get their books. The bell rang overhead to end the current period, so the two closed their lockers, nodded at Deborah and Ethan and silently headed off to their classes. "Do you think they're going to be alright?" Deborah asked softly as she and Ethan walked back to her office.
Ethan shrugged, "I hope so, but I don't know," he admitted, "they can hold it in until they get home," he added, pausing a moment to look around, "this brings back memories," he commented glancing at her as they walked through the hall.
Deborah blushed a little, "yeah, it does. I think the last time we walked through here, it was our last day of high school," she replied.
Reaching the hallway by her office, Ethan grinned, "out of curiosity have you told Noah -"
"Do not even finish that," Deborah snapped.
"What? You don't even know what I was going to ask," he smirked.
"By your smirk I do and I have not and do not plan to tell our son where he was created!"
"Uh, Deb-"
"Don't interrupt! Do you really think I want our son knowing that our first time was in the same room that he spends most of his time? The room where he was created?"
"Deb, I'd..." Ethan tried to stop her again.
"It's hard enough to even walk into the choir room myself without blushing like a teenager!"
"Holy fucking shit!" Came an explanation from the other end of the hall.
"Well, if you didn't want to tell him, I think your plan just backfired," Ethan muttered, ducking his head.
Deborah's eyes widened to see their son standing there, white as a ghost with his books for his next class in his hands, "Noah! What are you...? Did you hear...?"
He walked quickly towards them, "I left my backpack in your office and now I'm thinking I should have just gone without it," he hissed pushing past them into her office to get what he came for.
"I tried to stop you," Ethan told her.
"Well, you should have tried harder!" She retorted, sighing as she stepped into her office with Ethan behind her, "Noah, I didn't want you to find out at all, let alone like this."
"Don't," he shook his head and held up his hand, "I don't want to hear it." He shared a glance with each of his parents, before continuing quickly, "I'm here, so I know at some point you two had sex and as much as it grosses me out to think it was in the choir room, I won't deny there are a few places in this school myself and other girls have... So whatever..." He motioned between them, "this is where you two were eleven years ago, so don't start snapping at each other, alright. I've got enough to deal with right now. I don't need to have you two bickering about stupid shit again; so please save me the headache of going through that and just forget it," he commented leaving the room in hopes to reach his class before he was late.
Deborah's hands rubbed over her face, already feeling the emotions from the day breaking through. Ethan moved to shut the door, glad the blinds were still closed so they could have a few moments alone. Stepping to her, he pulled her against him, "babe, it's alright," he whispered.
"He's right," she cried, "all we did was bicker the last six months of our marriage. Ethan, are we really going to be able to make this work?"
His eyes fell closed as his arms held her tightly, "we're not the same people we were back then, Deb, we've grown up and learned from our mistakes, and I know I'll fight for us to work out because I'm not walking away again. I lost my best friend once and it took me ten years to get her back; I'm not letting go again," he replied, gently rubbing her back.
Her hands gripped his jacket as he spoke, "I'm not letting go either," she whispered.
Ethan let his own tears fall and pulled his head back gently to press a kiss to her lips and to look at her in the eyes, "it's been an emotional few weeks and we all have been dealing with a lot. Today was especially rough, so we're on edge. I know it's not an excuse to bicker and fight, but it explains a lot. Give things a few days to mellow out and we'll be fine," he promised.
She smiled at him and nodded, her arms slipping around him and resting her chin on his shoulder as they hugged tightly, "thank you. I needed that," she whispered. "And I'm sorry I questioned if we'd-"
He shook his head and pressed a kiss to her lips, "don't apologize, it's a valid concern given our history and it needed to be asked," he replied holding her close.
...
Music: 'When You Believe' as sung by Celtic Woman... Yes, I used it again, but I think it worked out, though; Puck singing to Arin; never seen that before.
...
A/N4: A lot longer than I expected. The school stuff didn't come up until I was writing it a few days ago and it expanded a lot more than I planned, but I hope you like.
A/N5: Though I'm sure some are familiar with a Claddagh ring, many are not, so if you're interested, here's the Wikipedia link for it: ( http : / en . Wikipedia . Org / wiki / Claddagh _ ring ) (remove spaces) I have several myself and I plan to collect more; I'm part Irish and the 'E' in 'EJ' is Erin ;)
A/N6: Had a few 'Glee' or 'Out of the Blue' moments in the past few days... The first one was at the funeral, when we were at the cemetery, I glanced to my right and saw a guy from her work there and he had a mohawk; though he looked nothing like Mark or Puck, it was still a shocker... The second one; I was at the mall and walking towards the exit doors. A family was coming in and their young boy about 7 or 8 held the door open for my mom and I. His dad waited for him and said "very nice of you, Noah." My thought; Noah's are gentlemen! :D And the last one was I went to 'Best Buy' the other night and as I was driving in, driving out was a black Jeep Commander; AKA Ethan's Jeep... OMG freaked out about that one. Okay, had my 'squee' moment. Hope you all liked the chapter. :)
A/N7: Tried to post this as one part, but of course it was too long so it's 2 parts on LJ and 1 part on FF.