Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this chapter, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: This story is mostly AU after Mash-up (1x08), but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes and music used, I may sneak in a conversation, cover the same topic, or use the same song, but I will put my own twist on it and may use some of the music.
...
Rachel and Puck fell asleep on the couch, but woke up when the Abby's cries came through the baby monitor on the coffee table. Hating to move, but needing to, he carefully got up, hoping not to disturb her, but as he shifted, Rachel stirred, "Noah?"
"Shh, sorry," Puck murmured, kissing her cheek, "Abby just woke up from her nap."
"I think I'm going to go shower. Brad said I could and I just need to wash all of the hospital smells out," she murmured.
"Take it easy, babe. Let me check on Abby and I'll join you. You shouldn't be doing that alone," he commented.
"Why do I think that it's less about helping me and more about seeing me naked," she asked with a grin, pushing herself up to sit on the couch.
Puck turned and looked at her, "little of both. I help you, I get an amazing view."
"And something else," she giggled, standing up slowly.
"No I won't," he said honestly, "Brad said we could have sex, but I'm saying not right now. You need a few days to recover before we jump into that," he said honestly.
"Wow! Noah Puckerman turning down sex, this is a first," she giggled, swaying her hips as she walked past him; she may be stiff and sore, but she'd missed him just as much as he missed her and nothing was going to stand in the way of getting what she wanted.
Puck groaned, realizing it was going to be very hard to continue to say 'no' to her, following her upstairs, "you're going to kill me," he murmured, slipping his arms around her waist.
Rachel pressed back into him and grinned, "am I? I'm injured; what am I doing?"
"You know exactly what you're doing," he smirked, kissing her neck before letting her go, "you think if you tease me and drive me crazy that I'll give in."
She gasped, "Noah, I am doing nothing of the sort. I'm merely walking upstairs."
His hands moved down to rest on her hips, "you never sway your hips like that unless you want something."
Biting her lip she blushed, giving in and nodding, "I want you, Noah," she whispered, "I need you. I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too. Why don't we shower and after, we can have some amazing make-up slash welcome home love making," he murmured.
Rachel smiled, "I'd love that," she replied.
...
After an extra long shower to get Rachel's hair and body washed, being careful with all her cuts and scrapes, Puck helped her dry her hair, clean her cuts and scrapes and bandage them, before showing her how much he missed and loved her. She drifted off into a content sleep and he laid in bed watching her sleep for a while, but knew he couldn't stay in bed long because he needed to take care of Abby, so he carefully got up, pulled the blankets up over her to keep warm and left a note by her telling her to call for him when she woke up and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Getting dressed, he left the room and checked on Abby, seeing her content watching her mobile spinning around, while she laid in her crib, "hey baby girl. How you doing?" He asked, picking her up and kissing her, before settling her in his arms and headed downstairs.
It was just after seven at night, so he fed her and then made dinner for them, eating something first and set Rachel's aside so she could eat when she got up. Abby was sitting in her high chair and he was wiping the baby food off her hands when a high pitched scream echoed from upstairs. He froze and looked at Abby, who also seemed to be looking for the noise, "oh shit," he groaned, making sure Abby was okay for a few minutes while he ran up to check on Rachel, but by the time he got to the stairs, Rachel was rushing down and as soon as she saw him, she jumped into his arms, and began sobbing. "Baby, what's wrong?" He murmured, holding her against him.
"I had a flashback of the accident, but," she took a deep breath, "this time Abby was with me and she..."
Puck felt sick to his stomach at what she was getting at, but then took a deep breath himself and looked at her, "she wasn't in the car with you, baby. She's just fine. I promise," he replied softly, kissing her cheek and guiding her into the kitchen, "see, she's okay. Well, a little messy from carrots, but she's fine," he laughed lightly.
Rachel nodded and moved towards Abby and kissed her head before picking up the wash cloth he'd been using and continued to wipe her hands, arms and cheeks off, "I know," she whispered, "but it just felt so real."
"Dreams can," he agreed, stepping towards her and slipping his arms around her waist, "but I promise you she's okay and so are you."
"Okay," she closed her eyes and leaned back against him, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he told her, kissing her cheek, "but I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."
She shook her head, "it's okay. I had your note," she explained, picking Abby up once she was unbuckled from her chair.
Puck rested his hands on her shoulders and massaged them gently, "we're all okay," he assured her.
"We are," she nodded, "I hope these dreams don't continue."
"Give it time, babe. I'm sure in a few days you won't have them anymore," Puck told her, kissing her gently.
She returned his kiss, resting a hand on his cheek, "thanks, Noah."
"Anytime, beautiful," he replied, kissing Abby before stepping away, "hungry?"
"I am," she replied, taking a seat at the table, keeping Abby against her chest.
...
After a late dinner, the couple and their daughter settled on the couch in the living room to watch TV, but as they all began getting tired, Puck and Rachel got Abby ready for bed and then headed to bed themselves, "I'll be here all night," he promised.
Rachel smiled and snuggled into him, "I know. Thank you," she murmured, "I feel really stupid for what I did earlier, so I'll try not to do that again."
"Don't feel that way," he told her, "you can't control your dreams. Just know that you're safe, and so is Abby," he kissed her lips.
Returning the kiss, Rachel smiled and tugged the blankets up over them a little more, "I know we're safe. I think part of why I had the bad dream was because you had gotten out of bed. I always feel safe in your arms," she replied.
Puck rubbed her back gently, "I know you do. I should have thought of that when I left, but I needed to check on Abby and I was hungry."
"It's okay," Rachel kissed him, "I know you can't be here all the time. This is just temporary, or at least I hope the dreams are," she added.
"They will be," he promised, "and it's nice to know you feel safe in my arms."
"From the moment you were in my room over a year ago and we made out, I felt safe and I don't think that feeling will ever go away," she smiled, "it'll only get stronger with time. I love you."
"I love you, too," he kissed her lips, "I'm so glad you're home and okay," he added. "Sleep. We both need a good night's rest," he said softly, reaching over to turn off the light on his nightstand.
"Okay," she murmured, closing her eyes and letting her body relax as best she could, even if she was still stiff and sore from the accident; she hardly slept the night before and now that she could stretch out and snuggle against her boyfriend she felt so much better, which helped her deal with the stiffness.
...
Opening his eyes, Puck thought he saw '8:25', so he closed them again and relaxed for a moment, slowly waking up. As his eyes opened again, he focused more on the clock and realized the '8' he thought he saw was actually the '0' in '10'. "Holy shit!" He gasped, sitting up quickly.
"What?" Rachel groaned, moving when he sat up.
"It's ten-thirty!"
Rachel's eyes widened, "in the morning?"
"Yes!" He jumped out of bed and moved to throw on some more clothes, "Abby's probably been awake for hours!"
"Why didn't we hear her?" She asked, motioning to the monitor.
"I don't know," she got up with him and slipped on her robe as she followed him out of the bedroom and into the nursery.
Puck froze when he realized Abby wasn't in her crib, but as he stepped closer, he saw a piece of paper taped to the edge with the words, 'downstairs, dads' written on it. "They must have let us sleep," Puck relaxed, taking the note and handing it to Rachel.
Rachel nodded, "yeah. That's daddy's handwriting," she replied, leaving the nursery and heading downstairs to find her dads sitting on the couch and Ethan in the chair with Abby in his arms.
"Well, look who finally decided to wake up," David smirked.
"Morning," Puck murmured.
"Not that we didn't mind the extra sleep, but why didn't you wake us up?" Rachel asked curiously.
"We tried," Alan admitted, "but you guys were sound asleep. I don't even think a bullhorn would have woken you up."
"Really?" Puck asked, taking Abby from his dad.
"I was pretty tired," Rachel admitted with a blush.
"You both needed sleep. Deborah took care of school for you both and we got here just before eight, so we got Abby so she wouldn't wake up two up and Ethan came over a bit ago," David explained, motioning to him.
Puck nodded, "why are you not at work?" He asked his dad curiously.
"I worked the weekend, so I got today and tomorrow off," he replied, sitting up a little.
"Even having the rest of the day off on Saturday?" Puck wondered.
Ethan shrugged, "it was only a few hours. I'd been working for like six hours before that happened and I wouldn't have cared. There were other places I needed to be besides working," he agreed, looking around his son to Rachel, "and it's good to see you up and around, Rachel; I haven't seen you since Saturday."
Rachel nodded, "thanks," she smiled lightly, "but I'm still sore, though."
"Give it a few days," Puck told her.
"I will," she agreed, "and after I could sleep without having a bad dream or someone waking me up, I feel so much better."
"When did you have a bad dream?" David asked concerned.
Rachel nodded and moved to sit down next to him on the couch, "after you guys left, Noah helped me shower and then we laid down. I fell asleep and he went to take care of Abby and I woke up screaming," she bit her lip, "I had a dream that Abby was with me in the accident and she," she paused and looked over at her boyfriend, who was holding her, "I had to get up and find her to make sure I really was dreaming," she whispered the final words, unable to say what she meant.
David wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, now," she smiled, returning his hug, "but it was really scary when it happened. I think I had it because Noah wasn't with me."
"I said I was sorry," Puck replied in his defense.
Rachel giggled, "I know you, did, Noah, and I don't blame you. I just am used to sleeping with you and feeling safe."
"That's not uncommon after a traumatic experience to be close to someone you feel safe with. You didn't have any during the night, right?" David asked.
"Right," Rachel nodded, "I didn't dream at all, which is good. I'd rather not have dreams if it means I don't have to keep reliving the accident," she explained.
"As Noah just said, give it a few days. You may still have some, but I don't think so," David commented, rubbing her back a little, "if you do have anymore, let me know, okay?"
"Okay," Rachel smiled. "Is there any news about my car?" She asked softly.
"It's totaled. That's what we found out his morning," Alan replied. "So we're going to get you a new car."
"What kind would you like?" David asked her.
Rachel shrugged, "I don't know. What's wrong with my old car? Well, I mean, not that one exactly, but a new one like it?"
"That's up to you," Alan agreed. "If you want a new Toyota Corolla, then we'll get you one, if not, we need to car shop. Noah, what do you think about it?"
Puck shrugged, "I'm fine with it. She needs a car, I liked that one and it's a good one to get Abby in and out of."
"We should get you a new one, too, Noah," Ethan commented.
"Why?" Puck asked curiously, "less than a year from now I'm gonna be gone for long periods of time. I won't need a car. Well, I might if I end up someplace that I can have one. I'd rather wait until I'm closer to getting out and get one, so when I get home for good, I have one," he explained.
Ethan nodded, "yes, that does make sense. If that's what you'd rather do, I'm cool with it," he agreed.
Puck nodded, "I'm perfectly content with what I've got," he assured them.
...
Rachel felt weird that she and Puck were both home from school, but neither complained, since they got to spend extra time with their daughter and with each other.
At the time that Glee would normally be starting, Puck and Rachel were at home watching a movie instead. Abby was down for a nap and her dads had gone home to deal with some paperwork, but Ethan remained, telling them he could leave, but they didn't mind if he stayed, so they began watching a movie.
Hearing a light snore next to him, Puck realized that Rachel was asleep against him, "should have known she'd fall asleep," he murmured, reaching for the blanket and throwing it over them.
"She's been through a lot. I'm not surprised she's sleeping," Ethan replied.
Puck nodded and shifted a little so Rachel could be more comfortable, "I know she has. I'm just so glad she's okay," he paused and looked at his dad, "I don't think I ever thanked you for helping her, dad. Thank you," he told him honestly, "I'm sorry it's taken so long."
Ethan raised a curious eyebrow at his son, "you're welcome, Noah, but you don't have to thank me, or at least, you don't have to actually say it. I know you would, but you've had other things on your mind."
"Yeah, but still," Puck replied, "I wish I could have been there, but since I wasn't, I'm really glad you were."
"You were, a few hours later, and now," Ethan smiled, hearing a car door shut outside and looked out to see Finn and Quinn walking up to the door, "you might want to wake her. You have visitors," he commented, getting up.
Puck turned around and saw his friends, so he nudged her gently, "hey Rach, wake up," he whispered, kissing her cheek.
"Huh?" She groaned and opened her eyes, "did I fall asleep?"
"Yeah, you did. Finn and Quinn are here, so you might want to wake up," he replied.
"Oh," she rubbed her eyes as Ethan let them in, and stood up, "hey," she smiled.
Quinn moved right over to Rachel and threw her arms around her, "Rachel! How are you? Do you feel okay? What happened? Where are you hurt?" Quinn began rattling off questions as she hugged Rachel tightly.
Rachel gasped at the strength of Quinn's arms, "I'm... uh," she gasped again, "Quinn, too tight," she groaned.
"Oh no!" Quinn let go of her, "I'm so sorry, did I hurt you more?" She asked, looking over Rachel, her eyes landing on the bandage on her forehead.
"No, you didn't hurt me more," Rachel assured her, "I'm still really sore and I have a bruise over my chest from the seatbelt, so it's tender and my pain medication has worn off," she explained, glancing at her boyfriend, "could you get me some more?" She asked.
"Yeah, sure babe," Puck nodded, getting up, patting his brother on the arm as he walked past and moved into the kitchen.
"Hey Rachel," Finn said stepping over to her and wrapping his arms around her carefully, "I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks," Rachel retook her seat on the couch and motioned around, "have a seat." Quinn took a seat next to Rachel and Finn sat next to Quinn, "well, I don't remember much. I was at a light, it changed to green and when I started to go, I heard honking and then I'm being pushed into the light pole and passing out. The next thing I remember is hearing dad saying my name and trying to wake me up," she admitted.
"Your dad or Ethan, dad," Finn asked, motioning to Ethan who was kicked back in the recliner again.
Rachel blushed, "Ethan, dad," she motioned to him, but then realized the confusion and told herself she'd bring it up later.
"I'm so glad you're alright," Quinn said, hugging Rachel again, this time being more careful. "We didn't know what was going on and then when you didn't want company, which we completely understand, we didn't hear from you all weekend and Deborah told us this morning, but we still wanted to see you."
"I was going to call you after school," Rachel admitted. "I'm sorry about this weekend, I didn't feel good and Noah and I had some things to talk about yesterday when I got home from the hospital," she explained.
"It's alright. We do understand that you needed some personal time," Finn said honestly.
Rachel nodded, "thanks," she accepted the medicine that Puck gave her and took them before she continued, "so are you going back to school for Glee?" She asked, surprised that they were there during Glee time.
"Actually," Quinn grinned, "Mr. Schuester agreed since you and Puck weren't there that it would be easier to just cancel Glee for the day, but some of us thought that maybe we could come over and hang out," she commented, "since Finn and I live just down the street we said we'd come over and if you weren't up for that many people over all at once, we'd call and let them know, but if not, they'd come over in a little bit."
"Sounds good to me," Puck commented with a shrug.
"I'd be alright with it. In fact, I think that will be really good to help get my mind off the accident," Rachel admitted.
"Great!" Quinn smiled and pulled out her phone and sent a message to someone, "I promised to message Kurt to let him know if you were up for company," she explained.
Rachel nodded and smiled, "thanks. I'd love it. Who all is planning on coming over?"
"The original New Directions members and a few new ones, TJ and Ryan," Finn replied.
Quinn's phone beeped moments later with a message from Kurt that the teens that Finn had just mentioned were on their way over.
Rachel got a little self conscious about what she was wearing, so she went upstairs to brush her hair, change her clothes and check on Abby, returning with Abby in her arms, just as Kurt's SUV pulled up along the street outside the house. "They're here," Rachel commented, moving into the living room, kissing Abby on the forehead, "go to daddy for a bit," she murmured, handing her to Puck and then moved to the door and pulled it open as their friends began to walk up onto the steps.
For a few minutes Rachel greeted and hugged the arrivals and once everyone had come inside, she closed the door and moved into the living room, taking a seat on the couch.
"Rachel, I think I speak for everyone when I say we're really glad you're okay. We didn't know anything. We heard about your accident on Saturday and then not really knowing anything until this morning, everyone was worried," Mercedes explained.
"Thank you. It really means a lot to know you guys care. I'm sorry I wasn't up for visitors this weekend, but I just didn't feel good," she replied.
"We understand," Tina replied, "you need to take care of yourself, but what happened?"
Rachel took a deep breath and told them what she'd just told Finn and Quinn, wiping her eyes when she finished, "it was scary," she admitted.
Puck wrapped his free arm around her and kissed her, "you're okay now," he murmured.
"I know," she whispered, taking a deep breath and trying to push aside the fears she had, telling herself he was right, "enough about me," she commented, "how about you guys? Anything exciting happen to anyone?" She asked, wanting to get on a lighter topic.
Not too far away, Puck noticed how close his cousin was sitting with TJ, a new guy in the club, and also saw the glances and smiles the two shared when Rachel asked that question, "Jessica, TJ, is there something you want to tell us?" Puck asked curiously.
TJ looked at Jessica and blushed, biting his lip, nervous to say anything, so Jessica cleared her throat and smiled, "TJ and I have been officially dating since Saturday," she said looking at him. "He asked me out Friday and we went out Saturday night.
"What?" "Oh my God!" "Congratulations!" "That's so cool!" "I knew it!"
Rachel smiled, "that's wonderful! Why didn't you say anything to me when I dropped you off at home Friday?" She asked.
"TJ hadn't talked to me about going out yet. We talked on the phone after I got home," Jessica explained. "We almost didn't go out. I was worried about you, but mom and dad talked me into going and I'm glad we did. I felt bad that we were out having fun, while you were in the hospital, so I hope you're not upset that we did."
"Of course I'm not upset," Rachel told her, "I'm happy for you! I'm glad someone was able to go out and have fun."
Jessica smiled, "thanks."
"We'll have to talk later when the guys are not around," Rachel added with a grin.
"Okay," Jessica nodded, "that'd be great!"
...
The news that Jessica and TJ were an item 'broke the ice' for the large group and soon they were all talking and chatting among friends.
Deborah, Ben and Will arrived not long after and Susan, Hannah and Arin walked over to join everyone. Rachel's dads called to see how she was doing and if she wanted anything and she said that the club was over and her dads offered to buy pizza for everyone, so while the two men went to the store to get some drinks, Deborah went through the club to figure out what to get and called the local pizza place to order, and in less than forty-five minutes David and Alan were back at the house with pizza and sodas.
Passing out dinner and continuing to talk, the teens and adults were enjoying themselves, but as it got later they slowly began to leave once Rachel began showing signs that she was getting tired.
Rachel's dads, Puck's family, including his uncle, cousin and their family and TJ, Jessica's boyfriend, were still there, but when Ben's family began to get ready to leave, Jessica realized she left her bag in TJ's car, so he decided to leave at the same time and Puck got up and followed them to the door, "hey TJ," Puck said catching his attention.
TJ nervously turned around, knowing what Puck was about to do, "yeah?"
"I like you, dude, don't get me wrong, and I'm sure I don't need to remind you that I'm Jessica's cousin," Puck commented calmly.
"No, you don't," TJ agreed, "I know."
"Good," Puck paused a moment and then continued, "and just so you know, if you hurt her, I hurt you, got it?"
"Got it," TJ nodded quickly, "I won't hurt her."
"No hard feelings?" Puck asked, holding out his right hand.
TJ took his hand and shook it, "no hard feelings. I expected it," he admitted.
Puck smirked and nodded as Jessica rolled her eyes and headed outside with him. Her sister and parents followed just after them and Ben grinned at Puck and TJ's conversation, "I warned her you might do that. She must have told TJ," he commented.
"I'm sure she did and I mean it. I don't want to see her hurt," Puck told him.
"I know," Ben patted him on the shoulder, "thanks, Noah."
"You're welcome. Night."
"Night, Noah. Take it easy," Ben said, following his family out to his car.
Puck returned to the living room and his mom, girlfriend, sister and Quinn were all staring at him, "what?"
"Noah, that was not very nice. You've probably scared TJ to death," Deborah commented, "and it's also not your place."
"Who says it isn't? She's my cousin. I'm the closest thing she has to an older brother. Aside from her dad, I have rights to stand up for her," he replied, "I don't want to see her hurt," he added.
"That's an admiral thing, Noah, but TJ is a nice guy. He reminds me a lot of you. He'll treat her right and he is Jewish," Rachel commented with a smile. "He's perfect for Jessica."
Puck groaned, "don't remind me." After a quiet moment, he patted Rachel's shoulder, "come on, babe, let's get you to bed. You look tired."
"Okay, but just a moment. Dad?" She asked.
Alan and Ethan both looked towards her, "yeah?" They both said at the same time.
She blushed, "that's what I was going to ask," she bit her lip, "when I was talking about what happened and I said 'dad', Finn wasn't sure if I meant dad Alan or dad Ethan," she explained, "I realized it does get a bit confusing when I say 'dad' because it could be any of you. Everyone knows when I say 'daddy' that I mean David, but when I say 'dad' it could be Alan or Ethan, so Ethan, I was wondering if you would be alright if I called you 'pop'. I mean, I understand that it's not as common, and if you're not okay with it, I won't call you that."
Ethan smirked, "it's okay, Rachel and that's totally fine," Ethan nodded, "pop is perfectly alright and I do understand. It does get a little confusing when we're in the room, so yes, that will work to differentiate between the three of us," he replied with a smile.
Rachel stood up, "okay, good, because mom and pop go good together," she smiled.
Looking at Deborah, Ethan smirked, "yeah, we do go good together, don't we?"
Deborah blushed, "yes we do."
"I agree," Rachel nodded and moved to them, "good night."
"Goodnight, Rachel. Sleep well," Deborah said hugging her gently.
"I hope I can," Rachel admitted. Hugging Ethan, Arin, and her dads, and promising to call if she needed anything, she moved to Abby's bouncer and picked her up, kissing her cheek and holding her close, "mommy loves you, sweetheart. Goodnight," she murmured before laying her back down and then headed towards the stairs.
Puck followed Rachel up to their room and once inside, he wrapped his arms around her gently and kissed her, "I love you, babe."
"I love you, too, Noah. You don't have to stay in here now. I'll be okay," she said kissing him once more.
"You sure?" He asked, "I can stay until you fall asleep."
"No, it's alright. You'll be up soon enough. Our parents should not be the ones to clean up after our friends," she added.
Puck smirked, "yeah, true, alright," he hugged her gently, "I'll be up as soon as I can."
Rachel nodded and hugged him again before they parted, then watched him leave the room. Changing into her pajamas, she slid into bed, happy and content from the afternoon with her friends. "I really needed that," she thought with a smile, "I'm glad they came over." Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she let her body relax, slowly drifting off to sleep, knowing she was safe, happy, and with the support of her friends and family she'd bounce back quickly from the accident.
...
A/N3: And there's the resolution to Rachel's accident. I hope you guys liked it. Review and let me know! I have a few things I want to do over the winter in this fic, but I'm ready to move closer towards Puck's graduation and leaving for boot camp, so my question to you all... Is there is anything you'd like to see happen between winter and graduation? If there is, please let me know either in reviews or private messages so I can maybe incorporate them into the fic before I move on.
A/N4: Mom is cancer free! She doesn't need a hysterectomy like they first thought, so things are great! January is cervical cancer awareness month (the cervical cancer color is teal & white) and it's feels great to say she's cervical cancer free now! Thanks for all the support! Love you all!
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