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.
...
"Quinnie, that's no way to talk to your mom," Judy said, stepping forward to hug her.
Quinn moved back, closer to Finn, Puck and Rachel, "you're not my mom. You don't even deserve to be called one," Quinn snapped, holding her hand up to stop Judy. "I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"
Judy's eyes widened, but for the moment ignored the harsh tone, "sweetie, I came to hear you sing. You were wonderful. I'm so sorry I missed all the other times you performed; were there a lot?"
"Not like you care," Quinn replied, "you kicked me out and disowned me, remember?"
"I... I didn't want to!" Judy stepped closer to her, "you have to know I was just doing what your father said."
"So what! I haven't heard a single word from you in almost a year. Why all of a sudden do you wanna make nice?" Quinn asked keeping her language clean because her young niece and nephew were there.
Judy bit her lip, "it was always him. He wouldn't let me contact you, but I left your father. He was having an affair. We got a divorce and it was finalized a few months ago. I'm moving back to Lima, so you can come home with me. I want both of my daughters."
"No, it's not that easy," Quinn shook her head, "what do you think? You can just come back, say your 'sorry', that you divorced him and expect me to just run home? Not happening! You ruined my life!"
"I think Finn did that all on his own. In fact, he ruined all of our lives," Judy commented, glaring at Finn.
"I..." Finn was about to defend himself, but then stopped, realizing that Quinn decided, and everyone agreed that the gender and paternity of the baby would remain a secret from Quinn's parents; making them think that Finn was the father and 'it' had been given up in a closed adoption, so they could never try to find 'it'. Glancing at Puck, he bit his lip, but kept his head down, squeezing Quinn's hand.
Quinn was furious and glared at her mom, "don't you dare try to blame him! You guys weren't even decent parents. Parents are supposed to be there for their kids when they make mistakes, not kick them out because it's not what's supposed to happen. I needed you and you guys just turned your back on me. I just thank God that I have amazing friends and their parents who took me in and treated me like their own, even with the messed up situation I was in. Now I have more moms and dads than I ever thought I would have," she said, reaching to take Rachel's hand.
Rachel smiled at Quinn, moving to stand closer to her, but kept quiet, wanting Quinn to take the lead in the conversation.
"You can't possibly think you two have a future together," Judy commented looking between Quinn and Finn.
"That's it!" Puck snapped stepping forward, "don't blame him! He's not even the father!" He hissed, standing up for Finn, "Finn has stood by her side through all of this!"
Judy gasped, not only because of Puck's tone, but at the news he'd just thrown at her.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Finn snapped at Puck.
Puck turned to Finn, "I'm not going to let you take the fall for this," Puck commented, looking at Quinn, "I respected what you wanted, Quinn; we all did and we kept our word, but I can't hide anymore; I won't. I'm not going to let someone accuse my brother of something he didn't do. You need to tell her the truth."
"What is the meaning of all this?" Judy snapped, wanting to know what he was talking about.
Taking a deep breath to calm down, Quinn gathered her thoughts, realizing that if Judy was returning to Lima, it would look strange that Puck and Rachel have a child the same age as the one Quinn 'gave up' and both were friends of Finn and Quinn's. Knowing she couldn't continue with her original plan, she nodded, "alright, I'll tell you, but if you want me back in your life, the only way I'll even consider it is if you swear, in front of all of these witnesses, that you will not, under any circumstances, try to take the child I gave birth to," she said calmly, glancing at Puck at Rachel. "Because, so help me if you or my father tries, I will sue you for all you're worth and I know I'll win, because you abandoned your seventeen-year-old daughter when she made a mistake and got pregnant."
Judy's eyes widened at Quinn's threat, realizing how serious she was and nodded, "I wouldn't dream of it. I was relieved when your sister said you gave it away. You don't need a child at your age," she told her, but when she saw that was not satisfying Quinn enough, she began to get curious at just why she was so serious about it, "I promise, I won't try to take the baby."
"Good and you better be serious, too," Quinn commented sternly.
"I am," she nodded, holding up her hand, "I swear. Now tell me what's going on," Judy practically begged, feeling like she was the only one who didn't know the whole story.
Glancing around, she knew that it really wasn't the place for a discussion like this, so she thought how best to explain it without going into a lot of details, "this isn't the time or place to be discussing this, but the short story is that Finn is not the father, Puck is," she said motioning to Puck. "Rachel and her dads are who I lived with while I was pregnant, after you guys kicked me out. Rachel and Puck started dating after he found out I was pregnant and was honest with Rachel from the start and she was super supportive of all of this. I didn't want to keep the baby at all, but Puck did, so I agreed to give him compete custody when I had the baby. Rachel and Puck's relationship quickly grew and he asked her to be the baby's mom, so I asked one of her dads, who is a lawyer, to look up all the legal aspects of things and when I had the baby, I gave them complete custody and all rights to the baby. Now they have a beautiful baby girl and are a wonderful family," Quinn smiled at Puck and Rachel, then she looked at Judy and got a harsh look on her face, "they do not deserve to have someone try to tear their family apart, just because you or your ex wants to be nasty or don't think they should have her," Quinn added firmly.
Judy's mouth fell open in shock at what she had been told, and though she had tons of questions, she also agreed that it wasn't the right place to be discussing it, "wow," she murmured, "I... I have so many questions," she admitted, looking at Puck and Rachel, "but I agree that it's not the place," she paused, "I promise I will never try to take your daughter," she said honestly, "but are you guys sure it's legal?"
"No different than if I was a surrogate for them," Quinn said, "everything is legal. Rachel's dad made sure of it."
"I was a surrogate for Rachel and her dads and I did the same thing when I gave them complete custody when she was born," Shelby said, "it's legal."
"Okay," Judy bit her lip and nodded, "this... You're happy with this arrangement?" She asked, looking at Quinn.
Quinn nodded, "I am very happy with this arrangement."
"Then that's all that matters, but I really would like to talk to you about all of this. I know you guys need to be going, but can I call you soon so we can set up a time to do that?" She asked hopeful.
Getting nods of encouragement from Finn and Puck, Quinn nodded, "yes. My schedule is busy right now, so we'll have to wait until Winter Break, but we will talk," she agreed.
"Thank you," Judy smiled, stepping closer and this time Quinn didn't step away when she tried to hug her, "I miss you, sweetie and I want you home."
Quinn accepted her hug, fighting emotions; as much as she was still mad at her parents for kicking her out, she did miss her mom and had hoped to rekindle some sort of relationship with her, so she was having a hard time staying cold and stern with her and as they pulled away she smiled, "I've missed you, too," she agreed, "but I'm not making any promises about how far this goes," she motioned between them, "I can't just forgive you for what you did, so let's just take things slowly, okay?"
"I understand. You're right. We'll take things slow," Judy promised, resting her hands on Quinn's shoulders.
"We've gotta go," Quinn said, motioning behind her to the exit doors, where some of the others were beginning to move towards.
"Oh yes, right. Be safe and I'll talk to you soon, sweetheart," Judy said, stepping back.
"Okay," Quinn nodded, turning around and was happy to see that Finn, Rachel, Puck, Will, Deborah and Ethan were still standing with her, "let's go home," she said, taking Finn's hand.
...
With the brief hold up, the last few from McKinley finally climbed onto the bus and Will made sure everyone was there before letting the bus driver know they could leave.
"Thank you," Finn said, turning around in his seat to look at Puck and Rachel, who was sitting in the seat behind him and Quinn, "but you didn't have to throw our plan out the window," he added.
Puck shrugged, "no thanks needed. I damn sure wasn't going to let her blame you for something you had no part of."
Quinn turned around so she could look at the four of them; Ethan and Deborah sitting behind Puck and Rachel, "I was surprised you did that, but you're right, and as much as I'm still pissed at her for what she did, I believe her when she swears she won't cause problems for you guys," she said.
"Me too," Puck nodded, "and coming from someone who's been in your shoes, Quinn, I know you're pissed at her and have every right to be, but," he glanced back at his parents, "she deserves a second chance."
Ethan smiled at Puck's answer, "she does and I believe her, too. I've been where she was and I know she's willing to do anything to be back in your life, Quinn, including respect your wishes for what you did with the child you gave birth to."
Quinn's eyes widened, glancing from Ethan to Puck, "oh wow. I never realized how similar our situations are," she admitted, biting her lip, "I... I do want a relationship with her, but she really hurt me. I can't just forget what she did."
"Of course you can't," Puck agreed, "and you need to tell her how you feel. She has to know what she did isn't something 'I'm sorry' will erase. It helps, but it's not that easy. Dad and I talked through emails for almost two months before we met. Granted he left and your parents kicked you out, so there are different feelings, but it's still the same recovery. You've got to make it clear that you need time and she's gotta prove she means what she says," Puck told her, "and someone once told me that I should be lucky that my dad is around to want to work things out. Not everyone is as lucky," he added, glancing at Finn.
Finn smiled, "you remembered," he replied.
"It's great advice," Puck told him.
Rachel hadn't spoken about the situation at all. She agreed that Quinn should try to rebuild a relationship with her mom and that her boyfriend should have stood up for his friend and tell Judy the truth about the baby's paternity, but she didn't think that Judy should have been told the rest of the truth; Rachel was not that trustworthy and felt Judy needed to earn some trust back before that happened. She did feel, at some point, Judy should be told, but not at that moment. Puck could have just defended Finn, by telling her Finn wasn't the father and saved the rest of the information for another conversation; when Rachel had an opportunity to talk to her boyfriend about her concerns, but since that hadn't happened, she was upset that he'd given permission to tell Judy everything without asking her.
Listening to the conversation about the Quinn and Judy relationship situation, between mostly Puck, Finn and Quinn; Ethan adding his comments once and a while, Deborah could tell that something was wrong with Rachel. She hadn't spoken a word since Judy appeared at the center and they'd been driving now for about an hour and she was still staring out the bus window. "What is wrong with Rachel? She was fine at the result announcements. What was said between then and now that upset her?" She wondered silently, "I know she would agree that Quinn and Judy need to rebuild their relationship. I also know she'd be glad Noah stood up for Finn, but... Oh no! I know what upset her! Noah didn't even talk to her about telling Judy the truth about Abby! I bet he didn't even think to talk to her about it first; they should have made that decision as a couple and family," she shook her head, pressing the bridge of her nose, "as noble as that was to defend Finn, he should have also thought about the rest of his family, too. He and Rachel should have talked about that first."
Debating for a moment if she should say something to Rachel, she opted for a more private form of communication, since they were piled on a bus with a ton of other people. Pulling out her cell phone, she typed, "You've been awfully quiet. I have a feeling you're upset because Noah didn't talk to you first about telling Judy the truth?" After reading it over, she sent the message to Rachel and heard her phone beep a few moments later.
Rachel heard her phone and pulled it from her bag, seeing a text from Deborah. Opening it with curiosity, she read over the words and held in a gasp, but her eyes widened in shock at the message, "was I that obvious?" Rachel thought glancing at her boyfriend who was now leaning back in the seat with his eyes closed. "Obviously not. He didn't even realize that I was upset. Then again, he probably doesn't realize I'm upset," she added, before typing a reply to Deborah. "Yes, I am upset about that. I agree Judy should know, but not now. He should have talked to me first! This is OUR daughter we're talking about!"
Deborah got Rachel's message and shook her head, "I got that right on target," she thought, reading it over and replying with, "You're right and I agree. I'm sorry it took this long to figure it out. You need to say something to him as soon as we're home."
"I know. I will. I think we should have a family meeting at our house to tell my dads, Carole and Burt what happened," Rachel wrote as her reply.
"I'll make arrangements with everyone. Are you going to talk to him with all of us around or wait until we leave? You do agree she should know the truth, right?" Deborah asked in her response.
Rachel thought about her answer for a moment before answering with, "I agree. I just wanted to wait. I'll tell him when you all are around. He'll feel bad and agree he should have talked to me. I get why he didn't, but it still hurts."
"Of course it does. I would feel the same way if Ethan had done the same thing. I'll make arrangements to have everyone come over. I'm here if you need to talk," Deborah replied.
"Okay, I'll try. Thanks mom. Love you!" Rachel responded.
Deborah smiled at Rachel's message and sent back, "Love you, too, Rachel. You're welcome, but a 'thanks' isn't necessary. That's what moms are for."
Reading Deborah's message, Rachel relaxed back against the seat with a smile on her face, feeling a lot better than she had a bit ago. She was happy to know she wasn't crazy for feeling the way she was and was also glad that Deborah accepted her as a daughter, knowing she'd always have a mom.
...
As promised, Deborah sent out a text message to everyone in the 'family' and no one questioned why she wanted a meeting. Those on the bus, assumed it was from the return of Judy, but since Alan, David, Carole and Burt didn't know about Judy, they thought it was for telling everyone about Sectionals.
The rest of the ride back to Lima was quiet; most of the teens were relaxing and some were asleep. It had been a early morning for them, plus with all the excitement from taking second and learning they'd be going to Regionals, they were all drained.
Just after six that night, the bus pulled into McKinley's parking lot and Will asked them to come to Glee the next day, Monday, with ideas for songs to sing at Regionals.
Pulling up in front of the school, everyone gathered their bags and climbed off the bus. The large group of students and chaperones thinned out as they headed to their cars in the parking lot. Ethan, Deborah, Puck and Rachel had gone in Ethan's SUV, Kurt had picked up Quinn and Finn at the Hudson's and Jessica, Ben and Susan came in his car, so since they were all heading towards Puck and Rachel's house, it wasn't a huge jump to have a family meeting there.
Loading their bags into Ethan's jeep, a light went off in Puck's head and he realized that his girlfriend had not spoken at all since they left Columbus, "Rachel, are you okay?" He asked as they climbed into the backseat of the SUV.
"It took you two and a half hours to figure out that I'm not alright," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Puck looked at her in confusion, "what's wrong?"
Rachel took a deep breath and once they were on their way back home, she turned to look at him, "while I agree that Quinn should rebuild a relationship with her mom and you should have defended Finn, by telling Judy you were the baby's real father, I did not agree with telling her the whole truth right then. You would have known that if you had talked to me about it first! I am Abby's other parent, remember? Or is that only for everything except big decisions and then you feel since I'm not her biological mother, I don't have a say in them?" She snapped, having several hours to think about just what hurt her and part of it was that; he acted like he was her only parent to make decisions.
Puck's eyes widened at the realization of what he'd done, "oh, baby, I'm so sorry!" He told her, reaching over to take her hand in his, "of course you're her other parent! I never will think of you as anything less," he promised, squeezing her hand as he took a deep breath and ran his free hand over his face, "I wasn't thinking. I know that's no excuse, but I was just so pissed at Judy for saying what she did about Finn, that I just got caught up in the moment. I should have thought about what was going on before I jumped into that. I'm sorry," he said again, "I should have talked to you first."
"You're right, you should have," she replied, not wanting to give in just yet, "that really hurt Noah. I get why you did it and I don't disagree that you should have defended Finn, but you made it seem like my opinion on it didn't matter. We've never once talked about the possibility that Quinn's parents would come back into her life and five minutes after her mom shows up, you're spouting off the complete opposite of what we'd all, as a family, agreed on, just to defend Finn! You could have still done that by just saying you were the baby's father; you didn't have to tell her anything else! We're not talking about Kona, you know? We're talking about our daughter!"
"I know that, baby, I'm sorry. I really am," he said honestly, realizing how much he screwed up, "I messed up. I get it."
"Do you?" She looked at him, "and do you really trust Judy that much?"
"She promised and swore that she wouldn't-"
"Well, I'm glad you believe her, because I sure as hell don't! I don't care how much she 'swore' or 'promised' she'd respect Quinn's arrangement, I don't trust her yet! She should have earned some of that trust before we told her that Quinn's biological child is being raised by her teenage biological father and his teenage girlfriend. She's a stranger to us, all of us and I... what if she tries to take Abby from us? What if her dad finds out and he wants to take her from us?" Rachel asked, unable to hide the biggest reason she was so upset; she was scared they'd lose Abby.
Closing his eyes and thinking about what she'd said, he knew she was right. They had never even talked about the possibility of telling the truth to Quinn's parents one day, and the moment they're faced with it, he jumped to defend Finn, telling her mom everything, without even knowing anything about Judy, and all they had was her promise that she'd respect Quinn's arrangement, because Quinn was happy with it. Logically he knew that her concerns were valid, but he had a gut feeling they could trust Judy and that her word was true, "I know I wasn't really thinking but I got this feeling we can trust her. She's willing to do anything to be in Quinn's life again and Quinn is on our side; she's not going to let anyone take Abby from us," he told her, "but I'm sorry, baby. I screwed up. I should have talked to you and kept quiet until we knew more about her. You gotta believe me when I say I'm sorry."
Rachel took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, "I do believe you, Noah, I do, but I can't just pretend like you didn't hurt me," she paused, and unbuckled her seatbelt since they were sitting in Ethan and Deborah's driveway, "just give me some time, okay?"
Puck nodded, "yeah, I can do that... I'm so sorry, baby," he said, unbuckling his own belt and slid closer to her to kiss her.
She returned the kiss lightly, "I know," she replied, "can you get my bags?" She asked, "I want to go see our daughter," she added, before sliding out of the car and heading across the street.
...
Walking into the house, Rachel was immediately greeted by Kona, so she pet her a few times and guided her further into the living room to see everyone else. Her dads, Arin, Hannah, Burt and Carole were there, along with Kurt, Finn, Quinn, Jessica, Susan and Ben, so now they were only waiting for Puck, Ethan and Deborah to come inside and when Rachel's eyes landed on Abby, who was currently being held by Susan, she relaxed, "hey sweetheart, mommy's home," she said happily. When Abby heard her voice, she turned her head and smiled brightly as she reached out for her, so Rachel moved towards her and took her from Susan, hugging her, "oh, I missed you so much," she murmured, closing her eyes and trying to settle her nerves.
Though those on the trip knew what the meeting was about, Carole, Burt, Alan and David were still clueless, but were patient to wait until everyone was there.
"Please tell me you gave your boyfriend an earful," Quinn commented, moving to Rachel.
Rachel blushed and nodded, "yes I did. I knew he'd feel bad and I don't disagree with what happened, I just wish we had talked about it first and maybe kept some of the information from her for a little longer," she admitted.
Quinn nodded, "I feel terrible he did that. I knew you were upset on the bus, but I didn't say anything because I didn't really think it was the right time to talk about it. Are you okay? You're not mad at me, are you?" She asked nervously.
"No, I'm not mad at you. What he said just brought up some insecurities and worries I've had and though I'm sure they will amount to nothing, I can't help worry; it's my daughter we're talking about here. Not Kona," Rachel admitted. At the sound of her name, Kona perked her head up curiously and looked at Rachel from where she was next to her. Rachel smirked, "yes, I said your name," she replied, petting her head with her free hand.
The four unaware adults, exchanged confused glances and then David and Alan got up, moving over to greet their daughter, "Rachel, welcome home. Now what's going on?" David asked, slipping an arm around her shoulders to give her a hug.
Rachel returned his hug and gave Alan one, "hey dad, daddy. Sorry we're so secretive, we don't mean to be, but something happened right before we left Columbus and it kind of shocked some of us, then Noah had to open his big mouth and upset me and we'd have to explain from the beginning, so we just wanted to wait to tell everyone all at once," Rachel explained.
Puck and his parents had just walked inside and he heard Rachel say that, "I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" He groaned, dropping their bags by the stairs and moved into the living room, kissing Abby on the forehead, "can I hold her?"
"Sure," Rachel kissed Abby's cheek and then passed her over to her dad; she was upset with him, but she knew he was sincerely sorry and it was hard for her to stay mad at him, but she'd try for a bit longer.
Taking Abby into his arms, he kissed her cheek and snuggled her, "daddy fucked up and opened his big mouth without talking to mommy first. I won't do that again, that's for sure," he promised, talking to Abby, but he wanted everyone to hear that.
"Okay, everyone's here. What's going on?" Carole asked.
"After the announcements of the top five schools that will be going to Regionals, which we took second, we were heading out to the buses and just before we got outside, my sister and her family showed up. Along with them, was my mother," Quinn commented with a sigh, "she told me and her and my father got a divorce and she's moving back to Lima and wants me to move back home," she rolled her eyes, "that's not going to happen, but I'll at least try to rebuild a relationship with her."
"Then Judy started blaming Finn for ruining their lives and I wasn't going to let her accuse him of something he didn't do, so I stepped in and like an idiot, told them we should just tell her the truth. I think, at the time, I figured if Judy is coming back to Lima, I didn't want us to have to hide Abby, just to go out, because Judy might wonder about Finn and Quinn's friends having a kid the same age as the one Quinn 'gave away', so I just wanted Judy to know the truth," Puck explained, "and Quinn only told her after she promised she wouldn't try to take her."
"I was surprised that he was willing to tell her the truth, but we went with it. I didn't just tell her after she promised, I threatened her, a little too. There is no way I'm going to let her come back into my life and try to tear Abby away from Puck and Rachel. Abby is right where she needs to be," Quinn said, smiling when she saw Rachel holding Abby again, "she has got the best parents in the world."
"Thank you, Quinn," Rachel smiled at her. She then went on to explain the rest of the situation and how she had been upset and quiet and her discussion with her boyfriend in the car, "I agree we can't really keep the truth from Judy, since she's moving back to Lima, but I just wish we had waited. Noah, I know, is sorry for not talking to me first about all of this, but it's too late now. She knows and though I don't trust her, I hope that feeling changes."
Quinn looked at Rachel, "I know you're skeptical, but I believe her and I know that's not much, but I'm not going to let anyone take her from you guys, I promise you."
Rachel nodded at Quinn, "I know and I believe you. I just don't know Judy well enough to agree or disagree with that, but thank you."
"Understandable and you're welcome," Quinn replied, looking around, "and I'm not just going to forget what Judy did to me," she said, "she turned her back on me when I needed her the most and I'm so thankful that I have all of you. If it wasn't for you guys, I don't know what I would have done. I know I've said this before, but you guys are all my moms and dads. You guys were all there for me when I needed it and I can't thank you enough for what you've done," Quinn admitted, wiping her eyes.
Carole got up and moved over to Quinn, wrapping her arms around her and Deborah joined them, "you don't have to thank us," Carole said honestly, fighting her own tears, "and we'll always be here."
Deborah nodded in agreement and looked at Quinn as they pulled away, "and we'll be there when you do talk to Judy again, if you want us to be. You shouldn't be meeting her alone."
Quinn smiled, "thanks, and that means a lot. I really want you there. I was... I was kind of hoping that maybe next weekend we could have her over to the house for dinner," she looked at Carole, "with everyone there, um, but," she glanced at Rachel, "maybe not Abby, though. She might be too much."
"We'll watch her," Susan said with a smile.
"Thanks," Rachel replied, nodding at Susan, "we'll be there," she told Quinn.
"I think that's a great idea," Carole agreed, "she's welcome, if that's what you want, Quinn."
"It is," Quinn nodded.
"Then make the arrangements and let us know what day and she'll be welcome," Carole told her.
"Thanks," Quinn smiled hugging Deborah and Carole again.
Alan got up and moved over to Rachel, resting his hands on her shoulders, "everything you guys have done is legal. I made sure of it. You guys have nothing to worry about," he told her softly, brushing his hand over Abby, who was snuggled against Rachel's chest.
Rachel looked at Abby and then up to her dad, "really?" She asked hopeful.
"Really. Because I really don't think that Judy wants a huge legal case in her hands. If she even tried, I'd go after her for numerous things, which I'd win and it'd ruin any chance she had of rebuilding a relationship with Quinn, because Quinn's on your side," he explained.
Hearing his words, her worries eased slightly, but they were still there. Over time, once she got to know Judy a little more, she hoped to see the same things everyone was telling her, but she was still looking out for Abby, "thanks, dad. I'm trying to believe everyone, but it's hard. I'm scared we'll lose Abby and it's not a fear I can just turn off," she murmured, biting her lip.
"Of course it isn't; it'll take time," he agreed, hugging her gently, "and you're not going to lose her," he promised.
"Okay," she nodded and smiled at him, leaning against her boyfriend. She was still upset at him, but that didn't mean she couldn't find comfort with him; she'd get over being upset.
...
Shortly after the big family 'meeting', people began to go home. Ben and his family were the first to leave, followed by the Hudsons and Hummels, leaving Abby, Rachel, Puck and their families.
It had been a long day for the Sectionals travelers, so David and Alan agreed to stay the night again, so they could help out with Abby, giving Puck and Rachel the night off, so they could recover from their trip and Ethan, Deborah and Arin went home to get ready for the next day.
Rachel was glad her dads were willing to stay the extra night and it wasn't long before she and Noah were saying 'goodnight' to Abby and going up to their room. They sorted out some of their things from the trip and slowly got ready for bed, not really saying much to each other, but as they both changed into their pajamas and headed for bet, Puck bit his lip, "so, um, is this one of those nights that I should be sleeping on the couch?" He asked nervously.
"No, it's not," she shook her head and slid into bed, "I'm not as mad as I was, but I'm still upset, Noah. Like I've said, I understand why you did it and that it was a spur of the moment thing, but you've got to promise me something like this will never happen again. I can't just forget my fears or worries, or that you hurt me, but I will, in time."
"Oh, baby, it won't," he climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, "I promise you, I will never let anything like that happen again. You are Abby's mom and I'm so sorry I made you feel like it was just for show," he told her honestly, "and I'll do anything I can to prove that I mean it," he added, kissing her forehead.
Rachel smiled at his response and clung to him, having missed his comfort the night before, since they'd slept apart, "thank you," she murmured.
He smiled and rubbed her back, shifting a little to kiss her lips, "I love you, baby, you're my other half in everything."
"I love you, too," she replied, gathering her thoughts, "after what happened a few months ago and now this, I think we should agree to never go to bed angry at each other," she added softly.
"I agree," he nodded, "we shouldn't. I also think we shouldn't leave home when we're upset, either. Well, if I'm away, it's going to be too hard to do that, but you get what I mean," he blushed.
Rachel nodded and kissed him, her hand resting against his cheek, "I do and I promise I'll never leave home again, if I get mad at you," she assured him, "and though I'm still upset, I'm not angry anymore."
"Good," he held her close to him, "it's a start. We're in this together, forever, for the good and the bad. I mean that," he told her seriously.
"For the good and the bad, forever," she agreed, pressing a kiss to his lips.
Puck returned her kiss and tugged the blankets over them, glad she'd accepted his apology and was slowly getting over it; the more she forgave him, the less he'd be pissed at himself for what he'd done. He'd definitely learned from his mistake.
...
Underlined text from Glee's episode 1x22 - Journey.
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A/N3: Back when I wrote Abby's birth, Quinn was really the one who decided to keep the paternity and gender from her parents and hide who she gave the baby to, and everyone went along with it. I always wanted to bring Judy back into the story and kind of 'close up' that storyline, in a sense, so this is how I did it. Hope you like it! Judy is NOT going to try to take Abby or anything like that, I promise you, so this is where it ends.
A/N4: I hope you enjoyed! I promise I have not abandoned you! It's been a long few months. When I last updated my fics, in late-May to early-June, I was doing okay, but my medical issues flared up and in mid-June other things were added to my plate. Since it's the summer, it's road-trip season for me, so I've been hanging out with my friends and am also trying to get my business up and running to sell my crafts, my mom is out of school and we have a lot of things around the house we're trying to do, going places with her and taking her to Seattle for her cancer check-ups (she's still cancer free! Yay!) so my time online has been limited. All of this has built up, so I usually only have the energy to email and hang out on Tumblr. I just went to the doctor and am working on getting some of these things straightened out, so I'm getting there. Just bare with me, please. I promise I will get to reviews and fics when I can, but it may be a while. I love you all and thank you so much for your support and for reading my fics! Don't forget, aside from my few WIPs, I also have several complete fics that you could read.
A/N5: There is a 'Puckleberry Awards' going on at LiveJournal - here's the link to the nomination post - ( prfanficawards . livejournal . com / 789 . html ). They have numerous categories and you can vote for up to 3 fics per category. Originally the nominations would only be until July 15th, but they have been extended to July 31st. There are a ton of Puckleberry fics and authors out there and I'm not sure who knows about this (I heard about it on Tumblr) and I'm letting you all know. You have to be a member of LiveJournal to comment and all you guys have to do is copy and paste the nomination 'form' into a comment on that link above and type in the names of the fics and authors information (links to fics of some kind) and submit it. You can also post the form in the 'askbox' on the Tumblr for the awards, but you have to be a member of Tumblr. If you are not a member of either, I think you can email it, but I'm not 100% on that one, but I'm sure you could contact the creator and ask. There is only one 'WIP' category, so 'Out of the Blue', 'Starlight', 'Broken Road' and 'Returning Home' only fit into that category, but remember, I have several complete fics you can nominate (if you'd like): 'Fly Me To The Moon', 'Became The Summer', 'Leave Out All The Rest', 'Paper and 'Gotta Start Somewhere' and I'm SapphireEJ on FF and SapphiresFic on LJ - the more information you give them, the easier it is for the people doing the awards to find the fics. Don't feel obligated to nominate me, but if you'd like to, that'd be awesome.
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