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.
...
It was after one-am by the time Puck and Rachel finally got home from the hospital. It'd been an emotional day, ending in the birth of Puck's newest sister and the two just went right to bed, not even bothering to wake Rachel's dads, who had stayed to watch Abby.
Though sleep came quickly for the couple, time flew by and just after eight-am, Arin was shaking her brother excitedly, "Noah! Get up, please! I wanna go to the hospital and meet our sister!"
Puck jumped at the sudden wake-up call and groaned, "Arin? How did you get in here?"
"Uncle Ben walked me over and Alan let me in," she explained, reaching for his hand, "come on!"
"Whoa! Just chill out, sis," he murmured, "they're not going anywhere."
"I know, but you already got to see her and I wanna go there with you," Arin told him.
Taking his hand back, Puck rubbed his face and rolled over, seeing Rachel now awake and laughing at the siblings, "why are you laughing? We just got woken up."
"So? It's an exciting day and it's something we're gonna have to get used to, because as soon as Abby is old enough to get out of her crib, she'll be waking us up like this, too," she mentioned, sitting up.
Realizing what Rachel said was probably true, he nodded, "yeah, I guess we should get used to it," he turned to look at Arin and sat up, "okay, we're awake. Give us some time to get ready and then we can go."
"Awesome!" Arin grinned, turning and skipping out of their room, happy she'd been successful at her mission.
As soon as she was gone, Puck plopped back against his pillows and sighed, "someone has had sugar recently."
"I don't think it's that, Noah. She's excited. If I was in her shoes, I would be," Rachel smiled, leaning over and kissing him, "and she's right. We did get to see Dena last night, but she hasn't yet."
"I know," Puck nodded and wrapped his arms around her, "which is why I'm not pissed at her for waking us up," he glanced at the clock, "at eight-ten-am."
"We got to sleep in a little later than we usually do for school," Rachel smiled, relaxing against him for a moment, but then shifted, "come on. If we're not up and moving soon, Arin may come back."
Puck smirked, "yeah, she probably will. You can go shower first. I'll go downstairs and see what's up with everything."
"Okay," Rachel nodded as the two climbed out of bed, "I won't be long."
...
With Rachel heading for the shower, Puck put on some sweatpants and went downstairs, finding David, Alan, Arin and Abby in the kitchen, "hey," he greeted, moving over to his daughter and kissing her forehead, while she ate in her highchair.
"Good morning, Noah," David responded, "we suggested it wouldn't be a good idea to wake you guys up, but Arin insisted."
"It's alright. I get it," he glanced at his sister, "just don't make a habit of it, okay? Unless it's an emergency."
"Alright. Promise," she blushed.
"Thanks for watching Abby," Puck told the guys as he got some water.
"No problem, Noah. We don't mind," Alan assured him, "so things went well last night? All we know is what you guys told us in your text messages."
"Mom did great. Dena was doing well when we left and mom sent me a picture of dad holding her this morning, so sounds like things are still good," Puck explained, "I hope."
"I'm sure they are. If something happened, they probably would have called someone to let them know," David replied, "and she sent us the picture, too."
"Oh, cool," Puck smiled, leaning against the counter, "so Rachel's showering now. When she's done, I'm gonna shower and then we can get to the hospital. Are you guys going to join us?"
"Actually we're going to go home when you guys go to the hospital. We'll get ready and then go meet you guys. Ben, Susan and the girls are going to come up at the same time we go and I'm sure Dena and Deborah will be home this evening. I can't believe they'd keep them there any longer," David explained.
"You're probably right," Puck agreed, "especially because mom's a nurse."
"Yeah, and I've heard they don't keep women more than twenty-four hours, if they had the baby naturally, unless there are complications," Alan added, "I don't know how true that is, but it does make sense."
"Quinn and Abby were released within twenty-four hours, so that's probably true," Puck said, wiping Abby's face and hands off with a soft rag after she finished eating. Once she was clean, he picked her up and kissed her cheek, "hey there, baby girl. You wanna go meet your..." Puck paused, "oh man, this is gonna be weird," he admitted, now realizing the actual familial relation Abby and Dena had was a bit odd because of their ages.
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, coming into the kitchen at the end of Puck's comment, so she didn't know what he was talking about.
"Uh, nothing, really," Puck admitted, "but I just... I mean I knew it'd be weird, but we've never talked about exactly what Dena and Abby are going to be to each other. Biologically, Dena is Abby's aunt, but Abby's a year older and they're going to be growing up together."
"I don't think we need to have a title right now. I understand what you're saying, but as they get older, they'll learn their relation. They'll call each other by their first names and," Rachel blushed, "for some reason I imagine when they're teenagers Dena will tease Abby about being her aunt and Abby will tease her, too, for being her niece, but being older."
"You've been thinking about this, haven't you?" Puck smiled, slipping his free arm around her shoulders, "I can see that happening, too, now that you mention it."
"It's fun to think about their future, so yes, I have been thinking of it. I knew it was something we'd bring up, but right now, I don't think it's super important we focus on it. They're family and that's all they need to know right now," Rachel admitted, "or at least that's what I'd figured out."
Puck pressed a kiss to her lips, "I get it and I guess you're right. It isn't really important to have an exact plan right now. We'll figure it out later."
...
Talking for a short time, Puck eventually headed upstairs to get ready for the day, while Rachel took care of Abby. After they were all ready, it wasn't long before Rachel, Puck, Abby and Arin were on their way to the hospital and when they arrived, they found Quinn sitting in the room talking with Deborah, while Ethan was on the phone.
Arin went right over to Deborah, while Rachel and Puck moved further into the room towards Quinn, "hey Quinn. I didn't know you'd be here," Rachel admitted in surprise.
"Hey," Quinn smiled, "Carole and I stopped by this morning before she had to go to work. I decided to stay, because I didn't want to be alone in the house."
"Is Finn working at the shop with Burt this weekend?" Rachel wondered, setting the diaper bag in her hand down on an empty chair.
"Yeah, and Kurt and Ryan had plans," she confirmed, "hope you don't mind."
"I don't," Puck assured her as he sat Abby's car seat down on the same chair that Rachel had put her diaper bag.
"Neither do I," Rachel added, taking Abby out of her car seat, "have you held Dena yet?"
"Yeah, she's adorable and her name is awesome. It's perfect for her," she replied honestly.
As Rachel and Quinn continued to talk, Puck moved over to his mom and greeted her with a hug and kiss, "hey mom. How are you doing?"
"We're doing really well," she smiled, "so far no complications from the birth for me and Dena has been sleeping for a little while. The last few times they've come to check on her, she's responded like she should, so if things continue to go that way we should get out of here by dinner time."
"That's awesome," Puck smiled, glancing over at Dena in the bassinet, "just in time for Mother's Day."
"Exactly," she nodded with a grin, "you know, last year at this time, I definitely didn't think this is how we'd be celebrating Mother's Day this year, but I'm not complaining. She's perfect, just like you two are," she explained, looking at Arin and Puck.
"Well, I wouldn't say perfect, but we have our moments," Puck smirked.
"Eye of the beholder, Noah," Deborah replied.
"True," he agreed, looking at Arin, "did you tell her what you did this morning?"
Arin blushed, "Uncle Ben walked me over to Noah and Rachel's and I woke them up. I wanted to come up here with him and I didn't want them to sleep all morning."
"Oh, I don't think they would have slept all day," Deborah admitted with a light laugh, "but I'm sure they understand your reasoning behind the wake-up."
"Yeah, we do, and I asked her not to make a habit of it," Puck replied, "unless it's an emergency."
"I won't. I'm just excited," Arin said, "can I hold her?"
"Sure," Deborah nodded, "she's probably going to be hungry soon, so Noah could get her? Your dad is talking to your grandma and aunts," she explained, motioning to where Ethan was, sitting in the corner of the room talking on his phone.
Puck nodded and moved over to the bassinet, seeing Dena wrapped up in a soft pink blanket and wearing a matching pink cap. Her eyes were open slightly, so he carefully picked her up and carried her over to Deborah's bed where Arin was now sitting on the edge, "remember to be careful."
"I know. I held Abby when she was born," Arin reminded him, carefully holding out her arms.
Laying their newborn sister in Arin's arms, Puck smiled, "Arin, meet our baby sister."
Arin looked down at her, "hi, Dena! I'm really glad you're finally here," she grinned, "I never thought I'd get to be a big sister, but it's so cool!"
"Noah, take a picture," Rachel motioned to the camera sitting on a rolling table by Deborah's bed.
Puck smirked at Rachel's suggestion, but did what she suggested, snapping a few photos of his sisters, while adding, "and I never thought I'd ever have another sister, so it's really cool."
Before anyone could respond to what Puck said, Ethan's side of the conversation he was having with his family didn't seem to be going well, "...Mom... No... I don't think... Mom, seriously, we're fine and we don't..." he sighed, rubbing his forehead as he listened to his mom on the phone, "I know that, but... Are you sure? I... We didn't plan anything big for tomorrow because... Alright, alright, fine... See you later," he muttered, hanging up the phone and shaking his head.
"Everything alright?" Puck asked, looking over at him.
"Well, my sisters and brother are all excited about Dena. They send their congratulations and everyone can't wait to meet her at the end of the month when we," Ethan motioned between him and Deborah, "celebrate our birthdays like we did last year." Standing up, he rubbed his neck and continued, "my mom is just as excited, but she doesn't want to wait until the end of the month, so she's coming down," glancing at his watch to see the time, he did some mental figuring, "and I expect her here by dinner."
"What?" Deborah gasped, "today? How long is she planning on staying?"
Ducking his head, Ethan bit his lip, "until Monday," he murmured, knowing she wouldn't hear him from where he was standing.
"Ethan, how long is she staying?" Deborah asked again, trying to stay calm as her thoughts began to race.
"She doesn't plan to leave until Monday. I tried to talk her out of it, and so did my sisters, but she's determined to come see us. She never got to see Noah, Arin or Abby when they were born and she wants to spend Mother's Day with us. She's spent many of them with my siblings and their families, but she's never spent any with you guys," he looked at Arin and Puck. "I know this is short notice and I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't change her mind," he added, hoping his wife wouldn't get mad.
As Deborah's mouth fell open in shock, everyone else just remained stunned and focused on the two adults. They figured it was best to let them talk about the situation and they also didn't know how Deborah would react.
While Ethan spoke, Deborah contemplated what he was saying. It'd been a long twenty-four hours and she was still tired; the bed was not the most comfortable, so at the moment all she wanted to do was go home with her family and sleep. She had thought briefly that they may have some guests visiting, but she didn't expect it to be so soon. After Ethan mentioned all the missed opportunities Orla could have had with Puck and Arin, and the missed Mother's Days, she completely understood why she was so determined to visit. "Alright," she took a deep breath, "I'm not thrilled she's coming down here on such short notice, but I get it. If I was in her position, I'd probably do the same thing, given the history our family has," she admitted, "I like her, don't get me wrong, but I just gave birth. I'm tired and I just would like to sleep and relax, so you guys are gonna have to help out," she looked around at her kids, before landing her gaze on Ethan, "and see. It's a good thing we finished cleaning out the guest room and setting up the furniture last month. I had a feeling this might start happening after she was born."
"I didn't think we'd need it this soon, but yeah, you were right," he agreed, "but we still don't have any bedding. That was what you were going to get."
Deborah thought for a moment and then turned to Rachel, "do you think you could make a trip to the store for us?"
"Uh, sure. For what?" Rachel wondered.
"Sheets and a comforter of some sort. I think we have similar tastes, so you can go to the house and see the finished product and get an idea, before heading to the store, but I believe you'd pick out something similar to what I'd go for," Deborah admitted.
"I'd be happy to. I'll even take Quinn. Between the two of us we should be able to find something that will work," Rachel replied with a smile, happy to be asked to do something like that for her.
"Thank you," Deborah returned her smile and relaxed for a moment, but noticed Dena was getting restless in Arin's arms, "I'll take her. I think she's getting hungry."
"Oh, okay," Arin carefully turned and handed her over and then stood up and hugged Ethan.
Ethan returned her hug and then pulled his walled out and handed Rachel some cash, "thanks for doing that."
"It's no problem," Rachel replied, taking the money, "but I don't think we'll need this much."
"You might need to get an alarm clock, and I'd rather you have too much than not enough," he told her, "you're doing a big favor for us and if you want, you can use the rest for lunch."
Rachel blushed, but slid the money into her jeans' pocket, "alright. We'll go when my dads get here, which should be anytime," she turned to look at Quinn, "I guess I should have asked you if you'd like to go."
Quinn laughed lightly, "it's alright and I'm fine with going. Sounds fun. We haven't hung out for a while."
...
When David and Alan arrived, Rachel explained what she and Quinn were doing and soon the two teen girls and Abby were on their way to Deborah and Ethan's to see the spare room and then headed off to the store. Puck kept them updated on what was going on at the hospital and after the girls had finished their shopping trip, they went back to Rachel and Puck's. They washed the sheets and while they waited for them to finish, they went over and picked up Deborah and Ethan's place a little bit more than had been done the night before.
By one that afternoon, Quinn and Rachel had finished washing and drying the sheets, making the bed in the spare room and setting up the alarm clock they'd gotten, all while Abby napped and Rachel kept her baby monitor with her. Once they finished at Deborah and Ethan's, they headed back to Rachel and Puck's house and ordered some Chinese take-out for lunch. They thought about going out, but with Abby sleeping, they didn't want to wake her up just for that and they'd heard from Puck that Deborah and Dena could be released in the next few hours, so they figured by the time Abby was awake, they might be home.
"So how are you doing?" Quinn asked curiously as they waited in the living room for their lunch delivery.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Rachel wondered, surprised at the question.
Quinn looked at her, "with time ticking down, I mean."
Rachel shrugged, "oh, I'm alright. I'm staying positive right now. We've got a lot of time left before he leaves and I plan to enjoy it without being upset. I can be upset once he's in boot camp."
"I'm glad you're able to hold off on that. I don't know if I'd be able to," Quinn replied.
"I don't know if I'll be able to, either, but I'm hoping I can," Rachel admitted honestly. "I don't want Noah to see how upset I am. He knows it's going to be hard on all of us and showing him how upset I am is going to make him feel worse."
Quinn nodded in understanding, "yeah, I see what you mean. If you ever do get upset and don't want him to see, you know where to find me."
"Thanks," Rachel smiled, "I may take you up on that offer."
...
When their lunch arrived, Quinn and Rachel sat down to eat and finished up just before Abby woke up from her nap. Puck had also messaged during their meal, saying that Deborah and Dena would be released from the hospital shortly and they'd probably all be home in an hour. With that news, Rachel and Quinn cleaned up their dishes and put things away, and then hung out with Abby and Kona until Puck and his family got back home.
As soon as several cars pulled up to the house, Rachel knew everyone was home, so she, Quinn, Abby and Kona went over to meet them. Ethan and Deborah were the first to head inside, but the others followed, and Dena's close family headed right into the nursery as they settled Dena into her crib for the first time. She'd slept most of the way home and woke up only when they took her out of her car seat. She seemed interested in her surroundings, but it wasn't long before she was drifting off to sleep again, so Ethan turned on the baby monitor and then they headed back into the living room to meet up with the others there.
Since Deborah and Ethan hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, they had something quick to eat, talked with their family for a short time and then headed to bed for a while. They knew Ethan's mom would be there a little after four, and Ethan at least wanted to have a short nap before she arrived.
Along with Rachel, Abby, Puck, Quinn and Arin at the house, was also Rachel's dads, Deborah's brother and his family. They stayed for a bit, but Ben and Susan left with Hannah and Arin. Arin wanted to pack her things up from staying over the night before and Jessica stayed to hang out with her cousin and friends and to keep from waking Ethan, Deborah or Dena, everyone moved back over to Rachel and Puck's place. Since they didn't have anything planned to do, the teens and Rachel's dads popped in a movie to watch, but they spent more time talking over the movie than actually paying attention to it, since it was one they'd already seen several times.
Ben walked Arin back home around three-thirty and once she dropped her things off at her house, they joined the others at Puck and Rachel's. After talking together for a short time, they went back to the other house because they knew Orla would be arriving soon and someone would have to figure out what to make for dinner. Ben and Jessica decided to go home, giving the Puckerman-Berry family some time alone. Quinn stayed, and had gotten a call that Finn would be home soon, so Puck and Rachel invited him over and he agreed to join then, but wanted to shower first, so he'd be over when he could.
Ethan got up just before four and between him, Rachel and Puck they came up with something to make for dinner and while they got started, they also talked about brunch and dinner for the next day. It was Mother's Day and they'd planned on it doing special meals because Rachel and Deborah didn't want any gifts or for them to do anything big.
Finn arrived at the same time Orla got there and while he easily settled in with the family, Orla was super excited to meet Dena, but was also glad to have some time with her other grandchildren, who she'd never got to see growing up. She also was happy to spend time with her first great-grandchild, Abby, to get to know more about Rachel and to spend time with her son, daughter-in-law and the rest of their family. She usually was only around during family parties or events, so it was harder to get a lot of one-on-one time and now she had a chance to have that.
...
"Did you see dad's face when grandma asked if Dena was their last kid?" Puck asked later that night as he and Rachel were getting into bed.
Rachel laughed lightly, "I did. It's a good thing he wasn't drinking anything, because he probably would have choked on it. Though, I have been curious if she is their last child. I mean, there's time for them to have more, if it's something they wanted to do."
Puck groaned, "hopefully Dena is it. I love my parents and my sisters, but it's gonna be weird when we have more kids, if my parents are still having them."
"I guess I see you're point. It'd be the same as if my dads decided to adopt a baby now that I'm out of the house," she admitted.
"Exactly," Puck nodded, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and pulling the blankets over them, "don't get me wrong, if they had more, I wouldn't complain, but some how I think she's it, though, Dena was unexpected, so we don't really know," he smirked.
"There is that," she agreed with a smile, then blushed, "speaking of unexpected, I'm surprised we haven't had a, um, I guess it's called a scare. The only thing protecting us is my birth control."
"Yeah, I've thought about that, too," he pressed a kiss to her lips, "I love you and Abby, but I don't want any more kids right now."
"Same here," she assured him, "I admit I've thought about what it'd be like to have more, but we've got plenty of time for that."
Puck nodded, "I know what you mean," he gently moved his hand down to rest on her stomach, "but I've wanted to see you pregnant. I didn't get that with Abby," he admitted honestly, "I know you're gonna be gorgeous, but seeing it is different than just thinking about it. Not only that, but we'll have the experiences we didn't get with Abby before she was born. Yeah, we got it a little with Quinn, but it's not really the same."
Rachel smiled, joining her hand with his, "we'll get that one day, but I've figured out that I'm fine with not getting all the physical experiences of being pregnant with Abby. That's just a part of it; it's honestly nothing compared to being her mom for the rest of her life. That's what's important to me; but of course I want to to experience pregnancy, too. I guess I just mean it's okay, because I know we'll get that one day."
"This is why I love you, babe," Puck kissed her, "from the start, you've been so supportive of the situation and easily accepted Abby as your own. I could not ask for a better person to be with. I don't deserve you, but I'm not letting you go."
"Neither am I, Noah, and I love you, too," she grinned, "and don't worry. You're stuck with me for good."
...
Waking up Sunday morning, also Mother's Day, Rachel was surprised to find the other half of the bed empty. She then noticed the baby monitor was missing from where it had been when they went to sleep the night before, so she was curious what Puck and Abby were up to. Glancing at time, she saw it was around nine-thirty, so she knew her boyfriend had gotten up early to take care of Abby, giving her a chance to sleep in. Getting up, Rachel put her slippers and a robe on and headed downstairs in search of her family.
"Morning! Happy Mother's Day, babe," Puck smiled from the living room floor, where he was sitting watching Abby walk around the room.
"Good morning and thank you," she smiled brightly at him and Abby, "you didn't have to let me sleep in."
"I know, but it's Mother's Day, so I wanted you to have the morning off. Besides, it gives me some extra time with Abby," Puck replied hugging Abby, then pulled something from behind him and handed it to her, "go give it to mommy," he murmured, pointing to Rachel.
Abby took the suggestion and with the item in her hand, turned and walked towards Rachel, holding it out, "rose," she grinned, having just learned the word earlier that morning.
Rachel smiled and picked Abby up, kissing her cheek, "yes, that is a rose," she agreed, taking the red flower from her daughter, "thank you. It's very pretty. Where did you get it?"
Puck stood up and moved over to them, "there's plenty more in the kitchen," he replied, wrapping his arms around her and Abby.
"Really?" She blushed, "you got me flowers?"
"Yep. I had them delivered earlier. I know you didn't want anything, but it's a special day. And well, I wanted to 'just because'," he admitted, guiding them into the kitchen to show her the vase of red roses sitting on the kitchen table.
"Oh, Noah, they're beautiful!" She slipped her arm around his back and hugged him and Abby, "I don't mind getting flowers; I just didn't need a bunch of gifts. Last year what you guys got me was wonderful, but not necessary," she explained, standing up a little to kiss him on the lips, "thank you."
"Welcome," he grinned, returning her kiss, "and I had a feeling you'd be okay with these."
Abby squirmed a little at being so close to her parents, which caught Rachel's attention, "oh, sorry, sweetie," she kissed Abby on the cheek and stepped a few inches back from Puck so Abby wasn't squished between them.
"Brunch is in about forty-five minutes, so if you want to get ready, I can watch her," Puck suggested.
"Oh, yeah, I'll go do that," she kissed Abby once more, before handing her to Puck, "have you talked to your mom yet?"
"Definitely," Puck nodded, "and talked to grandma. Abby and I actually went over for a short visit. Mom was up with Dena."
"Ah, I see. How is mom doing?" Rachel wondered.
"She's alright. I think she's still amazed that she had a baby the other night," Puck replied.
"That's understandable, but what a way to celebrate Mother's Day! I mean, Abby was born just a week before it last year, so it was amazing to celebrate it with my new daughter and now mom's got another kid to celebrate with, it's gonna be awesome for her."
"It will," he agreed, guiding her towards the stairs, "go on, I got this down here. I told mom we'd be over by ten-thirty and that's when your dads will be over, too."
Kissing Puck and Abby once more, Rachel nodded, "alright, love you both."
Puck lifted Abby's hand up to wave at Rachel, "we love you, too."
...
Gathered around Deborah and Ethan's dinning room table, the Berry and Puckerman family, with the addition of Ethan's mom, Orla, settled in to a nice Mother's Day brunch. Abby was content in the playpen Ethan and Deborah had for her and Kona was keeping an eye on her. Dena had been fed and was napping at the moment, giving the teens and adults a chance to relax and enjoy their meal.
With light conversations, the family took their time to eat and as they fished, the dads and Arin did the dishes, so Rachel, Deborah and Orla could take it easy. While the dishes were being done, Deborah got something from the counter and handed Rachel an envelope, "wait until the guys are done to open it, but this is for you and Noah."
"Really?" Rachel eyed the envelope, "for both of us?"
"Yeah," Deborah nodded, "we were going to wait to give this to you guys, but we decided to give it to you now."
"Oh, alright," Rachel contemplated the contents of the envelope, "I'm definitely curious what's inside."
The three women patiently waited for everyone to finish up in the kitchen. When the guys and Arin did get done, they came back to the table and Puck went to get Abby from her playpen to sit with them and as he sat down, he noticed the envelope in front of Rachel, "what's that, babe?" He asked, settling Abby on his lap.
"I don't know. Mom said it's for us and I should wait until everyone is back before opening it," Rachel admitted.
"We're considering it an early birthday present for both of you," David added.
Nodding, Rachel opened the envelope and pulled out a few pieces of paper. Unfolding them, she skimmed over it's contents and gasped when she realized what it was, "oh wow! You got us a weekend away?"
"For the last weekend of this month. Over the three-day weekend," Ethan confirmed.
"But isn't that the weekend we're doing your birthday party?" Puck asked, glancing at his parents, before looking at the papers in Rachel's hands.
"It is, but we picked Saturday night and Sunday night, so you guys can go to the party and leave from there to get away. Then you can come home on Monday, and you won't miss any school since there's no school that day," Alan commented.
"Thank you," Rachel smiled brightly, "I didn't know if we'd get a chance to have any time like this before Noah left," she admitted, looking at her boyfriend.
"Yeah, same here. Thanks everyone," Puck returned Rachel's smile.
"You're welcome. We were originally going to spring it on you at the party, but we know it's hard to leave Abby, so we decided to give it to you early, so you at least know about it," Deborah explained, "and there's a lot going on the last few weeks of school, so we wanted to make sure that you had a chance to spend some quality time together before Noah leaves for boot camp."
"We also hope that you don't mind going to Sandusky again, like you did before Abby was born. We remembered you guys liked where you stayed and being related to the concierge manager has it's perks," Ethan added with a smile, "she upgraded your room and you now have a suite overlooking the bay."
"Oh wow," Rachel grinned, "I don't mind at all!"
"I'm open to anywhere and it sounds awesome," Puck smiled at their parents, "thank you. This is a great gift. It'll be nice to have a weekend to ourselves," he said, looking at Rachel, "even though I know both of us will miss you like crazy," he added, looking down at Abby in his lap.
Rachel reached over and brushed her finger over Abby's cheek and then tickled her stomach a little, "I'll definitely miss you, but I'm going to enjoy the weekend away. Thank you all so much," she said again, "it's a wonderful gift."
...
A/N3: An update! Hope you all enjoyed! I decided since it's been a while since I updated last, that I'd ease myself into it with a shorter chapter, before moving onto a longer one. I have a pretty solid plan to finish up the next year in the fic, so hope you all stick with me... I'm definitely going to continue writing Puckleberry, so I'm sticking around! Thank you for all the support you've given me over the years! It really means a lot! You guys are awesome!
On a personal note, as you may have noticed, my updates have been pretty far apart. For example, this story hasn't been updated since October and it's now mid-January. I apologize for the lack of updates. I'm not giving up on my fics, so don't think that. I'm just dealing with A LOT of personal issues, so I'm updating them as often as I can. My depression and anxiety has really flared up, which keeps me unfocused, so it's hard to settle in to write without getting distracted. On top of that, some bad news was dropped on me last week. There is a possible cancer scare with someone in my family (remember my mom had cervical cancer back in 2010 and beat it?). I don't know what this scare will bring and I'm praying it's not cancer, but we won't know any more details until more tests are done. I'm not saying who the person is, because they don't want anyone to know right now. I'm sharing this with you all now, in case my updates continue to be so far apart, so you'll have an idea why.
...