Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied, the author does not make any profit from this work of fiction.
A/N: In answer to the some of the 'guest' reviews: first of all, the guest who continually (I'm assuming it's the same person) tells me I have more than one character speaking in a paragraph, please, PM me, point out the paragraphs, because I can't find them and believe me, I have looked - I sometimes have suggestions that other people have spoken, but no actual dialogue. Secondly, to the reviewer who would like more explicit stuff, I would suggest trying a different site, the actual guideline for an M rated story on this site is: "Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with non-explicit suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, or coarse language. Fiction M can contain adult language, themes and suggestions. Detailed descriptions of physical interaction of sexual or violent nature is considered Fiction MA. Please note FanFiction does not accept explicit content, Fiction Rating: MA, and the rating is only presented for reference." I'm just following the guidelines. Thank you.
"So are you ever going to tell me your idea?" Puck asked as his lips lifted from the pulsing vein in Quinn's throat. He could feel his dick still pulsing inside her, he could feel the shivering reaction of her body from the inside and it was a sensation that always delighted him.
"My idea for what?" Quinn sighed, she stretched underneath him, loving the feel of Puck inside her body, the fullness, the hardness, she loved how she felt when he was inside her.
"About getting married," Puck reminded her. They still hadn't discussed it, even after the conference call with the whole family. To be fair, the reason they hadn't discussed it was that the instant the call ended, Quinn had grasped Puck's dick, sucked it hard and then taken her own pleasure for hours and hours. She could barely keep awake a second longer.
"Morning, I'll tell you in the morning," Quinn mumbled as she drifted off to sleep. Silently Puck added the next few lines from Paradise By the Dashboard Light, he couldn't help it, it was like an automatic reaction.
Quinn shifted slightly, she sighed heavily, she felt the iron bands of Puck's arms around her and felt sheltered, safe, secure. "Hey, are you awake?" Puck asked.
"No," Quinn mumbled and shuffled down in the bed, she sounded as grumpy as his nana when someone other than her won big at bingo at the senior center.
"So you're still not going to tell me?" Puck murmured against Quinn's hair as he drew her even closer into his embrace.
"Tell you what?" Quinn sighed back, she stretched and yawned. "Oh, God," she moaned and dived out of the bed.
"Dry toast?" Puck called and reached for the phone to call room service. He sort of understood Quinn's mumbled reply, he assumed she'd said yes. "Morning," he replied to the chirpy voice on the other end of the line. "Yes, please, can I get some dry toast sent up to room ten-twenty seven?" he asked.
"Of course sir," the bubbly receptionist who had checked them in yesterday replied. "Would you like anything else, sir?" she asked.
"No, just the dry toast, thank you," Puck answered. "Oh, wait, yes, coffee please, decaf, thanks," he added then hung up after he'd recieved the affirmation from the receptionist. "Toast is on its way," he called to Quinn. Puck picked up the TV remote, he relaxed back as he flicked through channels to find something interesting. "Ah, crap," he sighed as the newscaster spoke of a government agreement to send more troops and air support to some of the hardest hit, war-torn places in the Middle East. "You can bet your ass it's going to be you this time, Puckerman," he told himself quietly, "you've managed to avoid it so far, but I bet this time there's a plane with your freakin' name on it."
"Blach," Quinn groaned as she emerged from the bathroom. "Is the toast here yet?" she asked and flopped down onto the bed.
"That'll be it now," Puck replied and sprung out of bed, he tugged on his shorts and then went to answer the door. "Hold on," he said as he found his brother and Marley outside the door. "What the hell are you two doing here?" he asked, he was both surprised and delighted to see the younger man. Both Puckerman boys hugged, Marley stood back. "Give me a sec," he warned and stepped back into the room. "It's Jake and Marley," he hissed to Quinn and tossed her wrap to her so that she could at least feel a little presentable. They both turned at another knock on the door. "That should be the toast," he whispered and dropped a kiss on Quinn's forehead. "Thank you," he said and accepted the tray from the steward at the door. "Come on in," he said to Jake and Marley.
"Hi," Quinn cried from the depth of the pillows. "Excuse me if I run, still a bit queasy this morning," she said and pulled a face. "How did you get here so early?" she asked after she'd finished the first slice of toast and picked up another piece.
"Actually, we flew in last night," Jake replied. "Puck said you were going to be staying here, so we booked ourselves in and got a room down the hall," he admitted. "I happened to be at the check in desk this morning when you called down for toast, the girl on the desk said your name as she wrote the instructions down, along with the room number, hence, I didn't even have to ask only to be told that they can't tell me what room you're staying in," he explained. "And I wanted to see you before everyone else got here," he added, Jake sounded nervous, no, actually, he sounded excited, nervously excited.
"S'up?" Puck asked and poured coffee for himself and Quinn. "Hang on," he sighed, as he leaned over to pick up the phone, Puck called down for more coffee. "Just the coffee and more cups, thanks," he said before he hung up. "So what's going on?" he asked and settled back down beside Quinn, Jake took one of the small easy chairs, Marley the other one.
"I have been offered a position with The Royal Ballet," Jake announced, he sounded amazed, surprised, he sounded as if he couldn't quite believe it. "In London, I'm going to London," he added excitedly, he grinned widely. "And I have no clue how to tell my mom," he said, a little less enthusiastically.
"She'll be thrilled for you," Puck exclaimed, he was pleased as punch for his brother, it was a dream come true for him. Not so much for Marley by the slightly sad look on her face. "What do you think?" he asked her.
"I can't believe it, it's such an honour, such an opportunity," Marley breathed, her happiness for Jake shone through over the sadness for herself. "I got accepted to Columbia," she admitted shyly.
"Marley, that's amazing," Quinn enthused, she sat up, her legs crossed, she was so happy for the young girl. "I bet your mom is so proud," she sighed.
"She would be, if I told her," Marley agreed, "but I can't go, we can't afford it," she admitted, she felt sad to be telling people this, but it was true, she couldn't go to the university of her dreams because finances just wouldn't allow it.
"You've got to go," Jake cried, he hadn't realised that this was what Marley had been wrestling with, he'd thought she was feeling snappy and upset because he was heading off to London pretty soon. "Your mom will never forgive you if you give this up," he warned.
"My mom isn't going to know about it," Marley snarled viciously. She was quite aware that her mom would move heaven and earth to provide her daughter with anything and everything to improve her chances, but Columbia was just out of the question. Puck, Quinn and Jake glanced at each other.
"So, you up to breakfast now, or do we have to wait a while longer?" Puck asked Quinn, with the stroke of his hand down her back.
"No, I think I'm good," Quinn replied. "I'll shower and get dressed and then I'll know for definite if I can manage to eat something," she grinned and gave Puck a smiling kiss before heading to the bathroom with her clothes.
"She's up to something," Puck murmured once the coast was clear. "I don't know what it is yet, but she's plotting something," he said with a certainty that Jake wouldn't like to bet against. Puck collected his things from the open bag on the floor. "Back in a minute," he added and then headed to the bathroom himself when they heard the shower cease. "Are you going to tell me yet?" he asked as he drew Quinn against him and stole a kiss.
"We'll talk about it later, but I have had an idea, actually, I should say I've had another idea," Quinn replied and smiled against Puck's lips as he kissed her again. "Shower, then we can go for breakfast," she instructed.
"Mmmm," Quinn moaned in ecstasy, the eggs were the best she'd ever tasted and she couldn't quite put her finger on why, because generally speaking, she wasn't that much of an egg fan. "Amazing," she sighed. "So, now I feel human again," she said with a grin and leaned back in the comfortable seat next to Puck and across from Marley. "So, Columbia, how do we get you there?" she asked, a look of deep concentration settled onto her face. "Scholarship?" she suggested.
"I already tried for the Presidential Scholarship, the Columbia College Scholarship and the talent award," Marley muttered as she stirred her coffee glumly. "Didn't stand a chance," she added, she didn't have a lot of confidence in herself, not at all.
"Did you apply to McKinley's finance department for the Finn Hudson Award?" Quinn asked, she made a mental note to contact Carole Hudson-Hummel as soon as it was humanly possible.
"No, I never thought of that," Marley replied, a spark of hope glinted in her eyes.
Puck glanced at Quinn in confusion, since when had there been a Finn Hudson Award? He'd never heard of it before. "Crap," Quinn muttered and covered her mouth as she hurried to the bathroom.
"Not feeling so good?" Puck asked when she returned to the table, a little paler than when she had rushed into the bathroom.
"I think if I have a lie down for an hour, I'll feel fine for when the rest of the guys get in," Quinn assured Puck and the others. "You go, meet Rachel, I'll go back to the hotel and I'll see you later, alright?" she suggested and reached to kiss Puck's cheek, he reciprocated. "Don't forget that we need to speak to Rachel alone," she whispered, reminding Puck of their ultimate mission, to have Beth at their wedding. Puck insisted on escorting Quinn all the way back to the room. The second that Quinn was alone in the bedroom, she sprang into action.
"Hi," Quinn cried and reached out to hug Santana and Brittany at the same time. "I haven't seen you since your wedding, how are you?" she asked, the happiness at seeing her friends was obvious in her voice.
"Sam, my man," Puck called and roughly hugged tthe other man. "How the hell are you?" he asked. "Still taking orders from Coach Sue?" he teased.
"Nope, Coach Beiste is back," Sam replied. "Sh..I mean he looks good, it suits him, being a man," he said, Sam was trying his best to be pc about the whole thing, trying his best not to feel uncomfortable and trying his best not to get it wrong.
"Quinn," Tina and Mercedes cried both together. "Look at you, you look so happy," Mercedes trilled and hugged Quinn close.
"I am happy," Quinn agreed and stuffed her hand out of sight, they wanted to make a big announcement to everyone together.
"Excuse me, wheelchair coming through," Kitty called, and pushed Artie to the middle of the throng.
"Artie, dude," Puck called and went through a complicated handshaking ritual with him.
"Ryder," Jake called, and tugged Marley with him to greet their friend. "Where's Unique?" he asked, looking round the gathered group, frowning slightly.
"Here, I'm here, with Kurt, Blaine and the star of the show," Unique shouted from across the foyer. "I know, I know, we're late," she giggled. "But here she is, finally, the one you've all been waiting for, Ms Rachel Berry," she announced.
"Hi, everyone," Rachel cried, she was excited to see so many of her friends here to support her at the premiere of her new TV show. Rachel went around the group and hugged all of them. "Look at you," she sighed into Quinn's ear, "is there something you want to tell us?" she asked impishly.
"Like what?" Quinn countered with a secretive smile.
"Like, I don't know, like what is giving your skin that million dollar glow?" Rachel inquired. "The last time you looked like that, I got a sister," she muttered a touch facetiously.
"Actually, I want to talk to you about Beth," Quinn admitted quietly, and hoped that she'd steered Rachel away from anything else for the moment.
"Can we do it tomorrow?" Rachel asked, she wanted today to be about her triumph, not about anything else.
"Of course," Quinn replied quickly, that was exactly what Quinn had been counting on, she knew that Rachel would be more susceptible to suggestion the day after a night on the town. "So are we ready for Rachel's big day?" she called to the rest of the group, everyone cheered in response. They were all ready, definitely.
Rachel was elated. Her show was a big hit, apparently everyone wanted to watch a show about a high school show choir group that was made up of a bunch of losers. Talk about art imitating life! Rachel looked sheepishly at her friends, she hoped that they wouldn't be offended at her blatant use of their characteristics.
"Seriously?" Santana demanded the second the girls had a moment to themselves. "Two lesbian cheerleaders?"
Rachel blushed. "Look," she began and then hesitated when she saw the spark of humour in Santana's eyes. "Our high school lives weren't exactly conventional, were they?" she asked and glanced around. "Puck and Quinn and baby-gate?" she suggested, listing the things on her fingers. "Unique? Kurt and Blaine? You and Brit? You see what I mean? There was so much rich material there, I didn't have to make anything up, don't you agree?" Rachel asked desperately. "How many other groups of friends can say, that even so many years after graduation, they still meet up, still talk all the time, still share each others' lives? How many?"
"True," Santana agreed, "most people only keep up on Facebook and Twitter," she muttered, but even though she appreciated knowing that the character Valentina was based on her, she wished that Rachel had asked first. Brittany hugged Santana and pointedly glared at Rachel for upsetting her wife.
"I guess we should tell them our news," Puck murmured to Quinn, half-way through the meal that Rachel had arranged for them all at one of the swankiest restaurants LA had to offer.
"Actually, I think we should wait till tomorrow," Quinn quickly replied. "This is Rachel's day, let her have all the attention, we'll share our news tomorrow," she decided. Puck nodded in agreement, he could see the wisdom.
"So, what did you all think?" Rachel asked just before she took a swig of her wine. "The critics seemed bowled over by it," she added, she hoped that someone soon was going to give her some real feedback.
"I can't believe you manage to get away with playing a teenager," Puck pointed out, not in a negative way, more in an admiring way. "I don't get it, I mean, we all wanted desperately to get out of high school, and now you're voluntarily plunging yourself back into those days? Weird," he grinned.
"It's fun," Rachel replied, "and it's nothing like the torture we endured through high school, although, I have added some of the nasty bits in, there will be slushie facials from Stuck, that's the jock, Stuckerman," she explained, "he hasn't appeared yet, but he will in the next couple of episodes."
"Gee, I wonder who he's based on," Puck muttered sarcastically. "Don't tell me he gets his best friend's girl pregnant, leaving the door open for the stunning young ingenue to grab the leading man's heart," he teased, and gripped Quinn's hand in his under the table. Quinn squeezed back. "What's his name again? Jim, is it?"
"There might be something on that line appearing soon," Rachel admitted with a blush, she glanced at both Puck and Quinn. "But in this version, there won't be an adoption, they're going to keep the baby and be a family, their story line will focus on the hard, emotional stuff that some teens have to go through and the release they get from performing with the show choir. Artie, your character is going to have pioneering surgery to regain the use of his legs, Tina, your character in going to be explored in depth, to find out why she has the stutter, only this one won't be fake, this girl has a horrible home life and the stutter and the goth gear is her reaction to that, show choir is how she manages to get through every day," she added, her speech fast and impassioned. "You know I've drawn from each and every one of you, a few of you are combined together, because there was just so much to use for everyone, but I hope you won't be offended, and honestly, I'm really proud of my work," she admitted quietly.
"And we're all proud of you, Rachel," Mercedes announced, for the whole group. "We are so proud, and I for one am pleased to be immortalised on film," she said with a grin. "Even if she doesn't ever win a diva-off against Raquel," she giggled, Mercedes was quite aware that the bias would be slanted towards Rachel's character, it wouldn't follow the fairly even split that had been the actual result of the twenty or so diva-offs that they had indulged in during high school. "But seriously, Portia?" she added sternly. "I mean, I know it sounds like Porsche, but did you have to keep the car theme?"
Rachel blushed. "Is there anyone who is offended?" she asked, glancing around the huge table. Everyone shook their heads, no one was offended. "Maybe I should have invited Coach Sylvester and asked her," she murmured almost to herself. "I wonder, if she ever did watch this, I wonder if she would even recognise herself," she pondered, and hoped that the actress, Jane Lynch, who had won the part, would be equal to the task of portraying such vile, viciousness tinged with sadistic humour.
"So, we still didn't tell anyone our news," Puck sighed as he laid back on the bed, "and you still haven't told me your plan," he added as he remembered the conversation from the day before.
"Oh, right, yes, my plan," Quinn said, in a slightly distracted manner. "Ok," she breathed and settled herself on the bed, facing Puck. "You know that we were intending to fly to Lima after this weekend here, spend a few days with the family and then go to New Haven for the following week, right," she said and checked that Puck was following, he was, he was nodding along. "So, I thought that if we detour slightly, head for Vegas when we leave here," she said with a sly lilt to her voice, "we can do the tacky Elvis wedding, just the two of us, then fly home, tell them about it, they can be up in arms if they want, but it just means that both of our grandmothers don't get all bent out of shape about the baby being born out of wedlock, but it still means that we aren't being rushed into a full production of Gone With the Wind, that my mother would deem suitable for a Fabray wedding," she said with a frown. "Plus, I had an idea when Marley said that she couldn't go to Columbia," she added.
"Yes, I want to talk to you about that," Puck said and sat up a bit. "When the hell did anyone start the Finn Hudson Scholarship Award?" he demanded.
"Me, this morning, when I called Carole," Quinn admitted nervously. "So, my idea is this," she said and then took a deep breath. "My parents have been saving for my wedding my whole life," she told Puck quite honestly. "And I know that my sister's wedding cost nearly $200,000," she said with a gulp. Quinn seriously could not imagine anyone wanting to spend so much money on just one day, it was beyond ridiculous to her.
"Two hundred thousand dollars?" Puck demanded, absolutely astounded, Quinn nodded. "And they expect you to do the same?" he cried, again, Quinn nodded. "Fuck that," he exclaimed, "I wouldn't want our wedding to be a freakin' circus, no, I agree, we'll stop off in Vegas, just do it by ourselves, and I see exactly where you're going with it, talk your parents into letting you fund Marley through college, right?" he asked with a huge smile lighting his face. Quinn nodded,shyly. "I think that is a really cool thing to do," he whispered against Quinn's lips, and the pressed forwards until their positions were reversed, Quinn was the one who was laid back on the bed, Puck was above her. "You're so nice and so sweet, this wonderful, mature Quinn Fabray, but I miss my head bitch sometimes," he muttered with a grin. "Only sometimes," he hurried to add.
"I'm sure I can revert to type sometimes," Quinn replied with a grin. "Especially when I'm hormonal," she added with a tinkle of laughter. "You might come to regret what you wished for," she advised with a hidden smirk. "But I know you'll love me, no matter what," she sighed and stretched up to meet Puck's lips with her own.
"Damn straight," Puck sighed as their lips touched. He didn't speak again for a while, neither of them did, they were far too busy with each other to indulge in talking.
"Good morning," Rachel cried quite sarcastically, she had been up since the crack of dawn, trawling all of the critics columns in every major newspaper. So far, things were looking good, no one had slated her show, even the Broadway critics had made the trip to see their star performer show off her talents in a different setting, and they loved her.
"How can you look so good after so much alcohol and so little sleep?" Santana grouched, she felt so dreadfully ill, Brittany didn't look too much better but Quinn looked the worst of all. "How do you look so crappy?" she demanded of Quinn. "I don't even remember seeing you drink anything except orange juice.
"Well," Puck began and grinned at Quinn, he took her hand in his and brought it to the table, making sure her ring was on show. "The thing is," he said and had to stop because his grin got so big.
"You knocked her up again, didn't you?" Mercedes asked, she had the biggest smile on her face, she was so happy for Puck and Quinn, she remembered the day after they'd reunited, rekindled their relationship, when she and Kurt were getting ready to sing on stage at McKinley for almost the final time, she'd actually called this two years ago, she knew it was just a matter of time till it happened.
"We are pregnant again, yes," Puck confirmed. He glanced at Quinn and saw the blush rise in her cheeks. "And this time, we're actually going to get married too, but not right away," he informed their friends then picked up his coffee to sip at it. Puck was rather glad that he'd forgotten to order decaf for himself this morning, he needed the extra caffeine shot.
"What do you mean, not right away?" Tina exclaimed, she looked at Quinn to see if she was upset at all, see if this was Puck's idea and not hers, Quinn looked happy and settled though, Tina was confused.
"See, the thing is," Quinn said gently, "my mom won't be satisfied unless it's a wedding equal to a full scale production of Titanic, right?" she explained and looked at her friends to see if they understood, she saw the confusion. "Well, if my mom has her way, I'll be so wrapped up in wedding preparations that I won't get to enjoy being pregnant, and I really want to this time, the last time it was so different, this time I want to enjoy everything, even the nausea and the sickness, I want to enjoy the swollen ankles, the midnight food cravings, the constant need to pee, all of it, do you see what I mean?" she asked. They understood, they got that she needed to overwrite their previous experience, replace all the hurt and heartache with good memories, better memories. "So, we told our parents that we are going to wait until after the baby is born, and then we'll have any sort of wedding that they want, my mom hasn't totally flipped out yet, but then again, we did only tell them a couple of days ago," she admitted ruefully.
"And can I just add that this is Quinn's idea, not mine," Puck defended himself before anyone threw the question into the ring. "I asked her to marry me before I knew about the baby," he admitted a touch shyly then smiled at Quinn. "But I'm glad about it," he whispered, more to Quinn than their friends, "really glad."
"So now you have me alone, what are you going to do with me?" Rachel teased once the bedroom door closed behind Puck, shutting out the rest of the crew.
"We have a huge favour to ask," Quinn replied breathlessly, her heart was beating ten to the dozen, she thought she was going to faint. Rachel looked interested, intrigued even, Quinn forged ahead. "The thing is, more than anything else in the world, we would love Beth to be at our wedding," she said and then paused to gather her emotions, to attempt to keep herself in control. "Shelby hasn't spoken to either of us, or corresponded in any way, since the whole 'Shuck' thing in our senior year," she explained, Quinn wondered if a heart could explode from beating too fast. "I know that you're still in contact with her, you mention them both from time to time," she said in a fairly neutral tone. "Do you think you could ask Shelby for us?" Quinn asked, her voice was slightly tremulous, her lips quivered nervously. "Ask her if Beth can come?"
Rachel looked at Quinn, her sympathetic eyes took in the slight shiver, the tremble of nervousness, her heart went out to her friend, and it still shocked and surprised Rachel to call Quinn 'friend'. "I'll call her today," she replied softly and reached out to cover Quinn's cold hand. "Can I tell her all of your news?" she asked with a smile at Puck. "I mean, she knows that you two are finally together, that you made it official a couple of years ago, and she's happy for you," she told them. "I'll ask her," Rachel repeated quietly and then leaned over to kiss Quinn's cheek. "I don't think she'll refuse," she whispered.
Quinn sank gratefully into Puck's arms as Rachel closed the door behind her, leaving the couple alone in their room. "Don't dwell on it," Puck advised close to Quinn's ear. "Let's put it out of our minds right now, it's out of our hands, if Rachel can swing it for us, awesome, if she can't, I'm still going to love being married to you, whoever is there to witness the event," he assured Quinn, he nudged her chin so that she would look up at him, look into his eyes. "Whoever is there to witness us renew our vows," he whispered and then dropped his head to touch his lips to hers. Quinn was quick to reciprocate, her tongue invaded Puck's mouth, she groaned, he moaned, they found the bed. Puck sat down and then fell backwards, Quinn still in his arms. "We have to be downstairs in twenty minutes," Puck reminded Quinn with a hiss as she rocked on his lap.
"We only need twenty minutes," Quinn replied with an impish grin, she felt so excited, so energised. "We don't even need to take our clothes off," she giggled, and demonstrated the slight stretchy-ness of the fabric of her dress, by pulling the neckline down to underneath her boobs. "My nipples are so sensitive I think I can come if you just suck on them," she said, and thrust her chest towards Puck. Puck saw it as a challenge.
"Not quite," Puck drawled as he slowly withdrew his softening dick from Quinn. "Close though," he said with admiration. "I bet if I took more time over it, I could make you come just with your boobs," he added. Puck glanced at the clock. "Shit, we've been longer than twenty minutes, if we miss Artie's announcement Kitty will definitely kill us," he muttered and hurried to straighten his clothes. "Come on, don't just lie there," he grouched at Quinn. "Do I have to come down there?" he teased slightly, Quinn didn't reply verbally, she showed Puck exactly where she needed him to help her the most. "You can take Kitty, right?" he muttered as he unfastened his pants again. "I mean, you're like the ultimate head cheer leader, right?" he asked, Quinn nodded and grinned, she still hadn't said a word. "I love it when you're insatiable," Puck growled against her neck as he brushed his stiffening dick against her slick, hungry, lady parts.
"Ohh-h," Quinn sighed as Puck slid inside her again, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her feet crossed over his ass, she used her feet to prevent Puck from pulling out too far, she wanted him there, right there, deep inside her where the tiny kernel of life was sprouting once more. "Harder," she hissed, "harder, faster," she ordered. "Oh..."she cried when she just couldn't take any more, when she just went into meltdown.
Puck felt the flood of her hot juice coat his quivering flesh, he had the sudden urge to pull out, he wanted to thrust his dick between her lips and blast his volcanic baby batter down her throat. Puck loved it when she swallowed. "Knock, knock," Jake's voice came through the door in time with his knock on the door. It put Puck off his stride completely, instead of thrusting upwards towards Quinn's face, he just thrust even deeper inside her, and then lost it, totally lost it, his ejaculation was so fierce that Puck thought his spine was in danger of snapping, his back so bowed, his head was thrust back, his hips were thrust forwards, his face was screwed up, his eyes were closed and he only just managed to hold in the yell that threatened to escape. "For fuck's sake, Puck," Jake grumbled close to the door, "she's already knocked up, can't you give it a rest for five minutes just to hear your friend's news?" he demanded.
Puck could imagine the scowl on his brother's face, it would mirror the one that used to be permanently on his, the one that was constantly on their dad's face. He looked at Quinn and pouted. "See what you did?" he whispered to Quinn. "You got me in trouble with my brother," he complained, and then softened it by dotting tiny kisses all over her face, especially her lips.
"He'll forgive you," Quinn promised, "and so will Artie, we'll just tell them you were holding my hair back in the bathroom, comforting me while I was throwing up," she said and grinned at the admiring look on Puck's face. "What do you think Artie's news was about?" she asked, and then shifted underneath Puck. "By the way, I think you better move just now, I have to get cleaned up, two deposits of sperm inside me is not going to just disappear," she announced and pushed Puck off of her.
Puck watched Quinn make her way to the bathroom, discarding her clothes as she went. Jake knocked at the door again. "What?" Puck hissed as he snatched the door open, surprising Jake slightly. "Yes, I know," he said before Jake could speak. "We should be downstairs with our friends, hearing all of their news," he mocked, reverting back to being a teenager.
"Instead, you're up in your room with the pretty girl," Jake replied, his tone suggested boredom. "Do you know how like dad you are?" he sneered.
"I'm in my hotel room, with my fiancee, who is currently in the bathroom puking because she is pregnant with my child," Puck corrected, his scowl matched the growl. "I don't screw around with other women, I don't even flirt with other women, I am nothing like dad, so don't even start with that one," he ordered. "And we'll be down when Quinn is feeling up to it," he added.
"That would be so much more convincing if your pants were fastened and Quinn's, at least I assume they're Quinn's, panties weren't hung from the lampshade," Jake announced, his face showed that he was pissed with his brother, not amused in the slightest.
Puck pulled face. Busted. "Fine, she's horny all the time, what can I say?" he muttered. "We'll be down in like, ten minutes, alright?" he said before closing the door once again.
"Artie," Puck cried when they rejoined the group about twenty minutes later. "Sorry if we held you up, Quinn didn't feel so good," he announced and then silently dared anyone to contradict him, his gaze rested on Jake. Jake shook his head but stayed silent.
"Ok, so, well," Artie began nervously, "I would just like to announce that, drum roll please," he said, drawing the tension out slightly, "I have been contracted, by Dreamworks Studios," he added and noted the impressed gasps from around the huge table, "to direct three short movies," he finished with a proud, proud grin on his face. Kitty preened as though the glory fell on her too, just for being his girlfriend.
"Artie, that's wonderful," Tina cried and bounced up from her seat to rush and hug her friend. "It's the start of your dream, right?" she whispered into his ear after she kissed his cheek. The rest of the congratulations filtered through, and everyone was genuinely pleased for Artie, he had dreamed of directing a real movie since the disastrous "Run, Joey, Run," fiasco.
The next morning, everyone was ready to leave LA, ready to make their way home, to the various parts of the country that they had made their home. Santana and Brittany were heading back to New York with Kurt and Blaine. Unique was staying in LA with Rachel, Mercedes and Sam were heading back to Lima, Artie and Kitty were making their way to Oklahoma where Artie was about to start filming his first movie. Ryder was tagging along with Sam and Mercedes, he was on his way back to Lima. "So where are you two off to?" Tina asked as she checked her's and Mike's tickets to make sure the details were correct, like she hadn't checked them a hundred times before.
"New Haven," Puck said quickly before Quinn could respond. "I have another week of leave so we're spending it in New Haven before I have to report to base and see what shitfest is brewing," he muttered the last part under his breath. Puck had received a text message from one of his squadron buddies warning him that the talk around the base was that they would be in the first wave of troops being sent overseas, not that it was definite or anything, it wasn't, it was just the rumour mill working overtime as usual. "See you all soon," he called as one after the other their friends jumped into taxis and left.
"So now do you want to tell me what you're really doing?" Jake murmured just behind Puck's shoulder. "And don't tell me it's nothing because I can tell that you're planning something," he added.
Puck sighed and turned to faced his brother. Puck glanced over at Quinn and silently asked for her permission, she nodded. "Alright, you got us," Puck answered with another long sigh. "Look, it's like this," he started to explain as they walked towards the hotel restaurant, "you know what sort of wedding Quinn's mom expects us to have, and we just don't want it, we want quiet, simple," he said and sat down at a table. Quinn took the seat beside Puck, Marley and Jake sat opposite them.
"So?" Jake fished, waiting for the real explanation.
"So, we're just going to take a side trip to Vegas, get married today, and then head home to tell them about it," Quinn replied and waited for the recriminations to start. "See, I know my grandma and your nana really want us to be married before the baby comes, so would my mom if she dared to say it, probably your mom too, though she wouldn't go on about it like my mom," she added and looked at Puck, watched him shrug in a noncommittal way.
"So you're going to cheat everyone out of being at your wedding?" Jake asked, his lack of enthusiasm was obvious.
"No," Quinn denied quickly. "No, we're just going to do this for ourselves, and then once the baby is here, once we're settled and I'm back to a reasonable weight and shape," she added with a glance at Puck - if he mentioned her boobs he was a dead man - "we'll let my mom and and Ruth have free rein, we'll have whatever sort of ceremony they want us to have, we'll do whatever they want," she insisted, although Quinn gave Puck's thigh a squeeze under the table, she was so conscious that she wanted to yell out loud that she was hoping to siphon off enough money from her wedding fund, to bankroll Marley through college.
"Well, you aren't doing it alone," Jake insisted and tossed his napkin onto the table. "If you're getting married today, you are at least having your brother as your best man," he informed Puck in a way that Puck could not argue with. Puck grinned at Jake, he was rather pleased, actually.
"Seriously?" Puck asked outside the Renta-Dress & Tux shop. "We can't just go in these clothes?" he asked and looked down at his jeans.
"No, come on, let's see if we can find something nice to wear, our appointment isn't until nine-thirty," Quinn reminded Puck in a rather pleading way. He didn't actually stand much of a chance of saying no when Quinn was tugging his hand towards the store and Jake and Marley were behind him pushing him towards it.
"If I catch anything from some other guys pants, I will totally blame you," Puck grumbled with a pout, although he allowed his feet to move forwards slightly, he didn't want Quinn trying to pull him too hard, he wanted her to rest and take it easy.
"If you catch anything," Quinn puffed, still tugging at his hand, "I will take full responsibility," she agreed, although that thought hadn't occurred to her before.
"Eww," Marley muttered quietly to Jake. "If you catch anything you can keep it to yourself," she whispered and glanced at his groin. "I have to come and watch you in London," she added almost silently, there had only been one time before that she had seen Jake dance in full costume, and his physique in tights had been simply stunning, it left virtually nothing to the imagination - not that Marley needed to use her imagination, she had seen Jake naked a million times, they shared a bed whenever possible - but out there on stage, it was totally different, in some lights he had looked almost pornographic. And that excited Marley more than she'd ever admitted to anyone.
"You look beautiful," Puck whispered to Quinn as they waited to go inside Mon Bel Ami Wedding Chapel.
"You look handsome too," Quinn whispered back and lifted the small bouquet of pink flowers to her nose. "I don't know why I did that," she giggled after she'd sneezed a couple of times. "When we do it for real, in front of our friends and our family, you can wear your dress uniform, and I'll have the designer dress that I know will make my mom happy, that's why I wanted us both to rent something, so that we look the part, but not quite," she explained, and then had to rethink her words because she wasn't even sure she made sense to herself.
"You know the really scary part?" Puck asked, his voice barely a murmur as the doors to the chapel opened and the wedding march played. "I understood exactly what you meant," he whispered and then winked at Quinn before they took those first steps down the aisle.
"Driving?" Jake gasped. "We're driving home to Lima?" he demanded.
"Yep," Puck replied with a grin and pointed to the large SUV that was in the parking lot.
"That's a long way," Jake commented and looked at Marley's surprised face. "Are we stopping for the night?" he asked.
"I think we can find somewhere to stop once you feel like you've had enough," Quinn agreed and brushed her hand up Puck's chest. Puck grinned at Quinn, at the sparkle of sunlight on her shiny, diamond engagement ring and on the plain gold wedding band that now sat alongside the diamond. "There must be a million motels between here and Lima," she added and blinked prettily at Puck, his smile got even wider, he knew this was going to be an extension of the train journey to LA, with hot, wild and loud bedroom antics. Just his kind of journey.
"He's gone two thousand miles, it's very far," Puck warbled loudly as they left the outskirts of Las Vegas.
"You know that's a Christmas song," Jake sighed and turned slightly in the front passenger seat, "and if I have to hear that for the next two thousand miles, I am so telling your mom when we get to Lima," he threatened.
Puck looked at his brother and gave him a huge smile. "You're just afraid she's going to be as pissed at you as she will be at us for getting married without her, aren't you?" he asked. Jake grimaced but said nothing.
Quinn and Marley chatted quietly in the back seat, Marley was very interested in everything that Quinn was feeling at the moment, she wanted a blow by blow account of every single second of the pregnancy so far. "I'm not that far along," Quinn reminded the younger girl, "only a couple of months," she added but couldn't help let her hand drop to rest gently against her lower abdomen, a protective gesture that just seemed so natural. "Hopefully I'll be over the morning sickness in the next few weeks, that really is the most draining thing," she sighed and glanced at the passing scenery. "It just seems to suck the life right out of you," she added with a little more insight. "Which, when you think about it, is the most ridiculous thing because it's a new life that's making you feel that way, isn't that stupid?" she asked with a giggle. Quinn wondered for a second if there was a reason that Marley was asking those questions, she suddenly had another thought as to why Marley wasn't doing her all to get to Columbia, was she pregnant but hadn't told Jake? Quinn shivered.
"I had some tests done recently," Marley murmured quietly, she looked out of the window as if to gather herself, Quinn heard the emotion in the girl's voice. Marley gave a soft snicker of laughter. "It is highly unlikely, they wouldn't actually say impossible but that's what they meant, it is highly unlikely that I will ever be able to have children," she said and then looked at Quinn for her response. Marley wondered to herself when she would ever be able to tell Jake that piece of news, not that they'd ever discussed having children or even talked about marriage, maybe Marley was worrying over nothing, maybe once Jake got to London he would meet a bright young thing and that would be it.
Quinn processed the information for a second, she looked towards the front of the vehicle, to the two bothers chatting away, laughing and joking between themselves. "Did they tell you why?" she asked.
"Yes," Marley replied just as quietly. "They said that my reproductive organs are too small, which is why it still hurts every time we have sex," she added the last part even more quietly than the first part. "Also, my uterus is tilted, there is the beginnings of endometriosis and my hormone levels are pretty low suggesting early on-set menopause," she listed. "So it's not just one issue, it's every difficulty known to freakin' man," she grumbled then sniffed. Actually, it felt rather good to open up and confide in someone, she had been worried about something far more sinister when she had finally approached her doctor about the bleeding she had every time she and Jake had sex, and she'd kept it all to herself, kept it bottled up inside.
"Does Jake know?" Quinn asked, Marley shook her head. "Don't you think he should?" she suggested softly and reached out to lay her hand on top of Marley's where it rested on the seat between them.
"No, I-no," Marley replied, clearly caught off guard by the question.
"Ok, so, when we get to Denver, we need to decide which route we're going to take," Puck announced loudly as the satellite navigation system warned him of yet more roadworks ahead. "They decided right now is the time to fix everything wrong with the country's highways?" he grumbled. "By the way, what time are we stopping for lunch?" he asked.
"We had breakfast less than two hours ago," Quinn reminded Puck with a giggle. "Do you always think with your stomach?" she chided him.
Puck looked at Quinn in the rear view mirror and winked. "It's not usually my stomach," he answered with a sleazy, cheesy grin.
"You are such an ass," Quinn answered with a wide smile, she rolled her eyes in despair, she knew that Puck would never change, at leas she hoped that he wouldn't...
...to be continued...