The Twilight Topaz: I know exactly when Quinn will come around, but I won't say which chapter or it won't be a surprise.
lnkmstr10: Yeah, those stories bug me, so I try to avoid doing that.
Jules-Day: Thank you for the wonderful comment.
Chapter 5 – It's a Day in the Life
Rachel grabbed her bottle of water and sat down on the cold, wood floor; she was exhausted from dancing and took a long drink of water. Even though the room was quiet, she was having trouble concentrating, and kept having to do the same moves over and over, trying to get them perfect. She would've already been over with the showcase, but she was allowed to postpone it; now, though, she only had four days to prepare, which was far less time than she would like. The singing part of the showcase would be no problem, but she was also expected to show off her dancing, which she was a little less naturally skilled at. It was something all NYADA students had to do at the end of their sophomore year, though, so there was no getting out of it.
"Hey."
Rachel looked up at the sound of the voice. "Hello, Brody."
"I, uh—I heard what happened with your mom," he said, pushing off from the doorframe, and walking into the room.
Rachel frowned. "How did you hear about it?"
"Kurt," Brody replied. "I noticed I hadn't seen you around in a while and asked him one day."
"I've been at home for the past five weeks," Rachel explained.
"Five weeks?" Brody asked. "I mean, I get that she died, but why would you leave for five weeks?"
Kurt clearly hadn't told Brody about Beth, which she was slightly grateful for. She would rather everyone not know every detail of her life, especially Brody. They had dated for a while her freshman year; it was embarrassing to think now how much she tried to change for him, so she didn't really like thinking about their time together. He was the first guy that really complimented her much, though, and she nearly lost herself trying to impress him.
"Well, I'm back now," Rachel said, ignoring his question.
Brody nodded. "When's your showcase?"
"Wednesday," Rachel answered. "I'm lucky that they were so understanding."
"I'm actually surprised," Brody remarked. "This school isn't known for being understanding or accommodating."
"I take it you're graduating this weekend," Rachel said, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction.
Brody smiled. "Yeah, I'm finally getting out of here. I'm staying in New York, though."
"That's nice," Rachel said, noticing her phone lighting up. "Excuse me."
She grabbed the phone quickly as soon as she saw it was Kurt, afraid something might have happened to Beth. She didn't like leaving her in the apartment, but she knew it was better than bringing her there. At least she had stuff to do at the apartment, and Kurt was there to look after her, whereas Rachel wouldn't be able to pay much attention to her while she was rehearsing.
"Hello," Rachel said as she put the phone to her ear. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine," Kurt immediately answered. "I was just calling to ask if you're going to be done anytime soon since Beth and I are downstairs, and we wanted to know if you would like to get lunch."
Rachel glanced at Brody; she knew he would probably stick around for a while, so she wouldn't get much rehearsing done anyway. "Yes, I can be right down."
"See you in a minute," Kurt said before hanging up.
"That was Kurt," Rachel explained. "We're going to get lunch."
"Sounds like fun," Brody said.
Rachel nodded as she grabbed her stuff. "If I don't see you before Saturday, congratulations on graduating, and good luck with whatever you do."
"Thanks," Brody said, smiling.
She gave him a smile as she ducked out of the room and hurried down the stairs. She found Kurt and Beth waiting near the entrance to the building and smiled at Beth as she walked over.
"Perfect timing," she said, glancing at Kurt.
"Oh?" Kurt said, raising his eyebrow.
"Brody," Rachel said.
Kurt nodded. "What did he want?"
"Nothing important," Rachel said with a shrug. "How was your guys' day? Have you had fun together?"
"I like to think so," Kurt said when Beth didn't answer. "We did some finger painting, then we colored, and then we watched Finding Nemo."
Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry I missed it."
"So are we," Kurt said, holding the door open for her and Beth. "How'd rehearsing go?"
"Terrible," Rachel said with a sigh. "I feel so out of practice and nothing seems to be working correctly." She sighed again. "Hopefully tomorrow will be better."
"Did you check out that opening?" Kurt asked.
"I did, but they'd already hired someone yesterday," Rachel replied.
"So, not a very good day for you, is it?" Kurt asked.
"It's getting better," Rachel said, smiling at him, and then looking down at Beth, who was looking up at them.
"So, are you done or are you going back to the studio after lunch?" Kurt asked.
"I think I'll call it a day," Rachel replied. "I don't want to miss out on all the fun with you two."
Rachel and Kurt were standing back a little bit, watching Beth watch the ducks. She still wasn't really talking to either one of them, but at least she was smiling occasionally as she watched the animals. It was actually the first time Rachel had seen her look happy at all. She was glad they came to the park after getting lunch, and she was already planning to do it often. Now if they could just get her talking, maybe they could figure out other things she liked.
For the past couple days they had been guessing with everything. They didn't know what she liked to watch, what she liked to play with, or even what food she liked to eat. Rachel had taken her grocery shopping, hoping to figure out the latter, but every time she asked Beth anything, she would just shrug. Rachel ended up buying a little of everything, but Beth still wasn't eating much, so she still had no idea what she liked. So far they currently knew she liked to color and she apparently liked watching ducks.
"What's your plan for tomorrow?" Kurt asked.
Rachel sighed. "I'm going to get up early, go to the studio, and try to be back before noon," Rachel said. "Is that alright? I'm sorry I'm dumping Beth on you like this. If you want, I can take her with me. She'll probably be bored, but I can bring along her coloring books, so she should be okay for a while."
"Rachel, it's fine," Kurt replied. "I know that you want to do well with this showcase; I understand."
Rachel sighed. "I promise as soon as it's over, you'll have your life back."
Kurt laughed. "Sweetie, you know I never really had a life. It's been months since I last had a date."
"Maybe you should go get one," Rachel said, smiling at him
"If only it were that simple," he said with a wistful sigh.
"I still say you should sign up on a dating website," Rachel commented. "You keep complaining about never having a date, but you don't actually do anything about it. Any guy would be lucky to have you; you're smart, you're sweet, you're funny, you have impeccable taste in clothes—you just need to put yourself out there."
"Are you forgetting about the disasters that have been my past three relationships?" Kurt asked.
"I wouldn't exactly classify your relationship with Adam as a disaster," Rachel replied.
"Fine, but Blaine broke my heart when he cheated on me, and Bryan was just—"
"A little—less than sane," Rachel finished for him.
"Exactly," Kurt said.
"Which is why you need to get back out there," Rachel replied.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I could say the same thing about you. "You've been in exactly two relationships in your life—Finn and Brody. If you can even count Brody."
"I also dated Jesse," Rachel said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And he was only dating you to spy on us," Kurt reminded her.
Rachel huffed. "I have too much to worry about right now; I don't need to think about dating."
"Excuses, excuses," Kurt said, smiling.
"I just—I want someone that's going to accept me for me," Rachel said, furrowing her brows. "Finn always wanted me to change because I wasn't popular enough for him and Brody was just—he always wanted me to be sexier. Everyone wants to change me, and I let them because I want someone to love me. It isn't until it's over that I realize what's happened to me. I don't want to do that again."
"You'll find someone that realizes just how amazing Rachel Berry is," Kurt said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
"I don't know; it took you almost a year to realize how amazing I am," Rachel joked.
"How many times are you going to bring this up?" Kurt said, smiling at her.
Rachel shrugged. "I simply like to remind you every now and then how far we've come."
"Yes, we have a child now," Kurt joked, nodding toward Beth.
"Yeah," Rachel whispered, looking at her.
"Are you okay?" Kurt asked.
Rachel nodded. "I'm fine. Maybe feeling a little overwhelmed by everything at the moment. I feel like I have so much on my shoulders right now." She shook her head. "Don't worry about me, though; once I get done with this showcase and obtain a job, things should settle down a little. I just have to make it through the next few days. I will make it through the next few days"
"I know you will," Kurt replied. "You always do."
Rachel gave him a smile and then walked toward Beth as she asked, "Are you ready to go? I was thinking that maybe we could get some ice cream before we go home. What do you think? Would you like some ice cream?"
Beth nodded and Rachel reached her hand out for Beth to grab, so she could jump down from the step she was on. Kurt walked on to the other side, taking Beth's other hand, and lifted her off the ground, swinging her for a moment before putting her feet back on the ground. Beth giggled—the first time Rachel had heard such a thing come from her mouth—and the two adults looked at each other. Rachel gave him a nod, and together they lifted her again, swinging her between them.
"Are we going to Phil's?" Kurt asked.
"Where else?" Rachel asked.
Phil was their favorite ice cream vendor; he even carried vegan friendly ice cream for Rachel now. His cart was close to NYADA, so they often stopped by after classes on Fridays before taking a walk around the park. It was just a little thing they did; sometimes their lives would be so hectic and they didn't see each other much, so it was their way of making sure they had the chance to catch up with each other.
It was a short walk to get ice cream; they both always got the same thing—chocolate for Kurt and vanilla for Rachel—so he was already scooping out their ice cream by the time they stopped by the cart. Kurt grabbed his while Phil was still putting the rest of Rachel's into a cup.
"And what for the little girl?" he asked.
"What type of ice cream do you want, Beth?" Rachel asked.
"You have to tell us or we won't know what to get," Kurt added when she didn't say anything.
"Pink," Beth said.
"I think she wants strawberry," Rachel said.
"Coming up," Phil said.
He put two scoops into a cup and handed it to Beth, who said, "Thank you."
Kurt and Rachel smiled at each other; Rachel felt like any little bit they got her to talk was a victory, and she knew Kurt felt the same way.
"Do you like it?" Rachel asked Beth as Kurt paid for them.
Beth didn't say anything but nodded vigorously.
"What do you think?" Kurt asked. "Should we go to the toy store next?"
"Yeah," Beth answered.
"What?" Kurt asked upon seeing the look on Rachel's face. "I still have money left over from Leroy and Hiram; I offered to send it back, but they told me to buy her toys."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "They are going to spoil her, aren't they?"
"Probably," Kurt said, laughing.
"Okay," Rachel sighed, smiling, "let's go to the toy store."
"I think I need a nap," Rachel said after yawning for a third time in the past few minutes.
"I think we could all use one," Kurt said as they neared their apartment building.
They had been gone far longer than Rachel thought they would, but Beth had been so happy at the park that they stayed there for longer than she'd anticipated, and then they spent far too much time at the toy store. At least Beth seemed to enjoy the day, which made everything worth it. She really did need a nap, though, and couldn't wait to get into the apartment to take one. They were almost up the steps, but as soon as Rachel got to their landing, she stopped, causing Kurt to bump into her.
"Uh, Rachel—"
"Noah!" Rachel said, seeing him sitting with his back against the wall. "What on earth are you doing here?"
Rachel watched as he jumped and looked at her, clearly having been asleep. "Hey—you're here."
"Yes, we are, which makes sense because we live here," Rachel remarked. "The question is what you are doing here."
"Oh, I—uh—" Puck scratched his head.
"Kurt, can you take Beth inside, please?" Rachel asked, cutting off anything else Puck was going to say.
Kurt nodded and she watched as the two walked into the apartment, sliding the door shut behind them. She then looked as Puck, expecting him to explain, but he still looked a little sheepish. Sighing, she walked over to him and sat down, leaning her back against the wall as well.
"What are you doing here, Noah," Rachel said, looking at him.
Puck shrugged. "I had a couple days off from work and thought I would—you know—come here."
"We are not friends, nor have we ever been friends," Rachel stated. "And as far as I know, you've never been particularly friendly with Kurt, either. So, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see Beth, okay?" Puck said, clenching his jaw. "I know I'm not her dad, but I needed to see that she was doing okay. I know I shoulda called, but I wanted to see her, and didn't want you to have the chance to say no."
"Do you really think I would keep you from her if you really wanted to see her?" Rachel asked.
"I dunno," Puck replied, looking away.
"I am perfectly fine with you having a relationship with her," Rachel said. "That being said, I think it would be best if we say you are just a friend of ours. I don't know what Shelby told her about you, but she's been through enough change, and I don't want to confuse her life even more than it already has been."
Puck nodded. "That's cool."
"Okay," Rachel said, standing up. "We may go inside now."
Puck grinned as he stood up; he was clearly excited to see Beth. She didn't know why he thought she would keep him away from his daughter, though. They weren't friends, but she thought he should know her better than that.
When they walked in, Beth was sitting at the table, already set up with her coloring book, and Kurt was in the kitchen, looking through the cabinets. He glanced up when Rachel slid the door shut and asked, "Everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," Rachel replied. "Noah will be staying with us for—how long?"
"I planned on leaving Wednesday," Puck replied.
"How did you know where we live?" Kurt asked.
"Finn gave me your address," Puck said, shrugging.
Rachel frowned. "How did Finn know our address?"
"Burt, I think," Puck answered.
"I really need to do some grocery shopping," Kurt said, sighing as he closed the cabinet. "Is everyone okay with pizza?"
"Whatever's fine," Puck answered. "I ain't picky."
"What would you like on your pizza, Beth?" Rachel asked.
"You have to let us know," Kurt said, walking up next to her, and leaning down with his elbows on the table. "Otherwise we might order anchovy for you."
Beth stopped coloring for a moment and answered, "Cheese."
"Cheese pizza it is," Kurt said, standing up, and looking at Rachel. "I assume you want your usual."
"Of course," Rachel replied.
"Okay, Rachel's usual, a personal cheese for Beth," Kurt rattled off. "Puck?"
"I'll eat anything," Puck replied. "So, whatever you're getting."
"Hawaiian for me and Puck," Kurt finished. "I'll call it in."
Puck looked at Beth for a moment and then looked over his shoulder, looking around. "Your place is cool; mine's a total dump."
"I doubt it's that bad," Rachel replied.
"It is," Puck said, shaking his head. "It's a complete dump. It has roaches and shi—" he glanced at Beth, "stuff, but I didn't wanna live at home anymore, and it's all I could afford."
"Where are you working?" Rachel wondered.
"Burt's garage with Finn," Puck replied. "It's not what I wanna be doing for the rest of my life, but it's okay for now."
"Pizzas are ordered," Kurt said, walking back toward them. "They said it should be in in thirty minutes."
"Did you drive here?" Rachel asked.
"Bus," Puck replied. "Speaking of which, could I use your shower? The bus ride was, like, eighteen hours, and I probably smell."
"There's one through my room," Rachel said, pointing him in the right direction. "There's towels in the cabinet next to the window."
He nodded as he stood up. "Thanks."
Kurt watched as he walked into Rachel's room and then immediately looked at her. "Did he tell you why he's here?"
"The obvious," Rachel said, trying to discreetly nod toward Beth. "He was concerned and wanted to visit."
"That's a first," Kurt said, scoffing. "I've never known Puck to be concerned with anything or anyone."
"Kurt," Rachel said warningly.
Kurt sighed. "Sorry."
"I'm not exactly happy that he just stopped by without calling, but he's here now, and I'm not just going to kick him out," Rachel said. "He spent the past day on a bus, so he clearly really wanted to come."
"I just wish I had known he was coming," Kurt replied.
"Me too, but it's too late for that," Rachel remarked. "He's our guest now, so let's make him feel welcome."
"Fine," Kurt said, sighing.
Rachel slowly opened her eyes and looked at the clock to see that it was nearly five in the morning. She groaned at having woken up and rolled into her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. She hated waking up earlier than she needed to; it usually meant she would lie there until her alarm went off, willing herself to fall back asleep, but never actually falling asleep. She hadn't planned on getting up until six, so she was wasting a whole hour of sleep.
Sighing, she removed her face from the pillow and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and sat there for a moment, trying get out of her little daze that always came when she first woke up. After a few moments, she stood and walked to the bathroom; once she was done using the facilities, she trudged into the living room. She stopped just outside the curtain, though. The light was on in the kitchen and she was sure she turned it off before going to bed. She immediately looked at the couch to find that Puck was no longer sleeping in it; the covers were messy, though, so he'd obviously slept for a while.
She instinctively went to Beth's room, and sure enough, he was standing just inside the curtain. He looked over his shoulder when she pulled the curtain aside and came out of the room, glancing back at Beth for a second before shutting the curtain.
"Is everything okay?" Rachel whispered. "Could you not sleep that well?"
"It was fine," Puck said, running his hand over his head. "I just heard her, so I got up to make sure she was okay, but then I sort of stood there watching her. Not in a creepy way, but—"
"You want to watch your daughter sleep," Rachel said.
"Yeah," Puck replied. "I never got to, you know?"
Rachel nodded. "Would you like some coffee?"
"I don't normally drink the crap, but I'm probably going to need it," Puck said.
Rachel walked to the coffeemaker, which was set to go at six, but she started it early. She walked to the cabinet and grabbed two mugs as Puck sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes. He did look incredibly tired, and she wondered if he had gotten any sleep. She could understand, though; she usually couldn't sleep very well in a place she didn't know and their couch wasn't very comfortable to begin with. It looked nice, which is why Kurt picked it out, but it wasn't very soft. She couldn't complain too much, though; it was better than the futon they previously had in the apartment.
"Do you have anything planned for today?" Rachel asked, turning around, and leaning back against the counter.
Puck shrugged. "Figured I'd hang around here."
"I have to go and rehearse for this showcase I have coming up on Wednesday, but I should be back before noon," Rachel said. "You know, in case you would like to do anything. I know you saw New York somewhat when we were here for Nationals, but I'm sure there was a lot you didn't get to see. Maybe you can see some of it while you are here. We can bring Beth, of course."
"Maybe," Puck said, looking towards Beth's room.
"Are you okay, Noah?" Rachel asked.
"Just tired," Puck said, shrugging.
"I don't just mean that," Rachel said.
"I dunno," Puck said, looking at her. "I guess."
"I know we've never been friends, but you can talk to me," Rachel insisted.
Puck sighed. "I knew I was always gonna end up a Lima Loser, but we've been outta school for two years and I'm still doing nothing. I barely even passed high school, so my grades sucked, and no college wants me. I don't want to spend the rest of my life working at Burt's shop. Seeing you two here just makes me realize what a loser I am. You two are living in New York and I'm living in some shitty apartment in Lima."
"You're only twenty, Noah," Rachel said, turning around to fill their mugs full of coffee. "Nothing says you'll be in Lima for the rest of your life; you still have plenty of time to turn things around. I know you've done some dumb things in your life, but you're not dumb. You had that pool cleaning business while you were still in high school. You're smart when it comes to business, and I think if you were going to pursue a field, it should be that. Have you tried applying to community colleges? I'm sure one would be happy to have you."
"I don't exactly have the money to go," Puck replied.
"Do you want cream or sugar?" Rachel asked.
"Nah," Puck replied.
"I know it seems like a hopeless situation right now, but it's not," Rachel said, setting the coffee down in front of his, and joining him at the table. "Things will get better; they usually do. Just don't give up."
"I don't even know why I'm telling you this," Puck said, shaking his head. "I mean, you just lost Shelby and now you're taking care of a kid, and I'm complaining about something stupid. Not to mention how much of an ass I was to you, so I don't even know why you're listening to me or letting me stay here."
"I'm listening to you and letting you stay here because I don't hold a grudge," Rachel replied. "Yes, you weren't very nice to me while we were in high school, but you were nicer to me than a lot of the other students. At least you didn't continue to throw slushies in my face after you joined show choir."
Truth be told, Puck was one of the people that were nicest to her. Not nice in the traditional sense, but at least he didn't openly ridicule her or call her names or threaten to tape her mouth shut. She was in the glee club with the same people for three years; she thought they would eventually come to accept her, but they never did. Despite dating one of the most popular guys in school, everyone else still saw her as an annoying diva that only cared about getting solos and winning. Kurt was the only person that really bothered to get to know her. Even Finn, who she dated off and on for those three years, still only seemed to see her that way most times. The more she tried to befriend them, the more it seemed to leave her open to ridicule. She tried to put it aside—high school was over two years ago, after all—but it was still one of her biggest sources of insecurity.
"I was still an ass," Puck said, shaking his head.
Rachel laughed lightly. "A little, yes, but I'm a very forgiving person and I believe in second chances. Sometimes third and fourth chances, but that isn't an invitation to continue any negative behavior toward me."
"I won't," Puck replied.
"Good," Rachel said, glancing at the clock on the microwave. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to get an early start. If you hear Beth, though—"
"I'll go running," Puck said.
"Thank you," Rachel said, squeezing his shoulder as she walked by.
Rachel looked back over her shoulder as she walked to her bedroom. She was glad to see he had grown up since graduation, but it was just a shame he still didn't seem to believe in himself. Yes, he had made some mistakes—quite a few, actually—but she didn't like seeing anyone being so hard on themselves.
She sighed as she walked into her room and turned on the light. She knew she was going to have another long day ahead of her, but she was going to do her best to get home early. Beth had only been there for three days, but Rachel was already beginning to feel like she was missing a lot by being away during the morning, and she didn't like feeling that way. So, she was going to try to get back earlier even if it meant she had to get up earlier to do it.