Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.
A/N: I really like being here with you...thank you for having me...
"So can I go?" Beth asked after she had so eloquently stated her case, she glanced at Puck first, she knew he was the easiest to sway, then she glanced at Quinn and finally her mom. All three looked at each other but Puck's eyes had the 'you got me' look in them. "Winner, winner, chicken dinner," Beth almost sang out loud. "I really, really, really want to go," she pouted and gave Puck the slow blinking, puppy dog look.
"She can go, can't she?" Puck asked, giving Quinn and Shelby the exact same look that Beth had just treated him to.
"Can you imagine how much of a pushover he's going to be when she wants to learn to drive? Or when she wants a car?" Shelby asked Quinn in a loud, private conversation, talking as though Beth and Puck weren't even there.
"I know, I wonder if he'll be the same pushover when she wants to go out on dates and you're saying no, I wonder if he'll take up her battle then?" Quinn replied, both of them still talking as though neither Beth nor Puck were in the room.
"Hey, who said what about dates?" Puck demanded, all anxious and worried. "I'm talking about a simple skiing trip," he clarified, he made sure the ladies knew his position. "Skiing, snow, cold weather, lots of layers, not dates with boys, no way and anyway, she's far too young for that, aren't you, baby?" he said, turning his question to Beth. Beth didn't reply, she looked sceptically at the three adults.
"So it's just me doing the painting then?" Rebecca called from the top of the stairs with a paintbrush in her hand. "See, I'm sure that my brother only went downstairs to ask his wife for a few snacks and drinks," she groused. "Come and help, he said, it'll be fun, he said," she pouted as she went back to the nursery to continue changing the diabolical colour on the walls to a beautiful, sunny yellow. "I better be getting paid for this," she added in a louder voice.
"I'll pay you in kind," Puck shouted up the stairs to his sister. "When you finally get a place of your own, I'll come and paint a bedroom for you," he offered then bussed Quinn's cheek before trotting back up to help his sister. "And don't even think of carrying that stuff up here," he ordered from the top when he glanced back to see Quinn bend over to pick up the side of the crib to carry up.
"I can help," Beth offered and took one edge, she was still waiting for the decision about the skiing trip so she was determined to be helpful.
"Me too," Shelby said and picked up the other.
"I can at least carry the blankets and stuff," Quinn grumbled. Yes, she knew that Puck was only looking out for her, but if he wrapped her up in any more cotton wool, she was going to suffocate.
"So when will Puck be back on active duty?" Shelby asked as they worked, unpacking some of the things that had been bought for the baby - that Judy had bought for the baby.
"That's a bit of a sensitive area right now," Quinn murmured and glanced through the open bedroom door, across the hall to the room that was to be the nursery. "His CO called him a couple of days ago," she explained. "He's medically fit to fly again, he's passed all of the tests and stuff, but he's been doing so well with the recruitment drive, especially the career days he's doing in high schools around the area, that they want him to carry on for a while," she said and glanced again to see if Puck was still busy. "He's been seconded to the recruitment team for at least the next twelve months," she whispered as Puck came out into the hallway. Puck was pretty pissed about it, actually, he wanted to be back in the air. "Obviously if something was to happen, some sort of conflict or anything, he would be recalled immediately, but if he accepts this, it means that for at least the first eight months of junior's life, he will be here, every night, be able to be a hands-on dad," she sighed, she really hoped that Puck was going to accept the position, but she knew that his heart wouldn't be in it, his heart would always belong in the air.
"I know that it means support for you," Shelby murmured, also conscious of Puck being close-by. "But I can assure you that, if he decides against it, you won't be lacking in support, you have a lot of family, a lot of people who love you, a lot of people who will help, there's Ruth, Rebecca, your mom, me, Beth, we'll help," she assured Quinn.
"Thank you," Quinn mouthed, she couldn't find her voice, she couldn't help but fill up, she felt the tears well up from somewhere around her toes. "Oh, tears, for a change," she mocked herself. "I am so fed up of crying," she groaned. "At least the puking finally stopped, I'm sure I didn't have morning sickness for so long with Beth, although, my poor sister, she suffered with hyperemesis, she puked morning, noon and night for the first seven months, she couldn't even swallow her own spit," she said with rare sympathy for Frannie. "There's no wonder she only has one child and has vowed and declared that she'll never have another," Quinn giggled a little unkindly. Poor Frannie had been struck with every pregnancy ailment known to man. Or known to obstetrician, to be more accurate. Shelby held back a giggle, although the smile couldn't be contained.
"Back to the skiing thing," Puck said quietly from the doorway. "I think it will be a good thing for her, it'll teach her a lot about trust, self reliance," he claimed.
"Fine," Shelby sighed and held her hands up in surrender. Carefully, Shelby winked at Quinn without Puck being aware of it. "But you know that it's a mixed group, right?" she asked, Puck nodded. "And it's mixed dorms," she added and waited for the fireworks. She didn't have long to wait.
"No way," Puck yelled. "She's not going, skiing is just too damn dangerous, she's not going, no way," he repeated sternly. Beth came out of the nursery, absolutely devastated to hear those words. "You're not sharing a room with boys," he all but yelled at her.
"I know I'm not," Beth replied, her confusion showed on her face, Beth was wondering where Puck had picked up his info from, and then she glanced at her mom and Quinn, both of whom were in fits of laughter and almost collapsed across Quinn and Puck's huge, wide bed. "I'm sharing a room with Robyn, Emily and Claire," she explained calmly then watched Puck slowly calm down too.
"Ever feel like someone's laughing at you?" Puck asked Beth, she nodded and sighed as they watched the two women laugh until they cried. "Yep, me too," Puck sighed quietly.
"Sir," Puck snapped to attention as his superior officer entered the recruiting office in downtown Lima.
"At ease," Captain Jonas Bridges said, once he had acknowledged Puck's salute. "Puck, I really think you should grab this opportunity with both hands," he advised, after Puck had poured them both a cup of coffee and had made sure that the door was temporarily locked, giving them some privacy. "When my sons were born, I was halfway through a tour of Afghanistan," he said and thought for a moment of his ex wife and his twin sons. "Maggie never really forgave me for, what she saw as, abandoning her when she needed me the most," he explained. "I mean, I saw them being born via satellite link, but its not the same," he said. "You're being given the chance to stay in your home town, be here when your kid is born, actually be with your wife and give her the support that she needs," he added with a touch of envy. "Take it, take the opportunity, cherish the time with Quinn and your baby, and then, when you get dragged back to other duties, accept it with grace," he advised.
"Thank you, sir," Puck said as he thought about what he was being offered. Yes, he was being stupid to think it was a backwards step, it really wasn't, and yes, Quinn was grateful that he would be with her when their son made his entrance into the world. "It's a boy," he suddenly thought to say. "The ultrasound, it showed it's a boy," he explained. "And we've reconnected with Beth, too," he added with a touch of pride.
"How old is she now?" Captain Bridges asked. Captain Bridges remembered the day when he and Puck had poured their hearts out to each other, told each other all of their hopes and fears, their dreams, their dreads - with the help of a bottle of Jack, an accidental lock-in in a confined, dark space and a seven hour wait for someone to get the ancient bunker open. Bridges had been the one to encourage Puck to return to Lima for the final glee week, encouraged him to pay tribute to his friends, to his love. He actually felt quite instrumental in bringing Puck and his wife together, not that he ever reminded Puck about that. Much.
"Twelve, she'll be thirteen in the summer," Puck mused. "Where the hell has the time gone?" he asked, almost as though he didn't believe that the years had passed. "And she wants to be involved with the baby, which is very cool," he added and grinned.
"So have you made your decision?" Bridges asked and drained his coffee cup.
"There wasn't really any decision to make," Puck sighed. "Realistically, I have to take this opportunity, I know that. I mean, I haven't been deployed overseas for over two years, what would be the chances that I'd manage to last another year?" he asked and shrugged. "If I run this office for a year, then return to active service, it will give Quinn the security that she needs, that she deserves," he said. "I wasn't always there for her before, I let her down so many times in the past, I have to be here, I have to support her," he added with a relieved sigh.
"You know it makes sense," Bridges replied with a grin and lifted his empty cup for Puck to refill. "Now get that door open and get me some more recruits, Sergeant Puckerman," he grinned.
Quinn was happy to see Captain Bridges too, when Puck brought him home to share dinner with them. She knew he had encouraged Puck to go to the reunion before Sue Sylvester had ended glee club altogether, she knew he'd encourage Puck to accept the secondment. Quinn liked Captain Bridges.
Beth and Quinn went to the appointment alone, Puck was giving a talk at a high school in Ashland, about a two hour drive away. "So, are we ready to see baby again today?" Dr Wen asked.
"Yes we are," Quinn answered and tried her damnedest to keep the sarcasm from screaming out at the doctor.
"Here he is," Dr Wen said with a grin as he turned the monitor around to face Quinn and Beth.
"I still think he looks like a George," Beth told Quinn as her eyes gobbled up the sight of her baby brother. "Oh look at him sucking his thumb," she crooned. "He is so sweet," she said and pressed her cheek to Quinn's head. "Did I ever do that when you saw pictures of me?" she asked.
"Yes, we have a DVD of you sucking your thumb, did you ever see it?" Quinn asked, though her voice was a little husky, not quite as clear as it usually was.
"No, I never saw that," Beth exclaimed.
After the appointment, Quinn drove Beth home with her. "Hi, Shelby, it's only me," Quinn said as soon as he call was answered. "Listen, I know that you have tickets to see that production of Phantom," she began.
"Yes and I even managed to get someone to go with me," Shelby cut in. "You're all Philistines, by the way," she told Quinn. Quinn giggled but she couldn't deny it, all of them had made up excuses not to go see the off-off-Broadway production. It was so far off Broadway that it was almost back in Lima, but Rachel was willing to go watch the show with Shelby, in fact, she was looking forward to it.
"So, I was going to suggest that Beth stay here for the weekend, then, if you want, you can spend the night with Rachel and pick Beth up on Sunday on your way home," Quinn suggested, with more than a flutter of hope in her heart.
"Oh," Shelby gulped. "I...erm...I hadn't thought of...no, it's a good idea, yes, of course it's a good idea, yes. Yes," she stuttered but finally managed to answer. "Shall I call with a bag for her?" she offered.
"That would be wonderful, thank you, Shelby," Quinn said quietly, she could barely contain the grin or the burst of joy that shot through her.
"Did she say yes?" Beth mouthed at Quinn, Quinn nodded. "Yes," Beth hissed as she fist pumped the air.
Shelby arrived at Puck and Quinn's house at the same time as the guy delivering the Chinese food. "Oh, now I see," she exclaimed, faking that she was really hurt. "Have a good time, sweetie," she said with a grin as she hugged Beth close. "I'll see you on Sunday, ok?" she murmured and then kissed Beth's head repeatedly. "I'm heading straight to the airport, I managed to get a flight tonight instead of tomorrow morning," she told Quinn. Shelby still felt a little nervous, it was a very, very strange feeling, leaving her daughter with the woman that had bore her.
"Bye, mom, say hi to Rachel for me," Beth replied then hugged her mom back. She was really looking forward to spending the evening with Quinn, and Puck when he finally got home, but Beth and Quinn were going to eat Chinese food and watch the DVDs of Beth and of George. Not that Quinn would agree to calling the baby 'George', she wouldn't, but it didn't stop Beth from calling him that.
"I don't know how, but I think I look pretty happy there," Beth said as she munched a mini spring roll dipped in hoi sin sauce. "See, don't you think I'm smiling there?" she pounced on the slight change of facial expression. "Did you watch these a lot?" she asked.
"Yeah," Quinn sighed. "We would curl up in bed together, Puck would lay behind me, he would spread one hand over my stomach, we would put the laptop on the night stand and fall asleep just watching you, feeling you," she said quietly, remembering all those nights as if they just happened. "He used to lay with his cheek on my cheek and I always felt so warm, so protected," Quinn explained, she had almost forgotten that she was talking to Beth, it was almost like she was reminding herself out loud.
Puck found them an hour or so later, snoozing as the TV played to itself, their blonde heads touching, both of them lounged on the sofa, their feet up on the coffee table with a huge, snuggly blanket covering them. "Hey," Puck said softly so as not to scare either of them. "What are you doing here, monkey face?" he asked Beth as she stretched and smiled at Puck.
"Staying the weekend," Beth replied, her voice distorted by the long, long stretch. "My mom said I could," she added.
"Well, sure, I mean, I didn't think that Quinn had kidnapped you," Puck laughed. "What's for dinner?" he asked as he walked through to the kitchen. "Besides left over Chinese," he added and pulled a face. Puck liked Chinese food, but not left overs.
"I'll make you something," Quinn replied and yawned delicately behind her hand, she stretched as she walked, her rounded tummy popped out even more.
"Hey," Puck murmured softly and planted a kiss on Quinn's perfect lips. "How did the appointment go?" he asked.
"It was great," Beth said quickly, her face showing her excitement, "George was sucking his thumb, he looked so cute," she said, her voice getting higher.
"We're not calling him George," Puck told Beth once again. "I don't care how many times you say it, it's still not his name," he repeated the often said phrase. "And you can pout all you like," he added as he turned away to look in the fridge. "Did you finish getting all of your gear for skiing?" he asked.
"Almost," Beth replied and pulled a face. "But George is such a cute name, and it suits him, he looks like a George," she told Puck with absolute sincerity. "Can't we at least have his middle name as George?" she asked.
"Finn George Puckerman," Puck said and pulled a face too. "Not happening, absolutely not, maybe the next one, if we have another one, maybe that one can be a George or a Georgia, but no, this little guy is Finn, we couldn't call him anything else," he said and looked at Quinn with such contentment, Puck didn't think he'd ever been as happy. Ever.
"Finnian Jonas Puckerman," Quinn announced and Puck looked at her in surprise. Ever since Captain Bridges had come to dinner, Quinn realised how instrumental he had been in the reformation of 'Quick' and she had sort of decided that his name should be honoured too. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the name. "Finn's full name was Finnian, his mom told me it means 'fair', so I'd like the baby to be called Finnian Jonas Puckerman," she said a little breathlessly, nervously. Quinn bit her lip as she waited.
"Finnian Jonas," Puck repeated. "Finnian Jonas," he said again. "Cool, I like it," he said with a nod. "Finnian Jonas Puckerman," he said to Beth. Beth nodded too, the name sounded really good, it suited him.
"How about this one?" Puck asked, lifting the McKinley Titans inspired down jacket from the rack. "I used to play football in these colours, Quinn used to cheer in these colours, these colours are your destiny," he told Beth, trying his utmost to keep a straight face.
"My mom said just the pants," Beth reminded Puck and pointed at the growing pile of garments that lay on the counter at the checkout, waiting for the cashier to ring up the sale.
"What does your mom know?" Puck scoffed. "When was the last time she went skiing?" he asked.
"Never," Beth admitted under her breath, she couldn't help but feel a little excited, like a kid at Christmas, except she had Hanukkah instead of Christmas. "Plus, it is kind of cool," she agreed and loved the fact that Puck and Quinn were outfitting her for the trip. She loved shopping with Quinn, she knew all the best places to go for the cute girlie stuff that made her look just that little bit older, little bit more sophisticated.
Quinn snapped another picture of Beth trying stuff on and sent it to Shelby for approval. "Your mom says yes to this outfit," she said when her phone chimed with a message, "but not the last one, sorry honey," she added with an exaggerated pout. "And she said that the blue pants with the pink and blue check shirt look cute too," she told Beth. "Puck, Shelby says that Beth can hire boots and skis, she doesn't need her own, she probably won't ever go again," she told her husband, who pouted and frowned for real.
"Yes she does," Puck muttered to himself. He wanted to buy them for her. So what if she never used them again, this was making up for twelve missed birthdays, twelve missed Christmases and twelve missed Hanukkahs. A pair of skis and a pair of ski boots were little enough to compensate. "Too late, tell her I already bought them," he called over his shoulder as the cashier charged his card.
"She says you can get a refund," Quinn replied as she read out Shelby's message.
"Give me that," Puck sighed and took Quinn's phone from her. "Please let me have this little bit of fun," he muttered as he typed. "Send," he said and pressed the button before handing the phone back.
"Shelby says fine, but don't complain when she buys tons for the baby," Quinn sighed. "Are we done now?" she asked as Beth returned from the dressing rooms in her own clothes. "This pile is my treat," she said to the young girl then smiled at the cashier.
"How come Shelby didn't tell you that you couldn't buy her all that stuff?" Puck grumbled, he felt rather picked on.
"Why do you think I distracted her by telling her about your planned purchases?" Quinn laughed. "What do you think I am? Stupid?"
"Women," Puck sighed. "I'll never win, will I?" he asked the store in general.
"In my considered opinion, sir," the manager murmured from his position near the end of the counter, "it's better to just allow them the victory. Wife and four daughters," he added, stating his qualification. "Even the dog and the cat are female," he sighed and shook his head sadly. Puck looked at the man with sympathy. "And they're all teenagers, all four of them. Sir," he said with a glance at Beth, then back to Puck, "you have no idea."