So the last thing I should have done was start ANOTHER story. But Sarah over at GF sent me this fic idea that I absolutely fell in love with. This story is based on a dream she had and I am absolutely honored that she allowed me to be the one to turn it into words. So Thank You Sarah!

I suppose since this is a new story I should mention that I own nothing except for the two original characters...Glee and its characters belong to FOX and the title comes from "Home" by Daughtry which belongs to them.

Please Read and Review! I'm really in love with the story that's being told here and I want to know what everyone thinks about it too!

Rachel let a puff of hot air escape from between her lips as she waited for him to pick up the phone. She hadn't wanted to call him but somehow the ENTIRE glee club was on vacation or busy at the exact same time. She wasn't even asking for anything glee related, yet none of her friends seemed to even have the time to hear about what she needed help with. She was so certain that he wasn't even going to pick up that it took Rachel a moment to realize that he had.

"Berry? Why are you calling me?"

"Noah! Thank goodness I was able to get a hold of you. I need a favor."

"Berry we both know that the only favors I'm good for are the sexual ones, but if you're asking I would definitely be willing."

Rachel gasped, "I most certainly am not."

"Then why are you calling Rachel?"

Rachel knew that she and Puck were not friends. Not really anyway. Of course, they talked to each other occasionally but that was usually in reference to glee. They shared no classes and now that it was the summer before their senior year, there was absolutely no reason that Rachel Berry should have been calling Noah Puckerman for anything on that humid Thursday afternoon in late July.

"This is going to be one of those long winded speeches that you don't like but please bare with me," Rachel said then paused, and when Puck didn't interrupt she continued, "Every summer my parents become foster parents for children in the state. Basically, we take in a couple of children who have been put into protective custody until they are adopted or other arrangements are made. It's usually over the summer and we've never really told anyone. Right now, we have this little boy; he's five and his sister who is fourteen months. I'm having an amazing time with little Alana, but Tommy, Tommy is having a rather difficult time adjusting to being away since he is older and his more aware of his surroundings. My Dads and I have tried to get him to engage in activities but we simply do not understand sports and other things little boys like. So what I was hoping was that you could come over and I don't know throw a ball with him or something because I really don't know how else to help him Noah. But trust me I've tried everyone else I could think of. "

"So you want me to what? Play with the kid?"

"His name is Tommy. But yes, that would be greatly appreciated. We've tried everything we could think of but we simply can't get him to engage in anything."

"You're probably scaring him with your vocabulary."

"Noah! Can you help us or not?"

"Yeah sure. Give me a half an hour."

Rachel thanked him accordingly before hanging up the phone. She adjusted little Alana on her hip and looked over at Tommy who was sitting on the floor playing thoughtlessly with some toy cars.

"Tommy," Rachel said getting the boy's attention, "My friend Noah is going to come over and play with you. Would you like that?"

Then the little boy with sandy hair and brown eyes that made Rachel's heart melt nodded at her question. She was optimistic that she had finally found the solution to her problem.

Rachel stood on her front porch when Puck's truck pulled up in front of her house. She watched as Puck jumped out, grabbed a bag from the bed of his truck and jogged towards her in his white t-shirt and shorts.

"Hey," he said when he arrived.

"Hello Noah. Again I must really stress how appreciative my fathers and I-"

"Don't worry about it Berry. So where is he?"

"Inside finishing dinner with my fathers. What's in the bag?"

"Boy things. No girls allowed."

"How childish."

"In order to entertain a five year old boy, you have to think like a five year old boy."

"I suppose that is probably where my fathers and I have been lacking."

Both teens turned when the front door opened and one of Rachel's fathers stood there with a small boy in front of him. Puck looked at the young boy to find him looking back with uncertain eyes.

"Come here Tommy," Rachel said tenderly while extending her hand to the boy, her father giving him a reassuring push forward before closing the door behind the child. Tommy grabbed onto Rachel's hand still looking hesitantly at Puck.

"Tommy, this is Noah. Do you remember when I told you Noah was coming over to play with you?" Rachel asked and the little boy just nodded.

Puck smiled at the boy's shyness. It reminded him of his sister when she was younger, always afraid around strangers and hiding behind his leg. It drove him nuts then, but now he felt bad for the boy in front of him. From what Rachel had told him he was taken out of an environment in which he felt comfortable, his home, and placed with the Berrys. And while he was certain there were fates worse than that, he could only imagine how afraid Tommy was.

"Hey buddy," Puck said squatting down to become eye level with the boy, "Do you like basketball?"

Tommy was quiet.

"Hmm, no? Hmm...How about baseball?"

Tommy nodded.

"Awesome. That's my favorite. You wanna play?" Puck said reaching into his bag and pulled out a plastic ball and bat and a couple of old rugged gloves out.

"Where did you get those?" Rachel asked.

Puck shifted his eyes from Tommy then to Rachel before standing up, "My mom doesn't get rid of sh-anything," Puck said correcting himself after catching Rachel's stern look of warning, " Finn and I used to play with this stuff all the time when we were Tommy's age so I figured it would come in handy. What do you say Tommy, you wanna play some baseball?"

Tommy nodded as he let go of Rachel's hand and ran down into the yard before turning back to look at Puck who tossed Tommy the ball. After Tommy caught it in his tiny hands, Puck smiled at the boy, "Go ahead, I'll be right there."

"Look at him Noah, he's smiling! When did you become so good with kids?"

"I dunno. My sister I guess," Puck said before both teens got quiet for a moment, "I should uh, probably get out there."

"Right. I should probably check on Alana. Just come in if you need anything."

Puck nodded before going down to join Tommy. Rachel turned around and walked inside and up her stairs to the guest room where she found Alana crying in her crib. Rachel picked the small girl up and carried her downstairs to get her some juice.

"Look whose up," Rachel said to her fathers as she reached into the refrigerator.

Her fathers were sitting at the table occupied by tasks for their work, her Dad, Sheldon a short balding man, was a lawyer and worked with child services. That's how they started the whole foster parent project when Rachel was eight. Her other father, Benjamin or Daddy, the taller man with dark skin was in advertising.

"She's going to be up late now," Daddy said looking up from his work.

"I know," Rachel said handing Alana the cup, "She's just adjusting."

"Speaking of adjusting. Tommy seems to be doing alright out there with Noah."

Rachel walked with Alana over to the front window to watch the boys play. Her heart swelled when she saw excitement and joy on Tommy's face for the first time in the four days he'd been there. Rachel was grateful for Puck who, while he wasn't her first choice, had really come through for her, and more importantly for Tommy. And Rachel thought that maybe she saw the same enjoyment on Puck's face as Tommy's. As a still sleepy Alana placed her head on Rachel's shoulder Rachel thought about what Puck would do if she told anyone that he'd done this for her. Sure, he'd changed over the last year that was apparent. But after his relationship with Quinn fell apart, he turned into someone who still resembled the man he was before Beth existed. A boy with no commitments and no cares. But watching Puck play with Tommy and encourage him, Rachel knew that Beth was missing out on one heck of a father.

"Rachel, I'm really glad that Tommy is having fun but we have to get them ready for bed. Your Daddy and I have to get up early for work tomorrow," Rachel's Dad called to her from his spot at the kitchen table.

"I've got them. You two can get to sleep early and I'll make sure I don't keep them up too late."

"Are you sure?"

Rachel looked at Alana in her arms and back out the window at the playing boys and nodded, "I'm sure."

Shortly after her fathers went upstairs, Rachel brought Alana upstairs for her bath. She laughed as the little girl giggled and played in the water. Once Rachel changed Alana into her little pink onesie that Rachel went and picked out when she found out they were getting a little girl and carried her back downstairs. It was eight o'clock and the sun was beginning to set in the distance when Rachel and Alana stepped onto the porch. Puck and Tommy immediately stopped playing when they heard the front door slam shut.

"Hey Tommy, it's getting dark out we should probably get you ready for bed."

"Bed? Berry really? It's like eight."

"While when you get older going to bed later becomes easier, Tommy is still a young boy and he needs his rest early. However, I have convinced my fathers that you can stay up a bit later so we can watch a movie or something inside. Would you like that?" Rachel directed the last bit at Tommy who nodded, "Noah you're more than welcome to join us. Unless you have somewhere else to be."

"No. My sister is having a sleep over so the longer I'm away from home the better. Movie sounds cool."

Rachel nodded and then ushered everyone back in the house reminded everyone (really just Puck) that her fathers were in their bedroom attempting sleep and they should be a quiet as possible. Puck put his bag of boy toys by the front door.

"Hey, do you mind watching Alana while I give Tommy a bath?" Rachel asked, "I mean I can put her in the playpen if you don't feel comfortable."

"No, no. I'll take her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, hand her over."

Puck put his arms out towards Alana who hesitated for a moment before allowing the boy to take possession of her. Puck held her tightly in his arms moving them both to the couch to sit down. It had been years since he held a baby. As Rachel walked upstairs with Tommy, the tiny girl in his arms reminded him of another. The one he'd given away a little over a year ago, the only he'd never been able to hold. He set Alana so that she stood on his lap and watched as the little girl stood there, holding on to his fingers like they were the things that held her entire world together. Puck smiled back at Alana who was smiling back at him. Alana then sat herself down on Puck's lap and began blabbing. Puck understood none of it but laughed as she did.

"That was a good story," Puck told her and nodded and when she did the same his heart tightened just a bit.

Hearing baby stories and watching her laugh at herself were things that Puck knew that he would never get to do with his own daughter. Somewhere out there Shelby was getting to do the things that he longed to do. Sure when Beth was born he was sixteen and no where near ready to raise a child, but that didn't change the fact that he had a child, even if he had to give her away. Puck looked at the little girl in his lap who was rubbing her eyes and yawning and Puck thought then the moment his life changed wasn't the moment he created Beth, or the moment she was born, it was the moment he lost her. The moment he was hit with the fact that he was going to always be her father, but not her dad. He thought then about Quinn and how it was ultimately her decision because he let her have that choice. He let her decide what to do, and she didn't want Beth. She wanted her life to go back to normal. And she tried, and they tried to make it work but somewhere along the way, Puck realized that every moment he had to miss Beth was a moment he was angry with Quinn, and then angry with himself for letting her let Shelby take their daughter away. Alana yawned again and Puck picked her and pulled her against his shoulder. Alana let her head rest at the crook at Puck's neck and only moved slightly as Rachel and Tommy came back down the stairs, Tommy now in his pajamas.

"Tommy why don't you go over and pick out a movie for us to watch before you go to bed." Rachel said as Tommy moved over to the collection of DVDs, "You do alright with her?"

"Yeah I think we managed alright."

"Looks like it."

"I can take her. She's probably going to want a bottle before she actually falls asleep."

Puck nodded as Tommy came back with one of the Disney movies that Rachel had shown him the day he arrived.

"Aladdin. I love this one. Why don't you go take a seat next to Noah and I'll put this in and then get your sister's bottle." Rachel said and Tommy did exactly what was asked.

Rachel went into the kitchen to prepare Alana's bottle; she knew that it was okay for her to have one at night, especially since it was already part of her routine and Rachel wasn't about to change the routine of these kids too drastically so that they felt more at home. When Rachel walked back into the living room she took Alana from Puck, with a little bit of a fuss and got comfortable on the other side of Tommy and fed Alana her bottle.

Just about half way through the movie both children were asleep, Alana tucked tightly against Rachel's chest, Tommy wrapped up in his blanket between Rachel and Puck. Rachel used her free hand to reach for the remote and paused the movie. Puck turned to look at Rachel when he noticed the movie had stopped.

"I should probably get them in their beds," Rachel standing with Alana, "I'm going to have to wake him up."

"I got him," Puck said standing up, then, leaning down and picking the small boy up almost effortlessly in his arms.

Rachel led the way upstairs to the guest room. Inside was a crib and a small bed. Rachel set Alana down softly in the crib then moved over to the bed to pull the covers back as Puck set Tommy down on the sheets. Once both children were tucked in Rachel led her and Puck back to her living room.

"So do you do this often?" Puck asked as they arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"What? Invite boys over to play with small children?"

"I was going to say baby sit small children but that too."

"This isn't babysitting. But no, Tommy is the first child that we've had a problem with. He's also the youngest aside from Alana of course."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Since I was eight. Every summer we have at least one come and stay with us. Sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes for the whole summer. But every year they're gone before school even starts. It started when my Dad was working a case and they couldn't find anywhere to put the boy so he stayed in our guest room for a week. And then the next summer we took in a total of five kids."

"It had to suck that the attention was taken away from you," Puck said laughing.

"While I will admit that I once suffered from only child syndrome, it was actually kind of cool. This way I had someone to play with, unless they were a lot older and then it was actually a little awkward. But it was always exciting to see who would be coming each time. It's really sad though, that these kids can't be in with their parents for whatever reason so they are forced to stay with us. We've had some really angry teenagers over the years."

"What happened to Tommy and Alana's parents?"

"Well, they were drug dealers. They're going to jail for an unknown amount of time so Tommy and Alana will stay here until they find a home for them. It could be a while though since its been decided that they will have to be adopted together. If they already lost their parents, should they have to lose their only other family as well? Just thinking of it makes me sick."

"How come no one ever knew about this?"

"I don't know. I used to keep to myself during the summer since I have zero popularity outside of glee club. I know I probably sound like a broken record Noah but thank you again. If not for me for Tommy."

"It's cool. And if it's all right maybe I can come back tomorrow. I actually had fun, Disney Princesses and all."

"Sure Noah. I'm sure Tommy would love that. What both these kids need is a little stability in their lives."

Puck nodded and pulled his car keys out of the bag of boy toys that he had brought earlier and opened the front door.

"So, I'll uh text you or something tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight Noah. Drive safe."

"Night Rachel."

After Rachel got ready for bed, she went in and took a peak at Alana and Tommy, who were both sleeping soundly. Putting herself into her own bed, she turned out the lights and just stared at the ceiling. She had woken up that morning nervous that she wouldn't be able to get through to Tommy. Nervous that he would spend his entire stay at the Berry house miserable and tucked inside himself. But she surprisingly found the secret weapon to make sure that never happened; she found it when Noah Puckerman was the only one to answer his phone.