A/N: The idea for this story popped into my head immediately after I saw 'Duets.' First, I thought it was insane that Puck only went to juvie for breaking into a store and stealing an ATM. That's a big-boy crime.

Second, I thought that the reactions of the Glee members were uncharacteristically cold. Especially from people who were supposed to be pretty close to him (mother of his child anyone?).

I typically write Finchel, but I have a very strong soft spot in my heart for Puckleberry. Since this is my first Puckleberry fic, I hope you'll be kind.

I don't own Glee, obviously. :) This is rated a strong T.

"Noah Puckerman," the Judge's voice projected clearly through the courtroom, "I hereby sentence you to a term of no less than eighteen months to be served at the Allen County Minimum Security Detention Center. The prisoner is remanded into custody."

The gavel pounded, once, twice.

Puck felt like he was having an out of body experience.

Sure, he knew that driving his Mom's car into a convenience store and trying to jack the ATM would have consequences. He didn't exactly plan for this to happen though.

Grimacing as the handcuffs slapped none-too-gently around his wrists, he realized he finally had become his father. Hell, he wasn't even eighteen yet and he was going to an adult facility.

Who knew stealing an ATM was a felony and that they would charge him as an adult?

Okay, so, yeah, he knew that. He just hadn't cared at the time.

He was in it for the rush…for the high…to feel something other than sadness, misery and rejection.

And he knew that shit was messed up, but Puck was never really one for thinking things all the way through.

Reality finally closed in on him when the cell doors clanged shut.

He had actually managed to live down to everyone's expectations.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At first, it seemed like everyone wanted to visit him. All the Glee members (even Finn, go figure), and most of the football team.

But he was still shocked when she showed up.

It wasn't like they had stayed close after the end of their one week 'relationship.' He had done his best to stay away from her; karma-wise, stealing another of Finn's women probably would have landed him in an even worse situation. He chuckled darkly at the thought, not sure exactly what would be worse than having a criminal record before turning eighteen might have entailed.

After just forty-eight hours behind bars, he got his first visit from Rachel Berry.

Puck slid into the plastic chair, his eyes lighting on her glowing face. She looked incredibly out of place in a prison. The wrongness of seeing her here, even on the 'right' side of the plexiglass disturbed him enough that he tried to drive her away.

Shouldn't be hard, he figured. After all, it had only taken him a week the last time and he hadn't even been trying.

Picking up the phone he growled, "What the fuck, Berry? You think I need pity-visits from a loser like you?"

She gave him a mean smile and chirped back, "I don't pity you, Noah. I think you're probably the dumbest person I've ever met, to have squandered all your potential in such a manner. Didn't you realize they had video cameras in that store?"

Puck shrugged noncommittally.

"Anyway," she continued, "your behavior was so asinine, you should have no doubt I think you earned every moment of your sentence."

"Shit, Berry," Noah groaned, "that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Not at all," she smiled widely, "now are you satisfied I'm not here because I pity you?"

And Puck found himself genuinely laughing for the first time in ages.

The majority of visits tapered off after that.

Santana and Finn never returned. Quinn, the mother of his child for shit's sake, came two more times before she simpered some excuse about not being able to stand seeing him like this. Some of the other Gleeks came a few more times.

Even his Mom only came out once or twice a month. She was picking up extra shifts to pay for his appeal, or so she said. But Puck got the feeling that even she was writing him off as a lost cause.

But not Rachel.

No, she showed up once a week on Saturdays. At first she just came to chat with him. She would talk about Glee, and school, and he would listen because even though she talked way too much, it was just nice to have human contact with someone who wasn't a prisoner or guard.

Occasionally he would protest her weekly visits as a sign of pity and she would once again cheerfully remind him of how utterly stupid he was.

She talked a lot about Finn the first six months or so, and then one weekend, she just didn't. He could see the sadness in her eyes and the firm set of her mouth. She had, he faced reality, become his best and only friend. He could see something major had gone down.

"S'up Berry?" he gave her his best smirk to cheer her up.

Very quietly, so quietly he almost couldn't hear her, she responded, "I broke up with Finn."

Well, that was a surprise.

"What did he do this time?" Puck knew that Rachel was loyal to a fault, especially to his undeserving former best friend. This must have been a major screw up.

She sighed, and he felt bad making her relive something obviously painful, "Forget it shrimp," he stopped her before she started, "you don't have to tell me what St. Finn did…"

"I caught him with Santana," she interrupted.

"The fuck?" Puck was honestly shocked. "What the hell does Finn want with her?"

She barked humorlessly, "Sex, Noah. He wanted sex. Apparently sex with me just wasn't doing it for him. I walked in on them in the choir room," she scowled, "she was…"

He listened raptly in spite of himself; he had been in here for long enough that even the mental picture of the Jolly Green Giant getting action was mildly interesting.

"She was, well, on her knees," she whispered that last part.

"Son of a bitch," he growled. Rachel could be buckets of crazy, but it was the good kind of crazy. He hadn't been with her for long, but Puck had always sensed how deep her passion ran. It was only Finn who would be stupid enough to ignore that in favor of Santana's more obvious charms.

"Its okay, Noah," she smiled slightly, "things weren't right with Finn and I for awhile. I think he and I worked better in my mind than in reality."

Puck just nodded.

"Unlike you and I," his shocked gaze had met with hers, "you and I made no sense on paper, but somehow we worked."

He had let that go with no comment but a sincere smile.

After that, she brought games for them to play, and talked less. He found it strangely sad that she was less…Rachel than before. And it wasn't exactly efficient playing poker with plexiglass between them but they made it work.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Puck had been incarcerated for ten months when he turned eighteen.

He figured since it was on a Wednesday he wouldn't get any visitors. But his Mom showed up, and it was a nice visit for once.

They talked about his little sister, and about her work. She didn't even tell him what a screw up he was (their normal topic of conversation).

She brought a package with her too.

Looking at the wrapping which was covered with gold stars, Puck knew instantly who the gift was from.

Smiling, he watched as his Mom passed the present to the guard. Puck felt an itch of irritation that he didn't get to unwrap his own gift, but he understood why the guard had to peruse the contents before handing the small box to him.

Thankfully, the large man had the decency to leave the enclosed card unopened.

Dear Noah,

I'm sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate on your big day. I'll be by on Saturday, of course, but I thought you might like to get a gift on your actual birthday.

I hope you like it, and I hope you don't mind me asking your Mom to bring it to you.

You're a great man. I can only believe that one day everyone else will see what I do and you'll take the world by storm.

Your friend,

Rachel

Grinning like a fool, he carefully replaced the card in its envelope and looked in the box.

An iPod with earbuds lay on the glittery tissue paper. He hoped she had preloaded it with some music, as they weren't exactly able to buy stuff on iTunes in here.

Puck thanked his Mom and took the gift back to his cell. Smiling at the playlist labeled 'Rachel,' he selected the first song. And was blown away by the talent that was Rachel Berry. She had recorded herself singing and made him a playlist of her renditions.

He smiled again noting the 'Great Jewish Icons' and 'Classic Rock' lists. Settling onto his bed, he listened to Rachel's magical voice belting out a showtune.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After a year in jail, his good behavior entitled him to conjugal visits.

He snorted, as he read the notice; a hell of a lot of good that would do him. Not that he wouldn't give his right arm for some action, but he wasn't exactly overrun with candidates to make use of the privilege.

Crumpling the notice, he turned back to the book he was reading, only to be interrupted by a guard.

"Puckerman," the guard was scanning his keycard and opening Puck's cell door, "you got a visitor."

Puck smiled. It was Saturday, and he knew who his visitor would be.

Or at least he thought he did.

"Not there, Puckerman," the guard smirked, steering him away from the plexiglass divided visitor's area, "you got someone waiting for you in the trailers."

Puck's brows shot towards his hairline. Those were the conjugal visit trailers, "Who is it?"

The guard laughed, "If you don't know who she is, how the hell am I supposed to?" The man's smirk turned lascivious, "She's a hot little piece of tail though."

Knowing this had to be some kind of mistake, Puck strutted towards the trailers. Having a conjugal visitor was going to go a long way towards his cred in this hellhole, even if she really wasn't there to see him.

Giving the guard his best 'Puckzilla's gonna get some' grin, Puck walked into the trailer and felt his jaw drop.

The first thing he noticed was legs. Smooth, long, tan legs sticking out from under a ridiculously short, frayed jean skirt. The woman wasn't facing him, but he found himself instantly hard at the sight of those legs. Not to mention the black 'fuck me' pumps that made them even more impressive.

A cranberry halter top encased a delicate back and shoulders.

He felt something hitch in his throat when he saw the hair. Long, silky, shiny chocolate brown waves. He knew that hair. He had buried his hands in that hair over and over during a fateful week almost a year and a half ago.

"Rachel?" he queried incredulously.

"Told you she was hot, Puckerman. Some guys have all the luck," the guard sighed lustfully and shut the door, "You got an hour, man. Enjoy yourself."

"Yeah, thanks," Puck muttered as the guard shut the door.

"Hi, Noah," Rachel's voice was soft and unsure as she turned from the window, letting the curtain drop back into place.

"Rachel," Puck swallowed, finding his throat suddenly dry, "What…what the hell?"

That about summed up his feelings at the moment.

She was twisting her hands together nervously, he noticed immediately. That drew his attention to her midsection, and he barely suppressed a groan at the cleavage created by the sexy top.

"I thought that you might want some um…human contact," she said with a small smile.

"Damn, Berry," Puck grinned his best badass grin, "not sure what you're up to, but you look good enough to eat."

"Noah!" she squeaked indignantly, coming over to swat him on his shoulder, "I just meant that I saw online that after a year you were eligible for um, in-person visits," he smiled at her blush, "I thought it had been a really long time since you had been face-to-face with anyone who wasn't related to this facility."

"If you wanted a ride on the Puckerone-love-machine," he wiggled his brows, hoping to put her at ease and give himself time to calm his racing heart, "all you had to do was ask. I mean, the outfit's a bit much."

She smiled genuinely then, "I also saw online that receiving a conjugal visit from a 'hot' woman could help up your status while incarcerated," she shrugged and Puck tried to ignore what the small motion did to his insides, "I did my best."

"Mission fucking accomplished," he let his eyes peruse her form once more, his smirk growing into a small smile at her immediate blush, "So Berry, what's a guy gotta do to get a hug from his hot conjugal visitor?"

She flung herself into his arms, and it felt so damn good that Puck felt like crying. He wouldn't, of course, but it felt so amazing to have her warm, soft body pressed against his. She was right, no surprise there, but he had missed human contact so much. And this woman, this tiny fireball, had come to mean more to him than he could have ever imagined.

To have her willingly touch him – it was a miracle. One that his body was shamefully aware of, he realized with horror as his blood rushed south and he developed an instant hard-on.

Easing his hips back slightly from hers, Puck hoped that Rachel understood that he was only a man. A man who had been locked up for twelve months with no female contact. And she was smoking hot. It would be weirder if he didn't sport wood in this situation, right?

He sighed and then subtly inhaled the scent of vanilla and strawberries. It was pure Rachel, clean and fresh and so damn sexy.

Realizing this was not helping his situation, he reluctantly eased back from her hold.

"Thanks, Rachel," he said sincerely, "I really appreciate you doing all that research and getting all dressed up like a freaking dream, and coming to hug me." He grinned wickedly, "and to do whatever else to me you've got planned."

Her answering smile was so sensual, it threw him for a loop. "Oh, you're in for a treat alright Noah Puckerman."

His heart started hammering again. As she turned around, Puck wondered if he could will her mentally into taking off her top.

But she turned around with his guitar case in hand.

A different kind of pleasure and anticipation spread throughout his body. He had missed his music. Yeah, he would hate to have to admit it to anyone, but Rachel had just known. It was like a vital piece of him was just missing without his guitar.

Smiling, he took the guitar from her and led her over to the bed. They sat on the edge together and he strummed out a few chords, relishing the pluck of the strings against his fingers.

Puck looked at her, startled momentarily by her gorgeous brown eyes being so close to his own, "Would you sing with me Berry?"

She nodded, and Puck began to play, as her amazing voice joined with his guitar and eventually his own voice, and he felt peace for once in this horrible place.

She had been visiting him in the conjugal trailers for about a month when they kissed for the first time since sophomore year.

Rachel had moved her weekly Saturday visits to the trailers. She always showed up dressed like his hottest wet dream (and he had experienced a few since she started to dress that way), and brought something from home that gave him comfort.

They played poker, they sang and wrote music together, and she spent a good deal of time just holding him close to her.

He never tried anything though. How shitty would that make him? And what would a woman like Rachel, a woman who was going places, want with a convict anyway?

So, it came as something of a shock when one day he found himself kissed by the object of his fantasies.

He had walked to the trailer as usual, bantering with the guard about what a sweet piece of ass his girlfriend was, and he knew right away something was different.

Rachel was nervous, for the first time since her initial visit with him in these trailers.

"S'up babe?" he pulled her into a tight embrace to say hello, and felt how tense she was.

"What's wrong, Rachel?" Puck leaned back slightly to look into her eyes. He was shocked at what he saw – there was something there that he hadn't seen in a long time.

It set his teeth on edge and had his heart racing.

She didn't answer him, she just stroked a hand over his face. As she reached his mouth, she stroked a thumb across his lower lip, and Puck found himself suppressing a very un-manly whimper that seemed to gather in the back of his throat.

"Noah," his name came out on a sigh, "I've waited so long to do this."

And then she had tilted her head towards his, joining their lips in a soft kiss.

The sweet contact set a fire inside him. He heard his own groan as it ripped from his throat and he felt like a pansy. But her mouth was amazing. He knew that; he remembered that.

But this felt like so much more than just a kiss. He wasn't just the local badass and she wasn't just the hot Jew that he felt compelled to bang.

She was Rachel. She was his best friend. She was the woman he loved. And yeah, Puck wasn't the biggest guy on introspection, but he had nothing but time to think in this place and he had figured out awhile ago that he loved her.

Puck moaned as Rachel deepened the kiss, her tongue teasing his lips and sliding past when the sound slipped out. Puck was lost in that moment and his kiss turned fiery and desperate.

Tongues dueling, limbs tangling, Puck pushed his hips forcefully into hers, relishing the tortuous contact. She whimpered then and Puck felt no small amount of pride at turning her on.

The kiss continued for long minutes, until they both ran out of air.

Panting, he led her to the bed and they sat down together.

"Rachel," he began.

"Save it, Noah," she said with a blush, "You know you've wanted to do that for months. I know I have. Let's just…enjoy our time together."

And thus began one of the hottest makeout sessions of Noah Puckerman's life.

He had often wondered, as their weekly makeouts continued, what had compelled her to make the first move like that.

He wasn't brave enough to ask though, for fear she'd realize who she was kissing, and then stop kissing him.

So their weekly visits were now divided between frantically kissing and groping, and singing together interspersed with soft conversation on the bed in the tiny trailer.

Puck had been in prison for fifteen months when he went for his regular weekly visit with Rachel and knew something was different.

For one, there was a large woven blanket thrown over the bed.

For another, Rachel was wearing even less clothes than usual.

She attacked him as soon as the door was shut, which while flattering, was pretty much par for the course these days.

Not that he was complaining.

She seemed almost desperate, biting at his lips, pulling frantically at the skin of his neck with her teeth, her hands everywhere at once.

And then, her hands slid lower. She had grabbed his ass.

Something like a growl rolled out of his chest as he backed her quickly to the bed. Rachel was hot. Sexually aggressive Rachel was something that defied description.

As his own desire rose sharply, Puck felt himself trying to hold on to his quickly fraying control.

"Rachel," he murmured as she inched her hands under his shirt and stroked his abs causing him to shiver.

"Rachel!" he said more forcefully, causing her to pause in her exploration, just as she reached his nipple ring.

"Noah?" she questioned evenly, flicking the tiny ring and causing him to groan.

"What the hell are you doing here, Rachel?" he tried to smile but figured it came out as more of a grimace, "I mean, it is technically possible to die of blue balls and you're killing me here."

"Who says I'm going to leave you…blue…Noah?" her lips curved into a sexy pout, "Don't you think we've 'dated' long enough? I know you want me," she flicked his nipple ring again and smiled slightly, "I want you, too."

Puck inhaled a deep breath, before saying probably the stupidest thing he could imagine saying, "Are you sure Rachel? I think we both know that I've blown right past the whole high school bad boy thing straight into undesirable territory."

"Undesirable is definitely not a word I'd use to describe you, Noah," she smirked at him, and he felt himself practically twitching with desire.

"You know what I mean," he ground between clenched teeth, keeping his tenuous grip on control by some previously unknown reserve of chivalry.

"I know," she began, and the sincerity in her eyes stole his breath, "that you are a good man. I know you've been hurt and abandoned by almost everyone who has claimed to love you, starting with your Dad and ending with Quinn and your baby girl. I know that your hurt often leads you to make some really poor choices, but I also know that what you need, more than anything, is to have someone believe in you. I do, Noah," the vehemence in her voice made him smile, "I believe that you are capable of anything that you put your mind to. I believe that you are worth so much more than you seem to think you are. And I want to be by your side when you prove it. But mostly, right now, I just want you to touch me."

She still talked too much, he thought with a soft smile. But touching her? Hell yeah, he could handle that.

"We've only got an hour," he groaned, his mouth on her collarbone, exposed by her sexy outfit, "there's so much I want to do to you."

"On-only an hour?" he heard her sharp gasp, and found himself amused by her suddenly acquired stutter, "How long should it take?" She stopped talking abruptly and moaned as his hand slipped into her shirt and cupped a breast.

Shit. No bra.

"With us?" Puck growled deeply, massaging the soft flesh and feeling her nipple pebble against his palm, "It could take days to work through the list of things I want us to try."

"Ooooh," she moaned, and he didn't know if it was in response to his comment, or to the fact that his fingers were now steadily pinching her stiffened peak.

Finding his patience running very thin at that moment, Puck quickly unbuttoned the blue cotton prison uniform shirt and threw it on the bed. Flexing lightly, he gave her a moment to appraise his now-even-more-impressive physique. Hey, might as well make good use of his time in this rat trap. The weight room was awesome.

Quickly he gathered her into his arms and returned to kissing her senseless. He felt her small hands, suddenly everywhere – on his back, his shoulders, his arms, softly teasing his hardened ab muscles. Each and every contact sent a pulse of sensation to his groin.

He had no idea how long he could hold back.

Puck pulled back momentarily and smiled at her whimper of protest. "No worries, Rachel," he soothed and whipped her spaghetti strap tank over her head.

And stared. And stared. She was so fucking beautiful. She was perfect.

"I know I'm not as…" she started to raise her hands to cover herself.

Puck shook his head vehemently, catching her hands, "You're perfect. Amazing. More than I deserve," he breathed out as he leaned down to catch a nipple between his lips.

She tasted like heaven and he was seriously out of his league. Finn was a moron. Even more than he originally had believed. To have this woman want you was to taste paradise. And Finn had willingly let that go in favor of a romp with an easy lay.

Finn's loss was Puck's gain he supposed.

Maneuvering Rachel back onto the blanket, Puck gave equal treatment to her other breast, biting the peak lightly and relishing her gasp and subsequent throaty moan. Knowing she wanted him so much that her hips were restlessly squirming against his made him feel like the words she said earlier might just be true.

But right now it was about her, he figured, and proving to her just how much she meant to him

He slowly slid his hand down to the soft skin of her belly and felt the flutter of her delicate muscles under his fingers. How the hell was he going to make this last? His hips were thrusting against hers mindlessly and he hadn't been this close to…finishing early since he was fourteen years old.

Peeling her barely-there skirt down her long legs, he groaned at the tiny white thong she wore, "Are you trying to kill me Rach?"

"That wouldn't help anyone, Noah," she panted, rubbing her leg up and down against his hip.

Standing abruptly, Puck practically ripped off his pants and state-issued boxers, barely giving Rachel time to look at him before he covered her body with his own. He could feel the moist heat of her body scalding him through the tiny bit of fabric that still covered her.

Trailing a hand up her smooth leg to the junction of her thighs he slid a finger beneath the scrap of material to touch her.

Rachel's moan made him feel ten feet tall, and he groaned loudly when he encountered her wetness.

She wanted him. Him. Despite everything else, this incredible woman wanted him.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Puck urged Rachel to lift her hips and whisked her thong down her legs, "Last chance, Rachel," he gritted out in a voice that was barely recognizable.

"I want you, Noah," she said quietly, and what he saw in her eyes at that moment…had he not already been in love with her, he was pretty sure he would be just from the look in her eyes.

"Condom?" he muttered, aligning their hips.

"I'm on the Pill," she whispered back, "I'm assuming you had a physical here?"

"I'm clean," he was breathing deeply, trying to keep from thrusting, the tip of his hardness just brushing against her.

"Me too," she smiled softly at him. Her hand trailed down his back then, landing on his hip and urging him forward.

He gave in to his desire then, and entered her in one smooth thrust.

Puck stilled, and the moment felt frozen in time. She was soft, wet and almost painfully tight around him. "I could have been lying, you know," he breathed, "about being clean."

Rachel rolled her eyes and ground her hips upward against his, causing him to moan, "Noah, I know you. I know you wouldn't lie to me. I trust you."

Shutting his eyes against the emotions he felt, Puck began to move. He had no idea the extent of Rachel's experience with Finn – and he really didn't want to go there – but he didn't want to scare her. It had been so long for him, and he felt like he had to make this incredible.

Moving slowly, Puck relished every groan, every sigh, every tiny little movement that Rachel made as her passion grew. And grew. Puck had guessed correctly that she had a passionate nature.

Her small hands were all over his body, her perfectly pink polished fingernails scraped down his back, enflaming his desire even more.

Puck focused only on giving her pleasure, trying to ignore the need rising up in his own body. It was a losing battle though, because she was doing her best to drive him insane.

Tiny whimpers escaped her mouth as he pounded her body, and they were escalating in volume. He felt her body beginning to tighten around him and he almost screamed his relief. Angling his hips slightly higher, he experimented with his position until he found…ah, there it was.

"Noah!" Rachel screamed his name loudly as she careened over the edge into pleasure. A wordless growl rumbled out of him involuntarily as the strong flexing of her inner muscles literally milked his pleasure out of his body.

Hips jerking, Puck saw stars as the most intense orgasm of his life held him firmly in its grasp.

Collapsing in a sweaty heap, Puck buried his face in her neck. The words escaped without his permission, "I love you, Rachel."

Her voice was cocky as she replied, "I know."

His head whipped up and a nasty retort died on his lips as he saw the tears gathered in her eyes and the tremulous smile gracing her lips, "I love you, too. It sure took you long enough to figure it out though."

Puck sighed, "I feel like I've loved you forever," he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "It just took me awhile to work up the courage to tell you."

"The sex probably didn't hurt," she smirked at him, running a hand down his back to urge his hips against her own and start round two.

Puck just grinned back at her and drove his now-renewed erection deeply inside her.

Eighteen months after he had walked through the doors of prison, Noah Puckerman walked out with his freedom in more ways than one.

Waiting outside the gate for him was his mother, and the woman he loved. The last three months had been incredible enough to almost make him forget he was now a convict.

Rachel's faith in him and his ability to turn this experience into a positive was contagious. He had spent the last three months (in between having smoking hot sex with his girlfriend on Saturdays of course) sending in applications for jobs through the work release program. He was working on equivalency courses that might allow him to graduate with the rest of his class.

Even if Figgins was an asshole and decided to not allow him to re-enroll (Rachel was all kinds of daring the man to try that, claiming the ACLU would have a field day), he would get a high school diploma.

He would have a job.

He would be somebody that Rachel could be proud to have by her side, despite his admittedly checkered past.

It turned out that she was right – all he really needed was someone to believe in him. He would be eternally grateful that she was that person.

Giving his mom a hug, he turned to Rachel and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. "So, babe," he smirked at her, "what now?"

"Now Noah?" her smile was radiant, "Now we get to live our lives."

"Together?" so he was still not 100% confident with his position in her life. It would happen eventually.

"If you think I'm letting you get rid of me now that I finally have you all to myself, you're crazy."

"If you think I'm letting you get rid of me ever Rachel, then you're the crazy one."

"I love you, Noah," she said quietly, kissing him again.

"Love you too, Rachel," he threw an arm around his mom and an arm around his girl and led them away from the gates of the prison.

He thought maybe stealing an ATM, in retrospect, was the best decision he had ever made. If he had it all to do again, knowing he would end up with Rachel, well, maybe he'd just ask her out instead.

Maybe.