Author's note: Sometimes inspiration sparks from the oddest places. This was inspired by my wall art. Seriously. Each chapter is named after a saying that is framed on my wall. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy my wall art.

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everything's going to be alright

It begins the day his daughter is born.

Quinn goes into labor while they are rehearsing for regionals. Mr. Schuester drives Quinn, Finn, and Puck to the hospital like a maniac. The others follow closely behind.

They all crowd around Quinn's hospital bed until she screams at them to get the hell out. She forces Mr. Schuester and Finn to stay with her. Puck gets to stay by default.

Quinn is in labor for 18 hours.

They miss regionals.

But when they file back into Quinn's room, 18 hours later, and there is a wiggling baby wrapped in pink in her arms, regionals is the furthest thing from their minds.

They all take turns holding the baby. Each receive strict instructions from Quinn on how to hold the baby and threats from Puck that if they drop his daughter and make her retarded, he'll kick their ass. Mr. Schuester helps them all before returning the baby to Quinn.

Tina asks what the baby's name is, but Quinn chooses then to announce that she's chosen the perfect adoptive parents for the baby. They've decided to name her Adeline.

Finn announces that it's a shame they didn't use Drizzle.

It lightens the mood and they all laugh. Everyone laughs save Puck. He remains silent and sullen in the corner of the small hospital room.

He watches as even an exhausted Quinn laughs and as Finn sets himself easily at her side, doting over her and the baby like his girlfriend never slept with his best friend and like he was never made to believe the baby in her arms was his.

Finn knows the truth. He has since they won sectionals. And although he was hurt and angered by his girlfriend's infidelity and his best friend's betrayal, he has since forgiven them both. He even took Quinn back (after a short tryst with Rachel that neither mention) and remained firmly at her side during the remaining months of her pregnancy.

And by her side is where he will remain. Much to Rachel and Puck's dismay.

"Alright, guys, Quinn has had a long day. I think we should let her get some rest. You can all come back to visit her tomorrow," Mr. Schuester instructs.

"Will the baby still be here?" Artie asks innocently.

"No," Quinn whispers, clutching the baby, little Adeline, a little closer.

"But you can still come see Quinn. She has to stay in the hospital for another day. I'm sure she'd enjoy the company," Mr. Schuester tells them.

They all tell Quinn and the baby goodbye. They linger over the baby in her arms and force sad smiles upon their faces before obediently following their teacher out of her room.

Puck and Finn remain.

---

Puck leaves when the nurse comes to take the baby back to the nursery and he cant stomach Finn fawning over Quinn any longer.

He marches down the hall of the hospital with purpose, though he has no destination in mind.

"You okay?" a small voice asks and it stops him in his tracks.

He spins around to find Rachel. She pushes herself away from the wall she was leaning against, obviously anticipating him, and steps carefully towards him.

"I thought you left."

She shakes her head. "I figured you might need a friend." She sees he's apprehensive, so she continues quickly, "It's just that Quinn has Finn to support her through this. And as much as she might like to believe this is only happening to her because she's the one who carried the baby for nine months and just had to give birth to her, I know that this is happening to you too. Adeline…" She catches herself when she sees Puck wince at the mention of the baby's name. "The baby is as much yours as she is Quinn's. You're giving your child up and I imagine this is the hardest thing you will ever have to do. You need someone to be there for you during this, Noah."

"Someone like you?" he snaps.

She shrugs her shoulders and looks around. "Looks like I'm all you've got."

---

With a little more coaxing, Puck finally accepts Rachel's outstretched hand and with a promise that she'll do whatever he needs, he drags her through the halls of the hospital to the nursery.

They stand at the window and watch the babies inside.

"Which one is she?" Rachel asks.

"Right there," he tells her, pointing out his daughter. "I think she looks like me," he smirks proudly.

"She is beautiful," Rachel agrees and when she glances over at the boy beside her who's smirking, she blushes and turns her eyes back to the baby.

They stand in silence for a long, long time, jut staring at the baby wiggle and squirm in her bassinet.

Their hands are intertwined the entire time.

"Do you think it's possible to miss someone you don't even know?" Puck asks suddenly.

"Yes," she answers quickly. "I miss my mother and I never knew her," Rachel admits (something she's never admitted to another human being).

"I'm going to miss her," Puck tells her, but he cant bring himself to look at her as he does so keeps his eyes on the baby. "She's just a tiny little human who I don't even know and I'm going to miss her."

"You know her. She's your daughter," she breathes. She wraps an arm around his waist and leans into him.

"I hope, maybe, one day, she'll miss me, too. Even though she'll never know me." He finally looks at Rachel. "That's a pretty fucking selfish thing to hope for, isn't it?"

"Not all," she tells him (and she doesn't even reprimand him for his crass language because of the sad, vulnerable look in his eyes). "It's not selfish. It's honest."

"I love her," he chokes out.

He pulls away from Rachel so quickly that it causes her to stumble.

She tries not to be hurt by the way he pulled away and remains steady as she follows after him once more.

Really, he just didn't want her to see him wipe away the tears that escaped his eyes.

---

Rachel refuses to leave Puck alone and he's too tired to fight her, so he allows her to climb into his truck when he finally leaves the hospital.

He offers to take her home, but she insists she wants to stay with him.

They drive around Lima for hours in silence.

Puck's eyes remain focused on the empty roads that stretch out before him and his hands remain clenched tightly around the steering wheel.

Rachel watches him closely. Waiting for a crack in his tough exterior so that she can swoop in and salve his pain.

It doesn't come, even after hours of driving aimlessly, so her eyelids begin to droop and she finds it hard to concentrate on much of anything save the gentle rocking of his truck and the flash of streetlamps as they speed by.

---

"Rachel, wake up," Puck urges, nudging her.

Rachel wakes with a start. She's disoriented at first, blinking hard until she finally focuses on Puck. They are still in his truck, but it is not dark like she remembers.

It's beginning to glow.

"What time is it?"

"Five-thirty," he answers.

She looks around her and doesn't recognize her surroundings. They are perched on a hill somewhere. Below her she sees a town in the distance and just behind that, the sun is beginning to peak out.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you," she tells him sheepishly.

"It's okay," he shrugs. "I just wanted to think."

"Oh." She suddenly feels like an idiot for forcing herself on him.

"But, thank you for being here," he tells her quickly seeing the look that flashes across her face. He doesn't know what propels him to reassure her. Or to even be nice to her.

Maybe fatherhood has softened him.

"You know, just in case. And thank you for… understanding." Words, especially words that actually have meaning attached to them, are hard for Puck and so he struggles in telling these things to Rachel.

Which is why he usually ends up screwing things up. Like when he says, "And thanks for not being your annoying self and yapping the entire night" he knows he's messed it all up.

Rachel doesn't exactly know how to respond to that.

"Wait, that's not what I meant," he sighs. "I'm sorry."

Now he's certain that fatherhood has softened him if he's apologizing. To Rachel of all people.

"It's okay. You're hurting right now." She slides across the seat, closer to him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

He looks away and shakes his head.

She maneuvers around the gear shift and moves even closer to him. "Noah," she calls softly as she places her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look her in eyes. "I'm here. Tell me what I can do."

Her soft, rasping words, her dark, shining eyes, and the insistent touch of her hands all conspire and cause Puck to break down into sobs. The tears pour out quickly and there is no stopping them. So, he doesn't fight against it, and instead just falls against Rachel.

She supports his weight easily. She wraps her arms around him and embraces him as tightly as she thinks he can stand. Her body shakes with his.

His head is buried in the crook of her neck, his hands twisting in her hair, and so she presses her lips to his ear and whispers, "Everything's going to be alright."

He doesn't believe her.

So, he puts his head in her lap as she lazily strokes his head and sings every sad song she can think of.

It's a little easier to believe her as her pretty voice washes over him and sleep begins to pull him under.

The last thing he remembers is the touch of Rachel's hand and the brightness of the sun as it shines over them.

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