Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.

A/N: When Puck and Quinn returned to Lima for Mr Schuester's final Glee club offering, neither of them could ever have suspected that their lives were just about to change...

"Jake, Hannah," Gina Puckerman shouted up the stairs. "Breakfast is on the table," she called as she went to answer a knock at the door. "Noah," she cried and reached out to hug her son. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked as she leaned back to check him out. "Everything's ok, isn't it?" she demanded, suddenly nervous.

"Yes," Puck sighed and rolled his eyes. "Everything is fine, I'm just on leave, I requested a few days so that I could come to Mr Schue's goodbye thing, my CO told me last night that they'd been granted. I know, I could have called but I thought I'd just surprise you," he explained with exaggerated patience. "Is Jake still here? Is he ok?" he asked as he stepped into the house and noted the black leather jacket slung carelessly on the end of the banister.

"Yes he is, he's fine, he's a great help around the house too," Gina replied as she led the way to the kitchen. Gina had taken Jake in when his mom had been offered a very lucrative job out of state. "Tanisha is getting on really well in her new job but she's all over the place, working all hours," she explained, "and your dad, surprise, surprise, didn't have any objections to Jake coming here instead of going to live with him," she scoffed and rolled her eyes, "and to be honest, Hannah was really missing you, at least she has a big brother in the house again, now that Jake is here," she added with a smile at Jake as he walked into the kitchen. "Morning, Jake."

"Morning, Gina," Jake greeted Mrs Puckerman with a smile. "Puck," he cried in surprise when he saw his brother. "When did you get into town?" he asked. Jake sat at the table, after indulging in a back-slapping man-hug with his brother, and added some toast to his plate of scrambled eggs, Puck sat opposite him and did the same while Gina brought another place setting to the table.

"Hannah," Gina called again from the bottom of the stairs. "You better hurry if you don't want your brothers to eat everything," she added, hoping to hurry her daughter along. "So when are you going in to school?" she asked Puck as she buttered some toast for herself.

"I thought I might drive Jake in," Puck said, giving Jake an inquiring look, "save him from taking the bus," he offered.

"Cool," Jake answered with a nod. "Do you know who else is coming this week?" he asked his brother.

"Nope, I haven't heard anything," Puck sighed, he never heard anything from anyone anymore, except for his brother and maybe Artie sometimes. And Sam when he wanted to talk about football. And Santana when she wanted to bitch about her room-mates in New York. And Rachel when she wanted to bitch about Santana. And Kurt when he wanted to reminisce about Finn but didn't want to upset Rachel. And Mercedes sometimes too, when she wanted to ask what he thought about an arrangement for a new track she was working on. "Hey," he said with a smile, as his little sister launched herself at him after screeching his name at the top of her voice. "Good morning to you too," he grinned as he hugged her tightly. Puck would never admit it to many people, probably no one other than the people in this room, but he really missed Hannah, he missed his little sister. He missed his mom too, and Jake, and Beth, of course, but there was one more person that he missed more than anything, more than anyone, and he would never admit that to anyone, especially not to the people in this room.

Puck gulped and blinked hard, he couldn't believe his eyes. She was here, she was actually here. "Wow," he thought to himself, "wonders will never cease. And fuck, she looks amazing." Puck's eyes drank in the awesomeness that was Quinn Fabray as she walked down the hallway towards him, he even heard himself ask something lame about how fabulous he looked in his freakin' uniform. What a freakin' dick. "Shut the fuck up you idiot," he silently berated himself as Quinn said something about his uniform looking itchy and song choices for glee club. "Get it together, get it together, dipshit, ask her out," Puck advised himself. "Maybe we could go to Breadstix, mull some potentials?" he suggested with a sly, sexy little smirk that he didn't even try to hide, he knew that Quinn would know what he was offering, besides dinner, and he had no doubt that she would take him up on it, it had been a while for both of them.

Out of nowhere, a suit wearing, tie sporting, preppy nerd, grabbed Quinn on her side. "You know that's my tickle spot," she squealed. Puck frowned, he knew that, he knew how to make her squirm when he touched her there, and he knew what had always followed that tickle, especially when they had been making out, hugged up close together, on his bed, on her bed, in the bed of his truck out by the lake and in a few other places that he didn't even want to think about right now because when he did, it usually made him horny. And hard. Puck frowned and pouted as the nerd kissed Quinn lightly on the lips.

"Who's this?" Puck asked, he tried his best to sound uncaring, nonchalant, it didn't work, he sounded like a jealous boyfriend. Puck even had to admit to himself that he felt like a jealous boyfriend. Even though he wasn't anyone's boyfriend. Especially not hers. Not anymore. Sadly.

"Puck, this is my boyfriend," Quinn introduced with just the slightest touch of apprehension, "Biff Macintosh."

"Like the apple?" Puck asked, he was being intentionally facetious. "Blah, blah, blah," was all that Puck heard though he was sure that the nerdy freak had actually spoken. Puck couldn't take his eyes off Quinn, she couldn't look away from him either. "Way to eye-fuck," Puck congratulated himself. "Right in front of the dick too. Oh, baby, I am so going to have you back in my arms," he promised himself as he gave Quinn another searching look as she introduced him.

"This is my very old, dear, dear friend," Quinn told Biff though her eyes still didn't leave Puck's, it was like she couldn't snap the link between them, "Noah Puckerman.

"Puck, Puckerman," Biff repeated, testing out the name. "Is that Jewish?" he asked.

Puck chose not to answer the question, instead he asked one of his own. "She never told you about me?" he asked with a smirk, his eyes were still locked with Quinn's, she couldn't look away, she didn't want to look away either. "Score," Puck yelled inside his head, "she still thinks about me, I bet she still dreams about me and I bet she would love to get reacquainted with the hottest part of me." Puck smirked even more. No way was this a lasting relationship, not a chance. "How long have you been going out?" he asked.

"About three months," Quinn replied, her voice had a nervous fleck to it, Puck could hear it clearly, but he doubted that Preppy McNerdypants would know it for what it was. Puck's heart lightened and he couldn't help but smile. The conversation continued, Puck even interjected, something about the guy calling his mother 'mother' or some such crap. He could read the 'let me get the hell out of here' signal in Quinn's eyes, he'd seen it often enough in the past, and so many, many times he'd been the one to get her out of wherever, whatever was freaking her out. Quinn was so totally faking this relationship and Puck knew it, she might be trying desperately to be involved with this guy but he was boring the pants off her.

"You ought to give me another try, Quinnie," Puck muttered in his head, "I wouldn't bore the pants off you. I'd damn sure try to get them off of you though," he thought and almost groaned at the pictures that flooded his mind. He watched Quinn and Biff walk away. "This is not over, Quinnie," he said quietly, "not by a long shot," he promised.

"Talking to yourself?" Jake asked as he approached his brother from the rear. "You can get locked up for shit like that," he advised, his eyes followed where Puck was still looking. "When are you going to give it up?" he asked with an indulgent roll of his eyes. Puck didn't reply at all, he just grinned, winked and walked away, headed towards the choir room.

"Oh. My. God," Puck silently cried. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Puck drew in a deep breath and shifted slightly on his stool, he hoped the piano was hiding his problem from the rest of the class, but fuck, how the hell could she still look this fucking awesome in that Cheerios uniform? He'd just been transported back about five years to the very first time he had clapped eyes on one Lucy Quinn Fabray and oh my God, she still looked the fucking same. Awesome. And those moves too, shit. Puck gulped. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the prepster messing with his phone, the guy never once looked up to see Quinn singing, dancing and looking sexy as fuck. "Is this guy fucking dead below the waist or what?" Puck asked himself as he made a covert adjustment to his junk and his now tighter fitting pants.

"What did you think, Mr Preppy McDimplebutt?" the tiny, slightly irreverent, beautiful blonde bombshell, also known as April Rhodes, asked him before she took yet another swig from her hip flask.

"Oh, er, I thought it was very energetic," Biff hedged, he didn't know, he hadn't really been watching, he certainly hadn't been listening, he'd been far too busy Facebook messaging one of his friends back in New Haven.

"Dude," Mike Chang said in disgust, "you were texting the whole time."

"You know, he's very busy," Quinn excused quickly. "He's president of a secret society and also captain of the water polo team," she said with an embarrassed almost giggle. Puck did not look impressed, Quinn couldn't meet Puck's eyes.

"Are you sure you won't join us for dinner tonight?" Gina asked Puck, she looked quite put out that he didn't want to eat with them.

"I have plans tonight, mom," Puck replied with a little smile, he hoped she would let it drop.

"But I made your favourite," Gina pouted, hoping that she could tempt Puck to stay in with them, she really, really missed having him in the house.

"Everything is his favourite," Jake and Hannah cried both together then they laughed, Puck and his mom did too.

"All right, all right," Gina sighed, she knew when she was beaten. "I know, I'm being an overbearing mom again," she admitted. "It's just because I don't see you very often," she added as though this excused her. "I miss you," she said quietly.

"Mom, I'm just having dinner out with a few friends, ok?" Puck explained and rubbed his mom's shoulders before dropping a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be home later," he added as he picked up his cap and left.

Puck, Mike, Artie and Santana arrived at Breadstix and approached the hostess' desk. "Hey, guys," they heard from a booth in the restaurant. "Come here," Biff called, inviting them all over to join him and Quinn. As they sat down, Puck and Quinn made brief eye contact, this was something that neither of them was totally sure they could pull off, Quinn especially so when Puck made a bee line to be the one to sit next to her.

"Go ahead, torture yourself some more, Puckerman," Puck thought to himself, "because you might as well face it, you aren't getting into her pants anytime soon. And you aren't interested in getting into anyone else's."

Quinn shivered as Puck's knee touched hers. "Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," she screamed in her head. "Jesus, my nipples just went into hyper mode," she realised and had to forcibly stop herself from looking down at her boobs, she hoped to God that the material of her dress was thick enough to cover her reaction because if it wasn't, Puck would know in an instant. Quinn felt a rush, a gush of moisture in her panties and she had to consciously restrain herself from squirming in her seat, if she did, he would know that too, he would know straight away and he would give her that look and if he did that, she would follow him anywhere, like she always did, to the bathroom, the janitor's closet, the boys' locker room, her bedroom, his bedroom, his truck, anywhere. From somewhere near her, Quinn heard Santana introduce herself to Biff in a totally skanky, inappropriate way, so completely Santana-like that it made Quinn roll her eyes, she would never change. Quinn heard Mike and Artie do the same, although in a much more polite fashion. And she heard Puck, heard him breathing, she felt his presence at her side, felt him far more acutely than she felt Biff at her other side. Quinn inhaled and swallowed hard, her lungs filled with the scent that was purely Noah Puckerman and her whole being reacted to it, even her hair stood on end. "Oh my God," she wailed silently. "How am I supposed to just sit here, be this close to him and not touch him?" She was lost in thought for a second when she finally realised that both Santana and Mike were telling the sorts of secrets that Quinn did not want to reveal just yet, she broke out into stilted fake laughter. "They're messing with you," she told Biff and brought his attention straight back to her. "Honey, I forgot my purse in the car and I really need my lipstick and some lady things," she added in a whisper. Biff's good manners would not allow him to ignore such a request, he left the restaurant to go collect her purse.

Puck managed to wait, but only until Biff had left the table. "What the hell was that?" he demanded of Quinn in disgust.

"I am trying to present myself in a particular way," Quinn explained, she sounded so supercilious, so condescending. "Biff's family is Philadelphia mainline society and if I get in with that, my life is set," she added. Quinn didn't look at the disappointment in her friends' eyes, she didn't have to look to know that it was there, she could feel it in the air around her.

"How do you cover up the tattoo?" Santana asked mockingly.

"I pay my room mate to apply three coats of cover-up make up before I see him," Quinn answered. "Not that he's seen it yet," she added silently to herself, "or even had the opportunity to do so, maybe that's what tonight will bring," she thought and gulped nervously. "So why did you insist on separate hotel rooms?" she asked herself.

"Does he know about us? About Beth?" Puck demanded, he couldn't believe how annoyed he was, how pissed he was at the thought of either Beth or himself being just a footnote in Quinn's teenage life. He vaguely heard Quinn spouting some garbage about telling Biff when the time was right, but Puck just couldn't listen anymore. "You know," he began, catching Quinn's attention and holding it, "the Quinn I knew and loved would never have ignored her daughter just for some guy," he hissed. "Excuse me," he muttered and pushed past Artie to get out of the booth, out of the restaurant.

"Dinner didn't go so well?" Gina asked as Puck came into the house a lot earlier than she'd expected. He looked annoyed, upset. "Want to talk about it?" she offered quietly.

Puck sat down heavily on the sofa and sighed. "How does she always manage to do that to me?" he asked, he wasn't totally sure who he was more pissed at, Quinn for making him feel like crap or himself for giving in to the feeling of unworthiness.

"If you didn't love her so much, her opinion wouldn't matter," Gina suggested softly.

Puck gave his mom his patented 'I am so fucking pissed off' stare then rolled his eyes and mocked himself. "You didn't happen to save me any dinner, did you?" he asked with a pleading pout.

"Left overs? In this house?" Gina scoffed. "Of course," she grinned and got up to fix him a plate. Puck followed his mom into the kitchen. "So, what did Quinn do this time?" she asked the second Puck's guard was down.

"How do you know I meant Quinn?" Puck countered without actually answering the question. He sat at the table and waited for the microwave to ping. "Mmm, smells wonderful," he sighed in the hope that he could distract his mother from what he knew would be a relentless line of questioning.

"Because she's the only one who can get under your skin like that," Gina replied and took a seat across the table from her son. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "Coffee?" she offered and jumped up to pour herself another cup and one for Puck.

Puck sighed again as he concentrated on his food. "Where's Jake and Hannah?" he asked, putting the moment off for a little while longer.

"Jake is out doing something with Ryder, I think," Gina replied and sipped her coffee, "and your sister is upstairs on her computer, I've no doubt doing something borderline illegal. She really takes after you, you know?" she grinned.

Puck snickered a little. Yeah, Hannah was the biggest badass of them all, she put both him and Jake to shame with her antics, she was certainly going to give the guys of McKinley a run for their money when it was her turn to terrorise the faculty. Still, they didn't need to worry about her just yet, they still had a few years to wait until she was old enough to go there. "She is way worse than me," Puck retorted as he ate his meal. "And hey, I'm a good guy now," he reminded his mom, slightly insulted by her claim. "I don't drink to excess anymore, I keep my room in the barracks clean and tidy, I keep my clothes laundered all by myself, I'm never late on duty," he listed, "and I don't chase girls any more, either," he added with a sad sigh.

"And why is that?" Gina asked over the top of her coffee cup, her expression one of total innocence.

"Why bother chasing anyone else?" Puck replied sadly. "I already know who my soul mate is and she just isn't interested in me." There was no using denying it, his mom had already figured out the truth. Gina pouted a little in sympathy and covered Puck's hand in a comforting, maternal gesture, she really did not know what to say to him.

"Actually, Mr Schue," Puck said as he stood up in the back row of the choir room, "I was hoping, for this number, that we could move..."

"Hold up, hold up, Private Puckerman," Santana interrupted sarcastically. "I'm going to let you finish but first, I am going to uphold the tradition of hijacking this glee club and making everyone sit through what is basically an intervention," she informed them all. "Mr Schue?" she added, questioning a little. "You said that we could redo some of our favourite numbers, right?" she inquired, Mr Schue nodded his agreement. "Then I want to do a dance duet, with Brittany," she announced.

Despite Brittany's initial reluctance to get involved, the routine was superb, both Mike Chang and Jake jumped up to join in the dance part. It was really very good and gave Puck a few more minutes' of breathing space, was he really ready to bare his heart and soul to Quinn? To everyone?

Quinn knew that Puck's version of Keep Holding On was aimed solely at her, she knew, and when the others all got up to emulate the very basic routine they'd done when they had originally performed that song, she stayed where she was. Memories flooded back, bombarded her with long suppressed feelings. Why was he doing this to her? Why? Hadn't he hurt her enough in the past? Did he have to bring all this up again every single time they met?

"I saw Beth yesterday, Shelby let me take her out to McDonald's, if you hadn't pulled all that shit, we could have gone together..."

"...never see you in a bikini anymore, only ever a one-piece, you still don't want to show off those stretch marks, do you? I love those stretch marks, they remind me of when my baby was inside you, when I was inside you..."

"You know a girl is never going to satisfy you, not even one as feisty as Santana, you know you still want this..."

"...holding on, 'cos you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through," Puck sang and stared intently at Quinn, he really needed her to know that he'd sung that for her, to her, just as they all had so many years ago.

"Guess I can still saw your heart," Puck murmured after everyone but him and Quinn had left the stage.

Quinn sniffed and tried to smile. "I loved the song," she admitted huskily, "but I'm not crying over you," she denied, Puck felt cut to the quick. "I'm crying because, until you sang that song, I'd actually forgotten about it," she said and again tried to make herself laugh instead of cry. "In a couple of years, we'll forget all of this," she said and looked around a little worriedly, a little scared. Did she really want to forget all of this? Quinn didn't think so.

"That's why you've got to keep holding on to your past," Puck advised in total contrast to his thoughts from yesterday, before he'd met Biff, "not be ashamed of it," he added and he really hoped that he didn't hurt Quinn too much by that remark.

"I'd rather look forward," Quinn replied.

"We all love you for who you are," Puck told her, he was rather insistent, more so than Quinn felt comfortable with. She glanced around nervously and noticed that they were almost alone.

"And I'm in love with Biff," Quinn retorted then walked briskly away, smoothing her skirt as she went.

"I thought I might find you here," Jake said quietly, leaning out of the window to talk to his brother. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, indicating the space next to Puck.

"Go ahead," Puck replied with a huge sigh and lifted his half empty beer bottle to his lips.

"So," Jake sighed as he sat on the porch roof beside Puck.

"Did my mom send you out here?" Puck asked as he allowed his now empty bottle to roll down the slight slope of the shingled roof and watched it disappear over the edge. Jake waited for the tinkle of broken glass but it didn't come. He looked at his brother with a questioning gaze. "Water butt," Puck explained and twisted the top off another bottle. "Always hid the empties in the water butt, she never found them. Want one?" he offered. Jake took a bottle too and sipped it. "Did she send you?" he asked again.

"She's worried about you," Jake replied carefully.

"She doesn't need to worry," Puck sighed. "It's just my 'semi-bi-annual-twice-monthly-anti-Quinn' melt down," he admitted. "Every time I come home and she's home at the same time, not that we manage to clash very often, but when we do, it's either stand back and watch the fireworks or someone's getting pregnant," he explained. "This time it's fireworks," he decided. "God, I hate her, she's a fucking bitch," he exclaimed, Jake gave Puck a disbelieving look. "Ok, so I don't actually hate her," he added, it was a little closer to the truth.

"Why?" Jake asked. He'd heard all about the ins and outs - no pun intended - of Quick, from sophomore year when they'd lied about their baby girl, or at least Quinn had, through to senior year when they almost got together again as a couple. "What's so special about her?"

"About Quinn?" Puck asked, he couldn't help the sharp bark of laughter that escaped him. What could he say? Everything. Anything. Her, just her, she was special. "What makes Marley special for you?" he asked, turning the question round on Jake.

"Well, she-I-she," Jake stuttered, he knew what it was that made her special, he just couldn't put it into words, not words that made sense, anyway.

"Exactly," Puck sighed deeply. "I just...I love her, like, she's my soul mate, you know?" he asked, he looked at Jake with sad, pain filled eyes.

"So why don't you do something about it?" Jake demanded. "Go after her, tell her you love her, get her back," he encouraged.

"She's into that Yale dweeb," Puck reminded Jake with a scowl. "How can I compete with that?" he asked and drained yet another bottle. They both watched the bottle roll over the edge of the roof. "She isn't sleeping with him though," he announced with absolute certainty. "She hasn't had sex with him yet," he added, with a slight bite to his voice. "She's never had sex with anyone besides me," he almost growled, he was staring off into the distance, picturing Quinn from times gone by, times when he would have been on his bed with her right now instead of sat on the roof outside his bedroom window. "Except for Santana," he corrected himself. "She pretended like she had a thing with one of her professors a while back, you know when Schue should have got married but didn't?" he told Jake. "She was covering for us, we were on one of our let's try again kicks," he admitted, "and I left her with a fucking beast of a hickie, just so she'd have to explain it, I mean, I knew what dress she was wearing and I smacked her with the hickie the night before the wedding, it really pissed her off. Pissed her off enough to sleep with Santana that night instead of me. She had to sneak me into her house that whole weekend because her mom was home," he said with a grin. "That's why she booked into a hotel with dweeb guy instead of going to Dudley Road, because her mom isn't home," he explained. "If he lays a hand on her," he growled, "I'll kill him, I'll fucking kill him," he vowed.

Jake looked at his brother with slightly worried eyes. He wasn't sure if Puck was talking to him or to himself. "So why don't you do something about it?" Jake persisted.

"Like what?" Puck demanded, at a loss as to what he could do.

"Well, what does he actually know about her?" Jake asked. "Does he know that she had a kid with you?" Puck shrugged, he knew that Quinn hadn't told Dweeb Guy about Beth yet. Or her tattoo. Hmm, maybe Jake had a point. "Where are you going?" Jake cried as Puck shuffled to the edge of the roof to drop down to the ground. "Shit," Jake hissed and followed Puck as he realised exactly what his brother was intending to do. "Give me your keys," he demanded, his hand held out. "You've had too much to drink, I've only had a few sips."

Puck handed his keys over and climbed in the passenger side of his truck. "Drive on, McPuckerman," Puck cried, pointing in the direction of the centre of town.

Jake pulled up outside the most exclusive hotel in town, the one that Puck said that Quinn and...Quinn and...for the life of him, Jake could not remember the guy's name, Quinn and Preppy McDimplebutt were staying at. Puck jumped out of the truck and jogged into the reception area. Jake followed at a much slower pace and saw his brother doing what he did best, flirt for all he was worth with the woman who was behind the desk.

"...so if you could just give him a call and tell him he has a visitor," Puck requested quietly, "I would be very, very grateful."

"One moment, please," the woman said with a slightly breathless voice and a flush on her cheeks. Whatever flattery Puck had used, it had worked.

"Puck," Biff said with a touch of surprise when he came to the foyer just a few moments later. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, he had no idea why this loser would want to speak to him at all.

"I wanted to talk to you about Quinn," Puck announced and led the way to a more secluded corner. "There's something I think you should know..."

Puck could hear the shouting before he actually found them. He made his way between the yellow school buses, he knew exactly who was there. "What are you talking about? A tattoo?" Biff demanded, as though he hadn't already been informed of that fact.

Quinn tried to talk her way out of the confrontation, but not with any great enthusiasm. "Oh my God, this is my chance, this is my chance," she squealed to herself, excitedly. "Just tell him to fuck off, he is never going to be...oh, crap, Puck, he just had to show up here, right here, right now, he is the bane of my existence," she thought as she defended herself to Biff and confirmed, once again, that yes, Puck had actually fathered her child. "Bane of your existence or love of your life?" a niggling little voice inside Quinn's head asked.

Puck was impressed when Quinn grabbed at the dickhead's nose, she really brought him to his knees. Puck took over in a flash and punched the ass, slammed him into a school bus, winded him a little and he still managed to carry on a slightly witty conversation with Quinn. Puck threw Biff into the dumpster - his least favourite dumpster, actually - it was the one that Rick the Stick had thrown him into a couple of years ago. He was more than a little annoyed when Quinn demanded he help her get the asswipe out of it. "Do you have any idea how much better than him you are?" Puck demanded in return. "Look, you can crawl into the trash, help him out, or you can come be with your real friends in the choir room. I'll be waiting," he assured her and left her to it.

Puck managed to sit through yet another crappy, chirpy song without eating his own eyeballs, but only just. On the plus side, it was being sung by Hollie Holiday so there was at least a bonus to be had there. Quinn studiously avoided Puck the whole afternoon, he knew he shouldn't have interfered. Crap. Foiled again. Although Dipshit McSquirtypants was conspicuous by his absence. That thought cheered Puck up a little. A lot, actually.

Just before the last class of the day, Puck found himself in the locker room, stood in front of Finn's shirt, just staring at it, bringing to mind every conversation, every stupid, idiotic stunt he and Finn had pulled and there had been quite a lot. Puck saw Quinn approach, saw her reflected in the glass that protected the shirt. "He forgave us for what we did, right?" he asked, he needed to know that Quinn thought he did, even though Puck was absolutely damn sure he had, it was one of the things they'd talked about during their brief 'college experience'.

"A long time ago," Quinn replied with a smile as she pictured Finn standing in front of them, telling them to get on with their lives. "We saved him, Rachel was his soul mate..."

He'd won. He had actually won. For the first time ever, Quinn had chosen him over someone else, he wasn't just her secret, her consolation prize. He never thought that that would happen. Puck picked her up after she breathed that one word at him, that was all he needed to hear, just that one word. "Stay," she had whispered, after she'd slapped a good one on his lips, and oh my God, he would. For her, he would. Forever. Or longer if she asked him to.

Puck picked Quinn up and twirled around with her, he was just so overcome with emotion, feeling, he had to do something or he would burst. What he really wanted to do was find the nearest horizontal surface, lay her down on it and show her, once and for all, that he was her guy.

"We have to stay around here for a few more minutes," Quinn murmured into Puck's ear, "Mr Schue wants to share something with us all then that's it, we can go," she grinned as Puck allowed her to slowly slide down his front until her feet touched the floor. "Mmm, happy to see me, Tiger?" she teased as she felt exactly how much of an effect she'd had on him, on his body.

"Always," Puck sighed into her hair. "Come on, let's get this over with," he encouraged and led the way to the auditorium to catch up with everyone else.

The speech that Mr Schue gave was touching, it was moving and ever so slightly unnerving. Puck waited until the rest of the group had disbanded, gone their separate ways, he took Quinn's hand and smiled at her as he led her towards his truck. "Do you still want to stay at the hotel?" he asked, he really hoped she would say no.

"Not really," Quinn admitted. "But I don't want to stay at my house either," she added, "I never feel comfortable being there when my mom is out of town."

"You could always come home with me," Puck suggested. Puck couldn't stop the grin that grew and grew. "Come home with me," he pleaded softly.

"Ok," Quinn agreed with a blush on her cheeks. She couldn't believe how casually she had said that when her entire body was screaming for her to jump his bones right this very second. "What about your mom?" she asked once she had thought about it.

"She's cool," Puck replied, and he knew that she would be, he knew that his mom would not object at all, she alone knew how important Quinn was to him.

"Let's go," Quinn said, so quietly. Puck rushed with Quinn to the truck and bundled her in. He took a few moments to kiss her, slowly, very, very slowly, just to reassure himself that this was actually happening. "Can we call at the hotel to collect my stuff first?" Quinn asked, a touch breathlessly once Puck lifted his lips from hers.

"Of course," Puck replied. "Just a minute, I need to send Jake a text, I was supposed to stick around, watch him at basketball practice then give him a ride home," he explained.

"Well, you can still do that," Quinn offered, "just drop me at the hotel, I'll figure something out," she murmured.

"Not a fucking chance," Puck replied emphatically. "Now that I have you in my arms I am not letting you out of them," he informed her. "I meant what I said," he insisted, "you are my soul mate, and I really do love you, only you and I truly do know how to stay faithful to just you," he promised. Quinn almost melted inside at his words, they were just exactly what she needed to hear.

Biff was sat in the foyer of the hotel, he appeared to be waiting for something. He stood as Puck and Quinn entered, and approached them. "I trust there will be no further contact between you and I once you return to Yale," Biff requested stiffly.

Quinn gulped nervously and shook her head. "Of course," she replied, "if that is what you want," she added politely. Quinn, personally, had no intention of ever having anything to do with Biff ever again so it was a request that would be easy to follow. Puck gave Biff a very slight nod and led Quinn away towards the bank of elevators. Once they were in the elevator Quinn heaved a huge sigh of relief. She looked at Puck and found him watching her. "We had separate rooms, you know," she informed him. Puck's expression lit up.

"We could always take our time to pack your stuff up," Puck suggested huskily as he crowded her into the corner of the elevator. Quinn giggled and was about to give in to his searching lips when the elevator stopped and the door opened with a ping.

"Let's just get packed up quickly and head to your house," Quinn answered, she would feel so much more comfortable there than in a room that had been paid for by Biff Macintosh.

"Are you sure your mom will be ok with me being here?" Quinn asked again, for the tenth time since they had loaded the truck with her stuff at the hotel.

"Yes," Puck replied and pulled a face at her, he leaned closer and kissed her gently before he jumped out of the truck outside his house. "She will be fine with you being here, she knows how much you mean to me," he added with a slightly embarrassed pout as he opened the passenger door to help her out.

The house seemed to be very quiet when Puck and Quinn entered. Puck found a note on the kitchen table and read it out. "Cool, my mom and Hannah have gone to the mall for a little 'girl time'," he announced. "She says they might eat out, she left some money for me and Jake to order in," he added with a grin. "What? Does she think I'm freakin' fifteen and can't cope without her to cook for me?"

"You and Jake?" Quinn asked, puzzled by that particular statement.

"Oh, right, you didn't know," Puck exclaimed. "Well, you know Jake is my brother, right?" he asked, Quinn nodded. "His mom lost her job a while back, that's why they came back to Lima in the first place," he explained, "anyway, she got a great job offer, one she couldn't refuse, but it's way out in Idaho and her hours are a bit choppy, so," Puck shrugged. "At first Jake was going to live with his grandparents but his grandma wasn't feeling too good, so my mom offered for Jake to come here, stay here with her and Hannah," he added and only just, for the first time, realised how lucky they were to have such a supportive family. "Jake likes it here, he gets the Jewish quota from my mom, he still spends time with his grandparents but he takes Hannah with him so it's like she's finally got grandparents too, my mom still gets to nag someone male who isn't likely to run out on her and I get a kick out of knowing my brother and my sister are together," he added. "And my dad is still an epic ass and doesn't give a shit about any of us."

"Oh," Quinn nodded, she really couldn't think of anything to say.

"Let's get your stuff up to my room," Puck murmured and crowded close to Quinn. "Jake should be out for a while longer, my mom and Hannah aren't going to be back for hours," he added, the suggestion in his tone of voice struck something within Quinn, she knew exactly what he was angling for, her body jumped in response. Quinn launched herself at Puck, knocking him backwards into the table. "Ooof," he grunted as the breath was knocked out of him. He caught Quinn up in his arms. "So it's like that, is it?" he asked, playfully and mashed their lips together. They were still kissing as Puck carried Quinn up the stairs, they were still kissing as Puck opened his bedroom door, stepped inside it and slammed it shut. They were still kissing when Puck dropped Quinn onto his bed and followed her down. Their lips only parted to allow clothes to come off. Suddenly Puck stopped, he couldn't go any further. He sighed heavily, guiltily. He had to tell Quinn the truth, had to admit what he had done. "There's something I have to tell you..."

"Are you sure someone will be at home?" Marley asked Jake with a generous amount of uncertainty in her eyes, she was still slightly mistrustful of him.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure," Jake sighed. "Look, Puck is here, his truck is here," he said as he walked past the disreputable vehicle. "Gina's usually home too and Hannah," he added as he fished his key out of his pocket.

"Isn't it a bit weird?" Marley asked. "Living in the house belonging to the woman who was married to your dad when he had the affair with your mom that actually created you?"

"Not really," Jake replied. "It's a bit like step-parents, I suppose," he added after a couple of minutes thought. "Like, you know when two families join? Like kids from one parent, kids from the other, right?" he asked. "It's a bit like that, except the common parent to us all, my dad, is never around because he's a total dick who only likes to make kids, not raise kids," he sighed, "I bet he wouldn't ever dare throw a stone into a school yard," he muttered, "he'd be frightened of hitting one of his own kids." Marley hid a smile at that statement, she didn't want Jake to think she was laughing at him or at his situation. "Plus it's nice that I finally have a little sister, Hannah is some cool kid," he told Marley proudly. "And it's cool when Puck is home on leave, he tries to do stuff with me that maybe my dad should have, like, we go fishing early in the mornings if he's here on the weekend and we go to football games, he comes to watch basketball when I'm playing, it's really cool. And we talk, we talk about a lot of stuff," he said, realising that his life was actually enriched by his mom taking the job in Idaho, rather than being diminished in any way.

"What was that noise?" Marley whispered, suddenly on guard when she heard something strange.

"Shhh," Jake hissed and pushed Marley behind him to protect her. "It's coming from upstairs," he whispered. "Stay down here," he added as he began to creep up the stairs towards the noise. Jake concentrated on the sound for a few seconds. "Oh, shit," he breathed as he realised what he could hear, and turned to go back down. As he turned, Jake bumped into Marley who had followed him, despite being advised to wait downstairs. The sound they made when they both crashed to the bottom was enough to disturb Puck and Quinn from their rather vocal reunion.

"Holy crap," Puck cried from the top of the stairs when he saw his brother and a dark haired girl tangled together on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

"Jeez, Puck, grab a bigger towel next time," Jake called up and thrust his hand over Marley's eyes. He laughed over his shoulder at his brother who was stood at the top of the stairs, almost naked, but with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Doesn't cover much from this angle," he explained.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked as she joined Puck, slightly better covered, but still with minimal clothing.

"Hey, Quinn," Jake called in greeting. "Something we need to talk about?" he suggested with a huge grin.

"No," Puck replied and grasped Quinn's hand. "We'll be down in a minute," he told Jake and led Quinn back to his room.

"So, who wants to go first?" Jake asked sternly, the second that Puck and Quinn, now fully dressed, came into the kitchen. Marley couldn't help the blush that covered her cheeks, she wasn't at all used to people wandering round the house just wrapped in towels.

"What?" Puck demanded with a grin. "There's nothing to tell," he said and gave Quinn a smiling, sappy, happy look, one that displayed all the love he had for her, all over his face.

"Does Gina know about this?" Jake asked, his eyebrow lifting in almost an exact copy of Puck's.

"Not yet," Puck admitted. "But it's only been a couple of hours," he added in their defense.

Quinn and Puck sat at the kitchen table with Jake and Marley, between them all they laughed and joked about everything, about glee club, about the songs they'd sung and chosen, about the ones they wished they had sung but had never been given the opportunity to do so. "You know, we never, ever sang together," Quinn murmured, she was studying Puck's hand as she held it between both of hers, "why is that?" she asked then looked him in the eye.

"I have no idea," Puck replied. "Maybe we could do one last song, you and me, what do you say?" he offered.

"Hmm," Quinn hummed as she thought about some of the choices. "We're supposed to revisit some of the songs we've already sung, right?" she asked, Puck, Jake and Marley all nodded. "But what if nothing is appropriate but you know of a song that almost entirely fits the situation?"

"What song?" Puck asked, he was becoming very intrigued, it had to be something good for Quinn to be this cagey about it. Quinn leaned in to Puck and whispered in his ear. Puck nodded, smiling. "Cool," he muttered and turned to catch a little kiss from Quinn's lips.

"So that's how it is now?" Gina asked with a grin as she came into the kitchen. All four of them turned in surprise, they hadn't even heard the door opening.

"Gina, hi," Quinn cried and stood to hug the woman.

"Hello Quinn, how are you?" Gina asked warmly, as she hugged the blonde back, she looked over Quinn's shoulder and saw her son's happy, smiling face. "Is there something I should know?" she asked lightly.

"Well," Puck murmured, slightly embarrassed, "but you two know nothing, right?" he added and pointed at Jake and Marley, they both nodded in agreement. "Quinn and I have decided to make it official, we have decided that we have wasted too many years and now is the time to get our act together," he stated and took hold of Quinn's hand again, they stared lovingly into each others' eyes. "For the time being though, just until we can get everything in place, we are going to announce that we are officially dating, finally, and I don't think we ever did that before, did we?" he said, looking at Quinn in a slightly puzzled way, she looked like she was thinking back as she shook her head. "So, anyway, you are the first to know that we are actually getting married, but not just yet. We decided that Beth's birthday will be the best date, it will give us something to celebrate on that day instead of it always being a depressing day," he informed them and waited for the congratulations to come forth.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Gina cried and hugged both Puck and Quinn together.

"Man, that's cool," Jake said with a huge smile and hugged first Quinn, then his brother.

"I am so happy for you," Marley cried and hugged first Quinn and then Puck.

"What did I miss?" Hannah asked as she came into the kitchen. "Quinn," she cried and launched herself at her very favourite non-Jewish person. Hannah looked at Marley with a touch of mistrust in her eyes, she still wasn't sure about this one, she didn't make her brother entirely happy.

"Well, Hannah, how would you like to be a bridesmaid?" Quinn asked the young girl.

"Really?" Hannah gasped. "Me? A bridesmaid?" she demanded, her face lit up with excitement. "Who are you getting married to?" she asked then tried to dodge her big brother as he hauled her up into his arms. "She is not marrying you," Hannah exclaimed in disgust. "You are not marrying this dweeb, right?" she demanded of Quinn.

"I kind of have to," Quinn replied quietly. Immediately she said that she wished that she hadn't, Gina went into overdrive.

"Tell me you didn't," Gina whispered, that little statement had taken the shine off the whole thing for her, the date made a bit more sense too, like a closure of sorts.

"Oh, no, Gina, no," Quinn stuttered, "I didn't mean it like that," she cried, "I just meant that I love him, he's my soul mate, there won't ever be anyone else in the world that I'll ever love like I love him, so really, I couldn't possibly marry anyone else," she explained, staring Puck in the eye as she said it, even though it was to his mom.

Gina sagged in relief, her hand to her chest. "Thank God for that," she sighed, "I would have hated to have to go to Rabbi Johnson and tell him that piece of news again," she muttered.

"Mom, while you have Rabbi Johnson on your mind," Puck put in, "this won't be a Jewish or a Catholic thing, we decided that we'll have a civil ceremony then we'll go to both her church and the synagogue for blessings in both faiths, ok?" he informed her.

"Ok," Gina replied, that was more than she could have hoped for. "Does Judy know yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, she won't be home for a few more days," Quinn replied. "And I can't tell her this over the phone," she sighed.

"So, is it ok if Quinn stays here?" Puck asked, he was stood behind Quinn with his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin on her head. "You know she hates staying in that big house all alone," he added with a pout.

"Yes, she can stay," Gina agreed with an indulgent smile on her face. "Welcome to the family, Quinn, although, I feel that statement is just a few years too late, you have been in this family for years, just not officially."

"That was really cool," Marley murmured quietly to Jake as he walked her home after dinner. The whole family had enjoyed a huge Chinese meal, gathered around the kitchen table, laughing, joking, singing, teasing, it had been wonderful. "Is it always like that?" she asked, she was a little envious if she was being honest, in her house it was just Marley and her mom.

"Yeah," Jake replied with a grin. "Hannah is always that funny, she has no idea, she's like one of life's natural comedians, and Gina is great, she's warm and friendly and she's just like my mom, Puck is a great big brother," he added and turned slightly to Marley, his feet slowed even more. "And it just goes to show, that even when everyone around you thinks that you won't work out, love comes in and just proves everyone wrong. Puck and Quinn are meant to be together, you can see it every time they look at each other, every time they touch each other, when they talk about each other, when one of them leaves the room the other is looking for them, it's always been the same, since ever I've known them."

"Is that your way of saying that you think we should give us another try?" Marley asked, she knew from the intensity of Jake's words that he wasn't just talking about Puck and Quinn, he was talking about something much, much deeper.

"I think it would be awesome," Jake said quietly, lifting both of Marley's hands to his lips, "if you would consider forgiving me, first of all and then maybe you would consider going to Puck and Quinn's celebration with me on Saturday night," he requested with hope shining in his eyes.

"I'll think about it," Marley whispered, she stretched up to plant a shy kiss on Jake's cheek, he turned at the same time, their lips touched, Marley shivered as sensations that she hadn't felt in weeks, trembled through her.

Jake knew better than to push his luck. "Good night," he whispered and stepped away from Marley's front door, leaving her to stare after him and watch him walk away.

Puck kissed his way down Quinn's body, right to the place she hated the most, her stomach and the lingering stretch marks that marred her skin. "Don't," she groaned as Puck began to trace the lines with his tongue.

"Why do you hate them?" Puck whispered, he looked up the length of her body to see her eyes, they were troubled.

"Because they're a constant reminder that we don't have our baby," Quinn replied, her voice was just a little tremulous, there was definite emotion there.

"But they are also a constant reminder that we made something so beautiful," Puck countered, spinning it to a positive, "something so perfect, our one perfect thing and maybe in a couple of years, we can make another perfect thing," he suggested. Quinn curled towards him to hug him as Puck leaned up to bring their lips together. "I really do love you," he murmured against her mouth and many, many times through the night, he showed her how much.

"...not really sure what's going on there but I bet it won't be long until we have another accidental pregnancy," Mercedes teased before she and Kurt sang together.

"We really are not going to have an accidental pregnancy," Quinn assured Puck. "When we finally decide that the time is right to have kids, they will be properly planned and most definitely wanted," she stated with absolute conviction. Her child would not be an after thought or a desperate attempt to keep a floundering marriage from going under, her child would not be a mistake or an accident, her child would be loved, it would be wanted, her child would be perfect.

"That's really cool, but can we make sure we do a better job at birth control than we did last night?" Puck suggested. "Otherwise I think Mercedes hit the nail on the head, we are going to have an accident sooner or later," he muttered and dropped a smiling kiss onto her hair as her head lay on his shoulder. Quinn didn't reply. She panicked silently, but she didn't reply.

There were quite a few puzzled faces as Puck and Quinn took their places in front of the piano to sing the song that they had chosen. Some of the looks grew even more puzzled when Puck took Quinn's hand and rested it gently on his thigh. Quinn couldn't disguise the slightly shy but totally loving look that she gave to Puck when she began to sing. "Right from the start you were a thief, you stole my heart," she sang as a smile lit up her face, "and I your willing victim," she finished the first line. "I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty," she sang with absolute honesty, that was a line that could have been written about them, "and with every touch you fixed them," she sang. Puck was captivated, he was lost in her eyes, in the loving looks that passed between them, he knew they were in the choir room, he knew they were performing for their friends, knew they had an audience, but he felt, for all the world, that they were alone, totally isolated, and it was a feeling so wonderful he wished he could hold onto it for forever.

On cue Puck stood and took his part, he performed the song exactly as they had secretly rehearsed, except for one part, one tiny little thing. Puck could not resist pulling Quinn down onto his lap, he had to feel her in his arms, he just had to. They both stood to finish out the song, facing each other, as the last note sounded they both gave in to the overwhelming urges, they locked their lips together and just went for it.

Slowly, Puck and Quinn began to hear the cheers and whistles from their audience in the choir room. Quinn drew in a deep breath and looked at Puck with excited eyes. "Let's do it," she whispered and turned to face their friends. "I have an announcement to make," she told everyone with a slightly shy, slightly embarrassed smile. "Puck has asked me to marry him and I said yes," she stated simply.

Puck jumped slightly. "Wait, what?" he asked in shock. "I thought we weren't going to tell them about that yet, or at least, not until we talked with your mom," he reminded Quinn.

"I know we weren't," Quinn agreed. "But she called me about an hour ago about something else and I told her then, I just couldn't wait and she's happy for us, by the way," she added. "I just explained to her how hard life has been without you in it, I mean, I guess I always just expected you to be there for me, to be my back up, have my back when things went wrong and for many years you were and now I realise it's not at my back where I need you to be, it's at my side, with me, you are the one person in the whole world who has always made me feel like I'm special, like being a part of something with you is special," her voice faded to a whisper. "I know it's not going to be easy, with me in New Haven and you who knows where," she admitted, "but I'd rather do hard with you than easy with anyone else."

"There's never been anything easy about us," Puck teased, "but I know that there will never be anyone who makes me feel like you make me feel and seriously, once you've seen your baby come out of a girl's magic garden, I think there's some God given law that says you have to marry her," he added with a barely held in laugh. He ducked as Quinn faked a smack around his head.

Santana stood from her seat in the back row. "I think I speak for all of us," she began and glanced around at the others in the room, "when I say, it's about damn time," she cried happily. "And seriously? Who do you think you were kidding with all the subterfuge and fake we're not dating crap?" she demanded with her hands on her hips. "We always knew when you two were an item, you stopped being head bitch and you stopped throwing dweebs and assholes in the dumpsters," she informed them, Puck and Quinn looked at each other, had they really been that obvious? They glanced around at their friends, saw any number of nodding heads, apparently they had.

"So you knew the last time we were together?" Quinn fished nervously.

"Please," Santana scoffed and rolled her eyes. "A college professor would never have given a hickie like that," she stated and silently dared Quinn to deny it.

Puck grinned and at least had the grace to blush a little. "So all the times we got together and broke up, you all knew? For certain?" he asked, and he thought they'd been so careful, so cool about stuff.

"Yep," Sam agreed with a nod. "Studying European Geography? Really?"

"Baking?" Mercedes asked with an eyebrow raised high.

"Empire State Building? Sightseeing?" Artie threw in.

"Oh, man," Puck cried. "They knew," he sighed to Quinn but he wasn't upset by it, not by a long shot.

"And another thing I think we all figured out long before you two did, too," Santana said with another smile. "You belong together, you are destined to be together and you are going to make freakin' awesome parents some day."

"So, do you want to know the date then?" Quinn asked with a shy smile. "Just so you can keep it free, maybe join us," she added then looked lovingly up at Puck. "It's June 5th," she said then allowed a nervous breath to go free. "Keep this Saturday night free, too," she added, "we'd like everyone to join us at Breadstix to celebrate, before Puck has to return to base."

"Wait, June 5th, that's-that's Beth's birthday, right?" Rachel asked, she was sure that was right. Both Puck and Quinn nodded but didn't speak. "I get it," Rachel told them, "I do, I get it, you want to make a beautiful memory to cover over a heartbreak," she said softly. "And yes, I totally agree that you do belong together, I seem to remember saying something like that to you before, Quinn Fabray, don't you remember? When you gave me that Metro-North pass? When we were graduating? I told you then that I thought you brought out the best in each other," she said, and felt completely vindicated.

"You did," Quinn agreed.

"So can I say this and risk you getting pissed at me?" Rachel asked, her voice was quieter and more nervous than anyone had ever heard before. "Don't rush into this, take your time, do it properly, you're only going to do this once, right? If that's the date you definitely want then fine, but how about waiting till June 5th of next year? We all know that you've both had your share of heartache, of hard times and we are all behind you one hundred percent," she said with absolute passion, "but we all, each and every one of us, would rather you wait a year and do it properly, with all the trimmings, than rush it just to get it over with. Shoot me if I'm wrong," she added with a touch more humour in her voice.

Puck and Quinn grinned at each other before they turned back to their friends. "Perhaps we should have been more clear," Quinn suggested with a shy smile. "Don't make any other plans for June 5th, 2015." Rachel breathed a huge sigh of relief, she was so pleased for both Puck and Quinn and she knew that Finn would have been too, he'd always said that he thought that 'Quick' should have been as official as 'Finchel'. Quinn thought back to the conversation she and Puck'd had through the night.

"Do you think maybe we're rushing things a bit?" Puck murmured into her hair as he spooned up tight behind her. "It's only a couple of days ago that you were declaring undying love for Squiffy McStiffy," he reminded Quinn.

"Biff Macintosh," Quinn corrected with a giggle and a nudge backwards with her elbow. "But we both know that it was just a defense mechanism," she reminded him. "You're the only man that I have ever loved, you're the only man that I will ever love and I know that you feel the same way about me. But I think you're right, I think we are rushing things, why don't we wait a year, let's change the date to June 5th of next year, Beth's fifth birthday, maybe Shelby will even let her be involved in the wedding, it would be wonderful if she could be a bridesmaid, but I won't pin my hopes on it," she said then curved her hand round to spear her fingers through Puck's hair.

Puck felt something inside tingle with anticipation, yes, he thought that Shelby might go for that, and what an amazing wedding present that would be for Quinn, maybe he should make it his mission to make that happen. He took a second and allowed his lips to cover Quinn's in a delicate, love filled kiss, a kiss that gave her a feeling of hope, a feeling of love, of future, of fulfillment. "We still get to party on Saturday night to celebrate, right?" he asked, Quinn nodded. "Then I can live with that," he whispered.