Hell

"Bullshit" Rachel said loudly storming into the choir room as Puck regaled the club with tales of his time in Juvie, everyone stunned at both Rachel's language and the fact that she was marching up to stand in front of Puck with both hands on her hips.

"What?" Puck grunted his eyes darting around the choir room, his eyes pleading with Rachel to not start what was obviously going to be a rant in front of everyone who didn't know they were friends.

"Bullshit" Rachel said again grimly, her eyes daring him to refute her claim even though no one else knew what she was talking about, Puck got to his feet and grabbed Rachel's elbow and towed her away, heading towards the door only to be blocked off by the jazz band.

Dragging her into the corner he boxed her in quickly and loomed over her "please Rach don't" he begged a little looking down into those expressive brown eyes that were now showing fear rather than anger "not now"

"Fine, but later" she made him promise, two small hands on both sides of his face making him look in the eye.

"Ok" Puck agreed pressing a kiss to her forehead both of them oblivious to their shocked audience, Rachel's recent ex Finn glaring at them both in anger, Rachel having dumped him when she found out exactly what he had said when Quinn had asked him, she wasn't prepared to be second fiddle to the blonde again.

The two secret friends sat down next to each other as they remained oblivious to the glee club watching them, even the jazz band watching the two with interest. Will as usual was in complete ignorance to everything going on in his club and babbled away at the front of the class; talking about whatever assignment they had that week, and therefore missed when Puck pulled out his phone blanched and reached for Rachel's hand.

Rachel looked over at him and felt guilty at her misplaced anger which had alerted the club to something being wrong, tangling their fingers together tighter she waited until he looked at her and mouthed the word sorry at him, her shoulders slumping in relief as he nodded in forgiveness at her. Glee ending quickly the petite brunette kept her fingers tangled with Puck's and dragged him out of the room, her eyes filling with tears as he followed her without a fight knowing her fears were about to be confirmed.

"See I knew" Rachel said quietly as they left the school "I knew you wouldn't be that stupid to end up in Juvie not after the dressing down your mom gave you after she found out about Quinn, Noah...is...is it him?"

Puck swallowed harshly and nodded before letting his head fall down onto Rachel's shoulder clinging to her but not crying as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kept him close, rubbing gentle circles and murmuring inane platitudes under her breath knowing it was her voice rather than what she was saying that was soothing him.

"And your 'juvie' visit was a hospital one I'm guessing" she murmured eventually, feeling rather than seeing him nod into her shoulder "Oh Noah" Rachel sobbed holding him tightly, there position shifting so that she was snuggled into his chest as he held her tightly feeling her tears soak through his shirt.

"I'm ok, I'm ok" he muttered into her hair, his arms around her tightly his head resting against her silky locks

"I'm sorry" Rachel sobbed "I know this should be the other way around, but I was scared and Mr Schue didn't know when you would be back, and your mom wouldn't tell me anything..."

"I know baby...I know" Puck soothed her as best as he could, pissed that his mom hadn't just told Rachel the truth when she knew the situation anyway.

"Don't go home" Rachel begged him pulling back and looking up at him with those intense chocolate eyes pleading at him to listen to her this time.

"Hannah" Puck said simply, sighing as Rachel's head fell to his chest again and her tears started again, this time for the little dark haired girl that Puck threw away his life to protect. Feeling his phone go off again he pulled it out with one hand and read the text from his mom demanding him to come home now.

"I have to go home" he murmured into her hair not letting her go as she pulled back rubbing at her eyes and nodding shakily.

"Just promise me you'll come to me if it gets to bad" she begged again, clutching at his shirt until he nodded stiffly pressed a kiss to her cheek and walked away, not seeing Rachel press her small fingertips to her cheek and sigh softly.

Wincing as he lifted his shirt up in front of the mirror in the school two weeks later he missed the petite brunette slipping in and locking the door behind her, finally raising his eyes from the multicoloured bruise that had bloomed across his ribs he saw Rachel's eyes fill with tears before she placed her jacket over the sink and picked up the bag of ice.

"Here" she said gently pressing them against his ribs with one hand, another brushing over some other less severe bruises "do you have strapping?" she asked as she completed her evaluation and looked into his eyes, his expression unreadable to her.

Puck nodded dumbly as her fingertips brushed over his body again, her gentle touch making his heart melt for her more than he thought possible, she may not have recognised the look in his eyes, the expression that he couldn't keep of his face but he knew what it was, it was his true feelings for the girl who had always been there for him.

Rachel had always been there for him, for the first minute he had seen her in kindergarten and she had shared half her cookies with him because his mom hadn't packed him a snack, through his beatings, through his dad's leaving, through the aftermath of giving up Beth and now his dads return. The only blip in 14 years the two years he pushed her away, and tortured her because he hadn't thought he would need her again, and he thought that relying on her made him weak.

Rachel quickly strapped his ribs and leaned down a little to press a kiss to it before pulling his shirt down "better?" she asked quietly leaning over to pick up her jacket.

"Yep, thanks Rach" Puck said pressing a kiss to her cheek again, this time seeing the blush and glazed over look come into her eyes as he fussed with his shirt in the mirror, biting his lip to not grin at her obviously being effected by him.

"Anytime Noah" Rachel promised before slipping past him and out of the bathroom, hoping that the injury she just saw was the worst thing she would see on him.

Rolling over Rachel cracked an eye open and stared blearily around her room wondering what had woke her up , fleetingly wondering if it could be her father's she dismissed that idea quickly as the doorbell went again. Stumbling from her warm bed and down the stairs of her central heated house she looked through the peephole of her door and fumbled for the locks quickly as she saw Puck barely supporting himself on the other side.

"Noah?" she gasped as she finally wrenched the door open and he stumbled in, the frigid Ohio winter air whirling through with him as she took in his t-shirt and soaked jeans "oh Noah" she repeated falling to her knees beside him and dragging him in as best she could before closing the door.

"Sorry" he gasped

"For what you idiot?" Rachel asked as she fussed over him dragging him further into the house when his legs wouldn't work "for coming to me when I said you should? For being beaten by your drunk of a father? Perhaps for something completely inane like you didn't like my solo today?"

Puck laughed a little and then winced grabbing at his ribs and moaning out in pain, Rachel fell to his side again and brought her hand to his bare skin reluctantly, feeling how ice cold he was to her touch she dragged him up and made him stumble to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

"You need to warm up" she said worriedly as she fell to her knees again and used a pair of scissors to cut his ruined and bloody t-shirt off him, before undoing his button and fly and easing her jeans off him, tossing his boots into the corner and rolling off his socks, leaving him in his boxers. "Are you ok now?" she asked worriedly as his head lolled back and he had let her do it all without a comment, easing herself under his arm she dragged him bodily into the shower as he failed to respond, his temperature more worrying than anything now.

Them both standing under the lukewarm water she sighed in relief as he moaned and wrenched his eyes open "well if this is all it took to get you in a shower with me" he mumbled, making Rachel laughed and giggle before pulling off her soaking shirt and tossing it outside the shower now.

"I think you are too hurt to do anything about" she teased gently as he took in her now black cotton bra and black shorts.

"Exhausted more than hurt" Puck admitted "my ribs are kind of sore, and my jaw but you know how careful he is to avoid the face"

"I can see" Rachel said brushing her hands over his bruised chest, his back a mess of abrasions and bruises as he turned in the water "I'm glad you came"

"Nowhere else to go" Puck shrugged "my mom took Hannah and ran away this morning" he admitted in a sad voice "she left me behind"

Falling down to the bottom of the large shower floor he started to cry in a way he hadn't done in years since his first beating, the water from the shower on his face hiding it as Rachel crouched down next to him and cried with him, pain for him dealing with this when it was miles beyond his maturity level.

After finally getting him warm and them both drying off Rachel made sure his cuts and bruises were bandaged and cleaned before she led him upstairs to her room and back to her warm bed, Rachel holding him as he fell into an exhausted sleep holding her almost painfully tight in return, Rachel his only thing in the world, determined to stay with her from now on, and never go back to hell.