Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.

A/N: Puck worked hard to hide the shock, he hadn't heard such a big lie leave her lips since the whole 'babygate' scandal...

"...since, you know, we never actually dated," Quinn said with a shy, breathless, nervous little giggle. Puck only just stopped himself from giving the biggest eye roll of the century and calling her out as a liar, but he was so smitten with her that he let it slide. For now.

Puck opened the door for Quinn to precede him into Breadstix. "Table for two, please," he requested of the hostess and then turned to Quinn, he sighed as he admired the way her pretty red dress moulded her figure, showed off her assets and then flared at her hips, accentuating the parts of her that she thought were her best features, disguising the parts of her that she thought were her worst. Puck didn't think she had any worst parts, he thought her body was amazing, all of it and he thought he knew how to remind her of that, and he would, as soon as they were alone. "So, do you remember what you actually said in the choir room today?" he asked her.

"Ye-es," Quinn replied, with a touch of uncertainty since she'd said quite a few things and she didn't know exactly which item Puck was referring to.

"You lied to them all and you never even blushed," Puck accused with a hushed laugh. Puck had to admit that he was slightly impressed, he'd never known Quinn to lie, not properly lie, not really...except of course the time when she lied about who had gotten her pregnant...and when she didn't tell anyone that she could walk again after her car accident...and when she tried to get Shelby Corcoran arrested for being a bad mother. Apart from those few times...and well, maybe a few more...

"What do you mean, I lied to them?" Quinn demanded, outraged at the accusation. "I did not lie," she denied, full of righteous indignation.

"Oh, you so did," Puck countered with a huge grin. "You told everyone in that choir room that we never dated before, remember?" he reminded her.

"Oh, that," Quinn muttered and pulled a face as she tried to think of a way to talk herself out of that particular tight spot. "Well, maybe I exaggerated a little, but I didn't lie," she repeated. "We lived together, we slept together, but we never actually went out on a date," she insisted without giving Puck any eye contact.

"No," Puck conceded in a silky smooth voice, "you're right, we didn't, but we were together as a couple for just about the whole of our high school lives, and we sure fucked a lot," he added quietly with a grin that Quinn couldn't help but share, "we just kept it a secret. Remember when my Nana Connie caught us?" he whispered near her ear, they both giggled a little at the memory.

"Oh, that was so embarrassing," Quinn mumbled with a shake of her head before following the hostess to the table.

"When does your mom get home from her Jesus booze cruise?" Puck asked as he sat down opposite her.

Quinn looked up from the menu that she was studying, like she didn't know it off by heart already. "It's either the day after tomorrow, or the day after that, depending on the weather, why?" she answered.

"Because there's no way my mom will let us sleep together at my house, so we either sleep at yours while your mom's out of town or the motel," Puck replied, and there was going to be a sensible solution to the issue, he would not accept Quinn going home to sleep alone just for him to lie awake all night in his own lonely bed, pining for her. Even if they didn't actually consummate their new-found relationship, he was going to sleep with her in his arms all night, just like he used to when she was pregnant with Beth and living at his house. Puck still savoured the memory of those nights, and all the ones that followed, the ones where they'd secretly, sneakily, found their way into each other's beds.

"Hey Lydia," Quinn called as she entered Puck's house just before him. "It's so good to see you," she said as the older woman drew her close for a hug. "You're looking very well," she complimented.

"Thank you, Quinn," Puck's mom replied. "And you too, Yale seems to be suiting you," she told the slightly blushing blonde and then looked over Quinn's shoulder at her son. "See? That is how a greeting is supposed to be," Lydia Puckerman informed her son. "He never comes in and says anything nice," she grumbled to Quinn. "I'm lucky if I even get a grunt when he walks in and then I don't hear from him or see him for weeks and weeks till he walks back in and grunts again." Puck didn't respond to his mother's grumbling, he was used to it. "So what brings you here with my wonderfully eloquent son?" she asked, taking a seat in the lounge and encouraging Quinn to take one also.

Puck sat down beside Quinn on the sofa and took her hand in his. "We thought we'd tell you first, before you hear it from anywhere or anyone else," he said with a sigh and a roll of his eyes because he felt sure that Jake's mom would have been on the phone already if Jake had spilled the beans to her. Tanisha was well aware of the whole 'Quick' saga, she had counselled and helped Puck to come to terms with the losses in his life, helped him to see that they weren't his fault, not his dad leaving, not Shelby taking Beth away, not Quinn leaving to go to college, not even Finn. Tanisha had also encouraged Puck, after finding out what really interested him, she'd encouraged him to take the steps into the air force that had brought him to where he was today, employed, proud, respectful and respected. "Quinn and I have decided to make a go of it," he began and had to stop for a second as his heart seemed to skip a beat, he was excited for this. "We know that it's going to be tough, there's going to be times when we can't even communicate because of my job, but we love each other, we always have and we both agree that it's worth it, that we're worth it," he finished as his warm gaze found Quinn's shy one, they both smiled at each other. "I know that you won't want us to stay here together," he added as he made a move to stand up, intending to pick up his bag from his room to spend the rest of the week with Quinn before he had to report back to base on Sunday.

"Why wouldn't I?" Lydia asked. "You're both adults, you've both been through so much, I would think that you know your own minds and do you really think I was that naïve that I wouldn't realise that you slept together for almost three years?"

Puck stared at his mother with his mouth agape. "You knew and you never said anything?" he demanded.

"What do you suggest I should have said?" Lydia cried, she spread her hands wide and shrugged her shoulders up, typical Jewish mother style.

"I don't know," Puck replied, a little freaked out actually that his mother was so au fait with his sex life. Or rather, his former sex life and soon to be only sex life.

"At least when you were here or at Quinn's house, we knew you were safe," Lydia informed them both.

Quinn blushed even harder, her hands flew up to cover her face. "We? You mean my mom knows as well?" she asked in a tiny, tiny voice.

"Yes," Lydia reluctantly admitted. "But both Judy and I agreed that we wouldn't say anything to either of you, you'd either tell us in your own time or this thing between you would blow itself out."

"So much for us being discreet," Quinn muttered to Puck. She looked down at her lap and drew in a deep breath. "So you have no objections to me staying here with Puck, for the rest of the week?" she asked quietly.

"No objections," Lydia agreed with a slight smile, she looked at her son's blushing face. "She's the only one who has ever made you think of someone other than yourself," she told him. Puck couldn't quite keep his tiny laugh in, he snorted just a little and nodded, yes, he had to agree, Quinn was the one for him, his soul mate. "Have you eaten already?" Lydia asked, beginning to rise from her seat.

"Yes, we ate at Breadstix," Puck replied, stopping his mother from getting up. "I called earlier, Jenna said she'd already eaten with Nana Beth and she said that you were going out with the girls from work, so we went to Breadstix," he explained. "We might as well go to your house and collect a bag for you," he added, looking at Quinn for her agreement. "I'm going to go change."

"Hi," Jenna, Puck's young sister cried as she came down the stairs. "Quinn, hi," she said again, she was clearly happy to see Quinn, it was evident in the tight hug that she gave her. "What are you doing here with him again?" she asked, throwing a sneer in the direction of her older brother. "I thought you'd gone away to college, Noah says so all the time, he talks about you all the time when he's home on leave and sometimes even when he just calls to keep in touch he says your name and he always sounds sad when he says it," she whittered on, till Puck slapped his hand over her mouth to stop the deluge of words.

"That's enough," Puck managed to say through gritted teeth. "Ignore her, she had Froot Loops for breakfast," he excused his sister. Quinn tried to hide the smile that threatened to break into a big beaming grin, Puck tried to hide the flush of embarrassment that coloured his cheeks, Lydia did nothing to disguise the squawk of laughter that burst forth. Puck shoved away from his sister, rolled his eyes and headed for the stairs. "Coming?" he asked over his shoulder, Quinn nodded and followed.

"So you talk about me all the time, huh?" Quinn fished as she lay back on Puck's bed and watched him change out of his uniform ready to get into his civvies, it had been a long time since she'd seen his ass in jeans and if she was being 100% honest, the sight of his ass in jeans always made her mouth go dry. Quinn licked her lips, she felt her pulse jump in her throat, felt her heart skip a beat, she felt herself begin to glow. "You really are very handsome," she said quietly as her gaze traveled down his sculpted, muscled, classically v-shaped back, past the tattoo on his shoulder blade that honoured Finn, past his narrow waist and came to rest on his tight, boxer-clad butt. Puck paused and looked over his shoulder, his hands halted, his pants still half on and half off the hanger. "You know you are, you know that girls are attracted to you, guys are too, actually," she grinned as Puck gave her a surprised look.

"I think about you all the time," Puck confirmed as he stalked towards the bed, his uniform now hanging in his closet. "Every day and every night, I think about you," he admitted and leaned over her, placed himself directly above her. "And the things you do to me in my dreams, God," he sighed as he dipped to kiss her, "they've got to be illegal."

"Noah," Jenna shouted as she opened his bedroom door, "Jake said..."

"Get out," Puck yelled and fell to the side to bring Quinn across him to hide his exceedingly excited body. "Jesus, she has no boundaries," he muttered under his breath.

"Jenna, can you give us a minute?" Quinn asked nicely, Jenna nodded sadly. "Don't be mean to her, she probably wasn't expecting you to be in your underwear and on top of me, now was she?"

"Probably not," Puck sighed, he hated that Quinn was probably right and he hated that he'd probably hurt his sister's feelings. "Jenna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you," he called towards the closed door, demonstrating once again that he was a much more mature, tolerant person than he'd ever been before.

"Can I come in yet?" Jenna asked.

"Just a sec," Puck replied and pushed himself up and off the bed. "We have to go pick up your stuff anyway," he reminded both himself and Quinn. Puck glanced down to make sure he wasn't going to embarrass himself or shock his sister. He would. Puck grabbed his pants and almost emasculated himself when he fastened them up, he dragged his t-shirt on and left it hanging loose to further cover the evidence of his desire for Quinn.

"Can I come in now?" Jenna asked, she sounded exasperated.

"Minute," Puck called and pressed his lips against Quinn's. "Just a minute," he whispered, "feel that?" he murmured as he pressed his body against her. "When we get to your house, we are so going to make the most of this."

"I can deal with that," Quinn grinned and touched Puck's lips with the tip of her tongue. "Let Jenna in and see what she wants, then we can go get my stuff," she urged. "Hey, sweetie," she said as Puck opened the door wide enough for Jenna to push past.

"Hi, can I ask you something?" Jenna asked Quinn.

"Sure," Quinn replied.

"Are you and my brother going to get married?" Jenna asked, Puck almost passed out.

"Woah," Puck cried and looked at Quinn in shock. Quinn gulped, her eyes locked with Puck's. Puck blinked and swallowed, hard. "Maybe," he said quietly, without taking his eyes from Quinn. The smile on Quinn's face began slowly but it was enormously bright. "I mean, not yet," Puck qualified, the smile on Quinn's face still didn't dim, "but one day, maybe," he said with the start of a grin and shrugged.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Quinn replied, but she was still grinning.

"Huh," Jenna pouted and slumped onto Puck's bed.

"Why?" Puck asked, wondering what the sudden grumpy mood was all about.

"No reason," Jenna replied, but her tone clearly said something different.

"What's going on, Jenna?" Quinn asked quietly and sat beside the young girl.

"Come on, Jenny Wren," Puck said, and sat down on Jenna's other side. "S'up?" he asked and jiggled her leg until she looked at him. "Something's going on," he informed Quinn over the top of Jenna's head. "She's never usually this quiet," he said with a wink.

"It's just," Jenna began and then paused.

"It's just what?" Puck asked.

"It's not fair, that's all," Jenna pouted.

"What's not fair?" Puck sighed, he looked at Quinn and crossed his eyes, pulled a face. This was like pulling teeth, it didn't look like Jenna would want to get to the point any time soon.

"Maddy, she's going to be impossible now," Jenna grumbled, naming her best friend.

"Why? What's up with Maddy?" Puck asked, concerned about his little sister.

"Her sister is getting married and she's going to be a bridesmaid and she gets to sit at the top table and have champagne on her toast or something," Jenna grumbled. "And Jake said he saw you and Quinn kissing in the hall at school and in the choir room and then you came here and mom says you're staying here with Noah till he goes back to base," she said, looking at Quinn with hope in her eyes, "and I kind of hoped that it would all mean that you're getting married," she paused to take a breath, her words had sped up to get everything out in one go. "And I might have called Maddy to tell her that you're getting married before her sister so I'll be a bridesmaid first," she admitted.

"And you don't want to have to tell her tomorrow that we're not," Puck concluded with a huge sigh. "That isn't going to make us rush into this," he warned Jenna and grabbed her to hug her. "I love Quinn and yes, one day I do want to marry her, but we've only just started going out, like today, and you can't rush these things," he advised Jenna and watched the pout get bigger. "You can pout and sigh all you want, it's not happening, not yet, alright?"

"Plus I have to finish college first," Quinn said, adding another stumbling block, "and your brother has to work his way up in the air force, things are really busy for us right now and he's right, you know, we have a lot to re-learn about each other," she added and placed her hand on his cheek. "But first, we have to go over to my house to collect my stuff, and then we'll call and collect ice cream before we come home, ok?" she offered and chucked Jenna under the chin, seeing the offer of ice cream brightening the young girl's smile.

"Fine," Jenna sighed. "And mom said there's a letter for you Noah, it's in the bureau," she added and then skipped out of his room, leaving Puck and Quinn alone.

"She never changes, does she?" Puck sighed as he watched the direction of Jenna's travel, straight to the stairs that led up to the attic. "She'll play up there till we get back then she'll come downstairs dressed in something weird from fifty years ago and eat ice cream while wearing a dead animal on her head. Ok, let's get going," he said as he stood up and reached out a hand to Quinn.

"Don't you want to read your letter first?" Quinn asked, she knew that she would be insanely curious as to what the letter held if it had been hers, she loved receiving letters, they were so much better than emails.

"I'll check it before we go, come on," Puck replied, indulging Quinn's nosy streak somewhat. As soon as they got downstairs, Puck collected his mail from the ancient oak bureau, one that had been handed down the generations. Puck stayed silent as he read the contents.

"What is it?" Quinn asked, she really wanted to read it for herself because the emblem on the outside of the envelope looked suspiciously like the logo of her dad's company and it pushed every curiosity button she'd ever had. She squinted to see it a bit better. Yep, it definitely was. What the hell was her dad's company doing writing to Puck? "What's in the letter?" she asked innocently, glancing away from Puck as he made an effort to mask the envelope.

"Nothing, nothing, it's...er...it's nearly all, no, no it's nothing, nothing for you to worry about," Puck hedged, waffling on to distract Quinn. It had the opposite effect.

"Now I know it's something," Quinn announced and stood with her arms folded and looked at Puck, slowly she allowed her eyebrow to lift, just the left one, just a touch. "So do you want to tell me why you're receiving mail from my dad's company?" she asked quietly. Puck sighed, he knew when retreat was the better way to win the battle. He handed the letter over to Quinn. "This is a payment plan," she stated and looked at the date when it had started, the figures that had been added sporadically and the figures that had been subtracted regularly to leave a current balance of just over three thousand dollars."What's going on here?" she asked, she felt slightly sick, who was paying who?

Puck sighed again very heavily. "See the date when this started?" he asked her, Quinn checked, the date and the first payment was about a week after she'd left Finn's house to move into Puck's. "After Finn found out about us, he went to your dad," he explained, he really wasn't sure why Finn had done that, it was something he'd never explained, and Puck had never asked, he just assumed it was in a fit of jealous temper. "Anyway, he told your dad that he wasn't the one who did it, you know?" he muttered and looked away, embarrassed a little at bringing all this up again. "Your dad contacted me," Puck admitted, "he said that he was prepared to keep you as a dependent on his medical insurance so that you would get the care that you needed, but he wanted me to pay the costs, so that's what I've been doing," he explained. "And it's now down to the last three grand," he grinned, "which makes it sound worse than it is, but before I joined the air force, I never really had a proper, regular income, so although I paid up every month, the amounts were varied, I paid what I could afford," he pointed out. "Now that I can pay a decent amount every month, I'm nearly done with it," he said with a proud smile, and he was proud of himself, he might never have made a song and dance about it, but he'd never had any intention of not supporting Quinn or providing for her.

"How the hell did it get to that amount?" Quinn asked, seeing two extremely large amounts in the plus column just after the date of Beth's birth. "I mean, I guess that's the bill from the hospital, but I don't see why there should be two bills," she added, puzzled by the figures.

"Your dad added on the legal costs," Puck sighed, he knew, from the look on Quinn's face that she was pissed, seriously pissed, he hoped it wasn't at him. "He told me that it was my responsibility to take care of that too."

"Legal costs?" Quinn demanded, she was so livid she could barely get the words out. "No," she added with her eyes closed and held her hand up to stop Puck. "The adoption, right?" she sighed. Quinn opened her eyes to see Puck nod slowly. "I cannot believe that man," she hissed. "He told me he'd taken care of all of this, he told me to keep using his insurance details," she growled and snatched her phone from her purse. "You better believe you are done paying this," she informed Puck as she scrolled for her dad's number. "Answer then, asshole," she muttered into her phone, all the while she was tapping her foot, her entire body language screamed I am so pissed you better stay out of my way. Puck was clever enough to give Quinn a little space, not enough so that he wouldn't hear what she was saying to her dad, but enough. "Ah, thank you for finally taking my call," she said sarcastically. If Russell Fabray had any sense of self-preservation, he would know straight away that he was on a hiding to nothing. "You bet your ass there's something wrong with little Quinnie," she growled at her dad. "How dare you do that?" she demanded. "How dare you?"

"How dare I do what?" Russell asked, Quinn had put the call on speaker, so at least Puck would hear what lies Russell came up with.

"How dare you bill Puck for something that was half my fault?" Quinn demanded. "And actually, as your daughter, as a dependent, it was entirely your financial responsibility, not Puck's," she told her dad. "Plus, you totally lied to me about it," she shouted.

"Why?" Russell demanded. "What has he been saying to you?" he asked. "I didn't even know you were in contact with him," he muttered.

"So not the point, dad," Quinn sighed. "I have, in front of me, a statement detailing every single payment that Puck has made to you since January of 2010," she explained. "And I cannot believe that you expected a sixteen-year-old to pay nearly seventeen thousand dollars. And then to add insult to injury, you skanked him with your lawyers costs on top and I know for a fact that Shelby Corcoran paid those costs upfront. So, who do I see about getting Puck a refund, hm? Your accountant? Mom? Your new wife?" she demanded, Russell remained silent. "Grandma?" she threatened.

"Quinn, Quinnie, listen," Russell hurried to jump in. "Look, I don't know what Puckerman's been saying to you, but he wanted to pay, he came to me," he insisted, his tone entirely wheedling, ingratiating, he'd do anything to prevent his mother getting to know any of his business.

"Did you?" Quinn asked, making her dad know that Puck was there.

"No, your dad contacted me and told me I had to pay up for getting you pregnant and ruining your life," Puck replied, he didn't see why Russell should lie to drag himself out of a shitty mess.

"Well?" Quinn demanded of her father. "What do you say to that?"

"I...er...I...Quinnie," Russell stuttered, pleadingly.

"When can Puck expect to see his money?" Quinn asked, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Even if he'd agreed to pay half, and you can knock four grand off for the legal stuff, but even if he had offered to pay half, he's more than done and you owe him," she told her dad. "Send the check to me, I'll make sure he gets it," she ordered. "And dad, I'd seriously think about repaying the full amount, if you want to be invited to our wedding, that is," she said before she ended the call. "Yeah, chew on that, asshole," she muttered to her now silent phone. Quinn turned the phone off altogether so her dad couldn't call her back and neither could anyone else after he called them in a panic because of her last statement.

"You said you weren't getting married yet," Jenna grumbled at the doorway.

"And we're not, I just said that to annoy my dad," Quinn admitted and then blushed, she saw the admiration in Puck's eyes. "He owes you," she muttered and leaned in close to kiss him. "He stamps on every nerve I've got," she pouted and pulled a face. "Let's get going," she sighed and led the way to Puck's grim looking truck. "Hey, maybe you can upgrade this old beast," she suggested brightly.

Puck nodded and knew that he could afford to do so if he wasn't paying a sizable monthly installment to Russell Fabray. Plus, if Quinn did manage to get him some of that money back, he could use it as a down payment. Cool.

"Just five more minutes," Puck begged and glanced up at the picture of Jesus above Quinn's bed. "I love this bed," he sighed as he turned over and took Quinn with him, draped her over him. "I love this room, we've had some good times in this room, haven't we?"

Quinn smiled down into Puck's eyes, she thought back to the very first time Puck had entered this room. "Remember that afternoon? That first time?" she asked and rocked against him. "Remember what you told me?"

"You're still not fat," Puck teased, humour shining in his eyes. Yes, he remembered the very first time he had breached this inner sanctum. Before that they'd spent secret hour after secret hour together, hiding away in different places, kissing and making out, but until that time when Sue Sylvester had hurt and humiliated Quinn in front of the rest of the cheerios, they'd always managed to show some sort of restraint, they'd always stopped before they went too far. Until that particular afternoon, until Quinn actually allowed him into her home, into her room, it was then that everything changed.

"Not that, asshole," Quinn grinned back, "the part when you told me that I wasn't just another hook up," she reminded him with a nudge. "There was never going to be anyone else for me," she admitted and stroked her hand gently down his cheek. "We have the time right now, to prove how right we are together," she suggested and bent to touch her lips to his, even as he stretched up to touch his to hers. "Mmmm," she moaned into his mouth. Quinn pushed herself upright so that she was straddling him, she didn't even attempt to stop the automatic reaction, the way her hips rocked, teasing them both through their clothes. "Get naked with me," she whispered. Puck reached up to cup Quinn's breasts, to squeeze them gently, to nurture her nipples to life. He jackknifed up, to bring their lips together again. Without either of them taking much notice, their clothes disappeared, just melted away, they were too far into each other to even notice it happening. Puck teased Quinn with his fingers, she lifted her hips to allow him more room, to give him better leverage, she gasped when he struck her g-spot, she shivered, she trembled. "Now," she hissed and guided his solid length into her waiting channel.

Puck held Quinn a little above his lap, he powered up into her from the bed, he loved to see his own flesh disappearing into hers, it looked awesome, it felt spectacular and it always surprised him how easily she could take him, all of him, like she was built to accept him, designed to please him, and she loved it, loved him. "God," he cried out as sensation began to overwhelm both of them.

"What the hell is going on here?" Russell Fabray shouted from the open doorway, his face a mask of shock and outrage.

"Jesus," Puck barked, and spun over to protect Quinn from prying eyes. His own naked ass could get looked at by millions, he didn't give a shit, but he didn't want anyone looking at Quinn without her permission. "What the hell?" he shouted over his shoulder towards Quinn's dad.

"Dad?" Quinn screeched and hunkered down in the bedclothes. "Oh my God, can it get any more embarrassing?" she hissed to herself. "Get out," she yelled when she realised her dad was still in the doorway.

"No, not until I find out what the hell is going on," Russell shouted back.

"What do you think is going on?" Puck demanded, Jesus, could one man be so stupid? "For fuck's sake, just give us a minute," he muttered under his breath. Anyone with any sense would have turned around and left them in some privacy to get dressed, to make themselves presentable.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Puckerman?" Russell demanded, taking a step closer to the bed.

"What?" Puck cried, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Look, you can see that we are intimately involved here, and I suggest that you consider your daughter's feelings and give us a moment," he advised in a stern voice. Puck stared at Russell Fabray until he backed off and left the bedroom. "Is it possible for any more family members to walk in on us?" he muttered to Quinn. "I think we're left with your sister and my mom," he grumbled. "Everyone else has had a good fucking look."

"When did my mom walk in on us?" Quinn asked, even more mortified than she was a second or so ago.

Puck wondered how much he should tell her. Probably all of it, maybe by the end of the telling she would have calmed down enough so that she didn't rip her dad's head off and he would have calmed down enough that he wouldn't have to snap off his raging boner to be able to fasten his pants. "Well, don't panic, she didn't walk in on us having sex, she walked in on something else. Remember at the hospital after Beth was born and they took her to the nursery?" he asked and gave her bare stomach a gentle stroke, a reminder of what was once inside there. "We were alone in the room, you'd fallen asleep, and I talked, I poured my heart out to you, told you everything, from how I felt about my dad leaving to how much I wanted to keep Beth, to take care of her, take care of you, I told you how much I loved you, " he added softly, with a slightly wistful look in his eye, he really wished that Quinn had known it at the time, he wished he'd been man enough to tell her, but he knew he could tell her now that it had never stopped. "I begged you to reconsider, you were mumbling in your sleep that you wanted to keep her too, that you loved me too and I thought we could do it, I thought we might make it and then your mom spoke," he said quietly. "I didn't even know she was there till she spoke. She said that it didn't matter how much we loved each other, how much we loved Beth, we'd still ruin each other's lives because we were too young to realise what so much commitment meant, she begged me not to tell you all of it when you were awake, she wanted you to have a clean break, to walk away with as much of you intact as possible and she made me realise that, if I truly loved you, I'd let you walk away. So I did," he finished quietly, his voice full of emotion, "sort of."

"Oh, God," Quinn sighed tearfully, "if I'd heard those words, if I'd have known how you really felt, it would have made the difference, I would have felt strong enough to stay with you, to keep Beth. That was the only thing that stopped me," she admitted, "not knowing if you would stand by me. I wish I'd known," she moaned. "Let's go see my dad, get this over with," she sighed and steeled herself for the disapproval that was bound to come from her perpetually angry parent.

"Dad," Quinn said as she and Puck walked into the kitchen to join Russell Fabray. "What brings you here?" she asked politely, totally ignoring the giant elephant in the room, she was damned if she was going to mention Puck and the money, she would wait and see if her dad did.

"Quinnie," Russell said warily and nodded towards Puck. "Puckerman," he said in frosty greeting, his tone was almost polite. Almost, but not quite.

"Hey," Puck replied, he had no intention of making this easy.

"One of the neighbours called to say that your mom is out of town and that she could see a strange truck parked in the driveway," Russell explained why he was in his former home, his ex-wife's home.

"Fine, I accept that," Quinn replied, and nodded to her dad for him to continue. Russell remained silent, he really wasn't sure what he should be saying. "And the next thing you're going to do is apologise?" she encouraged questioningly.

Russell looked as though he was struggling. Puck took pity on him. "Quinn, leave the guy alone. Truth is, I'd be pretty pissed if some dick went and got Beth pregnant, so I can relate, alright, I get it," he explained.

"But he lied to me," Quinn retorted. "He lied to me for years, he should have told me that he was making you pay and, forget everything else, he extorted money from you for a bill that had already been paid by someone else," she exclaimed. "Plus, I bet you anything that his medical insurance covered me during the pregnancy and the birth plus the after-care," she assured Puck and then looked at her dad and saw him looking away, uncomfortable under Quinn's searching stare. "Do you have anything to say about that?" she demanded of her dad.

"Fine, so everything but the deductible was covered," Russell admitted in a growl. "I'll write a check for you tomorrow," he informed Puck quite coldly. "I wasn't going to keep it," he exclaimed, "I was going to donate it to charity once he'd finished paying," he told them both. Neither Quinn nor Puck fully believed that little bit of nonsense, Russell had never been a charitable person, ever.

"Can you believe my dad?" Quinn sighed as they drove to Puck's house after stopping for ice cream. "And can you believe he didn't say anything about catching us in the act?" she giggled. "I don't know, I think it's fate or something, I think it probably means that the next time we're both here in Lima, we check into a hotel, then we can be as loud and rambunctious as we want and we aren't going to embarrass our family."

"Good plan," Puck grinned as he pulled up outside his house. "So are we cool with everything?" he asked, he wasn't sure if she was still slightly pissed that he hadn't been man enough to stand up to their parents when they were sixteen.

"We're cool," Quinn murmured against his lips. "Even with my mom and my dad," she sighed, she saw their interference as the biggest obstacle that they'd faced, even though she hadn't known about it at the time. "The whole truth?" Quinn asked Puck suddenly, Puck nodded. "I thought I was dreaming at the time, that my subconscious was telling me what I wanted to hear, but I heard you, deep down somewhere, I heard you," she told Puck. "I heard you tell me about summer days in a meadow filled with buttercups," she said with more uncertainty than she actually felt, she was sure he'd said those words to her. "About how we would take Beth on vacation to your grandparents log cabin near Lake something or other," she said.

"Lake Leelanau," Puck interjected, reminding Quinn of the name.

"That's in Michigan, right?" Quinn asked, just out of curiosity, Puck nodded. "Anyway, I think I remember you talking about that, and about getting a job, finding us a house, you even talked about finding a house that had been foreclosed on so that we could buy it cheaper," she reminded him, Puck blushed, his grandiose ideas just sounded juvenile to him now.

"So, one day we will find a house, we will buy something, put down roots," Puck assured Quinn, "and then we'll have a family, we'll never forget Beth, but we will have more children, sometime in the future." Quinn nodded happily, her eyes were shining with tears, but she was happy. Puck walked around the truck and opened the door to allow Quinn to get out, he stood in her way so that she had no option but to slide down his body. "Mmmm," Puck sighed as her feet finally found the floor. "Ready for that ice cream?" he asked with a nod towards the slightly softened dairy dessert. "Jenna will probably be on pins waiting for this," he muttered as he handed the package to Quinn in order to be able to lift her bag from the back of the truck.

"What did you bring me?" Jenna demanded, the second they were in the house. Puck sighed and rolled his eyes at the real fox fur stole that was wrapped around his sister's shoulders, complete with head, feet and bushy tail.

"Black cherry chocolate chip," Puck replied, handing over the pint carton to his now bouncing sister, "butter pecan," he added, passing another carton to his mother, "and vanilla," he said with a roll of his eyes, passing the third carton to Quinn. "How, when there's a hundred different flavours, can you go for vanilla?" he asked, completely baffled.

"You did," Quinn replied with a cheeky wink.

"Yeah," Puck snickered softly, realising straight away what she meant. Quinn meant that out of all the flavours of girls that Puck had dated, tested and tasted over the years, his favourite choice had been her, and they didn't come any more vanilla than Quinn Fabray. "Touche," he muttered and passed her a spoon.

"Good night," Lydia called as she went to her room around eleven.

"Night, mom," Puck replied.

"Night, Lydia," Quinn said at the same time.

Puck waited a second or so. "Come here," he muttered and pulled Quinn across his lap. "I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to go to bed," he grinned. "And when that movie came on, I could have cried, especially with all the cock blocking that's been going on all day," he laughed into Quinn's throat just before he pressed his lips to her pulsing vein. "Jesus, how is that movie not R rated?" he asked. Puck wondered how he had managed to sit through watching the movie with both Quinn and his mom, watching really quite explicit sex scenes and not have a raging boner. Thinking about it now, thinking about maybe watching that same movie with Quinn in a theater, like actually sitting there with a bunch of strangers and maybe getting to touch Quinn, maybe getting her to touch him, it nearly blew Puck's mind, it certainly had an effect in his pants. "Let's go to bed," he sighed with a hint of desperation and anticipation in his voice and on his face. Quinn didn't reply, she stood and held her hand out to him, thankful that they had already locked up and cleaned up the kitchen, all that was left was to reach his bedroom and fall into each other's arms.

Quinn bumped into Rachel in the girls' bathroom first thing the next morning. "Hi," Rachel said with a grin, her eyes caught Quinn's in the mirror. "You look especially tired," she smirked and then continued to reapply her lipstick. Quinn didn't say a word, she blushed a little, she tried to hide her smile, but she didn't say anything. "You know, I remember being here, in this very same bathroom right before we graduated, and telling you that you and Puck belonged together and you totally denied it, you said it was ancient history," she reminded Quinn.

Again Quinn stayed silent, remembering the day herself, she remembered her dress and her hat, she'd rather liked that hat, she also remembered later that day when she had helped to tutor Puck in her bedroom, and what had happened after that tutor session. "So?" she said, once she'd returned from her speedy trip down memory lane.

"So there was something in the way that you looked at each other yesterday," Rachel stated then turned to look directly at Quinn. Quinn chewed her lips nervously but still didn't say a word. "Damn, this is like getting Kurt to make a decision about what shirt to wear," she grumbled. "Tell me honestly," she demanded, staring Quinn in the eye, "you and Noah were an item all through high school, weren't you?" she asked.

"The truth?" Quinn asked with a gulp, she could feel her pulse beating like mad. "Ok, so, we did have a relationship throughout our time here at McKinley," she admitted and felt relieved and refreshed for telling Rachel about it, "it started before Finn and I started going out, we never actually defined what we were, we were never boyfriend, girlfriend," she explained, "but there was always something between us."

"Even when you were dating Finn? When you were dating Sam?" Rachel asked, slightly scandalised.

"Yes," Quinn whispered.

"Did Finn ever find out?" Rachel asked, her eyes were wide open, she was quite shocked at Quinn's revelations.

"Yes," Quinn replied. "When Puck and Finn did the whole college experience thing," she said with an indulgent grin and a shake of her head, "they talked a lot, Finn called me to tell me that he didn't blame us, he didn't hold a grudge against us, I wish he'd told Puck that himself, but he didn't, anyway, we talked for a while, he told me that he understood, that he forgave us, for everything, for dragging him into the Beth situation, for kind of disrupting his life, really," she explained, "and he told me that Puck didn't blame me for cheating on him," she added quietly then looked up, her eyes locked with Rachel's. "Puck has never said anything about that, everyone assumed that I'd cheated on Finn with Puck but I didn't, it was the other way around, Puck was always my secret, my guilty pleasure," she told Rachel, "he's my soul mate," she said firmly and felt pleasure fizzing up inside her, she felt so free, "and I'm his, just like you were Finn's," she sighed happily.

"I know," Rachel answered with a sad sort of smile, "I know that I was his, he was mine too."

"You know Rachel, you can't let your past define you so totally," Quinn advised firmly, "I know that you will always love Finn, we all will, but you have to let him go," she said softly.

"What if I can't?" Rachel whispered tearfully.

"That's where we all come in, your friends," Quinn said and took a step forwards, took both of Rachel's hands in hers. "We're all here for you," she reminded the petite girl, "and you know that Finn wouldn't want you to lock yourself away, he would want you to live your life," she encouraged. "Please, Rachel, just listen to me," she urged. "For the last two years without Puck, I have just been existing, treading water, trying to get on with my life, but I couldn't, not until we made the decision to start again, properly," she said. "And it will happen for you, you just have to be open to it, don't hold Finn up in front of you like a shield," she accused her friend.

"I don't..." Rachel tried to argue but stopped in the face of Quinn's skeptical gaze. "Fine, so I use Finn to push people away," she admitted.

"And I know for a fact that your leading man is interested in making you his leading lady for real," Quinn stated, she'd been given that information from Santana and Kurt, they both thought the guy was handsome and actually, quite perfect for Rachel, if only she'd let him be.

"Are you girls ok in here?" Puck asked when he pushed the door open. He glanced around to check the coast was clear. "S'up?" he asked.

"Nothing," Quinn answered with a smile as Puck wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "We were just talking," she said with a smile at Rachel, Rachel smiled back. They all left a few moments later to convene in the choir room.

During their emotional version of Don't Stop, Puck managed to get Quinn by his side, danced with her, he looked into her eyes, they both remembered the last time they'd performed that song and what had happened immediately afterwards.

Quinn felt a shiver of déjà vu strike her when they reached the area just in front of the dressing room when they came off stage. "Quinnie," Judy Fabray called, her voice slightly breathless, a little bit nervous.

"Mom, you're home," Quinn said in surprise and leaned over to kiss her mom's cheek. "Did you have a good time?" she asked.

"Yes," Judy replied, "yes it was wonderful, so relaxing. Right up until your dad called me," she added and glanced at Puck.

"I think we can guess why he called you," Puck said and reached out to shake Judy's hand, Judy responded with a happy look on her face.

"He said something about talking to Father Harris," Judy answered with a hint of confusion marring her features. She looked intently at her daughter, at Puck. "Now, I know that you were teasing your dad when you told him you were getting married," she informed Quinn, "and the reason I know this is because last week you were dating someone else," she added and then looked back at Puck. "This week, it seems that you are dating the right man for you," she announced, shocking both Puck and Quinn equally. "Let's hope that this time it's for good."

"Didn't expect to hear that," Puck murmured to Quinn, his eyes still firmly on Judy, watching to see if she was mocking them.

"Me either," Quinn whispered back, she was staring at her mother too, wondering who or what had messed with her mom's mind.

"Truth?" Judy asked with her eyebrows hiked up just like Quinn did. Puck and Quinn nodded. "Ok, so, I knew about you two even before you found out that you were pregnant," she announced and again, shocked the life out of Puck and Quinn. "I used to see you together when I was picking you up from cheer practice and it always looked like it was a struggle to be the one to leave, and you always consciously made no move to touch each other, except for the fingertip thing, you always brushed your fingertips together, you used to do it all the time, I have no idea how poor Finn never noticed," she said, more to herself than to anyone else. "Sorry, distracted, tired," she said in a disjointed sort of way. "Can we go somewhere?" she asked and glanced around to see if anyone else was near them.

"We can go to the auditorium," Puck suggested and hooked his thumb in the direction that they'd come from just a few moments before. Puck led the way and then sat, looking to his side across Quinn with Judy sat at Quinn's other side. "Is this better?" he asked before Judy resumed her tale.

"Much, thanks," Judy replied and placed her purse down by her daintily crossed feet. "So," she continued, "as I was saying, I used to notice the little brush of fingertips, like you really wanted to hold hands or something, I noticed the glances and stuff like that and when that dress didn't fit you, I knew straight away what was wrong and you were right, I did brush it aside because I didn't want to upset your father, I knew he would have gone ballistic, like he did," she explained and sighed once again at the dictatorial behaviour of her ex-husband. "I've still never quite understood how Finn could possibly have been fooled into thinking that he'd actually gotten you pregnant without actually...well, you know," she muttered the last few words with a bright flush on her face.

"He was incredibly naïve," Quinn replied with a soft smile as she remembered Finn's confusion.

"Anyway, I remember coming home from some golf presentation thing with your dad, I remember walking into the house and I knew something felt different, like I could smell it in the air or something," Judy told them. "I went to your room, you were there, tucked up in bed, pretending to be asleep, your room was unnaturally still, it was as though it was frozen, as though the instant my hand had touched the door handle, everything in the room had held its breath," she said, and smiled herself at how fanciful it sounded. "Including you," she added with a slightly amused look at Puck. "I don't mean I saw you, but I know you were there, I felt that you were there," she added.

"I was under the bed," Puck confirmed with a grin at Quinn. "And yeah, that was it, that was the day," he said softly. "The day our lives changed forever."

"Changed for the better," Quinn interjected and placed her hand on Puck's thigh. "I know that you know all about us, Lydia told us," she said to her mom, "and this now, this between us is right, everything just feels right, I feel like I've come alive again and we do intend to get married at some time in the future, but not just yet, we'll wait a few years," she explained in a happy, breathless voice. "Although I'm not letting dad off the hook just yet, do you know what he did?" she demanded of her mother.

"Narrow it down," Judy murmured the suggestion with a touch of sarcasm. "I mean, this is your father we're talking about here, it could be anything."

"He only went and billed Puck for everything," Quinn exclaimed, outraged once again, "like, for every doctor appointment, every ultrasound, the birth, everything, you know, he even had the cheek to bill Puck for his lawyer's costs for the adoption, that Shelby Corcoran already paid, I mean, how low can one man go?"

"That man," Judy growled, her anger at Russell rose to new levels. "And you paid it?" she demanded of Puck.

Puck shrugged uncomfortably. "Of course he did, he's an honourable person," Quinn retorted, "he's still paying it, actually," she added and whipped the letter - that Puck didn't even know she'd confiscated - out of her purse to show to her mom.

"Oh, that man," Judy exclaimed as she read the letter. "Unbelievable. He is unbelievable," she cried. "Well I can tell you this, you are getting every cent of this back," she declared.

"Judy, look, it's fine, I managed," Puck said, he hoped that he could calm both of them down. "Don't you think it was my responsibility to pay for at least some of this?" he asked.

"No," Judy and Quinn cried out together.

"Well I do," Puck said quietly and took Quinn's hand again. "I'm cool with paying this, I'm used to paying this, it's going to be a bonus in a few months when it's all finished, sure, but I still think it was my right to have paid this and I'm grateful that your dad could front it up and let me pay it off bit by bit," he told them. A noise off to their left side had all three of them looking round.

"That music teacher sent me here," Russell Fabray said as he approached them. "Judy, Quinn," he said and leaned in to kiss their cheeks. "Puckerman," he almost, but not quite, grunted.

"Russell, I invited you here to make amends with our daughter," Judy announced. "That was before I knew about this, though," she hissed and thrust the letter in Russell's direction. "You seriously need to address this," she advised.

"I will," Russell sighed but gave a narrow-eyed glare in Puck's direction.

"So, now we're all here," Puck began and gave Quinn's hand a gentle squeeze, "it's time to tell you the truth," he said with a smile. "Relax," he assured Russell, "we don't plan to get married any time soon," he grinned. "It is something that will happen in the future, in maybe a couple of years, once Quinn is done with Yale, but certainly not before then," he promised. "Surely that will give you time to get used to me being a part of your family," he teased with a half-smile. "All you need to know is that I love your daughter, I always have done and I always will do, with every part of my heart and soul, I'm hers for as long as she wants me," he declared, staring Quinn in the eye, she smiled happily at him. "And I really do want to marry you, someday, way off in the future," he whispered and dipped his head to kiss her.

"Unless we get carried away again and something happens," Quinn interrupted just before their lips connected and slipped Puck a covert wink. They both knew that this was incredibly unlikely, the contraceptive implant was almost 100% effective and neither Quinn nor Puck had any intention of changing that method of contraception for the foreseeable future. "I mean, if we do get pregnant again, I'd like to be married before the ba...Jeez, dad, don't have a heart attack," Quinn screeched, almost apoplectic with laughter. "Your face, it was a picture," she giggled. "Dad, we really are not intending to get married until well after I have finished college, until Puck has started to work his way up the ranks, until we're settled, until we feel ready, alright?"

"Fine," Russell sighed, he knew that it was going to happen, he knew from finding them together yesterday that they were intimate with each other. "You'll take care of her, right?" he demanded of Puck.

Puck's face lit with a slow smile. "Always," he vowed, "always and forever."