Shelby couldn't remember feeling more proud of Rachel. She was a wonderful performer and such a beautiful young woman. Shelby dabbed at the tears under her eyes – trying to not ruin her makeup. Rachel seemed eager to talk and catch up, which Shelby was thrilled about. Lately, she was beginning to really understand how important family is – and no matter what – Rachel would always be here family.

It gave Shelby a rush of pride seeing Rachel performing the lead in Funny Girl; a role she knew Rachel wanted. The crowd was completely in awe of Rachel's talent. Shelby couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

When the show ended and everyone cleared out – Shelby stayed seated. Rachel wanted to meet up with her and talk – funny she would choose a theatre. It reminded Shelby of their first encounter together. At the time, Shelby was more concerned with the fact that Rachel wasn't a baby anymore – that she never gave their relationship a chance.

Maybe it could have worked?

After a good half hour Rachel came from back stage and sat next to Shelby. "I – I was surprised you call."

"Me too." Shelby told her honestly.

Rachel smiled sadly and then looked down at the floor. "How is Beth?"

"She's with Quinn and Noah…"

Her shoulders stiffened at the mention of her high school friends. "How is she handling everything? It must be a lot to take in…"

"I – Beth has wanted this for awhile." Shelby had never kept anything secret from Beth. It was fairly obvious that she was adopted, but Shelby still waited until the young girl was old enough to understand the circumstances. "Rachel – I'm so sorry."

The brunette gave Shelby a surprised look. "What are you sorry for?"

"Missing out on your life – walking away when you wanted to have a relationship." Shelby sniffled. She had to keep her emotions in check.

Rachel was beginning to tear up as well. They both could be so emotional. "I understand – I was your daughter – but I really wasn't yours."

"I will still always love you." Shelby grabbed her daughters hand and gave it a squeeze. "I just – I worry that Beth will resent me from keeping her away from Quinn."

She feared that Beth would one day choose Quinn over her. "Honestly, Beth loves you – and even though she met Noah and Quinn – you will always be here mom."

How did Rachel get so smart? Shelby felt silly – she was going to her daughter for advice. Shouldn't it be the other way around? "I don't want us to be strangers anymore."

Rachel smiled sadly. Shelby was sure she saw a hint of regret in her eyes. "I want to be close with you – but sometimes it's so hard. It makes me remember everything I missed when I grew up."

"I know and I am truly sorry for that, but if you ever want to spend time – you know – catching up – call me." Shelby gave Rachel every form of contact information.

They both stood up and hugged one another. Shelby knew that she lost her chance with Rachel a long time ago, but it didn't hurt to try and repair their broken relationship.

Quinn was fighting back the tears. Beth and Shelby were getting ready to leave and Quinn was not dealing well with it. How could a week go by so fast? Beth was hugging her tightly – crying softly. Puck was leaning up against the door frame, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. There was so much left to say, but Quinn could say nothing.

Shelby was rubbing Puck's shoulder in comfort. He wasn't taking the goodbyes well.

Quinn placed a butterfly kiss on Beth's forehead. It was something her mom always did – Quinn felt comfort from it. "I love you so much."

Beth wiped her nose and smiled brightly at Quinn. "I love you too, Quinn."

"I'm going to write you letters and call you, okay?" Quinn hoped that Shelby would be okay with contact.

The younger blonde nodded sadly. Even though letters were great, they would never compare to the real thing. "I really loved meeting you."

"Me too." Quinn whispered. She turned to look at Puck, who was waiting to say goodbye to his baby girl.

Beth ran over and hugged him. Puck got down on his knees so he could be eye level with his baby. "I – I'm really glad that I came – you are an amazing kid."

"Thanks…dad." Quinn was sure that Puck loved hearing those words come from his daughter's mouth. "I can't wait for more cds."

He laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Already working on the next one."

Shelby glanced at her watch and then back at Quinn. "We have to go Beth."

Beth nodded. Quinn and Puck both hugged their daughter together. It was hard being so close to him, but she was willing to do this for her daughter.

"I love you." Beth was the first to pull away. She looked at Shelby and then back at her birth parents.

It was going to be a long ride home.

Puck watched as Quinn broke down. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and let the woman cry. They both had been in this situation before, but the last time hurt a lot worse.

Quinn was sleeping in her hospital bed – exhausted from the day's events. Puck had done is best to make himself comfortable in the chair next to her bed. They both had a big decision to make. That woman had cornered them in the nursery and since then – Quinn hadn't spoken. Puck knew she would be giving the baby away to Rachel's birth mom, but he wasn't ready to face it.

He didn't want to leave Quinn, but Puck desperately wanted a few more minutes alone with his daughter. Making sure not to disturb Quinn, Puck slowly got up from his chair and made is way over to the nursery.

It was surreal – to be standing in a maternity ward at sixteen. A year ago Puck would have laughed at any sucker who was crying over a baby, but he saw things differently now. Becoming a father changed him. Sure, he wouldn't raise his baby girl, but nothing would change the fact that he was a father.

Even though he was still painfully immature, Puck loved Beth more then the world. Deep down he knew that love wasn't enough to raise his girl. There was so much left in his life to do and being a father would have to wait.

Puck looked in at all the sleeping babies – he felt a rush of pride at seeing Beth. Her name tag said "Baby Girl Fabray – Puckerman" and Puck felt annoyed. Her name was Beth and it would always be.

After a few minutes alone another man came and stood in front of the window. "Is one of them your brother or sister?" The guy asked sincerely. Puck sighed – of course they assumed he was looking over his sister or something.

"Oh – uh – "He laughed softly, this was his life now. "Actually, that's mine – right there. There's my baby girl."

The man looked at Beth and smiled. "She's beautiful – you should be really proud."

"I am." Puck was unsure of how to act, so he just did what he saw in movies and shit. "Which one is yours?"

The new father's eyes lit up with excitement. Puck felt jealously at the fact that this man would get to know his child. "He's right here – " The man pointed to a sleeping baby boy – with a mess of black hair on the top of his head. "We named him Joshua."

"He's really something." Puck looked back over at Beth. "Mine's is named Beth, but I don't know if the adoptive parent is going to keep that…"

The man gave Puck a sincere look. "Are you okay with giving her up? I don't mean to pry…"

"No, it's straight." Puck was usually against sharing feelings, but he needed this. "I want to keep her – I do, but I'm still in highschool and her mom – she isn't ready for this responsibility. We love her and want her to have a good life."

The other new father nodded in understanding. "Adoption is a wonderful gift – my wife and I – we had complications conceiving for awhile – so we looked into adoption – we actually have a 6 year old – she's wonderful."

"Wow man –and now you have this little guy?"

Puck saw the tears forming in the man's eyes. "He is a miracle – and so is your baby. She is going to make someone so happy."

"I know, but I want to keep her." Puck couldn't hold it back any longer- the sobs had started again. There he was, standing in front of a bunch of babies – crying his eyes out to a complete stranger.

Without a moment's hesitation – the stranger was hugging Puck tightly. He was hugging him like a father – something Puck needed at the moment. After a minute or two – Puck pulled away, embarrassed. "Shit – I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He patted him on the back. "I'm Charlie." He held out his hand for a hand shake.

"Noah."

They both turned to look at their children once more. "Can I tell you something, Noah?"

Puck nodded. "Sure."

"You are a father and you always will be."

Quinn knew their time together was over, but saying good bye to Puck was hard this time. "Do you want to get a drink?" Quinn needed something for her nerves.

"I thought you would never ask."