Daddy's girl – Puck meets his daughter and wonders if Quinn's made the right decision.

Characters – Mainly Puck, a little Quinn and a tiny bit of Will/Emma

A/NThis is my first Glee fic, reviews/concrit are always welcome. I'm not sure whether to leave this as a one shot or continue it, so please let me know what you think.

He felt his eyes fill with tears as he gazed down at the tiny bundle he held in his arms, big blue eyes full of wonder staring back at him. He'd imagined this moment many times, but it had never been like this. He didn't do all this baby lark, sure he'd imagined he'd be with Quinn as she gave birth, but then they'd hand the baby over an walk away. He'd never imagined cradling her in his arms, her tiny fingers gripping his index finger as he'd peered over her cot, too scared to hold her until a nurse had reassured him that he could.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" Puck nodded, completely lost for words as the child's mother approached him.

"Are you?" he asked, not looking up, wanting to commit the image of his daughter to his memory. Quinn nodded, smiling sadly as she watched him rock the child she longed to keep.

"Mum's taking me home, the doctor's have said I'm good to go." She explained, "everyone else has gone, I wondered if you needed a ride?"

Puck shook his head, "My truck's outside."

Quinn nodded, squeezing Puck's arm softly as she left without looking back. He sat, sighing loudly, he knew he had to leave her, he knew that if he stayed any longer he'd never be able to let you go. "I love you" he kissed her head, inhaling the soft baby , knowing he'd remember the feel of her smooth skin against his lips forever.

"I have to go Beth, it's for the best" he told the young girl, stroking her stomach as she began to wail, once she was back in the cot. 'Beth, I hear you calling, but I can't come home right now, me and the boys are playing, and we just can't find the sound.' He sang softly to her, hoping it'd help her settle. He wanted to pick her up, to comfort her, but he knew that if he ever felt her tiny eight in his arms then it would be it, he wouldn't be able to let her go. 'Oh, Beth what can I do? Beth what can I do?'

"Erm" Puck didn't know what to say when he came face to face with the guidance councillor, "Is Mr Schue in?" He didn't know what to do, it hurt so much, that he'd fathered the child, she was half him, yet he was just expected to hand her over and forget about her. He knew Mr Schue had been supportive of Finn when he'd though Beth was Finn's, and he only hoped he'd be as supportive now. He didn't have any idea of how he'd ended up outside the Glee coach's apartment, he only hoped he'd made the right decision.

Emma was quick to put two and two together, the awkward way he clutched the front of his jacket, accompanied by a slight whimper, "Noah, tell me you haven't." Puck said nothing, reaching inside his jacket for the baby he'd taken, "I couldn't let her go."

Mr Schue had called the police and the hospital before he and Emma had taken Puck and Beth back to the hospital. Puck and Emma had been surprised as he'd produced a car seat, and several other essentials for the newborn from a closet in the hall, before he'd explained sadly that he and Teri had bought them for the baby she was never going to have. Will sighed at the irony as Puck carried Beth to the car in the car seat, if Terri had had her way, Beth would have been in that car seat, in the back of his car as he bought her home, not as he took her and her confused father back to the hospital.

"What happened?" Will wanted to know how he'd ended up sat in an office, in the maternity department of the local hospital with his girlfriend and a student who'd just 'stolen' his own child. Puck shrugged, not lifting his head from where it lay in his hands, "I was holding her, talking to her, and she was fine, but I knew I had to go, that I couldn't stay any longer, so I put her in the crib thing, and she was screaming, I didn't want to pick her up, I tried singing to her, but she wouldn't stop, so I picked her up again, it's like she knew I was going to abandon her, cos when I picked her up she was quiet, she stopped crying, she was looking at me, and I couldn't leave her, so, so I just ran." Neither adult knew what to say, and the room was silent until a nurse entered without knocking.

"The baby's fine. We've put her in the nursery for now, her mother's on her way in." Puck stood to his feet, "of course she's fine, I'm her father, she's my baby, do you really think I'd hurt her?" Puck felt a hand on his shoulder, and allowed Mr Schue to push him into a chair, Will holding Puck as his body became racked with sobs.

"What the hell are you playing at Noah?" Quinn stormed into the room and he knew he was for it, she never called him Noah. "I leave you to sign the adoption papers, to say goodbye to the baby, and the next thing I know I get a phone call saying you've gone and the kid's gone too. We agreed Noah, we can't give her what she needs."

"No" Puck said softly, "We didn't agree, you made a decision and I went along with it. We might not be able to shower her in gifts, I might not earn enough for her to have designer clothes, but we can love her, we know who she is, where she came from, I thought it'd be easy to walk away, I didn't want a kid, but then I saw her Q, I saw you in her, I can't walk away. I know it won't be easy, but I'll do my best for her, I know you're not ready to be a mother Quinn, but let me be a father, please, if you give her to anyone, give her to me."

He looked up as he finished his speech, looking for a sign that she'd understood, that she'd let him take their baby home. He didn't expect to see tears rolling down her face, "I didn't know what to do." She whispered, "I didn't want Finn to bring her up because she wasn't his, but you're Noah bloody Puckerman, I didn't think you'd want a baby and I knew I wouldn't be able to bring her up on my own. I'm not ready to be a mum Puck, I'm too young, I saw you with her earlier, I was jealous, I didn't feel anything when I held her, it was like she was already someone else's, I want her to have a good life Puck, I want her to be happy."

"She will be. I'll look after her Quinn, she might not have everything she wants, but she'll have everything she needs, and if you let me have her, she'll be there, if you ever change your mind, if you ever feel like you want to be her Mum, or if you just want to be Cool Auntie Quinn, whatever, you'll be able to be part of her life. If you give her to strangers then that's it, she's gone."

Quinn nodded, "Okay" she whispered slowly, "just make sure you don't let her down."