My Happy Ending

Puck was concerned about Rachel Barbara Berry.

Rachel Berry was many things. She was annoying, abrasive, aggressive, and that's only the A's in Puck's world. But there was something that Rachel Berry was not, she was not quiet.

So when Rachel stopped talking Puck began to grow concerned. As much as she had once left him wanting to set him on fire, they had formed a quasi-friendship after Babygate, and he depended on her. It pained him to say it but he did, Noah Puckerman depended on Rachel Berry.

He blames it on her bat-shit craziness, it couldn't be anything else. It just grows on you. First she's just constantly there and you feel like you're about to shove a sock down her throat to shut her up. Then you start to understand Berry speak and you realize that she's not that bad. After that her annoying habits, like talking a mile a minute, become cute.

It's at this point that you're completely screwed because your life has been Berrified.

Of course Puck would never in a million years admit this, mainly because Rachel was dating Finn and the guy already hated his guts,

The day Berry stopped talking was a pretty normal day for Puck. He woke up, made his sister breakfast, took her to school, stopped by 7-Eleven and grabbed him and Berry two slushy. One Grape for her and a Blue Raspberry one for him. But when he got to her locker, her head was down and her mouth was shut.

Maybe saying that Berry wasn't speaking was a little bit of an exaggeration. She answered questions, but they were short, choppy little things made of two or three words. She didn't speak unless spoken to and it was softly in regular, grammatically incorrect but understandable modern day English.

He had tried everything he could think of to get her talking.

Barbara didn't work, Wicked didn't work, Idina didn't work. Hell he had even tried to get her to sing Defying Gravity and all she did was nod as though he'd asked her a damn question.

So Hell Yes:

Puck was concerned about Rachel Barbara Berry.

As far as Rachel knew, she had always been different. One of her favorite stories about her childhood is when she had asked her father's why Princesses were useless.

"But Daddy, they can't do anything but sing. It's a nice talent but it's not practical. They just sit around wasting day after precious day pining for their Prince Charming to rescue them."

Yes five year old Rachel was really just a miniature version of teenage self.

"Well Sweetie, the Princesses were just doing what is expected of them. They weren't taught to fend for themselves." Her Daddy answered laughing quietly.

"No! The Princesses have proven they can fend for themselves, Ariel got herself legs, Sleeping Beauty managed to live in the woods for years, Snow White lived with short, creepy men in a single cabin cleaning after them. No matter how feisty the girl is, she disappoints in the end." Rachel had huffed and puffed and now her Dad interjected.

"Well Sweetie you don;t have to be like them, and remember not everyone did nothing, Belle was right in the middle of the action."

At this Rachel had smiled brightly. Similar to her mega watt grin she used on stage. "But Dad, Belle wasn't a Princess, she was the inventor's daughter."

"That is a good point."

"Not only that, but if it wasn;t bad enough that the princesses talents were only, mediocre at best, singing, they also insisted on being rescued. I wouldn't want a man to rescue me, I'd wanna rescue myself. I do not need a man to do that and it's sexist to think that any woman would."

Chuckling heartily both her father's agreed to this and tucked her into her bed, kissing her forehead and lightly whispering, "Goodnight then, my Belle."

Rachel had kept that story close to her heart, always keeping her save yourself mentality with her.

When she had first met Finn she thought he was perfect. He was her knight and he didn't even need the armor. But her knight was taken. Then she met Noah, no not Puck, she knew him already, she met Noah. He was kind, gentle, and caring. He protected her while still empowering her to make her own decisions. But she was blinded by Finn's supposed perfectness and was ready to just forget all about Noah once he declined her offer of friendship.

After Babygate they had managed to form a bridge, a rocky, unstable bridge, but a bridge after all. But along with Noah came Finn and she found herself swept up into the romance of it all. How she had found Prince Charming, not the other way around. It was the Happy Ending that perfected her ideas for the future.

Then it all changed.

Finn's descent had been fast and furious, leaving Rachel so confused that she'd gone along with the ride. First was the time when Jesse St. James flirted with her before Regional s. He hadn't spoken to her for two days unless it was to say he was too angry with her and her slutty behavior. But he had apologized so it was okay, right?

Then they had lost Regional s and Finn had almost hit her. Instead he had punched a hole in the wall right by her head, causing her to be a quivering mess for the whole time he had ranted, claiming they lot because her voice wasn't good enough.

Puck had always been a sore topic for them, Finn had always been angry with her for befriending the guy who had ruined his life and his romance with Quinn. One day Rachel had been late to their date, she had been studying with Noah, attempting to help him raise his GPA and be eligible for a scholarship in a couple years time. Finn hadn't believed her, that was the first time Finn had hit Rachel.

Rachel Berry no longer was Belle.

The day Rachel began to cave into herself was possibly the worst day of her life. And it hadn't even been 7 am yet. Finn had arrived to drive her to school early but had come with one thing on his mind, when she refused he got angry. He called her a worthless slut, a prude, a whore, a midget, and so much worse. Rachel felt her back hit the door, the floor, and she felt glass shatter around her head, so she assumed she hit the mirror on her way down. After that Rachel had succumbed to a world of pain and darkness.

Upon waking up Rachel realized that Finn had left her there on the floor, he had left her bleeding. It was then that Finn's words truly hit her. She had managed to deflect them behind her physical pain, pretending to herself that he cared, but now she knew, he was right. She was a worthless prude who was lucky that he'd even pretend to care for her.

Shaking he changed her clothes and washed her hair before using makeup to cover anything visible that her jeans and hoodie didn't cover.

Puck tried to talk to Rachel more as the day went on and she got paler. He began to take inventory of her. Her skin was pale, her eyes bloodshot with dark circles surrounding them, and she had covered her entire body in thick baggy clothing. She wouldn't let Puck touch her either, he had noticed.

Her entire body language was familiar with Puck and it suddenly clicked for him in Spanish when she flinched away from Finn when he caressed her cheek.

That bastard was abusing her.

Puck had never been more sure of himself then at that moment and the past months began to click together. Rachel had first stopped wearing her trademark attire, Settling for jeans and hoodies. Then she began to hate whenever someone gave her a compliment. She didn't offer a rebuttal or an argument about how that it was not true, she just said stop in a forceful voice. Not to mention when she would flinch whenever Puck was shouting or angry.

God how could he be so stupid?

His best friend was getting abused and he had been to self absorbed to notice. Well not anymore.

Which was why when Rachel fainted in the hallway, not even two classes later, Puck rode in the ambulance to the hospital, Finn had tried but Puck was quicker.

That and his mom was best friends with the driver seeing as his mom was a nurse at the hospital.

"Rachel Fucking Berry if you don't wake up right now I am burning your copy of Funny Girl!" Was the first words Rachel heard after her blackout.

"Hello Noah."She whispered softly. "Oh God that actually worked!" Puck grinned only to have it fall from his face.

"How long has Finn been doing this to you Rachel?" He asked quietly not sure how much she was ready to reveal. But let's face an abused Rachel Berry is still bat-shit crazy.

"About three months." She replied not meeting his eyes. "Never this bad though, but I deserved it, I wouldn't, I wouldn't" unable to finish her sentence, Rachel struggled to keep her tears at bay.

"Rachel no one deserves this. Least of all you. I swear I;m going to kill that mother fucker!" Puck growled under his breath. "No you will not Noah!" Rachel sat up her voice forceful and Puck raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you suggest I do then Rachel? I'm not going to let him continue this." He told her bluntly.

"Noah Puckerman I swore I was never going to be the kind of girl who let other's rescue her, I tried that and now I have ended up in the hospital due to a chain of reactions that no one saw coming. I know that Finn is not the one for me and that he isn't treating me right. But he's the only guy in the world who is willing to put up with me." She was angry and bitter and truly believed each and every word she said.

Puck however snorted, "Rach, you are crazy beautiful and even crazier talented. Any guy would fall head over heels in love with you if you give them enough time. Noe the hospital is leaving you in this room for a week because you lost that much blood when Finn somehow connected you with a mirror. Now me and my badassness are here for the remainder of this week to show you that you are Rachel Fucking Berry and when you go to school next Tuesday you are going to rock it like Berry and you are going to drop Hudson on his freakishly large head."

Rachel began to splutter a mixture of tears and laughs as Puck's reassurance washed over her like a wave. Ugh, she hated crying in front of people. "Now clean yourself up, the rest of the club minus Frankenteen is going to enter in three two one . . ." Sure enough the rest of the teens barged into the room trailed by worried adults including Ms. Puckerman Ms. Hudson and the Berry Fathers.

The week passed slowly for both Rachel and Puck. The only highlight had been when Rachel convinced Puck to go to Glee, he had had Kurt record what was most definitely his best performance ever.

"Mr. Schue, I need to sing this song, right now." Puck had told him Thursday as Glee started. "Um, sure Puck go right ahead."

Breathing slowly trying to control his breathing before he began. This song was for Rachel.

"Hey, girl, you know you drive me crazy
one look puts the rhythm in my hand.
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's going down."

Puck pictured Rachel's face that morning when she had woken up to see he was still there, she had been shocked. Hudson never would do that for her, he's never make her happy and safe.

"Cover up with makeup in the mirror
tell yourself, it's never gonna happen again
You cry alone and then he swears he loves you."

That was what pissed off Puck the most. Finn had convinced Rachel that he was the only one who would deal with her. He had kicked her emotionally, physically, and verbally. If Puck couldn't get Rachel to stand up for herself, he would do it for her.

"Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found."

He smirked at Finn who was glowering. Puck had been adamant in making sure Finn never stepped foot into Rachel's room and his mother had been a God Send in making sure he never got near Rachel.

"A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wade around forever, you will surely drown
I see what's going down."

Puck knew that no matter what would happen between him and Rachel, he'd still kill Finn. Just for hurting Rachel.

"I see the way you go and say you're right again, say you're right again Heed my lecture."

Why wouldn't Rachel just listen to him? He couldn't understand how Finn had managed to damage her to this degree.

"Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found."

Suck it Hudson! Puck thought returning his former best friend's glare.

"Face down in the dirt, she said,
'This doesn't hurt', she said,
'I finally had enough.'"

Puck finished, out of breath, and feeling slightly better. He knew Rachel was going to love his performance and he was hoping it'd be what kicks her (metaphorically) to fighting back against Finn.

Mr. Schue knew immediately what had happened the second Puck began to sing and he felt awful. He knew Finn had had a bad temper but he never believed he'd be violent against Rachel, but Schuester also knew that Puck would never make false accusations, song or not, unless he knew. Now Mr. Schue just had to figure out how to fix his mistake.

Rachel had been moved by Puck's performance. "You did that for me?" She asked in disbelief for the umpteenth time. "Yes Rach I did." Puck nodded softly kissing her forehead. "Well, now I have to upstage you Puckerman." Rachel grinned her first genuine smile in months and Puck felt his heart melt. "Well then Berry, we best be planning revenge.

When Rachel walked into school Tuesday morning, heads turned. Rachel had walked into school wearing a tank top that exposed about an inch of stomach, and shorts. Every bruise, cut, tear, EVERYTHING was exposed for the world to see what Finn had done to her. Beside her was Noah. He was her trusted attack dog and kept Finn at a distance as Finn repetadly tried to get to Rachel throughout the day.

"Relax Rachel. I'm here." Puck would repeat his mantra as he sat in all of Rachel's classes, ditching his own to protect her till Glee, then it was her show.

Needless to say all her teachers were scared, they had suspected once her grades had begun to drop but none of them thought this would happen. Their guilt was overwhelming.

Mr. Schue had looked Rachel in the eye when she walked into his classroom and simply said, "I'm sorry." Rachel had hugged him.

Finally the final bell rang and the Gleeks piled themselves into the choir room. Everyone was talking about Rachel. "You don't really think Finn did it do you?" Mercedes asked Kurt. "Listen, Finn does have his temper problems and an over imagination. I don't know if he did or not, but I truly wouldn't put it past him." Kurt answered as honestly as possible.

Meanwhile Quinn was bombarded with questions of whether or not Finn had hit her. All the while Finn sat in the back corner, separating himself from the others and glowering at the door waiting for Rachel and Puck.

"Alright guys!" Mr. Schue walked in with both Rachel and Puck, both men were protecting her on either side, blocking any way Finn could attack. "Rachel has a song she's going to sing."

No one complained, they all just watched fascinated.

Rachel sat on a stool in front of everyone, Puck sitting directly in front of her.

"She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace"

Rachel was visibly shaking in front of everyone and Puck moved to sit by her but Schu stopped him. She has to do this alone, his eyes told Puck.

"The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born"

Everyone's guilt flooded thorugh them as they thought of all the questions they had for Rachel over the months, but they'd never bothered, she was Rachel Berry. And now they had to watch as Rachel sang this song with everything she had left in her, everyone already had tears in their eyes and she wasn't done yet.

"Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel"

Now she stood, leaving the safety of her stool behind as she poured everything into this one song, every bruise, cut, tear, was unloaded in this moment.

"Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late"

Finn had turned an unatural shade of purple but no one cared as they all watched their Rachel Berry claim her life back.

A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock"

Rachel took in a quivering last breath before she let the last of her pain go.

"A broken heart that the world forgot"

The club stood to a standing ovation and enveloped her into a hug,everyone apologizing except the one who should. Finn waited in his seat for them all to be done before he spoke.

"You lying BITCH! Why do I put up with you? All you do is blow everything out of damn proportion! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY REPUTATION?" Finn bellowed stalking towards her. Rachel stood her ground but her hand reached for Noah's. Finn noticed.

"I KNEW IT YOU ARE SLEEPING WITH HIM! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT YOU WOULD! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A USELESS TALENTLESS SLUT!" Mr. Schue was holding Finn back as everyone in the club watched in horror until they formed a blockade around Rachel, allowing her room to speak when she requested.

"Finn, I hope you like prison." She said before walking out of the room.

While he had the opportunity Puck punched Finn in the gut as hard as he could. "Remember Bro, don't drop the soap." He chuckled before going off to find Berry.

Rachel Barbara Berry is a lot of things, for example she is now Noah Puckerman's girlfriend.

She isn't a victim though, and now she never would be.