Puck showing up in NY was a long time coming...sorry it's taken so long to get here. NY is expensive and I figure that, logically, how is cleaning pools in the winter going to get Puck enough money to try to actually move there? It was going to take a while...

In any case, here he is.

Your reviews are loved and appreciated!

Love always, Hayley

Chapter 22: Father of the Year Goes to…

Noah:

It's about god damn time.

Finally, finally, I have enough to get myself to New York and start this new life plan. Though I've had plenty of time to think about what I'm going to do once I actually get there, I still haven't worked out some of the details. But that's fine. I will.

It pisses me off that it's taken me so long to get this far. But I'm really not sure what I expected, working with a pool cleaning business in the middle of winter. Shelby could not have chosen a worse time to leave. It's not like I didn't try to get another job on top of cleaning pools, either. Everyone takes on freaking look at my criminal record then shoves me away. It's crazy and it completely sucks how a few mistakes can define you for the rest of your life. I'm starting to understand that now. Hell, isn't that why Shelby had to leave in the first place?

And I know Shelby offered to pay for me to come and visit and the smart move probably would have been to have taken her up on it, but my pride just wouldn't let me do that. I wanted to prove to her and to myself that I could get my shit together on my own. That I can be mature enough to handle a family responsibility.

So it's taken me a long time.

Finn's dad let me help out at the tire shop part-time, at least, as long as I gave him my word that I wouldn't try to rob him or anything, and that's been a good boost for sure. I'm glad that at least some people in this world offer second chances.

Now it's time to see if Shelby will.

So today, once I get home from the tire shop, I'm packing up my old car and I'm taking my determined ass to New York come hell or high water.

I know there's no way on God's green Earth this is going to be easy.

I guess I'm just crossing my fingers that it'll be worth it.

Shelby:

The class is just finishing up our final cool-down. Cassie had me lead it today because she had to go run a couple errands for Madame T. I don't love being in charge without Cass here since these are technically her classes and I'm mostly just the woman who keeps her ready and organized, but when it comes to Madame T and her requests, I've learned not to ask questions and to just roll with it.

"Inhale, spread your legs out as far as they'll go," I instruct like Cass taught me. "Now exhale and reach your arms out, don't put any strain on your neck…"

Someone clears their throat in the doorway, and it sure as hell is not Cassie's voice. It's deeper. A man's.

Confused, I look up while the others continue to stretch, and my jaw almost drops to the floor.

"Noah?"

My heart jumps, not because I find him dangerous, but because everyone's been worried sick about him and we're all wanting to know what the hell he's been up to. Now, finally, he's in New York.

"Hey," he smiles that crooked, bad boy smile and I can't help but smile back at the familiarity of it all.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, standing to my feet. "Everyone, finish your cool-down and then you're excused." I address the rest of the class before making my way towards Puck and taking him by the hand, dragging him to the corner of the room.

"I…came to see you, and to see Beth," he shrugs and I pull him into a tight hug.

"You scared the hell out of all of us," I say into his ear. "How could you just blow everyone off like that? We've been worried sick…" not to mention worried about whatever the hell you've been devising, because clearly you're up to something, I neglect to add out loud. "Never do that again! You can't just drop off the face of the Earth like—"

"Like you did?" his tone is accusing but soft. He didn't say it like an evil dig, he said it to point out a fact—that I'm sort of being a hypocrite.

I pull away from the hug, lightly. I look into his eyes to try and figure him out. "What have you been doing, Noah?"

"Getting up the money to come and see you guys," he says it simply, as if the answer is obvious. "Surprise?"

"I offered to pay for you to visit, you goof," we sit down on the floor, cross-legged, so we can catch up. Maybe I can get his true intentions out. Clearly something is going on in that head of his that he isn't shedding any light on yet.

"Yeah, and that was sweet and all, Shelbs, but I didn't want to just visit."

I squint my eyes, curiously. "You plan to live here? In New York?"

"Well, yeah," he nods. "I don't like being so far away from you and Beth all the time. There's…Shelby there's nothing for me in Lima. Without Beth…I have nothing. I have no plans, I have no future. You and Beth…you were the only things that really made sense. You know?"

Reluctantly, I give a little nod. Though I'm not sure I like where this is going, I do understand where he's coming from, and I admit I'm partially to blame. I was out-casted in Lima for my mistakes, then ran away to New York for a fresh start. How hypocritical of me to say that Noah can't do the same. He can't run from his mistakes if he's stuck in Lima, can he? New York was the only other place he could think to go, where he had a touch of the familiar, of family. Have I been wrong about him being up to something all along? Maybe we all have been a little too judgmental based on his past, and that was very wrong of us. Maybe he really is just looking for a fresh start, in a place where everyone doesn't already know his name.

"You should have at least finished up school first, though, Noah," suddenly I turn into that condescending adult figure he always used to look up to. "It's going to be damn near impossible to find a quality paying job without some kind of education—"

"I'll…I'll find something. Get my GED or something…" he says it with a tone of confidence but his eyes show all of his insecurities. "I just had to get out of there, and fast. Since you wouldn't take me, I had to find a way to do it myself. I was never going to graduate high school anyways, so I figured if I just spent that time making money, I could get here faster."

"What about Glee? The football team? Your friends—"

"—would not have been my friends for much longer, anyways. I mean, really, Shelbs, do you still talk to anyone you've known since high school?"

"Well," I think of Cassie and what Puck's reaction will be to her, biting the inside of my cheek. "Actually…"

"Who's this?" guess who's voice startles me? I jump slightly, not realizing that she had entered the room. Quickly, I stand to my feet. And I'm sure, thinking about it after the fact, that jumping up seemed like a very suspicious thing to do. I have a feeling that a world full of drama and trouble is about to brew and I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

"Cassie," I say, surprised. "You scared me."

She raises and eyebrow and crosses her arms inquisitively.

Meanwhile, Puck stands as well and reaches his hand out to shake hers in greeting. "I'm Noah Puckerman. You must be Cassie—Shelby's friend?"

I double-blink at Puck, incredulously. Where the hell did THAT come from?

Cass gives a little scoff of amusement, likely because he called her my "friend"—I'm wondering now if that's all that Quinn told him we were. This is going to cause a whole world of problems, I can see them already…

"Nice to meet you, Noah. I've heard a lot about you. May I ask why you're in my studio?"

"I um…Quinn told me that Shelby was working at NYADA…since it's a weekday I just assumed this was where she would be…I told the office I was a guest of hers…"

"And they let you in?" Cass is clearly surprised. "We need an increase on security, I'll let Madame T know right away," she shoots the headmaster a text and I give her a look.

She looks up, recognizing what she just said as kind of rude and a tad bit accusatory.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything against you. I just meant that it shouldn't be that easy for someone to get into the school…what if someone truly bad had been trying to get in, you know?" she says it casually but scrutinizes him up and down.

The tension in this room is too strong for me to handle.

Puck is obviously feeling pretty vulnerable in front of Cassie, too, but that's really nothing new. If Cassandra July doesn't make you nervous, you're a new breed of human to begin with.

I clear my throat. "Okay, so, um…what exactly was your plan once you got here, Noah? Do you have a job? Do you have a place to live?"

"No, I uh…didn't get that far yet, but…I have enough money to stay in a hotel for a couple days, I'm pretty sure. Until I can find a place…"

"Oh, you intend on staying?" Cassie questions. "Good luck finding a place, though, and I mean it literally. Even a hotel room. The city is packed this time of year…"

When isn't the city packed? Nonetheless, I know she's right. And with his lack of credit, and his permanent record…your record is your record no matter what town you live in. The difference between New York and Lima is the volume of different people. It won't necessarily change your work situation. I just got lucky in that department. Extraordinarily lucky.

"Okay, well, how about, instead of just standing here in the middle of the studio like fools, we go back to my apartment and regroup? We can have some dinner, and you can see Beth for a little bit…that sound okay?"

"Sure, yeah." Puck nods, excitement in his eyes. "How is she doing, anyways? Is she adjusting okay in the city again?"

We start walking after Cassie and I shut down the studio for the night and I gain a concerned look from Cassie that I try to ignore. Once she sees I'm not going to acknowledge her, I see her pull out her cell from the corner of my eye. No doubt she's texting Rachel to warn her. Probably for the best.

"Yeah, she's her mama's girl, she loves the city," Cass answers for me. "It's more natural for her."

"Oh, that's cool…" Puck runs a hand through his hair. His Mohawk isn't as prominent anymore, and has been shaven down considerably. He clearly spent a lot of time trying to clean up. Maybe he was trying to impress me. I press my lips together into a fine line and my heart continues to beat a little faster than usual. Why couldn't my past have stayed in the past? Maybe that's selfish of me to want. Puck is just trying to find his life, just like I am. The problem is, he thinks I'm an integral part of his. When really I think he's just using me to get to Beth. Would I really be so cruel as to deny him access to his first born daughter?

Anyone else who signed a closed adoption as we did would have called the cops by now.

But this is different. I KNOW Puck. And any court case between the two of us, at this point, could get very ugly very quickly.

"How's Rachel doing?" he's desperate to make conversation with me.

"She's doing okay," I nod. Finally something I feel like I can talk about without giving too much away. Without giving him too much hope, or knocking his spirits down too far. "She's um, working on finishing high school online so she can graduate and join NYADA's summer program before the fall semester. She helps us watch Beth and they have bonded really well as sisters…she also works part-time at a diner a couple blocks away from the apartment."

"Wow," he sounds impressed, but unsurprised. "Yeah, New York was always her dream, I guess it's no surprise that she's so in her element here. She fits right in."

His tone of voice screams what he didn't finish saying out loud—

But where do I belong?

. . .

Cassie:

What the hell is going on here?! I leave my studio for one fucking hour and Puck shows up? Jesus Christ, Shelby, what did you get yourself into back in Lima? And what the hell did we talk about before you left? Nothing good could ever come out of her leaving New York…and look what happened?

She's gotten herself trapped in this situation because she's too nice. She only ever sees the good in people, and in cases like this she doesn't realize how dangerous that can be.

Well guess what? I don't always see the good in people. In fact, I recognize when people are trying to pull one over on you, and this kid IS. Maybe he thought he loved Shelby at some point and maybe he didn't. Regardless, it's obvious he's mad about Shelby bringing Beth back to New York. He doesn't have any right to be so upset over it—Beth was never his to begin with. The second he signed his rights away and Beth was adopted, he should have had NOTHING to do with her or Shelby.

Leave it to that call from that damned school to ruin what Shelby had going for her.

Forget what happened before, this is what's happening now because of it.

Does he truly want to change? Maybe. Is he going to freak out once he realizes that Shelby and I are together now? Definitely. Is that going to change his whole "change my life and prove I'm a good father" arc? Absolutely.

Shelby doesn't see it, she's too close to the problem.

From far away, I can see that nothing good is going to come from Puck staying here. He doesn't belong in New York.

Am I a heartless, jealous bitch for saying it? Maybe.

But so far all I've ever seen Puck bring upon this family is stress and anxiety. And all of this confusion cannot be good for Beth. It's time we decide once and for all how all of this is going to go down, and stick to that fucking decision.

It's for the best.