Fic: Returning Home, Part 15/? by Sapphire (PG-13)

[sapphireej]

Title: Returning Home, Part 15/?
Author: Sapphire (sapphiresfic)
Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Puck, Rachel, Puck/Rachel, Rachel/Puck, Puckleberry
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,518
Spoilers: Up to 1x13 ~ Sectionals
Series: 'Returning Home' (List of all the parts on my LJ)
Fic Table prompt: #36 - Return (table at my journal here).
Summary1: Before Beth is born, Rachel and her fathers move away abruptly. Seven years later, she returns to Lima, finding things really changed after she left. Mention of major character death... For fic table prompt #36 - Return.
Summary2: The Puckerman and Berry families arrive at Disneyland and Puck gets an idea
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

~*~

A/N3: AU after 1x13 ~ Sectionals.

A/N4: Puck and Rachel were Juniors in high school when Quinn was pregnant.

~*~

The eight-hour non-stop flight to California passed by uneventful. The Berrys and Puckermans slept most of the trip and as they got closer, Rachel woke Beth, so she could see the view. Beth was amazed at the sights once the larger buildings started to become clearer from the window. "Wow! It's so big!" The child gasped, seeing the city stretch out for miles.

"It does seem like that," Rachel agreed, leaning over to look out the window with her.

As Rachel moved, her foot nudged her fiancé in the leg, which startled him, "whoa, what?" He groaned, waking up from his uncomfortable nap and rubbing his neck.

Rachel glanced at him when she realized what happened, "oh, I'm so sorry Noah, I didn't mean to wake you up," she replied, settling back in her seat and leaning over to press a kiss to his lips, "Beth and I were just looking out the window because we're almost to LA."

"Awesome," he smiled, taking a moment to wake up, before standing up himself to glance out the window, smiling at the view and also at seeing how Beth seemed to enjoy it. Pressing a kiss to her head, "what do you think, kiddo?" He asked, before moving to retake his seat.

"It's so cool!" Beth grinned, turning around to look at him and Rachel.

"That it is," he nodded in agreement.

~*~

Now that they were over LA, it wasn't long before the seatbelt sign went on and they were descending to the runway at LAX. As the wheels touched down, just before six-pm California time, the Berrys and the Puckermans were looking forward to their vacation. The plane slowly made it's way towards their gate and the passengers began to gather up their belongings. Once docked, everyone began to file off and with a break in groups of people, the family joined the line to leave and soon were walking off the plane and making their way into the busy terminal.

While walking to the baggage claim, making sure they stayed together, they talked about what they wanted to do next. By the time they reached the conveyer belts that their luggage would soon be on, they agreed that once they had their bags and had picked up their SUV, they'd stop to get something to eat before making their way to their hotel, about forty-five minutes away.

It took a bit, but finally they had all their luggage piled onto a cart, so they headed towards the car rental desks. Rachel, Puck, Beth, Arin and Deborah waited while Alan and David stood in line.

"It's going to be an early to be night, I think," Rachel commented, leaning against Puck as they sat in some uncomfortable chairs while waiting for her dads.

"Why?" Beth asked.

"Because it's been a long day. But tomorrow we'll be refreshed and ready for a fun day in Disneyland," Rachel replied with a smile.

Beth grinned, "awesome!"

~*~

David and Alan got through the rental car line pretty quickly and soon they were rejoining everyone and they all headed to pick-up their mini-van. It took a few minutes, but the guys got all of their luggage piled into the back end and then they all piled in to start their trip.

Putting the address to their hotel into the van's GPS, Alan began to follow the directions and found the nearest McDonald's. Beth voted for it and no one disagreed, so when they arrived, they went through the drive-thru line and ordered a variety of things to eat on their way to the hotel.

It was dark out, so they couldn't really see too much of the scenery, except a little where the lights lit up the street and surrounding buildings. Puck and Rachel were sitting in the back seat of the van and though Puck wasn't paying too much attention outside, he noticed a few billboards for Disneyland and one of them stood out even more than the others, "that's an interesting idea," he thought, not wanting to mention it yet, "I mean, it'd definitely be sudden, but it would be awesome. I wonder what Rachel would think of it."

Pushing his thoughts aside for the moment, he decided to talk to David and Alan first, just to see how they felt about the idea before he brought it up to to Rachel or the others. Glancing at Rachel, who was leaning against him, he smiled, "how are you doing, babe?" He asked curiously, realizing he hadn't had a chance to talk to her much since they left Ohio.

"I'm great. Very excited," Rachel smiled, "how about you?"

"The same," he nodded in agreement and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I hear Disneyland is magical and where dreams come true."

"I've heard that, too," she replied, "but I didn't need to be here to know they do," she admitted, looking at her engagement ring, "some of my dreams have already come true."

"I hope we're a part of some of them," he smiled at her.

"You guys are," she assured him, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

Puck returned her kiss, with one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Very good to know," he whispered, as their lips parted and he let his free hand gently rest on her cheek.

~*~

"Wow!" Beth gasped, seeing the night sky being lit up by tons of lights covering rides and places all over Disneyland and the California Adventure Park. "It's huge!" She said, now that they were on a street with a view of the parks.

"It is," Rachel nodded in agreement, leaning forward in her seat, "and it's gonna take a few days for us to get through everything, but we're gonna have fun," she promised.

"And I'm sure we're going to miss things, but we've got time to see as much as we can," Puck added as Alan pulled the van up to the valet area in front of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.

"We're staying here?" Rachel asked in surprise, since she hadn't thought to ask where they were staying.

David nodded from the passenger seat, "yeah. We got the best deal because they have suites here, better than the other hotels. Figured it'd be better if we were all in the same room, instead of two or three separate ones," he explained.

"That makes sense," she agreed, "I just didn't think about where we're staying. I guess maybe I just forgot to ask, since you guys were planning everything."

Alan smirked, "that was the point," he said as everyone began to unbuckle their seatbelts and open doors.

Gathering up their trash, they all climbed out of the van and met someone at the front of the hotel to help them load all of their things onto a cart. Once the car was empty, a valet took the keys and the family moved into the lobby to check in.

While Puck was glancing around the lobby, his eyes landed on a table, covered in brochures and other informational items for the hotel and parks. One of them standing up was a smaller version of the billboard he'd seen on their trip to the hotel, "man, this has got to be a sign!" He thought, as he tried not to stare or draw attention to what he was looking at.

"Alright, we have everything," Alan commented, walking over to them with his and David's hands full of key cards and some papers. "He's going to show us to our room," he added, motioning to one of the staff members dressed in the hotel's uniform.

Following the guy, who was pushing the cart with all their luggage, they followed him to the elevators and climbed on, making their way up to their floor. Once the elevator came to a stop, they followed the staff member down the hallway to their suite and David used one of the cards in his hand to unlock the door.

The room was pretty dark, but the curtain was still open, so as they all filed in, immediately distracted by the immaculate view of the park, all lit up for nighttime. As they turned on the room's lights, Beth skipped right over to the window to look out and Arin, Deborah and Rachel followed her, while the guys unloaded their luggage and tipped the staff member before he left.

Before David and Alan could walk over to join the girls, Puck rested his hands on their arms, "I need to talk to you guys tonight, privately," Puck murmured softly, talking below Rachel, who was explaining what they were looking at in the window.

The two men looked at him confused, but silently agreed with a nod, understanding Puck wouldn't have said that so quietly, unless he didn't want the others to know. Puck nodded his thanks and then the three joined the girls at the window to check out the view.

"The view is amazing. I didn't expect we'd have a park view," Rachel commented, "thank you, dad, daddy, for this trip," she said, wrapping her arms around David and Alan.

"Oh you're welcome, to all of you," David replied, hearing all of them saying 'thank you'. "We wanted to spend some time together as a family and this is definitely going to be a great and fun way to do that," he explained.

"It definitely is," Puck agreed, "but still, we wouldn't have been able to come without you guys helping out, so we really appreciate it."

"There's not much we wouldn't do for our family," Alan added, patting Puck on the shoulder, "what does everyone say about picking rooms and then we can sit down and discuss what we want to start with tomorrow," he suggested.

~*~

Taking a few moments to check out the set up of the suite, they found there was a master bedroom with a large bed and a private bathroom attached. David and Alan suggested that Rachel and Puck take it and though the couple thought Rachel's dads should have that one, the guys insisted, so they gave in. David and Alan took the other bedroom with one bed in it and Deborah, Arin and Beth took the third room, with two twin beds and a set of bunk beds.

Everyone wanted to unpack a little and change into comfortable clothes and Rachel wanted to hop into the shower, so while she was occupied, it gave Puck an opportunity to talk to David and Alan. Moving towards their room, he knocked on their half-open door and stepped inside when they let him. Closing the door behind him, he looked at the two, both digging clothes out of their suitcases, "so what's up, Noah?" Alan wondered.

"Uh," Puck blushed, stepping closer to them, "I know you guys might not think the same thing I do, but when we were coming here, I saw a billboard for Disneyland and it was a couple getting married in front of Cinderella's Castle. It was advertising weddings at Disneyland. I had a thought and then when we got here, I saw the same advertisement in the lobby," he explained, pausing to take a deep breath, "what would you guys think if Rachel and I got married while we're here? I mean, I don't even know if it'd even be possible, so I don't want to mention it to her until I know we could. That's why I wanted to talk to you guys. I know you've given me permission to propose, but we've only been engaged a month and now she's pregnant, and I don't want you guys to think that it's only because she is," he told them.

"We know it's not," David assured him with a smile, "and we gave you our blessing to marry her long before any of us knew she was pregnant."

"I'm sure you're not the only couple who has come here on a vacation and wanted to get married like this. It is possible," Alan replied, "but no one came prepared for a wedding, and we're only here a week. Tomorrow is a Sunday and also Christmas Eve, so the earliest you'd be able to go get a license is Tuesday," he added, knowing about the legal system and courts, even if he was from out-of-state.

"I guess we could talk to the concierge tonight or tomorrow morning and see if they can help us get in touch with whoever plans the weddings to find out if there are any times open this week," David suggested, "you don't want to tell Rachel until we know for sure, right?"

"Right," Puck nodded, "I think it's best to wait to tell her anything until we know more. I don't want her to get her hopes up and then not be able to fit it in," he replied, "and I know we didn't come prepared, so we'd have to go shopping to get clothes and rings, but I think we could do it."

"No doubt," Alan nodded, "and it might be easy to slip away tomorrow morning before we head to the park than it would be to leave tonight to go talk to someone."

"True," Puck agreed, "so you guys would be okay this?"

"Noah, you're already a son to us, Beth is a granddaughter to us, we'd be happy for you guys to make it official," Alan assured him, David nodding in agreement.

"Thank you," Puck smiled, unable to hide the sigh of relief. "it really means a lot that you accept me and Beth as family," he paused, "and Rachel deserves a big wedding, but I just thought it'd be just as important if we got married here, you know? We're in Disneyland and we have our family with us, it's the perfect place."

"That's true," David agreed, "and I think, since I know our daughter so well, she's not going to care how 'big' the wedding is, as long as we're all here and you two are getting married to officially make you guys a family."

Puck nodded, smiling at that, "I'd like to think so, because that's how I feel."

"I think she'll feel the same way. In the morning, we'll go talk to the concierge and see if it's an option," Alan told him.

"Great," Puck smiled, "thank you, guys."

~*~

Puck returned to his and Rachel's room just as she was coming out of the bathroom, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her, "hey babe, looking good," he grinned, moving towards her.

Rachel blushed, "thanks, sweetheart," she replied, leaning up to press a kiss on his lips when he was close to her, "where did you go?" She asked, noticing his luggage hadn't moved since she went to shower.

"I went to talk to your dads. You know, to thank them for the trip again. It just means a lot that they did this," he told her, glad it wasn't completely a lie.

"They love you guys and are happy to do it," she assured him.

"I know," he nodded, "we're damn lucky to have you guys in our lives. Some people might not be as accepting," he said honestly, wrapping his arms around her.

Settling into his embrace, Rachel nodded, "true, but now you don't have to worry about that," she admitted, looking up at him, "we're all right where we need to be."

Puck leaned down and kissed her, his hand gently tugging at the towel, "yeah we are," he murmured against her lips.

"Noah, we shouldn't do this right now," she blushed, letting him pull away the towel from around her body, "anyone could come in."

Laying the towel on the bed, Puck pressed his lips to hers, "you're gorgeous," he smiled, slowly kneeling down and laid a few kisses to her still damp stomach, "hey baby. I hope you let mom enjoy our trip without giving her too much trouble," he said softly, "and maybe when you're older we can bring you here, too."

Rachel couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes as she listened to his gentle words and watched and felt his fingertips brush along her skin. "Noah, you're amazing," she murmured, running her hands through his short hair before he stood up, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, kissing her cheek and wrapping his arms around her to hold her close, "we're going to have an amazing vacation."

"Yes, we are," she agreed, hearing talking outside their room, "we should probably go join everyone," she added, hating that moment to end.

Puck kissed her lips and nodded, reluctantly letting her go, "we can continue later," he promised.

~*~

Letting Rachel get dressed, the couple joined their family in the main room of the suite and took seats on the couches and chairs around the room. David and Alan passed out their room key cards to Arin, Deborah, Puck and Rachel so they could all have access to the room and then they settled to talk about how they wanted to 'tackle' the Disney parks.

From experience in the past and things they'd been told, the Berrys knew it would take a few days to get through the two parks. They decided to focus on Disneyland first and then go for the Disney California Adventure Park later. Looking at the small map they had of Disneyland, they split it in half and agreed to spend the next day exploring the 'left' side of the map and see how much they got done in the first day, which was also Christmas Eve. They would spend the second day, Christmas Day, exploring the rest of the park and also, on one of the days, try to catch some of the Christmas themed parades and events.

The large family didn't spend too long talking about it, knowing they wanted to get up early, so after agreeing on a time, they started saying 'goodnight' and Puck and Rachel moved into Beth, Deborah and Arin's room to help Beth get tucked in.

"We're really here?" Beth asked as she settled into her bed with the stuffed animals she'd brought along from Ohio.

"We are," Rachel nodded, "are you excited for tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Beth grinned, "it's going to be fun, but it's going to be a lot of walking, too."

"It will be, but we'll take breaks so we won't be walking the whole day," Puck assured her.

"Okay," she nodded, her eyes drifting closed as the day's events finally caught up with her.

"Dad and I are just a few rooms away. You know where, right?" Rachel asked and when Beth nodded, Rachel leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing up.

"If you need anything you can come find us or grandma and Arin are in here, too," Puck said, moving closer to kiss Beth's cheek, "goodnight, kiddo. Love you."

"I know," Beth nodded, then smiled, "love you, too, daddy. You, too, mommy."

Rachel smiled, "and I love you, sweetheart."

~*~

Saying 'goodnight' to his mom and sister, Rachel and Puck left their room and headed for their own. Once their door was shut, she turned around and slid her arms around his waist, snuggling against him, "I'm really looking forward to our time here," she murmured.

Puck smiled, holding her close to him and guiding them back a few steps towards the bed, "I am, too, babe. It's going to be great to have some fun and not worry about work for a while. Just us and our family."

"Yeah," she nodded and stood up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his lips, "did you plan on going right to sleep?" She wondered softly.

"The thought crossed my mind, but I was going to see what you were interested in doing," he grinned.

"Then maybe," she took a few steps back until her legs touched the edge of the bed and then reached out, pulling him towards her, "we could see just how comfortable our bed is," she winked.

"I definitely think that's a great idea," he agreed, unable to hide the grin on his face.

~*~

Because of the time change from Ohio to California, by the time their six-am cell phone alarms began to go off, most of the suite was already in varying stages of getting ready for the day. David and Alan were up, showered and dressed before six. At six, Deborah and Rachel were awake, taking showers and Puck took a shower after Rachel. Close to six-forty-five the only ones still in bed were Arin and Beth. Since everyone else was up, they let the girls sleep a little longer, not planning to start their adventure with breakfast for a while.

"David, Noah, why don't you guys come with me and we'll go down and get some coffees for everyone," Alan suggested, having another reason for the trip.

"You guys don't have to do that. We'll be fine for a little longer," Rachel replied.

Puck shrugged, "I actually was just thinking about it. I wouldn't mind some coffee," he admitted, "doesn't hurt to get started early. It's going to be an adventurous day and we'll need it."

"Oh, well, that is true. I guess it wouldn't hurt," Rachel agreed.

"Okay, we'll be back," David said, standing up from the chair he was sitting in.

Puck leaned over and pressed a kiss to Rachel's lips, "your usual?"

As much as Rachel wanted a mocha, she shook her head, "no. Just hot chocolate. I can't have the caffeine," she murmured, resting her hand on her stomach.

"Oh yeah, that's right," he nodded, "alright, I get you and Beth hot chocolate," he promised, kissing her once more before he stood up.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Rachel smiled.

Alan, David and Puck made their way to the door and once they knew they had their wallets and room keys with them, they headed out into the hallway silently. Once they were clear of the room and were on their way to the elevator, Puck smirked, "why do I feel like this is our way of getting downstairs to talk to the concierge without them suspecting."

"Because it is," David replied with a grin, stepping onto the elevator when it's doors opened. "We figured if we did it this morning, they can do some research for us and by this afternoon we could have an idea. That way, if it's possible, you can ask Rachel and maybe start making arrangements."

"Great idea," Puck nodded, taking a deep breath, "we're gonna have to get rings and I don't know where to even think about getting suits or dresses."

"We can figure that out. For now, let's see if it's even possible. The concierge and the wedding planner should be able to steer us in the right direction, too," Alan added.

"There is that," Puck agreed.

When the elevator came to a stop in the lobby, the three men stepped off and made their way towards the concierge desk and stood in line, a few families ahead of them. "Are you sure you want to do this, meaning getting married here?" David asked him, "you came to us about this, but if you're not sure, we don't have to ask them."

"I'm sure. I want Rachel to be my wife," Puck said honestly, without hesitation.

Alan and David shared a smile and nodded, "that's all we needed to know," Alan replied, patting Puck on the shoulder as they moved up to the now available concierge.

~*~

The three men talked to the concierge and explained what they were hoping for. The girl took down all their information and asked some questions, promising once she could get in touch with the wedding planner for the park, she'd find out if there was a open date in their time frame and would let them know as soon as possible.

Thanking the woman, Puck, Alan and David went over to the café to pick up some drinks for everyone and returned to the suite, hearing the shower going and seeing Beth up and sitting in a chair by the window.

"Where did you guys have to go to get coffee?" Deborah laughed lightly, "LA?"

"No, there was a line," Puck replied with a grin, handing the carrier in his hand to Rachel with a larger hot chocolate for her and and a smaller cup for Beth, "we're not the only ones with the same idea."

Rachel eyed him, having a feeling there was more to it, but didn't want to say anything in front of everyone, so she pushed it aside and turned her focus to something else, "once Arin is ready, we should be ready to go down to breakfast."

"Okay. Are we going to come back here before going into the park?" David wondered.

"I think it would be easier if we brought our stuff along and go right into the park. It'll save a trip," Deborah suggested.

"That makes sense," Alan agreed, "we should go get our jackets and cameras out of our luggage, then."

Rachel saw Puck nod moved towards their room, so she got up and followed him. Once they were both inside, she closed the door, "alright, what are you hiding?" She asked quietly, "you guys weren't just waiting in line in the café for almost a half an hour."

Puck had thought Rachel wouldn't believe them, so he turned around, "we were just asking the concierge some questions," he replied, "don't worry about it."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him, "Noah..."

"Alright," he sighed, gathering his thoughts, "look, we're trying to plan something for the family," he started. "I brought it up to your dads last night and we went to talk to the concierge before we got coffee. We don't know if it's possible, so they're going to let us know later today when they do some research. We don't want to get anyone's hopes up, so that's why we haven't said anything yet," he explained.

Rachel was silent for a long moment, soaking in what he said, "I see. What is it?"

Stepping closer to her, he rested his hands on her shoulders, "I know you're not a huge fan of surprises, but please just wait a little longer and I'll tell you everything. Like I said, I don't want you or anyone to get their hopes up and then not be able to have it happen."

Taking a deep breath, she sighed, "alright, I can wait. I just don't like you hiding things from me."

"I don't like it either, but it's seriously going to be worth the wait to find out," he grinned, "I really hope it can happen and hopefully we'll know for sure in a few hours. I'll tell you as soon as I know, I promise."

"You better," she warned, then relaxed and leaned against him, "it better be good."

Puck grinned, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, "it's gonna be awesome."

~*~

A/N5: I hope you guys enjoyed! This chapter is shorter than I expected, but I wanted to get something to you guys. I didn't realize it'd been almost two months since my last update. I'm so sorry about that. I've been sick and I'm finally on antibiotics, so hopefully I'll be feeling better soon. I also stopped here, because I'm waiting for some information about Christmas time in Disneyland from a friend who visits the park several times a year, because she lives near it. Hopefully I can get it soon so I can work on the next chapter.

A/N6: Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me. It really means a lot! Love you all! I promise that no matter what, I will always continue to write Puckleberry. Even if the show sucks now and I'm disgusted with how it's turned out. Even if Puckleberry will never get another chance, I will continue to write and ship them, so don't worry. I'm not going anywhere!

A/N7: After updating this story last, I posted two Lark (Lea/Mark RPF) fics. They are only posted on my LJ (RPF is against FF's rules) and you're welcome to read/comment without having an LJ account. If you'd like me to message you when I update them again, I can do that, just let me know. The links are below. Both fics are going to be part of a WIP series, AU after 1/1/2012 and the end of 3x11 - Michael.

'Breaking The Rules' - Lea and Mark finally get to spend a New Year's Eve together!

'Something To Talk About' - continued from 'Breaking The Rules' - After the events of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Mark and Lea definitely have a lot to talk about.

~*~