Fic: Out of the Blue, Part 36 by Sapphire (PG-13)

[sapphireej]

Title: Out of the Blue, Part 36
Author: Sapphire (sapphiresfic)
Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Rachel, Puck, Rachel/Puck, the Glee clubbers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 6,370
Spoilers: Up to 1x13 ~ Sectionals; just to be safe
Series: 'Out of the Blue' (List of all the parts on my LJ)
Summary: Nationals, Days 5
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: As always, feedback is loved! The more the merrier! :D 
 

~*~

Puck and Rachel finished packing just after four am. Double checking everything, they gathered their bags and headed down to the lobby, finding they weren't the only ones there. Deborah, Burt, Will and Emma were also downstairs, with some of the kids.

Their bus pulled up just after four-thirty and those in the lobby piled on. "Now don't forget that you can't have certain things in your carry on," Will reminded.

Those that were on the bus already rolled their eyes, "we got it, Mr. Schue."

"I'm sure you do," Will agreed, "but it doesn't hurt to remind you."

As more and more joined them, Will checked them off his list while Emma waited in the lobby, collecting the room keys and turning them into the front desk. At five, Emma joined them on the bus, "that's all the keys," she said looking at Will, "is everyone here?"

"Yep, everyone is, so I guess we're ready to go. Are you all sure you have all of your belongings?" Will asked again.

Some of the kids doubled checked for important items while others nodded, so Will gave the bus driver a nod and he closed the doors and started the journey to the airport.

The drive took a little over a half an hour and as he pulled up near the Alaska Airlines entrance, the kids started to collect their bags, piling off the bus. It was early morning, so the terminal was pretty quiet, so it didn't take as long for everyone to check-in. Once their bags were checked and they had their boarding passes, everyone gathered to wait for their friends. It was almost six by the time they got to the security line and one-by-one were let up to the next open line and started to get through; again, waiting on the other side for everyone to finish up. Thankfully everyone had thought ahead and had either checked all their metal or removed it so belts or keys wouldn't trip the alarm, getting everyone through without hassle.

Having plenty of time since their flight didn't board until eight, they had breakfast in the food court and looked around the few shops nearby before they made their way to their gate, figuring they might as well wait there instead of rush later. Puck, Rachel, Finn and Deborah, found sets by the windows, watching some of the planes take off, no one saying much for a long while, "any more news?" Puck asked softly.

Deborah shook her head, "no, but I don't think they'd call us unless it's major," she admitted.

Puck tugged his girlfriend into his lap, already feeling the caffeine wearing off, "I hope it's almost eight. I want to get to sleep," he said.

"Maybe we should have had more coffee," Rachel replied wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Did you guys stay up all night?" Finn asked.

Puck nodded, "yeah, went down to Starbucks and got coffee around nine last night. Matt, Mike, Brittany and Mercedes were down there doing the same thing."

"No wonder you guys look exhausted," Finn admitted, "though I slept and it wasn't good either."

"Yeah, I just want to get home and sleep, but then again, I won't be able to until dad and Quinn are home," Puck added.

Their flight was finally called, so they lined up, checked in and headed to find their seats. There were a few people aside from the WMHS team there, but not many, so their flight would be quiet and they could shuffle around, Deborah taking the window seat, Rachel next to her and Puck on the aisle; he didn't care where he would be, he'd be sleeping the whole trip anyway.

~*~
Note: The final scene in the previous part actually happened about the time their flight took off from Seattle; just to give you a better idea of when it took place; it's hard when there is a three hour time difference, lol.
~*~

A very nervous and eighteen year old paced back and forth between his car and his girlfriend's. She had been avoiding him for two days and he didn't know why and he finally was going to confront her about it. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but the entire week she'd been acting weird and it just got worse as the week went on. Seeing her, he stepped up to her driver's door with his arms crossed.

She jumped, surprised to see him standing there, "Eth, what are you doing?" She asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing, Deb. What the hell is going on?" He asked calmly.

"It's nothing," she shook her head and moved towards the door, but he chose to lean on it, "Ethan, let me go, I've got to get home."

"Why?"

"I don't feel good," she sighed, rubbing her forehead, "please, Eth, just let me go. If you want to know, come over tonight."

"Deb, what's going on?" He asked.

She shook her head and glanced around. School had just gotten out for the weekend and she was not going to have that conversation in the middle of the parking lot, "please Ethan, just trust me. If you want to know why I've been acting like this, just come over to my house and I'll tell you."

"I'll follow you back then," he told her.

"Fine," she nodded, and once he moved aside, she threw her backpack into the the car and slid into the driver's seat, starting the engine and backing out without another word to him.

Ethan moved around to his car and quickly followed her, pulling up in front of the two story house. Leaving his backpack where it had been, he closed his door and followed her up the pathway to the front door as she unlocked it, but something seemed off. As she pushed the door open, she dropped her bag by the stairs and waited until he came in and closed the door before she turned around, which is when he saw her. Her eyes were red and swollen and looked as if she'd started crying on the way home, "oh God, Deb, what's wrong?" He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, "baby, tell me what's going on," he begged.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, "I've been so mean to you the last few days and you didn't deserve it."

"Whatever, it's in the past, tell me what's gotten you like this? We had an amazing weekend and you come to school on Monday completely different than the girl I was with the day before, this isn't like you, Deb. Did someone try to hurt you? Did something happen?"

She shook her head, "no, no one tried to hurt me," she pulled away to look at him, "I just got some news at the doctors on Monday and I've been scared to tell you."

"Why?" He asked, "you can tell me anything, baby."

She started crying harder as he spoke to her, but he didn't realize what he said was what upset her. Looking down at the floor, his arms still wrapped around her, she lifted her hands and rested them on her stomach, "that's just it," she sniffled, "I'm pregnant, Ethan, we're having a baby."

Ethan's arms remained around her body as he looked down at her hands, the words she spoke registering in his mind quickly, "why are you crying?" He asked softly, lifting her left hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her hand next to the diamond engagement ring that sat on her finger, "I meant what I said when I proposed to you last Friday, on Valentine's day," he whispered, "I want to be with you and have a family with you, that won't change, it just looks like we're starting early."

~*~

The four in the room froze in shock, the only sound was Quinn's sobs behind Ethan. Terri and Ken had looks of panic on their faces as they quickly rushed out of the room, the door closing and being locked behind them, leaving Ethan and Quinn alone.

Ethan calmly turned to his left, staring at the bullet hole in the wall, only inches from his arm; had he just shifted that way mere inches, he'd be nursing a bullet wound, but thankfully someone was looking out for him. Feeling hands digging into his back and pulling his shirt tight, he reached behind him and took hold of Quinn's wrists, "Quinn, everything is alright, you can let go of me," he said softly.

Her sobbing continued, but she slowly released his shirt, allowing him to turn around and pull her against his chest, her whole body shaking, "Quinn, you're okay," he whispered.

"I thought if I... If I could just... He just... He didn't want to... I tried..."

"I know. You did good, really good," he told her, "one rule in hostage negotiations is to find common ground and you did."

"But you could have been shot!" She exclaimed through tears.

He nodded, sadly knowing just how close he'd come to that, "yes, but I didn't," he whispered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the two foil packages, "I can't wait any longer for them to find us," he murmured, pulling from Quinn as he tore open the first one and pulled out a small band-aid like item and he flipped it over, quickly pressing the small chip until it activated with a tiny light as proof, before he pulled up his sleeve, removed the backing and pressed the circle to his skin, holding it in place a moment to be sure it adhered to his skin. Pulling his sleeve back down to hide it, he repeated the same thing with the second one, holding it out to Quinn, "put it someplace they can't see it," he said softly.

Quinn looked at it, but slowly lifted her hand and took it from him, doing what she'd watched him do, pulling up her sweater sleeve and pressed it to her forearm for a moment before pulling her sleeve back down, "what is it?" She asked lifting her hand to wipe her eyes.

Wrapping his arms around her again, he ignored her question for a moment as he held her close, feeling her shaking again as her hands gripped onto his sweatshirt. "Don't worry about it," he whispered, "I've got you and we're going to be fine," he promised.

~*~

Mike had just arrived at the Berry's again, this time just to check in, nothing major to report, but he had been coming around a few times a day to say hi. Stepping into the house after Alan answered the door, his cell phone rang. Picking it up he answered, "Adams... Are you shitting me? Please tell me you're not joking... Oh thank God," he muttered, putting his hand on Alan's shoulder and nodding, "patch me the coordinates and find someplace we can meet up before we get there and call the county sheriff," he snapped before closing his phone and slipping it back into his pocket.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Alan asked calmly.

Mike smiled, "hate to stop by and then run off, but Ethan just activated the tracking devices," he grinned, "see you guys later," he said waving at Arin and David who were in the living room.

~*~

It'd taken Quinn a long time to calm down, but Ethan finally got her to relax and talk to him; the last thing he wanted was her to be in shock. She commented she couldn't lay down any longer and began to pace, which was Ethan's sign she was nervous, but he let her, knowing she needed the stress relief. Leaning against the wall by the mattress, Ethan noticed her freeze, "what's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"What was that?" She looked at him, "I heard something."

Ethan focused his ears on the banging sound and then the lock on their door was being undone. A very frantic Terri rushed in and grabbed Quinn around the neck, causing her to cry out in panic. When Terri pressed the gun to Quinn's head. "Terri what the fuck are you doing?" Ethan snapped pushing off the wall to move towards them.

"She's mine! No one can have her but me!" Terri exclaimed, "don't move any closer or I will shoot her!"

"Terri," Ethan's voice was low and calm, his hands held up in surrender, "this isn't the way. If you hurt Quinn there's no way to save that baby; she'll die and you'll have that hanging over your head," he glanced to his right and he saw two of his teammates rush into the doorway, guns held up, "stand down," he snapped loudly.

"What are you doing?" Terri hissed, "Get out! I'll shoot them, I will!" She yelled shifting to point the gun at Ethan.

"NO!" Quinn screamed trying to break from the grasp of Terri's arm, but she was holding her too tight. "Please," she begged.

The two cops exchanged glances with Ethan and then stepped out of the room, standing in the doorway with their guns lowered, but silently nodded at Ethan to let him take care of it.

"You know how I told you I'm a hockey player?" Ethan asked, slowly moving to Terri's outstretched hand with the gun held weakly. "I'm a player for the police department," he said, watching Terri's eyes widen in shock, "I'm a cop, Terri, in fact, those two at the door are my guys, sorry," he paused seeing one of them was the teams' female member, "my team. You try to shoot either one of us and they will waste no time shooting you," Ethan was now standing with the gun pressed to his chest, "so I suggest you lower the gun and let Quinn go. You need help and this isn't the way to get it. You'll never get Will back this way."

She looked as though she was about to do what he asked, but something snapped in her and her hand stiffened, pressing the gun harder against his chest, "she promised me I could have her! She wanted to give her away to me!" She snapped, tears falling from her eyes.

"That was before Will found out the truth. You lied to him, Terri, and things changed, but you can't just kidnap someone to get what you want. That baby has a father and a mother waiting for her and you can't take that away from them."

"It's not fair!" She sobbed, but her grasp on Quinn and the gun seemed to hold strong.

"You're right, it's not fair. It's not fair that you couldn't get pregnant and that you couldn't keep your husband, but it's life, Terri, you have to take the good with the bad and this isn't the way to make things right between you and Will. Please, Terri, lower the gun and let Quinn go," Ethan said softly, but he knew they all could hear what he said.

Terri's eyes flickered to Quinn who was shaking in her arms and then the gun before she finally gave in and lowered her arm.

Ethan remained still for a moment, "oh thank God!" Ethan thought as Terri released her grasp on Quinn in defeat.

Quinn pushed away from Terri and moved to the wall, leaning against it, sobbing as she too shaky breaths.

Ethan reached for the gun, his hand wrapping firmly around her wrist as he removed it from her hand and pulled that hand behind her back as his two teammates rushed in, the guy taking the gun from Ethan and removing the bullets and putting the safety on, while the female cop pushed Terri against the wall, handcuffing her and reading her her rights.

Ignoring what was going on around him, Ethan stepped to Quinn and held out his hand, a light smile tugging at his lips, "come on Quinn, lets get out of here."

Quinn took his hand and as she moved towards him, she wrapped her arms around his waist, "thank you, thank you," she sobbed.

Ethan rubbed her back and nodded, "I promised you I'd take care of you, but you're welcome, come on, lets go home," he whispered, guiding her out the door.

~*~

It was a whirlwind afternoon... David, Alan and Arin all paced in the house waiting for some kind of word on Ethan and Quinn. When the phone rang they were all worried to answer it, but as Alan did, his shoulders fell in relief as he listened to the caller on the other end. Hanging up the phone he nodded, "they're okay. That was Ethan. They're going to drop him off at their place so he can change and he'll drive Noah's jeep over so they can bring Quinn home now," he replied.

As soon as the black SUV pulled up in front of the Berry's they all went out onto the porch and watched Quinn slide out of the backseat with a male and a female officer getting out with her, another SUV pulling up behind them as Mike and two guys got out. Arin ran down the step and rushed over to Quinn, hugging her tightly. David and Alan joined her, both wrapping Quinn up in a big hug as she cried, relieved to be home safe. When they got into the house, Quinn excused herself to go upstairs to shower and change, while the five teammates, Arin, David and Alan settled around on couches in the living room, waiting for Ethan.

When Mike dropped Ethan off, Ethan used the spare key they'd hidden in the front of the house to get inside and went to take a quick shower and change into clean clothes before grabbing Noah's keys and heading over to the Berry's. Walking up to the house, he pushed open the front door and stepped inside, seeing Arin on the couch. She hadn't seen him come inside, but as soon as he cleared his throat, she jumped up and ran over to him, "daddy!" She exclaimed, jumping at him.

Ethan leaned forward just as she jumped at him and he caught her, pulling her into his arms, "hey baby girl," he whispered, never getting tired of calling her that. "I missed you so much."

"I'm so glad you're alright," she replied, pulling her head back to look at him, "I missed you, too."

He smiled at her and nodded, gently setting her down, but keeping his left arm wrapped around her shoulders as he stepped further into the living room to greet David and Alan with hand shakes.

"... yes I'm fine... I'm sure... No... David's a psychologist. If I go of the deep end, I'm sure he'll figure out... Rebecca calm down! I'm fine!" Quinn exclaimed into her phone as she came down the stairs. "I gotta go, I'll call you later. Love you," she said, closing her phone and slipping it into her pocket. "Could you guys have waited to pass that detail on to my sister?" She asked calmly to David and Alan.

David shook his head, "no Quinn, we needed to let her know. You don't want to have anything to do with your parents, but you're not eighteen yet, so you kind of still are a minor, so we called her, giving her the opportunity to pass on the information if something happened, and thankfully it didn't."

Quinn sighed, "fine, but just so you know, I'm not telling them Puck's keeping Abigail or that he's even the father," she said, "Rebecca and I are going to tell them I gave her away in a closed adoption, so they can't look for her."

"Isn't it going to be kind of hard to keep that from them? I mean Finn and Puck are friends and I'm thinking so are you and Rachel," Alan said.

Quinn shrugged and glanced at Ethan, "I may talk to my mom again, but I've decided I don't want to live with them anymore, because of my dad. You two and Ethan have been more like fathers to me than he ever was," she replied sitting down on the couch.

The two men exchanged glances with Ethan, but shrugged it off, "Quinn, whatever you decide to do, you'll always be welcome here," David told her.

"Thanks," she smiled. "So, whats going on with our national travelers?"

"Oh, yeah, their flight should be landing in about an hour," Alan admitted, glancing at the clock to see it was five pm.

"How did they do?" Ethan asked.

"Second place!" Arin grinned as she said their results.

Ethan glanced at her and then at Alan and David who nodded in confirmation, "wow," he smiled, "that's great."

"They did it... Second... That's awesome!" Quinn grinned brightly. "I can't wait to see them."

"We have to pick them up, so you guys can come with us and surprise them or wait until they get back here," David replied.

"Surprise them here," Quinn said with a smile, "as long as you can get Carole and Finn to come over, too," she said.

"We can manage."

~*~

Their flight was technically only six and a half hours, but with the time change, they didn't land in Columbus until just six pm that night. Gathering up their bags and heading for the bus, it was just after six-thirty by the time they were on their way back to Lima.

Just after eight, Rachel called her dads and told them they would be back in the next half an hour, and wanted to know if there had been any news.

"No news is good news, sweetheart," Alan replied, a smile on his face.

"Dad, that's not reassuring at all," Rachel responded, "see you in a little while," she added before hanging up the phone.

Alan opted to go get them, so as it got closer to eight-thirty, he hopped into his SUV and headed for the school, parking near Carole's car and went up to greet some of the family members who were there. They all started asking him questions about Quinn and Ethan and Alan smiled, "they just got back a few hours ago, but are waiting to surprise their family members when they get back to the house, so please don't say anything. Carole, we'd like you and Finn to come over when we leave here."

"Of course, so they're alright?" She asked.

Alan nodded, "yes, they're fine. Quinn's a little shaken, but she's doing alright," he replied.

Everyone was glad to hear the good news and promised to keep quiet, to allow for their friends to be surprised. As the rumble of the school bus echoed over the empty parking lot, their conversations died down as the bus came to a stop not too far from the large group of family that was gathered around. As the doors opened and the kids stepped off the family members began to cheer and congratulate them on their amazing second place finish.

Finn stepped off the bus with Puck right behind him, the two boys seeing Carole so they headed for her with Deborah and Rachel right behind them. As soon as Finn reached his mom, he wrapped her up in a hug before nodding at Alan, who was hugging Rachel and greeting Puck and Deborah.

"So, any news?" Puck asked.

"No, but the team is over and we ordered pizzas and they'd like to meet you, Rachel, Finn and Deborah, so Carole and Finn are going to come over with us," he replied.

"Food, I'm starving," Finn grinned, "airplane food sucks."

Making sure they had all their luggage, Finn and Carole headed to her car, while Puck, Rachel and Deborah walked towards Alan's SUV and once their bags were in the back, they got in and Alan drove back to the house, Carole following them with Finn. Pulling up into the driveway, Alan and three with him got out and met Finn and Carole on the sidewalk as they walked up onto the porch.

"...Dude, I don't know how you have lasted here. There's only one freaking Starbucks and do you know how hard it is to find the McDonald's?" A female voice said.

"Allison, there are other coffee stands," Mike commented, "you just have to look for them."

"I have no clue where and the one I did find thought I was crazy when I asked for a ---"

"Non-fat, no whip, double shot hazelnut mocha," five male voices echoed before she could finish her sentence.

Allison's mouth fell open, "am I that predictable?"

David threw his head back in laughter at the five guys on her team repeating her exact order, noticing everyone entering the house. "Hey guys, welcome home," he said standing up to greet his daughter and the rest as they entered the living room.

"Hey daddy, uh, everyone," Rachel waved a little nervously as she looked around at the four guys and girl she didn't recognize as Arin walked over to her and hugged her. "Hey Arin, how are you?"

"Great," she grinned.

"Great? Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yep." Arin nodded before going to her mom and hugging her.

After David shook hands or hugged everyone, he turned around, "well, this is Ethan's team, Allison, Mike, Nick, Tim and Nate... And this is my daughter, Rachel, her boyfriend and Ethan's son, Noah, Ethan's fiancée, Deborah, Noah's best friend and Quinn's boyfriend, Finn and Carole is Finn's mom," David said, taking a moment to introduce everyone. "Where did those two go? We're missing two of them," he added glancing around.

"Hiding in the kitchen," Allison commented glancing back to the kitchen door.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the door, Ethan and Quinn came around the other way, coming up behind them, "we're not hiding," Ethan's voice commented casually.

"Just sneaking up," Quinn added.

Rachel gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she watched Finn whip around and pull his girlfriend into his arms, while Ethan pulled Deborah towards him.

"Ethan," Deborah gasped, relief washing over her as all the fears she'd built up disappeared by just feeling him holding her. "You're... When did you... How did..." She couldn't even manage to get a whole sentence as she spoke.

Ethan smiled, and pulled back enough to press a kiss to her lips, "got back about four, and it's a long story," he whispered, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes.

"Told you I was great," Arin grinned from where she was standing next to Rachel.

"Yeah, you're right," Rachel agreed, watching her boyfriend hug his dad briefly, and then she stepped over to them and hugged Ethan before turning to give Quinn a hug as she pulled away from Carole, "I'm so glad you guys are alright," she said glancing at them.

"Me too," Quinn nodded, "well, he's fine, I'm still a little shaken up," she admitted.

"You're doing great for someone who has dealt with something like that," Ethan replied and his team and David nodded in agreement.

Quinn smiled lightly, "don't know how long it will last," she said.

Though the team didn't want to leave, they reluctantly gave in and got up, saying goodbye to everyone. Their boss in Detroit wanted them back to work the next morning, so Ethan walked them out to their SUVs and spoke briefly about work, before Mike told him to take another week off and to check-in with their boss in the morning.

Ethan waited until the two black SUVs were out of sight before he headed back into the house, finding the kids going through the pizza. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, he felt arms wrap around him and looked to see Finn, "uh, hi, Finn," Ethan said kind of confused.

"Thank you," Finn commented as he pulled away, "for taking care of Quinn."

Ethan nodded and patted Finn on the shoulder, "you don't have to thank me," he told him, "but you're welcome," he added.

After a late dinner, everyone began to feel the adrenaline from the day wear off and were getting tired. Ethan knew Quinn wanted to be with Finn, but Ethan suggested she stay at the Berry's in case she need someone during the night, but David and Alan offered to let Finn stay, so Finn agreed to. Going outside, Puck, Rachel, Deborah and Finn got their bags from the cars and Carole said goodbye, heading home for the night, while the rest brought their bags in. The room that Puck had been sleeping in was empty of his stuff, since he'd moved it into Rachel's room, so Deborah and Ethan opted to stay the night; it was late and all of Arin's things were still up in Rachel's bedroom. Arin took her sleeping bag downstairs so she could sleep on the couch, letting Rachel and Puck have Rachel's room back.

Puck changed into something to sleep in, but headed downstairs where Arin was playing on her DS and sat down on the couch next to her.

"Noah, what's wrong?" Arin asked sitting up and pausing her game, surprised he was there.

"How are you doing?" He asked softly.

She shrugged, "fine I guess."

"David said you saw everything," he said, "I can't imagine what that was like to see."

"It was scary, but then I realized that dad's a cop," she said softly, "and David and Alan made sure I talked to them about it."

"I was worried about you. I knew dad wouldn't let anything happen to Quinn or Abigail, but I kept thinking about you. I should have been here," he told her.

"No, you had someplace else to be, just like Rachel, Finn and mom, we all know that."

"That doesn't mean I didn't want to be here. I wanted to come home as soon as I found out what happened," he commented pulling her against him in a tight hug.

Arin hugged him back, "Noah, aren't you thinking about joining the Navy? Doesn't that mean you'll be gone a lot so when bad stuff happens you won't always be here?"

He shrugged, "I guess. I don't have much of a choice, kiddo, it's either the military or what? I can't afford to go to school, my grades aren't the greatest and I need to take care of my girlfriend and daughter... I don't want to leave, but right now I don't see a way around it."

"Then you need to get used to things happening while you're gone. I'm fine," she told him, "and so is dad, Quinn and Abigail. And I don't think Rachel needs someone to take care of her, she wants someone to be by her side."

The siblings didn't realize Rachel was standing on the staircase, but she chose that moment to make herself known, "she's right Noah," Rachel replied, coming the rest of the way down the stairs and into the living room where they were.

Puck's head snapped to where she was, "how much did you hear?" He asked.

"Enough to know that you're upset you weren't here when all this happened and you feel the need to take care of me and Abigail," Rachel explained sliding down into his lap. "And Arin is right, I don't need someone to take care of me, it's nice, but I want us to be partners, to support each other no matter what, and if that means you'll have to work somewhere else for a while, then we'll deal with that," she whispered.

Puck's eyes fell closed as he nodded, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, "thank you, Rach," he replied pressing a kiss to her lips.

Arin laughed a little, "ewe, gross, go to your own room!"

Rachel blushed and slid off her boyfriend's lap and stood up, holding out her hand to him. Puck took it and stood up, but turned to his sister and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "goodnight, Arin," he whispered.

"Night," she waved at him and then at Rachel.

The couple walked upstairs and into Rachel's room, Puck closing the door behind them as soon as they were inside. "You're one of a kind, ya know that?" He asked, following her and wrapping his arms around her body.

"I am?" She asked slightly confused, "what makes you think that?"

"You just told me that you'd be willing to let me work away from here; which means we wouldn't be together every day or every night."

She was silent for a long moment, "I know," she admitted, "but it wouldn't be forever and we could visit and I know you'll make the right decision for your family... And I think you'd look pretty badass in a uniform," she grinned, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

Going from heartfelt to 'badass,' Puck laughed as he guided her the rest of the way to her bed, "badass, eh?"

Rachel blushed as she shifted to sit on her bed and then lay back, him following her as she moved, "yeah, badass," she agreed pressing a kiss to his lips as they settled against the pillows, "my badass," she added.

"Damn right, baby, yours and only yours," he whispered before pulling her against him for a loving kiss.

~*~

As soon as Ethan closed the door behind him and Deborah in the guest room, the wall she had put up to hide her feelings came crashing down as she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed.

Ethan's eyes fell closed as his own arms wrapped around her, his hands rubbing her back, "oh Deb, how long have you been holding all this in?" He asked softly, only catching a few words between her sobs, "shhh, it's alright, I'm here, I got you and I'm not letting go," he whispered, tightening his hold on her.

The only sounds in the room were her sobs for several moments, but slowly they calmed down and she was able to look up at him, "I've been holding in how I felt since I found out; trying to stay calm because I knew Noah was upset, and Rachel was scared, Finn was a zombie, Emma and Will were blaming themselves and everyone seemed like they were walking on eggshells around us, so I pushed everything aside so I could deal with it later."

Reaching a hand up to her face, he gently brushed the tears from her eyes and shook his head, "no more, Deb, you've got to be able to let it go. I know you've closed yourself off from a lot of emotions to stay strong for Noah and Arin, but they can handle themselves. It's time to take care of you for a change," he whispered, "let me take care of you."

Her shoulders relaxed as they stood together, "thank you, Eth," she murmured, "I've missed you so much," she added.

Smiling, he gently kissed her lips, "every time I've closed my eyes since you left I thought of you, babe, and after everything went on and even when Quinn was having one of her fits, all I thought about was you," he blushed a little, "I even had a flashback of when you told me that you were pregnant with Noah."

Deborah's eyes widened as she looked at him, "are you serious?" She asked and as he silently nodded, she grinned, "I had the same flashback on the flight home."

"Really?" He was silent for a moment, "you know, this is all about second chances," he whispered, motioning between them, "I first proposed to you on Valentine's Day when we were Seniors and a week later you told me your were pregnant with Noah. When you guys were in Detroit back in February, I proposed to you again, on Valentine's Day. We got married the first time on Saturday July seventeenth in nineteen-ninety-three and this year we're getting married on Saturday July seventeenth, two-thousand-ten... Seventeen years later... Maybe this is a second chance to bring everything full circle," he murmured.

Deborah's eyes widened as his explanation sunk in, "are you... really?" She looked at him, "do you think we could really do that?"

He shrugged, "I don't see why not. We're both going to be thirty-six at the end of May, so it's not like we're old," he laughed a little, "we're the perfect age to have another one."

"I'd like that, but we have to talk to the kids about it. Noah, Rachel, Arin... They're part of us and I don't know how they'll take this. We have to tell them about the house and when are you really moving up here?" She asked, "for good?"

He shrugged, guiding her over to the bed and taking a seat on the edge, "don't know. I have to move out of the house by the end of the month, so the guys are gonna help me pack up, but it could be a month or more before my paperwork is finished in Detroit."

"You're going with Lima police for sure?" She asked.

"Yeah, better offer and they're accepting my rank, too," he replied. "But it could be August first before I really can start," he admitted. "The guy I'm replacing is retiring in July, so I have to wait until his spot is empty before I officially move into it and they know I'm getting married in July, so we've agreed for me not start until August," he explained, "but I think that might be a good thing. It'll give us some time as a family, for us to get married, go away for a while if we want, have a chance with the kids and help them out for a while until they figure out what they're going to do for school and who's going to watch her while we're working."

Deborah listened to him for a long moment before taking his hand in hers and squeezing it, "I think that's a great idea," she whispered.

"What part?" He asked curiously.

"All of it, baby and all," she replied, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips.

~*~

A/N4: So how was it? You like? The next chapter is a family meeting, but will discuss a lot, that kind of sets up the sequel or their future because I really don't know when I'm gonna end this. It might be after Noah's graduation, might be after Rachel's, so we'll just see where the words take me.
A/N5: I love all of you! You guys rock! The reviews are amazing and by the time I posted this I was at 498 reviews on FF and they keep growing... WHOHOO! Thank you! :D

 

Comments

[saya-asakura.livejournal.com]

I want meet Abigail!!! Lovely chap as always, but I really truly adore the Ethan/Deborah's flashback "Why are you crying?" <3

[sapphiresfic.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked! :D The flashback came to me pretty quickly when I started writing it and I love how it turned out.

Abigail should be here in a few chapters :)

[knkykty.livejournal.com]

AMAZING. This was fantastic! The flashback was great, and as much as I want Terri to die, this worked out too. I just hate Noah going to the military! :( But it's all so plausible I can't argue with it...Can't wait for more!

[sapphiresfic.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked the flashback. It came pretty quick when I started it. I love how it turned out.

I don't want Rachel and Noah to be apart either, but plausible yes, and I'll make sure he gets his family time, too :)

:D More in a few days