Being There (Glee, 1/1)
Summary: A possible scene between Puck and Rachel in the finale.
Rating: PG
Warnings: No spoilers, unless somehow you didn't know that Quinn was going to give birth in the finale.
A/N: This isn't based on any spoilers, or even the preview for last week's episode. Just something I'd love to see happen in the finale.
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Rachel slipped out of Quinn’s room, searching for the face missing from their group. It didn’t take long before she found him in front of the nursery, staring in awe at his daughter as she slept.
“She’s beautiful,” Noah whispered reverently as Rachel stood beside him.
“She is,” she agreed. “I think she has your eyes and Quinn’s nose.” She smiled wryly. “And your hair.” It was true. What little hair the girl had had been tousled, either by the nurses or her own fussing in the bassinet, until it stood up straight in what could almost be considered a mohawk.
Noah gave a choked laugh and just kept staring, as if trying to commit the image of his baby girl to memory. He probably was. The adoption papers had been signed, and the happy couple was on their way to the hospital. Open adoption though it may be, they were from Columbus. Noah and Quinn wouldn’t be getting much more than photos.
Rachel stayed silent as he leaned closer to the nursery window, oblivious to the way his hand trembled as it rested against the glass.
She’d been surprised at how focused he’d been throughout the entire process, from the moment Quinn’s water broke at Regionals. He’d looked slightly shell-shocked when he’d stepped into the waiting room and announced that Beth had arrived, but that was it. Quinn had had her emotional catharsis through hours of labor, and Finn had cried when he’d held the baby-understandable, when he’d spent the first half of the pregnancy thinking she was his-but Noah had stayed stoic through it all.
She’d wondered how long it would be until he broke.
He may have been oblivious to his quivering fingers, but he definitely noticed the first tear that made its way down his cheek. He stepped back and swiped at it angrily, like if he could get rid of it quickly enough no one would notice. But as soon as he brushed it away another took its place, and another. He kept wiping his cheeks, with his fingers and the back of his hand, but it was no use. Abruptly he moved his hands to the back of his neck, clasping them tightly as he briefly looked up to the ceiling and then down to the floor, shielding his face with his arms.
“Noah,” she whispered softly, and reached out to him, but he jerked away from her touch, turning his back to her. Undeterred, she followed him until his back was pressed against the far wall. She laid her hand on his elbow, and the dam broke.
His arms were around her in an instant, tight and clinging as he pressed his face to her shoulder. “Rach,” he choked out, and her heart tore at the anguish in his voice. She ran her hand over his scalp and pulled him even closer, not caring about the tears that were painting her skin and shirt.
“I know,” she murmured in his ear, “I know.” ‘It’s going to be okay’ was a meaningless platitude and did not pass her lips.
Things weren’t going to be okay for a while.
Instead she stood in the hospital corridor, cradling Noah as he sobbed, crying out his grief over the daughter that would never be his.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rating: PG
Warnings: No spoilers, unless somehow you didn't know that Quinn was going to give birth in the finale.
A/N: This isn't based on any spoilers, or even the preview for last week's episode. Just something I'd love to see happen in the finale.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rachel slipped out of Quinn’s room, searching for the face missing from their group. It didn’t take long before she found him in front of the nursery, staring in awe at his daughter as she slept.
“She’s beautiful,” Noah whispered reverently as Rachel stood beside him.
“She is,” she agreed. “I think she has your eyes and Quinn’s nose.” She smiled wryly. “And your hair.” It was true. What little hair the girl had had been tousled, either by the nurses or her own fussing in the bassinet, until it stood up straight in what could almost be considered a mohawk.
Noah gave a choked laugh and just kept staring, as if trying to commit the image of his baby girl to memory. He probably was. The adoption papers had been signed, and the happy couple was on their way to the hospital. Open adoption though it may be, they were from Columbus. Noah and Quinn wouldn’t be getting much more than photos.
Rachel stayed silent as he leaned closer to the nursery window, oblivious to the way his hand trembled as it rested against the glass.
She’d been surprised at how focused he’d been throughout the entire process, from the moment Quinn’s water broke at Regionals. He’d looked slightly shell-shocked when he’d stepped into the waiting room and announced that Beth had arrived, but that was it. Quinn had had her emotional catharsis through hours of labor, and Finn had cried when he’d held the baby-understandable, when he’d spent the first half of the pregnancy thinking she was his-but Noah had stayed stoic through it all.
She’d wondered how long it would be until he broke.
He may have been oblivious to his quivering fingers, but he definitely noticed the first tear that made its way down his cheek. He stepped back and swiped at it angrily, like if he could get rid of it quickly enough no one would notice. But as soon as he brushed it away another took its place, and another. He kept wiping his cheeks, with his fingers and the back of his hand, but it was no use. Abruptly he moved his hands to the back of his neck, clasping them tightly as he briefly looked up to the ceiling and then down to the floor, shielding his face with his arms.
“Noah,” she whispered softly, and reached out to him, but he jerked away from her touch, turning his back to her. Undeterred, she followed him until his back was pressed against the far wall. She laid her hand on his elbow, and the dam broke.
His arms were around her in an instant, tight and clinging as he pressed his face to her shoulder. “Rach,” he choked out, and her heart tore at the anguish in his voice. She ran her hand over his scalp and pulled him even closer, not caring about the tears that were painting her skin and shirt.
“I know,” she murmured in his ear, “I know.” ‘It’s going to be okay’ was a meaningless platitude and did not pass her lips.
Things weren’t going to be okay for a while.
Instead she stood in the hospital corridor, cradling Noah as he sobbed, crying out his grief over the daughter that would never be his.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~