Ruined Plans
Title: Ruined Plans
Character(s)/Pairing: Finn, Puck, Julie, Finn/Puck
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,000
Status: Complete
Notes/Warnings: Written for Day 5 of Pinn Week (prompt: too many feels). As for WARNINGS, permanent injury.
Summary: For all the years that Finn had served in the army, they had always been scared that he'd get hurt or worse. They had never considered if something happened to Puck. This was supposed to be a happy day with them surprising Julie. Instead, his reunion with his daughter is in a hospital.
The Pinn Week Series:
And Baby Makes Three || A Break In The Routine || Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go || I'm Coming Home
“Papa?”
Finn looked up when he heard Julie’s voice, the guilt eating at him even more when he heard how scared she sounded. He got up, his own body aching with the road rash and… God, he knew how bad he looked. The scrapes and bruises all over him weren’t exactly pretty, but the blood… His fatigues were covered, splattered and stained so badly that they’d never wash out. He’d throw them out later. He just needed to know that Puck was okay.
Puck had to be okay.
“Jules…”
She rushed into his arms, staining her own clothes, but it didn’t matter. He needed the hug. She needed the hug and he just held her tighter when he felt her shoulders shake. None of this was supposed to happen. They were supposed to be surprising her at school because he got home a week early. Instead, they were in a hospital and that happy moment Puck and him had spent two months planning was gone.
“What happened?”
“We were gonna surprise you,” he said, his voice soft as his vision blurred again. “We were on the bike and the truck in front of us… His tire blew. He tried to get out of the way, but…” He sighed heavily, the memories flashing across his vision.
It had all happened so fast. One second, they were riding, laughing and yelling to each other as he asked Puck just what he’d done to the house to keep him busy this year, because he knew his husband had done more than just remodel the basement. The next second, he heard Puck swear and, then, he was on the grass, his body aching.
He’d been lucky. The way he’d flown off the bike, he’d gotten enough road rash to hurt like a bitch, but he was okay otherwise. He was going to be fine. He’d hit the grass fast enough that the injuries weren’t too bad, but Puck…
“What about Daddy?” She hadn’t called him that since she decided she was too old for it and the name transitioned to dad, but hearing her say it now, terrified and like she wasn’t even sure she wanted to know… It broke Finn’s heart and he still had to call Beth… Quinn… Mike… They had to know.
“He’s gonna lose his leg, Jules.”
“W-What?”
“I had to tie off the bleeding. There was too much and…” Puck wouldn’t have survived if he hadn’t. Hell, he might not now, but something- and he didn’t even know what-had cut through his femoral artery. There had been so much blood when he got to him and Puck was already unconscious. They’d both had their helmets, but… “They’re gonna try, but they’re not gonna be able to save it.”
He knew. He’d seen enough in the field that he knew when a limb was past saving. Even if the leg itself hadn’t been too damaged, he knew how to tie a knot. He’d tied his belt so tightly around Puck’s thigh that… There wasn’t enough circulation and the ambulance had taken too long. It was going to be an above-the-knee amputation and even if he knew it, he was never going to be prepared to see Puck with it missing.
He was never going to be prepared to see Puck’s face when he realized his leg was gone.
He’d been training for a fucking marathon.
It wasn’t fair.
It felt like some kind of cruel irony. He’d been in the army since he was eighteen and their biggest fear had always been that he’d get hurt. That he’d come home with a limb missing or, God forbid, not come home at all.
Neither of them had ever expected Puck to be the one got hurt like this.
Things like this… It wasn’t supposed to happen.
That thought rang through his head for hours as they sat in the waiting room. They changed into some clean scrubs at one point, both of them throwing away the blood-stained clothes, but other than that, they stayed where they were, huddled together with Julie curled into her papa’s chest. The entire time they sat there, Finn tried to tell himself that Puck was going to be okay. That a wait this long meant they were fixing things. He knew Puck had been hurt. If they’d finished quickly, he would have been more scared that his husband was dead. Taking longer… It had to be good, right?
At the same time, though, a longer surgery just meant there was more to fix. More damage. More… God. How long did an amputation actually take? Cutting off the limb and doing whatever they had to do to stop those open vessels from bleeding… Turn it into a stump… He could get a prosthetic, right? He knew they made prosthetics for that.
“Noah Puckerman-Hudson?”
They both practically stumbled to their feet, half falling over each other in their rush to stand. “Here,” he said. “We’re here.”
He’d been right. Puck had lost his leg and he wasn’t even surprised. There was just hurt. Hurt for this happening at all and for the way this was going to break Puck’s heart.
And it did.
Three days after his surgery, the doctors finally lifted the sedatives that had been keeping him under. He woke up later that night and Finn hadn’t wanted to tell him, but he had to. Puck hadn’t even believed him until he looked down and saw where the bump in his blanket just kind of stopped.
“But I can feel it… I can…”
He had thought telling Puck would be the worst part and he’d been right. The way his face crumpled. The way he cried, trying to reach towards the end of the stump like it was all some kind of illusion.
Thinking about what it would be like was nothing compared to the reality, though. It was so much worse and all he could do was hold him.
“I’m so sorry…”
The End
Character(s)/Pairing: Finn, Puck, Julie, Finn/Puck
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,000
Status: Complete
Notes/Warnings: Written for Day 5 of Pinn Week (prompt: too many feels). As for WARNINGS, permanent injury.
Summary: For all the years that Finn had served in the army, they had always been scared that he'd get hurt or worse. They had never considered if something happened to Puck. This was supposed to be a happy day with them surprising Julie. Instead, his reunion with his daughter is in a hospital.
The Pinn Week Series:
And Baby Makes Three || A Break In The Routine || Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go || I'm Coming Home
“Papa?”
Finn looked up when he heard Julie’s voice, the guilt eating at him even more when he heard how scared she sounded. He got up, his own body aching with the road rash and… God, he knew how bad he looked. The scrapes and bruises all over him weren’t exactly pretty, but the blood… His fatigues were covered, splattered and stained so badly that they’d never wash out. He’d throw them out later. He just needed to know that Puck was okay.
Puck had to be okay.
“Jules…”
She rushed into his arms, staining her own clothes, but it didn’t matter. He needed the hug. She needed the hug and he just held her tighter when he felt her shoulders shake. None of this was supposed to happen. They were supposed to be surprising her at school because he got home a week early. Instead, they were in a hospital and that happy moment Puck and him had spent two months planning was gone.
“What happened?”
“We were gonna surprise you,” he said, his voice soft as his vision blurred again. “We were on the bike and the truck in front of us… His tire blew. He tried to get out of the way, but…” He sighed heavily, the memories flashing across his vision.
It had all happened so fast. One second, they were riding, laughing and yelling to each other as he asked Puck just what he’d done to the house to keep him busy this year, because he knew his husband had done more than just remodel the basement. The next second, he heard Puck swear and, then, he was on the grass, his body aching.
He’d been lucky. The way he’d flown off the bike, he’d gotten enough road rash to hurt like a bitch, but he was okay otherwise. He was going to be fine. He’d hit the grass fast enough that the injuries weren’t too bad, but Puck…
“What about Daddy?” She hadn’t called him that since she decided she was too old for it and the name transitioned to dad, but hearing her say it now, terrified and like she wasn’t even sure she wanted to know… It broke Finn’s heart and he still had to call Beth… Quinn… Mike… They had to know.
“He’s gonna lose his leg, Jules.”
“W-What?”
“I had to tie off the bleeding. There was too much and…” Puck wouldn’t have survived if he hadn’t. Hell, he might not now, but something- and he didn’t even know what-had cut through his femoral artery. There had been so much blood when he got to him and Puck was already unconscious. They’d both had their helmets, but… “They’re gonna try, but they’re not gonna be able to save it.”
He knew. He’d seen enough in the field that he knew when a limb was past saving. Even if the leg itself hadn’t been too damaged, he knew how to tie a knot. He’d tied his belt so tightly around Puck’s thigh that… There wasn’t enough circulation and the ambulance had taken too long. It was going to be an above-the-knee amputation and even if he knew it, he was never going to be prepared to see Puck with it missing.
He was never going to be prepared to see Puck’s face when he realized his leg was gone.
He’d been training for a fucking marathon.
It wasn’t fair.
It felt like some kind of cruel irony. He’d been in the army since he was eighteen and their biggest fear had always been that he’d get hurt. That he’d come home with a limb missing or, God forbid, not come home at all.
Neither of them had ever expected Puck to be the one got hurt like this.
Things like this… It wasn’t supposed to happen.
That thought rang through his head for hours as they sat in the waiting room. They changed into some clean scrubs at one point, both of them throwing away the blood-stained clothes, but other than that, they stayed where they were, huddled together with Julie curled into her papa’s chest. The entire time they sat there, Finn tried to tell himself that Puck was going to be okay. That a wait this long meant they were fixing things. He knew Puck had been hurt. If they’d finished quickly, he would have been more scared that his husband was dead. Taking longer… It had to be good, right?
At the same time, though, a longer surgery just meant there was more to fix. More damage. More… God. How long did an amputation actually take? Cutting off the limb and doing whatever they had to do to stop those open vessels from bleeding… Turn it into a stump… He could get a prosthetic, right? He knew they made prosthetics for that.
“Noah Puckerman-Hudson?”
They both practically stumbled to their feet, half falling over each other in their rush to stand. “Here,” he said. “We’re here.”
He’d been right. Puck had lost his leg and he wasn’t even surprised. There was just hurt. Hurt for this happening at all and for the way this was going to break Puck’s heart.
And it did.
Three days after his surgery, the doctors finally lifted the sedatives that had been keeping him under. He woke up later that night and Finn hadn’t wanted to tell him, but he had to. Puck hadn’t even believed him until he looked down and saw where the bump in his blanket just kind of stopped.
“But I can feel it… I can…”
He had thought telling Puck would be the worst part and he’d been right. The way his face crumpled. The way he cried, trying to reach towards the end of the stump like it was all some kind of illusion.
Thinking about what it would be like was nothing compared to the reality, though. It was so much worse and all he could do was hold him.
“I’m so sorry…”
The End