Fic: Smoldering Ruins 5/?
Title: Smoldering Ruins - 5/?
Genre: Drama / Angst / Fluff
Rating: R
Word Count: 7431
Pairing: Puck/Kurt, Rachel/Finn, Quinn/Sam
Summary: The past is a powerful entity, even as the future becomes brighter, better and stronger. Part Three of The Rebuilding Series, Following The System and Disaster.
Puck waited for the police to arrive, pacing around the apartment. He did not touch the shattered glass, though he felt a compulsive need to, because he knew that he could not tamper with any more evidence than he already had. He couldn’t stop staring at the words, written in black marker, threatening him, threatening his family and threatening his very existence. It made him sick to his stomach, nauseous, to see the word ‘soon’ written in that ominous, threatening way. It made him think of the hawk eyes that had once stared at him from across a court room as Trevor was sentenced with rape. It made him think of the threats that were lying behind those emotionless eyes the whole time.
Puck was still terrified of him. He hated to admit to fear, but he would never stop being afraid of that boy. He had always been afraid of the boy who violated him, who stripped him of his dignity and nearly destroyed his life, but at the same time, the fear meant so much more now. He was no longer afraid of a memory alone, but he was actually terrified of the man himself, a man who existed and seemed to want revenge.
Two officers arrived at the apartment before Puck could spend too long contemplating his own terror. They were an odd couple of sorts: one officer was a short, balding man and the other was tall, lean and much younger. He quickly let them inside and both began to assess the situation. Not that there was really anything to assess, Puck mused. It was just a damaged window and a brick but the threat behind it was real and gave him more terror than he could imagine.
“Do you guys have the report that my fiancé and I put in?” Puck asked quickly. He did not want these men to dismiss this as some random teenage vandalism. This was a real threat to the safety of his family and they had to understand the seriousness of it. “This is serious shit. He’s out there again and is threatening my family. Doesn’t he have a parole officer or something? There has got to be a way to stop him.”
“I browsed your file on the way over,” said the younger officer, dismissing Puck’s worries but at the same time acknowledging them. It was absolutely infuriating and made him want to cut someone. “I understand your fears and the dire nature of this situation. Who was home when the brick went through your window?”
Puck tried to speak slowly, feeling his heart rate rising and breath quickening. “My fiancé was home and our baby girl, our daughter. She’s only five and this whole thing is really scary to her, so I sent him down the street to get her out of the way of all of this mess.”
“Can you call them to come back?” the man said seriously, quickly leafing through the file in his hands. “I want to get a full investigation of this situation and we need all witnesses present to file a complete report.”
“Of course,” he said, going to grab his cell phone. He picked it up and hit Kurt’s speed dial.
Kurt pushed Beth on the park swings and was reminded of when he had first met her. She was two years old and her mother had just died in a tragic accident. He had felt so much for her without even needing time to adjust. She had lost her mother young like he had and she needed so much in order to live the full and healthy life she deserved. She was caught in the middle of conflict and she needed her father. Kurt, by default, had become another parent to her. He would never forget the way that she asked Puck for him, wanting him around as much as her flesh and blood father. Kurt frowned as he thought about fatherhood. He had the greatest father possible and now he understood what his dad felt time and time again. He understood the ferocious urge of a father to protect his child. He would do anything to protect Beth from anything that would threaten her. She was his baby girl.
He was equally worried about her father, honestly. He knew that Puck had seen therapists and done all the right things but at the same time knew that memories of the rape would always be with him. He was also terrified of Puck one day coming face to face with that man again. It had been years but he would never forget the way his face looked after his courtroom battle. It was just seeing him that had done that.
God, Kurt knew that both he and Puck would do anything to defend Beth, but still he was terrified. What could they do now that a man was vaguely threatening her? What could they do to take matters back into their own hands? Kurt was never one for sitting around and waiting for what could be done. He was one to get things done.
Luckily, as he stood there pushing Beth, his cell phone rang. “Hey babe,” he said, recognizing that it was Puck instantly by the ringtone.
“Hey, can you guys come back home? The police are asking for you.”
Kurt nodded quickly. “Sure. We’re on our way.” He hung up and reached over to stop the five year old’s swing. “Hey Bethie,” he said, teasing her lightly. “We’re gonna go home now and help daddy out, is that okay? I’ll take you back here tonight and we can play a little bit more.”
“Sure Papa, let’s go,” she said jumping off of the swing. She then walked up to Kurt and looked at him with her big, beautiful eyes. “Is daddy okay?”
He nodded.
“There are going to be police at the house,” he explained to Beth as they walked home, his daughter’s hand nestled in his. “Don’t be scared of them though, because they’re just trying to figure out who broke our window.”
“’Kay!”
They returned home immediately to find Puck and the two policemen there. “You are Mr. Puckerman’s fiancé?” asked the older of the two.
Kurt nodded slowly as Beth took off her shoes and ran over to the couch. “That’s me,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “I’m Kurt Hummel.”
“Kurt, can you tell me what happened?”
Kurt sighed a little bit at the tense nature of the question but explained to the best of his abilities. “We were in the kitchen eating breakfast,” he said seriously. “We heard a noise and Noah ran into the front room to see what happened. He told me to stay back with Beth. When I looked inside the living room, I saw that someone had thrown a brick through our front window. Noah ran outside to see if he could find who had thrown it, but he came back with nothing.”
Beth piped up quietly. “Are you gonna find who broke it?” she asked softly.
The younger of the two policemen, who was watching his partner question Kurt, turned to Beth and smiled. “Why yes we are,” he said seriously. “We’re not going to let anyone mess with a family like yours, little miss. What is your name, sweetie?”
“Beth C. Puckerman,” she said, giving her whole name with the bright sing-songy voice of a questioned child. “Whoever did this has to fix it.”
The man grinned. “Don’t worry Beth, we’ll see it fixed.”
After the other man was finished questioning Kurt, it was Kurt’s turn to ask the questions. “Is there a way that we can get this guy?” he asked. “I mean he has to have a probation officer or something, doesn’t he? He can’t just get out of prison for rape and then walk around free to threaten whoever he wants.”
“We’re on it now, Mr. Hummel.”
Kurt watched, uncomfortable, sitting down on the couch with Beth as they began to question Puck about things that he knew his fiancé would rather not deal with. “Kurt, take Beth to her room to go play a game or something,” Puck ordered, the moment that the word rape started being flung around with abandon. Kurt nodded and took Beth to the room as told.
Genre: Drama / Angst / Fluff
Rating: R
Word Count: 7431
Pairing: Puck/Kurt, Rachel/Finn, Quinn/Sam
Summary: The past is a powerful entity, even as the future becomes brighter, better and stronger. Part Three of The Rebuilding Series, Following The System and Disaster.
Puck waited for the police to arrive, pacing around the apartment. He did not touch the shattered glass, though he felt a compulsive need to, because he knew that he could not tamper with any more evidence than he already had. He couldn’t stop staring at the words, written in black marker, threatening him, threatening his family and threatening his very existence. It made him sick to his stomach, nauseous, to see the word ‘soon’ written in that ominous, threatening way. It made him think of the hawk eyes that had once stared at him from across a court room as Trevor was sentenced with rape. It made him think of the threats that were lying behind those emotionless eyes the whole time.
Puck was still terrified of him. He hated to admit to fear, but he would never stop being afraid of that boy. He had always been afraid of the boy who violated him, who stripped him of his dignity and nearly destroyed his life, but at the same time, the fear meant so much more now. He was no longer afraid of a memory alone, but he was actually terrified of the man himself, a man who existed and seemed to want revenge.
Two officers arrived at the apartment before Puck could spend too long contemplating his own terror. They were an odd couple of sorts: one officer was a short, balding man and the other was tall, lean and much younger. He quickly let them inside and both began to assess the situation. Not that there was really anything to assess, Puck mused. It was just a damaged window and a brick but the threat behind it was real and gave him more terror than he could imagine.
“Do you guys have the report that my fiancé and I put in?” Puck asked quickly. He did not want these men to dismiss this as some random teenage vandalism. This was a real threat to the safety of his family and they had to understand the seriousness of it. “This is serious shit. He’s out there again and is threatening my family. Doesn’t he have a parole officer or something? There has got to be a way to stop him.”
“I browsed your file on the way over,” said the younger officer, dismissing Puck’s worries but at the same time acknowledging them. It was absolutely infuriating and made him want to cut someone. “I understand your fears and the dire nature of this situation. Who was home when the brick went through your window?”
Puck tried to speak slowly, feeling his heart rate rising and breath quickening. “My fiancé was home and our baby girl, our daughter. She’s only five and this whole thing is really scary to her, so I sent him down the street to get her out of the way of all of this mess.”
“Can you call them to come back?” the man said seriously, quickly leafing through the file in his hands. “I want to get a full investigation of this situation and we need all witnesses present to file a complete report.”
“Of course,” he said, going to grab his cell phone. He picked it up and hit Kurt’s speed dial.
Kurt pushed Beth on the park swings and was reminded of when he had first met her. She was two years old and her mother had just died in a tragic accident. He had felt so much for her without even needing time to adjust. She had lost her mother young like he had and she needed so much in order to live the full and healthy life she deserved. She was caught in the middle of conflict and she needed her father. Kurt, by default, had become another parent to her. He would never forget the way that she asked Puck for him, wanting him around as much as her flesh and blood father. Kurt frowned as he thought about fatherhood. He had the greatest father possible and now he understood what his dad felt time and time again. He understood the ferocious urge of a father to protect his child. He would do anything to protect Beth from anything that would threaten her. She was his baby girl.
He was equally worried about her father, honestly. He knew that Puck had seen therapists and done all the right things but at the same time knew that memories of the rape would always be with him. He was also terrified of Puck one day coming face to face with that man again. It had been years but he would never forget the way his face looked after his courtroom battle. It was just seeing him that had done that.
God, Kurt knew that both he and Puck would do anything to defend Beth, but still he was terrified. What could they do now that a man was vaguely threatening her? What could they do to take matters back into their own hands? Kurt was never one for sitting around and waiting for what could be done. He was one to get things done.
Luckily, as he stood there pushing Beth, his cell phone rang. “Hey babe,” he said, recognizing that it was Puck instantly by the ringtone.
“Hey, can you guys come back home? The police are asking for you.”
Kurt nodded quickly. “Sure. We’re on our way.” He hung up and reached over to stop the five year old’s swing. “Hey Bethie,” he said, teasing her lightly. “We’re gonna go home now and help daddy out, is that okay? I’ll take you back here tonight and we can play a little bit more.”
“Sure Papa, let’s go,” she said jumping off of the swing. She then walked up to Kurt and looked at him with her big, beautiful eyes. “Is daddy okay?”
He nodded.
“There are going to be police at the house,” he explained to Beth as they walked home, his daughter’s hand nestled in his. “Don’t be scared of them though, because they’re just trying to figure out who broke our window.”
“’Kay!”
They returned home immediately to find Puck and the two policemen there. “You are Mr. Puckerman’s fiancé?” asked the older of the two.
Kurt nodded slowly as Beth took off her shoes and ran over to the couch. “That’s me,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “I’m Kurt Hummel.”
“Kurt, can you tell me what happened?”
Kurt sighed a little bit at the tense nature of the question but explained to the best of his abilities. “We were in the kitchen eating breakfast,” he said seriously. “We heard a noise and Noah ran into the front room to see what happened. He told me to stay back with Beth. When I looked inside the living room, I saw that someone had thrown a brick through our front window. Noah ran outside to see if he could find who had thrown it, but he came back with nothing.”
Beth piped up quietly. “Are you gonna find who broke it?” she asked softly.
The younger of the two policemen, who was watching his partner question Kurt, turned to Beth and smiled. “Why yes we are,” he said seriously. “We’re not going to let anyone mess with a family like yours, little miss. What is your name, sweetie?”
“Beth C. Puckerman,” she said, giving her whole name with the bright sing-songy voice of a questioned child. “Whoever did this has to fix it.”
The man grinned. “Don’t worry Beth, we’ll see it fixed.”
After the other man was finished questioning Kurt, it was Kurt’s turn to ask the questions. “Is there a way that we can get this guy?” he asked. “I mean he has to have a probation officer or something, doesn’t he? He can’t just get out of prison for rape and then walk around free to threaten whoever he wants.”
“We’re on it now, Mr. Hummel.”
Kurt watched, uncomfortable, sitting down on the couch with Beth as they began to question Puck about things that he knew his fiancé would rather not deal with. “Kurt, take Beth to her room to go play a game or something,” Puck ordered, the moment that the word rape started being flung around with abandon. Kurt nodded and took Beth to the room as told.