fic: Moving On (2/20)
When Finn finally had a chance to reply to Sam’s text message, it was well past midnight and he knew Sam wouldn’t see it until the morning. He felt bad, but he couldn’t just skip out on rehearsing with the show choir - they had their first competition in a few weeks and Finn had to be at every practice or he’d be kicked out of the band and then he’d really have no chance of making it in the following year.
Sam woke the next morning with minimal sickness (he only threw up once - the morning sickness would be gone completely in a week or two) and smiled when he saw the text message on his phone. Finn wasn’t mad at him, and Sam was very relieved with this fact.
To: Sam
i had band practice, sorry i didn’t reply. i’m done with class and band stuff at 7 tonight. skype after?
Sam quickly typed out a reply and swore that he’d be in front of the computer waiting at seven o’clock. He missed Finn, and Annika missed him even more, and it would be nice to see Finn. It had been almost a month that he’d been away, now. October was only a few weeks away, which also meant Annika’s birthday party that Sam and Carole were planning. Sam made a mental note to tell Finn which day it was so he could come home (Burt was more than happy to supply gas money for the occasion).
They sat around the living room watching one of Annika’s many Barbie movies from Carole when Sam glanced at the clock and saw that it was already a quarter to seven. “Hey Annie,” Sam said, getting her attention.
She turned to him and cocked her head to the side, wondering what he wanted. “You wanna go talk to Papa?” Sam asked, smiling.
Annika squealed something that sounded a lot like ‘pa’ and Sam laughed as he lifted her up into his arms. He shut off the TV and walked over to the computer. Annika sat on his lap and watched with wide eyes as Sam signed in to Skype and watched the clock in the corner of the screen impatiently. “Pa?” Annika asked, looking up at Sam innocently.
She had her blanket on her lap and she obviously didn’t know what was going on. It was the first Skype date she’d actually be awake for. The computer made a beeping noise signaling that Finn was online, and their video chat was open almost instantly. “Hey,” Sam smiled.
“Hey guys,” Finn grinned in response.
He waved at Annika and she squealed in his lap. “Wave at Papa?” Sam asked, coaxing her arm up and shaking it a little.
Sam let go and Annika swung her arm haphazardly through the air, almost hitting Sam in the face. He sat up straight after that, avoiding her tiny little fists. Finn laughed and commented, “God, she’s growing up too fast.”
Nodding, Sam said, “Tell me about it. She turns one in a few weeks, remember?”
“Of course,” Finn replied automatically.
The truth was, while he had Annika’s birthday memorized and would never, ever forget it, he’d kind of forgotten how close it was, because the days just all kind of blurred together for Finn. He was so busy that most of the time he was lucky if he remembered what day of the week it was. He’d gotten almost robotic when it came to his schedule; it was kind of creepy. “Her birthday party is going to be the Saturday after her birthday because it’s the only weekend that your mom doesn’t have to work,” Sam told him. “Burt said he’d have Carole put some gas money in your bank account so you can drive home for the weekend.”
Finn’s smile faded as he scrambled around his desk for his daily planner. He was actually really busy with all of his classes and being in choir and the band for the show choir. “Wait, what day is her party?” Finn asked, flipping ahead and finding her birthday on the calendar.
“Well, her birthday is on a Friday but we’re having her party the day after, on the 13th,” Sam explained.
Annika waved at Finn again, her big smile revealing the two little teeth she’d grown in so far on the bottom of her mouth. Finn muttered something that sounded a lot like a curse word, but luckily Annika hadn’t heard. She had taken to mimicking everyone around her, kind of like a parrot. “What’s wrong?” Sam asked, frowning at Finn through the webcam.
Finn’s eyes met Sam’s and Sam’s heart practically stopped. “That’s the weekend of our first glee club competition. I can’t miss it or I get kicked out and I might lose my scholarship,” Finn frowned.
“Like, at all? What if we switched it to Sunday?” Sam asked desperately.
“We’re gone all weekend,” Finn frowned. “We’re supposed to get back here around 7 on Sunday night…and it’s all the way out in Indiana.”
Sam held Annika a little tighter in hopes of getting some comfort in the fact that Finn wasn’t going to be home for his daughter’s first birthday. It was upsetting, but when he adjusted Annika on his lap, she elbowed him in the stomach and for a moment he wondered if he was going to be sick. Then it dawned on him; if Finn wasn’t home, Sam didn’t have to tell Finn about the baby right away. He was terrified of Finn’s reaction to that - they always seemed to have the worst luck when it came to actually preventing these things, even though they did what they were supposed to. Sam’s frown stayed in place but he didn’t feel as bad. He could keep the pregnancy to himself a little longer and get used to the idea before ever having to tell Finn.
“I uh…I can see if I can get out of it though,” Finn said hopefully, kind of confused as to why Sam wasn’t freaking out at him.
“No, you know what? You shouldn’t miss,” Sam shook his head. “If you get kicked out, that’ll just screw everything up, right?” Finn nodded. “Just…we’ll celebrate her birthday, just the three of us, when you come home next. It’ll be fine.”
Sam looked down at Annika and tickled her, making her squirm and giggle in his lap. It cheered Sam up, seeing Annika so happy. Finn laughed as well and Sam’s attention was brought back to the screen. “I’m really sorry, Sam,” Finn frowned.
“It’s okay,” Sam shrugged. “Like I said, we’ll do something just the three of us. It’s no big deal.”
“Sam, it’s her first birthday,” Finn pointed out. “Of course it’s a big deal.”
“We’ll Skype or something,” Sam suggested. He was getting annoyed with how frustrated Finn seemed to be getting, and he just wanted to move on to other things. “And then we’ll make up for it when you’re home.”
Finn didn’t understand why Sam seemed to be so short tempered. He watched as Annika cuddled up under her blanket and up against Sam’s chest. He wished he could be there with Sam and Annika, to snuggle with both of them on the sofa and just be there for them, but instead he was far away, on a campus he was still getting to know, with a roommate that he wasn’t quite sure he liked yet. “She looks tired,” he commented.
“She had a long day,” Sam replied, looking down at her and smoothing her hair out of her eyes. “She didn’t nap for very long.”
Even though they hadn’t been talking for long, Finn could tell that anything they said to each other would just end up in a fight. He could tell that Sam wasn’t happy that he couldn’t be there for her birthday, but there was something else to his attitude that was kind of off-putting for Finn. He couldn’t place what it was, but he knew that it was weird. “You should put her down for bed then,” Finn suggested.
Sam almost wanted to get mad at Finn for telling him what to do, but he really wasn’t. Sam had been on the edge of freaking out all day because he was so tired, and the whole mess with Finn not being able to come home for Annika’s birthday party hadn’t exactly helped any, even if something good did come of it. “Yeah, probably,” he admitted, biting back a remark.
Sam looked down at Annika and moved her so she was facing Finn on the screen. “Say goodbye to Papa?” he asked.
Annika looked up at Finn with her big blue eyes and waved. She mumbled something, but Finn couldn’t make out what she said, so he leaned toward the screen and asked, “What did you say, sweetie?”
Annika was apparently very frustrated that Finn hadn’t heard her, because she sat up a little straighter and said, “Bye Papa!”
Finn’s face instantly broke out into a grin. “She called me ‘papa’,” he said, almost laughing with joy. “Sam, did you hear that? She called me ‘papa’!”
Sam couldn’t help but smile at that. He nodded and said, “Yeah, I heard it. She’s been saying ‘bye’ for a while, but ‘papa’ is a new one.”
“Goodnight, Annie, I love you,” Finn beamed, waving at her.
Annika waved her arm and Sam gave Finn a small smile and a wave as goodbye as well. “I’ll talk to you guys soon,” Finn said to Sam. “Goodnight.”
“’Night,” Sam replied, letting Finn wave at Annika one more time before he ended the video call and turned off the computer.
“Well, what do you think Annie? Are you ready for bed?” Sam asked, looking down at her.
She tugged her blanket up closer to her face and started rubbing at her eyes. She didn’t even need to speak; Sam knew the minute she started rubbing her eyes that she was ready for bed. “C’mon, baby girl, let’s get your pajamas on and get you a bottle,” Sam said, standing up from the computer chair and carrying her back to their room.
Sam changed her into pajamas as her bottle warmed up in the kitchen. Burt and Carole were out in the living room and seemed surprised that Sam and Annika were done talking to Finn already. When Sam went out to get her bottle with Annika on his hip, Burt spoke up. “That wasn’t a very long chat.”
Sam sighed and turned towards the living room. He shrugged and readjusted Annika on his hip as he said, “Finn can’t come home for her birthday. Since he’s in the band he has to go with to all their competitions or he might not get in next year. He can’t miss it, I guess.”
Without even waiting for a reply, Sam turned and went into his and Annika’s room. He turned on her princess night light and shut off the main light before sitting down in the rocking chair and cradling her in his lap. “Goodnight, sweetheart,” he said softly, kissing her on the forehead.
Her big blue eyes met his and she muttered, “Love dada.”
Sam stared at Annika in awe for a moment before realizing what she meant. He smiled and said, “I love you too, Annie.”
Her innocent smile broke into a huge yawn and Sam took the lid off her bottle. She would be asleep in no time, he knew, and it was a good thing because he was actually pretty tired himself.
Even though the morning sickness was slowly going away, Sam still didn’t feel the best. He was out with Puck cleaning a pool for some old lady that didn’t actually understand the whole operation, so Puck was helping Sam instead of inside doing…other things. “You okay, dude?” Puck asked.
Sam was moving slower than usual and it was all a little suspicious, even for Puck. “I’m fine,” Sam shook his head, trying to shake off the strange queasy feeling.
“Seriously, Sam, what’s going on with you? You’ve been sick for like…” as soon as Puck started thinking about it he froze and stared at Sam.
Sam’s eyes widened as Puck fixed him with an expression that clearly said he knew what was going on. “You’re wrong,” Sam replied instantly. “I’m not.”
Puck raised an eyebrow but Sam never hedged. He wasn’t ready for people to know - he wasn’t sure even he was ready to accept this second baby. He could barely take care of Annika on his own, how he’d manage to take care of Annika and another baby was beyond him. Especially now that Finn was out in Athens, Sam thought there would be no chance of him actually being a good father to two babies on his own. Puck didn’t believe Sam, but he didn’t push things any more. “I’m just tired, is all,” Sam shrugged, going back to measuring chemicals for the pool. “I mean, I’m getting over whatever it was I was sick with, and on top of that, I’m helping Carole plan Annika’s birthday party.”
“Oh yeah, that’s coming up isn’t it?” Puck asked.
“October 13th. You should come,” Sam suggested. “I’m sure Annie would love to see you again.”
“Like she remembers me,” Puck shook his head, avoiding Sam’s eyes as he helped measure things out.
With a shrug, Sam said, “You’d be surprised. Plus, she needs her Uncle Puck to teach her how to be badass, you know?”
Puck snickered and looked up at Sam. “Uncle Puck?” he asked.
Sam kind of felt stupid for a minute for saying that, but he just waved it off and said, “Well, you’re like, my best friend, and it’s not like you’re never around. She knows who you are and she likes you. So why not?”
“Because she’s got Uncle Kurt,” Puck said, rolling his eyes.
“Kurt’s always buying her clothes and dolls and tiaras and stuff,” Sam replied. “Like, that’s cool and all, but it’s not the same. Besides, you’re way more of a badass as me. You’ve gotta have something up your sleeve.”
Puck thought about it for a minute. “Yeah, okay, I’ll go,” he said finally. “I’m not going to be the only like, kid there too, am I?”
Sam cringed a little at being called a ‘kid’ and said, “Well we’re not kids anymore,” he pointed out, and Puck just rolled his eyes in response. “But, no, I was going to invite Santana and Brittany, too. They’re still around Lima and Annie likes them too.”
“Wait…Finn won’t be there?” Puck asked, stopping everything at this realization.
Sam stared down at the ground and tried not to get too upset. “He’s got a show choir competition that weekend,” he explained.
“He can’t join until he’s a sophomore,” Puck argued. “He bitched about it all afternoon when he found out, remember?”
Puck had been around for that particular Skype date Sam and Finn had planned, and the entire conversation consisted of Finn freaking out. “He joined the band,” Sam shrugged. “He’s the drummer and if he’s not there, he might not even make it into the show choir next year.”
“Shitty, man,” Puck shook his head.
Puck understood why Finn was gone - he was being a man and doing what he had to in order to provide for his family - the family he’d actually been allowed to have. Puck was still a little bitter about the whole thing with Quinn and Beth, but it had been so long that he’d kind of just learned how to deal with the frustration. “We’ll be there for you, though,” Puck added, referring to himself and Brittany and Santana - he’d make them go with him if it was the last thing he did, because Sam needed it. “She’ll have an awesome birthday even if Finn can’t be there. Promise.”
Sam gave Puck a small smile and said, “Thanks.”
“What are best friends for, right?” Puck asked.
When Sam didn’t reply, Puck took that as a sign to drop the conversation and they went back to cleaning the pool. Once they were finished, Sam gave Puck the details of when Annika’s birthday party would be and he swore he’d be there with Brittany and Santana.
Early morning on Annika’s birthday, Sam switched on the computer. He’d agreed on a time with Finn so he could say happy birthday before class, and it was actually really sweet of him. Those were kinds of things Finn did that made Sam wish he didn’t have this big secret that he was hiding from Finn. Annika was still pretty tired; she was curled up with her blanket, pacifier waggling just barely as she sucked at it. “Aww, someone looks sleepy,” Finn commented, whispering as his roommate snored in the background.
Annika waved sleepily from behind her blanket and Sam stifled a yawn. In the summertime he and Annika had gotten in the routine of sleeping in a little bit. Their schedules allowed for it, so this getting up at the crack of dawn thing kind of sucked. They’d both be taking naps that afternoon if Sam had anything to say about it.
Finn’s eyes locked with Sam’s and he frowned, “I wish I could be there this weekend.”
Sam shrugged and said, “You need to do this. It’s okay.”
Finn stared sadly at his computer screen, at how sad Sam still seemed even though he’d insisted it would be okay. “Take lots of pictures for me at her party tomorrow, okay?” he asked.
“Sure,” Sam nodded.
It was the least he could do, after all. Sam was sure Carole wouldn’t set down her camera for more than five minutes at a time anyway, though. “Happy birthday sweetie,” Finn waved at Annika through the screen.
Annika smiled at him and her pacifier fell out of her mouth. She really had grown so much since she was born, and it hurt Finn that he couldn’t be there with her - he hadn’t actually held her since the day he moved out - almost two months, now. Everything kind of sucked, and sometimes it was hard to remember just why he was suffering through it all. “Say thank you?” Sam asked, looking down at Annika.
Since she’d started speaking, he was trying to teach her new words to use - simple manners and stuff mostly. “Tank,” she said shyly.
“Good girl,” Sam smiled.
Finn was grinning as well; beyond proud that Annika was learning new words. His roommate Micah stirred in the bed behind him and Finn’s eyes widened. Micah mumbled something incoherent and Finn looked embarrassed. “I should go,” he said to Sam.
Annika watched with big eyes as Finn spoke, “Happy birthday, Annie.”
She clapped lazily and Finn smiled before turning his attention to Sam. “I love you,” he said seriously.
Sam just smiled and waved before switching off the computer. Finn shut down Skype and closed his laptop. He started shuffling his books into his backpack as Micah asked groggily, “Who’re you talkin’ to?”
“Just…someone,” Finn replied, embarrassed.
Micah didn’t know anything about Finn or his family back home, and Finn wanted to keep it that way. “Your girlfriend?” he asked with a laugh, rolling over in bed.
“Erm…yeah,” Finn shrugged.
He left their dorm room without another word, hoping that Micah would never figure out how untrue that really was.
Saturday came quickly for Sam, and he spent most of the morning keeping Annika out of Carole’s way as she set up for the party. Sam also felt a strange sense of guilt when she brought out a few too many gifts to get the gift pile started in the living room. Several were from Kurt, but still - there were a lot from Burt and Carole.
The doorbell rang at one o’clock sharp; exactly when they party was supposed to start, and Sam wasn’t surprised in the least to find his mom, Stevie, and Stacy standing at the door. He welcomed them in and said hello to his mom before she scooped Annika up in her arms to give her a big hug. Stevie and Stacy put the presents by the rest before running over to play with her. They’d actually taken to her quite well, although Sam wasn’t sure if they really understood that she was their niece.
Puck, Santana, and Brittany showed up a few minutes later, gifts in hand as well. Brittany’s gift for Annika was particularly large, and Sam wondered just what she’d bought. Puck and Santana just rolled their eyes as Sam looked at it, confused. “Don’t worry, Sammy, I didn’t let her get anything she wasn’t supposed to,” Santana laughed.
They walked into the living room where Stacy sat playing dolls with Annika. When Annika spotted more people in the living room with her, she squealed in excitement and everyone laughed at how adorable she was.
It didn’t take long for Annika to stand up and wander over to the presents. It wasn’t until that she’d completely ripped open her gift from Stevie and Stacy (with Stevie’s help, though he’d never admit it) that people realized what she was doing. “Annie! No!” Mrs. Evans stepped forward, pulling her away.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Carole laughed as she walked in. “Let her have her fun, Jill.”
Sam’s mom looked down at Annika, who was looking up at her, confused. She set Annika back down and she kept ripping at the paper, slowly opening her presents. Sam sat down behind her, helping Annika slowly open the presents. She got some new toys and dresses from Sam’s mom and siblings, and next they started opening the gifts from Burt, Carole, and Kurt.
They’d spoiled her with even more toys (as if she didn’t have enough already!) and Kurt had given her more outfits (pink of course) that Sam was sure she’d end up getting food stains on before Kurt even had a chance to explain how to wash these things. Sam kept asking Annika to thank people, and by the time she finished opening the gifts from family, she was chanting “Tank! Tank!” over and over again.
“How about you guys open the rest,” Carole suggested, handing off her camera to Burt. “I’ll get the cake and ice cream ready.”
“Oh, I’ll help,” Jill volunteered instantly.
She stood up and walked into the kitchen to help Carole while Puck, Santana, and Brittany grabbed their gifts and sat around Sam and Annika. “Me first!” Brittany chanted, holding her giant gift out to Annika.
It was a gift bag instead of a present, and at first Annika just looked at it like she didn’t know how to open it. Then Brittany tipped it over and Annika saw all the tissue paper. She giggled and started tugging at the pieces of brightly colored tissue paper to find two stuffed animals inside. Sam helped Annika pull them out of the bag before Brittany smiled. “See? I got you two dolphins Annika,” she explained sweetly, holding them up. “This big one here is Finn,” she explained.
“Papa,” Sam clarified.
“And this one here,” she held up a second, smaller dolphin, “This one is your Daddy.”
Sam was a little confused at why they had names, and Brittany must have noticed because she said, “They’ll always remind you of your daddies, Annika, because boys are sharks and dolphins are just gay sharks and your dads are gay.”
Sam was confident that Annika hadn’t understood a word of that, but the sentiment was sweet anyway. “Thanks, Brittany,” Sam smiled, causing Annika to chime in with another high-pitched squeal of “tank!” immediately after.
Santana held out her gift next - Annika took her time opening it, the novelty of ripping paper was finally wearing off. Inside the box was a dress, but it wasn’t like the rest she’d gotten - it was paisley print with brown, dark blue, and orange instead of pink. It was a relief to Sam, having something other than pink to dress her in.
Sam thanked Santana and Puck held out his gift next. Annika was pretty much tired of opening presents at that point, but Sam managed to get her to rip at least half of the wrapping paper off. Once it was off, Sam laughed and held up Puck’s gift. “A nerf gun? Really?”
“What!?” Puck asked defensively. “Uncle Puck has to teach her how to defend herself early.”
“Uncle Puck?” Santana mocked.
“Ooh! Can I be Auntie Brittany!?” Brittany asked eagerly.
Sam laughed. Santana and Brittany babysat for him quite a bit - it’s not like they’d never be around. “Yeah, totally,” Sam nodded.
“And then you can be Auntie Tana,” Brittany said, turning to Santana happily.
Santana just smiled sweetly at Brittany. The two of them really were perfect together, Sam couldn’t help but notice, even if they did insist that they were nothing more than friends to Santana’s family. Sam understood those pressures, though, and he was just happy for Santana that she found someone like Brittany - someone that would be patient with her.
“Time for cake!” Carole called from the dining room.
Sam’s mom and siblings were at the table with Carole and Burt. Sam lifted Annika up and set her in her high chair, Puck, Santana, and Brittany following him over. He set her down and put a bib on her as Carole put a cupcake in front of her with a candle in it. Sam held Annika’s hands as they sang, keeping her from burning her fingers. Once they were all done, Sam blew the candle out for her and she looked at him with wide eyes, not expecting it. He laughed and took the candle out before moving away from the chair.
Annika seemed confused; she didn’t usually get big food like everyone else, so she didn’t know if she was supposed to touch it or not. Carole gave everyone pieces of a larger cake and Brittany eagerly took hers before turning to Annika. “Annie,” Brittany said sweetly, getting her attention. “See, Annie? This is how you eat it.”
Brittany reached down to her slice of cake and picked up the corner of it with her fingers. Nobody else seemed to be paying attention to them; Sam would glance over at her, but Annika hadn’t touched her cupcake so there was no mess to clean up yet. Annika looked at Brittany with wide eyes as Brittany ate the cake she’d picked up with her hands. Slowly Annika reached down for the cupcake and filled her whole fist with the side of the cupcake. It squished beneath her fingers and she giggled a little, flailing her hand as she did so.
Crumbs flew and some frosting landed in her hair, but Brittany just giggled and said, “Yeah! Good job, Annie!”
Annika didn’t copy Brittany entirely, though, because instead of putting the cake in her mouth, she flung it and it hit Brittany right on the cheek. Brittany looked shocked for a split second before she started to laugh and smeared some frosting down Annika’s cheek. Annika’s smile faded and she looked like she was going to cry for a minute, but then Brittany smiled and said, “Now you look like me!”
Annika bit back her tears then, and quickly flung another piece of her cupcake at Brittany. This time it landed in Britt’s hair and she picked it out and ate it. “Britt, what are you doing?” Santana asked, sitting down next to her with her own slice of cake.
“We’re playing,” Brittany smiled.
“You’re making a mess,” Puck pointed out, sitting near them. “Sam’s going to kill you.”
Puck pulled out a napkin and reached over to get the cake out of Annika’s hair. She swatted at him with frosting covered hands but otherwise didn’t protest. “Why will I kill Brittany?” Sam asked, sitting down next to Puck.
Brittany frowned and said, “We made a mess.”
Sam glanced between Brittany and Annika and just shrugged. “Annie makes messes all the time. I just need to give her a bath tonight is all,” he said. “No big deal.”
Brittany smiled and turned back to Annika, slowly teaching her how to put the cake in her mouth instead of flinging it around the room. Santana watched almost adoringly and Puck would just laugh when Annika would fling the food at Brittany. Occasionally he’d reach over to clean Annika up, but mostly he just let the girls have their fun. Sam sat and talked to his brother and sister and everyone seemed to be pretty happy, even Sam, who really actually wished that Finn could be there.
The party eventually came to an end and Sam spent almost an hour cleaning frosting off of Annika; she managed to get it in her ears, up her nose a little, all the way down her dress, and even between her toes. Eventually Puck was the only one still around besides Burt and Carole, who were cleaning up the wrapping paper and putting away some of her new gifts.
“Come on, let’s go play,” Puck said, picking up Annika as Sam washed his hands in the kitchen.
Annika smiled and let Puck carry her to the living room. He set her down and she started crawling around, too lazy to get up and balance enough to walk. Sam joined them just as Puck had finished sitting up several of Annika’s little dolls she’d gotten all in a row on the coffee table. “What are you doing?” Sam asked, picking Annika up just as she tried to pull over the magazine rack.
He carried her over to where Puck was sitting and Sam sat down next to him, Annika still perched on his lap. “I’m teaching my girl a thing or two,” Puck said as he opened the box for the Nerf gun.
“The box says ages three and up,” Sam pointed out.
“And I’m going to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself,” Puck finished for him.
He opened the Nerf gun in no time and handed it to Annika. She stared at it curiously for a minute before Puck set her between himself and Sam and taught her how to pull the trigger. Annika stared wide eyed as a Nerf dart shot out and knocked over one of her dolls on the table. “You try,” Puck told her, helping her hold the gun up.
Both of her hands pulled at the trigger as he held the rest of the gun, aiming it right for another doll. When she finally pulled it back far enough to shoot a dart out, she squealed and laughed, letting go of the gun to clap as another doll fell over. Puck laughed and helped her shoot a few more before she grew tired of it and wandered over to the table to play with the dolls. It wasn’t until then that he spotted Sam staring at Annika absentmindedly, his hand rubbing his stomach. “You okay, dude?” Puck asked.
Sam jumped and his hands flew to his sides. He hadn’t realized anyone had been watching, nor had he really realized what he’d started to do. Puck watched him strangely as Sam shifted on the floor and avoided eye contact, his face bright red. “You lied to me before, didn’t you?” Puck asked seriously.
There wasn’t a hint of malice or anger in his voice - just concern, which was a weird emotion to hear in Puck’s voice. “I…I…” Sam stammered. He wasn’t ready to tell anyone - Finn didn’t know, so nobody else should. The words came out before he could stop himself, though, and defeated, Sam admitted, “Yeah.”
“Does Finn know?” Puck asked.
Sam didn’t speak. He felt bad now that Puck asked. Granted, Sam was scared as hell to say anything to Finn, especially with him being so far away, but it just seemed so much worse when he had to admit it out loud. Puck found his answer in Sam’s silence and asked, “Why haven’t you told him yet?”
“He can’t quit college, and I know he’ll want to,” Sam replied. “He felt guilty enough leaving the two of us behind - knowing that there’s another on the way is going to be the last straw, I just know it.”
“You’re totally going to think I’m an ass right now, but you have to tell him. He missed out on stuff with Annika, and trust me, that hurts enough the first time around. I know you’re scared, but he doesn’t deserve to miss out on all of that a second time,” Puck told Sam seriously. “Either you tell him or I do.”
Sam wanted to be angry at Puck - hell, he was fuming inside - but he kind of saw Puck’s point. Sam sighed and asked, “But what if he wants to quit and move back? Then we’re really screwed because he’ll lose his scholarship and won’t finish college and we’ll never make enough to take care of two kids.”
“He just has to stay smart,” Puck shrugged. “Besides, there’s no way in hell he’s moving back without getting a ton of crap from me first.”
“Burt would freak out,” Sam commented.
“Yeah, exactly,” Puck pointed out. “He’s not going to move back. But just because he won’t move back doesn’t mean he shouldn’t know.”
Sam was silent for a minute before he nodded, “Yeah, okay…I’ll tell him.”
“Soon,” Puck added quickly.
“Soon,” Sam agreed. “I’ll tell him really soon.”
“You’re going have to get a new job, too,” Puck told him. “You’re an awesome work partner dude, but I’m not going to let you keep doing work like this. It’s too risky, especially since Annie was a preemie. You need a job that won’t hurt you.”
“Puck, I’m fine,” Sam insisted.
“I’ll let you do a few more pools just until you find something else, but the business will be done for the summer in a few weeks anyway,” Puck said. “Just…promise me you’ll start looking.”
“Fine,” Sam sighed.
He was kind of frustrated that Puck was being so protective, but at the same time it was nice. Sam hadn’t realized how much time he spent with Finn until Finn was no longer there, and then it was like all he had left was Annika. Having Puck around made Sam feel like had at least some semblance of childhood left, and sometimes Sam needed that reminder when he was taking care of Annika.