Moments

Pete

Puck paused and looked at Quinn. "Thanks for coming with me."

Quinn nodded and squeezed Puck's hand. "Ready?"

Puck nodded back and turned to the door. Before he had a chance to knock, the door swung open.

"Puckerman!"

"Hey, Dale." Puck said as the guy hugged him.

"It's good to see you. Not under the circumstances, but..." Dale trailed off as they parted.

"Yeah." Puck agreed, looking at the brunette at Dale's side. "Hey, Gen."

"Hi, Puckerman." Gen replied as she hugged Puck.

"Sorry." Puck apologized when they parted. "This is my girlfriend, Quinn. Babe, this is Dale and his wife, Genevieve. Gen. Dale and I toured together."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Quinn responded. "And thank you for your service."

"Thank you." Dale said. "Puckerman, take your girl inside to see everyone. We'll catch up later. Gen and I are running out for more booze and pizza."

Puck nodded and took Quinn's hand, leading her into the house.

"I thought that was you."

"Mickey." Puck smiled. "Good to see you."

"You, too." Mickey replied as he looked at Quinn. "This must be the missus."

"This is my girlfriend, Quinn." Puck nodded. "This is Mickey."

"Girlfriend?" Mickey repeated. "You said you were gonna man up and marry her."

"We're working on it." Puck promised. "Q, this is Mickey. You'll have to excuse his lack of a filter."

"Nice to meet you." Quinn said with a nod. "Thank you for your service."

"My pleasure." Mickey winked at Quinn. "I hope you're taking care of him now that he's out."

"She always does." Puck replied. "Where's everybody else?"

"The guys are in the kitchen and the girls are in the living room." Mickey answered.

"Maggie?" Puck asked.

"Living room." Mickey said. "She'll be really glad to see you. But come see the guys first."

"Yeah." Puck nodded. "Let me introduce Quinn."

Puck introduced Quinn to the other guys he had also toured with — Otis and Gus. He excused himself and brought Quinn to the living room, where he found the girls.

"Mags, I'm so sorry." Puck said softly as he entered the room and greeted the black-haired woman with a hug.

"Thank you." Maggie whispered as she and Puck parted. "And thank you for coming."

"Of course." Puck nodded, squeezing Maggie's hands. "How are you holding up? Is there anything I can do?"

Maggie shook her head. "It means a lot that you're here. I know you've had so much going on with your surgery and being discharged and..."

"Of course." Puck repeated as he looked at Quinn. "This is my girlfriend, Quinn."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Quinn apologized.

"Thank you." Maggie said as she hugged Quinn, holding onto her.

Quinn rubbed Maggie's back comfortingly.

"I'm sorry." Maggie muttered, pulling away. She wiped her eyes and looked at Puck. "You must be exhausted. Can I get you anything?"

"Maggie, we got it."

"Excuse me."

When Maggie left the room, Puck started greeting the other girls.

"How's she doing?" Puck questioned them.

"She's okay. Mickey's been here for a few days to keep an eye on her."

Puck nodded.

"So Puckerman, is this the famous love of your life / baby mama?"

"Our daughter's with her grandmother, but yes, this is her." Puck smiled slightly. "Quinn, that's Jade."

"Hi." Jade said. "I had to look at your picture all the time when we were overseas."

Quinn furrowed her eyebrow and looked at Puck.

"I kept it on me everyday." Puck clarified, moving on with the rest of the introductions. "This is Jade's girlfriend, Stella. And that's Willa and Marina."

"I'm sorry we're meeting like this, and I'm sorry for your loss." Quinn said softly. "And thank you for your service."

"Thank you."

"Nice to meet you."

"Dale and Gen are back with the food and drinks." Gus announced as he entered the room with Otis. "Mickey went out to help them. Where's Maggie?"

"Here." Maggie replied as she reappeared. She sat down on the couch between Jade and Stella.

Mickey entered the room with Dale and Gen.

"Before we eat and start catching up, I wanna raise a toast." Mickey decided when everyone had a beer. "To one of the bravest airmen I've ever met. A guy who was like a son to me. To Pete."

"To Pete."

-

"Hey." Quinn said softly as she joined Puck in the backyard. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Puck nodded as he took a sip of his beer. "Thanks for coming with me."

"You don't have to thank me." Quinn told Puck. "I'm just sorry it took Pete dying for me to get to meet your friends."

"Yeah." Puck said. "What'd you think of them?"

"I really like them." Quinn noted. "Especially Mickey."

Puck raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

"He seems very caring and loving deep within that tough exterior. It kind of reminds me of someone." Quinn said with a small smile. "They all seem like really good people. Is everyone still active duty?"

"Gus, Otis, and Jade are." Puck answered. "Dale was discharged not too long before I was."

"And Mickey?" Quinn wondered. "How many years does he have?"

"Almost twenty." Puck answered. "He'll be thirty-eight this year so we've been telling him to slow down, but he said the only way he'd go before he turns forty is if he's in a coffin."

"Really?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, he's, like, a tank. Mind and body made of steel." Puck nodded. "He's like a dad to all of us. He always checked in and asked about our girlfriends and he'd ask about Beth."

"I'm glad you had something like that out there with you." Quinn stated. "And people who get it."

"Yeah, thanks." Puck said. "I know we don't talk about me being away that much, and I'm sorry if that hurts you."

"I don't wanna suffocate you, but if you ever wanna talk, you know I'm here." Quinn offered, putting her hand over Puck's as she got up.

"I can't stop thinking about Pete." Puck blurted. "I mean, that could've been me."

"Noah." Quinn said softly.

"I'm grateful that I just had the injury, but I don't get it." Puck continued. "Pete was a few months younger than me. And he was a good guy. Why do I keep surviving and living, and my friends don't?"

Quinn sat back down and put her arms around Puck. "I don't know. But I do know that you're a good guy, and I'm glad you're still here. I didn't know Pete, but from the stories I've heard today, I'm sure he's glad you and the others are okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Quinn nodded.

"To Pete."

"To Pete."