A Collection of Glee Oneshots 4

Shitty Apartment (Quinneth/Puck)

"Mommy!" Beth yelled as she ran into the living room. "The sink!"

"I know, B." Quinn said. "That's why I have the pot underneath it."

"Water." Beth warned Quinn.

"Why don't I check it while you get your pajamas?" Quinn suggested as she got up from the couch. "I left them on your bed."

"Okay." Beth nodded as she ran off.

Quinn walked to the bathroom to check on the sink. When she got there, she saw it was no longer leaking, but it was now flooding. There was water all over the floor and it was pouring out of the sink.

"Crap." Quinn hissed, grabbing her phone from her pocket.

"Mommy." Beth muttered when she returned with her pajamas.

"I'm gonna call a plumber." Quinn decided.

Beth nodded. "I help?"

Quinn smiled. "Let's get you in pajamas and into bed."

Beth smiled back, and Quinn helped her change into pajamas. She brought Beth to her room and tucked her into bed.

Quinn took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she left Beth's room and dialed the plumber's number.

-

"Hey, Mama." Mercedes said over the phone. "How are you? How's my goddaughter?"

"We're hanging in there." Quinn answered. "How are you? How's L.A.?"

"What's wrong?" Mercedes asked.

"Our sink broke." Quinn explained. "A pipe burst or something and the bathroom flooded a few days ago, so I had to replace that."

"And didn't you just have to replace the fridge and the washer?" Mercedes wondered.

"The fridge and the dryer." Quinn corrected Mercedes.

"I was calling to invite you and Beth out here for a visit, but it sounds like you have your hands full." Mercedes noted.

"We'd love to visit when things calm down and money isn't as tight." Quinn told Mercedes.

"Do you need any help?" Mercedes offered. "I mean, is there anything I can do?"

"Thank you, but I can take care of it." Quinn responded.

"I know you can, but..." Mercedes trailed off. "Have you asked your parents for help? I'm sure they wouldn't want their daughter and granddaughter going through this."

"I haven't spoken to either of them in five years, and I'm not about to reach out for money now." Quinn explained. "I appreciate it, Mercedes, but I can handle this. I've been doing all of this on my own since sophomore year."

"You're right." Mercedes noted. "Yeah, you got this."

"Yeah." Quinn agreed. "And listen, I'd appreciate it if you kept all of this stuff between us. I don't want anyone worrying about me."

"Okay, sure." Mercedes said. "But look, if you need anything, call me."

"Thanks."

-

A few days after that, the water and electric were turned off. Quinn had told Beth the maintenance guys turned everything off to work on repairs. She then got Beth to daycare and decided to skip her classes and figure things out before it was time to pick Beth up.

Quinn was embarrassed and hated asking for help, but even more so, she wasn't going to let her daughter suffer through this. She would do anything to fix things.

Therefore, Quinn made some calls, and she contemplated her academic future. She was already working two jobs while in school, and she figured maybe she could take a semester off to save up a little more.

After a few hours of Quinn thinking things over and trying to figure out what to do, she heard the heat come on. She furrowed her eyebrow as she walked into the kitchen and tried turning on the sink. To her surprise, the water began running.

Quinn grabbed her phone and dialed Mercedes' number.

"Hey, Quinn." Mercedes answered on the third ring. "What's up? I thought you'd be in class right now."

"Is that why you got my water and electric turned back on?" Quinn questioned Mercedes.

"What?" Mercedes asked.

"They shut everything off this morning, and it's back on already." Quinn stated.

"It wasn't me." Mercedes swore.

"You're the only one I told about my situation." Quinn replied, pausing for a moment. "Wait a minute, if it wasn't you... Did you talk to Noah?"

Mercedes didn't say anything.

"I have to go." Quinn decided, hanging up the phone as someone knocked on her apartment door. "I'm coming!"

The knocking continued, so Quinn hurried to the door and opened it. She froze when she saw Puck standing there.

"Hey, Q." Puck said.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked.

"I wanted to come check out the apartment." Puck stated.

"It was you." Quinn realized as Puck entered the apartment and started looking around. "You got my water and electric turned back on."

"Mercedes called me." Puck nodded. "And I'm glad she did. You and Beth shouldn't be living like this."

"I can take care of Beth." Quinn said.

"Clearly." Puck muttered.

Quinn looked at him. "I'm gonna withdraw from school and save up some money and then I'll take more classes next fall."

"You can't do that, Q. Beth wouldn't want you to do that." Puck pointed out.

"Beth comes before me." Quinn stated. "Choosing between her and school isn't even a question."

"Well, now I'm here and you don't have to make that choice." Puck said.

"I've told you before I don't want your money." Quinn reminded Puck.

"Would you put away your pride for a second?" Puck requested. "I don't think you realize how serious this is, Quinn."

"I don't realize how serious this is?" Quinn asked. "I don't realize that our water and heat were turned off this morning?"

"What were you gonna do if I didn't get it turned back on?" Puck demanded.

Quinn didn't say anything.

"I wanna see her." Puck said. "And I know we've talked about it and with how things are, you don't want me to, but I flew here to check on things and help you get back onto your feet."

"You shouldn't have." Quinn shook her head.

"If you would just cash one of the child support checks I send you, things wouldn't be like this." Puck pointed out.

"I know that." Quinn insisted. "I know that you or my parents or Mercedes can save the day. I don't want anyone's money."

"She's mine, too, Quinn." Puck stated. "And I don't want her growing up like I did, okay? So just let me help take care of her."

Quinn bit her lip.

"Please." Puck begged.

Quinn took a deep breath and exhaled. "Fine."