After Deployment

39

"Since everyone's finally home, Quinn and I wanna talk to you guys about something." Puck began when everyone was gathered in the living room after dinner.

"Three things." Quinn corrected Puck.

"The first thing is the baby's a boy." Puck announced as he took Quinn's hand.

"A boy?" Sarah asked while Ruth smiled happily.

"Awesome!" Jake cheered.

"And the second thing is I finally accepted Noah's proposal." Quinn said, showing off her ring. "We're engaged."

"Congratulations!" Ruth exclaimed.

"That's beautiful. When's the wedding?" Marley asked with a smile.

"The wedding will be sometime after the baby's born and we've had time to adjust, but most likely next spring or summer." Quinn answered. "We're thinking May or June."

"Well, you've been a part of this family for a long time, Quinn, but I'm glad it'll be official." Ruth replied.

"Thank you." Quinn said as she squeezed Puck's hand and looked at him.

"The, uh, the last thing I wanted to tell you guys about isn't as exciting or happy as the rest of this stuff." Puck started. "But I thought you should all know."

"Are you going away again?" Sarah frowned.

Puck shook his head. "Actually, it's kinda the opposite."

Quinn nodded encouragingly.

"Well, you guys know that I got discharged from the Air Force after I got hurt, but, uh..." Puck took a deep breath. "I found out I have PTSD and anxiety. It's pretty bad, but I'm working on it."

"Working on it? How are you working on it?" Ruth questioned Puck.

"With therapy." Puck answered. "And medication."

Nobody said anything.

"I was in denial for a while, and I was embarrassed about getting discharged, and I wouldn't go see a therapist, but..." Puck trailed off and licked his lips nervously. "Quinn helped me take care of myself."

"He's been doing really, really well." Quinn added proudly as she squeezed Puck's hand.

"I'm just glad you're okay, bro." Jake stated. "And I'm proud of you for getting help."

"Thanks, Jake." Puck replied, and Jake smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay, too." Ruth said. "But I don't believe in therapy."

"No disrespect, Mrs. Puckerman, but I went to therapy after Finn died and it helped me." Quinn replied.

"And I went to therapy to get through my eating disorder." Marley added. "It helped me, too."

"Well, James and I went to therapy when Sarah was born and you all know how that worked out." Ruth stated.

"That's because of Dad. He didn't put in any effort to fix things with you or with us." Puck pointed out.

"Noah's doing well because he's working hard at it." Quinn clarified. "In addition to being good about his medication, he has a good therapist, and he's learning techniques to help him cope with his PTSD."

Sarah looked at Puck as if she was looking at a stranger, rather than at her brother.

"This is exactly what I didn't want." Puck said softly as he let go of Quinn's hand and walked away.