After Deployment

57

"Babe, I'm home!" Puck called as he entered the apartment. "Look who I ran into at the grocery store."

"Hi, Quinn." Jake said.

"Hey." Quinn said as she slowly got up to greet Jake and Marley. "Sorry I'm not dressed."

"That's okay. We won't stay long." Jake promised. "You look good. How do you feel?"

"I'm miserable." Quinn answered. "And exhausted."

"He'll be here soon." Marley noted optimistically.

"Pregnancy sucks." Quinn warned Marley.

"Don't scare her, Q." Puck said. "We're gonna want nieces and nephews someday."

"Well, you guys should adopt because this is torture." Quinn added as she looked at Puck.

"It'll be worth it when he's in your arms." Puck reminded Quinn. "Right?"

Quinn shrugged. "I'm gonna go shower."

"No, no, no, we're not staying." Jake said. "We just wanted to stop by and say hi. And Marley wanted to see the dog."

"Where is Max?" Puck wondered.

"Maybe in the kitchen?" Quinn suggested. "Max, come!"

The golden retriever obediently entered the living room, returning to Quinn's side.

"He loves Quinn." Puck told Jake and Marley.

"He's so sweet." Marley noted.

"You have to see him with Beth." Puck said. "She keeps asking Shelby for a dog now."

"I bet Shelby's thrilled." Jake stated.

"Oh, yeah." Puck nodded.

"What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?" Marley wondered. "Are you coming to Lima?"

Quinn shook her head. "I don't really feel like taking the train and I can't fly, so we're gonna stay here and have our own little Thanksgiving."

"We need a nice quiet night in anyway." Puck nodded. "So we're just gonna cook the foods we'll actually eat and take care of a few things here."

"And lounge around and watch the parade." Quinn answered.

"That actually sounds much better than the Puckerman house chaos." Jake smiled. "Marley and I are going to dinner with her mom and my mom. Sarah said she has plans."

"Sarah usually goes to a friend's house." Puck said. "And my mom works so..."

"I know you'll be busy with the baby, but maybe the four of us can do something quiet for Hanukkah or Christmas or New Year's or something." Jake suggested.

"Yeah, we'll see how it goes and how everyone's doing when the time comes." Puck replied.

"Cool." Jake said as he squeezed Marley's hand. "We should get going. We have to get our stuff together for Lima."

"Yeah." Marley nodded in agreement. "It was good seeing both of you. And meeting Max."

"You, too." Quinn nodded back. "Have fun in Lima."