Pick Up (Puck/Fuinn/Beth)

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"Hey." Puck greeted Quinn.

"Hey." Quinn smiled. "Is Beth ready to go?"

"Just about." Puck nodded. "I wanna talk to you first."

"I'll go get Beth." Finn decided.

"You should hear this, too." Puck said, stopping Finn.

"Everything okay?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah." Puck muttered as he turned to Finn. "You yell at my kid?"

Finn froze and glanced at Quinn before looking back at Puck. "W-What?"

"Beth said you yelled at her." Puck noted. "So before I let you two take her, explain that."

"You yelled at Beth?" Quinn questioned Finn.

"Yeah, she was messing with my work stuff." Finn muttered.

"You ever put hands on her?" Puck asked.

"No, of course not." Finn answered. "I would never hurt her."

"What did she do?" Quinn wondered.

"She was messing around and I asked her to stop, but she thought it was a joke or a game or something so then she tore up a page of one of my scripts, and I..." Finn trailed off.

"She's six." Quinn stated. "She's a child, Finn."

"I was trying to teach her." Finn said softly.

"No." Quinn shook her head. "You can't just-"

"I can't discipline her, but I can pick her up from school and babysit her so you can work?" Finn interrupted. "I'm not with you to be your-"

"Watch yourself." Puck warned Finn as he looked at Quinn.

Quinn clenched her jaw. "Noah and I don't yell at her, no matter what."

"So you expect me to do all these things with her and to take care of her, but I can't parent her?" Finn asked.

"You're not her dad, Finn!" Quinn exclaimed. "Noah and I are her parents."

"If you want me to be a part of this, you need to let me do as much as you do." Finn replied.

"This seems like a bigger issue that I don't need to be involved in." Puck chimed in. "Let Beth stay another day or two while you guys talk, okay?"

"Noah." Quinn shook her head. "We're here. She's coming with us."

"I'm not letting her go over there when it's clear that you two aren't on the same page." Puck replied. "I mean, you didn't even know Finn yelled at her."

Quinn frowned.

"Go home and figure out your shit before you drag it in front of Beth." Puck requested. "Please."

"Fine." Quinn said softly. "What are you gonna tell her?"

"I'll figure it out." Puck said.

Quinn looked at Finn. "Go wait in the car."

Finn furrowed his eyebrows.

"Go." Quinn repeated. "I need a minute to talk to Noah."

Puck looked at Quinn when Finn walked away. "I don't want her growing up like I did. No yelling, no hands on her, ever."

"I know that." Quinn nodded. "I don't want that either, but you know Finn. He's not like that. He's a good guy."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make him parent material." Puck said. "And if he's gonna be like that, I don't want him around my kid."

"Our kid." Quinn corrected Puck.

"Our kid." Puck nodded.

Quinn nodded back. "Thank you."

"For what?" Puck asked.

"For being so protective." Quinn said. "For making her feel safe enough to tell you Finn yelled at her."

"Don't thank me." Puck replied. "I'm still mad at him, and you."

"I'm sorry." Quinn apologized. "I'm gonna fix this, I promise."

-

"You've been quiet since we left Puck's. I know you're upset that Beth not here, but-"

"This is your fault." Quinn interrupted.

"My fault?" Finn repeated.

"You're the reason she's not here." Quinn said. "You yelled at her, you complicated things, and now Noah's pissed off."

"You think I want this? You think I want Puck mad at you, or you mad at me?" Finn demanded. "I just... I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm trying to help out, to be here for you and Beth, but you and Puck make it impossible!"

Quinn bit her lip and looked at Finn. She knew he was upset, and she wanted to communicate clearly and calmly.

"I know you're trying." Quinn began, taking a deep breath. "And I appreciate everything you do."

"But?" Finn prompted Quinn.

"But you can't just step in and think you know how to handle Beth like you're her dad because you're not." Quinn noted. "You knew who I was and what my life was like before you decided we should get back together."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Finn wondered.

"It means that Beth comes first." Quinn reminded Finn. "And I get that she messed with your things, but-"

"But what?" Finn snapped. "You want me to just keep my mouth shut and let you and Puck handle things, like I'm not even involved? Like I'm just some guy who run errands for you and babysits your kid? This is my life too, Quinn. It's our life. You're not with Puck, you're with me."

"This isn't about you or us." Quinn told Finn. "Or Noah. This is about Beth."

"I know that. I-"

"And you are involved." Quinn continued. "I never told you that you couldn't parent her, but you can't make your own rules. Beth doesn't need yelling. She needs-"

"You're acting like I did something worse than just raise my voice because she ruined my work." Finn stated. "You don't think that's frustrating?"

"I know it is." Quinn responded. "Beth has made me laugh and cry a million times over the years, but she's a child and you're an adult."

Finn looked at Quinn.

"She's learning, Finn. She doesn't understand what's important to you, and even if she did, she doesn't deserve to be yelled at for it." Quinn went on. She paused for a moment, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and hurt. "I thought after everything, you would get why we parent Beth the way we do."

"I do." Finn insisted.

Quinn slowly shook her head, remaining silent.

Finn looked at her. "So what now?"

"Noah was right when he said we need to figure this out before it affects Beth any more." Quinn replied. "I don't want her in the middle of it."

"Me neither." Finn agreed.

"I need to talk to Beth." Quinn decided. "And I need you to give me some space to figure this out with her."

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