A Voice from the Past
**Breaking News: The 7 car pile-up on West Elm St. has finally been cleared. The worst automobile accident in Lima history claimed 5 lives and sent 18 to the hospital. A representative from Lima Memorial Hospital reports that all have been released except for a 28 year old man and a 9 year old boy, both in critical condition. More news as it becomes available.**
Kitty turned off the television as soon as the report was over. It wasn't like she needed a reporter to tell her what was happening. At that moment, Kitty was sitting alone in the waiting room outside of the ICU. Thankfully Sam, Rachel and Jesse had finally showed up so she didn't have to handle everything on her own any more. Even though she was a trained therapist, she had gotten to the point where she had to step away from what was happening because somethings can just be too hard to handle, no matter how many coping techniques you throw at it. Really how was she supposed to handle that in one of the beds in the ICU was her favorite client and in the other was her best friend.
Nine year old Hudson Finn Hummel had become her client two years ago. He was the super-sweet adopted son of Burt and Carole Hummel. Friends and family had discussed the idea of adoption with the couple in the years following Finn's death but nothing ever developed. However, when the couple met two-year-old Hudson there was no doubt that the three of them would someday be a family. When Hudson turned 7, he started behaving in a matter that concerned his parents enough to bring him to Kitty. It took her three sessions to get to the heart of the problem. On his 7th birthday Hudson Finn realized that his name was Finn Hudson backwards and the adopted boy began to believe that he was a replacement for the brother he never met. Two months of intense family therapy helped with Hudson's issues but everyone thought it was for the best if the boy continued to see Kitty on a regular basis. That is how "Hud" became Kitty's weekly Thursday 4pm coffee/smoothie date at the Lima Bean.
The problem with trying not to think about Hud was that it made her think about Blaine. Blaine Anderson became her friend when she was a sophomore in high school but he became her brother when she was a senior. Blaine was at the lowest point in his life, when he came back to Lima from New York after "he who shall not be named" decided he didn't want to get married anymore. However, he was the one that made sure she was ok when all the other former members of the New Directions left McKinley. They would have weekly Wednesday 4pm coffee dates at the Lima Bean to "gossip" and just check on one another. On their date following Thanksgiving, Blaine started talking about Sebastian Smythe. Evidently they had run into each other at a coffee shop when Blaine was in New York to see Cooper and had pretty much been texting non-stop since. Kitty noticed how Blaine acted a little nervous and played with his packets of sugar when he talked about the former Warbler, but what she really noticed was the he was smiling again. Two years later, in a field in Central Park, Kitty was the officiant at their wedding.
Kitty got up to go back in but where would she go first? Should she go to the Hummel's and listen to Carole cry about how she can't do this again? Or should she go to Sebastian and listen to him BEGGING Blaine to just open his eyes? To make it worse, when he wasn't begging, Sebastian was singing In Your Eyes. She closed her eyes to just clear her mind when all of the sounds around her stopped except for a rather quiet "Hi Kitty."
Kitty's eyes flew open as she tried to steady herself, while at the same time making sure that she hadn't just literally lost her mind. "Hi Finn. Long time no see. What are you doing here? Aren't you…"
"Dead? Yeah, still am but I am here to talk to you"
Kitty thought to herself that if she was hallucinating, now would not be a good time to go back into the ICU.
"I am not a hallucination Kitty. I was sent down here because there is a problem that we cannot fix and we need your help to try to make things easier for those involved."
"Finn, I really need to get back to B…"
Finn interrupted her before she could finish "I'm sorry Kitty but both Blaine and Hud are dead, it's just that no one knows it yet. I need you to listen to me very carefully. We are in a time bubble and we don't have long until the clocks start moving again. Are you with me?"
Kitty just nodded, trying to grasp what she was being told because something within her gave her no doubts that what she was hearing was the truth. "I'm with you Finn, just tell me what is going on."
"Right now we are in the bubble of time where your soul has left your body but your body hasn't figured it out yet. Actually right now we are in Blaine's bubble because this is where the problem is. Still with me?" Kitty nodded so he continued.
"Blaine and Hud's souls both left their bodies at the same time. Since they were both good souls, they were both able to be reincarnated. Hud was easy. He was immediately sent off and is scheduled to be reborn in about three hours."
"Like I said, Blaine is the problem. Blaine is not only a good soul he is an old soul. One of the oldest in fact. He doesn't get a new timeline because all of his timelines are spent with Sebastian. He was supposed to go into kind of a "storage" to wait for Sebastian. Once again, still with me?" he asks and once again she nodded 'yes'.
"OK, here is the tricky part. Instead of being sent to "storage" Blaine was sent to rebirth. Someone stopped it before it happened but on his way back Blaine was accidently sent to straight on reincarnation. Blaine is back down here on earth but he is not in his body. He is in Hud's. So in effect, Blaine Anderson-Smythe is now Hudson Hummel. Still with me?"
"NO!" Kitty just needed Finn to stop for a minute "Blaine is here? But he's not here? Now he's Hud? How is he going to handle that? How is Sebastian going to handle that? Hell, I'm not handling this! What about Carole? Huh, Carol..your MOTHER! She barely survived losing you. How is she going to survive this?"
"Kitty" Finn said in a quiet, rather sad voice "Yes, Blaine's body is about to die. Sebastian will not fully recover from this in this life, but he will eventually learn to move on in this life. Hud is fine. He was a young soul without a soulmate. When he is reborn none of his experiences will follow him. Heck, he may not even be a he anymore. My mom will be ok. Remember she will believe that Hud has lived. The only one that will know that the real Hud is gone will be you."
That last statement confused Kitty. With that realization she gave herself a mental high-five considering that this was the first time that had happened since Finn arrived "Huh? Won't Blaine know?"
"Blaine had been prepared to move to "storage". When a soul goes there his or her experiences are erased, but the piece of the soul that draws them to their soulmate remains. That piece of Blaine's soul is still there. When Blaine wakes up he will have something that resembles amnesia but we don't know what will happen when it comes to Sebastian. This is where you come in. With Hud's altered mental state, mom and Burt will have you continue to see him as his therapist and you will be able to notice any changes. If he remembers everything he will need your help."
"Finn, how will I ever be able to get Blaine to comprehend all of this?"
"You have to because if Blaine remembers there are some very hard choices that he will have to make. You can help him with his decision but you cannot influence it in any way. Still with me?" Kitty nodded for him to go on.
"OK, the first thing you need to remember is this. Blaine will be making this decision even though he will look like Hud. That is very important because looking at him struggle will make you want to help him more than you can. It is for his own good."
"If Blaine remembers, the first thing he will want to do is go to Sebastian. He can go to Sebastian but he can NEVER tell him that he is Blaine. He can't tell anyone, and you can't tell anyone either. Now, OK, this is harder than I thought. Starting the minute he remembers, Blaine has exactly one year to make a decision. He must decide on one of two paths. The first one is that Blaine lives out the remainder of this life as Hud, but will know that he will back with Sebastian in the next life."
"Finn, that is awful. How is he supposed to live like that?"
"Well, the other path is probably worse. If Blaine decides he can't handle this he can choose to end his life as Hud. Hud's body will stay but a blank soul will be sent in with all of Hud's memories. We can't do this now because Blaine is already here."
"OK, that actually sounds better."
"Listen to me carefully because Blaine will have to know this part by heart. There is only one rule for souls that share a timeline with a soulmate. If one of the souls end the life they are presently living by their own hand then the link is broken. That soul can never be reincarnated. Now I know this really sucks and is totally unfair, but if Blaine chooses the second option it will be as if he chose to end his present life. His link with Sebastian will end."
Kitty looked at Finn in horror "Finn, how..how..how could he EVER make that decision?"
"I don't know but he will have to and that is why he will need your help. I'm sorry, but I have to go. When I do this bubble will burst and things will start to happen quickly. Remember, you cannot tell anyone what you know. Ready?"
"Wait, aren't you going to go check on your mom?"
"I can't. Rachel is there."
"I don't get it. Why…" and then it came to her "You broke the rule."
Finn gave her a sad look and then said "Yes, I broke the rule. Now, ready?"
Kitty shook her head but now or never. Right?
Suddenly all the noises of the hospital came back to her as well as the sounds of the ICU monitor alarms. Kitty ran back into the unit to see two completely different scenes happening. The first one was full of smiles and hugs as "Hudson Hummel" had opened his eyes. The other had Sam clutching Sebastian in his arms, stopping him as he tried desperately to get to his husband as the doctors were trying to shock "Blaine's" heart to start again.
End Notes:
In Your Eyes: Gabriel, Peter 1986
Finn constantly asked Kitty if she was following because who wouldn't find a cosmic reincarnation error complete with body/soul swap confusing.
Note about my take on Finn's death: Since the cause of Finn's death was never addressed on Glee, I believe it is open for interpretation. My definition of 'by your own hand' does not mean I believe Finn committed suicide. It just means he has some ownership in how it happened.
'By your own hand' is at its core a plot device. It not only explains why Finn was not reincarnated but it also stops Blaine from doing something drastic when he figures out who he really is and forces him to seriously consider his choices.