Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 43rd cycle. Now cycle 44!

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** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 44 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about shift days!

This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: Steps 16-36, Time Is On Your Side, chapter 5.

"Something Good"
(Future) Finn/Elsie (OC)
Elsie series #2 (following Familiar Strangers)

He felt about her the way Glee Club had made him feel back in the day. His life had been okay before it, but it had been so… so much better once the club had become part of him. It was one bright spot he couldn't bear to let go dark. He'd sort of forgotten how valuable it could be to have that in one's life until she came along… Elsie had gone and relit a fire inside him, and now all he wanted was to keep getting to know her, to get closer if he could. He would continue to drop by the diner every day that he could, knowing she'd be there, and they would talk, hang out…

One day, about a month after they'd met, she hadn't been there and he found out her grandmother had passed away. She knew he would come by, and so did the other waitresses. They had let him know Elsie would be gone for six weeks.

He wanted to be with her, knowing how hard it would be hitting her, and it was killing him that he couldn't be there. But then he'd resisted the initial impulse to track her down in any way he could, because that gut reaction may have felt right and romantic in the beginning, but if he stopped to think about it, all it would be is him intruding. One month they'd known each other and their complete history consisted of them meeting for less than an hour on weekdays. The fact was so far that was as far as she'd let it go, and even if she hadn't shared them, he knew she had her reasons. For all those reasons, he chose the best course of action would be to respect her privacy.

The time did not pass more easily by virtue of his decision to leave her space. Without the promise of seeing her there, the draw to go to the diner every day was just lost. He'd go to other restaurants, but then it just wouldn't feel right. So he had resolved himself to bagged lunches, or as the guys at work had named them, 'sad sacks.' A week went by, and then another, and then one month had passed.

A few days after that, he'd been walking toward the grocery store when something caught his eye. Trailing out of the park, there came a small dog on a leash which he or she dragged along without anyone there, like he or she had gotten free… and was getting awfully close to the curb. Finn hurried to go and stop the dog and, just as he'd caught both dog and leash, he heard the voice from behind.

"Leo!"

Finn turned, while the dog barked, and then he stopped. And she stopped. And their eyes met. He had never seen her out of her waitress uniform, with her hair not in a braid down her back. Today her clothes were freer, as was her hair… If the shock of seeing her after a month was one thing, seeing her like this was enough to just bowl him over. He was brought back to reality by the dogs, the one he held, and the other one he guessed would be Mimi which Elsie still had a hold of. Finn put Leo down, still holding to the leash, and he approached her.

"Hi…" she spoke first but equally surprised to see him, but then she smiled, and all he could think was how happy he was to see her. He was certain he was smiling, too. "Hey…" she said again, and then she surprised him again, reaching her free arm around and hugging him. He didn't hesitate one bit, doing the same, closing his eyes, embracing the moment, embracing her, letting out the breath he'd been holding for thirty-six days…

"How are you doing?" he asked as they pulled back.

"Better, or getting there, at least. I'm just starting to prepare myself to go back after next week."

"Yeah, six weeks," he nodded.

"Dee insisted," Elsie's face showed the gratitude she had for her boss. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't say anything and just took off…"

"No, no, really, it's okay," he shook his head. "I'm sorry I didn't call or…"

"It's okay, don't worry about it," now she was the one shaking her head, and they paused, smiling. "So you've met the dogs," she looked down and he finally remembered he had the leash, so he handed it back. The two small dogs trailed along together and so they began walking, all four of them.

"It's gotta be weird, going back after so long," he considered as they went.

"I'm just thankful I have something to go back to. But that's Dee for you," she smiled. "It'll be good to go back though. I spent a lot of time just at home, you know? After a while I just needed to get out more, get some air… Walking the dogs is half for them, half for me at this point, unless they try and get away," she raised her voice just a bit and the dogs looked back at her. "Watching you," she 'pointed' at Leo, then smiled. "Can't believe it's been a month already," she breathed after a while. "I kind of forgot time."

"I get that," he nodded.

"So, come on then, what's new with you," she tapped his arm and he laughed.

"Not a lot," he admitted. "I work, I practice with the band, then there's the sad sacks…"

"Another band?" she asked, smirking.

"No," he laughed, and there explained the story behind his lunches.

"Don't worry, it won't be for much longer," she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cringe and so landed about midway in between. "You'll be coming back, too, right?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he promised. "When are you coming back?"

"The 17th," she revealed.

"I will be there."

"I'll get your seat ready," she bowed her head. He wanted to just go for it, ask for a number, but he couldn't make himself do it. No matter what, it still felt like the wrong moment. "I'm really glad I ran into you," she had to say. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," he volunteered this fact immediately.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!