Hi! Okay this is going to be a multi-chapter fic focusing on Finn and Rachel. I don't wanna give anything away though, so read and enjoy!
Also a big thanks to Margaret who helped me, and listened to me when I had no idea how to write this!
Disclaimer-I don't own the characters, just the storyline!
Chapter 1:
"I simply do not understand why you boys insist on wrestling each other," Rachel says to him sternly. She wipes up the remainder of blood that had dripped down his leg and presses the cold wet rag against the large cut on his knee.
Finn's face scrunches in pain his face; damn this cut is really starting to sting. Yup. It definitely feels like his knee caught fire.
"It's fun," he answers her, watching as she turns the rag over to press the clean side down onto his skin.
She's so good at this. At taking care of him.
Rachel meets his gaze, and he smiles at her. She'll lecture him, and he'll listen. Because he loves to listen to her, even if she talks for twenty straight minutes about how Puck and him should stop wrestling.
"Fun?" she asks, not really seeking an answer, "Is it fun right now, after you've been thrown into Puck's computer desk, and you come to my house harboring a gaping wound? What if you come here next time with a broken arm or something? Will it still be funny then?"
Finn's smile just grows wider.
He continues watching her as she throws the rag into the hamper, unwraps a bandage, and gently places it on his knee. "There you go," she stands up and smiles proudly.
She's so cute.
"Thanks babe, good as new," he says teasingly, standing up and grabbing her hands.
Rachel rolls her eyes at him, failing to hide back a smile. "It's hardly good as new, Finn. You have to change the band-aid at least once a day, and actually you can have this Neosporin. It's probably a good idea to put some of that on every few hours so you don't scar. Oh and.." she pauses and looks down. Finn gently rubs his fingers up and down her arms a few times. She raises her eyes back up to his, biting her lip slightly, "No more wrestling?" she asks hopefully.
Finn laughs and pulls her in for a full hug, one hand fully around her waist, and the other holding her head to his chest. "I'll be more careful," he murmurs into her hair, and takes a deep breath when he catches the scent of her shampoo.
"I just like to see you in one piece," Rachel tells him shrugging her shoulders slightly.
He responds by placing a lingering kiss on her lips, and she automatically wraps her arms around his neck.
God, he loves her so much. He loves her gasp as she opened the her front door and saw him bleeding, and the way she immediately brings him into the bathroom to take care of it. He loves the way she put all her focus onto his injury. He loves her appreciation for cleanliness and how she demands he change his bandage every day. He loves the adorable way she looked down as she asked him to stop wrestling. He loves the feeling he gets through his whole body when they kiss. She's crazy, and hilarious, and beautiful, and amazing, and he just loves her.
They walk back downstairs hand in hand, and he says his goodbyes to the Mr. Berry's. Rachel walks him to his car, and he promises to text her when he gets home, knowing that she's all like.. interested in his safety right now. He's rewarded with a giant beautiful smile, and a kiss goodbye.
Finn looks back at her standing in the doorway at least three times before he finally turns off her street.
He just can't help it.
He wakes up choking
Finn sits straight up in his bed, cups his hands to his mouth, and tries desperately to focus on anything. The only thing he manages to see is his clock on the nightstand, the numbers reading 3:16.
He smells smoke.
And he can't breathe. What's going on? He can't .. even.. think.
Suddenly he hears the screaming voice of his mother. "FINN!" she yells, "Finn get up we have to get out of here now!" She sounds terrified.
Smoke. Alarm.
The house is on fire.
Finn flies out of his bed, stumbles over his sheets, and opens his bedroom door only to be greeted with another cloud of smoke. He steps backward, covering his mouth and nose, until he feels the strong grip of Burt's hand on his upper arm, and he's dragged toward the stairs.
When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Finn panics, "Wait! What about my mom and Kurt! Where are they?" he shouts to Burt. Where are they? There's absolutely no way Finn will leave this house without them. Is Burt insane? Is he totally -
"They're outside already Finn, lets go." Burt yells back to him, and they meet a fire fighter close by who takes his mask off and places it on Finn's face, giving him some oxygen.
The man leads them outside, and Finn drops the mask and runs into the arms of his crying mother. He holds her tightly as she weeps into his shoulder. Kurt hugs Burt as he approaches, and the four of them huddle together catching their breath. Finn takes a blanket from a cop and wraps it around his mom and brother.
He pulls away from the group after a minute, and his heart sinks as he takes in the scene around him. He sees at least four cop cars parked on the street. They're using walkie talkie things, and rushing around making demands to eachother. Two firetrucks are pulled up practically on the front lawn, and a hose stretches up to the house spraying water.
People, random people, are walking all over his lawn, and someone walks over to Burt and starts to speak with him.
His neighbors are all outside in their pajamas, and he can see Tina, who lives across the street, standing in her driveway looking at him with tears in her eyes.
He turns to look at the house. The house that he and his mom were welcomed into - the house he grew to love. The place he's been sleeping in for a year. This is where he was supposed to spend all the upcoming holidays.
And now it is up in flames right in front of his eyes. Finn looks toward his bedroom window, and tries to swallow the lump in his throat when all he can see is and orange blaze coming from the gaping hole.
And suddenly he's out of breath again.
Tears threaten to fall from his eyes, but he can't turn away. All he can do in that moment is watch as this nasty fire burns all the memories from the past year. He can't even hear the commotion around him anymore. He thinks of the movies his family watched, the presents they opened on Christmas, the party him and Kurt tried to throw when Burt and Carole went out of town, the times Rachel came over, the picture of him and his dad sitting on the mantle of the fireplace -
No.
He nearly drops to the ground. That is the only picture Finn has left of him and his father, and it's still in the house. He looks at it every day before he leaves for school. It is going to burn in the fire, and he will no longer have any piece of his father to hold on to.
Finn lets the tears spill over, and before he can convince himself not to, he's sprinting toward the flames at full speed, pushing a cop out of the way.
He can get to the picture. When he left the house, the downstairs wasn't even on fire yet, and the picture is only about five feet away from the front door. He can do it. No, he has to do it. He has to.
He ignores the screaming protests of his mother, and steps through the doorway of the house, entering the scalding room that he can't even consider a room anymore.
The air is so thick, he can barely open his eyes, and the coughing fits start almost immediately. But he knows this house like the back of his hand now, and he uses his hands to make his way over to the fireplace.
Finn feels around with one hand, and uses the other to pull his shirt up over nose, desperate for some clean air. He knocks over three or four pictures before he finally finds the one he's looking for.
Once the picture is in his grip, he begins stumbling back toward the door. He trips, reopening the cut that Rachel bandaged for him just a few hours ago. He manages to get up, and makes his way back to front door frame successfully.
The moment he's about to step out of the burning house, he feels something fall onto the back of his head, and the rest of the world slips away as he falls to the ground, dropping the picture of him and his dad onto the "Welcome" mat.