Finn is in the third grade when his mother gets the call. He has trouble wrapping his head around it, at first. He's so busy trying to get his mom to stop crying that he doesn't feel the full weight of the news. He's a little kid. The only thing he is at first is angry that his father would leave them like this; make his mother so sad. He misses the remainder of his school week and spends most of it in his mother's arms or building model planes while his mother watches home videos. On the Friday morning, his mom pops in a video tape of his sixth birthday party. He watches as his father gives him his first two-wheeler and that's when it hits him, hard. He cries and cries and it's his mother's turn to comfort him.
One day in grade seven, geography class is interrupted. Micha Korstov's dad just walks in, unannounced, and Micha screams, runs to wrap her arms around him and goes home early. Her squeal startles Finn and his pencil crayon slips outside Texas, partially colouring Oklahoma and ruining his assignment. Micha's father is still in his fatigues, must have come straight from the airport, and looks so much like the picture of Finn's dad hanging in the living room that he has to excuse himself. In the boy's room, he just sits on the floor and cries into his forearms. His friend, Noah, walks in and sits beside him, slings a skinny arm over his shoulders. Finn leans into him and lets the tears run dry. Noah leans his temple against the top of his head and doesn't say anything. They don't talk about it, but after that point, they're best friends.
One of the jocks on the football team is mouthing off. The two friends are both just freshmen, but Finn is big and Noah, Puck, has started to build some muscle. One of the juniors is running his mouth, regurgitating something one of his parents must have said while watching the news. "It's a pointless war, anyways," the kid, Rick, is saying, "Anyone who signs up for that shit deserves whatever he gets." He thinks he's being smart and right-wing and worldly and the next thing he knows he's been laid out by a second string wide-receiver. Finn has to pull Puck off the guy, and later on in the parking lot they both get their asses kicked.
Mr. Shue is talking about songs for the Veteran's Day assembly. Rachel has opinions, of course, on which songs would flatter her range, and there is a great deal of discussion. Finn and Puck stay quiet. They finally settle on Toby Keith's "American Soldier" and Mr. Shue gives Finn the bulk of the song to sing, supported by the rest of the club. Finn is glad for the opportunity, and doesn't mention his dad. They rehearse and he thinks he sounds pretty okay. He focuses on the higher notes and remembering the lyrics, and tries not to think about the subject of the song. The assembly comes and they're not wearing costumes, just their normal clothes and red poppies. Artie wears a tie and Puck is in dress pants, but other than that it's just another day. The classics teacher, Mr. Cunningham, is in his dress uniform in the front row looking a little misty-eyed. Finn steps out from the group and starts to sing, but can't keep his eyes off of Mr. Cunningham and can't get his father out of his head. His voice breaks and his throat tightens and his eyes start to well with tears. He's afraid he's going to lose it when he feels a firm hand on his shoulder and hears Puck's voice harmonizing with his. They make it through the song and he all but sprints backstage. Puck comes up to him, the only one of the glee kids who really knows, the only one not afraid to ask, and says "dude, you okay?" Finn shakes his head and a couple tears roll down his cheeks. Puck pulls him into a hug and, yeah, it's a little awkward, but it makes him feel better.
They've just won sectionals and Finn is exhausted. His mother is there, almost all of the glee kids' parents came except for Quinn's and Tina's, and she pulls him into a tight embrace. He's smiling and over her shoulder he can see Rachel's two dads fawning over her, hugging, kissing and high-fiving her. "Your father would have been so proud," his mom says in his ear and his heart tightens. He pictures his father's abandoned guitar in the corner of their rec-room. He's never touched it; took up the drums instead. He nods but his smile is gone and she releases him, goes to talk to Puck's mom. Finn sits down, drained, in one of the auditorium seats and Puck soon joins him. They sit together a while, watching their friends get swarmed by their parents (or Artie's parents, in the case of Tina, and Rachel's dads, in the case of Quinn). "My dad would have loved this," he says, not turning to face his friend, "my mom said he would have been proud." Puck nods and lets out a sigh. "My mom said the same thing," he replies, "doesn't mean as much though, I guess, when he could have been here if he wanted to." Finn just nods and they sit in silence together, watching their families interact and trying not to wonder 'what if.'