A/N: Okay, that was weird. I sort of updated this chapter without even making some kind of note or comment :o Too early in the morning, sorry guys! Anyways, this is my new Finchel Fic. I've never actually written for finchel before so any comments or suggestions are highly encouraged! Just keep in mind that this is extremely AU, as are most of my other stories. Finn and Rachel never went to high school together, instead they met in college, and I think that's all you should know before reading! Also, it's loosely (or not loosely. whateves.) based off of 'The Vow' which I haven't seen or read, but was inspired by based off of commercials. I just liked the idea for a fic and I hope you guys do too!
Remember, I don't own these characters! Although I wish I did :l
Enjoy!
"It's been weeks, sweetheart. Maybe…Maybe you should just start thinking about other plans. I-I know you don't want to hear this, but the lawyers have been trying to get in contact with you about her will and the doctors want yo-"
"Will you just shut up?"
Carol Hummel's eyes widen. She knew that her son was going through an extremely difficult time, the most difficult time in his life even, but she wasn't the kind of parent to take back talk from her child so easily and Finn knew that. His Mother taught him to be respectful and loving. She gave him courage and manners and helped make him the man he was today. But wasn't she also the one who taught him to never give up, to stand up for what he wants and to go to any lengths in order to be happy? So what was this bullshit about pulling the cord? He couldn't give up. He wasn't going to give up on this.
His eyes watered as he looked over at his wife and gripped her nearly lifeless hand helplessly. He could practically hear her sweet, melodic voice in his head now, telling him that he should never speak to his mother that way. He almost chuckles as he thinks of the times that the two of them sat together and just talked about how silly he was sometimes. It was little things like that that Finn missed the most. The things that he hated were the things that he craved. He craved her in general.
She needed to wake up for him.
"Mom, you know I didn't mean to be rude. I just…She's my thing, okay?" Carol watches her son with a curious face while he looks back at his wife and kisses her pale hand before turning back to his Mother and sighing. She always understood his thoughts. It was the one thing that he loved most about her. Even when she barely knew him, when he thought she was the most annoying thing on the planet, she knew what he wanted more than he knew it himself. She encouraged him to go out there and be a better version of himself; the best version of himself because she demanded nothing less than that. What would he be without her? What kind of a man would Finn Hudson be if the love of his life wasn't there to give him purpose? He shakes the thoughts out of his mind and looks up to explain the situation to his mother.
"I remember when I first met her..."
Four years ago-
Finn sighs as he walks towards his Music Theory class, a course that he was required to take if he ever wanted to become a music teacher. He'd just gotten out of high school and felt like he was on top of the world. Sure, the classes were a little harder and he had to push himself sometimes to go because all Puck ever wanted to do was hangout and go to parties, but there was no drama. Finn Hudson was free to be whoever he wanted to be in Ohio State University, and who he wanted to be was the kid that sat in the back and didn't save, or help anyone. Was that selfish? He'd spent a while in high school being the golden boy. Finn this and Finn that. But Finn didn't get very much out of it. He was cheated on by his girlfriend, lied to by his Mom about his birth Father, slushied constantly, and left to help everyone with their own problems.
Now it was his turn. Now it was his turn to be boring and mysterious and do things for just himself. He didn't think it was so bad. It seems that in college people are way more concerned with themselves anyways. No one sings and dances, unless you're part of the theater program, no one gets into anyone elses business unless you're friends, it was nice. College for Finn, although it was a little bit of a challenge, was complete and utter bliss.
"You're doing that wrong."
He raises an eyebrow and looks up from his paper towards the sweet but confident voice.
"Excuse me? I've played drums for years. I think I could read a silly rhythm." Finn rolls his eyes, this was like the easiest assignment that they'd done the entire semester. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong. And so what if he had? It shouldn't have been any of her business to begin with.
"And I've been in music classes since I was three months old. That one goes like this, that's where you screwed the entire thing up." She reaches over to his paper and circles his mistake, giving him the chance to smell her. She smelled awesome. Like…Like clean laundry and something soft that he couldn't describe. Vanilla? No, no that wasn't right at all. He couldn't figure it out, but he really, really liked it. He stops when he realizes what she'd just done though, and furrows his brows.
"Just because you think you know everything doesn't mean you do. Check over your work every so often, it'll benefit you."
With that, she stands up with her own assignment, turns it in to the professor, and comes back to grab her bag. He hadn't really noticed how attractive she was until she stood up. Short, dark hair, a tiny frame, she wasn't that different from the other girls from far away. But up close it was crazy. She had these huge intimidating, beautiful, dark eyes, those full pink lips, a nose that, although it's bigger than the usual, completely worked for her. She was beautiful.
"Wait-" He grabs her wrist right before she gets the chance to walk away and she looks down at his hand when he does so. "Thank you…What's your name anyways?"
She offers him the sweetest smile he'd ever seen in his life, one of those smiles that he swore were for him and just for him, and she speaks "Rachel Berry." She says, with that cute little nose up in the air as if she were proud of who she was.
He smiles and nods "Rachel Berry..I'm Fi-"
"I know who you are." And with that she walks away from him.
"She made me a better person before I even knew who she was." He sighs and kisses Rachel's hand again, his Mom tearing up now. After they met that day, he never stopped thinking about her. They sat next to each other for every class, talked, did their work together, and she would check it for him in the end every time. She became the biggest pain in his ass, pushing him further and further every time, but he'd be damned if he ever shut her out just because of that. Suddenly he found himself not being the quiet guy in the back, but being Finn Hudson, Rachel Berry's friend. And he thinks he liked who he was then way better than any other time before that.
"Rachel is my special thing. I-I didn't think I could ever be anything more than just a school teacher in Lima, Ohio forever. But she made me believe, she had faith in me, she's my star. Rachel never gave up on me and now you expect me to give up on her? Screw that. She's going to fight this. She will." He reaches up and brushes her hair out of her face, revealing the stitched up cut on the right of her forehead. He frowns; she was so delicate and perfect, even with all of those little cuts and bruises.
It was his fault, he thinks. If they hadn't gotten into that argument, she would have never left the house in that weather. There was too much snow, it was too late at night for her to be in that kind of a street. People were constantly in that street. He sighs and puts his head down against her hand as he hears his Mom mention something about grabbing some coffee. He looks back to see if the door is closed before looking back at his wife and fighting back tears.
"I know you heard that, Rach. Th-They want me to end this. To give up on you. But…But the thing is that I can't. I'm too selfish. If I give up on you then there's no more Rachel Hudson and a world without you is…No, I just can't have that." He stops to see if she was responding to his voice in any way. He frowns, a determined look in his eyes. "Prove them wrong, Rach. Fight this. I-I know it might hurt, and I know you're going to need a lot of help and love, but I'm right here. I'm right here and I'll always be right here so you need to wake up now. Please." He doesn't fight the tears anymore as he realizes that she's not moving at all. Was this really it? Was he going to have to give up on his wife? He thinks of the possibilities. She would be gone and then he would…Well he wouldn't do anything. He couldn't. Just the thought alone was taking him into a deep depression. He leans into her hand and openly cries, letting her see how much he needed her. "Rachel, please. Please don't leave me. Please." He repeats the words as he sobs against her hand.
And then he felt it.
He lifts his head and looks down at their hands as she squeezes it gently. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life. Her small fingers moved to grip his hand and he grins. "Rachel? Rachel, can you hear me? Open your eyes. It's okay." And with that, her eyes flutter open gently. He frowns a little when he realizes the light was bothering her so he rests his own hand over them slightly so it wouldn't be so bright. He grins when she finally opens them and he see's those dark eyes again.
She looks around curiously and he waits to see her reaction to this. They had all the time in the world for explanations, he just wanted to make sure she was okay. "You're awake. You woke up for me." He says with the biggest grin on his face, not wondering why she wasn't grinning in return.
She turns her head to look at him and frowns, letting go of his hand and resting it on the large cut in her head. "What happened to me? Where am I?"
He leans closer and rubs her arm, a grin still playing on his face. "You were in a car accident, you've been in a coma for nearly two months. We're in the hospital. We've waited for this for such a long time. They wanted me to sign papers and release forms saying they could pull the cord and take you away from me, but you're awake. You woke up and you're back here with me." He looks as though he's about to cry again. He leans over to kiss her lips but she moves away and gives him a confused expression.
"And who are you?"
He stops and looks into her eyes. "Rach, c'mon that's not funny." He shakes his head and touches her cheek, frowning when she flinches. As if his touch were unfamiliar or something. As if he hadn't touched her ever in her life.
"I'm not attempting humor, I assure you. Now can you please get your hands off of me and tell me who it is that you are before I call for security?"
Fuck. It wasn't supposed to work out this way. She wasn't not supposed to remember him. Finn just sits there, dumbfounded, as he tries to figure out what to do.
She was his wife, he was her husband. How could she not remember?
A/N- Thoughts? Suggestions? Let me know!
