Thanks to a plethora of positive reviews and a increasing demand that I continue the story, I'm posting this chapter. It's not as fluffy as the first, but it's a part of the story that I really wanted to tell.
BTW, I do not own, nor am I associated with Glee or its staff or cast. I just like it... a lot... it's a bit of a problem, actually.
Finn sat on the living room couch and ran his fingers over the photograph in his hands. It was badly worn and the edges were slightly torn from folding and unfolding it hundreds of times, but he couldn't seem to put it down.
The TV was off and he could hear the ticking of a clock on the wall behind him as he sat on the couch, humming under his breath. His mom got off work at five o'clock, but Finn had been waiting for her since four. He starred down at the photo again– he had been carrying it around for nearly a week now. If he stared at it long enough, it was as though the image were moving again
The longer he sat there, the more times his mind drifted to his girl, his Rachel. He thought of her and his little boy or girl beneath her heart. He would have rather been holding her like he had last night then sitting on the couch, waiting to have this conversation. Somehow, when Rachel's head was on his chest and his arms were tight around her, it was like there was no one else in the whole world. He didn't really understand how it all worked, but he knew that in her eyes, the entire universe seemed to be looking back at him. Even if other people couldn't stand her sometimes, he never thought that about her.
Just then, he heard the click of a key in the lock and he ran his fingers over the photo one more time before folding it up again and dropping it in his lap. His mom was laughing a little when the door opened, her cell phone poised at her ear. She looked down and smiled at him, but then she did a double-take, her smile vanishing. She muttered some hasty goodbye to the person she was talking to, but Finn hardly heard it – his own heartbeat was drumming too loudly in his ears.
"Finn, Honey?" She said, sitting down beside him on the couch. He was fiddling with the photo again as he looked away from her gaze.
"Hey, Mom." He replied, looking up only briefly. He wasn't scared this time. He was just nervous – nervous that she wouldn't be as happy as he was. He wondered if this was what it felt like for Rachel that night. Had she been this afraid? This frozen with fear?
"Is something the matter, Finn?" He felt her hand on his shoulder, but he could only think of the feel of Rachel's head on his shoulder as she slept in his arms. It seemed like everything in his world was about her and their child. He thought of the picture again, the only picture of their child and felt tears tracing a path down his cheeks. He hurried to brush them away, but his mom reached out and did it instead. "Finn? Please, Honey, why are you so upset?" He finally looked up, his cheeks still stained with tears and smiled at her.
"I'm not, Mom." He said, his smile broadening, "I just really wanna show you something. It means a lot to me." He held his hand out to her so she could take the tattered photo from his hands and held his breath while she unfolded it. Her hand shot to her mouth as she gasped.
"This isn't from last time, is it?" She asked, watching the photo like it might attack her.
"No, Mom. Rachel and I are having a baby." He had hoped she'd be pleased – he certainly was, but she shook her head and handed the photo back.
"Finn. What are you going to do? Last time – I mean, things worked out and you got lucky, but what about this time?" Finn tried to interrupt, but she brushed him aside as she stood up. "I've never been the type of mom who lectures you about stuff like this, but I thought you were a smart boy! Didn't you use protection?" Finn finally stood, towering over her again.
"I did, Mom! I don't know how it happened, but that's beside the point! This –" He bent down and grabbed the sonogram photo that had been discarded on the couch. "This is my baby! I've known him for a month and I love him already! I love Rachel more than anything else in the world!" He folded the photo again and pushed it into his pocket before looking down at his mom again. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she grabbed his hand and pulled him down to her level and into her embrace.
"I'm sorry, Finn." His smile returned as she held him at arms length. "I guess I just, I didn't know how to respond."
"It's okay, Mom." He said, sitting down so they could talk.
"What happens now?"
"Rachel and I are getting married, and we're keeping our baby." She sighed again, and Finn couldn't tell if she were sad or angry.
"You're so young."
"It doesn't matter. This is it – the best my life will ever be, Mom. There's nothing I want more. We're still going to college in the fall and we still both want to have careers – that hasn't changed." Finn watched his mom pause, her expression changing from sadness to a shy smile.
"Then you have my blessing and all the help that Burt and I can give you."
"Thanks." Finn replied, smiling.
"You're my son, Finn. I'd do anything for you. I'm glad you're happy." Finn smiled then and hugged his mom.
"I am happy, Mom. Really happy."
"Can I see the sonogram picture again?"
"Ya." He said, reaching into his back pocket and handing it to her again. His mom was smiling again as she looked down at the photo.
"Not much to see yet."Finn knew that there wasn't really anything to see in the picture, but he had still taken it from the doctor's office and carried it around with him, unfolding it whenever he thought his teachers weren't looking.
"I know. It's like a good luck charm or something. Makes me think of them." As he watched, tears began welling up in his mom's eyes again and she brushed them away with her fingers.
"When did you become a man, Finn? How did I miss it?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'm not, really."
"No. You are." Finn smiled and pulled her into his embrace.
"I love you, Mom."
Thanks again for all the incredible reviews - does the ego good. Count on further chapters as long as there is a continued interest in the story. Thanks again!
