When Pigs Fly! Chapter 2

(I do not own Glee or any of the characters. I apologize if I have taken liberties with the laws of the state of Ohio regarding family law. I have used the laws that pertain to my home state as reference for this chapter. All names in this story are fictitious.)

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It was approaching dusk on that fateful Saturday afternoon. Shelby had only been dead half a day, yet Rachel and Beth's world had been turned upside down. They had both lost a mother that neither one had gotten to know.

Rachel had slept most of the day under Finn's watchful eye. She awoke to two tiny hands patting her face. "Ray-Ray" Beth said as she stood eye level with the edge of Rachel's bed.

When Rachel opened her eyes she was staring into small light green eyes with long lashes. Rachel sat up and pulled Beth onto the bed with her. When she did she noticed that she wasn't alone. Turning she saw Finn yawning.

"I thought that you were going home after I went to sleep, how long have you been here?" Rachel asked Finn who was trying to will himself awake.

"I never left, I've been right here all day," Finn said rubbing his hands through his hair. "You were sleeping so fitfully I didn't want to leave you."

"I'm sorry," Rachel apologized. "You had a full school day, played in a football game, and then spent the night at the hospital with me," Rachel said as the memories of the last day and a half came flooding back. "What time is it? What day is it?"

"It's six-thirty in the evening. It's still Saturday," Mercedes told her softly. "You've been asleep almost all day, and we weren't going to bother you with Finn guarding you like a bulldog. He's had his arm locked around you all day. You might want to check the back of your hair; Carole says that he drools in his sleep."

Finn just grinned sheepishly as he pulled Beth into his lap.

"Mommy seep?" the baby asked him with searching eyes. Finn hugged her and kissed the top of her blond head. "Mommy seep," Finn said back to her not knowing what else to say.

"Beth's been looking for you and her mom," Mercedes said. "Carole said that it was okay to bring her in. Rachel, your dads have been on the phone most of the day. When you're fully awake they want you to come down and talk to them. I'll take care of Beth for you."

"Have you been here all day?" Rachel asked Mercedes.

"Yes, but I didn't want to be anywhere else. Tina's here too, and my mom's coming over with some food for dinner," Mercedes said offering some comfort.

Finn and Rachel made their way downstairs and met Hiram and Leroy in their study.

"Hey Darling, how did you sleep?" Hiram asked his daughter.

"Fitfully, I think I had one bad dream after another."

Finn only nodded in agreement.

"Finn, you don't have to be here unless you want too. This is a legal matter involving the custody of Beth," Hiram said to the young man.

"I want to be here for Beth and for Rachel," Finn said now fully awake.

"And we want to be here too, for Rachel, Beth, and our son," Burt said as he and Carole stepped behind Finn.

"Well everyone sit down, and I will explain what Leroy and I learned from Shelby's lawyer today," Hiram said adjusting his glasses and his notes.

"First of all Rachel, Shelby didn't intend to saddle you with a baby before you ever graduated from high school. Here's a personal letter addressed to you from Shelby that was with her will. Tom Johnson has already informed me of the contents. You are eighteen now and, you're of legal age to accept guardianship of Beth."

Hiram continued. "We also have two signed affidavits from the attending doctor and an ER nurse stating that it was Shelby's death bed wish that you be named Beth's guardian. Beth's adoption is complete. Miss Fabray and Mr. Puckerman have no legal claim to her, but either of them or their parents could challenge us in court since it's an open adoption and you're barely eighteen. Now that you have had time to sleep on it, do you have any idea what you want to do?"

Rachel thought hard as she ran her fingers over the sealed letter that Shelby had left for her. "Dad, could I turn Beth's guardianship over to you and Daddy until after I graduate from college?"

"I think that you possibly could, but this is where the law becomes fuzzy. The problem is the state of Ohio doesn't recognize mine and Leroy's marriage. There may be resistance to placing her with a gay couple not only from Quinn's side but from the courts as well. We may also have to prove which one of us in your biological father and approach it from that angle. Are you prepared to do that?"

"No, never," Rachel said shaking her head. "In my mind you're both my parents equally, and I don't think that you want to know either."

"Okay," Hiram said with a long breath. "Since this all happened on the weekend we have a little more time. Tom Johnson is a good and fair lawyer. He had agreed to meet with all of us tomorrow morning to see if we can work something out before the courts and the Departments of Child Welfare and Social Services get involved."

Finn shot up immediately, "What does Social Services have to do with any of this?"

Hiram cleared his throat. "Anyone on Quinn's side could contest this on several counts. Also, the state doesn't recognize our marriage. Beth could be placed in foster care until we get a court date and the court makes the decision.

"Over my dead body!" Finn shouted. "Never in a million years am I going to let that happen."

"Calm down Finn, I'm just preparing you for the worst case scenario. We're going to meet with Quinn, Noah and their parents on Sunday morning at Mr. Johnson's office," Hiram told Finn.

"They aren't going to want her," Finn said sadly. "Even before she was ever born, I was the only one that wanted her."

Rachel looked at Finn like she was being totally left out of the equation.

"That maybe so, but we may get some resistance from both grandmothers. From what Mr. Johnson tells me. Mrs. Fabray wanted Quinn to keep the baby, and Mrs. Puckerman wanted to raise Beth herself," Hiram offered.

"Wait a minute!" Rachel cried. "What about me? What about Juilliard? No one has asked me what I want. Maybe I don't want to be a mother at eighteen."

"Before anyone says anything else, can we all calm down and brainstorm?" Leroy pleaded. "Rachel needs to read the letter from her mother, and we needed to have some answers before we meet with the Fabrays and the Puckermans tomorrow morning."

Everyone agreed to talk again after dinner. Mercedes' mother was bringing a meal over for them.

Rachel picked up the letter from her mother and headed out to the sunroom porch swing.

"Do you want me to come with you, or do you want to be alone?" Finn asked.

"Please come," Rachel said to Finn.

Finn and Rachel settled into swing the sunroom among the summer flowers that had been brought in to be protected from the frost. Rachel read the letter and then handed it to Finn. It read:

My Dearest Rachel,

With all my heart I hope that you never have to read this. I hope to grow old with you and Beth and be the typical Jewish grandmother to my grandchildren. However, my lawyer has suggested that I name a guardian for Beth in the event that something should happen to me. Rachel, you're my only living relative and the only person that I would entrust Beth with.

You're probably asking yourself, Why not Quinn Fabray or Noah Puckerman or their families? The answer is simple. In the time that I have had Beth they have not called or visited her once, even though we do have an open adoption. I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that one day that will want to know Beth.

On the other hand, you've been there for her. She knows you, and she loves you. I know the woman that you have become, and I want the same for Beth. Hiram and Leroy have done the best job possible raising you. I know that you'll do the same for her. If you need your dad's help, please ask for it. To be two gay guys, you couldn't have had better parents.

I'm so sorry that you know what it's like to feel abandoned. For that reason I know that you won't abandon Beth. You won't inflict the same pain on her that I inflicted on you. Rachel, I'm sorry for everything, but most of all I am sorry that I didn't get to see you grow up. You're a wonderful person, and I couldn't be more proud of you. Please know that you were always in my heart.

With all my love,

Mom

Rachel's body shook with sobs as she handed the letter to Finn. After he read it he took the letter and handed it to Hiram who passed it around to the others.

Rachel was now even more confused. In her heart she had wished that Judy Fabray would want to raise her granddaughter, and Rachel's life could go on to Juilliard uninterrupted. But now she wasn't so sure.

Sunday morning came early. It was clear when everyone assembled at Tom Johnson's office that no one had really slept. Mr. Johnson greeted them all and told them of their options.

He turned to Quinn first and asked her what she wanted to do.

"I feel that I have been down this road before." Quinn answered numbly. "I won't be eighteen until next spring, and I thought that all of this was behind me. I couldn't take care of Beth when she was born, and I can't take care of her now. I know that my mother, Noah, and Mrs. Puckerman have all expressed an interest, but I have asked them to stay out of it. None of us will be contesting the adoption at this point."

Mr. Johnson looked at Judy Fabray, Noah, and Mrs. Puckerman. "Do the three of you concur with Miss Fabray?" They all nodded yes.

"Then the three of you are free to go," Mr. Johnson told them.

Mr. Johnson waited until the three had left before he turned his attention to the others.

"Rachel, what do you want to do?" The lawyer asked.

"I want to keep Beth out of foster care at all costs. I have been accepted at Juilliard in New York as you know. I can't give up on Juilliard so I would like to turn Beth's guardianship over to my dads until after I graduate if that's okay with them and the courts," Rachel said slowly.

Mr. Johnson turned to Hiram and Leroy. "I know that you are both ACLU lawyers and we talked about this yesterday. Simply put, the state doesn't recognize your marriage as being legal. I also see that Rachel was never adopted by the non-biological parent since the biological parent was never determined. If we have to go that route are the three of you willing to undergo DNA tests to find out? Before you answer that let me address two other issues."

"The two of you are a homosexual couple, your marriage isn't considered to be legal in this state. The court may not be willing to assign guardian ship to you based on that. Are you willing to fight that battle in open court?"

"And my third question is, are the two of you willing to take on a toddler? You're both away from home more than 50% of the time with your work schedule now."

Hiram shifted in his chair, "Yes and no," he answered.

"What about you Leroy?" asked Mr. Johnson.

"I have to agree with Hiram. I was looking forward to being a grandparent, not a parent."

By this time Finn was almost livid, "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Am I the only one here who will put it all on the line for this little girl? She is only sixteen months old and already she has been kicked to the curb by her parents, abandoned by her grandparents, and left an orphan by the death of her adopted mother. She isn't a puppy that you take to the pound when they become a problem. Pigs will fly before I let her be passed around anymore."

"What are you suggesting?" the lawyer asked Finn.

Finn swallowed hard before he turned to Rachel and asked, "Rachel will you marry me and let me adopt Beth? You can still go to Juilliard and divorce me later if things don't work out."

"I can stay here and work at Burt's shop and go to community college. With your dad's help and Burt and my mom's help, we could make this work."

"I've known for sometime that I want to marry you some day. We'll just be moving it up a few years if you'll have me. Foster care won't be an issue. You and your dads won't have to find out who your biological father is. And their marriage won't be drug through open court and the Lima Times."

Carole was about to step in when Burt stopped her.

Mr. Johnson thought for a minute before he spoke.

"The age for consent for marriage is eighteen for a man and sixteen for a woman in Ohio. Legally we could make it work if all parties are in agreement, but I want everyone involved to take some time to think about this first."

"Marriage is a legally binding contract. It's not like breaking up with your girlfriend. Mr. Hudson, you would have to show that you are employed and you can support an adopted child. It might take some time before the adoption goes through. You would have to show that this is a real marriage. You would have to consummate the marriage, live together as husband and wife, and not get an annulment as soon as the ink on the documents was dry."

Rachel knew that Finn was going to ask what the word consummate meant, so she squeezed his knee to head off the question.

"I think all of you should go home and continue to consider all of the possibilities. We can all meet here again tomorrow morning," Mr. Johnson offered.

Finn and Rachel left the lawyer's office in Finn's old blue truck, while the others followed in Leroy's Lexus.

"What does consummate mean?" Finn finally asked Rachel.

"It's an old term, and I'm surprise that it's still on the books. Originally, when a couple married, the bride was supposed to be a virgin. The marriage was made legit on their wedding night when the bridegroom took the bride's virginity. That's why brides wear white. Back then it was supposed to be a symbol of the bride's virginity and purity," Rachel answered with her head still spinning.

"Oh," Finn said.

After a few moments Finn asked, "You still haven't answered my question. Will you marry me? You know that I want to marry you. We'll just be moving it up a few years."

"I don't know," Rachel said sincerely. "Forty-eight hours ago my biggest decision was should I wear my hair up or down for homecoming. Now I'm looking at being a wife and a mother. Don't get me wrong, I want to be your wife. I had just planned on finishing school first. I feel like this would be ruining your chance for an education too."

"Rachel, I can't ask you to give up on Juilliard. I can stay here and get my core classes out of the way at the community college. After you graduate and make it big on Broadway, Beth and I can join you in New York. I can finish my education then if I haven't already. Here we have Mom and Burt and your dads to help us."

"What if I don't make it big on Broadway?" Rachel asked.

"Bite your tongue. The Broadway producers are going to be fighting over you. But if you don't that's okay too. You'll always be my star," Finn smiled at her.

"Finn this had got to be the most unselfish gesture that anyone has ever made. Let me think about it until after Shelby's funeral. Maybe we can work this out. I promise I will give you an answer after the funeral. How about it if you go home with Burt and Carole and let me spend some time with my dads? I know that your mom is eager to talk to you as well. I'll call you later this afternoon."

"Okay, but I want you to know that I'm as serious as a heart attack about my offer. I want to marry you Rachel Berry."

He kissed her goodbye in the Berry's driveway and headed home with Carole and Burt. They had a lot to talk about.

Shelby's funeral was set for the funeral home chapel on Wednesday afternoon, but had to be moved to the Carmel High School auditorium. Fifteen years worth of Vocal Adrenaline students were pouring into town to say goodbye to their former teacher and mentor.

Wednesday morning Finn was tying his tie for the funeral when Carole and Burt walked up behind him in front of the mirror.

"Son," Carole said to Finn, "We just want you to know how proud we are of the way you have handled the last five days. Not many eighteen year old boys would offer to get married and adopt a baby for the child's sake. Whatever you decide to do, Burt, Kurt and I are behind you."

The Berry's and the Hummel/Hudson's assembled in front of the Carmel auditorium waiting for Shelby's funeral to begin.

Rachel looked into the packed auditorium in awe. "I thought that Beth and I were her only family. From the looks of this crowd she was surely loved by many."

The crowd became quiet when Rachel walked in carrying her mother's ashes. She had her arm linked in Finn's and he was carrying Beth with his other arm. The service was short, but Beth was becoming fussy. Rachel asked Finn to take Beth out.

"I'm not leaving you," he whispered back.

Carole reached for Beth and took her out leaving Finn and Rachel holding tightly to one another. When the funeral concluded the family met in the high school's lobby.

"Thanks for taking her out Mom. If you don't mind, I'm going to ride home with Rachel; I don't want her to be alone right now."

"Sure," said Carole kissing her son on the cheek. "Try to be back at the Berry's before six. Mercedes' church is fixing dinner for all of us."

Rachel drove around aimlessly on their way back to Lima. Finn thought that she probably needed to drive, and he was content to just be there for the ride.

A week later, Finn and Rachel were sitting on her sunroom porch swing just enjoying each other's company when Finn finally broke the silence and asked,

"Maybe this isn't the right time to ask, but do you have an answer for me? Will you marry me?"

"Finn, you know that I do want to marry you, but I have a few things that I want to discuss before I agree to anything."

"This is going to be the biggest undertaking of our lives. It's going to be me, you, and Beth, instant family. I've talked it over with my dads and they said that we have their full support. Dad and Daddy are both overwhelmed that you would make such a selfless offer. They said that we could have the upstairs at my house. It has my room and two extra bedrooms and two bathrooms. They've also said that at least one of them would work from home to help with the babysitting."

"Mom and Burt would have liked for us to have waited, but they understand. We have their support as well. And no, this isn't selfless for me. This is what I want to do." Finn nodded.

"Finn, we will be starting off married life as teenagers in high school with an adopted child. What if we want babies of our own some day?"

"Then we'll have babies of our own, but Beth will be ours just as much as any flesh and blood ones." Finn smiled with his lop-sided grin.

"What about the sex?" Rachel asked almost in a whisper. "What if I'm no good at it?"

"Rach, name one thing for me that you're not good at?" Finn asked.

"But you and I both know that I'm still a virgin," she blushed deep red.

Finn smiled back, "Then we will just have to have an old fashion marriage. Didn't you say that the bridegroom was supposed to take the bride's virginity on the night after the wedding? Isn't that what the wedding night is for?"

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Until the next chapter, Thank you for all of the reviews and for adding my story to your favorites and alerts lists. Sincerely, Whistler Nights