Memory Lane
Rachel smiled brightly as she pulled up to the family style Ohio home she once shared with her dads. It'd been eleven whole years since she'd pulled up in that sane driveway. As much as she swore and took- oath that she was never returning to that godforsaken cow-town again, she got great relief at the overwhelming feeling of finally being home. She was planning on buying her own small home three blocks down. There was a little ranch home down the street begging for some attention.
She ejected her keys and skipped to the door. She lifted the "Dancing Shoes Wipe Here!" doormat, and plucked the spare key up and unlocked the door. The house smelled the same, and it looked the same, given her dad, Leon, had most likely redecorated it. Everything was in place and felt the same, almost like she'd never left. The last thing there was to check was her room.
The door was still snow white with the exception of her gold star plaque and paint chipped from her Regionals trophy that she used to take her anger out on Jesse...and Ken. Her room was now a pale green and the floor wad plastered with yoga mats. And the place where her vanity once was sat a gong and candles. As sad as this sight was, she had to remember that she hadn't visited home in well over a decade.
Rachel unpacked her trunk and mad her way to the guest house. As she neared the bottom of her trunk she spotted something. It was smooth, black, supple leather. The object was none other than Finn Hudson's briefcase. Woohoo. She set it aside and tip towed to her closet. It was in the same place, of course, but she just wanted to make sure. As soon as she opened it, a big box if papers and book reports fell atop her Burberry beanie. She sorted through the papers and found an envelope labeled "Letters To Rachel" in her dad's handwriting.
Of course she opened the envelope the first letter caught her attention. It was dated the day Finn "saw" Jesse "making out" with Ken Jacobs at Rinky Dinks. It pained Rachel to know that if she'd just listened, she'd probably be Lucy's mother. But Santana is, not her. Rachel held her breath and unfolded the worn piece of notebook paper. It read

"DEAR RACH,
HEY UMM IT'S FINN. I WAS AT RINKY DINKS LAST NIGHT WITH MY MOM. WE WERE BOWLING AND STUFF...ANYWAYS I SAW SOMEONE. I SAW JESSE. YEAH, THAT JESSE, YOUR BOYFRIEND, JESSE ST JAMES. HE WAS UH...KISSING SOMEONE. THAT SOMEONE WAS … KEN JACOBS. NOT A GIRL, A GUY. I'M SO SORRY I HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO TELL YOU THIS. SEE YOU AROUND.
- FINN HUDSON."

Rachel couldn't help but sob. The innocence in the letter brought her to tears. He was so genuine. The letter was just so...so Finn. And she missed having that around. Then she thought of his briefcase over on the chair. She rushed to her bag and snatched her MacBook. She lit the screen and flew to .com.
She couldn't count how many Finn Hudson's lived in Ohio. So she had one last option. With a sniffle she typed in "Santana Hudson", there were three. It wasn't hard because it had the spouses' names. One was twenty eight, one was 56, and one was dead. She jotted down the address and grabbed her keys.
Rachel drove down the street until she pulled up next to a family villa. She looked at the sticky not on her dash.

"5627 Brownsbrook Drive. Here we go!" Rachel encouraged herself. She carefully strategically stepped around the plants and admired Finn's talent for lawn work. She held her breath, once again, and double knocked on the door. About four seconds later the door opened.

"...Hello." said a girl, not much shorter than Rachel. She had dirty blonde hair and a tshirt that said "WMMS CheerGirls" the logo for the middle school down the block. "..Lucy?" Rachel asked with the deer in the headlights expression. "No, I'm D.J. Puckerman, Lucy's inside. Who're you?" D.J asked taking a long stare up and down Rachel. "I'm-" "Rachel? Rachel Berry?" a clean voice questioned. Before Rachel knew it Quinn Fabray waddled up with a baby who Rachel thought to be Chelsea on her hip. "Quinn? Quinn Fabray? Oh my. Wow! You look good!" Rachel bit her tongue. "So do you! And actually it's Quinn Puckerman now." Quinn blushed and waved her left hand in front. "Oh congratulations! That's just...great!" Rachel lied. Quinn the Sin Fabray had gotten married and she hadn't. "It's great to see you! Why are you here?" she asked giving Rachel a one armed hug. "The feeling's mutual Q. I'm just moving back. New York gets lonely."

"I'd guess you'd be in NYC all this time. I'm so glad to have you back though!" Quinn gushed as she closed the giant door.

"Your baby is adorable! And D.J's gotten so so so big!" Rachel said placing a hand on D.J's back.

"Do I know you?" D.J asked. "Drizzle Jane, this is Rachel. She was your godmother." Quinn introduced. "No, Aunty San and Uncle Finn are my only godparents..." D.J stated. "Rachel, here, was your godmother. When you were two, she moved away." Quinn tried to explain it without making Rachel seem like she didn't love D.J. "Then when Aunty San and Uncle Finn got married when you were five, Aunty San became your permanent godmother. Do you get it?" Quinn asked. "Uh huh, I guess." D.J mumbled as she walked off.

"It's easiest to be alone when she gets confused with the situation." Quinn added. "Come in, we're about to make lunch." She guided Rachel to the living room. "In case you're wondering, Lucy's in the kitchen. We, I babysit her during the summer. D.J usually walks in and out throughout the day. "Rachel followed. "I don't want to intrude; I've got errands and things. It's fine." Rachel apologized. "Please! I'm inviting you to each our oh-so-fancy PB&J's! Stick around." Quinn welcomed. "If you insist." Quinn set Chelsea in the bassinet and walked to the kitchen. "Lucy, I think you have a special visitor, she's excited to see you." Quinn winked at Rachel and led her into the kitchen. "Lady Rachel! Hello! Welcome to MY home." Lucy showed off. "You can sit anywhere you want." Lucy pointed around the room. Except for daddy's chair. It's special. I'm allowed to sit there, but you're not. Okay?" Lucy asked. "Got it!" Rachel smiled.

After lunch, Quinn laid Chelsea down for yet another nap, and put a movie on for Lucy in the playroom. "Sorry about that. We're having our carpets done, and we needed to stay somewhere." Quinn explained. "Finn was more than happy to offer us the spare rooms. San, on the other hand doesn't particularly love guests. It's only temporary.

"So, you're married to Noah now?" Rachel asked. "Oh, yeah. We did it after grad. We thought it was the right thing and well, it just worked out. He makes me very happy." Quinn smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm very h-happy for you." Rachel forced a smile. Quinn sensed what Rachel was thinking. She didn't like seeing someone that way. "Rachel, really? Please don't be upset. It's no big deal! I married Noah for D.J's sake, and Finn married Santana for Lucy. Some things just work themselves out for the best." Quinn advised. Rachel was struck by a certain way Quinn had phrased her words.

"Finn married Santana for Lucy? I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to tell me!" Rachel gasped. "Oh, you see, Lucy was kind of the reason they married." Quinn held back for Rachel to go on a tangent. "What? Like…a 'one night stand'?" Rachel whispered. "I know, right?" Quinn laughed. "But hey, like I said. Things work themselves out, and sometimes you just go with it." Quinn added. "Look, I understand, there's always someone fro everyone, right?" Rachel asked.

"I MUST be dreaming!" She thought to herself. "Finn Peter Hudson? A victim on a one-night-stand? Who knew? At least he's happy."

Rachel chatted more with Quinn. She had gotten a job at the elementary school the week before, and she had to get her Teacher's ID before 4:00pm that afternoon. She left an hour later with more sadness than before, and she still had the briefcase.