Chapter Three: Decisions to be Made

"Sir, I'm sorry but if you don't give me your name I won't be able to contact someone who can pick you up. And if I can't find someone I can't let you get out of here because you're going to be needing constant attention for the next couple of weeks. You have two broken ribs, a broken leg and a concussion that might be cause for concern. I can't in good conscience let you go home unless I know that you're going to be well taken care of." said Dr. Simpson, the doctor in charge of Finn's case.

Before Finn could come up with a good excuse as to why he wouldn't tell the kind doctor who he was, Rachel walked in the room and Finn asked the doctor if he could come back later. As the doctor obliged, Rachel sat in her chair and pulled up close to Finn's bed. It had been two weeks since Finn had woken up and since then Rachel had visited him once a day, singing him songs and reading books to him.

It had turned out that her fear that Finn would hate her was unfounded. He never even batted an eye as she told him what had transpired. What's more is he even seemed to understand the rest of her story, of her leaving home in the hopes to better her life for herself, that what she wanted was so important to her that she was willing to give up everything. He jokingly made a deal, that he wouldn't press charges against Rachel so long as she came and visited him everyday, and promised to sing him at least one song. If there was one thing that he truly appreciated about Rachel it was her voice. He could tell that she wasn't merely bragging, she truly was a star. And the best part was that when she sang, he could tell exactly what she was feeling, it was always so honest that he couldn't help but feel amazed.

In all of their long talks about life and where they saw themselves in ten years and what Rachel's life has been like since coming to the city they never once talked about Finn's mysterious past. It was as if there was some unspoken rule that made it clear that they could talk about anything, but Finn's past. And it wasn't as if Rachel wasn't curious about why no one ever came to visit him or he never asked if his parents had been notified, but after she had put him in this position she felt that it wasn't her place to demand an answer.

One day, just as Rachel was about to leave Dr. Simpson stopped in, he had been hoping for the chance to meet Finn's visitor so he could finally get some answers. "Ah, Miss Berry is it? I was wondering if I could talk to you and Finn for a moment before you left." asked the doctor, motioning towards the chair Rachel has just been occupying.

As Rachel took her chair she asked "I hope everything is okay doctor, there haven't been any recent complications?"

"No no dear, I was just wondering if you could shed any light on the situation and give me a number to reach any of Finn's family at, he hasn't exactly been forthcoming with any personal details. We don't even know his last name and without that I can't locate the family myself."

Finn shot the doctor a look that clearly told him to back off but the doctor had to do what he felt was best for his patient.

Rachel arched her eyebrows and replied "Well actually doctor he hasn't exactly told me anything either, but if it's a matter of signing him out I would be more than happy to do it."

"Well actually it is more of a matter of being able to release him with the knowledge that he will be well taken care of at home. He will be needing constant attention for a while and I have to know that he will be taken care of" the doctor said calmly.

Finn angrily cut in with "Will you both please stop pretending I'm not here? And I told you Doc, I'm fine I don't need to be taken care of at home!"

As Rachel sat there and thought about the predicament it didn't take long for her to decide what the right thing to do was. "He can come and live with me. While I might not be family I promise I will give him the best care that I can and my best friend lives just a few floors above so if I'm out at work he can always call upstairs and ask for help."

The doctor looked unsure about this decision and Finn, although he recognized the kind act couldn't accept. "I'm sorry Rachel, that's really sweet of you to offer but I can't let you do that. It would be too much of a burden and you don't even know me that well."

"It's my fault you're like this in the first place! If you think I'm going to let you just wander the streets like some sort of bum because you are too embarrassed to call back home and tell your parents that you were out sneaking around in the City you have another thing coming. Whatever your reason is for not coming home, if it's that bad that you can't ask them then I am all you have. Let me help you, I only have a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan but I have a big couch that you are welcome to sleep on for as long as you need. And I won't take no for an answer. Doctor, what would I have to be looking out for with this concussion?" Rachel then turned to the doctor and began writing down everything that he was saying to her, making sure that she would know what to do when and what to be on the watch out for.

And although Finn had never really agreed it seemed to have been decided that he would be living with this kind girl who screwed up once and wouldn't forgive herself until he showed her that he was all better.

Rachel's back was turned so she missed the tiniest of smiles appeared on Finn's face as he thought of how lucky he was that someone finally was putting his needs first.

-Later that day-

"It's not the nicest of apartments, but it's cheap and located close enough to Time Square that I can walk there within ten minutes." Rachel said as she slammed the car door. Finn couldn't help but notice the "Gleek" sticker on the bottom left corner of her car. They headed upstairs and she showed Finn the kitchen/living room. "My room is in the back and to the left there is the bathroom. Now as awful as I feel about leaving you already I have the 8-12 shift tonight at Ellen's and if you need anything, anything at all just call Jesse, his number is on the fridge. I'll be back at midnight and if you're up we are going to watch Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. I still can't leave you haven't seen it yet!" And with that Rachel ran out of the apartment to go sing and dance on tables for the next four hours.

Finn couldn't help but laugh at his new roommate. With the knowledge that she was doing all she could to help Finn and the thought of being paid to sing for the next couple of hours she seemed an entirely different person. Now Finn could see where the happy bubbly girl that Rachel had described herself as really was.

But as Finn sat down he had to think of how he was going to get out of this. It was clear that Rachel wouldn't just let him go after a couple weeks without knowing that the was in some way going to be taken care of. And there was no way he was going to tell her that he was homeless. Right now she saw him as a kind mysterious kid with a troubling past that he was trying to escape from. He hobbled over on his crutches to her impressive CD collection, it seemed that she had every musical that had ever been written. Rachel was clearly unlike anyone he had ever met and he chuckled to himself realizing that he never would have spoken to a girl like Rachel in high school.

As Finn had grown up he had always been tall and muscular, with light brown eyes that always seemed to notice everything. In high school he had dated the popular cheerleader, been the star quarterback and had decent enough grades. It wasn't until his senior year that things really began to fall apart for him. For some reason people never seem to be around when you need them the most and his girlfriend left him after he began spending more nights at home, to protect his mother. His grades started to slip because he was too embarrassed to go to school with the bruises he had on his body. His friends who had once seemed to worship him suddenly avoided him, as if they were afraid that if they got too close they might catch whatever disease had taken the sparkle out of their idol's eyes. He was a well rounded kid, and theater had always fascinated him but he preferred to sing in the comfort of his own shower. His father had done theater, his mother always used to tell him and in some ways when he sang he felt that he was getting closer to his father.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Finn opened it and there stood Jesse, as Finn figured because Rachel had told him that she didn't really know anyone else in the city.

"Hey I'm Jesse" the stranger said. "I know you're probably exhausted right now but I could really use a bite to eat and I figured I would show you where Rachel works. As annoying as she can be, when you see her perform, there's nothing that you could say against her.'' And so the new acquaintances made it down the street and got a table at Ellen's Stardust Diner and got to talking. Here Finn got to learn things about Rachel's past that she hadn't told him.

"Rachel is pretty honest about herself, I'll give her that. What I think is one of her strongest qualities is that she doesn't make any apologies for who she is. She knows what she wants and she sets out to go and get it. From the time she could walk she was dancing and her dads say that her first word was 'Broadway'. We've been friends for so long that I don't ever remember a time where she wasn't competing with me for the solo in a chorus concert or something."

As Jesse continued to ramble on about life growing up with Rachel, couldn't help but think that this necessarily wasn't what he had observed with Rachel. On the contrary, he felt that Rachel was sorry for how she was. She blamed her ambitious nature on the reason why she was so upset she got in a car drunk and as far as he could tell she had her doubts as to if she would make it in showbiz. Either Rachel was changing or she didn't often show the side she was showed to Finn.

After they got their food they were just about to begin to eat when Rachel got up to sing. When she began to sing the whole crowd stopped eating and talking as she stood up on the table. It was the song "Gimme Gimme" from the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, one of her latest favorite musicals. It was as if the entire time she sang she was telling the audience of how she herself wanted to find love. She sang beautifully and there wasn't one person who wasn't spellbound. She noticed Finn sitting there with Jesse and smiled and walked over to their table for the grand finale. She threw her head back and belted out the last line of the song: "Gimme, gimme that thing called love!"

For a moment no one talked and then applause cut the air and filled the establishment, Finn clapping the loudest. Jesse just sat there and watched his best friend bask in the glory of the moment as he himself remembered fondly of performing before he decided he wanted to do something more realistic and safe with his life.

As Finn looked at Rachel he began to think, for the briefest of moments that maybe he was lucky to have been hit by Rachel. Still filled with horror and sorrow as to what he had read in the newspaper he decided he wouldn't deal with it now and he would just enjoy the few weeks he would have with Rachel before he would leave and head back out onto the streets to escape his troubled past.