This chapter is a bit…emotional, but it has to be. I hope everyone is okay with that. If you take a minute to notice this story is under romance and hurt/comfort so it's the "read-between-the-lines" theme of my story as a whole. So I hope you all enjoy!

It's a bit longer than I usually do for this story; I try to keep it between 5 and 6 pages for each chapter. I usually write huge updates for my Supernatural story and it takes me a long time to write them. So I decided to do shorter chapters for this story. (5 to 6 pages compared to SPN which usually ends up being 10 or longer)

Thanks for all the reviews, alerts and messages! You all are wonderful, I'm really glad I'm writing a story people like!

Enjoy!

O0o0o

Chapter 4:

So he'd go over Quinn's for an hour, pick out a stupid color glitter for the banner for their campaign for prom king and queen and get over to Sheets n Things for Rachel's shift.

Quinn would be happy, Rachel would be happy—Finn would be happy. And the best thing about it was Quinn would never need to know about Rachel and his newly found friendship with her. He didn't want this thing spoiled—it would just stay between him and Rachel. He wasn't going to let Quinn, Sam or anyone else who had a problem with it ruin it. He had let too many people decide how he'd feel about things lately. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. Like when he had let popularity rule his life—oh wait, he was still doing that. He swallowed.

Rachel had never made him feel like he was popular but…at least he never felt alone when he was with her.

He adjusted his football bag and reached inside for his water bottle. Finn couldn't help but wonder if Sam knew about him coming to visit Rachel while she was working. Sam hadn't said anything to him all practice…his hits on the field had been a bit harder but other than that there had been no fighting or whatever like he had expected. Maybe Rachel hadn't told Sam because –well, because there was no reason to. They were friends and she shouldn't have had to. Rachel was perfectly capable of making her own decisions…least that's what she always told him. And he totally agreed with her. She didn't need Sam's permission to hang out with friends.

He sighed, stopping when he got to his car. His muscles ached and he was in need of a hot shower. He took a long swig of water from the bottle and set it in his bag. He fished in his basketball shorts for his keys but came out empty. He frowned and searched his gym bag and then his book bag—still came out empty handed. Finn swore softly, the keys to his car must have been in his gym locker…or somewhere around there. He set his bags down and shoved them under his car; they'd be fine for the five minutes he'd be gone.

Finn jogged back to the school and opened the double doors, heading down the hall to the locker room. Of course the closest entrance to the locker room was near the football field, near his car, but that one was always locked from the outside.

He high-fived Mike for a good practice as he passed him in the hallway and turned the corner, coming face to face with the boy's locker room door. He pushed the door open and went to his locker, the door closing softly behind him.

The smell of sweat and unwashed clothes combined with blueberry flavored Gatorade stung his nostrils. He rubbed them, irritated, trying to hurry so he wouldn't be late to Quinn's. That's all he would need—her bitching at him for being late.

Finn shifted, looking for keys around his locker when a soft noise grabbed his attention. He frowned and turned around. Is someone else in here?

He inched closer to another row of lockers. He was about to call out to see if anyone was still in the showers or something when he heard shuffling, a sigh and finally a voice.

"I'm sorry I bothered you in here, Sam." Finn frowned. Rachel. Rachel was in the boy's locker room—well it wasn't like it was her first time or anything. He just…Why is she in here?

"No, it's okay, don't apologize Rachel. I told you, whenever you need to talk, I'm available." Finn couldn't see Sam but he could hear the smile in his voice. He gritted his teeth together and the muscle in his jaw twitched.

Finn should have gotten out right then; turned around, searched for his keys and drove the hell out of there. He needed to get to Quinn's. But instead he moved closer, trying to figure out a way where he could see what was going on.

It should have really bothered him that he was eavesdropping but…he was just trying to be a good friend. Does that excuse even work? He was pretty sure Rachel would be furious if he was using his 'friends' title to listen in on her and her boyfriend. What was he doing? This didn't prove his trust to her…it just proved he was nosy and needed to know what she was doing with Sam in the boy's locker room. And Rachel trying to blame her…un-Rachel like personality on stress and working out with Sam was crap and he wanted to know what was going on. These past few days had been driving him up the wall.

As her ex-boyfriend, he never really realized how much he cared about her. He thought it'd be easy, he had been Quinn's ex and he'd barely talked to her. He hadn't cared about what she was doing or who she'd been going out with, how her parents were after the whole baby gate—nothing, not a thought. He thought he'd eventually feel the same way about Rachel: forgetting about her, not caring anymore. But with her…it was different. The more time he spent away from Rach, the more he cared about her. The more he cared about how she was doing at home, how were her dads? Were they still making kielbasa every Thursday? Was Rachel still getting bullied in the halls—or was Sam there for her? Did she still watch a different musical every Sunday? Finn swallowed. Did she watch them with Sam? Finn closed his eyes and leaned his head against a cold, red, locker door. If he would have known how awful being apart felt he never would have broken up with her. It was just a kiss. And she'd been honest with him about it. And hadn't he done so much worse compared to her with this whole Quinn thing? He sighed very softly.

Quinn. He could hear her nasally voice in his head, "Why? Who do you care so much about what that little midget is doing with Sam! She's just trying to get you back!"

And yeah, he'd considered that a ton of times…but it just didn't fit. Why would Rachel go through with all this just to get his attention—he excepted that from her when she sang that duet with Puck but after Regional's and after that song of hers…she was different, he could feel it. She was finally moving on from him. Wasn't that what I wanted?

Finn moved down the row of lockers, quietly stepping over discarded t-shirts and cleats.

"It's just…this was the last place I wanted to talk to you about this…" Finn could picture her scrunching her nose at the smell.

Sam chuckled. "Well we could leave if you want."

"No," she said, softly now. "It's quiet here…and I think…" She was hesitant, her voice trembling. Finn never really heard her tumble over her words like that.

Finn reached the end of a row of lockers, a mirror across from him. There were a few hanging on the wall in a line, sinks underneath them. If he leaned a bit to the left he could see Rachel and Sam in the reflection.

This was wrong. So wrong. What the hell was he doing? The mirror easily reflected the aisle Sam and Rachel were in, the row of lockers between them hiding Finn. Could he do this to Rachel? If she saw him she'd never forgive him. But he couldn't get his goddamn legs to move, the muscles clenching and refusing to budge.

"Hey..." Sam said softly. Finn tilted his head, watching him put his hands on Rachel's shoulders, trying to urge her to continue. His thumbs moved in circles on her collar bone and then moved up to gently stroke the soft skin on the sides of her neck.

Sam's back was facing Finn in the mirror, so Finn could see Rachel's face. He had to shift to see her in the reflection as Sam moved closer to her.

Finn's heart clenched as he saw Rachel's face crumble, her frame shuddered as she took a big breath into her lungs—a big sob escaping her lips.

Sam reacted instantly, pulling her into his chest, his arms wrapped around Rachel's tiny body. Finn really had to squash the urge to run and gather her into his arms and take her back to his car—away from here, away from whatever was making her so sad.

Finn had always had this sort of weak spot when it came to girls crying, especially for Rachel. He hated seeing it and everything but when it came to Rachel Berry, something inside him just snapped. She was the most honest, sweetest and selfless (yeah, she'd really been working on that one lately) girl he knew. To see her cry was just like…kicking a sick puppy or something.

The crying was one thing; unfortunately he wasn't that good at comforting. He was just…he was taller and he kinda had to, like, lean down to hug her and his whole body did this awkward thing where he tried to hug her and he felt like he was engulfing Rachel. Rachel had never complained…she had always told him that she loved his hugs. That she felt like she was being hugged by a big, comfy teddy bear or something (he had thanked her for the masculine points that had brought him…). Not only that but Finn was always fumbling with words—let alone saying the right thing to make her feel better. He had only comforted Rachel three times in their relationship—and for a dramatic girl like her; Finn figured that was a pretty good average.

One time, the mean MySpace comments on her videos was just too much for her to handle. He held her while she cried and told her that the people who commented mean things were just jealous of her talent—he had told Puck to 'visit' some of those people the next day at school and put the fear of the Jewish God in them. She didn't get many mean comments after that.

The second time was during that movie with Will Smith and the zombies—God, what was the title? Anyways, the dog died and Rachel had teared up against his t-shirt, mumbling about how it was an awful movie and that she hoped the dog hadn't suffered. He was pretty sure an argument would have started if he had told her she was being a tad dramatic—it was just a movie, the dog was fine and dandy in real life. He was going to tell her that but…he watched the Sound of Music with her instead and sang along when she poked his chest to pay attention. It had made her smile so he didn't mind much.

The third time had been the worst. Karofsky was just having one of those days where he was just…relentless (awesome S.A.T. word. Did I ever thank Rachel for those study books?) to everyone in his way. Finn had been at his locker, down the hall from Rachel's when he saw her turn to head back to him to leave for the day. Unfortunately Karofsky wasn't watching where he had been going and bumped right into her. Of course it was her fault that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking. He had pushed her into the lockers, telling her to watch herself. As if that wasn't bad enough, Karofsky then opened up his fat mouth and said something about how Rachel's nose was so big that she probably couldn't see where she was going and some awful slur about her "two big faggot dads". That had been more than enough for Finn to beat the ever-living shit outta him. Finn had rushed down the hall and grabbed him by the letterman jacket and pushed him into another set of lockers. He was about to throw in a punch or some type of ninja kick but Rachel's hand on his arm stopped him.

When he looked down at her, large tears had formed on the ends of her eyelashes and dripped like a leaky faucet, her breathing was shaky and her lower lip wobbled ever so slightly. He had leaned down and hugged her instantly, glad that Mr. Schue had come out of his office at the noises in the hall. He took care of Karofsky, guiding him down the hallway to the principal's office upon seeing a sobbing Rachel.

Finn sighed softly at the memory. He remembered how tightly Rachel's arms had wound around his waist, how her tears emptied out against his chest; soaking his polo. He remembered her small shaking body and how she slowly stopped crying because of how his arms tightened and how he placed soft kisses in her hair. When she had pulled back he cupped her face with his hands and removed the tear tracks with his thumbs; with a long kiss on her forehead he had finally gotten her to smile. It hadn't been that really bright one that sometimes made Finn think Rachel had, like, the sun in her mouth or something—but it was small, genuine and thankful and that had been enough.

"Shh…" Finn heard Sam whisper softly. Finn craned his neck to watch him run his hands down through her hair. "It's okay, I got you…" He whispered.

Finn felt his blood boil in jealousy. He shook his head and breathed out, closing his eyes. Rachel, Rachel…you're here for Rachel. Don't be selfish about this…

When Rachel's sobs eventually slowed, Sam still kept her against his body. Finn could see his arms flex slightly in the mirror's reflection—he guessed he had held Rachel tighter or moved to rub her back.

"What happened? Did someone say something to you?" There was anger throughout Sam's voice.

"No," Rachel sniffled, her voice muffled against Sam's shirt.

Finn strained his ears to hear Rachel speak—the girl had a huge voice but when she was sad or upset she got softer and softer until she was just quiet. He remembered the day Karofsky had made her cry she was silent all day; it took him forever to get her to talk to him again without her sounding so hurt or wounded.

Then again, Finn couldn't really blame the fact that he couldn't hear her clearly on anyone or anything—he wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping like this. If I honestly felt like she'd tell me what was wrong I'd leave—but I don't see that happening. So he did what he thought he had to, to be a good friend, to find out what was wrong with Rachel and fix it. Fix her.

He told her once that he'd be there for her—that didn't stop being true just because they weren't together anymore.

"I have to go…" Rachel said suddenly, pulling back from Sam's chest.

Wait. What? She was leaving? Did I miss something about why she was crying? Finn panicked. If she left now, she'd definitely see him.

"Wait, Rach…" Sam placed a kiss on her forehead, just like Finn always used to, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Finn felt his fists clench again, swallowing thickly at this newfound resentment attacking him the past few days. He shouldn't have felt like this.

"Let me take you home, you're in no condition to drive." Sam gathered some of his gear and shoved it in his bag.

"I can't…do this." She swallowed and wiped the tears off her face as they started to fall again.

"Don't…" Sam said softly. "You obviously need someone to talk to. Don't push me away Rachel."

Her lip wobbled and her breath caught in her throat. Finn swallowed and frowned softly in sympathy. God he wished there was something he could do, she looked so helpless.

Sam went towards her again. "I just…I d-don't know what to do anymore, Sam." She hugged him again, this time her arms going around his waist, leaning into him for comfort—safety.

Finn felt utterly sick to his stomach at the scene before him. He tried to push those feelings aside—the ones he thought were gone—the ones just for her. He tried to be the friend card: neutral, totally just doing this because of Rachel, because he cared about her and needed to help her. But part of him couldn't deny there was a hint of anger, jealously; something that lit his insides like a wildfire…something that made Sam Evans something he wanted to hit. And badly.

Finn wasn't a very violent person. Sure, he played football. But he was pretty soft compared to most of the guys at McKinley. It took a lot to get him so mad that he punched something.

He tried not to be that guy—the one he'd become that just kept bouncing from girl to girl. He never should have tried to move on with Quinn because there was only one girl he wanted, and she was standing, crying, in another man's arms right in front of him.

"It'll get better, Rach. I promise."

She laughed but it sounded so strained and hard. "How could you promise that?"

"Didn't I tell you? I'm back from the future," Sam responded in his best Marty McFly voice. Rachel laughed softly, sniffling. "I'm here to tell you that everything is going to be fine…and that there are still no flying cars a year from now."

Finn rolled his eyes. What an asshat.

Rachel, however, didn't seem to think so because she pulled back with a smile. "Thank you, Sam." She said softly.

Finn slowly backed up, making his way to his locker. He heard shuffling—Sam grabbing his bag and hoisting it over his shoulder. Finn made his way towards the showers, deciding to hide in one of the stalls until they left.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride to the hospital before your shift…make sure everything is okay."

Finn nearly rammed into a set of lockers, his heart slamming up through his throat. He managed to get into the shower stall, looking at the back of Sam and Rachel, his arm around her shoulders as they left the locker room, the door closing—echoing in Finn's head.

H-hospital. Hospital? He swallowed thickly, tears stinging the back of his eyes, his back resting against the cool tiles of the shower wall. Oh, God. He fought tears and bit the tip of his tongue.

Everything came crashing down on him, swallowing him up in bitter emotions. The hospital, sweatpants, she was sick-like and Sam knew. Finn sniffled. He fucking knew and she needed a job because she needed money…a tear fell down his cheek against his will.

Finn Hudson was too late.

He was too late to be with Rachel Berry.

To have her feel like he was special, to make her feel beautiful, to be each other's firsts—true firsts (the kind that had to do about being in love, not with a number or a mistake), to lying in bed with her; warm and nervous and satisfied, to holding her as she fell asleep, to be connected and to be as close as two human beings could possibly be to each other.

He was too late.

Rachel was pregnant.

And he was heartbroken.

O0o0o0o

So, is Rachel really pregnant? Or is that just what Finn can gather for a conclusion? :) thanks for reading and for reviews!