Hi everyone. Hope you're all having a nice Memorial Day weekend. First, let me say I'm so sorry for taking so long. One of my best friends is getting married next weekend, so I've been getting ready for that and helping her with the details. After the wedding, I should get more regular with updates. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. We get to see lots of characters we don't see as much :) Enjoy and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 4: Homecoming
Since it was a long weekend for the colleges in New York and the high school hadn't started yet, the New Yorkers were going to Lima for a weekend to visit with their families and the glee club for the weekend. Rachel was looking forward to seeing her dads, her sister and Finn's parents, but at the same time, she was dreading having to discuss what had been going on with Finn's dad. She was angry that Finn had been treated this way, and she knew Carole would be upset as well. After all, Carole had been living a lie as well for 21 years.
"What do you think I should tell my mom?" Finn asked, interrupting Rachel's thoughts.
"Tell her ALL the details," Rachel said. It made her angry thinking about what Finn's dad had done for the past twenty one years and what he was doing to Finn now. Shelby may have told Rachel she didn't feel like she was ready for a relationship, but at least she didn't regret that Rachel was born.
"I will," Finn sighed. "I always would fantasize about meeting my dad again, if he was alive - and now I have and he tells me that I'm not his son and he's not my dad..."
"I know," Rachel said. "And I'm so sorry he said that."
"He has a new family," Finn sighed. "He has three kids with another woman... my siblings... siblings who've been lied about my existence."
Rachel thought back to when she first found out about Kylie. She and Kylie had bonded as sisters right away, maybe because they had already spent some time together. Her whole life she'd wanted a sister to talk about girl things with and to stand next to her as maid of honor at her wedding. She'd gotten that. But for Finn, it wasn't going to be that way with these siblings. Their father didn't even want them to know about Finn.
"I'm probably never going to have what I have with Kurt and what you have with Kylie with them," Finn continued. "I met one of my brothers and my sister very briefly, and I've never met the other brother..."
Rachel put her arm around Finn. "I'm so sorry you're going through this. Remember though, you aren't alone. You have me, your mom, Burt, Kurt, all our friends..."
Finn managed a smile. "How did it feel when all this first happened with Shelby?"
"I was hurt," Rachel admitted. "But at least she didn't reject me like Christopher rejected you..."
"Yeah," Finn said.
The train pulled up to the train station, and Rachel just hoped this weekend would help Finn unwind. He needed it.
x
When the other alumni were visiting with their families, Finn decided to talk to his mom and Burt about what had happened. He asked Kurt and Rachel to talk to them with him, mainly because he didn't want to do it alone. Finn, Rachel and Kurt went into the living room, where Burt and Carole were sitting. "Can we talk to you guys?" Finn asked.
"Of course," Carole said. "What's going on?"
Finn took a deep breath and told the story of the past few weeks and his meetings with his biological father. Carole and Burt both looked horrified. They were shocked enough to find that Christopher was still alive, but Finn could tell that they weren't happy at all with his treatment of Finn. "I just feel so hurt and angry," Finn said. "Why did he do this to me? Why does he hate me so much?"
"I hope he realizes what a mess he's created," Burt said. "Your mother and I have been meeting with lawyers ever since we found out about what happened. Since she believed he was dead, technically our marriage isn't legal right now."
Finn gasped. He couldn't believe it. This hadn't just created a mess for him, it was a mess for his family as well. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I'm the one who sought him out after I saw him at the diner..."
"You do not need to apologize," Carole interrupted. "He does. I could tell our relationship was on the rocks during the last few years. When we had you, I was hoping that would make things better, but he only became more distant... after he went to war, he wasn't the man I fell in love with anymore."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Finn said. "You don't think I'm a mistake though, right?"
"Of course not!" Carole said. "You are the best thing that ever happeend to me. Don't think that way."
"He thinks I'm a mistake," Finn admitted.
"Oh, we're going to have our lawyer contact him," Burt said. "He broke laws by faking his death and running away and marrying another woman. We aren't going to let him get away with it."
"Why did the treatment facility allow him to do that?" Kurt asked.
"We're in contact with the facility as well," Carole said. "I'm so sorry for what he's caused..."
"I just hate being rejected by the man who helped create me," Finn said.
"Finn, I was wrong about him," Carole said. "I thought he was a good person, and it's true that I got you out of that relationship, but he isn't a good person. He's probably going to be in trouble with the law..."
"Then he'll hate me even more," Finn groaned.
"I doubt he hates you," Burt said.
"I don't even know what to think of him," Finn sighed. "He obviously doesn't care about me."
"There are lots of people who do care about you, though," Carole said. "Of course I know you're still hurt that he doesn't, but that doesn't change how much we all love you."
"Thanks, Mom," Finn said. "I'm so sorry..."
"You shouldn't be apologizing," Burt interrupted. "He should be."
x
Finn and Rachel walked around the halls of McKinley, hoping to take Finn's mind off things. Rachel knew that the conversation with Burt and Carole had been emotionally draining for Finn last night, so she hoped that visiting with the glee club would help him feel better. The glee club would be performing at the football team's Labor Day weekend game, so they would be at the school today.
"Hey guys," a voice said. Finn and Rachel turned and saw Mr. Schue.
"Hey!" Rachel said, giving her former teacher a hug. "How's it feel to be back?"
"It feels great," Mr. Schue said. "I'm back where I belong. And it's like I never left."
"Well, I'm glad you're back," Finn said. "Even though I will be competing against you at Nationals in Minneapolis this year."
"Well, maybe we'll get lucky and we'll be first, and you'll be second," Mr. Schue said.
"You mean the other way around," Finn laughed. Rachel smiled to herself to see Finn happy after last night.
"So, how's my sister doing as captain?" Rachel asked.
"She's a great captain," Mr. Schue said. "She and Jack are both great captains. And the new kids seem great."
"That's good," Rachel said. "I'm excited to hear them perform."
"When do you think the others will get here?" Finn asked.
"Oh, they're already in the choir room with the glee club members," Mr. Schue said. "I'm just glad all twelve of you who are in New York were able to come back to Lima for this weekend."
"There's enough of us there to start a glee club," Finn said.
"Next year there might be even more," Rachel said. "I know Kylie wants to go to school in New York."
"Well, it would be fun having her there," Finn said.
"You guys ready to go see the glee club?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Yeah," Finn said as he took Rachel's hand and they walked to the choir room.
"There they are!" Holly exclaimed as Finn and Rachel came in.
"Wow, you guys have quite a turnout this year," Rachel said, looking around the room.
"Yeah, luckily it seems like the days of throwing slushies at the glee club are over," Roderick commented.
"We had lots of people at auditions," Spencer added.
"That's great," Rachel said.
"And now that you guys are all here, we wanted to ask you something," Kylie said. "We were hoping you guys would sing a song with us at the football game tomorrow. It could be a combined performance of alumni and the current glee club."
The alumni shared excited looks. "Yeah, that would be great!" Rachel said.
"Great," Jack said. "We'll still do one with just us, but we do want to sing with the New Yorkers."
"Although sorry Sarah, Kurt's still gay," Santana said, eyeing Puck's sister.
"Hey, it was a spin the bottle game!" Sarah blurted out.
"What are you guys talking about?" Mason asked.
"Oh, at Sarah's brother's wedding, we played spin the bottle," Tina said. "When Sarah spun it, it landed on Kurt, and she loved kissing him!"
The group laughed. "Although this group doesn't go around dating in circles like you guys did," Mr. Schue said.
"Well, everyone's with who they should be with now," Artie announced.
"I agree," Marley said. "It's just too bad the other alumni couldn't come this weekend."
"I'm sure they'll come for Thanksgiving," Mr. Schue said. "So, would the current glee club like to give the alumni the song for the football game?"
x
"You really seem to have taken on a leadership role in the glee club," Rachel told Kylie as they left the practice.
"I can see why you liked being captain," Kylie said. "It is fun."
"Yeah, I loved it," Rachel said. "And thanks for inviting us to sing with you guys."
"We love performing with you," Kylie said. "And it's really nice to have Mr. Schue back. April and Holly are fun, but Mr. Schue knows so much about the glee club."
"I agree," Rachel said. "So, college visits are probably starting soon for you."
"Yeah," Kylie said. "I'm looking at NYU, and Marymount, and Parsons, and Pratt... they all do have good photography programs..."
"Well, I am glad you're looking at schools in New York," Rachel said.
"Speaking of New York, how's Finn doing?" Kylie asked.
"He's hanging in there," Rachel admitted. "He feels hurt by his father, of course... I was worried it would turn out like our original meetings with Shelby, and it ended up being worse."
"Do you think he wants a relationship with his father after that?" Kylie asked.
"He's torn," Rachel said. "I mean, it is his father, but he's hurt, and his father lied to him and his mom for 21 years."
"At least I always knew I was adopted," Kylie said.
Finn came up to the girls, making Rachel decide to stop the conversation. She'd decided that when it came to Finn and his dad, Finn should be the one to bring it up. "So, what musical are you guys doing this year?" Finn asked Kylie.
"We're doing Phantom of the Opera," Kylie said. "What about your glee club? What musical are you doing?"
"I was thinking The Wizard of Oz this year," Finn said. He turned to Rachel. "What would you think of that?"
"Well, McKinley did Wicked, so I think that would be good," Rachel said. She was glad Finn was doing well enough to think of ideas for the glee club.
x
"Back at Breadstix!" Marley declared as the alumni sat at their table at Breadstix.
"Now that we get to eat at real restaurants in New York, this food isn't going to taste as good to you guys," Santana warned.
"Please, I always knew real Italian food was better than this," Kitty said.
"Still, it's fun to come back for sentimental reasons," Tina said. "This is where Mike and I had our first date."
"I think all of us came here on a date at least once," Kurt said.
"May I join you guys?" a voice asked. The group turned and saw Brittany.
"Brittany!" Santana exclaimed as everyone hugged Brittany.
"Hey guys," Brittany said, sitting at the end of the table.
"So, how's University of Lima?" Rachel asked Brittany.
"Better than MIT," Brittany said. "They don't force me to do all sorts of crazy math stuff all the time."
"That's good," Sam said. "And how are Lord Tubbington The Second and Lady Tubbington?"
"I'm sure they'd like visits from all of you while you're here," Brittany said. She turned to Kitty, Marley and Ryder. "How do you guys like New York?"
"We love it," Ryder said.
"And we love having them there," Blaine added. "You should come visit us in New York sometime, Brittany."
"I have always wanted to shoot an episode of Fondue for Two there," Brittany said. "So, what's new in New York?"
"Well, the Meerkat is Rachel's male lead's understudy in Funny Girl now," Santana said, making a face.
"Sebastian?" Brittany asked. "The one who you caught confessing on that tape on your underboob?"
"That's the one," Rachel sighed. "Luckily he hasn't caused much trouble at rehearsals, but I'm sure he will eventually."
"They shouldn't have even hired him," Finn said. "He has taken performance enhancers..."
"That's true," Sam said. "But they were drug testing the Warblers after they got caught taking them, so he probably won't take them again..."
"And he's probably not going to take them since he'd get kicked out if he did," Blaine added.
"I just hope he doesn't cause trouble," Rachel admitted.
x
The day of the football game arrived, and Finn was excited to be back at the football field. He noticed as the team took the field that the quarterback of the team was #5, just as he had been. The New Directions performed their first song as the team entered the field, and then the alumni went on stage to perform with the current glee club right before the game began.
New Directions and Alumni: Hey!
Rachel: Alabama, Arkansas
I do love my Ma and Pa
Finn and Rachel: Not the way that I do love you
New Directions and Alumni: Hey!
Kurt: Well, holy moly, me, oh, my
You're the apple of my eye
Blaine and Kurt: Boy, I've never loved one like you
New Directions and Alumni: Ho!
Santana: Man, oh, man, you're my best friend
I'll scream it to the nothingness
Tina: There ain't nothing that I need
New Directions and Alumni: Ho!
Artie and Kitty: Well, hot and heavy pumpkin pie
Chocolate candy, my, oh, my
Sam and Mercedes: There ain't nothing please me more than you
Finn and Rachel: Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you
Kurt and Blaine: Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you
Alumni: Ho, ho, ho, ho
Marley and Ryder: La, la, la, la
Take me home
(Marley: Daddy) (Ryder: Momma)
Marley and Ryder: I'm coming home
New Directions: Ho!
Mason: I'll follow you into the park
Through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I've never loved one like you
New Directions: Hey!
Madison: Moats and boats and waterfalls
Alleyways and payphone calls
I've been everywhere with you (Mason: Hey, that's true)
New Directions: Hey!
Spencer: Laugh until we think we'll die
Barefoot on a summer night
Never could be sweeter than with you
New Directions: Hey!
Jane: And in the streets we run afree
Like it's only
Jane and Roderick: You and me
Geez, you're something to see
Alumni and New Directions: Hey, hey
Hey, home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you
Hey, home, let me come home
Home is when I'm alone with you
Alabama, Arkansas
I do love my Ma and Pa
Moats and boats and waterfalls
Home is when I'm alone with you
At the end of the song, the current and former glee club members got in a group hug, and Finn realized that he always had a home not only in New York, but here as well.
SONG: Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (performed by New Directions and New York alumni)
Chapter 5 preview: School starts in New York and Finn gets his glee club ready for a new year. Rachel has to perform with Sebastian. More issues for Finn and his family.
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