Author's Note: Hi Everyone. Thanks so, so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them! Anyway, I know I told you that there was going to be a jump in time coming up, and there will be, but that hasn't happened just yet. Read and you will understand why. Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I don't think it's the best, but I think that it was necessary to make the rest of the story work. I hope to have up more as soon as possible. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: For all the time I spend thinking about this show, I really should have some shareholding in it. The original characters are mine.
Noah Puckerman walked into his house, aggressively placed the take-out his family order for dinner on the counter and screamed "QUINN!" as he marched up the stairs to the master suite.
He slammed the door as he entered the room he shared with his wife. Racing up to him from their bed, Quinn was startled by Puck's actions and expressions. "What's going on? Why are you so upset?" She asks her husband frantically.
"Did you know that Rachel has a son?" Puck rhetorically asks, completely exasperated.
"Yes." Quinn responds quietly.
"And you did you know that it's Finn's?"
"Yes."
"And you don't think this IS A BIG FUCKING DEAL?"
"Of course this is a big deal! But what are we going to do about it? Rachel has no intention of telling Finn and it's not our place to say anything."
"It's not? Are you serious? We've been friends with him our entire lives."
"Yeah, and what do we do, call him up in Ireland and say, 'Hey Finn, sorry we haven't spoken in a while. We've been busy with the start of the new school year and all. Oh, by the way you have a sixteen-year-old son you never knew about? You think that's a better idea?"
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
"Nothing. I don't agree with it, but it's not fair to Christopher, that lovely young man, to mess up his life by thrusting a father, that he had no idea about, into the middle of it. It's not our place."
"Oh, and about that… can you believe how much he look like Finn? And acts like Finn? How does that not creep Rachel out?" Puck says, calming down a bit.
"Well, you better get used to it," Quinn murmurs, knowing the rest of this sentence is going to cause another eruption, "He's dating your daughter."
"WHAT?" Puck screamed loudly. He turned around and stormed out of the bedroom. Quinn really did not care to follow him, so she walked downstairs and fetched her dinner.
Alison heard her father come in and storm into her parents' bedroom. She really didn't care what caused him to yell his wife's name as soon as he walked in the door. All Alison cared about was dinner. She was starving and rushed out her room as soon as she could. She heard muffled sounds of maddened conversation as she hurried down the stairs to get her pasta. She didn't eat lunch because she was too nervous about stopping by Christopher's house. And then when she got there, she worked up quite an appetite, hence the current hunger.
Alison was mid-bite when Noah stormed into his daughter's room. "Do you have a boyfriend?" He asks still filled with rage.
"No," Alison responds slurping up a spooled forkful of linguine with marinara. "But there is a new boy at school who I like quite and bit and I think he likes me back." She said matter-of-factly.
"You are forbidden to see him!" Exclaimed Puck.
"Excuse me, what?" Alison fires back. "Look, I'm almost sixteen and we agreed that if I wanted to start dating a boy seriously, I could. I've only hung out with twice. And I like him. Chris is a gentleman and kind. Why do you even care? Because his mom was in glee club?"
"How did you know that?"
"Mr. Schue told us. Look, dad, please let me see him. Compared to all the gross, sex-obsessed, rude, disrespectful miscreants that live in Lima, Christopher is the exact opposite. And I don't know what will happen, but I would like to get to know him more. Please let me get to know him more."
Alison was right and Puck knew it. In the grand scheme of things, Alison could be with much worse guys than Rachel and Finn's son. Hell, she could be dating Karofsky's devil-child. Now that was a family that the perfect portrait of the Lima Loser. "Fine," Puck grunts angrily defeated. He marched out of Alison's room and picked up his meal.
Christopher needed to know more about this whole situation. He needed to know more about his mother. More about this man who was supposedly his father. And try to figure out why his mother, one the most open and honest (although not necessarily subtle) individuals Chris knows, could deceive so many people as she has. Something just didn't add up. And the more Chris met people connected to his mother's past, the more he realized that this equation was missing an 'x' variable. He thought if anyone could find out more about, it was Alison. She seemed to have Lima, especially McKinley High, dialed in and maybe she would know where to start.
"Hey," Chris says getting Alison's attention as she puts books in her locker, early Monday morning.
"Hi," she says back, giving him a peck on the cheek, causing him to release a dimpled smile. It's at that moment that he forgets his train of thought and the only thing he cares about doing his kissing her. Somehow, the loud sound of a Cheerio screaming at her boyfriend about his credit score snaps Chris back to reality. "So, what's up?" Alison asks.
"Um… I have a request." Chris asks starting the conversation. "I need to figure out a way to see information on past students. I thought since your mom works here, you might know where all the secrets are kept."
"Well… if I'm lucky sometimes I can sneak into the guidance office where they keep past student files, but I'm pretty sure they store them someplace in a warehouse or an old filing room after a certain number of years." Alison informs Christopher to some dismay. However she knows that there might be someplace to shed some light. "But, honestly Chris, the best place to for you to find out about your mom, because I can only assume that is who you are trying to find out more about, is in the library. They have copies of every Thunderclap there."
"What's The Thunderclap?" Chris asks, genuinely curious.
"The school yearbook." Alison responds. Christopher just laughs as he walks Alison to her next class. She hugs him before she goes inside.
"Look," she says to him right before she walks through the threshold into math. "I can see what I can do as far as finding some old student files, but it's going to cost you."
"What the price?"
"Dinner. Saturday night."
"Perfect. Look for a person named Finn Hummel."
"Finn Hummel?" Alison questioned as the bell rang. Chris waved as he ran across the hall so he wasn't late for his own class as well. Alison wondered if Chris meant Finn Hudson, the guy who her parents are friends with in Ireland. Alison's never met him, but she knows her parents have gone a few times to visit him.
Christopher took his lunch to go as he walked out the cafeteria with a sandwich he snook into the Library. He found all four Thunderclaps from his mom's high school years. He sat there and tapped his fingers against the books – deciding whether or not to open them. Once he gathers up the courage and thumbs through the 2008-2009 copy, what would have been his mom's freshman academic year, he stops at the several Cheerios pages. When Chris sees the photo of Cheer Captain Quinn Fabray, he's shocked by how much Alison looks like her mom. Wow. After a minute he closes the book, and pushes all for far away from him on the table. He's so scared to keep going. Maybe it was better for him to never find out about this man?
Alison Puckerman got a prime opportunity to help Chris on Tuesday afternoon. On their way home from Cheer practice, Quinn had to drop something off at the Lima Schools Athletic Office and Alison accompanied Quinn inside, claiming she needed to you the restroom. Alison sprinted down the hall to the McKinley High office and scoured though the names. Rachel Berry was easy because it started at the beginning of the alphabet. Hummel was going to be more difficult. When Alison finally found the H's she hunted for Hummel. When she found two, one named Burt and another named Kurt, she grabbed both not sure if either would help. Then as she pulled them out, she found Finn Hudson. Ali grabbed that too, hoping it would help. When she heard the sweaking of sneakers on the linoleum floor, Alison slammed the file cabinet shut and darted out of the room. Minorly flustered, she met up with her mom, shoving the files into her backpack. Alison knows that Quinn is aware that is up. Neither woman acknowledges it though.
The next day, before the bell even rings, school Alison meets up with Chris and pulls him into the empty Choir Room. She wants him to understand why she is doing this; helping him. She also has the 2010 Thunderclap in here hands.
"Hi," Alison says, pulling the out the folders from her bag.
When Chris that she totally scored in the file finding quest, he grabs her and kisses her. "I guess I owe you dinner," he says.
"You would have taken me to dinner anyway," she says with a bit of a swagger.
"True," he replies with a wide smile.
"Okay, so, I have no idea what's in these files and I am going to need them back ASAP. My mom knows that I'm up to something and she will be livid if she found out that I took school files. I will be in BIG trouble. Like, our dinner date won't be until a Saturday next September, trouble. You understand?"
"Absolutely. I will try to have them back to you by AP Euro."
"Great. Now, part two…" Alison says, bracing herself for the next part of this. "Chris, I want you to understand why I'm helping you with this." She opens up The Clap to the Cheerios pages. "Are you looking at these pictures?"
"Yeah. So?" Chris was trying to piece together the puzzle.
"My mom is not in any the photographs."
"Why? I thought she was some big cheerleading deal?" He questions.
"Because she was pregnant." Alison says with a shy knowledge. Closing the book quickly before she shows any more club photos. She doesn't want him to see the Glee photo since its probably defaced. Alison has never even looked at any of them. She doesn't want to scare him off from the club.
"Oh…" Chris responds, his jaw on the floor.
"She was sixteen and pregnant. And no longer allowed to be a Cheerio. Biologically I have a sister somewhere. The only thing I know about her is that her name is Beth. After the Kiss song." Alison says, a smile quickly emerging on her face. She continues, "I'm not even sure my parents were dating when my mom got pregnant. Believe it or not, before this happened, my mother was the President of the Celibacy Club. All I know is that she was given up for adoption. Oh, and I'm pretty sure she was born the day of Regional's that year."
"Oh… wow," Chris responded. He finally started to realize that he wasn't the only one with secretes.
"See, this is why I want to help you find out more about your mom. Because I have gone searching to find out my parents secretes and it did help me get some closure." Alison says this in a warm, loving tone that reassures Chris that he can trust her. He is at a loss for words.
"Thank-you so much," is all he can think of to say. He pulls her in for a long hug. Alison loves being inside his embrace. She feels like his large body can keep her safe from all the bad, scary things in the world.
Chris opens up the folders at lunch; sitting out on the bleachers. He was unconcerned with his mother's information and moves right past it. First was Burt Hummel. This couldn't be his grandfather. His name was Christopher. But that was the guy at the tire shop. This was getting more confusing. Okay, Chris needs to rewind. Carole said that she was a single mother. Did she marry Burt later? Chris still had no idea. Reading the file, it says Burt graduated in the 1970s and that he went off to Community College. Chris assumes that he owns the tire shop now.
Next was Kurt Hummel. Chris smiled at that. Their names rhyme. When he opens the file, Chris' eyes widen at the flamboyant boy smiling back at him. Was that his Uncle? He looked nothing like Chris, but he did look a little like Burt. Maybe he was a Step-Uncle? Maybe he wasn't close to anyone at all? It says Kurt's parents are Burt and some women's name Chris didn't know, but it did say she was departed. It also said he went to Oberlin University to study music. Ugh, these files weren't helping.
Last was Finn Hudson. Finn. Christopher's heart starts to race as he closes his eyes tight and opens the folder. Half of him is hoping that the person in this folder is his father; to end the confusion. Half of him is hoping this is not his father and then the mystery is never solved; and he never has to think about it again. Neither option will give Chris closure, but the latter would be easier. He opens his eyes and sees the friendly face from the photograph in his mother's room. It still freaks Chris to see the resemblance.
Name: Finn Hudson
Parents: Carole and Christopher Hudson; father deceased.
Birth Date: 2/6/1994
Credits: 22, completed
GPA: 2.8 Overall
Graduation Date: June 17, 2012
Assessments Completed: All – 2012
College: University of Cincinnati; partial Basketball scholarship
Extracurricular Activities: Football, Basketball, Glee Club
Reading the stats, they seem basic. Average. Nothing for Christopher to get excited about. In fact, the only thing they honestly explain is why Rachel wouldn't let him play Football. It was a defense to keep him away from possibly knowing his father. Sucks for her that Chris decided to join New Directions. Reading the information, Christopher feels cold. Does he have a sense of closure? No. Does he want to investigate things more? Not sure. He did promise himself that he would look around his mother room for more evidence. Fine. It was settled. If Chris didn't come up with anything after taking a second look around Rachel's room tomorrow after Glee – the search would be over. It would be too bittersweet to continue otherwise. Chris gives the files back to Alison during last period, like promised.
After he and Alison start working on an awesome number for Sectionals, although Mr. Schuester doubts that they can sing "Need You Tonight" by Inxs at a Show Choir competition, Chris sneaks into his Grandfather's house. Well, actually it's not really sneaking in when you have a spare key for emergencies, but he's still going there to ransack around, which isn't necessarily right either. He races up to his mom's childhood bedroom and starts to open drawers and closets. He looks in the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom; under the bed; behind the old clothes in the closet; all the desk and dresser drawers and finds nothing (well except the picture from Sunday, which he does pocket this time). For a second Chris debates going downstairs to the basement to the mini Rachel Berry museum his Granddads kept of their little girl.
A little sweaty and out-of-breath, and thinking that this was a complete waste of brain-power and time, when Christopher walks into the chest at the foot of his mother's bed, stubbing his toe. He's always known it was there, but never cared about it. It was just a place to sit, a pillow conveniently on top.
Chris forcefully pushes the pillow top to the left and onto the floor. Yep, the chest opens. He had to take a peek inside. Just to look. His hopes fall when there are just some clothes. Lifting the gold, frilly dress on top, a box appears. Lifting it, the words on the side are the first real clue he's gotten so far. 'New Directions' it says.
Opening it up, the first item is a huge letterman jacket. Felt with the leather sleeves. It obviously did not originally belong to his mother. It does explain Christopher's height and size. Digging a little deeper, past the several pages of sheet music and rehearsal schedules, Chris finds some pictures. One striking one is of the club dressed in very crazy costumes. The girls are decked out in vibrant colors and fabrics. The guys are dressed as Kiss. Chris assumes the tall guy in the back is his father, but it's hard to tell. He can recognize his mom and Alison's parents too. The Star of David over Puck's right eye is pretty badass in Chris' opinion and looking at Quinn's very pregnant frame, Chris understands more the situation Alison was discussing. "Gaga Week" it says written on the back. Chris assumes it was because of this that Alison's sort-of-sister is named Beth, Christopher's personal favorite Kiss song.
Digging even deeper, Chris finds lots of photographs of Finn with Rachel. The sparkle in their eyes as they perform together is mesmerizing even in the old photographs. It almost hurts Chris to see these images. He's never seen his mother so happy. He always knew that his mother once had dreams of being a performer, but seeing the look on Rachel's face, he feels as though his existence may have taken away some of her dreams. Even though she was doing music directing before he was born, Chris wonders if she would have perused the unpredictable world of acting more, instead of sticking with a stable job.
Looking at Finn, Christopher felt even more conflicted. They looked nearly identical. He had a trusting smile and a friendly demeanor. His height and size were as daunting Christopher's. It was starting to physical hurt him to look at this. Just before he decides to leave, not being able to take the torture anymore, Chris moves around the contents once more and finds a DVD. "Run, Joey, Run" is written on it. Chris decides to take that too. Mainly because it was small enough to hide somewhere in his room.
Later that evening, Chris lies on his bed, feeling hollow. Trying to find answers only left more questions. It was then that he realized why everyone looked at him like he was a ghost. It was because he a ghost. A ghost of a person who was important to several people. Now, himself included. A ghost of a man who Christopher wanted to meet more and more every second. Chris no longer felt like a full human anymore, just a half-live entity floating through the space known as Lima, Ohio. He's too mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted to even eat dinner, let alone watch that stupid DVD he took.
Rachel was weathered. The wonderful concept of moving back home is that you are reminded of your past self. It was also the most miserable concept as well. She missed how vivacious she once was. Rachel still had her tenacity, but part of her sparkle was gone. It hurt her a lot to think about it.
Even worse than being reminded of her former life, Rachel Berry was wrestling with her conscious even more than usual by not telling her son the truth. Now several people were finding out about her deceit and it was killing her. Maybe she should just tell everyone the truth? Would that make things better or worse? She had no idea and honestly doesn't want to find out. God, it was so conflicting and she was slowly starting to hate herself for feeling so uncertain. This leads her back to her original problem. She once was a girl who was so sure of herself and always knew what she wanted. Rachel Berry missed that girl and wanted her back. Now!
The real problem was… Rachel was so unsure how. This just fed into her original hypothesis.
After his lovely date with Alison on Saturday night, Chris gets a call from Jonah. Chris tells his best friend all about what he had discovered over the past week. Even Jonah is in disbelief. How could someone lie to their son like that? The concept still baffled the tall young man. Chris did get snapped back to reality when Jonah informed him that…
"Dude, I'm coming to visit you for break." Jonah said enthusiastically.
"What?" Christopher asked in disbelief.
"I-am-coming-to-visit-you-over-holiday-break." Jonah repeated himself slowly, "In December."
"Really? That's awesome!"
"I'm glad. So tell me about your new honey?"
"Dude, she's fucking amazing. She's sexy, smart, and sweet. Blond hair. Great body. Oh… and she's head cheerleader."
"Dude…" Jonah replies in a slow monotone.
"Yeah."
"So…you have a dad, huh?"
"Apparently. I still don't quite know how I feel about it yet."
"Well… I hope it all works out."
"Yeah. I think I'm just gonna let it go."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just that, mom kept this giant lie from me for some sort of reason obviously and maybe is better that I just forget about it."
"But you said that your mom still stays in contact with this guy. Doesn't that piss you off that your mom still knows your father and she's never introduced you to him?"
"Yeah, Jonah, it makes me really fucking upset, and I don't like being that way. Am I curious as to who this person is? Absolutely, but maybe its better that I never meet him and just let it go. I won't be disappointed that way."
"That's true. Look, man I'm beat and I have Cross Country practice tomorrow, so I'm gonna go."
"No problem. Nice talking to you dude."
"Yeah, you too. Keep sending me videos of those cheerleading skirts."
"I will. Later." Chris smiled and hung up the phone.
"Later." Replied Jonah as he ended the conversation.
It was during that conversation that everything became clear. Chris needed to let this whole secret-dad bullshit go and start to enjoy his time in his new town. He was staring a relationship with an amazing girl, got to get car 2-years earlier, and had an academic schedule that didn't clog up all of his time. The good was outweighing the bad, and he needed to focus on that. Because keeping all this aggression bottled up was going to give him a heart attack. Chris always knew he internalized all his pressures, only for them to come bursting out when the glass cracked.
Chris was still riding his second wind after his date with Alison. She was flexible, so their back-seat make-out session was better than Chris could have ever imagined. A little too awake to force himself to slumber, but too tired to use any of his brain cells, Christopher musters up the courage to watch the DVD he stole from his mom's room. Mainly because it was the last piece of evidence and he was over caring about the rest of the case.
The video starts with the shot of two hot chicks with angle wings and Chris is already a little excited. It cuts to his mom singing down a hallway with way too much fake smoke. Then it cuts to….Alison's dad? With a Mohawk? Huh? There's this weird slit screen and more of Rachel singing when it cuts to… a Camero?
Then, the person getting out of the car is… Jessie St. James? Christopher nearly vomits in his mouth when he sees that. What the fuck is going on?
Then, to make things even weirder, when his mom is supposed to jump in front of "Joey" it cuts to the guy who is Chris thinks is his father. She saved his dad's life? That was a whole nether type of realization. Then the video ends with all the boys storming down the smoke-filled hall and another shot of the two hot angel-chicks.
Christopher Berry takes the video out and closes his laptop, thinking to himself that watching that video didn't help at all. And why the fuck was Jessie St. James in it? He treats his mom like shit? Well… at least the high level of confusion made Chris tired enough to sleep. And the thought of Alison lying on top of him was the image in his mind as he drifted into the unconscious.
A/N: Hi again. Thanks so much once more for taking time out to read this. I am really getting excited about it and I can't wait to share with you what is going to happen next. Please, please let me know what you are thinking. Good or bad. Any critique is helpful. Have a great day!
