Hi guys. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. First, let me say that this is primarily a Finchel fic, but there will be bits for other couples as well. My friends Ping (Gleek888) and Tim (WildeAbrams) are having a Wildebrams ficathon, and I wanted to participate in some way, so this chapter is part of an arc involving them. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to keep going!
Chapter 9: Nominated
Rachel nervously walked into Funny Girl rehearsal. Rupert had wanted all the stars to come in today so they could talk about something coming up for the show, and Rachel was definitely concerned. Did this have to do with her tripping? Was she going to get fired?
When Rachel arrived, Sebastian was already there. She sat with Jean and Taylor, not wanting to be near Sebastian. Before Sebastian had a chance to say anything, Rupert came in. "I have some big news!"
Rachel gulped. Big good news or big bad news?
Rupert continued, "As you all know, there is a Tony awarded to notable replacements in shows that are not new. I'm very excited to say, before the official nominations come out, that I have been informed that Jean Baptiste is a nominee for Best Replacement for a Lead Actor in a Musical, and that Rachel Berry and Taylor Wilkinson are both nominated for Best Replacement for a Lead Actress in a Musical."
Rachel couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She was nominated for a Tony Award? In the very first show that she was ever in? "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Rupert said. "And we have more people nominated than any other musical. So, congratulations. Whether you guys win or not, I want you to know that you're getting recognized."
Rachel hugged Jean and Taylor and then began hugging some of the ensemble players. Her thoughts were interrupted when he heard Sebastian speak. "Where's my nomination?"
"There isn't a Tony for understudies, Sebastian," Rupert said. "Though, I wouldn't be surprised if you do become a Tony nominee one day."
Sebastian scoffed. "Please. Rachel got a nomination? She fell down on stage the night she performed with me!"
Rachel was tired of letting Sebastian get away with this. "Sebastian, I think you tripped me ON PURPOSE to make me look bad because your roommate is after my part."
Rupert looked at Sebastian. "Is that true, Sebastian? You are always talking about how much your roommate would like to be playing Fanny..."
"Uh..." Sebastian began.
"There is no place for pettiness here," Rupert said. "If you do want to be on a big stage one day, then you need to act like you're an adult. I hope it's true that you didn't trip Rachel. Anyway, you can either celebrate with your castmates for their nominations, or you can think about whether this is something you really want to be doing."
Sebastian went silent before Rupert began pouring some champagne for everyone. "To our Tony nominations!"
x
"Okay, why did you ask us all to meet here?" Finn asked Artie. Artie had asked Finn, Blaine, Kurt, Sam and Ryder to meet up at his apartment so he could talk to them.
"Yeah, Mercedes said that you told her and Tina to stay out of the apartment," Sam said. "What's going on?"
Artie looked nervous. "I want to ask Kitty to marry me."
Finn was surprised he hadn't guessed that was why Artie had asked them to meet up. Artie had a similar look on his face to what Finn had when he first told people he wanted to marry Rachel.
"Really?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Artie said. "I missed her so much during the two years she was in Lima and I was here, and every time she came to see me, I didn't want her to go. Now that we live in the same city again and practically live together, I know that she's the one for me."
"Well, I knew she was the one for you," Sam said. "She really started to grow as a person when she started dating you. Now I can't imagine her trying to manipulate someone. And you were happier with her than I've ever seen you with any girl."
"Yeah," Blaine added. "I knew that you two were going to last even when we were in high school."
"Great," Artie told the guys. "So, I want to do something special and unique for her, and that's where you guys come in. Finn, Blaine, you've proposed before. What were some other things you had in mind?"
"I have an idea," Kurt said. "Now that Kitty's a model for Vogue, we can find a way to work the proposal into one of the photoshoots. That way we can have it on camera."
"That would be great," Finn said. He felt his phone vibrating and looked at it, seeing that it was his mom. He decided to answer the call later. "I wish my proposal to Rachel had been captured on camera."
"Working it into a photoshoot sounds good," Ryder said. "You wanted it to be unique. No one's done that of our friends who are engaged."
Finn's phone vibrated again. He looked at it and saw a text from his mom. "Please call me, it's important." He wanted to stick with the guys, especially since he had an idea he knew what his mom was calling about. "I'll be right back, guys. I'm sorry, apparently my mom can't wait to talk to me."
"All right, see you soon," Kurt said.
Finn went down the hall to his apartment and called his mom. "Mom, I was in the middle of something with the guys..."
"Finn, our lawyer called today," Carole said. "A court date has been set."
Finn sighed. He wanted this to be over, of course. He wanted the pain from his father's rejection to go away. But he'd have to face his father in court. And he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. "When is it?"
"The first Monday of December," Carole said. "Our lawyer said we will most likely win the case, but I told him I wanted to call you and talk to you about it, just to make sure you're okay. I know his wife called Rachel..."
"Don't you think that's inappropriate, Mom?" Finn asked.
"Very inappropriate, and our lawyer has communicated to her that she is not to do that again," Carole said. "He's been communicating with Christopher's lawyer, and Christopher's trying to make us look bad..."
"What's he doing now?" Finn sighed.
"He's still trying to act like this is your fault," Carole said.
"This isn't my fault!" Finn protested. "I'm not the one who lied for 21 years!"
"I'm surprised Christopher could find a lawyer who agrees with him," Carole admitted.
"His wife told Rachel that their kids don't even know about this," Finn said. Their kids... Finn's half siblings.
"Well, they should know," Carole said. "Finn, I'm so, so sorry... when I married your father, I never imagined he'd do this..."
"Hey, it's okay," Finn said. "He did bring you and me together."
"The one good thing he did was bringing you into the world," Carole said. "And if he's not going to acknowledge what an amazing man you are, that's his loss."
"I am sorry, Mom, I really am," Finn repeated.
"You don't need to apologize, honey," Carole repeated. "Burt and I will be in New York for Thanksgiving anyway, so we'll just stay until after the hearing."
This was going to cut into the holiday season. "This timing sucks," Finn sighed.
"I agree, and our attorney was sympathetic about that," Carole said. "But there isn't much we can do. The best we can do is just enjoy the holidays."
"Okay," Finn said. "Thanks, Mom."
"I'll talk to you soon," Carole said. "Our lawyer said he thinks the judge will rule in our favor. He thinks that Burt and I will be able to have our marriage made legal and that I'll get the money for child support that Christopher owes me."
"You deserve that," Finn told his mom. "All of it. I didn't want to mess up your marriage, Mom."
"For the hundredth time, you didn't mess anything up," Carole told Finn. "I love you, Finn."
"I love you too, Mom." Finn sighed as he hung up the phone. He wanted to enjoy time with his friends right now. Instead he had to deal with the mess his father had created.
His parents, Rachel, Kurt, his friends and the attorney had kept assuring him that this wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. He was the one who'd seen his father's photo ID at the restaurant and then done some online research to see if this man really was his father. He was the one who'd gone to his father's house. He did feel bad that his mom and Burt would need to get their marriage legalized.
He'd spent his whole life longing for his dad. He loved his mom and had a great relationship with her, but she didn't know what it was like to deal with girl issues or much about sports. The father role had been filled for him by Burt ever since his mom married him. It was true that Burt pretty much was his dad in every way but birth. At the same time, Burt hadn't helped to create him, and Finn had felt some longing for the man who helped to create him.
When he first found out Christopher was alive, he hoped that things would be different than what they were like when Rachel had first met Shelby. He'd hoped that he and Christopher could form a father-son relationship like the mother-daughter relationship Rachel and Shelby were now able to have. Instead, Christopher had been cruel to him. Shelby had been cold to Rachel at first, but not really cruel... and now his family was caught up in a legal struggle, all because of what he'd done.
Finn heard the door open and saw Rachel come in. She had a big smile on her face, but when she saw the look on Finn's face, her smile faded away. "Finn, what's wrong?"
"A court date's been set," Finn told Rachel. "It's the first Monday of December."
"Oh gosh," Rachel said. "At least I'm finding out from you instead of Christopher's wife calling to tell me..."
"I'm sorry she did that," Finn told Rachel.
"It's fine," Rachel said. "So, what did they say about court?"
"My mom said our lawyer thinks things will work out for us," Finn said. "He told her and Burt that he thinks that they can get things worked out with their marriage and that my mom will get the child support money."
"Maybe once they get the money for child support, your mom and Burt can take the honeymoon they never got to take," Rachel said.
"They'll probably be able to," Finn groaned. "Christopher owes my mom a lot of money..."
"Christopher also owed you, and your mom, and his wife and kids, and everyone the truth," Rachel said.
"His kids still don't know about any of this," Finn said.
"That shows a lot about Christopher," Rachel said. "He thinks that by avoiding the truth, it won't come out, but he's wrong. The truth always comes out eventually. His kids are going to find out, and their lives will never be the same."
"I can't believe his wife is okay with all of this," Finn said. "He was married to another woman, had a child with her and never told his wife... and she's defending him!"
"Look, the fact that she called me says a lot about her," Rachel said.
"True," Finn admitted before the door opened and Kurt and Blaine came in.
"Finn, what's going on?" Blaine asked. "You just left and didn't come back."
"We have some pretty awesome things planned for Kitty," Kurt said. "We're going to work it into one of her Vogue photoshoots and I'll get all of you involved, if it's okay with Isabelle."
Finn felt bad for bailing on the guys. "I'm sorry. My mom was just calling about court. But tell me more." He needed a distraction.
Kurt turned to Rachel. "Artie's going to ask Kitty to marry him!"
Rachel looked thrilled. "Kitty's going to be so happy!"
"She is," Blaine said. "He did say he'll need you and the girls to help pick out a ring."
"And me," Kurt interrupted.
"And you," Blaine told his husband. "I'm surprised you didn't pick out your own ring for me to use to propose to you..."
"Well, maybe I would have wanted to propose to you," Kurt shot back.
"Oh, take that, Blaine!" Finn teased. "Anyway, he beat you to it, Kurt."
"What matters is that you guys are married," Rachel said.
"Exactly," Kurt said.
"So, what are we going to do for Kitty?" Rachel asked.
"What I'm thinking is staging a photoshoot in lots of different locations, and at each location, someone can come in and give her a flower. Then in the last one, Artie gives her the ring. He loved that idea," Kurt said.
"Oh, she'll love that!" Rachel said.
"You can't give her any hints about it, Rachel," Blaine said. "He wants it to be a surprise."
"I won't, I promise," Rachel said.
"Anyway, what did Carole say about court?" Blaine asked Finn.
Finn groaned. He didn't want to talk about court. "Just that it's going to be the first Monday in December, and that our lawyer thinks that things will work out for me and my mom."
"They will," Kurt said. "That father of yours is nuts. His wife too."
"Yeah," Finn said. "I just hope I don't turn out like him."
"You're already nothing like him," Rachel said, patting Finn's back.
Finn remembered - Rachel looked pretty happy when she got home. Had something happened today? "So, how was your day, babe? When you first got home, you looked pretty happy..."
Rachel smiled wide. "I got a Tony nomination for Best Replacement for a Lead Actress in a Musical!"
Finn felt so proud of Rachel, and so bad for bringing up the court. "You did? Baby, that's amazing!" He gave Rachel a big hug right before Kurt and Blaine hugged her, too.
"Yeah!" Rachel said. "I didn't think that I would get one after tripping. I guess even though some people made it into a big deal, it really wasn't."
"Yeah, it wasn't," Kurt said.
"How did Sebastian react?" Blaine asked.
"Oh, he was Sebastian," Rachel said. "He acted all innocent, but this time I called him out for tripping me and told him I knew that he was just trying to make me look bad so Harmony could get my spot."
"You go!" Kurt exclaimed.
x
"Okay, guys, today, we have some special visitors," Finn told the glee club. He'd asked his friends to come help with rehearsal for the musical today. The musical was going to be held in January this year because the band was going to be performing with a band from a school in Germany the week the musical would have normally been held. Finn didn't mind though. This gave them more time to practice. The kids would get a chance to debut their songs from Rent at Sectionals. "Those of you who were in glee club last year know that when I was in high school, I was on a national championship winning glee club, and that many of my teammates live here in New York with me. So they're going to help us out with the songs today - including my wife, Rachel, who just found out that she's nominated for a Tony!"
The kids cheered, and the other New Directions looked surprised as they hugged and congratulated Rachel. "Finn!" Rachel managed to say in between congratulations. "It's not officially announced yet."
"Oh well, we can keep it in this room," Santana said.
"Yeah, let's not tell people since it hasn't been announced yet," Rachel said. "Anyway, you guys excited for your show?"
The kids started cheering as Finn applauded them. "Okay, this is not only going to be our big performance this year, but it's going to be songs from this musical that we debut with at Sectionals. With two glee clubs at the school, there's more pressure than ever." He knew that these guys would most likely win Sectionals - still, he had to be cautious. He knew what Ariana and Collette were like. "So, part of why I brought my friends was because I know the seniors were pretty prominent last year, and it'll be the first time many of you will have major featured roles. So, Rachel and I are going to demonstrate one of the romantic duets from the show." He wanted an excuse to sing with Rachel - and if this was what he could do, he would.
Blaine and Kurt began playing the song on the piano as Finn and Rachel began the song.
Finn: What'd you forget?
Rachel: Got a light?
Finn: I know you? You're
You're shivering
Rachel: It's nothing
They turned off my heat
And I'm just a little
Weak on my feet
Would you light my candle?
What are you staring at?
Finn: Nothing
Your hair in the moonlight
You look familiar
Can you make it?
Rachel: Just haven't eaten much today
At least the room stopped spinning.
Anyway. What?
Finn: Nothing
Your smile reminded me of
Rachel: I always remind people of who is she?
Finn: She died. Her name was April
Rachel: It's out again
Sorry about your friend
Would you light my candle?
Finn: Well
Rachel: Yeah. Ow!
Finn: Oh, the wax it's
Rachel: It's dripping! I like it between my
Finn: Fingers. I figured...
Oh, well. Goodnight.
It blew out again?
Rachel: No I think that I dropped my stash
Finn: I know I've seen you out and about
When I used to go out
Your candle's out
Rachel: I'm illin'
I had it when I walked in the door
It was pure
Is it on the floor?
Finn: The floor?
Rachel: They say I have the best ass below 14th street
Is it true?
Finn: What?
Rachel: You're staring again.
Finn: Oh no.
I mean you do have a nice
I mean You look familiar
Rachel: Like your dead girlfriend?
Finn: Only when you smile.
But I'm sure I've seen you somewhere else
Rachel: Do you go to the Cat Scratch Club?
That's where I work I dance
Finn: Yes!
They used to tie you up
Rachel: It's a living
Finn: I didn't recognize you
Without the handcuffs
Rachel: We could light the candle
Oh won't you light the candle?
Finn: Why don't you forget that stuff
You look like you're sixteen
Rachel: I'm nineteen but I'm old for my age
I'm just born to be bad
Finn: I once was born to be bad
I used to shiver like that
Rachel: I have no heat I told you
Finn: I used to sweat
Rachel: I got a cold
Finn: Uh huh
I used to be a junkie
Rachel: But now and then I like to
Finn: Uh huh
Rachel: Feel good
Finn: Here it um
Rachel: What's that?
Finn: It's a candy bar wrapper
Rachel: We could light the candle
What'd you do with my candle?
Finn: That was my last match
Rachel: Our eyes'll adjust, thank God for the moon
Finn: Maybe it's not the moon at all
I hear Spike Lee's shooting down the street
Rachel: Bah humbug... Bah humbug
Finn: Cold hands
Rachel: Yours too.
Big. Like my father's
Do you wanna dance?
Finn: With you?
Rachel: No with my father
Finn: I'm Roger
Rachel: They call me
They call me Mimi
Finn and Rachel didn't sing duets as often as they used to, but whenever they did, it felt like they were doing them every week again. As the kids and their friends applauded, Finn looked at Garrett and Eva, who were playing Roger and Mimi. "You guys better do better than that in the show!"
"We'll try," Eva said.
"Oh, you will," Rachel said. "Let's see all of you guys do the opening number now."
Chapter 10 preview: Finn throws himself into the musical and Sectionals to keep his mind off his father and the news about Rachel's nomination comes out. Big things are coming for two other couples.
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