Finn reluctantly walked into Breadstix behind his mom. The man was sitting in a booth and motioned for them to come over. The man and Carole seemed to be familiar with each other, which confused Finn. After a few minutes of small talk between the two, Carole finally made the introduction Finn had been waiting for.
"Finn, honey. This is Detective Matthew Jones. Burt got in contact with him because he specializes in cases like your dad's. He's been looking into it for a few days and thinks that he may have found something we'd be interested in hearing. Do you think you're ready to hear what he has to say?"
Finn didn't like the way that his mom had said that. He looked up at Detective Jones and nodded.
Detective Jones took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and began his report. "First of all Finn, I must say that you are quite the remarkable young man. I hope you don't mind but Burt told me a bit about your situation. I don't think that any 18-year old would be so dedicated to trying to redeem his father's name as well as sending his fiancé to New York to live out her dream. I actually did a bit of research on you before I came so that I could recognize you when I saw you. I must say I'm impressed with your accomplishments young man. I am sure your father would be proud of the man you are becoming."
Finn gave him a weak smile. Finn wasn't sure why he felt so sick to his stomach. He suddenly longed for Rachel to be sitting next to him to help him through whatever this news may be.
Detective Jones continued, "Your mom gave me a bit of information about your father that helped my searching immensely. As she has told you, he received a dishonorable discharge due to drug problems. I don't know how much research you have done about getting that title changed but it is really hard and takes a very long time. Let me tell you what I found out."
Finn listened to everything the man said and felt completely helpless. He had promised Rachel he would only be a year away from her, and this man made it seem as though this could take years to do. The man seemed to think that going to Georgia would help so that they could talk to some of the people who would have known more about the situation than what was written in the actual report. Finn sat there and listened to what he said for about 2 hours but he could hardly focus on what he was saying. Finn was going to have to make the choice between being with Rachel in New York or redeeming his father's name. The man thanked them for seeing him and handed Carole his card and told her he'd be in contact if he found out any more information. Finn rose from his seat to thank Detective Jones and shake his hand. He knew he needed to tell someone, but he couldn't call Rachel. He'd already caused her so much pain in the past few days.
He pulled into the empty drive way and told his mom that he was going to go hang out with Puck. She gave him a small smile, touched his cheek, and told him how proud she was of the man he was becoming. He gave her a faint smile, thanked her, and told her not to wait up for him. As soon as she was in the house, he took out his phone to call Puck. They had had their history but with Rachel and Kurt both in New York, Finn didn't have much choice on who to talk to.
As Finn drove towards Quinn's house, he thought it was weird that he Puck was there. When he pulled up in front of the house he thought it was even weirder that Joe's bike was sitting next to the house. Puck was just coming out of the house. When he closed the door, Finn took off. He drove until he was stopped in front of William McKinley High School. They sat in silence for a few moments until Finn finally spoke.
"So Burt hired a private detective to check out my dad's case."
Puck looked over at him in the darkness. "That's great man! I mean it is isn't it? Now you can go to New York with Rachel rather than…" He stopped talking when he saw Finn break down.
"No you don't get it!" Finn was shouting now, "Cases like this are almost impossible to change the status of. Detective Jones kept going on and on for two hours about how hard it will be and how it may take years to change it and if I go to Georgia I may end up staying there for a few years and I promised Rachel that I'd only be a year! Puck what am I going to do?" Finn began sobbing into his hands. "I shouldn't have sent her to New York by herself. I can't believe I really thought I could change things. I guess I really am just a Lima-loser."
"Finn Hudson! You are not a Lima-loser! Why are you so hard on yourself? So you can't change the government's mind. So what! Rachel needs you in New York with her and you need to be with her. You have been completely miserable for the past few days without her. Why exactly do you want to change your dad's status?"
Finn had never had anyone ask him this question. He watched Puck get out his phone and send someone a message but he was too concentrated on thinking about the question he'd been asked. He replied so quietly that Puck almost missed it, "I have no idea."
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