She waits by the side of the road, hugging herself to try and pretend that she isn't about to collapse in a fit of tears, and where ever he is, at least she knows Finn's okay; she can feel it in her heart.
There's a lot of smoke and loud noises, and he can barely make out the image of a kid wielding a tool of some kind as he brings it down on the head of a guy. Santana moans beside him, and at least that means she's alive; Puck and Brittany aren't moving.
The familiar car pulls up, and temporarily, Rachel forgets everything as she bolts towards her daddy and almost knocks him to the ground in an embrace. His whole body is shaking with sobs in the same way that hers is, and when her dad jumps out to join them in a hug, she cries harder.
"Stay back!" shouts the boy, "I'm armed and dangerous, and I've already called the police!" Finn's eyes flicker with the effort of staying awake. Whoever the boy is, he hopes he can thank him properly (if he can stay alive, that is).
"Are you sure you're not hurt? Have you been eating properly? Did anyone force you to do anything you didn't want to do?" Their questions are thick and fast, and she can understand that, though she could do without it. It's hard reliving the experience without Finn by her side, and when her daddy says his name, she cries and cries and they pull over so she can cry some more.
Fucking hell that hurts. Puck opens his eyes to sort out the douche who kicked him in the stomach, but he soon realises where he is, and as he looks down at his blood drenched shirt, he feels light headed and passes out; Brittany's still unconscious too.
They pass a gathering of police cars and ambulances as they near home, and Rachel can't help but stare out of the window as they drive by. She wonders how far Finn and Puck have gotten since they left her, and while she smiles at the thought of them eating at another McDonalds drive-in somewhere, she spots Kurt talking to a police officer, and her scream brings the car to a halt.
Finn feels a coldness rush through him, and he already knows what it is. He doesn't have long, and he misses Rachel more than she can ever know. He doesn't have long. He doesn't have long. He doesn't have-
"Honey, what's wrong?"
She jumps out of the vehicle before she has to answer that question, and ignoring the protests of her dads, she charges forward and launches herself at Kurt, who actually does fall with her weight while the officer looks down at them in confusion.
"Ow, what are- Rachel?"
"Kurt!" She covers his face in kisses and hugs him tightly, and only when he pushes her away does she notice the various cuts and bruises covering his body. His clothes are ruined and his hair is a mess, and she finally takes in the scene around them.
Kurt's car is badly damaged, but the truck beside it looks even worse.
"No..."
Puck is carried into the ambulance on a stretcher.
"Rachel?"
Brittany is close behind, but Santana is strong enough to walk in herself.
"Finn!"
There's no sign of the boy, her boy, and everything seems to happen in slow motion. Two men walk towards the truck, but jump back in time as there's a noise within in, and the whole thing explodes.
Fire.
Smoke.
Glass.
Finn.
"Please tell me he's in the ambulance," she whispers to Kurt, and he takes her hand but says nothing. "Please, please." She doesn't need to hear the answer though, because she can feel it in her heart, in her veins, in her bones.
How can she ever accept it?
"He- He isn't."
It hurts.
A/N: Ridiculously short chapter over, and just one more to go! I changed my mind on where I wanted this fic to go, and so the next chapter will be the last (though The First Time might actually kill me, so this chapter could very well be the last piece I ever write haha). Feel free to let me know where you think it could be going, and thanks for sticking along for the ride!