Your eyes do not deceive you! This is an update! I know its been 6 months, but I really lost sight of what I wanted to do with this story and took some time to regroup. I hope there are some of you still interested in this! I don't own glee but I do own the plot, Zack, and Lainey.
September 2026
Finn and Rachel had spent the last few weeks making sure the kids made it to every therapy visit. Dealing with their moms abandonment, a new house and family life, and now a new school was a lot for their young minds to handle. They both had a calm few weeks, and The days came and went relatively smoothly. Zack hadn't acted out in quite sometime, although he did still have his moments. Lainey was happy all of the time, only having nightmares once a week where she would scream for her mom. Finn and Rachel had become experts on how to handle them, even attending therapy on their own a few times.
They were beginning to function like an average family. The rest of the summer had flown by. Mrs. Kent, their social worker, had dropped by twice for unannounced home visits, leaving each time satisfied that the kids were thriving. She was unable to find out anything about the kids mother and whether or not she was pregnant. Rachel was frustrated because she was convinced the kids were right, but there was nothing further she could do. They had to stay focused on the kids and keeping them safe and happy.
Rachel didn't want a repeat of what happened at daycare earlier in the summer to happen again. She had spent hours researching and coaching the kids on how to handle being away from them and being at school in general. The kids didn't go to school consistently, so she knows it might be a challenge. They did activities to prepare for the first day, even driving to each child's school ahead of time to see if there was anything unexpected that needed to be addressed. Zack seemed reserved about it, but wasn't refusing to go like earlier in the summer. Lainey was very excited, but constantly made comments about how long she would be gone and when she would be picked up, etc.
The first day of school fell during the first week in September. Both kids were a little nervous in the morning, but both Rachel and Finn kept the mood light, making a special pancake breakfast for them and setting out their new special outfits. Rachel made them both take pictures on the porch with signs stating the date to remember this by. She even managed to squeeze a smile out of Zack as he posed.
Zack walked between Finn and Rachel, as he held their hands tightly. It was his first day of second grade, and they had spent weeks preparing for it. He was wearing navy shorts with a red and white striped shirt, black converse on his feet. Zack had asked Finn to gel his hair and make it spiky. He still admired Finn a lot, and looked up to him for guidance.
They had a private meeting with his teacher last week to try and give her as much information to help Zack transition back into school. They wanted her to be fully aware of his history, both personally and academically. Rachel knew that if the year didn't start off right, they were in for a long road. The elementary school was very supportive too, making sure every form of support was available to him if needed. His academic abilities were still in question based on him missing so much school within the past year.
"You doing okay there buddy?" Finn asked as they walked towards the entrance of the school. "You're gonna be fine I promise."
Zack nodded 'yes' as they continued on towards the door. Lainey was holding Rachel's free hand as she skipped along. Her preschool drop off was later.
"Why can't I go to Zack's school?" Lainey asked as they walked through the big double doors.
"You can next year for Kindergarten. You have to be five first." Rachel explained trying to stay focused on Zack's body language. "You get to go to preschool after we drop Zack off ok?"
At hearing those words, Zack gripped Rachel's hand tighter. She looked down at him and gave him a small smile for reassurance. They arrived at his classroom with ten minutes to spare. Rachel helped him unpack his backpack and unload the school supplies they had bought. Finn stood at the back of the classroom distracting Lainey from interrupting. His teacher, Mrs. Silva, kept her distance while they finished up.
Zack slid into his seat, second row, second desk, and stared at the paper in front of him. The paper was titled "All About Me" and asked the children for various pieces of information about themselves.
"What if I can't answer some of this? Will I get in trouble?" Zack asked as he rolled the pencil inbetween his fingers.
Rachel bent down to be at Zack's level. "No you won't. It looks like you know the answers to everything on this page. It's asking for your favorite foods, your birthday, your family members..."
At those words Zack looked over at Rachel concerned.
"Zack, you can write whatever you want on this paper ok? No one will be mad and you won't get in trouble. I promise." Rachel rubbed his shoulder, hoping this wouldn't set him off before school even started. "You can even leave it blank if you'd like."
Mrs. Silva announced it was time for the parents to say their goodbyes. Students rushed to their seats as their parents hugged them goodbye. Finn walked over holding Lainey in his arms.
"Good luck today buddy. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get home this afternoon." Finn held up his hand for Zack to give him a high five. Zack gladly returned the sentiment. Lainey remained quiet, clinging to Finn as he walked about of the classroom.
"I'll see you after school ok? Have a good day." Rachel glanced back at Zack as she walked out of the room, but he was already listening to the teacher's directions as she spoke. She hoped for everyone's sake today went well.
The drive to Lainey's preschool was quiet. Lainey seemed nervous, so both Rachel and Finn kept conversation to a minimum until they arrived.
"Ready to go Lainey? You're going to have so much fun today!"
Finn grabbed Lainey out of the back seat, but when he went to put her down she clung to his neck. "You don't want to walk into school?" he asked as he moved her to one hip while holding her backpack to the other arm.
"No. You hold me Big Guy, please." He glanced at Rachel who shrugged her shoulders. They hadn't expected Lainey to the be the difficult one today.
They arrived to Lainey's classroom, which was much noisier than Zack's had been. Two kids were crying as their parents tried to soothe them, while others were running around the room chasing each other. The teacher was off in the corner talking to some parents which left Rachel and Finn to troubleshoot this themselves.
"School starts in a few minutes Lainey, so let's get you unpacked." Rachel waited for Finn to put her down, to which Lainey complied. "Let's find your name on the hooks so we can hang up your backpack and put your lunch in the bucket. Lainey accompanied Rachel over to the wall, hung up her backpack, and put her lunch in the bucket. "Great job, now let's find your seat at the table and you can show Finn and I where you get to work today!"
Rachel grabbed Lainey's hand and walked over to the table, Finn trailing behind. Lainey sat in her seat at her teacher, Miss Jenkins, told all of the kids to show their parents their seats because the day was going to start. Finn watched as the other parents ushered their kids around and tried to say their goodbyes.
Rachel and Finn bent down on either side of Lainey, her pink flowered dress laying neatly in her lap.
"Have a good day Lainey, we will see you right after lunch ok?" Rachel brushed Lainey's blond curls behind her shoulder with her fingers. "You're going to have so much fun."
Lainey looked up at Rachel and tears began to escape from her eyes. "Okay," she whimpered.
Finn spoke up to try to break the tension a bit. "Lainey I want you to tell me all about your day when I get home from work. I want to hear all about it."
This made Lainey cry harder. "Can't you stay with me?"
"Lainey, look at my big legs! I'll break these chairs if I try to stay and sit with you." Finn smiled which caused Lainey to laugh a little. "I promise the day will go by so fast. We love you."
Finn and Rachel followed the rest of the parents out into the hallway, where the director of the school was waiting with other parents from the other classrooms.
"We promise the first day is hard but we will definitely call you if anyone is having a hard time calming down. The crying is normal, for both parents and kids."
Rachel laughed as she realized she was teary too. It broke her heart to leave Lainey crying in the room, but it also felt good to be missed.
"She'll be okay Rach. She's spent two months with you every day. Of course she'll be sad to leave you, but this is good for her. For Zack too. This is what childhood should be for them." He grabbed her hand and walked her to the car slowly, praying neither of their phones rang for the rest of the day.
Rachel entered the preschool building with excitment. She had missed Lainey and Zack all day. It's funny how she had been so stressed out for so many weeks with them home, but now that they were gone all day she was bored and couldn't wait for school to be done. Lainey got out at 1pm and Zack didn't get out until 2:30, so Rachel was hoping she could take Lainey by Finn's office to say hi.
The kids were all lined up against the outside wall of the classroom, waiting to be dismissed. Rachel filed in behind all of the other moms, trying to catch a glimpse of Lainey to make sure she was okay.
"Which one is yours?" the mom next to her asked.
Rachel smiled slightly, because this mom was treating her like any other mom of the group. "Oh, she's the blonde one over there, in the pink flower dress." Rachel pointed to Lainey at the back of the line, whose eyes were searching the crowd. "And yours?"
The woman pointed to a small boy with dark hair wearing a shirt with a dinosaur on the front. "That's Max. I hope he did okay today."
"I know, I feel like I was more stressed than Lainey today. I'm Rachel Hudson by the way." Rachel held her hand out to shake the woman's hand.
"Andrea Smith. Is she your first?"
Rachel hesitated. She hadn't thought about how to address this with other parents because she had been so focused on making sure the kids were ready.
"Is Lainey's mom here?" Miss Jenkins shouted, saving Rachel from having to answer.
"Right here!" Rachel yelled as she moved forward in the crowd.
When Lainey saw her, she ran to Rachel and squealed. "Lady I missed you!" Rachel scooped her up as they pushed back through the crowd of parents and exited.
"I missed you too! Did you have fun?" Lainey wrapped her arms around Rachel's neck and scooted her body as close as she could without choking them both.
"Yes! I have some papers to show you in my bag and I ate all of my lunch. Are we going to get Zack now?"
Rachel opened up the car door and Lainey climbed up into her seat.
"No, we are going to see Finn at work first and then get Zack. He isn't finished with school yet."
"YAY! she screamed as Rachel started the car.
They arrived at the Hudson Properties office ten minutes later, Lainey skipping happily into the building.
Rachel grabbed her hand as they walked inside, the secretary beamed as she saw her.
"Mrs. Hudson! Welcome back! It's been so long since we've seen you." Rebecca had worked with the company for years, and had always been very sweet to all of the employees.
"Hey Rebecca! This is Lainey. Lainey can you say hi?"
Lainey waved to Rebecca but her attention was quickly averted as she heard Finn's voice in the distance.
"Is he with a client?" Rachel asked.
"No, he's just wrapping up a conference call. Should be done within a minute based on his schedule."
Rachel picked Lainey up and whispered in her ear. "Okay Lainey, Finn is on the phone so we have to be super duper quiet ok?"
"Okay," Lainey whispered in return.
Rachel walked slowly past her now dark office, it hadn't been used in months. Next door was Finn's, and she heard him hang up on his call just as they approached the door.
"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls!" Finn smiled as he got up from his chair and took Lainey out of Rachel's arms. "How was your first day of school?"
"Good!" she replied as she hugged his neck tighter. She let go and looked around the room. "Do you work in here? Can I work here when I'm big?"
"Sure thing! Here, why don't you sit at my desk and I'll give you some paper and you can work while I talk to Rachel." He placed Lainey down, giving her a legal pad and a bright red pen.
"So, how was it really?" he asked as he turned back towards Rachel.
"Honestly I think it was fine. She came out happy, her note for the day said she was good, so it was a success I would say. I think it speaks a lot to how she's feeling now. When we first got her she had no sense of security and that's why she freaked out at daycare. Today was completely different. I'm hoping Zack has a good day too." Her smiled faded slightly as she thought about him. He was much more fragile than Lainey was, even after three months.
"Well no one has called us so hopefully his day is going smoothly. He starts soccer this week too, so we should expect some outbursts from him. He doesn't react well to change or feeling unsure. We might have to talk him through some stuff. " Finn and Zack had become closer as the summer came to a close. They had started to go out in the yard every night after dinner to play a quick game of catch or kick the soccer ball around. He was actually shocked when Zack agreed to play on a soccer team this fall.
Lainey continued to play while Finn and Rachel reviewed some new home listings in the office. She hoped that if the transition to school went smoothly, she could pick up some clients during the hours Lainey was at preschool. She hadn't committed to it yet, because she's learned the life of a foster parent is unpredictable at best. She wasn't going back to work until she felt the kids were settled with school.
They said their goodbyes an hour later and headed to Zack's school to pick him up. Rachel felt nervous, worried about the condition of Zack's mental state after such a stressful day in a new situation. This is the longest he had been away from them since June.
Lainey had fallen asleep on the short drive over, so Rachel chose to stay in the carpool line to pick up Zack. She could see him standing with two other boys, chatting while looking for their cars. Zack spotted her as she inched closer. She waved and smiled as he walked towards the car. Zack opened the car door and hopped in, Rachel pointing to his sister and motioning for him to be quiet. He buckled himself into the seat as Rachel began to drive away.
"So how was it?" she asked softly.
"It was good. My teacher is nice." Zack rummaged through his backpack for something. "I even got student of the day for following all of the rules and being a good listener." He held up a red ribbon to show her.
"Well that's fantastic. Already student of the day on the very first day of school. Finn will be so excited to hear about it!." Rachel looked in the rear view mirror to see Zack smiling to himself as he looked at the red ribbon. She had hoped today was going to go well, and now hearing that it did made her feel so accomplished. They had worked hard all summer, making sure that these two kids felt secure enough to function out in the world. Today both of the kids had proved that it had been a success.
Dinner time rolled around and Finn arrived to sit down and hear all about the kids day. Zack told Finn about the ribbon he earned, and his two new friends Cole and Eli who played with him at recess.
"Well it sounds like this new school is great! Glad to hear about you being student of the day! That's cool buddy!" Finn ruffled the hair on top of Zack's head.
"Hey! Don't mess up my gel!" Zack said as he pushed Finn's hands away. Zack had held it together all day, but as he grew more tired, they could see he was growing agitated.
"Be nice Zack." Finn reached over and put Zack's hair back into place.
Lainey was so exhausted that she fell asleep at the dinner table, unable to make it upstairs for bedtime.
"I'll go put her to bed if you and Zack want to clean up the dishes for me?" Rachel picked up a sleeping Lainey and hoisted her up into her arms.
"I think we can manage that. Goodnight Lainey." Finn stood up and kissed Lainey on the forehead as Rachel headed upstairs. He began to pick up his plate and Zack started to gather the cups to put in the sink.
"Do you think Burt can come to my soccer game on Saturday? He told me he wanted to come see me play."
"Actually, Burt and Carole are coming. So are Rachel's dads. Everyone is so excited to see your first game!" Finn continued clearing the table as Zack watched.
"What if I mess up?" Zack began to play with his napkin that still remained on the table.
"I think they'll cheer for you either way buddy. And you will mess up at some point. No one is perfect. Just keep playing during the game even if you mess up. We've been working on it and you'll be fine I promise."
Zack cracked a smile and stood up to continue helping Finn.
"I'll get the rest, why don't you head upstairs to take your shower and get ready for bed."
Once the kids were settled in for the night, Rachel got their folders out to go through the mounds of paperwork that had to be filled out. She had to make sure that she signed the correct forms and made sure the kids weren't photographed at school. Their identities had to be fully protected until the adoption was final. In both folders she found the "All about Me" papers they each had filled out at school.
She looked at Lainey's first. Hers was obviously simpler than Zack's. It had her favorite color listed (pink) as well as her favorite food (strawberries). At the bottom was an area labeled "My Family". She had drawn two bigger figures, one taller than the other. The one she assummed was Finn had short spikey hair. The one that was supposed to be her had long dark hair. Then a smaller boy and girl were drawn. Rachel smiled as her fingers brushed across the crayon drawn figures, the simplicity of this picture bringing her so much joy.
She then moved onto Zack's paper, his categories a little more specific: Favorite TV show: (Ninja Turtles), Favorite color (Green). These things she knew already. She then saw a few things that she hadn't known. Favorite sport (soccer). She could give Finn credit for that. Favorite hobby: Fixing cars with Burt. Favorite thing to do at home: Having Rachel read stories to me before bed.
Tears started to fall and she wiped them quickly so she wouldn't get the paper wet. Then at the bottom he had drawn their family in the box. He labeled it as "Finn, Rachel, Zack, and Lainey." The four of them were drawn together, a soccer ball in the bottom right corner.
Finn walked into the kitchen to find Rachel staring at a piece of paper and crying. "Hey, what's wrong? Bad news from school?" He sat down next to her grabbing the paper out of her hand.
"No, actually. Nothing is wrong. Everything is feeling right." She passed the papers to Finn so he could read them. A smile grew across his face.
"Wow. It's crazy that we've only had them a few months. Oh look! Zack likes soccer." Finn kept scrolling down the paper until he saw the line about Rachel and he realized why the tears had come. "See, he's coming around to you. He appreciates you even though he doesn't show it a lot of the time."
Rachel stood up to hug him, allowing Finn to swallow her into a hug with his arms. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, realizing they hadn't spent much time alone since the kids had arrived. He'd have to try to change that soon.
Both kids survived the first week of school without incident. Rachel and Finn were feeling so proud of all of the work the four of them had done together to make this happen. Most families didn't have to worry about these kinds of things, but they did. Lainey even got invited to Max's birthday party in her class next weekend. Things were going smoothly, which meant Rachel was ready for the other shoe to drop.
Rachel was quiet in the car on the way to the soccer game on Saturday. Lainey was in the her seat wearing the puffiest dress she could find. Not exactly soccer game attire but Rachel didn't want to argue. Zack was in his red and black soccer uniform, complete with brand new Nike cleats and holding his red soccer ball. His team named themselves "The Flames" and its all Zack had talked about this week. He even managed to survive both practices without throwing any fits or getting mad. Finn was so proud of him.
"What's on your mind? You're never this quiet." Finn grabbed her hand as he continued to drive to the park.
"It's just going so well. I don't want this to be ripped out from under us." Rachel kept her voice low to prevent the kids from hearing her.
"I know. Try not to worry too much. We have no reason to believe this won't all pan out like its supposed to. Let's just enjoy today ok?" He squeezed her hand and held it in his lap until they arrived.
Burt and Carole had set up their chairs on the sidelines along side of Hiram and Leroy. it was a little chilly for a fall morning in Ohio, Rachel bringing along a few blankets for the family.
Lainey immediately jumped into Hirams lap as Finn set up their chairs. "Which one are you?" Lainey asked Hiram. "Leroy or Hiram? I get confused."
Hiram laughed. Due to their travel schedules they hadn't seen the kids as often, but they did Skype around once a week. "I'm Hiram. I'm the cuter one remember?" He winked as Leroy shook his head.
Zack took off his sweatshirt and threw his ball on the ground. "Good luck today Zack!" Burt shouted, holding his hand up for a hi five.
Zack smiled and gave Burt a hi five. Everyone else, including Lainey, held up their hands as well and Zack ran around smacking his hand against theirs.
Rachel walked Zack over to his coach so they could prep for the game. The two practices they had earlier in the week went well, so she was hoping he wouldn't freeze up during the game. Zack trailed slightly behind her, dragging his cleats through the grass as he walked.
"You're going to be fine. Just listen to your coach ok? He'll tell you what to do." She guided Zack over to the group and he quickly joined in, waving to Rachel that she could walk away.
The team began warming up and Lainey was already bored. "Big guy can we go for a walk?" Lainey jumped off of Hiram's lap and started skipping around Finn's chair.
"It has to be quick! I don't want to miss any of the game." Finn grabs her hand and starts to walk a lap around the field to help her get some energy out.
"So Rachel," Hiram gegins, "What's the latest on the adoption? You haven't shared anything in quite a while."
Rachel pulled her sweatshirt closed around her, the chill of the morning fall air causing her to shudder. "Well there isn't anything to report. I had the social worker check up on the mom, but no one has seen her or knows if she's pregnant. She's just vanished. We have an appointment at the end of the month to see if the judge will allow us to proceed with the adoption barring nothing else comes up."
"Like what?" Carole asked. "What else could come up?"
"A relative showing up would be a big road block. Family comes first before anything, especially if they can't be proven unfit. So far I haven't been notified of anyone coming out of the woodwork, but they both have a dad somewhere, and I have no idea about aunts, uncles, grandparents... We aren't out of the woods until the adoption papers are signed, which could be a year away still. " Rachel began to tear up as she saw Finn throw Lainey up onto his shoulders from afar. "I know we've only had them for a few months, but the thought of them leaving breaks my heart. They're doing so well. I'm just afraid it will all be ripped away by some random person wanting a govenment check in exchange for taking the kids. Trust me, its not that much money but people get greedy I suppose."
Zack ran by as he was running a drill with his team, smiling as they all watched him. Rachel waved enthusiastically, wiping the tears from her cheeks so he wouldn't see them.
"Well I'm sure it will all be fine." Carole handed her a tissue to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. "These kids fit right into this family and the day that it's official will be amazing."
Rachel smiled subtly, hoping Carole's words were true.
By the time the game had started, Zack had loosened up a bit, and was playing defense which was close to where the family was sitting.
"You've got this Zack!" Finn yelled, sitting forward in his seat and resting his elbows onto his knees. He wanted this game to be a positive experience for Zack. He knows if something bad happens he won't want to come back. Zack still had the mentality that he wasn't capable of doing things, and that if things were hard he should avoid them. Finn was hoping this would break him of that. It was a process. Zack wasn't used to having positive experiences in his life, so he didn't always act appropirately in good or bad situations, but luckily he seemed to be learning how to deal.
Soon the ball was headed for Zack, not soon after the ref blew the whistle to begin. Finn felt his pulse increase as he saw Zack standing there, facing off with another player from the opposing team. Rachel grabbed Finn's hand and whispered "come on Zack, block the ball," under her breath.
Zack ran up and kicked the ball out of bounds, preventing the other player from scoring. Rachel and Finn jumped out of their seats clapping, Burt reaching over to give Hiram and Leroy a high five. Lainey was playing with a doll on Carole's lap, so when Carole started clapping Lainey was confused.
"What are we clapping for?" Lainey asked as she clapped along.
"Your brother did a good job and we're proud of him!" Carole beamed as she watched Finn and Rachel settle back into their seats.
Zack resumed his position on the field as the teams continued playing, glancing over at his cheering squad every so often. Rachel would wave and Carole would snap a picture. Finn never let his eyes wander from Zack on the field.
"We're totally those obnoxious sports parents right now." Rachel laughed as she winked at Finn.
"We are, but I like it." Finn gave Zack a thumbs up as the ran by again.
Just then Zack was involved in another great play. The entire group rose to their feet to cheer. They could see the smile radiating off of Zack's face as he heard his name being called. What they couldn't see, was the familiar blonde woman watching in the distance as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Uh oh! Who's creeping at the soccer game? I apologize for the long wait to get an update on this story. I have it all planned out so hopefully it will be updated again soon! Reviews are love! Thanks!