He's just about to take off his coveralls when the the phone rings. Finn contemplates ignoring it, but he sees Rachel's name flashing on his phone. This is her fifth missed call today, and he knows that if he doesn't pick up, he's going to be in it for a long night of Berry drama. Sighing, Finn leaves the first few buttons of his uniform undone and reaches into his locker for his phone.
"What's up, Berry?"
"Finn Hudson?" He frowns at the commanding voice that most certainly is not Rachel's, pulling the phone away from his ear to check if he has her name right. Yep. It's definitely Rachel's.
"Uh. Who is this?"
"I'm calling from Lima Memorial-"
"Is she okay?" he asks quickly, his pulse rising at the woman's words. "Oh my God, what happened?"
"She's fine. We tried calling her parents-"
"They're on a business trip. She's staying with us- I mean, she's staying at my place."
"Yes, so she told us. Rachel broke her arm-"
"What?" he exclaims as he slams his locker shut and picks up his backpack, ignoring the change of clothes waiting on the bench.
"And I'm afraid she's not in any condition to drive herself home. And- what's that? She said to tell you to hurry up," the woman finishes, amused. He rolls his eyes, momentarily derailed, but his worry comes back in full force as he hangs up and makes a beeline for his truck. He's already backing out into the road when he realizes that he's still in his uniform.
Xxx
It takes him all of fifteen minutes to get to the hospital. A broken arm doesn't sound so bad. Like, she's not in a coma or anything, you know, but it's still pretty bad. And he's sure that Rachel, being the same wildly dramatic human being he's known since he was five, is definitely freaking out. He speed walks into the emergency room, eyes roaming wildly for a tiny girl with a loud mouth (and a broken arm). He hears her before he sees her though.
"There he is! There's my Finn. Finny," she calls out in a song-song voice. He follows the sound of her voice, eyes widening slightly when he sees her neck craning out towards him from behind a large Asian nurse who's looking at her with what is, undeniably, utter amusement.
"Rachel," he starts as he hurries over to her. "What the hell happened?"
She reaches out to him with her good hand, winding her fingers around his wrist before she pulls him close and leans against his arm. Rachel looks up at him, resting her chin against his sleeve as she beams.
"I cut my finger," she tells him, almost vacantly, holding up her injured hand to show the bandage covering two of her fingers. "And I fell off the ladder and broke my arm."
"What the hell were you- how did you get here?"
"I drove my car, silly."
"You drove your car with a broken arm? Rachel! Do you know how stu-"
"Stop yelling at me!" she cuts in loudly. "I don't like it when you yell at me."
"I'm not yelling!"
"You're yelling right now," she pouts, pulling away from him. He looks up in exasperation at the nurse who is clearly trying to hold back a smile.
"What's wrong with her?" he asks, nodding towards Rachel who is back to leaning her head against his hand.
"She's fine," the nurse tells him. "She's just a little disoriented from the painkiller. I told her that driving home isn't the best idea, and she told me to call you."
"Thanks," he says gratefully. He takes Rachel's medicine from the nurse, ignoring her grumbles as he winds an arm around her waist to help her stand.
"I broke my arm," she mumbles tearfully when she looks up at him again.
"I know," he says, gently nudging her forward.
Xxx
She's been quiet ever since she stepped into the car, and it worries him a little, because Rachel never shuts up most of the time. He keeps stealing glances at her to check if she's fine.
"What were you doing on a ladder?" he finally asks conversationally, just to get her to talk.
"It's a surprise," she says, turning away from the window to look at him with a smile. She puts a finger up to her lips and shushes him. The girl is clearly still out of it, and he wonders just what in heck the doctor gave her.
"What do you mean it's a surprise? For who?"
"You, silly! Oops!" She clasps her good palm up to her mouth, her eyes large as she looks at him, and he smiles in spite of himself.
"You mean my birthday surprise?" he asks wryly. "The one mom throws every year, so it's never surprising anymore? My birthday is next week."
"Yes, well, that's the surprise," she says patiently.
"Oh."
"I ruined it," she says sadly. He snorts, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her thigh.
"Yeah, you kinda did. But it's okay."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," he says nonchalantly, turning towards her with a teasing grin. "I still love you anyway."
Rachel looks away shyly, blushing, and he laughs.
Xxx
His surprise party turns into a surprise for everyone else when they open the door to find Rachel sleeping in his arms with a cast on one hand.
"Thanks guys," he says out loud when their loud cries of Surprise! and Happy birthday! falter. "But erm- I need to put her upstairs. She fell off a ladder," he explains when Kurt starts to open his mouth. "And she cut herself, or something."
"Do you mean to say that those red stains on the tissues I threw away were her blood?" his brother whispers out loud, scandalized. Finn rolls his eyes, fixing his hold on Rachel when she burrows further into him.
"Yeah. Just- erm- hold the party while I put her on the bed for a sec."
xxx
"Rachel, you gotta let go of my neck," he murmurs, holding his body up with his hands on either side of her. Her broken arm is resting on her stomach, but her other hand has a vice grip around his neck, and his face is so close to hers, his nose is brushing against her cheek.
"You're leaving?" she slurs, alarmed.
"Just for a little while," he says reassuringly, gently pulling her hand off his neck. "I'm just going downstairs. You're in my room, okay? Go to sleep."
"'Kay."
He sits on the edge of his bed, reaching over her for a blanket. Rachel smiles up at him, and he smiles back, their close proximity making him feel a little uncomfortable, because like, she's his best friend, you know? But she's also really pretty and kind of amazing, and being so close to her is hard sometimes when all he wants to do is kiss her. But they've known each other their whole lives, practically, and it's so fucking weird how she was just his best friend for years, and suddenly he woke up one day and realized that Rachel Berry is kind of fucking hot, even when she's doped up on pain meds. But anyway.
"I'm sorry I ruined your party," she mumbles.
"It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't pick up my phone when you called."
"That's okay, too."
She gives him this look sometimes, like he's not just Finn, that boy she's known since she was five, or her best friend, or, you know, her Finn. Sometimes she looks at him like she's not sure who he is, like she's shy, or something, and it pulls him in, that look. She's looking at him that way right now, and honestly, it's hard for him to look away.
"I love you, you know," she says suddenly. He smiles.
"I love you, too, Berry."
"No," she says impatiently. "I mean I- I really love you. Like, really love you."
His heart starts beating faster. She sounds almost nervous, and he wonders how much of this is her and how much of it is the painkiller talking, but either way it's kind of freaking him out, a little.
"Finn?" she asks quietly, looking up at him.
"I really love you too," he confesses. She looks up at him like she doesn't even know what they're talking about right now, and his heart kind of feels like it's about to drop down to his stomach. He's scrambling his brain, trying to think of a way to turn this whole thing into a lame joke, when she suddenly smiles.
"Good."
Xxx
He stares up into the darkness as he pulls up his sheets, rolling his eyes when it reaches his neck only to leave his feet cold. He's thinking that it's time for his mom to invest in some longer blankets for the sofa bed. The party didn't last very long because his mom and Kurt were too distracted, worrying about Rachel. But the meds finally got the best of her, and she's been asleep for like, eight hours now. It's almost one in the morning, and he's super tired, but the sofa bed is just way too small for his tall frame.
He contemplates dragging his pillows down to the floor when he hears the creak of the bottom stair. He stays quiet, his eyes barely open, as he listens to the light footfalls, and from the dim light, he makes out her silhouette standing awkwardly in front of him.
"Finn," she whispers. "Are you sleeping?"
"No," he says, finally opening his eyes. He sits up, his blanket falling to his lap, looking up at her cautiously.
"Oh," she says. She sits on the edge of the sofa bed, and he moves to make more room for her.
"How are you feeling?" he asks quietly. She's not looking at him, looking instead at the cast on her arm, her free hand tracing random patterns over it.
"I'm okay. I mean, I'm feeling better."
"That's good."
"Did you have a good party?"
"It was okay."
"Oh."
"What's up?"
"I-" she starts hesitantly, still refusing to look up.
"What is it, Rach?" he asks softly.
"Did you mean it?" she mumbles quickly.
"Mean what?" he asks innocently. She looks up at him, her eyes flashing with annoyance.
"You know what I'm talking about," she snaps.
"I really don't."
"I- fine," she hisses, standing abruptly. "I'm just gonna go then, whatever. I-"
"Rachel," he calls out quickly, amused, but still a little alarmed. He pulls her back down to the bed, ignoring her protests.
"Finn, let me go. Seriously. I am so not in the mood for you to-"
He kisses her, quickly, pressing his lips to hers hard to shut her up, and when he pulls back, she looks at him like she's on those pain meds again.
"I mean it," he tells her, grinning.