Sorry, short chapter but I thought you needed an update before you forgot about this story all together! Yes, I finally found a laptop and I have internet connection, woohoo! But technically I'm still on vacation, hence why I haven't posted sooner. Sorry. Forgive me? Please?

For those following "Rose Bullets": I'm working on it and I will update as soon as I can!

Disclaimer: Sometimes I daydream that I'm Ryan Murphy…

Chapter 14

Rachel felt herself being dragged against a bumpy gravel road, her feet lagging in front of her. Despite the fact that her head was pounding, Rachel was almost certain she felt someone holding her by the arms, hauling her body away from the deadly water.

Is this heaven? She wondered, seeing only darkness, It's definitely not what I expected. I thought there would be grassy green meadows, a beautiful waterfall, give or take a couple of birds, maybe even a harp…anything but this.

Rachel was abruptly taken out of her muse when she was struck hard right in the chest. At first she didn't think much of it but when she took another blow to the same area, Rachel felt gallons of water suddenly springing out of her mouth like a geyser. She coughed violently, choking on the water generously exiting her lungs in free flowing currents. As another whack was aimed at her chest, Rachel groaned in pain, the water spilling out of her mouth seemingly endless.

Finally the pain seemed to have subsided some, a warmth spreading through her body for once. Her lungs had spurted out their fill of water and the hits to her chest stopped immediately, granting Rachel a much needed respite. Rachel blinked her eyes and hesitantly tried to open them, afraid that instead of seeing white, puffy clouds and the glowing, golden gates of heaven, she would gaze upon her own version of hell where Broadway was canceled forever and Beiber fever spread to endemic proportions.

But instead she only saw a bright light, blinding her from seeing anything. Then, through her waterlogged ears, she could make out a faint voice in the distance.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

The voice sounded frantic as she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder as if he was trying to wake her up.

"Are you okay?"

The tapping became more incessant, turning into a rougher form of shaking instead. Rachel wished she could be left alone, fatigue washing over her. All she wanted to do now was sleep. Rachel reached a hand up to her head to swat away at whatever was continually prodding her. She mumbled something incoherently, leading to another round of shaking and worried questioning.

"Yeah," she choked out weakly, finally fed up, "Just let me sleep."

But the voice didn't seem to have listened to a word she just said, further irritating a dazed Rachel. "Here, sit up."

Rachel felt herself being dragged up into a sitting position, leaning against the cool stone wall that supported the bridge and winded down the river. She tried blinking her eyes a couple more times, rubbing the water droplets off of her face. Finally she found the strength to lift her eyelids only to see a man in his late forties staring back at her, concern creasing the wrinkles beginning to form on his forehead. He had light brown hair that was turning white at the roots and a large mustache Rachel had only seen on cowboys in old western films. The man wore old worn out jeans that he must have squeezed himself into and a red plaid shirt, both damp from rescuing Rachel from the raging river.

"What's your name darling?" he asked at her, sitting on his knees so he could see her eye to eye.

"R-Rachel," she managed to spit out, her throat still aching from the icy salt water that had rubbed it raw.

"Rachel, I think we need to get you to a hospital to get you checked up, okay?"

Rachel froze. The last thing she wanted was to end up in the hospital yet again, causing her fathers to lose more sleep over her. "No, no," she whispered hoarsely, "No hospitals."

She pondered for a mere second, her head drooping onto her shoulder, before saying slowly and tiredly, "I want to go to Finn's."

"Who's Finn?" the man asked, tapping her cheek to keep her from falling asleep, "Where does he live?"

"2301 Coventry Lane," she murmured quietly, rapidly dozing off, too tired to even begin to describe her relationship with Finn. Rachel had figured a long time ago that it would be best to memorize all of the Glee clubbers' addresses in case of an emergency. After all, they were her friends and everyone memorized their friends' addresses right? At least, that's how she justified it.

"Hmm, I think I know where that is," the man stated, respecting Rachel's wishes, "All right, let's get going then."

The man lifted her in his arms, seeing how Rachel was way too drained to even move. He carried her all the way to his car, laying her down on the backseat. As he fumbled with her seatbelt (since putting a seatbelt on someone who was lying down wasn't an easy feat), Rachel couldn't stop her curiosity from seeping out, despite her drowsiness, and asked, "Sir, how did you find me?"

The man chuckled heartily before responding, "The only reason I was out tonight was because my wife…well, let's just say she's a great cook." He rubbed his pot belly, a roll of fat practically oozing out of the top of his pants. "She told me I needed some exercise and I thought what better place than the reserve? I figured the river would be the perfect place to start and that's when I saw you trying to save yourself. I'm just glad I made it there in time."

By this time, Rachel was securely buckled in and the man had already climbed into the front seat. It was a rather quiet ride over to Finn's house because Rachel had fallen into a deep slumber, lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of the car.

Finally spotting the number 2301 on the mailbox in front of a house, the man pulled up onto the driveway and parked his car on the slant. Cobblestones lined the path towards the door of the quaint yet cozy home, flowers neatly planted in the dark soil and the lawn freshly mowed. He made his way out of his car and towards the front door of the residence, ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door at the same time.

Despite being outside, the man could hear a voice coming from inside yell, "Finn, honey, could you get that?"

After a few seconds, Finn opened the door and towered over the five foot four man standing in his midst.

Who the hell is this dude?

Finn cocked his head to the right, wondering if looking at the man at any other angle would jog his memory as to who this guy was. No such luck. He stared deep into the man's brown eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, concentrating so hard on identifying the guy that his tongue was sticking out of his mouth at a weird angle. Finn tried tilting his head to the other side, his mind shouting in triumph when he believed that this guy must have been his great uncle twice removed. The family resemblance was visible…once Finn looked at the man at precisely a one hundred and twenty four degree angle…with one eye closed.

Before Finn could even speak, the man asked hurriedly, "Are you Finn?"

Now if Finn hadn't been confused before, he was more than baffled now. But he brushed away his uncertainty after figuring that his great uncle must have known who he was...

"Y-yeah," he stammered, "And you are…?"

"Jim," the man replied quickly, "Do you know a girl named Rachel?"

Finn combed through his brain, trying to determine whether he knew any family members named Jim. But then he heard the guy mention Rachel and confusion settled in once more. This guy couldn't have known about his relationship with Rachel, no one really knew...

So how did this man know everything about him? Finn was starting to panic, his eyes dashing back inside his house, and tried to guess how long it would take to dial 911. But then Jim spoke again, assuming that Finn's silence meant an affirmative to his question, "She's in the backseat. Hurry."

Finn suddenly bolted out the door, following the stranger to his car. If he had Rachel, something had to be wrong. His mind was racing with questions but most of all, fear. And confusion. Lots and lots of confusion. Bucket loads.

Finn's legs easily overtook Jim's and upon arriving at the backseat of the car, he ripped open the door to reveal Rachel, snoring ever so slightly, still fast asleep. She was lying down on her side, her hands pressed palm to palm and stuffed under her head like a young child. Finn reached over and gently unbuckled Rachel from the backseat, trying his hardest not to wake her up by moving as little and slowly as possible.

Finally untangling her from her seatbelt, Finn lifted Rachel bridle style out of the car, carrying her effortlessly in his arms. He turned around, pressing Rachel's body tightly to his chest, and facing Jim, asked, "Mind telling me what happened?"

Jim explained the story in more than full detail, Finn cringing and wincing as the man recounted the desperate situation Rachel had been in. Finn didn't even realize that he had been squeezing Rachel closer to him as Jim retold the tale. After Jim had finished illustrating the events that had led up to being on the Hudsons' driveway, Finn stood there dumbfounded, his voice not wanting to cooperate with what his brain was telling him to say.

But he somehow found the power to speak. "H-how in the world did she end up in the frickin' river in the first place!" Finn asked alarmed, his eyes not leaving Rachel's face.

"I'm not entirely sure on that part son," Jim spoke slowly, "Maybe she..." He nudged his head towards Rachel. "Maybe she can tell you herself. Only she knows."

Finn looked down at Rachel, a bittersweet smile on his lips. Here he was with Rachel, someone who made him feel special, feel something great, but the circumstances in which Rachel was brought here, well, that was the downfall.

Glancing up at Jim, Finn sincerely said, "Thanks."

"It's all I could do," Jim stated, "Call me if you ever need me. Here's my number."

After Jim scribbled down his telephone number on a napkin with pen, he handed it to Finn who tucked the napkin into his shirt pocket. Jim made his way into the front seat of his car, rolling down the windows to impart one last wish to Finn.

"Keep her safe, son."

"I will," Finn said, mostly to himself, "I will."

Coming up next chapter: Finchel comfort :D So I'm really sad that this fanfic is almost over! I have one more action scene planned and one sweet ending with a song. Super shout out to whoever is psychic and can guess the song I'm talking about haha.

Hmm, after three weeks, I get my greatest number of reviews ever for one chapter! Thanks so much. Maybe I should wait three weeks between every chapter from now on…?

Just kidding! I would never do that to you guys. :)

So review because I said just kidding? xD And because I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger?