Hey guys. Thanks so much for your very nice welcome back. I definitely missed hearing from all of you and writing about Finchel. It's definitely weird not having Glee anymore, but I hope we can keep Glee and Finchel going through fanfiction. Just a warning - the next chapter (Chapter 22) will have Sue and the OSU students in it, so I just wanted to warn you. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!

Chapter 21: DC

Finn looked out the window of his mom's car, not sure if this was a good idea. He hadn't left Lima since he got home from the hospital, but he did want to get back to a normal life. He wanted to go back to school. At least he thought he did.

He knew he couldn't go back to University of Lima. It would be too much of a reminder of what happened. His mom and Burt had suggested going ot school in DC in the fall, and Finn was open to that idea. Being away from Lima might be good for him, and Burt had assured him that he'd be at the apartment in DC with Finn, and Carole would be there at times too.

He'd applied to some schools in DC and was going down to DC with Carole to visit some schools while Burt was there in congress. These past few weeks in Lima had been pretty boring, honestly. He'd been going to physical therapy and psychological therapy, but since he still had his braces and his cast and his wheelchair, there wasn't much he could do. The members of New Directions and his friends who were home on summer break would come over to hang out while Carole was at work though, and Finn appreciated that. Marley, Jake, Ryder, Kitty and Unique were in the process of trying to convince the superintendent to bring back the glee club and find an advisor, and Finn hoped that would work out. Mr. Schuester had come by as well, and he told Finn that he and Mrs. Schuester were having a boy.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Carole asked Finn, interrupting his thoughts. "This is the first time you've really gone to an unfamiliar area since..."

"I'll be okay," Finn said. He was nervous too. He'd been out and about around Lima a few times, but his mom was right. He'd done research on these schools in DC online, but he hadn't actually been to any of them. But he wanted to have a normal life again, and in DC, no one would really know about what had happened. In Lima, Finn Hudson was known as the eighteen-year-old who'd been kidnapped and held hostage and abused. It had been all over the news. Whenever he went out in public, people were looking at him and talking quietly to each other.

"I know this is a big step for you," Carole said.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Mom, do you think down in DC, people will know about what happened to me?"

"I don't think it'll be as obvious as in Lima," Carole said. "There were things on the National news, since you're a congressman's son, but I don't think that people would see you and think, 'oh, that's him.'"

"Good," Finn said.

"You have made some other steps lately," Carole said.

That was true. Yesterday Carole had run to the post office for ten minutes to pick a package up. Finn had stayed at the house by himself. It was the first time he'd been alone at the house. He spent the entire time Carole was gone staring out the window, getting nervous any time a car drove by. When Carole got back, she noticed that Finn was shaking, something Finn himself hadn't even noticed. But at least he'd managed to be at home alone for ten minutes.

He'd also gotten his hair cut. He'd been terrified of scissors when Kurt tried to cut his hair, but with his cast and his injured clavicle, it was hard to reach up and comb, and even he could realize it was getting too long and messy. Carole said that he was squeezing his body close together while in the barber's chair, and he had his eyes closed the whole time. It was true - he was worried how he'd react if he saw the scissors. He felt his heart beating fast. But he hadn't panicked like he had during his previous run-in with scissors.

The car ride to DC had been pretty quiet, and now the car was approaching lots of tall buildings. Finn saw the Washington Monument. He'd forgotten how tall it was, and he hadn't seen it since the eighth grade class trip to DC. But at the same time, driving by these landmarks hit him that he was really here. He was really getting ready to go back to a normal life. But was he ready for a normal life?

Carole pulled up at an apartment building and helped Finn out of the car and into his chair. Burt was at a congress session, but he'd be getting in later today. Carole wheeled Finn into the building as they got in the elevator. Finally, they got off the elevator and went down the hall as Carole unlocked the door of an apartment.

Finn looked around the apartment. Burt and Carole had a living room and a kitchen set up. Carole led Finn down the hall to a bedroom with twin beds, two dressers and a desk. "We've always had this room set up in case you and Kurt came down," Carole said. "I know it's not much but..."

Finn smiled at his mom as he heard the apartment's doorbell ring. Carole went to answer the door, leaving Finn in the bedroom. When Carole came back, Finn was surprised by who was with her. "Rachel!" Finn exclaimed.

"Hey babe," Rachel said, coming over and giving Finn a kiss. "I had some time off this week, so I thought I'd take the train down here to look at colleges with you."

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Finn said, kissing Rachel on the cheek. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Rachel said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm hanging in there," Finn said. "I just wish things could be normal again."

"I know, but if it means anything, you look like you're doing better," Rachel said. "I do too. So, tell me about these schools you're looking at."

"Well, I'm looking at the community college, and I'm also looking at Washington DC State University," Finn said. "I applied to Georgetown and George Washington too, but I don't think I'd get in there..."

"You've got to be positive," Rachel said to Finn.

"Yeah," Finn said. "And this is close enough to New York that I'd get to see you more, and I'd also live in this apartment. How are things in New York?"

"They're great," Rachel said. "It looks like Funny Girl will open sometime in the winter, and it's great to have Blaine and Sam here. Artie's going to be coming in the fall too."

"If I am down here, that'll give me more people to see," Finn said. "The thing is, being in a completely new city... it's so hard to trust people after what happened. It might be hard for me to make friends at college..."

"I'm sure it is," Rachel said as she gave Finn a hug. "Have you been sleeping okay?"

"I get up in the middle of the night less," Finn admitted. "I'm just nervous about going to court. I don't want to have to see them again."

"How do you think they'll be sentenced?" Rachel asked.

"Our attorney is pushing for the maximum sentence," Carole said. "We're hoping for life imprisonment, but our attorney said that might not happen."

"They almost killed Finn!" Rachel protested.

Finn didn't like hearing talk like that. Instead, he turned to his mom. "Did you know Rachel was coming?"

"Yeah," Carole said. "When you told her you were visiting schools in DC this weekend, she called me and Burt and asked about coming to look with you."

"I appreciate that," Finn said to Rachel. "You look great, by the way."

"Thanks," Rachel said. "You're looking good too."

"Thanks," Finn said. He'd gone from about 200 pounds to a little under 180 during his time being locked up. His appetite was slowly coming back, but he still couldn't eat like he could before. He liked to think one day he would.

x

The next day, Finn, Rachel and Carole were walking around the campus of Washington DC State University. The campus was bigger than University of Lima's, though that was to be expected. They'd walked through the education building and had lunch at the dining hall (which had better food than University of Lima), and now they were meeting with an acdademic advisor. "So, this would be your first full semester of college," the advisor said to Finn."

Finn hadn't realized that - while all his friends he'd graduated with were going to be college sophomores, he would only be starting as a freshman. "Yeah." He didn't want to get into what had happened during his previous college experience. He was sure that his mom and Burt had said things in the e-mails that they sent.

"Well, your letters of recommendation from Will Schuester, Emma Pillsbury and Shannon Beiste were very complimentary of you and your teaching and leadership skills," the advisor continued. "They said that the kids loved working with you."

"I like to think they did," Finn said. "I loved working with them."

"And looking at your high school transcript, it's clear your grades really improved your junior and senior years," the advisor pointed out. "You had a C- average your freshman year, but ended up graduating with a B+ average."

"And he got all As his senior year," Rachel pointed out with pride.

"I noticed," the advisor said. "Now, of course, moving to DC would be a big change from Lima, Ohio..."

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I know." He didn't want to go into detail that part of the reason why he was considering going to school in DC was to get away from Lima, Ohio. So far the advisor hadn't indicated knowing anything about what happened to Finn, and he wanted it to stay that way. He knew that at University of Lima, everyone just knew that Finn Hudson was the guy who was kidnapped and locked in a basement.

"Are you okay with that?" the advisor asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I am."

"You seem nervous," the advisor pointed out.

Of course Finn was nervous. His whole life, he was probably going to have issues with trusting people and places. From what he'd heard, it was clear that he'd been getting stalked long before the kidnapping. "Just kind of nervous about switching schools, but this is where I need to be."

"University of Lima didn't work out," Carole said. "There were some issues with other students there." That was partially true. Finn tried his best to not appear nervous throughout the rest of the interview before he, his mom and Rachel left for a campus tour.

As Carole, Rachel and Finn were leaving campus, Finn saw a group of students talking and looking at them. Oh no. What if they somehow knew? "May we help you?" Rachel asked.

"Uh, he just looks familiar, like that congressman's son who got attacked and held hostage," one of the boys said.

People here knew, too? Was there ANY getting away from this? He was finally starting to feel normal again. He thought he could see himself doing well at this school and in DC. But people still knew. The story would probably be on the DC news since Burt was a congressman...

"And what does it matter if he does?" Rachel asked.

The students began stumbling over their words. "That's what I thought," Rachel said before wheeling Finn away, but Finn knew that the students knew it was him. It wasn't hard to do the math. Not only had Finn's photos been in the paper, but when people saw how many injuries he had, it would all add up.

Carole and Rachel helped Finn in to the car when Finn spoke again. "I guess I'm always going to be the guy who was held hostage in a basement."

"You're not," Carole said. "Look at all those people we saw who had no idea who you are. This isn't going to define the rest of your life, Finn."

"You're going to do amazing things," Rachel said. "You're going to get your degree and you'll be a great teacher and you'll direct a glee club that'll win a National championship. This was just one setback, Finn."

Finn managed to smile. "Thanks."

"Finn, Rachel, what do you two say we go do some sightseeing?" Carole asked. "Sound good?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "I think that sounds great."