Chapter 21 :) School is driving me crazy right now, so many exams *sigh*
The day they actually had to face the judge and Brody, Rachel was a mess. Since the day at the police station, when they had been told that they would have to go to court, Rachel was worrying nonstop. She didn't scream at night anymore but she was still crying a lot.
"Mommy, what's a judge?" Amy asked and shoved another piece of pancake into her already full mouth. Finn was still in the bathroom changing into his tux so Rachel and Amy were having breakfast alone. Today was the big day and Rachel was already ready to go which may had something to do with the fact that she woke up at 5:30 in the morning.
"Well, a judge is a very smart man" Rachel replied and took another sip of coffee. Amy looked so cute eating her breakfast in her pyjamas and her brown still all messy.
"You're smart. So is daddy" Amy said and Rachel knew that her daughter wasn't satisfied with her answer.
"For example if someone committed a crime a judge can decide for how long this person has to go to prison" Rachel said. Amy nodded and focused again on her breakfast.
"How are my favorite girls this morning?" Finn appeared behind Amy and kissed her on the cheek.
"Fine. Morning daddy" Amy giggled. Then Finn went around the table and bent down to kiss Rachel quickly on the lips.
"Don't be nervous" he whispered into her ear and kissed the spot behind it.
"Easier said than done" Rachel replied and sighed. Then she caught a glimpse at the clock. It was already 8:30 and the process would start at 10 o'clock.
"Amy, have you finished. We need to get going" she said. Amy nodded and got up from her chair.
"You coming?" she asked, pointing at her pyjamas .
"Yeah" Rachel sighed and got up but Finn pushed her back down on the chair softly.
"I'll help her getting ready. You stay here and try to calm your nerves" he said, kneading her shoulders.
"Thank you" Rachel said and kissed the hand which rested on her shoulder before he went off with Amy into her room. When Rachel was alone she stared down at the half full mug in front of her and tried to remember how she got into this mess in the first place. She couldn't find proper answers to the question that were screaming in her mind (like "Why did Brody want to hurt me?" etc.), she only knew that she wanted everything to be okay again. She wished that Brody would just disappear from the face of the earth so that she could live her life.
Rachel, Finn and Amy were waiting in the corridor in front of the courtroom. Their lawyer, Mr Schuester, was going through some files and mind in his own business when a tall man in a grey tuxedo passed them by. It was Brody Weston. Rachel instantly grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her behind herself. Finn stood next to Rachel, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Oh, slutty Rachel Berry and her bastard child" he said, a grin spreading on his face. Finn pulled his hand out of Rachel's and stepped towards Brody.
"Finn, what are you…" Rachel said but Finn had already reached Brody.
"First of all, no one is allowed to insult my family like this. And second, I know that we're in a court here and I know how to behave but if we weren't I swear, I would kill you right here right now" Finn hissed. Brody glared at him but before the two men could go further, a third man shoved them apart.
"Mr Weston, I request you to leave my client alone" Mr Schuester said. With that Brody turned around to leave.
"Don't worry, we're going to win this process. He can't do anything" he said and nodded.
"Alright. We trust you" Finn said and turned back to his family.
"Sorry" he whispered and took Rachel's hand again.
"Mommy, what's going to happen now?" Amy asked and tugged at Rachel's hand.
"Honey, we're going to go into a room. There will be the judge and a lot of other man and I need you to be quiet, ok? Don't say anything" Rachel said and bent down to Amy's level.
"Ok. But daddy will protect you and me, right?" she asked and looked up at Finn.
"Always" Finn vowed, picked Amy up and spun her around. Amy's laughter filled the room. Rachel found it so cute how Finn and Amy interacted with each other. She could just sit there for hours on end and watch them. But then they were finally called into the courtroom.
"Mr Weston, what can you say about your motivations to commit the rape on Ms Berry?" the judge asked. Rachel glared over and caught a glimpse of Brody discussing with his lawyer.
"I did it because…" Brody started.
"Because?" the judge asked again.
"I did it because I wanted revenge" Brody spit out and a gasp escaped Rachel's mouth. Finn squeezed her thigh.
"Do something" Finn whispered to Mr Schuester. Amy, who was sitting in Finn's lap, buried her face deeper into his chest.
"I want to get out of here" she whispered.
"I know" Rachel replied and rubbed over her tiny back soothingly.
"Revenge?" the judge asked.
"Yes, Sir. I wanted revenge because I'm Amalthea Lola Berry's father and Ms Berry ran away when she was pregnant so I never got the chance to meet my daughter. That's why I wanted revenge" he said and a sob escaped Rachel's lips.
"This can't be happening" she whispered and shock her head repeatedly. Finn tightened his hold on Amy's waist and Rachel placed her hands over her daughter's ears. She didn't want Amy to hear that.
"Interesting. It's nowhere in your or Ms Berry's files" the judge said.
"I know. I think I'm not even on Amalthea's birth certificate" Brody said in a fake sad voice.
"Is that true, Ms Berry?" the judge and everything Rachel was able to do was shake her head no.
"It's not true?" the judge asked. This time it was Finn who answered.
"Mr Weston used to be Ms Berry's boyfriend. She turned pregnant and he didn't want the child so he broke off all contact with her because she refused to abort the child. Ms Berry's parents broke off contact as well and then she had to live in poverty with her child for almost six years" Finn said. Brody glared over to them angrily and Mr Schuester patted Finn's shoulder.
"Well, we…" the judge said but Mr Schuester interrupted him.
"I'm sorry for interrupting you, Sir, but what difference would it make? Even if Mr Weston was Amalthea Lola Berry's biological father it wouldn't change anything. He still raped Ms Berry, motivation or not. In my opinion, after what he did, he isn't a role model for a child, let alone a father figure. Amalthea Lola Berry is perfectly fine living with her mother and Mr Hudson and that's why I think it doesn't matter whether Mr Weston is her biological father or not" Mr Schuester finished his speech.
"Well, the court is going to discuss this now. We'll stop the process for about half an hour now" the judge said and disappeared in a small room along with his advisers.
Half an hour later the decision was made. Luckily Mr Schuester's speech had convinced them and they came to the conclusion that it indeed didn't matter whether Brody was Amy's biological father or not. Brody was found guilty of rape and sent to prison, this time for good.
"Thank you so much" Finn said and hugged Mr Schuester outside the courtroom.
"No problem. It's my job" he said and smiled. The three of them said goodbye and thanked Mr Schuester and then they stepped out of the courtroom and took several breaths of relief. Rachel pulled Amy into her arms and Finn wrapped his arms around both of them. Somehow his lips found Rachel's and they kissed each other passionately, salty, relieved tears rolling down their cheeks.
"We made it" Finn said and smiled.
"Yeah we did" Rachel laughed and kissed Amy's hair. Amy was just glad that her parents, especially her mommy, seemed to be happy again.
Exactly one week after the process Rachel woke up in the morning alone. Finn wasn't next to her. Her hands wandered over the sheets and she found a piece of paper. She opened it and read.
My dear Rach,
my parents are in town for a while and Amy's with them at their hotel right now so you don't have to worry about her. I want you to meet me at the spot where I found you and her months ago. You know, the old bench at Bow Bridge? Dress up and be there as soon as possible. I love you.
Finn
Rachel immediately jumped up and started getting ready. Her heart was beating fast in her chest and she couldn't wipe the grin on her face away. She couldn't wait to meet Finn and she was really curious what he had in mind.
She entered the park and walked towards Bow Bridge. She wore a light blue dress and some white heels, her hair in a bun. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and it seemed as if laughter and joy was everywhere. That's when she noticed the rose petals. It seemed as if the entire bridge was covered in red, pink and white rose petals. Rachel carefully stepped on them and when she reached the top of the bridge she saw him. Her handsome, sexy, absolutely amazing boyfriend, wearing a tuxedo and a single rose in his hand. A few steps behind him she noticed Amy, Burt and Carole but everything she could focus on was Finn with his joyful and happy but slightly nervous smile. Rachel ran down the rest of the bridge and stopped in front of him, panting slightly (which wasn't because of the run, more because of the heavily beating heart in her chest).
"Hey babe" he whispered and Rachel smiled. Then he took both of her hands in his.
"Rachel, I asked you to come here today because I want to ask you something. I'm not really good at that kind of thing and I'm horribly nervous right now but I wanted to tell you that you're everything to me. You and Amy are everything I could ever ask for and I don't know how I got so lucky to deserve you. I love you so much and I always will. You make me so happy, fill me with so much joy and pride. I want to make it forever, want to make us forever and that's why we're here today. Rachel Berry, will you marry me?" he asked, got down on one knee and opened a tiny velvet box. A beautiful diamond ring sparkled in there. Rachel was speechless. Finn was so romantic and he was the love of her life. Happy tears streamed down her face and yes, damn it, of course she wanted to marry him.
"Yes" Rachel whispered and wiped a few tears away with her wrist.
"Really?" Finn asked.
"Yes!" Rachel screamed and flung herself against him, not caring that she knocked him over and they both landed in the grass. Amy, Burt and Carole clapped their hands while Rachel and Finn were kissing each other passionately. Finn slipped the ring on Rachel's finger and his hand caressed her cheek, their lips never separating until someone cleared his throat. They pulled apart from one another and got up from the grass, grinning sheepishly. Burt and Carole hugged both of them and congratulated them and then Amy ran towards them, nearly tackling them over.
"You'll get married" she exclaimed and kissed both of them on the cheek.
"Yes, we will" Rachel said and then Amy ran towards her grandparents again, walking off with them to give the couple some alone time. Finn pulled Rachel into his arms again and kissed her and the sun was shining, both of them smiling into the kisses and everything was perfect.
YAAAAAAY! Happy Finchel again. I don't know whether I should write a wedding chapter and then an epilogue or just an epilogue. It depends on you guys. Tell me what you want and please review!