Hi everyone! I know I said that I'd have two chapters last week, but by the time I finished this yesterday, I thought no one would read it because it was Super Bowl day, so I posted it today :) I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter and review if I should keep going! :)
Chapter 21: Crash
"Do you think we have a shot at winning here?" Finn asked as he and Rachel drove down the street in northern Indiana. There would be a rally this afternoon, so Finn and Rachel had spent the morning going door to door. The campaign would head to southern Indiana this evening after this afternoon's rally, then have another in the evening.
"I hope so," Rachel said. "It keeps getting closer and closer... you saw what things were like in Kentucky, West Virginia, Nebraska and Wisconsin..."
"Well, in Wisconsin there were more Santos supporters than Russell supporters, I thought," Finn said.
"I can't believe there's only one week left after this," Rachel said. Her phone started winning. "It's my dad."
Finn wasn't sure if Rachel should answer it. "Well, put it on speaker..."
Rachel picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"You're having twins?" LeRoy asked.
"Yes," Rachel said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" LeRoy asked.
"Well, seeing as you don't seem to want me to keep them, I didn't think you'd care," Rachel said.
"You'd probably be able to still get them adopted," LeRoy said. "Or you could even do what your dad and Shelby and I did..."
"You mean have these kids live a lie for 22 years?" Rachel asked.
"Having these babies is going to ruin your life," LeRoy said. "You're going to spend your life in poverty if you keep them. Your body might not look the part for Broadway anymore. You might not be able to finish your degree..."
"Please don't lecture me," Rachel said. "Finn and I have a rally to get to..."
Finn had wanted to tell LeRoy to stop it, but LeRoy didn't even know that Finn was in the car with Rachel.
"Well, your candidate has created one big mess for the primaries," LeRoy said. "If he hadn't been such a spotlight whore, Russell would have this wrapped up by now and he could focus on beating Vinick rather than trying to get the nomination..."
Rachel hung up the phone and turned to Finn. "I'm so sick of this."
"I'm sorry," Finn said. His parents were supportive and he wished Rachel's would be, too.
"I shouldn't have been talking while driving," Rachel groaned.
Finn looked over from the passenger seat, seeing a car going through the red light. "Rachel, look out!"
Rachel looked at Finn before Finn heard a honk and heard the car swerve before things went black.
x
Finn opened his eyes and looked around the hospital room, seeing Burt and Carole at his side. At first, he wondered why he was in the hospital, but then he remembered: a car had hit him and Rachel when they were on their way back from their phone bank. He was feeling sore, but other than that, he felt fine... but where was Rachel? Was she okay? Were the babies okay? He noticed that Rachel wasn't in this room - what if the worst had happened?
"Finn..." Carole said, noticing Finn was awake. "I'm so glad you're okay.."
"When did you get here?" Finn asked.
"We started driving to Indiana as soon as Matt called me to tell me," Burt said. "We were scared... we didn't know how bad it was..."
"Where's Rachel?" Finn asked.
"She's fine, so are the babies," Carole said, holding Finn's hand. "The doctors did an ultrasound. Everything's fine."
"Are they sure?" Finn asked, feeling more and more worried.
"They're fine, honey, so is Rachel," Carole said.
"They're 100% sure?" Finn asked.
"Finn, they did an ultrasound," Burt said. "You don't need to worry."
Finn breathed a sigh of relief. "Rachel and I were supposed to perform at today's rally..."
"He cancelled the rally, it's fine," Burt said.
Finn's eyes got wide. "He can't do that. The primary is in two days... I know Indiana usually goes to the Republicans, but with things so tight, it's important that he get as much exposure as possible..."
"He wanted to be here," Carole said. "He's in the waiting room, with the campaign staff. Everyone's worried sick."
"I want to see Rachel..." Finn said.
"The doctor wants you to rest," Burt said.
"I can't stay in bed... we need to fly to Oregon in a few hours... he can't miss any more appearances," Finn said.
"Finn, din't worry about the campaign right now," Carole said.
"While Matt's sitting in the waiting room, Russell and Vinick are no doubt campaigning their butts off," Finn sighed.
"If something like this happened to their campaign staff, they would cancel campaign events, too," Burt said. "I could tell everyone was worried about you and Rachel. Your brother wants to fly out here..."
"We'll be in Oregon tomorrow anyway," Finn began as the doctor came in. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Sore, but other than that, I'm okay," Finn said.
"You have a minor concussion, but nothing's broken, and your bruises and scrapes should be gone within a few days," the doctor said. "Maybe rest for a few hours and then you can go back to the hotel."
"I want to see Rachel," Finn said.
"Just rest a little more," the doctor said.
"She's my girlfriend, she's carrying my babies," Finn said. "I want to see Rachel."
The doctor sighed. "Okay, but since you just regained consciousness, I want you to go in a wheelchair to be safe."
"That's fine," Finn said. The doctor was saying Rachel was fine, but he wouldn't feel that way until he saw her.
x
Rachel opened her eyes, noticing that both her dads were there. If they were both there, was she in bad shape? Was Finn in bad shape?
"She's awake," Hiram said.
"Dad... Daddy..." Rachel began.
"We came here as soon as we got that call from that candidate of yours," LeRoy said. "How do you feel?"
"It hurts," Rachel said.
"Nothing's broken, baby, don't worry," Hiram said. "You needed some stitches in your forehead, but you're fine..."
"What about Finn?" Rachel asked. "What about the babies?"
"They're fine," LeRoy said.
"Thank you for coming," Rachel said. "I didn't think you'd come after what happened..."
"Of course I came," Hiram said.
Rachel couldn't help but notice her dads were still being distant. They sat on opposite sides of her bed, glancing at each other ever so often. Then the doctor came in. "How are you feeling?"
"I heard I have stitches," Rachel said.
"Yeah, you do, but you're fine," the doctor said. "Your babies are fine, too."
"Thank goodness," Rachel sighed. "You're sure they're okay?"
"We're sure, we did a blood tests, and their heartbeats are normal," the doctor said. "We did an ultrasound. Everything's okay."
"Okay," Rachel said. "How's Finn?"
"Finn has a mild concussion, but he'll be fine with a bit of rest," the doctor said.
"Do you think we'll be able to get out to Oregon tonight?" Rachel asked.
"Maybe you should come home," LeRoy said.
Rachel didn't feel like another argument about the campaign. "I want to get back to work as soon as possible if I'm fine and the babies are fine. I'm in this to win..."
"Well, the congressman's in the waiting room and he's really worried," the doctor said. "Lots of the other staff are there, too."
"They didn't need to do that," Rachel said. She noticed an annoyed look on her dad's face when the candidate was mentioned. While she appreciated his concern, she really hoped an argument wouldn't break out.
x
Finn wheeled down the hall with Burt and Carole behind him. The doctor had told him that Rachel was okay, but he wasn't going to believe it until he saw Rachel himself. Rachel's side of the car had been hit harder than his - he knew he easily could have lost her and the babies. His whole world would have been shattered if he had.
Finn, Burt and Carole went into Rachel's room. Finn got a bit nervous when he saw Rachel's dads there. He knew her relationship with them was on shaky ground and hoped they didn't say anything that might upset her... she'd been in that accident too.
Rachel looked so sad as Finn wheeled in. "Finn..."
"The doctor just wanted me to use this when I came to your room while recovering from my concussion," Finn said. "Don't worry, I'm fine."
"So you can still walk?" Rachel asked.
"I'm fine," Finn said, leaning over to kiss Rachel. "The concussion's the worst of it. I was so worried about you and the babies..."
"Well, all three of us are fine," Rachel said, smiling softly as she took Finn's hand. "The worst thing is that I had a cut that needed stitches..."
Finn put his arms around Rachel. "I'm here. I was so, so worried about you..."
"I was so worried about you," Rachel said.
Finn looked over at Rachel's dads. "Mr. Berry... Mr. Berry..."
"I'm glad you're okay, Finn," Hiram said.
At least Hiram was being polite. "Thanks."
"The congressman shouldn't have sent you two on that errand," LeRoy said.
Hiram turned to his ex-husband. "There was no way of knowing that was going to happen... people get in car accidents all the time..."
Finn sighed as he looked at Rachel. "Please don't do this," Rachel moaned.
"If you were still in Funny Girl, you wouldn't have been in that accident," LeRoy said.
"I'm fine," Rachel groaned. "I have a cut on my head, it's not like..."
"I'm glad you both are okay," Burt cut in. "I was so worried when Matt called..."
"He's a friend of yours, right?" Hiram asked Burt.
"One of my best friends," Burt said. "Finn and Rachel are adults, but there are few people I'd trust more to look after my son."
LeRoy looked annoyed. "Well, you know I'm voting for Russell..."
"Let's not argue," Rachel said, taking Finn's hand and kissing it. She turned to him. "When do you think you'll be able to go back to the hotel?"
"A few hours," Finn said. "Maybe we should see if he can find us a flight to fly out to Oregon tomorrow morning so we can rest tonight..."
"I'm sure he would," Carole said.
"I still think that they shouldn't go to Oregon," LeRoy said.
"We've still got a primaries to win," Rachel said. "He took the day off for us... we need to get back into action."
The doctor came in. "Rachel, Finn, I just stopped in the waiting room where the campaign staff is waiting. The congressman wanted to see you two..."
Finn wanted to thank Matt for waiting to see him and Rachel, for canceling the rally so he could be there, for calling their parents. But he was worried LeRoy would say something. Then Hiram spoke. "Have him come in..."
"Please don't do anything that can stress Finn and Rachel out," Carole said to LeRoy.
A few moments later, Matt and Helen came into the hospital room. "How are you two feeling?" Matt asked. "Are the babies okay?"
"The doctors said we'll be okay," Rachel said. "Finn's got a concussion, I needed stitches, but the doctors said we should be able to get back to the hotel in a few hours and the babies are fine... but I was wondering, is it okay if Finn and I spend the night here and fly out to Oregon in the morning?"
"Yeah, of course," Matt said. "I'll work something out." He turned to Rachel's dads. "You must be Hiram and LeRoy Berry... I'm Matt Santos."
"Thank you for calling me," Hiram said.
"Of course. I'm a father, I'd want to be there if something happened to any of my kids... all five of them," Matt said.
"Maybe Finn and Rachel should take some time off," LeRoy said.
"No," Rachel said. "Not with the primary in two days. Not this late into it."
"These two work so hard, it's hard to get them to stop," Matt said. "They always knock on the most doors, spend hours working on blog posts, make the most phone calls... sometimes I think they work TOO hard."
"That sounds like Finn and Rachel," Burt said.
"We're not happy with you for canceling today's rally though," Finn told Matt. "Russell and Vinick probably spent all day campaigning and you were sitting in a hospital waiting room..."
"Some things are more important," Matt said. "We were worried about you guys, the whole staff is."
"Well, we're okay, and we're hoping that tomorrow, we'll be performing at the Oregon rally," Finn said.
"I want you two to take it easy for a few days," Matt said. "Maybe just do phone calls for the next few days."
"I do want her to be performing again soon," LeRoy said. "Someone from Broadway is sure to see her at some point... even though I'm for Russell, this is probably going to help her get noticed..."
"She'll be performing again soon, but like I said, I want her and Finn to take it easy for a little while," Matt said. "She's pregnant so she should take it easy..."
"He wants me to take it easy too, Rachel," Helen said. "But we need to get him elected, don't we?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "And Matt, I know you want Helen to take it easy because she's pregnant, I'm going to be going all out until the end, despite my pregnancy."
"These two both asked right away when they could go back to work," the doctor said. "You've got some dedicated staffers."
x
"How are you feeling?" Finn asked as he and Rachel lay in their hotel room that night.
"I'm glad to be out of the hospital," Rachel said. "It was a close call... but I'm glad all four of us are okay."
"Yeah, me too," Finn said.
Rachel felt some movements from her stomach and moved Finn's hand to her chest. "They're moving?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said, smiling at Finn. "I think they're telling us that they're okay and to stop worrying..."
"Well, we're their parents, it's our job to worry," Finn laughed.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Speaking of parents... I am glad my dads weren't too rude..." Things felt uncomfortable, but at least they hadn't said anything in front of the candidate.
"It is nice to be at the hotel by ourselves," Finn said, kissing Rachel. The campaign had scheduled Finn and Rachel for a flight out to Oregon the next morning, but it was nice to relax.
"I will miss performing, but it'll be good for us to have some time to relax while we get our energy back," Rachel said. "I just hope that we can keep on performing after next week... if Russell sweeps this week's primaries... and next week's..."
"I know," Finn said. "And I feel bad that he missed the rally yesterday... I know that Russell and Vinick were campaigning..."
Rachel's phone started vibrating. She saw a text from Kurt and read it to Finn. "Vinick said on Twitter that Matt Santos proved he'd be an irresponsible president because he canceled his rally to wait for us at the hospital..."
"Oh God," Rachel groaned. "Since that had to do with us, I'm sure Sue had something to do with that tweet..."
"I'm sure she did," Finn agreed.
x
Finn and Rachel flew out to Oregon the next day. They both hoped that the fact that Rachel's dads had come out to Indiana after the car accident meant that the tide would be turning, but at the same time, they had both felt the tension. Both Finn and Rachel were feeling sore, so maybe it was for the better that they'd spent today making phone calls and blog posts rather than being active at the rally.
The day after Finn and Rachel arrived in Oregon was the day votes would come in. Last week the Santos campaign had good luck and got all five states. Maybe they'd have similar luck this week and the race would be decided.
But as soon as the TV was turned on to watch the results come in, West Virginia was called for Russell.
The West Virginia call was followed by Kentucky being called a few minutes later for Russell. It looked like they couldn't put this in the bag just yet.
About an hour went by before the next closings. Wisconsin was called as a Santos victory and the staff cheered. But a few minutes later, Indiana was called for Russell, followed by Nebraska a few minutes later. Not only were they not going to repeat their sweep from last week, but even if they did end up winning Oregon, Russell would have more states.
The wait for the Oregon polls to close was long, and Finn and Rachel didn't say much of anything. Finally, Oregon was declared a Santos state, but this still wasn't over. There was one week of primaries left - but like the TV anchors were predicting, the nominee would more than likely be decided at the convention.
And Finn and Rachel needed to convince the delegates that Matt Santos was the choice.
Chapter 22 preview: It's the last week of primaries. Will a nominee be chosen or will things go all the way to the convention? Finchel also find out the genders of the babies. With the primaries winding down, Finn and Rachel both wonder if this is the end and what's next - and face conflicts.