Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews. I really enjoyed reading them. There wasn't much Rachel in this episode, which was a challenge, but I did my best to write her in. And next chapter - The First Time! So excited! Enjoy and review if you want me to continue.

Chapter 51: Pot Of Gold

A few weeks had passed. The New Directions finally had twelve members again, only for Mercedes to quit. It was more important than ever to find another member with Sectionals a few weeks away.

Most of the glee club members were focused on the musical. Finn did feel bad he didn't try out for a smaller part because he could tell Rachel was having a great time. At least Blaine was playing Tony, and he knew he didn't have to worry about Blaine going after Rachel.

As Finn organized his locker, he saw Mercedes go up to Santana out of the corner of his eye. "Hi, Santana. How many solos did you get in Glee Club last year?" Mercedes asked.

"A few," Santana said. Finn could think of a few. Santana had done the solo at Sectionals and had a lead in their group number at Nationals, not to mention solo parts in several group numbers.

"One: Valerie," Mercedes said. "And I loved it."

"I was also the lips in Rocky Horror," Santana said.

"Listen, if you and I were in Shelby's group, we'd get all the solos and the duets," Mercedes said. "Our voices sound amazing together. Plus, it's an all-girl group."

Now Finn realized why Mercedes was doing this. She was going to try to recruit people from New Directions to join the new group.

"Why would I care about all-girl?" Santana asked.

"It's all lady power all the time," Merccedes declared. "I mean, Shelby's a great teacher. I'm hitting notes I didn't even know existed. She gets me, what I have to give. It feels good."

Finn knew that Shelby was a championship winning director. And that was going to look good to people. "You know, honestly, I wish I could, but... somebody's got to look out for Brittany," Santana said, a sense of relief coming over Finn. "I mean, that special place where she lives, yeah, it's beautiful, but... someone's got to help her cross the street. I could never just leave her."

"Get her to come with you." Mercedes sounded as if the answer was obvious. This was definitely bad.

x

Later that day in glee club, Tina was crying as Mike tried to console her. It had been a few weeks since Mercedes had left, but Tina was still upset. "You know what, girl Chang? If you cry every time someone gets a hangnail, it kind of starts to lose its effect," Santana said.

"It's not a hangnail," Tina wimpered. "Mercedes was one of Glee's original members. I feel naked in here without her."

"Yeah, well, get used to it, 'cause without her singing for us, we're going to have to perform naked for the judges to vote for us at Sectionals," Puck complained.

"No," Mr. Schue demanded. "I will not let this setback crush our spirits. I mean, we have handled worse."

"Than losing one of our best singers?" Mike asked.

"Kind of hard not to blame you, Mr. Schue. Think you were too hard on her at Booty Camp," Quinn said.

"I blame Artie. Why couldn't you have just given Maria to Mercedes?" Tina snapped.

Finn knew the answer. It was because Rachel was better suited for the part. "Because that would have damaged my integrity as an artist," Artie said.

Rachel came in. "Sorry I am late. I was putting up posters for my... campaign."

"Did you airbrush out your jowls?" Kurt snapped.

Finn wasn't happy with either Kurt or Rachel right now. Kurt had been insulting Rachel at home a lot, and Finn just wished Rachel hadn't entered the race. It had created too much tension, and he didn't feel right voting against either of them. "Look, let's stop it, everybody. So we lost a singer. So they canceled the musical."

Rachel looked panicked. "Wait, what? No, no, no, no. You can't cancel my musical."

"Sue cut the funding," Mike explained.

"The point is, right now, we shouldn't be turning on each other," Finn said.

"I agree," Blaine said. "I can only speak from my experience with the Warblers, but no show choir is just one person; it's a team. When we lost a Warbler, we just replaced him with another one."

Finn knew Blaine meant well, but the Warblers were much more popular at Dalton than the glee club was here, and Blaine didn't get that. "Which is easy when your waiting list has a waiting list. Dude, I know you're a big deal at Dalton or whatever, but we don't wear blazers her so have a seat, I'm trying to give a pep talk."

"Didn't you just say something about us not turning on each other?" Blaine asked.

"No, you can't cancel my musical. Okay? I was considering changing my name to Maria," Rachel complained.

"The musical is not canceled," Mr. Schue said. "As for Mercedes, yes, that is a huge loss for us, but we will deal with replacing her later. Right now, we need to focus on putting on this musical."

"How?" Tina asked.

"We sell ads in the program," Mr. Schue said. "I figure we can get ten, maybe 20 bucks apiece for them."

"So we'll only have to sell about 200," Quinn ponted out.

"Well, I think it's a brilliant idea," Kurt said. "And I volunteer myself to spearhead the charge. It'll give me a great opportunity to bust out my Banana Republic Mad Men collection."

Finn didn't understand what that was, and Mr. Schue didn't look like he did either. "Okay. All right. Let's break off into smaller groups, figure out who's going to canvass which parts of the city. And guys, I don't care what Sue does or who leaves us, everyone in this group's dreams are going to come true this year. Let's do it."

As people began to leave, Finn turned to Santana. "Hey, Santana. Ready to help out the team?"

Santana looked confused. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

Finn didn't want to reveal that he'd heard her and Mercedes. "Just checking."

Rachel looked at Finn. "Want to go try to sell some ads together?"

Finn smiled. "Sure."

"Let's go to my dads' law firm," Rachel said. "You know they're big supporters of the arts."

"Yeah, maybe they'll get their law firm to buy some," Finn said.

"We could stop at a few businesses nearby, too," Rachel suggested.

As Finn and Rachel got in Rachel's car, Rachel turned to Finn. "Finn, do you think the glee club's mad at me?"

Finn knew what Rachel was talking about. "I don't know, but they shouldn't be."

"It is kind of my fault," Rachel said. "Mercedes was mad that the judges decided to double cast the role rather than just give it to her."

"Well, I saw her at booty camp," Finn said. "She wasn't even working very hard and she had a bad attitude. She was yelling at Mr. Schue and at all of us, and you work hard."

"Thanks, Finn," Rachel said. "Do you think more people are going to join the new group?"

Finn had to tell Rachel. "Mercedes seems to be trying to recruit people. Today I heard her talking to Santana in the hallway and she wants Santana and Brittany to join it."

"What?" Rachel asked. "They can't just do that! It's our last year!"

"Yes," Finn said. "And I think it was a really bitchy move of your mother to come start another group at YOUR school that would be competing against the group that you love so much."

"Finn, she's made it clear that she's just my birth mother," Rachel sighed.

"Have you talked to her since Mercedes joined?" Finn asked.

"No," Rachel said. "Well, I say hi when I see her in the halls, but that's it. I was going to tell her I got the part of Maria but now that Mercedes is in her group..."

"I just don't understand why people are doing this," Rachel said. "We spent two years together and most of us are graduating..."

"Apparently some people care more about how many solos they get," Rachel said. "I remember when solos were more important to me than anything, but being in glee changed that."

"I just hope more people don't leave," Finn told Rachel.

"Yeah, me too," Rachel said.

x

The next day, Finn saw a boy who he'd seen getting bullied by some hockey players sitting in an empty classroom, going through a box of Lucky Charms. Finn had been tempted to stand up for this boy yesterday, but he didn't think he'd be much help since he was one of the school's biggest losers himself. Still, he went into the classroom to say hi to this boy. "Hey."

The boy looked at Finn as if a celebrity had just entered. "Finn Hudson." He had an accent that didn't sound like he was from here."

"You know who I am?" Finn asked.

"I've seen you on YouTube, losing Glee Club Nationals after tongue-kissing your girlfriend for ten minutes," the boy said. "I'm a big, big fan."

At least someone thought the kiss was cool rather than insulting it. "Thanks. At ease. So... who are you?"

The boy kept going through the Lucky Charms. "My name's Rory Flanagan. I'm a foreign exchange stent from Ireland. And I love everything about America, especially NASCAR, your half-black president and Victoria's Secret catalogs."

Finn liked those things too. "Yeah. Cool. Me, too."

"I'm staying at the home of Brittany S. Pierce, and she thinks I'm a leprechaun," Rory said.

Finn wasn't surprised Brittany thought an Irish boy was a leprechaun. "Yeah, she's kind of like Rain Man with boobs."

"She said if I grant her three wishes, I can get into her pot of gold," Rory said. "So I'm pretending to be a leprechaun. Her first wish was for an all-marshmallow box of Lucky Charms. I really want to snog her. I'm still a virgin."

"Have you made any friends yet?" Finn asked.

"Not really, except for Brittany," Rory admitted. "I'm really lonely, you know? I thought America was all about different unique people coming together and accepting one another."

Finn knew McKinley wasn't like that. "That's a pretty old brochure, dude."

"I could really use some more friends. Would you be my friend, Finn?" Rory asked. "It would be an honor."

Finn was taken aback by how Rory asked that. "Whoa, whoa. In America, dudes don't ask dudes to be their friends. Except on Facebook, but even then, it can take years." Then he realized that Rory did need some friends, and he seemed nice. "Okay. I'll be your friend. But first, you got to help me. One of the best singers in Glee Club quit recently, and there's talk of more defections. You're staying at Brit's house, right? If you hear anything, let me know."

"I will," Rory said.

Finn Hudson: All right.

x

Rory came up to Finn in the hall the next day. "Finn! I've got top-secret intel, and you're not gonna like it."

"What?" Finn asked. Were more people leaving New Directions? They had raised enough money to still put on the musical, but Santana had gotten really annoyed in glee practice today when Blaine had sang a song to cheer up the group.

"Brittany said Santana wished on me that they could leave the glee club together and join the new group," Rory said.

"Are you serious?" Finn asked. Brittany really thought Rory was a leprechaun? This was getting out of control.

"Her last wish was so gross though," Rory continued. "She wished for her cat to poop chocolate..."

Finn felt himself getting sick to his stomach. "I'm going to go talk to her." He knew Rory was new and lonely, but Brittany probably wouldn't even be interested in letting Rory snog her. Finn knew who Brittany was really into. He went up to Santana and Brittany in the hall. "Is it true?" Finn asked Brittany.

"No. Of course not," Brittany said.

Finn felt relieved. "You're not leaving New Directions?"

"Oh. I thought you were talking about the Selena Gomez pregnancy rumors," Brittany said. "Uh... yes. I'm quitting Glee Club."

Finn couldn't stand how people kept leaving. "We need you! We're like a big family, and this is our year to win it all!"

"That's right, Double-Stuffed- Fatty-Gassy-McGravPants. We are just one, big, happy-happy family," Santana snarled.

Finn didn't feel like Santana's insults now. "Santana, stay out of this."

Santana ignored him. "You are such a bacon-wrapped-bugeyed hypocrite. It's freaking hilarious how jealous of Blaine you are. Every time he opens his dreamboat acapella mouth, you're just itching to kick him right in the Warblers."

Finn tried to ignore her. "Brittany, we can't survive any more defections. And I know you don't want to leave."

"No, I know," Brittany admitted. "It's just that Santana, she made a wish on Rory my leprechaun..."

Finn had to tell Brittany the truth. "Brittany, there's no such thing as leprechauns. And all that stuff about Santa being real last year was cute, but this leprechaun crap? I mean, at some point you just gotta grow up and stop being such an idiot."

"What did you just call me?" Brittany asked.

"Brittany, I didn't mean it... like that..." Finn tried to apologize.

"Yeah. All the guys in Glee Club call me that. And you're the leader, so that makes you the worst of them all. You cannot call your future president an idiot. It's mean, it's bullying, and I won't accept it," Brittany lectured Finn. With that, she and Santana headed off to join Mercedes, and Finn knew the glee club was in trouble.

x

Finn had to take his mind off the glee club situation this evening. He'd gotten a text from Burt, saying that this evening, the family needed to meet at Breadstix to talk about something important. When Finn arrived, only Kurt was there. "What's going on?" Finn asked Kurt.

"I don't know," Kurt admitted. "I was going to ask you."

"Let's get a table," Finn said.

Finn and Kurt went to a table and waited for their parents to arrive. Finally, Burt and Carole arrived. "So, what's the news?" Kurt asked as Burt and Carole took their seats.

"Well, I've decided to run for congress against Sue Sylvester," Burt said.

Finn gulped. Burt? Running for Congress? Did he know what Sue was like?

"You mentioned that to me, but I didn't think you were serious," Kurt said.

"I am serious," Burt said.

"Wow," Finn managed to say."

"So, anyways, I know this happened really fast, I figured you might have some questions," Burt told his sons.

Finn didn't know where to start. "Yeah. Um, if we win, what happens? Do we just move to Washington?"

"Well, it'd be, you know, maybe, half and half," Burt guessed. "But you know, Kurt's gonna be in college and you know, you're gonna be... technically an adult, too. You know, on a football scholarship or... I don't know. I'm going to need a lot of help at the tire shop."

Finn knew this meant that his parents knew he wasn't sure what he was going to be doing next year. There were reminders of that everywhere? "Like... running it?" Finn asked.

"Only if that's something you want," Carole said. "This should be good for all of us, not just for Burt and me. But for now, we need to support your dad."

Burt looked at Kurt. "Pretty quiet over there."

"I want you to do this, Dad," Kurt said. "But think about the stress. You were just in the hospital, almost dead. And Sue's going to make your life a living hell."

"I know she will," Burt said.

Finn was glad Kurt had brought up Sue. Burt had no idea what he was getting into with Sue. "She's gonna have a field day with this whole having a gay son thing," Kurt continued.

"I'm proud of you, Kurt," Burt declared. "Don't care who knows it. And yeah. I almost died. But a thing like that makes you really realize what matters. And when things are in the dumps like this, you gotta stand up and fight. Right? You understand. You taught me that."

Then Finn's least favorite person, Sue Sylvester herself, came over with a huge burger stack. "Well, I'm sorry to interrupt family time. I just wanted to welcome you to the race. And in celebration, I brought you a Breadsticks classic: The Gutbuster Extreme. It's on me. You know, I really need to thank you. Your Burt's Corner last night was a real wake-up call. You know, I'd lost track of why I wanted to run in the first place. And it wasn't about the arts. It was about my sister."

"So you're not cutting the arts program?" Kurt asked.

Finn knew Sue was just going to find a cover up. "Sweet Porcelain, so naive. Of course I'm cutting the arts. You know what public school program is the first to go in a recession? Special Education. There are special needs kids at McKinley, yet there's no special ed classes, no special ed teacher. I think that might be a better use of school funds than flying the Glee Club to New York without a set list, only to lose at Nationals with a song they made up the night before. Have a good aneurism."

Sue walked away as he saw looks of disgust on his family's faces. He knew this woman would be a horrible representative of Ohio. However, that burger did look pretty good. "Anyone mind if I just dig in?"

x

"Say U2's over-rated. Say it," Finn heard a voice say in the hall.

"Never!" Finn heard a familiar voice say. Finn turned and saw some of the hockey players holding Rory against the locker.

"Hey! Leave him alone," Finn demanded.

"Or what, Pigskin?" one of them asked. "You're gonna run crying to Mr. Schue? Oh, I'm shaking."

Finn thought of the one person who intimidated even the biggest bullies at school. "No. Not Mr. Schue. Coach Beiste."

These guys knew not to mess with Coach Beiste. They let Rory go and left as Finn went up to Rory. "Thanks, Finn Hudson. I've got no reason to expect you to be nice to me after I ruined your Glee Club," Rory said.

Then it came to Finn. Rory wanted friends. Why not see if he wanted to join the glee club? "I get it. You were just trying to make friends. I know it's not easy being the new kid around school, not fitting in anywhere. And when no one stood up for you, I should have stood up for you. Look, I'll tell you what: I know you're not a leprechaun, so, I'll grant you a wish."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "You want friends, why don't you come with me to join the glee club? That's where my friends are."

"You think they'd let me?" Rory asked.

"Of course they would," Finn said. He led Rory to the choir room, where he heard Mike's voice say, "Awful lot of empty chairs in here."

"This is a disaster," Finn heard Rachel say. "This is not the way that senior year of Glee Club was supposed to be."

"Look, guys, I know this is gonna be hard," Mr. Schue said. "This isn't how I pictured starting out this year, either."

Finn led Rory in. "Then I guess we've got our work cut out for us. What happens when the pope dies?"

"Heaven, you'd think," Kurt guessed.

"You get a new pope. There's always new talent to be found. Always a new voice, right, Mr. Schue?" Finn motioned toward Rory. "Well, everybody, I'd like to introduce my friend Rory Flanagan. He's interested in joining Glee Club."

"Can this kid even sing?" Quinn asked.

"I sing at Mass every Sunday, and I love American music," Rory said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to dedicate this song to my family, who I miss so much."

Rory began singing, and Rachel whispered to Finn that Rory was magical. Finn smiled to himself, knowing he'd done his part in helping the glee club.

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