CHAPTER 42

One week later, the boys were playing their last regular season game of the season. They had already qualified for the Championship game, with a McKinley record number of points. It was close to the end of the fourth quarter, and McKinley was comfortably up by a touchdown. The offensive line huddled up briefly to discuss the upcoming play, and Finn spoke to his team.

"All right, I just want to take a minute to congratulate you guys. We didn't even have to win this game to go to Championship next week, but nobody took it off. And when we take a knee, we're gonna finish first in Conference for the first time in McKinley history."

"Football is back, bitches!" Puck shouted and they all cheered and grunted in agreement.

"Maybe we should all break out into a song after we win." Karofsky spat, killing their good vibes, and replacing it with pure tension between him and Finn.

"Hey, hey, shut it Karofsky." Finn growled.

"No fucking way. I figure if I stay on you, you'll run away again like a fag."

"That's funny Karofsky, how you're calling everyone gay all the time, but you never seem to have a girlfriend."

Karofsky tried to lunge at Finn, but he was held back by some of the other players. Finn and Karofsky just stared down at each other fiercely. By the sidelines, along with the rest of the cheerleaders, Bella noticed the tension in the footballers' huddle, and she turned to Santana.

"What's going on? That doesn't look good." She said, nervously. She always got extremely nervous whenever Finn was playing football, and she was always scared that he would get hurt. Santana shrugged.

"I have no idea. Looks like him and Karofsky are about to fight. But they probably won't, what with the championship game next week."

Bella nodded and looked on, nervously. It was almost like she could tell something bad was about to happen.

"I really hope that lineback doesn't get the jump on me. I bet it would hurt like hell to get sacked by him." Karofsky snarled at Finn. Secretly, Finn was a little worried. Karofsky was one of the guards, and he could easily let a defensive player through if he wanted, leaving Finn to get absolutely bulldozed by the 250 pound players. Finn briefly looked at the monstrous linebacker, and a look of fear flickered on his face. It quickly vanished though as Finn turned back to face his team.

"All right. Slot left on one. Ready? BREAK!"

"BREAK!" The rest of the team shouted.

"Come on, boys. Let's go!" Coach Beiste shouted from the sidelines. The football team got into position. There was probably only time left for one more play, and as long as the ball wasn't intercepted, they would win the game and finish on top of the division. The men all crouched and got ready for the play to begin. Finn eyed George, who he would be passing the ball to, and he nodded.

"DOWN! SET! HUT!" Finn shouted. The ball was quickly snapped to him, and he waited for the perfect time to pass the ball. He could faintly make out the guards around him jostling with the linebackers to protect the Quarterback - Karofsky being one of them. George quickly got rid of his marker, and Finn prepared to fire the ball when disaster struck…

Karofsky 'slipped' over, giving the linebacker a clear path at Finn. Finn only had time to briefly turn to see the 250 pound bulldozer charging at him, before he was knocked clean off hit feet, smashing his head HARD against the ground.

Bella was watching the game, and when she saw Finn get hammered by the defender, her heart literally stopped. She could practically hear the sound of his skull smacking against the dirt, his helmet doing almost nothing to protect him. To her horror, Finn was still motionless a minute after the tackle, his eyes glassy and blank. Coach Beiste, along with 4 members of medical staff, ran onto the field to attend to Finn. A strong beam of light was shone directly into Finn's eye, and Finn groaned and started to get up, but he couldn't. His whole body felt like it was being burnt by a blowtorch. Despite his blurry vision, Finn could vaguely see George, Liam, Harry, Santana and Bella standing over his body, along with the medical staff who loaded him into a stretcher and ran him towards the waiting ambulance.

"FUCK!" Coach Beiste muttered to herself, putting her head in her hands. Without Finn, they had no chance at the championship, and by the looks of things, they may well not have him for the game.

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"What the hell!" Coach Beiste screamed at the guys in the locker room after the game. They had ended up losing by a point, but the more important thing was that Finn was still unresponsive, in the hospital. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!"

Nobody dared speak in fear of pissing her off even more.

"AMIZIO? HENDERSON? GEORGE?"

"Karofsky injured Finn on fucking purpose, that's what happened!"

"That's crap! Hudson's a fucking girl, and couldn't take a joke about his precious Glee Club!" Karofsky responded in anger.

"OH MY GOD! I'm so sick of you guys getting down on us for it! We're in Glee Club, what's the big deal?!" Puck screamed at Karofsky.

"It's embarrassing! We're dudes!" Azimio shouted back. "Getting all hot and bothered about singing a Ke$ha song? It's fucking weird."

"Yeah? Well, maybe you'll think it's cooler when I go all TiK ToK on your face!" Harry shouted, shoving Azimio roughly into the lockers. The other boys immediately lunged at him, and Sam, Mike, Puck, George and Liam backed up their friend. Soon, an all-out brawl had started in the locker room.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Coach Beiste shouted.

"Look…" Karofsky spat. "Championship game or not. I am NOT blocking for Hudson."

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! GO! BUNCH OF BABIES!" She bellowed. They all trudged out of the locker room, swearing furiously at one another. George punted an empty laundry bin in anger on his way out of the room.

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Finn's vision had completely blacked out when he was hauled into the ambulance. He could hear panicked voices around him, particularly Bella's, who from what he could hear, was hysterical in fear and worry. As hard as Finn tried to wake up, he couldn't, and 5 minutes into the journey to the hospital, all of his senses blacked out and he fell unconscious, oblivious to what was going on in the locker room at that moment.

When Finn woke up, his eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden explosion of light. He could tell that he was in a hospital room before he even opened his eyes - the room smelled like disinfectant, and the bed he was sitting in was a traditional hospital bed. When Finn opened his eyes, all he could see was a blinding white light, and he could faintly make out Bella's face, tears stained on her pale cheeks.

"Am I in heaven?" Finn murmured, confused, as his vision slowly cleared.

"FINN!" Bella cried, and he immediately felt Bella throw herself into his arms. He groaned in pain and she jumped back.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried.

"It's fine." Finn murmured, trying to adjust to the pounding between his temples. "Where am I? What exactly happened to me?"

Before Bella could answer, a nurse appeared at the doorway.

"Aah, Mr. Hudson. You're awake." She said, happily. Finn struggled to look up at her. It was the same nurse that treated him when he got shot.

"Hi. Don't I know you?" Finn asked. He didn't know if he was going delusional or not. The nurse laughed.

"Yeah, I was your nurse when you got shot, remember? And you're back so soon? I'm beginning to think you like being in the hospital."

Finn laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh yeah. I love nothing more than being shot, and having my head smashed in. I live for the stuff." He remarked, annoyed. "What exactly happened to me?" He asked again, struggling to keep a polite tone.

"You were taken down in a bad football tackle. You have a concussion, but thankfully, nothing more than that. You did scare us though. You were unresponsive for a bit, and we didn't know if something had happened to your brain. You're fine though. Just a week of bed rest."

"But, Miss. We've got our Championship game next week, and I'm the captain and Quarterback. I can't…"

"A week of rest!" She said firmly. Finn put his head in his hands. He had let the team down, right before the big game. The game that could have earned him a scholarship to go to college. Bella put a comforting hand on his arm.

"Finn, I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I know how much you wanted to play in the Championship game."

"It's not just that." He replied. "I needed to play in the game to get a college scholarship. It's the only way I'll be able to go to college. I'm playing in the Championship game, even if I die in the process."

Bella glared at him. She was worried about him playing football normally, but playing with a concussion? That was so much worse.

"Finn. Please don't. I don't want you to get hurt." She whispered. Finn smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. It takes more than a little concussion to stop me. I'm Finn Hudson, damn it!" He exclaimed. Bella laughed and kissed him. She loved that boy, so much.

The next day, when Finn walked into McKinley, he could immediately tell that something was wrong. The hallways were quiet, with people murmured quietly to one another. Finn was walking to his first class when George ran up to him.

"Dude, you need to get to the locker room! NOW!" He shouted urgently. Finn followed him to the locker room, where he found the Glee club football players standing off against the rest of the team, with Coach Beiste in the middle.

"What the hell is going on?" Finn asked, confused.

"I'm not blocking for him!" Karofsky shouted, pointing at him.

"Shut up, Karofsky. Of course you are." Coach Beiste said, almost bored. "Fact is that this group of players are the best group that McKinley's ever had. And to throw that away for a petty feud would be stupid."

"I don't care. I'm not." Karofsky said.

"Then you're off the team." She replied, bluntly.

"No way." Karofsky said, disbelieving. "If we all quit, you don't have enough guys to play next week. It's the Championship game. You're not going to throw it away."

"Try me." She growled. Finn stepped in between them.

"Don't do this, Karofsky." Finn said. "If we stand together, and we do the halftime show, we can win this game and be kings in this place."

Karofsky thought for a moment.

"Good luck with that." He spat, and the whole team - minus the guys from Glee club - walked out of the locker room. Finn punched the wall in anger. What the hell was he going to do?

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Later that week, Santana, Bella and Quinn were sitting at the Lima Bean together, chatting about what was going on.

"Our school is so messed up, we can't even keep our own football team together." Quinn grumbled.

"It's so sad, you guys." Bella said. "Coach Beiste was so close at getting everyone at the school together."

"Why haven't I heard anything about this?" Santana asked, surprised. "I'm literally a Cheerio whose best friend's the football Captain. Why hasn't Finn told me anything about this?"

"Finn's too proud to complain." Bella said. "He feels like he needs to keep it together for everyone, but I know it's just killing him inside. He needs to win this game if he wants to impress scouts and get a scholarship."

"Yeah, well he can't really do that if we forfeit the game." Quinn pointed out.

"I just… I wish there was a way we could help." Bella murmured.

"Yeah. The worst part is how bummed the guys are. I mean, they already get enough crap just for being in Glee. I really think winning the game could have eased some of the pressure, at least for a little while." Quinn said.

"Wait, so the whole team quit?" Santana asked, really confused.

"Everybody not in Glee." Quinn replied. "I mean, you can't play football with 7 guys."

"Yeah, Coach Beiste put up a sign-up sheet for people to join. I think they'll take anyone at this point."

"Well, the good news is we actually only need 4 more guys." Santana commented. "High school regulations actually let you play a couple guys short, if you want to."

Bella and Quinn looked at each other, an idea starting to form in both of their minds.

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Coach Beiste and Mr. Schue stared at the school notice board, scowling at the football sign-up sheet, which had absolutely zero names.

"I cut 50 guys when we had tryouts at the beginning of the season. You're telling me not one of those guys wants to play?" Coach Beiste shouted at nobody in particular. Mr. Schue put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's like crossing a picket line. Nobody wants to be a scab." He replied.

"I guess we should go break it to them." Coach Beiste said. Mr. Schue nodded and they walked into the choir room to break the news to the frustrated guys…

"Why can't we let them back on the team, just for this game?" Sam complained.

"No. We carry this thing through, even if it means having to forfeit the game." Coach Beiste replied.

"I can't believe this is it." Finn grumbled to George, who was sitting next to him, both of them clad in McKinley Letterman jackets.

Bella and Quinn looked at each other. It was time to present their idea.

"Maybe it isn't." Bella said. Every eye in the room turned to her. She walked to the front of the room.

"We want to join the team." She stated, confidently. Finn and George put their heads in their hands.

"We, who?" Puck asked, confused.

"All of us Glee girls." Quinn said, standing up and walking next to Bella. "We want to join the football team, and we want to play in the championship."

"Come on guys. Stop screwing around. It's not cool." Liam snapped, annoyed.

"What's not cool is you guys not respecting women enough to realise we're perfectly capable of playing football." Tina argued.

"Have you guys actually seen a tackle football game before? When they tackle, it hurts." Harry remarked.

"Yeah, and if our strongest player got concussed, I don't even want to know what's going to happen to my girlfriend and her friends, all of whom weigh like half of what we do." George added.

"We're not being disrespectful to women." Finn said. "We just don't want you guys getting your spines snapped by a 300 pound linebacker."

"We thought about that." Bella replied. "But the truth is that you guys don't really need us to play. You just need enough players out there to field a regulation team. So when they snap the ball, we're just going to lie down on the ground."

"Oh, I'm not. I'm gonna bring the pain." Santana hissed.

"I guess they won't get hurt if they stay down." Coach Beiste said, standing up.

"Okay, what do your parents have to say about this?" Mr. Schue asked.

"We all have signed permission slips from them." Tina replied. "It took some convincing, but they understood what it means to all of us."

Mr. Schue collected all of the permission slips, then turned to Coach Beiste.

"What do you think, Coach?" He asked.

"Um… I don't know." She said. "I'm still not totally convinced. Finn, you're the captain. What's your opinion on this?"

Finn sighed.

"Look, trust me when I say this: nobody wants to play and win this game more than I do. I NEED a scholarship if I want to go to college, and that's not gonna happen if we have to pull out of the game. But what's more important to me is that the people I care about don't get their heads caved in by these mega-hulk footballers. So I'm sorry but I vote no. You're the coach though, so it's your opinion that matters."

Coach Beiste thought intently for a bit, weighing out the pros and cons of having the girls play. Finally, she came to a decision."

"Girls… welcome to the football team." Coach Beiste said. Finn, Mike and George - the three guys who were dating the girls who volunteered to play - put their heads in their hands, but the others cheered. They were playing in the championship game!

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The crowd cheered as the male McKinley football players walked onto the field. There were just seven of them, and the thousand people in the stands echoed their appreciation for the team. As Finn was warming up his left arm at the sidelines, Karofsky and some of the other guys who quit walked up to him.

"It's not too late." Finn said.

"How the hell are you going to play with 7 guys, huh?" Karofsky spat. Finn pointed behind Karofsky. He turned around and saw the Glee girls walking onto the field, fully decked out in football pads, cleats and helmets. Karofsky laughed uproariously.

"You have got to be kidding!" He laughed.

"What the hell are they doing?" Azimio asked.

"What you don't have the balls to do." Finn replied, before walking away. He joined the rest of the football team, and they huddled up to discuss their first play.

"Punch and Judy on 3. Ready… BREAK!" Finn shouted, mainly addressing the guys, as the girls had no idea about any of their plays.

"BREAK!" They all shouted, and split off into their positions.

"Who's Judy?" Tina asked as they all crouched down, ready to start the play. Finn rolled his eyes. The opposing team, only a couple of inches away, chuckled at the lame McKinley team. This was the Championship game, and they had tiny girls playing for them! Finn forced all of the doubts out of his head, and he shouted to start the play.

"BLUE 42! BLUE 42! HUT... HUT... HIKE!"

The ball was snapped to Finn, and the two receivers, George and Puck, sprinted away. Sam, Mike, Puck, Liam and Harry were in charge of guarding the Quarterback. As soon as the opposing team pounced, the girls screamed and lay flat on the ground. Ball in his hands, Finn watched the run of both Puck and George, looking for an opening to pass, but unsuccessfully. The opposition had clearly done their homework - they knew that George and Puck were the two speediest receivers, so they marked them fiercely. Not able to find a pass, Finn saw one of the defenders break free from Sam's guarding, and charge towards Finn. Finn was forced to throw the ball, but it was an inaccurate pass. George wasn't expecting it, and he fumbled it, leaving the other team free to grab the interception and sprint to the end zone.

0 - 7

They had conceded a touchdown on their first play! This was not going well. Finn hit the dirt in frustration.

"DAMN IT!" Coach Beiste shouted, flipping the Gatorade table in her fit of rage. She blamed the football players who were standing on the sidelines, refusing to play for petty reasons. Just before halftime, McKinley were down 0-21, showing no hope of a comeback. Finn knew that they needed a new plan. DESPERATELY. He needed to stop thinking about college scouts, and think about what would be best for the team, even if it meant him having no chance of earning a scholarship. He probably wasn't going to get one at this rate, anyways. Suddenly, he had an idea! He ran to the huddle to discuss their final play before the referee blew for halftime.

"OK, guys. How's everyone doing?" He asked, mainly talking to the girls.

"Kill me now, I'm gonna die." Mercedes panted.

"Is anyone else tired of lying down all the time? I want to play." Bella exclaimed.

"Just… don't get ahead of yourself, okay?" Finn said. "But I do have an idea. Sam, you're playing quarterback for the rest of the game." He said. Even that caused an uproar within the team.

"Wait, what?" Puck shouted.

"Why?" Sam asked. Even he was confused. Their only hope of winning was Finn pulling a bit of magic out of his sleeve with his throwing.

"Just trust me. Look, we know that passing is not going to get us anywhere when only 2 people are looking to receive the ball. We need run plays, and good ones. No offense to anyone here, but I think I'm probably the strongest person here, so I'm going to become a running back. Sam, when you snap the ball, immediately fake a throw and hand the ball off to me. Or, throw me a short pass. We'll go from there. Ready… BREAK!" He shouted, more confidence in his voice this time.

"BREAK!" They all chanted. The crowd was a lot quieter at this point. They knew that they didn't stand much of a chance of a comeback. Liam stood over the ball, with Sam directly behind him, ready to receive the snap.

"HUT… HUT… HIKE!" Sam shouted, and the ball was snapped to him, setting the play in motion. With a quick burst of pace, Finn made a sweeping run around the back of Sam, who faked a pass and then handed the ball off to Finn, perfectly. Phase one was complete…

The next bit was all up to Finn. He had 40 yards to run, and he was being converged on by 6 opposing players. Putting his head down, Finn forced himself to barrel forwards like a battering ram, running straight through anyone who dared to try and tackle him. He shoulder tackled at least 4 people before reaching the end zone, and casually walking in.

6 - 21

The McKinley crowd were all on their feet, finally starting to believe in their team. Nobody was happier than the players on the pitch though. Finn also scored the field-goal with a two point conversion run, making the score 8 - 21. Finn high-fived every member of his team as they walked back to the locker room for the half-time break.

When they came back through the tunnel after the break, they were feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to fight tooth and claw for the comeback. Sure enough, by the time the referee blew the whistle for the last time, McKinley had scored 4 more touchdowns - making the final score 38-28. They had done it! STATE CHAMPIONS! Finn accepted the trophy and raised it high in the air, staring straight at his ex-teammates, who were watching in horror as they received their medals. Finn was also awarded with Finals MVP and Season MVP awards. Although Finn didn't generate any interest from college scouts, he was still really happy. That was tomorrow's problem. He had tonight to just enjoy himself. As Finn finally left the school and walked to his car, he was met by Bella, who leapt into his arms and kissed him fiercely.

"Babe. That was incredible! You destroyed them!"

Finn laughed.

"Well, I've got you to thank. Without you guys, we wouldn't have been able to play at all."

"What can I say? I'm a catch." She giggled, twirling around.

"Yeah, you are." Finn murmured, pulling her into another kiss. "Would you like me to drop you home on my way home?"

"No," She said, bluntly. Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Umm… ok?" He said. She laughed and pulled him close.

"I want you to drive me home, and come inside with me. My man won the championship today, and I want to make him feel like a winner tonight." She whispered into his ear. Finn raised an eyebrow. They had gotten as far as third base, and Finn was a real gentleman and never in a million years would he rush her into going all the way. That was one of the many things Bella loved about him.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He joked, opening up the passenger door for Bella. She laughed and stepped into his truck. They chatted randomly during their drive home, and soon, they pulled up to Bella's driveway. The lights of her house were all off, and she unlocked the door herself.

"My parents aren't home." She explained. "They're in the Bahamas for a second honeymoon this week."

As soon as she said this, she felt Finn picking her up, and throwing her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. He rushed up the stairs, two at a time, while she pounded furiously on his back.

"Finn Hudson, you put me down right this second!"

"That's a negative, Bella. I'm a soldier on a mission."

"What's the mission, to get in my pants?"

She could almost hear his smile in his tone. "Affirmative."

She rolled her eyes liberally, glad he couldn't see her face. He burst into her room and tossed her onto the bed like she was a toy, and her butt bounced on the fluffy comforter.

"Hey! Watch it you giant brute! I'm a lady." She looked up at him from the bed and he'd already removed his runners and shirt, revealing a white wife beater. She couldn't help but lick her lips. Although she had seen him shirtless a lot, she never got over the sheer attraction she felt whenever she looked at him.

She watched as his gaze turned predatory, and he inched closer to the bed while unbuttoning his pants. Delicious tingles of anticipation set her body ablaze as he reached forward and took her into his arms, reaching for her clothes, trying to remove all the boundaries between them.

"You're damn right you're a lady." He captured her lips in a passionate kiss, stealing her breath away from her. "You have no idea how much I need you right now." His voice was deep and husky with lust, and she could feel all of her control slipping away.

"I know, I need you too." She purred.

He smiled as he shook his head as he reached for her sweater, pulling it off to reveal her lacy bra. He kissed the skin on her neck, trailing kisses down her shoulders. "You are so perfect. So pretty. So awesome." He reached behind her to unclasp her bra, removing the garment and tossing it aside. She felt his arms wrap around her body tightly, and he began to kiss her naked skin hungrily, the need overtaking him.

"I'm right here, Finn. I'm all yours."

And with that, Finn pounced, swallowing her moans in a kiss and burying himself in her love.

A/N

I am planning to, after I finish this story, write a sequel, which is a five years later story. It will contain the same characters but with huge plot twists. My question to you guys is should I just tack the story onto the end of this one, or should I use a new story and call it Part 2? P.M or review your recommendations.