Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do own all OCs unless ownership is otherwise stated/given.
Spoilers: None
Rating: T

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I will answer them later, but I want to get this chapter up first. Also, we finally broke 100 followers, and have almost 100 favoriters! Thank you all so, so much! :)

Welcome to my new followers amber heim 3 (favoriter), nobodyelse101official (favoriter), RJones98, and Arfi28, and to my new favoriters Tmunst, Storythrupictures, atmydesk83, followingwhoeverIwant, rena the queen, lexiebrianne98, and aliyah01. :)

Reminders: (words in italic and parentheses) is Quinn speaking to Rachel in Morse Code. Words in bold and italic are sign language.

Notes: Let's say, for the sake of this chapter and the last one, that Noah went home, but then he and his mom came back with Lila and Addie. Then he stayed downstairs and did not go back to Rachel's room. He will be mentioned/have a part in this chapter.

Special character introduced! I hope you love it as much as I did writing it. This is super long with several time skips and lots of fluff. I am soo excited to get this up!

Trigger Warning: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia will be mentioned.

Enjoy! :)


*30 minutes later – around 2:30 p.m.*

It is a long time before anyone says anything else. Half an hour passes, and the three are still on the bed. Rachel and Quinn have shifted to lay down next to Brittany, and they are almost, almost asleep when Santana comes back in.

She is carrying Junie on her back, with Adeline beside her, and asks both little girls to stay in the doorway while she checks on her friends. Rachel is laying longways, parallel to the pillows, while Brittany shares one of pillows with her, and Quinn is laying with her head next to Rachel's stomach. Santana crawls up in-between the two blondes.

The jostling gets Rachel's attention, "Hey, T."

"Hey. Everything all right up here?"

It is quite obvious they had been crying, but to be fair, it was already happening when she stormed out after Adeline earlier.

"As good as it could be, I suppose," is the Diva's answer. Brittany shifts, turning towards her, and opening red rimmed, tired blue eyes. She reaches out to brush messy bangs from Britt's eyes.

"You doing ok, baby?"

Brittany nods to this while Rachel asks, "Do we need to come downstairs?"

"Yeah… Our parents have some sort of surprise for us and uh… Addie and Junie want to see you."

"Okay…"

Slowly, the four girls get off the bed. They are all exhausted and have low energy, from their crying earlier, from going back to school, from everything that has happened in the last several months, and just generally from not sleeping for longer than a person can typically handle.

Brittany even comments, "Can I just stay home when you guys go to get groceries?"

"I think Mamí and Papí, and the rest of our parents' surprise for us will take care of that. At least, that is what they said…"

*Downstairs*

They all wearily gather into the kitchen, where they find Noah, along with their parents, and Gabriel with Miranda, of course.

"Hello, babygirl," Josiah greets her.

"Hi, Papa. 'Tana said you all have something to discuss with us?"

"Yes, we do. Come to the living room, please. I think we would all be more comfortable in there."

After everything shuffles into the room, and gets a seat either on the couch, chairs, or in the floor, Josiah continues with, "Okay, so, we – the parents – have been informed that Finn and his mom, Mrs. Hudson, have something they would like to ask the older kids, you, Rach, and Quinn, and also Britt, Santana, and Noah."

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*1 ½ hours later – about 3:45 p.m.*

The parents are finished speaking to them just under 90 minutes later. Carole Hudson, Finn's mom, explained everything…

The older kids – Santana, Brittany, Quinn, Rachel, and Noah – will go with Finn and his family about two hours away on a trip. This trip will last from late tonight or early tomorrow (after 10 p.m. or before 6 a.m.), and they will arrive home sometime either Saturday or Sunday.

It depends on how comfortable Quinn is staying away from home that long, though she does not fully know she will be the one deciding how long they stay. She may not have spoken to Carole when she was dating Finn, but that does not mean that the older woman did not pick up on her apprehension.

She thought it was such a shame, and honestly bad parenting on their side, that Judy and Russell were not seeking any help for Quinn's anxiety or fears. And she knows that she has to be somewhat lenient with the length of this trip, due to how much Quinn is comfortable with, as well as how long she is able to keep that relaxed state.

Now, the girls are packing. Santana and Britt went home with their own parents to pack a bag, while Q and Rach went upstairs. Because of yesterday's unfortunate incident, she has no mobility on the right side, and the tasks are going at a much slower rate than usual. Which is irritating her to no end.

"LuLu," Rachel sighs as she stands in their closet. Quinn has already put her own clothes into her Cheerios bag, seeing as she has been on this trip before and therefore knows what they will or will not need, clothing-wise.

"What exactly am I needing here?"

Quinn… does not answer, exactly, and Rachel turns to see her flitting around the room, gathering sweatpants and sweatshirts, and warm pajamas. Then she comes over to the closet.

The two spend the next 30 minutes arguing, negotiating, picking out, and discarding various outfits until they both have a sufficient amount for the next several days.

They gather up Rachel's pain meds, including the new, stronger prescription, and then numerous other items of a variety of importance. They have their bags, and a backpack of their electronics and emergency items (extra money, first aid kit, etc.), and finally, finally, nearly 3 hours later, they are officially done.

They go downstairs to watch movies and hangout with Noah, Adeline, Lila-June for a few more hours before Diane decides it time go home. Noah needs to pack and, since he is a guy, Diane will have to assist him to make sure he packs more than one t-shirt and a dozen clean boxers.

Because, Diane explained, I am not allowing you to go on this trip if you do not have one clean, different outfit to change into each day, Noah Alexander.

So yeah…

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

Rachel and Quinn get word from Britt that Finn and his mom, little sister, and older brother will be here at no later than 6:30 a.m. to pick Q and Rachel up. The drive will take approximately 2 hours, or a little longer depending on how many people are on the road that early on Thanksgiving Day.

They are going to Dayton, Ohio, but that is all Britt or Q will reveal about this trip and their destination, or what they will be doing once they arrive there.

Of course, Quinn is excited. She has smiled more in the last few hours than Rachel has seen her do so in recent months. But, there is still that one part of her that says she is taking away from the Berrys' family time – Rachel's cousin Jacob, his wife, and kids, her aunt Elaine and uncle Keith, and her, – well actually, their – grandparents were all supposed to be flying in on Friday for a late Thanksgiving lunch/dinner.

Obviously, that will now not include Rachel nor Quinn, and stupid Chucky is screwing with her head about it.

Which is why, later in the night, Rachel, in the middle of no sleep because of her damned wrist, finds Quinn sitting up in bed. She looks at the clock to see that it reads 1:12 a.m.

"Lucy Quinn," She utters, breathing in deeply. "Why are you still awake?"

She is turned on her side so that her casted arm is propped up on a pillow. It hinders the whole "Quinn using her as a pillow", which means Q has to tap out the message on her left wrist, (It's nothing.) instead of doing it on her stomach.

Rachel sighs. She figured this would happen, though she did not dwell because she had hoped that it would not. The path they are on right now is long one – sometimes it is smooth, with goals that are easily achieved and with continual progress. And other times…

Other times things like yesterday happen – Quinn speaks, but completely by accident. Like Amara, Quinn seems to have "code" which tells who she can and cannot speak to. For whatever reason, Rachel has always been a part of this code. Yesterday, it broke. She spoke, in her mind, by accident, and the consequence is the following consecutive days being spent in silence.

These are also called "fear bumps" that are dotted along that long, smooth road of continual good progress.

"You know I don't believe that, Luce," She sighs out. "What's going on?"

(You're tired, and I am keeping you up.)

"Yes. I am tired. And no, you are not the reason I am awake."

She realizes they could do this all night – go in circles like this – and it would happen if she let it. So, instead, she holds her left hand up, for Quinn to take and once the girl is laying down, with her head slightly on the pillow that Rachel's casted arm is on, she says,

"I know this is something we need to discuss, and please, do not tell me it is nothing. Because that is the same as you insulting my intelligence. It is never not something. Not when you are feeling this way, but, Lucy, it is almost 1:30 in the morning, which means we have less than approximately 5 hours left to sleep."

"So, here is how this will go – I can sing to help you fall asleep, or we can simply lay here until we both do so. And later, once we have arrived at our destination, and we have some alone time, we will take about this moment, and why you are awake right now, sitting up in bed, because even if you were just having trouble sleeping, you would at least be laying down. Okay?"

(OK.)

"Great. Now, would you like a song?"

(Yes.)

"Do you have preference?"

Quinn picks one, and neither of them make it through the whole song before they are out again.


Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Dayton, Ohio


*8 hours later – Approximately 9:42a.m.*

"We're here!"

The sun is midway through the sky, and it is just before 10 in the morning, when both Brittany and Alex cheer at this.

It takes them about a 40 minutes longer than what they had hoped because of the traffic but soon, they are passing the Welcome to Dayton sign that also reads Founded in 1850 and Population: 140, 860.

Brittany is in the passenger seat next to Carole, while Santana shares the middle seat with Alex, and Quinn and Rachel are in the back row. Finn and Noah rode with Jordan in his truck.

"Woo-hoo!"

"That was the longest 3 hours of my life."

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Baby," Carole laughs at Alex's enthusiasm. "It's been Thanksgiving since midnight."

"Yeah, Mamma, but I didn't get to say it earlier cause I was asleeped and then I was awake but everyone else was asleeped and I had to be quiet, but now everyone is wake – right, Rachie?"

Rachel nods, "Yes, piccolo anatroccolo, we are awake back here."

"Okay – then Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Alex." – "Happy Thanksgiving!" Everyone else says much to the 4-year-old's delight.

At this, Santana finally raises up from where she was laying against the door. And, as soon as she does, her tight ringlet curls come into view, and Alex gasps.

"Sanny! Your hair is pwetty! Mommy, I want curly hair like Sanny's!"

"Oh, kid, trust me. You don't want curls like this – they are a pain to take care of."

"Yeah, but," Alex waves the concern off, saying, "They're so pwetty!" As if that should be only the thing that matters.

"I think they're gorgeous," Brittany comments from the front, winking at Alex, and Carole briefly turns to look at Santana, barely catching the embarrassed look on the younger girl's face.

"Anyway, we can talk about it when you get older, alright, 'Lex? For now, I can use a curling iron or braid your hair if you want to have curly hair, deal?"

"Okay, Mommy."

"Ok. Now, Britt, will you please call Jordan or Finn? We can pull off into this gas station here, wait for them, and then we can discuss what we are going to do next."

Alex pipes up from the back with, "I'm hungry, Mamma," And Santana adds,

"Yeah, I could go for some early brunch, please, Mrs. Hudson."

Carole nods to this but does not reply because Finn is answering the phone and Brittany is putting it on speaker.

"Hey, Britt, what's up?"

"Hi, sweetie. Listen, we are going to pull off into that first gas station that we always pass. The girls are hungry, and we should stop and decide our plan for the next couple of hours."

"Sounds good, Mom." Jordan is saying. "We are about 4 cars behind you, I think, so we should be there just a couple of minutes after you pull in."

"Okay, sweetie. We'll see you then."

Britt hangs up and it is a flurry of activity.

"I wanna go to McDonald's!"

"Oh, that actually sounds really good."

"Hey, Luce… You hungry, Angel?" She gets a barely-there nod to this. "Okay, do you have anything in particular you would like at the moment."

Carole pulls into the gas station parking lot, and they all exit the vehicle. Right before they climb out, Quinn answers with, (Orange soda and French fries.)

And it causes Rachel to laugh, faltering a little before she climbs out of the van, with help from Brittany.

"Okay, not exactly what I was going for but, I guess that will do."

Quinn sticks close to Rachel, of course, and the four older girls take Alex inside to the bathroom, so they can change out of the pajamas they are currently wearing. Since it is a single bathroom, Britt and Santana go first, then Rachel goes to help Alex out of her footy pj's, and finally, Quinn goes.

However, while they are waiting for San and Britt, and Alex is across the store with Carole, Rachel says, "Any particular reason you want orange sofa, Angel?" Because for their whole life, Quinn has been against orange soda, just not enjoying the taste of it. And she would scrunch up her nose when it was so much as mentioned or offered to her.

She is unsure if Quinn will actually answer since they are in an unknown, public place, so she is quite surprised when the blonde taps out, (The baby wants it.) adding in a pout and laying her head on Rachel's shoulder.

The Diva just laughs. What else can she do? This open, playful side of her best friend is one she has missed for years. Seeing this? It means that Quinn is relaxed. It means that voice in her head, for time being, is gone. It means her anxiety levels are down enough that she can do this without overthinking it.

It means, for now, Quinn is hidden away, and she gets to be Lucy, the little girl who loved to run across the grass barefoot and make s'mores in the summertime. The little girl who laughed more than she cried, and who was filled with confidence instead of worries.

It means she gets to be happy, and that?

That is so much more than Rachel could ever ask for.

"You are such a goof. And I love you for it, you know it?" She gets a nod in return. "The baby wants orange soda, huh? We'll see if Mrs. Hudson can take us somewhere that you can get it."

And, she knows she should not have done it but…

On impulse, she flexes the fingers of her right hand and, of course, Quinn notices right away. And she does even have to be looking at Quinn to know she is giving her the look.

Rachel goes to defend herself – to say I know. Stop looking at me like that. I'm fine… but the door to the bathroom opens, and Alex comes skipping over, and Britt and Santana are now dressed in matching dark jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, a McKinley High sweatshirt, and their Cheerios Lettermans, along with snow boots because it is cold outside. And if there were anything to fall from the sky, it would most likely be ice or sleet or, much to their delight, snow.

It is very likely they will have a white Thanksgiving this year.

And Quinn and Rachel go to the bathroom with Alex to change. The little girl looks absolutely adorable in her leggings and matching Thanksgiving shirt that has a turkey on it. She has little purple furry boots, and a matching headband to pin back her dark hair. Her jacket is a miniature version of a Letterman, with her brother, Finn's, football number on the back.

Quinn is still giving her the look. Rachel needed help dressing, which she knows annoys the Diva to no end, but it will only get worse if she does not take the damn pain pill.

Right as they exit the bathroom, they find the boys waiting by the tables with Britt, San, and Carole.

"Hey, babe!" Noah waves to them and Quinn comes over. She silently asks for a hug because even when she is nonverbal, she still upholds the promise for "touch permission". And of course, he obliges, loving it, and understanding just from her body language that she is tons more relaxed right now.

"How are you and the little one?"

Ever since Tuesday, and Quinn's slipup, he has been thinking more and more about her and the baby. She said she was going to keep it. She wants to raise it. It took his breath away to hear those words. But…

He has not dared to ask her about them. Mostly because Rachel and Santana and Brittany, and Josiah and David, and even Finn, said it would not be a good thing. Quinn spoke. It was an accident, and honestly, had Rebecca reacted differently, and most definitely had not hurt Rachel, Quinn undoubtedly would have not spoken at all.

He pulled out of his thoughts by Quinn lightly rubbing her thumb against his wrist. He does not know the Morse Code that Quinn speaks to Rachel with during times like this. And back then, at five, he was sullen and grumpy when Rachel refused to teach him.

But they can communicate. Because Rachel and Santana also taught them sign language. And they all learned it – Noah, his brother, David, the grownups, their siblings.

So now?

Now his stomach does flip-flops as she opens his palm, smoothing it out flat, and then…

Signs the words "We're good."

"That's great, babe." He responds, wondering if she can feel how embarrassingly quick his heartrate is right now. The two just stand there, and Noah basks in this moment because its occurrence is rare… far and few in-between.

It takes a few minutes for everyone to change, gather up, and be seated. They discuss their plans for the next couple of hours.

"Quinn, honey, you feeling up to eating right now?" Carole asks in a sweet voice and Rachel watches her girl. Quinn nods, and (to Rachel) struggles to meet Carole's eye. She can tell by the tightening of her jaw that Quinn is trying oh, so hard to actually speak but… It just does not happen.

And she hates it because she knows that Quinn has had years of conditioning – look people in the eye when they are speaking to you. Answer verbally. Nodding is impolite, and Fabrays are not impolite. Stand up straight. Do not fidget. Do not mumble. And so on. It is a difficult thing to help her overcome.

"Okay, well, I know that you usually do not like what they have at the House, so how about we stop for something to eat, and then we will go to the grocery store like we usually do?"

Rachel's gaze snaps to Brittany at that sentence. House? What house? Brittany is smiling, as is Finn, and it sort of… irks her to not be 'in the know'.

Quinn nods.

"Alright. Now, next we need to decide on where we are going to eat an early lunch. I know you," She gestures to Quinn. "would like some orange soda and French fries. I'm guessing… pregnancy craving?"

Rachel watches Quinn closely, to see how she reacts to someone mentioning the, not really forbidden topic of conversation, but still one that usually makes her uncomfortable.

However, though she ducks her head, she is still smiling. Seeing this, Rachel relaxes. And unbeknownst to her, Santana and Noah follow suit. Noah was watching both of them, and Santana was looking to Rachel to see how she needed to react in this situation. When Noah saw Santana relaxing in response to Rachel, he did so, as well.

If Rachel, of all people, is able to be relaxed right now, it means they can, too.

"We can't go to McDonald's because Rachel is vegan," Brittany is saying. "I don't think there is anywhere for us to go, really."

Now Rachel snaps her gaze to Britt, saying, "Well, why didn't you tell me that? I would have packed something for myself!"

It is embarrassing, really, because now she has to inconvenience Carole to find somewhere that may have only one or two vegan options. And it would probably be expensive at that.

But Brittany is waving it off with, "I meant right now. There is nowhere to eat right now. We can always go, – and we will, – to grocery store, pick up some things, and take it to the House. We'll be fine later, it's just right now that we need to figure out."

Rachel sighs. It's better but the best. And it still feels… weird.

She is still thinking about it, and Brittany can tell, and because she knows, she says, "We would still have to be careful even you weren't vegan, Stella, because of Q's peanut allergy. And my dairy allergy. Okay?"

Finally, Rachel sighs, and relents, and relaxes, even if just so.

"Okay," Carole nods, as well. "Now, does anyone have any ideas?"

It is silent for several moments, and then, "Uncle Robert's and Aunt Taylor's house, Mamma!" Alex shouts. "We can go there, right?"

Carole answers with, "Of course. They are not flying out until late tomorrow afternoon." Before turning to Quinn, "You good with seeing Rob and Taylor?"

When Quinn hesitates, Carole adds, "They have Timmy now. He's about six months old, and just started crawling."

Quinn literally lights up at this, and nods to which Carole tells them she is going to step away to call her in-laws and make it is ok that they come, and also to tell them to make that vegan casserole that the kids love so much.

While she is away, Brittany pulls out her tablet, tapping a few buttons, and then holding it for Santana and Rachel to look at.

The four of them are sitting in a booth, San and Britt on one side, and Rachel and Quinn on the other side. The second booth had Carole, Jordan, Finn, and Noah, with Alex in Finn's lap.

So when Carole leaves and Britt hands the tablet to Rachel, Noah comes over to look at the pictures, as well, and they ooh and ahh over the adorable little boy on the screen.

He is about 4 months old in the picture, wearing a pair of blue swim trunks. He has the curliest black hair any of them have seen, and the brightest blue eyes. He is surrounded by two adults, whom Noah and Rach assume are the Robert and Taylor, Carole was speaking about just a moment ago.

Finn is also in the picture, along with Alex, Brittany, and Quinn. This looks to be taken around Labor Day, because they are all dressed for the beach/water.

Carole is back after a few moments, letting them know that they have their destination figured out. She tells Quinn to go ahead and get an orange soda here at the gas station, and that Taylor will make her some French fries for when they at their home.

They load back up after paying for some candy and water, and of course, Quinn's soda. It is about a 30-minute drive to the Hudson home, and Alex and Brittany fill Santana and Rachel in on details about Robert, Taylor, and their son, Timothy Jordan.


*Later – around 2 p.m.*

"We are heeeerrrrre!" Brittany half sing-half squeals as they pull up to their destination: the Ronald McDonald House, which is across the street from…

Dayton, Ohio's Children's Hospital.

Rachel swallows passed the lump suddenly in her throat. She shares a wide-eyed look with Santana.

"Can I tell them now, Mommy?" Alex begs. "Please, please, please!"

"Britt, will you take Alex and the girls to the Playroom? You, Quinn, and she can tell Santana, Noah, and Rachel what is going on."

Brittany agrees to this, as does Alex, and the 4-year-old can barely keep herself contained while they park, get out, and begin unloading the suitcases. Noah accompanies them inside the House, where Carole signs them in. The five older kids take Alex to the Playroom while Finn and Jordan help their mom with their bags.

"Britt, what the hell is going on?!" Santana whisper-shouts as they enter the room, which is, thankfully, empty right now.

Brittany sobers up as she guides them to a table. Even Alex is more subdued now. Whatever they have to say is going to be big – it has to be for it to involve a Children's Hospital.

"Okay, so here it is… We are going to spend Thanksgiving, and the rest of the break, with someone in that Hospital." She gestures vaguely somewhat in the direction of the Hospital.

"Y-You mean, we-we are going to be… we're volunteering, or something… right?" Rachel stutters out. She looks from Brittany to Quinn, then to Alex, who is standing beside Britt. Their faces say a whole lot more than a 'yes' to that question.

Britt just shakes her head.

"Would you like to tell her, Ally, or do you want me to?"

And the 4-year-old bravely answers, "I wanna do it… I have a big brother. His name is Maxwell Ryan Hudson!" She smiles proudly as she was able to remember his whole name. "He is this many years old…" She holds up eight fingers. "He's here cause he has Uh-que-tuh… Acute Lymm…"

Alex trails off here, looking to Brittany, as she is still unable to pronounce the big long name of the type of cancer that is making her big brother so sick.

"He has Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia," Brittany chokes out. "He is finishing his chemotherapy, but cannot leave the Hospital right now."

It is silent for a solid five minutes.

Literally, no one speaks or moves, the only sounds being the chatter of people walking outside the door.

Maybe they believe if they wait long enough, then this dream will be over. They will wake up and get to redo this day over and will be coming to Dayton, Ohio for a completely different reason…

However, that does not happen.

The clock on the wall tick-tocks the seconds, and minutes, away, and they just…

Wait.

Finally, it is broken by Noah storming out of the room. Brittany quickly picks Alex up and the five of them hurry after him. They find him at the Front Desk, where Carole, Jordan, and Finn are.

"Hey!" He shouts. "Dude, what the hell?! You've got a kid brother with fucking cancer, and you didn't tell me?"

"Noah, lower your voice!" Carole scolds, and he backs off a bit. He can see the pain clear in his best friend's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Finn sighs. "I didn't know how to tell you."

However, instead of dropping it, Noah gets angry and he gestures to the girls around them. "You didn't know how to tell me, but you told Quinn? And Brittany?"

"Boys," Carole cuts in. "Let's take this to our room, shall we?"

The two simmer down just long enough to get inside the two bedrooms that belong to Carole Hudson. Usually, Carole's parents come with her, Alex, and Finn, which is why they have two rooms called regular rooms. Those are for when families stay long-term at this House, and the rooms are "theirs".

The boys will sleep with Alex and Carole, while the second room goes to the girls. And as soon as they enter the room, Noah is back at it.

"Please, Hudson, explain to me how you can them but not your best friend that you have a brother with fucking cancer! A brother in the goddamn hospital, fighting for his life, and we are here, –" He gestures wildly around them. "– to spend Thanksgiving break with him!"

Before Finn can even speak, Brittany is saying, "OK, you know what? We are going to take Alex to the Playroom, – Q, come on, – and when everything is sorted in here, just let us know."

Quinn hesitates so Britt adds, "They have a picture of him, Q, ok? And they know not let him inside. No one that does not have a reservation, or a room, is allowed inside unless they are with a specific family. I promise we are – she will be – safe here."

She holds out a hand, balancing Alex on one hip, and slowly, they watch as Quinn relaxes, and takes her hand. She looks to Rachel, though, because they are only up to 15 very short – and very here and there in occurrences – minutes of separation.

It is Finn who speaks, however, saying, "We – I – will try not take long, ok?" She still looks unsure, so Rachel goes over to her.

"I'll be ok, LuLu, I promise. Like Britt said, they have his photo and it sounds like he will not be allowed inside the building, if he does show here, which I am sure will not happen. Go play with Alex and B, and I will see you in a few minutes, alright?"

Quinn relaxes at this. The three walk out, and the silence is deafening. Rachel slowly rakes her eyes from the door to around the room, categorizing the little details, until she is pulled out of her thoughts.

"I'm waiting." Noah snarks and Finn sigh.

"Look, man, Quinn was my girlfriend, alright? And Britt, well, she is Quinn's best friend, but she was also…" He looks away for a moment. "She knows because he is a dancer, a fantastic dancer, and…"

He sits down on the bed and Noah deflates because even he would have to be naïve to not see how hard this is for his friend. And when Finn looks up at him, he knows there is a lot more to this story.

The tears are proof of that.

"He was diagnosed when he was 20 months old. The teachers at Daycare told my mom that–… That he was always tired, never seemed to want to get up from naptime. Before then, he was so… active… and he would run around, climb on things, he was in the Toddle Tumble class at Gymnastics…"

"But then…" Finn shakes his head. Rachel immediately goes over and sits on the bed beside, holding out her hand, which he takes. Noah sits on the other side, and Santana on the floor in front of him.

And with this... wall... of support, he says, "Then came the reports. He was tired at Daycare. He was getting bruised when he fell down, even small bumps caused him bruises. It was so easy for him to get sick, especially with a fever! He wanted to be carried everywhere instead of walking, because he said it hurt to walk. He did not want to go to Gymnastics, he stopped dancing around the house with me and Jordan..."

"My mom was worried, so she took him to the doctors. They ran some tests and… I remember that day like it was yesterday… November 19th, 2002. I was 8 years old. It was a Tuesday. We were picked up early from school, and Mom and Dad sat Jordan and I down and… They said, "your little brother has been diagnosed with cancer.""

Finn does not even bother stifling his sobs here, but Rachel does. Or at least, she tries to. And Noah and Santana are both a mess.

"He went through treatment," Finn chokes out. "2 years, 4 months, 1 week. The chemo made him so sick. But he made it through. And on March 26th, 2005, he was declared to be in remission."

His smile is bitter.

Obviously, there is more.

Why else would they be here, nearly 5 years later?

"I don't understand," Santana whispers, and he has never empathized with those three words as much as he does in this moment.

Finn whispers, "It started again… In September 2007. His teachers were reporting that he was falling asleep in class, he did not want to participate in Gym, he was getting bruises everywhere again, he was tired all the time, and Brittany… Britt was telling us that he was not participating in dance class, either."

He sniffles, and takes a deep breath, forgets that he is a 15-year-old boy, and…

"Mom was so scared that she brought him straight here, right after school. They did the tests, and we waited. This time, though…" He looks to Santana. "This time was different. This time, we had a sister, and Max was a big brother, and my dad was dead."

"This time, I can't remember what I was doing that day. I don't even remember what day it was. I only know because Mom made a countdown calendar with him to when his last day of chemo is."

Finn shakes his head, hitting his knee with a balled-up fist, emphasizing, "It isn't fair. What did he do to deserve this not once, but twice? He is so little and so… What did he do?"

Rachel lets out a breath. Tries to catch her breath, really. The others are not faring any better. She tries to speak but… words escape her. This is… Jesus, that was a lot of information she was not expecting, and god, how were Quinn and Brittany able to handle this?

Before she can actually say anything, Finn is speaking once more.

"Can we please just go over to the Hospital now?"

And really, he does not need their permission; still, they all nod. Granting him this. They wash up, they breathe, they share looks between each other, silently communicating things that could never be spoken aloud.

And then…

They four of them venture out of their room.

To find Carole.

To find Brittany and Quinn and Alex.

And then…

They walk outside of the Ronald McDonald House and across the street to the Hospital.


*10 minutes later*

Carole enters first.

8-year-old Maxwell Ryan Hudson lights up at seeing her.

"Mama!"

She will never get tired of hearing that in her baby boy's voice.

"Hello, baby! Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mama! Did you bring Finny and Alex?"

She nods. "Yes, I did. They are out in the hallway, and I have a surprise for you!"

The little boy does not know, yet, that Jordan is home on leave for the next several weeks.

"Oh, what is it?!" He sits up on his knees. Today is a good. Today is a much better day. He is able to smile and laugh and move around, and has quite a bit of energy. She hopes it is meant as a good thing.

She hopes her youngest little boy can be home for Christmas next month.

"Hang on, and I will go and get it."

Carole opens the door, sticking her head out, speaking to someone, and Max waits eagerly, thinking it is his grandma and grandpa, or maybe the therapy doggy that comes around to the children's rooms.

But…

This surprise is so much better than those things.

Jordan walks in first, and Max lights up like an entire park filled with Christmas trees.

"BUBBA!"

Jordan swoops in. He picks up his baby brother and hugs him tight, and soaks in this moment.

"Hello, baby. I have missed you so much, Max."

"I missed you, too, Bubba," The 8-year-old breathes out in reply.

Next, Finn comes in, then Alex, and they get the same response. Brittany enters then. And Quinn.

And he squeals, "Britty! Auntie Q!"

"Max!" Brittany scoops him, spinning around. "How are you, Lil' Dude?" He is so tiny, and she tries not to think about how she should not be able to hold an 8-½-year-old little boy so easily.

"I'm really good, Britty. I didn't get sick today or yesterday, and I get to have Thanksgiving dinner with you!"

Brittany looks to Carole at this, seeing the older woman smile and nod, and she soaks it in. She cherishes this moment so much.

"Okay, Max," Finn says. "We have two more surprises for you. Sit here on the bed, alright?"

And the little boy eagerly nods, obediently sitting back down on the bed. He straightens up his posture, trying to see out of the door, wondering what else could be out there. He has so many prizes already, and there is still more to come?!

Finn opens the door wider, steps into the doorway, says something to someone, and then…

Santana and Rachel enter.

They both freeze at the sight of a tiny 8-year-old, in a kid's hospital gown, fuzziness where he should have hair, and… a huge smile on his face.

His eyes widen as they step closer.

"Max, these are our friends. That's Santana, and that is–"

"– Rachel…"

He cuts her off in whisper, pointing to the right girl, and Britt goes to say something but then realizes that he is no longer paying attention.

And his next words are oh, so sweet, but boy, do they embarrass the hell out of Finn…

"You look so much prettier in person than your picture!"

That does it.

The ice is broken.

Rachel lets out a wet chuckle and comes closer, stopping only a couple feet away from the bed. She gestures a bit, saying, "Come here," And he scrambles over, throwing his arms around her waist, and hugging her as tightly as he possibly can.

"I know we just met," He whispers. "But I still love you anyway."

And she just tightens her grip.

Eventually, Max is transferred from Rachel to Santana, and the girl hugs him just as tightly, and sends Finn an unspoken promise that he is now considered a part of their family. The taller boy nods from where his eyes meet hers, and…

This is it.

This is what it feels like to let people in.

Even on the scary stuff like having a brother who is fighting cancer in a town two hours away from where they actually live.

He has no regrets about this.

He can't have regrets… Not when the Santana Lopez is holding his baby brother, and commenting on his cool gown, and asking him what his favorite color or thing to do is.

No.

Finn Hudson has no regrets.

Only relief that today turned out 100% better than he could have imagined.


And there it is! The new character was Finn's brother, who has cancer, and is at Dayton, Ohio's Children's Hospital. I have fallen in love with Max, and I hope you like him at least half as much as I do. Also, Max is meeting his future sister-in-law, and has no idea. He is going to absolutely love Rachel.

The extended scene for this – them hanging out with Max – can be found in Snapshots.

Please review and let me know what you thought! :)