CHAPTER 13

When Finn touched down in Lima, his first thought was 'home'. He hadn't been back since he enlisted almost 3 months ago, and he had definitely missed it. So much had happened to him in the past couple of months, and he just needed to relax. He knew he would be doing a lot of that as his arm was still injured so he couldn't play any sports. He still had music though so he was happy.

Finn got through Baggage Claim pretty quickly, and he walked into the Arrivals area. He saw Burt and Carole almost immediately, and he walked up behind them. They hadn't noticed him yet.

"Hey, don't I know you two from somewhere?" He asked, putting his arms around them. They spun around, and Carole's jaw dropped when she saw her son. Finn was clearly no longer a young child anymore. He had built a wall of muscles, and his body made it feel like she was hugging steel. His hair was shaved in a Military buzz cut, and he had grown a short stubble beard.

"Finn, I'm so glad you're okay!" Carole said, as she hugged him tightly, crying. When she finally let go, Finn gave Burt a hug as well.

"It's great to have you back, son." Burt said. He seldom showed emotion, but this was one of those rare times that he did.

"It's great to be back. I never thought I'd be seeing this place again." Finn murmured as he took in his surroundings. They had just exited the airport, and were walking toward Burt's car. As they were walking out the airport, Finn heard a P.A announcement.

"Flight 16 from JFK has just landed."

"We were reading about what happened to you in the papers." Burt said. "They obviously excluded your name, but the person you rescued gave an anonymous statement to the press. You're a goddamn hero, Finn!"

"I'm not a hero," Finn muttered. "All I did was blast a way out of the country. I slaughtered anyone who got in my way. I killed 189 fucking people! That's not heroic, it's monstrous."

Carole shook her head. "No, don't you dare, Finn! You saved that girl's life, and the people who you killed had it coming. They shot back at you, didn't they?"

Finn nodded. They got into the car and started to drive back to the house. Finn took a deep breath. This was it. He had the opportunity to tell them the news.

"Guys, I need to tell you something…"

When they pulled up at the Hummel-Hudson household, they all got out of the car, and Finn grabbed his suitcase from the trunk. They walked into the house, and were immediately greeted by Kurt.

"FINN! Oh my god!" Kurt said and gave him a crushing hug. Finn quietly groaned in pain as Kurt accidentally hit one of his stab wounds. Kurt jumped back.

"I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed. Finn shook his head.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

They all walked into the living room, and Finn collapsed on his dad's old armchair. Finn loved that chair as, other than photos, it was his last memory of his dad. Finn remembered all the times his dad would sit on that chair and teach him how to play guitar. Finn still had his dad's acoustic guitar - it was his favourite instrument to play as it gave him a connection to his dad.

"Finn, everyone was so worried about you! McKinley starts next week and we need you in Glee!"

Finn and Carole exchanged a look. Kurt noticed.

"What?" He asked. Finn took a deep breath.

"Kurt… I… I'm not coming back to McKinley." He mumbled. Kurt's eyes widened.

"Are you joining the Army full-time?! You've gotta be kidding!"

Finn shook his head. "I'm not joining the army. It's just I got a full scholarship to Dalton Academy. After everything that happened last year, and then this summer, I think I need a new start. You know, a senior year without drama?"

Kurt's heart dropped. Without Finn, they stood absolutely no chance of making it to Nationals.

"Finn, you don't have to leave. I know last year was kinda rough for you, but…"

"Kurt, I'm sorry. But I'm definitely going. I'm being given all of the uniforms, textbooks, etc. for free. The perks of being the only teen Medal of Honor I guess. And it's not like I can play football right now. My body is going to take like 2 months to completely recover."

Kurt sighed and nodded at his brother.

"OK, Finn. If that's what you want to do… But just know, there's always a place for you in New Directions if you ever want to come back."