CHAPTER 45

Finn was led out of the interrogation room moments later and as soon as he was seated in the bullpen, he saw Carole, Burt, Kurt and Bella enter the precinct. Right before he was dragged into the interrogation room, he was allowed his one phone call but because it was so early in the morning, nobody answered. Finn was forced to leave a voicemail on Carole's phone. When Finn didn't come home that night, his family just assumed that he was spending the night with Bella but when Bella didn't know where he was, they started to get freaked out. They heard the voicemail moments later and the four of them rushed over to the police station.

When Finn saw them, he relaxed a little. At least he wasn't alone now. His family rushed over to him and Bella threw her arms around him for a moment before the policemen shoved her back. She scowled at them and ignored them.

"Fuck off, dude!" She spat, looking like she was about to charge at the policeman. Finn put a cuffed hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Finn, what's going on?" Burt asked, calmly.

"They think I killed someone." Finn murmured. "They're going to send me away for life for a crime I didn't commit!"

"Mr. Hummel, your step-son was found standing over the body, his prints and DNA on the murder weapon."

Burt looked at Finn, questioningly, and Finn explained…

"I saw Jessie get stabbed and I ran over. My prints were on the murder weapon because I pulled it out of his body when I tried to stabilize the wound."

"Jessie. Wait, Jessie St. James?" Kurt asked. Finn nodded and Kurt's eyes widened. "Oh, that's not good. With your history, they're gonna think…"

"No! They won't!" Carole exclaimed. "The truth will set you free. That's the saying, right?"

Finn nodded, and turned to the police officers.

"So what now?" Finn asked.

"Well, you pleaded Not Guilty so you are going to have to go to court. Your bail is set at 20 thousand dollars so you have two options: pay bail and go home until trial, or stay in our custody until the trial, which could potentially be in weeks or months from now. Then after trial, verdict, and after the verdict, possible sentencing and serving the sentence. What are you going to do, Mr. Hudson?"

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2 months later…

"People have come from all over the city to mourn. The grief is palpable. But the lights from these candles have never shone brighter. Pizza Rat, dead tonight at the age of 4. John?"

"All right, Haley, thank you for that. I think it's gonna be a long, sad night for all of us, huh?"

"2013 strikes again."

"Indeed it does. And in other news, we are just days away now from the start of a trial for former U.S Army Private First Class Finn Hudson. He was arrested two months ago for the murder of 17 year old Jessie St. James. He is currently out on bail, but if convicted, faces a life sentence in prison, without parole."

"Yeah, Haley, this disgraced soldier was apprehended with the murder weapon in his hands and standing over the body and yet he pleads innocent. Not a lot of wiggle room for his attorney, huh?"

"Yeah. There is little to no public information about Private First Class Hudson but Channel 12 has learned that this isn't the first time he has been on the wrong side of the law. We just uncovered the fact that he was kicked out of his own senior prom after getting into a brawl with none other than the victim, Jessie St. James."

"Well, that settles it. I am going to jail." Finn sighed, turning off the TV. Finn's family, the Glee club, Lieutenant Brandt (who had flown in as soon as he had heard what happened) and Finn's attorney were all gathered in Finn's basement and Finn had just finished watching the 7 o' clock news segment the night before his trial for the murder. "Okay, update on our trial prep. Everybody, this is my lawyer, Samuel Miller, who in many ways is in charge of my defense."

"In every way." Miller remarked.

"Well, many is part of every. I'm facing a life sentence in prison. Just let me have this one." Finn replied. Miller rolled his eyes and stood up and faced the large group.

"Okay. So, the prosecution's case is strong. You were caught red-handed with the murder weapon in your hands with no witness to prove you didn't stab him. You also technically have means, motive and opportunity."

"Right, but can't Lieutenant Brandt just testify that Finn was just following Army medical rules and he wouldn't kill anyone?" Kurt asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Legally, you can't testify for your best friend."

"That's not a law." Brandt murmured.

"No? Miller?"

"Not a law." Miller commented. Finn shrugged.

"Well, the point is, he didn't deny we're best friends." Finn remarked.

"The mission that Finn went on in March was off the books so there was no official psychological test done after he returned home. As for the medical rules, that doesn't mean much to a jury. What they care about is the fact that Finn was found at the crime scene with his prints all over the murder weapon." Brandt explained.

"Doesn't matter anyway. I don't need your testimony, because we have… The Meat Fork." Finn exclaimed.

"What?" Mr. Schue asked in confusion.

"Our two-pronged defense. Not unlike a fork you would use to flip a steak on a grill. It's a meat fork! Miller, explain the meat fork to them!"

"Again, 'meat fork' is fun, but under no circumstances should anyone say that in court." Miller stated.

"We have it if we need it." Finn joked. "Now, tell them about the first prong."

"Well, we have Lieutenant Brandt testifying about the fact that Finn was a hero employee for the Army and even earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in Bangladesh in March."

"Woah, woah, woah, wait, I did?" Finn asked, turning to Brandt, dumbfounded. He thought that the extent of Brandt's testimony was him talking about what Finn did for the Army. Brandt nodded.

"Yeah, um… that was going to be my graduation present to you. After single-handedly taking down the biggest drug cartel in South East Asia, my superiors agreed that you deserved it and green-lit the idea."

"Wow, Lieutenant, I don't know what to say. How can I thank you?"

"Well, when you are proven innocent, buy me a beer and we'll call it even." Brandt replied, reminding a slightly distracted Finn about the case. Finn nodded.

"What's the next prong?" Burt asked.

"Well, the Prosecution claims that your motive for murder was Jessie hurting Rachel. You having killed people before is actually helpful in this situation as you can testify about what it feels like to kill someone, going into as much of the gory details as possible. The jury will realise that there's no way that you would go through that, just because he hurt your ex." Miller explained.

"Boo ya!" Finn exclaimed. "We got this!"

"Okay, that's it. Any questions or comments?" Miller asked.

"Yeah, dude, you're screwed." Puck remarked. Bella slapped him on the upside of the head and he groaned in annoyance. "What? I'm just being realistic."

Finn sighed.

"Look, I know that odds are I'm going to jail and I will never see you guys again. I'm well aware of that Puck." Finn admitted. "I'm just trying to keep my head up and fight in case that 1% chance that the jury finds me innocent actually comes true."

"Anything else?" Miller asked.

"Yes, there's something I'd like to say." Burt said, standing up. Ever since Finn's arrest, Carole and Kurt had been terrified that Finn was going to go to jail so Finn and Burt were the only ones in the family who were thinking clearly, and they had built quite the bond over the past two months. "Don't lose."

"I thought that was gonna be longer." Mercedes remarked.

"It was perfect."

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The next morning, Finn was dressed in a suit, ready for his trial. The whole Glee club was there to support and testify if needed, as well as his family and his Lieutenant. As Finn waited outside the courtroom, he could feel not butterflies but bowling balls banging around in his stomach. He was absolutely terrified. He knew he was innocent, he just hoped the jury knew that too. Bella walked up to him as he paced around in the courthouse corridor.

"Hey." She said. "Big day. How are you feeling?"

"Good. Good. I was just working on my innocent face. Check it out." Finn said, putting on a really creepy look on his face. Bella winced.

"Oh, no. I don't think that's doing what you want it to at all."

"Oh. Well, it doesn't matter, because my normal face is my innocent face, because I'm innocent."

"I know. I just hope the jury knows it too. Should we talk about what happens if they somehow find you guilty?"

"That's not happening." Finn stated, putting on a determined expression. "But what we should talk about is how we're gonna celebrate when I win. I'm thinking we take a trip to Paris or London, Rome, anywhere Jason Bourne has driven a car down some stairs."

"Ooh, Paris sounds fun. Or we could just go somewhere we could actually afford."

"Oh, we can afford it. Don't forget, I was hired to kill Jessie St. James by an evil Syndicate known only as SHADE." Finn joked. "I'm sitting on 1 million dollars, baby!"

"Excuse me?" The judge said, walking up behind them. Their eyes widened.

"Oh! He's just kidding!" Bella stammered.

"Yeah, I'm innocent. You'll see when we get in there. Nice talking to you, Judge!" Finn called as the judge walked away. Once he was gone, Finn and Bella let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, you ready?" Bella asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah." Finn replied and the two of them walked to the courtroom together. There, standing just outside, were Finn's family, Mr. Schue and Lieutenant Brandt.

"You got this." Mr. Schue said, shaking his hand.

"Yeah, you're innocent. This court's just gonna prove that." Brandt said, shaking his hand.

"Good luck." Burt and Carole said. Finn nodded and walked to the front of the room and sat down next to Attorney Miller. From his seat, Finn watched as Jessie's family - his mom, dad and sister - walked into the room and they sent him looks of such loathing that Finn could practically feel them singeing his eyebrows. He wished he could tell them he was innocent but he knew they wouldn't believe him. Moments later, a security guard walked to the center of the courtroom.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Marinovich." He announced. The judge walked into the room and took his seat at the bench.

"You may be seated." The Judge declared as soon as he had sat down. "Court is in session…"