Hey guys, here's the 4th and final chapter. I hoped you enjoyed this. This is my first story in years so please let me know what you think. Stay tuned for a Finchel smut story because there can never be enough of that. lol
-Serendipity
Rachel picked up the smaller scrapbook and lightly ran her fingers over the cover. She remembered making this sophomore year when things had been alright. She and Finn had been dating at the time. This was after the whole Jesse fiasco. As she turned the pages, more pictures popped out at her. Her and Jesse in the park, New Directions at sectionals, her and Finn sharing a moment. Her fingers lingered on a picture taken in the local park. It was of her and Finn. He was behind her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. They were looking at each other, smiles on their faces. A tear rolled down her face. Finn... taken so early. She'd kept in contact with her friends for years. Granted more sporadically as the years went by, but still in contact none the less.
It had been a terrible car crash 10 years ago. It was a stormy night and the roads were slick with rain. She'd heard about it on the evening news. When she first head it, she didn't connect that the Finn Hudson they were talking about had been her Finn Hudson. Once she did, she cried herself to sleep leaving her daughter confused over her behavior.
Watching her mother carefully, Arianna looked a little concerned when she saw a tear leak from her mom's eyes. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring over the box. That is until she heard her mom say,
"I never told you who your father was, did I?" Rachel was still staring at the picture.
Arianna looked surprised. "I never asked." She sat on the edge of the bed looking at the picture. her mom looked so young, so carefree.
Rachel's raspy voice was soft. "He was an amazing guy." She pointed to the picture. "We were together in high school. He was the starting quarterback for the football team and I was the geek that everyone made fun of."
"Mom, you were never geeky. You've always been cool." Arianna protested.
The were interrupted by a nurse who came in with a little paper cup. "Ms. Berry, time for your medication."
Rachel took the white cup and grimaced. She didn't understand why she had to take these. She knew they were what was keeping her alive. If she didn't take them, she wouldn't have to endure the torment of living without them. But something inside her, something that was so much of who Rachel Berry was refused to let her break. She always had to do what was right. And right now, what was right was taking her meds.
"Thank you, Ms, Berry. What are you looking at?" the nurse asked kindly. Some of the nurses made a point to be nice to her sometimes.
"Looking at pictures from a time long gone. This was me when I was in highschool." She pointed at the girl in the picture.
"You were very pretty back then. I'll see you in 2 hours for your next dose." With that the kind nurse left them together, silence once again enveloping mother and daughter.
"His name was Finn Hudson. He was goofy, too tall for his age. You get your height from him. Goodness knows it wasn't from me." They both laughed knowing how tall Rachel really was. "He always had a child-like smirk on his face and I loved him dearly."
Arianna studied the picture. She could see herself in him. From her eyes to the shape of her chin, she could see her dad in her. "Why didn't you marry him?" she asked hesitantly.
Rachel looked sad. "He never asked me. All through high school we were inseparable, but once graduation came, I left for Broadway and he stayed in Lima. He didn't ask me to stay and I didn't ask him to come. He said something about not wanting to hold me back. Getting on the plane, seeing him standing there was the worst day of my life."
Arianna was confused. "But you had been a star on Broadway several years before you had me..." her voice trailed off.
Rachel eyes stared at some far off thing. "It was just after my final performance of a 2-year run of Anything Goes and he was waiting outside my dressing room. He had a dozen red roses and that goofy smile. I still don't know how he got backstage, the theater manager was emphatic about only performers being back there. He was in New York on business for a couple of days. Seeing him standing there for the first time in years almost made my heart stop."
"I thought you said he was a football player." Her daughter said, confused.
"He was, but he couldn't get a football scholarship so he went into business instead. We kept in contact over the years. I kept in contact with almost all of my friends from Glee Club. The only ones I saw on a regular basis were Kurt and Mercedes. We were roomies for years while you were young. Then Kurt started going to school for fashion and Mercedes got a recording contract with Columbia Records." She turned some more pages gazing sadly at the pictures of her friends. "I miss them so much. Every 10 years or so after graduation, we'd all get together and have a reunion. We'd talk and drink and sing and have fun like we used to."
"I don't remember you saying anything about that." Arianna said.
"You're right, I never said anything. I wanted to keep this for myself. Something that was only mine. I left you with Jesse, do you remember?" The next page was pictures of her and Jesse. "I knew him back then too. We never dated because we were in opposing Glee Clubs, but we forged a friendship of sorts. We were both insanely talented; we even played opposite each other in Wicked for about 8 months. But now he's gone too."
Arianna hugged her mom. She knew it was hard losing Uncle Kurt and Aunt Mercedes, but she had had no idea about any of the others. She wished her mom hadn't kept this to herself. "You shouldn't keep things bottled up, mom."
"I was being selfish and I'm trying to make up for it before I die."
Arianna looked alarmed, but made no move to contradict her mom. She knew it was just a matter of time. Her mom had given up and she knew it. She was just grateful that she was opening up like this. She reached into the box and pulled out the smaller box with the CD's and DVD's. "Mom, this was also in there. I thoughts maybe we could watch them together. I've never heard your voice when you were younger."
Rachel picked up a DVD and looked at her scrawling writing on the cover. 'Regionals '10.' She smiled as memories flooded back. She remembered Finn telling her he loved her, them singing "Faithfully," the look on Mr. Schuster's face in the audience. "This was when your father first told me he loved me. We were waiting to go on behind the curtains and he came up to me and whispered "I love you.""
Arianna took the DVD and put it in the player.
Rachel took her headphones and held it up to Arianna's ear. She watched her daughter's face as the camera showed a red curtain and she heard the music play. Suddenly, the camera turned and there was her and Finn, coming down the isle ways singing together in perfect harmony.
Arianna was shocked. Her mother had a gorgeous voice. So did her father for that matter. They sat in silence just watching the home video.
"What else is in there?" Rachel asked at the end of the set.
Arianna ejected the disc and rifle through the cases. "There's a CD called "Duets." Let's listen to this." She inserted the CD and hit play. "Defying Gravity" poured out of the speakers and boy's voice and her own.
"This is Kurt singing with me." she said, smiling. " We were having a 'Diva-off' to decide who'd get a solo for sectionals. I ended up winning because he flubbed a high note."
Right then the charge nurse came in and said softly, "Visiting hours are over, dear. Time to go."
Arianna kissed her mom and gave her a giant hug. "I'll come back tomorrow and we can watch some more videos of you."
"You know they're waiting for me." Rachel commented softly.
"Who's waiting for you?" Arianna who was halfway out the door turned around confused.
"My friends. They're all up there waiting for me to come sing with them. They need their co-director." Tears started forming in her eyes. "I miss them so much!"
Arianna kissed her mom again and said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"I love you, Arianna."
"Love you too mom."
Once her daughter left, Rachel blinked back her tears and put her headphones back on, listening to the dulcet tomes of her and Kurt's duet of 'Defying Gravity.' "I'm flying high, defying gravity..." She softly hummed under her breath, wishing that her voice wasn't raspy. "Kiss me goodbye..." she trailed off, gazing at a picture of her and Kurt. For the first time in a long time, she felt peaceful, at ease with her memories. Part of it was talking to Arianna and part of it was looking through the scrapbooks and listening to the tapes. Clouds starting creeping in around her eyes and brain as a wave of song washed over her. She clutched a picture of her and Finn. She saw them standing there beside her bed smiling. "I'm coming guys." She breathed as she closed her eyes, finally at peace.
