"Finn, what do you see when you look at me?" Rachel asks from her place in his lap. They're sitting in his living room with the TV on, but neither are paying it much attention. They had just come home from school and something had been nagging on her all day. Finn's self-confidence had taken such a downward spiral after the recruiter told him his football career was over. "Do you see an ugly dwarf with man hands and big nose or a—"
"Hey, stop!" he interrupts her with a frown. "No, I see the most beautiful, perfect girl," he kisses her nose and bumps it lightly with his own. "With the most amazing voice and the softest hair," his fingers run through her hair and reaches down to take her tiny hand in his. "And the cutest hands that fit perfectly with mine. I hate when you talk badly about yourself. Where did that come from?"
She smiles at him and cups his face, kissing his lips softly. "Then why can't you see that every time you talk that way about yourself it hurts me too?" She runs her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and presses her forehead against his. "You're so amazing, Finn," she whispers. "You have the biggest heart of anyone I know and you are so much more talented than you give yourself credit for."
He rewards her with a soft smile and tightens his arms around her waist.
"So the football recruiter didn't like you, oh well," she continues, looking into his eyes. "Was football really something that you could see yourself pursuing or was it just a way for you to get out of here?"
He tilts his head slightly and thinks about it for a minute. He never really thought about it that way before.
"I don't know, I guess," he said. "Football was just something I did. I never really thought about continuing with it until the thought of the future came up…"
"See? That's not really a dream, then," she said. "Your dream has to be something that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life and being happy with. What makes you happy, Finn?"
"Well, you," he says with a smile, stroking her cheek.
She laughs. "Besides me, silly. What about something with music?"
He shakes his head. "I'm not a good enough singer for NYADA," he argues. "I mean look at how intimidated you and Kurt were after that meeting or whatever."
"Well first of all," she says, "you are an amazing singer. And second, what about something with the drums? Or music arrangements? I remember you told me once that playing the drums used to help you let all your frustration out and you arranged that Madonna number our sophomore year, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so," he says with a sigh, "but what am I gonna do for the rest of my life that involves the drums? And I can't exactly go arranging songs for choirs for the rest of my life."
"Oh but you could, Finn!" she exclaimed. "You could do so many things with a simple music degree—you could study performance or music theory. You have such a good ear for harmonies and rhythms. People make so much money behind the scenes, helping in recording studios or plays and movies…What is so funny?"
He started to laugh and she poked her finger in his chest, demanding he tell her what he found so hilarious.
"You," he kisses her forehead quickly and looks into her eyes. "You're getting so carried away with this." He puts a finger to her mouth before she can argue. "And I love you for it. The fact that you think I could do any of these things, Rachel, makes me feel so much better than you would believe."
Her gaze softens and she smiles. "But you can. I know you can," she says with a smile. "It's not like you have to pinpoint exactly what career you want to do right now, Finn. We can just work on finding the right schools with music programs first and then go from there."
"Ok," he smiles her favorite half-smile and starts thinking of all the possibilities in his head…maybe there is still hope for him after all.