A Tempo
Chapter Seventeen: Throwing Punches
"Is he here yet?" Andrew called over Rachel's head as she ties his shoes.
"Not yet," Michael announced from his spot at the window.
"Michael!" Rachel snapped. "Get away from the window. You're getting fingerprints all over the glass."
"But what if he can't find the house?"
"Then he'll call! Standing in the window like a hungry orphan isn't going to get Finn here any faster."
Michael groaned dramatically and went to sit on the sofa next to his brother.
"Now, do you two remember what we talked about last night?" she asked, sitting back on her heels to look her children in the eyes.
"Say yes please and thank you," Michael grumbled.
"And don't say that we've gotta pee. Just say we've gotta go to the bathroom because it's rude," Andrew added.
Rachel stared blankly at them for a minute and wondered if there was an essential vitamin in their diet that they weren't getting. "Yes, yes we did talk about all of those things. But what was the main, big, important thing that I said that you could not forget?"
They exchanged a confused look and then shrugged at her in unison.
"About the baby…" she prompted.
"Oh!" Andrew cried. "Don't tell Finn about the baby!"
"That's right!" Rachel exclaimed. "You don't say a word about the baby. Even if the building you're in catches on fire and you think that you've only got a few minutes left to live, you keep. it. a. secret."
She smiling winningly over at them, hoping that what she was saying was getting through to them, but Michael just flung himself backwards and made a face. "Why can't we just tell him?" he asked belligerently. "Maybe he'll want to be with us again if he knows."
"Baby," she gasped, scrambling to sit between him and Andrew, "is that what you think?"
Michael scowled and shrugged his shoulders. "Sweetie, Finn not being with us has nothing to do with you and Andrew. He loves you two very, very much. We just moved is all and I know for a fact that he misses all three of us."
"But maybe if he knows about the baby, he'll want to live here."
Rachel sighed and stood up. "That's not an option, Michael. Finn's life is in New York and ours is here. Besides, I plan on telling him, I'm just waiting…"
"Waiting for what?"
"Well, um…" She wracked her brain trying to think of a good excuse to keep Michael quiet. "It's one of his Hanukkah presents! I'm going to tell him as a surprise." She smiled, pleased at her quick thinking.
"But Finn's not Jewish. He thinks if we eat hot dogs that we'll go to jail."
"What?" she asked in disbelief. "When did he say that?"
"At the baseball game. He kept asking everybody if all the food was kosher."
Rachel rolled her eyes. That did sound like Finn, so she let it slide. "Well, then it's his Christmas present. Look, if you can just help me out and keep it a secret, I would greatly appreciate it." She looked down at Andrew who was staring at them with big eyes. "And if you could make sure Andy doesn't say anything either."
"I won't Mama," Andrew insisted.
"But just in case. Please, Michael?"
Michael rolled his eyes and shook his head, but nodded his head in agreement. "Okay."
"Thank you. Now go grab your jackets. He'll be here any min–" she was interrupted by the knock at the door. "Now," she finished lamely as both boys hopped off the couch and ran to the door.
"Let me open it, Michael!" Andrew whined, but Michael just shoved him out of the way.
"No, I'm bigger."
"Boys," Rachel said in a warning tone as she grabbed their jackets from the closet. She walked up between them to stop the scuffle and pulled the door open herself.
"Finn!" they both shouted upon seeing him on their stoop, the fight obviously forgotten. Andrew flung himself at him first, and Finn crouched down to catch him.
"Hey guys," he said, pulling them both into his arms. If Rachel didn't know better, she would have said he was suspiciously glassy-eyed as he hugged them tightly to him.
"Look at you two!" he exclaimed. "You're getting so big! And it's only been a couple of months." Then he grinned as he straightened up, still holding Andrew.
"Yeah, well, I'm seven now," Michael said nonchalantly. "Maybe we should go get me a present."
"Michael Aaron Kutner!" Rachel chastised, hardly believing what she was hearing, but Finn just laughed.
"Maybe so," he said, hugging Michael to his side. "What do you want?"
"A drum set."
"Yeah!" Andrew cried, bouncing in Finn's arms.
Rachel shook her head vehemently. "No. Finn Hudson, if my sons come home with a drum set, you are a dead man."
"What's wrong with being a little musically inclined?" Finn smiled down at her.
"Finn."
"You look pretty today," he said, changing the subject, and Rachel nearly jumped when he tugged lightly on the hem of her navy sweater dress. "You look kind of like a girl I knew in high school. What was her name? Rachel Something-or-Another."
He looked at Andrew who covered his mouth and giggled. When he didn't respond, Finn reached up and tickled his belly, causing the little boy to squeal with laughter. Rachel tried not to laugh, but at the sight of Andrew squirming in Finn's arms and Michael looking up at Finn with obvious hero worship, she couldn't help but smile.
She quickly grabbed her coat and put it on before Finn could get another good look at her, and with his help, got the boys in their jackets. "What are your plans for the day?" she asked as she locked the house up.
"Nothing too wild." They walked down her front steps together and out to the driveway. "Probably watch some college football at Mom and Burt's, and then we're going bowling."
"Sounds like fun," Rachel commented. They stood and stared at each other for a moment and Rachel debated leaning over to give him a quick hug. She fought the urge and pulled out her car keys. "Well, the drive runs until three, so you can come over any time after that."
Finn nodded and gave her an anxious smile. "I'm really looking forward to spending some time with you," he murmured, scuffing his food on the driveway.
Rachel nearly choked and hoped her eyes weren't bugging out of her head. She could only hope that he would feel the same way after their talk.
Andrew jumped up and down and cheered as his ball rolled slowly down the lane and took out three pins. "It's a strike!" he shouted, giving Burt a high five.
"Yeah, whatever you say there, pal," Burt said, exchanging a smile with Carole. Finn was pleased by how smoothly everything was going. Finn had told her that he would been watching them the night before, and while she did seem a little confused about the situation, she hadn't complained. He figured it best not to go into too much detail once he and Rachel had their plans in order, but Carole had seemed genuinely pleased to hear that they had reconnected in New York.
The boys had been a little shy at first when they arrived at his mom's house, but as usual, they quickly lightened up. Michael stuck close to him and Jer while they watched football while Andrew took to Burt, especially after Burt explained to him about the carburetor that was sitting on the dining room table. They both found everything in the house fascinating, from his football pictures to poor, near-sighted Peanut who walked around the house bumping into walls.
They behaved really well the entire time, with only a couple of instances of bickering that quickly subsided. Finn watched as his mom took a particular interest in them and he immediately felt awful when he caught her cuddling Andrew to her side on the couch. He guessed it really had been a long time since she had a little kid in the house. Next time he wouldn't tune her out completely when she started in on the grandbaby talk.
Now they were all at the bowling alley, and after a quick run through on how to play (not like it was hard), they were really getting into the game. Michael, Andrew, Kurt, and Carole were playing on a lane with the bumpers up while he, Jer, Burt, and Puck, who had shown up to catch the Ohio game on the big screen, were on another.
Jer and Puck were hitting it off pretty well, although he was sure Jer was checking Puck out every time his turn came up. The way Kurt kept glaring over at Jer pretty much confirmed it, but he remained civil for the most part. He'd only called Michael and Andrew the "Jewish Beaver and Wally" once and kept referring to Puck as "pool boy," so as far as Finn was concerned, that was good behavior.
Finn had just finished his turn when he felt a little tug on the bottom of his sweater. Andrew looked up at him and stuck his foot out. "My shoe's untied," he proclaimed.
"Well, let's fix you up," Finn laughed and lifted Andrew up onto the bench next to Carole. He made sure to tie it tight and double knotted it for good measure. "There you go, Andy," he said, standing up.
His mom looked over at him and smiled proudly. "Look at you, Finn! Tying shoes and teaching them how to bowl. It's a shame I don't have any grandbabies yet. You're going to be a wonderful father one day."
"You think so?" he asked earnestly and she nodded.
"Of course! Why wouldn't you be?"
Andrew looked up from the ball return and smiled. "My mom's got a baby," he said idly.
Carole laughed and humored him good-naturedly. "She does?"
"Yup," he stuck out his little belly and patted it. "It lives in here."
Before anyone could respond, Michael ran and up and shoved Andrew, causing him to land right on his rump. "Shut up, stupid!" he hissed. "You're not supposed to say anything!"
"Michael!" Finn said sternly, putting Andrew's comments on the backburner. He strode over and quickly righted Andrew, who seemed to be okay, and then took the older boy by the arm and lead him away from the group. "What was that about, huh?"
Michael looked up at Finn wordlessly, obviously in shock from Finn's tone of voice. "He's your little brother," Finn reprimanded. "He's smaller than you and you can really hurt him by shoving him around like that. You're supposed to take care of him."
Michael ducked his head but Finn took him by the chin and forced him to look at him. "I don't ever want to see you do that again. And I never want to hear you call anyone stupid ever again, do you understand me?"
He nodded but Finn shook his head. "Nuh uh. I want to hear you say it out loud. And then I want to hear you apologize to Andrew."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry," he grumbled. Then he looked Finn straight in the eye like he was missing the big point. "But it was supposed to be your Hanukkah present!"
He looked at Michael blankly for a second, and then turned back to where everyone was sitting. Carole and Burt were looking in the other direction, obviously wanting to let Finn discipline Michael without an audience, but Kurt was turned around in his seat and looking at him with his eyes wide.
He stood up and walked over to Finn, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Do you realize what Rachel Junior just said?"
Finn shrugged. "Well yeah, Kurt. And I told him never to do it again. What else do you want me to do, beat the kid?"
"Not that one, the little one."
Finn drew a blank. Something about Rachel having a ba... a ba... A BA-
"Well he just announced that Mommie Dearest has a bun in the oven."
Finn stood stark still and tried to piece together the puzzle as a sudden panic washed over him. His eyes fell on Puck, who was playing with his cell phone, and his mind went still. The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air and tackling Puck to the ground. "You bastard!" he shouted as his fist connected with Puck's cheek. He was vaguely aware of a horrified screech from his mom, and shouts of surprise from Michael and Andrew.
"What the hell?" Puck managed to choke out before Finn landed another punch to his gut. He got one good swing in, busting Finn's lip, before Jer and Burt pulled Finn off of him, still cursing and seething.
"How could you?" Finn yelled. "How could you?"
"How could I what, asshole?" Puck snapped, rubbing his cheek with his hand.
"First Quinn, now Rachel?"
"What?"
"Finn!" Carole cried, and he saw her out of the corner of his eye, shielding the boys from the fight in front of them.
"Go on," Burt ordered. "Take it outside."
Jer guided Finn out, his hand firmly on his shoulder and Puck followed, grousing morosely under his breath. Kurt ran after them, handing Puck a cup of ice to put on his face, and a napkin to Finn to staunch the flow of blood from his busted lip. Jer pushed Finn down on a wet bench outside and Puck plopped down across from him, glaring at him menacingly.
"That's the last fucking time, Hudson," Puck said, pointing at him. "Next time you come at me throwing punches, your ass is grass."
Finn made to stand up again, but Jer forced him back down. "What the hell is going on, man?" he asked, throwing Kurt a worried glance.
"That – that traitor knocked Rachel up."
"Excuse me?" Puck squawked. "You don't even know what the hell you're talking about. Crazy ass –"
"He's right," Kurt said, cutting off his tirade. "As much as it pains me to admit this, Rachel is pretty much the female version of me... without my sense of style, of course. And I know I would never sleep with Puck."
"Why the hell not? What's wrong with me?" Puck asked, pulling the ice away from his eye.
"You used to throw me in dumpsters!"
"So? I used to throw slushies in Rachel's face and she still made out with me."
"I said I wouldn't sleep with you, not that I wouldn't make out with you."
"I'd pay to see that," Jer muttered wryly.
Puck gawked at Jer. "You're gay?"
Jer met Puck's gaze for a good minute before finally answering. "Seriously?"
"What? I just thought you were some dude who was hanging out with Finn."
"Will you three shut up?" Finn managed to choke out.
Kurt looked at his step-brother sympathetically and took a seat next to him. "The way I see it, the only person out here that could be Rachel's baby daddy is you. Now listen to me, Finn: did you 'get into a hot tub' with Rachel?"
Thoughts were running through his head at a million miles a minute and he could barely process what Kurt was asking. "No..." he said absently. "But we slept together."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Well... duh," he replied, failing to come up with a witty retort.
Finn was sure his step-brother was saying something else, but he tuned him out. Rachel was having a baby... Rachel was having his baby, apparently. At first he felt like he couldn't breathe; he was going to be a dad. And for real this time. Then a little bubble of joy welled up in his stomach. He and Rachel were going to have a baby!
But just as quickly as it came, the bubble popped and was replaced with a steadily growing wave of rage. When was Rachel planning on telling him that he was going to be a father? He had just seen her earlier that day and looking back, it seemed as if she had taken every precaution to hide it from him! She hardly touched him, she hid behind her coat and that huge bag of hers, nor had she been the one to instigate their meeting later that day. And how long had she known? Did she leave New York knowing that she was carrying his child?
That more than anything sent him into blinding hot fury. He leapt up and started walking towards the street, not caring that it was sleeting or that he looked like he had just walked away from a chain gang.
"Finn?" Kurt gasped. "Where are you going?"
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. "Kurt, do you mind watching the boys for a little bit?" he asked, surprised to hear how calm he sounded despite the torrent of emotion boiling within him. "I need to have a talk with Rachel."
Kurt gave him a worried look and nodded before replying, "Of course... but hang on just a second." He ran back into the bowling alley, only to return with his jacket. "If you're going to walk all the way to Rachel's, you're going to need this."
Finn grabbed it from him and continued walking.
"Hey, asshole, aren't you going to apologize for punching me in the face?" Puck called after him.
"Later, Puckerman," Kurt snapped as he watched Finn stalk down the street.
He had hoped that by the time he reached Rachel's house, he would feel a little calmer, but his anger was still seething as he reached her street. How could she possibly do this to him? Yes, this was what he wanted, but not like this. She owed him an explanation; he deserved to find out like a man that he was going to be a dad, not from a three-year-old in a bowling alley – and in front of his own mother no less.
He also felt immensely ashamed of what had just happened. There weren't that many people at the bowling alley, but he had made a fool of himself in front of the people who had mattered most. How was he supposed to teach Michael right from wrong if he was going to turn around and deck someone in the face right after he had just reprimanded him for a similar offense? He would have to rectify that mistake as soon as he hashed it out with Rachel.
He had no idea how long it had taken him or what time it was, but Finn finally reached Rachel's small house and made his way up her front stoop. He sat down and stared at his hands, thoughts churning through his head, his anger growing as each minute passed, and waited for Rachel to return home.
Author's Note: Finn is pissed!
Of course this chapter didn't turn out nearly as long as I planned it to; I blame it on Tumblr. The next chapter is already almost done though, and it's going to be a doozy (obviously). One more chapter and then and epilogue, eek!
Disclaimer: Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I'm just manipulating it for my own nefarious (and strictly nonprofit) purposes.