I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow but I'm just so dang excited about Glee tonight that I decided to put it up now. Enjoy!
Finn entered the grand hall to find his mother, Lady Fabray and Quinn chatting gaily with one another about things he probably wouldn't care about in the least. He strode up to the women disrupting their conversation.
"Hello and goodbye!" Finn greeted curtly turning around to head back upstairs.
"Excuse me, Finn, where do you think you're going?" his mother asked staring at him disapprovingly.
"I said I would come down to say hello and that's what I did so if you'll excuse me..."
Carole's voice rose. "You are not excused and you will come back right now." Her tone suggested that Finn would pay dearly if he didn't do as told.
"Can we make this quick? I'm busy," Finn barked out unhappily. He wanted to get back to Rachel.
Carole scoffed. "What could you be busy with? Everyone who keeps you busy is here. Now Finn, Lady Fabray and I have decided that your wedding will take place on the first Saturday of next month. That should give the event planners enough time to get everything ready and to build up a big enough buzz around the kingdom. With any luck Aunt Sue will hear of your nuptials and stop her crazy bid to take over McKinley because hopefully an heir won't be too far behind the wedding."
Quinn couldn't help but giggle as Finn looked at her while his mother spoke of an heir.
He shook his head furiously. "Mom, I'm not marrying Quinn!" He turned to the blonde his mother was insisting on. "Quinn this is nothing on you. You're very pretty and smart and you'd make any guy happy I'm sure but I'm just not into you that way. I want to find someone myself."
Quinn pursed her lips as she stared at the floor.
Lady Fabray spoke up. "Your majesty, I can assure you there is no finer woman in McKinley to marry. Quinn would make a fabulous queen and give you an heir-"
"I'm sure there isn't and she would but I still don't want to marry your daughter. So you three can make all the plans you want for a wedding but I won't be showing up." Finn turned around to walk away and nearly ran into Kurt who had been standing very close behind him. "Excuse me." He moved the smaller man out of the way.
"Finn, if you leave right now I am done," Carole threatened. Finn paused in his tracks.
He was at a crossroad. Finn could turn around like a good little boy, marry Quinn, make a bunch of babies and continue to let his mother make choices for him and be miserable the rest of his life or he could man-up, take full responsibility for himself and his position the first time in his life, go upstairs and explain everything to Rachel and potentially find the true love and happiness he'd been searching for.
Continuing to walk without facing the group again Finn made his choice. "Consider yourself retired, Mom."
Carole's mouth dropped as she watched her son walk away from her. She apologetically smiled at Lady Fabray and Quinn before excusing herself to follow after Finn.
"Finn, what are you doing?" she whispered harshly at Finn as they walked down the long hallway to the back stairwell to Finn's floor.
"I'm doing something I should have done a long time ago. Like you said, I'm 23. It's time to grow up and stop being so scared of failing that I never even try." Rachel's words had been in his brain since she spoke them.
"What changed since this morning?" she asked, pride growing in her voice.
Finn stopped and turned to face her. "Mom, can we maybe talk about this later? There's something I have to do right now."
She shook her head and looked like she wanted to cry. Carole brought her hand up to caress Finn's cheek. "I'm so proud of you, Finn." Finn smiled. For once he actually felt like he had done something to be proud of. "But I still think you should marry Quinn."
Finn rolled his eyes and turned around to continue to his room.
"Just because you've decided to take responsibility that still doesn't solve all your problems. You need a wife and Quinn is available and would make a great one!" his mother crowed.
"I know that, Mom and I'm working on it." Finn picked up his pace when he hit the stairs. "You should send Quinn and Lady Fabray home. Their services are not required at this time."
Carole stared after her pigheaded son. Though he may have relieved her of her queenly duties he could never relieve her of her motherly duties and as his mother it was her responsibility to make sure Finn would be happy. Once he got to know Quinn he'd see that she could make him happy. Carole turned around to go back to her guests, wedding plans swirling in her head.
Finn jogged to his door and hastily stepped inside. "Rachel, let me explain...Rachel?" He looked around his empty room finding no sign of Rachel. His brow furrowed in frustration as he sank down onto his bed. She left. He'd lost her and now he could never tell her that he'd stood up to his mother on the wedding front and was trying to become the man Rachel unwittingly said he could be.
His eyes came to rest on the cabinet Rachel always came and went through when an idea popped into his head. If Rachel could come and go as she pleased why couldn't he? True he was much bigger than Rachel but for something as important as this he could make himself fit.
That was it! Finn could go through the door himself and find Rachel! He could explain everything to her and convince Rachel to come back with him. After all, how big could this Manhattan be?
Feeling a wave of rejuvenation wash over him, Finn quickly changed into some more comfortable less conspicuous clothing and stood in front of the door. He knew very little about this world Rachel came from so he had no idea what to expect. No matter what he encountered on the other side of the door however he had to keep going to find her. Finn couldn't let things end this way.
Doing as he had seen Rachel do, Finn ducked into the cabinet and closed the door behind him. Nothing seemed to happen except now he was stuck in a small dark space with a bunch of coats. He pushed forward and felt the back wall of the cabinet give way to another small dark space. He stepped into it and felt around until a sliver of light shone through the one corner in front of him. He pushed against it and the door swung wide open with a slight creak.
Finn stepped out and found himself in a small room filled with junk. There were so many objects he'd never seen before in his life that were intriguing but they were not the point of this trip. The point was to find Rachel. Keeping that one fact in mind Finn pressed onward opening the room's door and storming outside.
Loudly, Finn stomped down the hall calling Rachel's name until he came across an older man.
"You sir, do you know Rachel Berry? She's short with long brown hair-"
"Who the hell are you and how did you get in my house?" Rocco yelled at the intruder who seemed to come from nowhere. He grabbed the closest heaviest object and lifted it to protect himself.
"Sir, calm down. I'm not here to harm you. My name is Finn Hudson and I'm just trying to find Rachel Berry. She's my friend and I need to talk to her."
Rocco wasn't buying it though. "Why should I believe anything you say? You broke into my house dressed like some Renaissance fair reject!"
Finn looked down at his clothes then compared them with what Rocco wore. Based on Rachel's attire and the man before him clearly Finn was not dressed appropriately for Manhattan.
"Could I possibly borrow some clothing?" Finn asked the man politely.
"Get out of my house!" he roared, running at Finn whose expression turned to one of terror as the older man lunged at him with a statuette of a ballerina.
He chased him all the way down the stairs and outside into the street. Unfortunately for Finn, the outside was overwhelming and forced him to pause and admire. While he was stalled and staring in awe at the massive buildings standing around him and the brightly colored vehicles and people, Rocco managed to land a blow against Finn's head with the statuette.
Finn crumpled to the ground on the sidewalk outside Rocco's apartment building and as he lay there lifeless Rocco began to panic. He had just bludgeoned a man over the head in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street.
With great difficulty as the unconscious man weighed a ton, Rocco dragged him back over to the door of his building and into the entryway. There wasn't a doorman for his building so Rocco quickly rushed upstairs to call 911.
While he waited for the ambulance Rocco checked Finn's pulse and breathing which were both fine. A little under 10 minutes later the ambulance arrived and carted Finn and Rocco off to the nearest hospital.
When they arrived at the ER Finn was taken for tests on his head while Rocco called Rachel. When the EMT asked how Finn had been knocked unconscious he made up a story so the police wouldn't get involved. He figured getting clobbered over the head by a ballerina was enough of a punishment and he didn't want to end up in trouble himself for hitting him. Plus he really didn't seem all that dangerous when Rocco thought back on it. He had been merely surprised by his sudden presence in his house. And he knew Rachel.
Since Finn had no identifying records of any kind, Rocco gave Rachel a call to see if she could suss out what was happening.
Earlier that evening, Rachel left Rocco's sad and angry, feeling like an idiot. She walked all the way home to try to clear her head but no matter how hard she tried Rachel could not get Finn out of her mind. If she wasn't thinking about how hot he got her or how amazing his kisses had been, she was thinking about how big of a jerk he had to be to lie about who he was and conveniently forget to mention he was engaged to be married. Who does those things?
When she made it home, Rachel angrily ripped the cushions off her couch and pulled her bed out to fling her body onto it face down. She lied there crying for she didn't even know how long, trying in vain to begin getting over cabinet man. It should have been easy; she barely knew the man, obviously, so why wasn't it? Rachel thought that must be what people meant when they said a person could come into your life for an instant but change you forever. Rachel's life totally sucked.
To make matters even worse her phone started to ring. There were only three people who had her number as she had no friends and she didn't feel like talking to any of them. She knew if she didn't answer for her fathers though they would freak and be on the next flight out to New York. They constantly worried about her living alone in Manhattan and asked her to come home where she could easily get a job as a theatre or music teacher at her alma mater every time they spoke. Every time she told them no as Lima was duller than dishwater and didn't have what she wanted. Maybe this time she wouldn't fight them. What was the point of staying in New York if she wasn't even trying to make it on Broadway anymore?
Without checking who it was calling Rachel answered the phone and mumbled out a hello.
"Rachel? Hi, it's Rocco."
"Hello Rocco. What can I help you with?" she replied dully.
"I'm at the hospital-"
"What?" Rachel cut him off, sitting up on her bed beginning to grab her stuff to go. "What hospital? I'll be right there!"
"Well Bellevue," he began to explain but Rachel cut him off again.
"I'll be there as soon as I can Rocco! Hold on!" Before he could even say anything else Rachel hung up and flew out the door.
Rocco could not die on Rachel! He was the closest thing she had to a friend in her world, not to mention if he croaked she'd have to job hunt again. Using some of her very little spare cash, Rachel took a taxi to Bellevue and raced into the ER demanding to know where Rocco was. The nurse on the phone however was more concerned with talking to her boyfriend about their evening plans.
"Hello! I need to know where Rocco del Mar is right now. This is life or death!" Rachel cried out.
"Rachel? That was fast," Rocco said walking up behind her with a smile on his face.
Rachel looked flabbergasted. "Rocco? You're fine!" Relieved her boss wasn't dead Rachel threw her arms around the man in a giant hug. Then she realized he wasn't dead. "Wait, why are we at the hospital then?"
Rocco waved for Rachel to follow him down a hallway. "If you'd have let me finish on the phone, I would have told you. I was kinda defending myself from this man who was in my house. He said he was a friend of yours. I didn't mean to hit him, he just stopped and I kept going and well, he ended up unconscious. But the good news is he woke up while you were on your way here!"
They turned into an area full of beds where Rachel could hear him before she saw him. Her heart sped up at the sound.
"...need to find Rachel. I demand you unhand me! I am the King of McKinley and-"
"Sir, I don't care if you're the King of England, you're not going anywhere until we've cleared you," the Latina said as she pressed an alcohol patch to Finn's head. He let out a sharp breath.
"Ow, that stings," he said trying to pull away.
The nurse looked rather smug. "Oops, did I forget to mention that? Sorry," she replied with false sincerity.
"Finn?" Rachel's voice shook as she pulled back the curtain to look at the man who'd been on her mind all afternoon.
As he laid eyes on her, Finn's face lit up and he tried to stand but was quickly shoved back down by the nurse.
"What did I say?" the attractive nurse said harshly, staring at him.
Rachel pushed on. "Finn, what are you doing here?"
"That man," he pointed at Rocco, "hit me over the head and knocked me out. He said an ambulance picked me up and brought me here, whatever an ambulance is."
Rachel shook her head. "No Finn, I mean, what are you doing here in New York? You shouldn't be here."
"You left before I could explain. I had to find you to tell you that I'm not getting married. I stepped up and stopped letting my mom tell me what to do-ow," he glared at the nurse who was patching up his head.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "That still doesn't explain why you lied to me about who you were."
"All done! Now who does this man belong to?" the nurse asked. She looked back and forth between Rachel and Rocco while Finn and Rocco both looked at Rachel. When she realized everyone was staring at her Rachel protested.
"Well he doesn't belong to me! He doesn't belong to anyone. He isn't a slave."
"Well he isn't sane either. Look, this man came in with zero identification and no medical records at all. Ever since he woke up all he's been talking about is Rachel and whenever anyone asks who he is, he says he's the King of McKinley."
"That's because I am," Finn cut in to the woman's explanation.
"See? He's clearly lost his marbles. So I can't release him unless there is someone he can be released to. He could be dangerous to himself and to others."
"I am not! I would never harm anyone. At least not anyone who didn't deserve it…"
"Nurse," Rachel looked at the woman's name tag, "Santana, I can vouch for him. Finn may be a liar but he isn't insane." Finn looked a little hurt by her words. "If he has to be released to someone however," she chewed her lip hoping she wouldn't regret her next words, "I'll take responsibility for him."
Finn stood up and wobbled momentarily. "No, Rachel I will take responsibility for myself. I told my mother I would and-"
"Finn," Rachel glared at him trying to get him to shut up. They could talk later about all this but right now she just needed to get the man out of public so he wouldn't draw more attention and questions. "I'm taking you home right now, okay? You're going back to McKinley where you can rule as king and marry Quinn," at this he wanted to protest but Rachel continued speaking louder, "and you can forget you ever met me and we can both go on with our lives. Now come on!" Rachel forcefully grabbed Finn's arm and began dragging him to the nurse's station where he could be checked out of the hospital.
As Finn, Rocco and Rachel left the area Nurse Santana called after them. "By claiming him that means you have to pay for the bill too."
Rachel groaned as she realized the bill would probably be well out of her price range. "You so owe me Finn."
"I promise you I will pay you back when we get back to McKinley."
Rachel stopped walking and Finn slammed into her nearly knocking her off her feet. Once she righted herself she set him straight. She huffed as she pointed back and forth between the two of them. "We are not going back to McKinley. You are going and I am staying here. We don't belong in each other's worlds, Finn! It was an accident finding you and a mistake going back. So I'm taking you back to Rocco's and sending you back."
"I'm sorry Rachel but you can't bring him back to my house." Rocco scratched his head.
"Rocco, I promise we'll be there for five minutes then we'll both be out of your hair for the night." Rocco had to let them over.
He shook his head. "I'm having a lady friend over tonight and I have to get ready. I don't have time for you and the prince here-"
"I'm a king actually," Finn corrected.
Rocco didn't look amused. "Whatever, I don't have time to entertain you two. I've only got about an hour now to make it home, shower and get the table ready for some food that I now have to order instead of make. I don't know how exactly my house plays into this but if it means you can get rid of this guy you can bring him by tomorrow." He turned to Finn. "I'm sorry for hitting you over the head with a ballerina but to be fair you did break into my house. If you wanted to know where Rachel was all you had to do was knock on the front door and ask."
Rocco didn't want to leave Rachel alone to deal with Finn but he didn't want to leave Alice waiting either. She was the first date he'd had in 10 years and Finn seemed pretty harmless even if he thought he was a king.
"Rocco, please we'll-"
"I need to go Rachel. Bring him by when you come into work. See you tomorrow." Rocco walked away and left a distraught Rachel and a triumphant Finn alone in the ER lobby.
"Come on and let's pay your bill," she moaned as she dragged Finn to the desk.
Fifteen minutes later Rachel and a mostly recovered Finn were walking toward the subway. Rachel was amazed at how amazed Finn was at everything. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in awe as he took in the skyscrapers and cars and lights.
"Finn! Stop!" Rachel called as he nearly walked out into the middle of an intersection against the light. Finn stepped back onto the sidewalk mere seconds before a taxi took the corner sharply and drove right over where Finn had been standing.
Finn looked apologetic as he stared down at an exasperated Rachel. "Sorry, I didn't realize the sidewalk ended."
"Finn, we have got to set some ground rules if you are going to be here until tomorrow. The first rule, do as I say. You aren't king here. This is not McKinley and if you go around telling everyone you're a king, they're going to think you're nuts. Also, Manhattan is probably a lot crazier than your kingdom so you need to stick by me because I cannot have you getting lost. Second rule, never wear that in public again." She pointed at his clothing. "Men in America haven't worn knickerbockers and stockings since the 19th century. I realize it is New York and there are some pretty interesting choices of fashion wandering around these streets but for your sake you need to blend in. We can stop at K-Mart or something on the way back to my place. Do you understand?" Rachel felt like she was speaking to a child.
"I may not know everything about your world Rachel but I'm not stupid. If you want me to do those things I will. Just one question."
"What is that?"
"What is a K-Mart?"
Rachel rolled her eyes and took Finn's hand. "Just come on. The train should be here soon."
The whole train ride back downtown, Finn asked questions about Manhattan. Wonderment laced every syllable of his speech as he pointed out different things he saw on the train and in K-Mart when Rachel was helping him pick out clothes. Rachel couldn't help but find him adorable as he held up the Superman boxer-briefs Rachel had grabbed him.
"Do all undergarments have pictures on them? It seems kinda silly if no one will see them," he commented.
"I don't know. I think it's mostly just about the wearer knowing what they have on. Like I always feel more confident when I wear my gold star boy shorts as opposed to my plain white briefs," she said absent-mindedly forgetting she was talking about her underwear with the man she nearly had sex with. Why did he always mess with her head?
"I wouldn't mind seeing those someday," he replied in a cheeky manner.
"Well you're not going to. We still need to find you some jeans. Come on." She dragged him over to menswear and was instantly confused by the sizes. She didn't know how big Finn's waist was! Why couldn't they be in simple small numbers the way women's jeans were? She guessed as best she could but the first pair had been much too small and the next pair had been way too big. After two more attempts they found the right fit and Rachel had to remind herself not to drool at how nicely he filled out a pair of jeans. His butt looked fantastic in the dark wash pair she had picked out for him.
Once they had settled on some plain white t-shirts and some plaid shirts to go over them, Rachel bought his clothes then told him to change in the bathroom before they left. When he came out later he looked just like any other guy on the street.
"Good. Now let's go. I've had a very long day and I need to get some rest."
"I really like these plaid shirts. They're very comfortable. I bet Kurt would hate them though. He always puts out these really fancy clothes for me to wear but I usually just end up in an undershirt and plain pants. I like to be comfortable when I don't need to leave the castle."
For some reason this surprised Rachel. "You live in a castle? Of course you live in a castle, you're a king. Why would that surprise me?"
"Where do you live?" Finn asked as they began down the street.
"Definitely not a castle," she replied a little sullenly. "You'll see it when we get there."
They arrived at Rachel's building in Soho around 9:30 and Finn began questioning her about the place.
"Is this entire place yours?" he asked as they climbed the stairs.
Rachel shook her head. "No only this one." They stopped in front of a door labeled 2E and Rachel dug her key out.
"Oh hello Rachel," a nasally voice Rachel never enjoyed hearing called out from her left. She turned to find her gross neighbor Jacob standing in his doorway. "I thought I heard the sound of your dainty footsteps and sweet voice."
"Were you listening for me?" she asked really weirded out. She had a feeling he often did.
"Of course not," he replied with false coolness. "That would be creepy." Then he noticed Finn standing next to Rachel. "Who's he?"
Rachel could tell Jacob did not care for Finn already.
"This is my friend Finn." She finally got her door unlocked and began trying to usher Finn into the apartment.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Jacob pressed.
"It's not really any of your business Jacob but no he isn't. Finn is just a friend who needs a place to stay tonight before he goes home tomorrow so if you'll excuse me Jacob I have a guest to entertain." She pushed Finn into the room, followed after him quickly then slammed the door shut behind her.
Finn turned to face her. "I think that man likes you."
"I know. That's the problem."
"I can understand why though. You're beautiful," he admitted shyly. Rachel looked at the floor as she wrung her hands.
"Thank you," she mumbled back. "Well, this is it, chez Berry."
Finn noticed his surroundings for the first time. He was in a small room with a shabby looking bed/sofa combo, a single dresser with a black box on it, a small white box next to a sink and another smaller white box with black circles on the top and a single door opposite that.
"Where's the rest of it?" Finn asked not understanding.
"This is it," Rachel replied.
"But this building is huge. You can't have only one room in it?"
"Well I do. I know it's not up to the standards of your castle but it's home and you'll just have to deal with it until I can get you back to McKinley. She walked over to her couch and pulled a pillow and blanket out from next to it. "You'll have to sleep on the floor because I am not letting you share my bed."
"You want me to sleep on the floor?" He looked appalled at such a notion. "I don't sleep on floors."
"Then sleep standing because I'm not letting you in my bed. Remember we're not in your world. We're in mine and what I say goes. Now if you will excuse me I'm going to use the bathroom for a moment then go to bed."
With that Rachel walked through the door across from the sink and large boxes and slammed it behind her.
How did she end up here? The object of her desire was in her shitty little studio after he came through the door to find her. But that didn't matter. He still lied and he was still a king and she was a nobody and they weren't even from the same world. Nothing could happen this night. She was going to sleep on her bed and he was going to sleep on the floor. That was how it was going to be. Then in the morning she'd send him home and they'd both forget about each other.
She threw on her bunny clad tank top and shorts pajama set, washed her face then threw her hair up into a messy bun. She stared at herself in the mirror momentarily before undoing her hair and slapping on some light make-up. Just because nothing could happen between them didn't mean she had to look like a truck hit her. Once satisfied that she looked nice but not overly so, Rachel exited the bathroom to find Finn in only his Superman underwear exploring her single room. Why was he always shirtless whenever she walked into rooms with him in them?
Rachel gulped and blinked several times at Finn's nearly naked form before remembering what she had told herself. Nothing could happen…even though she really wanted something to happen. Finn had the best backside she'd ever seen on a man and when he turned around his bulge was rather prominent as well.
"What...what are you, um, doing?" Rachel asked nervously, chewing on her lip as she walked over to her bed.
"This box is cold without any ice. That's amazing! The kitchens could really use one of those." Finn looked really impressed by Rachel's refrigerator.
"You don't have refrigerators in McKinley?"
Finn shook his head. "Not that I've ever seen. Does it work on electricity? That's what it's called right?" Rachel had explained on the train about how electricity worked and it fascinated Finn.
Rachel chuckled a little. "Yes, electricity. It's what all of New York runs on...and coffee."
"This place is so strange. Everything is so much faster and louder and brighter here." Finn looked at Rachel as she crawled into her bed.
"That's New York. There're only two speeds here, fast and faster. Sometimes I miss the slower pace of Lima and small town living but New York is where everything is that I want out of life. I don't know if I'll be able to stay here forever though. The point was to come for school then Broadway. School is over and I tried to get to Broadway for a year but nothing happened." Rachel looked sadly at her lamp. She really wanted to sleep suddenly. "If you don't mind I'd really like to turn off the light and go to bed now."
Finn nodded. "Yeah, sure. I guess I'll just...get comfortable on the floor," he said a little bitterly. Here he was, a king, being forced to sleep on a floor. Oh well, if it made Rachel happy he would gladly sleep in the dirt. He sprawled out on the floor and fluffed his pillow under his head as Rachel turned out the light.
It was silent for a few minutes until thoughts that had been weighing on Finn's mind escaped his mouth.
"Hey Rachel," he said quietly, hoping she was still awake.
She grunted a little before responding. "What?"
"I just wanted to apologize for lying to you. I never wanted to hurt you or anything. Everything I told you about the king, about me, it was all true and I only pretended not to be myself because I thought if you knew I was the king you'd react just like everyone else. That you wouldn't want to know me, you'd want to know the king. It was just nice talking to someone without the king thing in the way."
Rachel silently thought about Finn's apology. He seemed sincere and very remorseful and she was just about to accept until she remembered Quinn. "What about Quinn?"
"What about her? She's a girl in my kingdom and that's it. I'm not marrying her and I told her, her mother and my mother that. I don't want her. I want…" He was afraid to say outright that he wanted Rachel even though he really, really did. "I want someone…like you."
Rachel smiled a little in the darkness. Maybe he wasn't as a big of a jerk as she initially thought.
"I'm so sorry for everything Rachel. I just wish you would give me a chance to make it up to you. I'll let you go to sleep now. Goodnight Rachel." Finn didn't say anything more as he turned away from her and closed his eyes. He did smile though when he heard Rachel whisper goodnight back.
Just an fyi, I am working on the next chapter of Dates right now but I do have a five page book review due next week for my one class so it may not be up for a while yet. I will try to get it out as quickly as possible though. :)