Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I wanted to post this chapter today since this is the Valentine's Day chapter and I always have loved Finchel on Valentine's Day :) I know last night's episode was a tough one - I mean, not mentioning Finn and Finchel when talking about memories? Not cool! As for the Samchel thing - well, if she has to date someone, better Sam than Puck, Jesse, Brody or a Broadway guy, though I'd rather she not date anyone. Enough rambling though. Enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 19: Valentine's Day
Rachel woke up early, tiptoeing out of her bedroom so she wouldn't wake Finn. She went into the kitchen and saw that Kurt was there already. "Making breakfast for your husband?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Kurt said. "I'm guessing you are, too?"
"I am," Rachel said proudly. She got out some ingredients to make Finn some pancakes. "So, our first Valentine's Day married!" Rachel said.
"I know," Kurt said. "Blaine has a surprise planned for this evening, so I wanted to do something special for him this morning."
"I wonder what he has planned?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know," Kurt said. "I'm sure it's something good." He looked at Rachel. "How are you feeling lately about everything that happened with Funny Girl?"
Rachel sighed. "I'm upset, embarrassed. Glad word about it hasn't gotten to NYADA yet."
"I don't think it's too late to do anything," Kurt said.
"Kurt, I got fired by the producer," Rachel said. "What else is there to do?"
"There has to be something," Kurt said. "You've wanted this part since you were little, and if you're not going to fight to get it, then you must not have really wanted it."
"Of course I wanted it," Rachel said. "But I can't just whine my way to getting things I want." She put some pancakes on the plate for Finn, poured him a glass of hot chocolate and went to her and Finn's bedroom with the breakfast on the tray. She nudged her husband, who was still asleep. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby."
Finn opened his eyes and looked at Rachel.
"Babe! You didn't have to do this."
"Of course I did," Rachel said as she gave Finn a kiss. "Enjoy."
"Wow, thank you baby," Finn said as he began to eat the pancakes. "I guess this is fair, since we do have dinner reservations for tonight."
"We do?" Rachel asked.
Finn giggled. "Oops. It was going to be a surprise."
"Well, I look forward to it," Rachel said. She reached into her desk and handed Finn a box of chocolates. "These are for you, too."
"Thanks," Finn said. "Breakfast is delicious."
"Well, I'm certainly glad," Rachel said. She started to reach for a bite of one of the pancakes when she felt a few kicks in her stomach. She gasped. The baby was kicking.
"What is it?" Finn asked.
Rachel smiled and put Finn's hand on her chest. "Come on. Do it again," she said before she felt more kicks. "Can you believe it?" she asked Finn.
"Wow..." Finn gasped. "He or she's kicking?"
"Yeah," Rachel said with a smile. "Saying hi to mommy and daddy."
"I wonder if it's a boy or a girl," Finn said.
"Me too," Rachel said. "For some reason I've got a feeling lately that it's a boy, but who knows?"
"Really?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "I do like the idea of a boy. A mini Finn. You could teach him how to play the drums and take him to football games and play video games with him..." She stopped herself. Yes, she loved the idea of seeing Finn doing all those things with a baby. But they still had no idea if they could provide for this baby.
"A boy would be pretty awesome," Finn said. "But wouldn't you like a girl to go to musicals with and for Kurt to take shopping?"
"Both a boy and a girl would be awesome," Rachel said. "I hope one day we end up with boys and girls."
"Baby Finchel would probably like some breakfast too," Finn said, handing Rachel a piece of one of his pancakes.
Rachel ate the piece of the pancake. "I can tell that whichever it is, it has your appetite."
"Oh gosh," Finn laughed as they heard a knock on their bedroom door.
Rachel went to open the door and saw Santana. "Hey you, something came for you," Santana said, handing Rachel a big basket of flowers.
Rachel looked at the basket and then at Finn, who was smiling one of his signature half smiles. "Well, thank you, Finn."
"I thought you'd like them," Finn said.
"I love them," Rachel said.
"Well, it is our first Valentine's Day as a married couple," Finn said.
Rachel turned to Santana. "Have any plans with Dani tonight?"
"Yeah, we are going out to dinner," Santana said.
"That'll be fun," Finn said.
Kurt and Blaine came out of their bedroom and into Finn and Rachel's. "How was breakfast in bed, Finn?" Blaine asked.
"It was great," Finn said. "How was yours?"
"I made it, how do you think it was?" Kurt asked.
"I doubt it was as good as mine," Finn said. Kurt and Blaine both started laughing as Rachel smiled at her husband.
x
Finn had an elaborate evening planned for Rachel. It was their first Valentine's Day as a married couple, and he wanted it to be as perfect as possible. They'd both worked the lunch shift at the diner, so when they finished their shift, they changed into nice clothes to go on their date. "So, ready for dinner?" Finn asked as he took Rachel's hand.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Rachel said. "So are we taking the bus?"
"I actually arranged for a different method of transportation," Finn said with a smile. This was something he and Rachel had never done before, and he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw it.
"Okay," Rachel said as Finn led her outside. When they got outside the diner, it was there - a horse drawn carriage. Rachel smiled wide. "Finn, is this for us?"
"Sure is, baby," Finn said. "Surprised?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Finn..."
Finn got in the carriage and held out his hand for Rachel. Rachel smiled and climbed up with Finn. "Are we going to Sardi's again?" Rachel asked.
"Of course we are," Finn said. "That is our restaurant, after all."
"Yeah it is," Rachel said. Finn pulled the blanket in the carriage over himself and Rachel and leaned his head on her shoulder. "Having a nice Valentine's Day so far?"
"I am," Rachel said. "This is a nice surprise."
"The best surprise was breakfast in bed from you this morning," Finn told Rachel. "And feeling our baby kick."
"Yeah, let's see if he or she will kick again," Rachel said, moving Finn's hand on to her stomach. "Come on. Say hi to Daddy." Finn didn't feel movement at first, but then he felt a few small kicks. "I think Baby Finchel's a little left out, wishing he or she could be part of our celebrations."
Finn kissed Rachel's baby bump. "Maybe next year."
Rachel smiled. "Yeah, I hope next year."
Finn hoped so too. But would the baby be here with them next year, or with another family? They were going around in circles, trying to figure out what to do. And yet they seemed to be making no progress...
The carriage pulled up in front of Sardi's. "Well, we're here," Rachel said.
"Yeah, we're here," Finn said. He got out of the carriage and helped Rachel down, leading her inside. To Finn and Rachel's surprise, they saw another couple they knew in the waiting area - Kurt and Blaine.
"Hey!" Blaine said to Finn. "After hearing all those times you told me about what a great place this is, I had to bring Kurt here."
"Maybe you'll run into Patti LuPone," Rachel said to Kurt. "That did happen to Finn and me the first time we came here."
"I can hope," Kurt said. "Well, we were lucky enough to get the whole day off of the diner, unlike you two."
Finn rolled his eyes. "Don't make us jealous. So, what did you do all day?"
"What do YOU think?" Blaine asked. "What would you and Rachel do all day if you both had off on Valentine's Day?"
Okay, Finn didn't need that. "All right, I know."
"You guys can make it up tonight," Kurt said. "Just please try to be quiet, since we work the breakfast shift tomorrow."
"We can try," Rachel sighed.
"Yeah, you'll try," Kurt said.
The hostess came up to Kurt and Blaine. "Mr. and Mr. Hummel-Anderson, your table is ready."
"Have a good dinner!" Rachel called as Kurt and Blaine left.
Shortly after Kurt and Blaine left, another familiar couple came in. "Look who's here!" Mercedes said as she came in with Sam.
"You couldn't resist hearing about Sardi's from me either?" Finn asked Sam.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't," Sam said. "So, Blaine said you got treated to breakfast in bed from Rachel?"
Finn put his arm around Rachel. "I sure did."
Sam gave Mercedes a look. "Blaine and Finn both got it. Where was mine?"
"Hey, we had to work the breakfast shift!" Mercedes pointed out.
"You guys were lucky to have your apartment to yourselves, since Tina went to Chicago to see Mike and Artie went to Lima to see Kitty!" Rachel said.
"Oh, we were," Mercedes said. "And we went to Central Park after our shift. I'm telling you, New York for Valentine's Day is much more romantic than LA."
"This is the city of love," Finn said.
"I remember when you said that, I said I thought it was Paris, but now I know you're right," Sam said.
The hostess came up to Finn and Rachel. "Your table is ready, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson."
"Have a good dinner!" Rachel told Sam and Mercedes as she and Finn went to their table.
x
Finn knew that Rachel was upset about getting fired from Funny Girl, and if she wasn't going to fight to get the part back, he was going to fight for her. During the past few days, especially on Valentine's Day, she'd been acting like everything was fine, but Finn knew Rachel. Since he doubted he would get anywhere by trying to talk to her about it, he turned to Blaine at the diner. Rachel was off tonight, so he didn't have to worry about her overhearing them. "I need Jean Baptiste's number," Finn told Blaine.
Blaine looked confused. "What?"
"I'm going to have to talk to someone with connections to Funny Girl," Finn said. "Rachel's still acting like she's not upset, but I know she is. She's wanted this part forever, and I am not letting that fat asshole producer take it away from her."
"You're right," Blaine said. He got out his phone and wrote down a number for Finn. "Here you go."
"Thanks," Finn said to Blaine. "I just don't know what to do... she acts like she doesn't care, but I know she does."
"So what are you going to do?" Blaine asked.
Finn was really just planning as he went along. "I'm going to call someone with connections to the show and see what they can do. If he can get me to go in there and talk to the director."
At the end of his shift, Finn took the number that Blaine had given him and dialed it, hoping Jean would pick up the phone. After a few rings, the phone was picked up. "Hello?"
"Hi," Finn said. "Is this Jean Baptiste? This is Finn Hudson, Rachel's husband..."
"Oh, hi," Jean said. "What happened to Rachel? She just quit like overnight. I've tried texting her to ask what happened, so has Taylor, but neither of us have heard back from her."
Quit? No, Rachel hadn't quit. "Who told you she quit?" Finn asked.
"Rupert told us she quit," Jean said. "He didn't tell us anything else."
Finn was liking the Funny Girl staff even less. "Rachel didn't quit. She got fired."
"What?" Jean asked.
"Yeah," Finn snapped. "That producer didn't want a pregnant woman playing Fanny."
"So the rumors are true?" Jean asked.
"Yes, they are," Finn said. "But please, don't hold it against Rachel. She and I weren't trying to get pregnant... Look, I need your help. Rachel's pretending not to be upset but I know she is. She needs that part back."
"None of us thought she would quit," Jean said. "That's why we were so surprised."
"Yeah," Finn said. "So I was wondering: do you think that you could get me into the theatre to talk to the director?"
"I could try," Jean said. "Do you think you could meet up with me tomorrow afternoon at four?"
Four. Crap. That was when glee club rehearsed. And Regionals were less than a month away... Maybe he could get Rachel to take over the glee club tomorrow. After all, that would keep her from finding out about what he was doing. "Yeah, that sounds good," Finn said.
x
Finn had told Rachel that he wanted her to sub for him in glee club today since he had to meet with his academic advisor. To be honest, Rachel was fine with that. Ever since she got fired from Funny Girl, she had a lot more idle time on her hands. It was as if she didn't realize how much time she spent in rehearsals, at school, at the diner...
Rachel tried not to think about Funny Girl. After all, maybe this was for the better. She didn't need too much more stress with the baby on the way, and at some point, she and Finn were going to need to decide what to do.
After the kids came in, Rachel went to the front of the room. "Okay, guys. Finn has some school stuff going on, so I'm going to be subbing today."
"Subbing?" a voice said. Rachel turned and saw a woman she didn't recognize coming in. "Why would Finn hire a sub so close to Regionals?"
Rachel knew who this was. She didn't even need to ask. "Well, hello Ms. Goulde. I've heard about you from my husband. For one thing, it's just for today because my husband has a meeting at school he can't get out of. And I know that you would regularly skip and be late to rehearsals."
Collette glared at Rachel. "Well, even if that was true, this just confirms that a college boy shouldn't be leading this club."
Rachel decided to ignore this woman. She turned to the club. "Okay guys, I want to see your numbers for Regionals. Finn will give you guys the new arrangements tomorrow, but for now, just show them to me as they are."
x
"Are you ready to go?" Jean asked Finn. Finn had shown up on the NYADA campus to go to the theatre and confront Rupert. Rachel had already went to the high school to work with the glee club, so Finn waited until then to go to NYADA.
"Yeah, let's go," Finn said.
"Finn! What are you doing here?" Finn turned and saw Kurt and Santana.
"I should ask what are YOU doing here?" Finn asked Santana, hoping to get the attention off himself.
"Kurt wanted me to come work with him on his dance midterm," Santana said. "Now what are you up to here, Finnocence?"
"You two can't tell Rachel, but I'm going to talk to the Funny Girl director," Finn said.
"You are?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Finn said. "Rachel deserves this part and I'm not letting them get away with giving her the boot."
"I'm coming too," Santana said. "I'm going to give them a taste of Lima Heights."
"We want to get Rachel the part back, right?" Finn asked. "I don't know if Lima Heights will help with that..."
"The more backup, the better, right?" Kurt asked. "I guess," Finn said. "Okay, let's go."
Finn, Kurt and Santana followed Jean out of NYADA and onto the subway. Finn wondered as they boarded the subway if this was a good idea. Would Rachel be mad at him if she found out what he was doing? What would she think? But he knew that even though Rachel wasn't acting upset now, she'd probably be upset later. She needed that part.
The group arrived at the theatre, and Jean scanned his key card before turning to the group. "So, Rupert's office is upstairs?"
Then Finn heard another voice. "Finn, why did Rachel quit?" He turned and saw Taylor. "I've tried texting her," Taylor continued. "But she won't answer my texts."
"She didn't quit, she got fired," Kurt snapped.
"What?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah," Santana said. "Your stupid director doesn't want Rachel playing Fanny because she's pregnant. And yes, she really is pregnant."
"What are these three doing here?" a voice said. Finn saw Sidney coming over.
"Oh, it's you," Santana sneered. "Did you really think you could get away with doing that and not expect anyone to do anything about it?"
"Santana, don't," Finn said. He knew being confrontational wasn't going to get them anywhere.
"Why did you tell us Rachel quit when you really fired her?" Jean asked.
"Because she did quit," Sidney said.
"No, you fired her," Kurt said. "She was devastated."
"Well, it's for the better that she quit," Sidney said. "Fanny Brice doesn't get pregnant."
"She didn't quit," Finn said, tired of this. "You fired her. And you're wondering why Kurt and Santana and I are here? Well, this is why."
"Rachel's a really important part of the cast," Taylor said. "Her shows have been well received. So why fire her?"
"I thought you'd be happy she quit," Sidney said. "That way, you can have all the shows."
"She didn't quit!" Santana said. "And you're being really unprofessional by saying that she did."
"You three should not be here," Sidney said to Finn, Kurt and Santana.
"I want to talk to the director," Finn demanded.
"We can take you to his office," Jean offered.
"So you're helping them?" Sidney asked. "You know that visitors have to be pre-approved."
Rupert came in. "What's going on in here?"
"I was looking for you," Finn said. "Are you aware of the fact that Rachel got fired?"
"What do you mean?" Rupert asked. "Sidney told me that she quit and just left."
Finn shook his head. "She got fired because of her pregnancy." He looked at Sidney. "Why are you lying about this?"
"You know there's probably a law against firing women because of their pregnancies," Kurt said. "And our dad's in congress, so it wouldn't be too much trouble to find out if there is."
"I have to be honest, I don't know what's going on here," Rupert said. He turned to Sidney. "You just came and told me Rachel quit and that she just left."
"That's true," Sidney said.
"No, it's not," Kurt said. "She wouldn't be so devastated if she quit by choice. She got fired."
"Even if she did get fired, which she didn't, it's for the better that she quit," Sidney said. "Fanny Brice didn't get pregnant."
"She could just go on leave," Santana snapped.
"What is the angle you three have here?" Rupert asked Finn, Kurt and Santana.
"We want Rachel to get her part back," Finn said.
"She quit," Sidney said. "She can't just come back."
"Why can't you admit that you fired her?" Santana asked.
"Because I didn't," Sidney said.
"You three need to stop causing trouble," Rupert said. "This is a business, and we don't have time for three people with no experience in Broadway telling us how to run it."
"We're not telling you how to run it," Kurt said. "We're just saying that what you did to Rachel wasn't right."
"Rachel works really hard, and she's so talented," Finn said. "Her shows have been well received and you just get rid of her?"
"You three need to leave," Sidney said.
"Well, we wouldn't be here in the first place if you hadn't fired Rachel," Santana snapped.
"Get out of here before we call the police," Sidney snapped.
"Just know we're not giving up," Finn said as he left with Kurt and Santana.
"How can they do that?" Kurt asked when they left. "Sidney just told everyone Rachel quit?"
"We'll just need to find another way to get Rachel her part back," Finn said.
x
Finn arrived home from the theatre, feeling bad that he hadn't managed to get Rachel the part back. He had to find another way to get Rachel the part back, but how? Finn went into their bedroom to see Rachel skyping with Kylie. "How's the prep for Regionals going?" Rachel asked.
"It's going well," Kylie said. "I can't believe that I'm doing the duet."
"You're going to be great," Rachel said. "Are any of the new kids featured in the group numbers?"
"Yeah, Roderick, Spencer, Jane, Mason, Madison and Puck's sister all have lines in group numbers," Kylie said. "What about Finn's glee club? Do you think they'll do well at Regionals?"
"I think so," Rachel said. "Finn had to do some stuff for school today, so I worked with his glee club, and their setlist sounded really good."
Finn felt knots in his stomach. What would Rachel think if she found out what he was really doing today?
"Speaking of Finn," Kylie said.
Rachel turned around. "Hi Finn!"
"Hey Rach," Finn said, giving his wife a hug. He turned to Kylie on the computer screen. "So April and Holly seem to be getting things in line?"
"They are getting better," Kylie admitted. "I do miss Mr. Schue though. So, Rachel said the woman who wants your job was being crazy today?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "She reminds me of Sue Sylvester. And I was telling Kylie, that Ariana girl just can't sing."
"I know, right?" Finn said. "That's why I only gave her one line in one group number."
"Good for you," Rachel laughed. "You're a great director, Finn."
Finn smiled. "Thanks." He wished he could be great at persuading the Funny Girl crew to give Rachel the part back.
Chapter 20 preview: Rachel finds out Finn, Kurt and Santana went to talk to the Funny Girl staff. Finn takes his glee club to Regionals.
10 reviews unlock Chapter 20!
