Hey guys! Thanks for the support of the last chapter. I appreciate it. I hope all of you enjoy Glee tomorrow. Last week I watched the Klaine/ Brittana wedding episode - the last new episode I will ever watch. It feels so weird to really be done! I've said before, "I'm done" but I enjoyed the start of Season 6, but after hearing spoilers for the final episodes I can't keep watching... Anyway, hope you like this chapter and review if I should keep going!

Chapter 22: Conflicts

The visit back home had made both Finn and Rachel think about things. Just when they were sure they wanted to and were going to keep their baby, their talk with their parents had changed everything.

The visit had been pretty awkward when they were at their parents' houses. The night before they were going to leave, Burt and Carole had Finn, Rachel and Rachel's dads over for dinner. Unlike most family dinners, almost everyone was eating in silence before Finn decided to speak. "The glee club did well at Regionals."

"That's good," Carole said. "So you'll be seeing them in Seattle for Nationals?"

"Yeah, I will," Finn said. Normally he would have said we will... but he knew Rachel wouldn't be able to fly to Seattle at that point in her pregnancy.

"Do you think any of the others will go to Seattle with you?" Burt asked Finn.

"I know last year all the alumni went, so it would be nice if we could all go again, the 2014 graduates too," Finn said.

"I won't be able to go to Seattle," Rachel finally spoke. "I won't be able to fly at that point..."

"I'm sure we could find a livestream for you to watch, to cheer on the two teams," Hiram said to Rachel.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "At least I don't think I'll go into labor when Finn's gone..."

Finn looked at Rachel in surprise. He'd never thought of that possibility. "We could find a train from New York to Seattle..."

"Finn, don't be ridiculous," Carole said. "Rachel would probably be really uncomfortable..."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Rachel said. "I have my mom in New York if anything happens, and Dani and Elliott and Taylor and Jean..."

"About the baby," Burt began, bringing up the subject that was on everyone's mind. "You two probably should decide what you're going to do soon, so you're prepared after the baby's born."

"Well, we were planning to keep the baby until..." Finn began.

"Finn, I have no doubt that ten years down the road, you and Rachel are going to be amazing parents," Carole said. "One day, when you have solid jobs and solid incomes and have enough life experiences, it would be great for you two to have a baby. But right now isn't the right time."

"Isn't that what you guys told us the other day?" Finn asked.

"I know you two love your baby," Hiram said. "But you need to think about what's best for everyone involved, not just what you two want."

"Easy for you guys to say," Rachel snapped. "You weren't exactly thinking of everyone involved when I was born."

Finn hadn't heard Rachel use that tone with her dads before. "What do you mean by that?" Hiram asked.

"Like you don't know," Rachel snapped. "You made my mom sign that contract that wouldn't let her contact me until I was eighteen, even though I really wanted a mom."

Finn had never heard Rachel talk to her dads with that tone. "Hold your tongue, young lady!" LeRoy snapped. "Are you saying all the things we did for you, and all we sacrificed for you wasn't enough?"

"Of course not," Rachel said. "There were just things I needed a mom for."

"Just like there were things I needed a dad for," Finn said, not thinking.

"What has gotten into you two?" Burt asked. "Don't talk this way to your parents and your in laws."

"Well, please put yourselves in our shoes," Rachel said. "Imagine that you're the ones who made a new life. Finn and I love this baby so, so much."

"Yeah," Finn added. "We're going to do everything we can and more for him or her."

"The tones of your voices just minutes ago show a bit of immaturity," Hiram said. "I'm not sure if you two are mature enough for this."

"You don't think we're mature?" Finn asked. He'd always considered himself and Rachel much more mature than most people their age.

"Yelling at your parents and saying we weren't good enough?" LeRoy asked. "That's not very mature."

"The mature thing to do would be to put your child's needs above your own," Carole said. "And I don't think you two are doing that right now."

"We know you love your child," Burt said. "And you can give the adoptive parents a letter with your names and contact information if they and the child would like to meet you."

"How's the child going to feel if by then we have children who we kept?" Finn asked, trying to leave himself and Rachel out of it. He knew that it would hurt both him and Rachel to see the child who'd been their world these past few months considering other people their parents.

"They'll probably understand," Hiram said. "You're not ready now, but you'll be ready in the future, and like we've said, there's no doubt in our minds that you two will be the best parents possible when you are financially stable enough and mature enough to have a child."

"There's more than one way for you two to be good parents," Burt said. "Deep down, I'm sure you two want better for your child than what you can do as college students."

"You two are always going to be the people who gave this child life and took care of them for nine months," Carole said.

"We'll always be their mother and father, but we might not get to be their mom and dad," Rachel said softly. Finn took Rachel's hand. He remembered that Rachel had been told "I'm your mother, not your mom" by Shelby shortly after they first met. He remembered the conversation he had with his mom about his birth father, in which his mom said to him, "Christopher Hudson is your father, but Burt Hummel is your dad."

Giving birth didn't necessarily make you a parent. And for this child, Finn and Rachel might not end up being parents.

At least their parents didn't seem to want them to be this child's parents.

x

The next day, the couple returned to New York. They'd said goodbye to their parents before taking a train to the airport in Toledo, and it had still been an awkward morning. As Finn and Rachel boarded the plane, Rachel turned to Finn. "In the history of arguments we've had with our parents, this week overall might have been one of the worst."

"Yeah," Finn said. "I do feel bad for the way we talked to them last night."

"Out of our parents, we both have a parent who isn't biologically related to us," Rachel said. "And I love both my dads equally..."

"I know," Finn agreed. "Burt may not have given birth to me, but I do consider him my dad."

"I'm sure if we gave our child up, we'd find someone who could give him or her a good home," Rachel said. She took a breath. "That's not what I'm worried about." Maybe this was an instance of what their parents had said about them being selfish. She was worried about herself and about Finn. "I love him or her so much... and if we give our child up, I'm going to spend my entire life missing him or her."

"Yeah," Finn said, hugging Rachel. "Me too. I guess this is what our parents meant when they talked about us putting ourselves first."

"I guess we could talk to one of those adoption agencies our parents found," Rachel said. "Everyone else is saying we should keep it, my mom, our siblings, our friends..."

"I know," Finn said. "I really want to keep it."

Rachel sighed. "I do too. I really do. But I have a feeling our parents might have had some point." She wanted the baby to spend its life with her and Finn, but she knew that they didn't make much money and that between school and work, their lives were pretty crazy.

x

A few days after arriving back in New York, Finn and Rachel went to meet with a local adoption agency. Neither of them were sure if they really wanted to be doing this, but this was worth looking into. Rachel got out her phone and sent a text to her dads, "Finn and I are meeting with an adoption agency."

Hiram texted back soon after. "I'm glad you're doing that. Just know you're doing a good thing for your child."

Rachel showed the text to Finn. "I didn't say we were giving up the child. I just said that we were meeting with the agency."

"Yeah," Finn said. "I guess our parents mean well, but it kind of hurts that they don't trust us with this."

"I know," Rachel said.

Before she had a chance to say anything else, a staff member came up to her and Finn. "You're the Hudsons?"

"Yeah, that's us," Finn said.

"We're ready for you," the staff member said, leading them back to a meeting room. She handed them a stack of papers. "So, tell me a bit about yourselves."

"I'm Finn," Finn said. "This is Rachel. I go to Columbia, she goes to NYADA. We both work at a diner, and I also coach a glee club."

"Sounds like you two have a pretty good life," the staff member said.

"Yeah, we do," Rachel said. Did this mean she thought that they could give their child a good life?

"You mentioned when you made your appointment that you're married," the staff member said. "How long has it been? And how'd you meet?"

"We met in high school," Rachel said. "We got married last summer."

"Well, you two have a very nice life," the staff member said. "I think you're doing the right thing by giving up your child for adoption. That way you can still enjoy your twenties and finish up school and get solid jobs, and this child can have a good home."

Neither Finn nor Rachel wanted to say that they weren't 100% sure they were going to give their child up for adoption. It was just something they were considering. They simply nodded, letting the staff member know they were listening.

"I hope you know that we would have no problem finding a home for your child," the worker continued. "All our families are screened and investigated before we put them on a waitlist. And your child wouldn't need to spend much time on a waitlist. We have a high demand for white newborn babies."

So if they signed up, their baby would most likely be gone as soon as it was born. "Would we get any input in where our baby went?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, if you wanted," the staff member said. "Some young parents prefer not to know where their child went because it's too painful."

"Well, would there be any possibility we'd be part of the child's life?" Rachel asked. "My birth mother is part of my life..."

"That would need to be something you'd discuss with the parents," the staff member said. "We'll need you to fill out the paperwork..."

"Actually, we just wanted to talk today," Finn interrupted. "Is it okay if we fill out paperwork another time?"

"Yeah, of course," the staff member said. "I hope you two know you're doing the right thing for yourselves and your child."

They hadn't made any decisions yet. Finn and Rachel said goodbye to the worker before leaving with the papers. When they were outside, Rachel turned to Finn. "Our baby..."

Finn pulled Rachel in for a hug. "I know... I know..." Both of them were close to tears. They loved their child so much - but maybe they wanted their child more than their child needed them.

"I love him or her so much," Rachel said.

"I do too," Finn said. "I really want this baby."

The couple hailed a taxi to go home, both feeling too emotionally drained to deal with the bus. Rachel had a feeling that Burt and Carole had said something to Kurt, and he'd said something to Blaine and their other friends, since the subject of the baby had been avoided lately. Had their friends begun to think they should give the baby up, too?

The taxi driver turned around. "Where to?"

Before Finn or Rachel could say anything, they heard and felt something crash into the back of the taxi.

Chapter 23 preview: The aftermath of Finchel's car accident, which definitely means things for them and their parents.

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