DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-One: Home Sweet Home
Their flight back to Ohio was the next night; Finn had to spend one more torturous evening at Jesse's apartment and then he and Rachel would finally be heading home for good. She had arranged a phone call to the States earlier that evening, serving as a translator between her fathers and Burt to discuss her living arrangements for the rest of the year. Kurt had apparently spent the entire break refurnishing the basement exclusively for Rachel, completely catering to her personal tastes and keeping her as far away from Finn's bedroom as possible. There was even a deadbolt on her door, for extra protection from horny boyfriends (Kurt's words, not hers). Her fathers had agreed to the deal and Rachel was now officially allowed to live with the Hudson-Hummel family again.
Now all that Finn had to do was survive the final night with Monsieur Jackass.
They both sat uncomfortably on the small couch in his living room; there wasn't a lot of space in Jesse's apartment, unlike Rachel's, and they were forced to occupy the same cramped couch while Finn tried to understand a French-dubbed episode of CSI. His face was clenched tightly in confusion when heard Jesse laugh at him from across the couch. Their eyes met in a deep glare.
"You look like you try to crap," he laughed, shaking his head.
"Yeah, well, they're kind of talking pretty fast. Even if I did know French I still wouldn't be able to understand it."
"C'est pas mal," he shrugged. "Anglais, c'est difficile aussi," Jesse sighed at Finn's confusion. "English 'eez difficult too."
"Yeah, Rachel makes it look easy," he said, before he realized how weird it would be to actually talk to Jesse about his ex. Did he still have feelings for her, despite Rachel's adamant assurance that their little fling meant nothing? "Her English is almost perfect."
"She 'eez très intelligente." He said pleasantly enough, but his voice had a sharp edge to it. Jesse shot him an icy glare before speaking again. "Be good to 'er."
"I will," Finn nodded, holding his ground against the French baker. "I love her. I'm going to take care of her."
After a tense moment the Frenchman finally nodded, looking Finn up and down and appraising him like he had never truly seen him before. Without another word Jesse turned back to the TV and Finn no longer felt like Jesse wanted to murder him in his sleep.
He even translated the TV show for Finn before they both turned in for bed.
Her parents had driven them to the airport the next day in their tiny Renault, with Finn fidgeting in the backseat over the severe lack of leg room. With the prospect of more cramped seats in his future he definitely wasn't looking forward to the uncomfortable return trip.
At least Rachel would be at his side this time instead of some balding, drooling old man who usurped his personal space. She was hugging her fathers tearfully, embracing them tightly as she said her goodbyes to them. She was going to be in the States indefinitely from this point on; they had to complete the rest of the school year and Finn was planning on taking her on the cross-country trip she had once mentioned during their summer vacation. He was going to show her as much of the country as possible before they moved to New York together, and even if they didn't get to see all 50 states he was going to do his best to acclimate her into her new home.
As for right now, standing outside of Charles de Gaulle airport, Finn was going to give her all the time she needed. She wasn't coming back to France for a long, long time.
"Au revoir, mes papas," she said, kissing them on the cheeks and hugging them once more. They both gave Finn firm handshakes, followed by kisses of their own. French men were really quite affectionate. He was lucky that Jesse didn't come along for the ride.
"Au revoir, Feen," they said to him, and no other words needed to be exchanged between the men. Finn knew that from now on, his responsibility was to keep Rachel happy and focused and safe while she was in the States, and he didn't plan on breaking that promise anytime soon.
"Thank you for everything." Finn loaded up the cart with their luggage and wheeled it inside the airport while Rachel shuffled in after him. When they were waiting on line to check in he grabbed her hand, squeezing it softly as he noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, what's the matter?" He asked with worry in his tone. She shook her head, avoiding eye contact.
"Nothing," she whispered, looking around the airport. "France is my home," she sniffled. "I love 'ze States, but I will miss Paris."
He nudged her playfully on the side, eliciting a small smile from her. "Well, you'll be back one day," he said. "It might be a while, but Paris will still be here, with your dads and Jesse and the bakery. You know this is the right thing. This is everything you've always wanted."
Her gaze finally drifted up towards his face, a cherubic smile gracing her features as their eyes locked. "Non, mon amour, this is everything I've always wanted and more."
The plane ride was dreadfully long, but being able to look over at a resting Rachel with a light blue sleeping mask over her eyes was worth the discomfort. This time he'd actually been able to sleep on the plane for a little while, so while it was uncomfortable it was also much shorter than he'd expected. Kurt was supposed to be picking them up from the airport, and Rachel started to run towards the exit when she spotted the familiar black SUV parked outside of the terminal. They embraced tearfully while Finn watched from the side, pushing their luggage along like the awesome boyfriend he was. After they were all loaded into the car and headed back to Lima, Finn noticed that they weren't driving towards the house, but the school instead.
"Dude, where are we going?"
"Well, you're not the only person who missed Rachel," he said with mischief in his eyes. "Besides, Carole and Burt won't be home until dinner anyway. We can afford to make a pit stop for a little while." When they arrived at the school Rachel was thrilled to see all of her glee club friends waiting for her patiently in the choir room. Screams of joy filled the air as the other members rushed up to pull Rachel in for an epic group hug.
"We missed you!"
"We're so glad you're back!" Rachel was thrilled that the rest of the group didn't forget about her like she had once feared and gave every single member two kisses on each cheek.
Finn looked over towards the one other person in the group who wasn't involved in the massive hug. Santana looked at the display of affection in front of her with distaste, but Finn could tell from the grateful look in her eyes that she was relieved Rachel was back. When the others pulled away from Rachel, Santana darted forward, and the French girl froze as the Latina sauntered up to her with a wry smirk on her face. When the two girls were finally facing one another the smirk melted into something soft, something that looked very much like a smile.
"Well, at least I know that I don't have to carry the weight of this entire team on my shoulders by myself anymore." She said with ample amounts of snark that the entire club could see right through. Instead of being intimidated, Rachel opened her arms and pulled Santana in for a hug, shocking the taller girl whose eyes looked like they were about to fall out of her face.
"I missed you too, Santana," Rachel said sweetly, and Santana finally gave up all pretenses of resentment and hugged the smaller girl back, her arms tightening around her as a mischievous smile pulled up her full lips.
"Well, Frenchie, you smell nice," she said seductively, sniffing her hair. "If you ever get tired of Ball Sweat over here I'm sure Britt wouldn't mind sharing me for a night." Rachel pulled away from the hug with a deep blush on her cheeks while the rest of the team around her laughed at the embarrassed expression on her face. Finn even chuckled too, before pulling Rachel back to his side and sending a sneer directly towards Santana.
"Well guys," Mr. Schuester said, clapping his hands and joining the circle of kids. "Now that our star is back, we need to catch her up on everything she's missed. Let's take it from the top!"
Life was finally normal again for the Hummel-Hudson family; well, as normal as it was while Rachel was living with them. She had her new room in the basement that had a strict No Boys Allowed policy, but Finn and Rachel still were able to find time to be alone together and intimate, always outside of the house. Finn was spending a ton of money on rented hotel rooms for him and Rachel, but she was paying him back in ways that money couldn't measure.
Upon her return the glee club became their newest priority, and Rachel attacked the task with dedication and heavy ambition. She pushed the club to it's furthest potential and almost got into a screaming match with Santana on multiple occasions, but by the beginning of May the team was ready to compete at Nationals. Having Rachel on the team again was the boost they needed in order to prepare themselves for the competition.
Finn joined the team again, of course, since he and Rachel were practically attached at the hip whenever they had a free moment to be together. His entire attitude about school and life in general had changed drastically now that Rachel was home, inspiring him everyday to be better and to aim higher than he ever thought possible. He fully intended to keep his promise to both her and her fathers and never let his insecurities get in the way of taking care of her and loving her with all of his heart. In fact, the more she inspired him, the less insecure he became, which helped him with his preparations for Nationals.
Glee club wasn't the only thing keeping them busy. Finn and Rachel tried to look for her birth mother so she could try and apply for citizenship, and the only woman whose name matched her birth records lived in New York as a music teacher. She was grateful that her fathers were willing to help her, and they provided Rachel with the woman's name and any other information that they could find. Rachel had contacted her through email and was poised to meet her birth mother, Shelby Corcoran, during the weekend of Nationals. They weren't trying to reconnect or make up for lost time; neither of them were ready for that, but Shelby was willing to help Rachel get her citizenship so she wouldn't have to leave the States once she finished college. Shelby claimed that it was the least that she could do for her daughter.
So once again, Finn found himself cramped up into a little ball on a plane, but this time he didn't have to suffer for too long as the glee club made their way to Nationals in New York. He was nervous as the skyline came into view, giving him flashbacks of the humiliating performance that had occurred last year at his expense and reminding him of how much he didn't want to screw this competition up. This was his last chance to really win and prove to his school that the glee club was more than a singing group of losers. With Rachel as their lead, they were going to return to Lima as the kings and queens of New York.
He had to do this. If not for himself, then for Rachel.
She burst into tears when she stepped off of the plane and saw the ubiquitous skyline in the distance, welcoming them to New York. She pressed her hands against the glass windows and stared out at the foreign world in front of her with awe. Sure, she had lived in a major city her entire life, but Manhattan wasn't like other cities. There was a certain attitude in New York that didn't exist in other places, and a culture that was completely different from everything that they were used to.
Rachel fell in love with it immediately. The second she stepped out of the subway and onto the street her eyes just lit up with a kind of infectious happiness that spread throughout the entire club. Even the members who had been there the year before were thrilled to be in New York again, and the first night was spent touring the city and showing Rachel what New York had to offer. This time he was the tour guide, but what he told her paled in comparison to her extensive knowledge of Paris. She loved every second of it despite his shortcomings, and the two tourists spent their first evening in New York falling in love all over again.
Finn was practically shaking backstage, his nerves getting the best of him as they waited anxiously to perform. Every time he tried to calm down and maintain his focus he got flashbacks of last year's debacle and the humiliating performance that knocked New Directions out of the top ten. He'd been practicing his dancing non-stop in order to make sure that he didn't make an ass out of himself, but when he was on stage in front of a crowd of thousands of people, anything could happen despite their intense preparations. If he ruined their chance for glory again he would never forgive himself, and the club would never forgive him either.
"Feen?" He looked down at his side to see Rachel staring up at him, worry creasing her brow as he continued to fidget in place. He kept trying to fix his tie, which was off center no matter how many times he tried to re-tie it and get it to lay flat and centered. He let go of it with a groan, frustrated and overwhelmed as the other glee club danced on stage. They were from Nebraska, or some other state in the middle of nowhere, but they were pretty good. "What is wrong, mon amour?" Besides the occasional accent and random French that slipped into her vocabulary, Rachel's English had improved drastically once she was re-immersed in the country. She still took her studies in English very seriously and spent many hours a week increasing her vocabulary and grammar skills.
"I'm nervous," he admitted, dipping his head down in shame. "Last time we were here I messed everything up and I don't want that to happen again. I want to win so badly."
"Me too," she said, nodding her head. "And that it why we will be perfect, because we want this more than anyone else." She placed a hand on his arm and the simple gesture started to soothe the stress right out of his body.
"But what if I mess up?"
"Feen!" She scolded, her eyes blazing with ambition. "We are finally singing a duet together! We are going to be in 'ze spotlight!" When she got excited her accent became more and more pronounced. "We have been practicing for weeks. You have been amazing in rehearsals and I know that you will be amazing on stage with me tonight."
"I hope so," Rachel had campaigned rigorously for them to finally sing a proper duet together and he didn't want to screw this up for her. Even though he knew all the steps to their routine by heart. there was still a chance for him to face-plant in the middle of the stage and ruin their chance to be the champions.
"If you get scared, or worried, just look at me," she said sweetly, taking him by the hand as the sound of applause filled the auditorium. "And everything will be okay." It was time for them to get into their positions as he bent over and placed a grateful kiss on her willing lips. He would have made it last longer, but Mr. Schue was practically pushing them towards center stage as their time ran out.
"Break a leg," he whispered to her as the curtains began to rise.
"Je t'aime aussi," she said sweetly, and the band began to play.
Their final night in New York was warm as the couple walked through midtown together, their arms looped around one another as they tried not to plow into over-zealous New Yorkers and gaggles of tourists. Finn had just taken her to see her first Broadway musical on the heels of their National Show Choir Championship victory, which they couldn't have achieved without their star performer. She was practically dancing on air as they maneuvered their way through the crowded streets.
Before the musical, however, they had spent the afternoon talking to Shelby Corcoran, who was kind enough to meet Rachel for lunch earlier that day. The meeting was quite awkward towards the beginning, but the two women warmed up to one another quickly and started to discuss the possibility of Rachel gaining citizenship in the United States. Shelby was willing to help her and even called a lawyer friend of hers who worked closely with Immigration and Naturalization cases. They exchanged numbers and were going to keep contact with one another throughout the summer, at least until she moved out to New York herself.
Right now, Finn was content just to be with Rachel in the city of their dreams, and experiencing a taste of what their life would be like for them in New York. He held her as close to his body as the space would allow as the navigated the numbered streets that increased as they headed north to explore more of their future home. They walked through Rockefeller Plaza, staring through the crowds of tourists that still flooded the streets even at the late hour. Finn asked Rachel if she wanted to do some shopping inside the multitude of stores that surrounded them, but she was more than content to just sit outside and appreciate the view.
"I love it here," she said to him softly, sitting down on a bench and leaning her head against his shoulder. Her beret was still firmly in place and Shelby had cried when she noticed Rachel wearing it during lunch. He rested his cheek against the fluffy white fabric and sighed, completely content with the world.
"I do too," he agreed. "I can't believe we're going to live here in a few months. It seems unreal."
"But it is real, Finn," she said, her eyes shining with happiness. "Ever since I came here to the States and met you, I feel like all of my dreams have been coming true, one by one." She squeezed the arm she was holding. "Even 'ze ones I never dared to dream."
"Like what?"
"You," she whispered. "My American boy." A sense of peace filled him at her heartfelt words, and he held her close to him, dreaming about the endless nights that they were going to spend together here in this magical city.
"Well, take a good look around you, Rachel," he said, lifting his head and looking up at the new and exciting world that was destined to be their future. "Because after this summer, New York will be our new home." Pressing his lips against her forehead, she buried herself into his embrace as the city surrounded them, inspired them, and welcomed them with open arms.
"Oui," she said gently. "Our sweet sweet 'ome."
"Silly," he chuckled, nudging his cheek against her as he corrected her. "It's 'Home Sweet Home'."
"Oui," she repeated, slightly embarrassed. "'Ome Sweet 'Ome."
Thank you for sharing this journey with me! The Epilogue will be the next and final chapter.
Merci mille fois, mes amis!
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