A pair of small hands tugs his gently. He looks down and Rachel's shining eyes drowns out the roar of the crowd. They did it. They gave it their best. And they were great. Ecstatic, he pulls her towards him and wraps his arms tightly around her tiny body. Adrenaline were pumping the blood in his veins and Finn thinks that maybe this could finally be their night. His night. Everything is going perfectly. He killed the performance (Did you see the moves he pulled on that stage? He danced. He actually danced. Maybe Mr Schue was right. Maybe there is something in his dance moves.), the crowd is going wild for them and the best thing of all, he got the girl. What could be better than this? Rachel's tiny hands are at his waist and her breathless giggle reverberates against his chest. Nothing. That's what.

He realizes that everyone else is already walking off the stage. He reluctantly lets go of the girl in his arms and takes her hand. Their gazes catch one another and a slow grin starts to spread on both of their faces. He leads her to the left of the stage, towards the exit, the warmth of her hand keeping his smile in place. As they reach backstage, Mercedes whoops and wrenches Rachel out of his grasp to pull her into a hug. The gesture puts him out a little but he laughs when both girls begin to jump up and down, screaming incoherently. Tina joins them and it turns into a frenzy of squeals and laughter until the woman in charge shushes them and tells them to leave. He finds himself walking behind Brittany, Rachel's incessant chatter constantly filling his ears.

"Screw that, we are going to win this thing!" she exclaims through gritted teeth and he grins as he remembers last Monday when he had promised her the very same thing and she had silenced him into stupefication with that mind-blowing kiss. He walks into their dressing room and hangs back, waiting for her to enter. Rachel walks in, still completely absorbed by her conversation with the effervescent Asian, her hands gesturing wildly around her. She almost smacks Artie in the head, but the boy smoothly ducks out of her path. Finn snickers as he watches her, completely oblivious to his presence.

He's going to fix that. He hears a commotion going on outside but ignores it, prefering to direct all of his attention to the tiny bundle of energy in front of him instead. She's still talking to herself, not realizing that Tina has already left her to go and stand by Artie. Quietly, he saunters over until he stands directly behind her. He leans down so that his mouth is at level with her ear.

"Hey," he says, his voice low. She jumps and whips around, her eyes registering surprise. The beam on her face when she sees him is blinding.

"Hi!" she replies brightly. They stand there, grinning like idiots for a few seconds until she squeals and throws her arms around his neck, jumping a little in the process. He staggers in surprise but places both hands firmly at her waist to hold her steady. "You were amazing," she whispers against his ear. He grins, his hands gripping her waist tighter, just a little.

"So were you," he whispers back into her neck, his breath creating goosebumps on her skin. "We both were," he adds as he finally sets her down. Her eyes are shining as she stares up into his face. "Rach that duet was-" He stops, searching his brain for the right word. The one word that could convey exactly how he feels.

"Awesome?" she supplies, her eyes twinkling. Finn grins and reaches out to touch her face as he tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Totally." He smiles at her. She smiles at him. It's nice. They've never done this before, the whole We're happy!, We're in love! thing. She takes his hand in hers and squeezes it tight. He wonders why they both can't seem to find the words. He knows she's probably thinking of the same thing he is. That 45 second vacuum right before the performance of their lives when he had told her he loves her. That's right. He. Loves. Her. A determined expression crosses her face and he braces himself as she opens her mouth to speak.

"Finn-"

"Oh my god! Quinn's having her baby! Quinn's having her baby!" Finn is still staring into her face intently as he hangs on to every word she's preparing to say. The startled look on her face brings him back to the present as Artie's terrified screech finally filters into his mind. What? He's pulled back into the real world and they're in their dressing room again and it's not just the two of them aymore.

He looks around him. Everyone else in the room is flailing, running around in chaos as half of the room begin to scream one incoherent order over another. The other half of the room just stands still and terrified. This half includes Puck, who is standing in the corner. He looks at Quinn, one arm around Mercedes and the other around her mother, like she was Dracula, coming down to suck his blood or something.

"Do something!" she yells at him, her voice filled with raw pain that causes both Puck and Finn to flinch. And suddenly there's Mr Schue and thank God for him, because Finn thinks Puck looks just pale enough to drop dead on the floor in front of him right then. In a loud, thunderous voice, he orders everyone to calm down and shut up. It always works when he does it for some reason.

"Alright this is what's going to happen! Puck, Mike find the bus driver and tell him to get the engine running. Now. Mercedes and- who are you?" Mr Schue asks, confused as he stares at Quinn's mom. Yeah. What the hell is Quinn's mom doing here?

"I'm Quinn's mother," Mrs Fabray answers nervously, wincing as her daughter grips one shoulder a little too strongly.

"Yeah okay. You two, help her out. The rest of you come with me. Silently!" he orders when the noise in the room starts to pick up again. Finn grips Rachel's hand and pulls her along with him to follow the rest of the crowd.

"Crap!" he hears Mr Schue mutter. "Someone needs to stay." He feels her hand fall away from his. He realizes she never gripped his back in the first place.

"I'll do it Mr Schue," he hears her tentative voice say behind him. Finn turns in surprise. Rachel looks steadily at their teacher and avoids his gaze.

"Are you sure?" Mr Schue asks, frowning. She nods her head vigorously.

"Someone needs to represent New Directions here. As the leader, that responsibility lies on my abled and willing shoulders. I'll stay." She smiles brightly at their teacher and just something in the way she's beaming like crazy throws him off.

"Great. Thanks Rachel. We'll be back as soon as we can. C'mon Finn!" Mr Schue leaves and it's just the two of them. He turns to look at her. She's still staring blankly at the empty doorway.

"Hey." She turns to him. "Do you want me to stay? With you?" he adds as an afterthought and mentally berates himself. Duh. Idiot. He watches as the hope flits through her features before it gives way to a resolute expression. She reaches up to place a hand on his jaw and smiles softly.

"I'll be fine," she says, her fingers grazing softly against his skin. "You should go. It's Drizzle's birthday." He grins. She remembers. She calls the baby Drizzle too. If he wasn't sure before, he's definitely sold on the idea now. He's crazy in love with her.

"Are you sure?" he asks quietly, feeling it in his guts that there was something wrong with Rachel. She nods.

"I'll hold down the forte. I know how important this is for you. You should go Finn." Her face becomes more determined with each sentence and she's already looking at him as if her decision is final. He nods his head and smiles at her. He takes the hand that's on his jaw and grips it tightly before letting go.

"Okay," he says. He turns to leave. As he walks out of the door, five steps into the doorway, he turns around. Rachel is just standing there awkwardly, staring at his retreating figure, her hands clasped in front of her like a good little school girl. He doesn't need to see to know that her knuckles are white from the grip.

In a split second, he's already walking back towards her, his steps confident and purposeful. She looks up at him in surprise as he grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her in for a tight hug. She just looks like she needs it.

"I'll be back, okay?" he mumbles into her hair. He feels her nod against his chest, her hands circling his waist to keep him close. Dropping a soft kiss on her forehead, he shoots her one final smile before he lets go and turns around.

He sprints all the way to the bus, making it just in time behind Brittany once again, as she makes her way up the bus steps.

The bus ride is scary. And awkward. It's the longest ten minutes of his life with Quinn screaming expletives at his bestfriend every thirty seconds and Puck looking like he is this close to throwing up. Everybody else keeps to an almost creepy silence. He can't help the thought that flashes through his mind. One wrong decision, one kept secret and it's him standing in Puck's place. It's him Quinn is yelling at and it's him who's anxiously waiting for his baby to meet the world. He sits alone at the back of the bus. Finn takes out his phone and calls Rachel. She's not picking up. He frowns. He calls three more times in a span of two minutes and finally resigns himself to a text.

(Are you okay?)

He waits for her reply until they arrive at the hospital and he forgets because someone needs to slap the back of Puck's head to get him to move. He does so willingly. Hard. Puck shoots him a dirty glare but he seems to have come to his senses as he jumps out of the bus and grips the back of the wheelchair they have placed Quinn on. Finn follows behind them nervously. The fact that this situation could have been his so easily is still fresh in his mind and it's too bizarre for him to comprehend.

He goes through the next twenty minutes in a daze. If his life is a movie, then this would be the part where everything and everyone moves in fastforward mode and he keeps to a normal pace. The whole thing is just so cazy. Finn finds himself pulled back into real time when the phone in his hand starts buzzing. He looks down immediately, thinking that it's Rachel. He feels himself deflating when he realizes that it's only his mom, wishing him and Kurt good luck. He turns to the pale boy sitting on the couch and passes on the message a little curtly, slightly annoyed that Rachel still hasn't acknowledged his text. He sends her another one.

(Hey. What's going on? Are you mad at me or something?)

Fifty minutes later and he has been pacing back and forth in the waiting area for the past twenty minutes, wearing out the carpeting of the hospital floor. He looks around him to find the rest of New Directions, all in one form of anxiety or another. Kurt, Artie and Santana are all sitting down with magazines in their hands. But he notices that she's been on the same page for the past five minutes and if Artie's actually reading his, then he must have super speed. Mike and Tina are both standing awkwardly next to each other with similar worried expressions on both their faces. And Brittany. Well, Finn really isn't sure what she's doing exactly, and he doesn't think he really wants to know either. He sighs and moves to sit on the chair behind Mr Schue.

How much longer is this going to take anyway? Doesn't Drizzle want to come out? Well maybe not. He guesses that if he knew he's going to come out and be given away to some stranger, he'd probably want to hang out in his mom's womb for a while too. If Rachel was here, she'd probably be talking his ear off, telling him that it's normal for labor to go on for this long or giving him a play by play of a birthing tape she watched once or something. The silence is deafening.

"The judges are deliberating," Mr Schue's tired voice speaks up suddenly. He frowns at his teacher's back.

"How'd you know?" he asks curiously.

"Rachel's been keeping me up to date. Vocal Adrenaline finished their performance ten minutes ago." Well. There goes his hope that she left her phone at home down the freaking toilet.

Finn feels a whole other level of anxiety creeping up on him. Is she ignoring him? Why? Oh God what if he freaked out by telling her he loves her? But she seemed to like it at the time. More than liked it. She looked exactly like he felt and that was pure, unfiltered joy. So why the hell is she not replying to any of his messages? Or his phone calls for that matter?

Just as he's about to start getting worked up, the double doors of the delivery room flew open and then there's Puck, looking like he just went through hell and back. He's just standing there as the whole group rushes him, everyone talking all at once. Finn hangs back uncomfortably and watches as they bombard Puck with one question after another.

"She's tiny," Puck finally says, his voice hoarse. "And wrinkly. And crap, there's a shitload of blood." There's silence for about three-quarters of a second as everybody tries to find a response to that and then they're off again.

"Give the boy room to breathe," Mr Schue orders, holding them back and letting Puck move forward. Puck looks about as freaked out as Finn's feeling, so he moves forward too to pat his friend on the back a little awkwardly. God knows he wishes Rachel was there to comfort him.

"They asked me if I wanted to hold her," Puck says, a little distractedly, like he's talking to himself. "But damn she's so tiny, I'd crush her." He looks up and their eyes meet, and there's something that looks like guilt in his friend's eyes that causes Finn to look away immediately. Mr Schue puts an arm around Puck and tells him that maybe he should sit down. But there's no time to because the doors swing open again and there's a nurse pushing Drizzle in that little rolling basket-thingies he sees on TV and now everybody is rushing towards her and once again Finn hangs back, wondering why his heart is thumping so crazily against his chest.

They follow the annoyed nurse all the way to the nursery, hot on her heels and he follows blindly, wishing like crazy that Rachel would magically appear to hold his hand. They crowd outside of the nursery in silence, occasionally pushing and shoving one another so that every single one of them could get a good look through the glass. He's tall so he stands at the back and gives Artie his place instead.

Puck wasn't lying. She's the teeniest, tiniest human he's ever seen. He could probably fit all of her in the palm of his hand, he thinks, and holds up his right hand to compare. Puck is smaller. So the chances of him crushing the kid is probably slimmer than Finn's. It's a good thing Puck's the real father then. He's less of a walking disaster anyway. But then it hits him like a ton of bricks that Puck's not going to be holding Drizzle either. Not for long anyway. Some stranger's going to scoop her up and take her away. Some stranger who probably has steady hands and knows the right way to hold a baby.

He turns his head to the left to look at Puck and sees the boy with his head leaning against the glass. He looks like shit. He watches as Puck heaves a little sigh and suddenly he's propelled back to somewhere months and months ago when Drizzle was still his and Quinn's telling him that they're giving their baby away. He was still reeling over that blow when Rachel had turned his world upside down with the truth. He had thought that was the worst thing ever. The possibility of giving your own kid away to some random people you don't even know. But now his hypothetical situation is Puck's reality.

Relief washes over him like a cathartic rainfall. It's not him. It's not his baby. She's not his to give away. He looks at the tag on her little foot that says Puckerman and he feels the weight that has been pressing down on his shoulders lift and dissapear into thin air. Or maybe it just falls on to Puck's shoulders. He thinks he'll probably never see Drizzle again. But that's okay. She'll always be special, just like Rachel said. She's just not a burden to bear anymore, not a regret that he'll carry around with him for the rest of his life.

He has Rachel to thank for that, for a lot of things he's grateful for. And he intends to thank her. Once she picks up her damn phone and finally replies. Finn frowns as he grips the phone in his pocket tightly. This night is so not going the way it's supposed to. He almost snorts when he realizes that his life never goes as planned when Rachel Berry is involved.

"We have to go guys," Mr Schue says quietly. "The judges will decide soon." They say their goodbyes to Puck and sends him their well wishes for Quinn. The walk back to the bus is filled with excited chatter but Finn ignores them all, wondering if maybe he doesn't have the girl after all. The thought is making him nervous. Really, really nervous. The driver starts the engine and is about to move when Matt yells that Puck is coming. He looks out the window, and sure enough there's Puck, running towards them in full speed. He reaches the bus and wheezes out that Quinn forced him to either go with them or suffer the consequences of her wrath.

"Are you okay?" Mr Schue asks him, once the bus started moving, looking at him in worry. "You've been awfully quiet."

"I'm fine," Finn answers, forcing a smile on his face. Just trying to forget the possibility that I just made a fool out of myself in front of Rachel and that she probably doesn't want to see me now, is all.

They arrive at the venue in the nick of time and Rachel's waiting for them outside of their dressing room. He feels his heart skip a beat when he sees her and walks just a little faster. He notices the slight swell around her eyes and wonders if she's been crying. He wonders if it's because of him. Maybe he should have kept his trap shut. She smiles at them, a wobbly attempt, and takes Mercedes's hand as she tells them the rest of the teams are already on stage. Now he knows for sure that she's avoiding him because she hasn't made any eye contact since he first laid eyes on her.

He lets the others pass him by and walks next to Mr Schue, his eyes firmly glued to the back of her head. He knows she's talking a mile a minute by the way her head was bobbing up and down and the way Mercedes keeps nodding. But there was something decidedly un-Rachel about her. She's not walking like Rachel. There's no bounce going on and it looks like her steps feel heavy. Finn feels a little sick at the thought that it might be because of him. Maybe she doesn't feel the same way. Maybe that was what she tried to say earlier before the whole Quinn-going-into-labor thing got in the way. Maybe she was trying to turn him down. And he's the douchebag thinking everything is just peachy. Holy. Shit. He swallows the mortified groan back down his throat.

They walk up the stairs to the stage and the room burts into applause. They stood at the right end corner and Finn is thankful that Aural Intensity is in the middle because St Jackass's face is far, far away from his fists (Sometimes his body just moves out of automatic reflex, accidentally-on-purpose.). He stands at the edge, behind Mr Schue and anxiously waits for the results to come. They're going to place. They're going to. Or glee club's a goner. And that's just impossible. So they're going to place. Yup.

Sue Sylvester walks past him and suddenly he regrets ever posting that stupid video of her online in the first place. Because Rachel told him about this thing called karma once, when some cheerio had slushied her and stained her new polar bear print blouse. She said everything you do always comes back to bite you in the ass. Well, she didn't exactly put it that way, but that's the gist of it. Anyway, the karma thing's a bitch and he sure as hell does not want to be served with it.

He sees the asshole looking at Rachel and suddenly everything's like a million shades redder. That's his girlfriend St Jackass is staring at. His. Maybe he should tell Rachel that. That she's his girl now. And that he's just going to keep thinking of her as his girl even if it turns out that he's not hers. Boy, he means. Not girl. Shelby Corcoran is standing next to that lowlife and Finn wonders if the whole egging-her-daughter thing went right past her head. Because he sure as hell won't be so chummy with the boy that egged his kid. If he had one, anyway. Duh. He wonders why all these thoughts are cropping up in his head right now when they're just seconds away from finding out the fate of Glee, and by extension, them.

His eyes are screwed shut and his heart is beating from his stomach and Sue Sylvester's voice feels like a foghorn to his brain.

They didn't place.

They didn't place. He doesn't look up to see how the rest are doing. He doesn't try to find her and see the heartbroken expression on her face. He doesn't really care. They didn't place and glee is over. For good. He remembers just hours before when he had stupidly thought they were going to make it, that it was going to be their night. His. He should have known he's not going to catch a break. He never does anyway. They lost, glee is over and Rachel won't even look at him. This night is a disaster.

The walk back to their dressing room is about as opposite as it could get from the one earlier. Nobody says a word. Nobody. He's leading the way with Mr Schue next to him and all he hears is the occasional sniffle from behind him. He doesn't have to turn around to know that it's not Rachel's. He's a little pissed at her to be honest. Sure, he was worried in the beginning, but seriously there are better ways to let a person down than to just leave him hanging like this.

They change in total silence.

They walk toward the bus in total silence.

They sit in total silence.

He takes a seat at the back of the bus, away from everyone, away from Rachel. She tried to talk to him when they were walking in the parking lot but he had shrugged her off. Let's see how she likes it. The bus begins to move and he leans his head back against his seat and closes his eyes. It's been a fucking long day and he's exhausted. And that hot, prickling feeling in the back of his eyes, what the hell is up with that anyway?

The bus lurches and he hears a squeal as a warm body falls against his. His eyes are still closed but he knows its her. He could catch her scent anywhere (Whatever, that's not creepy. It isn't.). He refuses to open his eyes as he feels her quickly right herself. They sit next to each other, not touching for maybe two minutes, his eyes still firmly shut and his hands over his chest. He hears her little sigh and her small hand is on his thigh.

"Finn," she says softly. He doesn't budge. "I'm sorry," she whispers and there's just enough break in her voice to make him melt. He turns his head towards her and opens his eyes. She's looking back at him and the look on her face kind of kills him because she looks about as depressed as he feels.

"I'm sorry," she says again as she moves closer towards him. He can feel her breath on his face, they're so close. So losing must be the most effective turn off ever since he's not even thinking kissing her right now. He just wants an explanation. God he's being such a girl.

"Is it me?" he asks softly. She knows what he means. Of course she does. "Is it because of me?" Rachel shakes her head vigorously, her tears spilling out of her eyes.

"You're the best thing that happened tonight," she says, the hand on his thigh moving up to his chest. She rests it over his heart and presses. The pressure comforts him. "The best one. It's everything else. Everything else but you."

She doesn't elaborate. He finds that he doesn't mind. It's everything but him. That's the important thing. So he smiles and sits up straight and wraps one long arm over her small shoulders. She falls into him with a small sigh and rests her head on his chest, where her hand had been. He feels his shirt getting damp and her shoulders shake in his arms. Finn takes her hand in his and rests them on his lap.

He doesn't let go until they reach the school parking lot.

The bus stops and everybody is already filing out the door. He wraps his other arm around her and squeezes hard before he lets go and stands up. There are tear tracks streaking down her face and she's looking up at him, all lost and upset. He smiles reassuringly and holds out his hand. She takes it and they make their way slowly down the bus.

"Thank you," she mumbles. His arms are around her shoulders, pulling her close and her face is kind of smushed up against his chest.

"Ditto," he whispers back. She pulls away and looks up at him in confusion.

"What did I do?" she asks, perplexed. Everything, he thought.

"Just ditto," he answers instead, laughing softly at the pout the spreads across her lips.

He makes Kurt wait until her parents arrive. They're the only three people left when he finally sees her car pull into the parking lot. She wraps her arm around his waist and pulls him in for a hug, breathing in his scent deeply before she pulls away and says a soft goodbye. She waves at Kurt, who was standing behind him in total boredom, and starts to walk away. It hits him that he still hasn't asked her yet.

"Rach!" he yells. She stops and turns. He jogs towards her. She's looking at him expectantly when he reaches her.

"We're together right?" he asks. Her brows crease in confusion.

"Together?"

"Yeah," he says, a little embarassed. He really needs to learn the proper way to say things. "Together. You know. Me and you. We're together. Right?" The beam that grows on her face seems to light up the whole place.

"Yes Finn," she says softly, barely contained giddiness lacing her voice. "We're together."

He grins like an idiot when she jumps a little to kiss his cheek before continuing her way to her waiting fathers. He doesn't even care that Rachel has two dads and they both just saw their daughter kiss him.

See? What did he say? It's his night. His.