I don't own anything related to glee. Just Melody, Caleb and Riley.

Chapter 8: The Windy City Awaits

Melody stood in the middle of her bedroom that had been her room for the better part of her childhood and crossed her arms over her chest. She blew out a breath and her bangs fluttered out of her eyes as she looked around the room, admiring her handy work. Several boxes had been packed with the essentials she would need, like towels and bedding and several suitcases were filled with all the clothing she would need at least up until Thanksgiving. She'd packed a box full of mementos that she had wanted to bring with her that consisted of framed photos and photo albums that were filled with pictures of the people she loved the most.

A knock on her bedroom door knocked her out of her daydream and she moved to the stereo to turn down the music she was blaring. When she yelled come in, the door opened to reveal her Mom.

"How's it going in here?" She asked as she walked into the bedroom with its purple walls and white trim.
"I think I'm finished" Melody sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She gazed around the room, looking at the boxes again.
Rachel picked up the list Melody had flung on her bed. She grinned a little when she saw the check marks Melody had made over the paper, marking off everything she had packed. She had inherited a little of the OCD Berry ways. Rachel looked at her daughter as she sat down on the edge of the mattress. It looked like Melody had it all under control.

"You alright?" Rachel asked her daughter. She watched as Melody began playing with her fingers.
"Yeah. Packing...just made it real." Melody looked over at her mother and gave her a small smile. "I don't know if I'm ready to leave Mom." She moved to sit down on the bed beside her mother.

"Oh Mel" Rachel smiled, putting her arm around her daughter and pulling her close. She kissed her head softly. "You are so ready. You were born ready."
"I don't feel ready." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I...I'm scared."
Rachel's heart and face softened at her daughter's words. "Of course you're scared. I think I'd be more concerned if you weren't scared. It's a new experience for you, and unlike the last time you moved me and Daddy aren't going to be there to hold your hand the entire way." Rachel whispered. "But we'll always be a call or text away." Rachel tried to smile at her daughter. Melody leaned her head on her Mom's shoulder.
"I know." Melody whispered. "I made the right choice...right? With University of Chicago? I could have gone to..."
"I do think you made the right choice." Rachel smiled. "It's time for you to fly baby girl. And the only way you'll get a chance to do that is if you go to Chicago..."
Melody leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. The pair was quiet for a moment while they both got lost in their own thoughts.
"You know, I was really scared when I first moved to New York."
"But you had Daddy..." Melody's face fell.
"That's right. I had Daddy. But that didn't mean I wasn't any less scared. I had never been away from home for longer than a week, and as you may have noticed New York isn't exactly a few blocks away" Rachel chuckled. "But it didn't mean the experience wasn't still scary. Me and Daddy didn't live together until second year, which was amazing. But I wouldn't have changed that first year for the world because it taught me that I could do it on my own. If Daddy wasn't around, I still could go to the store and grab groceries or find something to do on a Friday night while he tutored. And I can only hope that it'll be the same for you" Melody sighed softly as she leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. Rachel kissed her head. "You'll make new friends, but keep in touch with the old ones that mean the most to you..." Rachel nudged her daughter, indicating Riley Schuster. Melody blushed furiously. She loved her boyfriend.

The next morning dawned early. University of Chicago's orientation for freshmen began at noon sharp, and being ever so type A, Melody insisted them getting on the road as soon as possible so that they could get there on time. So when the alarm clocks of the Hudson family (minus Caleb, he'd be woken at the last minute) went off at approximately 6:30am, Finn groaned loudly.
"Stop groaning" Rachel mumbled from her spot on the bed.
"It's too damn early." He grumbled, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "It's my last week of summer vacation too."
"It's for Melody. Quit your whining." Rachel stated, giving her husband a pointed look as she got out of bed herself.
"I know." He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "This is going to be one of the hardest days of my life, isn't it?"
Rachel pouted and walked over to her husband. She sat on his lap and laid her head on his chest. "I know. Me too."
A knock at their bedroom door alerted them that they weren't the only people awake at what Finn had deemed to be such an ungodly hour.
"Come in" Finn called. The door creaked open and Melody poked her head into the room. She was still dressed in her pajamas, her hair piled in a messy bun on her head. Melody walked slowly over to her parents and sat down on the bed beside Finn. He wrapped his arm around her as she leaned into him.
"I'm so proud of you Melody" Finn said quietly, as the three of them sat there.
"Thank you Daddy." She said softly.

Everyone came to see Melody, Finn and Rachel off. Hiram and Leroy got teary as they watched Finn and Burt pack the SUV with Melody's belongings. Carole cried with Rachel from the porch, her arms around Caleb. Her and Burt were going to hang out with him while Rachel and Finn took Melody up to school. Even Will and Emma had come to say goodbye with Riley. Just as he had become a integral part of the Hudson home life, Melody had fully ingrained herself at the Schuster household over the two years they had been dating.
Will approached Finn and clapped him on the back. "It doesn't get easier." The older man laughed. Riley was their baby at 20 years old who would himself be going back to school at the end of the week. They'd been through this three other times so he knew what he was talking about.
Finn sighed, looking at his former mentor. This whole situation, even two years later was still weird to Finn.
"I'm just going to miss her. And I guess by extension Riley too I guess."
"Well you can have him if you really want." The 60 year old chuckled. There was a silence between the two as they watched their children embrace a little further away from the group. "Kind of odd how that happened...right?" Will mentioned.
"Absolutely. But it helps me sleep at night at the same time." Finn chuckled. "You raised a good man."
"And you raised a wonderful young woman. Whose going to blow Chicago away, just like you guys stormed New York."

They were broken from their little conversation when he caught Rachel's eye. She pointed to her watch before walking off the porch. Finn shook Will's hand before walking over to the young couple in front of him. Riley saw him coming and quickly removed his hands from Melody's waist, instead taking her hand.
"It's that time Princess." Finn stuck his hands in his pockets. It was 8:00 in the morning, and if they didn't get going soon they wouldn't get to the university by noon, like Melody wanted.
"Okay." She said slowly. The trio walked back towards where the group was. Riley let her go enough to watch her embrace her grandparents and her Uncles who had shown up a few minutes ago. She came to Will and Emma and hugged them before moving to Riley. Finn opened the driver's side door and started the car to get the air conditioning going. Rachel bit her lip and actually turned away, following her husband's lead and getting into the car.
Melody bit her lip as she looked at her boyfriend.
"I love you" He whispered, kissing her forehead, her nose and her lips as basically their entire family (well, most of Melody's) watched.
"Three weeks." She whispered.
"Three weeks" He repeated. "I'll visit in three weeks."
"Easy peasy" She tried to sound happy. But her emotions were starting to get the best of her. She promised herself she wouldn't cry.
He nodded. "Have a safe trip. i love you."
"I love you too." He placed a soft kiss on her lips before helping her into the car. She waved after her door was shut and Finn began to drive away from the house.

Once they arrived and found her dorm after going through the rigors of registration. She'd thought she lucked out when she got a single room. She just wasn't aware her parents had paid the extra fee, knowing their little girl would fare better with as much privacy as possible. It took them three trips to bring all of her luggage up. Rachel immediately set about beginning to unpack.
"Mom." Melody placed her hand on her arm. "I'm going to need something to do for the next few hours..." Rachel stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter, biting her lip. They both looked at Finn.
"I'm going to be okay." She sighed, running her fingers through her ponytail. "There's that welcome dinner thing in the cafe that I want to get to. You know, make new friends and stuff like you said I should..." She trailed off. "So I just wanted to...unpack and then get to that..."
Finn looked at her, going over and wrapping his arms around her. "You can just tell us to leave you know." He could see Rachel's lip tremble. He felt like doing the same. He had to be strong until they got home at least.
"It's not that I want you to leave..." She bit her lip. "It's gotta be like ripping off a band aid, right?"
Both Rachel and Finn nodded.
"Well." Rachel said softly. "I guess...this is it." She wrapped her arms around her daughter.
Melody nodded., hugging her mother back. "I love you Mel."
"I love you too Mom." Rachel kissed her cheek.
Finn hugged her to him next. "Be brave baby girl." He whispered into her hair. "I love you so much."
"I love you too Daddy."

Finn and Rachel were just crossing over into Lima when Rachel's cell phone rang. She scrambled for it, wiping the tears that were rolling down from her eyes and smiled a little when she saw it was Melody.
"Hello?" She repeated saying hello a few times before she stopped and listened to the other end of the line. It seemed like Melody was unaware she had called her mother. Rachel could hear laughing and giggling on the other end of the phone. She smiled with tears in her eyes and looked over at Finn before she ended the call.
"Everything okay?"
"Sounds like it. I think she pocket dialed me." Rachel gave him a watery smile before tossing her phone into the console and looked over at Finn, taking his hand. They're little girl was all grown up.