Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Sorry for the wait in the chapter, but this one is extra long to make up for it. Thank you all for reviewing!
Chapter 4.
The entire drive home Finn gripped his steering wheel as hard as he could. So hard that his knuckles had become a pale shade of white. Nervously he turned into his drive way, looking to see if the police officers were still following him. They were. He grabbed the duffle bag out of the backseat before heading up the snowy path to his new house.
"Mom?" he called as he entered his house, the officer s following closely behind. Carole peaked her head around the wall, drying her hands off with a towel.
"Finn Hudson, what did you do?" She asked, looking back and forth between the officers.
"Nothing Mom!" He reassured her quickly…this did look kind of bad now that he thought about it. "They need to talk to Rachel. Have you seen her?"
"I think she is still sleeping." Finn groaned inwardly as he didn't want to wake her, but ran for the stairs anyways. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason Finn felt compelled to knock before entering the room. Gently he pushed the door open, to see her lying on his bed, face buried into his pillow.
"Rach?" He asked, sitting down next to her.
"Yes?" She replied, her voice muffled from the pillow. Finn swallowed almost nervous.
"Uh…there are some police officers downstairs that want to talk to you." More like take you away, he thought fear swelling inside him. She turned her head so she was looking at him.
"Did you inquire as to what they wanted to speak to me about?"
"Uh…something about you needing a legal guardian." Rachel bit her lip nervously, suddenly aware that she had no one to go home to. The knot that had been weighing down her stomach since yesterday grew again.
"What if they try to take me away from Lima?" She asked, eyes growing large in horror.
"We'll figure it out." He reassured her, ignoring the voice in his head that was asking him the same question. "Let's just get this over with to start, and go from there."
Rachel nodded, pulling her petite body from the bed. Still clad in her pyjamas she walked out of the room and down the stairs. From the bottom of the stairs she could hear the conversation that was taking place.
"I don't understand officer; didn't the Berry's have a will that left Rachel with a designated legal guardian in case something like this happened?" Burt asked. There was a sudden lump in her throat, which she swallowed quickly. She looked back at Finn, who was standing behind her.
"Nana." She said, entering the room. "It was my Nana on the will, but she passed away last spring." The female officer nodded, standing up to introduce herself.
"Hi Rachel, I'm Officer Bennett, and this is my partner Officer Marz." She extended her hand to Rachel, who was suddenly very aware that she was still in her night clothes. "We're very sorry about your losses."
"Thank you." Rachel whispered, eyes unable to meet those of anyone in the room. Finn gave her a gentle nudge from behind, urging her to sit down.
"Yes, that's right," Officer Marz said taking a sip of the coffee Carole had brought out. "Alison Berry was meant to be you're legal guardian in case anything happened to your Dad's, and the will was never updated after she passed away, which puts us in an awkward position. Legally we can't just have you wandering around without anyone to take care of you."
"Well, couldn't a family member take her or something?" Carole interjected. Rachel shook her head, tears springing up in her eyes.
"I don't have any family in Lima…the closet I have are in Iowa." Rachel told them. She wasn't sure what would be worse, having to leave her entire life in Lima, or being forced to live with strangers.
"Look kid, I know that this isn't going to be easy, but we are going to put you into foster care until we can figure something out, hopefully arrange for you to stay with someone in your family." Rachel's eyes widened, as she buried her face into her hand's whispering "no" over and over. Finn panicked, placing a hand on her back he looked over at his mom, eyes pleading for help.
"You can't just expect me to go live with complete strangers!" She managed to choke out between hic-ups. Burt and Carole looked at each other, both knowing they were thinking the same thing.
"I have an idea." Carole spoke up, moving over to sit next to Rachel, who she knew was nearing a complete melt down. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea considering her history with her son, but when she looked at the small teenager next to her, she knew she had no other option.
"What if, Rachel stays with us, at least until we can figure something out. We don't want her having to leave everything she's known," Carole paused in thought for a moment. "Rachel has become like a daughter to me, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Plus, we have that extra bedroom."
Rachel looked over at Carole, a glimpse of hope filling her eyes. "You think of me as a daughter?" She asked. Carole nodded, reaching out and wiping a tear off her chin.
"Well can we make that work?" Burt asked the officers.
"The only problem with that is that you guys aren't in the foster care system…" Officer Marz said, leaning back into his chair thoughtfully. Officer Bennett sent him a glare and pulled him into hallway. The four left in the living room exchanged awkward glances, waiting anxiously until the officers returned.
"Ok," Officer Bennett began as she re-entered the room. "So, legally we are not supposed to do this, but we are going to turn a blind eye and allow you to stay here for as long as you can. We can't say how long that will be though…"
"And, you will have to apply to be her foster parents, if you expect this to last long." Marz told Carole and Burt very seriously. The newly weds nodded. "We will also need to talk to her extended family, and see what they think…but you can stay for now."
"Thank you!" Rachel exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. Briefly a smile graced her face as she ran over to them. For a moment Finn thought that she was going to hug the police officers, but she didn't. Instead she turned around, placing herself in Carole's arms.
"Thank you." She whispered into her shoulder.
\o/
Rachel sighed quietly, looking at the people around her. She wasn't exactly sure why she had agreed to come, but somehow she had found herself sitting in a pew in Lima's largest cathedral. It was Christmas Eve and Carole had insisted that they try to keep some semblance of normalcy in their life. For the Hudson's going to church on Christmas Eve was something they did every year, but Rachel had never been to a Christmas Eve service in her life. Still she had to admit that it was a beautiful service. There were trees decorated with lights and ribbon, and there were candles lit in every direction she looked. She had even managed to suffer through a horrendously off pitch version of Oh Holy Night, sung by a girl that looked to be about 10 years old. Of course she had had to bite her tongue as not to make any comments. Currently the preacher was standing behind the podium giving the evening's service.
"And so, God sent his only son to earth in the form of a baby, so that we could have his love and mercy." Rachel scoffed inwardly. Sure she didn't believe that Jesus was the messiah, but she still believed in the same God. A surge of rage rang through her body when she listened to the priest preach about God's love for humanity.
"Excuse me." She whispered through clenched teeth, quietly slipping past the Hudson-Hummel's and out of the sanctuary. Anxiously she looked around, searching for the washroom. At first site she ran for it, completely ignoring the usher that was asking if she was okay. Angrily she pushed the door open, new tears forming in her eyes.
"Fuck!" She shouted under her breath, kicking the counter furiously. How on earth could a God that was supposed to love her do this to her? A small growl like noise escaped her before her body began to shake with cries for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She froze in silence when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.
"Did you just swear?" A voice asked from behind her. Rachel almost laughed in spite of herself. Pretty much everyone in Lima knew her feelings about profane language.
"I'm sorry Finn, I'm a complete mess." She apologized, wiping her face dry with the back of her hands as she turned around to look at him. Finn reached out, cupping her face in his hands.
"You're allowed to be a mess Rach…" He told her sincerely, pulling her body close to his before engulfing her in his arms. Rachel settled against him, allowing herself to relax when he started weaving his fingers into her hair. The couple stood there for a few moments unsure of what to do next.
"Hey!" A shrill voice said loudly. Finn and Rachel broke apart, looking to see a young girl of about 5 dressed up as an angel. Her face was covered in candy cane goo. "You're not supposed to be in here! You're a BOY!"
Finn felt Rachel giggle against him when the girl pursed her chubby red lips together angrily.
"Uh…yeah…just a minute. You want to go home Rach?" He asked, caressing Rachel's arm gently. She nodded, leading him out of the washroom.
"Just let me go tell my Mom that we are leaving." Rachel nodded again, fixing a strand of hair that had fallen into her face. As quietly as he could, Finn re-entered the sanctuary. Unfortunately his height and clunky feet soon had everyone in the Church looking at him. Self consciously he approached his family, whispering as quietly as he could.
"Rachel and I are going to leave. Can you pass me her coat please?" The red jacket was quickly passed down the line of Hudson-Hummel's.
"Do you want us to come with you?" Carole whispered, glancing awkwardly at the Priest who was sending looks in their general direction.
"No, its okay." He told them, backing out of the sanctuary. Finn almost felt as though he should apologize to everyone for the disturbance. "Well that was humiliating." He mumbled under his breath, as he neared Rachel who was waiting exactly where he had left her.
"What?" She asked curiously.
"I just disrupted the entire service, I think." Finn opened up the coat, helping her to put her arms through the sleeves.
"Sorry."
"It's okay. Let's get out of here."
\o/
Rachel sighed. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Once again she was unable to sleep, despite the fatigue that was growing steadily. It was a mutual agreement that she and Finn should sleep separately tonight. The only problem was that being alone was the last thing she wanted. For a moment Rachel had contemplated climbing into bed with Kurt, but she wasn't exactly sure what his reaction would be. Admitting defeat she rolled out of her bed, and walked down the hall to Finn's room. She wondered how long
Carole would allow this to happen. Rachel opened the door, half expecting Finn to be sitting there waiting for her, but instead she was greeted with emptiness. Her brow furrowed together in thought for a moment before she realized where he would be. Rachel turned, her bare feet padding along the hallway.
"I thought you'd be downstairs." Rachel said jumping back when walked straight into Finn.
"I was, but I decided it was time to turn in. I thought you were asleep."
"It would seem that my brain is functioning at the level of the energizer bunny at the moment." She told him, following him into his room. Finn watched as she climbed into his bed, knowing that she would be welcome there. His heart still ached every time he looked at her. A wave of exhaustion swept over him, and he climbed in next to her.
"Rach…since you've been here we haven't really had the chance to talk about…everything with Puck. We really need to." He was laying on his side looking at her.
"I know…" She whispered, tearing her eyes away from his. Finn smacked himself mentally when he saw a look of guilt appear on her face. Why on earth would he bring this up now? Rachel bit the inside of her cheek, staring up at the dark ceiling uncomfortably. She was about to speak, when suddenly his body was hovering over top of hers, their lips being crushed together gently. Finn panicked for a moment when she didn't respond to his kiss, her body as stiff as a rod underneath him. He was about to pull away in embarrassment when she snaked her arms around his waist, pressing their chests together.
"Finn…" she murmured, her breathe dropping deeply. Finn let out a low moan when she slipped her tongue into his mouth, her back arching against him. Hands were roaming freely, and Finn could feel all his blood rushing down south. He was sure she could feel it. Abruptly he broke their kiss, promising himself that he wasn't going to allow this to go any further tonight.
"We'll work it out…I promise." He told her in all honesty, before peppering her face with kisses.
"Good." Rachel reached out, guiding him back to her lips. She could do this all night.
A/N: So…I wrote much of this at 3:30 AM…in what I believe to be an exhausted state…so I will go back and correct spelling/grammar as needed. Thanks for reading everyone, please review!