CHAPTER 7 - SHOWDOWN
Meanwhile at Rachel's apartment…
The bottle of Jack Daniels is nearly empty and he's just snorted his last bump. He's been watching the phone tracker app all night and all morning. He'd watched as the little icon blip left the restaurant and went to Bryant Park. It didn't take long for him to get to the park, see them walking together and come back home. As soon as he came in, he saw the little tracker icon labeled 'Lil Star' had moved to the southern side of the park in the block across the street and stopped moving. All night.
There's about a dozen hotels on that side of the park. He considered trying to call them all but he knew the hotels weren't going to release her information over the phone. He thought about going there in person and searching every hotel until he found her, but he realized with the shape he was in, it was a bad idea that would probably attract unwanted attention. So he waited and watched. And drank and seethed.
Restaurant plus Hudson plus walk in the park has to equal hotel room, right? I'm not an idiot. She's got a lot of explaining to do… And apologizing. Yeah right, because she's so big on that.
Finally this morning after 10:30 am, he'd watched the blip on the move again, this time stopping at her theater. And right now it appears to be moving back toward their apartment.
. . . . .gleegleeglee. . . . .
She's standing outside their apartment door, nervously trying to summon the courage to put the key in the lock and open the door. She knows he's home because he's always home at this time of the day, especially since whatever job lead he claimed to have didn't pan out.
You can do this Rachel. Just make a quick clean break, tear the bandage off. We were such good friends before we dated… I should've never let it get this far. He will just have to understand, I never loved him the way someone should be loved to marry them. Surely he knows this already? He has to sense it. You told him for years you weren't over Finn. He knew this before we even started dating. He knew this WHILE we were dating. He was willing to settle for me, and he deserves someone who loves him the way I love Finn. Although I definitely shouldn't say THAT. He will understand though, and just want me to be happy… right? Yes he might be upset, but that's to be expected. Maybe we can stay friends... We were better off as friends anyway. Shit maybe I shouldn't say that either… it's so cliché. I'm breaking an engagement and a heart, don't make it any worse than it already is.
She takes a deep breath and opens the door. As she finally enters the apartment, she doesn't see or hear him anywhere. "Brody? Are you here? I'm back…"
Looking around the room, nothing seems too out of place, except... She sees the empty bottle of whiskey and the black velvet box sitting on the coffee table. She'd found his little black box stashed away before, but it's not typically sitting out in the open like this; he usually does his best to downplay and hide his dirty little secrets from her. The fact that it's sitting out right now probably isn't good.
She also notices his laptop is open and turned on, and looks at the screen to see the phone tracker app open. SHIT! It hits her that he'd been able to track her movements since yesterday. So where is he? She decides he doesn't need to know she was with anyone. She would be honest and say she decided to get a room for the night… to clear her head. There's no way he could know she was with Finn, right? Not unless someone they knew saw her with him - and even then how would they know it was Finn? No, bringing up Finn will just be pouring gasoline all over this thing. Best to avoid it if possible.
A muffled sound comes from their bedroom. "Brody? Brody, will you please come out here and talk to me? W-we need… I have something t-to discuss with you."
He's still not answering her. She pulls her phone out and makes sure Finn's contact info is pulled up on the display. She tucks the phone in her skirt pocket then decides to go check the bedroom.
He's sitting in the middle of their bed with photos of the two of them strewn all around him. "So. You're back. Is this your walk of shame? At least you cleaned up first. You have something you want to discuss with me? How about you discuss where the fuck you were all night. And a few nights ago, except tell me the truth this time."
"Brody, what are you doing? Can you please come out to the living room so we can sit down and talk?"
He picks up a black and white photo of her in croisé position that was taken her first year of NYADA at the studio in her dance gear. "This has always been one of my favorite pictures of you, the way the light hits your face, and the delicate line of your body.. It's very tasteful, elegant…" and begins to slowly tear it in half. "Tell me where you were all night Rachel. And don't feed me any bullshit."
"Why are you doing this Brody. I told you where I was the other night, and as for last night, well… You're just acting too childish right now and I'm not going to put up with it. When you decide to act like an adult, I'll be waiting in the living room to have a mature adult conversation."
As she turns to leave the bedroom, a porcelain ballerina figurine from her bedside table flies past her head and smashes against the wall in front of her, exploding into what seems like a thousand little shards. Her dads had given that to her to celebrate her acceptance into NYADA. She cringes as she's stuck in mid footstep, realizing that he's obviously in no condition to be mature or reasonable right now. She's seen him like this in the daytime before, but it's rare and usually the result of a major disappointment - like denying him sex for several days in a row.
Without turning to look at him she tries again in her most calm and soothing voice, "Brody please calm down. I just want to talk. I don't want to fight with you. Will you please come out to the living room?" She hears the sound of more ripping paper and glances over her shoulder to see a photo of the two of them turning to confetti. He's goading her again, and acting like a petulant child. "Rachel. Rachel Rachel… my dear, my fiancée, my soon to be WIFE. Where. The FUCK. Were you. All night?"
"I'm not sure why it even matters to you Brody, clearly you've been having a PRIVATE party of your own all night, judging by the empty bottle of Jack and the little black box on the table out there… Were you even here alone?"
"Yeah. I was here, ALONE. And if I really wanted a nice fresh piece of ass I wouldn't be here now, would I? You always go there first don't you? Is it because it's easier to accuse me than to face the fact that you're the WHORE?"
She takes a deep breath and another step toward the doorway and he's off the bed quicker than a flash, rushing around in front of her and grabbing her by the arm. "You'd better start talking Rachel! And if I don't like what I hear we're going to have a problem."
Rachel twists her body forcefully to try to release her arm and pushes him in the chest and yells "Let go of me now, I don't even know what you're talking about!" She manages to break free from his grip and get a few steps out of the doorway, mindful not to step on the broken shards. He's walking alongside her but facing backwards so he can look her in the face as she makes her way toward the living room. "Don't play dumb with me Rachel. We both know you're smarter than that. And give me a little credit… I know something is going on with you. You didn't come home twice in one week, and by the way, who is 'ME' that texted you the other day? Who is it that's so concerned you'd have their phone number and wanting to speak to you so desperately, huh?"
"Were you going through my phone again? Brody we talked about that!"
"Yes we did, and I never have technically gone through your phone.. I just happened to see a text message flash on the screen while you were in the shower after your QUOTE UNQUOTE food coma sleepover at Kurt's - if that's really even where you were!"
"Firstly, YES I was at Kurt's, I already explained that night to you. And secondly, if I remember correctly, my phone was INSIDE my purse when I got home and stayed there until I left for the theater, which means you must have gone through my purse."
"Yeah I heard the phone buzz. I thought it could be important so I was gonna answer for you since you were in the SHOWER… so sue me. But you're changing the subject, nice try. Who's the text from Rachel?"
"It was someone from the theater. Nothing for you to be so bent out of shape about."
"Right. Even of I did believe you.. It doesn't explain not coming home 2 nights this week. It also doesn't explain why your panties were in your purse that morning, the morning AFTER you'd been gone all night. So… WHO WERE YOU WITH?"
"Ok you're obviously not going to be an adult here, and based on the amount of alcohol and OTHER substances likely to be in your system, I can see this is pointless trying to speak to you at all right now." She goes back to the bedroom, pulls a suitcase from the closet and begins gathering her clothes. He follows her.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"
"I am not staying here another night. This is.. This is out of control with you Brody, with us… I-It's not.. It's just not working, WE are not working."
"Rachel.. What do you think you're doing? You can't leave me. You need me too much and I love you too much–"
"LOVE? Are you joking? You've been accusing me of being a WHORE just now, while you're plastered out of your mind I might add.. But this is nothing new for you, right? This is the SAME argument we keep rehashing over and over. I accuse you, you accuse me.. You get wasted. We fight. One or both of us gets hurt. It's never ending. I CAN'T DO THIS WITH YOU ANYMORE!"
"We've been FINE up until this past year when your PSYCHOTIC MOOD SWINGS took over! What the fuck is your problem, poor little rich girl? Boo hoo, your poor little heart was broken in the past by some loser high school jock, well NEWSFLASH BABY - everyone has heartbreak now and then, and they DON'T all curl up in a ball and cry and act like it's Armageddon for YEARS on end! God, you're SUCH a drama queen! I was there picking up the pieces of YOU, something some other asshole broke, and I FIXED YOU. I was there for you… And all you've done is SHIT on me for months now! Tell me WHY RACHEL! I deserve to hear the truth!" As he's screaming at her, he's unpacking everything she's been adding to the suitcase.
"STOP unpacking my things!" she's throwing her clothes back into the suitcase "I AM DONE Brody! Th-this thing with us, it's just not working, it's OVER. All of it, the engagement, us, we're over. I'm not happy, you're not happy, can't you see that? It's not fair to either one of us and I just need to get away. It's suffocating me! I feel TRAPPED Brody! Thank god your parents had this apartment for us to live in, at least we don't need rent money but I PAY nearly all the expenses here, yeah your poor little rich girl supporting YOU! MY money has been keeping us afloat while YOU aren't working which is MOST of the time, YOU are gone most nights - and don't think I don't know about your clubbing and your drugs and no doubt the SLUTS you're out with. And then you want to come home and TOUCH me? Are you insane?"
He backhands her across the face and she stumbles back into the bedside table. "I must be insane for continuing to put up with your craziness! If we'd moved to LA like I wanted to do 2 years ago I just might be working steady by now, but NOOO we have to be here for the Broadway Diva to get her time in the sun! And as for your theory about other 'sluts' you think I wouldn't rather be HERE, fucking YOU? But no… seems you're not interested in working on OUR relationship, not on that level. And come to think of it, I don't think you ever were. You NEVER let me touch you, and that's not really new… It's always been on YOUR terms. I've been patient, I've had more callouses and cold showers and blue balls the past 2 years than in my entire teenaged life! THAT'S NOT NORMAL RACHEL! Not when two people are supposed to be in LOVE and getting married.. Is that the way I'm expected to live for the rest of MY life?"
"MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I DON'T LOVE YOU BRODY! DID YOU EVER CONSIDER THAT?" she immediately clasps her hands to her mouth, shocked at her own admission.
He looks at her with complete disdain, nodding his head. "Yeah.. I did actually… and it didn't make much sense to me, because I was the one you leaned on, I was the one who carried you through NYADA and earned you that goddamned degree so you can pursue your precious fucking Broadway dreams… and I WAS THE ONE who proposed to you, was willing to marry YOU, despite your 17 kinds of CRAZY that I have to sort out just to stay close to you! I was the shoulder that got soaked in YOUR tears over some other heartless, gutless, worthless, LOSER washed-up jock who threw you out like TRASH! He didn't love you, certainly not the way I do!"
He probably shouldn't have insulted Finn that way, because the next thing she knows she's grabbing the lamp from the bedside table and hits him in the head with it. She makes a break for doorway, making it to the living room before feeling his strong fingers grab at her shoulder and pull her backward. The open hand that comes across her face splits her lip. The next thing she feels is his two hands tightening around her neck as he hisses "Tell me where the fuck you were last night Rachel… tell me NOW." His face is so close to hers she can smell the whiskey on his hot breath and feel the spittle spraying her cheeks. What frightens her more is the crazed look in his coal black eyes.
Her fingers are desperately clawing at his hands to try to loosen his grip. "I w-was at-at a h-h-hotel.." she manages to choke out. He finally drops his hands releasing her from the stranglehold. She coughs and gasps for air to recover.
"Ok now we're getting somewhere. And who were you with?"
She's got such contempt and blind rage built up inside right now, any thoughts for ending this as peacefully as possible or remaining friends has gone out the window. "I was with FINN ok! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?! Is that what you wanted to hear, you fucking worthless piece of shit?" She spits the words at him like poison darts while still trying to clear her voice from the grip he just had on her throat. Her words are low and raspy and full of venom. "And you wanna know all about how he FUCKED me all night long? And he did Brody, he did.. He fucked me for HOURS, over and over and it was SOOO good to finally be with a REAL MAN again, he made me come harder and louder and longer and more times in one night than YOU EVER HAVE! Because I DON'T LOVE YOU! Your little dick is terrible in bed and you could never measure up to Fi–"
The punch to the gut knocks the wind out of her and she folds in half wrapping her arms around herself. As she's hunched over trying to get air back into her lungs, he grabs her by the hair and throws her head first into the wall, where she slides down to the floor. "You talk too much, you cheating bitch." He starts pacing the apartment screaming "I knew it! I KNEW IT… Hudson that cocksucker! You're a lying, cheating WHORE Rachel! Why would you do this? That fucking loser thinks he can just come back here now and take what's mine..? We'll just see about that.."
As he's pacing around and ranting, she manages to reach in her pocket and pull out the phone. It takes a couple tries because her hands are trembling so badly and her vision is blurred but she manages to tap the call button. She hears the line connect and Kurt's voice but she can't get enough air yet to speak.
He sees she's got the phone in her hand and comes rushing toward her, grabbing her by the arm pulling her off the floor, "Aww, you gonna call your sweetie pie to come rescue you now? Huh? GOOD get that motherfucker over here, I'd like to have a little CHAT with him myself!" He backhands her again, knocking her into the wall and the phone flies out of her hand sliding to a stop about three feet away. She's feeling warm fluid run down the side of her face . She slumps down to the floor again and she's seeing double, but she does her best to squeak out the words "Finn.. Help.."
He continues stalking the room like a caged lion, throwing things and turning furniture over. "FINN HELP!" he mocks.. "Yeah, come on Finn, come help.. Here kitty kitty…" The small chairside table comes flying her direction, one of the legs hitting her in the head and the rest crashes against the wall inches away from her. That's the last thing she remembers as she loses consciousness.
. . . . .gleegleeglee. . . . .
"Rachel can you hear me?!" Kurt is completely frenzied and panic stricken. Blaine follows him as he rushes to Finn's room. "FINN! WAKE UP NOW RACHEL'S IN TROUBLE!" Finn feels his brother pulling on his arm but the words 'Rachel' and 'trouble' are what snaps him wide awake. "What's going on Kurt? Is she on the phone? Give it to me!" He grabs the phone, "Rach? Baby? Rachel?" He doesn't hear her, but he hears someone in the background and noises he can't make out. "Kurt what happened, what did she say?"
"I just heard.. I guess his voice yelling in the background and then… she whispered your name asking for help. Oh god Finn she has to be alright, this can't be happening again!"
He's stepping into his shoes while holding the phone to his ear and barking orders. "Call Puck, tell him to meet me at her place, and call 911! I'm going there now, this ends with him today… that son of a bitch! I'll kill him myself! Tell Puck to HURRY!"
Blaine says "I'm already dialing Puck," and Kurt adds "I'll call 911 now," and runs out of the room to get his phone. Finn's already out the front door before Kurt finds his phone.
. . . . .gleegleeglee. . . . .
When Finn gets to her building he realizes he's the first one there, 911 responders have not arrived yet. He can hear lots of sirens in the distance and remembers Rachel mentioned an accident or something while she was on her way back here from the theater. Puck's tried to call him twice on his way there, but he'll be damned if he's losing the only connection to Rachel he has right now so he didn't answer; he couldn't risk dropping the call that was still connected to her phone.
He listens close on the line but doesn't hear anything. Instead of waiting for the elevator he takes the stairs two at a time up to the 2nd floor then hangs up his phone. He arrives at her apartment door to find it ajar and lets himself in without knocking or announcing himself. He just doesn't know what to expect so he's trying to be prepared for anything.
"Rachel? Rach it's me… " He looks around the room, surveilling the damage. It looks like a tornado blew through. As he steps further in, he looks to his left and sees her tiny body in a heap on the floor, motionless by a pile of busted furniture. "Rach! Oh Jesus baby… oh fuck.." He sees the blood on her lip and the side of her head and his stomach flips. "I'm so sorry I should've been here.. Wake up Rach please… " He's chanting under his breath "please please PLEASE be ok baby, please please be ok.." he slowly turns her over, cradling her head in his hands as carefully as possible in case of neck or head injuries and feels for a carotid pulse. He chokes out a shaky relieved breath to find one. "Thank god.." He kisses her forehead and starts to try to cautiously check her out, looking for other signs of injuries, then he feels something whack him across the back of his shoulders, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to lose balance and fall forward overtop of her still form.
He manages to catch himself with one hand on the floor on the other side of Rachel then quickly kneels back and rolls onto the balls of his feet. He looks up to see Brody standing there with a baseball bat and a shit eating grin on his face. "Well HELL-O! Mr. Finn Hudson, I presume? I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Brody, you know, the guy who's fiancée you've been FUCKING?! And now you've broken into my home, so I have the right to defend myself!"
Brody takes another swing aimed at Finn's head and misses. As Finn manages to duck away in time, the centrifugal force of the missed swing causes Brody to loose his footing and stumble forward a little. While he recovers his balance, Finn rises up to his full six foot three inch posture and starts walking toward him. Finn's ready for the next swing of the bat and catches the end of it easily with both of his large hands, pulling Brody toward himself then holding the bat horizontally, slams back using the bat to smack Brody in his face across the bridge of his nose and knocking him on his ass. Finn stands over him and takes a swing straight down with the bat but Brody rolls out of the way in time. He manages to get back up and run into the kitchen and grabs the first thing he can find, a large knife.
Finn chases Brody around the center island of the kitchen taking another swing with the bat trying to knock the knife out of his hand but misses. Finn runs around the opposite direction of the island, wanting to keep himself between Brody and where Rachel is lying on the floor. There's no way this asshole is getting close to her again. Brody lunges forward holding the knife toward Finn's gut and attempts to slash at him while Finn swivels and tries to swing the bat upward towards Brody's face, just as Puck rushes through the door.
In the process of his follow through swing and swivel maneuver, Finn's right side gets too close and the blade of the knife manages to just swipe along his bicep. Puck quickly assesses the situation. Putting to good use all his years of football drills, he immediately takes an offensive tackle position and charges at Brody, knocking him down and pinning him to the floor. Finn steps on Brody's hand and kicks the knife away from him as Puck's fist slams a massive blow to Brody's jaw. Puck lands 3 more punches in a row until the guy goes limp and seems to be knocked out.
Finn rushes straight back to Rachel's side. "Find me a wet towel or something please!" Puck does as he's asked and immediately hands Finn a kitchen towel he'd run under the cold tap water. "What the hell is taking the cops so long… Puck, please man, go outside see if they're around yet, and call 911 again make sure an ambulance is coming, see if you can get an ETA when they'll get here. I'm afraid to move her…. she could have internal injuries for all I know." Finn feel sick and the thought.
Puck's face is washed white at the sight of Rachel unconscious. But he nods at his friend and then looks back at Brody's motionless body. "Sure dude.. But what about him?"
Finn glances at him "Fuck him, he's out.. He better hope he stays that way til the cops come. You still have a wicked right hook dude! Thanks for having my back brother.. But seriously go find the damn ambulance please."
"Anything for you brother, and for Rach.. I'm on it." Puck rushes out the door with phone already to his ear.
Finn holds the compress to her head and whispers in her ear, "C'mon baby, wake up. Time to to open your eyes… Come back to me please, Rach. I'm right here… it's ok now, you're safe. Just open your eyes babe…. "
Her eyelids begin to flutter and Finn releases a long held breath. "Hey.. " he quivers softly to her. The focus is finally returning to her eyes and she starts to smile up at him, then he notices a quick change in her expression just a moment before he hears the movement behind him.
Finn catches a peripheral view of the blade coming down as it lands in his back just above his left shoulder blade. He spins himself around still kneeling beside Rachel who has started to sit up and back away toward the wall. Finn grabs the wrist of Brody's knife wielding hand and uses it as leverage to stand up. He squeezes his hand hard enough he starts to hear popping and feel bones breaking in his clenched fist and the knife falls on the floor. Finn snatches him up by his shirt nearly lifting the shorter man off the floor and howls in his face "STAY AWAY FROM MY FUTURE WIFE!" then cocks a fist back and punches him in the face, knocking him out in a single blow. Puck made it back inside just in time to see the body hit the floor.
Puck's jaw is hanging open as he looks back and forth between Finn, Brody and Rachel. Then he cracks a smirk and says "Well that was pretty damned theatrical Huddy."
"Yeah… can you get this piece of SHIT the fuck AWAY from me please, go lock him in the bathroom or something… and are the cops ever getting here?"
"Yeah good idea man.. And yeah they're on their way with EMS, they should be here in a minute or so. Dude, Finn! Do you know you're bleeding? Your back man… "
"Yeah, slimy little bastard managed to wake up and get me with the blade there when I was tending to Rach.. I'm ok but… Rachel… Holy shit baby." He turns his attention back to her and scoops her off the floor, kissing her cheeks and her forehead "Are you ok baby? I was so scared.. What hurts?"
She wraps her arms around his neck and whispers in his ear "I'm fine now that you're here. Take me home."
"I definitely will, but baby I'm sorry you NEED to see a doctor first, and I probably need a couple stitches too so.. We'll go together ok?" She simply nods with tears streaming down her cheeks. He kisses her face trying to assure her it's all over as the police and EMS workers finally arrive.
. . . . .gleegleeglee. . . . .
Two weeks later…
"I don't care what anyone says, I hope I never get on Finn's bad side like that!"
"Blaine, are you planning to do some bodily harm to his beloved?"
"Umm.. of course not, NEVER!"
Kurt smiles and gives a dismissive waive, "Then you have nothing to worry about!"
"I just can't believe he broke 4 bones in the guys hand just by making a fist, AND broke his jaw?"
"Well, he was the star quarterback for 3 years for a reason.. And to be fair, Puck apparently got in quite a few good punches first, that might also account for the broken jaw - at least in the 2 places that it's fractured. Maybe call it a tie? Whatever the case, it's wired shut and I hear he'll be sipping soup through a straw for quite a few months."
"Yeah but wasn't it the baseball bat to the face served a-la Finn that broke his nose?"
"Indeed, so they think.. I dare say, karma, she is one UGLY bitch!"
Blaine chuckles, "I mean seriously, that guy was like, Jason Vorhees or Michael Myers, seems like they just couldn't keep him down and he kept coming back! Diva's so lucky she only ended up with a mild concussion and a few stitches."
"That was likely due to the cocaine and other drugs found in his system. I've heard through the attorney that he claims he doesn't remember really anything. Except Finn squashing his hand like a beer can." Kurt looks up at Blaine "And yes, Diva IS extremely lucky. Even if this fight wasn't triggered by her breaking off the engagement and the Finn of it all, it would have happened for another reason, and could have been even worse. And what if Finn hadn't been around?"
"Babe you're so right, and you totally did the right thing trying to get him to come back. Aside from the fact that we just missed him and needed him back.. It's just unfortunate it took something this extreme. But Finchel is back together and all is right in the world again."
As they sit in the quiet living room having their conversation, a sudden familiar sound fills the entire apartment, an amorous chorus of "Yesss Fiiiiinnnn's" and "Fuuuuuck Rach's" and various other moaning vocal harmonies.
"So Kurt, ehh, exactly when are we getting that guest room soundproofed again?"
Kurt sighs, flips the page of his magazine without looking up and responds dryly, "Not soon enough apparently. We have to get them to actually VACATE it long enough to have the work done anyway."
Blaine nods in understanding. "Hey! I have an idea.. Can we get them a hotel room as an engagement gift? Then we can get it done while they're away!"
"Well, that is a nice idea, but I think the train tickets back to Lima were my first choice. Finn wants to go home for a few weeks to catch up with the family, and apparently Rachel is going with him. She hasn't been back home either since she got to NYC, probably for the same reasons as him. And I already called the company about prices for the installation, I just have to schedule the date for them to do both the soundproof walls and ceiling as well as the door. When they're finished he could play his drums in there and we shouldn't be able to hear it!"
"This is why I love you Kurt."
. . . . .gleegleeglee. . . . .
Pillow talk….
"How's your shoulder feeling babe?"
"Feels great. So glad the stitches finally came out, they were itchy as hell."
Rachel giggles "I know, you had me trying to scratch them without scratching them.. Good thing they were in a place you really couldn't reach, you would've had an infection."
"Nah.. you would have taken good care of it for me. You DID take care of it for me. Thank you for that."
"Finn.. you don't owe me a thank you for anything.. I owe you."
"Rach, never say those words again. YOU don't owe me a thing. I OWE YOU, six years worth... And I plan to do double duty every day til I make a dent in that debt."
She rolls on top of him, straddling his hips. "Well. By my count this is officially day 10 since we were cleared by the doctors. So you're closing in on a month of repayment already. That's a good start." She smiles and leans down into a soft kiss.
"Are you excited to go home to see everyone?"
"Yeah I really am.. I haven't seen my dads in a long time now. They came out for my birthday last year, that was the last in-person visit. But I do kind of miss Ohio. Maybe more now than I have for years."
"Me too. Mom's really excited. I haven't told her anything about us yet, I wanted it to be a surprise."
"She might have a heart attack Finn, maybe you should have given her a little bit of a warning?"
"Well, the last time I talked to her, she did ASK if I had anyone special in my life yet, which I sort of had to dodge just to keep the secret… And then she CASUALLY mentioned calling Hiram and filled me in on how they're doing."
Rachel's eyes grew huge. "YOU LIED TO YOUR MOM? Finn! It's bad enough you didn't speak to her for six years! And why is she calling my dads?"
Finn's laughing, "Baby. I didn't lie, I just told her I'd fill her in when I got there. And the fact that she mentioned your dads.. I don't think our news will come as much of a surprise as we thought? I think she already has her suspicions... Maybe your dads will be shocked, and maybe I should keep a safe distance from them, but.."
"NO my dads always loved you Finn. Even after the train. They defended you a lot. The only thing they weren't happy about was how you disappeared completely, but they never hated you. In fact at least once a year they'd ask if I'd heard from you yet.. I think they secretly held out hope for us too."
He's playing with the ends of her hair and stroking her breast. "You are amazing you know that Rach? You're the most beautiful, loving, forgiving, talented, caring, gorgeous, amazing person I've ever met. I was a complete fool to let you go before, no matter what the reasons were. And I think about all these.." he brushes across a scar on her arm and leans up to kiss it "..and I feel totally responsible for every last one of them. I still don't know how I got so lucky… I don't know why you love me like you do, because I still don't feel worthy."
"Finn. You're MY light. You're MY heart. And you have my soul already.. So, there's really no great mystery. You're YOU, the other half of me. That's why I love you. And these marks, they're NOT your fault. I played a far bigger role in getting them than almost anyone else. That's my regret, please don't make it yours."
Finn sighs deeply. "I just love you more than anything on this earth. I don't know what I would've done if.. I mean, what if I hadn't come back at all, or if I hadn't gotten there in time and he–"
"Stop Finn. Babe we decided, no more talking about HIM or that day. Especially not when we're here, in bed. This is OUR time. The restraining order is in place, he's on house arrest for medical recovery, and probably doing some serious jail time when it's all over with. Let the lawyers handle all of that. This is you and me now. Let's just.. Move forward."
He sits up and wraps his arms around her tight and lays a long, deep searing kiss on her mouth. They break and he leans his forehead against hers. "Ok you're right… but I do kinda wish you hadn't quit the play. I don't want to feel like you did it just to follow me back to Lima."
"We talked about this already.. I didn't quit for that reason. For one, Lima is a VISIT, not like we're moving there. Also, I needed at least a week to recover from the concussion and it didn't make sense to make them wait so long for my return. But the biggest reason, I just really DID NOT like that play!" they both laugh. "I mean, it was still off-Broadway with a no-name director, but it just wasn't GOOD. I need to be choosier with where I apply my talents. And to be honest… I've been thinking a lot, for a long while now. I mostly like it when I can just, SING. I don't think the acting thing matters as much anymore, or even Broadway really. But what I really like the very best.. is when WE sing together… our harmonies are unbeatable."
"I love our signing together too, but baby I haven't sung since Nationals. So.. I'm not sure what you're suggesting?"
"I know you were talking about college, and you can do that if you want, I fully support it! But.. Maybe we should think about it. Seriously. Just, going to a studio and just, record a demo. You can play drums. I'll write the piano part. We've both written some pretty good original songs, why can't we just write an EP together or something? And even if it's just for US and nothing more comes of it… well, I don't know. Is it silly?"
"Rach nothing you think of is silly. I just… am rusty. Like REALLY rusty. Singing that is, not so much drumming anyway. You might have to get me back in shape vocally first."
"That's not a problem at all Mr. Hudson…" she goes in for a soft kiss. He flips them over so he's on top of her.
"Well, Mrs. Hudson, whatever your wish, it is my command." He attacks her neck with butterfly kisses and finds that spot below her ear that drives her wild.
She giggles loudly and trails off. "Do you think they'll be mad when they find out?"
"No… well, Kurt might have a mini-meltdown, or, ok a MAJOR meltdown - but otherwise I don't think it'll be much shock to anyone else. We waited long enough. And if anyone doesn't like it, too bad. We did this for US, nobody else. If they want to throw a party or whatever, that's up to them. And hell, I'd marry you again, every month.." he kisses her, "..every week (kiss), every DAY (kiss).. as I long as I know you're mine (kiss) and right here in my arms every NIGHT."
"I just think it's pretty funny, I said it jokingly in sophomore year after knowing you for like, a couple weeks, and here we are.. ten years later, eloped in Atlantic City. Oh the irony… " she smiles at him.
"No babe. The irony was going bowling afterwards!" Finn laughs hard and adds "And you're STILL terrible!" They laugh together.
"I love you, husband."
"I love you more, wife."
"Tie?"
"Tie."