Author's Note: I can't believe that I got over 600 reviews for this story! You guys are so amazing, and I can't thank you enough for it. So, as usual, the flashback is in italics. This chapter titles comes from "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"Alright, Finn. I'll see you next week, okay?"

Finn nodded his head as he left his brother's apartment. "See you next week, little brother."

Kurt sighed and shook his head. "And Finn?"

Finn turned to find Kurt giving him a sympathetic look. He wished that people would stop looking at him like that. It had been little more than a month since his break up with Quinn, and it seemed as if everyone was giving him that same sad look.

"Don't let what happened get you down, Finn," Kurt said with an encouraging smile.

Finn managed a smile just to appease his brother. "I won't, Kurt," he said. "Don't worry." He was tired of everyone feeling so sorry for him. That annoyed him more than anything else.

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Kurt nodded his head. "Okay, Finn. Bye."

"See you around." Finn finally left his brother's apartment and took the elevator downstairs. He checked his phone as he walked outside, scrolling through for any unanswered messages. He saw that his mother had called once again. She had been constantly checking in on him for the past month. It wasn't that Finn didn't appreciate it, but he just wished that he could have a few minutes to himself.

Just then, the sound of laughter caught his attention. Finn looked around; he knew that laugh. He felt a smile come to his lips when he caught sight of Rachel. She was walking with Santana, and she was wearing a bright smile.

Unaware of what he was doing, Finn stopped to watch Rachel as she walked down the street and into her building. And then the realization suddenly hit him, as if it had been there all along.

He had feelings for Rachel Berry.

Finn wasn't entirely sure when they had developed, or when they had gotten as strong as they were. He had completely missed it. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had liked her since he had first met her.

Finn's smile grew even more. All those times he had talked to her, he had never realized that his feelings were just growing for her even more. For a split second, he felt guilty about the fact that he had been harboring feelings for Rachel while he had been dating her older sister. But he didn't really feel that bad—not after everything that had happened, and especially considering that he hadn't even realized he had these growing feelings.

Finn remembered the time he had comforted Rachel after she had broken up with her jackass of a boyfriend over winter break. Now that he actually allowed himself to think about it, it felt good to hold Rachel in his arms like that. His mind drifted to how Rachel had leaned into his arms and gripped his shirt, and he wondered if his feelings were entirely one-sided.

Given that he and Quinn had only just broken up, Finn wasn't going to do anything about his feelings for Rachel… yet. He had to give it some time. He didn't want to put her in an awkward place, since she was Quinn's little sister after all. But at that moment, Finn resolved to one day be with Rachel Berry.

Rachel couldn't believe how late it was when she finally woke up. Her argument with Quinn last night must have taken more out of her than she realized. She rolled over to Finn's side of the bed, burying her face in his pillow and inhaling his scent. After another moment, Rachel forced herself to leave the bed. She didn't bother to change out of Finn's t-shirt, since it was quite possibly one of her favorite things to wear.

As she stepped out into the kitchen, she frowned when she realized that Finn wasn't home yet. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax. Just because Finn wasn't back yet didn't mean that everything wasn't okay. She couldn't freak out like this every time Finn was on a call. She just had to trust and believe that he was going to return safely.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Rachel turned back towards the fridge. Pulling it open, she smiled when she saw that it was packed with her favorite food, in addition to Finn's. She grabbed a yogurt and then a muffin before she took a seat at the island.

Rachel began to eat her breakfast as she thought about what had transpired the night before. She felt a little better now that some time had passed, but she wished that the argument hadn't escalated as quickly as it had. She hadn't meant to lose control like that.

But she couldn't help but think that everyone else had been right. Quinn didn't really have a right to be angry. All she had wanted was to share how happy she was, and she shouldn't have to feel bad about that.

Everyone said that Rachel would be over dramatic, but Quinn often acted that way as well. Quinn was used to always getting what she wanted and having everyone want her. Rachel never begrudged her sister for that, because she had never been that way. But Quinn wasn't used to sharing, even when it wasn't hers anymore. Rachel knew that was at least part of the reason as to why Quinn was so angry.

Once everything had calmed down, Rachel was going to talk to her sister again. And she was determined to make this a rational conversation. It probably hadn't been the best idea to have an audience like that last night, but Quinn had noticed that something was up. Rachel had been so tired of keeping her relationship with Finn a secret that it had all just come tumbling out.

She sighed and combed her hand through her hair once again. She couldn't help but think of what might have happened had she just come clean with Quinn in the beginning. Part of her thought that she had been right to keep it quiet, given the way that Quinn had reacted the night before. Another part of her thought that maybe it wouldn't have been so bad had she just owned up to it.

Once again, Rachel pushed those errant thoughts away. There was no point in wondering about what could have happened. Not now, anyway. Rachel had made her choices and now she had to work through them.

With her plan of action made, Rachel finished up her breakfast and quickly cleaned up. Just as she was leaving the kitchen, the door to Finn's apartment opened. Rachel stopped immediately, hoping that it was Finn, but relaxed when she saw that it was Kurt.

Her brow furrowed when she realized that Kurt was followed by Santana. Both of them were wearing somber expressions that instantly made Rachel's heart drop.

"Rachel, where is your phone? Why haven't you been answering it?" Kurt demanded as soon as he saw her.

Rachel immediately walked over to her discarded purse. It was sitting by the coffee table, and Rachel had turned it off after last night events. While she waited for it to start up again, she asked, "What's going on?"

Santana just pressed her lips together before she said, "Rachel, you should probably get dressed." Her voice was quiet, and Rachel tried to remember a time when her best friend had sounded like that. Nothing came to mind, and it only made Rachel's concern grow more.

"Tell me what's going on," Rachel demanded. Some part of her knew what happened, but she didn't want to think that it was true. She wouldn't believe it until someone said it first.

"Rachel…" Now Kurt kind of looked like he was going to cry, but he took a deep breath to hold it in. And then he spoke five words that sent her world crashing down around her. "Finn is in the hospital."

Rachel burst through the hospital emergency room doors and immediately caught sight of Finn's chief. She rushed over to Beiste before either Santana or Kurt could stop her.

"Beiste!" Rachel twisted the over-long sleeves of Finn's sweater in her hands. She hadn't been able to find her jacket, so she just grabbed one of his sweaters. It was offering her more comfort than she had realized. "Please tell me that he's okay." Of course, Rachel wouldn't relax entirely until she had seen Finn for herself. But she just needed to hear someone say that he was going to be alright.

Beiste reached out and put a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder. The younger woman didn't like the look that she was giving her, and her heart sank even further. "He's still in surgery," the chief explained.

Rachel immediately went pale. "Surgery?" she repeated at a whisper. "Why is he in surgery?"

"They haven't told me a lot yet," Beiste said as she tried to calm Rachel down. "But I do know that a beam fell on him—"

"What?" Rachel was about two seconds away from completely losing it. "A beam? How did—"

Santana and Kurt both stepped forward, and they helped guide Rachel into a chair. She wasn't crying yet—she was doing everything in her power to stop herself from doing it—but she was shaking. Rachel bit down hard on her bottom lip and inhaled deeply through her nose several times in an effort to calm herself down.

"We should know soon," Beiste said. "In the meantime, maybe we can get you down to the cafeteria and get you something warm to drink—"

"No," Rachel said firmly. She took a shaky breath and then said, "I'm staying right here."

No one bothered to argue with Rachel, because they knew that there was no point to it. As more times passed, more firefighters from Finn's engine filled the waiting room. Apparently, Finn wasn't the only one to get hurt—though his injuries appeared to be the worst.

Sam and Mercedes entered the waiting room and immediately went over to Rachel. Sam was only sporting a few scrapes on his forehead but otherwise seemed unharmed. Mercedes hugged Rachel and then Sam did the same.

"He's going to be okay," Sam told her. "Alright? He's going to be just fine."

Rachel just nodded her head but didn't really say anything. Mercedes and Sam shared a look as they sat down on the other side of Rachel. All was silent for several moments, but Sam couldn't take the quiet anymore.

"Did you call your parents yet?" Sam asked Kurt.

The smaller man nodded his head. "They already get tickets for a flight over." Checking his watch, Kurt added, "They should just be taking off now."

"Finn should be out of surgery soon," Beiste announced. "Rutherford got his stitches and should be out in a minutes. And Puckerman just got his ankle wrapped, so he'll be joining us soon as well."

Rachel, Santana, and Kurt looked up. Puck was here? That meant that Quinn was either here or on her way, and none of them knew what to make of that. Before they could ask any more questions, the doors opened and Matt Rutherford and Puck came out. Matt was sporting a bandage over his hairline and Puck was on crutches.

When he saw his friends, Puck ambled over to them. Before they could ask, he said, "I don't know how Finn is doing yet. But, uh… I was there when it happened."

"You were?" Kurt demanded. "What exactly happened? Why don't we know anything yet? How badly is he hurt?"

A guilty look came over Puck's face. "We were getting people out. Finn stayed behind to make sure that the building was clear when part of the ceiling fell in. Just when they were getting around it a beam fell on Finn. I don't know a lot about what happened after that, but I know that it messed up his tank and his oxygen got cut off." He shook his head. "Finn always has to stay behind and be the hero."

Rachel pressed a hand to her mouth. She was too upset to say anything else, and she didn't even know the full story yet. She was so proud of Finn, and she knew that he loved his job, but it still terrified her to know that things like this could—and did—happen. Seeing the look on Rachel's face, both Puck and Beiste quickly began to reassure Rachel.

"But he wasn't in there for very long," Beiste immediately said.

"We got him out as fast as we could," Puck added. "Now it's just a matter of waiting."

Rachel closed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair once again. "I should have answered my phone."

"What?" Even though it was Kurt that had spoken, everyone turned to look at her. "Rachel, what are you talking about?"

Burying her face in her hands, Rachel said, "My phone should have been on. Then I could have gotten the call sooner and I would have been here—"

"Berry, don't beat yourself up over this," Santana interrupted. "You heard Beiste. Finn's been in surgery for a while now. If you had gotten the first call, they probably wouldn't have let you in to see him."

"Still," Rachel whispered. "I should have been here. What if he was awake? What if he was—"

Mercedes shook her head. "Don't do this to yourself, Rachel," she said as she reached over and squeezed Rachel's hand. "You couldn't have known that Finn was going to get hurt on his call today, and it's not your fault that you weren't here the second he got to the hospital. You didn't know that it wasn't going to happen."

Rachel bit her lip and nodded her head, mostly just to placate everyone. She still felt horrible for having her phone off, but she wasn't going to mention it anymore. Still sitting in her chair, Rachel pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

Just then, another person entered the ER waiting room. Everyone looked up to see Quinn standing there with Beth in her arms. She immediately made her way over to her husband, reaching out with her free hand to touch his shoulder.

"Puck, are you okay?" Quinn asked as she inspected his ankle. Beth called out for her daddy and Quinn held her as she leaned over and hugged him. Quinn embraced her husband as well, holding on to his hand.

"I'm fine," Puck quickly assured her. He kissed her softly as he pulled her into his side. "My ankle is sprained and I should be good to go in about a week."

Quinn nodded her head and looked down at Rachel, who was still curled up on her chair. Despite her earlier resolve to talk to Quinn, Rachel didn't look at her at all. Now was not the time to have that conversation. But what Rachel didn't see was the way that her older sister's eyes softened in concern.

Noticing the way Quinn's gaze went, Puck explained, "Finn is in surgery. He was hurt pretty badly."

Quinn nodded her head but otherwise remained silent. Everyone who was watching her saw how bad Quinn felt, though. It was clear that she no longer cared about the events that had transpired the night before and seemed to really regret how she acted. It just seemed as if no one knew what to say.

Puck put a hand on Quinn's back. "Come on. Let's go sit down." They went to the other side of the waiting room, and then everyone settled in for the rest of the wait.

Another half an hour passed before the ER doors finally opened once again and the doctor came out. Everyone immediately jumped to their feet, and Beiste reached the doctor first.

"How is he, doctor?" she asked.

"Lieutenant Hudson is out of surgery," the doctor said. "He sustained a severe concussion. He has fractures in three of his ribs and had a collapsed lung, which we re-inflated. He also has a dislocated shoulder, which we also repaired. Due to the concussion and the oxygen loss, his is currently unconscious. Now, we just have to wake for him to wake up."

Beiste nodded her head. "Can he have any visitors?"

"One at a time," the doctor allowed.

Kurt nudged Rachel forward. "You go first, Rachel," he said.

"Are you sure?" But even as Rachel spoke, she was stepping towards the door. Everyone in the waiting room nodded their heads, and Rachel wen to find Finn's room.

She took a deep breath before entering. She really had to hold back her tears once she caught sight of Finn. His skin was even more pale than it usually was, and he had several bruises and scrapes. He was hooked up to many different machines, and she could see the bandages under his hospital gown.

"Finn…" Rachel whispered. She sat in the chair next to his bed and reached forward, carefully taking one of his large hands in between both of her own. She wished that his fingers would curl around hers like they always did, but Finn's eyes remained closed and his hand stayed still.

"I'm so sorry that I wasn't here before," Rachel continued. Reaching up, she brushed his hair back and then pressed a kiss to his forehead. Before she could stop herself, words started pouring from her mouth. "I wish that I had just agreed with you and told everyone about us in the beginning. Everything would have been so much easier and we wouldn't have gotten so angry last night. I never should have put you in that place, and I'm so sorry."

Rachel's lips moved from his forehead down to his lips. She kissed him again, softly and gently. She could feel the tears threatening to spill over and she closed her eyes as she touched her forehead's to Finn's, stroking his hair back.

"I love you, Finn," Rachel whispered. "I love you so much."

She stayed like that for a few more minutes, just standing there and being with Finn. Eventually, she knew that she had to let other people into the room to see him. So Rachel kissed Finn one more time before she left.

Going back to the waiting room, she quickly told the occupants that the next person could into Finn's room before she turned and left again. Seeing Finn had made all of the emotions she had been trying to hold back come surging up again, and it wasn't long before Rachel could feel several tears trickle down her cheeks.

Rachel turned down another hallway and leaned against the wall, sinking down until she was sitting on the floor. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she buried her face in them and allowed herself to finally cry. Overwhelmed with everything that had happened and scared for Finn, Rachel didn't hold back.

Rachel didn't know how long she had been sitting there ,but she suddenly became aware of the fact that she wasn't alone. She looked up and hastily wiped at her cheeks as she tried to calm herself down.

Standing in front of her was Quinn.

Rachel's mouth dropped open in surprise as she stared up at her older sister. Quinn was watching her with a look full of concern as she reached out to touch her shoulder. Rachel wondered how long she had been standing there.

Finally, Quinn spoke. "We need to talk."

Author's Note: Left it a cliffhanger! And here I was thinking that Finn's injuries were going to be a surprise, but you all seemed to figure that out, lol. Also, I don't really have a whole lot of medical knowledge, so I just kind of made Finn's injuries up as best as I could. Thanks for reading!