January

As the new year started Finn was starting to think about his future again. So much of the last few months had been taken up getting back to normal and adjusting to the workload of senior year that he hadn't had much time for anything else. With some help from his family and Mercedes he had decided what he wanted to do after graduation. The real decision he had to make was where he wanted to do it. Miss Pillsbury had come back at the start of the school year, but she looked like she was going to pass out every time she saw Finn so he guessed that was out. He figured she knew more about the stuff for the kids who were going to college anyhow. All he really needed was a fairly objective adult who would actually listen. Luckily he had that covered.

Finn knocked on the door and waited until Coach told him to come in, "Hey, coach. I was wondering if you had time to talk?"

"Sure, kid. Come on in. What's on your mind?" she said, motioning to the chair across from her desk.

"Well, I've been thinking really hard about what I want to do after graduation and I'm going to try to be a firefighter," Finn said.

"That's great, Finn. I don't think you're the type to sit at some desk all day. When do we start your physical training?" She asked, flipping through some papers on her desk until she found her calendar. "You figure what? You'll prep all summer and try to take the exam in the fall?"

Burt had helped him do some research, and he'd learned a little bit about how to become a firefighter. It wasn't easy. There were tests he had to take and interviews and all kinds of stuff. He'd sat down with the list and it seemed like for everything he had to know there was someone who could help him. Kurt was going to tutor him in the academic stuff for the civil service test. Mercedes was going to watch movies with him and help him practice his note-taking and observation skills for the information gathering part. His mom could help with the interview portion and his dad had the tools and mechanical stuff covered. Sam and Puck were already running with him every morning at the indoor track. He should have known Coach would offer before he could even ask.

"Yeah, I'd like to start really working out the week after school gets out. Basketball should keep me in good enough shape over the spring. I don't know how to thank you. For all of this," Finn said. Things could have gone so differently last year if it wasn't for her, and in the worst way possible. There was no way his identity would have stayed a secret if there had been a trial.

"Graduate, go out in the world and make a difference. That's all we can ask of any of you. Well, that and large alumni donations to the football and performing arts boosters," she said with a smile.

"Got it," Finn said before trying to figure out how to bring up the other thing he wanted to talk about. "Remember when you told me what objective meant? I could use someone objective now, and in this case you qualify."

"Okay, what's up?"

"Mercedes got her letter from Ohio State this week, she got in. I knew she would. The thing is, I'm thinking about applying for the Columbus Fire Department instead of something around here. I know we haven't been together that long, and we're not even out of high school yet, but I'd at least like to try to stay together," Finn explains.

Coach nods, "Okay, and what do your parents think about this?"

Finn sighs, "Mom is still a little freaked out about how dangerous being a firefighter is. She wants me to go to community college or something for a while at least. I don't know what she'd say about me wanting to move out on top of all that. She's already getting emotional about Kurt going to New York and he hasn't even heard from his schools yet. Dad is cool with it, he gets that not everyone needs to go to college."

"I take it you want my honest opinion?"

"I wouldn't be expect anything less, coach."

"Go to Columbus if you can. Don't go because of Mercedes, go for you. Go to experience some of the world. If things work out between you two that's great, but you should get out of Lima for yourself," she said. Finn smiled, yeah, that made a lot of sense. If he wasn't dating anyone he wouldn't want to stay in Lima. This just helps him narrow down where to go.

Coach took a deep breath before she spoke again, "There's another reason you should think about leaving. Did you know that my brother is a paramedic back home? I know a little about this world you want to get into. Paramedics, firefighters, and police officers work very closely together, especially in a small town like this..."

She didn't have to finish, Finn knew what she was trying to say. If he stayed the only people outside his family and friends who knew what Schue did to him would be the ones he was around all the time. Things would be messy.

"Yeah, I get it. Maybe that's what I should talk to mom about. Thanks, coach. I should get to rehearsal. Are you and Andy coming for dinner on Friday?" It had been about two months and Finn knew that the two were seeing a lot of each other.

Coach rolled her eyes, "Yes, and I'm hoping Miss Jones is joining us as well. She's the only one who can get your brother to behave."

"Yeah, she's good at that." Finn couldn't resist teasing a little as he headed out the door, "See you Friday, Auntie Shannon."

He heard the snort first and that was enough warning to dodge the nerf ball that came at his head. All he heard from the office as he ducked quickly out the door was "Shut it, Hudson."

February

McKinley had four snow days in February and Finn and Mercedes spent all of them together. The blizzard that closed school had been so bad his parents had stayed home as well. After the main streets had been cleared Finn borrowed Burt's 4-wheel drive truck and went to pick up Mercedes since her parents had been snowed in at her grandparents' house in Dayton. Nobody wanted her to be home by herself during this kind of weather.

The entire family spent the day watching movies and playing some of the old board games Kurt had found in the basement. Finn was not really surprised that his step-brother was kind of a sore loser when it came to games like this. Finn had been victorious in both Jenga and Sorry, and he was hoping he might be able to convince Mercedes to help him celebrate later on.

He really should have known better than to play Taboo against the team of Kurt and Mercedes though. He and his dad tried, but the other two had a ton of common knowledge and inside jokes so they could easily avoid the words on the card with clues like "Johnny Depp was one in that weird movie" or "The second thing we make fun of Quinn for." They never stood a chance, but Finn knew that this day would still be one of his favorite memories.

Their parents were able to go back to work after two days, but some frozen pipes kept McKinley closed longer. Kurt went to the garage to help his dad since people would be looking to get their cars fixed after they did stupid stuff in the snow and messed them up. Burt had been trying to teach Finn some of the basics, but he'd be way to busy for more lessons today.

It was when he was wandering through the kitchen looking for something to eat that he realized he and Mercedes had the house all to themselves. She was still staying in the guest room until her parents got back. She was probably still asleep since she and Kurt had stayed up late last night for a Supernatural marathon. He wasn't the greatest at the romance stuff, but he'd seen enough commercials to know that chicks usually liked breakfast in bed. He still wasn't allowed to use the stove, but he was pretty good with the waffle maker and he knew Kurt had left some organic orange juice in the fridge.

After loading up a tray with breakfast for both of them he went upstairs and quietly knocked on the door to the guest room, "Mercedes, are you up?"

A sleepy "umm hmm" was all he got but he pushed through the door, hoping the promise of food would wake her up.

"Good morning, 'Cedes. I made waffles; I'll even eat the burnt one!" He set the tray down on the desk and started to hand Mercedes a glass of orange juice when she sat straight up in bed.

"Finn, this is really sweet but I'm a total mess! I haven't even brushed my teeth yet," she said as she shyly tried to pull the scarf she had wrapped around her hair away. He laughed and said "Well, you might as well eat your waffles before you brush. You know I think you're hot no matter what."

She smiled and relaxed a little, "Fine, fine. Give me the waffle."

As they ate Finn filled her in on the weather and the rest of the family's plans for the day. She must have caught on that they had the house to themselves. She shifted in the bed and looked really serious. "Finn, I've kind of been thinking that maybe if things happened and we had the chance, well, I'm ready for more."

Okay, he honestly hadn't been thinking about that today. Really, they were getting pretty good at the stuff they'd been doing since Thanksgiving and with the house empty he'd just thought it would awesome if they could take their time for a change. He wondered what she meant by more, though. He didn't want oral. It was just something that had too many bad emotions tied up in it. It had been one of the more difficult parts of his attack to wrap his head around. More than that, it was also the feeling of having someone do something to you instead of with you.

They had talked about this, sometime after New York when they were just kissing and he wondered if she even remembered. She probably did, she was good at stuff like that. That meant that if she wanted more she probably meant the whole thing, and that was a huge deal. Especially for her.

"More? I mean, more at this point is pretty much everything isn't it?" He didn't realize he wasn't really looking at her until she tipped his face up.

"Finn, I know it is. My mom took me to the doctor before the holidays and I'm on the pill. Please don't feel like we have to do anything if you aren't ready. We can wait to talk about this next week or next month or next year if you want," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"No!" Okay, so that came out a little more forcefully than he intended, he shook his head. "No," he said gently, "It's not that I don't want to, believe me I really, really want to. I just want this to be so special for you and I can't promise for sure that nothing is going to freak me out. I don't think it will, but I'm just so scared I'll ruin it."

She looked at him for a minute and slipped both her smaller hands around his large one. "Don't be so hard on yourself. No one's first time is perfect, but it will be special because it's you and I love you. Whether it's now or a year from now it's still going to be you."

"I guess it will be better than most of our friends' first times since you won't get pregnant or be just another notch in Brittany or Santana's bedposts, " he said, trying to lighten the mood a little. She laughed and pressed her face to his chest, "Right. At least you don't have a boyfriend trying to hide his limp from your father!"

He was smiling now too, "Yeah, I still owe Kurt a high five for that," he ducked her smack and said, "seriously, you matter so much to me and if you think you are ready, if you think we are ready, then I want to be with you like that."

She smiled, "Not today though, take some time to get used to the idea. It's okay if you want to talk to Doc McKenna or something. Whatever makes you feel ready. When it happens is there anything I should or shouldn't do?"

He had to be the luckiest guy in the world, but then he'd figured that out a while ago. He thought for a minute, "Nothing you would do could remind me of that, not really. But just to be careful, maybe not a lot of talking while it's actually happening?" She nodded, of course. She knew more of the details than almost anyone. He'd needed her to know the truth all along. He continued, "I want to look into your eyes, but that is just about wanting this to be awesome. Oh, please wear whatever it is that makes you smell so good. I'm sure my brain connects you to that smell and it can't hurt."

"I can do that," she said and pulled him closer so they could cuddle before they had to get up.

Two weeks later Mercedes pulled him into a long kiss as he left her house early on a Saturday morning and he couldn't help but wonder why he'd been so worried about it being okay. She was right; it hadn't been perfect, but it had been amazing.