Finn reached for Rachel's hand as they walked down the hallway of the hospital. He smelled like her shampoo…every time he caught a whiff of it, he was reminded of the shower they'd shared. She was, of course, too sore for them to make love again, but just spending time with her like that…he wanted more of it. With all of the craziness going on, Rachel was the string that was keeping him grounded.

Rachel knocked on Jacob's door and they were given permission to enter. "Hello, Rachel," Jacob's mother said, hugging the girl. Finn had never met Jacob's mother, but he could easily tell that's who she was; she and Jacob looked a lot alike.

"Mrs. Ben Israel," Finn said, shaking her hand. "I'm Finn Hudson."

She shook his hand, nodding. "I've watched you play football for years," she told him. "Jacob always wanted to play football, but he didn't like getting hit."

"Mom," Jacob said from the hospital bed. "I would like to be happy that I lived, please; not wishing that I had died."

"Sorry," his mother said. She smiled at Finn and Rachel. "I'll just give you a few minutes." She started to walk around Finn, then stopped. Grabbing him in a hug, she held him tightly. "Thank you for saving my son," she said. Before Finn could respond, she left the room.

"Women of all ages love you, huh, Hudson?" Jacob asked dryly from the bed.

"How are you Jacob?" Rachel asked him.

Jacob shrugged. "I'll live. Have a concussion, some broken ribs, was dehydrated," he made a rolling motion with his hand. "You know, the usual."

"You've been hurt like this before?" Finn asked him.

Jacob grimaced. "Not this bad, obviously, but being Jacob Ben Israel at McKinley doesn't bode well for my physical well being."

"Do you know who did it?" Rachel asked him. "Did you see them?"

Jacob shook his head. "They knocked me out from behind," he told her. "Thus, the concussion."

"You didn't see or hear anything?" Finn asked him, disappointed.

"I heard them walk up behind me," Jacob said. "I had started to turn around when they hit me."

"You keep saying "they." Why?" Rachel asked him.

Jacob shrugged, wincing. "It was more than one person," he told her. "More than one set of foot steps."

"Finn," Rachel said suddenly. "We forgot that Detective Bridges was coming by today."

Finn ran his hand through his hair. "That's right," he told her. "We'll run by the police station when we're done with everything and see if he's there." Rachel nodded.

"You look beautiful today, Rachel," Jacob told her. "I believe that a kiss would work wonders in healing me."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Not in this life, Jacob," she told him.

Finn sighed. "Quit putting the moves on my woman," Finn told him, winking at Rachel. "Look, Jewfr- Jacob, Puck and I are going out to see someone and I was hoping that I could leave Rachel here with you."

"Oh yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea," Jacob said excitedly.

Rachel looked at Finn, wide eyed. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she said.

Jacob frowned. "I'll behave, I promise," he told her.

Finn raised his eyebrows in her direction. "Okay, I'll be fine," she told him.

Finn kissed her. "I'll be back soon," he told her.

"What about Noah?" she asked.

"He should be here any minute."

"Be careful," she told him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he told her, hugging her tightly.

Rachel watched him leave the room. Jacob sighed. "I guess I really don't have a chance, do I?"

Rachel smiled at him. "Sorry Jacob."

He shook his head. "Tell me about Ms. Fabray," he said, smiling. "Do you think she'd go for the fro?"

Rachel laughed.

Finn walked out to his truck, checking his phone when he got in it. Puck had sent him a text saying that his mother wouldn't let him leave without something to take to Jewfro at the hospital so he'd called Sam to go with Finn and he'd keep an eye on Rachel after he delivered whatever it was his mom was cooking. All of that in one sentence, no commas, no periods. Finn smiled. They were a lot alike. He texted Rachel to let her know about the change of plans, seeing Sam pull up beside him.

"Hey man," Sam said, hopping into Finn's truck. "Puck told me I needed to meet you here so I could be your babysitter." Finn rolled his eyes, smiling as he backed out of the parking spot.

"You know we're going to talk to Karofsky, right?" Finn asked him.

Sam nodded. "I don't like the idea of that dude's fist hitting my face again, so let's try not to get into a fight, okay?"

"Sounds good to me." He'd found Karofsky's address earlier and he had no trouble finding it. The Karofsky's lived in a large house on the North side of town.

Sam whistled. "This is where Karofsky lives? Damn."

Finn nodded. "This is it."

"I'd be happy if we could afford a house half this size," Sam said, almost to himself.

Finn put his hand on Sam's shoulder, squeezing it briefly. He rang the doorbell and they stood back and waiting. Karofsky's dad answered the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"We were wondering if we could talk to Dave," Sam said.

Mr. Karofsky looked at them, his face grim. "Are you part of whatever's going on?" he asked.

Finn looked at Sam. "What do you mean?"

Mr. Karofsky stepped out of the door, shutting it behind him. "You two think you're tough? Coming to my house, standing in front of me, threatening my son?"

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked him, confused.

"Don't play dumb with me," the man said angrily. "I know what you're doing."

"Well I'm glad you do, because I don't," Sam told him.

Finn shook his head. "Look, we just came to ask Karofsky some questions about an attack on some of our friends."

The man stared at them for a moment. "Some of your friends have been attacked?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "Four of our friends," Finn told him. "It's got to stop."

The man looked back at the house, then at Sam and Finn. "Aren't you the quarterback?"

Finn shrugged. "Yeah."

"But you're not part of the attacks?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, man, my girlfriend was one of the first people attacked. So was one of the cheerleaders, who is our friend from Glee Club."

"You're both in Glee Club?"

"Is that a problem?" Sam asked him, crossing his arms.

The man shook his head slowly. "No, no, that's good." He sighed. "I don't know if David can talk to you or not. He was attacked last night when he was leaving the grocery store."

Finn stood straighter. "What? Someone attacked Karofsky?"

Mr. Karofsky nodded. "He wouldn't let me take him to the hospital. He's too embarrassed. I had a friend of mine- she's a nurse- come over and check him out." The man cleared his throat, clearly upset. "I'm worried about his kidney's…he keeping urinating blood."

Sam looked at Finn. "What would cause that?"

"Repeated kicks to the kidneys," Mr. Karofsky answered.

Finn winced. "Please, sir, if there's any way we could talk to him…we could maybe figure out who's behind this."

The man sighed again. "Come in," he told them, opening the door. "I'll see if he's able to talk with you."

Sam and Finn walked into the house and sat where the man indicated they should. "I can't believe this is where Karofsky lives," Sam said again.

"Why would they attack him?" Finn wondered aloud. "It doesn't make sense."

Mr. Karofsky appeared at the door. "He'll see you in his room." The man turned around, then turned back to look at them. "Please don't stress him out or touch him."

"Shit," Sam said under his breath as they followed him to Karofsky's room. "He must be in bad shape."

Mr. Karofsky led them to his room, motioning them in. "David, just yell if you need anything. I'll be in the next room."

Finn and Sam were unprepared for the sight of David Karofsky. His face was almost unrecognizable. His nose was obviously broken, his lips swollen and bloody, his eyes almost shut. Black and blue bruises covered his face. "Damn, dude," Sam said. "Who did this to you?"

Karofsky turned his head to look at them. "Hudson," he said quietly, wincing as he spoke.

Finn walked closer to the other boy, kneeling beside the bed. He'd spent most of his time in high school hating this guy, but he would never wish this one anyone. He'd caught glimpses of a good guy in Karofsky, and even Kurt didn't hate him any longer. "Dave, who did this?"

"Josh and his gang," Dave told him.

"What the hell, man? Why didn't you tell the police?" Sam asked.

Dave opened his eyes and looked at Finn. "They'll all alibi each other," he told him. "They're each other's alibi. There's so many of them," he paused, taking a breath. "There's so many of them that charges will never stick."

"Who are they?" Finn asked.

"Football guys, hockey guys, basketball guys…hell, there's a little of everyone," Dave told him quietly. "And they're all after you."

Finn shook his head. "This is crazy," he said, fear settling in the pit of his stomach. "What are they trying to accomplish?"

Dave shrugged, then groaned in pain. "They're crazed, man. It didn't start off like this. They started off just being angry. Now they're insane."

"Mob mentality," Sam said. "Like what happens when a riot starts." Dave and Finn looked at him. He shrugged. "It starts off small, but by the time it ends people are dead and maybe hundreds are in jail. They all just get caught up in the mob mentality. It's like they temporarily lose their minds."

Dave nodded. "It's not just about the changes at school," he told them. "They're mad about everything. They're mad they're in Lima. They're mad that most of them won't get out. They're mad that they don't have dreams. They're just mad." He looked at Finn. "And you're the one they've chosen to take that anger out on."

"What happened to you?" Finn asked him.

Dave grimaced. "They wanted me to take your girl," he told Finn.

"What?" Finn said, standing up.

"They wanted me to catch Berry out somewhere and grab her. I wouldn't do it."

Finn felt as if the floor had dropped out from under his feet. "What do they want with Rachel?" Sam asked Dave.

Dave looked at Finn. "You don't want to know," he said lowly.

"Fuck man, I left her at the hospital!" Finn said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and calling Puck.

"Yeah," Puck said.

"They're after Rachel," Finn told him. "You have to get to her."

"What?" Puck said into the phone, stomping on the gas and passing a truck.

"Karofsky said that they're after Rachel," Finn said again, his voice shaking. "They're going to try to grab her."

"The fuck they are," Puck said, speeding up. "I'm almost at the hospital. Call Jewfro's room and tell her what's up. Have Sam call Mike and the other guys to meet us there."

"Okay," Finn said, his breathing rough. "Take care of my girl, Puck," he said to his friend. "Please take care of her."

"I'm on it," Puck said, hanging up.

Sam was talking into his phone. "Is Josh behind all of this?" Finn asked Dave.

"It's not just one guy," Dave told him. "It's all of them."

"We'll be back, man," Finn told him. "I've got to go."

"Take care of her," Dave told him. "They want to hurt her to hurt you."

Finn nodded. He and Sam passed Mr. Karofsky in the hallway. "Thank you," Finn said to the man as they ran out of the house.

Getting into the truck, Finn called the police station. "I need to talk to Detective Bridges," he told the woman who answered. She told him that the detective was out and asked if he wanted to leave a message. "Yes," he said, swerving around a car. "Detective Bridges, this is Finn Hudson. I just left David Karofsky's house. He was attacked last night but hasn't gone to the hospital. He told me that the attackers are after my girlfriend, Rachel Berry. I left her at the hospital with Jacob Ben Israel. If there's any way you could meet us there, that would be great." Finn left his number. He closed his phone and looked at Sam. "Did you get everyone?"

"Kurt, Blaine, Mike and Lauren are on their way to the hospital. The girls wanted to come too and I convinced them that it's not a good idea. Brittany is going to get Artie so he's not alone."

Finn nodded. This was the second time in a week he'd been so terrified he was numb. He called Rachel's cell phone but got her voice mail. Calling the hospital, he asked to be connected to Jacob's room but no one picked up. "Fuck!" he roared.

"We'll get there," Sam said. "She'll be okay."

Finn was silent for a moment, lost in thought. "Someone threw a rock in her window last night," Finn told Sam. "I never even mentioned it to her; I forgot."

"A rock?"

Finn nodded. "Her dads called and told my mom about it." He looked over at Sam briefly. "What if they weren't just trying to scare her? What if they'd been trying to take her last night?"

Sam was quiet, looking out the windshield. "Let's get to the hospital," he said. Finn nodded.

Rachel had wheeled Jacob around the entire hospital, answering questions about Quinn, Mercedes and Santana. Jacob was hoping to have a chance with one of them and Rachel didn't have the heart to tell the poor guy he didn't. Getting back to his room, she helped him get in his bed. "Do you need anything?" she asked him, helping him straighten the blankets out.

"Would you care to get me a Coke?"

"A Coke?" she asked.

"Yeah, from the machine out by the side door," he told her.

"No problem," she said. She was just glad she'd be leaving his room for a few minutes. She sighed as she shut the door behind her. If Broadway didn't work out, she knew that nursing was something she could mark off as a possibility. She walked to the Coke machine and pulled out a dollar, hoping the machine wouldn't give her any grief and just take it.

Someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and pulling her out the side door of the hospital. Rachel screamed into the hand, but barely a sound escaped. Her eyes darted around wildly, searching for some form of help. She found none. The guy dragging her pulled her towards the parking lot, his other strong arm around her neck.

Rachel felt like she was going to pass out. She wasn't just scared; she couldn't breathe. The arm around her neck was cutting off her air supply. She desperately clawed at the arms holding her, but they didn't move. When he got her to the truck he was going to toss her in, Rachel saw Noah walking quickly towards the hospital entrance, not looking in her direction. Screaming his name against the hand that held her, she kicked backwards as hard as she could. With a grunt, the guy who had her loosened his grip on her a fraction of an inch. Pulling his hand down from her mouth, she screamed, "Noah!"

Puck heard Rachel scream and it chilled his blood. Whipping around, he saw her struggling with a large boy from the football team. "Get your fucking hands off of her!" he yelled, running towards the parking lot.

He ran straight to the struggling couple, getting ready to punch the man holding her, when a crowbar hit him in the side of the head. "Noah!" Rachel screamed again, fighting against the guy holding her with renewed vigor. "Noah!"

Puck looked up at her, dazed. He shook his head to clear it but it didn't work. The crowbar came down again and he heard the crunch of broken bones. His collarbone was on fire. Still, he staggered to his feet, lurching towards Rachel with his arms out.

"Stop!" she screamed. Where was everyone? "Help! Someone help! Noah!" Sobbing, she watched as the other football player hit Noah again and again, until he lay on the ground, motionless.

"No," she moaned, sick. "Noah."

"Fuck man, you know someone called the cops," the guy holding Rachel said.

"Get that bitch in the truck and let's get out of here."

Rachel twisted and fought, kicking and screaming. She clawed his face, digging her nails in as deeply as she could. "Stupid bitch!" he said, hitting her in the side of the face. Rachel felt her body go limp. "No," she said softly, reaching for Noah. She looked up and saw Finn and Sam running for the hospital door. "Finn," she said quietly. "Finn."

Finn stopped running, turning around. His eyes found Rachel's right before they closed. "You son of a bitch!" he screamed, running for the truck.

"Let's go, let's go!" the driver yelled.

"Fuck," the guy holding Rachel said. He turned quickly, shoving her into the truck and climbed in behind her.

Kurt, coming into the parking lot, saw Finn running after the truck. Acting on instinct alone, he drove behind the truck, causing it to ram him. Finn caught up to the truck, pulling the passenger side door open and dragging the man inside it out. Blaine jumped out of Kurt's SUV, running towards them. Kurt didn't know what to do. He was afraid that if he got out of the vehicle the driver of the truck would somehow get around him. Everything was happening so fast.

Nurses were running towards Sam, who was standing beside Puck and screaming for help. They put him on a stretcher and wheeled him into the emergency room. Sam turned and ran towards the truck. Finn had the passenger out on the ground and was beating the shit out of him. The driver jumped out of the truck and started running away. Sam ran after him, tackling him before he reached the end of his truck. The driver took the crowbar he'd used on Puck and hit Sam with it, knocking the other boy off of him. Sam sat on the ground, blood pouring out of a gash in his head.

Kurt saw the driver start to get up and pushed his door open, causing the other guy to run into it. He dropped to the ground, unconscious. He looked over at Blaine, who was trying to pull Finn off of the passenger; he wasn't moving. Kurt got out of the SUV and walked to Sam, helping him up. "You need to get inside the hospital," he told his friend.

Sam nodded, wincing. He started walking only to have his legs fall out from under him. He dropped to the ground just as Mike and Lauren drove up, stopping behind Kurt's SUV. "What's going on?" Mike asked him.

"I'm not sure," Kurt told him, falling down hard on his butt.

"Kurt, are you okay?" Lauren asked him.

Kurt put his head back against his tire. "I don't think so," he admitted, closing his eyes. "Someone please help Sam."

Lauren picked Sam up and carried him to the emergency room doors. Police cars descended upon the scene, lights and sirens blaring. Finn was still kicking the man on the ground when they grabbed him, pulling him back. They found Rachel in the truck, unconscious. Mike showed them where the driver lay on the ground, also unconscious.

Kurt put his head in his hands and cried.