"It's going to be okay," Blaine kept telling him.

Kurt continued to ignore him. There was no way this was ever going to be okay. Puck was in a coma. PUCK. How the hell did that happen? How could that happen? Rachel, after regaining consciousness, had finally cried herself to sleep. Finn was still with the police, and it had broken his heart every time Rachel had cried out for him and Kurt had had to tell her that he wasn't there. The guy who'd grabbed Rachel was in bad shape, and Kurt was terrified that Finn had killed him. The driver had been taken to jail after he'd regained consciousness. Sam was in a recovery room with 56 stitches in his head and a possible concussion.

And Kurt's SUV was totaled. Yeah, nothing about this was okay.

The rest of the Glee Club sat with them in the waiting room. Kurt was fairly certain that they were all in various states of shock. Carol hadn't stopped crying since she and his dad had gotten here. They all just felt so…useless.

Finn strode through the doors, still wearing the blood splattered shirt he'd had on earlier. "Finn!" Carol cried, rushing towards him and grabbing him in a hug.

"Thanks for being here," he told his mom. "How is she?"

"She's going to be okay," Carol told him.

"Is she awake?" he asked.

Carol shook her head. "She's asleep in Noah's room. She wouldn't leave him."

Finn nodded. "How is he, Mom?" For a moment, he sounded like the scared little boy he was.

"Oh, honey, I don't know," Carol said, crying. Behind her Santana began sobbing again and Quinn hugged her, rubbing her back. "He hasn't woke up."

Finn rubbed his face with his hands. "Will they let me see him?"

Carol nodded. "You can go in."

Finn looked at Kurt. "Walk with me?" he asked his brother.

Kurt nodded, getting up. "I'll be back in just a minute," he told Blaine.

"You did good today," Finn told him as they walked down the hallway.

"I'm not sure what happened, really," Kurt admitted. "I just reacted."

"I guess I'm not the only leader in our family then, right?" Finn said, smiling tiredly. "What about the guy I pulled out of the truck? Do you know how he is?"

"He's in pretty bad shape," Kurt told him honestly.

Finn sighed. "Shit."

Kurt looked at him, not wanting to say what he had to say. "He may not make it, Finn."

Finn's face paled and he stopped walking. "Did they say that?"

"Carol asked his parents. They're somewhere around here."

"Oh God," Finn said, bending over and taking deep breaths. "I didn't mean to…I mean, yeah, I wanted to beat the shit out of him, but I never meant to…"

"Breathe," Kurt told him. "Take deep breaths."

"This is so fucked up," Finn said, fighting back tears.

Kurt watched him. "It's okay to fall apart," he told him quietly.

Finn shook his head. "If I fall apart now, I don't know if I'll ever find all of the pieces to put myself back together."

"That's what friends are for," Kurt told him.

Finn looked at Kurt. "I'm losing this war," he told him. "I don't know how to stop them."

Kurt put his hand on Finn's shoulder, pulling him in for a hug. Finn's arms tightened around Kurt as a harsh sob escaped from his mouth. Kurt felt tears flowing down his own face. They had never imagined anything like this happening; the senselessness of it was horrifying. Only a week ago they were normal teenagers, excited about going back to school and being seniors. Now they'd been attacked; if not personally, then as a group.

Finn broke down. He'd been holding in his fear and his anger for so long he felt as if letting them go was like losing a part of himself. They stood in the hallway for a few minutes, Finn holding Kurt like he was drowning. Pulling back, Finn wiped at his face with both hands. "I'm sorry," he told the other boy.

"No, it's fine," Kurt said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his face with it. "I needed to cry too."

"I can't lose Puck," Finn said brokenly. "Not like this."

"We're not going to lose him," Kurt told him. "Now go in there and see them. I'm going back out to the waiting room."

Finn nodded. "Love you, Kurt," he told him. "I'm glad we're brothers."

Kurt smiled softly. "Me too."

Finn watched Kurt walk down the hall, then walked into Puck's room. His gaze immediately found Rachel, curled into a ball on the couch. She was still asleep, so he pulled the blanket she'd knocked off over her, brushing her hair away from her face. "I love you," he whispered to her.

He walked over to Puck's bed, looking at all of the machines hooked up to his friend before actually looking at the man. Most of Puck's head was covered in bandages, but what Finn could see of his face was discolored. "You did it, man," Finn told him quietly. "You saved my girl. If it wasn't for you, they would have taken her." Finn paused, his throat tightening with tears. "I'll never be able to repay you for that," he said. "I'm so sorry this has happened to you."

"Finn?" Rachel said, sitting up groggily.

"Hey baby," he told her, walking over to where she was and kneeling down.

Rachel reached for him, hugging him close to her. "Finn," she said against his neck. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. He pulled back and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Rachel shook her head. "It's my fault Noah got hurt," she said, crying quietly. "If I hadn't screamed for him, this wouldn't have happened."

"No, it's not your fault. None of this is your fault, Rachel."

Rachel looked over at Puck. "I should have just gone with them," she told him, wiping at the tears on her face.

"Rachel, look at me," Finn said, taking her hands. Rachel looked into his eyes. "Do you remember how Santana blamed herself for your attack?" he asked her. Rachel nodded, hiccupping. "It's the same thing. Did you blame Santana for you getting hurt?"

Rachel shook her head. "It wasn't her fault."

"It's not your fault either, babe," he told her, kissing her softly. "The only people to blame are the ones that hurt you. This is on them."

Rachel nodded, putting her head on his shoulder. "Where were you?" she asked him. "Carol said that the police wanted to talk to you."

Finn rested his chin on top of her head. "I guess I attacked one of the police officers that responded to the scene," Finn told her. "I don't remember it, but that's what they said happened. After they questioned me, they didn't charge me with anything and let me come back here." He didn't mention the fact that he may still face charges…and serious ones.

Rachel lifted her head and scooted over on the couch, gesturing to Finn that he should sit beside her. He sat, then pulled her into his lap. "Do they know who's doing this?" she asked him.

"I know who's doing this," Finn told her. "Karofsky told me and Sam who it was." He lightly touched a new mark on her face, his body once again flushing in anger. "This has to end."

A knock sounded on the door and Quinn entered. "I didn't mean to interrupt," she told them, walking into the room. She looked at Puck, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Are you two okay?"

Rachel nodded. "We're fine."

"What is it?" Finn asked her. He wasn't being rude; he could tell that she had something to say.

"I got a text message earlier," she told them. "It was from Brandi." Brandi was another cheerleader on the Cheerios. "She told me that I had until 9 tonight to come to Josh's house and join them..." she paused, looking down, "or I'd be next." A lone tear fell down her face.

"What are you going to do?" Finn asked her.

Quinn looked up, startled. "Do you think I would join them after what they've done to us?"

"I know you wouldn't," Rachel said, looking at the girl. "And that means you're in danger."

Finn was silent for a moment. "Puck is going to have a guard overnight," he told the girls. "I've already talked to the police about it. His mother is still out of town and won't be able to get in until tomorrow." Quinn and Rachel looked at him. "Why don't you stay here tonight, with Puck? I'll try to figure something out by tomorrow." He sighed. "I really don't want to leave him alone, and I want to take Rachel home."

"I can do that," she said, again looking at Puck. "I wanted to stay anyway."

"Can your mom bring you some clothes?" Rachel asked her.

Quinn nodded. "I'll call her."

"Be sure to let the guard know what's up." He sighed. "I guess we need to have another group meeting," Finn said.

"Are they all still in danger?" Rachel asked him.

"Probably now more than ever," Finn told her sadly.

"I'm going to stay in here with Puck," Quinn told them. "Is that okay?"

Finn nodded. "I'll tell them what Brandi said."

Rachel hugged Quinn. "Please call us if he wakes up," she told the other girl. "No matter what time it is. Or if anyone tries anything, okay?"

Quinn nodded, hugging her back. "I will." She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Rachel, for everything."

"I know," Rachel said, pulling back. "It's okay."

Finn took Rachel's hand and nodded at Quinn. "We'll be back over in the morning."

Rachel and Finn walked back into the waiting room. "Has anything changed?" Santana asked.

Finn shook his head. "No."

"Where's Quinn?" Mercedes asked.

"She's staying with Puck."

"Why?" Tina asked.

Finn sat down and again pulled Rachel down on his lap, telling their friends about the text Quinn had gotten. "Holy shit," Brittany said. "I knew that girl was a bitch."

"Since Puck is going to have a guard at his door, Quinn is going to stay here with him. That way they won't be alone," Finn told them.

"What about us?" Mercedes said. "Are we still in danger?"

"I think so," Finn told them quietly.

"Why can't the cops do anything about this, Finn?" Burt asked.

Finn shrugged. "We're a small town. There aren't enough cops to guard every one of us, especially if they don't know who is in danger."

"Shouldn't Rachel have a guard?" Mike asked him.

Finn nodded. "I talked to the police about Rachel." He looked at her. "Where are your dads?"

"Probably on their way back here," she told him. "They went home to change clothes and were coming right back."

Finn nodded, staring at the ceiling for a moment. He looked at his friends, then at Rachel. "You dads didn't know if they wanted me to tell you this," he told her, "but someone threw a rock in your window last night."

"What?" Rachel asked, shocked. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I forgot about it," Finn admitted. "I'm sorry. I just had…other things…" he trailed off, blushing. He prayed that no one else figured out the cause of his embarrassment.

"Oh," Rachel said; she too blushed.

"Anyway," Finn said, not looking at his mother, "Sam and I were talking and we think that maybe they didn't just throw a rock in your window last night." He looked at her. "Maybe they were going to try to take you last night."

"Why are they focusing on Rachel?" Santana asked.

Finn explained about his visit to Karofsky's house. "Burt, if there's any way you can…could you go over and talk to Mr. Karofsky tomorrow? I really think Dave needs to go to the hospital."

"This is insane," Carol said. "How can so many teenagers get attacked and no one do anything?"

"Well, after I talked to the police about Rachel, they agreed to drive by our house every thirty minutes, checking for signs of something wrong."

"Your house?" Rachel asked. "Why your house?"

"The police agreed with me that you'd be safer at my house," Finn said. "Not only is there more people, but they won't expect you to be there." He looked at her. "I really think that you and your dads should just pack up and go somewhere, Rach."

Rachel stared at him. "Go somewhere? You mean run away?"

Finn sighed. "Protecting yourself isn't running away," he told her.

"No. I'm not doing that," Rachel said adamantly. "No way."

"Her fathers could stay with us too," Carol said, looking at Burt. "We have plenty of room since we built the addition."

Finn nodded, looking at his friends. "Look, guys, I'm so sorry I've brought this down on all of you. I would have never wanted any of you to be in danger, ever."

"We know that, bro," Sam said, walking towards them.

"Oh my gosh, Sammie, your hair!" Mercedes cried, rushing over to him.

Sam rubbed the part of his head that wasn't bandaged. "Yeah, they decided to just shave it all to make sure they weren't missing another gash. I guess there was a lot of blood."

Kurt nodded. "There was. And it looks good."

Sam smiled, wincing when the movement pulled at his stitches. "Thanks, man." He looked at Finn. "This isn't your fault. This has been building for years. We all know it. We've all felt it coming on. Rachel and Santana were attacked even before the school policy changed."

"That's true," Blaine said. "This evil has been around for a while."

Finn nodded. "You should all talk to your parents. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea if everyone left town."

"Yeah?" Mike said. "What about you?"

"It's me they want," Finn said, shaking his head. "I don't know why, but it's always been me."

"It's because you are what they want to be," Rachel told him. "You're strong and you stand up for what you believe in. You're not afraid to do what you love, no matter what anyone says."

Finn smiled at her. "You showed me the way."

"So what should we do?" Lauren asked.

Finn shook his head, looking at his mom and Burt. "Don't ever be alone, even in your homes. Always keep your phone with you."

Rachel winced at that. "I am so sorry," she said, tearing up again.

"Shhh," Finn told her, hugging her.

"I don't want to be alone," Mercedes admitted. "Who wants to stay with me?"

Artie, Lauren, Brittany, Santana and Sam said that they'd stay with Mercedes. She lived in a huge house and had plenty of room. None of them really wanted to be alone. "I'm staying with Mike," Tina said. "Our parents already Okayed it."

"I guess I just need to talk to my dads," Rachel said.

"We'll talk to them when they get here, honey," Burt and Carol said. "You two go on to the house."

Rachel and Finn stood up. "You guys are staying?" he asked them.

Carol looked at Burt. "I think we'll stay until the guard gets here," she said.

Finn nodded, hugging her. "I love you guys."

The Glee Club gathered their things and walked towards the entrance. Sam ran to tell his parents the plan. "Wait just a minute for me, too," Finn told them. "I'm going to run down the hall. I think we should all leave together, but there's something I need to do." When everyone nodded, he leaned down to kiss Rachel. "Stay with them, okay?"

Rachel nodded. Finn walked down the hallway, stopping at the nurse's station. "Can you tell me what room Patrick Conner is in?" he asked one of the nurses.

"Honey, he's in ICU," the nurse told him. She looked at him for a moment. "You can go back there, but you can't go in his room, okay?"

Finn nodded and followed her down a hallway. They reached the end of it and she pointed at a window. "He's in there," she said.

Finn thanked her and walked to the window. Patrick looked just as bad as Puck. Finn took no satisfaction in that. He noticed the boy's parents sitting beside the bed and felt sick to his stomach. They didn't deserve any of this…none of them did. What caused a seemingly normal guy like Patrick to do the things he'd done?

Patrick's father looked up and saw Finn. Finn braced himself as the man walked out into the hallway. "Hudson," the man said.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Finn told the man. His wife had come outside, holding onto his shoulders.

"The police told us what Patrick was doing," she told Finn. "We knew something was wrong…we just didn't know how wrong."

"Is he…" Finn broke off, looking into the window at the other boy. "Is he going to be okay?"

The man sighed, shaking his head. "He woke up for a few moments. The doctor said he believes he's going to pull through. And after we handle his legal problems, we're getting the hell out of Lima."

"I wanted to come by and tell you that I don't regret hitting him, but I am sorry it got so out of hand." He shook his head and looked back towards the way he came. "The things they've been planning for my girlfriend…" He broke off and looked at them. "Maybe it's best he did leave Lima."

Patrick's dad opened his mouth, but his wife pulled him into the room. "Thanks for letting us know," she told Finn, shutting the door. She pulled the curtains closed and Finn shoved his hands in his pockets, walking off. That hadn't really gone the way he'd planned it.

He rejoined the group at the entrance of the hospital. "I told Jacob goodbye," Rachel told him, taking his hand as they walked out.

"Good."

"Finn, we'll follow you guys out. We're going the same direction," Mercedes told them, climbing into her SUV.

"I've got to take Blaine home to get some clothes," Kurt told Finn and Rachel.

"Kurt," Finn said, pulling him and Blaine aside, "please be careful. They know we're brothers."

Kurt stared at him, then nodded. "Noted." He and Blaine walked towards Burt's truck. "Hey, Blaine, get that tire iron out of the back." He looked back at Finn. "Just in case."

Finn nodded to him. He opened his passenger door, then put his hands around Rachel's waist and lifted her into the truck. Moving between her legs, he put his face in the curve of her shoulder, catching a whiff of her shampoo. It almost made him cry now to think about how happy they were this morning, taking a shower together. Rachel wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back. "It's okay," she told him, realizing that his whole body was trembling.

"If Puck hadn't stopped them," Finn said hoarsely, "they would have had you."

"But he did," she whispered soothingly. "I'm fine."

Finn didn't move for a moment, taking deep breaths. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "We're going to end this thing," he told her.

Rachel saw the fight in his eyes and felt the stirring of it in her own heart. They were strong, dammit. They were going to win this thing. "I know," she told him, smiling a little.

Finn kissed her hard, shut her door and walked around. He waved to Mercedes, who pulled out behind him. "You don't think your dads will care, do you?" he asked her, turning on his headlights. He hadn't even realized it was getting dark. Mercedes turned her lights on behind them.

"Nah," Rachel said, reaching for his hand. "Do you think Noah will be okay?" she asked, not looking at him. He could see her throat working and knew she was close to tears again.

"He will be," Finn said with more confidence than he felt. Crowbars didn't bend. He squeezed Rachel's hand. "We're all going to be okay."

Rachel nodded, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles. Getting out of town, the roads got darker. Rachel turned on the radio and tried to find something to listen to. Not finding anything, she turned it off. "I feel like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop," she said, staring out the windshield.

Finn nodded and looked in the rear view mirror. Mercedes had fallen behind so he slowed down a little to let her catch up. He looked over at Rachel. "Just think about how great New York is going to be next year."

She nodded, smiling at him. "You're right. We're all going to get out of here."

Smiling, Finn looked in the rear view mirror again just in time to see Mercedes' SUV run off of the road.