Finn and Carol were washing dishes when the phone rang. "I'll get it honey," Carol said, drying her hands off on a dish towel. "It's probably Burt."

Finn continued to dry and put away the dishes she'd already washed. He knew it was kind of stupid or whatever, but he'd always liked helping his mom with the dishes. He knew that she liked doing them with him, too. He complained at times that Kurt never seemed to help, but he didn't really care.

"Calm down," Carol was saying into the phone, walking back into the kitchen. "Kurt, honey, calm down. What's happening?"

Finn put the plate he'd just dried away, turning around to watch Carol. "What's going on?" he asked.

Carol shook her head, listening to whatever Kurt was saying. "Are you hurt?" She listened for another moment. "How much blood is there?"

"Mom," Finn said again. "What's going on?"

Carol put the phone down. "He hung up. I don't know why." She looked shell shocked.

Finn walked to her, lowering her down in a chair. "Mom," he told her more forcefully. "I need to know what's going on."

"The fights have spread from the factory," she told him. "Kurt said that people are rioting in the mall."

"Rioting?" Finn said, confused. "That doesn't happen here."

"He said that Blaine was hit with a chair and has a cut on his arm," she told him. "They're hiding behind some clothes racks in the back of the store."

Finn straightened. "This is crazy." He looked at his mom. "I have to go help them."

Carol grabbed his arm. "You are not going into the mall when there's a riot," she told him shrilly.

"Mom, I have to help Kurt."

"Finn Hudson, you're not going!" Carol yelled.

Finn put his hands on his mom's shoulders, looking into her eyes. "You wanted me and Kurt to be brothers, right? What kind of brother would sit at home and do nothing when his brother was being attacked and scared?"

"The kind of brother whose mother won't let him go."

Finn straightened up. "What about Burt?" he asked, suddenly wondering why Kurt hadn't called his dad.

"Kurt said he can't get him on his phone," Carol said, then put her hand over her mouth. "Oh God, Finn, the shop is close to the mall! What if Burt's being attacked?"

"I can check on him," Finn told her.

Carol stood up. "I'm going too."

"No, mom, it's not safe."

Carol eyed him. "Don't you tell me what I can and can't do," she told him.

Finn sighed. "Let me run down to my room and grab a couple of things," he told her.

"Hurry, Finn," she said desperately. He nodded and ran down the steps. Getting in his room he found his baseball bag in the corner. He didn't have a gun and he didn't know Kung Fu…but he could swing a baseball bat. He just hoped he wouldn't have to.

Getting back upstairs, he found his mom at the door waiting for him. "I can't get Burt," she said. "Kurt called back and said that fires have been set all over the mall."

Finn shook his head, putting his bag into the truck and getting in. "We'll go by Burt's first since it's closer," he told her.

Carol nodded, closing her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening."

Finn didn't say anything; this had become the norm for him. He sent up a silent prayer that Burt, Kurt and Blaine would be okay. He cared about all of them more than he'd realized.

As they drove towards town, they saw smoke in the distance. "Oh my God," Carol said again. Getting closer to town, they passed several vehicles that honked their horns and flashed their lights in warning. Finn felt his gut tighten. Things must be bad.

When they got to the city limits they could see buildings burning. People were running everywhere. Police cars were sitting in the middle of roads with no one in them. "What is going on?" Finn whispered.

A man stepped in front of Finn's truck and he slammed on his brakes. The man threw a large rock at the windshield, cracking it. Carol screamed and Finn put his arms around her. "Are you crazy?" Finn screamed at the man, but he was already gone.

Carol began crying. "Get us to Burt's, Finn," she said.

Finn started driving again, swerving through the parked cars and dodging people. He turned down the road Burt's shop was on and noticed the fire immediately. "Oh shit," he said, speeding up.

"No," Carol yelled, jumping out of the truck as soon as it stopped and running towards the building. A girl Finn knew from high school walked by, her face bloody, crying. Finn walked towards her, but she ran away from him screaming.

"Finn!" Carol screamed. "Help me!" Things had been piled in front of Burt's shop to prevent the doors from opening. "Help me!"

Finn ran over to her and moved her out of the way, pulling things from the front of the door. Black smoke rolled out of the top of the building. He cleared the door enough so that he could open it. "Burt!" he yelled into the shop.

"In here!" Burt yelled from the back. Finn and Carol ran into the shop, covering their faces so they didn't breathe in smoke. Finn found Burt on the floor in his office. "Can't…breathe…" the man said, coughing.

Finn picked him up and ran towards the front of the shop, sitting Burt down beside his truck. Carol, who had been right behind him, leaned down over her husband. Finn looked around the street in disbelief. How had this even happened? "Finn, you're on fire!" Carol yelled at him.

Finn looked down and realized that flames were moving up his pant leg. "Shit," he said, shaking his leg. He beat at the flames with his hands, not sure what to do. Dropping to the ground, he rolled around, stopping when he realized the flames were out. Huh. Stop, Drop and Roll really did work. "Is Burt okay?" he asked him mom.

"I'm right here," the man said. "I think I'm okay. Little smoke in my lungs, maybe." He looked up at his shop. "Son of a bitch," he moaned.

"We've got to get to Kurt and Blaine," Finn told the couple.

"Where are they?" Burt asked. "What's wrong?"

"They're trapped in the mall," Carol told him.

Burt stood up unsteadily. "Let's go get them."

Finn nodded and jumped back into his truck. "I'm so glad that Rachel went with Officer Carlton," Finn said.

Carol fussed over Burt as Finn moved his truck towards the mall. People were fighting all over the town. Finn stopped his truck in the road and jumped out when he saw two little boys huddled together in an alleyway. "Hey," he said softly, bending down. They were both crying and clearly brothers. Their cheeks were black with tear trails running down them. Finn's heart twisted in his chest when he saw how scared they were.

The older one- Finn figured he was about 6- stepped forward. "Please don't hurt my brother, mister."

Finn shook his head. Outside of the alley, people were screaming and chasing each other. "I won't. I'm on my way to help out my brother," he told the little boys. "He's in the mall and he's scared of what's going on."

The older boy nodded. "Mikey's scared too," he told Finn. "I've been protecting him."

"You're doing a good job," Finn told the boy. "My Mom and Dad are in my truck," he told them. "Do you know where your Mom and Dad are?"

The smaller boy started crying and the oldest boys chin quivered. "Someone hurt our Mommy," he told Finn. "She told us to run and we did." He wiped his face, trying to be brave. "We should have stayed and helped her."

Finn put his head down, trying to regain his composure. "Would you like it if I helped you find your Mommy?" The boy nodded and Finn held out his hands. The boys took them and walked as closely to Finn as they could to his truck. He opened the door and put them in the truck. "This is my Mom and Dad. Is it okay if you sit in their laps while we look for your Mommy?"

The smaller boy, Mikey, buried his face in Finn's shirt. "Mikey's scared," the other boy said.

Finn nodded. "What's your name?" he asked him.

"I'm Jeremy."

"Jeremy, can you sit with my Mom? I'm going to let Mikey sit with me." Jeremy nodded. Finn sat behind the wheel and let Mikey sit on his left side, by the window. He prayed that no one else threw a rock towards his truck; he was afraid the little boy would be hit. "Mom, Burt, this is Jeremy and Mikey. We're going to help them look for their Mommy."

"Hello, boys," Carol said, smiling warmly at them.

"What does your Mommy look like?" Burt asked them.

"She's got yellow hair," Jeremy said.

"What was she wearing?" Burt asked the boy.

"She had on her blue dress," Jeremy said. "She likes it because it makes her eyes look pretty." Jeremy looked at Burt. "She's got really pretty eyes. My daddy always says so."

Looking into the deep blue eyes of the little boy, Burt nodded. "I bet she does," he told Jeremy. "What's your Mommy's name?"

"Mommy," Mikey said.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Mikey's 3 and he ain't got no sense sometimes." Mikey stuck his lower lip out. "Mommy's name is Angie. Daddy calls her Angel."

Finn nodded. "Let's find her," he said. "Do you remember where you were when you saw her last?"

Jeremy ducked his head. "We was at the shoe store," he said. "I was mad because she wouldn't get me some Spiderman shoes." He looked at Finn. "I don't even want 'em anymore, I promise."

Finn cleared his throat and nodded. "We'll find her."

He drove to McGuffey's Shoe Store, figuring it was the one the boys had been talking about. "Mikey, I'm going to go in and see if your Mom's in there, okay? Will you sit out here with your brother and my Mom and Dad?" Mikey nodded and Finn moved him over to Burt's lap. Reaching down under his seat for a bat, he looked at Burt and Carol. "Lock the doors and don't open them until I get back, okay?" Carol nodded. Finn tousled Jeremy's hair. "I'll be right back, kiddo."

Getting out of the truck, he scanned the street looking for anyone that matched the boy's description. Not finding anyone, he walked to the store. The front windows had been busted out and glass littered the floor. Walking in, he found shoes thrown everywhere. He moved to the counter, finding a store clerk behind it. "Are you okay?" Finn asked, moving towards the man.

"Got a broken arm," the man said, his breathing hard. "Fool kid hit me with a bat."

"I have a bat, but I'm not going to hit you," Finn told him. "Can you move?"

"Probably," the man told him.

"I found two little boys," Finn told him. "They said that their mom was in here. She's blonde with blue eyes. The oldest said her name is Angie."

The man nodded. "She was in here when I was attacked. I don't know what happened to her."

Finn stood up. "I'm going to look around for her," he told the man. "I'll be back."

He moved through the store carefully, prepared to hit someone if he had too. By the kids shoes he found Angie, unconscious on the floor. Her face was bloody and Finn wondered if someone had hit her in the face with a bat. "Angie?" he said gently, touching her. "Angie?"

The woman opened her eyes quickly, wincing. "My boys," she said quietly. "Where are my boys?"

"I've got them," Finn told her. "They're okay, they're in my truck. They were worried about you."

The woman sat up, holding a hand to her head. "That man hit me," she told Finn, shaking her head gently. "He chased me around and hit me in the head with a baseball bat." She looked at Finn. "What in the world is going on?"

"I'm not sure, but the whole town is on fire," he told her. "Can you stand?"

She nodded, taking the hand he offered her. "I need to see my boys," she told him.

"My truck is right outside," Finn told her. "I have to help the store clerk out of here."

"I'll wait for you," she said, a tremor of fear in her voice.

Finn nodded, then walked back over to the man. Finn helped the man up, mindful of his broken arm. They walked out of the store and onto the street. "Oh my heavens," the man said.

All of the buildings on the other side of the street were now on fire. A woman stood in the middle of the road and screamed. Teenagers ran around them, throwing rocks and bricks into the glass fronts of the buildings; some were pulling merchandise out. "Let's get to my truck," Finn said.

"Mommy!" Jeremy said when they got close. He unlocked the door and ran to her.

"Gentle, baby," the woman said, hugging him. Mickey ran to her, too, and she picked him up. "Thank you so much for looking out for my boys," she told Finn. She looked behind them. "That's my car. I need to get to the hospital."

"Are you sure?" Finn asked her. "You were unconscious."

"I'll drive her," the store clerk said, "if she doesn't mind."

The woman looked at him gratefully. "That would be fantastic."

Finn walked with them to the car, looking at the little boys. "You guys take care of your mom, okay?" he said to them.

"We will," Jeremy told him.

"Come to a football game this year," Finn said. "I'll try to win a game for you."

"You're a football player?" Jeremy asked.

Finn nodded. "I'm the quarterback," he told the little boy.

"Woah," Jeremy breathed, in awe.

"Be careful, please," Finn told Angie.

The woman hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much," she said, a tear falling down her face. She got into the car beside the clerk and waved. Finn nodded, watching them drive back the other way.

He got back into the truck with Carol and Burt. "Kurt's on the phone," Carol told him. "He and Blaine have made it to the bottom floor but they can't find a way out."

Finn nodded, putting his truck into drive. "Then we'll have to find a way in."