Thanks so much for all your support of my fanfic. It means so much to me. I know it's hard for some people to continue to read fanfics about Finchel after Cory's death, so I'm glad that some people are sticking with me. As I told you, my plan is to make this story 60 chapters, so I am brainstorming ideas for my next story. If you're interested in what they might be, please let me know and I'll tell you my ideas! Hope you enjoy the new chapter and review if you want me to keep going.
Chapter 56: Nationals
"Are we there yet?" Caylie moaned from the back seat.
This year Nationals were in Boston, so the family could drive rather than fly there. The drive to Boston was about as long as some of the west coast plane rides, but Caylie still wasn't happy about having to sit still for six whole hours. Allie was listening to Rachel's iPod so it wasn't much of a problem for her.
"It shouldn't be long," Finn said from the driver's seat.
"We are going to have time to rest before we go to the Red Sox game, right?" Rachel asked, giving her husband a look.
"Of course we are," Finn said. He'd bought tickets to a Red Sox game their first night there. The Red Sox were playing the Mets, so this would be a fun game to go to.
"Finn, since you're taking me to a baseball game, I'm taking you to another Broadway show next time I have a night off," Rachel said, giving her husband a playful slap.
"I don't think you'll be able to take a night off for a while," Finn teased. "You are taking a week off."
"Everyone will be there, right?" Caylie asked.
"Yup, so you'll get to meet Alyssa sooner than Uncle Joe and Aunt Kitty's wedding!" Rachel said.
"Yay!" Caylie cheered.
"Hey Mom?" Allie suddenly said.
"Yes?" Rachel asked.
"Can I have a cell phone?" Allie asked.
Finn and Rachel exchanged looks. Allie was too young for that. "What makes you want a cell phone?"
"Mia's parents are getting her one for her tenth birthday," Allie said.
"We'll think about that," Finn said before he continued driving.
x
"It's hard to believe it's been so long since we were competitors at Nationals," Finn said. They'd arrived at their hotel a little while ago, and the Puckermans (who were staying at the same hotel and had arrived earlier) had offered to take Allie and Caylie to the hotel pool so Finn and Rachel could have some time to recover from the drive to Boston before the baseball game.
"It has," Rachel said. "Those two weeks we spent at Nationals junior and senior years were the two best weeks of my high school life."
"Mine too," Finn agreed.
"I wonder if either of our girls will be competing at Nationals one day," Rachel said.
"You never know," Finn said. "Allie might be providing music with the band."
"Yeah, I bet she will," Rachel said.
"Rach?" Finn asked.
Rachel looked at her husband. "Yes?"
Finn gave her a seductive look. "We haven't tried having another baby for a while... while the girls are at the pool, want to give it a try?"
Rachel smirked. "I'd love to."
x
"One, two, three!" Allie called from the pool. Then Caylie jumped in, and Allie caughter her little sister.
"How was my splash?" Caylie asked Allie.
"It was pretty good," Allie said.
"Can I try now?" Bailey asked.
"You sure can," Allie said as her cousin climbed out of the pool and stood by the side. "One, two, three!"
Bailey jumped into the pool. "My splash was bigger!" Caylie giggled.
Bailey looked at Caylie. "No, mine was!"
"I think they were the same," Allie said.
"Mine would be bigger though!" Daniel said.
"Well, you're bigger than us!" Bailey said.
"Hey, mine would probably be the biggest!" Allie teased her sister and cousins.
"Unless Mommy and Daddy make a splash," Bailey said, looking at Puck and Quinn who were on the pool deck.
"I don't think we'd make very good splashes, Bailey," said Quinn.
"Yeah, we're not good at that," Puck added. "So, Allie, I heard you guys are going to the baseball game tonight?"
"Yeah, we'll probably be the only Mets fans there," Allie said.
"Well, tell your parents sometime this week, we'd like to go out to dinner with them or something," Quinn said. "And with you guys too, of course."
"I'll tell them!" Allie said.
x
"How do I look in your Mets shirt?" Rachel asked.
Finn looked over at his wife, but Allie spoke first. "It's a little big on you, Mom."
"Hey, it looks good on her!" Finn said as Rachel smiled. She'd always loved wearing Finn's clothes.
The Hudsons left for Fenway Park, where they met up with Kurt, Blaine and Bryan. "My mom's wearing my dad's shirt!" Allie declared when they got there.
"I'm surprised you didn't go shopping with Quinn, Brittany and Santana," Kurt said to Rachel.
"I didn't know they were going shopping," Rachel said.
"Oh yeah, they called, but I reminded them that we had plans tonight," Finn said, winking at his wife.
"Finn!" Rachel pouted.
"Blaine wouldn't let me go either," Kurt told Rachel.
"Hey, Mets games are fun," Allie said.
"Yeah Rach, Mets games are fun!" Finn said.
"Hear that, Kurt?" Blaine asked. He turned to Finn. "She's like a mixture of both of you. She likes music and sports."
"Yup," Finn said as they went to their seats. When the National anthem was performed, Finn turned to Rachel. "You could do that better."
Rachel laughed.
"She could!" Allie said. Then she stood on her seat and shouted at the top of her lungs. "LET'S GO METS! THE SOX STINK!"
Several Red Sox fans in front of them turned around. Finn and Rachel gave them apologetic looks, then turned to Allie. "Allie, that was unnecessary," Finn said.
"We want the Mets to win though," Allie protested.
"Of course we do," Finn said. "But we don't have to be mean to the Red Sox."
"And at Nationals, we don't have to be mean to the other Glee clubs, either," Rachel forewarned Allie.
Allie pouted. "Okay."
"Your daughter is something else," Kurt said to Finn and Rachel.
"Yeah, we really lucked out," Rachel said. "With both of them."
Bryan nudged Blaine. "Dad, I'm hungry."
"Maybe Daddy can take you to the concession stand," Blaine said, eyeing his husband.
"I can," Kurt said. "We can't pull Dad away from the game, Bryan."
"Can I go get a snack too?" Caylie asked.
"Of course," Rachel said, giving money to Kurt.
Finn, Rachel, Allie and Blaine watched the game for a little after Kurt left with Bryan and Caylie. Soon after, Kurt got back with Bryan and Caylie. "Look who was at the concession stand!" Caylie exclaimed.
Finn and Rachel looked up. Rachel was about to say something about the cheese covered hot dog Caylie had bought until she saw Puck and Daniel. "What are you two doing here?" Rachel asked.
"Since Quinn and Bailey went shopping with Santana, Brittany and their girls, we thought we'd come to the game," Puck said. "We were hoping we'd run into you."
"As you see, there's two empty seats near us," Blaine said as Puck and Daniel took the seats.
x
"That turtle is so big!" Caylie said.
"It is," Rachel agreed. It was the next day, and Allie and Caylie had wanted to go to the Boston aquarium.
"I bet it makes a bigger splash than you," Allie teased her sister.
"Hey!" Caylie said.
"What's this about splashes?" Finn asked.
"At the pool yesterday, Caylie and Bailey were competing to see who could make bigger splashes," Allie explained.
"I see you got my competitive side, Caylie," Rachel said.
"Hi!" a voice behind them said. Finn, Rachel, Allie and Caylie turned and saw Mike, Tina and Evan.
"Hi guys!" Finn said. "When did you get to Boston?"
"Last night," Mike said. "What about you?"
"Yesterday afternoon," Allie said. "We drove in."
"It would be a lot longer to drive in from Chicago," Tina said.
"That's true," Rachel admitted. She looked at Evan. "He's gotten so big!"
"He has!" Mike said. "He's even starting to dance!"
"He isn't good as Daddy yet, though," Tina teased.
Caylie and Evan began walking ahead, so the adults followed behind them with Allie. "Did you hear Mercedes got to sing with Beyonce when she came to New York?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, she called me to tell me," Tina said.
"It's too bad she didn't come to Chicago for a show," Mike said.
"I was thinking, sometime this week, all the New Directions alumni should get together and sing together," Finn said.
Rachel smiled up at her husband. "That would be great."
"As long as we can all see the performance!" Allie said.
"Of course you guys can!" Mike said.
x
The hotel the Hudsons were staying at had a karaoke bar, so the next evening, they texted all the New Directions alumni, asking them to meet up with them at the bar. Soon, everyone had arrived, and the kids took their seats to see their parents perform. (Allie, of course, wanted to hold Rory and Sugar's baby daughter during the performance.) When the music began, Finn felt like he was going back over to ten years ago, when he and Rachel sang this song together for the first time.
Finn: Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train
Goin' anywhere
Rachel: Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train
Goin' anywhere
Finn: A singer in a smoky room
Rachel: A smell of wine and cheap perfume
Rachel and Finn: For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
New Directions alumni: Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows
Searching in the night
Streetlight people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Rachel: Workin' hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Rachel and Finn: Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Rachel: Some will win
Rachel and Finn: Some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
And now the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
New Directions alumni: Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows
Searching in the night
Streetlight people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
Don't stop believin'
Rachel and Finn: Hold on to that feelin'
New Directions alumni:Street lights people, oh, woah, ohh
Don't stop believin'
Rachel and Finn: Hold on to that feelin'
New Directions alumni: Street lights people, oh, whoa, ohh
Don't stop!
Finn and Rachel looked at their kids who were watching the performance, and then smiled as all the kids clapped at the end. "You guys sound even better than in the videos my parents show me!" Allie said.
"You were good," Daniel added.
"Thanks, guys," Mercedes said.
"Your best performance was when you sang with Beyonce though, Aunt Mercedes," Allie said.
"Thanks, Allie," Mercedes said. "That was a dream come true."
"Well, hopefully the New Directions will have a dream of theirs come true this week," Sam said.
"I'm sure they will," Artie said.
Rory came over to Allie and picked up his daughter. "Did you enjoy holding her?"
"Yes!" Allie said. "I want to babysit, but my parents are making me wait until I'm twelve."
"Well, when you're twelve, I'm sure you'll be a great babysitter," Rory said.
"She is great with the kids," Sam said to Finn and Rachel.
"She is," Finn said. He hoped that soon he and Rachel would have the third baby on the way.
x
That night, Allie and Caylie had fallen asleep, leaving Finn and Rachel up to talk. "I always love seeing everyone again," Rachel said.
"Me too," Rachel said. "Once the weddings are all over, Nationals will probably be the main time we keep seeing everyone. I mean, we have Joe and Kitty's wedding at the end of the summer, and then all we have left is Jake and Harmony."
"I hope everyone keeps coming to Nationals every year," Finn said. "I know we will, it's a lot of fun for the girls to get to know all sorts of different cities."
"I hope so too," Rachel said. "And I hope next year we'll have another baby to introduce to them."
x
The Hudsons had enjoyed their week in Boston. They'd taken Allie and Caylie to see various landmarks and museums and they'd had dinner with most of their friends from Glee. Today was the big day though - the current members of New Directions would compete for the National title. They had lost last year, so this year, the alumni were hoping that this year they'd win.
"Mom, look," Allie said, showing Rachel the program from Nationals as they sat in their seats. "The boy and girl leads from New Directions are singing Faithfully!"
Rachel looked at the program. "They are!" She nudged Finn, who was sitting in front of her, talking with Puck and Sam. "Finn, look what they're singing!"
Finn smiled as he looked at his program. "Our song!"
"That's right," Rachel said proudly.
"I love that song," Allie said to her mom.
"Me too," Rachel said.
"Beth was kicking a lot when you two were singing that," Quinn said to Rachel. "I think she enjoyed it."
"You never told me that before!" Rachel said to her friend. "You guys should come to New York soon, Beth really misses you."
"We'll try to come a few times this summer," Quinn said. "We invited Beth to come to Nationals with us, but Shelby didn't want Beth to miss a week of school."
"That's understandable..." Rachel began when the announcer said that the competition was beginning. The New Directions didn't perform until about halfway in. The alumni enjoyed the performance, and the audience seemed to enjoy it as well. (After the Faithfully duet, Finn and Allie both told Rachel that the Finchel version was better, and Rachel had to agree.) Rachel enjoyed the rest of the performances, but in her opinion, New Directions were by far the best. After a few hours of performances, it was time to announce the winner. When the MC announced that New Directions had won, the loudest cheers came out of the section the alumni were in. When the confetti fell and the trophy was presented, Rachel was reminded of the moment they'd found out they won her senior year of high school. It had been one of the happiest moments of her life.
SONG: Don't Stop Believing by Journey (performed by New Directions alumni)
Chapter 57 preview: Allie gets ready to start fifth grade and Caylie gets ready to start preschool. Finn and Rachel also get some exciting news!