Hi everyone! So sorry it took so long to update. I was out of town this week and had VERY limited internet access. I'm doing my best to catch up on all your stories, too. So if you don't get a review from me for a few days, don't think that I'm not interested anymore! Just trying to catch up. Enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to keep going :)
Chapter 37: End of the Semester
"Thanks for coming with me to do this," Finn said to Kurt as they entered the ring shop. This was it. Finn was looking for rings for Rachel. And this time, it felt so much more real.
"You know I'm a sucker for weddings," Kurt said.
"At least this time you're being supportive," Finn teased.
"Because this time you guys have your lives on track," Kurt shot back.
Finn tried to think of something to say that wouldn't give away that Blaine had similar plans. "Have you ever thought about proposing to Blaine?"
"I want him to be the one to propose to me," Kurt said. "I told him that before we broke up."
Well, that way Kurt and Blaine wouldn't have to worry about them both proposing to each other. Again, Finn tried not to give away that he, Blaine, Sam and Artie were in the process of planning a proposal. "So you guys talked about getting married?"
"Of course we did," Kurt said. "I always knew that Blaine was the one that I wanted to marry."
"That's how it is with me and Rachel," Finn said.
Finn and Kurt began looking at the case of rings. "What type would you recommend?"
"Well, I like the carrot cut," Kurt said.
"I have no idea what that means," Finn admitted.
"It's this," Kurt said, pointing at one of the rings.
"I don't know if Rachel would like that one," Finn said.
"You think you know whether not she'd like a ring?" Kurt asked. "I'm impressed."
"Hey!" Finn said.
"I thought they'd all be the same to you," Kurt said.
A jeweler came up to Kurt and Finn. "May I help you two with something?"
"Oh, we're shopping for a ring for his girlfriend," Kurt announced.
"You look familiar," the jeweler said to Kurt. "Aren't you Blaine's boyfriend?"
"Oh, yeah, I am," Kurt said. "I remember you. Blaine and I went out to dinner with you and your girlfriend when you proposed to her."
"Wife now!" the jeweler said. "We moved here so we could marry legally."
"That's great," Kurt said, turning back to Finn. "Blaine and I live here now, too. This is my brother Finn. We're getting an engagement ring for his girlfriend, who's also my best friend."
"Nice to meet you," Finn said.
"You too," the jeweler said. She turned to Kurt. "So, any chance you and Blaine might get married soon?"
"I don't know," Kurt said as Finn resisted the urge to say something. "Today we're just ring shopping for Finn and Rachel."
"So, Finn, what type of ring would you like to get today?" the jeweler asked. "White or yellow gold? Would you just like a diamond, or would you like some color in it, too?"
Finn thought for a moment. "Maybe some color would be nice."
"If you want some color on the ring besides the diamond, I'd aim for a white gold," Kurt said. "That way the color will stand out more."
"Okay," Finn agreed. He looked around more at the rings. "Kurt, can I ask her something private for a little?" Since this woman was a friend of Kurt and Blaine's, Finn felt like he should tell her."
"Sure," Kurt said before walking away.
When Finn was alone with the jeweler, he turned to her. "Actually, Blaine's planning to propose to Kurt, too."
"That's great!" the woman said. "I actually helped Blaine and his friends pick out Kurt's ring."
Finn smiled. "Yeah, I'm excited to have Blaine as a brother-in-law."
A few minutes later, Kurt came back. "Any luck, Finn?"
Finn kept looking at the rings. "I'm not very good at this."
"You asked me to come for a reason, didn't you?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Finn said. He kept looking through the case and pointed at a ring. "That one's nice."
"It is," Kurt agreed. "But there's too many diamonds around it. An engagement ring should have a jewel that stands out."
Finn sighed. "Okay." He looked around the case a little more. "What about that one?"
"The one with the diamond shaped like a heart?" Kurt asked. "That's kind of lame, don't you think?"
Finn groaned. "I guess so." As he moved down the case, he saw a white gold ring with a turquoise carrot cut stone with small diamonds surrounding it and two paler blue jewels on the side. "I really like that one. And that's Rachel's birthstone."
"Now that's a good one," Kurt said.
"I think it's the one," Finn told Kurt and the jeweler.
"Well, that's a good choice," the jeweler said. Finn paid for the ring as he and Kurt began to walk back to Elliott's apartment (and for now, Kurt and Blaine's too). Kurt and Blaine were having everyone over for dinner.
"New York's really nice around Christmastime," Finn commented as he and Kurt began walking to the apartment. The snow had begun to fall, and practically everything was decorated for Christmas.
"It is," Kurt said. "Blaine and I are going skating in Central Park on Christmas Eve."
"Wow, that sounds nice," Finn said. "I should take Rachel."
"I bet she'd like that," Kurt said. "So, now that you have the ring, when do you think you'll ask her?"
"I'm not sure," Finn admitted. Until Kurt asked him, it still seemed theoretical. But he had the ring now. This was definitely happening. "When I get the guts."
"Yeah, maybe that's part of the reason why I want Blaine to do it," Kurt admitted. "So I don't have to work up the guts."
"Well, you are going to be my best man, I know that," Finn said.
"Of course I will," Kurt said. "When I marry Blaine, you'll be my best man, too. However, I'm still going to plan Rachel's bachelorette party. You can get Blaine, Sam and Artie to plan your bachelor party, because I have no idea what to do with that."
Finn laughed. "You'll have to check with Rachel's maid of honor about that. You know, if Rachel was marrying anyone else, you'd probably be the male maid of honor, but brother tops best friend."
"Rachel would never marry anyone else anyway," Kurt said. And Finn knew that was true.
x
Finn sat at a table in the NYADA student lounge with Kurt, Blaine, Sam and Artie. All of them were studying for their finals. Since NYADA was the smallest of their schools, they'd all decided to meet up there to study. Finn got up to get a snack from the vending machine and then went back to join his brother and friends at the table. He saw someone else leaving the lounge and drop a few things. Finn went over to try to make sure the person leaving got his things back, but the person was gone before then. As Finn looked at the few things that had been dropped, he noticed a key that looked slightly familiar...
"Look at this," Finn said. He knelt on the ground, examining the key. He knew this key anywhere. It was the spare key to their old apartment. The one Kurt, Blaine and Rachel kept in the student lounge, in their student mailboxes.
"What's this?" Sam asked as he came over with Kurt, Blaine and Artie.
"That's the spare key," Blaine said, recognizing it right away. "Rachel, Kurt and I would alternate between whose mailbox it was in..."
"So someone affiliated with NYADA did it," Artie said.
"I bet it was that creep Brody," Finn snapped. "All this time I thought it was a friend of Lucy's or something... but it must have been someone here."
"I've never really liked those student mailboxes," Blaine said. "We shouldn't have kept the spare key there..."
"It's not your fault," Finn said. "Some creep did it."
"Finn, didn't you say that you ran into Jesse St. James pretty recently?" Artie asked.
Finn remembered. Yes he had. "Yeah..."
"He comes into NYADA like once a week to try to convince them to give him another chance," Kurt said. "He was probably just here. He probably took the key out of one of our student mailboxes."
Finn felt his blood boiling. He didn't want to say anything, but then Kurt spoke again. "I fucking hate that jackass. He did it. I know he did."
"We don't know for sure," Finn said. He had a feeling it was Jesse, but there was no way to know for sure.
"Finn, all the pieces fit together," Sam said.
Finn tried to think. "It could have been Brody..."
"Well, it could have," Blaine said. "But Brody's mostly avoided us... Jesse always asks everyone where Rachel is."
"It was him, I'm sure it was," Artie said. "He's not a fan of any of us."
"Yeah, but we can't go to the police without proof," Finn said. He made up his mind then and there that he was going to find some.
x
"Rachel, I'm glad you're home," Shelby said as Rachel walked in from rehearsal. "I went to see my doctor today, and there's something that he told me."
Rachel sat down, hoping that whatever it was wasn't bad. "Okay."
"The doctor said that we're switching to another chemo," Shelby said. "This one isn't having the desired effect."
Rachel knew what that meant. "So it's not working."
"Rachel, I didn't say that," Shelby said.
"That's basically what you meant," Rachel said. "Why else would they switch drugs?"
"Rachel..." Shelby began.
"I just hate that I finally have a family with you and Beth and Kylie and now our family's falling apart," Rachel said.
"It's not," Shelby said.
Rachel figured she wouldn't argue with Shelby. "Have you told Kylie?"
"You know how her adoptive parents feel about me contacting her," Shelby admitted.
"She's your daughter," Rachel said. "She deserves to know."
"Can you call her and we can talk on the phone?" Shelby asked.
"I'll text her," Rachel said. "Maybe if her parents aren't home, we could skype." She got out her phone and sent a text to Kylie. "I'm at Shelby's and she was hoping to skype with you. I'd like to skype with you, too."
Kylie sent a text back almost right away. "Sure. My parents are out so I don't think it'll be a problem."
"She says it'll work," Rachel told Shelby. She turned on her computer and logged onto skype, then sent a skype call to Kylie. Kylie picked up almost right away. "Hi!"
"Hi, honey," Shelby said. "How are things going?"
"They're fine," Kylie said. "You know we just won Sectionals. I've been thinking about you a lot. I'd come visit, but..."
"I understand," Shelby said. "Kylie, I saw my doctor the other day."
"And?" Kylie asked. Rachel could tell by the look on Kylie's face that she knew this wasn't good news."
"They don't think this is the right chemo," Shelby said. "We're going to try another one."
Kylie looked at Rachel, then at Shelby. "So it's not working."
"I'm telling you what I told Rachel, they think this other one would be better," Shelby said.
"You don't have to lie to us," Rachel blurted out. "We're your daughters, even though it's not like what everyone else has."
"Yeah," Kylie added. "Whatever happens, you know Rachel and I are going to have to deal with it. You might as well tell us the truth."
"I am," Shelby said.
"Okay," Rachel said, not sure if this was the entire truth. "Well, I hope this chemo works."
"Yeah, me too," Kylie added. "I have to finish my homework now."
"Okay," Shelby said. "I love you, sweetie."
"I love you too," Kylie said.
"I do have to go study for my finals," Rachel told Shelby.
"How's your piece for your end of semester vocal group assignment going?" Shelby asked.
"It's good," Rachel said. "I'm doing a trio with Kurt and Blaine."
"I bet you liked that," Shelby said.
"Yeah, I did," Rachel said. She had a feeling Shelby wasn't telling her something, so she decided to just go upstairs and study. Maybe that would take her mind off things.
Shortly after Rachel got to her room, Finn came in. "Rachel, guess what?"
Rachel looked up at Finn. "What?"
Finn held up the spare key to the old apartment. "Oh my God..." Rachel gasped.
"Someone dropped it in the student lounge at NYADA," Finn said.
"So someone from NYADA must have taken it out of one of our student mailboxes..." Rachel began.
Finn sat down. "Yeah. I was there studying with the guys for our finals, and then someone was leaving the lounge and dropped some things. I went to pick them up to go after the person with, and the key was there!"
"Oh God," Rachel said. They were even closer to figuring out who'd broken into their apartment. "We should take the key to the police and see if they can figure out whose fingerprints are on it..."
"Yeah," Finn said. "I do feel better now that we have more proof."
"We shouldn't have kept the key there," Rachel said. "It was in an envelope, but still..."
"I guess that was our mistake," Finn said. "So, how was your day?"
"Shelby's going on a new drug," Rachel told Finn. "She won't tell Kylie and me, but I have a feeling it's because the one she's on now isn't working."
Finn looked worried. "Oh no..."
Rachel snuggled up to Finn. "Finn, I don't want to lose her again. I met her once and then I lost her. Now we really are becoming a mother and daughter..."
Finn wrapped his arms around Rachel. "I'm sure everything will be fine."
"I hope so," Rachel said as she hugged Finn close.
x
A few days later, everyone's finals were done except the NYADA ones. Finn, Sam, Artie, Santana and Tina were going to NYADA to see Rachel, Kurt and Blaine perform the end of semester vocal number, then the whole group would go out to dinner together before everyone else went home to be with their families for Christmas. (While the Berrys, Hudson-Hummels and Andersons were coming to New York, Sam, Artie, Santana and Tina were all going back to Lima for Christmas.) Finn thought his finals had gone well, so he just sat back to listen to his girlfriend, his brother and his friend.
Blaine: A heart full of love.
A heart full of song.
I'm doing everything all wrong.
Oh, God, for shame,
I do not even know your name,
Won't you say?
Will you tell?
Kurt: A heart full of love.
No fear, no regret.
Blaine: I don't know what to say.
Kurt: Then make no sound.
Blaine: I am lost
Kurt: I am found!
Blaine: A heart full of light
Kurt: A night bright as day
Blaine: And you must never go away
Kurt: This is a chain we'll never break.
Blaine: Do I dream?
Kurt: I'm awake
Blaine: heart full of love
Rachel: He was never mine to lose
Kurt: heart full of you
Rachel: Why regret what could not be?
Blaine: single look and then I knew
Rachel: These are words he'll never say
Kurt: knew it, too
Rachel: Not to me
Blaine: From today...
Blaine and Kurt: For it isn't a dream
Rachel: His heart full of love
Blaine and Kurt: Not a dream
Rachel: He will never
Blaine and Kurt: After all
Rachel: Feel this way...
At the end of the song, Kurt, Blaine and Rachel came over to their friends. "How'd we sound?" Blaine asked.
"You were great," Finn said. "Ready for dinner?"
Rachel smiled as she took Finn's hand. "Yup. Time to celebrate the end of our first semester all in New York together."
Finn smiled back. "Many more to come."
Chapter 38 preview: Christmas in New York! Will Finchel and/ or Klaine get engaged?
SONG: A Heart Full of Love from Les Mis
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