A/N: I know I said that this chapter would be from Finn's POV, and be the trial, but things got a little out of control. I really wanted to get a certain someone introduced before it all blew to hell. Next chapter will be Finn's, then the trial will come after. Turns out, he had more to say then I thought he did, but none of it was regarding the trial.

The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.
~ Alfred Adler

Tuesday, Tuesday. Today was Tuesday. Tomorrow was Wednesday, and the next day would be Thursday. Thursday was two days from now. It would also be the start of Finn's kidnapping trial. I had been awake since three this morning, just watching the clock and turning it all over in my mind.

There had been plenty of debate over whether the Wrights would be tried first for Finn's kidnapping or Pucks' murder. If they tried the smaller crime first, and they were convicted, it would build Finn's confidence for the murder trial. If they got off, though….we would be lucky to even get him on the stand for the murder trial, much less get anything useful out of him.

In the end, it was agreed that the kidnapping trial would take place first. I think that we would be hard pressed to find anyone in Lima who actually believed that Finn had murdered Puck. The two of them had been a pair since diapers, and neither one had a reputation for violence.

The kidnapping, though….I might be a social pariah, but I'm not deaf to the rumor mill of McKinley High. There were plenty of kids (and a few teachers) who didn't find it particularly far fetched that Finn had hitched his way out of town and met up with the Wrights on the way. Granted, most of the adults did think he had then been coerced and abused, but if the people who actually interacted with Finn had trouble believing that he had been taken by force, how could a jury be expected to do it?

By the way? If the teachers don't want us picking up on their gossip, they should quit talking right out in the public hallways. They have a teachers lounge for a reason.

At least they believed that he had been forced, though. To hear the student body talk, you would think that Finn was out hooking on a corner when he was picked up by the Wrights. Four months of wild and kinky sex later, he decided it was time to come home. He wasn't battered and bruised, so he had clearly enjoyed being infected with a rampaging case of the gay.

I wanted to defend him, but what was I supposed to say? The fact that Finn hadn't wanted or liked it should have been so obvious that I had no idea how to explain it more clearly. Not to mention that I was the person they were currently blaming for leading down the rainbow path that ended with Joseph and Lily.

The clock now read 6:13, so I leaned over and turned the alarm off. Finn says that he doesn't mind when it blares at 6:15, but I hate waking him up so early for no reason. He stirred when I reached over him, but didn't wake up.

I had been laying here awake for so long that my eyes had long since adjusted, allowing me to see him clearly. I like looking at Finn when he's sleeping, because he looks so much like he used to, before all of this happened. Not that I don't love the person he's become, but it's nice to see him look like a typical 17 year old, instead of a miniature and worried adult.

He's a pretty heavy sleeper, so I didn't feel guilty leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. He whined a little and reached out, one hand opening and closing before he settled back down.

More then ever, I wondered what was going through his head. What we had done yesterday had been amazing, at least for me. On the surface, at least, he seemed very at peace with what had happened. But I worry. Maybe a part of me will always worry, no matter how many times we do things. Finn proved that he's fine with touching me over the clothes, at least this past time. But there are a million different ways to perform the same act, and I had no idea what would set him off.

Part of the problem was that Finn didn't always know what would set him off, either. He's mostly fine with Dad now, especially since he's been working more at the garage. Dad can even give him a manly slap on the back or a quick hug. A few days ago, though, he tried to do the affectionate little thing where he lightly grabs the back of your neck, and Finn blew a gasket. It's not even like the move is foreign to him, since the football team used to do it all the time. In the past, Finn had even playfully done it to me, but that was then. Now it's a big issue.

But I wanted to do it again. Even with court looming over me, I kept flashing back to Finn's hand over my body and they way it had felt. According to the Cheerios gossip, sex wasn't that big of a deal before you were having it, but once you did, you would never be happy without it again.

If that was true, then I was in big trouble. What Finn had done to me was nowhere near sex, and I was already obsessed with it. If Finn were to wake up right now, I would probably shamelessly beg him to do it again.

Don't bother. Finn's so groggy in the mornings that I doubt he could find his own dick, much less yours. But there's always the possibility of a little afternoon delight after Glee practice. He's not a mind reader. If you want him to do it again, just ask him.

Except I might not have the courage to ask. What was easy to fantasize about in the dark wasn't so easy to say to his face in the light of day. More likely, I would end up red-faced and embarrassed, unable to tell him what I wanted.

I took a quick shower and dressed in the bathroom so as not to bother Finn. Carole was already gone to work, but Dad was awake and going over some paperwork. He gestured to the coffeepot, which was already bubbling away and drawing me towards it. "Your brother up yet?"

"No. Do you need him?" I hated that he insisted on referring to Finn as 'your brother' when he knew better. It was almost like he thought that if he said it enough, he could somehow make it true. "And you know full well that Finn is more then my brother."

He didn't take the bait. "I do, and the two of you can do whatever you want together. But we agreed as a family that, at least until this trial is over, that the two of you will be nothing but brothers outside of this house. It's easier for me to just keep the pretense up for now."

There was a certain amount of truth to that, and a certain amount of lie as well. Yes, the defense would be looking for any cracks in our family, and Dad referring to Finn as my boyfriend in public was a pretty big gaping hole. But, yes, he also wanted to pretend that we were a perfect blended family, without any basement fondling going on between the kids.

But that was something that could be addressed at a later date. Yes, believe it or not, I was actually learning to let some things go, instead of fighting until the bitter end. "Fair enough. Do you need Finn?"

"Maybe. Today's filing and paperwork at the garage. Do you think he'd be interested, or should I just let him stay home?"

There were probably few things on earth less interesting to Finn the filing and paperwork. "He'll probably be bored. But it won't hurt him to work on some of those skills. We have Glee today, though, so don't keep him too long."

He looked up from his paperwork. "Is he….is Finn doing alright there? He's happy and no one's picking on him, are they?"

I noticed that he thought to ask the question about Finn, but not about me. But, again, Finn was the one everyone worried about. I was considered able to take care of myself.

Because you never tell them that anything is wrong. Remember last year, the one time you told your father that Mr. Shue was picking on you by not letting you try out for the solo you wanted? He was at McKinley that afternoon, reaming the man out. He can't help you if you don't tell him that there's a problem.

Wasn't it partially responsibility to ask? He was the parent and I was still a minor child. Carole asked Finn how his day had gone and what he had done every single night while I burned with silent jealousy. Most nights she asked me as well, but I could help but feel like an afterthought. Dad very seldom asked either one of us.

"Kurt? Is Finn doing alright?" Dad had mistaken my wandering thoughts for reluctance to tell him that Finn was being bullied.

"He's fine. He fit right back in at Glee, and no one else is bothering him. He's never around the other kids, so I don't know how they would treat him. Probably not well." I hadn't realized I was going to keep going, but the words came out without conscious thought. "I think he really misses Puck."

Finn seldom talked about Puck, which sometimes made us think that he didn't really think about him. But I watched Finn in Glee practice, and I knew differently. At least a dozen times a practice, I would catch him turning towards what had what been Puck's chair, a smile starting to tug up on his lips. That smile would fall rapidly when he saw the seat was, and would always be, empty.

He didn't want to talk about it, though. If I hinted about it, he would pretend that he didn't understand what I was trying to say. If I asked directly he would shrug and become quiet for the rest of the night. The one time I had pushed it further, he snapped that I was his boyfriend, not his therapist and quit acting like Samantha. His vehemence had been surprising, and I backed off.

"Of course he does. It sounds like Puck was the only guy he was really close to as a friend. It has to hurt to have no one to have guy talks with."

He was right. Finn was easy-going and charming, and tended to get along with just about everyone. I didn't think there was a member of the Glee club, male or female who disliked him. He enjoyed playing basketball with Matt, baseball with Mike, and gaming with Artie. But none of them were Puck. He would listen to and keep their secrets, but he wouldn't share his own. "He has me."

"Kid, you just reminded me that you're his boyfriend, not his friend. There's a line between the two of you that there wouldn't have been with Puck. I know that it hurts to see him suffering, but this is just one of those hurts that has to heal on its own."

I would have liked to talk more about this, but I was running out of time. "So I should just do nothing?"

"I would- Hey there Champ!" His voice went from serious to unnaturally bright. "You're up early."

Finn padded into the room, looking far too alert for someone who had just woken up and stumbled up the stairs. I wondered how long he had been standing at the top of the stairs, listening to Dad and I talk about him. "Morning, Cowboy."

He never took his eyes off of Dad as he came around and kissed me on the cheek. "Do we have Glee today?"

"Yes. Do you want me to make you some breakfast?" I searched his face for some indication of what he might have heard, but his face was totally closed off.

"No, I'll make it." His gentle smile softened the blow. "I'll miss you."

He always told me that, and it melted my heart every single time. "I'll miss you, too. But it will only be a few hours, I promise."

"Ok." He poured himself a cup of coffee and stuck a bagel in the toaster.

I hung around for a few more minutes, but Finn had become absorbed in playing with his brand new phone and was ignoring both Dad and I. I wasn't sure if he was deliberately snubbing us for gossiping about him or if he was just obsessed with Angry Birds. With Finn, it can go either way.

He did turn his face to receive a quick kiss from me before I left, though, so he probably wasn't too angry. At least that was one thing I wouldn't have to worry about today.

Since Finn is still scheduled to come back to regular school in January, I've been picking up his work from the classes he should be taking and bringing it home to him. His homebound tutor was supposed to teach it to him, but I usually got impatient and did it myself. I thought that I would hate teaching, and I'm sure that I would have if it was anyone else, but I love the time spent one on one with Finn. He's much more responsive to being worked with individually, and he always tries for me, where he doesn't usually for his teachers at school.

I managed to catch Matt on his way in, so he walked around with me and helped get all of Finn's work for the week. He also dropped me off at my first class. The hockey coach has instituted early morning practices, which cuts down on their chances to come after me, but there's always the football team to contend with.

I was pulling my own things together for class when a soft voice interrupted me. "Excuse, me, are you Kurt?"

No one ever sought me out for anything good. I sat up and looked at the newcomer, someone I had never seen before. He was cute enough, if you were into that type. Blond, nice build, pouty lips. Make that very poutylips. "I am. What can I do for you?" I kept my shoulders squared and my back straight in an attempt to look bigger.

He was clearly nervous, which made me relax a bit. "Hi, I'm Sam Evans. I wanted to join the Glee club. The principal said that all I had to do was sign up, but the teacher…um…Mr. Shuester? He said that that wasn't really the case and I would need to talk to Kurt or Rachel. Something about a Frank or a Finn or something?"

"Finn." Oh, crap, oh crap. Rachel and I had discussed vetting out anyone who wanted to join the club, but we hadn't really decided what that meant. What was I supposed to do?

Not panicking might be a good start. Calm down and think this through. You have the entire day before practice, which is plenty of time to hook up with Rachel and make plans. Invite him along.

That was sound advice. Rachel and I could come up with a plan for what to say to this Sam, and Finn himself would get a chance to meet him. "Look, we have practice after school today if you want to come check it out. When is your lunch?"

He fished out a crumpled schedule. "Noon."

Same time as mine. I took the schedule and looked it over. If his classes were any indication, this Sam was fairly bright. "Rachel and I both have lunch then as well, so why don't you come sit with us?"

He squirmed. "Is this like some scary hazing ritual to be in the club? Because it was easier to get on the football team."

I tried to reassure him. "Not at all. There's just some…last year was really tough for the Glee club, and we're just making sure that it stays a close knit group. No hazing, I promise." He seemed to relax, so I tried a small joke. "Besides, the McKinley football team is terrible, so they're probably coming after you like sharks after blood."

It wasn't much, but he did smile nervously. "That's probably true. The coach said something about last years Quarterback not coming back, so I kind of just walked on. I guess he moved or something."

Or something.

But we needed another guy, and it wouldn't be fair to push this guy out just because Finn might get his feelings ruffled. He understood disappointment, and how to move on from it.

The warning bell dinged, and Sam moved to an empty seat. I snuck my phone out and texted Rachel under the table, asking that she meet me out by my car during our free period. We needed a game plan for how to handle Sam, and I knew that she would never dream of skipping class. Normally I wouldn't either, but when it comes to Finn, all bets are off. She agreed to meet me, leaving me with nothing to do but wait.

I was acutely aware of Sam on the other side of the room, and wondered how to present this. Protecting Finn's privacy should have been a priority, but I needed to be realistic. Everyone knew what had happened, and most of the school would be delighted to share the gory details. I'm sure that Sam had heard a few things, but he clearly hadn't yet made the connection.

Quit worrying. There is absolutely zero reason for it, considering that Rachel has a plan for what to do. How do I know this? Because Rachel Berry always has a plan, regardless of the circumstances. Figuring out what to say to Sam is her job. Figuring out how to support Finn is yours.

That thought helped me relax a little more, at least enough that I could pay attention in my classes. My grades were slipping a bit, and I hated it. I needed to focus.

Rachel wasn't happy to be missing study hall, but she got with the program once I explained what was happening. "Can he sing?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know, Rachel. I couldn't very well ask him for a demonstration in the middle of class."

"I would have. It's very important to get a quick idea of what skill level we're working with." She gave a quick sniff. "We have to look ahead to competitions."

"If we don't get a 12th member we won't be having a competition. Glee is an inclusive club, so it doesn't really matter if he can sing or not. The only way he's out is if it turns out that he's a danger to one of us. The reason I wanted to talk to you is so we can come up with a game plan for how to handle this with Finn. I told Sam that we would talk to him at lunch. He has to know something about what happened, but I don't know how much to tell him."

"How much you tell him won't matter, because he can learn the details anywhere. The main thing to worry about is how he's going to treat Finn once they get together. You said that he didn't even get Finn's name right the first time, which is a good thing. It means that Finn isn't his focus."

Unless it was fake. The fact that he had already joined, and presumably spoken to, the football team scared me. What if they planned on using Sam to get the gory details about Finn? Sure they already knew what had happened, but Finn himself, and how he had reacted to it was still a mystery. The person who got the inside scoop and will willing to tell everyone about it was going to be the hero of McKinley High.

Paranoid much? Mike and Matt are on the football team too, and you aren't blaming or suspecting them. Sam is probably exactly what he appears to be, which is just a guy interested in the Glee club. Finn's become a pretty good judge of character, so just let him take the lead.

That would probably be best, but I was still afraid of it ending poorly and Finn being freaked out right before his trial. I shook my head to push the thought away. "So we tell him everything."

"In a tasteful manner, yes.' She didn't sound like she could think of any way to tastefully talk about rape and murder.

"Let me do it. I'm a little more…Finn's my brother, and I know him best." I still had no idea what to say, but I knew that I wouldn't be satisfied with anything Rachel could possibly say or do.

She nodded. "Ok."

I was a nervous mess by lunch time, barely able to nibble on the wrap that Finn had put together for me. Rachel picked delicately at her salad, clearly as worried as I was.

But it turned out to be for nothing. The football team must have been working overtime during their team study hour, and he had already been filled in on every possible gruesome detail. I could read it in his face as soon as he sat down.

For a few seconds, the three of us did nothing but stare at each other, like gunslingers in some old Western. No one knew what to say, or how to address the elephant in the cafeteria.

Finally the silence got too overwhelming, and I awkwardly cleared my throat. "So, Sam this is Rachel. Rachel, Sam. He wants to join the Glee club."

Her smile was strained. "Hi. Were you in the Glee club at your last school?"

"No, this will be my first time. But I do love to sing, and I think I'm pretty good."

If I didn't step in, they would dance around it until lunch was over. "I'm assuming that you've heard all about why we're looking for new members."

"Yeah." His eyes were huge. "That's just…I mean…wow. It's just crazy."

Crazy was an excellent way to describe our lives since March 19th. "So you do understand why we're checking you out. People in this school are already gong to be making things hard for Finn, and he doesn't need that in Glee as well.

"Yeah, yeah, understood. So what do I have to do?"

"Can you come to practice after school today? You can meet everyone and get a taste of what thing are like. We just started the year, so we aren't too far into things."

He shook his head. "Both of my parents work, so if I don't take the bus, I can't get home. I can figure something out for other days, but I didn't expect to have to stay today."

The next practice wasn't for another two days, and I didn't think that I would be able to take that much worry. "Where do you live? Finn and I could probably give you a ride home."

He smiled tentatively. "That would be cool. I live out on Old Orchard Road."

That was almost out of district, and not one of the better areas of Lima. It seemed that this Sam was going to fit right in to the misfit bunch. "I know where that is. We'll give you a ride home."

The questions about Finn and I swirled in his eyes, but I had to give him credit for not asking. "Ok. How late will practice be? We have a neighbor watching my brother and sister, and I'll have to let her know what time I can pick them up."

"We start late, so it will probably be five or so. Is that too late?" Rachel, who was no doubt chafing for a chance to speak, jumped in before I could. Neither she nor I wanted to scare him off.

"No, it's ok. So, where do I go after school?"

"The choir room, which is probably where you met Mr. Shuester the first time. We don't start until XXXX, so you'll have some extra time. "We were trying to slowly nudge the starting time back a few minutes at a time until we were starting right after school. Hopefully by the time we got it there, Finn would be old news and no one would bother him.

Once it was established that Sam would definitely be present, I excused myself to go call Finn. He hated walking into things blind, and I knew he would need a little time to prepare for a new member of Glee. His phone was nearly in voicemail by the time he picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Cowboy, what are you up to?" Just hearing his voice loosened my chest a little. I love his goofy self, and I miss him when we're separated.

"Filing shit. Burt's in there on the phone trying to get people to pay their bills. What's going on there? Are the guys leaving you alone?"

"Things have gone very well today." That was mostly because I had yet to see any of them, but I wasn't planning on telling him that.

"Cool. So how come you're calling?"

How could I say this delicately? "We're going to have a new person in Glee today, and I wanted to give you the heads up."

"Really?" He sounded excited and pleased. "Is she any good?"

"She is a he, and I don't know yet. We'll all get to see him perform at once."

Heavy breathing told me that he hadn't hung up, but Finn had gone silent on me. "Finn? Are you still with me?"

More silence before he whispered. "Yeah."

"What's wrong, Sweetheart?" I had no idea what had caused the sudden shift in his moods.

"Nothing." His tone told me that it was a pretty big nothing, but I didn't get a chance to push the issue. "Burt says to get off the phone while I'm working. I'll see you at Glee." He hung up before I could say anything back.

That was…odd. I didn't know what about this had set Finn off, but he was clearly disturbed about something. The other interesting thing was that he had called Dad by name twice in a single conversation. Though he was welcome to address him by any name or variation of 'dad' that he might choose, Finn seldom called him anything to his face. If he was talking to me, he called him 'your Dad'. If he was speaking directly to Dad, he usually just waited until they had made eye contact, and then he didn't have to call Dad anything.

The puzzle that was Finn and his behavior kept me occupied for the rest of the day, and through the dead period between the end of school and the start of Glee. I had great faith in my abilities to tease the truth out of him, but it always helped to have a plan beforehand.

Because I was so occupied with my thoughts, I was three minutes late to go get Finn. That in and of itself wasn't too bad. He could either wait in the car with Dad or get out and get himself to practice. The issue was that my movements through the school were carefully choreographed, to avoid danger, and I ended up rounding a corner and coming face to face with both Adam and Junior.

We all had the same reaction. First freezing, then rapidly looking around to see if there was anyone who could help me. Of course, I hoping there would be, and they were praying that there wouldn't be, but our actions were perfect mirror images.

This time, luck was on their side. The school had cleared out, and the rest of the Glee club was already in the choir room. I was outnumbered and grossly outweighed. Still, I backed against the wall and stiffened up. If I was going to get the crap beaten out of me, I would at least go down fighting.

I didn't get the chance. Once second Junior was pulling his arm back to hit me, and the next he himself was pinned against the wall. Apparently Finn had gotten tired of waiting, and decided to come find me. He had, and was not pleased with what he saw.

This was the first time since he had been back, and maybe the first time ever, I had seen Finn truly furious. I've seen him throw tantrums, usually with some kicking of things, and assumed that that was Finn furious. No, that was Finn angry. This was something totally different.

He was absolutely silent, eyes fixed and body tense. He had Junior pinned to the wall by an arm across his throat, and he wasn't moving back. Junior wasn't being totally denied air, but he was clearly straining to get it. Adam took one look at the scene and bolted, either to look for a teacher or save his own skin.

I had to get Finn off. Not only could he injure someone, but if anyone saw this, Finn's mental state would be called into serious question. I tried to call his name, but it came out choked and soft. This was like a nightmare, then kind where you kept trying to scream, but couldn't make a sound.

But my voice turned out to be unneeded. Finn pressed his face close to Junior's, their eyes just inches apart and hissed threateningly. "If you touch my Kurt again, I'll fucking kill you. If you let someone else do it, I'll fucking kill both of you. Do not try me on this one. Let everyone else know that my brother is off limits." Then he dropped his arm and turned around. "Come on Kurt, we have Glee."

For a second, I was scared to follow him. This was the same Finn that I had seen in the mall the other day, when he was deliberately playing games with the salesman. He was angry, but not the out of control soft of angry. This was deliberate, planned out fury, and it was upsetting on a gut level. It was almost as if….I choked that thought down and hurried after him.

Just say it. No one says that you have to tell anyone else, but you should at least be able to admit it to yourself.

Fine. It was almost like Finn had picked up on the aggressive and manipulative side of Josephs own personality. It wasn't all overt, and it wasn't all the time, but he had developed a mean streak that he could turn on at a moments notice. Even more disturbing, he could turn it right back off when it suited him.

Shock had kept Junior from immediately retaliating, but he recovered himself very quickly. "So he's your Kurt now, is he? I guess you really did like taking it up the ass. You're probably the one who killed Puck, too."

That was the most painful thing he could have accused Finn of, and I felt him flinch, but he didn't give Junior much of a response. He did raise his middle finger, but I could hardly fault him for that.

He also didn't look back to make sure we weren't being followed. Since he's been back, he's developed a knack for telling who might be a danger and who was only bluffing. Clearly he didn't see Junior as a threat.

"He won't bug you again." Finn pressed his hand to the middle of my back, leading me forward.

"You shouldn't have done that, Finn." I kept my voice low. "What if he tells someone?"

"He won't. And even if he does, no one will believe him." Finn didn't seem disturbed at all.

The point was that he had deliberately hurt someone else. Pulling Junior off of me would have been alright. I would have even excused it if Junior had started a physical fight with Finn. But he hadn't. Finn had reacted with a level of aggression that was out or proportion to the crime.

Finn was defending you. He wouldn't have bothered with Junior at any other time, and you know it. I know that some of what you've seen with Finn lately is upsetting, but if you keep thinking you see Joseph in Finn, it's going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If none of this had happened, would Finn doing this worry you so much?

No. But it had happened, and Finn wasn't the same person he would have been if it hadn't. I didn't want to over think this either, and read things into Finn's actions that weren't actually there.

I still wanted to impress on Finn that this could have been a huge mistake. "They'll believe him if he goes to Figgins with an enormous bruise on this throat. Look, I'm grateful that you stood up for me, and I love that you want to, but you're making me scared for the trial. Can you imagine how it would sound if it came out that you bruised someone up two days before it started?"

"He won't get a bruise. Trust me, doing that never leaves a bruise." He smiled thinly at me. "But you're right. I need to be better until the trial is over."

I would prefer that he watch his temper period, not just for the trial, but I was willing to take what I could get. Then the rest of what Finn had said sank in. "What do you mean that you know it won't bruise? How many people have you choked like that?"

"None." He looked hurt that I would accuse him of doing that.

No, I hadn't really thought that he had. But he had always been so insistent that Joseph hadn't physically hurt him that I had believed him. "Did Joseph do it to you?"

He shrugged. "Uh-uh."

The way he cut his eyes marked him as a liar. I wanted to push it, but I managed to refrain. "Ok. Rachel and I are going to be relying on you to check Sam out and see how you think he's going to fit. Let us know if he does anything to make you uncomfortable."

Finn does very well when his responsibilities are clearly laid out, so I knew that he would focus. He nodded pertly at me, already looking ahead. I gave him one last chance to back out. "Are you ready, or do you need one more minute?"

"I'm ready." He was placid again, showing no signs of the rage he had directed at Junior.

Because of everything that had happened, we were late to practice. Mr. Shue was already warming everyone up, but he did stop for us. "Hey, Guys, we didn't think you were coming."

"We got kind of held up." Finn turned to Sam. "Hi, I'm Finn. Sam, right?"

"Sam Evans. I'm the new guy, and I guess you're the big man on campus?"

Finn laughed. "I used to be, but not so much anymore. Cool to meet you, though."

Once that first introduction was out of the way, we were able to get started. Sam was pretty good. He needed some polish, and he couldn't sight read, but this time last year, Finn couldn't either.

Because it was Sam's first day, we remained very informal. We looked through the music together, and sang a few Disney songs that we all knew. Sam and Finn seemed comfortable with each other. For the first time since Finn had vanished, I started to think that things might be looking up for the Glee club.

Plus, it was adorable to watch Finn, Artie and Sam singing 'The Bear Necessities' from the Jungle Book. Finn skillfully drew Sam out, asking him questions about where he had lived before, and what liked doing here. So Sam was 16, one year younger then Finn and I, he had a much younger brother and sister, and he loved sports. He seemed like a good fit, and everyone enjoyed his company. If the starry look in Mercedes' eyes was any indication, she particularly enjoyed him.

Mr. Shue stayed back and let us sort this one out for ourselves. By now he trusted us to be fair and know what was and wasn't good for the club. He was mostly there to give the assignments, mediate the disputes, and provide support when we needed it.

Once we were done, Mr. Shue clapped his hands and smiled. "Sam Evans' welcome to the Glee club."

I never, ever, got tired of hearing those words. From the way he grinned next to me, I suspected that Finn felt the same way. We would never be the club that we had been with Puck, but maybe we could become something just as good.

The two of them continued chatting on the way to Sam's house. All of my worries seemed to have been for nothing, since Finn had accepted Sam without a sideways glance.

Hopefully the memory of today and how well it had gone would help get us both through the trial ahead.