Thanks so much to Diannasbacon aka Nicole for beta reading!
Sole's stories: Your scene! Thank you for reminding me to bring in the tall guy and to set the frame!
I'm grateful for all your reviews and follows!
Chapter 45
The next morning found the two women's naked bodies entangled with each other underneath the covers. A ray of sunlight shone through the blinds and fell on Quinn's face. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, but it was too late. She was already awake and started to watch the kaleidoscope of colors the sunlight created behind her closed eyelids.
Slowly, without opening her eyes yet, she took in her surroundings. It was warm and cozy under the blankets. Feeling the soft, naked skin of her girlfriend next to her and that shapely leg draped over her own brought a smile to her face.
"Mmmmmmmmm," she poured and smiled, stretching her limbs above her head.
She lowered her arms again and raked her fingers though the dark tresses spread across her chest. Again, she had to smile, noticing how Rachel had used her as her pillow – like most nights.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked.
Rachel had felt the vibrations of Quinn's morning purr underneath her head and mumbled sleepily: "Don't move. So nice. Stay like that forever."
Quinn snuck her arm back under the covers and since she couldn't sign – Rachel did not seem inclined to fully wake up yet, much less open her eyes – she drew the words on her girlfriend's back.
S-L-E-E-P-Y-H-E-A-D
"Imnosleepyhead," came the almost unintelligible reply against her belly.
Y-E-S U R! And Quinn poked her forefinger slightly into Rachel's back when drawing the dot of the exclamation mark.
"Ouch!" Quinn jerked when she felt Rachel's teeth pinch the soft flesh of her stomach in revenge.
M-E-A-N-I-E! Was the next word she sketched on the brunette's back.
Slowly, Rachel turned her head and gazed at her girlfriend with a malicious grin.
"Want more?" She then asked with a raised eyebrow and nipped at the soft flesh again.
Before Rachel could think of more ways to tease her girlfriend, a small light flashed above the door.
"What the…" Rachel lifted her head and then her upper body followed. Quickly she disentangled herself from the covers and walked to the door, throwing a long t-shirt over her head. She found a piece of paper that was pushed through the small slit under the door.
She picked it up and opened the door.
Leroy was standing outside with a slightly guilty look.
"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you girls…so I just…" He made sure to accompany his words with signs.
It was still harder for him than it was for his husband, but seeing the grateful look and understanding on his daughter's face, was motivation enough to keep it up.
"We were already awake," Rachel answered with a meaningful look at Quinn.
"No, you were not, sleepyhead," the blonde answered boldly in both ways.
"Yes, I was!" Rachel countered.
"You wish S-L-E-E-P-Y-H-E-A-D!" Quinn finger spelled the last word with emphasis and laughed.
Rachel quickly turned away, saying in a sing-song voice: "Can't hear youuuu!"and tried to look serious, but failed and started laughing too. Then she remembered what she wanted to ask her dad.
Leroy tried to wipe the smirk out of his face at seeing his daughter's reproachful look. Usually, she was the early bird in the house and had never liked it when they had teased her about oversleeping.
"When did you install that light?" She asked curiously, signing as well in parallel. "I haven't even noticed it before!"
Hiram did it a few days ago.
Rachel watched her daddy struggle a little with the fingerspelling of his husband's name. 'Name signs', she reminded herself, before she saw her father's hands move again.
We thought that … you know… you wouldn't hear us knock so…
His daughter smiled and cocked her head. "Thank you." She was surprised at the thoughtful gesture.
"And this?" She held up the note while unfolding it. It held one simple sentence.
Breakfast is ready if you're hungry.
Rachel turned towards her girlfriend who had pulled the blanket up to her chin to hide her glorious nakedness.
"Food?" She asked the blonde.
At that moment, Quinn chuckle with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. Leroy grinned as well. Rachel's gaze wandered from one to the other slightly confused.
"What did I miss?"
My stomach's answer to your first question. Come here, Quinn signed and placed Rachel's hand on her stomach where the traitorous grumbling was again showing how hungry she was.
Rachel laughed and turned back to the door.
"Ok, daddy, let us get dressed. We'll be down in fifteen minutes."
When he had closed the door, Quinn signed: Fifteen minutes? That doesn't leave us much time. You up for a quickie? She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
Rachel jumped back on the bed and started tickling her.
The two women rolled around the bed, each trying to get the other one to surrender.
… … …
Downstairs, Leroy smiled when he heard the squeals and laughter coming from his daughter's room. He never thought he would ever hear that again.
Hiram stuck his head out of the kitchen doorway.
"Are the girls coming?"
Leroy just placed a finger on his lip and pointed upwards.
Hiram frowned and joined his husband at the stairs, hearing the faint giggling and then their daughter clearly shouting for mercy. Her squeals were followed by Quinn's voice asking if Rachel was giving up, repeating her question twice slowly before Rachel vehemently capitulated.
Both men did not need words at the moment to know what the other was thinking. Their grateful and relieved smiles said it all. They hugged each other shortly before going back into the kitchen, not wanting to intrude the girls' privacy.
… … …
After they calmed down again, both women slumped back on the covers, still giggling until their mirth finally ebbed away.
We should go downstairs, your dads are waiting, Quinn signed, her arms extended in the air above her.
Yes, Rachel signed back to Quinn's surprise. Then she turned so Quinn could see her better.
Thank you for the letters. I… I will read them when we are back home. We are too busy here.
Quinn looked at her for a moment. Was Rachel feeling uneasy about her present? She frowned.
Rachel noticed the insecurity in the blonde's face and hastened to explain, still signing in parallel:
"Don't get me wrong. I'd just love to take some time to read them, Quinn".
Ok, I understand that. Then Quinn furrowed her brows.
Wait. What was that sign? The last one, when you said my name. The sign looked like "shine", but with…
She repeated the movement she had seen Rachel make. Both hands moving from the side of her head diagonally downward, the fingers forming the letter Q, thumb and forefinger extended.
"Oh! Oh!" A smile spread across her beautiful features. Is that a name sign? My name sign?
Rachel nodded shyly. "Yes. It's about time, don't you think?"
How… did you, I mean, why 'shine'?
Rachel chuckled and then explained a little bashfully: "Can't you guess? For me, you are like a light, a light that shines no matter where you are. I can see you everywhere. You even managed to shine that light through the walls I had erected around me after I lost my hearing."
"Oh!" Quinn was touched by Rachel's explanation.
Thank you, Rachel! This is a wonderful gift. She bent forward and placed her lips on her girlfriend's.
Actually, both our name signs complement each other, Quinn noticed after a moment. For your sign, you have to move your fingers upwards, you know, like stars shooting up. For my sign the rays come streaming down, like the light of the sun. So we can meet in the middle, Quinn grinned and linked her fingers with Rachel's while kissing her passionately.
… … …
During breakfast, Rachel taught her dads to sign her and Quinn's name signs, before she introduced the ones she had selected for them.
Both men liked her choice and repeated the movements several times.
When they finished eating, the Berry men refused to let the girls help clearing the table and kitchen – which prompted Rachel in asking if her dads were sick.
Hiram chuckled and shook his head while he shooed them away, signing "Go, do your thing, girls, I mean, get your stuff for your Glee Club meeting."
Quinn and Rachel threw each other amused looks, before Rachel snatched the car keys from Quinn and they drove to the supermarket to buy some provisions for the Glee Club reunion.
They got some fruits which they cut into little pieces and mixed them into a fruit salad back home, adding some nuts and some drops of lemon juice to prevent the fruits from turning brown.
After they had prepared their food for the meeting, the girls sat with Rachel's fathers on the couch and watched Monty Python's Life of Brian. It was kind of a tradition for Rachel and her dads to watch this movie during the holidays. Much to the Berry family's astonishment, Quinn had never seen the movie before and could not stop laughing at some of the scenes.
They prepared some sandwiches for lunch and ate them, sitting on the couch while watching the movie. It was a very relaxed and comfortable day so far, Quinn thought contently while she chewed on another bite from her bread.
In the early afternoon, they got ready to leave. Quinn took the salad out of the fridge while Hiram hugged his daughter and looked at her, smiling encouragingly.
Good luck, pumpkin. I'm sure you can handle this meeting and I'm also sure that your friends will be supportive. Chin up! Once he finished signing, he playfully stroke his finger under Rachel's jaw.
She smiled bravely in order to not betray her true feelings. She was nervous as hell.
Quinn took her by the hand and led her out to their car. Slipping behind the wheel, the blonde tilted her head and softened her gaze.
Rachel, what are you afraid of?
The brunette just shrugged, not finding the right words to express her feelings.
This was the Glee Club! It was the one thing that had meant the world to her and actually gave her the basis to start her career. It had helped her develop her skills, next to her private singing lessons and it had given her the chance to perform in front of a huge audience. It had been her home base at school; the one place she felt she could truly show what she was capable of.
Even though the other kids had mocked her and had been annoyed at her attitude in the beginning, in the end, they had grown into a family. They had all truly loved each other in their own special ways. And it was never easy to break bad news to someone you liked, much less if they had such impact on yourself.
Hey sweetie, what can happen when you tell them? They will be shocked? They will be sad about your loss? It's all fair and natural for them to feel that way. Or are you afraid that they will pity you? Quinn looked into Rachel's large brown worried eyes.
Maybe some of them might feel pity. Some of them might not feel comfortable with the situation. But your true friends will stay and stand up to it. They might struggle with it at first, but they will manage, together with you and me. And if not, Santana will surely give them hell! Quinn added with an encouraging smile.
"I know, it's just so… I don't know. I have the feeling that some might think 'oh look, the one with the biggest voice and the biggest ambition who could never shut up has now…"
Quinn interrupted her with an angry look on her face. Rachel, stop! You don't really mean that! No one will think that! These are our friends. And no one would wish such a tragic thing to happen to anyone.
"Yeah, right."
Rachel turned her head and looked out of the window. She was not so sure, thinking back at all the times she had been humiliated, insulted and slushied back in school.
God damn it, why were all these things coming up again now? She was not in school anymore and she had indeed become close friends with most of the original New Direction members.
Looking back at Quinn, she sighed.
"Sorry. Just, I don't know, I guess I had a small relapse into the old not-so-nice times."
You know that they love you, that they were happy about your success and that they truly loved your voice.
"Exactly."
Quinn smiled a bit sadly. Not being able to sing anymore would be an open wound for Rachel forever. And there was nothing that could heal it. The encounters Rachel had after the accident with the people she knew and seeing their expressions when she broke the news to them always deepened her pain. It made it all so evident again on what she had lost. Right now, there was nothing that Quinn could do to cushion the blow, except being there for her.
Come here, Quinn ordered and squeezed Rachel into an encouraging tight hug, before Rachel gave her a small nod to say that she was more or less ready to go.
… … …
When they arrived at McKinley, Quinn noticed that she had forgotten her mobile phone at Rachel's place. Since she was expecting a call from her sister later that day to agree on a time to meet in the evening, she had to drive back and pick it up. Fran really wanted to get to know Rachel and even their mom had looked kind of excited to meet Rachel.
The only thing was that Quinn had not broken the news to Judy that her girlfriend was deaf. She wondered how her mom would take that. Not only had her daughter blemished the family image by openly admitting that she was gay, no, now she had also fallen in love with someone who was imperfect. At least that is what Quinn imagined her mother would think.
Fran, on the other hand, had been really supportive and had even admired her sister for not letting anything come between her and the person she loved, not even deafness. She had asked Quinn to teach her the basic signs to be able to greet Rachel properly once they met. That request had coaxed a warm smile from Quinn.
Tuning back to the present, Quinn looked at Rachel.
Do you want to come with me or do you want to stay here?
Rachel thought about it for a moment. Since they were really early, she did not expect anyone else to be at the school yet. The parking lot was still empty.
Trying the doors, they found them unlocked. Usually, Mr. Schuester would inform the headmaster to unlock the doors for their meeting. Apparently, Mr. Berger had been early as well.
"I think I'll survive the next twenty minutes without you," Rachel smiled.
Ok. I'll hurry and be back in no time!
Quinn placed a quick kiss on her lover's lips and darted back down the stairs.
Rachel looked after her and then turned to enter the school. When the door closed behind her, she took a deep breath, taking in the familiar and somehow comforting smell of the school. She was happy to have the building to herself for a short while.
Slowly, she took a step forward. When she reached the lockers, she let her right hand trail across the smooth metal surfaces.
Then she stood in front of her old locker. She placed a flat palm on the door, as if she could soak up all the memories through that simple touch; as if she could transport herself back to the time when her future still looked so hopeful.
Slightly turning, she looked further down the long hallway. She heard the typical metal 'clang' of the locker doors in her mind whenever they were closed; the students in the hallway laughing, shouting and whispering. She heard the sneaker soles making squeaky noises on the floor and high heels tapping down the hallway.
A wistful smile played across her lips as the scene played in her mind.
Rachel was so engrossed in her memories that she did not notice the other person approaching. When the form appeared right next to her, she was startled out of her reveries. Jumping slightly backwards out of reflex, she gasped the name of the person who was the source of her surprise.
"Finn!"
Through her backwards motion, she collided with the wall behind her and hit her head against the door of the locker.
"Ouch."
Rachel lifted a hand and gingerly rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head.
Looking up, she saw Finn ask: "You ok?"
"Gee, you scared me!" She took a deep breath and answered his question. "Yeah, I'm fine."
She lowered her head slightly, trying to level her breathing and willing the dull pain in her head to subside.
After a few moments, she felt better and managed to concentrate on the person standing in front of her.
Finn.
Rachel had not even thought about him in months. Not once.
To think that she had been so in love with him one time... Then again, had she really been in love with him or had he just been a nice distraction from her true feelings for someone else?
He tentatively stepped forward and she let herself be wrapped in a hug.
Wow. Compared to Quinn's slender and smaller body Rachel was used to, she really felt dwarfed by his huge frame. Nevertheless, she gave him a friendly squeeze and then stepped out of his embrace.
Slowly, she focused her eyes on his mouth that had started moving without pause. Rachel looked to her left down the hall in the hopes to see a certain blonde finding her way into the school. At seeing the empty hallway, the brunette settled her gaze back on Finn's lips. She was desperately trying to read at least one word in order to gauge what he was talking about.
This whole lip reading thing was just so fucking frustrating. How could anyone ever learn it properly? There must be a certain trick to it that she had not found out yet, even though her teacher assured her that all it took was practice, practice and practice.
When she did not succeed in catching a familiar mouth movement that would lead her on the right track of what he was talking about, Rachel let her eyes crawl upwards to his eyes. She wanted to get a guess at his emotions at least.
Was he still upset that she had never answered his e-mails or texts or calls for the last few months? He seemed a little tense, maybe even slightly angry.
When it was clear that he was not going to stop talking soon, she decided to interrupt him.
"Finn."
No reaction. The cascade of words that seemed to be gushing out of his mouth did not cease. She tried again, louder this time.
"Finn!" Holding up a hand, she hoped to catch his attention.
He ignored her still.
"Finn, stop talking!"
Finally he reacted, but only for a second before his mouth took off again.
God, he had never talked that much, but right now he was like a verbal waterfall. She saw the little wrinkles around his eyes grow deeper. That always happened when he was upset. Biting her lip she wondered about the level of how upset he was. Judging by the many words he threw into her direction it must have been quite high.
Well, she could kind of understand. They had stayed in loose contact over the years and being completely ignored for the better part of this year without any explanation would have made her mad as well.
Finally, she dug into her handbag, pulled out a note pad and a pen and thrust it into Finn's hands.
Out of reflex he took it and then stared first at the paper in his hand, then at her, for once forgetting to talk.
Seizing her chance, Rachel took a deep breath and explained:
"I can't hear you. You … you'll have to write down what you are saying." And she pointed at the wad of paper.
He got a puzzled look on his face.
"What? Is that a joke now?"
This she was able to read off his lips.
"I meant what I said. You'll have to write down what you are saying. I can't hear you." Then after a short hesitation, she added: "I'm deaf."
Finn angrily threw the pad on the floor, startling Rachel once again. Only this time, she refrained from making another body check with the locker doors. Obviously, he did not believe her. Though why he thought she would joke about something like that was beyond her.
She took a step forward and gently placed a hand on his arm, stopping him from walking away, while he directed more words at her that she couldn't make out, as his face was turned.
"Finn. Look at me."
Her calm tone and the light touch of her hand finally seemed to have penetrated his anger. There must have been something in her voice that told him that she was not kidding. Because what she then saw flicker across his face was true concern mixed with the final residues of his anger.
Bravely, she ventured forth.
"I had an accident this year in which I lost my hearing." She looked at him with sincere, brown eyes, hoping that they told him what her words maybe couldn't.
"I… I… You." He was at a loss for words. When he seemed to have digested the news for a moment, he asked, dumbfounded: "You are deaf? You mean…?" The rest was lost to Rachel. She furrowed her brows.
"Finn…"
He held up a hand and Rachel swallowed her words.
"You. Can't. Hear. Anything?" He then asked very slowly, over-pronouncing his words.
Rachel almost looked at him in disgust. This was exactly what she did not want. This kind of behavior was rude and made her feel like she was retarded.
"Finn, just pick up the god damn pad and write down what you want to say." Rachel tried to say with an even voice, hoping that her anger did not ring through as much as she felt it rise in her stomach.
Finn raked his hands through his hair, turned away from his ex-fiancé and back again. It took the former quarterback a long moment for the information to truly sink in.
Neither of them said anything. Finn just kept staring at Rachel as if he could read on her face what she had actually meant by the words "I can't hear". When it finally registered, his anger appeared to dissolve completely.
The former diva then almost recoiled at the look in his face. The anger, confusion and shock had been replaced by sheer pity.
"Oh no, Finn. No! Don't give me that look. I... don't need your pity, just … don't!" She thrust her shoulders back, trying to exude every ounce of dignity she had left.
Finn wiped his hand over his face, while Rachel debated turning around and leaving. If this was how every encounter with the rest of the Glee club would turn out, she'd rather be a coward and skip the whole thing.
Despite trying to ignore his pitiful look and not wanting to hear or rather see the words coming out of his mouth, she caught everything. She knew the words even before he voiced them.
"God Rachel, I'm so sorry!"
It made her so angry. Not the word themselves, but that he still did not seem to understand.
"Finn, stop! Do you have any idea how insensitive you are? Why do you keep talking even after I told you three times that I can't hear what you are saying?" She felt her own voice getting louder.
He opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it again, still wearing that sorrowful expression.
Rachel tried to calm herself and stood just a little bit taller before she delivered her next line.
"And most of all, I don't need your pity!"
Was she overreacting a bit? Maybe.
This was so hard! These people, including Finn, knew her so well. They knew her voice, her talent and how it had developed better than anyone else. Yes, maybe she was overreacting a bit, but she could not help it. Not if she got the pity face from someone she was once so close to.
She focused back on his face.
"But you…"
"Finn!" Was he hearing her at all?
Rachel doubted that any of her words penetrated his thick skull. She wondered which one of them was deaf now.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw someone approaching. She tensed, preparing herself for another onslaught of explanations, disbelief, pity and whatever else they were going to give her today.
A great wave of relief flooded though her when she saw Santana purposefully striding towards them. Where was Quinn? Rachel asked herself before the Latina took her stance in front of Finn, poking a finger into his chest.
"Well, isn't it Finn the Hulk Hudson?"
Rachel felt like hugging her friend right there and then when Santana accompanied her words with signs, even though she did not get what Santana was trying to sign after Finn's first name.
"Hi, Santana." Finn looked like he was not sure if he should feel relieved for someone else to get him out of this bizarre situation or if he dreaded the Latina's appearance and what she was going to tell him.
The dark haired woman turned, signing silently to Rachel.
The d-o-r-k bothering you?
Rachel produced a small, grateful smile to her friend, wondering if there was a sign for dork. Then she shrugged in answer to Santana's question.
Finn is just… Finn. Rachel explained lamely with a sigh, signing slowly, so Santana could catch on.
She did not care how slow or sometimes hard it was to read her friend's signs or how many times she had to repeat her own. At that moment, she was just so glad to show off the connection she had with the Latina and that there was definitely a way of talking to her without the whole humiliation thing.
Santana studied Finn for a moment.
"Hudson, wipe that pitiful look off your face. 'Cause there is no fucking reason for Rachel to be pitied."
"But – I mean, I feel so bad for her! It seems like I have finally gotten everything I ever wanted! And … and… Rachel has lost everything." Again, he turned and threw a troubled look at his former high school love.
Before any of the two women could bring in a word, he continued.
"I just can't believe it. I mean, being deaf…" He wiped his hand over his head. "That...that means that Rachel can't sing anymore! She had such an incredible talent and she was so successful on Broadway and now she is … I don't know... I just feel so sorry. Why did this have to happen to her? Jesus, I just don't get…"
Santana held up a hand. "Ok, stop!" Then she tried to accompany her words by signing. "Can you like NOT talk about Rachel as if she wasn't here? And can you empty your fucking pity pot somewhere else, you big hulking idiot? And while we're at it, show some consideration to your ex-fiancée and use the god damn pad that you so dramatically threw on the floor earlier!"
Sorry. I probably did not make much sense with my hands, the Latina then apologized to Rachel.
Well, I got the gist of what you were trying to say, the brunette almost chuckled. Then she shook her head and put on a quizzical expression. What did he say?
Just some crap about… you know.
Rachel placed a hand on her friend's forearm while Finn's eyes darted between their hands back and forth.
"Santana, please!" Rachel encouraged the Latina to give her the exact relay.
Once she had received the rocky interpretation, she turned to Finn.
"Finn, I can understand that this shocks you and that you probably need some time to digest the news. But please understand that… however hard it is for me to live without being able to hear, I have had some time to adapt." She searched his face and finally found that he was actually listening to her.
"I'm not saying that it is easy, but I have learned a lot and I have also learned to enjoy my life again. I will always miss singing, performing and listening to music. It was the most important part of my life. But I found out that there are other things I am still capable of doing and that there are other things that are important in my life."
He took in her words and her sincere look. "Like what?" He asked with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
He had once felt that Rachel and her talent were the only good things in his future; she had been the most important part of his life once. Rachel being deaf was a huge shock for him, even though he had finally found his inner peace with his wife Megan, his teaching position at a high school in Columbus and the little band he was playing the drums in. He had been so certain that Rachel would fulfill all her dreams and die on stage at a ripe old age. But now… this? How could this have happened?
It just seemed so unfair that he had finally found his way after he had felt so lost and without direction or purpose for most of his life while Rachel, who had always seen her own path so clearly in front of her was now stopped dead in her tracks by this tragedy.
Apparently, Rachel was able to read his thoughts or she was just good at reading his expression, because her next words fit to his musings.
"Finn, even though I might not be able to sing anymore, I found out that I have some incredible friends who stand by me and support me." With that, she smiled at Santana. "I still have dreams and plans for my future." Well, the one with the plan was not entirely true, but she did not need to put her own insecurity further on display here.
"Yeah, and just so you know, Berry here is no slouch in the love department either," the Latina threw in, causing a confused look on Finn's face.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Ok, look. I'm going to explain it to you," Santana sighed overdramatically at her former classmate's slow thinking. She lifted her hands, trying to keep Rachel in the loop again of what she and Finn were saying.
"You have found a girl who you deserve and who you have a lot in common with, and so did Rachel. And she is stronger than you are giving her credit for, so as tragic as this is, don't pity her. Show some respect instead."
Rachel could not hear the tone of Santana's voice but looking at her facial expression and body language, she assumed that the Latina had raised her voice. Santana bent forward slightly, pointing at Finn to emphasize her last words.
Finn wanted to say something when Santana bent down and retrieved the pad from the floor, pressing it into his hands.
"Shut up Finn and start writing. That's the least you can do!" Santana retorted angrily, throwing an exasperated look at Rachel, rolling her eyes.
Rachel just quirked an eyebrow and felt oddly calm with the whole exchange all of a sudden. She almost had to laugh when she realized that she almost felt sorry for Finn. She knew that he did not say all those insensitive things to deliberately hurt her. She knew he had a deeper sense for people than that, but he sometimes chose the stupidest moments to display his awkwardness.
Finn finally complied as he poised the pen over the paper. He thought for a moment before scribbling something down.
When he was finished, he handed the pad back to his former fiancée. Rachel took it, but kept her gaze trained on Finn's eyes to gauge his feelings. He seemed genuinely moved by the whole thing. A little tense, still, but also concerned. Finally, she dropped her gaze to the pad.
Rachel, I don't know what to say, honestly. I can't imagine what it must be like for you. I can't even begin to understand. I'm sorry if I overreacted or offended you. It's just that I was so damn sure you would become the biggest Broadway star on earth that I would have bet my life on it. Learning that all your dreams have been destroyed just because of some freaking accident is just … I don't know.
I have always liked you as a friend, no matter how little our contact had been in the past. And it hurts to see you hurt is what I'm trying to say, I guess.
Rachel considered his words carefully. There it was, in those few last lines she found the Finn she had once loved. The still awkward, but caring and honest Finn. A small smile appeared on her face. She glanced at the words again before looking up at him.
"Apology accepted."
Then she quickly looked at the Latina, before she continued. Might as well spill the whole story now.
"Santana is right with one thing. Among all the tragedy I… found the love of my life. So please don't feel sorry for me, Finn. As difficult as it still is to accept my deafness, I also received the most valuable gift one can ask for out of this situation. And I'm happy that you've found your way and that you are happy with your life."
Santana turned and Rachel followed her gaze, seeing Quinn finally walking down the hallway.
When the blonde saw the tense expression on Santana's face, she quickened her steps.
"Hello Finn," she greeted the tall guy with a hesitant hug when she was close enough, then hugged Santana briefly as well. Turning to Rachel, placing a soft kiss on her lips, she asked:
You ok? You seem a little tense and Santana also appears to be a bit worked up.
Rachel looked at Finn and back at her girlfriend. Finn's eyes became huge at witnessing the intimate gesture between Rachel and Quinn.
Santana could not wipe the smirk off her face.
"So this is… you are… she…," he pointed between Rachel and Quinn.
Rachel chuckled and leaned into the blonde. "Yes, she is the love I was talking about."
"I… wow…ok," he lifted his hands and raked them through his hair. "You definitely managed to break the news-o-meter today, Rachel."
It took Quinn a moment to sign that as she had to finger spell part of the sentence. Once Rachel understood what Finn had said, she smiled bashfully in his direction.
The tall guy seemed to need a moment to digest these news as well, until he came around.
"Ok, um, well, I'm definitely happy for you… for the two of you," he corrected himself quickly.
Quinn kept interpreting for Rachel and both managed to smile at him.
"Thank you Finn," both said in unison.
After an awkward moment, Rachel excused them: "Finn, we'll see each other later, we'd just like to take the chance and walk around and have a look at the school."
"Um, yeah, sure. See you later."
Rachel stuffed the pad into her bag and gave Finn one last look, managing another small, but genuine smile, before she walked down the hall with Quinn, linking her hand with the blonde's. Santana decided to stake out the choir room, giving her two friends a moment to themselves.
They toured the campus, visited the auditorium, the football field, some of their classrooms and finally the cafeteria. Each room held a bunch of memories they shared and mostly laughed about. Some of the overdramatic events just seemed so small and unimportant in retrospect.
Coming back from their round through the school premises, Quinn told Rachel that she heard a lot of voices coming from the choir room, including Mr. Schuester's. Apparently most of the other Glee kids had arrived in the meantime. Quickly, Quinn squeezed Rachel's hand for courage.
"One down, twelve more to go." Rachel breathed deeply before they neared the open door.
I started three times to write something here in the author notes about the Finn scene in the light of Cory's death, but somehow I couldn't find the right words.
Just know that I thought long and hard if and how I should portray Finn here at all, not knowing how it would come across. I had written it before Cory's death after a great prompt from Sole's stories (thank you for reminding me to bring in the tall guy and to set the frame).
In the end, it felt ok for me and others I asked to leave this scene as it was. as it showed different facets of his character. So, I hope you're ok with it too.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering about the number of the New Directions, I left out the newbies and I did not count Rory either... and… well, can't say more otherwise I might say too much.