Aligned | Finn Hudson

Check Up

I sat quietly in the back seat and looked out the window. I started to stare at my scar in the reflection while the radio softly hummed. "Do you have anything to ask the doctor?" Carol looked at Finn through her mirror. "I want to know if he can clear me for football. Coach Beiste said I can come back if a have a clearing from the doctor." Finn explained. "What about you back there, you've been quiet the whole time we've left." Carol looked at me. I giggled and smiled. "This is all about him, not me. I just want to know is everything is alright." I told her. She smiled to me and turned her attention back to the road. Finn then slid his hand across the seat and held mine. I gripped onto his and kept my gaze out the window.

We made it to the medical buildings and found the one we needed, 807F. I picked up the under part of my knee and carried my foot out of the car. My boot dragged me down and pulled me out of the car completely. Finn ran over and started to pick me up as I laughed, causing him to also laugh with relief. "I guess you need to be carried." He chuckled and helped me regain my balance. He held my hand and we all walked into the office together. Carol checked him in while me and him sat down. I grabbed a magazine off the table next to my chair and started skimming through it. Carol eventually sat back down and we all quietly waited together. Since there was just another family in waiting room with us, the doctor came pretty quick.

Finn's grip on my hand was sweaty and tight. I rubbed the top of it with my other hand as we went to the room. He sat down on the cot and I stood in the corner, giving Carol the only seat. I leaned up against the wall as the doctor came in. He went straight over to the computer and started to ask Finn about the physical therapy he did over the summer and how he has been doing in general. "I've been doing good. I'm not short winded anymore like I used to be, and the chest pain has decreased." He explained. "That's good. Today we want to run two tests on you, a breathing test and an examine of your lungs." The doctor went over to the desk and pulled out a tiny box. He grabbed his paperwork and got on his chair. He then rolled over to Finn and stood up since he was too tall for him to reach siting down.

The doctor instructed Finn to blow out as hard as he can into the tube that was sticking out. When he did, a number appeared on the box. The doctor wrote it down and then flipped a switch on it. Then, he asked him to inhale as much as he could. Finn did do that and I watched his chest retract and his scar turn a little red. The doctor wrote the number that appeared and set his papers down. He took his gloves off and started washing his hands. "Now today we want to perform an ultrasound to see if the lung tissue has fully healed and if you're good to go from any restrictions. "Sir, I'm a man." Finn became wide eyed. I cocked my head for a minute, then slapped my forehead realizing what he thought the reason was for. "No sweetie, they know that, they can also do it on other parts of the body." Carol soothed him. Thank god Finn didn't want to work in the medical field when he got older.

The doctor left and Finn took of his shirt. Me and Carol put our phones outside in a bucket the doctor gave us so they don't interfere with the machine. When the doctor rolled the machine in along with a tray of things, Finn locked up. I quickly noticed and leaned up from my stance. "Finn babe are you okay?" I asked. I saw him sweat as he lied and told me no. Carol and I got up and went next to him. I started to stroke his forehead while his mom held his hand. "It's not gonna poke you or hurt, they're just looking inside. You'll be able to see it." Carol kissed his cheek. Even though Finn was very masculine and strong on the outside, I knew he had his fears on the inside.

The doctor rubbed the weird cream on his chest and started to trace over his scar. We all watched as his lung became clear on the monitor. His breathes were very fast. "Finn, breathe. It's okay. I promise nothing is gonna happen." I softly said before kissing his forehead. I watched his lungs start declining and going lower in speed. The doctor searched all around his lungs and found nothing. "To me, it looks like everything healed perfectly because I can't find the incision line the doctors made during surgery or any scaring from the bullet." The doctor moved the detector everywhere. He instructed the other nurse that had come in to flip the light on and grabbed some towels. He wiped up Finn's chest and carefully wheeled the machine out. Once Finn got his shirt back on, I kissed his cheek and grabbed all three of our phones and passed them back out.

It took a little bit for the doctor to come back in, but he eventually did. "Alright Mr. Hudson. I just checked with the lung specialist in our offices and she has cleared you for all of these things so far." He handed him a similar clipboard he was given when he was in the hospital. He scanned over it and a smile washed over his face. "I can play football again?" He chuckled. The doctor nodded and I grinned. He continued over the list and turned to me. "I can start singing normally." His eyes lit up. I did a little happy dance as the doctor started going over some stuff he couldn't do: like hold his breathe for too long or inhale some chemical fumes.

All of us thanked the doctor after Carol scheduled another check up date in December. Me and Finn headed out to the car while Carol signed some paperwork and checked him out. As she did, Finn picked me up and started spinning me around and laughing with joy outside. As much as I was happy to him excited to play football again, in the back of mind I was raided with fear that he may get hurt again.