A/N: Just so you know, this is going to be rather long and angsty. However, I enjoy happy endings even more than I enjoy trying to peek into Finn's confused mind, so it won't be unrelieved angst. Consistent with canon through "The Spanish Teacher" (3-12), AU thereafter; Finn and Rachel are engaged but have not decided when to get married, and Finn's supposed to be going to CUNY for college, with Rachel and Kurt both going to NYADA.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or its characters, or any of the episodes and songs referenced and quoted from in this fic. I also certainly do not own the basic plot, which is fundamentally trite and hackneyed, but I hope you like what I've done with it.

Any resemblance between this fic and actual (non-Hollywood) amnesia is highly unlikely.

Finn felt stiff, like he hadn't moved in days. He groaned softly and started to move his legs a little. He was on his back, this didn't feel like his bed, and it certainly smelled a lot cleaner than his room. Antiseptic. God, he was sore. And his head hurt, and he felt like he was trying to think through mud. His eyes twitched.

"Finn?" That was his mother's voice, and he felt her hand take his. He blinked his eyes open narrowly, and saw her face over him. "Oh, thank God, Finn, honey. We've been so worried." She looked extremely relieved.

"Mom," Finn croaked. He saw a man he didn't know standing next to her. "Is this..."

"You're in the hospital, honey, you were in an accident," his mom said. "You've been out for about four days, so you're going to be stiff." She adjusted the pillow under his head and looked at the equipment, her nursing experience kicking in even now.

"Should I get the doctor?" asked the man, quietly.

"In a few minutes, I don't want to overwhelm Finn just yet," his mom answered. "But get Rachel, she went to the nursing station." The man nodded and left. His mom turned back to him, and he could see tears in her eyes, her face happy. "Hey kiddo, welcome back. How do you feel?"

"Sore," Finn admitted. "My head hurts."

"Well you had a bit of a bump."

"Who was that guy?"

"Who?"

"The dude here just now."

"Burt?" His mother's voice sounded alarmed, but she calmed herself. "That's Burt, honey, you know Burt."

"I do?"

"Yes." She looked puzzled, then grabbed a small flashlight. "Let me see your eyes, honey." She quickly flashed light into each eye. "Looks fine," she said to herself. She held a finger out but steadied his head. "Follow my finger." He followed it with his eyes as she moved it right, left, then up and down. She looked at the readout of his vitals again. "Well you seem fine." She swallowed, looking tense. "What's your name?"

"You're kidding."

"Just humor me, okay honey? Full name."

"Finn Christopher Hudson."

"Who am I?"

Finn smiled weakly. "You're my mom," he said. "Carole Hudson."

"How old are you?"

"Um... sixteen in October. So, fifteen." Climbing out of the fog, he saw the alarm in his mother's face that she tried to hide. "Mom, what is it? What's going on?"

"What year is it, honey?"

"two thousand... and nine," he said slowly. "September."

"What did you do yesterday? The last day you remember."

"Um, school," he said. "Football practice. Gotta work hard to stay first string as a sophomore." He swallowed, his mouth extremely dry. "what's going on, what's wrong?"

A sound at the door distracted him, and he saw a girl with long brown hair fly into the room. "Finn!" She was practically crying. "Oh thank God, Finn." She rushed to his side and took his other hand. He saw a stitched cut on her temple and dark circles under her eyes. He'd seen her before, in school; she was that small girl with the big voice that everyone picked on. Looked a bit different, though. She was clearly emotional but gave him a big smile.

"Um, who..." Finn's voice trailed off. "What are you doing here?" he asked uncertainly.

"Where else would I be?"

"School?" He knew he was getting to be a big deal at school, and maybe he'd been in a bad accident or something, but he wouldn't expect random classmates to show up, especially not someone like her, not part of his crowd at all. Had she been hurt in the accident too?

His mom gave the girl a worried look, then pressed the call button to summon hospital staff. She walked around him to put her arm around the girl, who looked puzzled. Finn became even more confused. "Is Quinn here?" he asked. "Was she with me?"

"Quinn?" The girl sounded mad, and she looked horrified. The man came up behind her as two nurses and a doctor came in at the door.

"You should go, Rachel honey," his mom told her quietly, then looked over her shoulder. "Burt..." The man nodded, and steered the girl out of the way, but it seemed she wouldn't leave the room.

Finn flinched as the hospital staff flitted around him, checking him over.

"He just woke up," his mother told the arriving doctor, an older Chinese man in a white coat. She pulled him aside and spoke softly; all Finn could see was the doctor's head nodding in acknowledgement.

After a few moments the doctor turned back to him and addressed the nurses. "Clear the others from the room," he said. "Ms. Berry, that includes you." One of the nurses showed the girl and the man from the room; the other continued to take Finn's readings, checking his pulse, his eyes, and so on.

Finn felt like he was being treated as if he was still unconscious, and it was obvious that something serious about him was being discussed. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Finn shouted his question hoarsely.

The doctor and his mother exchanged a look, and the doctor nodded at her. She sat down at his bedside and took his hand.

"Finn, honey, it's not when you think it is," Carole said quietly, trying to calm him. She glanced at the monitor, then back at Finn's face. "You've lost some time – you were in a coma for four days, but you don't seem to remember a lot more than that."

"What? – How long?" A few weeks maybe?

"It's not September two thousand and nine... it's two thousand and twelve." Finn stared at her, completely dumbfounded by what she was telling him. "July tenth, actually. You're eighteen and you graduated from high school last month."

"No." Finn said it flatly. "There's just no way." He stared at the end of his bed.

"Finn, look at me," his mother cajoled. "It's been you and me your whole life, since you were a baby. You know I wouldn't tell you something like this unless it was true." She looked up at the nurse across the bed from her. "Could I have a mirror, please?"

The nurse went to the drawers at the side of the room, and returned with a mirror. Carole held it up before Finn's face so he could see himself. "This may be hard for you to tell, honey, but you look older. It's not just the accident and being in the hospital."

Finn glanced at the mirror at first, not really willing to believe the incomprehensible thing that his mother was telling him. But he trusted her; she was the one constant in his life. So he looked again, and saw – a more defined face, older, with scruff on his chin and cheeks. He took his hand from his mom's and brought it up to rub his chin. He certainly hadn't grown whiskers like that before, sure he'd been starting in some spots but this was a lot more. He looked himself in the eyes, and blinked. Yes, this was himself all right. But he was, like, finally through puberty or something.

Finn gave his mother a look of panic and sank back on the pillow, closing his eyes. "What's happened to me?" he asked weakly.

"You were in a motor vehicle accident," the doctor said calmly. "Your truck was run off the road, it rolled and you hit your head. You've been in a coma for the last four days. We didn't detect any brain damage, but some amnesia is certainly possible and you seem to be affected. We'll need to do more tests."

Finn opened his eyes again and looked at the doctor. "But it's temporary, right? I mean, there's no brain damage so it'll come back, right?" He was getting increasingly panicked, and his mother squeezed his hand, helping him calm down a little as he focused on her. It's still me and Mom.

"Amnesia is usually temporary without major damage but there's no way to know. We haven't detected any damage yet. As I said, we need to do more tests. Your girl called for help right away, so you have the best chance possible." He looked up at the monitors, then down at Finn's drawn face. "You should rest." He looked at Carole. "Carole, you can stay with him for a while, but don't engage him too much; even though he's only just woken up he won't have much energy. We'll start looking into what's wrong."

Carole nodded at the doctor, and the medical staff left.