love is a burning thing

Prompt from finchel-prompts: AU Finchel. Fireman!Finn saves Rachel from a burning building. She is the first person he's ever saved.

Bonus: Her injuries keep her in the hospital for a few days and he visits her.

Double bonus: A month later she shows up to the firehouse looking for him.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Glee or its characters. The title is a lyric from the song Ring of Fire, by Johnny Cash. Enjoy!

X

Truth was, so far, he didn't like being a firefighter very much. Sure, he wasn't just a firefighter, he was on the NYFD, for God's sake, and obviously, he wasn't quitting. All of his life, ever since he was a little boy growing up on Lima, Ohio, he always knew he'd grow into enough of a man to work as a firefighter in New York. That had always been his dream and he wasn't giving up only because things didn't seem to work for him at the moment.

That, however, didn't change the fact that he hated the fact that he had gone through a long process of learning things such as first aid procedures and so far, he hadn't actually gone to action, once. Every time they had an emergency, the Chief always told him to stay on the station to help cleaning around, and things like that.

It was too goddamn unfair, especially because the always firemen called him a newbie and laughed their ass off when they'd come from a fire or something interesting, anything, and he was, y'know, mopping the floor.

Anyhow, he was nearly asleep inside the fire truck when the siren blew out of nowhere and the Chief handed him a helmet.

"Congratulations Hudson, you got yourself a fire." He murmured with a coy smile.

To be quite honest, Finn was almost disappointed he didn't get to slide down the pole and everything, but hey, he was actually saving people that night and that was all that really mattered to him at the moment.

With the whole team inside the fire truck, all of them quiet and focused as they were being taken to the location, Finn wondered if he even was going to get to enter a building on flames, or maybe hold the fire hose, but he didn't care much either way. On their way to the small building in flames – fuck yes -, the Chief informed them that the situation wasn't critical since most of the dwellers had left the local, but that they had do a simple check up on the floors anyways, since there was a lot of smoke and well, it was the usual demeanor.

The building was small indeed, its front formed by red bricks. There was a lot of smoke around and at least another two fire trucks parked by the sidewalk along with a police car. Finn groaned lowly; he may never gotten to an actual fire before, but he knew that when police was involved, their job was way slower and honestly, they just made things difficult when they should be helping.

Either way, his team and the rest of the firemen from the other side of town managed to control the fire – and he was the one to hold one of the fire hose, and shit, the feeling is awesome as they described, and for the first time in his life, he felt like a man. He figured his day couldn't get any better. He had just helped saving lives – or at least people's apartments – and after that, he was going to get to go home after a long 12 hour shift, proud of himself and knowing that finally, his job, his real job had begun.

And yet, somehow, life surprised him once more when a yell from one of the cops surrounded the area. He was sitting on a short windbreak next to one of the ambulances, easily breathing through an oxygen mask, a formality the Chief insisted all of them did after a fire was contained, he had learned, when he heard the scream of the fat policeman.

"There's a woman in there!"

With that, his hand shook and he dropped the oxygen mask, making the paramedic sitting beside him swear. "What the fuck, man?"

He didn't answer, of course, just ran; ran with his life, ignoring the screams and yells from his fellow firefighters and the annoying policemen – he still didn't understand why they were all fat, maybe it was all the donuts, and ran on the direction of the building's entrance, despite the gray smoke staining the air. If he had learned something back on his training was that being a firefighter was about being loyal and kind, and he was going to. No matter how the consequences, he was saving that woman's life that night.

When he entered the building's lobby, he couldn't see anything. Anything. And shit, they may have mentioned about loyalty and kindness over training but they certainly didn't mention things could get that fucked up. Maybe that's why everyone was screaming for him not to go with their lives. Maybe. And shit, he wasn't prepared. He had simply walked in there without any proper uniform or equipment, and yeah, he was completely and utter fucked and he was pretty sure he'd never attend to a fire again on his life.

Yet, he didn't see anything but smoke.

However, he might've not seen anything, but he heard it.

Oh, boy, he did.

The tiniest, lowest cough.

"Hello?" He screamed through the smoke, narrowing his eyes and only spotting a few elements from the building, the mail boxes, and a vase of now dead plants. "Hello, anyone there?" When he spoke the second time, the polluted and toxic air made his throat burn, but he ignored it when the cough repeated itself, next to his left. Now that he narrowed his eyes again, he could see someone, someone crouched down by the mail boxes.

His first logical reaction was to run towards the person, whom he assumed was the woman. Shit, of course it was. When he managed to wrap his arms around her body, murmuring as softly and smoothly as he could. "I'm gonna get you out of here, okay? Don't worry, miss." He immediately noted she was as light as a feather, and tiny, so tiny, that he thought he was a child. And heck, there was hair, a lot of brown, soft hair that kept hitting his face when he searched for the exit.

Walking back to the outsides was certainly the best feeling he ever had in a while. Breathing the clean, fresh air again and actually managing to see things was incredible, but he didn't lose focus: he still carried the tiny, nearly unconscious woman, in his arms, and God, we wouldn't let go.

They soon were approached by the paramedics first who gently lifted the young woman from his arms, and then the fat policemen, who helped carrying him towards an empty ambulance, the paramedic from earlier putting the mask over his nose and mouth almost angrily. "Make sure you don't move this time." He murmured, watching down at him with a low sigh of exhaustion.

Surprisingly, the Chief wasn't angry at all. He just watched over him like the paramedic, then patted his shoulder, murmuring, "You did a good job in there, son."

Pride swelled Finn's chest, because although he hadn't been seriously hurt – he had only inhaled a lot of smoke – his boss was telling him that he did a good job on his first real shift, and although he hated Chief sometimes for being too picky and strict, Finn could tell now how much he appreciated him, truly.

He held the mask away for a bit to ask, "Is she okay?"

The Chief nodded. "The girl? She's stable. Apparently there's a high concentration of toxins on her lungs, but they're managing to control that already. She also had some first degree burns, but she'll be alright."

Finn brought the mask back to his mouth so he could let out a huge breath of relief without embarrassing himself. Okay, he cared about the girl because she was the first person he'd ever saved, but… She just seemed so tiny and hopeless, he would've felt terrible if she hadn't made it or if something worse had happened with her.

He closes his eyes, in peace, and for the paramedic's enjoyment, he falls asleep.

X

When he decides he's going to visit her, he takes a shower, combs his hair and dresses up casually, but on his best clothes. On his way to the hospital, he even got her a bouquet of white roses – his mom always taught him that white roses are the kind you give to a nice lady, so therefore, he went with those, although he had no idea what he was acting like that.

Okay, maybe he had been worried about her ever since they discharged him from the hospital the day before. She was the first girl he'd ever saved, okay? She was kind of his responsibility, therefore, he figured some roses and some attention wouldn't hurt.

Finn learns her name is Rachel Berry, and apparently, she owns a bakery. She's 22, two years younger than him, and she doesn't have a family, at least not alive or anywhere near New York. Her blood type is O negative, and that's basically everything he knows, aside from her health status: the nurse tells him they're still treating the burns in her back and that's why she'll have to stay for a bit longer.

When he enters the room, however, he nearly drops the bouquet, because, for the first time, he sees her, he really sees her. She's tiny like he knew she was, and skinny, too. The hair that hit his face back when he was rescuing her is brown and shiny in all the right places, and long, as well. She has bangs, something so innocent, yet so cute. Her lips are very kissable, he figures, the most kissable and pink lips he'd ever seen, although he knows he shouldn't be thinking about that right now when she was in pain. Her brown eyes light up when you look at her, and you swear you go weak on your knees.

"Hi." She tries, on an angelical, sweet voice, eyeing the bouquet on your hands and then examining you for a bit. "Are those for me?", she asks, looking at the roses now, a hint of curiosity in her voice when her lips turn into the tiniest smile.

Finn blushes before he answers, "Y-Yeah." He stammers, and shit, why are his hands shaking so much? Either way, he manages to put the bouquet on the table next to her hospital bed, and turns around to leave. "I just came to leave those here, and –

"Oh no!" The Rachel girl exclaims, covering her kissable lips with her tiny hands. "Don't leave. You brought me such lovely flowers, please stay for a while. Just a while." She pleads, and Jesus, how come she can be so persuasive? Maybe it's her voice, or her lips, or her eyes, or her, for that matter.

She smiles widely when he sits on the chair by the side of her bed, and he's sure she has the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. It's already driving him crazy. "So, you're the firefighter, aren't you?" She asks with a hint of humor in her voice.

He blushes again, and she giggles when he answers. "Well, yeah." He gulps, wondering who the hell told her about him.

"The nurse told me you've been very concerned about my situation." Rachel smiles and he blushes even a deep red. "And I appreciate that a lot. The flowers are beautiful, too. And I'm sure they smell beautiful as well. So thank you."

Finn mentally curses the damn nurse, but nods. "It's no problem, really. It's just that… You're the first person I've saved and, well, they mentioned you were alone so, I figured the flowers wouldn't hurt." He smiled back at her and hoped she wouldn't have noticed that his hair was combed. Fuck.

Rachel's quiet for a little bit, and he fears he said something wrong, so he gulps, thinking to himself what possible excuse he could give her so he'd exit the room and probably never see her again.

"That's really sweet." She speaks, finally, playing with her blanket and then her eyes met his again. "I just forgot what it is like not to be alone. I guess that when you're lonely for a while, you just get used to it and… Let's say I haven't gotten any flowers in a few years." She blushed as she spoke, looking away from him a bit, but eventually meeting his gaze again.

At her words, he couldn't help but feel a little sad at the mental image of her walking away from her bakery at the end of the day alone, opening the door to her tiny apartment – now destroyed – alone, and hell, it hurt a lot thinking about such a lovely woman like her being lonely like that.

"I… Do you have anywhere to go?" He swallowed hard at his own words. He'd give her his apartment if he had to.

It was her turn to blush, and he really didn't understand why. "The policeman said that they managed to save all of my things, but that half of the apartment is burned down." She sighed sadly. "But I… After my parents died, I couldn't sell their apartment, so I'm going to live there from now on." She offered him a smile.

"Oh." Finn was almost disappointed. "So I guess everything will settle, miss."

"You're different." Rachel releases a giggle when he calls her miss.

"On a good way, I hope."

Rachel nods, and closes her eyes for a moment, reaching out for his big hand and squeezing it. "Yes, certainly, on a good way."

X

Rachel brushes her hands across her coat, sighs while she runs her fingers across her bangs and grabs the small box of cupcakes from the counter. She thanks Kurt for looking out for the bakery while she's gone – for at least half an hour, she tells her friend, and heads out on the cold streets of New York, clutching her bag and holding the small box carefully.

The fire station is not so far from the bakery, she learns. It's been two weeks since she last saw him, at the hospital, and honestly, it's just after she's discharged and she moves into her parent's old apartment when she realizes once more how lonely she is, and somehow, how much she misses him, when they had only spent two hours together before he went back home.

She figures he would like some Nutella cupcakes, so she bakes him those.

When she gets there, she shyly smiles at the receptionist. "Hi, I'm looking for Finn Hud—

However, she lets out a squeal mid-sentence when she feels something licking her feet. Looking down at her high heels, she smiles when she spots a Dalmatian dog. "Oh." She giggles, turning to the receptionist again. "So, I'm looking for Finn, Finn Hudson?"

"Rachel?" A surprised, husky and yet sweet voice comes from her right. And there he stands, handsome as ever on his uniform, making her legs turn into jelly.

"Hi, F-Finn!" She gulps and blushes, turning to him and clutching her purse and the little pink box closer while he shoos the dog back into a fire truck parked inside. "I… I figured I could pay you a little visit, is that okay? You're not busy or anything, right?", she hopes he isn't, because that would be embarrassing and she wouldn't have the guts to come back, certainly, being the shy girl she was.

Finn shakes his head and smiles down at her. "No, really, I'm just surprised you're really here." He answers, and God, he's so tall, and handsome, she suspects he's just a movie star on cover.

"Good." She offers him a wide smile and hands him the box. "They're from my bakery." She touches the words, Berry Bakery written in silver on the pink box. "And I made them, and… I hope you like Nutella." She blushes when she realizes she's rambling.

He still seems surprised, but half smiles nonetheless, and she finds herself falling in love for that smile. "I love Nutella." He murmurs and blushes. "Thank you. I mean, I can't really eat those now since I'm on call and stuff but… Thanks."

Rachel nods and looks at her feet, twisting her bottom lip between her teeth, and says, "I just wanted to thank you, someway, for staying with me, and for the flowers." She said and traces the bakery's address written on the box in silver as well. "You should come by, I mean… I'm there most of the time and even if I'm not, you could buy some more cupcakes, if you'd like, and either way –

"I'd love to." Finn cuts her off with another half-smile.

"Really?" She asks him hopefully and tries not to denounce how much she's glad that she'd see him again.

"Really. I'll pass by after my next shift." Finn promises her, and before she knows it, he's crouching down to press his lips against her cheek, and she nearly faints, stumbling a little on her feet. "I'll see you soon, miss."

With that, he turns around carrying the small box, and disappears.

"I'll be waiting for you." She calls, hoping he hears it. He does.

So, this is as far as the prompt goes, but should I continue it?