Finny and gene say that wouldn't enlist with brinker if he were 's son.

By this point in the book, the reader recognizes the effect of Finny’s fall on his relationship with Gene. Far from driving a wedge between them, the fall has instead resulted in a tightening of the strange bond between the two friends. “He need[s] me,” Gene says to himself, watching his friend hobble into the shower, a realization sufficient to drive away his thoughts of joining the army. Were he to enlist, Gene would join Brinker Hadley in embracing adulthood and responsibility; in many ways, by staying by Finny’s side, Gene inhibits his own development and process of self-discovery.