Woah, I think this is like my longest update ever! haha. Hope you all enjoy it:)

Disclaimer: Do not own any of the characters from Glee, this is simply for fun!

"Oh my man I love him so. He'll never know. All my life just despair, but I don't care. When he takes me in his arms, the world is bright, alright."

She closes her eyes as the warm water from the shower runs down her body. Her fingers move diligently in her hair, working the strawberry-scented conditioner from her brown locks and she sighs in contentment. She's feeling very chipper this morning, and though she won't admit it out loud, she knows the exact reason for her good mood.

"What's the difference if I say, I'll go away. When I know I'll come back, on my knees someday," she sings. "Oh whatever my man is, I am his forever more!"

When she's done rinsing out her hair, she turns the water off and grabs the towel from the rack to dry herself off. She continues to sing the lyrics of My Man as she steps out of the shower, happy to have cleansed her body for the day ahead of her. When she goes to dress, Rachel tugs on her yoga pants easily and then pulls on a tank top.

She smiles to herself when she sees the sweatshirt she snagged from Finn's dresser drawer this morning when she got up, and she eagerly tugs it on. It's his favorite football sweatshirt, and she can't wait to see his reaction to her wearing it. Of course, it engulfs her own tiny body, but it's warm and it smells like him. After sleeping in bed last night with him, she's decided that it's her new favorite smell in the whole world.

As she combs out her hair, she faintly hears the sound of lazy footsteps coming from down the hallway. Her heart skips a beat, thinking that it's probably Finn awake already. Rachel quickly brushes her teeth, wanting her breath to be fresh when she greets him, and makes sure that as she rinses no paste is left behind on her face.

When the knock sounds outside the bathroom door, she gives her reflection one more glance before she plasters a beaming smile on her face.

"Good morning F... Oh," she frowns when she gazes up and doesn't see the amber eyes that she's come to adore. Instead she sees a Mohawk, and in her opinion, it's a terrible hairstyle. "Hi Noah."

"Wow, little Berry, I'm really feeling the love this morning," Puck says sarcastically, placing a hand over his heart and looking at her with mock-hurt. "I can just tell you're so excited to see me."

She rolls her eyes, smiling at his teasing, and goes to greet him much more brightly. "I'm sorry, Noah. How are you this-"

He holds up his hand, silencing her words. "Save it Berry. I know it wasn't my face you wanted to see when you opened the door, but thanks for trying to spare my feelings."

"Did you sleep well," she asks, trying to be polite. "I'm sorry that I kept you up last night."

"Don't worry about it," Puck dismisses, ruffling her hair with a playful smile on his face. "I actually passed out right after I ate that cookie, so I slept pretty good."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed my baking," she grins.

"It was good," he muses, rubbing his stomach. He gestures behind her a second later, asking, "are you done in here? I was hoping I could use the can and maybe shower."

She grabs her dirty laundry and pajamas, and steps out into the hallway, "it's all yours."

"Thanks," he says, yawning as he walks into the bathroom. "Hey, if you don't mind, do you think you can start a pot of coffee for me? I could really use it."

"Wow, are those manners I hear coming from Noah Puckerman's mouth," she teases, giggling when he rolls his eyes at her. "I didn't even know the words 'please' and 'thanks' was in your vocabulary."

"What can I say? I must be delirious in the mornings," he jokes.

"I'm sure that's it," she says, walking away and down the hall to the kitchen. She pulls out the coffee and starts to brew it, the smell of the coffee grinds pleasing her nose. She made a little extra for herself, and grinned remembering the fact that Finn hates coffee.

He had mentioned it one day while she was making a cup for herself. His nose wrinkled as she held her cup up to his face, making her laugh as he complained, "how can people even drink that stuff?"

"It's good!" She insisted, "you just need to keep trying it. Put some sugar or milk in it, it'll help with the taste."

"No way," he declared. "I think I'll just stick with my hot chocolate."

Shesmiles thinking about Finn and how adorable he is. When she had woken up, she had been a bit confused as to where she was. It was when a warm breath blew on her neck and an arm instinctively tightened around her waist that she remembered.

She had looked to the side and found that he was laying with one arm wrapped around her while he laid on his stomach. His mouth was open slightly, his eyes screwed shut as he slept peacefully. He was ridiculously cute even while he was asleep, and she had really considered not even getting up and out of bed in favor of laying there to watch him rest.

Who are you Rachel Barbra Berry and where did your independence go?

Sheshakes her head at herself, annoyed with the tiny voice pestering her about Finn. She doesn't know why there's a part of her that is still so cautious around him. It's ridiculous actually because he's been nothing but one-hundred percent honest and kind to her.

So what was holding her back?

"Hey, thanks for making this Rach," Puck says, startling her out of her thoughts when he grabs a cup of coffee. He takes a drink and groans in appreciation. "You guys always have the best fucking coffee here."

She smiles at the compliment. "Well, thank you Noah. It's simple really, I just take-"

"Oh no. I don't care that much to listen to you ramble," he tells her, pulling out his cell phone to check for a message. "Hey do you know if Finn's up yet?"

"I'm not sure," she admits. "Why?"

"Well I'm going to the airport soon to meet, uh," he pauses, hesitating before finishing with, "somebody."

She raises an eyebrow at him while she rinses her cup out. "Why would Finn care?"

"He probably wants to go with me," he reasons. "Could you go see if he's awake? I'd rather not walk in on him if his bare ass is naked or he's jerking off in bed."

"Noah!" She gasps scandalized. "Can you not say those things please?"

He roars with laughter as she walks away, her cheeks flushing. "I noticed you didn't say you wouldn't like to see that," he accuses.

Rachel shakes her head, walking away, and stops outside the door to the bedroom before she walks in. She composes herself and says a quick prayer that Finn didn't hear a word of what Noah just said. When she peeks in she sees that he's sitting up in bed, his hair wild from sleep, and he's looking at his phone.

"Good morning Finn," she greets brightly, satisfied when his eyes immediately snap up to her and a beam breaks out on his face.

"Hey, Rach," he says, and then his eyes drop to her outfit. He smirks, patting the space beside him, "Nice sweatshirt. Wanna join me, thief?"

She gasps, jokingly, "how dare you call me a thief!" She crosses over to the bed and sits next to him. "I'll have you know that I have a perfectly clean record."

"Says the girl who has stolen multiple things from me," he teases, narrowing his eyes playfully.

Curious to know what he's talking about, she challenges him, "I hardly think that's true."

"Believe it babe," he says putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Name five instances," she demands.

"Fine but don't get mad when I prove you wrong," he says, playfully poking her in the side.

"I won't," she promises.

"Well, first, there's that hoodie of mine that you always wear, the red and white one, that you stole."

"Okay, wait, first of all, it's not my fault it's super comfy," she defends. "Secondly, you give me that jacket to wear half of the time. So technically that's not stealing."

"I only give it to you because I like seeing you in my clothes," Finn grins, glancing down at her outfit of choice again today. "I think I like this jacket on you even better than the other one."

"Well, thank you," she blushes. "But that's still only one thing I've stolen, if you can even count it as stealing."

"There was one time you stole my iPod," he recalls, chuckling at her appalled expression. "You downloaded the Wicked, West Side Story, and Funny Girl soundtracks onto it without me knowing. I was running one day around my block to train for football and out of nowhere Defying Gravity starts playing! I thought maybe Kurt had done it at first, but he had no idea what I was talking about, so I figured it was you."

"Sounds like something I would do," she admits, giggling. "Obviously, I had your best interest in mind though. I wanted to be sure you were well-cultured in the world of Broadway."

"Consider me cultured then," he grins. "You also always steal the blankets whenever you're sleeping. I don't know how you do it, but you have like super strength in your sleep. I'm always left to freeze, thanks to you."

Rachel laughs, shrugging, "sorry, but this girl is a blanket hog. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it," he says, pulling her close into his side and making her heart leap in her chest from the closeness. She's distracted though when she notices him fiddling with his phone. "You also used to steal my phone to take these awful pictures of me. I was looking at some of them before you came in."

He sets the phone in her outstretched hand, and when she sees the first picture she bursts out laughing. It's a picture of Finn with wild hair and shirtless (which she greatly admires). He's sitting at the kitchen table staring at a news article intently. The hilarious part of the picture though is that he has chocolate from the ice cream bar that he's eating all over his face.

"Finn, you're a grown adult," she cries, giggling. "How do you manage to get a chocolate beard on your face?"

"It was a really good chocolate bar," he shrugs, as she scrolls to the next picture. "You sent that to my mom and Kurt when you took that and they've given me a hard time ever since, so thanks a lot."

"Your welcome," she cheekily replies. Her laughter becoming even harder when she sees the next picture. It's of Finn again, but this time he's been caught by the camera mid-yelp as a goat bites down on his fingers. The little kid behind him in the background looks terrified as the big adult man freaks out in front of him. "Oh my, is this at the McKinley High summer festival?"

"Ugh, yes," he groans. "That was in the petting zoo they set up that year. You were so stubborn about getting me to go in with you, even though I didn't want to."

"Obviously you gave in."

He rolls his eyes good-naturedly, "obviously. I don't even know how it happened. One minute I'm feeding the frickin' goat and everything's cool, and the next thing I know I'm being chomped on!"

She gives him a sympathetic smile, biting her lip to keep from cracking up. "You have to admit this is like the best-timed picture ever though, right," she asks. "I mean 'cause this might just be a favorite of mine. It's pretty epic."

A smug smile crosses his face as he reaches for the phone again. "You want to see my personal favorite picture," he asks already looking through the camera roll. When he stops at a photo, he takes a second to admire it, biting his lip as he does so.

"What is it," she asks. "Let me see."

When he hands it over, she gasps in surprise and feels her cheeks instantly redden as she takes in the picture of herself.

"I-I- that's," she sputters before collecting herself. "Finn Hudson, are those your paint handprints on my butt?!"

Rachel looks over at him, and he smiles unapologetically, his hands raised in front of him, "guilty as charged."

"Oh my god," she mutters, shaking her head at him. She looks at the photo again. The Rachel in this picture has her hair piled messily on top of her head in a bun, her pink tank top has a little bit of paint on it, and her hands rest on her hips as she looks over her shoulder at the camera. There's an annoyed expression on her face as she realizes Finn's taken a picture of his beige-colored handprints on her ass. "When did you take this?"

"When we were painting these walls," he answers, grinning while he gestures around them. "You were so stressed out about getting the painting done that day for some reason, so when we stopped for a break I decided to distract you."

She quirks an eyebrow at him, "by putting your hands on my ass?"

"Your ass is pretty amazing," he says, making her blush again. "And we had a really hot make out session that day so I thought my distraction was a success."

"You're such a typical boy," she jokes, secretly thrilled at the idea of his hands on her and wondering if that could ever be a possibility again. She'd really like his hands on her, she thinks.

"Hey you weren't complaining while we were doing it," he points out, smirking at the picture of her, clearly remembering exactly what had gone on that afternoon. "That actually turned out to be a really good day."

She nudges him playfully, noticing that he's still staring at her butt in the picture a minute later. He shifts slightly next to her and it's then that she realizes he's trying to cover his lap from her view. Her eyes dart up to his and his cheeks redden knowing he's been caught.

"Are you...?"

"Turned on," he finishes, looking away embarrassed. "Uh, yeah, sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

He rubs the back of his neck nervously, and gives her that classic half smile. Combined with his wild hair, and those cute dimples of his, it's quite a sexy look. It's especially affecting her because she's so close to him.

"It's not, you know, uncomfortable," she murmurs. "It's actually quite flattering. I just- it's a little strange to me I guess."

His eyebrows crinkle in confusion, "how is that strange?"

"You of all people, Finn Hudson, find me attractive enough to be turned on," she says, incredulously. "I never would have expected something like that to happen to me."

There's a beat of silence that passes between the two of them as Finn searches her eyes for something. Her brown eyes stay locked with his when he laces his fingers through hers.

"You really don't realize how beautiful and sexy you are to me, do you?" He whispers, leaning closer to her, making her pulse quicken.

"No," she breathes, looking at his lips. "It just seems unreal."

He brushes her hair away from her face and cups her cheek with his warm palm. "Rachel, do you want to know another thing that you stole from me," he murmurs, looking into her eyes. "The thing that you stole from me from the very first time we met?"

"What is it?"

He raises his eyebrow at her, smiling slightly, "it'll be number five," he warns her. "You'll lose and I'll have proved you wrong if I say it."

"I don't care. Tell me," she urges quietly.

"You stole the most important thing from me," he declares. He gives her his beautiful half smile, taking one of her hands in his and places it over his chest so she can feel the steady beating there. "You stole my heart."

She feels her heart warm at his words and a small smile graces her features. "You really mean that," she asks shyly.

"Of course, and you know what," he says, just a breath away. "It's yours to keep. I don't want it back."

And then he kisses her.

They sit in relative silence, driving around the JFK airport, waiting. He knows he should say something. There's a pair of eyes watching him, glancing at him every so often, trying to figure out what's going on inside his head. He knows there's questions hanging in the air around them, waiting to be answered, but does he really have any of the answers to them anyway? Should he even bother attempting to think about what comes next and how this will work out?

Truth be told, he has no idea. His mind's a mess and he has no idea where things go from here.

That doesn't stop the questions from being asked anyway though.

"Dude, are you going to make me ask you what happened back at the apartment or are you going to spill?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please. You know damn well what I'm talking about. Don't even deny it bro."

"Puck, in case you didn't know, I don't read minds so I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on Finn. Don't give me that shit. What happened with you and Rachel?"

Finn eyes his best friend, circling the car back around to head towards the front of the airport, and sighs, "do we need to talk about this? I've got a lot to deal with as it is."

"All the more reason to talk to your brother," Puck replies. "You can tell me anything."

Finn rolls his eyes, "look, I appreciate it man, but you're like the last person I should be turning to for advice."

Puck scoffs, looking at Finn incredulously, "why?"

"Because you don't do relationships," he answers like its the most obvious thing in the world. "You've never been in any sort of place where Rachel and I are at."

"Hey, I've had relationships, okay?" Puck defends , while Finn raises an eyebrow doubtfully, "in case you don't remember I've been with Santana, Mercedes, Quinn, Shelby, Lauren Zizes... Hell I've even been with Rachel."

"Yeah, and all of those either lasted a couple days before being over, were my girlfriends cheating on me, were just flings and fucks in bed, or were just totally random," Finn argues, pulling the car around to the Southwest Airline gate and parking once he sees a crowd filing out of the sliding doors. "Have they grabbed their bags yet? I don't need that guy yelling at me to move the car again today."

Puck checks his phone, "yeah they said they'll be out in like two minutes." He looks at Finn again, his friend frowning as he turns on the radio and tries to find the station he likes. "Seriously bro, I'm here for you. I'm rooting for you to win your girl over again, and if I can help, I'll do it. I'll be your wingman."

He holds out his fist for Finn to bump, and he smiles when he does so. "Thanks."

"Now come on, spill," urges Puck. "Berry freak out on you again? She seemed fine this morning when I saw her."

"No, no it wasn't her," Finn admits, resting his head back against the seat. "It was me."

"You?" Puck asks, confused, "what'd you do?"

He pulled back immediately when he felt her hesitate. He had been sure Rachel had been looking at him like she used to do when she wanted to kiss him. He could feel the tether between them, always connected, and thought that she felt it too. Looking at her shocked face, he clearly must have been wrong. She frowns as he gets up quickly.

"I- I'm sorry. I didn't-". He brushes a hand through his hair, frustrated at himself for acting on impulse instead of letting her make the move. "Rach, that was out of line and I-"

Rachel surprises him, cutting him off, by leaping off the bed and launching herself into his arms. Luckily, even though he stumbles from the unexpected attack, he manages to catch her. "What are you-"

She circles her arms around his neck while her legs wrap around his waist tightly. Rachel brings his lips to hers in a scorching kiss, which, after a moment of disbelief, he easily reciprocates.

His hands wrap around each of her thighs to support her weight, wishing more than anything that her pants were off so he could feel her smooth, toned legs without any barriers. She swipes her tongue along his bottom lip, asking for permission to deepen the kiss, which he grants, as her hands thread through his wild hair.

He could easily move her back to the bed and lay her down, but instead Finn turns around walking blindly until her back hits the wall. He braces her against it, returning her kiss with as much need and vigor as she's giving it. His hands move to her amazing ass, his mind marveling at the idea of getting to touch it again like he had imagined himself doing while they were looking at the picture.

Rachel doesn't seem to mind either, moaning when she feels his hands on her, kneading and squeezing her. All the blood having rushed from his brain to south of the border by now, he feels his arousal become even more prominent at the moans and whimpers coming from her as she tightens her legs around him, pushing their centers closer together.

She breaks away from him, looking at him with hooded lust-filled eyes as she tries to catch her breath. Rachel reaches behind him and tugs at his shirt until it's up and over his head, allowing her free access to roam her hands over his bare skin.

"Finn," she gasps, as his mouth latches onto the skin just below her ear. He trails kisses along her neck, his hips pushing into her more as she moves against his hardened member. Her nails scratch lightly down his back. "Oh Finn."

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The sound of his phone going off startles both of them. Rachel's hands still against him while he pauses his ministrations against her neck. He hopes more than anything that they'll continue this, but when she pulls his face back from her, he knows this blissful cloud of pleasure they were in is gone.

She smiles at him as he suggests, "let's ignore it."

"It might be important," she says, shaking her head and untangling her legs from around him despite his protests. "Puck's down the hall anyway. I don't want to give him a show."

He raises an eyebrow at her as she goes to sit on the bed, her cheeks flushed and lips thoroughly kissed, "so... Something was going to happen?"

She giggles, plopping herself down on to the bed, "wouldn't you like to know?"

He smirks, walking to the bed and leaning over her, "in that case, I think we should-"

Ring! Ring! Ring!

She turns her head away, placing her hand in front of her face, which his lips connect with to his surprise. She smiles, "nice try stud. Why don't you answer that phone?"

"And then we'll continue," he asks, mumbling against her palm.

"Just answer the phone, Finn," she says, rolling her eyes in amusement.

"You're no fun," he groans, getting up and allowing Rachel to admire his bare chest. He grabs his ringing cell phone, rolling his eyes as he sees who it is, grumbling, "fucking cockblocker."

He places his phone to his ear, not even bothering with pleasantries, "what do you want Kurt?"

"Wait, so, I'm confused," Puck interrupts. "That's what you're upset about? You're mad at yourself because Fancy Pants called your phone and you had to answer instead of getting lucky?"

Finn frowns, "No, that's not it. I-"

The back door to the car opens and in shuffles three figures, each bundled up for the cold weather and lugging small carry-on suitcases.

"Hi boys," Quinn greets brightly. "It's so good to see you both finally! Thanks for picking us up."

"Hey," Finn smiles, "it's not a problem."

"Sup ladies," Puck says.

"Holy hell it's freakin' cold out there," Santana shudders, hopping in quickly and clicking her seatbelt in place. "Finnocence, what took you so long? You drive like my abuela."

"Wait, Finn's your abuela," asks Brittany, eyeing him carefully as she closes the door behind herself. "Are you like a shape shifter or something? How is that possible?"

"No, I'm not a shape shifter," Finn answers, chuckling at the blonde's confusion. He puts the car in drive and starts down the road. "And, just to point out, we were waiting on you three, Santana. We've been here for like twenty minutes."

"Whatever, I'm just glad to be off that stupid plane," she huffs, leaning forward to put her hands closer to the warm air coming from the air vents. "Auntie Snixx was about to unleash her fury on the Greasy Chewbacca Man sitting next to me. I swear he had more hair on him than Mercedes has with all of her weaves combined."

"Speaking of Mercedes, she said she'll be here tomorrow morning from LA," Quinn pipes in. "Puck, did you hear from Sam or Mike?"

"Mike called saying he's meeting Tina and they'll be flying in from Chicago later on tonight," he responds. "Sam said he's flying out of Dayton later this afternoon and he'll crash at Artie's tonight."

"Is wheels free for thanksgiving dinner on Thursday? Last I heard from him, he was swamped with some lame short movie project due soon," Santana says. "It's about an English Mafia apparently."

"The mafia!" Brittany cries, "why didn't you tell me Tana? Lord Tubbington could have totally been cast as the lead role since he knows all about that lifestyle. He could have been a movie star!"

"Something tells me Artie wasn't looking for a cat as his movie star Britt," Finn laughs. "But Artie texted me this morning. He says he'll be there. He's staying extra late after school tonight to finish producing it."

"Well, that's great," Quinn says. "Everyone will be there for dinner Thursday it sounds like! I'm glad, it feels like ages since we've all seen each other."

"How's Rachel," Brittany asks quietly. "Is she like the girl in the movie with Adam Sandler where you have to keep repeating the same day over? Are we going to have do that? Does she do the same things everyday?"

"Brittany, that's just a movie," Santana explains slowly. "Rachel lost a part of her memory, but she's not anymore crazy than she was before. Right Finn?"

"Berry's perfectly fine. She's still a pain in the ass like she's always been," Puck answers, waving off their concern. "Finn was just telling me about how he was cockblocked by Lady Hummel this morning."

"You and Rachel were going to have sex," Quinn asks, astounded. "Wait, so are you two together again?"

Finn sighs, knowing that if Rachel were here she would kill him for even discussing their sex life with any of their friends. "No, we aren't together, and I don't know if we were going to have sex. We were just talking this morning, and then we kissed, and yeah, it was getting good but I don't think it was gonna go that far."

"Well, at least if her memory's gone, she can't remember having sex with you before, so she won't know how terrible you are really in bed," Santana jokes, much to Finn's annoyance. "Do you have any new moves Frankenteen or are you still like a sack of potatoes smothering the poor girl?"

"He's gotta have some new moves by now if he can make Berry moan as loud as she sings," Puck points out. "We all heard them at Mike's parent's lake house in July remember?"

"Dude, you guys were listening," Finn cries, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red.

"You two weren't exactly being quiet," Quinn giggles. "Mercedes and I could hear it from our room at the other end of the hallway!"

Brittany gasps, "That's what that noise was? I thought it might have been-"

"Okay, seriously, can you guys stop," Finn suggests thoroughly embarrassed by his friends. "Look, nothing has changed between Rachel and I. She still doesn't remember anything and I'm taking this one step at a time. That's it."

"She really doesn't remember anyone of us," Quinn asks. "Nothing at all?"

"Oh, she remembers all of us," says Finn. "She just remembers us all for how we were before glee club."

"So she doesn't remember anything that made us all friends? She doesn't remember Beth, or her mom, or Kurt's transfer to Dalton," she asks again.

Finn shakes his head negatively. "The only thing that she's seemed to remember is Jesse."

"Jesse," they all ask bewildered.

"Jesse, as in Vocal Adrenaline's male lead," Quinn gasps.

"And Rachel's douche of an ex," Santana demands.

"You mean Mr. Schuester's son?" Brittany cries.

Puck puts his hand on Finn's shoulder and squeezes in comfort, "dude, I'm so sorry. That's garbage! Why didn't you tell me that?"

Finn shrugs, explaining, "I was going to eventually. But he was actually why things were off this morning afterward."

He watches as Rachel lays back on the bed, smiling to herself, as she unconsciously runs her hand over where he left a small mark on the skin behind her ear. The fact that he's been out of practice for a little while may have caused him to be a bit eager when it came to marking her. He knows she'll be absolutely pissed if she sees it there, but he's gotten really good at placing them in spots that are easier for her to hide. Plus, he knows for a fact that that spot gets her to make some of his favorite sounds of hers, so, no matter the consequences, he can't really regret doing it.

He also doesn't regret the fact that he's staring at Rachel, admiring her form, as he misses just about everything that Kurt is saying to him on the phone. Whatever crisis his brother is having can totally wait as far as he's concerned.

Kurt snaps over the phone, "Finn Hudson, are you even listening to a word I am saying?!"

"Honestly, no," Finn chuckles, making Kurt let out a frustrated grunt on the other end of the line. "Kurt, can't this wait until later on?"

He thinks that maybe if he can get Kurt to shut up and end the call while Rachel's still laying there he could get some more time in. It's totally strange how she's not freaking out on him, but whatever made her change her mind is fine with him. He'll take as much time as he can get with her.

"Absolutely not Finn," Kurt admonishes. "And if you hang up on me I will continue to call you until you answer, or better yet, I'll call Rachel and keep her occupied from you since I know that's what's distracting you."

"How do you know that," Finn remarks, totally aware that his brother is right. He crosses his arms over his chest and watches as Rachel's cheeks pink as she glances at his half-naked body.

He winks at her, watching as she giggles and scoots up on the bed. She grabs her phone off the night stand and checks it.

"Because saying you are never in the least bit distracted when Rachel's in the room is like saying that this New York air is good for my skin," Kurt replies. "Those two things will just never be true." He pauses for a second and then adds, "by the way, that reminds me, tell Rachel we're doing facials when I come over later on."

"Okay, I will," Finn says.

"No, tell her now," Kurt urges. "And ask her if she feels more in an Audrey Hepburn mood or Shirley MacLaine mood."

"Why? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just ask. She'll know what I'm asking about," dismisses Kurt.

Finn rolls his eyes and turns the phone away from his mouth to speak. "Rach, Kurt says to tell you you're doing facials tonight, and he wants to know which mood: Audrey Hepburn or Shirley MacLaine?"

Rachel frowns looking at her phone as she reads something. He immediately knows something's wrong because she doesn't answer him.

"Rach?" He tries again.

"Hmm," she asks, looking up and finally acknowledging his words, dismissively. "Oh, okay, tell Kurt whatever he wants is fine."

Finn watches as she thinks hard about something before she starts typing. "She says you pick Kurt," he relays into the phone. "Now, are you done?"

Kurt scoffs, "No, now as I was saying..."

When Finn finally gets Kurt off the phone, it's ten minutes later, and Rachel's worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She's still typing, texting actually he assumes, and he starts wondering what's got her so anxious.

He sits on the bed next to her, offering a hand out for her to hold. She glances at him out of the corner of her eye unsure, but accepts the hand anyway. He allows the silence to fill the room for a moment before he presses the issue.

"What's wrong?"

She plasters on a small fake smile, fiddling with her phone in her unoccupied hand, and breathes, "nothing."

"It's not nothing," Finn stresses, squeezing her hand in his. "What's wrong? You can tell me."

She chews on her lip and looks at him worriedly in the eye. Her silence as she looks at him makes him start to panic.

"Are you upset about what happened between us now that you've had time to think about it," he asks quietly, hoping more than anything that it's not that.

She shakes her head, and the amount of relief that washes over him is remarkable. He allows himself to smile at her, but still notices her anxiety.

"What is it?"

"I got a text," she says slowly, watching his reaction to her words. "A text from Jesse."

"Oh," he responds, flatly. He was really hoping that she wouldn't be hearing from Jesse anymore since as far as he knew they hadn't really spoken since the night she met Kurt and Blaine again. "What does he want?"

Rachel sucks in a sharp breath before she spits out the words that are bothering her quickly, "he texted me asking if he could get together with me on Thursday, which I know is obviously Thanksgiving, but he's going to be lonely since he can't go home to his parent's place. Apparently, they're renovating the interior of their house and they've really got their hands full so they aren't bothering to celebrate the holiday this year and he's really upset about it. He said he'll be all by himself for the first time and was hoping I'd be able to do something, but I told him that we were hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment. And you know, I couldn't exactly tell Jesse that and then expect to just blow him off, so I took the liberty to invite him."

He blinks once, twice, a third time, processing the rant she just spewed out at him. "You invited Jesse to our Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Yes," she squeaks, "I did. I was just thinking-"

"Why," he interrupts her, reeling from this news and annoyed at Jesse St. James for coming back into the picture once again.

"Well, the holidays are a time for people to celebrate with each other and I'd feel awful for not including him, Finn," she explains. "I thought it'd be a nice gesture, don't you?"

"Can't he find somewhere else to go," he responds sharply.

She frowns when he withdraws his hand from hers to run it through his hair frustratedly. "Finn, look, I knew you'd be upset, but this is exactly why I'm telling you! Wouldn't you rather have that than have me surprise you again?"

"I'd rather not have him here at all," Finn grumbles. "He's just using this as a way to get back together with you. His parents probably aren't even reinventing-"

"Renovating," she corrects, suppressing a smile at his mix up.

"Whatever. It's probably just a stupid excuse he made up," he says.

She shakes her, "Don't be ridiculous Finn. He's just my friend. We've been crystal clear about that."

"Then why did he tell me that he wants you back that night he was here Rachel," Finn challenges. She gapes at him trying to come up with a response. "He said clear as day that he still wants to be with you if you give him the chance. Does that sound like someone who expects just friendship from you?"

"If he said that, no, but I see no reason why it's a problem if I don't share any feelings for him," she argues.

"You being around him and caving to his dumb stories is you giving him his chance. That's all the reassurance he needs!" Finn exclaims.

"No, it's not. It's just friends hanging out together and catching up," she says, stubbornly.

"You would still hang out with and be around him even though you know he has feelings for you?"

"Well, why not?"

"For obvious reasons like he might try to make a move on you," Finn points out, annoyed.

"He wouldn't do that. He knows I don't want a relationship with him."

"That doesn't mean he's not going to try to change your mind."

"He won't. He's respectful and if I make it clear that I don't have feelings for him, he'll respect that." He scoffs at her words and she frowns. "Why are being like this Finn?"

"Because I know how Jesse is and if you think he'll take your words into consideration you don't know him very well like you think you do."

"Why because I can't remember everything like you can," she asks, her eyes narrowed. "Is that what you're saying?"

"No, it's just that I think you're choosing to believe that he's a better person than he really is because you might-" he cuts himself off feeling angry, but not wanting to fight with her over this.

"Might what?"

"You might like him," Finn finishes.

"I don't," she insists. "Not like that anyway. Why do I have to keep telling you that?"

"Are you sure you don't?"

"What?"

"Are you absolutely sure you don't have feelings for him? You loved him before. That doesn't just go away, Rachel."

"Finn, how many times do I need to tell you to me Jesse is just a friend," she says. "Nothing will happen between us because we are just two people who are friends."

He mulls over her words for a moment, and considers that maybe he is overreacting. He doesn't totally trust Jesse to stay true to his word, but Rachel most of the time sticks with hers. She insists their just friends so that's got to be the end of it right?

He frowns suddenly though when he looks down at the hand she's placed on his leg, the sight of her ring-less finger reminding of something. "Aren't we friends?"

She crinkles her brow, confused, "huh? Yes. Why would you even ask a question like that?"

"Because we're supposed to be just friends too and look at us, what just happened between us," he motions between the two of them. "What if that happens between you two also?"

"Finn," she sighs, shaking her head. "It's not going to be like this with him. This- this is different."

"How do you know," he demands, wanting so badly to accept her words but his insecurities are getting the best of him. "You might get swept up in a moment like this with him and-"

"I won't." She cuts him off. "It's just- no, it wouldn't be the same."

"But you can't be sure about that."

"Well, I mean no one's ever one hundred percent sure about anything but-"

"I am," he states. "I am one hundred percent sure that, when we are together, we are a part of something special Rachel, and I wish more than anything that you were sure of that too, but you aren't. And you know what? It terrifies me."

Her eyes soften at his words and he sees the pity settle in her features. It's the last thing he wants from her.

"Finn, are you jealous of Jesse? Are you worried that since I forgot you and remember him that I'm going to instantly want to be with him?"

"He still loves you, and he's going to let you know that. And when he does, you might just realize that you love him too and I don't know what I'll do if that happens," he admits sadly. "So, for my own personal, selfish reasons, no. I don't want him here for Thanksgiving dinner."

Her phone buzzes in her hand as the silence and tension around them thickens. She checks her phone and, by the guilty expression on her face, he knows who it is.

"Look, I just can't stand the idea of you being with him because it tears me apart inside," Finn sighs. "But I can't stop you from doing what you want either so... It's fine. If he wants to be here that day with you it's alright." He looks away from her, mumbling, "you deserve your chance with him and I shouldn't stop you if that's what you really want."

He walks out of the bedroom then, needing to escape and not get sucked in by those pretty brown eyes of hers. He doesn't get more than a foot out the door before she's calling for him. "Finn, I-"

"Well wait, what did Rachel say after that then?"

Finn looks at Quinn in his rear view mirror and shrugs. "Nothing. Like I said I left."

"Rachel was banging on the bathroom door trying to get him to come out for a good half hour before she gave up," Puck chimes in. "She ended up going over to Kurt and Blaine's before he got his huge ass out into the living room."

"Finn!" Quinn admonishes. "Why would you let her leave like that? What if she had something important to say?"

"What could she have possibly said Q," he argues. "Nothing is going to change my feelings about that asshole no matter what, and Rachel seemed pretty determined to keep defending him."

"No, from what you said she was pretty determined to let you know that douchebag St. James wasn't going to change anything between you guys," Santana corrects. "Seriously, are you stupid or something?"

"No," snaps Finn. "It's just Rachel and I aren't even together right now, so she could easily start dating him if she wants to. She knows who he is. She remembers their history. She doesn't know ours."

"But she kissed you back," Brittany points out. "That's got to mean something!"

"Brittany's right, Finn," Quinn agrees. "I don't think Rachel realizes it yet, and maybe she can't admit it out loud to herself exactly, but she loves you deep down in her subconscious. The whole Jesse thing is just confusing for her and now you're basically pushing her on to the idea yourself!"

"Q's gotta point bro," Puck says. "You should have seen little Berry this morning. She was looking like a lovesick puppy waiting for you to get up, but when she was leaving it looked like the waterworks were about to go off."

"So, what are you saying? That I'm the one to blame? That Jesse isn't the problem here," he asks, bewildered.

"Well, you're stupid enough to tell her to go after Jesse," Santana points out. "He's not even the one she wants. He's just a distraction."

Finn's brow crinkles in confusion, "a distraction?"

"Think about it this way," Quinn offers. "It's like junior year when I was dating Sam and you persuaded me to kiss you making me cheat on him."

"Sorry about that," Finn interjects.

"It doesn't matter now, but like I was saying, while I was sure I loved Sam, I also got caught up in the attention you were giving me, making it hard for me to decide which one of you I was into more. You were a distraction for me in my relationship with Sam the same way Jesse is a distraction for Rachel's feelings for you," Quinn finishes. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I guess. But how do I even know if Rachel has those feelings for me? What if she's just saying Jesse's just a friend because she doesn't want to hurt my feelings? What if I'm the distraction again when she really wants to be with Jesse," Finn worries.

"Finn, Rachel loves you like Lord Tubbington loves peanut butter balls covered in fondue," Brittany says. "No matter how many times I try to get him to quit, I always end up finding him with them again, hiding underneath his cat bed."

"Is that even healthy for a cat," Puck chuckles.

"No! Which is exactly why I'm taking him to rehab next week for his food addiction," Brittany explains.

"Aside from that," Quinn laughs. "Brittany's right. I don't think there's any way Rachel could never love you no matter what problems her brain has going on." She puts her hand on his shoulder lightly. "She's meant for you Finn the same way you're meant for her."

"I want to believe you guys but I just don't know," he admits doubtfully. "She just- it's hard. It's hard not being on the same page as her all the time when I'm used to being able to read her like an open book."

"Is she missing a couple pages," Brittany asks. "Lady Tubbington always gets angry at Lord Tubbington because she's trying to read Soap Opera Digest and he tears pages out to use as toilet paper, so she's always missing half her stories she's reading!" She shakes her head sadly. "It's terrible! She'll never know what Phyllis's fatal mistake was."

"Are you talking about Phyllis from Young and Restless," Puck asks, much to the girls' surprise and Finn's immediate laughter when Brittany confirms it.

"Yes! Lady Tubbington loves her!"

"Dude, how do you know crap about soap operas," Finn chuckles, stopping at a street light before turning.

"Shut up. I always have to watch them with Nana when she comes over to visit," Puck snaps. "It's not like I have any choice."

Finn shakes his head, laughing along with the girls. "And you always ask if I'm gay," he teases.

"Hey were we talking about Rachel here or not," Puck demands, his cheeks just the slightest bit of red.

"Yes, we were," Quinn says. "Finn I think you need to just-"

"Stop being such a whiny bitch," Santana suggests. Finn scoffs at the jab. "Look I'm sorry Frankenteen to say it so bluntly but you need to man up! We all know Rachel doesn't want to be with and can't be with Jesse even she tried wholeheartedly because in the end it's always been you. If she hasn't figured that out yet then she's dumber than a bag of wet hair."

"Hey," Finn warns, not about to let Santana take a dig at Rachel.

She carries on as if he didn't interrupt her. "You can't play this role of the good, supporting friend anymore Finn because if you do that's all you're going to end up being. You need to make Rachel want to be with you again. You have to show her what she's going to miss out on if she goes with Sir Curly Q and his band of ugly scarfs."

"Well, how am I supposed to do that," Finn asks, meeting Santana's gaze in the rear view mirror.

She smirks at him and he recognizes the evil little glint in her eye. "Don't worry. I have a plan."

A/N: Hmm what could Santana possibly have up her sleeve (; and more importantly whats' Rachel thinking? Any guesses? As always a big thanks to you all!