So, I was sort of undecided on whether to add another chapter, but the encouragement in the reviews and my lack of finchel this summer decided for me in the end. I added a little bit more angst, though tried to balance with utter fluff.

Enjoy!

Rachel had to go to rehearsal later that morning and, despite Finn's best efforts to convince her otherwise, she left shortly after telling him. That meant that he had to unwillingly return to his apartment.

And he was positive that Quinn and Puck would be tired after how loud he and Rachel had been last night, which of course meant that they'd be grouchy.

As soon as he entered the apartment, he was met with a death glare. "Where the fuck have you been?" Puck growled, hitting the console for the Xbox with no lack of anger.

"What's it to you?" he shrugged, making his way to the bedroom. It was clear that Puck was not in a sociable mood.

"Get back here now you giant ass. I need to talk to you."

"Talk or shout? Because that's what you're doing right now and I didn't do anything wrong…I think." He held his hands up innocently, seeing Puck roll his eyes.

"Sit the fuck down Finnessa," he threw the console to his side, turning to Finn who sat as far away from him as possible. "Why are you wearing your Power Rangers shirt? Did you actually go outside in that?" Puck smirked, though Finn was quick to glare.

"Get on with it Puck," he deadpanned.

This earned a sigh from the man, whose expression changed to an uncharacteristically worried one. "Fuck," he groaned to himself, before glancing sideways at Finn, "Quinn's pregnant."

He's pretty sure that he looked like he'd been slapped in the face … five times.

"Is it yours?"

"Well no Finn," Puck started sarcastically, "it's yours."

"What? Me and Quinn nev – oh, right." He noticed Puck's expression. "Well, what do you want me to say Puck?" he asked honestly.

"I don't know. Aren't you supposed to be my fucking friend? Tell me that it'll be okay or some sissy crap like that."

Finn rolled his eyes, "wow, you're so ready to be a father."

"Shut the fuck up man." He threw a cushion at Finn with as much force as he could must, "I'm in a crisis right now!" Looking closer he saw… wait no. It couldn't be.

"Are you crying?"

"…no."

He looks again, just to make sure that he didn't make it up. "Yes you are."

"Yeah, 'cause you're so fucking lame! It upsets me, okay?"

"Puck, it's okay to be upset about this," he tries, wanting to actually be of some help, "this is really big, especially for you 'cause you like, made a kid and stuff. You and Quinn made an actual person and in a few months they'll be here. You'll have someone that depends on you… so it's kind of understandable that you're not happy, yet. But don't worry because everything gets better with time and it's not like you're going through this alone. You have Quinn." He added a smile at the end, letting it falter slightly when Puck groaned loudly.

"Shit Hudson. You really are lame." Finn stood up to leave, seeing that his services were no longer needed, when he heard his name called. He turned to look at Puck, expecting a snarky comment. "Erm…thanks man. Just don't tell Quinn about the crying, okay?"

He grins, "I'll do my best. No promises."

He gets inside the room just in time to avoid being hit by another flying object.

Rachel slowly joined him on the couch, sipping at her coffee. "But," she began, "I don't see why a kid is so bad. I mean, they've both got stable jobs and they're twenty four, which seems like a good enough age. Personally, I'd wait a little bit longer but I don't understand why he's so upset."

He sighed, "it's not that he can't do it, it's just that, for him, it's like being tied down. That's why he and Quinn probably won't get married." Finn shrugged, "the guy just doesn't like commitment. Like most guys actually…"

All of a sudden, she snuggled up to his chest, running a hand slowly down the front of his T-shirt, "well then, I guess I'm lucky that I got you. I can't imagine you freaking out if you were in that situation."

Finn forced a smile because, honestly, he would be more of a mess than Puck.

But he didn't dare tell Rachel since things were going so well between them. All he did was place a kiss to her forehead, glad when she replied by nuzzling her face into his neck affectionately. "How's Quinn taking it?" she mumbled.

"I haven't seen her," he said honestly.

"Maybe I should talk to her…"she pondered and he noticed how she suddenly got that determined look in her eye.

"Rach," he held onto her a little tighter, "have you actually ever spoken to her?"

"Well, no."

He hoped that it was enough to make it clear that maybe her idea wasn't the best. He knew Quinn and she would not be open to Rachel, somebody who could sometimes be slightly overwhelming, suddenly talking to her about a pregnancy. More importantly, she'd know that he'd been telling people and that might earn him a lecture…or a bruise.

So when Rachel was quiet, he gave a sigh of relief.

"But…"

Oh great.

He received a message from his mother a few days later.

Hey Finn, I've just got to the hotel and I'll be coming to visit you in an hour or so. I'm just warning you so that you're actually dressed this time Lots of love, mum.

And then he remembered how they'd arranged for her to come and visit him and he sort of felt like an ass for forgetting. Well, he didn't forget, he just pushed it to the back of his mind. Way back. So he sort of scurried around the apartment, trying to make sure it was clean whilst dressing in clothes that he hadn't worn for more than a day.

He finished the moment before she knocked on the door.

Opening it, he was quickly embraced into his mother's arms, his face peppered with kisses. "Oh Finn, look at you. I can't believe I haven't seen you for six months. Are you okay? Are you eating properly?" She rubbed his belly, pulling a face, "looks like you're doing a little too much eating to me."

"Mum," he groaned. "I'm fine. Perfectly healthy. And that's just muscle, okay?"

"If you say so," she mumbled, before turning to him with a wide smile and hugging him once more. "I've missed you baby. It gets lonely in that house without you there, eating everything in the refrigerator."

He is saved by the door opening and hoped to God that it was Puck to save him from his mother.

"Finn," he heard the distinct voice of his very happy girlfriend enter the room, "I've been consideri - oh hello."

Rachel was looking at his mother with a slightly confused expression, though quickly hid it behind a blinding smile.

"This is my mum," he told her. She glanced from him to him mother, like she was expecting something. Shit, was he supposed to have told his mum about them already? They'd been together less than a week. Was there like, a rule or something?

"Mum," he turned to her with a hesitant smile, "this is my girlfriend." He knew what was coming. He was going to get a lecture for not even mentioning that he had a girlfriend, from both important women of his life.

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel began, looking somewhat shy, which he found weird because she was probably the most confident person that he knew.

Peering down at his mother, he saw her holding a hand to her chest, a weird expression on her face as she stared at Rachel.

"You're Rachel."

She pressed a hand to her mouth, looking like she was about to cry. Finn blinked, not remembering telling her Rachel's name. Her words, though they were whispered, seemed to echo around the entire apartment. Before he knew it, his mum had beckoned Rachel into a bone-crushing hug, "I can't believe that I finally get to meet you."

Finn was particularly confused at that moment.

"Wait," he frowned, "when did I tell you about me and Rachel getting together?"

The woman patted his shoulder, smiling proudly, "oh baby, you didn't need to tell me. I knew. Just by the way that you spoke about her in every phone call we've had."

"What?" His voice was high, like he was choking or something, which he really hoped he wasn't.

His mother just beamed, "there's no need to be embarrassed Finn. I'm think it's sweet the way that you seemed to think so much of Rachel. I'm glad that you've finally started dating her." He didn't have time to react because she was now fully focused on Rachel, "I'm so happy to get to meet you. The way that you have captured my son's heart. I've never heard him sounding so happy. Well, except for this one time where…"

If he was listening, he probably would have groaned as Carole delved into one of his embarrassing childhood stories but he was still trying to recall any times that he'd mentioned Rachel. Usually, when on the phone with his mum, he'd just talk about what was on his mind.

So Rachel had clearly been on his mind for a while…

And at least he didn't have to explain how awesome she was to his mum 'cause he'd apparently been doing that for weeks now.

He slowly returned to the two women, who seemed to be talking excitedly about something that he couldn't quite catch.

"I would really love for you to join us at dinner tonight Rachel." Finn grinned, glad that his mum liked Rachel already.

"Oh," she started, "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense, I'd love to learn more about you. Finn only really concentrated on your looks and your baking abilities (he saw Rachel blush a little) and it would be nice to have some female company."

"Hey!" he frowned, "you flew all the way out here to see me."

She smiled affectionately at him, naturally going to straighten out his clothes, "yes Finn, but I don't want to listen to you talking about video games for the next few hours. You're twenty four. I think I deserve some mature conversation." He rolled his eyes, though nothing could wipe the grin off his face.

"Right," Carole smiled, "let me just freshen up and then we can be on our way." She quickly left for the bathroom and Finn was faced with his girlfriend, who had this strange, dreamy expression on her face.

"Are you…okay?" he raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer.

She beamed. "I'm better than okay. I'm fantastic! Wonderful!" He was surprised when she suddenly flung herself at him, clinging onto him with all her might, "your mum likes me. Genuinely likes me." She slightly bounced up and down with excitement though he could tell that she was trying to hold the majority of it in.

"Well yeah," he replied liked it was the most obvious thing in the world, "you're awesome. Who wouldn't like you?"

"I love you Finn," she smiled, looking straight into his eyes with her big, watery brown ones.

"I love you too."

He leaned down to catch her lips in a sweet kiss, keeping it short due to the fact that his mum could be out any second. When he pulled away, she was wiping at the tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he frowned, gently wiping a fresh tear with his thumb. It lingered on her soft cheek for a moment.

But she grinned in reply, making him sigh in relief. He didn't want to upset her. "Nothing is wrong Finn. In fact, it's all right. You're right." She smiled before adding, "so what exactly did you say about me to your mum?"

He laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and placing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sure she'll tell you at dinner. She loves to embarrass me."

Finn knew that he was just as happy as Rachel. Okay, maybe not crying happy but definitely psyched. His mum and girlfriend were getting along already, not to mention that his girlfriend was probably the most adorable person in the entire world.

Everything in his life at that moment was amazing.

Everything in his life at that moment was definitely not amazing.

Why, out of all the restaurants in New York, did he have to pick that one?

Things had been going so perfect. His mum was proud of him. Rachel had enjoyed his childhood stories rather than been driven away by them, as some previous girlfriends had. And he'd got through the night without doing anything to mess it up.

Or so he thought.

It had all been going well, until they their waitress had to leave and they got a replacement. "Hi, my name's Santana and I'll be replacing Joanne."

As soon as he heard the name, his blood ran cold and he looked up from his dessert's menu to stare at the girl. His suspicions proved correct and he saw the same Latina from his nightmares. She quickly realised who he was and a cat like smirk slid onto her face. "Well, well, Finn Hudson. I haven't seen you in a few months. No longer need my services?"

He actually almost choked on his drink when she said that, catching the confused stares of the two women sat at the table.

"Oh hi, Santana." Don't look her in the eye he thought, she might curse you or something." You work here?"

"It's a part time thing. My other job pays better." She smirked, "of course, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"Excuse me?"

He turned to see Rachel giving Santana a look of utter disgust and he was sort of glad that somebody stood up to her because, right then, he sort of felt sick.

"Look Santana," she almost spat the words out, "I don't know who you are but I'd appreciate it if you didn't imply such things about my boyfriend in front of me and his family. Perhaps you should just get on with your job before making my boyfriend feel any further uncomfortable. He clearly isn't as happy to see him as you are…or are you used to that from men now?"

Finn literally choked on his drink that time, though neither of the two women was interrupted by such things as they gave death glares in the other's direction.

"Of course," Santana put on the fakest smile, "you're ordering your deserts right? Well, let's see if I can recommend something. Finn, hmmm, there's a new fudge cake recipe and I can get you extra sauce because I know how you like things sticky." She winked and he lost all ability to speak, "and as for your rude, loud girlfriend, how about some water? You look like you could lose a few pounds. And I'm afraid that I seem to have misplaced the children's menu. Isn't it past your bedtime anyway? I thought you were into real women Finn.""

Before Rachel could shoot out of her chair, Finn grabbed her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. He seemingly couldn't put together whole sentences but Santana had crossed the line. Well, she crossed it a while ago but now she was definitely a few feet over that line.

He stared straight at her. "Hey, I don't care what you have to say about me, but don't you ever insult Rachel, especially not in front of me. She's hundred times better than you'll ever be. Now, I suggest that you get us a new waitress or else I will be demanding to see your manager and I don't think that he'll find your little comments amusing."

Santana looked at Finn in disbelief, trying to call his bluff but his expression was stony and his jaw locked tightly together. Without a word, she stepped into the bar to talk the other workers.

Finn smiled over at Rachel, letting it slip from his face when she averted her gaze to the floor.

She barely said anything for the rest of the meal.

He kissed him mum goodbye outside her hotel, quickly changing the subject as she mentioned Santana once more. Though she didn't usually get into her son's business much, she warned him to stay away from girls like that. He didn't need to be told twice.

"Night mum. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

She smiled, giving him a tight hug. Carole gave a wave in Rachel's direction, though Rachel was sadly sitting on a bench nearby waiting for them to finish. "Sort things out with her Finn," she told him.

Her son frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"

Carole rolled her eyes, "a woman always knows. There's something on her mind Finn. Find out and make it right again. I like her; she'd give me pretty grandbabies."

"Mum," he groaned.

"What? I can't dream, can't I?" she held his face in her hands, "just do what's right honey. I raised you to be a gentleman. Don't let me down."

He gave her a half-smile, watching as she retreated into the warmth of the building. Once she was out of sight, he made his way over to Rachel and slowly offered out his hand. She looked up, her eyes sad though she took his hand anyway and walked beside him.

The night was dark and cold and she inched closer to him despite herself.

Finn watched her out of the corner of his eyes, unsure of how to start the conversation. Usually Rachel could always think of something but now, with her suddenly being so mute, he was at a loss for words.

As usual, she came to his rescue, but it wasn't exactly the best conversation starter he'd ever heard.

"She was pretty, wasn't she?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, "who?"

"Santana," Rachel clarified, before repeating, "She was prettier." She shrugged, "prettier than me."

Did she seriously just say that?

Rachel carried on when she was met with his silence. "I can see why you were with her. I mean, if I had to choose between someone like her and someone like me, I wouldn't exactly pick me and yo-"

"Would you stop? You're beautiful."

She seemed almost shocked by this, looking down at the ground, "but Santana-"

He reached out a hand, delicately lifting up her chin so that she looked at him, "But Santana nothing. Stop comparing yourself to other girls, Rachel. You are so beautiful."

As if to prove his point, his lips find hers as he kisses her deeply, trying to show her how much she means to him, how he can't let her get insecure over some little insignificant thing like this.

Pulling apart, he watched as she gave a small smile and bit her lip. "Thank you Finn."

"Any time babe," he grins, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "now let's get you home."

"You don't think that I look like a kid, right?" her eyes were wide as she peered up at him, desperate for an answer.

He chuckled, "Rachel, I think we both know what the answer to that is." With a smile, pulled her closer to him, "I thought that girls liked being told that they looked younger anyway."

She frowned, "yes, middle aged women who are desperate to remain youthful. Not twenty two year olds who are being told they look like a child. I mean, I just want to look my age."

"And you do," he agreed, "like right now, that dress fits you perfectly. It makes your books loo-" he cut himself short, realising what he was saying though smiled when Rachel giggled next to him.

From the way that she looked at him, he totally knew that he was getting some that night.

In spite of the Santana situation, his universe was suddenly back on track again.

Rachel smiled when she opened her eyes and saw Finn fast asleep next to her. Waking up like this was perfect and she wished that she could do it every day, but they'd only been together for two months and she did not want to drive him away with being too forward.

For now, she was just going to enjoy him being there.

He sleepily opened up his own eyes and gave her a lop-sided grin, "morning."

"Morning to you too sleepyhead," she beamed, kissing him lightly. She rolled onto her back, humming softly to herself before giving Finn a sideways glance. He continued to stare at her. "What?" she asked shyly.

"Nothing," he said, "you're just so amazing."

She reached out for his hand, gently brushing her thumb over his knuckles as they sat in silence.

Eventually it was broken by Finn, "I have something for you."

"You do?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. He smiled, climbing out of bed so that he could find his trousers where his present was safe in one of the pockets. Though, in the process, he managed to trip on the other clothes which had been thrown to the floor in their rush last night.

When he did find it, he went to sit on the bed, facing Rachel whose eyes were shining with excitement. She bit her lip, leaning closer to him.

"I was actually going to give this to you last night but I sort of forgot."

She giggled, watching with anticipation as he produced a dark, velvet box. He wasn't proposing, was he? He couldn't be…wait, he might be! But it was too early. Way, way too early. They still had their whole lives ahead of them. She'd have to say no and then break his heart and the relationship would be over!

"Rach, I really wanted to get you something because you're, well you're you and I just love you so much. It's not much, but I thought that, every time you wear it, you could think of me."

He slowly began to open the box, Rachel getting nearer to peer inside. Her heart was at a dangerously fast rhythm but it seemed to stop altogether when she saw the necklace inside.

It was only a simple necklace; a delicate silver chain that gave off a small shine, but she wasn't looking at that. She stared at the word "Finn" that was written in the same silver, looking beautiful with the morning light shining on it.

Her eyes slowly reached his before she leapt forward to press a crushing kiss to his lips. She then proceeded to pepper his face with kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she grinned, clapping her hands together enthusiastically, "will you put it on me?"

He gently took the necklace from the box, draping it around her neck and clasping it together.

Rachel wore it proudly, her smile irreplaceable.

Finn loved it when he got back from an excruciatingly long three day shift when Rachel would suddenly be all over him. He wasn't one of those guys who were obsessed with sex, or he wasn't anymore, but he wasn't against it either and he'd be a fool for saying no to a very sexually frustrated Rachel Berry.

So, with Finn's luck, it was normal that his rather heated make out session on his couch was interrupted by Quinn and Puck entering the apartment. He and Rachel both shot up at the sound of the door opening and he barely had time to register their dishevelled appearances before he saw his two roommates.

Quinn looked indifferent whilst Puck just smirked.

"Hey," Finn frowned, "I thought you guys weren't coming back until later." He sent a glance in Rachel's direction, hoping that she wasn't too upset with it being cut short.

"Q felt sick," Puck replied with a shrug, heading into the kitchen, "you want a beer Hudson?"

Finn followed after his friend, "no I don't. It's three in the afternoon."

"So what?" he turned his attention to the girls, who looked a little uncomfortable in the lounge. "Quinn, you want a beer?"

"I'm pregnant Puck."

"Yeah, I know. That's not what I asked. I asked if you wanted a fucking beer." He retracted his offer when she glared at him, mumbling 'idiot' to herself. "What about you?" Puck looked at the other girl, "Rachel, right?"

She nodded, "Yes. And I'd rather not have a beer. Can you imagine the damaging effects that that would have on my vocal chords? Finn, will you please make me an orange juice?"

Her boyfriend gave a dopey smile in her direction and went to the task at hand, earning himself a glare from Puck, though he really had no idea why. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rachel beginning to talk to Quinn and really hoped that it was nothing to do with the pregnancy. Let's just say that the blonde's pregnancy hormones were a little intense at the minute and he and Puck had been at the receiving end of it.

He slowly poured the juice, making his way to join Rachel on the couch when he heard Quinn speak, causing him to freeze.

"Wait, how do you know that I'm pregnant?" And then an icy stare was aimed directly at him. If looks could kill…

"Quinn, don't be angry at Finn," Rachel said sincerely, "he and I tell each other everything."

"Everything?" Quinn raised her eyebrow, "I doubt that that's true."

Rachel scoffed and Finn was suddenly get a bad feeling in his gut, since he knew that his girlfriend had a tad tendency to be a bit defensive sometimes and no doubt this would be one of those times.

She crossed her arms across her chest, "Finn has nothing that he wants to hide from me." She turned to him for support, "isn't that right?"

"Right," he says almost immediately, knowing in fact that there are many things she wouldn't be too happy to hear he'd done in his life.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "oh please. You've known Finn for what, a few months? I've known him since High School and let me tell yo-"

"Quinn!" he hissed because, he can admit it, he was kind of a jerk in High School.

The blonde closed her mouth though a smirk remained on her face. It was Rachel who probed for more. "What were you going to say?

"You don't want to hear about that Rach, "he tried, feeling his heart beating at an alarming rate.

She stared him down, "well I do now!"

He didn't reply, knowing that anything he said would just make it worse His eyes were wide saucers on his shocked face and he seriously wanted to be invisible right then.

But Rachel wasn't even looking at him anymore. He was as well have been invisible.

Facing Quinn, she demanded, "Well go on then. Enlighten me about the Finn Hudson you know."

Finn could see Puck trying to stifle his laughter in the kitchen, hiding behind the open door of the fridge whilst Quinn smiled to the brunette.

"Where do you want me to start?" she leaned back casually.

Rachel looked from the girl to Finn, who was currently holding his head in his hands, and back again.

"Everything."

He banged on her door with all his might, "Rach, please, just let me in."

"Oh, so that you can have your way with me like you did all those girls in High School?" he could imagine the anger on her face as she spoke, the hurt in her eyes. There was a reason why he never told her of his old reputation.

"I've changed since High School."

He hoped that she believed him because he had; he really was a different person. Someone who would never treat women with disrespect as he once had.

"That's not what that Santana girl implied."

"What does this have to do with Santana?" he asked, leaning closer to the door.

"This had everything to do with her!" she screeched, "and all the girls just like her who you 'dated'." It was quiet because he really didn't know how to reply to that. But Rachel carried on in a much more gently voice, like she was broken, "how many girls Finn? How many girls did you date for sex? Or who you just had one night stands with?"

"I don't know."

"Are you dating me for that?"

His mouth opened in shock and offense, "of course not Rachel! I love you. I love you so much. Please, let me come in."

He heard her sigh. "Just…go home. I can't even stand the thought of you right now."

"Rachel," he started in a desperate voice.

"Go," she ordered, "if there's any chance of this relationship working again, just leave."

Unwillingly, he slowly got up from the place where he'd been sat for an hour and walked back to his apartment like a zombie, a girlfriendless zombie. He ignored the looks of his roommates and retreated to his room.

He wasn't even sure how they ended up arguing.

One minute Quinn was talking about his relationships and the next Rachel was storming out, assuming that he was some sort of man-slut. But he wasn't, not anymore.

The last time he'd done something like that was with Santana and that was almost a year ago. It's not like he felt anything. He just sort of felt empty. But with Rachel, it was everything. She just filled that emptiness up.

What was he going to do?

He'd never been proud of his past, even if he had changed. In High School, he and Puck had always shared things. Video games, money, girls. That's how he managed to actually get them. Without Puck, he would have been a bumbling mess if he tried to talk to one. His friend got the hard bit out of the way and Finn just took advantage of that.

It took him years to figure out that it didn't even make him happy.

He wanted a relationship that was based off something other than sex. So he moved out of Lima and started fresh in New York, Puck naturally being there by his side.

Only, without Puck there to help him make good impressions, he found himself with a lack of dates. And that's how he experienced Santana. It was a moment of desperate, one that he knew he'd always regret. But she was there and she seemed more than happy to do the deed with him.

Finn stupidly agreed.

One time changed to two.

Then another

She was the only girl that would give him a second look. He knew that she didn't exactly the same to other guys, but he didn't care.

Soon enough, he stopped seeing her, feeling that he'd retreated to his old days of treating women without respect.

He didn't want that. He wanted to be happy. To find the right girl.

And now that he found her, his past was coming to haunt him.

When he stopped crying (he hadn't even realised that he was), he could make out Rachel's voice.

"I just don't know what to do Kurt." She cried as she spoke and Finn had never felt guiltier.

"Yes, I know that he hasn't actually done anything wrong to me, but I-I…" Her words stopped as she broke down. Catching her breath, she tried again, "I don't know if I can trust him anymore. What if I'm one of those girls?"

She paused as she listened the other person. Finn assumed that she was on the phone with whoever this Kurt was, "of course I love him."

"I think that I just need some time. Do you think he'll wait for me?" Finn wanted to call through the wall that he would, of course he would.

At least he knew that she didn't hate him. This revelation allowed him to get a few hours of sleep that night.

"Some time" was definitely too much time in his opinion. Two weeks went past without as much as a word from her.

He just sort of existed for a while.

Quinn apologised for him, seemingly truly upset for causing the rift between Finn and Rachel. She told him how she'd only aimed to simply annoy Rachel but hadn't expected such a reaction from the girl.

He accepted her apology, though things were a bit tenser between them now. Even Puck couldn't help and God knew he tried. He was actually going out of his way to help Finn though the man just remained in his despondent state.

"Come on man, try and look happy," Puck complained beside him, eyeing some of the attractive girls in the corner. Finn knew that he was having trouble being faithful to one woman but it was Quinn and if he cheated, there would be hell to pay. It was nice to know that there was at least one woman who could keep the Puckster grounded.

He sighed, "why? There's no point."

Puck instantly rolled his eyes, "if you love her so much, just fucking call her. I'm sure she's finally stopped crying by now."

When Finn sent him a glare, he shut his mouth instantly.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he contemplated sending her a text or something, just to let her know that he missed her.

But he was beat to the chase as his phone began to ring in his hand, and when he saw that it was Rachel, he couldn't have answered it quicker.

"Hello," he rushed.

"Finn, hello," she sounded nervous, "I, well, it's been over two weeks and I think that, erm, I've calmed down a lot. So, would you like to do something tonight? We could talk or, you know, go somewhere…" The sound of her voice was like a drug to him and, right now, he was high off of it.

He smiled, "sure. I'm already at this place with Puck. Why don't you come and meet us? He'll be leaving soon anyway. He was plans with Quinn."

"I…okay."

He was so happy that he could barely contain it. After she hung up, he pulled Puck into a bear hug. "This is it man. She's coming to meet me! Be right back, I need to pee." And he practically ran to the bathroom.

As he did so, a set of eyes was watching him.

Rachel hurried to the bar that he'd given her directions to. Due to not speaking to Finn, which was possible one of the hardest things she'd had to do, she was seriously missing the man. He was constantly on her mind and she had to speak to him before she cracked.

She understood that she may have overreacted to finding the news of Finn's past, but it had hurt her that he hadn't even told her. After all, she'd told him everything about herself. Her hopes, her fears. Why couldn't he do the same?

It was clear that he didn't like the person he once was yet she considered honesty to be one of the most important things in a relationship and, if he lied about this, what else could he be lying about?

Maybe she was just being paranoid. She just wished that he would have been honest with her.

Still, as she nervously made her way to the destination she couldn't help but be hopeful. She believed that Finn did love her and se most certainly returned those feelings.

This just could be a blip in the relationship.

As he stepped out of the bathroom, he made sure that he looked okay because once he's walked out of a public bathroom with toilet paper stuck to his shoe. And then he tried to remove it casually without anyone noticing, which hadn't worked out well…

He tried to shake away the nerves but they persisted, leaving him feeling a little sick.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Rachel," he smiled, turning to look at –wait, that wasn't Rachel. "Santana, what are you doing here?"

"Free country," she shrugged, "I thought maybe you'd like someone to talk to. I overheard some of your conversation with Puck. Having girlfriend problems?"

He tore his gaze away from her, "that's none of your business!"

Santana moved toward him. "Oh, don't mind me. I was just curious. You can do better than that midget anyway. I can tell that she's making you stressed." Her hands slowly reached up to his shoulders, massaging them slowly and Finn felt his tense up even more.

"Santana," he started in a very strained voice, "not that I don't appreciate you doing this, but I'm waiting for Rachel." He hoped that she would get the picture and leave

Even though he was facing away from her, he could practically hear the smirk through her words. "Rachel's just left. She got here a few seconds ago, looked at you and then turned right around. Rude, right?"

"What?" he exclaimed, running for the door. As he exited the bar, he could see her down the street, almost running away. "Rachel!"

If she'd heard him, she was ignoring his call.

"Rach, stop!" he shouted, before adding, "please."

If anything, she got faster.

He chased after her, thankful of the good fitness that his job required. "It wasn't what you saw!" he yelled, "let me explain."

"No!" he heard her call and, even though it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, she'd still actually spoken to him! That had to be a good sign, right?

"Rachel," he tried again, "nothing happened."

She halted in his tracks, without giving any warning, so it wasn't his fault when he slammed right into her, knocking the both of them to the ground, with her lay underneath him. "Get off me!" she screeched.

"Only if you'll listen."

Though she still looked pretty pissed, she sighed, "fine. Now stop crushing me."

He slowly got up, offering out a hand to her though she ignored it and pulled herself up. She brushed off her clothes before folding her arms and making it clear that she did not want to talk to him.

"I don't know what you saw in there Rach but nothing happened. You have to believe me."

"Because you've got a history of being honest, have you?" she snorted, shaking her head angrily.

He tried once more. "I know that I don't look so good right now and you can't trust me, but I'm not lying to you Rachel. I've never lied to you."

She faltered and he thought that maybe she was breaking her façade, but her jaw became even tighter. "Well, care to explain what she was doing, giving you a massage. In public no doubt!"

"I couldn't stop her!" he defended himself.

Rachel looked away sadly, "you looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"No!" he said quickly, "I told her that I was waiting for you, but she wouldn't get the picture and leave."

"Then why didn't you ask her to leave?"

He sighed in defeat, "like she'd listen to me."

"Make her listen Finn!" Rachel threw her hand up dramatically, "because I can't go through that again. Seeing you with her. Seeing that look on her face." Her eyes met his, "what if you suddenly realise that you don't want to be with me anymore? What if I'm just another girl in your long line of rejects?"

"Never," he said so quietly that he doubted she heard.

"What?"

He took a step closer, taking her hands in his. "I said never Rach. You," he began, "mean more to me than anything. Before you, I just… I never felt anything, but now, I feel everything. It's been horrible without you."

Rachel laughed slightly through her tears, "I know how you feel." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear only to have it blown back by the wind.

"And another thing," Finn smiled, "I'd never want another girl more than I want you. You're like my dream girl."

"I'm not a dream girl," she mumbled.

He squeezed her hands a little tighter, "of course you are. You're perfect!"

She didn't say anything this time, only sniffed loudly whilst wiping away her tears.

Finn leaned in, whispering, "I'm going to kiss you now."

Nodding, she bit her lip, "okay."

And then his lips were on hers. Some of the passers-by watched the couple, oblivious to the world as they reconnected through the kiss, both silently apologising to the other. Rachel reached her arms around his neck, holding him closer to her.

She'd missed him so much. The way he felt; the way his lips tasted; even that he smelt. His hands held her waist, keeping her body flush against his.

When he pulled away, she smiled at him, resting her head against his chest, "let's never fight again, okay?"

Finn laughed, "Fighting does kind of suck. We were apart two weeks and I just sort of stopped living."

He offered her his hand, smiling when he smaller one slipped into it. It just felt right.

"We should go back to your place," he told her with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"We can't," she admitted, "my friends are staying with me for a few weeks whilst their apartment is repaired. Some lunatic in their building managed to flood most of the apartments in their block and now my peaceful life has been disrupted."

He grinned, knowing that her life was anything but peaceful.

"What about your place?" she asked.

Finn shook his head, "Quinn is not fun to be around right now. Her baby bump is tiny but she's convinced that she looks like a friggin' whale or something." He rolled his eyes.

Beside him, Rachel groaned, "what do we have to do to be alone somewhere?"

He thought for a minute, "well, why don't I take you out to dinner first? It'll give us a chance to talk and by the time we get back everyone will be asleep, so we can… you know."

Rachel giggled, but quickly agreed to him plan.

He noticed her gently holding onto something around her neck and recognised the necklace he bought her. It made him smile that she wore it through all of this.

And he was glad that, at any time, he could just lean down and kiss her.

They don't get a chance to do the deed that night.

As they enter the apartment, their mouths wildly attacking each other a little sloppily, due to the wine they'd shared, they were met with the shocked, and slightly disgusted, looks of Rachel's temporary roommates.

Rachel straightened up immediately, "hello. W-we thought that you'd be asleep by now."

"Rachel, it's nine. We're not ten anymore." The smaller one said, whose voice was a bit girly. He seemed to notice Finn standing awkwardly beside Rachel, "are you going to introduce us to your boy or not?"

She smiled apologetically, "of course!" Taking his hand, she lead him to the lounge and they sat across from the other couple, "guys, this is Finn Hudson and Finn, these are my friends Blaine and Kurt." She motioned to each of the men, "they're dating."

"Oh cool," he nodded "I've never really met any gay people," he admitted, "it's nice to meet you."

After that, things became a bit more comfortable.

He didn't remember who suggested it, but they ended up playing monopoly. He and Rachel were totally working together without the other two knowing.

When they decided to call it a night, Rachel was sending him lots of hints and he smirked back.

"Well we're going to go to bed," she yawned loudly, tugging him up to follow after her.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "just try and keep it down in there, okay? I need my beauty sleep."

Fat chance Finn thought. With the two weeks that they'd missed, he doubted they'd be getting any sleep that night. Rachel smirked beside him and he knew that they were on the same wavelength.

"Sure," she said sweetly, winking toward Finn when Kurt couldn't see her face anymore.

He whistled to himself after his walk home, swirling his keys around his finger. Though his shift had only been twenty four hours, he was going to use it as an excuse to spend lots of time with Rachel. All he needed to do was have a quick shower and get changed.

Stepping into the apartment, he was confronted with Puck and Quinn, who looked like they'd been waiting for him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he frowned, "err…hi."

"Finn, we need to talk," Quinn said, casting her eyes down.

His frown deepened, his forehead creasing. "Is everything okay? I mean, you both look pretty sad…"

Puck gestured to the seat across from him, "Sit down Finn."

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, "Look, if it's about me and Rachel keeping you up the other night, we didn't mean to. We were ju-"

"Seriously stop before you embarrass yourself further," Quinn snapped, placing a hand over her pregnancy bump, "you're grossing out my baby."

He nodded slowly, "so what's this about?"

Puck sighed, "Finn, we're…we're moving out."

"What?" he questioned, "but we've only lived here for about a year. And, this place is pretty cool." He cleared his throat, "the neighbours are pretty nice too…pretty and nice."

This earned an eye roll from each person opposite him.

His friend shook his head, "no, we're moving. Quinn and me." He looked toward the blonde, "we don't wanna raise our baby in the city. We're going back to Lima."

Finn kinda felt dizzy. "You're leaving? But what about, like, bros before hoes and all that?"

"I resent being referred to as a hoe," Quinn scoffed.

To his credit, Puck looked genuinely upset, "look man. I'm only gonna say this sissy shit once so you better listen. I care about you, really, but this is my kid. You understand, right?"

He couldn't believe it. His best friend was leaving. "I'm gonna miss you."

Puck gave him a small smile. "You too, you big douchebag." He leaned out his fist, waiting for Finn to bump it.

"Who the fuck am I going to have Halo marathons with now?"

Puck grinned, "I guess you'll just have to teach your pint-sized girl to play."

"Yeah right," he laughed, "I'm sure she'd have a few objections to that."

They carried on as usual, except the news was still sort of eating away at Finn.

"I just can't imagine him not being there. He's been my friend since I was eight. We did everything together," he confessed, letting her pull him closer to her.

She rubbed his back softly, "it's okay. Change is good Finn. There's that saying, right? When God closes a door, he opens a window."

"Why would God have doors and windows?" he frowned, "doesn't he live in heaven where it's all clouds?"

"That's not the point…" she trailed off, leaping back with more enthusiasm, "it could be a new start. You can make other friends!"

"I don't wanna make new friends," he grumbled like a child, whilst Rachel stifled a giggle.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" she smiled, idly tracing patters along his arms.

Finn sighed, "I know. I'm sorry. I'll miss him, that's all." He frowned, leaning back against the soft cushion of the couch, "I know how these things go. Soon enough the contact stops. And he'll have a baby soon so he won't exactly have time to keep in touch with me."

"You're acting like he's moving to the South Pole, he's only going to Ohio."

"He may as well be moving to the South Pole!" Finn said dramatically.

"Oh dear," Rachel smirked, "looks like my dramatics are beginning to rub off on you." She stifled a giggle fit when Finn gaped at her.

With a wicked grin, he ticked her sides, "take that back!"

"Never," she laughed loudly, flailing her arms in the air. He couldn't manage to tickle surrender from the girl.

She ended up lying on his lap. Finn thought to himself, thinking about the future.

"I still don't know how I'm going to cope with living alone…"

Rachel bit her lip. "Well, I…maybe you wouldn't live alone."

"What do you mean?" he looked down at her, "they're moving out. They made it pretty simple."

"No," she started, "I mean, maybe you should…move in with me."

He was silent, mainly from shock.

"You don't want to," Rachel said quietly, shooting up from her seat and standing up, "it was a stupid suggestion. I'm sorry, I-"

"Rach."

"No Finn, I can tell by your reaction that you think it's a bad ide-"

He stood up, holding down her arms with his hands. "Rachel," he said softly, capturing her full attention, "I don't think it's a bad idea. I actually think it's a pretty good idea."

"But you…you were silent. You don-"

"I do," he repeated, "you just surprised me. It was all so sudden."

She looked hesitant, "you do?"

A smile spread across his face, "of course I do! I mean, what could be better, sharing the same bed as you every night… waking up to you…hearing you sing in the shower." She giggled.

"You're sure Finn? You won't get annoyed by me when I'm stressing about the play or when we argue over stupid, pointless things."

"Honestly," he said, "I can't wait."

She beamed.

He waited outside the dressing room with the biggest bouquet of pink flowers he could find and sure, it had cost him a lot of money, but it would be worth it.

The door finally opened and he almost dropped the flowers when Rachel literally squeezed all of the air out of him. She had a reason to be excited. Opening night had been a big success.

"Hi to you too," he chuckled, "err…I got these for you."

She took hold of them, grinning. "Thank you so much. I love you Finn. I love you so, so much and I love Broadway and I love this part and I love…flowers!"

He managed to get his giddy girlfriend from the building pretty quickly, though she had been asked to sign a few autographs. He loved seeing her like this. The professional Rachel Berry. If anything, she seemed to shine more than at home, which he thought was kind of impossible.

"I finally made it!" she told him when she got home, tackling him onto the couch, "I'm going to take Broadway by storm."

"I know you are Rach," he laughed.

He totally believed in her.

"What the fuck do you think they're doing?" Puck asked him as they packed up boxes, well, threw things into boxes really.

"I have no idea."

He and Rachel were helping the other two pack, as well as organise the furniture that needed to be sold, but Quinn and Rachel had taken some things down to the car and still not returned. That was half an hour ago.

"They haven't killed each other, right?" Finn side-eyed Puck, "because she's sort of my girlfriend."

"Yeah, well Q's my baby momma so back off."

Finn sighed, watching the door again before lazily throwing some of the CDs into his box.

The two returned five minutes later, smiles all around.

"Where the fuck you been woman? We've been slaving away here," Puck demanded to know, earning a glare from his other half and a grunt of disapproval from him.

Finn tried to more…mature root. "Hey Rach, what took you so long? I missed you," he grinned.

She knelt down beside him, helping to reorganise the things inside his box. "Quinn was telling me about being uncomfortable, you know, because of the baby and my father is a doctor so I was just giving her some useful tips," she shrugged, "and then we just talked. She apologised for that time when she made me storm out of here."

"Oh," he said, not knowing why that took over thirty minutes.

"We're sort of friends now," she added, sending a smile in Quinn's direction.

This of course meant double dates.

Finn had to go through endless amounts of these. It's not that they weren't fun; it's just that he sometimes wanted Rachel all to himself. Was that selfish?

Well then, Finn liked to be selfish if it meant that Rachel was all his.

The first thing that Rachel realised in the morning was that something was definitely burning. She opened her eyes quickly, flinging herself from the bed to run to the source of the smoke. Where was Finn? Was he okay? A serious of thought ran through her mind as she pulled the door open and followed the horrid smell of charred objects, only to find her boyfriend looking at a plate of the remnants of…something.

"Finn," she asked cautiously, getting over the initial shock of thinking her apartment was on fire.

He glanced up, adopting a deer caught in headlights look, "Rach, I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a surprise. I screwed up."

"What was supposed to be a surprise?" she was still trying to figure out what the thing was.

Finn dropped his head into his hands, "I was going to cook you breakfast in bed. Like, I tried making you fresh orange juice but some of the juice squirted into my eyes and in really hurt, so then I start to make toast, 'cause that's easy right? I broke your stupid toaster" So I thought pancakes because you make them so nice and I wanted to return that, but no, do you know what happened? They set on fire. And, after I put the fire out, I just stared at the burned stuff. I'm such an idiot."

She hurried over to him, "hey, baby, you're not an idiot," she wrapped her arms around him, "you're just not a very good cook, but hey, that's why you have me right? We're a team. Finn and Rachel. So come on, give me a smile."

He barely tried.

"Finn Hudson," she said seriously.

He forced a big fake smile onto his face, though it became real when she started laughing.

"Now, I think that this was really, really sweet, but next time…leave it to me, 'kay?"Finn nodded, helping her clean up his mess. "So why were you surprising me anyway?

His cheeks reddened slightly, "well, we've been together for six months, so I thought we could celebrate."

She halted in her actions. "You remembered that we've been together exactly six months?"

"Well yeah," he shrugged, "you write all the dates and stuff on that weird cat calendar that you have, so I just used that."

He was almost knocked over by the sheer force that she hugged him at. "Oh Finn. I love you, even if you can't cook to save your life."

"Hey!"

She grinned.

"I'm going to ask Quinn to marry me."

Finn was glad that he wasn't driving because he may have crashed as he heard those words.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Puck smiled, "I've got the ring last week. Had to bust my ass to get it, but you know, girls like that kind of shit."

"Dude," he started, "you're going to be engaged! Fucking hell."

His friend rolled his eyes at Finn's response, "well, why not? I love Q, and she's having my baby. We can get married after it's born . I mean, Ma will be bugging me to do it right away. You know how that woman is, but we'll wait."

Finn didn't even know how to react. "Congrats man," he said, shaking his head, "who would have thought that Noah Puckerman would ever settle down."

"Quinn's worth it though," he admitted, "She annoys the hell outta me, but I fucking love her man. "

"So when are you going to ask her?"

"We're going out for a meal after we land, and I'm gonna ask her then. She's normally happier when she's eaten," he grinned.

The car went silent except for the sound of the boxes banging against each other.

"You'll be my best man, right?"

"Don't need to ask me twice."

Puck nodded, "and I'm pretty sure that Quinn'll ask Berry to be the maid of honour of something. They don't ever stop fucking talking with each other, do they? If I didn't know better, I'd think they were dating or some shit like that."

Finn laughed along with his friend, trying to ignore the fact that this was the last time they'd spend together for a while.

"Noah proposed!" Rachel practically screamed after she got off the phone with Quinn. She bounced up and down, "oh I'm so happy for them!" She noticed his lack of jumping, "why aren't you as excited as I am?"

"Oh," he shrugged, "I already knew he was going to ask her."

Her mouth dropped open in shock, "you already knew and you didn't tell me. Finn!" She slapped his arm playfully.

"Rach, no offence, but you're kind of a blabber mouth and Puck trusted me with it, you know? He's my best friend."

"But I'm your girlfriend." She pouted.

Finn poked the end of her nose, "I know, and I love you, but you're still a blabber mouth."

She groaned, sitting upright on the couch and crossing her arms angrily, to which he chuckled.

"Oh Finn!" she suddenly said, "when we go back to visit Quinn and Noah before the baby is born, my daddies want to meet you. Isn't that great?"

It was his turn to groan. Rachel had two dads. Two! He was practically already set up to be disliked by one of them and, if they both disliked him, which would suck. Fathers always hate the person who had "taken away their little girl".

He forced a smile in Rachel's direction. "Yeah, great."

As you can see, there's still room for more. I have a few small ideas for another chapter but it depends on whether I actually write it.

Please review :)

Was this good? Bad? Anything you'd like to see?