A/N: If anybody is interested in the soundtrack that accompanies this story, please check out tiltingaxis(.)tumblr(.)com / post / 24792906223 for the playlist =)

She feels the heat of the sun on her face and frowns, turning her head into the pillow to get away from it. The scent that permeates causes an unwitting smile to grow on her face. It smells like Finn.

Finn.

All at once, her eyes blear open and she sits up, pulling the sheets up with her as she looks around. He's nowhere to be seen.

"Finn?"

She feels the palpitations start when he doesn't answer her call, getting off the bed quickly as she puts on the first thing in her path, the shirt he wore from last night. It still smells like him. Everything smells like him, even her. She walks slowly towards the door, taking a deep breath before she opens it. He's probably outside, right? He didn't leave.

Right?

"Finn?" she calls out again, the panic reaching overdrive by now when she finds that he's not in the living room or the kitchen. She doesn't hear the water running, and the bathroom door is open.

He's nowhere in the apartment.

So her worst fear has come true. He's gone. He left, just like she did. She stands in the middle of his living room, her fingers scrunching up his wrinkled shirt unwittingly, right over where her heart is.

He left.

It starts with a quiet sniffle when she feels that stabbing pain right in the middle of her chest, and as it grows into a more acute, almost stifling tension pressing against her heart, her tears fall more rapidly until she's on the precipice of a full out sob, turning to face the open bedroom. She can see the bed from where she is, and the rumpled sheets, and she barely remembers him carrying her to it. All she remembers is the feeling of being safe in his arms, of being home. She thought he felt it too. But he never did say it, did he? He never said, "I love you". That was all her.

This whole ordeal, this whole month really, it was all her. Maybe he just wanted her to know what it felt like, maybe this is what she deserves-

"Rachel?"

She turns around abruptly, mid hiccup, her tears blurring his outline as he stands in the doorway. She lets out another choked sob at the sight of him, and he's standing in front of her in five long strides.

"What happened?" he asks softly. Now that he's closer, she sees the worry in his eyes, the slight scruff on his face, and those freckles she has spent half her life memorizing. One giant palm curves over her shoulder comfortingly, and it calms her enough to find her bearings.

"I thought you left," she whispers, once she's breathing again. He looks confused.

"Yeah. I mean, I went back to the bar for these." He holds up his hand, her heels dangling off two fingers. She stares at them, mouth agape.

"You-" she starts. She looks out the window before she turns back to him. "What time did you leave? I mean, what time is it?"

"It's almost eight. Actually, I thought I'd wake you up and we could go out for breakfast, since you know, it's a great day outside. I thought I'd let you sleep in a little, but I know you'd rather start your day early. Rach?" he says when she continues to stare at him. His confused expression changes into an amused smile. "You okay?"

"You didn't say it," she blurts out, her hands tugging at the bottom the shirt she's wearing, trying to pull it down.

"Say what?" he asks, bewildered.

"That you love me. I- I thought you left. And- and you didn't say it, and I just- I though I was fooling myself. And you were just, I don't know. You were just-

"Rachel," he cuts in firmly as he drops her shoes to the floor, his fingers reaching out to curl around the collar of her shirt, slowly tugging her forward until their bodies are moulded together. She stares up, eyes wide as he leans down, determination coloring his eyes, his lips curving upwards into the most achingly familiar of smiles. She closes her eyes when he's inches away, and her arms wind around his waist of their own accord, pulling him closer until his lips are on hers.

"I love you," he whispers, chuckling when she sighs in relief.

"Is this really happening?" she whispers back against his lips, leaning against him. "Us here, together. This is real?"

"It's real."

"Good."

Xxx

"Where are you?"

"I'm coming," she tells him quickly, dodging the crowd as she moves deftly around all the people, walking up the steps of the school. "Sorry baby, the flight got delayed, and there was a problem with the weather, so the pilot couldn't land properly. Are they up yet?"

"Not yet," he tells her. "They're going on last."

"You sound nervous."

"I am."

"Don't be. They're going to be amazing. They have you as their teacher don't they?"

"That's not the most reassuring thing I've ever heard," he says nervously.

"Finn," she says firmly, a little out of breath. "They're going to kill their performance. I've seen videos of their rehearsals remember? You worked them to the bone for this concert. And don't sell yourself short. Those kids love you because you're a great teacher."

"I know," he sighs. "I mean, I hope so. They've been acting kinda funny lately around me, ever since, you know."

"Oh." She can't deny the fact that she still feels guilty.

"Crap. They're starting soon. Where are you?"

"Sweetie, I'm entering the auditorium as we speak. I'll try to find a seat closest to the stage, okay? Break a leg, Finn."

"I love you," he tells her in a rushed voice before he hangs up.

She enters the auditorium to find his kids lined up on stage and smiles to herself. They look good. Patrick stands right in the middle, and as Rachel makes her way down the aisle, he looks up, smiling at the crowd before coming forward to grab the microphone off its stand.

"Hi guys," he says as she slides into an empty seat three rows from the front. She looks up, amused at the wide smile on his face. She didn't know there was going to be an introduction. "So like, this is totally spontaneous and whatever, but before we perform, we all kinda agreed that we wanted to say something. Well, that I should say something on behalf of us all."

She hides a smile, craning her neck to see if Finn is standing anywhere near the stage. She can't see him, but he's probably a nervous wreck by now. She takes out her phone to send him a quick text.

(Breathe)

It doesn't take him long to reply.

(I'm trying to)

She laughs, looking up to pay her attention back to Patrick.

"Anyway, you should know that our teacher, Mr. H is bailing on us. Like, this is gonna be our last big concert with him, 'cause he's gonna take off to new York. And that totally sucks, 'cause Mr. H is kinda, almost cool. You know, like in a teacher kinda way? But yeah, he's totally bailing on us to go get married and play house with his fiancé. Oh hey, there she is. Hey Mrs H-to-be!"

She waves back awkwardly to the young boy, shrinking into her seat a little as she feels all eyes gravitating towards her.

"But it's kind of okay, 'cause Miss Berry is pretty cool too, and she's like a Broadway star and all that, so we totally get it, why he'd have to move and all that. And um- wow. I really should have written this down somewhere. Basically, we just, all of us," he says, gesturing to the rest of his classmates behind him. He turns towards the left of the stage, grinning.

"We just wanna say thank you, Mr. H. For teaching us the difference between epic old people music and crappy old people music, and for being totally chill when some of us couldn't work our instruments that well. And also, you know, for being an awesome teacher."

He turns back towards the audience as she discreetly wipes a tear away, because that was beautiful, and she couldn't be prouder of Finn than she is right now.

"I know you did a totally cool, 'modern' mash-up, and that's totally great. But we kinda came up with something else for you, and you too Miss Berry," Patrick says as an afterthought as his glance darts back towards her. She holds her hands up to her chest as a gesture of gratitude and she sees Patick's smile, along with the rest of Finn's class widening. She doesn't know if they're happy because she's touched by their gesture, or because her mascara is running down her face because of Patrick's speech.

"It's totally old school, even more than you Mr. H."

She laughs, along with the rest of the audience, impressed by the jab he managed to inject into the otherwise touching speech. The music starts, and Patrick moves back into position, as the group begins to sway along.

She claps loudly when the song begins, and she doesn't stop until it ends as the kids arranged their very own mash-up of The Beach Boys' Wouldn't it be Nice and The Turtles' So Happy Together. Their performance is a hit, and as it reaches the end, she lets out the loudest whistle that she could muster. She watches as Kimberley and Sara runs off the stage, returning with a reluctant Finn and she whistles again, clapping along with the rest of the audience.

She can't see him, he's buried in the middle of the rest of his class in a massive group hug, but she can see him clearly in her mind, and he's probably trying hard not to cry right now. Finn's always been a little on the sentimental side (not as bad as her, obviously). He's her gentle giant, and she loves him for it.

She looks down at the ring resting on her finger. It felt like it was just yesterday that she had packed her bags and went on her one woman mission to get him back. It's funny how easily things fall into place once they both just moved past their insecurities and just admit how they felt.

She smiles to herself, looking to see him standing on the stage, one arm around Patrick, his eyes searching, looking for her.

Their gazes meet, and the beam on his face is blinding.

She mouths an "I love you" even though he probably can't see it, but he's sending her a small wave, and so she waves back.

"Congratulations." She turns to her right in surprise to find a middle aged woman smiling warmly at her. "On your impending nuptials."

"Thank you," she murmurs, grinning.

"Looks like you made quite a catch with that one," the woman continues, her eyes straying towards the stage.

"I really did," Rachel agrees, laughing as the emcee finally ushers Finn and his kids off the stage to close the school concert. He stops right before disappearing behind the curtain. Turning in her direction, he puts two fingers up to his lips, before he points them towards her, grinning.

Everything is falling into place. They're falling back to the way they were always meant to be, back with each other.

A/N: Finally, this story is complete. Thanks for reading folks, hope you enjoyed the ride =)