A/N: Hi babies… Sorry it has been such an insane amount of time since I've updated ANYTHING. My life has been kind of crazy for the past few months, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get into the groove of fic writing again, because I've missed it so much! This chapter will be shorter than the others, and I would just like to ask you to forgive me! This chapter is kind of throwing me back into the fic-writing game, but I'm sure the next several will be better once I find my niche again! I would like to thank all of my lovelies, especially Ava for telling my ass to hurry up and being the best best friend ever, and Dawn for encouraging NOT to put too much pressure on myself! They're my two greatest loves, and I would be lost without them!

XxXxX

Rachel took a deep breath as she stepped out of Blaine's car, leaving him with little but a wave as she took off up the Hummel's front walk, dragging her little pink suitcase behind her. She had been at her wit's end trying to get to Lima, first flying to Charlotte, North Carolina and waiting for an early morning flight to Chicago. From there she called Blaine, knowing he was the only one who would understand enough to drive all the way to Dayton to pick her up once her plane landed. Once she had finished thanking him profusely a heavy silence had fallen over the two of them as if they had no idea what to say, as if there wasn't two years of history and friendship between them. It had made Rachel's heart ache to think that it could be so much worse seeing Finn again, but she had pushed those thoughts out of her mind, just as she had swept away all thoughts of her boyfriend. Finn needed her. Finn.

Heaving a sigh, she stood on the front step and rang the doorbell, biting her lip when she heard scuffling and light laughter inside. She glanced down at her shoes, but her head shot up when she heard the door swing open, a tiny gasp tumbling from her lips when she found herself finally staring up at his handsome face.

"Rachel?" he asked, licking his lips, "What are you doing here?"

Rachel could only stare at him for a few short moments, her wide eyes scanning down his body before shooting back up to find his. He was thinner than he had been the last time she saw him, and the bags under his eyes literally broke her heart. He was exhausted, she could see that in the way he held his body, the way he rested most of his weight on his right foot. He used to do that after football games or a particularly strenuous glee rehearsal, but she could tell by the way he was standing that it was a common occurrence now.

But his eyes? His eyes were the same, sweet cinnamon that she remembered. Warm and deep. She hesitated in the doorway, unable to find the words to explain why she was there, that she knew, that she needed to see for herself that he was going to be okay. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him, not to peek into the living room where they had shared everything with each other, not to see her best friend glaring at her from behind his brother, nothing. All she saw was Finn.

Finn stepped back a little, surprised to see her standing on his front porch. He glanced behind him at his brother who was turning a scary shade of red as he stared at her, and he shook his head a little when he turned to face Rachel again. He peeked into the yard, half expecting to see that annoying ass new boyfriend of hers lurking in their driveway, buying himself time so he could figure out what was going on.

"Finn," Rachel finally breathed as the tears slipped down her cheeks, causing him to turn his attention from the yard back to her face. She watched as he licked his lips, noticing for the first time that they looked dry, chapped almost, when they had always been so soft. Without another word, she crossed the invisible barrier between them, wrapping her arms around his middle and pressing her face into his chest. She ignored his shocked little gasp, squeezing her eyes shut as she gripped the back of his t-shirt, taking a deep breath full of him. She was relieved that hadn't changed… Part of her was expecting him to smell like hospitals, medicine, just different, but he was the same. She smelled the familiar suave body wash for men, the faint hint of chocolate, Finn.

"Rachel?" Finn asked again, his arms hesitantly coming up to wind around her as well,
"Rachel, what's going on?" He licked his lips, tightening the hug when he felt her tears through the thin material of her t-shirt. She shook her head back and forth against his chest, sinking into his embrace.

"I'm here now," she whispered, unsure that he could even hear her, licking her lips as she pulled back slightly to look up at him. Tentatively, she raised her fingers to brush them against the swollen gland just beneath his jaw, her eyes finally taking in more of the signs that he was sick. She felt him flinch beneath her fingertips, reaching up to take her hand and gently push it away.

"I know, Finn," she whispered, pulling her wrist from his grasp so she could smooth her hand across his t-shirt before gripping the material in her fist. His breath hitched a little at the words and he reached up to loosen her grasp.

"What do you mean you know?" he asked, unable to keep the tension out of his voice. How could she? He watched as she ducked her head, licking her lips nervously before glancing up to find his eyes again.

"Rachel." He said firmly, ignoring Kurt as he came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stared down into her dark eyes, afraid to believe all of the emotions there, things he hadn't seen in so long, "What are you doing here?"

"I know," she repeated, shaking her head as new tears slipped from beneath her lashes, "I know you're sick, Finn." She ducked her head, resting her forehead against his chest as she tightened her grip on him again, afraid he would push her away. She hugged him tighter, the sudden tension in his body scaring her as he took hold of her upper arms, gently pushing against her.

"Let… Please let go of me," he said in a strained whisper, unable to hide the tears in his voice, "Let go." Hurt, Rachel stepped back, looking up to find tears shining in Finn's eyes as he stared down at her.

"Finn, I…" She whispered, reaching for him again, only for him to step away from her. Licking his lips as a single tear traced down his cheek, he turned to his brother, shaking his head.

"You told her, didn't you?" he asked, his face turning red as he ran his hand over it, wiping away the tear, "I trusted you, Kurt!"

"Finn, she found the books, I didn't mean to."

"It's whatever," Finn shot back, glancing up at Rachel before looking away when he found her staring at him, "I can't… I can't deal with this right now. I'm… I'm sorry, okay? I just… I'm going to go lay down."

"Finn!" Rachel called out after him as he turned around, hurrying towards the stairs, "Finn, just-"

"Rachel," Kurt said, catching her wrist when she started to follow him, "Just give him a minute!" He dropped his hand when she stopped and turned towards him, scrubbing the back of her hand across her eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"How was I supposed to stay away, Kurt?" she asked, refusing to recoil under his glare, "It's… It's Finn. I wasn't just going to stay in New York and pretend like I didn't know!"

"Rachel, you can't just do this to him," Kurt argued, "You can't just pop back into his life and try to be his hero, just to leave again if he gets better."

"That's… that's not what I'm doing!" She cried, defensive, "Kurt, listen to me. How would you feel if you were going about your business in New York, trying to be happy, only to find out that Blaine had been diagnosed with cancer? Would you let me tell you to stay back when all you wanted was to see him, touch him, just… just know for yourself that he was going to be alright? No. You would drop everything to be with him! " Kurt froze before deflating, shutting the front door and reaching for her hand to lead her into the living room.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Rachel," he sighed, sitting down on the sofa and patting the cushion next to him, "I just don't want Finn to be mad at me, you know? We promised not to tell you and you're here… It can't be easy for him." Rachel shook her head, leaning forward to rest it against her best friend's shoulder for a minute.

"He loves you, Kurt," she sighed, looping her arm through his, "Does he really hate me that much?" She blinked as new tears threatened to fall, remembering the phone call he had made back in December, trying to tell her.

"Finn will never hate you," Kurt assured her, leaning back against the sofa cushions, "I think it's confusing for him though, Rachel. Nothing from you, you know, then all of a sudden you're here like you two haven't spent the last several months not talking." He paused, straightening his shirt. Rachel thought about that for a moment, regret washing over her as she thought about the last six months of her life, of the ups and downs with Finn. She groaned when her phone beeped, glancing down to see a new message from Brody.

Call me.

Rolling her eyes, Rachel ignored the text and tossed her phone aside.

XxXxX

Finn lay sprawled out on his back across his bed, watching the blades on his ceiling fan spin faster and faster until he was forced to close his eyes, feeling sick. Slowly, he rolled over onto his side, resting his cheek against his hand as he thought about Rachel. What was she even doing here? Sure, for weeks he had daydreamed about her showing up, saying she loved him and that she was done with Brody… but this was different. She had come because he was sick, because she felt sorry for him. Why now? Why couldn't she have just listened to him two months before when he had called her, actually wanted her to know? Burying his face in his pillow as another wave of nausea washed over him, Finn lost himself in memories of her, of them…

"Finn?"

He jumped at the muffled sound of her voice, glancing over his shoulder at his door when she knocked again. For a minute he thought about ignoring her, turning around and going back to sleep. He wasn't sure how long he had dozed off for, but he was so exhausted all the time, he was sure he could pass out again in no time. Avoid the awkward conversations he knew were coming. But when she knocked again, her soft voice calling out his name, he broke, telling her to come in. He didn't look when he heard the door open but kept his back to the door. She sighed, loud enough for him to hear her, so he finally rolled over onto his back, gazing up at her as she stood over his bed.

"We don't have to talk… Not yet." she whispered, playing with the t-shirt she had changed into sometime since she had arrived. With a jolt, Finn realized it was his old practice t-shirt, the one she had stolen from him their senior year of high school… She still had it?

"O…Okay," he murmured, licking his lips as he looked way, fighting not to let his emotions get the best of him, "Thanks."

"But," she said quickly, as if she were afraid he would tell her to leave, "Can I just lay in here for a little while?" He looked up at her again, the lone tear clinging to her cheek breaking her heart. Hesitating for only a moment, Finn pulled back the covers for her to climb in. With a sad smile, she slipped into bed beside him, keeping a careful distance between them. Finn stared up at the ceiling again, wondering if he should say something. There were so many things he wanted to ask her. Where was her boyfriend? When did she get to Lima? What did this mean?

"I miss you, you know," she said quietly, interrupting Finn's thoughts as she reached over to rest her hand on his arm, "In case you ever doubted it… I miss you so much."

With a soft sigh, Finn rolled his head to the side to look at her, truly gaze into her eyes for the first time since he opened the door to find her standing on their front porch.

"I miss you, too," he whispered finally, deciding all of his questions, all of the hard conversations, could wait until later.

A/N: Remember, reviews are love! :)