A/N - Hello all. It's been a bit since the first book ended, but with the dawn of the new season on us (without Finn) I felt now would be a good time to post the beginning of the next installment (that and Rachel was very stubborn in revealing her story to me. Finn had TWO ideas for his, but no, not Rachel - I had to drag it out of her tooth and nail! Did I mention how stubborn she is?) Hopefully there's still an audience wanting this story (in other words, please read and review - pretty please?). Thanks to igotoextremes for being my editor, as well as JannP and tiltingaxis for offering their comments and views as well. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer - The RIB triumvirate still owns Glee and I receive no monetary gain for this work. Of course, that should be obvious since this IS the fanfiction website, but if there was any misunderstanding, let's be clear about who owns and controls all things canonical in this universe. This is all just for fun.

"What are we doing here?"

Finn grinned at her and dropped his rucksack at the base of the three. With a quick zip to open it, he then thrust his hand inside. As he did so, he saw Rachel's confused expression turn thoughtful and then curious as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wait for it," he teased, his grin widening.

Rachel sighed and crossed her arms in annoyance, but he knew he wasn't in trouble with her dazzling smile was still wide across her face. He pulled his arm out of the bag inch by slow inch, but still hadn't revealed the object firmly in his grasp.

"Fiiiinnnnn!" she whined, her arms flying to her sides. "You said you had a surprise. Let's get on with it, okay? At this rate, school will be in session before you pull it out. Can't you just show me?"

His eyes narrowed mischievously. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

She swallowed and blushed furiously, eliciting from him a burst of laughter. Rachel was one of the most prudish people he knew when in public. It was an odd contrast to how she was in private, where she'd readily sprawl on top of him and kiss him senseless, even letting his hands drift down to cup those incredible buttocks of hers. He wasn't allowed any further, making him suspect she wasn't entirely truthful about her and Jesse's sexual exploits back in February, but he wasn't going to call her on it. More than likely that discussion would just circle around to his night with Santana and he really, really didn't want to talk about that.

He and Rachel had been dating for about a month and he honestly couldn't be happier. Gone were the pressures and expectations he'd had with Quinn last year, the endless cycle of must-do social events, and the need for Sunday morning church attendance. Thank God, he thought. Instead, she regaled him with private concerts, an endless number of Broadway musical movies and various other activities designed to increase glee's chances of success the following year. Even though Finn had failed miserably at the two dance classes they'd taken, he always found himself smiling and having fun with Rachel Berry.

But there was one thing that bothered him.

Unlike everyone else, Rachel didn't have an 'off' switch.

Like, ever!

This promptly led him to organizing the day's schedule.

It was quite the feat to convince Rachel he should plan something for them. She was, after all, the worst controllist he'd ever come across. Well, okay, maybe not worse than Quinn, but with Quinn he didn't ever get a say in what they'd do next. Rachel, however, had at least listened to him and agreed that having her plan everything they did really wasn't in their relationship's best interest, so had surrendered this one Saturday to him.

And he knew just what to do with it.

"You said you had a plan for today; a surprise plan. I want my surprise, Finn!" Rachel gave him a slight pout; it was one he'd learned - over the course of the last year - was entirely fake and used merely to get her own way. She looked so adorable when she did it though that there was no possible way he could refuse.

"Okay, alright. I can't deny you when your bottom lip is on the ground." Finn pulled the item clear from the rucksack and dropped the bag at the base of the tree. In one fluid motion, he unfurled a blanket, set it flat on the ground – he was proud it settled perfectly on the first attempt – then dropped himself on top and lay flat on his back, staring at the sky. After a moment of silence, he glanced over to Rachel, seeing her still standing and watching curiously. He patted the blanket. "Gonna join me?"

"What are you doing, though?" Rachel asked, coming over and standing on the blanket, still eyeing him with confusion.

Finn grinned and put his hands behind his head, staring at the clouds and sighing contentedly. "Nothing."

He sensed Rachel's hesitation. She glanced at the sky, then back to him, eyebrows furrowed. "Nothing?"

"Exactly."

She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, as though at war with whether or not to say anything at all. Slowly, reluctantly, Rachel lowered herself to the blanket and sat cross-legged, adjusting her summer dress to cover her legs but remained fully erect from the waist up. Finally, after a few seconds of silence, she turned towards him fully. "Finn, this is terribly unproductive."

"Yep!" Finn nodded and closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze as it brushed against his arms. The sun's rays were warm on his skin, inviting him to remain in his current position and fall asleep. He inhaled deeply the scent of fresh-cut grass, letting it tickle his nose as the rushing waters of the Auglaize River echoed in his ears. In the distance he could hear the birds chattering and whistling away, busy with whatever it was birds busied themselves.

It was the perfect summer morning. Balmy weather, a light wind all brought together by wonderful smells and sounds. Finn was already relaxed, and what little tension remained seemed to drain out of him.

Rachel's voice sliced through his reverie. "This is boring, Finn."

He opened an eye and glanced at her. "What's wrong with being bored for a while?"

"When you said you had a plan for the day, I thought that actually meant doing something fun or new, not hanging around a park staring at the sky."

Finn sighed and sat up, pulling her into his side. Rachel accepted his overture and leaned against him, but her facial expression hadn't changed. "But I'm not just staring at the sky, Rach. I'm staring at the sky with you."

She raised an eyebrow at him, still unconvinced, so he continued. "We've been doing things straight ever since school ended, Rach. It's good to stop and slow down now and then. If you never appreciate the simple things around you and let yourself be bored by doing nothing, how can you ever be proud of what you do when you're working?

Rachel's eyes grew distant, a sure sign she was replaying his words in her mind and considering his side of the discussion. He decided now was the time to pull the ace out of his sleeve. "Besides, you won't be doing nothing. I'm more than willing to cuddle, if you want."

A smile burst out across her face as she turned towards him. Their lips brushed against each other's and then he easily pulled her down with him. Sure enough, her head snuggled into the crook of his arm at his shoulder while her left arm and leg came overtop his chest and legs respectively. "You definitely had me at cuddling," she whispered.

Finn grinned and kissed her forehead before pulling her closer and leaning his head back. It was times like these he couldn't imagine ever getting tired of being bored.

In fact, he decided he should probably be bored more often.

-X-

January, 2026

Finn laid spread-eagle on his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was early in the day, his bedside iPod dock displaying 7:15 AM in bright red digits. The windows revealed through their glass barrier the dark gray of early morning winter, and Finn could distinctly hear the wind whipping through the buildings of his apartment complex. He wasn't normally conscious of such phenomena in everyday life, but his environment seemed prominent this morning.

Normally by this time he was half-dressed and gathering and teaching materials needed at Carmel that day. His recent thyroidectomy, however, had curtailed the need for him to teach until he'd recovered, his doctor suggesting six weeks to allow for healing. That meant almost the entire month of January would pass with him away from the school, his job, and Vocal Adrenaline.

He wondered if each morning would be spent listening to the wind while staring at the ceiling.

When Finn was a high school student at McKinley, he could only dream of something as sacrosanct as a month's worth of imposed holidays. No doubt he'd have engaged in countless hours of video games, surfing the net, watching movies and eating, followed by yet more video games. He felt a wry smile form that, as a thirty-one year old adult, it seemed like such a waste to spend so much time on trivial pursuits. True, he still occasionally played video games, surfed the net now and then and enjoyed movies as a favourite time killer, but now such activities were menial endeavours, easily shelved for anything career related. His first priority for years was Carmel High and guiding Vocal Adrenaline to their next championship; as such he became accustomed to a strong work ethic and less interested in unproductive pastimes. Hobbies that once had entertained him for a few days between Christmas and New Year's no longer held appeal. He craved to return to his work.

But his voice still hadn't healed, and likely wouldn't for at least four weeks. Finn couldn't imagine trying to fill in four weeks with video games and movies. Planning for V.A. had gone as far as possible; Quinn had taken his ideas and run with them with his blessing, so he needn't worry about Regionals. Rachel had returned to McKinley to help New Directions and had some PR stuff to handle for the Golden Globes since she'd been nominated. He'd go out with her again for the ceremony, but it was essentially a repeat of her film's première. The tux was still in his closet, and all arrangements were easily made due to his medical leave.

This all left Finn alone with little to do, other than accept the inevitable. He just couldn't deny it anymore.

For the first time since college, he was absolutely, completely and utterly bored!

Unlike his teenage self, Finn hated boredom.

He probably should have seen this coming, but in all the commotion of the last four months, how could anyone have had such foresight? Everything in his life had completely changed. Well, not everything – he still was the music teacher at Carmel High and was still coach of Vocal Adrenaline, even though he couldn't work or sing a note with his sore throat. Everything else in his life had changed dramatically though. Rachel had walked – no, leaped – back into his life, first as a friend, then romantic interest, and now his official 'significant other'. His play had opened and closed to tremendous critical appraisal and smashed box office records at Lima's community theatre. His face appeared everywhere in the tabloids these days as Rachel Berry's boyfriend and his name was starting to become known by entertainment reporters on television. It was only a matter of time before he was used as a punch-line by some late night talk show host. He could almost hear it now – whenever a female celebrity decided to date a non-celebrity, she'd be said "Finn Hudson" herself.

Not exactly the star turn he envisioned for his future when in high school. Rachel was damn lucky he loved her so much. Being labelled as 'pedestrian' and 'arm candy' were barbs he largely ignored, but it still bothered him. It was easier knowing those making such comments had no understanding of the history involved between him and Rachel, but it would still be nice if he were called something other than 'Rachel Berry's boyfriend', 'that teacher dude' or whatever else they said to deride him. Apparently 3 National Show Choir championships didn't impress the public as much as a Golden Globe nomination.

At least he was good enough for Rachel. He supposed that's all that really mattered. Right?

His cell phone rang, its unfamiliar digital song jarring his eardrums in the quiet stillness of the early morning. Finn squinted as his eyes fell upon the screen illuminating the incoming phone number. It wasn't one he recognized and he had half a mind to either ignore or mute it, but considering he'd just admitted to himself how bored he was, he figured he might as well take the call and see if he could be of some help to the person. It might even be a representative for one of the many Christmas raffles he'd entered. Maybe he'd won a new car or something.

Fat chance, Hudson. More likely you got the consolation prize of dinner at Breadstix. That was how his dice seemed to roll these days.

Finn pressed the green 'accept' button followed by the speakerphone switch. "Hudson speaking."

"Hello, is this Mr. Finn Hudson?" a pleasant, male voice asked.

He rolled his eyes as he bit back the sarcastic response of 'No, it's Kate Hudson; never heard of Finn'. In fairness though, he couldn't be said to always pay attention to people's phone greetings, either. "Yes, this is Finn Hudson."

"Excellent, I'll transfer your call," the gentleman said.

He heard a clicking sound followed by a ringtone, then a second ringtone after that. Finn sighed and rubbed his eyes, getting removing some of the sleepy grit. If the ringtones went to four, he was hanging up. In his mind, if someone went to the trouble to call they should have the decency to be on the other end ready when you responded.

Finally, just as the fourth ringtone began, he heard another click followed by some dead air. After a second's pause, a woman's voice came through the speaker. "Finn Hudson of Lima, Ohio, teacher at Carmel High School and coach of Vocal Adrenaline?"

She sounded familiar. His eyes narrowed as he searched through his memories to put a face to the voice. "Yes, this is he, though it may not sound like it."

"Of course it doesn't. You've just had a thyroidectomy."

Finn sat up in his bed, leaning against the pillows set along the headboard. Whoever had called obviously knew him better than he'd expected, but unfortunately he was still having trouble remembering who she was. A nagging feeling came over him, but no name leaped to mind.

"You get that from the paparazzi? I wasn't anywhere near death you know, despite what the tabloids said." Since it had become public knowledge that he was dating Rachel Berry, superstar actress of Apparition, some interesting rumours about his condition had surfaced, most of them laughable.

"I didn't think you were," the lady assured him. "Do you know who this is, yet?"

Finn hesitated, feeling himself blush. "Uh...I know I should know."

"It's alright, dear. Your mind was on other things the night we met. Perhaps if you search through your wallet you'll find the business card I gave you."

No sooner had she mentioned the card then did he instantly recognize her voice. "Grace, right? You're Rachel's agent?"

"Excellent, Finn. It took you under ninety seconds to remember, well within the prescribed intelligence limits of our most famous clients. If you had failed to recall my name after two minutes, I fear I'd have to terminate the call. Instead, we can go right to negotiating your contract. How does that sound?"

He made a face of disgust he was sure would be unappreciated by both Rachel and Grace had either been there to see it, going so far as to stick his finger down his throat. He'd been briefed by Rachel at her première how Grace thought he might make an excellent underwear model. Considering he'd just had surgery to remove his thyroid, the last thing he needed was to parade his still recovering self semi-nude in front of photographers and studio lackeys. "You're joking. Please, tell me you're joking."

"Why would I joke about something as serious as representation, Finn? My entire livelihood centers on representing people of talent. I'd never joke about offering such services."

"Yeah, well, I'm kinda busy in my normal life, thank you very much."

"Oh? Pray tell, doing what, exactly?" Sarcasm heavily laced Grace's sweet voice as she spoke. "You're on medical leave from your job, your precious glee club doesn't compete for two months, and your play has just finished its run at Lima's theatre. The only picture the pap has caught of you lately was going to dinner with Rachel on New Year's Eve, so unless you've become an avant-garde food critic while no one was watching, I'd say you've done nothing but hang around home and stare at the ceiling."

Finn was quiet on the other end, even though his eyes had widened considerably. The accuracy with which Grace had described his current circumstances was frightening. Finn felt a small shiver of fear run up his spine.

"You do realize your silence speaks for you, right?" Grace asked.

He sighed while crossing his arms. "My boredom isn't unbearable enough to consider your offer. Tell Calvin Klein to look elsewhere."

"You're more the Joe Boxer type, and if you're interested, I'm certain I could arrange something to show off that fine physique. You lost a bit of weight due to the diet change, right?"

He gritted his teeth and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This woman didn't miss a trick, did she? Every detail in his life had been compiled to draw a startlingly accurate conclusion of his current dilemma, and the skill with which she'd done it was damn near Sherlockian! Wait, was that a word? Well, it didn't matter since she was absolutely spot-on with each point. He was bored. He was sitting at home doing nothing. He had lost weight. It's almost as if Grace had an inside track on everything in his life and...

And...

Wait a minute!

Finn sat up slowly as he stared at the phone. The puzzle pieces in his mind all neatly clicked into place. "Have you been talking to Rachel about me?"

There as a scoff on the other end of the phone. "Please! You really think I can't do some rudimentary research on thyroidectomies and draw natural conclusions on how they'd affect a person? You think you're the only one who's had surgery for cancer and been forced to rest and recover at home, being bored the entire time?"

"I think a person as busy as yourself wouldn't have the time or inclination to bother with research when your star client is a phone call away." His voice dropped a bit, though he spoke no less clearly. "Rachel put you up to this, didn't she?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and Finn could feel his lips pull back into that satisfied, lop-sided grin of his. After waiting more than ten seconds, he barked a short laugh and threw her own words back at her. "You do realize your silence speaks for you, right?"

"Oh, alright fine!" Grace exploded with sarcasm. "Rachel told me everything last night. She said you've been moping around your apartment like a lost little puppy without his favourite chew-toy and you needed something to distract you."

Finn sighed and wiped his hands over his face. This was so Rachel. He loved her. God, did he love that woman. He'd do almost anything for her if she'd asked. But in loving her as much as he did, he also knew by heart every single flaw she possessed; she was prone to being arrogant, selfish, and harboured an insatiable talent for getting involved in other people's business whether requested or not. It was like an addiction for her, one that started when they were in high school and she filled his summer afternoons with activities she alone deemed 'productive' and 'worthwhile'.

He didn't think it would carry over into adulthood, though. Was this really the result of one casual mention during a lazy Sunday afternoon that the next four weeks weren't likely to be exciting? She had to sick her agent on him to ensure he was busy? Of course, this was the same Rachel Berry who decided to take a year-long holiday from show business only to immerse herself back into the chaotic world of show choir championships. Her behaviour really shouldn't surprise him.

Still, couldn't she have at least run the plan by him first?

"Getting half-naked in front of a camera isn't my idea of a 'distraction'," Finn grumbled, "more like an embarrassment. I couldn't hope to compare to models who work on their body three hours a day. Besides, it's in New York, which is hours away. I don't have a place to stay and don't have the money to hole up in a hotel."

"Body issues? Check. Accommodation? Check. Financial feasibility? Check. Good god, you are predictable, aren't you? Rachel gave me a list of objections you were going to raise. I didn't think you'd actually do it in the order she told me, though."

Finn's jaw clenched again as he shook his head. Was he really that transparent? Rachel was skirting dangerously close to breaking her promise never to use her powers for evil. "If I'm so predictable, Grace, you should have realized you're wasting your time and not called in the first place."

Grace chuckled and Finn could hear a squeak of her desk chair – she must have shifted position – before she continued. "Believe it or not, Finn, it's not a modelling gig I'm trying to arrange here."

He cocked his head to the side and frowned. Not a modelling gig? What other purpose could he serve? He wasn't a trained actor or performer, had no experience in film or television, and though he was a more than competent drummer, he knew he didn't possess the skills needed for freelance professional recordings.

What else could she be after?

"Do I have your attention?" Grace asked, her smile evident in her words.

Finn swallowed and answered cautiously. "I'm listening."

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