A/N: Hey everyone! My first One Shot. Hope you all like it! Cheers! Rose XXX

Now And Forever

[Back Story: Rachel and Finn had been together since they were sixteen years of age. (BTW, all that has happen in the show has happened) Rachel had just finished her arts degree in music and dance in NYC. Finn had finished his degree in sports science, and has just accepted the position of football coach at Lima High, and he will also be given the chance to be Glee Clubs coach].

Finn closed his eyes, not wanting to watch her walk away as fast as she could, imagining the tears that would be streaming down her face, like the ones that were rolling down his face. They had always been connected in every possible way, always mirroring each other emotions and not even realising it.

His heart breaking, but he knew he couldn't let her give up all her dreams to live in Lima just for him. No matter how much they loved one another, he knew she had been building up to this all her life. She hadn't come this close to her dreams to fail now because he knew he couldn't let her.

He would rather live without her and let her believe that he no longer shared the same feelings as her, than let her live a lie. She wouldn't be satisfied just living in Lima as a music or dance teacher, or anything to do with arts, she was born to be more than that. He knew if she ever found out how he truly felt, that she would quit everything and coming running back to him in an instant, no matter what she had to give up.

That was NOT an option he was willing to consider.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^FIVE YEARS LATER^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

He watched her from across the street, he was glad that she hadn't seen him, he had quickly hidden behind a stack of magazine shelves. He knew he was acting like he had no balls, but he didn't care, he just couldn't bring himself to see her again.

He had followed her the entire time, not caring how he looked to other people. He just wanted to see that she was okay without him, and that he had made the right choice to be without her. He smiled as she watched her interact with people she had known throughout the years. She was very well liked by everyone in town, and people congratulated her for all her success. It was nice to watch. And he realised that he had made the right choice.

He watched as she once again disappeared from his life in the form of a yellow cab.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THREE YEARS LATER^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

His mother had provided him with a great source of detail about her, she was now working as a secretary for the Berry's law firm. He tried his best to show composure each time she had given him the Intel, the news really affecting him, which he never wanted to admit to his mother, Burt or Kurt.

She was in town for the month till her next production started. She had gained the success that she had worked so hard to achieve all these years, which he knew she would never have reached, had she decided to stay with him. Becoming recognised for all the talent that he knew she had had from the moment he had heard her first performance in glee club at sixteen.

She was now engaged to their old friend from the Glee years, Sam Evans. Apparently they had met again in NY four and a half years ago, where Rachel had literally bumped into his car on her way to her first audition, and he had been on his way to an interview himself, for major league baseball as a scout.

They had decided to have dinner to tell each other the news, which they had both gotten, and they had never left each other's side ever since, having been the only person that each new, they had grown closed and had fallen head over heels in love with each other.

A year ago Sam had asked for her hand in marriage on a trip away in California. She had accepted happily, and was doing the final touches to their wedding, which was almost complete. All the invites were ready and she was going to hand them personally to all the people she wanted to invite to Lima while she was down. He knew that he would be receiving one of her visits soon, and wasn't looking forward to it at all.

His careful avoidance of her had failed. Even though he had purposely stayed away from all the places he knew she would go to. She came to the least place that he expected her to come to. His more favourite place that no one knew he went to every night to think.

At first he stayed hidden from her, sitting on his makeshift 'tree house' had had built a few years ago, so he could perch himself up there comfortably, and watch the lively Lima world calm down and fall asleep, wake up and become alive again. The peaceful and calmness had always helped him to overcome any problems or emotions he needed to deal with on his own.

He watched on, as she walked aimlessly about, singing and watching the sunset evaporate into the night's sky, leaving Lima to look like a fairy village of tiny people. It was breathtaking to watch. It had become one of his most favourite times to watch as well.

He smiled down at her and remembers her as that sweet sixteen year old her had fallen in love with, and still continued to mourn after, and knew could never replace in a million years. He was glad that he had let her touch the sky with her dreams, imagining her to be a butterfly showing all her colour of the rainbow.

"Is anyone there?" she called out to the night's sky. He watched on like a bird in its nest, now moving, making sure not to make a sound, realising that he was holding his breath as well. He took a deep gulp, making sure he remained quiet.

"I know someone is there, I can feel your presence. Your eyes boring into my skin" she said with such dramatics, looking around, scared of who or what may appear in the darkness. Putting her hand in her bag, in search of that never failing pepper spray she had resumed to carrying since he could remember.

He slowly climbed down his tree; an expert from the days he would compete with Puck to climb whatever it was that was in front of them as teenagers. It had always been an even competition, his height and Puck's strength a good combination.

"Show yourself!" she said with all the confidence that she had never lacked, even as a teenager, had certainly grown even more prominent as an adult, and in her performances on stage.

He looked on as she walked towards the sounds he was making, instead of deflecting and moving away, she pushed forward, and having to know what it was that had her all in a huff. She had never run away from a challenge, always curious and never failing pepper spray in hand. Any normal person would have runaway with freight, but oh not her, he smiled at this.

She glanced up and saw eyes lock on eyes. She had shock and fear all strewn through her face, which he had always been able to read like a book, no matter how hard she tried to hide it all.

"Rachel calm down" he held up his hands to show there was no danger ahead for her, he saw her shoulder's tense up a bit, an exhale of breath showing her exact emotion.

"How do you know my name?" she asked curiously, it was too dark to see where you were going if you weren't so sure about the surrounding. He had grown a foot taller and really toned up since she had seen him last, so he wasn't so surprise that she did not recognise him.

"It's Finn Hudson" he told her gently, letting her feel relaxed and more comfortable, like you would do with a child.

"Finn?" she asked him in shock.

"Been a while hasn't it?" he asked her with a smile, she nodded, lost in thought. They hadn't seen each other for almost eight years now.

"What are you doing here of all places, alone in the dark?" she asked him curiously, her eyes furrowing into slits.

"This is where I go when I want to get away from it all" he answered he lamely, she nodded her head again, lost in deep thought once again, recovering in the shock of seeing him after all this time.

"How did you find this place? It's magnificent?" she told him.

"Probably exactly the same way you found it" he shrugged at her. "I was on one of my trail runs, and then I climbed this exact tree. Came back with a lot of would and made this little perch" he tapped the wood they were sitting on. "I spend a lot of time here" he shrugged again.

"All your time?" she said out aloud, obviously not meaning to ask it.

"Wana see?" he offered, holding out his hand to her, and she put her hands in his, feeling like old times, and then taking her hand back, when she felt the electricity shoot all over her body. By the way he turned around to look at her, he had felt it too. He nodded his head in agreement.

She looked at the tree, and saw all the little details he had put it, as he guided his flash light up the tree. She gasped in shock at how beautiful it was. His carpentry skills were fantastic. He had etched and carved little designs on to the tree that went all the way up. It had taken him many years to do it. He had hammer planks as a makeshift ladder, to get up the tree.

"I went to carpentry school" explained to her, and she nodded.

"Such craftsmanship Finn! You are so talented. You shouldn't let your talent go to waste" she told him as they climbed the tree. He always knew that she would love it; she had always been his inspiration in whatever he did.

"OMG Finn! The view is to die for!" she gasped again, looking over at him. "Now I know why you spend all your time here!" he nodded his head in agreement, smiling sheepishly that she loved it as much as he did, maybe even more.

A couple of photo frames of their happier times were hammer into the tree. He looked at her and smiled, and shrugged his shoulder, not embarrass at all that she had seen them. Glad in fact that she knew how he felt for her, and always had.

Silence fell between them as they watched Lima.

"I've been to all of your shows" he said out of the blue, a gasp coming from her direction.

"Really? Why didn't you ever come say hello?" he had been watching her on stage for almost eight years now.

"Just one of your admirers, didn't think you would want to see me" he said with all honesty, shrugging.

"Of course I would have Finn" she said sadly.

"I know. I didn't want to barge into your life"

"You know that isn't true Finn, I could never see it that way..." her voice trailed away, "did you watch my most recent one?"

"Of course. You were magnificent as Wednesday Addams!"

Silence again.

"How come you never went after me?" she said so quietly that he had just heard it, so he wondered if she had meant to say it at all.

"I don't belong in your world Rachel"

"Yes you would have…"

"No I wouldn't have Rachel. I am a country boy. I would have hated it there"

"I was willing to have the life here"

"Life in Lima is not for the likes of your kind Rachel. You would have been utterly miserable here. You would have hated me for letting you stay here"

"Is that why you broke it off with me, instead of proposing?" he was shocked to hear that she had found out about the ring he had held in his pocket that night.

"Kurt let it slip when I told him that Sam proposed… but it was already too late, I had my life with Sam that it didn't matter anymore" she reasoned with him. "Blaine had scolded him about it" she laughed, not wanting to let him know her true feelings about that day.

"Trust Kurt" he joined in with her laugh. "I thought you deserved better Rachel. Better than Lima. Better than me. Someone who had a goal in life, not a football slash Glee club coach" he said with utter honesty, "Someone like Sam. Do you love him more than you ever loved me?" he made a point to notice everything about her reaction.

"You broke my heart Finn, and Sam brought me back together" she answered him, nodding his head, both knowing that she had not answered the question properly.

"He is everything that I have always wanted. I know my life with him will be one that we both deserve" she told him, watching him nod his head. Knowing that she would never leave him, even if she knew he was still in love with her, which was blatantly obvious to the both of them.

"Love?" he raised his eyebrows questioningly, both knowing that she had never once mentioned the word.

"Yes and of course love" she looked him straight in the eyes, believing everything that she was saying to him. "It will come stronger as the years come one. I know it will"

He nodded his head, knowing that if things had been different they would have probably had a chance to reconnect with each other. He accepted her choice.

"So are you with anyone?" she asked him, he shook his head, both knowing the reason why already.

She looked at her watch, "well I better be going Finn. It's my last night here, and I'm having dinner with my parent's before going to Seattle tonight" she began to scoot towards him, showing that she was ready to leave now.

"Rachel I will always be here for you" when and if you ever decided you don't want to be with him anymore he silently finished before leaning down, kissing her with all the passion and love in his heart as she did for him. They parted, panting and knowing this would be the last time they would ever have a moment like this.

"Goodbye Finn" she said in finality.

"Goodbye Rachel" he said in the same way.

I love you with all my heart and soul Rachel he whispered silently, as he watched her walked away from him for the last time, still perched on his tree.

I wish things were different Finn. But I have my own life now with Sam. I will always love you, now and forever and she walked to her car and drove to her parent's house to meet Sam and her parent's.

Tears rolled down her face as she sat in first class, watching Finn staring at her from the window, she was sure that Sam hadn't seen him. Finn's face mirroring all the emotion that she felt all through her body.

She knew that he had driven straight after her, she had witness his car in front of her parent's house when her and Sam had gotten into their rental one.

Sam had realised her change of nature, and knew she was crying for her loss of life with Finn, but he didn't press her for answers, having notice Finn in his car but not saying anything about it.

He had put two and two together and was proud that she had chosen him over Finn.

He brought her closer to him, and kissed her head for reassurance and making a secret vow, that he would be the very best he could ever be for the rest of their lives. Knowing that she was his for now and forever.