"Rachel? Rachel!"

His perplexed call rung in her ears, but she simply ran faster, shaking her head furiously to prevent others from seeing her tears. She was sure the gatherers were gawking at her or staring at her disapprovingly. After all, she had just bolted from her best friend's wedding. Even though she knew this, she continued to run, letting out sobs that rocked her petite body. Her heel snagged on a tree root and she tumbled to the ground, tearing the skin of her knees and the palms of her hands as she landed. Her breathing was so erratic that she could do nothing but let out sobs and desperate inhalations. She heard footsteps behind her and she slammed a curled fist into the dirt, her chest heaving desperately for air.

"Rachel! What happened?" another pair of shoes accompanied another male voice.

"Rach?"

Rachel swallowed as a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. She started to sob again, and she resumed beating the ground with her fist. She muttered unintelligibly as the hand on her shoulder ran up and down her back. Her brown eyes fell to her dress, which had no doubt taken some damage from her fall. She bit her lip, trying to suppress the sobs that threatened to tear through her again. A soft voice started humming in her ear and she let her eyes fall closed as the humming turned to singing.

"I don't wanna be alone forever, but I can be tonight. I don't want to be alone forever, but I love gypsy life. I don't wanna be alone forever, maybe we could see the world together. I don't wanna be alone forever…"

"But I can be… Tonight, tonight."

Rachel swallowed, turning her head to see Kurt kneeling behind her with his hand on her back. Behind Kurt was Blaine, whose hand was resting on Kurt's shoulder. She let the words of the song they sang sink in before she willed herself to fully turn around. She gave Blaine a teary-eyed glance before collapsing into Kurt's arms, letting out a soft sob. She felt so guilty; it was their wedding day and she had ruined it by basically running out in the middle of the ceremony. She opened her mouth to speak, but the man holding her shushed her and continued to rub her back. She noticed tears gathering in his eyes and reached up to wipe them away.

"I wanted him to be my best man, you know…" Kurt said as a thick, sad tone coated his normal countertenor voice.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Blaine asked quietly.

"No. Please stay?" Kurt asked.

Rachel looked up from Kurt's chest to weakly smile at Blaine as he sat down beside the two of them. She looked at the ground in shame as stray tears rolled down her cheeks. Guilt continued to eat at her as she was comforted by the (almost) newlyweds. She had always thought that it would be she who would get married first. Of course, that was before everything had happened and now, she was alone. She was not even sure if she ever wanted to be with anyone else; he was her person, and he always would be.

"You know," she murmured softly with a wry chuckle, "I always imagined I would be married before you, Kurt…"

"Times have changed," Kurt chuckled, "People are more accepting now. Though, if you want the truth, I wanted our weddings to be on the same day… Wouldn't that have been awesome, to be married on the same day as your best friend?"

"I would have been honored to share the front area with Finn," Blaine said quietly, kissing Kurt's temple lightly, "And I'm sure he would have loved to be here…"

"He would have," Rachel replied softly with a chuckle, "And he would have looked stunning in a tux. He always did…"

She shimmied away from Kurt, sitting lightly and crossing her legs to avoid flashing the two men facing her. She lightly wiped under her eyes, most likely messing up her makeup. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes to calm herself. She swallowed before her eyes fluttered open to reveal the two men still staring at her. She let out a dejected chuckle as she lightly waved her hand.

"You two should get back to your wedding," she suggested, though she barely recognized her own voice, "I'll be okay…"

"Rachel…" Blaine protested before Kurt held his hand up.

"Rachel needs her time alone," Kurt said softly, "Come back when you're calm, okay?"

She nodded silently as the two men rose and started walking away. She noted a concerned glance from Blaine that was in her direction, but it seemed he was distracted when Kurt took his hand. Rachel chuckled softly, shaking her head; they were perfect for each other. She lifted her hand to brush against the necklace laying right below her collarbones. The familiar letters of her beloved's name tickled her fingers as she carressed the pendant. She looked around at the beautiful gold and pink sky, trying to smile as wide as she could. She always loved watching the sunset when she was younger, especially with Finn.

"Rachel? Rachel, I finally found you!" an overjoyed voice exclaimed, making Rachel nearly topple over as she stood up.

"Finn?" she nearly yelped in disbelief, looking around to try and find him.

"Rachel!" a transparent Finn called as he approached Rachel, "Rachel, your dress is torn and dirty… What happened?"

"I couldn't stay," she choked, looking at the ground in shame, "I managed to keep it together for the most part. But when they were giving each other rings… It was too much for me to bear… All I could see was you in front of me, gingerly sliding a ring on my finger so you don't hurt me."

Her voice cracked and she started to sob again, burying her face in her hands. She wanted so desperately to feel his strong, warm arms wrap around her and hold her like they had so many times before. She knew better, though; he was gone and that would never change. She felt something chilly on her fingertips and looked up. The apparition of Finn's face was only inches from her own and for some reason, her heart started to race. She slowly moved her face forward, letting her eyes fall closed as she attempted to kiss the apparition before her. Sadly, she did not feel anything against her lips and backed up slightly, biting her lower lip in embarrassment.

"There are a lot of things I miss," the apparition muttered softly, "Everyone at McKinley, Kurt, my Mom, Burt, but especially you, Rachel… I miss holding you, kissing you, just being with you."

Rachel looked up slowly, giving him a weak grimace, "Why are you here?"

"I wouldn't miss my brother's wedding," he replied, "Not even in death."

"Where will you go when it's finished?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"I won't be roaming around here for much longer," he admitted, "The last thing I wanted to do was see you… Now that I've done that, I can cross over. I've made my peace..."

"Wait!" she cried, desperately trying to grab his wrist despite knowing that he was an apparition, "T-take me with you, please!"

"Rach, you don't know what you're asking," he replied.

She felt something cold caress her face and she swallowed thickly, "I'm asking you to take me with you when you leave."

"But your dream," Finn insisted, "I want you to live your dream."

"My life is empty without you, Finn," Rachel sobbed, feeling the chill across her cheekbone, "Please, don't leave me alone in this world! I'll never be able to love someone like I love you…"

"But you've achieved your dream of being Fanny!" he insisted,"I'm not going to take that away from you…"

Rachel felt cold running up and down her shoulders and arms. A chill ran up her spine as she looked into Finn's eyes and saw a fire burning, as if he were still alive. She reached out to attempt to touch his face, but when she attempted to place her palm on his pale cheek, it went straight through. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' before biting her lip again while still looking at him. She felt his cold hand on her face and nuzzled against it, fighting tears from springing to her eyes.

"I love you, Finn," she whimpered as tears rapidly fell down her cheeks, "Please don't leave without me…"

She saw him swallow and try to wipe his own tears, "I have to… I want you to live your dreams. Go on as if I was there with you, please. That would make me happy…"

"I will, if you are the one who comes to greet me when it's my time to go. You know, like Fontaine did with Valjean at the end of Le Mis," she demanded, looking him directly in the face.

"Uh," he stammered, "S-sure? I have no idea what that last sentence meant, but I promise, I will be the first thing you see when you pass."

"Good," she choked, feeling his cold arms around her, "I love you, Finn. Forever and always…"

"And I will always love you, Rachel," he replied shakily, squeezing her one final time before letting her go, "Go, live your dreams. I'll be waiting for you."

She smiled weakly as he pressed his cold lips against her forehead before walking off slowly, constantly looking back and whispering 'I love you'. She stumbled backward when he finally disappeared and touched her necklace again to compose herself. She looked ahead of where she stood and started to slowly walk back toward the garden where Kurt and Blaine's wedding had been taking place. It was dark then, but she managed to find her way back thanks to the music playing. She stopped behind a tree that still had some leaves to observe the reception going on before her.

Blaine was pulling Kurt onto the dancefloor as he sung to him. Rachel chuckled to herself; somehow, she knew Blaine would somehow manage to serenade Kurt, even if it was their first dance as a married couple. From what she could see, many old and new members of the New Directions were seated at the tables, mouthing along with Blaine. A small smile crossed her lips and she knew what she had to do. She jogged over to the door, let herself in quietly and sat next to Mercedes at a table close to the dancefloor.

"Glad you showed up," Mercedes said, looking at Rachel out of the corner of her eye, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Rachel said softly with a smile as she watched Blaine and Kurt glide flawlessly across the dancefloor, "I'm enjoying this wedding. Not only for myself, but for Finn too."

"He would have wanted you to enjoy it," Mercedes muttered with a nod, smiling at Rachel.

"I know," Rachel replied with a smile as she watched Kurt and Blaine lock lips.

One day, she thought with a genuine smile, she would have her own happily-ever-after. For that moment, though, she needed to relish in her best friends' happiness, not only for herself, but for Finn, the love of her life and her eternal soulmate.

A/N: The song quoted is Gypsy by Lady Gaga.

This idea was floating around in my head after watching the latest episode, though I'm not sure why, since the Finn/Corey tribute episode was a while ago. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed the story. I hope to maybe write more stories over Christmas break. Until then, adios, amigos!