DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to the Glee characters, or the storyline of the movie SAME TIME NEXT YEAR.
Chapter 1:
Rachel Berry awoke to the birds singing, the sun shining in the windows of a very nice hotel cottage. The sun reflected off of her wedding ring, and she quickly moved her hand an inch to avoid the suns glare. She felt movement in the bed, and shifted her eyes up to the mirror directly to her right. She could see him shifting out of bed, trying carefully to not wake her. He didn't notice her staring in the mirror. He quickly removed his underwear from the floor and put them on, covering his lower body, and threw his "Paradise by the dashboard light" tee shirt on, covering up his top half. He was toned in all the right places. He was dark featured, hair and eyes, and yet his skin was pale.
Rachel rolled over, and looked at him. He turned to see her. "Hello." He said, with an awkward tone and smile. "Hi." She responded. "Why do you have to look like that?" He said with a sigh as he sat in the chair behind him. "Like what?" She asked as she sat up. "So beautiful. Why couldn't you have woken up with bad hair and puffy eyes like every other woman?" Rachel smiled. "I guess chubby thighs were enough." Rachel looked over at the mirror again, and she smiled. She didn't think she looked sexy, but she wasn't about to turn down the compliment. "We're in trouble." Finn said, as he looked in her eyes. She could see he was worried. His eyes had been what had drawn her to him in the first place. They were so open, honest, piercing. "We are?" she asked. "I think my wife knows about us." Rachel took a breath in. "What? How? You said she was in Ohio!"
Rachel felt her adrenaline surge. This wasn't like her. She had been driving all day to her acting workshop. She went every year, but after three hours of driving from New York city, as she hit a small town called Windham, the weather took a turn for the worst. Rain, wind, thunder, lightening…Rachel's star had not yet risen, and she wasn't about to die in a small town with no Starbucks. She saw a cute little hotel and noticed it was dinner time, and she pulled over to eat at the restaurant, hoping the bad weather would pass, and she could return to the road soon. She walked in and walked to the desk to ask about the restaurant. Standing to her left was a man she had an instant attraction to. "Be right with you." The woman behind the counter said to Rachel. "Take your time." Rachel said as she smiled back. She noticed the man looking at her and smiling, and before she knew it, she was smiling back at him. The woman turned back to him. "So, Mr. Hudson, your usual cabin is ready and waiting for you." He smiled. "Thanks Emma." He said with a smile. The woman, Emma, turned to Rachel and asked what she could help her with. Rachel asked if the restaurant was open, as Mr. Hudson walked out the side door.
Emma showed her in to the restaurant, and Rachel was seated promptly. The place was deserted. The waitress walked over. "Hi! I'm Tina, and I'll be your waitress this evening. May I get you something to drink?" Rachel smiled. "Yes, may I have a hot tea, and I'll take your Penne with Vodka sauce." Tina smiled and walked away. All of a sudden, he was there. Mr. Hudson, as Emma had referred to him, had walked in and got seated at the table right across from hers. They shared a smile. Tina went over to him, and he ordered a steak. Both meals came at the same time, and as Rachel used her fork to pick up her first bite, she heard him clear his throat. She looked up to see he had used the fork to pick up a piece of steak, and was holding it up to her as if they were toasting. She giggled and lifted her fork in the same manner.
After a few shared glances, she saw him get up with his plate and drink, and walk over to her table. "I thought maybe instead of both of us eating alone; we could keep each other company." She smiled. "I'd like that." He sat down and they got to talking. She learned his name was Finn, both of them were thirty, and he was an accountant to the local ski resort. He came every year from Ohio to do their taxes, since the owner, Sam Evans, had been a childhood friend. On the same weekend of every year, he came to the same hotel, stayed in the same cabin, and just did the taxed. The woman at the desk, Emma, was married to the caretaker of the property, Will Schuster. Wills father owned the hotel, but left it to Will and Emma to take care of. Finn told her about his wife, Brittany, and their two children Artie and Noah. Rachel told him about her husband, Jesse, and her daughter Barbara. Before they knew it, they had been talking for hours, and they had moved towards the hotels fireplace in the main lobby. Before Rachel knew it, it was ten pm, and the weather seemed to have cleared from a stormy evening, into a beautiful night. As she got up to leave, Finn jumped up and kissed her. She knew it was wrong. She was married! She loved her husband. She had a good life. Not great, but good. Most people didn't get good. But the minute his lips touched her, Rachel felt everything in her body ache for him. She needed him in that moment, and she knew that if she stopped kissing him, if better sense prevailed, she would wither on that hotel floor. His hands, which he had placed on the small of her back, were so hot that she could felt the heat transfer into her back.
Before she knew what happened, she was in his cabin and they were making love. Now, in the harsh light of day, the emotional aftermath of what they had done seemed to be sinking in, for both of them. "She is in Ohio, but it's like she has an alarm in her head. If I even look at another woman, it goes off." He said as he reached down for his pants. He put them on, and Rachel just stared. "Well, I assume that that's an exaggeration Finn. I mean, it's not like she's here." "I know," he said, "But I have this image of Quinn sitting up in bed with a death glare at my side of the bed." Rachel laughed at that image. His wife Quinn…she turned to him puzzled. "I thought you said her name was Brittany." Finn seemed to deflate a little in the chair. "I know. I lied." Rachel couldn't believe he had lied to her. "You lied?" She asked. "Yeah, I wanted to make myself harder to trace." She stared. "Ok, I didn't think things through ok? I was scared." He stood up and walked into the living room portion. The cabin was open, the living room and bedroom were connected by nothing but a banister and three stairs, with no walls or doors between them. Rachel had thought it quaint and cozy.
As he walked, she reached down for her bra and panties, and ran into the bathroom before he could turn around. She quickly put them on and walked back out to see him staring at her from the living room. Without breaking her gaze, he said to her, "It's weird. I know I should feel guilty, and I do. I keep thinking about my children and Quinn and the life that I've just assaulted, but I have this urge to be with you again." She had the same desire, but she knew it would be wrong. After Finn had fallen asleep the night before, Rachel was up another hour, silently crying due to the guilt and the shame. Yet, at the same time, all she wanted to do was kiss him, and feel his body on hers. "I know Finn, but we can't do that again. It would be wrong." He nodded. "I know. I'm not too big on caring at the moment." He walked toward her and leaned in for another kiss. As their lips were about to touch, there was a knock at the door. Both startled, they jumped back. "Room service." They heard from the other side of the door. "It's Will with my breakfast." Finn said. Rachel looked at him with a not happy look in her eyes. "Thanks for asking me. I'd love breakfast." Finn looked at her, with a look of panic in his eyes. "I ordered it at the front desk last night. It's 8am! Breakfast and a wake up call. You gotta hide!" Rachel began to run towards the bathroom, grabbing her dress from the night before off the floor. She threw it over her head. "Not there!" Finn hissed. Rachel rolled her eyes and ran out on the porch and shut the door. She could hear Finn talking to Will, exchanging pleasantries and whatnot. Rachel was amazed by the view. There was a beautiful lake behind the cottage, and on the other side of the lake there were two deer drinking water. Between the cottage and the lake was a field with flowers and a picnic table. Rachel sat at the picnic table and took in the view until she heard Finn open the door.
He sat down, placing the breakfast tray on the table. "Eat. It's yours." Finn said. Rachel smiled, and poured herself the coffee on the tray. They started talking again, and before she knew it, she was telling him all about her. She married right out of high school, at eighteen, because she had gotten pregnant. Her dreams of being a star, singer and actress, seemed to take the back burner, once there was a little human being crying out with its list of demands and needs. "You sing?" Finn asked. "I do." Rachel said. She heard meekness in her voice, that 12 years ago, she didn't have when it came her to talents. "Years ago, I knew I was the next big icon to hit the world. Now, I know I'm the next mom to host the monthly brownie sleepover." "Sing for me." Finn said. She giggled. "What?" She asked in shock. "You heard me," he said. "I want to hear." She smiled and she began a song that she loved to sing:
I just look at the skyline, a million lights looking back at me.
And when they shine, I see a place I know I'll find some peace.
I just look at the skyline.
Finn just stared. She looked at him. "Well there you go." She said with a chuckle. "That was beautiful." He said. "Thanks. It was the Courtyard Hounds 'Skyline.'" He reached over and touched her cheek. She could feel the heat of his hand on her face, and she could feel her insides calling out for his kiss again. He leaned over and placed his soft lips on hers, and she melted into him. The one thing she knew as he kissed her, was that she was in trouble.