A/N: My first Glee fic. Not really sure where I'm planning on taking it. Feedback would be muchly appreciated.

WARNINGS: Maybe some slight spoilers, though I wrote this before the season 2 finale. Also, there's going to be some potential death/depression, lots of angst later. If it's not your thing, you might not want to read this.

What was she doing back here?

Rachel Berry, famous Broadway star, was sitting in her car in Finn Hudson's driveway. She hadn't been back to Ohio in nearly five years, why was she doing this?

She had gotten a phone call. That phone call had happened only two days ago, but it felt as if it had happened more like two million years ago.

"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow," she called out as she walked out the door and onto the city streets.

She felt her purse vibrating and heard her familiar ringtone.

She looked at the caller ID and didn't recognize the number, though she did recognize the area code.

LIMA, OHIO.

Who would be calling me from Lima?

Puzzled, she hit the answer key.

"Hello?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Rachel," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Who is this?" she asked, though she knew the answer the moment he said her name.

"It's Kurt Hummel, I know it's been five years since we graduated, and since you left and all, but…" he sighed, stopping mid sentence.

"I know what, or who, I should say you're calling me about," she said, "But… Kurt, it's been five years. He had his chance to be with me after graduation, and he didn't take it. What's wrong with him now? Too much fighting with dear Quinn?"

"No," Kurt said, frustrated.

"Look, he doesn't want to see me, Kurt. If he had, he would have found my number or came here to see a show, or something. He's known where I was," she said, feeling a pain in her chest as she realized everything she had just said and how much each reality pained her heart.

"Rachel, he's not doing well. He needs you," he said plainly.

"He doesn't need me, Kurt!" she said angrily, blinking back the tears she felt building up.

"Look… he hasn't been with Quinn in over four and a half years. They broke up after you left. He wanted to chase after you, Rachel; you have no idea how he wanted to chase after you. I had to listen to him talk about you and how he was going to go after you… God, he loved you then. And I know he loves you now… So, I don't know why he didn't go after you, I really don't. But, his mom is sick. She's been in the hospital for about 2 months now, they're not sure what's wrong and she's not getting any better. And he can't take it, he's falling apart. You were the only person that could ever keep Finn together. So, I followed my instincts and chose my last resort and I called you because I knew you'd come to him. Unlike him being an idiot, you would do the right thing and you would fly down to Lima and see him. You would convince him that everything's going to be alright, and if it's not you'll be there for him. I've done everything I can, but he needs you. He needs the woman he loves."

"I'll book my flight as soon as I get back to my apartment," she swore.

"I knew you'd do this, Rachel. I'll meet you at the airport with a rental car," he promised.

And so she'd returned home, booked her flight to Ohio, met Kurt at the airport, and GPS-ed her way to Finn Hudson's home.

Finn had always been extremely close to his mother in high school, and Rachel couldn't imagine the pain he was going through now. She had no clue how she was going to make things better, but she knew she had to try.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her car and walked up to the front door.

She looked down at her hands and noticed that they were shaking slightly.

You can do this, Rachel, it's just Finn.

Finn.

She had loved him. She would have done everything for him. She told him that she was going to Broadway to be a star, and he said he wasn't ready to leave. So he went back to Quinn.

Her heart had been shattered. She was off to New York City alone.

As time went on, she had realized that she was better off alone, but she missed the warmth of someone in the bed beside her. She missed someone to hold her after a bad day, someone to kiss her goodnight and tell her that he loved her.

Rachel had just accepted that she would never have that, at least not now. Maybe she had never wanted it with anyone except Finn.

She swore she would never go back to him, though. She was a much better woman than that, and she wouldn't grovel at his feet anymore.

But being the better woman she was, she wasn't going to let him suffer alone as she had. So, she had gone back to him, unsure of what was going to happen.

She stood there for a few minutes, trying to calm her nerves, and then she knocked on the door three times.

She heard footsteps and then the door opened.

Finn, oh god.

There he was, the same goofy football player that she had fallen for in high school.

He had aged some, his face was not as soft as it used to be, the fine lines in his cheeks had hardened and he seemed to be more muscular than in high school.

This was not the Finn that Rachel remembered, though. This Finn was tired, and so sad in his appearance. He looked weary as if life had taken its toll on him, though he was only twenty-three years old.

"R-Rachel?" he stuttered, looking confused.

"Finn, I… Kurt called me, he said you needed… Fuck, I can't do this," she said, turning around to head back to her car.

"Rachel, wait." Finn said, grabbing her arm before she had left the doorstep.

She felt an electricity jolt through her body at his touch.

It's still there.

"Come inside," he said, looking at her desperately, "Please."

"Okay," she replied, rubbing her arm where his hand had been.

She walked into his home, holding back the gasp at the disarray of everything. There were newspapers and pizza boxes littered on the floor. It looked as if the house hadn't been cleaned in several weeks.

"Uh… sorry, I don't usually have anyone over and I um… haven't had the time to clean," she heard him say, but she knew it was a lie.

"Finn," she began, "I don't really know what I'm doing here… But you look like shit."

He looked down at the floor and closed his eyes tight before looking back up at her. He looked so tired.

"Have you been sleeping? I see you've been eating a lot of pizza," she said, looking around the room.

"Rachel, I'm… fuck, how do I say this? I'm falling apart… My mom's in the hospital, they don't know what's wrong with her, Burt is handling this so much better than I am, and I… I can't handle it all anymore…" he said, clenching his hands into fists against his side.

"Kurt called me," Rachel admitted, taking one of his fists.

He loosened both fists and Rachel held his hand, sitting them both down on a nearby couch.

"I don't know what to do for you, Finn, but I'm here to help you. I will do everything that I can to help you through this," she vowed, squeezing his hand.

He looked into her eyes, and he tried to smile. It was a weak smile, but it was a start.

Finn looked so lost, so helpless. Rachel didn't know how she was going to fix this, to make him whole again, but she knew she had to try. Because no matter how hard she had tried to get over him and how much hell her heart had been through, looking at the Finn Hudson sitting before her, she knew that he needed her. She also knew that she had never stopped loving him and that she probably never would.

A/N: Love it, hate it? Want to know what happens next?

I already have the first few chapters written.

Tell me what you think of the story and I'll post them soon :)