THANK YOU to all of you for all your nice comments on my next chapter. Having readers like all of you is what motivates me to keep writing and keep posting a new chapter every two days. The mean comments got me down, but there's a lot more of all of you. Thank you so much - you're the best readers ever!

Hope you enjoy Chapter 9 - it's my favorite :) Review if I should keep going.

Chapter 9: 24 Hours of Finchel

After the departure of Sparkles, things became much quieter around the camp. Being the unofficial co-directors was not as hard as Finn (or Rachel) thought it would be. Maybe because despite not having the title, they had basically been the directors for two weeks. Other than the increasing heat, it was a lot less difficult. Most of their time was now spent observing the CITs work in units.

Of course, what Finn was most looking forward to this week was the 24, which would take place from noon on Wednesday to noon on Thursday. For 24 hours, the CITs would be in the backwoods on their own. They'd built their shelters and would be cooking their own meals over a campfire they'd make themselves. Unknown to them, Finn and Rachel would be hiding out also in the backwoods of the camp, checking on them every now and then in case there was emergency. Meaning Finn would have 24 hours of Rachel all to himself.

Finn hoped he could become a couple with Rachel but everything was cautious after the incident that weekend. On Finn's night off on Tuesday, Puck told Finn that he and Quinn were now a couple, but in secret. After watching Kurt and Blaine make out, Finn wondered if anything would happen to them. It turned out that yes, Blaine was gay, but he didn't seem ready to be in a relationship yet.

Finn and Rachel's 24 hours in the woods would be a bit less rustic than the CITs'. They were sleeping in pop up tents rather than self-made shelters and one of them would go back to get their food (and firestarters) so they could cook actual food (the CITs could only cook food that didn't require refrigerating for too long). They were bringing their cell phones too, in case there was an emergency.

The CIT girls were all staying in one shelter together, while the boys had split in two groups of three. The shelters were far apart from each other, but close enough they could go to each other in an event of an emergency. Finn and Rachel were staying not too far away. Far enough for the CITs not to see them, but close enough to hear if there was an emergency.

When the time on Wednesday came to leave for their shelters in the back woods. Finn said goodbye to the CITs, trying to hide his enthusiasm. 24 hours alone with Rachel? It couldn't get much better than this.

Cooler with their lunch being dragged, Finn and Rachel walked quietly next to each other to their campsite. The site was small - two pop-up tents, a fire circle, a latrine (the only outdoor toilet on camp property - but better than what the CITs had to do) and a water pump.

Finn put his sleeping bag and backpack in his popup tent, then plopped himself near the fire circle. "Ah, Rach. We're on our own for 24 hours."

Rachel smiled. "It's like 24 hours of bonding. Though we've already bonded a lot."

"We've bonded over our stress," Finn sighed.

"Well, now that the main source of stress is gone, I think we can have some fun," Rachel giggled. "What do you say we start cooking our lunch? I'm hungry."

Finn perked up at the sound of food. "Sounds good to me!" He and Rachel had decided on foil meals for their lunch today, with carrot sticks, tortilla chips and salsa, and doughboys.

Rachel gave Finn one of her beautiful smiles as she got out the cooler. "Since they gave us a lighter AND a fire starter, putting this fire together should be no problem."

Finn began putting together the sticks in a teepee for the fire. At their cookouts with the kids, the counselors always ended up doing most of the work. As Finn built the teepee, he watched Rachel put her foil meal together. She was wearing jeans shorts with a hole in them, muddy shoes and a solid green shirt with a stain on it. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail with several strands falling out. Yet, he still thought she was so beautiful.

"Hey Finn, want me to wrap your meal, too?" Rachel asked.

"That would be great," Finn grinned. "I'll light the fire while you make it."

"Okay, what would you like in it?" Rachel asked.

Finn looked up at Rachel. "I'll have beef, potatoes, corn, green beans and cheese."

Rachel gave Finn a thumbs up. "You got it!"

Finn lit the fire and Rachel brought the two wraps over, one with an R and one with an F, and placed them at the side of the fire. Finn sat next to Rachel, beginning to eat their side dishes as they watched the main courses cook. It was about 100 degrees out and the campfire only made it feel hotter.

Rachel decided that the foil meals were ready and handed Finn his. She reached into her pocket. "Gatorade?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah, just water would get boring for 24 hours!" He took a packet of Gatorade from Rachel and poured it into his water bottle.

Rachel turned to Finn as she ate her foil meal. "I can't believe I used to be a vegan. Meat's so good!"

"I've always loved meat," Finn said. "Well, I've always loved food in general. I'll eat just about anything."

"It's so peaceful here," Rachel sighed. "I mean, just being here, you and me... it's like a getaway. From all the stress so far this summer. Being at camp in general is like a getaway. I'm stressed about senior year, colleges, all that. I was beginning to get stressed at the end of last school year. I just - Finn, I really wish I had a friend. If I had a friend at my school I doubt things would be as difficult as they are."

Finn smiled at Rachel. "I'm your friend."

Rachel gave Finn a hug. "I'm so glad you're my friend. Finn, you're the best friend I've ever had. Thank you."

Finn hugged Rachel and pulled her on to his lap. "Rachel - I wish I'd known you all along. All I need to make me happy during a day at camp is you."

Rachel leaned her head on Finn's shoulder as they watched the fire blaze. Suddenly, Finn realized they'd almost forgotten about dessert. "We'd better make dessert before the fire goes out."

Rachel sat up and got out her stick, then handed one to Finn. They wrapped their dough around the sticks and Finn clinked his with Rachel's. "Cheers."

Rachel smiled and clinked hers. "Cheers!" They stuck their sticks with doughboys into the fire and watched them cook before rolling them in butter and sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar.

As they ate their doughboys, Rachel turned to Finn. Finn saw a concerned look on Rachel's face and hoped all was okay. Rachel stuttered before blurting out, "Finn, I know Kurt's your stepbrother and you talk about your mom and Kurt's dad, but what happened to your dad?"

Finn sighed. It was really only a matter of time before Rachel asked him this. "My dad died when I was a baby. He was a soldier and he was fighting in Iraq... I was only a few months old. It was really hard on my mom until she met Kurt's dad. For the longest time it was just her and me. She and I are really close and once she married Kurt's dad he and I have become close, but I still wonder about my dad all the time."

Rachel patted Finn's back. "I bet he would be so proud of you, Finn."

Finn buried his face in his lap. "Sometimes it's just so hard Rachel. I feel guilty for feeling this way because I never knew him - but I just - there's times when every boy needs his dad, you know? I mean, there's those things a boy can only talk to his dad about. My mom never talked about him with me except when I asked. Kurt's dad has been a good father figure to me, but he's not my dad, you know?"

Rachel put her arms around Finn. "I'm sorry, Finn."

Finn looked up at Rachel. "My mom gave me my dad's military tags. I carry them around with me." He'd never shown anyone before, but he just pulled them out of his pocket and showed them to Rachel.

"Thanks for trusting me with something so important, Finn," Rachel said.

"You're welcome," Finn said as his alarm went off. "We'd better go check on the CITs. I'll take the boys, you take the girls?"

Rachel nodded. "Sounds good!"

Finn hoped all would be well with the boys so he could spend more time with Rachel. Sure enough, Damian, Cameron and Samuel were already eating their lunch, while Alex, Mattheus and Bryce were cooking theirs. Seeing as there were no problems, Finn scurried back to the campsite where Rachel was waiting.

"Are the boys okay?" Rachel asked.

"Yup," Finn said. "And the girls?"

"Yes again," Rachel said.

"We've got the whole area to ourselves," Finn said. "What do you want to do?"

"Want to listen to my iPod together?" Rachel asked. "We can share earphones."

Finn laughed. "It's been a while since I've listened to an iPod."

Rachel smiled and got out her iPod, then turned it to a playlist. "These are all the songs I dream of singing as romantic duets," she confessed. "I'm afraid people would make fun of me if they knew I had a playlist like that... but I can trust you."

"I'd never make fun of you, Rach," Finn whispered. "You're one of the most awesome people I know."

Rachel had some good songs on this playlist. Finn couldn't help but relate these songs to Rachel - he just - felt that connection with her. During a song called "Faithfully," Finn didn't realize it, but he and Rachel both leaned in and kissed. As he pulled away it felt as if he was floating away... the world had stopped. It was as if it was just him and Rachel.

"That was amazing," Rachel breathed.

Finn smiled, feeling tingles inside. "It was..."

"You're the first person I've made it to first base with," Rachel giggled as she shook Finn's hair.

"I'm glad you were my first," Finn said. He stared into Rachel's eyes. "You've got gorgeous eyes."

Rachel smiled. "Finn, no one's eyes can catch up to yours."

"I love the way you smile," Finn said, not caring what he let out anymore.

Rachel looked at Finn. "Your smile gives me butterflies. And I love your hair. It's smooth and wavy and beautiful."

Rachel was so sweet. Finn didn't feel the least bit hesitant in saying what he thought out loud anymore. "You know Rachel, when I'm with you, I feel totally comfortable, totally at ease. I don't have to worry about anything because I know you won't judge me for it. You've given me that new shot of confidence that I didn't have before I knew you." He laid his head on her lap. It was so - comfortable.

Rachel smiled and started stroking Finn's hair. "I can say the same for you. I've formed so many bonds this summer, but you and I have gotten so close. I mean this when I say it, you're the best friend I've ever had."

Finn sat up and looked at Rachel. She had that sweet look to her... again, neither of them seemed to realize it, but they were kissing again.

"Are you SURE you've never kissed anyone before?" Rachel asked. "Because you're a good kisser."

Finn gave Rachel a look. She thought he was a good kisser? "Just you."

Rachel sighed. "I love kissing you."

Finn loved Rachel.

Rachel patted Finn's back. "We'll need to keep our relationship under the wraps. After what happened last weekend..."

"So you want to be boyfriend and girlfriend?" Finn asked, overjoyed.

Rachel nodded. Finn pulled Rachel in for a big hug.

The two listened to their ipods, talked and just enjoyed a quiet day in the woods together. As he wrote his letter home, Finn told his parents all about Rachel - working with her, talking, bonding... KISSING her.

Rachel - she was so beautiful, so sweet, so good at everything. And then Finn - he was average looking, he thought. Sure, he admitted he was a nice person, but he didn't think he was that good at anything. But Rachel wanted to be with him.

Rachel nudged Finn, who was writing a letter home. "We should probably check on the kids, and then get started on dinner."

"How about this time, I build the fire and you make the food?" Rachel asked.

Finn smiled at her. "Sounds good. What do you want on your pizza?" (They'd chosen pie iron pizzas and wacky cake for their dinner.)

"I'll have sauce, mozzrella cheese, pepperoni, ham and pineapple," Rachel said. "We'd better check on the kids before we get the food though. I'll get the food, since you have to check on two groups of boys."

"Sounds good," Finn said as he went to check on the boys. Damian, Cameron and Samuel were reading a magazine, while Mattheus, Alex and Bryce were complaining about the lack of good food for dinner. Finn went back to the campsite, eager for Rachel to get back.

Rachel arrived, pulling the cooler. "Ready for some pie iron pizzas?"

Finn smiled and began putting the pizzas together: sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, ham and pineapple for Rachel, and sauce, mozzarella cheese, sausage and peppers for himself. He then mixed up the cake mix and put them in the fire, then sat next to Rachel. Rachel leaned up against Finn and she put her arm around him. He put both of his around her.

When the food was done, they ate in quiet, just smiling at each other every so often. When they put out the fire, they just lay on the grass, looking at the stars in the sky. Eventually Rachel took Finn's hand and held it. Finn squeezed Rachel's hand.

The 24 hours were over too soon. After breakfast, they just had time to clean up and then find their CITs. By noon, they had them shower and then rejoin the camp for lunch. But Finn had gotten 24 amazing hours with Rachel - and hoped that they would get more quality time.