wow guys a chapter update within a week of the last crazy right enjoy the chapter as always thanks to my beta
It had been a week since Rachel and Finn's work date when she walked into the studio and saw the new secretary that had taken over for her, sitting at her old desk.
"Finn is in his office," she smiled as Rachel walked in.
"Thanks," she replied.
It was now a known fact throughout the workplace that Rachel and Finn were seeing each other. The one thing they didn't want to have to keep secret was their relationship and besides, it was hard to hide the longing glances between the two of them.
Rachel walked into Finn's office and found him sitting at his desk, his elbows balanced on the desk surface and his head bowed over stacks of paper.
"Hey, baby, watcha doin'?" she asked with a smile, walking aruond his desk and draping her arms over his broad shoulders.
Finn cleared his throat and pushed the papers aside. "Just finishing some paperwork." He didn't want to tell her that he was finishing some of the legal work on Brittany's demo. He wanted the whole thing finished quickly so that Rachel wouldn't have to deal with it again.
"I have to show you something," she said excitedly.
Finn swivelled around in his chair to let her sit in his lap. "What is it?" he smiled, giving her his full attention.
"I wrote a song and I was thinking that you could use it for Brittany's EP. It's catchy enough for industrial pop and the lyrics are... relatable."
"I didn't know you wrote songs," Finn frowned.
"Yeah. I mean, I never had much time for it, what with work and everything, but now I do."
"I used to write a couple songs," said Finn, looking at the floor.
"I'd love to hear them sometime."
"You should come to my place tomorrow."
"That sounds lovely," Rachel smiled.
"Yeah, and you can sing me your song. I'm excited to hear it now."
"Sounds great. So, what's in the plans for today?"
"I'd like to record some sample pop songs to use for Brittany's EP. She can't really hit the high notes, so..."
"Okay," Rachel nodded.
They got themselves situated in the recording booth and as Finn watched her sing, he couldn't help but think about the things his superiors were saying about her. He couldn't imagine how anyone could let her looks get in the way of her voice - a voice stellar enough to make even a mundane pop song sound spectacular. It's not like she wasn't beautiful. She was. She was just also interesting. She didn't look like everyone else in the media. That shouldn't been a good thing, but these people didn't know a good thing when they saw it.
Rachel worked harder than any artists he'd ever worked with. She was always punctual, determined and dedicated. The recorded two songs and only had to pause once. She walked out of the booth when they were done and into Finn's arm, letting him wrap himself around her in a hug.
The next day, she woke up early, excited that she was expected at Finn's house that afternoon. Despite the fact that she felt like she'd known him forever, she'd never been to his house, and couldn't stop wondering what it was like.
She knocked on the door of his upscale apartment on the other side of town from her own tiny loft and he answered in a pair of casual cargo shorts and an old, soft football jersey. She was glad he hadn't dressed up, because she'd shown up in her Victoria's Secret yoga pants and a loose-fitting tank top with her hair up in a messy ponytail.
"Hey," she greeted him and stretched on her tippy toes, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Hey," he said, closing the door behind her and snaking his arms around her body, pulling her up in a hug.
She eagerly looked over his shoulder and was impressed by how nice and grown-up his apartment looked. It was all polished wood, mosaic tiles and autumn-colored accents. It had some of his usual 'guy stuff' laying around - a signed football on the coffee table, his guitar in the corner, a stack of thin crime novels on the bottom bookshelf, the DVD box for 'Braveheart' open on the floor and 'Duck Dynasty' muted on the TV screen. His apartment was lacking some of the softer decorative touches a woman could give, but she liked the fact that it was so very Finn.
They quickly took to snuggling on the couch and taking turns asking questions.
"Tell some embarrassing you did when you were a kid," Rachel smiled mischievously.
Finn smirked. "Okay, well, I refused to sleep on any sheets that didn't have dinosaurs on them. I'm pretty sure we still have some velociraptor pillow sheets in the linen closet."
Rachel laughed. "Oh, that's cute."
"Okay, my turn. Same question."
"Ha, okay, I have one. When I got my first love not in elementary school, I corrected all of the grammar and spelling mistakes and gave it back to him."
"No way," Finn guffawed.
"Yes. It was so embarrassing. He never talked to me again. And he was cute, too," Rachel smiled sweetly and lightly touched his forehead, "How did you get the scar above your right eyebrow?"
"Oh, you noticed."
"Of course I did."
He squeezed her tighter. "Well, I used to have a dog, Jack, when I was ten, and we were running through the neighborhood. His leash was wrapped around my wrist and he started running after this annoying, yappy little Pomeranian. He started running too fast, so I tripped and split my forehead on a rock. Had to get four stitches and everything."
"Aw, poor Finny," she smiled and leaned against him, pressing her lips to his scar, "All better."
"Yes," Finn smiled, "Ten years later and you made it all better."
"I have the touch."
They laughed and continued asking each other questions. Finn found out that Rachel was terrified of snakes, loved poetry and knew limited Italian. Rachel learned that he used to want to be an athlete, but found music later in life and that he ate so much peanut butter as a kid that he hated it now.
Rachel looked at her watch. "So, can I sing you my song now, Mr. Hudson?"
Finn chuckled. "Yes, you may."
Rachel took a crumpled piece of paper out of her duffel bag and traced her finger over it. She didn't need to read the lyrics - she knew the song by heart. This was the song she had written after her breakup with Brody and the song that had gotten her through a lot.
She closed her eyes, feeling a little self-conscious now, and started to sing.
What have I done?
I wish I could run
Away from this ship going under
Just trying to help
Hurt everyone else
Now I feel the weight of the world is on my shoulders
What can you do when your good isn't good enough
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions
Keep making a mess of things
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right, to get it right?
Can I start again, with my faith shaken?
Cause I can't go back and undo this
I just have to stay and face my mistakes,
But if I get stronger and wiser, I'll get through this
What can you do when your good isn't good enough?
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right?
So I throw up my fist, throw a punch in the air,
And accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair!
Yeah, I'll send out a wish, yeah, I'll send up a prayer
And finally someone will see how much I care
She let out a powerful belt at the last part, squeezing tears out of her eyes.
What can you do when your good isn't good enough?
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take, to get it right?
To get it right?
Rachel finished and the apartment was silent until she met Finn's eyes. He looked stunned.
"Rachel, that was great... It was beautiful. You're beautiful."
"Thanks," she smiled, "Is it good enough? I mean... Is it right for Brittany's EP? Will the studio like it?"
Finn gritted his teeth. That when he knew what he had to do. He wasn't going to let Brittany or the studio get credit for a song so beautiful and so personal to Rachel's heart. It wouldn't be one gorgeous ballad sung by a 'good enough' voice in between a bunch of meaningless pop songs. Over his dead body.
"Rachel, no. I can't let you give up that song. Not for Brittany. That's your song, you have to sing it. You will sing it. All of this will end and you'll get what you deserve. Everyone will know your name."
"But, Finn... The label knows what they want. They want girls like Brittany and Quinn Fabray. Beautiful, tall, perfect blondes, not... me."
"I don't care what they want, Rachel. You're beautiful and so much more talented than anyone else out there. I used to think music was my passion, but then I met you Rachel. Now, you're my passion and I will put my last breath into making sure that everyone sees how amazing you are."
Tears welled up in Rachel's eyes. No-one had ever been so sure of her before. He was so dedicated, so loving, so beautiful...
"Finn, I'm ready... to tell you what happened between me and Brody."
Also so sad to hear about Cory but good for him for gettting the help he needs support for Cory