So, this story is going to be a little longer than I've previously said. Extended angst needs extended payoff, though it may take a little time for me to work out the plot extension. For now, hope you like this!

"What?" Finn was stunned. He blinked hard, still groggy from the effects of his medication. "He – what?"

"Jesse doesn't exist. He isn't real. I put the sock out to keep Santana out of our room so she couldn't kick me out again."

"You were alone?"

"Yes." Rachel spoke loudly and clearly. "I spent that night alone. There is no Jesse St. James. No anyone."

"But that story – " Finn's mind was spinning. He wasn't awake enough for this.

"Santana got on my case the next morning so I made something up." She bit her lip, looking ashamed. "She'd've made my life hell if she'd known, you know she would have," she pleaded. "I could feel my throat starting to tickle, and that couch isn't hygenic at all, I just –" she swallowed. "I just really, really needed a good night's sleep."

"So that whole bit – Jesse St. James from the theater in Dayton..."

"I invented a name off the top of my head and what sounded like a plausible scenario, it had to be someone I could know but she wouldn't. I really, truly never thought about it circulating, that you would find out, and then when I realized you had –"

"And what, you let me believe this? For a week?"

"But I told you," she protested. "Or I tried to. I told you I needed the sleep, because of my audition."

"You said it was because of your audition –" Finn bit back the end of his statement, but not quickly enough. Rachel drew back.

"You – you thought that was for my audition? Jesse? You actually thought I would do something like that, for a part?"

"I – " Shit. "But you – " said it yourself... or did you? Did I... damn.

"I tried to tell you! You wouldn't listen! And that you would think I would do that – how could you think that of me!" With that Rachel turned and stormed off, back through the lounge and down the hall to her room.

Finn was transfixed, unable to move, though whether from his back or from shock he wasn't sure. He'd had such a terrible week from both physical and emotional pain. Now here Rachel came, giving him hope and then yanking it away before his mind was even awake.

He couldn't let her go, not now. He simply couldn't. Not without trying to make things right.

Finn moved slowly, first back to his desk to pick up his keycard, then down the hall after Rachel. She would have gone back to her room, surely. He hoped so, in an old tee and pj pants he wasn't dressed for outside, and anyway he really wasn't supposed to be going anywhere.

He knocked. No answer, though he thought he heard her moving around. "Rachel?" Another sound that could be a step, he guessed. But she wasn't coming, and what little energy he had was fading as his back started to torture him again.

Finn slid down the door to sit in the hall. "I wasn't thinking," he muttered brokenly. "Obviously. When I found out it was you keeping Santana out, not the other way around, and then I heard about Jesse..." he trailed off. "I was just so jealous I couldn't see straight, okay?" He got louder. "I'd waited too long, trying not to scare you off, and I missed my chance with you, and I was so pissed about the whole thing that nothing made sense!"

A moment later he fell flat on his back as her door opened. "Ow..."

Dark brown eyes looked down at him. "Now you know why it didn't make sense."

Finn sat up. "Yeah." He carefully got up, turning to face her, his jaw slack as he looked at her and absorbed the new situation. The true situation. He took a tentative step towards her, happy to see that she didn't back away. And another step. "So you weren't..."

"With anyone. No." She blushed, her eyes lowered. "Ever, actually." She bit her lip, then looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Unless you count some really steamy dreams that were rather inappropriate at the time because I thought the man in them was gay." Finn's mouth quirked up at that, but she went on, her voice quiet. "Would it really matter if I had been?"

Finn thought for a moment, his stress ebbing. He'd been frustrated that he'd lost his chance with her, that some other guy was in his place. And then he'd been disgusted, thinking that he'd gotten her all wrong, recoiling as the sweet amazing girl he'd gotten to know twisted in his imagination into something horrible. But looking at her now, seeing her again as she truly was, would it matter if she had been with some other guy as long as they were still here now?

He didn't need to be her first, just her guy, here and now and hopefully much more to come. He looked intently into her eyes, seeing the hope in them, trying to convey his own sincerity. "No."

Suddenly she reached up to him, pulling his neck down as she stretched up and latched her lips onto his.

Wow.

"I've wanted to do that almost since we met," she admitted softly as their lips parted.

"So have I." And his lips crashed onto hers this time. Her mouth opened under his, their lips teasing at each other, and it was all exploration and finally and rising passion and fire...

Finn bent further to her, holding her close, losing himself in her until a sharp pain pulled him out. He winced, straightening, and saw Rachel pout as their kiss ended prematurely. He wanted nothing more than to permanently kiss that pout away, but... "My back," he explained as he felt it spasm again. "It's... ow."

"Lie down," she murmured, nudging him back to her bed. He sat down and then saw her clock, noticing the time. He'd been about to take his next dose when she had shown up, and now it was overdue.

"The meds," he got out, grimacing again at the surge of pain. "I need to take more." He gathered himself to try to get up, but she put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"I'll get them," she said. "You stay here and rest, you need to heal. It's your big chance to play soon, Mike said."

"Coach said maybe."

"If your back gets better. Card?"

Finn dug his dorm keycard out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Two pill bottles, by my bed."

She gave him a light kiss. "I'll be right back. Rest."

Finn waited, the fog settling back into his mind as his back pain returned. But it didn't take long before Rachel was there again, handing him a glass of water and his pills.

"Thanks." He gave her a smile as she took the empty glass from him. "Sorry about this."

"I'm sorry too." And she was standing over him with that soft look on her face, and her lips were just so inviting, especially now he knew how great kissing her was and... he surged up, managing to graze her lips with his before his back objected.

He winced again. "They do take a little time to kick in."

"And you're supposed to be on bed rest," she said. He didn't ask how she knew, though from what she'd said before she had been talking to Mike. "Lie down," she went on, nudging him. "I want to help." He looked at her skeptically, but lay back anyway. She giggled. "On your stomach, Finn," she explained.

"Right." He turned over carefully and sighed as she went to work on him, a sigh of happiness and relief.

Finn gloried at the feel of her hands on his back, soothing his spasming muscles, easing his pain. He took other enjoyment from her touch as well, and now he didn't have to be embarrassed about that. At least he didn't think so. "Are you mine?" he mumbled, and then blushed. "I mean..." he turned a little so he could see her, and touched her hand with his. "Will you be my girl?" He wanted to make sure, have everything clear at last.

The smile on her face could have lit up the stadium. "I would like that very much," she answered. "Yes."

He rose to kiss her again, but the twist in his back soon brought him back down. Rachel resumed her efforts, his pain vanishing at her magic touch.

"You're amazing," he murmured. "Amazing..." his voice faded out. He yawned. "Sorry, I'm starting to drop off. I should go back to my room before I fall asleep on you." He made a small movement, but Rachel leaned into him, using just enough pressure to encourage him to stay put.

"I'm your girl. Doesn't that make you mine to take care of?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then sleep. Don't worry, I left a note for Mike."

"But where are you going to sleep?" All stretched out as he was, there wasn't space left in her single bed, and anyway it was too soon for that. And using Santana's bed was surely a bad idea.

"I'll sleep on the floor. I'm getting pretty good at sleeping in less usual places." Rachel went to the door and put the sock outside it, then closed it and put on the security lock.

"But –"

"I insist. And from the looks of you you're not going to be able to put up much of a fight." She leaned down and kissed his cheek.

Finn dropped off quickly, the medication very effective. Rachel sat in her chair and looked over at him. It had all been so fast. All the frustration they'd both had, bringing them to the point where they had had to break through the tension, and their mutual frustration had stoked their passion and given so much power to their coming together. It was so overwhelming, like it couldn't be real yet couldn't be anything but real.

And that kiss – oh, their kiss had been phenomenal. Like nothing she had experienced, her prior experimentation with the couple of boys she had briefly dated in high school simply preparing her to recognize the real thing when it came along. Even when it came in the form of a football player who now lay sleeping in her bed, a connection definitely against the run of the mill for a girl like her. For both of them.

She didn't know what she had expected would happen when she had made her plan to make Finn hear her out. She supposed she had deliberately not thought of what would come next, lest his potential reactions intimidate her from doing it at all; she had only known that she had to tell him. She had certainly never dared hope anything like what had happened. And yet – what else could have happened, with both of them knowing how much they wanted this?

Rachel rose to stand over him, fighting the impulse to stroke his cheek. Unfair for him to be so adorable even asleep, when she knew she needed to let him rest. And she was so glad he had stayed; quite aside from wanting to take care of him, she didn't want to part so soon, their understanding too new. And by his urgency in asking her to be his girl – a thrill ran through her again at the memory, his girl! – he shared her need to hold tightly to what they had found tonight.

She yawned, feeling her own energy ebbing. It was still only mid-evening, the floor quiet and still likely mostly deserted as the players and cheerleaders would be on their way back from the game. But it had been a long angst-filled day for her, so Rachel decided she might as well go to sleep early too. It's not like she had any interest in studying or doing anything other than simply being with Finn, not now.

She laid her spare bedding out on the floor next to her bed, then felt a little daring. Finn was asleep, and where she stood behind his head he wouldn't see her anyway so – she changed slowly into her sleep clothes, her heart thudding as she paused, naked and alone with her new boyfriend.

"Mmmm..." Finn made some sort of murmuring sound, not quite a moan, still asleep. Rachel had to suppress a gasp.

Maybe he knows and he's dreaming, she thought as she finished putting on her tank top and sleep shorts. The possibility gave her a nervous thrill.

Time for some sweet dreams. Maybe even some wild ones.

Rachel was awakened by the sound of banging on the door. She got up, looking fondly at Finn lying in her bed, still asleep; the muscle relaxants must be very effective. And sure enough, there was Santana at the door, looking tired and pissed off.

Rachel kept the door open only a crack. "Don't you know what the signal means?" she asked, her voice quiet but pointed as she quoted Santana back to herself. "You need to go somewhere else. It's protocol."

"Look, I know you don't have a guy in there," Santana spat out. "Becky heard you yelling at the Colossus of Rhodes, telling him all about your little charade, so you can drop it now." She calmed a little. "I'm not going to kick you out, I just want to get some sleep, okay?"

Rachel frowned. "That's all I wanted, it didn't seem to make a difference then."

"So I get it now. Just let me in. Like I said, I know you don't have a man in your bed so the protocol doesn't apply."

"Rachel?" Finn called out sleepily.

Santana groaned. "You're kidding."

Rachel gave her a tight smirk. "One man, in my bed. Have a good night, Santana. I'm sure you can bunk down with Brittany, which is more options than I had." She closed the door on her roommate and turned back to her bed, where Finn had turned over and was rubbing his eyes.

"Was that Santana?" he asked.

"Yes. Don't worry, she's not coming in."

"I should go back to my room now..."

"No," Rachel insisted. "You shouldn't move, you'll strain your back. Santana will learn her lesson better if she doesn't get let back in as soon as she apologizes, and I think she and Brittany have things to work out."

"Mmm. Okay." But before he went back to sleep, he asked, "what was that new insult she used for me?"

Rachel laughed. "The Colossus of Rhodes? That's not an insult. She probably meant it as one, but it's not." She lay back down on the floor by her bed and looked up at him.

He turned back over and gazed down at her, trailing his hand down to stroke her cheek. "So what is it then?"

She smiled, leaning her head into his hand. "The Colossus of Rhodes was a giant brass statue of a Greek god," she explained. "It was one of the Seven Wonders of the World."

"Wow." Finn blinked. "You realize there's no way I can live up to that."

Rachel giggled. "That's okay. Nobody can. And I'd rather not share that particular wonder with the world anyway."

"Uh..."

She kissed his hand. "Go to sleep, Finn. You need to rest and let your back heal."

The next time she woke it was more gradual, feeling a light touch stroking her hair. She stayed still to enjoy Finn's caress for a little longer, though she couldn't suppress her smile.

Hey," she heard him breathe. She blinked her eyes open and smiled into the face that was looking down at her.

"Hi there," she answered.

"Guess this is real, huh? You're really here."

She giggled. "You're really here," she said. "This is my room."

"Oh yeah," he said, chuckling. "Guess that's why I'm not being chivalrous and giving you my bed. Seems rude to take yours though."

"You need it more. Bed rest, remember?"

"Right."

"How's your back?"

"Beautiful," he whispered, then shook his head, embarrassed. "I mean, my back feels okay right now."

"Good."

"Sorry I woke you up."

"That's okay. It's the best way I've been woken up in a long time," she said, then blushed.

"Give me a chance and I'll do a lot better." Finn reddened in turn. "Man, that was cheesy."

Rachel smiled. "Provocative, even." She got up and moved to join him on the bed, snuggling into him as he relaxed again. She was so small, there was room for both of them if they cuddled up close, and she loved the feel of him next to her. "Soon, I think," she told him, thinking of her dreams, and gave him a kiss. Her lips lingered on his. Now that they'd broken through all the misunderstandings, and she could finally kiss him, she found she couldn't get enough. And as for how he was clearly reacting to her, despite the muscle relaxants – "Heal up, show your coach what you can do... and then you can show me."

"I like the sound of that," he mumbled. He cracked an eye open. "Uh... you're talking about different things right?"

"Oh yes."

"Good. 'Cause I wouldn't do things like that for Coach. S'not that kind of team anyway."

"Glad to hear it." She gave him a light kiss, and they dozed off together.

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