I am so incredibly sorry for getting this to you guys so late. I haven't written a word in months. I was just so blocked, but I hope this makes up for it and you guys don't hate me. :D Enjoy!

Santana was right. She'd given Finn plenty of chances. She'd listened to his poor excuses for treating her as if she were nothing. She'd let him mold her into a person she didn't like. A person she never wanted to be again, but she couldn't listen to Cassie's sincere apology. She couldn't go to the woman she loved and kiss her and let everything be okay. But she had to.

Standing beneath the blinking streetlight as honking cabs splashed water from the cold street behind her she knew what needed to be done. She knew what needed to be said. Pulling strength from the sounds of the city behind her she stepped forward, freeing her hands from the confines of her coat pocket to press against the cold metal of the entrance to Cassie's building.

Shuffling past the elevator Rachel went straight for the stairs, taking them two at a time with her impossibly long legs. Gasping for breath and fighting back tears Rachel hurries along the third floor corridor. Straightening her coat, and squaring her shoulders Rachel's hand forms into a fist. As it rises to knock she wonders if she should be doing it. Is Santana really right? Could someone who has hated her for so many years truly be helping her? Is it a trick, a scheme to break her?

"Rachel?"

Rachel's gaze shifted between her fist and the woman she loves. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Rachel reached forward, her hand caressing the other woman's cheek as a tear cascaded down her own and she whispered, "I know." And, unable to wait, captured her lips in a tender kiss, their bodies fitting together immediately.

"Rachel, wait. Rach, come on." Cassie gently pushed the smaller girl away, ignoring the pain in her chest at the loss of her lips.

"What? What is it?" Rachel begged, desperately searching the other woman's eyes for the source of her hesitation.

"I love you, but there's going to be problems. I won't always be open or happy. I'm not used to this, I'm going to need to adjust, and I might say things, but I won't mean them. I need you to know that I love you and that I will always love you, and I need you to know that I'm sorry for every bad thing I have said or will say, but I need you to remember one thing." Cassie smiled and pushed the hair from Rachel's face. "I love you."

Rachel smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I love you too. I don't care about any of that. I just care that we're together. I care that you're mine, and mine forever."

Six Months Later

"Rachel, things have not been easy. I've messed up, and I've said things, but I have also loved you. I have loved you from the beginning and I will love you until the end. Today is the best day of my life, and I will treasure the memory forever. I promise to always love you, to never take you for granted, to be the one to tell you that saying "In your face McKinley" isn't appropriate for you to say when you win your first Tony, and I promise that no matter what I will always be by your side even when you're not talking to preserve your voice and all I want hear is your precious laugh, and I promise to always love your nose."

Rachel giggled as Cassie's speech came to an end. "You were mean to me the moment we met, and I never understood it, but then you asked me out for coffee and I knew. The moment I saw you I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world, and now I get to be with her forever! How exciting is that? I promise to always love you, and to take your advice about my acceptance speech into serious consideration. I promise that we'll always make up, and we'll never go to bed angry. I promise that you'll always be the one for me even when you've gone crazy. I promise to let you forever be the keeper of my heart, and to hold the key to yours hidden away for no one else. I love you."

"Do you, Rachel Berry, take Cassandra July as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do, of course I do!" Rachel grinned as Cassie slipped the ring onto her finger.

"Do you, Cassandra July, take Rachel Berry as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Hell yeah I do!" Both women grinned at each other.

"I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Rachel giggled as Cassie took her in her arms, their lips sliding together in a passionate embrace as cheers erupted around them.