I got so many reviews from the last chapter, and I really tried to get it written sooner, but I just got moved into my new house, so my parents came and visited me. And then, I had to go to work, so I know it's a little late, but I hope you'll forgive me. I tried to make it a little longer than all the others! I hope that makes up it! Thank you so much for all of your guys' support! It is so wonderful to read your reviews! It means the world to me!

Thank you guys so much for following this story! All the reviews/favorites/alerts got my creative juices a flowing. I hope this just as good! Please leave a review; it makes me want to update quicker. I hope you enjoy this!

Now, on to what you really want! :)

Chapter 11

Revelations

Rachel awoke bright and early. She had been sleeping so well lately. Last night, she had dreamed of the night her and Finn had gone to the bridge a couple of weeks ago. That night had been so perfect. Being with Finn like she had was just something she had always hoped for but never really expected to happen, so for it to actually come true was a treat.

After their intimateness on the bridge in the park, they had brought it back to Finn's house and continued late into the evening where it got quite heated between them. She hadn't been with a man in that way for years, and it was so invigorating to finally feel that way. And to have it with Finn was all the more special. She was getting her hopes up that this was going to work. It had to. They were meant to be together. It was practically written in the stars.

Smiling to herself, she got dressed for work. She just couldn't stop smiling. She was just too happy. It had been so long since she had felt this way that she didn't know what to do with herself. She had moved into Finn's spacious house, and was already used to the routine they had started. Finn was always up before she was, as he wanted to be done with work early enough so that he could pick Ryder up from school since Rachel would be the one getting him there, and she worked a little later at the studio.

After going and waking up Ryder, she went and got the mail. She sorted through the bills and found a letter that didn't have a return address. Curious, she threw the rest of the mail onto the kitchen table as she opened the cupboard and grabbed a box of cereal for Ryder, setting it on the table. She quickly ripped open the envelope and opened the letter. It was typed, not hand written; it read:

You can run. But, you cannot hide.

Rachel paled. How had they found her so soon? It had only been a a couple of months since she had left New York. She had changed their names. It couldn't be that simple. There was just no way that they were here; it had to be a bluff. She tore the letter in half and threw it in the trash can, burying it under other trash to hide it from Finn. She finished getting Ryder's breakfast ready as she noticed that she was shaking. What were they going to do to her? To Ryder? To Finn?

~.~

Finn held the door open for Ryder to walk in ahead of him. Ryder had vocal lessons with his mom today, and Finn liked to be there to watch and observe as his two most precious people in the world sang. It was the most gorgeous melody he had ever heard. Days like today were ones he looked forward to the most. Sometimes, at the end of the session, Finn would join in and sing with them. As a family.

Yes, it was finally starting to feel like a family. They did things every other family did. Ate suppers together, watched TV together, helped Ryder do homework together, read him bed time stories, and played together after supper. The only thing missing was the ring on Rachel's finger, but he wasn't ready for that leap. Not quite. He wanted to give them a little time to make sure this was going to work.

There hadn't been any problems thus far, but it had only been two months. He wanted to do this right. He wanted to take it slow and easy. He couldn't afford to go too quickly and scare her away. He didn't think he'd be able to handle it if she left and took Ryder with her. He had grown too attached to the both of them, that he got depressed just thinking about how empty his life would be without them.

Just being able to live under the same roof as Rachel meant the world to him. He hadn't felt the touch of a woman so intimately in such a long time. He relished their time together. Most nights, he wished the sun would never rise so that he could spend the whole night with her and her alone. She was so beautiful, and he knew that he would never think less of her. She was just too special.

Rachel was at her desk, furiously typing on her computer. Something was off; Finn sensed that right away. She didn't look as happy as she normally did, and when she looked up at them, Finn would have sworn there was a hint of fear in her eyes. He frowned, unsure if it was because of something he did, but thinking about it, he couldn't think of anything he might have done to offend and upset her.

"Is everything alright?" Finn asked her as they approached her desk. He leaned up against Jesse's desk, which was vacant. Probably performing with some kids or something,

She quickly closed the tab she had been in and turned to face them, putting on a fake smile as she looked at Ryder, unable to meet Finn's gaze. "Ya, just finishing booking some clients for next week," she lied, hoping that Finn wouldn't question her further about the matter. She turned to Ryder. "Ready?" she asked him.

Ryder nodded enthusiastically. "Ya!" he cried as he hurried into the studio.

"Start your warm-up exercises!" Rachel called after him with a smile, shaking her head. He really enjoyed these days, and so did she. She hoped that by working with Ryder, it would take her mind off of her little problem, even for a few minutes.

"Okay!" Ryder called out after he disappeared beyond the door, as it closed behind him silently. Rachel could hear the faint sounds of him warming up as he was told. He sounded so good. He'd be better than she was, of that she was sure.

Rachel started to go in after Ryder, but Finn grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a light kiss on the lips. Rachel clung to him, deepening the kiss even further. She hadn't kissed him like this since she had run after graduation. Finn knew automatically that something was wrong, and if he didn't know any better, he thought she was going to run away. What had her so scared? Finn got caught up in the kiss as he held her back as though he would never let go. He wouldn't let her run. Not this time.

As she pulled away, he grabbed her and hugged her. "You're scaring me, Rachel. What's going on?" he asked, taking in her scent, burning it into his very being. She meant so much to him. Didn't she have any idea how much it hurt him to see her this way. Why didn't she think she could trust him with the answers?

Rachel went rigid as though she wasn't sure what was going on. Finally, she answered, "There is just some stuff from New York that has gone unfinished." Her arms worked their way up and down along his back, feeling the lean muscles beneath his skin. How she would miss doing this.

Rachel knew she would have to run. There just wasn't any way around it. She couldn't let Finn get caught up in all of this because of her. This was her mess. She would sort it out on her own. She knew that it was better that she left Finn now and have her heart feel as though it was ripped right out of her chest rather than have him hurt because of the mess that was following her.

Finn knew better than to trust those words with her staying here. "Rachel, how are we supposed to be together if you are refusing to trust me with what is going on? I know there is something big in New York. Something big that is following you. You won't ever talk about your reasons for wanting to leave the city other than you want to start over, but you won't elaborate on the why."

Tears were welling up in her eyes now. "I think that it would be better if we went our separate ways. I don't want you to get hurt," she told him. "If you get too involved, things won't work out for you," she told him.

Finn's eyes clouded over. "I'm already too involved. I was too involved the moment you introduced Ryder to me. I am not letting you leave and take my son away from me. I'm not losing either of you again. I can't take it. We will get through this. Together," Finn assured her, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

Rachel shook her head. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me," she said, fighting back the sobs that wanted to take over her body, but she wouldn't let them overtake her. She needed to come across as strong so that Finn would let her go.

It was Finn's turn to shake his head. "I'd be more hurt if you left me." And he meant it. He'd rather die than watch Ryder and Rachel leave him again.

Rachel looked up at him, not so sure of what to do now. The uncertainty was clear in her misty eyes. She wanted someone to just tell her what to do. Why couldn't life just be simple for a change? Why did it always have to be so complicated? "My past from New York is so messed up, Finn. I think you would leave no matter what I told you."

Finn frowned. "There is no way that I would leave. You have my word." He had both hands on either shoulder now for emphasis. "Tell me."

She nodded. "I will tonight. I'll have Jesse watch Ryder."

~.~

Finn didn't want to prod her, but he really wished she would start explaining already. They had been sitting there for seven minutes and twenty one seconds now without her saying a word. She was probably just trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to say. This couldn't be easy for her.

"About four months ago, I was walking home from work," Rachel finally said, interrupting Finn's thoughts. He immediately turned his attention to her. "It was raining pretty hard out at the time, and I ducked down an alley, a short cut to get to the apartment. I had taken the route numerous times before, so I knew where I was going. But, as I got farther and farther down the alley, I knew something was wrong…."

Flashback

The rain stung Rachel's face as she hurried along the alley, sticking close to the sides of the buildings to keep dry. Turning the corner into the back alley, she heard voices and stopped in her tracks as she saw a big, burley man take a swing at another guy. Two more guys stood around and watched the fight unfold. All were the same build. Tall, heavier set, muscular, and bald. Rachel recognized that they were probably from a gang.

She stayed as close to the building as she could to shroud herself in the shadows and remain unseen. But, as the three men began beating the man to death, Rachel was struggling with herself on whether or not she should say something. It would be the right thing, but she was risking her life, and she had to think about Ryder, who was awaiting her return. So, Rachel stayed quiet as she watched the blood splatter on the walls.

She started to cry, and the men heard her sobs. They came running towards her, and she took off running, but she tripped and fell, allowing them to close the distance between them. They got a good look at her face and she theirs. Getting to her feet, she ran down the alley and disappeared into the sea of people all trying to out run the rain. She ran all the way to the apartment, slamming the door closed behind her.

"Miss? What is it?" her housekeeper asked her, rushing to Rachel's side. A look of concern would not leave her face as she lead Rachel into the living room, where she plopped down on the couch. The housekeeper hurried into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. "Drink this, you'll feel better."

Rachel took the water, but didn't drink from it. She was in shock. Reaching for her purse, she realized that it was not on her shoulder as it should have been. She had dropped it in the alley when she had fallen and failed to grab it when she ran away.

End Flashback

"They had my ID. They knew who I was, and sent a few people after me to silence me, but I had been lucky enough to be out and just coming back when I spotted them. I packed up my things and ran," Rachel explained.

"Why didn't you just go to the police?" Finn asked after a moment. The story wasn't fully sinking in. This was only something that he saw in movies or read in books. How could this be real?

Rachel shook my head. "I tried, but they dismissed me as being paranoid. My description of the men was too standard, and they couldn't do anything without proof. The body and blood had been cleaned up, so they thought I was making up some wild story. It's a gang, and they are more than thorough. I need to keep running, or they will catch up with me and do who knows what!"

Finn shook his head. "We need to figure this out together. We will go down to the police station come Monday morning. Nothing is open on the weekends here. It sounds like this gang is taking their time, so I don't think they'll do anything. I'll close the shop and stay with you and Ryder both days at all times. I'm not letting anything happen to you," Finn told her, his voice so certain. He meant every word.

There ya go! The explanation behind what happened in New York! What does the weekend have in store for this little family?

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