Sorry for the wait guys, hope it was worth it.


It had been a week since the events at the farmhouse went down, since they captured the bad guy or girl. Once they got Lauren into custody she finally agreed to open up when a plea bargain was danced in front of her. The real Anthony Mancini died when he was 16 in a car crash that was the result of a turf war between the Mancini Family and the Tedeshi family. Nick Mancini could not let it be known that the only heir to the family was killed in that accident, it put them in danger. Rocco Ziceses was a lifetime friend of Nick Mancini and his daughter Lauren was a tough chick. She was the same age as Anthony and had a much thicker criminal background. The family made arrangements for her to start doing business for the family as Anthony Mancini. It sounded like some sort of crazy scheme and Rachel wasn't sure they were getting the entire story but it was over. That was a good thing, shutting down Lauren, shut down almost the entire drug trade in Western Ohio.

This was it, their last night in the house, their last night in Lima, the last time she would ever be Mrs. Finn Monticello. The last time she would be Mrs. Anyone. Tomorrow they left to go back to Washington and their lives, real lives, at the Bureau. Rachel wasn't naive, she knew how the world worked. Whatever was happening between her and Finn here in Lima might not translate to the real world. They had spent the weekend dismantling the house, the bureau had told them to take whatever they wanted or decide where it should go. Whatever was left would be sold with the house. Sold with the house, the words kind of cut Rachel like a knife. She knew all of this was make believe, that this was never her home but instead a place she was staying but after 4 months it felt like home. She was attached to this stupid house and it was driving her nuts, because she had a real house she had worked her butt off for back in Washington. The house was down to it's bare bones, most of the furniture they had donated to the Salvation Army along with pretty much everything in the kitchen. The appliances were staying as was the bedroom furniture since they were still using it. Finn insisted on keeping the air conditioners, even though neither of them needed them, he said that the hassle of the whole process made them invaluable.

While Rachel worked diligently on the second floor Finn had taken care of the downstairs, packaging up the electronics and other various items and getting the furniture to the Salvation Army. Rachel made her way across the smooth wooden floor of the empty dining room to the kitchen counter where Finn had piled up what was left of the knick knacks. Rachel wasn't sure she needed any of it, she had her fair share of glass vases, candy dishes and fine art at her apartment in Washington. Knick Knacks that were of much better taste might she add, she wasn't sure who designed this place but their sense of style was somewhat lacking. She ran her fingers over the crystal clover shaped candy dish and smiled. It had sat in the middle of their coffee table and put up with their abuse, she remembered the first time Puck knocked it onto the oriental rug beneath the table and smiled. That was the night they had gotten high together, it was a fun night, she was keeping the dish. She picked up one of the ugly brown glass vases that had flanked the library table in the dining room, spinning it around in her hand for a few minutes before setting it back down on the countertop next to a stack of framed pictures. Finn had collected all the manipulated pictures from around the house and piled them up on the end of the countertop. She was sure that he had no idea what to do with them, heck she didn't really know what to do with them. She picked up the one of the top, it was one of her, Puck and him standing on some beach, the water turquoise blue behind them. The sun was setting, Finn had his arm around Rachel's waste, huge smiles on all their faces. The memories of some vacation she never took, with people she didn't really know forever caught frozen in time. She wondered for a minute where exactly the Bureau had gotten the picture of her in the bikini to begin with. She put the picture down and picked up another, running her finger over the dusty glass and smiled, smiled because she wished these memories were real. But they were not real, none of this was real though she had let herself believe it was. For four months she was Finn Hudson's wife and once they got past their differences they grew close. They had shared their lives with each other, their emotions, their bed but it was work, it had always been work, had it not? Now they were going back to Washington and Rachel had no idea what would happen but she couldn't get her hopes up to high. Rachel had been broken by a man once before, she could not let that happen again. She had to guard her heart, at all costs.


Finn shifted uncomfortably in the blue plastic chair trying not to disturb Puck as he slept. He was going to spend one more night in the hospital but he was leaving first thing in the morning to head back to Washington. He had spent the last 4 days in the hospital and Finn had to admit that he looked a million times better. He had come in with 6 broken ribs, a shattered wrist and a body full of cuts, scrapes and bruises. They had immediately pumped him full of IV antibiotics and pain meds as they rushed him to the OR to fix his wrist. 7 hours, 1 plate and 6 screws later they had saved his wrist. Thankfully, it was not his shooting arm and the injury, once fully healed should not effect his work. Within a few hours of his surgery the simple plaster cast was covered nurses signatures, even as shitty as he looked and felt he was still Puck. Finn was happy to see the flirting though, it would have worried him if Puck let pretty nurses go without a little flirting. Puck was no where near fully healed, he still had surgeries on his wrist and his ribs ached every time he moved but they were flying back to Washington in the morning and Puck was excited. Truth be told, Puck just wanted to go home and back to his life. Now more than ever he realized how lucky he was that he was able to get his life together and get on the right side of the law. This could have been his life or worse, he might have a life.

"Shouldn't you be with your wife" Puck's voice was even and strong, he hadn't actually been sleeping.

"Well she's not really my wife anymore is she?" Finn asked his eyes skimming the newspaper in his lap.

"She could be" Puck's response brought Finn's eyes away from the paper.

They looked at each other in a comfortable silence for a while. Puck's stare at Finn was unwavering, so much so it was unnerving. Finn didn't want to talk about Rachel though, about what would happen once they returned to Washington, because he didn't know. He knew he loved Rachel, more so was in love with her, but could the relationship they started here stand up to the real world. Finn had a sketchy past with women and while he had told Rachel all about it would she still want him when she was faced with the sea of ex-girlfriends and one night stands he had piling up in Washington. Finn knew he could be faithful to one woman, that he possessed that ability, but the idea was scary because he had never given his heart so totally to one person.

"Finn" Puck pushed.

"I don't want to talk about Rachel" Finn said turning his eyes back to the paper.

"Finn" Puck pushed further.

"I said I don't want to talk about it" Finn threw the paper on the floor.

"Do not make me drag my broken ass from this bed and kick yours"

"WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?" Finn didn't mean to raise his voice.

"Why do I care? Because I'm your friend, because for the first time in your life you have the chance to do something great with your life. To be someone great for someone else" Puck began.

Finn looked up at his friend and saw that he was being serious. Puck never invested himself in Finn's relationships, ever. For Puck to do so, for him to take that leap, it meant he was invested. Why shouldn't Puck be invested? Finn was invested and Rachel, well Rachel was Rachel and he knew that Puck had a strong bond with her as well.

"Do you love her?" Puck pressed

"Of course I love her" Finn said as if Puck as just insulted him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure, I know what love is, what it feels like. I'm not completely nieve" Finn was getting angry.

"Then what is the problem, let's talk about this."

"I'd rather not"

"What is your problem?" it was Puck's turn to snap.

The two men stared at each other for a while before Finn took a deep breath and finally spoke what he felt.

"What if I mess it up" Finn's voice was low.

"That's what your worried about?"

"Yeah" Finn said honestly.

"You won't, not if you want to make it work. Finn there are moments in your life that make you and set the course of who your going to be. Sometimes they are little, subtle moments and sometimes they are big moments you never even saw coming, like this one. No one asks for their life to change, but it does, every moment our lives are changing, we are changing. It's what you do afterwards that counts, it's then that you find out who you really are."

Finn considered Pucks words for a moment before speaking

"When did you become so fucking philosophical dude?"


"Here you are" Finns voice sounded loud against the quiet night.

It had taken him a while to find her when he came home to a dark house. After speaking to Puck at the hospital earlier he drove around for what felt like hours trying to clear his head and figure out his thoughts. Rachel was laying on her back in the middle of the backyard her hair sprawled out around her. The grass swelled up around her small frame, her eyes trained on the sky. She had her left leg bent at the knee, her bare foot braced against the soft earth below her, her toes tangled in the dewy grass. She didn't move when he spoke but instead turned her face in his direction. There was no light except for the soft glow of the crescent moon, the stars twinkling against the inky black sky. It was a clear night and a bit cool for late summer but it made for perfect star gazing. Finn sat lightly on the grass beside her, lowering himself onto his back. He looked up in the same direction she was silently looking beside him. It was a beautiful sky, full of bright twinkling stars.

"When I was little I could only imagine what a sky like this would look like." Her voice finally broke the silence "I mean I saw pictures and my Dad's took me to the planetarium at the Science Museum, but I never really saw it. Growing up in New York, the city was always bathed in neon lights of Broadway and Times Square. I never knew I was missing anything, I couldn't appreciate just how beautiful our world is." she paused for a minute before continuing.

"Then my father's took me out on Long Island to visit friends one summer. I believe I was 8 or 9 at the time, I remember laying on the beach and just looking up. It was the first time I had been out of the city, that we had ventured from our concrete jungle. I had never seen anything more beautiful or natural in my life. It was like the whole world had burst into this brilliant scene above me. I remember the way the lightening bugs lit up the sand dunes and the soft crash of the waves against the beach. It was the first time I really saw the world. It's easy to take for granted the simple things in life Finn."

"Rachel" he began reaching through the grass for her hand.

She took it tentatively but didn't turn her eyes away from the stars above her. Her breath was steady and relaxing, the only sound in the silent night. A soft breeze went over them and Rachel felt goose bumps raise on her arms.

"After that night I promised myself I would appreciate the good things in life, the simple and beautiful way our world works when you take away all the glitz. But then, as I grew up, I lost that appreciation. My world became about bright lights, big cities and personal gain. Then I came here and I was brought back to that beach on Long Island."

She turned her head towards him in the grass and he looked at her reaching his free hand out to push back her bangs. She smiled at him simply and turned back to the sky.

"But I found something far more beautiful here than just a brilliant sky, I found what it's like to truly love someone, I found you here Finn/"

The silence between them was comfortable and welcoming. Rachel had no qualms about telling Finn exactly how she felt, it was important for him to see the way she viewed the world, the passion that she attacked everything she did with. Even if that passion would scare him away.

"I love you too Rachel" he said softly.

"Why?""What?" he asked shock thick in his voice.

"Why? Out of all the women, why me? Why now?"

"You can't explain these things Rachel. Never ask why I love you, just accept that I do, and that I will for the rest of my life."

Finn sat up suddenly, his abrupt movement shocking Rachel. She sat up slowly and looked in his direction. It was an epiphany moment for Finn, it finally all made sense, it finally all hit him. He had spoke without thinking and spoke the truth at that, he did want Rachel, forever.

"Did you just say the rest of your life?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

Finn reached into his pocket and pulled out the small blue box he had picked up just hours earlier. He spun it around in his hands, contemplating what he was about to do. He hadn't planned on doing this so soon but he had found the perfect antique princess cut diamond in a little pawn shop and it screamed Rachel. He didn't know when or if he was going to use it but the ring was perfect. He figured he would wait for some big dramatic moment when they were back in Washington, take her out to some expensive dinner and get down on one knee and ask her but this, this beautiful night, was perfect. Finn got up on his knees in front of her taking her small hands in his.

"Rachel you have changed me in the best possible ways. You have helped me to realize just how important love and companionship truly are. I love the way you see the world, the way to attack it and make it your own. Your brilliant, tough and so full of life and I love that about you. Rachel Barbra Berry, will you do me the extreme honor of becoming my wife?"

Tears streamed down Rachel's face as he pulled her petite fingers towards him and slipped the ring onto her finger. The light of the moon reflected off it in soft blue light, her hands trembled against his. She could not believe this was happening, she though for sure that he would end their relationship once they were headed back to Washington, not because he didn't love her, but because he was Finn Hudson and he didn't commit to anyone or anything except himself. He pulled her into his strong embrace, she could smell hints of shampoo and cologne against her noise. The smell was so completely Finn, a smell that she would never be able to erase from her memory even years from now. Finn pulled back from her and looked down into her eyes with a look of yearning and that was when she realized she hadn't answered his question, a question that was still lingering in the air.

"Yes" she yelled "Yes I will marry you Finn"

Finn laughed at her enthusiasm and embraced her again. This spunky, tiny little woman was going to be his bride, his wife, forever. He was finally going to make the big commitment and it did not scare him at all.

"You ever had sex under the stars Finn?" she asked a seductive air to her voice.

"No" he laughed amazed by her spunky attitude.

"You mean I can actually be your first at something?"

"Yeah" he laughed "I guess you can".

She squealed in excitement and pushed him down backwards into the grass. He flung his hands out to brace himself as he fell into the grass. She collapsed on top of him, her lips pressing hard against his, her body tight to his as well.

"Wait" he said against her lips

"What?" She giggled running her hand down his frame and cupping his growing erection.

"There is one more thing I wanted to ask you" his mind was going somewhere else as her fingers moved against his jean covered erection.

"Okay" she said applying more pressure with her fingers.

He groaned in approval and involuntarily bucked his hips into her hand. He was rock hard and so ready but he needed to finish the conversation.

"I want to get married here, tomorrow"

"WHAT?" she gasped sitting straight up on his lap, her center pressing down onto his painful erection.

"Lima brought us together, shaped us into who we are as a couple. I want to leave here the same way we came into it, with you as my wife".

"Okay" she smiled "I will marry you tomorrow"

He smiled and reached up grabbing her waist and pulling her to him as he rolled them over. He used his arms to brace himself on either side of her face and looked down at her.

"This is crazy" Rachel laughed wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Yeah" he agreed "but so completely right."

"I have a question for you now?" she smiled.

"Shoot" he brushed his lips against hers.

"Will you fuck me already?"

"Oh…. You'd like that wouldn't you Mrs. Hudson" he responded crashing his lips into hers.

She moaned against his mouth with a smile "say it again."

"Mrs. Hudson"