Rachel frowned as she approached the Hudson-Hummel household. She and Finn were supposed to be hanging out that afternoon and she'd agreed with him the day of the charity performance that she'd get to his at around 1. Normally this would all be alright but she hadn't heard from Finn since he'd dropped her off after the concert two days before.

He'd happily kissed her goodbye and told her that he'd call her when he got home. He hadn't called.

Rachel hadn't heard from Kurt either since the same day and Mercedes confirmed that he'd gone radio silent as well. Puck told her that he hadn't been online to play Call of Duty and a quick call to Sean confirmed that he'd missed their weekly meet up.

Rachel was worried but she also felt like she shouldn't be there. She just had an odd sort of feeling that perhaps she should go home and wait for Finn to call.

As she stood on the doorstep contemplating this, the door swung open to reveal a very tired looking Kurt. "Rachel?" He asked, frowning slightly at the sight of her. He was dressed in his pajamas despite it being the middle of the day and his eyes were red, still filled with water.

"Um, Finn and I had plans?" She said, more of a question then a statement and it was as if something clicked in Kurt's mind. He sighed heavily and stepped outside, shutting the door beside him.

"I'm assuming he didn't tell you then. When we got back from the concert, Carole and Dad weren't here. They were at the hospital. Carole's mother had a heart attack and she didn't make it through the night."

Rachel's eyes widened and everything slid into place in her mind. "I'm so sorry, how's Carole?"

"As well as can be expected I guess. She got up and dressed this morning which is more than can be said for Finn. He's just lying there on his bed, staring at the ceiling. We've all tried talking to him but he just doesn't reply." Kurt sighed again and Rachel could tell that this was weighing on his mind heavily.

The door swung open again and Burt was standing there, a perplexed look on his face. "There you are Kurt, oh, hello Rachel."

"I was thinking maybe Rachel could try talking to Finn?" Kurt suggested, looking hopefully at his dad who nodded, smiling slightly at the girl in front of him.

"I think if anyone will get anywhere, it'll be Rachel. Come in." Burt stepped aside and let the two teenagers into the house. Peeking into the living room, Rachel saw Carole sat on the sofa. She was watching the TV but she didn't really seem to be watching it; it was obvious that her mind was somewhere else.

At Kurt's small push, she made her way up the stairs and towards Finn's room. The door was open, as if he didn't care who saw him but when Rachel did see him, her heart broke a little.

He was curled into a ball on his bed and his shoulders were shaking. He was crying. Rachel tentatively entered the room, sinking down onto the bed by his head.

She reached out and softly stroked a hand over his short brown hair. Finn rolled around, a confused look on his reddened face. "R-Rach?"

"Hi baby." She smiled sadly, continuing to run her nimble fingers through his soft hair.

"What are you doing here?" He sniffed, looking up at her.

"Kurt told me what happened. He also told me that you haven't moved for two days." She sighed, raising an eyebrow but not in a mean way. She decided against mentioning the fact that they had plans, not wanting him to feel guilty; he was already feeling bad enough.

"I-I..." Finn stuttered, his caramel eyes filling with tears.

"Shh, shh, it's okay." Rachel moved closer, pulling his head onto her lap. He turned his head into her stomach and cried, his tears leaking through the material of her dress. His lanky arms clasped around her waist, grasping desperately at the back of the dress. "Just let it out."

He shuddered and sniffled for at least half an hour before his grip loosened and he moved away from her slightly. Slowly, he sat up with his arms still around her waist. With strength he didn't realize he possessed, he pulled her sharply into his lap and held her close, burying his head in her neck. He roughly planted kisses onto her neck, his grip on her was tight.

Lifting his head, Finn smashed his lips down on Rachel's and she gladly reciprocated. Finn loved her, she knew that and so she poured the love she felt for him back into his kiss. And that was also why she didn't fight it when he roughly pushed her back into the bed.

Afterwards, Finn rolled into his back, huffing and puffing. He let out a loud gasp and turned back to her. He pulled Rachel into his arms with a soft care that he hadn't possessed a few moments before.
"I'm so sorry baby, I wasn't thinking." He sighed, kissing her long brown hair over and over. "I love you so much."

"I love you too baby." Rachel smiled, leaning her head softly into his shoulder.

"I should have been gentler, I was far too rough with you. You're too special to be treated like some sort of whore. Baby, I love you so much. You're so beautiful and for some reason, you let me love you. I cannot be more grateful that you let me do that. I love you to the moon and back, to goddamn Pluto and back Rachel. I'm so sorry. God, I'm such an idiot!" Finn sighed, lifting her head so that she could see the tears running down his face.

"Finn! Stop it! You're not an idiot, far from it. I love you so much and you're hurting. When you're hurting, I'm here for you. That's what I'm for and it wasn't as if it wasn't enjoyable for me." She held his face in her hands and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "Now, tell me about your grandmother."
"She was amazing. I remember trips to her house as a child. She was always smiling and there was always so much food; biscuits, sandwiches, cakes. She had this journal which she was always writing something or other in. Funny things that me or my cousins would come out with or recipes that she just made up on the spot." Finn smiled sadly as he thought of his late grandmother.

"She sounds like a remarkable woman." Rachel smiled, continuing to stroke his cheek.

"She was. I just, I miss her so much." He sniffled, pulling her into his lap.

"You know that's alright, of course it's alright." She held him tightly, leaning up to kiss his hair.

"The f-funeral is next week. Will you come with me? I need you there." Finn looked at her desperately and she nodded her head.

"Of course I will."

The next week passed quickly. Rachel spent most of her time at Finn's house; the grieving boy needed some motivation to keep going every so often.

The day of the funeral, Rachel woke early and dressed in the black dress she kept in her wardrobe for these unfortunate moments. It was lace and fell to her knees. She pulled on a simple pair of black heels and a black cardigan before heading quickly to Finn's house. She pulled up at the same time as another car filled with teenaged girls. She assumed that these were Finn's cousins, she knew that he was the only boy in a female dominant family. Climbing out of the car, she entered the house before they did. Finn and Kurt were in the kitchen, both dressed smartly. Finn held a locket in his hands and tears were streaming down his face while Kurt rubbed his back. The smaller boy caught Rachel's eye as she entered the room and a look of relief passed over his face. Rachel quickly made her way over and took over from Kurt. Finn seemed to notice the change and turned around. With a sad smile he pulled Rachel down into his lap, seeking comfort from her embrace which she gladly gave. Voices travelled through the house from the hallway.

"It's so good to see you Aunt Carole. I'm so sorry." A girl's voice came first and Carole answered.

"It's just a pity about the circumstances. Come in, Finn's in the kitchen." The mother spoke and soon enough, the click of heels sounded along the hallway.

Rachel made to move as the girls entered but Finn held her in his lap, refusing to let her up. Carole sent her a sad smile and reached out, squeezing her hand. Rachel found it sort of odd, she felt that she should be comforting Carole, not the other way around.

"Finn, say hi to your cousins." Carole instructed when Finn made no move to greet the girls.

"Hi Susan, Jill, Jane." Finn said quietly, still talking into Rachel's shoulder.

"Hi Finn. You must be Rachel?" Susan, the eldest smiled, shaking Rachel's hand.

The funeral was a nice way to say goodbye to a wonderful woman. Finn held Rachel's hand the entire time and hid his tears in her shoulder when he cried. Kurt was there for Rachel when it got slightly too much for her and the girl was grateful to her best friend. Finn's cousins cried from the moment they arrived at the church to the moment he left and they found support it each other, their hands linked in a line. Other members of Finn's family made up the room. Aunts and uncles and the lot. Carole was almost radio silent the entire time. Her hand clasped Burt's tightly and she spoke only to greet her siblings who hugged her tightly.

As they drove back to the house, Finn still had his arms wrapped around Rachel's waist and she looked down at his hair, her fingers running through it. There was one thing that she knew, she loved this boy. She was going to be there for him like he had been for her so many times.