Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This chapter title comes from the song "The Search for Something More" by Antifreeze.

Rachel slowly woke when she felt soft, lingering kisses being placed against her neck. She smiled and pressed her body further back into Finn's as a way to show him that she was awake. She felt him grin against her neck and run a hand down her side.

"I love you," he murmured.

Rachel rolled over in Finn's arms to face him. "I love you too," she said. Scooting forward, she pressed her lips to Finn's and hooked her leg over his hip. When they broke apart, Rachel noticed the slight furrow to Finn's brow. Reaching out, she pressed her thumb against it.

"Finn…"

He sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

She correctly assumed that he was talking about his stepbrother and his family. "Can I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

Rachel bit her lip before speaking. "Maybe you could try just talking to them first." Finn sucked in a tense breath in response. "Or… not," Rachel amended.

"No," Finn said after a long moment. "It's a good idea, Rachel." He gave her a small smile and kissed her gently. "I just don't know if I'm ready for it yet."

Rachel nodded her head and snuggled into his chest, closing her eyes. "Can we just stay here for a little while longer? And then maybe you can make us breakfast."

That got Finn to laugh. "I can make breakfast?"

"Well, you are the masterful chef in this relationship. I have to put you to work somehow, don't I?"

"Speaking of being a masterful chef, I have a meeting with the kitchen staff at about three o'clock. We're completely revamping the menu," Finn said as he pulled Rachel closer. "But I can spare a few hours for my girlfriend."

"You better," Rachel teased.

Finn smiled at her in return. "What do you plan on doing today?"

Rachel glanced down and toyed with the edge of the sheet that was haphazardly draped over their entwined bodies. "I was thinking about visiting my papa today."

"Really?" Finn looked down at Rachel in surprise. When Rachel nodded her head, Finn dropped a kiss to her shoulder. "Tell me what I can do."

Rachel's lips spread into a smile. "You're already doing it. As for visiting my father… I think that I really need to do this on my own. I need to face this and make the most of what time we have left."

"You're so brave," Finn murmured as he played with a loose strand of her hair.

"I don't feel brave," Rachel admitted quietly. She was just dealing with this one day at a time. It was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do, but she was trying. She was so very lucky that she had a great support system in the people around her.

"But you are," Finn told her. "You're the bravest person I know."

Rachel knocked on the door, but then she realized that her father told her not to do it. So she stopped and pushed the door open, smiling when she saw him propped up against the pillows, watching his favorite movie.

"Papa, how many times have you seen Star Wars?" she asked.

Leroy turned to look at his new visitor. He grinned when he saw that it was his daughter and gestured to the chair next to his bed. "Rachela! It's so good to see you! And there's no such thing as watching Star Wars too many times."

"I think so," Rachel said as she took her seat.

"I've watched Star Wars almost as much as you've watched Funny Girl," Leroy pointed out. "So I'd say that we're pretty even."

Rachel laughed. She couldn't help herself. Leroy had actually been the one to introduce Rachel to Funny Girl. Ever since then, she had wanted to be a Broadway star. It was a love that she and Leroy had shared since before she could talk. "Since I'm sitting here watching this movie with you, I'm going to have to bring Funny Girl over. And I'll even sing to it."

Leroy looked at her in surprise. "You'll watch Star Wars with me?"

"If you don't mind."

"And you'll sing when we watch Funny Girl?"

"Only if you sing along with me."

Leroy grinned. "It's a plan, then."

Neither one spoke about how Rachel had suddenly showed up on her own for a visit. Like every parent, Leroy knew what Rachel was thinking without her having to say anything. He knew how difficult this was for her, but he had also known that she was going to come around eventually. He had helped raised Rachel into the woman she was today, so he knew her.

They watched Star Wars and Rachel went down to the cafeteria to get lunch. She brought it up to eat with her father, as he was having some soup. They watched some movie with vampires in it that Leroy loved but Rachel didn't know anything about.

"Papa, this is ridiculous!" Rachel exclaimed about half way through.

Leroy pointed his spoon at the screen. "This is one of the older vampire movies—one of the better ones. It's not like some of that new crap where the vampires are the good guys. This is the real stuff."

"Whatever you say," Rachel said with a laugh. When Leroy turned back to the movie, Rachel dug around in her purse and checked her phone. She smiled when she saw a message from Finn that detailed how well the menu revamp had gone. She sent him a quick text in return (that also invited him over to her house later) and dropped her phone back in her bag.

Leroy hadn't been as distracted as Rachel had thought. He had seen her smiling at her phone and sent her a knowing look. "Is that a text from Mr. Hudson?"

Rachel's cheeks turned pink. "Maybe," she said.

"Rachel, you can't lie to me. Your daddy has told me all about your romance with Finn Hudson."

Rachel gasped and gave her father an affronted look. "It's more than just a romance!"

"Ha, I knew it!" Leroy pointed a finger at Rachel. "You love him, don't you?"

"If you must know, Finn and I have recently shared that we love each other. I'm surprised that Daddy hasn't told you, given that he likes to pop up and surprise us every chance that he gets."

Leroy laughed. "You know that your daddy just means well, princess. He wants to make sure that you're happy. And you really are."

Rachel beamed, and it made Leroy fell at peace to know that his little girl was so happy. It made him feel better to know that Rachel had such a wonderful people to lean on. Leroy didn't worry about her so much when he could see that she had people like Finn Hudson in her life.

"I am," Rachel said. "Papa, I love him so much that I don't even know what to do with myself."

"That's not a bad thing, you know," Leroy pointed out. "Loving someone that much is special, Rachel. It's a beautiful thing and you need to never let that go."

Rachel smiled. "I don't plan on it," she told him. "Finn makes me feel things that I've never felt before and I know that I'll only ever feel them with him. He's special, Papa. I just know it."

"He's good for you," Leroy stated. "And you want to know something else? I think you're good for him, too. Your daddy and I have seen him around town, and we all know how sad he's been. The two of you have something amazing."

"We really do," Rachel agreed. She looked at the clock and saw that visiting hours were just about over. So she stood and reached for her purse before she leaned over and hugged Leroy. She kissed him on the cheek and made sure that he had everything he needed.

"I'll bring Daddy by next time, Papa," Rachel said.

"Bring Finn Hudson, too!" Leroy called after his daughter's retreating figure. "I have some things that I want to say to him!"

That made Rachel stop in her tracks. "Papa, don't you dare!" she exclaimed as she thrust an accusing finger in his direction. "Finn and I are very happy together and you don't need to do anything to scare him away!"

Leroy rolled his eyes at his daughter's dramatics. "I'm not going to scare him away, Rachel. And I doubt that I could do that anyway. Just let me have this moment, okay?"

Rachel sighed. "Fine. But am I at least allowed to warn him?"

"No. That would take all of the fun out of it!"

Finn sighed and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. He was currently sitting in his truck across the street from his parents' house. He'd been in the truck for the past half an hour, just looking at the front door and wondering if he could force himself to go in.

Rachel, as she had been doing since she had returned to Lima, had inspired him to try and at least be in the same room as his stepbrother without leaving. Once he had arrived at the Hudson-Hummel house, however, he had found that it was easier said than done.

Finn wanted things to be okay. He wanted to be able to move on from the pain of his past and be better. But sometimes, it all just hurt too much. The lost dreams, the lack of faith that people in his family had in him… It all just got too be too much sometimes. He had buried himself in his work at the bar and had just lived a life like that since then.

It had been easy to live a life of routine: controlled nights at the bar, doing things that he had discovered he was actually kind of good at all on his own. Cooking, managing the bar—those were things that he found he actually excelled at. It felt good knowing that he was more than just a football player.

But then he had found himself stuck in Lima. He hadn't intended for that to happen, but it did. For the first time in nearly seven years, Finn felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But the time of year and having Kurt return brought all of the old demons up once again.

Suddenly, Finn's passenger door opened and Burt climbed in. Finn honestly wasn't that surprised; he had been expecting Burt to come and talk to him at some point. Even so, Finn couldn't think of anything to say. He just stared at his steering wheel and kept his hands wrapped around it.

"I'm not here to try and talk you into coming inside," Burt said after a long moment. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Finn finally glanced at his stepfather. "Most of the time," he admitted. "But sometimes…"

"I know." Burt nodded his head. "When bad things happen, sometimes the darkness can get to be a lot. But then you find that ray of light…" Burt nudged Finn and smiled, and the younger man smiled in return. "After my wife died, Kurt was my ray of light. And then I met your mom, and you and she became a ray of light, too. Something tells me that Rachel is that person for you."

"She is," Finn said. "She really is."

Burt clapped him on the shoulder. "Take your time, Finn. It's not like Kurt is leaving right away. The two of you have a lot to work through and I doubt that it will get fixed in one trip. But the important thing is that both of you are thinking about trying, and that's more than either of you have done in the past five years."

"It shouldn't be this hard, though. You know? Kurt is supposed to be my brother." Finn dragged a hand through his hair. "We're supposed to be brothers. And you're his father."

"I'm here for you too, you know," Burt pointed out. "I'd never try and replace your father; you know that. But I'm a father-like figure, I suppose. I'm here for you just as much as I'm here for Kurt. We're a family."

Finn finally relaxed enough to smile. "Thanks, Burt."

Burt smiled before he made to get out of the car. "It's going to take time," he repeated. "You've just got to work at it."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! :)