The rest of Dance Hall Daze were okay with having a hopefully appreciative and interested observer come to their practice, even intrigued at getting to make a connection with a professional songwriter. So on Monday afternoon after setup, Finn welcomed Alex Stepanopoulos into the apartment and introduced him to the others.

"I've heard you a couple of times before," Alex said as he settled down in a chair, facing the band. "Thank you for letting me listen; otherwise pretend that I'm not here."

"You do know that some of this stuff is still a little rough, right?" Daryl said. "We've still got a lot of practice time left before the gig, and we expanded our repertoire for it."

"All the better for me to hear it," Alex replied. "Not that it's rough, but that it's new. And I'm used to hearing things in the rough, and knowing what they'll be like when they're done; that's part of what I do." He chuckled. "Just don't get concerned if I start taking notes, they won't be about you, I have to write down my ideas whenever I get them."

"Okay." They deliberately turned away from him and started with the pieces they had decided to work on that day, some big ensemble numbers that were critical and a few spotlight pieces that were giving them difficulty.

Finn by this time had happily knocked off "Spellbound", but was having trouble with his first-set ballad, "When I'm With You." Maintaining good sustained vocal tone was difficult while drumming, especially with the high pitch of the song. Being seated didn't help, either, since he couldn't support his voice as well as he would standing.

"I don't know, guys, I've sung higher before, just... I'm not feeling it right, or something," Finn offered by way of apology. "It's there but it's not flowing."

"Maybe you're not quite connecting with it right," Scott offered.

"Don't sweat it, it'll come with more practice," Daryl put in. "I've had trouble with singing while playing myself, once I get the playing automatic the singing becomes easier too."

"I hope so," Finn answered. There was just so much to concentrate on, and the whole thing turned into pieces instead of an entire song, at least once the drumming heated up. "It's hard to feel it when I'm trying to do so much at once." As he usually did for love songs, he tried to imagine Rachel there as audience, but his attention was being pulled in too many ways for that to work.

"Maybe you need someone to sing it to," Irene suggested, apparently on the same idea. "See if Rachel can come."

"More guests?" Scott grumbled. "Though if it would help, okay."

Finn would certainly like Rachel to come, he wanted her to hear him, but - "if she helps now, then what?" he said. "It's not like I can sing it to her at the show."

"Just to help you figure out how to do it," Irene said. "Though I'm surprised you're not jumping at the chance to have her here."

Finn smiled sheepishly. "Overcompensating." Though Rachel was really busy too, and he did want to do his own thing and be a success. Still, this would be minor, he hoped. "I'll ask her."

"Cool," Daryl said. "Then let's move on."

Next was "The Power of Love", the Huey Lewis song; it was high-energy and good for all of them, and it was at the fine-tuning stages. Finn still had his doubts about the transition from the ballad, it seemed like they hadn't slowed things down for long enough, but they already knew his thoughts on that so he kept them to himself this time. And it was a good piece for Alex to hear, he figured, very typical of the era.

They continued, going over a few more troubled spotlight numbers. In particular Scott was hesitant about his singing on the Cars song, though Finn thought he sounded fine. They also put a lot of work into the set-enders and encore finale.

"They're great but could always be better," Finn pushed when the others were disinclined to go through some of them again. "We'll be tired, but we have to be able to end big anyway, so we have to be into them enough so that we get energy from them instead of needing it."

"Okay, champ, we know," Scott answered. "Count us in."

Eventually they were done for the day. Alex hung back as the others left.

"Thank you again for having me here," Alex said, putting his notes away. "I've had a few ideas that I think have promise and a lot more that might, there's nothing like something like this to stimulate my brain."

"Live music, huh?"

"It usually does it for me, but these days most bands are playing a different style, one not so helpful currently. It's interesting to see the band dynamic in rehearsal, as well; it's quite different from the average show or orchestra rehearsal, more collaborative, nobody in charge."

Finn was privately glad that the worse sides of the band's "dynamic" hadn't been in evidence, they were all pulling together now. "It's a good group," he commented.

"Do you all do other work? Without the band, I mean. Freelance, most musicians do."

"Yeah, sure. Scott and I do, anyway. Daryl and Irene don't do as much."

"Well it is the rhythm section I am most interested in. That's why I lingered, I don't want to cause any trouble between you."

"They know we do other stuff, it's not a problem."

"That's good." Alex paused, Finn waiting to see if he was going anywhere with this. It was intriguing, whatever it was. "I was wondering if you might be open to a little job opportunity," Alex said. "You and your bassist, Scott." Finn motioned the guy to sit down, sitting in the other chair himself. Alex went on. "For the music I'm working on now, since it's meant to be played with a band, it's difficult to get good feedback of what it would sound like together," he explained. "I can play the lead parts, no problem, and I could certainly record versions of all of the parts for playback, but it lacks the energy of live music. So I need a rhythm section."

"To play the stuff - the music you write?" Wouldn't there be real musicians for that?

"To test out things that I'm composing, yes. I've had some trouble getting the underpinnings of the songs worked out, sometimes, and having musicians used to playing that type of music would be a big help. And get some feedback, at my request, of course they would still be entirely my compositions."

"Of course," Finn echoed, using the phrase to bluff while his brain scrambled to think about what was being offered. So the guy wanted someone to play his music, basically, not really like jamming but more like needing to test it out. Maybe while he got more ideas, like today, or he needed to hear it to really get a feel for what was working and what didn't. He could relate to that.

"So would you be interested? There's a standard rate of pay for rehearsal, I would go better than that since this wouldn't be tied to a performance."

"I'm sure we can work out something," Finn said, knowing that he needed to give some response, at least to show he was interested. And it sounded good, he knew Scott had been looking for more work too and they played well together. Plus this guy seemed cool, hopefully okay to work for. "After the fourteenth, though. We're full-out on preparing for this gig between now and then."

"Of course. I wouldn't want to disrupt the band you've got for something likely short-term. You're certainly putting considerable effort into your work here."

"I want to be really well prepared, this show is a big deal for the band," Finn explained. "It's longer than we've ever done. And it's extra tough for me," he admitted, "getting ready for a Valentine's show, since Rachel can't come to the gig."

"She can't?" Alex was initially surprised, but the penny soon dropped. "Oh. Yes, I suppose that's an issue, the bar. Still, you have to be professional, and you would have known about it when you got together."

"When we... what?" That didn't make sense.

"I don't mean to interfere, of course. But certainly you must have known that this time last year, Rachel was still in high school. That's simply the situation you have."

Finn couldn't stop himself from snorting at this statement; clearly gossip about them at NYADA hadn't gotten as far as Alex, since he still thought Finn was older. At Alex's quizzical look, he couldn't hold it in any longer, and threw back his head and laughed. Maybe that wasn't professional, okay of course it wasn't, but it was too funny for him to hold back, especially with the way Alex had put it.

Alex raised an eyebrow, looking disconcerted, and waited. Finally Finn's laughter subsided. "Was I being funny? It wasn't intentional, I assure you."

"I know," Finn said, still chuckling. He didn't want to be rude, but he couldn't help himself. "Just - of course I know Rachel was in high school this time last year. I was there." He paused, but saw it still hadn't registered on the older man. "I was in high school then too. I've known Rachel for three-and-a-half years."

"You -" Alex stared, then looked Finn over. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen. How old did you think I was?" Hopefully this wouldn't be an issue for the work.

"The same as the others, I suppose, maybe twenty-four or twenty-three." Alex snorted at his own error, and Finn was glad to see that he found it funny too. "How long have you been with the band?"

"Just since October. They had a previous drummer who quit."

"Well you fit right in." Alex shook his head at himself, chuckling. "So that's why you don't drink in bars."

"I don't get in the door unless I'm playing, and I have to promise to respect their license. It's weird, but I don't have time to hang out there anyway, it just sucks that we keep playing wet-only gigs because it means Rachel can't come." He sighed. "Still, it is what it is."

"Well I have to say I had no idea you were so young yourself."

"Guess I look older, maybe my height or something."

"That and your attitude. You certainly act like you know what you're doing. Though from what I've heard, so does she."

The difference is, Rachel does know what she's doing, Finn thought. Still, this guy would have seen a lot of others, maybe there is something right about how I'm going about this. The band had listened to him when he'd pushed, mostly; maybe that was because he was right or at least going about it the right way. "Just trying to get things to work." And if he acted all serious and professional about it, well, he'd had a good role model for that in Rachel. She had always acted sort of "mini-adult".

"That sounds good. So, talk to your bassist and we'll set something up for after your gig, all right?"

"Yes, definitely. Thanks for coming."

"Thank you for having me."

Finn called Rachel that night, telling her about Alex's visit and this new offer. Her reaction was extremely enthusiastic, even for her, though privately he thought she was reading too much into it, he had to be more cautious about getting his hopes up. But it was a great opportunity, and it was even right at NYADA so maybe he would get to see her more. He'd already talked to Scott, who was thrilled.

Rachel's Wednesday afternoons ended at four, so although she couldn't stay late due to her class early Thursday morning, she was happy to come out and be there for him to sing to. "I look forward to being serenaded," she said, and he could hear her beaming smile in her voice.

"I should do that anyway. And I hope Irene's right and I won't suck when I sing it for you."

"I've never heard you suck, I don't think you can. And before you claim that I'm biased, let me insist that I would not have been won over by a sucky serenade in the first place."

"If you say so."

"I do."

So a little after five on Wednesday Rachel arrived, and they finished the song they were working on to give Finn a chance to try his ballad again.

Unlike Alex, Rachel was definitely audience, sitting front and center with her eyes intent on Finn. He looked back at her, then down at his drums, hearing the keyboard intro swell; as Daryl started on acoustic, Finn started to sing: (*)

I never needed love like I need you
And I never lived for nobody, but I live for you
Oooh, babe, lost in love is what I feel when I'm with you

Finn's voice rose, feeling more comfortable with the song, the pitch somehow easier to manage.

Maybe it's the way you touch me with the warmth of a sun
Maybe it's the way you smile, I come all undone
Oooh, babe, lost in love is what I feel when I'm with you

He'd felt the truth in the words before, but with her there they meant so much more. Daryl switched guitars, getting the electric going. Finn felt his energy flowing faster, and started to drum.

Baby, oh I get chills when I'm with you
Baby, my world stands still when I'm with you
When I'm with you

He stole a glance at Rachel, buoyed by the look of rapture on her face. She was feeling this all right, feeling him as he sang. And this was easier, so much easier; Daryl had it backwards, it was the singing part that was automatic now. Singing to Rachel was as natural as breathing.

I never cared for nobody like I care for you
And I never wanted to share the things I want to share with you
Oooh, babe, lost in love is what I feel when I'm with you

Baby, oh I get chills when I'm with you
Baby, my world stands still when I'm with you
When I'm with you

Slow singing while drumming, notes held steady despite his movement. It all felt right.

Baby, oh I get chills when I'm with you
Baby, my world stands still when I'm with you
When I'm with you
When I'm with you
When I'm with you...

Finn held the high note, admittedly lower than in the original, his eyes closed. Once he faded it out, he opened them to look straight at Rachel. Her mouth was agape, her heart in her eyes.

"That was beautiful, Finn. Truly, there are no words." She stood, and he got up from the drums and walked over to her.

"Good thing we don't always need them," he said softly.

She leaned up to give him a light kiss. "I feel properly serenaded, thank you."

"That's a buck right there," Scott commented, referring to the band's PDA fines. "You kiss, you pay."

"It's my place," Finn protested, annoyed at the disturbance of their moment. Though they did need to get back to band practice.

"Doesn't matter, we haven't finished practice yet," Daryl insisted. "We pay too when we're at our place for a band meeting, as long as the meeting's still on."

"Fine," Finn muttered, and dug a dollar out.

"Exactly," Scott said, accepting the money with a smirk. Finn rolled his eyes, but relaxed, accepting the interference. They really did have to practice.

Rachel looked on, bemused. "What can I get for five?" she asked.

Finn blinked at this, but was amused by her offer. "Get?" he said, pretending to be offended. "I'm not some sort of lips for hire, you know. My kissing booth days are over." The others chortled at this, but he ignored them.

"Oh, I know," Rachel answered, licking her lips and looking flirtatiously up at him. "For five I'd want more."

"Stop winding your boy up, he'll go broke," Scott said as Finn reddened. "And we have three songs left to work on."

Rachel groaned. "I wish I could stay," she told Finn. "I can listen a little longer, but I'll have to leave around six."

"It's okay. I'm glad you made it, and the song did feel a lot better. Hopefully I know how to do it now." He gave her a guilty look, pulling her aside. "I'm sorry to get you to come all the way out here just for that."

"Don't be sorry, I would travel a lot farther to hear you sing to me," Rachel answered. "And I honed a lot of my skills singing to you. We're a team."

"We are." He squeezed her arm and gave her a smile, then went back to his drums. Rachel sat down again.

"Do you guys ever record any of this?" she asked before they could move on. She looked serious.

Finn exchanged glances with the others, who seemed to want him to deal with this. Probably figuring (rightly) that he'd be pissed if any of them were rude to Rachel, especially now. "I don't think there's much of a market for that, Rach," he told her. "Not for covers, even with our regulars."

"Don't sell yourself short," she answered. "Though I was thinking more for PR. Well," she continued, blushing a little, "I was thinking mostly that I wanted a copy of that one myself, but every performer needs a demo reel."

When she put it like that, it made sense. Finn looked at the others again.

"It could help us get more wedding gigs," Irene said. "We did a couple last summer, but if we could get this show recorded it would give good examples to anyone who's interested."

With Irene sold, it didn't take much for Daryl to nod. "I'll talk to Adam Smith, see if we can," he said, using his name for the manager of The Invisible Hand. "Thanks for the suggestion."

Rachel was clearly delighted to be listened to, and she settled back into her chair while the band got back to work.

Six o'clock came, and the band took a brief break. Finn took Rachel's hand and led her into his room. "There's no way my bedroom is public," he called back to the others. The anti-PDA thing was more to keep a handle on Daryl and Irene during setup; he wasn't going to let it stop him from giving Rachel a proper goodbye. They were so busy leading up to the gig, he had no idea if he'd see her again before their Valentine's date the weekend after it, and that was ten days away.

"He's got you there, Scott," Daryl commented.

The door closed, and Finn pulled Rachel up for a deep kiss. When they finished she was breathless.

"Ooh, that was easily worth five," she gasped. "Call me tonight, okay?"

"Count on it." He escorted her to the apartment door, ignoring the reactions of his bandmates.

The week passed. At Daryl's suggestion, Finn moved his drums over to Daryl and Irene's place on Staten, much to the relief of Finn's neighbors; the band was practicing all they could. Between that and his shifts at the diner, Finn was barely at home for long enough to sleep and occasionally do his part on the cleaning and cooking duties around the apartment.

The setlist had been expanded slightly. When he arrived with his drums on Thursday, Finn saw a small "x2" scribbled next to "The Power of Love". He asked Daryl about it, curious. Surely they weren't going to sing something twice in a row, that made no sense.

"It's the other one, the power ballad," Daryl explained. "Like you said, that spot needs another one, and Irene's been practicing." He chuckled. "We can make something of the name being the same, I'll do a talk bit between them. That's what brought the song to mind." He looked at Finn, who was still startled by it. "Is that okay? The drums are pretty basic, but you'll need to practice them enough since it's right after one of your big numbers."

Finn thought about it, and though it was a surprise since he'd thought the setlist was fixed, the way Daryl described it seemed just fine. They did need that number there. Except for one thing.

"Um, okay, I guess, but -" he leaned forward, his voice lowered. "Are you sure she's up to it? Nothing against Irene, she sings great, but it's a real power number and I've never heard her do anything like that before."

"I don't think it's going to be a problem. We'll know ahead of time if it is and we can take it out easily, since it's an addition."

Finn shrugged. "Okay then."

By Tuesday Rachel was restless. Edgy. She talked to Finn every night on the phone, and they sang a little to each other, mindful of what they knew now was an important part of their bond, but it wasn't enough. She stayed late in the dance studio, doing her best to work herself into exhaustion, but she had to stop before she became clumsy enough to risk injury. She arrived home mid-evening.

Kurt was there, and she ate as they caught up on some overdue tv-watching, but her mind wasn't on it. Rachel missed her man. She knew Finn was extremely busy, and she was so proud of what he was doing, the band had never done anything so big and she knew he was instrumental in that no matter how much he downplayed it, but still, she missed him. She squirmed a little in her place on the couch, wishing he was there. To hear his voice for real, to see his smile and the warmth of his eyes, to smell the scent of his skin and hair, taste his mouth, feel him under her fingertips and have his deft strong hands roam her body...

She snapped back to reality to find Kurt staring at her. "Ah, what was that again?" she asked.

"I asked you what you thought of the new love interest. Frankly I find him contrived, it's obviously just to generate tension."

"I, um... yes." She had no idea what Kurt was talking about, she'd even forgotten what show they had been watching, but agreeing with Kurt about things like that usually wasn't a problem. His instincts for good tv were unerring. The tv was off now, the show over, whatever it had been. "Anything to get viewers even more obsessed." She flashed Kurt a smile, and he seemed to be fooled by her bluff; their exchange could apply to any number of different current series.

"Well I'm going to turn in, they want me there at eight tomorrow and the coffee line is even worse that early. You?"

"I... I think I'm going to go out, actually," Rachel answered. "I'm feeling a little restless. I'll text you if something comes up, but don't worry, get your sleep."

"Okay."

Rachel went to her room and threw a few things into a bag, then left.

She called Finn on her way to the subway; no answer. She left a voice message, hoping he'd get it soon.

When she eventually exited the subway, she found she had a message in return from Finn, timestamped twenty minutes before. He said he was sorry he'd missed her call, that he had just gotten home. "So, tag, I guess," he finished up. "Call me back when you can, if you're not asleep yet. I love you."

She was relieved when he answered her call on the second ring. "Hi baby, I'm sorry I missed your call," she said sweetly. "I was on the subway."

"Oh, you went out?"

"Yes." She reached an intersection and stopped, not wanting to cross while she was distracted talking. "I miss you. How was rehearsal?"

"It was great, everything's really come together. I'm still a little worried about that power ballad of Irene's, but the others all swear there won't be any problems, so I trust them. She's holding back, I guess, saving her voice or something."

"That's good. I know you're going to kill it on Thursday."

"Thanks." He sighed. "I miss you too, so much, God this has been the busiest I've been since the week before Nationals. It's going to be worth it though. And we will have an amazing weekend, I promise."

"I can't wait." And she meant that literally. "I'm sorry but I have to go do something right now, I'll talk to you again in a few minutes okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm still unwinding. Love you."

"Love you too."

A few minutes later, having sent a quick text to Kurt, Rachel exited the stairwell, walked down the hall, and knocked.

"Hold on," she heard his voice, and in a few seconds the door opened.

Finn stood there looking down at her, startled and looking a bit disheveled, as if he had just removed his shirt and had to throw it back on to answer the door. She gave him a big smile. "Hello there," she said.

His cheeks dimpled, his own grin spreading. "Hello there yourself. I'm not dreaming right? 'Cause I was just wishing you were here, and here you are."

"No, it's really me." She paused. "Can I come in?"

"Oh." Finn belatedly realized he was standing in the doorway, and moved back. "Yes, of course. Sorry."

"Don't be." Rachel entered, giving Finn a quick kiss, and put down the bag she was carrying. It caught Finn's attention, and he looked at it for a moment, then back to her.

"So when you said you had to 'go do something'..."

"I meant you." She gave him a very intimate look, and her voice was sultry. "I've really missed you."

"And you say I'm awake..." Finn paused. "So is this a booty call?" he asked, clearly trying to look innocent and failing.

Rachel bristled at that term, it sounded so demeaning. However... I packed an overnight bag and traveled for an hour on the subway for the express purpose of visiting my boyfriend, she told herself. Visiting. When I know he's tired and going to bed. Face it, I'm here to have him screw my brains out because I miss him. She'd appreciated Finn's willingness to be publicly humiliated for her sake, she could put up with demeaning terminology for his. Especially since she had to admit it was accurate, at least within the context of an established relationship. She nodded her head and gave her reply in her most matter-of-fact tone. "Yes."

He looked incredulous, then slowly started to grin again. "Yes?"

"Yes this is a booty call. As I understand the term."

Finn chuckled. "Which is?"

"Clearly there is insufficient time for us to have more of a date, considering how busy we both are and especially all of the work you're putting into preparing for your show. However, it would be a mistake for us to simply let our physical relationship languish and its needs remain unmet when we do still have enough time to see to them. Once we are past this point, having this as well as our other dates will also enable us to keep the alone time and intimacy we need while still being more sociable."

Finn's chuckles had now developed into a full-blown laugh, and she fixed him with a stare.

"Sorry," he said as he calmed down. "It's just one of the weirdest hot things ever, you giving completely logical reasons for why you showed up at my door for a booty call." He shook his head, still chuckling. "It's new but it's still so you."

"I'm not wrong." She didn't want their relationship to devolve into something merely sexual, but they certainly needed to include it, however they could.

"I never said you were."

"But of course it's all built on the fact that I need you and love you and miss you."

He dimpled. "Same here. C'mere," he beckoned, and once she stepped into his arms he gave her a tender kiss. "I am very glad you came."

"That's up to you." She gave him a wink.

Finn flushed. "I'm not used to this side of you yet," he said, trying to explain away his reaction. "You talking like that, I like it, but it's new."

"A lot of theater jokes are rather off-color, and there's a lot of innuendo. I've adjusted a little." She kissed him again. "And I like talking to you like this, it's fun and makes me feel sort of sexy."

"You are way more than 'sort of' sexy, babe." Rachel preened at Finn's compliment, then he yawned. "So I guess I'd better get on that and give you what you came for. What you're here for." He picked her bag up and led her to his room.

Rachel paused, hanging back. "You know I appreciate you for a lot more than that," she said, not wanting him to think she was only after his body. "I love you so very much, Finn."

He turned to give her an encouraging smile. "I know. And I love you too, more than anything. And," he said as he closed his door behind them, "I also love being close to you and how much you want me, so..." Their mouths melded, followed shortly by their bodies.

After, as they lay holding each other close, he whispered in her ear: "Thank you for coming."

She giggled softly. "You too."

A few minutes later Finn went to clean up, and they both re-dressed themelves for sleep, Rachel in the old t-shirt of Finn's that she favored. Finn slid back into bed and wrapped himself around her.

"This is a really great idea," he murmured. "Can I do it too?"

"Show up at my door to spend the night?"

"Yeah."

"Just as long as you accept that nothing might happen, like I did."

Finn snorted. "What, you thought I might say 'no'? Yeah right, like that would happen."

Rachel yawned. "I accepted that it might. You might be too tired, or not feel like it. You might even have stayed over at Daryl and Irene's, since you're going back there tomorrow anyway."

"No, I wouldn't have slept well there." He chuckled. "Nowhere near as well, it turns out." His voice was quiet, sleepy; both were slowing down. "But yeah, I can accept that you might be too tired or whatever. As long as I can still stay."

"I might not be able to do certain things sometimes, you know."

"What?" But it only took a second for him to figure it out. "Oh yeah, that. It's not going to show up on the weekend, is it?"

"No, it ended a week and a half ago. Between weekends."

"Lucky us."

"Very lucky."

"But yeah, okay, I can accept that you might be tired, or unable, or just not into it. And I wouldn't, if you had a big performance coming up."

"Why not?" Rachel was puzzled. "You wouldn't tire me out that much."

"I know you wouldn't want anything to go wrong, like how I couldn't kiss you for the week before your NYADA audition."

Rachel hated the reminder of that, and even worse to know how well he remembered it. "Which was clearly very stupid," she said. "Kissing you is a privilege that I treasure."

"I didn't mean it like that." Finn nuzzled her hair. "I didn't take it as you not wanting to, honest."

Rachel pulled his arms more tightly around her. "It was stupid anyway. It's not like I've caught much from you before, by the end I certainly wasn't going to develop anything in less than a day, and it turned out to be counterproductive."

"Counterproductive?"

"Kissing you always makes me feel so much better. Not just... aroused, but confident. More myself." She turned her head back for a lingering kiss, then gave a contented sigh. "Happy. I deprived myself of one of my favorite things and pretended I could do it all on my own."

"Can't you?" They continued to talk quietly.

"Not really. I used to think so, but I was wrong, and anyway that was a long time ago. I know better now. I'm stronger with you, I knew that then and I shouldn't have ignored it."

"So I should have kissed you?"

"I should have let you. A few minutes making out with you before my audition and I probably wouldn't have choked." And maybe you wouldn't have thought NYADA was more important to me than you are, she thought but didn't say. Or that I didn't need you. He had denied thinking that and she believed him, but it was certainly an example of how she'd taken him for granted, thinking that she could just focus on herself and he'd always be there. Leading up to her audition she had executed her old plan like she had still been the same girl with the same go-to song who only depended on herself, no wonder she hadn't really felt like she was into the performance. It hadn't been the real her. "Okay that's probably an exaggeration," she continued, "but my point stands."

"Sounds like a case of the if-onlies," Finn commented, stroking her arms. "You got in, we're here now, and anyway it's done. Can't wish it back."

"That's true." She gave him another kiss. "You're very wise."

"Just learning from experience."

"Perhaps it was for the best anyway, not the no kissing thing but that I choked. Even a good audition wouldn't have been a sure thing, and instead Madame Tibideaux got to see me at my absolute best."

Finn nodded. "You had an awesome solo at Nationals. And you fed off that audience."

"Actually I was thinking about the part after that, when I was singing with you. Of course it also helped that she saw me do both, there are many people who have just one great solo and nothing else, but you always bring out the best in me. The audience too, but definitely you." She was relaxed, sleepy, but still put it very decisively. He needed to know this.

"Yeah?" Finn adjusted himself behind her, cradling her body with his so they could sleep.

"Mm-hmm." She snuggled closer, both of them starting to drift off. "Thank you," she murmured.

"What for?"

"Coming to New York."

"Thank you for wanting me to," he whispered back. "I like it here."

They awoke shortly before seven, Finn pressed tightly against Rachel, his arousal obvious. She pulled away, but only enough so she could safely turn over, and Finn was very happy to find that Rachel was still quite aggressively amorous that morning.

They lay there together afterwards as their euphoria slowly ebbed.

"When do you need to get going so you can make it to class?" Finn asked, glancing at the clock.

"No later than eight... mmm, I do not want to get up."

Finn chuckled. "What happened to the girl who used to call me at seven in the morning with a whole head full of ideas she had to talk about?"

"She wasn't in bed with you at the time." Rachel sighed, snuggling close. "This is so cozy and your apartment is cold."

"So I could have slept in as long as I was sleeping with you."

"Probably." She giggled. "As long as what we just did counts as 'sleeping in'. I've certainly found a much better use for my excess energy, and other ways to express my ideas." She rolled over and stretched, then sat up and reached for her bag. "But tempting as you are, I do need to get to school. I hope you have enough hot water so I can take a quick shower."

"The tank's kind of small, but I won't be showering for a while, I'm going to get some more sleep once you leave. I have to slide my schedule around 'cause of the gig."

"Of course. I'll have to do that too someday, keep later hours," Rachel said. She stood, Finn's shirt hanging down like a dress on her, and shot him a flirtatious look. "I hope I didn't tire you out."

Finn grinned. "Nope, but you can try if you want to."

"I have class."

"I know. And you have to get to school, too."

Rachel giggled again and gave Finn a light kiss.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Rise and shine, Berry, time for your walk of shame," Santana called out.

"This is not a walk of shame," Rachel called back, her attitude suddenly belligerent. She tossed her head and went to the door. "I am far from ashamed." She opened the door, meeting Santana's amused look by gesturing at her bag. "I brought a full change of clothes, and my overnight bag, I resent the suggestion that this is somehow accidental."

"I should have known you would be organized," Santana fired back, her eyebrows expressive. "But if it's not a walk of shame, what is it?"

"Obviously this is a booty call. Was. We're finished with that part. This time." Rachel picked up her bag and stalked over to the bathroom, presumably intent on her shower.

Finn barely heard the last part of that, he had buried his head into his pillow to muffle his laughter.

"Okay, even I have to admit that your girl is all kinds of adorable when she gets like that," Santana commented, and a few moments later they heard the shower start.

Finn grinned appreciatively, sitting up. Yes, Rachel was completely adorable, and so appealing. He looked over at the closed bathroom door, speculating. Behind that door was his naked and wet girlfriend, star of his dreams.

"No," Santana said firmly. "No way."

"No what?"

"I saw that look. No you are not having sex in part of the communal space of our apartment, even if I wasn't here, and all the more since I am. While I am impressed by your getting more adventurous, you need to indulge in that someplace where I don't live."

"But the shower is like it's self-cleaning," Finn protested. Maybe not now, but he still wanted to keep shower sex as an option, sometime when they were alone. They'd done it once back in late spring, in Rachel's bathroom at her house, and it had been completely hot even despite some issues with their height difference that they'd had to work around. Besides, it's not like he didn't jack off in there, and Santana knew that even though of course they never mentioned it.

"Like hell it is," Santana scoffed. "And even if it's your month to clean the bathroom, including the shower, which you had better be doing regularly, still no. And I'm next in the shower, you can give her your hot water but you're not giving away mine." Santana was smiling, but he knew she was serious about her restrictions.

One fantasy at a time, he told himself. Just having Rachel show up out of the blue like that had been amazing, even better that she'd proposed nights like that to be a regular part of what they did together. And she had a point that they needed to stay connected, even when they were busy.

"Fine," Finn muttered. Though we could do it sometime anyway, it's not like she would know... He looked over at his roommate, surprised as usual by just how much energy Santana had first thing in the morning. "How is it that you come in late and still manage to be the first one up?" he asked, just making conversation; his mind was still full of Rachel.

"Aside from my lack of anyone to keep me in bed? Clean living, of course." Santana deadpanned, though Finn could see there was an edge to the first part. Santana had been on a few dates with different girls, but nothing seemed to have progressed, and even without her talking about it Finn knew she was still haunted by her breakup with Brittany.

"Hey." He shot her a look of concern, but she brushed it off. "Thank you, San," he said seriously. "I wouldn't have any of this if you hadn't talked sense into me, so - thank you. And you know I'd help you with anything I could."

"I know." A shadow passed over her face, but she shook it off and gave him a tight smile. "Don't worry, I'll collect."

* "When I'm With You", as performed by Sheriff, written by Arnold Lanni.

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