Author's Note: Thanks for all of the amazing reviews last chapter. You guys are fantastic! The song used in this chapter is "Faithfully" by Journey. The chapter title comes from "Love Remains the Same" by Gavin Rossdale.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

"Coach Finn, Coach Finn! I need your help!"

Finn knelt down next to the little boy and took the football from him. He patiently explained how to toss the ball properly, and the little boy nodded his head. After another moment, Finn encouraged him to throw the ball. The boy nodded his head and then tossed the ball, beaming when it soared to his teammate.

"Thanks, Coach Finn!" he exclaimed as he hugged the tall man around the legs. Finn chuckled and patted his head. He looked over his shoulder then and found Rachel watching him. With a wide grin forming on his face, he sent her a wink. Rachel blew him a kiss in return, and he pretended to catch it.

"It's nice to see him smile like that again," Beiste observed.

A grin that matched Finn's spread across Rachel's lips. "It really is."

"You know…" Beiste shook her head. "The two of you always amazed me. It was a high school love, you know? You and Finn. But I don't think I've ever seen a couple love each other as much as you two do." She looked out, where Finn was now directing the kids in a small game. "He was not the brightest boy at times. The two of you hurt each other repeatedly, frankly."

Rachel winced, but she nodded her head in agreement. She and Finn had hurt each other over and over again in high school. But they always managed to get past it, and each time was better than the last. Rachel was really hoping that this was the time that was going to last beyond all the others… forever, hopefully. She found herself thinking about it more and more often. And in her heart, she knew that it was.

Beiste continued speaking. "But you were both in high school. I've had yet to meet a boy in high school who wasn't completely stupid and didn't think with the wrong head." Rachel laughed at that comment, and Beiste smiled. "It's true. And you were insecure about every aspect of your relationship. But high school is all about navigating through that and finding yourself. And by the end of your senior year, both of you had finally found yourselves. Now you're a Broadway star with a Tony award and Finn is going to be teacher, and you're together again."

"We're together again," Rachel repeated. They were, and it was beautiful. It was as if everything had finally fallen into place. She did believe that she and Finn were meant to be, but she didn't think that destiny had anything to do with it. They were just made for each other in every way possible.

Beiste looked over at her. "Five years ago, did you think that this was where you were going to end up?"

"Not really," Rachel admitted. "But I had always hoped."

"It has been too long since we've had a girl's night, my darling diva," Kurt said. He held the carton of vegan ice cream out towards her, and Rachel dipped her spoon into it. "I've missed this."

Finn and Blaine were off watching a game with Burt somewhere. Kurt and Rachel had retreated back to the Berry house and decided to have a night in, complete with all of their favorite musicals, snacks, and facials. Mercedes and Sam were visiting his parents for the night, but they would be back when Tina and Mike arrived the next day.

"It's true," Rachel agreed. "We haven't done this since before we left New York."

"Gossiping about boys and singing along to our favorite movies," Kurt said. He nudged Rachel in the side playfully. "And it's been so long since you've had a boy to gossip about!"

"That's hardly fair, Kurt. I was busy with Wicked and—"

"—and you were still completely and totally hung up on my brother and just didn't want to admit it to yourself." He grinned at her. "It's okay, Rachel. I understand."

Rachel's cheeks flushed. "Kurt."

"What?" Kurt looked unapologetic. "I can finally say everything I've been thinking about for the past five years. It's not like it wasn't true, Rachel. You never completely let go of Finn, no matter how hard you tried. The first time the two of you sang together, you gave him your whole heart and you never got it back."

Rachel looked down into the ice cream carton. It was true. She never did get her heart back from Finn Hudson, no matter how hard she had tried. He had a firm grip on it, and the tether that connected them was too strong. Maybe it was crazy to feel that way, especially given how young they were. But sometimes, there were certain things that you just knew. Kurt Hummel was the most fashionable man in New York City. Santana Lopez was fiercely loyal, no matter what. Rachel Berry was going to be on Broadway. Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry would love each other forever. It was just one of those things.

"Sometimes, back in high school… I wondered if I was really ready to marry Finn," Rachel admitted quietly. "I wanted to. That wasn't the problem. We were just so young, then. I was constantly afraid that I was going to ruin it. I was terrified that I wasn't going to be a good wife, or something like that. But it's different, now. I love him so much, and now we've…" She trailed off, biting her lip in thought.

"You're grown up," Kurt finished. The same thing had happened between him and Blaine. They had a chance to grow up, find out who they were without the other. It hadn't been easy at first, but it was that much better now.

"We are. We know what we want, we have our dreams, and now we know that we're not going to get in the way of that."

"That's what worried Finn the most, you know. He was worried that he was going to stand in the way of your dreams."

Rachel shook her head vehemently. "He wouldn't have, despite what he and everyone else might have thought. I'm confident that I still would have ended up on Broadway and still would have won my Tony if Finn and I had been together in New York. But I love him differently, now. It's almost like I love him… more. That my heart can't really contain it, I love him so much." She closed her eyes briefly. "My daddy said something to me a few days ago. He said that real love was sacrificing everything to make sure that the other person is happy, and believing that you'll find your way back to each other."

Kurt reached for Rachel's hand and squeezed it. "That sounds about right. You know, Rachel, I don't think you ever stopped believing, either."

"I don't think I ever really did," Rachel said quietly. She smiled then, a full Rachel Berry beam. "I've always known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Finn, but it's almost like I can taste it now. It practically feels tangible. Every time I imagine my future, it's with Finn."

Kurt grinned at her. This was exactly what he had been hoping to hear. "With little Finns and Rachels running around?"

Rachel didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes," she said simply. She wanted the pretty wedding, the house, the yard, the kids… she wanted it all. And, more importantly, she knew that she could have it all. Her career, her friends, her family, her love… all of it. If there was one thing that Rachel had learned over the last five years and two months, it was that if you wanted something, you had to actually go out and get it. "I want it all."

She squeezed Kurt's hand again before she stood up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom, and then I'm going to pop some popcorn. I'll be back in a few minutes." She kissed him on the cheek before she practically danced out of the bedroom, humming a happy tune.

Kurt waited until he was sure she was gone. When her footsteps had fully receded, he scrambled off the bed and over to her jewelry box. Flipping the lid open, he rifled around in it until he found what he was looking for.

With another wide grin, Kurt pulled the necklace bearing Rachel's engagement ring from the box. He tucked in safely into his bag and sent a quick text off to Finn: Mission accomplished.

As soon as Kurt dropped the ring into his brother's hand, he asked, "So when are you going to do it?"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Kurt, you promised me that you wouldn't push this." Brady yipped from his lap, as if to agree with him. Finn smiled and patted the puppy on the head.

Kurt held his hands up. "I'm not pushing it, I promise! I just really want to know when you plan on popping the question—again—so I can have everything ready."

"I don't know, Kurt," Finn said patiently. Kurt had become immediately suspicious when Finn asked if Rachel even still had the ring. And ever since he had asked his brother to snag it from Rachel's room for him, Kurt had been asking him questions non-stop. "I'm not going to do it tomorrow, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh. So next week, then?"

Finn shook his head and dragged a hand through his hair. He wanted to do it right, this time. He wanted to have a plan. He wanted to have a place to go. Obviously, if he was going to propose to Rachel again, he was going to move to New York. Even after all this time, Finn refused to spend the rest of his life in Lima. He knew now that he was meant for so much more than that.

"I still have so much to figure out, Kurt. We haven't really talked about what's going to happen when Rachel has to go back to New York." They had just been enjoying being a relationship again. However, they knew that they had issues to flesh out.

Kurt didn't look particularly troubled by that statement. "You're going to come back with us, obviously," he stated. He spoke as if it was the most simple solution in the world.

Finn only wished it was that easy. "I want to," he said. "There's nothing that I want more. But does she want it?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Trust me when I say that she wants it. But you're not going to believe me until you hear it from her. So I suggest that you ask her. The whole no communication thing doesn't work for the two of you. Just be honest with her."

Finn nodded his head. First, he wanted to be sure that he could go to New York. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out several brochures. Kurt peered down at the top one.

"NYU?" He looked back at his brother. "You applied to NYU?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "I applied to a couple of schools up there. I'm going to finish my degree, and I was hoping to do it in New York."

Kurt squealed and hugged Finn tightly. Laughing, Finn returned the hug. "When do you hear back?" Kurt demanded.

"I should hear within the next week or so, actually," Finn said. "I'll know if I can start this fall semester soon."

"Finn, this is perfect," Kurt said. He put a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be an amazing teacher. And believe me when I say that we want you in New York. All of us do."

Rachel smiled when she saw Finn relaxing peacefully in the hammock in his backyard. His eyes were closed and his face was completely relaxed. He was spread eagle in the hammock, but Rachel knew that she could curl up right beside him.

She carefully climbed into the hammock. The rocking movements caused Finn to wake up, and he opened his eyes before he blinked down sleepily at her. A slow smile spread across his lips, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Hey, baby," he murmured.

That familiar feeling of utter happiness spread through Rachel's chest, to the tips of her fingers and toes. "Hi, Finn," she said. "How was your day?"

"It was good," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Kurt and I hung out for a little while. It was nice."

Rachel was glad that Finn and Kurt were able to spend some time together. She wasn't the only one that Finn hadn't seen in five years, after all. And since they were picking up Tina and Mike from the airport in a few hours, they wouldn't be alone again for a while. She pressed her nose into his chest, inhaling his comforting smell. There wasn't anything specific to it, really. It was just a clean, very Finn-like smell.

"I love you," Rachel said suddenly. She just really wanted him to know that. So much time had been lost between them because of miscommunication. She didn't want that to happen ever again.

Finn gave her that sweet half smile and bent his head to kiss her sweetly. His lips lingered against hers for a long moment. He pulled back and kissed her again before he said, "I love you too, Rach."

Rachel beamed at him and started humming quietly. With each note, her humming got louder until she was singing. "Oh boy, you stand by me."

To Rachel's complete surprise, Finn's voice joined hers. "I'm forever yours, faithfully."

As usual, their voices mingled perfectly together.

Author's Note: So a lot of this chapter was just talking about their feelings and plans. I figured they should finally sing together again, too. :) I hope it cleared up some of the things that they were going through. Thanks for reading!