Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Fox or anything.

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! Please keep them coming, they definitely keep me going xox We see the return of a character in this chapter, and we'll see how that's gonna effect things...

Chapter 24: It Better Be Me

It had been six months that they were together and they were going strong. They had been able to see each other a lot more since Rachel's production went off Broadway and that meant a constant switching between apartments. The couple spent most of their time at Finn's apartment, so it was filled with Rachel's stuff. Finn couldn't help but smile every time he would walk around his apartment and find something that belonged to her. There were pairs of underwear in his drawer, her toothbrush in his bathroom, clothing in his laundry, and even her studded compact on the counter. Everywhere he looked, he could find a piece of her.

He was making breakfast for himself, one morning, and the door flew open. Finn didn't even take his attention away from his task, knowing that there were only two people who knew where he hid his spare keys and one of them always knocked. Obviously, Rachel was here.

"Baby?" said the voice behind him

Finn turned around and faced her with a huge smile on his face. He saw the frown on her face and his smile quickly dropped.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Do you know where my silk blouse is?"

"The red or the skin one?" replied Finn, his frown deepening at the thought of him knowing that. The old Finn would never recognize these things but this new guy that had become was completely and totally whipped.

"The red one," she asked, smirking.

"It's either in the laundry or somewhere in the bedroom."

"The laundry!" she exclaimed, running off to go check.

Finn chuckled, and continued to prepare his breakfast. Not long after, he heard her walking back into the room. He, once again, turned to look at her and smiled as she was buttoning the blouse over her bosom. She closed it and then pulled her hair out, letting the straightened strands fall on her shoulders.

"Looks good! What's the occasion?" asked Finn, noticing the skirt that the blouse was paired with.

"I have a meeting with a director," she grinned, clearly showing the pride she had in her words.

"What for?"

"Well, he is directing a revival of Wicked and he wants to meet about a role," she began, giving Finn that look; the look that said he better know where she's going with it.

"They want you to play Elphaba? That's one of your dream roles!" exclaimed Finn, placing his omelette on a plate, rushing to turn off the oven so he could walk over to her.

"Yeah! Can you believe it?" she squeaked.

Finn walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace, lifting her off her feet. She squeezed him back tightly and then he let her down.

"Congrats, love! You will make an amazing Elphaba," beamed Finn.

"Thank you," she laughed, stealing a glance at the clock, "I need to get going! I have no idea who the director is and I need to make a great first impression.

"He'll love you," Finn began, "Not like I do though, because if he did I'd pummel him," he blurted out after realizing what he said.

"You have nothing to worry about. I have eyes for only one man," she beamed looking up at him.

Finn looked at her confused, "It better be me..." he said, hoping that they didn't have to go through a Puck thing again.

"Of course it is!" she laughed, rolling her eyes at his confusion. Rachel got leaned up and planted a quick peck on his lips, bringing a huge grin to his face as he quickly grabbed her lips to return the kiss. Rachel pulled away, and looked at the clock once more.

"Finn, I'm going to be late! Why is that everything I own is pretty much here? I'm pretty much paying the taxi's their salaries with the amount of times I come here to pick something up," she groaned.

"Then I guess no more sleepovers," teased Finn.

Rachel's eyes sparkled with a mischievous look, and she marched over to the door, "Then no more of this," she declared, shaking her butt at him. Before he even had a chance to react, Rachel closed the door behind her and was gone.

Finn groaned at the image of her beautiful body during their sleepovers and it reminded him of how lucky he was to be with such an amazing girl. Her mention of her belongings all being at his place gave him an idea. Maybe it was time for her to move in? She spent most of her time there anyway, so it wouldn't be too much of a change, except now she would have her own set of keys. Not to mention that he could enjoy some of the more...physical advantages of having her as a roommate.

It would also be the perfect opportunity for him to show her the car. He had already begun payments on it but Finn left it at Matt's dealership. Finn didn't want it anywhere near the apartment until it was paid for to avoid any suspicion from Rachel.

It seemed like everything was falling into place since when he thought about it, that night was the perfect time to ask her to move in. He could take her out for dinner and ask her then. She would be in an amazing mood from her meeting with the director, so it would go perfectly.

Finn couldn't help but grin at how well everything was going for him.

Rachel walked into Sardi's with her stomach in knots, nervous about meeting her new director but mostly about finding out whom it is. She knew almost every director in the city from all the events that she had attended in the past but she didn't even know who the man was. That put so much more pressure on her since this would be the very first impression she would make on him and it needed to be perfect.

She waited in the entrance, not knowing the man's name to give to the hostess. The longer she waited the more anxious she become. It wasn't until a very familiar voice called her name that the anxiety turned into illness; a voice that she hadn't heard in three years. It was Jesse St. James.

"Jesse?" she replied to him calling her name.

"Rachel," he said finally reaching her.

She stood there in shock not knowing what to do. Rachel felt like she was going to throw up. She was hoping with all her heart that this encounter was just a coincidence and that he was not the man she was supposed to meet.

"Jesse? What are you doing here?" she inquired.

"Well, I'm your new director and we have a meeting, do we not?" he answered.

Rachel was just about to excuse herself for a trip to the bathroom but she was already being directed to their table. They were led to a small table near the wall of caricatures that covered it. Rachel could feel herself shaking, her heart pumping quicker and her insides churning. Once they had settled down in their seats, they sat there in silence, neither knowing where to begin.

"I don't need you to audition Rachel. I know the part will be perfect, so it's pretty much yours," began Jesse.

"Why?" she choked out, trying to hold back tears.

The sight of him brought back so many memories causing her fight with herself to not burst out crying. He had broken her and it had taken her so long to finally get over him. It was all thanks to Finn that she knew how to love again, and now seeing him again just reminded her of everything that she had gone through with Jesse and how damaged she was after the breakup.

"Why not? You've wanted this forever, Rachel. Take the opportunity," he responded.

"But-"she attempted to argue with him.

"But nothing. I know we've had a bad past but don't let it get in the way of achieving your dream of playing Elphaba," commanded Jesse.

"Bad past?" she quoted, in disbelief. Is that how he described him tearing her heart out?

"Yes, a bad past. It was years ago. Get over it, Rachel. I have," warned Jesse.

"Get over it..." she mimicked.

"Yes, Rachel. I feel bad about how things ended but that was in the past. Let's keep it there," he replied in practically a growl.

"Jesse," she whispered in almost a plea. How could be behaving this way? He had cared about her at some point. Jesse just seemed so cold.

"Now onto the production, you will need to be at rehearsals five days a week. We will be rehearsing for the next two months and the production will open up shortly after that. I will introduce you to your cast mates next week once auditions are over. Alright?" explained Jesse.

Rachel was flabbergasted. She didn't know what to do. It was her dream to play Elphaba but she didn't know how she could handle working with Jesse; sitting next to him was tearing her apart. Her heart began racing once more and she just needed some air.

"Excuse me," muttered Rachel, getting up and practically sprinting in the direction of the washrooms. Once she reached the bathroom, she simply walked over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. All she could see in the mirror was the broken girl that Jesse had left all those years ago. How was it that only an hour prior to this she was beaming with joy and now she just wanted to burst into tears?

Tears slowly began flowing down her face until she couldn't hold it back anymore and completely broke down. She ignored the looks she was given and just continued unleashing all the pain she was feeling. Luckily, she had put on her waterproof makeup that morning because once she began to get a hold of herself; Rachel glanced at her reflection once more and was disgusted. He wasn't allowed to have this effect on her anymore. Rachel pulled out makeup wipes from her purse and began to clean up any smudging that occurred during her breakdown.

Luckily, the queasiness had disappeared and now she just stood there completely confused on what to do. Should she decline his offer and continue auditioning for other parts or take the opportunity of a lifetime? At this point she was ready to decline his offer after reminding herself of the breakdown she had just had, until a text message appeared on her phone.

I take back what I said. Let's have a sleepover tonight, I'll cook ;) xx

It was a message from Finn. Her heart slowly filled with warmth at the sight of his name on her phone screen. Finn. He was her reason for happiness now. He had reminded her what it means to love again. He had fixed her. She needed to take this job to finally prove to herself that Jesse was out of her life and that it was now Finn's turn.

Sounds perfect, can I come over after my meeting? xox

She typed in her message and sent it. Rachel mustered up the courage to go back out there, and began heading for their table. As she approached it, she took in a deep breath.

"Sorry, phone call," she sleekly lied.

"It's no problem. Where were we?" Jesse pondered out loud, "Oh yes! Does everything sound in order?"

Just as she was about to answer, her phone vibrated in her purse. She pulled it out; even though she knew it was rude and read the message that covered her screen.

Alright, I guess you're worth the wait xoxo

She put her phone back in its place and a huge grin appeared on her face.

"Yes, everything sounds like it's in order, but I will need more details...like salary. To get a girl with big dreams is going to cost you big bucks," she replied proudly.

Finn had spent the day making a special key for Rachel to the apartment; it was pink her favourite color. He had gone grocery shopping for the dinner he was making and he had rented two movies for them to see: Funny Girl for herself and the Die Hard for himself.

As he was unpacking the groceries and placing them into the fridge, he heard a knock on the door. He stopped what he was doing and walked over to the door to see who was paying him a visit. Finn opened it to see Rachel standing there.

"Umm Rachel? Why didn't you just come in?" asked Finn, confused by her actions.

"The door was locked, Finn," she mumbled.

Finn pointed at the welcome mat under their feet, which always covered the spare key. Rachel ignored him and just walked in and plopped on the couch. He decided to not think too much into it and returned to unpacking groceries.

"What do you want for dinner tonight, babe? I bought some chicken, some pasta, some veggie patties and a box of greens," asked Finn.

"Can we order in tonight?' she replied, ignoring his question.

"Well if you want too... but I thought I was cooking tonight?" questioned a puzzled Finn.

"Oh right, well I was kind of feeling like cuddling all night and we can't do that when you're cooking, but if you want to sit down for dinner then I guess veggie patties," she countered.

"Cuddling sounds great, love. I'll call and order us the regular?"

There was no reply from Rachel so Finn walked over to the couch and stood in front of her, and began to watch her. He could see that she had something on her mind since she usually loved watching him cook, she rarely asked for take-in and he could see a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. Not knowing what was going on, Finn took his place next to her and pulled her small body into his large one.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on or do you want me to ask?" asked Finn.

"I went to the meeting with the director," she began.

"Did you not get the part?" interrupted Finn, hoping that hadn't happened.

"No, I did but I met the director," she quietly continued.

"I know that babe...was he a jackass?" he inquired, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

"It was Jesse," muttered Rachel, completely emotionless.

It took Finn a little bit to make the connection, but then he remembered the name. It was the guy who had broken his Rachel. The guy who made her forget how to love after tearing her heart out. Suddenly, Finn could feel his arms aching for a wall to punch. He hadn't punched one since university but he really needed to get some anger out right now. That asshole was going to direct his girl, and he could see how much that hurt her.

"Babe...I...what did you do?"

"What any professional does, I accepted the job and discussed the details of the offer," she choked, holding back tears.

"That's not it, I know it. What happened?"

"I broke down, Finn. I just saw him and broke down," she blurted out, tears beginning to fall.

Finn didn't know what to do. He couldn't think of a way to calm her down so he just pulled her in closer and stroked her hair.

"I don't get it Finn," she blubbered, "After all these years, and it still breaks my heart to see him."

"He was your first love. We never get over them. It's all going to be okay," soothed Finn, still stroking her head gently, placing soft kisses on her forehead.

"I took the job to help get over it. I don't know if I made the right decision," she confessed, as he wiped the tears from under her eyes.

Finn sat there for a minute, thinking of a way to answer her, and it hit him.

"Do you know how strong you are? You got through it once, you can do it again. Show him how strong you are. Go to work and prove to him that he is a piece of shit," advised Finn.

She didn't answer him but instead turned her head and looked him in his eyes.

"I love you Finn Hudson," she declared before crashing her lips onto his. Finn immediately deepened the kiss, brushing his tongue against her bottom lip begging for entrance. She immediately let him in and they began fighting for dominance. He didn't want to pull away but he eventually needed air, and as they separated for air, he answered her declaration.

"I love you too, Rachel Barbara Berry."

Her stunning eyes looked into his again and a smile spread across her face.

"You are part of the reason I took the job,"

"What?" asked Finn, confused by his relevance to the job offer.

"I know that I'm truly happy and in love with you. You're my reason to stay strong. Finn, you fixed me," beamed Rachel at her confession.

Finn just smiled at her and reattached his lips to hers, showing her the way he felt through his actions. Just as they about to begin exploring one another, the doorbell rang.

"The pizza," chuckled Rachel, pulling away from him.

"Damn it! They always have such bad timing," teased Finn as he got up to get the pizza.

He paid the delivery man, thanked him, and jumped back onto the couch with the pizza in hand. His stomach rumbled as he inhaled the smell of the fresh pizza and he gave Rachel a pleading look so that he could dig in. She simply nodded and he grabbed a slice. He watched as Rachel grabbed one herself and began taking small bites compared to his.

As he was eating, he looked over at the kitchen to see if there were any drinks on the counter and he noticed the pink key. Finn had almost completely forgotten about it. He set down his slice and got up to get it. He then quickly rejoined her with a huge grin on his face.

"What's that?" asked Rachel, noticing Finn's hand in a fist shape.

"Well I had a surprise for you," teased Finn.

"When can I see it?" she squeaked in excitement.

"Right now, if you give me a chance to talk," snickered Finn at the excitement she was showing for a surprise.

Rachel made a zipper closing motion along her lips and nodded at him. He couldn't help but chuckle at her actions. She was adorable.

"I've been thinking a lot and I want you to move in," he began, watching Rachel as her eyes widened but she didn't make a sound, "especially after tonight, I know that we truly love each other and I want to be able to wake up to your beautiful face every morning. What do you think?"

She jumped on him and wrapped her arms around him causing him to fall back onto the couch. Just as Rachel was about to attack his lips with her own, Finn pulled her off of him since he still wanted to give her the key.

"I'm guessing that's a yes," said Finn with a nudge, "so here's your key."

He revealed the pink key to her, and she grabbed it out of his hands and examined it. She then got off the couch and walked over and took her purse. Rachel walked back over with it in her hands and once she sat back down, she rummaged through it. Once she found her keychain, she attached it and then showed it to Finn with pride.

"One question, roomie," Rachel stated.

"And that would be?"

"Sharing a bedroom or not?" she asked with a wink as she placed her hand gently on his jean-covered member.

"Definitely sharing a bed," answered Finn, groaning as he lifted her up and carried her into the room.

What's going to happen with Rachel and Jesse? What will happen now that they are roomates?

Please keep reading and reviewing 3

XOXOXOOX

P.S. Don't forget the more reviews I get, the sooner I update :)