A/N - This is it. The final chapter, the last stand, c'est tout and the end. Again, I'm thanking everyone for all of their support, help, suggestions, reviews, subscriptions, and anything else that contributed to me finishing this beast of a story. In case you're all wondering, yes, I will now be going back to finish TYM. I have it mapped out, just that my muse wouldn't let me work on it much and pushed me to finish this one instead. After TYM is complete, I do have another idea to work on, and if the mood strikes me, perhaps a couple of one-shots, but we'll see.

Disclaimer - See Chapter 1, in necessary.

"They've got to be kidding!" Finn disgustedly declared, ripping off his reading glasses and tossing them and the new script on his bedside table. He leaned back against the headboard and let out a breath of frustration while shaking his head. "Why did Mitch and I hire these writers?"

"Because critically the show was panned for the back half of last season," Rachel reminded him from where she stood in the ensuite bathroom, just finishing removing her makeup. She smiled a bit, then peered out the door and gave him a pointed look. "I told you putting Tim and Quanda back together wouldn't fly. It made no sense for either character, especially after everything that happened between them in the first season."

Finn held up his hands. "Hey, you're preaching to the choir, trust me. That was all Mitch's idea because he thought the other storyline was 'boring'!" Finn used air quotes and then shook his head again. "We spent all last year pushing Tim and Rita together, and in two episodes that Mitch promised would boost ratings we've destroyed any credibility for the characters involved. And we could have done so many things; Tim with a college tutor, or Rita with Barry who was thinking he's not gay but bi, but noooo, the execs wanted another bloody triangle to mimic the first season." He huffed out another loud breath. "This is gonna take forever to fix, and you just know who's gonna have to write those episodes."

She smiled and turned back to the mirror, wiping her hands on the hand towel. "Well, the series is loosely based on your life, Finn. You are the one person who actually could fix it, aren't you?"

"I wrote the first season based loosely on my life, and Mitch's. I was kinda hoping to explore more creative territory this season. I had enough drama in high school." He shook his head again and leafed through the pages, still leaning against the headboard with his legs flat under the sheets. "At least the cheerleading coach isn't such a twisted bitch like ours was. Forcing the kids to choose between activities and thinking about how it'll affect their possible future in college, that part's good. But the relationship stuff…ugh!"

He was ranting, she knew. It was a way for him to release the stress of trying to produce and creatively direct one of the most popular shows in the U.S. right now. She grinned a bit at thinking about how far Finn had come up the ranks as a television producer.

He'd started off earning a degree in broadcasting, then moved into sports production, and somehow forged a strong friendship with another producer there, Mitch Tiller. They had gone out for drinks one night and exchanged old high-school stories, then discovered a common love for singing and performing. Finn recounted his days as male lead in the glee club, and Mitch surprised him by saying he had been the guitar player for his own school's glee club. After enough stories were shared and exchanged, Finn had drunkenly found his way home. He then woke up in the morning to realize (even hung over) that everything needed for a creative new series was right there at his fingertips. With Mitch's help, they quickly sketched in characters for the show and used their shared experiences to map out the first season. Two years later and after a lukewarm reception to the idea, the television studio decided to green light the first ten episodes of their new joint effort, 'Show Choir'.

To say it had been well received by a television audience hungry for anything that wasn't another police drama, medical show or reality series, was an understatement. It had rocketed up to being in the top five shows of the year, and their network had quickly signed them for two more seasons. Finn and Mitch were moved over from producing sports shows to run the new series, and neither had ever looked back.

Finn and Mitch began to differ in their approach starting the second season. Mitch still wanted their characters to follow storylines based on their own experiences, whereas Finn was getting tired of mapping everything around his teenage years. Rachel knew it was mostly because these storylines struck a little too close to home for him, reminding him of decisions and mistakes he'd made that he'd rather forget. She bit down a laugh at wondering how a grown man in his late thirties still got embarrassed by things he'd done as a teenager, but Finn was hard on himself that way.

"Maybe Mitch is right." Finn lamented as Rachel came in from their ensuite and climbed into bed beside him. "Maybe all audiences want to watch are the relationships, but I really don't want to only focus on that. I mean, some high school relationships work out. Ours did. Mike and Tina are still married. What's the harm of exploring other sides to these characters? Make Tim single for a while. Have Rita question her ability to have a relationship and go back to pursuing acting."

Rachel listened patiently as Finn rambled and vented about his series. She mostly agreed with his vision rather than Mitch's since Finn's creativity with where he wanted to take the next episodes could lead to some very interesting storylines. She did once concede, however, during a double date with Mitch and his wife, that most of the best stories were based on real-life events or experiences. She could at least understand where Finn's producing partner was coming from.

"What does the network think?" Rachel asked him as she shifted in the bed to get more comfortable.

Finn shrugged. "They're pretty much indifferent. As long as the ratings stay the same or increase, they don't really care what's put on screen. If they could get 20 million people to watch potatoes grow in Idaho, they'd set up the cameras at the right time of day and arrange for satellite transmission." His hands came up behind his head and he looked up to the ceiling. "I dunno. I mean, Mitch has already told me he's gonna make sure Tim and Rita are together again in the second last episode of the season, but this whole thing with Quanda again…I mean, Tim isn't supposed to be as dumb as I was in high school."

Rachel cast him a disapproving look. "You weren't dumb, Finn. You lost your way. It took a while for you to find it, that's all."

"And a summer in army fatigues." Finn laughed a bit.

"Which you never got out of until we had kids." Rachel reminded him as she snuggled into his side and forced him to drape his arm around her shoulders. "Thought I do miss the uniforms."

"Hey, I gave over ten years to the National Guard units in Ohio and New York. I think I've done my time." He grinned at her devilishly. "Of course, if you like the uniforms that much, I could always find a costume store and-"

"Ooooh – for the Halloween Ball?" Rachel grinned as she and Finn exchanged a deep kiss. Just as Finn was getting into it and turning towards her, though, a light bulb went off in Rachel's mind and she jerked away, causing Finn to protest in annoyance.

He caught her gaze and raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What?"

"That's how you do it, Finn!" She smiled even more as the wheels in her mind turned.

"Do what?"

"Fix everything, and maybe do it somewhat creatively. " Finn nodded at her to continue, and Rachel spoke again. "So, maybe let season two go the way Mitch has planned, and then in season three you can start with a bit of a mystery for Tim's character."

Finn frowned. "Mystery? It's a musical dramedey, though."

"But think of the possibilities," Rachel grinned. "It could be a storyline for both Tim and Rita. Don't bring them back together this year. Then, at the start of next season, Tim is suddenly more serious, studious, insightful, protective, and Rita has no idea why. You could take the audience on a journey with her as she uncovers what's happened to Tim."

Finn smiled a bit at her, propping his head up on one hand while his other hand caressed across her hip and leg. "Oh, so now I base Rita directly on your experiences, do I?"

"She's already kinda based on me, right?" Rachel waved away Finn's half-objection as she got more excited by the idea. "She could push, find clues, and uncover finally, by the mid-point of season three, that Tim had actually joined the National Guard and had to go through a traumatic event."

Her husband's face changed suddenly from appreciative to defiant. "You're not considering I have the character go through what I did, are you?"

Rachel knew this subject was still a bit of a sore spot for Finn. Biting her lip, she sat up and faced him directly, completely naked, as they had done so many times since their first night as lovers. She kept her voice smooth and neutral so as not to come across as antagonistic. After several years of off-off-Broadway shows, off-Broadway shows and finally Broadway shows where she had to deal with stubborn and overdramatic (even for her) fellow actors, directors, producers and the like, she'd become an expert in how to make her case without beginning arguments.

"Well, it has a lot of pros working for it." She began. "For one, Mitch likes basing storylines around experiences, and this would definitely fulfill that requirement. Second, it would add an element of mystery to the show for your two main characters and could generate interest again amongst your target demographic. Third, it's some drama that allows the two characters to interact without resurrecting another love triangle. Fourthly, when the truth about Tim was revealed, you could literally stun your entire audience. Well, stun those who don't obsessively troll online for any hints or spoilers they can about the show."

Her reasoning was sound, and she could tell it was because Finn was quiet for a long time, considering each and every debate in his mind. Finally, he sighed in a long and slow manner and then turned his eyes back to her. "The thing is…it would hurt, Rachel. Writing scripts and trying to revisit that whole period of my life for the sake of the show? It took almost two years of seeing a therapist once a month to finally feel like I had control and accepted what I'd gone through. Now you're suggesting I bring up all that pain and grief and put it out there for the masses to consume as entertainment?"

Rachel swallowed, but pulled his free hand from where it was resting on her knee and entwined their fingers while thinking about Finn's question a bit. An answer came to her by the time she'd squeezed his hand and he'd returned the gesture. "A boy once told me, back in my junior year of high school, something very wise beyond his years. In order to write a really great song, I had to dig deep and touch on those emotions, fears and pain I had buried in my heart. So I did, finally, and 'Get it Right' was the result. That song not only helped us win Regionals, it's now won a Grammy after I retooled it for my album." She smirked at seeing Finn's head hang in defeat. "Do you see my point?"

Her husband rolled his eyes, even as he rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. After another moment's thought, he blew out a breath. "I suppose the worst that can happen is I spend a few hours on a script and throw it away later. Or maybe turn it into a movie or something else down the road. And it beats the hell out of Mitch's boring 'What-do-I-want-in-life-now?' plot idea." He gave her a look of love and trust. "Thanks, Rach."

"Of course. I'm more than just a pretty face and voice, you know. And it'll be cathartic for you, I think." Rachel curled against his side and draped an arm around his waist. "It could be the perfect end to that chapter of your life; something horrible you had to experience now driving you and being the basis for something that will be positive and rewarding."

"Turning lemons into lemonade, in other words?" Finn grinned at her.

She smiled and kissed him on the lips. "Exactly. So go make your lemonade and see if Mitch and the networks would like some, too." She yawned sleepily and turned her head against his shoulder, as she often did when trying to fall asleep in Finn's arms. "Oh, Christopher and Patti are fast asleep in their rooms. I checked on them before coming to bed."

Finn smiled down at her. "You checked on them? Aren't they a little old for that at ten and eight?"

She shrugged, curling in a bit more at the feel of his large hand on her bare back. "I was busy with my show until last week. It's my job to take care of my family. And that means in all ways, including tucking them in even when I don't have to." She looked up at him. "Or suggesting they close the book on a part of their life's history."

Finn chuckled in good humour and nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll try it."

Rachel beamed at him. "Good." She kissed him lightly before turning her back to him and settling down into his embrace to sleep.

She squealed as she suddenly felt herself pulled up and roll over top of Finn until she was on the other side of their king bed with him over her, kissing her gently along her neck as his hands wandered down the length of her body in every single way she enjoyed. After a searing kiss between them, their tongues playing with each other, he pulled back and grinned like a schoolboy.

"Are you suggesting we don't go to sleep yet, Finn?" She asked coyly, already knowing the answer.

He smiled against her lips as he kissed her again. "You've been so busy with your show that I think there are 'parts' of me that now need some extra attention. And I might have one or two ways to reward you for it." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Rachel giggled, even as she clasped her arms behind his neck and rolled into his hips, causing him to groan at the friction between their naked forms. "Well, I did say it's my job to take care of my family. I suppose I can 'tuck you in', too."

XXXXX

Show Choir won five Emmy awards the following year, all of them related to the episodes Finn had written based on his experiences in the National Guard. Two of the awards had Finn's name inscribed on them, but Rachel always claimed that they were their Emmy's.

Finn always smiled and agreed wholeheartedly when she did.

- FIN -

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed "Guarding the Heart".