From This Moment On
Chapter 36
Rachel POV
"Rach, seriously, we don't have to do this right now. We can wait until things are calm again. Until the cops have had some time to do some more investigating and stuff."
I look up at Finn who is pacing back and forth in front of the bed.
"No, our wedding is in two days and I'm going through with it. Nothing is stopping me from becoming Mrs. Rachel Hudson." I say defiantly.
Finn crawls onto the bed and kneels in front of me, grabbing both of my hands in his. "Rach you know I love and admire how determined you are right?"
I nod my head looking up at him.
"But this is crazy baby. I won't risk your safety to get married in a very public place with a crazy freaking psycho on the loose."
"Finn, all of our friends and family are arriving today. We are NOT calling this off and that's final."
He bows he head and I place my finger under his chin, lifting his face to mine. "I love you Finn. And nothing is getting in the way of us getting married."
He inhales sharply and then nods. "Okay. But I'm telling you I don't like this."
I laugh as I lean up on my knees and kiss him softly. "Noted darling."
I hear a knock on the door and quickly slide off the bed to open the bedroom door.
"I think Artie and Brittany just got into town. They want to know what time dinner is?"
I look back at Finn. "Ask him, he hasn't told me where we are all going yet."
"Tell them it's at 7." Finn says laughing slightly.
"Does that mean you are going to tell me where we are going?" I ask giddily.
"Well I was trying to talk you out of this remember? But since you're so set on going through with it, then you're just going to have to wait til 7." He says as he taps me on the nose.
"That's not fair Finn."
"Just get dressed babe! You can whine about fair and unfair on the way there." He slaps me on the butt as he walks out the door with Kurt.
I walk over to the closet and pull out my dress for the night. I hold it up in front of me and look into the mirror. I smile brightly almost as if I'm practicing. And I know I am. Because inside I want to cry, or scream, or just break down and tear stuff apart. Inside I'm angry as hell. This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life, but now I'm just scared. I'm terrified that something is going to happen to Finn or me, and there seems to be nothing we can do about it.
All I want is to be able to walk down that pathway and marry the man of my dreams. My Finn. The man I have wanted since I was in the 10th grade. I look back up into the mirror and sigh. No, I'm going to be happy. I'm not going to let this woman ruin what I have. Finn and I will get through this. We always do.
I slip my dress over my head and adjust the straps at my shoulder. I quickly slide on my heels and walk into the bathroom to ready myself for family and friends.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I open the bedroom door and walk into the living room where my fathers and Finn's parents are waiting for us.
"Rachel you look absolutely amazing." Carole says walking over and hugging me.
"Thank you Carole, it's so nice to see you. I feel like it's been ages."
"It has. You two never come visit anymore. It's almost like you are staying locked in your house." Finn and I lock eyes and stare at each other. Kurt quickly clears his throat.
"Well we have all been pretty busy mom." He laughs as Blaine grabs his coat.
"Don't you think we should um, get over there." He says standing at the door.
Finn smiles softly at me as he grabs my shawl and places it over my shoulders, lightly kissing my forehead.
Finn and I take our own car as we head to the restaurant. And I'm silent for most of the trip, staring out the window trying to figure out where we are going. "Finn." I say softly.
"Yeah babe."
"Are we going to tell them?"
We decided when all this stalker business started that we didn't want to involve our families and friends in Ohio. There was no reason for them to have to deal with the problem if they weren't here. But with the wedding approaching and the stalker still on the loose, it was starting to feel like it was time to let them in on what was going on.
"Not tonight Rach. Can we just enjoy the evening and we can tell them all tomorrow or after the wedding or something."
Finn was tense and I know he didn't want to talk about this. But I also knew he was scared. Ever since the incident at the lounge he was acting jumpy. The officers had quizzed him for hours on what the girl looked like, had he seen her before, did he remember the color of her hair or her eyes.
Finn was frustrated because he couldn't answer any of their questions. She was wearing a wig, she had on a mask, her voice sounded familiar but he couldn't be sure because he'd had a lot to drink. He kept blaming himself for not catching on quicker. But there was no way he could have known he was in the room with his own personal nightmare.
"Ok hun. We can wait until the moment is right. But we have to tell them eventually."
He reaches over and takes my hand, pulling it to my mouth and kissing it gently. "I love you. You know that right?"
I smile over at him. "Of course I do Finn. I've always known that." I turn my head to look back out the window and suddenly I know where I am.
"Oh my God we're going to Sardi's!" I say excitedly.
"I figured you would know where we are by now." He laughed.
"I can't believe we're having our dinner at Sardi's. Finn this is so exciting."
"Rach, we've been here before for our anniversary."
"Yes but this is my wedding dinner. And I'm having it at Sardi's." I scream the last part and he jumps in his seat.
"Ok babe. Ok." He pulls into the parking lot and stops the car. "You ready for this?"
"I'm so ready for this. I've been ready for this my whole life." I giggle.
He climbs out of the car and walks over to open my door. I take his hand and walk with him to the entrance. We are met at the door and Finn tells him his name and they lead us to the back room. "Here you go, I believe this is you." He says pointing into the room.
When I step into the room the tears start flowing immediately as I see all of my friends and family seated around the table talking to each other.
"It's about time." Noah shouts as we enter.
I smile at him and see him turn back to Quinn, his arm around her shoulder.
"Hey bro, it's about time you made her an honest woman." Finn walks over and fist bumps Artie as Brittany walks over and gives me a hug.
"I'm so glad you could both make it."
"You think we would miss this? Are you kidding, we've only been waiting for it since high school." Brittany laughs. I look around and wave at Tina and Mike who are talking to Sam at the end of the table.
"She has a point." Santana chimes in from her seat at the table. "I half expected Finnocence to propose senior year."
"Well thankfully he finally got the nerve to do it." Mercedes joked as she crossed the room to meet us.
"Nerve, I was thinking balls." Noah chimes in.
"Language Noah Puckerman." Carole warns.
"Yes, Mrs. H." Noah says hanging his head and everyone laughs.
"Well I would like to make a toast." I look down at the end of the table and see my old teacher stand.
"Mr. Schue." The boys chant.
"Ok ok, I think we are all old enough for you to call me Will now." He laughs as he looks down and smiles at his wife Emma who is holding their 2 year old baby girl in her arms.
He holds his glass out in front of him. "You know when I first met Finn and Rachel; I knew there was something special about them. They each had something about them that was amazing. But the moment I put them on stage together, that was when the magic began." He looked around the table at all of his former students. "We all know that the road to today was not an easy one. And each one of you played a role of some sort in getting us here today."
Quinn and I looked at each other and she smiled softly at me.
"You know it was sophomore year that I happened to have a conversation with a very insecure Rachel Berry. " My gaze shifts back to him.
"She was feeling sad because she didn't think she would be enough for a boy to like her. And I told her that one day she was going to find someone who would love her for who she was. And who would embrace all the things she didn't like about herself because those would be the things he would like the most."
I look up at Finn and smile and he wraps his arm around my waist.
"It was never really hard to tell who that boy was. Let's all be honest, how many of you in this room didn't know that Finn was in love with Rachel back in high school."
Everyone turns and looks at Quinn but even she can't raise her hand and she shrugs.
"Rachel once told me that being a part of something special, made you special and I told her that being a part of Glee Club wasn't going to change how people felt about her." He smiles at me warmly. "But I was wrong. Because here we all are, in this room, because it made all of our lives special. And we get the honor of witnessing our captains united as one. So Rachel Berry, you were right, I was wrong. Being a part of something special, does indeed make you special. And you two are indeed the most special students I ever had the honor of teaching."
He raised his glass, "To Rachel and Finn, may they forever be a part of something special from this moment on."
"Here here." Everyone around the table cheered as I wiped the tears from my eyes.
Finn sat his glass down and walked over to Mr. Schue wrapping his arms around his and pulling him close to him. "Thanks Mr. Sch…I mean Will."
Will approaches me slowly. "Well you finally did it!" He exclaimed.
"Did what?" I ask confused.
"You finally nabbed that leading man who could not only keep up with you vocally, but loved you for everything you are."
I reach out and pull him into a hug, tears pouring from my eyes. "Thank you so much. For everything."
"Ok can we eat already because all this crying is making me hungry?" Noah says from his seat as he continues wiping tears from his face.
"Yeah I'm starving." Finn bellows.
"When are you not?" Kurt laughs.
And I sit back and smile and look at all of my friends and I realize how lucky my life has been. It doesn't matter that there is someone lurking in the shadows just waiting for the right moment. Because what we have here is stronger than that. And we're going to make it. Because together we can do anything.