It was while she was serving a customer, when Rachel came to the realization that Finn probably hadn't had a decent meal in God only knows how long. The poor guy was probably living on scraps of food he had in his refrigerator. Rachel was an excellent cook, and she felt like it was her duty to help Finn in his time of need. Yes, he had returned back to work, but she could tell that he was still a little down. A nice, well cooked dinner should help him, Rachel thought, and it was a friendly thing to do. It was friendly, right?

Friendly or not, Rachel found herself in the museum where Finn worked. She walked down the familiar hall where she had first laid eyes on Finn Hudson, hoping that he would be at the same place as before. To Rachel's disappointment, Finn wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Hey, it's Rachel!" someone called from behind her, and Rachel quickly turned around. She knew it wasn't Finn; the man's voice was deeper, and he didn't look anything like Finn. For one thing, this guy had a mohawk, and Finn didn't have one of those. He was smiling at her, and walking towards Rachel as if he knew her. He looked familiar, but Rachel couldn't remember where she had first met him.

"You probably don't remember me, but we met at the bar that one night. I'm Puck, ring a bell?" he asked, and Rachel scrunched up her nose. Yes, she could distinctly remember meeting Puck; he was the one who called her hot. He was the one that made both her and Finn feel very uncomfortable when he asked Finn if he thought Rachel was hot.

"Oh, I remember you now." Rachel said with nod, and Puck's smile grew wider. She didn't understand what he found so amusing.

"Well, I remember you alright." He responded, and Rachel was afraid to know what made him snicker. "Are you looking for Finn?"

"Um, yes I am. Do you know where he is?" she asked, looking around Puck, as if she expected Finn to just pop out of midair.

"Yeah, I'll lead you to him." He said with another smile that said he knew something. Rachel said her thanks and quietly let Puck lead her down another hall full of boring art. She was hoping Puck wouldn't try to make conversation, but of course, he did. "I heard Finn and Santana broke up. Did you know that?"

"Yes, I did. I'm very sorry for him." Rachel said politely, wanting to drop the subject. She didn't feel talking about this with someone who was practically a stranger, and she also didn't know how much Puck knew about Finn and Santana's break up. Would Finn have told him about Santana being a lesbian, or would he be too embarrassed to admit that? Finally, Puck led her to the end of a hall where Finn was leaning against a wall, starring at a painting of a sunset.

"Finn, you have a visitor." Puck said in a sing song voice, and Finn turned his attention to Rachel, who was standing right behind Puck, a shy smile on her face. His face instantly brightened when he saw her, a wide smile breaking into his face. Rachel couldn't help but return it. "I guess I'll just…go now."

"Yeah, you do that." Finn agreed with Puck, giving him a knowing look before Puck walked back down the hall, leaving the two of them alone. Finn came closer to Rachel, so that he was right in front of her, smiling down at her.

"Hi. What are you doing here? Not that I don't like you visiting, but, well, you know what I mean…" Finn drifted off, feeling like he just messed up the moment. Rachel only smiled even bigger at him, and he had to force himself to not look too deeply into her eyes.

"I was just thinking that with the latest turn of events you haven't, um, had a proper meal, and, well, I'm a wonderful cook. I was thinking that maybe, I don't know, Friday night you can come over and I can make us dinner, a friendly dinner, of course." Rachel sputtered out, the tomato red blush creeping up her face. Finn just kept smiling at her, hardly believing his ears. In all his time he had been with Santana, she never offered to cook anything (perhaps it was because of the fact that she couldn't actually cook too well to begin with), but mostly because she just didn't want to put the effort into it. Santana always decided on takeout being the best idea. Finn was glad he was done with that.

"Sure!" Finn was able to say, and Rachel gave him a relieved smile. He didn't know what she was worried about in the first place; it wasn't like he would have said no. It didn't matter what they were going to do, Finn wasn't going to turn down spending time with Rachel.

"Great! That's great! So, you can come over my place around seven tomorrow. Quinn's working so that shouldn't be a problem." Rachel said, looking up with Finn. This was just getting better and better in Finn's mind, and he wasn't even sure why.

"Okay then! I'll see you tomorrow." Finn said, and Rachel flashed him another smile.

"See you tomorrow." Rachel repeated, as if not believing the words. She waved to him as she started to walk back down the hall, and Finn returned the wave with a grin frozen on his face. He had agreed to come over for dinner, and that was good thing. Yeah, she still had to come up with exactly what she was making, but Rachel couldn't help but give herself a little pat on the back as she left the museum.

RQRQRQRQ

The kitchen table Friday night was crowded with vegetables of all colors, a wonderful scent coming from the room. Quinn walked in to see Rachel dressed in a polka-dot skirt and a flurry pink blouse. She smiled as her best friend zoomed around the kitchen; putting things in the oven and turning off the fire at the stove. Someone was really putting in a lot of work for one simple dinner.

"I didn't know dinner took so much concentration." Quinn said, surprising Rachel who was leaning over a bowl of cut up carrots. Rachel glanced up at her, turning around to a pan of mixed vegetables on the stove.

"I want everything to be perfect." She said, turning to face Quinn, her hair in a messy bun. Rachel took in Quinn's long coat and her blonde hair draped around her shoulders. "Are you going to work now?"

"Yeah, I'm going, I'm going." She said, smirking at Rachel. Quinn quickly picked out one of the olives, and Rachel couldn't slap her hand away quickly enough before Quinn popped it into her mouth. "Don't worry; you have enough food."

"I would say have fun at work, but I doubt you will." Rachel said with her eyes still on the food. Quinn smiled, not really finding her funny.

"Good luck with your date." She called, walking down the hall and opening the front door. Rachel rolled her eyes with a loud sigh.

"It's not a date!" she shouted, but Quinn had already left the apartment, leaving Rachel alone to concentrate on the dinner she was making.

FRFRFRFR

The vegetable plate was practically done when someone knocked on the door, breaking Rachel's concentration. Her head snapped up to the direction of the door, panic starting to rise inside of her. What did she have to worry about anyway? It was only a simple dinner for a friend who was going through a rough time. Rachel had to remind herself of that, trying to keep herself calm as she walked towards the front door, opening it up to see Finn. He stood there, smiling brightly at her in khaki pants and a black t-shirt.

"Hi Finn." Rachel said, stepping aside to let Finn come in. He took off his jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack, and Rachel smiled at him.

"Thanks for inviting me Rachel. It smells good in here." He said, and Rachel led him to the kitchen, where she was just finishing the dinner. Finn's eyes widened when he saw all the food out on the table, scanning everything while Rachel stood there nervously, and waiting for Finn to say something. She wasn't completely sure what Finn liked, so she decided to juts make about everything she knew how to make.

"I hope you like what I made. I'm a vegan so the main dish will be a vegetable plate. I hope that's okay with you." Rachel said anxiously, her hands twisting, waiting for Finn to say something. He swallowed loudly, his eyes still on the food. She didn't know what to expect; Finn's face wasn't giving her any clues as to what he was thinking.

"It looks delicious. I can't wait to eat it all." He breathed out, still gazing down at the food. Rachel smiled, satisfied with herself for making Finn happy. His eyes were still glued to the dinner, finally shifting to Rachel's face. "When will it be ready?"

"Um, it's just about done." Rachel told him, taking the pan off the stove, and taking two bowls out of the cabinet above her. "Why don't you go sit down in the dining room down the hall and I'll bring in our soup."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Finn asked; he felt like it would be rude to just leave Rachel with all the work. But she shook her head at him, licking off some butter that was on her finger. Finn tried not to stare as her tongue darted out to lick the butter.

"No, I'm fine. You're the guest after all. Just get seated and relax." She directed, and with a nod, Finn disappeared into the small dining room, where a round table sat in the middle. He took one of the seats, feeling that he might as well pour him and Rachel some wine since it was sitting there in the middle of the table. Rachel came in a few minutes later, holding two bowls of hot soup. She put one in front of Finn, and then took the seat opposite of him.

"Yours had chicken and mine's just vegies. I hope you don't mind the lack of meat throughout." Rachel said, concerned. Finn shook his head at her, reassuring Rachel that it was perfectly fine. Besides, no one had offered Finn a well, home cooked dinner in a long time, and he was thankful that Rachel did. He would take whatever he could get.

The rest of dinner went well, Rachel serving the main course and then pound cake with ice cream for dessert. If there was one thing Finn was sure of by the end of the dinner, it was that not only was Rachel easy to talk to, but she was also an excellent cook. He didn't understand why Rachel was working at a place like Dunkin' Donuts when she can totally work as a chef at a restaurant. It was like he had never tasted something so good.

Conversation went well too; the two of them covering just about every topic from the glee club Rachel used to be a part of in high school to their favorite movies. Finn realized that Rachel was the easiest person to have a conversation with; not only did she have lots to say about herself, but whenever Finn talked, she would listen intently as if he was saying the most important thing in the world. Rachel laughed and smiled a lot too, and Finn though she looked absolutely perfect when she did this.

"This dinner was amazing, Rachel." Finn complimented after dessert was done, his stomach full. Rachel gave him a shy smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, also very full.

"You really think so? I wasn't sure if you would like it, because I wasn't very sure what you liked." Rachel said, playing with the hem of her skirt. Finn gave her a reassuring smile, having trouble understanding how Rachel could think anyone wouldn't find her food delicious.

"No, no, everything was perfect." Finn told her, and Rachel gave him an even bigger smile. She couldn't help smiling every time Finn gave her a compliment, and if she kept smiling like that, Finn was willing to give her every compliment in the world.

"Do you want to have coffee in the living room?" Rachel asked, wanting Finn to stay longer. She didn't know what their goodbye would be like, but she did know that she didn't want it to come.

"Oh yeah, sure." He agreed, and they both picked up their empty plates, leaving the dining room for the kitchen, where Rachel started washing the dishes.

"No, Finn. You don't have to help me." She said, but Finn shook his head at her, picking up one of the plates.

"No, I have to do something. You made this whole entire dinner, and I'll just feel bad if I let you do all the work." He answered, passing Rachel the plate to dry. She gave him a small smile, going a little red as she ducked her head, focusing on the task at hand. The rest of the time washing and drying the plates was in a comfortable silence, Finn and Rachel every so often glancing up at one another when the other wasn't paying attention.

"Thanks for your help, Finn." Rachel said, going for the coffee maker in one of the cabinets. He watched as she did, not able to hide the fact that he was grinning at her. Rachel hardly glanced at him as she plugged in the coffee maker. "Don't worry; I know from enough experience how you like your coffee."

Finn smiled again, as Rachel led him to the living room, sitting on the sofa. Hesitantly, Rachel joined him, making sure not sit too closely to Finn. She played with the hem of her skirt nervously as Finn watched her, gazing down at her with a strange expression.

"What are you looking at?" she asked meeting his gaze. Finn quickly shifted his eyes to the wall behind Rachel, hoping she didn't notice him giving her that look. It was normal to feel this way about a friend, right? Like they were they were the most amazing thing to ever walk the planet?

"What? Oh, nothing." He said, trying to stay calm. Rachel stood up, telling Finn she would be right back with the coffee. As Rachel took out two of her nicest mugs in the kitchen, Finn was trying to get a grip. He couldn't have these feelings for Rachel; it wasn't right. Rachel was his friend, and he had just ended it with Santana. It wouldn't be right. But still, Finn couldn't help but think about that time he made out with Rachel, and how perfect it was. He was tempted to try it again, but Finn had to keep a grip on reality. Rachel was only his friend, and that wouldn't change. Soon enough, Rachel came back with two mugs in her hands, handing one over to Finn. He took a sip, the warmth immediately comforting him.

"Thanks Rachel." He said, and Rachel smiled over her mug at him. She had to admit; this night was going better then she though it would. Quinn hadn't barged in yet, and Rachel and Finn were keeping it at the friends' zone. Not that Rachel wanted to keep it that way, but she knew where their relationship stood, and she was determined to keep it that way.

"I really needed this. The dinner, I mean. I've had a really hard past couple of days, and this really helped." Finn said, a little uncomfortable. He didn't know if being this honest would scare Rachel or whatever, but he hoped it didn't. Instead, Rachel simply smiled at him, memorizing his words.

"It was no problem, really. I'm glad you were able to come." Rachel said, and then hesitated, wondering she should add the second part. She decided to just go for it. "I hope this took your mind off things."

"It did." Finn said, gazing down at her with an expression Rachel didn't recognize. It was weird; no one had ever looked at Rachel like that; she didn't know how to handle it. "Even though I was kind of over Santana when I was with her, it still hurts, you know? It hurts to know that the girl you loved doesn't love you enough to not hurt your feelings."

"I'm sorry Finn." Rachel said, subconsciously reaching out for Finn's hand, rubbing circles on his skin. "I know I've said that a lot lately, but you have no idea how true it is. You really loved her, didn't you?"

Finn looked down at his lap, thinking about what Rachel had asked him. Yes, he had loved Santana, but he didn't know if he was in love with Santana. There was a big difference, and Finn hadn't understood that difference until he had met Rachel, for some odd reason. Something about Rachel, something about Rachel that Finn couldn't figure out, made Finn's feelings for Santana change. He didn't know what it was, but it was something. It was most definitely something about Rachel.

"Yeah, I did." He said quietly, looking down at his free hand. Rachel's chest ached again, but she ignored it, holding on tighter to Finn's hand. Friends did this sort of thing; comfort each other after they've had a bad breakup. It was totally natural.

"What was it like, to be in love? How did you know you were?" Rachel whispered, worried that the question my cause Finn pain, but needing to know the answer anyway. She had only dated a few guys in her life, but if Rachel was honest with herself, she never actually knew how she felt about any of them. What was the difference between infatuation and love? How did someone know that they were in love in the first place? What was love, more plainly?

"I don't know if I loved her, to tell you the truth. I mean, I was mesmerized by Santana the minute I saw her. Does that mean I loved her right away, or does that only mean I was attracted to her right away?" Finn said slowly, deep in thought. Rachel bit her lip; if falling for someone at first sight was only an attraction and didn't mean you actually loved them, did what she feel for Finn mean nothing at all? "I loved her in some way, I know that. Every morning I woke up, and the first thing I thought about was her. The first thing that I pictured was Santana's face, and Santana's voice, and Santana in general. I loved spending time with her, and I just loved looking at her. And for the first time in my life, I felt like I had a reason for living, like I had found my place in the world."

Rachel starred at him, thinking about what Finn had said. If that was love, if Finn had explained love correctly, then that meant she had never felt love. The way he said those things, clearly lost in memories with a slight smile on his face, made Rachel doubt herself. If that was what love was, then she would never have that feeling. Rachel wasn't good enough for a feeling like that. Finn was quiet for a long time after that, and Rachel didn't want to interrupt his thoughts. If Finn felt that way so strongly about Santana, then how could he stop? Or, how could she? How could you turn off love like a light switch? What made you fall out of love anyway?

"You still have this?" Finn suddenly asked, looking at the coffee table in front of the couch. Rachel watched as Finn picked up the sapphire necklace that Rachel had left there after getting a phone call once she had rescued it from the toilet. She had forgotten it was there afterwards. Finn examined it, holding the chain delicately in his big hands.

"Oh, yeah, that. I didn't have it in me to give it away." Rachel said, stuttering. Finn looked up at her, his eyes widening at her as if he had realized something. "It means too much, to just be thrown away."

"I guess." Finn mumbled, still looking at Rachel with that expression that she couldn't understand. It was as if he was mystified by what he was seeing, like he was seeing something for the first time. Rachel wondered if she had a piece of broccoli in her teeth or something. She watched as he put the necklace back down on the table, the sapphire facing the other way, and then stretched his back to rub at it, a pained look on his face.

"Is your back hurting you?" Rachel asked, and Finn looked at her, his hand going back to his lap. For some reason, he actually looked embarrassed to be caught trying to rub his back.

"Um, yeah, it's been hurting for a couple of days now." He said awkwardly, and Rachel sat up a little. It wouldn't be too weird to ask, right?

"Do you want a massage? I'm pretty good at them according to Quinn." Rachel offered, as she put out her small hands as if that would prove to Finn just as talented she was with her hands. No pun intended, of course, Rachel thought to herself. Finn looked unsure; wondering if that would be crossing that invisible line they had created.

"You don't have to do that." he said, but Rachel shook her head, determined to do it now.

"No, I want to." She assured him, and with one shrug Rachel shifted to sit behind Finn, Finn moving forward a little to give her more space. Her hands met his shoulders, and Finn immediately closed his eyes, savoring the way Rachel's hands felt. He really liked having Rachel around; she was nice, pretty, smart, and she listened to what he had to say. She was a good cook, she was there for Finn when no one else was, and she wasn't snobby like Santana. Finn had never met someone like Rachel; she was unique, and Finn liked that about her.

Both Finn and Rachel quickly realized that the massage wouldn't do Finn any good if he had his shirt on. Rachel was too embarrassed to ask him to take it off, so Finn quickly took his shirt off without a word, Rachel moving her hands away so he can. Once his shirt was on the floor next to him, Rachel's hands went back to work, and Finn had to bite his lip to keep back a groan. Her skin felt so good against his; her hands were so soft, and Finn just wanted to live in them forever. That was one thing Santana never had; this skin. She never had this skin that just felt so perfect against Finn's or this smooth.

Rachel had to watch carefully where she put her hands; too low and she would be sending the wrong signals. Well, it wouldn't be the wrong signals from what she really wanted, but she knew that she had to keep Finn in the friend zone for his own good. She hoped this massage wasn't taking it too far.

It escaped Finn's mouth before he stop it; the moan. The loud, sexy moan made Rachel freeze completely. Finn's eyes blinked open, realizing what had just happened, and noticing that his pants were tighter then they should be. Too quickly, Finn stood up, truing to face Rachel in shock. He pulled his shirt back on, pulling it down to cover his arousal, hoping that Rachel hadn't noticed. She probably did though, because her eyes kept shifting from Finn's surprised face to that hardness in his pants. Dear God, why wouldn't she stop looking?

"I should go." Finn said, and Rachel stopped looking at his lower half and kept her eyes on his face, standing up too. "Thanks for the dinner Rachel. It was wonderful."

Rachel followed Finn as he quickly walked down to his jacket and the door, swinging it on. He silently reached for the doorknob, about to touch it when he turned back to Rachel. What happened next was something that sent electricity down Rachel's spine. Finn leaned down a little, his lips meeting Rachel's cheek for a light kiss. If Rachel didn't see him lean down to do it, she would have thought she imagined his soft lips. He stood at his full height again, gazing down at Rachel with that same weird expression. Rachel was too in shocked to say anything.

"Thank you Rachel. You've really done… a lot." Finn said quietly, and then he was leaving, the door closing behind him, leaving Rachel to think about what had just happened. She was sure she stood there for a long, long time.

FPFPFPFP

Finn was standing next to another boring painting when Puck walked up to him, pulling Finn out of his thoughts about Rachel.

"Hey dude. Did you have a good weekend?" Puck asked, and Finn stood up straighter, reliving his Friday night in his mind. Everything was going so perfectly between them, why did Finn have to mess it up with his raging sex hormones?

"Um, yeah, did you?" Finn asked, shaking his head from the memory. At the question, a smirk appeared on Puck's face.

"Boy did I ever! Dude, listen to this, I went to this strip club downtown with a friend, and there was this hot blonde dancing on the bar. She was like, the hottest chick I have ever seen! Anyway, I caught up with her later on as she was coming out the back door where I was smoking, and I started talking to her. Turns out, I was able to get her back to my apartment for the night. I think her name was Quinn or something like that."

Finn raised his eyebrows at him, not really caring about who Puck was hooking up with, but didn't want to be rude by saying he didn't care. Still, a hot blonde, yeah, maybe it was news worthy. But then something kicked in; a hot blonde named Quinn? He knew one of those, but it couldn't possibly be the same girl, could it? Just one look at Quinn, and you would know she's any kind of girl but the stripper kind.

"Quinn? Quinn Fabray?" Finn asked; he wanted to make sure before directly assuming it was the same girl. Puck smiled at him, pointing a finger.

"Yeah, that was her name! How did you know?" he said happily, and Finn starred at him.

"Dude, that's Rachel's best friend. Dude, that's Rachel's roommate." Finn told him, and Puck laughed at that.

"Hot; two sexy girls living together. Finn, you should ask Rachel if she, you know, ever had a thing with Quinn. You guys are close, right?" Puck asked with another smirk, and before Finn could answer, Puck kept talking. "Look, I'm having a little Poker's night tonight at my house. You're invited to come if you want. It was originally going to be only for guys, but Blaine was going to spend the night with Kurt who didn't have to work tonight, so it's changed to a 'bring a date thing'. "

Puck took a piece of paper out of his pocket, shoving it into Finn's hands before he could refuse it.

"That's my address. I heard about you and Santana breaking up, and I'm sorry dude. I'm not into that emotional stuff, so don't go crying on me and shit though. Just bring Rachel or something, okay?" Puck said and Finn could only nod his head. How did Puck hear about his break up with Santana? How did news travel so quickly, and did he know about the Brittany part? Finn guessed that taking two personal days might have had people talking, and coming to that assumption. If Finn didn't deny that he and Santana broke up now, then it must have been true.

"Okay, thanks. I'll come." Finn said, and with an awesome and a goodbye, Puck left him there to think things over.