As always, I do not own Glee or the characters and this is for entertainment purposes.

Special thanks to Jiggs who beta'ed this for me.

Chapter Two: Paradise

Rachel got into the car all smiles. She leaned over and gave Finn a kiss, "I was so happy when you called and asked me to have lunch. I know that you can't get away from the office very often."

Finn smiled, "I just wanted to spend some extra time with my girl."

Rachel asked him, "Oh, can we go to that new Italian place downtown? I've been dying to try it."

"I've got everything all worked out. You'll see when we get there." Rachel was content with that response from her husband and she began chattering away talking about her day, her students, and some of the new plays coming to town. Finn put on his best "I'm listening" face and secretly hid the huge smile that was playing on the edge of his lips- she didn't suspect a thing.

After they'd driven for awhile Rachel finally noticed where they were going. "Finn why are we at O'Hare? Are we meeting someone for a business lunch?" Finn turned the car towards the long term parking sign. "Long term parking? Finn?"

Finn just kept smiling and pulled into the parking lot. He got out of the car and began pulling bags out of the trunk. "My pink travel case is in here." Rachel looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Finn? What is going on? Is something wrong? Why are we here?"

Finn looked at his wife and smiled a smile at her that bore into the depths of her soul. "Rachel, my love, just shut up and trust me." He leaned in and kissed her. Rachel grabbed her bags and followed him to the shuttle stop.

Soon they were at the gate to a flight. Rachel looked at the board behind the ticket counter and gasped. "Flight 815 to Honolulu? Are we going to Hawaii? Finn? How long are we staying? I have classes at the studio, and what about my understudy so she knows to go on for me?"

Finn took her hand in his and repeated, "Rachel, my love, just shut up and trust me. I have taken care of everything." He kissed her again and this one took her breath away. "We've been through a lot lately and I thought a little vacation would be good. I know how badly you wanted to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon and since we didn't get to go I thought I'd take you on a little second honeymoon. "

Rachel's eyes filled with tears of happiness and she threw her arms around him, "Finn Hudson just when I thought it was impossible to love you more than I already do- you manage to find a way to prove me wrong."

After a flight that felt like forever they finally touched ground in the beautiful state of Hawaii. Soon they were pulling up to a large hotel that was nestled in a quiet corner but yet close enough to the beach to walk to it. They took the elevator to the 7th floor and when Finn opened the door to their room Rachel gasped, "Finn! It's gorgeous!" It was a suite that was lavishly decorated with comfortable couches, armchairs, and a large King size bed. There was a Jacuzzi in one corner of the room as well as a large soaking bathtub in the bathroom.

Finn said, "I booked the honeymoon suite. I figured if we are going to be on a second honeymoon, we should have the best the hotel has to offer. Besides the nicer the room the less likely you are to want to leave." He gave his wife a wicked grin.

"Oh, we are leaving the hotel. There is a beach here and I'm starving." Finn hung his head in disappointment at her words. "But," Rachel reached for the band of his shirt, "not before I thank you properly for bringing me here. Finn Hudson, I love you." She kissed him in a way that he knew she meant it.

The sun shone brightly upon the lovers as they walked up down and the beach front. They stood arms wrapped around each other, sinking their toes into the sand and listening to the calming waves as they lightly crashed against the shore. "It is so beautiful here. I could listen to that sound forever and never get tired of it." Rachel said.

"I know. I love being this close to nature- and sharing it with you just makes it extra wonderful."

Rachel smiled a sly smile at him, "Puckerman would tell you- that you are so whipped."

"And I would say with the biggest grin on my face that I am whipped and that I am one lucky bastard." Just then a little girl ran by them, she was all of about three and was clearly running away from her frantic mother.

"Jasmine. Jasmine Christine! Get back here right now. Don't get near the water! Jasmine!" The faster the little girl ran the more panicked and frantic the mother became. Rachel felt a strange pull in her gut and she instinctively let go of Finn's hand. She ran after the little girl, catching up to her rather quickly and scooped her into her arms. The little girl was kicking and punching her, but Rachel's grip and determination was no match for the little three year old and by the time they reached the mother she was limp and compliant. "Thank you so much!" The stranger said gratefully as she took her daughter out of Rachel's arms, "She is too fast for me sometimes. I had knee surgery so chasing after her is so difficult right now. I was so worried she would go into the water. I am so grateful to you."

"It was no problem. I'm glad I could help. Your little girl is adorable- you're so lucky."

The mother smiled, "We think so although on days like today it's hard to fully appreciate motherhood. " With that she turned around to go further up the beach further away from the water. Little Jasmine turned her head around so she was looking over her Mother's shoulder and flashed a brilliant smile at Rachel. Her dark curls glistened in the sun and her chocolate brown eyes what could only be described as having dimples in them. She was perfect- she was exactly what Rachel pictured her own baby girl would look like. She collapsed into a sobbing mess into Finn's arms.

Finn got them back to their hotel suite as soon as he could. They sat on the sofa with Rachel curled up onto Finn's lap with her face buried into his shoulder- her tears soaking his shirt. Finn stroked her hair and just let her cry for awhile, his own tears falling shamelessly down his face and soaking into her hair. It hurt him so much. Rachel was so distraught and he couldn't be the husband who gave her a child. He didn't know if he would ever be able to give her what she wanted, but he knew he could give her all the love that he had in his heart. And he knew that he could tell her just how much he always wanted to be with her no matter what.

"Rach?" He tilted her head towards him so that her big, brown eyes were staring into his own. "Talk to me. Tell me what is on your heart."

"That little girl- she was beautiful Finn. She looks exactly what our daughter would look like. Just seeing her and knowing that she belongs to someone else, and that my arms are still empty. Well it really broke my heart." A little sob escaped her throat.

"Rachel Hudson I wish I could promise you right here and now that we will have a baby someday. That she will be as beautiful as you and that we will be a family of three. But I can't promise you those things- even though I want to more than anything in the world. What I can promise you is that no matter what happens, you are my family. I love you and I will be standing right there with you forever, whether we have one child, twenty children or if we never have any and it is just the two of us. That is how much I love you, and that love grows stronger every single day that I'm lucky enough to have you for my wife." Finn kissed the tears that were brimming in her eyes.

"I love you too." She reached up and kissed him eagerly. It wasn't a kiss of passion or desire; it was a kiss seeking comfort. Soon they were making love, it was their way of not only expressing their feelings to each other but also a way of reaching out in comfort and an attempt to show support despite the ache in their hearts and the void in their lives.

Afterwards, Finn lay holding his wife on the couch. She was sleeping in his arms, an occasional choked back sniff still shaking from her exhausted body. It always amazed him how much being intimate with Rachel never got old. Each time always felt like the first- like a new adventure. Even tonight when they both had been so broken it was still incredible. His mind began to wander to the very first time they had ever made love.

************************************************************************************* They really hadn't meant for it to happen. They had been dating for about six months and Finn had taken her out to dinner and they went to see a movie. They had spent a lot less time inside the movie actually watching it as they did making out and cuddling. Good thing they were smart enough to sit in the very back row. They had left the movie theater and went for a drive. "Want to go for a walk?" Finn asked when he pulled up to the community park. It was completely empty except for a few quacking ducks who were waddling around by the pond.

The two of them had linked arms and walked through the peacefulness of the park just talking and laughing and enjoying being together. They came to a very secluded part of the park and sat down on a bench to rest. The night air was filled with the smells of pine from the trees and the faint traces of the rain that had fallen earlier in the afternoon. Finn had reached for her and kissed her. They had stayed there on the bench for what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, kissing. Soon the kissing had grown more intense and it didn't take long for it just to be happening. They were lying under the bench- with half of their bodies covered by it and their faces exposed to the night air. Neither of them planned for their first time together to be in a public place. It had been much more awkward then they wanted to admit.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Finn asked concerned as they were walking towards the car so Finn could drive her home.

"A little." Rachel looked at him in horror, "Finn! I just had sex in PUBLIC! Seriously! Of all the times I've dreamed about this moment I never thought in a million years it would be under a park bench. How—"

"Utterly romantic." Finn teased and had kissed her to shut her up. Then realizing that she was seriously freaked out he added in all seriousness, "Do you wish it hadn't happened, Rach?"

She swallowed hard and looked at him with love shining in her eyes, "No I'm glad it did."

"Then embrace it."

Finn drove her home and kissed her goodbye hesitantly.

She turned to him as she let herself out of the car, "Finn- for what it's worth- whenever I've dreamed of it, it's always been with you." Finn smiled and hummed all the way home that evening.

Over the course of the next week the second honeymooners thoroughly enjoyed their tropical paradise. The weather was perfect so they did lots of sightseeing (despite Finn's original plans to not leave the hotel). Every evening they either ordered room service in bed or had dinner out on their hotel room balcony. They just enjoyed being together. All too soon it was time for the trip to be over and for the couple to return to their regular lives and schedules.

In the car on the way to the airport Finn asked, "Well, Mrs. Hudson, did you enjoy your trip to paradise?"

"Paradise is anywhere you are Finn. But yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially all the staying in we did." She blushed as red as he had ever seen her.

For the first time in almost two years Rachel wasn't worried. She wasn't distraught about not getting pregnant; she wasn't counting days on the calendar, and crying every night. She was just letting life happen. Finn was so glad that his plan had worked. He had finally succeeded in getting Rachel to relax. Damn, he was good!

Fortunately, her contentment stayed into the next few weeks. She smiled a lot more than she had in years. Rachel Berry Hudson was at peace with her life. She knew that the road she was walking down wasn't easy and that her heart still ached. But she felt like for the first time in a long time that she could still find happiness and peace despite the circumstances that were torturing her.

Finn, too, was at peace. Yes he still wanted a baby with his wife. But he stopped making that longing the center of his life and just went back to focusing his happiness around the love of his life. As long as he had Rachel he could be content in all circumstances.

But would their happiness and peace with their circumstances be short-lived? Or would they finally be granted the very desire of their hearts?

TO BE CONTINUED….