Once again I'd just like to thank everyone for their reviews and alerts and favorites. It touches my heart. As for this chapter, I'm particularly proud of it. It wasn't initially how I had set out to write it but I'm very happy with the result. So enjoy!

It was New Year's Eve and things were not going as planned. Rachel had woken up that morning with a fever, sore throat and swollen glands. She wasn't sure how she had caught the flu but it was apparent that she had but it also felt like more than that. It was unfortunate too since Rachel's fathers were going to be spending the night at a party with some friends leaving their house quite empty. She had told them she'd be spending her night at the Hummel-Hudson house and they had okayed the idea but Rachel had a plan. She wanted to ring in 2012 with a bit more than just a kiss at midnight.

Ever since she and Finn had finally consummated their love the day after Christmas, Rachel was ravenous. She and Finn had gone at it multiple times a day every day that week since her fathers were at work and left her to her own devices at home. Rachel knew she'd never be some sex crazed teenage girl like Santana or Brittany but it seemed that sex with Finn was enough to at least turn her into a sex crazed girlfriend. After Rachel's grounding had ended things pretty much went back to the way they had been before. She couldn't be sure but Rachel thought perhaps Carole had intervened on her behalf. Her fathers, especially her dad, had relaxed quite a bit when it came to her and Finn spending time alone together. Though they were okay with their evening alone time while they were home, Rachel did not need them to know about Finn's frequent visits to their house for midday coitus.

Her plan would have been perfect if she hadn't of caught the damn flu. When she trekked down to the kitchen after waking up, her nose running, her body on fire and her voice practically gone, she knew her dads would not leave the house that night. No way would they let her leave the house in that condition. No, her New Year's plans were dashed. Now she had to break it to Finn.

Hiram sent Rachel to back to bed with some herbal tea to help her throat and some medicine to help bring her fever down. Before she allowed herself to pass out again and try to sleep this flu out, Rachel had to call Finn.

The phone rang three times before Finn answered all chipper and not sick sounding at all. "Morning Rach! What's up? I know it's only like 11 am but did your dads leave yet?" he asked in a low, eager voice. If she didn't feel like she were about to die, she'd have been quite turned on. Rachel currently wanted to punch Finn however. How did she end up with the flu and he didn't? They had swapped spit all week!

"No," she barely squeaked out.

"Rachel?" Finn could barely hear her.

She tried to speak as loudly as she could. "Finn, can't come over tonight. I'm," she coughed a few times and quite loudly into the receiver, "sick. Got flu. Love. Bye." She couldn't even form a whole coherent sentence. Not wanting to try to expend any more energy than necessary, Rachel hung up the phone without even letting Finn respond and promptly passed out.

As Rachel slept she had the strangest dreams. At one point she dreamed she was pregnant with an orca and everyone wanted to touch her stomach but finally she couldn't take it anymore and bit anyone's head off, literally, that came near her then dove into a pool and turned into a mermaid. That dream then shifted into one where she was roaming her elementary school in one ruby slipper. She was searching for the other one frantically because she had to make the bus home and it was getting ready to leave. She entered the auditorium and found she was interrupting band practice and everyone glared at her meanly then began throwing their instruments at her. She booked it out of the space and found her way outside. The dream shifted again then and she found herself staring up at what appeared to be a haunted mansion. There was a singular light on inside and she ventured into the building despite knowing there was something sinister lurking inside.

In her dream, as she made her way through the house toward the room with the light on she could feel the walls around her moving, changing the layout of the mansion. Rachel was still able to find her way to the light though. When she entered the room, the only thing Rachel could see was a chair facing away from her and the light floating next to the chair.

Hesitantly, Rachel moved toward the chair. Slowly she reached her hand out to spin it around but as she did so long spindly fingers wrapped around her wrist. From out of the chair rose the most terrifying thing Rachel had ever seen. It was a vampire, fangs bared and ready to strike. She noticed something about this vampire that terrified her even more before she tore her hand from its grasp and ran from the room. She'd seen its face before. It was that of a woman she hadn't seen or heard from in over a year: her mother.

It felt like she was running in water as she made her way to the door that would free her from Shelby's lair. When she finally reached the door and turned the knob she found herself tumbling out onto a bright green empty football field. Rachel stood up and continued running for dear life.

Rachel looked behind her and saw nothing there, but then she slammed into something in front of her. She looked up in horror at Shelby towering over her. Her fangs were bared and her eyes were blood red. Then she spoke.

"You can run all you want Rachel but you're never going to get away! Face it! You'll end up just like me. Like mother, like daughter." Laughter peeled from the vampire and Rachel struggled against Shelby's grip. Shelby opened her mouth wide and sunk her teeth into Rachel's neck. She could consciously feel herself scream and thrash about on her bed. Her throat was on fire.

"Rachel. Rachel! Calm down, Rachel! It's only a dream! It's okay. It's only a dream." She could hear the words but they were doing nothing to comfort her. Feeling hot and sweaty and sick beyond belief, Rachel pushed the body she could feel holding her, trying to calm her down, away and practically leaped off the bed and sprinted to the bathroom. She barely made it to her toilet in time to vomit into it. Once the dry heaving, nothing but tea had been in her stomach all day, had ceased Rachel fell to the floor and sobbed into her bathmat.

She could feel strong arms wrap around her and lift her off the floor. Rachel continued to sob into the chest of the man carrying her. He placed her back onto her bed, cuddled right up next to her, held her tightly in his arms and pulled her sheet and comforter over the both of them.

"Finn," Rachel sobbed out as she gripped his shirt front tightly.

"It's gonna be okay, Rachel. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," he said comfortingly, running his hand gently through her hair and kissing her forehead lightly.

Though she could barely speak, Rachel had to try to tell Finn about her dream, or more accurately, her nightmare. "It was awful. She-Shelby, she…"

Finn tensed at the name. Rachel never talked about Shelby. She was a sore subject for Rachel and he knew this despite Rachel denying it the one time Finn asked. He might be dumb but he wasn't stupid. No wonder Rachel had awoken that way.

"She said I…was gonna…end up just…just like her. Like mother, like…daughter. Then…she bit me," Rachel said between sobs. Finn's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"She bit you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"She was…was a vampire." Finn looked at Rachel and noticed she really needed a tissue. He grabbed one off her bedside table and handed it to her. Even though her nose was all red and runny and her eyes were all red and puffy and her hair was a mess and she just overall looked miserable he still felt she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Rachel blew her nose loudly and her crying subsided a bit. That's when every insecurity Rachel felt about New York spilled from her lips. Sure Rachel knew she wanted New York but that didn't mean she didn't feel scared about leaving behind everything she knew for a chance at stardom. Shelby had been beyond talented and she wasn't able to make it. What if vampire Shelby was right and Rachel would end up stuck back in Lima alone? "Finn, I don't… What if I fail in New York? What if I can't get into college there? What if-"

"Rachel, stop it. You're the smartest and most talented person I know. You're meant for New York. You won't fail and you will make it into college there and you will go on to be the biggest Broadway star ever. Even bigger than Patti LuPone. New York is our city, I can feel it. One day we'll be back at Sardi's and some young ingue will see you and stop you to say you're her idol. It's gonna happen, Rach," Finn stated firmly. This was the first time he had ever heard Rachel talk this way. She had told him the day they got back together she was going to New York and never coming back. Why did she doubt that now?

"The word is ingénue." Even with a fever of 101 degrees Rachel was still correcting Finn. "But you really think so?"

Finn looked Rachel square in the eye. "I know so." Finn kissed Rachel's forehead again and pulled her close. She was still hot and sweaty but being in Finn's arms was making her feel much better. Then she really realized Finn was there.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked looking up at him.

"I called your dads and asked if I could come over to take care of you after you called me. They said yes. I guess they figured we wouldn't be doing anything they wouldn't approve of tonight. Also I think your dad hopes I catch whatever you have. Plus, I wanted to spend New Year's Eve with you. That was the plan after all. Our nighttime activities have just changed a bit." Rachel gave a small chuckle then turned her head to cough again.

"Ugh, this is the worst I've ever felt. It's like I have the flu mixed with a cold. And how are you not sick? We've been together all week long," Rachel pouted into Finn's chest.

Finn shrugged. "I drink a lot of orange juice. Maybe it's all the vitamin C?"

"I hate you sometimes," Rachel groaned.

"I love you," Finn responded knowing Rachel was just annoyed at her stroke of bad luck.

"I love you too."

They sat there in silence just holding each other. After a while Finn could hear Rachel's breathing get heavier then finally he could hear her light snore. She had fallen asleep again. Not too long after Finn joined her in unconsciousness.

The sleeping teenagers were startled awake by a loud beeping and buzzing sound. The room was now pitch black except for the little square of light glowing on Rachel's bedside table. Rachel groggily leaned over to grab the phone. She looked to see who was calling but noticed it was actually her alarm. The time said 11:30 pm.

"Who's calling?" Finn asked sleepily as he buried his face in the crook of Rachel's neck.

"It's my alarm," Rachel croaked out. She cleared her throat harshly and continued speaking. "We have a half hour left until midnight."

"Why is your alarm going off at 11:30 pm?"

"I set it so that if we were…preoccupied we'd know how much time we had until midnight. I want to watch the ball drop." Rachel sat up and Finn fell face first into her pillow. He hadn't been expecting her to move. "I'll be right back." Rachel got out of bed and went into her bathroom. Finn rolled onto his back then sat up. The room was so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He groped around on the side table for his own phone and once he found it used it as a flashlight to maneuver over to the light switch. He flicked it on and his eyes narrowed as they were assaulted by the brightness. He perched himself on the edge of Rachel's bed to wait for her.

A few minutes later he heard the bathroom door open again and he turned to face his ill girlfriend. She looked much better than she had the last time she had woken up but still not all that healthy. Her hair was brushed and pulled back and she had changed from her matching flannel pajamas to a bright pink tank top and blue cotton shorts.

"It's so hot in here," she moaned. Her voice was still very quiet and hoarse.

"Actually babe, I think it's just you. And I'm not using that as a line. You were burning up all day long." Rachel walked over to Finn as he stood up and grabbed his hand. They made their way downstairs to the living room and found her dads sitting on the couch together watching the New Year's countdown from New York City. They had a bottle of champagne out and some small snacks on the coffee table.

"Hey sweetie, are you feeling any better?" Hiram asked as Rachel plopped down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Not really. I threw up earlier and my throat is still killing me." She coughed as she finished her sentence just proving she still felt awful. Hiram felt her forehead with his hand then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I know you feel awful sweetie. It'll pass though. And I'm sure having Finn here to help nurse you back to health is helping a bit too," Hiram said glancing between his daughter and Finn.

Rachel looked at Finn and smiled at him slightly. "Definitely." She gripped his hand and sat up straight. "How much longer until the ball drops?"

"About 15 minutes," Leroy responded as he popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

The four of them chatted gaily about their New Year's Resolutions and bet on how long they would keep them up. Rachel knew she would keep hers for the rest of her life. She resolved to make it to the Great White Way and become the biggest thing on Broadway. Rachel knew it wouldn't be easy but then again, nothing worth having is usually easy to get.

Five minutes before the ball was to drop, Hiram excused himself to use the bathroom and Leroy went into the kitchen to grab some more medicine for Rachel and to make some more tea for Rachel to drink for their New Year's toast. Finn and Rachel sat in the living room watching the celebration in Times Square.

"One day we'll be there, Rach. Not as tourists either. We're probably gonna have a shitty little apartment to start out with but it'll be ours. We're gonna make it there," Finn said as he looked at Rachel.

"We're going to make it there?" Rachel asked, emphasizing the "we" in the sentence. She had heard him earlier using "we" and had been somewhat surprised. She had just been too freaked out and tired to comment.

"Of course. I'm not staying here," Finn said sounding slightly offended that she would even suggest such a thing. "Even if I don't make it into a fancy school like NYU or whatever, they have community colleges there and I can always reapply to some bigger schools after a semester or two. I may have to get a part-time job and live on Ramen noodles for a few years to pay for an apartment if I don't end up being able to dorm, but it'll be worth it. I'm still not entirely sure what I want to study but what better place to find out than New York City, right?" Finn smiled brightly at Rachel. She could see the pure excitement on his face.

Rachel beamed at Finn. He was determined to come with her and she couldn't be happier. Though they had talked before of how to make their relationship work for the long term, something in the back of Rachel's mind always made her feel like it would end up being impossible. Hearing Finn speak this way however, actually sounding enthusiastic about moving to New York, made Rachel really think for the first time that maybe she really could have it all.

"Finn Hudson, are you actually planning your future?" Rachel asked feigning surprise.

"Babe, I've been thinking about how to get to New York with you since we kissed in the library." Finn leaned his forehead against Rachel's, somewhat mimicking their interaction that day.

Suddenly Rachel felt nervous at his words. "Finn, I don't want you to go to New York just because that's where I'm going. You shouldn't plan your future around anyone else. Not even me. You need to do what you want to do."

"I am. I told you once that I didn't know how to dream big and I think the reason why was because no one ever wanted me to. Not until you. Once I saw your determination and how you were going to go about getting what you wanted, it made me want to do the same. You inspire me. I may not know exactly what my dream is yet, but I have a feeling in my gut I'm going to find it in New York."

Just then Hiram and Leroy re-entered the living room and sat back down on the couch. That's when Rachel noticed there was only about 30 seconds left in 2011. They all stared at the TV just watching the ball drop lower and lower until the clock hit ten seconds when they started chanting out the decreasing numbers. As the clock turned to midnight Finn turned Rachel's face toward him and he laid one on her. He didn't care if he'd wake up sick later he just needed to kiss his girlfriend in that moment. "I love you, Rachel, so much."

Rachel leaned her forehead against Finn's. In that moment she knew 2012 would be their year. Her nightmare wouldn't come true. She wouldn't let it. Rachel knew Finn was right; they'd make New York theirs. "I love you too, Finn."

Fun fact: All of Rachel's dreams are based off of real ones I've had. I felt they all could fit Rachel's life though. My recurring vampire one particularly used to scare the crap out of me when I was little. Now it makes me laugh though because unlike Shelby, my mom in the dream had a very large conehead. Not really sure why though...