Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

"I'm sorry we had to leave the benefit so early. I was looking forward to showing you off a bit more, though maybe you would have been the one showing me off," Anthony said with a chuckle as he walked Rachel to her door. "I didn't realize you knew the Hummels; I don't believe you've ever mentioned it."

"Yes, well now you know," Rachel replied smoothly as she turned to face him. "I am sorry for messing up your Mother's timetable. I'm still not sure why she wants to attend the school with me tomorrow." She looked at Anthony inquisitively, seeing if he had picked up on his Mother's hostility in the car when she discovered Rachel hadn't planned to leave Lima until Wednesday morning.

"I'm so glad we'll be back in New York tomorrow. Rachel dear, I trust you can get the license back to the Courthouse so it can be picked up by Wednesday? I detest waiting until the last minute, but in this case it couldn't be helped." Beatrice's frosty voice drifted back to Rachel who was sitting with her hands clasped tightly together in her lap.

"Actually Beatrice, I'm not going back to New York until Wednesday." She said quickly before continuing. "I've agreed to go and sing at my old school; my former teacher thought it would be great for the kids to see a Broadway actress. Plus, their competition is Tuesday and I'd really like to attend that."

Beatrice pursed her lips together firmly to control her temper before turning to Anthony. "Well dear, I suppose we should change our flight then as well. I'm sure it would be great fun to see Rachel be so…inspiring." The last word was dripping with sarcasm that Anthony didn't seem to catch.

"Oh I couldn't possibly expect you to do that for me! I mean, it's just one little song and then the competition the next day." Of course she failed to mention that there was no way the license could be back in the Courthouse since Finn still hadn't signed the papers. Honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted him to anymore. She shook herself, what was she thinking?
Of course she wanted him to sign the papers!

"I think Mother is right. It'll give us an opportunity to see how you became the star you are today." Anthony smiled at her from the rearview mirror.

"I do wish you had checked with me Rachel-what if I had something planned for the wedding hmm?" Beatrice commanded from the passenger seat.

"Well we don't need to find out Mother. Everything is fine; we'll get home in plenty of time, right Darling?"

"Of course." Rachel said with a sigh from the back seat. She couldn't believe they were staying another two days with her.

"Well I know I'm excited. Shall we pick you up? Perhaps we could have some lunch before going?" His hands rubbed lazily up and down her arms before braceleting her wrists in his hands to tug her a little closer to him.

Rachel's mind scrambled as she tried to think of an excuse to avoid Beatrice. "Well you know, that sounds great but I already have plans. I didn't know you'd be staying so I made lunch plans with my friend Quinn." The fingers of her left hand crossed as she hoped that Anthony believed her lie.

"Oh. Well alright, we'll meet at the school so you can show us where to go alright?" His head tilted towards hers and he nuzzled her nose for a moment before capturing her lips.

She willed herself to forget how she felt when Finn held her as they danced. Desperately trying to reassure herself that staying with Anthony was the right decision, she poured herself into the kiss. She ran her hands through his hair, hating how stiff it felt under her fingers. Her tongue sought his out as she tried to feel SOMETHING other than affection for this man.

She felt nothing.

Not knowing the reason for her sudden passion, Anthony reciprocated her kiss and slowly pulled her closer, pressing his lower body into hers as his left hand settled on her hip and his right hand tangled in her hair. After a last nibble on her lips he pulled back and asked huskily, "Should we take this inside?"

Rachel stood on the porch and caught her breath. She wanted to say yes but couldn't bring herself to. So she lied again instead, "I think we should wait until Friday. Build up some anticipation you know?" Hopefully it would also buy her some time to sort things out and get the hell out of Lima.

He looked at her with lust filled eyes as he ducked his head down to steal another kiss. This time however she placed a hand on his chest and eased herself back.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder right?"

"I'm feeling very fond right now," Anthony's voice had deepened and Rachel knew what that meant, but she just couldn't think of being intimate with him right now.

She gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you darling. Sleep well." Anthony watched her put her key in the door.

"Me too. Night." With that she opened the door and set her purse down on the foyer table. Slipping out if her heels she picked them up and wandered to the kitchen barefoot. She was preparing herself some hot tea when she noticed her Daddy's laptop on the table. She crossed to it and drummed her fingers on the top, debating if she should open it. Finally her curiosity won out and she sat down and lifted the lid. Thankfully his password was still the same. Accessing the Internet she went to Google and typed in four words.

Lyrics by Finn Hudson.

She sat back in the chair as the search results filled the screen. It was unbelievable to her the number of songs he had written. Curiously, she clicked the first link to see the lyrics to a song called Everything You Want. She read the words carefully, heart pounding as she reached the last chorus.

I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
I say all the right things
At exactly the right time
But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why
And I don't know why
Why
I don't know

Ok, maybe that wasn't the best choice of lyrics for her to read. She pressed the back button on the browser and tried another link. Really, everything he had written couldn't be about her right? Taking a sip of tea she began scrolling through the lyrics to a song called Shameless.

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong
To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong
I've never lost anything I've ever missed
But I've never been in love like this

It's out of my hands
I'm shameless, I don't have the power now
I don't want it anyhow
So I got to let it go

After reading the lyrics she was more confused than ever. If he truly meant them he must have some feelings for her still right? Her fingers clicked on one last link, sending her to a song called Endlessly. Immediately she recognized the words from the song he sang to her in the bar. Her cheeks grew warm and her eyes welled up with tears as she realized that she was now more confused than ever. She closed the search window and the laptop cover before taking her tea and shoes up to her room.

This evening had been truly almost too much for her to bear. Seeing Carole and Burt again was bittersweet. She missed the comforting maternal presence in her life that Carole had given her-Beatrice most certainly did not give her that sense of comfort. It was unfair to compare the two, but really Rachel didn't have many women to consider as a female role model. Her mind went back to the way Carole had easily and eagerly embraced her. Beatrice never hugged her at all.

Seeing Anthony and Finn in the same room, especially after hearing that song Remind Me, was just torture. It wasn't fair to anyone to make comparisons so she tried to stop thinking of Finn. Tried to stop thinking of how he looked in that tux; how sweet he looked with his Mom; and tried to forget about the fact that he CLEARLY had asked the band to play Faithfully. He knew what that song would do to her. Thank God Anthony had come up when he did before she embarrassed herself and everyone there by falling right back into Finn's arms. She was sure if she had stayed a minute more she would have wound up kissing him again and that clearly would not have been good.

All she could think of now was to try and escape her thoughts, even if it was only for a little while, and the easiest form of escape was always music. So she carefully removed her dress and hung it back in the back of her closet. Out of sight and out of mind. Pulling on a nightgown and robe she sat at her vanity and pressed shuffle on her RENT playlist. Listening to the music for her next role would surely take her mind off things. That was her thought before recognizing the first song the Ipod gods had chosen to play. As the strains of Without You began her hands tightened on the vanity and her eyes filled with tears. Forcing herself to breathe, she opened her mouth and sang along.

Without you, the ground thaws

The rain falls, the grass grows

Without you, the seeds root

The flowers bloom, the children play

The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly

Without you the Earth turns

The sun burns, but I die without you

Her voice carried through the open window to the yard where Finn was standing staring at her room. She sounded incredible and he had chills listening to her perform the ballad.

He swore he wasn't going to do this now. All he wanted was to make sure she got home ok. At least that was the mantra he had repeated the whole time on the drive over. He really didn't want to talk to her again before Glee the next day, afraid that he would spill his plan and scare her off. Now that he was here though he NEEDED to see her. So he took a leap of faith that he remembered the lyrics and opened his mouth when Roger was supposed to sing.

The world revives, colors renew

But I know blue, only blue

Lonely blue, within me blue

Without you

She would know that voice anywhere. Letting go of the table she stood and went to the window continuing the song. Their gazes met as they continued to sing. Through her haze of tears she took in the picture he made standing on her lawn staring up at her with his messy hair, hands casually tucked in the pockets of his tux as his amber eyes gazed back at her full of determination and something she couldn't quite place. The song ended and he opened his mouth to speak but the moment was broken when applause rang out from the neighbor's house.

Finn grinned up at her even as he called out, "Sorry Mrs. S; I hope we didn't wake you."

A thin voice replied back through the next window, "Oh nonsense. I've missed your little songs."

"Well I just stopped by to say goodnight to Rach here Mrs. S. so I'm heading on home. You have a nice night." His eyes stayed glued to Rachel's as he heard the neighbor close her window. "Goodnight Rachel."

She didn't respond, instead she turned and flung herself on the bed as the tears continued to fall. Blindly reaching for her phone she texted Quinn.

Can we meet for lunch tomorrow please? I don't know what to do and I need your help. Please?

Her head snapped up when she heard the beep of a text coming through. Grabbing her phone, she quickly pressed view.

Of course. I'm actually off, stop by the house. I'll help as much as I can.

Rachel shot off a quick thanks before wiping her eyes and forcing herself to close her eyes and sleep. Already a small weight was lifted off her shoulders at just the thought of talking things over with Quinn.

"Hey babe. Guess who's coming to lunch tomorrow?" Quinn called out to Puck who was currently in their bathroom getting ready for bed.

"I don't know. Don't really care as it seems I once again can't come home for my little afternoon delight."

Quinn gave a small chuckle, "Well I think my plan is working. Rachel's coming over for lunch-says she has a problem she needs my help with."

Puck strolled back into the bedroom clad in his boxers. "Great. You talk to her, I'll talk to him they'll get back together and life will be all sunshine and rainbows. Maybe then our lives will get back to normal and I can stop worrying about their dumbasses interrupting my sex life." He leaned over to kiss her, trying to convince her with his mouth that since he couldn't have his afternoon delight maybe he could have some dessert.

She slapped a hand to his chest instead. "Aww poor baby. You know you want them back together too. Now cut it out; I have to figure out how to get her to see sense so that she thinks she did it on her own."

With a sigh he punched his pillow, more pissed than before at Finn and Rachel for messing up his time. He felt like he was back in his high school again but for once he was the one in the stable relationship. His eyes closed as he fell into sleep, thinking of what he'd say to Finn tomorrow.

A/N: Poor Rachel has two men who want her-I wonder who she should pick? Next up we'll see if Finn's plan will work, especially now that Beatrice herself will be in attendance. Thanks for the read, feel free to review-I enjoy hearing what you think :)

Songs used in this chapter were: Everything you want by Vertical Horizon, Shameless by Garth Brooks and Without You from RENT.

Thanks for the encouragement on this one my dear Groffles/forky dork/braintwin and a million other names. I appreciate it more than you know.

Mrs. B I hope your having a good day!