Author's Note: You guys are amazing! Anyway, I've had a few requests for smut. Don't worry, it's coming very soon. As always, thanks for reading! This chapter title comes from the "Chariot" by Gavin DeGraw.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Rachel groaned as an obnoxious beeping noise reached her ears. She snuggled further into the bed, pressing her cheek against her warm but somewhat hard pillow. Rachel didn't mind, though. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware of the fact that she had not had a more peaceful sleep in a long time.

Her pillow shifted under her, and Rachel gripped it tighter. She became aware of a pair of arms wrapped around her as they tightened. Rachel suddenly remembered everything that happened the night before, and she opened her eyes.

She discovered that Finn was already awake as he looked down at her. "Morning, beautiful," he greeted. He reached over and turned the alarm on his phone off, and the room was quiet once again.

Rachel smiled and stretched against him. "Good morning." When Finn leaned forward, his lips searching for hers, Rachel put a hand up to stop him, and his lips came in contact with her palm. A giggle escaped her lips when he pouted at her. "Morning breath," Rachel reminded him.

Finn smirked at her and tightened his arms around her once again. "What if I said that I didn't care?" He pressed another kiss to her palm, and Rachel giggled.

"Then I'd say that I'm still going to brush my teeth anyway." Rachel reached up to kiss his cheek before she slipped out of the bed and went into the connecting bathroom. Right around the time she was finished brushing her teeth, Finn came in. His boxers hung low on his hips and his hair was sticking up in a million directions. The scruff that had been on his face the day before was more prominent now, as well.

With the toothbrush hanging limply from her mouth, Rachel watched as Finn got a new one for himself and began to brush his own teeth. If he was aware of Rachel's eyes on him, he didn't show it. He finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth out. Just as he was putting the toothbrush down, Rachel threw hers into the sink and put her hands on his chest, pushing him all the way back to the bed.

Finn was momentarily taken off guard by her surprising strength, but he certainly didn't mind it. His hands fell to her hips as she pushed him onto the mattress and straddled him. He caught sight of her wide smile and the dark look in her eyes before her lips came down over his. Rachel's fingers locked into his hair as her tongue pushed past his lips, and Finn eagerly returned her kiss.

After several long, blissful moments, Rachel pulled her lips from Finn's and kissed her way down his jaw. She removed her fingers from his hair and smoothed them down his bare chest instead. Finn hissed at the feel of her small, soft hands on his skin.

"I thought you said that we weren't going to make out here," Finn managed to mumble as his hands tightened on her hips.

Rachel sucked on the spot where his jaw met his neck. "Did I say that?"

"I definitely remember you saying that." Finn slipped his hands under her tank top and pulled her closer.

"I lied, then." She rolled her hips back into his, and they both moaned. At Puck and Quinn's apartment while they were still babysitting Beth obviously wasn't the appropriate time to consummate their relationship. But there was no hiding how hard Finn was—not with the way Rachel was straddling him. And Rachel herself couldn't hide her own arousal, since Finn could feel it through the thin material of her panties.

And that didn't mean that they could have a little bit of sneaky fun for the time being. Finn brought his hands up and slowly cupped her breasts. Rachel threw her head back and arched into his hands. Finn gently thrust his hips into Rachel's a few times, smirking when he heard the quiet moan she let out. She reached down and kissed him again just as her cellphone rang.

Rachel seriously thought about ignoring it. But they were already treading on dangerous ground as it was, and she didn't think that she should push their luck. Finn pouted as she pulled away, and she just smiled and patted his chest as she reached for her phone.

It was a good thing that she had decided to answer it, since it was Quinn calling. Rachel took a moment to settle her breathing before she answered. "Hello, sister dear. How are you feeling?"

Quinn groaned. "Apparently, I had quite a bit of fun last night."

Rachel laughed. It took her a moment realize that she was still straddling Finn, but she didn't make to move. She liked her current position, and Finn was clearly enjoying it as well. His large hands were settled on her thighs as he stared up at her with dark eyes, and she smiled down at him.

"I know," Rachel said to her sister. "Noah told me all about it."

"He's never going to let me live it down. But I just wanted to call to let you know that we should be home in about an hour or so."

Finn's calloused thumbs were now rubbing circles on her thighs. Rachel swallowed hard and took a moment to make sure that her voice would sound normal before speaking. "Alright," she said a little faster than she wanted to. "We'll be here."

Instead of hanging up, Quinn asked, "How were things with Finn? Everything turned out okay, right?"

"Everything is fine," Rachel said. She shifted in an attempt to stop Finn from moving his hands higher, but it only caused his hardness to brush against her. She bit back a moan and Finn hissed, his hands tightening on her thighs. "It all worked out. You and Noah just focus on enjoying your last hour alone together."

"We'll see you soon, Rachel," Quinn said. She sounded relieved that things had worked out the night before. "And thanks again. I know that you don't know Finn very well, but I appreciate you staying to babysit Beth with him."

Finn now had one hand on Rachel's thigh and one under her shirt. She tried to level him with a glare, but the heated look in her eyes betrayed her. "Of course, Quinn. It was no problem. I'll see you soon!" She barely managed to wait for Quinn to hang up before she tossed her phone aside and leaned over Finn, brushing her lips against his. In a mock-stern voice, she said, "You're terrible."

Finn smirked, bringing his hands around to rest on her bottom. "Am I?"

"No," Rachel breathed before she kissed him again. Finn sat up, allowing Rachel to wrap her legs around his waist as he supported her with his hands spread across her back. Their kisses were slow and deep for several long moments before he pulled away.

"How much time do we have?" he mumbled as he brought his lips down to her neck.

"About an hour," Rachel said on a pant. "And we have at least another half hour until Beth wakes up." As Finn's lips worked up and down Rachel's neck, she grasped his shoulders. "Finn Hudson, you better not leave another hickey on my neck, or so help me, I will…"

She trailed off and gasped and he nibbled lightly on a sensitive spot. He released the skin and kissed down to her collar bone. "Or you'll what?" he said against her skin. When Rachel did nothing but let out a quiet moan, Finn bit down on the spot he was currently kissing. When he pulled back, he smirked at the mark that was now there. "And now you can't wear anything with thin straps."

Rachel certainly wasn't angry, however. She just smiled and kissed him again.

"Aunt Ray, can my pancakes be in the shape of Mickey Mouse?"

Rachel smiled and smoothed her hand over Beth's hair as they sat at the little table in the kitchen. Finn was standing at the stove, making a stack of pancakes for them.

"You'll have to ask Finn," Rachel told the blonde girl.

"Finn?" Beth said with a sweet smile.

Finn chuckled and nodded his head. "I'll see what I can do, Beth."

Just then, the front door opened. Puck and Quinn came in, both of them still wearing the clothes they had worn the previous night. Rachel stifled a laugh at their disheveled appearance as Beth let out an excited squeal upon seeing her parents.

"Mommy, Daddy!" she called. "Finn is making me Mickey Mouse pancakes!"

Puck scooped the little girl up into his arms and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I see, munchkin! And he better have some left over for me, because I'm starving. Mommy wouldn't let me stop for breakfast."

"Don't worry, man," Finn said. "I made plenty to go around."

"Did you say thank you to Finn?" Quinn said to her daughter.

Finn slid a plate with a pancake shaped like Mickey Mouse on it in front of Beth. She smiled up at him and clapped her hands excitedly. "Thanks, Finn!"

"Thank you again," Quinn said. "We really appreciate the two of you staying to watch Beth last night."

"I bet you had lots of fun last night," Puck mumbled into his plate of breakfast.

Finn and Rachel looked at each other before they looked at Puck. He wasn't looking at either of them; instead, he was playing with his daughter. It was almost like he hadn't spoken at all. Finn and Rachel shared another look before Rachel spoke.

"It really was no problem," she said to her sister. "We just watched a couple of movies last night and then went to bed. But we should probably be heading out. Santana and I were going out shopping right after lunch."

Hugs were exchanged and both Finn and Rachel said goodbye before they left. They both wanted to reach for the other's hand, but neither dared to make a move while they were still so close to Puck and Quinn's apartment. Once they were in the elevator, they both let out a sigh of relief.

"Was it just me, or was that kind of awkward?" Finn asked as he dragged his hands though his messy hair.

Rachel leaned her head against his shoulder. "It was just a little bit awkward," she agreed. But everything was fine. Neither Puck nor Quinn had suspected a thing.

Finn wrapped his arms around her, and they remained like that until the elevator got to the ground floor. As they stepped out, Finn took her hand and linked their fingers together. Rachel smiled and squeezed his hand, and Finn brought hers up and kissed the back of it. They remained in a companionable silence as they walked towards Rachel's apartment.

"Even though the end of this morning was a little weird, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Finn said as they arrived outside of her building.

Rachel groaned and buried her face in Finn's shoulder once again. "That might not have been bad, but I have a dinner to go to with Quinn and the bridesmaids tonight."

Finn chuckled. "It'll be okay. At least you'll have Santana with you."

Rachel pulled back so that Finn could see her pouting. "Yes, but Gwen will be there. And I don't like her."

"Oh, Rach. Just ignore her. She may have graduated from college a few years ago, but it seems like she still wants to spend time in high school."

"That's easy for you to say! She was hitting on you!"

"Rachel Berry." Finn wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "Are you… jealous?"

Rachel's jaw set. "No," she muttered stubbornly. "I'm not jealous. I'm just stating a fact."

Finn chuckled again. "Right." When Rachel just continued to pout at him, Finn dropped a soft kiss to her lips. "You know that you have nothing to be worried about, right?"

Rachel smiled. It was sweet of him to reassure her. "I know," she said. "But that doesn't mean I can't be angry when she tries something. Isn't it the same way for guys?"

Finn frowned. "You're right," he relented. "If some guy hit on you, I'd beat the shit out of them."

"Language, Finn," Rachel scolded, but she still giggled. After another moment, she sighed and hugged him tightly. Finn returned the embrace and played with the ends of her hair. "I don't want to go."

"It's not going to be that bad," Finn comforted. "You're going to go have dinner with Quinn and the rest of the bridesmaids, and you and Santana will sit there and have fun."

"Easier said than done, but I'll try. At least you'll be at the wedding." Rachel stretched onto her tiptoes, and Finn met her lips for a kiss. Unwilling to say goodbye, Rachel fisted his shirt in her hands and deepened the kiss. Finn didn't have any problems with complying. But after several long moments Finn gently pulled back.

He gave her that adorable half-smile. "You're trying to stall, Rachel."

"Alright, alright." Rachel kissed him one last time before she stepped towards her door. "Goodbye, Finn."

Finn squeezed her hand before he let it go. "Call me when you get back tonight, okay babe?"

Her entire face brightened at the endearment. "I will." And with one last smile, Rachel went inside.

"Seriously? I think shoving white-hot needles in my eye would be less painful than this."

Rachel stifled a snort as she twirled her fork through her pasta. Santana did have a point. Quinn looked like she was having a blast, but she was the bride. Everything she did that included the wedding excited her to no end, and Rachel couldn't blame her.

But it was Gwen, Tiffany, and Aubrey that were making things difficult. They were constantly making little jabs at Rachel and the choices she had made to help Quinn with the wedding. They were carefully veiled insults; Quinn was so excited and having such a wonderful time that she missed it, but Rachel and Santana had definitely caught on (Rachel had to stop Santana from using her butter knife to gouge their eyes out more than once).

Quinn excused herself to go call Puck. It was nearing Beth's bedtime, and she wanted to check in before then. As soon as Quinn was out of earshot, Gwen turned to Rachel.

"So, Rachel," she began in syrupy-sweet voice. "Is your sister close to Finn?"

"Obviously not," Santana said before Rachel could respond. "Considering that she cheated on him with his best friend, and all."

Gwen just smiled pleasantly at Santana. "I just wanted to know if there were any lingering feelings between the two of them."

Rachel could barely stop herself from rolling her eyes. "I highly doubt it, since Quinn is getting married in two months."

"I wasn't talking about on Quinn's end," Gwen said. "I meant on Finn's side."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and tried to look as nonchalant as possible. She wanted nothing more than to tell Gwen that no, Finn didn't have feelings for Quinn and he certainly wouldn't have feelings for her, either. She wanted to tell Gwen that Finn was very happily in relationship with Rachel. But she couldn't say any of that.

"I think it's safe to say that Finn is completely detached from Quinn," Rachel said instead. As soon as she was finished speaking, she reached for her wine glass and took a large sip of it. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she missed the very pointed look Santana sent her way.

"Fabulous," Gwen stated. Turning to Tiffany and Aubrey, she said, "Finn and I will be getting to know each other very well at the wedding."

Tiffany smirked. "Does that mean you'll be having the slutty wedding sex with him?"

With a smirk of her own, Gwen said, "What do you think?"

Rachel promptly choked on her wine. Santana responded by pounding Rachel's back until she stopped coughing. By the time she had recovered, Quinn had returned to the table and all talk of Finn had ceased.

Still oblivious to the knowing look Santana was giving her, Rachel sat there and silently fumed to herself. If anyone was going to be having slutty wedding sex with Finn, it was going to be her.

Author's Note: The drama is really starting now. Let me know what you thought!