Author's Note: Thanks again for all of the amazing reviews! This is the second to last chapter of this story, so we're definitely winding down now. This chapter's title comes from "Together" by Michelle Branch.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"How are you feeling?"

Finn pouted at Rachel from his place on his couch as she adjusted the blanket around him. "I'd feel a lot better if you'd just let me get up and do something. My legs aren't broken, Rach."

"But your ribs are broken and you have a dislocated shoulder—"

"My right arm still works fine, you know."

Rachel ignored him. "—and you need to recover properly."

Finn caught Rachel's hand and pulled it up to his lips. "I know something that will help me heal faster." He had a plethora of cheesy lines and used them whenever he could to make Rachel laugh. The best times were when she gave him one in return.

"You're wearing a sling, Finn," Rachel pointed out. But she smiled and set herself carefully on Finn's lap. She kissed his cheek and ran her hand down his chest. "But you might get lucky if you play your cards right."

Finn pouted again. "But I'm hurt, baby. You need to help me, remember?"

Rachel giggled and kissed the pout off his lips. "That has to be one of the cheesiest things you've ever said. But I might help you out later tonight just because you're so hot."

Finn rolled his eyes playfully. "And here I was thinking that you love me."

"That too," Rachel added as she kissed him.

Finn grinned in triumph and slid the fingers of his good hand into her hair, pulling her close for another kiss. "How about you just help me out now?" he mumbled against her lips. He moved his kisses from her mouth to her neck, biting down gently on her pulse point. Rachel moaned and was about to answer when the door to Finn's apartment opened.

"Ew. What is it with the two of you and couches?"

Rachel ignored Santana and kissed Finn again before she turned to face the newcomers. She knew that Kurt and Santana were coming over, but she hadn't expected to see Puck, Quinn, Sam, and Mercedes accompanying them.

Finn clearly hadn't expected that many visitors at his apartment, either. He groaned but didn't let Rachel move out of his lap. Looking at his brother, he said, "I don't know why I gave you a key. You can't just walk in here like you own the place."

"Dude, sorry that we kept you from getting some of Berry's ass," Puck said. "But the game is on and we decided to come over here and watch it, just to give you something to do."

Finn rolled his eyes. "Dude, you're such a cock block."

"Finn!" Rachel's cheeks turned bright red, but Finn just laughed and kissed her cheek. Thankfully, their friends had brought pizza and drinks as well. Puck turned the game on and they all settled in to watch it. Rachel was still curled on Finn's lap and she rested her head on his shoulder. He rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"God. You two are so cute that it makes me want to throw up," Santana grumbled. But she said it teasingly, so her friends knew that she didn't really mean it.

"It's about time, though," Kurt added. "At least they're not dancing around each other anymore. All of that unresolved sexual tension… especially when all first started hanging out again! It was kind of disgusting."

Finn made a face at his brother. "Dude, you kind of suck."

"And if you really think about it, the sexual tension was probably resolved at that point," Sam pointed out with a grin. They had all noticed the changes in Finn at work. Despite their teasing, they were all happy for him.

"Ew! Sam! That was something that I never needed to know about my brother!" Kurt exclaimed.

"I'm just glad that the two of you aren't hiding anymore," Puck said with a snort. "First off, it was a pain in the ass to keep your secret. Second, now we won't have to deal with Gwen trying to hop all up on your dick."

Rachel rolled her eyes and made a noise in the back of her throat at the mention of Quinn's friend from college. Finn rubbed her back again and kissed her temple, easily soothing her.

Quinn looked confused. "Am I missing something?" she asked.

"You really were oblivious to the entire thing, weren't you Quinn?" Kurt said instead of answering her question.

Mercedes shook her head. "Even I heard stories about this Gwen girl," she said. "And none of them were good."

Quinn shook her head. "I don't understand."

Rachel opened her mouth to try and explain, but Santana beat her to it. "Gwen is a bitch," she stated plainly.

Finn promptly busted out laughing. Rachel tried to keep a straight face, but a giggle escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Kurt and Puck didn't have a problem laughing, either. Quinn looked at all of them and turned her eyes to her husband.

"Q, Lopez is right," Puck said. "Gwen is a huge bitch. And I can't say that I'm really a fan of your other friends, either."

"Why didn't anyone say anything before?" Quinn demanded. She turned to face her little sister. "Rachel? I asked you before if everything was okay. You didn't say anything then."

"Everything definitely wasn't okay," Rachel said. "I'm sorry, Quinn, but I've never liked Gwen. I can't say that I liked her when I first met her, either."

"She's evil," Kurt said for added effect.

Rachel rolled her eyes and huffed to herself. "She always hit on Finn when we were all together. It was so annoying."

"Hey." Finn kissed Rachel softly. "We don't have to worry about that anymore, remember?"

"That's true." Rachel beamed and kissed Finn again. "I remember what you said to her at the wedding."

"What did you say?" Quinn asked immediately.

Sam laughed. "He told her off, that's what! Rachel did a reenactment at the station and it was pretty awesome."

"Girl," Mercedes said. "I can't believe that you didn't realize what was going on sooner. It wasn't as if Gwen was very subtle about it."

"To be fair, Quinn was occupied with the wedding," Rachel pointed out.

"I can't believe that you're defending her when you hate Gwen probably more than we do!" Santana said with a scoff.

"I wasn't defending Gwen, I was defending my sister," Rachel said. "And no, I'm not Gwen's biggest fan. Not only was she constantly trying to hit on my boyfriend, but she kept trying to take my spot in the wedding! She was always trying to get you to change your mind on the things that we decided and she was always giving me these thinly veiled insults!" Rachel was rambling now, and Finn pulled her close to calm her down.

Quinn blinked in surprise. "Wow, Rachel. I'm so—"

"She called my nose big!" Rachel interrupted. It had been during the wedding shower, when they had been talking about the pictures. Gwen had made some comment about Rachel's nose that no one else but her had heard.

"Oh, baby." Finn hugged Rachel and turned her face towards his. "Your nose isn't big. It's perfect." He kissed the tip of it, causing Rachel to smile.

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Quinn finally said. She gave her sister an apologetic look. "I had no idea. You're right. I was too caught up in planning the wedding and I didn't even notice what was going on."

Rachel shook her head and snuggled closer into Finn's side. "It's okay. I told her off and then Finn set her straight at the wedding and we haven't seen her since. I think it's over."

"We're having a brunch tomorrow, remember? Since Puck and I are back from our honeymoon, we wanted to get together."

Santana began cursing in Spanish while Rachel groaned. She had totally forgotten about the post-wedding brunch party Quinn had planned to thank her bridesmaids. The last thing she wanted to do was go and sit with those girls, let alone spend an entire lunch with them.

"It's not okay," Quinn said again. "As your big sister, I promised you that I would always stick up for you, remember?"

"And I told you that we would always have each other's backs," Rachel said. "And since Gwen, Tiffany, and Aubrey are your friends… I guess that means I can spend one more brunch with them."

Quinn tilted her head thoughtfully before she said, "They're not really my friends, are they? We haven't really talked since we finished college. We had always talked about being in each other's wedding back in college. Funnily enough, Tiffany got married and I wasn't asked to be in her wedding. I guess it just seemed nice."

"Well Gwen definitely wasn't nice," Rachel grumbled under her breath.

Quinn's eyes suddenly lit up. "I have an idea."

"What idea?" Rachel asked. She knew that look. She had seen that look plenty of times in high school. She had seen it less in college, but it had still been there. That was Quinn's revenge look. Nothing good ever came of that look… for her target, anyway.

A somewhat evil smirk began to unfurl on Quinn's face. Puck let out a low whistle and said, "Damn, Q. You look so hot when you get that look on your face."

Quinn winked at Puck before she said, "There is no way that I'm going to let Gwen get away with being a bitch to you. You're my little sister, Rachel. So, at the brunch tomorrow, I want everyone to be there. I'll take care of the rest."

Rachel settled into bed next to Finn and pressed her hand gently to his chest. "Are you sure that you're comfortable? Do you have everything that you need?"

"Yes, baby, I'm fine." Finn slipped his hand behind Rachel's neck, pulling her down to kiss him. He appreciated how much Rachel wanted to make sure that he was okay, but he really did feel fine. Finn attempted to deepen the kiss, but Rachel gently tugged herself way and placed another soft kiss on his lips. "Rach," he groaned.

"I really don't want to hurt you, Finn," Rachel said. "You're still recovering from your injuries—"

"Rachel, what is it going to take to make you realize that I'm perfectly fine?" Without waiting for answer, Finn used his good arm to roll Rachel gently underneath him. Rachel gasped in surprised and Finn chuckled as he settled over her. Keeping himself propped up on his good hand, he leaned down to kiss her.

Rachel completely melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. She brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist as well, before using the leverage to flip them over once again. Rachel straddled him and rested her hands on his chest, watching him to make sure that he was absolutely okay and wasn't in any pain. When Finn nodded his head, she bent to kiss him again.

Finn groaned and slipped his hand under the t-shirt Rachel was wearing (which happened to be one of his). He made a noise of appreciation in the back of his throat when he realized that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. Unable to take the shirt off with one hand, Finn tugged on it until Rachel got the hint and pulled it off. With a smile, she dropped it on top of Finn's head.

He could feel Rachel working to pull off his shorts and then she placed several light kisses on his bare chest. He was already painfully hard, and he could feel Rachel's small hands stroking up his thighs. Before he could tug the shirt off of his face, he felt Rachel kiss down his body. Finn groaned again when he felt her lips close around his straining erection.

Finn tugged the shirt away from his face and then sank his fingers into her hair. He didn't guide her but just simply rested his hand there, tangling his fingers in her long locks. She swirled her tongue around his tip before she let her mouth slide down him.

"Fuck, Rach," Finn breathed out. She started a rhythm, bobbing up and down almost torturously slow. She moaned around him and looked up at him from underneath her lashes. It was as if she enjoyed doing this for him as much as he enjoyed receiving it. She started humming against him and Finn tensed as he came in her mouth. Breathing hard, Finn watched as Rachel pulled away from him and licked her lips. The sight was making him go hard again and Rachel climbed back up his body to straddle him once more.

She kissed him deeply, locking her fingers into his hair and tugging him into a sitting position. Finn's lips moved from Rachel's and down her throat. He kissed across her collar bone, gently biting down before he kissed down to her breast. He took a nipple into his mouth and Rachel moaned, arching into him. He brought his hand up to cup her other breast, massaging it. Rachel ground down against him rolling her hips and whimpering when Finn bucked up against her.

She pushed him back down on his back and positioned herself over him before sinking down. She cried out as Finn entered her and he groaned her name, gripping her hip with his good hand. Rachel began to swivel her hips slowly.

"Rachel, please, baby." Finn thrust up into her and slid his hand up to fondle her breast again.

Rachel rested her hands on his strong abdomen and threw her head back, her eyes closing in pleasure. She cried out again when she felt Finn's lips close around her nipple once again. The combined sensations caused Rachel to scream out Finn's name and quicken her movements.

"Oh God, Finn!" Rachel dug her fingers into his back, trying her best through the haze of passion to be careful about his injuries. But Finn didn't seem to mind as he continued to thrust into her. He removed his lips from her breast and reattached them to her neck, moaning when he felt Rachel tighten around him. His hand landed on her behind, pulling her tighter against him.

"You feel so good, baby," Finn grunted.

Rachel gasped. "So good," she repeated. "Oh!"

She stilled as she came undone, and Finn thrust into her a few more times before he followed her over the edge. His good hand gripped her hip tightly, holding her against him as they both rode their orgasms out. Exhausted, Finn buried his face in her neck and placed several soft kisses there.

"I love you," Rachel murmured. She slipped her hand into his and he wrapped his fingers around two of hers, holding tightly.

Finn kissed up to her lips. "I love you too, Rachel. I love you so much."

Rachel had her hands wrapped securely in Finn's as she sat at the table. They were currently at the restaurant where the brunch was being held and waiting for Quinn's other three bridesmaids to appear. Quinn herself hadn't even arrived yet, though Puck was already there.

"What do you think she's going to do?" Kurt asked. "I mean, she kind of does have an evil mind…"

Puck smirked. "I love that about her."

Rachel made a face at Puck's overshare of information. "Please stop. Don't say anything."

Santana cracked her knuckles. She was only focused on one thing at that moment. "I really hope that we get to beat them up. That bitch deserved to be bitch slapped."

It was then that Gwen, Tiffany, and Aubrey walked up to their table. Obviously, they hadn't expected Kurt, Blaine, Puck, and Finn to be there. Unsurprisingly, Gwen's eyes immediately honed in on Finn. When she caught sight of the sling he was wearing, she plastered an overly-sympathetic look on her face.

"Oh my gosh, Finn! What happened to you?"

"Don't even think about it," Rachel snapped immediately. She didn't even care if Gwen's concern was genuine. She just wanted her gone.

Gwen's face melted into a glare as she turned to face Rachel. "Excuse me, but I believe that I'm allowed to ask Finn how he's doing. He's obviously injured."

"You're not allowed to ask when you have ulterior motives." Rachel's eyes narrowed. She had a strange urge to mark her territory with Finn, though she managed to stop herself from doing something totally embarrassing (that didn't mean that she didn't think about it, though).

Before Gwen could respond, Quinn appeared. She had her hands tucked behind her back and she had an overly sweet smile on her face. Rachel immediately smiled as well, because she knew that look. Something was definitely about to go down.

"Gwen, I think we'd all really appreciate it if you stopped hitting on my little sister's boyfriend," Quinn said.

"You're okay with her dating him?" Gwen demanded. She pointed at Rachel and Finn. "He's your ex-boyfriend!"

"Funnily enough, I know that. And I'm okay with Rachel dating Finn, because they love each other and make one another happy. It's easy for anyone to see. You, on the other hand? I would never be okay with you dating Finn, let alone trying to make a move on him. Which I noticed you doing back while we were in college, by the way."

Gwen gasped and tried to play innocent. "I have never—"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Oh please. I know that you did. Even more, you've spent this time insulting my sister. That is something that I will definitely not let slide." Turning to her little sister but keeping her hands hidden behind her back, Quinn asked, "Rachel, what was one of things that I used to do in high school when people made me angry?"

Rachel tilted her head as she pretended to think about it. "I'm pretty sure that you tried to tear them down as much as you possibly could."

"But what was it that I did specifically? I had a signature move, if you remember."

Quinn definitely did have a signature thing she did back in high school. Rachel had always been thankful that she was Quinn's little sister, because she had never been on the receiving end of it. Her eyes widened when she realized what, exactly, was hidden behind Quinn's back.

"Quinn—"

But Rachel didn't even get to finish her sentence when Quinn pulled a slushy from behind her back and promptly dumped it all over Gwen.

The entire restaurant fell silent as everyone stared at Quinn and Gwen in shock. Rachel broke it by clapping her hands over her mouth in an effort to hide her laughter. It was followed by Finn's chuckle, which quickly erupted into full blown laughter.

Gwen sputtered as she attempted to wipe the red slushy out of her eyes. "You bitch!" she shrieked. Spinning towards Rachel, she pointed a slushy-covered finger at her. "This is all your fault!"

Rachel held her hands up and didn't bother to hide her laughter anymore. "I had nothing to do with that, I promise."

"If it weren't for you and your big nose, I would have had Finn—"

As soon as the words were out of Gwen's mouth, Rachel shot up out of her chair and slapped her hard across the face. Finn was behind Rachel in an instant, wrapping his good arm around her waist and pulling her against him. He was glad that Rachel got her anger out, but he didn't want her to do anything that she would regret.

"I am so tired of hearing you say things like that," Rachel snapped. "Finn and I love each other. We're… we're… we're tethered. I always feel him, even when he's not there. And I'm sorry that you can't have that, but you have to stop trying to steal it from me."

Rachel relaxed in Finn's arms, and he slowly loosed his grip until his arm was just draped around her waist. She squeezed his forearm and looked into his shining eyes, returning his smile before she turned back towards Gwen.

"And for your information, I am very proud of my nose and I wouldn't change it for anything." And with that, Rachel snatched up her jacket and left the restaurant with the rest of her friends and family in tow.

"So we're tethered, huh?"

Rachel smiled up at Finn and swung their entwined hands. After the excitement at the restaurant, everyone had decided to go their separate ways in Central Park to cool down a bit. Finn was looking down at her, his amber eyes twinkling as they walked down the curving path.

"Yes. Tethered." Rachel nodded her head as she thought back to the words she had spoken earlier. "I meant it when I said that I could feel you."

"I know what you mean." Finn stopped and turned to face Rachel. He placed his hand on his chest. "I can feel you here."

Rachel giggled and moved his hand to the appropriate side. "Your heart is on the other side of your chest, Finn." She could feel his heart beating under her fingertips and she looked up into his eyes.

"It's yours," he murmured. "And it always will be."

Rachel beamed at Finn before she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. This was how things were meant to be. From here on out, Rachel knew that she was going to be happy.

Author's Note: Now we just have the epilogue to go! Also, I was trying to think of a way for Quinn to get back at Gwen, and having her be slushied is all I could come up with, lol (the slap was a last minute addition). I thought it was pretty fitting anyway, given that it's a recurring thing on Glee. Thanks for reading!