Next chapter! I loved writing this one :D

Thanks to Gillian Deverone for beta-ing

Enjoy!


The rest of the weekend seems to fly by after the events of that Saturday. He finds himself not feeling as heavy hearted and upset around him mom, which is definitely progress, and Rachel seems to be better too. She's still upset that he knows and he thinks that maybe she's scared he'll tell someone. He won't, if that's what she wants. He just doesn't want to see her hurt anymore, and this is clearly hurting her.

After the time spent together, he feels closer to her than before. It's the closest that he's ever felt with anybody, which he knows sounds ridiculous as there's so much that he doesn't know about her.

He thinks to the fight about Jesse and how he may have acted a bit out of anger, which wasn't good considering how fragile Rachel is. He's apologized so many times already for it, now only focusing on eventually getting her to tell the authorities and making it known that Jesse is a terrible person. He won't force her though. Instead the situation needs to be handled carefully. He just wonders whether he'll be able to do it.

"You ready?" he hears her voice behind him, feeling her fingers slip into his slowly. Turning, he smiles down at Rachel, who is already peering toward him. Their eyes meet, gaze lingering for a few seconds.

"Yes."

"Good," she announces, "though I'm not in the mood for a flight, I can't wait to get back to New York."

He nods in agreement since New York is basically his home, and it has been for the past nine years. Ohio is always going to mean a lot to him. It's where he grew up, after all. Still, he just feels like New York holds so much for him and he can't wait to see what that is.

Finn turns so that his body is opposite hers, holding onto her other hand as well.

She eyes him curiously, trying to guess his next move. Sitting himself down on the bed, he smiles. "Hey," he breathes out, eyes gazing adoringly at his girlfriend.

"Hi," she replies brightly, "is there something that you want to tell me?"

"I just…" he begins, tracing delicate patters along the backs of her hands with his thumbs, as if remembering each detail. "This weekend was amazing. It was special."

For once, she's quiet. Her face is soft, brown eyes fixated on his as he speaks. He needs to tell her this. It's fundamental that she knows. "You're the first girl that I've dated in a long time, and I'm going to try my best to be a good boyfriend." Her smile grows instantly, her expression bright, "I don't ever want to forget this weekend. How happy I felt and how…how lucky I felt too – still feel.

"I never thought that this would happen. I mean, you deserve better than me, but for some reason you like me back an – "

He's cut off by Rachel lunging forward to ravish his lips with sweet, fast kisses. "Stop it," she says between each kiss, "you're so much better than you think you are."

Her words surprise him, as he often doesn't believe in himself. With a grin, he stares at their joined hands. Rachel sits herself on his lap, resting her head against his. "You'll see that one day," she murmurs, "because I do."

"You're the best girlfriend ever."

At this, she smiles proudly, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Come on," she finally says, "we've got to catch the plane soon, and we still need to say our goodbyes."

Over the course of the previous night, Rachel had noticed that Finn and Carole seemed to have made a development in their relationship and had even spoke happily together on numerous occasions. Of course, there's still a long way to go, but she's never felt more proud of Finn, having faced one of his own personal demons.

They hurry downstairs with their bags, getting ready to leave the calm, simple house in Lima to their busy lives back in New York.

Carole envelopes her in a tight hug, catching the girl off guard. "Thank you," she whispers into Rachel's ear. She doesn't quite understand why Carole is thanking her, so she just nods and smiles, hugging her back tightly.

"We'll have to come back some time," she comments, looking to Finn for confirmation.

Without hesitance, he smiles too. "Yeah, sometime after the awards at the end of this month. Hey, you should come down to New York to see Rachel's play." Rachel nods along in agreement, excited to see Finn finally getting along with his mother.

Burt nods, the man too looking rather pleased at the pleasant exchange, "we might just do that." He wraps his arm around Carole's shoulder. "We could make a weekend of it."

Carole has Finn in her embrace instantly, hugging him like she's scared he'll disappear, like it's all a dream. He laughs lightly. Rachel watches this, happy to be a witness to it.


"So you and your mom are getting along better," she comments after they've been in the air for a little bit.

"I know. I have you to thank, I guess," he says, "we talked about stuff and, you know, I feel a lot better. So…thank you."

Rachel beams when she hears this - that her influence helped them to reconcile. She watches as he stretches, his shirt lifting up ever so slightly and his legs bumping into hers. "Hey," she smirks, "get your legs out from my side of the table." It's clear that he remembers this from their first meeting, when the plan had evolved initially. That day feels like so long ago…

"Your side?" he recites from memory. "I'll put them where I want."

She looks down. "We were kind of rude to each other, huh?"

"Well," he shrugs, "I think that you were just so attracted to me that didn't know how to handle it, hence you acted out that way."

"I see," she raises her eyebrow, "and the fact that you were completely sexist and crude has nothing to do with it?"

His face falls. "I'm not really like that, you know."

"I know," she says instantly. It's clear that there are two sides to him. One, the bad boy Finn that he maintains for his band and the public, and two, the sweet, caring man that she's grown so fond of.

"I shouldn't have acted like that," he explains, "but that's what I'd been used to so long. I mean, that's how the media seem to think I am, so why disappoint them, right?"

Her eyebrows knot together. "But you're not like that. I've seen you, Finn, the real you. I like you when you're like this. Why not share that with everyone else?"

He sighs. "My name's already been dragged through the mud. I don't think that there's much I can do to change that. Besides, isn't that why we started this whole plan – to get me better publicity?" She finds herself silent, wishing that he was more eager to get a better name for himself, "I'm not saying that it wouldn't be nice. I mean, I'm sick of people bringing up my past with drugs. It's just…unrealistic."

Rachel nods in understand. He's right, only she wishes that he weren't. The problem is that people will never let him live down his past, even if he does everything in his power to try. She knows that he regrets it though, and that's all that matters.

He seems to notice her change in mood and quickly moves the conversation along. "So, you excited to go back home?"

"Hmm," she smiles, "I love New York."

"Me too, there's just something special about that city," he agrees, taking a sip of his coffee.

She quickly nods her head. "Oh, yes. I always knew from a young age that it's where I belonged." She smiles, "and I just love the busy city life that comes with it. The smells, the noise. I just… I love it." Finn finds himself grinning as she talks passionately about the city. For him it'd been an escape from the troubles in his life. For Rachel, it'd been like falling in love, and he likes that.

She notices him staring at her, smiling shyly. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

Now it's his turn to smile, "I can't believe that you wanted to date me."

"Oh, stop this," she says teasingly. "I like you, you like me. Let's just keep the "I don't deserve you" part out of this."

"Okay."

With a satisfied grin, she leans forward to steal a kiss. "I'm just," she says, "going to go to the bathroom." He isn't sure, but it feels like she's insinuating something with that. Watching her go, he feels a tug in his brain telling him to follow her.

But what if it's nothing? What if he's making it all up?

Still, he's sure that the looks she gave him was hinting at something. Finn eyes where the bathroom is in the distance, as if he's going to miraculously know what she meant by doing so.

After a minute or so, he takes a deep breath and stands up. It's too late now – he's going for it.

His legs sort of feel like jelly and his heart is pumping wildly as he reaches the door. There are a set of curtains separating the seats of the plane and the area where the bathroom is. He finds himself closing them quickly, almost getting tangled in the red material.

Plucking up all the courage he has, he knocks on the door.

"I'll be out in a minute," her voice softly says.

"Rach," he makes it known that it's him. It's all silent, other than the sound of his blood pumping in his ears, until the door opens and she looks at him in shock.

"What're you doing here?" she demands to know. "Is everything alright?"

He frowns – clearly she hadn't been dropping hints before. But it's all he can think about and, before he can stop himself, he's grabbed her face and is kissing her frantically. Rachel's shocked at first, though soon responds with as much vigor as him. Her fingers clutch onto his back as he struggles to close the door behind them, locking it shut in an instant.

As much as he loves her lips, he begins to kiss everywhere else, lips trailing from her jaw to neck until he sucks on a particular spot.

"Oh," she moans, panting against him, "that feels so good."

They crash against the wall, writhing against one another and kissing with passion, losing themselves in the other. Her hands run through his hair, pulling and tugging whenever he hits a particularly sensitive spot on her neck.

The sounds of her moans turn him on so much. Like always, with Rachel, his reactions are much stronger than with anyone else and he doesn't even bother trying to hide the bulge in his jeans. It's not long before he tilts his hips so that it's rubbing against her.

Rachel quickly notices. He half expects her to freak out a little. They are on a plane after all, with people only a few feet away from them. To his surprise, she pulls him down to allow for more kisses shared between the two, her tongue darting into his mouth eagerly. "Finn, I-I…" She stops when he nibbles on the skin beneath her ear lobe, eyes closing slowly. Her breathing is irregular and erratic, and it's such a turn on to see her like this.

"What?" he questions, still trying to get that ever-needed friction between them. Rachel seems to be doing exactly the same thing.

"Touch me," she whispers. "Please. Finn… I need you."

His groan is throaty, animalistic. He thought that it was amazing when she'd first said 'kiss me'. Now that she's uttered those other words, he can't imagine anything sounding better.

Her voice is needy. "Finn," she begs, fingernails digging into his back.

She never thought that she's act this way, on a public plane no doubt, but as soon as Finn had started kissing her, it's like her brain shut down and the only thing she can focus on is the feel of his lips over her body. Her center is hot and wet, seeking the touch of Finn and only Finn. Never before has she been so aroused.

And she'd told him exactly what she needed, his groan making her so horny that it hurts.

Finn doesn't need to be told twice. He's a little hesitant at first, watching her for any hesitation. Jesse's previous actions are still burning in the back of his mind and he never wants to do anything to scare her off. She doesn't show any signs of unwillingness, only making a few whimpers when he takes too long.

His fingertips trail up her inner thighs, teasing her. She thrusts forward, desperate for him to be near her.

When his fingers graze over her panties for the first time, he groans at how wet she is while she bucks her hips, a gasp escaping her mouth. "Harder," she tells him, busying her lips by kissing his face, his neck. Anything. Feeling her hot breath on him sends shivers up his spine and he finds himself pressing down harder on her underwear, loving the sounds that she has no control over.

"God…yes…" she licks her lips. "Faster, baby."

Encouraged, he begins to rub her quickly, keeping up a rhythm. His hand slides easily due to the wetness pooling from her. Not soon afterwards, his hand slips under her panties and inside of her warm, wet walls. "Oh, Finn!" she gasps, having no control over herself as she rides his fingers.

"Shh," he tells her and she's reminded of their current situation. To keep her quiet, he initiates another steamy kiss, never wanting to lose contact with her. He's painfully hard now, wishing that there was something he could do about it, but all of his hands are in use.

Thankfully, Rachel comes to the rescue. Her hands sweep over his bulge, coaxing a moan from the man, the one that she eagerly swallows. And then her tiny hand is slipping past the barricade of his jeans to grip him through his underwear. The actions of his hands slow as she does this, the pleasure almost too much for him.

"Faster, Finn," she tells him and he quickly proceeds to move his fingers in an out of her. It's not just physically satisfying, but also emotionally. He likes that he can make her feel this way and that she trusts him enough for this to happen.

Rachel feels the pressure mounting deep inside her, smiling into her kiss with Finn. His fingers dive deep, earning a loud moan from her and she desperately needs to fall over the edge. All she needs is the final push from Finn, who seems happy to do so.

Her lips find his neck again, sucking deliciously on the skin. While she does that, as well as continuing to rub his erection like there's no tomorrow, he finds her clit, letting his thumb brush over it. Her grip on him tightens, shocking the two of them. With a tiny smirk, he pushes hard on her clit, still moving his fingers within her.

The orgasm surges through her whole body, wracking it with intense pleasure. She accidentally bites down on Finn's neck, causing the man to groan loudly. That, combined with the feeling of her walls throbbing around his fingers and Rachel's touch, causes him to join her in bliss. He comes hard, hips bucking and causing a low sound to emit from his lips.

Rachel falls against him, spent from her orgasm and he holds her up with one arm.

He smiles brightly, dropping his head against hers and breathing a little heavily. Finn pulls his hand out of her, trying to regain a touch of composure.

"That was…"

"Amazing," she finishes with a content sigh. Looking up at him with wide eyes, she smiles and kisses his cheek. "Thank you." She giggles, still on a high, "I can't believe that we just did that."

"Me either," he grins.

She shakes her head. "But…I never do anything like this. It's all so exciting." Rachel likes this, being spontaneous and getting swept up by her emotions in the moments. Like she said, it's exciting business. All her life spent with lists and schedules and she's never felt more alive than she does right now. She looks up at Finn, who is still a little dazed, but he manages to crack a smile in her direction.

He sweeps down for another kiss, still needing to feel that ever important closeness between them.

"We should go back to our seats," he whispers.

Rachel nods, "I know." They still have time to share a few more kisses though.


By the time the plane lands, both seem to have recovered and they take a deep breath before exiting the plane. He holds Rachel close to him, his arm securely around her waist while his other hand holds onto the strap of his large bag.

"You ready?" he asks her as they prepare to enter the airport.

"Always," she replies confidently. Finn has time to sneak a quick kiss before they go inside. And they're quickly met with many reporters. Apparently Kurt had spread the news very well.

Finn instinctively goes to protect Rachel, sweeping an arm over her shoulder. Before they're hounded by the paparazzi, he sees a familiar face, "Quinn!" The blonde smiles, eagerly hugging both of them.

"I hope that you guys had a good trip," she smiles, "a calm one too." They share a knowing look. "Things are about to get a little crazy out here." She flashed them a confident smile. "Just stay close to me, okay? They're like blood thirsty hounds." She chuckles.

And so she leads them through the reporters. The flashes of cameras almost blind them as they try to navigate through the busy airport. Finn tightens his grip around her waist, smiling when she places her hand over his and squeezes.

"Finn, Rachel, now that your secret's out, what do you want to say?"

"Just that – "

"We're really happy," Rachel finishes, smiling up at him.

The particular look elicits a reaction for the reporters, who all quickly snap more photographs. They walk fast, keeping up with Quinn. The paparazzi follow eagerly.

"Why have you been hiding your relationship?" one questions.

"Are you ashamed?" another asks.

"How long have you been dating?"

The questions come thick and fast, leaving them both utterly stunned. Of course, they've had their fair share of paparazzi in the past, but nothing on this scale.

"A couple of months," Finn answers, just like Kurt had told him.

Rachel adds. "We didn't want to announce it until we were serious."

"Serious?" the word seems to be repeated a hundred times like they're all parrots. They ask more things, their prodding turning to private affairs, like sex life and things neither would like to talk about.

They're both thankful when Quinn gets them into the car waiting outside the airport. Rachel breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank God that's over."

"It was just what we need though," Quinn announces excitedly. "The news of your dating is practically everywhere. The plan is working!" She peers downwards. "Oh guys, you can stop holding hands."

Finn and Rachel follow her gaze to their entwined fingers, both reluctantly pulling away. They share a look, each questioning whether they're going to tell Quinn about the development in their relationship. It's not like they have anything to hide, but Rachel has a bad feeling every time she thinks about telling someone, even Kurt. She knows that it's stupid, thinking like that. They were pretending to date before so shouldn't actually dating be much better?

What if Kurt or Quinn thinks that it's a bad idea, that it'll jeopardize the plan? She pushes it to the back of her mind, focusing on Quinn. "That's great!" she announces.

"Yes," her manager beams, "and there's been so many people wanting interviews and statements. Teen Vogue wants you to do a photo shoot together." She clasps her hands together excitedly.

Finn isn't really listening. He finds himself staring at Rachel's hand, already missing the contact between them. He really needs to talk to her about whether they're going to tell Quinn and Kurt.


"Home, sweet home," Quinn announces as they step inside Rachel's apartment. The brunette places her bags by the door before shrugging off her jacket. She's glad to be home, though she misses the alone time that she was able to spend with Finn in Lima. "I bet you've missed it."

"Hmmm," she agrees, making sure that everything is how she left it.

Quinn frowns. "You don't sound particularly happy to be back. I thought that you would have been going crazy, having to be with Finn so much. I mean, I know that you can tolerate each other, but a whole weekend? Even I thought that it was pushing it."

She looks up in surprise at Quinn's words. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. You and Finn bicker constantly. I worried for your safety, Rachel." She chuckles at the end, coming to stand beside Rachel. "So what was it like? Were his parents nice?"

"I didn't see much of Burt, but they both seemed lovely. They're coming to see my show."

Quinn raises her eyebrow curiously, "Really? Who's idea was that?"

"Finn's."

"He wants his parents to see your show?" she laughs. "He knows that you're not actually dating, right? 'Cause, you know, I don't think that's a good idea. Even with fake dating, you fight more than my parents did, and look how they ended up."

Rachel tries not to let it show on her face, but she's beyond conflicted at the minute. Quinn seems to think that she and Finn are a bad match, something that won't work out. She can't understand how she's decided this, seeing as she always thought they were good. Opposites attract and all.

And she can't help feeling a little disheartened by Quinn's words. She knows that she and Finn aren't like Quinn's parents, they never will be, but her actually saying it hurt Rachel a little.

"I'm going to go unpack," she announces, her voice sad.

"Rachel?"

She picks up her bag, "I should get it out of the way." She tucks some hair behind her ear, biting her lip nervously. "Thanks for the ride. When are rehearsals tomorrow?"

"They start at one," she responds. "Are you alright?"

She smiles sadly. "Yes." She points to the door again, "I'll be in here."

…..

Finn climbs the stairs to his apartment slowly, debating whether to text Rachel or not. He eventually decides against it and stuffs his phone into his pocket, jogging lightly up the last few steps. When he reaches the door, he frowns as it's unlocked.

The thought of a burglar being in his apartment sets his senses on high and, after taking a deep breath, he tentatively opens to door as adrenaline pumps through his veins. But he's surprised with something much worse than a burglar.

"Why, hello Finn."

He nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound of Jesse's voice. His bag drops to the floor and his mouth falls open in shock.

The curly-haired man smirks back at him, exuding confidence from every pore. "How nice to see you."

Finn stares at the door, then back at Jesse. "What the… how the hell did you get into my apartment? You can't just barge in here… dude, that's illegal." As he tries to guess how Jesse managed to get in without a key, the other man stands up, advancing on him like a predator.

"Your friend Puckerman gave me the spare key." Finn is going to kill Puck.

"Why would he do that?"

Puck knows how much of an ass Jesse is, right? And you don't just go handing out keys to an apartment that isn't yours. He really regrets giving that key to Puck now.

Jesse shrugs. "Because I asked him to." He smirks once more, "I told him that you and I were good friends, and that I'd left something in your apartment. Also, he was drunk."

Finn rolls his eyes. Typical. As pissed as he is that his home has been intruded on, by Jesse no doubt, he finds himself glaring at the man. "I suspect that you're here for a reason?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he begins, his fingers brushing over Finn's drum kit. Finn tenses, eyeing Jesse's every move like a hawk, "about Rachel."

At the mention of Rachel, his ears prick up. "Rachel? What about her?"

Blunt as ever, Jesse replies, "I think that she's too good for you."

He's silent, brewing over the words. Of course he knows that he's lucky to have Rachel even know that he exists, never mind actually date him, but who is Jesse St. James of all people to tell him that he doesn't deserve her?

From the events of the weekend, he's pretty certain that Jesse is a toxic man who gets his kicks from controlling people. And he's not going to put up with it.

"Excuse me?" he spits, "I suppose that you're a better match for her, right?" His words are laced with anger and bitterness.

"Yes," Jesse replies, staring Finn out.

He shakes his head, "I don't think – "

"You know nothing about dating a Broadway star," he cuts him off, which only increases his irritation, "Rachel has needs that you can't take care of." He doesn't take too kindly to hearing this, to Jesse thinking that, because he doesn't come from their world, that he doesn't know how to treat Rachel right.

"Let me guess, you can?" Finn raises an eyebrow, his face stony.

"Well, yes," Jesse's face brightens, "I understand Rachel in a way far beyond your intellectual understanding and – "

"Are you calling me dumb?" He seriously can't believe this guy. He's in his home, insulting him like there's no tomorrow.

Jesse grins wickedly, but proceeds as if Finn hadn't said anything at all. This leaves him glaring at him with no hidden hatred. "And your personality is beyond dull for someone like her. She needs excitement – to be in touch with her emotions to enable her to perform at her best. You don't think that she's a star for no reason. She feels everything Finn. Love, joy, excitement, anger – "

"Fear," he adds, unable to stop himself, "I heard that you're pretty good at making her feel that."

His opponent tenses, eyes blazing. "I don't know what you mean…"

Finn's jaw locks. How dare he act as if he's done nothing to her! "Oh, you don't, do you? Or is Rachel lying to me?" His hands tighten into a fist, anger surging through his body. "Because she doesn't seem like that type to me."

"Whatever she told you," he says, his eyes flickering back and forth nervously, "it's not true. She has a tendency to exaggerate things." His face is suddenly bright with an idea. "You know that she was very in love with me, she was distraught when I broke up with her… it's no wonder that she's making up stories now, to make herself cope with it easier. I mean, it has been months bu- "

He doesn't see Finn's fist heading toward him and only feels it colliding with his nose, a crack accompanying the action. Finn pulls back with a hiss, a pain flying through his hand. But it's really worth it, he thinks.

"What the hell?" Jesse shrieks, hands flying up to his nose. He winces as he touches it, "I think it's broken!"

Finn ignores him "Don't you say anything like that about Rachel," he growls, "ever again."

For once, Jesse is stunned silent. A trail of blood begins to run from his nose, but he only stares back at Finn.

"She may not want me to tell anyone what sick, evil things you did to her, but one day you're going to pay for all of it." He points to the door. "Now stay away from her and get the hell out."

After a moment's hesitation, Jesse begins to leave. When the door closes, Finn lets himself relax, pulling a face as the throbbing in his hand increases significantly. He thinks that it may be broken or sprained, but it's totally worth it considering that Jesse deserved to be punched in the face. And he's glad that he was the one to do it.

The things that Jesse said about Rachel linger in his mind, stirring more emotions deep inside. He wants nothing more than to protect her from Jesse forever. Of course, he can't always be with her and that slimy jackass will find a way to hurt her, he's sure. She's already got memories to haunt her. On top of the real thing, it must be hell for her sometimes.

He's going to change that. He's going to take care of her and be a good boyfriend. Despite what everyone thinks, he believes that he's capable of at least that.

But right now, he really needs to go to the hospital for his hand…


So Jesse finally got what he deserved, courtesy of Finn.

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