Rachel left her counseling appointment feeling a little better. She couldn't stop worrying about Finn and her other friends, but she felt like the doctor had been able to help her in regards to her nightmares.

Instead of going home, Rachel called her dads and told them that she was going to swing by Artie's. They told her to be careful and she promised them that she would. Pulling into Artie's driveway, Rachel sent Finn a text letting him know what she was doing.

"Hello," Artie's mother said when she opened the door. "You're Rachel. Artie's told me so much about you."

"I bet he has," Rachel said, laughing a little. It was no secret that Artie and Rachel hadn't always gotten along very well.

"He's in his room," Mrs. Abrams told her. "He hasn't said much today."

Rachel walked to his bedroom door and knocked. "Artie?" she said. She opened the door and found him sitting in his chair, staring out the window. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Rachel? What are you doing here?"

Rachel walked into the room and sat on his bed. "I just left my counseling appointment and thought I'd stop by."

"Your dads sent you to a counselor?"

Rachel nodded. "How are you?"

Artie shrugged. "I'm fine," he told her.

"That's what I kept saying, too," she told him. "But I really wasn't."

"Yeah, well, I am."

"Okay," Rachel said. "But if you need to talk, you can talk to me."

Artie kept staring out the window, not speaking. "I guess I'll just let myself out then," Rachel said, getting up and walking towards the door.

"I thought I was going to die," Artie said, not looking at her. "And for a moment…I didn't care."

"Oh, Artie," Rachel said, walking back towards him. "You shouldn't think like that."

"I know," he told her. "I know that I'm lucky to be alive. I know that I really do have a good life."

"But sometimes it's not enough?"

Artie shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "I don't know why I'm so unhappy," he admitted, his voice wobbling.

Rachel hugged him. "I think everyone feels that way sometimes," she told him. "I know I have."

"Really?" he said, looking at her.

Rachel shrugged. "It's not easy being Rachel Berry sometimes," she told him.

"It's not easy being around Rachel Berry sometimes," Artie told her. Rachel pulled back, hurt. Artie put his hand on her. "No, not like that." He sighed. "You're so good at everything you do and no matter what happens, you're smiling about it. I can't do that."

Rachel shook her head. "It's not easy," she told him. "I have problems, just like everyone else. I just hide them better."

"I think I might try to see a doctor too," he told her. "This can't be healthy."

"You should," Rachel told him. "It really helped me."

"Are you going back?"

"I didn't think I would when the session started, but by the end I was making another appointment."

Artie nodded. "I'm going back to school tomorrow," he told her. "I'm not going to let them scare me."

"I want to go back tomorrow, too," Rachel said. "But I am scared." She looked down. "I jump at loud noises and get nervous around large men. I have the worst dreams…and I can hear them talking in my head."

Artie held her hand. "After I got over my initial apathy, I was terrified," he admitted. "I couldn't breathe, and there wasn't a lot I could do about it. When they tossed me out of my chair, I could hear them throwing it against the wall, but I was too afraid to move. So I just laid there and prayed that they'd leave me alone."

Rachel nodded. "I prayed too," she told him. "And it seems like both of our prayers were answered."

"I hadn't thought about it like that," he told her.

"I guess I hadn't either," Rachel said. She smiled at him. "But I feel better now that I do."

"Me too," Artie told her.

"I'm hoping Finn has figured out who's behind your attack."

"Me too," Artie said. "I'd like to know who to sic Lauren on."

Rachel laughed. "She could take them."

Artie nodded in agreement. "Are you going to the "group meeting" tonight?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Rachel told him. "I'll be there." She got up and squeezed his shoulder. "I'll see you then."

"Thanks for coming by," he told her, smiling a little. "I needed that."

"Me too," Rachel told him, smiling back. "I'll see you tonight."

She left him with a smile but her heart was heavy. She'd been so caught up in her own feelings lately that she hadn't been paying much attention to anyone else's. Finn was stepping up as captain of the Glee Club…maybe it was time she stepped up too.

When she got back into her car she saw that Finn had texted her. She called him, wanting to hear his voice. "Hey baby," he said, answering.

Warmth spread through her body at that. "Hey yourself," she said, smiling. "How did today go?"

"Pretty well. No one was hurt. Maybe it's over."

"Good, because I want to go back to school tomorrow."

"Rachel," he sighed. "I'm at my house now. I'm going to grab something to eat and I'll be over and we can talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," she told him.

"How's Artie?"

Rachel was silent for a moment. "I think he's going to be okay," she said finally. She knew that she could tell Finn anything, but these were Artie's feelings, not hers.

"Good. Is he coming to the meeting tonight?" he asked, chewing on something.

"Finn Hudson, chew with your mouth closed!" Rachel said, laughing. "And yeah, he's coming."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I'll be over in a few, okay?"

"Okay," she told him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said, hanging up.

Rachel smiled as she stopped at a stop sign. She really couldn't wait to see him. A dark shadow fell over her as someone leaned against her car window. She screamed. The man backed away, holding his hands up. Heart pounding in her chest, Rachel stared at the town's one and only homeless man. "I am so sorry," she said to him.

"Forget it lady," the man said, walking off and shaking his head.

"Get a grip, Rachel," she said to herself, turning on the radio.

Finn pulled into her driveway right after her. He walked up the driveway and grabbed her, pulling her close for a kiss. Pulling away, he stared smiled at her.

"Miss me?" he asked huskily.

Rachel smiled at him. "Maybe a little," she said.

Finn's thumb caressed her cheek gently, mindful of her bruises. "You look beautiful today," he told her.

"You don't have to say that," Rachel told him. "I know how I look."

Finn bent his head, his lips lightly brushing hers. When she wrapped her arms around his neck he deepened the kiss. Finally, breathing hard, he pulled back. "Beautiful," he told her again.

"What?" Rachel asked, dazed.

Finn smiled crookedly. "You didn't eat all of the banana bread did you?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and led him into the house. "You just ate!" she playfully chided him.

Finn smiled at her. "I can always eat again," he told her, following her into the kitchen. Rachel went to the cabinet but Finn stopped her with a hand on her arm, pulling her to a seat. After she'd sat down, he fixed himself a piece of banana bread. "Do you want a piece?" he asked her.

Rachel shook her head. "What happened at school today?"

Finn shrugged. "Nothing, really. We met this morning and went in together. I made an appointment with one of the counselors there." He took a bite of the bread and groaned. "This is so good," he told her. "Anyway, we stayed in groups throughout the day and no one messed with us."

Rachel smiled. "Maybe it's over, then," she told him.

"Hopefully." He looked at her. "I miss making out with you by your locker."

Rachel blushed and looked down. "Is that all you miss?" she asked him.

"No, babe," he told her, smiling. "I miss your voice and the way your hand fits in mine when we're walking down the hall. I miss the way you smile up at me, like I'm the only person around in a hallway full of people. I miss that irritated noise you make in the back of your throat when you see Jewfro."

Rachel shook her head and grinned. "His name is Jacob," she said, getting up and walking over to him. Sitting on his lap, she put her head on his shoulder. "And I missed you, too."

"I don't want you to come back tomorrow," he told her. "It scares me."

"I've been thinking about it and even if something had happened today, I would have still wanted to go back."

"Why?" he asked, playing with her hair.

Rachel shrugged. "When I was talking to the doctor I realized that I'm going to be scared and I'm going to have bad dreams…but that I can't let this alter the person I want to be." She looked up at him. "And I want to be strong. Not just for me, but for my dads and the club…and for you."

Finn kissed her forehead. "You are strong for me, Rach," he told her. "I can't believe how great you're doing. I was so worried…" he broke off and shook his head. "You amaze me."

"If you could record that for me, that would be awesome," she told him, winking.

Finn nodded. "I'll get on it." He rubbed her back. "Guess what I brought you?"

"You brought me something?" she asked, excited.

Finn laughed. "Yup."

"What is it?"

"Your homework."

Rachel stared at him for a moment, her mouth open. "Finn!" she said finally, swatting him. "That wasn't nice at all!"

He kept laughed. "Sorry babe," he told her.

"Oh well," she said, sighing. "I guess I do need to do it."

"Let me get my bag," he told her, standing up after she moved off of his lap. He ran out to his truck, then came back in. "It's in there," he told her, handing her the backpack and putting the bread up.

Mumbling, Rachel opened the bag, finding a bunch of wildflowers on top of her books. "Are these for me?" she asked him, pulling them out. It was a bunch of random flowers that she saw on the side of the road every day. They were beautiful.

"How did those get in there?" Finn asked, shaking his head. Rachel just looked at him, smiling. "Do you like them?" She nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. "I saw them on the side of the road and thought of you."

"They're perfect," she told him.

"That's why they reminded me of you," he told her, smiling and lowering his head slowly to hers. Their lips met and Rachel forgot about every single problem she'd ever had in her life. The only thing in the world was Finn and his soft lips and his strong arms. "Why are you crying?" he asked, pulling back.

Rachel put her arms around his waist and held him tight, crying into his shirt. "I don't know," she told him.

"Are you okay?" Rachel nodded. "Was it something I did?" She shook her head. Giving up, Finn held her, rubbing her back. "I love you," he told her.

Rachel felt like a crazy person and she couldn't seem to stop crying. Finn was just so wonderful…and was that a reason to cry? No. Could she help it? Nope. Finally the flow of tears stemmed and she pulled away from Finn, stretching up to kiss him. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips, "for being everything you are." Finn nodded, looking down at her. "Want to help me with my homework?"

Finn smiled. "Sure," he told her, taking her offered hand and following her into the living room. He wasn't sure what had caused her to cry, but he knew love when he saw it shining in her eyes. He'd take it.