A/N: The song used in this chapter is not mine. It's called No One Else to Blame by Howie Day (or Been There if you're an old school fan). If you'd like to add some ambience to the chapter you can DL it here: www dot sendspace dot com/ file / 41rszj just removed the spaces and replace the dots. Thank you for all of the reviews/favorites/alerts they are greatly appreciated. Don't expect another update quite as far being as aside from a few minor edits and additions this chapter was already written months ago.

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The chandelier lighting of the hotel was so reflective Finn felt like it was blinding him as he stood in the lounge waiting. He glanced over to the mirror on the wall and checked once more to make sure he looked okay. There had been such a small window between his flight getting into town and the time he needed to be ready for that he felt like he'd barely had enough time to make himself look presentable. Truth be told he wasn't even sure how the hell he'd ended up there. There was Kurt's wedding, and a dance and... He blew out a sigh and let the smile fight through as the answer resonated in his head. And there was Rachel. She was how he had ended up in the lobby of a New York City hotel with his hands tucked in the pockets of a tuxedo. He rocked back and forth a little bit replaying the whirlwind in his mind. He reached up and adjusted the tie that felt like it was choking him despite being plenty loose enough for him to breathe. Maybe it was just that he hated ties, or maybe it was the difference between the air in New York City and the air in Ohio but something was making it feel like it was hard to breath. Or maybe it was nerves. Finn glanced down at his watch as his stomach took a nervous flip. Yep, it was definitely nerves, no doubt about it. Then the doors in the front of the hotel turned and the lights reflected on a new image like grains of sand sparkling on the beach. Slowly his eyes focused in on the new sight. She was there walking towards him with the length of her dress bunched in her hands to keep it from dragging the floor. The simple beaded navy dress wrapped over one shoulder and curved downward in a delicious angle that only left his eyes wanting more as the followed the light glistening off of her skin up to her face. The face that was wearing one of the most infectious smiles he'd ever seen. Breathing was no longer difficult, it was now impossible.

"You look," he paused and licked his lips unable to find words that even matched of fraction of what he wanted to describe. "You beyond amazing," Finn finally managed to catch the breath in his lungs and huff the words out to her.

Rachel pressed her lips together in a smile that just radiated pure joy, "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." She said played and reached out to run her hand down the length of his tie.

"Thank you," he nodded and glanced up and down at his suit. "I was worried I wouldn't have enough time to meet up to your standards."

"You're funny," she whispered as she shook her head as she reached forward to straight the tie that had become crooked after her hand ran down it. "You look great. And it really means a lot to me that you came, especially on such short notice. I know…" She stopped herself midsentence wondering for a moment what exactly it was she was trying to say. Her mind raced trying to put together everything she wanted to tell him into one simple sentence. I know you barely leave your house let alone Ohio. I know it took brute force to get you to even come to your brother's wedding. I know I just kind of showed up and now you're doing things that are surprising everyone you know. Her lips curved as her thoughts settled down and the right words finally broke through. "I know you wouldn't do this for just anyone and it means a lot to me."

Finn met her smile with one of his own and scratched at the back of his head, a slight blush pinking up his cheeks, "The chance to be with Rachel Berry on the night she wins her first Tony? Wild horses couldn't have stopped me." His tone slipping into playful trying to lighten up the intense air between them.

"No one's sure I'm going to win. Not even me." She said softly and collected her dressed back into her hand. "Come on, you ready?"

"Absolutely."

"Good because I'm not," she laughed and swallowed the nervous lump in her throat.

"You have nothing to worry about, if they don't see how amazing you are, you don't need their award anyway." He winked at her as he stepped slightly in front of her and offered his arm.

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"Charlie, hurry up! The preshow has already started and they just informed the viewers that they will have first time nominee Rachel Berry in just a moment." Kurt called out to his husband as he waited his eyes glue to the television.

"Okay, I'm here." Charlie said as he sat down trying to feign an interest in the red carpet for an awards show that he was only going to watch because Rachel was nominated.

"You have to see her dress. It's a gorgeous navy Oscar de la Renta. Tastefully elegant, shows just enough skin, and looks amazing on her. Rachel's fashion sense as come along way. Thanks mainly in part to me." Kurt clasps his hands against his chest in a moment of self appreciation. "It should get me a special mention in her acceptance speech. Best friend and best fashion guru ever." Kurt cocked his head and gave Charlie a smug smile, before he screeched and pointed at the television. "Look there she is," unable to contain his excitement he clapped as he watched the camera bulbs go off around her.

"Wait," Kurt glanced as he heard Charlie mumble and watched him scoot up in his chair a baffled look on his face. "I thought I just saw," he mumbled again but didn't finish his sentence before his focus rested on the television. "Kurt is that," Charlie paused and Kurt watched as his eyes went wide. "Kurt is it just me or does that guy look like your brother?"

Kurt's head snapped back in the direction of the television the camera starting to pan away from Rachel as her date stepped back to her side and they began down the carpet. "Oh. My. God." Kurt's eyebrows narrowed and his mouth dropped open as he starred at the television in disbelief. "Just friends my ass."

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Finn grinned and bobbed his head along with the music as he watched the cast of Rachel's show jump and dance around. He kept trying to catch a glimpse of Rachel but everyone was moving so fast he could find her. Hell the fact she had gotten up out of her seat to go get ready for the brief performance was the only way he knew she was up there with them. At least that's what he figured but he was positive he hadn't seen her even once in the ensemble crowd. Then, almost as if the directors of the awards show had known he was looking for her, the lights went completely dark and the soft sounds of a violin began to play through the room. Finn swallowed hard his heart racing in anticipation as a single spotlight lit the stage revealing Rachel as her voice carried through the microphone.

"If I had to choose to either bleed or bruise. I wouldn't hesitate because I've been there. If you had a doubt if I was in or out I wouldn't hesitate cause I've been there. All my life is speeding up swear I'm never giving up on you."

It was the first time in years he'd heard her sing. And it was every bit as beautiful as he'd remembered. Maybe even more, he wasn't sure. But just the sound of her voice erased everyone else in the room. She wasn't singing to a theatre full of people. Finn shifted his body closer to the edge of his seat and gripped the arm rest.

"Under the lights it's just you and I. Knowing there's no one else to blame. A shot in the dark. We're caught in a spark knowing there's no one else to blame."

She wasn't singing to the national audience watching at home on their televisions. She was singing to him. He could feel it in every lyric she sang and every note she hit. It was as if the song she'd been singing every night had been written just for them. Finn fought the urge to let his eyes close as the feeling of her voice washed over him.

"No I don't need to know why. No I don't need to know why."

The lights came up on the orchestra creating a theatrical element but his eyes remained locked on Rachel. He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding until the tightness in his chest had taken over. He could feel her eyes burning into his as she sang as if she were trying to feed the fire her voice had sparked. He swore he heard her voice crack as she sang with a raw emotion that made it all seem as if it weren't a song she'd been singing every night for months.

"Under the lights it's just you and I knowing there's no one else to blame. A shot in the dark caught in a spark knowing there's no one else to blame."

Finn sat mesmerized as she repeated the chorus and the music started to fade. The crowd of people slowly started moving to their feet. But he sat motionless; his heart was still racing as the applause resonated through the room. Her voice still sounded through his head. His eyes closed as he let the feeling take him over. He was sixteen again, and letting the feelings her voice aroused take over. Her voice still moved him in way he'd never really been able to understand. There was just something special about it, something that hit him in the heart. And when he heard her sing, every time he had ever heard her sing it was like no one else in the world existed.

Finn's wits slowly made their way back to him as Rachel crossed in front of him and sat down. "You were incredible." He leaned over and whispered into her ear as his hand reached and slid into hers.

Rachel bit her lip to subtly conceal her smile, as she felt the weight of their hands fall to her lap. "Thank you." She whisper and then nodded for him to turn his attention back to the stage. Her eyes glanced down at their hands in her lap taking in the sight and the feeling for a moment. She reached up and placed her free hand over the top of them. Her eyes slipped closed and her shoulders relaxed as she memorized the moment, it was one she never wanted to forget.

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"Steve, did Finn tell you were he was going?" Alison called from the kitchen as she turned the burner on the stove down to warm.

"No, he told me he'd see me on Monday and just took off like a bat out of hell after our meeting this morning. Seemed anxious, which was really weird for him."

"And did he ever happen to mention what Rachel does for a living to you?"

"Yea she an actress in New York, she does plays or musicals or something like that. Why?" Steve yelled back before he mumbled under his breath about a bad call on the game he was watching.

"Quick turn on channel four," Alison yelled as she rushed into the living room and pointed wildly at the television. "Did he mention she maybe did Broadway?"

"Um, yea I think so why?" Steve raised an eyebrow as he turned the channel away from the Reds game to find some kind of awards show. "What is this?"

"It's the Tonys."

"The what?"

"The Tonys, they're like the Espy for Broadway," Alison explained using the only award show she knew Steve had ever watched. "Now just watch." She demanded as she pointed at the television and waited until the presenter called Rachel's name and the camera panned to her.

"Hey it's Rachel and..." Steve paused to blink and assure that the person he was looking at was who he thought it was. "Finn!" His mouth dropped open slightly as he looked from the television to Alison in shock.

Alison raised her eyebrows and grinned slightly, "I don't think he'll be making it to work tomorrow."

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Rachel giggled and hugged one last co star as Finn walked forward and held the hotel's lobby door open for her with one arm and offered the other for support. She was several glasses on champagne in and the last thing Finn wanted was to have to make a trip to the hospital.

"I'm not drunk," playfully slapped his arm as she walked passed him and then turned her head and looked over her shoulder at him. "Just wonderfully buzzed and incredibly happy," she said as she walked out and twirled around on the sidewalk. "So happy." She turned her eyes to the car waiting on them and then back to Finn. "My apartment's not far. Would you walk me home?"

Finn nodded, "Yeah I can always catch a cab to my hotel," he answered then nodded the driver away as he stepped forward her hands immediately wrapping around his arm as they started down the street. A silence fell between them as she pressed her head into his shoulder and let out a content sigh. Silence had become something Finn had gotten used to but it had been a long time since he'd shared a comfortable silence with another person. Let alone a content silence. The way he felt right then he would have walked along the streets of New York forever if she wanted him to.

"Tonight has been so perfect I'm not even sad I didn't win." She said softly and nuzzled against him for a brief moment before she looked up to see his eyes looking down at her in a playful disbelief as if he thought her statement was a lie. "Okay so maybe I'm a little disappointed. But it's not the last chance at a Tony I'll ever have and my show won. So in a sense I won." She face broke out into a full on smile as she let go of his arm and danced out ahead of him. "And I had a magical night in a city that I love." She spun around again only to come to a stop when his hand reached out and landed on hers, "And it was with you." Her voiced dropped to a whisper as Finn stepped in closer, "The way I always pictured it would be."

Finn felt his grip on Rachel's wrist slip down as her fingers moved and intertwined with his.

"I was singing to you tonight you know. Every note, every word," her eyes fell closed as she stepped in almost pressing her body against his. "I didn't care that anyone else was in that theatre. Tonight you were the only person there." She used their entwined hands to lead his hand to her chest, pressing it against her rapidly beating heart. "I wanted you to feel it."

He tried to actively remember to breathe as she stepped in closer, the smell of the New York City street, wine and Rachel Berry invading his senses. The feelings taking him over were ones he'd tried for so long to fight away. He'd tried for so long to keep himself from truly feeling anything anymore and now he felt powerless to keep them at bay.

"I do." He said with a thick swallow. His heart pounded against the walls of his chest so hard he was sure she could hear it, maybe even feel it through their touch. The sounds of the city around them slowly faded into the background, the world around them disappeared as their eyes locked and he reached up to push her fallen hair behind her shoulder. "The last time I tried to kiss you on a street in New York, you ran away," his voice was raspy and thick as the old memory played in his mind.

"Try again," her voice barely audible as her hand reached up to dance her fingers over his jaw line, a hot ball of anticipation built in her stomach waiting to burst.

Her breath hitched and released. He inhaled the air she let go and their eyes fell closed as his lips moved in and brushed against her. Electricity, heat, and passion filled the air as he finally settled his lips to hers and they both melted into the kiss. As they fell into the familiar. No resistance or awkward second needed to find a comfort or rhythm. It was if the years had never passed, and the past didn't exist.

"Take me home, Finn." She broke their kiss just enough to whisper breathlessly against his lips.

At that moment he would have taken her anywhere she asked him to and the word no would have never even crossed his mind, but home was good enough for him.