Chapter 2
Rachel really didn't know what she was thinking, being in love with her best friend and all. She'd known for ages that she was nuts for having these types of feelings towards him, but at some point she'd already accepted it.
They used to not be as bad, the feelings of love and lust. But, as time's went on, those feelings grew stronger. Now, the only time she didn't think of him or her feelings were when she was working.
Seeing as though she was a pediatric surgeon she never really had time to zone out, so she would completely ignore the thought of him. She really did thank her crazy working schedule, it kept her from thinking more crazily and doing and saying things that she would regret. The only free time she did get was usually on days when she wasn't needed or the days that she was on call but didn't have to be at the hospital until or if the did call her back into the hospital for an emergency procedure or if they needed an extra person to make rounds and stuff like that. In those times of freedom, he would be scanned back into her brain until she would be preoccupied with something else.
It wasn't always like this for her. Hell, Rachel could remember the times she would scoff when people told her how cute she would be with Finn. Finn was always like the extremely annoying older brother to her. Yes, they always had their good times, but she never really saw him as boyfriend material. He was her best friend. That's all she thought of him.. Until about a few years ago.
It all started when Rachel was in her junior year of high school and Finn was in his senior year. Rachel remembered that it was sometime around January. She remembered because it was a few weeks after her and Finn celebrated New Years Eve together.
They would do this yearly thing where they would sneak up to the roof of the local grocery store. They would steal liquor and wine from their parent's cabinets and they would buy a bunch of food before the got up to the roof. Then, they would get really drunk and spend the night on the roof, watching fireworks and waiting to bring in the new year with each other. Once their phone clocks would hit 12:00 am, they would watch the big show in the sky and share predictions with each other for the new year. Rachel really did miss it. Now, Finn would just take her to the ball drop in Time Square if she didn't have to work, and after they would both get a drink at the local club, which was usually packed. The thing that would really amuse Rachel was that Finn would get wasted with Puck before 10:00, and at 12:00, she would painfully watch as Finn would grab a random chick and kiss her before getting her number. Things were different now. New Year's Eve used to be the funnest holiday besides Christmas to her And now, the only she got out of New Year's Eve was when she would help deliver a baby into the New Year when she would be working. Things weren't the same, and they both knew it.
Anyways, she was sitting alone at a table in the courtyard, studying for her geometry test. Before she knew it, she wasn't alone. Looking up from her book, she was faced with four football players sitting with her at her table. Rachel recognized all of them from her classes, but she still felt uncomfortable, as she wasn't the most popular girl in school, and they weren't known to be the nicest guys in the school.
Closing her book, she placed it in her book bag and began to get up, before Mark Parker, the football player on the side of her, pushed her shoulder down, forcing her to sit back down.
"Can I help you?" she asked nervously, facing him.
"Chill, Berry. We just wanted to say hello." Mark laughed.
"Great. Hello. Can I go now?" She asked, rolling her eyes.
"Not just yet. Guys?"
Before she knew it, she was hit by a massive wall of cold, icy slush. Wiping her eyes, she looked up and noticed that everyone was laughing at her. Getting her book bag, Rachel jumped up and ran towards the bathroom with tears in her eyes. Once she got to the mirror, she cried even more realizing how much of a freak she looked like with different colored slushy all over her clothes.
Hearing the door open behind her, she slightly jumped. Turning around, she felt relieved to find Finn standing behind her with sympathetic eyes looking at her in the mirror.
"I know. I look pathetic." She frowned as she wiped away the slush from her face with a wet paper towel. "Gosh, why does it have to be cold ice that they throw at me?" She scoffed, wiping away the tears that ran down her eyes.
Walking over to her, Finn took the paper towel and started wiping her face for her.
"Look at me. You're anything but pathetic, Rachel. You're my best friend and you're the coolest person I know. So, don't let those stupid jocks tell you otherwise. Because, Rachel, if you could see yourself the way I see you, you wouldn't be feeling this way right now. By the way, I'm pretty sure you won't be seeing too much of Mark and his pack of wolves anytime soon. I may have to go to detention for like two afternoons, but they totally had it coming. I'll always protect you Rach. That's what friends are for. I mean, I protect you from scumbags like them and you protect me from my wardrobe, unless Kurt hasn't already beaten you to the job. We're a team, right?"
"Right." She smiled up at him. That speech broke through to Rachel's heart. From that moment, her feelings for him became very different than what they were before. She saw him in a new light. In that moment, Rachel Berry knew she was in love with Finn Hudson.
Getting up from the couch, Rachel checked her phone and her beeper. It was now 12:13 pm, and she had gotten no pages, so she still had free time. Once she got into the kitchen, she wanted to find something to do. After gulping down a glass of orange juice, she looked around the place.
"Gosh, Hudson. You are a pack rat." She sighed.
She wondered how "Mandy" didn't run out screaming this morning from the mess he had in this place. It was so messy that she wondered if he even cleaned the place after clearing all of the boxes out when they moved here from Lima.
Walking over to the dishwasher, it was loaded with dishes that needed to be picked up. After picking up the dishes, she placed the ones in the sink into it and washed those. While waiting for those to be washed, she walked over to the utility room, gathering the huge pile of dirty clothes on the floor, placing it into the washing machine, after placing the already washed clothes into the dryer along with a fabric softener. Gathering the already dried clothes in a basket, she walked back over to the living room, turned on the tv, and started folding Finn's clothes for him.
After about another 3 hours of doing house work, Finn's whole house was spotless, including the floors that she swept and mopped and his bed, which she washed the blankets, sheets, and pillow cases. After folding all of his clothes, she placed them where they belonged, and picked up all of the clean dishes as well. After Finn's bed stuff was nice and clean, Rachel made his bed and smiled at her success into cleaning the dirty place.
Sitting down at the counter, Rachel pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" The voice asked.
"Hey, San. Look, I have nothing to do, I'll be there in a few minutes." Rachel told her.
"Okay. See you then." The voice answered, before hanging up.
Leaving the apartment, Rachel turned off all of the lights, and locked the door behind her. Once she got to the little apartment in Manhattan, she knocked on the door 3 times before her Latino friend answered with a smile on her face.
"Hey, girl. What brings you here?" Santana smiled wide.
"I really need my girl talk." Rachel replied, walking in to the apartment.
"Good thing you came by. Quinn's here with Jeremy. Brittany just put him to sleep, and theirs also coffee. We're sitting at the table, if you want to join."
"I'm not intruding, am I?" Rachel asked concerned.
"Hell no. Come on Berry, get your skinny ass to the table with the rest of us." Santana said, walking towards Brittany and Quinn who were talking at the small round table.
"Look who decided to finally show her face." Quinn smiled, standing up to hug Rachel. "I was beginning to think you lived in that hospital."
"I know, I know. I've just been really busy." Rachel smiled, hugging Quinn.
"That would explain the scrubs." Brittany smiled, hugging Rachel.
"Yeah." Rachel yawned.
"Here, have some coffee, sleepy head." Santana laughed, grabbing a coffee mug from the cabinet and filled it with the dark brown liquid, handing it to Rachel, who was now sitting at the table with the other two.
"Thanks." She smiled, as Santana joined the rest of them at the small table.
"You don't have work today Ray?" Quinn asked.
"Not yet. I'm on call. I was supposed to be getting my rest today. I worked all last night."
"I can tell. The circles under your eyes look so dark. It's almost like you have two black eyes." Brittany replied.
"Yeah, I know. I was supposed to get all of my sleep this morning once I got off. But, Finn thought otherwise." Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Oh, oh. What did Frankenteen do this time?" Santana asked.
"He called at around 6:00 this morning, asking me to come over and get rid of the one night stand he had last night." Rachel sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"You said no, right?" Quinn made sure.
"Not exactly.." Rachel replied with a guilty expression.
"Rachel.." Quinn began.
"I know, Quinn.. It's just that, he's my best friend and I know he would do it for me, so.."
"What happened?" Brittany asked, looking interested.
"I pretended to be his wife, she called me ugly, I slapped and punched her, then I kicked her out the door on her ass." Rachel explained, before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Wow.. If I were you, that bitch wouldn't of even made it out the front door. I would've went all Lima heights on that slut's skanky ass." Santana exclaimed.
"I'm sure you would've." Quinn laughed, before noticing Rachel's sad expression.
"There's something you're not telling us, Rach." Quinn told her.
"I know. Can you guys keep a secret?" Rachel asked the three girls.
"Of course. Anytime. Whatever you need." were answered back as replies.
"I'm in love with him. I always have been. Ever since All of us were in the 10th grade." Rachel confessed.
"Aww, Berry's got a thing for pyramid nipples.." Santana said, with Brittany hitting her arm. "Sorry" Santana whispered towards Rachel.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." Rachel inhaled deeply, wiping away the tears that fell from her eyes.
"Hey, Rachel, don't beat yourself up about this. Love isn't easy. You can trust us. We've been through hell and back in high school, right Britt?" Santana asked, grabbing Brittany's hand.
"Yes, love can be a bitch sometimes, Rach." Quinn joined in. "You don't think Sam and I just woke up one day and decided to break up in high school? It took a lot of work to get where we are now."
"I know it's hard and stuff, but, I mean, he doesn't even look at me that way." Rachel wiped another tear away.
"Then, sit him down and tell him how you feel Rach." Santana told her.
"I'm too scared, San. What if he gets disgusted? What if he never looks at me the same? Or worse, what if he doesn't feel the same way? Do you know how humiliating that will be guys?" Rachel cried.
"Rachel, don't take this the wrong way, but, all I hear are "What ifs" You'll never know if you never try. For all you know, Finn feels the exact same way and he's waiting for you to say something." Brittany explained.
"You're absolutely right, Britt. Gosh, why am I such a coward?" Rachel asked, cursing herself under her breath.
"You're not a coward, Rach. It's totally normal to be scared to tell someone you love them. It's a huge step." Quinn said, placing her hand over Rachel's.
"Thanks, Q. Thanks all of you." Rachel smiled at her friend's support.
"You're welcome. Oh, while you tell him, can you also tell him to let off Sam a little. Those three... I don't even know where to begin.." Quinn sighed. "Sam came in at 2:39 this morning."
"Oh trust me, I've had a little talk with Finn already. I told him he needed to grow up and focus on his career instead of going to parties every night." Rachel rolled her eyes.
"They're both being terribly influenced." Quinn replied.
"Puckerman.." All three of them said in unison, before sighing.
"We really need to find him a girlfriend. Maybe then, we'll get our normal guys back. Any suggestions?" Santana asked.
"There is this nice girl who works at my office. Her name's Chelsea. I'm pretty sure she's around our age range." Brittany smiled.
"Could you talk her into it?" Rachel asked.
"Talk her into it?" Santana laughed.
"It's Puck we're talking about here." Rachel replied with a smile.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow morning." Brittany replied with laughter.
"Good. I need my husband back. Not Finn or Puck's wingman, as he calls it." Quinn smiled.
"Guys, I just came up with best idea.." Santana blurted out.
"What?" They all asked.
"It just came to me.. Rachel was going on about how she loved Finn and all that. I was thinking.. Finn has his wingmen, and so will she.." Santana smiled her devious smiled.
"Are you crazy, Santana?" Rachel asked, looking at her like she just told them she was going to jump off of a bridge.
"Wait, what are you talking about Santana?" Quinn asked curiously.
"We will go to all of the clubs that Finn, Sam, and Puck go to, and we will hang out with them and drink with them, and dress incredibly hot, don't worry, Rachel, leave the dressing to me, and unlike Finn's wingmen, we will only be looking for one guy for Rachel. Finn himself. And we will not stop until he has basically fallen into her arms with hearts in his eyes like in the cartoons." Santana explained her plan to the three girls, before taking a sip of her coffee with a smirk on her face.
"That is the dumbest plan I've ever heard, babe." Brittany whispered.
"Okay, Santana? Have you forgotten that I have a very busy job, and I'm barely ever off at night and if so, like so late?" Rachel asked.
"Have you also forgotten the fact that I have a 3 month old baby?" Quinn asked.
"Just, please consider it. I mean, Rachel, weekends, and Quinn, it's called a babysitter." Santana replied.
"Okay, fine. I'll think about it.." Rachel replied.
"Yeah, me too. As long as it's like only one night a weekend or such." Quinn followed behind.
"Great! This is going to be awesome! Ladies, Finn won't know what hit him once were done. I mean, once Rachel's through with him. This is going to be fun! Let's do this!" Santana shouted.
"I said i'll think about it." Rachel reminded her.
"Berry, I know you. You'll go home and call me a few hours later approving. It's basically a yes." Santana told her.
"Fine. But, only on weekends, when I'm not working." She compromised.
"Okay. What about you Fabray?"
"Fine. But, like Rachel said, only on weekends. Like on Friday or Saturday." She answered.
"Awesome! What are we gonna be called?" Santana clasped her hands together, smiling at the three of them.
"Our regular names.." Rachel replied.
"How about Rachel's angels? Like Charlie's angels. Except instead of Charlie, it's Rachel." Santana smiled.
"Yeah.. Sure.." Quinn laughed.
"Good luck with that.. I have to get going. I'll see you guys later, okay?" Rachel said, getting up from the table, realizing they had been talking for like two hours and it was now 6:14 pm.
"Okay. Hope everything goes well for you and Finn! And, if not, Rachel's angels will be waiting this weekend!" Santana called.
"Great." Rachel called back, laughing and rolling her eyes at Santana. She didn't know what she would do without her friend.
Placing her hands in her pocket, Rachel realized she left everything at Finn's house. Telling the taxi driver to stop at Finn's building, she paid the driver and made her way up to his penthouse.
Walking in, she found him sitting on the couch, watching the sports channel and drinking a beer. Must've been a bad day at work, Rachel thought to herself.
Sitting beside him, Rachel laughed as he nearly jumped to the roof.
"Careful, jump any higher, you might turn into Peter Pan and fly away." She laughed. "What are we watching?" She asked, grabbing the remote from his hand.
"Football." He smiled.
"Ehh, gross." She said, flipping though the menu until she turned to a rerun of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. "More like it." She smiled.
"Not just yet!" Finn exclaimed, jumping on top of her and tickling her to get her to let go of the remote. "Give already, Berry! You know you're gonna lose!" Finn laughed along with Rachel's hysterical ones.
"Never!" she snorted with laughter. "I refuse to surrender!" She called out!
Grabbing the remote from her squirming hands, Finn held it in his hands, while still on top of each other. Staring into Finn's beautiful brown eyes, Rachel was about to go in for it.
Then, a loud beeping sounded through the room. Jumping up, Rachel grabbed her beeper and purse, and gave Finn a quick hug.
"Gotta to get to work before I'm too late and something bad happens. My ass'll be on the line. See you later, Hudson! Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone!" She yelled before she ran downstairs to the nearest Taxi.
Thinking while on her way to the hospital. Only one thing crossed her mind. Dammit, Rachel!
Thanks for all of the nice reviews, I really appreciate all of them.. I'm so sorry about the long delay for the second chapter, I've just been so busy... I also want to apologize if I get anything wrong about Rachel's job as a surgeon. I'm not one, so my facts about the hours she works might not be accurate. Just wanted to let anyone who notices it know. Other than that, that's it. I really hope you liked my new chapter! Review! :)