It's me again! This story is basically writing itself and I'm just typing away as the ideas come. Hopefully you enjoy this one. Let me know what you think!

I've also tried to proofread my work, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes!

I still don't own Glee!

Rachel ran out of her audition so excited. She nailed it! They hired her on the spot for their lead role. Okay, so it was an off, off broadway show, the pay was laughable, and it was just for two nights only, but still! She got the role! She dialed her daddy's number and waited for him to answer.

"Rachela! Is that you?" Hiram answered the phone.

"Hi Daddy! Yes! Guess what guess what guess what!"

"Is that our pumpkin?" she heard Leroy in the background. "Yes, quiet down, she's excited about something." Hiram responded. "Put her on speaker!"

"Rachel hold on, your father is being a pain in my butt." She heard Hiram fumble with the phone until he figured out how to put her on speaker. "Okay honey, we're both here. What's up buttercup?"

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. "Hi Papa. Okay! I landed my first role!" Cheers were heard on the other end of the phone.

"Tell us everything. When's your debut? Leroy - we need to book tickets now." Hiram responded.

"It's in two weeks daddy! I can't wait. It's not a huge show but it's a start and I'm so excited!"

"Well save us two seats. We will definitely be there." Leroy smiled, so proud of his little girl.

"I can't wait to see you guys! I miss you both so much!"

Rachel hung up the phone, and skipped her way to the train station, so happy with the way things have been turning out.

Rachel walked into her apartment later that evening to see Finn, Quinn, and Puck on the couch watching a basketball game on t.v. Quinn's been here a lot these days, she thought to herself. Not that she minded - Quinn was her cousin after all. Whenever she came over, it seemed like it was more so to hang out with Puck than Rachel. She thought nothing else of it as she walked over to them and stood right in front of the t.v.

"Guess what!"

"Hey!" Puck and Finn both yelled out, trying to see the TV behind her as loud cheers were heard from the sound system.

Quinn laughed. "Hmm what?"

"I landed my audition today! I got the lead role, and the show starts in two weeks! Please save the date as I will be saving you all seats!" She smiled.

"Oh my Gosh!" Quinn got up from the couch and gave her cousin the biggest hug. "Rach I'm so proud of you!"

Puck walked over next and hugged her. "Nice job short stack. I knew you wouldn't be unemployed forever." He laughed.

She rolled her eyes playfully as Finn walked over next and gave her a hug. "That's awesome, Rach." he smiled, genuinely happy for her. The past few nights she practiced her audition monologue in front of him for hours, so he was more so thankful it was going to end. She smiled up at him, thinking she'd much rather have a kiss than a hug from him. But of course, Quinn and Puck were standing right there.

"Thanks guys! My dads are coming down for the show, and they wanted to take us all out for dinner. Their treat, of course." She smiled.

Puck's ears perked up at the announcement of free food. "Definitely count me in."

"I haven't seen Uncle Hiram or Uncle Leroy in so long. So exciting!" Quinn clapped her hands together.

Finn didn't say anything, but no one seemed to notice, except Rachel. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

"Well it sounds like we've got some celebrating to do!" Puck said.

"Oh no." Rachel shook her head. "The next two weeks I'm basically going to be gone from the world. I have to learn the script and the songs perfectly. This also means no drinking or anything of the sort until after the show." Rachel nodded her head, already planning out her routine.

Quinn laughed. "Well after your show, we are definitely celebrating!"

Rachel was in Finn's room later that night, looking over her script as he was changing into his pajamas. She glanced over at him, watching as he dug through his drawers for some clean clothes. They've fallen into a pretty comfortable routine the last few weeks. Every night, either her or Finn would quietly sneak into each other's room. Finn much preferred her coming to his because he had a huge king size bed, and he could actually fit in his bed. Some nights they fucked until they fell asleep, other nights they stayed up late talking, watching Netflix, or she practiced her audition for him. Most nights it was a mix of all of the above. She hadn't actually slept alone in were getting way too comfortable with each other.

He jumped into the bed with his iPad. "Ready for the next episode of Orange is the New Black?" It was the latest show they were binge-watching.

"Ugh I want too but I really think I should spend more time learning my lines."

"One episode." He pouted at her.

"Fine...but I have a quick question for you." She said as she pushed some of her hair behind her ears.

"What's up?" He scrolled through Netflix, finding the next episode of the show. For some reason, it was not in his "Recently Watched" and he could only imagine it's because Puck was in his account again. He really needed to change his password.

"You are coming to dinner with my dad's, right?"

"Umm...I'm not sure. Do you really think that's a good idea?" He glanced over at her. He was hoping she didn't notice his lack of response earlier. This is where things start getting complicated.

"Why wouldn't it be? My dads just want to know who I've become friends with...I talk to them about all of you guys so much. Kurt and Blaine are coming too."

"Yeah, but you're not exactly sleeping with any of them." he said. His tone did not mean to come off harsh, but it did. He sighed, changing his tone to a more softer one. "We said no strings attached...meeting your dads...that just seems like a lot of strings."

Rachel couldn't even believe what he was saying. "I know what we said. I'm the one who said it. It's not like I'm going to say 'Hey Dads, this is Finn, my roommate/guy I've been fucking since I moved to the city.'" She rolled her eyes, her voice getting a little louder, getting out of the bed.

"You may not say it, but they're going to know! Look it's just something I'm not really comfortable with...where are you going?" He asked, not understanding what the big deal is.

"I'm going to my room Finn." She picked up her script from his table. "So are you not even coming to my show? Because they're also going to be there."

"Yes, I'll be at your show. Dinner just seems...so intimate."

"Seriously? We're going to be surrounded by all of our friends, my dads aren't even going to pay attention to you. I really just want them to meet the people who have really helped me since I moved here. I know that we're just having sex, but I still thought we were friends."

"We are friends. Why can't I just not go to dinner? I'll be at your show and I'm sure I'll meet them there." He knew he wouldn't have to talk to them at the show, and he'd make sure that his seat wasn't near theirs.

"Fine." Rachel shrugged. "Don't come to dinner. Honestly, you really don't even need to come to my show. I think we'll be just fine without you."

Finn sighed. "Rachel, come on. You can't really be mad at me for this. This really isn't feeling like no strings attached."

"You're right Finn. I can't be mad at you. This isn't even about not having strings attached! This is about you being my friend." She said.

When he didn't respond, she continued to speak. "You know, I really think we should just hold off on this no strings attached thing. I'm going to be really busy the next few weeks, and it's probably best we just don't...do this right now." She said.

"Rach...that's not what I meant." He really didn't want their relationship to end, but he was really freaked out at the idea of meeting her dad's.

"Goodnight Finn." She walked out of his room, closing the door behind her. She walked to her room, closing and locking the door behind her.

She sat on her bed and sighed. There was no way she was going to let Finn Hudson get in her head. She had a show to prepare for. This is why she was here. She just had to remember that.

The next two weeks flew by. Rachel immersed herself into her role, spending all day and most of her nights at the theater rehearsing for the show. The only time she spent home was to sleep, shower, and eat breakfast. She communicated with everyone mostly through text. Quinn always checked in with her to make sure she was eating - she knew how much Rachel would throw herself into a role. Puck would text to make sure she was still alive and to see if she needed him to pick her up from the train station on her late night walks home. Kurt and Blaine stopped by the theater often to watch and give their unsolicited advice to her performance. Finn...well, he's the only one she hasn't really heard from him. Luckily she's been much too busy to give him a second thought.

It was the eve of the night of her show, and her fathers were in town. They were all going out to dinner tonight. Rachel was in her room, getting dressed. She chose a fitted midi length black dress, with a deep v-neckline to show off just a little bit of her cleavage. She curled her hair, giving it just enough volume. She felt and looked beautiful. There was a knock on her door. "Hurry up Princess, we're already late!" Puck yelled from outside the door. "I'm coming!" She gave herself a once over in the mirror, and opened the door.

"Whoa." Puck stared at her, giving her his nod of approval. "You look hot Rachel."

She laughed. "Thanks Noah. That's very sweet of you." She walked out to the living room where Quinn was waiting.

"Rach you look great! Your dad's texted me - they're waiting at the restaurant. Are we ready to go? Where's Finn?" Quinn looked around.

"I'm not sure if Finn's coming. Something about work..." Rachel said. "So let's go. I know Kurt and Blaine are on their way as well." she smiled.

The three left the apartment and headed downtown in a cab. When they got to the restaurant, her dads were already sitting at a table with two bottles of champagne. "Rachela!" Hiram got up and pulled his daughter into the biggest hug. "Daddy!" She hugged him so tightly. Leroy also pulled her into a hug and gave her a sweet kiss on top of her head. "We missed you little girl. You look beautiful."

"Thanks Papa." She smiled at him, so happy to have her dads in her favorite city, with her favorite friends.

Her father's greeted Quinn similarly in a huge hug. "Uncles this is Noah Puckerman, he's a good friend of mine." She smiled introducing Puck to Rachel's dad. Their fathers looked at each other and nodded their heads in approval. "Puckerman you say? Quinn, well done." Quinn blushed slightly. "He's not..it's not..." Puck cut her off by shaking Hiram and Leroy's hands, saving her from having to explain. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

They sat down at the table and the waiter came by, pouring some champagne in each of their glasses. "Oh none for me please. Could I just have some tea with honey please?" Rachel politely asked.

As they all fell into a comfortable chatter, Rachel saw Kurt walking towards their table. "So sorry we're late. We had to wait for Finn because he didn't know where to go..." Kurt apologized, as Blaine followed behind him, with Finn still walking towards the table.

Was he really here? Kurt and Blaine sat at the table, with the only open seat left open being next to Rachel. Finn smiled sheepishly at everyone at the table before sitting down. "Sorry that we're late." He glanced over at Rachel, feeling her eyes on him.

"Daddy, Papa - this is Kurt and Blaine. Blaine's actually on Broadway! Kurt is also basically my best friend from another life. We both share the same love in Barbra." She smiled. "And this is Finn, he's Kurt's brother." She said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Blaine smiled at the two men. "Your daughter is something fabulous. Thank you for inviting us to dinner." Kurt smiled as well.

"I'm also her roommate. We live together." Finn interjected. "Uh, it's nice to meet you both." Did she really just introduce him as Kurt's brother? What the fuck.

Hiram and Leroy smiled politely at all three. "It's quite interesting to know all the friends our daughter has made are all males." Leroy laughed.

Dinner continued - with everyone becoming quickly acquainted to Rachel's dads. While Finn sat right next to Rachel, she barely said one word to him unless it was in a group conversation. She was clearly still pissed at him.

After dinner, they walked out of the restaurant and were saying their goodbyes. "We'll see you at the show tomorrow darling. Make sure you get a good night's sleep." Hiram hugged her. "We're planning a little party after the show tomorrow. Nothing big, but your father reserved a nice little spot in a very fancy bar near the theater." he said. Leroy turned to her friends. "We hope you all can make it, as well. Please invite anyone you'd like." He nodded, shaking all of their hands, and giving Quinn a hug.

Rachel said goodbye to her father's and turned towards her friends. For the first time Finn was able to see just how awesome she looked in her dress tonight. "We're also going to head out. We'll see you tomorrow Rach, break a leg!" Blaine hugged her. After saying bye to the rest, the two men walked off.

"I'm going to walk Quinn home since she's not too far from here. I'll see you guys back home." Puck said, leaving Finn and Rachel alone together.

"You're going to be so awesome Rach!" Quinn yelled out as they walked away. When they were nearly around the block and out of everyone's sight, Puck grab Quinn's hand. He stopped walking and pulled her closer to him, capturing his lips on her lips. "I've wanted to do that all night." He kissed her again. Quinn laughed against his lips as she kisses back. "I thought we wanted to keep this quiet?" She said. They continued to walk hand in hand.

"What's the point of keeping it quiet? I like you Quinn. I like you a lot. I don't want to keep this a secret." He said, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Well let's not steal Rachel's thunder this weekend. We can tell everyone after, okay?" She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Fineee." He responded dramatically.

Rachel turned to Finn, who was shifting uncomfortably. "You came." She said.

"Well, yeah. I realized that it would be a really dick move if I didn't come. You're right, Rachel. We are also friends."

She gave him a small smile, but didn't really respond.

"You look really beautiful tonight." He said softly.

"Thanks..." she smiled slightly, as they both made their way to the corner to hail a cab. He led the way, resting his hand on the small of her back.

They got back to their apartment in less than 20 minutes. As they made their way inside, Rachel set her bag down on the kitchen table.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asked. He didn't realize how much he missed speaking with her. The last two weeks seemed very unnatural for him.

"Yeah. I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I've been practicing non stop..."

"I know. You haven't been home. I thought you were avoiding me..."

"No, Finn. I've been rehearsing. This is what I came here to do." She shrugged. "And I need to be the best at it."

He nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"Well...I'm going to bed. I've got a big day tomorrow." Rachel said.

"Alright.." He said. He really wanted to just take her into his room and have his way with her. She really did look amazing in her dress. He also knew how amazing she looked out of it. Ugh, these thoughts were not helping him right now.

She started to walk towards her room, but then stopped and turned around. "If you still want to attend my show, I can leave a ticket for you at will call." she said.

He gave her a half smile. "That'll be great Rach. I'll be there..."

She gave him a soft smile and walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

Rachel paced back and forth in her dressing room before the start of the show. She was ready for this. In a few moments, everyone would know just how amazing she was. Her dads and her friends would be there cheering her on, there was no reason to be nervous at all.

Finn walked into the theater with a bouquet of flowers. He figured if he was ever going to get out of the dog house with Rachel, this was definitely the way. He even dressed up!

"Finn?" he heard someone call as he was walking towards his seat. He turned around and saw Mike, with a pretty Asian girl at his side.

"Mike! Hey man, what are you doing here?" Finn walked over to him, smiling.

"Finn, This is my fiancee, Tina. Tina - this is my Freshman roommate and one of my groomsmen, Finn. Tina is a huge broadway fan and she found out about this show, so we thought we'd check it out. What are you doing here?"

Finn smiled, shaking Tina's hand. "How the heck did you convince this lovely lady to marry you?" He laughed as Tina blushed and Mike rolled his eyes playfully. "But my..uh, friend, is actually the lead in the show. Puck and Quinn are here too! We should definitely catch up after this man. We're going to this bar afterwards to celebrate the first show, you guys should definitely come." Finn said.

Mike nodded. "That sounds awesome man. Send me the deets, I'll catch up with you after the show."

Finn nodded. "Sounds good! See you guys later. Tina, pleasure meeting you!" he ran off quickly, before able to see Sam walking over to Mike and Tina, sitting in the open seat next to them.

"Can you believe they have like, not one healthy snack here?" Sam said, shaking his head.

Mike laughed. "We got popcorn. But hey guess who we just bumped into?"

"Who?" Sam reached over and grabbed some of the popcorn. He'll just have to add some extra crunches to his workout tomorrow.

"Finn! Puck's here too. and so is Quinn! Apparently their friend is in the show. They invited us to hang out after." Mike told him as Sam nodded. "Yeah, sounds good man."

Finn got to his seat, with everyone else there. His heart started beating just a little faster as the only open seat was next to Leroy. He glanced at the flowers in his lap. "Flowers for my daughter?"

"Uh, yes sir. I figured it could be from all of us." Finn thought quickly on his feet. Leroy nodded his head in approval. "That's a nice thought, Finn. Have you and Rachel gotten close since she moved here?" Finn tried as best as he could to hide his smirk. You don't even know the half of it...

"Yeah...she's a good roommate to have, keeps the place smelling nice." Finn joked, unsure of what to say.

Leroy laughed. "She does have a way of doing that. No boys though, right?"

"Huh?" Finn looked at him, a little scared.

"Has she brought any boys home?" Well, not exactly...

"No, sir. Not to my knowledge..."

Leroy nodded. "Good. And please Finn, call me Leroy. Rachel is going to need someone to look out for her while she's here. I hope that you'll do just that for me."

Finn slowly nodded his head. Did he just become Rachel's personal bodyguard? Leroy wasn't necessarily a big guy, but he sure had a way of making Finn feel like he'd kick his ass badly if he needed too.

The lights flickered as the show was about to start. Thank God Finn thought to himself.

Rachel was the first person to take the stage, and Finn found himself mesmerized by her performance. She really was a great performer. Her voice, her movement, her smile...she was something special.

"She looks absolutely perfect." Hiram sighed. Finn continued watching her, and could not have agreed more with Hiram.

As the show ended, the audience gave the cast a standing ovation. Rachel couldn't have been happier! She dashed into her dressing room and quickly changed into a casual dress and wedges and walked out to meet her family and friends.

"Rachel! That was amazing! I could not have been prouder of you!" Leroy grabbed her into a hug. The usually more emotion ridden father had tears in his eyes. Hiram laughed. "Your father is a big baby but he is right. You were amazing sweet pea." Hiram kissed her forehead.

She smiled and hugged her loving fathers.

"Such a great job, Rachel. You'll be on Broadway in no time." Blaine gave her a hug. "Yes!" Kurt chimed in. "Oh my God. Your voice. It's just to die for." He shook his head.

Quinn ran over and hugged her. "You were amazing Rach!"

Rachel laughed at all the love she was receiving, this was just not real life. She saw Finn waiting his turn for her to notice him, with the bouquet of flowers in his hands. "Is this for me?" she smiled.

"Yeah...you were...wow Rachel. I've seen Blaine perform and yeah he's good, but you were just...wow." He handed her the flowers.

"They're beautiful, Finn. Thank you." She smiled at him, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"They're from all of us." He smiled sheepishly.

"Well thank you all! I am so ready to get the rest of this night started!" The second showing wouldn't be until next weekend so Rachel knew she could at least have a drink or two.

Finn quickly texted Mike the address of the bar as the group headed over there together.

At the bar, Rachel's dads went all out - there were little stations set up around the private room for appetizers and an open bar.

"Now this is awesome!" Puck said, immediately heading to the bar. This was like his personal heaven.

"Thank you Dads - this is just the best thing I could ever ask for." Rachel said, sitting with her father's in one of the booths.

"You deserve the best Princess." Hiram patted her hand from across the table.

"We were always worried about you coming to New York. Even with Quinn here, it just...it wasn't easy letting you come here alone. But I see you've been working hard to get what you want. I think you've surrounded yourself with some good people too. I especially like that Finn boy." Leroy said.

Rachel smiled, looking around the room at her friends, her eyes landing on Finn. He was sipping on his beer, talking with Puck and two other guys and a girl she hadn't yet met. Why did he have to be so hot? "Yeah...I think they are all great Papa." Her eyes still on Finn. Hiram and Leroy gave each other a knowing look.

Her father's left shortly after - they had a long drive back home the next day and wanted to get some rest. Rachel said her goodbye's and as she was walking to the bar to get a drink, Puck stopped her mid-way. "Rach, meet some of our friends!" He put his arm around her shoulder. "Guys this is Rachel - she lives with Finn and I. She also rocked the shit out of that show just now. Rachel, this Mike, his fiancee Tina, and Sam." Puck introduced them.

"Oh my gosh, you guys came to my show?" she smiled with excitement.

"Yes! You were so good. The show was amazing." Tina smiled at her.

"I have to agree with Tina. She dragged me to the show and I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really great." Mike laughed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! Wait - are you the couple that just got engaged? Congratulations!" she glanced at Finn, who nodded his head.

"Yes, thank you so much!" Tina beamed.

Sam took in the 5'3 beauty. "Well hello there. I'm Sam Evans...I have to say, you are absolutely stunning." He held his hand out for hers.

Rachel blushed and put her hand out, as he grabbed it gently and kissed the back of it. "Well, thank you..."

What the fuck is he doing? Finn glanced at Sam, trying to hide his disgust.

"Could I get you a drink?" he asked, still holding her hand.

"Uh, sure..." she shifted uncomfortably, feeling Finn's eyes on her. Sam pulled her away from the group and walked over to the bar, leaving everyone watching them.

Mike shook his head, laughing. "Sorry guys, can't take Sam anywhere without him trying to hit on someone. She is single right? Because I'm pretty sure he didn't even ask."

Puck laughed. "Yeah man - she's totally single." He glanced at Finn and saw the annoyance written all over his face.

Well, well. Some of you already guessed Sam would play a larger role in the Finn/Rachel story. This chapter was fun to write - I can only imagine how much fun I'll have writing the next one!