Chapter 13:
They moved Finn back into his room downstairs once they got home. Rachel made sure to grab his phone charger and his pillow from the living room. She handed him the pillow as she joined him downstairs. He gave her a small smile and placed the pillow at the head of the bed next to him. She sat beside him and laced their fingers together.
She laid back on the bed and Finn looked down at her, thinking about something. "What is it?"
"I want to take you out." Finn replied.
"You just got your boot on, Finn. I don't think we should." Rachel said. "You should take it easy still."
"Please, Rach? I've been stuck in this house for weeks and I want to show you a good time." Finn begged.
Rachel sighed as she looked into his pleading eyes. "Fine but only for a few hours."
Finn smiled as he pulled out his phone. "Then you go get ready and I'll make the reservations."
Finn made the reservation for eight-thirty and Rachel was ready to go by eight-fifteen. Finn's mouth dropped open as she descended the staircase. She looked stunning in the outfit that Kurt had helped her pick out. It was a short little black dress with a scoop neck that fell to her mid thigh. His mouth got dry at how sexy her legs looked in that dress. He met her at the bottom of the stairs and offered her his hand, which she readily accepted.
"You look gorgeous." Finn said softly before he gently kissed her cheek.
"You really think so? Kurt didn't over do it with the make-up?" She asked looking down at her dress.
Finn lifted her chin with his index finger. "Not at all, you look amazing. Come on, we have reservations at Breadstix."
Rachel blushed and let him lead her to his new car that Carole had bought for him though he insisted on paying her back, she would have none of it. He opened the door for her before he climbed into his own side, then they were off.
They arrived at Breadstix with a few minutes to spare and the host led them to their table. Finn helped her into her chair before taking his own on the opposite side of the table. The waiter came over for their drink order and Rachel ordered herself a water while Finn ordered himself a coke.
Finn looked up at Rachel as she opened her menu. "How are you?"
Rachel looked up at him and noticed the serious expression on his face. "I'm fine, Finn. Did you decide what you want to eat yet?"
"No, I mean...you've been taking care of me this whole time but who's taking care of you and you're needs?" Finn asked her, reaching for her hand across the table.
"I think you been doing a pretty good job of taking care of me." Rachel smiled at him.
"I'm serious, Rach." Finn replied firmly, rubbing her knuckles gently. "How have you been dealing with all of this?"
Rachel sighed and looked into his eyes filled with adoration and concern. She knew what he was asking, she just didn't want to get into it. "I'm not, Finn. I've been pushing it to the back of my mind because I don't want to burden you with everything, you're going through enough."
Finn sucked in a breath and brushed his thumb across her knuckles. "Rach, babe, you can't do that. I know I've been going through a lot but I know this also hasn't been easy on you."
Rachel nodded but said no more as the waiter came to take their dinner order. They ended up ordering their usual and eating mostly in silence until Finn spoke again. "Let's finish our dinner and go somewhere more private to talk."
"Okay." Rachel said quietly. Finn reached over and placed his hand on hers. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.
They drove to the local park and took a stroll through the trees. Finn wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and Rachel smiled up at him.
"So talk to me. Have you talked to anyone about how you've been feeling?" Finn asked her, taking her hand as they walked.
"I had talked to Kurt a little when we first arrived but not really since you've been home." Rachel replied watching the ground.
"Well I'm better now, talk to me. Tell me what you were feeling." Finn said giving her hand a light squeeze.
"Well you know how I felt when we went for your check up." Rachel started and Finn nodded in response. "But I haven't told you that I've been having nightmares."
"About me?" Finn asked.
Rachel nodded, tearfully. "I can't stop thinking about it, Finn. Not just you lying in that hospital bed but getting that phone call and my mind playing tricks on me."
"What do you mean 'playing tricks on you'?" Finn asked in confusion.
"I keep imagining you dead, Finn. My subconscious won't stop and I wake up in a cold sweat. The only way to get my mind to stop is to look at you." Rachel replied looking up at him.
"When you first woke up in the hospital I thought you'd be mad that I was there. That's why I tried to leave when you asked me what I was doing here." Rachel continued, looking at the ground again.
"Why would you think I'd be mad at you? We were talking again before all this happened." Finn asked her. He squeezed her hand gently.
"Because of the way we ended things. I never thought things would get that bad between us, Finn." Rachel explained. "I only started seeing Brody to try and get over you because it was obvious that you wanted nothing to do with me..."
Finn stopped walking and turned to face her. "That's not true, Rach. I wanted to be with you so bad but I knew you needed your space to be able to make your dreams come true."
"I didn't need space, Finn. I just needed you. I felt I could do anything with you by my side." Rachel said with tears filling her eyes.
"I have a confession to make." Finn replied cupping her cheek in his hand, his thumb gently grazing her cheek. "When I came to visit you the first time in New York, you offered me to sing with you." When Rachel nodded, he continued. "I was feeling insecure. You were doing all these amazing things at NYADA without me and then I saw you with Brody and I thought that maybe you wanted someone from that world instead of a loser like me, so that's why I told you to sing with him instead and left the next morning for Lima. You deserve better than me, Rach."
Rachel's tears started to fall as she reached up to hold his face in her hands. "I don't want anyone but you, Finn. I don't care that I deserve better, I only want the one person in this world that makes me feel safe and loved beyond reason. And that person is you." Rachel brushed away his own tears. "It's always been you, Finn. I can't get over you because you're what my heart wants."
Finn pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "You're all my heart wants too but I was trying to give you what you wanted. To live your dream on Broadway. I had no idea that changed when you fell in love with me."
"I stopped caring about Broadway when I realized I was going to be doing it alone. I wanted to fulfill those dreams with you." Rachel said gripping onto his shoulders. He placed a lingering kiss to her head. "All I've wanted this whole time was for you to be okay."
Finn rubbed her back as he felt her tears start to soak his shirt. "Shh...don't cry, baby. We've both made mistakes here but we're together now and I'm okay."
Rachel squeezed him tight and he ran his hands through her hair, trying to comfort her. "I don't ever want to be without you again."
"You won't have to. Come on, let's go back to the car. We can talk more there." Finn said pulling back slightly to brush the tears from her face. She nodded and they headed back the way they came. "Next time you have a nightmare, I want you to wake me."
"Finn..."
"No, Rach. I'm serious. I don't care what time it is if you have another nightmare, I want to be there to comfort you." Finn explained.
"But why? You not responsible for my emotions anymore." Rachel said wiping at the tear tracks on her face.
Finn gave her a small smile. "You are having these nightmares because of my accident, Rach. Seeing your face when I woke up, I knew it was because you cared about me. You wouldn't have followed Kurt all the way here if you didn't at least care. I care about you too Rach and I want to help make this better for you."
"But you don't have to." Rachel started.
"I want to. Knowing your having these nightmares about me, proves to me that you still love me. I still love you too, Rach. More than anything." Finn replied as they reached the car and he opened the door for her. She started to pull his jacket from her shoulders but he stopped her. "Keep it for now, I don't want you to get too cold."
"I know you still love me, Finn." Rachel said quietly after he got in the car. He started it and cranked the heat up to warm them both. "When you said I could sleep in your room that night, I noticed all the pictures you still had up around your room. We're so different from those people now but I know you're feelings haven't changed and neither have mine. We're meant to be together, Finn. The universe has said its piece and I'm not going anywhere."
Finn leaned in close and placed a hand against her cheek. Rachel gave him a small smile and ran her hand over his chest.
"You can kiss me, if you want to." Rachel said with a smile.
"I want to." He replied before crushing his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her hands through his short hair. He wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her as close as possible while the other hand was tangled in her curly, brown waves. When they broke apart they were both gasping for air. Finn rested his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. "I love you."
"I love you too." Rachel said smiling the biggest smile he'd seen in years.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Ugh Sorry this is so late, writer's block really sucked for this chapter. Yay! Finn and Rachel are finally officially together. I'm not sure how much more I'll have for this story, since I'm only focusing on Finchel but if you guys have any ideas on where to continue, feel free to let me know. I still have the Finchel Wedding to plan out but I want that to be a little later. As always, please review and let me know what your thinking. Until next time, 'Losers.'