The Other End of the Tether

surprise

Rachel stopped kissing Brody. There was a knock on the door. She just thought Kurt forgot his key. She got up. She went to the door. Then she opened it. Finn Hudson was standing there. She could hardly believe it. This was all she had wanted for two whole months. Now she didn't know what to do with what she had. Rachel stared at him, her heart pounding. She let out a deep breath. Rachel looked up at Finn. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you stationed somewhere and in your uniform?" She asked, hoping that she didn't offend him. Rachel didn't step back to let him in. She should have. She didn't want this to go badly and she didn't know how to keep it from being so. Her heart was pounding so hard. Rachel ran her hand through her long hair.

Finn looked back at Rachel. She seemed different. She was dressed differently, too. She looked beautiful. Finn ran his hand through his brown hair. He didn't know what to say to her. It had been so long since he'd seen her. Finn was so nervous. She was the one he'd love for all time. He knew that nothing he said was going to make up for what he had done. Finn still regretted breaking up with her. Even if it had seemed like the right thing to do. Finn hadn't wanted to stand in the way of her dreams. Finn nervously ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up. He let out a breath again. "Rachel, I have so much to say to you. I…. I made such a big mistake when I hurt you. I'm sorry. I… I felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. I've never thought I was good enough for you. You are going to be such a big star. I will just hold you back." Tears had filled his eyes. He had so much more to say, and none of the words wanted to come out right. Finn had never been as smart as he could be. He was sure that was his problem.

Rachel's eyes filled with tears too. She didn't know what to say. Her heart pounded hard. Her voice was very shaky as she said, "I still don't know what you're doing here." Rachel was sure she was not strong enough for this. She had not expected him to come back. She had wanted him to more than anything. Now she was ready to move on. Of course now that she had is when Finn came back. She ran her hand through her long hair with a shaking hand. It had not gotten her anywhere, all her dreams of seeing Finn. Except now that he was back. It was too good to be true. She didn't know what to say. Her brain was racing. There was so many things to say. Rachel didn't know where to start first. "You….. you still didn't answer my question. Why are you here?" She asked. That would work for starters.

Letting that linger in the air for a moment, Finn said, "I know, I'm sorry. I… I… there's been a lot going on." He told her, not sure how to explain it all. "I…. I'm sorry for hurting you. You have to know that I didn't mean to hurt you." This all came out in a rush. It was as if he was trying to get it all out before he chickened out. He didn't know if this was working or not. He had to get her to see. He just had to. Finn wanted her back. He knew that he really had no right. Finn had left her. He had done it for her own good. Finn knew, that if they'd gotten married she just would have settled into their married life instead of going for what she reallywanted. Broadway. Finn wanted her to have everything she wanted and deserved. It was how he knew he truly loved her. Finn wanted to reach out for her hand, but he didn't. He didn't think she'd let him.

Rachel digested this and then turned to Brody. "Brody, we have a lot to talk about. Can you go?" She asked, and he gave her a nod. Giving him an apologetic smile, she waited until he was gone before she turned back to Finn. "Okay. Let me get this straight. You want me back?" She asked, as she paced around the apartment. Kurt would die if he was here. Finn stepped inside, closing the door behind him. She felt tears pouring down her face. This was almost too much. Rachel couldn't breathe. She took two deep calming breaths as she turned to look at him. "Finn, the hardest thing I ever had to do was get past you leaving me at the train station. I barely made it. I did it because it was so important to you. You said that it had to be this way. You said you wanted me to surrender. I did, Finn. I did what you asked because you said it was the right thing to do. Now you're just back here? I don't….. I don't know what you want me to say. I don't know how I'm supposed to take this. We were happy, Finn. We had a plan. We were going to get married. We were going to be together. You ruined everything, Finn. I was okay with all of this because you were going to do something with your life. I don't know what you want me to do." Rachel felt like her whole world was crashing down on her again. She didn't know if she could do this. Finn didn't know what he was asking.