Glee 1. Caffeine

Finn stood in the warm spring night with his press pass and camera around his neck, his backpack slung over one shoulder and his notepad and pen in hand taking in the crime scene in front of him. The Adams' estate was lit up with every outside light and the red and blue emergency lights of about half dozen police cars giving it the look of a circus. The urge to get closer was there, but the bright yellow police line stopped him, so he stood watching Boston PD and their associates scurry around.

Looking at his watch, it was two in the morning, and as he glanced around, he saw reporters from other news agencies standing there with tired, bored looks on their faces, while Finn worked to suppress the grin that wanted to come out. He was excited. This was his first call to a crime scene, as a reporter, and he wanted to do his best and really impress his editor. Finn saw Becky Jackson, Boston PD's media liaison, looking just as tired as the others. Finn felt sorry for her since he knew she was only came out into the field for high profile crimes and the Adams' estate was high profile. Any case in the exclusive Beacon Hill area of Boston was high profile, but as descendents of John Adams, this case was guaranteed to reach a whole new level of media frenzy.

Finn listened intently every time Becky had new information to share with the media and would take notes. In between information, Finn would write down potential questions and snap pictures of all of the people working the scene as well as the vehicles. This way he had a way to identify people for possible interviews later. Finn watched, after being there for about an hour, the coroner's assistants bring out a black body bag strapped onto a gurney. As his peers took pictures or video, Finn felt a level of disgust, this poor person had just lost their life and everyone wanted a picture of their dead body. Finn, on the other hand, removed his faded Navy squadron's baseball cap and bowed his head in respect until the body was placed in the van and the door shut with a loud clang in the relatively quiet night. As he raised his head and replaced his cap, Finn saw the older assistant, a man in his fifties, standing in front of him, looking him square in the eye.

Taking no time for pleasantries the old man looked at Finn and asked, "Whatchya name son? And who do you work for?"

"Finn Hudson sir. I'm a reporter for the Herald." Finn responded, standing straighter in front of the man.

"Well Finn Hudson, you were respectful of that young man that is in the van, unlike the other vultures out here." The old man spat out, disgust evident in his voice, "here's my card, if you have any questions or anything, and maybe I can help. It's nice seeing a respectful young man, plus us Navy vets have to watch out for each other." With a wink, the man strode off leaving Finn only slightly confused. Looking at the card in his hand, Finn smiled hoping that James Lucas would be helpful in the future. Finn slid the card carefully into the paperclip that he kept in this notepad, and continued taking pictures and notes.

At around three in the morning, the scene had pretty much died down and most of the other reporters had left like a half hour after the body had been moved. Preparing to leave, Finn noticed a small female detective talking animatedly to the Adams and their estate manager. Finn couldn't make out what the conversation was about, but Finn knew it wasn't about the homicide, since the homicide detective had left with the body. Interested, Finn watched the manager leave and then return with several large binders and a couple of accordion files. _Was this about the murder victim or something else?_ Finn wondered as he watched them get handed to the small detective. Finn watched as she placed them into a Boston PD duffel bag and had the Adams sign something. He continued to watch as she sort of skip walked, with the bag, back to her car, and Finn would have sworn she looked right at him before she drove away.

Taking notes over what had just happened, Finn felt a tap on his elbow, looking up he saw Becky Jackson pull the police tape up and motioning for him to go under it. Stooping rather low, Finn crossed the line and silently followed Becky to the back of the house, all the time wondering why she was doing this. Coming to one of the backdoors, Finn voiced his question, "Becky, where are you taking me and why?"

In her distinct voice, Becky looked him in the eye and stated softly, "You're the only one still here; you've always been nice and patient with me when you call. You've done everything right and I think you should be rewarded. I am giving you access to something that no one else besides the police has had access to, the crime scene. The crime lab is done processing the scene, and now it will be just left for a few days in case the detectives want to come back and look at it, so you can't touch anything, but you can take as many pictures as you want. You just have to wear these," and she held out those blue shoe covers that surgeons wear over their shoes.

Slipping on the covers Becky led him to a museum styled room that contained around a dozen smashed or open glass display cases that contained black velvet platforms and looking at the walls, Finn saw that most things were still there, but there was a one thing that had obviously been removed. Then there was blood, splattered on a shattered display as well as a now brownish pool from where the body had lain. There had been a robbery, and from the dark shadow left by the pieces, it appeared to be jewelry that had been taken. Finn knew that the Adams' had a large heirloom collection of jewelry and gemstones that dated back before John Adams became president. _Besides the obvious worth of the gems, gold and silver, why steal some of Boston's most photographed jewelry?_ _And why didn't the police tell the press about the theft? _One thing that also stuck out to Finn was a dark painted rectangle in the middle of a wall of framed maps; the frame was now laying, broken, smashed on the floor, the contents gone. _Why would someone want an antique map?_

With the questions still in his head, Finn quickly started with as many pictures as he could in the short amount of time he was in the room. He knew Becky was breaking protocol allowing him to do this, and he knew he was going to have to "Pay the piper" soon enough, but right now, this could give him the edge. Just to be on the safe side, Finn took pictures from just outside the room from the two entrances and from the security guards office which was just linked to the display room by a small hallway. Finn heard Becky whisper, "We gotta get out." And he quickly followed her out the door they had come in, hopeful that no one the wiser that they had been in there.

Back at her car, he shook Becky's hand and thanked her again for the access to the crime scene and then jogged over to his truck. As he opened his door, he watched Becky drive off and would have sworn that she blew him a kiss as left. Shaking his head in disbelief as he climbed in, he threw his bag in the seat next to him and placed his camera back in its bag, and drove towards downtown and the Boston Herald and his little cubicle on the third floor.

The third floor was dimly lit, no one was really expected in until around eight or eight thirty and it was only three thirty. In the break room, Finn needed to make some coffee, but when he looked at the machine, he shook his head. It looked more complicated than the guns he worked on the helicopter. Sighing loudly, because that meant he was going to have to go out to get some caffeine, Finn grabbed his ID and phone and walked back out of the building and down a couple of blocks to a twenty four hour Starbucks. Finn hated Starbucks and their prices, but right now it was all that was close and open. Standing in line, _why the hell there is a line at three thirty in the morning_, Finn looked over the menu and decided what he wanted. Finn saw a sign that said "Free black coffee/tea refills for dine in guests." As his cue, Finn decided he was going to drink one cup here and refill to go. As the barista waited, hand poised over her pad, Finn placed his order of a grande black coffee with skim milk, a muffin and a chicken salad sandwich. When she started to ask him what roast he wanted, Finn just shook his head and said whichever was the strongest and went to wait for his order.

At the counter was a small woman, who could easily be mistaken for a young girl, wearing a short black skirt, a black button down and a purple sweater, drumming her fingers on the counter and humming something softly as she waited. She looked tired, and wanting to make conversation Finn asked, "Not used to being up this early?" giving her his trademark grin.

He heard her sigh and look back at him and smiled a tired but sweet smile, "No, my job normally allows me to wake during normal hours, but something big happened and so they called me in breaking my sleep regime."

Taken slightly aback, Finn had to ask, "You have a sleep regime?"

"Yes, my job requires me to be at my best both physically and mentally, and if I don't do certain things before going to bed and allowing for a true eight hours of solid sleep, then I am not at my best and that could cause all kinds of issues on what I am working on, which is very important to the people of this great city. So if I don't follow through with my regime, than I am less than spectacular, and that is not a good thing at all." She stated as if it were an everyday, by the book fact.

Laughing at how much she talked, Finn shook his head and said, "For someone who is tired, you sure do talk a lot, and fast too."

"Well, here's my order. Sorry to have bothered you." She said with a bit of sarcasm and stormed over to the lone empty table in the place. As Finn's order was delivered he had to ask himself again_, why the hell is it packed so early in the frickin' morning? _ Seeing an empty seat at the table the lady he had been talking to, Finn went over and stood there for a second waiting for her to acknowledge him. When she didn't he coughed to get her attention, as she looked up he gave her his best "I'm sorry" look.

"I'm really sorry if I offended you. I've just never met someone that could talk so quickly when they were tired and have everything make sense. Normally it's just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. May I sit down with you, please? My name is Finn Hudson."

Seeing her relent, she held a petite hand out and said, "I'm Rachel Berry, nice to meet you Finn Hudson." Being careful not to spill his coffee, Finn sat his things down and then took the seat across from her, smiling. "Are you always so chipper so early in the morning Mr. Hudson?" Rachel asked as she took a sip of her coffee and grimaced.

Finn shrugged his shoulders and took a bite of his sandwich, "No, I'm used to having to be up at weird hours and having little sleep, so this doesn't bother me at all. Not much of a coffee drinker? And please call me Finn." Finn asked as he watched her pour two more packets of Splenda into her cup to add to the four torn packets already on the table.

When she sighed, Finn looked at her, surprised at how melodic it sounded, "No Mr…err Finn, I actually detest the bitterness of coffee. I normally drink teas, but I needed more caffeine than what my normal tea would provide. Obviously, coffee isn't an issue for you?"

Shaking his head, he chuckled, "No ma'am. I was in the Navy for six years, coffee ran through my veins for those six years. The funny thing about Navy coffee and tea is they look exactly the same, extremely black and so strong you could stand a knife up in them. The only way to tell which was which was by smelling them. So I learned to drink coffee, but added a bit of milk to thin it out. I actually hate Starbucks, but it was the only place open. Three dollars for a cup of coffee is a bit much."

"So you were in the Navy? What did you do in the Navy? Did you get to go all around the world and do exciting things?" Finn noticed Rachel's eyes as she talked; they were large and deep brown and sparkled as she talked. He liked that and she seemed eager to hear about the Navy too, which was a bonus.

"Yea, I definitely traveled and learned a lot about the Persian Gulf. I was a weapons specialist for a helicopter squadron, and I was trained as a rescue swimmer. I've been all over the Middle East and actually had Liberty in Sydney Australia. That was pretty cool."

"So why did you leave the Navy?"

"Because I joined so I could attend college. I was raised by my mom. My dad died when I was a baby, so she couldn't afford to send me to college and I wasn't the brightest student, so scholarships were a no go. The only way I could really get a degree was join the military. Since my dad was killed while he was in the military, my mom wasn't thrilled. I think the fact that I joined the Navy made her feel a little better, but it allowed me to go to UCSD and now here I am. What about you Rachel? I just told you my life in a minute story, so now it's your turn."

"Let's see…I grew up in New York with aspirations of being on Broadway, but as I got older, I realized there were other things I was good at, like research and being tenacious enough to find the truth, so I got a scholarship to Boston College in pre-law and that's how I ended up here." Finn watched her smile, signaling that she was done, but he could tell she wasn't telling the whole story.

As he finished eating, he watched Rachel Berry, because that was one thing he was trained to do, always observe. She was little, a good foot shorter than he was. She had an awesome smile, and he was pretty sure he hadn't seen her full smile yet, which would probably blow him away. She had long dark brown that was pulled back in a headband, and made her appear a lot younger than she was. She had a unique nose, but it just seemed to fit her. Her eyes though, they blew him away, so big and brown and mesmerizing. He could stare into them and totally lose track of time, which was exactly what was happening.

The clock on the wall chimed four, and Finn gulped his bite down, "Shit, I gotta go. I've got a lot of things to get done before my boss gets in. It was really nice to meet you Rachel. I'm sorry to rush, but I've got things I have to do." Finn held out his hand, and noticed he had some chicken salad on it, wiping in on his jeans he held it out again and smiled and Rachel giggled and took his now clean hand.

"It was nice to spend some time with you too Finn. I need to be leave too; I have things that I need to start." As she stood up to leave, Finn realized that she shouldn't be walking alone at that time of day in the downtown area.

"Hey do you want me to walk you back to your work? You shouldn't be alone." Finn asked, trying to be the respectful man his mom had raised him to be.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's just a couple of blocks away, and I promise you, I am _very_ capable of defending myself." With that, Finn watched her walk down the sidewalk with a unique walk/skip that struck him as familiar.


	2. It's Make It Or Break It Time

Rachel walked into Boston PD's headquarters and showed her badge and ID to the uniform on duty. Taking the stairs up to the third floor, the burglary unit, Rachel went to the conference room, which was now her temporary office, sat her coffee down and flopped in the large leather chair. She looked at all the documents in front of her and sighed. This was going to be a pain in the ass case, because no one in their right mind would try to pawn or sell these jewels unless it was overseas. She was going to make herself calm down, or there was no way she would be effective in searching for why these jewels and map were taken. In her mind, this was the main crime, not the murder of the security guard, Sam Evans. He was unfortunately a secondary crime, because Rachel was one hundred percent sure that he wasn't the target, the jewels and map were.

Settling back in her chair, Rachel took calm, deep breaths and closed her eyes to clear her mind, but it seemed that her mind had something else in mind. She could see Finn Hudson in her mind's eye, and his lopsided grin he had given her several times. It was definitely cute. If she was being honest, he was very cute; deep brown hair that stuck up a little in the front, friendly brown eyes, freckles that made him look younger than he was, dimples when he smiled, large hands that enveloped hers and he was a good foot taller than she was, so probably around 6'3". Shaking her head of her thoughts, she clicked open the pdf files she was sent on the map and jewels and quickly sent out bulletins to all pawn shops and dealers, both public and private.

With her first net cast out, Rachel opened up one of the files on the map. Pulling out a copy of the map, Rachel looked over it carefully. It appeared to be from around 1585 and from the names, looked to be a map from Sir Francis Drake. Running her hands over the copy, Rachel mused over how close to accurate the map was of the west coast. It had always amazed her how people drew maps without the help or airplanes, cameras or satellites. Looking carefully Rachel couldn't find any valuable information on it, other than the mark of where Sir Francis Drake landed to replenish his supplies and give his crew a break. There was some monetary value in the map, but it would be more attractive to a history buff then anything, and Rachel couldn't see any history buff willing to commit murder over a map.

Grabbing the second folder of insurance papers, she saw that the insurance company had valued it at $50,000, and while that was a lot of money, for a true collector, it would have been worth it. As she grabbed the first binder that dealt with the jewels, her commander, Will Schuester walked in. "Hey Rachel, how's it going on the Adams' case?"

Rachel looked at Will and smiled while shaking her head back and forth, "I can totally understand a motive to steal the jewels, they are worth according to the insurance over two million dollars, but the map, that's perplexing. The value is $50,000, and it's more valuable as a historical piece than anything else, not something I can see someone wanting to kill someone over."

Will nodded his head in agreement but looked at his junior detective with a sage appearance, "Remember though, people of been killed for a lot less and it was all because someone had what they wanted." With that he curly haired man walked out to check on his other detectives. Rachel knew that he was right, but still, it just didn't seem to fit.

Going over the known history of the jewels that were taken, Rachel took notes and then when the jewels had been worn out in public by one of the Adams clan, since there was jewelry for both men and women. Going back just one year, Rachel saw pieces had been worn to a total of twenty events and if you add everyone the attended those events with the Adams, Rachel's suspect list just exploded into mind numbing proportions.

She needed a break, she had been pouring over all the paperwork for several hours and needed to get up and stretch, clear her mind so she could focus on the case better. Making a note to call the Adams for an interview, she placed it on her seat and walked out of the conference room. She was greeted by several other detectives. As she stopped by the vending machine to get water she heard a uniform, Santana Lopez and a crime lab tech, Suzy Pepper, talking to each other. Not wanting to be a snoop, but still being a snoop, Rachel couldn't help but hear their conversation, since they weren't necessarily quiet about it.

"…I can't believe that they gave such a plum assignment to that midget." Rachel heard the Latina say with a sneer in her voice.

"I know, no one in the lab likes her. She always acts like she is superior and is always pointing out mistakes or telling us how to do something better." Rachel could pick out Pepper's voice anywhere. _Well if you actually knew what you were doing, I wouldn't be saying anything, now would I?_

"Well, I heard that Schuester didn't have a choice, she was next on the on call list, and the Adams case happened. She totally lucked into it. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't get reassigned and they put someone who actually can interact with others on it or at least be able to interview and investigate without pissing off the victims." With that statement Rachel heard both women laugh, causing her heart to drop.

Not bothering to go back and get her purse or anything, Rachel walked down the stairs and out of the building. She needed to refresh herself and give herself a pep talk. She was an excellent detective and generally she did the research and background on the cases and a senior detective did the field work, but it was Rachel's turn and she wanted to show the division that she was capable. As the harbor came up on her, she went to the small park where office workers would sit and have their lunches. A bench shielded by a willow tree was the perfect place for her to calm down and collect her thoughts. What the uniform and tech had said was extremely hurtful; Rachel knew she would rise above it, because she always has.

She needed a little bit of seclusion and the willow tree hidden bench allowed for that. She sat down and took sips of her water while she listened to the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and the cries of the seagulls surround her. The smell of salt water overtook her as she just sat there, letting nature take her over and calm her down. Rachel knew she was an overly emotional person, but she was smart enough to realize it and had learned how to center herself. Rachel sat there, just staying quiet, listening to the sounds around her, silent tears slipping down her face. Even if she was a strong woman, it still hurt like hell to be made fun of, something she had dealt with her entire life, and the tears just kept coming.

Then she heard it. The sound of someone on a run, their breath huffing in exertion, their feet thumping rhythmically on the pavement. From the thumps, Rachel could tell this runner was in good shape and probably ran a five to six minute mile. As the thumping and huffing got closer to her shielded bench, she noticed it slow down.

Movement drew her eye to her left as the lacey leaves of the willow tree were pushed back revealing the man she had met in the early morning hours at Starbucks, Finn Hudson. Only this Finn was hot and sweaty wearing a pair of Navy PT shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt drenched in sweat, his hair stuck to his head in a swirly pattern.

"Sorry miss…umm Rachel, Rachel Berry? That's you, right?" Finn asked her, taking in her appearance, recognition clear in his eyes.

"Hello Finn Hudson. What brings you here, after apparently running?" She asked, trying not to stare at his arms that were, as some of the other detectives would say, huge guns.

"Needed to get rid of some stress, just got chewed out by my boss and had what I worked on taken away from me because I "wasn't ready yet" according to her. She gave it to a guy that kisses her ass all the time. Which sucks since I know I'm ready and I was going to blow everyone out of the water, instead, I'm back being a peon. So instead of killing furniture this time around, I'm killing the pavement." Rachel watched him sit down next to her and take a drink from the camelback he had. His mouth set in a grimace as he looked out at the harbor.

"So, you run to calm yourself down?" Rachel wanted to make conversation with him, but felt very shy around Finn.

She watched him rub the back of his neck as if he were in deep thought, "Well…yes and no. I learned to do this in the Navy, because I didn't feel like having the DoD take part of my paycheck for me to pay for destroying equipment in fits of anger. See, I have a tendency to bottle all my emotions up, and kinda like shaking pop, when I've taken everything I can, I blow up, and in high school I destroyed a copier, several chairs, a couple of doors and who knows how many lockers. As my mom has always said, I have anger management problems, so now I run. Running shoes are a hell of a lot cheaper than a copier." Finn grinned at Rachel and she couldn't help but grin in return, his was that infectious. "So what brings you out here, hiding under this willow tree?"

"Been looking at so much research that I needed to clear my mind. It was too jumbled with names, dates, numbers, carats, place of origin and just tons of more stuff like that, so I came out here to calm down and replenish my soul. Whenever I get upset or too bogged down I like to come and just be a part of nature, you know. Even though nature is this huge complex living thing, it always comes down to appearing simple and serene, and I just need that, because it's like what I do, I have to take these really complex things and essentially break them down to something that appears simple. It's a nice metaphor for me. And what about you Finn, why do you come outside, beside to run?" She looked at him keenly; trying to remember everything he did and said, because she felt it was important.

She saw him shrug as if it wasn't a big deal, "I'm a country boy from Ohio. I either spent all my time playing video games or outside doing something whether it was sports or camping or just lying on the grass and taking a nap. I guess that's why I never broke things at home when I got angry, I'd just leave and go to the woods or go to the backyard and just lie there. But for me, it just makes me realize that the world is a much bigger place and me being angry wasn't really a big deal in the whole scheme of things, ya know?" Rachel watched Finn; he had a far off look in his eyes as he talked, like he was back in his backyard. Smiling a little, she tucked her hair behind her ears and placed her hand on top of his.

"I understand perfectly. But I need to get back, because if I'm not doing my job, then it isn't going to get done. It was nice seeing you again Finn. Bye." And with a wave of her hand, Rachel left Finn sitting under the willow tree branches.

When she walked back to headquarters, she kept glancing to where she had just been with Finn. As she came up the stairs she heard the voice of her commander loud and clear, "I don't care what you say, Rachel Berry is the lead on this case and she will see it through! She has earned this, and you aren't going to take it away!" Rachel could only guess that Will was yelling at the Police Chief Rod Remington. Remington was a pompous ass in Rachel's opinion, but she kept it to herself, she didn't need to get demoted.

Taking the handle in her hand, Rachel opened the door and smiled as both men looked at her. She heard Remington address her in his loud voice, "Berry, where are you on the Adams' theft? You should be on this case twenty four hours a day! Why are you away from the conference room? If you screw this up, you're going to be back walking a beat!" Rachel pulled back as Remington stuck his finger at her, his face red.

As he stalked off, leaving Rachel and Will standing by the stairs, Rachel looked at Will and gave a knowing smirk, "Adams are a big political contributor aren't they?"

She saw Will nod his head in agreement, "Yes, they contribute a lot of money to the mayoral campaign and the mayor appoints the chief of police so…"

Rachel held up her hand in acknowledgment, "I understand completely. I'm going right now to set up an interview with the Adams. I need more information on what was taken. All they gave me was history, which isn't helping me out in motive for the heist."

Will patted her shoulder in a fatherly manner and quietly said, "Good girl. Keep up the work and just remember, be nice and calm when you talk to the Adams. They just had a traumatizing murder and theft on their property while they were home. Just remember, be calm and understanding. I believe in you."

Rachel walked into the conference room and saw her pink post-it note sitting on her chair, and knew she was going to make Will proud as she picked up the phone and called the Adams, telling them she would be there in an hour to get some more information from them and ask a few questions.

Feeling positive with how this was going to turn out, Rachel decided she needed to freshen up since she was wearing the same thing since one in the morning. Going to her cubicle, she grabbed her extra set of clothes she kept there and went downstairs to the locker room for a shower.

An hour later, Rachel pulled up to the gate of the Adams' estate to a uniform standing guard and checking identification. "Afternoon Detective Berry. Looks like you may have to wait your turn, a reporter arrived just before you, and he has an appointment too. I think you talked to the Mrs. and he talked to the Mr., anyway, have a good interview Detective." He tipped his hat and waved Rachel on through the gate. She wasn't going to let the news of a reporter already there ruin her interview.

Rachel pulled her car up by a red truck that was parked on the cobblestone driveway. Taking a calming breath and pulling out the folder she had that contained her questions and pictures she needed, she stepped out looked around the estate. It was spectacular, and screamed of wealth and privilege, but still very simple and comfortable looking. There were children's toys littering the front lawn, _for their grandchildren_, spring flowers were dotting the lawn and flower beds. Rachel looked at saw where the earth had been turned over at the side yard for a spring garden. Rachel smiled thinking that this is the type of house she would have if she ever had the chance, not the estate, but a house that was homey and inviting, just like this. As she approached the front door, it opened immediately and there stood Mrs. Abigail Adams, a striking woman only a little taller than Rachel, but with blond and white hair that was pulled back into a soft bun, and striking green eyes. Her cheekbones and sharp nose gave her the air of a classic beauty, but the smile she bestowed upon Rachel was warm and inviting.

Rachel stepped in and shook Mrs. Adams hand as she was led to a large country styled kitchen. She watched as Mrs. Adams went a grabbed a pitcher of iced tea out of the refrigerator as she sat down at the table, pulling out her file from her tote. Taking of offered tea, Rachel blew out a breath, remembering what Will had said, _be nice Rachel, I believe in you,_ and started her questioning, "First Mrs. Adams, I am very sorry for what happened this morning. How long did Mr. Evans work for you?"

"He'd been here for about a year. He was a college student and being our night security guard helped him pay for college. He was such a nice boy. I felt awful calling his family in Tennessee to tell them what had happened. Jonathan and I are paying for his body to be transported back to his hometown, as well as the cost of the funeral. I just feel it's our fault that all of this happened." Rachel saw tears spring up in Mrs. Adams eyes, so she covered the older lady's hand in a comforting manner.

"I know this is hard, but I need more information on what Mr. Evans was guarding. I'm having a hard time coming up with a motive as to why someone would go after the best known jewels in Massachusetts. I'm hoping you can help me out with that because if had just been for money, then there are plenty of jewelry stores that could have been knocked over. So do you have any idea as to why?"

"I honestly don't know Detective Berry. Our collection is worth quite a bit of money, but it's also been in this family for generations. Every generation adds its own piece, and the oldest piece comes from England, before the Adams ever came to America, so I don't know what to tell you."

"Is there any significance to any of the pieces, something that may make one more special, unique above the rest?" Rachel was getting frustrated, but wasn't going to show it. She had to be nice and understanding, _nice and understanding, nice and understanding_ she kept mentally looped through her brain.

"I know one of the sapphire pieces, which are our oldest, is believed to have come as a gift from Sir Francis Drake, but there is nothing that shows that it actually came from him. There were no papers or anything stating that. It's just family legend, not something that we made public." _Sir Francis Drake, the same as the map._

"The map that was taken was the map created by Sir Francis Drake on his exploration of the west coast, do the jewelry piece and map have any connection? " Rachel was getting excited; this was the information she needed.

"I'm sorry, but as far as I know. No. My husband's great grandfather bought the map at auction when he was younger. He wanted it just to compliment that fact that we have a jewel from Sir Francis Drake, but that would be the only connection I know. I know that isn't a lot, but no one has taken any sudden interest in our collection or has asked us about selling the pieces, since it is expressly forbidden by the wills. So we would never think of selling it." Rachel finished writing down her notes and looked at Mrs. Adams with a smile.

As she sat and chatted politely with Abigail Adams about the house and nibbled on the snack of fresh cut vegetables and drank her tea, Rachel heard voices from the other room coming closer. One voice sounded familiar, and as she tried to place the voice, the owner came into view along with Jonathan Adams. The inquisitive voice belonged to none other than the man she had already met twice that day, but this time, he was wearing a lanyard that showed his occupation, _Boston Herald Reporter._ With those three words around his neck, any nicety she had towards Finn Hudson left. Rachel loathed reporters, they had a good way of screwing up investigations and letting out information that they shouldn't.

She watched as Finn stopped and stared at her, recognition and then embarrassment, clear in his soft russet colored eyes. She felt bad for about a minute, but then gave him a fake smile and introduced herself all the while fuming on the inside for the deception. She watched in awe though as he easily introduced himself to Mrs. Adams and smiled as she offered him iced tea and a snack too. As the four made small pleasantries, Rachel all the while was stewing, _how dare he mess up my investigation? Just who does he think he is, just because I was nice to him twice doesn't mean I'm going to let him in on any "insider" information._

As she and Finn left the house and walked to their respective cars, Rachel whirled around, anger clearly evident in her eyes as she watched Finn take a step back from her, his hands up defensively in front of him. "How _dare_ you try to use me!" She hissed, slapping him hard across his face, leaving a clear imprint of her small hand on his cheek.

"What do you mean "use you?" Finn asked, backing up slightly holding his hand to his face. The crazed look in her brown eyes was freaking him out as he eyed her right hand warily.

"You reporters are all alike. Make friends with the cop and they'll give you a lead. I'm not stupid. I know how it works." She jabbed her finger into his chest, making her point clear.

"Look, I was just being nice to you. We were both just blowing off some steam at the park and trying to relax. I didn't run into you intentionally. My mom always taught me to treat women nicely and with respect! And this morning at Starbucks, there was nowhere else to sit!" he cried, bumbling his way through an explanation

"Right. Like I'm going to take your word for it. Maybe I should get that in writing," she said sarcastically.

"Look, I didn't know you were a cop. I just thought you were someone that worked nearby. I swear!" She could see the confusion on his face as he talked, but she knew it was only a ploy to suck her into his charm, use her and then dump her.

"I've been down this road before buddy. If you think for one minute that I'm going to let you hold me back and get in my way, you've got another thing coming. I will destroy you before I let that happen, " she replied, her voice deadly serious, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Rachel. I don't know what you think is going on, but I'm just doing my job now and I was only being a friend towards you. I didn't know-" Finn responded, his fingers playing with the hem of his t-shirt nervously.

She started jabbing her finger into his chest again as she spoke, "Don't play dumb with me. Every time I think I'm going to get my break on a big case, some reporter comes and screws it up for me! I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to report you to your editor Finn Hudson, _Boston Herald Reporter!"_ She hadn't realized her voice rose considerably, and she didn't see Mr. and Mrs. Adams watching the exchange from the front window. She gave him once last glance of pure loathing before pulling out quickly, actually squealing the tires, and leaving a confused Finn in her wake. Rachel raced back to headquarters, only to find Will standing in the conference room, an upset look on his face.

Before she could set her tote down Will was already talking, "Rachel, I just got off the phone with a very upset Chief Remington, any idea why?" Will was staring at Rachel, disappointment clear on his face.

All she could do was look down at her shoes, not wanting to say it, but knowing she had to, "I screwed up. I had a great interview with Mrs. Adams and then I found out a reporter was there and when we left the house, I yelled at him in the driveway, and the Adams probably heard me." Rachel could feel the cold shame overtake her as once again; she had let her pride and competitiveness get in the way of her job.

"I'm sorry Rachel and you did more than that, you slapped him," as he revealed that bit of information, she lifted her head sharply, looking at him intently, "so I have to take you off the case. I'm giving it to Lauren Zizes, even though she is the scariest thing on her our department; she can handle herself in public. I'm going to need your notes and all evidence that you have. I was able to talk Chief Remington out of demoting you, but you're on probation and any, and I mean any screw up and you are back in uniform walking the streets. I'm sorry Rachel." As he finished, Rachel sat down the notes she had just taken and grabbed her personal things and walked out of the conference room, her head held high, even though all she wanted to do was cry.

Grabbing a few things from her desk, she went to Will's office and entered Will's office without knocking and looked him straight in the eye and used her most confident voice, "Will, I'm taking three weeks' vacation starting tomorrow. I need it. I'll e-mail you my exact return tonight. See you in about three weeks." With that she walked out not looking at any of her colleagues, even though she felt all of their eyes on her.

She gripped her tote tightly that contained her flash drive that had copies of all the documents Lauren had, and her notes she had typed up after handing them over to Will. She was going to solve this crime on her own, and nothing was going to stop her.


	3. Conversations and Banana Bread

Finn opened the door to his apartment and fought the urge to slam down his bag and camera case, since he didn't feel like replacing a thousand dollar camera he gently put the camera down and tossed his backpack across the apartment with all his might causing it to hit the wall and spill all of his notes out onto the floor. Stalking over to his freezer, he grabbed a bag of frozen peas and pressed them on his cheek wincing at the sudden coldness. It still stung from where she slapped him. _She slapped him!_ All he was doing, even though he was off the story, was just getting some more information, and she thought he was trying to use her. _She was fuckin' nuts!_

Throwing himself on his couch, hoping it didn't break under his weight, Finn closed his eyes and wanted to scream. This was without a doubt the worst day of his life, beating out the time when his ex-girlfriend told him she was pregnant and in reality cheated on him and got knocked up. The day had started off so well too, with getting the call about the murder and now burglary of the Adams' estate and getting the exclusive of photographing the crime scene. Then he met Rachel at the Starbucks, and yeah, she was a little intense, but she was pretty and he liked talking to her, but after meeting her it all went hell.

Finn let his head loll back as he grimaced remembering what had happened when he had gotten back to the third floor; _"Hudson, I want to see you immediately in my office!" Why was Sue Sylvester in at 4:30 in the morning? As he entered her office he saw that puffy haired ass kisser that had been caught jacking off to a YouTube video, sitting in the chair beside Sue. As he started to take a seat Sue barked at him, "Stand Hudson, what I have to say won't take long, and I don't want you comfortable when I say it. In fact I want you shaking in fear. I want you to hand over all of your notes to Jewfro here, because he will now be covering the story on the Adams' murder. I don't think you are ready for this type of important case, and even though Jewfro here is allergic to everything but extremely short brunette detectives, he has more reporting seniority than you, so just hand over your notes and you can go back to doing the research on the article you were assigned before, what was it, cops watching videos on their car laptops? Anyway, maybe next time Hudson, now get out!" He grabbed his typed up notes and tossed them at Jacob then stormed out of the Sue's office nearly getting hit by the sharpened pencil she threw at him. As he sat down at his cubicle, trying not to explode, he started downloading all the pictures he had taken at the crime scene and loaded them onto his flash drive. Sue didn't know he took pictures, and what Sue didn't know, wasn't going to hurt him. To get his mind off of losing the beat, he started identifying the police in the photos, because if Sue wasn't going to put him on it officially, he was going to work in unofficially and show her just how ready he was._

As Finn played with the flash drive in his hand, he realized that the small detective he had seen talking to the Adams had been Rachel. No wonder her walk seemed familiar to him when they had left Starbucks. Finn reached for a glass of water and took an aspirin, then grabbed his notepad he had been writing everyone's name down on. He wrote Rachel's name and then scribbled over it, fully realizing that after the slap and accusing him of trying to get information from her, there was no way in hell she would talk to him again.

That was too bad too, because Finn really thought before the whole insanity/slapping thing came out, that she was really nice. Hell, in two short encounters he had told her more about himself than he had his last girlfriend in the two months they were together. She just had those big expressive eyes that he kinda lost himself in and just wanted to tell her everything, because she sat there and like really listened to him, and girls never did that before. They always rolled their eyes at him when he talked or tuned him out with that glazed look in their eyes, but Rachel actually listened, her brown eyes never leaving his. But since she was a police officer, she was trained to listen, so it really didn't count, he wasn't going to be seeing her anytime soon, and if he did, he was going to wear a goalie mask. For someone so tiny, she sure packed a punch, or slap in this case.

Finn looked over the notes he had taken when he went out on his "errand" to the Adams' estate and talked to Jonathan Adams. Finn was almost certain that the missing map was the key. It had to be because it was the one thing that didn't make any sense. The jewels were worth millions, the unfortunate death of the security guard was tragic, but the map didn't have the true value a thief would seek out besides being historical. Mr. Adams had told Finn that his great grandfather had won the map at an auction in England, just because it had interested him. The map had been the one created of the west coast when Drake had sailed around South America. Mr. Adams had said that the Adams and the Drakes had a long history of supporting each other in England, and his great grandfather wanted the map as a symbol of that help.

Finn hadn't been the best history student in school, hell outside of military history and naval history he really knew jack shit outside of the basics, so that meant he was going to have to do some major research on Sir Francis Drake. Like every modern reporter, the first thing he did was Google the explorer's name; Sir Francis Drake was part of the English navy and one of the youngest admirals as well a privateer for the Queen, _now that's pretty cool_, he was considered the first Englishman to sail around the world, he had two ships when he had set out, but the Marigold was lost at sea, and the ship he was on, the Golden Hind started out as the Pelican and was changed to the Golden Hind around the Straits of Magellan, also the time he had forcefully taken several Spanish shiploads of ducats. The Spanish, the Mayan and several other native tribes hated Drake for his pirate ways. Drake had landed near what is now called Drakes Bay, close to San Reyes near present day San Francisco. It is said he had to repair the Golden Hind due to damages and replenish supplies, and then went onto England, where just giving half of the bounty he had captured equaled the crown's income for the entire year. This made Drake popular and was given privileges and so on and so on.

Finn sat back and rubbed his eyes. He had been at the research for so long that the apartment was now dark except for the street light that streamed through the windows and the glow of his laptop; hell his peas had totally thawed to mush. Throwing them out and going back to the fridge, he looked for something to eat, but there just wasn't really anything in there. Being a bachelor, Finn only felt it necessary to go to the grocery store when the mice started complaining about the lack of food.

Looking at the time, nine o'clock, Finn had been awake for twenty one hours, not a new record, but he was going to celebrate by walking to The Black Rose and have a good old fashion Irish dinner and some Guinness before exhaustion took over. After the beating he took at work and then at the hands of the tiniest and prettiest detective he had ever seen, he figured he deserved a pint. Saving his research, he locked up his apartment and started walking the few blocks to the pub, which was just on the other side of the Fitzgerald Expressway near the harbor. Chuckling to himself, Rachel was so paranoid about him following her and trying to use her, because they bumped into each other, but he wasn't. He lived down near the harbor, and the park was his running ground. He just lucked out that his work was there too, so everything was nearby and in walking distance.

Entering the dark wood paneled establishment, Finn took his customary seat at the bar. Sometimes he felt like he was in Cheers, because Charlie the bartender knew Finn and what he liked, automatically placing a pint of Guinness in front of Finn while simultaneously shouting Finn's usual order of Shepard's Pie to the cook in the back. "Had a tough day today, huh Finn?" Charlie said, more as a fact than as a question.

"You could say that Charlie, and it's been a long one too. You know some days it just isn't worth rolling out of bed it's just so bad."

"Aye, nothing can be that bad. What happened, did you get into a fight with a girl? Get too fresh with her? It looks like you got slapped. You've a faint bruise on your cheek." Charlie commented, peering at Finn, who tried to look at his cheek in the mirrored wall behind the bar. Even from with the slight distance between his seat and the mirror, he could easily see the discoloration on his cheek of her hand print. He probed it gently, damn she packs a wallop. Taking a drink of his stout, he just shook his head and looked around the pub at all the familiar and new faces. Not wanting to think too much, Finn sat back and focused his attention on the Boston Red Sox game that was blaring from the television in the corner of the bar. Finn didn't care much for the Red Sox, he was more of a Reds and Indians fan since he was from Ohio, but he knew better than to say that in a bar full of drunken Bostonians.

As he waited for his dinner, he absently watched the game, but soon found himself doing what any good reporter does; he started eavesdropping on others' conversations. As he turned his head slightly he picked up on a guy that was hitting on Charlie's niece, the waitress that night, and getting turned down flat; the two guys that were talking about the bets they made on the game and what their winnings would be if Boston pulled out this win. Another was two touristy ladies not really happy with the pub, thinking it was supposed to be more of a restaurant and not so much bar. These conversations did nothing to peak his reporter's instinct, but there was one conversation that _did_ prick Finn's ears, so he zeroed in on it while watching the game. Appearing engrossed in clutch situation Big Papi found himself in, Finn eyed the two men at the end of the bar who had caught his interest. One was tan, muscular and sported a Mohawk, while the other was African-American and just as muscular. His reporter's sense of detail took over, figuring that they must work together because they both had the same construction company jackets on. When Finn's Shepard's pie came out, he thanked Charlie and worked on looking bored, but still listening intently to Mohawk dude.

"Yea, I got a call from Lauren this afternoon; she got that Adams' case that was on the news this morning. And get this, the only reason she got it was because my cousin, who _was _the detective on it, got kicked off of it!" Mohawk said, slamming his beer down on the bar for emphasis and signaling for another.

"Rachel got kicked off the case! Why? I know she can be obnoxious and all, but she's a good detective."

"Get this Matt…my munchkin cousin screamed at some poor reporter outside of the Adams' estate and then proceeded to slap him across the face." Finn heard Mohawk laughing and he gingerly touched his bruised cheek. Shifting his eyes to take a glance, he saw just how red Mohawk was from laughing so hard. Finn didn't think much of the guy for laughing at his cousin's expense, and had Rachel really lost the case because of him?

"So tiny Rachel, who we went to school with, slapped some dude while she was on a case? Dammmmmmn. So what does that mean for her, how much trouble is she in?"

Finn heard Mohawk work on settling himself down and saw him take a swig of his new beer, "I don't know, Lauren didn't hear, but she does know that after Rachel was taken off the case, she marched into Schue's office and announced she was taking three weeks' vacation starting immediately. And she hasn't even called me to tell me any of this, so I don't know man. Knowing her, she's humiliated and embarrassed. The reporter she slapped should be _more_ humiliated and embarrassed, getting his ass handed to him like that by a munchkin." Mohawk winced, knowing from childhood battles just how hard Rachel's slaps were.

"So why don't you be the good cousin and call her up and check on her? You know how much of a drama queen she can be," Matt suggested,

"Hell no! Little Miss Priss needs to learn her lesson. She can't always get what she wants and she isn't always going to be the best at everything! She's always been like that, and even though I love Rachel, it's annoying as hell. She's probably at home watching _West Side Story _or _Hello Dolly_! or some shit like that, annoying her neighbors with her singing. I'll call her tomorrow, tell her Lauren had called to tell me she hadn't come in and I was checking on her like I promised her dads."

Finn, his eyes were still watching the game, continued listening as Matt responded. "Puck, I don't know _why_ her dads have you watch out for her, that little girl can _take you down_. Do they forget she's a black belt, plus she can legally carry a gun and _use it_? I think she should be protecting _you_." Finn glanced as he heard Matt chuckle then take a drink while Puck cast an annoyed look at his friend.

"Matt, you've seen Puckausaraus' guns. I can definitely take care of myself. She may be a black belt, but I'm the king of fight club so it all washes. I'll check on her tomorrow though, I'm just gonna give her the night to calm down because I don't feel like having any more plates thrown at my head because I'm a dude and she's pissed." Puck absently rubbed a scar on his forehead as he said that, and Finn had to hide a chuckle into his stout as he pictured Rachel winging a plate at Puck.

"Has anyone thought that Rachel might have anger management issues? I mean come on, she can get awfully violent. Remember that time in high school when Rachel sent that girl to a crack den simply because the girl stole a part from her?"

Finn watched Puck shake his head, "Naw man, she's just intense that's all. I can already tell you why she hit that poor reporter without having to know what the dude said. Remember last year when she had that one case about the school burglaries?" Finn saw Matt nod, and since he didn't know the case, he kept listening, "Well, this goofy looking reporter with a fro and geek glasses got assigned the story." Finn steamed, knowing that Puck had just described Jacob Ben Israel. "Well, he was real nice to Rachel and would ask her questions and meet her for lunch and things, and Rachel being Rachel was her usual honest self and told him a couple of things about the case off the record. Plus, even though he was like total psycho stalker looking, she was happy a guy even _wanted_ to have lunch with her and stuff. She was like flattered. You know she hasn't really dated since that douche in high school. Well anyway, the weasel turned around and used what she said in his articles and got her in a ton of trouble. Ever since then all she has to do is _hear_ the word reporter and steam comes out of her ears and she gets that crazy death ray look in her eyes. So the poor guy she slapped was just in the wrong profession around the wrong person at the wrong time."

Finn refocused his attention from the game to the now empty plate in front of him, his brain churning over what he'd just overheard. He could easily understand Rachel's attitude towards him at the estate. His own anger at Jacob Ben Israel was still fresh and, he could only imagine how she had felt since she'd been burned by the same guy that took _his story_ away from him. Instead of feeling angry at Rachel, which he had every right to be, he really felt sorry for her. She just couldn't seem to catch a break, and she seemed like such a nice girl too. Well, when she wasn't slapping him. He glanced up to see Puck, Rachel's cousin, catch Finn's eyes in the mirrored wall and nod slightly. _Did he know I was listening to him?_ Keeping his gaze, Finn nodded back and turned his attention to the baked apple Charlie had put in front of him and wondered what Puck wanted or knew.

Finishing his food and paying for it, Finn got up to leave, figuring it would be just as easy to walk as it would be to grab a cab. As he walked in the cool spring air, Finn's mind drifted back to what he had overheard Puck say about Rachel, and what Finn knew. The first two times he had met her, she had been sweet, except for when he had been unintentionally rude to her. He could see himself wanting to be her friend, but after what Puck had said and how Jacob had royally screwed her over, Finn didn't think that would be happening anytime soon, at least on her end. At the corner, waiting for the light to change, Finn glanced up and could have sworn he saw Rachel walking away with her skip/walk he had become familiar with. There was no way that had been her, not in this area and not at this time of night. She didn't seem like the kind of girl that would be trolling the downtown streets. She seemed too pure and innocent for that, even if she was a badass detective.

Reaching his apartment building, Finn unlocked the lobby door and made his way up to his apartment on the fourth floor. Letting himself in, the sudden exhaustion of a long day finally slammed into him, and it took all of his effort to shed his clothes, letting them sit where they fell and falling ever so ungracefully into bed. Finn knew no matter how tired he was, he wasn't going to get the rest he needed, because even though he did nothing wrong, he felt guilty for getting Rachel kicked off the Adams' case, and those thoughts flooded his mind throughout the night.

The incessant bleating of the damned alarm woke Finn up way earlier than he ever wanted to be up. Looking at the 6:00 glaring in red at him, Finn wanted to throw it down and smash it, but that wouldn't accomplish anything but sending him out to suburbia to buy another one. Getting up and tripping over his jeans on the floor, he made his way to the bathroom, and saw the bruise had darkened overnight, the clear outline of a hand on it. Damn. There was no way he was going into work that way, he already had to deal with Ben-Israel gloating about getting his assignment; there was no way in hell he could deal with the teasing about the handprint on his cheek. Walking out of the bathroom and to his laptop, he quickly sent an e-mail to his editor Sue, and told her he would be working from home for the next few days and she could call and check up on him whenever she wanted, which he knew she would.

After a warm shower and fresh clothes, Finn started to feel a little more human, and his stomach was announcing it was time for breakfast. Remembering there was nothing in the house, he sighed since it meant a run to a restaurant, but as he opened the door, he saw a plate on sitting on the floor. On the plate were slices of banana bread, still slightly warm. As he picked it up and pulled back the saran a wrap the heavenly scent overtook him. Not caring how it looked, he locked his door and started walking with the plate in his hand, taking bites as he walked, rolling his eyes heavenwards, it was _that_ good. By the time he had walked to Starbucks, he had finished the plate of banana bread, so he walked in and ordered his coffee much the same way as he had the day before. He felt like a loser for walking in holding an empty plate so this time he ordered his coffee to go and a bagel, shoving the plate in the bagel bag as he headed to the small grocery store.

Grabbing a cart, Finn started grabbing the basic necessities for a bachelor while wondering who had left him banana bread at his door. He didn't know a lot of people in Boston outside of work, and most of his friends were guys and definitely _not _the type that baked banana bread, so that left Finn in his normal state, clueless. He was standing in the produce area wondering what he should buy just in case his mom made one of her famous pop over visits from Ohio, trying to decide if she would be happier if she saw broccoli or apples in his apartment when he heard a familiar humming. Looking over at the lettuce section he saw the back of a tiny woman with her hair in a braid, tapping her toes while she was going through all the green leaves. When she turned her head slightly, Finn's eyes widened, it was Rachel Berry. Not in the mood for a matching bruise on his other cheek, Finn looked for some way to hide his 6'3" frame, jumping behind a card board cutout of an Orange extolling the virtues of Vitamin C and ignoring the stares of a child sitting in a cart who immediately pointed Finn out to his mother. Realizing it wasn't going to happen since his head was still a foot above the Orange's, he took off towards the checkout counter. As soon as everything was bagged, he hightailed it out of the small grocery store and back to his apartment praying all the way that Rachel Berry did not see him.

Glad to be in the safety of his apartment, he quickly put his few bags away and sat down at his laptop still sitting on his coffee table. Finn wanted to know more about the map and the jewels, but had exhausted his internet search. Wondering who would know a lot about Sir Francis Drake that he could actually talk to, Finn called up the smartest guy he knew, Artie Abrams from high school. Artie was now the youngest librarian ever to be in charge of rare manuscripts and books at Princeton's library.

Hitting the contact on his phone that had a picture of a nerdy looking man in a sweater vest, glasses and suspenders, Finn waited for Artie to pick up, "Yo, Finny D! I haven't heard from you in forever, what's the shout out for?"

Shaking his head at his old nickname, "Yo White Rapper, I need to use your working brain cells. And I just talked to you last month dude."

"I forgot, sorry. Brittany and I have been getting busy and stuff lately, so…"

"You're still dating that batty girl that says her cat smokes and is psychic?"

"Hey, she's one of the dance professors here at Princeton; she has plenty of smarts, and is _very _flexible."

"Dude, I can hear your eyebrows wiggling through the phone. Just stop, that is way TMI, anyway, but that's not why I called. I know Princeton is huge, and maybe the person I'm looking for isn't at Princeton, but I need to know who in America would be an expert on Sir Francis Drake and possibly the family of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. It's important for a story I'm working on. Can you help?" Finn didn't want to come off as desperate, and he didn't want to tell Artie exactly why he needed the expert, at least not yet.

"Sure Finn, actually he's on staff here at Princeton. His name is Jesse St. James and he did his thesis on Sir Francis Drake. I bet he can help you out a ton, plus he owes me because I help him with his computer presentations and things. If he can't do it on his phone or on word processing, he can't do it so he comes to me, the genius. Want me to set up a time for you two to meet?" Finn laughed at Artie's cockiness.

"Yes! Anytime this week, since I'm working from home. You're the best Artie, I so owe you."

"Preach Frankenteen. You can owe me a lunch up here when you come to talk to St. James. I'll warn you right now though, St. James is a little dramatic and full of himself, so you've been warned, okay?"

"Got it dude. Just e-mail the date and time and any other info I need okay?"

"No prob. Catch ya later Finny D. Maybe on CoD."

Finn laughed at Artie and remembering all the good times they had together before Finn went off to the navy and Artie went to Indiana University. There was one other place he could look to find more information on the Adams and their jewels and that would the family library, built by John Quincy Adams. Calling up Jonathan Adams, Finn felt nervous since he wasn't on the story anymore, and he was sure Mr. Adams knew that.

"Mr. Adams, this is Finn Hudson, the reporter from the Herald yesterday? I had a request to ask of you." said as smoothly as possible, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice, and almost succeeded until the "you" came out as a squeak.

Finn heard a warm friendly voice in his ear piece, which made him relax instantly, "Hello Finn. I'm glad you called, because I just got off of the phone with a Jacob Ben-Israel who told me he was not reporting on our case, and not you, why?"

"Ummmm, my editor feels that I don't have enough experience to properly work on the story, so she gave it to Jacob because he does. But I was going to do a background piece on the jewels as a companion to the burglary, and was wondering if I could get access to the Adams library in Quincy? I wanted to see what might be there on the jewels. Is that possible?" Finn had never been a good liar, so he was praying that he was believable at that moment.

"Well…yes I'm sure I can get you access. The National Parks Service runs the house and library now, but the Adams always can request and grant permission to use it for different things, and the library on the grounds is no different. I think they have to have the caretaker there though to get the books and things for you. I'll give them a call, and how about Friday then. That'll give the Parks Service enough time to make sure they can get the library caretaker there, is that okay with you Finn? I'll e-mail you all the information then."

"Yes sir. That would be awesome."

"No problem Finn, and between you, me and my wife, I wish you were still the reporter for this."

"Thanks Mr. Adams. That means a lot. Goodbye sir."

Finn jumped in the air. Score. He was going to be getting more information, and he was so going to bury Jacob Ben-Israel on this story. As he looked around the mess that was his apartment, his eyes fell on a business card that was attached to his notepad that had fallen out of his backpack. Picking it up and looking at the name, he smiled knowing he just had one more phone call to make and hopefully a visit to follow up that call.

**A/N: Thanks for all of the alerts and reviews. This story will be a little bit different for me, so just hang with me and definitely give me your feedback on it. It can only make it better. Also, don't expect 3 updates in a week anymore, my husband went to a conference so I had access to the computer whenever I needed it, which ends tomorrow. Boo! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**


	4. Two Steps Ahead

Rachel sat at her kitchen table sipping her tea and nibbling on some toast. She had a lot to do, but after yesterday, she needed a calm, peaceful morning to start her day. Unfortunately, fate seemed to have a different idea as she heard her door slam open and the unmistakable voice of her cousin fill the air, "Hey, I smell banana bread! Got any left Berry?" Rachel rolled her eyes as she watched her cousin come into the kitchen, and seeing the bread pan empty, pout and sit down across from her, grabbing a piece of toast. "So cuz, why'd you bake banana bread?"

"Well, I wanted to be nice to someone who had been nice to me." Rachel hoped that Noah believed her. She really did it as an "I'm sorry" peace offering, but she just didn't have the guts to leave a note.

"Damn and I love your banana bread too. So how's everything going Rachel?"

She wasn't going to buy the concerned act Noah was putting on, "Noah, you're one of the best undercover officers we have, but cut the BS and tell me why you're really here? My sixth sense tells me your girlfriend and her big mouth told you everything." Rachel liked Lauren, and Lauren was really good for Noah, but Lauren also had a mouth that was as big as her.

Rachel watched Noah nod his head sheepishly, "Yea, she did, but more because she was excited for getting the case and for how pissed off you were at Schue. So what are you going to do for three weeks? You_ never_ take vacations. I can't remember the last time you took more than two days off in a row, so what are you plans little munchkin of mine?"

Rachel looked into her cousin's hazel eyes and debated if she should tell him the truth about planning on solving this case on her own or give him some believable story. Considering her fathers had entrusted Noah with her safety, she'd give him a story. "Well, to be honest Noah, I plan on just doing day excursions, maybe a spa day and things around the apartment. I don't want to go somewhere far away by myself and get hit on by drunken men, so I figured I'd play tourist and do things around here. Is that alright with you_, dear cousin_?" Rachel arched her eyebrow, daring him to counter her.

"Sounds cool. You probably could use some time to just relax. Well, I gotta get down to the construction site, Matt and I may be able to finally get in with the guys leading the racketeering, so I gotta go, but you text me if you need anything, got it? Oh yeah, we still on for Sunday dinners while you're on vacation?" Rachel nodded her head as she saw him grab a water and bolt out the door.

As she put kettle on for tea, Rachel started taking stock of her kitchen. It had been a few weeks since she had done any real grocery shopping outside of the basics, and since she was going to be home for three weeks, she was going to have to stock up. Grabbing some cookbooks and magazines off of her kitchen shelf, she started flipping through and writing down ingredients she needed for some new recipes she was going to try.

Grabbing her grocery sacks, Rachel locked her door and made her way down to the street. She loved living downtown. She was in the center of it all and everything was right there; if she wanted to go to the theatre, it was just a fifteen minute walk, wanted to go to New York, the train station was a ten minute walk. It just made for a fast paced life that Rachel loved. It also caused her fathers so much concern they had to ask her cousin to watch out for her even though they were both police officers with the same training. Rachel wished her dads would accept that she was a grown woman that could take care of herself, instead of a five year old. Of course as Noah had put it, "It's hard to see you as a grown up when you like to dress like a five year old with themed sweaters, skirts, knee socks and penny loafers." Noah got to experience a pressure point take down with that comment and never commented on her wardrobe again.

As she entered the grocery store, Rachel grabbed a cart and started going down the aisles, humming as she went. She had been so busy with cases, that Rachel had forgotten how much she enjoyed the grocery store. Walking up and down the aisles, studying all the options she had and the new things she wanted to try, but she kept hearing someone one aisle over mumbling to themselves. It was obviously a man that seemed to be questioning what his mom would think if she found the item at his house. Rachel chuckled thinking that the guy was a true mama's boy, but as she rounded the corner to get some fresh produce, she stopped cold, her eyes widening at the sight _of him_. Standing there, with a bruise on his cheek, was Finn Hudson, looking at the broccoli and the bag of apples in his hand, mumbling. Not wanting to be recognized by him, she quietly went over to the lettuce bin and started looking at the all different types. Getting lost in her thoughts she started humming and tapping her foot as she perused the vegetables, forgetting that he was even there. When she did turn around, he was nowhere to be seen. Letting out a sigh, not sure if it was because he was or wasn't there, she grabbed her produce and went to check out.

When she got back to her apartment and unloaded all of her groceries, she looked at the empty bread pan that sat in the sink. She _really_ felt bad for slapping Finn Hudson. He hadn't done anything wrong, and she had never heard his name before she had met him, so she knew that he didn't know she was a detective. Damn Jacob Ben-Israel for making her so paranoid now. She was ashamed though. Even though she had made him the bread as an apology, she just couldn't bring herself to write a note apologizing. As she closed her eyes, she could see the stunned expression in his soft brown eyes as her hand made contact with his cheek, and then as she berated him. He looked like a child that had just been scolded for doing nothing wrong, which he was. Even though she knew she would eventually have to make things right with Finn Hudson, she had much more important things to deal with, like working on the Adams' case.

The first thing she did was contact her ex-boyfriend for some help. Even though Noah called him a douche, and he really was, he was the closest thing to an expert on Sir Francis Drake that she had to use, so hitting the contact on her phone, she waited until she heard that once suave voice that made her weak in the knees now sounded like an arrogant purr, "Hello, this is Professor Jesse St. James of Princeton."

Rolling her eyes at his egotistical greeting, Rachel matched his with hers, "Hello Jesse, this is Detective Rachel Berry of Boston PD, you know your ex-girlfriend that you dumped because _I didn't get the lead in the school musical_." Rachel tried to hold back her anger, but he had been her first love, and even though it was eight years later, it still hurt.

"_Rachel_…you're with the Boston PD? How did my little Broadway bound star become one wearing a star instead?" Jesse questioned, curiosity replacing the arrogance.

"It's a long story Jesse, and someday I'll be happy to help you, but I need a favor, and you're the only one I know of that might have the answers I'm looking for."

"And what is that my dear Rachel?"

"I need to pick your brain on Sir Francis Drake, his landing on the west coast and possible jewels he may have stolen or given to others."

"Well, I would be happy to, and I already have an appointment with a gentleman on the same subject on Wednesday at two o'clock, so why don't you come then too. That way I don't have to repeat myself twice. Sounds good?"

Rachel sighed, not really wanting to sit and interview Jesse with someone else present, but she knew he wouldn't do it twice. He had always thought repeating the same thing over and over was superfluous, and why he never went into anything like that, but how he became a professor of English history still confused Rachel.

"Yes Jesse, I'll be there on Wednesday at two. Thanks for helping me out with this. It's really important."

"I know it is Rachel, and I'm sorry I was so narrow-minded and condescending in high school. Can you and I at least be friends or at the very least friendly acquaintances?"

Rachel shook her head and realized he couldn't see her do that, "Of course Jesse, I think that would be nice. Besides, I need someone who shares my love of all things musical and Broadway with."

She smiled at hearing him laugh, "That's my girl. I'll see you then on Wednesday. Bye Rachel."

"Bye Jesse, see you Wednesday." With that Rachel hung up the phone and immediately entered in the appointment on her phone calendar and looked up what train she needed to take to New Jersey. Looking at the times she was going to have to take the ten o'clock one and then just sight see until it was time for her interview. At least she didn't totally lie to Noah; she was going to be doing a day excursion.

As she continued doing her research with the information she had, Rachel felt she had come to a dead end. She knew there was something about the map and the jewels together, but nothing was linking them. Wanting more information than what Jesse would provide her; she called the National Parks Service and inquired about using the John Quincy Adams family library on the grounds of the Adams estate in Quincy Massachusetts. "Well Detective Berry, you seem to be in luck, Jonathan Adams has requested that we allow a friend of his access to the library so we have the librarian coming in on Friday at one. I'll be happy to grant your request and allow you to use the library too, since you are working on the Adams' case. Just come to our store front, which is about three blocks from the estate and then the librarian will take you over, all right?"

"Thank you so much George. I really appreciate this." Rachel thanked him again and typed the information in her calendar. As she did, she was wondering who was the other person that seemed to be on the same trail as her, and seemed to be two steps in front of her. She had heard from Becky that Jacob Ben Israel was the reporter on the case for the Boston Herald, and if it was him, he was going to learn what the hot end of a Taser felt like.

Knowing there wasn't a lot she could do except a few phone calls, she needed to clear her mind again, and that meant a walk to the park. As she reached the harbor park, she looked at the secluded bench under the willow tree, and her mind pictured a sweaty Finn Hudson sitting next to her, smiling at her, talking with her. Not wanting to feel horrible about what she did and she had apologized to him in a roundabout way, she sat back on the bench and looked out over the water and at the boats and buoys bobbing in the waves. She let her mind drift back to happy memories to allow herself to calm down, when a picture of Finn Hudson at the Adams came into clear view. He was standing in the kitchen, a baseball cap on his head with his sunglasses resting on the bill. He had on a white and blue striped button down on with a navy t-shirt on underneath. He had on dark washed jeans and a black belt as well as black Nikes and around his neck was a lanyard that said, "Finn Hudson, Boston Herald." If Jacob was the reporter for the Herald on the case, what was Finn doing at the Adams? She needed to get back home and to her laptop immediately

As she entered her apartment, Rachel grabbed her laptop and looked up the staff for the Herald. Sure enough, there was a picture of Finn Hudson stating that he was a reporter for the Police and Crime section. Rachel sighed, glad that he hadn't been lying to her, but why was she worried if he lied to her or not? She still didn't like him because he was a reporter. Not liking where her thinking was going, she went back and finished her lunch and decided she needed a small nap to refresh her mind. She walked into her bedroom and lay down on the bed, wanting not to think about the case, but seemed to be doing the exact opposite.

Her mind was whirring with motives for the theft; like money, dark antiques collector, disgruntled descendant of either Drake or Adams, treasure map, treasure key, key to opening a lost city, key to the Mason's treasure, cursed jewel, enchanted jewel, map that would bring down the empire. Rachel dreamt of each motive's scenario. Upon waking she realized most of her ideas for motives seemed to stem from blockbuster movies. She wasn't Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage or Johnny Depp…she was Rachel Berry and she needed motives that were cold hard facts, not movie fantasies.

She got up and stretched, seeing that it was dark out. Not bothering to turn on a light, she walked over to her computer and pulled up her evidence list she had compiled before being taken off the case. She pored over the list, hoping to see something she'd missed the first thousand times she'd looked at it. She groaned in frustration. There were no fingerprints on anything, video surveillance was put on a loop of an empty room, everything was small enough to be carried off on the person, so nothing would be obvious, no signs of footprints since it had been unseasonably dry, not even a getaway car nearby on neighborhood surveillance. She sat back, her brow furrowed in thought. Someone must have seen _something_. Suddenly, it struck her, and her eyes grew wide in excitement, the perp knew the house and its layout. They knew the surveillance system and how to get around unnoticed. She needed a list of everyone that had been in the antiques room for at least the last year if not two. She paced the room trying to figure out how she was going to get that list, going over her list of contacts in her head. The Adams weren't exactly happy with her and probably wouldn't help her out, and Lauren wasn't going to give the information out to her, if she had even thought to get the information in the first place.

Her cousin was a charmer, but she knew there was no way Noah was going to be able to get the list of visitors from Lauren. Even though Lauren and Noah shared everything, Rachel was pretty sure Lauren wouldn't just hand over any list on the case to Noah since she was his cousin. Which left Rachel back at square one, trying to figure out how to get those names. Short of hacking into Lauren's computer, nothing was coming to her. Growing more frustrated, she decided to put everything away, figuring that she needed to step away from the case for an hour or two. A quick glance at the clock accompanied by a growl from her stomach revealed that it had been hours since she'd eaten. Giving in to her stomach, Rachel ordered a salad and breadsticks from the pizza place down the street and popped _Grease_ into her DVR.

Immersing herself into the drama of Rydell High, Rachel wished her life could work out as nicely as Sandy's. She bet Sandy would never get herself kicked off a case. She frowned, realizing that they _were_ alike in one way. Just like her, Sandy had people talking about her behind her back. For that matter, where was her Danny? Why couldn't she have a relationship like the one Danny and Sandy have? One where the guy would do anything for the girl and vice versa. Unfortunately, she had never been in a good relationship, and eventually, she'd just given up, allowing her work to take over her life. Now, she was her work, and it was almost like if she didn't have this case, she wouldn't know who she was anymore. If she didn't solve this case, she wouldn't have a life. And then she'd never be able to find herself a Danny.

There was only one thing to do then. She paused the DVD, pulling out her case files again, determined to solve this case.


	5. Train rides and dates

Rachel sat on the train, waiting for all the other passengers to get on. She had her briefcase and was dressed casually, but professionally in a khaki skirt, light pink camisole and deep pink cardigan. She had gold ballet flats and her hair pulled up in casual bun. Her makeup was minimal, just enhancing her natural self. She didn't know why she had put so much effort into what she wore, scratch that, yes she did. She wanted to impress Jesse. Even after all these years she wanted him to tell her she looked beautiful. Not believing how silly she was being she looked at the people entering the train. She saw businessmen and women walking on in their power suits and briefcases, their eyes glued to their smartphone of choice. She saw mothers with children going into the city for a play or museum excursion, and she saw couples, holding hands, giggling and giving each other discrete kisses. Those were the ones that bothered her the most. _She_ wanted to be half of a couple. _She _wanted to be Sandy to someone's Danny. She wanted someone to love her for _who she was_, but she was also willing to change for that person too, well not change but compromise at least. She knew what the trouble was, she was too intense. Because she had no love life, she threw her whole being into being a detective and solving cases, and when someone tried to enter her life, she always pushed them aside for the case, and they'd end up leaving. She was starting to tire of being devoted to her cases and not to someone that would be devoted back.

Pulling herself out of her thought, she looked at her watch and noticed it was time for the train to pull out, and as she looked up, saw a man jump at the doors as they started to close, stopping them. As he came onto the train and handed the ticket taker his ticket, she saw him smile a lopsided grin in embarrassment. Rachel inwardly groaned and tried to make herself smaller in her seat, not wanting him to see her, not wanting a confrontation right now. Again, fate had to play its hand as he took the seat behind her. Staying slouched down, she hoped he would leave her alone, but again, fate had a whole other idea as she felt him tap her shoulder gently. Taking a deep breath and pulling herself up she turned and came face to face with Finn Hudson and his lopsided grin and a now sickly yellow/green bruise on his cheek.

"Good morning Detective Berry. I'm surprised to see you on this train. I thought you'd be working on the Adams' case." She hadn't remembered his voice being so soft yet masculine.

"Um, yea, well I am. I'm going to Princeton to talk to an expert. And what are you doing on the train yourself Mr. Hudson?" as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Same thing, research for a story I'm working on. I'm also meeting a friend that works at Princeton for lunch. I kinda owe him, so I'm taking him and his girlfriend out to lunch. He's one of the librarians at Princeton. He's like the smartest guy I know, we went to high school together." Rachel heard envy in his voice as Finn talked about his unnamed friend. He had to be intelligent to be in the Navy and become a reporter.

She saw him wince as he smiled again, and guilt overtook her, looking at him and gently touching his cheek, she whispered, "I'm really sorry for losing my temper and slapping you. You aren't Jacob Ben-Israel and you didn't know I was a detective. I had no right in slapping and yelling at you like that. I guess I just get too intense sometimes." She turned and looked down at her lap as a blush of guilt colored her cheeks. She really was ashamed of herself.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and as she looked up, noticed Finn had taken the seat next to hers. He grabbed her hand and she felt a sudden bond with him, one she didn't want to let go of, but one she knew she shouldn't have. "It's okay. I ended up learning the story and I can see why you'd be suspicious of any reporter. Besides, has anyone told you that you are really strong for someone so tiny and girly?"

Rachel had to laugh at that comment, "Yes. My cousin Noah Puckerman has. He and I have had epic battles since we were little. I had to learn to defend myself and my toys against him and his brutish boy ways. He even has a scar on his toe where I bit him one time for trying to step on my Barbie tea party." She gasped and covered her mouth in shock realizing what she had just said to someone who was almost a perfect stranger, but relaxed as he let out a deep chuckle. Seeing the amusement in his eye she relaxed and smiled in return.

As the train ride continued, they talked back and forth about everything and nothing. She learned that Finn was an only child, but now had a step-brother that was a sous chef in Chicago. He had been the quarterback for his high school football team. He was an official Shellback, having crossed the equator when he was on the air craft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. When he told her of some of the things he had to do to become a shellback, Rachel wasn't sure if she should laugh or be physically ill.

"You actually had to do that?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yea and I swear they left the garbage down by the boilers to get it nice and stinky. You want to be the first one to go through, because if the guy in front of you vomits, you have to crawl through that too, so I made sure I was the first in line."

"That's just barbaric and inhuman. I can't believe the military allows that type of hazing to go on!" Rachel was so upset she was ready to call her senator and complain.

"No it's not. It's funny and it's team building. You build up camaraderie with the others you went through it with. And there is nothing violent or causes physical pain, unless you consider a weak stomach that. It's just gross and humiliating, but at the end when we have a steel beach picnic and are kicking back and are being served cold beers and stuff by those that have been shellbacks, it's pretty cool. Besides, I think the officer that has to play King Neptune has the most mortifying job, he has to wear this mermaid type dress thing and a Santa Claus type beard at the equator and it's really itchy."

As Finn finished his story, she looked at the scenery, Rachel realized they were near Princeton. She didn't want her time with Finn to end, but she did have work to do, even if she couldn't see Jesse for another three hours. Grabbing some things she had printed off of the internet, she saw Finn look at them curiously, "What's those for?"

"Well, I have about three hours before my appointment, so I thought I'd do a little bit of site seeing beforehand. These were just some things that I thought I might want to see or do before then." She looked up as she said it and saw him with a cat that at the canary grin on his face.

"Why don't you come have lunch with Artie, Brittany and me? Artie is my bud and all, but I know he's gonna be all kissy face with Brittany and leave me being very embarrassed, but if you're there, then I have someone to talk to. Whatdaya say?" Rachel held back a laugh as how adorable he looked. It reminded her of her cousin's little boy when he wanted her to make him cookies, sweet, pouty with an "I know I'm irresistible" look.

"Are you sure I won't be a bother?"

"NO! I mean no you won't. You'll be keeping me company and killing some time before your appointment, maybe Artie can show us some of the rare manuscripts he takes care of."

"Oooo that would be lovely if he could. Well than Finn Hudson, I guess I am your date for your lunch."

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and started pulling her from the train, causing her to trip for a second. He grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling and he felt a velvety warmth envelope his hands, warmth that made him want to keep his hands on her waist and never let go because it felt right, so soothing. Snapping out of his thought, he helped straighten her up and apologized, "Sorry, I'm a little clumsy especially if I'm excited about something."

He saw her smile in acceptance as she asked, "What are you excited about?"

Before his filter could engage he blurted out, "You." As his face turned red and he saw her blush, he quickly fixed his blunder, "Taking you to see my friend Artie and…and having lunch with us. It would suck to have to be here all by yourself." As she nodded in agreement with amusement evident in her eye, Finn led her to the platform and texted Artie on where they should meet. Hearing a drum roll come from his phone, Finn looked down and saw Artie's reply, "Looks like we are going to Zorba Brothers for lunch. Hope you like Greek." As he grabbed her hand again, Finn liked the feeling of her small hand in his. It just seemed to match his perfectly, even though they were very different sizes.

"Have you come to Princeton before? You seem to know your way around." He heard Rachel ask as he hailed a cab. Not bothering to answer, he gave the cab driver the location as he helped her into the cab and then taking a seat for himself.

"Have you come to Princeton before?" Finn heard her ask again, this time with a bit or irritability in her voice.

"You don't like it when people don't answer your questions do you?"

"I'm a detective, I _expect_ an answer when I ask a question, or I will keep rephrasing it until I do; so again, you've come here before? You seem to be rather knowledgeable about the area."

"To answer your question before you become all five oh on me, yes, I come up maybe once every couple of months to visit Artie and hang out. So I know the area, and the club scene."

"The club scene, I didn't take you for a clubber."

"Ah, not really, but Artie does…did before he met Brittany. We actually met her at one of the clubs. What about you Rachel, are you a clubber?" Finn watched her shake her head and a piece of her hair from her bun come loose. Out of reflex he took the strand and placed it behind her ear, causing both of them to blush at the intimate gesture.

They were quiet for the rest of the cab ride. Finn kept feeling his eyes slide over to gaze at Rachel, once or twice catching her doing the same thing. He finally got the nerve to say something just as the cab came to a stop in front of the restaurant. Offering a hand to help Rachel out, he paid the driver and walked with her to the door, opening it for her as they entered the restaurant. Finn looked around, keeping Rachel's hand firmly in his until he spotted a tall blond wildly waving her arms around at a table near the window. Smiling, he looked at Rachel and motioned with his head in the direction of the blond, placing a hand on the small of her back and leading Rachel towards her. As they got to the table Finn saw Artie backing his wheelchair away from the table to greet them, while Brittany jumped on Finn with a huge hug yelling, "Finny D! You're here! I've been looking forward to this since Artie told me you were coming." Pulling the excited blond off of him, Finn watched in horror as she grabbed Rachel in just as big of a hug, "Oooooo, you must be Finny D's girlfriend. I'm Brittany Pierce, Artie's girlfriend and I teach dance theory at Princeton. Do you have a cat? I do, his name is Lord Tubbington and he's psychic. Maybe we could arrange a play date for our cats?" She pulled Rachel closer to her, pulling out her phone. "This is Lord Tubbington on the couch. Oh, and here he is on Artie's lap. Oh! This one's my favorite. It's him with his psychic turban on!" Recognizing the same "_what the hell?_" look in Rachel's eyes that he'd had the first time he met Brittany, Finn pulled Brittany back and sat her firmly in her seat next to Artie while he pulled a chair out for Rachel.

After he was seated, Finn introduced his friend to Rachel, "Rachel, this is Artie Arbrams, a great friend from high school. While I was in the Navy protecting him, he went to Indiana University for library sciences, immediately becoming a traitor for choosing to be a Hoosier instead of a Buckeye.

"Haven't been able to go back to Ohio since," Artie joked. Finn laughed, but he noticed Artie's eyes linger on Rachel for longer than they should have.

"But anyway, Artie is one of the youngest librarians on staff who takes care of and acquires rare manuscripts for the Princeton Library. He also plays a mean Call of Duty. And Artie, this is Rachel Berry; she's a detective for Boston PD." Finn looked on as Artie took a nervous gulp of his soda and then shook Rachel's hand. He watched the interaction with a confused look on his face. He'd never known Artie to be nervous around any girl before.

Not taking notice, Finn started talking with Artie and Brittany, including Rachel in the conversation when he could, but as he soon found out, she liked to talk. A lot. She was like an encyclopedia that had anything to do with Broadway or performing. Once she'd found out that Brittany had helped with some of the choreography for Chicago, her brown eyes got a sparkle that Finn found himself staring at, and she started talking animatedly getting her whole self into the conversation. Finn couldn't help but smile as she scooted her chair closer to the leggy blond as they discussed the different things girls liked to talk about. Finn zoned out of the conversation somewhere around hair care, turning to Artie to begin a more masculine (and interesting) conversation. He was surprised to see Artie still eying Rachel, his brows creased in thought.

"Artie, why do you keep staring at Rachel like she's Santana or something?" Finn asked, referring to the most evil cheerleader their high school had ever seen.

"How do you know she's legit?" Artie asked, not taking his eyes off of Rachel.

"Huh?" Finn asked, his own eyes wandering to Rachel, who at the moment was laughing at something Brittany said.

"I'm just saying, you're kind of gullible sometimes. Remember all the baby drama?" Artie pressed.

"What if she's using you Finn, to help her with the case she's working on? What if she's using your reporter wiles to advance her career?" Artie whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "It's been known to happen."

Finn laughed out loud at how absurd Artie sounded, "Dude, you've been watching CSI too much. She thought that about me a couple of days ago. See the bruise on my cheek?" He gestured to the cheek, waiting until Artie nodded. "She gave it to me. No, I'm not using her and she's not using me, we just happen to be on the same train coming to the same place. Princeton's a huge campus, there's lots of places in Princeton she could be going to. I highly doubt she's going to see Jesse St. James, alright?"

"If you say so," Artie said doubtfully as Brittany pulled on his sleeve repeatedly. "What is it?"

"Rachie and I want to have dinner together before she and Finn go back to Boston, so we're going on a double date and I get to pick the place." Brittany looked very pleased with herself as she announced the plans to both Artie and him.

"Rachie?" Finn couldn't stop himself as he cocked an eyebrow and looked at Rachel in slight disbelief. He watched her shrug and then smile at the blond. Rachel didn't look like a "Rachie" Rach yes, Rachie, no.

Finn heard the alert on his phone go off, he had thirty minutes until his appointment with St. James. The alarm caused the table to look at him, "Sorry guys, I have to go. I need to get over to my appointment, and…"

"No worry bro. I can drive you over there. Brittany and I came separately. Hey Britts, can you take Detective Berry to her appointment?"

"Detective Berry? Oh, you mean Rachel. Why didn't you say so silly? I can take her there, no problem. I'll text you with our dinner plans Artie. Love you." Finn watched as Brittany grabbed Rachel's hand and started pulling her toward the restroom to probably freshen up.

"Love you to B. I gotta go and get Finn across campus." Artie called out as Finn pushed him out of the restaurant and to his car, he wondered where Rachel could be going for her appointment.

As they got in the car and Artie started driving, Artie spoke up again about his suspicions of Rachel, "Finn, just be careful around her. She may be using you. I just don't know. All I know is I don't want you to get hurt."

"Artie, we're just acquaintances. I've met her briefly like three times, four if you count the time she berated me and slapped me. How can I get hurt from that?"

"Finn, I know you and your looks. You look like a puppy when you look at her. Your eyes get real big and that goofy grin of yours comes out. Just remember Finn, I know you and your history and I don't want you getting hurt like last time. It took the entire glee club to put you back together again, and then you ran off and joined the Navy. I bet you never even told your mom that you got a full ride to Indiana with me for music, did you?"

"No, I just needed to get out of there Artie, you know that. And hey, I went to college and I got paid to see the world and I got to fire real guns from a real helicopter. Everything worked out just fine."

"Fine Finn. You're a big boy, and you can make your own mistakes, just be careful. Here we are anyway." They pulled up to one of the oldest looking buildings on campus. It figured the history department would be in the oldest building. As Finn got out, he leaned in to hear Artie, "Hey you need to go to the fourth floor, room 421B. His name is on the door. Text me when you're done and I'll pick you up and tell you what we're doing for dinner. Okay?"

"Got it." With that they fist bumped and Finn turned, hitching his backpack higher onto his shoulder and walked into the ancient building.


	6. Interviews and Sunsets

Finn made his way up to the fourth floor and down the dimly lit hall to room 421B. On the outside of the dark stained door, in gold ornate script was the name Jesse St. James, Professor of History. Rapping on the door, Finn rocked on his heels as he waited, glancing at his watch hoping he wasn't too early. Just as he was about to knock again, the door suddenly open to a smaller man saying exuberantly, "Rachel!" The look of confusion on Finn's face must have registered, as the man chuckled in embarrassment and stuck his hand out in greeting, "Sorry my man. I thought you were a friend of mine that I was expecting. She's always early. Anyway, I'm Jesse St. James and you must be Artie's friend, Finn, right. Please come in," as St. James stood to the side and let Finn in, Finn's mind was on what St. James had just said, "friend, early, Rachel…" and what Rachel had said too, "expert…Princeton…" they both knew Adams' case and Sir Francis Drake map, Rachel was St. James friend? For some reason that didn't sit well with Finn.

As Finn shook his head to get the thoughts out of his mind, he took in the office. There were leather club chairs around a small round table. An antique desk sat at the side with a laptop and printer setting on it. The walls were decorated with framed antique maps of Sir Francis Drake. Finn sat down and took his camera and notepad out of his backpack. Finn noticed St. James' eyes light up when he saw Finn's camera sitting on the table. Taking that as a way to get pictures of the maps on the wall Finn asked innocently, "Mr. St. James, may I take some pictures of you in the office for the article? Let the readers see the man that is an expert on all things Sir Francis Drake."

"Of course Finn, how'd you like for me to pose?" Finn rolled his eyes as the man started fidgeting with the scarf around his neck and messing with his curly hair. Finn gave the professor some directions as to how to pose as he took pictures, but also made sure he was getting close-ups of the maps on the walls. As he sat down and watched St. James bring his desk chair over, there was a soft, delicate knock on the heavy door. Finn watched as St. James eagerly jumped up and practically ran to the door and throwing it open to reveal a small brunette with a sparkling eyes and mega watt smile, both directed towards the curly haired scarf wearing man. Finn frowned and felt that uneasy feeling in his stomach as he saw Jesse lean down to place a kiss on Rachel's cheek and heard her light laughter fill the room. As St. James stepped aside to let Rachel in, Finn saw her smile turn to a frown when she had caught sight of Finn sitting in one of the club chairs, but then just as instantly, smile as St. James put his hand on the small of her back.

Finn knew it was best to play the awkward situation off like they were complete strangers, so he stood up, holding out his hand in greeting. When she took his hand, he saw surprise and maybe a bit of sadness and maybe anger flit across her eyes. He wanted to tell her that he didn't do this on purpose, that he wasn't trying to take advantage of her. But instead he just shook her hand coolly as St. James introduced the two "strangers" to each other, "Rachel, this is Finn Hudson of the Boston Herald. Hudson, this is Detective Rachel Berry of the esteemed Boston Police Department, and one of their best robbery detectives. She's also a very dear old friend of mine. Sorry about having you both come in at the same time, but as Rachel can attest to, I don't like repeating myself, so I can answer both of your questions about Sir Francis Drake at the same time. So let's all have a seat and we can begin."

Finn watched from the corner of his eye as Rachel gave St. James another dazzling smile while he felt his stomach clench along with his hand. Finn saw Rachel turns towards him with her first question, and Finn knew she was pissed, "So Mr. Hudson, I thought Jacob Ben-Israel was covering the Adams' case. Why would you need Jesse's expertise?" Finn could see the innocent wickedness in her eyes. How can someone so innocent looking be so devious too? Finn damned himself for telling her about losing the story.

Putting on a professional air, hoping it would show confidence and that would shadow the lie he was about to spew, "I'm doing a companion piece on the jewels and missing map of the Adams. There isn't a lot known on the map, and I was hoping Mr. St. James could enlighten me and the readers on it." Finn stared into Rachel's eyes, daring her to counter what he had just said. If push came to shove, he would just use his ace in the hole and talk to her about her losing the case too.

Jesse clapped, bringing Finn and Rachel out of their staring match and putting the attention back on him. "So what can I help you with Rachel?" Jesse looked directly at Rachel when he talked, totally ignoring Finn. This set Finn's already low likability of St. James even lower. The curly haired professor was a douche in Finn's opinion.

Finn sighed licking the tip of his pen and set it, ready to take notes on whatever dribble came out of St. James' mouth. Finn listened to Rachel's question, "Well Jesse, what motive would someone have to steal the Sir Francis Drake map of his visit to the west coast?" Finn had to admit, begrudgingly, that was the first question he was going to ask.

"Excellent question Rachel, nothing I wouldn't expect from someone so intelligent," Finn wanted to gag at St. James pandering tone, "There are a few collectors that would enjoy having the map for their collection, but most collectors, no matter how passionate, are rather dry and dull, so I can't see burglary and murder to be on their repertoire of attaining new acquisitions. There are several "copies" of the original, and depending if the Adams' map was one of Sir Francis Drake's personal maps, or one from the British government, would change its value considerably. If it was from Drake's personal library of maps, then it would be highly prized, since they are rare, but I'd never gotten a chance to see the Adams' actual map, so I couldn't tell you which type of map it was. But like I said, map collectors are rather dry, and would rather just wait it out until the owner died."

Finn still didn't like the fact that St. James had kept his full attention on Rachel the entire time he was talking. Finn felt invisible, and at 6'3" he never felt invisible, until now. Finn started in on his question as soon as St. James finished, breaking the trance the professor and Rachel seemed to be in. Hell Rachel hadn't even wrote anything down while St. James talked. "So professor, besides collectors, what other reasons might someone want the map, since map collecting isn't exactly a cut throat type of group."

Finn watched St. James turn to face him, like he suddenly realized that Finn was actually in the room, "Do you want imaginative speculation or something based on fact Mr. Hudson?" The arched eyebrow of superiority St. James gave him made Finn want to punch his face.

"Both actually. The more information and ideas the better the article and a way for the readers to draw their own conclusions. As Finn finished writing down his question, he stole a glance at St. James and saw him look at Rachel with puppy dog eyes causing a pretty shade of pink to color her cheeks. Finn didn't like St. James putting the moves on Rachel, but he didn't have any say in it at all. Coughing to redirect St. James' attention back onto him, Finn watched the curly haired man begrudgingly turn towards him.

"Well Mr. Hudson, the sole fact based speculation that makes sense is that a collector would want it due to the fact it may have been in Drake's personal collection. The imaginative speculation would be of the legend associated with one of Drake's personal maps. The one on Drake's exploration of what is now California to be specific. You see, some believe that the map contains a secret treasure map. If you know your history at all, Drake was a privateer for the queen, and he was a very good privateer too. Drake was the crown jewel of the Queen's navy and the bane of the Spaniard's existence. Anyway, it's believed that Drake didn't want to give the Queen the standard eighty percent of his bounty as was required by law, so it is believed that when he landed near what is now San Reyes, he enlisted the "help" of the local Miwok tribe to hide part of the bounty in one of the many caves of area. If you've studied your history…"

St. James failed to finish as Finn quickly finished the story, "What Drake had brought back to England surpassed the yearly income of the crown brought in, so if only part of the bounty could do that, the rest would have to far exceed it."

Surprise passed St. James' face before he quickly glanced at Rachel. Finn could tell that St. James didn't like to be one upped in front of a woman he was trying to impress, and Finn couldn't help but smirk a little, but lost it when he heard St. James open his mouth again, "You are smarter than you appear Mr. Hudson. Anyway…"

This time Rachel interrupted St. James, "So why is it believed that Drake shorted the crown. If he did wouldn't that be punishable under royal law? I mean from my research, the Queen actually rewarded Drake, correct?"

"Again, excellent question Rachel, you see it wasn't until the ships' logs were turned over to the Navy that the extent of who and where Drake procured the riches, and when confronted with the fact, Drake's explanation was that the majority of the bounty was lost, when his second ship, _The Hind_, went down with it on board. The explanation was plausible and there was no one to counter him, so the unexplained missing bounty was written off as a sea accident. It is believed though that Drake left the missing riches with the Miwok to protect it."

Finn was furiously scribbling in his illegible writing, but looked up when he heard Rachel's voice become very serious, "How well is this legend known Jesse?"

"Here in the states, not known, even though it's believed the treasure is on our shores. The legend is relatively well known in the UK. One of those stories that is told to every generation when they are little as a great adventure story. It's a lot like here in America the legend of Jesse James' buried fortune; it's a legend that is passed down from generation to generation. Here in the states, it's really just us scholars that know of the legend, because we in the United States aren't very interested in our history and how our country became our country. It's really sad actually."

Finn kept writing as Rachel prepared her next question. She was being nice enough for Finn to finish his notes before going on. When he looked into her eyes, he saw something in her eye that he knew matched his. Did the killer know something about the legend? And as he thought it, Rachel voiced it, "Jesse, who might know this legend, maybe because you've told them the legend or they've asked you questions about it? It would be extremely useful in my investigation and possibly Mr. Hudson's story too." Rachel was sent Finn a look that told him just to go with it, so he nodded his head in agreement.

"How about I give you a list of everyone that has requested my knowledge on Sir Francis Drake? I can have my assistant send you their names and their contact information. I try to keep contact information up to date so all my fans can come see me when I speak. I can have my assistant Selena e-mail them to you by tomorrow morning Rachel," Jesse gave Finn a smug smile before he put a smile on and turned to Rachel again.

As Finn stood up and started packing up his things, a drum roll sounded from his pocket at the exact same time _I Wanna Know What Love Is_ came blaring from Rachel's bag. Finn hid his grin not pegging Rachel for an eighty's ballad type of girl. Grabbing the phone out of his pocket, Finn saw the text from Brittany and knew what Rachel had just gotten too. Finn's smile faded when he realized that this was going to be a bad dinner, because Rachel would again think he was trying to use her. Shaking St. James' hand, a little harder than necessary, Finn threw his backpack over his shoulder and promised St. James he would send him a copy of the article when Finn finished it.

Rachel looked at her text that Finn must have gotten from Brittany too, as he bade goodbye to Jesse. She saw that Brittany had texted her that they were to meet at a place called Jillian's at five o'clock, and it was just now three thirty. She texted Brittany back needing the address. As she watched Finn walk out of the room, looking tall and masculine and confident, she turned back to Jesse and tried to give him all of her attention, something she had been having trouble doing during the interview. As she quickly replied to Brittany's text and started to straighten her notes, she felt a his hand on her thigh. Looking up in alarm, she saw Jesse with a seductive smile on his lips. Placing her hand over his, she grabbed it and pulled it off of her, letting it fall back against his chair with a thud and a surprised look on his face.

As she finished straightening her things, Rachel saw him scoot his chair closer to hers as he readjusted his scarf around his neck and look at her earnestly, licking his lips before he spoke, "Rachel, why don't the two of us have dinner tonight? We can catch up on all the time we've missed together because I was a huge jerk in high school. What do you say?"

Taken aback that Jesse actually recognized and admitted that he was a jerk, she found her voice after her shock, "That would be nice Jesse, but I've already got plans, in fact…" at that moment Foreigner blared from her phone again with a text from Brittany, "Don't worry F knows address. See u Rachie!"

Looking at Jesse apologetically, "Sorry Jesse, that was my friend I'm having dinner with tonight. I'm sorry. Even though catching up with you would have been absolutely lovely, I'll have to take a rain check, all right?"

Jesse looked crestfallen as he asked, "How about Friday? I don't have any classes, and I can come down to Boston. How's that?"

Rachel shook her head since she had to be at the Adams' library in Quincy then, "I'm sorry Jesse. I can't. Maybe when this case is solved we can, until then I really can't. This was probably my last free night for awhile." As she looked at her ex-boyfriend Rachel noticed a sad look on his face. It was slightly shocking since in high school Rachel would have sworn on Barbra that Jesse didn't have any emotions. Putting her hand on his again she squeezed it gently as she stood up readying herself to leave. Placing a chaste kiss on his cheek, she looked at her ex thoughtfully, "I promise, as soon as I have some true free time we can get together for dinner, okay?"

Jesse nodded and gave her a crushing hug before she walked down the stairs to the first floor. As she pushed the glass door open and walked out into the warm spring afternoon, she saw his tall frame kneeling beside a wooden bench, a digital camera in his hand. As she approached she saw the camera turn towards her and his finger moving rapidly on the button. Looking at Finn beside the bench taking pictures of her, she couldn't figure out if she should be extremely flattered at the attention or extremely pissed at him trying to mess up her investigation. Deciding she was both, she walked up and swatted the back of his head with the heel of her hand, making it sting for both of them. A loud "ow" followed by a "what the hell" signaling that Finn got that she was not very happy with him.

As he stood up, she spun on her heel facing him and realized just how little she was compared to him. The top of her head barely reaching his shoulder. With her hands on her hips she was ready to give Finn Hudson a what for until he beat her to it, "_What the hell!_ Will you stop hitting me? You may be cute and little, but it hurts like hell! I already know you're pissed off that I was interviewing the same person you were, but Artie scheduled this appointment for me on Monday! You're the one that seems to be following me, but I'm the one that gets hurt for it. You are bat shit crazy Rachel Berry. I'm sorry Jewfro totally screwed you over, _but I'm not him! _I have fucking ethics!" Rachel watched Finn pant like he'd just finished running, his face red and the vein in his forehead was sticking out, after finishing his rant, but she heard him start up again, "Another thing, I know for a fact you were kicked off the Adams' case and it was given to Lauren Zizes, so why the hell are you trying to solve this and are lying to people about it, huh?" Rachel's eyes widened in trepidation when she heard Finn spew that bit of information. He knew. He knew and he could expose what she was going to do and get her in more trouble than she was already in. "Besides, Artie set this interview up for me on Monday. I didn't know you and knew lover boy up there," Finn said motioning with his thumb behind him, "or that you were coming to see him." Rachel took in Finn's stance of anger, but thought she detected a note of jealousy in his voice.

Putting her hands on her hips, she looked up at him putting on her "badass" persona, "What do you mean lover boy?"

She heard him laugh, "Oh come on! My job is to be a damn good observer and you and Jesse St. James were all touchy feely with goo goo eyes and smiles. You never noticed that he never actually looked at me when he talked, even when he was answering my questions? He may have said my name, but his eyes never left you. When he answered, he always leaned toward you making sure his hand would brush your leg, causing your cheeks to pink up. At one point he was actually holding your hand and giving you these love sick puppy eyes. The dude has it bad for you Rachel, and if you couldn't see it, then maybe I understand why you got knocked off the case."

Shaking off the insult, Rachel focused on what Finn had just said about Jesse, had she really not noticed how he was acting towards her? Shaking her head at Finn, her response sounded hollow, even to her, "Jesse and I are just old acquaintances and he has always been a very touchy-feely type of person. You must have been misinterpreting his body language. You have nothing to worry about." Covering her mouth in shock, Rachel was mortified at what she had just said to Finn Hudson. _He had nothing to worry about? _Wanting to curl up into a ball and become invisible, but knew that wasn't going to happen. Luckily for her Finn winked one of his whiskey colored eyes and that single action brought her out of her mortification, "Besides, _what story are you working on Mr. Hudson_? Jacob Ben Israel has the Adams' story for the Herald, not you,_ remember_?"

She saw it was now Finn's turn to shift uncomfortably from one foot to another as he put his camera away. When he finished, he started rubbing his neck in a nervous manner, causing her to smile because payback was a bitch. "I told you and St. James before; I'm doing a companion piece for Jacob's article. Okay?" She flinched a bit at the edge of anger in his voice, but chose to push on.

"But Finn, a companion piece would be written by someone from the society section given how photographed those jewels are at society events, not by some rookie police and crime reporter. So why are you doing this article?"

Rachel physically jumped back when she heard the anger increase in Finn's voice, becoming almost palpable, "The editor assigned it to me, okay? I'm not going to question her. She took me off the Adams' case and decided to have me do this instead. I don't like it, but I have to do it if I want to advance in the department. So lay off. I'm doing my job, if that's alright with you, _Detective_?" Rachel tried to determine if Finn was lying to her, but she couldn't find his tell. He looked her straight in the eyes, his jaw set, and his stance grounded and confident. She also didn't miss the venom that was clear in his voice. She had pushed the gentle man too far, something she was very good at, and the exact reason why she always did the research and never the field work for cases. Rachel watched Finn pull his phone out of his pocket and call someone, giving the address they were at, as he hung up Rachel looked at him with all the confidence she could muster, even though she wanted to crawl in a hole, "Will you give Brittany and Artie my regrets? I'm going back to Boston. I don't want to ruin a fun dinner between friends because you are pissed at me and it would only make things worse. You seem to be a good man Finn, and I'm sorry that I've ever doubted you." Turning to grab her bag she felt a large warm hand on her arm, stopping her.

She turned to look into his eyes and ended up looking at his lips as he spoke, "No, you're coming to dinner. Brittany really likes you and wants to hang out, and I'm not going to let you let her down. She gets heartbroken rather easily and then Artie has to try to cheer her up. Why do you think Lord Tubbington has so many outfits?" Rachel watched his lips turn into a smirk. "So, even if I have to throw you into the cab that is pulling up, _you are going to Jillian's_ and having some fun with Brittany. But just to be clear, I'm still pissed at you." She nodded and let Finn lead her to the cab where he opened the door and allowed her to slide in first. As he slid in he gave the cab driver the address, and asked him to turn on the radio.

Outside of the radio playing, the cab ride was silent. Rachel kept playing with the hem of her sweater, embarrassed by how she had acted toward Finn. Rachel slyly observed Finn as they sat on the opposite sides of the cab. She watched Finn's mouth set in a hard line as he stared at the passing buildings, while she was humming to whatever random song was on the radio.

"You like Jamie Foxx?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked if you like Jamie Foxx? You're humming to _Blame it on the Alcohol_. "

"No, I don't even know the song. I'm more into Broadway classics and standards with the occasional classic rock song. I was just doing it to pass the time since it's so quiet in here."

"Well, it's not gonna be quiet for long, because we're here." Rachel looked out and saw an older three story building with Time Square style marquee and lighting informing everyone that it was Jillian's.

"What kind of place is this Finn?"

"Restaurant and bar on the first floor, dance floor and pool on the second, bowling and video games on the third floor. This is Britt's favorite place, so here we are." With that Finn gave the driver money and slid out and held the door open for Rachel. Even when he was pissed off Finn was still chivalrous and Rachel slid out. As she started to walk towards the door she was met by a flurry of blond hair and another bone crushing hug. Rachel heard a soft chuckle from behind her.

"Rachie! You and Finn came! I'm so excited. There's so much to do here and it's like a Chuck E. Cheese with alcohol and no creepy rat costumes that Lord Tubbington likes to chase. So let's go, Artie's at the table." Rachel smiled at Brittany's exuberance. They found Artie waiting at a nice table near the back where it wasn't too loud or busy. Finn immediately sat down next to Artie and started talking to his friend in a hushed whisper, every once in a while both sets of eyes would slide over and look at Rachel, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Listening to Brittany ramble on about her cat, Rachel's mind wondered over to Finn. She really had been absolutely awful to him, hitting him, accusing him of things he wasn't doing. No wonder he and Artie were whispering conspiratorially about her. Rachel was lost in thought when the waitress came by asking for their orders. When the waitress asked her what she wanted, she said the first thing that popped in her head, "I'll have what he's having," pointing at Finn. She saw Finn's and the waitress' mouth drop open.

"Are you sure you want what he has honey?"

"Yes, I will have what he's having, and I'll have whatever drink that lady over there is having." Rachel pointed to a lady that had yellow, peach and red layered pretty looking drink. A few minutes later, a Sunset was set in front of Rachel, and after one sip, she was hooked, it was so good. When she had finished her first on Brittany ordered her another. Rachel could feel the alcohol take over and warm her, loosening her. She knew she was talking slightly louder than normal, but she didn't care. Everything that Brittany said was so profound, but also so funny. Rachel didn't know if she should nominate for a Nobel Prize or put her on Comedy Central.

When their food came out, the waitress sat in front of Rachel a dozen of the most unnatural nuclear red colored wings. Rachel looked over at Finn and saw him dig right in, not even bothering to dip it in the provided cooling ranch sauce. Even smelling them made Rachel's nose run and eyes start to tear, she looked at them in fear, but if Finn could eat them, so could she. Taking the first bite, Rachel could almost feel her taste buds melt due to the intense heat of the sauce. Her mouth was dying and every orifice was running some type of fluid trying to cool her off. Rachel felt her hair become damp from the sweat that popped up and started pouring down her forehead and neck, but she was keeping up with Finn, wing for wing. When she took the last bite and threw the bone down, she grabbed Brittany's hand and ran for the restroom.

"Rachie, you really shouldn't have eaten those wings. Those things are murder. There's only a few guys that eat them because they're so hot." Rachel looked at her reflection in the mirror and wanted to die from humiliation. Besides the fact that her taste buds and tongue probably had third degree burns, her mascara had run down her face, her nose was running constantly and she had the burning sauce ringing her mouth similar to a clown's lips. Her hair was stuck to her forehead and neck from sweating.

"Oh. My. God. I'm a mess. Brittany, why didn't you tell me?" Rachel looked at the blond through the reflection Brittany handed her a damp towel.

"Because if you stopped eating, you'd never finish. Hey, there's probably a lot of guys that think you're hot for eating those." Groaning, Rachel finished cleaning up and walked out of the restroom, looking closer like her normal self. On the way back she grabbed her third Sunset and sat down to order something much less intense to eat.

"So what did you think of Finn's nuclear meltdown wings Rachel?" Artie asked, the amusement not being hidden.

"I can't feel my tongue or lips, my skin burns and I think I melted all of my taste buds. I can't taste anything. How can you eat those things Finn?" Rachel said looking right at Finn.

"They are pretty intense. They have a ghost pepper in the sauce. It's taken me a long time to really be able to enjoy eating them, but I like the heat."

"Well, I think you are totally insane for eating them. And Brittany brought us here to have fun, so that's what I'm going to do. Come on Brittany; let's find something fun to do!" With that Rachel grabbed Brittany and started exploring the different levels of Jillian's, leaving the men to their own devices. Brittany led Rachel to the second level where the dance floor and pool tables were. Brittany was more interested in dancing, but Rachel saw the pool tables. She had always wanted to learn to play pool. Grabbing Brittany by the hand, she led her to the one empty pool table that sat in the corner. As Rachel grabbed a pool stick she squealed, "I've always wanted to learn to play pool. I wonder if anyone would want to teach us."

The alcohol was clouding Rachel's judgment, because as two guys entered the area looking at the tables, Rachel ran over and grabbed their arms, pulling them back to the corner. If she had been her normal self, she would have seen Artie come up, and Brittany give him a worried look before he rolled away as she pulled the two young guys over to her table.

"Brittany, this is Marcus and Jim. They go to Princeton…their Princeton boys, and they said they'd be happy to show us how to play pool. They said they're very hands on teachers, isn't that great!" Rachel leaned into the tall blond haired one, smiling up at him. The only thing was, when she was leaning up against him, she didn't feel warmth like she had with Finn. Grabbing the waitress, Rachel ordered another Sunset and proceeded to laugh at some joke Jim was trying to impress Brittany with. As she started drinking her Sunset and letting Jim press his body up against hers as she took a shot, Rachel pictured it was Finn, what…why? But her drunken mind just wouldn't answer and right now even though she knew it was wrong, she liked clinging to Jim and his shaggy blond hair.

Rachel wasn't sure when Brittany had left, but she was still having fun, laughing loudly and even pulling her hair out of its bun and letting it flow freely down her back. She felt Jim nuzzle her neck, and as she was about to reciprocate, she heard that voice, clear, loud and upset, "Rach!"

Even though the tequila running through her veins was telling her to ignore the voice, her brain had enough of a hold to force her to turn her head towards the voice and see concern cross those emotional brown eyes. Her brain wanted her to run to him in shame, but the tequila over took her, "Hey Finn! This is Jim and he's showing me how to play pool! He's really good and hot too!" Rachel giggled while Finn scowled at both of them. That's when she saw Artie and Brittany behind him looking on in concern.

Her eyes grew big as she watched Finn walk closer to them, when did he become so tall? She felt his hand on her shoulder and that velvety warmth that Jim was missing was back and creeping through her body. "Rach, how many of those drinks have you had tonight?" Rachel thought on her fingers, trying to hold them up to represent the number of drinks, but she kept messing up the count, her damn fingers wouldn't stay still. "You're drunk Rachel. We need to take you home and sober you up." Rachel felt the warm hand on her arm guiding her and then a cold hand on her other arm stopping her.

"Hey buddy, you aren't taking Rachel here anywhere. We're having fun and you're a buzz kill. So just shove off, I'll take care of Rachel tonight." Rachel didn't like the cold feeling Jim's hand gave her. She really liked the warmth of Finn's. She saw Jim give Finn a push, and even though she didn't know how strong Finn was, she knew he was in the Navy and he was an all over big guy, she didn't think Jim was very smart at that moment. At this point Rachel felt warmth on both of her upper arms and felt herself leave the floor, Finn had picked her up and was now placing her on Artie's lap as Brittany pushed both of them away to a table that had bread, water and some fruit on it. Rachel heard Brittany almost cooing at her to eat some bread and sip the water and Artie watched Finn and Jim.

"Dude, you're not her keeper!" Brought Rachel's eyes to the two men standing at the pool table. Just from the short amount of time she knew Finn, she could tell by his posture he was angry and defensive, just because she had put him in that same posture more than once.

"No, I'm her boyfriend! We had a fight when we go here, but I'm taking her home and taking care of her, so step back and let me take care of Rich."

"Don't think she wants you man. I'm taking her home. She's totally hot." Rachel couldn't believe her ears, two guys were fighting over her, and one was even pretending to be her boyfriend. Rachel felt her stomach turn slightly, but she kept nibbling at the bread and listen with rapture to the men.

"I'd say we ask Rich, but she's drunk and tends to be clingy, so how about we play for her?"

"Say what?"

"Eight ball. Whoever wins takes Rach home and deals with her massive hangover in the morning, unless you don't have game since you have been copping feels of my girlfriend by pretending to play."

"I'll run the table on you and that little hottie will be mine." Rachel wanted to protest about being treated as a prize, but as she opened her mouth to do that, her stomach gurgled wretchedly and Brittany grabbed the nearest trashcan and held Rachel as she brought up all the alcohol she had consumed. Artie handed her water to rinse her mouth out with, and when her stomach had settled Rachel looked on to the pool table, wondering who was going to win her.

As Finn racked the balls up, she heard him say, "It's been awhile since I've played, you gonna take it easy on the old man here?"

Rachel heard Artie cover a laugh and she saw Jim gaff, "No way, I'm gonna wipe the table with you." With that Rachel saw Jim shoot and one of the solids go in. On his next shot though, he missed.

"Yeah, you're gonna run the table on me boy." Finn leaned over and took a shot, putting two stripes in two pockets. Then he continued doing so, until all that was left on the table were solids and an eight ball. Finn took his cue stick and pointed to the pocket he wanted, and proceeded to bank the shiny black eight ball and watched it roll into the called pocket.

"Dude, you sharked me!"

"Yep. It's rather easy to do when, while I was in the Navy, I spent all of my free time playing pool to beat the Jarheads. Besides, I'm not a shark; I'm just that damn good." Finn winked at him and then walked over to where Rachel, Artie and Brittany were sitting.

Rachel heard Jim say, "Dude, she's pissed at you, she won't go home with you!" Rachel watched Finn's eyes twinkle as he heard that, a smirk appearing on his lips. He pulled her up, filling her up with warmth again, and this time, she was crushed against him as his arms encircled her and his lips met hers in a fast, deep kiss. It felt like lava was being poured into her as his lips danced with hers. She heard a moan, but she wasn't sure if it was her or him that did, but she didn't care at that moment. She grabbed his jacket and pulled him closer if possible, wanting that heat she felt continue.

His lips just kept dancing with hers, and Rachel was losing herself to the feeling of his soft kiss dominate hers. It had been so long since she had been kissed, and even though the a little voice in the back of her mind kept telling her he was pissed at her, his body was saying something else, making her lightheaded until everything went black and she went limp in his arms.


	7. Motels and Tiny Apartments

**A/N: I replaced my chapter 6 author's note with the real chapter 6, so if you haven't read it yet, do so before you read this chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thanks to Mida212 for helping out with this chapter. This was a hard one to write.**

Finn woke up to the sun creeping through his eyelids. He didn't want to wake up, especially after last night. No matter how tight he slammed his eyelids shut, the sun still managed to creep through, showing him his eyelids did indeed have holes in them. Sighing in resignation, he went to move, and realized there was someone in the bed with him. A small brunette had thrown half of her body over him and had a death grip around him. Finn looked at Rachel and couldn't believe how drunk she had gotten last night or how hot the kiss was they shared. It had all been instinct on Finn's part when Brittany came running up to him and Artie on the third floor saying a Princeton guy was hitting on a drunk Rachel and was getting real handsy with her. Finn went flying down the stairs while Britts and Artie took the elevator, and when he got to the pool area, there was Rachel bending over the pool table with some shaggy haired blond guy bent over her, his happiness clearly evident against his fly. Finn couldn't believe how gone Rachel was, but he should have known when she ordered his nuclear hot wings something was up. She had literally kept up with him wing for wing even when it was evident she was dying from the heat of the wings. It was adorable how she had such a look of determination, her eyes squinting at the wing as she took a bite and sweat poured down her forehead.

Shaking his head he remembered the jealousy he felt when he saw shaggy dude practically laying on Rachel. After he'd put Rachel in the safe hands of Brittany and Artie, he decided this cocky college guy needed to be taught a lesson, and just from the way he was holding the cue stick, Finn knew he could take him. The Navy was good for a lot of things, and one was Finn learning to shark for beer money by playing pool on base, and he had become really good. It only took him three minutes once he had gotten his turn to run the table and "win" Rachel. When the guy kept pushing the issue, Finn had to show him that Rachel was with him, and the kiss was meant to show the guy that, but instead, Finn was entranced by her. As he sat up and looked at her, asleep in his t-shirt, the memory of her lips moving against his, opening to let his tongue enter and fill her mouth was indescribable. After that kiss, Finn had tight pants, but that ended soon enough when Rachel passed out from the alcohol.

Being the gentleman he was, he carried her out to the cab Artie had called for them and let her snuggle against him in the cab. He would be insane to deny that it didn't feel good, because it had felt so right. How can someone be so sweet and adorable one second and so crazy and mean the next? But if he had been put through what she had, he guessed she had the right to be. He was just ready to see a lot more of the adorableness and less of the bat shit crazy side, because he didn't think his head could take any more knocks from her.

Finn positioned himself to look at her, something he hadn't really been able to do before. She was petite with a sweet blush on her cheeks. Her mouth was wide and engaging, when she smiled, Finn just had to smile with her. Her eyes though, they were the clear windows to her emotions. She couldn't hide anything, or maybe he just could read her well, but when she was happy, those flecks of gold seemed to sparkle more, and when she was pissed, her clear brown eyes almost seemed to cloud up. Right now her eyes were closed, but Finn swears she was happy because of the slight smile that was on lips and the small sighs she let out every once in awhile instead of a snore.

As Finn shifted a little he saw Rachel stir and then her eyes blink open on look around in confusion. "Where the hell am I?" Finn heard her ask in a sleepy voice.

Finn watched her shoot up straight in bed when he answered, "The Comfort Inn in Princeton. Artie got us the room last night."

When she looked at him, Finn saw confusion and fear in her eyes, Finn put all of her concerns to rest, and "You were so drunk last night Rach that you passed out in my arms after I kissed you. Artie got us this room because carrying your drunk self back to Boston would have been a bit a much, so when we got here I was able to wake you up enough for you to change into my t-shirt and then you proceeded to pass out again. I slept next to you, _on top of the covers_, so you would know nothing happened other than the kiss last night when you woke up."

Finn saw her slight blush deepen as she looked at him through her bangs, "Thank you. I knew you were a gentleman. Thanks for taking care of me. I never get wasted, and I don't know what happened last night that made me drink, except those Sunsets were _really_ good." She fingered the bedspread, suddenly finding the stitching very interesting. "I realized on our cab ride over to Jillian's just how awful I had been treating you. You really have been nothing but nice to me and I've been the self-centered selfish diva everyone had always said I was. I am very sorry Finn. And if you asked my co-workers and family, I never apologize." Finn could tell that she meant it, just by the way her eyes were glistening with tears and how she gripped the blanket tightly.

"Apology accepted. I really do understand where you're coming from. I've been screwed over by Jacob Ben-Israel too. Anyway, how's your head feeling?"

As Finn got up, if he had turned his head slightly, he would have seen Rachel's face flush an even deeper shade of pink when she saw him in nothing but his boxer briefs. "It's pounding, "she answered, her hands coming up to hold her head as if that could stop the incessant pounding. Remembering his post hangover college days all too well, Finn offered her a sympathetic smile as he grabbed his backpack and searched for something.

Still holding her head, Rachel willed her eyes to focus on him as he emerged from the recesses of his backpack, clutching something triumphantly in his hand. "Here," he offered, revealing the bottle of Tylenol along with a bottle of water he kept in backpack. He smiled at her while pouring a couple of pills into his hand and handing her the bottle of water.

"You keep Tylenol on you?" In spite of the fact that talking seemed to make her head pound more, Rachel couldn't help but sound interested.

"Yeah." He shrugged, watching to make sure that she swallowed her pills. "When you work for Sue Sylvester that means a minimum of three headaches a day, so I learned the hard way to keep a bottle on me at all times." He shrugged again, giving Rachel a crooked smile as he thought about how nice it has been only communicating with Sue by e-mail lately.

It was his turn to blush scarlet as a cool breeze passed his legs and he realized he was just in his underwear. Mumbling an apology, he took off to the bathroom to change into the clothes he wore yesterday, walking out sheepishly a few minutes later. He saw that Rachel was still sitting in bed, embarrassment still evident on her face. Finn hesitated, never knowing what to do in these situations. Usually, this was when whatever girlfriend he had would dump him, because his true awkward unsure self would show itself. Realizing that Rachel wasn't going to leave the bed with him in the room, he cleared his throat, "I think I'll walk over to the Dunkin' Donuts and grab some breakfast. Is there anything that you'd like in particular?"

He saw her face brighten, "Yes, I'd love one of their coffee cake muffins and an OJ please." Finn nodded and left, walking the few blocks to the packed eatery. As he waited in line with the morning commuters anxious to get to work, Finn allowed his mind to wander back to Rachel in the motel room. For someone so short, her legs were _endless_, and the glimpse he had of her in his t-shirt before she climbed into bed was going to be branded in his mind for awhile. She was just gorgeous, and even a blind man couldn't deny that. Finn knew he had a physical attraction to Detective Rachel Berry, but he also liked her determination and her sense of pride. She was so confident, something he'd often struggled with.

When it was his turn, Finn was thankful he knew how to order her tea. "One extra large black coffee, splash of skim milk, orange juice, a hot tea, one coffee cake muffin and two chocolate donuts and an egg and ham sandwich please." As he waited for his order to be filled, his mind with images of Rachel wearing his t-shirt, Finn's phone went off. He glanced down, surprised when he didn't recognize the number. He debated answering it for a moment, before succumbing to curiosity. "Hudson."

"Well Hudson, this is Lucas, from the coroner's office."

"Mr. Lucas, nice to hear from you. I've been waiting for you to call me back. So do you have any information for me?"

"Yes I do. You just have to promise me that this won't be published until after the police say something. I do like my job, but this way you can get your story ready to publish as soon as they do."

"I promise. So what can you tell me about the murder of one Sam Evans?" Finn saw a few heads turn his way when he said that out loud. He eyed the gawkers, shrugging his shoulders as he pulled out his notepad.

"The poor guy didn't know what was coming. He was stabbed in the back, going between the ribs. Both lungs were punctured due to the multiple stabs. If that hadn't killed him, he also bled out. The object was a small metal blade that had rough flat surfaces judging by the way the skin is torn. It wasn't a smooth blade at all, and I'm stumped as to what it could be. This certainly wasn't your run of the mill knife. The weapon also left marks on his bones, so hopefully the tech guys will be able to figure out what the weapon was, because I can't say I've ever seen anything like this before. It's definitely a unique cut signature. Some biological were found too and sent off for testing, and as soon as I hear anything else I'll let you know."

"Anything else?" Finn asked, his pen flying across the paper as he scribbled down everything the coroner was telling him.

"Well, it's clear that the killer was shorter than Mr. Evans based on the angle of the wounds. Either that or he was sitting down, but somehow I doubt that. Anyway, I wanted to let you know. We're sending Mr. Evan's body back to Tennessee now that everything has been done." Finn could hear the tiredness in the older man's voice and knew he could never be around death all day long like he was. If he was, it would eat at him too.

"Thanks. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the heads up," Finn replied.

"No problem. Just don't let on that you know until the police leak it," Lucas warned before hanging up the phone. Finn hung up his own phone, immediately rereading everything the coroner had told him. The bit about the weapon intrigued him and he spent the rest of time waiting for his food wondering what it could be.

When his name was called he grabbed his bag and cup holder and started walking back to the motel, his mind still on his notes. He entered the room, his reporter training kicking in as he immediately noticed that there was no sign of Rachel except for his t-shirt on the bed and the sound of shower. As Finn entered the room further, his ears were inundated by a lilting voice floating from the bathroom. He cocked his head, letting the sound of the beautiful voice fill the air around him. He frowned; knowing beautiful wasn't the word to describe what he was hearing. It was more than beautiful; it was crystal clear, strong and ethereal, belting out Katy Perry's _Peacock_. Finn smirked at Rachel's choice of shower song, and was surprised she liked such a risqué song, but her voice was mesmerizing. Finn set the food and drinks down on the small table and sat on the rumpled bed, his eyes closing as he listened to a voice he knew he would never forget. Why was she a detective when she had such an unmistakable and beautiful voice, even singing a campy rock song?

Finn had totally lost all train of thought as he let her voice wash over him as he lay back on the bed. He was so lost in her voice that he didn't realize that the water had turned off and the singing stopped because it kept going on in Finn's mind. It took a towel clad Rachel Berry screaming within a few feet of Finn for him to realize what was happening. His eyes snapped open and immediately grew wide as he looked up at her and he knew his mouth had dropped open. Her hair was hanging over her shoulders in wet waves, some water droplets sliding down her skin until the towel collected each one. His eyes tracked every one of those droplets especially those that disappeared into the valley of her breasts, wishing he could follow those. Finn wondered if this was what a Greek goddess looked like; warm honey toned skin, long dark wavy locks, large doe eyes, lips meant to be kissed and dressed in all white with a voice only meant to be heard by the gods.

A second sharp squeal brought Finn's attention to her eyes and a sputtering excuse to his lips. "I…I came back and you weren't in the room and I heard you singing…God did you know you sing like an angel or a Greek Siren? Your voice… it just blew me away…and I bought you your muffin, orange juice and a hot tea with Splenda for you." Finn motioned to the table, as if to show Rachel that he wasn't making it up.

It didn't escape Finn's attention that her body had pinked up in a blush as she motioned for Finn to hand over her clothes. "Do you mind turning around so I can dress? The bathroom is damp; I kind of steamed it up taking a shower."

Silently, Finn handed over the clothes, his fingers enjoying the softness of the cloth. He quickly lay down on the bed, face first, burying his face in the nearest pillow, which just happened to be the one Rachel had slept on. Her citrusy smell had permeated the pillow, letting Finn enjoy the lingering smell as he buried his face in the pillow while Rachel dressed.

Finn lifted his head wishing he could keep it on the pillow. "All done Finn! Thanks again for breakfast, and for remembering that I drink tea, not coffee. I'm surprised you remember that from that first morning." Rachel smiled broadly at Finn, and he decided he would do anything to have her smile at him like that more.

"Well, you're welcome. There are a lot of things from that day that are memorable. Hopefully putting something in your stomach will make you feel better." Rachel blushed again knowing exactly what Finn was referring to as she took a sip of her tea and nibbled at the muffin. Finn ate his breakfast in silence, just taking her and her actions in. She was so prim and proper, with a napkin protecting her skirt, and taking dainty nibbles from the messy muffin then a soft sip from the still steaming tea. But Finn had seen and felt her steely side, and that was not a side he wanted to be on again. She was strong, determined and tenacious. She was such a paradox that it confused Finn, just because he wasn't sure which Rachel he was going to be encountering.

Finishing his breakfast, Finn decided to ask a question that had been nagging him, knowing it may put him on the receiving end again of Rachel Berry's wrath, but he was going to ask it anyway, "Rachel, I know you've been taken off the case, so why are you still pursuing it? Lauren Zizes was given the case; I know that for a fact, so why are you doing this?"

Finn watched Rachel chew on her muffin, contemplating her answer. It was almost like he could see the balance in her mind trying to determine if it was best to tell him what she was up to. Maybe if she was honest with him, he'd be honest with her too. He kept observing her, but not staring, since he knew that would make her uncomfortable, and then he heard her sigh. That one sound told him everything he needed to know before she even spoke the truth, "I took three weeks' vacation and am going to solve this case on my own. I have to show my commander and that pompous ass of a chief of police Rod Remington that I am a damn good detective and I can solve the big case. I _can_ be good interviewing and dealing with witnesses and victims. I'm tired of being stuck behind my desk and computer doing all the research and background information. That's not why I became a detective. I could have been in _show business_, but instead I _chose_ law enforcement. I want to help people, make them feel safe. Instead, Will gets calls complaining about me saying I'm too brash, to opinionated, too rough. It just feels like I'll never get anywhere if I'm stuck behind my desk, and the Adams' theft would have shown everyone that I'm as good as I say." Finn saw her eyes start to glisten with tears. She had something to prove to her commander and to herself. She needed to know that she was as good as she thought she was, and she hadn't lived up to that goal.

The thing was Finn knew exactly what she meant. That was what he was trying to do. He wanted to prove to Sue that he was ready for the big leagues, to take on the big cases and report them fairly and accurately. But she had to take it away and give it to Jacob. Finn didn't hold himself in as much high esteem as Rachel did, but he knew exactly what she meant. And he was doing the exact same thing she was, working the case on his own time, wanting to get one over on Jacob Ben-Israel.

Finn watched Rachel sigh in relief, like she had just lifted a weight off of her chest. He was happy she had revealed her secret, but he wasn't ready to reveal his just yet. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but she was just unpredictable and he didn't want to give her any ammunition she could use against him. "Thanks for telling me Rachel, and I won't tell anyone what you're doing, as long as you promise that you'll stop hitting me. I'm not trying to scoop you or anything. I'm researching and asking on my own, we just both happen to be at the same place doing the same thing. Great minds, right?"

"Yes, great minds Finn. So let me guess, you're the one that got the Adams' library open for research in Quincy, right?"

Finn blushed and nodded sheepishly, "I asked Jonathan Adams if I could use the family library for research, and he Okayed it and set it up."

"Well, I have a proposition for you, why don't the two of us work together? With my contacts and the list that Jesse is sending me and the contacts you have and your research ability would make us unstoppable, and maybe we could solve this. What do you say Finn Hudson, would you like to be my partner?" Rachel had this spark in her eye and a small smile on her lips as she held out her hand to shake on the deal she had just made.

Finn stared at her outstretched hand in surprise. He could easily see that this partnership would be beneficial for both of them, but was surprised that she was willing to trust a reporter after what had happened to her with Jacob. He really liked Rachel. When she wasn't going crazy she was someone he wanted to have near. Everything about her was _easy._ Easy to talk to, easy to trust, easy to be around. Although he suspected that there was one way in which Rachel was decidedly _not _easy, which was in the bedroom. It just made perfect sense for them to work together, because it would be easy, and they would be spending lots of time together. That was what Finn wanted, and her experience would be so helpful.

"I'd say you've got yourself a partner." Taking her dainty hand in his much larger one, he squeezed it softly as he shook it, sealing their partnership. He watched her smile travel all the way to her eyes, a sudden urge to kiss her washing over him as he did so. Last night he had kissed her when she was drunk and it was still awesome, but now he wanted to know how well she kissed when she was sober. Her tiny hand still in his, he pulled her to him, he placed his lips on hers. Evidently she was surprised; judging by the gasp she gave against his lips.

Not wanting to scare her, he made the kiss gentle; hoping to urge her to join in. It didn't take much for her lips to start moving against his, easily opening and allowing him to suck on her bottom lip. Finn let out a guttural sound when she started nipping at his lips, her teeth gently scraping the swollen flesh. His fingers laced through her hair at the back of her neck, helping him angle her head so that their kiss took a whole new dimension. He felt her hands come up to wrap around his neck, her nails scraping his scalp as he kept up their dance. Last night's drunken kiss had been awesome, but this kiss, the one they were participating in now, was like heaven on earth. He could taste the cinnamon and brown sugar from her muffin and the sweet tang of her tea. He just wanted to keep tasting her, untangling his fingers to allow them to skim down her body as he felt his body react to her mouth. Not wanting to piss her off by thinking he was a total douche, he reluctantly pulled away, his eyes roaming over her swollen lips and rug burned face from his morning whiskers. He watched her eyes take him in and smile.

Rachel couldn't believe she had just been kissed by Finn Hudson for a second time, but this time he wasn't acting. She smiled as her hand came up to touch her cheek, feeling the warmth from his whisker scratches on her face. He was even more handsome with a bit of scruff on his face if that was possible, and something about the tinge of red in the scruff made him extremely sexy. As much as she wanted to stay in the moment of the kiss and revel in all of the feelings she had, she knew that they both needed to be professional to solve this case. Breaking the spell, Rachel stepped back and looked Finn square in the eye, adopting the business tone she used around the station. "If we are going to solve this case, then we need to get back to Boston immediately and compile all the notes we have so that can compare and see where it leads us."

He stared at her, surprised by the sudden change in demeanor. "Ah, yeah. Good idea. Why don't you call us a cab while I go and check out? I'll meet you in the lobby at the desk, all right?"

Rachel watched him run his hand through his hair, wanting to do that for herself. She stared as Finn grabbed his backpack and leave, not noticing that he'd forgotten his t-shirt. She picked it up and held it for a minute to her cheek. It was soft, well worn, and smelled of Finn, very woodsy but with a hint of orange, if that was even possible. She stuck it in her bag; promising herself she would give it back to him when they got to Boston.

Maybe.

Rachel was brought out of her thoughts by a bleeping from her phone. Knowing that it was the special tone she'd programmed to signify a work alert, she grabbed it and opened the message. Rachel read it with some alarm, and hoped that Jesse got her that list soon.

Going to the lobby, Rachel saw Finn standing at the desk, sipping on the complimentary coffee and grimacing. He must have seen the look on her voice since he pulled himself off of the desk and started walking towards her, a look on concern on his face. "What's wrong Rachel? Did something happen upstairs?"

"Yes, I mean no, but yes. Ugh, nothing happened upstairs, but I just got an alert from work," grabbing Finn's elbow, she led him over to a secluded sitting area to talk, "The alert came through due to a case we have, there was an attempt to steal another of Sir Francis Drake's map, this time from the Indianapolis Children's Museum. The thief didn't get it, but cracked the glass and got it partially pulled out before a police officer showed up and they ran out. I guess the museum uses actual police for night security, which is good. Indianapolis is sending us copies of their evidence to compare since this is such an odd theft and we just had a similar one, this is more than just coincidence in both of our books. So Mr. Hudson, what do you think about going to Indianapolis as a police liaison to find some more things out?" Rachel had always wanted a partner to work with on cases, but she was always left to be alone, so the idea of working with someone excited her.

"No Detective Berry, you'll be accompanying me to Indianapolis after we go to the library on Friday. I'm sure Lauren Zizes will be contacting Indianapolis as the detective on the case, but Indianapolis won't know about me as a Herald reporter, and you can be my expert for the story. But first we have to get back to Boston." Rachel wanted to face palm not realizing that of course Lauren would call Indianapolis, and if Rachel said she was the detective her plan would be blown. All she could do was shake her head in agreement as Finn grabbed her bag and headed out the door to the cab waiting for them. On the train, Rachel sat there quietly thinking about what had transpired over the last twenty-four hours, having a lovely lunch and finding a female that actually liked her, seeing Jesse again and him wanting to get together again, slapping Finn yet again for something he didn't do, getting drunk off her ass and having a knight in denim save her and then kiss her, sleeping in the same bed with said knight and not remembering anything, and being kissed again, this time fully aware of what was going on and finding herself wanting more.

As they departed the train, Rachel looked at Finn wondering what to do next. She had never had a partner before, and he was used to working on team. "Well, why don't you get your notes and things and meet me at my apartment let me give you the address…"

Rachel interrupted him, "I know where you live, so I'll be there in about a half hour."

She saw his eyebrows knit in confusion, "How do you know where I live?"

"Ummmmm, police skills?" Rachel hoped that Finn believed her extremely lame excuse, but saw him give her an incredulous look but left it alone. Nodding he took off in one direction while she went off towards her apartment. As she entered her darkened apartment she quickly changed into leggings, tunic and sandals and grabbed her laptop and binder and took off towards Finn's apartment. Standing outside the his apartment door, she thought back as to how much of a coward she had been just two days before, not leaving an apology note with the banana bread she had left him, and then she still ended up doing the same thing to him again. Knocking at on his door, she shifted her weight side to side as she bit her lip waiting for him to answer.

When he didn't come, she knocked again, with more force and waited some more. This time the door opened revealing a wet haired, bare chested Finn Hudson standing in just a pair of work out pants. Rachel actually lost her speech for a second looking at his sculpted chest and arms and the tattoo of an anchor and a black knight on his shoulder blade. Regaining her speech Rachel forgot to filter what she said, "Hi! Nice tattoo…Oh my, I mean nice chest!" Rachel wanted to die right there, but she saw Finn's crooked grin as he stepped to the side and allowed her in the apartment. He grabbed a t-shirt and threw it on as Rachel sat down. She had to admit she was a little sad that his chest was covered up now, but they were being professional, and professional people don't walk around half naked. But she still couldn't help but ask, "So why do you have a black knight on your shoulder? I understand the Navy anchor, but the knight?"

Finn chuckled, and Rachel decided she liked his laugh, "I was part of the HSN-4 and we're called the Black Knights, so as part being part of the team, we all got tats together. Anyway, enough about me, what about this case? Did St. James send you that list?"

Rachel nodded, "Yep he sent it. We need to start cross checking the people. Find out their motives for wanting the information and making phone calls to talk to them."

She watched Finn nod in agreement as he set her laptop up to his printer. She watched as he took out his notes and his camera. She watched him hook his camera up to his laptop and download the pictures he had taken. Setting up her binder and note pads and colored index cards and push pins, she glanced at Finn's computer screen and saw pictures of Jesse posing in his office and zoomed in photos of the maps on Jesse's walls. Then she saw pictures of her coming out of the building. Pictures of her walking out, the wind playing with wisps of her hair, her face serious and then suddenly she was smiling. She knew why; even though she was mad a Finn, seeing him kneeling by that bench had made her smile.

"Your computer is ready Rachel. You can print out whatever you need. I'm going to print out some of the pictures I took in St. James' office." Rachel watched Finn as he moved around the small apartment with ease, even though in Rachel's mind it seemed rather small and cramped, especially for such a large man.

As Finn sat down at the table, Rachel started reading the names Jesse had sent her, "Marina Franco, Samuel Stallings, Cameron Lenten asked specifically about Drake's west coast exploration. Kevin Anderson, Joseph Planter and Lucas Green asked about maps. Surprisingly, no one asked about the treasure of legend. So maybe we are barking up the wrong tree."

She watched Finn shake his head, "No, that legend and the treasure are the key. Come on, someone tried to steal the map on loan in Indianapolis. Right now the Children's Museum is having an exhibit on pirates, and since Drake was a pirate, the British Maritime Museum loaned the museum several maps of his and other artifacts, including some of the gold and jewels he turned over to the queen. The jewels weren't touched, just the map." She didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

"Okay, so why were the Adams' map _and_ jewels taken? What was the motive for taking both there, but just the map at the museum?" Rachel started doing what she did well, and talked out loud, hoping that Finn could keep up with her stream of consciousness. "Okay, let's say the same person perpetrated both crimes. At the Adams' Sam Evans is in the way, so they kill him and make off with the jewels and just the one map. The map isn't the one they need, so they go after another known map, but this time leaves the jewels because they weren't needed or wanted. Mrs. Adams told me that it was believed that one of their jewels had been a gift from Drake, but she wasn't sure which one. So this person is looking for things that had belonged to Drake, but still why?"

"What if the jewels and the maps went together, like one of those decoder glasses that you pass over the writing and a secret message comes up?" Finn threw out, and even though Rachel wanted to laugh at how juvenile it sounded, she didn't, because partners didn't shoot down the other's ideas. Writing it down on one of her colored index cards, she pinned it to the wall under the heading of "Possible Motives." Rachel could tell that Finn was getting revved up as more slightly crazy ideas popped out of his mouth, but she kept reminding herself that she was being a good teammate. When he had finally finished his ideas, Rachel had pinned a dozen cards to his wall. She was going to have to help him patch up and paint the wall after this case was finished.

"Okay, well now that we have all kinds of ideas for why the jewels and maps are being targeted, let's try to eliminate possible suspects. We need to call the people from the list and confirm their alibis for when Sam Evans died. If we split the list in half, we can get the calls made a lot faster." Rachel watched as Finn grabbed his list and a notepad and walked to his bedroom closing the door. Rachel wanted to slap herself as she caught herself trying to steal a look at his bedroom, but was disappointed that his body was blocking the view.

While she made her phone calls in her most sincere and sweet voice, she got the information she needed to confirm alibis and learn more as to why these people were interested in Sir Francis Drake. Most were due to research they were doing, or just had a general interest in the area, which Rachel had to admit, was boring. That was one thing she never understood about Jesse, was his intense interest in things from the past that were dead and done, never moving forward. Finishing her last phone call she heard Finn's bedroom door open and him walking out, leaving the door open.

"Well I got in touch with everyone but Marina Franco. The cell phone has been shut off, so I sent her an e-mail hoping she will contact us." Finn said as he walked to the refrigerator and poured two glasses of juice, setting one of the glasses in front of her as he sat down. "So now what, oh great detective?"

"Let's book a late flight to Indianapolis, while you get in touch with the newspaper in Indianapolis. Because after the library, we are on our way to Indy."


	8. DAR, Quincy and Indy

Finn heard the incessant knocking on his door repeating in his head. Who the hell would be knocking on his door at, looking at the glaring red numbers, 5:30 in the a.m.? Knowing the answer to the question, he stood up clumsily since he was hot and sticky from the muggy spring night, and wasn't fully awake and stumbled his way to the door without turning on the lights. Yanking open the door to a dimly lit hallway, Finn looked down already knowing he would see a chipper Detective Rachel Berry standing there, and sure enough there she was with a bright smile that quickly changed to one of embarrassement.

Finn was tired enough not to see the change in Rachel's demeanor as she entered the apartment keeping her face away from him as he walked over to the kitchen to start making some coffee and tea. As Finn walked around the kitchen he noticed that Rachel hadn't followed him and was unusually quiet. He had learned in the few days of knowing each other is that Rachel Berry never shut up, like ever. She was always talking, and now, all of a sudden she wasn't. Turning to look at where she was he saw her avert her eyes when he turned, trying to look like she hadn't been staring. "Rachel, what's wrong? Why so quiet?"

"Um Finn. Was it really hot in here last night?" Finn could tell she was trying hard to keep her eyes on anything other than him.

"Gawd yes. IT was miserable. IT was so bad that I…" Finn looked down and realized that he was as naked as the day he was born, with a sheen of sweat from the humidity. It had been so hot and muggy last night that his shorts kept sticking to him uncomfortably so he shed them and slept naked with the window open to try to get some relief. He had totally forgotten that he had slept that way when Rachel knocked on the door. Grabbing the closest thing to cover him up, Finn realized his hand did a better job than the little loomed potholder his little cousin made him for Christmas. Walking sideways sheepishly, keeping himself somewhat covered, he made the five sidesteps to his bedroom door and slammed the door closed, simultaneously closing his eyes in embarrassment. As he grabbed the shorts he had discarded in the night, he wondered why it seemed that Rachel had been looking at everything in the apartment except for him. He was hoping that he had impressed her a little, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. Taking a calming breath, he walked back out to see that Rachel had poured Finn his coffee with skim milk and had made her hot sweet tea and set a couple of plates out holding banana bread that she must have brought with her.

Sitting down across from her, Finn took a bite of the bread, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy. The bread was so good and moist, a lot like the bread that had been left on his doorstep. Sitting there, they fell into a comfortable silence as they sipped their drinks and eating the bread when Finn realized that it was still extremely early in the morning. "Rach, why are you here so early? We don't have to be at the library until like one and our flight leaves out of Logan at seven. So why are you hear at the butt crack of dawn?"

Finn watched her eyes sparkle with the information she was about to bestow on him, "I think I have a lead on the mysterious Marina Franco. I called Jesse last night after I went home and told him how we couldn't get a hold of her. He said he remembered from talking to her that she was a part of the Daughter's of the American Revolution, and that there happened to be a late breakfast at nine this morning for DAR dealing with fundraising. They're meeting at The Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill. I figured you and I could do some undercover work and see if we can meet this mysterious Ms. Franco. Everything else seems to be falling through. There just aren't that many suspects. So what do you think Finn, ready for some undercover work?'

"What am I going to do? I think I'm going to stick out as a guy at a Daughters of the American Revolution breakfast, don't you?" Finn couldn't think of what he'd be able to do. It was an _all_ female group, hence the word daughter in the group's name.

"Well, I thought you could be a waiter and I'll be a prospective member. That way I can check out the list of members and you can check out the women and see if any of them fit the description Jesse gave me of her." Rachel looked excited while Finn just felt skeptical about his undercover roll, and informed the diminutive detective why.

"Rachel, I'm a klutz! Like the biggest one around. I actually broke the nose of a girl in high school when I was trying to dance. There's no way I can be a waiter. Some poor lady is going to end up wearing her breakfast on her designer suit!"

Finn felt Rachel's hand on his arm as the heat from that touch starting moving up his arm. "You'll be fine Finn. You don't have to worry. I promise." Finn looked into Rachel's eyes and believed he could, because she seemed to believe in him.

Three hours later Finn was standing in the kitchen at the Liberty Hotel wearing a white tuxedo shirt, black vest and tie. Finn felt like a penguin, and since the staff didn't have any shirt that fit him properly, he was slowly having his airway cut off due to wearing a shirt with too small of a neck. He kept tugging at it uncomfortably and even with the top button undone he still felt like he was suffocating. Finn listened to the head of catering giving instructions to the wait staff, and Finn still wondered how Rachel was able to get him on the wait staff, but he wasn't going to question her tactics. He noticed that Rachel had also gotten herself an invitation and was now sitting at a table for of other prospective DAR ladies. As fate would have it, Finn was to work table 30, which happened to be Rachel's. At least if he spilled the fruit salad on her, he would be killed by his partner and not some unknown woman in a designer suit.

As the orders were given and pots of hot coffee and hot water for tea were passed out, Finn grabbed his and walked over to table 30, which was over to the side. He took a meandering path, looking at all the ladies that were seated hoping to find someone that matched St. James description of a "pretty mouse" with dark hair, high cheekbones, dark eyes and a demure appearance and attitude. Marina Franco had been very interested in Drake's west coast explorations and his interaction with the Miwok. Finn kept a look out but didn't see anyone that fit that description. There were lots of silver haired lady wearing Chanel suits and middle aged moms with laugh lines and the young professionals that were dressed in whatever was fashionable and trendy.

As Finn brought out his first tray of breakfasts, he almost lost it on top of a blueblood holding a little bitty dog as he felt all the blood drain from his face when the speaker from DAR started the program. Up on the stage was the _meanes_t, _nastiest_ girl Finn had ever known, one Santana Lopez. Finn regained his composure as he listened to her still sarcastic tone, even though she was giving information and trying to procure money, she still sounded snide and aloof. Rachel must have seen Finn's demeanor change because as he placed her plate down, bending down as he did so, she whispered in his ear, "Is everything ok Finn? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Her breath was warm on his ear and sent a shiver up his spine. "I'll tell you later," was all he could manage in her ear before going on and passing out more of the breakfasts. As he finished his first tray and started back to the kitchen, his foot caught on a purse trap and he tripped, causing a huge clatter and bringing all attention onto himself. Looking up he saw that Santana recognized him and smirked. Finn wanted to shrink and disappear, but instead he knew he was going have hell to pay as soon as this was over.

After the breakfast was over, Finn was changing in the staff room, and just as he pulled the too small shirt off hell came to pay him an expected visit, "Well well well if it isn't Finnessa in all his glory. I'd say it was nice to see your jiggly man boobs again, but I see they seem to have been replaced with real muscles and a couple of tattoos. Who would have known that you had a bit of bad boy in you? But then again, you're here waiting tables while again, the cream has risen to the top and I'm the head of fundraising for DAR." Finn turned slowly to find a manicured claw resting on his arm, tracing the outline of his muscles and a lustful smirk on the deep pink lips of Santana Lopez. Instead of sending shivers down his spine it caused a creepy sensation to overtake him and shiver in fear. Santana must have taken it another way though, "Oh, so I still do it for you, huh Frankenteen? God, you're so predictable. It's funny how you always said you'd get out of Lima, but here you are, _a waiter _in Boston, and I'm the head of fundraising for a prestigious group. Maybe when I feel like trolling the gutter I'll look you up Finnocence."

Santana was about to leave when both she and Finn heard a "ah hmmmmm" come from the door. There stood Rachel, eyes blazing gold behind her glasses at Santana and an angry look crossing her face. "Ms. Lopez, as much as I enjoyed your speech and am thinking of joining DAR, I'd appreciate to know _why_ are you talking to _my_ boyfriend? It looks like he's trying to get changed." Rachel walked over to Finn and put her arms around his bare torso, placing a soft kiss on his shoulder. Finn felt the goosebumps form on his skin and wondered if Rachel felt them too.

"I'm sorry Caroline. I didn't know that you were dating _the help_. Finnocence and myself go back a long ways. We actually went to high school together. We haven't seen each other since graduation. We're just catching up on old times, that's all. Anyway, I hope you do decide to join DAR; we do a lot of good and with being relation to Paul Revere, and it will put you high in the organization. Your family has high historical significance." With that Santana started to walk out smirking at the two, leaving Finn feeling dirty, like he'd done something wrong. Santana gave "Caroline Revere" a knowing glance as she strutted out of the room, turning to give the two a final glance and catching "Caroline" giving Finn a passionate kiss.

As he heard the click of Santana's heels get softer, he felt Rachel pull back from him. All he could do was stare into her eyes, all thoughts having left his mind. Whenever they kissed, all Finn could do was_ feel, _thinking was next to impossible; the feel of her warm soft lips, the sweet moistness of her tongue contrasting the sharpness of her nibbles on his lips. Her lips and her kisses were extremely addicting and he was seriously becoming an addict to them. Looking down at her, he saw her mouth move, and he focused on what she was saying, "I hope she bought that you're my boyfriend. I didn't like how she was objectifying you, and treating you like a piece of meat. I heard what she said about you, and she obviously doesn't believe that you made something of yourself, but we know better, don't we." Finn saw her smile brighten and reach her eyes as she winked, making them sparkle. Joining in the smile, Finn shrugged his shirt on and finished getting ready, grabbing Rachel's hand like a "boyfriend" would and walked out of the hotel hand in hand.

Sitting in a diner in Quincy, Finn listened as Rachel went over what she had learned about the mysterious Marina Franco, which wasn't anything. Her name wasn't on any of the registers, no one seemed to know her, and no pictures of her. "Are you sure St. James said she mentioned being involved in Boston's DAR?" Finn asked between bites of his turkey club.

"Yes, he said that she lived in Boston and was involved in DAR. The contact number is a local number, so why not?"

"Well, I'm starting to think it was a throw away phone since it's disconnected, and what if she isn't a member, but someone with the organization itself, like a worker for DAR?" Finn was starting to like his idea, because it made sense.

"I didn't think about that. She could easily be a worker for them, and we can look it up on their website. Anyway, it's almost one; we need to get over to the gift shop and tour station to meet the library caretaker." Finn watched Rachel grab the last bite of her salad and sip of her tea and throw down a twenty to pay for their lunches. Finn watched her walk in front of him as they were heading toward his truck, and he had to admit, he liked the view. She was wearing a denim skirt and sandals with a button down pink shirt and white tank top. She definitely didn't look like a detective, and that was fine with Finn.

As they found the store front for the Adams' home, Finn started cursing as he tried to find parking. That was the only thing that Finn truly hated about the towns in Massachusetts, street parking was a bitch since the streets were mostly the same from the time of the revolution, meant more for horses and wagons and not for modern vehicles. Finally finding a legal parking spot on the street, both made their way to the shop and stood at the tour waiting area for the caretaker.

"Detective Berry? Finn Hudson? I'm Stephen Mayfair, the caretaker and librarian for the Adams' family library. Mr. Adams called and said Mr. Hudson had permission to do some research and then George called and said Detective Berry needed access too. I'm glad George scheduled you on the same day. Makes my life a little easier," he chuckled to himself and then motioned for the two to follow him to a shuttle that waited outside to take the next tour to the house.

Sitting down Finn took in Mr. Mayfair, an elderly man with very thin silver hair, kept slicked back. His face was weathered and deeply tan, like he had spent his life out of the ocean, not in libraries. His green eyes were bright and young under his bushy silver brows. He had a smile on his lips like he was constantly thinking of jokes. Finn liked him immediately, reminding him of his grandfather. "So you two, what part of the collection do you need for your research?"

Rachel spoke before Finn could even get a chance, "Anything from the 1580's to 1680's please?" asking as sweetly as she could. Finn looked down at how demure Rachel was acting, something he didn't think she could do, but here was the spitfire he had been dealing with acting like a sweet innocent woman, something she definitely wasn't.

"A hundred years worth huh? Is there anything in particular you are looking for in those hundred years? It would help me narrow what to pull out and keep these precious papers intact."

Finn blurted out before Rachel could even open her mouth, "Anything doing with the Drake family in England sir." Finn blushed as Rachel glared at him and Mr. Mayfair chuckled again.

"Sir Francis Drake then, huh? Boy those pieces seem to be awfully popular right now."

"What do you mean Mr. Mayfair?" Rachel asked, obviously intrigued by his comment, as she gave Finn a look saying, "new lead."

"A young lady wanted to research on Drake and Adams and their connection, but she didn't have clearance from the Adams' family or from the National Parks Department. She got pretty pissy with me and was rude, unlike the two of you. She didn't have any respect."

Rachel pulled out her notepad and asked the next question as the shuttle was lurching along through the stop and go traffic of Quincy, "Do you remember her name or what she looked like Mr. Mayfair? How long ago was this?"

Finn watched the older man scrunch his face up in concentration and he pulled a worn leather covered notepad out of his jacket pocket. Finn watched the weathered fingers flip through the dog-eared pages and stopping at one that looked fairly new, "Her name was Marina Franco, and I can't tell you a lot because it was still relatively cold. She showed up at the library on February 23rd in the afternoon, and she lucked out it just happened to be a day that I come in and work the day. She was bundled up with a knit cap covering her hair and she had on those tinted glasses that darken with light, so I couldn't make out her eyes because it was so bright in the library with all the windows. She wore just a pair of khaki pants and a red sweater and winter boots. Nothing that made her stick out, she just blended in with the crowd. She wasn't from here though; she sounded more like you Mr. Hudson."

Finn watched as Rachel was scribbling in her notepad while Finn took his own notes, but in his own way. As the shuttle stopped at the estate, the tourists got off to follow the tour guide while Finn and Rachel waited with Mr. Mayfair and followed him to a separate stone building with large windows, and opened the large wooden door. Walking in Finn felt he had just entered a sanctuary of revolutionary knowledge. The walls were lined with at least fifteen foot high bookcases brimming with books. Large oak tables with leather chairs and candles in the middle, reminiscent of what it might have been like in colonial times.

Mr. Mayfair motioned for Finn and Rachel to a corner table that was rather secluded. Finn took a seat with Rachel sitting across from him and started talking to Mr. Mayfair about what they needed while Finn just sat there allowing Rachel to take the lead. As Mr. Mayfair left to go to an area that looked to be under lock and key, Finn took out his notepad while Rachel pulled her laptop out. "Finn for being a modern day reporter, I'm surprised you still handwrite your notes." Rachel asked as she logged onto her computer.

"I can't always have my computer on me, and I'm not a fan of the tablets just because my fingers are too big for the virtual keyboard, so I write them the old fashion way and then type them up. It works for me, so yes, even in this modern age, I still do things in an old fashioned way Besides, I don't even write out the words, I put them in Morse Code. I had to learn it in the Navy and this way no one can steal my notes, because they have no clue what the dashes and dots are, but I do." Finn watched Rachel nod her head in agreement, which made him feel very smart, for once.

As they finished their conversation Finn watched Mr. Mayfair come out holding two very old leather bound books while wearing white cotton gloves. He pulled two more pairs of gloves out of his pocket, throwing Finn and Rachel each the same pair of gloves like he was wearing. Finn looked at the gloves and pulled them on, realizing what he was about to look at was extremely old and valuable. He felt a little like Artie as Mr. Mayfair set down the two fragile books.

"These two bound copies are of letters between the Drake and Adams family in England and a few times when they came to the colonies. I hope you find what you are looking for. I can only have these out of the vault for an hour, so you need to work quickly and carefully. This isn't like ripping a page in a modern book; there is no taping it back together," Mr. Mayfair warned them and then set a timer that was on the table and one that was on his watch, quickly walking back through the door he had just left leaving them alone.

"Great, besides trying to look through a few hundred years of letters in an hour, we aren't sure what we are looking for." Finn grumbled as he carefully opened the brown leather bound book.

"Stop bellyaching Finn! The more time we grumble the less time we are going to find about the Drake sapphire and the map. Now come one, start reading." Finn could see Rachel getting agitated, and decided it would be best just to shut up and start going through the book.

With thirty minutes gone and only thirty minutes remaining, Finn was getting frustrated. Besides the writing being worse than his, it was all so boring. Then he saw something, it was dated right after Drake had come back from his privateering around the world. "Rach, Rachel! Here's something. In this letter to George Adams, Drake talked about the jewels he had in his possession and how the Spanish sapphire reminded him of the ocean on a calm day. Since Drake was unable to take George's son with him on the trip due to illness, Drake was gifting them with a sapphire as a way to hold the ocean in their hands." Finn couldn't hide the excitement in his voice, even though he knew he sounded geeky.

"Is there a drawing or something? That's what we need! I can cross reference it with the pictures I have of the jewels. Look Finn, look!" Finn could see the excitement sparkle in Rachel's eyes.

"Um, let's see," Finn said as he carefully flipped through the letters. "Uh, here's a description, sent a few letters later, after Adams had sent a thank you letter. _'The sapphire disc is reminiscent of wafers, thin and fragile. It's rimmed in gold, with gold and smaller sapphire beads creating a delicate chain to clasp it around the neck. You can actually look through the sapphire, much like a monocle.'_ But that's all it says. There isn't a link between it and the map."

"Maybe I have that; this is one of the last letters sent to John Quincy Adams from a Drake descendent. Paraphrasing it asks if his family has anything from Drake, because they have found a letter written by Drake about how he has hidden his bounty, but the key to the treasure is the ocean, and they are looking for correspondence that might point them towards the treasure."

"So what does that mean?"

Looking around at the empty room and staying hushed fearing that the empty room was listening, she leaned in close to whisper. "It means that Drake's descendants think that Drake gave the key to the Adams or at least mentioned the key to them."

"But he doesn't." Just then the timer went off, shocking both of them out of their intense conversation, and making them jump. Closing the books, Mr. Mayfair walked out and took the books with a nod and motioned for them to wait by the door they had come in. Finn was afraid to talk, since he was infamous for spilling secrets, so he just bounced on the balls of his feet and kept stealing glances at Rachel while they waited.

When Mr. Mayfair came back, they boarded the shuttle back to the gift shop, both staying quiet, not willing to talk. As they got to the truck, Finn let out a smile that matched Rachel's, and he pulled out onto the street and headed to Logan Airport.

Rachel sat back and got comfortable in the coach seat near the emergency exits. Finn had been grateful for Rachel booking the seats there since it gave him more room to stretch out his long legs. She was glad for a little bit of peace and quiet as she put her ear buds in and listened to her iPod. She and Finn had a very busy and productive day, and now they were on their way to Indianapolis, and Rachel was Finn's "assistant" so the police department and newspaper wouldn'tbe suspicious. Rachel smiled as she allowed her head to loll to the side and look at Finn through slitted eyes. She had saw his face light up in excitement when he found the connection to the jewelry, and in her heart, as Rachel read about the Drake's finding the cryptic clue to a treasure, she knew that the jewelry piece was the key. To what, who knew, but she knew, and Finn knew to by his look.

Rachel let her eyes close for a small nap, but her mind was whirring through everything that had happened in just the last five days. The one thing that everything swirled around was the man sitting next to her, he seemed to be the eye of the hurricane, where everything was peaceful and still before all hell broke loose. Right now it was of the kiss she had laid on him at the DAR breakfast, something she was shocked she had done. When she had stood at the door ready to get Finn and heard Santana Lopez in the room, she felt a boiling take over her. When she walked into the doorway she saw Santana stroking Finn's abdomen with her manicured nail and licking her lips like she was a bird of prey waiting to swoop in and take a puppy in its claws. Rachel knew her eyes narrowed at the thought of that witchy woman touching Finn, and she owed him for helping her at Jillian's so she become Finn's girlfriend, the kiss though, she didn't know why she did it, but she just knew she needed to kiss him. Maybe she wanted to prove to Santana that Finn was desirable, maybe she had wanted to take control of a kiss with Finn, but she kissed him, and wasn't going to regret it.

As soon as her lips met his, he opened his mouth and she felt a rumble of a groan escape him as their lips worked together in harmony, creating sounds and rumbles from both of them. When Rachel felt Finn's tongue enter her mouth, strong and persistent, Rachel wanted to collapse. No one had ever kissed her like that before, and she didn't want it to stop, but when the clicking of Santana's stilettos were silent and the sound of an awkward cough bringing them out of the kiss. Without thinking, Rachel brought her fingertips to her lips thinking they were still swollen from Finn's onslaught, and was disappointed when they were normal.

As _We Danced_ by Brad Paisley engulfed her, she pictured the song in her dreams, except the man and woman were her and Finn, meeting by chance, dancing together, and falling in love. Rachel opened her eyes and looked at Finn, who was asleep, his mouth dropped open and a soft snore escaping. He looked so peaceful and innocent. Rachel could guess that he had never done anything wrong in his life. She was a smart woman who understood her emotions, but since she'd met Finn, that had gone out the window. There was just something about him that sent her in a tizzy, made her jealous, made her madder than hell and sorry beyond belief when she hurt him. She just wished she knew what was going on with her.

Even though she kept picturing Finn, Rachel finally slept some on the bumpy flight from Boston to Indianapolis. Feeling her arm being shook, Rachel blinked her eyes open to see Finn's face just a few inches from her, "It's time to wake up. We're getting ready to land. I'd say you need to fasten your seatbelt, but you never took it off." Instinctually Rachel smiled at him, but then she decided that they were on a mission so she needed to be professional. Setting a serious expression on her face and sitting up, Rachel looked forward, getting ready to land, and felt Finn's large callused hand cover hers, his crooked smile in place. Even when she wanted to be professional and commanding, that crooked smile broke her façade and she smiled back, feeling warm and content.

As the plane landed, Rachel and Finn walked off the plane with their carry on and through the terminal to the car rental area. Ten minutes later they were on their way to downtown Indianapolis with the help of Finn's phone GPS. "Have you ever been to Indianapolis Finn? I remember you said you were from Lima Ohio, which is what a three hour drive?"

She watched Finn nod as he watched the traffic as he drove through the unfamiliar streets. "Yea, my mom would bring me here every couple of years for summer vacation. Once during spring break for the Final Four, which was like totally awesome. I think the last time I was at the Children's Museum was when I was like twelve." Rachel nodded and kept looking at the buildings they passed. Finn pulled into the JW Marriott on the southside of the downtown. It was a total mirrored glass hotel settled between a baseball stadium and what Finn was exclaiming was "Peyton's House" whatever that was?

Letting the valet take the car, both of them grabbed their overnight bags and Finn's backpack and walked into the lush lobby. Rachel walked up to the desk and checked in, allowing Finn to relax a few and stretch his legs. Grabbing the key card, Rachel walked up and noticed Finn's raised eyebrow, "One room?"

Rachel _wasn'_t going to be embarrassed, "Yes Finn, since we're having to pay for this ourselves, I thought we could at least be frugal. Besides, we are adults so this shouldn't be an issue. Right?" She watched him shrug as they entered the elevator and went up to the sixth floor. Walking into room 613, Rachel immediately threw her bag down and headed towards the bathroom.

"What are you doing Rachel?"

"Freshening up before dinner. I thought we could walk downtown and find a place to eat. I read that Indianapolis is a very walkable city, besides, we might discover a nice local restaurant for dinner." A romantic dinner, her mind added, but luckily her mouth stayed shut.

She thought she'd been quick getting ready and showering, but when she came out, Finn was snoozing on top of the bed. Shaking him lightly, he woke up and smiled. "Ready to discover dinner?"

Finn smiled at her in that haphazard smile of his and Rachel felt her stomach flip flop. Returning his smile, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up and led him out of the room and hotel. Walking around, they found a small but busy Greek restaurant and enjoyed the food. This time Rachel didn't try to impress Finn and ate her normal fare, no more nuclear wings for her.

As they came back to the hotel and went to their room, Rachel became nervous. Last time they shared a room, she had been drunk out of her mind and didn't remember any of it, now she was completely sober and scared to death. Not wanting to seem eager, Rachel grabbed her laptop and opened it up, ready to do some research before they went to the museum tomorrow.

"Rachel, what are you doing?"

"Just a bit more research. It says here that the map was one of Drake's personal maps of his exploration of the west coast, so obviously this is what our thief is after. No one was sure if the Adams' map was from the personal collection, so if the thief knew the legend, they would be looking for those from Drake. They are going after the known maps in the United States right now'; the Adams' map was well known, the map on loan to the Children's Museum was well advertised, so are there any other known maps? What map is next on the list if they didn't get the one they needed? We need a preemptive strike Finn."

"Slow down Sprout! We don't even know what they were needing from this map. Okay, yes we do, they're looking for the treasure map, but they don't know the key if this was the one that had the map on it. Let's just take this one step at a time Sprout, okay?"

Rachel was shocked as to how calm and right Finn was. She was getting way ahead of herself. She knew it was just her nervousness over sharing a bed with Finn. She was an adult, a responsible adult who could platonically sleep next to a man, even if said man was incredibly gorgeous. This would be just like sleeping next to Noah or her fathers…only gorgeous.

And sexy. Definitely sexy.

She watched Finn let out a yawn and stretched, trying not to notice that his shirt rose, exposing a bit of skin and tantalizing hair. "Okay, I'm going to bed Rachel. Your high energy is making _me_ tired."

Rachel watched as Finn walked to the bathroom and closed the door. She had to get ready while he was busy. Grabbing her varsity styled nightshirt out of her bag, she threw it on and used her makeup wipes to clean her face. Pulling her hair into a braid she waited, hoping she looked okay, even though nothing was going to happen. She remembered what her dads had told her when she left for college, "Only allow a man in your bed if you think it is meant to be. Don't waste your time on flings, they only end in heartbreak." Finn wasn't a meant to be or a fling, he was just her partner. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

She watched as Finn exited from the bathroom, his hair wet from a shower, wearing a pair of basketball shorts. At least he was wearing more than what he had worn this morning, Rachel thought. Of course if she was being totally honest with herself, she rather enjoyed having a very tall, muscular, gorgeous _naked_ man answer the door. She had admit she had never put much credence in the old wives' tale that the size of a man's hands or feet were proportional to the size of his, uh yeah well, but in this case she was going to believe it.

A now blushing Rachel became increasingly self conscious as Finn sat down on the bed, making Rachel feel extremely small. Rachel licked her suddenly dry lips and scurried under the warm comforter. Feeling the comforter lift, Rachel looked at Finn in shock, "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Going to bed. I'm tired Sprout. I want to sleep. Like you said, we are both adults, we can share a bed for one night."

"But I don't remember the last time we slept together! I was drunk. And why are you calling me Sprout?"

"Yea well. Even though I slept on top of the covers you called me the Jolly Green Giant because I took up the whole bed! And Sprout is the Jolly Green Giant's little buddy," Rachel couldn't help but smile at the nickname Finn had just bestowed upon her. No one had ever given her a nickname besides her fathers and Noah. She liked it.

"If you don't become a blanket hog, then I won't call you Jolly Green Giant. Deal?" Rachel stuck her hand out over the comforter and waited for Finn to shake her hand. She saw a mischievous grin spread over Finn's face as he lay down, and then quickly twirled in the comforter, putting him in a cocoon and leaving Rachel uncovered. "FINN!"

"Hey, I had to live up to my new name of Jolly Green Giant," Finn said with a grin.

"That's just mean. You must realize that hotel rooms are very cold, even when you can work the air in the room. I'm going to freeze. Can I please have some comforter Finn?" Rachel pouted, hoping that look would make Finn feel sorry for her.

"You mean the only way you'll keep warm is if you have this nice, big, soft comforter over you? There isn't any other way for you to stay warm?" If Rachel had been paying close attention she would have seen Finn leaning in slightly.

Rachel slapped at his chest playfully, "Yes Finn. I like my warmth, so please let me have some of the comforter!"

She hadn't realized what Finn was doing until he was leaning over her, effectively pinning her to the bed, and letting his lips brush over hers. Even by that small touch of his lips, she felt heat start to move through body. As his lips pressed more firmly on hers, she would have sworn under oath that all of his heat was moving to her, making her skin feel on fire. She opened her mouth letting the tip of her tongue wet Finn's lip, and felt him take her invitation, swooping his tongue in her mouth, tasting her. She felt his hands that had been beside him start to move along her covered ribcage, sending a ticklish shiver through her.

Despite the fact that she'd sworn to herself that nothing was going to happen, she felt her arms around Finn's neck, bringing him closer as their lips continued to be fused together. She loved feeling his weight on her, making her feel so small against his giantness, but it also made her feel protected. His large hands kept moving over her, making her feel alive and something else, something she couldn't put her finger on, but she didn't want it to end. The funny thing was even though Finn was someone that Rachel would never dream of feeling this way about, she was, and so craved it. That little thought she'd buried in the back of her surfaced, the one that feared that for Finn, this was just a fling, nothing important.

Feeling him pull away, Rachel whimpered at the loss of contact and warmth. Looking up into his warm brown eyes, she saw playfulness and something more. "Are you warm now?"

Rachel couldn't answer except for a small nod of her head as she felt the warmth of the comforter envelope her at the loss of contact with Finn. She closed her eyes, afraid to see something else in his eyes. Eyes still squeezed shut, she felt his weight shift the bed, and his arm encircle her waist, pulling her to him. Even though she didn't want to, she felt her body relax against him, her mind whirring with thoughts of him.

The next morning, Rachel woke up feeling refreshed and exhausted at the same time. Was that even possible? Disengaging herself from Finn's grasp, she pulled out and stood at end of the bed looking at her sleeping giant. At this moment he looked like a giant child, since as soon as she had left he had grabbed her pillow and was snuggling against it. He was such a smart guy that seemed to always be getting a raw deal, even by her. Going down to the fitness room, Rachel went to the elliptical and started her run, thinking about what the day held; hopefully getting closer to who killed Sam Evans, and what they were truly wanting with Drake's maps. Looking up she saw Finn enter the fitness room and start a run on a treadmill. She had forgotten the second time she had ever met him was at the end of one of his runs. The smile that crossed her face when she saw him truly made her heart feel light and happy. She hadn't felt that way in a long time and almost didn't recognize it. Finishing her run, she gave Finn a small wave signaling that she was finished with her run and headed upstairs.

After getting cleaned up and changing into a pair navy blue capris with a white cami and red cardigan and white sandals, she went downstairs for a quick breakfast, leaving a note to let Finn know where she was. Fifteen minutes later, Rachel saw Finn walk in looking for her and upon spotting her, smiling his adorable grin, which made her feel like she glowed in happiness. After having their breakfast, Finn and Rachel went to check out and head towards the Children's Museum.

Rachel watched quietly as the buildings of Indianapolis passed, trying to put Finn out of her mind and the map and jewels in the forefront, because that was why they were here.

Then she saw it. A "gerbil tube" was over the street, covered in bright pictures of terra cotta warriors, pirates and dinosaurs, and as they got closer there were dinosaurs breaking out of a building. Rachel couldn't help but not smile as how fun the outside looked, and if it looked like this from the outside, then the inside had to be even better. "Hey Rach, grab my phone and call the Indianapolis Star contact for me please. We're supposed to meet him here, but I think we're early."

Rachel grabbed the phone as Finn pulled into the parking garage, talking to the reporter; Rachel nodded and hung up, waiting for Finn to find a parking spot. When the car was parked, Finn looked at her expectantly, "Well, Mr. Sussman said that he can't meet us for another two hours, so he called ahead and there are two passes for us at visitors' services under his name. He said we may as well enjoy the largest children's museum in the world, that puts Boston's to shame." Rachel smiled and shook her head at the rivalry of everything between Boston and Indianapolis.

"Cool. I get to be a kid again. I wonder if they still have that IndyCar you can sit in. I wonder if I still fit?" Rachel smiled at Finn's child-like enthusiasm as she followed Finn down the ramps to the gerbil tube and walked across the busy street as announcements were made about exhibits and upcoming events. Then Rachel couldn't hold back a giggle as she saw a large Brontosaurus sticking its head through the building and a baby half way through, as they entered the Welcome Area she smiled at seeing the baby peering at the people and the mother trying to keep it back. "Wow, this is new," Rachel heard Finn say softly, wonder in his voice. How cold something so silly be so endearing? She felt him grab her hand and pull her towards the Visitors' Services and ask for their passes.

"Here you go Mr. Hudson, Ms. Berry. I hope you enjoy your time here in Indianapolis and at our museum. If you need _any_ help what so ever, please feel free to ask for _me_, Ilene, Mr. Hudson." Rachel spied how the dark haired, Ilene, kept her eyes solely on Finn and let her fingers stroke his hand, and totally ignoring the fact that Rachel was right next to him. Rachel could feel her teeth clench as Finn seemed oblivious, just nodding his head and looking at the map he was given.

Speaking up, Rachel answered for both of them not even trying to hide her feelings, "Thank you, _Ilene_, but Mr. Hudson's been here before, so I think we won't need any help, but if we do, I'm sure we'll find _someone else_ to help us, okay?" Rachel grabbed Finn's hand protectively and led him away from the desk and to the entrance, all the while Finn kept his nose in the map oblivious as to what had just transpired while Rachel sent the other woman a slight death glare.

As they entered the museum, Rachel couldn't hide her smile as they walked and saw the giant water clock and the giant replica of the Transformers Bumblebee. Finn just looked up in awe and pulled his camera out taking tons of pictures. Sliding up to him, Rachel looked over at Finn asking, "So you like this robot thing?"

"You mean Bumblebee? What boy or man doesn't? He's like the coolest, changing from a Chevy Camero to this badass robot out to protect a kid. This must be part of their Hollywood costume exhibit, oooo they even have costumes from Star Wars, we gotta go see that, come on!" Rachel shook her head as Finn grabbed her hand and dragged her up the ramps to the second floor. Finn was ignoring her request to stop and look at the Chihuly glass sculpture that took up the entire center of the ramps, up all four floors. True artwork in a Children's Museum, Rachel was impressed, but then she was led away to an exhibit on costumes. She was shocked at how excited Finn looked as he exclaimed over the actor and actresses that had actually worn the clothes.

When he actually put on one of the Batman mask from the dress up box, Rachel couldn't help but laugh out loud since the bottom of the mask barely came to his eyes. Then he dragged her to the third floor and the IndyCar, and made her wait in a line behind seven year olds to sit in the car. When it was their turn, Finn grabbed Rachel and placed her on his lap while handing his camera over to a young couple with a baby and had them take a picture of them in the IndyCar. Just as the picture was about to be taken, Finn tickled her sides causing Rachel to laugh. When they got out and looked at the picture, Rachel blushed, because if you didn't know better, you would have sworn she and Finn were a couple the ways her mouth was open in a wide laughing smile, her head thrown back and Finn looking at her with his trademark grin on his face.

Walking around the corner, Rachel's eyes lit up seeing a whole set of miniature rooms and houses. "I thought since I've been dragging you to things that I like, you might like to see something more your cup of tea."

"Oh, I used to have a miniature dollhouse that my dads and I worked on together, but it was nothing like these, with all the details. Thanks for showing me this Finn." Rachel kept staring on the minute details in the houses, including a tiny mouse stealing some bread in the colonial kitchen replica. Finished looking at the replicas Rachel looked at Finn as to where they are going next, "When are we going to go see where the map was stolen from Finn?"

"There's one more exhibit I want to see before we go. It's new and very thought provoking, and I think you might like it." Finn held out his hand for Rachel to take and led her to the down the hall to the exhibit _The Power of Children_. Rachel saw a giant replica oak tree with thousands of slips of papers, and on each slip was a child's handwriting telling how they wanted to make the world a better place. Rachel then saw pictures of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges and Ryan White. She and Finn were silent as they walked through, looking at replicas of what these children went through and how they changed the world. Rachel could empathize with Anne Frank, but the one that seemed to affect her and Finn the most was Ryan White's room. His mother had given the museum everything that was in his room and they made an exact replica, including a fake window showing clips of the hatred that people spewed outside the young boy's window because he had a disease that people didn't understand. She watched Finn look at the toys like GI Joe and matchbox cars, things he would have played with, and then the drum set Ryan had. Ryan White had wanted to be a drummer. "I wanted to be a drummer in a band too." Rachel heard Finn whisper, as he stared at the drums. "How can people be so hateful because someone is different, whether they can control it or not. These three in this exhibit didn't have a choice, but to be brave and fight back in their own way against the bullying, even two of them losing their lives. In high school even thought I was the QB, I got bullied because I was in glee and liked it. I got slushied, I had my letterman's jacket destroyed and was called names because I did something I enjoyed, maybe that's why I turned down that scholarship to IU for music, the bullying had just gotten to me. I don't know…" Rachel could tell that Finn was talking to himself, but she listened, getting more insight into the man Finn Hudson was as a few tears fell down his cheek. Shaking his head, he grabbed Rachel's hand, "There's a lot more exhibit's, but it's time for us to go downstairs and meet Sussman about the map and robbery." Rachel nodded, not wanting to leave the exhibits, and seeing the child-like quality Finn possessed, but knew that they had a reason to be there. He must have seen her frown, because she felt him push her shoulder causing her to look up at him, "Hey, if you're really good during this, I'll take you up to the fourth floor and we can ride the old park Carousel that's up there. I think there's a pink horse up there with your name on it Detective Berry." Rachel couldn't help but smile as he led her down to the exhibit that had contained the Sir Francis Drake map.

**A/N Sorry for the long delay, but I have yet again another new class, and they literally are wearing me out. First and second graders in the same room, holy crap! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Everything that is mentioned about the Indianapolis Children's Museum is actually there except for the Drake map. Everytime I go into Ryan White's bedroom, I cry just like Finn.**


	9. Flirting, Closets and Cars

Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and led her down the ramp to the second floor again and to the exhibit that was taking the other half of the main area, the Treasure's of the Earth exhibit. Walking in they were greeted by terra cotta warriors of China as well as so many other things Finn had only seen in National Geographic specials or magazines. Kids were running around in awe squealing in excitement or staring with slack jaws at different artifacts, but Finn saw what they were looking for, along the back wall, surrounded by a plywood barrier with a door, a police officer standing guard, Gerald Sussman from the Indianapolis Star and another officer standing there talking. Finn looked down at Rachel with a questioning look and she just shrugged and walked towards the two men, a serious demeanor coming over her. Finn followed, amazed at how she can change herself in seconds, going from a happy go-lucky gal having fun in a museum to a serious, by the book detective in seconds. That made her much more loveable.

Finn grabbed his ID out of his bag and threw the lanyard over his neck and grabbed the one he forged for Rachel and handed it to her. It was his turn to shrug when she looked at him questioningly and then at the ID that had a headshot of her from when they were at Princeton and identified her as "Rachel Berry, assistant," but kept walking as she placed it over her neck. Walking up to Gerald Sussman, Finn extended his hand to him and felt the man squeeze his hand a little too tight, an obvious sign of trying to show his superiority. Finn wasn't going to play that game, so he just smiled as introductions were made, "Mr. Sussman, this is my assistant, Rachel Berry. Rachel, Gerald Sussman senior crime reporter for the Indianapolis Star." Finn watched as Rachel took the man's hand and offered a soft greeting to him.

"It's nice to meet both of you. Finn, Rachel this is Sgt. Thomas Lopez of IMPD, he's the beat officer and also happens to be the detective on the case too. In other words, he was doing security for the exhibit when the map was partially snatched." The words, 'partially snatched' caused Rachel and Finn both to look up in confusion. Finn remembered Rachel saying the map had been not been taken from the alert she received.

Before Finn could even say anything, Rachel spoke up, her voice firm but questioning, "What do you mean partially snatched?" Worry was evident in her eyes and Finn instinctually grabbed her hand and squeezed it, causing the other two men to look on in question. Ignoring them, Finn turned to Sgt. Lopez, and was answered with the temporary door opening and those little surgical booties handed to them to put over their shoes.

Walking into the cramped area, it was evident that the display case had been decimated by a crowbar that was lying in the case now. Finn could see chains holding what appeared to be something like plexi-glass in the middle of the case, probably with the map sandwiched between them, and hanging off a jagged piece of broken glass was very old paper, torn in a way that reminded Finn of when he ripped his jeans. "Why does it appear that the map was made out of material and not paper?"

Just then a red haired lady wearing khaki's and a National Geographic button down walked into the already cramped space, "I can answer that for you Mr. Hudson. During that time, a lot of cotton was woven into paper pulp to make it more durable, and for ship maps it make them less likely to be ruined if they got wet. Drake, being a sailor, demanded all of this maps me be made from paper with a high cotton fiber content. And just due its age, it rips rather easily, especially when caught on jagged glass."

"Thank you Mrs…" Finn started but was interrupted by her hand coming out placing it on his arm.

"Miss Debra Lovell, I'm the liason between the museum and National Geographic. My job is to know everything about the artifacts here and to make sure they are protected. After you're done with this, we can meet in the café and we can discuss anymore background information that you need Mr. Hudson." With that Finn watched her walk out, and he would have sworn he heard Rachel's teeth clenching and unclenching. Was Sprout jealous? Nah, probably pissed she was ignored, because in the short, intense time he'd known her Finn knew she liked having the attention on her.

Turning back to the display Finn asked his next question aloud, "Why was the map displayed so the front and back could be seen?" Finn wasn't sure who to ask, so he just put it out there.

"It was because this was one of Drake's personal maps created by his mapmaker, Giovanni Battista Boazio , and there was writing on the back of the map, notes that Boazio and Drake made about the exploration of the west coast, and the museum wanted people to see it."

Finn's siren went off on his head, "Are there pictures of documentation of what was written on the map? Anyway Rachel and I can get copies of it?" Finn not wanting to sound too eager, but it was important to see that writing, and he knew Rachel knew it too since she squeezed his hand.

Finn was about to ask another question when he saw Rachel stand up straighter and look straight at Sgt. Lopez, "Sgt. Lopez can you give a description of who you came up on during the theft of the map?" her voice was clear and strong, almost insistent that the men pay attention to her.

He watched the young detective look sheepishly at Rachel and scratch his ear before answering. Finn may be oblivious to how women feel, but he was an expert on men, being one himself, and he could tell that the Sgt. was attracted to Rachel. Finn didn't like it, at all. "Well Ms. Berry, the subject was about five five and from their body makeup a female. Very curvy silhouette and I don't mean that in a chauvinistic way at all." Finn wanted to laugh aloud how the guy was tripping over his words, but bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from doing so. "She was wearing a black ski style and a paintball mask, obviously to keep shattered glass out of her eyes. Black long sleeved sweatshirt, black leggings and tennis shoes. She had strength the way she swung that twenty pound crow bar there. Hell she was able to crack the plexi-glass that the map was sandwiched nt, and that took some power too. Anyway, when I came up on my rounds she took off, grabbing the map, ripping it in the process. She was fast and knew her escape route; she knew right where she was going."

Finn watched Rachel take every word in, obviously soaking up every word, while Finn had to drop her hand, which he missed instantly to take his Morse Code notes. "Is there anything else Sgt. Lopez?" Rachel asked, taking a step closer to the officer and laying her hand on his arm, a move that Finn didn't exactly like, but kept taking his notes.

"She wasn't on any security video. We have no idea where she came from. Employees check all rooms, closets, bathrooms, exhibits and nooks and cranies before closing, just because children like to try to hide and see if everything comes alive like Night at the Museum. She wasn't in any of those places, and closets that are kept locked are even checked, just in case. It's like she just appeared out of thin air." Sgt. Lopez was obviously perplexed by the thief's magical abilities. "If you don't mind, I need to step out, I can't stand small spaces and this is starting to get me, so excuse me." Finn watched Sgt. Lopez walk out, brushing against Rachel.

Sussman looked at Finn and Rachel, obviously trying to figure out what to say next, "Well, we don't have things like this happen here in Indy, so everyone is perplexed. What Lopez told you is what we know. I will say a Detective Noah Puckerman called in and told us to let you have total access to all the information that IMPD and Indy Star have. IMPD has given the Star copies of everything hoping someone knows something, because this was not a local job, it just doesn't feel it. Anyway, take pictures, have a look around, the only thing is IMPD needs to see the article before you publish to make sure there isn't anything getting leaked. This is normal procedure here in Indianapolis. The police department and the newspaper work hand in hand. They aren't censoring what we put, they're just making sure we don't compromise the case, but in this case, they are giving us carte blanche so I don't see how, anyway, I'm going to step out too. This officer will keep an eye on you while you take pictures and notes." Finn watched Sussman walk out, wondering if the man was a reporter or a police officer, and the officer that had been standing outside made his presence known in the makeshift doorway.

Finn looked at Rachel and she started to look around with her detective's eye and saw her pull a small tape measure out of her huge purse and was taking measurements of the display case and stuff. Finn just kept taking pictures of everything, and fighting the urge to lift the torn map and putting it in his backpack. Finn was surprised that glass was still on the floor by the case. No one had cleaned it up yet. As Finn took pictures of the glass, he noticed something that didn't fit in among the jagged edged glass and plastic, a smooth edged, quarter sized disc of blue outlined in gold. It blended into the dark blue carpeting making it very easy to miss, especially if you didn't know what to look for. Looking at the police officer that was keeping an eagle eye on both Rachel and him, Finn dropped his notebook on the ground and bent down to get it, quickly palming the disk and slid it into the side of his shoe, looking back and noticing the officer looking at Rachel's ass, paying no attention to Finn. As hard as the man was looking at Rachel's assets Finn could have jumped up and down naked and he wouldn't have even noticed. Even though that was a good distraction, Finn didn't like anyone checking Rachel out.

Standing up after concealing the disc, Finn announced rather loudly, "Rach, we're done in here. Let's go meet with Debra down at the food court, maybe she'll give us copies of the notes that were on the map." Ignoring Rachel's looks of confusion, Finn grabbed her by her elbow a little forcefully and guided her out of the makeshift room. Taking off her booties and his and handing them to the officer that was still checking Rachel out, Finn pointed Rachel towards the exit and then leaned over to the shorter officer. "Officer or no officer, if you keep checking out my assistant's ass and licking your lips like you did when we were in there, I will personally knock your ass out and then let her cousin have a shot at you. I may be a reporter, but I can fight, and I don't fight fair, got it." Finn clapped the guy on the back and walked away, giving him one final glare before catching up to Rachel.

"What were you telling the guard back there Finn?" Rachel asked innocently. Finn looked down at her innocent eyes that hid her steely determination.

"Nothing, just thanking him, that's all. Let's hit the food court, shall we?" Finn said as they walked down ramp to the court, not letting Rachel onto what he had really said. He didn't need to hear her get on him how she could fight her own battles.

Entering the café, Finn looked at the choices while Rachel went over to the deli area and selected a salad. Walking over to the grill Finn got himself a huge breaded pork tenderloin sandwich and fries, paying for his meal while Rachel was looking at something in the snack area, Finn found a seat and hoped the Ms. Lovell would meet them soon. Finn had a plan working in his mind, but it depended on what she said and if Rachel didn't think he was totally crazy. As he sat by the windows that looked out onto a garden and a busy street Finn heard the chair scrape, assuming it was Rachel looked up to see the gal from Visitors' Services, Ilene.

"Well hello Mr. Hudson. How has your day been at my museum?" Finn watched her give him a seductive look that made him shudder with disgust. Finn watched her lips as she spoke and thought how they were thin and rather _mean_ looking whilst Rachel had nice plump lips that always seemed to be trying to make a smile, even when she was pissed as hell. He could stare at Rachel's pink lips all day as she talked, and he _really_ could feel them on his even longer. Shaking his head to get that thought out of his head he heard a familiar, "Ah hmmmm." Looking up he saw Rachel standing there with her tray, staring at Ilene, making the other woman visibly shrink into the chair.

"Excuse me, I believe I told you when we came in that if we needed help we would find someone, and it _wasn't_ going to be you. So if you could excuse yourself, I'd like to sit down and have lunch with my partner. Thanks. Bye-bye." Finn watched in awe as Rachel whipped her hair behind her shoulders and gave Ilene a scathing look. A jealous Rachel was a definitely a hot and sexy Rachel. Finn shook his head again getting that thought out of his mind too. Rachel was taking up more of his thoughts than the map and jewel. Sitting down Rachel grabbed something that was hidden behind her salad bowl and handed it to Finn. "I saw this and thought you'd enjoy it. I bought one for myself too." Rachel looked sheepish as a giant green dinosaur cookie appeared in front of Finn. Finn loved these cookies with the frosting that turned your mouth whatever color they were.

"Thanks Sprout. I love these cookies. They've been making these things since I was a kid. Of course I think they might be as big as you Sprout." Finn waggled his eyebrow at her causing her clear silver bell laughter to fill the area.

They enjoyed their lunch talking about everything they had seen in the museum except for the map. They both seemed to be avoiding the subject and just enjoyed each other's company, looking like a young couple having lunch. As they were finishing up, they kept sticking their green tongues out at each other in a very childish manner, Debra Lovell walked up with a large legal sized file and sat down in an empty seat. Finn watches as Rachel magically turned herself from a silly girl sticking her tongue out to a smart professional woman in mere seconds as she turned and greeted Debra and pulled out her notebook. Finn grabbed both trays and took them to the trash to make room for the file, and upon returning heard Rachel and Debra laughing. "Oh I know all about that. Isn't it truly mortifying when it happens, and you just want to die…Oh hello Mr. Hudson. I was just having a fun chat with Rachel. I made copies of the files for you, and as I said, you are to take these to a Detective Puckerman in Boston, but he said you can glean any information you need from them before. "

"Wow, thanks Ms. Lovell. I really appreciate it. May I ask, what's going to happen now that one of the maps from the British Maritime Museum has been stolen and partially destroyed?" Finn was curious because he was for sure it was a national treasure or something.

"Well it was insured for over a million dollars, and I guess the National Geographic Society may not get to use anything else from the museum. I honestly don't know since I don't deal with that part. I will say the Children's Museum has been very upset over this. They've never had anything like this happen in all its years of operations." With that she left, leaving the file on the table, after she left Finn grabbed the one part he really wanted to see, the copy of what was written on the back of the map. It was what was in the letters that they looked at in Quincy. Talking about how the ocean was the key to all. Finn shook hi s head at Rachel. Riddles had never been his strong suit, like ever. Hell the riddles on Buzooka bubble gum used to confuse him. Sitting there sipping on his soda and nibbling on the foot of the dinosaur cookie, Finn watched Rachel go over the files and how her lips would purse up and her nose wrinkle if she was really concentrating on something and how her foot would tap a 2-4 rhythm if she was getting bored or impatient with what she was reading.

"Are you done looking at the file, because I have something I _need_ to show you, plus we need to see where all the cameras are in this place." Finn said in a rushed tone. Rachel raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything except to nod and follow Finn's lead. With the file secure in his backpack, Finn went around with his camera and started taking pictures of where the obvious cameras were while Rachel picked out the hidden ones. They also went into the National Geographic area and took lots of photos of the security and cameras. After they had finished essentially casing the museum, Finn pulled Rachel to the side. "Rach, I'm going to ask you to do something I know you aren't going to want to do, but it's really important. The only thing I ask is that you not hit me when I tell you. Okay?"

"I promise Finn, I will no longer be violent towards you, no matter what." Finn held back a smile as she had lifted her right hand and held up the Girl Scout pledge fingers.

Finn grabbed Rachel's upper arms, just as an insurance policy, and looked her straight into her brown eyes, "Rachel, I need you to flirt with that cop at the exhibit. I need you to find out what the after hour man power is in the museum and around the map area. The only reason I'm asking you to do this is because I noticed he kept checking out your ass while we were left alone in there. I normally would never ask someone to flirt to gain information, but I really need to know, so can you please do this. For us?" Finn gave Rachel his best hound dog eyes because if he didn't get this information, then coming to Indy really wouldn't be for anything.

"Fine Finn. I can flirt for information. I've done it before. You'd be surprised as to how loose a man's lips can become when confronted with a tight shirt, batting eyelashes and pouty lips. Especially cops. Why do you think women get out of some many traffic tickets?" Finn stood there shocked as she tied her camisole to tighten it up and she actually hitched her boobs up to stick out some. Finn was transfixed as she put on some lipgloss and pulled her hair out the ponytail she had it in. "Now go set up near him, but out of sight. I'll make sure we talk loud enough you can hear, alright?" With that Rachel walked away swishing her hips side to side as Finn just watched in amazement. Rushing to the exhibit Finn took up his spot near the plywood and had intended to look very interested in Captain Kidd's treasure. Feeling fingertips brush along his back, Finn glanced to see Rachel walking over to the police officer and starting up a conversation with him.

"Well hello Officer Williams. My boss was wondering for his piece for the Boston Herald what kind of security the museum was using now after the robbery?"

"I can't really tell you miss. That would be breaking protocol and also why would the Boston Herald want to know?"

"Well we had a Drake map stolen also and it was owned by the Adams family, and they would be interested to know what a national museum was doing to protect such wonderful artifacts." Finn watched as Rachel slowly stroked the officer's arm up and down slowly with her fingers. He could feel his fists clench as she did that, but kept saying to himself, "she's just pretending, she's just acting" almost like it was his mantra.

"Well Miss Berry, nothing has been done extra, not even patrol. The museum, insurance and everyone involved felt that everything that could be done had been done, and extra would just be absurd. So everything is the same as before. Nothing has been beefed up. We expected the British government to be in a tizzy over it, but they are still fine with the security measures."

"Oh my, that's so interesting. So I can assume that the museum has the same security protocol most museums have with cameras and security guards?" Rachel was still stroking his arm and leaning into Officer Williams giving him a clear view of her cleavage, giving Finn the urge to punch the guy like he promised. In fact Finn watched as Officer Williams kept looking around nervously, probably for Finn, as he would try to stretch the collar to his white undershirt.

"No, there's only one officer here at night, and they man the central monitors in the security room. They don't need to walk around unless something on the monitors alerts them."

"So no motion detectors or infrared triggers?"

"No, this is a kids' museum, you know how many toys and things fall over. We'd be running out here all the time. By the way, where's your boss? I'd expect him not to let you out of his sight." Finn could hear the nervousness in the man's voice, and couldn't hold back a smirk.

"My boss, Finn Hudson, he's just walking around getting a feel for this wonderful museum and city. Well thanks Officer Williams. I'll make sure I let the Adams know how helpful you've been." Finn watched Rachel walk away and past Finn again, running her fingers along the small of his back sending a shiver up his spine. After a few minutes he walked away and toward one of the family restrooms he had told Rachel to meet him at. Knocking on the door, and hearing her voice he entered and locked the door behind him, seriously praying that no family with a dozen toddlers were going to need it for a few minutes.

Turning toward Rachel, he noticed she had transformed back to her ponytail and normal shirt again. "Nice job Rachel. You got the information I needed."

"And why did you need that information Finn. What are you planning?"

"We're going to steal the remaining part of the map." Finn stated matter of factually as he dug the blue disc he had stashed in his shoe out.

"We're doing what! Are you insane? Never mind I know that answer. Did you forget that I _am_ a police officer and have sworn an oath to uphold the law, whether I'm in Boston or not?" Finn could see the shock in Rachel's face, but he knew they needed the rest of the map.

"Listen, if we don't get it, then the thief will come back for it. I swear. Besides, they _have_ to come back, because they dropped the key to the treasure." Finn held out his palm to Rachel showing her the quarter –sized blue disc.

"That's…that's the Adams' sapphire." He could see the disbelief in her eyes as she stuttered out her response to the disc he held out in his palm.

Holding the gem between his thumb and pointer so that the light would shine through it, "Yep, I found it on the floor among the glass. It blended into the blue carpeting. The only reason I saw it was when my flash went off. This is the key. This is the ocean. Look at how blue, like out on the open ocean, and how it's not perfect, but has slight waves in it. You can see through it because it is so thin, like a sapphire lens."

"How do you know all of this Finn?"

"Because I saw a kid playing with a decoder lens at lunch. He was looking through a special magnifying glass to find something in the comic book he had, and it hit me when we were looking at the pictures of the writing on the back. It wasn't perfect. It was wavy and hard to read, where as the front of the map was very clear with sharp writing and easy to read . So why would a man that was always proud of the maps he made, make things almost illegible on the back, unless it was to hide something." Finn had a smile on his face showing that he was truly proud of himself while Rachel just stared with her mouth slightly open.

"That's brilliant Finn! And in his correspondence with the Adams Drake constantly talked about the ocean and the clue was that the ocean was the key. He told George Adams the sapphire was to remind his son of the ocean. Oh my gosh Finn!" Finn had been sitting on the small bench in the bathroom when Rachel flung herself at him for a huge hug, catching him off guard and sending both of them crashing to the floor.

Laughing as he laid on the floor with Rachel on top of him, Finn looked at her lips and had the sudden urge to kiss them, and as he pulled himself forward to do that, a loud banging on the door broke the trance, "Hey, other people need to use the family restroom."

Grabbing Rachel's hand and making sure that they had everything, especially the sapphire, that he put back in his shoe. Finn opened the door revealing an older lady with a little boy and girl both holding themselves while they did the potty dance. As Finn and Rachel exited the family bathroom, Finn heard the lady mumble, "What is wrong with people today, hogging the family bathroom." Finn looked at the time and saw that the museum was going to be closing soon. Looking at Rachel he leaned over and asked her to go over to the food court and grab a few snacks for while he searched for the perfect hiding spot.

Finn kept looking around at where cameras were and for already locked doors, and found the perfect spot. On the wall beside the Super Croc fossil on the way to the Dinosphere there was a hidden door under a balcony covered with fake foliage. It wasn't in camera sight and the area was relatively quiet, as Rachel came up with Finn's backpack filled with snacks, Rachel watched in awe as Finn pulled a small rolled cloth and revealed a set of lock picks.

"Why do you have a set of lock picks Finn? That's not something a reporter normally keeps on them." Finn could hear the doubt in Rachel's voice, but he just shrugged it off.

"I'm not a normal reporter Rachel. I may be a noob, but I've been around Rachel. Don't worry about it, okay? I know what I'm doing." Finn said as he worked on the lock, and feeling the tumblers move, and the bolt slide allowing them access to the small closet. Grabbing Rachel's hand he slide into the barely opened door and pulled Rachel behind him. Taking a small flashlight out Finn saw different props for the Dinosphere, and since they were slightly dusty, he was pretty sure no one was going to be coming into the closet anytime soon, even to check for mischievous children.

Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of room in the closet and Finn sat down cross-legged and then pulled Rachel into his lap since there wasn't room for her to sit on the floor too. Sitting with her back against his chest and her head stopping right under her chin, gave Finn wafts of the lavender of the hotel shampoo. Finn was still in shock over how well Rachel fit into him. It was like she was the missing piece of him, especially when she was curled up into him the way she was now. It was taking him a lot of self-control and dead mailmen littering the street to keep his body still against her soft warm body sitting on him. He didn't want to piss her off, especially in such a small space, because she could do a lot of damage to him. Listening to the announcement that the museum would be closing in ten minutes, Finn tried to settle down and wait, with a very intoxicating woman sitting on his lap.

Rachel sat in a dark, warm closet, on Finn Hudson's lap. This was something she never would have believed she would do, especially since it was to wait to steal a map. She had saw his smirk as he opened the door and saw the little open space that was available for both of them to sit, because it was only really enough room for Finn to sit and as he did, he felt his strong arm pull her onto his lap. She was not going to be one of those girls that had been flirting with Finn all day, even though he had been oblivious to it, she wasn't going to give him any satisfaction of thinking she was into him. As she felt him try to find a comfortable way to sit cross-legged on the hard floor, Rachel had the luxury of sitting on his soft lap and lean against his broad warm chest. She tucked her head under his chin and allowed his steady breathing to relax her.

"Hey Finn, what time are we going to leave this closet and go get the map?" Rachel asked in a soft whisper, not wanting to be heard by the cleaning crew.

"I figured midnight would be good. I think I heard that the cleaning crew finishes around eleven, so we have a good three hours in this little place. I hope you're not claustrophobic. Just think of this as a really long version of seven minutes in heaven, or not." She felt Finn's warm breath tickle her ear and it sent a sensitive shiver down her spine. Finn must have felt her shiver because his arms came around her in a strong hug as he rested his chin on the top of her head. She relaxed against him and thought about all the things that had happened to them that day. Who knew so many exciting things could happen in a children's museum? Or that there were so many needy women there too? If she was being totally honest with herself, Finn had really shocked her that day. She knew he was smart, but he had come up with the true key and how it was going to be used with the map. He had decided to break the law and steal the remaining bit of the map in hopes of beating the original thief to it, and he kept on him a set of picks for locks. If she didn't know better, she'd almost believe that he was in on the heist since he was the one that found the sapphire and came up with the decoding. Squeezing her eyes shut to get that thought out of her head, Rachel started quietly humming to pass the time.

"I like your voice." Rachel heard in a rough whisper and warm breath breath on her ear.

"Thank you."

"No, I mean I _really_ like your voice. When I heard you singing Peacock in the shower at the motel in Princeton, it just mesmerized me. I don't think I've ever heard anything so beautiful before. You have an incredible voice, even for a sexual song."

Rachel smiled a little at that comment, one for the compliment on how much Finn loved her voice, and secondly for the fact he even knew the song. Feeling mischievous in the nearly black closet sitting on the lap of a sexy man that every woman seemed to be after that day, Rachel turned slightly in Finn's lap to try to at least partially face him.

"Well Finn, I happen to like songs about sex. Don't you?" Rachel couldn't resist running her nail along his exposed arm and felt him shiver and gulp, rather loudly. Laying a finger against his lips, and putting her lips close to his, she let out a soft, "shhhhhhhhhh," letting her breath mingle with his. She had never been so turned on by a man as much as Finn turned her on, and she had never acted so forward either. Jesse never came anywhere close to it. After her first sober kiss with Finn, she was happy to kiss him anytime he offered, even though she knew he wasn't being serious. She wasn't going to be a part of a fling, but she was going to at least enjoy her partner's very capable talents. Was that so wrong?

Keeping her finger on his warm lips, Rachel leaned closer and whispered huskily, "Remember Finn, we have to be very quiet. We don't want anyone discovering us, right?" Rachel felt Finn slightly nod and then felt his tongue try to wet his lips and get her finger instead. That small moist touch of his tongue on her finger sent a jolt through her, making her nerves come alive and her skin supersensitive. Scooting her bottom on his lap to get a better seat and feeling a lump, Rachel blushed knowing what it was, but still turned so she was now facing Finn, with her legs wrapped around his waist. "Finn, it's getting awfully hot in here, can you help me take my sweater off, please?" Rachel asked coyly as she felt Finn grab the sleeves of her sweater and peel them off her arms. Rachel felt Finn's fingers barely ghost over her now exposed skin causing goosebumps to rise on her skin, despite the heat in the small closet.

Rachel was becoming over stimulated by Finn's breath mingling with hers, the touch of his fingers, the feel of his body against hers caused the normally prudish Rachel to start to unravel and become more aggressive. Feeling confidently wicked and seductive Rachel reached out and lightly licked Finn's lips, murmuring against them, "I thought they felt a little dry," and then melded her lips to his in a soft but powerful kiss, feeling him respond to her instantly. When he opened his mouth to her, Rachel plunged her tongue into his mouth and groaned when his teeth scrapped her tongue as she plunged it in and out in a delicious rhythm. She felt his fingers cup her cheek and come so close to their furiously moving lips that Finn's fingers became part of the kiss, adding a whole new dimension to it.

Needing more contact, Rachel grabbed Finn's shirt and sent a silent prayer up for the fact that he was only wearing his normal button down shirt, without a t-shirt under it though. Letting her fingers nimbly work on the buttons and as soon as everyone was free, she pulled his shirttail out and pushed the shirt off of his shoulders exposing his taut muscled chest to her fingers. Rachel felt like she was on fire everytime she touched Finn's skin. The thing was it wasn't a fire that was unpleasant, but one that Rachel needed, a bold fire that she craved, one that consumed her entire being, body and soul. Wanting to feel his chest under her lips, pulling her head away from his and lowered it, licking, nipping and kissing any bit of skin that her mouth came into contact with. She itched to trace the tattoos on his shoulder blades with her tongue but the confining space wasn't going to allow it.

Feeling Finn pull back slightly, she heard him panting and whisper huskily, "God Rach, I need to feel you," as his hands started pulling her cami out of her pants. Nodding as their foreheads touched she lifted her arms allowing him to pull it over her head, leaving her bare-chested in front of him. She felt his lips attack her skin and she bit her lip letting out a stifled moan. His lips were so insistent but soft, making her center flutter in excitement. Then Finn's arms tightened around her waist and hitched her up higher on his abdomen unexpectedly and his tongue darted out wetting her nipple. Biting down to stifle a scream, Rachel felt liquid heat flood her. As he kept assaulting her breast with his lips, tongue and teeth, his other hand kneaded her other breast. Sweat was building up on her skin as Finn's mouth kept her on fire, and she never wanted it to end. As she let her nails scrape his chest and make their way down to his jeans, causing a deep growl to escape, the sound of people talking right outside the closet stopped both of them cold, in fear of being discovered. Rachel listened but the people were speaking a language she had never heard before and had no idea what was being said.

Trying to calm her heavy breathing down Rachel could tell that Finn was doing the same as he listened intently and felt him relax as he somehow realized he knew what the people were saying. Hearing the voices get fainter as the people walked away, she could almost feel Finn smile, "They said that they're happy that they finished cleaning early, because they get to go home now."

"How did you know what they were saying? I didn't recognize the language."

"It's Chin. Had to learn it while I was in the Navy." Rachel wanted to call Finn out on that, because she knew it was a lie, her detective instinct kicking in, but didn't. If he knew Chin, it wasn't her place to question him. He was her partner, but she was still upset that they couldn't continue their heated make out session. Never in a million years would she have thought that she would be sitting in a closet in a closed museum with a sexy man while he lavished her body with his mouth. She'd love to tell all the people that she had a stick up her ass that she could let loose. Look at her now!

She heard the click of Finn's little flashlight and had totally forgotten that she was topless, but didn't die of embarrassment when Finn let out a quiet wolf whistle. "Your boobs feel totally awesome Sprout, but damn, they're even more beautiful to look at," he whispered as he cupped her breast with his free hand and let his thumb ghost over her nipple causing Rachel to arch into his touch, a gasp escaping her mouth. She heard the click of the flashlight as his lips and teeth assaulted her jaw and neck. She was losing herself to his touch, she wanted to let go so bad, to be a free spirit that didn't care what happened, but she was sitting in a cramped closet being pleasantly assaulted by Finn's mouth. Through the fog of lust that had clouded her mind, Rachel remembered why they were even in that closet to begin with.

Gasping to catch her breath she pulled away from him, missing the feeling of him on her, but knew she needed to, "Finn, Finn, stop. Isn't time for us to leave this little cubby and go commit a major crime?" She felt Finn's breathe against her shoulder, trying to compose himself to talk.

"Yea, we need to put ourselves back together. It's should be about midnight now. Let me help you get your shirt back on," and in shock Rachel felt Finn pull her cami over her head and mover her arms through the straps, like a father dressing their toddler. Rachel should have felt indignant, but she didn't, she felt loved and protected, which was not like her.

Wanting to return the gesture, she was disappointed to feel Finn already have his shirt on and buttoned by the time she had put her sweater on. Carefully she stood up, watching where her foot landed, not wanting to hurt anything of Finn's in anyway. Feeling wobbly since she'd been sitting for hours, she stretched as Finn stood and slowly opened the door, peering out from the closet, Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and led her out as he pulled his backpack onto his back. She saw the moonlight highlight Finn's strong features as they walked quietly through the window walled hallway. "Whatever happens, be ready to run towards the stairs and out the door besides the gift shop towards the plaza. That's our way out. If for some reason I don't leave with you, the car is parked on the street with the key under the front driver's tire. Just go and get out of here if anything happens, okay?" Rachel nodded in some shock thinking that nothing would happen, even though they were about to steal an extremely valuable map and put her career in jeopardy.

She watched as Finn kept stealthily walking in front of her, coming to corners and checking for it to be all clear before proceeding. If Rachel hadn't known that he was a reporter, she'd swear he had police training like hers, because every moved he was making screamed law enforcement. As they made their way to the second floor exhibit, she watched Finn pull out surgical gloves and handed her a pair as he put his own pair on. Seeing the question on her face, he looked at her and shrugged, "Swiped them off a cleaning cart this afternoon. Don't want to leave fingerprints do we Detective?" Rachel watched in awe as Finn continued moving toward the plywood room and as they reached the door, she saw him pull out a pocket knife. Opening up the silver blade, she watched him jimmy the simple padlock and open the door. Walking in, she watched Finn carefully pick up the map and roll it up, placing it in the poster holder that held a Star Wars poster he had bought earlier, and placed it in the bottle holder of his backpack when a movement at the door caught both of their eyes. Standing in the door were two figured dressed in black, one was obviously a woman a little taller than Rachel and much more curvy and the other was probably a man a little shorter than Finn, but just as thick and built. They were essentially in a stand-off, neither side willing to move. Rachel watched Finn move slowly towards the plywood wall that she was standing by, and then without warning she felt his backpack get thrust into her hands and Finn go flying into the plywood, knocking it over giving both of them a means of an escape and shocking the two thieves. Instinctually Rachel started racing for the stairs to get downstairs and when she hit them, jumped on the double railing down the middle and slid down as the woman in black chased her. Taking off towards the door Finn had indicated, Rachel felt the cool spring air hit her skin as she kept running, thankful she ran every day. Not looking back, she found the car and the key and threw the bag in the back and put the key in the ignition. As the car roared to life on the quiet street, Rachel started pressing her foot into the gas to be stopped by the passenger seat being flung open and Finn throwing himself into the seat while yelling, "GO! GO! GO!" Not knowing where to go, Rachel took off down the one way street and then saw another car come up behind them. Watching the street and the car in the rearview mirror gaining, Rachel saw Finn grab his bag out of the back of the car and unzip a compartment she didn't know was there. She watched him take him take pieces of something out and put them together quickly, and realized when she saw brass that Finn had put together a gun and was putting the window down and positioning himself out the window to take a shot at the pursuing car. She was in shock as she watched him take aim while hanging out of the car and take three shots, taking out the front passenger tire causing the car to spin out of control. Taking the opening Finn had given her, Rachel sped up and then started zigzagging through the streets of Indianapolis, having no idea where to go.

"I have no idea where I'm going Finn! Tell me what to do!" Rachel was sweating, having never being pursued by anyone before. When she was in training she was the pursuer, and then she knew where she was going.

"Just keep going north but zig zag. Hopefully that'll throw them off of us if they get their car going. Hopefully I put them out of commission for a few." Rachel heard Finn breathing hard as he worked to calm his breathing down.

"Um Finn. The street is closed up here, and so is the side street I'm supposed to turn down, so now what?" Rachel could feel the fear start rising in her as she had no clue what to do.

"Dammit, I forgot the city is doing tons of road construction for the Super Bowl. Just keep moving down free streets and I'll get us figured out. Whatever you do, don't stop." Rachel glanced over at Finn as he started messing with his phone, trying to use his GPS to figure out where they were.

"Finn, you better figure out what to do, like now!" Rachel was screaming now, not able to control herself.

"Holy Shit!" was Finn's only response as they had somehow made it back to the beginning and were driving right towards the two original thieves were standing at the side of the street, with guns drawn, and aimed at their car.

**Finally the pace is picking up and so is the action. Hope you all enjoy. I also had to up the rating to M, because Finn and Rachel just demanded it.**

** :-)**


	10. Engagements, Marriage and Trust

Finn watched as the guns were trained on the car. Scooting over he grabbed the wheel from Rachel and placed his left foot on the gas and gave her his backpack. He saw the fear in her eyes as she looked at him like they were either going to die or he was truly crazy. He couldn't decide between the two. Staying calm, and keeping his voice even and confident, Finn said softly, "Rachel you have to trust me. When I say go, open the door and roll out. Tuck your head down, ball yourself over the bag and roll. I'll have the car slowed down enough for you to be okay. Then run and keep running south no matter what, just don't look back. The bus station is about fifteen blocks away due south. Just keep running like your life depends on it, promise me." Finn could see her slightly nod as he calculated the speed and screamed, "Go!" Finn watched as Rachel rolled out of the moving car and took off running down the street as he steered the car directly at the thieves. Finn needed to make sure that they didn't go after Rachel and scattering them with the car would be the best way. Finn could hear the bullets from their guns pepper the car, pinging the metal. As he stepped on the gas, gunning the engine, Finn opened the door and rolled out of the car in the same way Rachel did, but holding his gun. Taking a couple of shots at his pursuers Finn caused both of them to run away as the car careened toward them, crashing into a light pole causing it to fall over. Hiding his gun in his back waistband and covering it with his jacket, Finn took off running towards the bus station, looking behind him to see if he was being followed, but the car and shots were enough to keep them from following. Finn watched as squad cars with lights on and fire trucks flew down the street, making Finn stop running and walk down the street. He didn't need to draw attention to himself and be questioned by the police about the car crash and gunshots that had just happened. He just needed to get to Rachel before the bus left that she was on.

When he was far enough away from the car and didn't see any more police cars passing him, he took off in a jog to get to the bus station. When he finally got there, he saw several security guards walking the area, as was normal in a bus station and saw Rachel standing at the large windows looking at one bus unloading. He had never been so grateful to see her safe and unscathed, his backpack being held tightly to her chest. Not really caring about her reaction, Finn came up on her and wrapped his arms around her protectively, needing to feel her warmth against him and feel her breathing. He felt her tense up initially and then when she felt his breath on her ear and his reflection in the window, she relaxed, almost like she knew it was him just from the way he breathed.

She turned in his arms and hugged him so tightly; Finn wasn't able to breathe for a second. He felt her hands on his face and running over his chest, back and arms, obviously looking for any injuries. "You're okay. You're safe. Oh God I was so scared that they were going to get you Finn. Don't ever do that again, please." Finn could hear the worry wavering in her voice as she still clung to him.

Grabbing her face he pulling it so that he could look her right in the eye. "I'm fine Rachel. I don't take unnecessary risks. I needed to get you and that package out of the car and safe, and I did. Just believe me when I tell you I know what I'm doing, okay." He watched tears fill her deep brown eyes and he just couldn't help it, he had to reassure her in the one way he knew she would know. Leaning down he pulled her face towards him and let his lips meet hers in a soft, reassuring kiss. He could feel all of her fear through that kiss, and as he was ready to pull away, felt her hands on the back of his neck and pull him down towards her deepening the kiss. Not realizing how much he had needed the kiss as much as she had, he let the kiss deepen, losing all thoughts of what was around them, a noisy, dimly lit bus station. The kiss continued with tongues searching, stroking, hands moving, caressing until Rachel felt the gun resting in Finn's waistband, as well as a loud, "Ahmmmmm" coming from an old curmudgeonly looking mad glaring at them. "Get a room you two," was the last thing the man said before walking away from them.

Pulling back from his mouth, the look in her eyes showed all the questions that she had been keeping, but there was no time to talk about them. Putting his mouth close to her ear, still looking like a young couple running away, Finn whispered, "I'll tell you what you need to know, once we get on the bus, but first you need to tell me where we're going."

"Chicago. I figured we need to head to San Francisco and if those guys are after us we need to keep moving from town to town. We can easily lose them in Chicago if we need to." Finn nodded as he took the backpack from Rachel and hoisted it on his back as he handed her purse over. For some odd reason he had grabbed it before jumping out of the car.

"Greyhound 238 from Indianapolis to Chicago is now boarding in slot 10A. Departure is in fifteen minutes." Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and led her to the bus. As they boarded he saw her wrinkle her nose as they entered the old bus. It smelled of gasoline, mustiness and sweat, an unpleasant combination, but one Finn had become accustomed to in the Navy. He looked at the tickets and saw that they were sitting near the front of the bus, right in view of the video camera. They couldn't sit there and talk without being on tape. Seeing that there were only maybe a dozen more people getting on, Finn leaned out the door and asked the driver if they could sit anywhere. Getting an affirmative answer, Finn grabbed Rachel's hand again and led her to the very back and put her in the seat next to the window. As he sat down Finn carefully pulled the gun from his waistband and stowed it back into his backpack asking, "They did search the bag when you got to the station, right?"

"Yes. Where did you hide the key and your lock picks?"

"Don't worry; if they didn't find it, they aren't going to. I can tell from your eyes that you have a shitload of questions for me."

He watched her nod slowly and looks around to see that no one was really sitting by them. Lowering her voice in a conspiratorial whisper, "How did you get that gun on the plane since you only had one bag and you carried it on? Why do you have lock picks and how do you know how to pick locks? How did you plan an escape plan so quickly? Just who the hell are you Finn Hudson? Being a weapons specialist and rescue swimmer in the Navy didn't teach you all of that!"

Finn felt guilty about not being totally honest with Rachel, "I really am just a reporter Rachel. I just learned a lot of things in the Navy, some legal, some not so legal. You're just getting to see both sides. The only thing I can't tell you about is the gun. I just really can't. I'm so sorry I can't tell you, but you'll just have to trust me Sprout." Finn looked at Rachel, pleading with his eyes for her not to ask any more questions that he couldn't answer.

He watched her turn to him as the Indiana farmland passed behind her in the background as they went up I-65. He could see that she didn't totally believe him and he prayed she would let it go for a few, "Fine Finn. I'm not going to push it, but partners are always honest with each other, and if you want to work with me, then you have to be honest. I am with you. That chase we were just in? That was the first car chase I've ever been in. I went straight from the academy to my position in robbery. I was never a patrol cop. I was scared to death. I've never had anyone shoot at me. I've never had to leap from a moving car! All of this has happened to me in the last two hours and my partner who I have to trust my life with has secrets! I just need to know that you have my back. I need to know I'm safe with you." Finn watched a few tears fall and he fought the urge to pick her up and cradle her, making her feel safe and protected.

Sitting back, Finn debated about telling her everything, because it could cause as much trouble as holding some things back. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't, but he really liked Rachel and he knew deep down that he could trust her with anything. She would never betray his trust, and as he leaned forward to open up, Kid Rock's _American Badass_ came blaring out of her purse. His eyes widening at the song he never would have pegged her for, he watched her pick up her phone and put it on speaker and in a weary voice answered, "Hello Noah. Why are you calling me at almost three in the morning?"

"Why am I calling you at almost three in the morning? Lemme think…Could it be because you're fucking MIA? There I was enjoying a nice beer after a hard day's work, when my uncles, _your _fathers, called me because they hadn't heard from you in a few days, and when I went to your apartment it was empty and dark. No sign of you, but your car was here. When I asked your nosy old fart neighbor, she said you'd been seeing some mysterious guy. "

So again, I ask. Where. The fuck. Are. You?" Finn raised his eyebrows at the anger and concern Puck had.

"Dear cousin, I ran off and eloped with said mysterious man." Finn's eyebrows shot up at Rachel's statement as she looked straight into his eyes as she said it.

"If you went off and married Finn Hudson in Indianapolis, I'm gonna slap you on the back for finally joining the human race and living but then I'm required to shoot him through the eyes since he failed to be a proper dude and ask both your fathers and myself for your hand in marriage. How many times did you state that you'd like your boyfriend to do that like those crappy romantic movies you like so much? What's gotten into you that you're abandoning everything you've always believed in? Seriously Rachel, what the fuck are you and Hudson doing?" Rachel looked at Finn as Finn hit mute on the speaker and covered the mouthpiece.

"Is he reliable? Can we trust him with what we did Sprout?"

"Yes we can Finn. Noah won't betray us." Rachel took mute off and uncovered the mouthpiece,

"First Noah, how did you know I was with Finn Hudson?"

"Because I had Lauren call IMPD and ask if Jewfro was asking questions for the Herald because I wanted them to screw with him for payback for what he did to you, and they said no, it was a man by the name of Finn Hudson and his assistant Rachel Berry that were coming out for the Herald. Imagine my shock to find you changed professions overnight cuz. Anyway, Schuester needed to get a hold of you because Remington wants to chew your ass out again for some unknown reason. I stalled him by reminding him that you're on vacation and can't call you in for anything since you're not on the on-call list, but you better get your ass back here in Boston Rachel. Your job depends on it. You're dads don't even know where you are, and that has them freakin' out."

"I can't Noah. I'm onto something big. I'm gonna solve the Adams' case with Finn's help. You just have to trust me."

"I do trust you, I just don't trust Hudson. Can you tell me where you are and why it sounds like you're on a bus?" Finn watched Rachel look at him for permission, and he nodded slightly giving it to her.

"I'm on a bus heading towards Chicago. Finn and I just procured a map from Indianapolis, and we found the key from some greedy relatives." Rachel was seriously hoping that Noah was picking up on her code, "The relatives are after us and were shooting our ideas down and then they took us for a very fast car ride. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time!" Finn could see the excitement shine in Rachel's eyes as she recounted what had happened just a few hours before in a code that even he could follow. She would never make a very good spy, he thought to himself.

"You procured a map? What they hell Rachel? Don't tell me you're becoming the girl version of me. What the hell has that dumbass Hudson talked you into Rachel? Have you lost your fuckin' mind? And guess what cousin; you're now a real bad relative too. You fuckin' procured something!"

"Noah language. No I haven't and I have total faith in Finn. He would never do anything to put me purposefully in any danger." Rachel looked at him like he was the safest person in the world.

"No but you are now in possession of a family treasure. Do you know what's gonna happen to your career? And did you say the relatives took shots at you? Rachel what in the hell have you gotten yourself into baby cousin?"

"I know I'm right, Noah. We're solving this our way."

Noah sighed at the determined voice of his cousin and decided to address Finn. "Hudson, if anything and I mean anything happens to Rachel, I will take my spring loaded baton and use it on places on you that will make you scream like a girl, and then possibly turn you into one if you get my drift."

Finn did get his drift, and winced, his hand covering his groin automatically.

"Noah, he isn't forcing or doing anything to me. I am my own person, and I have agreed whole heartedly with everything. All I know is they are after us now. We're hoping to lose them in Chicago and make our way to San Francisco."

"Who's covering your back?"

"Finn and I cover each other's back. We're partners."

"I'm not talking about you getting laid Rachel. Who's covering you? Who's got your back?"

"Neither am I Noah. Finn and I are. We've got each other's back, and we're doing an excellent job."

"I'm coming. I can't take Lauren with me, but I'm getting the first flight to Chicago and am going with you. No one shoots at my baby cousin without Puckzilla coming after them. I'll text you when I get there so we can meet and since I know this is on speaker, Hudson, if anything, and I mean _anything_ happens to my Rachel, I will hunt you down and take care of you the Puckerman way."

Finn had listened to the conversation the entire time, in awe at how much Puckerman cared for his cousin. Of course he figured that out the night at the pub, but still, the bravado he had heard that night was replaced by true concern for Rachel. Finn wished he had family to look after him like that. He had Kurt, but Kurt was more likely to verbally tear someone a new one than physically do it, and Finn wasn't close to any of his cousins since they were all on his dad's side and he rarely ever saw them.

"Puckerman, you won't be able to call Rachel after this. I'm gonna drop her phone and get a throw away. Just look for a Chicago area code for the text, it'll be Rachel. I don't want anyone tracking us through her phone or mine."

"Fine. I guess you do have some brains Hudson, just not enough to keep Rachel out of trouble. Take care of her man until I get to you two. She's a very special lady. Love ya Rach, and Hudson, remember what I said." Finn heard the love in Puck's voice as the phone clicked.

"You're ditching my phone?"

"Yes and no. We're ditching the battery. You can keep your phone and everything you have on it, it just isn't going to work. I don't want anyone to be able to hack your phone, and if there is power, there's that possibility." Finn watched Rachel take the back off her phone and pull the battery out and place it in her purse. Finn did the same after texting Kurt, his step-brother.

"Who'd you text?"

"My step brother Kurt. He lives in Chicago and is a souse chef. I'm hoping he lets us crash for a few before we have to hit the road again. As soon as I hear from him, I'm shutting my phone off too. Why don't you get some sleep Sprout? You look exhausted." Finn let his hand brush again her cheek, and felt her nuzzle into his hand. Pulling her towards him, he laid her head down in his lap and had her stretch out on the seats. Taking his denim jacket, he laid it over her and started lightly stroking her hair, fighting the urge to kiss her again. She was so peaceful. They should have been talking about the map and the sapphire, but they both needed to relax and sleep. They still had at least two more hours. Shifting in his seat, trying not to disturb Rachel, Finn let his eyes close as he kept stroking her soft brown hair letting exhaustion take him over too.

Finn woke up to the jolt of the bus pulling into its slot in the bus station. Looking down he saw Rachel securely snuggled in his lap, looking very peaceful for in a very uncomfortable position. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, "Rise and shine Sprout, we're in Chicago, the Windy City." Finn watched as Rachel's eyes fluttered open, revealing her soulful eyes and watched a smile spread over her face.

Sitting up and stretching, she looked at Finn with that same smile and whispered back, "Good morning. So now what are we going to do?"

"Ummm, I think we grab the 'L' and go over to Kurt's, and then we'll get a couple of phones and start looking at our prized poster. Maybe bed Kurt to make us some food too." Finn was stretching and twisting trying to get the kink out of his back. Throwing his backpack on and securing it to his back, he grabbed Rachel's hand and led her off of the bus. Looking around, Rachel pointed to a bodega that was near station and was advertising pay as you go phones. Finn let her take the lead as they walked in and saw the display of phones. He listened to her talk fluently in Spanish asking if the phones were had nationwide coverage and such, when getting the answers, she picked two cheap flip phones and Finn paid for them as they were activated. Grabbing the phones and Rachel, Finn led them towards the "L" and waited.

Finn looked over at Rachel and saw her giddiness, despite the situation they were in, "I've never been to Chicago. This is so exciting. I wish I could really spend time exploring the city instead of hiding from homicidal thieves. By the way, we need to get me a gun. I need to be able to protect both of us, since I am the only one of us that can legally carry and use a gun." Finn just shook his head in amusement and led Rachel onto the train. "Where are we going Finn, I need to text Puck," Rachel asked as she fiddled with her new phone and held it up to Finn's face and snapped a picture, setting it as her wallpaper.

After giving Rachel the address Finn looked over her shoulder at the picture. He couldn't help but chuckle at how he looked, the mouth pursed, like a kiss and his eyes were squinting, probably at Rachel and there was a glint to his eyes. "I look stupid in that picture."

"No you don't. You look like a man in love! Just what we need for our cover!" Rachel said as she kept playing with the phone. Finn about choked when he heard Rachel's second sentence. _A man in love, _Finn wasn't a man in love, no way, especially with Rachel. He just couldn't be. Finn felt a tap on his shoulder bringing him out of his thoughts. Looking at Rachel he saw something glistening in her hand.

"What do you have Sprout?" Finn was almost positive he knew the answer, but needed to hear it.

"Well, after what the man in the station said when we kissed, and what I had told Noah about us eloping, I thought it would be a good cover, so I bought us rings at the bodega, and they're ten karat gold too. So, Finn Hudson, will you do me the favor of being my fake husband?" He couldn't help but smile at the twinkle in her deep eyes and the smile on her lips.

Nodding Finn held out his left ring finger as she slid it on and then kissed the ring and his finger. Feeling a shiver overtake his body at the small touch of Rachel's lips, he returned the favor by slipping her ring that had a design etched in hers. Except instead of kissing her ring and finger, Finn leaned over kissing Rachel's lips tenderly, letting his left hand caress her cheek. Hearing a click, Finn and Rachel both pulled from the kiss and saw an older woman holding Finn's phone and grinning. "I couldn't help it, so I took such a sweet picture and put it on your phone. You two are so in love." The woman giggled as she walked forward to what would be the next stop. Finn looked at the picture and smiled, closing the phone and putting it in his pocket. His heart beating a little bit faster than normal.

Rachel sat there, still stunned by what the lady had said, _You two are so in love_. Rachel Berry was not in love with Finn Hudson. She couldn't be. He was just too much, and now too mysterious. How was he able to check a gun onto a plane? How does he know how to pick locks? Why is he appearing a lot smarter than he did before? And he didn't learn all of this in the Navy, no matter what he said. All of these questions baffled Rachel, but there was still that overwhelming feeling of being protected and safe with him too.

Of course Rachel couldn't really say anything she hadn't always been truthful with Finn and, she had kissed his ring and finger, because she just needed to. She needed to seal their fake marriage with a kiss, and then he had kissed her in the tenderest kiss she had ever experienced, sending a fluttering sensation through her. And now that lady said they looked so in love and had taken a picture of them. Finn hadn't let her see the picture, but she had an idea of what it looked like in her mind.

Rachel felt Finn grab her hand and pull her towards the front of the train. As he neared the doors, the train slowed down and Rachel saw a man holding flowers and had a huge grin on his face, "Finn, what did you tell Kurt when you texted him?"

"I told him that I was bringing my fiancé to meet him, and then we had to go. I guess since we have rings on I'll say it hasn't hit me yet that you're my wife. I just pray he doesn't tell mom. I told him it was a secret and NOT to tell mom about us yet." Letting Finn lead her out of the train, she saw a pale, perfectly coiffed and designer dressed man come running up to them and gave Rachel the lilies as he smacked Finn in the head.

"Finn Hudson, how can you have a fiancé and not tell anyone about it. We didn't even know you were dating anyone. I wish your life wasn't so damned secretive. No give me a hug and introduce me you Neanderthal." Rachel watched in awe as Finn looked embarrassed by his step-brother's admonishment and then gave him a shoulder hug. Rachel watched as Kurt turned towards her and smiled, "I'm so glad though that Finn found someone! After some of the disastrous girlfriends he's had, we didn't think he would ever settle down. He definitely picked a beauty too. You have lovely hair and nice cheek bones. You could use a bit of tweezing to tame your eyebrows, but you have such a Barbra nose that I can forgive you for now, but if you're going to be Kurt Hummel's sister-in-law, then we need to do something about that." Rachel just stood there with the flowers clutched in her arms while Kurt linked his arm with hers and led her to a SUV with Finn following holding both bags and muttering under his breath.

As Kurt opened the door for Rachel, he noticed the sparkle of her ring in the sun. She felt him grab her hand and heard a shrill shriek escape his lips, "Finn! You got married! You just texted me that you had a fiancée, not a wife!"

Rachel tried to pull her hand away from Kurt, be he had it locked into a death grip while Finn turned red and rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous manner, "We literally just got married in Indianapolis, and I'm not used to saying wife yet. Sorry?" Rachel watched Finn turn red as Kurt grabbed his hand too and looked at the rings.

"While they aren't platinum settings and huge karats, they somehow fit Finn and dare I say you too Rachel. I can't say you remind me of an ostentatious type. Anyway, let's get you two to my apartment and clean up. You smell homeless after being on that bus." Rachel's mouth dropped slightly in shock as Kurt admonished them and she secretly sniffed herself, not smelling anything awful. Shaking her head, she slid over in the back seat and buckled as Finn slid in beside her. The rode in silence back to Kurt's condo near Lake Michigan.

Going up to the twelfth floor, Rachel entered an impeccable condo, which was very modern, sleek with hints of Broadway dispersed throughout. It seemed to fit Finn's brother to a T. Rachel sat down on a comfortable sueded couch and relaxed as Kurt went to the kitchen and pulled out several pitchers of what looked like milk, iced tea, and juices. Grabbing glasses she watched him pour a glass of milk and then make two drinks of half iced tea and half juice, shaking them with some ice. He handed Rachel one the iced tea concoctions as she looked at him questioningly, "It's an Arnold Palmer, half unsweetened iced tea, half fresh squeezed lemonade. Enjoy, you look like you need it." Rachel took a sip and relaxed for a second. No one knew they were here except Noah, so they were safe for a few.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she opened her eyes to find Finn standing over her with his milk in his hand, "I'm going to go talk to Kurt and let him know what is going on. Why don't you try to take a little nap or something, okay?" Rachel just nodded and watched Kurt and Finn leave the living room and go into another room, shutting the door behind them. Rachel picked up the latest copy of _Talkin' Broadway_ and started reading, and let herself pretend she was back in the life she had once wanted. As she kept reading she heard Finn and Kurt's voice raise.

"You're what? Finn! Are you frickin' crazy?"

"Shhh, Kurt keep your voice down." Rachel heard their voiced drop again. She wasn't going to eavesdrop even though she really wanted to. She stayed still.

"You have NO clothes Finn? As my brother, you should have learned by now that you should always be prepared for any fashion scenario. Because you're my brother and now I have a sister-in-law, I'm going to go out and buy you two some clothes. Just stay in the condo, and don't let anyone in. Alright?"

Rachel couldn't hear Finn's response, but a minute later watched both men walk out of the room. Rachel quickly buried her nose in magazine again acting like she hadn't heard anything. She watched Kurt grab his jacket he had on earlier and turned to Rachel, "Rachel, my dear new sister, I'm going out to get you and Finn some clothes since you two were in such a hurry to get here. I shouldn't be gone for anymore than an hour or two. Make yourself at home. Finn, behave and think about what I said." With that Kurt left the apartment, locking the bolt leaving Finn and Rachel alone.

Rachel watched Finn go into the kitchen and start pulling things out of the refrigerator mumbling about the selection. She couldn't help but smile at his quiet ranting over there being no junk food. She watched him walk to the couch and hand her a plate with a sandwich. Taking it the plate she gave him a shy, "Thank you."

"Thank me by not telling Kurt we're eating in the living room on his precious couch." Finn took a bite of his sandwich as Rachel did too. They ate their sandwiches in silence and when they had finished, Rachel took the plates back and washed them. When she walked back, Finn had Drake's map on the coffee table and had the sapphire in his hand.

"Are you seeing if you can decode the map?" She watched him nod and then his crooked smile grace his face.

Holding the sapphire up to her eye like a monocle, she looked through it at the wavy writing to see it become clear and sharp. This revealed writing that hadn't been there before, "Along the shore, two large boulders as big as ships lay next to each other. A small opening at its upper most point allowing only one to enter. Behind that opening lays the Spanish rewards." Rachel turned to Finn, amazed that he had found this. "We have the location Finn, we have the location!" She couldn't help herself and launched herself at him, putting him in a bear hug of Rachel Berry proportions. She could feel a chuckle rumble out of his chest, and it sent flutters through her again.

"But Rachel, we have the location, but we still don't know who to get into the cave? That's the part _they_ have. We just know where the treasure is, but we can't get to it."

"Oh, I didn't think about it. So now we have to trap them and bring Sam Evans' murderer to justice. I just wonder which one did it?" Rachel saw Finn look away, like he was hiding something else. "Finn, what do you know. I've seen you enough to know when you're hiding something, so spill."

"It was the woman that killed Sam." Finn looked down not wanting to meet the glare Rachel was giving him.

"And how do you know that?" Rachel quirked her eyebrow at him, wondering what else he was keeping from her.

"James Lucas from the coroner's department called me and told me how he had died, and by the angles and what was used; it was most definitely a woman. They were still trying to figure out what object stabbed him, but it was a thin sharp blade with a rough surface, and by the angles it was someone smaller than Evans."

"So the woman that is now chasing us is the killer? And she's trying to kill us now, just great Finn, just great! Is there anything else I need to know before Noah shows up here? Because when he shows up with his guns, I'm gonna let him at you!" Rachel was screaming at Finn. She was livid with anger. How could he keep things like that from her? They were supposed to be partners. "Do you know another reason why I was made a detective directly out of the academy? Because I don't have the "beat cop sense" I can't feel my way through a situation, but they didn't want to lose me and my ability so they made me a detective. I've never fired my gun outside the gun range. I've never been in any form of a chase. That doesn't happen in robbery. And now I'm getting to do all of this and the person who is supposed to have my back is keeping shit from me! How am I ever supposed to trust you again Finn Hudson?" Rachel was screaming at the tall reporter. He had betrayed her trust, something that she didn't give to easily, and now he was proving that she was right to slap him that afternoon at the Adams'. He was using her. She started to shake in anger, unable to say anything else other than to ball her hands into fists and shake uncontrollably.

That's when she felt to hands capture both side of her face and force her to look up, up into deep whiskey eyes full of regret. She closed her eyes, refusing to look at him. She would not cave to those eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul. She was so angry at him at this moment; she had to keep hold of that anger. Then she felt a whisper of his lips over hers, his breath cooling her hot face. Her eyes snapped open to see his just inches away, searching hers with a pleading look that made a small crack in her anger. She watched with eyes wide open as he came closer again, letting his lips brush against hers, a little more firmer this time before he pulled away, to look into her eyes again. He kept up the pattern until Rachel's eyes and lips gave him permission. She could fee l hot tears pool in her eyes as her mouth opened for Finn's next kiss, and this time he didn't pull back but kept kissing her softly, stroking her just as gently with his tongue. He was treating like she was a fragile crystal, and she wasn't, but the tenderness he treating her with made her feel safe and protected.

She felt him lift her up and lay her down on the couch, covering her body with his as his arms bulged as he kept his weight off of her, never breaking the slow tender kiss he had started. With every move of his lips and tongue, he seemed to wash her anger towards him away. Feeling him pull away, she moaned her disapproval, but quickly groaned in delight as his lips attached her pulse and one of his hands gently pulled her shirt up to stroke the ticklish skin of her stomach. She arched her neck to give him more access as she played with his hair, letting her nails lightly scrap his scalp, making a growl escape deep from his throat. Suddenly she didn't feel his warm lips on her neck anymore and looking to see what happened, she saw him staring at her as her hand still played with the hair at the nape of his neck, his eyes almost sparkling, his lips swollen, his breath coming out in short hot bursts, his hand that had been on her stomach, was resting on the skin of her back, heating her up. "God Sprout, I…" and she never heard what he said for the sound of the front door being busted open, wood flying everywhere.


	11. Sai's, Mariam and Satan

Finn was ready to spill to Rachel about how he felt about her. He needed to let her know that he had true feelings for her, that he wasn't like those jerks from her past. He placed a hand on either side of her face as he stared down into her eyes, willing her to see the seriousness floating in them. "God Sprout, I…"

He paused, trying to get the courage to voice his feelings when all hell broke loose. Kurt's door exploded open, sending wood everywhere. Instinctively, Finn pulled Rachel to him, covering her slight body with his much larger one, protecting her from the flying shards of wood.

Rachel screamed as Finn felt someone with strength rip him from her, throwing him off the couch and up against the sliding doors of the balcony. Before Finn's Navy training could even kick in, an arm was around his neck, the bicep squeezing on his windpipe, constricting his air flow. Finn couldn't even turn around due to the strength his assailant was using against him. Finn gasped for air, but whoever had him wasn't about to let go and he knew it wouldn't be long before he blacked out.

His thoughts went to Rachel, wondering if she was okay but knowing there was no way that was possible if he was being assaulted this way. He struggled against his unknown assailant, calming slightly when he heard her speak.

"Let. Him. Go. Noah! Let Finn go, right now!" She was yelling and it sounded like she was right behind him. He could hear the sound of skin being slapped and wondered if Rachel was actually attempting to free him by slapping the guy to death.

"No way Rachel. He was molesting you! He had his hands all over you. I told him to take care of you and I come up and hear grunts and moans, what the hell was I supposed to do, let it continue? Hell no! He's gonna learn you don't mess with my baby cousin."

It all made sense now. Rachel really _was _slapping his assailant, but only because it was her cousin. He could feel Puck's breath on his ear and his grip around his neck tighten even more with each slap. Everything was becoming blurry and the more Finn tried to pry Puck's arm off his throat, the tighter Puck's grip became. Lake Michigan and the sailboats were becoming blurrier by the second and Puck and Rachel's voices, still in the midst of their argument, became fainter until everything darkened.

Even in his haze of blackness, Rachel's lyrical voice still managed to call to him. "Finn, Finn can you hear me? Finn, wake up." Her voice, which had been soothing, now turned sharper. "Noah, if he doesn't wake up in the next two minutes I'm going to shoot you! Why in the hell did you do that?"

Finn wanted to open his eyes, wanted to see Rachel's face, but it just _hurt_. His neck hurt, his chest hurt, hell everything hurt. Even if he couldn't see her, he could hear Rachel though, and her soft voice whispering to him, urging him to wake up, and he wanted to so badly, but things just hurt too much.

He felt her stroke his hair and forehead softly. For someone that wasn't supposed to have any people skills, she sure knew just how to comfort him. Her warm breath tickled his ear as she whispered words she knew only he would hear and understand. "Jolly Green Giant, I need to see those eyes of yours. Please let me see those beautiful eyes."

He felt her lips touch his ear briefly before she pulled away. Slowly he tried to open his eyes for her, managing to let his eyes to flutter against the light of the setting sun. He groaned as he tried to push himself up onto his elbows. He felt Rachel wrap her arms around him and pull him against her, his head resting on her shoulder.

Finn finally got a look at his assailant, Noah Puckerman, who had two bandages wrapped around both of his upper arms and a pissed off look on his face. The sight of those minor injuries made his blood boil and Finn couldn't hide the anger in his voice. "Why in the hell were you trying to kill me Puckerman?"

"You were molesting Rachel!" Puck's retorted his face scrunched up in anger, as if that answer was enough to commit murder. He eyed Finn's head still resting comfortably on Rachel's chest and shoulders, daring him to try and take a peek down her shirt. Instead, Finn kept his eyes level with Puck's hazel one.

"No he wasn't Noah. We were kissing. That was it," Rachel said, not releasing Finn from her clutches. Her voice was full of aggravation directed towards her cousin, making Finn glad it was aimed at someone else for once. He just leaned his head closer to her neck, taking in her scent, as she started to gently stroke the back of his head, her fingers playing with his hair.

His eyes closing from her movements, Finn managed to ask, "What happened to you anyway? How did you get winged in both arms?"

His eyes flew open at the voice that answered, because it certainly wasn't Puck's. "I did. I got him in both arms with my sai swords. You forget brother that I used to compete in weapons, and the sai's were my specialty. You laughed when I decided to keep those on my hallway wall as decorations, but who's laughing now? This Cro-Magnon let go of you rather quickly after he got nailed in both arms."

Finn smiled at the sound of satisfaction in Kurt's voice. His brother may look like he couldn't even hold those damned swords, but he sure as hell knew how to use them, a fact Finn knew only too well, having been on the inadvertent receiving end of Kurt's sword skills one too many times.

Finn watched Puck shake his head in embarrassment. "First, I get taken out by a Hummel figurine and now my baby cousin keeps giving me death stares. What in the hell have you done to her Hudson? She's already filled me in with everything that has happened back in Boston and in Indianapolis, but what the hell have you gotten her into? While you've been out, she filled me in about the map and the thieves and the chase and the treasure map and the damn sapphire key."

He took a step towards Finn and Rachel on the couch. "Fun time's over. You aren't a detective Hudson, you're a damn reporter. You need to let the professionals like Rachel and me take care of this. _You're just a reporter_." Puck stuck a finger in Finn's face, trying to get his point across.

Finn opened his mouth to respond, but then just shut it. Puckerman was wrong. He was more than just a reporter, but no one would ever know it, and it was best that way. From his perch on Rachel's shoulder, he heard Rachel's soft voice come to his rescue. "I'll have you know Noah, that Finn was in the Navy as a weapons person on a helicopter and a rescue diver, so he is much more than a reporter. So shush."

Finn couldn't hide his smile for Rachel sticking up for him. No one besides his family or his crew on the helicopter had ever stuck up for him. Finn observed Kurt looking on with a sense of pride as Rachel spoke, while Puck's grimace got deeper with each word Rachel uttered. He slowly removed himself from Rachel's arms when he felt her move and reach to grab his backpack.

Still recovering from Puck's greeting, Finn just sat back and let her unroll the map and explain everything to Puck and Kurt. He'd nod at her when she'd look at him for confirmation of what she was saying, but she explained everything perfectly, and added background information that the others didn't know.

When she had finished, Finn watched the expressions on both Puck and Kurt's faces, astonishment appearing. "Finn, I've been your brother for a long time, and I didn't even know you were that smart. Who knew you reading all those comic books in high school would actually come in handy?" Kurt deadpanned as he got up to grab his laptop.

"What are you doing Kurt?" Rachel asked before Finn could retort about the insult to his beloved comic books.

"We're going to plan our way to San Francisco. I figure we can't fly there, so we can map out our way there," Kurt announced, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

Finn frowned as hearing one word he didn't want to. "What do you mean by 'we' Kurt? 'We' means me and Rachel. You aren't coming with Rach and me. You're staying here."

"Oh no I'm not Finn," Kurt said firmly. "Think about it. The two people chasing you don't know me, or Puck for that matter, so we can get around a little easier than you two. You need us, besides, I need to live a little. Ducking knives thrown by angry French chefs is fun, but I need a little more excitement in my life."

Finn shook his head no, knowing his mom and Burt would kill him if anything happened to Kurt. "Finn, I'm an adult and there is no way you are going to stop me. I'm coming with you. Besides, how are you going to stop me? Hmmm?" Kurt cocked on eyebrow, daring him and knowing that Finn hated that particular gesture.

Not moving his eyes from his brother Finn growled out, "Hey Rach, do you still have your handcuffs? I think Kurt wants to see what it's like to be chained to a chair."

"I'm coming," Kurt repeated as he walked towards the kitchen.

Sighing as he sat back, Finn grabbed Kurt's laptop while Rachel sat down beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. Puck kept his distance, but Finn could feel his eyes watching their (mostly his) every movement as he looked on.

"I was thinking Finn; since we are being chased, and they know we are going to San Reyes, why don't we like take a random route, so they can't predict where we'll go next?" Rachel suggested, pointing to something on the screen. "I'm going to be honest, I'd rather meet them at the end and have time to plan than try to stay one step ahead of them and be afraid they may find us."

Puck spoke up before Finn could answer. "Rachel, that'll still be a possibility no matter what you do. You are right though, taking a random route will throw them off our trail, and Hudson here did take precautions for you not to be tracked, so hopefully it'll work."

As the three sat around the computer, talking and arguing about the route, Kurt fixed dinner for them, not knowing when their next home cooked meal would be. Over steaming bowls of pasta, Finn informed Kurt of the plan. "We're grabbing the train to St. Louis, and then from there we can rent a car, but I think we need to keep switching up the way we travel. Does that make sense?"

"Yea, and we are going to switch up the roads and highways, traveling all over the country," Puck added. "The only area we are staying away from is the northern plain states since traveling through them is desolate and we don't need to be totally isolated with killers after us."

Finn sat there and listened as the three bantered back and forth over the total trip, with Kurt interjecting about clothes and Rachel and Puck arguing about logistics. Grabbing his laptop, Finn opened up a secure file marked "Herald Response", and typed in his lengthy password while he kept an eye on Rachel and the other two. As soon the three got into a discussion about something Finn wasn't paying attention to, he quickly typed in several things and waited for a response, which happened only in a few minutes. Reading the response, Finn closed it out and spoke up, getting the trio's attention. "I've got us tickets on Amtrack to St. Louis for tomorrow morning, and then a rental car there. We can drive to Tulsa from St. Louis. When we get to Tulsa we can decide from there how to travel."

Finn watched Kurt scrutinize him closely as he gave them their itinerary. Finn needed to deflect Kurt's scrutiny. "While you three were talking, I just went ahead and booked it. At least I'm getting us there." Finn shrugged and grabbed his and Rachel's bowl and took it to the kitchen, hoping no one was going to ask any more questions. As he turned on the water to wash the bowls, he felt two small arms slip around his waist.

Looking down to see two deep brown eyes staring at him, a question in her eyes. "Hey Sprout, what's up?"

"Besides my partner becoming very quiet and distant. Nothing. What's going on Finn?" Her eyes felt like they were a lie detector and if he lied she would know instantly.

Shaking his head he tried to divert her, but he felt her hand on his cheek, guiding him to face her, "Tell me Finn, what's going on?"

"I'm freaked out! We've been chased, shot at, and now I've been almost choked to death by your cousin. I know you're a cop, but what if I can't protect you. I promised Puck I would take care of you, and I'm not doing that. Puck's right, I'm just a damned reporter. I don't know why I even thought I could solve such a huge crime like this." Finn looked at her, all the worry he'd kept to himself came out in his infamous word vomit.

He felt her squeeze his middle tightly and rest her head against him, "Finn, I had already decided to do this on my own before I met you. You haven't made me do anything I wasn't going to do anyway. Don't blame yourself. You've saved my life. You even figured out the key to Drake's treasure. I would have never have figured it out, and I'm the detective. Don't sell yourself short Finn. You're awesome." Finn could hear the truth in her voice. He had never really felt awesome. Even as the quarterback and lead in his glee club he knew he was good, but still just never felt awesome.

"I'm a screw up Sprout. I screwed up a full ride to IU by joining the Navy. I screwed up my first solo assignment as a reporter and possibly my job now that we are essentially on the run. And I have your cousin ready to rip me to shreds every time I even look at you! Please tell me that I'm not a screw up." Finn looked at Rachel, daring her to contradict him.

He was shocked when her arms snaked around his neck and pulled him down into a sweet kiss, her lips moving lightly against his, compelling him to open his mouth allowing her tongue to move in and stroke his, causing him to groan. Grabbing her hair and tangling his fingers into her hair, he angled her head to deepen the kiss, eliciting a moan from her throat.

Rachel felt butterflies and fireworks surge through her as she and Finn kissed against Kurt's sink. Every kiss was more and more potent, and she never wanted them to end. She wanted to show Finn just how awesome he truly was. Then she heard it, the voice that was like ice water, "Hudson, stop trying to eat my cousin or I'm gonna break your damn jaw! Get off of her!" Rachel felt Puck's hand encircle her arm and pull her roughly from Finn.

She'd had it. She wasn't a baby that needed to be babysat. She was a grown woman. A woman trained in offensive and defensive fighting. Taking hold of Puck's hand, she pushed on his palm putting it at a ninety degree angle to his wrist and kept pushing to backward, causing him to gasp in surprised pain as he let go and started going down on his knees to try to relieve the pain. Rachel kept pushing on his hand and then took her thumb and placed it where his ear and jaw met and pressed on those nerves forcing him to look her in the eye or have more pain inflected on him.

"I am a grown woman Noah. I can take care of myself, despite what you and my fathers think. I will not be treated as a child. The department, you, dad and daddy and even the damn force treats me like I'm a five year old. I'm not! Finn has been the only person to treat me like a real adult that can do things on my own. He has treated me like an equal, like a partner. So you can either shut up and deal with it, or go back home to Boston and keep screwing the woman that took my case. Do you understand me Noah _Miriam _Puckerman?" Rachel could see the tears of pain in Noah's eyes, but she didn't care, she kept the pressure on his wrist. She was tired of being pushed around. She resorted to the one thing from childhood that always pissed Noah off, "Miriam don't you dare say one more derogatory thing about Finn or threaten him in any manner or I will personally take you out. Do you understand me? Plus I'll tell Aunt Jeannie that you and Lauren eat pork on the Sabbath instead of going to temple." Rachel saw the fear cross Noah's eyes at the mention of his mother. Every good Jewish boy was scared to death of his mother, if he was a good Jewish boy, and Noah was despite his apparent badass persona.

"Now I need you to walk back out into the living room and talk to Kurt while Finn and I finish up in here. If you don't and keep pestering Finn and me, I will get Finn's gun and put a shot in each ass cheek for Lauren to take care of . Now be a good boy and leave. You and Kurt can figure out where you are sleeping, because Finn and I are taking the spare bedroom" Rachel looked Noah directly in the eye, daring him to say or do anything, but all she had to do was watch him back out slowly out of the kitchen, not saying anything.

As Noah left, she heard Kurt's high pitched giggled from the other room as Noah must have entered, "_Oh Miriam_, how did a smack down from your little cousin feel. And you called me a Hummel figurine, really Noah _Miriam_ Puckerman. Does your girlfriend know your middle name? Can I tell her, please? Please, oh please?"

"_Shove it _Hummel. My mom swore she was having a girl, so she had a girl's name picked out, but no boy's name and then I appeared with a Puck Jr. between my legs; she gave me the orderlies name Noah, but she liked Mariam so much she kept it as my middle name. And I swear to God if my middle name is leaked I will _personally_ give you the body parts to match your voice, got it?"

Rachel watched Finn's face turn bright red as he tried to keep in his laughter over learning Puck's name. A snort would escape his mouth through the hand he had covering it. Rachel just had to add into Noah's embarrassment even more so she yelled, "Hey Kurt, you know what Miriam means in Hebrew? It means rebellious, and considering Noah, it's the perfect middle name for the _boy_."

"Well Miriam, let's go get things set up for tomorrow morning, shall we?"

"Stop calling me that Hummel. I haven't made fun of your girliness while I've been here, and you parade it around." Rachel could almost hear the steam coming out of her cousin's ears while Kurt teased him, but then Finn put an end to all the teasing the Puck truly deserved.

"Kurt _Elizabeth_ Hummel, be nice to Puck. He does have a gun and can use it." Rachel listened as the banter between Noah and Kurt continue, but at a much quieter level.

Turning back to Finn, who looked extremely impressed, she smiled as he leaned down and whispered, "Wow, who knew you were as much of a badass as your cousin. I have to admit, that was all kinds of hot." Rachel felt Finn nibble on her ear and experimentally traced the shell, causing her to moan and giggle at the same time, until Kurt's doorbell rang, causing them to freeze.

Both of their eyes trained in the direction of the door as they heard Kurt's voice, "Santana Lopez, what on earth are you doing in Chicago? More importantly, what the hell are you doing at my condo? I haven't seen you since high school."

Rachel's froze in fear, because she was known by Santana as Caroline Revere, not Rachel Berry. Not needing to be outed, she placed a finger on her lips and crouched down behind the island just in case Santana came into the kitchen, whispering fiercely to Finn, "You need to get rid of her." She saw Finn nod and then leave to go into the living room to get rid of the Latina.

"Satan, what are you doing here in Chicago?" she heard Finn ask.

"I could ask you the same thing Frankenteen. I just saw you a few days ago serving me my breakfast in Boston. So what are you doing here in Chicago?"

Rachel heard Kurt butt in, "He's visiting me, _his brother_, Santana. What's your excuse? You hated me all through high school."

"I can't visit an old high school friend. DAR sent me here for another fundraiser. I thought I'd try to have you get me a table in your fancy restaurant. I needs me some fancy food and some fancy wine. What do you say Hummel?"

"_Again_, you hated me and bullied me all through high school, so I say no Santana. I'm on vacation and leaving in the morning with Finn. We're having some brotherly bonding time." Rachel could hear the waver in Kurt's voice, and he obviously wasn't the best liar around.

"Really, you two? You two can't decided on anything. You two can't be anymore opposite then chocolate and vanilla. So what are you Lady Lips and you Man Boobs up to?" Rachel could hear the distinct sound of stilettos coming toward the kitchen. Crouching down and going further towards the corner, Rachel hoped that it would stop, because she was small, but not small enough to fit in a cabinet. Then she heard Puck.

"Hey Hummel, you may want to light a candle in your bathroom, I had to take the Brown's to the Super Bowl. Anyway, who's the hottie in this place? I thought you batted for the other team." Rachel didn't even hide her smile as she pictured Noah in his normal sex shark mode. "My name is Puck, but you can call me Puckzilla, sweet thang. What time can I pick you up for dinner, honey? I figure I'll take you some place spicy since you are so hot." Rachel bit her lip to keep from laughing. She could picture the scenario taking place with Puck putting his hands in the arm holes of his wife beater and pulling it to show his nipple rings. He had always thought he was irresistible since high school when he got them pierced.

"Um, I think I need to leave now. Bye Lady Lips, bye Man Boobs. See you at the next reunion." Rachel listened as the stilettos left the apartment and the door shut. She could have sworn she heard a collective breath be let out from the boys. Standing up she walked out into the living room to give her cousin a thumbs up for a job well down, as he just smirked and motioned to his body like he was all that. Rachel just rolled her eyes at his bravado.

"That was a rather unexpected surprise. So what time do we leave in the morning?" Rachel asked, her hands on her hips as she looked at the three men she would be traveling with to San Reyes.

"The train pulls out at four thirty. We need to get there an hour before so leave here at three o'clock." Finn said looking around at the other three.

Rachel clapped her hands gaining their attention, "Good, that means it's time for bed since we have an early start. Kurt, I'm to assume that you have already packed for Finn and I since you bought us clothes. Puck, I know you have a backpack full of clothes, so I think we are all set. Let's get to bed." Rachel said, looking at the boys and ushering them to their rooms, grabbing Finn's hand to lead him to the guest bedroom.

Rachel felt Finn's hand tighten on hers as she closed the door and clicked the lock. As she turned, she licked her suddenly dry lips as Finn stood at the side of the bed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. She had never seen anyone so adorkable with his strong presence and child like demeanor. She had never met someone like him before. Never had anyone really put themselves out there for her and didn't get upset over her diva-esque anger. She started walking towards him as seductively as she could, having never done anything like it before. As she slid her hand up his neck, wanting to bring him down to her and let their lips meet again, only to be met by his cheek as he turned his face away from her whispering softly, "I can't do this Sprout. I just can't do this."

**Huge shout out to Mida212, blameSmelLycat and Gleekky4LC on twitter for helping me out with Puck and his middle name. If you for some odd reason want to follow me or want to help when I need ideas, I'm on twitter kamcoleman. **


	12. Trains, Motels and Taverns

Finn sat across from Puckerman and Rachel in the private compartment on the train heading towards St. Louis. Kurt had left to find the club car and get some breakfast for the group while they all sat in silence watching the Midwestern scenery pass by in the darkness of the early morning. Finn kept glancing over at the two cousins only to receive death glares from Puck and a very sad look from Rachel, her brown eyes having lost that happy light from yesterday. Finn looked down at his wedding band and twisted in around his finger, thinking about the meaning of the ring. Even though they weren't married, but just pretending, Finn felt awful at how he had treated Rachel, even though he knew it was for the best.

_Rachel had jumped on him, kissing him all over. Finn had pulled her away and looked into her eyes telling her that he couldn't sleep with her. It wasn't safe for them to become so close, and when Finn told her that, he watched her eyes become watery, and her face start to screw up in that gawd awful silent sob face. Finn hated that he had done that to her, and as he tried to put his arms around her to hug her, she hit him, as hard as she could, again. It hurt like hell, but he deserved it and knew it. She grabbed her pajama and threw his at him and slammed the door to the bathroom, leaving Finn standing there, holding his pants, wanting to be swallowed up by the floor._

Finn was brought out of his thoughts by Kurt opening the door and holding a basket of food from the club car. Kurt passed out the different foods and then the hot cups of coffee. As he went to hand Rachel a coffee, Finn grabbed his hand and stopped him, "She doesn't like coffee. She likes green tea, sweet. I'll go get it." Finn stood up, groaning a little since nothing was made for a guy that was called the Jolly Green Giant. He could feel Rachel's eyes on his back as he walked down to get her tea. Standing at the bar, Finn ordered the green tea with honey and lemon and waited, tapping his fingers on the bar when he felt _her _come up behind him. Finn turned his head to see her standing there, looking at him with curious eyes.

"What are you doing Finn?" Rachel whispered.

"Getting you a tea, just the way you like it. Sorry I forgot to tell Kurt that you only liked tea, not coffee."

"It's okay, but what are you doing Finn? Why is it at one point you can't seem to keep your hands off of me, and now your pushing me away. Am I not pretty enough? Am I not smart enough? Nice enough?"

"Stop Rach. Just stop. You know that isn't true. I think you're the most beautiful woman there is, and smart? You're a freakin detective for Boston. You're very smart. It's just with the danger that is going on with us trying to solve this case, it's best if we don't get so attached, because when this is done, you'll go back to being a detective, and I'll be a reporter. Period. Here's your tea. I gotta hit the head." Finn walked away, biting his lip to keep tears from appearing in his eyes as he walked away. He felt way too much for Rachel, and that could be too dangerous. He knew it, even if she didn't at this time.

When he finished in the bathroom and opened the door to leave, Finn was met by a fist meeting his jaw and sending him back into the small room. As he looked up after the initial shock, he saw Puck step in and close the door anger flashing in his hazel eyes. Finn already knew why and sighed in defeat, "Just kill me Puck. I know, I've hurt your baby cousin and she's probably crying right now in Kurt's shoulder, but trust me, this is best. I know it's the best."

Finn winced when he heard Puck crack his knuckles loudly, readying himself for another punch, that never came, "Yes, I'm tired of you hurting my cousin. But I understand. There is something more to you then your letting on Hudson, and I'm gonna figure it out, but right now, can you please stop making Rachel cry. It's getting on my nerves, and I've never been able to calm her down. I'm currently having to let your brother do that, since that seems to be more of his expertise."

Finn nodded in agreement, remembering all the times Kurt was the one to settle mom down when Burt said something that would upset her. Kurt was an expert at the female emotional swing. "So are we cool man?"

"We're cool as long as you don't make Rachel cry anymore, or I will personally kill you for her dads, and then dig you back up and go after you again, got it?" With that, Puck opened the door and walked out, not even looking back as he walked back towards their cab. Finn just stood there for a moment and left the bathroom, much to the inquisitive eyes of people waiting. Going back to their compartment, Finn saw Rachel laying down on one of the benches, her eyes closed with sleep, with her head in Kurt's lap as he stroked her hair and a pang of jealously hit Finn, right in the heart. Sitting down next to Puck, Finn saw Kurt give him the brother glare and Puck just grunt at Finn's entrance. Pulling out his backpack from under the booth, Finn pulled the privacy shades and took out the map and key as well as a modern map of the coastline. Motioning to Puck to take a look, the two men were comparing the clues to the map, and then pulling up Google Earth to see pictures of the area, hoping to get an idea of where Drake had hid the jewels.

Puck looked at the Google map and pointed to an outcrop of boulders that had large oak trees growing out of them. "Do you think that could be the area? I mean things would change a lot in over five hundred years, but still, those look like two large boulders that have cracked over time, and maybe where the oaks are had been a hole of some sort? What do you think? The roots would crack the boulders causing that erosion, right?" Finn looked at Puck and nodded, agreeing with his theory.

"Yea, but are there any other places that could have fit the clues. I mean this whole shoreline is nothing but rocky outcrops and boulders, so there might be a couple of other places. I think we need to find those and then we can actually explore them and see which one is Drake's." Finn watched Puck nod in agreement and they continued taking notes on the areas they found plus the coordinates.

As they entered the outskirts of St. Louis, she watched Kurt gently shake Rachel awake. Finn watched as Rachel woke up in her adorable way, stretching and rubbing her eyes, then blinking her large brown eyes as a lyrical hum came from her mouth and a smile appeared. There was that beautiful light in her brown eyes for a second until she saw Finn, and then the light dimmed quickly, which made Finn's heart clench. He had caused the light to leave her, and that made him feel worse, but he knew this was for the best. He couldn't have Rachel getting emotionally involved with him anymore.

When they disembarked, Finn went over to the car rental counter and picked up the car that was under his name. Walking back, he threw the keys at Puck as he started loading everyone's luggage into the back of the SUV that was now their mode of transportation. As they climbed into the SVU, Finn rode shotgun while Rachel and Kurt climbed into the back. As Puck pulled out on the interstate, heading southwest towards Tulsa Oklahoma, Finn filled Kurt and Rachel in on what he and Puck had figured out just by looking at the clues and Google. The miles of flat land passed as the SUV rolled down the highway. The truck was only filled with the sounds of the radio and the occasional sound of Kurt or Rachel quietly singing along. Finn fought the urge to sing along with the perfection that was Rachel's voice, but he refrained and just kept looking at the map in front of him.

As evening wore on, they decided as a group to stop for the night. Finn pointed out a Comfort Inn and as soon as Puck pulled up to the entrance, Finn jumped out and went to get them rooms. As he stood at the counter, waiting for the desk clerk to come, Finn felt a presence behind him, a small presence he had come to know well. "Rachel, what are you doing? I asked you to wait in the truck. I'll get our rooms." Finn couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice.

"I came to help you pay for the rooms. I didn't think it was right for you to have to pay for all of us, so I came to give you money. You know, I'm not sure what is going on with you right now, but you've been act like you have something to hide. _Do_ you have something to hide Finn? You were all over me at Kurt's condo and before then, like the closet, but since you've told me you just_ can't,_" Finn winced as Rachel spit the word out, "you've been very distant, and that just doesn't seem like you. So what's up Finn?"

Finn tried to think of a feasible answer for Rachel when the front desk clerk came up, "Here is your room, special…special two rooms for the price of one. I've already taken care of your payment, so here are your keys Mr. Hudson. This must be Mrs. Hudson. I hope your brother and his partner enjoy their room too." Finn watched Rachel balk and hide her shock when she heard the clerk.

"What did you tell them Finn?" her eyebrows shooting up inquisitively.

"That my new wife and I were taking my brother and his partner to California. That way if they hear fighting, it can just be a lovers' quarrel."

"Are you i_nsane_? Noah will never, ever go with that! Noah and I will take one room, and you and Kurt can take the other. That way no problems." Finn listened hard as Rachel whispered her shock at Finn's explaination.

"Whoa Rach, we have to keep up the story _you started_ with these wedding rings. I mean we just have to go with it. Kurt believes we are married, because we haven't strayed from that little story. Maybe we can even have a little bit of fun tonight? No one seems to be following us, so let's just relax. I mean we've been stressed from everything. You and I need to calm down, and hopefully Puck and Kurt don't try to kill me for hurting you." Finn whispered as they walked out to the truck.

"What are you two love birds talking about? Hey, Lady Lips and I found a karaoke bar next door called Dixie Tavern and they have a karaoke contest going on, so we thought after we settle into the rooms, we could go over and grab some grub, maybe shoot some pool and then my cousin can win us that half a grand karaoke contest, because there is no one in this town that will be able to out sing you right Rachel?" Finn watched Puck be totally oblivious while he talked. Finn grabbed his and Rachel's bags while handing Kurt the key to the room he and Puck would share. As Finn motioned Rachel to follow him to the room he heard Puck, "Hey dude, where are you going with my cousin? We should be sharing with _family_." Finn couldn't hide his smirk as Rachel cleared her throat and explained to Puck why he would be sharing a room with Kurt. After several, "Hell no! I don't think so!" "I'm a sex shark baby, but not that way!" and an "I don't swing that way!" Finn watched as Rachel grabbed her cousin by the ear and dragged him away as Kurt just started putting bags in the room, giving Finn_ the_ look. _The look_ that meant he would be giving Finn a talking too at anytime. Finn wondered when he turned sixteen again since his brother was going to lecture him.

As Finn placed the bags on the bed, he heard his door creak open and knew who it was before the person even spoke a word, "What do _you_ want Kurt?"

"You know you've totally devastated your bride, don't you?" Finn rolled his eye since Kurt was never one to beat around the bush, and was shocked when the smaller man grabbed his chin and forced Finn to look at him. "She was so upset by what you said to her last night that she's done nothing but sob, _snotty sobs_ Finn. I have the crunchy evidence on my sleeve if you'd like to see. I really like Rachel, and I don't know what kind of lover's quarrel you two got into, but she's family now and you need to fix it. Do you understand me Finn Christopher Hudson? Little Miss Rachel is the best thing that has happened to you in a long time. Don't screw it up Finn, I mean it." Finn watched his brother walk out the door, giving him a knowing look as he exited.

Finn sat down, thinking about what Kurt had said about Rachel. She had been the best thing to happen to him since he met her. She pushed him to do better and no one besides his mom had ever done that. When Finn thought about everything, he really did love Rachel. She brought out the best in him, even when she was pissed as hell at him. She made him smile, even when things seemed at their worst. Now Finn had pushed her away, even though he knew it was for the best right now, it hurt him as much it had hurt her. Finn was lost in thought when he heard the door open and saw his "wife" walk in with a smile on her face.

"Well now that I've straightened Noah out, I'm so excited about that karaoke contest tonight. I haven't been able to sing karaoke since college! I wonder what Kurt bought me to wear?" Finn watched as Rachel grabbed her bag and started looking through the clothes that Kurt had purchased for her. Finn couldn't hide the smile as he heard her "oooh and ahhh" over the different clothes that Kurt had picked out. Finn grabbed his bag and pulled out a pair of dark washed jeans and a deep blue button down. Finn heard Rachel squeal and run to the bathroom, clutching fabric in her hand. Obviously, Kurt had picked out something that Rachel liked from the way she squealed. Finn got dressed and sat on the bed, waiting for Rachel to emerge. Finn flipped on the television and found a baseball game to watch as he waited for Rachel. Suddenly he heard a "ta da" come from his right,turning to look, his jaw dropped. Rachel looked stunning. He had never seen anyone look so radiant. She was wearing a shimmering almost nude colored long sleeved deep v dress that hugged her curves with the draping of soft material. It was like her body was covered in glitter and made her skin glow even more. She had curled her hair and applied minimal makeup but seemed to really do up her eyes, making them appear larger and browner, if that was even possible. She even had on these really high gold sandals on that looked like she could fall over at anytime, and made her legs look even longer.

Rachel looked at Finn as he sat on the bed, his hands covering his groin as he had the most awestruck smile on his face. There was a light in his eye, one that she had seen before, one that she enjoyed seeing in his whiskey eyes. Rachel couldn't help but bit her lip in embarrassement as she walked further towards him. "What do you think? I think Kurt has wonderful taste." Rachel spun around on the ball of her foot, giving Finn a view of all her curves and the dress that accentuated them.

"Wow, just of wow. That dress is amazing on you Sprout. I may end up having to fight dudes off of you." Rachel blushed at Finn's compliment, missing the darkening of his eyes as he continued to compliment her.

"Well come on Finn. Let's go relax for a few. I think we all need it." Rachel grabbed Finn's hand and pretended not to notice that it was sweaty. She hid a smile, liking the idea that she made him slightly hot and bothered. Grabbing the clutch that went with the dress, Rachel pulled Finn out of the room to be met by Noah and Kurt standing outside of their room. Noah was wearing his standard uniform of a tank top and an open leather jacket, even though it was like eighty degrees out. Kurt looked like he stepped out of a Vogue magazine, not quiet fitting in with a Comfort Inn and local bar scene, but Rachel figured Kurt was Kurt and would always stick out fabulously. Rachel gripped Finn's hand tighter as she drug him down the stairs and to the street corner. She fought off a giggle when a car that had been stopped, didn't move since the driver was staring at her. She also couldn't hide the smile as Finn flipped him off and motioned for him to shove off. As they crossed the street, Rachel felt like she was the most desirable woman in the world as she heard cars honk and Finn's hand tighten everytime one was heard. When they finally got to the bar, Rachel saw a pub table near stage and immediately grabbed it and sat down as Noah scouted the place out and it looked like Finn was actually casing the place. "Finn, what are you doing?"

She watched him shrug his shoulders, "Just checking the place out, seeing where things were, that's all. How about we get some food and drinks, shall we? I'm starved."

Rachel watched Kurt let out an exasperated sigh, "There is nothing remotely five star on this menu. It's more like Denny's fare instead of Alinea exquisite, but I guess it will do, and at least they have some semi-healthy options. Anyway, I think I'll have a Phil Collins please." Kurt said, giving the waitress his drink order.

"I'll have a Phil Collins too." Rachel gave her order and then felt Finn's hand on her arm.

"Make hers with a half jigger please. My wife's a lightweight. I'll have a black and tan please." Rachel watched the waitress take the order and walk away, to be stopped by Noah and take his order. Noah motioned for Finn to come over to a pool table to play, and she saw Finn look at her for permission. Smiling, she nodded and turned to Kurt as Finn left. The waitress returned with their drinks and took her the food orders from Kurt and Rachel, both ordering for their family member. Rachel sipped her Phil Collins, enjoying the fizzy peach taste, watching Finn out of the corner of her eye. She watched as he and Noah must have come to some understanding, because Noah no longer had the look of murder in his eyes. Finn was smiling and seemed to be joking with him, nudging him in the shoulder every once in a while. Rachel smiled, she liked the two men that were in her life were getting along. Rachel and Kurt talked, Rachel having to come up with a back story of how she and Finn met and fell in love, since Kurt still believed they were married. Luckily, Rachel kept the back story very close to what had actually happened, leaving out the fact that she had slapped Finn several times. Her instincts told her that it was very bad to be on the wrong side of Kurt Hummel. As the evening wore on, Rachel and Kurt kept drinking their Phil Collins while Finn and Noah kept switching between pool and darts. When Finn would lean over the table to take a shot, Rachel would watch the women at the bar look at Finn with hunger in their eyes. She didn't like that, not one bit.

Finally, she had had enough, shaking Kurt's arm, "Kurt, Kurt do you see how those women keep oogling Finn. It's just disgusting. He's mine, and I think they need to know it." Rachel started getting off her stool, before Kurt had a chance to respond, her eyes never leaving Finn. She strutted over to Finn, lucky she kept her balance in the sandals, and started running her fingers along his arms and back. She would have sworn she felt him shiver as she touched him. She watched the other women glare at her, but she didn't care. She was going to be something Rachel Berry had never been before, a seductive, confident vixen. She leaned over, next to Finn and placed a kiss on his ear, and lightly licking it. As she stood up to walk to the other side of the table, she felt a hand on her arm and saw Noah stare at her, "Rachel, what in the hell are you doing? Are you trying to be something you're not?" he hissed at her in a low voice. All Rachel could do was shake her head at her confused cousin and laughed at him. Rachel laughed in the face of her badass cousin.

"No Noah. I'm just showing another side of myself. This is me! And that is my husband, so leave me alone Noah. Go sit with Kurtsie. I can take care of myself Noah." Rachel pushed him away and giggled, turning to see some bleach blond woman snake her hands around Finn's waist. Rachel, even though she wasn't normally a jealous person, grabbed the tramp's arms off of Finn and shoved her away. Finn stood up looking at her, a smirk playing on his lips. For once she didn't back down and stop what she was doing. She was going to let all those women know than Finn was hers, and only hers.

Finn loved her singing, and she was going to show him that he was hers, by song. There happened to be a lull in the karaoke and Rachel took that to use her voice. "Heat" by Mariah Carey was the perfect song, so she used her voice to drown out the talking. She kept strutting and running her hands along Finn's body as she sang, aware of Finn's eyes never leaving her body. As she sang about all the 's wanting what was hers, she pointed at all the girls that had their eyes on Finn. She had never felt so powerful or as wanted before as she sang that song to Finn and all the girls. As the last note left her mouth, she felt Finn grab her and spin her around and have Finn's lips land on hers, immediately opening her lips with his tongue, and plunging it in. Rachel couldn't help but moan as Finn took possession of her again, and she didn't care, until she felt hands on her shoulder, pulling her away from Finn.

Rachel looked up into a rough looking man, with weathered skin and dirty blond hair cut in a Bieber styled hair. His hands were rough on her arm and he pulled her away from Finn. "Hey let me go! I'm here with my husband. Now let me go you Neanderthal." Rachel tried to pull away, but the man's hand just got tighter on her arm.

Then she heard Finn's voice, deep and threatening, "Let go of my wife bud. She came here with me and she's leaving with me." Rachel felt the immediate warmth of Finn's hand on her arm, and where as the man was squeezing roughly, Finn's hand was soft and caressing on her arm. As the man and Finn kept arguing over her head, Rachel's head kept going back and forth and like a tennis match. Finally, she heard Finn's voice take a hard edge, "Let go of Rachel before I make you."

"Oh yea pretty boy. You probably have no idea how to be a man and take a woman like she's meant to be taken." Rachel felt her head spin, as she felt herself be pulled into a hard chest that wasn't Finn's.

"That's it dude. Let her go." Rachel felt Finn's fist go flying over her head and land with a loud crunch on the man's chin. She felt the man let go of her and Finn pull her behind him as Finn landed another punch, not letting the other guy get a punch in. When Rachel finally stepped back and watched as the men traded punches, she saw the dirty blonde's friends start to gang up on Finn.

Finn was going to need help, like now, so Rachel did the only things he could think of, "PUCK, BAR BRAWL!" Rachel screamed, hoping her cousin heard her, and sure enough, Noah came running, landing a swinging punch on one of the guys. Even as a police officer, Noah loved a good bar fight, whether he was in it or breaking it up.

Rachel crouched down and started crawling out from all the men that were fighting until she heard a distinct drawl, and looked at the bleach blonde from earlier. "Well well well, if it isn't the little brown haired hussy from earlier. Wish you knew how to keep your hands to yourself. _ I_ had my eye on that tall, dark and handsome before you jumped in." Rachel felt her hair being pulled up, bringing tears to her eyes.

Rachel wasn't going to take anyone talking to her like that, "You mean when you were pawing all over _my husband! _I think I had every right to stake my claim so why don't you limp out of here!" With that Rachel brought her stiletto heel down on the arch of the woman's sandaled foot, drawing a cry in pain and a release of her hair. Seeing Kurt, Rachel ran towards him holding out her hand. She felt him grab it and pull her towards the exit. When they finally made it outside they didn't slow down but went straight towards the hotel and to their rooms. Rachel locked the door and fell down on the bed. Laying there, breathing heavily, she started to laugh hysterically. Never, in all her days would anyone that knew Rachel Barbra Berry would believe that she started a bar brawl. Her laughter filled the room as tears sprung to her eyes in mirth. It was just too funny. Then she heard banging on the door. Still laughing she opened the door, not taking any precautions, to be met by the deep blue of Finn's shirt and the smell of alcohol emanating from the shirt. Rachel look up to see a cut above Finn's eye and his mouth set in a grim line. Her laughing immediately stopped, realizing he was extremely mad at her for starting the whole fight. As she opened her mouth to speak, he felt his lips captures hers in an angry kiss that left her breathless and swollen. Pulling back she saw the darkness of his eyes, and expecting to see anger, but she saw something else, something she couldn't place.

Laying her hand on his arm, she opened her mouth to apologize only to be met my Finn's lips and tongue again, this time hearing a growl escape his throat. That single growl created a wetness of want in Rachel that she had never experienced before. It was like that deep growl cracked something in Rachel's wall, because she started kissing Finn back with as much anger and passion as he had been kissing her. Their tongues dueled as they moved through the room, knocking the bible, glasses and ice bucket off of the dresser and bumping into their bags. When Rachel felt the coolness of the mirror on her back she opened her eyes to see Finn pull away, his chest moving up and down rapidly, and then she felt his warm breath on her ear as he leaned forward and whispered in a gravelly voice, "I have never seen anyone as hot as you. And then you sang that song. I wanted to pull into the bathroom and fuck you right there, but you kept teasing me, _wife. _Then that asshole had to grab you and I _had_ to protect your honor, all the while I was picturing me having you against the wall. Gawd, do you know how much I've wanted you and have had to fight it. I can't fight it anymore, but if you tell me no, then I'll stop, but please, tell me you want me as much as I want you Sprout." Rachel waited for Finn to attack her with his lips again, but was surprised to see him looking at her, _the_ question in his eyes.

Rachel's voice was raspy to her own ears and sounded like it came deep from her throat, "Yes Finn. Yes I don't want you, I _need_ you." Rachel grabbed one of his large hands and pulled it to her, as her dress rode up and let him feel the wetness seeping through the bit of silk that covered her. She heard him groan as his fingers moved against her panties, feeling the wetness, rubbing her through that tiny bit of silk, and then moving it to the side so his finger could feel her. Rachel bit her lip as she felt Finn's hot breath on her neck as he sucked and nipped on her and his large finger playing with her small electrified bundle of nerves. Rachel gasped as the warm pleasure coursed through her, making her lightheaded. She needed to feel Finn's warm skin against hers, and the starched material of his shirt was preventing that. Grabbing the shirt she pulled it apart, the buttons scattering, but revealing his warm toned chest. She needed feeling of him against her. His lips just weren't enough.

Through the lustful drunkenness that took her over, she could hear Finn's voice, low and wanting, "This dress, it did all kinds of things to me when I saw you in it, but now Sprout, I just need you out of it." Rachel nodded her agreement and helped Finn pull the fitted dress over her head, revealing an almost naked Rachel to Finn. "My gawd Sprout, you're even more gorgeous then I ever expected. How am I so to lucky to have met you?" Rachel felt Finn's hands everywhere while the continued to whisper against her skin, heating her up even more.

Finding her voice, Rachel didn't recognize the lustful voice that came out of her mouth, "I need you now Finn. Fuck me Finn, just fuck me." Rachel heard Finn groan as her fingers started undoing his belt and fly, pushing down his pants and underwear, revealing him to her eyes for a second time. Instinctually, Rachel pulled up on his shoulders, wrapping her legs around him as he positioned himself at her apex. As he slowly moved into her, Rachel felt her walls envelope him she cried out in pleasure. As he started moving in and out, Rachel felt a warm fluttering take over her body, a drunken feeling in her head, and as his thrusts became faster and deeper, Rachel felt like her head was going to explode. As the explosion took off through her, she clenched Finn to her and screamed, only to be silenced by his mouth on her.

She felt Finn keep thrust and then felt him erupt, a warm feeling washing over her again. Hot, sweaty and never breaking their contact, she felt Finn walk them over to the bed and placed her softly on the comforter, putting kisses up and down her neck. When she looked up at him as he hovered over her, his chest covered in sweat, red streaks from her nails adorning him, Rachel smiled. "That was…" Rachel couldn't think of any word to describe what had just happened.

Rachel felt Finn nuzzle her neck as he pulled a blanket up over their cooled off bodies and heard him whisper, "That's the way to consummate a marriage, wife," as she snuggled into him, pulling his arms around her and falling into a deep sleep.


	13. Real and Fake

Finn felt her warm honey skin against his, and he knew this was all he had ever wanted, needed. To wake up to the love of his life and know he would be spending the rest of his life with her. He watched her silently as she slept, loving the way her eyes were fluttering due to some dream and wanting to kiss the small smile on her lips. Tentatively he took his finger tip and just played with the wisps of hair that floated around her head, in disbelief at how soft and silky her hair was to the touch. If he could, Finn would lay Rachel on top of him, her hair draping over both of them in a silken curtain. Almost as if on cue, Rachel moved from her side to her stomach, her hair draping over her naked back, hiding the side of her perfect breast. Finn continued to drink in her beauty like it was water needed for life. Even with all her faults, Rachel was still almost as perfect of a person as Finn had ever met. In his life and career, he had met quite a few people, some who thought they were perfect and others that were nowhere close but he could honestly say they paled in comparison to Rachel.

He rolled onto his back and placed his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't stupid; he knew that the insane jealousy he'd experienced last night had played such a huge role in him getting the best fuck he'd ever had. And despite the fact they had called each other husband and wife, in reality they weren't. Last night was simply a passionate, angry, jealous fuck laying claim to each other. Now that Finn had that out of the way with Rachel, he wanted to make love to her, slow and sweet, but he knew that it wasn't going to happen. As usual, he'd let his emotions take over and now everything was messed up because of it. Finn shook his head, trying to clear it of all the thoughts running through his muddled mind, and as he did, he listened to her adorable deep breathing. It was almost a lyrical sound that she made as she slept so peacefully. He'd just started to drift to sleep again to the sound of Rachel's delicate breathing, when he heard the lock of his room pop open and the door come flying open.

It was déjà vu, since he was unable to sit up due to the fact that his windpipe was being squeezed again as another hand squeezed his nuts. "I fuckin' told you to leave my baby cousin alone and you fuck her! I can't even trust you Hudson!" If Finn could have, he would have rolled his eyes, but due to lack of oxygen, his eyes were already rolling backwards in his head.

Then he heard the click of his gun and a sleepy but angry voice fill the room, "Noah Miriam Puckerman, if you don't get off of Finn right now, I will pull the trigger and not care what I have to tell your mother about your demise. Now get off of my husband!" Finn felt the pressure lessen on his throat, but not before he felt a tighter squeeze and a torturous twist to his nuts, causing him to double over in pain.

He looked up with tears in his eyes just in time to see Puck point his finger at him and say, "Remember that the next time you think it's okay to diddle my cousin. Got it Hudson? And stop being a pussy, Hudson."

Finn watched Puck sit down in one of the chairs on the other side of the room, his leg bouncing in agitation. He felt a small soothing hand on his back and turned his head to see Rachel looking at him, her eyes filled with worry as he continued to lay there in the fetal position, pain racing through his body. God, why did getting nailed in the nuts have to hurt so badly?

"Rachel, cover up your tits. I'm a boob man, but I_ don't_ wanna see yours, so cover 'em up, will ya?" Finn let out a high pitched groan when he heard Puck's voice.

"If you hadn't broken into our hotel room and assaulted Finn, you wouldn't be seeing my breasts, now would you Noah? Why don't you go back next door and get ready to leave while I take care of Finn?" Finn saw the anger flashing in Rachel's eyes as she spoke to her cousin. It was evident that she was pissed. Finn didn't think it could get any pissier in the room, but then Kurt came stalking in, fire in his eyes. All Finn could do was roll onto his back, keeping his knees bent as Rachel threw the blanket over him.

"Can someone please explain to me why, when I woke up this morning, I found my wallet open and my AMEX Black card missing? Can anyone give me a logical explanation as to why my baby is missing?" Finn could picture the ice blue eyes staring at the only person that would have it, Puck, all the while he talked. "Rachel, why am I seeing your lady bits? Cover up. And Finn, why in the hell are you clutching yourself? Did Rachel knock you in your nuts?"

Before Finn could answer, he heard Rachel. "No. My asshole over-protective cousin decided he would barge in and tried to prevent you from ever becoming an uncle, hence the reason Finn is clutching himself in pain."

"Finn, why in the hell did you open the door naked? And adjust that blanket. I can see thing I _don't_ want to see."

Finn started to speak, but still feeling the pain in his groin let a squeak out instead of his usual voice. Clearing his throat, he tried again relieved when heard a more normal tone. "I didn't. Puck popped the lock and barged into the room. I didn't have a chance to defend myself."

Puck looked proud of himself as everyone turned to look at him. "I was stealth, man. Hudson never saw it coming."

"By the way Noah, how did you pop the lock on our room? Finn has a lock picking set, but that's still in his bag, plus for someone so criminally minded, you never did get the hang of picking locks, so how did you get in here?" Rachel's eyebrows went up as high as they could go, looking at her Mohawked cousin expectantly, along with Kurt.

Pulling something out of his pocket, Puck flashed a shiny black credit card as he grinned. "I did it the old fashioned way. I popped the lock with a credit card."

Everyone jumped when a high pitched scream came from Kurt as he threw himself at Puck, hitting him with all his strength. Knowing how Kurt felt about his beloved card, Finn jumped up, instantly feeling the last remnants of pain remaining in his groin and pulled his brother off of the now cowering man as Kurt kept hitting away, even when the punches weren't landing.

"Kurt. Kurt, stop it dude. You aren't landing anymore of them. I've got you." Finn stated, hoping to calm his brother down.

"Yes you do and you're naked against me," Kurt responded, a look of disgust on his face. Finn, remembering this too late, released Kurt, backing up towards the bed as he attempted to cover himself with his hands. "That's better. Now cover up Finn. Puck, hand over my very prized and dear to my heart, AMEX Black. _Now."_

Finn sat down on the bed, covering himself up again, watching as Puck placed the shiny black card in Kurt's outstretched hand and gingerly rubbed the spots where Kurt had hit him as Kurt waved the card in his face repeatedly. "Do you know how hard I had to work to get this card Puck? Do you? I think they vet everyone that applies for this card. I'm pretty sure they interviewed my family and co-workers to see if I was worthy of having it, and you just nonchalantly take it out of my wallet and use it to pop a lock. Are you friggin' insane?"

"Um hmmm."

Everyone looked at the new voice, to see the hotel manager, in his company blazer and brass nameplate, his bald head shining in the hallway light as he stood in the open door staring at the scene in front of him. Finn had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the thought of the picture; two naked people in bed, a Mohawked man looking ashamed on the chair and a rather flamboyant man holding out his hand, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"I'm sorry to bother you folks, but we had several complaints of yelling and a possible fight taking place in this room. It doesn't look like a fight took place other than the knocked over glasses and bucket, so I'm not going to do anything, but ask you nicely to keep it down, please." Finn saw the man's bald head turn red as he talked, clearly embarrassed by the scene in front of them, but then busted out laughing when he saw what Kurt did to Puck next.

Kurt walked over and grabbed Puck by the hand and pulled him up, leading him towards the door. Then he turned, grabbed the back of Puck's head and kissed him long and hard on the lips before saying, "Honey, I'm sorry we fought. It's not important who the dominant is and who is the submissive, as long as we love each other, that's all that matters."

A wide-eyed Puck had no chance to react before Kurt dragged him through the door and right by the manager. Finn couldn't hold in his belly laugh as the manager's eyes got huge and he mumbled some excuse and left quickly, closing the door.

As soon as the door closed, Rachel joined in the laughing at what had just happened to her cousin. "Oh wow. I've never seen Noah look so mortified. That was so priceless. Your brother is totally awesome."

Rachel rolled over uncovering herself and placed her lips right next his ear, "Why don't I look at where Noah hurt you? I bet I can make it better." Her sultry voice sent a shiver down his spine, and as much as he wanted her to touch him there, he didn't dare. Puck had already tried to kill him twice, and third time was a charm.

"As much as I want to say yes, I can't have you doing that Sprout. You're cousin will eventually succeed in killing me if we keep doing anything physical."

"Finn Hudson, are you saying that you don't want to be with me? Wasn't last night good?" Finn could hear the tears in her voice, her confidence waving.

"God Sprout, last night was the best I'd ever had, but despite wanting to taste you, and make love to you all night, your crazy ass cousin scares me, _a lot_, and I've jumped out of helicopters on purpose. I'm sorry Rachel, but I don't know how to make us work." Finn was motioning between the two of them watching Rachel intently as he talked. The blanket had slipped, exposing her to his eyes, and he fought the urge to push her back into the mattress and relish her body again, but his phone ringing stopped that thought.

Looking at Rachel curiously, Finn answered the phone, it was Puck. "Dude, grab your stuff. We gotta move. Lover boy and I were downstairs when two people walked in, both packing, concealed, and when one caught sight of Kurt, started coming towards us. I think your shooters have found us. Meet you at the SUV."

Rachel must have overheard Puck because she was grabbing the clothes they had discarded last night and shoved them into a bag. "We'll have to clean up on the road, let's go. Here's some jeans and t-shirt. Move. Move. Move Finn." Finn felt a pair of jeans hit him and a t-shirt. Putting them on, Finn hopped around putting his shoes on as they ran out and down to the SUV. Finn threw the bag in the back as Rachel opened both doors. As Finn started to get in, he saw the two people Puck had seen, and the bad thing was they had seen them.

Slamming his door, he hit the dashboard, "Go Puck. Move now." He turned to see the two pull their guns and point it at the SUV as Puck started swerving and turning, hoping that the two wouldn't catch up to them. Finn watched as the two shooters ran for their car. "Shit. How did they find us? It's not like Tulsa is on the normal path to San Francisco. How in the hell did they find us? Rachel, you haven't put the battery back in your phone, have you?"

"No Finn. I know better. Kurt, Puck have either of you used your phones?"

Puck shook his head while he kept his eyes on the road and Finn kept looking back, seeing more distance put between them and the sedan that carried the shooters. Kurt didn't answer though and Finn saw Kurt kept looking down at his lap. Finn knew that look and repeated the question, "Kurt, did you call anyone while we were in Tulsa?"

"Um, maybe Carole and Dad just to let her know that I was taking a vacation. I didn't tell her where or anything or that I was even with you. I just told her I was taking a much needed vacation." Finn could hear the "I'm sorry" tone in Kurt's voice and the sheepishness as he kept his eyes locked on the floorboard, but that didn't excuse him from not following an important order.

"Crap. But how would they know that we're in Tulsa or that you were with me Kurt? Who are these people?" Finn banged his hand on the dashboard in frustration as they headed towards Four Corners. It was touristy and in the middle of the Navajo reservation and Finn and Puck had decided that it would be best to go into a place like that they would blend in and not draw attention to themselves and hopefully it was off the track enough that their pursuers would not figure it out. It was going to be a long drive. Finn held out his hand for Kurt's phone, and felt the small electronic placed in his hand. Bringing it to the front, Finn unlocked it and made sure everything was on the SD card and then threw the battery out the window, followed by the phone itself. A sharp gasp came from behind him, but he ignored it and handed Kurt his SD card, before settling in his seat and stared at the hard scarred landscape deep in thought.

Suddenly, Puck stopped the car at the side of the highway and announced, "I gotta piss. Come on Hudson." Finn just looked at Puck and saw the "_don't screw with me,"_ look in his eye, opened the door and waited for Puck to come around and started following him. He walked behind a small pile of rocks, knowing Puck had more than urinating on his mind. Sure enough, as soon as they were out of sight of the car, Puck grabbed Finn by the shirt and hissed, "You better tell me what the fuck is going on Hudson. You are more than a damn dumb reporter. So you better fess up to me now or I'll leave your fuckin' ass out here for the damn coyotes."

Finn crossed his arms after Puck released him and just stared at the Mohawked detective hard, debating what he should do. He couldn't just come out with it, that would be dangerously wrong, but maybe he could find out why Puck was so suspicious. Finn looked directly into Puck's eyes and hoped he gave off an air of indifference, "And why do you think I'm more than just a "damn dumb reporter"?"

"First, you know why too much about cell phones and tracking. More than the average user would know. You have an air marshal's gun that can easily be snuck onto a plane, which you have and the only way you can get those is through Homeland Security. You can pick locks. You have a highly secured and encrypted program on your laptop, which is military grade. You know more about evading than I do, and you're always casing every place we go to, checking for outs. Those are things a reporter doesn't do, so spill Hudson."

"I can't, but you're right. I'm more than just a reporter, but no one, and I mean _no one_ knows about it, not even my brother. So keep it to yourself, do you understand? If it came out that I'm more than what I am, then we all will be in more danger. So you're gonna have to keep it to yourself, or you'll find yourself not remembering things, got it?" Finn's eyebrow quirked up as he gave out his threat. He didn't like having to rely on Puck keeping his secret, but he was going to have to now.

Walking back around the rock pile, both men walked back towards the sedan, neither saying anything. As Finn opened the door, he was greeted by Kurt's sarcastic tone, "So who won the pissing contest?"

"Shut up Kurt, if you had actually listened to me for once, we wouldn't be in this mess right now. Believe it or not Kurt, I do actually know what I'm talking about, so just shut up and sit back!" Finn heard his brother gasp in shock, but didn't care at that moment.

As Puck pulled back onto the highway, Finn grabbed the map and key and started going over the clues left on the back again. Out of curiosity, Finn put the sapphire to his eye and started just looking over the entire map, including the front, since all they had looked at before were the notes on the back.

Finn scanned the front slowly, when a new image appeared, showing him something he would never expect. Pulling the sapphire from his eye he put it securely away followed by the map. Finn kept his actions calm and normal, hiding the shock he was feeling. He would tell Rachel about what he discovered tonight, when they were alone. When his backpack was safely stowed between his feet on the floorboard, he started staring out at the barren landscape, deep in thought over what to do next.

Rachel watched Finn stare hard at the landscape, obviously deep in thought over what had happened, the crease above his eyes evidence of this. Rachel held back the urge to take her thumb and rub the worry away, so she kept her hands in her lap and just stared out the window too, at the tan almost alien looking landscape that passed them. Every once in awhile a red stone outcrop dotted the landscape, some she recognized from movies and television. Occasionally, she would see small houses or mobile homes dotting the landscape. It was such a desolate place. Lonely. How Rachel had been all of her life, even though she had been surrounded by family and a few friends, she had always been lonely, and it made her feel unwanted. Sure Noah and her dads loved her. Her aunt and cousins loved her, but no one had ever really been there for her.

Then she had met Finn. Finn, who had actually listened to her instead of pretending to listen. Finn, who defended her and protected her from herself and others. He was just so different. And he kept pulling and pushing her emotionally and physically, but she just kept gravitating towards him. It was like he had a pull on her, a string that kept them together. Even when she was drunk she knew he would be there for her. She could feel him when she was being kissed by the Princeton frat boy, staring at her, jealousy emitting off of him. She had to admit it felt good in a sick, twisted type of way. His kisses were additive, and after last night, Finn was more addictive than Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. Barbra's voice always enveloped her soul, and now Finn seemed to be doing the same thing, taking over her soul, but in a way that everything seemed new and wonderful.

Rachel kept staring at Finn and the landscape. Finn was a lot like this barren landscape. Both of them, in appearance, were hard and very open too, what you see is what you get. But underneath, underneath there is this mysterious treasure that can only be attained through getting to know them. The landscape hid the treasures of ancient people and valuable minerals and metals, and when you got to know the land, the cracks, crevices, mountains, flora and fauna; it would reveal its treasure.

The same with Finn, he appeared to be this large, simple reporter, but as you got to know him, and earn his trust, he start to let things out, but just like the landscape, he still holds onto the deep secrets, only allowing those that truly deserve them to have access to the secrets. Rachel was hoping that Finn would trust her enough to do that, but she hadn't really earned his trust with all the times she had yelled and slapped him. She wanted desperately though for him to trust her, and after last night, she was hoping that he would slowly trust her and let some of his secrets out.

As they pulled up to one of the very few motels near Four Corners, Rachel watched Finn with a renewed interest. Again he was the one that went in and checked the foursome in and after they had put their things in their room, Rachel observed Finn walk out and down the stairs towards the edge of the property. She watched him look around and jog towards a crop of mesquite trees and hide himself from the motel. Rachel sneaked down and made her way towards the mesquite trees. She heard him talking on a cell phone, a cell phone that wasn't his throw away phone that they had bought at the bodega.

She heard him in a low tone, "Yes sir. No, no one is aware of what I am doing exactly. They all believe that I am trying to solve this case…Yes; somehow Santana and Azmio found us in Tulsa and chased us again. Noah Puckerman, he's a damn good driver. Yea, he lost him, but we also had to steal a car, so I'll text you the VIN so you can take care of it… I know it's Santana Lopez boss. She's coming around way too often and a little too convenient, and Sam Evans, was killed with a damn nail file. I have never known that woman to go anywhere without her nail file. She came to my brother's condo in Chicago, because she hadn't seen him in forever. She was casing us boss. I just need to make sure that I get her lured in at San Reyes and then we've got her…The others that I have with me? Detective Noah Puckerman, Boston PD, Detective Rachel Berry, Boston PD, and my brother Kurt Hummel. Kurt is the only one that doesn't have any police training, but he winged Puck with his sai swords, so I'm not super worried…Yea; Rachel is pretending to be my wife. She's had a few questions about why I have a gun and lock picks. I've had to let Puck know that I do have federal training, but that's all he knows. He recognized my gun being from Homeland Security for Air Marshals. I'll send in my report after Rachel goes to sleep tonight and I can log onto my computer. I'll talk to you later Sir. Signoff, Special Agent F. Hudson 0505."

Rachel stayed hidden as Finn scanned to see if anyone was there, and believing that no one saw him, he walked back towards the parking lot and the motel. Rachel wanted to sit back and think, but knowing that there were snakes, walked back and found a shady spot under the balcony to think. Her fake husband had been playing her and was a special agent. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

**A/N Big thanks to Mida212. I was seriously stuck on this story for awhile and with her betaing and suggestions, I finally got this chapter done. Thank Norma for this :-)**


	14. The Real Finn and Rachel

Finn walked up the stairs to his and Rachel's room and unlocked the door. He was tired, and everyone had decided that tonight they were going to fend for themselves, which meant a visit to the diner at the end of the motel. Tired from the adrenaline rush of the day, Finn decided to take a bit of a nap. He was excited to show Rachel what he had found on the front of the map, but she wasn't there. Frowning wondering where she had gone off too, he figured she went off with Kurt and Puck so he closed his eyes letting the all the anxiety from earlier fall away with sleep.

Finn knew his eyes were closed, but he felt the distinct cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against his temple, the cool metal pressed hard enough Finn knew he'd have a mark on his head when it was pulled away. Finn kept his eyes closed, wondering who was holding it and why it was pressed against his head. It couldn't have been Santana. He would have been warned. He hadn't messed with Rachel, so it couldn't be Puck. Kurt? Nah, Kurt hated guns. Rachel, no not Rachel. They had this strong connection, or at least he had really strong feelings for her. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this situation until he knew who wanted him dead; so he slowly opened his eyes, when he caught sight of the small manicured hand on the gun; his eyes flew open in shock.

"Rachel, what in the hell are you doing?" Finn sputtered as he stared at Rachel as she straddled his lap, his own gun pressed firmly against his temple and a murderous, angry look in her dark brown eyes.

"You've been lying to me. All this time you've been lying and playing me. My first instinct about you was right, you're a good for nothing reporter, but you aren't really a reporter, are you? Special. Agent. Finn. Hudson. Hmmmmm?" Finn's eyes widened as her speech was very staccato and was laced with rage, each word punctuated with her pressing the barrel harder into his temple. She must have somehow over heard him on his cell, and now it was apparent she was clearly pissed at him.

His sweet Sprout was as much of a badass as her cousin.

Finn looked at the anger that kept flashing across Rachel's face, her eyes dark and cold, her mouth set in a very grim line, her face flushed with anger. He had royally screwed up. "Sprout if you give me a just few minutes, I can explain."

"What, so you can try to talk your way out of this. I don't think so. You're nothing but a fuckin' fraud Finn Hudson. You've been playing me since that morning in Starbucks, haven't you? Haven't you? And last night in Tulsa…"

Finn finished the sentence as he used his power, size and Rachel straddling his lap to his advantage and changed their positions, putting her underneath him and the shock from the flip sent Finn's gun clattering to the floor. "was the best sex I've ever had, with a woman that makes me absolutely crazy for her. Sprout, I don't know what you've heard, but if you calm down I promise I'll do my best to explain, but what happened last night was real. There is one thing that I have never done and will never do and that is having sex with someone because of an assignment. I wanted to be with you because you are absolutely the most intoxicating, seductive, intelligent and beautifully exquisite woman I have ever met." Finn grabbed both of Rachel's wrists with his right hand and pinned it above her head, taking her leverage away from her. Finn pressed his legs on hers pinning her to the mattress and essentially making her powerless. "Sprout, I know what you heard, and you have to believe me that it's something that I have to keep classified. It's dangerous for anyone to know, period, but I'm not a fraud." Finn felt Rachel try to move against him and fail as she tried to push him off and let off a line of expletives. "Wow, I didn't know you really had in you to cuss like that Miss Prim and Proper Rachel Berry." Finn couldn't hold back the smirk that escaped, even in anger Rachel was still cute.

"Get. Off. Of. Me. Finn. Hudson. I don't know what kind of ninja military training you've had, but when I get free from you, I'm gonna hurt you." Finn pressed Rachel deeper into the mattress as she tried to struggle against him even more.

"Now Sprout. The more you struggle, the harder I'm going to press you into the mattress, so why don't you just settle down and I can explain everything to you in a reasonable way."

"You know who killed Sam Evans and you're letting her get away! I'm not going to be reasonable. His family is suffering all because you're a fucking fraud!" Finn felt the anger radiate off of her, and looked away ashamed. He knew what he was doing was right, but it still didn't make what he was doing feel any better and with Rachel pissed at him, it made him feel even worse.

"Let me go Finn Hudson. Let me go right now! I'll start screaming if you don't, and I won't care what Noah'll do to you then!"

"Sprout, will you just shut up and let me talk."

"No!"

"Sprout, shut the fuck up and let me explain!" As Rachel opened her mouth to spit back another retort, Finn slammed his lips against hers to silence her. That was all it took because as soon as their lips met an inferno erupted in Finn, sending a scorching heat to wherever he and Rachel's bodies touched. At first the kiss was clearly one sided, but as Finn coaxed her with his lips and tongue, he felt Rachel kiss back with the same eagerness that he'd felt before from her.

He felt Rachel pull her mouth from his and a raspy whisper escape her lips, "You're a fraud Finn. A fraud."

"And you love me as much as I love you, so shut up." Finn pulled her back towards him and kissed her again, but this time more gently and with less anger and more love. Finn was prepared to have her pull back and slug him, but instead, he felt her kiss him back, feeling her tongue rub over his lips. He couldn't help but groan at the feeling and allowed her tongue access to him. There was nothing as sweet as her tongue in his mouth.

Pulling away for a second, Finn looked down at Rachel as she lay there, totally prone, the anger still there in her eyes, but calmer. "I need you to listen to me, and listen to me good. If you love me and truly trust me, then you have to listen to me right?"

"You've lied to me this entire time Finn. How and in the hell am I supposed to trust you?"

"Because if I tell you the total truth, then you're in more danger than you are now, do you understand? I didn't want Puck and Kurt to come with us, but they did, so now I have three people I need to watch out for, one of which I've totally fallen for."

As Finn watched her intently, he saw her eyes soften some, the anger starting to leave her. Her muscles started to relax too, so Finn relaxed his grip on her wrists.

"You've fallen for me? Me, Rachel Berry, the woman that has slapped you, berated you and been absolutely horrible to you? You love me?" Finn smiled at how Rachel had changed from a hard ass one second to a simple love struck woman.

Leaning down and kissing her wrists that he had gripped, he smiled against her skin as he murmured, "Yes Sprout. I've fallen in love with you. Something about you, even at the god awful Starbucks, drew me to you, and everything has made that small spark grow more and more until it took over my heart."

"You love me." She said in such a hushed tone, it was like she didn't believe it. Finn needed her desperately to believe it, because it was the truth.

"I love you Sprout. I know you don't believe a lot of what is coming out of my mouth right now, but I do. Think about what's going with us when I call you Sprout, when I call you that, I am being totally honest and open with you. No playing, no lying, no deception. Just me, Finn, your Jolly Green Giant, being with you, Rachel, my little Sprout." With that, Finn placed a soft kiss on her forehead, hoping his kissed erased the frown lines, and got up, walking out of the motel room, not looking back even though every brain cell was telling him to.

After leaving Rachel in their room, Finn walked down to the diner that was at the end of the motel. He was really wishing they weren't on a damned Indiana reservation so he could go to a bar and get drunk. This whole situation was getting out of control and he wasn't sure how he was going to rein it back in. Finn let his head drop in his hands as he sat at the counter, just totally unsure of what to do. This was the first time he had pulled civilians into one of his missions and he didn't like it, not one bit.

He needed advice, and the only person around was the Navajo behind the counter, his long black hair braided, sporting an earring and some serious attitude. He wasn't Charlie from the Black Rose, but maybe he would do.

"Hey Chief, can I ask you a question?"

"Are you racist man, calling me chief? Do you think all Indians are chiefs?" Finn sat up a bit in shock.

"Uh, no. I was in the Navy, and I have a habit of calling everyone Chief. It's just a Navy expression. I just need some advice, and back home, I'd go to my pub and ask Charlie, but I'm not home and you're the closest thing I've got to Charlie." Finn looked at the guy, hoping he would listen. That's really what he needed right now, not someone judging him. He'd been judged enough today.

"Allright, what's up man?"

"Have you ever had a secret that is really important, and you can't tell anyone about it, but because you can't tell anyone about the secret, it's screwing up the life you want?" Finn looked at the man hoping he understand.

"Say what? What is wrong with you man?"

Finn sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. This wasn't going the way he needed it to. Hell, he was never going to see this guy again, and he doubted the guy was going to blab his secret to anyone, so why not? Finn leaned over the counter in a conspiratorial tone, "Hey, what I'm about to tell you, you don't tell anyone else, got it? If you do, I'll have to kill you." Finn motioned towards his gun he had hidden in his waistband after he picked it up from the floor. Finn watched the man visibly gulp and look at Finn with dark wide eyes and nodded.

"You see, when I joined the Navy, I was recruited to a special section of the NSA. Since then I've been trained to protect national treasures and go after those that will hurt them. I've been all over the country and world doing just that, at first using the Navy as a cover, and now my job as a reporter. Trouble is, this time I have three with me, and it's really screwing things up, and now they're in danger, plus the girl, Sprout, I've like fallen head over heels for her. She's just this perfect, crazy woman and I've been lying to her this entire time. She's found out and hates my guts, and I don't blame her at all, but I want her to forgive me so much. I want to be with her, but I don't think she'll want anything to do with me anymore. And on top of that, things are only going to get more dangerous, and I can't afford to get the three of them hurt, but if I send them away, they'll get suspicious, and then my cover is really blown and god this is just so screwed up. There is a reason I'm a lone wolf. UGHHHH!" Finn had just let everything lose, word vomit happening to a totally perfect stranger that just looked at him like he was crazy, and Finn was starting to think that maybe he was. "So what should I do Chief?"

"Honestly, I think you need to do what your heart tells you. If you know that you love this Sprout and that her being with you right now is too dangerous, then send her and the other three home. If she cares for you too, she will understand. She may be pissed at first, most women are, but eventually, she'll see your logic and come around. Because in the end, which is truly more important to you, your heart or your job?"

"I know, and it should be that easy, but I took an oath, and oath that I am expected and demanded to uphold, and right now I'm not. There are times I just wish I hadn't seen Sprout in that damned Starbucks, and none of this would happen."

"You know, fate has a way of making things happen, even if what is intended changes. So what if you hadn't gone into Starbucks, fate would have met you somewhere else, because from what you've said and how you look, you were fated to meet her and be with her." With that, the man went back to stacking dried dishes and talking to the other few costumers in the diner, leaving Finn alone.

Finn just sat there at the counter, sipping his tea, contemplating the man's words. He was right, it was like he and Sprout were fated, as many times as they had run into each other in such a short amount of time.

As he took another sip of his tea Finn felt his phone vibrate. Grabbing it, he realized it was the one from the bodega, the one that had the picture of him and Sprout kissing on it. Smiling, he answered the call, "Hey Sprout. What do you need?"

Rachel sat on the bed after Finn left. She was still pissed at him. He had deceived her this entire time, and still wasn't being totally honest with her, but he had said he loved her, and she knew deep down that he did. That through everything that was the one truth she could believe.

Sitting on the bed, she kept thinking about what he had said, "…think about what's going on when I call you Sprout…" kept playing over her mind. Every time he called her Sprout was when they were very vulnerable, intimate, and emotionally open and he always had the same look in his eyes, like they were open for her to truly see him.

But had she truly seen him, or just seen who she wanted to see? Rachel didn't know anymore, but the one thing she knew was that she hadn't been acting much like a detective on this trip, she had been more like a crazy school girl, and that needed to stop right now.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of all thoughts of her Jolly Green Giant, Rachel grabbed her laptop and cell phone. Silently thanking the heavens for satellite internet, Rachel looked up the name Santana Lopez, and was surprised to find a clean record for the woman that Finn had named as Sam Evans' murderer. She saw that Santana and Finn had gone to the same high school and from what she saw, had even dated for a bit. That was something else he was keeping from, another black mark on his now tarnished record with Rachel. Maybe Finn and Santana were really in cahoots and he had tried to put her off the trail with what he had said earlier, but that just didn't jive with Finn's earlier conversation.

Realizing that the whole reason she was on this crazy trip started was to show her bosses that she was a competent detective that deserved better, and despite her feelings for Finn Hudson, good or bad, she needed to do what was best for _her_.

Grabbing her cell phone, she punched in the number that was automatic waited for him to answer. When the phone on the other end was picked up, Rachel knew she just ruined any chance she would have with Finn as she said those simple words to her boss, "Will, I know who killed Sam Evans."

After an hour long conversation with her Will, and retelling everything that had happened to her since the day she stormed out of his office, Rachel sat on the bed, wondering if her ambition didn't just kill her one chance at happiness. The thought of Finn being truly pissed at her send a shudder through her body, because with everything that was going on, she still had not seen Finn truly mad. Something told her that he was a beast when he was mad, someone that would make Noah look like a kitten. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of his anger, but she that phone call she just made would bring it out. She knew when they got back to Boston, and Finn sees all the accommodations she would be receiving and her promotion, he'll have nothing to do with her, because she had betrayed him. She had just done to him, what he hadn't done to her, she had just used him.

Letting out a shaky breath, she realized she needed advice, and needed it quickly, so she texted the one person she knew with all her heart would be honest with her.

Twenty minutes later, she heard a knock on the door before it opened revealing Puck standing there with two bags of potato chips and a six pack of beers. Kneeling on the bed as Puck sat down, Rachel grabbed the salt and vinegar chips and a can of beer before settling back on the headboard. Stuffing a few chips in her mouth, Rachel looked at Noah and asked, "We're on an Indian reservation, how in the hell did you get beer? It's illegal."

She watched Noah shrug, "Cuz, I can find beer in the middle of the fuckin' Sahara Desert. Don't question my ability, just go with it."

She watched Puck make himself comfortable as he took a deep swig of his beer and looked at her with his hazel eyes, "So what's up Munchkin? What kind of advice do you need from me?"

Rachel stared at Puck for a few seconds, truly wondering if this was the right thing to do, but she needed some guidance from somewhere, and he was all she had right now. "Have you ever put your job before anything else in your life?"

"Uh, yea. I work undercover, remember. I always put my job before my personal life. Why do you think I date Lauren, she understands that and doesn't judge me. She doesn't bitch if I don't come home because my job requires me to be out all night. She isn't jealous if I have to cozy up to some hot bimbo, she just gets it. My job comes first, my love life second. That's why our relationship is so awesome. Why?" Rachel watched her cousin cock his eyebrow in concern as she kept popping chips in her mouth out of sheer nervousness.

"Well, because I just did that, put my career before a possible love life and now I feel awful."

"What do you mean you just did that? Did what, put your job before your life?" Rachel just shook her head. "_What did you do Rach_?"

Rachel looked down at the comforter, suddenly interested in the pattern on it, "I called Will and told him I knew who killed Sam Evans, because I do, I heard Finn tell someone about it. I used what I overheard from Finn to further my career, and when he finds out I don't think Finn will ever want to have anything to do with m."

"And how does Hudson know who killed Evans?"

"I overheard him talking on the phone. He's not just a reporter Noah, he's a special agent for someone, and he's been dealing with Santana Lopez for a long time, and he's waiting for her to go for Drake's treasure to finally get her. He's lied to me this entire time Noah. I really care for him, but he lied to me, and so to kinda get back at him I'm using his information to help me out with Will and Chief Remington." Rachel mumbled the last part, ashamed of what she had done.

Rachel watched Noah rake his hand through is Mohawk, "Damn Rach. That's low. He trusts you Rachel, and you've just totally betrayed him. I don't know if what you just did will affect his case, but you're going to be lucky if he ever wants to even see you again when he finds out." As Noah finished, Rachel burst out crying when she realized how right he was. She had really screwed up what may have been the best thing to happen to her.


	15. Betrayal, Tears and Being Stranded

When Finn picked up the phone, all he could hear was Rachel uncontrollably crying, "Sprout, what's wrong? Sprout? Sprout you gotta talk to me?" And still all he could hear was her heart wrenching sobs and was clueless why.

Then he heard Puck on the phone, "Hudson, why don't you come back to the room, Rachel needs to talk to you. She_ really_ needs to talk to you, if she ever calms her ass down. Just get back her, alright dude."

Finn quickly paid for his tea and thanked the man for listening to him as he walked calmly out of the diner and then took off running down the motel parking lot towards the end and the stairs. Taking the stairs two at a time, he ran to his room to find Puck standing outside, waiting.

"What's wrong? Why is she crying? What's going on Puck?" Finn couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.

"I can't tell you dude. It's not my place to say. She'll have to tell you." Puck started walking towards his room when he looked back at Finn, who was standing there at the door frozen. "Hey Hudson, I was wrong about you. You actually do treat Rachel well. Just keep doing it, alright."

Finn watched, perplexed, as Puck disappear into his room and then he turned the handle, opening the door slowly. There she was, kneeling on the bed, her dress splayed out around her, her face crumpled in silent tears, trying to hide behind the curtain of her hair. Finn wasn't sure if she heard him enter or not, so he walked quietly over to the bed and sat down carefully, not wanting to startle her.

Keeping his voice low, he tentatively reached out to touch her hand, causing her to look up at him with swollen red eyes, "Sprout? What's wrong?" he asked tenderly.

It didn't take any time for her to launch herself at him, hugging him tightly mumbling "I'm sorry, so so sorry my Giant. Please forgive me."

Finn didn't know what was going on or why she was sorry, so he just rubbed her back soothingly and resting his chin on her bowed head, "Whatever you're sorry for, we'll get through it Sprout. I promise. We're partners remember?"

Finn felt her release her embrace and he missed the heats he created in him. As he looked down, he saw her lip tremble, so he leaned down and gently kissed her, willing her to calm down. "Just talk to me Sprout."

"I did something unthinkable, all because I'm a self-centered, ambitious, high maintenance detective that has a vindictive streak. I'm such a bitch." Finn was awed at how self-deprecating Rachel was being. He had never seen her like this, and it was disturbing. This wasn't the confident Sprout he knew.

"RACHEL! What in the hell are you talking about? I'm a little clueless right now, which isn't out of the norm for me, but you need to stop talking in riddles and just fucking talk to me!"

"I…I called my boss and told him everything that has happened and…and then I told him who killed Sam Evans and how I knew. I told him all about you Finn. I'm so so sorry."

Finn just stared at her. He had been honest and truthful with her and she turned around and betrayed him. Something he had never done to her. Yes, he had withheld information, but that was for security reasons, and he was going to be bringing Sam Evans' murderer to justice, but she just upped and destroyed it. How was he ever going to explain that to his superior?

He must have been staring awhile because Rachel's tear filled voice shook him out of his thoughts, "Finn, Finn. Say something, anything? Please talk to me?" He felt her hand clenching his forearm, and he shook it off, like it was something that burned.

"Rachel, you just put me, my case and my career in total jeopardy. It's going to be in the Herald now since Jacob is covering it, and then I'm going to get a nasty call from my superior and Santana Lopez is going to get off and keep doing what she's been doing. I can't have her doing that Rachel, and you just finished a year of investigation and hard work because you were vindictive. God Rachel, how could you do this to me?" Finn couldn't believe it. He had never been mean to her; he hadn't put her job on the line. Hell, from what it sounds like, she was going to get a promotion or something.

He looked at Rachel still shocked at what she had done to him. He quickly shifted his gaze towards the wall; he just couldn't look at her. He got up and walked towards the door, grabbing his backpack, as she cried out, "Giant, you told me you loved me, that I brought out the best in you. Please Giant. Please Finn don't leave me."

Finn stood at the door for just a second, and said in a voice full of hurt and sorrow, "I never thought you'd make me feel like this either Sprout."

Finn walked out into the desert and down to the car ignoring the cries he could still hear. Without thinking about what he was doing, he pulled the keys out and got into the car and turned it on. Putting the car in drive, Finn looks into the rearview mirror to see Rachel standing on the walkway outside her room, crying loudly, with Puck and Kurt running down to her. Putting his eyes back on the road, he turns west onto the main highway and ignores his cell phone ringing incessantly, because right now, he really didn't care what they had to say.

He had been betrayed and no one could talk him out of his anger and hurt. No one. Especially not someone with deep brown eyes that looked into his soul, and soft pouty lips that were addictive to kiss, or silken hair that he could run his fingers through forever, there was nothing that person could say to him.

Six hours later, Finn saw the Welcome to California sign at the state line, his bodega cell phone dead from all the calls he was getting from Rachel, Puck and Kurt. He doesn't care though. He shouldn't have brought them, but he didn't listen to his training or instinct and decided to partner up with Rachel and in turn Kurt and Puck. Why in the hell did he ever fall in love with her? All it had caused him was to fear for his life due to her cousin wanting to kill her and now possibly his career. It wasn't right, but there was just something about her that kept drawing him to her, no matter what she had done. This time though, she had gone too far. There was no snapping him back to her, there couldn't be.

Tired of all the driving he had done and the emotional day he had just had and seeing that it was now two in the morning, Finn found a cheap motel and booked a single room, not even trying to use his contacts to secure it and when he entered the musty smelling, dimly lit and cheaply decorated room, he just threw his backpack down and flung himself on the bed, burrowing his face into the pillow and let the tears fall before exhaustion took over.

Rachel was hysterical. She had done exactly what Noah had advised and it blew up in her face and left her alone. When Finn walked out, she followed him crying for him to stop and come back, but he just kept stoically walking towards their car, not even looking back, and then took off. When Noah and Kurt came running, they saw the car squeal out onto the highway and leave, leaving them stranded. Rachel listened as Noah cussed at no one in particular as Kurt attempted to console her.

After a few minutes of cusses, sobs and shushes, they walked down to the diner at the end of the motel, ordering something to drink to calm Rachel down so they could think. As they waited for their drinks, Rachel felt Kurt's arms come around her and pull her close, placing a kiss on her temple and whispering, "Everything'll be okay Rachel. Finn just needed to blow off steam. He's famous for his angry storm outs. I'm just shocked that he didn't kick over a chair or maim a poor piece of furniture, since that's what he normally does."

Rachel shook her head as another sob escaped her mouth, "He's not coming back Kurt. I screwed up big time. I let my ambition get the best of me."

"What do you mean?" Kurt looked at her curiously, clearly wondering why his brother wouldn't be coming back.

"Finn and I aren't married. It was a cover. We're just, I mean were, partners trying to solve a crime, but I found out that Finn isn't just a reporter, but I am a detective. I met your brother when we both started working the Adams' family robbery case and murder investigation. He was the reporter on call and I was the robbery detective on call. Through lots of incidental meetings, we became partners"

"What do you mean Finn isn't just a reporter. Of course he is. He works for the Boston Herald. He was so happy when he got that job."

Rachel shook her head, shocked that even his family didn't know what Finn truly did, "I overheard Finn talking to someone, and he's a special agent for some branch of the government, and being a reporter is his cover. He seems to have pretty high classified clearance, and it seems pretty dangerous. He's been going after Santana Lopez for awhile now, and I screwed up his case by being vindictive."

"Wait, what? Finn, clumsy, not the brightest crayon in the box, is a super secret agent? He's after the woman we called Satan because she scared the shit out of us in high school and unmercilessly bullied Finn. That Santana Lopez is responsible for this whole Drake's treasure thing? How did he ever keep this from us, his family for so long? I guess it explains a lot of times when he couldn't come home for holidays and things, but still." Rachel could hear the unbelieving tone in Kurt's voice.

"It's true dude. Finn didn't tell me as much as Rachel just told me, but he did fess up to working for a government agency after I questioned him about a couple of things I noticed. But my little cousin, being angry with Finn for keeping this bit of information from her, used the information she gleaned from him and called her boss back in Boston and gave him the name of who killed Sam Evans. She was feeling extremely guilty and told Finn. He obviously got totally pissed and has now left us stranded here in the middle of Navajo country. Luckily though, I got us some transportation so we can get back to a populated area and then we can all go back to Boston and Chicago and let Finn play double O seven."

"No!"

"What did you say Rachel?"

"I said no, Noah. We aren't going to let Finn go and confront Santana Lopez on his own. It's dangerous. She's dangerous. There's no way we can let him go alone on this. What did we learn during our academy training?" Rachel waited for Noah to recite what was the department's mantra.

"Do not be a lone wolf. Always have a partner."

"Right, and if Finn does this alone, then he may end up getting himself killed, and I just won't allow that. He's too special. He's my giant." Rachel whispered the last part, hoping neither man heard her.

She felt Kurt's hand squeeze hers, and as she looked into his eyes, she saw that he knew what she was feeling. He leaned over and whispered to her as Puck was busy on his phone, "If this makes you feel a little better, I've never seen Finn so smitten with a woman. I've never seen him so protective and unabashedly goofy around any female, besides our mom. You're special to him Rachel, and we need to get the two of you back together, immediately." Rachel smiled a little at Kurt's optimistic words. She wasn't sure if Finn would want to get back with her after what she had done.

She really did love her Giant. He meant everything to her, but she had to just screw that up.

"Well, I've got a car for us and three tickets to San Fran as long as we can get to the airport in Flagstaff by tomorrow afternoon. Think we can get there in time?"

Rachel didn't even bother to respond as she shot out of the booth and towards the exit. She had to grab her bag so they could get to Flagstaff. She had to help her Giant, even if he didn't want it.


End file.
