Home

The tour was going wonderful. It was beautiful in Europe, the weather was constantly hovering around 70 degrees and the breezes always felt light and soothing. Her cast mates were like her second family, and the fans were amazing. But there was nothing that could dampen Rachel Berry’s mood like being homesick.

Every night she spent onstage, acting and singing to her heart’s desire, surrounded by the members of the cast and the fans in the seats, surrounded by people, but yet, she still felt alone. She missed her home, she missed her bed, but most of all, Rachel missed her husband.

She wrote letters to him every day, but she had yet to send one. She could never convey the emotions she wanted to, all her words sounded flat and cold. She kept them in a small box near her bedside in the hotel rooms she stayed in, knowing that the small words written on them were less than her husband deserved.

She knew she was lucky. She got to fly around Europe first class in fancy airplanes, and see most of the world. The places were stunning, the sun was always shining and the people were wonderful. But Rachel was tired of being alone. She wanted to go home. She felt too far from him, and she was. Halfway across the world seemed so much larger when her heart was halfway back, sitting inside her Ohio home.

It felt like she was living in a dream, and while it had been fun, she wanted to wake up already. She knew why he didn’t come, traveling wasn’t really his thing, and his mother was sick. She understood completely and had even offered to stay, but he pushed her to go, saying she had worked too hard for this and he wasn’t going to let her pass up the opportunity. Just thinking about that conversation made Rachel smile. He had always supported her, no matter what.

The months passed, and the summer days had turned into winter nights, cold, snowy winter nights. She still loved the places and the people, but her homesickness had only gotten worse. A few sporadic phone calls here and there hadn’t been enough to quench the horrible twisting in her stomach that was only brought on by homesickness. She was still surrounded by her cast mates and her fans, and there was never a moment where she was alone, but Rachel always felt lonely.

Finally, closing night came and went. Rachel signed the last program, hugged the last fan, accepted the last rose, and went backstage, shedding her costume and changing into the first thing she could get her hands on. She drove to the airport alone, sitting in the back of the taxi and staring out the window, the bundle of letters she had written in her hands, tied with a string. She leapt out after paying the driver, running into the airport and boarding the plane, sitting in her seat impatiently. She tried reading, writing, doodling on the napkin that came with her drink, but nothing made the time go by faster, and nothing helped calm her racing pulse. She finally gave into sleep, letting sweet dreams of her reunion with her husband wrap her up in warmth and love.

Through her sleepy haze, she heard the pilot announce their landing. Rachel jolted awake, sitting up quickly, rubbing her eyes and attempting to fix her hair. She tapped her leg anxiously, staring at the window, waiting for the moment when the plane would touch the ground.

After what seemed like an endless eternity, the plane slid smoothly into the gate, and the passengers were allowed to leave. Rachel pushed her way through the people, running through the small corridor and into the gate area, searching the crowd for the only face she wanted to see.

“Rachel!” She heard his voice and turned around, nearly crying at the sight of him. She ran forward, jumping into his arms and holding onto him tightly as he spun her around. She did start crying when he put her down, keeping his arms wrapped firmly around her.

“What’s wrong?” He asked quickly, looking down at her with worry written in his eyes.

“Nothing. Everything is absolutely perfect, Finn.” She said softly, looking up at him and smiling through her tears. “It’s just nice to be home.” She finished, burying her face in his chest and pulling herself closer to him. He smiled down at her, kissing her forehead, glad that she was finally home.