AN/I don't own Glee... So this happens after A Very Glee Christmas. While a lot of the show's canon is intact for that episode and all episodes before, it is not completely, but rather my headcanon. Some explanation of Jesse's side and then well, there are actually a fair amount of changes too. It'll be explained though flashbacks. I don't know if that makes sense, but yeah. And I don't know much about plane crashes... The first part is Jesse's POV, immediately following the crash. The second part is Rachel's POV, leading up to the crash.
The sounds of the night were desperate. Screams of fire, dramatic crying, and shouts for friends and loved ones filled the air, as did smoke.
Jesse's eyes flew open. He wasn't dead. He actually felt almost perfectly fine. The seatbelt had cut into his waist and his back ached from where the suitcase had hit him when he shielded Giselle from its falling. Otherwise he was somehow okay. Looking around he confirmed that the plane was on the ground, not in the middle of the ocean he had been so sure they were flying above.
He tore the oxygen mask off his face and smoke immediately burned his eyes and throat. He turned to Giselle who was shaking and crying. He unbuckled himself and then her. "We have to get off the plane," he told her, speaking as calmly as he could manage, shaking on the inside.
He glanced around them to see some other Vocal Adrenaline members getting out quickly, but some were unconscious or hurt. Jesse quickly resolved to first help Giselle out then come right back.
As soon as he stepped off the plane with her, onto sand, a loud boom sounded from the back of the plane and he looked in time to see more flames had erupted. His heart stopped as he saw that there were flames everywhere, especially behind first class. Where Rachel was.
"Where's Andrea. Jason? Mimi?" Giselle clung to Jesse and looked around frantically for their friends.
He had no clue where Rachel was sitting and as he had told himself over and over these past many months, she was not his to be concerned with. Jesse used every ounce of his will power to shift his focus back to Giselle and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline. People were dying, dead. He had to act quickly.
He pulled Giselle further away from the plane. The darkness of the night was frustrating but the moon was full and the flames illuminated the nightmarish scene. Jesse quickly found Kyle and Lyla from Vocal Adrenaline heading up the beach to a line of trees and he moved towards them. Jesse noted that Kyle was limping and they both had burn marks scattered on their skin. They had been sitting farther back in First Class. "Stay with Kyle and Lyla," he ordered Giselle, exchanging glances with Lyla to make sure it was okay. She looked terrified but nodded. As soon as Jesse broke away from Giselle she broke into sobs. "I'll be right back," he told her soothingly, hugging her for a quick moment before running back to the plane.
He noticed some Warblers and New Directions members, plus many other people and a few flight attendants making their way from the plane or lingering at the exits. He didn't see Rachel.
"Jesse!" The voice pulled him to the exit he had left through with Giselle. Smoke was pouring out of it, but there were no visible flames in the section.
It was Jason and he was trying to lead out two people, one of each shoulder, but he couldn't take the weight. Jesse ran over to him and picked up the girl Jason had been holding up. He realized it was Mimi. She was having a coughing fit. Her one arm had a gash in it and the other side of her body was red and hot to the touch. Jesse turned back to Jason to make sure he could handle woman he was helping. Jason nodded, urging Jesse to go on. The smoke was now causing Jesse to cough as well and his eyes were stinging again. He nodded and moved again towards the trees, Jason following him. They were a handful of metres from the plane when the loudest boom yet sounded and the two boys were thrown forward, off their feet.
Jesse rolled off Mimi quickly, but then lay there for a few minutes, trying to regain his bearings. There was even more screaming now and every small sound thundered through his head. He wanted to bring his hands to his ears, but instead forced himself to sit up. The first class section was torn apart and completely in flames now.
Slowly and cautiously Jesse stood to his feet and reached down for a still coughing and now crying Mimi. "Help me," he cried in a hoarse voice as she felt heavier than before, or maybe it was that that boom kept resonating though his bones? With his help the girl stood on her feet, but her legs, her whole body actually, was shaking. Jesse pulled her arm around his neck and then remembered Jason. The boy was already up and leading the woman to the trees.
When Jesse reached the group that had formed by the trees, he helped Mimi sit against a tree. Jason immediately pulled Jesse aside. "I- I was in there. And Goolsby- and- and Andrea and Bennet and Mary..." His face was contorted with horror and guilt. "I couldn't get- get them all out."
Jesse knew what he was trying to say. They were dead. And he felt responsible. Jason had practically taken Jesse's place as male lead this year. Only Jesse and Goolsby could possibly feel more responsible and according to Jason...
Jesse fought inside himself to contain composure and calm, but he was so scared. He couldn't imagine how many people were dead. And so many seemed burnt or injured. He looked back at the plane. Groups of people had formed fairly far away from the plane, but there was still a handful of people too close to the plane, especially near the exits of sections not completely engulfed in flames.
"Jason," he said, looking the senior in the eye. "You saved Mimi and that lady. We can't stop now. There are still injured people near the plane."
Without another word the two darted back to the plane.
"We're going to have the time of our lives!" Rachel squealed, glancing through the festival packet for the tenth time.
"Hell yeah," Mercedes, sitting in the seat next to Rachel, flipped her hand up. "New Directions is going to rock the Caribbean!"
"Not if the Warblers have anything to say about it," Blaine countered from across the aisle.
Rachel whipped her head around, ready with her own retort, but noticed the playful grins that Blaine and Kurt wore.
"New Directions and the Warblers are going to rock the Caribbean," Mercedes offered and exited feelings flooded the quartet.
"Don't forget we are going to have fun and relax – not just compete." Will Shuester sat two rows ahead, but had heard the conversation.
"Exactly!" Mercedes and Kurt exclaimed in unison. They went on about their plan to add some island flair to their wardrobe. Blaine occasionally chimed in, arguing such ensembles would rarely be appropriate for any occasion in Ohio. Though Mercedes was leaning over Rachel to talk with Blaine and Kurt, Rachel managed to tune them out.
She knew what Mr. Shue was talking about. He didn't want the glee club putting all their stock in the competition. She stared down the aisle to the curtains that marked the end of coach. On the other side of that curtain was first class, and Vocal Adrenaline.
However, the idea of being beat by them again was not the main concern on her mind.
Rachel hadn't considered it. It was winter holiday, so of course Jesse was around. She just didn't expect to see him on this trip. Now she realized she should have expected it. Before he had transferred to McKinley, Rachel got a strong sense of how close everyone in Vocal Adrenaline was. While they were together, she had some idea of how much he downplayed the cost of him leaving them for her. And though she wouldn't admit it, due to her hurt and confusion of the rejection she received from Jesse after the Run Joey Run fiasco, she was silently happy for him when Vocal Adrenaline accepted his presence for their Spring Break. Of course, after subsequent events, Rachel couldn't care less about his relationship with them. It was obvious from their performance at Regionals last year that it was repaired to some extent. And now that he was one of their chaperones she could only assume he had kept in touch with at least some of them.
New Directions had been running late. They arrived at their gate just as first class was being instructed to board the plane. The members of glee club, Will Shuester, and Coach Beiste, the additional chaperone, made a loud entrance so naturally heads turned in their direction. For Rachel, time froze. Jesse St. James turned around and their eyes locked on each other immediately. A plethora of emotions washed over Rachel. In one moment she had never felt so much pain, rejection, and anger, as well as guilt, affection, and attraction. She knew it was all fleetingly expressed on her face. She was given no warning, no chance to catch her breathe, no time to compose a show face. Jesse on the other hand was wearing a perfect show face. He even had the audacity to give her a polite smile. In return, Rachel let her pain and anger take the lead and she broke their gaze.
Mercedes was next to Rachel in the next second, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. "Don't even go there, girl," she whispered, pulling Rachel to the benches. "Did you have any idea he'd be here?"
Rachel looked up to Mercedes. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "No," she said quietly, but then took in a big breath. "I'm fine. I was just caught off guard." She insisted, gathering composure.
Finn suddenly appeared next to her. "I can't believe that St. Jerk is here! If he gives you any problems Rachel-"
"Finn, thanks. But honestly, don't worry about it. I'm surprised, but it's not going to be a problem. We won't see Vocal Adrenaline much anyway except at the competition." What Rachel really wanted to say was that it wasn't Finn's job any more to worry about her, but she didn't want to hurt him. He was simply being nice.
"We will all be at the same resort," he argued.
The call for coach to board the plane came over the loudspeakers. Rachel just shrugged and stood up. She headed for the line, rolling her carry-on behind her.
The plane suddenly shook violently, pulling Rachel from the recent memory. "What was that?" Mercedes asked, her grip tight on her seat. Murmurs arose across the whole plane, but the plane didn't shake again.
"Probably just some turbulence," Blaine explained. He had been on planes enough times before to not get worked up over a rocky ride.
"Then why doesn't the pilot say something?" Rachel wondered aloud just as the seatbelt sign came on.
A flight attendant flew past them towards first class. "Blaine, what if that wasn't turbulence?" Kurt whispered, fear growing inside and around him.
As if to give Kurt an answer, the plane shook violently again, but for an extended period of time. A few loud booms sounded and then the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.
Everyone hurried to put them on.
"Folks, please remain calm. There is some minor damage to the plane and turbulence, but I will be –"
The pilot was cut off as the plane shook again and started to descend.
Mercedes looked out her window, terrified. It was clear the plane was going down.
Chaos broke out among passengers.
The pilot came on again saying something about a crash landing.
The plane started shaking a fourth time and didn't stop.
Silent tears streaked down Rachel's face as she grabbed Mercedes' hand. "We can't die yet," she murmured. Her heart was racing, the chaos around her feeding her panic. "We haven't won Nationals yet, not even Regionals. I haven't met Barbra Streisand. I haven't won a Tony." What Rachel said was only coherent to herself, as she was nervously mumbling.
A powerful jolt rocked the plane and the luggage compartments opened, spilling suitcases on the passengers and a heavy briefcase fell hard on Rachel's head. Everything slowly went dark. She felt a hot liquid trailing down her face and soon she tasted blood. She heard Mercedes scream her name, but she sounded strangely far away. Before the dark fully claimed her, her last thought was of the boy whose smile she had refused to return.