Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

Say My Name

He Fathers

Her fathers are the first to say her name.

After months of arguing over a name they settle on naming her after a character in the television show that they watched every week with their sweet young surrogate.

Shelby smiles sadly when she hands over the beatiful infant (who is already screaming so loudly that one of her fathers is claiming that shes destined for the stage) and they smile down at the tiny pink bundle.

They breathe the name simultaneously,Rachel, like it is the most amazing gift they have ever recieved.

Finn

Finn says her innocently, prettily even.

What she means is that it always has a distinct feel to it. Sometimes its like a song.

When they first meet he says it like a question. Like was she really speaking to him and why?

Then he said her name like a puppy love song, sweet but confused.

Then Jesse comes along and he says it with passion because he's fighting for her for a change.

After Jesse he says her name like a ballad, strong and happy, what he feels for her is validated and powerful. She is his and he is hers and it really is that simple.

Except when its not that simple and he starts saying her name like goodbye, like he just doesn't have the energy for hello.

So they actually say goodbye and now he says her name the same way he says Mercedes or Tinas and honestly it's the best her name ever sounded from his mouth.

Jesse

Jesse says her full name.

I love you Rachel Barbara Berry.

What a silly wonderful girl you are Rachel Barbara Berry.

How could you do this to me Rachel Barbara Berry.

It made everything sound so serious because before him the only time anybody ever said her full name was on the rare occasions she upset one of her fathers.

She thought it sounded so dramatic and important when he said it that way. At first.

Then it started to sound like he was saying lines instead of speaking to her.

So she wasn't that surprised when he called scene.

She even forgave him. Eventually

It was years later when they were both in New York waiting tables and looking for their big breaks.

He told her about how he had loved her but he had loved winning more. (Something she could understand.)

He told her about how confused he had been and how hard it was to betray her.

Plus he was gay. Like bad stereotype of a homosexual gay.

So now he says things like

Rachel Barbara Berry you sexy thing! or

Rachel Barbara Berry major sale at Barneys!

It still sounds very dramatic, but then, they are both the biggest drama queens they know.

Ben

Ben was her college boyfriend.

Sort of.

She had dated him mostly because he was the male lead and she was the female lead. (She really should have learned from her mistakes.)

The problem was that she couldn't stand him.

He was more talented than Finn but had none of his charm or heart.

He was less talented than Jesse but still had twice the arrogance.

He said her name like a demand.

Like he was the one in charge and she better fall in line.

They only dated for three months before she dumps him.

She also starts a few rumors that have him switching his major to econ within her first six months at NYU.

When she runs into him years later he says her name like a curse.

She laughs.

Noah

Noah says her name a million different ways over the years.

When they are young he says it with grudging respect, she's the annoying girl with the golden pipes.

When they graduate he says it with a mixture of gratitude and affection. She tutored him so he would graduate on time and they are friends now. Unlike before, he says and she hits him.

She doesn't see him for a while after they both leave Lima. He heads west and she goes east. Sometimes he calls her late at night and says her name with longing.

For a while he says her name like a missed chance.

She knew he was planning on coming out to New York because apparently LA was too fake for him, plus he missed the snow.

She didn't know what she would feel when she first saw him, standing outside her apartment building with his hands shoved into his pockets smirking at the snow.

He spots her and his smirk spreads into a smile and he says her name in a way that makes it sound like home.

Its been a long time since she's been home.

He comes up to her apartment that day and never leaves, he just moves in and they make up for lost time.

On their wedding day he says her name like a prayer. He says it soft in her ear, he says it like its something he believes it. Like its not solid but he can feel it, like the wind. He says her name like its synonymous with love. RachelPuckerman.

When they are old he says her name the same way he breathes, easily and without much thought while still acknowledging that its what keeps him alive.

Jack

Jack says her name sweetly.

I love you mama.

Jack says her name and it sounds like a gift.

It sounds like perfection, the perfect note.

Even when he's too old to call her mama, when he spends his days slamming doors and complaining about the unfairness of everything, he still says it at night before he goes to bed. He peeks his head around the corner of whatever room she's in and mumbles it.

Goodnight mama.

When he says her name it sounds better than any audience shouting her.

He is a grown man with his own son and a daughter on the way, and its been three years since Noah prayed her name, Jack sits at her bedside and says her name one last time.

I love you Mama, goodbye.

A few months later another Rachel is born, and Jack tells her the story of the first Rachel as he rocks her at night, and he says that he hopes someday a good boy comes along and says her name like a prayer and that for now she will have to settle for a father saying her name like she's a gift.