AU: This is an AU Finchel One shot little story. It is inspired by this week's Glee episode, "I Do." This is my first time writing other than the other stories I have posted on here from like 5 years ago when I was still so young...so be nice :) And I had uploaded this previously as a Monchele drabble but FF doesn't let you do that so I changed some things. It's all the same idea though.
Rachel laid on her plush brown couch, snuggled up with her cat Barbra, watching a Downton Abbey re-run from her DVR. She felt drained. Or as close to drained as she could get after the afternoon she had.
After leaving work early in the afternoon, having rehearsed her last dance number, she decided to head home to change so she could go to the gym. Usually, a good workout at the gym was for starting her day, but she had to get up at 5:30 that morning to get to set on time so she hadn't had a chance to make it.
Actually, this week had been a pretty busy week. Feeling a little off from working so hard on NYADAs yearly musical this year, Wicked, she thought maybe workout would do her some good today.
Running to her bedroom, she changed into her shorts and t-shirt and grabbed the iPod Finn got her from her side of the bed. Sadly, he was working late into the afternoon so she probably wouldn't see him again until later that night.
Grabbing her purse off her dresser, she walked down the hall, throwing her hair into a pony as she went.
"Crap," she muttered.
She forgot a hair tie. Her hands fumbled in her large black Marc Jacobs as she stood in the front entrance. Feeling a bunch of crap she probably didn't need at the bottom of her purse, she started to clear it out. Pulling out random pieces of paper, receipts, old gum, tamp—.
Rachel immediately froze, her mind going blank.
She knew right away it had been too long since she used them. Automatically counting dates back in her head, she realized a little over a month and a half ago was her last period, after Finn took her on weekend road trip to a spa in the outskirts of the city. Since taking birth control, her periods had been consistent. Almost to the point where she knew what hour of what day they would start. Never a day late. Never.
She didn't realize she was crying until she felt tears drop onto her finger. Only a couple times did she have some nausea but it wasn't in the morning and she just assumed she had a bug, or ingested some unintentional meat. She had been going out to eat a lot with Finn. He had wanted to lose weight and "bulk up" (his words, not hers) but a little pout and puppy dog eyes and he usually caved. She tended to be a bad influence despite the fact that she was Vegan.
Her boobs did look a little bigger, but who would question or complain about that?
Hastily, she wiped away her tears. It was a bit dramatic, even for her, to get this upset over a hunch. It had only been a minute or two since she found the tampons at the bottom of her purse. This was a big deal and jumping to conclusions wouldn't do any good.
Instead, she jumped up, fixed the little bit of makeup she had leftover, wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath. Not feeling up to going to the gym, she took out her iPhone and dialed one of the few people she trusted with her life.
Walking to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, she waited with nervous anticipation for him to pick up.
"Hey sweets, whatcha doing?" Jessie answered after the fifth ring (she wasn't counting). He was her best friend. And it didn't hurt his fashion advice rivaled Blair Waldorf's.
Hearing his voice set her off. Full blown, hiccupping sobs could be heard through the line. Jessie couldn't figure out why Rachel would be crying to him on the phone, but he knew it was bad. This was her hysterical cry.
"Rachel, honey, what's wrong?" His voice was concerned but alert. Anything could be wrong. But he couldn't understand anything she was mumbling as she was crying so heavily.
"I—I—didn't even see…this can—can't be…" More muffled cries and hiccups could be heard through the line.
"Sit down, Rachel. Sit down and talk to me. Better yet, I'm coming over. I'll be there in 15 minutes."
"O-okay," Rachel breathed into the phone. She held it tight in her hand, trying to keep a grip on reality, on something.
"Stay on the phone," hiccup. "…with me."
She hung her head in her hands trying to control her breathing.
"Of course. Take some deep breaths. Calm down. And maybe you can talk to me while I'm on my way over," Jessie replied, already running out the door. He hoped he could convince the cab driver to break every speed limit in the city to get to her house in that short amount of time.
"No," Rachel whispered into the phone, "This conversation really needs to happen in person."
Confused Jessie replied, "Okay, honey. I'll be there soon."
He stayed on the phone with her the whole time, her slow breaths and heavy silence lingering on the line.
As soon as he got to her door she was jumping in his arms, hugging him close.
"I don't know why I'm being so dramatic. I don't know anything for sure, but I need your support right now," Rachel whispered into his neck.
Pulling back, she wiped her face and smiled at him. He smiled, concerned, but happy to see her.
"You going to let me in?" He asked, wiping her hair out of her face.
"Come on. I'll get us some wine." Rachel stopped, closed her eyes, and took a slow breath. "Or maybe some tea would be better."
After brewing their tea and delaying the inevitable, Rachel walked into the living room and sat down across from him. She handed him his tea and took a sip of her own. The warmth spread down her body helping her relax.
"So…" he said, taking a sip. He looked into her eyes and saw how vulnerable she looked. He had no idea what she needed to say but he knew it couldn't be good.
Rachel looked down and started picking at her finger nails. A heavy silence sat in the air.
Looking up, she whispered, "I'm late."
Confused, Jessie picked up her hand and shook his head, "Late? For what—," he paused as he saw the look on her face. Immediately, he knew.
"Oh honey," he said, pulling her into a hug. He pulled back and curled her hair behind her ear as she smiled sadly. "Did you take a test?"
She fumbled with her cup as she responded. "No, I have one though." She laughed humorously. Quinn gave one to me as a joke when my first pregnancy rumor came out at NYADA." She looked down and whispered, "I think I still have it."
Jessie stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up.
"Come on, you're going to take it." He started dragging her down the hall as she followed, bewildered.
"What?! No! I'm not ready!" Rachel urgently replied, but followed him to the bathroom.
"Where is it?" Jessie sternly asked as he reached the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet seat.
Rachel looked at him anxiously. "Why now? Maybe I should just wait a bit…I don't think I can pee right now anyway."
"No. No excuses. What if all this worry is for nothing? You could just be stressed, and that caused you to miss some days. You could be freaking out over nothing. Tell me where the damn test is, Rach." Jessie crossed his arms and looked down at her with a, 'I'm not leaving until you tell me' expression.
She rolled her eyes. "You're so stubborn. It's under the sink, I think."
Jessie opened up the cupboard and grabbed the test. As he opened the package, Rachel stood up and started pacing.
He handed her the stick. "Pee on this and set the timer on your phone."
She grabbed it from his hand and stared at him. "Okay." He stayed where he was, raising his eyebrow at her. "I'll take the test, I'll pee!"
Nodding, he responded, "Good. I'm coming back in 3 minutes."
He turned walked out of the bathroom, leaving Rachel alone.
She stared at the stick, shocked. So many emotions ran through her head she couldn't keep track of how she was feeling. Jessie came into the bathroom after she had successfully peed on the stick and stood with her, cried with her.
She knew Finn would be coming over soon, so Jessie left, promising to call and come back over tomorrow after she talked with Finn.
Throwing the stick in the garbage, she went downstairs and saw Barbra on the couch snuggled under some blankets. Walking over, picked her up and sat down with the furry ball on her lap. Lying there, she turned on her DVR and waited for Finn to get back. The tissues on her coffee table were piled up and she felt a little queasy, but ready to talk with him.
Forty-five minutes later, she heard the front door unlock and Finn's footsteps in the entryway.
"Sweetheart? I'm back." Finn's voice got more clear as he walked into the living room and saw her on the couch, tear tracks on her cheeks, snuggled up to her cat, watching Downton Abbey. Immediately, he knew something was up.
Rachel looked up a Finn and whispered, "Hi."
"Oh, baby, what happened?" He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap, stroking her hair and kissing her lips. "What is it?"
He continued to rub her lower back as she nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck, contemplating how to begin telling him. He smelled like a hint of his body wash, mint, and laundry detergent. She could be close to him forever and never tire of his smell.
"This afternoon, something happened," she whispered into his neck giving it a little kiss.
He pulled back stroking her hair back from her face and kissing her forehead. He looked intently into her brown eyes. "Tell me." His thumbs rubbed her below jaw as he cradled her face in his large hands.
"I was going through my purse and—well—I just...found some tampons." Bewildered, Finn furrowed his eyebrows and continued to stroke her face, confused as to where she was going with this.
"Go on…"
"And I realized I'm late. My period is late." She closed her eyes, steeling herself for any unfavorable reaction, not wanting to see his face.
His thumbs stopped stroking and she squeezed her eyes shut even more, her throat starting to close up once again as she tried to hold back tears.
"What?" he whispered. She felt him pull her face to his and he rested his forehead on hers. His warm breath covered her face and she immediately felt herself relax from it. "Are you serious?"
She sniffed a little. "Yeah, but, I…I took a test."
Quickly, he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "And…what did it say?" She couldn't read past the anxious look in his eyes.
"It was…it was negative." A look she didn't recognize passed his face quickly before it disappeared. He took a deep breath and she closed her eyes as he leaned in and kissed her eyelids.
"That's…that's okay." His voice shook, raw emotion causing it to crack.
She laughed humorously and laid her head on his shoulder as he lay down on the couch and pulled a blanket on top of them.
"Is it…is it really bad that I was…disappointed at first?" She asked looking up at him, afraid of his reaction.
He shook his head, curling her hair behind her ear, smiling somewhat fondly. "No…because I felt the same."
She curled her head into his neck and felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Finn," she cried softly.
He kissed the top of her head, "I know, I know. But baby, it's not the right time."
"I know, I just…" She trailed off softly. He continued to rub her back as he laid his lips on her hair. It was his favorite thing to do, she always smelled so good. Like sweet candy and lilies.
"Rachel, when the time is right we're going to get married, have twenty kids if that's what you want, and live happily ever after." He slipped his hand up the back of her top and stroked her warm skin. "Maybe that time isn't now, but you and me? We're endgame."
She closed her eyes and smiled slightly, feeling like her heart was being squeezed in the best way. Her nose nuzzled his neck and she kissed his pulse, loving the warm feeling of their bodies close and the intimacy they shared through such simple acts.
"I love you," she whispered into his skin.
Finn smiled, not knowing he could love someone as much as he loved this woman. "I love you, sweetheart. You're mine, you know that right? And I'm yours."
Rachel lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Smiling, she kissed his lips and whispered into his mouth, "I'm forever yours."
They say that the road ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line it's been you and me
And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl you stand by me
I'm forever yours, faithfully
If you would like to review: at the end of the week I will randomly choose one person. They can then receive a Finchel prompt they would like (and any details about the one shot they want) and I will write it.