A/N: In the midst of writing a new chapter for my other story Rachel, Interrupted, this idea hit me and I just had to get it down before it left me. I typed the whole thing up over the course of a few hours and here it is.
SPOILER WARNING: This one shot contains spoilers from the Glee Finale that have been circulating as well as some fan speculation of what might happen in the finale. Its also my way to stick it to the endgame police who keep saying that Finchel is endgame. Endgame is just a word and is meaningless in the grand scheme of things and that's what this story is about. Jesse and Rachel are soul mates and nothing will ever come in between that. Nothing.
An elderly woman of about eighty-five sat in front of her light bulb adorned vanity mirror brushing her long white hair with an old brush from her youth. It was covered in jewels and rhinestones that she glued on herself in her teenage years. Despite all the time that had passed, she could never bring herself to throw it out. Her children and grand children had always tried to buy her new ones, but she always insisted on using the old worn out one with the fake jewels.
She glanced at her wrinkled reflection and smiled at herself. She'd managed to age gracefully without ever feeling the need for cosmetic surgery like all of her friends in the business throughout the years. As she grew up, she grew more at home in her body and was able to grow out of most of her old insecurities that held her back. Because of it, she was able to move forward and live a rewarding life filled with the kind of adventures that she'd only dreamed of when she was young. The evidence of it was in her two Tony Awards and her four Grammy Awards, among other awards all over her house. There were photos of her over the years with numerous celebrities who had asked to take pictures with her as well as scrap books in her basement collected from the fans over the years.
It seemed as though Rachel Berry had actually managed to get everything she had ever wanted out of life. Well, not everything. There was always one thing missing that she lost out on the chance of having due to her own youthful stupidity.
True love.
She thought she had it with her late ex-husband, Finn. But that was only wishful thinking that would never become true. The fact of the matter was, she once had the chance for it right in her hands and she let it go. When she changed her mind, it was already too late… But she didn't like to think about it—about him.
She set the brush down and looked back up in the mirror to see a youthful teenager who looked like the splitting image of herself at fifteen standing in the doorway of her bedroom.
"Grandma?" she asked, stepping into the room slowly.
Rachel turned in her seat to face her granddaughter with a loving smile. She'd always reminded her of herself with her ambitions and spirit. She would always insist on coming over to hear stories of her younger years because it inspired her to work towards her own dreams of stardom.
"Is there anything you need, Jessica?" Rachel asked in her now weakening older voice.
Jessica stepped in further and Rachel could see that she was clutching an old photo in her hand.
"I found this picture while cleaning up and I had to ask you about it," she said, handing out the worn out photograph to Rachel.
When she laid eyes upon the picture taken on the night of her Junior Prom with Jesse St. James, she gasped and smiled instantly. Jesse had insisted that they do prom right and take a few standard prom pictures next to the stairwell of her living room. Her memory had made the image of him in her mind fuzzy. The photograph reminded her just how perfect his curls were and just how enchanting his smile was. The sight of Jesse with his arms wrapped around her waist and her head against his chest took her back to that night instantly. It brought back a flood of emotions that she had always tried to forget because it simply hurt too much now. Despite that, she never went a day without thinking about him.
"I…I thought I lost this," she said softly, her old brown eyes pooling with tears. "I never thought I'd see this again."
Jessica put a caring hand down on her grandmother's shoulder as she looked at her with concern.
"Did you love him?" she asked softly.
Rachel smiled wistfully and glanced up from the picture.
"Sit down," she replied.
It was time that she finally told someone about it. Her life was drawing to a close and she didn't want the memory of her love for Jesse St. James to die when she did. She looked up at her granddaughter and explained how she met Jesse back in high school. Her smile never faded as she reminisced about their time together. She even laughed when she told her about the egging. It wasn't anything serious to her anymore because she understood why he did what he did. Age had also given her the wisdom to put silly things like that behind her.
When she got to the part of him returning to make amends, her smile faded slightly. She was getting close to the part of the story that she had never mentioned to anyone because it simply hurt too much. Despite that, she pushed through and told her about how she forgave him and he took her to prom.
"Your grandfather got jealous and tried to start a fight with him while we were dancing," she recalled, chuckling slightly, but frowning again when she remembered what happened after.
"So what happened?" Jessica asked anxiously.
"I was young and silly. I hadn't gotten over this childish dream that I belonged with the first boy to ever pay attention to me. But it turned out that my soul mate was right in front of me and I just couldn't see that…" she trailed off, reaching up to wipe a single tear from her cheek.
Jessica sat in patient silence, completely enthralled in the story. Once she had regained her composure, Rachel stood up and grabbed her cane to help her stay up. She reached out for her granddaughter's hand and Jessica stood up to help her walk. She led her slowly down to the basement where she instructed Jessica to grab a few boxes that were covered in dust. Rachel opened one and sat on a couch to examine the contents. She smiled when she pulled out her old McKinley year book and set it aside. Just underneath it was a group photo of New Directions on stage just after winning Nationals for the first time in New York City. She was smiling widely in between Kurt and Finn. She'd been the only one to outlive every member of New Directions and she really missed them to this day. The picture was taken right before she found out. She set the picture aside and pulled out a small trophy that she was given to each winner after Nationals. It was the only trophy that she didn't have on display somewhere in her house. The memories were just too painful.
Rachel turned back to her granddaughter and sighed. She was now ready to continue.
"Do you remember all those stories I told you about New Directions?" she asked with a weak smile.
Jessica nodded and grinned. Those stories were her favorites.
"Well when we went to Nationals here in New York for the first time, Jesse came with us to support us. He'd been trying to win me back ever since he came back in town and I wasn't sure. I knew I still loved him but I couldn't get over my love for your grandfather in time," she explained.
"In time? In time for what?"
Rachel felt her heart tear open all over again as the memories that she'd tried to force away came back as vivid as ever.
"I met him in Central Park a few hours before the competition. He said he wanted to talk to me about something and I already knew what it would be about."
It was a bright spring day and Rachel was in a hurry to get back to the group so they can get dressed for the competition. She'd promised Jesse that she'd meet with him briefly because she'd finally made up her mind. He stood there, too anxious to sit on one of the benches, looking as perfect as ever in his old black jean jacket that he loved so much. He ran his hand through his curls and stepped closer to her wearing a slightly nervous smile. Before she could say anything, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest and kissed the corner of her mouth.
"I choose Finn," she blurted out before he could pull away.
Jesse's hands dropped down to his sides before he stepped back and looked up at her with a brave face.
"Are you sure?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
She gave him a small nod and glanced down at her feet.
"I forgive you for what you did to me and I do still love you," she said in an attempt to ease the blow.
"Then why Finn?" he asked with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
She shrugged and tried to avoid his gaze.
"I still love him too and I've been spending so long trying to get him back. We had an amazing date together yesterday and I still wasn't sure. But I slept on it and I've realized that I need to see where it goes with him. I can't have any regrets," she explained quietly.
Jesse dropped his hands to his sides and placed them in his jacket pockets. His shoulders dropped in defeat as he nodded silently.
"Then I wish you and Finn all the happiness in the world," he said, placing a well rehearsed smile on his face to hide the agony that she knew he was really feeling.
"Jesse…I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about me," he said, smiling wistfully. "After the competitions, I'll stay here and try to audition. You go back to Lima and try things out with Finn. But Rachel…"
She looked up at him and nodded for him to continue. He took a step closer to her and grabbed her hand.
"If things don't work out with him, promise me that when you come back here to take Broadway by storm, you'll give me another shot?" he asked seriously, looking her in the eye.
She looked into his sad eyes and nodded.
"I promise."
He smiled and let go of her hand, taking a few steps back to leave.
"Where are you going?" she called after him.
"I think I'm going to go take a walk and clear my head," he said, continuing to walk back.
"Will you be at the competition?" she asked hopefully.
"Nothing could keep me away from one of your performances. Not even death. I promise I'll be there," he vowed.
"With flowers?"
"Of course."
She watched him give her one last weak smile before walking away with his hands in his pockets, unaware of what would happen next.
"Flowers…" she muttered to herself in regret. "I just had to ask for flowers."
Jessica touched her grandmother's shoulder and she jolted back to reality. She reached up and patted Jessica's hand before wiping away another stray tear.
"He never made it to the competition in time. I didn't know until after when my friend Kurt had told me that he had been texting him about it that he was running late because he was running all over the city for a florist that had my favorite flower. No matter where he looked, they didn't seem to have any pink lilies that day. By the time he found them, it was too late."
She looked down and swallowed back her tears, feeling her heart rip open all over again.
"The guard at the door to the theatre wouldn't let him in. The show had already started and nobody was allowed in after that…"
"So what did he do?"
Rachel looked down at the picture she had with Jesse in her hands and passed her finger tips over his face.
"After arguing with the guard and getting threatened to have the police called on him, he gave up and turned to leave. According to the guard's story, he stormed off into the street and didn't see the car coming…"
Jessica clapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what happened.
Rachel tried to hold herself together, but it was no use. It was hard enough to think about it. But to actually speak the story into words was even harder. Tears were now falling freely down her wrinkled cheeks and she pulled out her pink handkerchief to dry her eyes.
"They said that he died instantly. No serious pain," she managed to say before being overcome with another wave of tears.
She tried to sit up straight and take a few breaths to regain her composure once more.
"I didn't find out until after the competition. By the time our performance was over, I had realized that I'd made a big mistake. You see, your grandfather and I kissed on stage during our performance and… I couldn't feel the fireworks. It was then that I knew that he wasn't the one and I couldn't wait to run to Jesse after the performance and tell him that I was wrong. But as I waited in the lobby for him to show up with those flowers, I noticed a commotion going on outside. So I walked outside and…"
She placed her face in her hands to try and hold herself together as she recalled what she saw next.
"All I could see was what was left of the bouquet of pink lilies scattered all over the street. And I knew… I just knew. Nobody had to tell me," she remembered, shaking her head. "I ran out into the street and started trying to pick up the lilies, avoiding the traffic that was running them over. I remember screaming at the cars hysterically to stop running them over."
She reached into the box and pulled out the program for Nationals that year. In the center of the booklet was what was left of the old dried up lilies. She could never bring herself to throw them away after all the effort that he'd gone through to get them for her.
"Then I saw a small trace of blood in the street and lost it completely," she recalled painfully. "All I remember after that was collapsing in the middle of the street and having my teammates try and pull me back to the side walk before I could meet the same fate as he did…"
"Rachel, you need to move!" insisted Mister Schuester as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her away from the cars that were honking their horns at her.
"No! Let me go!" she screeched, tearing herself from his grasp to run for more of the scattered lilies that were getting run over by the cars.
She collapsed on the floor and scraped her hands and knees in the process of gathering the flowers. She reached out for one in front of her and saw the pool of blood, letting out a piercing scream.
Mister Schuester ran at her again and pulled her away and onto the curb.
"We'll go visit him in the hospital. Just-"
"NO! HE'S GONE!" she cried out in the midst of her sobs before collapsing into his arms. "He's gone…"
Rachel needed a moment to pull herself together and stood up to make her way back up stairs and make a pot of tea. Jessica grabbed onto her arm and helped her climb the steps. Once the tea was made, she sat at the table with her granddaughter and drank in silence.
"Why did you marry grandpa, then?" Jessica finally asked quietly. "If you didn't feel fireworks…"
Rachel stirred some honey into her tea in silence as she thought of how to formulate her words.
"After it happened, your grandfather was really supportive of me and tried to help me move on. I didn't want to be alone and I convinced myself that it was for the best. When I moved to New York, he came with me so I wouldn't have to be alone. I had almost decided against moving to New York, to be honest. Part of me didn't want to ever step foot in this city again after what happened," she explained.
"So what made you change your mind?" Jessica whispered.
Rachel chuckled and set her tea down.
"Jesse did," she said simply.
Jessica looked up at her grandmother in confusion, wondering if she was starting to lose her sanity. Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled that old picture out of her pocket and flipped it over to reveal writing on the back in Jesse's signature neat handwriting.
She was sitting on her bed in a tearful mess as she flipped through her college acceptance packages. There was a full ride waiting for her at Tisch if she chose to accept it, but she didn't know if she could. How could she face the city that reminded her of him so much? She'd see him wherever she went. She would see the twinkle in his eyes reflected through the bright lights, she'd hear his laughter in the midst of an audience's laughter. He'd be everywhere. Could she actually handle that kind of constant reminder?
No way.
Rachel stacked the acceptances and put them into her drawer before opening her acceptance to Ohio State. She could study music and become a teacher. It was a valid option. Biting her lip, she opened the drawer again and pulled out all of the envelopes to re-examine them. As she flipped through them, she saw an old looking sealed envelope that must have been stuck at the bottom of her drawer fall out onto her lap. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she picked it up and examined it. She recognized the handwriting on the envelope instantly and flipped it over to open it carefully. She didn't know how this piece of mail had avoided her for the past year and a half, but she just had to see what was inside.
All that was inside was a few pictures and no note. Slightly disappointed, she flipped through the pictures and choked back tears at the sight of how happy they were the night of her Junior Prom. That guilt that she'd tried to suppress flooded back to her as she clutched the pictures to her chest.
It was her fault. If she had seen the light sooner, maybe he would have left with her instead of going off on his own. If she hadn't asked for flowers, he wouldn't have been running late and wouldn't have gotten into that terrible accident. If it wasn't for her inability to make up her mind and her stupid selfishness, Jesse St. James would be alive right now. He'd be taking over Broadway already. But now, thanks to her, the world would never get a chance to know of him.
Overcome with emotion, she threw the pictures down. Only one of them flipped over. She picked it up when she noticed the writing on the back and read it over for the first of a thousand times.
Rachel,
Thank you for letting me back into your life again. No matter what happens between us, I'll never forget this night for as long as I live. I'll even be able to look back and laugh at how Finn tried (and miserably failed) to punch me. I feel honored that you included me on such a special night.
Seeing you on stage again when you sang reminded me just how much you belonged up there. I felt so incredibly proud of you to see how much you've grown as a performer and I can't wait to see you take on Broadway. It won't know what hit it.
If you ever need me, just call me.
Make me proud,
Jesse
"So you see, I just had to go to New York. There was no other option. Your grandfather offered to come with me and he got a job in construction to help me stay afloat while I went to school and auditioned. After I graduated, he proposed. To be honest, I felt as though I had no choice but to accept. He'd been so supportive of me throughout everything that I felt that I owed him," she explained. "As you know, it obviously didn't work out."
"Did you get any second thoughts before marrying him?" Jessica asked curiously.
"Oh, definitely."
Rachel stood in her hotel room fully dressed in her white gown. The ceremony was supposed to begin in a half hour and she was pacing in a hysterical wreck. All of her brides maids were knocking on the door and trying to get her to come out, but she wasn't ready. She just didn't know if she could actually go through with it.
Music. That's what she needed. It got her through everything, and it would get her through this.
She grabbed the remote control to the television and flipped through the music channels. As she flipped through, she passed a station playing old music videos and had to go back when she heard a brief clip of Jessie's Girl. She immediately flipped back and burst out into tears as she listened to the song.
Was this some kind of cruel twist of fate to have the song that Finn sang to her when she was with Jesse playing on the television right now? It wasn't supposed to be happening this way. She was supposed to be walking down the aisle to marry Jesse. She couldn't marry Finn when her heart was still so attached to Jesse. Maybe she would just stay single forever…
It was too much for her to take, so she shut the television off and cried into her pillow. But the music didn't stop. In another one of the hotel rooms, someone was playing their music so loud that she could hear it word for word. Whitney Houston's voice echoed through the room like a ghost and her words sent chills throughout her spine.
"I hope
life treats you kind
And I hope
you have all you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy
and happiness
But above all this
I wish you love
And I will always love you…"
She sat up slowly and listened to the song end. Once it was over, no other song played after that. The knocking on the door from the bridesmaids ceased. There was only silence.
"Jesse?" she whispered tearfully.
Of course there was no response.
"Jesse, please…" she begged. "I don't know what to do…I need a sign."
She knew it was crazy to want him to appear to her, but she was desperate.
Still, nothing.
Deep down, she knew he wouldn't show. She sighed and walked over to the mirror to wipe her eyes and remove her ruined makeup. The song was still stuck in her head, so she began to hum it for a few second before freezing in place.
"That song was my sign, wasn't it?" she whispered.
It was as though Jesse was telling her to go be happy and that he wished her the best while reminding her that he'd always love her. This of course sent her into another fit of tears that she would soon pull herself up from again. When she couldn't cry anymore, she washed her face and reapplied her makeup, fully set on marrying Finn.
She reached out for the handle and froze for a second before turning around.
"I don't know if you can hear this, Jesse. But I will always love you, too. And I will always be Jesse's girl."
That said, she straightened up and set off to go become Mrs. Hudson.
"My career took off after that and it helped distract me from the emptiness I felt in my marriage. My dreams had come true and I was cast in the title role of Evita, receiving a Tony Nomination for my performance. I've always dreamed of getting the chance since I was a little girl, but I wasn't so sure. Jesse was, though."
She was in full costume and ready to go on. Nerves were leaving her in a jittery mess. Deep down, she knew she had nothing to worry about. She'd been grooming herself for this her whole life. Everyone she cared about was in the audience waiting for her to make her Broadway debut. She could do this.
There was a knock at the door and she assumed it was the stage manager letting her know to be ready to go on soon. She opened the door and stepped back when she saw Finn standing there.
"Oh hi," she muttered, going back to sit in her seat.
"I just wanted to give you these flowers and tell you good luck," he said sincerely.
"FINN!" she snapped. "You don't say those words to an actress before she goes on! That's bad luck! I can't believe-"
She froze at the sight of the flowers. Her face grew hot with intense fury.
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" she snapped.
"What did I do?" he asked in confusion.
"Pink lilies?" she shouted, grabbing them and throwing them aside. "I can't believe you could be so insensitive!"
"But they're your favorite!"
"Finn, don't you know how hard this is already to be making my Broadway debut, knowing he can't be there? Then to have you bringing in the same flowers…"
Finn turned around and pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief. He saw the picture of Rachel and Jesse at their junior prom framed on the vanity counter and threw it against the wall. She rushed to it and picked up the photo gingerly and held it to her chest as she looked up at her husband with seething anger.
"I can't believe it. It's been seven years and you're still not over him!" he shouted.
"He died before he could ever make his dreams come true, Finn! I can't just forget about that!" she shrieked.
Finn rushed to her and grabbed her by her costume to pull her to her feet.
"You still love him, don't you? Admit it!"
Rachel looked away and nodded. He let go of her and turned to walk out on her.
"Finn…"
"What?" he asked without turning around.
"I want a divorce."
Sometimes she still wondered how she was able to pull herself up from that and deliver the amazing performance that she did. But she was a professional and the show had to go on. She allowed herself a minute to cry before straightening up and reapplying her makeup. Before she left to take her place, she looked down at that picture of Jesse and smiled. She bit her lip as she remembered when she spoke to him before her wedding. She had thought that the song that played was a sign from him to go off and get married with Finn. But now that she thought of it, he was just telling her to go be happy.
"I wish you could see me now," she whispered to the picture. "You said it was inevitability and you were right. I just wish that you could be there to see me. I miss you, Jesse... But, thank you for believing in me. I'm going to go make you proud now, okay?"
She picked up the picture and pressed it to her lips before straightening up and going off to take her place for the show. It went off without a hitch. As she sang "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," she looked off into the crowd to try and spot her family and friends. She almost broke character when she saw a flash of brown curls on the head of a shadowy figure in one of the partial view booths next to the stage. Goosebumps rippled through her body as she felt his presence as she tried to get a closer look, but it was gone. Maybe she'd imagined it, maybe Jesse St. James had actually made an appearance that night.
Maybe death really couldn't keep him away from a Rachel Berry performance.
"I asked for the divorce, but by that point, I was already pregnant with your mother," she went on to explain. "We still got the divorce and I went to the Tony Awards with a swollen belly and my best friend Kurt as my date," she recalled with a smile.
"Mom showed me the video of your Tony win," Jessica recalled.
"It was an amazing night…"
One of her co-stars had just called out her name into the microphone. She had just won her first Tony for Best Actress in a Musical her performance in the revival of Evita. Kurt squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek as she sat there in total shock.
"Go! Go!" he urged with a tearful smile.
She threw her arms around him before standing up to go claim her award. When she reached the stage and finally held it in her hands, she clapped her hand over her mouth and tried to fight back tears.
"I know its cliché, but I've been dreaming of this moment ever since I was a little girl. I had slushies thrown in my face every day because I dared to fight for this dream and here I am. Here it is," she said, tearfully holding up the award. "I'd like to thank my dads for putting me through years and years of dance and vocal lessons to groom me for my dream as well as for their undying support. I'd like to also send a special thank you to my best friend Kurt Hummel for being my rock throughout everything. To the cast and crew as well as my beautiful director for taking a chance on me. Thank you."
She looked down and swallowed hard before looking up again.
"I'd like to dedicate this award to someone who couldn't be here tonight. If he could, he'd be in the audience right now looking up at me proudly…after winning his own Tony of course," she laughed weakly before looking back out at the crowd. "But instead, he's looking down on me right now from above. This is for you, Jesse."
"Oh, it makes sense now. That's who Jesse was," Jessica muttered. "I always wondered who he was when I saw the clip of your win."
Rachel smiled and sipped her tea.
"Now you know."
Jessica leaned against her hand and looked down at her own tea with a frown.
"How come you never remarried?" she asked quietly.
Rachel shrugged.
"I came close to it a few times, but I started to prefer my independence. Nobody ever seemed worth it enough to settle down for. I was on fire flying all over the world to perform concerts and film movies. Falling in love again would only slow me down," she explained.
"And you never met anyone who ever made you feel the same way Jesse felt, right?" asked Jessica.
"Nobody ever came close."
Jessica smiled and stood up to put their mugs in the sink and wash them. Rachel watched her granddaughter for a few seconds and grinned as she remembered when she was born.
"Name her Jessica," she remembered herself say.
Even though it wasn't his name, she'd always think of him when everyone began calling her "Jessie". It was her own way of making sure that Jesse lived on in some way. Now that she'd told her the story, his memory would definitely live on.
"Jess?" she called to her from her seat at the table.
"Yes, Grandma?" she said, turning around to face her.
"If you ever find someone that special that treats you right and makes you feel amazing in your own skin, don't let them go. If you have a gut feeling that they're the one. Go for it," she advised her.
Jessica nodded and walked over to wrap her arms around her grandmother in a loving hug.
"Don't ever forget what I told you today," she said in the midst of their hug.
"I promise, I won't," she vowed.
That night, Rachel placed that picture of her and Jesse from Junior Prom in a new frame on her bedside table next to her Tony. She sat at the edge of her bed and ran her hand against his face quickly before lying down and pulling the covers over her. She gave the picture one final glance before shutting her eyes to fall asleep.
Just when she had actually begun to drift off to sleep, she heard her name whispered at the end of her room. Maybe she missed him so much, that she had actually heard his voice. Maybe she was dreaming. Either way, she kept her eyes shut and continued to wait for sleep to come.
That's when she heard the music.
Was she going crazy, or was she actually hearing a chorus of voices? Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up to go investigate the source of the music. Maybe Jessica was watching one of her old show choir competition DVDs again.
She reached out for the doorknob and pulled it open, only to find herself standing in a different hallway. This wasn't her house…
Accepting the fact that she must be dreaming, she continued down the hallway and the music she was hearing grew louder. A smile flickered across her lips as she recognized the song that she was hearing. The chorus of youthful singers was singing Like a Prayer beautifully. She found herself singing along to the lyrics and was startled to hear that her voice sounded the way it did when she was a teenager. Her hand clasped to her mouth in shock and she felt her face. There wasn't a trace of wrinkles anywhere. In this dream, she was young again! Overcome with happiness, she ran down the rest of the hallway with the energy that came with being young and threw the curtains at the end of the hallway open. She looked around to see where she was and teared up at the sight of the McKinley High School auditorium around her. Up on the stage was all of the members of New Directions singing the beautiful song with their eyes on her.
They all paused and the song started up again for her to take her cue. The spotlight came down and hit her and she opened her mouth to sing the opening lines of Like a Prayer.
Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone.
I hear you call my name and it feels like home.
She ran up the rest of the way to the stage and joined her old friends in singing the song as she went up to each of them one by one to hug them. She even gave Santana a tight hug because she'd actually grown to miss her attitude. Even Mister Schuester joined in with the chorus. She ran to him and hugged him as well because she'd really missed his guidance over the years. As she continued to come face to face with her old friends, she saw Finn singing along and ran over to hug him. He kissed her cheek and spun her around to find herself face to face with Kurt. They threw their arms around each other tearfully as they both tried to continue to sing the song, but their emotions got the better of them.
The chorus continued to sing the song, their voices rising higher like a chorus of angels.
Life is a mystery…
Kurt let her go and pushed her into the center of the stage and she looked up to see the figure of that young man with his back turned in that black jean jacket standing at the end of the catwalk with those brown curls that she could recognize anywhere.
Everyone must stand alone.
"Jesse!" she called out loudly.
I hear you call my name.
At the sound of her voice, he turned around and let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding for an eternity. She shuddered at the sight of him there. The vision of him was so vivid that she could swear it was real. Their eyes connected and it felt like...
And it feels like….
They ran to each other as fast as their legs could carry them. The second the chorus sang the word 'home', Rachel jumped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as he held her securely with his strong arms. She pressed her forehead to his and looked down into his eyes. It felt so real.
It was real.
Suddenly it dawned on her that she was dead. But she was too happy to feel sad. This was a happy occasion and she only wanted to celebrate. Tears spilled from her eyes as she reached her hands up to cup his face and pull his lips to hers in the kiss that she'd been longing for her whole life.
Jesse spun her around and set her back down on the ground before reaching up to stroke her face.
"I've been waiting for you," he finally said, his voice just as beautiful as she remembered.
"Jesse, I'm so sorry I didn't choose you and that I told you to get the flowers and—"
Jesse silenced her with another kiss before pulling away and shaking his head.
"We could have had it all," she said painfully.
"We still can," he replied over the sound of the chorus' singing.
She looked at him in confusion and reached up to touch his face, trying to make sure that he was really there. He leaned his face into her touch and closed his eyes momentarily before opening them to look back down at her. The sound of the singing voices that sang the song on a loop died down and all she could hear was his voice.
"We're still here, aren't we? Our love is still real, isn't it? Life and death is simply a tiny chapter in the greater picture. But it can never come in between true love. You and I are destined to be together. Maybe, not in that life, but now we have the rest of forever and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd like to spend eternity with," he said sincerely.
"Forever?" she repeated, smiling up at him.
"Just as it was meant to be. It's an inevitability," he replied with a loving grin.
They threw their arms around each other and sealed their promise to spend eternity together with a passionate kiss. Jesse stepped back and pulled her down the catwalk to join the rest of the group.
"Let's finally finish this song, shall we?" he asked with a smirk.
"Absolutely."
Jesse stroked her cheek and pecked her lips briefly before the spotlight hit him.
"It's like a dream. No end and no beginning. You're here with me; it's like a dream…"
Mercedes stepped out and touched both of their shoulders before singing her line, "Let the choir sing…"
Jesse and Rachel joined in with the chorus to sing the rest of the song. They danced around the stage and clapped in celebration of finally being reunited after so long. It was the most amazing feeling to be with the people who she spent some of the best years of her life with all in the same room. There was not a trace of bitterness or grief from any possible grudges that may have been held from so long ago. Everyone was just happy to be together again. Even Finn came up to Jesse and shook his hand before grabbing Rachel's and placing it in Jesse's. She smiled thankfully at Finn before squeezing Jesse's hand and looking out into the bright light ahead of them and singing the final words to the song with the rest of their friends.
As Jesse lifted her up and spun her around, she felt excitement course through her veins. Their separation was over and now they had the rest of forever to be with each other.
Just as it was meant to be.
It was an inevitability.