Title: Shattered Hearts
Author: bubbles799
Show: Glee
Characters: Finn/Rachel, with mentions of Kurt and Rachel's Dad's
Summary: Her heart was shattered, and she wasn't sure it could ever be fixed again. Oneshot, in light of the recent tragedy.
Disclaimer: I have no rights over Glee, or its characters. I've just borrowed them.
/
Like many of you, I am struggling with the news of Cory Monteith's death. I had the honour and privilege of meeting and working with Cory on several occasions, through my work as both a journalist and actress. I'm sending my thoughts and wishes to his family, Lea, co-stars and fans on the shock news. He was without a doubt a very loved man that will be sorely missed but never forgotten.
But this was something that came into my head, and I really just needed to write it all down. I know many of you won't, or just simply can't, read or watch anything Glee related; I get that. I just hope you understand that this is just one way of expressing some emotions. My mind copes with things with words, sometimes inspiring fan fictions.
/
Kurt stood, watching his best friend as the makeup artist gave one final long sweep of blush along her cheek. He didn't want to be here; he should be in the crowd with her family and loved ones, dancing at the excitement of her first night on Broadway. But he'd promised Carole; the less she had to deal with the better.
Rachel was composed, not that he should have expected anything less from Miss Berry. She had, after all, been born to be at this night. Her big Broadway debut, and playing Fanny Brice at that.
And here he was to tear it away from her.
"Kurt!"
Her excitable squeal breaks him from his trance as she comes bouncing over. The tails on her robe flick wildly as she engulfs him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here," she adds. Still jolting slightly, she looks up at her friend, only just now noticing how his face was completely white, whiter then normal, and that his eyes were puffy. Frankly, she was concerned; Kurt would never usually go out looking such a mess.
"What's wrong? Kurt?"
Kurt took a deep breath, looking everywhere but at Rachel as she tried searching for his eyes, holding his shoulders. Until he couldn't look away any more.
"It's Finn."
Rachel felt her heart stop. If ever a man's name could stop her in her tracks, it would be Finn's. The sinking feeling in her stomach grew, and the grip on her chest was tightening more and more with each second. Kurt threw his head and blinked rapidly as the tears threatened, those same tears he had promised himself he'd hold off until he'd told Rachel.
"There was an accident."
Rachel went backwards, whether it was a conscious step or a stumble he wasn't sure. Kurt's words blurred and she was barely hearing them. None of it made sense. Her mouth was open and she was taking deep breaths, well on her way to hyperventilating. Her hand was over her mouth, and before long, she was slowly sinking closer to the ground. Kurt knelt and held her as she cried.
By this point, a few of her Funny Girl cast mates had gathered. At the nearby door, a producer ushered her Dad's in, Hiram immediately bending and enclosing his only daughter in a hug as sobs wracked her body. LeRoy, looking from his husband and daughter to the broken man standing next to him, put a hand on his shoulder. Kurt looked at LeRoy, before the older man circled him in a hug.
"I'm sorry son."
Kurt just nodded his head, wiping his eyes as he pulled back and looked down at Rachel. LeRoy had begun talking to executives and producers who had gathered.
/
Ten minutes later, Rachel's grief was still raw, but her tears had begun to subside as she sat on the couch in her dressing room. She sat in disbelief, her heart breaking at the news of the loss of the man she considered the love of her life.
"Rachel, sweetheart," Hiram's broke her thoughts. "Lets get you home."
"No."
Both her Dad's and Kurt looked down at Rachel, as she went to continue. She bravely wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up.
"I'm doing this. It's my opening night, I'm Fanny Brice and I'm going out there and performing."
"Rachel, we don't expect you to continue. Not tonight," Martina, an executive on the production spoke up. "Annie is getting ready, she understands what's happened." Rachel didn't even need to look to her understudy who was sitting in the makeup chair nearby.
"I'm doing this," she started, as the tears threatened to spill again. But she held them back. "Broadway is my dream, it always has been. But the only thing that has ever been above my goal for Broadway is Finn." She paused, taking in a shaky breath. "And he gave that up for me to achieve my dreams. This is what he wanted me to do."
/
The talented actress she always was, Rachel somehow managed to make it through the entire performance. Her heart ached with each note she sung, and her head swirled with thoughts of Finn. As she belted out the last note on the final song for the night, Rachel finally began to break, catching sight of her fathers and Kurt in the crowd. She desperately wanted to see one face out there, to forget the last few hours and for everything to be a dream.
But it wasn't. It never would be.
Stepping off stage, Rachel barely made it behind the curtain before she collapsed, the full emotions of what had happened hitting her like a tidal wave.
His words echoed in her mind.
"We are endgame."
Her heart was shattered, and she wasn't sure it could ever be fixed again.
/
I'm big enough to admit this made me teary, and that I've shed my fair share of tears today at hearing the news. I'm dreading tomorrow, where I have to go and face it full on. Not the rosiest day to be in my line of work. We just have to remember that the amount of love that has been poured out in our devastation, can help the family left behind. It's very clear how much he was loved.
The loss of such an inspiring person is never easy to understand. I hope that, in spite of your grief, you did enjoy this. If you could, I'd appreciate it if you could leave a review on the way out, however small or big.
In the meantime, my wishes to you all, and Cory's family.