Finn found himself the day of the show, pacing in his office and staring down at people below on the streets. He didn't know why this was bothering him so much. He hasn't seen Jesse in over ten years, a lifetime ago, but the memories that surfaced whenever he thought about that time, made his blood boil still to this day. Even after being with Rachel for so long, Finn still had this need to protect her and when memories of Jesse surfaced, so did memories of her birth mother, Shelby.

Sighing loudly in the comfort of his enclosed office, Finn plopped down on the leather chair and reached for his phone. He needed to make sure she was okay. He scrolled through his contacts quickly, finding Rachel on his speed dial and waited patiently while the phone rang. It went right to voicemail, which Finn found strange. He decided to try her at home knowing she was with Ellie. He got up from the chair and started pacing the length of his office as he called the number again with no luck. Feeling a weird tingling in his belly, Finn knew his intuition was telling him something was wrong. Grabbing his jacket and briefcase that were resting on the visitor chairs in front of his desk, Finn ran out of the room as quickly as possible. Stopping only to tell the secretary that he was taking his lunch break, Finn ran out to his car and sped home, praying the whole way that Rachel was okay.

The half hour drive to their apartment took Finn twenty minutes and fortunately no speeding tickets from New York's finest. He jogged up the stairs of the apartment building, taking two steps at a time. Opening the door to their apartment, Finn was struck with a weird feeling again. It was unusually quiet when he knew that both his wife and daughter were home. Placing his jacket and bag on the lounger by the television, Finn moved quietly through the living room, listening for any sound that may help him locate his family. Venturing down the hallway, Finn walked past his bedroom door and was heading for Ellie's room when he heard a strangled cry. With his senses on full alert, he back peddled toward their bedroom. Looking inside, the room was empty but he could see a light shining from the crack underneath the bathroom door. Taking two long strides across the room, Finn opened the bathroom door and almost couldn't believe what he saw.

"Rach, my god, are you okay? What's wrong?" Finn ran to her, collapsing in a heap on the floor beside her. He put his arms around her and pulled her shaking form onto his lap. She was sobbing loudly now and trying to muffle the sounds by burying her head in Finn's shoulder but failing miserably. She gripped his shirt tightly and cried as Finn rocked her back and forth, murmuring quietly in her ear, doing anything to sooth her. After a few moments, Rachel's sobbing turned into soft whimpering and Finn took that as a good sign. Gently and slowly, Finn released Rachel from his hold and moved so he could look at her. She looked heartbreakingly beautiful to him but he knew it would be inappropriate to tell her that now. Her tears left black streaks running down her blotchy cheeks and her usual perfectly styled hair was knotty and wild.

"Babe, what's going on with you? Is everything okay? Where's Ellie?"

Rachel sniffled as she wiped away a few tears off her face.

"Ellie's in her room taking a nap. She was exhausted."

Finn internally sighed in relief. Their daughter was safe so the reason for her tears were something else entirely. He moved a few strands of hair out of her eyes and smiled tentatively.

"Rachel, what's wrong? Why the tears?"

"Finn, I was putting Ellie to bed and before I kissed her goodnight, she told me she loved me. For some reason that got to me and I just couldn't control my emotions. After I left her room, I came in here to take a shower but I never made it. I've been crying for over twenty minutes and, and, it just hurts so much Finn." The tears started to trickle down her cheeks again and Finn brushed them away with his thumb.

"Is it Jesse?" Finn asked quietly.

"Yes….no…kind of. You know I have no feelings for him Finn, but I can't help but hurt whenever I see him or even think about him because whenever I do think about him, I think about my mo-Shelby. It's been so long since I've seen her or even spoken to her but it still hurts and it will always hurt." She took a deep shaky breath before continuing. "I don't want Ellie to ever feel the pain that I've been through with Shelby. It hurts too much Finn."

"Rachel, please look at me." Finn placed his hand underneath her chin and brought her face close to his. He looked her in the eyes and she could see the passion burning intensely behind the sadness. "Rach, Ellie will never feel the emotions and feelings that you've felt with Shelby. Ellie has the most beautiful, caring, thoughtful, loving, selfless mother in all New York. She knows that you love her and you'll always be there for her. Even now when she's only two years old, who brings Ellie her glass of water at night?"

Finn smiled softly at Rachel noticing that the tears had stopped. She gave him a watery smile back and took another shaky breath before kissing Finn tenderly.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear after breaking the kiss. "You always know what to say."

He smiled against her hair and placed a kiss on her temple before looking at her again.

"Rachel, we don't have to go to this play if you don't want to."

She shook her head abruptly. "No, I'm going with you tonight. I don't care if I have to see him. I'll be okay Finn."

"Are you sure Rach?"

She smiled brightly at him even though some of the sadness was still lingering in her heart.

"Yes. I'm sure."