DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)

A/N: I haven't written a fic that was only in Rachel's perspective in a very long time. I'll miss writing Finn's internal ramblings this time around.


Chapter Two: Interrogations


She had been at the police station for two hours; two long and exhausting hours where all she did was regurgitate every detail of her life to the detectives who were in charge of her case. When her fathers had come home to find their daughter barricaded in her room they had panicked, and Rachel had told them all about the letter she had received after lunch and the phone call she had gotten after school. They were just as terrified as she was and had brought her to the police station immediately.

Now all she wanted to do right now was go home. She had told the police everything they had asked her for. She described all of the boys she had dated and all the friends she had at school. She explained how she'd been previously tortured by the mindless bullying of jocks, but nothing compared to the horror she'd experienced throughout the day. She knew deep down that this wasn't some prank by Azemio or another brain-dead loser trying to fit in.

This was something worse. Something sinister and deadly serious. Her hands were still trembling as she sat in the stainless steel interrogation room, the events of the day still churning around in her head as she looked around the space, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts. There was one door, and a mirror on the wall at the far end of the room. She'd seen enough tv to know that the mirror was actually a one-way soundproof window, and she wondered what the detectives were doing behind there; analyzing her like she was an animal in a cage. When was she going to get some answers? Was she going to get the help she needed?

After what felt like an eternity, the door finally opened and the officer, Detective McNally, stepped inside and shut the door behind him, sitting across from Rachel at the nondescript table. He shot her a grimace that was supposed to be a smile and sighed heavily before speaking.

"Well Ms. Berry, we traced the call from your cell phone. It was made from a public phone, but it wasn't too far from the school. Is there anyone you know who would want to scare you like this in any way?"

"I told you everything about my social life, Detective. I may not be the most popular, or beloved student at McKinely, but I don't think I ever did anything to warrant this kind of attention." She shook her head. "I'm lucky enough to have had my share of admirers for someone as young as I am, but we all ended on amicable terms. The only person I could imagine doing anything like this is Jacob Ben Israel and even that is a bit extreme."

"Well, we've called him in, along with some other suspects that might fit the profile." He looked down at his notepad and read off the names. "First we have Sam Evans."

"Sam? Sam wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"You did go to prom with him though, correct?"

"Well yeah, but we did a double-date thing with my ex-boyfriend Jesse."

"Well, St. James is coming in too. He's got plenty of motive from what we gathered from you. He had the chance to get out of Ohio but he dropped out of college and wound up back at home. Maybe he's jealous of what you've yet to accomplish? Plus, from what I understand, he doesn't really like your boyfriend, Finn Hudson, does he?"

A strange chill crept up her spine. Could Jesse really be capable of doing this? She didn't want to believe it but the motive was eerily accurate. She tried to chase the wicked thoughts out of her head. Jesse was an egotistical perfectionist with a diva streak that rivaled her own, but he was no stalker! "Well, he and Finn might not get along, but I don't really think he would do this to me."

"What about Puckerman?" The detective asked, rolling his eyes at the name.

"I take it you know him?" She asked, hiding a smile. Of course the police would know Noah. "He doesn't have enough brains to come up with a plan like this. Plus, he's a petty thug, not a psycho stalker."

"But you think this Ben Israel kid might be a psycho stalker?"

She chewed her lip, not wanting to think the worst of anyone yet desperate for some answers. "I don't know. I think he's pathetic, but I don't know if he's crazy."

He scribbled some more notes on his pad as she tried her best to answer his questions again. "Well, we have some other people coming in as well besides those four, but I want to talk to you about your boyfriend, Finn Hudson."

She froze, still as stone as the question hung in the air.

"Finn?" The detective nodded. "What about Finn?"

"Well, I think we have to address the possibility that it might be him."

She shot out of her chair like a bullet, palms pressed flat on the cold steel table as she stared into the detectives guarded eyes. "Never." She said, her voice as icy as the steel. "Finn would never do this to me."

"Now just calm down, little missy. As of right now he's the prime suspect."

His words did not calm her down at all. "This is ludicrous! You have no proof at all that Finn is involved in any of this; which he's not because he loves me and would never do something so heinous."

The detective addressed her in a calm, even tone. "Tell me, where was Finn when you received the phone call this afternoon?" The question knocked the air right out of her as she slumped back into her seat, her chest feeling like it was suddenly caving in on itself.

"He was cleaning out his gym locker." She answered, her voice strangely hollow as a dangerous thought entered her mind. No, he would never. . .

"Does Finn know your locker combination?"

"Yes." Her mouth moved of it's own accord.

"You stated that you were leaving Ohio after graduation next year, something the stalker addressed on the phone. What does Finn think about your future plans?"

"Stop it." Her voice was low, so low she could barely hear herself. The detectives words were poisonous and she could feel the venom burning her from the inside out. No matter what the detective said, she had to believe that Finn would never do this to her. Finn was her boyfriend, her one true love, and if she couldn't trust him then who could she trust? "Finn loves me. He supports me and my decision to move to New York. He knows how much this means to me and would never hold it against me. I know you think you've found an air-tight case against him but you're wrong. Finn has nothing to do with this, I promise you."

"I really hope so, Ms. Berry, but we have to be meticulous and consider all options until we gather enough evidence to arrest and convict somebody. Unfortunately, you ripped up the letter and threw it away along with any forensic evidence we could have gotten off the note. The phone call trace came up empty. We have to resort to old-fashioned profiling until we have more to work with. My partner, Detective Traeger, is going to bring in all the suspects now, and you can watch their interrogations from behind the mirror. You know these people way better than we do, and you can tell us if they're lying about anything important that we should know. After we're done you can go."

"Fine." She said, crossing her arms while the detective's words echoed in her head. She closed her eyes and tried to block out his voice as he led her into the adjacent room, where she could see through the glass into the hard steel room. She wrapped her arms around her midriff, holding herself tightly, afraid she was going to fall apart at any moment. The day was starting to overwhelm her and she wanted it all to be over already.

But she had to stand there and watch as the first of the suspects was called into the room. It was Sam, and she watched, worried as he shuffled in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with his surroundings as the detectives stared him down.

"Now son, can you tell me where you were this afternoon at 3:15?"

"I was at home- well, what I consider to be home nowadays," he said, referring to the hotel room he was living in with his family. "I had to watch my siblings until my parents got back."

"Do you know anyone who would want to scare Rachel, maybe even hurt her?"

"No way. I only moved here this year, but Rachel has been pretty cool. She talks a lot sometimes and she wears a lot of pink but that's not really bad. There was a pink power ranger." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Alright son, that's all we need. You can go." There was no way Sam was capable of such a monstrous act, she thought as he ducked out of the door. The police didn't have enough evidence to keep any of the suspects overnight, so they were just asking simple questions and trying to make the most of the information they received.

Puck was in next. Detective Traeger gave him a high five like they were old buddies.

"Staying out of trouble, I hope?" Puck wiggled his eyebrows.

"You know me, dude. What am I in for now? I promise you, I was just giving her a ride home."

"No, kid, it's about Rachel Berry. Where were you this afternoon at 3:15?"

"I was with my main squeeze, Lauren. She was using me as her punching bag during a sparring practice after school. I have the bruises on my ass to prove it."

"What can you tell me about your relationship with Rachel?"

He scoffed loudly. "What relationship? I macked it on her a few times but never got past first base. That girl's legs are locked up tighter than Fort Knox." Rachel wanted to hide from mortification as hot flames rose to her cheeks. "Is this about the creepy letter she got at school? I think it was Jacob Ben Israel to be honest. Fucking perv has been obsessed with her for a while. Everyone knows it."

"Thank you for your input." The detective said with heavy sarcasm. "Get the hell outta here, Puckerman, and stay out of trouble." Puck flashed them the peace sign as he left the room and they called in the next suspect for questioning. She stifled a gasp when she saw Quinn Fabray breeze into the room.

"Alright, now what am I doing here?" She said, already annoyed as she took her seat.

"Ms. Fabray, what do you know about the letter Rachel received today in school?" The blonde scoffed.

"All I know is that someone out there has terrible taste in women and way too much time on their hands."

"The stalker doesn't necessarily have to be a man," the detective said as Rachel's interest piqued. "She got a phone call after school that used some choice phrases, inferring that this stalker is in love with her. However, the stalker could have said those things to throw us off, so we would focus on male suspects instead of, maybe, a girl who still hasn't gotten over her ex-boyfriend? The same ex-boyfriend that's dating the victim."

Quinn's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you trying to imply?"

"You and Rachel have never been close. She's dating your ex-boyfriend. She's leaving Ohio for greater things. There's reason to be jealous."

Rolling her eyes liberally, Quinn looked almost bored at the interrogation. "I won't lie and say that I don't still have my issues with her, but I have better things to do with my time." She said, picking a cuticle on her nail. "Can I go now? I watch TV, you know. You can't keep me here without proof that I did something."

"Yeah, go on." Rachel bit her lip as time seemed to stretch out forever. Part of her wished she didn't have to watch this; she didn't want to lose faith in the people that she trusted in her life, and she didn't want to be suspicious of her own friends. But she was so damn scared; she had no choice but to try and figure this out.

Her breath caught in her throat when Jesse entered the room next. He was followed in by a lawyer, which she realized was perfectly legal but also extremely suspicious. Why would Jesse want a lawyer when all he had to do was answer a few questions?

"Mr. St. James, are you aware that your ex-girlfriend Rachel Berry received both a phone call and a letter of a disturbing nature this afternoon?"

"I wasn't aware of it until you came to my house asking for me to come in for questioning. Thank goodness my father has a live-in lawyer that's always on retainer in case of emergencies like this one."

The detective nodded his head, but Rachel could tell that he was annoyed at the presence of the lawyer. "Where were you at 3:15 this afternoon?" Jesse held up a finger, as if to pause the conversation as the detective looked on in shock. He leaned his head in close to the lawyer as he whispered a few words into his ear, then turned back to the frowning detective.

"I exercise my right not to answer that question."

Rachel was stunned. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room as she tried her best to focus on what was unfolding in front of her.

"Can you tell me about your relationship with Ms. Berry?" She watched through the translucent glass as Jesse whispered to his lawyer once more. The bespectacled man in the dark suit adjusted his tie and spoke for Jesse as he sat silently, smirking to himself.

"My client refuses to answer any questions unless there is sufficient evidence to charge him with a crime." The implication of the statement chilled Rachel to the bone as she watched Jesse leave the room in shock. What could he possibly be hiding? Why wouldn't he answer their simple questions? She was filled with a disconcerting sense of paranoia as the interrogations continued once more. Jesse's smug smile was haunting her for reasons she couldn't understand, and for a moment she truly wondered if he was capable of riling her up with a stunt like this. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Jesse definitely was capable of a stunt like this, and her fists clenched in anger as he became her number one suspect.

Jacob Ben Israel came in next, snapping her out of her dark and depressing thoughts. He already looked like he wanted to wet himself, and the self proclaimed gossip guru of McKinley was practically shaking as the detective started his questions. He had an airtight alibi since he was working on the school newspaper with Sue Sylvester, and she believed him when he said that he was unaware of the threats that she had received.

She was positive that they had gone through all possible suspects as the clock ticked later on into the night, and she secretly hoped they would let her go home now. Unfortunately for her there was still one more person, and her heart dropped into her stomach like a rock when the door opened again and Finn walked into the room.

She almost started to cry on principle alone. Finn looked so lost, so out of place surrounded by the cold, hard gray steel that sucked the warmth out of everything in the room. He fidgeted in his chair as he waited for the questions to start, and she could feel her heart breaking as his eyes glanced over the glass, unaware that she was standing right behind it.

"Finn, you're here tonight so we can talk about Rachel." His posture perked up instantly and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Where is she? She hasn't returned any of my calls and I'm worried. Is she here? Can I see her?"

"Whoa kid, slow down." Detective McNally said. "She's here but you can't see her just yet. I need you to tell us where you were this afternoon at 3:15."

"I was in the locker room, cleaning out my gym locker for the end of the year."

"Can anyone stand by your alibi? Was anyone there with you that we can talk to?"

He shook his head and her heart broke for him. This didn't look good at all. "No, not really."

"Finn, Rachel received a phone call this afternoon from her supposed stalker. He talked about being in love with her, and wanting her to stay in Ohio." She watched as Finn's face hardened into stone. "We know about your relationship with Rachel, and her plans for next year. Son, if you're upset about this, we can find you the help you need without anyone else getting hurt. Especially Rachel."

Finn was looking in-between the two detectives and she could tell that he was slowly putting the pieces together. "Do you think I'm the one who's doing this?" He started to breathe deeply, his hands clenching into fists. "I-I would never! I love Rachel! I-," he stuttered, "this is crazy!"

"Love can make people do crazy things, Finn. This is your chance to talk to us before this gets out of hand."

"I haven't done anything wrong. I want to see Rachel." He said, closing himself off from any more questions as her heart started to pound like a jackhammer. If he lost control of his temper then things would only get worse for him. "Where is she? I want to see her."

"Now just calm down, son. . ." Detective McNally put a hand on his shoulder to placate him but he brushed it off.

"I'm not your son!" He yelled, shooting out of his seat while the detectives went on full alert, reaching for their cuffs to restrain Finn. "I want to see Rachel!" Things were getting out of control fast. She needed to see Finn or else he would never calm down.

She started to bang on the soundproof glass and all three heads on the other side turned towards the shaking mirror with various frowns adorning their faces. Detective McNally looked the angriest, and left Detective Traeger in the room with Finn while he came to speak with her.

"What are you doing?" He hissed at her. "You're interfering with a police investigation!"

"No, I'm trying to stop you from arresting my overwhelmed boyfriend who did nothing wrong and just wants to see me!"

"That kid in there might be your stalker." He said with an edge to his voice. "You don't know if you can trust him."

"Yes I do," she said with all the conviction she could muster. "I know it in my heart that I can trust him because I love him and he loves me." The detective rolled his eyes at her and eventually nodded.

"Little girls and their perfect fairytale fantasies," he scoffed. "I hope yours doesn't get you hurt, kid. Come on." He led her back into the room and when Finn spotted her he crossed the span of the room in two long strides as he took her into his arms, holding her as tightly as she could without suffocating. He pressed a long, lingering kiss to her forehead as she tried to bury herself in him, wanting to forget about this whole ordeal and just get some sleep.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice rife with worry as she nodded against him, breathing him in and letting his scent soothe her damaged soul. "We're gonna find the lunatic who's doing this, Rachel, I promise." She saw the detectives watch them with eyes narrowed in suspicion as they addressed her.

"You go home and get some sleep. We'll keep in contact with you if we get any more information and you need to call us immediately if anything else happens. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright," Detective McNally turned around to directly address Finn. "You take good care of her, you hear?"

"Yes sir." His grip around her tightened and she held onto him for dear life.

"If anything happens to her you'll be right back here in a heartbeat, in handcuffs this time." Rachel closed her eyes against the heartbreaking images that flashed in her head. Finn in handcuffs, police sirens; it was all too much for her to bear.

"As long as she's with me, Rachel is safe." He smiled down at her for reassurance, but the panic in her heart did not subside.

She didn't feel safe. She didn't feel safe at all.


Rachel's Final Thoughts: What would Jesse need a lawyer for? I don't get it.

Until next time. . . sings. . . Don't Stop Reviewing!

Merci mille fois mes amis!