A/N: I would absolutely love some more reviews on this, I'm still trying to figure out just how to put what I have in my head into a story so feedback would be wonderful.


Staring across her counter at Jesse, Rachel fought back sobs as the stress and confusion of today's development weighed on her brain. The man across from her was blissfully unaware of it all and she envied him. That had been her twelve hours earlier and now the life she'd carefully crafted seemed like sand drifting through her fingers.

When she'd awoken for the third day in a row immediately needing to bolt for the toilet to spew her guts Rachel was concerned but not overly so. She figured her body was unhappy with the way she'd been eating and so she planned to evaluate the ingredients in her kitchen in hopes of finding the culprit. It wasn't until after a phone call with her agent when she was entering things into her day calendar that the true reasoning for her sickness started to worm its way into her brain. It had already been a month since opening night and with her days all blurring together she couldn't recall having a visit from Aunt Flo since the week leading up to their first show. She'd tried not to let herself panic, telling herself that her body was just adapting to the crazy new schedule she'd put it on. But when the smell of her attempt at breakfast sent her running for the bathroom again she immediately raced down the street to the pharmacy and fifteen minutes later she was once again hovered over the toilet, this time with a little white stick held underneath her.

Unable to believe the first test, Rachel downed a bottle of water before peeing on two more pieces of plastic, items that mere minutes later had joined their buddy in mocking her with pink smiley faces and the word 'pregnant' staring her in the face. She refused to believe that there was any way that she could be pregnant and was determined to pretend that everything was fine and to go about her normal routine before heading to the theater for the show. However, her body knew the truth and since taking those stupid tests she'd found herself unable to stray far from the bathroom for more than twenty minutes.

The more she threw up, the more her brain shoved the results of those little sticks back at her and so it wasn't long before her puking was accompanied by uncontrollable sobbing. Reluctantly, Rachel had called their director and informed him that she needed a sick day before crawling into bed, wanting to hide from the world. She was doing a decent job at it until Jesse had called her. Seeing his name on her phone screen made Rachel freeze and once again she couldn't help but cry. When he'd texted that he was coming over after the show part of her wanted to just push him away and continue to hide in her room where she could pretend that she wasn't carrying her co star's child. The other part of her knew that he would only be more insistent and concerned if she didn't let him come over and so she'd simply unlocked her door before falling into bed again, drifting off a bit until his knocking startled her awake and sent her bolting for the bathroom for what seemed like the hundredth time today.

Watching him make himself at home in her kitchen now, Rachel felt a few tears roll down her cheeks, tears which she quickly wiped away so that Jesse wouldn't see them.

"I'm going to sit on the couch." She whispered, her voice shaky as she grabbed the blanket he'd draped over her shoulders before going to curl up on the softer piece of furniture. She hadn't realized that those were the first words she'd spoken to him since he'd arrived but as he watched her walk away Jesse certainly did.

Just a few minutes later, Jesse set a steaming mug of tea in front of her as well as a bowl of soup. Rachel wasn't sure that she could eat anything but the way Jesse was looking at her told her that he was expecting her to try.

"Drink the tea first, it's peppermint and should help soothe your stomach." He explained softly as he sat down next to her, his own mug of tea in his hands. It appeared that his was lemon based on the smell and she wasn't really surprised since they both had an affinity for it since it helped keep their voices in top shape. As the tea cooled, Rachel reached for the mug and sipped slowly, waiting for it to send her stomach curling. When it didn't she sighed softly and rested her head back against the couch.

"How'd the show go?" She found herself asking and when Jesse didn't respond she found a sharp giggle escaping her throat. "Was it really that bad?" She added certain that it couldn't possibly be as bad as he was implying.

"Let's put it this way, you're never allowed to be sick again." He grumbled, causing Rachel to blink back more of the ever present tears. She was certain that being physically sick wasn't going to stop after today and honestly, it was going to be the least of her worries moving forward.

After finishing her tea, Rachel attempted the small bowl of soup that Jesse had brought her, eating slowly, and hoping that she'd be able to keep this down long enough for it to actually do some good. When she'd eaten enough that Jesse was satisfied, he took the bowl and empty mugs back to the kitchen before taking her hand and pulling her up from the couch.

"Why don't you take a shower and clean up and then we can watch a movie while you get some rest?" That seemed like too much effort and Rachel pouted until Jesse gave in and led her to her room. "Fine. But you can at least put on some clean pajamas." He insisted walking over to her dresser to find her a clean pair of shorts and t-shirt to wear.

"Third drawer down." Rachel instructed him as she turned away from him to adjust the covers of her bed so that they could both get comfortable. It appeared that he was going to stay until he was certain she was settled and if that was the case, it wouldn't do to have one side of the bed still made up.

As Jesse bent over to rifle through the drawer she'd directed him to, his eyes caught a glimpse of something sticking out of the trash can that made him freeze. His current mission abandoned, Jesse plucked the item from the trash and turned to Rachel, time feeling like it was standing still.