Disclaimer: Glee is not mine

There is no such thing as an accident; it is fate misnamed.

-Napoleon

2 weeks to the wedding…

"I can't believe the florist hasn't called back yet. Doesn't she realize how vital it is that I speak to her about the exact shade of the roses in the centerpieces?" Jesse paced back and forth across the living room, glancing down at his phone repeatedly, willing the florist to call.

Rachel watched him, idly thinking that she should be Bridezilla, not Jesse. "I'm sure she'll call back. It's only been fifteen minutes, and she probably has your other four messages."

Jesse stopped pacing to stare at her as if she had two heads. "Rachel. This is my wedding. Everything must be perfect. I'm a Broadway star, this wedding could get written up in a magazine. When I give an interview, they'll ask me about it. I can't have mismatched flowers! The press would have a field day!"

Rachel rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. Ever since his six month run as Curly in Oklahoma! had ended, Jesse had completely taken over the wedding plans. His agent had called to inform him that he'd been offered the role of Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, but due to financial problems, the show hadn't even started rehearsals yet. This left Jesse plenty of time to stress about things like flowers or yesterday's crisis, which was whether the bridesmaids should have matching dyed shoes. He'd been appalled when they'd hit the four month mark and Rachel still hadn't found a dress.

Rachel had had to go back to Vera Wang six more times before she'd finally found 'the dress.' Each time, despite Rachel's attempts to avoid her, she'd always had the same bridal consultant, the one Brittany had told about Rachel having a soul mate named Sam. Every appointment since then, the bridal consultant had constantly referenced her fiancée as Sam ("Do you think Sam will like you in a ball gown?" "Oh, I think Sam will love you in this!"). She'd given up correcting her somewhere around the eighth visit. Her last visit had finally resulted in success, to the relief of all. She'd been there for over two hours when she suddenly saw it.

"Alright, let's try this one." Audra gestured towards a huge ball gown.

Rachel looked around the show room, wrapping the complimentary robe tighter around her waist. Her eyes fell on a dress that another consultant had just placed on a mannequin. It was as if a spotlight had been turned on, because Rachel was unable to take her eyes off of it. "No. I want that one. That's the dress," she said firmly without even turning around to look at the consultant.

Audra followed her gaze. "That one? Are you sure?"

"Positive." She stared at the dress, knowing without a shadow of the doubt that that was the dress she would marry in. Almost in a trance, she walked over to it. Rachel eyed the dress, a smile adorning her face as she fingered the simple lily of the valley embroidery that cascaded from the waist of the dress down to the hem.

"Ok then, let's try it on."

The second she felt the cool material slip over her head, she knew she was right. Wearing this dress felt like coming home, like she was wearing her favorite comfortable fuzzy slippers and yoga pants. Brittany had actually started crying and Rachel felt tears forming in her own eyes.

Audra looked on proudly. "See? I told you we'd find a dress that was like your soul mate. You knew the second you saw this dress that it was the one, just like I'm sure you knew your fiancé was the one. Sam's going to faint when he sees you in this!"

Rachel had stared at her in the mirror, the realization running through her head that she'd been more certain about her wedding gown than about Jesse.

She'd managed to get through the last couple of months on autopilot. She went to work, auditioned for various plays, spent time with her family and Brittany and in between, occasionally offering an opinion about the wedding, which had evolved from a small wedding to a grand affair at the Waldorf-Astoria. With Jesse micro-managing every detail, Rachel was left to her own devices, which mostly involved trying to forget the name Sam Evans.

Brittany hadn't been any help in that department. The bridal consultant's comment about soul mates and constant referencing of Sam put the whole episode back in the front of Brittany's mind and she remained as firmly convinced as ever that Sam was coming. She hadn't seemed to make the connection that Rachel's upcoming marriage would put an end to Sam Evans forever, chatting happily about Rachel and Sam to anyone who would listen.

"Finally!" Jesse exclaimed as his cell phone started ringing. He answered the phone, speaking immediately. "Why haven't you called me? I need to see a sample petal to make sure it coordinates perfectly with the napkins!"

He was so engrossed with his conversation that he didn't even notice Rachel grab her purse and wave to him as she walked out the front door.

"What? What do you mean, the petals are blush pink? The napkins are fuschia!"

Rachel rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind her. She needed to get away from wedding central for a while.

"Rachel! Come on in!" Quinn exclaimed as she held open the door for Rachel.

"Where's Beth? Is she sleeping?" Rachel asked, looking around for evidence of the four month old.

"She's upstairs with Puck. He'll be down soon. He's supposed to be giving her a bath and changing her into her pajamas," Quinn replied. In exchange for shaving his Mohawk off for their wedding, Quinn had to promise to call him Puck, reserving Noah for when she was either truly angry or giving birth. "Want some tea?"

"Sure." Rachel followed Quinn into the kitchen, watching as she put the water onto boil. She stayed silent as Quinn placed a carton of milk, an empty mug and a teabag in front of her, before sitting down across from her.

"What's it like?" Rachel asked in a small voice

"What's what like?" Quinn questioned; a confused expression on her face.

"Marriage. Is it everything you thought it would be?" Rachel played with her empty mug, not looking Quinn in the eye.

Quinn looked hard at Rachel. "What brought this on? Are you getting cold feet?"

"No, I've just been thinking. Jesse has been so obsessed with this wedding, it's driving me crazy. I'm just wondering what he's going to do when it's over. Is he going to be this obsessed about our marriage?"

"Rachel-" Quinn was cut off by the screeching of the teapot. Giving Rachel another look, she got up and brought the teapot over, filling their cups. She sat back down, deep in thought.

"Rachel, I don't know what you think marriage is going to be like, but I can tell you that if it's the right person, all those annoying little things that drive you crazy won't matter. I'm married to a man who thinks it's funny to belch in my ear and insists on calling himself after a piece of sporting equipment, and I'm okay with it, because at the end of the day those little things don't outweigh the good in him."

"Did you know that you when you met him that you were going to marry him?"

"I knew that he'd have an important place in my life. I couldn't take my eyes off of him and it wasn't because of that stupid Mohawk." Quinn smiled at the memory. "I was just sitting at the bar with my friend Lauren, and he walked in. Lauren had said something to me, and I couldn't even answer. I watched him go over to some friends, and when he looked my way, our eyes just locked. He came over a few minutes later to ask me out."

"So when did you know?" Rachel stared at Quinn intently, her hands gripping the mug tightly.

"I think I had an idea on our first date, but I knew for sure fairly quickly after that. I found myself telling him things that no one, not my family, not my Sorority Sisters, knew. We spent all night talking, and it was like I was at a sleepover with my best friend."

Rachel frowned. She and Jesse had never stayed up all night talking, since Jesse was a stickler about getting the required eight hours of sleep in order to ensure an optimal performance. She'd never even told him about the whole Sam Evans debacle and there were other things she'd kept to herself as well.

Had Jesse kept stuff from her? Her frown increased at the thought.

She looked up as Noah came into the room, holding Beth, who was dressed in a baby version of the Metallica t-shirt Noah was sporting. "Hey Rachel," he greeted as he kissed the top of Quinn's head.

"Puck! She's supposed to be in her pajamas! Where did you even get this shirt?" Quinn admonished as she took Beth from her husband.

"She wanted to look badass like her old man," Noah said, shrugging as he got a bottle out of the fridge. "I can't help it if she looks up to me."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You sure you want this?" she asked Rachel teasingly. Rachel didn't answer, her eyes fixated on the little family in front of her.

"Like Jesse could ever be badass like me and Beth," Noah boasted as he sat down next to Quinn. He took Beth from her, beginning to feed the baby.

"Let me go get her pajamas. I'll be right back." Quinn jumped up from the table, running out of the room.

"You ready for the wedding?" Noah asked, as he stared down at Beth, his eyes lighting up.

"Yes, I guess so." Rachel took a small sip of her tea, cradling the mug as she looked at the father and daughter in front of her. She tried to picture Jesse with a baby, proud to be wearing matching t-shirts but found that she couldn't.

"Try not to sound so excited."

"I'm excited, I am…it's just…do you believe in soul mates?" Rachel blurted out. "How did you know Quinn was the one?"

Noah looked up from his daughter, arching an eye brow. "What's this about?"

"Just answer the question, Noah." Now that she'd asked it, she was sorry, but she honestly wanted to hear his answer.

"I knew she was different from all the other girls I'd dated. On our first date, she wouldn't let me get in her pants, and I couldn't care less. I was happy just to keep talking to her." He finished feeding Beth the bottle, placing her over his shoulder and patting her back.

"Would you say she's your soul mate?" Rachel insisted.

"Put it this way. She's the only one I would shave my mohawk for and be happy about it."

Rachel finished her tea. "I have to go. Tell Quinn I said bye." Giving Beth a kiss, she hurried out the door.

She needed to talk to Jesse about some things.

"Jesse?" Rachel called out through Jesse's empty apartment.

"In the bedroom!"

She hurried into the bedroom to see a large half filled suitcase open on the bed. "What's all this?"

"Great news! My agent called and I've been booked on all the big LA talk shows! Isn't this incredible?" Jesse frantically began throwing more clothes into the suitcase. "I've already informed all our wedding vendors to contact me in California. We're leaving tonight and won't be back until next week!"

"We are?" Rachel was thrilled. A quick vacation might be just what she needed. "I'll get my suitcase."

"Oh, Rachy," Jesse began; not noticing Rachel flinched at the hated nickname. She realized with a sickening feeling that that was yet another thing she'd never told him. "You're not going. It's just my agent and I."

"Oh." Rachel sat on the bed next to the suitcase. "Jesse? Do you ever picture yourself with children?"

"I take pictures with children all the time when I sign their playbills," he responded, holding up a blue shirt and a grey shirt for Rachel to choose between.

She pointed to the grey one, watching in surprise as he put the blue one in the suitcase.

"No, I mean picture yourself with our children. Don't you ever picture yourself feeding them?" Her mind flashed back to Noah and Beth in their matching t-shirts.

"Not really. Have you seen my loafers?" He bent down trying to see if the loafers were under the bed.

"Did you know you were going to marry me when you met me?" Rachel pressed on, determined to have this discussion.

"What are you, ten? Life's not a fairy tale Rachel; no one ever really knows that stuff when they first meet. Now, help me find my loafers, the limo will be here soon."

Rachel lay back on the bed, mulling over his words as she watched him pack. So it wasn't just her. Jesse hadn't known that he'd marry her when they first meet either. His comment about life not being a fairy tale resonated in her mind. Did he really believe that? Was he that jaded about life? Sure, life had thrown Rachel a few surprises and life lessons, but she'd always maintained a belief in her dreams.

She couldn't help but think that Sam Evans would have known the first time they met.

The thought left her feeling very disconcerted.

Rachel looked out the window of the cab, not really noticing the scenery flashing by. Jesse had been gone for two whole days, and her life had gone on as usual. The only difference was that there were no freak outs about anything wedding related. Jesse had taken his immense wedding binder with him, prepared to deal with any potential crisis from his hotel room.

Brittany had called her this morning asking if she'd take a ride to the airport with her to drop off Artie, so she'd have someone to ride back with. Rachel, bored out of her mind, had been more than happy to agree, since yesterday had been her last day of work before the wedding.

"What airline is it again?" Rachel asked as the cabbie pulled up to Terminal One at JFK.

"Air France," Brittany's husband Artie replied, causing Brittany to sniff. "B, I'll be back in five days. You've known about this business trip to Copenhagen for a month."

"I know, I just didn't think you'd actually go."

Rachel smiled as she got out of the car, leaving the husband and wife in the cab. The cabbie pulled Artie's wheelchair from the trunk, setting it up on the sidewalk, as Rachel pulled Artie's luggage out. She could hear snippets of the conversation coming from the cab.

"I promise I'll bring you back something. Copenhagen is where The Little Mermaid was written, you know. I'll find you a mermaid doll ok?"

"What about Lord Tubbington? He's upset too. He told me."

"Like I would ever forget Lord Tubbington? Of course I'll bring him back something, Brittany."

Satisfied, Brittany got out, pulling Artie's wheelchair close so he could lift himself into it, as Rachel paid the cabbie. The trio headed inside the terminal, Brittany pushing her husband's wheelchair, while Rachel pulled his suitcase.

They headed over to security, which was where they'd have to say their goodbyes. Rachel said good bye and discreetly walked away, letting them have some privacy. She watched them out of the corner of her eye, thinking how different it was from her own goodbye scene 2 days ago. Jesse had hurriedly kissed her goodbye, barely giving her a hug before hurrying into the limo. Brittany was hugging Artie as if she'd never see him again, peppering his face with kisses, making his glasses sit askew on his face. Artie didn't seem to care, since he was hugging Brittany tightly.

"He's gone. What am I going to do for the next five days?" Brittany wailed as she came up next to Rachel. "I won't be able to sleep without him next to me. I never do when he's gone."

Rachel grabbed Brittany in a hug, thinking that she'd had no problem sleeping the last two nights and wondering if that was normal. She wondered if Noah or Quinn ever had trouble sleeping when one or the other wasn't there. Her thoughts flashed back to that long ago day when she'd heard the story of Nana and Grandpa. How had Nana managed to sleep at all knowing Grandpa was far away fighting and might never come back to her? What would she do if Jesse ever went away for a long time? He was only leaving for a week, and she found it hadn't affected her life at all. She went to work, came home, watched TV and exercised on her elliptical, all things she did on any given day. She frowned at the thought that Jesse had no impact on her daily activities, not even with a phone call, which she just realized now. Shouldn't they be on each other's minds all the time? Shouldn't he have some impact on her daily activities? She knew Artie called Brittany everyday at 11:30, knowing that that was when Brittany finished teaching her dance class and went to lunch. Rachel had asked her about that specific time, and Brittany had explained that his phone call at 11:30 meant that they could eat lunch together, even if they were apart.

Jesse got upset if she called between acts and left a message on his cell phone, claiming that it took him out of character.

"You'll be fine, Brits. If you want, you and Lord Tubbington can sleep over at my apartment," she promised, as she hugged Brittany. "It'll be just like high school again."

Brittany opened her mouth to respond, but was drowned out by the PA system.

"Alitalia flight 476 passenger Sam Evans please report to your gate. Alitalia flight 476 passenger Sam Evans please report to your gate."

Rachel froze, not quite believing what she'd just heard, while Brittany's mouth dropped open in shock. The two of them stared at each other, unsure of what to do.

Without another word, Brittany turned and started running in the direction of Alitalia.

A/N: Bear with me, Finn's on his way very soon, I promise!