Author's Note: Whoa, guys! I'm so excited with the response I've been getting to this story! It's so cool to know that St. Berry has such a large fan base! Keep the favorites, the alerts and the reviews coming. They keep me inspired.

For this to work Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', everything else happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

Both Jesse and Rachel will basically rant a lot in this chapter so please bear with me. Jesse's speech is basically everything I think about Finn, and those who disagree are my guests to prove why Finn isn't such a baby. (For me Finn is a kid; Rachel needs a man)

Disclaimer: Not mine. Just having fun. The inspiration for this chapter's Glee confront against St. Berry comes a bit from Original Groffette's epic, amazing story How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which is one of my favorite St. Berry stories.

Summary: At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

Fatherhood

Five

"Rachel's pregnant", Jesse blurts out.

The silence that falls over the other nine teenagers is thick with shock and tension. Rachel closes her eyes tight and mentally counts the seconds that tick in the clock on the wall until someone reacts.

Unsurprisingly, Finn is the first one to come to his senses. His reaction is not at all unexpected. He punches Jesse on the face, and Jesse stands his ground but Quinn rushes forward and gently tugs Rachel away from him. Brittany comes to stand with them and Rachel watches with anguish as Finn punches Jesse repeatedly. Tears bubble in her eyes and Quinn wraps an arm around her shoulders; Rachel falls against the blonde. Puck glances at Mike and Matt who nod, and he steps in the middle of Finn and Jesse while Matt locks Finn's arms back, and Mike simply puts a hand on Jesse's shoulder.

"Think of Rachel, man". He says quietly; in response, Jesse's eyes roam around and find her crying against Quinn. He goes to the two girls and puts his hand on Rachel's shoulder. She turns to him and falls against him, sobbing. Matt and Puck are still holding a struggling Finn, but it's clear for everyone else that Jesse and Rachel are in the own little world. He hums something to her that has her calming down, and they whisper to each other. She nods and wiping her eyes turns to face the music. Kurt and Mercedes are glowering at her, Artie and Tina look stunned; Santana seems slightly bored.

"How could you do this to me, Rachel? To us?" Finn shouts trying to fight off Matt, but Puck is there too, his hand still firmly holding him back by his shoulder, and the anguish in Rachel's face gives place to a burning fury that has Mike, Quinn, Jesse and Puck flinching, because they all know it won't be pretty.

"To us?" She hisses dangerously. "There hasn't been an 'us' since you dumped me to go frolic on a date with Santana and Brittany! I've been with Jesse and only Jesse since that day, Finn! And once Jesse walked in my life and showed me there was no need for me to change in order to find a boyfriend, you lost all your chances!" She's shouting now, and Jesse watches raptly, because this is Rachel Berry fighting for what she believes. She's a force of nature, his girl, and his love for her just grows moment by moment.

"He egged you!" Mercedes pipes up, and Finn nods. Rachel turns so quickly that Brittany has a little whiplash.

"So? He did it to me and if you think this hasn't been talked over and over between him and me, then you're seriously mistaken. But, what am I saying? You guys – all of you – never took the time to know me. But, the minute someone does, you immediately think he's using me. At least, Jesse never told me I was replaceable!"

"He TP-ed our choir room, Rachel!" Finn yells, and Rachel turns to him.

"Finn Hudson, you really don't want to bring this up". She hisses.

"Yeah, I do!"

"Fine. Jesse egged me and TP-ed our choir room. Let's count what you did to me, shall we?" Puck flinches and curses quietly because he knows it won't be pretty. "First, you slushie me and egg me, before you join glee. Then you join and you kiss me and then tell me it was a mistake. Then you criticize me for trying to actually improve New Directions by hiring Dakota Stanley" Jesse chuckles at this because that dwarf man is crazy. Rachel would keep up with him but the rest of them wouldn't, he's sure of it. "Then when I quit, you ask me out (without telling me your girlfriend is pregnant, by the way) just so you can have a singing scholarship through my talent. And when I kiss you in said date, you kiss me back. Oh, and let's not forget that you never once told me Quinn was with child, you left me to find it out by myself. Then I start dating Noah and you have the nerve to be jealous!"

Jesse puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down – she's so worked up that it cannot be good for the baby. She takes a deep breath and carries on, "Then Kurt gives me a makeover that makes me look like a prostitute – thanks a lot, Kurt". She says ironically, and Jesse's pleased that Kurt looks a little ashamed. "And you call me a 'sad clown hooker'!-"

"Man, are you fucking gay?" Mike pipes up, and Matt nods by his side.

"Rach looked hot!" Matt says, and Rachel smiles at them.

"Thank you, boys. Anyway. After all that, you still walked away from us on the eve of one of the most important competitions for New Directions. And, once you have me, you break up with me with a lame excuse of needing to find your inner rockstar! And, once I find Jesse, you suddenly decide you want me, coming to the point of tarnishing the fond memory I have of Noah singing 'Sweet Caroline' to me and serenading and embarrassing me by singing 'Jesse's Girl' in front of everyone! Face it, Finn – you don't like me. You like the fact that whenever you're single or on a cheating mood, I was already there for you. But guess what? Not anymore! I'm with Jesse now, he's is my boyfriend, the father of my baby and, if the rest of you can't seem to accept that, then good luck competing without my talent!" She storms away, and Brittany, Quinn, Tina and Santana (!) all rush behind her.

Jesse approaches Finn and punches him hard on the face. Puck smirks and Jesse growls furiously, "She is my girl, Hudson. You better move the fuck on because I know I might not be perfect but I'm smart enough to see that Rachel is as perfect as someone can be, and I'll spend the rest of my life making sure that she knows this and how grateful I am that she allowed me back into her life and my child's life".

He then turns to the rest of them. "I don't give shit about you. If you want to go ahead and hate me, then by all means, be my guest. But I won't tolerate if Rachel pays for falling in love with me and for me falling in love with her. She is pregnant and our child, my child, is an innocent. If you do anything to endanger Rachel and our baby's health, I swear to God I won't stop until she transfers to Carmel. At least there she'll be adored, admired and respected, not only because of her talent, but because of the extraordinary human being she is". He makes a pause and focuses on Mercedes, Kurt and Artie. "I'm so sorry you guys are blind by envy and jealousy to see that having Rachel against you as she is right now is your loss and not hers. She has Puck and Quinn and me-"

"-us too", Mike and Matt cut in, and Jesse grins at them.

"-and now Mike and Matt and they're more than enough. One would think that misfits like you would be more welcoming and understanding, but it turns out that you're more judgmental than the other kids".

Finn scoffs. "And so says Mr. Know-It-All".

Jesse looks at him calmly. "I'm not a know-it-all, Finn. From the moment that Rachel told me she was pregnant, Saturday night, I'm her life partner and a father. And maybe you were too much of a punk to be both of this – cheating on your pregnant girlfriend with Rachel-"

"It wasn't my baby!" Finn yells.

"It doesn't matter. Back then you thought it was and never once you stopped to think how much Quinn's life would change because of her pregnancy. Even when being forced to grow up you remained selfish and self-centered. 'How does this affect me?' is your default mode to go. You've just yelled it to Rachel, how she could do it to you. Guess what, dude? Rachel doesn't lead her life thinking how she can fuck you up. She lives by what is best for her and I've proven time and time enough that the best for her is me. So back the fuck off and leave my girlfriend, my baby and me the hell alone. Otherwise, you all know what I'm capable to do". He leaves and once he's out Matt lets Finn go. The nerve of St. Jerk! Finn huffs angrily, and he doesn't notice how affected the others are by Jesse's long speech.