Rachel and Finn were walking arm in arm down the snow covered block, their shoes making tracks in the freshly fallen snow. The skirt of her blue dress swirled around her calves as they found a steady pace. They had decided to stay in Columbus for the weekend while the rest of the gang headed back to Dayton, agreeing to pick them up Sunday afternoon. Columbus wasn't much, not in perspective of the rest of the world but it was the biggest city they had and it was bustling with the bright excitement of the holiday season. The lights seemed to have an even more breathtaking glow with the addition of the fresh snowfall and Rachel almost felt like she was in a paradise of some sorts. Right here, in their tiny corner of the world, life was exactly what she wanted it to be. Her future was no longer written for her but instead a blank page waiting for her to fill it. She glanced over at the man beside her, tall, broad and handsome beyond explanation, and she felt a surge of pride to be on his arm. Not only because he was gorgeous on the outside but because he was on the inside as well.

"You were amazing Rach, really stunning" he smiled down at her as they stopped for the traffic to pass through an intersection.

"Stop Mr. Hudson, your making me blush" she said modestly as they stepped out onto the street.

She snuggled closer to him and they walked a few more blocks towards the glowing neon light advertising their hotel. His arm was wrapped tightly around her waist as hers folded in front of her, her purse hanging off her wrist, her hands buried in a white muff. As they neared the door, an older couple brushed past them, the woman with her head down. Finn felt a strange feeling of sorrow for her, that women had been raised to act that way for centuries. The whole seen but not heard thing was archaic to him, women were beautiful creatures who deserved to be treated as such. Rachel however had completely stilled and unlinking her arm from his had spun around.

"Babe?" he questioned but Rachel was already walking back in the direction they had just come her shoes clacking against cement with blind determination.

She walked quickly in her high heels, turning her brisk walk to a soft jog and approached the couple with vigor as Finn sprinted to close the distance between himself and Rachel. She reached out and grabbed the woman's arm, pulling on it slightly.

"Mother?"

"I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else" the woman's words were harsh and her husband's eyes filled with sorrow as he turned his head away.

"What?" Rachel gasped.

"You must be mistaken" the voice was harsh and yet so familiar as she brushed past Rachel.

This was the woman who had raised Rachel, while they had never been warm and fuzzy like most mother and daughter combinations, she was still her mother. She had been the one to wipe away her tears, cuddle her when she was sick and encourage her artistic side. To bad she had never realized that she had done all that with an ulterior motive.

"Mom, it's me" Rachel pleaded and Finn felt anger flash inside him at the way his beautiful Rachel was being treated.

"I don't have a daughter. I did once, she's gone now" the woman responded not looking at Rachel as she spoke.

Rachel tightened her grip on her mother's fur covered arm and tugged harder, making the older woman look at her. Rachel shared a shocking resemblance to her mother, slight in stature with thick brown hair but the eyes, the eyes were different. Where Rachel's brown eyes were warm and sparkling her mother's were cold and almost dead in appearance. Beside her stood Rachel's father; a tall, thin man with salt and pepper hair and a distinctive Jewish appearance.

"Daddy" she practically squeaked out.

The man looked down to the ground shaking his head slowly "I'm sorry Chelly."

"How can you do this?"

At those words it was like something inside of her mother sparked and she spun around towards Rachel, yanking her arm away from her grasp in the process. She squared her feet off and finally took in her daughter's appearance, no longer holding her head but instead standing with an air of dominance. Her perfectly manicured hands rested on her expensively clad hips.

"I have had just about enough of you little girl! Have you forgotten all of your manners. People with class do not scream in the streets. You are a disgrace to your father, myself and our family name. I did not raise you to act like a common tramp, running around opening your legs to whatever street scum you find attractive. Life is not about random attractions but instead about opportunities. I have molded you your entire life to be a good wife, to marry a good, respectable man and raise a family. I have worked to make sure that your father's family name is upheld despite the fact that I was never able to give him a son myself. That his indiscretions are not what people remember the Berry's for" Her gazed shifted to Rachel's father briefly "And this is how you repay me?" She gestured to Finn.

"How dare you accuse me of being some street whore" Rachel yelled getting the attention of nearby passerby's. "You know nothing about him, do not bring him into this."

Finn took two protective steps forward but held his distance as well. He knew his Rachel and he knew that this was a battle she had to fight on her own, his presence just made things worse. She wasn't that scared, reserved young girl that he had met. She had come into her own, learned who she was and how to stand up for that person she wanted to be.

"Keep your voice down, I thought I raised you better than this" her mother hissed. "I'm sorry Rachel but I have done everything I could to make sure you become a respectable and valued member of society. Jessie is a good match for you, I don't understand why you refuse to see that. The St. James' are important people and could have given you the life most women only dream of having."

"I don't want to be a housewife, isn't my happiness more important than some stupid reputation."

"Not in our world" Rachel's mother turned her back to Rachel then, grabbing Rachel's father and leading him off in the direction they had previously been walking.

"I guess you finally got your son" Rachel shouted after her loudly through her tears of anger, throwing the white muff in their direction.

"I guess so" she said not bothering to look at her daughter.

Just as they neared the end of the block her father looked over his shoulder one last time and then just like that they were gone. Finn quickly crossed the short distance between them and reached out to catch her as the whole reality of the situation hit her. As tears began stream down her cheeks she began to yell incoherently, dropping her purse to the ground and hitting his chest with her tiny little fists.

"Rach, come on" he pleaded pulling her towards the hotel gently.

"How can she do this Finn, disown me as if I'm not her flesh and blood. My mother Finn…" she was getting hysterical and people were beginning to stare.

"Rachey" his voice was low as he stilled and held her against him.

She clung to him for a short while until her breath returned to normal. When she finally pulled away from his embraced and looked up at him the deep sadness in her gaze nearly tore him apart. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, carrying her purse in his other hand. She said nothing but little sniffles broke the silence as they entered the warmth of the hotel lobby. When they finally made it into the privacy of the room he helped Rachel slowly undress, numbly redressing in her night clothes. He crawled into the bed in only his underwear, pulling her small frame against his. She curled into him, her frame tiny against his large body. He ran his hand absently through her thick brown hair, listening to her breathing unsure of what to say. He wanted to make everything better for her but he knew that words were not going to quell her pain, only time would do that. Finally she looked up at him with a small sad smile.

"Thanks for being here Finn."

"Rachel, I am completely and totally head over heels in love with you. There is no place but here I want to be."

"Finn" she said after a pause.

"Yeah baby."

"I need your help" she said gently.

"With" his hand was moving gently across her shoulders now.

"I want a divorce. I'm willing to fight tooth and nail to get one. I want to be done with Jessie St. James and everything about that life. I want to be Mrs. Finn Hudson."

"Rachel, you don't have to do that. You are enough for me."

"I have to, I'm tired of being tied to these people, to this life. If my own mother doesn't want to accept me anymore why should I be forced to stay linked to this man."

"I will do everything I can to help you baby" he said kissing her head.

"Finn"

"Yeah Rach" his eyes were getting heavy, she intoxicated him.

"Make love to me"

And that she didn't have to ask twice as he rolled on top of her, pushing her panties down in one swift movement. She squealed in delight this time as his lips found her neck and he entered her in one swift movement.

Rachel and Finn sat nervously in front of the large wooden table in the law office. After Rachel had the run in with her mother in Columbus it was like a new side of her had been born. She was on a crusade and to her amazement Santana was her biggest advocate. With Finn by her side it was as if she could do anything and the only thing she wanted to do was get a divorce. They had been all over Dayton and Columbus looking for a law firm to represent her case. Every time Rachel felt like giving up, Santana would give her the words of encouragement she needed to go on. After months of research and almost giving up twice they had finally found the small law office of Schuster and Sylvester. Sue Sylvester was a beast and the perfect person for the job as an advocate of woman's rights. She was shuffling papers in front of her as they silently waited for her to speak. Rachel's hands were so sweaty it was almost like she couldn't wipe them dry. It was so hot in the room that it felt like she couldn't even breath. It was only early April but had been unseasonably warm for days. As they sat there Rachel had to hold back the bile that was trying to come up. The weather had been messing with her, she had felt like crap for days as the weather bounced between seasonable and hot. Finally Sue slid her glasses down her nose and shifted her eyes up to Rachel, her face firm and unforgiving. Rachel looked at Finn who squeezed her hand under the table and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Mrs. St. James" Sue finally spoke "I only have one thing to say to you."

Rachel nodded expecting to be turned away yet again. It seemed that nobody wanted to take on a divorce case with a woman filing. Most of the stuffy old men they had gone to see had actually told her to be a good wife and go back to her husband, or some form of that. She had been told over and over that there was nothing she could do, that she stood no grounds to divorce her husband and that she was the one in the wrong. Rachel had known that this would not be easy but it was what she wanted, she wanted to be able to spend her life with Finn in everyway possible.

"Yeah" Rachel finally spoke.

"I would love to represent you. To be honest, your husband sounds like a complete douchbag and I hate douche bags. We all make mistakes in life, you obviously made one in marrying this man but for some reason our culture says that only men are allowed to correct those mistakes. No more, I will be happy to squash your husband like a bug because when he assaulted you, he crossed a legal line that I'm more than willing to prove."

Rachel flew up out of her chair in excitement, reaching across the table and grabbing the older woman's hand, shaking it anxiously before promptly passing out.