Yes, it's another update already! We're getting to the really juicy nefarious plot part now so don't hate me too much.
Rachel stepped into Rocco's junk room to find him standing exactly where she and Finn had left him when they went through the door.
"Well that was a fast trip. Did you even go anywhere? Where's Finn?" Rocco questioned until he saw that Rachel had been crying rather heavily. Without question, Rocco took Rachel into his arms and began comforting her as she clutched his chest and sobbed loudly. "Come on. Let's get you something to drink and get to the bottom of this."
He sat Rachel down on his couch and handed her the glass he had just filled at her request. Silently he sat next to her and waited for her to calm down enough to be able to speak. When the sobs had ceased and the sniffles were minimal he asked her what happened.
Before he knew what hit him Rachel told him in great detail exactly what had transpired between her and Finn, from Quinn walking in on them, to being chased by Finn's crazy fangirls, to making love in the barn, to the tingly feeling Rachel experienced in the Crystal Lake all the way through to the reason she was back.
Rocco just nodded his head as he listened.
"I love him but I can't marry him. Everything I know is here. I can't leave my life behind, my dads, you…"
Rocco snorted. "No offense, Rachel, but if you're stickin' around for me, then you're crazy. You shouldn't pass up true love when it's knocking down your door to get in, Rachel."
"But how do I know that it's true love? We've known each other four days! That's not even enough time to do a proper background check!"
He chuckled a little and shook his head at her. "Rachel, did I ever tell you about how I met my wife?"
Rachel looked at her boss and friend and shook her head. "No, you don't talk about your wife much."
"Yeah, it still hurts to think about her sometimes, but I think this story might help you."
"How'd you meet your wife?" Rachel turned on the couch and made herself more comfortable to watch Rocco speak.
"Well, I had just graduated high school and I wasn't going to college because I was just going to work in my dad's garage fixing cars. I got the opportunity to take a trip across country with a buddy over the summer though before I really had to start working so I went with him. We made it out to California and we were out on the beach one night hangin' out with some of these people Roy had met and there was this beautiful girl there. She was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen in my life. She had rich silky red hair, legs that put every other girl's in California to shame and boobs out to here," Rocco put his hands about a foot out from his chest making Rachel laugh. "Anyway, she was stunning. I chatted her up a bit of course and we really hit it off and one thing led to another and basically we screwed like four times in the back of Roy's van. Unfortunately, Roy and I were movin' on the next day to go to Vegas but she had left before I had even woken up anyway. I didn't even get to say goodbye.
"So, Roy and I made it back to New York and I worked in my dad's shop and life returned to normal. Two months later, I get called into the office and my dad tells me a gorgeous redhead came in lookin' for me and said she'd be staying at a friend's in Queens and she really needed to talk to me. So I go to Queens and sure enough it's my redhead from California. She tracked me down from a single tiny little throw away detail I had mentioned about my dad's garage when we were talking – remember this was way before the internet so it wasn't easy – and dropped this bombshell on me that she's pregnant and it's mine. I was totally shocked! I never thought I'd see this woman again yet there she was in front of me in Queens telling me we were havin' a kid together. I thought it had to be some kind of miracle. So, the next day, I found my own apartment and asked Maggie to marry me. She was hesitant at first since she'd be leaving behind everything she had in California but she didn't let the fear keep her from saying yes and we were happily married for nearly 30 years until she was taken from me by cancer. If she were still here we'd still be happily married."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Were you even listening Rachel? I knew my wife for a grand total of three days before we got hitched, moved in together and started preparing for a baby! We didn't know anything about each other and as it turned out we had very little in common. I couldn't even remember her last name during our 'I do's' at city hall. Even though we hardly knew each other, that didn't mean we didn't love each other. Our three days turned into thirty years, Rachel. You love Finn, like true, strong love and you're turning your back on it because you don't know every minute detail of his life. Those things will come in time, Rachel."
Rachel started tearing up again. "But what if you're wrong, Rocco? What if we end up hating each other? What if things don't work out?"
"Then you get a divorce and come back to New York, but I doubt that will happen. You can't let your fear that it might not work out keep you from trying. That guy is crazy about you, Rachel and would do anything for you. I know life has been rough for you and that the constant rejection from your peers and Broadway has made you think you aren't worthy of love and you've gotten so used to being unhappy that it's hard for you to accept happiness, but you gotta Rachel, otherwise, you're going to turn into a bitter old cat lady who regrets life every day. Is that what you want?"
Rachel wiped a tear from her eye. "No, of course not. But what about my dads and my dream of Broadway?"
"Your dads would want you to be happy and as for Broadway…dreams can change Rachel. Maybe it's time for you to find a new dream; one that includes you happily married to Finn and poppin' out babies left and right."
She chuckled then swallowed harshly as she absorbed Rocco's words. Maybe he was right. Rachel loved Broadway and always would but she love Finn more. She loved the idea of waking up next to him every day, being able to call herself his wife, bearing his children, loving him until they were grey haired and old watching their grandkids run around. And even though it lacked electricity, Rachel even loved McKinley.
For so long Rachel had wanted the spotlight, to be a star and have everyone know her name and love her and adore her and to win Tony's and acclaim, but she would trade all of that for the love of one man, her man, who made her feel like the biggest star in the world, even bigger than Barbra.
"I do," Rachel whispered out as it suddenly hit her. "I do."
"You do what?" Rocco asked looking mildly perplexed.
Rachel looked up and smiled at Rocco, her heart swelling as she realized she had made the biggest mistake of her life in leaving Finn. "I do want to marry Finn. I love him and I want to marry him and be his wife and the Queen to his King and have a family with him and all of it. I don't need everyone to love me; I just need him to love me.
Rocco smiled widely at Rachel, glad to see that his words had gotten through to her. "So what are you going to do?" He stared her down intently.
She nodded her head as she thought about her plan. "I'm going to go back to McKinley and find Finn and tell him that I'm an idiot and that I never should have left and that I'll never leave again because I love him and I do want to marry him." Rachel leaped off the couch and Rocco stood with her. "I can figure out how to tell my dads I'm getting married and won't ever be visiting them in Ohio again later. I just need to find my man and fix this."
Rachel pulled Rocco into a tight hug and closed her eyes, smiling as she thanked him for telling her exactly what she needed to hear until unexpectedly, Rocco slipped out of her grasp and crumpled to the floor, knocked completely out. Before Rachel could even let out a scream, a hand was clamping around her mouth and forcing her against a body that felt entirely unfamiliar. The person began dragging her down the hall and she tried to fight but with each step she slipped further and further into unconsciousness until everything faded to black.
Jesse St. James sat in his usual seat at the bar drinking his usual scotch when a most unusual patron entered the crappy establishment he frequented. The figure was unlike anyone else who had ever set foot in the dingy bar but he recognized her right away. She had a face he would never forget.
He let the woman approach him at the bar and turned to face her only when he finished his drink. "Lady Fabray, what a displeasure it is to see you again," he greeted dryly as the woman sat down on the stool next to him and glanced around nervously.
"Mr. St. James, always a pleasure," she replied through gritted teeth.
Jesse caught the attention of the barkeep and ordered himself another scotch and one for Lady Fabray as well. The large grungy man filled two glasses then left the pair alone.
"I don't drink scotch, Mr. St. James."
Jesse just shrugged. "Fine, more for me." He pulled her glass to him and left it sitting until he finished his own. "So Lady F, what brings you to my neck o' the woods?" He stared forward not even bothering to look at the woman anymore.
"I have a proposition for you, Mr. St. James."
"And what is that?"
"I need you to find someone for me."
Jesse snorted. "Why should I help you with anything after the things you've done?"
"Because unlike you I know where my grandchild is."
Jesse whipped his head in Lady Fabray's direction. "Where? Where is my child?"
The woman just laughed at him. "You really think I'd tell you before getting what I want? Mr. St. James, you know me better than that."
"Does Quinn know where? Maybe I'll just-"
"Quinn has no idea what happened to her baby. She doesn't even know the child's name," she cut him off, dashing his hope of getting some information without needing to do her bidding.
Jesse's jaw set as he angrily slammed his glass down on the counter sloshing scotch everywhere. He laughed without humor. "Why should I believe anything you say? How would you know what happened to my child?"
"Because I was there when Sue found your child a home. They're very well taken care of."
Jesse started to break down a little. "Please, I just want to know, was it a boy or a girl? I don't know anything about my kid."
"If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Lady Fabray raised her eyebrow enticingly.
If Jesse ever wanted to be able to find out what happened to his child he had no choice but to relent. He tossed back the remainder of his drink before speaking. "I'll do whatever you need me to. Just please, tell me something."
Lady Fabray took pity on the man who had foolishly impregnated her daughter and threw him a bone.
"Quinn had a very healthy baby girl. She looks just like Quinn."
Jesse smiled and tears began to well in his eyes. "What's her name? Do you know?"
"I do, but I'm not telling you."
Jesse looked sadly at the bar. "I wish I could see her."
Lady Fabray put her hand on Jesse's shoulder. "If you succeed in what I need you to do, I'll see to it that you can."
He looked back up at the woman. "What exactly do you need me to do?"
Back at the castle, Finn was wandering through the maze below his balcony trying to get lost to forget his troubles. The only problem was his troubles kept finding him no matter which direction he turned.
Finn shouldn't have let her go. He should have fought harder for her, made her stay with him. Forcing her would have done no good though. He didn't want to make her do anything she didn't want to; he wanted her to stay because she had made the decision to. Why couldn't they have just been from the same world? This whole door business was ruining everything.
"I gotta get out of here," Finn mumbled to himself. He looked at where he was in the maze and quickly figured out which direction to go. It didn't take long to find the exit and once out he booked it over to the stable. He found Brittany there about to leave for the night.
"Finn, what's going on? Where's Rachel?" she asked curiously.
"Rachel went back to her world."
Brittany was truly shocked. "Why? I thought things were going well?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now. I just need to get out of here."
The blonde nodded and smiled sympathetically at her long time friend. "I'm sure everything will work out Finn. You two are meant to be." Saying no more about it, Brittany patted Finn on the shoulder and said her goodbyes leaving him alone in the stable.
Finn wished Brittany's words could be true but it didn't seem to be working out that way.
In an attempt to be forgiven and earn back his carrot privileges, Rodney was being most accommodating and allowed Finn to saddle him up. He whinnied at him but as Finn didn't understand horse he had no idea what he was trying to say; it was possibly an apology. At the moment Finn didn't care however. He just needed to get away.
He rode in the direction of the Crystal Lake but for the life of him he couldn't seem to find it. Ever since first discovering it he knew exactly where it was but now it was as if its location had been erased from his memory. He searched endlessly for the willows that signified its existence but all he saw were oaks and evergreens and other various trees, none of which were the ones he needed.
The sky grew darker overhead as Finn continued to search but he couldn't give up hope. It needed to be around. It was his place and he needed it, it couldn't leave him too. Angrily, Finn hopped off Rodney and stared pacing around yanking on his hair. He screamed loudly at the sky as tears started falling.
He wanted to punch something, to kick the shit out of anything and just make something hurt as much as he did on the inside. It wasn't fair what was happening to him. He loved Rachel and Rachel loved him so why was she tearing his heart out and stomping all over it? Why was she so afraid to be happy? Why couldn't she understand that he couldn't live anymore knowing that she was out there somewhere that wasn't with him?
Finn kicked at some leaves that had built up on the ground but fell over wincing in pain when he realized it wasn't a pile of leaves but a small boulder with a thin layer of foliage covering it.
"Fuck!" he screamed into the night air as he clutched his foot which was throbbing. He lay on the ground thinking about anything but the pain to make it go away. The stars were beginning to shine through the spaces of the forest canopy as he stared upward and he thought about them. The stars. They were all so bright but no matter how brightly they shined none of them could ever match his star. She was so radiant it was nearly blinding. She was perfection captured in a tiny brunette form. Rachel was the only thing he wanted, the only thing he needed, but the only thing he couldn't keep a hold of. He laid there in silence, the only thing on his mind Rachel's beautiful face.
During their discussion at the bar, Lady Fabray had told Jesse everything she knew about this Rachel he was searching for. Short, brunette, big nose, loud mouth, dressed like a whore and came from another world through a door which they didn't know the whereabouts of. The only lead he had to go on to find her was the king's friend Brittany, since no one knew where the King's current location was and she seemed to know everything, whose house he was now breaking into.
He crept through the darkness of the nice little home until he found the bedroom she and who he assumed to be her husband were sleeping in. Before she could wake up and alert her husband, Jesse gagged Brittany and dragged her out of the room. She kicked and tried screaming as she had woken up but the sleeping potion the rag he used had been soaked with kicked in and she went limp as he dragged her into her kitchen and tied her to a chair tightly.
Jesse stalked back into the bedroom and did the same Artie to completely incapacitate both of them. Thirty minutes later Brittany was stirring awake as Jesse paced the room nervously. When Brittany was finally fully alert, Jesse stopped and faced the pair.
"Wh-who are you?" Brittany croaked out as she looked at the intruder in her home.
"Not important. What is important is that you give me the information I need otherwise you will pay with your life? Got it!" he barked at her.
"What do you want?" She looked around and found Artie tied to a chair as well still passed out from the potion and began to cry. "Please, don't hurt us. We'll do anything you want." This man could hurt her for all she cared but he couldn't hurt Artie. He'd been hurt enough in his life already.
"Good. I need to know the whereabouts of the woman King Finn has been wandering around the kingdom with. I know you can lead me to her. So start talking," Jesse spit in her face.
"How do you know about Rachel?"
"Just tell me where she is!" he screamed in her face. Next to her Artie was finally waking up.
"Brittany?" he moaned out groggily. His vision was blurred as he wasn't wearing his glasses and he couldn't move his arms. "Brittany, what's going on?"
Jesse grabbed a kitchen knife and stood behind Artie holding the blade to his throat. "Tell me where to find the girl or I will slit his throat!"
"No! Please! You can't! Please, I'll tell you!" Brittany was full on sobbing now, struggling against her ropes in vain trying to rescue her husband. Jesse pressed the tip of the knife harder into Artie's throat drawing blood. "She isn't here anymore. She went home through the door."
"How do you know this?"
"King Finn told me himself." She sobbed uncontrollably as she watched the blood trickle down Artie's neck. "Please, let him go! I told you what you wanted to know."
Jesse pulled on his hair. "It isn't enough. I need the girl. Where is the door? Tell me where it is now!" He pressed harder on Artie's neck making him suck in a sharp breath.
Seeing no other option if she wanted her husband to live, Brittany told him the door's location. "It's in King Finn's bedroom. It's an old cabinet."
Jesse pulled the knife from Artie's throat and he coughed, trying to breathe normally again. Now he had a real predicament. Breaking into Brittany Pierce's house had been cake but the castle was another job entirely. There were guards posted everywhere, especially at night and to get into the king's bedroom without being a close confidant of his or receiving an invitation by the king himself was nearly impossible. But then again…
He whipped around and grinned evilly at Brittany. "You're coming with me or I will end hubby's life. If you try to fight me while we're out, I will end you. I'm very proficient in hand to hand combat and fencing." Jesse gagged Artie again and removed him from the chair, throwing him over his shoulder and exiting the kitchen. A few minutes later he came back for Brittany who was still crying.
"What did you do with my husband? Where did you take him?" she screeched at the man holding her captive.
"When I have what I need, you'll get the cripple back. Now shut up before I knock you out!" He gagged her again and removed her from the chair as well. Jesse carried Brittany outside to his horse and threw her over his saddle so she was lying sideways on her stomach. Jesse climbed onto the horse next and off they rode to the castle.
As they got closer Jesse slowed down and threatened to slit her throat and leave Artie to rot if she even tried to scream after he removed her gag. "How do we get into the castle undetected?"
"Go left. There's an invisible pathway over there that only the King and I know about." Brittany sniffled as she sat uncomfortably on the horse, gagged once more after speaking.
She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Brittany and Artie were good people who never hurt anyone, why would anyone want to hurt them? Why do they want to know where Rachel and the door are? What purpose could it serve? And why was this horse being so mean to her? He spoke to her like he had a stick up his bum whenever he would neigh. It seemed horse and rider were a perfect match.
"Where's the path?"
"Stop." Brittany looked around trying to assess where she was in the dark. When she noticed the familiar bent tree that marked the path she nodded in its direction. "Just to the right of the bent tree. It will lead you directly to the stable."
They continued on to the stable and from there he forced Brittany to lead him to King Finn's bedroom which was vacant when they arrived.
"Well look at that, a bit of luck." Jesse turned to Brittany who was standing motionless, a blank expression on her face. "You've been most helpful. I'll see to it that you and your husband are reunited." He whacked Brittany over the head and dragged her down the hall to what appeared to be an art room. He locked her in a closet then proceeded back into the King's room.
Jesse stared down the cabinet trying to figure out how it could possibly work. He took a chance and stepped inside expecting the back wall to dissolve or to be able to simply walk through it. Nothing happened though.
He stepped back out as his brow furrowed in thought. There was obviously some way through if that Rachel girl had come and gone by it. He checked the back and scratched his head in confusion before stepping back in. The door began to creak shut behind him and the thought hit him that maybe it needed to be closed.
Jessed closed the door and waited for something to happen. He pressed on the back wall to find that it gave way making him fall forward until he had fallen out into a small room cluttered with objects he'd never seen before. What kind of world did this Rachel woman live in?
Not concerning himself with the items, Jesse stealthily slipped out of the room and down the hallway toward where he could see some light and hear some voices. He took his potion soaked cloth out and pulled out the knife he'd taken from Brittany's home. As he rounded the corner of the hallway into a larger room he found a small young woman and an older man in the middle of an embrace.
The woman fit Lady Fabray's description perfectly and he knew it had to be her. Swiftly, he closed the distance between him and the pair and knocked the man unconscious with the butt of his knife and before the woman could respond he held the cloth over her mouth and began dragging her back toward the door.
He reentered the king's bedroom and hastily made his way off castle grounds to take his bounty back to the Witch's house in the woods where he'd be able to claim his prize.
As he rode out, Jesse dared to believe that he would be seeing his little girl much sooner than he had anticipated.
So who saw Jesse as Quinn's baby daddy coming? lol
