Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I wanted to make the date just right. I wanted to capture Jesse's elaborate side, and this strikes me as something that he would do. This chapter is a little shorter than previous chapters, but I didn't want to overload it. Let's just focus on St Berry goodness, we all know we love them.

The song used in this chapter is So Close by Jon Mclaughlin. It's a beautiful song and definatley one of my all time favourites, and something that I think works really well for these two. If you haven't heard it before, then I suggest taking a trip to youtube, its worth it.

Thanks once againg for all of your comments and alerts, they always make me smile and are a huge boost when trying to complete a chapter. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter, as I'm sure that this is what the majority of you have been wanting to see for a while now. Hopefully I've done it som justice.

Rachael x

"So erm...how was your day?" Rachel asked as the young couple walked through the gates of Lima's park, Jesse's hand clasped securely around hers. Lima wasn't the warmest place in America, but as the spring was quickly becoming summer, the temperature had lifted considerably giving them the chance to embrace the opportunity to get some fresh air, which they both agreed would be great for their vocal chords.

"Exhausting," Jesse stated, Rachel rolled her eyes at his blunt answer,

"Care to elaborate?" she giggled.

"I've been thrown into the deep end at Vocal Adrenaline," he started, "Of course; I'm a brilliant performer, so I can handle it. But Shelby is acting like a slave driver; she thinks I've already missed too many rehearsals prior to Regional's."

"Oh," Rachel's body tensed as she heard her mother's name mentioned, Jesse didn't seem to notice.

"I'd forgotten how strict she actually was, Mr Schuster is a pushover compared to her, and you have no idea how tough she can be,"

"Yeah..." Jesse stopped still and realised exactly what he'd said and cursed himself for being so stupid, Shelby was still a delicate subject for Rachel, and here he was talking about her as if she was just an ordinary Glee Club director - such an amateur mistake.

"Rachel, I am so sorry, I didn't think, I just..." Rachel gave him a soft smile and shook her head.

"It's fine Jesse, really. It's going to take some time to get used to it," Jesse nodded as she continued to smile at him, "But I like hearing about your day, it makes things seem normal,"

"Okay sure, how about you tell me about your day then?" Rachel rolled her eyes as the couple started walking again, not entirely sure where they were going, but for now they were happy to just stroll around and embrace each other's company.

"There's nothing to tell really, just an ordinary day in the life of Rachel Berry," Jesse laughed and shook his head.

"Come on, you're almost as dramatic as I am, surely there's something that happened today,"

"Nope," Rachel smiled biting on her lip.

"So, when did you start wearing jeans?" Jesse smirked as they sat down on the grass, near the memorial fountain, Rachel shrugged as she watched the children splash around in the water.

"Don't," she giggled, "Brittany is trying to update my wardrobe," Jesse nodded and placed his arm comfortably around her, pulling her closer towards him.

"And I'm guessing that you didn't tell her you were coming out with me tonight," he said quietly, as Rachel placed her head on his shoulder,"

"Not exactly," Rachel mumbled biting her lip; Jesse sensed the tone and kissed her head softly.

"So what did you tell her?" he asked cautiously.

"I didn't tell her anything...she just...she just assumed..."

"She just assumed what exactly?"

"She thinks I'm going out with Matt tonight," Rachel closed her eyes, anticipating his reaction, to her surprise all she could hear was his infectious laugh. Opening her eyes slowly, she sat up and stared at him, smiling slightly as he continued to laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked,

"You and Matt?" he laughed as Rachel nodded, "Seriously, the guy never talks, then again, she's a takes being a dumb blonde to a whole new level, she's never really been that observant has she?" Rachel frowned as she pushed him as far away from her as possible before she stood up.

"They're my friends, Jesse!" she stated through gritted teeth, Jesse rolled his eyes as Rachel made her traditional diva exit.. He groaned as he jumped to his feet and began chasing after her, he was perfectly aware that people were staring at him as he continued to call her name, despite her ignoring his pleas. He quickened his pace, reaching out and clasping his hand around her arm.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked in protest, her small frame powerless against his, without saying another word his lips crashed down onto hers, stopping her protests immediately, all thoughts of anger forgotten for the time being as Jesse let go of her arm and allowing her to wrap them softly around his neck, he rested his hands on her lower back and pulled her closer to him, her body perfectly moulding against his. She moaned quietly into the kiss and Jesse smiled, pulling away from her, holding her at arm's length.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, Rachel frowned, he'd used his magic on her again, she was going to have to be extra vigilant around him from now on.

"So you should be," Rachel mumbled

"Give me a break here Rachel," He sighed leaning in and resting his forehead against hers, "I'm trying not to mess up again, it must come naturally to me I guess," Rachel smiled and looked up at him, sighing quietly.

"You're not doing so bad," she whispered, "Maybe I did overreact a little,"

"I'm just not used to referring to them as your friends,"

"Yeah, I'm still finding it a little weird to," she giggled wrapping her arms tightly around him. Jesse let out a content sigh as she inhaled deeply, allowing the fresh scent of strawberries to take over his senses. He'd missed this. After everything that they had been through, this was the one thing that allowed him to forget everything and remember how perfect they were for each other.

The rest of the evening went a lot smoother, it was a date that all girls dreamt about and Rachel was finally living it. This didn't even compare to their first date, although she did enjoy the Wiggle's performance on the night, but this – this was something entirely different. There was an air of romance in the air, and she embraced it fully. She and Jesse spent the evening outside, their fingers entwined together as they listened to the music playing quietly around them occasionally singing along with it, the performers in them never failing to make their appearances, they talked quietly as Jesse placed his arm protectively around her, the young couple seemingly caught up in their own private bubble away from prying eyes. Rachel noticed that the song had changed and couples began gathering on the makeshift dance floor, Jesse smiled as he got to his feet, Rachel turning her gaze to face him again.

"Shall we?" he asked quietly, holding his hand out to her. Rachel smiled and gently nodded her head, placing her hand inside of his. Jesse led her to the middle of the floor, before stopping and turning to face her. He gave her yet another smile and she blushed, as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Jesse placed his hands on her lower back and pulled her closer towards him, Rachel let out a quiet gasp as the gap closed between them, before following his example and placing her arms around his neck and smiling up at him. Jesse smiled back at her and as she stood on her toes he craned his neck so he could meet her lips. Rachel instantly melted against him, and tightened her arms around him. Yes, as dates went, this was definitely one of the better ones.

"You're in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I'm with you
So close to feeling alive"Rachel lifted her head from Jesse's chest as she heard him singing quietly, she smiled as he locked his eyes on hers, he spun her around quickly, catching her off guard, and clasped his hand tightly around hers, before placing her left hand on his shoulder. Before she knew what was happening he was guiding her around the dance floor, Rachel kept her eyes focused solely on him, everything else becoming a blur around her.

"A life goes by
Romantic dreams will stop
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting, waiting here with you
And now forever I know
All that I wanted to hold you
So close"She blushed as he spun her round again, slowly this time, their fingers never ever breaking contact. As Rachel came out of the spin, she kept her back against Jesse's chest, yet her eyes still managed to find his. Jesse gently clasped his hand around hers again, and placed his free hand on her waist, as they continued to dance across the floor. Rachel was perfectly aware that a crowd had gathered around them, all eyes were on her, and for once she didn't care, she only had eyes for Jesse right now, she didn't feel like embracing her audience.

"So close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
And now you're beside me and look how far we've come
So far we are so close"

Jesse spun Rachel around again and for the first time since they had started dancing, their fingers finally lost contact. In that precise moment, Rachel felt lost, she struggled to find Jesse's eyes as she continued to spin, he followed her slowly, he hands reaching out to catch her as she stumbled slightly after he had broke the contact between them. He pulled her closer towards him again, returning to their first position. Rachel smiled at him and rested her head onto his shoulder, breathing in his strong scent that she had become so accustomed to. Time seemed to stand still for her, and all of the other remaining couples seemed to have disappeared as Jesse quickened the pace at which they were moving. Jesse let go of Rachel one final time as she spun out, and as Jesse pulled her back into him, he tightened his grip and lifted her into the air. Rachel blushed as she placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyes still locked firmly on his. Jesse turned around and Rachel finally stared at the crowd that were watching them, everyone smiling at them, and their impromptu performance. Jesse carefully lowered Rachel to the ground and kissed her hand before letting it go. She smiled at him, as he bowed and then started circling her slowly.

"How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?
We're so close
To reaching that famous happy end
And almost believing this was not pretend
Let's go on dreaming for we know we are
So close
So close
And still so far"Jesse approached her slowly as the song came to an end, he wrapped his arms around her securely, Rachel closed her eyes instinctively as she began searching for his lips, returning to their own private world again. Only to be interrupted by the applause that their audience insisted on giving them. Rachel smiled as she unwillingly broke the kiss; Jesse smiled down at her and clasped her hand in his, before turning to face everyone who had gathered to watch them. He gave them a small bow before pulling Rachel away from everyone.

"That was beautiful,"

"What a lovely couple they make,"

"She's one lucky lady,"

"How romantic!"

"He's a keeper alright."

Rachel smiled as Jesse walked through the crowd, she couldn't help overhearing what people were saying about them, and she couldn't help agreeing with them. Jesse was certainly a keeper, and she was definitely in no hurry to let go of him.

"Jesse, that was beautiful," Rachel whispered when they were finally away from the crowd, he shrugged and smiled at her.

"You deserve it," he said simply.

"No one has ever done anything like that for me before," she confided in him, he nodded and clasped both of his hands over hers. "Anyone would think that you had that planned all along,"

"I wanted to show you how important you are to me," he smiled as Rachel blushed, "I wanted to show you in a way that you'd understand,"

"Thank you Jesse," Rachel smiled and stretched up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. She returned to her previous position and sighed, glancing cautiously at her watch.

"It's getting late," she sighed,

"Do you want to go home?" he asked, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Not really, I wish we could stay here forever, it's been such an amazing evening, I don't want it to ever end,"

"I think we have to," Jesse murmured, "I'd hate to upset your dads. After all, you get grounded, then we wouldn't be able to do this again for a while,"

Rachel smiled and nodded.

"I guess not,"

"Come on Cinderella, let's get you home,"

"Jesse wait!" Rachel said quietly, pulling him to a halt, "Can we please take the long way home?"