Jesse strode onto the stage, belting out "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" and felt a feeling of home flood over him. He'd never felt anything quite like the rush he got when performing on stage. He loved the fact that even though he couldn't see anyone's faces, he knew everyone's eyes were on him.

Or at least they were until the point where Rachel entered the stage, radiating beauty. He couldn't help but stare at her and stumbled on a line. She smiled at him and they shared a little not so private moment on stage before getting back on. After all her worries that she would mess up, he did so first.

By the time he was serenading her with "Surrey with the Fringe On Top" he knew they were make magic up on that stage. He couldn't imagine that this was actually his job and that for the foreseeable future, he would get to sing with her every night. Once the show closed, they would continue to take Broadway by storm.

Or not. Would the baby require so much of his time that he would have to take a break from the stage? Would this baby force him to put his career on hold until he or she went to school? He did put in long hours when rehearsing a show but the last thing he wanted was to give it up. Fuck, this baby was ruining his life.

He watched Rachel sing "Many A New Day" from the wings. She looked breathtaking as she danced around the stage with the other girls. When she joined him off stage, he pulled her into a congratulatory embrace. They weren't even to act two yet, but he knew they were in the middle of something special.

"Are you ready for the ballet?" he whispered.

"I think so." She said breathless. Her cheeks were red and she seemed so excited. He knew this was a big night for her and he was happy to be a part of it.

XXX

The cast finished the last notes of "Oklahoma" and Jesse started feeling the usual sense of accomplishment that came from doing a show. The cast rushes around the moment the curtain falls to get in their places for the curtain calls. Jesse stands near the back, knowing Rachel is standing in almost the exact same spot across the stage.

He moves up in the line as more and more people go out to bow. It's only the main characters that get to be recognized so it doesn't take long for the group to slim down. He sees Rachel walk to the center of the stage and bow. There's an ample amount of applause and he can tell from off-stage that she's beaming with pride.

The applause is deafening when he walks on stage. He honestly can't tell if he or Rachel got more. Even if she did, he's surprised to find he doesn't mind (he knows a lot of her friends are in the audience). He shares another smile with Rachel before they join hands for the final bow.

"You were perfect." He whispers into her ear, unsure if she can hear him over the massive amount of clapping and cheers from the audience. But from the way her smile widens, he knows she did.

XXX

He goes back to his dressing room and starts to undress. His costume is all sweaty from the performance but luckily it doesn't smell. He's pretty sure he spit on Rachel a few times during "People Will Say We're In Love" but she didn't seem to mind too much. They'd sung together enough times to know he was somewhat or a spitter. At least everything else that came out of his mouth was magic.

He can't help but be so proud of Rachel, especially since she had been so nervous before the show. She really had done an incredible job, lighting up the stage all on her own. The way they'd danced together in the ballet, the moment where he lifted her up and then she'd slowly slid down his body into a split had gotten him semi-hard. He could totally get off just from remembering the way her lips curled around the words as she sang.

He hated himself for thinking of her so subjectively. Rachel was so much more than someone for him to pleasure himself to. But at the same time he wished his dressing room door had a lock and that Theresa wasn't on her way to see him.

They had a little ritual after each opening night. He'd wait in the dressing room and she would come back stage to congratulate him, usually bringing flowers. That he wanted flowers but it was still a nice gesture. In fact that first time she'd brought them, he'd made a little joke and she'd been embarrassed. Now it was more like a little inside joke between them.

Sometimes they would have sex in his dressing room although sometimes he was forced to share them with other guys. In those cases they would rush home and do it there instead. But he wasn't exactly up for it tonight, especially not with Rachel so close. Maybe once they got home but he wasn't really interested in doing that either.

There was a knock on his door but he wasn't filled with the normal anticipation he usually felt from knowing Theresa was coming to see him. He knew it was in a large part because of Rachel. He couldn't stop think about how gorgeous she'd looked.

"Jesse?" Theresa called through the door. He slipped on his pants before opening the door.

"Hey." He said half-heartedly. He stepped out of the way so she could enter.

"Great job." She said meeting his enthusiasm. He looked at her funny, wondering why she seemed upset.

"What's wrong?" he asked walking over to her.

"I can't do this anymore." She said starting to cry. He honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

"Do what?" he asked looking for clarification.

"Us. I'm not going to sit idly by and be made a fool of." She said starting to raise her voice. He knew well enough that soon she'd be screaming.

"What are you talking about?" he asked getting frustrated, although in the back of his mind he was wondering if she knew about his indiscretions with Rachel.

"I know." She said confirming his suspicions. "You think I can't see it? I've known all these years that you were cheating on me."

"What?" he asked surprised and confounded. Years?

"I notice it instantly every time I sit in the audience and watch you with those girls. It's always so obvious you've been sleeping with them!" she shouted.

"I never slept with any of my co-stars." The closest he'd ever come was Rachel.

"Like hell." She said disbelieving. "Like you're not screwing Rachel. I've seen the way you look at her."

"I've never cheated on you." He said slowly, hoping she would get the idea. "Ok, maybe Rachel and I kissed. But I've never slept with her or anyone else while we were dating."

"You're such a liar." She said shaking her head.

"No, I'm just a good actor." He corrected. "Up until a few months ago, I was completely faithful to you."

"Stop lying to me!" she screamed, chucking the flowers she was holding at him.

"I'm not!" he cried out helplessly, trying to dodge the flowers being thrown his way.

"What about that Maureen girl? You used to go over to her house all the time." She said accusingly, a little calmer than before.

"We were always practicing the Mambo number!" he insisted. "Besides she was fucking the guy playing Mr. Applegate."

"It doesn't matter anyway." She said turning away from him.

"What's that supposed to me?" he asked, moving so he could see her face.

"I've been cheating on you." She said coming clean. He stood there, his jaw dropping in shock.

"For how long?" he asked cringing at the very idea of it.

"For about a year now." She said and he wondered if she was shortening it to make him feel better although it didn't. How had he never noticed?

"How could you do this to me?" he demanded, starting to feel outraged at her infidelity. A whole fucking year?

"I thought you were cheating on me."

"But I wasn't!" he said indignantly. If she thought he was cheating why didn't she confront him earlier? Why didn't she break up with him?

"That doesn't change the fact that the moment you start up a new show, you forget about me completely. It's like I don't exist anymore all that matters is your show."

"I told you when we met that being a star was the most important thing in the world to me."

"I know." She said wiping away a tear. "But you already are a star. You've achieved everything you wanted and I still don't come first. I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part, that the Great Jesse. St. James would chose a girl over his career."

He thought this over and realized she had a valid point. He'd never loved a girl enough to forgo all his dreams for her, not even Rachel. When it came down to it, he'd chosen wining and Vocal Adrenaline over her. He'd regretted the decision but hadn't done anything to fix it until now. He was lucky Rachel even spoke to him anymore. Would he choose Rachel over his dreams now?

"But what about the baby?" he asked glancing at her stomach.

"It's not yours." She said and relief washed over him. "I went to the doctor yesterday."

She had? Why hadn't she asked him to go with her? How had he not even known this was happening? Was he really so caught up in his own world? Not that it made much of a difference now. He wasn't the father.

"I'm two months pregnant. I don't think I need to remind you that we weren't having sex two months ago."

No, they weren't, he remembered quite clearly on his own. That was right around the time Rachel had popped back into his life. So while he had been off, wishing he could be with Rachel, Theresa was off with some other guy. It all seemed so needless and stupid. What a waste of time.

"I should get going." She said, interrupting his thoughts. He realized he hadn't said much through their entire exchange, which isn't like him. But with so much happening so quickly, he can't help but spend time swirling around in his head.

Theresa leans in a gives him a kiss on the cheek. "You were wonderful tonight, but I'm sure you know that already."

"Thank you." He can't think of anything else to say.

"I'll have my things out the apartment by tomorrow." She promised before heading out.

He stared at the door after it had already been closed. He was alone, single, free at last. He knew he should take some time to himself, to really get over the break up but he didn't want to. He wanted to run to Rachel's dressing room, scoop her into his arms and finally tell her she's can be his now.

So why don't I? He asked himself as he slipped his shirt and jacket on. He hurries to her dressing room and runs his fingers through his hair before knocking on the door.

He holds his breath, waiting for her to answer it. There's only one problem, she's not coming to the door. He calls out her name before turning the knob. The lights are off and she's gone. How did she get dressed so quickly?

He runs down the back steps towards the stage door and is met with throngs of fans. He surveys the crowd, looking for a glimpse of her. A few girls walk over and ask to take a picture with him. He absentmindedly agrees, posing with the three of them while the forth takes the picture. He smiles and chats them up for a minute, still looking for Rachel.

He finally spots her talking with a few of her Glee friends. He spots Finn and Mr. Shuester but he has a hard time remembering some of their names. There's the Asian chick, the gay kid, the black girl named after a car and the jerk with the Mohawk. Upon further inspection, he noticed the wheelchair kid was there too, just hidden among the crowd.

He wanted to go over to her, but he wasn't about the risk the wrath of New Directions. So instead he talked to some fans, said hello to some girl who couldn't make it via a video camera and took lots of pictures. He noticed some of the Glee clubbers glaring his way. If looks could kill…

Greg came over and Jesse gave him a "guy hug" with the clasping hands and patting each other on the back. "Great job on Kansas City." He said to Greg and he actually meant it.

"Thanks man." Greg replied, nodding. He must have blazed up right after the show.

A few people snapped pictures of them together and Jesse kept glancing in Rachel's direction, waiting for her to be alone. That or at least for the Glee kids to scatter. Finally he decided he didn't care, he had to talk to her before she left. If they weren't going to leave any time soon, he had no choice.

He tried his best to slip through the crowd unnoticed but a few people stopped him and asked for his autograph. He wrote his signature quickly and handed their pieces of paper back to them. He smiled graciously and tried to move on as quickly as possible.

When he got to Rachel, she was signing an autograph for a little girl around eleven or so. It made it so Jesse was stuck talking with the Glee club without her. They all continued to glare at him and he knew this had been a bad idea.

"Great job out there Jesse." Mr. Shuester said shaking his hand.

"Thank you." He smiled, grateful that Mr. Shuester was there. He seemed the most forgiving out of all of them.

"I prefer Hugh Jackman, but you weren't bad." The gay kid added looking very stuffy with his hands on his hips.

"I liked Aunt Eller." Mohawk guy chimed in.

"What?" Ferrari or something asked looking at him funny.

"Whatever man, she was badass. Did you see her shoot that gun off into the air? Total BAMF."

"You were great." Finn told Rachel, who had rejoined their conversation.

"Thanks!" she said grinning from ear to ear with pride. She glanced at Jesse and he couldn't do anything but smile back. He quickly winked at her and checked to see if any of the others had noticed.

"Well, I'm sure you all have a lot to catch up on." He said excusing himself. The conversation had died and he could feel the tension in the air. There would be plenty of time to talk to Rachel later.

"I'll be right back." He heard her say to her friends. He started walking slower to give her a chance to catch up to him.

"Jesse." She called after him, running to get to him. "Where are you going?"

"Home, I guess." He shrugged. "I might stop to eat first. I didn't realize until now that I'm starving."

"I heard yelling in your dressing room after the show." She said trying to ask something without actually saying the words.

"Theresa and I broke up." He shrugged on shoulder uninterestedly. "Apparently she's been cheating on me for awhile because she thought I was cheating on her."

"That's terrible." She said sympathetically.

"It's fine."

"How is that fine?" she asked shaking her head baffled by how indifferent he seemed.

"Because now I can do this." He said bending down to kiss her. When he pulled away, she bit her lip, trying not to smile.

"I could come with you…" she offered.

"No." he shook his head putting his hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "Stay and talk to your friends. They came all the way from Ohio to see you."

"But I would rather be with you." She said, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

He laughed and pulled her into an embrace. "Come over when they leave." He whispered.

"I will." She promised before he pulled away. He watched her skip back to her friends, who had been watching their exchange, and couldn't help smiling to himself. As soon as her friends left, they could be together. He felt dizzy with joy as he flagged down a cab and climbed inside. In a few hours, Rachel would be in his arms and he was pretty sure he was never going to let her go.