Chapter 14

The Grudge

Buffy twiddled her thumbs at her locker in the morning. Students milled around her, but she'd kept her eyes open for Mike. She was angry at herself for ruining things with such ease. She didn't even need to try.

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned, snapping out of her thoughts of hopelessness, and looked up to find Mike looking down at her with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Mike," she simply said, unsure of how to explain herself.

"So. Last night was..."

"Awful. I'm really sorry," she looked down.

Mike sighed. "I really like you Buffy," he said, surprising her, "I mean, you're cool, and it'd be pretty cool to get to know you. Nice, cool people are surprisingly hard to find. But... I mean, yesterday was really weird."

"I know," sighed Buffy.

"I mean, a lot of people seem to say you're all dangerous and mysterious and you like to get into trouble, and I guess that's kind of true, but I don't think I can date someone who hangs out in funeral homes for fun."

"Right. It's a little morbid."

"It's not that. I mean, I've dated girls who are really into Dickinson and interested in death and stuff, which is cool and all, but I don't want to have to worry about all the danger and drama."

Buffy nodded, looking at the ground. "So we should stop dating?"

Mike sighed. "I wouldn't mind dating you, Buffy, as long as you stop getting into that kind of trouble."

Buffy looked up at him and smiled sweetly, knowing there was no hope. "I can't do that, Mike. I'm sorry, but I'm a rebel without a cause. Me and my friends have a passion for danger. You're really great... but I don't want to give that up."

Mike nodded in disappointment. "I understand. I mean, I don't, but it's cool anyways. Besides, my parents have been pressuring to date an Asian girl."

"Alright," Buffy chewed on the inside of her cheek, the cogs in her mind dusting themselves off and turning. "Can you do me a favor, though?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't date Morgan Ru."

"Huh?"

"There isn't a lot of ethnic diversity in this town, and the pickings for an Asian girl are probably pretty slim, so I know if you had to date anyone, the natural choice would be Morgan Ru, right? She's pretty and totally high on the high school food chain."

"Yeah, I guess."

"But I don't think she's your girl, Mike. I know it's none of my business, but I think you'd prefer someone with less drama, more brains. Someone introspective, and fun, but responsible. And you said you liked shy girls, right?"

"Right?"

"So, let me introduce you to someone you might like."

xxx

"Tina!"

Tina looked up from the book she'd buried her nose in. She was a bit startled by Buffy's voice, afraid that maybe she was about to be reprimanded for taking a break from decrypting the pergamum codex, but she could see a hopeful smile plastered across Buffy's face as she pulled Mike Chang into the choir room.

"Yes?" she answered, hiding her mouth behind the book and peering at Mike.

"I want you to meet someone," she said, gesturing to Mike with a flourish as if he was a present for all her hard work.

"I know Mike," Tina replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know Mike! And Mike knows you! And you two have a lot in common!"

Tina peered at Buffy suspiciously from behind her book.

"Like what?" asked Mike.

Buffy searched her mind and frowned. "Okay, maybe you have nothing in common, but maybe that's a good thing," she pushed Mike down into a chair beside Tina, "That way, Tina, you can give Mike a bunch of book recommendations and, Mike, you can teach Tina a few dance steps to build her confidence in glee club."

"Buffy, what are you-?" said Tina.

"I'll leave you two alone."

Buffy slipped out of the door leaving an awkward Mike with a blushing Tina.

"So... you're friends with Buffy?" asked Mike, his eyes swiveling around the room.

Tina nodded. "I thought you were dating her."

Mike shook his head. "We just went to Breadstix once."

The two shared an awkward silence.

"Do you like Breadstix?" asked Mike.

Tina shrugged. "Not really."

"Me neither. There's not much else in Lima, though, is there?"

Tina thought a moment. "Do you like dim sum?"

Mike widened his eyes and looked at Tina. "I love dim sum."

xxx

"Will you look at them!" exclaimed Rachel.

She peered with her back to a row of lockers, a giddy smile on her face.

"Look at who?" asked Quinn, who checked her hair in the miniature mirror she'd taped into the inside of her locker.

"Mike and Tina!" said Rachel, nodding to the couple down the hall who went hand in hand, making moon eyes at each other, "They're adorable."

"Are my roots showing?" asking Quinn, ducking her head.

"No," Rachel waved her away, "Buffy set them up, you know. I never would have even thought to put those two together, but they just look so in love."

Quinn clenched her jaw. "Everyone has someone," she said coldly, and shut her locker door, and hand over her ever growing stomach. It was quite big now, Rachel noted, and Quinn wrapped her hands around it whenever she seemed blue.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Rachel," the girl said, brushing her blond hair behind her ear.

Rachel looked down at the linoleum tiles and thought a moment. "I suppose you assume I forgot about the glist by now," she said.

"Haven't you?" asked Quinn, irritated.

"Yeah, I have. I'm over it, you could say. It's only a piece of paper. So, now that I really don't care about it..."

"What?"

"It's not like the culprit will get into any trouble. I mean, I won't tell."

Quinn didn't reply, but lathered her lips in gloss and clutched her backpack.

"Let me carry that," said Rachel, taking her bag with a smile.

"Thanks," Quinn said, uncomfortable.

"Quinn... do you understand what I'm saying?"

Quinn nodded. "Sure. Let's get to class."

"Quinn, wait," said Rachel, speaking in a hushed voice, "I know you're behind the glist."

Quinn clenched her jaw. "This again? Rachel, you have no proof. I can't believe you keep trying to pin this on me. I thought we were friends, but if you don't want to be, fine. Everything else has been taken from me. My popularity. My body. Might as well throw away friendship."

Rachel looked down sadly. "It takes years to build a good reputation. But only seconds to destroy it. A couple mistakes and you go from the top to the bottom," Rachel's voice wavered, "You have lost so much, Quinn. Which means you had the most to gain from the glist."

As Rachel peered at Quinn, she noticed she was holding her lips tightly together, and her eyes down low, as if she was trying to stop herself from tearing up.

"I never meant to hurt anybody's feelings," Quinn whispered as the students around them pushed past her and disappeared into class.

"I know."

Quinn chuckled through tears. "I was captain of the cheerleading squad. Of the celibacy club. I had Finn. People would part like the Red Sea when I walked down the hallway. Now I'm invisible."

Rachel shook her head. "And you think being seen as some cheap beauty queen is better?"

"It's better than no reputation at all."

Rachel sighed. "High school feels like our whole lives right now. I know. But I always hold on to the fact that it's going to end. You're gonna give that baby to a family that really wants it, who will really love it, and then you are going to go on to do amazing things, Quinn."

A tear slipped down Quinn's cheek. "You really think that I can get it all back one day?" she asked.

"No. I think you can do better. I mean, you're Quinn Fabray. Those people didn't just part through the halls, you moved them. I know. I was one of them, and you moved me, and you still do. There's more than one kind of magic in you."

Quinn smiled sadly, blinking tears out of her eyes. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not."

"You are, Rachel. You don't know me. Not really. I'm not as good a person as you think I am. I can't help it."

"You can, Quinn. I see a lot of potential in you. And I would know because I have a lot of potential, too."

Quinn laughed. "Thanks. I just think you'd be better off without a friend like me."

Rachel shook her head. "We can be great friends, Quinn. We just need to build trust, and honesty. And since you've been so honest with me, I'm going to tell you a secret. But you have to promise not to tell the other guys in glee. Only Buffy and Tina know."

Quinn nodded, interested.

"I'm dating a member of Vocal Adrenaline."

"...What?"

"His name is Jesse St. James. Ugh, he's so smart and handsome, and he knows all about Broadway-"

Quinn blinked, openly surprised. "But... don't you like Finn?"

Rachel's smile faltered. "Well, I did. But now I have Jesse."

"Jesse? I broke up with Finn..." Quinn started to say, "And I thought you were going to date him."

Rachel shook her head. "Oh, well."

"No, not oh well. One of the main reasons I broke up with Finn..." she trailed off.

Rachel furrowed her brow. "What? So that I could have him?"

"No!" said Quinn, "So that... I don't know. If I had to break his heart, at least someone could be there for him. And you're not there for him, are you?"

"Well, we haven't spoken much..."

Quinn scowled, annoyed. "Because you're with Jesse."

"I don't know what you're getting annoyed, Quinn. You're being irrational. I don't have an obligation to date your ex-boyfriend."

"You wanted to when I had him!"

"And? You didn't tell him the truth for my benefit!"

Quinn grimaced. "Maybe people like us can't be friends."

"Quinn-"

"No, it's true, Rachel. I just... I don't want to be your friend."

Rachel's heart dropped a little as Quinn took her backpack out of Rachel's hand and walked away with it slung around her shoulder. Quinn could almost feel Rachel's miserable gaze on her back, but she kept from looking behind her or running back and apologizing. She didn't know if it was really Rachel she was helping, but Quinn knew it wasn't good for them to be friends. It just wasn't something she could do so easily; be one of the girls.

She had a lot of the feelings she had she couldn't rationalize. Why was she so upset that she was dating Jesse St. James instead of Finn? Maybe because it was Jesse St. James, off all people. On the other hand, she almost felt as if Finn was some present she had given to Rachel, that she rejected. And if Finn was good enough for Quinn, why wasn't she good enough for Rachel? She shook her head and cursed herself out for searching for approval through Rachel. Why her? she asked herself, Why Man Hands Berry? Or was Quinn just always searching for approval, from anyone.

She shook as the bell rang through the halls. Had she missed a whole class? She made sure she'd wiped all the tears from her face so that no one would suspect she'd been crying. As her fellow students milled around without a second glance, she peered at a poster on the wall. A big orange rectangle asked students to vote for this year's May Queen. She sighed and stared at the little cartoon silhouette on the poster, of a girl in a ball gown, twirling with glee. Quinn longed to be her. She seemed so carefree.

"Hey, Quinn," smiled Buffy, gingerly standing at the girl's side, and following her gaze to the poster, "May Queen. You running?"

Quinn smiled and shook her head. "They don't tend to elect teen moms."

Buffy shrugged. "You could always try. I wouldn't want that slimy Morgan Ru to get the crown."

Quinn chuckled. "You would think that Morgan Ru would win, because she's so popular. Maybe for homecoming. But something about the May Queen election makes people want to vote for someone simple. All-American. I would have gotten it for sure... But this year, it'll probably be Brittany."

Buffy looked at Quinn for a few seconds before saying, "Quinn, don't worry about May Queen. It's just a shallow popularity contest. You're better than that. You're smart!"

"Look where all my intelligence got me," Quinn sighed.

Buffy groaned internally as Morgan Ru came there way with a colorful box of chocolates, flanked by a horde of cheerleaders.

"Buffy Summers," she greeted with a conniving smile, "Are you voting for May Queen?"

"Wasn't planning on it," Buffy replied, making Morgan laugh to her friends.

"That's so you! So, I heard you dated Mike Chang."

Buffy nodded. "Just for one date-"

"And then you had to break it off with him because of your dangerous lifestyle?"

"Uh. Well, technically-"

"And now he's dating that Goth freak in glee club. Tracy or something."

"Tina. And she's not freak; she's a really nice-"

"Anyways, I know high school functions are sooo irrelevant to you because you're a rebel and everything, but I'd still really appreciate your vote," she smiled sweetly and handed her a chocolate with a big M on it.

"M for Morgan?" Buffy said, looking down at it.

"No, M for Wilma. Of course, M for Morgan, dummy," she smiled and looked back at her friends, "She's so funny."

Quinn rolled her eyes.

"This way, people will associate me with something sweet," continued Morgan, who turned her head and looked Quinn up and down, "Here, have a chocolate, Quinn - oh wait, I don't think I need the Sixteen and Pregnant vote."

She and her cohorts cackled as they walked away.

"Was that her being nice to me?" asked Buffy.

"In her mind, it was probably more kindness than you deserve," Quinn smirked.

"But why?"

"You dated a football guy. That in itself is impressive, but also that you dumped him. And now this dangerous and mysterious thing you got going on is actually working for you."

"She's so... shallow."

"I used to be her. I wish I still was."

"What? That's dumb. She's a total lemming."

"You wouldn't understand. Popularity is an addiction. And I have an addictive personality."

"I understand. Maybe not the addictive personality part, but I used to be popular. Back in L.A."

Quinn looked at Buffy as if only just noticing her. "Yeah... That makes sense."

"Does it?"

"Yeah. I mean, you're pretty, you have a nice style and you have that sort of charisma and confidence that only someone who's been popular has. You must have always been popular."

"Yeah, I was..." sighed Buffy, "I mean, until I started slaying. Now everyone thinks I'm just the freak girl with the broken home. And a gang member."

Quinn smirked. "Yeah. Sorry about starting that rumor, by the way."

"That was you?"

Buffy was cut short as the girls heard a rush of alarmed voices coming from the end of the hallway. Paramedics rolled around the corner, slowly rolling Dave Karofsky down on a stretcher.

"Dave! What happened?" asked Quinn as the paramedics pushed him past them. Quinn and Buffy strode down along his stretcher, keeping up the steady pace.

"I don't know," groaned Dave, "I heard something in the locker room... I tried to grab a bat... it hit me."

"What hit you?" urged Buffy.

"The bat, by itself. The thing was floating. It knocked me out," he said, before the paramedics wheeled him out of the school.

Quinn and Buffy shared a perplexed look.

"This can't be good," muttered Buffy as he was carted away into an ambulance, "I'm gonna check out the scene."

Buffy whipped around and made her way to the boys' locker room. It was empty at this time of day; cold and ominous, and it smelled like feet. She couldn't hear anything but her own footsteps on the tiled floor, but she saw a bat lying innocently between two rows of lockers. She kicked it with the tip of her leather boots, but it just rolled over lifelessly. A plain, wooden baseball bat. As Buffy looked up beneath her bangs, something caught her eye. A shock of white against the bright red door of one locker in a row. All the doors were ajar, but as she closed them one by one, the spray painted whiteness spelled something.

LOOK

xxx

"Look? That's all it said?"

Rachel and Tina gaped at Buffy for information as they walked out of school into the rapidly emptying parking lot.

"Look at what?" asked Rachel, "At Dave?"

As much as the glee clubbers resented the footballers, Dave was still a classmate, and the scoobies were beyond wigged.

"Maybe. All I know is that it's a message," Buffy shrugged, "And monsters don't usually send messages. It's usually crush, kill, destroy."

"You're right," frowned Tina.

"I love it when you say that," Buffy smiled smugly.

"It's a puzzle," said Rachel, as the three girls paused in the parking lot to watch the students flood out, "I've never heard of someone being attacked by a lone baseball bat before."

"Maybe it's a vampire bat," Tina tried to contain a smile.

Rachel and Buffy stared. "Was that a joke?" asked Rachel.

"Tina, did you just make a funny?" asked Buffy.

Tina blushed. "Y-Yes," she said uncertainly.

"Good one," Rachel smiled approvingly.

Tina grinned gratefully. "Anyways, there's probably some research due, huh?"

Buffy nodded. "Maybe someone with telekinesis. Um... or some sort of invisible thing...?"

"A poltergeist," said Tina.

"A ghost?" asked Rachel.

Tina nodded. "A vengeful spirit."

"I'll say," said Buffy, "It was a real scene."

"If it's a ghost, then we're talking about a dead person," said Rachel.

"I guess so," Buffy replied, "Why don't you compile a list of dead or missing kids?"

Rachel nodded.

"And Tina," said Buffy.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to find out about Dave. This attack wasn't random."

"How am I supposed to find out about Dave?"

"Talk to his friends. Azimio. Morgan."

"Morgan?" asked Tina, "I have to talk to Morgan Ru?"

"You can do it, Tina," Buffy smiled encouragingly.

Tina looked uneasy as a black SUV pulled up in the school parking lot.

"Well, ladies, I would love to continue, but my ride is here," Rachel smiled smugly.

"That's your ride?" asked Buffy, surprised.

Rachel nodded. "It's Jesse's parents' car."

"Wow," gawked Buffy, "But, look up those missing kids tonight, okay?"

"Sure, Buffy," Rachel smiled and waved as she sauntered away into Jesse's car.

"Hello," he smiled playfully with his eyes on the road, pulling out of the parking lot as she buckled her seat belt, "How are you? I heard about what happened at school today."

Rachel looked to her side quickly. "You did?"

Jesse nodded. "I saw an ambulance coming from the school and asked what happened. Apparently a student was beaten?"

"Oh," she sighed, "Yes. Dave Karofsky. A bully."

"Do you think it was some sort of payback crime?"

"I don't know. It was awful, though."

"I'm sure," Jesse side-eyed Rachel as he drove, "His parents must be going through so much worry. I couldn't even imagine."

"Mine would be a wreck," Rachel nodded.

"Speaking of parents, it's probably time we meet each others."

A smile escaped Rachel's plump lips. "Really? You want me to meet your parents?"

"Yes, of course. I could bring you over for dinner to meet my parents... and then I could come over one day to meet your mom and dad."

"Actually, I have two dads," Rachel corrected with a smirk, "I'm sure I mentioned it!"

"Oh, yes, of course. I must have forgotten. I hope you don't mind me asking..."

"Yes?"

"How exactly did that come to be? I mean, were you adopted?"

"Oh, no," Rachel smiled, "My dad's screened potential surrogates based on beauty and IQ and mixed their sperm together and-"

"A surrogate. I see," said Jesse, concentrating on the road ahead.

"What is it?" she asked, peering at the vacant expression in his eyes.

"Well, I know it's none of my business, but... this surrogate?"

"Yes?"

"This woman would be your biological mother."

"Yes, technically-"

"She would most likely look like you. Maybe even speak like you. Sing like you."

Rachel sat back in the SUV's leather seat. "I never really thought about it like that."

"Maybe she has your eyes. That would be something. I wonder if she's interested in Broadway. Aren't you curious?"

Rachel frowned, and nodded. "I guess I think about it sometimes..."

"Do you ever think about meeting her?" he asked.

Rachel chewed on her bottom lip. "I used to always have dreams that my surrogate was the most perfect woman in the world. She looked like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, with the voice of Barbra Streisand and the gumption of Patti Lupone. And I thought that my fathers maybe met her when they went to college in New York, and they stayed in touch, and she agreed to be their surrogate because she knew how much they deserved to be parents, because she's a big gay rights supporter. And I always thought that the day she gave me up was the hardest day of her life."

Jesse smiled, and for the first time, Rachel spied a swirl of sincerity along with the playfulness.

"That's why I don't want to meet her."

Jesse's smile faltered. "I don't understand."

"I don't want to risk meeting her and having all my expectations dashed, which they will be, because my expectations are unreasonable. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty high maintenance."

"Yes, but, Rachel, what if she's everything you ever imagined?"

Rachel shook her head. "She won't be, Jesse."

"But you don't know that."

"And I don't want to know. I've come this far without my surrogate-"

"You keep calling her your surrogate, Rachel, but she's your mother."

"You don't understand, Jesse. A mother is someone who raises and nurtures you. How am I supposed to think of someone I've never even met as my mother?"

Jesse continued driving, with a steely gaze of frustration staring out of the front window.

"I'm sorry if I upset you," said Rachel.

Jesse sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I just... Sometimes I look at you, and the wonderful person you are, and I marvel at how your fathers raised you. But there's always something else. Something more than just your manners and your intelligence and leading lady enthusiasm. There's something about you. Something that can't be taught. It's…" Jesse sighed, at a loss for words for once, "I don't know what is about you. It's this power and this talent and this... magic. You're magical. I know if someone amazing as you can even exist, your mother must have at least a fraction of it in her, and if it's so, I don't think you'll be disappointed if you meet her. She'll be all you imagined, Rachel. All that and more."

Rachel's mouth hung open. For once, she was speechless. She was shocked at not only how well Jesse could articulate what he loved about her, but also how much he loved those things. At that moment, he looked more genuine than he's ever seen, his eyes locked onto the road ahead of him. He pulled up outside of Rachel's house with a faraway look in his eyes, as if he was thinking of something else.

"I love you," escaped Rachel's lips.

She wasn't sure if she meant it, but she felt that someone with feelings so passionate deserved to hear it. However, Jesse didn't look as grateful as she imagined. He was indifferent, almost. He simply smiled subtly and glanced at her.

"I love you, too," he said nonchalantly, as if it was obvious.

"I'll think about what you said," she said, "About meeting my mother."

He smiled gratefully, excitement dancing in his pale eyes. "Great. I hope you make the right decision."

With a goodbye and a peck on the cheek, Rachel got out of the car, and Jesse watched her walk into her house from his car before he pulled out back onto the road, clenching his jaw and hoping his plan would succeed. It had to. So much was at stake if it didn't. He was a boy struck by love and he wouldn't let anything get in the way.

xxx

"You weren't in Spanish. I got confused in all the answers and just drew sombreros," pouted Brittany.

Quinn sighed and raised her head from the water fountain in the hall.

"Sorry, Brittany. I ditched. Tina wanted to talk to me about Dave."

Brittany and Quinn walked alongside each other through the crowd of schoolmates.

"Is Dave gonna be okay?" she asked, her big blue eyes boring into Quinn with concern.

"Of course he is, Brittany," Quinn assured her, "She just wanted to ask questions about him to find out who hurt him."

Brittany held her arm out for Quinn to clutch as the girls walked upstairs.

"Is Santana okay?"

"Yeah," Quinn nodded, "I mean, she's a little bored, at home all day. And then at night... I don't really know where she goes. Bars and graveyards, I guess. She seems a little..."

"What?" asked Brittany as the girls reached the top of the stairwell.

Quinn stopped and turned around to her friend. "Sad."

Brittany frowned. "I wish I could cheer her up. But she doesn't want to see me."

"It's not that she doesn't want to see you, Brittany. It's the clause, remember? She'll lose her soul if she feels true happiness."

"But that doesn't mean she feels true happiness every time she's around me. When we watch American Idol together, she's usually really angry at everyone. She yells things in Spanish. I used to think that if she spoke Spanish all the time the words would soak into my brain and I wouldn't flunk out of Mr. Schuester's class. I'd ask her to talk to me in Spanish, so she'd pet my hair like I was Lord Tubbington and she'd say stuff to me. The way she said it made it sound like it was the nicest things she would ever say, and it made me sad that I didn't understand any of it."

Quinn smiled. "She loves you, Brittany. She won't say it, but I know."

Brittany grimaced. There was so much she didn't understand, and what she did, she didn't like. "Will I ever be able to see her again?"

Quinn frowned sadly. "I don't know. Probably. She can't be away from you forever."

Brittany nodded, but she wasn't convinced. She looked up as Buffy appeared, trotting down the other case of stairs.

"Brittany, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Is this about Dave, because I don't know anything about him except that his breath smells like McDonalds and his-"

Brittany's sentence was cut short when all of a sudden she took a sharp intake of breath and fell - no, not fell - was pushed down the stairs. She tumbled down the staircase and landed on her back at the bottom, groaning in pain. Buffy ran down to her, with Quinn close behind, as other students came running and crowded around Brittany.

"Give her some air," ordered Buffy, waving them away, "Someone get the school nurse!"

Brittany tried to sit up, clutching her leg. "I think my ankle's broken," she grimaced.

"What happened?" asked Quinn.

"I... Something pushed me down... Or I fell... No, I didn't. I was pushed," Brittany rambled, confusing herself.

Buffy stood straight and looked around her as she heard laughter in the background. She frowned at the crowd. Who would laugh at something like this? But she didn't see a smirk on a single face. The laugh grew quieter - farther away, and a doorway swinging open on its own caught her eye. If this was the work of a ghost, Buffy had a clue where to find it. She rushed off to the doorway.

"Buffy, where are you going?" asked Quinn, but Buffy didn't have time to answer.

She pushed the door open and walked into the classroom. It appeared to be empty, chairs askew in their rows.

"Who's here?" she asked, walking in with her arms rested on her hips.

She shook as something rushed past her, bumping into her.

"Hey! Who's here?" she whipped her head around, "I know someone's here. I'm not gonna hurt you, I just want to talk."

Her eyes locked onto the ceiling as a loose tile moved out of its place, and back in. Whatever was there was in the vents now.

xxx

"Mr. Schuester? Have you ever touched a ghost?" asked Buffy.

Buffy had her plastic container of sushi in the choir room with Rachel, Tina and Mr. Schuester writing music notes on a legal pad at the piano.

"Uh, no," he said, looking up from his notes, "Ghosts tend to be... you know..."

"Non-corporeal," said Tina.

"That," said Mr. Schuester.

"Yeah, see, that's the thing. It didn't go through me, it bumped into me, and it wasn't cold or anything..."

"So an invisible person?" asked Mr. Schuester.

"A girl. She laughed."

"A girl on campus who can become invisible..."

"That's so cool," sighed Tina.

"Cool?" asked Buffy.

"Yeah, I'd love to be invisible. I wouldn't use my powers to hurt people. I'd just avoid confrontation..."

"I'd hate it," frowned Rachel, "How does she do it? Is she a witch? Because we can fight a witch."

"In Greek mythology, there's this thing called an invisibility cloak, used by the gods," said Tina.

"This girl's sort of petty for a god," remarked Buffy.

"She's got a grudge," said Rachel, "But why Brittany? I mean, Dave was a bully. There are a lot of kids who would harm him if they could, but Brittany is so sweet."

"Dave and Brittany. The common denominator is... popularity?" mused Buffy.

Rachel nodded. "Someone who resents the cool crowd. Makes sense. What now?"

"You should pull up that missing kids list," said Buffy.

"You got it," Rachel replied.

"Rachel?"

Rachel looked up, surprised to see her boyfriend in the doorway of the choir room in his familiar leather jacket, with a cardboard box balanced between his hip and his arm.

"Jesse? What are you doing here?" asked Rachel, standing up and walking him out of the room and into the hallway, away from her friends.

"I came to show you something," he smirked, his eyes playful again.

"What?" asked Rachel, confused, glancing at the cardboard box.

"I came around today and met your dads, like we talked about. You probably would have wanted to be there to introduce us, but its fine. They're nice people. They even let me rummage around in your basement."

"Why would you want to rummage around in my basement?" asked Rachel.

"To find things out that could lead us to your birth mother!" he said enthusiastically, "And I did find something. There's this box of all this baby stuff - even some baby teeth - and I found this tape."

From the cardboard box he removed a cassette tape with a paper tag on it that read 'From Mother to Daughter'. The sound of Rachel's heartbeat filled her ears and she was struck speechless.

"You have to listen to it, Rachel," smiled Jesse.

"I-I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I... I'm afraid she won't be what I want her to be."

"She is!"

Rachel looked up at him, confused.

"I mean, she has to be. She's gave birth to Rachel Berry. No one less than perfect could have done that."

Rachel sighed. "Why do you have so much faith in her?"

Jesse smiled, almost patronizingly. "Just trust me. Listen to the tape."

Rachel sighed reluctantly and nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you," smiled Jesse, and kissed the top of her head.