Title: One Hand, One Heart
Rating: T
Warning- indirect mention of rape.
Summary: Rachel Berry never saw it coming. But then it happened. Now, alone and frightened she tries to continue with normal life. Then she meets a certain, curly haired boy. And everything changes.
Disclaimer: Obviously I do not own Glee, if I did Jesse would still be there and St. Berry would be alive and kicking. But he isn't. From this we can conclude that I don't own Glee.
xxx
"Hi, this is Krissy, I can't get to the phone right now, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you! Okay, bye!"
Jesse sighed and waited as the tone went off and said, his voice hesitant. "Hey, Krissy? My name's Jesse, I think… we share a dad? I don't really know if that's the right phrase, but… you know what I mean. I'd like to meet up, so… call me back."
Putting the phone down, he looked up in time to see Rachel open the door and hurry out. Clambering out to meet her, he hugged her close and took her suitcase, waving at her fathers, who stood in the doorway.
"Drive safely," Leroy instructed as Rachel hugged Hiram tightly.
"I will Mr Berry." He smiled and took his hand, shaking it firmly.
"Have a good time." Hiram smiled softly at them as Rachel stepped back and grasped Jesse's hand.
"We will papa, I love you." Turning, the pair started down the drive. The two men stayed at the doorway and watched as Jesse put Rachel's suitcase in the back and opened the door for her, giving her a quick kiss on the hand as he did so.
"Excited?" He asked, sitting beside her and starting up the car as she answered, waving to her parents.
"Very." She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling. "Did you call Krissy yet, by the way?"
He had told her about Krissy the moment he had returned and she had displayed the appropriate amount of enthusiasm, encouraging him in his decision to try and make contact with the sister he never knew he had.
"Yeah, she didn't pick up. I left a message."
"She'll reply soon, I'm sure." She squeezed his hand gently and offered a smile which he returned. A comfortable silence settled through the car and she waited a moment before saying, as if ready to burst with excitement. "I can't believe we're actually going to New York, I went there once, with my dads, but this is different, this time we're going together."
"The first time of many," He smiled and then nodded towards the stereo. "Put some music on that we can sing to."
She complied and he smiled at her, a twinkle in his eyes as the opening bars started.
I don't like cities, but I love New York…
xxx
"Johnny! Lauren!" Jesse called out to the pair as he led Rachel through the lounge and towards them.
The lounge was downtown from their restaurant and they had called the pair once settled and agreed to meet to have dinner, before going back to Johnny's apartment in the city.
The lounge was filled with warm oranges and reds, much more comfortable than the Silver Lounge that Jesse had visited when seeing his mother.
Johnny looked up and caught sight of them, waving in acknowledgement and Lauren moved along her couch to make room. Arriving next to them, the couples embraced and greeted each other with warmth and friendliness. Jesse went and sat on the other chair, next to Johnny, leaving Rachel to sit next to Lauren on the couch.
"We're so glad you could come." She smiled, warmly, small, sapphire earrings sparkling in her ears as she turned her head, her hair loosely styled.
"We wouldn't miss it." Rachel assured her, smiling in return. "I mean… New York, come on!"
Johnny laughed and nodded, bashful. "Still, I'm glad you guys came down."
"Well," Jesse joked, "we had a free weekend and we thought… why not?"
Johnny leaned over and smacked his arm playfully and Rachel rolled her eyes in his direction.
"Ignore him Johnny, we were thrilled to come."
"Thank you Rachel," He turned to Jesse. "She is way too good for you."
Jesse looked towards her and smiled softly. "True, which is why it's so amazing she puts up with me."
There is a beat of silence and then Johnny said, taking a long sip of his drink. "Well I certainly wouldn't."
The group laughed and slipped into easy conversation that flowed between them as if they'd known each other all of their lives.
xxx
The next day was spent sight seeing and to say that Rachel was a little excited would be an understatement. Jesse had awoken at the perfectly acceptable time of eight thirty, to find that she was up and had been for the last two hours and was pouring over a guide book, making a list of thinks to visit on the hotel's note paper in sparkling gold pen.
When he had returned from the bathroom, she had planned out the next to days and seemed to be simply buzzing with excitement.
He had leant behind her on the chair and she had turned, running a hand through his locks.
"It looks better messy," She told him, smiling and he grinned a little and bustled her out of the door.
After a breakfast of toast for Jesse and Rachel's porridge, treacle and Greek yoghurt, they made their way through the list on the note paper.
They went to Central Park and of course, the Statue of Liberty. They raced each other up the Empire State Building and Jesse won, waiting at the top to pull her into his arms once she met him and tease her continuously for the next half an hour.
Their gay mood soon sobered, when faced with the incredibly sombre sight of Ground Zero, wandering slowly through the memorial sight, where many tears were shed. Rachel held his hand the whole way around, clinging to it tighter the further they went and when they finally came to a halt he pulled out some tissues and softly wiped her eyes, kissing away her tears and murmuring comforting words in her ears.
xxx
Later that night, at the hotel room Jesse sat, flicking through a magazine that the hotel had provided as he waited for Rachel to appear from the bathroom.
He had the whole night planned. Today may have been Rachel's, but tonight was all his, and he planned on taking her to the most romantic place known to man: Times Square.
A bleeping on his phone indicated that a text had come through and he flicked it open, reading it quickly.
St James, I'm going to seriously regret telling you this, but I'm a little nervous. J
He laughed aloud at his friend and fired off a quick reply.
Why would you regret that? ;)
Because I'm never going to hear the end of it.
Okay, you're never going to hear this again, but, as it's your opening night on Broadway, I think you're allowed to be nervous.
…. I cannot believe you just said that. I'm going to hang this over your head forever ;)
He laughed loudly again and was about to reply when he heard the sound of the bathroom door clicking open. Looking up, the phone dropped from his hand and onto the bed as he took in his girlfriend.
She looked absolutely stunning.
Completely and utterly stunning.
Her long hair was pinned up in a simple chignon, a few loose strands falling around her pale neck in small curls. Her eyes were smoky and dark and her lips were an alluring red. His heart rate increased slightly as she bit her lower lip gently, a nervous habit.
"What do you think?" She asked, the picture of innocence.
His eyes travelled down her body, curved and ever so tempting as always, despite the slight bump showing. In fact, the bump only added to her beauty and she practically glowed with happiness in the small, dark dress.
Pulling her closer, his hands traced her bare neckline ever so gently and he glanced at her questioningly.
"I was just about to grab a necklace…" She explained, turning to reach for her jewellery box, but he kept hold of her and said.
"No, don't."
Turning, he rummaged in his jacket pocket from earlier and pulled out a small, black velvet box. Taking it in her hands, she gasped as she spied the name on the bottom, almost dropping it.
"Tiffany's… Jesse, I couldn't…"
"What better way to spend my parents money than on you?" He interrupted her gently.
She offered him a tender smile and opened the box to reveal a delicate silver chain that intertwined to hold a small, crystal drop.
He looked at her, slightly vulnerable. "Do you like it?"
"Oh Jesse," Her voice was choked with emotion. "It's beautiful."
"I'm glad." He sounded relived. "And I was hoping…"
He took it from her hands and draped it around her, where it sat perfectly in the hollow of her neck.
"Perfect," He stepped back with a look of satisfaction.
"When did you get this?" She asked, rolling it between her fingers.
"While you were completely engrossed in some of baby clothes," He smiled at the memory of her stopping dead in the middle of the street, before dragging him into a shop to look at row after row of baby grows. "And having that discussion with the shop assistant about the pros of natural fibres in baby clothes versus the washable material."
She laughed and smiled up at him. "It's absolutely gorgeous, thank you."
He grinned and held his arm out to her, saying, charmingly. "How about dinner then?"
She took it gratefully. "Dinner sounds lovely."
xxx
As it turned out, he took her to a gorgeous little restaurant down the street from Times Square. They ate and talked, enjoying each others company as they discussed the next day.
"I can't wait." Rachel confessed at one point and took his hand from across the table. "This is better than my wildest dreams, being here with you. It means the world to me and I just want to spend every moment of this weekend with you, seeing this city."
"So do I." Jesse had replied and kissed her hand tenderly.
Rachel had gone to the bathroom when his phone rang loudly, making him jump in his seat. Pulling it out, he answered quickly, so as not to disturb the rest of the restaurant.
"Hello?"
"Jesse? Jesse St James?"
"Uh, yeah? I'm Jesse."
"Oh great! Hey I'm Krissy!"
The voice had a slight southern slur to it, making the ever perky undertone all the more apparent.
"Krissy?" He asked, when he had finally managed to collect his wits.
"Yeah, sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I've been run off my feet recently, what with this and that... I just thought I'd call back."
"Great, yeah, thanks! Uh…" It was uncharacteristic for Jesse to ever be speechless. He was known for his lashing tongue and sharp wit and only Rachel had ever been successful in stopping him. "I just thought I should probably apologise on behalf of my mother… I don't exactly know what she said to you, but still."
"You don't know what she said, but your still apologising?"
"This is my mother." He said, wryly, "She manages to insult everybody… all the time."
"Oh…" There was a girlish laugh. "Well it's okay… I'm guessing she didn't exactly know... about me."
"None of us did if I'm honest… look, I'm actually at dinner at the moment, with someone, but I'd really like to meet you."
"Sure! Where are you?"
"I'm in New York at the moment actually."
"Oh my God, really? So am I! I'm actually here for a few days, and then I go down to the West Coast for a while."
"Oh! I'm only here for one more day…"
"Can we meet up tomorrow? Would you mind? I mean, if you can't I get it, but I'd really like to, it would mean so much to me."
"Oh… Well yeah…" Glancing up, he spotted Rachel crossing the restaurant and returned her wave with an absent minded smile.
"Please Jesse? It would mean so much to me. I've always wanted a brother." The beseeching voice in his ear made up his mind.
"… okay." He said finally. "I'll have to go, I'll have to text you the details, okay? I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Great! Bye Jesse."
"Bye."
He flipped the phone down and watched as Rachel got caught behind a pair of waiters. Slipping it into his pocket, he got up to help her.
Catching her elbow he cast her a charming smile and said.
"Ready to go?"
A smile lit up her face and she nodded eagerly. A flash of guilt went through him, although his smile stayed intact as he ushered her out into the street. He wouldn't tell her yet. Let her enjoy the evening and then he would tell her.
Xxx
I just watched glee and the episode was so good I decided I would update. It was actually excellent, or so I thought anyway, Naya's performance is so raw and beautiful that I almost cried. Plus, Finn was an even bigger jerk than usual and Rachel and Kurt have made up. I really, really enjoyed it. Plus I was singing Rumour Has It/ Someone Like You and Hit Me With Your Best Shot/ One Way Or Another all day today.
Anyway! Thank you for all of the lovely reviews! I hope I got around to everyone, but I'm so sorry if I missed you. Also, I know I sort of promised Blaine this chapter, but the sizes and sections wouldn't fit so I decided to leave him out until next time. Those who are worrying that Shelby wasn't in this chapter, don't worry, she will return and she will be stirring ;)
Thank you to: Rosy2609, MissRe, blahxo3, (anonymous) you left a lovely review, thank you!, star2525, CupcakeQueen23, auhaes55, Likewow5556, Broadwayfreak5357, xXBroadwayBabyXx, xXSerendipitous SpontaneityXx, Kkaty, Elle Xue, thayhadadate, , a-true-literati, LNCrow and TvHollywoodDiva.
You guys are really, really awesome. Thank you so much.
So, I'm gonna go crawl into bed now and leave you to enjoy this chapter.
Love as always,
Ray
Xxx
PS. Did you guys go off and check out xXSerendipitous SponateityXx's fic? You should!