A/N: Part 3 is here! Just fair warning, I wrote the last part of this when I was really tired, so I apologize in advance if it seems a little crazy/on the mushy side/doesn't make a lot of sense. I wanted to get this out while I had time.

A big thank you to 1booklover11 for the part of a prompt that inspired certain revelations.

As always, I hope you all enjoy and please review :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

The day of Regionals, Rachel gripped Jesse's hand tightly as they walked into the auditorium's lobby with their team. She saw her old team standing on the other side and she half-expected Finn to try and drag her back over to New Directions.

"Rachel," Shelby said, gaining her daughter's attention. "I was thinking that you and Jesse should duet at Nationals, too. We'll start arranging the song next week when we return to school."

"Don't you want to see if today goes well first?" Rachel wondered, both surprised and grateful for the distraction.

"I have no doubt that it will go well and we will leave victorious. I'm also interested in what you can tell me about the new teammates we'll be gaining next week."

"You did tell them Shelby has an excellent track record of picking songs that suit people's voices, didn't you?" Jesse added, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

"I did," Rachel confirmed. "They seemed kind of skeptical, but I told them they would be able to see the results for themselves next week. I had the choir room bugged, and I was able to get recordings of everyone. I have them on my computer."

"Shelby can listen to them after dinner on Saturday."

"We're having dinner again on Saturday?" Shelby asked.

"I was going to talk to you about it after the competition was over," Rachel explained. "My dads, Jesse, and I would like to invite you to attend our weekly Saturday night dinner."

"I'd like that," Shelby replied with a smile. "Now, did you two get a chance to rehearse your duet last night?"

"We did. We're ready."

"She even made me run through my solo," Jesse informed Shelby.

"About time someone started bossing you around for a change," Andrea put in from the other side of Rachel, making her laugh and forget about her former teammates standing nearby.

"Guys, this is our last chance to rescue Rachel," Finn insisted as he began to walk towards Vocal Adrenaline.

"Finn, let it go," Will tried to reason.

"She doesn't belong with them, Mr. Schue!"

"I could get my duct tape," Santana volunteered.

"You have duct tape?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"I knew I'd need something to put over his mouth to get him to shut up long enough to get us through this competition."

"Santana, that's enough," Will said in exasperation.

"Can we take our seats now?" Quinn asked. "My feet are beginning to hurt from just standing here."

"You're just going to let her stay with them?" Finn demanded.

"Dude, give it up already," Puck replied. "She chose St. James and Vocal Adrenaline. She finally has more people in her life who actually care about her. You have no one but yourself to blame for this mess. Come on Q, Satan, Hummel, Becca, let's go sit."

"Let's just get this day over with," Mercedes said as she followed her teammates into the auditorium.

Sitting together with their team in the audience, Rachel and Jesse paid close attention to their competition. Even if they did already know they would be the victors, sometimes was always room for improvement and new ideas, and Shelby also encouraged them to look for people who they thought would make good additions to the team.

As New Directions took the stage, Rachel reached for Jesse's hand again. She had told Puck and Santana to be sure to put effort into their performance, they couldn't let Mr. Schue suspect anything, but they were both known for having very strong opinions of their own, so it wasn't guaranteed that they'd follow her directions.

After watching both New Directions and Aural Intensity perform, the members of Vocal Adrenaline took their places on the stage.

"Ready?" Jesse whispered, pitching his voice so only Rachel would hear him.

Rachel looked over at him and smiled as she nodded. Recognizing his cue, Jesse stepped forward to begin the first song.

Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You're on my mind

Restless hearts
Sleep alone tonight
Sending all my love
Along the wire

They say that the road
Ain't no place to start a family

Right down the line
It's been you and me

And lovin' a music man
Ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl, you stand by me

I'm forever yours
Faithfully

Watching Rachel and Jesse on stage, and hearing just how well they could sound together when neither was holding back, Will immediately paled. That song alone could win them the competition. Glancing over at Finn, he saw the young man wasn't taking it any easier. He wasn't sure if it was because of the song, its performers, or a combination of both, but either way, he knew the bus ride back home would not be a pleasant one.

Once the rest of the females of Vocal Adrenaline had finished singing the opening of their second song, Rachel stepped forward to begin her part, the rest of the team joining her on the chorus.

We are strong
No one can tell us we're wrong
Searching our hearts for so long
Both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield
You're begging me to go
Then making me stay
Why do you hurt me so bad
It would help me to know
Do I stand in your way
Or am I the best thing you've had

Standing on the side of the stage, Shelby smiled as she saw the team finish their second song and immediately begin their third. Although she was confident that Jesse could handle the song, she had been rather ambitious with the choreography. She knew the team could handle it, and Rachel had picked up the steps quickly as well, she just hoped it all went as planned. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Jesse's voice as he began his solo.

Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.
Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead.
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away.

"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked as she walked into the choir room after the competition had ended and noticed her mother's sad expression, Jesse and her dads not far behind her.

"It will be," Shelby answered, doing her best to smile. "I'm afraid things didn't go so well at McKinley after their loss this afternoon."

"What happened?" Jesse inquired

"I just got off the phone with Burt Hummel. He wanted to make sure Kurt was still set to start at Carmel on Monday and asked about our policy on bullying."

"Is Kurt okay?" Rachel wondered.

"He's a little shaken right now, but otherwise he's fine. He's with your other friends and his father."

"Honey," Leroy said, gaining his daughter's attention. "I'm going to call Kurt's father. I think we'll need to use the dining room table tonight."

"Thank you, Dad," Rachel replied, giving him a hug before turning back to her mother. "The policy is zero tolerance, isn't it?"

"It is," Shelby confirmed. "You have no reason to worry, Rachel. I promise."

"Schuester always was a lousy excuse for a teacher," Jesse commented. "Unless it was his precious Finn who needed protecting, he never did anything helpful. He expected us to use rehearsal time for weekly assignments and lame songs. That is, when the so-called team doesn't spend most of the time arguing amongst themselves or he isn't too busy mooning over the guidance counselor to make it to rehearsal on time."

"Why didn't the principal step in and do something about it?"

"He's worse," Rachel informed her. "He hates getting involved in anything. He basically lets the cheerleading coach run the school."

"It seems I have a few more phone calls to make on Monday. For now, I'd like to make sure your friends and our new teammates are okay, and then I'd like to eat Hiram's delicious cooking."

"If we're having more guests, I need to stop at the store to get some more things," Hiram said with a small smile before turning to his daughter. "Rachel, you have your keys, don't you?"

"Yes, Daddy," Rachel replied.

"You and Jesse should probably start heading home to make sure Noah stays out of trouble."

"I'll meet you there," Shelby promised as she walked over to the choir room door and held it open for the other three occupants of the room. "I just need to stop home and change."

"Come on, Rach, we need to narrow down our list of duets to an acceptable one for Shelby to pick our Nationals duet from," Jesse said with a grin as he took Rachel's hand and led her down the hall, earning laughter from Hiram and Shelby.

"Are you sure you want him to be part of your family?" Shelby joked as she locked the door.

"He makes Rachel happy. He already wormed his way into our hearts, so there's that, too," Hiram answered.

"I understand. He does it without you knowing. It wasn't until I met and started to get to know Rachel that I realized how similar they really are."

"Do they have secret, looks-only, conversations at school, too?" Leroy inquired as Hiram and Shelby joined him outside.

"All the time. It generally means they're either up to something or they have an idea they consider to be brilliant and so it must be heard by the rest of the team."

"That sounds like them," Hiram agreed with a laugh.

Walking into her house, Rachel was relieved when she saw her four friends waiting for her.

"Kurt, are you okay? What happened?" she immediately wanted to know.

"I'm fine now. My dad is going to call me when he gets home so I can tell him what to pack for me. Your dad said it was okay that I stay here for the night, and Puck let us in, said your dads wouldn't mind," Kurt answered.

"Noah is family. My dads gave him a key when he stayed with us for a while, and he knows he's welcome anytime. Now, who's going to tell me what happened?"

"Well, it all started when Finn accused us all of hiding something from him," Quinn began.

"Typical paranoid Finn Hudson," Jesse commented with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes, well, it didn't end there."

"What happened next?" Rachel asked.

Earlier that night...

Standing on the stage together, each team waited for the results to be announced-some more anxiously than others. Seeing the head judge take the stage with a small envelope in his hands, Rachel immediately reached for Jesse's hand as well as Shelby's. She knew that Vocal Adrenaline was better than either of the other teams competing, but the decision wasn't hers. It was up to three judges who had little to no background in either music or dance. She wasn't sure how they were supposed to be judging a show choir competition; she'd have to have Shelby look into that. There was nothing she could do about it now anyway, so she would just have to learn to live with the results.

"The results of the 2010 Regional Show Choir Competition are…in second place…Aural Intensity!"

After Aural Intensity had claimed their second-place trophy, the two remaining teams stepped closer to each other. Glancing over at her former teammates, Rachel caught Puck's eye. He simply nodded at her and gave her a small smile. Squeezing Jesse's and Shelby's hands again, Rachel looked down again as she concentrated on keeping herself calm.

"The winners are…for the sixth year in a row, Vocal Adrenaline! Third place goes to the New Directions."

As the results were announced, the various members of Vocal Adrenaline cheered loudly while Shelby stepped forward to accept the first-place trophy.

"We did it!" Rachel exclaimed as she jumped into Jesse's arms.

"I told you we would," Jesse told her as he easily caught her, wrapping his arms around her to hug her tightly.

"You were right, as always," Rachel told him before she pressed her lips to his; not noticing the glares a certain tall football player was throwing their way.

"You've been keeping something from all of us!" Finn accused as he and the rest of New Directions assembled in their choir room later that night.

"Dude, back off!" Puck retorted, pushing Finn away.

"Knock it off, Puck," Will chastised as he entered the room.

"Finn started it, Mr. Schue," Santana put in, walking over to stand beside her boyfriend.

"All I saw was Puck pushing Finn."

"Of course that's all you saw!" Puck spat out angrily. "That's all you ever see! He's poor, fatherless Finn. The kid you wished you had. You spend so much time trying to be his dad that you forget about the rest of us! He's not the only one without a father!"

"I'm his mentor, his teacher, it's my job to make sure that he's okay," Will replied.

"You're not just his teacher, his mentor, though. At least you aren't supposed to be," Quinn retorted, taking her place next to Santana as she spoke. "You spend so much time watching out for Finn, making sure Finn gets good grades and stays out of trouble that you can't see what's right in front of you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't!" Puck accused. "I'm failing your class. You didn't pull me aside and ask me if I needed help. You told me to come see you during your office hours for extra help and you were never there. You were always helping him. If you couldn't help me, the least you could have done is helped me find someone who would."

"I thought Santana was helping you."

"She's my girlfriend, not my teacher or my tutor. I didn't want to admit to her that I couldn't learn a second language, that I was a failure at doing something to impress her. It was humiliating admitting that I actually couldn't understand anything she said to me in Spanish."

"Why didn't you just get Jesse to help you?" Finn snarled. "Since you two are so close and all."

"Jesse has been a better friend in the couple of months that we've known each other than you have in all of the years you and I have known each other. He has enough on his plate, and like Santana, it's not his job to make sure I don't fail. He's actually the one who encouraged me to talk to my mom, and then to Santana, about what was happening. He also figured out the truth in a few days but I've fooled all of you for years."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I only took Spanish here because I needed a class here at McKinley in order to be eligible to play football and be in Glee club. I actually withdrew early enough for it not to affect my grade, but I continued to show up to class because I needed you to believe I was still a student here. I take all of my other classes at OSU, that's why you only see me in the morning and during Glee practice."

"Is that true?" Will asked.

"Yes. You can ask Miss Pillsbury if you don't believe me. I wasn't being challenged enough here, so she suggested the PSEO program, where I can remain enrolled here at McKinley but take college-level classes at OSU. I simultaneously earn credits towards my high school diploma and a college degree."

"Why the hell would you stick around McKinley, then?" Mercedes asked.

"To protect Rachel. She and I have been friends for years, since we were kids; she's a fellow Jew and never deserved any of the hate she got. I stuck around because she needed someone to look out for her. She wasn't friends with Quinn, Santana, or Kurt yet. Her dads have been better role models to me than anyone here. Hiram and Leroy treat me like their son. They've even let me stay at their house when things weren't great between my parents. They've been there for me. They also happen to already treat St. James as their son-in-law, which makes Rachel extremely happy."

"Don't you dare mention his name around me!" Finn shouted.

"Get over it already, Finn," Kurt told him. "She's happy with Jesse. Jesse is happy with her. Grow up and accept it."

"She's mine," Finn growled.

"She's not a piece of property you can own," Quinn shot back.

"You might as well tell him the rest," Santana reasoned, glancing at her friends to make sure they were okay with it before giving Puck the go ahead.

"I think I'll let you do the honors, Satan," Puck told her.

"What else have you been hiding?" Finn demanded.

"We have all been offered spots at Carmel and in Vocal Adrenaline," Santana revealed. "We're taking them. We start on Monday."

"Who's we?" Will asked, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.

"The four of us, plus Becca," Quinn answered.

Once he had processed the news, Finn narrowed his eyes at his now former-teammates.

"You're traitors," he told them. "All of you. I never want to see any of you again."

"We're leaving anyway," Kurt said, beginning to walk towards the door, only stopping when he felt Finn grab his arm. "Let go of me."

"We're supposed to be family, Kurt. Family doesn't do this to one another," Finn reminded him through clenched teeth.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Quinn asked Will as Puck tried to get Finn to let go of Kurt's arm.

"What's going on in here?" Burt demanded as he walked into the room. "I came here to pick up my son and I heard shouting when I walked in the door, so I followed it. I walk in and you're letting my son be bullied right in front of you?"

"It's not what it looks like, Burt," Will tried to explain.

"Finn, let go. Now. Your mom is waiting outside. The three of us are going to have a long talk when I get home."

Instead of verbally answering his mother's boyfriend, Finn pushed open the door and stalked angrily down the hall.

"Are you okay, Kurt?" Burt asked, looking his son in the eyes.

"Physically, I'm fine. I don't want to be in the same house as him anymore."

"I need to help Carole handle this situation with Finn. My first concern is you, though. I can bring you a bag later. I can get you a hotel room, or bring you to a friend's house. Whatever you need."

Kurt looked over at Santana, Puck, and Quinn, who all looked at each other before Quinn spoke.

"I think we should tell Shelby," was all she said.

"Do you kids need a ride home?" Burt asked, wrapping his arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"I have my truck, but we'll walk out with you," Puck answered.

"So, you're leaving, just like that?" Mercedes demanded.

"Yes. We're leaving. Just. Like. That," Santana answered, taking Puck's hand and looping her arm through Quinn's before following Burt and Kurt out the door.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Artie asked the remaining members of New Directions.

"We're d-d-d-doomed," Tina responded, letting out a breath as she sat down on a nearby chair.

The Friday after all of the drama that had happened after Regionals and Vocal Adrenaline's five newest members had settled in, Rachel didn't think she would hear anything else about what had happened at McKinley. She was wrong.

"You know," Puck said as he walked up to Rachel's locker. "My mom can be a badass when the occasion calls for it…but your mom…she brings a whole new meaning to the word."

Rachel sent her friend a confused look as she switched out her books.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"What happened at McKinley."

"No. I do not know what happened at McKinley, but you're going to tell me before I give away your share of the cookies Daddy made yesterday."

"I'm pretty sure you just channeled Shelby right then."

"Noah!"

"Okay okay, sorry," Puck apologized before beginning to fill Rachel in on what had happened. "Schuester and Figgins are on leave while the school board decides what to do about the evidence of negligence and bullying they discovered. They're thinking about closing McKinley at the end of the year."

"Why close the school?" Rachel wondered.

"Apparently Figgins and Schuester aren't the only ones being looked into. Almost the entire teaching and coaching staff are. Coach Tanaka included."

"Well, I'm glad we got out when we did, then."

"Me, too. Where's your other half, by the way?"

"Making up a test. He said he'd meet me in study hall when he's finished. What about yours?"

"She sent me to find you. She, Hummel, and Q wanted to talk to you about something."

"It's still weird to think of them as my friends," Rachel commented as she and Puck began to walk. "Santana only started talking to me because you and I have been like brother and sister since we were little…and once Santana and I became friends, she convinced Quinn that I wasn't so bad after all. Kurt and I were too busy fighting over solos and Finn to discover if we had anything in common with each other. At least that's what Jesse says."

"You're happy, right, B?"

"I am, Noah. Jesse treats me like the Jewish-American princess we both know I am."

"About time," Puck decided with a laugh, making Rachel smile.

"Hey, how did the test go?" Rachel asked as she saw her boyfriend take a seat next to her about half-way through their study-hall period.

"Pretty well, I think. I'll find out on Monday," Jesse answered, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. "How's your list going?"

"Our teammates and I were just brainstorming. Shelby said she was looking for song suggestions, for both our music class and for songs for Vocal Adrenaline to perform. We already gave her our list of duets we'd like to sing, but I didn't think it would hurt to give her a general list as well."

"Shelby's always looking to expand our music selection, so I'm sure she'll appreciate it," Jesse agreed. "Can I see it?"

"Sure," Rachel replied, handing her boyfriend the piece of paper.

After looking at the list, Jesse reached for Rachel's pen and wrote the name of a song at the bottom before handing it back to her.

"Jess, I already sang this song. Sectionals. Remember?" Rachel reminded him.

"Yes, but only Shelby and I, plus your current teammates who were also your teammates then, were there to see it. I would just like to see the looks on our other teammates' faces when they hear you sing it."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised. Fine, I'll sing it…on one condition."

"What's that?"

"I get to pick our next duet for Shelby's class."

"Something tells me I'm going to regret this, but okay, fine, deal," Jesse replied.

"Great!" Rachel exclaimed, leaning over to hug him tightly before going back to her list and looking through the songs again.

The following week, as Rachel waited for her cue to start the song she had selected for her duet with Jesse, she looked over at the boy in question, smiling and shaking her head when he winked at her. Recognizing her cue, she immediately regained her composure before beginning the song.

Hello twelve

Hello thirteen

Hello love

Changes, oooh

Down below

Up Above. Time to doubt

To break out

It's a mess

It's a mess

Time to grow, time to go….Adolesce

Adolesce

Too young to take over, too old to ignore

Gee, I'm almost ready

But...what...for?

There's a lot

I am not certain of

Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love…

"Where's Rachel?" Kurt asked as he took his seat next to Quinn in the auditorium.

"All I managed to get out of Jesse was that he, Rachel, and Shelby had a surprise for us. Well, most of us. Apparently some of us have seen this particular performance before, but he talked her into re-creating it," Andrea answered as she took her seat in front of Kurt.

"Barbra," Quinn, Santana, Puck, and Kurt said in unison.

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard the music begin and then heard Rachel's voice as she began the song.

Don't tell me not to live,
Just sit and putter,
Life's candy and the sun's
A ball of butter.
Don't bring around a cloud
To rain on my parade!
Don't tell me not to fly-
I've simply got to.
If someone takes a spill,
It's me and not you.
Who told you you're allowed
To rain on my parade!

"Which musical did you pick?" Jesse inquired as he and Rachel settled in the living room at her house to watch their weekly musical.

"Funny Girl, of course. You made me sing the song today, so we're watching the movie tonight. I need to see if I still lack Barbra's emotional depth," Rachel replied with a smile.

Jesse laughed as he hugged her tightly.

"I'm pretty sure that's one of the few times we can say I was wrong about something," he revealed.

In response, Rachel gave Jesse her best shocked expression.

"Jesse St. James…wrong about something?" she repeated. "Say it isn't so!"

"You are such a drama queen," Jesse told her with a laugh. "Don't you dare mention this to anyone else, either."

"My silence comes with a price, I'm afraid."

In response, Jesse simply raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh, really?"

"Mm. If you want me to remain quiet, you're going to have to meet my demands."

"What might these demands be?"

"I have a list."

"Of course you do."

"Are you making fun of my lists?" Rachel demanded in mock outrage.

Doing his best to contain his laughter, Jesse simply shook his head.

"Never," he replied.

"Good. One demand has been met."

"Am I allowed to see the others?"

In answer, Rachel handed her list over to Jesse, watching his face carefully as he read it. When he didn't say anything after reading it, instead simply setting it on the table, she sent him a confused look.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.

"You weren't kidding about that last demand," he told her.

Rachel looked down at her lap as she shook her head.

"No, I wasn't," she said softly.

Reaching over, Jesse tilted Rachel's chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"I love you, Rachel Barbra Berry. You're one of a kind, the only person I have ever considered my equal. I'm not going to ever leave you. I've been crazy about you since the moment we sang our Hello."

"You have?"

"I have," Jesse confirmed before continuing. "I don't care how many Barbra musical movie marathons we have, as long as I get to keep you in my life. I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

Rachel smiled a little at Jesse's last teasing comment.

"I love you, too…and you're stuck with me, too," she reminded him.

"I think I can live with that," Jesse replied, pulling her close to press his lips to hers.

After they had ended their kiss, Rachel curled into Jesse's side, resting her head on his chest and wrapping her free arm around him as he began the movie.

As dramatic as they both were both individually, neither had wanted to believe they would ever find someone who simply just understood. Now that they had, neither was going to let the other go, and that was that. They were the power couple of not only Vocal Adrenaline, but also of Carmel. They would conquer Broadway together, with their friends and family by their side. As Jesse always said, it was all an inevitability.

Songs:

Regionals: Faithfully (original by Journey), Love is a Battlefield (original by Pat Benatar), Bohemian Rhapsody (original by Queen)

Rachel/Jesse music-class duet: Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello love from A Chorus Line

Rachel VA rehearsal solo: Don't Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl (original by Barbra Streisand)