Enjoy this one-shot!

Lost Love

For Rachel's birthday, she'd received some tickets to a Broadway show from her fathers that she'd been dying to see.

Rachel loved receiving tickets to see shows on Broadway because it gave her an excuse to see New York and since her life hadn't panned out exactly the way she'd wanted, and she'd ended up still living in Lima and acting in local theatre productions part time, any chance to get to New York was good in her book.

Rachel had always thought she'd been bound to Broadway, but a few things had happened during high school that meant her plans had had to change.

"What about Mason?" Rachel asked. She was excited about her tickets, but she had one thing to think about: her 7-year-old son.

"You don't need to worry about him. We've planned it so that the three of us will go to New York with you and while you go to see the show with Santana, we'll look after Mason." Her father had said.

Rachel's fathers had neglected to tell her that Santana would be going with her and she grew even more excited. She hadn't seen her friend in such a long time because Santana lived in New York and Rachel still lived in Lima.

So here she was, in the city that she loved more than any other and the place she truly felt was home.

Santana picked her up from her hotel room and after the two girls had spent some time catching up, with Santana telling her about her job, telling her how Brittney was doing and then they caught up on the people they still saw from their high school days; Rachel seeing Santana and on occasion, Finn because he was still living in Lima. Santana however was still seeing a lot more people. Obviously, she saw her wife, Brittney regularly but she also saw Artie, Sam, and Mike, who were close with Brittney still and she occasionally saw Mercedes because they would sometimes meet at the same events.

When they finally got around to seeing the show, she loved it and insisted on trying to meet some of the cast members outside the theatre. Unfortunately, Santana couldn't stay but they planned to see each other the next day before Rachel went back to Lima the day after with her family.

Rachel waited outside, waiting for an even just a glimpse of someone in the show would have been enough. She was standing there, waiting, when the first cast member walked out, the female lead. Rachel was just gaining the confidence to go and talk to her when another person walked out. Rachel recognised instantly that it wasn't a cast member, but her old high school boyfriend, and love of her life, Jesse St. James.

Rachel's eyed widened in shock. She didn't think she'd ever see him again. Although, if she was ever going to see him again, it was going to be at a Broadway show. Rachel lingered too long, staring at her lost love, that by the time she thought about leaving, and making sure he didn't see her, he had spotted her. As soon as they locked eyes, her mind seemed to kick into gear and she realised she needed to get away.

She didn't get far however, before a hand grabbed hers and pulled her back. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Jesse.

"Rachel?" she asked in shock. He seemed to be in as just as much shock as her. "What are you doing here? I never thought I'd see you again."

"I…I…I didn't realise you'd be here." Rachel stuttered. "I have to go." She said, trying to untangle herself from Jesse.

His grip was too strong though. "Rachel, please. We have to talk." He begged. "Please just tell me where to find you tomorrow and I'll come and meet you so we can talk. Please." he asked desperately.

She wanted to say no. she wanted to say no so she could leave New York with her son and forget this had happened but one look at Jesse and into his eyes and she was telling him which hotel she was at.

Jesse smiled happily. "I'll come by at 10am tomorrow and wait downstairs for you. if you don't come down after five minutes, I'll leave and I'll never bother you again." He promised.

"Ok." Rachel said simply and Jesse walked back over to the crowd that was surrounding the Broadway star. Before Rachel walked away, she saw Jesse with his arm around the Broadway star as they both posed for pictures. It became clear to Rachel that it was Jesse's girlfriend.


When she got back to the hotel, she was so excited to tell her fathers about the night's events and how much she had enjoyed the show, but they were shocked to find out that she had seen Jesse. Before going to bed, she spent some time venting to them about how shocked she was to see Jesse and what she was going to do about seeing him the next day.

They gave the advice that she expected. "He deserves an explanation, sweetie. It might make you feel good to explain everything. Me and your father know how much you miss him, and I think it could benefit you to talk to him about what happened all those years ago."

Rachel nodded. She knew they were right. "Yeah, I know." The prospect of seeing him terrified her but she knew it was the right thing to do.

As she went to bed, she agonised over seeing Jesse tomorrow and seeing him again for the first time in just under eight years.


The next morning, she woke up full of nerves. She had so many mixed nerves about the day, a huge part of her was so excited to be spending the day with Jesse but another part of her was filled with anxiety. She wasn't the same girl that Jesse knew when they were at school and it worried her that Jesse wouldn't like the person she is now and his expectations of her would lower. She didn't want that.

She informed Mason of her plans for the morning and let him know that he'd be spending some time with his grandfathers.

"Are you seeing one of your friends from school?" her little boy asked her.

"Yes, baby." She answered.

"But not auntie Santana?" he asked.

She shook her head. Mason had been excited about seeing Santana ever since it was first mentioned that they'd be going to New York. "No. I'm going to see another friend now and then we're going to meet auntie Santana later. Ok?"

The little boy was happy with this answer and ran off to go and watch television.

As she was about to leave, her dad stopped her. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself today sweetie. We'll be right here when you get back." He said before hugging her.

"I know." She said and she left the hotel room she was sharing with her parents and son.


Just as Jesse said, he was waiting in the foyer of the hotel. His face lit up when he caught sight of her, and she was reminded of being back in high school.

"Rachel!" he said happily, giving her a hug.

"Good to see you too, Jessie." She replied. When he finally released her, he suggested going for a late breakfast at the café down the road from the hotel.

When they'd got themselves sat down and their food was ordered, the questions began.

"I can't believe it's you, Rachel. Have you been in New York this entire time?" he look sad at the prospect.

She shook her head. "No. I still live in Lima." She told him. My dads gave me Broadway tickets for my birthday." She explained. "I'm just as surprised to see you as you are to see me."

He smiled warmly at the mention of her birthday. "I always used to love spending your birthday with you." he told her.

She blushed as she remembered how they used to spend her birthday and the love and adoration he used to give her.

"So, I'm guessing you're on Broadway? I can't imagine you doing anything else." Rachel asked, trying to stop the blush on her cheeks.

"Yea, of course I am. What about you?" he asked. "I can't believe you're living in Lima. I always thought you'd come to New York eventually." He said. She could tell that he was deliberately not talking about their break-up.

"I…I couldn't. New York wasn't going to be the same anymore without you." Rachel said.

Jesse's facial expressions grew hard for a moment. "And who's fault is that?" he asked before shaking his head. As if to rid the thoughts away. "I'm sorry. My intention isn't to upset you today. I've just been so happy since last night."

"Me too." she admitted. "Running into you was definitely a surprise though."

"Tell me about it." He laughed. "So, you just came to New York with your parents?" he asked. She was sure he was subtly hinting to see if she had any love interests in her life.

"Yes." She said, far too quickly and knowingly omitting the most important part of her life. "Just my dads and Santana came with me to see the show last night." She told him.

"Ah, Santana. She lives here, doesn't she?" he asked.

Rachel nodded. "Yes, she lives here with Brittney. Brittney is a dancer, as if she was going to be anything else, and Santana is an actress."

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, I knew Brittney was a dancer. I've seen that she has danced on a few Broadway stages. She is very talented."

They continued to use their time to catch up. They discussed what they'd been up to during their almost eight years they'd been apart. Rachel wanted to know everything about his life, from his studies, to the new people he'd met to whether being on Broadway was everything they'd dreamed it would be. He in turn wanted to know about her and her life. So, she told him everything she thought he'd want to know. She wanted to tell him about Mason; she knew he'd love hearing about him, and she knew that Jesse loved kids. They talked about them often when they were a couple and they talked about the possibility of having them one day.

But talking about Mason, and the circumstances around Mason was just another thing that filled her with anxiety.

When they finished breakfast, Jesse walked her back to her hotel and just before she left to go into the hotel, she asked about the woman that she'd seen on Broadway and that Jesse had put his arms around.

Jesse blushed red and he rubbed the back of his neck. "She's my girlfriend." He admitted.

Rachel nodded. "I thought that when I saw you last night. She's beautiful." Rachel admitted. "And insanely talented." she said, remembering how well she performed the night before.

"Not as talented as you. You should be here, Rachel. This is where you belong." he told her.

"I can't talk about this right now." she told him, feeling panicked. She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing back into the hotel before he could try and stop her. It was only when she got back to her room that she realised she'd kissed him and how familiar and comforting it felt to do it again.


Over two months later and things were a little different for Rachel. Her and Jesse had kept in contact after she left New York which made Rachel very happy. It did pose one problem, however. She felt that she might be falling for him again and given the fact that he had a girlfriend and she still hadn't told him about her child's existence, it wasn't the smartest choice Rachel had ever made.

After she'd seen Jesse on her last day in New York, she'd seen Santana too, as had been arranged. Brittney had come along too and when Brittney had gone to occupy Mason, she'd told Santana of her predicament. She been as upfront and as brutal as high school, "Suck it up, Berry. You have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to Mason and if he can't see that then he is not the person for you. And it's better that you learn this now rather than later. Mason is such a wonderful little boy and he has been raised so well. If Jesse can't get passed the fact that you're a mom now, he doesn't deserve to be in either of your lives."

Rachel knew that what Santana had said was the truth but here she was, months later and Jesse was still none the wiser. She knew that neither her son or Jesse deserved it.


Rachel and Mason were at home one weekend. Mason was reading, he loved to read, and Rachel was folding up some laundry, when their doorbell rang.

Answering the door, she was surprised to see Jesse there.

"Jesse?" she asked in shock. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, I'm here to see you. What else?" he asked as he brushed past her into the house. As he walked further in, he whistled. "Wow, this is a great place you have here."

"Thanks, Jess." She said. "I wasn't expecting you." she told him.

He turned to face her at this. "That was sort of the point, Rach. If you knew I was coming, it wouldn't have been much of a surprise, would it?" he chuckled. She returned the chuckle, but it was filled with no emotion. He looked around again. "This really is a nice place. Are you sure you don't have anyone here living with you? Helping you out?" he asked with another laugh.

Mason then chose that exact moment to pop his head out of the living room to where Rachel and Jesse were, still in the hallway.

"Mom," he asked, in a small voice. "Who are you talking to?" he asked. He walked into the hallway so he could stand next to Rachel.

Jesse stared at Mason and then at Rachel and then back to Mason again. "Mom?" he whispered, mostly to himself, because of the shock. He then bent down so that he was eye-level with Mason. "What's your name?" he asked the boy.

Mason shrunk himself against his mum, he wasn't used to strangers. "My name is Mason Berry, sir. What is yours?" he asked in a small voice.

"My name is Jesse. I'm an old friend on your mom's. How old are you, Mason?" Jesse asked.

That was the question she was dreading but knew Jesse would ask. She couldn't stop the blush from coming to her cheeks as Mason answered his question.

"I am seven years old." Mason said proudly.

To Rachel's surprise, Jesse started to laugh. "That's such a great age." He told the child. Then he straightened up and she could see the angry look on Jesse's face.

"Hey, baby." Rachel said in a rush. Mason looked up at her. "Can you go back to reading, please? Me and Jesse need to have a bit of a chat." She told her son.

"Ok, Mommy." He said innocently as he bounced off back to the living room.

"Rachel?" Jesse spoke gruffly and Rachel looked at him shyly. "What the hell?" he asked.

"It's not what you think?" she told him quickly.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said, sarcastically, making a move to leave Rachel's home.

"No, Jesse, please. Stay?" she cried as she went after him.

"Why should I when you've been keeping something huge from me? Jesus, Rachel, we've been talking consistently for two months and you've neglected to mention that you have a child."

"I know." Rachel said, feeling ashamed.

"I thought we were finally getting to a place again where we could be in each other's lives again. I thought we were getting to a place where we were starting to trust each other again."

"We were." Rachel insisted. "We are!" she corrected.

"Well apparently not. You can't possibly trust me if you can't even tell me that you're a mother. And how am I meant to trust you when you neglect to tell me that? That you have a son whose conception happens to coincide with the last time I saw you before I came to New York. Am I meant to think that that is just a coincidence?" he asked angrily. He tried to leave again.

"Jesse?" she cried.

"What, Rachel?" he asked, stopping in his tracks and turning to her. Rachel could hear some sadness mixed in with the anger now. "What?"

"You've got it wrong." She promised him.

"So he's not mine?" he asked.

Rachel looked into his eyes. She looked at the man she loved and who had loved her, since she was fifteen and prepared to break his heart. "No, he isn't yours." She told him dejectedly. As she said the words, she looked down and closed her eyes. Too scared to see his hurt expression.

She glanced up at him when no sound or movement was made from him and she saw the look on his face as he slowly started to realise.

"Jesse!" she called for him desperately as he left her house without a word to her. He didn't even turn back, and it didn't matter how desperate she sounded. "Please, just let me explain?" she begged.

"I don't want to hear it." He threw back at her before continuing to walk away.


What do you think?

I originally planned for this to have a happy ending but when I got to this point, I liked the finality of it that I ended the story. However, if you want to read what could have been the ending, let me know and I will write the alternate ending as an extra for the next part before I write another completely new one-shot.

Also, I know I reuse Santana and Quinn a lot as Rachel's friends, but Glee is severely lacking in female characters that I genuinely want to write about.

I have an idea in mind for another multi-chapter and I want to know your thoughts on it. So, I love the movie No Strings Attached (Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play the main characters) and I want to use that story line as a Glee story. I'm thinking Quinn as one of the characters, but I need feedback on who to have as the love interest. It can be canon or non-canon and can be any gender.