A Tempo

Chapter One: A Good Looking Lawyer

June 2021

Crossing her arms and heaving a deep sigh, Rachel surveyed the warzone that was her living room. How on earth could two little boys make such a mess in such little time? Honestly, their grandmother had dropped them off only a couple of hours ago! Even now, she could hear them squealing and playing in their room, undoubtedly leaving terror and destruction in their wake.

"Michael! Andrew!" she shouted, making her way through the small apartment to their room. "Come on guys, we've got to go!"

They both looked up at her from the floor. Sure enough, all sorts of things were strewn pell-mell throughout the room. "Guys," she cried, "we don't have enough room for you to be throwing all of your stuff around." She picked up a worn stuffed rabbit and threw it into their toy box dejectedly.

"Sorry, Mama," they said in unison.

"It's alright; we'll just have to straighten up tomorrow."

"You have work tomorrow," Michael reminded her.

"Okay, then we'll get to it when we get to it," she said in exasperation, running a hand down her face. "Now baby, can you go get the lasagna out of the refrigerator while I put on Andy's shoes? I'm already running late."

"I hate staying with Mrs. Nedry," he complained as Rachel struggled to capture Andrew's foot. "Her apartment smells funny."

"Well, Michael, we don't really have a choice at the moment." She slipped Andrew's shoe on and deftly tied the laces.

"I don't see why we just couldn't've stayed with Bubbe."

Rachel groaned inwardly. Sometimes it felt as if she had David had divorced and the settlement had been made with his parents, or more specifically, with his mother, Maura. Not that she could complain, they did pay the boys' private school tuition and other various necessities in exchange for having them every other weekend. And while Andrew didn't like being away from his mama for so long, Michael was easily bought off with video games, candy, and kosher meats.

"That's because you are my son and I want you here with me," she explained levelly, careful not to say anything negative about Maura in their presence.

"There we go!" she announced upon finishing her task. She stood up, grabbing Andrew by the hands and plopping him down on the floor. He giggled happily and ran to the front door, hopping up and down while he waited for his mother and brother.

"Okay, Michael, you ready?" Rachel asked, grabbing her purse. Michael shrugged and made his way to the door, hands in his pockets. She whisked them out of the apartment and was about to lock the door behind them when she noticed Michael's empty hands. "The lasagna," she hissed, rushing back into the apartment.

"Can I knock on her door, Mommy?" Andrew called after her.

She shouted out an affirmative as she grabbed the uncooked vegan pasta out of the refrigerator. She slammed the door shut and turned, nearly toppling over a Transformer, and ran back into the hallway.

"Hold this," she ordered, shoving the lasagna into Michael's hands. She had locked the door and whipped back around just in time to see Mrs. Nedry greeting Andrew.

"Hello, dearies," the elderly woman said softly. She dug around in her pockets and handed each of them what looked to be unwrapped Hershey Kisses.

Rachel forced a smile and took the lasagna out of Michael's hands to give to Mrs. Nedry. "Thank you so much for looking after them, Mrs. Nedry," she said.

"Oh, it's no problem dear," Mrs. Nedry said. She looked down at the dish in her hands skeptically and gave it a sniff. "What is in this lasagna?"

"Oh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It's vegan!"

"Hm," she murmured, "I'll just add some hot dogs to it for flavor."

Rachel's face fell. "Oh, don't worry, sweetie. I bought Hebrew Nationals."

"Well, in that case... an hour at 350 should do it," Rachel replied, forcing a laugh. "Okay, Michael, Andrew. Mommy's leaving."

She leaned down to give each of them a hug, but when it was Michael's turn, he pulled out of her arms and pushed his way into the apartment. He flung himself on her sofa and plucked up a tabby kitten that had chased excitedly after one of his untied shoelaces.

"Don't worry about him, he'll perk up in a few minutes," Mrs. Nedry commented, which only made Rachel feel worse.

"I'm sure he will… please give me a call if they give you any trouble."

"But they're such well-behaved children!" the elderly woman insisted.

She spared one last glance at her sons, now engrossed in the kitten's antics. "Be good, boys!" she called, turning to run down the three flights of stairs. Once she made it onto the street, she glanced at her watch. Crap! She had ten minutes to make it eight blocks. She considered hailing a taxi, but she really didn't have the funds at the moment, and there really was no guarantee it would get her there any faster.

She began walking quickly in the direction of the restaurant. It seemed as each step she took was mocking her: Broke, broke, broke. You're broke, broke, broke.

She tried not to scream in frustration, and although this was New York and everyone had probably seen much stranger things, she doubted anyone would like a frazzled woman screaming in their ear.

True, this existence wasn't much different than how she lived when she first moved to New York, but now she had two little boys to support. She didn't expect handouts, just a break for goodness sake!

She scowled; sometimes she wished she could bring David back to life just to strangle him for the predicament he had put her in. Of course she immediately felt guilty for thinking that way, David had been her husband and she loved him. If only he had let her know that they were broke instead of leading her to believe that they had money! She didn't need an apartment overlooking Central Park or a Mercedes-Benz, just him and the boys.

It had been such a fairytale when she met him; she was singing in a cabaret, her first real show, and he was a big-time corporate lawyer with good hair and a nice smile that waited for her every night after her performance. She probably should have held him off longer than she did considering how long it had been since she and Finn had broken up (three months, to be exact), but David Kutner just had one of those infectious personalities that made person feel as if they just had to be near him.

She honestly hadn't been thinking of getting engaged when he proposed three months later, but he was such a force of nature that she just couldn't say no. She had been in talks with the producer of an Off-Broadway show when she allowed him to talk her out of it; the plan had just been to put off auditioning for a year or so that they could get settled in, but she became pregnant with Michael almost immediately. From there David had talked her into going to Columbia – Columbia of all the schools in New York – to study music theory. After Andrew was born, it seemed as if she could finally try and break back into the Broadway circuit when David had his accident. And that's when it hit the fan…

He had taken a second mortgage out on the apartment, loans on the cars, student loans, credit card debt – pretty much, if it had "debt" or "loan" in the name, they were in it. She should have known there was something off when he refused to allow her to run their finances, he just said that there was a reason they had an accountant. An accountant that he hadn't paid in three months.

Fortunately, David had been wise enough to invest in a lucrative life insurance policy. How he had been able to pay for it, Rachel had no idea, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It had helped alleviate much of the debt, along with everything that she sold, but she still had her student loans and a few credit cards to take care of.

If only Maura would let her sell the house in the Hamptons. It was the only thing they owned outright because it had been left to him by his grandmother. But Maura insisted that it held sentimental value and it would kill her to see another family living in it. While the deed was now in Rachel's name, she couldn't find it in her heart to sell it without her in-laws' approval.

Oh, they offered to help her plenty of times, but only if she and the boys moved in with them. And while Maura gave to plenty of charities, wore faux fur, and was an active member of their synagogue, Rachel wasn't wholly convinced that her mother-in-law wasn't evil. Her dads had offered to help too, but that would mean going back to Lima, which was the equivalent of admitting defeat. So here she was, living in a dingy apartment and working two jobs, waiting until the day she could... well, she didn't know anymore. Broadway seemed so far away now and she wasn't even sure it would be fair to the boys, she already got to see them so little and a real show would take up so much more of her time. So, for the time being, it meant suffering through another shift at Rhonda's Bar and Grille.

She groaned inwardly as she set foot into the restaurant and the smell of fried foods assaulted her senses. It was not the best place for a vegan to work, but they had good crowds and that meant plenty of tips.

"Rachel, you're late!" the manager yelled when he saw her sneak in. "You've got station five, now get on it!"

"I know, I know," she grumbled, putting on her apron.

She hurried out into the main dining room and started talking orders. Things were going smoothly for once when she noticed a large group at one of the other stations. She could tell they were theater types. Not that they were dressed in costume or broke out into song, but she just knew. She stared at them enviously for a minute and was about to turn around when something caught her eye. She turned and squinted to get a better look when she realized she was staring at none other than Kurt Hummel!

He was talking animatedly to the person next to him, and when she realized who it was, she nearly died. Mercedes Jones and Kurt Hummel were sitting right there in the same room as her! As if he could feel her eyes on him, Kurt moved to look in her direction, but one of his friends down the table caught his attention, and they all began laughing uproariously at something he said.

She had to hide while she still could! She ran to the back as quickly as possible without being too obvious and grabbed the arm of her friend, Mallory.

"Mal, quick, who is working station eight?" she demanded, referring to a station in the smaller dining room. Everyone hated working station eight because it was slower than in the main room, but she couldn't let Mercedes and Kurt see her.

"Macy. Why?"

"Where is she? I've got to switch stations with her."

"Probably out back for a smoke, but why on earth would you want to switch with her?"

Rachel didn't answer and ran back to the alley to find Macy. She begrudgingly agreed – Macy liked her cigarette breaks and could take as many she wanted at slower stations, even if it meant sacrificing tips. Rachel heaved a sigh of relief, but that didn't mean she was out of the clear yet. She still had to go through the main room to get to the kitchens and registers, but if she stuck to the wall and ducked behind a few of the potted plants, she should be okay.

She kept an eye on their table, praying that neither one of her former classmates would notice her. She had known that Kurt lived in New York and worked as a costume designer, but she had no clue that Mercedes lived there as well. Not that it surprised her; they had always been attached at the hip.

The group stayed for nearly an hour and a half, which was a pain because they were getting into the dinner crowd and things were beginning to pick up. Fortunately, more people meant that there was less of a chance that they would spot her.

Finally they got up to leave and she ducked behind a plant to watch them walk out. For whatever reason, they stopped and chatted for a few minutes with the hostess before heading to the door. Mercedes turned and looked around as if she had forgotten something, but Kurt placed a hand on her arm and guided her out.

Rachel exhaled deeply and rubbed the stress out of her neck. The last thing she needed was and old friend or two complicating her life even more than it already was.

"So I tell the guy if he doesn't want to fix the damn problem, unscrew the light bulb and sell it before it crashes!"

Finn looked down into his beer and smiled uncertainly. As much as he enjoyed hanging out with Jeremy Hebert, he wasn't sure that he'd ever get his Wall Street humor.

"Looks like the Rangers scored again," he commented, nodding to the TV hanging in the corner of the bar.

"Hello, hello!" Kurt called, walking up to their table, Mercedes in tow.

"Hey, baby." Jer smiled, standing up to exchange a quick kiss with his partner. Finn took a deep swig of his beer and turned his attention back to the game in order to give the couple a little privacy while they exchanged their hellos. He couldn't help but smile at the thought that he was actually the one who played unintentional matchmaker to the pair. He and Jer had befriended each other during their first year at Ohio University and were in the same pledge class for Beta Theta Pi. Eventually, they had even become roommates during their junior and senior years.

Finn had no clue about Jer's sexual orientation until the summer after their junior year, though. They had gone to stay a week at Jer's parents' lake house in St. Marys with a few other guys and Finn had extended the invitation to Kurt. It was when he ran into his step-brother sneaking out of Jer's room that he put two and two together. While the revelation had surprised him, it did answer a few lingering questions he had after a drinking game with Jer a few months before the event in question.

Jer and Kurt had been together ever since and, while it was still a little weird sometimes, Finn couldn't be happier for them.

"So," Mercedes said, plopping down in a seat next to Finn, "you will never guess in a million years who we saw today!"

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Please, Mercedes," Kurt said, "let me. But first..." he motioned to their waitress.

"A lemon drop martini for me, a Cosmo for her, and dos shots of tequila, por favor. And make it the good stuff!"

"Have a tough day?" Jer asked.

"Oh, they're not for me! They're for Finn."

Finn groaned; he hated doing shots. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Believe me, you'll need them," Mercedes laughed.

"Did you guys run into my boss or something? Am I getting fired?"

"No, this is worse," Kurt insisted as the waitress set their drinks on the table. "Now, quick! Take a shot!"

Begrudgingly, Finn picked one up and downed the shot. "Ugh!"

"Rachel Berry!"

Finn balked. That was a name he hadn't heard in a long time, much less thought of. Okay, maybe he did think of her from time to time, more often than he liked to admit. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. He must have zoned out because Kurt nudged the second shot towards him. "You can take that one now."

Jer laughed at Finn's face as he threw down the prescribed dose of tequila. "And who is Rachel Berry again?"

"Finn's ex," Mercedes said.

"The infamous high school sweetheart," sighed Kurt. "The Ben to his Jerry, the Taco to his Bell –"

"Hey!" Finn exclaimed. That sounded a little dirty for his taste.

"– the Allie to his Noah –"

"Okay, I get the point!" Jer said, stopping Kurt's poetic exaltation. By the look on his face, Finn could tell he didn't know who Allie and Noah were either.

"You know, we actually saw her a few years ago! It was at a fundraiser or something; she was at our table..." Jer looked at him blankly.

"Small... brunette," Kurt supplied, "She was pregnant at the time… I told you we went to high school together."

Finn looked at Kurt in surprise; he had no clue that Rachel had kids. Or a kid, at least. Either way, she was a mom. Weird.

"Oh yeah, I think I remember. Her husband was that good looking lawyer?"

Great, he thought, she just had to be married to a good looking lawyer. He was pretty sure no one ever referred to him as "that good looking associate producer." If anything, he was "that really tall dude who worked for Sam in the City."

Kurt arched an eyebrow. "You thought he was good looking?"

"Er… no… I mean, I don't remember," Jer said quickly. "Man, where is our waitress? I need another beer. You just can't get good help these days..."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous. Tell him the rest, Kurt."

"Anyway," Kurt said, eying Jeremy dangerously, "Mercedes and I were meeting some friends at Rhonda's for a late lunch –"

"Oo, they've got a good ham and cheese sandwich," Jer interrupted.

"Do you mind?" Kurt snapped. "Or would you like to go over the rest of their menu?"

"By all means, please continue!" Jer insisted. He then looked over his shoulder, mumbling something about the damn waitress.

"As I was saying, we were meeting some friends for lunch," Kurt paused in case Jer had anything else to add, but he just shrugged indifferently and waved Kurt on, "when I noticed a waitress out by the kitchens. Well, it was none other than the Rachel Berry! Or Weinstein, or Greenburg, or whatever her name is now."

"If she's a waitress, then apparently her husband's not a very successful lawyer," Jer chuckled.

"Actually, he's a dead lawyer. According to our gabby hostess, he died about a year ago in a car accident."

"What?" Finn asked incredulously. Rachel was a widow? He never would have guessed that in a million years. "How do you know that? Is she okay?"

"She didn't exactly come talk to us," Mercedes responded. "I wanted to say hello, but she kept hiding behind a potted plant in the corner, which kind of led me to believe she really wasn't interested in visiting. So Kurt paid the hostess to give us the 4-1-1."

Kurt nodded. "Well, they had been living the high life. You know how it goes: an apartment on the Upper East Side, a house in the Hamptons, European vacations, et cetera, et cetera, and then he dies. Rachel naturally thinks he made arrangements for the family if he ever went toes up, but as it turns out, he was broke. She's left with a ton of debt, zip in the bank, and two little boys to take care of."

"Oh God," Finn choked.

"No kidding," Jer agreed.

"She worked during the school year as a music teacher while waitressing part time. Now that it's summer, she's a regular at the restaurant in order to make ends meet. She's still on the East Side, just not the upper half, if you know what I mean."

Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing. What had happened to Rachel? Why wasn't she on Broadway? When he moved to New York, he had wondered why he hadn't seen her name on any of the marquees. He had even Googled her name just to be sure, but he hadn't found anything on her. She wasn't even on Facebook.

Kurt took a sip of his martini and gave a satisfied smile. "Good gossip always makes me thirsty. Now, Finn, you do know what this means, don't you?"

He shrugged. "No, but I'm sure you'll tell me."

"Give her a call! Get a little action! Lord knows you need it."

"Whoa, babe, show a little tact!" Jer exclaimed.

"No shit, Kurt!" Finn nearly shouted. "That's the worse idea I've ever heard!"

"Agreed," Mercedes chimed in.

"What? They were pretty hot and heavy in high school! Need I remind you that I shared a house with you? Anytime Dad and Carole were out, you two were in your room going at it like monkeys."

He nearly choked on his beer in shock while Mercedes and Jer burst out laughing. Traitors. "We didn't do it like… like monkeys."

"Fine, the primate of your choice. I just think it's time you started having a little fun. Ever since you moved to New York, it's been work, work, work. I never thought I would see the day that Finn Hudson put his career before his friends and family."

"I do not!"

"Oh really? Then how come we haven't seen you in two weeks?" Kurt pointed out. "And when was the last time you've been to go see your mother?"

"You know we're trying to go national! Once the show gets picked up, I'll get my free time back," he insisted. "Screwing around with a widowed mom won't make that happen any faster."

"Fine, don't take my advice," Kurt said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Your loss."

Finn chugged down the rest of his beer and motioned to their waitress for a refill. Maybe Kurt wasn't totally wrong. He didn't need any help to get laid, and he certainly didn't have to stoop so low as to woo widowed mothers, but that didn't mean he couldn't look Rachel up. He knew probably better than anyone what it was like for a single mom. He'd grown up with one. A broke single mom at that.

Besides being his girlfriend, Rachel had also been his best friend. She was probably hurting for a good friend at a time like this, so why shouldn't he be there to help? And from the sounds of it, she had two little boys that could probably use a cool guy like himself in their life. He could be like their Mr. Schuester!

There was absolutely no reason why he shouldn't give her a call. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back. Yup, he would definitely look her up in the morning.

Author's Note: I'm actually not too big on A/Ns but I figured it might go against etiquette to not take a moment to introduce my story! This is my first attempt at Glee fanfiction; once this little nugget got in my head, I just couldn't stop myself from putting it down to paper. I appreciate reviews and any kind of constructive criticism anyone may have to offer, I just ask that you be kind, my itty bitty feelings are very fragile!

As for this chapter, I really hope you find the bar scene funny. It's very dialogue driven, which I've been working on, but I assure you, it was hilarious inside my head. You'll definitely be seeing some more of Jeremy, Kurt, and Mercedes (as well as her husband) later on in the story.

That being said, I truly hope that you enjoy A Tempo as much as I enjoy writing it!

Disclaimer: Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I'm just manipulating it for my own nefarious (and strictly nonprofit) purposes.