Rachel is frozen to the spot. The sight before her chills her to her very core, so much so she lets out a shiver. She never expected to see Jesse St. James again, let alone bleeding and frightened on her front porch.

She watches him falter when he sees her and nearly take a fall in his haste to get way from the open door. She wants to move to hold him up, but she can't cross the threshold.

Rachel feels Finn come up behind her.

"Who was that Rachel?" He asks.

When she doesn't respond Finn follows her gaze out to her front lawn and sees the back of Jesse making his way to the street.

"What the hell is he doing here? I'm going to kick his ass." Finn growls.

Finn pushes past Rachel and finally she moves. She grabs Finn's arm to stop him and he gives her a confused look. Silently questioning her actions of stopping him from beating the guy that broke her heart.

They both turn their heads to Jesse when they hear a groan of pain. They watch as the singer spits out a wad of blood, before stumbling again and falling to the grass.

"Jesse," Rachel whispers, and runs towards the collapsed boy. Finn follows directly behind her.

Rachel drops to her knees next to Jesse and rolls him on his back. She lets out a gasp at the sight of the boy she used to – still does – love. His face is bloody and bruised, egg yoke and shells coat his hair and a spot of blood is pooled through his shirt sleeve and the scariest thing is that his face bears the faintest hint of a smile.

Finn gags at the sight of the boy he considers his enemy. Never has he seen such a vicious beating – well not in real life, he doesn't count the gore he has seen in movies. Never would he have inflicted this on Jesse either. He can't help but feel sorry for the mess of a boy lying on Rachel's front lawn.

"We need to bring him inside Finn." Rachel says, tears thick in her voice.

Finn is pulled from his position, "Right. Can you help lift?"

Rachel nods and together they pull Jesse from the lawn. Finn drapes Jesse's arm across his shoulder and wraps his own arm around Jesse's waist. Rachel mimics the position, though it doesn't really help.

"Leave me." Jesse whispers.

Rachel and Finn stop walking. A tear escapes down Rachel's face and Finn's face screws up in confusion. Both wondering what would possess anyone in this state to refuse help. With the lack of movement Jesse tries to pull away from the grasp of the two worried looking teens, but Finn's hold is too strong and Jesse's body too weak and he stops.

With this Finn and Rachel resume their task of bringing Jesse into the house. Once across the threshold Finn brings Jesse to the couch and tries to gingerly lay him down. As Jesse's left side hits the cushion he let's out a shout of pain. The sound roots Finn and Rachel, never have either heard such a horrible sound coming from Jesse, Rachel didn't think it was possible for Jesse to even make such a noise.

The sound of pain coming from him cuts at Rachel and silent tears fall from her eyes. Finn – who in all other situations may be clueless – spurs into some kind of action, because he knows that Rachel isn't functioning. He places himself in front of Rachel, blocking her view of the broken boy on her couch and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Rachel, Rachel," Finn says giving her a small shake and her eyes flick up towards his. "I need you to go into your kitchen and get me an ice pack and a dish towel. Also go find a first aid kit."

Finn knows that getting Rachel to leave the room will force her to clear her mind and to focus on taking care of Jesse. Jesse who Finn knows still has Rachel's heart and though he wants to he can't blame Jesse for keeping it, because he remembers how happy Rachel looked in those few months with the guy. And even if he wanted to deny it, Finn knows that Jesse enjoyed being with Rachel as well.

Jesse's groan of pain when he was placed on the couch had a little to do with the beating and a lot to do with the pain in his heart of being around Rachel and Finn. Jesse doesn't want to be around to watch the quarterback comfort the one girl he loves.

He opens his eyes and watches as Finn places his hand on Rachel. Jesse can't make out what they are saying but the look in Rachel's eyes and the comfort Finn is giving her is enough to force bile up his oesophagus. When Rachel leaves Jesse hoists himself off the couch. He has to get out of the house, he has to get away from Rachel, and he has to get away from Finn and Rachel.

Being in close proximity to both of them, watching them together is more than he can handle, the feelings of jealousy are killing him. Part of him is screaming to make his exit now while Rachel isn't in the room, while the other part is telling him to stay because the feeling of pain, anger and jealousy is something he deserves and showing that he can feel something. The part of self preservation wins out and Jesse makes a move for the front door.

Jesse almost makes it to the door, when Rachel stops him.

"Jesse?"

He closes his eyes at the sound of her voice. He flinches at the sound of her voice broken and thick with tears. Again pain washes over him and he's falling.

Rachel drops the ice and the kit and rushes to Jesse. She catches him before he drops to his knees, she gently brings him down into a kneeling position, and his heads rests on her shoulder. She knows that her shirt is going to be stained with yoke and blood, but she doesn't care about her wardrobe.

Jesse pulls away, "Let me go, please let me go. I can't stay here, it's killing me."

He stares into Rachel's eyes as he says this. His blue ones, she notices, are blank. The spark of mischief that once resided there is gone; that joy living the next day is missing, and all Rachel sees is emptiness. An emptiness that is deeper, beyond the Jesse St. James star of Vocal Adrenalin façade. The sight scares her and she has to look away.

Jesse is still begging to leave when Finn crouches down next to them. He can hear Jesse's pleas of wanting to go and how being there is killing him. Finn looks to Rachel and he can see that she is scared of what will happen if Jesse leaves hell even he's scared to let Jesse go off on his own. In this state Finn can see that Jesse is different that he won't make it very far.

"I need to clean him up." Rachel states and Finn nods

"Do you want me to stay and help?" Finn asks.

Rachel wants to say yes, but she knows that Jesse wouldn't want Finn around. "No I'll take care of it, but I'll call you when I'm finished."

Jesse from his spot watches as Rachel says goodbye to Finn. His stomach churns as the pair hugs and Rachel waits by the door to see Finn drive off. The numbness of his heart is taken over by the burn of pain and Jesse lets out a manic laugh.

At the sounds of hysterical laughter Rachel returns to Jesse. How someone could be laughing in this state is beyond her comprehension and Rachel needs to know what's going on.

"Jesse are you ok?"

"It hurts, but it feels so good." Jesse responds and small smile touches his lips.

Rachel can't believe what she has just heard. Forcing back her tears, she finds the strength to take Jesse to the en suite of the guest bedroom.