"How are you?" Jesse asks, taking Rachel by surprise. When he walks through the front door.

"Fine why?"

"Well this whole Shelby thing. I mean seeing your mother being a mom to a baby and even to me, acting like how a mother should act. I'm sorry if it's hard for you."

Rachel is speechless, even in a time when Jesse has the right to be selfish and wouldn't be blamed for holding a large part of Shelby's attention, he is concerned with how she is dealing with all of it. If he weren't all bruised Rachel would have smacked him for worrying about her, when he needed to worry about himself.

"I'm fine, it's fine." Rachel says with a smile, before turning and heading back towards the kitchen.

Jesse touches Rachel's arms and she looks at him, he can see the truth in her eyes but he needs her to vocalize it, "The truth Rachel."

"The truth is, that it does hurt, but right now I am willing to put that aside and let her focus on being a mom to Beth and to you."

"Thank you Rachel. But I think you are going to find that she'll be trying to be a mom to you too soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm moving in with Shelby. I can't stay in this house with the memories and emptiness that fills it. And by-" Jesse is cut off by Rachel.

"Oh, that's great Jesse. Staying with Shelby will be good for you." Rachel says but she can't keep the sadness from her voice. "Umm I have to go to the bathroom."

Rachel takes off upstairs, hiding from Jesse the tears over learning that once again her mother is picking someone else and not her. Rachel knows that both of her Dads love her and she really doesn't need another parent, she knows that she is missing the things that a daughter can only get from her mother.

Jesse gives Rachel a few moments before following her upstairs. He could see the slight tears in her eyes as she turned away and he knows that he has to make it right. He stops outside his bedroom door and knocks.

"Rachel I'm coming in."

He finds her sitting on his bed her legs pulled up to her chest and he can see the tears in her eyes. He sits down next to her and gently places his hand on her back.

"I'm sorry that this is hurting you Rachel. I know what it's like to feel unwanted, but I know that you and Shelby will start to work things out."

"How do you know she even wants to?"

"I made her promise to make an effort to try and be your mom. I told her that if I am staying with her I want her to try with you seeing as I hope that you will be around." Jesse says. "I know that I need to start fresh and I hope that you can be part of that, if you want to be. You helped me these past few days when you had no reason to, I haven't even apologized and you still stayed."

"Jesse you don't –"

Jesse takes Rachel's hand in his and entwines his fingers with hers.

"Yes I do. I'm sorry Rachel. I'm sorry for lying to you about not being with you for ulterior motives, for pushing you into things that you weren't ready for, for lying, for breaking your heart, for the eggs, for winning. For all that I am sorry. I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I hope that one day you will forgive me. Because I need you in my life Rachel, more than anyone else I have ever known. Even if it's just as friends I need you to be around because you make me a better person, a whole person, a happier person. Rachel I love you, I'm in love with you."

Rachel wraps her arms around Jesse and buries her face in his neck. She squeezes him tightly, never in her life has anyone told her that they needed her. Sure the glee club needs her but never has anyone ever needed her for more than just a leader and a strong voice. And never has anyone been in love with her or told her in such a beautiful way.

Rachel breathes in the scent of Jesse and she knows that she is in love with him too. She still feels the sting and pain of his betrayal, but overpowering that is her love for the boy who is like her and gets her in ways no one else does. She places a soft kiss against his neck and pulls away to look in his clear blue eyes.

"I'm in love with you too."

Jesse smiles and rests his forehead against hers, content to be breathing the same air. It's Rachel who tilts her head to capture his lips in a chaste kiss, one that both of them smile into, before pulling away.

"This isn't going to be easy Rachel. I'm messed up right now, I am going to be getting help, but just so you know I'm not always going to be the loving or happy guy that you knew. But I'm going to try and get there."

"I know and it's a good thing that I am determined and strong willed because I am not going to let you do this on your own. I'm going to help you." Rachel squeezes Jesse's hand before standing, "starting with helping you pack up some of your room today, that way you'll have something to take to Shelby's. We'll come do the rest next weekend."

Jesse just gives Rachel a smile and stands to get his suitcases and duffle bags out of the closet.

Evening is falling as Jesse zips up his bag filled with toiletries. He and Rachel has spent the afternoon packing up all his clothes and anything that he would need for the rest of the week. Everything else that he had would be picked up and moved into Shelby's next weekend. They would have been done a lot earlier but had to stop to change Jesse's bandages and worked a lot slower because of some of the pain he had been feeling.

Finally tossing the bag by the door Jesse drops down onto his bed where Rachel has been sitting cross-legged.

"Jesse what are you going to do about school tomorrow?" Rachel asks and Jesse realizes that he didn't tell her about transferring and potentially going to McKinley.

"I'm going to get my transfer papers. Being eighteen I can transfer myself out this time."

"Ok, where are you going to go to school then?"

"Well I don't know. Shelby lives in Lima now and she said if I wanted I could go to McKinley, but I'm not sure I would be welcomed there." Jesse says, he knows the rest of the school won't care but the people that Rachel spends time with would.

"I'd welcome you and I'm sure that Finn would as well. If we can then I'm sure slowly they would all come around." Rachel says hoping that Jesse will say yes so that she can keep an eye on him.

"I'll think about it Rachel." Jesse says grabbing her hand, knowing that by the end of the week he will be enrolled back at McKinley.

Jesse looks at the clock and sees that it is just past 6:30; he knows that Rachel has a two-hour drive back to Lima but he doesn't want her to go.

"Rachel I know that you have a long drive ahead of you but would you be willing to stay one more night?"

"Yes, I'll just get to school late tomorrow." Rachel says. She looks over at Jesse and bites her lip; she hopes that what she says next won't set him back. "Jesse I love you and you apologized and I forgive you but I do have something to say that has been nagging me since earlier."

Jesse turns to look into Rachel's eyes and he sees shame for what she is about to say. He takes her hand and encourages her to continue with what she needs to tell him. No matter how painful he needs to hear the truth from her, the only other person who has ever been bluntly honest with him.

"What you did to me hurt. You made me believe in love and then you took it away. I'm not going to tell you that I am completely over the sting of rejection and that I fully trust you now, but I will be. I have to be honest there is a part of me that wants to get back at you for doing what you did, but I can't bring myself too. I told you when we first met that you playing me would kill me emotionally, after this weekend I realize that though what you did was painful I would have been able to live with the pain because I would channel it into my dreams and would get back at you by becoming a bigger star. What would kill me emotionally would be if you were to kill yourself, I wouldn't be able to handle that."

"I promise Rachel I won't leave you again." Jesse says bringing his hand up to cup her cheek.

"This is going to be hard, we are going to fight and we are going to find reasons to not be together, but I need you to know that I will always be there. But if you try to hurt yourself again I will walk away Jesse, I won't be able to go through the pain of watching that. So if you ever feel like that you have to talk to me, to Shelby, to someone so that the world doesn't lose a shining star."

Jesse has no words to respond to Rachel so instead he crushes his lips against hers. In his kiss he makes promises not to fall back into this person. He knows that it is going to be struggle but with Rachel by his side he will get better.

Pulling back from the kiss Jesse gives Rachel a smile; "Sorry I just didn't know what to say."

Rachel smiles and Jesse knows that the kiss wasn't unwanted.

"So how about some dinner than a movie before bed?" Jesse asks.

"Sounds perfect."

Rachel pulls herself from the bed and she and Jesse make their way down to the kitchen, both lighter and happier than they have been in a while.

So there is the epilogue to go after this chapter! I am so happy for all the reviews and alerts (both story and author) they mean a lot to me. I was so happy that this story was embraced in the way that it was.
I have a few more St. Berry stories (one-shots and multi-chapters) that I have been working on... i hope that when I post them you will all enjoy them.
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