"Oh my God,"

The words that burst from Quinn's lips were barely noticeable as everyone at once realized that Jesse was much, much more dangerous than they had previously believed. Santana placed the case on the ground quickly, as though it was contaminated. Silence spread through the room as everyone was frozen in shock.

"I didn't…I never thought he would do this." The silence broke from Rachel, looking ashamed. "I should never have brought him to our school."

She looked at the floor, then back at her teammates. "I need to fix this."

She quickly left the room, hurrying down the stairs and out the door.

Will started, rushing after her and yelling "Go back home!" to the remaining Glee members.

Night was falling and he could see her shadowy figure in the darkness of the front lawn.

"Rachel! Rachel!"

She slowed to a stop but didn't turn around.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder to whisper in her ear. "This isn't your fault, Rach. Let's go back to my apartment, we can think of what to do."

She suddenly turned in his arms so she was facing him, her eyes wide with fear. "He'll always be one step ahead of us, Will! He knows we can't call the police; you'd be arrested, too. He has us cornered."Rachel took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing. "This is my fault. I will fix it, I just need…I don't know! I need something to get him in trouble."

"Baby, just calm down. Listen to me. What we have…some people search for their whole lives. This, this is worth fighting for. We'll get through this together, okay?" Will assured her, tucking a strand of her behind her ear. "Let's go home,"

"My dads…I think they've noticed something's up. I've barely been around lately. They think I'm at Quinn's right now."

"Text them that you're sleeping over. I don't want to leave you alone for a second." He honestly didn't. Who knew where Jesse was, and what he would do to Rachel if he found her unprotected? Will shuddered at the thought.

She sent the message, and then took his hand. "Can we walk through the park first? Its right here and I just need to clear my head."

"Sure," he smiled gently, leading her into it.

The park was literally down the street from Jesse's house. Will tried not to imagine him bringing Rachel here, leading her through the cover of the trees…No. She wouldn't do that. It was as much her and Will's place as the playground was.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, taking in the scene around them. The stars sparkled beautifully in the dark sky; the full moon reflected on the shining waters of the pond, the lush green nature was around them. It was a perfect night, except, well, everything else. Will turned to Rachel, bringing her under a tall tree.

"Do you remember here?" he asked, smiling down at her. He took both her hands in his, gently squeezing them.

"Of course," she nodded, squeezing back. "It's where you told me you loved me for the first time. And I quote, 'I must be mental, but I think I'm in love with you'."

He laughed. "Well, you're mental for loving me."

She looked up at him softly but seriously. "I'm in love with an amazing, gorgeous, brave man who will always be there for me and take care of me. Is that so mental?"

"Oh, Rach…" he leaned down to kiss her, melting their bodies together.

"How sweet," a voice said sarcastically. "Remind me to write that line down."

Rachel gasped, cringing back against Will who hugged her protectively. Shit. No, no, no, no, he couldn't have found us! Will thought in terror. Everything was good; there was a moment where he had forgotten all the bad things that had been happening. But, as always, he ruined it.

Jesse smiled at them both sinisterly, enjoying the fear in their expressions. "Miss me?"

"Just stay away from us!" Rachel cried out, her voice shaking. Will held her tighter, wishing he could hug all the fear away from her.

Jesse took a step closer to them. "I don't think so. See, I specifically remember me telling you to break up with him and not get back together. And since you didn't…well I guess Shuester's going behind bars after all."

"No!" she yelled, blanching. "No, Jesse, please, take me. You can rape me again, or make me quit Glee, anything you want."

"Be quiet, Rachel!" Will said through clenched teeth. "He can turn me in. At least he can't blackmail us anymore. Don't sacrifice yourself for me."

She looked up at him, terrified. "I'm not! I need you here; I need you with me, Will! It's selfish, but I don't care, I need you…"

Jesse's face twisted into an unreadable emotion. "Stop it! You're going to jail, and Rachel you're reputation will be ruined."

Rachel whimpered, and Will pulled her closer, noticing Jesse's scowl deepen as he did so.

Will stared at him, something clicking in his head. "Are you jealous, Jesse?"

He sneered. "Of what? Your mushy little speeches? Not a chance."

"Yes, you are." Will realized aloud. "You're jealous because Rachel loves me and not you. Because she chose me, despite everything that's wrong about our relationship. You wish that she loved you."

"Shut your mouth, Shuester." Jesse was so angry his voice quavered.

Will should have stopped, but the anger pulsing through his veins urged him on.

"She never acted this way when she with you, did she?" he continued. "She was never really into you, and you noticed. You aren't used to being second, are you, St. James? That's why you're so pissed that Rachel would love me instead. Well, you know what, Jesse? She'll always love me. No matter how badly you hurt her, or how long you put me in jail she'll always choose me."

"Shut up!" Jesse snarled.

He yanked the gun out of his pocket, aiming it at Rachel's forehead.

"Don't talk. To me. Like that." he hissed.

Will shut his mouth, fighting his every instinct to beat the living crap out of him. No one pointed a gun at his girl. But if he moved, there was no doubt in his mind Jesse would have any troubles shooting her.

"What, now you'll listen to me 'cause I have a gun?" Jesse smiled with an air of grim triumph. "And you're wrong. Rachel loves me more, she just doesn't realize it. She knows I'm so much better for her, and I'd be a better boyfriend."

"How did you even find us?" Will snapped, ignoring the jab.

Jesse's eyes narrowed. "I found your precious Glee club lurking around my property. Trying to spy on me, Will? Your car was still there; it wasn't hard to figure out where you were."

"Nice room," Will spat and Jesse's jaw tightened.

Rachel attempted to reach out to Jesse but Will warned her. "Rachel…"

"It's okay," she promised, and looked at Jesse. "Jesse," she whispered. "This isn't you. This isn't who you are. You aren't a murderer. We were friends once, remember?" She touched his cheek. "Please, Jesse, we can talk. Just…just put the gun down. Please."

His hand shook as he slowly lowered the gun to his side. Will breathed out a sigh of relief, and suddenly there were loud sirens and blinking red and blue lights. Four police cars screeched into the recently empty park, cops leaping out rapidly. Jesse's hand flashed back up in a second.

"Who called the cops?"

"I-I don't know," Rachel stammered.

Jesse roughly grabbed her arm. "Let's go, Rach, you're coming with me."

Will saw Jesse trying to take her away from him. Again. He couldn't let that happen; not again. He'd promised Rachel he wouldn't let him hurt her.

"Over my dead body," Will blurted out, stepping in front of him.

Jesse sneered, pointing the gun at Will. "If you insist."

"JESSE ST. JAMES, THIS IS THE OHIO STATE POLICE. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. PUT THE GUN DOWN ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD."

Jesse gaze shifted to the policemen and Will took his chance. He swung his fist as hard as he possibly could at Jesse's jaw. Jesse, startled, pulled the trigger on instinct, knocking Will to the ground.

"WILL!" Rachel screamed, dropping to her knees beside him.

She could hear the policemen yelling and someone shouted. "Fire!" Shots split through the air like thunder, all aimed at the person who had single handedly ruined Rachel's life in the past few weeks. The impact twisted him around, a look of shock on his face as his body collapsed, limp and lifeless.

Rachel covered her mouth with a horrified gasp as the corpse fell next to her. She held back vomit and focused on Will.

He was bleeding, and looked like he was in a lot of pain, but he was alive. He groaned, and she held his face.

"Will? Are you alright? Where were you hurt?"

"Shoulder," he muttered. "I'll be okay; are you okay? What happened?"

She gulped, hardly believing the words even as she said them. "They killed Jesse."

A policeman jogged up to them, the rest following shortly after him. An EMT got to Jesse and began CPR.

"I'm so sorry, miss," the policeman said frantically. "He shot that man, and it's in protocol to shoot down a suspect when they endanger a citizen…We didn't mean to kill him."

The EMT shook his head. "He's gone,"

Rachel's mind was going a million miles per hour; she couldn't comprehend what was happening. Will moaned again, and she snapped back to reality.

"My...Will needs help!" she cried. "He's shot; he needs to get to the hospital right away!"

The paramedics gently lifted him onto a stretcher and began to load him into an ambulance. She almost fainted, watching them carry his shaking body into the vehicle.

"Miss, you need to answer some questions." A cop touched her shoulder.

"Rachel," Will croaked, reaching for her.

"I have to answer some questions, okay?" she was trying not to break out sobbing. "I'll be there as soon as I can, baby, I promise,"

"My name is Officer Holland. Your names, miss?" The policeman asked.

"Rachel Berry and Will Shuester," she whispered.

"And how are you related?"

"He's my…my teacher." She saw his eyebrows furrow in confusion, no doubt he had noticed what was between them.

"Uh," Holland paused. "Alright. Do you know why Jesse was trying to kill you?"

"Yes," Rachel closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks. "Well, I think. He said he was jealous because I didn't love him- I love…someone else. And Will—I mean, Mr. Shuester—he was, um, he was-"

"Helping you like a good teacher would?" Holland supplied, giving her a small smile. It wasn't mean or threatening, but kind and knowing. "I'm guessing you told him your problem and he offered to escort you home safely, where Jesse found you."

She almost cried out in relief. "Yes. That's what happened."

He nodded. "Why don't I give you a lift to the hospital? You can answer the rest after you've a little time to process things."

"Thank you," she said quietly. "Who called 911?" She realized she had no idea how the police had been notified.

Holland shrugged. "There were a lot of voices on the line; it was hard to tell what they were even saying until I picked out 'Jesse St. James. Park. Gun.'"

She almost smiled and another tear leaked from her eye. "Glee."

"Who?"

"Quinn, Puck, Finn, Mike, Santana, Brittany, Matt, Tina, Artie, Mercedes and Kurt."

He nodded. "Sounds like you have some good friends."

"Yeah," she murmured. "I do."

WxR

"Where is he? Will he be okay?"

The doctor nodded. "He should be fine, there's just some minor surgery in his shoulder to remove the bullet. I think it's about done now, and you'll be able to see him in a few hours."

"Hours?" Rachel gasped.

"Hours." Said the doctor firmly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check on another patient,"

The door opened and Quinn and Puck ran in.

"Rachel!" Quinn exclaimed, hugging her tightly.

Puck put his arms around both of them, leaning his head on Quinn's. Rachel held them both close, squeezing her eyes shut. A hug felt really good right now.

Puck pulled away first. "What the hell happened back there? We were leaving when we saw Jesse follow you guys into the park—looking pissed as hell—so we called the cops."

Rachel wiped her eyes. "He came up to us with the gun and started mocking us. Then Will accused him of being jealous because I didn't love him so he almost shot Will! Then Jesse tried to kidnap me but the police came and Jesse shot Will and they shot Jesse and oh…it was so awful!"

Quinn gasped in horror. "Is Mr. Shue alright?"

She nodded. "Yes, he only got hit in the shoulder. But Jesse's dead, Quinn. He just died right there in front of me," Rachel's chin trembled, remembering the moment.

Quinn held her hand. "Everything will be okay, Rach. It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," Puck agreed, rubbing Rachel's back. "I mean, he did deserve it. Is there anything you need, Rach? Coffee or a tissue box or something?"

"No, thank you, Puck." She whispered, sitting down. "I just can't believe this all just happened.

Rachel took a deep breath and looked up at them. "If I forget to say it later, thank you."

"We love you, Rachel," Quinn smiled. "And Mr. Shue. We'll always be here for you guys and we know you'll always be here for us."

"Rachel? What the hell is going on here?" Leroy Berry entered the room, followed by Hiram.

Rachel stuttered, in shock to see them. "I-I…I'm perfectly fine, Daddy. Things are under control, now."

"Under control?" Hiram glared at her. "You were being harassed and you didn't tell us? What is the matter with you?"

She threw her arms around them. "I'm so, so sorry!" she cried. "I was just so scared. But we're all okay now, honestly." She pulled back.

Leroy smiled a tiny bit. "Rachel, never scare us like this again."

"I promise, Dad."

WxR

Will's POV

I woke up slowly, my shoulder feeling sore as hell. It felt better than it did when there was a bullet in it, though. I could remember everything so clearly; how long had it been? Hours? Days? Rachel said he was dead. Was he actually, or was that just a dream?

I glanced around my room and saw my beautiful Rachel sleeping in the chair next to the bed, her face tear-stained.

"Rach," I whispered. "Honey, wake up,"

She stirred and blinked a few times. "Will!"

I smiled weakly and her returning smile was wider than it had been in weeks. My heart lifted instantly, seeing her smile that way at me again.

"Lay here with me," I motioned to the bed.

She looked hesitant. "Are we allowed to do that?"

"Who cares?"

I sure as hell didn't. I just wanted to lay here with her for the rest of my life, holding her so tight that nothing could ever hurt her.

She giggled, and climbed up, resting her head on my good shoulder. She rested her hand over my heart and I knew she could feel its steady rhythm under her fingertips.

I turned my head, kissing her forehead. "I love you so much,"

"I love you, too."

We had been saying that a lot to each other recently. Some people think you run out of I love you's; like they mean less every time you say it. I disagree. Every time I hear Rachel say that it felt even better. My heart would speed up, my body would warm, and I felt the luckiest guy in the world. It was the best feeling to hear those words from her.

"Will?"

"Yeah, baby?" She looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Is it really over?" She looked cautious to believe it; as if this was some dream and all of a sudden she would wake up and Jesse would be there once again to torture us.

"Yes." I told her. "It's really over."

Rachel snuggled in closer to me, kissing my neck a few times. My eyes closed in bliss at the feeling and I snaked my good arm around her, pulling her against me.

Everything was okay.

One more chapter! It'll be an epilogue. Okay, I need your guys' opinion for it. I'm like a HUGE sap, so I can make the last chapter really mushy and all that (which I probably would do) or I can make it not so mushy. Up to you guys; let me know if you want me to tone down the sap!

Thanks for reading and REVIEW PLEASE!

-Leesh