Rachel

Rachel walked through the local market filling her basket with groceries and let her mind drift back to the last week in glee club. She really enjoyed some of the songs that the group chose to sing, but the one that impressed her the most was Jake's rendition of 'Broken Road' by Rascal Flatts. Her biggest shock was when she found out that Jake was actually Noah's little brother. He was so much like his brother even though they only met once when Mr. Schue introduced them.

Her thoughts continued to wander and she failed to realize that someone was calling her name until a hand grasped her shoulder. She jumped and let out a yelp before turning to see that it was none other than Jesse St. James. Kurt and Santana told her about their run in with Jesse, but she had forgotten all about it until now.

He flashed his signature smile, "Hello Rachel."

"Jesse, what are you doing here?" The last time she had seen him was at Nationals when he congratulated her and Finn on their engagement.

He gestured to the basket on his arm, "Shopping."

She blushed, "No, I mean in New York. I thought you were directing one of the show choirs in Ohio."

"I decided to follow my dream. I got an audition for a new musical."

"That's right, Kurt told me about that. Did you get it?" she asked.

"They haven't actually called me back yet, but it's only a matter of time." He looked around, "So where is Finn?" The smile that he gave her told Rachel that he already knew.

Her smile faded, "Finn is in Iraq. He's fighting for our country and I couldn't be more proud."

Jesse reached for her hand which she immediately withdrew, "Look Rachel, I know what happened. I know that he left you. I never would have hurt you the way that he did, breaking up with you on the way to the church to get married."

Rachel's eyes narrowed dangerously causing Jesse to take a step back, "Finn did what he thought was best for me! For my dreams! You on the other hand led me on and then you and your friends proceeded to throw raw eggs on me! He didn't try to hurt me, but what you did to me was intentional! It doesn't matter anyway because we are together and are going to have a baby!"

Rachel realized what she said when she saw Jesse's eyes widen to the point that she thought they would fall out. Well, good, it serves him right. She turned to leave and he didn't bother to stop her. She smiled, proud that she finally had the strength to stand up to that jerk. If she was being honest with herself, the hormones probably had a lot to do with her little blow up, but she didn't care. She was going to take the win.

Later that night she decided to write Finn. It usually took anywhere from one to two weeks for letters to make their way to him and she wanted to tell him about her week with the glee club, Noah's brother, and her run in with Jesse. She also had an ultrasound picture to send to him.

Dearest Finn,

I miss you so much and I have so much to tell you! I went back to Lima to help out the glee club for a week. Everywhere I looked I was flooded with memories of you and me and our friends. It was a little emotional, but that might just be the fact that I have a little person in my belly affecting my emotions! Anyways, I sang that song that you mentioned to me. It was a big hit.

Also, Noah has a little brother! I met him and he is so much like Noah. He has quite the attitude problem, but I think that Mr. Schue will be able to help him overcome that. The gang said to tell you hi and that they miss you. I gave them your address so that they can write you as well. I hope you don't mind.

I ran into Jesse in the grocery store today. He tried to tell me how he never would have hurt me like you did! You would have been proud of me. I yelled at him! I told him that you and I were together and happy and that we were having a baby. I might have also mentioned the fact that he used me and threw raw eggs on me to get my point across. I felt so much better after I left him standing there. It was like a huge weight fell off my shoulders. Now I know why people tell me that I should stand up for myself more!

I love you Finn and I can't wait to see you. I wish you were here right now, but since you aren't, I enclosed the ultrasound picture from my appointment. I have about five more weeks before we can find out the sex of the baby. Do you want me to wait to find out until you come to visit or do you want me to find out and tell you? I know that you feel bad about missing out on so much, so I wanted to include you in the decision.

I will let you go for now, but remember that I love you. When you're out there I want you to remember to be careful. You have a family that you need to come back to.

Love You Always,

Rachel

Finn – One week Later

Finn sat on his cot, starring at the ultrasound picture. It was labeled with the position of its head and feet, and he was glad because he would have never guessed. He had just finished his letter to Rachel and handed it over to Jones who takes care of the mail. He was supposed to be packing up because they were moving out tomorrow, but he wasn't ready to put the picture away just yet. It was the first time that it really hit him. He was going to be a father!

He finally folded the picture and placed it in the chest pocket of his jacket. He finished throwing his gear together and lay back on the cot. His time in Iraq had been pretty uneventful so far. There had been one incident, but by the time that he arrived it had been handled. It seemed as though he would be able to keep his promise to his mother and Rachel.

The next morning found Finn and his patrol traveling down an old dirt road near the border of Iraq and Syria when a car coming their direction stopped in the middle of the road, bringing the convoy to a halt. Finn jumped out with the rest of his platoon and aimed their weapons at the vehicle. Their translator began yelling something to the passengers who responded by jumping out of the vehicle and running in the other direction.

"BOMB!" was the last thing that Finn heard before an explosion next to him sent him flying into the desert. There was an excruciating pain in his right leg, but he didn't have time to really register it before his head slammed into a rock and the world slowly faded to black.

*Don't hate me yet*