Author's Note:

Sorry this took SOO long. This story is still going to have a slow posting rate, although the last chapter and epilogue are coming up.Please let me know if there are any mistakes, i kind of rushed through the edit a little to get this up. I would love to hear your feed back and will go back and fix this chapter if there is input that fits with the story.

Disclaimer:

I do not know glee, if i did Finn and Rachel would not be existent now. I think the way the second season reused season one plot lines was absolutely stupid. I think that it could have been much better if the writer's focused on the story instead of the music. The music was amazing yes, but the plot could have been much better. It's only the second season and yet they have apparently run out of good plot lines that they have to reuse from the first season. That's bull shit in my opinion, the story could have been SO much better, there was another plot path that could have been taken, but everyone "Loves" finchel.. La Di Fucking Da. It is such a boring pairing, i would loved to see Rachel stick to her independance and not get glued to her crush on someone so much more beneath her. he treats her like shit for fuck's sake. ANYONE but finchel.. Puckleberry, Samchel, St Berry. HELL MAKE RACHEL AND SANTANA END UP TOGETHER FOR ALL I CARE as long as the plot isn't so safe and boring and already done.

enough of my rant... sorry.

Power of Music

It's All Over Now

It all happened so fast. One minute Finn and Jesse were having some sort of Mexican standoff in the break room and the next they were throwing punches and wrestling on the floor. It was one of the scariest moments in Rachel's life. She could hear the crunching of bone against flesh as fists connected with sensitive body tissue. The last thing she could do was watch, willing her mind to focus on her finger nails, hoping with all she had it would be over. It was when she heard a familiar pitch groan in pain that she glanced up from the canopy of wet lashes and she saw the most horrible sight.

Finn's fist connected with Jesse's face, his eyebrow splitting open, letting the blood flow over his eye. The tears were pouring down her face faster than expected as her stomach clenched into a thousand different knots. Sure, Jesse could hold his own in a fight. That was evident by the amount of injuries Finn was sporting on his face, but the blood. Jesse's blood. Coming down his face in abundance, it was too horrible to even comprehend.

Rachel shut her eyes tightly, praying for someone or something to stop the madness. She wanted to reign in Finn's uncontrollable anger, she wanted him to grow up out of this childish jealousy, and most importantly she wanted him to fight for her instead of Quinn. It was a heartbreaking reality that was overshadowed by Jesse's involvement.

As much as she wanted to think about how upset she was at Finn for defending Quinn's reputation, she could not focus on the overly tall teen. Obviously it lingered somewhere in her mind, but her main thought was Jesse. How the blood was dripping off his chin, how his fists were connecting with Finn's nose, how sore he would be afterward. And what if there was not an afterward? Oh God, what if this is a fight to the death? Her thoughts screamed.

Glancing over to Santana, Rachel silently pleaded with her friend to let her go. If she could get in between the fight maybe it would end, but the Latina tightened her grip on Rachel's wrist. The salty drops dripped off Rachel's chin, mimicking Jesse's blood trails, highlighting her desperation but with a shake of her head, Santana turned her attention back to the fight. Noah was already trying to break the fight up, without getting thrown into the tangle, but his efforts were proving futile. She watched as Noah dodged a punch after trying to grip onto Finn's arm and pull him back and realized her efforts would be as successful as Noah's. With the adrenaline pumping through Finn and Jesse, Rachel would just get hurt.

"Stop," She pleaded in a whisper, aware that her voice was no longer powerful. They had not listened to her when they were arguing verbally and her voice was firm and strong, why would they listen now when she was crying and they were beating each other to a bloody pulp. "Jesse, please stop." His fist hesitated for a moment, and she was sure he heard her, but Finn took advantage of the situation, landing a punch on Jesse's jaw. She gasped in horror, and remained silent, fearing another distraction would land Jesse in the hospital.

Just when she thought all hope was lost and this tussle would truly become a gladiator death match, a voice boomed around them. The loud rumble echoed off the walls and the fight was immediately controlled. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about Rachel's sobs.

She could hardly breathe she was so frightened. She vaguely heard the manager, Travis, asking for an explanation, or Finn's attempts of reinstating the fight. All she knew was that at this moment, Jesse was hurt and it was all her fault. The image of Finn, blindly throwing his arms around, attempting to hit Jesse was burned into her memory. The blood soaking through the cotton of Jesse's white shirt made her heart ache, and when she felt an unmistakable comfort wrap around her, she finally broke down.

"I'm sorry," she heard Jesse whisper to her. His words were hoarse and tired, but still had the soft timber which always soothed her. "I'm so sorry; I couldn't let him hurt you." His hand, rubbed up and down her back as she buried her face within his chest. She nodded, her cheek brushing against the blood soaked white cotton shirt. She knew her skin would be tinted red by the material, but could hardly care. All she was concerned about was how the hand which soothed her was as beat up as his face. How the reddened shirt was damp with his injuries. How she was the cause of his anguish. It made her bawl harder but Jesse continued to whisper, his words only loud enough for her to hear. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"St. James, Hudson, Berry!" Travis broke them out of their bubble, but Rachel refused to lift her head to meet the manager's gaze. Her body stiffened in Jesse's arms, her breath hiccuped as she sucked in a sharp intact of air. "My office, now."

Fired. The word was just so final, not even debatable. No severance pay, no potential reinstatement, absolutely nothing. Just fired. Rachel could not believe it. Sure she was the catalyst for Finn's jealousy, but the fight was all because of Finn and yet she and Jesse were penalized for it. She cleaned up her lunch containers from the backroom in silence, not bothering to look at either Finn or Jesse. She felt dejected, demoralized and most importantly guilty. Her plans and dreams were shattered into pieces now and Jesse's bloody face only reminded her of her part in the fight. Everything was just so bloody confusing.

As the three of them made their way out of the store, Rachel replayed the events in her mind. She remembered how angry and frightened she was when Finn started swinging his fists at Jesse like a madman. She remembered the security she felt in Jesse's arms as he soothed her worry. She remembered swallowing her nerves as the manager's shouts boomed throughout the room.

Jesse's hand rubbed circles on her lower back absently throughout the whole meeting, as tears still streaked down her cheeks and her body trembled. The fight went by so quickly, but Finn's words of anger still burned into her mind, and what made things worse was the one word she dreaded to hear: fired.

"I can't have this kind of behaviour in my establishment. All of you leave." Travis's words of discharge were quick and calm, but the chaos that ensued highlighted their importance. Finn sputtered angrily, attempting to place the blame on Jesse, while Jesse took the blame for his part in the brawl, outlining Rachel's lack of involvement. But Travis refused to listen. They were all dismissed, and as the cool fresh breeze cooled her damp face, Rachel lowered herself onto the curb to sulk.

Not only had she lost her job, but the realities of her boyfriend's affections were evident. Finn, instead of fighting for her honour, fought to defend the reputation of Quinn Fabray. The very women who cheated on him. The very woman who made Rachel's life a living hell. It was sickening and blatantly obvious who owned Finn's loyalty.

"Get in the fucking car Rachel," Finn shouted from across the lot, breaking through her thoughts, snapping her mind back to her surroundings. Finn sat in his pickup truck, still seething with rage as he turned the key in the ignition so hard it almost snapped under the pressure. Jesse had taken a seat next to Rachel on the curb waiting for her to speak to him, or even look at him. He was just as silent as Rachel as he swam through his musings, quietly shooting daggers to Finn's car.

Rachel remained quiet for a moment, immersing herself into her mental swim again. She absently reached for Jesse's hand, feeling the fresh cuts that ruined the flesh of his knuckles. Her fingers brushed around on his hand, hearing the nearly noiseless hiss as she went over a more sensitive part. She wanted to apologize, wanted to beg for his forgiveness, feeling completely responsible for all his injuries, but she could not.

Her words were still too weak; she had not even said anything during the meeting with Travis. A tear escaped and trailed down her cheek, taking the same path as the others, but Jesse's thumb swept it away before it got far. "I'm not waiting in this hell hole." Finn's voice vibrated through them, causing her to shiver at the anger for a moment.

"Can you please take me home?" She whispered; her previous tears present as she shakily spoke and Jesse nodded gently before helping her off the curb. "Just give me a moment to talk to Finn." At the mention of his name her tone grew firm with anger. She had to deal with him, she had to will the courage to deal with him and then she could deal with apologizing to Jesse. "I'll meet you at your car."

"If you need anything, I'll be right over there watching." He said with another nod before carrying her stuff over to his range rover. She watched him lean against the side of the car, his protective gaze on her as she slowly made her way over to the beat up pickup truck. Sucking in a breath, she tore her eyes off Jesse, feeling his security and focused on the very irate Finn.

She could see his fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel as he observed her path. His brows narrowed with fury as she stepped to the driver side car window instead of the passenger side, and he hissed a 'get in' under his breath.

"No," Rachel maintained her firm stance with a shake of her head. "Can you please step out so we can talk?" She asked more gently but Finn refused, his fists tightening on the wheel.

"You're pissed at me aren't you?" Her silence affirmed his conclusion. She glanced over to Jesse for support for a moment. He was still eying them carefully, to ensure her safety. "I did nothing wrong Rach so get in the fucking car already."

"You did nothing wrong?" She was obviously taken back as the shocked words dripped off her tongue like venom.

"Yea, I did nothing wrong," He defended, "You shouldn't be fucking talk to him—" He tried to continue but Rachel cut him off, completely disregarding his defence.

"I can talk to whomever I wish Finn."

"Come on," He yelled louder, "I can't believe you are doing this, get in the car." But Rachel just shook her head.

"We're done." She said softly.

"You're dumping me?" He asked quietly, and she nodded, so he asked again this time louder. "You're fucking dumping me!" And she nodded again. "This is a fucking load of crap Rachel and you know it. This isn't about me, it's about you and it's about him."

"What is that suppose to mean." Her voice vibrating with a power that mimicked Finn's, rising in volume as the anger bubbled in her belly.

"It obvious, you still love him."

"So what if I do!" Rachel had not realized they were shouting so loud, and if she had she probably with a blushed with embracement. Instead she was flushed red with anger.

"I can't believe you. You're dumping me for him?"

"You got me fired from a job I need Finn," This was it, Rachel had enough. She finally snapped; everything pouring out of her was flowing with such rapid fury that Finn could hardly keep up. "If you just kept your stupid jealousy in check none of that would have happened. I need this job for experience and money, and because of you my dreams are hindered. Don't you get that?"

"What I get, is you are dumping me for a guy who smashed eggs on your face."

"You egged me before too, or did you forget?" Rachel hissed the last words, before sucking in a deep calming breath. "Look," another mouthful of oxygen and her breathing was a little less rapid, "I don't want to fight."

"Neither do I baby," Finn attempted to sweet talk her, but his tone was not at all convincing, "Just get in the car."

"No, I thought that was clear."

"I can't believe you are acting like this Rachel, over an asshole." His sudden lapse into a sweet guy forgotten as he brought the fight back on full force. He was seething again, completely and utterly lost in the rage which surged through him, but Rachel was no longer scared. Not when she knew Jesse was watching over her.

"The fact of the matter is, in there you weren't fighting to regain my honour Finn," She started, jumping ahead to the real problem in their relationship. He may have had the brain capacity of a five year old, but he was definitely not a five year old. And there was no way in hell Rachel was going to let him get away with this one. "You were fighting to regain Quinn's reputation."

"Rachel," He said with a heavy weighted sigh, obviously fed up with the situation, "Why do you take everything so freaking seriously."

"And," She continued, not bothering to acknowledge his voice, "You don't trust me to have my own friends, or make my own decisions on who to forgive—"

"You forgive that jerk!" He interrupted with a shout that echoed through the air.

"Yes, and at this point in time, I don't see myself forgiving you Finn." They voices were matched in volume and rage, and although the fight was reaching a closing point, the rage was still burning like a wildfire.

"I can't fucking believe this."

"We have already discussed what you don't believe, so just believe this. You and I," She gestured between the two of them. "We are done." With that she stomped over to Jesse's Range Rover, completely missing the look of shock that blanketed Jesse's featured as she got into the passenger seat and placed her head in her hands. Jesse smiled smugly at Finn before getting into the car and pulling out of the parking lot, leaving his rival to stew in the heat of the summer afternoon.

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