Another chapter!

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Once again, thanks to the wonderful Gillian Deverone for beta'ing

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"Jesse," she breathes out, her entire body filling with dread at the sight of the man there. He shouldn't be there, not today – not at her wedding, which is supposed to be the happiest day of her life. But he is here, and he's managing to create a barrier between her and Finn, whose calls are becoming more desperate, yet farther away.

"Don't you make a beautiful bride?" Jesse lifts a hand, bringing it gently to cup her chin, a gentle gaze falling upon her. In an instant she recoils from his touch as though it stings her and tries to push past him.

She uselessly pushes at his large shoulders. "Let me through," Rachel insists, fingers gripping at Jesse almost painfully, just wanting more than anything to be reunited with Finn and tell him that everything is going to be okay. She doesn't know that of course – she barely even knows what's happening, and each passing second is making her feel worse and worse. Jesse reaches a hand up, then his steel-like grip tightens around her arm and causes her to yelp loudly. "Get off of me," she hisses.

But he doesn't. Jesse slams the door first, a loud sound vibrating through the room. He takes, or more drags, her into the center of the room, away from the door and the chaos ensuing behind it. "Jesse, please, let go," she cries out, more pleading this time.

"And why would I do that?"

His grip tightens.

Their eyes meet. Hers are wide, scared, while his are almost smiling at her. "What have you done to Finn?" she gasps out, knowing that this could only have happened with Jesse's help. There's just no other explanation for it.

For his part, he looks offended, mouth dropping open as he feigns shock. "What have I done to him? What are you insinuating here, Rachel?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, so please, drop the act," she practically growls his way, unable to comprehend how he even had the audacity to try something to get rid of Finn. He knows how she feels about Finn and equally, how she feels about him. Still, she remembers that Jesse is a man of his word, no matter how horrible or wrong that could be. And, with more fear to her voice, she asks, "Where are they taking him?"

His smile grows, as do the tight, uncomfortable knots in her stomach.

"Jesse," she starts slowly, feeling her heart beating away, filled with dread.

"He's just going for a little trip to the police station."

Her head snaps in the direction of him, mouth gaping open. The what? Why in the world would he ever be going there? Finn isn't a criminal, and he'd never do anything wrong. But she'd heard it happen, and now Jesse's here, telling her; she can hardly deny it.

Lunging for the door again, she's stopped when Jesse's long arm wraps itself around her waist and pulls her back, rather harshly, so much that she stumbles against the wall. Her questioning eyes rise up at him once more and the urge to cry grows ever so stronger, but she doesn't. Not in front of Jesse. She's not going to be weak. "Why?" she seethes out.

"Why what?" he looks to her, all too innocently, which only further fires up Rachel's anger.

"Why would you do that to him? To us?" Her eyes narrow into thin, angry slits. "What has he ever done to you?"

Jesse stares at her incredulously. "What has he ever done? Other than disgrace his star status – make a mockery out of the music world, and worst of all, he tricked you into falling in love with him!" He's making no effort to deny his motives, but it still doesn't make things easier. He's trying to hurt her Finn, and she just doesn't ever want such a thing to happen, not after all he's been through in his life.

"Tricked me?" she scoffs out. "You just don't get it, do you? You don't get that love is something shared by two people, and I'm lucky enough to have that with Finn." Her eyes narrow. "You're just bitter because you will never have it, especially not with me."

Though he looks wounded – if merely for a couple of seconds -, the sneer slides back onto his face, "And now you don't have Finn."

She stiffens. "Whatever you've done, I'm going to stop it. I'm going to stop you, Jesse."

"Oh, I think it's too late by now."

Rachel feels her heart sinking, insides churning about uneasily. "Please, just tell me what you've done to Finn."

His laughs hollowly, "That almost sounded like you were begging me, my dear." In turn, she glares at him, but at the same time her desperation to know what's happened to Finn is tearing her apart. She needs to know. Is he okay? Is he hurt? Each second that passes here means things could be getting much worse for Finn, and she'd be none the wiser. All because Jesse has her trapped in here, his body still barricading the doorway.

For now, at least, she is under his control. "I just have to know," she replies, voice wobbling. "Jesse, tell me."

Giving her a smug smile, he takes a step nearer, his designer boots clicking against the floor. He reaches out a hand, and for a moment she thinks he's going to hit her, but instead his fingers graze at the skin of her chin, before gently cupping her chin. "I did this for you," he pulls the words out of nowhere, not bothering to consider her plea. "He's made you blind, and I'm going to help you see once more."

She shakes her head, whispering out a few pathetic, "no"s. Rachel feels scared again, just like she'd always felt when he acted like this. A caress is supposed to be something loving, like with Finn, how he'll do so delicately, like she's completely made of glass, and he wants to admire every inch, but with Jesse there is nothing loving about it. From his expression to the feel of his hand against her, it makes her feel sick to her stomach.

His smile grows as she protests more, the familiarity of this situation taking them both into their memories, and she feels lightheaded, unable to concentrate. This is all too much, and eventually the strain of it all will get to her, and she'll snap.

Leaning forward, his lips graze against her cheek, eyes closing. Jesse's hot breath burns into her skin, making it crawl. "There's no one here to protect you anymore, Rachel," he smirks. "Just you and me, like old times." She slowly feels his free hand moving around her wrist, taking a tight hold of it, so much that it's almost painful.

Her mouth turns into a scowl and, before she even realizes that she's doing it, her hand moves up in a whirl, colliding dead on with his face. The slap resonates around the room, both of their shock spread across their faces for all to see, and his hands cradle his sore cheek. "You bitch!" he screams, eyes wild.

"I can protect myself," she practically growls.

He doesn't laugh, not this time, and instead sneers, "Well I'm glad. 'Cause you're going to need that while Finn rots away in prison. Possession is a very serious offense, you know? And this wouldn't be the first time now, would it?" There's an evil glint in his eye.

Rachel, on the other hand, looks like she's going to throw up. Face pale, eyes wide, and her whole body is shaking.

"N-no… he wouldn't. H-he stopped t-that," she tries, the utter confusion beginning to slip in. She knows in her heart that Finn wouldn't get involved with drugs again, but her head is so messed up right now that she can't make sense of anything. And Jesse's intense gaze on her is most certainly not helping.

"There are witnesses Rachel – he tried to sell drugs to Sunshine Corazon!"

"No!" she protests. He wouldn't do that.

"Yes!" Jesse screams back, his face getting closer to hers, and she can see the pink on his cheek from where she'd slapped him. The moment of pride over that fact, however, is ripped away the moment he continues to talk. "And once more, the police had a warrant to search your apartment. And you know what they found?"

She thinks she's going to throw up.

"Finn must have hid it all well, if you hadn't even realized there were drugs in the apartment."

"There wasn't!" If that were ever, ever the case, she'd find out, of course she would. She knows Finn, and she knows when he's lying or hiding something, and there's been no sign of that lately. And surely he wouldn't be able to hide something as big as this from her, in an apartment that they share – one that they'd sorted through together as she moved in.

And that only leaves one possibility.

Rachel's eyes wise to meet his in a harsh glare. "It was you."

He tilts his head, barking out a, "What?"

"You did it." Her voice is tense, teeth gritted as she speaks, "I don't know how, but you somehow got into our apartment when we weren't there and put drugs in our home!" Jesse looks appalled at the very idea.

She continues, "Oh, don't look at me like that. I know what lengths you're willing to go to get what you want. Did you get Sunshine to go along with this little lie, too, huh?" She shakes her head, disgust swimming in her eyes. "This is a new low, even for you."

He frowns, "It doesn't matter if you know, because no one will believe you. There's not just Sunshine – I have so many people, and so much evidence against Finn. It doesn't need to be true; I can make him pay for stealing you from me, and I'll do that by taking away everything that he has, what's left of his reputation, his life, and mainly, you."

She goes to respond, to tell him that it's not going to work, but she just doesn't know that. Rachel has no idea how many people he's having lie for him, doing so to make an innocent man go to prison, all for Jesse's selfishness. Yet he has some truth to his words – as of this moment, it's his word against Finn's, and with Finn's past, it's more likely that Jesse will be believed. Jesse St James, who has no dirt to his name, no scandal following him around. To the public, he's as perfect as can be, but if only they knew the real Jesse, the violent bully that she'd let manipulate her for years. If only they could see what she's seen from him.

But the truth of the matter is that he's in a much stronger position that her, and Finn.

"How did you get into our apartment?" she asks him, wanting to know.

With a short laugh, he shakes his head at her. "It wasn't hard. That idiot friend of Finn's gave me a key to get into his apartment, remember that? And it's not exactly hard to get a copy for myself."

Rachel stares, the realization that he could have entered any time he wanted running through her mind, and she and Finn were none the wiser. It's a scary thought. Noticing the look on her face, his smirk increases. "It was so easy for me. Convincing Sunshine and the others to help wasn't exactly hard; they all hate you – they all hate your talent. Then the drugs… well, money wasn't a problem, either, and I found a dealer without any trouble. We are in New York City, after all. The only tricky bit," he says, taking in a deep, thoughtful breath, "was getting it into your apartment when you weren't there. I knew I had to, that without it the case against Finn wouldn't be strong enough. He had to be caught, and he couldn't be able to talk his way out of it."

She feels her stomach churn at the thought of him being in their apartment while they weren't – touching their things, seeing what ought to be private between her and Finn, and who knows what else he could have gotten up to. Rachel feels her body shudder, eyes closing as she can barely look at Jesse without her head spinning.

"And now," Jesse grins, "everything went to plan, and I win." He peers smugly down at her, eyes bright.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she asks, "And what exactly did you win?" Her voice is so weak, defeated, and she can barely stand to hear herself speak.

Jesse leans closer to her, his body pinning her against the wall, though Rachel hardly resists. Instead, his gaze holds her in a still trance, lips parting ever so slightly as she stares up to him, feeling much smaller than she is. "You want to know what I win? I get to see Finn fall, and I get to see you fall, too. This will drag your name through the dirt, too - don't forget that."

He pauses, gaze moving up and down her, at her almost shaking body, and then he actually has the nerve to smile.

With that, he turns and swiftly leaves the room, his words still hanging around her. This morning when she'd woken up, she'd never expected to be in the mess that she – they're in now. If Jesse's words are true, which she knows they are, Finn could be in big trouble, and he's probably so scared right now, so worried.

For a moment, everything is thrown out of her mind as she thinks about the need to comfort Finn, to just be with him, and to be able to stop worrying about what the future holds for them.

She just needs to see him.

So, without any further thought, she rushes out of the room, yelling for Kurt as loud as she can, so she can get to that police station and be with Finn.


She can feel all eyes on her as she enters the building, probably wondering why they're seeing some crazed looking bride in a place like this, but she doesn't care. She only has eyes for one thing, or one person to be exact, and right now he's in here somewhere, being accused of a crime he never committed. And without proving that fact, he could very well be going to court for it. The thought of such makes her feel sick, uneasy, and she wants to slap Jesse, again – for doing that to Finn, to them. He always says that he loves her, but if he really did he wouldn't have done this to her.

Rachel can't see Finn anywhere and every second that passes makes her anxiety build. Walking straight up to the reception, she slams her hands down on the desk and says, "Take me to see Finn Hudson, now." Kurt appears beside her, a look of sympathy across his face while at the same time curious as to why this happened to his brother, and Rachel just doesn't have it in her to explain everything, not when her mind is all over the place, the need to get to Finn the most prominent thought.

The no-nonsense look on her face does nothing to faze the receptionist, who starts to explain that there's nothing she can do, all the while making the woman grow with anger. "I'm sorry, Miss, he's in – "

"I don't care where he is," she growls, "let me see my fiancé!"

When the next response is another decline, she feels her frustration growing, never having before felt it this strong. But then she hears something that brings utter relief to every inch of her body. "Rachel," Finn's loud voice rises out above all the other noise at the station, and she and Kurt turn.

"Finn!" she cries out, practically running forward to wrap her arms around him, despite two police officers standing on either side of him, his arms in their tight hold. The minute she in is his embrace, all her walls fall down, and she feels hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "Finn," she says more softly this time, leaning her head against his broad chest, needing his comfort.

"Rach, I didn't do anything, you've gotta believe me," he pleas, eyes desperate. She tilts her head up, staring into his eyes, and from his expression alone she knows he's telling the truth. He looks to her, sadly. There's no longer the excitement over his face like there had been that morning, nor is there a happy glint to his eyes. They're drowned in hurt, confusion, and shame.

He tries to wrap his arms around her in an embrace, but they struggle against the hold of the officers, who Finn then glares at.

"Mr. Hudson, if you'll just come with us," one starts, but her grip on Finn tightens.

"He's not going anywhere," she says protectively, refusing to let go of him.

Despite her protests, she doesn't get what she wants. "I'm sorry, Miss, but this is a serious case and – "

"Can I not just talk to him, by myself?" She turns toward them, forcing on her widest, saddest puppy dog eyes, and the full on tears. "Please, just for a few minutes."

But neither budge, and she feels her frustrations growing to an all-time high. Why can't she just talk to her fiancé without a watchful gaze on her?

So she does what she knows best. Acting. After a flood of tears – and possibly the biggest fit she's thrown in years – her wish for a few minutes with Finn is granted, and they're lead into an interrogation room, the door locked after them, as though she's going to try and help him escape. She frowns, realizing the seriousness of the situation. This is really happening – he could end up in prison, all for something he never did. And all on their wedding day. It's like a bad dream.

Once by themselves, she falls into his embrace easily, and lets Finn's strong arms protect her from everything, if only for a few moments. She tries to forget about Jesse, the plan and lies he's concocted, though that's difficult when the consequences of such are staring her right in the face, with Finn being in an interrogation room, looking scared and, worst of all, sad.

He finally seems to take in her appearance, a wry smile crossing his lips, "I'm not supposed to see the bride before the wedding… it's bad luck."

Rachel feels more tears fall, her bottom lip wobbling dangerously. At this, Finn's face instantly drops, his shoulders sagging. "Everything is ruined," he says, "and this was supposed to be the most amazing days of our lives." He sighs, staring at the floor with the saddest expression she's ever seen, the sight of it making her want to hold him until he smiles once more. His eyes eventually close, the words falling off his lips. "It's all my fault."

"No!" she denies passionately, a hand reaching out to cup his chin, forcing him to look at her. His eyes portray so much sadness that it almost pains her to see. "This is all Jesse's fault," she explains.

A cold wave washes over his face, expression darkening, "Jesse? I don't under – "

"He's trying to get rid of you!" she cries, her grip tightening on Finn. "H-he put drugs in our apartment, and people are saying that you tried to sell them drugs."

Finn clenches his teeth, wanting nothing more than to lay his fist into Jesse's face, again. The nerve of him! While he's relieved that Rachel doesn't think any of this is true, that's quickly overshadowed by how angry he is with Jesse, for trying to ruin his life only to get revenge on him for 'stealing his girl'. It makes his fists curl together, his knuckles pale as ever as he tries to hold back all the rage. And once more, not only is it upsetting that Jesse has done this, it's also the fact that he fears he'll get away with doing this – all the evidence is stacked high against him. He doesn't doubt that Jesse has thought this through. He may be a total asshole, but he's not stupid, and his plan just might land Finn in jail.

And what then? What happens to Rachel? His family? This'll impact on them, too.

He sighs, knowing that his past in drugs is not helping his defense, and he curses his luck. While he's pretty damn angry at Jesse for even considering doing this, he's kind of mad at himself, too. If he didn't have that past, a past that the press have exposed on a constant basis, then maybe this claim would seem hard to believe. But he knows that it just looks as though he's returned to his old ways, which is probably Jesse's plan.

Looking down at Rachel, he can feel his walls slipping, all those guilty and awful feelings fighting against him and, right now, they're winning. He lets out a shaky breath, before throwing his arms around her. She's already pressed against his chest, sobbing quietly against him, and he feels the same. She tries to explain things, but the words come out a jumbled mess, completely incoherent and honestly? He doesn't really want to know what Jesse has done – he'd be much happier if he could just run away from this for the rest of his life. But he can't. He's here, in a police station, and the chances are that he's going to be prosecuted for something that he hasn't done, the good name that he's tried building for himself these past few months tumbling to the ground.

"Shhh," he whispers out, a hand cradling the back of Rachel's head gently as he embraces her, his body rocking as though to soothe the woman. His voice, his feel, seems to calm her for a little while, and she becomes heavy in his arms, completely unmoving. Despite the tears in his eyes, he looks down to her, and presses a delicate, loving kiss to her forehead. "It's going to be okay." He doesn't believe himself.

Nor does she. "Finn," she almost whimpers out, pulling her head back to peer up at him, those red rimmed eyes making his heart rip in two. "I'm scared."

Me too. "It'll be fine."


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