This chapter is what you all (hopefully) have been waiting for! I hope this chapter will turn out to be good, because I'm doing an experiment. I'm listening to some of the glee soundtrack while I'm writing this. Enjoy!

Rachel's POV

I know I've always been on the dramatic side, but I mean it literally when I say my heart stopped when Mr. Shuester dismissed us. I saw everyone leave the choir room while I gathered up my stuff. My hands were moving quickly, yet somehow, they were moving far too slowly for the occasion. After snatching up all my music and stuffing it into my bag, I more or less ran out of the room. From the corner of my eye, I could see Mr. Shu eyeing me questioningly.

As I made my way towards the back doors of William McKinley High School, I had trouble keeping myself from hyperventilating. I wondered about all the things Jesse would say. Would he announce that he wanted to have nothing to do with me or our baby? Or would he want total involvement? Both options made me cringe out of entirely different reasons. What if he was mad at me for what Tina had said and done to him early this morning? God knows that he deserved it, but did Jesse know that? The boy was as stubborn and conceited as I was.

Pushing the door doors open, I held my breath. For a brief moment I couldn't see him, and I had never felt worse in my life. The moment that I did catch sight of him was the most anxious moment in my entire life. I froze up in response to his presence, and he seemed to take note of the fact.

"Rachel…" he whispered.

It took me a good five minutes before I could respond, which really surprised me because Rachel Berry is almost never speechless. I didn't want to address the burning issue directly, so I hinted at it, willing him to be the one to start talking.

"So, I heard you talked to Tina this morning," I pushed out, forcing myself to make eye contact with him for a split second, before letting my emotions turn my eyes away.

"Yes, I did, and she told me something very interesting," he pressed.

"She did?" I asked, daring him to turn it back around on me again.

"Rachel, don't do this. I know that she told you."

"Don't do what? You seem to be very talented in doing things you shouldn't do."

"Rachel, I'm so sorry. Please let me explain."

"Of course you want to you explain now, because you've got a baby on the way and you don't want to seem like a dead beat, like Puck's dad."

"That's not why, and you know it Rachel."

"Do I, Jesse? Last time I checked, cracking an egg on someone's head was not a loving gesture."

"Rachel, please, let me explain."

"Why should I? As I said, you just don't want to seem like a dead beat."

"A dead beat? You mean like both of my parents?"

"What are you talking about? Anyways, this isn't about YOU, Jesse. This about our, which I could easily turn into my, son or daughter. I'm sorry if you can't understand that, because your very much INVOLVED parents raised you to be such a selfish jerk! Oh, pardon me for blaming it on them. They probably did their best to try to fix up a lost cause."

"Rachel. Please just give me a chance!"

"A chance to what? Crack another egg on my head? Hold my heart and then throw it down on the pavement again? I think I'll pass on giving you another chance."

We were both silent for a while after I retorted that back at him. It was hard juggling the knowledge that I just couldn't let him back into my life, the still existent love for him, and the inexplicable need to protect the life growing inside of me. I was sure that I was going to scream in frustration at that moment, but then Jesse opened his mouth before I could open mine.

"Rach, I'm sorry. I truly am sorry. I know this is going to sound horribly cliché, but I gave into peer pressure. My parents are both horribly rich, making my behavior seem to be the result of being spoiled, but that's actually not the case. My parents are only interested in harvesting my talent and getting me out of their house. Did you know that they had me when they were both our age? Unfortunately, my mom didn't have the spirit of protecting their child that you do, and neither did my father. So of course, me being the star of Vocal Adrenaline makes my superficial parents so damn happy. They're always away Rachel. Why do you think I've never introduced you to my parents? They aren't away on business trips Rachel, yet they are still always away. So sometimes, I can't help it if Vocal Adrenaline seems like my entire life to me. I don't mean to hurt you when I say this considering that you are her biological daughter, but Shelby Corcoran is my mother to me. When she asked me to seduce, I mean befriend you, I couldn't help but oblige. But I could have helped from giving into the rest of my team and Shelby by cracking an egg on your head and transferring back to Carmel. I was horrible to you Rachel; I let Vocal Adrenaline get in the way of what really is important to me, which are you and our kid. I love you, Rachel," said Jesse, pouring his heart out with seemingly bulletproof sincerity.

Once again, our conversation was frozen. I needed time to process Jesse's speech. I wanted to run forward into his embrace, but I knew that I doing that would be a mistake. That boy had clawed away at all the trust I ever had for him, and I wasn't sure if there was any left. Sighing, I prepared myself to make a declaration of my own. I knew it was my turn to be honest.

"I love you too, Jesse, but this isn't about our relationship anymore. I have to protect my child. Even though for some… stupid reason I still love you, it doesn't mean that I could ever trust you again. Before I let you in my or my child's life, which is not guaranteed to actually happen, you will have to prove yourself. I will let you help out and be around for small things for a little while, and IF that goes well, I'll slowly let you become more involved. I'm sorry Jesse, but that's all that I can allow. This also just isn't about protecting my child; I need to protect myself."

"I understand… I-

"I'll text you," I said, fighting back tears. I was surprised and extremely emotional at my new found confidence in myself. I could get through this, even if Jesse wasn't by my side, even though an irrational, and rather large, part of me wanted him to be there. I knew that I couldn't just let him back in, and that he would have to prove himself to me, and Quinn and Tina for that matter. We had barely congregated, but somehow I knew that Quinn and Tina would be there for me. I quickly turned around and hopped into one of my dad's car, and drove away.

Quinn's POV

"Even though she can be extremely annoying at times, I'm proud of Rachel, she really held her ground," I said to Tina while I rose; Jesse and Rachel and already both left. I had told Puck that I was staying later for help in math class and that Tina was too, so she would drive me home.

"Yeah, but I feel guilty for eavesdropping on them," laughed Tina.

"I'm such a hypocrite; I used to always yell at Rachel for eavesdropping on me and Finn. I'm not exactly thrilled with my current situation, but I am glad that those days are behind us."

"So am I," said a strange voice from behind us.

Tina and I exchanged a shared look of fear and turned around, but of course, I knew who it was before I turned around. I was just hoping that it would turn out to be somebody else, like Matt or Mike, because then Tina and I could both easily get away with lying about our afternoon.

"You're a horrible liar Quinn. You think I don't know that you have the highest freaking average in your pre-calculus class?" asked an intrigued Puck.

"Umm… hi!" I blurted out.

I motioned for Tina to scurry away, and she did. I saw Puck's car in the parking lot (which I wished I had seen earlier), and knew that he would be driving me home today. As much of a bitch as I was, I knew that it wasn't necessary for Tina to see Puck and I have a heated conversation about honesty in a relationship. (Puck knows all about honesty.)

"I'm sorry, Puck, I was actually just-

"Spying? I stayed later today to work on some plays for basketball, and I didn't hear anything, but I saw an emotional Rachel and an emotional Jesse both walk away from each other and drive off in different directions. Then, I saw you and Tina delightfully pop up from behind this bush. Care to explain?"

"I can't tell you anything."

"She still loves him?"

Thank you for reading! I feel really good about this chapter, but of course, judging from you guys is greatly appreciated. Besides, the review button wants to be pressed.

P.S. I must have listened to Total Eclipse of the Heart a billion times while writing this chapter!