Author's Note: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get this update posted. The last month has been a busy one for me and I just recently got back from my second vacation this summer. I had the best of intentions to get some writing done at the beach, but that never happened. I'm going to be busy over the next month but hopefully it won't take me quite so long to get the next chapter posted. The lack of updates has nothing to do with me losing interest in this fic at all.

For those that a curious about whether this fic is nearing its end, I want to explore Jesse/Rachel as a couple so I don't know how much longer this fic will be but I still have plenty of story left in me. Plus there's still the cabaret, Hanukkah, Rachel's birthday, Christmas, New Year's and of course, the new apartment to get to. :)

Apologies for the long-winded author's note. I hope that you guys are still enjoying the fic. I say it every chapter but I really do appreciate all of the reviews. They just give me that extra bit of encouragement to write even more. So please review b/c they make me happy! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

It had been a week since Jesse had confronted Isla and thankfully the only thing that they had heard from her was what Jesse's lawyer had told him. She wasn't going to contest the divorce and their apartment had been placed on the market.

There were no outside forces trying to tear them apart anymore. It felt like he and Rachel could finally be a real couple. He would officially be divorced just after the New Year and would soon have a new home for them to start building their lives together. In fact, that had been where they had just come from. Veronica had called a few days before to let Jesse know that the sellers had accepted his offer, so today they had gone to the apartment for the inspection. Once they had left the inspection, they had decided to take a stroll through Central Park and enjoy the crisp yet beautiful fall day.

"Thanksgiving is next week," Jesse said casually as they walked through the Mall towards the Literary Walk.

Rachel sighed contentedly as she wrapped her free hand around Jesse's arm and leaned her head against it. "It is," she agreed. "Our first Thanksgiving together." She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips after she had said it out loud. She felt his lips brush against her hair lightly as he placed a gentle kiss on the crown of her head.

"Since I know you're not going back to Ohio, I'm assuming that your dads are coming here to spend Thanksgiving with you in New York," he said.

"Yeah," she replied. "They're going to be so excited that you're going to be here. They ask about you all the time."

"They ask about me?" Jesse asked a hint of surprise in his voice. Sure, her dads had been very friendly towards him on opening night but he didn't think that once they got back to Ohio that they would actually care what he was doing.

"Of course they do." She turned her head to look up at him. "They always liked you. You were actually their favorite boyfriend of mine." Jesse opened his mouth to ask the obvious question but Rachel answered it for him before he had the chance. "Even in spite of…everything that happened."

Jesse was stunned into silence for a moment. Then he thought of something that the Berry men might not like so much. "Do they know about us?" he asked. He knew that Rachel was very close with both of her dads but he was wondering just how much she told them.

"God, no!" Rachel exclaimed instantly. "I tell them a lot of things, but that's just not something that I want them to know." A part of her knew that her dads would more than likely understand what had happened between her and Jesse. How sometimes things that are completely right and meant to be don't always come in a perfect package wrapped in a pretty bow. They would understand that sometimes life is messy, but that it's worth it. If she could do it all over again, she would still make the same choices if it meant that she would be with Jesse. "I'll tell them one day," she added.

"So where are they staying?" he wondered, knowing there was a good chance that they were more than likely going to be staying at Rachel's.

"With me," she replied without hesitation. Then it was like it dawned on her what that meant. "Oh my God, they're staying with me," she repeated as she came to a halt and stopping Jesse as well.

"Rachel, I can stay in a hotel or maybe Thomas wouldn't mind me staying at his apartment for a few days," he reassured her, lightly gripping her shoulders.

"It won't be the same," she pouted, her bottom lip jutting out slightly.

Jesse just couldn't resist the urge to lean down and place a light kiss on her lips which earned him a smile from Rachel as he pulled away. "I promise that those few days will go by so fast it'll be like no time has passed at all." He took her hand in his as they started walking again. "Are Kurt and Daniel going to be in town for Thanksgiving?"

"Not this year. Finn and Quinn just had a little boy back in September so they're going to Lima," Rachel explained nonchalantly.

"Wait, Finn and Quinn are married?" Jesse asked, this time pulling Rachel to a stop.

"Yeah, did I never mention that?" Rachel was surprised that Jesse would even care what Finn Hudson was doing especially since he never cared much for him.

"Well, isn't that interesting," he chuckled as they started walking again. "So when did they get married?"

"A couple of years ago actually. They could never get it quite right in high school, but when they ran into each other over Christmas break a few years after we graduated they ended up rekindling their romance." She remembered all of the times that she and Quinn had fought over Finn in high school; Rachel was glad she could look back on it now and laugh. Then she remembered what had inspired her very first original and Regional winning song in her junior year.

"What?" Jesse asked as he heard Rachel giggle to herself.

"Oh, I was just thinking how funny it is how life works out sometimes," she told him. She saw the questioning look on Jesse's face so she decided to elaborate. "Quinn once told me that she and Finn would get married and have kids and live in Lima and that I was destined for more than that. Of course, I didn't like what she had said at the time and had even defiantly told her that I wouldn't give up on Finn, but she'd been right. I was always destined for more than Lima and Finn Hudson."

"You were always meant to be here with me. Right here, right now," Jesse said softly in her ear as he slung his arm over her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "So what do Finn and Quinn do in Lima?"

"Funnily enough, Quinn is actually a real estate agent just like she told me she would be. And Finn is a high school teacher," she replied knowing that would shock Jesse.

"Are you serious?" The Finn that Jesse had known could barely count to ten let alone actually instruct an entire classroom full of kids.

"Well, he is a PE teacher so it's not like he's teaching math or science," Rachel responded with a laugh. "He's also the football coach."

"Ah, now that makes sense. Hopefully, they have a better record than when Finn was quarterback." Even though Jesse had transferred to McKinley after football season was over with his senior year, everyone had still talked about how much their football team had sucked.

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at Jesse's comment. "I'll have to ask Kurt the next time I talk to him."

"So they have a kid now, huh?"

"Yeah, Kurt's really excited about finally getting to meet his new little nephew," Rachel replied. "He showed me a picture of him when he was first born. He has Finn's dark hair, but Quinn's eyes. He's actually really cute."

Without missing a beat, Jesse told her softly, "Ours will be even cuter."

Rachel felt her heart flutter at his words. She knew that they had no plans to have kids together anytime soon, but just the thought of a little Rachel or Jesse running around made her blissfully happy. She allowed herself to daydream of the future that she so often thought of nowadays for a moment before a thought snapped her back to reality. "Since Kurt and Daniel are going to be out of town, why don't I ask them if you could stay at their place while my dads are staying with me?"

"Rach, I'm sure it'll be fine for me to stay at Thomas's," he replied, looking down at her. He came to a stop again as she slid around in front of him, her arms wrapped around his waist underneath his open jacket as she looked up at him with a wicked glint in her eye.

"But what if I need some alone time with you?" Rachel asked as she stood flush against him, her nails scratching lightly through the fabric of his button down while her hands ran up and down his back.

He leaned down, his breath hot on her face in the cool fall air. "There's always our dressing rooms," he murmured, his lips brushing against hers before he brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. When his lips touched her ear, it sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. "Or we could always just make up for the time we're going to miss before and after your dads visit."

"I like that plan," she breathed, enjoying the feel of his lips on her skin as he lightly kissed her neck once again. "I'm still asking Kurt though." She grinned as she felt the vibration of Jesse's laughter against her skin.

"My girl is persistent if nothing else," he replied as he leaned back to look at her again, an affectionate smile on his face.

Monday morning of Thanksgiving week, Rachel sat on Kurt's bed while he packed a suitcase for his flight that was leaving that afternoon. "So I was thinking…" she started.

"Why does it feel like you're about to ask me for something," he quipped as he folded his pants.

Rachel caught a hint of a smile but grabbed a pair of folded socks off of the bed and tossed them at Kurt anyway. "Listen," she insisted and waited for him to look at her before she continued. "Since you and Daniel are going to be away for a few days I thought that maybe Jesse could stay here over Thanksgiving while my dads are staying with me at my place."

"I thought he said he was staying at Thomas's," Kurt remarked with a quirk of his eyebrow and tilt of his head before he went back to the closet to grab some shirts.

"Well, he did ask Thomas and of course he told Jesse he could stay with him, but it's not like we can actually have any quality time on Thomas's couch," she explained. "I mean, I guess we could but I'm not sure that Thomas would be okay with that seeing as he lives in a loft and would be able to hear everything. Besides, we're not exactly quiet."

"Really, Rachel?" Kurt whipped around with an incredulous look on his face.

"What?" She gave him an innocent look as if she had no idea what she had just said that could possibly have made him have that reaction.

"I did not need to know that you and Jesse are screamers when you have sex," he replied with a smirk.

She waved him off. "Oh, please, you and I talk about our sex lives all the time."

"Yeah, in general," he retorted. "I don't need to know what positions you and Jesse have tried or if you guys like to talk dirty to each other."

"I've lost count of all of the various positions," she teased, trying to get a rise out of her best friend. "I mean, just last week he took one of my legs…" she trailed off as Kurt stuck his fingers in his ears.

"Lalalala, I can't hear you," he said loudly. Rachel fell back on the bed unable to control her laughter. Kurt looked over and narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Not funny."

"It kind of was," she told him, still giggling.

Kurt ignored her even though he had begun to chuckle himself. "If Jesse wants to stay here then he is more than welcome. Just use your spare key. I have one condition though."

"And what's that?" Rachel asked, beaming at him.

"If you're going to have sex in my apartment then please wash the sheets."

"Deal," she agreed. She looked into the nearly full suitcase and then back at Kurt. "Where is Daniel's stuff going?"

"This is my bag and that's his," he replied, then indicated a smaller carry-on sitting near the door.

"You are going for just five days, right?" she asked, a quizzical look on her face as she looked at all of the clothes that Kurt had packed.

"Do you know me at all?"

When Rachel woke up Tuesday morning to the heavenly sensation of feather-light caresses and soft kisses on her naked skin, she wasn't sure if she was still dreaming or not until she heard Jesse's voice. "Wake up," he said softly into her ear. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she was greeted with her favorite image in the entire world; Jesse with sleep-mussed curls, bright eyes and a sexy smile. She pulled him down to her and kissed him soundly in lieu of a morning greeting, grinning against his lips as she tasted mint and realized that he had actually brushed his teeth in anticipation of morning sex.

Feeling his already extremely hard erection, Rachel knew exactly what he had wanted her to wake up for and she was more than happy to oblige. She spread her legs so he could settle between them, and gasped slightly when she felt the tip of him brush against her growing wetness. She had actually been telling Kurt the truth the day before when she had talked about the various positions they had tried, but sometimes she loved the tried-and-true missionary and just wanted to feel Jesse's weight on top of her. She moaned as she lifted her hips and rubbed against him again, needing him inside of her desperately.

That one simple movement was all it took before Jesse thrust into Rachel and buried himself to the hilt. They both just lay there unmoving for moment, eyes locked intensely, and their lips brushing against each other as their breath came in short gasps. Then Jesse captured her mouth in a deep kiss and began to move inside of her.

Rachel relished the feel of his tongue on her own and the feverish dance that their tongues were currently engaged in which was in direct contrast to the slow, deliberate movements of their bodies. It was moments like this where it felt like the entire outside world didn't exist and it was just the two of them. Not even the sounds of the bustling city on the streets below could penetrate their little bubble.

Jesse brushed a little wisp of Rachel's hair off of her forehead as they broke their kiss to catch their breath. There were no loud screams of pleasure or dirty talk; it was more breathy moans and quiet declarations of love on mornings like this one. "Love you," he whispered against her lips as he pulled out of Rachel a little and pushed into her with a bit more force. He was rewarded with a gasp from the beautiful woman beneath him, her eyes sliding closed and her head falling to the side, baring her neck to him.

As Jesse lips latched onto her neck, Rachel slid her hands slowly down his body until they came to rest on his perfect butt. She dug her nails into it slightly as he thrust into her again. The tension building inside of her body from their languid morning lovemaking was almost unbearable. "Please…" she begged, other words completely escaping her.

Knowing exactly what she wanted, Jesse began to move with just a little more speed at same time that he began to rub her nub in hard, small circles. She strained against him as her body was sent into sensory overload and scraped her nails up his back. The feel of her muscles clenching him as he thrust in and out of her let him know just how close she was to the orgasm she so desperately wanted him to give her. All it took was a few more thrusts before her body was shuddering in release right along with Jesse's, her mouth in the shape of a perfect 'O'.

Rachel wrapped her arms tightly around Jesse as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and pushed into her deeply one final time. She saw stars behind her eyelids as his final thrust sent another shockwave of ecstasy coursing through her body. "Oh…God…" Rachel breathed out. They lay in that same position for a few more minutes before Jesse rolled them over so that Rachel was now on top of him. She rested her head on his chest as they both managed to catch their breath again. "Tell me again why we don't do that every morning?" Rachel asked, teasingly.

"I have no idea," Jesse replied as he stroked Rachel's back with his fingertips.

"I hate that it's our last morning together," she pouted, tilting her head and looking up at him.

"Rach, it's only for five days," he said with a smile. "You're going to have so much fun with your dads that it's going to fly by."

"My dads and you," she corrected.

"Won't they know that something is going on if I'm always around?" he asked.

"Maybe." As her dads visit approached, she had started to think that maybe keeping her relationship with Jesse from them wasn't such a good idea after all. Of course, she didn't necessarily want them to know that they were basically living together and would actually be living together in the very near future, but she thought that maybe it would be a good idea to tell her dads about her and Jesse. "Maybe I'll tell them the truth."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I think so."

"Well, I'm good with whatever you decide," he reassured her, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Dad, daddy," Rachel exclaimed in greeting as she opened her apartment door to reveal her fathers standing there with their luggage in tow. She was immediately enveloped in a group hug with both of her fathers. She hadn't realized how long it had actually been since she had last seen them. In fact, the last time had been when they had come to her opening night.

"You look great," her dad said as he took a step back to survey his daughter.

"Beautiful," her daddy added which only made Rachel's smile grow even wider.

"Thank you," she replied. "Come in." She opened the front door so they could both make their way inside her apartment. The two men walked into the living room and set their luggage next to the wall. "How was the flight?" Rachel asked as she went into the kitchen to grab them both a beer out of the refrigerator. They both groaned in unison. "That bad, huh?"

"The flight was fine," her daddy explained. "But you know how overcrowded the airport is. You're constantly bumping into people or you're stuck behind someone that is apparently not in a rush." His husband nodded in agreement. "Traveling for Thanksgiving is just such a nightmare."

"But completely worth it for us to come see our little girl," her dad said as she handed them both a beer. The three Berry's walked over to the couch and chairs and sat down. "I know we talk all the time, but how are you really dealing with suddenly being single again?"

Rachel felt a furious blush rise in her cheeks. She had wanted so badly to tell them the truth about her relationship with Jesse but being face-to-face with them she wasn't sure if she would be able to get the words out. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she would be able to keep up the charade of her and Jesse just being friends. It was one thing to lie to her dads over the phone, but it was another thing to do it when they were sitting right in front of her. Plus, they would see her and Jesse interact on Thanksgiving Day since they were all going to the Macy's parade and then having dinner together that evening.

She noticed her dads staring at her expectantly awaiting her answer. "Breaking up with Donovan was the right decision for both of us," she told them. Rachel knew that she hadn't actually answered their question but she just couldn't lie to them outright like that. She wasn't single. She had no intentions of ever being single again. "A part of me wishes that it wouldn't have taken so long for us to realize that we weren't supposed to be together, but then again, letting go when a relationship isn't right hasn't always been one of my strong suits." She smiled ruefully as she thought about how she had foolishly clung to Finn Hudson for way too long in high school.

"We live and we learn," her daddy sighed with a small, knowing smile.

Rachel nodded. "I'm doing really well though. As you know, the show has been wonderful. Every day I go to work, I feel like all of my dreams have come true. I'm just so lucky." Her vision blurred with tears as she thought about how amazing her life had become. It was everything she had always hoped it would be but so much more. "I'm so excited that you guys are going to see the matinee tomorrow. I can't wait to hear what you think."

"I'm sure we'll love it even more than we did the first time," her dad told her. "How is Jesse, by the way?"

"Yeah, we were sorry to hear about the... personal issues he must have been going through lately," her daddy chimed in, referencing the news that had come out in the past week that Jesse and Isla were ending their marriage due to irreconcilable differences. "It can't be easy to get up on a stage night-after-night when your personal life is in turmoil."

Rachel did her best to stop the blush from rising in her cheeks once again. "Jesse is completely professional. He never lets anything like that affect his performance. He's like me. When he takes the stage, all that other crap gets left behind. He becomes the character. It's beautiful." She realized too late that she had been gushing a little too much. "He's become my best friend," she tried to explain.

"Does Kurt know that his spot has been taken?" her daddy teased.

Rachel waved off her daddy. "Kurt knows that no one will ever take his place. Besides, he and Jesse have become good friends too." She thought about how fun it would have been to have Kurt and Daniel joining them for Thanksgiving dinner. Next year, she thought, wistfully. Then she thought of something. "You guys are okay with Jesse coming to the Parade with us, right?"

They both looked at her and nodded. "Sure, honey. Why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know," Rachel said with a shrug. "It's just sort of become a family tradition and…" Her voice trailed off.

She saw her dads exchange curious expressions before her dad finally spoke up. "Rachel, is everything okay? You just seem a little…" He looked to his husband for the right word that he couldn't seem to find.

"Distracted."

"I'm fine," she waved them off with a bright smile and plastering on her best show face. She had gotten so good at it that she didn't think that her dads could even tell the difference anymore. "So, I was thinking that since I don't have to be at the theatre for another few hours that we could go grocery shopping for our Thanksgiving dinner," Rachel said, changing the subject. "I already have the turkey, stuffing and gravy but I need sweet potatoes, green beans…" she started going through the list of all the things that they would need to make the perfect Thanksgiving meal.

Jesse raised his fist to knock on Rachel's dressing room door later that night after their show. The door swung open immediately as though she had been waiting for him and she reached for his hand to pull him inside the room. Shutting the door and locking it behind him, Jesse pulled her into his arms. Rachel giggled as he peppered her face and neck with kisses. He finally pulled back to look at her fully and spoke, "I think you should come hang out with me over at Kurt's for a little while."

"I don't know," she responded, a twinkle in her eye. "My dads might be waiting up for me, so we can spend some time together." She was pretty sure that her dads would be asleep but she just couldn't resist messing with Jesse a little.

"Then go home, say hi, tell them that you're beat so they'll go to bed and leave you on the couch and then sneak out to come see me," he offered with an impish grin.

"Who are you and what have you done with the guy who told me that it was 'only a few days'?" she teased, using air quotes as she remembered what he had told her only days before.

He leaned down so their faces were only inches apart. "That was before this morning," he replied, huskily.

Rachel felt like her body was humming from the sense memory of their morning together. "So you want me to sneak out, huh?" Suddenly feeling like a teenager once again as she contemplated having to possibly sneak out of her own apartment to see Jesse.

"Or maybe you could sneak me in and we could make out on the couch for a little while," he whispered suggestively. "Maybe get caught in a compromising position…" He slid one of his hands around to the front of her body and under her shirt, brushing the underside of her breast through her bra.

"As thrilling as that all sounds," she told him a little breathless as she closed her eyes and arched into his touch. "I'm definitely coming over to Kurt's."

"So what were your dads up to when you called?" Jesse asked as they cuddled on Kurt's couch.

"They had just got back to the apartment and were having a night cap before they headed to bed," Rachel replied, snuggling in closer to Jesse. "They told me to have fun with my friends and that they would see me tomorrow."

"Does that mean you can stay the whole night?" He ran his hand up the back of her shirt to gently caress her silky skin. "I could set the alarm so you could get up early to get back to your apartment before the matinee tomorrow."

Rachel half-groaned at the idea of having to leave him and go back to sleep alone on her own couch and half-moaned as he ran his hand up her side underneath her shirt and let his fingers graze the side of her breast. "Don't tempt me," she told him, somehow managing to scold him.

"But it's just so much fun to do," he whispered, pulling his hand from underneath her shirt and grabbing her leg to pull it over his hip.

She wanted to kiss him so badly, but pulled back a bit instead. "I wanted to tell my dads about us today, but I just couldn't do it. I know if they asked me if we were together, I wouldn't be able to lie to them." The worry she felt over their reaction to the truth had plagued her every waking thought for the past few days it seemed. It wasn't that she was so much concerned with how her dads would look at her, but how they would look at Jesse. She was their daughter and they loved her unconditionally, but she couldn't bear the thought of her dads disapproving or thinking badly of the man that she loved more than life itself.

"Rach, you need to stop worrying about this," Jesse told her, reaching up to cup her cheek.

"I can't help it," she replied, averting her gaze from his. "I want them to love you as much as I do."

At her words, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "How about I just turn on the St. James charm and then they won't be able to help themselves," he suggested, hoping to lighten the mood. It worked.

"You think it's that easy, do you?" she challenged as she narrowed her eyes playfully and poked him in the stomach. "I'll have you know that some people are immune to your charms."

He leaned his head down so his mouth was close to her ear. "And you are not one of them, Miss Berry," he murmured, his hands finding their way to her sides. He leaned back again to grin at her mischievously before he began tickling her.

Rachel squirmed in his grasp as she giggled uncontrollably. "Jesse… stop," she gasped out, still laughing.

He shook his head. "Never." He continued to tickle her and Rachel wriggled around on the couch, and before Jesse knew what was happening he was tumbling off of the couch onto the floor with a loud thud. He looked up at Rachel who was still on the couch and was now laughing at him. "What are you laughing about?" he asked, grinning up at her.

"That's what you get for the tickle assault," she giggled. "I think you might have woken up the downstairs neighbors."

He chuckled as he looked up at her from where he lay on the floor. "You know this floor's pretty comfortable."

"Not as comfortable as the couch," she teased, rolling onto her back and spreading out on the couch completely.

He reached up and grabbed her hand that was dangling over the side of the couch and gave it a good tug, causing Rachel to roll back over and look down at him. "Why don't you come down here and see for yourself?" Without another word, he managed to deftly pull her down on top of him.

They just looked at one another for a moment, their smiles disappearing slowly. "You're right, this is better than the couch," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. She lowered her head inch-by-inch until their lips were almost touching before she placed a kiss just on the side of his mouth then pulled back to tease him a little. As she looked down at him her plans went right out the window and she gave into her desire, crashing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.