Forever Has to Start Somewhere

Chapter 3: Dream On

"Well, that was interesting," Jesse declared as they walked out of the choir room. Rachel was tucked against his side, his arm slung over her shoulders.

"I think horrible would have been my word choice. He made Tina cry." She gave a soft sigh and a shake of her head, "How does the school find these people? Is hating glee club on the application or something?"

Jesse just gave a shrug.

Thinking back on the lesson, he realized that he hadn't seen her paper.

"What did you write?" Jesse questioned.

"The dream that I've had since I was four. Evita, Funny Girl, and Laurey from Oklahoma."

Jesse gave a soft hum and stopped walking. He tugged Rachel so she was looking at him, glad that they'd been the last people out of the choir room, and put his hands on her face. "That's not a dream. A dream is something that fills up the emptiness inside, the one thing that you know if it came true all the hurt would go away. You singing Don't Cry For Me Argentina in front of a sold out crowd isn't a fantasy, it's an inevitability."

The wide smile that spread across her face warmed his chest.

He ducked forward and pressed their lips together.

When they pulled apart, Jesse's delight grew. Rachel's smile was fantastic, but it would be shared with the world. The look on Rachel's face now, when her lips were plump and red from kissing and her eyes darkened with pleasure, was one that belonged only to him.

"So, Rachel Berry," he said, rubbing his thumb over her cheek, "what is your dream?

"I'm not sure," she admitted.

"Well then go inside, find it, and ask it what it's going to take."

Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Why are you pushing this?"

"Because you're my girlfriend and I want to make your dreams come true," he answered. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "When you lie awake at night, what's missing?"

She was silent for a moment. Then her eyes dropped away from his, shifting down to the floor, and she murmured, "My mother."

His eyes widened and his fingers twitched against her skin. "Rachel-"

"It's not because of you," she said. She reached up, lying one of her palms over his. "I've always wondered about her. Admittedly, before all I really wanted was a name. But now that I know who she is, now that I know she wants me, I want to meet her."

Jesse rolled his lip between his teeth. After a moment, he nodded. "Alright, but not this week. Take this week to think about it and when you're sure, we can talk about what to do."

She gave a single nod. "I can do that."

"Good." He pressed another kiss to her forehead. He dropped one of his hands from her face and used the one she was holding to lace their fingers together. He tugged her back into his side. "What did you have planned for today?"

She hummed, playing with his fingers as they walked. "I was thinking of practicing Laurey's dream ballet today. It's what I do when I'm feeling stressed."

"Curly isn't on my list, but if you'd like a partner for the afternoon I'd be willing."

"That would be fantastic." She lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Coffee first?"

"Sounds like a plan."

The next day, Rachel walked into her bedroom to find Jesse already sitting on her bed.

"Jesse!" she exclaimed, smiling when she spotted him. "How'd you get in?"

"Your dad let me in," he answered. He held up a small cassette tape. "I have something for you."

"What is it?"

"A tape Shelby made for you." He turned the box over in his hand as he said, "The plan was for me to befriend you until you trusted me enough to give me an opportunity to plant it and get you to listen to it. I wasn't going to give it to you since you didn't ask about her when I first told you..."

"But now that I have, you thought I should listen to it?"

"I thought you should at least know it existed."

She stepped across the room, curling her fingers around the outstretched tape. She didn't pull it away from his grasp.

"Will you stay with me while I listen?" she questioned.

"If you want me too."

She gave a small nod before pulling the tape from him.

He watched as she crossed the room to pop the cassette into her stereo.

"I was supposed to meet up with her yesterday," Jesse informed. "I blew her off since there isn't really a reason to meet up now that I'm not planning on going back to Vocal Adrenaline. But I thought you should know."

"Thank you for telling me."

She situated the tape and pressed play before coming back to him.

They sat side-by-side, thighs pressed together and hands intertwined, as the first strands of I Dreamed a Dream flowed through the room.

E/n: So, for the record, the reason these chapters are coming out so quickly is because last night I watched Bad Reputation through Theatricality. I kinda marathon glee on the weekends. If I manage to finish theatricality today, I'm going to try and also do Funk and Journey to Regionals. Round out the first season, you know? After that, I'm not sure how the updates will work. They'll likely still be frequent since I write these as I watch the episodes - or as much as I can get done during one episode. Then I keep writing until I finish and just rewind to the episode I need.

So yeah!

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