Glee 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know! I know! I really should not be starting a new story when I'm working on the squeal to 'No Strings Attached.' but I could not get this idea out of my head. So, please just go along with it. **

"It will be fun." Kurt pleaded for the hundredth time and Rachel rolled her eyes before throwing her hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine. Fine. I'll come but if it gets even _slightly_ out of hand, I am leaving faster than you can say Barbra Streisand." Rachel warned, pointing her finger at her best friend.

"Yay." Kurt clapped his hands together before pulling her upright. "We have got to find you the _perfect _dress because there are going to be so many gorgeous boys at this party."

"You have a boyfriend." Rachel reminded him.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't appreciate some fine guys when they're right in front of me." He winked as Rachel laughed. "Now let's make you look amazing."

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><p>Rachel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before taking a large swig out of her glass.<p>

This party _sucked. _She hardly knew anyone and Kurt had ran off in a closest somewhere with Blaine doing things she did _not _want to think about.

She stood, before making her way to the door. No one was going to miss her.

She was so focused on getting to the door, she didn't realise there was somebody walking through it until she walked into their chest.

"I'm _so-"She_ started but forgot what she was going to say when she glanced up to find amber eyes staring back down at her.

"Don't worry about it." The guy flashed a crooked smile and Rachel felt herself turn to mush. He towered over her, but in a good way, and had dark hair that seemed to stand up in every direction.

She knew him. He was Kurt's stepbrother, always off at college so she'd never actually met him in person.

She opened her mouth, hoping, _willing _for something to come out. Anything, but suddenly felt something wet and cold dripping down her back and let out a large gasp.

"Watch where you're going." Finn, if she remembered righty, shouted at the guy who had just slung his beer down Rachel.

"Are you okay?" He asked, brow furrowed in worry and she nodded quickly before he grabbed her arm and led her up the stairs.

"Uh…" he looked around the room, and then gestured to the bed, "Take a seat. I'll find something for you. My brother dresses like a girl. "

"Uh… okay, thanks," she muttered, taking a seat on the bed where she had been sitting just hours earlier.

"Here," he said, passing her a red jumper.

"You sure he won't mind?" Rachel checked, even though she was sure she knew Kurt better than the never home step-brother.

"Of course not," he scoffed, "He thinks it's a federal crime if you wear the same thing twice so he probably wouldn't notice that it was missing." He rolled his eyes and she chuckled, the alcohol making her feel light-headed and giggly.

Before Rachel knew what was happening, he was unbearably close, his face inches away. She stopped breathing and thinking and pressed my lips to his.

Everything after happened fast after that but Rachel was sure that she would always remember the way that their bodies seemed to just _fit._

Although it was a drunken, spontaneous thing, it felt like the opposite. It felt like it was supposed to. It felt like love.

She awoke at six am, head throbbing and places aching that she never knew could. Glancing quickly around, she gasped when she found Finn passed out next to her.

With a jolt, she realised what she had done the night before and moaned as she climbed out of the bed.

She pulled on the now dry top and jeans before hesitating at Kurt's doorway. Then she went over to Finn's side and kissed him lightly.

"I'm sorry, but this is for the best." She whispered. If Finn woke up next to her, he'd think she was a slut. After all, he didn't even know her name and she had gone all the way with him.

She shut the bedroom door quietly behind her and ran down the stairs, her bare feet meeting the carpet with barely audible noises and heels swinging wildly in her hands. She headed straight for the front door, but somebody called her name quietly, "Rachel?"

She ignored it and wrenched the door open, but then his hand caught her wrist, "Rachel, where are you going?"

"Home," she mumbled, fighting the tears that were threatening to break through.

"You slept with my brother," Kurt said, a statement not a question.

"How did you know?" She demanded.

"Rachel, I do usually go to my room." Kurt rolled his eyes, "I think I'll be scarred for life after seeing you and my brother naked in _my bed_."

"Oh."

"Why are you leaving?"

"Kurt, I was drunk, he was drunk. It would be a mistake to stay. Besides, I'm moving to New York so I can't get involved."

"Since when?" He gasped quietly.

"Since… a while," She lied. Sure, the idea had been floating around her head since her cousin, Noah, called and invited her over to stay with him and his fiancée when they opened their restaurant and decided they needed some more staff. That was a while ago. Rachel had only officially decided about twenty minutes ago.

"Why?"

"I'm moving into an apartment opposite my cousin's. They opened their restaurant last month and need more staff, so they asked me to come work for them. The apartment's fairly cheap and is really nice, so I can get it."

"When are you going?" Kurt asked.

"Well… today," she said, "Hopefully."

"But… what about Finn? What about me?" Kurt said sadly.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was only really official recently."

"And Finn?"

"I didn't know your brother until last night, when I slept with him before he even knew my name," She sighed, "So what about him?"

"Rachel, you can't just sleep with someone and then drop them, my brother's not that kind of guy." Kurt frowned.

"Watch me," She whispered, yanking the door open, "Oh, and don't tell him who I am."

"Why not?"

"Just… I don't want him to know."

"Rachel…" Kurt hesitated.

"What?"

"I just… don't understand. I thought you were my best friend?" He said it uncertainly and that alone broke Rachel's heart.

"I am," She nodded, "And you're mine. My only friend really. Just… don't tell him, please. He'll only get hurt." She sighed and then started down the path.

The last thing Rachel saw of Kurt before leaving for New York was that heartbroken expression as she ran down the road.

**A/N; I know this is short and uneventful but we'll be getting to the good stuff soon. If you give this story a chance. **

**So hit that little button and...**

**Review!**

**Paige x **


	2. Chapter 2

_"Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,_

_Wish you'd never grow up,_

_Just stay this little..."_

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><p>"Mom. Mom. <em>Mom." <em>Rachel groaned and positioned the pillow over both ears. "Mommy. Mommy. _Mommy."_

The bed dipped slightly and then the pillow was gone.

"Oh _mommy." _Rachel growled and jumped up, spitting hair out of her mouth.

"_Yes?" _

"Oh good, you're up." Her five year old daughter grinned and Rachel rolled her eyes before jumping forward to tickle her sides.

"What did I say about mommy needing her beauty sleep?" She teased as her daughter laughed uncontrollably beneath her.

"But mommy's already beautiful." Lea gasped and Rachel's face softened.

"Come on then Le. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Uh…Can I have the star cereals?" She wondered, as she took Rachel's hand.

"Sure can. Chocolate or honey?"

Lea made a face. "I don't even like honey."

"Chocolate it is." As Rachel switched the kettle on, she turned to look at Lea more closely. Whilst Lea had defiantly inherited some of Rachel's strongest qualities, the determination, the stubbornness and the need to be right, she had hardly any of Rachel's physical features at all.

Her nose, thank God, was normal sized and dainty, her mouth was nearly always set in a crooked grin and her eyes, her beautiful eyes, were the exact same shade as Finn's.

Finn. She'd often wondered what would have happened if she'd stayed that morning. If he'd had known she was pregnant. Would he have tried to help her? Or would he have been the type of guy to flee? She'd made _that _choice for him.

Yes, Rachel did feel guilty that Finn was missing out on the talented, beautiful girl that Lea was becoming or when Lea would make a father's day card and have to give it to Noah or one of _Rachel's _fathers. However, she knew it would have been selfish _to _tell Finn. He had been training to be the next big football star and if she'd told him, if he'd stuck around, he would have been forced to give all that up for a one night stand.

Finn wasn't the only person she'd left behind in Lima. When she'd said goodbye to Kurt, she never expected that to be the last time she'd _ever _see him. She'd thought they would stay in touch but after she found out she was pregnant, she knew she had to cut all ties with Lima because if Kurt knew, Finn would have found out. So, she had changed her number, email and address and never looked back.

"Shall I get ready for school, mommy?" Lea's voice dragged her out of her memories and Rachel wiped her eyes, to get rid of the tears that were forming at the thought of her old friend.

"Yea baby, but be quick. I need to run into the restaurant quickly on the way." Lea nodded and slipped of the kitchen stool before disappearing into the bedroom and Rachel threw the dregs of her drink down the sink before going to get ready herself.

She stood in front of her wardrobe, debating what to wear. She'd like to say her style had improved since high school (now she only owned _one _sweater with an animal on) but her best friend and cousin-in-law, Santana would beg to differ.

Smiling to herself at Santana's latest rude comment about her clothing choice, Rachel picked out a pair of blue skinny jeans and a white tank top before throwing her boyfriend cardigan over the top. Adding one layer of pale lip-gloss and running a brush through her wavy hair, she was ready to go.

"Sweetie?" She called as she picked up the car keys.

"Coming!"

Rachel had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing when Lea entered the room because she had dried toothpaste on her chin and where she had obviously tried to do her hair herself, it was all scraped into a messy side pony.

She smiled and gently took the band out of Lea's dark, just below shoulder length hair.

"Did you do this all by yourself?" Rachel exclaimed as she ran her fingers through it, trying to get rid of some of the knots Lea had created.

"Yes but it didn't go how you do it." Lea pouted, nose scrunching up in distaste.

"That's because mommy's magic." Rachel teased, as she tightened the ponytail. "Now grab your bag and let's go say hi to Auntie Santana before school."

Lea grinned and grabbed her bag before skipping out the door and waiting patiently for Rachel to join her at the side of the road.

Rachel hated Lea's school. The moms were a tight knit and so obviously looked down on Rachel's young age of twenty three. It was something she had always suffered with, especially when she was seventeen and pregnant. Looking back now, Rachel's ashamed to admit that at first, she did consider giving Lea up but found that she was unable to after viewing the first ultrasound.

Lea may have forced Rachel to give up her dreams but there wasn't one day when Rachel regretted it.

"San?" She called as the bell rang above their heads, signalling their arrival. Santana's head poked around the door, before straightening up and wiping the sugar off her hands onto her apron, in order to give Lea a hug and kiss.

"Alright there, squirt?" Lea nodded and ran off to the kitchen, probably to find Noah. "What are you doing here? I told you Noah and I would be fine taking care of the place today." Santana glared, hands on hips and Rachel held up her hands as if in surrender.

"I know. I know but I left my folder here and it's got all my sheets in." Santana's hands dropped and gestured to the stairs.

"Now that you say it, I think I saw it. Come on up." Rachel glanced at her watch.

"Okay but it needs to be quick. Lea's got to be at school in fifteen minutes."

"How are you?" Rachel asked as Santana rooted in a cupboard. "Any luck?"

"No, not yet but it's gotta happen soon right?" Santana joked but Rachel could see her facade breaking.

"Yea. Anyone can see how amazing you both are with Lea." Rachel encouraged and Santana shot her a grateful smile as she handed over the folder.

Santana and Noah had been trying for a baby for over a year and with each negative they received, the more strain was being put on the relationship and the guiltier Rachel felt.

It wasn't _her _fault but she didn't miss the longing in Santana's eyes whenever Rachel was playing with Lea.

"Anyway, I better head off." Rachel told her awkwardly and Santana nodded. As she made her way downstairs, Rachel could pick out Lea's distinct voice.

"And in ten days, I'm going to to be six. Mommy says this makes me a big girl but Noah says.."

Rachel frowned. She had assumed Lea was talking to Noah but if she was talking _about _him…Rachel rounded the corner, her eyes immediately looking for Lea to find her sitting on the counter, talking to a man who's face Rachel couldn't see as his back was turned.

"Lea," She hissed. "What have I said about talking to.." Her voice trailed off as Lea glanced up and the man spun around to look at her, causing Rachel to gasp at the all too familiar amber eyes….

**A/N: I know it was short but the back story had to done so I hope I didn't bore you too badly. I debated a lot between which character to have as Santana but decided that I prefer a Santana/Rachel friendship to a Rachel/Quinn one. **

**Please ignore any errors as I didn't have time to reread it. Thank you all so much for your reviews. **

**What do you think is going to happen next? **

**Review! **

**Paige ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yep, I'm still alive. Don't kill me! I come bearing gifts ;) **

Recap: Rachel has a five year old daughter, Lea, and Finn has just turned up in her café.

The folder dropped out of her hands and hit the floor with a loud bang. How was he here? Of all the places in the world he had to be _here_? And why the hell was he talking to Lea? Rachel had underestimated the similarities between the two; Lea was literally the spit out of his mouth.

"Are you okay?" he asked, stepping forward to help pick up the sheets that had flown out.

"Yea, Yea. I'm…er…I'm fine. Just…er…fine." She told him, trying to brush her hair over her face.

"Good." He grinned and Rachel was saved the trouble of trying to remember how her mouth worked by Lea. "Mommy, this is Finn. I was just telling him how we were going to have a _really _big party for my birthday."

"So she's your daughter?" Finn sat back down on the stool by the counter and Rachel nodded.

"Er…yes. Look, I don't normally leave her down here on her own to talk to strangers but-"

"Hey. Don't stress about it. So…do you work here?" Finn looked straight at her and Rachel let out a sigh of relief that was slightly laced with disappointment. He didn't recognise her.

"Oh yes, sorry. What can I get you?" She grabbed a nearby apron and tied it tightly around her waist. She'd have to deal with Santana's wrath later.

"Just a coffee, please." Rachel nodded and set to work.

"So, I haven't seen you around here before." She couldn't believe her luck. The odds of this happening were pretty much impossible and yet here he was. The universe must really hate her.

"Oh yea. I've just moved about three blocks down actually, my job offered me a promotion, I'm a-"

"Football coach." Rachel interjected, absentmindedly, only realising her mistake when Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. How did you know?" Rachel scrambled for something to rescue her. "Oh, probably have just seen you in a paper or something."

"Actually, I've only been in one and I'm pretty sure they don't sell that around here." Rachel blushed and tried to shrug it off.

"Well, maybe I'm a little physic." She laughed, relieved when he joined in with her.

"Maybe, anyway , I better head off. Don't want to be late on my first day back but I will be back. This is delicious." He winked, holding up his coffee cup before heading towards the door.

"Bye." Rachel called as he waved, turning back at the last second. "I never got your name." He told her.

"Rachel." She answered and he nodded before heading out of the door.

She watched him go, unable to keep the smile off of her face. That is until she heard…

"Rachel Berry, what the _hell _are you still doing here?"

* * *

><p>"Oh and just to remind you that Parent's Evening is next week." Mrs Sky called behind her as Rachel exited the school.<p>

"Parent's evening is next week." Rachel mumbled sarcastically. "As if I'm going to miss it when she's told me every single night this week. Just because I'm young, it doesn't make me an idiot. Stupid woman." She ranted, strapping Lea in the car slightly too tight.

"Mommy. You told me I'm not allowed to say that word so you owe a dollar to the naughty word box." Lea stated as Rachel started the car, rolling her eyes.

Growing up with Noah around her, Lea had picked up a lot of swear words along the way and in an attempt to get them to stop, Rachel had set up the 'Naughty Word Box', for which anytime somebody swore, they would have to give a dollar to Lea. It was extremely effective.

"Honey, stupid isn't a naughty word," Rachel told her gently as Lea crossed her arms.

"Is too! Remember that time I called Henry stupid and you took away my Barbra CD as a punishment?" Rachel sighed and dug her hand into her pocket, handing Lea a crumpled note.

"So, are you okay going around Millie's hand on Tuesday? I have to go and see your teachers." Lea groaned loudly, hitting her head on the chair.

"Do I have to? You know I don't like Millie. Why can't I just stay with Uncle Noah and Aunt Santana?"

"Because they're busy. As is everyone but Millie's mom."

"but Mom.." "No buts. You're going." "But mom…Millie is obsessed with make-up and dresses. She has no idea how important the act of warming up is and…" Rachel droned Lea out by turning on the radio. She loved her daughter wholeheartedly but she could now understand why she got on people's nerves in high school. It was tiring.

Rachel hummed along to the radio absentmindedly until she heard a loud clunk and the car stopped moving all together.

"Er…Mommy? Is that supposed to happen? " Lea asked uncertainly but Rachel ignored her as she rooted through her bag for her cell.

"You've got to be KIDDING me." Rachel threw her head against the steering wheel in frustration when she realised her phone was dead. Add that to the fact they were in a deserted road, things weren't looking too good.

Rachel threw open the door before jumping out of the car. "Look baby, just stay here for like two seconds okay? Mummy has got to go and get help."

Lea protested but Rachel was no longer listening as she spotted a truck coming towards her on the opposite side of the road. She waved her hands above her head screaming 'help!', letting out a sigh of relief when it pulled over.

"Oh thank God." She whispered softly only for her heart to sink when she realised who was stepping out of the truck.

"Well, fancy meeting you here." He laughed and Rachel plastered a fake smile onto her face as Finn became closer. "

"Thanks for pulling over," She told him and he gave her a lopsided grin.

"No trouble. Now what seems to be the problem?" He asked and she found herself smiling as she glanced at his face. He really was very attractive.

"I'm not sure." She recovered. "It just stopped in the middle of the road."

"Do you mind if I have a look?" He asked and she gestured to the hood of the car.

"Go ahead." Finn moved towards the front of the car as Lea bounced in the back seat.

"Finn, can you fix our car?" She wondered, walking around to stand next to him.

"Hopefully." He laughed and Lea smiled.

"Good, because mummy's not very good at these jobs, her expertise is in the performing arts. Noah always has to fix things at our house." Lea rattled on and Rachel praised Finn mentally on the fact he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed interested in what she had to say.

"All done." He wiped his hands on trousers as he came to stand in front of Rachel. "Nothing big just a cable leading to the battery had come loose." He explained and Rachel nodded.

"Thank you, really. How can I repay you?" She asked, reaching for her bag in the driver's' seat but Finn pushed her hand back.

"Don't be silly." He told her but she insisted.

"I don't know what we would have done if it wasn't for you." Fin thought for a second before giving her a smile.

"How about you give me one of those gorgeous looking muffins when I come in tomorrow?" Rachel couldn't help but laugh at his compromise but found herself nodding. "That sounds fair."

"Good, I better go, though." He made his way back over to the truck only stopping o turn and wave when Lea shouted 'Bye Finn.'

Rachel watched him go, musing over the fact that maybe the universe wasn't out to get her.

* * *

><p>"You're here early." Santana noted as Rachel tied her apron around her waist the next morning. "Where's Lea?"<p>

"Breakfast club." Rachel answered, switching the coffee machine on.

"But you hate breakfast club? You said that-"

"I changed my mind." Rachel cut Santana off, not wanting her to realise the real reason she was here an hour early.

"Okay, calm down Princess. Actually I'm glad you're here, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Rachel spun towards Santana, determined to give her friend her full attention.

"You're not…" She trailed off, eyes drifting towards Santana's stomach without meaning to.

"Oh no. Well at least not yet." Santana assured her.

"Oh. What do you mean not yet?"

"Well you know Noah and I have been trying for over a year not and as much as he keeps telling me it doesn't matter, I know it does . I mean, he's so good with Lea and as much as I love her, I want one of my own you know?" Rachel nodded. "So I made us an appointment down at Dr Stern's office to have us both checked. Noah seems to think it will be humiliating but I believe it will help. If the doctor knows what's wrong, he can fix it right?" Santana smiled nervously and Rachel smiled before holding out her arms for a hug that Santana gave her.

"This is great. A step in the right direction." She whispered into Santana's hair before pulling back. "When's the appointment? Do you need me to run things here for a couple of hours?"

"That would be great, it's Friday at two. So we should be back in time for you to get Lea." Rachel nodded before hopping off the stool she was now perched on as the bell sounded, alerting her to the fact that someone had entered the shop.

With disappointment, she realised it was only Sam, a guy who lived down the street and popped in every Wednesday morning.

Rachel smiled and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. For the past couple of weeks, Sam had been flirting with her slightly more than usual and even though he wasn't exactly her type, she still liked the attention. Being a mother, it wasn't something she got a lot from guys.

"Hey Rachel, can I have the usual?" He winked and Rachel set to work. "How you been?"

"Good, you?" She replied.

"Yeah, so erm…I was wondering if you were busy this Friday night? I was thinking maybe we could go see a movie, grab something to eat…" He left his sentence hanging and Rachel thought carefully about her answer.

She liked Sam. He always made her laugh with his really bad impressions and his quirky sense of humour but she couldn't particularly see herself in a relationship with the guy.

"sounds fun." She heard herself saying and before she could shove the words back into her mouth, he gave her a gigantic smile and walked out.

"What did I just do ?" She muttered to herself, slamming her head down on the counter before standing up straight as the bell sounded again.

This time when she glanced up, she was not disappointed as Finn strolled in, grinning out her.

"I hope you've got it ready, Rachel because I'm here to collect my prize for all my hard work yesterday."

**A/N: So I really don't know why I put a splash of Sam/Rachel into all of my fics haha but just go with it. Next day is their date. **

**I haven't updated since the Glee finale and even though it was a while ago now, how upsetting was the break-up scene? Can't believe they ended it like that. **

**Review?!**

**Paige x**


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Glee, Hurt-Comfort, Romance