She remembers the first time she's been to his apartment and she can't help to blush when she thinks about it, shaking her head about how crazy she had been back then. Visiting him was one thing, but cleaning his apartment and making dinner for because his crazy wife (well, now ex-wife) told her so? That was another thing. Fortunately he was being a gentleman about it and never mentioned it or teased her afterwards, while they were talking in his office or when she was having an argument with him. And she was really glad about it.

The second time she's been to his apartment was before their first Regionals. Well, actually they wanted get their setlist ready, share their happiness and eat some pizza, but they all ended up on his sofa crying, while confessing what they love the most about Glee and how much it meant to them. She remembers seeing tears in his eyes, the way he walked into the kitchen. He said he would get him something to drink, as an excuse. She also excused herself and followed him in the kitchen. And hell was she right. His body was leaning slack against the wall while he was sighlty shaking with tears running down his cheeks. Never in her life she would've imagined seeing him like this. She remembered her heart breaking a bit. We all meant so much to him, so so much. We still do. She remembers hugging him tightly, telling him everything's gonna be alright, while the tears kept streaming down his face. He looked so vunerable.

And the third time she visited him was when the incompetent Holly Holliday took over Glee Club. When she rang his doorbell for like the fourth time, she finally heard some footsteps inside and the clicking of the door. To be honest, he really looked bad. His hair was ruffled, his chin wasn't shaved and his voice sounded like he didn't use it the whole time he spent at home. He definitely was a mess but he was glad to see her. At least she thought he was. And she hoped he was.

Rachel played with the hem of her skirt, her heels were clicking on a floor in a beat only she knew and she exhaled deeply. Where else could she go? Right. Nowhere except here. And going home? No, she was too scared and being alone scared her even more. At this point she had no choice. Click. Click. Click. There was no soul in sight, as she walked down the hallway to his apartment door. Click. Click. Click. How would he react? What if he'd freak out and tell her to leave straight away? Even though she knew he's not that kind of man, but what if? Everything could possibly happen. And what if he just came out of the shower and he'd just be dressed with a towel. Oh god. She covered her face with her hands and sighed. In only three more strides she reached his door. Number 203. Waves of panic started to rush through her as she tried to figure out wether she should turn on her heels, run away and sleep under a brigde (maybe she'd even die) or wether she just should knock. Get a grip. You're Rachel freakin' Berry. Nothing should terrify you.

She curled her tiny hand into a fist and knocked three times. It wasn't long until she heard footsteps approaching the door and a muffled "Comin'!" from the inside as she tucked her hair behind her ear. And finally the door opened. His eyes widened as he noticed who it was, but at the split of a second he smiled at her.

"Hey, Rach! How are you?"

She loved how he was calling her 'Rach'. Nobody did, only he.

She smiled back at him and all her nervousness was flushed away abruptly. But then she noticed his eyes. They were red and a bit swollen. "Hey, Mr Schue. Uh, yeah but I'm wondering wether you're okay?" She raised an eyebrow at him, as he answered. "Of course I am, why shouldn't I?"

"Because it looks like you've been crying." He furrowed his brow and looked sightly confused.

"Wha- No, I haven't. Oh, but I know what you mean."

He motioned his hand to tell her to come in and so she did. Mr Schuester closed the door behind her and stucked his hands in the pocket of his jeans. It wasn't the normal type of jeans he'd usually wore, they weren't firm and didn't fit as tight, but they were stone-washed and a bit ripped. Additionly he wore a plain black long sleeved shirt, which didn't make him look less attractive. He cleared his throat and interrupted her thoughts and she immadietly snapped back into reality. "Uh, follow me and I'll show you the reason for my tears." Rachel just smiled shyly and followed his lead. "So, Rachel, you still didn't tell me why I'm honered to have you as my guest." Together they walked through his apartment and she kind of felt like a lost puppy, as they reached his kitchen. Nothing changed since her last visit. Literally nothing. "So yeah, I was just chopping some onions when you knocked. I'm in the middle of making dinner." She smiled, because she actually considered him as the frozen pizza type, but it of course he'd cook himself dinner. He wouldn't eat some as unhealthy as that.

"And I thought you were crying because a Journey Song came on."

Mr Schuester shot her a mock glance and she giggled. "C'mon, you need to stop teasing me with that." Rachel bit her lip, trying to but her best innocent face on as he walked to the counter and picked up the knife he used to chop the onions. Then she remembered his previos question and she looked down a bit.

"I'm here because I didn't know somewhere else to go. I don't wanna be at home right now, you know?" She stepped a little bit further into his clean kitchen and leaned against the counter opposite him.

"And that's why?" "Uhh." Rachel started to fumble with the hem of her skirt again and cleared her throat like he did before. "My Dad's are on a vacation and last night,..." she gulped "some-somebody broke into the house while I-I was sleeping. The morning after I ca-called them and the police right away, bu-but my Dad's weren't able to come home and the police did nothing, except taking some freaking notes. THEY JUST TOOK SOME NOTES, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?" Her voice got louder and he immadietly turned around, an expression of pure shock on his face.

"Oh my god. Rachel are you okay?" Mr Schuester stepped a bit closer.

"Yeah... No actually, I'm not. I'm so scared. You could even say I'm terrified. It's just..." And again she started to shake, her voice broke at the end of the sentence and before she knew what was happening, she saw him crossing the small room through her blurry version and he wrapped his arms around her, comforting her. Some people might say it'd be inappropiate, but she clearly needed comfort. And he doubted somebody gave it to her. He felt his shoulder getting wet and he whispered sweet nothing into her ear to calm her down. Her sobs were quiet and he rubbed small circles with his left hand on her back. They don't know how long they stayed like this but after a little while, Rachel's tears started to dry and her breathing went back to normal. "You're safe, Rachel. They won't come back.", was the last thing he said before he freeed her from his warm embrace. A small smile tugged at her lips as she sniffled. He laid his hand on her shoulder once more before he crossed the room again, opened some cupboards and handed her a pack of tissues. "Here." He smiled and she mirrored him as Rachel grabbed the package and used one of them to dry her tears. "Sorry I soaked your shirt, my outburst was ridicilous. I-" Mr Schuester sighed and put his hands on her shoulders again as he interrupted her again.

"No, Rach. It's totally fine, I don't mind. Really. And it definitely wasn't ridicolous. You have every right to. I mean they basically violated your privacy." Rachel saw the concern in his eyes and she smiled again. He really cared. He always did. A whispered "thank you" left her lips and he squeezed her shoulders one more time. There was a spare moment of silence between the two of them as he continued to cook.

"What are you cooking, by the way?" He replied without turning around. "Just some pasta with a sauce my Mom once showed me." After putting a water filled pot on the stove he turned it on. Then he turned around to face her and cleared his throat.

"Hey, Rach, uh.. If you.. If you don't mind you can stay here. I have a spare room. You don't have to-" This time she was the one who interrupted him. She didn't hesitate before answering his question.

"Thanks, Mr Schue. That'd be nice. I don't think I'm ready to sleep at home yet."

"Yeah, I think so too. Wanna join me for dinner? No worries, it's vegan friendly. My Mom's a Vegan too."

Rachel smiled at how much he mentioned his mom. She thought it was cute.

"Could you do me a favor and put the ingredients in the pot when it's bowling? I need to make a call." She nodded as he walked past her, into the bedroom, grabbing his phone off his nightstand.