Because honestly, The engagement needs a St Berry Reaction.

I don't own glee, unfortunately.

Sitting behind his desk in the auditorium, Jesse looked upon the mediocre group of dancers and singers with thinly veiled impatience and scorn. Vocal Adrenaline had really fallen to shit after he had graduated along with the rest of the seniors who made up the majority of the backing vocal arrangements and dancers. No wonder they had hired him as the new vocal coach rather than renew Goolsby's contract.

Well, the 4 consecutive national titles spoke for themselves. Along with the letters of recommendation from Shelby Corcoran and ironically enough Principal Figgins from McKinley High, who knew that getting a reasonably talented glee club to 12th place in Nationals would gain him such a glowing letter of recommendation?

Scribbling absently on his notepad he looked upon the group with scorn, since when had Vocal Adrenaline been a one-trick pony? He couldn't help but curl his lip as he watching the minutely small Asian girl warble at him while the others swayed in the background, reminiscing of better times when he had commandeered that glee club with an iron fist and the quality of the music and the dancing was simply just better.

He considered Sunshine as she belted out the lyrics to My Way by Sinatra, honestly the comparison with Rachel Berry was inevitable but there was just something about Sunshine that was so subpar in comparison that he felt the whole act was pointless. The show-choir circuit already had their star female soloist and Sunshine just seemed so typical and average in comparison.

The lack of passion was evident, Sunshine sang for fun, Rachel sang as if her life depended on the music, as if the breath would leave her lungs forever if she was never given the chance to sing.

Forcing himself to focus on Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse waved a hand at them the distaste evident on his face. "Sloppy, all I see in front of me is second place. Are Vocal Adrenaline second best at anything group?" he questioned staring at all the frightened faces with a raised eyebrow.

He smirked inwardly at the mumbled negative response. "Sunshine, sing like you mean it and stop looking like you're in pain. Listening to your screeching is painful enough I don't need the visual to go with it. You're flat on the chorus. Fix it. As for the rest of you, dancers are very easy to come by don't make me show you how replaceable you all are!"

Soon enough, they assumed their original positions again and Jesse was witness to a slightly improved version of the song, Jesse couldn't help but wince at the sharp tone of Sunshine's voice in the last section but he pushed the thought away; that can be fixed. It would be fixed.

Shocked out of his contemplations of whether 17 was too young for surgeries on vocal chords, Jesse glanced at the phone that was vibrating across the table. Lifting it and glancing at the ID his eyebrows were very nearly hidden by his curls when he saw just who was calling him. Standing up he answered the call before turning to the group of kids in front of him, "I've got to take this; take a break and make sure that next time we go through this song it's perfect or I swear on all that is holy you will be here all night perfecting it!" And with that he walked out of the room with his phone plastered to his ear.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Noah?"

"He's asked her to marry him." Jesse felt his heart thump in his chest and his stomach churn as bile started to rise.

"And that's my problem how? She chose him remember?"

"It's your problem because she's accepted. Fix this or I will."

"Goodbye Noah." Jesse felt his knees begin to give out and he quickly braced himself against the wall with a strong forearm.

She said yes. She had said yes. To Finn Hudson.

Fuck.

Jesse marched back into the auditorium and began grabbing all his things and shoving them into his messenger bag. "You're all lucky that I have places to be right now. Practice is over. I'll see you all on Thursday and there better be a noticeable improvement or my last threat will most definitely be a promise. Have a good day people!" and with that he basically ran out the door and into his car.

Checking the time he realized it would take him at least an hour and a half to get to Lima if he went home and changed and mentally prepared himself for this. Yet instead of driving the familiar road home he watched absently as his hands and feet manoeuvred the car down the hauntingly familiar journey to Lima.

Less than 50 minutes later he was slowing the car down outside a familiar, refurbished 2 storey house that was painted a calming shade of off-white. Getting out of the car he walked purposely towards the front door and knocked sharply. Waiting no more than a minute, Jesse was soon greeted with the image of Hiram Berry looking at him as if he was the messiah born again.

"Jesse dear, we've been wondering how long it would take before you turned up." Hiram greeted him with humor.

Jesse just looked at him and spat out, "What are you thinking allowing her to do this? Have you too finally lost your minds? This is farcical Hiram! He will be the ruin of her and you know it."

Hiram looked at Jesse considering him. "Jesse, Leroy and I by no means agree with this, but we wanted Rachel to figure that out for herself. WE can't get overly involved because she will only be more determined to act out in this way. I know he isn't good for her. It's a pity Finns a sweet boy."

Jesse snorted derisively at that comment. Leroy raised an eyebrow patronizingly and continued. "He is a sweet boy, there is no denying that. It's true he has made some horrendous faux-pas especially concerning my daughter but he never intentionally hurt her. Can you say the same Jesse?"

"I have loved her like I loved nothing else and you already know that. You are my therapist remember? He may be a 'sweet boy' but he is smothering her and you know it. All of her sparkle and brilliance will be a memory and you'll have a shadow of a daughter. She will never grow and develop as a person. Rachel Berry will be no more. She'll die with him Hiram."

Hiram nodded solemnly and patted Jesse on the back. "I believe you son, just because he is a good boy doesn't mean he is good for her. And well done for realizing the difference, if I thought for one moment the only reason you came back into this house was with the intention of reigniting some boyish pissing contest with Finn over my daughter I would never have answered the door."

"I didn't come to sweep her off her feet Hiram, I came to knock the sense back into her." Jesse stated.

"And what will you do if she does decide to leave him and then decide that you aren't enough for her either?"

Jesse gulped and inhaled deeply. "I'd love her from a distance then, and continue loving her until the day I die. Loving someone doesn't necessarily correlate with your happiness but it certainly connects with theirs. As long as she is happy then I may not necessarily be happy myself but I would be content in knowing."

"And if she is happy with him?"

"She could never be. Not truly happy. Ignorance may be bliss in regards to Finn but all fantasies must come to an end Hiram and better now than 5 years down the line when he's saddled her to him for life with a child."

"You seem to be so selfless Jesse, this isn't in your nature."

"Selfless? I'm intending to break up a marriage and I hope to god that one day she'll remember I'm here waiting and give me the second chance I certainly don't deserve."

"You gave up New York for her." Jesse thought about the new age Vocal Adrenaline training vigorously .

"I put New York on Hiatus until the both of us were there together. She might be able to move on without me Hiram but unfortunately that isn't the same for me. She may not need me but I need her."

Hiram nodded thoughtfully. "Good luck Jesse."

"I don't need luck, I've got logic and reason and hopefully they should be enough…Then again, with Rachel I may need the luck too." Jesse smiled slightly at the thought of the drama queen.

Jesse moved swiftly up the stairs and knocked on Rachel's door, entering quietly at her shout to 'come in!'. Closing the door behind him he watched her with a blank face as Rachel absentmindedly flicked the page on the magazine before glancing up at the intruder in her room only to look at the magazine again. Jesse tried unsuccessfully not to laugh at the look of realization on Rachel's face before she scrambled up off her bed to stand in front of him.

"J-Jesse. What are you doing here?" Jesse stared at the hand pointing at him dramatically and the hideous little piece of metal with a tasteless cubic zirconia twinkling at him hatefully.

"I'm here to talk. And you are going to listen to me. And another thing get that hideous hunk of metal off your finger before you and I both end up with tetnus!"

Jesse admired the angry blush that rise up Rachel's chest and neck. "Now you listen a minute Jesse! Finn is my fiancé and I love him!"

"I don't doubt it. But no offence Rachel , love and rationality hardly go hand in hand so I'm gonna talk and you're going to listen." Jesse stared Rachel in the eye and Rachel found herself nodding at him before glancing at the ring on her hand. She looked up at Jesse's face when his hands touched hers and he gently worked the engagement ring off her finger before gently caressing her hands with his own and raising her ring finger to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to it.

"Let's talk." He whispered and Rachel stared at him still nodding before she merely twinned her fingers with him as they moved to sit in her window seat.

The engagement ring laid on the side cabinet of her bedroom forgotten until she returned it to Finn a week later.