A/N: So here's the epilogue all of you are so anxiously awaiting! I hope you like it. Please read and review :)
Beaten Down: Epilogue
"Finn, are you sure it's alright that you stayed here with me today?" Rachel asked nervously from next to Finn. They were on the couch; Finn was watching a rerun football game on ESPN classics and Rachel just sat there, staring into space.
"For like the tenth time today, yes," Finn moaned in annoyance. "My mom even told you it was alright when she brought my stuff this morning."
"I just don't want you missing anything important during school," Rachel explained.
"Rach, even when I'm there, I don't pay attention," Finn said, making Rachel smile.
"I forgot to tell you that Miss Pillsbury called when you were still sleeping," Rachel said, looking at Finn.
"What did she say?" Finn asked, turning his attention from the game to the girl next to him.
"Well, instead of a free period every day, I have to talk to her," Rachel said, shrugging.
"That sucks," Finn said, feeling bad for her.
"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "And I'm not really looking forward to walking around school looking like this tomorrow," she said, pointing to her face.
Finn grimaced. Her lip was still split and her eye was a gross purple color, but the swelling had gone down some in both places.
"Kurt did say that he'd come over and help cover it up," Finn said positively.
Rachel shrugged. "I'm still going to get teased more than usual. I know it." Finn looked at her with a small frown before scooting over and placing his arm around her shoulder.
"I won't let anyone say or do anything to you, Rach," Finn said firmly. "My name's not Jesse. I actually care about you."
Rachel looked up at Finn. "I'm sure he cared about me. Most of the time, he was telling me how I can better myself. It wasn't always violent," she said quietly.
"What are you talking about? You're fine just the way you are. There's nothing that needs changing," Finn said, sounding confused.
"Whatever you say," Rachel said patronizingly. She didn't want to disagree with Finn and make him angry with her. "Do you want some lunch?" Rachel asked, changing the subject. "I can make you some sandwiches using my dad's lunchmeat. Your stomach's been growling for about ten minutes."
"You can hear that?" Finn said, sounding embarrassed.
"Just a little," Rachel said with a small smile. "Do you want anything else with your sandwiches?"
"Some chips would be great," Finn said, smirking.
"I'll be right back," Rachel said, getting up off the couch.
Finn couldn't help but smile wider as she walked away. Hanging out with Rachel was kind of… awesome. Usually when he was with Quinn, she would just yell at him and stuff, but him and Rachel actually talked. And she let him watch football all morning even though he knew she had no idea what was going on. Finn was more than willing to ask her to be his girlfriend again, but he knew that she needed some time to get over St. Jackass.
Plus, last night was kind of dramatic, too, so she'd definitely need some time to think through things.
Minutes later, Rachel came walking in with a plate that had two sandwiches on it. A bag of chips was in her other hand.
"Thanks, Rach," Finn said with a smile, grabbing the food from her.
"No problem," Rachel said. "I hope everything's to your liking."
Finn lifted up one of the pieces of bread to see what she put on the sandwich. "I don't really like mustard," Finn admitted. Finn watched her face fall. "I'll eat it anyway though," he said immediately.
"It's fine, Finn," Rachel said, grabbing the plate from him. "I should have remembered you didn't like it. I'm such an idiot sometimes," she said, shaking her head. She got up off the couch and Finn followed her.
"It's no big deal. My mom forgets about it half the time," Finn said. He could tell she was really upset about it.
"I should have remembered, Finn. Jesse yelled at me all the time over how forgetful I am," Rachel said, scolding herself.
"Can we please stop talking about him?" Finn asked, sounding frustrated. "And you're not an idiot, so I wish you'd just stop saying stuff like that. You've been doing it all morning."
"That's because it's true, Finn!" she snapped, setting the plate down on the counter. "I am an idiot, okay? I forget things all the time! And I know I'm annoying, which is why no one can even stand me half the time. I mean, look at the Glee club! They don't even want me around! My fathers are on vacation all the time and even when they're in town, they're working late and don't want to spend time with me! I'm just an annoying waste of space and I really wish you'd be honest and stop saying otherwise!"
"Shut up!" Finn yelled, getting pissed. Rachel flinched away from him and he knew why. He had never yelled at her like that before, but honestly, he was sick of her talking down about herself.
"Rach, I'm sorry," Finn said quietly, stepping toward her. She stepped away from him, obviously scared. "C'mon, Rach. It's me. I'm not going to hurt you." Finn stepped toward her, but she still seemed wary. "Please?" he said, holding his arms open.
After thinking for a second, Rachel walked the few steps between her and Finn and threw herself into his arms. A moment later, Finn heard the unmistakable sound of sobbing. He held her close and ran a hand soothingly up and down her back.
"You're not a waste of space," Finn said softly. "You're Rachel Berry. And she's awesome and funny and the best singer I've ever heard. And you're gorgeous, even with that bruise on your face. And you're so freaking smart that I seriously have to carry a dictionary in my backpack to look up stuff after we talk. And you're the strongest person I know, which is the best part of all."
Rachel sniffled before looking up at Finn. "Do you really mean that?" she asked, looking doubtful.
"Totally. And I mean what I said last night, too," he said blushing a little. Rachel looked at him with confusion. "You know, that whole 'I love you' part."
Rachel looked up at him with the most heartbreakingly beautiful smile before hugging him tightly. "I love you too," she said into his chest. "I never stopped."
Finn smiled even though she couldn't see. "I know," he said, kissing the top of her head like he did last night.
-glee-glee-glee-
Rachel was right. The next day at school totally sucked.
Everyone was staring. Usually, Rachel would have totally enjoyed it, but not this time.
"Who made the improvements to your face, Berry?" Santana yelled down the hallway. "I'm totally sending a fruit basket."
"What'd you do to piss your boyfriend off, Berry?" Azimio said, chuckling. What made Rachel feel sick to her stomach was the thought that Azimio actually condoned domestic violence. Rachel was suddenly worried for all past, present, and future girlfriends of his.
Rachel did find herself being comforted by Finn. For every laugh or terrible comment, his arm would tighten even more around her shoulders.
It was after her English class that things got scary again.
Rachel was at her locker and saw the football player coming toward her quickly with a slushie in his hand. Knowing the drill, Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the coldness to slap her in the face. When it finally did, it hurt ten times more than usual due to her recently acquired injuries.
Rachel brought her hands to her face and cried into them. The hallway was filled with laughter until the noise of someone being slammed into the locker made Rachel look up in surprise. She felt more tears fall when she saw Finn pinning the football player to the lockers.
"Apologize," Finn snarled at the football player.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" the football player said in disbelief. "She deserved it!" Rachel watched as Finn swung his right fist, hitting the kid in the gut.
"Finn!" Rachel yelled. He didn't seem to hear her.
"She didn't do anything to deserve it!" Finn shouted. "You and everyone else in this school are just a bunch of assholes!" Rachel ran forward just as Finn was about to hit the kid again. Rachel grabbed his fist.
"Stop!" she yelled at him. Finn turned his head quickly and looked at her. "Finn, you're scaring me," she said quietly. Every single ounce of anger left his expression and he let go of the football player. Seeing this as his chance to escape, the football player ran down the hallway.
"I'm sorry," Finn said, frowning. Rachel smiled at him a little before pulling him in for a hug. "I'm no better than Jesse," he said quietly.
Rachel pulled back quickly and looked at him. "Yes you are," she said firmly. "You stopped."
Finn smiled a little and pulled her in for another hug. "I won't let you see me like that again," he vowed. "I don't want to scare you."
Rachel let go of him again, and he looked confused for a second before she stood on her tippy toes and brought her lips to his.
-glee-glee-glee-
By the time Rachel's dads had gotten back from their business trip, they were surprised to see Rachel so hurt. She told them what had been happening and they blamed themselves for not noticing it before. They thanked Finn for taking such great care of Rachel, but they firmly insisted that that was the end of their sleepovers.
Finn and Rachel had officially become a couple again the next week. By this time, her bruises were fading, but what Jesse had done to her wasn't forgotten. She was getting better with being so hard on herself, but Finn still had to tell her how amazing she is.
He didn't mind.
Two weeks after that, Rachel, Finn, and Puck were summoned to court to testify against Jesse. It was hard for the tree of them to see the pictures of Rachel's injuries from that night. It was even harder for Rachel to give the details about all the attacks. She found herself crying on the witness stand through the entire questioning process.
But then, she'd look to Finn and find the strength to continue.
By the time the entire process was over, Jesse plea bargained for 6 months in a jail and required therapy for his anger issues. He was also told that he could never come into contact with Rachel Berry again. Finn really liked that part of the deal.
Since then, Rachel has become an advocate for victims of domestic violence. She even got three neighboring schools to take part in a talent show to raise funds for victims of domestic violence. They donated the money to the local women's shelter.
"I am so proud of you," Finn said with his arms firmly wrapped around Rachel's waist from behind. The auditorium was now empty and the Glee club had just finished calculating the total amount of donations.
"I'm proud of you, too. I couldn't have collected eight hundred dollars without your help," Rachel said, rubbing his arms affectionately.
"That's awesome, babe, but that's not why I'm proud of you," Finn said. Rachel squirmed out of his arms and turned to face him.
"Why are you proud of me then?" she asked. Finn looked at her closely. The bruises were long gone and the look of despair was no longer in her eyes.
"Because you learned to love yourself again," Finn said with a smile.
"I'm Rachel freaking Berry! I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty awesome person to be," Rachel said with a wide smile.
"Damn straight," Finn said with a smirk. Rachel giggled before he bent down for another perfect kiss from his perfect girlfriend.
THE END
-glee-glee-glee-
A/N: I know it's short, but I think all the ends are tied up nicely. And Rachel finally figured out how awesome she really is (with Finn's help, of course!) Please read and review and thanks for already having done so for part one!