A/N - What? Me? One shot? Yeah, it just kinda came out of nowhere. Originally this was going to be part of my story Full Circle, but I have a different idea for the next chapter. This comes right off of "Choke" since for some reason the show's writers gave us an overwrought song of heartache rather than a scene I thought was sorely missing. Hope this is enjoyed by all.

Disclaimer - No, I don't own Glee. Fox and the RIB triumverate do. That's why this site if called FanFiction.

Four nights.

It had been four long nights and Rachel still felt the memory and sting of her failed audition for NYADA. The ache in her heart hadn't diminished even slightly in that time. She hadn't eaten much, barely slept, and couldn't find comfort in anything that used to relax her; not yoga, not her elliptical, and certainly not in watching Funny Girl for the umpteenth (fine, hundredth) time. Instead, Rachel sat on her bed, her head on her headboard, staring at the poster for the Broadway show Barbara Streisand had used to launch herself to stardom.

But it wouldn't launch Rachel Berry anywhere.

Choke! Failure! Flub! Collapse! Breakdown! Catastrophe! Fiasco! AMATEUR!

Each and every word rolled around in her mind, and she shut her eyes against them, trying unsuccessfully to banish them from her mind. The more she tried, however, the louder they seemed to get. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, but more images plagued her. The Glee Club laughing at her for her overconfidence; Mr. Schuester asking for the sheet music on every one of her solos and redistributing them to the other glee members; Kurt walking by her haughtily with his nose in the air; her fathers shrugging and turning their backs on her; Carmen Thibodeaux closing the door in her face, the plaque on the door clearly saying "NYADA Students Only"; even Mr. Ryerson was encroaching her mind, visions of him yelling "You suck!" at her over and over again replaying from the failed 'Cabaret' musical.

Each and every image was burning their way through her heart and filling her with anguish.

How could she let them all down? How could she let herself down?

And then she had the worst image of all.

Finn was standing directly in front of her in an expensive pair of slacks and button shirt, his face awash with disappointment. His mouth opened and she heard him say "You're not the Rachel Berry I know!"

Wait a second. Finn's voice sounded entirely too real for it to be the product of her overactive imagination. She opened her eyes and-

Oh, they were open.

She blinked twice, only then her mind registering that Finn was indeed directly in front of her, wearing an expensive (though stylish and sexy) new outfit and casting a look of disapproval at her. In his hand, for whatever reason, was a file folder filled with what appeared to be computer printouts. Rachel swallowed and then looked at him again. "Finn?"

"Yeah. Your dads let me in."

"I didn't hear you come upstairs." She again took stock of his outfit. "Why are you wearing such nice clothes?"

Finn looked down at himself and smirked. "I came to give you a...seminar, I guess. Sort of. And Kurt told me you might...uh...wait a sec," he frowned and pulled out a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket. "Kurt's exact words were 'Maybe Rachel would listen if her sight wasn't bombarded with your abhorrent fashion sense.'" Finn shrugged a bit. "I'm not sure what 'abhorrent' means, but it sounds pretty bad if you've got 'whore ants' in there somewhere."

Despite her melancholy, Rachel giggled a bit and sat up straighter, regarding him. "Well, Kurt did choose a nice outfit for you."

Finn nodded. "Yeah, he said it would be good when I'm interviewed by Pace for the Actor's program. If I get interviewed." He shrugged a bit, looking back up at her. "It's more comfy than I would have thought."

She sighed. The mention of Finn's application into Pace University for their acting program reminded her again that she no longer had any real education plans after high school. Her fathers had both warned her not to put all her faith and trust in a program with such limited spaces for new students, but she hadn't listened. She ignored the chance to apply to NYU, Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music in Boston or even Oberlin College right in Ohio. Now she was in a position she never dreamed of; graduating high school with no further educational prospects for her chosen career path.

But this wasn't about her failure to get into NYADA. Surely Finn hadn't run over here dressed as he was (for success) and carrying an important looking folder simply to listen to her moan and complain again. He mentioned a seminar, right? Rachel gave him a wan smile and pointed at the folder. "What's in there?"

Finn smiled and motioned towards the bed, so she scooted over and let him sit down. The bed shifted to accommodate his weight, and he turned to face her.

"I did some research last night." Finn said, opening the folder but placing the sheets all facedown so she couldn't read or see them. "And it gave me some really cool information that I'd like to share with you."

Finn picked up one sheet of paper and turned it to face her. She looked at the picture of a man she didn't recognize, wearing a black fedora with a silver stripe, sporting a grey suit and white shirt. He looked like he was thinking about something he saw that wasn't in the camera's line of sight. Rachel frowned and turned back to her boyfriend. "Who's this?"

"Tom Landry."

Rachel shrugged and quirked her eyebrow in annoyance, looking at Finn. "And he is...who?"

Finn smirked a bit. It was the look he gave her when he was knowledgeable about something she wasn't, so she figured it had to be something sports related. "He's one of the best NFL coaches to ever coach the game. He was the coach for the Dallas Cowboys and led them to 2 Superbowl victories, five NFC championships and holds the record for most career wins. This guy was brilliant behind the bench." Finn paused and looked straight into Rachel's eyes. "His first season as a coach, he didn't win a single game. He had twelve straight losses."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion before the picture was pulled from her hand and another one was put in it's place. It was a tall, attractive black man in a red sleeveless shirt. Rachel looked up at Finn as he continued to explain. "You've probably heard of Michael Jordan. A lot of people think he's the best basketball player who ever lived. He won the NBA MVP five times, was part of the All-Star Game fourteen times, had ten scoring titles, three stealing titles, and was named Greatest North American Athlete of the 20th Century back in 1999." Finn paused again and caught Rachel's gaze. "In high school, he was cut from the basketball team because the coach didn't think he was coordinated enough. He also missed over 9000 shots and lost over 300 games during his career."

Quickly, before Rachel could even process what Finn was saying, the picture in her hand was yanked away and replaced with yet another photograph, this one of a more recognizable person. "That's Elvis Presley, Finn. I know who Elvis is."

Finn nodded while smiling. "Yeah, but did you know when he first tried to work the Old Opera House-"

"Grand Ole Opry." Rachel corrected.

"Right. Well, they fired him after one show and told him to go back to driving trucks since he had no talent."

Rachel was just about to say that she actually did know that little tidbit of information but Finn interrupted her by pulling out the Elvis photo and handing her a different picture. "Jerry Seinfeld. His very first stand-up show, he completely froze. Didn't utter a single word and was booed off the stage. Now he's one of the most successful stand-up comedians to ever take the stage."

Finn yanked out that photo and handed Rachel another one of a recognizable bearded man wearing glasses. "Steven Spielberg. He was rejected from U of SoCal for Theatre, Film and TV Program three times. He dropped out of college to become a film director and didn't get his BA until 2002. He's won two Oscars for Directing and his famous films include 'Schindler's List', 'Saving Private Ryan', and 'E.T.'." Quickly Finn removed the photo from her hand and replaced it with another less recognizable face. "Stephen King has tons of bestsellers and lots of movies based on his books, but his first novel was rejected thirty times. That novel's title was 'Carrie'."

Rachel smiled a bit and looked at Finn with adoration as he pulled away the photo, another one shoved into her hands, this one of a blonde middle aged lady. She knew exactly what Finn was doing, but let him continue with his practiced pep talk. "J.K. Rowling was broke and penniless when writing 'Harry Potter'and was fired from her job as a secretary. She was actually on welfare before her book was accepted by a publisher. Now she's a multi-millionaire and all the Harry Potter stories were turned into blockbuster movies."

Finn fished out another photo from the file folder, this one of a black lady with a round face and neatly styled hair. "Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a reporter and told she wasn't fit for TV. Then her talk show ran for over twenty years and now she runs her own media empire." The photo was dropped on the bed and replaced with a black and white one of a grandfatherly looking gentleman. "Walt Disney was let go by a newspaper for having no imagination and went bankrupt before creating Mickey Mouse. Now there's a major studio in Hollywood that still bears his name." Another photo, this one in colour, was of another grandfatherly looking gentleman. "Charles Schultz created Charlie Brown and Snoopy and sold his cartoons all over the world. TV specials were made based on those cartoons that are still aired during the holidays. Before that, his application for a job as a cartoonist at a huge company was rejected. The company that rejected him? Walt Disney."

Rachel giggled loudly at the irony of the last two examples, but Finn ignored it and continued pulling out photographs. Even though her mood had already improved considerably due to Finn's presentation, she could tell he was on a roll and had no intention of interrupting. Another photo was pulled from the pile and he spoke again. "Harrison Ford was told by a producer he didn't have the acting chops needed to make it in Hollywood. Then he went on to play Han Solo and Indiana Jones and was nominated for an Oscar award." The photo was dropped and another one picked up in its favour, this one of a voluptuous blond woman. "Marilyn Monroe was told she'd be better off as a secretary than a movie star, then she went on to fame and fortune on movie screens everywhere in the sixties." The photo was discarded and another was picked up, and Rachel watched with a soft smile and her hands over her heart as Finn continued. "Fred Astaire's first screen test was a flop and the guy in charge thought Fred couldn't sing or act and could only dance a little bit. Now Fred Astaire is thought to be one of the best dancers of his time."

That photo was tossed aside before Finn picked up the final photograph in the pile. He turned it around to show it to her. Rachel sucked in a breath to see the 8X10 photo of her own brown eyes and smiling face staring back at her. After a moment's pause, she spoke, not taking her eyes off the picture. "That's just me."

Finn pointed at the picture and his face turned serious as he looked at her pleadingly. "No, it's not just you. That's Rachel Berry. When she first auditioned for NYADA, she choked on a song she'd been singing since she was two years old. The Dean of the school, Carmen 'somebody'" Finn laced the word with venom, making Rachel grin, "told Rachel that sixteen bars was all she got to be impressive. Then Carmen walked away with no sympathy and left Rachel alone and crying on the stage."

Finn glanced again at the picture as he put an arm around her shoulders and held her close. "But when Rachel Berry leads her Glee Club to a National title, goes onto to win at least five Tony Awards, becomes a Broadway darling, turns famous in her own TV show and graces more Original Broadway Recording soundtracks than any other singer in history, that Carmen lady is going to see this photo and think only one thing."

"What's that?" Rachel asked, a smile still playing on her lips.

Finn smirked in return. "She's gonna think; man, did I ever fuck up not accepting her."

Rachel burst into laughter, even as she slapped his chest and admonished him. "Language, Finn!"

Finn shrugged, but then gestured towards the other photos. "She was wrong, Rach. Just like everyone else was wrong about these people, too."

Rachel couldn't help it anymore. Tears sprang from the corner of her eyes and began rolling down her cheeks. She turned quickly into his arms and buried her head into his shoulder, allowing his strong arms to pull her into his lap and comfort her again, just like he had three nights ago. Only this time, instead of despair and helplessness, she felt the old feelings of hope and optimism resurface in her soul. She shuddered out a breath through her sobs and after a few moments, looked back up into his eyes. "You really think all that? Even after what happened?"

"No." Finn smiled encouragingly at her as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I know allthat. And when you're fifty and wondering where the hell you're going to put your tenth Grammy Award 'cause there's no more space on the shelf in your trophy room, you're going laugh at that day and at Carmen whoever and wonder why you ever thought blowing one audition meant it was all over."

Rachel smiled and leaned forward, kissing him soundly and enjoying the feel of his lips and hands on her as she sat on his leg before collapsing back into his arms. For once, she knew that Finn was right; she was being overdramatic about this. Life wasn't over, and her talent wasn't broken. Even now, as she sat in Finn's warm and gentle embrace, the correct words and arrangement of lyrics for 'Don't Rain on My Parade' flew through her mind effortlessly.

It was one audition. That was all. True, it may have destroyed her chances at NYADA, but there were other options available to her if she looked for them. Life hadn't ended, it just was taking a different path.

She'd done her best, but failed anyway. Now she would have to decide which different path to take for success, just like all the other celebrities in those photos had.

She could do this. She was Rachel Barbara Berry. And no one would rain on her parade.

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