#stberrywrites

When Jesse had turned down the Vocal Adrenaline coaching job and moved to New York in an attempt to make it, he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. But here he was, preparing to star in an up and coming Broadway show less than six months after arriving in the city. All they had to do was cast the leading female but no one who had auditioned so far seemed right. Though he knew it was a risk, he’d put a bug in the ear of the producer that he knew someone that might be perfect. Now he just had to convince her to take the role if it was offered. Well, first he had to get her to audition and he wasn't sure she would even take his call at this point.

It was Noah’s little sister’s high school graduation that pulled the two of them back to Lima. While Rachel always loved visiting home, traveling while dealing with morning sickness wasn’t her idea of a good time. Leaning against him during the flight home, Rachel tried her best to nap though any decent rest evaded her. They hadn’t really talked about whether they were going to tell their parents about the baby or not and while she wouldn’t voice out loud that she was scared for their reaction, she kind of was. 

The show had been going steady for a month now and to celebrate and just relax, some of the cast was going out to a club. While Rachel had originally not wanted to go, she’d been dragged as a designated driver, though with not having her license in Britain she wasn’t sure whose bright idea that was. Still, she was hanging in a corner, taking a break from dancing when she caught a glimpse of a face that had been on her mind far too often, something she’d never admit. Still, she wasn’t sure if he would actually be at a place like this so she chalked it up to her mind playing tricks on her as she moved to the bar to order herself a water. 

Rachel had never been good at the whole dating thing. Truth be told, she hadn’t had much experience at it. But tonight she was supposed to be going out with Jesse and for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what to wear. He’d mentioned a Broadway show, though she didn’t know which one and while that helped, it really didn’t at the same time. 

Completely stumped for the moment, she moved to the bathroom, curled her hair and applied her makeup and by the time she got back to her room there was a knock on her door. A quick glance at the clock told her that she was running beyond late and she cursed to herself before moving to let Jesse in with an apology as she was still in her robe. “Give me a few more minutes. I’ve been struggling over what to wear.” She whispered, slightly insecure because this was their first real date. 

This was her second doctor’s appointment since she and Noah found out that she was pregnant. It had basically been what she was expecting. Today though, today was going to be different. This time the doctor was actually going to look for a heartbeat allowing them to hear their baby for the first time. 

As she sat on the exam table waiting for the doctor, Rachel couldn’t help but glance over at Noah nervously. Part of her was worried that something would be wrong with the baby but the other was mostly just worried about how the emotions that this was bound to stir up in the two of them, both positive and negative. “Are you ready for this?” She whispered her hand moving to rest on her nonexistent bump protectively.