Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of it's affiliates. If I did, it wouldn't be Glee, it would be the Idina Menzel show. Any mistakes or untrue facts are my mistakes that I take full responsibility for, this is just simply a product of my imagination that I want to share with those who are willing to be a part of it.
Author Note: So I know this fic made a 360 degree turn from the original plot I intended it to be when I first started writing it, so please bare with my angst at the fact that Shelby and Rachel don't have any kind of acceptable story line. And last but not least, enjoy. Reviews are always appreciated!
Rachel ran out of the auditorium, tears streaming down her face. She was so happy, but so sad, and also so confused all at the same time. Finn just proposed and all she could leave him with was an "I don't know"...? Get it together Berry! Was all she could say to herself. Rachel loved Finn. There was no doubt in her mind about that and she didn't know how she would survive without him, but marriage; marriage was something that she had never really actually thought about with Finn. As she ran down the hallways of McKinley High, she knew that she had to talk to someone about this. Mr. Shue? No. He was too far away on cloud 9 with Emma. Her dads? Away on a two week cruise. Again. Friends? Don't really have any. She thought. Well there's always Quinn but that could get real awkward real fast. Then she saw Puck who wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a classroom. "What's wrong my Jewish princess?" Rachel smiled at his little nickname for her. "Nothing. Not like I can even trust you or bear to be in the same room with you for more than a minute after you and Shelby had seeee—did what you guys did". She ended her sentence awkwardly. "Look what went on with me and Shelby was a mistake. She made that loud and clear". Rachel shook her head of thoughts that started to dwell in her brain. And that's when it hit her—she knew who she had wanted to talk to all along—who's strong comforting arms she wanted to fall into right now. "Look Puck this is none of your business so if you will excuse me I have to make a phone call". Puck put his hands up in the air admitting defeat and backed out of the classroom closing the door behind him. Rachel pulled out her phone from her dress pocket, dialed a number and held it to her ear. She looked up at the ceiling as her tears continued to silently fall. She heard a "hello" from the other end and Rachel felt a flutter in her stomach. "Shelby?" She asked.
Half an hour later.
Rachel sat in the same empty classroom, fiddling with the hem of her dress, ignoring Finn's infinite calls. "You better be dying Rachel cause I did not just drive a half an hour here in rush hour traffic to rehearse another regionals song with you." Shelby said as she stormed into the classroom in a fury. She looked down at Rachel realizing she had been crying. Hard. And she softened her facial expression and tone. There was a fire of some kind that ignited in her as she saw Rachel's pained and vulnerable face. "Only because you really don't need anymore practice with the song". Shelby added trying to mitigate her previous statement. Rachel finally made eye contact with Shelby only to have her face flushed with a bright shade of red. When her eyes met Shelby's sympathetic, calming, and concerned eyes, Rachel started to cry hard again. "Alright" Shelby said not trying to show the pain she had from seeing her child this upset. She pulled out a tissue from her purse and started to wipe Rachel's face clean from the streaked mascara. "What happened?" Shelby finally asked. "Look I didn't call you because I needed your services as a singing coach. I called you because I need your services as a... mother". Shelby's eyes widened as she pulled a chair up next to Rachel and sat in it. "O. Okay then—shoot" Shelby said realizing the awkwardness. "Okay you have to promise not to freak out once I tell you this" she said looking down into her lap. "Rachel, I'll kill him" Shelby said leaping to her feet interpreting Rachel's glance down into her lap as a glance down at her stomach as something else. "No no no no no no nothing like that" Rachel said trying to pull Shelby back down to the seat. "Finn sort of—proposed to me. He wants me to marry him". There was a long moment of silence before Shelby said "Wow. I did not see that one coming" she said absolutely stunned by what Rachel had said. "You know at first I thought this was you wanting condoms or birth control. But this was completely unexpected". "Well I'm already past the need for that stuff. I got a hold of it and figured out how to use it myself". Rachel said stiffly "O is that so?" Shelby said with a smirk on her face. "Yes" Rachel said proudly "Well that is a whole other conversation we will be having in the near future but back to the situation at hand—What did you say?" "I didn't really say anything. I kind of ran out and called you". There was a pause. "O honey. I'm glad you called me but I'm not sure exactly what you want from me". Shelby said. "I guess -I just want your advice". Rachel replied with a shrug. "Look as much I want to pick you up and carry you to a convent right now, I think you have to consider your options. You're only seventeen. So you're not getting married tomorrow. I think you need to sit down and take some time to really think and ask yourself: Do I really want to spend the rest of my life married to Finn Hudson. Do I love him?". "I really do but Finn wants to go into the Army and I'm not exactly sure if I want to loose him like that".
This conversation carried on until Rachel decided that she just needed more time to think. Shelby was satisfied with this verdict. "I'm really-sort of—honored that you would come to me first Rachel". Shelby finally said "before anyone else, to talk about this with. I guess I just thought that you would want to talk to your dads". Rachel gave a slight smile. "They aren't around that much for me to actually have a real conversation with. The majority of our conversations are 'hi. How is school going?' and then they pack up their suitcases again and leave". "What do you mean 'leave'?" Shelby said a little surprised at the fact that Leroy and Hiram were leaving Rachel for long periods of time. "Their jobs call for them to have to take long business trips to all these places. They could be gone from anywhere to days at a time to weeks to sometimes even months. I never know when they are leaving and I never know when they are coming back. Sometimes I'll just wake up in the morning and they won't be there and I'll check the closets for suitcases and clothes and those will be gone too. And depending on how much money they leave for me on the kitchen counter, I'm able to surmise how long they will be gone". Shelby was literally taken aback. How could Rachel's fathers just leave her like that? What if she had gotten sick? "Wait so who takes care of you?" Shelby asked full well knowing the answer but praying that she was wrong. "I do...Have you ever wondered why you've been to more of my singing competitions than they have? Or how they never actually contacted you after we met last year? Do you think they really cared about me enough to have a therapist live in our spare bedroom?" "Wait so all that stuff with the stapled costume and therapy threats...that wasn't them? That was just you not have anyone to help you?" Rachel nodded as the tears started to silently fall again. She continued burying her face in her hands and letting out a sob. "They're never home. Ever. And those rare occasions that they are home for more than a couple days at a time, we just fight about how I want them around more but they can never be here. They just say they are working hard so they can pay for New York, meanwhile I've seen the bank statements that come in our mail with big overdue stamps on them and I know that we have more than enough money for me to live in New York for the next ten years!". Rachel was sobbing. Shelby didn't know what to do. It had finally all clicked for her. Shelby realized why Rachel was so adamant about having her around. She had no one to take care of her and Shelby was the only parent around long enough for Rachel to actually have a chance to bond with and Shelby just tossed her aside as if she didn't exist. Shelby felt tears well up in her eyes. How could she have not seen this? Everything Rachel said to her was a cry for help. "I'm so sorry Rachel. You tried to tell me, but I was a bitch to you". Rachel continued: "I really needed you. Not just recently, but my whole life. Did you know when I was 6, I was bullied on the playground for not having a mother? And then when I was 10 all the girls would have braids in their hair but my dads had no idea how to do them and people made fun of me for it. And then I turned twelve and mother nature started taking it's course and I needed a bra and my dads we too embarrassed to take me shopping. They ended up ordering me one online that didn't even fit right. And don't even get me started when I turned thirteen and got my period for the first time. My dads were away of course and I thought I was dying because there was blood everywhere and I didn't know what to do about it. I wore three pairs of pants to school that day so people wouldn't notice the blood and started to cry when I finally got enough courage to go to the school nurse". Shelby looked down. The regret of not being there for Rachel when Rachel really needed a woman to be there for her during her firsts. She let the tears fall. "I'm sorry Rachel. All I've ever wanted was for you to know how sorry I am not being there". Shelby stood up a little bit pulled Rachel on her lap. Rachel allowed herself to fall into Shelby's embrace. She rested her head in the crook of Shelby's neck. "And then the big things happened. I got my first kiss and lost my virginity—almost to your beloved Jesse-" "Wait what?" Shelby snapped out of her trance of cuddling with Rachel and turned her around to look her in the eyes. "You told Jesse to seduce me so he could force me to meet you..." Rachel said matter-of-factly. "Um first of all I told him to befriend you and second of all I told him just to find out whether you wanted to meet me or not". "Well whatever the case may be, he almost convinced me to have sex with him—but I ended up waiting for Finn". Shelby smiled at her daughter's good decision making skills.
They sat like that for a while. Rachel tangled in Shelby's arms just enjoying each other's company. Shelby had taken to playing with Rachel's perfect, long, shiny hair with one hand and Rachel had taken to playing with Shelby's rings and bracelets that adorned her other hand who's fingers were intertwined with Rachel's. Shelby finally broke the silence "So what are we going to do about the fact that you are only seventeen and you have neglectful parents?" Are we really going to do anything? Rachel thought as she gave Shelby a shrug. "Well I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago" Shelby said. "What?" Rachel asked. "I"m going to call my lawyers in pursuit of adopting my own daughter." Rachel smiled but then quickly frowned. "You know my dads won't agree to that". "They won't have to. They are being neglectful in every way of you which is illegal so I wouldn't worry too much about them. And besides, there isn't a judge in this world who wouldn't keep an able and willing mother away from her biological daughter". Rachel responded to Shelby's statement by throwing her arms around Shelby's neck and hugging her until Shelby practically felt like she was being choked. "This way, you and I will both finally get what we have always wanted" Shelby said tucking Rachel's hair behind her ear. "Well I get the mother I have always wanted, but what do you get besides a grumpy and hormonal teenager?" Shelby threw her head back and laughed. Rachel loved the way her mother did that. "I get the only person that was ever missing from me having the perfect family". "And who's that?" Rachel asked even though she knew the answer already. "Who? YOU silly!" Shelby said laughing again. She started to tickle Rachel who giggled and wiggled under Shelby's touch. When they finally got tired of that Shelby brought Rachel's face up to her level. "I love you Rachel", "I love you too mommy".