I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.

I have tons of this story already written, and I will be posting new chapters every couple of days. It's an AU holiday story that takes place over the span of Christmas and New Years. Hope you like!

R&R please.

Chapter 1

December 12th

Shelby smiles softly as she pulls into the long driveway of their new house, the gravel crunching underneath the wheels of the sleek, black escalade. She slowly rolls the car to a stop and gazes at the old, rustic looking manor that she and her family are moving into. A quick glance towards the front passenger seat and the back seat confirms that the kids are still sleeping. She unbuckles her seatbelt and slides out of the car, wincing against the cold December air while quietly closing the car door, so as to not wake the sleeping children. Shelby grins when the large front door of the house swings open and her wife steps out onto the porch, looking stunning even with no make up and her golden blonde hair thrown up in a messy pony tail.

"You guys are finally here!" Shelby chuckles at the impatience in Cassandra's voice as the blonde woman practically throws herself into her arms.

"We missed you," Shelby murmurs into Cassandra's neck.

"I missed you guys too," Cassandra responds, pulling back to softly kiss her wife. " So much," she adds sincerely. "Are the kids asleep?"

"Yeah, they got tired doing nothing," Shelby chuckles. "Santana fought it, of course, but she crashed about an hour ago." She smiles tenderly as she talks about their youngest child, their bundle of constant energy.

"Sounds like Santana," Cassandra states with a warm smile. "How were the others?"

"Noah was great, he fell asleep as soon as we got on the road and only woke up to eat. Rachel and Quinn were a nightmare though, they bickered almost the whole damn way! Driving from New York was a bad idea," Shelby sighs, her exhaustion showing.

"I could have told you that. In fact, I'm pretty sure I did," Cassandra teases. "Come on, let's grab the kids and get out of the cold," she suggests, trudging across the gravel towards the car. Cassandra beams brightly as she catches her first glimpse of her beloved children in over a week. She pulls open the front passenger door and smiles warmly at Quinn as the fifteen year old grins tiredly back at her.

"Hey, mama," Quinn murmurs, accepting Cassandra's help as she stiffly climbs out of the escalade and seeks refuge in her mother's arms.

"Hi, sweetheart, how are you doing?"

"Good...tired," Quinn grumbles, laying her head on her mama's shoulder. "I missed you," she adds around a yawn.

"I missed you too, baby. How was the last week of school?" Cassandra questions, already knowing the answer but hoping that Quinn will tell her herself.

"Not good. It's a long story," Quinn grumbles into her shoulder.

"I've got plenty of time, we'll talk later. Go on inside, I'm just gonna help your mom get the others." Quinn nods and does as her mother tells her, yawning as she goes. Cassandra stumbles and almost falls over as Santana crashes into her, the ten year old clearly thrilled to see her mama.

"Hey, baby girl," Cassandra grins. With a slight groan, she lifts Santana into her arms and hugs her tightly. Santana is getting much too big for that, but Cassandra will never admit it. "I missed you," she states softly, pressing a soft kiss to the child's cheek.

"I missed you too, mama!" Shelby smiles warmly as she watches the reunion between her wife and their youngest child. As tough as Santana tries to act, she truly had missed her mama a great deal. "Did you behave yourself for mommy?" Cassandra asks, even though she already knows there had been minimal issues from Santana.

"Yeah, but Quinn and Rachel didn't," Santana says with a serious nod, both of her parents rolling their eyes.

"Alright, tattle tale," Cassandra gently scolds. "I asked about you, not your sisters. Go on inside before you freeze, we'll be right there," Cassandra tells her as she sets Santana back onto her feet. "Any opportunity to tattle on her sisters..." Cassandra grins at her wife. Shelby rolls her eyes yet again. Cassandra always seems to find Santana's tattling amusing, but at least she always hides it from the girl. It was something they really hope Santana will grow out of.

"Let's just get the kids inside."

It proves to be a struggle to wake Noah up and encourage him to go inside. At seventeen years old, he is obviously much too big to be half dragged, half carried, by his parents so they fought with him to wake up properly. Something that causes him a great deal of annoyance. Why do these women always want him to wake up?! Noah, please stop sleeping at the dinner table. Noah, it's almost two in the afternoon, please wake up. Noah, you need to stop falling asleep. Noah, Noah, Noah. Wake up, wake up, wake up. It's all he ever hears!

Finally, they get him to move his lazy ass into the house while Cassandra guides a sleepy Rachel inside as well. Shelby leans against the car for a moment, looking up at their new house. She can't believe they actually did it. They finally moved out of New York and back to Ohio, a couple of miles outside of their hometown. She sighs. Lima had still looked the same when she drove through it to get here, and she's glad to be home.

"Babe? Are you coming? It's freezing!" Shelby looks up to see Cassandra standing in the large doorway of the house.

"Yeah!" Shelby locks the car and trudges across to the house, relieved that the journey is over. Cassandra holds out her hand to her as Shelby reaches the door, leading her wife into the house. "Wow..." Shelby breathes out. "How the hell did you get all of this done in a week?"

"I'm awesome," Cassandra shrugs, a cocky smirk playing on her lips. The last time Shelby had seen this house it had been a mess. Dust and damp covered, and floorboards barely strong enough to hold a cat. "Contractors work faster when there's extra money involved and, besides, it wasn't that big of a job," Cassandra explains. "It mostly just needed a really good clean." Shelby and Cassandra walk around the house, hand in hand, and inspecting every inch of their new house. They listen as Rachel and Quinn furiously argue over which bedroom each girl should have, but decide to stay out of it for now. "Hey, bud, have you picked a bedroom?" Cassandra asks as Noah brushes passed them.

"Yeah, I'm taking the basement," he announces. "It's the one that's furthest away from those two," Noah adds, jerking his head in the direction of Quinn and Rachel. "Santana's in the attic," he adds, grabbing a nearby box of his stuff and carrying it downstairs.

"We should make sure Quinn and Rachel's bedrooms aren't too close to each other," Shelby murmurs. "We should take the middle bedroom so that they're seperated. I don't think it's a good idea for thirteen and fifteen year old girls who already constantly fight to near each other," she adds. "All that anger and hormones in close proximity..." Shelby winces.

"Yeah," Cassandra nods. Although, she isn't all that thrilled with the idea of being a buffer for the girls. "Is it a good idea for Santana to be in the attic room?" she asks softly. She doesn't love the thought of their youngest being so far away from them.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Shelby shrugs. She smirks, "you're not thinking about those silly stories, are you?"

"What stories?" Noah butts in as she reappears from downstairs. "About the house?" Cassandra raises a brow at her wife, warning her not to tell him. Shelby chuckles lightly and rubs her wife's arm.

"He's seventeen, I'm sure he can handle it," Shelby teases. She looks across at Noah, "when we were kids, everyone used to be terrified of this house. There was always stories about it. About the infamous Pierce family," Shelby grins.

"Oh yeah, aunt April told me about that," Noah says, his eyes full of recognition. "William Pierce, right?" Shelby nods. "Yeah, the dude that went crazy back in the sixties, and killed his family."

"Except he didn't," Cassandra interjects. "There was no William Pierce. It was made up by some high school kid to terrify the younger kids in the area. The older kids just wanted the place to themselves so that they had a place to smoke weed."

"How would you know that?" Noah asks, his features amused as he leans against the wall.

"Because I know everything."

"And you were a pot-head in high school?" Noah smirks. Cassandra glances at Shelby, hoping her wife would help her out with this one. Nope. She's on her own.

"Do as I say, not as I do," Cassandra states simply, walking into the bedroom she had been sleeping in for the last week and leaving her wife and son in the hall. "Go wash up, dinner will be ready soon." Noah turns to look at Shelby, his face serious, but his eyes twinkling with amusement,

"Ma's got the munchies."

0-00-0

Rachel frowns as she looks around her new bedroom. It's nice and all, but she hates that they've moved here. What was wrong with New York? They had a nice house...a nice life. New York has Broadway, and Times Square, and interesting people. What does Lima have? Nothing. That's what Lima has. Absolutely nothing. Rachel wishes they had stayed in New York. She hasn't said anything to her parents, though, because none of her siblings had. They seem okay being here. Even Noah, despite his love for the Giants.

"Where the hell is it?" Rachel spins around to see Quinn standing in the doorway.

"Where's what?" Rachel asks, her defences already raised due to the tone of her sister's voice.

"You know what, my cell phone! Where is it?" Quinn demands. "I left it on my bed. I'm bored of you always stealing it. Give it back." Rachel frowns and shrugs,

"I don't have it," she answers honestly.

"Of course you don't," Quinn scoffs. "You always take it. Just give it back, I need it."

"I don't have it," Rachel repeats slowly, as though her sister is stupid. "It's not my fault you don't know where you left it!"

"Stop lying, Rachel. Just give me it."

"I'm not lying!" Rachel raises her voice and stamps her foot. "Get out of my room if you're just going to be mean to me."

"I'm not leaving until I get it back!" Quinn yells back.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Shelby asks as she steps into the room, not at all surprised that they are arguing again already. It's pretty much all that they do.

"Rachel took my cell phone again," Quinn states coldly. "And now the little loser is lying about it. Like we don't all know that it's always her."

"No name calling, please," Shelby tells her oldest daughter firmly. Her kids can be as mad at each as they want, but she won't stand for them tearing each other down. "Rachel, do you have Quinn's cell phone?" she asks calmly, "and tell me the truth."

"I don't have it, mom. I promise," Rachel swears, feeling extremely put out that she is being accused in such a manner. Shelby studies Rachel's face, she can always tell when the girl is lying. Rachel is awful at lying, and Shelby can tell that she is being honest.

"She doesn't have it, Quinn," Shelby says. "Perhaps you've just forgotten where you put it," she adds softly.

"Mom, I'm telling you...I didn't forget. I remember putting it on my bed," Quinn argues, convinced that her little sister has taken it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

"She doesn't have it," Shelby repeats. "So, apologise to your sister and go look for it." Quinn huffs, determined to not apologise to Rachel, but one look from her mother and she know that it is best to do as she has been asked.

"Fine. Sorry," Quinn grumbles, before turning on her heel and storming from Rachel's bedroom. She knows Rachel has it. Quinn stomps into her own bedroom and slams the door closed, furious that Rachel is getting away with this. Her hazel eyes narrow as she gazes at her bed, spotting the cell phone laying on top of the comforter. Snatching it up, Quinn begins to look through the device, checking to see if anything has been changed on it. That's weird, she clearly remember the cell being gone from the bed. Maybe Santana or Noah is messing with her. She groans. Why couldn't she have just been an only child?

0-00-0

Dinner is mostly a quiet affair, with Santana being the only one to do any talking. Quinn and Rachel have spent most of the meal glaring at each other from across the table, while Noah just looks bored of the drama that they always seem to cause. Thank god for Santana, because she is the only one interested in interacting with their parents, something they appreciate immensely. Their youngest child doesn't even seem to notice the issue between her two older sisters and, even if she does, doesn't seem to care in the slightest. No, she is much more interested in talking about her new friend.

"...and then she showed me the cool little stream in the woods, and we were jumping across it and..."

"Whoa, wait a second," Cassandra interrupts Santana. "You went into the woods?" she questions. Santana nods, suddenly unsure of herself. "You left the garden without asking mommy or me?" Cassandra checks. Santana's head drops, and she nods sullenly.

"Santana, don't ever do that again. I do not want you playing in the woods, and I certainly do not want you to be playing beside the stream," Cassandra scolds. "Do you understand me?"

"But, that's where Brittany likes to play," Santana argues, a pout pulling at her bottom lip.

"Brittany is your new friend?" Santana nods.

"Well, next time you can ask Brittany to play somewhere else with you," Cassandra states firmly. "I'm sure Brittany's parents don't want her playing in the woods either." Santana pouts, and Shelby notices the guilt on her wife's face. Cassandra had always struggled against that pout.

"Mama and I have no problem with you playing outside, and you can leave the garden as long as you tell us where you are going," Shelby injects herself into the conversation, "but you are not allowed to play in the woods. Okay?"

"Okay, mommy," Santana agrees. Albeit, begrudgingly.

"Thank you, honey," Shelby smiles. "Mama and I would really like to meet Brittany," she adds kindly. Shelby wants to know who her kid is hanging out with.

"You'll really like her, mommy," Santana grins. "She's super pretty and nice. She has blonde hair just like mama's, and it's really soft!" Shelby grins back at her youngest,

"She sounds awesome, baby girl." Cassandra and Shelby share an amused look at Santana's excitement. "You can bring her over some day." Shelby casts a glance across at Noah and notices that he is finished eating. "Hey, bud. If you're finished you can go, you don't need to wait for us to finish," she tells him with a smile. Shelby knows he hates being surrounded by his sisters' drama. He nods and, without a word, takes his empty plate to the sink. He's somewhat relieved that he can leave, the tension around the kitchen table could be cut with a knife. Noah makes his way down to the basement and flicks the light on. The space is huge, and his ma had put a decent sized sofa in there with all of his bedroom furniture. This place is going to be his safe place away from his sisters; his sanctuary. He opens the closet that he had been looking through before dinner, one of the few spaces in the house that Cassandra hadn't cleared yet. Noah sits down and crosses his legs in front of him, sitting just inside the closet. There's still so much shit in here from the previous owners, and some of it hasn't been touched in years. Pulling out a box, he opens it and peers inside,

"Junk," he mutters and pushes it aside. Another box catches his gaze, and he shimmies forward. The box itself is old and covered in dust, and it feels weak underneath his touch as he brushes the dust off. Noah carefully pulls it closer to him and lifts the lid. This box looks much more interesting. He pulls out an old, ragged doll and studies it. It doesn't look like one that Santana would play with, it looks much more old fashioned than any of her collection. Half of its hair is missing, and the clothes are stained and frayed. It looks too old for even someone his parents' age to have played with as a child. Placing it to one side, Noah lifts out the next item. It's an old photo album, and the leather binding feels soft. He can tell that it's old, but it has been well taken care of. It surprises him that someone would leave this behind.

Curiosity gets the best of him, and he carefully opens the album. The pictures are all in black and white, a few of them dog-eared. He gazes at the first picture curiously, studying the man in the picture. The man is dressed in old fashioned, formal clothes and he's sitting rigidly. There is no smile on his face, and his eyes are cold. There's not a shred of happiness on his features, even though the man has his family sitting around him. His, what Noah assumes is, his wife looks timid and neat. There's not one strand of her light hair out of place. Two young girls sit in front of the man and woman, but it's only one of them that catches Noah's attention and he smiles. Despite being surrounded by her stoic looking family, the slightly older girl has a large smile on her face. Her light coloured hair is around her shoulders, and her eyes seem to twinkle. The only shred of happiness in this picture comes from her...the little blonde girl, from so long ago.

To be continued...I have most of the story written so it will be updated every couple of days. Let me know what you think!