Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 16th cycle. Now cycle 17!

"There's Two of 'Em"
Will, re: Rachel & Shelby

He was waiting for someone to tell him it was a joke… It surely felt like one to him. On the one side, there was Rachel… his student who, at times, made him feel like a very small man which, from a girl her size, was a lot to say. But then at other times, ones where she wasn't being her usual petite over ruler self, she was every bit of the talent he'd been thrilled to feature. Like he'd told her once, he was a fan.

Then on the other side, there was Shelby… She was at the head of an award-winning choir, and it was clear to anyone who met her why that was. She had power, passion, ambition…

He couldn't pick two better people to just scream 'we share genes,' but then how was he supposed to know that it was a possibility? Sure, he knew Rachel had two gay fathers, the subject did come up more times than he could count… He felt like he knew them without ever having seen them. But the point was he knew at some time they would have either sought adoption or a surrogate… That this could be Shelby Corcoran, director to Vocal Adrenaline and his make-out of once upon a time…

He hoped no one saw the look that flashed across his face for a split second, when Quinn and Mercedes dropped the bomb on Glee Club… Shelby Corcoran was Rachel's mother.

Of course he hadn't known at the time, but now he felt like he'd be walking on hot coals with either of them, one for a misguided fling, the other for a situation he'd done his very best to keep from degenerating… he didn't think Rachel's passing crush was anything to worry about anymore, but all it'd take would be one suggestion from someone and the trouble he'd evaded could come back at him, fierce and spiteful. A crush was one thing, but Rachel being Rachel it was just more complicated. He didn't know what the state of Shelby's relationship with her daughter was, but if this event brought on a burst of motherly wrath, Shelby Corcoran was hardly the person he wanted to be up against.

It was not unlike what he feared in regards to Rachel and her ever finding out about the making out on his couch with her mother. There were so many factors. Sue Sylvester knew, Emma knew… The secret existed in a number of avenues of the school. All it'd take would be one slip up… or one big pratfall, staged for maximum impact by the cheerleading coach, and it would be out there. Whether she found out like this or another way, another concern was that confusion would bring about the second coming of stalker Rachel and her 'school girl crush.' He didn't know how he'd be able to set her right again… He hadn't even been the one to do it the first time… all he saw was more trouble hanging over his head.

And even if it didn't come to the resurgence of the crush, upsetting Rachel was never a good idea… and she would be upset. He could finally drive her to quit the club and not return as she'd done every last time before. He didn't like having to spell it out, especially in front of her, but they did need her to win, and not just because of the 'twelve members' rule. She gave their club something extra, something that could really make other choirs know they were in for a battle, no easy victory.

She could quit, or she could stay, revealing to all of them what he'd done. It wouldn't matter that he hadn't known she was Rachel's mother, he still knew and they still knew that she was with Vocal Adrenaline. That was never something that inspired unity within the group. If he lost their respect, then Glee Club would just wither away.

He had to do damage control. He had to not only do damage control, he had to make it not look like damage control. With Shelby he imagined it was fairly easy. She wasn't around often enough to be too big of a direct issue. He'd talk to her, as any concerned educator would, and he'd offer himself in any way possibly needed that didn't lead to trouble.

With Rachel, well… He couldn't just shower her with privileges, solos, even if she'd be thrilled by it at first… She'd know something wasn't right eventually… not to mention the others wouldn't take it sitting down. Maybe he could throw her one, here and there, keep her happy.

There was still a wild card, in that both his little secrets could still find their way to the surface, through Rachel and Shelby themselves. But he wasn't going to let himself worry out that way; it'd just eat him up. He'd done nothing wrong; he just had to keep it so that remained as it was… then he could just be in awe with the rest of them.

THE END

[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]