Author's Note: I've been feeling listless this whole weekend due to that fact that my mother and I cannot be near each other for more than five minutes without fighting. It just take a lot out of a person. So I decided, instead of sitting around and letting myself fall into a funk (for lack of a better word), to just take 3 hours out of my day and write this AU, feel-good mother daughter story about my fav mother/daughter duo on my fav television show, even though I hate RIB and most of the plot lines on the show.
Other things to note: Like I've said before, I'm currently working on a multi-chapter Rachel/Shelby story somewhat similar to this one but set in a different universe. I'll post it as soon as I finish writing it because I don't want to post part of a story that I'm too lazy to finish...So long story short: I'll post it if I finish it.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Very brief mentions of character death (Deaths are not Rachel and Shelby though so no worries). There is straight up verbal abuse, mentions of physical abuse, and a somewhat descriptive, but very brief, rape scene.
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 grammatical errors, untrue facts, and/or unrealistic situations are all my mistakes that I take full responsibility for. This is simply just a product of my imagination that I want to share with those who are willing to be a part of it.
Last but not least, ENJOY!
Rachel sat in front of the headstones, just staring at their names. Leroy Berry, beloved husband and father, RIP. Hiram Berry beloved husband and father, RIP. She couldn't believe it had been two years already. Two years of sheer and utter loneliness and sadness. With every passing day, she longed more and more for her fathers, for anyone, to love her, to take care of her. She loved Finn, yes, and knew that she was tethered to him for some reason or another, but they were taking a break, and despite all of this, she longed for something more than just physical affection from a boyfriend, she longed for care and affection from a parent. Someone that she could just act like the little kid she was at heart around, and who would take care of her.
But Rachel was smarter than that, she knew that ever since her fathers had died, she was never going to be able to get something like that with anyone. Since none of her relatives wanted anything to do with her purely for the fact that she was the spawn of two gay men, Rachel was entered into the system immediately after her fathers were pronounced dead and has been bounced around from foster home to foster home for the past two years. This reason for this being that she craved attention, and the only way she got it was through misbehaving. If she got in trouble in school, or with law enforcement, her foster parents were forced to take action and shower her with attention, even if it did take the form of punishments and lectures...not that the fosters actually cared about what Rachel did and didn't do, they only cared that if they were called into school to deal with something that Rachel had done, it meant that one, their reputations as payable foster parents would be diminished and two, it meant that they had one or two less hours to drink and smoke before their 6 kids of all different ages (Rachel being the eldest) came home from school and they had to listen to screaming kids complain that they were hungry.
Rachel finally trudged into McKinley High School at least two hours late. She didn't care. She was feeling particularly nostalgic about her fathers today and wanted to go see them. Just as she was finished getting her books from her locker, Emma ran up to her telling her that she needed to go to Figgins office.
"Look, if this is about me being late," Rachel said "I was just at the cemetery".
"Look, I don't know what this is about Rachel, all I know is that you, Finn, and Puck were all called into Figgin's office and I have been running around this school trying to find you for the past 20 minutes".
Rachel sighed. She knew Emma meant well and was doing everything she could to help Rachel not feel so miserable all the time, but Rachel was tired of people just looking out for her because they were legally obligated to. She wanted her dads back because they looked out for her because they genuinely loved her. Her foster parents hated her, and they made that quite clear every time they beat her for misbehaving.
"I'll go their right now" Rachel said turning back to Emma. Emma smiled, satisfied with Rachel's answer turned around and headed the other way towards her own office.
Rachel made the slow trek towards Principle Figgin's office and opened the door to a very unnerving scene in front of her. Puck and Finn were sitting in next to each other in two chairs that were lined up in front of Figgin's desk, both with their respective mothers standing behind them. Puck's mom was practically trembling and looked very disturbed. Rachel decided not to read too much into her demeanor remembering that Puck had mentioned on numerous occasions that his mother was a very emotional person. Then there was Carol. She just looked downright pissed. She stood behind Finn's chair, practically towering over him which was strange because Finn was taller than her. It made Rachel very uneasy. And then, there was an empty chair on the other side of Finn. Rachel face went ghost white and she practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Shelby standing behind it. She took her seat in the chair knowing it was intended for her once the whole pattern of each of the moms standing behind their respective children registered with her.
She didn't make eye contact with Shelby as she scanned the rest of the room. Sue was standing next to Figgins, practically fuming and Will was sitting on the couch with his face buried in his hands. Rachel giggled at the irony of it.
"There is nothing funny about this Barbara!" Sue finally shouted breaking the ice. "You and your little glee-freaks have committed a felony!"
"What are you talking about?" Rachel shouted back in a mocking tone. "Please Ms. Berry let's wait until one of your parents gets here so we can get started with this meeting". Rachel gave Figgins a perplexed look as she turned around to Shelby. Even though Shelby wasn't legally her mother, and they hadn't talked since singing Poker Face, Rachel assumed that Shelby was here to represent her parental unit as her physical position in the room indicated as such.
But Rachel was proven wrong when her foster mother Drea burst into the room. "What the hell did you do now?" She demand pushing Shelby aside. Drea yanked on the young girl's pony tail forcing Rachel to face her. "Ow! and I don't knooooow" Rachel whined. Shelby immediately snapped into action. "Get your hands off of her!" Shelby said yanking Drea's arms off of Rachel. Rachel looked at her mother and heart fluttered as Shelby protected her from the looming physical pain she was going to endure by perhaps just delaying for the time being. "Why don't you mind your own business lady" Drea responded, turning to look at Shelby. "Well you know what, it is my business because you happen to be putting your hands on my dau-" Shelby was cut off by Figgins.
"Good Rachel Berry's mother has finally arrived" Figgins announced referring to Drea in his ever-so endearing Indian accent. "EXCUSE ME?" Shelby exclaimed looking to Rachel for some kind of explanation. "Look Rachel, I know you and I haven't been on the best of terms lately, but" Rachel finally looked her birth mother, "Not now, Shelby, please." Rachel pleaded with her words and eyes, addressing her mother for the first time. Shelby's jaw was practically on the floor as she then looked to Will for an explanation. He just shook his head in shame.
Figgins finally got down to business about the whole slashing Vocal Adrenaline's tires (and Rachel realized that Shelby was present in this meeting to represent Vocal Adrenaline, not her mother. She mentally berated herself for getting her hopes up) with frequent interruptions from Sue who further exacerbated the situation budding in with accusations of the three students being delinquents and undisciplined and any other insult she could think of. Everyone pretty much ignored her as she was just being over the top and obnoxious. The meeting was finally concluded with Finn agreeing to pay Shelby back the money by working for it. She agreed only because she knew the sooner this issue could be resolved, the sooner she could talk to Rachel.
As soon as Figgins dismissed everybody, Sue stormed out, unhappy with the fact that the three of them weren't hauled off to juvie, Puck and Finn were escorted out by their mothers, only earning themselves a smack on the wrist and an empty threat to not try anything like this again. Rachel, on the other hand, was terrified for her life. "Let's go, you worthless piece of trash" Drea said yanking Rachel up by the shoulder of her t-shirt. "Wait until your father gets ahold of you". Rachel winced at Drea referring to her foster father as her real father. Her only real fathers were buried in the earth right now she thought, and she's at the mercy of Drea, and Shelby's perceptiveness and determination.
"There's no need to talk to her like that" Will finally butted in following them into the hallway with Shelby hot on his trail. Just then, Rachel felt herself gently being pulled from Drea's painful grip and felt Will's arms wrap around her shoulders. Next thing she heard was a slap and she looked up at Shelby, who eyes were ignited with fire and fury. "If you call my daughter a worthless piece of trash one more time, I will gladly go to prison for murdering the likes of you". Drea put her hands up sneering "I don't know what mental institution you escaped from but Rachel belongs to me so get your own foster kid to pay for your drug addictions, cause I know Rachel pays for mine and I'm not giving her up". Shelby almost lost it, but Will pushed Rachel behind him as he put his arms around Shelby to restrain her from doing something stupid that would prevent her from getting Rachel back should she pursue it.
"Let's go you dumb whore" Drea said walking over to Rachel taking hold of her arm and escorting her out. As they approached the door, Drea paused letting go of Rachel, "Ugh I need a smoke. Stay here Rebecca while I go outside, and if you don't, it'll be the last thing you do". Drea warned. "IT'S RACHEL!" Rachel screamed after her.
By the time it took for all this to happen, at the other end of the hallway, Will had quickly explained to Shelby that Leroy and Hiram had passed away two years ago and Rachel had been bounced around from home to home ever since.
Rachel slid down the wall and sat on the ground with the tears falling from her eyes as she listened to Will and Shelby's conversation as it echoed down the hallway. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T ANYONE CALL ME?" Shelby screamed. "TWO YEARS AGO I WAS PRACTICALLY ABOUT THE COMIT SUICIDE OVER THE FACT THAT I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER GET MY CHANCE WITH HER, AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THE SAME TWO YEARS AGO MY BABY NEEDED ME MORE THAN EVER!" Shelby was out of breath by the end of this. "I'm sorry Shelby, you didn't like, exist when this all happened to Rachel at the beginning of her Sophomore year". Will began awkwardly.
"But I did by the end of it! You could have told me then!" Will ran his hands through his hair out of frustration. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this all out on you but, I just love her more than anything in this entire world and I just wish I knew that she needed me as much as I needed her. I just wish I hadn't walked away". Rachel heard every word of this and started to sob. Rachel had wanted to hear this from Shelby ever since the day she met her. And now she finally had. She wanted her mommy to take her home and love her. But life just wasn't that easy on her.
Shelby scurried down the hallway to Rachel just as Drea literally picked up Rachel and carried her out kicked and screaming. Shelby reached out, but was too late, the tips of her fingers just quick enough to brush by Rachel's outstretched hand.