COME WHAT MAY

A/N1: This story is currently under construction, so please bear with me. New chapter edits/updates will be announced in the summary. Read and enjoy and review. That's an order!

Chapter 2: Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

Shelby Corcoran.

She tested her mother's name on her tongue while opening the envelope. It was plain and white, and inside she found two folded sheets of paper, also plain and white. It made her wonder if she really came from someone with so little personality, but only for a moment. Rachel recognised that she was merely seeking to prolong the inevitable, and shook her head at herself. Even if Shelby has no imagination, nor any artistic notions, she was still somehow a part of her. A part that was only a breath away.

R#GLEE#Q

Sophomore year was shaping up to be a year of firsts for Rachel Berry.

She had gotten her period. She had felt no need to celebrate this momentuous occasion, nor acknowledge it to her parents. It was a significant event only in the sense that it invalidated any reference to her supposed non-female gender. The insults and name-calling that alluded to her reproductive system had not really bothered her; well maybe a little. But only because it made her anxious about the lack of such a big development in her physiology, and the possibility of an illness which prohibited her growth would be detrimental to her future.

Another first: she finally had a real relationship with her birth-mother. Heck, she finally had a real mother! It was a big enough deal to the young diva that she wished she had real friends to share it with, but alas. No one would know how Shelby Corcoran had become Rachel's confidant after the summer spent just getting to know the older woman. There wasn't anyone she could explain to that; while she knew they would never share a typical mother-daughter connection -despite many efforts on both sides- their special friendship was enough. That it helped to reassure Hiram and LeRoy when Shelby didn't try to become another parent to Rachel; they were and would always be that to the girl.

"I'm just fine bein' the crazy aunt," she'd told them with a smile. And that was true, mostly. Although in a position to adequately support and care for a child, Shelby felt no urge for motherhood, and was perfectly content in her role. She became a confidant-slash-girl-friend to Rachel, as well as her mentor in all things werewolf.

Her letter had explained Rachel's 'heritage'- her strange dreams, the shredded sheets and broken nails, the sudden cravings for meat. As a vegansince age 8, the cravings had caught Rachel off-guard, and it had been difficult to accept, but as her understanding of her wolf-side grew, her reluctance to comply faded. She refused to eat pork though, in deference to her faith.

An email address and mobile phone number had been included in the letter, and after reading it two more times, Rachel had called. Her fathers had been true to their word, and had allowed her to come to them when she felt ready. She had closed her bedroom door behind her before reading the letter, and as she waited for Shelby to answer the phone, she opened it again. She wanted fast access to them if needed.

It took ten minutes for Rachel to believe she had found her birth-mother, and several hours to believe her far-fetched story of shape-shifting, sprouting fur and howling at the moon. Her fathers arms cradling her for the entire conversation had helped immensely.

R#GLEE#Q

Her belief in what Shelby had called her heritage was further cemented when she met Wolf-Shelby. Again her fathers were there with her, sharing in this new part of her life. They learnt with Rachel, like they always did when she became interest in anything new. It made what was a terrifying experience, a bit more bearable. She had no reason to hide in her own home anymore.

Her education and experience of all things lycan continued. The dreams still came almost every night, and now with Shelby's help she worked on remembering more about them. Although Rachel had yet to transform fully, she made her dads take pictures once she started sprouting extra hair -fur- and when her nails began to protrude more than usual. She began to notice her senses improving after a particularly embarassing Friday night, and made her parents soundproof her bedroom and theirs.

Her favourite aspect was her new sensitivity to both touch and smell. During the summer with Shelby, they indulged in long walks around the largely wooded neighbourhood. She could revel in all the smells in the air, and laugh at the sensations on her skin. She couldn't wait to experience the world in wolf-form, which Shelby assured her was even better.

She noticed something else as well. Rachel had always loved singing, and Broadway had always been her biggest dream. Now, with her wolf growing, so did her talent it seemed. Her fathers agreed that she wasn't imagining the new richness in her voice, and a proud Shelby confirmed it.

"You're gonna have an awesome howl, baby girl," she enthused, and Rachel knew she was right. She had been entranced by Shelby's voice when they had sung together one night, and her mother's joyous howl later that same evening had brought her to tears.

Once back home in Lima, her family's support and faith in her coupled with her new-found confidence in her voice, encouraged Rachel to try something she'd been to wary to do freshman year. When school started, she signed up for glee club.

A/N2: I'm gonna keep the physical development of Rachel's wolf pretty slow. All the stories out there where the wolf's already established is great, but this is my wolf, and she's a late bloomer. You might have noticed that it coincides with someone else who's a late bloomer.