Author's Note: Hi guys! This is fourth chapter in the series. This one is a little shorter but I feel like I kept you guys waiting for a long time with the last chapter. So enjoy!

Glee

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Shelby was awakened from her sleep abruptly and unpleasantly. The sound of her alarm clock blared into her ears. With her eyes half open, she glanced to look at the clock. It read 5:30.

"Shit," she said slowly before rolling over to groan into her pillow.

She was highly annoyed that she had to get up and go to school. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with some ungrateful teenagers who were in serious need of an attitude adjustment. The members of Vocal Adrenaline knew they couldn't mess with her, nor would they want to. Even though she was tough on them, they respected her. Without her, they would be nowhere. Her normal music students, although they had seen her angry side, had no idea just how angry she could get. But she saw no point in reaching that level of furiousness with kids who are going to forget everything she said as soon as they walk out of her classroom. Mind you, not all of her music students are unappreciative. There are some who actually want to learn about music and who don't have an attitude all the time. For them, she puts as much effort into helping them as possible. But for the others, she was not going to waste her time on them. And certainly not today.

Shelby dragged herself out of bed and downstairs to make herself her morning coffee. While she waited for her coffee to be ready she went back upstairs to get dresses, do her hair, and put on a light layer of makeup. After she finished getting ready she grabbed her cup of coffee and headed out the door, not entirely ready to face the day.

Glee

Jesse arrived at Carmel High early this Monday morning. He wanted to make sure he had enough time to try to find out what happened between Shelby and Rachel on Friday. When he came to her office he knocked four times before he heard her soft "come in". She sounded tired.

He slowly opened the door to find Shelby writing her lesson plans for the day. She looked exhausted. He cam in and sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"So um, Shelby. How was your weekend?" He asked, trying to ease into the conversation.

She lifted her head to look at him.

"Honestly, Jesse. It kinda sucked. I sat around and did nothing but think up routines for Vocal Adrenaline, which I guess is good for you guys. And I got little to no sleep." Shelby looked back down at her desk and sighed. "I guess I just had a lot on my mind."

Jesse stared at her. He what she meant when she said she had a lot on her mind. She was thinking of Rachel.

"So,"

"Rachel found me," Shelby said, cutting him off. "She found me and we talked and I, um…I told her it wasn't all wrong. I know I shouldn't have. I know. But she told me this story and I realized that I'm too late."

"Too late?"

"I've realized that I've missed too much of her life and to just jump in now would be selfish of me and mess everything up."

"Shelby, Rachel's sixteen and she's lived her whole life without a mother. She needs you."

"She's lived her whole life without me and that didn't stop her from living a happy life."

"You're right. She's had a good life so far. But she couldn't let the fact that she didn't have a mom stop her from going through daily life. She,"

"Jesse, can you stop," Shelby said in a way that was not a question.

By this time, Jesse could see the tears pooling in the corners Shelby's eyes. He debated in his head whether or not he should tell her that he saw her on Friday.

"I, uh, saw Rachel on Friday," Jesse said.

Shelby's eyes shot up to Jesse's, desperate for him to continue with his story.

"I was driving to Andrea's house and I saw Rachel walking home. She was crying. I went up to her to see what was wrong and she told me that she met you but it wasn't going to work," Jesse said.

Shelby stared at Jesse expectantly to see if he was done with his story. He wasn't. Jesse said the next part with caution: he was unsure as to how Shelby would react.

"She told me that this is the reason why she didn't want me to play the tape. She was afraid of rejection. She got really upset and ran off."

Shelby furrowed her brow and Jesse could see that she was struggling to keep in her tears.

"I'm sorry Shelby. I just thought you should know."

"Uh, its okay Jesse. Thanks for informing me," Shelby said, her voice shaky. "Just, can you leave now?"

"Sure. If you need anymore help, I'm here."

Shelby gave him a sad smile and watched him walk out the door.

"God," she said while holding her head in her hands. "I'm screwing up her life."

She let her tears flow for six minutes but no more than that. She wasn't used to the feeling of crying every two minutes and drowning in self pity and she didn't like it.

Glee

"Ugh!"

Rachel's voice, filled with frustration, carried across her house. Her attempt at creating an outfit for the Lady Gaga glee number was failing miserably. She had chosen the Kermit the Frog look and her beanie babies were falling off left and right. She had already tried to have her dads help but they weren't really good at this kind of stuff. They had used staples to try and fasten the beanie babies to her dress, but that obviously didn't work, as demonstrated during glee practice.

Rachel was at a loss for what to do. Her costume was a complete fail. She had already gone to her fathers and it wasn't like she had any friends she could go to help. Then a thought entered her mind. Should I ask Shelby for help? She was hesitant to go to Shelby considering the previous week's events but she really didn't have anyone else to turn to.

Glee

"And ladies, I don't want to hear any complaints because you're being forced to wear metal underwear. Not my problem."

Shelby slid the microphone forward and jotted down some notes about Vocal Adrenaline's improvement. Thank God, they are getting so much better.

"Mom," Rachel's tiny voice said.

Shelby's heart did a back flip at that name. She called me 'mom'. She looked up to see her daughter dressed in a faded blue cloak that resembled Red Riding Hood's Oh Lord, what is she wearing?

"Hon, you've gotta stop sneaking into these rehearsals." Shelby was surprised at the use of the term.

She called me 'hon'.

"It's kind of important," Rachel said before unbuttoning her cloak to reveal her failed Lady Gaga costume.

"Oh dear god," Shelby said while leaning back in her chair.

"My dads can't sew, so these are just sewn on. I really need a mom right now."

Shelby looked from her daughter's face to her hideous outfit. She knew she couldn't turn her down. Immediately she started brainstorming ideas of what would look good on Rachel. Definitely black.

Glee

Four hours later and several needle pokes later, Rachel's costume was finally done. Rachel was amazed at her mom's ability to sew. While Shelby was making it, Rachel watched her stitch intricate designs in the fabric. If she quit her job as coach of Vocal Adrenaline, she could probably live pretty decently as a seamstress.

During the four hours, Shelby and Rachel had settled into easy conversation. It was mostly questions like, "How was school?" and, "What's your favorite Broadway show?" Although neither of them had discussed it, they both decided not to go into anything deep. They really weren't really in the mood to cry again.

"So I guess we're done here. I hope you like it," Shelby said to Rachel.

"Oh, I love it! Thank you so much Shelby."

Shelby smiled.

"No problem. So do you need a ride home?"

"Um, actually, if you wouldn't mind? I would usually just walk home but its so hot out. Besides, I didn't appreciate the stares I got on my way over here," Rachel said.

"Of course I don't mind. You just have to point me in the right direction."

Shelby was careful not to mention that she really did know where Rachel lived. She didn't want her to think she was some creeper who memorized her address and the directions to get there.

During the ride home, Shelby and Rachel were silent. Only the sound of the radio filled the car.

When Shelby pulled up to Rachel's house, they both sat there for a moment, not wanting to leave each other.

Rachel was the one to break the silence.

"Ok, well I guess I'll go now. And thank you again for the costume," Rachel said.

"Like I said, I really was no problem."

Although unsure as to how she would react, Rachel went for it anyway. She leaned towards her mom and put her arms around her. She felt Shelby's body become stiff but only briefly and she too wrapped her arms around the girl. Rachel made sure to engrave the memory into her mind. She took in the scent of her mother's lavender perfume. She couldn't help but notice the grip Shelby had on her and felt like she really did want her. Maybe she really was just shocked yesterday.

When the embrace ended, Rachel quickly got out of the car and started to make her way towards her house. Despite how she actually felt, she plastered a smile on her face and turned to see her mother watching her. She waved at her and it was quickly returned.

Shelby waited until she saw Rachel enter her house before she left. She couldn't help but feel slightly good. Her daughter had come to her for help.

Glee

So I hope you guys liked it. So I have a question, do you guys want me to do the scene where Shelby and Rachel sing Poker Face or do you want me start deviating soon? I can do both but if I do the Poker Face scene it will take longer. I have something in mind but I'm no entirely sure how to get there. So please let me know what you want to read. And remember, reviews are not only welcome, they are preferred. : )