Thank you for the reviews and follows! Finally we're getting somewhere with this story.

Rachel sat in her dressing room, all made up and ready for the show to start. She checked her Twitter, reading all of the excited tweets from fans that were about to see the show. She exhaled with a smile on her face, butterflies escaping her stomach in the process. It never really got old. She loved her life, and her fans. She loved their love. Her dream came true.

Brett, the show's stage manager, knocked on the door. "Miss Berry?"

"Come in!" Rachel looked up from her phone as the man slid through the door.

"Fifteen minutes until show time," he announced. "Also I got a few fan letters for you."

He dropped six letters in front of Rachel; some had little presents inside packages. This had been a normal occurrence for the singer and sometimes she didn't know what to do with it all. It seemed sad to throw stuff away, but sometimes she had to. The least she could do was read the letters of the amazing people who kept her going every night. It still amazed her that they took such time and effort into these letters and presents just for her.

She ripped into three letters, one including a package with a gold star charm bracelet. Her fans knew her so well. She decided she didn't have time to read but one more. The rest could wait until intermission, though when she glanced at the paper in front of her she wished she wouldn't have opened it to begin with.

Rachel,

I don't really have the words to begin what I have to say, but it's Shelby Corcoran. I'll cut right to the chase and say that I saw your Ellen interview. You looked beautiful as ever and sounded amazing. I supposed you know why I'm bringing it up. Baby, I love you…I don't deserve half of what you said about me, but I want you to know that it means the world to me. There are so many things I want to say to you…so many apologies and regrets that I finally think I'm ready to share with you. I realize that it might be too late, and I would understand. I've hurt you so much more than I could ever imagine and I hate myself for it. I've attached my phone number. I would really like the opportunity to talk…when you're ready. Even if that's years from now, I'll be around. Just know that I love you. SO much. I'm so proud of you. Break a leg, baby girl. I'll be in the audience watching you shine.

Xoxo Shelby

The familiar hurt in her heart hit her, as it always did when she thought about her mother. She didn't know why it got to her so much, but she hated it. She hated the way Shelby was her mother and not her mom. She hated how her own mother called herself by her first name as if Rachel wasn't good enough to be her daughter. She hated that she had the daughter she always wanted, but when she sought Rachel out, she wasn't good enough. Why wasn't she good enough? She had so many fans, yet thinking about her mother just made her feel worthless.

Five words in the letter stood out. I'm so proud of you. That's the one thing she ever wanted to hear from her mother. That, and that she loved her. Rachel loved and admired Shelby so much, and that only made the pain worse.

She didn't have time to think about whether she was going to accept Shelby's offer or not because another knock on her door from Brett ripped her away from her thoughts. "Two minutes! Time to get in place."

She sighed, and put on her best show face in the mirror. She could do this.

Except she couldn't. The whole first act deserved a Tony in itself if people only knew how distracted she was. She couldn't stop thinking about Shelby, and the fact that she was in the audience made her nervous. She wanted to impress the woman so bad, and she didn't know why. It was yet another mystery.

The first act ended and she was happy to isolate herself in the dressing room for about five minutes before she needed to get ready for the second act. Tears came as she picked up the letter again, her eyes burning a hole in the phone number attached.

Involuntarily, she picked up her phone and saved the number. The next thing she knew, she was tapping the 'message' icon and her phone was ready to compose a text. She closed her eyes, and sighed as a tear ran down her face. She bit the side of her jaw and typed. "Hey, Shelby. It's Rachel. I got your letter, and would like to take you up on your offer to talk after the show if you're not busy."

She got a reply almost instantly. "That sounds perfect. Where should we meet?"

"Wait in the theater by the stage, I'll have someone escort you backstage to my dressing room," Rachel typed. Her nerves grew. She didn't know how she could perform eight shows a week and not ever get nervous, but a small meeting with the woman who gave birth to her practically caused her heart to race 200 beats per minute.

A text back indicated that the plan was a go, and by that time the hair and makeup team burst into her dressing room to get Rachel ready for the second act. The diva was appreciative of the distraction away from the situation. She took a few deep breaths and let the team work their magic until she was ready to go, and the second act was about to begin.

She pushed through the last bit of the show with all that was in her. If anything, her performance didn't lack any emotion, as they were as intense as ever this evening. She took her bows and the curtain fell along with Rachel's smile. She couldn't fake extreme happiness anymore. She felt like she was going to throw up. She hadn't seen her mother in so long and she was about to any minute.

She quickly walked over to Brett and told him that Shelby would be by the stage once people piled out of the theater and to bring her back. She then realized she didn't have a picture of Shelby to show the man who the woman was, but how many people would stay in the theater claiming they were Shelby Corcoran?

She quickly changed out of her costume and wig, throwing on leggings and a long sleeved shirt. She threw her hair up in a bun and washed her face. She figured she had enough time to sign autographs at the stage door before Shelby arrived so she made her way outside to do so.

Rachel stayed outside probably longer than she should have. It wasn't that she was dreading the meeting, but she definitely was in no hurry to get inside. Finally she opened the stage door to go back in, and made her way to her dressing room. She cracked the door open slowly to reveal her mother sitting on the couch seeming to be as nervous as she was (which actually made her feel better).

The woman looked up with wide eyes that matched Rachel's. She stood and walked closer to the smaller girl. "Rachel," she said softly.

"Shelby," Rachel replied with the same tone.

Both women looked at each other's eyes for the longest time, not knowing what to say next. Without thinking, Shelby reached for Rachel's hand and held it in her own, not leaving her daughter's gaze.

Then, just like that after just a little touch, Rachel fell into her mother's arms. She didn't care about the awkwardness, she just wanted to be held. Not only did she want to be held, she wanted it to be by her mother. She missed Shelby so much.

At the feel of the smaller girl's arms around Shelby's waist, she didn't hesitate to wrap her own around Rachel's shoulders, allowing the girl's head to rest in her neck. She breathed in and squeezed her eyes shut taking in the moment like it was the last time it would happen.

This only caused Rachel to squeeze harder. She couldn't bring herself to let go.

Let me know what you think! The more people that review, the more I'm inspired to write! Thank you so much for the reviews so far. I'm excited that they're finally together. After this, I don't want them to ever be apart. Haha.