Author's Note: I was under the weather yesterday, so today, you get a two-fer. Enjoy (and please review ;-)).


Chapter 7

Rachel struggled to sleep, her mind an infinite loop of the revelations of the day.

Her Daddy's confirmation that he was, in fact, her biological father enabled her to "put a period" on a subject she had wondered about for some time. She had suspected this to be the case; she did bear a strong resemblance to her cousin, Karen and, although both of her fathers were tall, the women on the Berry side tended to be statuesque, while the Solomon (her Bubbe's family) women were more petite in stature. Ultimately, it didn't matter to her, because she loved both of her parents; it simply was good to have one less question about her heritage.

Shelby had always been an enigma to her; a nameless college student who basically dropped from the sky and, with a sperm-filled turkey baster, created life. Nine months later, after exchanging her baby for a generous sum, she disappeared into the night, leaving as mysteriously as she originally appeared.

Two years ago, Shelby had played on Rachel's vulnerability to appease her vanity and curiosity. She wanted a close-up look at the progeny she had bargained away, and manipulated both Jesse and Rachel to achieve her goal. Rather than accept the young woman her daughter had grown into, she chose to fill that particular void in her life with a conveniently born infant who would not challenge the fact that she was, in fact, old enough to be mother to a teenager.

Shelby's sporadic attempts at contact, the tenuous promise of a relationship, and the quick withdrawal of any potential affection had taught Rachel a bitter lesson in disappointment. Singing a duet is all well and good, but it doesn't substitute for a mother's love. She had wondered what Shelby was like as a young woman, and tomorrow, she would have a chance to find out.

Rachel began to mull over Noah's confession. In her opinion, Shelby's apparent inability to come to terms with her age led her to view Noah as a potential companion/lover rather than a teenage boy eager to share in any aspect of his daughter's life. Her inappropriate pursuit of a romantic liaison was only curtailed by Noah's Freudian slip.

Which brought Rachel to…well, that. Her feelings had drifted from embarrassed to flattered to intrigued. She hadn't allowed herself to think of Noah in that particular light, as her high school radar had been primarily focused on Finn. Sweet, unpretentious Finn…the only popular boy who hadn't doused her with a slushy, and who had given her her first kiss… well, technically, not her first kiss, but her first "grown up" one.

She and Noah had shared that rite of passage at the tender age of seven; she smiled nostalgically, recalling the incident:

Nana Connie had been babysitting and had taken them (and then-infant Rebecca) to a garage sale for something to do. Noah had charmed the lady running the sale to let him buy a pink Lucite ring for a nickel. He presented it to Rachel, even put it on her finger (as he had seen on TV), and they lightly kissed, with Nana Connie beaming in the background.

She had found it recently in the back of a drawer, apparently having kept it all these years, and wore it on her pinkie one day when it matched her outfit. If Noah noticed, he never acknowledged it, and, of course, Finn was never the wiser.

Somewhere between then and Bar Mitzvah age, Noah devolved into Puck, a sarcastic, misogynistic bully who kept the world at arm's length, herself included. He had been objectified by Lima's more desperate housewives, a direct result of shirtless yard work and pool cleaning combined with a rapidly maturing physique and an overactive teenage libido, and had begun to treat girls his own age in the same manner. Beth's birth and subsequent adoption had sent him into a downward spiral that climaxed with an attempted ATM robbery and sentencing in Juvenile Detention. Rachel had been one of the few non-family members to visit regularly, and had begun to see a glimmer of change in his demeanor.

It had been a slow process, but since his release and their enforced (by her) study sessions, Noah had grown from a rebellious, sullen boy with little impulse control into a young man who applied himself at school, continued his community service long after his obligation ended, and appeared to be excited about the future. Along with his obvious physical attributes, she found these qualities both admirable and attractive…very attractive. And, as her feelings for Finn, the supposed "leading man" of her dreams, began to diminish, her attraction to Noah grew.

Rachel's trip down memory lane had finally settled her, and she drifted off to sleep.