Rachel shifted in the passenger seat of Quinn's car as she pulled at her shorts, eyeing the bottle of tequila and case of beer in the back seat.

"Are you sure we won't get caught?"

Quinn snorted at Rachel's question. "I'm driving the speed limit, at your request, even though we could go ten miles over and not be stopped. It's only seven at night, and this is a nice car. No police officer is going to stop us."

"Well, I don't know if my mom will really appreciate this," Rachel said after a few moments of silence. "She asked me not to go see her today, and I really don't think she'll approve of the alcohol."

"This is how you handle a break-up, Man Hands," Quinn snapped, but there was no venom in her voice. "Now, I'm going to let you pick the radio station if you promise to stop whining about how this is illegal and whatever."

Biting her lip, Rachel nodded her head. "Fine. But you get to hold her hair back when she pukes her guts out."

Quinn shrugged and focused on the road, smiling when Rachel turned the radio to a popular station and proceeded to sing along with the song that was playing. Rachel smiled back when Quinn lent her voice to the chorus to harmonize.

As the doorbell rang, Shelby muttered under her breath and pulled her hair into a ponytail as she moved across the cluttered living room to answer the door; she had pulled out all of her old Vocal Adrenaline notes to see if there was anything that might be usable for their upcoming concert. She had been working them through very difficult choreography, and she believed that an easier number and familiar song would silence the more vocal complaints. She pulled the door opened and let a small smile flit onto her face at the sight of Quinn and Rachel standing on her front porch, clutching alcohol and overnight bags.

"What is going on?" Shelby finally asked as she motioned for them to walk inside.

"We are here to help you get over Mr. Schue," Rachel announced. "I was just going to bring you ice cream, but when I asked Quinn for help with this, she told me I was an idiot and that she would help me. So, here we are."

Shelby eyed the beer in Quinn's hands. "I don't really drink beer, but you two can have some if you want."

Rachel blanched. "I don't drink beer. Or anything, for that matter."

"Come on, Berry, let's go mix some drinks," Quinn said with a roll of her eyes. "We'll put the beer in the fridge for when the guys come over or something. My mom would kill me if she caught me with it."

"Then, how did the two of you manage to get all of this?" Shelby wandered into the kitchen after them.

"I called Puck and asked him to score me some booze, and Rachel swiped the tequila from her dads."

Shelby motioned for Rachel to give her the bottle of clear liquid. "I think I'll take a shot of this to get started. God, I cannot believe that I have to rely on two sixteen-year-old girls to get over a guy. I should have normal friends."

Quinn watched Shelby belt back a small amount of tequila and grimaced; she grabbed the bottle from the counter and pulled out a container of margarita mix as Shelby slumped forlornly over the counter. Rachel perched on a stool and leaned her head onto her elbows as she studied Quinn at work.

"What happened?" Rachel finally asked. When Quinn whipped around to glare at her, Rachel shrugged. "They seemed so happy, and now this. It doesn't make any sense."

"It's kind of complicated, baby girl," Shelby muttered. "He just thought it would be best if we took some time apart while he tries to get his shit together."

Quinn shoved a margarita under Shelby's nose. "Here, drink up. Rachel, I mixed up a virgin one for you, but I can put some tequila in it."

"I'll take the virgin."

Shelby shook her head. "I am not drinking alone. A little bit of tequila won't hurt you, Rachel."

Quinn laughed at that and finished mixing up their drinks, handing one to Rachel as she joined the mother-daughter pair at the counter. Rachel sipped hesitantly on her drink, smiling broadly at the sweet taste. Shelby kept her head bowed and nearly gulped her margarita at once before getting up to make a new one.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "So what is he trying to figure out? Is it another woman?"

Shelby flinched and sighed. "I guess you could say that. I was kind of blindsided by it all, which is why I'm such a mess right now. Normally, breaking up with a guy isn't all that bad for me."

"I thought it would last longer," Rachel offered quietly. "I don't think any of us have seen him so happy."

Quinn nodded her head in agreement and kept an eye on how many margaritas Shelby had put into her system; the goal might be to get Shelby drunk, but Quinn really didn't want to deal with alcohol poisoning or anything out of the ordinary.

"Well, that didn't stop him from picking up and walking out."

Shelby's words were starting to slur together, and Quinn raised an eyebrow at Rachel, jerking her head in Shelby's direction. Rachel caught onto the simple hint and hopped off her stool, walking over to stand behind her mother. Hesitantly, Rachel wrapped her arms around Shelby's waist and laid her head on her mother's shoulder; Shelby stiffened at the closeness, but her muscles relaxed as she broke down into quiet tears. Quinn moved to join them, letting one hand flutter against Rachel's arm as she leaned into them.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you two any of this," Shelby said as she tried to wipe the salty liquid off her cheeks. "God, what kind of mother am I? I'm letting you two drink and, God, I'm such a screw-up."

"It's okay, Mom." Rachel shook her head. "Underage drinking is very common, and it is better for us to be supervised by a responsible adult than sneaking out to parties. And, you are under a lot of stress considering that you just broke up with a man you really cared about and you have a baby girl and you're still responsible for Vocal Adrenaline. It stands to reason that you won't be perfectly pulled together."

Quinn's lips quirked upwards at Rachel's long-winded explanation. "How about we change into our pajamas and take turns man-bashing? I've found it kind of helps the crying because you move right onto anger."

Letting out a small laugh, Shelby gave Quinn a slight smile. "Sounds like a good idea."

Quinn left the room to get her and Rachel's bags, and Shelby sagged against her counter as Rachel crossed her arms over her chest.

"I know I told you not to come over, but I'm glad you did anyway," Shelby said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry that it didn't work out. I hope this doesn't change your relationship with Will. I didn't think about how this might affect you when I started seeing him."

"I'm going to have a hard time forgiving him for this," Rachel replied. "But, you don't have to apologize to me for anything. You didn't know when you started dating him that things would end like this. I want you to be happy, Mom, more than I want anything else."

"Come here, baby girl," Shelby murmured, holding her arms out for Rachel.

Rachel relaxed into Shelby's embrace with a contented sigh as she glanced up at Shelby. "Do you think you'll be okay?"

"I will. It might just take some time."

Quinn stuck her head back into the kitchen, already changed into a tank top and shorts. "Come on, losers. And, grab the tequila. We can play a drinking game."

Rachel raised an eyebrow in a manner that eerily mirrored Shelby, but Shelby just shook her head as she snatched up the tequila and marched out of the kitchen, Rachel hot on her heels.