Part two of this update. Once again, it's short but this didn't require a lot. We've never really seen Shelby deal with Quinn and Beth and how she feels about her daughter's relationship with her birth mother.

Enjoy!

Shelby was aware of the fact that Quinn had written letters to the people she loved, including Beth. Her daughter had come home the day before her 13th birthday and shared with Shelby the story of how Quinn had painstakingly spent months writing countless letters, all in an attempt to make sure that she people she cared most about would be okay after she was gone.

However, what she was unaware of was she would soon begin receiving letters of her own.

Several weeks after Beth turned thirteen, Shelby was going through the mailbox and found a white envelope in the stack of mail with her name written on it. No return address.

Curious, she went back inside and took a seat on the couch, opening the envelope. As soon as she did, she immediately knew who the letter was from.

Shelby,

I'm sure you're surprised to be receiving a letter from me. I'm sorry for the shock of it, but I have just a few things to say to you regarding myself, you, and the daughter we share.

First of all, before I say anything else, I need to say thank you for allowing Santana, Puck, Brittany, and Rachel to be part of Beth's life. I never questioned that you would, because I could tell from the moment I first saw you with her that you would do anything for her. I know how hard it must be for you sometimes to be around all of these people who constantly tell Beth how much she reminds them of me. And I know how painful it must be for you to be near Rachel so much. I realize the two of you have a good relationship now and are always constantly working on making it better, but I understand better than anyone else that no matter what, seeing a child that you had to give up is always going to hurt.

So, thank you for all of that and more. Thank you so much,

Now, if Puck has done his job right, Beth should have turned thirteen a couple weeks ago. Hopefully that's right but if not, that's okay. It doesn't really matter when you read this as long as you do so before she starts high school and is truly a teenager.

Purely because you are a woman, you know how incredibly hard the teenage years can be for girls. They're more or less awful, to put it bluntly, no matter who you are on the social ladder at school. Your emotions run wild and at one point or another, you completely lose your sense of who you are.

That said, I think you'll find Beth's teenage years slightly different than you would if you had a different daughter whose birth mother was not me or one who has not spent most of her life surrounded by a group of loving, supportive adults.

Beth will handle high school with grace and poise. I know this, because I know how she's being raised. She has you as her loving mom, and you'll support her forever and give her a safe place to come home to every night. She has Puck, a complete bonehead at times but I promise you, if you can't already tell, he loves Beth more than air. She has Brittany, who will give her a stress outlet, whether it's through dancing or doing something simple, like walking around the pond and feeding the ducks. She has Rachel, who as you know went through utter hell at school when she was growing up and will teach Beth how to stay strong through it all. And she has Santana, who will never hesitate to be there for Beth when she needs her.

However, if Beth is anything like me, and I know she is, I know she'll feel a constant anxiety and pressure in social situations due to her looks. Of course, Beth is a much better person than I ever was. She'll hate people acknowledging her looks, but it will be because she's modest and humble and disagrees when people tell her she's beautiful. I hated people acknowledging my looks as well, but it wasn't because I was humble - I was extremely aware of the fact that I was prettier than every single girl at school because that's all I ever heard. I was raised, practically bred, to be perfect. Unlike me, Beth has grown up being told that she's beautiful both for her looks and her personality. I was never told the latter.

But even though the reasons are different, Beth will still feel that same anxiety and she'll hate it. I don't want anything or anyone to ever destroy her self-confidence or more importantly, her happiness. As she gets older, people at school and in life will only continue to expect more from her and that scares me to no end.

I know I don't have to ask, but please just make sure Beth always knows how incredible she is for more reasons that her being pretty. You are such a loving mom to her, Shelby, and I can take a few ticks off my stress level knowing that you will be there for her no matter what.

And before I end this, just a warning - Puck will probably go into father overload soon because as we both know, boys won't be able to keep their eyes off of Beth. I have no doubt she'll be asked on countless dates and while I have every confidence that Beth will be completely capable of handling that herself, it will drive Puck nuts to see her growing up. He'll be even more of an idiot than usual, but it will be purely out of love. Be patient with him.

On a more serious note, Santana will soon start to be extremely watchful of Beth, even more so than she already is, because she grew up with me and knows how hard school, especially high school, was for me. She may hover and feel the need to constantly check up on Beth, both with her and with you. If she ever gets to be too much, please don't hesitate to call Brittany. She'll talk to Santana and remind her that though Beth may be like me, she is not me. She'll handle San and everything will be okay. I promise.

I can't count how many times I've thanked you for taking Beth in when Puck and I couldn't keep her, but I need to say it again. Always. You opened up your heart to her and to us and for that, no amount of thanks will ever be enough.

I know the relationship that you and I have is unique and odd and perhaps even sometimes hard for us as well as others to understand, but I do love you, Shelby. I love you and I am so grateful, both for you and to you.

Love, Quinn

Shelby sighed deeply as she finished reading the letter, and then sighed again with a sad and heavy ache in her heart. It had been six years since Quinn had died, but the blonde's death was just as hard as ever to deal with.

As she walked into the kitchen and began to prepare dinner while she waited for Beth to return home from dance, Shelby pondered over Quinn's letter and her advice. It was no shock that Beth was a very pretty girl, and her resemblance to Quinn was uncanny. However, Shelby had never really thought about what looks like that would mean for Beth once the girl entered high school.

Now that the topic had been presented to her, Shelby found herself slightly worried about how Beth would handle herself and the pressure she was bound to feel from her peers. But almost as quickly as the thought entered her mind, it was vanquished by Quinn's words. The blonde was right; Beth was in the midst of growing up constantly surrounded by amazing friends and a supportive group of adults that would all give their life for the girl.

Beth both was and was not her birth mother. Even Shelby, who hadn't spent close to as much time with Quinn as, for example, Santana or Puck had, could see the similarities between Quinn and Beth, both physical and emotional. They were both more on the quiet side, intelligent, charming in social situations, poised, and kept their emotions in check for the most part. They rarely showed affection through touch and although both had incredibly close friends, they were loners at the same time.

But there were differences, too. Where Quinn had been extremely closed off emotionally, Beth made an effort to be open with the people she loved. When Quinn had turned on the charm when interacting with people, it had been because she had been trained by her family to do so. Beth possessed the same talent, but was genuine when using it. While it had taken Quinn a long, long time to be able to accept love from people rather than pushing them away, Beth had been nearly drowned in love for her entire life and was, as a result, an incredibly loving girl herself.

As Shelby thought this over, she could feel herself growing more and more confident that all would be well. Quinn was right to be worried, as was she, but it was comforting to know that deep down, both she and the blonde felt that Beth would be okay. Her teenage years would be difficult for everyone involved but ultimately, things would be fine.

She smiled to herself. Shelby had always admired Quinn for how brave and how strong she was, but it wasn't until she read Quinn's letter that she realized she was not only glad but proud that Beth was turning out to be so much like her birth mother.

"I'm thankful for you, Quinn Fabray," she mused out loud. "And I love you, too."

Reviews always appreciate, I hope you liked it!