"Shelby!" Josh Corcoran knocked on Shelby's front door again. It was Wednesday morning, and he and Paige had driven in from Akron for the meeting with the Berrys and their lawyer.

The door suddenly burst open. "Sorry," Shelby said. "I was upstairs. Ryan was on his iPod." The two of them were getting settled with each other. The previous day had gone pretty smoothly, Ryan had spent the morning at the garage, while Shelby stayed home and worked on the grades for her English student. It was hard to believe that the school session had just ended a week ago.

"Took you long enough," Josh joked.

"Good morning to you too," Shelby grumbled. "Hi Paige."

"Morning."

"I have coffee in the kitchen," Shelby said as she let them in. "Let's go."

A few minutes later the three adults were sitting at the counter in the kitchen drinking coffee. "What time's the appointment?" Josh asked.

"It's at ten," Shelby told him. "Down at Ross's law office."

"I've been looking over the papers, there shouldn't be any problem," Paige said. "The Berrys are giving up custody willingly, and you're accepting. You're Ryan's biological mom, and you're pretty well off, so the judge probably won't have any problems signing off of the papers even if you're going to be a single mom. So this should be relatively quick and painless." She took a sip of her coffee. "Besides, this is just the signing of documents, we're still going to file. We can probably get a judge by next week, sooner if the Berrys' lawyer can pull some strings."

Josh nodded. "Okay, where's your kid going to be during all this? Maybe we can spend some time together."

"Ask him yourself," Shelby nodded in the direction of the kitchen door, which had just opened.

"Good morning Uncle Josh, Aunt Paige," Ryan greeted. "Hi mom." He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water, then sat down at the counter next to his mom.

"Hey Ryan, you got any plans today? I thought we could go out while the two ladies do their thing," Josh suggested.

Ryan's gaze flickered to his mom. "I was just going to hang out at the garage, I guess," he said. He knew his mom and his aunt were going to meet with his dads to get his custody transfer filed. "We could go somewhere else if you wanted to, though."

"Actually, that works just fine," Josh smiled at his nephew. "I haven't gotten my car fixed, maybe you could get it done?"

"Sure!" Ryan replied. It would take his mind off things, and as a bonus he'd get to spend some time with his new uncle.

"You're supposed to be bonding, not trying to get free labor done on your car," Shelby scolded her brother. "Whatever. Try to get it done by noon, we're having lunch together, okay?"

"Yes, mom," Ryan and Josh droned at the same time.

Paige smirked, while Shelby just rolled her eyes. "Great, now there's two of them."

One hour later, Shelby and Paige drove over to Max Ross's law office to meet Leroy and Hiram. "You okay?" Paige asked, sensing that Shelby was a bit tense.

"I'm good," was the answer. "I just want this over with." She pulled up in front of their destination, and the two women stepped out of the car and into the office. Leroy and Hiram were already there.

"Hello, Shelby," Hiram said, offering her a small smile. "You remember Max Ross?"

Yes, Shelby did remember the balding man from sixteen years ago, when he'd drawn up the contract that had kept her away from her son, and had later handled the adoption files. Now he was completely bald. "Mr. Ross." She shook hands with him. "This is my lawyer, Paige Matheson." They had decided they didn't need to reveal their relationship.

After the niceties had been observed, Max started the formalities. "So, let's get down to it, shall we? Do you have a copy of the original contract?" he asked Paige, who nodded and produced the documents Shelby had given to her. "Excellent, here are the transfer of custody documents I've drawn up, pretty standard stuff." He handed over a folder, which Paige immediately read through.

"You're basically transferring full custody to Miss Corcoran, and terminating all parental rights, is that correct?" Paige asked, still perusing the document.

"Yes," Max nodded. "The Berrys would have no legal right to the minor, and Miss Corcoran doesn't have to let them see him either."

That sounded just fine to Shelby, though she was upset on Ryan's behalf that his fathers were really and truly cutting ties with him.

"There's also an option for a legal name change," Paige noted with some surprise, it was a bit unusual for parents to voluntarily let their child, even one they were signing away, change their last name.

"Subject to Ryan's choice, of course," Hiram said quickly. "He can keep his name if he wants."

Paige finished looking through the documents. "Everything seems to be in order," she said closing the folder and turning to Shelby. "Just needs your signature." She turned back to Max. "What about the original contract? I looked it over, and it's almost void since Ryan found Miss Corcoran without her contacting him."

Max nodded. "Yes, it's pretty much useless now, but we will be officially cancelling the document when we file this at the courthouse."

"When can you get a judge to sign off?"

"I can get us in with Judge William Schwartz on Friday, if that works for everyone." Max was friends with the judge and had managed to sweet-talk his secretary into an early appointment.

"Does Ryan need to be there?" Shelby asked.

"No," Max answered. "But it might be better for him to be there if he opts for the name change, the judge might want to ask him a few questions."

Paige handed Shelby the papers. "It's all good to go," she told Shelby. "Mr. and Mr. Berry have already signed all the papers, all that's missing is your signatures and then we can file. We'll just need to come back on Friday for the judge, and Ryan's all yours."

Shelby quickly picked up a pen and scrawled her signature on all the necessary papers in triplicate. She handed the copies back to Paige, who returned two copies to Max. One copy would belong to the Berrys, while the other would be filed at the courthouse.

Hiram and Leroy stood up as soon as the papers were finished. "If we're done here, we need to leave. I've got a meeting in half an hour," Leroy explained. "We'll see you on Friday."

"Wait," Shelby said suddenly. "When can we get Ryan's stuff?"

"Oh, right." Hiram scratched his head, thinking. "Well, he still has his keys, you can come tomorrow morning if you like," Hiram said. "We have work, but you can let yourselves in. Thanks, Max, Shelby, Miss Matheson," he nodded to each of them, before following Leroy out the door.

Max sighed. "I'll take the papers to the courthouse this afternoon." Shelby and Paige stood up, and so did he. Max escorted the two to the door, giving each a quick handshake. "Our appointment is set for three o'clock on Friday. I'll see you there."

Paige nodded. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Josh had driven Ryan to Burt Hummel's garage in his car. "Not to make you panic or anything, but this car's about to overheat," Ryan pointed out. "Fortunately, we're almost there, just turn here and park."

Following the directions, Josh drove the car into the garage and quickly cut the engine. They got out and Ryan opened the hood. "We're going to have to wait for this to cool off," he observed. "Let's go see if we have the part we need."

"Hello Ryan," Burt came out of the office. "Hello, I'm Burt Hummel, and you are…?"

"Josh Corcoran," Josh said, extending a hand to shake the man's hand. "I'm Ryan's uncle."

Burt glanced at his assistant. "Right. Kurt told me about Miss Corcoran being your mom." And here he'd thought the kid had a crush on the brunette. That was weird. Although after some more thought, he could see the similarities. "So is she your sister?"

"Yup."

Burt walked over to Josh's car. "What's the problem?"

"The engine's overheating because the hose is broken," Ryan told him. "I already took a look a few days ago. And I think it needs a new battery."

Burt took another look around the car. "Ford Contour, 1995 model?"

"That's right," Josh agreed. "I've had it for fifteen years, my sister keeps telling me to get rid of it."

"Maybe she's right," Ryan suggested. "Do we have the right parts?"

Burt nodded. "Yeah, I think we got the right piece in the back. If not we can try something else. I'll go find it, you try cooling that off," he gestured at the slightly smoking engine.

"Okay."

Josh sat down on a nearby stool while he watched Ryan work on the engine. "Thanks for doing this," he said.

"No problem," Ryan smiled at him. "It's my job, and I like fixing things."

There was a short comfortable silence. "You said you watch baseball, right? Did you see the game last night?"

Slightly surprised that his uncle remembered what sport he watched, Ryan answered. "Just the end. LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, right?"

Josh smiled. "Yeah. The Dodgers lost."

"Your team?" Ryan asked curiously.

"No, I like the Reds. How about you?"

"Oh, I don't really follow any particular team. I just root for the one that's winning," Ryan shot his uncle a grin.

Josh snorted at him in amusement. "Just like your mom, then. How are you two getting along?"

Ryan thought about it. "I guess we're getting along relatively well, she's a surprisingly good cook."

"Huh. Who would've thought?"

Burt came back holding the required part. "Here's the replacement hose, you can put it in as soon as you get it cool enough to handle."

"Thanks," Ryan said, taking the piece. "Just a few more minutes to cool it off, then we can try sticking this in."

Burt nodded. "Come get me when you're done," he said, returning to a car he was working on in the back room.

"Are you close with Mr. Hummel?" Josh asked Ryan, curious about his nephew's life and relationships. He seemed like a nice kid, even if his dads were quite the pieces of work.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ryan answered. "I've been hanging around here since I was twelve. I was partnered with his son, Kurt, for a project at school, and we ended up doing it here. I always liked cars, and Mr. Hummel eventually started showing me some stuff. And I started spending more time here when my dads…well, they had a lot of work to do," he said quickly.

"How'd you get interested in cars?" Josh asked, changing the subject. He could see the Berrys were still are sore subject with Ryan, and he didn't want to make the kid uncomfortable.

Ryan smiled. "One of Leroy's business associates got us tickets to a NASCAR race at Mid-Ohio. That was when I was eight, and I loved it. Music is my first love, and I think my biggest asset is my voice, but the cars are a good hobby." He started removing the defective hose from the car. "Can you hand me the new piece?"

Josh obliged, and Ryan started to attach it into the engine. "There," he said, fixing the last screw into place. "Just the battery left." He quickly had the battery replaced, and he had Josh start the car. "You'll just have to keep an eye on the temperature gauge, but it shouldn't overheat anymore."

"Thanks, Ryan. Just in time, too," Josh said, checking his watch. "We're supposed to meet the girls at the restaurant soon. Let's go find your boss."

Soon, the parts were paid for. "Here you go." Josh handed Ryan $20.

"Thanks," Ryan gave him a smile, which turned into a mischievous smirk. "Mom gives me thirty though."

Josh laughed. "Can't have my big sister outdoing me, can I?" He handed Ryan another twenty.

"I didn't mean – I wasn't asking for more," Ryan stammered. "I was just joking."

"Don't worry about it," his uncle winked at him. "You did a good job. I'm pretty sure Mr. Hummel wouldn't have left you alone if you weren't good, and I don't mind paying for a job well done."

"Thanks."

"Now, let's go meet your mom and my fiancée."

A few hours later everyone headed home – Josh and Paige back to Akron, Shelby and Ryan back to Shelby's house. "What did you and Josh get up to?" Shelby asked her son as they drove.

"Oh, we went to the garage. His car's fixed, but you're right, he should get a new one. It's…really old."

Shelby smiled. "Glad you're on my side, I hate riding in that thing." She glanced over at her son, who didn't say anything. "Something wrong?"

"What happened? At the lawyer's office?" Ryan burst out. "Did – were they there? Did they say anything about me?"

Shelby sighed. How was she supposed to tell him that his dads didn't seem to care? "No, they didn't say anything," she admitted. "Actually, none of us said much, it was mostly the Mr. Ross and Paige doing the talking," she continued quickly, trying to lessen the blow.

Ryan saw right through it, though. "It's okay, you don't have to do that," he told her softly, looking out the window. "I'm used to it."

They both stayed quiet until Shelby pulled up in her driveway. They both got into the house, and Ryan quickly went up to his room. Shelby gave him a few minutes, then followed him. She knocked on the door, then pushed it open to see Ryan lying on the bed, laptop open. "Are you okay?"

Ryan put his laptop down and sat up, not looking her in the eye. "I…don't understand."

"What's that?"

"Why I can't – why they can't – I don't know!" he burst out, frustrated. "I don't understand why they don't care. That's it. It's like we couldn't talk to each other, we couldn't connect! But then I met you, and your family, and I just…why couldn't they be like that for me?" he asked unhappily. "You ask me about my day whenever I come back here. You know, Uncle Josh remembered earlier that pretty much the only sport I watch is baseball, just from an offhand comment I made at lunch last Sunday? They couldn't even remember what extracurricular activities I'm in!"

Shelby just sat there, at a loss for words. She was way out of her depth, she had no idea how to answer him. "I don't know," she said quietly. "I have no idea what's wrong with them. But it's their loss." Ryan gave her a weak smile, and she continued. "And now, my family's your family now too. And knowing them, they'll smother you until you're asking them to go away."

Ryan laughed, then gave his mom a hug. "Thank you."

Shelby returned the hug, then ruffled his dark hair. "It's getting long, you're going to need a haircut soon. I'm not having my kid looking like a sheepdog."

Ryan gave her a smirk. "Maybe I'll get a Mohawk. Like Noah Puckerman." He laughed when Shelby shot him a glare. "I'm just joking. I wouldn't be able to pull that off."

"You better not." Shelby left the room.

Ryan, feeling a lot better after getting his feelings off his chest, picked up his phone. He sent Quinn a text.

..

A few miles away, Quinn picked up her phone as it chimed. She was over at Santana's house watching TV, since her own home was empty. Her mom, while doing better at the whole supporting-her-kid deal, wasn't home often, which left Quinn to her own devices most of the time. She smiled as she saw that the message was from Ryan.

Hi Quinn. Are you busy? – Ryan

Santana glanced over at her. "Is that your midget?"

"'My midget'?" Quinn raised an eyebrow. "That makes it sound like he's my pet or something."

The other girl shrugged. "Hey, if the shoe fits…that boy is so hot for you."

"Shut up." She typed out a reply. I'm at Santana's place, not busy. – Q

Ok, just thought I'd ask. Spent the day with my mom, uncle, and aunt. – R

How'd it go? – Q

It went great. – R

My mom and dads signed the custody papers this morning. Judge is going to sign off on Friday. – R

Oh. Are you okay? – Q

The reply took a moment to come. Yes, I'm fine. I actually wanted to ask if you wanted to have coffee or something tomorrow – R

Sure. Lima Bean around 3? – Q

Perfect. See you :) – R

Quinn put down her phone, smiling slightly.

"What did he want?" Santana asked flipping the channel from an end credits scene.

"He wanted to ask me out for coffee tomorrow." Quinn wasn't about to tell Santana about Ryan's personal stuff, it wasn't hers to tell. And she'd seen how angry he'd been when the glee club had tried to get involved in the business with Shelby before Regionals. She wasn't getting into that mess if she could help it.

"Ooh, a date," Santana teased. "That's so sweet. Have you tapped that yet?"

Quinn's mouth fell open. "That is none of your business," she snapped, scandalized. "And no, of course not!"

"Why not? It's obvious the boy's totally hot for you, and who can blame him?"

Quinn flushed slightly, although she couldn't help from feeling a bit pleased at the effect she had on Ryan. "We're taking it slow okay? You know what, I don't have to talk about this," she complained.

"Okay, okay, jeez. I just thought you like him, he likes you, what's the problem?" Santana said offhandedly.

Quinn huffed at her best friend. "Look, we both like each other. But we're friends too, I really don't want to mess that up. I've already messed up enough, I don't want to ruin this too."

Santana looked at her friend. "You've got it bad, haven't you?"

Quinn's only response was to toss a throw pillow at the other girl's face.

"Hey!"

Later than night, Shelby sat down with Ryan in the living room. "I need to talk to you about some stuff."

"Oh. Okay," Ryan looked at her.

"First things first. Your dads told me we could go pack up your stuff tomorrow morning. They're going to be out, so you don't have to see them if you don't want to." She hesitated. "Do you want to see them?"

Ryan fidgeted. "I don't know. I'm not sure. No?"

"Okay…anyways, they'll be out, so that won't really be a problem." Shelby knew Ryan had to deal with them sometime, but she wouldn't push him just yet. On to more important matters. Shelby took a breath. "Okay. When Paige and I took a look at the papers this morning, we found that there was a clause in there that allows you to change your name if you wanted to."

Ryan blinked at her before looking down to where he was fiddling with a corner of a throw pillow. "Oh."

"So I wanted to know, do you want to change your last name? It's completely your choice, your dads said they wouldn't have a problem if you wanted to keep their name."

Ryan ran a hand through his hair, thinking. He thought about his dads, and everything that had happened in the last week (had it really only been a week?). He thought about the last few years, and how they hardly paid him any attention, constantly going off to who-knows-where on their never ending business trips.

Then his mind turned to his mom, and everything she'd done for him, with him, since they first met. He thought about the rest of the Corcorans, and how they had been so excited to meet him, how they were with each other.

He wanted that.

"I want to have your name," he said decisively. "I'll do it, I want to be a Corcoran."

Shelby sighed in relief. She would have accepted it if he had wanted to keep the Berrys' name, but she really wanted her son to take on her family name. He was already part of the family, but this would just cement it further. "Okay." She gave him a big smile, and then a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The next day

"Ryan, come on!" Shelby called from the foot of the stairs. She'd been waiting for almost fifteen minutes. They needed to get going if they were going to pack up Ryan's stuff and bring it all back this morning.

Finally her son came down the stairs slowly. "What are you doing?" Shelby asked, getting a shrug back in response. "Do you have your keys?" Ryan nodded, and Shelby sighed. Looks like her kid was in a mood today. She was quickly figuring out that Ryan's moods were a bit volatile and quick-changing. "Let's go."

The car ride to the Berry home was made in relative silence. When they got there, Ryan dawdled a bit more while unlocking the house, and then slowly made his way up to his room with a few flattened boxes Shelby had gotten to put his stuff in. Shelby rolled her eyes, the efficient perfectionist side of her slightly irritated. What was with him? Her phone signaled a text message, and she pulled it out before following up the stairs.

Package in the kitchen for you. – Hiram

Shelby looked up the stairs where Ryan had just disappeared into his room, then turned and went into the Berrys' kitchen. There was a taped-up box with her name on it on the counter. She picked it up, noting that it was slightly heavy, then went back out to her car to put it in. She'd check it out later.

She reentered the house and followed Ryan up into his room. The boy was sitting on the bed, absently toying with an old baseball. "Hey kid, let's get going, we don't have all day." She watched as Ryan sluggishly stood from the bed. "Okay, what's wrong?"

Ryan shrugged again. "Nothing."

"No, no, no. I can tell there's something wrong, so what is it?" Shelby pushed. "You haven't said five words to me all day. What's up?"

Ryan put the baseball down on the desk. "I don't know. I just…maybe it's just sinking in. This isn't going to be my room anymore. Everything's changing."

Oh. Now Shelby felt really stupid. She hadn't considered how this would make the move permanent, and she hadn't considered how it would affect her son.

"I know I'm moving in with you, and I'm happy about that, but…I don't know." Ryan was having a hard time expressing what he felt, he always had. He had an enormous vocabulary, he'd gotten nearly perfect scores in his SAT practice runs, but he never seemed to be able to find the right words when it came to feelings.

"It's sort of natural, I guess," Shelby said ponderingly. "I was a bit out of it when I moved to New York. Change is always hard. But it's good, too. You wouldn't want to stay the same forever, right?"

Ryan nodded reluctantly. "I guess so. It's just that I spent fifteen years with this place as my room, it has a lot of memories. Like all the times I was up here making those MySpace videos, or the time I brought my first singing trophy in here," he said, gesturing at the mentioned trophy. "It's just strange to be leaving it."

"It's just a room," Shelby told him gently. "You're taking your memories with you. And we'll be making new ones."

"Okay." Ryan shook himself mentally. "Okay. Let's do this."

"Good." Shelby looked around the room. "And…I'm sorry I was a bit short with you earlier."

A slight smile appeared on the teenager's face. "You're apologizing?"

"Yeah, and it doesn't happen often so you better bask in the glow of it. But bask quick, we still have to pack." Shelby smiled in relief as her son's smile widened. "Now, I think the first thing you have to decide on is whether you're keeping everything."

..

A couple of hours later, the room was mostly packed, with Ryan's stuff organized into the boxes they had brought. A lot of things were being left behind, including outgrown clothes and old toys. They had decided to take Ryan's CD collection with them, they'd just see where it overlapped with Shelby's and sell the duplicates off.

"You got everything?" Shelby asked one more time.

"Yes," Ryan answered her, a touch of exasperation in his voice. His mom had asked the question a few times already.

"Don't take that tone with me, kid, I don't remember you complaining when you suddenly remembered that poster in the back closet a few minutes ago."

"Sorry," Ryan muttered. "But to answer your question, yes, I think I have everything."

"Good." Shelby picked up the second to the last box. "I'll meet you in the car," she told him as she left the room.

Ryan slowly picked the final box up and took a last look around the room. He straightened his shoulders. His mom was right, the room was just that – a room. He'd be taking his memories and his things with him. And he was going somewhere better. And he was meeting Quinn later, he thought, smiling. After one more sweep, he followed his mom out of the room, closing the lights as he left.

Later that afternoon

"Hey, Ryan," Quinn said as she entered the Lima Bean. She was wearing a close-fitting tank top, and she couldn't help but smirk inwardly at Ryan's slightly slack-jawed face when he saw her. Oh yeah, she still had it.

Ryan managed to wake himself up, and he flashed her a quick smile. "H-hi Quinn. You look great."

Quinn smiled back at him. That was one of the things she really liked about him, other boys probably would have made a flirtatious comment, or they wouldn't have been able to keep their eyes from wandering all over. Ryan was different though. And compliments were always welcome. "Thanks. How'd you get here?"

"Oh, I walked," Ryan answered. "What did you want to drink?"

Quinn considered. "Hazelnut latte, iced if you can get it."

"Coming right up," Ryan smiled at her as he got up to get their drinks. He came back a few minutes later carrying two cups. "Good call on the iced drink, it's getting pretty hot outside." It was mid-June now, and the summer heat was starting.

Quinn accepted the cup Ryan offered her. "Thanks."

"So, how's Santana? You were over at her place yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, my mom's usually out at work all day, and she goes to AA some nights. I go over to the Lopez's place a lot," Quinn said thoughtfully. "Even before."

"How are you and your mom anyways?" Ryan asked curiously. "Is it…better now?"

Quinn stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. "I guess so," she answered slowly. "Better than before, anyways, at least she's not drinking anymore, and she's not obsessed with the perfect family thing my dad had going on." She was quiet. "I guess the problem is…she isn't really there."

Ryan knew what that felt like. "Like she's there but not really? Yes, that's what it felt like with my dads."

"She's trying," Quinn allowed. "We talk, sometimes. How did it go yesterday?" she asked, trying to change the subject. She knew she could talk about it with him, but she didn't really know how to say it. She wasn't even sure exactly what she was feeling. "With your mom and her family?"

Ryan smiled. "It was pretty good." He told her about what happened yesterday.

"So are you taking the name change?" Quinn wanted to know.

Ryan looked away for a moment. "Yes, I am. What do you think?"

"Hmm. Ryan Corcoran." She tried the new name out. "Sounds good, I like it. Besides, from what you've said, they're a better family anyways."

"Yeah." Ryan took a drink of his coffee. Quinn was right, the Corcorans were a better family.

..

Back at home, Shelby had finally gotten around to opening the box Hiram had left for her. Inside, she found a note on top of a small stack of photo albums, and another stack of loose photos. She quickly read the note.

Shelby,

We thought you'd want to have some of the pictures we took of Ryan over the years. Ryan can probably tell you about some of them if you ask him. We've also included his medical records.

Hiram

Shelby set the note down and immediately opened the top album, smiling at the picture of a baby Ryan being held by Hiram. The next one showed the baby in a onesie lying in a crib. She slowly went through the rest of the album, enchanted by the photographs of the child she'd been thinking about all those years.

"Mom?"

Shelby jumped in surprise. "Ryan! When did you get here?"

"Just now. What are you doing?" Ryan asked curiously, glancing at the open album in front of Shelby. "Oh. Where'd you get those?"

"Hiram left them for me at their house this morning." Shelby put down the album, taking out the rest of the box's contents. At the bottom she found a folder, presumably containing the records. She'd take a look at it later. "How was your coffee date?"

"Good," Ryan smiled at her. "It went great, we had a lot of fun. At least I did, I hope Quinn did too," he rambled.

Shelby smiled in amusement. "How is she, anyways?"

Ryan paused in his ramble. "She's okay, I think. Why?"

"Just wondering how she's dealing with her baby's adoption." Shelby knew from personal experience that it was hard, and she felt some concern for the girl her son seemed to be so infatuated with.

"It hasn't come up, actually," Ryan frowned. It hadn't really crossed his mind, and Quinn had never brought it up.

"Ah." Perhaps she had already come to terms with it, Shelby mused. "Anyways, I thought you could tell me about a few of these pictures," she said hopefully.

"Sure," Ryan said amiably, sitting down beside his mom and opening an album. "Heh. That's from when I was five, I think," he told her, pointing at a picture of himself on a swing. "It was taken at the park, you know, where you found me after I ran off that night." He went through a few more pictures before noticing that his mom had gone quiet. "Something wrong?"

Shelby shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just wishing I was a part of all these pictures, I guess," she said wistfully.

"Oh." Ryan ran his hand through his hair, not knowing what to say. Honestly, he hadn't thought much about how his mom would have felt all those years before they had met. "Well, we can make new pictures," he suggested. He took out his phone, holding it out to capture both of them. "Smile."

He turned the screen towards them. "That's a good picture," Shelby smiled. He was right. They were together now, they would be able to make all the pictures they wanted, with both of them.

Next chapter, everyone! We're getting to the end of the custody arc, just one more to go. It's actually almost done, so I should have it up early this week. Hope you liked this one. Also, maybe some of you have an opinion on what I should do with Shelby, job-wise, I mean. I'm considering having her teach at McKinley a year early. Either that or I'll find something else for her to do, she can't just sit at home. Reviews please!