Chapter Twenty-One: Sectionals

Rachel woke up the morning of Sectionals with Beth sitting on top of her, her hands on her hips staring down at her big sister.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rachel mumbled, looking up at her sister.

"Best not let Mommy hear you say that word." Beth said.

"What do you want, Bethie?" Rachel asked groggily as she tried to move around but really couldn't because her little sister was not getting off of her.

"Mommy is talking to Logan on the phone again. We have got to do something about this, Rachie." Beth told her seriously.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be dumb, Rachie. Mommy has been talking to him all week. He ate supper here two days this week! And Mommy get all….laugh-y when he is around! It's weird." Beth said, throwing her hands up in the air, exasperated by her older sister. Was Rachel not paying attention to what was going on in their lives?

"Beth, you're five. What do you know about Mom and her new boy-toy?" Rachel asked, shoving Beth back a little so that the little girl was on her lap, making it easier for her to sit up and lean against the headboard of her bed.

Beth crossed her arms and smirked at Rachel.

"I know that Mommy invited him to Sectionals. And that he is coming." Beth said.

Rachel's eyes grew wide and she looked at Beth.

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yep," Beth said, popping her 'p'.

"Shit." Rachel muttered. Beth raised one of her eyebrows, her arms still crossed. It was eerily like their mother. Creepy.

"You really better not Mommy hear you say those words." Beth warned again, shaking her head. Didn't Rachel know that Mommy still had two bars of soap under the right sink in her bathroom, one with Rachel's name on it and the other with Beth's in zippy bags…Beth had seen them not long ago when she had been looking to see where Mommy had hid her princess Band-Aids…sometimes you needed a Band-Aid for no reason, but Mommy didn't seem to understand that and had hid them when Beth had put on four different ones for no reason. Beth had gotten the soap in her mouth for almost an entire minute a couple weeks previous because she had said 'damn' at school and had gotten a note sent home. Beth was thinking about hiding the bars, but she was almost positive that Mommy would buy more.

"I won't. So…what else do you know about Logan?" Rachel asked, staring at her little sister, all the while her mind was rolling. Her Mom hadn't even asked her if she minded him being there! She didn't want him at Sectionals! She barely even knew him, despite the fact that she had dropped her pants and underwear and let him give her a tattoo…something he had definitely not told her Mom about.

"I know that he and Mommy talk every night on the phone when Mommy thinks we are asleep, and that they have a date next Saturday when I am going to be at Amelia's and you are going to spend the night at Kurt's since Finn won't be there because he will be at his grandparents."

Rachel looked at Beth, shocked.

"Just how much do you know, Sis?"

Beth smirked again.

"I know lots of things. You just never ask." Beth said, climbing off of Rachel and walking out the doorway.

She turned around and stared at Rachel, "You do know that you have Sectionals today, right? And when Mommy got that call from Logan, it was nine…"

Rachel's eyes grew wide and she jumped out of bed to start getting ready. She only had a few hours before they had to leave for school to meet the bus!

Beth laughed as she went downstairs, shaking her head the entire way. Her big sister was so funny sometimes.

-OneStepAtATime-

Since Shelby worked at the school and her child was in the Glee club, she was chosen as the female chaperone to ride on the bus with Will. Terri, Judy, Russ, Leah, Beth, and Wilde were all riding together in Terri's SUV. Leah's husband, James, and their son Elijah had tickets to a football game, so were going to miss Sectionals in order to attend that. Logan was following them in his vehicle, though Rachel had purposely ignored that fact when her mother told her, stating that she already knew.

Shelby wasn't quite sure how Rachel knew that Logan was coming to see the performance, but she hadn't had time to question her about it because she had had to start helping Will get the kids on the bus so that they could leave.

She had not expected to get on the bus and see Rachel sitting in Jesse's lap, giggling about something he had said, the two of them so close that water would not have made it through the line between their bodies.

Shelby clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone, take a seat," she looked at Rachel and Jesse, "your own seat, not on top of anyone else. The bus cannot take off until you all have your own seats." She was insistent, and everyone knew why. She could tell by the not so subtle smirks some of the kids, namely Santana, Mercedes, Quinn, and Kurt, were passing Rachel and Jesse.

Shelby watched Rachel roll her eyes and scoot off Jesse to sit by the window. Shelby had a feeling that their hands were still clutched together, but without going back there and embarrassing her child to death, there was nothing that she could do about that. Shelby made a point not to embarrasses Rachel when she was there as a teacher, and, ultimately, she was on this bus as a teacher. She would be Rachel's mother when Rachel sang her solo, and then for the rest of the performance, but when it came time to get the kids ready to go, if their parents weren't taking them, she would be a teacher again. This was an old school and song for Shelby, which was another reason that she felt the school board had asked her to assist Will who tended to be mild mannered compared to her.

Shelby was not one to wait why things got done, but instead was the one making sure they were done to her satisfaction. Bless Will's heart, but he would let the students, especially one Miss Rachel, run things if someone else wasn't near.

After everyone was sitting down and ready to go, Rachel glared at her mother as she scooted closer to Jesse again. Shelby raised her eyebrow in a "do you really want to go there right at this moment" fashion, which made Rachel sink down in the seat beside Jesse. Sometimes Shelby could not simply turn off mother-mode.

"You know, your mom can be super scary when she arches her eyebrow up like that." Jesse whispered after he sunk down in their seat beside her.

"Yea, I know. I have lived with her my whole life and it has always scared me. Just don't let her know that. I mean, when her eyebrow goes up like that, she is deadly serious. I get grounded more when that eyebrow is cocked up and I ignore it than any other time." Rachel whispered.

Jesse laughed.

"Did you ask her if she was going to let us go out?" He asked, running his fingers over her hand.

"We haven't really talked about it. She said that she would think about it, and on like Wednesday I mentioned it again, but she said that she had to think about it a bit more. I asked her last night and she told me that if I kept asking she was going to tell me no because it wasn't a simple decision for her, that she has to think really hard about it first. Both nights her new 'toy' just happened to be around. He hasn't even been in her life for two weeks and he is already messing up our lives." Rachel ranted quietly.

It wasn't actually true. Yes, he had been over, but her mom had paid just as much attention to her and Beth as she normally did, but it was the fact of the matter.

He was a man and he was competing with Rachel and Beth for their mom's attention. They didn't like that one bit.

"What is he like?" Jesse asked Rachel.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Rachel said with a glimmer in her eye. Jesse looked at her and smiled while he nodded his head.

"I have a tattoo on my hip. Kurt and I went to get it the day Quinn and I were mad at one another. I had a fake id that I had gotten from Puck and Kurt did my makeup and stuff. Then we went and I got the tattoo. It is pretty big. Well, the guy who did it, it was Logan. My mom's new boyfriend. I can guarantee he hasn't and won't tell mom that."

"Maybe you will have to show me that tattoo sometime." Jesse said with a sly grin.

"Sure. But obviously not today." Rachel smiled, peeping over the top of her seat to see where her mother was. She was at the front, talking to Will.

Jesse thought she was joking. Rachel wasn't though. She would show him the tattoo eventually.

"Does your sister like him?" Jesse asked her.

"Ha! I think she dislikes him being around more than I do! I don't know how that is possible. I mean Beth likes everyone. I think she is going to really like you, but she woke me up this morning and was fussing because Mom was talking to him on the phone. My little sister knows more about what is going on than I do. She was the one who told me that Mom invited him today. That pisses me off. She had no right to invite him to our competition."

"Maybe you should talk to her about it." Jesse said. He really couldn't pretend to understand Rachel's position. Both of his parents were married to one another and he had never had to deal with them dating someone else. He knew that Rachel had never had a father, and he felt that if he was in that position he would probably feel the same way.

"Yea, maybe. Beth will probably beat me to her. I have never seen my sister like she was this morning."

"Yea. So, maybe I should ask your mom about us hanging out…" Jesse said smiling.

Rachel smiled and leaned against him, clutching his hand in hers.

In front of them, Quinn smiled. She wasn't sure if she liked Jesse just yet, but she was glad that her friend had someone to talk to that wasn't with her all the time, that didn't know Aunt Shelby the way that Quinn and Kurt did. Rachel needed someone that could be there just for Rachel without thinking about anyone or anything else in a large extended family. Quinn and Kurt were, but it was still different.

She looked over at Santana who was sharing a seat with her and gave the girl a knowing look. They had both heard the entire conversation that had taken place behind them, but knew that no one else had been paying attention.

Santana leaned over to Quinn and whispered, "Diva has a tattoo and I am just now hearing about this?" Santana asked, very curious. She had been wanting a tattoo for ages but even she hadn't had the guts to try and use the fake id she had to get it. But if Kurt could make Rachel look older, than she knew that he could definitely make her look older…because she already looked older than Rachel, so it probably wouldn't be all that hard.

"Yea. She has one. Don't tell Aunt Shel about it, Santana…that is how I am going to get my tattoo…Rachel is going to tell him that if he doesn't give me one that she is going to tell her mom everything…" Quinn said.

Santana looked surprised.

"You think she'd throw me in there too? Two for one? I didn't know the little Diva had it in her." Santana smiled. She wouldn't tell anyone. She knew how to keep her mouth shut. But she also wanted that tattoo.

"I'll talk to Rach. But you have to keep your mouth shut."

"I can do that." Santana said with a smile.

-OneStepAtATime-

"Alright, guys, this is it. Win this and we will be on our way to Regionals. You have got this in the bag!" Will said as he stared at the kids in front of him. The guys were dressed in black pants and white button up shirts, and the girls all wore bright red, satin dresses. The girls' hair all matched, thanks to Shelby, who had helped them all style their hair when they were getting ready, and they were all set.

Within seconds, the announcer was announcing New Directions, and they were on.

From the crowd, Rachel's family was enthralled as she sang like an angel. Beside Shelby, Logan sat and leaned over.

"You are right, she does sing like an angel."

Shelby nodded as she smiled on and watched her daughter. She loved hearing her baby sing.

To Shelby's other side, Leah sat with Beth in her lap. Terri was beside her with Wilde in her lap, and then Judy and Russell. Behind Shelby sat Burt and Carole. Both little girls where captivated with Rachel's voice and their eyes stayed focused only on her.

"Aunt Leah, isn't Rachel singing pretty?" Beth whispered as her sister finished singing and a duet sung by Tina and Artie started.

"Yes, she sang beautifully, Sweet Pea." Beth sat back and laid her head back on Leah's shoulder.

During the group number, everything went splendidly, and when the singing was finished, just as the last note rang throughout the auditorium, people began applauding. They were the last group up, and now all they had to do was wait for the results.

While everyone waited for the results, the kids went off the stage and into the audience to talk to family and friends. Rachel, Jesse, Quinn, Santana, and Brittney were standing off to the side talking and laughing when a voice came from behind Rachel.

"I knew you would be able to sing like an angel."

The voice was raspy and Rachel had only heard it once, but she knew who it belong too. She could also tell by the look on Quinn's face. Santana looked confused, and even Brittney, who normally always held a smile, was frowning when she noticed the look on Rachel's face. Jesse was beside Rachel, so she couldn't see his face.

Rachel turned around.

Leroy Berry stood there, if possible more disheveled than the last time. His eyes were blood shot and his hair was longer and knotted.

"It's been almost fifteen years, Rachel. Don't you ever wonder what you missed, pretty girl? You look like Shelby Corcoran's twin. You look just like her. But you are shorter…and you have Hiram's eyes… caramel eyes. Just like Hiram's. I always loved his eyes." Leroy reached towards Rachel and ran his fingers through her hair and then ran his hand down her face and neck and shoulder.

"Quinnie…Mom…" Rachel whimpered. She was frozen. She needed her mom. She felt Jesse reach for her and wrap his arms around her waist and pulling her backwards against him. She felt more than saw Santana push Brittney behind her and then step a bit in front of Rachel and Jesse. Santana didn't know who this man was, but she wasn't shitting around. It was obvious that Rachel was afraid.

"I don't know who you are, sir, but you need to leave us alone." Jesse said, trying to move Rachel around so that he could stand beside Santana. He finally wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and he felt her head rest on his back.

"And who the hell are you? Rachel, dear, aren't you too young for a boy to be holding you so closely? Wouldn't you rather be held by the man who was supposed to be your daddy all those years ago?"

Rachel let out a sob, Brittney looked over and noticed that her eyes were those of a deer caught in the headlights.

Across the auditorium, Leah looked up trying to see Rachel from where she was standing with Judy, Russ, Terri, Beth, and Wilde. Shelby had gone to check on the kids as they made their way to the floor. She caught sight of Rachel hidden behind Jesse and Santana, two kids she had only recently met, and her heart stopped.

"Judy, take Beth." Leah said, pushing Beth gently over to Judy. Leah was walking quickly, but then she heard Rachel cry out and she started to walk faster. Why had she been so far away?

Russ followed Leah's line of sight until he saw what Leah had seen. Leroy Berry. He had never seen the man, but somehow he knew that was who the man so close to his Rachel was. Russ took off towards the man, his strides longer than Leah's, so he caught up with her easily.

Shelby heard the cry over the noise of the audience. She knew her daughter's cry anywhere. It was Rachel's. Why would she be crying? They were a shoe in for winning Sectionals. They had been brilliant. Rachel had been brilliant. They had all sang beautifully.

And then she looked up. Jesse was holding Rachel's entire body behind him. Santana was close to Jesse, with Brittney a little ways behind her, trying to lay a comforting hand on Rachel.

Then Shelby saw Quinn, looking frantically around when the girl finally spotted Shelby.

"Aunt Shel! He is here!" the girl yelled, turning and pointing to the one thing that Shelby had missed. Leroy Berry. How the hell had she missed him? He was only feet away from her daughter!

Shelby, unlike Russ and Leah, took off into a run, telling Quinn to go back to the dressing room as she did so. She saw the man reach around Jesse and run his fingers through her daughter's perfect dark brown locks, and it angered her. It sent chills of anger down her spine. Shelby Corcoran was pissed.

As if by magic, Shelby beat Russ and Leah to her daughter and stepped in between the man and her now sobbing child and she smacked his hand away.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shelby asked, flames of fury blazing in her eyes.

"I just came to see my…"

"Let's get this straight, Leroy Berry, she is nothing to you. Rachel is my daughter. She is nothing to you. If you do not leave…"

"I will call the cops," Russ's voice boomed from behind the man, "if you do not leave them alone. I know people. People who would make you cringe every time you thought of the name Rachel. Shelby, do you want to take the children back to the dressing room?"

Shelby nodded thankfully towards Russ, and glanced helplessly at Leah, who nodded towards the four kids in front of them and then pointed towards the doors which lead to the dressing rooms.

"Mommy." Rachel sobbed in a near whisper. She was clinging to Jesse, who Shelby had a sudden influx of gratitude for, but she wanted her mother.

Shelby opened her arms and Rachel jumped towards her, wrapping her arms around Shelby's neck, her legs not quite reaching the floor because her mother was so much taller than she was. She didn't care who saw her. She was upset and she needed her mom. Leroy Berry had scared her the last time, but this was on a completely different level.

"Come on, Jesse, Santana, Brittney." Rachel heard her mother day.

Shelby was thankful that Rachel weighed practically nothing, and that she was a good eight or nine inches taller than her daughter, else carrying her would have been a problem because she scooped her up instead of making her walk. She hadn't carried Rachel in a while, but carrying her would be easier at the moment and probably faster.

"Shel, do you want me to take her?" Logan asked, coming up from behind Shelby. Rachel heard him and held tighter to her mother.

"Don't let him touch me!" Rachel growled as she sunk farther into her mother's arm, planting her face in her neck. Tears were streaming down her face and people were starting to look their way so Shelby shook her head no and just walked towards the doors at the back of the auditorium. "Judy and Beth close to where our seats were. I will be back in a bit, Logan." The man nodded. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he knew that whoever that man was that Russ was now threatening was no one good. Especially with Rachel so upset and Shelby looking so frighteningly angry.

Shelby didn't know where anyone else was, though she had seen Judy holding Beth on her hip. She knew that she could focus on Rachel right now. She walked with Rachel and Jesse, Santana, and Brittney were close behind them. They walked towards the dressing room, and Shelby stopped right beside a single bathroom that was right beside their dressing room.

"Guys, I am going to take Rachel in the bathroom for a few minutes. We will be back in a minute. Go in the dressing room. Quinn should be in there, along with the other kids."

Jesse nodded, but looked uncertainly at Rachel.

Shelby patted Rachel's back soothingly.

"Don't worry, Jesse. She will be fine." Shelby smiled. She could tell how worried the boy was about her daughter.

"I want to go back out there and kick that loco's ass!" Santana said steely. Her own eyes were flashing angrily, thinking of what she might be able to get away with before she realized that she was talking in front of Ms. Corcoran.

"No, Santana. If you leave that dressing room before I come in there and tell you that you can, you will be in trouble. Do you understand me? There is enough trouble going on without us having to make sure you don't go out and cause another scene."

Santana was thinking. She really wanted to go out there…

"Santana. Do I need to go get your mother?" Shelby knew that Santana always listened to her mother, even if she didn't listen to anyone else.

"No. I won't go anywhere." Santana said quickly.

"Good. Go on. We will see you in a moment." Shelby watched as Brittney pushed Santana into the dressing room and she turned around, "Don't worry, Ms. Corcoran, I won't let her go anywhere. I will tell her I won't make out with her ever again if she disobeys you." The girl said airily. Shelby nodded, and then shook her head when the girl went in the dressing room. Did these kids only think about sex?

"Go on, Jesse. If Santana tries to leave, please come get me."

Jesse nodded and finally went into the dressing room and Shelby took Rachel into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"He touched my hair and my face and my neck, Mama...I don't understand why it made me feel so dirty." Rachel sobbed into her mother's neck.

Shelby looked at the sink to make sure that it was clean, and when she saw that it was, she set Rachel on the counter.

Shelby grabbed several paper towels and wet them. She gently wiped Rachel's tears from her face, and then wiped at the places Leroy's fingers had touched.

"Mama, I don't understand…" Rachel whispered.

"Baby, I know. That man…that man out there. He is not the man he was fifteen years ago. But you don't have to worry about that because you have a family. A family that will protect you and watch out for you and love you without ever willingly hurting you. Even Santana was ready to go out there, though if she does, she will regret it after I told her no."

"He kept saying 'you have Hiram's eyes…I always loved Hiram's eyes'…he scares me, Mama. He just shows up…" Rachel said, stretching her arms to wrap them around her mother's neck again. Shelby obliged and wrapped her own arms around Rachel.

"I know, baby girl. I know." Shelby said, rocking her back and forth.

"I want to go home."

"Don't you want to see if you and your team won?"

"Yea. But not if he is still out there. I don't want to see him again."

"Uncle Russ was going to make sure that he left. He will be gone before you ever leave this bathroom."

"Okay." Rachel whispered.

Shelby rubbed Rachel's back. Her daughter looked so defeated, her makeup all over her face as tears still fell down her cheeks. She didn't know what Rachel's fears really were about Leroy Berry, but she knew that something about the man sent a bad vibe out. Rachel had not been the first to say that to her. She had felt it. Selene Garcia had felt it. Santana and Jesse had felt it.

If what Rachel said was true, and she knew that everything her daughter had told her about the man was, Leroy sounded like he was looking for something that reminded him of Hiram in Rachel. The only thing that remotely looked like Hiram on Rachel was her eye color. Nothing more. Everything else was the spitting image of Shelby, even the shapes of her eyes. What Shelby didn't understand, though, was why the man had waited so long to try and see the girl. Had it been not long after Rachel had been born, Shelby might have allowed him to visit the little girl. But he had gone off the deep end, that much was apparent, and he would not be talking to her daughter. Rachel was nothing to him, and she would remain that way.

AN: Thanks for all of the reviews. They mean a lot too me:) So, what did everyone think?