Chapter 36

Shelby walked with purpose through the hospital. She was going to talk to Nora Puckerman, but first she had to find her.

She had talked to Noah a bit longer, letting him tell her how he was feeling about everything, how he was afraid that he had messed up with Rachel, how Noelle was starting to get into trouble at school because he was a bad example. Everything, in Noah's mind, was his fault. Shelby was planning on fixing that. And the first thing she had to do was find Nora.

Shelby walked up to the front desk. She was glad that she was dressed in her work clothes, black pencil skirt, purple blouse, killer heels and hose on. She knew that when she was dressed for work she looked much more menacing than she did when she was in jeans and a shirt.

"I need to speak to Nora Puckerman. It is a family emergency." Shelby told the woman on duty at the desk. The woman looked up at her. Shelby raised up her eyebrow for what felt like the hundreth time that day. It was, she knew, a way to get exactly what she wanted because it intimadated people. Secretly, Shelby loved it. She loved that it made people want to listen to her. The only people it did not affect, it seemed, were Weezy and Rachel. Rachel did notice it sometimes, but Kate never did. In fact, Kate's own look still scared Shelby. A lot.

"Um, okay. I will...Let me page her."

"Yes, please do. I need to see her immediately."

It was mere minutes before Nora came rushing down the hall, her face weary, her pale pink scrubs looked as if she had been in them for a while, as they were soaked with perspiration. She looked...defeated. Shelby almost hated to be the one to rip into her.

But, for Noah she would. She really had grown to like the kid, and it was not fair how he was being relied on. It wasn't fair to him or to Noelle.

"They said there was an emergency? Is it Noah? Noelle? What is going on?" Nora Puckerman asked. She did not know the woman in front of her, but had seen her from a distance, once, at the school a few months back.

Shelby walked up to her and held out her hand.

"I am Shelby Corcoran, Rachel Berry's mother. You and I need to have a talk. We have a lot to discuss. About all three of our children." Shelby told her gently.

Nora stepped back, unsure how to take this woman.

"Can you leave work? I have it on good authority that you have been working for more than fourteen hours straight, if not longer."

Nora sighed. Whatever this woman wanted was obviously going to take longer than she wanted it too. Than she needed it too. She needed to work as much as possible, as often as they asked her too, else she'd lose the job. They had told her that up front nearly eight years ago. Nothing had changed since then.

"Yes. I can take a break. I was going to clock out in twenty minutes anyways. Give me ten to get everything straightened out."

Shelby nodded, and then went to sit down close to the door. It was then that someone approached Shelby. She felt the person before she noticed him, and then looked up, "Hi, Santiago." Shelby said with a smile. She was very fond of the Lopez familily. She was glad that Rachel had friends in a good family. A family she was not afraid to send her child too.

"I saw you with Nora. Is everything alright?" Santiago asked.

"You work here, Santiago, tell me, is it custom to make an RN work every single day for twelve to sixteen hour shifts with no breaks?"

Santiago sat down and scooted closely to Shelby, "No. It isn't. And I have gone to the board about Nora Puckerman. I was told, nicely, that it was none of my business, and that she chose to work the hours she did, at night. I am not the only doctor who has noticed this. But, if she will not talk to me, all I can do is offer advice. Yes, there are times that it is necessary for both nurses and doctors to work extra shifts, but it is ridiculous the amount that she works. She never has a day off."

"I am going to talk to her about Noelle and Noah. Noah dropped Noelle off at my house last night…" Shelby continued telling him the gist of everything that had happened over the last day. They talked for several moments about the situation and possible alternatives, but Santiago soon left to get his own things ready to ho home so that he could go home and sleep before he needed to come back to fill in for a doctor who was out with the flu. They bid good-bye to one another and then Shelby was left alone with her thoughts.

True to her word, Nora was back with her coat and purse in ten minutes. Shelby stood and walked over to her, "Where would you like to talk. Noah is at your home, resting. He had a long night, all of which I will explain to you in time. Noelle is at school, my sister works there and took her with her this morning along with her two children and my daughter."

"I guess we really do have a lot to discuss." Nora said, running her hand through her dark hair. Hair that was already beginning to fade through the stress of life.

"I know a good diner right up the road. We will be able to talk and we wont be rushed." Nora said quietly.

Shelby nodded and then followed Nora out of the hospital.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Left~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took ten more minutes to get to the diner. It was closing in on eleven o'clock, and Shelby felt like the day had been a million hours long already. She was tired. She could only imagine how Nora felt, after working such a long shift.

They sat down in a corner booth so as not to be disturbed, and only after they ordered drinks and food, did either of them start to talk.

"I haven't sat down since yesterday." Nora said quietly, sitting back in her seat, trying to relax even a bit, though it was hard because she had no idea where this conversation was going to go. She looked up at Shelby and tilted her head slightly, "Noah told me that Rachel was living with you even though you were a surrogate. He told me about her fathers dumping her on your porch like an abandoned puppy. I have never seen him as upset and angry as he was that day. It was all I could do to keep him in the house and keep him from trying to find Rachel's fathers."

Her words were not mean. They were sad. They made Shelby sad all over again. Shelby nodded.

"Noah told me a lot today...he is scared. Stressed. Scared of disappointing you, stressed because he is afraid of letting you down. He can't go on much longer. Normally, I wouldn't think that it is my place to talk to another parent about how they are raising their children. Not when I just recently got my daughter back. But, I know how my child is now. I know most of what she went through, though every once in a while she still tells me something that makes me hurt for her, angry at her fathers and at myself. And she still has issues because of it. I do not want Noah or Noelle to go through the same things when I know that you care about them. I know because of the way that Noah talks about you. I care about Noah. I will not lie and say that I cared about him at first, when he and my daughter were skipping classes together, skipping school, and he was sneaking in her bedroom window, but then I looked at the bigger picture and realized exactly what was going on. Well, honestly, I figured it mostly out today, but I have suspected it for a while now. Noah brought Noelle over to my house later last night after I was asleep. I found her this morning, helped her get ready for school, took the kids to my sister, and then I went to your house. Noah was there. He was sitting at the kitchen table, where I am sure that he had been sitting all night long, and staring at a bottle of tequila."

Nora's head popped up. Her eyes screamed a type of fear that only a mother's could. A mother whose ex-husband had drank them into a hole she was just now able to crawl out of. A lifestyle she remembered, one that she did not want to consume her son. It had nearly been the end of them. She wondered how much Noah remembered. They did not talk about it. Noah had been young. But he was old enough to remember some of it. It was when Nora saw her ex-husband hit her son that she knew he had to leave. No one would hurt her children.

"He didn't drink any of it. Of that I am certain. I threatened him within an inch of his life if he ever did and I found out about it. He means too much to my daughter, but if he starts drinking he will not be around her." Shelby added.

Nora nodded. She would not have it either. She could already see where this was going.

"What else did you want to talk to me about?" Nora asked Shelby.

Shelby took a deep breath.

"To be blunt, you are going to have to sort your priorities out where your children are concerned. I know that it may be none of my business...actually," Shelby took a deep breath, "Actually, it is my business, Nora. It became my business this morning, if not before. Do you know that your daughter stays with friends almost every week night? That Saturdays, your son spends the days at my house now, but that he used to spend every night with Rachel when she lived with her fathers? That sometimes, Noelle did as well? Your son is crying out for you know, he needed you this morning, when you were supposed to be home, but you were not there. You are working yourself to death for your children, but if you are not there or dead from it all, you will do them no good. Your children need you. They need you now, while they are children. You have the rest of your life to work. Noah has two years before he is in college. Noelle has ten. They need you now. It will all be over before you know it. And then you are going to realize that your children don't need you anymore and that you missed their entire childhood. You are going to realize that you missed every single thing that they went too. And when you realize that, you are also going to realize that your children have found replacements. My daughter did that for her fathers. I had no rights to her because, like you said, I was a mere surrogate. And, they were both lawyers. I wanted my baby so badly, but I was young and stupid. Now, now I know that I could have had her. But in the meantime, she replaced all parental figures in her life. She still does it at times. Noah was one of those replacements…" Shelby stopped when Nora looked up at her, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, Nora, Rachel and Noah, they love one another. I have never set eyes on a set of teenagers who are so deeply in love. It is like a love story. They...They truly love one another. I have no doubt that they will, in time, spend the rest of their lives together and have children together. But, our children are still just children, and they have been relying on one another for everything. Rachel thought that Noah was all that she needed. Noah thought the same of Rachel. But they both know differently now. They know that they can't depend only on one another right now."

"They are having sex, aren't they? I suspected it. A week ago I found some of Rachel's clothes in his room. A pair of panties and a pair of pants. They're just children. I mean, Rachel's panties had Spongebob on them. In the same load of laundry, Noah had a pair of boxers that had Adventure Time characters all over them. They are just children." Nora said quietly.

Shelby cringed at the thought of her daughter's panties being in her boyfriend's room. She had not planned on discussing this part of their childrens' relationship with Nora, but, honestly, she felt that it was only fair.

"Once. They had sex once, about two weekends ago. I think that that is what started all of this. Both of them, they were not ready. Rachel was upset for several days, Noah was upset. I think that they were afraid that it would tear them apart because neither of them were as ready as they thought they were. I do think, however, that they will wait before they have sex again. They both realize that it was a step, but not one that they were ready for."

"I should have been there. I was there earlier that day, but they had left and went to a movie. Noah told me that he was taking Rachel home right after the movie. I knew something was off about the way he sounded. I knew, in my heart, that he was lying about something, but I had just worked sixteen hours and was going to have to work another sixteen hour shift. I was tired, and I didn't want to cause a fight at that moment."

"Nora, I am far from the perfect mother. My daughter just flew to New York with my debit card and a fake id this past weekend. I wasn't even with her until the day she turned fifteen. I can't promise you anything when it comes to the relationship I have with her other than the fact that I do love her more than I love anything. That until I met my child, I didn't know the kind of love that I know now. But, Nora, I know that Rachel loves Noah, she even loves Noelle, and I for that love, I will help you in any way that you need. I will do whatever it is you need to set this straight for yourself and for Noah and Noelle."

Nora looked out the window, a small trace of a smile gracing her lips.

"I had to beg for work when my ex-husband left. Noah thinks that it was because they were afraid of what his father would do at any workplace that I was at. But, that was not the truth. No one wanted to hire me because they all knew him. He came from money, and everyone was afraid of his family. It took me months to find a job. I am a registered nurse and it took me months to find a job when there was a shortage of nurses. Finally, one day I just broke. Noah had bronchitis and I could barely afford his medicine, Noelle was teething and had had fever for two days because of it, and I bundled them up and took them with me to the hospital and went into the hiring department and sat down. I told them that I was not going to leave until someone told me why I could not get a job there when they were short of nurses. I told them to look at my children. I told them to look at the baby he had left behind because he was an alcoholic; the son he had smacked around when he ran out of whiskey or tequila. I made them look at my children and forced them to tell me why they would not hire me. They did hire me. But, they told me that I could only work nights and that I would work every single time that they needed me or I would be fired. I guess that I have been afraid to rock the boat. Even all of these years later. Their father hasn't been in the picture in years. The last I heard, he was drinking away most of his parents' money."

Shelby reached across the table and took Nora's hands in her own.

"Nora, I think that it is time to rock the boat."

Nora nodded.

"I had an offer. A few days ago. One of the ER doctors, Dr. Lopez, introduced me to one of the on call doctors and she told me that she needed an RN in her office. She said she would give me time to decide before she put an ad in the paper. It would be less hours, but it would be while the kids are in school. I...I have been afraid to say yes, and afraid to say no. I haven't worked days in years. The pay wouldn't be quite as much."

"Dr. Lopez is a good man. Our daughters are friends. I think now is the time to say good bye to your job at the hospital and do something for your children, Nora. This is your chance. It is not a coincedence that this opportunity came along right before I came to talk to you."

Nora nodded.

"I know. What if it is too late? What if Noah and Noelle resent me being around so much?"

Shelby laughed, "Oh, Nora, they will resent it at times. They will hate that they have to be home all the time, and that you will be able to keep better tabs on them because you will have a day job instead of one at night. They will hate the fact that they cannot do whatever they want when they want too. They will not always be happy that you will be home every weekend."

Shelby watched as Nora's face fell and her shoulders slumped.

"But, they will love it at the same time. They will love that you will be home at night. They will love that you will be there if they need or want to talk to you. They will enjoy having supper with you every night. You will be able to tuck your children in at night. Nora, I would do anything to have been there for Rachel's first fifteen years. But I cannot change that. I can only be there for her now. That is the same type of situation you are in. You cannot change the past, but you can be there now."

Nora, tears now sliding down her cheeks, smiled faintly.

Things were definitely going to change now. She could feel it. She could feel that things were going to get better now.

"How about you call that doctor and tell her that you would love to take that job." Shelby whispered. She knew that things were defintely going to change for the Puckermans.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Left~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rachel sat in the front seat of her Aunt's vehicle and buckled her seatbelt while Santana sat in the back. Aunt Weazy would not leave the parking lot if her seatbelt was not on.

Rachel turned around and looked at the back seats. Aria, Melody, Santana, and Noelle….Noelle?

"Why is Noelle with you? Noah was supposed to pick her up?" Rachel said quickly.

"Your mother called me earlier and asked me to bring her with me and pick up Santana as well because Maribel is not going to be home yet."

"Why is Noah not coming to pick up Noelle? What is wrong with him? He wasn't at school today."

"Noah is fine, Rachel." Kate told her niece gently.

"Then take me to his house." Rachel told her.

"We are going to my house, Rachel. All of us." Kate pulled onto the road, heading for her house.

"No. Take me to Noah's house. I need to see him. I need to see that he is okay. You don't understand. I know Noah better than anyone and this is not like him. Take me to his house, Kate!"

Kate's eyes went wide. Santana and Melody both hissed in the back seat. Both of them knew that Rachel was tredding thin ice. Melody from experience with her mother, and Santana from experience with adults in general.

"Excuse me?" Kate said as she stopped at a red light and then turned towards her neice. The girl had obviously lost her mind as of late.

"Take me to Noah's house, or I will get out of the car and walk there myself." Rachel said. She was close to tears. Why did no one ever understand her? Why did everyone in her family think that she was stupid when it came to everything? They all wanted to make decisions for her, but then didn't want to listen to her. Noah needed her. This she knew. He had never been off the grid for this long. She needed to see him, to talk to him, to make sure that he was all right.

"Rachel Barbra, you will be going to my house with everyone else in this car, and you will watch your attitude while you are at it." Kate could tell that Rachel was upset, but there was nothing else that Kate could tell her right now because she did not know exactly what was going on. All she knew was that Shelby asked her to bring all of the children back to her house until Shelby could get there because she was busy doing something else at the moment. Other than that, Kate did not know what was going on.

"Screw you." Rachel said, unbuckled her seatbelt and then jumped out of the car before Kate could move from the redlight.

Inside the car, Santana's eyes were wide. She had seen a lot from Rachel over the last few months, but this was insane. The last few days had been insane with her. Whatever was truly going on in Rachel's head, Santana had no idea.

Kate was furious. She had not been this furious since Shelby had thrown her massive temper tantrums, among other things, after Melody was born.

Kate pulled over into a parking spot at the side of the road and turned to Santana, "Santana…"

"No worries. I will watch them."

Kate nodded, then got out of the car and followed Rachel who was several steps ahead of her.

"Rachel, come here. Now." Kate was trying to catch up to her, and was getting close, but she knew that if she chased Rachel, Rachel would run, and then she would never catch her.

"No!"

"Rachel, now."

"Screw you! I told you that I was going to see Noah and that is what I am doing!" Rachel screamed.

Kate picked up her step, trying to get to Rachel.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, stop right this moment and get back to the car!"

That stopped Rachel cold in her tracks and she turned around, fury in her eyes as she faced her aunt.

"You are such a bitch, Aunt Kate! Now I know where my mom gets it sometimes! You. Are. A. Bitch!" Rachel screamed at her aunt.

Rachel did not realize that Kate was so close to her, and the moment that she did realize it, Kate grabbed her arm. She said nothing. All Kate did was turn around and pull her errant niece with her as she did. In no time at all, they were back at the car and Kate opened the back door.

"Santana, front please."

Santana wasted no time at all doing what she was told. Then Kate picked Rachel up and sat her in the back seat, buckled her in, and turned to the door and turned the child lock on.

"Do not even think of moving from this spot." Kate stated before shutting the door. She went around to the other side of the car and opened that door and turned the child lock as well. Rachel would not climb back out of this car until Kate was ready for her too.

Kate could not believe that Rachel was acting this way. Kate had seen Rachel act up at times, yes, but this was something else.

Half an hour later, they were pulling into the driveway. Shelby was not there yet, but Kate knew that she would be soon.

Santana climbed out of the car, and watched the scene in front of her. Kate opened the door and let Melody, Aria, and Noelle out of the car, then she walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door for Rachel to get out.

Kate stared at Rachel when she opened the door. Rachel was angry and she was trying not to cry. Whether it was from being upset or from anger, Kate did not know.

"I want you to go upstairs to your room. The one that you stayed in when you were here."

Kate did not tell Rachel that the room was officially hers whenever she stayed with with them now. She had already changed the room around a bit to suit Rachel's likes so that she would be more comfortable when she had to stay.

"I want to stay downstairs until my mother gets here." Rachel snapped.

"And I want you to go upstairs to your room until I am able to come and discuss everything that has happened. I will be up after I fix everyone a snack."

Rachel narrowed her eyes as she stared up at her aunt.

Kate had had enough. She took ahold of Rachel's upper arm and then lead her into the house, up the stairs, and then into her room, knowing that the look she passed to Santana, and the nodd she had recieved in return, that the sixteen year old would watch the younger children until she came back down.

Kate sat on the bed, pulled Rachel across her lap, and began smacking Rachel's behind.

"Stop! You cannot spank me! Stop!" Rachel screamed at her aunt, tears now freely falling.

Kate continued swatting the behind in front of her, not speaking, but thinking plenty. Spanking Rachel was so much like spanking Shelby when she was younger.

Rachel slowly gave into the spanking that she was recieving. It was then, and only then, that Kate landed one final swat before sitting Rachel up and in front of her.

"Rachel, I did not like having to do that. Not at all. But you have been way out of line since I picked you up today."

"I'm sorry." Rachel said through her tears. She still wasn't happy. Kate could tell that. But she was calmer. She was calmer than she had been all afternoon.

"I know that you are not happy, Rachel. I am not exactly happy either. But this too shall pass."

"Can I lay down?" Rachel whispered. She wasn't tired, but she wanted some time to herself. She was embarrassed. She knew that she should not have said the things to her aunt that she had. And especially in front of all the little kids and Santana.

Kate stood up, wrapped her arms around Rachel and gave her a tight hug.

"I love you, Rachel. I will come back up and get you in a bit. Do not leave this room unless you need to use the bathroom." Kate whispered.

Rachel hugged her aunt tighter. She could not find any words to say; all she could do was hug her aunt back tightly.

Kate patted Rachel's back and then stepped away from her when Rachel let her go. She then walked out of the room and shut the door behind her quietly.

"What happened?" a whisper came from the floor near Kate's bedroom door.

Kate gave a weak smile and looked down at Shelby who was sitting against her bedroom door, a heaviness about her. Kate could tell that she was worn out. The last few days had worn her out a lot.

"Hey, Shelly. It's been a...rather eventful afternoon."

"I heard." Shelby said, a far away look in her eyes.

Kate put her hand out for Shelby to take so that she could help her up and then guided her into her own room.

"Maybe I shouldn't have…." Kate started.

Shelby laughed lightly.

"Really, Weazy? I may not know what happened yet, but I know that you would never spank unless you thought it was a last resort. I may not have liked it, but I know that you never spanked me unless you thought that I really deserved it. And you sure never asked me or anyone else if it was okay." Shelby whispered.

"Then what is wrong?" Kate asked. Normally she was not unsure of herself when it came to Shelby. Shelby was hers and she had no doubts. But Rachel was Shelby's, and she was not sure if that gave her the right.

"She is yours too." Shelby whispered, whispering to Kate, pratically reading her mind.

Shelby sat on the bed, the side of the bed that she knew was Kate's. Kate climbed onto Parker's side and sat beside her.

"I really lit into Nora Puckerman today about not being there for her children. Am I really so different?"

"I don't think that either of you are bad parents, Shelby. You both have been dealt raw deals. You are both fixing the deals that you were dealt. I think that you will both be fine. If that means that you are the same, then so be it."

"Something is going on with Rachel that I do not understand, Weazy."

"I have noticed a difference in her lately." Kate said.

Shelby leaned into her sister and took her right hand and played with the rings that were on that hand. Rings that had belonged to their mother and that Kate never took off.

"I don't know what is going on with my kid, Weazy. Rachel has been with me months, but the last few days….."

Kate sat on the bed, Shelby playing with her rings, and listened to her eldest tell her her fears about her own child. She knew that they would not be able to stay up here long, not with the children downstairs with Nora, and Rachel in the room across the hall. They had other things that needed to happen, but right now, Shelby needed Kate to hear her out.

AN:

I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. I have had 96 different people read the last chapter that I posted a couple of days ago, I would love to hear from some of you. The more people who read tell me things that they would like to see, the more ideas I am able to generate. I am not always able to add the ideas of others, but I do try to use most. :)

I plan on working on Found soon. Plus, I have another story that I have been working on, though I do not know when I will start posting it. I am well into it though, and I am thinking about calling it 'Moving On Up'. It will be about Shelby and her three daughters, Cassandra, Rachel, and Beth. It is quite different from my other two stories. The sequel to that story will be called 'Spring Breakers' and I actually started on it first. It is about Quinn, Rachel, and Santana going on a little trip...;)