Hi everyone! Thank you for all of the reviews!
In the reviews, a few of you guessed who got custody of Beth and Elise. And guess what? You're right! How will everyone react when it's revealed though?
I don't own Glee or Barney. The only characters I own are Cory Hudson, Anthony Hudson, and Elise.
Enjoy!
"Cory, guess who's coming to visit today?" Finn asked Cory as he lifted him up in order to make him stand. He had just finished dressing him, and they were about to get some lunch before Shelby, Rachel's mom came over.
"Who?" he looked confused, and he couldn't really blame him. He rarely saw Shelby anyways; her job and personal life was a mystery to them.
"You're Grandma Shelby. She's going to bring you a few more Christmas presents," he explained.
"Presents!" now Cory was excited about Shelby coming over. The little boy ran out of his room, and Finn followed him reluctantly. He looked into his and Rachel's bedroom to find her sitting on their bed, staring at the glowing screen on her phone.
"You okay Rach?" he asked as he made his way onto the bed and sat beside her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just waiting for Quinn to reply back. She said her and Puck were going to find out who received custody of Beth today," the brunette clarified. On Christmas, they found out from Quinn that Beth's adoptive parents, John and Cassidy Tishler, were in a car accident and died on the 23rd. Beth and their biological daughter Elise were now in the custody of a family member. The question was who was now their legal guardian?
"I'm sure we'll find out soon," he said as he kissed her forehead while rubbing her back.
"I hate to say this, but I hope they don't try to get her back. Beth is only a year old and she's already gone through so much these past few days," Rachel shut off her phone and threw it on her pillow. "But you know what? I'm just going to focus on my two sons and Shelby, who will be here soon."
"That sounds like a great idea," they both walked out of the room together, but Rachel had to go get Anthony so they could put him in his little swing in the living room. They gave Cory a small snack as they watched a little TV with him.
"Bawney!" Cory smiled when she saw the big purple dinosaur on their screen.
"Yeah buddy, that's Barney," Finn told his son.
"Bawney and Daddy," Cory continued to stare at the TV while he talked.
"What about Barney and Daddy?" Rachel asked.
"Bawney and Daddy big," the two parents laughed at what he said. It was true though; they were both very tall. They watched TV with him a little while longer before the doorbell rang. Finn and Rachel looked at each other, knowing it was Shelby. She was the one that got off the couch to answer the door, and when she opened the mahogany she was surprised as to who was standing there.
"Oh, thank god you and Finn are here," Quinn barged in, with Noah right behind her. Rachel stood there with the door open for a minute before shutting it and walking behind them.
"Please, come in. Don't rush," she said sarcastically before she took a seat next to Cory on the couch.
"Whats going on?" Finn asked his friends. They didn't look too happy.
"So, I called that social worker that called me on Christmas day back this morning, and he told me who has her now," Quinn turned her attention to Rachel only. "You will not believe who has her."
"Who?" Finn and Rachel asked together. Just then, the doorbell rang again. This time, Finn went to get the door, since he knew Rachel didn't want to get up again. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, and he saw Shelby standing there.
"Elise!" he turned around to see Cory standing behind him. He looked back at Shelby, and noticed she was holding a one year old in one arm and Elise's hand in her other.
Looks like that mystery was solved.
-more-than-words-
"Why the hell, out of all people, do you have my daughter?" Quinn growled while digging her fingernails into the arm of her chair.
"Quinn, please, don't swear in front of Cory," Rachel was covering her son's ears.
"Cory, why don't you go show Elise your room? That's fair, since when you were in Columbus she showed you hers," Finn asked Cory, and he nodded.
"C'mon Elise, I show you toys," and the two toddlers ran off into his room. The only children left in the room were Beth and Anthony. Finn and Rachel knew there was going to be some yelling now.
"You haven't answered my question yet," the blonde lowered her voice to attempt to sound like a threat.
"You haven't given me a chance," Shelby said simply.
"Miss. Corcoran, can you please tell us how you got Beth?" Noah asked in a much different tone compared to Quinn's.
She answered. After all, he did have a way with woman. "Cassidy Tishler was my sister, making Elise and Beth my nieces. When I got the call Christmas Eve saying my sister and her husband died, I was devastated. The social worker told me that according to their will; any children they had would be handed to me for care and I'd become their legal guardians. They are still going to be Elise and Beth Tishler. And Rachel, that means that Elise is your cousin."
The young woman was shocked. She had a cousin from her mom's side of the family? Even though she was much younger than her, it still meant something. She had cousins from both of her dads, but it was still surprising she had ties with Shelby too.
"I don't get it though. If Beth was adopted, why wouldn't they list me or Puck as her guardian if they died?" Quinn asked.
"John and Cassidy probably did what was best for you two. When I first went over to their house after they adopted Beth, they told me about you two and how nice you two seemed and how, in your case, you did the right decision. They could tell the both of you had dreams you wanted to accomplish. And they loved her very, very much," she explained.
"I just...I don't understand," Quinn repeated herself while looking at Beth.
"It's very easy to understand, Quinn," Rachel butt in pot the conversation between the two women, "Just like Shelby said, they did what was best for you two."
"And you...I don't get you either! She replaced you! Didn't you say she regretted what she did to you? Instead of trying to bond with you, she's going to raise two children instead!" she was appalled. Was Shelby really replacing her, or was Quinn just being manipulative so things would go her way?
"Where are you getting these ideas, Quinn? It wasn't Shelby's choice to bring Elise and Beth into her life, but she accepted it," Finn intervened.
"You know what? Fine, I'm sorry. I'm just...shocked," she apologized.
"We're all shocked. I didn't think this was going to happen either," Shelby said. She was right. No one saw this coming.
"Can I ask you one thing Shelby?" Noah asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you love them?" Quinn nodded her head once he asked that, as if she was going to ask the same thing.
"Of course. They'll both receive equal attention and I'll tell Beth about the two fof you everyday once I go back to New York."
"Y-you're leaving Ohio?" Rachel knew her mom had lived in Ohio for awhile and she knew she wanted to be on Broadway just like she did, but was New York the right place for her?
"Yes, I am. I got offered a job as an acting professor at NYU. The elementary schools will be perfect for Elise when she starts school next year, and Beth too. This is for the best for the three of us," Shelby revealed.
"I'm at Yale in Connecticut. Would it be ok if I came to visit?" Quinn asked.
"Me too? Sure, I won't be in Connecticut or the Big Apple, but I'd like to come see my daughter."
"Everyone can come visit. As long as it's according to my guidelines and when I'm available," she agreed. As long as everyone seemed happy with the agreement, Rachel and Finn were happy.
So Quinn and Puck are not going to try and gain custody of Beth. Do you think that's for the best?
By the way, in case you haven't noticed by now (what a great time to tell you all this, especially since this is near the end of the second book), you'll be able to tell if it's Rachel's third person POV if she refers to Puck as Noah like she does on the show.
Coming up in chapter 34: Finn returns to school with all new classes and Rachel begins her job hunting.