Rachel's POV:
I waited and waited after Santana, Quinn, Brittany, and Aunt Jennifer left but there was no talk from Shelby. There was no utterance that there was going to be a talk and no subtle hints about one either. All that happened was normal conversations as if Quinn had told her nothing about me. I was almost starting to think I had made the whole thing up when Shelby tossed my jacket at me.
"Where are we going?" I asked as Shelby drove down the road.
"You'll see." She said and I knew at that moment she was up to something, but I had no idea what she was up to.
We drove for just a little bit longer before we pulled into the parking lot of an office building that housed a number of businesses. Shelby parked the car and we both got out and walked into the building. It wasn't until we were sitting in the lobby of the third floor offices that she turned to look at me.
"So I know that you are aware of what Quinn told your aunt and I at your sleepover the other day and I want you to know that I am not going to pester you about whatever is going on but I need you to talk to someone." She said and I took a look around to see that we were sitting in the lobby of a therapist.
"So you took me to a shrink?" I asked and she sighed.
"There are just somethings that you may be more comfortable talking to someone else about. I want you to know that I am here for you Rachel but even I know my limits. You have been through a lot in the last year and a half and I would be kidding myself if I thought that I could solve all of your problems for you. I am not saying that you have to see a therapist on a regular basis, I just want you to try and we can go from there. If you find it helpful to continue with sessions you can, and if this is the worst thing ever then we will stop, but I need you to try." Shelby said with pleading eyes.
"I don't know about all of this, I've never done something like this before." I admitted and Shelby gave me a small reassuring smile.
"That's okay, there is nothing to be scared about. To be honest after you were born I went to a therapist regularly for about a year. It was just nice to be able to talk to someone who was trained to help. I didn't feel judged for what I did and they were able to help me get through a really tough time. I've called around and Dr. Stephens' name came up a few times, she's the best around. However, if you don't make a connection with her she said that she would be happy to refer us to someone else. I want to find someone you can talk to without feeling uncomfortable." Shelby said and I nodded.
"That makes sense. Why didn't you tell me about all of this before just driving me here?" I asked, not sure what I was feeling at the moment.
"I was scared that you would flat out refuse to come. I didn't expect you to be so calm." She said and I smirked.
"To be honest, my reaction was a little surprising to me too." I said and she laughed.
"It's good to know that it's not just me who is shocked." Shelby said as a young blonde walked out of the office behind us.
"Rachel Berry?" The woman asked and I stood up.
"That's me." I said, pulling my coat a little tighter around me as I answered.
"I'll be right here if you need anything." Shelby said and I gave her a small smile before I walked through the door that the blonde was holding open.
"Is that your mom?" The blonde asked, closing the door behind us.
"Yeah." I said looking around the office, not sure where I should sit.
"You two look so alike it's scary. You can take a seat anywhere, just make yourself comfortable." The blonde said and I nodded as I went and sat in the chair that was directly beneath the window.
"So I am Libby Stephens, you can call me Libby if you would like." Libby said and I gave her a small smile.
"Okay." I uttered and she smirked.
"Are you nervous?" She asked and I nodded.
"To be honest I didn't know I was coming here until about five minutes ago, if that long. I just don't know what to expect. I sort of wish that I had more time to prepare for this but on the other hand I know that if I knew before that I was coming here I would have refused to come. I have to admit for not knowing me very long, my mom sure knows a lot about me. It's scary actually. I'm sorry I'm talking a lot and I probably should mention that I tend to ramble when I get nervous and I am going to shut up now because if I don't I will talk the entire time that we are here and you won't get a word in at all. I'm sorry." I said, turning completely red out of embarrassment.
"Don't be sorry Rachel. I would rather you ramble than stare at me in complete silence, those are always fun clients to deal with. Talking is not a problem, I like talkers. So just so you know a typical session with me will start with you just talking about anything you want. It can be about a person or an event, it could even be about a dream. I would like for you to lead most of the conversations and along the way I will ask you questions and I would like for you to just answer them as honestly as you can. I am also going to ask that you keep some sort of journal about your feelings. Just take ten to fifteen minutes at the end of a day to reflect on what happened and how you felt about those things. I'm not asking you to write a novel, just to jot some notes down. That way if you ever feel like you don't know what to talk about you can just reference your journal during a session and we can talk about those events. Does that sound like it could work?" Libby asked and I nodded.
"Yeah. That actually sounds really useful." I said and Libby gave me a warm smile.
"I'm glad. So for today I am going to go over a few things that your mom told me over the phone. You can add anything you want or you can tell me if you would want to skip talking about that thing for today. I also would like for you to fill out a short survey on this ipad just so I can see where you are right now. Does that make sense?" She asked and I nodded as I took the ipad from her that she was offering me.
"So I fill this out while you talk?" I asked and she nodded.
"If you can do that then yes, if not I can have you fill that out at the very end." She said and I nodded as I started filling out the information on the screen.
"Okay, so your mother mentioned the fact that both of your adoptive fathers passed away about a year ago. Now that all seemed to lead to a mess of who had custody of you. Apparently your mother was suppose to be notified about their passing but instead you were taken into custody by your aunt. Do you want to talk about all of that?" She asked and I nodded.
"I didn't know much about who I was suppose to go to. At the time I didn't know about Shelby being my mother or that I even had a mother. I mean I know that I had to have a mother but I also thought that I could have been when of those hired surrogates with some random egg that my dads picked from a book. The idea that there was just an add placed in a paper is sort of strange."
"What is strange about it?" Libby asked and I shrugged.
"The fact that they were sort of careless in picking who my mother was. Now don't get me wrong, I ended up with great genetics but it could have gone horribly wrong."
"It could have. So when did you decide to go and find your mom?" Libby asked and I sighed.
"That was complicated, I never really thought about going out and looking for my mom but I had this boyfriend Jesse-"
"Had?" Libby asked and I nodded.
"That's a completely different story that is just about as complicated."
"I'm going to make a note of that. Continue with what you were talking about." Libby said.
"Jesse and I were at my dads house and he asked if I ever thought about finding my mother. That whole thing sparked me needing to find out who she was. That turned out to be Shelby, who was, well is one of my teachers at my school. The whole thing just turned out really messy and basically it ended up with my Aunt kicking me out of the house and Shelby forcing me to move in with her. Things were touch and go for a while but I think we've worked most things out." I said and I could see that Libby had never heard a story like this before.
"That is- wow."
"It's a lot and that is only the cliff note version." I said and Libby let out a small laugh.
"Then it seems like you came here just in time. So things are good with your mom now?" Libby asked and I nodded.
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, things were rough for a while when I moved in and then they weren't."
"Well it seems like we are going to have a lot to talk about, that is if you decide to come back, that is all up to you." Libby said and I smiled.
"I think I'll be back."
"Good. So what else do you want to cover today?" Libby asked and I smirked as I pulled out a long list from the back of my mind.
Shelby's POV:
Things must have been going well. Rachel had been in her appointment for a little over and hour and there was no sign of her coming out anytime soon. I myself was a little bored, just sitting out here by myself. I knew that if this became a regular thing I was going to need to find a coffee shop close by that I could hang out at while I waited.
When Rachel came out she was nothing but smiles. She thanked Dr. Stephens and then made her way towards me after promising to return next week.
"So?" I asked and she smiled.
"Thank you!" She said as she wrapped me in a hug.
"I'll take it as things went well." I said and she nodded.
"Things went more than well and to be honest I really needed it." Rachel said as she and I walked out of the building.
"I'm glad, so I was thinking that we could go and get something to eat." I said pressing a kiss to the top of Rachel's head and she nodded.
"Good, because I am starving."
Rachel and I talked the entire way to the restaurant and I was thrilled with how everything seemed to be going. Now was the best time to bring up the one thing that I had been keeping from her since school had gotten out.
"So it's been nice being away from Vocal Adrenaline huh?" I asked and she sighed.
"I want to say yes, because I have this horrible coach who can make rehearsals worse than hell itself, but on the other hand I actually miss being with my teammates and creating something that I am proud of." Rachel joked and I chuckled.
"Your coach sounds like a real witch."
"She actually isn't that bad, she just has a really hard exterior that you have to get through before you can see the nice side." Rachel commented.
"Well that is good to know. So I have been needing to tell you something." I said and Rachel sighed.
"I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. What is it?" Rachel asked.
"Vocal Adrenaline has been hired to perform at the Mayor's holiday party this weekend." I said and Rachel sighed.
"That's Christmas weekend, what about New York?" Rachel asked and I felt terrible having kept this from her.
"We will be there for Christmas, but it is going to take some creative planning and I am going to need your help."
"How can I help? I mean other than singing at this thing for Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel said and I shrugged.
"Well I am going to need you to be packed and ready to go to New York before we go to the event on Christmas Eve. I have us booked on a midnight flight into JFK so it is going to be a long night." I said as Rachel's face lit up.
"Are you serious? I will be in New York for Christmas, even with everything going on?" Rachel asked and I nodded.
"As long as everything goes to plan, but there is one more little catch." I said and Rachel fixed her gaze on mine.
"And what is that?" She asked.
"You and Jesse have been personally requested to do a duet, quite a few of them actually. The mayor wants you and Jesse to be the leads for the night."
"Mom!"
"I know and believe me I have tried to request to have anyone else sing but the mayor is set on the two of you singing together." I replied causing Rachel to groan.
"Why does it have to be Jesse? I would rather sing a duet with Giselle. Why Jesse? That narcissistic, self serving, prick." Rachel grumbled.
"You will be fine, I will be there the entire time, of course I am a guest at the event so I won't be with you with you but I will be there." I said just about sending Rachel over the edge.
"You are an invited guest and I am some performing monkey?" Rachel questioned.
"No baby, you are not a monkey. You are a trained professional and you are going to be doing a wonderful job representing our program to the greater Akron Ohio area. It would take me a lot longer to train a monkey to do what you do, although I doubt the monkey would give me so much attitude."
"Funny, but that doesn't make me feel any better. But we are going to New York?" Rachel asked again and I nodded.
"Yes, that fact hasn't changed."
"Then I guess everything will be okay, but you are going to owe me some serious ice skating time for this performance. Speaking of which, when do rehearsals for this monstrosity start?" Rachel asked.
"Well I am glad you asked, they start right after we are finished with lunch." I remarked and Rachel rolled her eyes.
"So much for my coach having a soft spot." She huffed.
Overall lunch was a nice occasion. Rachel was busy planning her entire trip to New York and I was just happy to see her so excited. She wasn't as happy though as we drove towards Carmel for rehearsal. She was going on and on about how rehearsal was not needed and that she didn't think that this was a good use of her time. I as her coach was able to convince her otherwise as I handed Rachel her bag and told her to go change for rehearsal. There were a few other people in the parking lot when we pulled it. The rest of the team had ten minutes to show themselves before they paid the price for being late. I knew that it was Winter break but they knew that I did not lower my expectations just because they were on vacation from academics.
I got myself set up at the director's table and then waited to see who would show and be on time. I was surprised to see that when it came time to be on stage I was only missing a few kids and they were not people I couldn't work around. Jesse was in the front with Rachel next to him ready to start rehearsal. I was just going to be happy when it was December 25th and I would be far away from rehearsals and having to make sure that everything about the performance was flawless.
"Jesse start the warm-up, when the late comers try to sneak on stage, send them to me, no questions." I stated making sure there was no room for questions.
I was just hoping for the sakes of the kids who were missing, that they at least showed up. I could deal with them being late, that was as easy as dishing a punishment and then moving on, if they didn't show up however, that would be an entirely different story. Vocal Adrenaline had a strict policy on skipping rehearsals and that was if you skipped you were replaced. I had a long list of talent in this school and I was willing to replace just about everyone.
The set list for the night at the Mayor was easy enough, there was no real choreography to go along with the songs, just a lot of swaying to the music. The mayor did request one show stopping number, but by Vocal Adrenaline standards this gig was easy press. The hard part was going to be getting Jesse and Rachel to really sell the duet they were doing.
It took four hours of rehearsal before I felt comfortable letting the majority of the team leave for the day. We still had a few days of rehearsal left but now I got to work on the one set that was really worrying me.
"So what song has the mayor chosen for Rachel and I?" Jesse asked as he sat on the edge of the stage drinking from his water bottle.
"Baby it's cold outside. This will be the one song where you and Rachel will be alone on the stage. It will be imperative that you two sell this song and knowing the history that you two have, I am not seeing this as an easy task." I stated, walking closer to the stage now that is was just the three of us.
"We're good actors, I think we can handle it." Rachel said, propping her feet up on the seats she was sitting next to.
"See I don't think even your acting skills can pull this one off, we are going to need a miracle and a lot of rehearsal time." I said earning a groan from Rachel.
"It's one song, all the other songs that Jesse and I sang were just fine, what makes this one different?" She asked.
"This one requires you two to want to be together and we all know that is anything but the truth. So here is how this is going to work, I am going to head home first and you two will follow in Jesse's car. We have a lot of work to do but I think it will be done better in the comfort of familiar surroundings." I said as I walked over to the director's table to grab my things with Rachel hot on my tail.
"You can't do this to me. You said that I would have to sing with Jesse, and I can do that. You however, cannot expect me to ride in a car with that jackass and to have him in my home. This isn't going to work."
"That jackass and you are going to have to be flirty and fun during your duet, right now if I were to let you two sing I would have hostile and disgusted. You will ride home with him and try to talk your issues out. It's not like I am expecting you two to start dating again, in fact I don't want you to start dating again, I just want this song to work. This was the mayor's big ticket number so we have to make sure it works." I said and Rachel sighed.
"I understand how important that this is, I just don't know what talking is going to do." Rachel pouted and I pulled her into a hug as I placed a soft kiss on her head.
"I know babe, but it may be just what you need. Sometimes talking opens up the lines of communication enough that you two can start to work on being friends at least." I said and I felt Rachel sigh against my chest.
"Fine, but I am not going to like this." She relented.
"I wouldn't expect you to." I said as Rachel went over to where Jesse was waiting.
I knew that this was a crap shoot but I was desperate for this to work and I was willing to try just about anything to get these two back to talking to each other.
I didn't rush home. I made sure to take my time while I was driving being as I knew that there was probably more arguing going on in their car than driving. I waited by the front door until I saw Jesse's Range Rover pull into the driveway. There was no talking going on in the car, in fact they looked more pissed than when they left.
Rachel did not say a word as she came into the house and headed down to the basement where the piano was with Jesse right behind her. I didn't want to drag this out too long so I followed behind and leaned against the piano as Jesse took a seat at the piano bench and Rachel tried to distance herself as much as possible.
"Well it is apparent to me that yo two were not able to get to a good place on the drive home so I am going to need one of you to explain what is going on." I said and Rachel glared as she looked over at Jesse.
"Do you want to give your twisted version of the truth or would you like me to talk?" She bit and Jesse sighed.
"Look Shelby I think that it might be best if you have someone else do the duet with Rachel." Jesse said as she got up and I let a small smirk appear on my face.
"Do you really think that I haven't already thought about that? You think that I enjoy having to work with the two of you while you are at each other's throats? This is not my idea of fun. I have tried to see if someone else could do this duet but the mayor requested you and Rachel to sing together and now I am going to make it happen. What the hell is going on?" I asked once again.
"You know why we broke up the first time right?" Rachel asked and I nodded remembering the incident with the eggs that happened a little over a month prior.
"It's sort of hard to forget washing egg out of your daughter's shirt." I said sending a sharp look towards Jesse.
"And she told you about the kiss?" He asked and I sighed as I nodded again.
"Yes I remember that. What does all of this have to do with what is going on with you right now?" I asked and Jesse looked at Rachel.
"She won't even admit that she might still have feelings for me. I know that what we had was not a one sided kiss."
"I already told you that it was nothing. I made a mistake and that was me letting you think that there was even a chance for us to get back together." Rachel snapped.
"Then why did you break up with Finn after we kissed?" Jesse questioned.
"Because I was only dating him to make you jealous and I just didn't see things with him going much further. There are you happy?" Rachel remarked.
"But you don't feel anything for me?" Jesse asked and Rachel sighed.
"I loved you Jesse, I told you that. Those sort of feelings just don't go away but what you did to me was hurtful and I can't forget that. We are not going to get back together Jesse but maybe one day we can be friends." Rachel said in a tone that let me know she was at the end of her rope.
"Can you live with that Jesse?" I asked and he sighed.
"I want more but I have to respect what Rachel said. I know I was awful to her and I will work to show her that I am different for the rest of my life." Jesse said and I nodded.
"Okay, well I think we have all had enough for today, Jesse you can go home and Rachel you can go get ready for bed." I said dismissing the two of them who did not miss a beat in leaving.
I knew that this didn't solve all of their problems but I also knew that this was a step in the right direction and I was hoping that one day in the future this would all be behind them.
A/n: So after getting reviews that were jut so kind and really wanting an update I went ahead and updated. I have another chapter in the works and hopefully it will be up soon! Thank you all for the kind words and just know that I am working really hard to get these chapters up.
