Hello all! I know it's been forever. For some reason I felt like writing this week. Here is another chapter. Enjoy!

Shelby sighed as she turned towards the refrigerator to grab the items she wanted to make for supper. She turned to set the celery on the island and looked to the far side of the kitchen. What she saw was no surprise to her, especially when she considered how the last two weeks had been going with her girls.

"Quinn, stop fidgeting. Rachel, I am not going to tell you again to uncross your arms and sick that nose in that corner, now!" Shelby said exasperated. Quinn and Rachel had been going at each other nonstop the last two weeks. Anything from time spent getting ready in the bathroom, to who was going to sit in the front seat with Shelby on the ride home from school had the two girls at each other's throats. Their current situation was because Quinn decided to throw Rachel's 'Funny Girl' dvd in the trash.

"Mother, this is ridiculous! She threw out Barbra. I didn't do anything wrong" Rachel pouted turning to look at her mother, her very irate mother.

"Turn around Rachel. I heard those words coming out of your mouth earlier. You are both in trouble."

Rachel stamped her foot and turned around. She didn't think her mother heard her earlier. 'Crap.'

Shelby heard Quinn sniffle and rolled her eyes. The first few weeks Quinn had stayed with Shelby, Quin had been fairly well-behaved. She would do as Shelby asked and really had been unlike the moody teenager that had appeared the last few weeks. Having two opinionated, stubborn teenagers in the house sure made Shelby's life more interesting.

Fifteen minutes later, Shelby set the casserole in the oven and turned to the girls. "Alright, kiddos you can come out now. Rachel I want you to set the table for dinner, and Quinn please get Beth and bring her in here. We are going to have a talk after dinner."

Rachel and Quinn both turned away from the corner and looked at each other. Their spat clearly was not over as Quinn smirked smugly at Rachel, who in turn glared at Quinn. Rachel, however, quickly turned her glare to Shelby. "Are kidding me right now? I have to set the entire table and all she has to do is get Beth. How is that fair Mom? This is complete bullshit."

Not wanting to start arguing again, and actually agreeing with her daughter Shelby looked at Rachel, "Fine. BOTH of you set the table. I will get Beth. And Rach, I am not telling you again. The attitude needs to stop. I don't want to hear another curse word come out of your mouth, or else. Got it?"

Rachel just shrugged and followed Quinn to the kitchen. As soon as Shelby left the room Rachel and Quinn started bickering again. "I am going to get you back for throwing Barbra out. You are lucky you didn't scratch it or you would have to buy me a new one," Rachel started.

"Berry, you wanted to watch it again. We have seen it like 27 times in the last 2 months. I can't do it anymore. I warned you, one more time and I was tossing it," Quin stated matter of fact.

Rachel went to the utensil drawer to grab the silverware, and Quinn followed her to get the glassware in the cabinet above Rachel. As Quinn reached up to grab a sippy cup for Beth, Rachel saw her chance to get back at Quinn. She quickly slammed the drawer, hitting Quinn in the side, right above her hip.

"Ow. Shit, Rach. What the actual FUCK! I think I am bleeding," Quinn yelled, pulling up her shirt to investigate. Sliding the front of her jeans down, she checked for a mark and saw a long red line. Luckily, the corner of the drawer hadn't broken skin, but a bruise was quickly starting to form. Growling, she put the cup down and gave Rachel a shove.

Not wanting to back down, Rachel reached her hands out to push Quinn back, when all of the sudden she felt her arm being grabbed as she was spun around to face a very irate Shelby.

Without a word, Shelby opened a drawer and pulled out a wooden spoon. Both Rachel and Quinn's eyes widened. "Mom, no. I am sorry. Please…". Shelby just shook her head, tightening her grip on Rachel's arm and spun her back around. Three hard swats had Rachel rocking on her toes. Still silent, Shelby let go of Rachel and reached for Quinn. The same three smacks landed on Quinn's bottom, eliciting a small squeal. "Ow, ow, ow. Shelbyyyy."

"Finish setting the table. NOW!" Shelby all but thundered, dropping the wooden spoon back in the drawer with a clatter. The girls scampered to do as asked, both rubbing their bottoms as they walked.

As the girls wordlessly completed their task, Shelby pulled the casserole out of the oven and set it on the table. She picked up Beth and put the little one in her high chair. Sighing, Shelby told the girls to take a seat. Other than Shelby talking to Beth, no one said anything while they ate. Rachel and Quinn knew they had pushed Shelby to her limit. Once dinner was done Shelby told the girls to clean up and then go sit in the family room when they were done.

"I think we really made her mad this time Rach," Quinn said quietly as she started to unload the dishwasher.

"No shit, Sherlock," Rachel snapped back. There was no way she was going to treat Quinn nice now. Miss Goody Two Shoes Quinn would have to work for it. At this point, all Rachel could think about was how much Quinn had gotten her into trouble lately. Rachel felt Quinn was always trying to get under her skin on purpose. And then when Rachel would show her frustration, she would be the one Shelby would punish.

For example, just last week when she got home from shopping with Kurt, she found Shelby and Quinn in Shelby's office. Shelby was helping Quinn with a song for glee. They were laughing and having a good time. Shelby even gave Quinn a hug, telling her how good she was, that she was so proud of her. Shelby never asked to help Rachel with her glee stuff. That night at the dinner table, Rachel made sure to tell Quinn that her voice just wasn't right for that solo, stating that she was going to tell Mr. Shuester that he needed to give it to her. "Don't worry Quinn, you don't have to worry about hiding your vocal flaws. My voice is perfect for that song, and we both know it". Rachel didn't notice the tears that welled up in Quinn's eyes, but Shelby sure did. Within a few seconds Shelby has Rachel by the arm and brought her to Rachel and Quinn's shared bedroom. "Want to explain what that was young lady? We do not tear each other down in this house".

"What? You know it's true. She is mediocre at best" Rachel shrugged haughtily.

After a few stern words, hard swats with a promise of more to come if her attitude didn't change, and 100 lines later, Rachel snuck out to the family room only to see Quinn, Beth and Shelby on the ground playing with Beth and her toys. Quinn was telling Shelby about her day, and they were laughing at something Britany said that day at school. Rachel felt a pang in her heart.

As the weeks went on, any time Rachel would find Quinn and Shelby doing something without her, she felt that same pang in her chest. That pang would turn to anger in the form of a snarky comment or sass to either Quinn or Shelby, and sometimes both. Now Rachel was so lost in her jealously, it seemed to consume her daily thoughts.

To Rachel's dismay, Quinn and Shelby were both clueless to Rachel's issues. Shelby knew her girl to be hard-headed and stubborn just like her, so she just chalked it up to teenage angst and a mini her. Quinn, at first, just ignored Rachel, but the more Rachel snapped at her, the more Quinn would snap back. Quinn probably went a little too far throwing 'Funny Girl" in the trash, but she was at her limit with Rachel's constant bugging.

Shelby was standing by the fireplace when Rachel and Quinn walked into the family room. Her arms were crossed as she stared into the flames. Shelby turned when the girls came into the room. "Take a seat on the couch please". Silently, Rachel and Quinn sat on opposite ends. While they were upset at each other, both were worried about what Shelby had to say. "Good thing the wooden spoon is back on the drawer," Quinn whispered to Rachel, who nodded in agreement. Shelby seemed calm though, which worried both of them.

Shelby was calm. She had had a few minutes to decompress. She was frustrated, angry, upset, annoyed -you name it. Her girls had been going at each other the moment they got in the car after school. She needed to see what was going on, and a screaming match was not going to help. She probably wasn't even going to punish the girls if they were able to find a solution.

Shelby took a seat on the coffee table and looked at both her girls. "Ok girls. We need to talk. This arguing has been non-stop, and frankly, I am done with it." She turned to Rachel, "Rachel, what is going on with you? You refuse to talk to us and when you do, it is not nice."

"Oh, so this is my fault? What about Quinn. She thinks she can just…and she throws out my stuff. Ask her. She starts it," Rachel exclaimed

"I start what Rachel? I walk into a room and you start berating me!" Quinn's voice rose.

"Yeah, because all you do is spend time with MY mom!" yelled Rachel standing up.

And there is it is thought Shelby. She's jealous.

"I live here Rach. What do you want me to do?" Quinn snapped back.

"Hey, hold on" Shelby interrupted. "Quinn, go to your room please. Rach sit back down."

"What did I do wrong?" Quinn fussed. "I shouldn't have to be banished because…"

"Quinn, go now!" Shelby rose her brow and glared at Quinn who finally got the hint and stormed off to her room

Sighing, Shelby, knew she and her little girl had to have a talk. She just wished she didn't have to make Quinn feel like she was not being heard at the same time. Shelby felt that she couldn't win no matter what she did. She turned to Rachel, who had her head down, sniffling occasionally. Shelby stood up and sat next to Rachel. "Hey, look at me baby. Please?" she prompted. Rachel slowly turned around and saw the warmth in Shelby's eyes.

"I am sorry mom. I try not to be jealous of you two. I know she needs you as much as I do. But you are my mom, not hers. I just get so angry. I don't know why." Rachel started crying.

"Oh, sweetie. You are allowed to be jealous."

"I am?" Rachel questioned.

"I would expect it Rachel. Look how long you and I have not be able to spend time together. And now that we have all the time in the world, it never feels enough. Am I right?"

"Yeah. It's like I finally got you, and I don't want to share," Rachel agreed.

"Can you give me some examples of when you get jealous honey?" Shelby asked, reaching for Rachel and pulling her to her side. Rachel shrugged and scooted in closer, turning to curl into her mother's arms. She laid her head on Shelby's chest and shook her head. She couldn't think of a single time she felt jealous that wouldn't make her sound like a spoiled brat.

Shelby pulled her closer and rubbed her back. "No matter how insignificant you may think an action may have been, doesn't mean it wasn't significant to you baby."

Rachel sighed, "I think the one that really got me, and I guess started this whole thing was when I came home from school and you were helping Quinn with a glee assignment. You told her you were proud of her, and then you two hugged. You have never helped me before…" she trailed off.

Shelby sighed. "Rach, have you ever asked me to help you?"

"No."

"Ok. Then can you look at it from my angle for a second? Hmmm? Quinn asked me if I could help her since she just couldn't get one part of her song right. We worked for about 45minutes and we finally got it. I was proud of her." Rachel pulled away looking at her mother with hurt in her eyes.

"See. Mom, that hurts".

Shelby grabbed Rachel's hands in hers, looking into her eyes. "Baby, I remember asking you the night before if you needed help with anything, either homework or glee related. You told me you were fine, that you were not a baby, and could do your own work, thank you very much," Shelby stated. "Though at that time, I do believe you were grounded for something and upset with me. I am trying Rach, but you have got to try to. I asked Quinn the same question that night, and that is when we set up to go over glee things the next day. Had you told me you needed help, I would have been at the piano with you that night helping you if you needed it."

Rachel nodded, she remembered that conversation.

"I can't read minds Rachel. If you want to spend time with just me, need help with something, want a hug, or just want to cuddle you have to let me know. I will drop anything to be with you. You are my world sweetie."

Rachel started crying and fell into her mother's arms. "You are my world too mom. I am sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for babe. I just need you to start talking to me, Rach. I know you want it to be just you and me, but the fact is that it is not. We have Beth and Quinn. They, just like you, need me. Quinn has had a rough life, and I promised to be there for her too. We are a family Rachel."

Rachel nodded. She could agree to that. She really didn't open herself up to the idea that she would have to share her mom lately. She could do that. "I will try to be more open," Rachel said looking into her mom's eyes.

"Sounds good kiddo," Shelby smiled and segued into the second part of the conversation. "And now that we know what is going on in your head, your behavior is going to change as well, hmmm?" she questioned raising her eyebrow. "The sass, the attitude, and the constant bickering is going to stop, right?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "But you need to talk to Quinn about it too. Please. I can be patient, but when she throws my stuff…"

"Agreed Rachel. And I will. But you are both in the wrong and I need to make sure you understand that. I will let this all go this time, including all of the cussing, but if you two start at it again that wooden spoon I used on you earlier will be making an appearance. Understood?"

Rachel gulped. "Yes mam."

"Good. Let's put all of this behind us. Now, do you promise that you will talk to me when you start feeling jealous? I am getting tired of getting on you about your attitude all of the time. I don't expect perfection, but I need you to try. Deal?" Shelby asked.

"I can do that mom."

"Okay. C'mere." Shelby opened her arms and held her daughter, both soaking up the love. A few minutes later she patted Rachel's bottom and told her to watch Beth while she went and talked with Quinn.

A few minutes later Shelby knocked on Quinn's bedroom door and let herself in. Quinn was sitting on her bed holding Rachel's 'Funny Girl's dvd. "She really likes this one, doesn't she?" Quinn questioned holding the dvd up for Shelby to see.

"Yeah, babe, she does. I think she told me this was her 7th copy. She said they wear out quickly since she watches it at least 5 times a week. Why did you throw it out?"

"Because she has been so rude to me lately. It was something she loved that I knew I could ruin. I know it was wrong, and I am sorry Shelby," Quinn said honestly.

"I seem to be hearing a lot of sorrys lately," Shelby said. "I just spoke with Rachel and it seems like she has been a bit jealous of you and I as of late," Shelby began.

"Yeah, I figured after what she said earlier. And I was thinking Shelby, I don't want to be a burden. I am going to go back home. I am just in the way here. If you can give me until late tomorrow morning, I can have all of my stuff packed and ready to go."

"Quinn, what? Oh no, no," Shelby said pulling Quinn into her arms. "Lucy Quinn, you absolutely are not going anywhere. This is your home. We are going to figure all of this out. Now that we know what has been going on in Rachel's head, we can work on us as a family. Like I told her, you two need to start getting along. I know you're teenagers, and I know that life is rough. But this needs to be your safe place. This is where you can be yourself, where you can talk to me whenever you need it, and where you , her and Beth are sisters. I know that's kind of hard to think about right now, but that's what I see happening. Rachel's got to work on her jealousy issues, and you need to work on your patience with her. As well as not taking other people's things and throwing them out. I told her earlier if I see you two or hear you two bickering to the extent that it has been here the last few days, that wooden spoon will be smacking your bottom so fast it is not even funny. I don't like to be the hard-ass, but I will be if it helps you two and the family get along," Shelby lectured.

Just like Rachel, Quinn gulped at hearing Shelly mention the wooden spoon. Before She had gone to her room Quinn made a pit stop at the restroom. She had pulled down her pants to investigate if she had any marks from her earlier swats. She was surprised to see that she didn't because hurt like hell. Quinn had rubbed her bottom one last time and went to her room.

"Ok Shelby. I understand."

"Good. Now come on out and we will all four find a movie chill for the rest of the night."

Quinn followed Shelby out to the family room where Rachel was still sitting on the couch.

"I am going to make some popcorn while you two decide on a movie. I will be right back," Shelby called as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey."

"Hey, Rach."

Silence consumed them for a few moments when Quinn decided to speak up.

"Rachel, I never meant to take over your mom. She's just so nice and loving. And my mom was never that way. It is just nice to have someone. I never really thought about how it could affect you. But let me know if I am too much. I can back off for a little bit. I don't want to hurt you Rach, you're my best friend," Quinn said teary eyed.

Rachel quickly got up and put her arms around her friend. "No, it's me who should be sorry Quinn. I don't know why I was so jealous. I've never really had a mom either. And now that I do it…it's just hard to share, you know? I will work on it I swear. Let's call a truce. Just don't throw any more of my stuff away," Rachel mock glared.

"Ok, truce. So, what movie do you want to watch?" Quinn asked.

"Umm…how about 'Funny Girl'?"

"RACHEL!!!"