A/N – Sorry about being so slow in getting this next chapter out! No excuses, just sorry. I hope you all enjoy this one. Thanks so much for all of the reviews and messages and story alerts and favorites. You guys are all so wonderful. I really hope that I'm able to live up to any expectations you all have. Thank you.

Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.

Shelby tried to blink back her tears, but some of them fell anyway. Rachel was giving her a confused look and Shelby could tell that the girl didn't even realize what she'd done. Shelby set her fork down and took a second to find her voice.

"I'm fine," Shelby answered Rachel's earlier question. "I'm great. You called me mom."

"Oh," Rachel said. "I'm sorry. I didn't even realize I said it. If you don't want me calling you-"

"Whoa, wait," Shelby cut Rachel off. "It's fine. I'm happy. You can call me mom if you want to."

"No, I don't have to," Rachel said quickly. "It makes you uncomfortable and I know this is all happening so fast and we just me this afternoon and-"

"Rachel," Shelby stopped her again. She stood up and moved to the chair next to Rachel and pulled it close to her daughter. "It doesn't make me uncomfortable. That's a word I wasn't sure I'd ever get to hear you say to me. I was just surprised but I'm so pleased." Shelby put a gentle hand on Rachel's cheek and smiled. "Promise."

"Ok," Rachel smiled as tears now formed in her eyes. "Mom."

They both smiled at each other for a few moments before Shelby reached across the table and pulled her plate and drink to her so she wouldn't have to go back to her other seat. Shelby got Rachel to tell her about her life in Ohio and a little bit about school. Rachel kept insisting there was nothing to tell about herself and that she didn't want to bore her, but Shelby assured her that she was very interested.

After dinner, Rachel wanted to help with the dishes, but Shelby told her not to worry about it. They put it all in the dishwasher and left it. Shelby would run it later when it was full.

"I don't have much in the way of dessert in the house, but we can go out and get some ice cream or something if you want," Shelby said.

Rachel just shrugged. "Do people recognize you a lot when you go out?"

"Sometimes," Shelby answered. "So was that a no to the ice cream or…?"

"We can if you want," Rachel said.

"It's up to you," Shelby told her.

They were both stuck in a need to be polite and do whatever the other wanted. The newness of the relationship was really showing through and neither wanted to be the first to declare what they really wanted to do.

"Do you want to?" Rachel asked.

"Do you want to?" Shelby said with a smile and Rachel huffed.

"We could stay in and have drinks," Rachel said. "Don't worry, Dad and Daddy let me do it all the time," she added when she saw Shelby's shocked face.

"What?" Shelby asked seriously. "They let you drink? How much? How often? You just turned fifteen."

Rachel couldn't stop the smile that made its way across her face and she started to laugh when Shelby started to get worked up.

"You've got plenty of liquor and wine," Rachel motioned towards Shelby's liquor cabinet and wine racks. "I haven't looked to see if there's beer yet. You should see your face," Rachel laughed.

Shelby put her hands on her hips when she realized Rachel was joking with her. The action only caused Rachel to laugh harder. Shelby narrowed her eyes as Rachel went on.

"Can you get us into an exclusive club?" Rachel asked. "You're a big star." She was still laughing but started to back away when Shelby started to come towards her.

"I am not a big star in here," Shelby said. "I'm just a mother who does not want to hear about my young daughter drinking. Ever."

Rachel's smile widened at being called Shelby's daughter. Her laughing was turning to giggles as Shelby approached. Rachel had to stop backing away when she bumped into the wall. "Ok, I promise not to tell you if I go out drinking."

"And I promise to ground you for life when I hear about it," Shelby said. She wasn't sure where it came from, but the phrase uttered by so many parents left her mouth before she'd even really thought about it. She always assumed she'd be a cooler parent than that, but the she did not like the idea of Rachel drinking at all. Shelby reached Rachel and started to tickle the trapped girl.

"You won't," Rachel said as her laughter intensified. "Find out."

"Yes, I will," Shelby said. "I'll find out." She was laughing along with her daughter.

Rachel slid down the wall to try and get away, but Shelby wouldn't let her escape yet. Rachel wriggled and tried to push Shelby's hands away, but her mother was relentless.

"Mom," Rachel said. "Stop, please." She was still laughing, but was close to not being able to breathe.

Shelby stopped and then stood up to her full height and pulled Rachel up with her when the girl clasped onto her outstretched hand. Shelby was suddenly overcome with the urge to hug Rachel and couldn't stop herself from holding the girl tight. Rachel latched onto the sudden hug and breathed in Shelby's perfume and shampoo. She calmed down and stopped laughing and let herself be held.

"Ok," Shelby said when the moment was over. "Go into the living room and pick out a movie. You decide; no asking me if I want to watch something." Shelby pointed Rachel in the he right direction and nudged her forward.

Rachel was headed towards the entertainment center when she turned around and looked back at Shelby. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean we're not getting ice cream?" Rachel laughed at the balled up napkin that came sailing her way.

Rachel had chosen Gone with the Wind as the movie she wanted to watch and Shelby was surprised. Rachel explained having recently read a biography on Vivien Leigh and that she wanted to look for everything about the movie that had been pointed out in the book. Shelby nodded along, but looked at the clock. It was already after eleven because her show hadn't started until eight. She didn't know how late Rachel normally stayed up or if there were any rules about that with her fathers. Not that it really mattered because it was the weekend and Shelby didn't have anything until her afternoon performance tomorrow. But still, Gone with the Wind was over four hours long. Shelby didn't say anything though because she had told Rachel to pick. She'd be surprised if the girl made it all the way through. She assumed Rachel was used to getting up early because of school whereas Shelby was a night owl and routinely stayed up until two or three in the morning.

"You are a big star, you know," Rachel said about thirty minutes into the movie.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"Earlier you said that in here you're just a mom. But you're still a big star," Rachel clarified.

Shelby sighed and wondered how she should explain this. "Not to my friends and family I'm not," Shelby said. "Stardom is relative, honey. It's useful and dangerous all at the same time. I'm a normal person."

"But you're not," Rachel said. "You're extraordinary."

Shelby smiled and wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders as they sat on the couch. "I've got an amazing job that I'm pretty good at," Shelby said. "And yes, people know who I am and stop me for autographs and other kinds of things. But at the end of the day I come back here and eat leftovers and avoid doing the dishes and try to catch up with the TV shows I've recorded."

"But you go to fancy parties and win Tony awards and play to sold-out houses and make movies," Rachel said.

"Like I said, amazing job," Shelby told her. "And after those parties and award shows my feet hurt from the shoes I had to wear. It's all relative, remember that. But you're right; there are good things. I can afford to do so many things. And I can take a break from my job and not work for a year if I want and most people can't do that. I can travel and all sorts of things. But none of that changes who I am. You're right here with the real me. Non-famous Shelby watching a movie with her daughter."

"You won't forget me when I have to go home, will you?" Rachel asked. She looked down timidly and played with the hem of her shirt.

"No, of course not," Shelby said. "Hey, look at me. You are the most important thing in my life," she continued on when Rachel met her eyes. "And you always have been. I want you to understand that. Just because we only met today doesn't mean that I haven't thought about you your entire life."

"Really?" Rachel asked as her eyes welled with tears.

"The first thing I did after I landed my first show was to open a trust fund for you," Shelby said. "I've been building on it ever since. You have always been right there to me. Being patient and knowing I had to wait to meet you has been the hardest thing I've ever done."

Rachel nodded and leaned into Shelby and the pair grew quiet for a few minutes until Rachel had another question.

"A trust fund, huh?" Rachel asked with a sly smile as she sat back up and looked at her mother. "I don't suppose you want to let me have some of that now since we didn't have to wait until I'm 18?"

"I don't think so," Shelby said knowingly. "That, young lady, will not be available to you for some time."

"Fine," Rachel said, pretending to be annoyed.

"Although I suppose I can give you $300 or so early," Shelby said.

"Really?" Rachel was excited.

"Yeah, on one condition," Shelby said.

"What?"

"That you pay your dads back for that poster of me," Shelby teased.

"Mom!" Rachel exclaimed. She really was annoyed this time. "That's not fair. Besides, I was already grounded for that and therefore I don't have to pay it back."

"Is that so?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Rachel said as if it were clear.

"How long were you grounded?"

"Two weeks. Two weeks, Mom," Rachel said in a tone that was asking Shelby if she could believe the injustice that was done to her.

"That's it?" Shelby asked.

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock. "That's it? It was agony. It felt like six months or something."

Shelby shook her head and smiled. Nothing dramatic about this kid, was there? "I'm sure it wasn't that bad. And you did earn it."

Rachel shrugged as if that was beside the point. "Would you ever really ground me?"

"What?"

"You said before…"

"Oh. Yeah." Shelby wasn't really sure how to go about this because she didn't know. Rachel's sporadic quest for details about how they would all move forward wasn't easy for Shelby. And she knew that it was probably just the tip of the iceberg. "I don't know," the woman answered honestly. "It would depend on what was going on and what your dads had to say. We need to talk to them about where we go from here."

Rachel hid her confusion and disappointment in that answer with a shrug and a smirk. "You'd probably never have to anyways."

Shelby shook her head and smiled. "Sure, kid."

They fell back into a silence as they watched the movie and after a while Shelby was having a good time watching Rachel try and keep herself awake. She'd suggested more than a few times that the girl go ahead and get some sleep, but Rachel brushed it off each time. It was close to one in the morning and they weren't even at the intermission yet and Rachel's head dropped down once more.

Shelby reached over and moved some hair back from Rachel's face and lifted the girl's head. "Rachel."

"What?" Rachel mumbled as she opened her eyes and found that she was looking directly at her mom. Shelby's hand was on top of her head holding it up and Rachel didn't even try to move away.

"Go to bed," Shelby instructed.

"Ok," Rachel mumbled again.

She stood up from the couch and Shelby thought she heard something that sounded like goodnight. The woman watched until Rachel disappeared from sight down the hallway. Shelby made a mental note of the situation and filed it away in her new parent database. Suggesting five times that the kid go to bed didn't work, but one direct instruction did. Good to know.

Shelby heard Rachel in the bathroom when she went back to her own room. She pulled a foot stool over to the closet and stood on it so she could reach a box and carefully pulled it down from a top shelf. Shelby smiled sadly as she always did when she looked at the yellow baby blanket that Rachel been wrapped in when she was in the hospital. The blanket was still in great shape because Shelby had only washed it a handful of times since that day she left the hospital. Part of her had never wanted to wash it for sentimental reasons, but she realized Rachel had spit up on it and common sense won over. She took it out and washed it every time she moved. Otherwise, it stayed folded up in this box in her closet. She also had a couple of the small white hospital onesies Rachel had worn.

Rachel was finished in the bathroom now and headed towards the guest room when Shelby met her in the hallway. She was holding the blanket and held it out to Rachel.

"What is it?" Rachel asked as she rubbed her eye.

"It's a blanket," Shelby answered. "The blanket from the hospital when you were born. The one in the pictures."

"Oh yeah," Rachel said. She woke up a little bit so she could pay attention. "It's pretty."

"I just thought you'd like to see it," Shelby said.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled. It quickly turned into a yawn and she shook her head a little bit to shake off the sleep. She reached out and took the blanket.

Shelby mentally kicked herself for doing this now. She'd told Rachel to go to bed and here she was stopping the half-asleep girl from doing just that.

"I love it," Rachel said.

"I'm glad," Shelby said with a relieved smile. "Ok. Get to bed."

"Ok," Rachel nodded. "Goodnight, Mom." She kept the blanket as she stepped into the room.

"Goodnight, Rachel," Shelby watched her go.

Shelby made sure the place was locked up and then went into her room to get changed and ready for bed herself. She felt tired, but she didn't know if she'd get any sleep at all that night. Her thoughts were overflowing from the day's events.

Shelby slipped into bed and stared up at the ceiling as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Her daughter was asleep in the next room. Shelby was almost afraid to fall asleep in fear that it might all be a dream and she didn't want to wake up from it. In this moment, she envied Rachel's body taking over because it was so tired.

Shelby spent another twenty minutes staring off into space before throwing her blankets off and getting out of bed. She stepped out into the hallway and quietly opened the door to the guest room. It was as if she had to check just to make sure Rachel was still there and to be sure she was ok. She smiled as she stepped into the room and saw that Rachel was fast asleep. Rachel was sprawled out and clutching the yellow baby blanket and Shelby couldn't stop her eyes from filling with tears at the sight of it. She pulled the covers up some and leaned down and lightly kissed Rachel's forehead. Sleep came easily when Shelby went back to her own room.

Shelby's alarm went off at 6:30 and she crawled out of her warm bed and grabbed a quick shower. She had no idea what time Rachel would get up and she wanted to be up before the girl was. After the shower, Shelby started a pot of coffee and looked through her phone to check her messages while she waited for it to brew. She always had a ton of emails and she made herself go through a few of them while she waited. She put the phone aside as soon as the coffee was ready and she sat down to enjoy her first cup.

Shelby didn't sit still for very long and soon found herself heading back towards the bedrooms. She wanted to look in on Rachel again. Shelby opened the door quietly and leaned against the doorframe and nursed her cup of coffee as she watched Rachel sleeping. Now that morning was here and she was up, Shelby wondered just what time Rachel would wake up. She didn't want to disturb her though and so she eventually left and went back to sorting through her long list of emails.

Rachel finally did emerge a little after nine and joined Shelby at the table in the dining room. She glanced at the clock and wished she'd have slept a little bit later.

"Good morning," Shelby greeted.

"Morning," Rachel yawned.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Great," Rachel said. "I think that's the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in."

"I'm glad," Shelby said. "What would you like for breakfast? I thought we could go get some bagels or something."

"Can I shower first?"

"Of course," Shelby laughed.

"I forgot to bring shampoo and stuff," Rachel said. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure," Shelby said. "Help yourself to whatever you need."

"Thanks!" Rachel grinned as she got up from the table and headed back towards the guest room to grab her bag.

Shelby followed after and led her through the master bedroom to the bathroom. She made sure Rachel had everything she needed before leaving the girl on her own. Rachel opened her bag and pulled out some clothes to wear that day. She shoved her own shampoo and conditioner to the side and out of the way as she fished around for everything she needed. After everything was neatly arranged, she took a second to look around the bathroom. It was large and glorious and Rachel wanted to see everything that was there. She started to open the medicine cabinet and then thought that maybe she shouldn't. But her curiosity won out and she examined some of the prescription bottles even though she didn't know what the medicine was for. It wasn't unlike the medicine cabinet in her fathers' bathroom at home.

Deciding that she was taking too long, Rachel finally reached in and turned on the shower. She loved it immediately because of all the space in it. She thought she could probably lie down comfortably in this shower. Rachel examined all of Shelby's products from shampoo to shaving cream. She wanted to be able to use everything her mother did.

Rachel washed her hair with Shelby's shampoo and conditioner and also used her body wash. She examined the two different types of face wash and finally picked out the one that sounded better and hoped it was the same one Shelby used that morning.

Eventually Rachel turned the shower off and wrapped herself in one of Shelby's huge, fluffy towels. She made sure everything was just as she found it in the shower before stepping out and getting ready for the day.

Hiram and LeRoy agreed the meet them back at Shelby's place after breakfast and the men were waiting there when they returned.

"Wait until you see this place," Rachel gushed as they rode the elevator to the correct floor.

"It is beautiful," LeRoy said when they entered the apartment.

"Thanks," Shelby waved them off. "I'm a terrible decorator, but I like it."

"Why don't you just hire someone to decorate it?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel!" LeRoy scolded.

"I did," Shelby laughed. "He had to work with all of my stuff though and I don't think he liked it."

The three adults laughed but Rachel didn't really get it. She changed the subject quickly enough though when she started to give her fathers a tour. First stop: The Tony.

"Isn't it so cool?" Rachel gushed.

"Extremely," Hiram said. He had to rescue it from Rachel when she tried to carry it down the hall to the bedrooms. He gave Shelby an 'I told you so' look when he handed it back to her so she could return it to the shelf.

When they reached the guest room that Rachel had stayed in, she held up the baby blanket for the men to see.

"Look. Mom let me sleep with it last night," Rachel said. "It's the same one from the pictures."

Hiram and LeRoy exchanged a look at the word 'mom' and then looked over at Shelby who gave them a wary, half smile. Rachel missed the entire thing.

"That's wonderful, Rach," LeRoy said. "But now that we've seen everything, why don't we all go and sit down so we can talk about some of this."

"Ok," Rachel said in a much more serious tone that she had just used.

They settled around the table with coffee and tea and a bottle of water for Rachel and no one knew quite where to start.

"Is this about how Shelby will be my mom?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," LeRoy said. "You want Shelby do take on the role as mom for you?" he asked. It wasn't meant to be unkind towards Shelby, but they needed to ask it openly and honestly so that there wasn't any confusion down the road.

"Yes," Rachel said immediately. "Of course. She's my mom."

Shelby smiled into her mug full of tea.

"And you're ready for that?" Hiram asked Shelby. "Just like that?"

"I have a lot to learn, but I want to be there for however Rachel needs me, especially as her mother," Shelby said.

"Ok," LeRoy said. There was more about that he and Hiram would discuss with Shelby when Rachel wasn't present. "We already talked to our lawyer yesterday and the contract is in the process of being nullified. We'll need to call him back with your address so that a copy of all of the paperwork can be sent to you and you can have your own lawyer go over everything."

"Ok," Shelby said. "I'll write down all of my information for all of you so you have my address and phone numbers and everything like that."

"And we'll do the same, of course," Hiram said.

"What happens when we go home?" Rachel asked.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" LeRoy asked.

"When will I get to see her again? Will I be able to visit? Will she be able to visit me?" Rachel said.

"We'll work all of that out, ok," Hiram said. "Shelby is more than welcome to come and see us whenever she wants. And we'll figure out a time to come back to New York."

"I could come on my own and stay with her," Rachel said. "You'd let me, wouldn't you, Mom?"

Shelby nodded. She was trying to be quiet during this because Hiram and LeRoy were calling the shots, but she wanted Rachel to know that she was always welcome.

"We'll see, Rachel," Hiram said.

"There's spring break and the summer and long weekends," Rachel continued on.

"I said, we'll see," Hiram said. "Shelby is busy and it would have to be worked out. So let's not dwell on it now."

"Can we stay a few more days in New York?" Rachel asked. This was a question she'd been dying to ask for a while now.

"I'm afraid not," LeRoy said. "We've got work and you have school."

"But it's the 20th and Christmas break will be starting," Rachel said.

"Yes, and we have Christmas plans," LeRoy told her. "We're leaving tomorrow."

"But-"

"Rachel, I'm working all through the holidays anyway," Shelby said. "Your dads are right; we'll have to wait and see and work out some times to visit later."

"Fine," Rachel pouted and slumped back in her chair.

The rest of the day went by with Rachel grumping her way through it. She had wanted to stay and hang out with Shelby as long as possible, but the fathers also had plans that they had made as a family before Rachel knew the truth. Shelby had to work anyway and they promised Rachel they would see her before flying home the following day.

They arrived at Shelby's apartment early Monday afternoon so that they would have time to catch their flight home that evening.

"I have something for you," Shelby said to Rachel who was growing increasingly upset at having to leave. "But I don't want you to open it up and look at it until you get home. Ok?"

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Because I asked you not to," Shelby replied.

"You sound like my mother," Hiram joked and even Rachel cracked a smile.

Shelby packed the box she had for Rachel in the girl's luggage and looked at Rachel expectantly.

"I won't look at it until I get home," Rachel recited dutifully.

"Good," Shelby said.

The box she had given her was the box of cards and letters she'd been getting and writing and saving for Rachel all of the girl's life. She'd written a new note and put it on top explaining what was in there and how she thought Rachel should have them since she'd been saving them for her all along.

Rachel started to cry when she hugged Shelby goodbye.

"No more crying, ok," Shelby whispered into Rachel's ear. "And no more being angry and grumpy. We will be able to visit soon. Your fathers are not being mean so stop acting like it." Rachel nodded into her shoulder.

Hiram and LeRoy couldn't hear what was being said as they watched the exchange between mother and daughter. They knew they would have their work cut out for them in the weeks and months ahead as Rachel, and all of them, tried to navigate this new world they found themselves in.

"I love you," Rachel whispered to Shelby and the woman's eyes filled with tears of her own.

"Me, your mom or me Shelby Corcoran?" Shelby whispered back.

"Both," Rachel said with a cheeky smile. "But especially my mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

Shelby said her goodbyes to the men next and took a grateful hug from both of them.

"Thank you," Shelby said.

"We love you, Shelby," Hiram said.

Rachel grabbed another hug before they left and promised Shelby she would call her when they got home safely. Shelby stood out on her balcony and waved to them as they got in the cab and drove off. Her tears came in earnest when she went back into her apartment alone.

The first thing Rachel noticed when they landed was that she had a text message from Kurt. She didn't think she'd ever received a text message from Kurt.

"I know we don't normally do this but I want to know how New York was," Kurt's message read.

Rachel wasn't even sure how to respond. It was vague and weird and why would Kurt care. She knew he loved Broadway, but she also knew he only seemed to tolerate her sometimes.

"It was wonderful," Rachel wrote back.

They were pulling into the driveway of their house in Lima when Rachel got a reply.

"I only ask because I was looking at pictures people took at the stage door of Wounded Heart and I saw you," Kurt said. "You met Shelby Corcoran and I have to hear about it."

"There are pictures of me?" Rachel wrote back.

"Yes," came the reply. "A lot of them. How long did you talk to her? People on the message boards have been speculating about why she talked to you for so long. There's even reports that she took you backstage."

Rachel set her bags down in her room and immediately pulled out the box her mother had given her and sat down on her bed with it.

"Rachel, start to get your dirty clothes together so we can start a load of laundry," LeRoy said as he passed by her room.

"Ok," Rachel said, but she never got up. Her focus was back on her phone.

Rachel mulled over what to say to Kurt. She had no idea that these reports were out there and she wasn't sure if Shelby did either. Her mother had never mentioned it if she'd heard, but then again maybe her mother didn't care. Rachel read over Kurt's words again about how he had to hear about meeting Shelby Corcoran and she desperately wanted to be able to share her news with someone. She didn't have a best friend she could tell and Kurt might be the only one who really cared. But she also remembered her mom telling her how she wasn't going to tell anyone yet because of how quickly it could spread. This was just Kurt though. Who did he know and who could he tell?

Rachel typed in a message to reply to Kurt. "Can you keep a secret?"

A/N – I hope you all liked this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I really appreciate your feedback. Thanks!