A/N – Thank you all so much for all of your lovely reviews and for continuing to read. Your support and feedback means so much to me.

Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.

Like she had done less than an hour ago, Rachel waited near Shelby as the woman closed and locked the door of her expansive apartment. Rachel wished the whole hour could be erased and she could go back to when they were walking through Times Square. Shelby had promised her the whole evening to talk as long as they wanted, but those plans had been waylaid and now here they were. Unlike with her earlier storm out, Rachel felt deflated. Logically, she didn't blame her mother, but she couldn't bring herself to feel bad about her blow up either. Ok, so maybe she shouldn't have walked outside with no jacket and no shoes, but it had felt right at the time. Truth be told, she would have stayed in the lobby of the grand building had Eric, the doorman, not tried to stop her. She was storming out and she wasn't going to stop until she was ready because that's how a storm out worked. Her dads usually did not appreciate that. Rachel walked a fine line with her storm outs where her dads were concerned. She knew this one would have crossed that line for them.

So she wasn't particularly surprised when she looked up and saw the disappointment and anger in her mother's eyes. She hated that the talk Shelby wanted to have with her was probably a scolding and not a real talk. This was the same look Shelby had worn the day before when she'd punished her for not being back to the theater in time. Rachel sighed as she continued to shiver. This was not how this visit was supposed to go. She was supposed to have her mom completely to herself and she most certainly wasn't supposed to be getting in trouble. She hated to be thought of as childish… Although, the more she got to know Shelby, the more she appreciated that she could be herself in front of her. It felt good to drop the pretense and just be herself. Her mother knew she wasn't well liked at school and her mother knew she misbehaved and now her mother knew she would storm out of a situation she didn't like. It was kind of freeing actually. Try as she might, Rachel hadn't been sure how long she could keep trying to be exactly what she thought Shelby wanted. It was exhausting.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said.

She wrapped her arms around her mother and Shelby immediately responded. She held Rachel tightly, only loosening up for a second so she could bring her hand back and land one mighty swat on Rachel's bottom. Shelby surprised herself with the action, but she didn't question it. Rachel felt it, but her only response was to hold on tighter. This wasn't the first time Rachel had been swatted while being hugged. She was famous for wandering into trouble and her dads were always there to pull her back and now so was her mother. Shelby didn't know it yet, and Rachel didn't even really get it, but the girl appreciated the familiarity and comfort of that action, even if it stung. She had stepped out of line and her parent was there to take back over and make everything right.

"Don't you ever do that again, do you understand me?" Shelby demanded. "You cannot just walk out and disappear, even if it's just to stand in front of the building. I was so afraid when I reached the lobby and found out you weren't there. It is midnight and it is freezing and my kid was out there alone with no protection from the weather."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said again, this time sniffling.

"Do you understand what I just said?" Shelby asked.

"Yes ma'am," Rachel responded.

Shelby nodded and held the shivering girl tighter. Normally she hated being called ma'am, but for some reason, it felt right in this moment.

"Ok," Shelby nodded. Now that that was out of the way, she needed to get her girl warm. "Go sit on the couch and I'll be right there. Get the blanket that's there and wrap up."

Rachel stepped away to do as she was told and Shelby went to the back and into her room. She pulled a pair of extra warm socks and a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and hooded sweatshirt. She would have gotten stuff from Rachel's room, but the girl still had everything in her suitcase and Shelby didn't want to take the time to go through it.

On her way back to the living room where Rachel was, Shelby stopped by a linen closet and pulled out three heavy blankets. Rachel was sitting on the couch and had only covered her lap with the blanket that was there and she was still shivering. If Shelby's hands were free, she probably would have crossed them at the way Rachel was sitting.

From behind the couch, Shelby dropped all the clothes onto it and unwrapped one of her blankets and wrapped it around Rachel's shoulders. Rachel held it tight to her and stayed silent as Shelby came around and sat down. She picked up Rachel's feet off the floor and set them in her lap before peeling off the wet socks and putting them back on the floor. Shelby grabbed the end of one of the blankets and dried them off and then started rubbing the cold, red feet.

"Why would you go out there with no shoes on?" Shelby asked.

"I wasn't really thinking about that until I got out there," Rachel admitted. "And then I couldn't come back in."

"Why couldn't you come back in?" Shelby asked.

"It doesn't work like that," Rachel mumbled.

"You're stubborn," Shelby said.

"No I'm not," Rachel countered.

"You'd rather stand out in the cold because you're mad than come inside and deal with it," Shelby told her. "Stubborn."

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted, but loved the feeling of her mom rubbing her feet to warm them up. "If I come back in it just proves that everyone else was right."

"Or it proves that you're smart enough to take the high road," Shelby said.

"It's not that easy," Rachel said. She hated this lecture because she got it from her dads all the time. Sometimes the only point she was ever able to get across in a fight was the one she made when she left. Most of the time, people didn't listen to her. Of course she never saw the reality that, to other people, it made her look childish.

"Is that how you always react when faced with a situation you don't like or one in which you're not getting your way?" Shelby asked.

"No," Rachel grumbled and her pout deepened. Did they really have to do this?

"That's not the way the real world works, honey," Shelby said kindly.

"I know," Rachel whined with a scowl.

Shelby sighed and realized this was going nowhere. She'd made her thoughts about storming out clear to Rachel and hopefully the girl would heed them. Instead of going any farther with it, Shelby picked up her warm, long socks and placed them on Rachel's feet. She looked over at the girl whose scowl was lessening and was watching her with a soft smile and not the pout she just displayed. Rachel wiggled her feet some when her mom was finished and she relaxed further into the couch. The shivering had slowed some and she hoped her mother was done criticizing her storm outs.

"Alright," Shelby said. "I'm going to make us some hot chocolate and I'll be right back. There are other things I want to talk to you about. In the meantime, I want you to change into these clothes. They're warmer."

"I'm fine," Rachel said.

"Rachel," Shelby warned. There was that tone again. That mom tone she didn't know she'd even possessed until this weekend.

Rachel rolled her eyes and sat up straighter when Shelby moved her legs from her lap. She picked up the clothes from the pile and held the t-shirt up.

"These aren't mine," Rachel said.

"I know; they're mine," Shelby told her.

Oh well that changed everything; Rachel was excited to get to wear her mom's stuff, even if it was just sweats. Shelby stood up and then placed her hands over Rachel's red ears to help gather some heat right there.

"Hurry up because you're like an ice cube," Shelby said on her way out of the living room.

Rachel rolled her eyes and determined her mother to be a bit crazy. But she stood up to get changed all the same. Rachel decided right away that she would be keeping her mother's t-shirt. It was way too big for her, but it was from a Broadway Cares benefit the woman had sang in years before. It soft and warm and perfect and would be going home with her. The sweatpants were too long and Rachel pulled the drawstring tight. She thought about rolling up the pants legs, but decided against it. She was just going to curl back up on the couch. The sweatshirt was a purple hoodie with the NYU logo on it and Rachel was going to try and smuggle it out as well. It hung loosely on her and she loved it.

When Shelby returned about five minutes later, she found Rachel sitting cross-legged on the couch and playing with her phone. It was clear she had changed, not just from looking at her, but from all of the other clothes that were now scattered around her living room. Somehow she had assumed that Rachel would go back to her room and change there.

"Rachel, you need to get under the blankets," Shelby said as she set the two mugs of piping hot hot chocolate on the coffee table.

"I'm fine now," Rachel said with a shrug.

Shelby was not going to take this answer because she knew how cold the girl was. She grabbed one blanket and put it over Rachel's lap and legs and tucked it tightly around her. She grabbed another one and made Rachel lean forward she could put it behind her and wrap it around her shoulders. Shelby then put her hands back over Rachel's ears to make sure they stayed warm.

"Mom," Rachel complained when her game ended because she'd been bothered so much.

"Put that away," Shelby said. "Our talk isn't over yet."

She leaned down and kissed Rachel's forehead and then took the phone from her hands. When Rachel leaned back, Shelby picked up the third blanket and placed it over Rachel's chest. Yep, she was crazy and Rachel knew it. She was going to suffocate under all of this.

Shelby looked over at her fireplace and thought maybe she should start a fire. It was a gas fireplace so it would be up and roaring as soon as she turned it on. Yeah, that was a good idea. Rachel watched as Shelby went to the fireplace and turned it on and the fire came to life. She wasn't even that cold anymore.

Shelby finally sat back down next to Rachel and picked up their mugs of hot chocolate and held one out for the girl to take.

"Am I allowed to take my arm out and hold it?" Rachel asked sarcastically.

Shelby just gave her a withering stare and so Rachel didn't say another word as she accepted the mug and tried to take a small sip. It was too hot though so she blew on it some and decided to wait a while.

"Rachel, let's talk about my mother," Shelby said.

"Oh boy," Rachel's sarcasm didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

"What made you so angry that you felt you needed to walk out?" Shelby asked, ignoring her daughter's remark. If she wasn't trying to have a serious conversation with her, she'd agree.

"You heard all the things she said about my dads," Rachel said. "I won't let anyone talk that way about them."

"I know, sweetheart," Shelby said gently. "She should not have been talking that way." Shelby knew that she needed to get this right so she didn't make Rachel angry or push her to want to run out again. "You weren't just angry at her though. You were angry at me too."

Rachel sighed and looked away and stared at the new fire. Shelby didn't push her as she watched the girl work to gather her thoughts.

"You were sending me to my room like she was trying to do," Rachel finally said softly. "You should have been sticking up for me. We were supposed to have this night just to ourselves and she was here ruining it and you were making me leave. Just like with Brian; it was supposed to be just the two of us."

Rachel wouldn't look at her and instead concentrated on the marshmallows in her hot chocolate. Realization washed over Shelby and she finally understood her daughter's issues with Brian being there. He was taking away from it being just the two of them. Shelby felt like an idiot.

Shelby set her mug back down on the table and then took Rachel's and did the same. She moved the blanket covering Rachel's chest to the side so she could take the girl's hands in her own.

"Rachel, I was not trying to get rid of you or send you to your room because I was angry," Shelby said. "I know my mother and I know how she gets and she was never going to let up as long as you were in the room. I wanted to tell her to get out, but you shouldn't have to see that."

"I'm not a little kid," Rachel said with a sniffle.

"In this case, yes you are, sweetheart," Shelby said with sympathetic eyes. "My mom can be vicious with her words, as you heard. I didn't want you to hear anymore."

"But I didn't want to be kicked out either," Rachel said.

"I understand that," Shelby said. "But I thought it was for the best."

"You stayed and talked to her after I left," Rachel pointed out to her.

"Would you like to know what I told her?" Shelby asked

"It doesn't matter," Rachel mumbled and looked down at their hands. Shelby was using her thumb to rub the top of Rachel's hand and the girl put her focus on it.

"I told her that she is no longer welcome here or anywhere you or I am unless she apologizes to you first," Shelby said.

Rachel looked up with wide, expressive eyes. "Really? Is that why she left?"

"I told her she had to leave," Shelby said. "I got a hotel room for her tonight and paid for her flight home tomorrow morning."

"You did that for her?"

"I did that for you," Shelby corrected. "You probably won't ever hear from her again."

"Was it… Am I not good enough to be her granddaughter?" Rachel asked as her eyes refocused on their hands.

"No, that's not it at all," Shelby said.

Rachel only nodded and wouldn't look up.

"Look at me. Rachel," she added in that warning tone when the girl didn't do as she was told. Shelby only continued on when she had Rachel's full attention. "Honey, you are wonderful and you have four grandparents are proud to call you theirs. My mother just operates differently. We have never gotten along and I'm afraid she never takes the time to look at the positive. For as long as I can remember, it seems like everything she did or said was filtered through this negative lens that made everything worse or bad. Like me. And like my dream to come here. And your birth. And now you. It's her issue, not yours. And if she never changes and if she never gets to know you, it's her loss and not yours. I don't want you around someone so negative and hateful. There are reasons I was taking so long in contacting my parents."

"But you know how to be a good mother," Rachel said. "How come she doesn't?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Shelby said. She was being quiet and serious, but her heart was soaring at Rachel's words. Her daughter thought she was a good mother. Shelby vowed that she would never do anything to mess up Rachel's opinion on that.

"I'm glad you were able to move away and make it in New York," Rachel said.

"Me too," Shelby said and tears pooled in her eyes.

What she had said to her mother earlier wasn't a lie. Rachel's existence is what allowed her to have the money to come back here and be successful. She may have made it later on, but not with the same fervor and grit. Everything she did in New York City from the day she arrived when her daughter was ten days old was to make that baby proud. She had given up the greatest thing she would ever create and she knew she was going to work her ass off to in order to give that kid everything she could in eighteen years. Shelby was thankful every day that it hadn't taken eighteen years.

Rachel freed her hands from her mother's grasp and reached down for her hot chocolate which was now at a more acceptable temperature. Shelby followed suit and watched Rachel intently for a few moments while her daughter take a big gulp and sighed at how good it was. She even dribbled some on her chin and then used one of the blankets to wipe it off.

"Mom, can we sing?" Rachel asked. "Please."

Rachel started to move the blankets off of her, but Shelby stopped her. She took their mugs and set them back on the table and then quickly put all of the blankets back in place.

"Mom," Rachel whined.

"You need to warm up."

"I am warm," Rachel insisted. "I'm started to sweat I'm so warm."

"No," Shelby said.

"But why can't we sing?"

"We can and we will," Shelby said. "But I want to talk about one more thing."

Rachel sighed dramatically and leaned back on the couch. "What?"

"Brian."

Rachel lifted her head and looked at her mom, "Oh."

"Yeah," Shelby said. "Sit up, please."

Rachel did and reached for her cocoa again. Though at this point, a glass of ice water would be really nice too. She was really starting to get hot.

"You don't like Brian," Shelby started out.

"It's not that I don't like him," Rachel said and then took a sip and returned the mug to the table.

"It's that he took up our time together," Shelby finished for her.

"Yeah," Rachel mumbled and looked away. She felt like a little kid when it was spelled out for her by someone else.

"Why didn't you just say something?" Shelby asked.

"Why didn't you tell me I was going to be me meeting him?" Rachel countered. "He seems ok and all and it's clear you're in love with him, but I wasn't ready. He wasn't part of my plan."

"I should have talked with you about him coming over before I just sprang it on you," Shelby said. "But I really wanted you guys to meet."

"Why couldn't we have met later?" Rachel asked. "This was our first weekend where it was just us. Or at least it was supposed to be."

"I'm sorry, Rachel, that it didn't work out like you'd planned, but you could have told me how you were feeling," Shelby said. "You weren't exactly nice to him. Don't you think telling me how you were feeling would have been better than being rude to him?"

"I wasn't rude to him!" Rachel argued. "He was the one who shouldn't have been here."

"He was here because I invited him," Shelby said.

"Then it's your fault," Rachel sassed.

Shelby took a deep breath and wondered why the mood had changed so suddenly. But she was not going to engage in a yelling match right now. That had happened earlier with her mother and she wasn't going to do the same.

"Rachel, I know you weren't expecting him, and I get why," Shelby said. "And I promise we'll talk about him and I'll give you ample warning for when you're going to see him again, but you were rude to him. That is your own doing. We are not going to play a blame game about this; we're just going to learn from it for next time. But if he were to show up here unexpectedly without my knowledge, I would expect you to be polite to him."

"I was polite," Rachel insisted.

"Rachel, you made him wait in the hall."

"I didn't know what he looked like!" Rachel shot back.

"Ok, let's stop," Shelby said. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was close to one in the morning. "I think maybe you need to go to bed."

"What? No," Rachel said. "I'm not tired. I wasn't tired last night when you put me to bed early as punishment."

"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked. "I didn't put you to bed early as a punishment."

"Yes you did," Rachel said. "You told me I couldn't go anywhere by myself and then I wanted to watch a movie, but you made me go to bed."

"Rachel, it was almost midnight and we had to be up at five in the morning," Shelby said. Oh my god, they'd been up forever. "We needed to get some sleep."

"I was fine," Rachel said, but with a little less punch than before.

"Ok," Shelby just agreed with her to avoid the argument. "Rach, listen, I just want to say one more thing about Brian and then we'll drop it and talk about it another day. You're right; I am in love with him. I've loved him for a long time. But I want to make one thing perfectly clear to you." She leaned closer to Rachel and made sure the girl was looking at her. "You are the most important thing in my life. You always will be. I am not going to give him up because you stamp your foot and decide you don't like him, but I want us to be able to talk about him. We both have to speak and behave like grown-ups," she hit right at what she knew Rachel craved, "and we can work everything out. So in the future, I expect you to treat him with respect. He gave you that respect and you will do the same. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Rachel mumbled and looked away from Shelby.

"Good girl," Shelby said.

Their Brian issue hadn't been solved, but it would be naïve to think one conversation would make it better. The issue was so much more than getting to know mom's boyfriend because they weren't past the getting to know mom stage yet. And Shelby knew it would take time.

They were both quiet for a few minutes as they sipped their drinks and were lost in thought until Rachel started to squirm and kicked all of the blankets covering her aside and stood up.

"Rachel," Shelby chastised.

"Mom, I'm dying under all those blankets. It's like a thousand degrees in here," Rachel said.

"Are you sure you've warmed up enough?" Shelby asked.

"If I warmed up any more, I'd spontaneously combust," Rachel told her. "Can we sing now?"

"Sure," Shelby said.

And just like that, the fit and lectures were over, and everything was back to normal. Rachel disappeared to the bathroom and came back without the NYU sweatshirt on. It was now packed in her suitcase, hidden under some other clothes. She had shed the socks too.

Shelby pulled out a catalog of sheet music, but they just ended up singing songs they already knew. The best part was not the impromptu concert they were giving, the best part was the choosing of sections which created conversations that lasted for twenty or thirty minutes. Rachel told her more about school and her classes and how Kurt was doing. These were the kinds of talks Shelby craved because Rachel let herself be a kid while her mother soaked it all up. The subjects of Brian and, surprisingly enough, Broadway, never came up.

They spent two hours like that until Shelby could see that Rachel was literally struggling to stay awake.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's go to bed," Shelby said as Rachel's eyes drooped closed one more time.

"I'm not tired," Rachel whined. "I want to stay up with you because I have to go home tomorrow."

"Ok," Shelby said. "Let's relax on the couch. I think we've both had enough singing for one night."

"I could always listen to you sing," Rachel said.

Shelby smiled and kissed Rachel's head. "Ditto, kid."

Shelby suggested that Rachel go and use the bathroom and brush her teeth and Rachel didn't argue because she knew she'd be asleep soon, even if she tried to fight it. She was on to her mother and getting them settled on the couch was a fine trick. But it was one that would work.

Rachel returned to the living room and heard the gentle sounds of Barbra Streisand singing. Shelby had pulled out an old record and set it up. She'd always loved this one because it reminded her of lullabies. Instead of sitting next to Shelby, Rachel sat down in her lap and hugged her mother. Shelby squeezed her tightly in return as she realized that this was the first time her little girl had ever sat in her lap. Tears welled in her eyes so suddenly that she had trouble blinking them back. She did though and when the hug ended, Rachel slid down to her side and rested her head down on Shelby's shoulder. Shelby got a blanket and tucked it around Rachel so that her arms and feet would be covered. Rachel adjusted once again and Shelby found herself supporting the weight of the girl as she rested her head against her chest. The soft music of Barbra washed over them and the fireplace glowed warmly as Rachel drifted off to sleep.

Shelby looked down at the girl in her arms and could see the face of the little baby she'd held all those years before. She leaned down and kissed her forehead as she had done with the newborn and she hummed along to the music. In this moment, life could be considered close to perfect. New York City sat just outside her doorstep and her little girl was back in her arms.

The following afternoon came much too quickly for either of them and they were silent as they rode towards the airport. Rachel had started to cry at the apartment and Shelby was unable to stop her own tears once Rachel got going. They had laughed about it a few minutes later and swore that they wouldn't cry in front of everyone at the airport. Rachel wasn't even upset about being considered an unaccompanied minor this time since it meant that her mother got to go to the gate and wait with her.

It didn't take them long to get through security because Shelby was ushered to the front of the line. They went to the gate and Shelby bought them both a drink from Starbucks while they waited.

"I don't want to get any reports of you misbehaving," Shelby said.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "You won't. I don't actually get in that much trouble."

"Noted," Shelby said with a smirk.

"Are you coming to Regionals?" Rachel asked.

"I wouldn't miss it," Shelby told her. "But that's not for a few months. We'll see each other before then."

"Can I bring Kurt to New York with me one time?" Rachel asked.

"Sure," Shelby answered easily. "I'd love that."

"So would he," Rachel assured her.

Boarding for Rachel's flight was called and they both stood and Shelby pulled her into a fierce hug.

"I love you, Rachel," Shelby said. "Call or text me the moment you get there."

"You'll be on stage by the time I get home," Rachel reminded her. Her face was buried in the crook of Shelby's neck.

"It doesn't matter," Shelby said. "Call and leave me a message and let me hear your voice."

"I will," Rachel told her. "I love you, Mom. Thank you for this weekend."

"This is your home now too," Shelby said. "You don't have to thank me for having you because you are always just coming home."

That did it for Rachel and her tears started. Shelby rubbed her back and kissed her head and stood and waited until Rachel was on the plane and out of her sight. She then waited until the plane had taxied and she watched it take off. She already missed her daughter more than she ever thought possible.

A/N – That's it for this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. We're getting Rachel back to Lima in the next chapter. Who knows what that kid will have up her sleeves next. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!