A/N – I'm so, so sorry for the delay. I apologize, guys. Truly. You can blame me and the holidays and having to get back into the swing of things. But here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it.
Thank you so much for all of the reviews and for reading. You guys are great. I hope everyone had a happy new year.
I want to give you all fair warning – I am going on vacation next week and will be out of the country for a couple weeks. I'm sorry if there's a bit of delay again with me posting another chapter of this, but it is what it is. I'm really looking forward to it. But I apologize in advance if you have to wait again. I hope you all understand.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
Rachel stared in the mirror as she brushed through her hair one more time before putting a purple headband in place. Her mother had bought this headband for her the day they'd gone shopping with Kurt in Columbus. She'd been saving it all week to where it Friday since her mom would be there when she got home from school. It matched perfectly with the rest of her outfit and she was excited to show it off. Rachel didn't know that Shelby knew she had the hoodie and she had been looking forward to the reveal ever since she found out her mother would be here this weekend.
Of course, by now everyone had seen the purple NYU hoodie she was also wearing. Hiram and LeRoy weren't sure she'd ever actually taken it off in the last week. She'd worn it every day to school with varying types of outfits meant to highlight the hoodie. But nothing would match it as well as today's ensemble would. LeRoy had suggested she just wear jeans with it one day but that had earned him a disdained, "Daddy," and a roll of her eyes.
But today was perfect. The shirt she wore was white and button down because she had to forgo her normal sweaters during this time. She discovered that the first day when she'd become too hot and had to duck into a bathroom half way through the day to remove the sweater. The skirt she wore was a lighter purple than the hoodie, but they worked very well together because of the darker patches that helped create the plaid pattern in it. Her socks were knee length argyle in the same light and dark purples. She had purple flats but she decided they didn't quite look right so she settled on black ones instead. And now she had the purple headband in place and everything was perfect. She looked at herself in the full length mirror in her closet and nodded in satisfaction.
"Rachel, it's time for breakfast," Hiram called from down stairs.
"I'll be right down," Rachel yelled back.
One more look and one more smile at her own sense of fashion and Rachel grabbed her bag and left the room.
"Ten bucks says she's got it on again," Hiram said.
"No, I mentioned last night that it was time to wash it," LeRoy said. "I'm sure she's wearing something else."
"And stop getting to tell people that she's wearing her mother's hoodie? Not likely," Hiram said. "We're going to have to pry it off of her in her sleep like we did when she was three and refused to take that stupid tutu off."
"She was so cute in that tutu," LeRoy said.
"Yeah," Hiram agreed with a smile.
She'd been cute until she'd worn it four days in a row and threw a fit when she refused to take it off to get in the bath. They told her she was getting a bath or going to bed early and she chose going to bed early so she wouldn't have to change. They snuck in in the middle of the night and changed her clothes while she slept. She'd been livid the next morning. But she also took a bath so that fathers had considered that a win.
"Good morning," Rachel said brightly as she came into the kitchen.
"Morning," Hiram said as the dads turned around to greet her. He immediately held his hand out to LeRoy demanding payment.
"Sweetheart, I thought we talked about the sweatshirt," LeRoy said. He lightly shoved Hiram away.
"I know," Rachel said. "But I've been saving this outfit all week. I have to wear it today. Then it'll be so comfortable to work in when everyone is here tomorrow. Don't worry; I'm still trying to talk them into going to the library instead."
"Rach, everyone can come here to work," LeRoy said. "There's no problem with that."
"But you guys and Mom will be here," Rachel sighed as she sat down at the table to eat the breakfast Hiram had made for her.
"So," Hiram said.
"But you'll be here and you're both… a little bit… different when I'm around people," Rachel said. She may not have had many friends throughout the years, but that didn't mean she'd never suffered the embarrassment of having her parents around. Why couldn't parents just be normal people when their kids were around other kids? It just wasn't fair. "And now there will be three of you with Mom here."
Hiram and LeRoy exchanged a wide smile over her head as she ducked to take a bite.
"Do you think your father and I are going to embarrass you?" Hiram asked innocently. "Rachel, we would never."
"Yeah right," Rachel said. "I know how you two get."
"Don't worry so much about it, honey," LeRoy said. "We'll be good."
"I don't think I believe you," Rachel said cheekily. "Hopefully Mom won't be too bad."
"I thought you'd be excited that she's here when your friends are," Hiram said.
"I'm excited she'll be here," Rachel said quickly. "But I'd rather work on homework elsewhere. She gets all weird and excited about homework. You remember how she was when she was here last time and I had that paper to write."
"She just loved getting to help you," LeRoy said.
"I liked having her help too. But I don't need her hovering when my friends are here," Rachel clarified.
"Kurt and the others might be happy to have her hovering," Hiram said. They were genuinely confused about Rachel's attitude about having her mother here.
"Yeah, I guess," Rachel shrugged. "But it's just my mom. No one wants parents hovering and being embarrassing." She looked at both of them pointedly when she said embarrassing.
"Oh go to school, you brat," Hiram said with a smile. "We'd never embarrass you."
"Lies," Rachel said as she let her dad usher her out of the room.
"You're taking that sweatshirt off when you get home so we can wash it," LeRoy yelled after her.
Rachel said something back but they weren't quite sure what it was because the door closed and cut her off.
"She thinks we're embarrassing," Hiram said with his hand over his heart; this was clearly a proud moment for him.
"And did you hear her call Shelby 'just mom'?" LeRoy asked. "I think she may finally be settling into everything better."
"Yeah, that's a huge step," Hiram agreed.
"Of course she is still wearing Shelby's sweatshirt around like some sort of trophy," LeRoy said.
"Yeah, but showing off for her friends is a lot different than really believing all the hype," Hiram said. "As long as she sees Shelby as 'just mom' she'll expect her friends to as well."
"It sounds like she's really getting there," LeRoy said.
"Yep. And I can't wait for Shelby to get here so we can coach her on the finer points of being just the right amount of embarrassing in front of your child," Hiram said.
LeRoy held his hand up for a high five and Hiram enthusiastically followed through.
Shelby's flight from New York landed in Columbus later that morning and it was lunch time by the time she reached the Berrys' house. She brought her stuff in from the rental car and took up it up the spare room. She'd been given a key to the house on her last visit and she made herself at home while Hiram and LeRoy worked and Rachel was at school. After a quick lunch, she flopped down on the couch with the intention of watching TV, but soon grabbed a blanket and curled up for a nap. She had two hours before anyone would be home and nothing sounded better than a nap right now.
Kurt looked up when Rachel walked into their history classroom. He was already sitting by Santana and Quinn and they were waiting for their fourth to arrive and for class to start. Kurt's mouth fell open a little bit and he shook his head when he saw what Rachel was wearing. Yes the hoodie was cool, but she needed to take it off now. And my god, that was a lot of purple. It was time to take this friendship to the next level because he was shirking his duties as a best friend by continuing to let her dress like that.
"Jesus, did a plum puke all over you?" Santana asked as Rachel sat down.
"I like purple," Rachel said as she sat down.
"And I know it was your mom's and all, but how many times are you going to wear that sweatshirt in a row?" Santana asked.
"As many as I want," Rachel said with her head held high, but a hint of hurt in her eyes.
"Are you at least washing it?" Santana asked.
"Of course I am!" Rachel said.
Another retort was on Santana's lips, but the teacher interrupted with the start of class. They all turned their attention to the front of the room to wait for the break that allowed them to work together on their project. Quinn chanced a glance back over at Rachel and tried to read the girl's face. She really was obsessed with that stupid sweatshirt at the moment. Quinn almost hated to admit it, but she understood why. Who wouldn't be?
"You know, you really don't have to wear it every day," Quinn said once they got together to start their group work. She was trying to say that they all knew it was her mom's and so there was no point in showing it off every day.
"I don't wear it every day," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. Were they really still talking about this? "Besides, it's been cold and it's keeping me warm."
"It is better than your puppy and pony and whatever else sweaters you wear," Santana said.
"I like my sweaters," Rachel said proudly. "Can we get to work? The more we do now the less we have to do tomorrow. Are you sure we can't just go to the library and work?"
Quinn shook her head while Santana answered.
"I told you, I don't work well in the library. Chill out, it won't take all day."
"Fine," Rachel said. "I'll be expecting you guys around one. Don't be late. I do have other things I want to do tomorrow."
Rachel reminded them again later during glee rehearsal not to be late. She hoped it only took a few hours because she wasn't keen on her time with her mother being invaded. Again. In New York it had been Brian and Evelyn and now it was Santana and Quinn. Kurt she didn't mind, but Kurt was her friend. She may be starting to think of Shelby as 'just mom,' but Rachel knew that their time was limited and precious to her. She wasn't ready for there to be a lot of outsiders involved unless it was on her terms, and this stupid project was most definitely not on her terms.
Shelby was up and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee when Hiram got home from work.
"Well hello," Hiram greeted as he came in the kitchen and grabbed a mug for himself.
"Fancy seeing you here," Shelby said.
"How was the flight?"
"Not too bad," Shelby answered. "I got here and took a nap which was wonderful."
"That's probably a good thing," Hiram chuckled. "Rachel will want you to stay up late with her, I'm sure."
"I know she will," Shelby laughed.
"Though I think we'll have to put a midnight cap on it though," Hiram said. "She's got classmates coming over tomorrow to work on a project for school."
"I know. She told me about that," Shelby said. "She didn't seem too happy about it."
"Hello!" LeRoy called out when he came through the door.
"Hi," Shelby said.
LeRoy gave Shelby a hug and held her while he kissed Hiram over her shoulder. The men laughed when they received the same scrunched up face they always got from Rachel.
"I was just about to tell Shelby how Rachel thinks we're going to embarrass her tomorrow when her friends are here," Hiram said.
"Gee, I can't imagine why she'd think that," Shelby laughed.
"We would never do that to her," LeRoy said.
"Yeah right," Shelby laughed as she poured herself another cup of coffee.
"But the best part is," Hiram cut in, "is that she thinks you're going to be embarrassing too."
"What?" Shelby asked. "Why would I be embarrassing?"
"Because you're just her mom," LeRoy said. "And all parents are embarrassing when you're a teenager."
It took a few moments, but the men smiled when Shelby understood what they were saying to her. Her face brightened into a wide smile and she clapped excitedly.
"She thinks I'm going to be embarrassing?" Shelby asked with delight. "That's awesome!"
"I think some of your sparkle might be starting to wear off," Hiram said.
"Thank god," Shelby replied with a smile. "It's exhausting trying to sparkle all the time."
"Now if we could only get the shine to wear off of your NYU hoodie, we'd be good to go," LeRoy said.
"My hoodie?"
"The purple one she swiped from you," LeRoy explained. "She's worn it for at least a week straight."
"We haven't even been able to get her to wash it," Hiram added.
"I told her it was going in the wash today," Leroy said with a firm voice.
"He's said so two days in a row now," Hiram pointed out.
"Why didn't she just ask? I can get her more," Shelby said.
"This one is different," LeRoy said. "It actually belonged to you."
"No one else is walking around school wearing a hoodie that's been worn by Shelby Corcoran before," Hiram said.
"I should hope not," Shelby laughed. "I'm sure we can get the hoodie off of her tonight."
"Good luck," Hiram said. "You're going to have to pry it off."
Shelby looked at him skeptically, but nodded.
Rachel's excitement grew as she got closer to her house on the walk home. She thought maybe one of her parents would have been there to meet her at school, but she liked the walk as well. She usually went at a more leisurely pace than this, but she was ready to get home and see her mom.
"Hey!" Rachel yelled when she came in through the front door and promptly dropped her school bag.
"Hi, sweetheart!" Shelby said as she and Hiram and LeRoy left the kitchen to go and meet Rachel.
Shelby bent slightly so Rachel could wrap her arms around her neck and then she picked her up and hugged her tightly.
"How are you?" Shelby asked as she set her on her feet. "How was school?"
"Fine and fine," Rachel answered.
"Good. How about you go change out of your school clothes and then come back down and help me make some dinner?" Shelby asked.
"You're making dinner tonight?"
"We are making dinner tonight," Shelby corrected her daughter. "But you need to change first. You can start by taking off my hoodie."
"Your hoodie?" Rachel asked coyly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I see it made it to Lima before I did," Shelby said.
"I don't know how it ended up in my bag," Rachel shrugged.
"It just jumped in there, huh?" Shelby said. "But come on, let's take it off. I'm glad you like it and like wearing it, but it needs to be washed."
Shelby grabbed the bottom of the shirt and tried to pull it up but Rachel stopped her. An embarrassed expression crossed the girl's features briefly and she stepped closer to Shelby and stood up on her toes so she could whisper in her ear. The two fathers watched curiously from across the room.
"I can't wash it," Rachel whispered. "If I do, it won't smell like you anymore. Daddy tried to wash it when I got home and I stopped him. I don't want to... I don't want it to stop smelling like you."
Rachel rocked back on her feet and looked down at the ground and missed the smile that graced Shelby's lips when the woman leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"Sweetie, it needs to be washed," Shelby whispered. "But I promise I'll fix it so that it smells like you want it to, ok?"
"Ok," Rachel nodded reluctantly after a moment.
"Good girl," Shelby said as she stood back up to her full height.
This time when Shelby lifted the bottom of the sweatshirt Rachel raised her arms and let the woman slide it over her head. Hiram looked at LeRoy and both men shook their heads at the ease with which Shelby had gotten Rachel to remove the hoodie. It figured.
The small family sat around talking for hours after dinner that night. Shelby had brought a picture album of her own for Rachel to look through and Rachel loved it. Hiram and LeRoy marveled over how much Shelby and their daughter looked alike when they were young.
"Mom, look how big your hair is?" Rachel laughed. She was practically sitting on Shelby she was so close to her on the couch.
"It was the 80's, Rachel. I was a teenager. You'd have had big hair too," Shelby defended herself.
"Is that a New Kids on the Block jean jacket?" Rachel asked incredulously as she took a closer look at one of the pictures.
"Yes," Shelby said proudly. "Don't judge. I loved them."
"Geez, I always assumed you'd have better taste in music than that," Rachel said.
Shelby gasped. "The New Kids on the Block were amazing!"
Rachel just gave her a look like she was now questioning the woman's sanity.
"How old are you in this picture?" Rachel asked as she held it closer to her face to get a better look. Shelby could swear she could hear her daughter muttering something about boy bands under her breath.
"I was fifteen," Shelby answered.
"Is that a picture from when you snuck off to go to their concert in Indianapolis?" Hiram asked and both Shelby and Rachel's heads snapped up to look at him.
"How do you even remember that?" Shelby asked.
"You told us about it one time?" LeRoy said.
"I know. And I don't really think it's something we should discuss now," Shelby said and her eyes quickly darted over to Rachel. "But I can't believe you guys remember me telling you about it."
"We remember everything," Hiram said sagely.
"You snuck out to go to a concert?" Rachel asked. This was a story she was ready to hear.
"Not technically," Shelby answered. "It wasn't that big of a deal." Somehow she knew that Rachel would get this into her head and think it was a good idea if she found out about it.
"That's not how I remember you telling it," Hiram said.
"What happened?" Rachel asked excitedly.
"As it turns out, Rachel, your mother and her friend wanted to go and see the New Kids, but couldn't figure out how to get down to Indianapolis for the show," Hiram said.
"I can't believe I ever told you guys this story," Shelby said as she rested her head on her hand and waited for him to continue.
"Your mom pretended to be her mom on the phone and used her credit card to pay for the tickets and then they hitchhiked down to the city for the concert," Hiram said.
Rachel's eyes went wide and she looked up at her mother in awe.
"You hitchhiked?" Rachel asked. She then turned her dads and said, "It kind of makes my using your credit card to get her poster seem just a little better, doesn't it? At least I never hitchhiked anywhere."
"And you better not ever hitchhike anywhere," Shelby said. "It was dangerous and stupid."
"How did you get home?" Rachel asked.
"We couldn't find a ride because there were too many police officers around," Shelby said. "We eventually made our way to an all-night diner and called my friend's mom and she came and got us."
"That's so cool," Rachel said. There were stars in her eyes and Shelby glared at the dads who were grinning at her. Welcome to having a teenager, Shelby.
"It's not cool," Shelby said. "It was dangerous. And we got in a lot of trouble."
"What happened?" Rachel asked.
"My friend's mom was not very happy with us at all," Shelby said. "She spanked both of us right there in the bathroom of that diner. It was such an uncomfortable ride home. My parents' grounded me for using the card."
Rachel just shrugged like the punishments weren't that bad. "But at least you got to see your concert. Even if it reflects a poor taste in music, you got to see them. That's worth it."
Shelby opened her mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say. How do you argue with that? That's exactly how she and her friend had looked at it at the time.
"Don't worry," LeRoy said when he saw Shelby's worried face. "Rachel knows that if something is that important to her, she can come to us and we will look into taking her. She knows never to even consider hitchhiking because she knows how dangerous it is and that if she ever did it, she would find herself over one of our knees in no time."
"Daddy," Rachel ducked her head in an embarrassed fashion at her father's declaration.
"I'm just trying to reassure your mother, sweetheart," LeRoy said. "She's worried you'll try the same thing one day."
"I won't," Rachel shrugged. "I don't need to."
Shelby looked down at her daughter who was looking up at her adoringly. She knew what that face meant and so did the dads who were doing their best to stifle their laughter. Rachel's face clearly meant that she wouldn't need to sneak off for something like that because she had the most awesome mom ever who would take her if she wanted to go. Oh boy.
Later that night, Shelby peeked in to check on Rachel who had gone to bed half an hour before. She found the girl sitting up in bed leaning against the headboard and looking through Shelby's album again.
"What are you doing?" Shelby asked as she sat down on the bed.
"Just looking at them again," Rachel said. "I liked getting to see pictures of you. I think I've seen every one that's out on the internet."
"How about you stay away from looking for me on the internet from now on," Shelby said. "You talk to me about anything you want to know."
"Ok," Rachel agreed.
Shelby hoped that Rachel would stick with that, but she knew the temptations of looking for yourself on Google. But Shelby didn't need her reading or seeing anything she didn't understand. Plus, people could be really vicious and she didn't want Rachel to see any of that either. She had been dealing with enough bullying as it was.
"How old are you in this picture?" Rachel asked. She held the book up so Shelby could see.
"Nine," Shelby answered. "I was at camp. I went every summer?"
"Did you like going there?" Rachel asked through a yawn.
"Yes, very much," Shelby said.
Shelby moved and got all the way into the bed and sat up next to Rachel and wrapped her arm around the girl. Rachel scooted down and rested her head against her mother's chest and molded into her side. Shelby pulled the blankets up over and rubbed her back and started to tell her about camp once again. Shelby had already told the stories to Rachel earlier when they talked about the picture, but she was happy to tell her again.
"I went for two weeks every summer," Shelby started. "Being at camp is some of the best memories of my childhood…"
Hiram found them an hour later. They were both asleep with the photo album still open on Shelby's lap. He left for a second and went and got his camera and snapped a few pictures. They would have to start a new album soon.
Rachel's mood was completely different by the time Kurt, Santana, and Quinn arrived. It was clear to everyone that she wanted them in and out and gone.
"I hope they remember everything they need," Rachel said as she waited for them to arrive. "I don't want this to take longer than it needs to."
"Rachel, calm down," LeRoy said. "I don't know why you're so worked up, but you need to relax."
"I'm relaxed," Rachel said and no one believed her. She'd been snippy and annoying all morning and none of the parents knew where the attitude was coming from.
Rachel glanced at the clock and plopped down on the couch. It was close to one now and everyone would be there soon. The only thing that had gotten Rachel to smile all day was when she got up and saw that her mother was wearing her newly washed purple NYU hoodie. Shelby planned to wear it all day and had used a spray of her perfume so that the sweatshirt would start to smell like her again. Shelby was in jeans and socked feet and she'd been glad when she convinced Rachel to stay comfortable that day instead of getting dressed as she would for school. To everyone's shock, Rachel had worn a pair of jeans that day as well. A simple long sleeved shirt rounded out her outfit.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Shelby asked as she took a seat next to Rachel.
"Nothing," Rachel said dramatically. She laid back on the couch and slung and arm over her eyes.
"I don't believe you, you know," Shelby said. She picked up Rachel's feet and put them on her lap. Rachel's toes wiggled in her socks when Shelby gently tickled her feet.
"Stop," Rachel said. Shelby complied and rested her hands on Rachel's shins instead. "What are we doing later?"
"I don't know," Shelby said with a shrug. "It all depends on how long it takes to do this project. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know," Rachel said as she rolled over on her side and reached for the remote. "I just want to hang out with you."
"Well that sounds perfect because I just want to hang out with you," Shelby said.
"Ok," Rachel said.
The girl turned the TV on and started to surf through the channels. She stopped when she reached a scary movie. She had no real desire to watch Saw, but she left it there and flicked her eyes to her mother to see if she'd say anything. Shelby didn't believe that Rachel wanted to watch this and she saw the girl quickly shut her eyes when a particularly gruesome part came on the screen.
"Rachel, are you sure you want to watch this?" Shelby asked.
Rachel nodded and then squealed and jumped wen something else happened. The sounds from the TV and Shelby's question had piqued LeRoy's attention in the other room and he came in to see what they were watching. He shook his head and quickly crossed the room so she was standing behind the couch.
"I don't think so," LeRoy said. He leaned over and gave Rachel's bottom a couple of gentle smacks to get her attention. "Turn it off."
"But-"
"Now."
Rachel huffed and turned the TV off and tossed the remote back on the coffee table. LeRoy's reprimand was cut off when the doorbell rang. He gave her bottom a slightly sharper smack.
"Go get the door," LeRoy instructed.
Rachel begrudgingly got to her feet and trudged out of the room. Shelby stood as well and turned to give LeRoy an apologetic look.
"Did you think she should be watching that?" LeRoy asked before Shelby could say anything.
"No," Shelby answered.
"Then tell her so next time," he said. "You don't need to ask her opinion or give her an explanation for your decision, especially not when it comes to something like this. Scary movies give her nightmares. Plus she's only 15 and does not need to be exposed to things like that."
"I know," Shelby said. "But I didn't… She-"
"She is testing you," LeRoy said.
"She knows I'll put my foot down," Shelby said. "I did that in New York."
"I know," LeRoy said. "But it's not like it's a onetime thing and she's good to go. It's useful knowledge to know that at Mom's house she can watch things she's not allowed to watch a home."
"I didn't think of it like that," Shelby said. "I'm sorry."
"Shelby," LeRoy said as he took her hands in how own, "I'm not trying to call you out; I just want you to trust yourself. Your instincts told you she shouldn't be watching that movie, but you ignored them. Don't ignore your instincts, Shelby. You are a good mom."
Shelby moved around the couch and leaned into LeRoy for a hug and he obliged and held her close.
"Listen, this may sound mean, but I'm going to tell you something you need to keep in mind," LeRoy said. Shelby nodded her head against his chest. "Rachel's feelings are important. But they are not the only feelings that matter. If you hurt her feelings by telling her she can't watch a movie or she can't go to the mall with a friend or she can't stay up past her bedtime, then oh well."
"But what if something is so important to her?" Shelby asked.
"Then you can talk about," LeRoy said. "But you still get to make the decisions and you have to understand that."
"My parents never listened to me," Shelby said. "They never cared about what was important to me."
"You're not your parents," LeRoy reminded her. "But you have to trust me when I tell you there is a line between hearing your child out and understanding why they want to do something that is important to them, and simply making decisions on their behalf. I don't care how adamantly, she wants to watch a gruesome movie, it's not happening here while Hiram or me is here to say no. If she wants to go to a concert in Columbus on a school night, then we sit down and talk about it. Does that make sense?"
"Yes," Shelby nodded again. "I really thought I was getting it."
"You are," LeRoy assured her quickly. "Trust me, you are. I'm just trying to help you along the learning curve because Rachel has a lot more practice at this than you do. And that sweet little girl will walk all over you if you let her. You've handled a big moment and you did it wonderfully, but you have to do the same with small things as well. And no matter how much Rachel pouts or whines or cries, reasonable boundaries and discipline are not bad things."
"So what happens if she won't turn the TV away from the scary movie?" Shelby asked.
"I take the TV away," LeRoy said. "Or I send her to her room for a little while. I make her do a chore."
"Ok," Shelby nodded.
Rachel interrupted the conversation when she walked into the room with the three other kids behind her and rolled her eyes at what she saw. Why were they standing there hugging? God, she knew they'd all be embarrassing today. Before Rachel could make any introductions, Hiram joined them. He came in from the study where he'd been playing a game on his computer.
Kurt smiled at all of them and Santana and Quinn looked around like they were studying the house. To be honest, they hadn't been sure what to expect from Rachel Berry's house. Or her fathers.
"These are my parents," Rachel said. "And this is Santana and Quinn," she pointed them each out. "And Kurt, of course."
Hiram shook his head and stepped forward. Amazing introductions there, Rachel.
"I'm Hiram Berry. And this is LeRoy. Please feel free to call us by our first names," Hiram said. "Mr. Berry would just get confusing after a while. And this is Shelby Corcoran, Rachel's mom. Call her Ms. Corcoran."
"Call me Shelby," the woman said with a roll of her eyes.
Hiram and Leroy shook hands with Santana and Quinn and then greeted Kurt again. Shelby gave Kurt a hug much to his delight and told the girls it was nice to see them again.
"I really love that sweatshirt on you!" Santana gushed when she noticed that Shelby was wearing the same sweatshirt Rachel had been wearing all week. It was an easy way to make a good impression right off the bat.
"I do too," Quinn added.
Rachel's mouth dropped open in shock. They'd been picking on her about that same sweatshirt for days.
"Thank you," Shelby said. "It's Rachel's now. I just needed something to wear today."
"Come on, let's go get started so we can finish," Rachel cut it. "We can go up to my room."
"Why don't you guys work in the dining room?" LeRoy asked. "You'll have more room to spread out whatever materials you need over the table."
"That works," Quinn said.
"Yeah, that's fine with me," Santana added.
"Whatever," Rachel said when they all looked at her.
Forty-five minutes later the kids were sitting around the table in the dining room with their work spread out in front of them. They each had a soda to drink and there were two different kinds of snacks in bowls on the table. Santana and Quinn were taking every opportunity they could to talk with Shelby and were thrilled when she'd agreed to stay at the table and help them work. The girls and even Kurt were hanging on every word that Shelby said as she talked about history and their assignment. Rachel, however, sat back in her chair glaring. They hadn't been able to get much done since Santana and Quinn wouldn't leave Shelby alone and now Shelby was taking up so much time talking about things they already knew. They'd be here for hours at this rate. This was her weekend with her mom, not anyone else's.
As it had before, the conversation started to move away from history as Santana and Quinn started to talk to Shelby about other things. Rachel hated it. She hated that they were even talking. She hated that her mom was engaged in conversation with them. But most of all, she hated that Shelby seemed to be enjoying their company. It figured, of course. Why wouldn't Shelby want to talk to the prettier girls who always looked perfect? She could hear Shelby's words about loving Rachel exactly as she is, but if that was the case why did all of their time keep getting interrupted? Why didn't her mother talk to her about clothes and shoes like she was with Quinn and Santana? Quinn even brought up Broadway and Rachel scoffed because she knew good and well that Quinn Fabray didn't care at all about Broadway. But she and Santana were laughing with her about something they didn't even understand.
"What's the matter with you?" Kurt asked quietly.
"Nothing," Rachel answered. "I thought we were here to do our project, not talk about everything else."
"We've gotten a lot done," Kurt shrugged.
"All they want to do is talk to my mom," Rachel said. "We can't get anything done."
Kurt looked at Rachel and then back at Santana and Quinn talking to Shelby. The woman looked up and smiled over at him, but it started to fade when she saw Rachel. Shelby had been trying to include in the conversations, but it wasn't working.
"I'll be right back," Rachel said suddenly and stood up from the table and left the room.
"Ok, you guys get back to work," Shelby said. "I'll get some more snacks and be back."
Shelby made her way into the kitchen and frowned when she didn't see Rachel there. Hiram was sneaking some of the snacks they'd set out for the kids and Shelby rolled her eyes when he tried to hide them from her view.
"Where did Rachel go?" Shelby asked and she sighed when Hiram pointed towards the bathroom and she looked down the hall and saw the closed door.
"Is something the matter?"
"She's just been acting weird," Shelby said. "I'm not sure what's going on."
"I don't know what was up with her mood this morning," Hiram said. "I know she and those girls haven't exactly gotten along in the past, but I thought the glee club was helping them move past it."
"I talked to those girls about their treatment of her once too," Shelby said. "When I was at the school last time. But Rachel just seems really angry today and nothing has happened. I've been helping them, but I haven't been embarrassing."
"I can talk to her when she gets out," Hiram said. "Her mood does not need to stop the work on the project."
Shelby shook her head. "Let's leave it be for now. They're getting close to finishing up, I think. I don't want there to be a scene in front of her friends or anything like that."
"Ok," Hiram agreed easily.
Shelby turned back to the dining room, but stopped short of entering when she heard the kids talking.
"Can't you see that Rachel's getting upset?" Kurt asked.
"She's just pouting like she does when she's not getting her way," Santana said.
"You used her and this assignment to come over here and hang out with her mom," Kurt said. "I can't imagine why she's upset."
"We didn't even know her mom would be in town when we formed this group," Quinn reminded him. "And it makes just as much sense to work here as anywhere else."
"You probably didn't care where we worked until you heard that Shelby would be here," Kurt said.
"Oh like you're so much better," Santana accused. "We know you're only friends with her because you like Shelby."
"That's not true," Kurt said. "It blossomed because we started talking about Shelby, but Rachel is my friend. I don't only want to spend time with her when her mother is around. I don't even really care anymore. I treat Shelby the same way Rachel treats my dad; with respect and courtesy, not because she's some big star, but because she's my friend's mom."
"Shelby doesn't seem to have a problem talking with us," Santana said.
"That was before I knew you were using my daughter to get into her house," Shelby said as she stepped into the room.
All three kids gasped and turned to look at her. Santana and Quinn exchanged a glance and their shared look of 'oh shit' was not lost on Shelby.
"Kurt, why don't you go in the living room and hang out with Hiram and LeRoy for a bit," Shelby said. "I'd like to have a chat with Quinn and Santana."
Kurt didn't need to be told twice and he left the room. Shelby waited for him to leave and turned her attention back to the girls in front of her. Apparently the last time she had spoken with them about this, it hadn't been enough.
Rachel left the bathroom after getting away for a few minutes. Hopefully they had started working on the project again while she was gone. She really wanted to finish it up so everyone would leave and she could have her mom back.
Rachel walked through the kitchen and stopped when she saw that Kurt was nowhere in sight and it was just her mother talking with the two girls. Rachel wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but she was seeing red. Green was more like it, though she'd never admit that.
She hated that her mother was having such a good time talking to those girls. Quinn and Santana treated her like crap sometimes, but were wonderful around her mother. They'd been joking her for days about the stupid hoodie and now they loved it when Shelby wore it. She had no chance of ever getting to be friends with anyone if they all liked her mom better.
And why wasn't her mom spending this time with her? Why was she always talking with Quinn and Santana? She'd even spoken to Kurt more than she had Rachel since everyone had arrived. Nothing about this was fair.
Rachel spun on her heel and stomped out of the room towards the stairs.
"Sweetheart?" LeRoy asked as Rachel stormed by him on the stairs.
He watched her until she'd disappeared around the corner upstairs. It only took a couple seconds more for her door to slam. He looked back at the living room and saw Kurt sitting in there with Hiram. What the hell was going on?
A/N – Oh, Rachel. Dear sweet, irrational Rachel. That's all for this chapter! Again, I'm so sorry about the delay. I hope you all like this one. Please leave me a review. I truly appreciate the feedback. Thanks, guys!
