A/N – Guys… I am so, so sorry for how this took me to write and get posted. I apologize profusely. After posting the last chapter of Changed for the Better, I needed a bit of a mental break. I did not plan on taking this long. Once I started back up with this, it took me a little bit to find my way. Writer's block was not kind and real life didn't want to cooperate. I hope you're all still out there and reading and will stick with me. A break that long shouldn't happen again. But please bear with me if it does. Thanks.

Thank you all so much for all of the wonderful messages and reviews. You all are so dear to me and your words and support mean so much. I don't think you guys will ever know how much. Thank you.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.

"Elizabeth, she's just wonderful," Shelby said to her best friend over the phone.

Hiram and LeRoy had been gone a few hours and after finishing a movie with her mom, Rachel had disappeared up to her room about twenty minutes ago. Shelby had been about to go and check on her when her phone rang and she was distracted.

"Mom still can't believe you didn't tell us," Elizabeth McCormack said.

"I didn't tell anyone," Shelby explained to her best friend again. She looked around to make sure Rachel wasn't nearby and said, "It was so hard as it was. I was doing my best to separate myself from her and I couldn't do it if everyone knew. I hoped that as I woke up in New York it would get easier but it never did."

"You've got her now though," Elizabeth said.

They'd been over all of the details and heartbreak in the last month and the woman knew that Shelby didn't need to do that again right now.

"Yeah, I do," Shelby said with a smile.

"Mom and I can't wait to meet her. Gavin and the twins are excited too," Elizabeth said referring to her husband and nine year old son and daughter.

"I know," Shelby said. She couldn't wait either. Elizabeth and her mother Marie had always felt more like her family than her own parents and while Shelby had been reluctant to tell them, she'd spoken with her friends as soon as she could. "I told her about you guys and she seems interested. I've told her a couple of stories about us."

"Oh, I can only imagine what you've said," Elizabeth said.

"I'm sure it's nothing compared to what Mimi will tell her," Shelby spoke of Marie. As a three year old, Shelby had called her Miss Marie, but it morphed into Mimi along the way.

"She's going to love that," Elizabeth said. "You know how she likes to tell the kids about us."

Shelby laughed and thought about her godchildren Liam and Rose. She was excited to introduce Rachel to all of them, but after the events of the day, Shelby had to admit that she was worried about how the meeting would go between Rachel and the twins. To Liam and Rose she was just cool Aunt Shelby who showered them with gifts and love. But being a mom was completely different and, given the events of the day, Shelby wasn't sure how Rachel was going to act around them. The last thing she wanted was for Rachel to be jealous of them. She feared it may be even worse since these were kids she actually knew and loved and not some teenagers she'd just met. Shelby made a mental note to talk with Hiram and LeRoy about it so they could all talk with Rachel. This was one of those moments were Shelby felt like she was completely out of her league.

"So what are you guys doing this weekend?" Elizabeth asked, interrupting Shelby's thoughts.

"I'm not sure," Shelby said with a shrug. "We watched a moving and I'm planning to make dinner in a little while. I'm hoping we can cook together. She helped a little last night, but mostly just sat and talked with me."

"That can be even better than getting the help," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah," Shelby agreed with a smile. "I love just being around her. She went up to her room a little while ago because she said she needed to do something and I almost followed after her," Shelby admitted, "but I don't want to be overbearing or annoying. But I also don't want her to worry anymore."

"Worry? About what? What happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'll tell you about that later," Shelby said. "It's a long story."

"I understand," Elizabeth said.

A loud crash sounded throughout the house and Shelby quickly stood up from the couch.

"Elizabeth, I've got to go," Shelby said hurriedly. "I just heard a loud clang or something. I've got to find Rachel."

"Go on," Elizabeth laughed. "Go see what she's up to."

"She could be hurt," Shelby said trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Rachel!"

"Bye, Mama," Elizabeth said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Shelby said, but she was distracted and didn't understand that she was being teased.

Shelby ended the call and moved towards the stairs and started to yell for Rachel again when she heard another crash. This time it sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Shelby headed that way and saw that the door to the basement was open.

"Crap," Shelby heard Rachel say. When did Rachel go down to the basement? Shelby thought she was upstairs.

"Rach?" Shelby questioned as she went down the stairs. "Are you alri- Rachel!"

Shelby stopped short when she saw Rachel standing near the top of a set of shelving. The girl had climbed to the top to look for something and in the process had knocked over a couple of boxes and their contents were spilled out over the floor. Rachel didn't acknowledge her mother and just kept reaching for the box she wanted.

"Rachel, come down from there," Shelby instructed. "You're going to fall."

"No I'm not," Rachel brushed her off. "I've got to get something."

Rachel pushed up on her toes and leaned over the top shelf as far as she could reach and grabbed for the box she wanted and tugged it so she could pull it to her. Shelby positioned herself under Rachel and held her arms up; she was ready to catch her if she fell.

"I've got it," Rachel smiled at herself and pulled the box to the edge so she could drop it down. She stopped, though, when she saw Shelby right below her. This was a moment where she was really glad she had on jeans and not one of her skirts. "Watch out, Mom, I'm going to drop it."

"Why don't you just hand it to me," Shelby said. "You've already dropped enough stuff and it all needs to be picked up."

"I will," Rachel said. "Here."

Rachel handed the box to Shelby who placed it out of the way. She looked back over to find that Rachel had started to climb down. She quickly put her arms back up and then secured them around Rachel's waist when the girl was in reach.

"Mom," Rachel complained. "I've got it."

"Rachel, you could have fallen," Shelby scolded.

"I won't," Rachel said once her feet were back on the ground. "I climb up there all the time."

"Rachel!" Shelby admonished once again.

"Mom," Rachel whined, "it's fine."

"It's not fine," Shelby said. "I don't want you doing that anymore."

"But how else am I supposed to get something I need if it is so high up?" Rachel asked.

"You could wait and ask for help," Shelby suggested.

Rachel wanted to roll her eyes, but she resisted. This was not a big deal and she should not be getting scolded right now.

"If I'm home alone and need something I have to climb up there," Rachel sassed lightly. She thought she was being clever and getting one over on her mother who just clearly didn't get it.

"You better not be climbing up there if you're home alone," Shelby said sternly and put her hands on her hips.

"Mom," Rachel whined again, "I'm not."

"I'm sure your fathers wouldn't like it and neither do I," Shelby told her. "You could fall and seriously hurt yourself."

Rachel pouted and shifted from foot to foot. She did not like this one bit. Her mother hadn't been this stern with her since she'd stormed out of the apartment and into the cold when they were in New York. It was still kind of weird to get used to having another authority figure in her life. Shelby was her mother and that's what she wanted, but it wasn't an easy adjustment. She didn't want to be in trouble with Shelby any more than she wanted to be in trouble with her dads, but it was different with her mom. She knew more of what to expect with her fathers and that made it more familiar and easier to deal with. They wouldn't have even really let her argue back in this situation; they would have said no and that would have been that. But Shelby was different and Rachel was going to do her best to talk herself out of this. She wanted to be back on Shelby's good side and for the lectures to stop.

"Don't tell my dads," Rachel pouted and looked at Shelby with big eyes.

Shelby sighed and pulled Rachel close to her and kissed her head. Rachel smirked and rested her chin on her mother's shoulder and let herself be held. Her big eyes seemed to work a lot better on her mom than they usually did on her dads.

"Sweetie, if I find out about you doing this again, your fathers will be the least of your worries," Shelby said sweetly and smiled when Rachel stiffened in her arms. Think on that, baby girl.

Shelby found that she was more confident in herself when Hiram and LeRoy weren't around. She deferred to them when they were here even though she was certain they would tell her she didn't need to. She would get there, she told herself. She was getting there.

"Ok, young lady, you've got a mess to clean up," Shelby said.

"Will you help me?" Rachel asked with a pathetic pout as she stood back from her mother. She was going to win some points somehow.

"Of course," Shelby replied.

Rachel leaned down and righted one of the fallen boxes before crouching down next to it and picking up some of the spilled items. A smile lit up her face when she realized what box it was.

"Look," Rachel said. She sat down on the floor and held the little garment up for her mother to see. "This is what I wore home from the hospital when I was born. And here's a little pair of shoes."

"Oh," Shelby said, her voice full of wonder as she sat down next to Rachel. "Look how tiny; you were so little. I gained all that weight and you only weighed five pounds eleven ounces."

"Sorry," Rachel giggled.

"You had such expressive eyes, especially for a baby that young," Shelby said. "You looked right at me the whole time I held you. You held onto my finger while you nursed and even then you wouldn't take your eyes off of me. I didn't want you to fall asleep because I knew I'd be leaving not long after that."

"Was that the only time you held me?" Rachel asked softly. Her chin was trembling and she was trying not to cry. She hadn't even realized it until she tried to talk.

"Oh honey," Shelby said as she put her arms around Rachel and rubbed her back. "Don't cry. Yes, that's the only time I held you. But it was the most precious moment of my life. I will always remember what you felt like in my arms. But let's not dwell on that now." She didn't want them to spend the evening crying over things that couldn't be changed. "Let's finish putting this all away and then you can show what's so important that you had to have that box right now."

Rachel did roll her eyes this time even as she was wiping away some of the unshed tears.

"Climbing up there is how I found out about you, you know," Rachel said. "I was trying to get my suitcases and I fe- slipped and knocked the lockbox down and it opened."

"You fell," Shelby corrected with a pointed look.

"But it helped me find you," Rachel said sweetly.

"I will give you that one," Shelby conceded and Rachel grinned smugly. "But if I hear about you doing it again, I'm going to come back here and kick your butt." Shelby's tone was light and they both laughed at the joke.

"I want to take that one upstairs," Rachel said, "but I've got to put these other ones back first. Can you hand them to me?"

Shelby was confused for a second as Rachel reached for the shelves again and pulled herself up onto the lowest one. She laughed at Rachel's cheeky expression, but she wasn't about to let her get any higher than that.

"Don't you dare," Shelby said with a laugh and grabbed Rachel around the waist and brought her back down to solid ground.

"But Mom," Rachel whined again, playing her part.

"No, ma'am," Shelby said. She turned Rachel towards the box she wanted and gave her a couple of gentle pats on her backside. "Go on."

Rachel picked up the box with some effort and carried it up the stairs with Shelby close on her heels. She set it down and then took a seat on the couch and smiled when her mother plopped down next to her.

"So, what's so important in that box?" Shelby asked.

"I have an idea for what we can do tonight and tomorrow," Rachel said.

"Oh?" Shelby questioned. "What?"

"We can put on a show," Rachel declared. "I've got a ton of props and costume stuff in this box and we can use whatever's around the house too. We can do some songs and some skits. We can put it all together and rehearse it and show my dads when they come home."

Shelby smiled at Rachel's eagerness. "That sounds like fun."

"Really? You don't think it sounds stupid?" Rachel asked.

"No, of course not," Shelby answered. "Elizabeth and a few friends and I used to put on shows all the time growing up."

"Even when you were as old as me?" Rachel asked.

Shelby laughed. "Yes, even when we were as ancient as fifteen. There's nothing wrong with wanting to play."

"And you can give me so many good pointers and tips," Rachel gushed. "I was thinking of trying to record it so that I have something to reference later on."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Shelby said. "Let's focus on playing and not a workshop."

"But a workshop sounds like so much fun!" Rachel said. "I can't wait to do my first one."

Shelby laughed and nodded and recognized a younger version of herself sitting there. She imagined that she must have said something just like that once upon a time. But even now, she couldn't deny it. Workshops were fun. The creative process was amazing and she loved that Rachel wanted to take part in that, even if what Shelby was looking forward to the most was getting to play with her daughter.

"Let's see what we've got in the box," Shelby said. "Then we can work on a set list and try and pick some scenes before we start dinner."

"Awesome! Thanks, Mom!"

Shelby was just as eager as her daughter when they got down on the floor with the box between them and started going through it.

A couple hours later they had stopped working on their impromptu play and were in the kitchen making dinner. Well, Shelby was. Rachel was sitting on the island snacking on some baby carrots while being mindful of her split lip. Rachel liked to cook sometimes, but she wasn't sure why they just couldn't order some food and keep working on their skits and songs. She couldn't wait to show her dads. She needed to get their camera out and make sure the battery was charged so that their performance could be recorded.

Shelby put a pan in the over and then turned around and pursed her lips and shook her head when she saw that Rachel was sitting with her legs crossed with her feet on the counter and putting another carrot in her mouth.

"Get your feet off the counter," Shelby said. "And stop eating. We're having dinner soon."

"It's still got like three hours to cook," Rachel complained.

"It does not," Shelby said. "And I can just forget about the brownies I was going to make since you've been eating this whole time."

Rachel hurriedly put the carrots away and held the bag out for her mom to take.

"No, make the brownies!" Rachel said. "I want some."

"I thought so," Shelby said. She went to the refrigerator and started to pull some eggs out for the batter. "How was school this week? Do you have any homework due on Monday?"

"No," Rachel said. "I finished it all up. The only thing major was the stupid history project. And even that's done."

"Good," Shelby said. "How are you feeling? Is your lip ok?"

"Yeah," Rachel said with a sigh. "Everyone's going to see it on Monday. They'll know I lost again."

"Honey, that's not true," Shelby said.

"Yes it is," Rachel told her. "Santana was able to get cleaned up and I've got to live with my lip and the bruise."

"It won't be as bad as you think," Shelby said. "And we can do our best to cover it up before school Monday."

"Ok," Rachel said. She looked around for the carrots before remembering she didn't have them anymore. "I wonder how Santana is going to act. And Quinn."

"It sounded like she was going to be in a fair amount of trouble so hopefully neither of them will bother you," Shelby said.

"Hopefully they won't take it out of me," Rachel said.

"Promise me that you will talk to your dads or me if that happens," Shelby said. "We will fix it. You do not have to deal with any of that on your own."

"It's whatever," Rachel said.

"No," Shelby said firmly and stopped what she was doing and went to stand in front of Rachel. She rest her hands on either side of Rachel's hips and leaned into the girl's crossed legs. She never did take her feet off the counter. "It is not whatever. Promise me. Please."

"I promise," Rachel said softly. It would depend on the circumstances as to whether she actually meant it or not.

"Good girl," Shelby said. She stood back up straight and moved Rachel's socked feet so that they were dangling over the side and not on the counter. "Now, how about you help me with the brownies?"

"Ok," Rachel smiled. Brownies was definitely something she could get behind.

Rachel's 'help' consisted of waiting around until the batter was made and then trying to get tastes of it. Shelby actually wanted to be able to pour it in a pan before all of it was eaten by her daughter so she kept having to shoo the girl away. Rachel finally conceded and left the kitchen. She was watching TV when she noticed her mother go into the downstairs bathroom. She couldn't let an opening like that go. Rachel quickly got to her feet and went into the kitchen.

Shelby noticed right away that the couch was empty when she walked back towards the kitchen. Her suspicions were spot on and she saw Rachel bringing her finger out of the batter and sticking it in her mouth. Shelby grabbed a dish towel and rolled it up and let it snap against Rachel's backside.

"Ow!" Rachel exclaimed and she jumped and she still had her finger still in her mouth as she turned to face her mom. "Mom!"

"I'm not going to have any to make the brownies with," Shelby said. "That's enough."

"But you have to give me the beaters to lick," Rachel said. "And the bowl after you've poured it. That's like a law or something."

"You can have those, but only if you stop eating it all now," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel agreed.

Rachel hovered until Shelby had poured the batter into a pan and smiled greedily when she was handed the bowl and mixers lick the chocolate from. She disappeared into the living room while Shelby checked on the rest of dinner. Her plan was to eat while the brownies were baking.

Satisfied that everything was as it should be, Shelby picked up her phone and followed Rachel into the living room. Dinner had a few more minutes to cook and then she would make the brownie switch and they would eat. Rachel hadn't noticed she was there and Shelby stayed back and watched Rachel run her finger along the inside of the bowl and scoop some of the chocolate batter to her mouth. The girl didn't even notice, or care, that she had chocolate on her cheek like war paint. Shelby quickly brought up the camera on her phone and snapped a few pictures without Rachel knowing. Shelby smiled down at the images she'd captured as she leaned against the wall. This was perfect.

By the time they sat down to dinner, Rachel wasn't really that hungry and Shelby put her dinner away for later. Later was when Rachel dived into the brownies. Shelby had tried to enforce a bedtime of midnight and they were close because Rachel was in bed by 12:45. And finished playing on her phone by 1:30.

They spent a long time Sunday working on their show. Shelby had an hour after Rachel got home from school Monday before she needed to leave to be at the airport on time. The plan was to perform the show then for Hiram and LeRoy. Once Shelby convinced Rachel to stop with the show, they spent the rest of the day hanging out and watching movies. Rachel got Shelby to do her nails for her and then promised to make dinner. Shelby promised to stay out of it and let Rachel work and then attempted to be stern when the delivery man showed up with Chinese food she had to pay for. Rachel's laughter at her joke was contagious though and Shelby's annoyance didn't last long.

LeRoy and Hiram had left her one rule they wanted followed and Shelby was determined to follow it. Rachel was not.

"Rachel, you have school tomorrow," Shelby said. "I don't want to argue about this. You need to get ready for bed."

"Mom," Rachel whined. "10:30 is far too early to be in bed. You know that."

"It's the rule, Rachel," Shelby countered. "You know that." She was trying to channel her inner Berry men. They wouldn't let her get away with this. She needed to see this like she saw the climbing in the basement. She thought back to what LeRoy told her the other day; that Rachel's opinion was not always the most important one. He said she couldn't watch the movie and so she didn't. Shelby was telling her she had to go to bed and so that's what she was going to do.

"But if anything, I probably get too much sleep," Rachel said. "I've been meaning to talk to my dads about it."

It took everything Shelby had not to roll her eyes at that excuse. What would Marie say? Her beloved Mimi did not play around when it was bedtime. 'Bed. Now.' Shelby smiled at the memory of her best friend's mom pointing up the stairs and threatening to get her wooden spoon if they didn't listen. She never actually got it, but the threat was enough sometimes.

"Well that is something you will have to take up with your fathers when they get home," Shelby said. "But for right now, we are going to stick with that rule."

"But, Mom!" Rachel whined and stamped her foot.

"Go on," Shelby said. "I'll come say goodnight in a few minutes."

"Fine," Rachel huffed and stomped her way out of the room.

Shelby waited until the girl was out of ear shot before she chuckled and made a mental note to tell Mimi about this when she got back to New York. She could already hear her laughing about it.

Rachel was pouting in her room when Shelby went up to say goodnight, but at least she was in her pajamas. She sat down next to her on the bed and put an arm around her when Rachel leaned her head down and rested it on her shoulder.

"Mom," Rachel said. She sounded so pitiful.

"Hmmm?"

"Don't you want me to stay up with you since you're leaving tomorrow and we have so little time left?" Rachel asked.

"Oh Rach, I would love nothing more than for you to be able to do that," Shelby said. Rachel smiled. "But you can't. You are not missing school just to hang out with me. I will wake you up in the morning and I'm not leaving until after you're home tomorrow afternoon and we'll be together again soon. But school is the important thing. And you need your sleep."

Rachel's smile had faded and she hated that little speech. School was not the most important thing right now. Most days she'd rather be anywhere but there; especially not that anywhere included seeing her mother in New York. But she knew she was going to have to concede at the moment.

"Fine," Rachel said.

"Sorry, but those are the breaks, kiddo," Shelby said with a smile and a kiss on the head for her daughter. "I love you."

"I love you too," Rachel said.

Shelby held the blankets back while Rachel scooted herself under them. It felt good to be tucked in by her mother. Even if it was at an ungodly early hour. Shelby kissed her one more time and then shut off the light and closed the door on her way out of the room. Despite her pout, Shelby loved being able to put Rachel to bed.

Rachel tossed. And then she turned. She could not get to sleep. She was not letting herself relax long enough to shut her eyes for any length of time and she threw back her covers in annoyance when she looked at her clock and saw that it was only 10:47. Stupid bedtime. Her mom was there. Did her dads have to remember every detail ever? She should be able to stay up with her mom; she could catch up on sleep tomorrow.

Rachel got out of bed and headed for the door. She needed a drink and the water in bathroom simply would not do right now. She needed kitchen water.

Shelby wasn't in the living room, but Rachel could hear her talking in the kitchen and figured she must be on the phone. Rachel didn't go into the kitchen – it would be rude to interrupt, after all – and instead she peeked around the corner and could see that Shelby had her back to her and was sitting at the table with a bottle of beer and a bowl of freshly popped popcorn. Rachel had always suspected the adults had some sort of party whenever the kids went to bed.

"Where are you guys going?" Shelby asked into her phone.

Rachel wished she could hear who was on the other end.

"A cruise? That's awesome," Shelby said. "I've never done that."

Rachel didn't have to hear who was on the other end to know it was her dads. They took a cruise every year and her grandparents usually alternated who stayed with her. Oh man, she was going to go and spend that time in New York City! Rachel was excited. Her mom. No school. Lots of Broadway. This was going to be amazing!

"Hang on, let me check and make sure I have the right week," Shelby said. She played with her phone for a second and set it to speaker so she could then pull up her calendar. "The middle of April?"

"Yeah, it's just about six weeks from now," LeRoy said.

"I can't be here that whole week," Shelby said sadly.

Here? No. Rachel slumped her shoulders. She was supposed to go to New York. Well maybe if her mother couldn't come here they would have to send her to New York.

"I've got two engagements I can't get out of," Shelby continued. "I can be here midday on the third day you're gone. Can her grandparents come into town? She can always come to me, but I don't want her to miss any school."

What was with all of her parents and school? Rachel took another step forward so she could make sure to hear everything. She hoped her mother didn't turn around.

"Her grandparents watch her every year so I'm sure it won't be a problem," LeRoy said. "If you can't get there until Wednesday, that's fine."

"Are you sure?" Shelby asked. "I feel so awful, but this is one of those things-"

"Nah, don't worry about it," LeRoy brushed it off. It really wasn't that big of a deal. Rachel usually had fun with her grandparents, no matter which set came to stay. And she'd love for Shelby to finish out the week with her.

Rachel had other plans though. Her mother couldn't come until the third day. That means she could get two days to herself. She was fifteen. There's no reason she couldn't spend two days by herself. It would give her a chance to show all of her parents just how grown up she could be.

Rachel abandoned her plan to ask for water as a way of prolonging her bedtime and turned back towards the stairs. She needed to work on some details and selling points, but she was determined to convince them all that in a month and a half, she was getting the house to herself.

A/N – That's the end of this chapter. Again, I am so, so sorry about the delay in getting this one posted. I really wish it hadn't taken so long. But I do hope you all understand and will stick with me.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying to plant some seeds and set some stuff up. Please, if you can, leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks!