A/N – I'm sorry for the delay. I truly am. I appreciate your patience and understanding. Thank you all so much for the reviews and messages. I know this isn't moving at the pace a lot of people would like, but I'm doing my best. I will do everything I can to get the updates out faster. Please bear with me though. Thank you.

Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.

Rachel's alarm went off Monday morning and she groaned as she quickly silenced it. She did not want to have to get up right now. And she didn't want to have to go to school while her mother was still there. She shouldn't have to go with her stupid split lip and she shouldn't have to deal with Santana or Quinn today. Life was simply not fair at the moment and none of her parents understood that. Rachel rolled over and shut her eyes and let out a long sigh. She had to be there today because of the stupid project. They had to present it to the class. And of course there was glee rehearsal and she really didn't want to miss that. She wished she could just show up later for that and not have to deal with the rest of the day. Well… maybe she could. Rachel smiled devilishly as she pulled the blankets all the way up and over her head. She needed to warm up.

Shelby was downstairs in just her pajama bottoms and a t-shirt so she could make breakfast for Rachel before making sure she was up for school. She started to crack an egg, but then stopped and looked back towards the stairs. She hadn't heard any signs that the girl was awake and she figured she better check and make sure she was up before making any food so that it wouldn't go to waste. Shelby returned the egg to its spot in the carton and went up the stairs. Part of her hoped that Rachel was still asleep so that she could be the one to wake her up to get ready for school. She sighed though and let her practical side take over; Rachel should already be up and moving so that she wasn't late.

Shelby knocked lightly and waited for a response, but she didn't hear anything. She opened the door a crack and peeked in and saw that Rachel was still in bed. She smiled despite knowing that the girl was going to be running late.

"Rach, it's time to get up," Shelby said as she stepped into the room. "You need to start getting ready for school."

Rachel groaned and gripped the blankets tighter. "I don't want to."

"You have to sweetheart," Shelby cooed. "You've got school and you're already running late. Come on."

Shelby tugged lightly on the blankets until Rachel relented and she was able to pull them away from the girl's face. Rachel looked up at her with sad, pitiful eyes and sniffled.

"I don't feel good," Rachel said. She coughed a couple times and buried her head in her pillow.

Shelby's first instinct was to think that Rachel was lying to get out of going to school. She even smiled and pulled the blankets back some more.

"You don't feel good, huh?" Shelby asked.

"No," Rachel whined. "I'm all achy and I'm so cold." She tried to pull her blankets back to her face, but Shelby held them away.

"Honey, you've got to go to school," Shelby said.

"Mommy," Rachel whined some more. "I can't."

Shelby tried to be strong, but she couldn't help but think that Rachel looked flushed. And when she touched a hand to her forehead, Rachel felt warm. Shelby pushed the hair back from Rachel's face and pressed her lips to the girl's forehead and gave her a quick kiss. She couldn't deny that Rachel felt feverish. She couldn't just force her to get up and go to school if she had a fever.

"I'll get you some medicine," Shelby said. "Where do your dads keep it?"

"In their bathroom," Rachel answered pitifully.

"Ok, I'll be right back."

Shelby felt kind of weird about going into Hiram and LeRoy's bedroom to get to their bathroom, but she had done it a couple days prior when she'd cleaned up Rachel's lip. And what was important was that she needed to get the girl some medicine to help get the fever down. Shelby grabbed the pills she wanted and also picked up the thermometer when she saw it in the cabinet. Her next stop was the kitchen to get a bottle of water and then she made her way back to Rachel's room.

Rachel was curled up on the bed with the blankets back up and around her face. Shelby smiled sadly at her sick little girl as she shook her gently to get her to open her eyes.

"Here honey, I've got some medicine for you to take," Shelby said and Rachel started to comply until her mother added, "And I found a thermometer so I can see how high your temperature is."

Rachel panicked for a second and then silently chastised herself to get it together and improvise.

"I don't want to," Rachel said and worked up some tears. "I'm fine," she added as she attempted to roll over to her other side.

"Sweetheart, don't fuss," Shelby cooed. "You need to take something."

"Will you lie down with me?" Rachel asked pitifully.

"Of course I will," Shelby said. "If you take the medicine."

"Ok," Rachel nodded.

Shelby went to the other side of the bed since Rachel had rolled over and waited for her to sit up and then handed her the pills and water. She then climbed into the bed and reclined against some pillows she'd propped against the headboard and let Rachel get comfortable and snuggle up next to her. The thermometer lay forgotten next to Rachel's phone on the bedside table on the opposite side of the bed.

Shelby hummed and ran her fingers through Rachel's hair and watched contentedly as the girl drifted back to sleep. Rachel was leaning against her mother and Shelby pulled the blankets tight and got comfortable herself and it wasn't long before she too drifted off.

It was over an hour before Shelby started to stir. She felt Rachel moving around, but she hadn't quite registered yet to open her eyes. Rachel was awake and playing on her phone as she leaned back into her mom. She'd been awake for about ten minutes, but was enjoying getting to be lazy and cuddle. This plan had worked brilliantly. And honestly, she wasn't sure what it was going to hurt. She hadn't missed school because she was sick in a long time. Sure, there was a day or two missed because of New York, but that didn't matter. It was perfectly ok to miss school every now and then. She planned to score some points later on when she decided that she felt well enough to go to glee practice.

Rachel had her phone set to silent and she was glad she did because it didn't chime when she received a text message from Kurt.

"Where are you?" Kurt's message read. "Did you forget about the project?"

Rachel hid the screen of the phone against her stomach and then craned her neck and looked up at her mother and saw that the woman's eyes were still closed. She gave it another second before starting to type out a reply.

Shelby's eyes fluttered open and she smiled down at the top of Rachel's head. It didn't seem as if a teenage girl was ever too sick to play on her phone. Not that she had any room to talk herself, Shelby knew.

She looked down to see what Rachel was doing and didn't mean to snoop at her text, but it was hard to miss because Rachel was holding it up and typing.

"I'm sick," Rachel wrote back to Kurt. "Not really, but my mom bought that I am." She even included a winking smiley.

Shelby's smile quickly changed to a frown and she was about to say something when another message from Kurt popped up.

"That's great for you, but now I'm stuck presenting the project alone with Satan and Quinn," Kurt wrote.

Rachel rolled her eyes and Shelby narrowed hers. The mother cleared her throat ominously and Rachel jumped and quickly pressed the phone to her chest and slowly turned her head to look at her mother.

"Morning," Rachel said innocently.

Shelby did not return the greeting and instead reached around Rachel and took the phone from her hand. She closed out of the text message window and then turned the phone off completely. She then pushed the blanket back and sat up which forced Rachel to do the same.

"Get up and get ready for school," Shelby said. "I'm going to take you in."

"Mom, it's not like that," Rachel tried to argue. "I still-"

"Rachel," Shelby silenced her with the reproach.

Rachel sighed and got up and trudged off toward the bathroom and shut herself in. It was only after she was out of sight that Shelby cracked a smile. That sneaky kid! Shelby did not appreciate being lied to or used, but she could deal with that later. Getting Rachel to school so she didn't miss a whole day was more important. Plus, Shelby felt like maybe she was getting the mom tone down and that pleased her.

By the time they arrived at the school forty-five minutes later, Rachel wasn't sure if all of her attempts to sweet talk her mother had worked. Shelby had acted normal and made her a quick breakfast and helped with her make up to try and cover her split lip, but Rachel still hadn't gotten her phone back. She knew it was lost for the day when Shelby left it on the small table in the hall as they were walking out the front door. Rachel had sighed dramatically as she got into Shelby's rental car.

Rachel was glad that classes were in session when they walked into the school so that she didn't have to deal with people staring at Shelby in the hallways.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Rachel said with a bit of a pout and big eyes. She had stopped them before they got in the office.

"It's ok," Shelby said as she put her arm around Rachel and leaned down and kissed her head. "Come on, you're late enough as it is."

Shelby took great pleasure in getting to sign her daughter in. It really was a tiny thing, but it was just another part of being a parent and she was proud to get to sign anything legally for her daughter. She got to sign on the parent line and that was awesome. Rachel was given a pass and Shelby kissed her goodbye and watched until Rachel turned a corner and was out of sight before leaving the school to go back to the house.

Rachel wanted her phone, but she was glad that Shelby seemed to be so understanding. If losing her phone for the school day was her only punishment, she would take it.

Kurt rolled his eyes when Rachel walked into their Biology class late and handed the pass to the teacher. She took her seat next to him and ignored his smirk.

"Feeling better?" He whispered sarcastically.

"Yes, I am," Rachel whispered back. Her head was held high.

"Busted," Kurt said.

"Yeah," Rachel confirmed.

"At least you'll be here to help with the project," Kurt told her.

"Joy." It was Rachel's turn to be sarcastic. "I was hoping to not have to deal with Santana."

"I bet it won't be so bad," Kurt whispered with a shrug. "Her mother looked pissed. Maybe Santana will leave you alone now."

"I hope," Rachel said. "But I'm not counting on it."

"Mr. Hummel, Ms. Berry, would you too like to finish this conversation in detention this afternoon?" Mr. Marshall asked.

The two kids had quickly shut their mouths and snapped their heads towards their teacher at the front of the class.

"No, sir," Rachel answered while Kurt shook his head.

"Then I suggest you both quiet down and pay attention," Mr. Marshall said.

Both kids nodded and Rachel let out a relieved sigh. She didn't want to have to go home and tell her mom she'd gotten detention on top of everything else.

The History class wasn't until after lunch and all of the kids were given a chance to meet with their groups for a few minutes before presentations started. They'd likely go over two days and all four kids were hoping to just get it over with as soon as possible.

"Hey," Quinn said awkwardly when they were together in their group.

"Hey," Kurt answered.

Rachel snuck a glance at Santana only to have her look away. She'd been studying Rachel's lip to see how it was doing. Rachel rolled her eyes and looked away as well. Quinn lightly elbowed Santana and leaned in towards the group.

"Ok, we've got to get over this so we can do the presentation," Quinn said. "I'd like to maintain my grades and having us all awkward and tense is going to make our presentation look bad. Rachel, how's your lip?"

"Fine," Rachel muttered crossly.

"Good," Quinn said. "Santana-"

"What?" Santana cut her off. Quinn just gave her a pointed look and Santana finally sighed and turned to Rachel. "Look, I'm sorry, ok. I shouldn't have said that and I really didn't mean it, I swear."

Rachel scoffed, but Kurt poked her and shook his head.

Santana took a breath and let her guard down for just a moment. "I love my mother more than anything and I know how hurt I would be if someone told me that she didn't want anything to do with me. So I'm sorry."

Rachel studied her eyes and found nothing but sincerity. She didn't figure Santana to be that good of an actress so she nodded and said, "Thank you." And in her own moment of vulnerability she added, "When we first met, I was really scared she wouldn't like me. She's so amazing and I'm not."

"She loves you, you moron," Santana said.

"I know," Rachel said cockily. "I think she thought you were a bit of a bitch though." It's not something Rachel would normally ever dare to say to her face, but she smiled smugly as she said it.

"She's right, I am," Santana said proudly.

And just like that the moments of sincerity were over. But both girls cracked a small smile which helped alleviate some of the tension.

Rachel volunteered them to go first much to the consternation of the other members of her group. Sure, they wanted to get it finished today, but they didn't want to go first. But it went off without a hitch and all four kids were relieved when it was over.

Rachel had a lot of fun in glee rehearsal that afternoon despite her split lip which only hampered her singing a little bit. She didn't think she would ever be best friends with Quinn or Santana, but it was nice for the animosity to be gone. She hoped it lasted. And with Regionals only three weeks away, she liked that they could work more as a team. They had to be great at Regionals so they'd win and get to keep the glee club alive. Plus Shelby would be there and Rachel couldn't wait to perform in front of her. And she was certainly not the only child in the club that felt that way.

Rachel made the short walk home from school that afternoon and her shoulders sagged a bit when she saw her dads' car in the driveway. She hated that her mother had to leave today. As soon as she walked in the front door, Rachel looked to the small table hoping to find her phone, but it wasn't there. She had wanted to check it, but now her concern was where her mother may have put it.

"Hey!" Hiram greeted and lifted her off the ground in a hug.

"Hi, Dad," Rachel said and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Did you have a nice couple of days?" Hiram asked.

"It was great," Rachel smiled.

"Hi," LeRoy said as he came into the room and also got a hug.

"How long have you been home?" Rachel asked.

"Not long," LeRoy said. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Rachel shrugged. "Same as always." She wondered what they knew. Her mom wouldn't rat her out, would she?

"Hey, Rach," Shelby said as the three Berrys moved towards the living room. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Rachel said and gave her mother a pleading look.

Shelby chose to ignore her daughter's silent plea.

"You're feeling better than this morning, I hope," Shelby said.

"Mom," Rachel tried to keep the whine out of her voice.

LeRoy glanced over at Hiram with a questioning look and found his husband to be just as confused. They wanted to ask, but each stayed silent so Shelby could continue. They could see Rachel shifting from foot to foot – a telltale sign that she was in trouble – and weren't about to step on Shelby's toes now.

"I hated the thought that you were sick this morning," Shelby said, "so you can only imagine how relieved I was to find out that you just wanted to stay home. I'm glad it was sorted out so early because you ended up not missing that much of the day. But it does also mean that you are grounded for the rest of the day."

"Mom!" Rachel exclaimed as she stamped her foot.

"I also think that it would be wise if you went to bed a little bit earlier tonight to make sure you get plenty of sleep," Shelby said. "Maybe you weren't feeling good because you didn't get enough sleep."

"That's not fair!" Rachel said. She was definitely whining now. "I'm fine."

"I know that, sweetheart," Shelby said. "But for right now, you need to go up to your room and stay there."

"Mom," Rachel said again. It was more pitiful this time because tears were forming in her eyes.

"Go on," Shelby said.

Hiram and LeRoy were smiling behind Rachel until the girl turned around to look at them and they both quickly changed their expressions into serious ones and did not offer their daughter the reprieve she was seeking.

Rachel turned back and looked at Shelby with a mixture of hurt and anger in her eyes before stomping out of the room and up the stairs. Shelby looked over at the men and opened her mouth to say something, but Hiram held up a hand so she would wait. It was only a few more seconds before Rachel's bedroom door slammed shut and Hiram motioned for Shelby to continue.

"She played sick this morning so she could stay home from school," Shelby explained to the fathers.

Hiram shook his head and LeRoy tried to hide a small smile. Somehow, they were not surprised.

"You believed her, huh?" Hiram asked.

"I was skeptical at first, but she was warm to the touch and she said she was aching all over," Shelby said. "She was flushed and her head was hot. So I told her she could stay home. I couldn't send her to school with a fever."

"Did you take her temperature?" LeRoy asked.

"I started to," Shelby said. "I went into your bathroom to get her some aspirin and I got the thermometer, but she didn't want it. That kid is sneaky," Shelby laughed. "She talked me out of it and then she wanted me to stay with her and I lied down and we both fell asleep."

"How'd you find out she was faking?" LeRoy asked.

"She woke up before I did and was on her phone," Shelby explained. "Kurt texted her and asked where she was and she told him she was playing sick, she just didn't realize that I was reading over her shoulder. So I made her get up and I took her to school."

"Well she definitely deserves this grounding," Hiram said.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys about it first," Shelby said. "But I wanted to take care of it on my own. I wanted her to take the punishment from me and not be lectured by you guys. I didn't want her to think she's being tattled on and I want her to know that I'm going to have no problems disciplining her too. She needs to not just be worried that she'll be in trouble with you two."

"I'm glad you did it that way," LeRoy said. "It was right for her and right for you and all of us as a family."

"And we will back you one hundred percent, of course," Hiram said.

"Thanks," Shelby smiled. "I'm going to give her a little time and then go up and talk to her. I'm glad I've got the later flight tonight."

"Be strong when you go up there," LeRoy advised. "I can guarantee she's up there pouting right now and she will probably work up some more tears as soon as you get there."

"I'm prepared," Shelby laughed. "I hope. You guys should have seen her this morning. She was so cute curled up in bed with her flushed face and pout. I just wanted to scoop her up."

Both men nodded in understanding because they had been there many times with Rachel.

"Remember when she got the chicken pox and would cry when we told her not to scratch so much?" Hiram asked.

"She was so cute, Shelby," LeRoy said. "She was four and she was just miserable at first and she was convinced nothing would make her feel better. She cried all the way through her oatmeal bath and then didn't want us to put any lotion on her because she was convinced it would hurt. She escaped from us and took off running naked through the house. I had to hold her still while Hiram put the lotion on the spots."

"And then once she saw that the lotion was pink, she decided it was ok and she'd like more of it," Hiram said.

"After that, she just wanted to be held and cuddled for the entire week she had it," LeRoy said.

"Aww," Shelby smiled.

"It's only 'aww' for a little while. She can be a horrible patient," Hiram laughed.

"Rachel's a bit needy sometimes," LeRoy joked.

"I don't believe it," Shelby said with fake shock.

"And you won't know she's won until it's two in the morning and you're up singing Barney songs with her because 'it helps my itchies.'" Hiram said. The last part had been a perfect imitation of a little Rachel.

"That's adorable," Shelby gushed. "I had the chicken pox when I was four too."

"Now we know who to thank," LeRoy said.

"And I've been blaming you all this time," Hiram said to his husband.

"I should have known," LeRoy said as if he were offended.

"Oh, do you want to see some pictures of her covered in that pink lotion?" Hiram asked.

"Of course," Shelby said.

"Come on, I'll get the album," LeRoy said.

Hiram took Shelby's hand and led her into the living so they could get comfortable on the couch while LeRoy fetched the pictures.

Half an hour later, Shelby made her way to Rachel's room and knocked lightly on the door. It took a few moments, but Rachel finally said to come in. Shelby opened the door and found Rachel sitting on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest and her chin resting on them. Sure enough, it was clear she had been crying and she was working herself up again.

"Sweetheart, let's have a talk," Shelby said as she sat down next to her.

"Why?" Rachel sniffled. "I'm grounded. The end."

Shelby sighed and looked over at her petulant child and smiled. Surely she had never pouted as deeply as Rachel was right now. Well, maybe not with her own mother, but certainly with Marie.

"Honey," Shelby said, "you lied to me this morning. You tried to trick me and would have continued lying all day if I hadn't seen your text. So yes, you are grounded."

"I just wanted to stay home with you," Rachel said. "You're leaving today."

"I know that," Shelby told her. "And I get it. But you missing school, especially because you are lying to me, is not acceptable. Rachel, like it or not, we have lives and those lives have to maintained right now. Your job is to go to school. That is the most important thing for you. I don't want to see your grades slip or anything like that."

"But it was just one day," Rachel complained. How was it that no one understood?

"And I don't want you getting into the habit of taking a day off from school every time I'm here," Shelby said. "I want us all to maintain a normal life. Rachel, I had the best time of my life this weekend getting to be here with you and just be your mom, but we're also not going to kick your dads out every time I'm here. A balance has to be reached. But within that balance will be the fact that you are going to school every day."

Rachel slumped her shoulders even further and looked away. Shelby wanted to give in and call it over and pull Rachel to her, but she needed to make one more point first.

"Rachel, look at me," Shelby said. "This is important." She waited until she had the girl's attention before continuing. "I don't want to be lied to again. Or to be used. It is disrespectful and I don't like it. Do you understand?"

Rachel sank further into herself as her mother spoke. She was embarrassed at being called out and chastised over something she knew her fathers didn't tolerate either. She knew she was going to have to stop thinking of them as different people. Shelby the star and Shelby the fun mom and Shelby the friend were all pretty distinct in Rachel's mind most of the time, even though those distinctions were fading. With each she knew who she was dealing with and how to get what she wanted. It had been building, but this weekend helped to open her eyes more to the person her mother truly was. She was Shelby the parent and Rachel was really starting to understand that.

"Yes ma'am, I understand," Rachel answered contritely.

"Good girl," Shelby said and she leaned over and kissed Rachel's head.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"You're not still going to be mad at me when you go home tonight, are you?" Rachel asked seriously. "I know I'm grounded until tomorrow. But you have to leave and I'll still be up here."

"Rach, of course not," Shelby said. "I'm not mad at you. You're being punished, but I'm not mad. You understand why, don't you?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "And I'm sorry. It seemed like it was worth a try at the time."

"Maybe it was," Shelby said. "Now you know better."

"Yes ma'am," Rachel sighed. She shifted her position and leaned into Shelby. "I wish you didn't have to leave tonight."

"Me either," Shelby said. "But I do. Just a few more months of the show and I will have more time to spend here with you."

"And me there with you in New York," Rachel added.

"Yes, of course," Shelby laughed. "And I'm working on planning a vacation for just the two of us."

"Really?" Rachel asked excitedly. "Where?"

"That is a surprise," Shelby answered and laughed merrily when Rachel huffed. "I'd also like to take you to Indiana with me to meet my friend Elizabeth and her mom Marie. Would that be ok? They're dying to meet you."

"I'd love that!" Rachel said.

"I'm glad," Shelby said. "Just let me work it all out, ok?"

"Ok," Rachel agreed.

"Now, how about we get out of this room and head downstairs?" Shelby asked rhetorically. "I know two guys who are waiting anxiously to see a show."

"Really? We can still do that even though I'm grounded?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, of course," Shelby said. "You're grounded, not in solitary confinement. You can even have dinner with us later."

"Mom," Rachel said with a roll of her eyes.

"Come on," Shelby said.

Their show went off perfectly and then men thoroughly enjoyed it. Rachel was over the moon and had been thrilled with the whole process. There was only a minor hiccup before they started when Shelby denied Rachel permission to invite Kurt to see it. He would have to settle for the recorded version, she was told. Later that evening, after it had been emailed to him, Kurt complained to his father for an hour about Rachel's punishment getting in the way of him getting to see Shelby Corcoran perform something live.

Dinner came and went and the family was standing by the door saying their goodbyes. Hiram had taken custody of Rachel's phone from Shelby and the girl looked at it longingly as it was passed between the two. Maybe going to bed early that night wouldn't be so bad because at least then she could get this whole grounding over with.

Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and held her close as she leaned down to kiss her head.

"You'll be here for Regionals, right?" Rachel asked. "It's in three weeks."

"I've already got my flight booked," Shelby told her. "I wouldn't miss it."

"We have to win," Rachel said. "I know we will since you'll be there."

"You guys are going to be great," Shelby said.

When they had stalled as long as possible, Shelby finally broke away and exited the house and got in her rental car and drove away. Rachel made her way back up to her room to start getting ready for bed and flopped down on her bed instead. In addition to getting ready for Regionals, Rachel had three weeks to prepare the perfect proposal to present to her parents for why she should get to stay home alone. She needed everything to be just right. She looked over at her clock and saw far-too-early-to-be-getting-ready-for-bed hour and knew that not getting in anymore trouble between now and then would be a good start. She couldn't be grounded when she submitted her proposal. Nope, she was going to be grown up and mature from here on out.

"Lights out soon, sweetheart," LeRoy said when he poked his head into her room.

"Daddy," Rachel whined.

Crap, Rachel silently chastised herself. She assumed grown up and mature would come easier than that. Well, she didn't have to start while she was grounded. Tomorrow would be better.

A/N – That's it for this one. I hope you guys like it. We're heading off to Regionals and beyond next. I really do hope you guys are enjoying this one. I could really use some reviews, please. Thanks!