Chapter 24

"Remember when I told you about Sugar Motta?" Rachel asked. She was sat with her chin resting on her palm as she leaned her elbow on her computer desk in her bedroom. She smiled as she saw on the laptop screen James nodding back at her as he slouched in his desk chair. It was Thursday night and the past two nights, they had decided to start talking to each other in skype calls rather than simply over their phones. It had come about following an emotional phone call at the start of the week where they both expressed that they missed seeing each other already. Rachel had been the one to suggest it, and even though she had blushed furiously when James asked what she had in mind for him to see, she knew that he loved the idea. So, now instead of simply phoning each other they were going to Skype instead a few nights a week when they spoke; and she had to admit it added another level of intimacy to their conversations, being able to share this special link even though they were far away. Right now she was grateful for the ability to see his face as she talked to him.

"Yeah, I remember you trying not to laugh at how bad she was" James smirked back at her.

"Well it turns out her dad is the Al Motta, some big shot businessman in Ohio" Rachel replied, smiling slightly at him before it faded as she took a deep breath "and he's paid Shelby Corcoran to come and set up a rival glee club at McKinley"

"Wait, Shelby Corcoran as in your mom?" He asked and she saw his brow furrow in confusion.

"Yeah" Rachel replied as she bit her lip nervously.

…

Rachel's voice cut out on her as she saw her mom step out from the side of the auditorium stage. She had been warming up to rehearse her song for her audition for Maria in the school musical when Shelby had appeared and interrupted her.

"Your range is better" Shelby said softly as the woman stepped towards her. The voice was the same as she remembered a year and a half ago as they said their goodbyes after Rachel's first regionals. "It was impressive a year and a half ago. It's even better now"

"Th- This is a private rehearsal" Rachel replied, gulping as she took her in mom's appearance. She didn't know where Shelby had been but she looked good and Rachel couldn't help the ache she felt in her heart to embrace her mom and how much she wanted the woman to love her.

"What song are you auditioning with?" Shelby asked, and Rachel glanced away as the woman continued to walk towards her. She had to fight the smile that tried to cross her face, knowing that Shelby was trying to take an interest in her warming her heart and she wanted so badly to be able to talk with her mom in a true mother-daughter situation but knowing it would never happen.

"That's none of your business" Rachel said, and took a deep breath before moving around the piano to put some more distance between her and the woman that had walked out of her life a year and a half ago and for some reason had decided to come back into it now. "If, if you've come here to ask me join your little group; my answer is no. My loyalty is to the New Directions. They're my family, and family means something. At least to me"

Rachel took a glance at Shelby as she fiddled with the sheet music and noticed the look of hurt that flashed across her mom's face for a moment before she replaced it with her show face smile. Okay, even though Shelby had hurt her, she didn't really want to make the woman feel like crap; after all she was her mom, and even after everything that happened she still loved the woman.

"Rachel, like we talked about before; I'm your birth mother-"

"But not my mother, I know, I almost had to go therapy because of you" Rachel replied, and quickly turned away from the woman to hand out the sheet music to the band. Why couldn't they just have a real relationship, why did Shelby have to make things so difficult, why couldn't she just be her mom.

…

"Are you okay?" He asked, and Rachel could hear the concern and love in his voice. A smile cross her face, and she felt glad they had decided to start the Skype calls; being able to see James face providing her more comfort than a simple phone conversation.

"Yeah" She replied, nodding slightly as he gave her a warm smile shifting forward in his seat. God she loved how he could reassure and calm her just with that handsome smile of his. Sighing, she chewed her bottom lip. "It's just so confusing having her back"

Rachel glanced down at the wooden desk surface for a moment before moving her gaze back to the screen to see James focused on her, his expression welcoming and his eyes silently asking her to unload it all on him; a smile crossing her face at knowing he would listen and just let her vent.

"I want so badly to be able to have a real relationship with her" She continued, and he nodded and she saw the understanding in his eyes; it was a similar situation he had with his Dad. "But she told me that we couldn't and she had to leave; but now she's back and I don't understand what I'm supposed to do"

"I know its hard Rach" He replied softly, and she smiled at him as he sighed. "I think that your mom must have understood that if she came to Lima then she'd have to interact with you; there must be some part of her subconsciously that wants to have a real relationship with you otherwise she would have stayed away"

"You really think so?" She asked, feeling herself perk up at his words

"Yeah" James replied nodding at her with that truthful look in his eyes.

"I wish you were here" She added finally, and regretted it when she saw the look on his face change to heartache and being separated from her.

"Me too baby" He replied and they both shared a look that told each other just how much they loved and wanted to hold each other. "But that's why you've got Fluffy right?"

"Yeah" She replied, glancing down into her lap where the cuddly rabbit was sat and she smiled. Since he had given her his childhood toy, it hadn't left her side when she was at home and she'd slept cuddling with it every night this week as she wore one of his t-shirts. "Thank you for him"

"No worries baby" He said smiling at her. "So how did your audition for Maria go?"

"It was great" Rachel said, a grin on James face as he saw her perk up. As always, James knew exactly how to cheer up and to distract her when she was feeling down. "It's strange, because Shelby actually helped me pick the song"

"See" James remarked, raising his eyebrows at her. "That's what I'm talking about with your mom wanting to be part of your life; she wants to be involved in your life"

"You're right" Rachel smiled at him. "I love you"

"I love you too" James smirked at her, and she blushed while thinking how hot as he looked at her like he was doing and saying those three words. "So what song did you sing? I feel pretty?"

"That was my first choice" She replied, resting both of her elbows on her desk to support her head as she got comfortable. "But Shelby said something about having to take a risk to get the leading roles I want and that I should try singing "Somewhere"

"Well, I wish I could have heard it but I bet you were incredible" James said, smiling at her warmly and she bit her lip as she felt the tips of her ears heat up. "And I bet you looked gorgeous while you sung it"

"Does your charm ever run out?" She asked, giggling slightly at how amazing James could make her feel with his words even when they were hours away from each other.

"You're constantly giving me new material babe" He replied with a wink and she couldn't but giggle at him again. There was a few moments of silence between them as Rachel sat there blushing before James sighed and leaned back in his chair. "So, I spoke to my mom about my flight tickets today"

"For my birthday?" Rachel asked, her ears perking up at the mention of him coming to visit in two weekends time. When he nodded at her, she smiled widely. "I can't wait!"

"Me neither" James nodded as he responded. "I'm so excited to see you"

"It's going to be so great having you" Rachel grinned widely as she saw him gazing back at her with a similar expression. "When's your flight?"

"The Friday night" James said, sighing slightly. "I wish I could come earlier, but my mom won't talk to school"

"It's okay" Rachel smiled as she spoke. Of course it would have been nicer to have him stay for longer than the weekend but at the end of the day both of their parents had been very understanding and supportive so far that it was best not to push for anything more. "Just think about how much we're going to have the two day you are here!"

"It is going to be fun" James replied, and she giggled at seeing his face light up. Rachel was glad for the Skype call, because whenever he smiled, she felt her heart skip a beat as she took in the handsome appearance of her boyfriend. She returned her attention to him as she saw him shift forward in his seat so he was matching her posture, his smile replaced by a coy smirk. "That's not the only thing...I also have a surprise for you"

"You do?" Rachel asked, tilting her head and frowning at him. "I thought my surprise was that I get to spend my birthday with my amazing, handsome boyfriend?"

"And you say I'm the charmer" James laughed, and she giggled back at him. Rachel loved how happy he looked when he was laughing. After a few seconds he licked his bottom lip before speaking again. "So, I'm not coming alone"

"What?" Rachel asked confusedly as James sat there grinning at her. When he did speak, Rachel felt herself brighten at his words.

"Matt is coming with me for your birthday" He replied, and her mouth opened in surprise.

"Really?" She asked and jumped up in her chair, squealing in excitement when he nodded in response. "Oh my god that's amazing, I can't wait to see you two!"

"I knew you'd be excited" James replied, a large grin on his face as he stared at her. Rachel felt herself blushing at the look he was giving her, how happy seeing her so excited seemed to make him. "Lucy wanted to come, but she's busy that weekend"

"That's okay, but what about Matt; Is he flying out with you?" She asked, chewing on her bottom lip already starting to think towards the next weekend when she, Kurt and the boys from Oregon would be reunited for the first time since the summer.

"Yeah he is" He replied, nodding happily as he spoke. "There might be a bit of a problem though"

"What's that?"

"I don't know where we're going to stay" James said, chewing on his bottom lip as he gazed at her. "Probably have to get a hotel"

Rachel frowned at him; her dads had offered him the guest room whenever he wanted to visit her, and nothing had changed for her dads to take that back. Her dad's loved James and knew how special they were to each other.

"I don't understand? You can stay with me, you know that both my dad's are fine with you staying. I'm actually looking forward to sleeping in your arms again" She replied, smiling at him as she saw his cheeks blush slightly as he masked it with the smirk on his face.

"Me too babe, but what about Matt?" James asked a few seconds later, and Rachel frowned as she realised that her house only had one guest room with a single bed in it. She knew that if they had the room, Leroy and Hiram wouldn't mind hosting both James and Matt, but they lacked the room. She didn't even want to suggest to them that James could sleep in her bed. That particular aspect of their relationship remained a treasured secret between the two of them, and not to mention she doubted they would approve of their daughter sharing a bed with her boyfriend.

"You're right...there's no way my Dads would let you sleep in my bed so that Matt could stay in the guest room." Rachel sighed sadly, "I could mention it to my dads, see if they're alright with him staying...one of you could use the sofa?"

"Maybe" James replied, a thoughtful look on his face. "But I don't want to take advantage of your dads"

"You're sweet" Rachel said, and James smirked at her. "You're still coming though right? Even if you can't stay here?"

"What? Of course Rachel" James said nodding at her emphatically, his infectious smile across his face. "We can stay in a hotel if its too much trouble. Remember what i said to you baby; I'd sleep on a cold floor just to see you; I'm sure we'll be fine in a hotel baby"

"Okay, well I'll mention it to them and see what they say" Rachel replied, and James nodded at her as he leaned back in his chair. "Want to hear what we've got planned for my birthday?"

"Of course I do, I'm not ready to hang up on your beautiful face just yet" James said with a wink. Rachel giggled at him before launching into a description of the plans her dads had come up with. As always when she spoke with James, he gave her his complete attention and she radiated under it; speaking happily with a constant smile on her face. Rachel didn't have many friends aside from the kids in the Glee Club at Mckinley, just a few childhood friends. With them as well as James and Matt, there was going to be a group of around eighteen at her party that was being hosted in the Oscar room at her house. One of the things she was most looking forward to was singing duets with her friends, in particular with James and Matt now she knew they were coming. She had sung a couple of times with Matt and it was nice, the boy having a strong voice; and of course singing with James was going to be incredible. Rachel couldn't wait to sing with her boyfriend again, the ease at which their voices joined together that first time in New York had created a need in her to feel that again.

"It sounds great baby" James replied, half an hour later after she finished explaining to him. "I can't wait to sing Karaoke with you"

"You've missed singing with me?" Rachel asked teasingly, as she smirked at him. James smirked and looked back at her.

"Singing with the Rachel Barbara Berry is the highest honour" James replied, and she couldn't help but giggle at him

The two of them talked for around fifteen minutes more before James had to leave for dinner. Just before he had to go, his mom, Andrea entered his bedroom and to her amusement, and James' embarrassment, talked to her for a few minutes. Rachel had laughed at his rosy red cheeks before blowing James a kiss, she smiled as he returned the gesture before hanging up the Skype call. Rachel sighed happily, thinking about how soon she would get to kiss him for real when he came to Ohio for her birthday.

Heading out of her room, Rachel skipped downstairs and into the living room where her dads were sat on the couch watching TV. As she paused in the doorway, a smile crossed Rachel's face as she saw her Dads cuddling on the couch; the sight of them so much in love warming her heart and making her long for James to be with her right then. While she was in love with James, and loved being able to call herself his girlfriend; the hardest thing about their relationship was the fact that they were so far away from each other constantly. It had been nice to talk to him on Skype the last couple of days, but there were times when she wished that they lived in the same town or even in the same state; while her other relationships had not worked out, the one thing that she enjoyed was having the boy close to her constantly so that they could spend time together. Sighing, Rachel made her way into the living room; sitting down in the armchair and smiling across at her Dads.

"Did you have a nice talk with James, sweetheart?" Leroy asked, and she nodded at him. Her dads had noticed that she'd been missing James particularly hard since her return from Oregon, and while she hadn't told them about their declaration of love; she really appreciated how well they knew her and had been trying to bring him up whenever possible, knowing that the mention of him would cheer her up.

"Yeah we talked on Skype for a little while" Rachel replied, smiling at them. "I miss him terribly and its nice his face"

"I bet it is sweetheart" Hiram said, giving her a sympathetic look. "Have you asked him about coming for your birthday yet?"

"Actually" Rachel replies with a huge grin, her earlier conversation coming across her mind. "He told me just before that he has his tickets sorted"

"That's great sweetheart" Leroy replied. "I'm assuming he's flying over on the Friday night to stay for the weekend?"

"Yes" Rachel said as she nodded at her dads. "But, Matt is coming over with him as well for my birthday! It's going to be so great"

"That's really amazing, baby girl" Leroy replied, smiling widely as he did. "What about that girl you met as well, Lucy I think her name was?"

"Yeah Lucy" Rachel confirmed his question as she nodded her head at the same time. "She can't come, but I talk to her a lot on Facebook. It's just going to be so great having my two boys with me!"

Her Dads laughed at her, and Rachel giggled as well. She had called them that when they had been together in New York and her dads would comment on much time she would be spending with James and Matt. She bit her lip as she remembered how James would frown at her and she would have to reassure him that he was her favourite. That was before they were dating, and thinking back it was cute how he used to be sweet on her and in the same way, she enjoyed them spending time together.

"Your birthday is going to be even better now" Hiram said as she focused her attention on the television, smiling as she saw they had been watching a talent show. "Did you tell them they are both welcome to stay here?"

Rachel eyes darted to meet her Dads when she heard the words, and a smile slowly grew on her lips. "They are?"

"Of course" Leroy answered, as Hiram nodded along with him. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"I know James is, but we only have one guest room" Rachel replied, frowning slightly. James had talked about sleeping on the floor just to be able to see her again, and while it was sweet of him to say; she didn't know how he would feel about sharing a room with Matt. "And one bed. There's two of them coming, and I didn't think they would want to share"

"You and James can share a bed again" Hiram remarked casually, as he looked at her for a moment before his eyes flicked back to the Television. Rachel mouth dropped as she heard the words. It was as if she had been hit by a truck, as shock flowed throughout her body at her dads knowing she had shared a bed with her boyfriend.

"I…we….we never" She stumbled to reply. How could they have known about the fact her and James had shared a bed on several occasions? The two of them had been careful to make sure that they hadn't been seen going into his room together in Oregon; and when they had been in Ohio, it had only been the one night. She stroked her neck nervously as her Dads turned to look at her, both of them wearing amused smiles on their faces. After a few awkward moments, where her cheeks blushed furiously, she admitted defeat and breathed out before she replied; "How do…"

"How do we know?" Leroy repeated, his face still baring that amused smile. "Andrea told us"

"Andrea…?" Rachel replied, frowning at them. His mom knew? How could his mom possibly have known, considering that his sister Charlie had promised that she wouldn't tell her, and Rachel trusted the girl; knowing that James did as well. "I don't understand…."

"She called us the other day and asked if we knew about the two of you sharing a bed. Apparently she went to wake up James one morning to ask him what you would like for breakfast and he wasn't in his bedroom." Leroy said, and while she was watching her dad calmly; inside she was freaking out about it. Her dads, and his mom had trusted the two of them enough to allow them to visit each other during the school year. What would she do if they stopped them from seeing each other now? Rachel wasn't sure she could go bare not being able to see him for months at a time. "We were a little surprised when she told us"

"Dad, Daddy. I'm so sorry, I know we shouldn't have done it but I promise you that all we did was sleep; we didn't do anything else. I promise you, please don't stop him from coming" Rachel pleaded with them, tears appearing in her eyes as she wanted them to understand that she needed to see James, she couldn't bare not to have him.

"Hey, Hey." Leroy said softly, and beckoned her other with his arm. Sniffing, She walked over to the couch and settled down in between her dads; cuddling into her Dad's side as he wrapped an around her shoulder and pulled her close. Hiram rested his hand on her arm, gently rubbing circles with his thumb. Her dad pressed a kiss against her forehead, and as he pulled away she looked up at him through her tearful ears and saw a calming smile on his face. "Sweetie, we're not going to stop you and James from seeing each other"

"You're not?" She replied, sniffing again as looked between her Dads smiling faces. At the reassuring looks on their faces, she raised a hand and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why not? We went behind your back"

"Because baby girl, we trust you and James." Hiram said calmly to her as he raised his hand to cup her face.

"You're not mad?" Rachel asked, frowning slightly.

"No sweetheart" Leroy replied, winking at her. "We're a little disappointed that you didn't tell us, but we know that you two love each other, and we don't want to come in between what the two of you have by making a big deal out of it. You told us you didn't do anything inappropriate and we believe you"

Rachel looked between the two of them, and giggled softly as they both smiled at her. "Thank you"

"It's alright sweetie" Hiram said smiling at her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. Rachel sighed as she closed her eyes, glad that her Dads were so accepting of her relationship with James; they continually amazed her with how much they trusted and loved James as her boyfriend.

"But" Leroy added, and she looked at him to see a serious look on his face. Rachel gulped and brushed her bangs out of her face as she gazed at him. "We have put a lot of trust in you and James as a couple, and if we need to know that you trust us as well. If things between you two start to become more serious and you feel like something could happen; we want you to know that you can tell us about it."

Rachel cheeks blushed as she listened to him, but as she looked at her dads and could see the love for her in their eyes; and she knew that they weren't doing it to purposely embarrass her but they were treating her, and by extension her relationship with James as a real adult one. Despite how embarrassed she was about them bringing up the possibility of her and James having sex; as she thought back to her how they could get when they were making out it was a reasonable concern they had. James would never force her to do anything she was uncomfortable with, but there would be a time when she was comfortable with doing a lot more than just kissing and cuddling.

"I know I can Daddies" Rachel replied, looking at the two of them and giving them a reassuring smile. She'd always had an open relationship with the two of them and there was very little that she would keep from them. "We'll talk to you before anything like that happens"

"You know we love James and both of us know that he would never force you to do anything. We just want to make sure that you two are being careful with each other" Hiram said softly and she nodded at him; trying to reassure him and Rachel couldn't help but smile as they winked at her; knowing that they trusted her and what she had said.

"So Andrea and you two are both okay with me and James sharing a bed?" Rachel asked, looking at them with a slightly sceptical look. She felt reassured as Hiram laughed at her and Leroy chuckled gently as he rubbed her shoulder softly.

"We're fine with it" Hiram replied, smiling at her. "Andrea was a little surprised, but none of us are going to stop you from doing it if you two are respectful towards us, and towards yourselves."

"Thank you Daddies" Rachel said, giggling as she hugged both of them tightly.

"I'm glad we got that sorted out, baby girl" Leroy said after a few minutes of silence as the three of them sat there comfortably on the couch. "Now, why don't we put a musical on and have one of our family sing alongs together".

"Okay" Rachel giggled as her Dad stood up from the couch and made his way over to the shelves with DVDs on. Sighing happily, her thoughts drifted off to being able to sleep with James again when he came to see her for her birthday. What's more, knowing that she had her father's permission was an amazing feeling that made her heart jump for joy.

...

A/N : Not really an important chapter aside from just setting up Rachel's birthday. The next few chapters are going to be more interesting with a couple of surprise :-)

Good news as well, I have found a picture of someone who looks like how i imagine James :D