Thank you so much for all the reviews and the follows and the favorites. I have read every review and I am taking into account every comment. Thank you so much!

You all have inspired me to continue writing, so here you have the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

…

Rachel was sitting on the floor playing with Beth while Shelby finished making dinner. There was something relaxing about playing with a three year old. She felt like she could forget about everything for a couple of hours.

"Wachel, do her voice!" said Beth, handing Rachel a different doll. The little girl was in awe about the different voices and accents Rachel could do.

Rachel cleared her throat and did a Southern accent she had been practicing. She never knew when that accent could become handy. She had to be able to master every accent, so there could be no producer or director telling her that she wasn't hired because she didn't sound right.

"How y'all doing?" Rachel said and Beth burst out laughing as she clapped.

Rachel smiled and bowed. She had always loved being the center of attention, but what she loved the most this time was being able to be that carefree.

"Rachel, could you help me set the table, please?" asked Shelby from the kitchen.

"Mommy, we play" whined Beth, when she heard Rachel was about to be taken away from her.

"Yeah, mommy, we play" repeated Rachel, winking at Shelby. But when she looked at Shelby's eyes, she could see something she had never seen before. For a moment, she thought the woman actually saw her as her daughter. But she quickly pushed that thought aside, remembering what had happened between the two of them. She wasn't going to make that mistake again. "Uh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you that. I was just … Well, Beth said it and …"

"It's okay, Rachel" Shelby said as she smiled at her oldest daughter. Hearing her call her mommy warmed her heart, but deep down she knew that the young brunette was only repeating what Beth had said.

Rachel and Shelby just looked at each other for a couple of seconds, deciding what to do next. Even though they were both older now and they had worked through their differences, they were still walking on eggshells sometimes.

Shelby took a deep breath and smiled at Rachel, "So, table, please"

Rachel nodded and stood up. "Sorry, Beth, we can play later."

Yes, that little blond girl may be Quinn's, but she couldn't deny she was very cute.

"Uh, Shelby, I don't know where anything is." Rachel said, walking into the kitchen.

"You can find the dishes in the cupboard and the silverware in the top drawer on the right"

Rachel made her way to the cupboard, but when she opened it, and started to take some dishes out, she saw something that made her stop.

"Is everything alright?" asked Shelby, not knowing why Rachel was looking so attentively inside the cupboard.

"That's not Beth"

"What's not Beth?"

"The mug. There is a mug with a picture of you holding a baby. That's not Beth" Rachel said. "Is that …?

"Yes, it is"

"You look so young."

"I was 21" replied Shelby. She wasn't sure how Rachel had seen the mug that was hidden behind dishes and other mugs.

"Why?" inquired the young brunette.

"Why was I 21?" replied Shelby. She knew what Rachel was asking, but she didn't want to have that discussion at the moment. Not when it was clear that her oldest daughter was already upset about something else.

"No, I mean, why did you have that mug made?"

"Oh, Rachel, I think we will have to save that story for another time. Dinner is almost ready and it's getting late for Beth. She has to go to bed soon"

"Okay" Rachel said, looking a little disappointed. All she wanted to know was how the woman really felt about her.

"We'll talk about it. I promise. Just not now" Shelby added, kissing Rachel on the head. "Now, before you started snooping around, you were going to set the table, right?"

Rachel smiled a shy smile and nodded. "Right."

…

Shelby had meant to talk to Rachel about what had happened between her roommates and her over dinner, but they kept getting interrupted by a chatty three year old, so Shelby decided to wait until Beth was sleeping to address the subject.

"Let's talk, Rachel" Shelby said, as she brought two steaming cups of tea to the living room. "What happened tonight?"

Rachel sighed "I thought Santana and Kurt were my friends, but it became clear this afternoon that we were never friends."

"But you and Kurt have grown so close these last couple of years, haven't you?" asked Shelby, trying to sound as if she had just happened to have heard that, when in fact she checked Rachel's Facebook every single day and actually knew a lot about her life.

"We have, and I guess he didn't mean to betray me, he just … well, he was just being Kurt"

"What about Santana?"

"She went behind my back and auditioned for Funny Girl!"

"I thought you had already been given the role" Shelby replied, feeling very confused at the moment.

"I was. I am Fanny Brice. But Santana had the nerve to audition to be my understudy! Her being on stage depends on me being sick or unable to perform!" said Rachel, feeling her blood boiling again and her eyes stinging with the tears that were about to come down her face. "Not only did she audition without telling me, but then she proceeded to insult me! It was like High School all over again. She even said I was short!"

"Well, sweetie, don't take this the wrong way, but you are … not very tall" said Shelby, trying to lighten the mood. But all she got was a glare from Rachel and she knew this was not the time to make jokes. "Okay, that was inappropriate, I apologize. Have you told Santana how you are feeling? If you are friends …"

"We are not friends. We never were and we never will be" said Rachel, interrupting what Shelby was saying.

"I agree. She should never have auditioned to be your understudy without giving you a heads up. That was wrong from her …"

Rachel nodded, happy that Shelby was agreeing with her. That was until the older woman continued speaking.

"… but you shouldn't have left the apartment. You should've stayed there and talked about it"

"Ugh, you sound like Kurt." Rachel answered, rolling her eyes, "There was nothing to talk about. She is still the same person she was in High School, and even now, when I am on the verge of stardom, she …"

Rachel couldn't continue as her emotions got the best of her and she let the tears flow. She might be self-confident on stage and she was sure she was a star, but sometimes, she couldn't help feeling like the same loser she was in High School.

"Oh, Rachel. Oh, honey" said Shelby, as she put her arms around her daughter and rocked her, rubbing her back. "Cry, baby, let those emotions out. It'll help."

In that moment, Shelby could do nothing but be there for her daughter. As she let her cry, she didn't say anything else. She just held her until the tears stopped. She might not have been there for her growing up, but that was what a mother was supposed to do and she was ready to take on that role. She just hoped it wasn't too late.