Thank you for all the kind reviews! I would respond to each individually, but I wanted to get this posted since its been so long...

Chapter 6

Michael hung up the phone, rubbing his eyes wearily as Rachel entered the room.

"Hi Daddy." She said sweetly, walking over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Rachel, sweetie, would you mind sitting down for a minute before you go running upstairs?" He asked, referring to her newfound habit of hiding in her room until dinner.

"Sure." She said, sitting on the couch. "Is everything okay?"

"No Rach, it's not. And apparently it hasn't been for quite a while."

"What do you mean? Are you okay?" She asked, a look of panic crossing her face.

"Oh, no it's nothing like that honey. I'm going to be honest with you, I just got off the phone with Shelby Corcoran."

Rachel's eyes widened at the mention of her mother's name. Her hand shook a little as she fiddled with her hair.

"She told me everything." He finished, his eyes filling with tears as he watched his daughter's facial expression crumple.

"Everything?" She asked softly, to which he nodded.

"Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me what happened? What were you afraid of?"

"I didn't want you and Dad to get mad at Shelby." She admitted.

"Rachel, that's not a reason to lie to your father and I…" He began.

"It's not? She's my mother! Even if she can't handle that right now it doesn't make it any less true. What if I get another chance with her someday? If you and Dad knew everything you would never that happen, and I couldn't afford that."

Michael was surprised by the amount of anger behind his daughter's words. Sure, Rachel was always dramatic, but never like this.

"Honey, you're right. I'm not pleased with Shelby's actions right now." He saw her eyes narrow. "But, my first priority is to take care of you. I just wish you would've let me be there for you." He explained.

"You don't understand." She muttered.

"Then help me understand Rach."

"You kept her from me all of these years. Can you imagine what its like not to know where you come from? To not have a mother? It's like a piece of me was missing. And then to find out that she only lived one town away, one town Daddy!"

"We didn't keep her from you Rachel, I had no idea she was living in Carmel." He said weakly.

"I know about the contract. She wasn't allowed to contact me until I turned eighteen. Who does that?" She snarled.

"I don't know what to tell you pumpkin, your father and I tried to give you everything. We were our own kind of family."

"We were." She said, eyes brimming with tears. "But I just wish you had let me know her too." She said softly.

Michael's chest constricted at his daughter's words. He knew she was right. There should have been nothing stopping them from allowing their daughter to know her own mother.

"She said that she regretted it you know, giving me up. And then that she didn't, because I got to have the both of you. I just wish I could have it both ways."

"Maybe it's not too late for that sweetheart."

"I scared her away. I know that I can be a little overbearing, but I really tried to pace myself with our reunion." She said, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I just wanted to know her."

"Rachel, I knew Shelby pretty well. Ask me anything." He sighed.

"Anything?"

"Sure. I'll tell you everything I know."

"What was she like, when you first met her?" Rachel asked, tucking her legs underneath her neatly and leaning forward.

"Well, when I met Shelby she was hardly older than you are now. She was working three jobs, trying to save up enough money to go to New York City. Her parents agreed to support her if she went to school, but Shelby had her sights set on Broadway and she didn't want to wait."

"How did you meet her?"

"She was our wedding singer." He said, smiling at the memory. "And she was absolutely outstanding. She put on such a show, I always thought we would end up seeing her name in lights."

Michael could see Rachel hanging on desperately to every detail he was giving her, so he continued.

"Shelby had a sort of glow about her Rachel. When she was in a room everyone gravitated towards her; everyone wanted to know her. She was just…special. And her stories, Shelby knew how to tell a story. It didn't matter what she was talking about, she had this sense of humor that constantly had me in stitches."

He noticed Rachel allow herself a small smile, so he continued on.

"She actually stayed with us for the duration of her pregnancy. I don't think she was able to tell her family what was going on. She never spoke of them much, I think she felt that her sister was the favored child, but she never came right out and said anything." He trailed off, wondering momentarily if Shelby had had any sort of support system after giving up her daughter.

"There were always boys chasing after her. All she had to do was smile and wink and waiters would bring extra fries and free refills." He smiled, clearly caught up in a memory.

"She's beautiful." Rachel agreed.

"So are you. You look just like her."

"Why did she agree to have me, just for the money?" Rachel asked bluntly, changing the subject quickly.

"The money was certainly part of it, but I imagine it wasn't everything. She did it so we could have a family." He trailed off. "Shelby was very young and idealistic when she agreed to help us, maybe she was too young to really understand what it meant."

"How old was she?"

"She was only twenty-years-old when you were born. Rachel, whatever happened with Shelby… I mean, whatever issues she may have, they're not all her fault. She became so attached to you when she was pregnant, she was always singing or talking to you. I'm afraid that when she let you go she was more damaged than any of us expected."

"What do you mean?"

"She begged to be a part of your life, she didn't just give you up. She did want you Rachel, so don't ever let yourself feel like she didn't."

Rachel was silent as she slowly sank back into the couch cushions, her expression unreadable.

"Why couldn't you have told me before?" She asked meekly.

Michael was prepared for more anger, but he wasn't expecting Rachel's timid question. He had asked himself the same thing many times before, but had never come up with a good answer.

"I'm so sorry."

It was all he could manage to say before Rachel fell into his arms, finally allowing herself to cry. Michael held onto Rachel tightly as she cried, wishing he could take her pain away; wishing he could take away Shelby's pain as well. Their stupid contract had caused so much damage. He glanced up just in time to find his husband standing in the doorway.

"What happened?" He asked simply, expecting to hear one of Rachel's overly dramatic tales.

"It's Shelby." Michael answered softly, trying not to upset Rachel.

"What do you mean, it's Shelby?" Levi asked curtly. He had not been pleased when Rachel had found her mother and was just waiting for the day when everything fell apart.

"We just had a good talk about her. That's all." Michael said, trying to signal that he would tell his husband everything later.

"What did she do?" He continued. "I knew this was a bad idea. She was always so horribly flighty." He scoffed.

"She didn't do anything." Rachel said defensively, jumping up and breezing past her father, wiping at the tears on her cheeks.

Levi turned to follow his daughter when Michael spoke.

"Let her go Levi."

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened Levi. Rachel just wanted to hear more about Shelby and was asking some questions, that's all." Michael said, surprised by how easily the lie fell from his lips.

"Well, we all know how dramatic she can be, certainly something she got from Shelby." Levi said, sitting down on the couch and propping his feet on the coffee table.

Michael cringed as his husband's shoes scuffed the mahogany table, but said nothing. He had bigger things to worry about than their furniture.

"She was always quite theatrical." Michael agreed.

"Shame she never made it to Broadway." Levi quipped.

"It really is."

"Just think, if she was still in New York we wouldn't have this whole situation on our hands." Levi said.

"I think this whole situation probably has something to do with her not making it in the city."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She was so young Levi, and so talented. There's no reason she shouldn't be on stage somewhere right now."

"Well that certainly has nothing to do with us. Perhaps she just wasn't what producers are looking for these days."

"No, she was perfect for Broadway. She had that spark, you remember? That's what drew us to her in the first place. But you have to admit, after she gave up Rachel, that spark was gone." Michael said softly.

"Not this again. Michael, what were we supposed to do? Invite her into our home so all three of us could raise our daughter?"

"I don't know." He sighed.

"You're right, she was young. Maybe she was too young." Michael acquiesced. "But I honestly looked at that contract like a favor. She had no obligations, she could go to New York just like she always dreamed. We gave her that opportunity."

There was a little part of Michael that couldn't help but think that Levi was right. At twenty years old Shelby had not been ready to be a mother, but she had fallen in love with her baby nonetheless. Amidst all of his doubts and regrets, Michael knew that Shelby had deserved to go off and live her life. After all, she had given them the greatest gift. If she had been involved in Rachel's life she never would have left Lima and even now Michael knew that she didn't belong in a small town in Ohio.