Late Monday morning finds Rachel and Jesse sitting silently in his kitchen. Jesse hopes that Rachel won't leave even though he just yelled at her for helping him. He didn't mean to lose his temper; he just felt that Rachel shouldn't skip school on his account – no matter how badly he wanted her to stay.

Placing his coffee mug in the sink Jesse turns to Rachel,

"Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to yell."

"It's fine."

"No it isn't. I know that you are just trying to help and I am so grateful for that, just I'm not worth ruining a perfect attendance record for."

Rachel walks around to Jesse and places her palm on his face, "Jesse you are worth more than that."

Jesse gives her a smile and leans into her warm hand. Opening his eyes he stares down at Rachel. Her mouth is slightly open and her eyes are full of concern. Rachel looks up at the boy who broke her heart, she takes in the small smile and the piercing eyes that for the first time since Friday night seem clear.

In the slight embrace Jesse leans down towards Rachel and her breath hitches in anticipation of a kiss. Thoughts that this could potentially be a bad thing have been banished from their minds, all there is, is them. Before they can close the gap a knock at the door jars them from their bubble and they break apart.

Jesse looks confused, he doesn't know of anyone who would show up at his home. His parents aren't around, his parents' friends know not to come around, and his uncle is on a business trip and the rest of his extended family live out of state. Rachel knows who is at the door and tells Jesse.

"It's Shelby." She says pulling her hand from his face. "I was scared yesterday and I didn't know who else to call. I hope – I mean I thought it would be ok."

Jesse reaches down and takes her hand, "It's fine Rachel, and I would have done the same thing."

Once again they hear a knock and Jesse pulls away from Rachel to answer the door. He pulls open the door to find Shelby, hair up in a ponytail and a resting baby in a carrier on the ground. Though she appears calm Jesse can see in her eyes the shock and worry over his appearance. Without a greeting Shelby pulls the boy into her arms and Jesse melts into the touch holding his mentor tightly.

"I'm sorry Jess. I'm sorry." Shelby whispers to the top of his head and Jesse tightens his grip.

The pair breaks apart when they hear the gurgling sounds of the baby. Shelby gives Jesse an apologetic smile and bends to pick up the carrier. Jesse steps back to let Shelby into the house. She makes her way to the kitchen where she stops when she sees Rachel washing the plates and mugs from their breakfast.

"Hello Shelby."

"Hi Rachel." Shelby says putting the carrier down on the island and pulling the baby out.

Rachel watches as her mother fusses over the baby in her arms and a sadness creeps over her. Jesse sees the change in Rachel and walks over to her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. After all that she has done for him since Friday night it was the least he could do to repay her, it would be the first in a long line to make up for what he'd done. Rachel smiles up at Jesse and squeezes back in a silent thank you.

Before Shelby can notice the two teens holding hands Rachel slips hers out of Jesse's. Walking over to her mother Rachel looks at the tiny baby in a pale purple onesie.

"So this is Beth?" Rachel asks and Shelby nods. Rachel had been the only member of New Directions to have not seen Quinn and Puck's baby, and looking at her now she can pick up on the slight features of both of her friends.

"Yeah, I couldn't find a sitter and I thought it would be ok to bring her over to meet you, both of you." Shelby says before looking over to Jesse. "Rachel would you mind looking after her for a bit I need to talk with Jesse."

"Ok." Rachel answers warily, looking at the small bundle in Shelby's arms.

"Thanks," Shelby replies handing the baby over, "Jesse come with me."

Shelby walks out of the kitchen with Jesse right behind her. He turns back to look at Rachel holding her sort of sister and gives a soft smile before following after Shelby. He finds her sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. Jesse places himself next to Shelby and she looks up at him with tear filled eyes.

"I failed again Jess," Shelby whispers, "How am I going to be a mom to Beth when I couldn't be one to Rachel and I couldn't be one to you? I should have seen the signs; I should have known something was wrong. I should have been here."

"I wouldn't have let you seen them Shelby. I would have kept this to myself this time." Jesse says. "I was mad at you for leaving me and for a while I did blame you, but I realized that it wasn't your fault for going, you needed to leave. And me being me I took it as another abandonment, another person who didn't have time for me."

"But why so bad this time Jesse? Hurting yourself, why did it get so far?"

"Because I needed to feel something outside of what was going on inside. I needed to distract myself, to make sure that I was still alive, I felt guilty, there are more reasons for what happened and there was no one I could turn to." Shelby opens her mouth to respond, but Jesse cuts her off. "I know that I could have come to you, I could have made more of an effort to let you see what was going on but I was hurt that you had someone else to take care of and I didn't want to put the burden on you."

Shelby is speechless; she doesn't know how to tell Jesse that it wouldn't have been a burden without making him feel guilty. She knows that Jesse was trying to be selfless, but Shelby would have rather had to drop everything in her life to save Jesse than to have seen his selflessness kill him.

"Thank you." She says and reaches her hand up to Jesse's cheek.

Though she had been in the house for a while Shelby finally took in all of Jesse's visible injuries. Her hand traces over the bruise on his face and her eyes take in the cuts on his cheek.

"Tell me what's been happening Jesse." Shelby demands.

Jesse closes his eyes and recounts to his coach everything from the funkification of McKinley to being dropped at Rachel's door. He pours his feelings out to the only adult who ever took an interest in his life, who looked after him, encouraged him, and loved him. By the time he reaches the end of the story he is in tears and Shelby his cradling him like a child, running her hands over his back and calming him like a parent does their child. And really that is what they were to each other, mother and son, though unconventional there was no other way to describe it.

Slowly Jesse pulls away and Shelby places a kiss on his cheek and Jesse pulls her into another hug. When they break apart Shelby speaks.

"That's it. Monday I am going to that school and having all of those kids expelled or suspended."

"No." Jesse says.

"What? Why?"

"Because it doesn't matter. I've made my peace with the beating and if you go there I know it will only be worse for you and for me."

"But I have to do something about this."

"You don't Shelby. I'm eighteen I can get myself transferred out of the school, I can quit Vocal Adrenalin, I can get away."

"You're not going anywhere St. James. I'm moving in here with you to help."

"No."

"Fine then you are moving in with me." Shelby says in a tone that Jesse knows he can't argue with and he finds that he doesn't want to.

In fact that idea of moving in with Shelby and Beth fill him with a calm he hasn't felt since before regionals. He knows that part of it has to do with getting out of the hollow museum of his parents house, as well as the idea that he may be able to be closer to Rachel with the move.

"Ok, I think that will work."

"There are going to be rules though if you move in with me Jesse." Shelby says and Jesse nods, "One of those is that you are going to find a counsellor or someone other than Rachel or myself to talk with, to help you. You are going to hate it, I know, but you have to do this so that we don't lose you."

Jesse nods again, already dreading the idea but willing to sacrifice his defences to stay with his surrogate mother.

"Good, we'll get some of your stuff moved out tomorrow and you are going to get you transferred out of Carmel and into another school. McKinley if you want since I live in the district."

"Thanks Shelby. This is a lot more than I hoped for and means more to me than I can express. Maybe one day I'll find the right song to tell you how much you have meant to me." He doesn't respond about going to McKinley. He thinks about Rachel in the kitchen and decides on a rule for Shelby.

"If I am staying with you, you're going to have to do something for me." Shelby nods for Jesse to continue. "You have to make a big effort with Rachel. She needs you, more than you know and I know you need her too. So if I am going to be staying with you at least once a week you are going to talk or spend time with the daughter that wants a mother no matter how grown up she seems."

"Deal."

Shelby smiles at Jesse, seeing some of the bright star breaking through the pain and dullness that has inhabited him. She knows it will be a long process getting him back to where he was, but she knows that he is willing to try and she is going to help him. And this demand of her to spend time with Rachel is a step back towards the Jesse that knows how to get what he wants.

A gurgling Beth and Rachel interrupt the pair. Jesse looks up at Rachel holding the infant and he smiles. It's the first genuine smile Rachel has seen from him since the last night she spent with him before he betrayed her. She can't help but smile back.

"Sorry to bother you but I think Beth is a little hungry." Rachel says and immediately Shelby jumps up from the couch and heads back into the kitchen, leaving the two teens alone.

Rachel still holding Beth looks over at Jesse. She can see that his eyes are red rimmed and she knows that he once again poured his heart out. She shifts Beth in her arms and makes her way over to sit next to Jesse.

"So have you let her hear your amazing voice yet?" Jesse asks as he looks down at Beth.

"No, I just sort of held her and talked to her." Rachel said, "Do you want to hold her?"

Jesse shrugs in response and Rachel slowly moves Beth into his arms. Jesse stares down at the baby in his arms and thinks that she is going to grow up thinking that he is her big brother. In that moment Jesse knows that he has to be as amazing a brother that Jack was. He looks over at Rachel who is watching him and gives her a smile; he knows that he has things in his life that he doesn't want to miss.

He's about to tell Rachel how sorry he is, how he still loves her when Shelby comes back into the room with a warm bottle. She hands it to Jesse who holds to Beth's lips. The three sit in silence as Beth eats. There is nothing to say.

When Beth finishes Jesse does the one natural thing for him. He sings the little girl back to sleep. What starts off as a whisper gets louder and soon Rachel and Shelby make out the lyrics to Here Comes the Sun. Both women have tears in their eyes listening to Jesse; Beth just closes hers and drifts off to sleep. Jesse hands Beth back to Shelby and goes to get her bags and baby carrier from the kitchen. He walks with her out to the car, Rachel watches from the door.

"I'll get stuff packed up tonight and tomorrow, and I'll go to the school and get transferred out." Jesse says.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow night Jesse." Shelby says giving him a hug and getting into her car.

Jesse turns back to the house. He sees Rachel watching and he steels his resolve for the conversation that will inevitably hurt, but has to be had.