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Rachel groaned, rolling over and opening her eyes. she hadn't slept properly (Shelby had cradled her in her arms until she thought that Rachel would sleep through the night, padding off to check on Beth before retreating to her own bedroom), tossing and turning, wide awake until she couldn't stand it anymore. Kicking aside the blankets, she shivered a little, padding out of the room she had tried to sleep in.

The house was dark, as Shelby and Beth slept. Rachel had heard the little girl stir once during the night, and upon getting up to check on her, Shelby had brought the blankets over her shoulders, brushing back her hair.

Shelby's house was nice, she supposed- but it wasn't home. It didn't feel right- like she was betraying her fathers. They were the ones who had raised her, and yet they were gone.

She sat cross legged on Shelby's lounge, the light from the lamp illuminating the room.

Where a framed photo caught her eye.

It was her. Regionals, the year they were beaten by Vocal Adrenaline. Regionals her mother told her that she couldn't come to McKinley, that she wanted a house, a family, a dog. The same day that Beth was born. The day she was so sure they were going to win, only to have her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

But there she was- as she and Finn sang, her mouth broken into a grin. With Finn's words before they stepped onto the stage- with his honesty, there was no way she couldn't smile.

Picking up the frame, she held in her hands, staring at it hard.

"Rachel?" Shelby said sleepily, turning on the main light and making her jump. "Sweetie, what are you doing?"

Rachel wordlessly held up the photograph, blinking her huge eyes at her mother. "Where did you get this?"

"Carmel always hired a photographer for Regionals and the sort", Shelby said as an explanation, rubbing sleep away from her eyes. "I found this, and knew it belonged on my mantle". Taking a seat beside her daughter, she put an arm around her shoulder.

"Would it be alright if I get a lift to McKinley with you in the morning?" Rachel whispered.

"Of course, sweetie, but are you sure you want to go to school?" Shelby sounded concerned, and Rachel moved a little closer.

"I want some normalcy in my life, even if it has been turned upside down".

A few days earlier, they would have labelled Rachel Berry as a drama queen, but she was being honest. Her life had been dramatically altered in the space of twenty four hours, giving her the right to act a little dramatic. Shelby pulled her tight, rubbing Rachel's back, feeling her heartbeat against her own chest. She pressed a kiss to the top of Rachel's head, holding her tight.

She went through school in a daze, Shelby and the glee kids watching her carefully. She was quiet through her classes, doing her work and staring blankly at the windows. She poked at her salad in silence beside Tina, finally packing up the container and placing it in her bag.

But glee was far by the worst part of her day. While Will talked at the front of the room, leaning casually against the piano, she blinked around frantically, trying to work out why she was there.

Quinn glanced at Rachel, her heart panging for the brunette- not that she would ever admit it. She knew how it felt to have your heart ripped out of your chest. When her parents kicked her out, she had found herself sobbing, trying her hardest to breathe. When she gave Beth up, she cried herself to sleep every night for the entire summer.

"Rachel, what do you think?" Will asked gently, and Rachel visibly jumped.

"Sure", she mumbled. "Whatever".

Mercedes and Kurt looked shocked- when it came to show tunes, it was hard to quieten the brunette. They had all been excited, when it came to flying to New York, but Rachel had been by far, the most. She had talked at a million miles an hour for the entire plane ride, ignoring the fact that her club mates were either asleep or wearing earphones.

"Seriously?" Santana said incredulously, and Quinn turned to glare.

"Kurt or Mercedes can do it", Rachel said. "Quinn, even. Her vocal range has improved dramatically since Nationals".

Quinn's eyebrows raised in surprise. "but-"

Rachel stood up from her seat, moving swiftly towards the choir room door.

"Can someone go..." Will's voice trailed off, as the door slammed.

Quinn stood up, making Santana's eyes widen. Following Rachel, she headed into the girl's bathroom closest to the choir room, to find her bend over a sink, breathing heavily.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel wanted to know, splashing water over her face.

They hadn't had the best track record. Quinn had been a tormentor of the brunette since they first started at McKinley High, slushying her almost every day (or getting others to do it). By the end of her first week, Rachel was keeping spare clothes in her locker, preparing herself for her daily encounter with Quinn. Rachel hadn't done anything to the blonde- but she was a target. Rachel had always been civil, offering to help the blonde at every opportunity.

Quinn pulled a wad of paper towelling from the dispenser, running it under cold water and dabbing Rachel's face- when she was pregnant and in the throes of morning sickness (very wrongly named), Rachel would wet paper towels and put them at the back of her neck. Quinn had always snapped at her to get out, but the brunette had never left until the paper towels were on the back of the blonde's neck.

"Don't", Rachel choked out, pulling away, but Quinn held her firmly, dabbing at her face. As her breathing grew less laboured, Quinn let go of the brunette and she sunk down against the wall.

"Why are you here, Quinn?"

"I know what it feels like to lose a parent", she said lamely.

It wasn't the wisest of wording, as Rachel fired up. "No you don't! Your parents may have kicked you out, but they're still alive! Shelby was the one who gave me up at birth, and swapped me for a baby! Dad and Daddy were the only ones I had!"

She had always referred to the glee club as her family (as had Will), and as much as the others whined and complained, they knew they felt the same way.

"I just want to be left alone", Rachel whispered, and Quinn lingered in the doorway, unsure whether or not she should leave her. she couldn't believe that the girl she had tormented for so many years, was the same one in front of her. that girl she'd tormented hadn't shown any emotion, upon the slushie being thrown in her face.

"Go!" she shot, and Quinn slipped into the hallway, unsure what to say.

"Quinn!" Shelby said in surprise, coming down the corridor just as the blonde exited the bathroom.

"Sorry", Quinn apologised, sliding away.

"Where's Rachel?"

Quinn just pointed, and Shelby just sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"I know it's going to take her a long time to adjust, but she's avoiding everyone. She didn't even look at Beth yesterday; she locked herself into her bedroom. I want her to do something- scream, yell, punch something- but she's not". Right then, Shelby sounded as vulnerable as her daughter. "You know, Quinn, for sixteen years I wandered around, looking for Rachel's face everywhere. I wanted to know where she was, what she was doing. Was she a singer, was she a dancer? Was she happy? When I saw her at Sectionals, I knew she had had the best life possible. But I wanted to meet her. Maybe if I hadn't, she wouldn't be like this. I would be a stranger, but I wouldn't be the mother that abandoned her".

Quinn looked shocked- more so because it had only just clicked that Rachel was living in the same house as the daughter she had given up. The little girl she hadn't seen since the day she was put up for adoption. She had been so close to contacting Shelby, so many times over the year, but she was worried it would open wounds, and she knew that Shelby would be the one able to give Beth a better life than she or Puck could.

"I want you to meet Beth", Shelby said suddenly. "I want you to have the chances that I didn't with Rachel".

"Not now". Quinn shook her head.

The bathroom door opened, and Rachel found herself facing her mother and her tormentor, sighing and turning around.

"Rachel", Shelby tried, and Rachel blinked at her.

"Can we go home?" she whispered.

Shelby just nodded, putting an arm around the brunette.