Revision is boring so here it is, I hope it lives up to your expectations. Quite nervous about posting this chapter if i'm honest.

Thanks again to my lovely reviewers: TheAsianWhoIsAFanzel, elphieistheshiz, BigTimeGleekBTR, Mona Mari, michelle, tlgonzal and diana.

Rachel could do nothing but stare in shock at the woman sat there between her dads.

"Wh...what's she doing here?" She said, obviously in shock.

"Shelby's come to see you, sweetheart." Leroy replied. They hadn't really discussed what they were going to do when Rachel got home so he guessed they would just have to improvise.

"Oh my god! Really? Why? I mean, wow! I'm so honoured to meet you, Miss Corcoran. I really am. I've got all your songs on my iPod and I've always wanted to meet you and see you live and..."

Rachel had to pause and take a breath. She'd been speaking so fast she wasn't even sure if anyone could understand a word that she'd just said.

"Rachel, dear, calm down." Shelby smiled. "Take a deep breath"

The young girl did as she was told and decided to take a seat on the chair across the room.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Your dads invited me." The older woman said simply, as if it was no big deal.

"Leroy, darling, do you think we should give these girls some privacy?" Hiram asked his partner, who nodded, both men sensing that Shelby wanted to do this alone. For this, she was very grateful. She wanted the chance to speak to her daughter on her own and try and figure out the best way of telling her that she was her biological mother.

They decided to go for a walk together and give them some space. They didn't know what Shelby planned to do but they figured she wouldn't want them eavesdropping.

Rachel watched as her dads left the room. Her brain seemed to be going at 100 miles an hour. Why was Shelby Corcoran here? At her house? How had her dads managed to get in contact with her and why would she even come all the way from New York just to see her?

Once the two men had left the room, Shelby motioned for her daughter to come and sit next to her.

She noticed Rachel hesitate so she gave what she hoped was an encouraging and friendly smile. Right now she couldn't tell whether her daughter looked excited, nervous or confused. Probably a mixture of all of them, Shelby reasoned.

"Ummm... why are you here?" Rachel asked again. No one was being very specific or helpful.

"Like your dad said, to see you. We were good friends a few years back, before you were born and before I became famous. I knew they were having you through a surrogate and wanted to finally get a chance to meet you and catch up with them." Shelby tried to explain.

She didn't want to tell her the whole truth yet. She hoped it would be easier if she let Rachel get to know her first and get over the shock of her being here.

"You knew my dads?"

"Yeah, it must have been just before you were born."

"Why did they never tell me about this?" She asked. Her dads knew how much she admired Shelby as a performer, she couldn't understand why they wouldn't mention it to her.

"I don't know, sweetie, you'll have to speak to them about that later maybe." Shelby replied. She didn't like lying to her daughter so instead she tried to steer the conversation away from family and try and work out how to help with the bullying situation, the real reason she'd come to Ohio at such short notice. "So, how was school today?"

How was she supposed to answer that? She couldn't tell a famous Broadway star that she was being bullied, she'd think she was pathetic. She decided to stick with 'It was good' and hope that it was a good enough answer.

Shelby figured it wouldn't be this easy. From what she'd been told, school hadn't been 'good' for a while.

"Can I come and see one of your shows?" Rachel blurted out. She hadn't meant to but it was something that had been playing on her mind since she arrived.

Shelby smiled and tried to suppress a little giggle. From what she's heard this girl could sing in front of a full house of people, but when it came to talking to her she became a nervous wreck.

"Of course you can. Maybe you could come over in the holidays and see it? Stay in a fancy New York hotel? Well, if your dads would allow me to treat you all to it. But I know what they're like when it comes to accepting gifts." Shelby took her chance. "Or, you could come and stay at my apartment."

Rachel just stared at her in shock. Being lost for words was not something she was used to but had Shelby Corcoran just asked her to stay at her apartment?

"Correct me if I'm way off the mark but can I assume that's a 'yes'?"

The young girl nodded.

"Your dads have told me a lot about you." She tried, hoping to find a topic of conversation that would make the usually confident girl less nervous. "You like singing?"

"Yes, as much as I like Broadway, maybe more! I hope to be as talented as you some day Miss..."

"It's Shelby." The older woman cut in.

"Sh... Shelby?"

She nodded. 'Wow' she thought, 'this girl really was starstruck'.

"Can I hear you sing?"

Rachel appeared to be instantly more in her element. Singing was something she knew she could do, something she'd been doing all her life and was, in her not so modest opinion, really good at. She could sing in front of a room full of people competing for a national championship, she knew she could do it in front of one woman.

"Okay." She smiled. "Will you sing with me?"

"If you want me to."

The pair sang Somewhere from West Side Story. Shelby was blown away by Rachel's talent and knew instantly that her Broadway dreams would be possible. She was easily more talented than a lot of performers the star had met.

She felt a few tears trying to fall from her eyes but quickly wiped them away, hoping Rachel didn't notice. She was so proud of her daughter, she'd turned into such a gorgeous young woman with passion, confidence and a beautiful voice. She figured singing with her meant as much to Shelby as it did to Rachel, having just met her idol.

"That was amazing Rachel. You've got a lovely voice."

"Thanks." She said, having regained some of her confidence. "I'm one of the lead singers in our school's glee club."

"I bet you're the best one there."

Rachel blushed. She was used to receiving compliments about her voice but recently all she'd received were negative comments, not really about singing, more just little things the kids at school could pick up on that they knew would knock her confidence.

To have a Broadway star tell her she was amazing meant the world to her. She doubted anyone from school would have experienced that.

Rachel's phone beeped in her pocket, indicating that she had a text. She hesitated, not wanting Shelby to think she was being rude by answering it.

"Are you going to get that?" She asked.

"No, I doubt it's anything important. Probably one of those junk texts from people trying to get you to claim for an accident that you've never actually had." Rachel brushed it off. Truthfully, she was scared it was someone trying to upset her, she didn't want to burst into tears over it.

"Okay." She said, as Rachel's phone beeped again. "Looks like someone's really trying to get hold of you. You can answer it, I don't mind" Shelby smiled.

Rachel opened her phone to see three messages from Kurt. That was strange, she must not have heard it go off the first time.

"Hi Rach, just checking you're okay after today. You don't really think I was convinced by what you said in the choir room, do you? xx"

That text was sent about half an hour ago. Rachel sighed and moved on to the next message.

"Hi it's me again. Why haven't you replied? I'm worried about you xx"

"Okay Rachel I get that you don't want to talk to me but just let me know you're ok or I'm coming over xx"

She sent a quick reply telling Kurt she was fine just a bit busy, promising to talk to him tomorrow if she got the chance.

"Boyfriend or secret admirer?" Shelby asked.

"No just a guy from school." Rachel replied, receiving a knowing look from the woman on her sofa. "It's not like that, he's gay."

She laughed and threw the pillow she was resting on at Shelby who gave her a mock glare before throwing it back at her daughter. The pair collapsed into giggles, both of them finally feeling a bit more relaxed.

"Did you tell him I was here?" Shelby asked.

"No, I wasn't sure if you wanted people knowing."

"Thanks, I just want more of a chance to spend a bit of 'alone time' with my daughter."