Shelby awoke the morning after she arrived back in New York to the sound of her cell phone ringing. Seeing that her agent was calling she picked up, hoping that she didn't sound as tired as she felt.

"Good morning." Kimberly said, sounding a lot more lively than Shelby.

"Do you have to call this early?" Shelby asked.

"It's 10am." Kimberly stated.

"It is?" Shelby sat up, shocked that she'd slept in so late. Luckily she didn't have anything planned for the day apart from her show in the evening.

"Yep." Her agent replied. "I've had a call from the National Show Choir Board and they were wondering if you'd be a guest judge for their Midwest Regional's in two weeks?" She asked.

Midwest Regional's? Shelby thought. That's the competition Rachel was performing in, wasn't it?

"I mean I get that it's a bit small-time for you at the moment but you were in show choir at school and we're trying to push your image being all about giving back." Kimberly's voice continued in the background. "And they said they'd consider you to be a judge at National's as well which could be really good promotion for you."

"I'll do it." Shelby agreed.

"Great, I'll let them know and call you when I get the details. Bye Shelby." Kimberly said before hanging up.

Shelby instantly sent a text to both Will and Rachel informing them of her position on the judging panel for their upcoming competition. She knew they'd both be in classes but they'd get back to her when they were free.

Unfortunately for Rachel and Shelby the two weeks before Regional's went by all too slowly. The spoke on the phone as often as possible but it wasn't the same as seeing each other. Shelby's flight only got in two hours before the competition was due to start, giving her no time to see Rachel before the show. She did get a chance to send her a quick text wishing her luck in her performance.

The New Directions performances were flawless in Shelby's eyes, although she had to admit she may have been biased as she'd taught them one of the numbers used and her daughter was the lead soloist in another. Rachel had neglected to tell her that she was singing 'Let It Go' from Frozen after being inspired by her performance at glee club.

In the judge's room Shelby fought for the New Directions to win, not only because of Rachel but because it was clear to her that they were the best. One of the judges accused her of favouritism because they sang her song and they were from her old high school but Shelby insisted that it wasn't the case. There was something about the judge that Shelby didn't like but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Luckily, the majority voted for the New Directions and she was given the honour of announcing the win on stage.

Seeing all the nervous high school kids on stage brought back memories of when Shelby herself was in glee club. She took a microphone from a tech guy in the wings and walked out to centre stage. She announced the team who had gained the title of third place before pausing for suspense.

"And the winners of the Midwest Regional show choir competition are... the New Directions!" She announced, looking over to Rachel with pride.

It took everything in Rachel's power not to run across the stage and hug her mom right then. She knew she couldn't do that or the rumour mill of the press would start and she didn't want that to happen.

Shelby kept her distance until the New Directions were gathered in their dressing room backstage where she went to see them under the pretence of offering them her congratulations as a judge.

When she entered the dressing room she saw Finn opening a bottle of something that looked suspiciously like champagne.

"That better not be alcoholic!" She warned them by way of a 'hello'.

"Don't worry it's not." Will said from his seat on the couch by the wall.

"Well done everyone. You were great out there today." Shelby smiled at them.

"We didn't know you were going to be a judge." Quinn said.

"I told Mr Schue. I guess he didn't want you getting complacent thinking I'd go easy on you because he knew there's no way that would happen." She laugher, winking at Rachel who smiled back.

"Don't lie to them, Shell." Mr Schue replied. "You're not as scary as you act and I think we all know it."

Shelby sat down next to Rachel to enjoy the celebrations. Both women had to try hard not to let on that they were mother and daughter. From what Rachel had told her about some of the people in the glee club she couldn't trust them not to go to the press if they found out the truth.

The New Directions took a bus back to Lima where they decided on having a celebratory meal at Breadstix. It was the last day of the semester so no one had a curfew, although Rachel was eager to get home early to see Shelby. After their meal she made her excuses and left them to it, slightly elated after feeling included in their group, not to mention the excitement of their Regional's win.

Rachel came home to find her dad's cleaning up after their dinner.

"Well done today Rachel! You were amazing." Hiram said when they heard the front door slam.

"Thanks." Rachel smiled. "Where's mom?" She asked.

"Upstairs in the spare room. She's got a date tonight." Leroy informed her.

"A date?" Rachel asked.

"With your glee club teacher." He confirmed.

Rachel ran upstairs to find Shelby putting the finishing touches to her hair.

Seeing Rachel approach in the mirror, Shelby got up and engulfed her daughter in a hug.

"You were fantastic today sweetie. I'm so proud of you!" She said.

"Thanks mom." Rachel said, her smile growing wider with every compliment. "Dad said you're seeing Mr Schue tonight."

"I am." Shelby smiled, blushing slightly at the thought of her first proper date with Will. "Are you still ok with it?" She asked.

"Yeah."

Shelby turned back to the mirror and pinned the last stray section of hair in to place.

"Are you all packed for tomorrow?" She asked.

"Almost. The only things I haven't packed are what I'm going to need tomorrow morning. What time is our flight?"

"Half nine." Shelby replied.

"I can't believe I'm going to be flying first class!" Rachel squealed in excitement.

Shelby giggled at how excited she was about the flight. She wasn't sure Rachel had even considered what would happen when they actually landed in New York until she saw a pile of her playbills on her bed ready to be packed. Shelby had promised to take her to as many shows as possible and she wanted to get everything autographed.

Rachel excused herself to get a drink, allowing Shelby to get changed out of her robe and into her new dress. Will was taking her to a nice restaurant just outside Lima so she wanted to dress up. Compared to New York, Lima didn't have much in the way of fancy date locations.

By the time Shelby returned from her date, Rachel and Hiram were asleep. Leroy had stayed up to watch the end of a film and see how it had gone.

"So how was your date?" He asked when he caught her eye through the doorway.

"Amazing." Shelby gushed.

"Tell me he paid." Leroy laughed.

"Yes he did." Shelby grinned.

"Good." He smirked, knowing he'd have stood up to Mr Schuester if he'd been anything less than a gentleman to his friend.

The pair wished each other goodnight and Shelby went upstairs to the guest bedroom.

In what seemed like no time at all, her alarm was ringing shrill in her ears. Groaning, she hit the snooze button, turning over and attempting to get some more sleep before the inevitable ringing started again. Those precious moments of relaxation were short-lived, however, when she remembered what was happening today. She was taking Rachel to New York. A huge smile appeared on her face at this thought as it was something she'd been looking forward to for months, and if possible even before that. She'd been dreaming for so long for a chance to show her daughter around her favourite city on Earth. She thought of all the places she'd be able to show her: the theatres, the tourist attractions and of course the many malls and restaurants she loved.

Before she even had a chance to think about getting ready, she was interrupted by Rachel.

"Mom?" She called out, knocking gently on her door.

"Come in." Shelby smiled and Rachel opened the door and walked over to sit next to Shelby on her bed.

"What are we doing today when we land?" She asked, excited that the day she was to visit New York had finally arrived.

Shelby yawned and sat up next to her daughter. "Well I've got to work tonight so I thought maybe we could just unpack and relax in my apartment and then you could come and see the show?" She suggested. Since Shelby had arrived they hadn't had much of a chance to talk about what their plans were, although Rachel hadn't stopped talking about all the things she wanted to do over her two week trip. "Then tomorrow we can go sightseeing as it's my day off." She finished.

"That sounds amazing." Rachel smiled, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling absentmindedly.

"Don't get too comfortable." Shelby warned with a teasing smile on her face. "We need to start getting ready if we're going to make our flight."

At this Rachel jumped straight off of the bed and hurried to her bathroom making Shelby laugh at her enthusiasm.

After an hour and a half of rushing around the house making sure that they were ready and Rachel hadn't left anything behind, the two women were in the car on the way to the airport. Rachel waited patiently whilst Shelby returned the rental car and sorted out their luggage.

Once they had taken their seats in the first class cabin a flight attendant came up to them and offered them each a glass of champagne. Rachel's eyes lit up but a sharp glare from Shelby prevented her from answering. Shelby politely declined the drinks; she felt like she'd only just woken up, and asked instead for a coffee for herself and a glass of water for Rachel.

The flight itself was uneventful by Shelby's standards, although she was happy that Rachel seemed to be having the time of her life. They young girl informed her that she'd only ever been on a plane twice for a vacation during middle school. Other than then, the Berry's had remained local or travelled by car when they went on trips.

Rachel couldn't keep the smile from her face when they landed in New York. The airport was infinitely busier than the one in Ohio and she was amazed at how quickly her mom was able to push them through the crowds. They made their way outside in record time and Shelby got them a cab to take them straight to her apartment. Rachel had to admit she was shocked that no one batted an eyelid at Shelby, being a famous Broadway star. When she'd mentioned it Shelby had laughed and told her that people in New York only really looked out for themselves. Unless she was in the theatre she rarely got stopped for an autograph, unlike in Lima where the appearance of a famous person was really rare so people noticed her more frequently.

They arrived at Shelby's apartment by about noon. As she entered she flashed a smile at the doorman who smiled back at her and offered them a hand with their suitcases. Shelby assured him that they were fine and they took the elevator up to her apartment.

"Here we are." Shelby said as she unlocked her front door.

"Wow!" Rachel said as she stepped inside, her eyes taking in the sight. "It's huge! It looks so much bigger than it did on Skype." She said.

Shelby laughed. "Your room is right through there." She said pointing in the direction of her guest bedroom.

Instead of checking out where she was going to be sleeping, Rachel's eyes fell on the Tony award sitting on the mantel.

"Oh my God!" She screamed, dropping her bags and running over to it. Shelby followed her and picked it up, giving it to Rachel who she knew would be too scared to touch it otherwise. "Oh my God!" She repeated. "Can you take a picture of me holding it?" She asked in excitement.

"Of course."

"My phone is in the front pocket of my purse."

Shelby took out the phone and took a photo of Rachel holding her Tony award.

"I can't believe I'm actually here!" Rachel said, finally letting out all the excitement that had been brewing since they'd left that morning, and even before that. Despite having known Shelby for almost a month, she felt that the reality of how famous her mom was still hadn't quite sunk in. The Shelby that she knew around the house seemed like a completely different person to the Broadway actress in the fancy apartment with the awards that she was with then. Although Shelby herself was no different, Rachel seemed a bit nervous about the situation, but she was sure the excitement was suppressing those nerves.

"Shall we start getting unpacked and then we can have some lunch?" Shelby suggested.

Rachel agreed and took her suitcase into the spare bedroom. Shelby helped to hang up all her clothes while Rachel unpacked her toiletries in the en-suite and set up her laptop so that she could Skype with Kurt and her dads later.

They spent most of the afternoon relaxing, which Shelby was happy for after having a busy week. Rachel slowly began to feel more comfortable in Shelby's apartment. It was getting close to the time when Shelby usually left for work so the pair headed out. They grabbed a take-out on the way for Rachel to eat while Shelby was in make-up.

"Can I come with you and watch?" Rachel asked. Shelby agreed and they made their way around backstage.

Rachel was introduced as Shelby's niece to the crew working on the show. She got on well with everyone backstage, asking questions about what they did.

When it was time for the show to start, the deputy stage manager showed her to her seat which Shelby had reserved in the front row. Rachel watched the performance in awe, singing along quietly to all of the songs. At the end of the show Rachel gave a standing ovation and Shelby beamed when she caught sight of her daughter giving her applause. Once the cast had left the stage, Rachel was ushered backstage and to Shelby's dressing room.

"Are you going out to sign autographs tonight?" Rachel asked once Shelby had finished taking a shower.

"Only if you don't mind. Sometimes it can take a while if there are a lot of people there."

"I don't mind. I can wait here."

"Ok." Shelby said. "I'll try not to be out there too long." She assured her.

While Shelby was away, Rachel decided to see if she could find any more of the cast to sign her playbill. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going when she bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry." She apologised when she heard something fall to the floor.

"It's ok." A man replied, crouching down to pick up the papers he'd dropped.

"Here let me help." Rachel offered.

Once all of the papers were collected, they straightened up and got a good look at each other for the first time.

"Hi, I'm Ben." The man said with a smile. He looked to be only a couple of years older than herself.

"Rachel." She greeted, shaking his outstretched hand. "I'm Shelby's niece." She lied.

"Wow you two look really alike." Ben commented.

Rachel laughed, hoping not to draw too much attention to that fact.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked, having not met him before the show.

"I'm here on placement from NYADA." Ben replied. "Tonight was my first night on the lights, hence the script." He said, indicating the papers they'd just picked up.

"That's really cool." Rachel smiled. "I'm looking to apply to NYADA. I want to be on Broadway like Shelby."

"Good luck." Ben said. "Although if you do get in I hear the dance teacher on the performing arts course is a real bitch."

"I'll bear that in mind." She laughed. "I should get back before she notices I'm gone. See you around." Rachel said as she waved goodbye and headed back to Shelby's dressing room.

"Where have you been?" Shelby asked with a raised voice as Rachel entered the room.

"I just went for a walk."

"I was worried sick!"

"I was just talking to a guy who goes to NYADA. I didn't realise you'd be back so soon."

"Rachel you're not in Lima any more. New York can be a busy and dangerous place. I didn't know what had happened to you!" Shelby shouted.

"I'm sorry." She apologised. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Rachel sat down on the couch, trying to force back the tears forming in her eyes. Shelby had never shouted at her before and she hated that she'd upset her mom.

"It's ok I'm just glad you're safe. Promise me you'll never go off again without telling me first."

"I promise." Rachel sniffed and Shelby leaned in to give her a hug.

"How about we head home and get some rest? We've got a busy day tomorrow." Shelby suggested. Rachel nodded and they walked the short distance back to Shelby's apartment while they talked about the performance and Rachel told her mom how much she had loved it. By the time they were home they were both exhausted and went to sleep quickly.