This is not the dream I dreamed - Rachel faces up to the fact that her Broadway career could be over before it had chance to begin.
Rating - T
Character -Rachel (Also features her fathers, Finn, Will, Shelby, Beth and others)
A/N - Reviews/concrit are loved, and if there's anything you'd like to see happen the let me know and I'll try my best to work it in somehow.I'm from the UK, so if anything American is not quite right, please let me know and I'll fix it.
Rachel sighed as she lifted Lyla from the car, "I suppose we better tell Pappy and Granddad eh?" she ran her index finger over Lyla's nose, "I'm glad you're so little, hopefully you won't remember a thing." She took a deep breath before lifting the changing bag onto her shoulder and walking into the house.
"Hi Rayray, you're home late" Hiram called from the kitchen.
"Yeah. . ." Hiram knew straight away that something was wrong with his daughter.
"Is everything okay Rach?" he asked walking from the kitchen.
"Is Dad home?" she asked
"In the study, what's wrong Ray?"
Rachel nodded, "I'm going to put Lyla upstairs, could you get him please, I need to tell you something and I'd rather tell you both together." Hiram frowned as his concern grew for his daughter, but he said nothing, instead nodding and watching Rachel walk up the stairs before going to find his husband.
"I erm, I want to talk to you about Lyla's father" she said slowly, not lifting her eyes from the table as she sat before her fathers in the kitchen.
Leroy's head shot up, "Is he back? Does he want to see her?"
Rachel shrugged, "I don't know, but he knows he's her father, I, I just wanted you to know in case you started hearing any rumors, I wasn't entirely truthful with you, it's not someone I knew from summer school."
Hiram reached across the table and took Rachel's left hand in his, prompting Leroy to take hold of her right. "Rayray" Hiram spoke softly, "do we know him?" Rachel still didn't look up, and instead nodded slowly "and does he have a name?" Rachel remained silent.
"Sunshine" Leroy squeezed Rachel's hand, "you know we love you, no matter what happens, no matter who that little girl's father is, you'll always be my Sunshine, that baby upstairs, she'll always be my Lylaberry, we'll still be here."
"His name's Will" Rachel failed to hide the quiver in her voice, "Will Schuester."
Both Hiram and Leroy were understandably shocked, "When" Hiram asked, counting on his fingers as he tried to work out when his granddaughter was conceived, "were you still his student?"
"No, no it was just before I left for New York. I'd graduated"
"The party" Leroy didn't ask, he stated a fact. Rachel nodded before Leroy spoke again, "does Shelby know?"
Rachel nodded again, "I, Will, I let it slip today, I knew I'd have to tell him sometime, but it just slipped out, I went to tell her straight away, I wanted her to hear it from me."
"And is she. . ." Leroy didn't even know what he was asking.
"She's upset. She said she was angry with Will, but not with me, she said she'll ring me later, I don't know if she will, I don't blame her if she doesn't. I told her that even if she wants nothing to do with me, I still wanted her and Beth to be a part of Lyla's life."
"And Will?" Hiram asked.
Rachel shrugged, "it's up to him, I can't stop him seeing her, he has rights."
"Does anyone else know?" Leroy asked softly.
"You, Shelby and Emma Pilsburry. I think I want to tell Finn too."
Leroy squeezed Rachel's hand. "Go and see him Sunshine, get yourself some fresh air, clear your head, daddy and I will watch Lyla.
"Thank you" Rachel forced a smile as she stood from the table, "I won't be late home."
Leroy hugged Rachel, followed closley by Hiram, "You take as much time as you need Sunshine, we're not going anywhere and there are bottles in the fridge for Lyla right?"
Rachel nodded, "Yeah, we were going to spend the night at Shelby's before. . .before all this" Rachel's voice shook as tears once again began to fall from her eyes, "Shelby sometimes takes Lyla in with her to give me the night off, even though I usually wake anyway" she explained, "but now. . ."
"Oh Rayray" Hiram embraced his daughter again, "I'm sure Shelby just needs time to get her head around this, if she doesn't ring you tonight then maybe you should go see her after the weekend, when you've both had time to calm down."
"Daddy's right Sunshine, this was a shock for me, I can only imagine how Shelby felt, but what she says is right, Will is in the wrong, he knew he was in a relationship, he knew who he was in a relationship with. You didn't" Leroy kissed Rachel's head before continuing, "go see Finn, but if you don't feel like telling him right now you don't have to, we wont say anything, and then when you come home we'll order take out and watch funny girl okay?"
Rachel nodded, "Thank you". She whispered, hugging both her fathers again before leaving the house.
She decided against driving, and slowly walked towards Finn's house. She sighed when she saw Carol's car in the driveway beside Finn's truck and almost lost her bottle, but she took a deep breath and knocked firmly on the door. "Rachel" Carol smiled, "are you on your own?"
"Yes" Rachel whispered, "my fathers are watching Lyla, is Finn in?"
Carol took a moment to look at the young woman stood before her, "Is everything okay?" That was all it took for Rachel to break down again falling into Carol's open arms, "Oh Rachel" she sighed, half carrying Rachel into the house, rocking her the way she rocked Lyla, "I'll go fetch Finn" Carol spoke softly once Rachel had calmed, "but if there's anything I can do Rachel, if you ever need someone to lend you an ear, you know where to find me."
"Thank you" Rachel spoke for the first time since she'd entered the house.
"I mean it" Carol said firmly before going to fetch her son.
"Okay" Finn shrugged after Rachel had revealed Lyla's paternity.
"Okay?" Rachel frowned, "aren't you mad?"
"No" Finn frowned too, "why should I be?"
"I've just told you that our old teacher is my daughter's father and all you say is okay. I thought. . ." Rachel shrugged, she wasn't entirley sure how she'd expected him to react.
"It doesn't change anything" Finn stated simply, "so why should I be mad? It's not like I can do anything about it."
"It doesn't change anything? Really?"
Finn shook his head "why should it? I mean I've always known that Lyla's not mine, now I know whose she is. It's not like you've been telling me she's mine and now you're telling me she's not. This hasn't changed anything between us."
"It hasn't? But what if Will wants to see her, what if he demands DNA tests and visitation rights and, and?"
Rachel began to panic, her breath coming in short gasps as tears filled her eyes.
Finn placed his hand on Rachel's back, "Calm down Rach, if he wants a dna test then we'll do whatever it is we need to do, and if he wants to spend time with her" Finn pulled Rachel into a warm embrace, "then it just means we get more time to spend together" he smiled, kissing her forehead, "because as much as I love Lyla, now and again it's nice to not have to worry about her crying when we're in the middle of something" he smiled, trying to cheer Rachel up slightly.
"Thanks" she smiled softly as Finn wiped away her tears with his thumbs, "for being so understanding".
"Anytime" Finn smiled, "do you want me to walk you home?"
Rachel shook her head, "I'm okay thanks. I think I'm going to ask my dad's to watch Lyla tonight, I think I just need some time, y'know, to think things over."
Finn nodded and walked Rachel to the door before kissing her softly, "Okay, but if you want anything you can ring me, you know that right?"
"Yeah" Rachel sighed before Finn kissed her again.
"I'll ring you in the morning. Make sure you're okay." Finn told her, walking with her to the end of the drive.
"Okay" Rachel nodded, "I'll see you soon."
"Rach" Finn called after her as she negan to walk away. "I love you."
Rachel smiled as she turned to face him, "I love you too Finn".
Finn sighed as he turned to walk back into the house, he'd never seen Rachel so upset, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her everything would be okay, but he respected the fact that she wanted space. He just hoped that she'd be all right.