AN- I'm racing to complete this story before a new episode comes on to blow my mind/hijack my storyline. Enjoy!

"Will!"

"Shelby?" Shelby Corcoran was in my choir room. This couldn't be good. I prayed that Emma had already gone home for the day. "What are you doing here, Shelby?"

"Well, I got a call from your assistant about whether I would allow Jesse StJames to rejoin Vocal Adrenaline as lead singer! What are you trying to pull, Will? First you accuse me of sending in a spy. Then you steal my male lead. Now you're sending him back? What's his mission, espionage or sabotage?"

"What? Neither! I don't even have an assistant. Look, I'm sure we can sort this out!"

Then, Brittany bounced into the room.

"Hi, Mr. Shue! Hi, Mrs. Berry! Where is everyone?"

Mrs. Berry? Brittany was a sweet girl and a brilliant dancer, but I often had trouble following her train of thought. "We're rehearsing in the auditorium, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!"

"It's okay. Tell everyone to get started and I'll be right there."

"Okay!" she exclaimed and dashed out. When I turned around, Shelby was pale. She didn't have her normal imposing stance or shining smile. Since I first met Shelby, she had reminded me of someone, but I could never figure out who. Suddenly, Brittany's words clicked all the pieces into place.

"Sorry I'm late," Brittany said as she walking into the auditorium, where the members of New Directions were munching on star-shaped cookies. "I went to the choir room by accident. Oh, Rachel, your mom's here! She's in the choir room talking with Mr. Shue."

"Brittany, I don't have a mom. I have two gay dads, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. But Mr. Emery said in bio class that to be born…"

"You're quite right, Brittany. Of course I have a biological mother. My fathers screened possible surrogates by beauty and IQ. She gave birth to me, but I've never met her. What makes you think the woman in the choir room is my mother?"

"She looks just like you, and she stands just like you and moves like you. Okay, I was wrong about Jesse being Mr. Shue's son, but I know I'm right this time."

Rachel opened her mouth and took a breath, as if she were about to speak. Then, she was gone. Jesse took off after her, then Puck. The rest of New Directions looked at each other for a second, wondering what to do.

Finn sighed. "Let's go." The group found Puck in the hallway, looking the open choir room door. Puck looked like he was standing guard, and he held up an arm, barring the others from barging in. Still, from the hall they could see Will Shuester and Shelby Corcoran facing Jesse StJames and Rachel Berry. Will and Shelby were holding hands.

"Oh, my god!" Kurt whispered, whisking out his cell phone to snap a picture under Puck's arm.

"That is seriously freaky," Mercedes agreed, because Will and Shelby basically looked like Jesse and Rachel in fifteen years. Quinn slipped under Puck's arm and into the choir room.

"I think I'm going to vomit!" Santana hissed.

"Why?" Artie asked.

"Seriously? Rachel dating a Shue clone was bad enough; we all knew she had that crush on him when she chased him around the piano during 'Endless Love.' But Mr. Shue dating a Berry clone means that he…"

"Oh, ew, ew, brain bleach!" Kurt exclaimed. "Shue and Berry? Someone please wipe that mental image from my memory!"

At that, the foursome in the choir room turned their attention to the glee clubbers standing in the hall, trying (unsuccessfully) to look like they hadn't been spying.

Minutes earlier

Rachel tore into the room and froze in her tracks when she saw Shelby. I saw Shelby's hand shake, and without even thinking, I took it in mine. A moment later, Jesse appeared, too.

"Ms. C, it is you. You know, I never put it together before? Brittany said Rachel's mom was here: a woman here who looked just like Rachel. And suddenly I knew."

"Is it true?" Rachel asked. "Are you…Wait, Jesse, you know her? And Mr. Shue, why are you holding her hand? What are you doing here?"

I could feel Shelby steeling herself. She released my hand and straightened her spine.

"My name is Shelby Corcoran, and I am the coach for Carmel High. I'm here because Will's assistant called me regarding Jesse's return to Vocal Adrenaline."

"That was me," Rachel murmured, stunned. "I called you. After Jesse broke up with me, I knew I had to make things better. He gave up Vocal Adrenaline for me. He gave up everything, and I thought if you would take him back as lead…"

"You did that for me?" Jesse asked.

I could tell Rachel didn't even hear him. She couldn't take her eyes off of Shelby. Quinn ducked under Puck's arm and crossed the room, silently taking Rachel's hand.

"Are you my birth mother?"

"Yes."

"Did you know I was here?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known?"

"Since Sectionals. Jesse told me about your performance, so I watched it on YouTube." Shelby paused: "Barbra's my favorite, too."

Her voice was different on the last four words: fragile. It reminded me of Rachel's voice when she told me everyone hated her during our talk on the bleachers back when the club first began. That conversation had led me to Finn. I had forgotten that. Hell, if Rachel hadn't gotten Sandy Ryerson fired, I wouldn't be coaching the glee club at all. Rachel Berry had changed my life immensely and irrevocably, and I hadn't even realized it.

All the four of us could do was look at each other. Then, Kurt's voice in the hall broke the silence: "Oh, ew, ew, brain bleach! Shue and Berry? Someone please wipe that mental image from my memory!"

My eyes widened, and so did Rachel's, as Kurt's implication became clear to us. Erase it from mine, too, Kurt, I thought. Brain bleach for everyone.

AN- So, what do you think? Questions, comments, concerns? Please take a quick second to review.