What does a mother's hug feel like? Does she hold you when you have had a bad day? Ugh. I'm sorry, these are personal questions. You don't have to answer them. Hell, what am I talking about? I am not even going to send this. Anyway, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for listening.

Love,

Rachel Barbra

I finish reading the email, tears flowing freely down my cheeks. How can a girl so young, have such a hard life? Her mom abandoned her to two men who obviously do not have time for her. She gets slushied (whatever the hell that is) at school. This poor girl. I need to see her again. How do I go about this, without looking creepy? Ahh! I got it; I will see about adding a new concert to my tour. Next stop: Lima, Ohio.

I grab my phone and call my manager.

"Yes, Bill, it's Shelby. I need you do work your magic and work it quick." I say before he even answers the phone good.

"What's up?" He replies calmly. I love that he stays so calm with me; that is one of the main reasons I keep him around.

"I need you to see about booking a show in Lima, Ohio within the next couple of weeks, no longer than a month."

"Umm, okay. I would ask questions but I am just going to roll with this. Stay on the phone, while I see what I can do."

"Okay. Thanks." I say placing the phone on speaker and sitting it on the table. I hear him making some phone calls so I reread the email from Rachel, going over every detail. So her mom abandoned her to two gay men. Oh Shit, Shelby! You gave your daughter away to a gay couple. Is Rachel your daughter? I swear on my life if she is I will hunt down the Robertsons and make them suffer. Wait, Robertson was the last name of the men I gave Rachel to, not Berry. Oh okay. Well maybe this means my baby is safe. I really hope so, I don't know what I would do if she was to be treated the way this little girl has been and is continuing to be treated.

"Shelby?" I hear Bill call my name, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah? Did you get it fixed?"

"Yes, but there is only a small problem. You see the only place that is available is with a symphony. Would you be okay with that?" He asks carefully.

"Of course. I just need to get to Lima. When is the date?" I ask.

"In two weeks. Just know that by doing a show with such short notice that you will not sell as many tickets."

"I do not care about the tickets that are sold. I would do it for free; I just need a reason to be there."

"What is so important about Lima, Shelbs?" He asks with a light laugh.

"I met this girl who lives there and she needs me. I know, I know, I shouldn't get involved, especially with all of the hoaxes happening but I know this girl. Thank you so much. Email me the rest of the details please, and go ahead and release the news and the tickets can go on sale immediately."

"Well, even if I told you not do to this, you wouldn't listen. So, I hope this works out right. I am typing up the details as we speak. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Sure thing, thanks again."

"You're welcome, Shelby." With that he hangs up. I open a new email to Rachel.

Hey Rachel,

Please don't worry about writing me; that is why I gave you my email. You can always vent to me. I really hope that by you emailing me, you did not self-harm yourself. I am sorry to hear about what those two girls did to you and Kurt. I am not sure I see the point in throwing a slushy at someone, if that is even what slushing is. I have to ask, have you told any of the teachers at your school what happens there? Do they know about the slushies being thrown? Honey, I do not know your home life, but if your parents are hardly there maybe you should tell someone about it. I know you probably think that you are old enough to handle yourself, and you are, but I know if I were to have a child I would not allow them to be home alone for weeks at a time. I am not saying anything negative about your dads, they must trust you tremendously, I just couldn't see doing that. I can't imagine how hard it must be growing up without a mom. I am sure your mom thinks about you all the time. I know she loves you because even if you are not around your child, you will always love them. I can't speak for you mom, but I am almost positive she wishes she never gave you up. Maybe there was something that you are unaware about, that has caused her to stay out of your life. Something out of her and your control. I can't tell you what to do when it comes to your fathers but if they think you don't love them because you want to find your mom then that is on them. Every child has a right to know who their birth parents are, if they want to, without being made to feel guilty. Yes, I do have a mom and we are extremely close. My mom always held me when I had a bad day and sometimes she would hold me just because she felt like it. There is no other hug in the world like a mother's hug, Rachel. They seem to make all of your worries disappear. They are warm and you feel protected, like no one will ever be able to hurt you. I am hoping one day you will be able to experience one because every child should. They may have been personal questions, but I do not mind. I feel like I can tell you these things. I am glad you decided to send this email. Oh one more thing before I go. In two weeks I will be performing with the Lima Symphony Orchestra, I would really enjoy it if you and your friend Kurt were able to make it. Don't worry about the tickets, I will get them myself. I will call you as the time gets closer to let you know where to pick them up, maybe we could do dinner after the show. Keep your chin up, Rachel.

Love,

Shelby Kim

After hitting send, I decide that I need sleep. This is going to be a crazy next few days. Crawling into my warm bed, my mind drifts off to the one girl who means more to me than any other person on this planet, my daughter. I really do hope she is safe and warm. I hope she has a happy life, and knows she is loved.

Rachel's POV

I wake up the next morning, preparing for this day to be hell…again. Kurt went home last night after he convinced me it was a good thing he sent my letter. I decide to skip my morning routine and head straight to the computer.

**1 new email**

I open it up and see that Shelby has responded to my original email. Shelby doesn't know what a slushy is, I laugh to myself. Probably because she was so popular that none of the kids ever picked on her. Is this woman a mind reader? It is horrible growing up without a mom. Oh god, those mom hugs she is referring to sound amazing. She is going to make a great mother one day. When I get to the part about her newly added concert, I swear I had to reread that part about five times. My eyes were surely playing tricks on me. She is coming to Lima? This small town? Does she realize that she probably will not sellout? She wants both Kurt and I to come backstage after the show and she is going to pay for us to come? Holy Barbra. I have to call Kurt!

"Kurt!" I scream the moment he answers the phone.

"What Diva? Do you even know what time it is?" he replies groggily.

"Oh like you weren't already awake to do your morning routine. Anyway, that is not important. I am so glad you sent the letter to Shelby last night. She responded and was so caring. Ugh, it was just great. But the best part is she is coming to Lima for a concert in two weeks and has decided she wants to get us tickets and wants us to come backstage and wants to do dinner afterwards. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!" I say in one breath.

"No way! I am coming over before school to see it for myself. Be there in an hour."

"Okay, let yourself in." I hang up and immediately begin to get ready for my day. After my shower, I go downstairs to make my protein shake and I make Kurt one as well, he probably hasn't eaten anything this morning. About half way through making the shakes, I hear him coming into the kitchen.

"Okay, prove it." He says taking the shake from me and turning toward the stairs. I know he has gotten to the concert part when I hear him choke on his shake.

"Holy shit, Rachel. She really is coming here. We have so much to prepare for. You should invite her to stay at your house, I mean hell your dads probably won't be here, and if they are they won't care that a Broadway legend is staying at their house. I mean we don't have any nice hotels around here and she shouldn't have to sleep in a rundown place."

"I will. So, you know I wouldn't normally suggest this but why don't we skip school today. We can chill out here and just wait to talk to Shelby." I say knowing I shouldn't have even said that.

"Of course! I am going to call you out of school today and you can call for me, that way the school won't call our parents."

"Umm, I have never done that before." I say second guessing myself.

"Come on, I will show you how to do it. Just think of it as a chance to practice acting." He had me with a chance to practice.

After we both successfully called each other out of school, I sent Shelby a text asking her to call me when she woke up. Kurt and I sat down to watch Funny Girl while we waited for the phone call.

About half way through the movie, my phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rachel. You asked me to call you, is everything okay?"

"Good morning, Shelby. Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to thank you for the tickets; you really didn't have to do that." I said.

"Of course I did, Rachel. I mean I want you there so why not buy the tickets?" She asks

"Okay, well thank you again. Also, I was wondering where you were going to be staying when you come to town?" I begin to wonder if this is a good idea.

"I am not sure yet, do you have any recommendations?"

"Uh, actually, I was going to offer my house for you. I mean I understand if you don't want to stay at some fan's house, but honestly it would be better than any of these hotels around here." I say as fast as I can before I chicken out. I turn to look at Kurt, whose eyes are as big as saucers. He is biting his nail in anticipation of the answer. I decided that I should put the phone on speaker so he can hear.

"That actually sounds like a great idea. I wouldn't need to come there before the show, so it would only be after dinner and I will be leaving the next morning. Are you sure this is okay, Rachel? Have you asked your dads?"

"Well, no. But they won't mind, I have people over all the time without their permission and they don't care. Plus you are a legend, so I am sure they would be okay with it. I can call and ask them though, if you would prefer."

"Please do. Call them and then let me know."

"Okay, Shelby. I will talk to you later."

"Bye, Rach." I hung up the phone and Kurt let out a scream.

"BROADWAY LEGEND, SHELBY CORCORAN, IS GOING TO BE STAYING AT MY BEST FRIENDS HOUSE!"

I just laughed.