Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this chapter, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: This story is mostly AU after Mash-up (1x08), but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes and music used, I may sneak in a conversation, cover the same topic, or use the same song, but I will put my own twist on it and may use some of the music.
...
Rachel didn't wake up during the night, but every time she moved, Puck woke up to check on her; the last thing he wanted was for her to wake up with a bad dream or be upset, so he only got a few hours of sleep.
"I feel like I did when I got hurt," Puck groaned, rubbing his head as their alarm went off at five-thirty.
"Why?" Rachel asked, reaching over him to hit the snooze button.
"You got sleep, but I didn't. Every time you moved, I woke up to check on you," he admitted, closing his eyes and tugging the blanket up over him further, "I'll get up soon," he murmured.
Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she snuggled close to him, "I'm not going to school today, so you should," she told him.
"What?" Puck's eyes widened in shock, "you never miss school!"
"I have to find her, Noah. I can't wait. That's all I dreamed about last night; finding her. I need to know what she looks like, who she is, what she's doing," she admitted, biting her lip, "I'm going to stay home today and look for her online. It shouldn't be too hard, since I have her name."
"Then I'm staying home, too," he replied.
"No, Noah, go to school. Take notes, get our homework and I'll stay home with Abby," she said.
He eyed her suspiciously, "promise me you won't do anything stupid, like take off alone to someplace just to see her, if you find out who she is," he begged.
"I promise. If I do find out who she is, I won't take off alone," she assured him, pressing a kiss to his lips.
"Alright, I'll go to school," he murmured, "just let me sleep for a while longer."
Rachel nodded and slid out of bed, "I'm going to call my dads and ask them to call me in sick today and then I'll let Susan and Jessica know I'm not going, but you'll pick Jessica up, right?"
"Sure," he nodded, drifting back to sleep quickly.
Rachel felt bad for missing school, but she could not get her mind off what she learned the night before. Climbing out of bed, she wrapped her robe around her body and grabbed her laptop before heading downstairs. Moving into the kitchen, she turned the coffee pot on and then sat down at the table, opened up her laptop and already began the task of researching Shelby Corcoran, but before she started going online, she thought about who was at her party the day before, trying to figure out who could have left that CD. She knew it wasn't Puck's family, the Glee Club, or their parents, so she was left with her family, Kelly or Angela.
Pulling up Google, she typed in 'Shelby Corcoran, New York' and hit enter. "Over a hundred-fifty thousand results, what?" She groaned, "this is going to take a while," she muttered, standing up to fill a cup with coffee once the liquid began to fill the pot. "All this time I thought I'd never be able to know her, but now... Now I... I need to find her. I need to know her... Even just ten minutes with her to know what her life is like. She obviously has a beautiful voice and I got that from her, so I wonder what else I got from her," she thought, leaning against the counter as she sipped her coffee, "and not only that, but does she have any medical issues that I should know about? I mean, I am biologically half hers and I could have the same issue she has later on in life." Looking across to the clock, she saw it was after six, so she looked at her cell phone on the table, "should I really miss school today?" She wondered, "yes, I need to do this. I need to find her and if it means missing a day of school to do it, then so be it," she told herself, picking up the phone and calling her dads.
David answered the phone on the second ring, "Rachel, sweetie, is everything alright? Are you doing okay?" He asked quickly.
"Hi daddy, um, I'm... I'm okay, I think. I... I was wondering if you could call the school and tell them I'll be absent today. I... I need to find her and I can't wait," she explained softly, "I want to try to find her myself and if I can't, then I'll figure out other ways, but if she found me, then I should be able to find her," she added.
"Of course, sweetie. Take a few days off if you need to. This is a lot to take in right away, but I really think you should talk to someone, if not me as a psychologist, a colleague of mine, or a counselor," David admitted.
"I know, daddy, and I will talk to you, I promise. I just need some time to let this soak in. I go from thinking we can't have a relationship to finding out she's trying to find me," she wiped her eyes, "you're right, it's a lot."
"It is. Sweetie, promise me a few things," he requested.
"Anything," Rachel replied.
"If you do find out she's living nearby, one, don't take off trying to find her alone. If you don't want to take me or your dad, take Noah or a friend. You shouldn't be going alone. Two, let us know what you're doing and if you've found her. Don't hide this from us or try and take care of it all on your own, okay? Oh, and three, don't take Abby around her. It's probably going to be a huge shock to her if she finds out you have a baby; it's one thing to mention her, but I wouldn't let her meet her right yet, and fourth, be careful. We know you're a very smart girl, but we don't want you getting hurt," David said.
"I promise I won't hide anything from you guys and if I do find her, I'll go with someone. I don't know her; she's a stranger to me and as for Abby, I'll mention I'm a mom, but she doesn't need to know the details right now. I will be careful. I have to take small steps, so right now I need to find her, after that, I can decide what I want to do," Rachel told him.
"Thank you, sweetheart," David relaxed a lot, "it's all we ask."
"Daddy, can I ask you a few questions about her; it might help finding her."
"Um, sure, what would you like to know?"
"Well, I was born in Columbus, right? I thought we always lived in Dublin," she said.
"We did and yes your were born in Columbus. Shelby was living there at the time, since she'd just graduated from OSU with a teaching degree. The hospital there was closer to her than we were. Dublin is just outside of Columbus by about thirty minutes, so not too far away."
"Oh, alright, that makes sense. I've narrowed down who could have left the disc. It's obviously not Noah, his family, you, dad, or any of the Glee kids or their family, so it has to be someone from our family, Kelly or Angela."
"Yes, that is true," David nodded, "I hope, if it turns out to me some of our family, they have a good explanation for not discussing this with me first," he added quickly.
"Daddy," Rachel sighed, "it's done and over with. We can't... Well... I'm sure whoever left it had a good reason to do it secretly."
"Yeah, because she can't look for you until you're eighteen," David commented, seeing what time it was, "I should let you go. I have to finish getting ready for work and call the school for you. Your dad and I love you, dad says 'hi' and if you need anything, call us, okay?"
"Okay, daddy. Thank you. I love you both, too," she replied blowing them a kiss and then closed her phone, "I better go make sure he's going to get up, before I call Susan and Jessica," she thought, getting up, pouring him a cup of coffee and heading upstairs and into their room. "Noah?"
Hearing his name while he was dozing, Puck jumped up, "what? Is everything alright?" He asked looking around quickly.
Rachel was a little shocked at how quickly he'd woke up, "um, yes, everything is fine," she held out the coffee to him, "I just wanted to make sure you were going to school before I called Jessica and Susan," she said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
He took the coffee and sipped it a few times before setting it on the nightstand and laying back in bed, "if you're not going, I don't want to go, but if you insist I go, I will," he told her with a sigh.
"I think you should go if you're up for it. We have all our classes together except one, so you can just get the work and I can do it tonight so when I, hopefully, go back tomorrow I'll have the work ready," she explained. "Besides, it might be a bit suspicious if both of us are gone. I have my Spanish book, so you wouldn't need to get anything out of my locker," she added.
"Alright, fine," he sighed, "I'll go."
"My dads are calling me in and I'm going to call Susan and Jessica now to let them know. Do you still want to pick up Jessica?" She asked.
"Yeah, I will," he nodded, "about seven-twenty, which means I need to get showered," he sat up and then downed the coffee she'd given him, "thanks for the coffee."
"You're welcome. I'll have some breakfast made when you come down," she replied, leaning towards him to kiss him.
He returned her kiss, "oh the things I do for you," he smirked, "we still need to finish what we started yesterday, too," he added with a wink.
"Tonight," she promised, standing up and heading towards the door.
"You do realize I'll be thinking about that all day, right?" He replied before she could get out of the door.
Rachel paused and turned towards him, "then you've got something to occupy yourself with, because you know what you've got to come home to," she winked at him and disappeared down the hall with a grin on her face.
...
"This feels weird," Puck admitted as he zipped his backpack up and threw it over his shoulder.
"It does," Rachel agreed, "but it's just for today... I... I was thinking if I find her and she's local... Maybe tomorrow... That's if I decide I want to meet her... I mean, I know I do, but it depends on where she is and who I can go with. You have football practice and I don't think your uncle would be happy if you missed it, and Quinn has Cheerios, so I could ask Jessica. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with taking Mercedes or Tina," she admitted.
Puck wrapped his arms around her, "if you want to go, I'll go. Screw football," he told her, "you're more important."
Rachel smiled and nodded, "thank you. I love you, Noah."
"I love you, too, babe," he kissed her lovingly, "kiss Abby 'bye' for me and tell her I love her."
"I will," Rachel replied, reluctantly releasing him. "Don't forget to take notes and get our homework."
He laughed lightly, "I won't forget," he promised, "see ya later. Call if you need anything."
...
When Puck left, Rachel locked the front door and headed upstairs to take shower and get ready for the day before Abby woke up, and then moved into the nursery and sat down in the rocking chair to relax until she noticed Abby waking up.
"Good morning sweetie," Rachel smiled standing up to see Abby's eyes open and her arms and legs moving around a little.
As soon as Abby heard Rachel's voice and saw her, she smiled at her mom as she picked her up and Rachel carefully laid her down to change her dirty diaper, "how about you spend the day with mommy?" She asked picking her up once she was in a fresh diaper and kissed her cheek.
Abby made a happy sound and Rachel thought she liked that idea, so she headed downstairs with her and got a bottle ready. As she began to feed her, she sat at the table, skimming over the first few results on the screen since her hands were full and couldn't scroll through them. "You're gonna help mommy find her mother today," Rachel told Abby, "that makes her your grandmother. One day she'll meet you. Your daddy and I won't make you wait until you're almost eighteen to find out who your biological mother is. When you're old enough to understand, we'll tell you everything about Auntie Quinn and how she gave birth to you, but she's not your mom, I am, no matter what," Rachel kissed Abby's forehead and Abby reached up and her hand brushed against Rachel's cheek, "I love you baby girl," she blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes as Abby stopped sucking on her bottle and Rachel took that as the hint she was full.
Taking care of Abby first, Rachel then sat down at the table again with Abby on her lap, and holding her with her left arm, Rachel used her right hand to control the mouse and soon was beginning her official search for Shelby, "let's see what I can find."
Abby was still waking up, so she was quite content to sit on Rachel's lap with her pacifier, her hands resting on Rachel's hand that was holding her in place.
Skimming through dozens of pages of 'Shelby Corcoran, New York' and not coming up with anything; most of what she found was someone either named Shelby or Corcoran in New York, Rachel deleted 'New York' and replaced it with 'Ohio' and when she hit enter, she had over a million hits, "wow, I think I might have just hit the jackpot," she told Abby as butterflies filled her stomach.
Going through the first and second results, she noticed they were both news articles, involving Shelby Corcoran and Dublin, Ohio. "Oh no!" Rachel gasped when she saw the third result, feeling sick to her stomach. "Shelby Corcoran of Columbus, Ohio, is the director of Carmel High School's 'Vocal Adrenaline'..."
"She's... Oh my!" Rachel shook her head and clicked the link, bringing up Vocal Adrenaline's official website, specifically, to the biography of their director, with a picture, of Shelby Corcoran. "That's her!" Rachel gasped as she looked over the brunette haired woman, seeing herself, a few years older, but Rachel knew that was her. "Shelby Corcoran of Columbus, Ohio, is the director of Carmel High School's 'Vocal Adrenaline'. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Music Education from Ohio State University in 1992 and after remaining in Columbus for a little over a year, she moved to New York for a brief time, experiencing the fast paced world of the Big Apple. With no luck in her pursuits, she returned to Columbus in the summer of 1995 and took the position of choir teacher at Carmel High School and the following 1995-1996 school year, she became the director of the school's 'Glee Club' or 'Show Choir', 'Vocal Adrenaline'. She brings with her, not only her amazing vocal talent, but also her dance experience; she was an award winning dancer in her youth and with a mix of popular and classical dance, it's no wonder why 'Vocal Adrenaline' has numerous first place trophies lining their walls."
Taking a moment to let her mind catch up with her, she pulled up her email and created a message to her dads and pasted the link to that biography into the email and sent it to them before picking up her phone and sending them both a text message of: 'Check your email ASAP'.
She took a deep breath and stared at the picture of the woman's smiling face, and then pulled up a picture of herself, comparing the two. There was no mistaking Rachel being her daughter; they looked similar, yet there were differences in their features that Rachel knew came from her dad's DNA, which ever one was her dad; she still didn't know, and it doesn't matter who her biological father is; she loves them both the same.
Hearing her phone ring next to her she reached over and picked it up to see Alan's cell calling her, so she answered it, "hey dad," she said softly.
"Hey sweetheart. I got your messages, um, that's... She's your mother," he confirmed, "but I think you already knew that," he admitted, "how are you doing?"
"I... I don't know," Rachel sniffled.
"Do you want me to come over?" He asked calmly.
"No, dad, don't leave work for me, I'm... I'll be fine," she shifted so she could hold the phone with her shoulder and reached for a napkin to wipe her eyes. "I just don't know what I should be feeling... I'm so many emotions right now."
Alan was already packing up his desk to leave the office for the day, "honey, I wish I could tell you how you should feel, but I can't. There is no guide on this, but... I think many emotions is expected. It's a lot to take in," Alan told her. "What emotions are you feeling?"
"I'm... I'm sad, happy, frustrated, relieved, confused, mad, scared and nervous," she replied, standing up from the kitchen table, adjusting Abby and heading for the living room.
"Why are you sad?" Alan wondered, "I thought you wanted to know about her," he understood the other feelings, but that one surprised him.
Rachel sat down on the couch, "I'm sad because I don't want to hurt you or daddy for meeting her or wanting to get to know her."
"Oh sweetie, you won't. Like we told you last night, we offered her an opportunity to keep in touch because we wanted you to know her, but she turned down the offer, so we didn't push her. We never thought she'd try to contact us, so I think your dad and I are more shocked than anything. We're also concerned about you, but no, we're not hurt at all," he assured her.
She relaxed slightly and nodded, "okay."
"Honey, I'm gonna let you go. I have to do a few things, but I'm coming over. I don't want you home alone right now," he said.
"Dad, you don't-"
"Rachel, you're more important than work," he commented.
Rachel sighed, "alright. Thank you, dad," she smiled lightly, mentally agreeing that she'd like him to come over.
...
David had appointments every hour and usually had a few minutes between patients to check his phone and email, but Alan knew how to get a hold of him; calling the office and having them pass on the message.
"David, Alan's on the line for you, he said it's important," a secretary said seeing David in the office.
"Could you transfer it over to my room, please?" He requested, telling his next patient he'd be with them in a few minutes. Walking into his office and closing the door,he picked up the ringing phone, "Alan? Is everything alright?" He asked concerned.
"Have you checked your phone or email in the last twenty minutes or so?"
"No, I've been with a patient, why?" David moved to his computer to pull up his email.
"Rachel found Shelby. She sent us the link to her biography... Shelby is the director of Vocal Adrenaline," Alan said with a sigh.
David groaned and pulled up the email from Rachel and clicked the link, seeing the woman he hadn't seen for seventeen years, "that's her... She must have seen them at competition and realized who Rachel was," he said.
"That's what I'm thinking. I wanted to call and let you know. I'm on my way over there now; she's home alone with Abby and while I think she'd be okay, I'd feel more comfortable if someone is there with her and it's easier for me to take off work than it is for you, because you have patients," Alan explained.
David sat back in his seat, "yeah, I wish I could drop things and go, but you're right, I can't as easy. I'll come over on my lunch hour," he rubbed his forehead, "have you talked to her about this yet, or did you just get the email?"
"I called her when I got the message. Of all the things, she said she's sad because she doesn't want to hurt us by meeting Shelby or wanting to get to know her."
"But we always wanted her to know her," David replied, "so we wouldn't be hurt, just shocked this is happening this way."
"Yeah, I know. That's what I told her," Alan admitted.
David couldn't talk much longer, "I hate to go, but I have a patient waiting. Tell her I love her and I love you, Alan."
"I love you, too, David. I'll see you in a few hours and I will tell Rachel."
...
Alan knocked on the front door of the house, then pushed it open, finding Rachel on the couch with Abby. "Hey sweetheart," he said, closing the door behind him and moving over to her, "how are you feeling?"
Rachel shrugged and leaned against him as he sat down next to her, "I'm processing still," she admitted.
"That's understandable," he put his arms around her and Abby and rubbed Rachel's back, "your daddy says he loves you and I do, too," he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "and he's gonna come over on his lunch break."
"He doesn't have to, but okay," she nodded, "thank you for coming over. You didn't have to."
He smiled, "I know I didn't, but I wanted to be here with my daughter and granddaughter," he replied, taking Abby from Rachel to hold her.
Rachel relaxed against him as he played with Abby, and her eyes began to drift closed, but she jumped up when her cell phone began to sing 'Sweet Caroline', realizing it was her boyfriend. She reached for her phone on the table and answered it, "hey Noah," she said softly.
"Hey babe, how are you doing?" Puck asked sitting in a quiet spot outside the school during lunch.
"Better, now that dad's here," she admitted.
His eyes widened in shock, "better? What happened?"
"Um, I found her," she said softly, "she's um... She's the coach of Vocal Adrenaline."
"Holy shit!" Puck exclaimed, "well, I guess we know who left you the CD," he said, "Kelly and Angela. How are you taking it? How do you feel?"
"Yeah," Rachel nodded, "and I'm not even mad at them for it... I'm actually glad they did. I wish they hadn't done it secretively, but I know why they had to be... I'm taking it okay. I'm a lot of emotions right now," she explained.
"Well, Kurt, Finn, Quinn, and Jessica asked about you and now everyone in the club is curious if you found her. Do you want me to tell them or not?" Puck asked, biting his lip.
"You can tell them," she replied, "it's not going to be a secret for long."
...
"How is she?" Quinn asked, looking up at Puck.
Puck retook his seat at the table of Gleeks, including some of the new members, TJ, Ryan and a few of the girls, "um, well, she's okay, but I think she's still in shock... She found her."
"Already? That didn't take too long! Who is she?" Kurt asked.
"She's thecoachofvocaladrenaline," Puck muttered, rubbing his face with his hands.
"What?"
"I said, she's the coach of Vocal Adrenaline," he said softly.
"What?" "Rachel's mom is the coach of our competition?" "Oh my God!"
"You guys compete against Vocal Adrenaline?" Jessica asked.
"Yeah, they beat us at Sectionals last year, but we beat them at Regionals and Nationals," Mercedes explained.
"I've heard of them; they're pretty good, but you guys beat them? Awesome! They needed to be knocked down a peg or two," Jessica smiled, but then turned to her cousin, "how is Rachel taking this?"
"Well, she seems okay. Alan is with her right now," Puck replied.
"I don't want to sound like the pessimist here, but, if Rachel's mom is the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, what is the chances she'd want to join Vocal Adrenaline?" Kurt asked softly.
"None," Puck said, "if Rachel's dads would have stayed in Dublin, where Carmel is, she would be a member of Vocal Adrenaline, but they live here now and Rachel is loyal to New Directions, she wouldn't do that to us."
"Okay," Kurt nodded, "um, just forget I said anything... I don't want her to think I don't believe that, I just..."
"I get it, Kurt," Puck nodded, "do you believe that?" He thought, "yes, yes I do. She wouldn't uproot us and everything we've been working to build, just to destroy it because of this," he told himself.
...
David walked into his daughter's house just after one-pm to find Alan and Rachel, laying on the floor with Abby between them, on her stomach, and both were trying to get Abby to push herself up with her hands, "hey guys, how are you doing?" David asked.
Rachel smiled and stood up, "hey daddy," she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm... I'm okay," she replied. "I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart," he held her close and kissed her on the forehead before they pulled apart, "what are you guys doing?"
"Abby's arms are getting stronger and she's able to hold herself up a lot longer. She'll be crawling around in no time," Rachel smiled.
"That's great to hear," he replied, moving to take a seat on the couch near Alan.
Rachel sat back down on the floor, "um, I was thinking about going to Dublin tomorrow," she said softly.
Alan sat up so he was leaning against the couch, "to see Shelby?"
"Yes," Rachel nodded, "I want... The sooner I meet her, the better; that way I can see what feelings I have for her and if I want to pursue a relationship with her."
David and Alan exchanged glances, "as long as you let someone go with you," David reminded her.
"I will," Rachel replied, "Noah said he'd miss football practice if I found she was local and I wanted to meet her."
"Okay, talk to Noah and see what he says and if he's up for it, then go after school tomorrow," Alan said, glancing at David, who nodded in agreement.
...
With homework in his bag, Puck climbed into his jeep. They had a short Glee practice, but with Rachel gone they couldn't really practice any dances, so they ran through a few songs and then Will let them go and Jessica was catching a ride home with her dad, so Puck could go right home after Glee.
Pulling up behind Rachel's car in the driveway, he got out and headed inside, curious what he'd find. Alan was sitting on the couch watching TV. "Hey Alan," he said, "how's Rachel?"
"I think she's okay. She went and put Abby down for a nap a few hours ago, and decided to take one herself," he sat up a little, "she asked me to have you wake her up when you got home if she wasn't up yet," he added.
Puck nodded and ran his hand through his short hair, "okay... Um, so... Shelby... Rachel's mother is... Vocal Adrenaline's coach," he commented nervously.
"Yeah," Alan nodded, "big shocker. We knew she had a teaching degree, but we never thought she'd use it; at least not here. She wanted to go to New York, but she never told us why," he admitted. "Something brought her back to Ohio and I guess she figured she'd work somewhere close to where we lived, so one day she could meet Rachel; I don't know. If we had stayed in Dublin, Rachel probably would have had her for a teacher, so that would have been awkward; I guess it's a good thing we moved."
"Yeah, really," Puck agreed, "so, does she want to go meet her?"
"From what she said, she'd like to go tomorrow after school, but you'll have to talk to her about it," Alan admitted.
"I'll will," he motioned upstairs, "thanks for coming over."
"You're welcome and no thanks needed. She's still our little girl, even if she's a mom and practically married," Alan replied with a grin.
Puck blushed and started climbing the stairs, "gotcha," he nodded before going all the way up and slipped into the nursery first to see Abby sound asleep in her crib, so he moved into their room and quietly closed the door. Rachel was laying on top of the bed, on her side with a light comforter over her, facing away from him, so he walked over to his side of the bed and kicked his shoes off, "hey Rach," he whispered, climbing under the blanket with her.
She stirred a little at the movement, "hey Noah," she smiled, rolling onto her back to see him, "did you just get home?"
"Yeah," he nodded and kissed her lovingly. "I missed you today," he admitted, brushing his hand along her cheek, "how are you doing?"
"Okay," she replied, turning towards him, "now that you're home."
"Oh really?" He pulled the blanket up a little higher and ran his hand down her side, "miss me?"
"Always," she agreed, giggling as his hand slipped under her shirt, "Noah, my dad is downstairs.
"With the TV on," he smirked, pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Abby is-"
"Sound asleep," he nipped at her neck, "mom's making dinner for us tonight, I'm assuming your dads are going to be here and they all know not to bother us."
"Really?" At his nod, Rachel leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips, "make love to me," she whispered.
"Gladly," he smiled.
...
When Puck and Rachel came downstairs an hour later, both showered and Puck had Abby in his arms, the four adults and even his sister knew exactly what they'd done, "I don't even want to know," David laughed, seeing the blush on Rachel's cheeks.
"It helped a lot," Rachel admitted, "we'll leave it at that."
Deborah came out of the kitchen with a towel in her hands, "oh, you guys are back down here. I was wondering if I'd have to come up and get you," she admitted with a grin.
"Mom," Rachel blushed.
She walked to Rachel and rested her hands on her shoulders, "how are you doing, sweetie?"
Rachel nodded and slipped her arms around her waist, hugging her, "I'm okay. The shock and emotion is wearing off and now I'm just nervous, yet also excited. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I do want to meet her," she admitted.
Deborah nodded, "just be careful. If I was in her shoes, I'd do and say a lot of things just to get on your good side," she said, looking down at Rachel.
"I don't trust her, yet," Rachel said, which relaxed Deborah, "but thank you for the warning."
"I'm just looking out for my daughter. I'll be here for you no matter what and I'll always be your mom, if that's what you want," she reminded her.
Rachel smiled and hugged her tightly, tears filling her eyes, "thank you and I really like you being my mom; that's not going to change," Rachel assured her, "I was wondering if you'd come with me and Noah tomorrow."
"Me? Really?" Deborah asked shocked, looking at Alan and David, immediately feeling like she was stepping on their toes.
"Yes," Rachel nodded. "I spoke with dad and daddy and it would be too awkward for them to come along. You were my next choice and it'd really mean a lot if you did. I could really use my mom on this trip."
"We'd really appreciate it if you went," David added.
Deborah smiled, "I'd love to go. I'll cancel Cheerios practice tomorrow and we can go after school," she replied.
"Thank you," Rachel smiled, then moved over to Ethan, "I hope you're not upset that I didn't ask you-"
Ethan shook his head and wrapped his arms around her in a light hug, "I'm not upset at all. This is a trip for a mom, not a dad," he assured her, "you'll always be a daughter to me, too."
...
Rachel returned to school the following day, assuring all their friends that she was okay, but was also still shocked that her biological mother was the coach of their competition. "I heard that someone brought up me leaving New Directions to go to Vocal Adrenaline, and no, that will never happen. I would not do that to you guys, nor would I destroy my family just to be closer to her; I've been without her for seventeen years and though I'd like to meet her, I'm only looking for a friendship," she told them all over lunch.
Kurt apologized for bringing up that question, but Rachel told him it was a valid concern and she was not hurt by him asking.
Puck had talked to his uncle about missing practice, which Ben was fine with, since he'd talked to him about it, and Deborah canceled Cheerios practice for that day after school. When school was over, Puck, Rachel and Jessica headed home. Puck and Rachel picked up Arin and Abby and as they pulled into their driveway Ethan and Deborah were also just getting home.
After a few minutes of dropping things off and saying 'goodbye' to Abby, Arin and Ethan, Puck, Rachel and Deborah got into Rachel's car and with Puck's GPS set for Carmel High School and him driving, the three were off to Dublin, about an hour and a half away; the town itself about thirty minutes northwest of Columbus.
"So, you lived in Dublin your whole life until you moved to Lima?" Puck asked about halfway there.
"Yes," Rachel nodded, "we moved before I started ninth grade because dad got a job offer from the law firm he's working at now that he couldn't refuse and daddy knew he'd be able to find a psychology job here."
"If you hadn't moved, you would have already met Shelby," Puck commented looking at her.
Rachel blushed, "I know, I thought about that," she agreed, "and if we hadn't, I would have never met you, so I'm glad we did."
"Me too," Puck agreed with a smile, reaching over to take her hand in his and squeeze it gently.
Rachel returned the gesture and then glanced in the backseat to see Deborah leaning her head against the window, her eyes closed, "I think mom's asleep."
"No I'm not, I'm just relaxing. It's not every day I can kick back in the car," she admitted, looking at them; hiding just why she was tired.
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Pulling into the parking lot of the Carmel High School Auditorium, Puck noticed the large group of black Range Rovers parked together, "they practice in their auditorium all the time?"
"Yes," Rachel pulled a piece of paper from her bag, "their website says they practice every day after school in the auditorium for at least four hours," she replied.
"Okay," Puck smirked, and after a pause he looked at her, "are you ready?" He asked seriously; they'd come so far and he knew she was nervous, but he hoped she didn't want to turn around.
Rachel took a deep breath and exhaled, calming her nerves, "yes, I am."
The three slid out of her car and once the doors were locked they walked into the front doors of the auditorium. Following the music to the open door of the lower level, they slipped inside and found seats in the shadows of the back area, watching for a moment. Shelby was dressed in black pants and sweater, pacing back and forth as the teens followed her count with dance steps, dressed in their practice outfits. "They look amazing," Rachel admitted.
Shelby stopped and threw her hands up in frustration moments later, "take five," she waved and then stomped off the stage and over to her table in the seats.
Rachel glanced at her mom and boyfriend and squeezed his hand before standing up, knowing that was the perfect moment. Walking down to the center aisle, Rachel headed for Shelby, "Ms. Corcoran?" She said softly as she reached the seated woman. When Shelby turned around and her eyes widened in shock, Rachel continued, "I'm Rachel Berry... I'm your daughter..."
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Underlined words are from 1x20/1x21 'Theatricality'. For those of you who don't know, 'Theatricality' and 'Funk' were switched, so the Lady Gaga episode could air right after the final performances of American Idol.
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A/N3: Hey! How did you like this? I know I left it in kind of a cliffhanger, but I haven't quite figured out just what I want Shelby to be like, so I wanted to hold off continuing this until I had an idea of where I wanted to. The next chapter will pick up right after this one left off.
A/N4: Right now, all of my fics, at the most will have spoilers up until the end of season 1 (1x22 - Journey). I'm not looking forward to having Finn/Rachel thrust down our throats (yuck!), but I can't wait for the new season to start, to see more Mark Salling / Noah Puckerman on my TV and have new music.
Real life note: Tuesday, September 14th was major day. Sadly it was confirmed that my mom does have cervical cancer and the tumor is slightly larger than they thought, but the cancer has not spread and is in the early stages, so though it sucks she does have cancer, we are very thankful that it is treatable and the doctors are looking at a 100% recovery. She will begin 5 weeks of external radiation soon, here locally, then after a few week break she will have 5 sessions of internal radiation over in Seattle, twice a week, so it'll be like a span of 10-14 days. After all the radiation is over and some exams and tests, the doctor will do a complete hysterectomy and after 6-8 weeks recovery for that, she should be cancer free. I have faith in the doctors she is working with. The doctor that she saw on Friday, the 17th, (the one who will be doing the radiation here) said it is an honor to work with the doctor in Seattle that is the specialist my mom is seeing, so I know she is in the best hands possible and they are looking for a complete cure of the cancer. Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers, messages, etc., it means so much and over the next few months I'm going to need it. I'm sorry I have not gotten back to everyone; it's been a long few weeks, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of the net, writing and responding to everyone.
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