A/N - Here's the next chapter for you guys! I appreciate all your reviews; I have to admit that I was surprised hardly anyone commented on Shelby and Rachel's confrontation. Did Shelby do a good motherly smackdown on Rachel or was it kind of blah? Let me know - it's killing me! :)

Chapter 15 - Like Mother Like Son

Ding. Ding.

Ding. Ding.

After being chewed out by Holly, Rachel had grabbed her bag and walked out of the studio and went straight home. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. And all she wanted to do was sleep.

She desperately needed to talk to Quinn and lay down all her cards for the blonde to see and know exactly how she felt and what she wanted. But Rachel knew she needed to be well-rested and in the right frame of mind in order to have that conversation, or else it would just turn into another argument.

It was morning when Rachel was woken up by the incessant ringing of the doorbell. She groaned as she rolled onto her back, pulling her pillow over her head, hoping it would smother out the annoying sound.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. The ringing just kept going and going.

Ding. Ding.

Ding. Ding.

"Shut the hell up!" she screamed as she threw the pillow across the room and reluctantly pulled herself out of her warm bed.

Rachel stomped her way down the staircase and to the front door, not giving a shit that she was only wearing blue boxers and a dark green sports bra. Whoever had the nerve to wake her up was going to get the all-natural Rachel Berry. They should be grateful that she was wearing any clothing at all.

Ding. Ding.

Ding. Ding.

Reaching the front door, Rachel flung it open, ready to rip the person a new ass. "What?!" she screamed.

Standing on her doorstep was Shelby.

Rachel just huffed and turned around and walked away, but left the door open for her mother.

"Why are you ringing my doorbell like it's the end of the world?" Rachel called over her shoulder as she dragged herself to the kitchen. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 10am. She pulled out the coffee beans and proceeded to make some much needed caffeine.

Silence hung in the air as the warm aroma began to fill the room. Rachel pulled down two mugs and filled them both with fresh hot coffee. She usually liked to add cream or sugar, or even caramel on some days, but today she needed it pure black. She pushed the other mug across the island toward her mother.

The older brunette gave her daughter a small, loving smile. "I was worried about you after you left my house. I haven't heard from you since."

"You could have called," Rachel told her as she covered up a yawn.

"I did. Several times."

Rachel turned and walked into the living room. She plopped down on the couch, sipping her coffee and watched as Shelby entered the room, her own coffee mug in hand.

"Sorry," Rachel mumbled. "It's been a little crazy."

"Did you get to talk to Quinn?"

Rachel took a sip of the hot coffee and shook her head. "Not yet. I need to get my thoughts in order before I do. I don't want to risk my emotions going haywire because I'm exhausted."

Shelby nodded, agreeing with the decision. "Well… I was thinking… maybe you'd like to hear about when Jaxon was born," she said, sitting down on the couch.

That got Rachel's attention. "Oh… okay, yeah. I'd like that."

Shelby cleared her throat and began, "Well, overall Quinn's pregnancy went great, and Jaxon grew normally and was 100% healthy. He did decide to come a couple weeks early, but when I found out he was your son, I wasn't surprised — you always had to make a dramatic entrance," Shelby teased.

Rachel huffed out a laugh and took a sip from her mug. "So… did the delivery go okay?"

Shelby nodded. "Everything went perfectly smooth. Quinn is one tough girl. I do believe she almost broke her friend's hand by squeezing it too tight though," she laughed. "But besides that, everything ran like clockwork."

Rachel pulled her leg up under herself and asked a question she'd been thinking about a lot, "When did you realize Jaxon was my son?"

The doctor smiled. "Actually it was by pure accident. The day after he was born, I was in Quinn's hospital room checking up on them and examining Jaxon to make sure he was doing well. Since he was born two weeks early, I wanted to keep a close eye on all his vitals. As I was checking him, I overheard Quinn talking to her friend, who was there with her. I soon realized that they were talking about you."

Rachel's eyebrow arched, waiting for her mother to continue.

"At first I really wasn't paying attention to their conversation, but then her friend made the comment about how the 'father' of Jaxon was a one night stand and that it was a woman, a rock star in some band. I still didn't think much of it, until I glanced over and saw Quinn looking at a picture of you in a magazine. Her friend asked her if she was going to tell you about the baby, but Quinn said that even if she did, you wouldn't want him."

Rachel buried her head in her hands. Had she really made herself out to be such a heartless womanizer all these years? Had she given the world the impression that all she wanted was a good fuck and a party?

"Quinn is a good person, Rachel. And I just wanted to let you know about one of Quinn's deepest fears, probably the deepest fear that caused her to make the decisions she did."

"She was scared I would reject him," Rachel murmured quietly. She was sure Quinn had already told her something similar, but it wasn't until this very moment that the words pierced her heart. The pain and fear Quinn must have felt when she found out she got pregnant by an asshole who left her in a hotel room after a night of sex, only leaving behind an insensitive note. And not just any asshole, a rock star who was leaving town the next day and who knew when was coming back to town. Rachel groaned at her stupidity.

Granted, over the years she'd done the exact same thing to countless other women. But Quinn had always been different. And Rachel had known from the moment she first met the blonde beauty that she was different. Her connection to Quinn was instant and deep, and unfortunately that was what scared the rock star the morning after their first night together. Rachel was terrified of that foreign feeling. She was scared… so she ran.

And she ran because she didn't want to get hurt.

Realization slammed into Rachel so hard she literally slumped back against the couch cushions. Her breath caught in her throat and her hand flew over her mouth.

Holy shit!

Rachel had felt that intense feeling with Quinn, and she knew that Quinn had felt the same feeling that first night too, because the blonde had told her so the night they found each other again at the Halloween party.

And because of that feeling, Rachel had run away all those years ago, because she knew that nothing in the world would be more painful than Quinn holding her heart in her hands and crushing it. So the singer ran before she could get hurt.

When Quinn found out she was pregnant, she hadn't sought out Rachel to tell her. But why?

Rachel let out a breath and closed her eyes, raking her hands through her long hair. Quinn didn't tell her because she was scared. She was terrified of Rachel having the power to crush her heart. She hadn't wanted to give Rachel the chance to hurt her, and then she also had to worry about a small innocent child. Rejection from a parent was devastating, and as a mother, Quinn would have done anything to prevent that from happening — even if that meant staying away.

Sure, yes, Rachel still had a right to know she had helped create a life, but now the singer understood what Quinn had been thinking at the time; Quinn had been terrified of being hurt so deeply that it would crush her.

Rachel had that power over the blonde. But also, Quinn had that same power over the singer. That was love. It required so much trust and faith in the other person. Trusting them with your heart; to hold it sacred and care for it, praying they would never hurt it.

Rachel's eyes flew up to her mom's. "I have to see Quinn," she breathed out, quickly standing and running up the stairs to her bedroom.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Rachel pressed the doorbell at Quinn's house and waited impatiently for someone to answer. Thankfully it was only a few seconds before the door swung open. And standing there was Brittany with a huge grin on her face.

"Hi, Rachel!" the tall blonde exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Her enthusiasm was so genuine that Rachel couldn't help but grin back. "Hello, Brittany. I apologize for just showing up-"

But Brittany interrupted her by grabbing her arm and pulling her inside the house. "I'm happy you're here, Rachel. Jaxon is going to be so excited. He's been talking about you nonstop."

Rachel smiled, happy that her son was thinking of her. "Is, uh… is Quinn here? I tried calling her, but it went straight to her voicemail."

Brittany frowned. "No. She's at work. And tonight happens to be her late night, so she won't be home for a while."

Rachel was disappointed. She really needed to talk to Quinn.

Just then, they heard a Tarzan yell coming from down the hallway, and growing louder as Jaxon hurled himself into the living room. Instantly the little boy stopped and stared wide eyed at Rachel.

"'Chel?" he asked in disbelief.

Rachel nodded and bent down. "Hey, Jaxon!"

"'Chel!" he exclaimed as he threw himself into her arms.

Rachel hugged him tightly to her chest. She closed her eyes, inhaling the soft scent of his shampoo.

"Play wif me?" he asked, bouncing up and down.

"Definitely," she told him, but then looked up at Brittany. "If… if that's okay with Brittany?"

The blonde nodded. "Of course it's okay! That would actually be perfect. If you keep him entertained, I'll make us all some lunch."

Rachel and Jaxon spent the next thirty minutes pushing toy cars all around the living room, creating a small city of blocks and inventing the lives of the people who lived there. Rachel was impressed by Jaxon's imagination. He loved to make up the details and personalities of the different people, telling her where they lived and where they worked.

After a quick lunch of sandwiches and chocolate milk, the two brunettes were back on the carpet in the living room, laughing and having a great time. They stayed busy for hours as they created together, getting lost in their own little world.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Quinn was exhausted. It had been a long day at the art gallery and she was tired. She was so thankful Brittany had watched Jaxon later than usual and for both her friends being at her house when she arrived home from work. And even better, they had already made dinner. That was a huge weight off her shoulders.

During dinner, Jaxon talked nonstop, telling her all about his day with his Auntie Britt Britt and his new best friend, Rachel. Apparently they'd gone to the zoo and then over to Brittany's dance studio for dance lessons.

Quinn arched her eyebrow. She hadn't known Rachel planned on coming over today. She pulled her phone from her bag and checked her messages. It had been so busy at work she hadn't even had the chance to even think about her phone.

She bit her bottom lip when she saw that Rachel had called twice and sent her two texts; one asking if it would be alright for the singer to come over, and the other asking if the two of them could get together sometime and talk. Quinn quickly returned a text telling Rachel that she would love to get together and talk, but it would have to wait until the weekend since the art gallery was so busy. She also told her that Jaxon had a fun day with the singer and to feel free to spend more time with him if she wanted.

After dinner, while Jaxon, Brittany and Santana played some games, while Quinn decided to take a relaxing bubble bath to clear her mind.

The hot water felt heavenly on Quinn's tense muscles. She had her hair pulled up in a bun as she relaxed against the end of the large tub full of bubbles. Scented candles filled the air and soft music played as she closed her eyes and got lost in a fantasy.

Her mind whisked her off to a warm beach in the Bahamas. Her toes curled in the sand as she laid back on her beach towel, soaking up the rays of the hot sun. The soft sounds of waves crashing against the shore and the chirping of seagulls was music to her ears. She felt totally relaxed.

Until…

A large wave built up and suddenly crashed over her, soaking her entire body as she was hurled out of her fantasy.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she quickly sat up, wiping the bubbles from her eyes.

Sitting right in front of her in the large bathtub, with a cheeky grin on his face, was none other than Jaxon Fabray. He was bouncing up and down like he had ants in his pants.

"Mama! Mama! I take bath wif you!" He scooped up some bubbles and made himself a beard. "Bubbles!"

Momentarily shocked by the unexpected appearance of her son, Quinn just stared at him with wide eyes. "Jax, baby, what are you doing?"

His happy face fell a little at her tone and he looked up at her with sad eyes. "I take bath wif you, Mama."

Quinn's heart melted.

Santana walked into the bathroom then, putting her hands on her hips when she saw Jaxon in the bathtub with Quinn. "Little man! What are you doing in there? We're supposed to be playing hide and seek."

"Sorry, Tana," he said contritely, looking down at his soapy fingers.

Quinn tilted her head. "You and Auntie Tana were playing a game together and you decided to stop, but didn't tell her?"

He looked up at Santana with puppy dog eyes. "I luv you, Tana. I sorry."

The Latina smiled and bent down, giving him a kiss on the top of his head. "I forgive you, Jax. But tell me next time. I've been hiding in the pantry for the last twenty minutes waiting for you to find me." She gave him another kiss and walked toward the door, leaving the two Fabrays to their bath. "Oh, and Q?" she called over her shoulder. "You need to buy more Oreos. I ate them all while I was waiting for your spawn to find me."

Quinn rolled her eyes at her best friend.

Jaxon stood up and carefully stepped over to his mother, climbing into her lap and laying his head on her chest. "I luv you, Mama."

Quinn wrapped her arms around him, giving him a kiss. "I love you too, sweetheart. Now… since you're in my bathtub, let get you all washed up."

"I wash tummy!" He sat up and reached for the hand towel on the little table next to the tub. He dunked it under the water then rubbed it all over his tummy, covering it with bubbles.

Quinn laughed at his silliness.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Rachel's alarm clock beeped loudly… over and over again. She pulled a pillow over her head as she desperately tried to go back to sleep. She and Noah had been out late last night, writing songs down at the studio. The guitarist had tried to talk her into hitting up a nightclub, but the diva had refused.

The guys in the band had been shocked, but happy for Rachel when she told them about Jaxon. They were all excited to meet the little mini-Rachel and told her to bring him to one of their next rehearsals. Jake kept teasing her about not wearing a condom and purposely trying to create "an army of little divas". But overall, the news was well received. Tina was the most excited and couldn't wait to meet Jaxon. Rachel had a feeling her son was going to be extremely spoiled.

A banging noise from downstairs made Rachel accept the fact that she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep, so she got up and slipped on her silk black robe then headed downstairs for some coffee. When she got to the first floor, she saw Puck lounging on her sofa watching some action movie.

Rachel gave Puck an annoyed look, which he ignored, for waking her up, before she headed toward the kitchen. She reached up into the cabinet to get a coffee cup, thankful that Puck had at least made some fresh coffee since he apparently decided to come over… uninvited. She poured herself a cup of the much needed caffeine and sighed in pleasure after her first sip.

"What's up for today, JewBabe?" Puck asked as he walked into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of basketball shorts and a muscle shirt. He grabbed a can of soda and gulped it down.

"Well, I think Kurt and Mercedes are coming over later to look at the spare bedrooms so they can get some ideas on what needs to be done to them."

Not only was Kurt New Directions' wardrobe king, he was also a very talented interior designer. Rachel had decided that she wanted to turn one of the bedrooms into Jaxon's room, and another one into a toy/play room where he can keep all his toys and books.

Cassie walked into the kitchen just then, overhearing Rachel's words. She nodded as she poured a cup off coffee. "I'm heading downtown to my office in a few minutes, I can swing by Kurt and Blaine's house and give Kurt a key just in case we aren't here when they come over?"

"Perfect, thanks, Cass." Rachel looked over at the clock and hurried to finish her coffee, then rinsed the cup in the sink. "I'm going to go take a shower then head over to Quinn's. I get to take Jax to his dance class today."

"You've been over there every day this week," Cassie said, taking a sip of her coffee.

Rachel smiled. "Yeah. I've been enjoying hanging out with Jaxon. It sucks that Quinn hasn't been around, but I guess she's busy at the gallery and said we could meet up this weekend."

The lawyer nodded. "Good. I'm glad to see the lack of drama… so far."

Rachel smirked at her best friend. "Drama? Me?" she teased.

Cassie just rolled her eyes.

The diva turned and headed up the staircase, yelling over her shoulder, "Oh and, Noah?… Get out of my house!"

~~~~~QR~~~~~

"Hey, Rachel! Tell us who the mystery blonde woman is!"

"Why were you so angry?!"

"Are you always so violent in your personal life?!"

"Are you going to be attending anger management classes?"

The moment Rachel stepped out in public, the cameras and reporters were swarming all around her. It seemed like everyone wanted to know more about those pictures that had been taken at the park a few days ago.

Holly had told her that this would happen. Rachel Berry was known as an outgoing singer who loved her fans and always had a smile on her face. So those photos that showed a very uncharacteristic Rachel Berry was unsettling to the public and was starting to cause a reaction. Hopefully the reaction wouldn't be too damaging. Holly told her to not make any comments and to leave the media and press to the blonde publicist.

So that's what Rachel did. She just maneuvered her way through the crowd, her head down and sunglasses on, and slid inside her SUV. She was thankful the paps hadn't gotten a hold of Quinn's identity yet, but she was sure that it wouldn't be long.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Rachel found Jaxon in the living room watching some kid's show about classical music. He was sitting in the large recliner with his favorite blanket, wearing nothing but his diaper.

When Jaxon saw her, he pulled his thumb out of his mouth. "'Chel!" he called, his grin lighting up his face.

Rachel smiled and walked over to pick him up, then sat down in the recliner with him on her lap. She listened intently as he started telling her all about the show he was watching. When he finished his summary, he laid his head back on Rachel's chest and continued to watch the show while he snuggled in his blanket and sucked his thumb.

After a while, Brittany came into the living room and reminded the two brunettes that Jaxon's dance class began in an hour and to not be late.

The little boy climbed out of Rachel's lap to give Brittany a hug before she left to get everything set up for her dance students.

Rachel and Jaxon ate a quick snack. They still had 20 minutes before they had to get ready to leave, so she asked her son, "Do you want to play with your animals before we go?"

"An'mals!" Jaxon exclaimed. "I play tiger. 'Chel play horse."

She watched as he ran over to his toy box and pulled out the horse and tiger.

Rachel had noticed over the last few days that Jaxon was a pretty controlling little boy, he wanted things done his way, and his way only. She decided to see what would happen if she didn't do what he said, so she got up and went over to the toy box. "Actually I want to be the elephant," she told him, closely watching his reaction as she picked up the gray elephant.

Jaxon looked at the elephant Rachel had found in his toy box like he didn't understand what she was doing. She was messing up his game and he didn't like it. "No 'phant. You horse," he told her, holding up the white horse.

Rachel sat down on the couch and began moving the elephant around. "Nope, I want to be the elephant. It's more fun than the horse."

What the singer saw next left her speechless, which was nearly impossible to do. Jaxon folded his arms over his chest, stomped his foot on the floor and stuck his bottom lip out in a perfect pout; then thick crocodile tears began to pool in his dark brown eyes.

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock as she stared over at her son.

At that moment Santana walked through the front door, stopping mid-step when she saw the impasse between the two brunettes. She looked at Rachel then over at Jaxon. Seeing the little boy's stubborn diva stance and the original stubborn diva just gawking at him, she couldn't help the cackle that exploded out of her mouth. "Oh my hell… this is too funny! I have to get a picture!" She quickly whipped out her phone and took several pictures of the standoff between mother and son. "Classic! I am so framing this." She laughed at the pictures one more time, shooting them off to Quinn and Brittany.

After calming down, she decided she better step in and see what was going on between the two divas before things got ugly. "Okay you two, what's up?" she asked, trying to hide a smile.

Jaxon turned to his aunt. "'Chel wants 'phant. But I say she horse," he stubbornly told her.

"And I told you that I want to play with the elephant, Jaxon," Rachel said, testing what her son would do about her difference in opinion.

Still in his full diva posture, the little boy looked at Rachel then over to Santana, then back to Rachel. "Fine. You be 'phant," he said, plopping down on the ground with his tiger, still not happy. "But 'phant boring."

Rachel glanced over at Santana. "Just trying to teach him that he can't always get whatever he wants."

Santana laughed. "Is that a lesson you've learned yet, hobbit?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. She was about to say 'Shut up', but at the last second decided that Quinn wouldn't be happy with Jaxon repeating the rude phrase all day long. He was becoming quite good at copying whatever he hears. She took a deep breath and stood up straight, smoothing down her clothes. "Yes, Santana. I will have you know that I have indeed learned that lesson."

"Good to hear it," she teased and had to laugh at the diva's pout, identical to the one Jaxon still had on his face.

After playing together for a while, Rachel clapped her hands together and asked, "Who's ready to go to dance class?"

Jaxon threw his hands up in the air and yelled, "Dance with Britt Britt!"

"Okay. Let's put these toys away and get ready to go."

Jaxon frantically dumped the animals in the toybox and hurried back over to Rachel. She picked him up and carried him toward his room to get him some clothes. Then they were off to dance class.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

After a fun and energetic class where Brittany taught the tiny kids a punk dance, Rachel carried a sleeping Jaxon into the house and to his bedroom. She tucked the small boy in bed then stood watching him as he slept. She had come to enjoy watching him sleep.

Over the last week, she'd been coming over to play with her son during the day and help put him down for a nap. Luckily Brittany was usually the one home taking care of Jaxon. Rachel got along really well with the blonde dancer and enjoyed spending time with her and Jaxon. The one day when Brittany had an appointment and it was Santana who was watching Jaxon was a long and miserable day for the singer. The Latina had watched her like a guard dog the entire time.

Rachel smiled as she brushed the wavy brown hair off Jaxon's face. Her son was absolutely perfect.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

A/N - There you go! Some fun Rachel/Jaxon bonding times!