Hi guys! Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter. This one is shorter because there wasn't much of either Finn or Rachel in this episode, but I added in stuff I would have liked to have seen between them. Hope you enjoy and review if I should keep going!

Chapter 49: I Am Unicorn

Rachel looked up from her potential audition songs from West Side Story and going through warmup scales when she saw Shelby standing there. What was Shelby doing here? Then Rachel began to put the pieces together. She'd heard that a former Vocal Adrenaline director had been hired to direct a second choir at McKinley. That director must have been Shelby.

"Your range is better," Shelby said. "It was impressive a year and a half ago, but it's even better now."

Rachel didn't really want to see Shelby. After all, Shelby had rejected her and replaced her with a newborn at the end of her sophomore year. "This is a private rehearsal."

"What song are you auditioning with?" Shelby asked.

Did Shelby expect Rachel to forget everything that happened? "That's none of your business, okay? If you've come here to ask me to join your little group, the answer is no. My loyalty is to the New Directions. They're my family, and family means something, at least to me."

"Rachel, like we talked about before I'm your birth mother..." Shelby began.

Rachel didn't want Shelby to say it again. "Yeah, but not my mother. I know, okay? I almost had to go to therapy because of you."

Shelby looked upset. "Rachel..."

"Look, I'll be polite, okay?" Rachel continued. "Don't worry, if I see you in the halls I'll make eye contact and I'll nod. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my rehearsal."

"Somewhere there's a place for us," Shelby said.

"I just said that there wasn't," Rachel snapped.

"I'm talking about the song," Shelby said. "I played Maria 18 times. Somewhere is the perfect audition song for you. You should do it."

Rachel had been considering it, but it might be too hard. "Well, I was considering it. But it's a very challenging song so I was just going to do I Feel Pretty, which I'm actually amazing at."

"You will never become a star or get the lead if you play it safe. Try it," Shelby encouraged.

"Okay," Rachel said.

"You can just do part if you want," Shelby said. "To get a feel for it. I'll do the other part."

"Okay," Rachel said. She handed the sheet music to Brad and began to sing.

Rachel: There's a place for us,
Somewhere, a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere
Shelby: There's a time for us,
Someday a time for us
Time together with time to spare
Time to learn
Time to care
Someday
Rachel: Somewhere,
We'll find a new way of living
Shelby: Oh, oh, we'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere
Rachel: Somewhere
Rachel and Shelby: There's a place for us,
A time and a place for us
Hold my hand and we're halfway there
Hold... my hand and I'll take... you there
Somehow
Someday
Somewhere...

"That was good," Shelby said at the end of the song.

"You thought so?" Rachel asked. "You sounded better than me."

"I'm not the one trying out for the show," Shelby said. "Rachel, if you do that song, you'll get the part for sure."

"I'll give it a try," Rachel said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Shelby said, leaving the auditorium. "Good luck."

"Thank you," Rachel said.

x

There was no glee practice the next day, so after Rachel's West Side Story audition, she went to the tire shop to visit Finn. Finn perked up immediately when Rachel arrived. "Hey!"

"Hey," Rachel said, taking a seat next to Finn. "What are you up to?"

"Just fixing this car," Finn said. "Hold my tools for me?"

Rachel smiled. "Of course."

Finn did some more work on the car and then asked Rachel for some tools. "Lug nut? Wrench?"

"You're really good at that, whatever it is that you're doing over there," Rachel said.

"Thanks for helping me out," Finn said.

"Yeah, well, I need the distraction," Rachel said. "I'm gonna be in emotional DEFCON 1 until they post the audition results for the musical, which means I'm gonna be even more self-centered than usual, just so you know."

"Why?" Finn asked. "You know you're gonna get the lead."

Rachel wasn't so sure. "I know I am, but, I mean, you don't really know until you know. You can still try out. I mean, the field for Tony is wide open."

Finn shrugged. "Well, I mean, between football and school, I don't really have time. And I got to go to this Booty Camp thing. My dancing has got to get better or it's gonna cost us Nationals. Plus, Burt pays me good here. I'm saving up for college and stuff."

Rachel had really been hoping she and Finn could play the leads opposite each other. "I just don't want you to give up on what makes you most special. You know, you're really talented. Talented enough to get into NYADA if you applied."

"What if I don't want to?" Finn asked. "I mean, and not saying that I don't, but if I stay here, work for Burt, I mean, would that be so bad?"

Rachel knew Finn was better than that. "No, not if it made you happy. But I don't think it would. You're better than that. You may not know it, but I do."

Finn smiled at Rachel. "You're the best girlfriend ever." He leaned in for a kiss as Burt walked by.

"Quit making out in the shop," Burt said, passing Finn and Rachel. As they pulled apart, Rachel figured she may as well tell Finn about her mother's reappearance. "Finn, Shelby's back."

"Shelby?" Finn asked. "Your mother Shelby?"

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"What do you mean she's back?" Finn asked.

"What I said, she's back," Rachel said. "She's coaching that second glee club the fake asberger's girl's dad paid for."

"Are you okay?" Finn asked.

"Well, I don't know," Rachel admitted. "I thought she didn't want anything to do with me. She rejected me and replaced me with a baby. Then she disappears and doesn't contact me for a year. But yesterday when I was going over audition songs, she came to the auditorium and suggested one. I ended up using that for my audition, but I'm not sure..."

"Remember how much she upset you last time?" Finn asked.

"Of course I do," Rachel said. "That's why I wasn't sure if I should trust her."

"I wouldn't," Finn said. "She went through all that effort to find you when we were sophomores only to reject you after two short meetings, when you told Jesse that your biggest dream was to meet your mom. Do your dads know?"

"No," Rachel said. "And I'm keeping it that way. Let's just say they're not Shelby's biggest fans." Rachel's dads had been furious by Shelby's treatment of Rachel her sophomore year, and she had a feeling if they found out that Shelby was at McKinley, they'd go to the school and confront her.

"Well, what do you want, Rachel?" Finn asked.

"I'm torn," Rachel admitted. "If a friend rejected me, that would be one thing. But you only get one mother. As much as I love my dads, it's always felt like something's missing."

"That's how I feel about my dad," Finn said. "I'd be cautious around her. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't want to get hurt again either," Rachel said.

x

The next day at school, Finn went into Shelby Corcoran's classroom. He didn't know if Rachel would approve of what he was doing, but he felt like this was something he had to do.

Shelby looked up from her papers she was grading at her desk. "May I help you?"

"I'm Finn Hudson," Finn said. "I'm the male lead of New Directions."

"Finn, if you're coming here to tell me about how unfair it is that there's a second glee club now, I can tell you that I'm not going to recruit any of the kids from New Directions."

"That's not why I'm here," Finn said. "I know who you are."

"You know about me and Rachel?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Finn said. "Rachel and I have been in love for about two years now and we're pretty serious about each other. I know about what's happened between you two."

"Finn, it's a very complicated situation," Shelby said.

"I know it is," Finn said. "Rachel got really hurt last time around and I don't want that to happen again."

"You really care about her, don't you?" Shelby asked.

"Of course I do," Finn said.

"I can tell you're concerned," Shelby said. "I can tell you, I don't have plans of hurting Rachel again. I want to make things right. But since Rachel got hurt last time, I want to make sure she's comfortable."

Finn nodded. He hoped that things would be made right, but he still wasn't sure. Then Rachel came in. "Hi Shelby," Rachel said. "Oh, Finn, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk to her about you," Finn said, hoping Rachel wouldn't be mad. "I'm sorry, it's just, I'm worried..."

"That's so sweet of you," Rachel said.

"You lucked out with this one," Shelby told Rachel. "He's just here to tell me he hopes the same things that happened last time happen again."

"Well, thank you," Rachel said. "I was just coming in to say thank you for suggesting Somewhere as an audition song. I gave it a try, and the directors applauded me."

"That's great," Shelby said. "See, I was right."

"I guess you were," Rachel said with a small smile. "You do know a lot about the arts."

"If I can ever be of any help to you again, let me know," Shelby said.

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"Are you trying out too, Finn?" Shelby asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Finn said.

"I'm hoping he does," Rachel said. "I'd love to play opposite him."

"Well, I'll be at the show no matter what," Shelby said. "Hope you get the part. Finn, it was nice to meet you."

"You too," Finn said. As he and Rachel left the room, Finn turned to Rachel. "I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Rachel asked.

"I was kind of intruding..." Finn began.

Rachel leaned in and kissed Finn. "I'm so lucky to have a boyfriend who cares so much about me."

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