Shelby left Rachel's apartment feeling better, though not great. She was happy with the way things turned out and that she seemed to make some progress on the Rachel front, but it didn't feel like enough.
Her daughter was suffering, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Though she did hope that this intervention led her on the right path and that they helped her in time. In the meantime, Rachel was going to see her therapist, which Shelby would check to make sure she really did, and they made plans to spend some time together.
She guessed that was all she could really hope for.
They were slow steps, but steps all the same, so they were going to roll with it. Now that that was done, it was time for Shelby to head home. Rachel was in the hands of her friends who she knew would keep on her, and she needed to deal with her parents' surprise visit.
It almost made her not rush to get home, especially since her father told her he would pick up Beth from school. She took her time, allowing herself to decompress and think over the day as well as what could have caused her parents to rush to New York with no notice.
She grabbed a coffee and pastry, indulging a bit and allowing herself to process everything in quiet before she finally made her way home. Beth immediately jumped her, happy to have her there, and her parents were already cooking up a storm in her kitchen.
"What's going on?" Shelby asked the moment Beth ran up to her room to play. "Why are you here?"
"Can't your parents just come to see you?" her father asked.
"Yes, but usually not unannounced."
"Your father thinks you should know that I know about Rachel and was afraid of how you'd react," Maggie bluntly stated.
"Maggie, really."
"Why are we beating around the bush? That is why we came, isn't it, Jack?"
Rolling his eyes, Jack faced Shelby and explained, "It seems your sister has a big mouth and told your mother about your daughter. She put two and two together to figure out it was Rachel when we ran into her at the restaurant."
Dumbfounded, Shelby plopped onto the island seat and asked, "How long have you known?"
"A few years," Maggie said.
"I'm going to kill Kim. Does Dan know too?"
"I've never said anything."
"Me either."
Sighing, Shelby said, "I guess I'll have to see if Kim already told him otherwise, he should hear it from me… I guess you probably have some questions and thoughts for me, Mom."
"I have a few choice words," Maggie replied.
"Maggie!"
"Nothing bad," she corrected. "And we will discuss it after dinner like civilized people. After little ears are in bed maybe, since I'm assuming she wouldn't know."
"It's not really something a 5-year-old can understand."
"Then I suppose we should enjoy the impromptu family time and save the dramatics for when that's done."
"Right… And people say I'm the dramatic one in this family," Shelby huffed and walked away to go check on Beth.
She was sure she was being set up for another uncomfortable confrontation, but at least it came with a homecooked meal and her dad on her side. That had to soften the blows a little.
Sometime a few hours later, Shelby received a text from a number she didn't recognize.
Can't believe I'm texting you. Got ur # from Rachel. She called a therapist. Made an appt for 2mrro.
She assumed it was Santana that sent it, and just replied with a thank you and heart emoji. It was a relief to hear Rachel was following through. There was more to the story. They hadn't gotten into what caused the bruises… The lies… but they opened the door. It was a step to getting her comfortable telling them everything. Even if she couldn't tell them, hopefully, she would open up to her therapist.
Shelby also contemplated calling Leroy and Hiram. She knew she owed it to them to keep them abreast, but she also owed it to Rachel to heed her privacy. That internal battle wasn't one she was going to figure out right away. That was a problem for a later time. Right now, she had her mother to contend with.
Anyone who called Coach Corcoran scary hadn't met the mother she learned it from. Maggie was sweet and wonderful, really, but when she wanted to be, she could scare even the burliest of men.
"Alright. Beth is in bed, and I made up the guest room for you. Let's talk. Is this a conversation we need wine for? Something stronger?"
"Tea would be lovely," Maggie told her.
Shelby excused herself to put on a kettle while her parents chatted.
"Maggie. Please remember what we talked about. I'm sure you have some frustrations. At me and her, but this isn't easy for her."
"Don't you think I know that, Jack? Of all our kids, Shelby is the most sensitive. She pretends not to be, acts all hard and tough, but she has the softest insides of them all. I'm not going to yell at her. But I'm not going to hide my feelings. That wasn't how I ever behaved. It's healthy to express what you're feeling, and I always wanted our kids to know that. I wish Shelby learned that."
"Sometimes life has a way of hardening people."
"Maybe a little too much. But Jack, I just want to have a conversation with Shelby. I was perfectly happy to never let on that I knew… Until we met Rachel, and you forced the issue. Now let us be adults and talk to our grown-up daughter about her choices."
"Just what Shelby loves… An intervention."
"Just a conversation, Jack. Take a chill pill."
"You've been talking to the grandkids too much. Take a chill pill," he muttered, shaking his head.
Maggie playfully slapped his arm.
"Play nice, please, Maggie. Shelby is more fragile than you think she is."
"Didn't you hear me before? I know she's my little porcelain doll."
"Don't say that to her."
"I'd never. She wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I did. That's why I'm saying it to my husband who knows it's true."
He shrugged.
"I do wish she had been a part of our lives, Jack. She looked like she could use a little more Corcoran in her life."
"Shelby?"
"Rachel, dear, please follow along."
"You're in a mood."
"I don't think me asking you to ask Shelby for Rachel's address to potentially send her a thank you card and tell her we enjoyed spending the holidays with her warranted this sneak attack."
"We get to see our daughter and granddaughter… maybe even the other if we play our cards right. Why are you complaining?"
"Who's complaining?" Shelby asked, returning carrying a tray with three mugs.
"Your mother."
"Kim and I used to love when you two bickered. It was never a real argument, just some back and forth. Playful even. She said it was your foreplay. I refused to believe you've had sex more than the three times it took to make us."
"I hate to burst that bubble, but your father and I have a healthy sex life."
"Mom! I really didn't want to know that. I will make you sleep in separate bedrooms while you're here."
"You can try, Shelby, but at some point, you'll fall asleep, and your father will be cuddled up next to me."
"Disgusting. Why are you torturing me?"
Shaking away the disgust, Shelby passed out the mugs and sat across from her parents.
"So, I guess we should get on with this," Shelby suggested. "And maybe never talk about your sex life again… Please."
Jack laughed and agreed they should start talking.
"Alright," Maggie began. "I'll start. Kim told me about Rachel accidentally…"
"What did you get your sister for Christmas, Kim?"
"My presence," Kim joked. "That's enough."
"Seriously, Kimberly. She seems like she's struggling. She always does this time of year."
"Of course, she does."
"What does that mean?"
"It's around her daughter's birthday," Kim said offhandedly, not really thinking before speaking as she flipped through the pages of a catalogue.
"Excuse me? Beth's birthday isn't until March."
It hit her in that moment what she said, and, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out a way to talk herself out of it.
"Shi-ooot," she muttered.
"Kimberly Margaret Corcoran, explain. And watch your mouth. You're never too old for soap."
"Mom, I can't…"
"You can talk, can't you? So get talking. What did you mean?"
"Mom… You're asking me to betray a confidence."
"From where I'm standing, you already did. I'm only asking you to make sense of it…. So I can react properly… And potentially not rat you out to Shelby."
"Ugh. Fine. But if you ever mention it without her mentioning it to you first, I want plausible deniability. I will tell her you held me hostage and wore me down."
"Jesus. All my children are dramatic. Sure, tell her whatever helps you sleep at night."
"In her early twenties, Shelby was a surrogate for a gay couple and had a daughter. Shelby doesn't talk about it much, doesn't at all really."
"So I have a granddaughter out there somewhere… Another one."
"Well, biologically at least."
"What's her name? What does she look like?"
"I've never seen pictures and Shelby never told me her name. I'm not even sure she knows it."
"What? How?"
"Mom… Look, I made a mistake and now I have to answer for it, but this isn't an easy topic for Shelby. I don't know many details. Dad probably knows more than I do."
"Your father knew?!"
"I don't know, Mom. I assume he does because he can get through to Shelby better than all of us, but we've never had a conversation about it."
"I'll kill him."
"You won't say anything, Mom! I mean it. Shelby had a really hard time after the baby. I got her to talk a little, but not much. I don't know anything even all these years later. She never got to hold the baby. Didn't know her name. Maybe that changed, maybe it didn't, but she didn't mention it to me."
"I don't like this one bit," Maggie huffed. "But I won't say anything to her. I can't imagine what it would be like to wonder, year after year, what your child is doing, what she looks like… My poor little girl…"
"When we went to that diner, I didn't know who Rachel was at first," Maggie told them. "But it was way too coincidental. There are doppelgangers, but honestly, Shelby, she looked so much like a young you… with my eyes. The way she looked at you and you looked at her… There was love and pain and complicated feelings. No one could look at you that way without a reason."
"And you jumped right to, 'that must be the daughter Shelby never mentioned?'"
"Not until you started acting weird too. Her reaction to Beth finalized it. It's why I pushed so hard for a picture. If she had said no, I wouldn't have made her, but I wanted something of her… Something to know who she was. At the very least, I had a name."
"Is that why you invited her to Christmas?"
"Yes… and no. She looked like she needed someone, anyone. So lost and sad. I would have wanted to invite anyone that was going through something into our loving home, but knowing she was family, and it might have been my only opportunity to know her sure made me jump on it. I'm not going to lie."
"Why didn't you say anything? About knowing…"
"Honey, I love you."
"I love you too, Mom, but that's not an answer."
"I know. Kim was right. When we talked, she said it wasn't something you could talk about. That it was too hard. I was angry and disappointed at first. I won't lie. I didn't understand how you could do that and not even mention it, but I knew I had to let that go. While I believe having your mother to discuss this with would have been beneficial, you didn't choose to tell me. I had to accept that. Me telling you I knew wouldn't change anything, and I had to trust that you would come to me if you needed me. I knew you probably had your dad to lean on, so you'd be ok."
"What changed? Why say something now?"
"Because that girl is not ok. You brought her into this world and somehow became a part of her life – I don't know all the details there and trust me, I have questions – but however it happened, she needed support now. She needs someone… That trumped your need for privacy."
"I don't know whether to love that you're saying that and care so much about her already, or upset that you no longer care about my privacy."
"Don't make it a thing, Shelby. You may not like to talk about feelings with me, but other people need people to see past their façade and ask questions."
There was a lot of back and forth after that. Maggie had questions about Rachel, the situation as a whole, why there was secrecy… Shelby didn't have all the answers. A part of her knew she didn't tell anyone because she didn't want to be talked out of it, and then it was just too hard. But she couldn't regret any of it… Not the pain and longing that came after – nothing – because Rachel was the result.
It was actually really beneficial for their relationship. It was a new opening for honest communication, and it didn't even require her father as a facilitator.
"That brings us to now," Maggie said. "We all know who she is. Obviously, she knows who we are. What now?"
"I don't know, Mom."
"How is Rachel doing?" Jack asked. "Have you talked to her?"
"Yes. I saw her today."
Maggie, with a hint of excitement, asked, "So the two of you have a relationship?"
"It's complicated."
"Why don't you tell us about it?" Jack suggested.
Nodding, Shelby explained a bit about what happened earlier that day.
"I went there with the intention of offering an olive branch, giving her the records and checking in before leaving, but her friends were gathering to confront her about her recent behavior."
"About the bruises?" Maggie questioned.
"Not necessarily. I did ask her friends about it. She told them the bruises were from dance class. We didn't get to that, though. I guess last night, Rachel had a horrible panic attack. They said it was so bad they were seconds away from calling an ambulance."
"Poor girl. She needs help, Shelby."
"I know. We discussed her drinking and the panic attacks. She promised to call the therapist recommended to her by her therapist back in Ohio. Her friend, Santana, let me know that Rachel did and has an appointment tomorrow."
"But nothing came up about the bruises or what triggered any of the panic attacks?"
"Mom, it's a miracle I got to be involved in this at all. No. That didn't come up."
"Sounds to me like she manipulated the situation to tell you what she thought you wanted to hear…"
"Mom! You don't know her."
"I'm not saying she did anything wrong or that she is manipulative. She simply used the situation to her advantage. But there's something she's hiding. I don't know what. I don't presume to know her, but there's something there."
"Maybe. Maybe she wasn't comfortable talking about it with us, so she lied."
"Honey, I saw what I saw."
"But you don't know."
"Neither do you."
Shelby sighed. Her mother was, unfortunately, right. She knew there was more they didn't touch on. There was so much more happening that Rachel didn't say. No one knew what it was, but they wouldn't until Rachel was willing to talk. But they took a step. For that, she was grateful.
"You're right," Shelby admitted. "But I can't force her to tell me. I can only be there for her when or if she does."
"You're learning," Maggie said.
Taking a breath, Shelby added, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her… About being a surrogate. I can give you a million of excuses, but mostly, it was just hard on me. At first, I thought it would be easy, but it wasn't at all what I expected, and I signed a contract saying I couldn't contact Rachel until she was 18… It didn't seem fair to mention her."
"I still wish you told us – well, me, but I understand, Shelby. I'm happy we can talk about it now."
"Me too."
Everything wasn't perfect, but she had a good talk with her parents. So Rachel opened a lot of doors that night. Shelby thought it went better than she could have hoped. However, things went a little differently for the roommates. Once Shelby left, Rachel still felt like she was in the hot seat. She felt overwhelmed and claustrophobic and wanted it out, but her friends made it clear she wasn't going anywhere without at least trying to call the therapist.
"Fine. I have the number in an email somewhere," she told them and scrolled through her phone until she found what she was looking for.
When the receptionist told her there was a cancellation for the next day, she wanted to say no. That was too soon, but all eyes were on her, and she didn't feel like she could say no. So she was doing it. Whether she wanted to or not.
"Happy? I'm seeing Dr. Freedman tomorrow at 2pm."
"We are happy, Rachel. This will be good."
"Yeah. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room to fill out all the paperwork they need for tomorrow."
"No. Hey. Wait."
She whipped around and asked, "What?"
"I know today wasn't easy and we bombarded you," Quinn began, "But I'm only here for the night. I thought we could have some fun and spend some time together."
"Fine. Give me an hour," she told them and disappeared into her room.
Kurt plopped down on the couch and squeezed a pillow.
"It feels like it's been a long day."
"Because it has."
"Do we think that went well?"
"I think it went as well as we could have hoped. She's going to see a therapist and get help. She needs that."
"But it still feels like there's a lot we don't know, like we could be doing more."
"I don't know… I guess we just have to let her get some help and hope she opens up more."
"I never thought I'd get to the day when Santana wished Rachel talked more."
"Shut up, Kurt."
"Santana has feeeeelings," he sang.
She tossed a pillow at him. He dodged it but threw one back at her. As a pillow fight commenced between the three, it felt like things were on their way to normal… Like they were young adults living a college experience.
How wrong they were…