"Get back here so I can kill you!" Santana screamed as she took off running.
"I didn't even do anything, leave me alone!" the smaller girl yelled back as she continued to run from Santana.
"You were born, that was plenty!"
Quinn and Brittany were also running, but they were chasing the two girls trying to get Santana to stop: again. This was a common occurrence for them. Or at least Quinn because Brittany thought they were running just for fun. Bless her sweet little naïve heart.
As Santana was gaining on the smaller girl, Coach Sue screamed into her megaphone, "Leave her alone, Santana or you'll regret your existence."
Santana stopped and turned around to scowl at Sue, then gave the girl the same scowl as she tried to hide the fear she felt with the threat. The last time Sue caught them fighting she was forced to deal with someone much scarier: her mom.
Leave it to her mother to work at the damn school. God, she hated that almost as much as the small brunette she wants to kill.
Shelby Corcoran was sitting at her desk rubbing her temples trying to prevent the migraine she felt coming when there was a knock on her door. She looked up and smiled softly, even though she was feeling extremely stressed.
The beginning of the school year was always hard for her family. She flashed back to 18 years ago when she was on Broadway. After graduating from NYU, she made it big, landing the role of Elphaba in the musical Wicked. One day at rehearsal, she fell through one of the trap doors and was rushed to the hospital where she met Dr. Juan Lopez.
They fell madly in love and got married two years later. When she was 26, Shelby won a Tony Award for her role as Elphaba, thanking her incredible husband and amazing family. She and April Rhodes who played Glinda 'retired' the following year when Shelby and Juan announced they were pregnant. April knew doing the musical without Shelby was something she could never do because they were thick as thieves, the best of friends.
She was beyond excited when Shelby told her they were pregnant with twin girls, and so honored to be the girls' godmother. They made their grand entrance into the world on March 18th, and the loving parents could not be happier.
Life was so perfect, until it wasn't.
Juan had called Shelby, like he did every night, letting her know he was on his way home from the hospital. He let her know he loved her to the moon and beyond, then she put him on speakerphone and he told their twins how he loved them more than all the stars in the sky. Shelby smiled as the girls cooed and told him she loved him to infinity and then they hung up.
Shelby was all smiles as she put their dinner on the table knowing her husband would be walking through the door any minute. The girls were settled in their mamaroos and Shelby wondered, like she did every day, if they also knew daddy would be home any minute as well. Part of her knew it was crazy because they were way too young, while the other part of her thought anything was possible.
Juan's schedule was like clockwork—Shelby knew what time he left in the morning, when to expect his next phone call to check on all his girls, when they'd have lunch together, and when he'd be home each night.
When he was 10 minutes past his normal arrival home time, she assumed there was traffic. At 20 minutes, she put their dinner back in the oven to keep it warm. At 45 minutes, April was on the phone with her while rushing over.
At an hour and a half, she had called Juan at least thirty times and was beyond worried. April was making phone calls to the hospital and the rest of their friends to see if anyone had heard from him while Shelby was comforting the twins who must be picking up on their mothers' anxiety.
By now, Juan and Shelby would typically be giving them a bath before getting them ready for bed. She pumped every day so Juan could bottle feed the girls each night while she sang to them. It was honestly one of her favorite parts of the day because watching Juan become a father was one of the greatest joys she's ever experienced.
As the girls settled down, there was a knock on the door. Shelby went to answer it, and when she gasped, clutching her chest, April ran over. Two police officers were standing on the doorstep and Shelby already had tears welling in her eyes.
Once Shelby heard the words tragic accident and died on impact, she dropped to the floor with her head in her hands balling as April held her close. It wasn't until another cry was heard that Shelby stood up, picking up both her girls, holding them tight as she sat on the couch.
April closed the door after the officers left and sat on the steps pulling out her phone to call the only people she knew could help. Katherine Corcoran was washing the dishes after dinner when the phone rang; knowing her husband had the tv on in the other room, she dried her hands and answered it.
When Katherine heard April's voice, she was expecting a lighthearted phone call, however, it was anything but. She screamed for Thomas, her husband, and he took the phone to get more information from April while his wife went to pack their bags.
Three hours later, the Corcoran's were in New York comforting their daughter and helping to take care of the 6-month-old twins. By the time the girls were a year old, Shelby was teaching English part-time at Carmel High school back in Ohio where her family was so they could help with the twins.
Katherine was helping out with the girls on the days Shelby was teaching, and on the days she wasn't, she was home with her two angels. Life went on because she knew her little monkeys deserved the world, and it was now up to her to give it to them.
Shelby would be lying if she said she didn't think about Juan every day, because she did. Most days, she still woke up expecting to see him lying in bed next to her. The girls, especially her older one looked exactly like him though, which always made her smile. Juan will always be with her because of them.
Katherine loved Juan because he made her daughter happier than she'd ever been and he blessed her with two beautiful little girls. By the time those little girls were two though, a year and a half after the tragic car accident that killed their father and her daughters' husband, she was trying to convince Shelby to date again.
She would always recognize Juan's forever place in their life and make sure her daughter knew he could never be replaced, Katherine just wanted her daughter to be happy. The first few dates she went on, the men were scared off by the instant 'family' that came with the attractive brunette.
And then Shelby found love where she least expected.
Will Schuester had been divorced for three years now after his ex-wife faked a pregnancy. All he ever wanted was a family, but not with his crazy ex, Terry. He could however, see himself with Shelby Corcoran; he had a crush on Shelby since the first day she started teaching, which was a year ago now.
After hearing Shelby mention to Emma Pillsbury the awful date she went on the week before, he finally had the courage to ask her out. On their first date, Shelby shared some of her personal life with Will where he learned about her twin two-year-olds.
To say Will was shocked would be an understatement, mainly because Shelby rarely shared any of her life that wasn't known. Three months into dating, Shelby introduced Will to her girls, and he knew without a doubt he was going to marry her.
When the girls were three and a half, the couple said I do. Throughout the years, Will was still hesitant to be anything but the 'father figure' without ever really telling them no. Shelby understood the internal struggle he felt because he too knew how special Juan would always be to his wife and girls. That being said, she didn't just marry Will so she'd have someone, she wanted someone for her daughters as well.
He was trying, and he always showed up, which meant the world to Shelby seeing as he will always know he isn't Juan. He was also always there each year on the anniversary of Juan's death, a day that will always be hard for his wife and one day, her daughters. Shelby didn't tell them until she knew they were old enough to understand and handle it.
Shelby did what she thought was right by them, dropping the hyphen in their last name when she signed them up for daycare with the last name Corcoran instead of Lopez-Corcoran. When they were old enough, Shelby would share everything with them and the reasoning behind her decision.
Even Juan's parents understood. They understood when their son changed his name to Lopez-Corcoran because of his wife's career he always wanted to honor, and they understood the painful decision Shelby made for the twins. They will always be the girls' grandparents, and supported Will's parents as another set which meant the world to the Schuesters'.
When the twins were twelve, they started asking questions about having three sets of grandparents and why they didn't look like their dad. Shelby and Will sat down with them, and Shelby explained everything to her girls, prepared for any and all reactions.
Her girls were completely different and exactly the same all at the same time. Both loved dance and gymnastics, which turned into gymnastics and cheer as they got older, had beautiful voices, were extremely opinionated, and were incredibly smart.
On the other hand, their popularity was on either side of the spectrum, one loved all food while the other was extremely picky, one was a mama's girl and the other a 'daddy's' girl, one loved all things Broadway while the other loved anything but, and the list went on.
Shelby loved her fraternal little monkeys more than anything though, and knew Juan was always looking after them, leaving his footprint on the world with his angels.
Shell, honey where did you just go?" Will asked, trying once again to get his wife's attention. He knew the anniversary of Juan's death was next week and she was worried about the girls. This was only the second year they'd known, and in that time, her girls were fighting more and more.
Shelby understood it, but it didn't mean she tolerated it. Disrespect is not something Shelby has ever tolerated, and it applies to everyone. She remembers when the girls were little and oftentimes used their twin bond to never tattle on the other, and to always put each other before their friends—they even had their own language. They were everything that she and Juan imagined, and even more.
"I'm fine," she smiled, and stood up to kiss him. Shelby packed up her bags and let him know she was going to go get the girls, and they'd see him at home.
Will watched his wife leave and sighed; it never gets easier he thought to himself. He couldn't imagine his life without Shelby, and the girls. His wife was the strongest person he's ever known—she rebuilt her life for those sweet babies he's lucky enough to call his daughters.
No, they don't share his name, but that didn't matter to him. He respected the Corcoran name, and the Lopez name even though it wasn't used anymore. Will did consider taking Shelby's name, however, respected the fact Juan did and he should leave it that way. Taking one more deep breath, he left the classroom and walked to his car to head home.
"Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! Hit the showers, I'm sick of looking at all of you!" Sue screamed as Shelby walked onto the field. She hated the way Sue always yelled at the girls, however, respected the championships she's won.
Sue actually coached the middle school team her daughters had been on and was much nicer—Shelby missed those days, but her little monkeys were in high school now and cheering with seniors because they were so good. Shelby prided herself in that respect, as she was the one who started them early.
"Hi Sue," Shelby said, "Any problems today?"
Before Sue could answer, Rachel came running up to her mother, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Hi mommy."
Shelby hugged Rachel, rubbing the girls back while looking at the other heading to the showers not understanding why these uniforms were so little. "Hi baby, how was your day?"
Before Rachel could answer, Santana rolled her eyes about to walk past them, "Yeah you big baby," she mocked.
Shelby grabbed the girls arm stopping her in her tracks, "Santana Marie Corcoran, apologize to your sister right now!"
"Middle named," Rachel said, sticking her tongue out, getting a rush of confidence because she was still in the safety of her mother's arms.
Shelby tipped Rachel's chin up and looked at her with an eyebrow raised and the smaller brunette immediately apologized. Santana was still holding strong to keep her 'badass' reputation in front of the last few Cherrios.
Shelby cleared her throat giving Santana the same look and she rolled her eyes again, "Fine, sorry."
"Now like you mean it young lady."
Santana plastered a fake smile on her face and apologized again. "Thank you," Shelby said. "Now go get your bags, let's go home."
"Mom, I told you I was going to Brittany's!"
"You don't tell me what you're doing babe, you ask," Shelby said, walking towards the car.
Santana stood there watching her mom and sister leave, still shell-shocked. What's the difference if I ask or tell if you never let me do anything she thought to herself knowing how much trouble she'd be in if she said it out loud.
"Come on Santana, we're leaving!"
She grabbed her bags and ran after them, knowing she'd text Brit when they were in the car.
"Move midget, you're not even big enough to be in the front seat!"
"MOM!"
"Both of you, back seat now," Shelby was not in the mood for this bickering today.
The second the girls walked into the house, Will knew there was another fight. "Hi daddy," Rachel smiled, running up to him.
Santana walked right past him and headed up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door. Shelby winced and Will shot over an apologetic look even though it wasn't his fault. Shelby then went upstairs to go talk to her eldest, knowing how upset she truly was.
On her way up the stairs, she flashed back to when they told the girls about Juan.
Santana was cuddled up next to Will, like she always was, and Shelby knew she was about to break her babies' hearts—Santana was Juan's mini, and Rachel was hers. Both loved Will instantly, Santana though, became a 'daddy's' girl through and through while Rachel stayed a mama's girl.
Her girls were in shock after she told them but showing them pictures of Juan and telling them how much he loved his girls more than all the stars in the sky made them almost smile. They each have pictures of him in their rooms, and Santana had started lashing out more.
She went through a few months of hating Will, while wanting nothing more than for him to cuddle with her like he always had with the girls since they were little ones. When they were little and he walked in the door after work, Santana would always reach him first because she's always been taller and bigger than Rachel.
She would jump into his arms, and he'd toss her in the air as Rachel crashed into his legs being that much smaller; he'd bend down and pick her up too while smiling at Shelby who loved seeing her babies' so happy and Will love them so much.
Shelby knew how devastated the girls were, so much so she spent nights cuddled with both girls in her bed leaving Will in the guestroom. She was grateful to him for putting up with so much, he understood though.
Things started to get better at home, and the girls were once again happy to have Will in their life. The first anniversary they knew about Juan was extremely hard. Two weeks before they each started acting out, and it continued for about a week after as well.
When they started high school about a month ago though, Santana was mad at her parents for sending them to the school they taught, and she pretended he was just another teacher. She figured nobody would ever know besides her friends; man was she wrong.
Leave it to Will to always look at her mom as if she was candy, everyone knew day one. It was bad enough to have Rachel always around, now the entire school knew about her father and her sister.
Shelby knocked on Santana's door before opening it, and sighed when she heard the shower running. Yes, the girls had just gotten home from practice, but typically Santana ate before doing anything. Walking over to the bathroom, Shelby put her ear to the door and heard her daughter sobbing. Her heart ached for her little badass. Rachel wore her emotions on her sleeve and Santana hid her emotions and acted out.
"Santana," Shelby said, knocking on the bathroom door and turning the knob to find it locked. "Let me in baby."
"Go away!"
"I'm not going anywhere, unlock the door honey."
Santana wiped her tears and unlocked the door, knowing her mother would literally sit in her room until she let her in.
Shelby saw her tear-stained cheeks and pulled the brunette into her arms, "Oh babe."
Santana broke down and hated herself for it. Shelby turned off the shower and got them over to her bed, pulling Santana into her lap rocking them back and forth. This has always worked for Santana, whereas it always made Rachel feel queasy.
When her tears simmered, Shelby knew they needed to talk about everything, and her daughter was about to clam back up. "We need to talk about this, babe."
Santana just shook her head, not picking it up from her mother's shoulder. "Honey, I know it hurts," she said, choking up. It hurt her too, it hurt because as much as she loves Will, Juan will always be the love of her life, and it hurt because of her two sweet babies who didn't even get to know him.
"Can you tell me another story?" Santana asked, tears starting again.
Shelby nodded and told her what came to mind—a story specific to Santana alone. She and Juan always made sure to have certain moments with each twin and although Juan only got to make six months of memories with the girls, Shelby made sure to have plenty for both of them after he passed away.
"It's not fair," Santana whispered after her mom finished the story. "He's my dad, and I can't remember anything about him."
Shelby's tears finally fell as she held Santana closer. She couldn't argue that and all of Santana's feelings are valid. Shelby found herself staring at the picture of Juan and Santana on her nightstand thinking back to the moment she took the photo and smiled, still rocking them.
"I know it's not fair, babe. I know." There really wasn't much to say. It felt cruel to reprimand Santana about her attitude now, so Shelby decided it could wait. She held her daughter until Santana decided she was done cuddling with her mom, she's fourteen years old and cuddling is for babies.
Shelby knew the internal struggle her daughter faces and has faced since she was twelve about being held. Shelby kissed her temple and let her go. "I love you."
Santana turned around and smiled, "I love you too mama."
As Shelby left Santana's room, she nearly crashed into Rachel. Shelby's reflex's caught Rachel before she fell, and she asked, "Where's the fire, babe?"
"Dad said we could watch Funny Girl if I showered and got my homework done."
Shelby then noticed her daughter's hair was wet and she was now wearing a sweatshirt and leggings instead of her cherrios uniform. "I want to see your homework before you two start the movie."
"Mommy," Rachel wined, tipping her head back dramatically.
Shelby shook her head and started to walk down the stairs, "Homework, kitchen, now!" After hearing the signature groan, she continued, "And drop the attitude Rachel."
Having teachers for parents meant this happened every school day once they started getting homework. Rachel didn't know why because she and her sister always had straight A's and besides school projects and essays, always finished their schoolwork in school.
When she exited her bedroom this time, she almost ran into Santana. "Watch it midget!"
Santana walked down first, her high pony swinging from side to side, mocking Rachel who was behind her. She sat down on the couch, flipped on the tv and started texting with Brittany and Quinn.
"Santana, where's your homework?" Shelby asked.
"It's done, like always!"
"Attitude," Will said, not even looking up from checking Rachel's homework.
"You're not my dad!"
Typically, Shelby would scold her for the tone and for what she said, today though, she already knew how heartbroken her daughter was and shot an apologetic look towards her husband. "Honey, please apologize."
Santana stood up and ran back up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door again. She thought about her real father every single day, but it gets worse around the time of his death. It wasn't fair she didn't have him. She knew how lucky she was to have Will in her life, it was just so hard. Santana now knew where she got her looks, and her name—it wasn't from the dad she grew up with and she hated him for not being Juan.
Rachel looked up at her parents after her sister stormed off to see what her punishment would be, but then she started thinking about her dad too. She knew her sister was extra mean around this time of year because she missed him, she didn't get why she was so mean to her though. Santana wasn't the only one to lose her dad.
Rachel sat at one of the kitchen stools and her head dropped, which got the attention of the parents. "Rach, honey?"
"Tana's upset because of…" she knew she had two dads, one helped give her life and one helped raise her, but she always felt a little strange about calling Juan dad when Will was in the room.
"Your father," he supplied.
"Yeah. And I am too."
Shelby walked around the island and wrapped her arms around her daughter for the second time today. She looked at her husband and they both knew this was going to be a long few weeks.
Santana was currently holding Rachel up against the lockers at school, four days after she broke down in his mother's arms the week before, "Listen midget, just because you're on the cherrios too doesn't mean we all want to be in…"
She was cut off by Will yelling her name. She turned around giving him a signature Corcoran glare because she knew the glare worked on most everyone. If he was being honest, when Shelby did it, he was terrified, and it kind of freaked him out that the girls could do it too.
"This doesn't concern you."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, butt out!"
"Santana," Rachel whispered, knowing mom was going to kill her for talking this way to their dad.
"Did I say you could speak Corcoran?"
Shelby chose that moment to see what the commotion was and why a hallway of students was crowded around a group of people instead of going to class. She gave her own glare to the students she passed once she heard Santana and they scampered off.
"You bellowed?" Shelby said to her daughter. Santana wrapped her arm around Rachel's neck and smiled, "Nothing to see here. We were just talking."
"Is that so?" Shelby looked at Rachel, who looked at her sister to gauge what her response should be.
"It was just a twin thing, mo…Mrs. C." Rachel had no problem calling her mom at school, but Santana was practically squeezing her to death, so she changed courses.
Brittany, Quinn and Puck were the only ones left after Shelby appeared, and because she's known all of them since they were two, she let it slide. "A twin thing, really?"
"Yeah, totally Mrs C. I mean they don't really look alike, but they totally have the twin thing. Wait, all twins have that, right?"
Shelby looked at Noah and seriously wondered how the hell he passed any of his classes. She also saw the girls nodding along. Quinn and Noah were friends with Rachel, however, oftentimes they were closer with Santana. She never understood why they couldn't share their friends anymore and blames it on the high school environment.
"Mom, it's fine. Promise," Rachel piped up. Being the younger, smaller twin came with its challenges and advantages. She was constantly picked on for her size, and for being the 'baby' even though she and Santana are twins. Nobody seemed to ever really take her seriously because of Santana, and she hated how they could no longer share friends.
It was great for cheer because she was always the head flier, meaning Santana and Quinn had to form the pyramid below her—she also loved how her parents could still carry her to bed if she was too sleepy. Granted, their dad could carry Santana too, but she rarely wanted that anymore. There were a ton of other reasons however, her inner monologue was cut off by her mom.
"It's time to get to class." Everyone started to leave when she spoke again, "You two, my classroom." Will followed the others to class to make sure they went, and then headed to teach his next Spanish lesson.
"But mom…"
Whatever excuse Santana was about to used died on her lips when she saw the glare. She strutted off in front of of them as she heard Rachel say, "Mom, I didn't even do anything."
Santana whipped around and she gave her own glare to Rachel. Shelby wasn't interested in what Rachel had to say because she could already piece together what happened. Her youngest may be smaller, but she started just as many fights as her oldest did. She didn't understand why they always fought—sure, Shelby has a brother and they fought, but not like her girls.
Rationally, she knew having a brother who was eight years older than her made things much different and if she had a sister, they most likely would have fought a lot more however, it didn't mean she would let her girls get away with it. They have always been best friends and high school is not going to change that for them, especially because they are the only ones who truly understand what it's like to lose their father.
As the girls took a seat, Shelby began talking. "I know you're hurting, and I understand you each express your feelings differently. I will not tolerate you two turning on each other though. You're sisters, and more than that, you're twins. You both lost your father, and believe me, I know the pain of not having him in your life." She looked up to prevent the tears from falling and already heard the sniffle from Rachel.
"Girls, I know you miss him. Instead of turning on each other, be there for each other. I know the pressure of high school, don't let it break the bond I know you have." Shelby knew she got through to Santana because she let her tears fall in school, something her little badass would never do.
Rachel looked over at her sister and waited until Santana looked back at her. Santana loved her badass reputation, but she was truly a big softy and although she messes with Rachel all the time, nobody makes the smaller brunette cry except for her.
She wrapped her arms around Rachel and their twin bond took over again. Shelby finally let her own tears fall watching them. There was nothing in this world she wouldn't do for them, it's much easier to do when they stop fighting with each other though. They stood up and hugged their mom, and she placed a kiss to each of their heads. "I love you both more than all the stars in the sky."
That only made the girls cry more and Shelby winced at the timing. It wasn't intentional, she used to say it all the time to them when they were still babies and said it for a while after they found out about Juan. Knowing this period was almost over, she brought them to the faculty bathroom to wash up, then altered course.
"Mom, we can't be seen like this," Santana said, worried about her reputation.
"We're leaving for the day."
"We are?"
Shelby brought them to her classroom seeing as it was her free period and grabbed her things, sending Will a quick text to let them know they were heading out. Shelby knew how hard it was knowing Juan was buried in New York—she traveled there every year with girls until they were six and then knew she wouldn't be going back until they knew.
The anniversary of his death was in two days, and Shelby decided it was time. They needed this, and it was something she needed to do without Will. Seeing as it was Wednesday, she decided she would take them out of school and they would stay until Sunday. When they got home, she told the girls to shower and get changed. With each of them occupied, Shelby went into their rooms and packed a bag and then went to pack a bag for herself.
She made them a big snack knowing they skipped lunch, and when they came down the stairs, she told them to get back into the car. The girls looked at one another and shrugged then looked back at their mom.
"Car, now, go."
They scurried back out to the car and waited for their mom to tell them where they were going. Once they reached the airport though, the questioning started up again. Shelby loved all the guesses only because they were working together, otherwise it would have driven her crazy.
"Mom, we can't get on a flight, we don't have any bags."
Shelby still didn't say anything, just popped the trunk and the girls saw the bags. "You packed for us? Uhhhh, mom you don't even know what we like to wear."
"Babe, I've seen what you two wear since I was the one dressing you."
"You used to make us match!"
Shelby smiled remembering how long she got away with matching them, and the conversations she and Juan used to have about it. He would have been so impressed to know she had them matching until second grade.
The girls clearly weren't going anywhere until she settled their nerves. "Don't worry, nothing in these bags match."
She could see the relief on their faces. "Come on, we've got to get going or we will miss our flight."
Once it was announced they were going to New York, they had another set of questions for their mother. Shelby was sitting in the middle of them and was getting tired of the constant questions. She knew a simple, we're going to see your grandparents would have ended it, they weren't staying with them though. She could have even told them they were visiting their Aunt April, because there's no way they wouldn't see her while they were there. She knew the girls weren't ready to hear the truth yet though.
Shelby was now grading papers as her daughters continued guessing with each other now knowing their mom clearly wouldn't tell them. "Think Auntie April will take us backstage again?"
"Or maybe another shopping spree!"
Rachel was still beyond impressed with her moms' career, and now understood why it ended so early—knowing April only sweetened the deal. She knew if her mom won at Tony at 26, she could probably win one at 24.
Shelby knew the next few days were going to be beyond painful, seeing her girls' best friends again was worth it to her for them to not only miss school, but be blissfully unaware of why the were going to New York.