A/N: Hello, everyone! Long time no see. I'm sorry about that. I truly am. I know it's been forever. I know most of you have probably given up on me, but I'm still here. Since I saw you last I had a baby. It was a really hard journey to get pregnant and then it was an extremely hard pregnancy. But now I've got an amazing little girl. It has taken me a while to get back into the swing of things, but I'm going to do my best to keep going with updates for both this story and She's Always Been Right There. I can't promise any sort of timeline, but I promise to do my best.

Thank you to all of those who have stuck around and sent messages and reviews encouraging me to update and keep going. You guys mean more to me than you could ever know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

Shelby waited a few tense moments before nodding her head and stepping aside so Martha could enter the house. She shifted Rachel in her arms and then closed the door behind them.

"Thanks," Martha said.

"Martha, this is my mom Sally. Mom, this is Martha St. James. She's Jesse's mom," Shelby said, making the introductions.

"It's nice to meet you," Sally said as she reached out to shake Martha's hand. "Rachel has told us so much about you and Jesse."

"It's nice to meet you too," Martha greeted.

"Miss Martha?" Rachel said sleepily. "Is Jesse here?"

"No sweetheart, it's just me," Martha said. "Go back to sleep."

"Here Shelby, I'll take her," Sally said. "You two talk."

"Thanks," Shelby said.

Rachel didn't protest being passed off to Sally and rested her head against the woman's shoulder. She was back asleep before they even made it to her room.

Shelby watched her mother and Rachel until they were down the hall and out of view and then turned back to face Martha. She didn't say anything and instead waited for Martha to speak first.

"Shelby, I'm sorry," Martha said. "I had no right to say what I said and I didn't mean it. I lashed out because I was so scared. I needed some sort of explanation and reason and I used you as a scapegoat. It wasn't fair and it was wrong and I apologize."

Shelby took a deep breath and her chin trembled slightly as she met Martha's eyes. "Thank you."

Tears formed in Martha's eyes and she quickly stepped forward and collected Shelby in a hug. Shelby returned it and they stayed that way for close to a minute.

"I'm so sorry all of this happened," Shelby said when they finally let go of each other. "I was trying to control the message and it got away from me. I never wanted something like this to happen. I know how awful being surrounded by those men with cameras can be. It scares me sometimes so I can only imagine how the kids must have felt. But Martha, I would never do anything to put them in harm's way."

"I know you wouldn't," Martha cut in. "And I never should have implied that you would have."

"The whole reason I asked you to pick her up today was because I was having a meeting with my team to release a statement saying that was fostering her," Shelby said. "The plan included talking to the school to implement more security measures. If I had acted one day sooner all of this could have been spared. But even if I had, the photographers still would have shown up. They're vultures."

"I can't imagine what it must be like to be followed by them constantly," Martha said.

"It's not fun," Shelby said with a humorless laugh.

Shelby took another calming breath as she silently recounted some of her worse experiences with the paparazzi. And she knew how much scarier it was now that she added Rachel to the mix.

"Shelby, I don't want to overstay-"

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Shelby asked, cutting her off. "Or some tea?"

"That would be great," Martha replied.

They went into the kitchen and Shelby prepared two cups of coffee and then a third when her mom poked her head in to ask if everything was all right. The three women gathered around the table to continue their talk.

"Rachel was worried Jesse wouldn't want to be her friend anymore," Shelby said when the conversation turned back to the kids.

"He's worried she's mad at him too," Martha shared. "I explained that everything would be just fine in the morning."

"I did too. Rachel asked if she had to go back to school tomorrow. She said she'd rather go up to my parents' house," Shelby said with a glance at her mom.

"That would be fine," Sally said. She was perfectly okay with sheltering her girls from the world for a few days.

"I told her that she had to go to school tomorrow," Shelby said with a roll of her eyes at her mother. She quickly tried to think of a time her mother had been so eager to let her miss school for a few days and she couldn't come up with anything. "It will be better if we carry on like normal. The quicker we do that the sooner this whole thing blows over. If they think we're hiding something, they'll just hound us even more."

"Do you think it'll blow over quickly?" Martha asked.

"Probably," Shelby said. "My statement should be out by now and we're hoping to turn the message to a positive one for foster care and away from Rachel specifically. Plus it's going to get really boring to watch her going to school and being picked up. It's not sensational enough. And with any luck, something else will happen in the next couple of days to draw attention away from this."

"Are you going to walk her to school like normal?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," Shelby answered. "I want to keep it all as normal as possible."

"Jesse and I will come over in the morning and walk with you, if that's okay," Martha said.

"That would be great," Shelby smiled. "It'll give Rachel and Jesse a chance to talk and see that everything is okay before they get to school."

"Good, it's settled then," Martha said. "And I really should get back home. I'm sorry again, Shelby."

"Don't mention it," Shelby said.

"It was nice to meet you," Martha said to Sally who returned the sentiment.

Martha let herself out and Shelby breathed a sigh of relief. She was so glad that Martha had come by so they could talk. She hated the idea of her and Rachel both losing a friend over this.

"Shelby, you look exhausted," Sally commented.

"I think I aged ten years when I heard that Rachel was missing," Shelby said.

"Kids will do that to you," Sally told her with a small smile.

"It's going to be hard to let her go to school in the morning," Shelby said. "I'm not going to want to let her out of my sight."

"I know, but you're right when you say you've got to carry on like normal," Sally said. "Rachel is smart and so is Jesse from everything I've heard. He got her out of there and went straight home."

"Thank God," Shelby said.

"When all of this dies down you need to go over some of that basic stuff with Rachel," Sally continued. "Teach her the neighborhood on foot. Make sure she has your address and all of our phone numbers memorized. Get her a key. Tell her that if she's ever lost she can go straight home and call you."

"I think I liked it better when I had her in a bubble and the world wasn't interested in her," Shelby said. "She's just a little girl."

"She's going to grow up much faster than you think," Sally pointed out.

"Don't say that," Shelby said dramatically as she put a hand over her heart. "I just got her. I want time to go slow."

"I know how you feel," Sally said with a smile at her daughter. Shelby's 28 years had gone by in a flash. She often wished for a long ago time when she had two small, noisy children at home. She knew every parent felt the same way from time to time.

"I'm so glad you're here," Shelby said to her mom. "Thank you for coming."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now," Sally assured her.

Shelby smiled at her mom before leaning back in her chair and trying to stifle a yawn. She started to stand up and collect the coffee mugs, but Sally put a hand on top of Shelby's and stopped her.

"Why don't you go and get into bed," Sally said. "I'll take care of the cups."

"I can't yet," Shelby said. "I've still got to do the dishes and I had planned to do a couple loads of laundry tonight, though I guess that could wait," she added.

"You're right, the laundry can wait," Sally said. "You're exhausted. "I'll finish loading the dishwasher tonight."

"But Mama," Shelby whined, "it's not even nine yet."

"Shelby. Go," Sally said with an air of finality. Some things would truly never change.

Shelby knew when she was beaten and she set to two coffee mugs she was holding back on the table and leaned down and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Goodnight, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too, dear. Goodnight."

Sally started to clean up the kitchen as Shelby made her way to Rachel's room so she could check on the girl. Shelby smiled when she saw that Rachel was fast asleep. She stepped into the room and pulled the blankets up and tucked Rachel in before placing a soft kiss on her head.

"Love you," Shelby whispered before easing her way out of the room and heading to her own.

It only took Shelby a few minutes to get ready for bed and she let out a contented sigh when she laid her head down on her pillow. Maybe her mother was right this time, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Sally finished up in the kitchen and headed into the living room and folded up the blankets they had been using earlier while watching the movie with Rachel. She thought about sitting and watching TV in there, but decided to go up to the loft and guest room and read for a while before going to sleep. She didn't want there to be any distractions that might wake Shelby or Rachel up.

Like Shelby had done twenty minutes before, Sally checked on Rachel first and then Shelby. Sally smirked when she saw that her daughter was fast asleep. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to get her to go to bed so early.

Martha and Jesse arrived early the following morning and made their way up to Shelby's door.

"Are you sure Rachel's not mad at me?" Jesse asked for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.

"I promise you that everything is going to be fine," Martha assured him again. Her first instinct was so scold him for asking over and over again, but stopped and reassured him instead. She knew everything would go back to normal before they knew it.

Shelby welcomed them to the apartment and ushered them into the kitchen where Sally was making breakfast for Rachel.

"Have you guys eaten?" Sally asked. "There's plenty." She'd made fresh waffles and scrambled eggs and bacon.

"We ate at-"

"Can I have a waffle?" Jesse asked, cutting off his mother's answer. There was always room for waffles. Martha just shook her head. She wasn't sure where he put all the food he ate. She felt like the kid ate them out of house and home already and she didn't even want to think of what it would be like when he was a teenager.

"Of course," Sally replied. "How about some eggs too?"

"Yes please," Jesse answered.

"Martha?" Sally asked.

"No thank you. But I will take a cup of coffee if you have any."

"Of course I do," Shelby said. She got a mug down and poured a cup for Martha and then handed it to the woman who always insisted she liked it black. Shelby took a couple steps from Martha and yelled down the hallway. "Rachel, you're not going to have time to eat anything. Jesse's here. Hurry up, please."

Rachel came bounding down the hall a few seconds later and bypassed Shelby went straight to Jesse and sat next to him at the table.

"Mom told me this morning that you were walking to school with us," Rachel told him.

"Yeah," the boy replied with his mouth full. "Me too."

"You want to come with me and mom to my grandparents' house this weekend and ride the horses?" Rachel asked as her breakfast was put down in front of her.

"Yeah!" Jesse said excitedly after taking a gulp of milk to help clear his mouth. "Can I, Mom?"

"We'll have to talk about it," Martha answered.

"But mom," Jesse whined.

"Son," Martha warned.

"But you said we could, Mom," Rachel said looking at Shelby.

"I said we would have to see," Shelby said. "We have to talk to Gram and-"

"Gram says it's fine," Sally interrupted her daughter.

The kids looked up at Sally and grinned before turning to look at their mothers.

"It's fine with me too," Martha said to her eager son.

"I guess you've got a trio of houseguests for the weekend then," Shelby added. "Thanks, Mom."

"My pleasure," Sally said. "It'll be good for the kids to get away for the weekend. They can play safely anywhere on the property." What was left unsaid but all the adults knew was that the kids could play safely away from any prying cameras.

"Are we going to go up on Friday?" Rachel asked.

"We will work out all of those details later, young lady," Sally answered since Rachel was looking at her. "Right now you need to eat your breakfast so you two can get to school."

"Okay," Rachel agreed and she turned back around to finish her meal. She and Jesse shared a conspiratorial smile that showed they believed that had really gotten one over on their mothers that time. Any hint of the worry about their friendship status was long gone as they ate their breakfast together.

Half an hour later Martha, Shelby, and the kids were walking towards their school. Shelby dreaded each step closer to the building because she knew what was awaiting them. But the worry did not show on her face. The kids were chattering happily and knew she had to keep up a strong and unaffected exterior when they finally caught sight of the photographers.

Shelby stopped them reaching the street with the school and squatted down in front of the kids to talk to them.

"We're going to be there soon and I believe that there are going to be a lot of photographers like yesterday," Shelby said. "But they won't be able to get as close to you and you don't need to be scared. We're going to walk up to the front of the school like we do every day and we'll take you inside and say our goodbyes. Just pretend they aren't there. Rachel, they will probably yell out your name a lot, but you don't have to look over at them. Don't acknowledge them at all. We're just going to keep walking like normal. Got it?"

"Yes," Rachel said timidly.

"You okay, Jesse?" Shelby asked the boy.

"I'm okay."

"Do either of you have any questions?"

The pair shook their heads and Shelby nodded and stood back up. She moved the expensive sunglasses that had been perched on her head down to their proper spot on her face and then took Rachel's hand.

"Let's go then."

The group soon rounded the last corner before getting to the school and saw cars and photographers lining the street. A perimeter had been set up and the cameras could not get close to the school entrance. The flashes and yelling started as soon as Shelby was spotted. Rachel squeezed Shelby's hand tighter and got closer to her side. Jesse took Martha's hand and the foursome made their way towards the school.

Rachel did her best to follow Shelby's instructions and not look over as her name was called out, but she couldn't help it sometimes. She stole a peek behind Shelby's back and then moved up next to her side.

The school felt farther away for all of them, but they finally made it to the front doors and into the lobby. Shelby didn't miss the annoyed looks of many of the other parents and she wished it could go back to how it was before when no one knew. She gave them apologetic looks and could only hope that it would all die down soon and they'd be left alone again.

Goodbye kisses were given out and the mothers once again promised that they would be there in the afternoon to pick them. With instructions to behave, the two friends scampered down the hall towards their classroom.

Shelby and Martha once again faced the photographers when they left the building. Martha was amazed at Shelby's ability to ignore the men wildly yelling out her name. The older woman was nervous and shocked at the treatment, but Shelby was poised and aloof. She stayed that way until they were out of sight and sure they weren't being followed.

"Do you want to come back up for another cup of coffee?" Shelby asked as they neared her building.

"I can't," Martha said. "I've got to get down to the courthouse. Thank goodness I'm not presiding over a trial this week. I'll see you this afternoon to get the kids."

"See you then," Shelby said before the women parted ways.

Shelby was happy to kick off her shoes and join her mother in the living room, another cup of coffee in hand.

"How did it go?" Sally asked.

"Just as I expected," Shelby said. "But the perimeter they set up did the trick. They were annoyed, but couldn't get close to us. Hopefully it'll just be a couple days of this nonsense and things will go back to normal."

"Are you going to give any interviews?"

"I don't know," Shelby answered. "Probably at least one. I have to check with Leroy about what information can actually be given out about Rachel."

"What do you know about her background?" Sally asked.

"Not much. Leroy told me that there was no father at the birth and her mother took off from the hospital just after Rachel was born. She left a note saying that the dad would have wanted the baby to be called Rachel and that was it," Shelby told her.

"That's so sad," Sally said. "Do you know the mother's name?"

"No. And if Leroy knows it he didn't tell me," Shelby answered.

"Have you ever thought about trying to find out?" Sally questioned.

"It has crossed my mind," Shelby confessed.

"What has stopped you?"

"What if I find her birth parents and they want her?" Shelby said. "What if I dig up her past and someone tried to take her away? I can't let that happen."

"I understand," Sally said. "But with all that has happened, what if someone else is digging into her past? What if the National Enquirer runs a story in a couple weeks about her birth parents and you're caught off guard?"

"I thought about that too," Shelby said with a sigh. She curled up next to Sally and rested against her mom with her head on the older woman's shoulder and shut her eyes.

Sally put an arm around Shelby and held her close. At 28, Shelby was still so young in her mother's eyes. It was hard to believe her baby was now taking care of an 8 year little girl.

"If you want my two cents, it would be worth it to at least get someone to do some digging," Sally said. "Keep it low key and private and see what information you can find. If nothing else, Rachel is sure to be curious one day and this might give you the chance to have the answers to her questions."

"You're right," Shelby said.

"I know, sweetheart," Sally agreed. "I always am."

The day passed quickly enough and the kids were no worse for wear after collecting them from school. The photographers once again tried to get Rachel and Shelby to talk to them, but they were ignored. Martha and Jesse headed home much to the kids' chagrin because they wanted to play.

"Hi," Sally greeted the girl warmly with a hug and a kiss to the cheek when Shelby and Rachel came through the door.

"Hi Gram," Rachel said enthusiastically.

"Did you have a good day?" Sally asked.

"Yeah," Rachel answered. "Did you know that mom is a movie star?"

"What?" Shelby asked. That was not what she expected to hear from Rachel.

Sally chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I did know that."

"So it's true?" Rachel asked excitedly as she looked over at Shelby. "All the kids at school kept asking me what it was like to live with a movie star and I told them that it wasn't true and that you just did Broadway shows. But Claire, a girl in my class, told that you really were a movie star and she took out her phone and was going to show me, but she got caught and had it taken away."

"It's true, kid," Shelby confirmed. "I have starred in movies."

"That's so cool!" Rachel exclaimed. "Mom, I want to see the movies you've been in!"

"I don't think you'd like them," Shelby said. She mostly did dramas and a couple period pieces and she was sure Rachel would find them boring.

"Mom," Rachel whined. "I want to see one." She stamped her foot and Shelby was about to scold her, but Sally spoke first.

"What about Riding Free?" Sally suggested and Shelby groaned.

"What's that?" Rachel asked.

"It was Shelby's very first movie role," Sally explained. "It would be perfect for you."

Shelby cringed. Every time she looked back on that movie she thought of how green and unpolished she was. She was 19 and 20 when she filmed it, but was playing a 15 year old girl. It was a family Disney movie about a city girl whose mother remarries and moves them to the country to live on a ranch. Jessica, Shelby's character, hates it at first, but finds solace and friendship in a certain horse named Blackjack, Blackie for short. By the end, Jessica loves her stepfather and the country and she and Blackie win a local race they'd trained for all movie. Shelby rolled her eyes just thinking about the synopsis.

"I don't have that one," Shelby announced.

"It's on Netflix, dear," Sally told her.

"Let's watch it!" Rachel squealed and tried to take off for the living room only to be stopped short when Shelby caught her around the waist and picked her up.

"There will be no movies until you have changed out of your school clothes and finished your homework," Shelby said.

"But mom," Rachel whined, ready to argue.

"No buts," Shelby said. "You know the rules. Do as you're told and you'll have plenty of time to watch a movie."

"Can I do all that later?" Rachel asked. She started to wiggle so Shelby would put her down.

"No," Shelby put her foot down. "And if you continue to argue about it, there will be no movie tonight." She carried Rachel over towards the hallway and finally set her on her feet. "Now scoot." She gave her a playful smack to her backside to send her on her way.

Rachel took off down the hallway towards her room, ignoring the warning not to run. Shelby put her hands on her hips as the girl disappeared into her room and turned to look at her mother to complain about how Rachel never listened when she was told not to run in the house, but the amused smile on Sally's face stopped her from mentioning it.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing," Sally said. "Nothing. You're just such a mom. I love to see it."

Shelby couldn't help but return the smile and drop her hands from her hips. "I'm not acting any different from how you and daddy acted with me and Tommy."

"There's just something about getting to see your kid with their kid," Sally said. "You're doing a great job."

"Thanks. And thanks for suggesting that movie for Rachel," Shelby added sarcastically.

"What?" Sally asked. "I love that movie. And she will too. It's not like she was never going to discover this."

"I know," Shelby said. "I just hate watching myself, especially in that movie."

"You can do it," Sally said with a roll of her eyes.

Later that evening Rachel had completed her homework and dinner was finished and Shelby had been convinced to let the dishes wait so they could start the movie. Rachel was giddy and she and Sally shared a blanket as they sat side-by-side on the couch. Shelby sat in a chair by herself and cursed Netflix for carrying this movie, although she couldn't help but smile when the opening credits showed And Introducing Shelby Corcoran on the screen. Deep down she was proud of the movie and the doors it had opened for her. It got good reviews when it came out and she was generally liked. It had been great to have on her resume when she auditioned for her first Broadway show a year after making the movie. It was that show in which she earned her first Tony nomination and helped get her next movie that was more dramatic and taken much more seriously in Hollywood and Broadway circles. Her star had only continued to rise since then. But being proud of the movie didn't mean she couldn't cringe at how young and wet behind the ears she was. She was one of those people who didn't like to watch the best of her roles, much less this one.

"There you are, Mom!" Rachel pointed to the TV when Shelby walked into frame.

"Yep," Shelby said.

Sally put an arm around Rachel and settled in. She had to laugh at how well 20 year old Shelby had captured the sulking teen character the audience meets in the beginning of the movie. Sally knew that kid well.

"Did you like riding the horses?" Rachel asked when she saw Shelby on one in the movie.

"I did," Shelby said. "My skill on horseback helped land me the role. We had to ride as part of the audition."

Shelby did her best to keep quiet but she couldn't help commenting on certain scenes that pointing out everything she did wrong. In middle of the movie, Jessica takes the horse to run away and while she is riding through the woods she sings a heartfelt ballad. Shelby had been delighted to get to show off her singing voice and had been more than a little upset when Disney gave it to one of their starlets and turned it into a cheesy pop song and that's the one that got played on the radio.

"You have a song!" Rachel beamed. "You sound so good."

"Thank you," Shelby said.

"Ugh, I hate this part," Shelby commented a couple minutes later. "I always thought I could have done it better but the director said we didn't have time to shoot it again."

"I was terrible right there," Shelby said after five more minutes has passed. "This is so bad."

Sally could see Rachel's smile falter just a bit the more Shelby disparaged the movie. The girl was thoroughly enjoying it and she didn't want to see Shelby ruin that for her.

"Shelby, can you come with me for a second?" Sally asked, standing up from the couch. "Be right back, Rach."

"What?" Shelby asked as she followed after her mom. They went into the next room and away from Rachel.

"Go do the dishes," Sally instructed.

"What? But why?" Shelby asked.

"You're going to ruin the movie for her," Sally said. "You just keep talking about how bad it is and how bad you were in it. Rachel loves it. You didn't want to watch the movie in the first place so I'm telling you to go do the dishes. By hand so it takes you longer."

"But Mama, I don't want to do the dishes," Shelby whined.

"Shelby Louise," Sally warned.

"But-"

"Go do the dishes and then go take a warm bath and relax," Sally instructed. "Rachel and I will finish the movie and I'll make sure she gets a bath and into bed. Now scoot." Sally swatted Shelby's backside twice to send her on her way and then headed back into the living room to join Rachel.

Shelby pouted as she went into the kitchen to do as she was told.

"Did you give mom a timeout?" Rachel asked when Sally sat down next to her.

"Something like that," Sally chuckled.

"I don't know why she doesn't like the movie," Rachel said. "It's the best one I've ever seen!"

"Even better than Oliver!?" Sally asked.

"Yep, because this one has my mom in it," Rachel answered proudly.

By the end of the week the photographers had abandoned the school just as Shelby had predicted. A more interesting story came along and Shelby's foster kid was deemed old news. People magazine wanted to do an interview, but Shelby was keeping them at bay. With the story dying down she didn't want to give it more publicity. Maybe she would do something when Rachel was formally adopted.

On Tuesday Shelby had made some phone calls to find a private investigator to look into Rachel's past. She wasn't promised any information quickly, but was told they would do their best. That was good enough for Shelby.

Sally drove home on Wednesday after Rachel had gone to school. She wanted a couple days for her and Eugene alone before the kids and Shelby visited for the weekend.

Shelby's first movie had become Rachel's newest obsession. She watched it eight times that week. She promised to show it to Jesse when they were at the grandparents' house. Shelby tried to fight the repeated viewings, but eventually gave up. There were worse things Rachel could watch.

Rachel had memorized the song her mother sang midway through the movie and liked to belt it at the top of her lungs when she was doing things like taking a shower or making her bed. Much to her chagrin, Shelby found herself humming it when Rachel wasn't around. She was even thinking of adding it to her set list the next time she did a few concerts.

"I wish you and Miss Martha would have let us miss school today," Rachel told Shelby that Friday afternoon. They were waiting for Martha and Jesse to arrive so they could leave to go to Sally and Eugene's house. "We could already be there."

"Staying home from school was never an option," Shelby said. "It's only a two hour drive. It's not like we're driving across the country."

"But it'll be almost night time when we get there and we won't be able to ride any of the horses today," Rachel complained.

"There will be plenty of time to ride the horses this weekend," Shelby said patiently.

A knock at the door stopped any argument Rachel was about to make and instead she shouted an excited, "They're here!"

It was another forty minutes before they got on the road. Jesse got first choice of music for the radio and the kids were happily singing in the backseat. Shelby tapped her hand on the steering wheel in time with the song and smiled. After the past it was great to be getting out of the city. A trip back home was just what they needed.

A/N: That's all for this chapter. I will be back with an update as soon as I can. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I truly appreciate it. Thanks, everyone!