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With a smile shining brighter than the Broadway lights, Rachel Berry stepped through the doors of the choir room, ideas for Sectionals floating about her head. That summer had been one of the best she had ever had- things had changed, but for the better. The whole glee club had gathered more than once, some speaking more than others (Santana was oddly silent, not even shooting bitter insults towards the smaller girl).

Upon entering, the room fell silent, all their eyes burning into her.

"So, I've got a list of songs that we need to start preparing for Sectionals-"

"Have you heard?" Kurt interrupted, as he was known to do.

"Heard what?" she was confused.

"Shelby Corcoran's the new English teacher", Mercedes told her.

The good mood that had been floating around her all day crashed, the bubble bursting. But she wasn't going to let them see it. "Really?" she said nonchalantly. "That's nice".

Puck and Quinn exchanged worried glances- Shelby Corcoran was the one who had caused their glee club so much stress in the past. Sending Jesse St James over to befriend Rachel ('Jesse St Jackass', as he had became fondly known among the boys), the pain she had caused Rachel when she found out that she was her biological mother- but nothing more came out of it. After an afternoon on spying at Carmel High, Shelby broke all contact between her daughter, leaving the fifteen year old heartbroken. Shelby Corcoran was the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, the show choir that had egged Rachel- the vegan of their mishmash group (the boys had travelled to Carmel and slashed their tires). She was the one who had adopted Quinn and Puck's baby girl, the infant replacing the fifteen year old she had abandoned all those years ago.

"She was pretty", Brittany said finally, Santana and Artie shooting her blank looks.

"Hey guys, how was your summer?" Will Schuester said cheerfully, entering the room and finding it in almost silence. He had seen all of his glee kids through the day, but only in passing- the first glee club of the school year was always a time for catching up, one of his favourite lessons.

"Great!" Rachel beamed. "I've devised a list of songs we should start working for to perform at Sectionals-"

"Whoa!" he laughed. "Guys, what about you?"

"I think the songs for sectionals would be a great idea", Finn said quickly, agreeing with his co-captain. "Yeah, Rachel's right".

"Why didn't you tell us Ms Corcoran was coming back?" Puck said angrily.

There was always a reason for silence in the glee room, Will sighed. "Guys, I didn't find out until I arrived here today!"

"She's pretty", Brittany repeated cheerfully, absent mindedly fiddling with a lock of blonde hair.

The next hour was filled with cries from almost all the members of the group, ranging from, "Mr Schue, she fraternizes with the enemy!" to "Is Ms Corcoran going to help out with glee?"

Who knew the newest member of their teaching staff would cause such a drama between his group? She was Rachel's mother, and had left her high and dry, and had adopted Quinn and Puck's baby girl, but she was also the newest member of the William McKinley High School teaching staff.

Sure to bring around a whole lot of drama.

The next week brought on protectiveness, as the kids from glee kept a close eye on Rachel. They might not have been particularly close- hell, they called her 'hobbit' or 'munchkin' most of the time- but she was a part of their mishmash group. But, for that first week, there was always someone within a metre of Rachel, down to the point where Brittany cheerfully accompanied her to the bathroom.

As Will was always saying, they were a family, and the arrival of Shelby Corcoran was not about to break them apart. Rachel had done all she could to avoid her mother- as well as she could, with Shelby being her teacher- but her friends from glee were there for her.

The twelve of them were laughing and singing, Will beaming, when Emma Pillsbury knocked at the door, her face tearstained. Jumping to his feet, he headed toward the doorway, stepping into the hallway and taking her hands.

"Em, what happened?"

"Its Rachel's fathers", Emma choked out, a single tear running down her face. "There was a car accident today. They didn't make it".

"What?" Will's jaw dropped, and Quinn looked over from her seat.

"What's going on?" Tina wanted to know, as they faced the door.

"I don't know", Quinn said.

"I'm blaming Sam", Santana spoke up.

"What did I do?" Sam wanted to know.

"You probably did something". She shrugged- it was moments like these that she jumped to conclusions, blaming either Sam or Rachel (although, ninety five percent of the time, she blamed Rachel).

"How do you break a kid's heart?" Will wanted to know, and Emma just shrugged. It was something he never, ever wanted to have to tell one of his glee kids. He had a bond with each and every one of them, and having to tell them something as heartbreaking as the news he had just received was going to break his heart as well as theirs.

"Mr Schue", Puck called "what's happenin'?"

"Rachel, can we talk to you for a moment?"

A flash of panic passed through her big brown eyes, but bearing a smile, she tapped over to where the teachers were standing.

"Yes Mr Schue?"

Stepping into the hallway, Will took a deep breath. "Rachel, there was an accident today".

"What?"

"Your dads- they were in a car accident-" Emma whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Rachel, they didn't make it".

For a moment, her face went blank. But then emotion registered, as her face turned a sickly gray colour and tears gathered in her eyes.

And she ran.

"Rachel!" Will called after her, but she ran.

"Where did Rachel go?" Finn wanted to know. "Mr Schue, what's going on?"

"What did Ms Corcoran do?" Puck said angrily, with surprising fierceness towards their teacher. "What happened?"

"Where's she going?"

Will had no idea how to answer their questions- he had no idea where the young brunette was going. He had witnessed many of her diva walkouts (Rachel volunteering to show her fellow glee clubbers a proper diva walkout after a particular incident with Sue Sylvester), but none like that. Tears running down her face, she had fled.

"Guys, there was an accident this afternoon", he said gravely. "Rachel's fathers didn't make it".

"What?"

"Oh my God!"

"Where's she going?"

"We have to get her!"

It had been the same, just over twelve months ago, when Quinn went into labour. They had all accompanied her to the hospital, pacing up and down the waiting room, eagerly awaiting news.

"I don't know, guys". Will shook his head.

"I've got my truck", Finn said. There were many places he thought Rachel would be, but he wasn't sure.

"I'll take my truck too, Artie, are you coming?"

"I'm riding with Mercedes", Artie spoke up, and Tina grabbed the handles of his wheelchair.

"Mike Chang, the truck", Puck commanded, grabbing Lauren's hand, and the eleven remaining glee members trooped out the doors, heading towards the student car park and their respective cars, leaving Emma and Will absolutely bewildered.

"They would not have acted like this last year". Will shook his head, turning back to Emma. "Does Shelby know?"

Emma shook her head, and Will took her head.

"We have to tell Shelby".

Hands in hand, the two headed towards the teacher's lounge, where Shelby was flicking through a student's workbook.

"Shelby", Will said gently, and she glanced up, the resemble she shared with her daughter uncanny. "It's Rachel".

Shelby's eyes flashed with worry. "Is she okay?"

"Not really", Emma whispered. "It's her fathers... they were in an accident..."

"Oh my God", Shelby breathed. "Are they- did they-"

Will just nodded and Shelby took a sharp breath.

"Where is she?"

"She ran".

"Where did she run?"

"The kids have gone after her, they've become incredibly protective", Will told her. "She needs her mum, Shelby".

"Call me the second you hear something", Shelby told her co-workers, grabbing her handbag and leaving her things on the table. "I'm going to find her".

"If you know where she is, call me", Will added hastily, as Shelby fled from the room, at surprising speed for her high heels.

"Finn she's not answering!"

"Call her again!"

"She's not answering!"

"It's Santana, what do you want me to say to her?"

"Santana?"

"Yes".

"Really?"

"She's not as cold and heartless as you think, Finn".

"What am I supposed to say?"

"Why isn't it Mercedes?"

"Artie's trying to call me, what do I say to Santana? What do I say to Artie?"

"I thought you knew where you were going!"

"I never said I knew where she was, Sam, I just said I had an idea!"

"Your ideas are bad!"

"Oh good God". Kurt waved around his mobile phone. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Tell them we haven't found her and to call us if they know anything!" Sam snapped at Kurt, as Finn gripped the steering wheel even tighter.

Similarly in Quinn's car, they were doing the same thing. With Brittany and Santana occupying the backseat, Brittany dialled Rachel's number over and over, leaving a countless number of voice messages.

"Q, where is she?"

"I don't know, B". Quinn glanced at the footpaths as they drove around slowly; passing the residence they knew was the Berrys'.

"Do you think she's gone home?" Brittany spoke up, as Santana watched out the other window.

Quinn shook her head. "She wouldn't go home".

She knew the feeling, what it was like to lose something, or someone. She had lost her parents, revealing her pregnancy. While she had gained back her mother after the birth of Beth, she had lost a daughter, the tiny little baby she had grown to love in the nine months she had carried her. During their song writing, Rachel had mentioned both Shelby and Beth, but she had shrugged her off. It was possibly the stupidest thing she had ever done.

"She wouldn't have gone home", Quinn decided, continuing to drive along, keeping her eyes peeled for the smallest member of their group.

Shelby was not the most patient person in the world, but it seemed that that day, people were out to slow her down. When she needed to find her teenage daughter, she acquired every single red light within a thousand kilometre radius.

She really didn't know where she was.

But pulling up outside the Berry residence, she had a gut feeling that the teenager was inside.

During her pregnancy, she had stayed in that house. Hiram and Leroy Berry had practically waited on her hand and foot, as she carried their precious baby girl. Out of all the places she had been, the Berry house was where she felt safe.

Knocking several times on the door and receiving no answer, she pushed the front door open, a large print of the young girl and her fathers. Taking a sharp breath, she heard a whimper.

"Rachel?" she said gently, stepping into what she remembered as the living room. Rachel was curled up under a blanket on the couch, despite the warm weather, and she was shaking.

"Rachel, oh sweetie". Striding over to where her daughter was, she tried to reach out to her, but the brunette pulled away.

"No, no". She shook her head firmly. "No, I don't want you. You're going to leave me again, like you left me last time! I want my dads"

She dissolved into a fresh round of tears.

"I want my dads!"