A/N – Hi, everyone. I know, I know. Time ran away from. I seemed to have lost all ability to write and, well, you know what happened. But I'm back and trying to get into the swing of things again. I hope there are people that are still interested my stories.

Thank you all so much for the encouraging messages and reviews I've been getting. There were times I was ready to say forget it, but I just couldn't. I've missed these characters and I've missed all of you. Your support continues to amaze me. Thank you so much.

I have a couple of notes and questions for you all that I'm going to put at the end of this chapter.

Disclaimer – As always, I don't own Glee.

Rachel stayed in her room as long as possible so she could avoid Brian, but eventually Shelby appeared in the doorway to tell her dinner was ready and that she needed to change. Shelby thought maybe Rachel had already changed out of the sweats she had put on earlier, but discovered that Rachel was determined to be as obstinate as possible. Rachel moved as slowly as she dared as she changed into a pair of jeans and a nicer top. She brushed her hair and used up some time fixing her makeup. She was about to check her phone one more time but her mother's voice interrupted her.

"Rachel," Shelby called out from the dining room. "Dinner is ready."

"I know," Rachel muttered to herself as she slipped the phone into her back pocket. "I wouldn't want to keep Brian waiting, now would I?"

Shelby was about to say something again, but stopped herself when she heard the telltale sounds of an unhappy Rachel coming down the hallway. Shelby wanted to get up and say something to her daughter, but decided against it. She was the adult here and she would keep her cool no matter how badly Rachel worked to get under her skin. She looked over at Brian who did his best to hide his smile whenever Rachel stomped a bit too loudly. Shelby saw the merriment in his eyes and smiled and shook her head at her daughter's antics. It was going to be an interesting evening.

Rachel finally made it to the dining room table and sat down. She was across from Brian and Shelby was to her right at the head of the table. Rachel didn't want to say so, but the food smelled amazing and she really was hungry. She looked down at her plate full of food and her mouth watered. Well, she supposed she would eat if it would make her mother happy. But she refused to acknowledge that to either of the adults in the room.

"Before we start, I'd like to propose a toast," Brian said as he raised his glass of wine. Shelby followed suit and looked over at Rachel who rolled her eyes, but picked up her glass of water all the same.

"To Shelby," Brian continued. "The best woman and mother," he glanced at Rachel, "I've ever known. Here's to the happiest of birthdays and a new year ahead."

Shelby smiled as she looked over at Brian and then took a sip of her wine. Rachel caught herself smiling at her mother's reaction to the toast, but schooled her features when she realized what she was doing. She took a sip of her water because she knew it was expected and by the time she put the glass back on the table her sour expression had returned.

"Thank you," Shelby said to Brian. "This has been my best birthday ever because my wonderful daughter is now a part of my life." Shelby looked over at Rachel adoringly and smiled before turning back to Brian. "And I'm beginning to understand what true happiness can be, and what better birthday present could there be?"

Rachel didn't like the sound of that and she scowled as she looked back and forth between her mother and Brian. Was it because of her or Brian that Shelby was learning what true happiness was? She saw green when she looked at Brian again and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright, let's eat," Shelby declared. "This food looks too good to wait any longer."

Rachel had her first bite and hated to admit how good it was since Brian had made it. While she was in her room before dinner she had hoped that it would suck.

"This is so good," Shelby said after her first bite. "Thank you, Brian. I'm so glad you made this."

"Well, it's your favorite," Brian said with a shrug. "What else would I make?"

"How do you like it, Rachel?" Shelby asked, turning to her daughter.

"It's alright. I've had better," Rachel declared.

"Maybe you can give me some pointers on how to make it better," Brian said.

Rachel just rolled her eyes and shook her head. It would be better with different company, but she didn't say so out loud.

Shelby sighed and took another sip of her wine before looking around for the bottle. It wasn't on the table and Shelby realized they had left it in the kitchen.

"Mom, can I have a glass of wine too?"

"What?" Shelby laughed, surprised by the sudden and out of the blue question from Rachel. "No. Where did that come from?" She laughed again and thought that maybe Rachel was joking.

"You both have wine," Rachel said. "Why do I have to have water?"

"You don't to have water but you're not having a glass of wine," Shelby said. It was clear Rachel wasn't kidding and Shelby hoped to not have to argue about this.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Because you're only 15 and I said so," Shelby answered. "There's plenty of juice or iced tea or soda if you want something different to drink."

Rachel huffed and sat back in her chair and looked away from the table.

"You probably wouldn't like it anyway," Brian spoke up. "This one is strong and can be an acquired taste."

He wasn't saying it to be mean, but Rachel glared daggers at him all the same. She wanted nothing more than for Brian to just go away.

Shelby noticed Rachel's death stare and relented a bit. She knew this was hard on the girl and she assumed this was Rachel's way of trying to fit in where she felt she didn't belong.

"Would you like to try a sip?" Shelby asked. "You can have a sip of mine."

"No," Rachel sulked.

"Okay. Then sit up and eat, please," Shelby instructed gently.

Rachel sat up and reached back and took her phone from her back pocket and set it in her lap. She tried to be an inconspicuous as possible, but it was clear she was on her phone.

Shelby chose to ignore it for the moment and turned to Brian. "Are you almost ready for the new semester?" she asked, alluding to his job as a professor of American History at NYU.

"Almost," Brian said. "I can't believe the summer's almost over and-"

He was cut off when music suddenly started to blare from Rachel's phone and she started to laugh at whatever she was watching. She waited a few moments before looking up and pretending to be shocked that Shelby and Brian were looking at her.

"Oh sorry," Rachel said. "I didn't realize it was so loud."

"Turn that off and put your phone away, please," Shelby said. "I have the same rule here as you do at your dads' house; no phones at the table. You know that."

"Okay," Rachel said. The music stopped and she looked up at them expectantly and then took another bite of her food.

As soon as Shelby and Brian went back to their conversation Rachel went back to her phone. She stared down at her phone and used one hand to type a text to Kurt about how awful this whole evening was. Shelby kept her focus on Brian and tried to ignore it. She was sympathetic to Rachel's feelings and didn't want to make a scene, but the girl was pushing it.

After a couple minutes Rachel started to tap her hard soled shoe against the leg of her chair. It became an incessant and steady beat that both adults found difficult to ignore after a while.

"Rachel, that's enough," Shelby said.

Rachel's only acknowledgement was to stop the tapping. She didn't look up from her conversation with Kurt at all.

Brian could tell that Shelby was about to say something, but decided to jump in and maybe help diffuse the situation before it got worse. Besides, he knew that he and Rachel needed to break the ice and they were never going to be able to move forward if they never talked to each other.

"How are you feeling, Rachel?" Brian asked, alluding to how sick she'd been when she first arrived.

"Fine," Rachel answered without looking up at him. She smiled down at her phone instead.

"That's good," Brian responded. "How has this visit been otherwise?"

"Good," Rachel said.

Rachel took another bite of her meal and then picked her phone up and brought it closer to her face so she could get a better look at a picture Kurt just sent her.

"Are you looking forward to your mom's party tomorrow?" the man questioned.

Rachel heard him, but pretended she didn't as she continued to look at her phone.

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"What?" Rachel asked with wide, innocent eyes as she looked up from the phone and at her mother.

"Brian asked you a question," Shelby told her. "And please put your phone down. I've already told you once."

Rachel looked over at Brian expectantly and waited for him to repeat himself.

"Are you looking forward to the party tomorrow?"

"Yes," Rachel said before looking back at her phone and going back to her texts.

Rachel put her fork down so she could use two hands so she could respond to Kurt. She'd only typed out a few words when her mother reached over and plucked the phone from her hands.

"Mom, I need to-"

"Rachel, why don't you come and help me in the kitchen real quick," Shelby suggested as nicely as she could. "I think we forgot something. Excuse us, Brian."

Shelby kept the phone and got up from the table and Rachel had no choice but to reluctantly follow.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, you are being rude and unkind," Shelby scolded as soon as they were in the kitchen.

"No, I'm not," Rachel said in a half-hearted defense.

"We are trying to have a family dinner," Shelby said.

"This is not a family dinner!" Rachel shot back angrily.

Shelby held her hands up and surrendered that point. She hadn't meant to say family and wasn't surprised by Rachel's reaction.

"Regardless, you are being rude and I'm not going to put up with it much longer," Shelby replied after a deep breath.

"I'm not being rude," Rachel said.

"Playing on your phone, tapping your foot, ignoring us," Shelby listed the things Rachel was doing. "Those are rude, Rachel."

"I'm not ignoring you or him."

"He is trying to talk to you and-"

"I answered all of his questions," Rachel said.

"And you are refusing to even look at him," Shelby finished. "I know you don't like him, but right now that's just too bad. Brian is an invited guest in our house and as such you will not be rude to him. You will not play on your phone the whole meal. You are going to sit there with us until we are done and then you can go to bed. Is that understood?"

"Mom," Rachel whined. "It's not-"

"Is that understood?" Shelby asked a little more forcefully this time.

"Yes," Rachel muttered as she crossed her arms like a petulant child.

"Good, now go back to the table," Shelby instructed.

"Can I have my phone back?" Rachel asked with her hand out, reaching for the device.

"You can have it back tomorrow morning. If you behave," Shelby added. "If you don't, I might just keep it for the rest of your time here in New York."

"But, Mom!" Rachel gasped. "That's not fair."

"Go," Shelby said.

"Fine," Rachel huffed so she could have the last word.

Shelby let it go and waited until Rachel was out of the kitchen before she started muttering to herself about "that girl" and "I'll show her 'fine.'" She pulled out a step stool and put Rachel's phone on the back of the highest shelf in the kitchen. She knew she couldn't just leave it on the counter because Rachel would be in there looking for it as soon as dinner was over. She'd get it for Rachel in the morning… maybe.

Shelby closed the cabinet door and her eyes landed on the open bottle of wine as she was putting the step stool away. She grabbed it from the island and headed back into the dining room. She was definitely going to need another glass before the night was out.

"I got the wine," Shelby announced as she made her way back to the dining room.

"Good," Brian said.

Rachel ignored them both and stared down at her plate. She ate a couple more bites, but was already starting to feel full. Hopefully this dinner wouldn't last all night.

Shelby decided to carry on like normal despite Rachel's pouting. "Thank you so much for the flowers. I've always loved how roses look in this vase."

"Well I know it's your favorite," Brian said. "Vase and flowers."

Rachel stared at the vase that was normally housed on a shelf in the living room. She'd only ever thought of it as a decorative piece before and had been surprised to see it in use when she got to the table. It made her even more jealous every time she learned something about her mother through Brian. He knew Shelby's favorite meal and vase and flowers and so much more that Rachel had no idea about. She hated that her mother had a whole other life that didn't involve her at all.

The dinner continued without incident for about twenty more minutes. The adults tried to engage Rachel a couple more times and finally just left her alone and talked to each other. Shelby tried to help when Brian started to collect the plates and take them to the kitchen, but he wouldn't let her since it was her birthday. He returned from the kitchen a few moments later with a chocolate cake and a lighter.

"Ohh, that looks wonderful!" Shelby said.

"I hope so. I slaved over it all day," Brian joked.

"Yeah right," Shelby retorted. She looked over at Rachel and explained, "Brian is a great cook, but he can't bake at all."

Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Baking is easy. All you have to do is follow the instructions."

"I've never been very good at that, I'm afraid," Brian said, letting the insult slide.

"You and Rachel have that in common," Shelby laughed, but quickly quieted when she saw the look her daughter was giving her.

"How many candles did you put on there?" Shelby asked when Brian started to light them.

"Around 40 or so," Brian answered. "Isn't that how old you are now?"

"I am not 40!" Shelby exclaimed.

"Close enough," Brian said and he winked at Rachel. "Okay, I'm going to turn the lights off. Get ready to sing, Rachel."

Rachel didn't acknowledge him, but she did start to sing. All of the candles made it look like the cake was glowing, which is exactly what Shelby loved. Rachel couldn't help but smile at her mom's excited face which was bathed in the light from the candles. Shelby looked over at Rachel and tears formed in her eyes. She was so happy to have her there for this and was glad Rachel finally started to participate. Shelby reached over and held Rachel's hand for the duration of the song and while she blew the candles out.

"I hope you made a good wish," Brian said after he turned the lights back on.

"I didn't need to," Shelby said.

Shelby gave Rachel's hand a squeeze before dropping it so she could cut the cake while Brian went to get dessert plates and clean forks.

Brian only took one bite of his cake before announcing he had presents. He was too excited to wait any longer and handed Shelby a small, wrapped box.

Shelby put her fork down and took the box. "What is it?" she asked shaking it lightly.

"Just open it," Brian said.

Shelby did as she was told and eyed him suspiciously when she concluded that it must be jewelry. She was glad that it didn't appear to be a ring box because she knew that would not go over very well right now.

Shelby put the blue wrapping paper to the side and opened the box. Rachel put her fork down and was watching intently to see what her mother had received.

Shelby gasped when she got a look at what was inside. It was a necklace with a pendant of five round diamonds. The diamonds were stacked on top of each other with the smallest at the top and the largest at the bottom.

"Brian," Shelby said breathlessly. "This is beautiful. Thank you so much. You did not have to do this."

"Nonsense," Brian said. "As soon as I saw it I knew you had to have it. Happy Birthday!"

Rachel caught a glimpse of the necklace and shrank back in her chair. She looked at her mother's neck and saw the necklace that she had given Shelby earlier that morning. It looked like a cheap toy next to what Brian had given her. Rachel could tell how much her mother loved Brian's necklace; her reaction said it all.

"Did you see it, Rachel?" Shelby asked as she held the box out so Rachel could get a better look.

"Yeah," Rachel said and avoided looking at her mom or the necklace.

"Put it on and see how it looks," Brian said, unable to hide his excitement at how much Shelby liked it. "Here, I'll help you take the other one off."

"No wait," Shelby said. She finally took her eyes off of Rachel and looked up at Brian. "The one I'm wearing is new too. Rachel gave it to me this morning. It has both our birth stones."

"Oh," Brian stopped moving around to help with the necklace and took his spot at the table again. "Let's see. It's beautiful, Rachel. It looks great on your mom."

Rachel only nodded once while she looked down at her hands which were in her lap.

"Umm," Brian continued. "I actually have something for you too, Rachel." He picked up a second box that was identical to the one he had just given Shelby. "Here, open it."

Rachel was surprised by Brian's words and took the box from his outstretched hand. Shelby gave Brian and questioning look, but he just smiled at her.

The paper was off a few seconds later and Rachel was looking at a smaller version of the necklace Shelby had just opened. The only real difference was that Rachel's only had three diamonds and they were a bit smaller than the one's on Shelby's.

"Oh Brian," Shelby breathed out. She was clearly touched by his thoughtfulness to include Rachel in such a way.

Rachel was not appreciative like Shelby was and instead set the box on the table and pushed it away.

"No thank you, I don't want it," Rachel said while looking at Brian. In the next moment she was up and heading towards her bedroom.

"Rachel," Shelby said, but it wasn't a real attempt to get her to stop. Shelby knew that in this moment Rachel needed some space and it wouldn't do either of them any good to force her to stick around. She just let Rachel go and turned back to Brian.

"I'm sorry, Shelbs," Brian started. "I just thought-"

"It's beautiful," Shelby said cutting him off. "That was so thoughtful of you. Thank you. I'm sorry for how she reacted. I wish she didn't act this way whenever you're around."

"It's hard to be 15," Brian shrugged. "I want to get to know her, but she certainly isn't making it easy."

"No, she isn't," Shelby agreed. "But you'll keep trying, right?"

"Of course I will. For as long as it takes." Now that they were alone, Brian gave Shelby a deep kiss and brushed some hair back from her face. "I love you, Shelby."

"I love you too," Shelby said. "Thank you for all of this."

"It was my pleasure," Brian said. "Now let's finish our cake. Rachel doesn't know what she's missing."

Rachel entered her room and furiously wiped at her eyes. She hated that she was reacting this way. It was just a stupid necklace and she didn't need to be this upset. She couldn't even really pinpoint what had her so worked up. She understood that Brian was trying to be nice and the necklaces were beautiful, but did he have to come in here and step all over her toes by getting Shelby something so much better? And why couldn't her mom understand that she just didn't want to be around Brian?

Rachel reached to her back pocket to get her phone only to remember that her mother had taken it. She let out a heavy sigh as she sank down on the bed and kicked her shoes off. She was glad that her mother hadn't followed her back to talk, but Rachel knew that it was coming. For now, though, she was grateful for the chance to be alone with her thoughts.

Brian stayed another forty-five minutes before leaving for the night. He and Shelby worked together to clean the kitchen and put everything away, talking all the while. She was glad to have the time with him, but didn't want to drag it out because she wanted to get to Rachel. They needed to talk and Shelby didn't want it to wait until morning.

Rachel had changed back into her sweats by the time her mother knocked on her door. She was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling lost in thought and missed the first knock. It wasn't until Shelby peeked her head inside the room that Rachel noticed she was there.

"Hey," Shelby said as she stepped into the room. She placed the box with Rachel's new necklace on the dresser and then sat on the bed and patted the girl's leg. "We need to talk."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. She sat up and leaned her back against the headboard and looked at her mother expectantly.

"Rach, I don't understand why you were so upset by Brian's gift," Shelby stated, getting right to the point.

Rachel took a steadying breath as tears welled in her eyes once more. "Because the necklace he gave you is so much better than the one I gave you. You like his better; you even gasped when you opened it. I can't compete with something like that."

"Oh honey," Shelby cooed as she moved closer to Rachel and pulled her close. "It's not a competition. I love the necklace you gave me so much. I believe it's the greatest gift I've ever received and it means the world to me."

"But it's just some cheap thing from a chain jewelry store," Rachel argued. "I couldn't even afford it by myself. My dads' had to help pay for it."

"None of that matters," Shelby assured her. "What matters is that you picked out and thought I would love it and I do. You made it so special."

"But you gasped when you saw Brian's," Rachel said.

"Yeah, I did," Shelby agreed. "But to be fair, Rach, it is a beautiful piece. One day you will gasp over something like that as well. But that kind of reaction doesn't mean that I think any less of the one you gave me. Why do you think I can only love one and not both of them?"

Rachel extracted herself from her mother's arms and just shrugged as she looked down at her hands.

"Rachel, look at me," Shelby said and waited until she had her daughter's attention before she spoke again. "You have no reason to be jealous of Brian."

"I'm not jealous!"

"Rachel," Shelby stopped the argument.

"Fine, I'm jealous," Rachel conceded as tears started to make their way down her cheeks. She got up from the bed and stood in front of her mother. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"No, I-"

"I don't like when he's around because it means that I don't get you all to myself," Rachel continued. "I hate that he knows all about you and I don't know anything. You have this whole life that doesn't include me, but it includes him. He knows your favorite vase and what your favorite meal is and how to make you gasp with presents. I don't know anything about your real life."

"Oh Rachel," Shelby said sympathetically. She stood and gathered Rachel in her arms once more and held the girl while she cried. "I'm sorry you feel that way."

"You have this whole world here that I don't know anything about and that I'm not a part of," Rachel cried.

"Shhh," Shelby soothed. She held Rachel close and rubbed her back.

"Why does he have to be here when I'm in town?" Rachel asked. "I'm usually only here for short visits. Can't he just stay away?"

"Rachel, honey, calm down," Shelby said. "I'm so sorry you don't feel like you know anything about my life here."

Rachel stepped back from her mother and wiped her eyes and nose with her hand. "It's just that I'm only in town every so often and we're always here and always together. I don't know things about you like I know about my dads."

"Such as?" Shelby prompted.

"I don't know who any of your friends are or what you do on a normal day when I'm not here," Rachel said. "I don't know where you like to shop or anything else."

"You're right," Shelby said much to Rachel's surprise. "We do tend to isolate ourselves when you're in town, don't we? That's my fault. I wanted you all to myself to get to know you. But it's not fair. I know Kurt and your interests and all kinds of things. But you've only ever gotten two sides of me. Shelby the star and Shelby the mom. You want to know Shelby the person."

"Yes," Rachel said. She was so glad this had finally come out. "Exactly. I know this is my home too, but it feels so different than Ohio. And not just because New York City is a million times better than Ohio. But back home I have this other life too. I go out of the house and do things without my dads. And they go out and do things without me. We never do that here. I don't have friends to hang out with or school to get ready for."

"You want a bit of your normal life while you're here," Shelby concluded.

"Yeah, I guess," Rachel said. "I like coming out here knowing we're going to spend a lot of time together."

"I like that too," Shelby agreed. "But that can't be how it is all the time, right?"

"Right," Rachel said.

"Okay," Shelby nodded. "I'm trying to show you my life and my world here in New York. You're going to meet a ton of people at the party tomorrow. You'll get to see me be with my friends and not just be Shelby the mom that you know."

"I'm excited for the party," Rachel said.

"Are you going to be rude to all of my friends when you meet them tomorrow?" Shelby asked.

"What? No, of course not," Rachel said. "Why would I be rude to them?"

"Because Rach, I have already introduced you to a friend who is extremely important to me and who I love very much and you have reacted badly every time," Shelby pointed out.

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Brian is different."

"Why is it different with Brian?" Shelby asked.

"Because it is," Rachel said as she crossed her arms. "You're just Mom, not Mom and Brian."

"Rachel, what would you had done if Brian and I were married when you found me?" Shelby asked. "Would you have demanded I never see him again? Would you have wanted me to just drop him because you said so?"

"No," Rachel said after a slight hesitation. "It would have been different."

"Why?"

"Because I would have already known about him," Rachel said. "He wouldn't have been a surprise."

"That's not a very good excuse," Shelby said. "I introduced you to him pretty early on because I wanted you involved in that part of my life. It was important to me for you two to meet and get along, but you have only ever been rude and mean to him."

"I have not!" Rachel argued. "Besides, if he didn't always show up and walk around like he owns the place he wouldn't bother me so much."

"Rachel," Shelby said. "You know better than that."

Rachel sighed and sat back down on her bed and looked down at her hands. "Brian is different from a friend because you're not madly in love with your friends. You friends don't want to stay the night and be here all the time. He could be your life partner one day and that is a hell of a lot different than just a friend."

"You're right," Shelby said. She sat down next to Rachel and took the girl's hand in her own and held it. "He is different. And I'll be completely honest with you, I have thought about marrying him. But Rach, if that were to happen its years away. I don't want you to worry about anything like that. Brian is not trying to be a father figure or anything like that. All we want is for you to try and be his friend. I'm not asking you to do anything else other than be polite and give him a chance. He is trying and he genuinely likes you and would love to get to know you better. What do you say, can you try too?"

Rachel looked over at her mother's earnest face and finally nodded. "Yeah, I'll try too."

"Thank you," Shelby said.

Rachel leaned down and rested her head on Shelby's shoulder. It felt nice to be able to truly relax because it felt like this evening had lasted for about a year.

"Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I have my phone back now?" Rachel asked sweetly.

Shelby pretended to think for a moment before saying, "No, not tonight." She could feel Rachel slump down as she pouted. "You can have it back in the morning."

"But Mama," Rachel whined.

"Hush now," Shelby said as she stood up from the bed and gently pulled Rachel up with her. "However, I know where there's a delicious chocolate cake just begging for me to eat another piece. What do you say we have some cake and then get ready for bed and then we be snuggle up in my room and watch a movie?"

"That sounds good," Rachel said. "And I guess we'll have to watch a movie in your room because it's not like we can do it in here," the girl sassed lightly alluding to the fact that Shelby had refused to buy her the TV she wanted for her room.

"Rachel," Shelby warned. "If you mention that TV one more time…"

Shelby let the light threat hang in the air as she swatted Rachel's backside two times to get her moving from the room.

A/N – I hope you all liked this one. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. And, guys, I think I've got my mojo back (is that a thing people say anymore?) so I'm hoping to be able to update soon. Thanks, everyone!

Ok, note one. I've been getting people asking about a sequel to Changed for the Better and I'd love to do that, but I'm reluctant to start something like that and then lose track again. I have thought about writing some one shots in the Changed for the Better world that would serve as a sequel of sorts. That way I could write for that story without having the pressure of another multi-chapter story. I want to be able to make it good and not leave people frustrated. Does that sound like something you all would like or should I just wait some more on it?

Note two. I've made no secret of the struggle I've had with this story at times. I love it, but for whatever reason it proves to be hard to write sometimes. I think part of it may be because of Rachel's age. I'm very concerned about repeating something I did in Changed for the Better because I want this one to be different and I worry that a lot of the teenage drama may start to run together. That's not fair to you guys as readers.

I've noticed a great friend of mine is editing her story and posting the chapters over again and I thought that was an idea. But I don't really want to do something like that. For the most part, I like this story as it is. There are a few things I'd change though. Another thought was that I could write a new story with sort of the same storyline, but have Rachel be about 11 or 12 in it. Because life is different at 11 or 12 than it is at 15. It could open up some new story ideas. But I'll be honest, I worry about it being the same set up. What do you guys think?

Don't worry I'll finish the current story as it is. I won't abandon it. But I'm thinking ahead too and would like to keep writing Rachel and Shelby because I enjoy it. Thoughts?

And finally, if anyone has any ideas for this or any other story, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you about this. I love getting to bounce story ideas around. Anything at all. Please.

Okay, that's all. Thanks so much for sticking with me all this time. You guys are truly the best.