Final Chapter

A.N. As promised here is the ending to my story in condensed form. Sorry that I could not finish it properly but at least this will give some kind of closure.

Shelby sends Jesse to wait for her at her office. When he leaves she turns to Rachel and asks if she knew he was coming. Rachel denies all knowledge, insists there is nothing between her and Jesse anymore, they have had no contact in almost 2 years. Shelby then talks to Jesse in her office, tells him Rachel is off limits, that she is with Puck now. Jesse says he has a girlfriend in California, he has no interest in Rachel.

Back at Shelby's house Shelby is preparing dinner as Rachel feeds Cadence. When Cadence calls Rachel "Mama" Shelby steps in and takes over. Reminds Rachel that Cadence should be calling Shelby "Mama" (for those who haven't guessed by now, Cadence is Rachel and Jesse's baby but Shelby has convinced everyone that she is the mother). Rachel holds back tears as Shelby goes over the old arguments, no-one must know Rachel is the mother as no prestigious college would accept her if she was known to be a teen mom and her dreams would be ruined. Also, her fathers would be so disappointed in her.

These old arguments prompt a flashback to 2 years ago when Rachel first found out she was pregnant and came to Shelby in tears for help and guidance. Shelby, full of guilt for what she had contrived and genuinely fearful of her daughter's future, promised she would fix everything, that she would make it so Rachel would have her dreams, her baby but not the burdens of parenthood. Shelby tells her daughter that if she will put herself in Shelby's hands she can have it all. On one condition; she cannot tell Jesse about the baby. Rachel protests, but Shelby argues that if she loves Jesse, she will hide this from him because if he knew he would probably drop out of college to support Rachel and the child and then both their bright futures would be ruined. So Rachel drops contact with Jesse. When she is too pregnant to hide it, her mother takes her "travelling" through South America. She gives birth to her daughter in a small clinic in Peru run by some shady characters who owe Shelby a favour. These people arrange to have the birth recorded with Shelby as the mother. They return to Ohio with the baby and no-one doubts that the baby is Shelby's. But it tears at Rachel's heart to not be able to claim her daughter as her own. Especially as Shelby becomes increasingly more possessive of Cadence, nudging Rachel out of her baby's life.

Switch to the aftermath of a Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal. Puck asks Rachel out to Breadsticks, she declines, says she is feeling tired. He asks if this has anything to do with Jesse. He had felt they were making real progress before her ex came back, that they were finally moving out of the "friend zone". He reminds her how much her mother likes them together, that he is sure half the reason she helped him get into Tisch was so that he would be there in New York to watch over Rachel. Rachel smiles and nods, promises they would have that date he wanted very soon, but she was too tired tonight.

She is the last to leave, is walking to her car when suddenly a hand grabs her arm and jerks her backwards. She turns around, swinging a fist, which catches Jesse's chin. He swears, she gasps in shock.

"Damn it, Rachel! Watch where you're pointing that thing," Jesse grumbles, rubbing his chin.

"Jesse!" Rachel cries. "What is it with you and pulling me into dark corners all the time?"

"Seems like dark corners are all we have anymore," Jesse replies sadly.

"Not for long," Rachel promises, her hand reaching to his cheek. "I've already auditioned for Julliard and Tisch and I know I impressed the judges. Next week is NYADA and then this is all over. I'll accept whichever school offers me the best scholarship, you can transfer to finish your senior year in New York and then we can finally be together; you, me and our daughter."

You see, the one condition Rachel could not keep was shutting Jesse out of her life. She tried, but when she attempted to end their relationship over the phone he came back to Ohio to find out what was going on and she could not withhold the truth from him. He wanted to give up college but she was adamant that he stayed. She knew his parents would cut him off if he went against their plans for him in order to stand by her and she would not be responsible for that. She talked him into going along with Shelby's plan until they were both in a strong enough position to stand on their own. In the past 2 years they have been meeting secretly, on rare occasions Rachel has been able to take Cadence with her so the baby could know her father. Jesse had heard from his Ohio contacts that she and Puck were an item which is why he has turned up on her doorstep. Rachel assures him that nothing has happened between her and Puck but she has led him on a little to keep Shelby from getting suspicious of her and Jesse.

Unfortunately, Puck overhears Rachel and Jesse talking and then sees them kissing. When he realises that Rachel has been using him as a beard he is so angry that he spills everything to Shelby. Then there is a big confrontation of Shelby, Rachel and Jesse. Shelby is upset with Rachel for lying to her all this time. When Rachel's plan to take Cadence to New York with her and Jesse comes out, Shelby refuses to hear it, says it would be career suicide for Rachel to try to become an actress and raise a baby at the same time. She insists that whether or not the baby is Rachel's, Shelby is Cadence's legal guardian and she will not let her go. Definite deja vu to the events surrounding Rachel's birth. But something Shelby says gets Jesse to thinking - she said that it was her fault Rachel got pregnant and she would not let it ruin her life. Then it all comes out, how Shelby rigged both Rachel and Jesse's birth control. Rachel is horrified that her mother would do such a thing and tearfully storms out.

Unfortunately, driving while so distraught leads to a car accident and Rachel winds up in hospital with head injuries. Shelby is guilt stricken at what her manipulations have lead to. When Rachel wakes up, she and her mother have a heart to heart and Rachel comes to understand that her mother is not really evil, it is that her past experiences have made her over-controlling, especially when it comes to her family and the threat of them being taken from her. She had once been powerless to hold onto her own baby daughter and it has warped something inside her. But she really did think she was acting in Rachel's best interests, that Rachel would be happier as a Broadway success than a young mother. In the end, Shelby agrees to let Cadence and Rachel go. Rachel knows how hard that is for her mother, that for all her faults she really does love her daughter and granddaughter. So she forgives her. Queue sad violins.

Lastly, we fast forward a few years. Rachel and Jesse are starring in a Broadway play. Little Cadence is in the audience with her Uncle Puck, Aunt Marcie and her grandfathers (Rachel apologised to Puck for using him and they stayed friends, eventually he gets together with Marcie). Shelby is watching from the wings – she is the director of the play. That is her true calling – to direct. She moved to New York with Rachel and Jesse, because realistically there was no way they could keep up with the demands of Broadway while raising a baby but between the three of them it was doable. Also, Shelby set up her Broadway Daycare centre in those early years so that was an ideal set-up. Then when Cadence started school she got back into showbiz. Her years as a champion show choir director made for an easy transition to stage show director. That is the final irony - after all these years she is still making Jesse and Rachel act the parts she sets for them, only this time it is harmless.

Happy endings all round!

A.N. So, I trust this satisfies my readers. This story kind of got away from me and it was hard to redeem Shelby after the things I had her do, but hopefully I explained her motivations enough for it to be understandable if not excusable. I truly do find the relationship between her and Rachel a goldmine of melodrama just waiting to be tapped, and of course you can't have a Rachel and Shelby story without Jesse (sorry Puckleberrians).