Hi! I was watching the Theatricality episode of Glee, and a thought occurred to me: what if, when Rachel found out that her mother was the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, she DIDN'T stay with The New Directions? So, unfortunately, I don't own any of this. It all belongs to Ryan Murphy, and the Glee writers. Review for me, please! Tell me what you think! here's chapter one. :) Enjoy.

They were just going to spy on Vocal Adrenaline. 'Okay, maybe "spy" is too strong of a word,' Rachel Berry thought to herself as she, her friend Mercedes, and other fellow Glee Club member, Quinn Fabray, took their seats in the gigantic auditorium at Carmel High School. The stage alone had to be at least three times larger than the one at McKinley, the school that the three girls originated from, but they tried not to focus on that fact too hard. 'We're simply checking out the competition, and what Glee Club doesn't do that? It's healthy. Right?'.

Though Rachel almost had herself convinced that what the girls were about to do was more than okay, her heart still fluttered anxiously. No one else knew it, and no one else would understand, either, but the director of Vocal Adrenaline, their top competitor for Regionals, was Shelby Corcoran. Okay, so everyone knew THAT fact. The part that they didn't know, (well, no one except for Rachel's dads, Rachel herself, and Shelby, that is,) was that Shelby was Rachel's birth mother.

Rachel has two gay dads. Before she was born, they decided that they wanted a baby to call their own. Since that wasn't possible between the two of them, they decided to hire a surrogate mother. Shelby was the first and last woman they interviewed. She seemed loving, caring, strong, defiant, she was extremely talented musically, (which Rachel had acquired from Shelby, just as her fathers had hoped), and she needed the money to get herself to New York, so she could pursue a career on Broadway, which was what she had always dreamed of doing, and knew that she was absolutely destined for.

Shelby had signed a contract when Rachel was born, saying that she couldn't contact Rachel in any way, shape, or form, until Rachel turned eighteen years old, unless Rachel got to her first. If it was Rachel's choice, the contract was irrelevant. All Rachel's dads wanted was for Rachel to be happy. They didn't want to force Shelby upon her if she didn't feel it necessary, but they also thought that Shelby would be a very important person in Rachel's life, and that Rachel would need a motherly figure eventually. Thus, the contract was created, to Shelby's extreme irritation, though she didn't express it too much, for, all she really cared about was Rachel's happiness as well.

There was one thing that Rachel didn't know, (actually, there was a lot that Rachel didn't know about the situation, but...). Shelby had actually moved away from New York and back to Lima, Ohio-her home town-to get closer to Rachel, in the hopes that Rachel might seek her out. In an attempt to do that, so far, Shelby had convinced her most trustworthy and attractive student, Jesse , to get close to Rachel, so that she could trust him. Once that was possible, she had given Jesse a tape of her singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Mis, specifically made for Rachel, in the hopes that after she heard that, Rachel wouldn't be able to resist finding her mother.

So Rachel, Quinn, and Mercedes sat in the middle of the auditorium, (which happened to be so far back, that nobody noticed them, but close enough so they could see what was happening on stage), and waited for the Vocal Adrenaline kids, who always seemed to be on an adrenaline high, to start their rehearsals.

As soon as their rehearsal had begun, the three girls' jaws dropped down. Just as the New Directions, (the Glee Club at McKinley, and the club that the girls belonged to), had feared, Vocal Adrenaline was doing Lady Gaga at Regionals. Right now, they were working out the choreography for the song "Bad Romance". Each showchoir member fashioned a costume that must have cost a fortune a piece, and was an exact replica of Lady Gaga's own, lace fire dress. The one that went up over her head, covering her face.

Shelby Corcoran led them, standing on the stage, and clapping her hands to the beat.

"1-2, up, clap-clap and 5-6-7-8." she counted out the beat repeatedly, shaking her head constantly. "No, no stop, dear God, just stop." she said, clearly annoyed, though Rachel thought that their dancing was close to perfect, and MUCH better than any of the kids at McKinley would even try to attempt. "You're just not getting it." Shelby continued. "You're letting the costumes do all the work. But...Theatricality isn't about crazy outfits! It's not enough to...to douse yourself in gasoline! You have to light yourself on fire to make it work!"

"God, she's good." Rachel breathed. Mercedes gave her an odd look of resentment, but her look was ignored by Rachel, who was concentrated on Shelby.

"But it doesn't have to be like a nuclear explosion," Shelby explained. "It can be like...Like a quiet storm. You just have to radiate emotion. Express what's deep down inside of you. That's what theatricality is truly about."

The teens just stared at her, quite obviously tired, and wishing that they could get something right for a change instead of constantly being lectured by Miss Corcoran. Finally, Shelby sighed. "Do I have to demonstrate?" she said sternly, but with a smile. She turned to the pianist, who was sitting at the gorgeous, shiny, black grand piano, waiting for her cue. ""Funny Girl", Eb." she said to him. The Vocal Adrenaline kids shuffled off of the stage, taking off their lacy face cover-ups that looked like they attached to the dress, yet in reality, only covered down to the neck, and sat in the front row, awaiting another show stopping performance from the one and only, Shelby Corcoran.

Shelby pulled her wavy, long brown hair that was a lot like Rachel's, out of her face and let it land on her back lightly. The prop mirror that stood in front of her, showed the reflection of herself. She took in her sparkling brown eyes, wondering if Rachel's were the same. She had seen Rachel once since she was born-performing at Sectionals, where she had performed "Don't Rain On My Parade" wonderfully-and from what she could tell, Rachel was almost an exact copy of Shelby herself, though she never got close enough to see those eyes of hers.

She began the song when the pianist cued her in.

"Funny." she sang. "Did you hear that? Funny...Yeah. The guy said honey, you're a funny girl."

She walked across the stage, a look of longing on her face, as she twirled her hands around, acting for the sake of the song she was singing. Her students watched in wonder, but Rachel seemed the most astounded.

"That's me," Shelby continued, singing the song she had known since she was little. Personally, she idolized Streisand. Rachel did as well, as Shelby later found out. "I just keep them in stitches...doubled in half. And though I may be all wrong for the guy...I'm good for a laugh. I guess it's not funny. Life is far from sunny, when the laugh is over, and the joke's on you. A girl, ought to have a sense of humor. That's one thing, you really need for sure...well you're a funny girl. The fella said, a funny girl. Funny. How it ain't so funny...Funny girl."

Shelby finished the song with a quiet intensity, not knowing that whilst she was performing, Rachel had risen from her seat and slowly walked up towards the stage, never taking her eyes off of her mother. When Shelby was done singing, she looked down to see what seemed to be a fifteen year old version of herself, staring up at her with, yes, sparkling brown eyes. Just like her mothers.

"Miss Corcoran?" Rachel spoke up, almost choking on her words.

Shelby replied nothing, practically speechless for the first time in her whole life.

Rachel swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing what she had to say. "I'm Rachel Berry. I'm your daughter."

Shelby's eyes widened, though she didn't mean for them too. Her Vocal Adrenaline students coughed and shifted in their seats uneasily, not quite knowing how to go about what was happening. Since when did Miss Corcoran have a daughter? And since when was her daughter Rachel Berry?! Did this mean that they were all going to be kicked out of the Carmel High School Glee Club because of how many times they had picked on Rachel? And why the hell were the girls from New Directions spying on them?! That wasn't right. They'd be suing somebody. But at that time, they just couldn't take their eyes off of Miss Corcoran or Rachel. Quinn and Mercedes had no idea what was going on, and slowly descended from the middle of the auditorium and near the front of the stage, close to Rachel, gaining sneers and dirty looks from some of the Vocal Adrenaline kids, especially from one Jesse , who no longer qualified as a good person in Rachel's life. He had screwed that one up big time, and Shelby wouldn't forget it. Neither would Rachel, for that matter.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Quinn tried to play it off. "I'm sorry, Miss Corcoran, Rachel's been acting crazy all day...everyday..." But Quinn stopped herself when she saw the shocked look on Shelby's face. "Are...you okay?"

Quinn and Mercedes were too far back to hear what Rachel had said not moments before. Shelby still said nothing, continuing to look at Rachel in a peculiar way. For once in her life, Rachel was silent, even though she was bursting with questions, demands, and emotion. Sure, Shelby had been wanting Rachel to seek her out for a very long time-since the day Rachel was born, honestly. She absolutely loathed herself for giving Rachel to those men. At the time, she was sure it was the best thing for Rachel. They seemed like nice enough guys, that would give Rachel a good home and lots of love. There wasn't a doubt in Shelby's mind that they didn't give Rachel everything she needed. But then she second guessed herself, realizing that, no matter what, they couldn't give Rachel a mother. Not until now, anyways. In any case, Shelby was expecting her plan to work, and she definitely wasn't expecting Rachel to ACTUALLY seek her out. Now that she had, Shelby didn't know what to do with herself.

Jesse was the first person to move next. He walked up to the stage, and cleared his throat, expecting Shelby to turn her head and look at her star pupil, but she didn't. She just kept staring at Rachel, tears threatening to pour out of her eyes, but no. Hell no. She wasn't about to let her guard down. Not in front of the kids who feared her, for all the right reasons.

"Miss Corcoran?" he asked.

"What?" she finally spoke, her voice almost raspy. She cleared her throat and blinked for what seemed like the first time in hours. "What?" she tried again, and this time it came out clear. Her head turned to face him.

"Um...do you want me to-"

"Take over practice for the day. Take everyone in to the choir room, and that dance better not be any less than perfect when I watch you perform it tomorrow." she instructed, turning back to face her daughter, who had grown up so fast. This was the first time she had been so close to Rachel in fifteen years, and she wasn't sure whether to advance towards her, or stay put. Whatever she WANTED to do, her feet weren't going to give her a choice. They stayed glued to the ground.

Jesse nodded, casting a sly glance towards Rachel before nodding his head towards the rest of Vocal Adrenaline. They followed him in silence to the choir room, afraid that if they spoke a word about any of this, Shelby would work them until they fell over dead. Mercedes spoke up next, trying to break the tension in the room.

"We won't steal your ideas, Miss Corcoran, we promise. We were just...curious to see what you were doing...and why the store was out of that particular fabric, and-"

"If you don't want to see me, you don't have to." Rachel continued, towards Shelby, unintentionally cutting Mercedes off, though she hadn't been listening to what she was saying, and, for that matter, wasn't even aware that Mercedes was talking at all. "I just...I watched you sing "Funny Girl" just now, and...it was just as gorgeous as the tape that I found..." she was stammering on her words. Shelby swallowed, almost nervously.

"T-thank you." Shelby managed. "Do...would you like to sit down? We...should probably talk..."

Rachel nodded, picking the nail polish off of her finger nail. Quinn and Mercedes, meanwhile, were still clueless as to what in the world was happening. Rachel, finally noticing that her friends had come up behind her, turned to them with a half-smile.

"This is Shelby Corcoran." Rachel introduced the woman in front of them.

"Really? Because we already knew that much." Mercedes said sassily.

"She's my mother." Rachel finished, almost amused at the looks on Mercedes and Quinn's faces.

"...Did you ever regret it?" Rachel asked later, once the auditorium was empty except for Shelby and herself. They sat where the audience usually did, a few seats away from each other.

"Yes," Shelby answered immediately. "Then no... then SO much..."

"How did you know I'd still be in Lima?" Rachel asked.

"I didn't...but then I saw you perform at Sectionals. You were extraordinary..." she cast a look at her daughter, who was tearing up, in spite of herself. "Don't cry, honey," Shelby said, heartbroken that her daughter felt that much pain-to the point where tears had to flow. "Look, this...I may have made a mistake. I..." Shelby stood up, her emotions conflicting and her mind arguing with itself. Did she encourage Rachel to find her too soon? Deep down, she already knew the answer to that. "Too soon" wasn't the problem. She had gotten to Rachel too late. She should have gained custody of Rachel the minute she was born.

"Maybe we could just...go to dinner?" Rachel said. "...get over the initial shock?"

"...I...I'll call you." Shelby decided, picking her bag up and walking out of the auditorium, the tears she was holding back slowly dripping down her face. She wiped them with her sleeve before any of her students or fellow staff members could see, and rushed to her Range Rover out in the school parking lot.

It was pouring outside, and because of that, Shelby was soaked from head to toe when she finally got inside of her car. But that was the least of her worries. She locked herself in and cried her eyes out, letting the loud pounding of the rain on the windows drown out some of her sobs. She didn't know whether to be happy or chronically depressed that her daughter had finally gotten to her. Any relationship they had now would just be confusing for Rachel! Why the hell did she make that damn tape?! Why did she have to get Jesse in the whole mess?! Why did she let those men take her baby away from her, before she even got to hold her?

She sat in that car for three hours before she actually turned it on, the engine roaring to life. She pulled out of the school parking lot, and started driving, the windshield wipers on full blast. As she pulled away from the school, she passed by three teenage girls in a red car that looked like it would belong to Quinn. Rachel was doing the exact same thing that Shelby was, and the other two were trying their best to comfort her. Shelby shook her head and smacked herself mentally. How could she do this to Rachel?Rachel was doing absolutely fine without her interference. But now it was too late. They were going to have to make things work, whether Shelby and Rachel were up to it or not.

Shelby drove for at least 45 minutes before she realized she really had no particular place to go. Eventually she just decided on going back to her apartment, where she could lock herself in her bathroom and figure out what she was going to do about the situation. She hadn't cried in years, and she most definitely didn't know what to make of herself at the moment. Her mind was still processing the events of the day. What had happened at rehearsal seemed to blur in her memory. But the one major happening stood out like a sore thumb.

Rachel had found her mother, and now she wasn't going to give up on a mother-daughter relationship. Not if it killed her, which, Rachel had decided, it very well might. But did Shelby not want to see her daughter? She had acted so distant in the auditorium. So... unsure of herself. Like she didn't want Rachel to be there. The ride back to McKinley was silent, apart from Rachel's occasional sniffles. Mercedes and Quinn were still blown away but what had recently happened. Shelby Corcoran...Rachel's birthmother? That didn't seem even remotely possible. Though, once they put the pieces together, things started to make sense. They both had incredible talent, a strong willed attitude, and not to mention the fact that they were practically identical... How had they never seen it before? They felt stupid, not knowing it before.

Once they got back to the school, they walked towards the choir room. Mercedes and Quinn did, anyways. Rachel stood in the middle of the hallway, conflicted. For once, she didn't want to go to Glee Club. What she really wanted to do was talk to her mom, but apparently her mother needed a moment or two. Mercedes turned around when she realized that it was only her and Quinn walking.

"Rachel, are you coming?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, you guys go ahead. I think i'm just going to go home..."

Quinn almost dropped her jaw-Rachel never ditched Glee Club practice, especially not at the beginning of the week, when handed out the weekly assignment. "Are you sure?"

Rachel nodded, slightly. "Yep. You guys go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Mercedes said, doubtful. So the girls went their separate ways. Rachel's dads weren't home from work yet when Rachel arrived at the house. She tossed her book bag and jacket on her bed in her room, grabbed a water bottle and filled it to the brim, and got on the elliptical, not stopping at all until three hours later, when her dads arrived home, calling out her name.

"Where's our Mini Barbra?" Leroy Berry called out, knocking on Rachel's bedroom door. Rachel stopped, breathing heavily, and opened her door, sweat dripping down her face.

"I'm going to go and take a shower," she announced, rushing past her dads before they could ask her any questions. She loved them, but they weren't who she wanted to see right now. And if her mother didn't want to see Rachel at the moment, then Rachel didn't want to see anybody until further notice.

"Okay, let's start!" Will announced, clapping his hands together and rubbing them.

"Wait, where's Rachel?" Santana asked, skeptically. "I mean, the only reason I noticed was because five minutes have gone by without her saying something obnoxious..."

"Rachel had a pretty big day today," Mercedes explained.

"What did she find out, Mercedes?" Will asked.

"We were spying on Vocal Adrenaline, and-" Quinn got cut off by Will.

"You guys have got to stop doing that!" Will said. "I'm serious! You're going to get us disqualified!"

"Shelby Corcoran is Rachel's mom." Mercedes blurted. The whole room went silent.

"Well, that's it. We're screwed." Puck said. "Rachel's going to jump ship over to Vocal Adrenaline."

The room stayed silent, realizing the harsh reality of Puck's simple words.