Fic: Out of the Blue, Part 65 by Sapphire (PG-13)

[sapphireej]

Title: Out of the Blue, Part 65
Author: Sapphire (sapphiresfic)
Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Rachel, Puck, Rachel/Puck, the Glee clubbers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,242
Spoilers: Up to 1x22 ~ Journey; just to be safe
Series: 'Out of the Blue' (List of all the parts on my LJ)
Summary1: When Puck admits something to Rachel 'out of the blue;' what happens? Now both will face the ups and downs of his admission and find a little bit about each other along the way.
Summary2: Rachel, Deborah and Puck sit down with Shelby and talk.
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this chapter, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: This story is mostly AU after Mash-up (1x08), but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes and music used, I may sneak in a conversation, cover the same topic, or use the same song, but I will put my own twist on it and may use some of the music.

 

~*~

Rachel's words echoed through the auditorium; everyone heard her including Kelly, Angela, Puck, Deborah, Shelby and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline.

Shelby sat stunned at her desk for a long moment, before getting up to look Rachel over, seeing her teenage self standing before her. "Hello Rachel," she said with a smile. "I've waited a long time to meet you," she admitted.

"The feeling is mutual," Rachel replied, stepping forward and holding out her hand. Shelby took Rachel's hand in hers, both of them having many emotions running through their bodies as they shook hands. "Do you think we could talk?" Rachel asked softly.

"Yes. I'd like that. One moment," she turned to the teens on stage, "that's it for practice today. See everyone tomorrow," she called out.

Though the teens were confused, they didn't ask questions since they were getting out early and they all quickly headed off stage. Puck and Deborah walked down the aisle towards Rachel and Shelby, just as Kelly and Angela came down off the stage towards them, nervously wondering if Rachel was mad at them.

"Rachel, you have to understand that we couldn't say anything," Kelly started softly.

"I know," Rachel nodded.

"And Ms. Corcoran asked us months ago to give that disk to you, but we--- wait, what?" Angela stopped when she realized what Rachel said.

"I said 'I know'. I understand why you left the disc secretly, so I'm not mad at you. I've wanted to know who my biological mother is for a long time, so you helped me find her, even if this is a big shock," she admitted. "And if you don't mind, I'd really like to speak with her, so can I talk to you two later?" She asked hopeful.

"Yes, that's cool. Call us when you can," Kelly replied as they nodded and turned to leave.

Rachel turned back to Shelby, who had been silent the whole time, studying the other two, Puck and Deborah, curious who they were, "I... I need to ask, but I think I know the answer. How did you find out I was your daughter?" Rachel asked her.

Shelby shook from her daze and turned back to Rachel, "I saw you sing at competitions," she paused and took a deep breath, "you were extraordinary. You were me," she admitted with a smile.

The teen girl blushed a little, "thank you and I... I always wondered who I got my talent from and now I know it's you," Rachel paused, "how rude of me, Shelby, this is my mom Deborah and my boyfriend Noah," Rachel motioned to them, "this is Shelby," she added.

Puck waved at her, "hey."

Deborah smiled lightly and nodded at her, "hello."

Shelby nodded at both of them, "hello. I... I admit I'm a bit confused. Mom? I thought your dads were gay," Shelby said to Rachel.

"They are," Rachel nodded, "Deborah is Noah's mom, but she's become my mom, too," she explained, "my dad and daddy are home in Lima. We thought it might be a little uncomfortable if they came down, so I asked Noah and Deborah to come."

"Oh, yes, I understand it all now. I... I feel bad that I went behind your dads' backs to do this, but I..."

"The contract, we know," Rachel replied.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure they told you," Shelby agreed, leaning against her desk a little.

There was an awkward silence filling the space between them, but Deborah expected it, "is anyone hungry? We could go someplace to eat and talk, if you would like," she suggested, wanting to get on neutral ground and 'kill two birds with one stone' - eat and talk.

"Um, yeah, that'd be great," Shelby nodded. "There's a great Mexican restaurant not to far from here. You guys could follow me in your car," she offered.

"Yes, that sounds like a great idea," Rachel commented, looking at Deborah and Puck.

"I'm in," Puck shrugged, open for anything at the moment.

"Sounds like we'll follow you," Deborah added looking at Shelby.

"Great," Shelby smiled and stood up, "I need to pack up my things, but it won't take too long and I park in the back of the auditorium in the staff lot. I have a black Honda Accord, so I'll come up front and when you see me, you can just follow," she said.

"Okay," Rachel nodded and watched the woman put her books and things into her bag, "we'll wait for you outside, then," she added and then took her boyfriend's hand.

"It won't take me too long," she assured them and with a nod, she walked backstage.

Deborah, Rachel and Puck headed back the way they had come into the building and out to the car. Once there, Puck pulled Rachel into a tight hug, "talk to me," he whispered, "you're shaking."

"I know," she held onto him, "I... She's... She's real... I shook her hand. It's not a dream anymore," she murmured, taking a deep breath and feeling tears fill her eyes.

Puck wiped her eyes and nodded, kissing her gently, "she is. This is a good feeling, right?" He asked her softly.

Rachel nodded, "yes, this is good, it's just... a lot."

Deborah rubbed Rachel's back, "that's why I wanted us to get out of there and to someplace neutral," she said quietly.

"Thank you, mom," Rachel told her, moving a little from her boyfriend to wrap an arm around her and hugged her.

"You're welcome," Deborah smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

~*~

When the three were back in Rachel's car and Shelby had appeared, Puck caught up to her and followed her through the streets of town, about ten minutes later pulling into the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant she was talking about.

Parking next to each other, Shelby was the first one out of her car and then Deborah followed, the two women standing at the back of the cars waiting on Puck and Rachel. Rachel took a few deep breaths and slid out, so Puck followed and after locking their doors, they walked up to the restaurant and Puck held the door open for all of them before going inside.

It was just after five-thirty, so the dinner 'rush' was just dying down, and they were seated right away, at a table in a quiet area, requested by Shelby so they could have some privacy to talk and once they had taken seats at the table, Rachel and Puck sitting together, Deborah across from him and Shelby across from Rachel, they began to look over their menus as their water glasses were filled up and tortilla chips and salsa were set down between them.

When their server came over, they gave her their drink orders and while she went to get them, the four continued to look for what they wanted, using that time to avoid talking. Once their orders were taken and there was nothing to keep them from talking, an awkward silence fell over the table.

Puck put his hand under the table and rested it on Rachel's knee in comfort and she smiled at him.

"So how'd your dads come up with the name 'Rachel'?" Shelby asked curiously, breaking the ice with something simple.

Rachel blushed, glancing at her boyfriend and mom, knowing they didn't even know, "they were, um, big Friends fans," she replied.

Puck's head turned to her, "really? They do know we did the theme song, right?"

"Yes, they do know," Rachel nodded, "they enjoyed performance of it at school when they saw it," she said, and then turned to Shelby, now a little braver than she had been, "um, Shelby?" Rachel took a deep breath and when Shelby gave Rachel her attention, she continued, "I don't know a good way to, um, really start, but I'd really like to know... Did you ever regret how things turned out?"

Shelby sat back in her seat to contemplate her question, "at first, no I didn't, but then so much," she paused and took a deep breath, "your dads were great, they offered to keep in touch; they wanted us to know each other, but during my pregnancy, I was looking at things as a business deal and I held up my end: carry you to term and turn over rights to them when you were born. Once the 'work' was over, I thought it was best to cut all ties to you all so we could move on and I knew it would be confusing for you, so I left Ohio and went to New York. When that didn't work out I was upset, but came back and got the job at Carmel. I started to make a name for myself here, but as I got older and friends I had in high school and college were inviting me to their weddings and their baby showers, I started thinking about you and then I had a car accident a few years ago and," she bit her lip, "well, to make a long story short, I can't have any more kids, and when I saw you performing and realized you had so many of my traits, I knew I had to find you; to get to know you, but then there was the contract..."

"How did you find out that I knew Kelly and Angela?"

"At Regionals. I saw the three of you talking when the girls made the guys apologize for harassing you the night before and I asked them about you later," she admitted.

Puck stiffened at the memory of his girlfriend being accused of sleeping with the judges and the comments made about Quinn.

Rachel rested a hand on her boyfriend's hand that was on her knee and smiled at him, "forget about it, Noah."

"Forget about that asshole?" Puck saw the glares from his mom and girlfriend, but rolled his eyes, "that dude accused you of sleeping with the judges, so no, I won't just 'forget about it'," he said, "that still pisses me off."

"Just relax Noah, it is in the past," Deborah said, trying to get him to calm down.

Puck sighed, his shoulders slumping, "fine," he murmured.

Rachel took her boyfriend's hand and squeezed it, "it's been a long time... I just turned seventeen," Rachel said, "why now?"

"I... I wish I had kept in touch with your dads," she sighed, "I've missed so much, but I'd like to know my daughter."

The teen girl nodded, "I get that, but why now? I want to get to know you, too, but why not wait a year, when you know I'm eighteen and contact me? Why the CD of you singing that my friends left?"

Shelby took a deep breath, "when I saw you at Sectionals, I wanted to run right up to you, but I knew I couldn't. I made that CD over six months ago and talked to the girls and I begged them to keep quiet. They told me they wouldn't make me any promises, but the next time they saw you they'd try and get you the disk without you knowing, and your party this weekend was the best place, so that's why it showed up now... I hoped that once you found out about me, you'd want to find me, so we could meet and start a relationship."

Rachel nodded, "I'd like that, but," she bit her lip, "wow, there's just so much going through my head right now," she murmured rubbing her forehead.

Their conversation paused briefly as their meals were sat in front of them and once the server was gone again, Shelby responded to Rachel's comment, "it's okay, take your time. You know what I want, so it's all up to you."

"I do want a relationship with you, but you have to understand you're a stranger to me. I didn't know anything about you until Sunday. I was not aware that we could have contact at all, so I never asked dad and daddy about you after they told me how I came into their lives. Other than knowing a bit from your biography on the Vocal Adrenaline website and what my dads have said, I need to know a lot more before we can just pick up like best friends or 'mother' and 'daughter'. I have a family to think about," she said honestly.

"I completely understand and I'm sure that your dads won't mind us knowing each other; they wanted us to know each other from the beginning," Shelby replied.

"You're right, they won't mind. They told me if I wanted to know you, it'd be alright. They're not the ones I'm talking about, though," Rachel looked at her boyfriend and Deborah. Seeing the confusion on Shelby's face, Rachel continued, "Noah and I have a four month old daughter," she explained calmly.

Shelby's mouth fell open in shock, "what? I don't get it. I just saw you in April at Nationals and you weren't pregnant... How... How did this happen?"

"The pregnant girl that you saw at Sectionals and Regionals, Quinn, had relations with Noah prior to him and I dating and she became pregnant. Quinn was trying to pass the baby off as her boyfriend's, Finn, also Noah's best friend and she wanted to give it up for adoption. When Noah and I began dating, he was honest with me about the paternity and wanted to keep his daughter, so I promised to help him anyway I could so he could keep her and when the truth came out, Quinn finally agreed to let Noah have her. Just after that, he asked me if I'd be willing to be his daughter's mom and there is no place I'd rather be than with him and our daughter," she smiled at her boyfriend. "Quinn's parents kicked her out, so my dads and I invited her to live with us and she did until she had the baby and now she's one of my best friends and is back with Finn. At the birth, Quinn gave us all rights to the baby, much like a surrogacy contact does, and now she is 'Aunt Quinn' and when our daughter is old enough, we'll explain it all to her," Rachel explained, realizing that Shelby had seen them enough at competitions to know Rachel had not been pregnant, yet it was obvious that Quinn was the pregnant one.

"Wow," Shelby started, her mind totally shocked with the news she'd just gotten, "I... I was not expecting that. I had no idea," she admitted, rubbing her forehead.

"I wasn't going to tell you everything right away, but as you said, you just saw me in April and I was not pregnant, so it was easier to explain all at once," Rachel replied.

Shelby nodded, "yes, that makes sense," she agreed, still soaking in the information. "Wow, you're a mom," she looked at Rachel, then Puck and then saw their joined hands and the ring on Rachel's finger, "are you... what does this mean for your relationship?" She asked curiously.

Rachel smiled at her boyfriend, "at the moment we're just boyfriend and girlfriend, but once both of us have graduated from high school we're going to get married. Noah is joining the Navy when he graduates in June, but our daughter and I will remain here, close to friends and family and I'll be going to OSU in Lima."

Realizing that she didn't have a place to point out what they should do, Shelby nodded, "it sounds like you guys have thought about everything. I hate to, um, overstep my bounds, but are you guys sure this is what you want?" She asked, "I mean, you're not even out of high school and you're already parents; that's a lot."

"It is, but Noah and I love each other and there is no place we'd rather be than together with our family. We have amazing family and friends who support us. Noah grew up without his father for a long time because his parents divorced when he was young and they just recently rekindled a relationship, but his father missed a lot with him, his sister and Deborah," she paused, "and while I have two amazing fathers, I always missed having a mother figure in my life, and when Noah and I got together, Deborah immediately began treating me as part of the family and she became my mom. Abigail deserves to have a loving mother and father and that's what she's going to have," Rachel explained.

Shelby nodded, realizing her not being around really hurt Rachel, "yes, you're right, she does... Abigail, that's her name?"

"Yeah, but we call her Abby," Puck replied opening his cell phone to show her his wallpaper; a picture of Rachel holding Abby at Rachel's surprise party.

"She's adorable," Shelby smiled, looking at the picture up close for a moment before handing it back to him, "is Quinn living with you and your dads now?" She asked, realizing Rachel said she had until the birth.

"No. We offered, but since she's back with her boyfriend, she's now living with him and his mom, but dad and daddy are like her dads now, I guess you could say she and I are like sisters," she admitted, realizing how true that was.

Shelby nodded, "that's nice," she smiled, then turned to Puck, "so you're joining the Navy?" She asked, wanting to get off the topic of children because hearing that her biological daughter has a child, actually created a feeling of jealousy in her towards the teens.

Puck nodded, "yeah. School isn't my thing, so I'm gonna join and get some experience and come back here to work after my time is up," he replied.

"Lima is home for you guys permanently?" Shelby wondered.

"Yes," Puck and Rachel said at the same time, causing the table to erupt in light laughter at the teens' response, "yes it is," Rachel confirmed, looking at her boyfriend and then leaning over to kiss him.

Puck returned the kiss and as they pulled away he smiled, "love you, babe."

"Love you, too, Noah," she replied, returning his smile.

Their meals were slowly disappearing and Rachel knew they'd have to go soon; just when she was warming up to Shelby, "so... enough about us. What about you, Shelby? Is it alright that I call you that?" She asked nervously.

"Of course," Shelby replied, "that's totally alright."

"Okay," Rachel nodded and continued, "what about you? I'm curious why you went to New York after I was born," Rachel commented.

Shelby blushed a little and took a deep breath, "I wanted to become a star. All my life everyone kept telling me I could make it with my dancing skills and my voice, and I started dreaming of doing that. After you were born, I took the money I got and went to New York to try and make it on Broadway. I quickly learned that there are a thousand other girls out there, just as good, or better, than I am. They had more experience and knowledge in the arts than I had, so they made it further than I could. After the rejections, I gave up and came back home to Ohio," she explained.

Rachel bit her lip and nodded, "was it hard for you to not become a star? To not have your dreams come true?"

"Um, at first it felt like a broken promise," Shelby admitted after a moment, "because I didn't make it, but now I think back and I realize that coming home was the best decision I ever made. I love teaching and coaching. I couldn't handle being directed all the time; I wanted to be the one doing that and now I have the freedom to be myself."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way," Rachel smiled brightly, "for a while I wanted to do the Broadway thing, too, but not anymore. I found something that I want more than Broadway and it's being a mom and wife," she said looking at her boyfriend as she squeezed his hand.

"It's good that you see that now," Shelby admitted, "but you could make it. I know you could," she told her. "I've seen your performances," she reminded them.

"Thank you, but that life isn't for me anymore. Deep down, all I ever wanted was a family, and I've got that. I'm set for life," Rachel smiled.

Shelby nodded, "I'm happy for you both," she looked at the teens, "I hope I get an invite to the wedding."

"You will," Rachel reached for her bag and pulled out a piece of paper, "speaking of invitations, dad and daddy were wondering if you'd be interested in coming up for dinner Saturday night. They'd really like to see you and we were going to do a family dinner and you could meet Abby," she offered.

"I'd like that," Shelby nodded, "it would be nice to see them again and to meet everyone else, including your daughter."

"Great," Rachel smiled and handed her the paper, "I took the liberty of writing down the address and my contact information; my email address and cell phone number," she explained.

Shelby tore the blank part of the paper off and after digging up a pen from her bag, she wrote her cell and email address on it and handed that half back to her, "this is my cell phone and email address. What time on Saturday?"

"I'm not sure what time exactly, but I can contact you once I know for sure," Rachel offered.

"Okay, that is a good idea, thank you," Shelby held out her hand for the single bill folder that was sitting on the table now, "dinner is on me tonight. You guys drove all the way down here, it's the least I could do."

"Are you sure?" Deborah asked, "we don't mind."

Shelby waved her hand, slipped her credit card into the folder and handed it off to Deborah to set on the end of the table, "don't worry about it. It's alright. It's on me," she said again.

Giving in to letting Shelby pay, once the bill was signed, they started to get up and after a quick stop in the bathroom, they headed outside, stars twinkling in the night sky, "I'm really glad you guys came down," Shelby admitted, "it was nice to meet all of you, especially you, Rachel."

Rachel smiled, "you too. I'm glad I finally got to meet you and I'm looking forward to getting to know you," she said.

"Me too," Shelby agreed, "so... I'll see you this weekend?" She asked.

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "and I'll be in touch."

"It was nice meeting you, too, Shelby," Deborah said with a wave.

"Yeah, and see you this weekend," Puck replied.

"You will and talk to you all soon," Shelby said with a smile as she opened up her car door, slid in and started it. She pulled out of her parking spot moments later and waved to them before he began to leave.

Once she was out of sight, Puck wrapped his arms around Rachel, holding her in a tight, loving hug, "how are you doing, baby?" He murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek forehead.

"I'm okay, I think," she nodded and relaxed against his chest for a long moment before looking up, "I didn't tell her I was living with you for a reason," she explained, "I don't trust her enough to let her know everything, yet. I want to talk to dad and make sure we would be okay if she did something stupid like mention it or report it to the school district, if she didn't like the plan."

"Smart thinking babe. I figured there was a reason that you didn't say anything about our living arrangements," he kissed her gently, "and for now, it's none of her business."

Deborah put her arms around the teens and pressed a kiss to her son's forehead and then to Rachel's, "that is a good idea. If I was in her shoes, I wouldn't do anything to piss you off, so I don't think she'd say anything, but it's still good to be safe," she said, rubbing their backs.

~*~

It was almost nine when Puck pulled Rachel's car into their driveway. The lights in the house were on and Alan's SUV was parked in front of the house; the three dads and Arin were waiting up to find out how the trip went. Rachel had wanted to talk to her dads as soon as she got into the car and they were on their way home, but then realized that it would be a long trip and she wanted to talk to them in person, so she waited and just let them know when they'd be home so they could be over to talk.

Collecting their things, the three climbed out and made their way towards the house. When Rachel pushed the front door open to walk inside, she looked around to see her dads sitting on the couch, Ethan was in the chair with Abby on his chest and Arin was sitting in front of Ethan, all of them watching TV.

Seeing Rachel, Alan and David both stood up, nervous, yet curious about what Rachel would do or say, "hey sweetie. How did it go?" David asked walking over to her.

She smiled lightly and nodded, slipping her arms around him, "good, I guess. We met and went to dinner," she said softly, but as the tears slipped down her cheeks, she felt the flood gates open as the emotions of the day sunk in. "I've spent so long trying to not think about who she is, now that I know her, it's like this big weight is off my shoulders, but I... I don't feel like she's my mother, she just is like this long lost relative that I could be friends with," she explained through tears, "but I think she wants more than that."

"What do you mean?" David wondered, looking down at her.

Alan joined their hug, just as curious, but didn't say anything, waiting for Rachel to continue.

"I was thinking about this on the way home and one of the things she said was that she can't have any more kids because of an accident. I'm afraid the only reason why she wanted to contact me was because she wants a chance to be my mom, since I'm her only biological child, but I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a teenager with a daughter of her own and I already have a mom. I just hope Shelby is willing to accept that I want to know her and be friends with her, but that's it," Rachel explained, pulling away to look at Ethan, "would you?" She asked the only person in the room who'd been in a place similar to Shelby, "because I don't want to sound like a hypocrite for encouraging Noah to pursue a parent-child relationship with you, yet for me, I am turning down the idea."

Ethan had passed Abby off to Puck earlier, so he stood up from the chair he was in and walked towards her, "I do understand, and hopefully she will, too. If Noah only wanted that kind of relationship, as much as I would have hated it, I would have accepted it, as long as I could still know my kids; no matter how much it would have hurt to not be back with the only woman I ever will love, but I'm glad things worked out the way they did for all of us," he smiled at his family and then turned back to Rachel, "no one is saying you have to call Shelby 'mom' or pretend she hasn't been around for the last seventeen years. You have every right to take your time in a relationship with her; she has to understand that you're the one who will make the moves, not her. This is at your pace. She can't drop something like this on you and expect to waltz right into your life and tell you what to do; she should be lucky enough that you were willing to meet her," he admitted, "all of us have your back with her or anything else in your life; family sticks together," he finished, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

Rachel nodded happily and hugged him, crying lightly for a moment, "thanks dad," she murmured.

"You're welcome," he replied with a smile.

She smiled up at him as she pulled away and looked at her dads.

"We couldn't have said it any better if we tried," David said patting Ethan on the shoulder, "he's right. If you want relationship with Shelby, take it, if you don't, we'll stand behind you no matter what," he added slipping an arm around her shoulders.

Alan gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek, "and that's for anything now or later, but I'm sure you already knew that."

"I did, but it's nice to hear," she admitted, then grinned brightly, "I have the three best dads and best mom in the world."

"What are we; chopped liver?" Puck asked with a mock pout from where he stood with Abby in his arms; he knew what she was talking about; their parents as her parents, but he couldn't help lightening the mood with a light joke.

Rachel blushed and looked at Arin, "the coolest sister," she then moved over to her boyfriend, "and the most amazing boyfriend and daughter in the universe," she finished standing up on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend before looking at Abby and then taking her from him to snuggle her, the small child tired, yet content now that her parents were home.

Puck slipped his arms around her and held her close to him, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead, "I know, babe, I was just messing with you," he smirked, "and you're an amazing girlfriend, too," he added.

She blushed, "I love you, Noah. Thank you for coming along today," she told him.

"There's no place I'd rather be," he said honestly. "I love you, too."

Rachel turned to Deborah, "and thank you, also, for coming, mom, you didn't have to do that, but I really appreciate it," she smiled at her as she moved from her boyfriend's embrace to stand near Deborah.

Deborah wrapped her arms around Rachel and kissed her forehead, "no thanks needed. I was happy to go along and be there for you; you're part of my family and we take care of our family," she smiled at her.

Rachel stepped back over to her boyfriend and slipped her free arm around his waist, looking around the room for a moment. She saw the strength of the two families joining together, like multiple strands of string winding together to form one strong rope. She knew that with their support she would be able to handle anything life threw at her; including the sudden return of her biological mother to her life. She was skeptical to let the woman she knew little about into their close knit family, but kept in the back of her mind that maybe someday that could change; only time would tell.

~*~

Underlined text is from Glee's 1x20 - Theatricality, which actually should be 1x21.

~*~

A/N3: A huge thank you to everyone for all your love, support and prayers for me and my family over the past few months. I'm super sorry that it has taken me so long to update my fics, but I'm doing my best; I haven't had as much free time as I usually do and I don't see that changing anytime soon, so it may be a bit before another update, I'm so sorry about that.
A/N4: A request to my readers: Is there anything you'd like to see happen in 'Out of the Blue'? Something you'd like to have discussed? Is there a question you have about something that happened that you'd like covered or concluded? I'm ready to summarize the rest of the year and move onto Nationals and the end of Puck's Senior year, so I can progress the story along, so I can get closer to the start of the sequel. If there is something you'd really like to see in here, please PM me or leave it in a review; I'd love to know.
A/N5: Up next: The Berrys and Puckermans have dinner with Shelby and she meets Abby.

Personal update: Mom had her first treatment of chemo on September 27th and as I write this, she's having another treatment. She's been doing radiation also and aside from being a little tired and not having much of an appetite, she's doing well. We're off to Seattle later in the week for a consultation with the doctor who will be doing the internal radiation to get things going with that. Other than the stress of many doctor's appointments, we're doing okay. Iit sucks that I haven't had as much time to write as I want. Writing is what keeps me mellow, so hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in some more time, so again, I apologize if it's another week or more before another update; I'm trying. I hate making you guys wait this long. Love you all! Thanks again for the support!

~*~