"Yes. Then no. Then so much." A tear tracked down Shelby's cheek as she spoke. "I tried... I tried to get your dads to void the contract. But...they were afraid I was going to change my mind, that I would want to keep you. I couldn't afford a lawyer at that time and I couldn't do anything about it."

The silence returned, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

"I've missed so much," Shelby murmured sadly, almost to herself. "How about you. How are you feeling?" Shelby didn't know if he was still mad at her, or if he even believed her. She'd be heartbroken if he didn't. She was starting to feel the urge to get out of here before he could hurt her. She contemplated spewing some stupid excuse and bailing. No, she needed to be the adult here. And this would probably be her only chance to fix it. She couldn't mess it up.

Ryan blew out a breath. "I don't know." His emotions were too confusing, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. And even if he did he probably wouldn't want to talk about it.

"Are you still mad at me?"

Ryan sighed. "No. I don't think so. I'm not sure. I think I was when I found out and when I realized you knew, but not right now. I don't know." He sighed again, frustrated at his inner conflict, at his dads, at his mom, at the whole bizarre situation. He couldn't be completely mad at Shelby though, it wasn't entirely her fault. Was it? "What happened after... you know, after you had me?" he asked curiously. "Did you go to New York?"

Shelby laughed lightly. "Yes, I did. I moved there about a year after I had you, and I spent almost eight years there." She paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing. "I went to countless auditions, and I did quite a few off-Broadway shows. I didn't get too far though."

"Why not?" Ryan asked. "I heard you sing Funny Girl today. You were amazing. How could you not make it on Broadway?" His eyes widened as he realized what he'd inadvertently revealed.

Shelby caught the slip but decided to answer his question. "A lot of the directors I auditioned for said I did have the talent. But they always said I was missing something else, and they always ended up giving the parts to somebody else."

Ryan fell silent. Deep down, beneath all that overconfidence and bravado about making it in New York, he knew it wasn't always that simple. And there was always the niggling fear that he wasn't good enough, that he'd fail. "Did it hurt? Not being able to live your dream?"

Shelby was quiet for a bit, a far-away look in her eyes. "It felt like a broken promise. Like the Fisher King's wound. Never really heals."

"What were you missing?"

Shelby squeezed his hand, looking at him. "You. After a whole lot of auditions I realized that I'd lost my drive. I was always thinking about you, and apparently it showed in my performances."

Ryan squirmed, unsure of what to think. Did she resent him for that? "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Shelby shook her head, reaching over and tipping his chin up with her finger to make sure he was looking at her. "Listen to me. Yes, I wasn't able to live my dream on New York. But I've decided that it doesn't matter. Even through all that, I only have one regret." She looked him straight in the eyes, trying to make sure he understood. "I shouldn't have left you all those years ago. But in a way, maybe it's for the best. You've grown into such a wonderful person, Ryan. Even without me around." She leaned back.

Ryan's eyes were tearing up but again, he resolutely blinked them away. "What do we do now?"

"It's up to you," Shelby said. She closed her eyes briefly. "If you want me to leave you alone, just tell me and I will." She hesitated. "But if you're open to it, I do want to get to know you. I've already missed fifteen years of your life, and you probably don't really need a mom anymore. But maybe we could still have some sort of relationship. But if you don't want to, I'll respect that."

Ryan gazed at Shelby, seeing the sincerity in his mother's green eyes, slightly tinged with hope and fear. Hope that he'd accept her advances. Fear of his rejection.

"You know, there was always something about you." Ryan said, mouth quirked into a half-smile. "I don't usually tell other people my hopes and dreams in the second meeting," he continued wryly. Then he became serious. "I've dreamed about meeting my mom for so long. I've always wanted a relationship with my mom, I'd be insane if I turned it down. So if you want to, I'd like to give it a try."

Shelby's face broke out into a relieved smile. "Really?"

"But what about glee? We're still competing against each other, isn't that going to be weird?" Ryan asked anxiously. "And I don't know what the rest of my teammates will say if they found out who my mom was. They already expected me to use my connection to you to get information on VA, and that was when they just thought I was fixing your car –" He stopped short. Crap.

To his relief though, Shelby only looked amused. "Is that so? I don't suppose that's why you were in my rehearsal this afternoon, was it?"

Ryan's eyes widened. "You knew we were there?"

Shelby laughed at the dismayed and embarrassed look on his face. "You and your friends weren't exactly the epitome of stealth. I knew someone was there, I just couldn't see who. I thought that if it was someone from our competition, maybe it would be better to let them stay and see just how good my team is, funk them out a little bit," she said with a smirk.

"That's pretty sneaky," Ryan admitted. He had to appreciate his mother's deviousness, it sounded like something he might have done. Maybe they were even more alike than he'd initially thought.

"Did it work?"

"Of course not," replied Ryan, lying through his teeth. He, Mercedes, and Quinn had been properly intimidated by the precision and accuracy of the VA's dancing, not to mention their amazing vocals.

After a few moments of silence as they ate, Shelby spoke up. "Maybe we should take this slowly. I do want a relationship with you, and I hope you want to get to know me, but I think it's going to be an adjustment for both of us," she explained slowly. It might keep the both of them from getting too messed up if for some reason it didn't work out.

Ryan, who had started to wilt when she'd started to talk, gave it some thought. He supposed it wasn't such a bad idea. He could use some time to process. "Maybe we could get dinner again sometime?" he offered tentatively.

Shelby smiled. "That would be great. I'll call you. Or you can call me" She checked her watch. "I should take you home. It's getting late, your fathers will probably be looking for you soon, and you'll probably want to talk to them too."

Ryan just nodded, not bothering to correct on either point. His dads probably weren't even home yet, and he definitely didn't want to talk to them right now. He might not be completely mad at Shelby but he was pretty upset with his other two parents.

Some time later, Shelby pulled up in front of the Berry residence. She and Ryan got out of the car, once again unsure of what to say. This time Ryan was the one to speak first. "Thank you for the ride Miss Corcoran," he said.

Shelby started, surprised at his form of address. "You don't have to call me that," she began.

"I'm not really sure what to call you," Ryan admitted. Mom seemed premature.

Shelby hesitated. She wanted to be Ryan's mom, but he might not be comfortable with calling her that just now. "While I'd like you to think of me as your mom, maybe you can stick to Shelby for now?" she offered.

"Oh. Okay," Ryan said. "Goodnight, Shelby." He started to walk to the door when Shelby called him back. "Yes?"

Shelby stepped in front of him. "Thank you for giving me a chance," she said, looking at him intensely. "I am so proud of the person you've become." She hesitated. "Can I hug you?"

Ryan nodded speechlessly, and his mother pulled him into a tight hug.

Ryan was surprised, to say the least. His fathers hadn't told him they were proud of him in a very long time. After a second, he returned Shelby's hug. And then all the emotions he'd felt over the past few days came flooding out, and the tears finally started to fall.