Chapter Text
The reception hall glittered with all the lights necessitated by a gathering of Broadway’s best and brightest. From the gilded walls to the sparkling jewellery of the guests present, everything shone brighter than the stars. Even after all these years, the glamour of it all was still something Rachel was getting used to. It had been five years since her Tony win, ten since she left Lima for a permanent life in New York, over fifteen since the story of New Directions began, but deep down she considered herself a small town girl. She had to, otherwise she was worried she might fall headfirst into the egomania that had sabotaged her throughout high school. No, the Rachel Berry that everyone would meet was humble, gracious, kind, and positive. At least she hoped that was the case.
“You’re drink, darling,” she heard Jesse say as he returned to her side with two flutes of champagne. Rachel smiled reflexively at her husband.
“Thank you,” she answered as she took one and took a sip. “How’s the birthday star?”
“Oh, Leslie’s having the time of his life. He’s still doing the rounds, but he’s glad we could make it tonight.”
“Well of course, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Rachel smiled. The couple began moving through the crowd, giving small nods and waving hello to their friends and peers as they passed. The one haughty thing Rachel allowed herself to think was that she and Jesse were on their way to Broadway royalty. Almost. But they had enough credits between the two of them that people noticed them.
“Rachel! Jesse!” Rachel turned and saw one of her (many) best friends come up to her and pull her into a hug.
“Ben! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” Rachel said as she hugged Ben Platt back. “How are you!”
“I’m great! You look great! You both look great,” he answered with a grin. “Are Kurt and Blaine here too?” he asked, peering around them.
Jesse shook his head. “No, I’m afraid they couldn’t make it. Blaine’s probably exhausted from performing in the Narnia musical.”
“I haven’t seen that yet! I’ve heard it’s good though” Ben said.
Jesse shrugged. “It’s alright. The choreo could’ve used a few adjustments.”
Rachel smirked and jokingly slapped her husband’s arm. “Oh please, you’re just jealous that Blaine was cast and you weren’t.”
Jesse’s eye twitched a little. “I would have made an excellent Mr. Tumnus.”
“I’m sure you would’ve, sweetie. It’s the hair.”
Ben nodded along with Rachel. “She’s right, it’s very good hair. I suppose Kurt’s busy too,” he continued, “what with his Pippa Middleton musical. Which draft is he on now? Three?”
“Five,” Rachel and Jesse answered simultaneously. Rachel chuckled and continued, “He’s been working on it since high school. I hope this is the version that sticks; he sequestered himself in his apartment and I haven’t seen him three weeks.”
Ben nodded. “Seems like the grind never stops for us them. Which is the shame, because they usually jump at the chance to get away from the kids for a few hours. Speaking of which, any news on that front for the two of you?”
That question, always the same question. Rachel and Jesse froze for a moment, a near-telepathic exchange occurring between them as they prepared their answer. “We’re focusing on our careers right now,” Rachel said with a plastic smile. “But we’re excited for the opportunity when it presents itself.” They smiled at each other and their stock reply, clasping hands and presenting a united front.
Ben nodded and took a sip of his vodka sour. He’d been on the receiving end of the answer several times, and believed it as much as he believed that Mercedes Jones’ debut album deserved to be snubbed at the Grammys. Which is to say, not much at all. But he still smiled at them and excused himself. Why let petty Broadway rumours get in the way of two people who clearly loved each other, even if their situation was...precarious? Sure. That seemed like the right word.
After Ben was out of earshot, Rachel turned to Jesse. “Do you think we should call it quits?”
The community centre gymnasium was harshly lit by the fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling, which clashed with the decor across the stage which had clearly been put together by a passionate cast and crew. It created a scenario that seemed simultaneously mature and juvenile - in a sense, exactly what you'd expect from a summer stage performance of Grease by a bunch of kids about to enter High School that fall. Despite all that the building had given her over the years, Beth Corcoran was ready to move on. The siren song of Carmel had been ringing in her ears all through the spring, and she felt that her turn as Sandy in this play was her final farewell to her childhood.
"Beth!" her mom called, and Beth ran into Shelby's open arms. "You were great! As usual."
"Thanks mom," Beth said with a grin, happily bouncing her golden curls (they didn't even need a wig for her! Could you imagine a more perfect Sandy?). "I'm glad you could make it tonight."
"Of course! I never miss the final bow." It was true - Beth's mom was a busy woman, and sometimes she had to miss an opening night or two, but she always made time for the final performance. She said it was when a cast was the most vulnerable - they had ironed out every possible flaw they could, and there performances drew from the knowledge that every line was the last one said. It was all very dramatic, and Beth ate up every word of it.
Beth bid some quick farewells to the rest of her castmates - she hesitated to call them friends since she didn't really socialize with them outside of rehearsal, and her one true friend hadn't even made it into the chorus. Her mom was busy chatting with Ms. Griffin, the woman who ran the community centre. After the set had been struck and everything was finished, Beth linked arms with her mother and the two walked out to the parking lot.
"You know, your sister was almost in Grease," Shelby mused.
Beth stifled a sigh. "Yeah, you mentioned that. One of the few roles she didn't get. I remember when you flew to New York to coach her."
Shelby nodded. "She was auditioning for Rizzo and thought my experiences as a young mother might help. In the end the directors thought she was too old for the role, but I still think her rendition of 'There are Worse Things I Could Do' was phenomenal." Shelby gave Beth a playful nudge. "We really need to visit her again. I think you two would hit it off great now."
Jesse choked on his champagne. “Call - Rachel - call what quits, exactly?”
“The whole ‘having kids’ thing. It’s gone on for so long and I feel terrible keeping people’s hopes up for our sake.”
Jesse looked around, and pulled Rachel closer to the corner of the room, away from prying and musically-trained ears. “Rachel, first off, don’t scare me like that. Secondly, if you want to go public than I’m behind you one hundred percent, but I don’t think you should do it because of other people’s pressure. And I thought you still wanted kids some day?”
Rachel sighed. “I do! I’d love to have kids. But that option isn’t on the table. It hasn’t been for a while now, and it probably won’t be for a long time.” She downed the rest of her drink. “I don’t regret giving Blaine and Kurt my last egg, and even if I had known how low I was when they asked I probably would have done it anyways.”
Jesse nodded. “As you’ve mentioned, but your ovarian situation isn’t the be-all and end-all of this predicament. We can adopt.”
“A process which takes forever to get through, and even longer while you’re in a long-running show and I have a callback next week for the Chess revival.” Rachel stood up tall and walked past Jesse, beginning a climb up a dramatic staircase.
He took a breath and followed her closely. “I don’t want to accuse you of hiding something, but I would like to point out that Blaine and Kurt are doing just fine with three kids - and a dog - and they are just as busy as we are.”
Rachel stopped to face her husband. “Are they though? They work hard and I love them - but - they’re not on our level. No offence to Klaine, but we’re different.” She stomped off and left Jesse with a mild case of emotional whiplash. He wanted to go after Rachel, but he also knew that she had to work through her bigger emotions on her own time, but he also wanted to know just what it was that had her convinced that their potential for having a family together was suddenly null and void. He wished he could say that their marriage didn’t need children to work, because that was the truth, but he also knew that if he said that then she’d just go along with it and keep any feelings inside her until they came out. Messily, and likely in song.
Meanwhile, Rachel found herself on the upper floor overlooking the hall. She tried to collect her emotions but she had nowhere to put them right now. Even if she chose to make a scene and unleash everything inside her at Jesse, she couldn’t articulate it properly. Even she couldn’t put a name to why she felt the way she did. Fortunately, she was broken out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. “Rachel?” Leslie Odom Jr asked.
She turned and immediately was back to Broadway-star-and-best-friend-mode Rachel Berry. “Leslie! Hi!” She gave him a tight hug. “How are you?”
“Oh, I’m great. Listen, you are just the person I was looking for. I don’t mean to intrude, but I was wondering if you’d like to sing something for us?”
Rachel smiled and held her heart. “Oh, of course! I would be honoured to sing at your birthday party. And of course, I always have a little something prepared in case of emergencies.”
“I expect nothing less!” Leslie declared as he led Rachel to the podium, holding her purse for her as she took a spot behind him. Once there he took the microphone. “Excuse me! My I have your attention!” The conversations dimmed and a calm silence took over the hall as everyone turned to Leslie and Rachel standing at the highest point of the hall. “First of all I want to thank you all for coming to help me celebrate my birthday tonight.” He started to continue but paused so a small wave of applause could pass through the crowd. “Obviously with a crowd like this there’s going to be singing eventually, and I figured there was no one better to start us off than the incomparable Rachel Berry!”
The lights of Akron’s downtown flashed past the Corcorans as they drove home. “So, now that Grease is wrapped, what's next?” Shelby asked.
Beth beamed, and her ethereal blonde hair made the effect even brighter. “Vocal Adrenaline, naturally! Their showing at Nationals was amazing and I can’t wait to join them!”
Shelby couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “And I can’t wait to see you on that stage in a glee club. Assuming you ace your audition of course.”
Beth mock gasped. “Mom! Are you suggesting that I’m not going to get into Vocal Adrenaline?!” she said with fake horror, only barely keeping a laugh restrained. Shelby didn’t restrain herself, letting out another laugh.
“Well, they do have very high standards. They only let people in who are perfect. So...yeah. I think you actually have a pretty good shot.” She squeezed Beth’s shoulder comfortingly. “Rachel could have easily come over to Vocal Adrenaline back when I was coaching them, but instead she threw her lot in with the New Directions. They weren't as good then as they are now, but she really gave them a fighting chance. Oh but who am I kidding - if you're anything like your sister you'll be fine."
“As if I could stop. You told me yourself, I’ve been destined for show choir since I came out of the womb.” Beth may not have had much interaction with her birth parents since she was really little, and she didn’t remember any of the times they’d visited. But she’d heard stories about how they had both been in their school’s Glee Club (which since then had transformed into one of the best performing arts schools in Ohio) and had headlined numbers at every level of competition. Not to mention her adoptive mom was a notable show choir coach, and her other daughter was one of Broadway’s best and brightest.
Beth had met Rachel Berry a few times, more than she’d met Quinn and Puck, but not enough to make a lasting impact. She didn’t want to judge her, since the last time she’d seen her she was only ten, but she seemed pretty full of herself. Yeah, she was a shining star and all that, but even as a preteen Beth knew that Rachel was...well, she was a lot. It certainly didn't help that even after all this time, her mom couldn't stop gushing about Rachel's achievements. Beth didn't want to admit it, but she always felt like she was competing with her "sister" - though if pressed she'd also say that she was probably better than her anyway.
But that didn’t matter right now. Shelby was the only family Beth needed. After the rising cost of living had pushed them out of New York they returned to Shelby’s hometown. She hadn’t wanted to get involved with full-time coaching again, so she made her living as a professional vocal trainer in Akron and the surrounding areas. Sometimes she'd go to McKinley if they asked. And yes, she even flew out to other cities sometimes to give coaching to major stars - all expenses paid for, naturally. But between all that, she helped Beth hone her singing, dancing, and theatrical skills until she was unstoppable.
And now, everything was coming to a head. In just over a month Beth would be entering high school and joining Vocal Adrenaline, the first step in her path to stardom. She knew it was going to be hard, be a huge step above what was asked of her in middle school, normal choir classes, and summer stage, but she was destined for greatness. And she wasn’t about to let anything slow her down.
Neither of them were prepared for the drunk driver careening through the red light as they entered the intersection.
Leslie stepped aside as the crowd cheered, and when Rachel came up to the mic she could spot Jesse watching her from the ground level. He wasn’t mad. Good. She didn’t want to drive a wedge between them, even if they were going through a rough patch. Besides, he loved to hear her sing, and she loved singing with him.
“Thank you for asking me to perform tonight, Leslie,” Rachel announced as she smiled to the host and all his guests. “This song my not exactly be birthday related, but it is one of my favourites.
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
No way to handle things
Who made me so sad
Mama, the weeping
Mama, the angels
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem
Beth heard glass shatter and metal crunch, but it all happened so fast that she didn’t fully comprehend what was happening. Her head jerked back and forth, her seatbelt going taught and pressing her into the passenger seat of Shelby’s car. A sharp pain burst from her cheek as she bit it, but it was soon overshadowed by an overwhelming soreness radiating from her body.
Some pray that, one day, Christ will come a-callin'
They light a candle, and hope that it glows
And some just lie there, crying for him to come and find them
But when he comes, they don't know how to go
Beth wanted to cry out for her mom, but they were still in motion and she choked on the words. She saw a brown blur as her mom’s head careened back and forth, her hair flying everywhere. Crimson flashed from her side of the vehicle and splattered across Beth’s face. And the whole time, the bright lights of the truck that had t-boned them bore down on the two of them, illuminating everything.
Mama who bore me
Mama who gave me
No way to handle things
Who made me so bad
Mama, the weeping
Mama, the angels
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem
And suddenly they had stopped moving. Beth was shaking, too afraid to even move. Finally she was able to turn her quivering head in her mother’s direction.
Shelby Corcoran lay motionless, the left side of her body crumpled in with the car as the lights of the truck bore down on the grisly scene. Blood flowed freely from the side of her head, and her chest only barely moved up and down. Beth finally found her broth. “Mom?” she tried to call out, but realized it was just a whisper. She tried again. “M-mom?” A little louder, as her tears started to come. “Mom! Mom!”
Rachel smiled and stepped down to raucous applause. She curtseyed and smiled and waved to everyone just like she always did after a performance, even a small one like that. And of course, Jesse was smiling and clapping along with everyone else as he walked up to her. “Great performance, Mrs. Berry.” He leaned in close to kiss her cheek and whisper “Sorry about before. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
Rachel shrugged. “It’s fine. We should have that discussion. But there will be plenty of time for that later.” She turned to Leslie as he came up to her.
“Wonderful, as always. Thank you Rachel,” he said as he handed her purse back.
“Anything for you, Leslie,” Rachel replied. She felt a slight vibration in her purse as Leslie left to mingle with the rest of the guests. She pulled her phone out, and saw a number she didn’t recognize. She frown in concern, but answered it anyway. “Rachel Berry speaking, may I ask who this is?”
“Mrs. Berry, this is Doctor Brennan calling from Akron General Hospital. I’m afraid there’s been an accident.”