I do not own Glee or any of the original characters. It all belongs to Fox and RIB. Any characters you do not recognise are my own creations.
Shelby offers to babysit Holly's nephew for the day, but her girls have mixed reactions towards the infant.
TWO-SHOT
Chapter 1/2
R&R please.
Shelby looks down at the sleeping baby and smiles softly, the warmth and weight of the child feeling comforting in her arms. Tiny little fingers and tiny little toes make her smile, and soft snores make her chuckle. His soft blonde girls feel soft underneath her touch, and she misses seeing the huge, green eyes that had been curiously watching her only a few moments ago. Oh how she wishes she could hold her girls like this, rocking them to sleep and holding their tiny, little bodies close to her chest. That would be heaven.
"Are you sure you're okay with doing this?" Shelby tears her gaze away from the sleeping angel in her arms, her eyes reluctantly landing on Holly. "I know you already have your hands full with your little ones."
"We'll be fine," Shelby reassures her friend. "It's just one afternoon. You go take care of your client and when you're finished, your adorable little nephew will be waiting right here for you," Shelby smiles.
"I completely forgot about the appointment," Holly chews on her bottom lip, "otherwise I would have asked Sugar to stay home."
"It's fine, really," Shelby swears. "The girls will love this little guy and the five of us will have a great time. You really don't have to worry," Shelby tells her. "Besides, big girl Brittany will be around today. She's preparing everything for going back to school tomorrow. The poor girl has spent all of thanksgiving worrying about an english test." Holly smiles sympathetically,
"she'll do great, she's a smart girl."
"That's what I keep telling her," Shelby nods.
"I'll help you remind her how awesome she is before the test," Holly steps, patting the pocket on her jeans that houses her cell phone.
"Thanks," Shelby grins. "Now go, you don't want to be late for your client," she adds.
"Right, yeah." Holly steps forward and strokes the baby's face with the pad of her thumb, "I'll be back as soon as possible, little man," Holly murmurs. Holly doesn't look at all thrilled about having to leave her nephew and go to work, but she allows her feet to drag her to the front door. "His diaper bag and car seat are in the kitchen," she says, stopping in the doorway.
"I know," Shelby nods, "I was the one that put them in there," she smirks. "Quit stalling, he'll be right here when you're done." Holly sighs,
"alright, thanks, Shelby."
"It's my pleasure." Shelby gently kicks the door closed behind her friend and carefully walks back to the living room, lightly bouncing the tiny boy in her arms. She sits down on the couch and gazes down at him, smiling at the way his little brow furrows as he sleeps. Brittany will be home with Santana and Quinn at any moment, and Shelby has no idea how the two little ones will react to having a baby in the house for the afternoon. Thank god big girl Brittany will be around to help Shelby out if she needs her to. Although, Shelby really doesn't want to drag Brittany away from her studies unless it's absolutely necessary.
Sinking back into the sofa cushion, Shelby allows herself to relax and watch TV. She keeps the volume low so as to not wake the baby and rolls her eyes at the ridiculously bad, made for TV, movie playing on the screen. She really doesn't understand why her girls are so obsessed with television, because Shelby can never find anything decent to watch on it. Shelby smiles when she hears the garage door opening, and she carefully rises from the sofa again. She only got a few minutes to relax, but she's okay with that. Shelby missed her girls, even if they've only been out for a few hours.
"Hey, mom," Brittany smiles as she walks in first, her smile widening when she spots the baby. "Oh wow, he's so cute!" Brittany breathes out, reaching out to run her finger along the baby's brow. "Did Holly just leave?"
"Yeah," Shelby nods. "She was worried about leaving him, though."
"He'll be fine," Brittany shrugs, smiling fondly at the boy. "Quinn and Santana are clearing up their mess in the car," she tells Shelby. "I let them eat chips and they started throwing them at each other." Shelby sighs and shakes her head,
"apart from their little food fight, how were they?"
"Okay, I guess," Brittany says, "Santana's a little grumpy, though. I think big girl Santana had a crappy shift at work. Quinn seems fine."
"Good," Shelby nods. "I'll go make sure they're tidying instead of fighting," Shelby sighs. Leave it to her girls to think that the small confines of a car is the ideal place to throw food around.
"I'll make coffee," Brittany states. Shelby smiles,
"I've got you well trained, my girl." Brittany throws her a wink as she heads into the kitchen, and Shelby forces herself to go check out Santana and Quinn's latest mess. Shelby regrets stepping into the garage as soon as Santana's loud yell meets her ears,
"Mama!" Shelby cringes as the baby in her arms stirs, loud, piercing wails echoing around the garage. Santana, who had been about to launch herself at her mama, freezes. A look of horror crosses her features and she covers her ears. "What is it?! Why is it doing that?!" Santana loudly exclaims as Shelby attempts to soothe the bitterly sobbing baby.
"It's not an it, Santana," Quinn corrects her, violently rolling her eyes. Jeez, little sisters can be so dumb! "It's a..." Quinn falters and scrutinises the screaming baby.
"He's a he," Shelby supplies for her, "his name is Liam. He's aunt Holly's nephew, we're going to be looking after him today," Shelby explains.
"I don't like him, mama, he's hurting my ears!" Santana yells to be heard over Liam's cries. Shelby sighs,
"Santana, he might stop crying if you stopped yelling," Shelby scolds her. "Come on inside," she instructs both girls. She motions for them to walk in front of her, and she studies them both carefully. Santana does not look impressed in the slightest and her hands are still clamped over her ears. Quinn, on the other hand, merely looks curious. In fact, Shelby thinks the blonde will actually be happy about their little visitor as long as he stops crying. They reach the kitchen and Brittany shoots her mom a sympathetic look as she slides her a coffee and holds out her arms for Liam.
"I'll walk him around the house until he calms down," Brittany murmurs, "it'll give you a chance to talk to them about it," she quietly adds, only for Shelby to hear. Shelby nods,
"thanks, babe," she says, carefully transferring Liam into Brittany's arms. Shelby waits until Brittany and Liam are out of the room before she turns to face her two little ones. "Aunt Holly had to go to work, so I offered to look after her nephew for her," Shelby explains. "It'll be fun," she promises. "You guys can help mama take care of him."
"I'm not changing diapers!" Santana exclaims, her nose wrinkling in disgust. Shelby sighs,
"I didn't say you had to," Shelby reassures her. "I'll need both of you girls to play nicely this afternoon. Liam is just a baby and he needs lots of sleep, so I will not be happy if you guys are too loud," she sternly states, looking between the two girls. "Now, did you guys get all of the mess out of the car?" Quinn and Santana share a grimace, they hadn't realised Brittany told their mama about that.
"Yes, mama. It's all cleaned up," Quinn promises her. Shelby studies the girl carefully, trying to work out if Quinn is being truthful or if she has to go and check the car herself. After a minute, Shelby nods.
"Alright, thank you. No more throwing food around," Shelby tells them firmly. Both girls nod, eager to get out from underneath Shelby's steel gaze. "Alright, go play. I'll call you back in a little bit for a snack," Shelby states. Both girls shoot her a grin before they take off out of the kitchen, "no running in the house!" Shelby shakes her head and grabs Liam's car seat, before making her way towards the living room. She finds Brittany pacing the room with a now quiet baby in her arms, and she smiles softly. "Baby whisperer, huh?"
"Yeah," Brittany chuckles, a faux smug expression on her face. "He was fine as soon as I started bouncing him," she tells her mom. "I think no longer being in the room as foghorn Santana probably calmed him down, too," Brittany adds with an eyeroll. She gently places Liam into his car seat and adjusts his blanket, smiling down at the sleeping baby. "He's so cute."
"He is," Shelby agrees. "Don't you get any ideas now," she warns. "As great as you look with a baby in your arms, I am not ready to be a grandmother just yet," Shelby teases, smirking when the tips of Brittany's ears turn bright red.
"Oh, don't even go there, mom," Brittany exclaims. "I mean, as much as I want a tiny version of Santana, that's a long time away. Do me favour, don't say anything like that to Santana. She'll probably swallow her tongue!"
"I'm well aware of what not to say to Santana," Shelby states lightly. It's true, she knows all of her girls extremely well. She doesn't even have to think about what she needs to say to either of them, it comes as naturally as breathing.
0-00-0
Shelby gently cradles Liam while she sits at the kitchen table with Santana and Quinn, supervising them as they eat their snack. They've only been home for an hour, but it feels much longer. Santana had been avoiding coming downstairs for fear that Liam would start being loud again, but the girl sure had caused some chaos in her bedroom. The room looks like a bomb had gone off inside of it and Shelby has no idea how on earth Santana caused the mess in such a short space of time. Quinn, however, had been pretty calm. The girl seems interested in the baby, Shelby had caught her shooting him curious little glances every so often, but she had made no effort to interact with him. Shelby doesn't rush her, though, Quinn will get involved if she wants to.
"Mama?" Shelby turns to Santana and smiles,
"yes, sweetheart?"
"Did the baby make you forget 'bout Brittany?" Santana questions, curiously cocking her head to the side. Shelby frowns,
"no, of course not! Nothing could ever make me forget about any of you girls," Shelby promises. "What makes you think that, baby girl?"
"You didn't make Brittany a snack," Santana states innocently.
"That's because big girl Brittany took a snack upstairs with her," Shelby explains. "She's studying so I don't want to disturb her. I didn't forget about her, I promise," she swears.
"She's not studying," Santana frowns, "she's playing with her toys." Shelby's eyes widen momentarily and she glances at Quinn,
"you girls stay here and finish your food," Shelby says. "Quinn, I want to see a decent amount of food eaten," she adds, tipping her head in the direction of Quinn's almost full plate.
"Yes, mama." Shelby gets to her feet and makes her way upstairs, Liam still in her arms. Wandering along the hall, Shelby peers into each bedroom just to ensure that Brittany hasn't switched rooms. Stepping into Brittany's bedroom, Shelby finds the girl playing on the floor; her pants missing.
"Mama!" Brittany cheers, a crooked grin spreading across her face as she scrambles to her feet.
"Hey there, baby girl," Shelby replies, shaking her head in amusement. "Where did big girl Brittany go?"
"All gone!" Brittany exclaims, throwing her hands up. Shelby chuckles,
"so I see. What about your pants? Where did they go?"
"Gone, too!" Brittany states seriously, her brow furrowing. Shelby follows Brittany's concerned gaze to the baby in her arms and she sighs softly. "Baby?"
"Yeah, sweetheart. This is Liam," Shelby tells her. Brittany peers down at the baby, a deep frown etched on her features, her frown only growing when Liam stares back up at her. Shelby winces at the less than happy expression on her baby girl's face. "Come on downstairs, Brittany," Shelby states. "There's some sweat pants in the living room that you can put on and then mama will get you a snack."
"No," Brittany grumbles, "no snack."
"Are you sure, baby girl?" Shelby questions, feeling a little concerned. Her girls rarely turned down food. "It's still a long time until dinner."
"No snack," Brittany repeats with a groan. Shelby sighs,
"okay, sweetheart. We can go play downstairs then." Shelby shifts Liam's weight to one arm and holds her free hand out for Brittany to take, the girl accepting it while glaring at the baby in her mama's grasp.
"Baby go?" Brittany questions.
"No, not yet," Shelby shakes her head. "Liam is staying with us until after dinner," Shelby explains. "Come on, let's go see your sisters." Shelby leads Brittany downstairs and ushers Brittany into the living room when she hears the TV turning on. "Go see them, I'll be there in a minute, sweetheart," Shelby states. Brittany doesn't look at all pleased about having to leave her mama, but she does as she is told. Sighing, Shelby makes her way into the kitchen. She enters the room just in time to catch Quinn putting some of her food onto Santana's abandoned, empty plate. "Uh uh, I don't think so." Quinn jumps, surprised, and turns around to guiltily stare at her mama.
"I'm done, mama," she mumbles.
"You're not done," Shelby corrects her, "not even close."
"Brittany isn't eating a snack," Quinn pouts. "It's not fair, mama."
"Brittany had lunch with me while big girls Quinn and Santana were at work," Shelby states firmly. "Now, eat." Quinn huffs loudly and begins to pick at her food, throwing her mama the dirtiest look she can muster up. "You can take that look off of your face, little girl," Shelby warns her. "I will be back in five minutes to check on you, and I want to see a different on that plate." Shelby sighs when Quinn doesn't respond, but she doesn't push it. Instead, she heads back towards the living room and joins Santana on the sofa.
"Mama, look! Cartoon Batman!" Santana excitedly tells her.
"That's awesome, baby," Shelby distractedly responds as she leans forward, placing Liam into his car seat. He fusses and Shelby gently hushes him and slips his pacifier into his little mouth. "You're okay, little man," she coos, frowning slightly. Holly had warned her that he was a fussy baby and Shelby has a funny feeling that she's about to experience that first hand.
"You're not looking, mama," Santana huffs, "look at Batman!" Santana tugs on Shelby's arm. Shelby turns her gaze to the television just as the show cuts to commercial and Santana groans. "You missed it, mama!"
"It's okay," Shelby reassures her, "it's just a commercial break, it'll come back on." Shelby leans back into the sofa cushions and sighs softly. Instead of two adults and three children, she's now battling four children on by herself. This should be fun. A loud wail interrupts her minute moment of silence, and Shelby looks down just in time to see Brittany popping Liam's pacifier into her mouth.
"Brittany, no!" Shelby scolds, "that is Liam's pacifier, not yours. Give it back," Shelby states gently, yet firmly.
"Noooo," Brittany whimpers. "Me baby, too." Shelby frowns as she stands up,
"Yes, honey. You are, but it's not your pacifier," Shelby explains. "Santana, one of Brittany's pacifiers is on the kitchen counter. Can you get it for me, please?" Shelby requests as Liam's cries grow louder.
"Batman's on, mama," Santana whines. Shelby shoots Santana a glare that quite clearly tells the girl to do as she is told, and a reluctant Santana slopes off to the kitchen.
"Brittany," Shelby begins as she lifts Liam into her arms and cradles him close to her chest, "pacifier now."
"No, mama, Britt keep binky now," Brittany pleads, pointing towards herself. Shelby sighs as she shifts Liam into one arm and holds her hand out,
"Santana is getting your binky, but you need to give Liam's one back," Shelby sternly states. "Right now, Brittany. I mean it."
"Mama!" Brittany bursts into tears, bitter sobs wracking her body as she points towards Liam. "You..." Brittany chokes on her words as fat tears leak down her cheeks, "like better!" Shelby is convinced that her heart has just cracked in half, and she kneels down next to her baby girl.
"No, baby girl," Shelby shakes her head, her tone soft and kind. "I promise I don't like Liam any better than you. I love you more than anything, you and your sisters," Shelby swears, reaching out to rub Brittany's back as she still balances Liam in one arm. She know understands why little Brittany made an appearance this afternoon; she's jealous. "I just wanted you to give Liam his binky back. You have lots around the house, but he only has one with him and yours are too big for him, sweetheart."
"Quinn's here! Quinn's here!" Santana yells as she sprints into the living room, brandishing one of Brittany's pacifiers.
"Wha...what, baby?" Shelby questions, cringing when Liam shrieks into her ear.
"Big girl Quinn, mama, duh!" Santana stares at her mama as though the woman is completely insane.
"Hey! Do not speak to mama like that," Shelby scolds her, and Santana's face instantly falls. "Thank you for getting Brittany's pacifier," she quickly adds, fearing that Santana would also cry. "Just work on being more polite, babe."
"Okay, mama," Santana sighs as she thrusts the pacifier into Brittany's hand, the blonde immediately spitting Liam's one out and replacing it with her own one. Liam stops crying as soon as Shelby returns his pacifier, and Santana stares at her mama in awe. "You fixed him, mama!"
"He wasn't broken, sweetheart," Shelby says, grinning slightly. "He was just a little sad. He's okay now, though," she adds.
"Brittany isn't," Santana states simply, staring at Liam with distaste. Shelby turns to look at Brittany, frowning at the whimpers still escaping Brittany's lips. "You and Liam made her sad," Santana scowls at her mama as she drops to her knees beside her sister, hugging Brittany as tightly as she can.
"Santana..." Shelby trails off when Quinn walks into the living room, carrying a mug of steaming coffee.
"I figured you could use this," Quinn states with a small smile, placing the coffee on the coffee table and holding her hands out for Liam. Shelby wordlessly places the baby into Quinn's arms and studies her curiously. "I'll take care of this little one just now," Quinn murmurs as she steps away from her mom. Shelby has no idea why big girl Quinn is here, but the timing couldn't have been better.
"Mama," Brittany whimpers and Shelby kneels down next to the upset girl again.
"Mama's right here, angel," Shelby coos. Brittany clambers out of Santana's arms and allows herself to be gathered into Shelby's embrace instead. She softly cries into her mama's neck, mumbling incoherently. "It's okay. Calm down first, then you can tell mama what you want to tell her," Shelby softly instructs.
"Can he go home now?" Santana sourly questions, glaring at the doorway when Liam's cries float into the living room. Shelby frowns at Santana,
"his name is Liam," Shelby reprimands her, "and, no. He will be with us for the rest of the day."
"Fine," Santana grumbles, a major pout tugging at her lips. "Stupid Liam," Santana murmurs in a low voice, speaking only to herself. Unfortunately for her, her mama overhears.
"Corner," Shelby firmly states, pointing to the empty corner in the living room. "You know we do not use that word, I've told you many times."
"But, mama..."
"No," Shelby cuts Santana off. "You will go into that corner right now," she says sternly. "I will come and speak to you in five minutes." Santana huffs loudly, but does as her mama tells her to. Shelby watches her girl slope off to the corner and shakes her head in disapproval. She hadn't exactly expected her girls to welome their baby visitor with open arms, but Shelby didn't think they would react like this. Brittany's jealous and Santana is almost hostile, there's no way the rest of the day is going to be easy.
"Mom?" Shelby looks up as Quinn pokes her head into the room.
"Yeah, babe?" Shelby forces a smile to her face as she gazes across at Quinn, still holding Brittany close to her.
"We...uh...we have a diaper situation here." As much as Quinn wants to help Shelby, there's some things she will just not do. Not even if she was paid a million bucks.
To be continued... the 2nd (and last) chapter will be posted on Monday. Please review.
