Summary: Rachel's dads may not be in town when she and fellow Glee Club members have a party at her house or when they perform at the school assembly drunk, but her mother most certainly is. And Shelby is not at all happy with her daughter. Set in same AU as 'Asking For It' and will contain spanking. Tag to S2E14 "Blame It On The Alcohol".
Hello Readers! I've got a new story for you! It's been TOO LONG! The miracle of life happened! My wife and I welcomed our daughter in June and I've been a stay-at-home-mom ever since! It's been a huge adjustment and honestly, most days I'm so exhausted by the afternoon that I don't even want to look at my computer let alone try to write. But I've missed it so much. My muse has been with me this weekend and I wanted to post something. This story will be a few chapters long (I'm thinking 3 right now). I've got most of the second chapter finished and hope to have that up soon as well!
In other story news, Chapter 13 of Open Arms has been an absolute nightmare to write. I couldn't for the life of me get anything written for months. I've tried. Then TODAY I opened it and wrote half a page (which is a LOT after this dry spell). If all goes well and my muse sticks with me, I'm hoping to have that chapter posted before the end of the year.
And now, without further ado, I give you—
Bottoms Up: Chapter One
Shelby's heels clacked loudly along the deserted hallway of William McKinley High School as she made her way towards the choir room. The phone call she had received from her daughter's Glee coach an hour ago had shocked the mother, to say the least. According to Will Schuester, Rachel had brought alcohol onto school grounds and consumed it with the rest of the Glee Club right before taking the stage to perform a song for the Alcohol Awareness Week Assembly. The number was abruptly cut short when several of the kids threw up on stage. By some miracle, none of them had gotten into official trouble with the school; apparently the principal believed it to be part of the act. Will confessed on the phone that he didn't have the heart to correct Principal Figgins, but he also didn't feel right letting the kids get away with their actions without any consequences. So, he decided to let the parents handle it.
Shelby had left work as soon as she could; she had had to find coverage for her last class of the day and print out a sign to put on the auditorium door to let her Vocal Adrenaline kids know that practice was cancelled for the day. It had then taken her forty-five minutes to get to her daughter's school because of traffic and she had spent the entire ride seething.
What had Rachel been thinking? Shelby knew the girl knew better than this. The girl's fathers, Hiram and LeRoy Berry, had taught her better. And Shelby herself had taught her better. She had become one hundred percent committed to her role as parent after that fateful day in October when Rachel had asked Shelby to spank her for stealing. That had been the one and only time Shelby had given her daughter a spanking, but that punishment had been the catalyst to accepting Shelby fully into the family.
It had been nearly four months since then and in that time, Shelby had her parental rights reinstated and shared custody with the Berry men. Rachel lived primarily with her fathers but spent almost every weekend and at least one week a month with Shelby so she could experience life with her mom. For the most part, Rachel was a well-behaved teenager. She had her moments, of course, but Shelby was usually able to quell any attitude or misbehavior with a few stern words. And if that didn't work, Shelby had no problem sending her girl off to do extra chores with several stinging swats as a reminder to shape up.
The girl had more than just a few swats coming her way today, that was for certain. Shelby sighed at the thought; this was not how she wanted to start the week with her daughter. The Berry men had left Friday afternoon and weren't coming home until the end of the following weekend; Hiram had a conference to go to in California and the pair decided to make a vacation of it and go on a second honeymoon. They left their sixteen-year-old daughter in the capable hands of her mother. Rachel had asked if she could spend the weekend at her friend Kurt's house, mentioning that they had a science project due and it would be easier if they worked on it all weekend, and Shelby had agreed. Rachel hadn't gotten home until just before curfew last night and they had little time to spend together this morning before having to go to school. Shelby had been looking forward to this evening when she and Rachel could relax and spend some time together. She still planned on spending time with her child, but they'd have to get this nasty business out of the way first.
Shelby walked through the door to the choir room and her eyes immediately fell on the only person there. Rachel was staring down at her hands transfixed and jumped when Shelby called her name.
"H-Hi, Mommy," the girl said, trying her best to sound relaxed. Inside, however, her stomach was doing somersaults while her heart tried to beat right out of her chest.
Shelby raised an eyebrow, leveling her child with a stern glare. "Don't you 'hi, Mommy' me, young lady. You're in a lot of trouble."
Rachel ducked her head and returned to staring at her hands, her stomach now dropping all the way to her feet. Her mother was mad. Furious even. She was under no illusion that she wouldn't be punished for this incident and all too certain that she would not be able to talk her mom out of it like she could have it if were her dads. Tears stung her eyes as all of the glorious plans she had had for herself and Shelby this week slipped through her fingers.
"Where is Mr. Schuester?" Shelby asked her troublemaker.
Rachel simply pointed towards the office at the far end of the room with its glass window and door without looking up. Shelby nodded and headed in that direction, pausing to knock on the doorframe before entering the office.
Will looked up at the sound and offered a small smile to the pretty brunette woman standing in his doorway. "Shelby, hi. Come on in," he said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"I can't stay long. I want to get out of here so I can deal with my miscreant. I just wanted to say thank you for calling me—and for not taking this matter to Principal Figgins," Shelby replied.
"They're all good kids. I couldn't bring myself to turn them in. I don't want to see this one mistake blemish their permanent records. They were trying to have fun and went about it the wrong way," Will said.
"You could say that again," Shelby grumbled, turning to check on her daughter. The girl was just as she left her.
"If it makes you feel any better, Rachel was the most repentant one of the bunch," Will offered.
Shelby scoffed. "I'm sure she was. She's the guiltiest one!"
"Shelby, maybe this isn't my place, but…don't be too hard on her. She wants to fit in so badly. Peer pressure is hard to overcome sometimes."
"This isn't the first time that Rachel has let her peers influence her actions. She needs to learn that just because others are doing something doesn't mean she has to as well—especially when she knows it is wrong," Shelby answered.
Will nodded. "You're right, of course. It wasn't my place."
Shelby gave the man a warm smile. "I'm glad Rachel has a teacher who cares so much about her. And I know from personal experience that it sucks to have to tell on a kid to their parents. You did the right thing here, Will. Rachel and the rest of those kids made some really serious mistakes. They need to be held accountable for that. And I'm glad you decided to let the parents handle it and not involve the school. That isn't lost on me, as I'm sure it isn't lost on the other parents."
"Thanks, Shelby. I—That means a lot…Thank you."
"Any time," Shelby smiled. "I'm going to take Rachel home now and deal with her. I'll see you later."
The mother waved as she turned to leave but then stopped. "Oh, just a heads up," she mentioned, "Rachel isn't going to be participating in Glee for at least a week after this stunt. It might be longer depending on her attitude. I'll email you when I've made my final decision on the matter. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep her from joining practices during that time, as I'm sure she'll try to push the limits on this."
"O-Of course, Shelby," Will agreed. He had no doubt that Rachel would test the boundaries as Shelby said. He wasn't looking forward to the inevitable arguments he'd face from the tiny diva, but the thought of Shelby finding out he gave in to Rachel's demands scared him a lot more than the teen's dramatics ever could.
"Thanks again, Will," Shelby offered as farewell.
Rachel heard the unmistakable click-clack of her mother's high heels moving towards her and felt her body stiffen. She was going to have to go home with her in a minute and she wanted nothing more than the earth to open and swallow her whole.
"Let's go, Rachel," came Shelby's order.
Rachel winced at her mother's tone, taking a deep breath to prepare herself. She stood and grabbed her book bag, her eyes trained on the floor, and immediately felt her mom's fingers wrap securely around her upper arm. She was then led towards the exit. As they passed her teacher's open office door, Rachel allowed herself to look up. Mr. Schue met her eyes and gave her a sympathetic smile. The teen narrowed her eyes at her teacher and looked away. Oh sure, now he felt bad for her. Where was that sympathy when he called all of their parents? It was his fault she was going home with an angry mother. Principal Figgins hadn't made a big deal out of the situation, why did Mr. Schue have to?
The petite teen took small comfort in the knowledge that the rest of her teammates were in similar boats with their own parents. Being the last one to be picked up, Rachel had witnessed each one of her teammates squirm under their parents' stern glares and scoldings. Many of them were dragged from the choir room by angry mothers and fathers just as Rachel was now. As much as Rachel hated the idea of being in trouble, knowing she had her mother here to parent her made the girl's heart soar.
By the time the two got home, Rachel wasn't feeling nearly as warm and fuzzy about her mom taking her parenting role as seriously as she did. Shelby opened the front door and sent Rachel into the house with two sharp spanks that made the teen gasp and immediately reach back to ease the sting.
"Find a corner to park your nose in, Rachel. I need some time to collect myself," Shelby ordered, shutting the door behind them and setting her daughter's book bag on the floor.
Rachel spun to stare at her mother, a shocked expression plastered across her face. "Wha—Mom! But I'm not—"
"Now, Rachel," Shelby demanded, her hand connecting once more with her child's jean-clad backside.
"Ow!" Rachel squealed, scurrying over to the same corner she was placed in all those weeks ago when she had confessed to stealing a stranger's shopping bag as part of a dare. The last time she had found herself in this position, she had been mostly amused (and perhaps a little annoyed) at being forced to stare at the boring span of wall directly in front of her. This time, however, Rachel felt very much chastised. Her mom hadn't even said anything to her yet, but her insides squirmed with a mixture of regret and anxiety knowing she was in a heap of trouble.
Left with just her thoughts, Rachel began to wonder with some trepidation what her mother had in store for her. Rachel wasn't one to get into trouble often, but she had found herself on the receiving end of several lectures and scoldings from Shelby in recent months. Most of the time it was left at that, but when Rachel was too mouthy or didn't follow a rule, her mom would assign extra chores to reinforce the lesson. Would Shelby give her extra chores this time? And how many would she have to do? It was bad enough when her mom made her scrub the toilets for a snarky attitude; what she did today was a lot worse than a simple bad mood. What if she made her clean the whole house from top to bottom? It would suck, but Rachel supposed it wouldn't be all that bad. Not really.
It could be worse, she supposed. Shelby could ground her, keep her from hanging out with friends or—Rachel gasped. What if she bans me from Glee?
She can't! She can't, she can't, she can't, Rachel thought to herself. She knows how important is it to me.
But her mom had considered it before when Rachel stole. Rachel had been shocked her mother could even suggest such a thing, but Shelby insisted it was a fitting punishment given her reaction. Rachel had then cried and pleaded with her mother not to take Glee away…and Shelby relented.
That was the moment that Rachel had succeeded in convincing her mother to spank her. Rachel's heart rate increased as she thought back to that Saturday in October. What if her mom decided to handle this situation in the same way? But she couldn't, could she? Rachel had asked—practically begged—for that punishment that day. Her mom hadn't wanted to at first, and when she finally agreed, Rachel had to tell her how to do it! No, surely that was a one-time thing. Because Rachel asked for it. Besides, Shelby hadn't brought it up since then. Okay, sure, she doled out swats whenever she felt Rachel needed them—and yes, they hurt plenty—but that wasn't the same thing. That was just a mom thing, something Shelby did to make Rachel aware that she had crossed the line.
Rachel knew she had crossed the line today. But her mother wouldn't spank her for that…right? No, the girl reasoned. Her mom had said that day that spankings were a childish punishment and Rachel was far too old for it. She had only agreed to do it because Rachel had felt so guilty for what she had done and didn't know how else to clear her conscience. She wasn't feeling guilty about today. Sure, she knew she was in the wrong, and she was upset that she was now in trouble and had made her mother angry, but she didn't feel the need to be absolved for her actions. No, her mother couldn't spank her. She just couldn't!
On the other hand, Rachel had been sent to stand in the corner. The only other time she found herself here was when she was waiting for her mom to spank her. She had been over the woman's knees while her mom gave her a few weak swats to her covered bottom. Rachel had wanted it to be done properly and told her mother as much. She confessed to looking up how to give a spanking online and was sent to the corner while her mom did some 'research' of her own. The spanking she then received had been everything she had been asking for, and then some. She hated every second of it; she sobbed her heart out over her mother's knee while her bare butt was painted a bright red. It was both the best and worst moment in her life, as crazy as that sounded. It hurt and she never wanted to repeat it, but it was in that moment that Shelby went from being her birth mother to being her mom. And for that, she would be forever grateful.
Rachel squirmed at the memory and her right hand snaked back to rub at the faintest of stings left from her mother's earlier swats. It had been nearly five minutes since her mom's hand made contact with her bottom, but the more the teen thought about it, the more her cheeks seemed to hurt.
As the minutes ticked past, Rachel began to wonder if she had been wrong. Maybe her mom really was going to spank her. Why else would she make her stand in the corner and wait? And Shelby had said she needed time to collect herself. Collect herself for what?
Rachel sighed and rested her head against the cool surface of the wall in front of her. It wouldn't be so bad, would it? If it came right down to it and she had to choose between being banned from Glee or face a spanking, surely the spanking was the preferable option. It would feel like she had sat on an open flame and she would cry, but it would be over within a matter of minutes. And as soon as it was done, her mom would hold her and kiss her and tell her everything was forgiven. They could move on from this and everything would be back to normal by this evening when she went to bed. She probably wouldn't even be sore by then!
Shelby watched her daughter from the archway, leaning up against the frame, and contemplated her next moves. She was going to spank the girl. That decision had been made the moment she had found out what her teenager had been up to today. The mother had been furious when Will had first called her; she spent the whole ride to McKinley in a state of angry shock. She couldn't believe Rachel had pulled such an idiotic stunt. Bringing alcohol to school and then drinking it! What on Earth had her daughter been thinking? Where had she even gotten it?
By the time she arrived at the school, she had cooled down tremendously. She was still angry but she no longer felt like she would turn her errant child over her knee as soon as she saw her. Her resolve was tested when she walked into the choir room and Rachel met her gaze and gave her a casual 'Hi Mommy'. Shelby wanted nothing more than to haul her kid out of that seat and deliver a dozen stinging swats on the spot. She didn't, of course. It wouldn't have been fair to Rachel. Nor would it have been fair for Shelby to start spanking the moment she got her troublemaker home. She needed to be calm when she handed down this punishment; it was the reason she had Rachel stand in the corner. She needed time.
And now she had had it. Rachel had been standing in the corner for a little over ten minutes now. That was long enough. Now it was time she got to the bottom of this. As much as Shelby knew Rachel deserved the punishment coming to her, it didn't make it any easier for her to carry out.
It hadn't exactly been easy to deliver that first spanking to her daughter, but at least with that one Shelby had the assurance of knowing Rachel was completely on board with the decision. It had been the teenager's choice, after all. She had asked Shelby to administer it—demanded it, even. Shelby had finally agreed because she could see how much Rachel was hurting. Rachel had been asking for so much more than a simple spanking—she was asking for her mother.
Well, she has me now, Shelby thought, unable to hide her smile at her daughter's antics. The girl had her forehead pressed against the corner as she rubbed absentmindedly at her bottom. Shelby rolled her eyes knowing that her little drama queen wasn't still feeling the effects from the three spanks she had administered, but the sight was cute nonetheless.
Shelby sighed and pushed herself upright, calling for Rachel and startling the girl for the second time that day. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized.
Rachel jumped and spun to face her mom, her heart beating a fast tempo inside her ribcage. She chanced a glance at her mother's face, trying to gauge her mood. She was relieved to see that her mom didn't appear to be angry any more. That was a good sign for her.
"C'mon, love, let's go into the living room and have a talk," Shelby said, holding her hand out for her daughter.
Rachel hesitated, a bit surprised at her mother's casual behavior. Even if her mom wasn't angry any more, she had expected her to remain stern. The teen took the proffered hand and allowed herself to be led into the living room. Maybe she had been worrying for nothing and her first prediction had been right. Her mom was acting as if everything was back to normal. Surely that meant she was going to treat this as she would any other transgression and Rachel was facing nothing worse than a few extra chores. She could live with that.
Shelby took a seat on the sofa and pulled Rachel down next to her, glad to see the girl appeared more at ease. This was going to be a serious discussion and she had no doubt Rachel would hate what Shelby was going to dish out, but she wanted to do this as calmly as possible.
"Alright, kid," Shelby sighed, patting the girl's knee comfortingly, "Walk me through today. I want to know what you were thinking when you decided to bring alcohol to school and drink it with your friends."
Rachel winced. Her mom's tone was conversational but still managed to make her stomach flip-flop. What could she say that wouldn't make her mother angry with her all over again?
Shelby gave the girl a moment to collect her thoughts but spoke up once it became clear that she wasn't going to offer up an explanation willingly.
"You need to talk to me, kid. Where did you even get the alcohol?" she asked.
Rachel squirmed and examined her fingernails. "Rachel," came her mother's warning.
"I, um…in m-my dads' liquor cabinet," the girl confessed.
"Their liquor cabinet?" Shelby repeated, raising her eyebrow. "I know for a fact they keep that locked. Did you break into it?"
The teen's eyes snapped up to meet Shelby's before flicking back down. "No, I…It wasn't—I didn't…It—It was unlocked," she stammered.
"And so you decided to take advantage of that? Rachel, you know better," Shelby scolded.
"Mom, I—"
"When did you come up with this plan? And when did you go to the house to get the alcohol? You were supposed to be at Kurt's all weekend. Did you lie to me, young lady?"
Rachel had to think fast. She did lie, but her mother couldn't know that! Shelby had been angry enough finding out about the events at school, she didn't need to know that Rachel had also been drinking over the weekend at a party she threw in her parent-free house while her mom thought she was hard at work on a science project at Kurt's all weekend.
"No, I didn't, I—I was with Kurt but we, uh…we hung out with the rest of the Glee kids on Saturday and some of them were complaining about having to sing at the assembly and how stupid the whole alcohol awareness week was in general and—I mean, I guess, uh…one thing led to another and someone said that we could make it suck less if we—um—if we had alcohol. Everyone was saying how much fun drinking could be and I, uh…I had never drank before or anything and, well…Puck pointed out that my dads were out of town and he said I should, uh…borrow from their supply. So I did that yesterday before coming—coming here," Rachel stammered, a bit in awe of herself for explaining enough without giving up the most incriminating details. She knew her words would make her mom angry, but not nearly as much as she'd be if she knew the whole story.
Shelby remained silent as her daughter sputtered her way through her answer. As soon as the girl finished, Shelby sighed and said, "So let me get this straight. Your friends told you to take advantage of your fathers' absence and steal their liquor so you all could have a bit of fun during your performance at school and you did?"
"No, I—I didn't steal!" Rachel exclaimed.
"No? Then what do you call taking something that isn't yours? 'Cause that's stealing in my book, kid. And you and I have been over that before, if I recall correctly," Shelby said pointedly.
Rachel squirmed as she was once again reminded of that October day. But she hadn't stolen, not this time. "I was going to replace it, though," she said.
"So that's supposed to make it okay?" Shelby demanded, her voice rising.
"No," Rachel mumbled with a shake of her head. Her mother was back to being angry and the girl could feel that little glimmer of hope she had had of walking away with a relatively mild punishment rapidly slipping through her fingers.
"And how exactly were you planning on replacing everything? So help me, Rachel, if you have a fake ID, I promise I'll make sitting down a distant memory for you," Shelby threatened in a stern tone.
Rachel swallowed audibly and felt her face grow warm at her mother's threat. With nine words, Shelby had made it exceedingly clear that spanking was not off the table in her eyes. Knowing that it was a very real possibility unnerved Rachel. It was one thing when she had asked for it—she was prepared for that outcome and accepted it. She had even wanted it. She didn't want it today. And her earlier feelings that it wouldn't be so bad if it happened were no where to be found; instead, Rachel wanted to stay as far away from her mother's left hand as humanly possible.
"No, Mom, I don't!" she promised hastily.
"You better not. I meant every word," Shelby declared.
"Mommy, please! I swear!" Rachel whined, hating that she sounded so childish. "Puck said he'd take care of it!"
"I see. We'll discuss that more later, young lady. Right now I want you to tell me how many bottles you stole from your dads. And what were they?"
The girl rankled at her mother's insistence that she had stolen. She hadn't stolen. She…borrowed without asking. And she had had every intention of holding Puck to his promise—her dads would have never known. It all came back to Mr. Schue. If he hadn't ratted them all out to their parents, Rachel wouldn't be dealing with this right now. She could have simply put the new bottles back in the cabinet, locked it up, and neither her dads nor her mom would have been any the wiser.
"Rachel, I asked you a question," Shelby reminded the teen. The woman was used to this type of stall tactic from her students; they all thought that if they simply didn't answer, she would let the matter drop. In all of her years of teaching, Shelby had never once backed down; she wasn't about to start now, even if the culprit was her daughter.
"God, I don't know, Mom! I just grabbed stuff and poured it in an empty juice jug," Rachel returned, her nerves and anger getting the better of her.
"Excuse me?" Shelby raised an eyebrow at her daughter's tone.
"What does it matter? It's not like my dads aren't going to find out now. They can replace it with whatever the hell they want! This is all so stupid anyway. You and Mr. Schue are making a big deal out of this when no one else is!" the teen exploded, jumping up from the sofa with every intention of storming off to her room.
Shelby was shocked at her child's outburst, but that didn't slow her reflexes in the least. Rachel had barely taken three steps before Shelby was up and had a vice-like grip on her arm. Without a word, Shelby turned Rachel to the side and landed half a dozen rapid-fire swats to her bottom. She then turned the girl back to face her, leveling her with a stern gaze.
Rachel regretted her words the moment they were out of her mouth, but by then she had begun her storm out and that wasn't something she could just stop mid-way. Her mother, however, had no such qualms about stopping it, and her way was painful. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall as she wiped at them futilely.
"I don't know who you think you're talking to, Rachel Barbra, but let me remind you that I am the mom and you do not get to speak to me that way. Now I suggest you sit back down and finish this conversation with me calmly before you find yourself over my knee for a lesson on being respectful. And I'd really hate to have to do that when you've already got a spanking coming your way for today's actions," Shelby admonished.
Rachel shook her head frantically as several tears trickled down her cheeks. There it was, the sentence that she had hoped would never come. So much for staying away from Mom's hand, she lamented.
"Now, let's talk about what you just said. Yes, your dads are going to find out. I will not keep this big of a transgression a secret from them. They deserve to know that you stole their alcohol, took it to school to drink with your friends, and were caught," Shelby said as she returned to the sofa, pulling Rachel down with her.
"Mom, I didn't steal. I really was going to replace everything," Rachel sniffed, wiggling in an attempt to find a position that didn't hurt as much. It was no use, so she tried to ignore the throbbing pain radiating from her rear.
"It is stealing, Rachel—and the fact that you don't see that concerns me."
"But—"
"You took that alcohol from your fathers' liquor cabinet. Whether it was locked or not doesn't matter, you aren't supposed to go in there, period. Would you go into your dads' wallets and take money from them?" Shelby continued.
"No," Rachel answered.
"No, you wouldn't, because it's wrong. And it would be wrong even if you intended to return the money at a later date, would it not?" Shelby pressed, relieved to see understanding dawning on her child's face.
"Yes," the girl relented, refusing to meet her mother's eyes.
"Exactly. There is no difference between that and what you did, Rachel," Shelby reiterated.
The woman noticed the uptick in tears cascading down her child's face and decided to move on to the next point. She didn't want to have this conversation any more than her teenager did and didn't see the point in belaboring it; she wanted to get this over with so they could enjoy the rest of their evening together.
Rachel couldn't stop the tears that were now freely falling. She had been so angry a moment ago and now she was just sad. This is not how she wanted to begin her week with Shelby. The girl always looked forward to her time with her mom. It didn't matter what they were doing, whether they were singing show tunes or watching Barbra Streisand movies, or she was helping with dinner or chores around the house, Rachel just enjoyed being with her mom.
Now she wasn't at all sure how things were going to be between the two of them. This wasn't like the times when she did something minor and Shelby scolded or gave her a chore or even a swat or two (she had already gotten more swats in the last thirty-five minutes than she had in the past four months combined). This wasn't even like that first spanking. Shelby hadn't acted differently towards Rachel any of those times, but Shelby had never been all that angry either. Not like she had been—and still was—today. Today would be her first ever, honest-to-God real punishment from her mother—real punishment from any of her parents, if she was being completely honest with herself. Would that make a difference? Would Shelby really want to spend time with Rachel this week after what she had done?
"I know you think I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be," Shelby said, interrupting Rachel's worried thoughts, "But it is a big deal, Rach. What you did was not only—"
"Are you still going to spend time with me this week?" the girl blurted before she could stop herself.
"Wha—Yeah, of course we'll spend time together, silly. I've got you all week," Shelby answered, caught off guard.
"No, that's not—I meant because of, you know…" Rachel trailed off uncertainly.
"Oh," Shelby said as the pieces came together. "Baby, I love you. You made bad choices today but that doesn't change how I feel about you. Nothing you could do will ever change that. You're going to be punished for your actions and then we are going to have a nice evening together. We can snuggle up in bed and watch a movie or I'll sing with you, we can play a game—whatever you want. Okay?"
Rachel let out a tiny sob and flung herself into Shelby's arms. "Please, Mom, can we get this over with?" she cried, exhausted.
The teenager's emotions had been all over the place in a span of forty minutes. She felt like a yo-yo, first thinking she wouldn't be spanked, then that she would, back to not again, and finally knowing it was absolutely going to happen. Her acceptance of that fact changed just as quickly; one minute she was okay with it and then she wasn't. She was okay with it in this moment knowing it wouldn't affect the rest of her week, but she wanted to get it over with before she changed her mind. Again.
"I promise we will in a minute, love. There's still one more thing we have to go over," Shelby said, rubbing soothing circles on her child's back. She waited for Rachel to calm down a bit before pulling away and looking into the girl's eyes.
Shelby took a calming breath, preparing herself for the inevitable backlash her words would incite. "Rach, there's not going to be any Glee rehearsals for you this week. You're not grounded, you can do whatever you want after school—go to the mall, coffee shop, spend some time here by yourself before I get home—except for Glee. Now, I've already told Mr. Schuester that you'll be out all week so—"
Rachel's tears stopped abruptly; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had resigned herself to being spanked (even though she didn't feel guilty at all!) and now her mom wanted to take away Glee too? That was not how this was supposed to have happened—it was supposed to be one or the other!
"What?! MOM! You can't—That's not—You said I was getting a spanking!" she sputtered.
"You are," Shelby confirmed.
"But I—I thought that was my punishment."
"It's part of it. You are receiving a spanking for taking alcohol that you stole from your fathers to school and drinking it with your teammates before your performance. You could have been suspended if your principal realized what was really going on. Hell, you could have been expelled! On top of that, Rachel, you and I have dealt with stealing before. Clearly the message didn't sink in with the first spanking, so this time you're losing Glee as well," the mother explained gently.
"But that one shouldn't count! I asked for it!" Rachel exclaimed.
"You may have asked for that one, Rachel, but you still earned it—just as you have earned the one today. I know your fathers and I have talked to you at length about staying true to yourself and what you know to be right even when others try to convince you otherwise. You didn't do that that day at the mall and you certainly didn't do that today. So as much as you hate it and don't want it to happen, you are going to be spanked and you are not going to Glee this week. And I truly hope that this punishment will help you remember right from wrong and teach you not to let your friends talk you into making bad decisions," Shelby lectured.
"Please, I won't drink—or steal—ever again. Don't take away Glee! Please, Mom, the spanking is enough," Rachel pleaded.
"Rachel—"
"It's not even fair to do both. It's supposed to be one or the other! Doing both is just—it's cruel and unusual punishment!" the girl ranted.
"It's four days, Rach," Shelby rolled her eyes at her daughter's dramatics. "Honestly I'm being kind here. If you were on my team, you'd be out on your fanny faster than you could sing Do Re Mi."
"Kind?! You might as well tar and feather me, now that'd be kind!"
Shelby placed a hand over her face in order to hide the huge smile that had broken out across it. Sometimes Rachel was just too dramatic, even for her. She quickly schooled her features so she could look her daughter in the eye.
"Sorry, kid, I'm all out of tar and feathers," she said evenly.
Rachel gave the woman a scathing look and Shelby sighed. "I know you think otherwise, Rachel, but Glee isn't the end-all-be-all. It won't kill you to miss a week."
"Is that what you tell your soulless automatons in Vocal Adrenaline?" Rachel muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms and flopped back against the couch cushions.
"Not soulless. Disciplined," Shelby deadpanned. "Take this week and focus on yourself. Find something you're just as passionate about. Your whole world revolves around that club and it's not healthy."
Rachel wanted to tell her mother that that was rich coming from her, but Shelby's earlier threat about discussing respect rang in her ears and the teen bit her lip instead.
"I also want you to think about the type of people you want to associate yourself with. You're a good kid, Rachel, but you've let yourself be led into a fair amount of trouble by your teammates. I told you last time and I'll say it again—real friends wouldn't ask you to do these things for them. You need to take some time and decide if they are worth it," the mother finished.
"Mom, please. I get it," Rachel whined. "I won't listen to what my friends tell me anymore. I really will think about the consequences. But please don't spank me and take away Glee."
"Rachel—"
"Why can't you just do one? Please?"
"Because I 'just did one' last time and here we are dealing with the same issue four months later. Spanking alone clearly wasn't enough to get through to you, so this time your punishment is more severe," Shelby said.
"Well then…shouldn't you just take away Glee? If the—the spanking didn't work...last time?" Rachel countered, changing tactics.
She was feeling immensely pleased with herself for figuring out the loophole. Why hadn't she thought of this before? If she could convince her mom not to spank her, Rachel could essentially get off scot-free! Shelby had told her earlier that she was free to do as she pleased after school, except go to Glee—but Shelby would be busy with her own after-school rehearsals and wouldn't have to know what her daughter was up to! It was the perfect plan!
Shelby raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and shook her head. She saw right through her daughter's ploy. "Nice try, kid, but you're still getting that spanking."
"But why?" the teen whined as her hopes were dashed.
"Because you had no right to go into your fathers' liquor cabinet and take anything, let alone take it to school to share with your friends. Drinking at your age is dangerous—not to mention illegal—and drinking at school is just plain dumb. The consequences you would have faced had you been caught would have been a lot more lasting and damaging to you than my hand smacking your bare behind," Shelby said matter-of-factly.
"Mommy," Rachel scowled even as her face turned beet red in embarrassment. Why did her mom have to say it that way? It was bad enough that Shelby told her she was going to be spanked, she didn't need to mention it in such detail.
"I want you to think about this, Rachel. What do you think would have happened if you had been suspended—or God forbid, expelled—for your stunt today?" the mother asked.
Rachel gave her mom a blank stare. She knew the woman would kill her…but she didn't think that was the answer she was looking for. Giving up, the girl shrugged.
"It would go on your permanent record. You want to go to NYADA in a year and a half, right? Well, that dream would have gone right down the drain if Mr. Schuester had decided to handle this through Principal Figgins and not the parents. Your future, ruined, for what? A few minutes of fun with your friends? A little buzz? Is that really worth it?"
Shelby felt like a broken record. She was essentially saying the same thing over and over in slightly different ways. But she was also aware of the fact that Rachel hadn't been listening to what she had been saying those other times. One look at the teen now, however, and Shelby could tell her words had finally sunk in.
Rachel could only nod as she bit her lip and swallowed around the large lump in her throat that threatened to undo her. She heard her mother's scolding loud and clear that time. Her stomach churned as the realization of what her actions today could have meant for her future overwhelmed her. It was almost a relief to hear her mom speak her next words.
"Okay, Rachel, it's time for you to head upstairs. I want you to change out of those clothes and then I'd like you to stand in a corner in my room and wait for me. I'll be up shortly and we can take care of this," Shelby ordered, her tone calm but firm.
She watched her daughter climb the stairs with a mixture of relief and dread. Now that Rachel was out of sight, Shelby wasn't feeling anywhere near as confident as she had let on. It was the main reason she had sentenced the teen to the corner for the second time in the last hour. Shelby knew she couldn't go upstairs and walk into her bedroom to see that little girl sitting on the perfectly made bed waiting for her mean mommy to come tan her backside. She'd crumble before she even started and that's not what Rachel needed.
And that's it for this chapter! The spanking will happen in the following chapter and it's pretty detailed. I wanted to explore both mother and daughter's thoughts before, during, and after, and that really stretched it out.
Please let me know what you thought of this! I love reviews!