A/N: Wow. I just... I can not believe the response I got for this. Wow. I... Literally, speechless. Thank you guys. I... Wow. Anyway. I love the movie I put in here. It's my favourite childhood movie, and I hope you like this chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own the movie I put in here, or the lyrics.
I wonder if anyone's made the connection to the reference I put in here. BTW. William is not Shuester, that's just weird. Hope you like it. Enjoy.
Chapter Two: A New House and Talking Lions
"I just… I can't fathom how someone could just so… carelessly leave their own daughter on a doorstep! What if you hadn't been home? Or what if it was the wrong door? God, they are… Ugh! I am so glad that you've got her now."
Shelby smiled as her mom rambled in the front seat. She was sitting in the back, leaning over her daughter's car seat.
"I'm glad you're with me too. You're glad aren't you sweetie? Yes you are."
Her sister scoffed from the front passenger seat, rolling her eyes. Mel was two years younger than Shelby, the youngest of four.
"Never thought 'Hard-ass Shelby' would be speaking baby-talk."
Amy reached over and whacked Mel on her arm, scolding her language while Shelby rolled her eyes. She smiled down at her giggling daughter, scrunching up her nose.
"You're not going to be like Aunty Mel are you sweetie? No you're not. Cause you're going to be my little angel aren't you? Yeah. Yeah."
Amy rolled her eyes this time, shaking her head.
"And you are so wrong."
They stopped not long after that, the two Corcoran's in the front turning to laugh at Shelby attempting to get Rachel to let go of her hair.
"You jinxed it Shel. Remember that in the future."
Shelby glared at her mom, untangling her hair from Rachel's fists and lifting her from the car seat.
"Come on baby girl. Let's see if we've got our new home."
They'd been looking for the last week. Shelby had sold her apartment, packed everything up and moved back in with her parents, if anything because she needed help balancing the baby girl, looking for a house, and looking for a job. There were plenty of houses that they looked at, but none of them felt like a home to Shelby. It had to be perfect. She'd already spent almost a year without her daughter, she had to make up for lost time, and the perfect home was a place to start.
"Well… I certainly like the look of this one compared to the others you've looked at."
Shelby rolled her eyes, adjusting Rachel on her hip. The only reason she liked it so much was because it was only half an hour from them. Every other house Shelby had looked at had been at least a three hour drive from them. Though, admittedly, Shelby did like the look of this one too. Double garage, large drive-way, two-story and a fenced front yard.
Typical Suburbia
She had no idea how she was supposed to be able to afford this. She was, after all, a single mother with no job and no support bar her family. Then again, she did still have over half the surrogacy money and the money she got when she sold her apartment. And for some reason, this house was relatively cheap. She only needed somewhere to settle down after all, until she could afford a better place and a stable life.
So far… She liked what she saw.
They walked up the drive, Mel knocking four times before rocking on her feet. Shelby rolled her eyes, pulling faces at her daughter to keep her entertained. The door opened, the real-estate agent smiling at them.
"Good, you're here. Let's begin right away."
They followed her through the hallway, stopping to look in to the front living room. It was very light, windows filling three-quarters of the wall on both sides of the room. There was no door or wall connecting the living room to the dining room, and no door or wall to connect the dining room to the kitchen. The hall lead past the living room in to the kitchen. Off of the kitchen was a door leading to the garage, and the back door behind the dining room, beside the kitchen. The back yard was large, but not overly so.
Big enough for a dog
Near the front door, where the stairs were, a door lead to a bedroom, medium sized with its only bathroom. Up the stairs and to the right, there was a bathroom at the end of the hall, two bedrooms and a pull-down ladder to the attic. To the left was the Master bedroom and a study. Walking down the stairs, Shelby shook her head, rubbing her hand up and down Rachel's back.
"It's great. I love it." Turning to look at Laura, the real-estate agent, she raised her eyebrow. "What's the catch?"
Laura frowned, cocking her head to the side as Amy and Mel joined them at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm… Not sure what you mean?"
Shelby looked around, gesturing with the hand that was rubbing Rachel's back.
"Look at this place. It's amazing. Why's it so cheap?" Turning back to Laura, she widened her eyes. "Oh god, was someone killed here?"
Laura stuttered, while Mel laughed and Amy held her hands up to Laura.
"Ignore her, she's a drama queen."
Laura waved her off, but nodded her head.
"No, I understand. And no, no one was murdered here. The owners have already moved, and no one who's been interested in buying the house felt right to them. They like to… ensure the house is going to a good family. They've had it for so long. Also, it does need some work. Obviously, the original design is old-fashioned, with the vintage wallpapers and the creaky stairs, but it's been in a good family for well over fifty years."
Shelby nodded, her heart lifting at the term 'family'. Looking around once again, she smiled at Laura.
"I'll take it."
XX
The paper took two days to be approved. And the entire Corcoran family were moving boxes in to the new house after three. Rachel sat in her portable crib, watching as people passed holding boxes or furniture. Shelby was carried in by her oldest brother Jack, swatting at his back as he carried her over his shoulder and a box under his free arm. Mel came through, followed by Jack's youngest son carrying a small box full of cutlery. Shelby's dad came over to Rachel, lifting her from her crib and smiled down at her.
"Hello there Princess."
"William? Come help with the beds!"
William rolled his eyes, lifting Rachel to hold her up to his wife.
"I'm holding the baby!"
"The baby was fine in her crib. Don't use her as an excuse to stop helping out. Shelby will be back down soon and you know she'll be all over Rachel. Girl can't go five minutes without touching her or holding her."
William rolled his eyes, a Corcoran trait her was sure Rachel would pick up on.
"And that, Princess, is marriage… Ball and chain alright."
He lowered Rachel back in to the crib, running his hand over her head before following his wife out of the door. He passed his youngest son, raising his hand to slap him softly over the head. John ducked, widening his eyes and yelling 'Oh, what now old man' before high tailing it away and pointing it at Rachel.
"I am going to corrupt you so much kiddo."
Shelby punched him in the shoulder as she came down the stairs, glaring at him as she approached her daughter.
"No you won't. I want to keep her as innocent as possible for as long as possible thank you."
John smirked at her, winking at the baby despite the fact she was only eight months old.
"We'll see Shel… We'll see."
Shelby glared at him as he disappeared around the corner, looking down at her daughter staring at her with a smile.
"Oh no. You are not listening to him Rach. You hear me baby girl."
Rachel giggled, patting her mother on the cheek and looking over her shoulder. Shelby turned, watching in amusement as her father tried to push the bed through the door while her brother, Jack, pushed at it softly, winking at her with a smirk. Turning to her daughter, she sighed.
"Just a few more hours, Rach. Then it's just you and me. No more crazy."
XX
The crying didn't stop. Shelby had tried almost everything. She'd rocked her, bounced her, fed her… Of course, she'd yet to try singing. She just didn't have the energy.
"Come on honey, you've been so good. Come on, please be quiet." She pleaded.
Walking around the new house, the collapsed in to the couch, Rachel standing on her legs with her holding her up. Rachel's face was red, with tears falling down her cheeks. Shelby was almost in tears herself. She didn't like it when Rachel cried. It actually, physically hurt her. The pain in her chest was just growing with every wail from the small child.
"Oh god, please let there be something on."
She thought that maybe, just maybe, Rachel would find something interesting on the TV, and she'd stop crying.
"Definitely not."
"Even I find that annoying."
"What even is that?"
Rachel continued to scream, tugging on the necklace around Shelby's neck. As Shelby flipped the channel, desperate for something, anything, that would calm her daughter.
"It's the circle of life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love"
The Lion King. It'd only just started as she landed on Disney. Rachel quietened, staring wide eyes with her body half twisted to see the TV. Shelby looked down at her, a smile of relief stretching across her face.
"You like that? Yeah."
Rachel's hand pat her cheek slightly, almost as if telling her to shut up.
"Okay. I get it. As long as you've stopped crying."
Shelby sat with Rachel in her lap, watching the entire movie. She held her up as Rachel moved around, in that cute baby dance every child did. By the end, Rachel was slowly drifting off, her eyelids falling slowly. Shelby lifted her up, carrying her up the stairs and in to the master bedroom. She couldn't bring herself to put her in the room down the hall. Maybe in a couple of months, just not yet.
She'd yet to fall asleep, so slowly, Shelby rocked her in her arms. She hummed, closing her eyes as she sang a song from the movie, slowed even more and changed in to a lullyby.
"From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life"
She opened her eyes half way through, smiling down at her now sleeping daughter. Slowly, she kissed her on the forehead, lying her down in her crib. Sighing, she steeped backwards and collapsed on top of her bed.
It was so much easier when mom and dad were around
A/N: So I hope you liked it. That was chapter two. Just a quick message. I've started a series called NYC, Rivalry, Dances and Second Chances. Check it out. There's currently only one story in there, but I hope to add to it soon. Reviews for this chapter would be awesome, and I will try and get another one written and posted up soon. You guys are awesome. Laters.