Chapter 6
A/N- I hope you all don't mind but I have skipped ahead a little bit because I don't want to drag this story on for too long to the point where it becomes boring, I've also added a love story for Shelby because I think she needed someone other than Rachel to talk to lol, please help me with the name of the baby, I cannot for the life of me decide what to call it and its driving me mad so all suggestions welcome. I hope you like this chapter, Thanks Nx
Rachel was now 7 months pregnant and because she was such a petite person she was quite big. She was currently sat on her mothers sofa watching crappy reality TV with a bowl of crisps placed on her ever growing stomach like it was a tray.
Shelby was watching her daughter from the kitchen with a look of amusement on her face, never in her life had she seen a pregnant woman use their stomach to place objects on for convenience. The older brunette was beginning to think that maybe Rachel needed to get out more, sure she went to school and Glee practice but that was it, so Shelby made a decision there and then to take her daughter out for the day whether she wanted to go or not.
The Glee coach put her cup of coffee in the sink and rinsed it out before making her way in to the living room and rolled her eyes at the sight she was met with, Rachel was currently trying to balance the remote as well her cup and the crisps on her bump.
"Okay, Rachel, remove all items from your stomach, get up, get dressed, we are going out" before Rachel had any time to protest Shelby had left the living room and was making her way up the stairs to get herself ready for the day.
The short brunette sighed and removed the remote, crisps and cup from her belly and went to get ready for the day.
An hour later both Shelby and Rachel were ready for their day out.
"So where are we going?" Rachel asked her mother as they left the house.
"Wait and see, my love" Shelby smirked.
Rachel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her bump and she walked over to the older woman's Range Rover.
"Do not roll your eyes at me Miss Berry" Shelby called over to the singer as she locked the front door.
"Okay, Miss Corcoran" Rachel mocked her mom.
Shelby gave her daughter her famous Coach Corcoran glare and raised her eyebrow and Rachel just smirked to herself as she got in the Range Rover and looked out the window, Shelby shook her head and climbed in the car blaming baby hormones on her daughters current inability to be intimidated by her.
"So Rach, how come you haven't been going out with your friends much anymore?" Shelby asked as she pulled out of the driveway.
"As you can see I am pretty damn huge, walking is becoming increasingly difficult for long periods of time, my moods are becoming more and more unpredictable, so I've decided to just stay out of peoples way and not annoy anyone more than I have too" Rachel said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I'm sure you aren't annoying anyone Rach" the coach said with a sympathetic tone.
Rachel turned to her mother and glared at her as she drove before she said "The other day in Glee Kurt, Tina, Sam and Mercedes asked Mr Schue if they could finish the rehearsal early because they simply could not listen to me complain about every little thing anymore, apparently its worse than before I was pregnant because Mr Schue couldn't wait to get out of there and away from me"
Shelby had to hide her smile and placed a hand on her daughters leg for comfort, she opted for not saying anything because she knew saying something wouldn't help and would probably make Rachel either upset or angry.
Eventually Shelby pulled up in front of the baby store and looked at her daughter who appeared to be quite happy with her moms choice of outing.
"We was meant to do this ages ago when we found out she was a girl but we never got around to it, I figured now is as good a time as any" the older brunette said with a wide smile.
Rachel leaned over and hugged her mom before hopping out the car and grabbing her moms hand before heading towards the entrance of the baby store.
Shelby picked up all the items she had before they had to leave last time and headed towards the clothes looking for the cutest girls clothing she could find while Rachel went looking for a Pram.
As Shelby was grabbing outfits and placing them in the trolley she noticed a blonde in the same aisle as her and couldn't help but think she recognised her. Suddenly the blonde turned around and Shelby knew that she couldn't forget those bright blue eyes. The blonde smiled at the brunette and Shelby almost melted in to a puddle on the floor.
"Shelby Corcoran, fancy seeing you here" the blonde smirked at Shelby.
"Cassandra July, I thought you was in New York?" Shelby asked the Dancer.
"I was, I'm not anymore, clearly, been here for about 3 months now I think, I was gonna call you but then I didn't know if you'd want that so I figured I'd just leave you alone" Cassie said a little smugly.
"Don't start Cassie, you know I would have loved to hear from you" Shelby rolled her eyes and continued to look at the baby clothes to try and ease the tension a little.
"Do I Shelb?" Cassie said with an edge to her voice.
"I'm not having this argument in the middle of a baby store Cassie, meet me at The Lima Bean tomorrow at 9am?" The Glee Coach suggested.
"Sure, I'll be there, I look forward to it Shel" Cassie smirked at the brunette, looked her up and down and then turned to pay for the items she had in her hand. Shelby finally let out the breath she was holding and placed the last of the clothes in the trolley and went to find Rachel in the Pram section.
Rachel had narrowed it down to 3 prams, she had FaceTimed Finn at work for his opinion but he had been no use and eventually he had to get back to his job and hung up the phone which Rachel wasn't too pleased about. Shelby found her standing in front of the 3 prams with her hands on her hips, tapping her feet.
"I assume you've narrowed it down" Shelby said sneaking up behind the short brunette.
Rachel jumped and turned to look behind her, once she saw it was her mom she glared at the woman and went back to look at the pushchairs.
"Yes, I like these 3, I just don't know which I like more, which one do you prefer?" Rachel asked her mom for her opinion.
Shelby looked over the pushchairs there was a white and pink old fashioned Silver Cross Pram that Shelby really liked, there was a peach coloured iCandy stroller and carrycot that was okay but not really something Shelby would buy herself and then there was a grey Joolz Pram that was again okay but not really her thing.
"Personally, I would go with the Silver Cross, it's girly, which is what you want when you're having a baby girl, it's a beautiful pram and it's got everything you need" Shelby said pushing it along the shop floor.
Rachel nodded her head and decided that she agreed with her mom, she was getting the Silver Cross.
After an hour of shopping Rachel had finally got everything she needed including the moses basket, the cot, the pram, clothes, toys, a mobile for over the cot and other bits and bobs. She felt guilty for letting her mom pay for it but Shelby insisted and Rachel didn't want to keep telling Shelby no and to be honest Rachel couldn't afford it all or any of it really.
The cot and the pram were being delivered the next day around 4pm, one of the shop assistants helped Shelby load her car with all the other items as clearly Rachel was a little too pregnant to be carrying a moses basket and large bags of clothes and shoes. Shelby tipped the assistant after he had loaded the car and they drove towards Shelby's house.
Rachel was beginning to get a little agitated and tired due to being on her feet for a while and once everything was taken out of the car and placed in the living room Rachel sat on the sofa and took out her phone, she quickly sent a message to Finn and asked him to come to Shelby's after he had finished work and not long after she fell asleep.
Shelby walked in the living room expecting to see her draughting going through the bags of clothes and toys for her baby but found her fast asleep on the sofa, she grabbed a blanket off the chair and covered her up and placed a kiss on the girls forehead before grabbing the bags and putting them in the spare room ready for Rachel to go through later on that day.
Rachel woke up around an hour and a half later and looked at her phone for a message from Finn, she smiled when she noticed he had replied saying "I'll be there around 5pm babe, see you soon, love you".
Looking at the time she noticed that it was 10 to 5 and Finn could arrive at any minute, Rachel slowly got up from her position on the sofa and made her way in to the kitchen where she found Shelby reading a book and drinking coffee.
"You know you could have done that in the living room, you didn't need to sit in here" Rachel said to her mother.
"I know I could have but the last thing I wanted was to wake the beast" Shelby joked and laughed at her daughters unamused face.
"ha ha ha" Rachel fake laughed as she grabbed a drink out of the fridge and sat next to her mom.
"What are you reading?" Rachel asked out of curiosity.
"Fifty Shades Darker" Shelby smirked and winked at the teen sitting across from her.
"Why are you suddenly so funny?" Rachel glared at her mom.
"I've always been funny, but it really is Fifty Shades" Shelby said as she closed the book and showed the singer the front cover and laughed.
Rachel pretend gagged and glared at her moms choice of literature, why couldn't she just read something by Shakespeare or Dickens like every other person her age? the short brunette thought to herself.
Just as Rachel was about to voice her hatred of her moms current love of S&M books the doorbell rang and she ran, as quickly as a pregnant woman could, to answer it. There on the other side of the door was Finn with a bright smile.
"Hey babe" Finn said when Rachel opened the door.
"Hey, come in" Rachel moved out of Finns way so he could come through the door.
"How are my girls today?" Finn asked placing a hand on the singers ever growing bump.
"we're doing great, thank you Finn" came a voice from the kitchen.
"Ignore her, she thinks she's extremely hilarious this afternoon and we are going to my room to avoid her irritating jokes and anyway I wanna show you what I bought for the baby today" Rachel beamed as she spoke about her baby girl and what she bought this morning.
"I put all shopping bags in the guest room/nursery by the way, if you are going in your room please leave the door open you may already be pregnant but that doesn't mean I want to listen to how she was conceived thank you very much" Shelby said from the doorway with a raised eyebrow and a slightly smug look on her face.
"Seriously? you're serious?" Rachel asked with a pissed off look on her face.
"Very" Shelby said and then turned around and went back to her book and coffee in the kitchen.
Rachel and Finn made their way upstairs to the guest room, the singer pulled out every item of clothing and showed her boyfriend who tried his best to show as much interest as possible. She showed him the moses basket and the toys and told him he needed to come round tomorrow after work and help Shelby put the cot and pram together, Finn just nodded along, he knew how sensitive Rachel was recently.
After Rachel had shown Finn everything that had been bought that day she took him in to her room and left the door open like Shelby requested. "So I only have 2 months left Finn, we need to try and finalise a name" Rachel said sternly as they sat on her bed, Rachel was curled up against Finns side and he was playing with her hair.
"Okay…I really think you should consider Drizzle" Finn smiled down at his girlfriend as he spoke.
Rachel sat up and turned towards the football player and glared "I am not under any circumstances naming my daughter Drizzle" she said slowly to make her point.
"Fine, So what do we have on the list again?" Finn asked.
Rachel leaned over and grabbed the list her and her mom had come up with months ago from her bedside table and unfolded it.
"Right so we have 1…Bonnie, 2…Gabriella, 3…Jolie, 4…Bella, 5…Kendall, 6…Avery and lastly we have Skye" Rachel read from the list then looked up to see Finn fully engrossed in what she was saying.
"And we have to pick from those names? not that I don't like them because I do, I like all of them but we can't deviate from the list at all?" Finn wondered aloud, Rachel looked at him a little shocked that he had used the word deviate in the right context.
"Yes we can if we find another name that we both really like" Rachel said laying the list on the bed.
"Well I had an idea, I remember you saying that you wanted to name her after someone you loved so I was wondering how you'd feel about naming her after your mom?" Finn asked with a shy smile on his face.
The short brunette thought about it for a few minutes but she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to name her baby girl Shelby, not that she didn't like her moms name she just thought it might get a little confusing once the baby got older. After a while she explained this to Finn and he noticed how she had a little spark in her eye as she was talking.
"So we still aren't agreed on a name?" the singer asked her boyfriend as they lay on her bed.
"I guess not" he replied as he played with her hair and then kissed her forehead.
"We'll figure it out though Rach, I mean if she doesn't have a name when she's born she may come out looking like a Bella or a Skye, you never know" Finn placed another kiss on his girlfriends head and noticed how her breathing had evened out, he got a blanket off the side and covered her up and placed a pillow under her head properly so she was comfortable.
After making sure Rachel was comfy he made his way downstairs and told Shelby that Rachel had fallen asleep and said his goodbyes to his girlfriends mom, that he was still very intimidated by.
The next morning Rachel woke up and made her way downstairs and in to the kitchen to find her mom already dressed and ready for the day, it was a Sunday and normally they just lazed around the house watching movies in their pyjamas on a Sunday.
"Morning, how come you're all dressed up?" Rachel asked her mom with a curious look on her face.
"I have to go out in a minute and meet an old friend for coffee, I won't be long maybe an hour or so, you'll be okay right? you can ask Finn or Santana to come round if you want" Shelby hadn't even considered the fact that maybe Rachel wouldn't like being on her own with her being so heavily pregnant.
"Mom, chill out, i'll be fine, go and see this 'friend' and i'll see what San's up to this morning" Rachel smirked at mom when she seen the blush come over her cheeks when Rachel said friend.
"Okay, good, ring me if you need anything though okay" Shelby leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead before going to grab her bag and keys.
"Don't be out too late, remember your curfew Miss Corcoran and no drinking, drugs or sex" Rachel laughed at her moms expression.
"Oh look who's the funny one today" Shelby said just as she walked out the house and towards her car, leaving her daughter to laugh to herself.
Shelby made it to The Lima Bean at precisely 8:56am, if she was honest with herself she was very nervous. She hadn't spoken to Cassandra in a very long time, sure there was yesterday in the baby store but she wasn't sure you could call that a proper conversation. Shelby looked at her appearance in the mirror to check she still looked presentable, after a minute or so she got out of the car and walked in to the coffee shop.
Shelby looked around for the blonde beauty but she couldn't see her anywhere, she went to the counter and got herself something to drink before finding an empty table and sitting down with her coffee and played on her phone until the dancer arrived.
"You know Shelb it's very rude to stare at your phone when you're meant to be on a date" Cassie said smugly as she stood over the brunette.
Shelby glared at the dancer, first for scaring her by just turning up out the blue and then for calling their meeting a date.
"When did this become a date Cass?" Shelby asked with a raised eyebrow as she motioned for the blonde to take a seat across from her.
"When you asked me out Shelly" Cassie said smugly as she sat down with her cup of coffee.
"What have I told you about calling me Shelly, Cass" Shelby rolled her eyes and again raised her eyebrow in that coach Corcoran is pissed off way.
Cassie laughed at Shelby's facial expression, she knew calling her that was going to annoy her.
"I'm sorry Shelb, I had to, you know for old times sake" Cassie said smiling at the brunette across from her, Shelby smiled back thinking about the old times and how she missed them.
"So why are we here Shelby? not to rush you or anything but I have a baby shower to get to at 12 and I clearly am not going dressed like this" Cassie said motioning down to her jeans and t-shirt combination, Shelby thought she looked rather nice actually, but then again Cassie could wear a bin bag and look beautiful.
"How come you're in Lima?" Shelby figured she'd just get straight to the point and ask the question she wanted to ask yesterday.
"Well, I got a job at a dance academy here and as you know my family live in columbus so it's easier to visit them" Cassie couldn't help but notice the little glimmer of hope that was in Shelby's eye had gone when she said that.
"And you felt you couldn't tell me because…" Shelby knew the answer to this she just wanted to hear Cassie say it.
"Come on Shelb, you walked away, YOU left ME heartbroken, you was the one who said "I just can't do this anymore Cassie, it's too painful" and walked out the front door with your suitcase never to be seen again, so why would I ring you or text you and tell you I was now in Lima? I assumed you never wanted to see or hear from me again so I gave you that, Shelby I never got an explanation as to what you found so painful" Cassie was clearly still very hurt by what Shelby had done.
"Okay first of all Cass, I broke my own heart that day too not just yours and your right I don't know why I even thought you would ring or text me when you came back" Shelby said shaking her head slightly and taking a sip of her coffee just for something to do with her hands.
"Why did you do it? What was so painful you just couldn't do it anymore?" Cassie asked with a sympathetic look on her face, she knew she shouldn't be sympathetic towards Shelby but she couldn't help it, that woman still held part of her heart.
"Do you remember me telling you about the little girl I gave away the year before I met you?" All Cassandra could do was nod along and let Shelby tell her story.
"The day I left it was the 18th December and it was that little girls 5th birthday, I had spent 5 years pushing everything to the back of my mind and acting like it was all going to be okay because I didn't want kids anyway and I wasn't maternal but the truth was I spent every day wishing I just knew my daughters name or what she liked or what her personality was, I reached a point where it was all I thought about. On that day I decided that it hurt too much to carry on like I was, I wasn't me anymore and that wasn't fair to me and it especially wasn't fair to you so I left, I left so I could move to Lima and be closer to the little girl that was always in my thoughts. I know I should have given you a better explanation but at the time I was so determined to just get to Lima and see my daughter that I just ran as fast as I could" Shelby was openly crying now, she hated crying, especially in public.
"I get it Shelby I do, but I would have come with you, why didn't you give me that option?" Cassie asked the crying brunette across from her.
"I couldn't do that, your career was just taking off and you were so happy because you had finally gotten a dancing gig that could lead to bigger things, I couldn't take that away from you, I knew that if I asked you to come with me you would have and I just couldn't uproot your life like that" Shelby looked down at her cup and played with the rim of it.
"I wasn't happy because my career was taking off, I was happy because I had you" Cassie mumbled and Shelby had to strain to hear her.
Shelby gave the blonde a small smile and wiped at her eyes to clear the tears that were still lingering on her face.
"Did you ever find her?" Cassie asked with curiosity in her voice.
"Yeah, I found her about a year ago" Shelby chuckled a little to herself at the fact that it had taken so long for her to make contact with her daughter, she'll tell Cassie the full story one day but not today, there had been enough emotion for one day already.
"And how is she? Whats her name?" Cassie watched as Shelby smiled when she spoke about her little girl and couldn't help but smile along with her.
"She's fine, a lot like me, same dreams, same diva attitude but she's a great kid and her name's Rachel" Shelby smiled at the dancer and placed her hand over Cassie's.
Cassie looked at her watch and notice that she really needed to get ready for this baby shower else she was gonna be very late. Shelby notice Cassie checking the time and pulled her hand away from the blonde and put it back around her coffee cup, she looked down at her skirt and started picking invisible lint off it.
"Look Shelb, I really gotta go get ready for this baby shower, if I'm late all hell will break loose" Cassie said noticing the singers change in demeanour.
"Okay…well it was nice seeing you again Cass" Shelby stood up with Cassandra and they both walked towards the entrance of the cafe.
"You too Shel" Cassie pulled Shelby in to a short hug and smiled at her.
"Listen Shel, we should do this again, we're in the same city and there's nothing in our way so i'll text you sometime soon and we'll arrange a time and date to go to dinner or something, sound good?" Cassie asked staring Shelby straight in the eye, she noticed how her eyes lit up at the mention of going out to dinner.
"Sure Cass, that sounds great" Shelby said with a small smile on her face.
"I look forward to it Shelly" Cassandra leaned forward and placed her lips against Shelby's in a soft and barely there kiss, when she pulled away she winked at the brunette and walked towards her car. Shelby stood there watching the blonde beauty walk away before she touched her lips, she couldn't even be mad that she had called her Shelly again, and she smiled to herself. After a few minutes she walked to her own car and made her way back home to her daughter.