A/N – Hey everyone. I've got an update for you. I know it's a short one, but I've been sitting on this for a while because I wanted to add another section to it. But I haven't found the time. My life is a whirlwind right now. My wedding is right around the corner and my mom is still sick and she's getting worse. It's been a hard time with that. I'm very stressed and extremely busy. I hope you all understand.
Thank you all very much for the lovely reviews and messages. And thank you for continuing to read. It means a great deal to me and I appreciate it more than you can know.
I hope everyone had wonderful holidays and a happy new year.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
"Mom, watch!"
Shelby's breath caught in her throat and her mind was going a million miles a second as she took in what was going on. Rachel was singing. Rachel called her mom. Rachel was about to jump off the side of the sub into the water like it was a swimming pool.
Shelby reacted quickly and hurried into the room and grabbed Rachel around her waist with her right arm and lifted her from her perch on the side of the tub. She landed two sharp spanks to Rachel's wet and naked bottom before setting the girl on her feet a second later.
"You cannot jump into the tub like that!" Shelby scolded. "You could get hurt."
Rachel's eyes were wide in shock as she looked up at Shelby. She put her hands back and covered her backside and then burst into tears. Shelby leaned down and turned the tub off and then reached for the towel that Rachel had tossed on the vanity and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders. She picked Rachel up and held her close and rocked a bit to try and get the girl to calm down.
"Okay Rachel, that's enough," Shelby said gently, but with a touch of weight to her words. "Look at me." Rachel made no move and so Shelby went and sat on the closed toilet sit lid and sat the girl on her lap and tried again. "Look at me, honey."
It took Rachel a few moments to comply, but she finally turned her head and gave Shelby a pitiful pout with watery eyes.
Shelby waited until she knew she had Rachel's full attention and then spoke. "You cannot jump into the tub like that. It is dangerous and you could hurt yourself very seriously. Do you understand that?"
"But I-"
"No," Shelby cut her off. "Do you understand what I just said?"
"Yes," Rachel muttered.
"I certainly hope so because if I ever catch you doing that again, I'll turn you over my knee," Shelby promised.
"What does that mean?" Rachel asked.
Shelby gave her a small smile and pushed some of the wet hair away from Rachel's face. "I'll give you a spanking," Shelby explained kindly.
"Oh," Rachel's eyes went wide again. She did not want that. Her bottom smarted as it was. She'd never once been swatted or spanked like some other kids she knew and after the preview she'd just gotten she didn't want a repeat of it.
Shelby lifted Rachel from her lap and made the girl stand in front of her so that they were eye to eye. She adjusted Rachel's towel so that it was covering her shoulders once again and asked, "Did you jump in the tub before I came in?"
"No," Rachel answered quickly. "Honest, I was just swimming in it. I was practicing, like you said. That way I didn't have to wait for the lessons."
"How did the water get all over the place?" Shelby asked.
"I guess I splashed some when I was swimming," Rachel answered. "I was kicking like you told me to do in the pool."
"Young lady, the bath tub is not the pool," Shelby scolded. "It is not for you to swim in. You are going to be helping me clean this mess up and then you're going to have a time out."
"Nooo," Rachel whined as she started to cry again. "But Gram and Pop were going to watch the movie with me."
"They still will," Shelby said. "But not until after your time out. You, my girl, have to learn to think about consequences. And you also need to learn some patience. I promised you'd get lessons and I promised we'd go swimming again. Trying to swim and jumping in the tub is not allowed."
"But when can we go again?" Rachel asked.
Shelby sighed and leveled the girl with a reproachful look because she knew her words about patience were not sinking in. "We will go again in a couple of days as long as you can behave yourself."
"I will," Rachel promised with an eager nod.
Shelby wanted to roll her eyes, but resisted as she used the towel to wipe the stray tears from Rachel's face.
Rachel crawled back up into Shelby's lap and rested her head on the woman's chest. Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and rubbed her back over the towel that was still around her. The woman rocked Rachel and kissed her wet forehead and they sat in silence for a couple minutes.
"Rach?" Shelby asked, breaking the silence. "You called me mom."
Rachel lifted her head from Shelby's chest and cast a worried glance at her foster mother. Shelby was surprised to see when tears started to fill Rachel's eyes once more.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Shelby asked.
"Can I still call you that? Even though I was bad and made a big mess?" Tears fell to Rachel's cheeks as she waited for Shelby to answer. She was so worried she'd just ruined it all. She hadn't felt this way since her first couple of weeks at Shelby's house when she was so worried about being sent away.
"Oh honey, of course you can," Shelby answered as tears formed in her own eyes. "I love you so much. I'm honored you want to call me mom."
Rachel threw her arms around Shelby's neck and cried in earnest as the woman held her tightly. Shelby, too, was soon crying and she knew that this moment would always be one of the greatest in her life.
"And you weren't bad," Shelby corrected Rachel after their crying slowed. "You were just a bit naughty, but we're going to take care of that. You are not a bad girl and don't let anyone ever tell you that you are."
"Okay," Rachel muttered.
"Now, how about we get this place cleaned up?" Shelby said as she set Rachel on her feet and placed a kiss on her hair. Shelby lingered for a second and sniffed at the girl's hair. She didn't smell the distinctive odor of the shampoo she knew was in her shower. "Have you even washed up yet?"
"I was gonna before I left the bathroom!" Rachel insisted.
Shelby gave Rachel a look that made it clear she was not pleased with the girl's actions and then took the towel from around Rachel's shoulders and put it back on the counter. She then turned the girl towards the shower that was still going full blast and placed a light swat on her backside. "March, young lady."
Rachel slumped her shoulders and walked back towards the shower with Shelby right on her heels. She stepped back into the warm, welcoming shower and got under the water. The shower itself was so large that Shelby was able to step in as well and stand on the other side and not be touched by any of the water. Her clothes were already wet from holding Rachel and this was the easiest way to make sure Rachel followed her instructions.
Shelby picked up the shampoo bottle and had Rachel stand in front of her so she could lather her hair up. Rachel wanted to act annoyed, but at this moment she knew better. Besides, she loved when Shelby washed her hair for her.
Forty-five minutes later Rachel was showered and the bathroom had been cleaned up. Sally and Eugene did a poor job of hiding their amusement when Shelby told them about the mess that Rachel had made. For her part, Rachel was sitting on a chair in the dining room facing the wall; it was her normal spot for timeouts. She had seven more minutes to go and she was starting to fidget. She wanted to get up and go and watch the movie. In her mind the timeout wasn't even fair anyway.
Shelby finally came over and pulled up a chair and sat down next the Rachel. She turned the girl so they were face to face because Shelby wanted to talk to her.
"Do you understand why you were in timeout?" Shelby asked.
"Because I made a big mess in the bathroom while I was practicing my swimming," Rachel answered.
"Yes, that's part of it," Shelby confirmed. "The most important thing is that you were going to jump into the tub. You cannot do that. I know you don't really understand, but the tub isn't deep enough to jump in like that. You could be seriously injured. I don't ever want to catch you standing on the side of the tub or jumping in it ever again. I don't want to see you get hurt. Promise me you won't do it again."
"I promise," Rachel said. She meant it too because she wanted to please Shelby.
"Good," Shelby said with a smile. "Now go on. I know there are two people anxiously waiting to watch a movie with you."
Rachel was up from her chair and racing towards the living room in a flash. Shelby really wanted to talk to Rachel about her singing, but she knew that now wasn't the time. She would wait until they had some time later when her parents had gone home. She could not get the young voice out of her head though. She couldn't wait to hear Rachel sing again.
Shelby's parents didn't leave until after an early dinner and Rachel was sad to see them go. She had really enjoyed her time with them.
"Do you think we can go up and see them at their house soon?" Rachel asked. She had just put her pajamas on and was back in the living room with Shelby. "Maybe we can bring Jesse with us! So he can ride the horses too."
"I'm sure we could do that," Shelby said with a smile. "We'll have to ask Jesse's parents if it's okay with them."
"Can we call them right now and ask?" Rachel got up so she could get Shelby's phone.
"Wait a second, silly," Shelby said as she gently tugged Rachel back. "We have to make some plans first. I need to talk to Gram and Pop about it first."
"But-"
"I'll call tomorrow and see what I can set up, okay?" Shelby asked to placate the girl.
"Okay," Rachel said with a labored sigh.
Shelby laughed lightly and rolled her eyes at her young charge.
"Can we read some?" Rachel asked. They had been reading Charlotte's Web together for the past few nights. "I'll go get the book."
"Rach, wait a second," Shelby stopped her. "I want to talk to you about something first."
Rachel got back up on the couch and sat on her knees facing Shelby.
"This morning in the bathroom-"
"But I already did my time out!" Rachel whined.
"It's not about that," Shelby said. "Before I came into the bathroom, I heard you singing."
"I like the songs in Beauty and Beast," Rachel said. "I can be quieter. I usually sing really soft."
"It's not about how loud you were," Shelby assured her. "You can sing whenever you want. I really liked hearing it."
"Really?" Rachel asked, astonished. Shelby was the best she'd ever heard. Why would she like to listen to her?
"Yes," Shelby said. "You are very good."
Rachel laughed, which surprised Shelby. "I'm not any good," the girl added with a shrug. "Jesse is the one who is a good singer. I'm not like him."
"Yes, you are," Shelby said seriously. "You are good like Jesse.
"But I only ever sing to myself," Rachel said. She was confused. "Jesse sings for people and even takes lessons."
"You could take lessons too," Shelby said. "Rachel, you are very good and you have an exceptional voice. You could sing for people like Jesse does. Like I do."
"But, I - What?" She stopped for a second and gathered her thoughts before a slow smile spread over her face. "Really?"
"Really," Shelby confirmed. "Let's try something."
Shelby got up and made her way to the piano with Rachel right on her heels. The girl stood while Shelby sat down on the bench and rested her right hand on the keys.
"Do you know what being in tune means?" Shelby asked and Rachel shook her head no. "It means that the tone of your singing matches with the instruments or the notes." It was a basic explanation, but for now it would do. "Listen."
Shelby played a note and then purposefully sang out of key. Rachel scrunched up her nose and said, "That doesn't sound good."
"That's called being out of tune," Shelby said. "You're right; it doesn't sound good. This is being in tune."
Shelby played the note again, but this time matched it perfectly when she sang. "Did you hear how the note I sang matched the piano?"
"Yeah," Rachel said.
"Okay, I want you to try it," Shelby said. "Sing with me and try and match the note."
Once again Shelby played the note and then started to sing. Rachel listened for a second and then joined in, matching the pitch perfectly. She smiled because she knew she had it right.
"That's great, honey," Shelby praised her.
"But what does that have to do with actually being able to sing?" Rachel asked.
Shelby couldn't help but chuckle at Rachel's lack of understanding. "Not everyone can match the sounds and sing in tune. It can be very hard for some people. And some people can't even hear that they aren't matching the pitch. It comes naturally to you and that's a huge part of being able to sing. Let's try another one. I'll play the note and you sing it."
Shelby started at middle C and Rachel matched the piano. Shelby went one step up the scale and Rachel followed suit until they were at the top of the scale. They both stared at each other for a few seconds before breaking into wide smiles.
"Rachel, that was great," Shelby said.
"Will you teach me how to sing songs like you and Jesse do?" Rachel asked excitedly.
"Of course," Shelby said. "I'd love to work with you." Shelby was just as excited as Rachel was. The girl had a beautiful tone and was like nothing Shelby had ever heard from someone so young and who had never been trained. Her parents had recognized her own talent pretty early on and let Shelby pursue it. She took lessons as a kid like Jesse does and sang in every school choir and musical. Rachel had that same gift.
"A foster dad I lived with used to get so mad at me for singing because he said I was too loud," Rachel confided. "I used to get in trouble so I learned to sing really soft."
"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore," Shelby said. "You can sing as much as you want to." Shelby loved Rachel no matter what, but she was thrilled to have this activity that they could share together.
"Do you want to try singing a song?" Shelby asked. "We could do one together."
"Yeah!" Rachel said with an eager nod. "But I gotta do something first."
"What?" Shelby asked with a confused laugh.
"I gotta tell Jesse," Rachel yelled and she took off towards the phone to dial his house number. Shelby was left sitting at the piano all alone. She heard the girl in the next room saying, "Jesse, guess what. I can sing!"
A/N – Again, I'm sorry about the short chapter. I wanted to get more written, but I just didn't have the time. I do have the next section planned out and will be getting it to you as soon as I can. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. You are all wonderful. Thank you!
