A/N – Hi guys! Thank you so much for all of the reviews. The feedback was so amazing and I loved getting to read all of your thoughts about what was happening and how Shelby should handle it. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. And seriously, I was in mourning for the star glass for like three days.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
"What did you say, Rachel?" Paul asked kindly, unsure if he had actually heard her correctly. "What do you mean?" He got up from his desk and walked away from his computer where he had been composing an email in order to give his full attention to Rachel. He stood in his kitchen and stared out into his back yard that was illuminated by the late afternoon sun.
"I don't think Mom wants me anymore," Rachel said. "I'm not the kind of daughter she wants."
"Rachel, that's not true. Your mother adores you," Paul said. "Where is this coming from?"
"I can just tell," Rachel said. She wiped at her eyes and rested her head in her hand at her spot at the picnic table.
"That's not an answer, Rachel," Paul said. "Your mother loves you very much."
"But sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes that doesn't do any good," Rachel told him. "Can I come and live with you and Nana? I think you're the only ones who ever really wanted me."
The front door opened and Rebecca called out to her husband and then gave him a quizzical look when he shushed her as she stepped into the kitchen. He pointed to the phone in his hand and then to the other handheld that stayed in the kitchen indicating that she should pick it up and listen in. She did so in time to hear his response to their granddaughter.
"Rachel, if you needed to you could absolutely come and live with your grandmother and me." Rebecca's eyes grew wide and she gave Paul a questioning glance that he waved off for the time being. "We love you very much and from the moment we found out about you we have always wanted you in our lives. But your mother would miss you terribly. I don't think she knows how to live without you now. Your mom and Beth are your home."
"They're not my home, not anymore," Rachel said, her voice catching and her tears starting again. "And of course Mom can live without me. She's done it before."
"Honey, that was before you went to live with her. She could never be without you again." While he was speaking, Paul grabbed a notepad and scribbled out a quick note to Rebecca to let her know what was going on. Rebecca had to cover her mouth to hide her shock when she read 'she thinks Shelby doesn't want her anymore.'
"But she has Beth. And now she has Quinn."
"Quinn, your friend? From the mall?" Paul asked.
"Yeah. She's been staying with us because her mom is out of town and Shelby really likes her," Rachel said. "She likes her a lot better than she likes me. Between Quinn and Beth she doesn't need someone like me."
"Rachel, that's not true," Paul said. He and Rebecca looked at each other with sorrow in their eyes. The desperation and the hurt in Rachel's voice was heartbreaking.
"Did you know that Quinn is Beth's birth mother?" Rachel asked. "They look so much alike."
"No, I didn't know that," Paul answered. "But what does that have to do with anything, honey? You and Shelby look very much alike."
"But I'm not the daughter she wanted," Rachel said. The tears that were welling in Rebecca's eyes found their way down her cheeks and Paul turned away from his wife and stared out the window once again, his own eyes starting to well.
"She always wanted you, Rachel."
"No, she didn't," Rachel replied simply. "She gave me away. Twice. I'm not imaging that, Grandpa. That wasn't some dream that I can forget. She found me and I told her how much I needed her and then she walked away."
"Rachel…"
"But Beth. Beth is her perfect bundle of joy. Beth is the daughter she had to work to get. Beth is the one she wanted and changed her life around for. And Quinn is the one who gave her Beth. She was able to save Quinn even as she left me all alone," Rachel said.
"Honey, you have to understand-"
"Did you know that all of my parents have given me away at some point? My dads gave me to Shelby without so much as a second meeting. And I was really glad. It was probably one of the best days of my life; I was so happy. But they didn't even fight it. They didn't even try," Rachel said.
"Rachel, your mother is not going to give you away," Paul said.
"How do you know?"
"She was ready to fight tooth and nail to get you to come and live with her," Paul explained. "Whether you realize it or not, young lady, she has changed her whole life around for you as well."
"But how long is that going to last?" Rachel pulled the phone away from her ear at sound of yet another incoming call. This one was from Shelby. It wasn't the first. Shelby had been calling non-stop but Rachel wasn't answering them.
"It's going to last the rest of her life," Paul replied.
"You can't know that," Rachel told him. "My dads went through the task of finding a surrogate willing to give a baby to two gay men and then all of the adoption hassles in order to make us a real and legal family. And they only lasted twelve years. I guess it doesn't matter if Mom lasts that long because I only need three until I'll be on my own anyway. I wish I knew what was wrong with me and I'd change it."
"Rachel, there is nothing wrong with you."
"Then why do my parents keep walking away from me?" Rachel choked out, starting to cry again. "They're my parents. The people who are supposed to love you and want you no matter who and what you are. If my parents can't standing having me around then who will?"
"Rachel…" Paul was at a loss for what to say. The girl sounded so lost and so alone. "Your grandmother and I love you so much," he finally said when he couldn't come up with any words of wisdom.
"So I can come and live with you?" Rachel asked. "It'll just be three years and I promise I'll try and change and I won't be any trouble. I just need to run home and pack a couple of things. Maybe I can slip in and out without Shelby and Quinn noticing."
"Rachel, where are you?" Paul asked, just now realizing that the girl wasn't at home and could be anywhere.
"I'm at a park near Shelby's house."
"How long have you been there? Does she know where you are?"
"I've been here over an hour, an hour and a half maybe. Quinn and I had a fight earlier and I just kind of ran out," Rachel answered.
Paul and Rebecca exchanged a look as they both realized that Shelby was probably out there looking, worried to death. Rebecca hung up the other phone and grabbed her purse and headed for the living room so she could call her daughter.
"Rachel, I want you to know that your grandmother and I would let you live with us in a heartbeat. There would be no question. You are always welcome here," Paul continued his conversation after Rebecca had left. "But I know that it would break your mother's heart. I know it. I understand that you are having some terrible fears and I know that they are real and legitimate," he didn't want Rachel to think he was ignoring her worries. "Have you talked to your mother about this?"
"I can't," Rachel said. "She doesn't really want to talk to me. She'd rather spend time with Quinn." Paul sat down at the table ready to talk to his granddaughter all night if he had to in order to help her through this.
Shelby was walking around McKinley High School trying every door to see if she could gain entry, thinking that Rachel may have come here to hide out. At each entrance she was met with a locked door which only served to add to her frustration and anxiety. She stopped for a second and called Rachel's number again and listened to it ring over and over before finally getting the voice mail.
"Rachel, it's me again," Shelby said tearfully. "You need to answer your phone or call me back." She pressed the end button and continued on to the next door. When she had first left her house she thought she would find Rachel walking along the street or taking a run. But her panic started to set in when she never saw her. The school was the fourth place she had been, after stopping at the library, a local music store and a coffee shop she knew Rachel frequented. Her next stops were going to be Rachel's old house and then the Fabray house. She had checked in twice with Quinn to see if Rachel had come back or if she had heard from her. The answer each time was negative and Shelby's panic grew. She had never known she could feel like this until the moment she realized she had no idea where her daughter was.
Shelby tried the last door which was also locked and started to make her way back to her car. It was getting close to two hours since Rachel had run out and was very close to getting dark. The ringing of her phone startled her and she stopped to catch her breath as she looked at the screen to see her was calling. Her hope of it being Rachel was dashed when she saw that it was her mother calling. But still she pressed the phone to her ear.
"Mom," Shelby said unable to keep the tears from falling and her voice from shaking. "I can't find Rachel."
"Honey-"
"I've tried calling her, but she won't answer the phone and she won't return my calls," Shelby went on. "She was really upset and ran out of the house and I have no idea where she is. She could be anywhere. What if something happened to her?"
"Shelby, I know where she is," Rebecca said quickly in hopes that she could stop Shelby's rambling before it really got going.
"What? Where? How do you know? Is she ok?"
"She called your father and is talking to him. She said she was at a park near your house," Rebecca told her and Shelby took off running for her car. When she had left her house earlier she had gone the opposite way from the park and hadn't made it over there yet.
"She called and asked him if she could come and live with us," Rebecca went on. "What is going on, Shelby?"
Shelby got behind the wheel of her car and started the engine. "I think she's worried that I'll try and give her back. I'm just now trying to piece together all of the information. It's been a rough couple of days for all of us."
"She sounded so despondent and alone," Rebecca said. "She said that you liked Quinn better than her because of Beth since Beth is the daughter you really wanted. She thinks there is something wrong with her and that's why her parents keep walking away from her, you included."
Shelby was grateful she was at a red light, even if it meant a delay in getting to Rachel, because her tears were clouding her vision.
"That's not true," Shelby said. "I wish I could make her understand that."
Paul entered the room, his phone call with Rachel having ended, and Rebecca put her cell on speaker phone so he could hear as well.
"Shelbs?" Paul said.
"Daddy? Is Rachel still there?"
"I told her to stay put at the park. She figured that you would be on your way soon since I was sure to tell you where she was," Paul told her. "She's scared, honey."
"I know. I don't know how to get her to talk to me. Every time I try and get her to talk she clams up or she deflects or lashes out and then she retreats back into herself," Shelby said. "She's been having nightmares and she even came to my room last night to try and find me and still wouldn't really talk about it. But I want her more than anything, you know that right?"
"Of course we know that," Rebecca said. "It's Rachel who doesn't understand."
"She told me that she told you once that she was certain you were thinking of ways to give her back," Paul said.
"She did," Shelby confirmed. "I was shocked."
"I know. She said you threatened to spank her if she said something like that again," Paul said.
"Yeah. It was like a gut reaction," Shelby said. "I was trying to get through to her and make an impression. I thought it would help her understand that I was serious when I said I would never give her back."
"Honey, don't you think that it could have added to her reticence? She doesn't feel comfortable talking to you because of that threat hanging over her head," Paul said.
There was a silence on the line as Shelby thought about what he was saying.
"Shelby?" Rebecca prompted.
"I never thought about it like that," Shelby finally said. "Did she say that? I thought I was showing her how much I wanted her with me."
"No, she didn't say that," Paul answered. "I'm just trying to get inside her head. She clearly has a lot of things she needs to talk about and I'm not sure that anything that discourages her to talk is all that useful at this point."
"I wasn't trying to scare her," Shelby said. "This is all so much harder than I thought it would be." Her voice was shaky with emotion at the admittance, but Shelby was trying to keep her crying somewhat at bay, at least until she got to the park.
"I'm not saying you did scare her, honey," Paul said. "I'm just thinking out loud. We know you're doing the best you can. This is going to take some work, but you two will make it through this. And your mother and I will be here to help."
"Thank you, Daddy," Shelby said as she turned down the street to the park and finally saw her daughter sitting at a picnic table with her back to the road. "I'm here. I see her."
"Call us back later," Rebecca instructed.
"I will. Thank you so much for talking to her. And to me."
"Of course. We love you, Shelbs. Bye."
Paul put an arm around Rebecca and she leaned into him as he placed a kiss on her temple, both of them in tears for their daughter and granddaughter.
Rachel heard the SUV idling on the street behind her, but she made no move to turn around. Her phone was on the table in front of her and she had her head resting in her hands. Shelby turned the car off and got out and made her way over towards Rachel. It took everything she had to not run over and pull her up in a hug, but she wanted to make sure she thought through her words carefully.
But Shelby's words failed her when she took a seat next to Rachel at the table. Shelby looked over at her, but Rachel kept her gaze down and did her best to stop her chin from quivering though she wasn't successful. Shelby took in the sight of her daughter who appeared so small and fragile with a hint of defiance hiding the fear underneath; the girl she had driven around town like a crazy person trying to find, and started to cry. She matched Rachel's position by putting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands and let the tears come. They were tears of relief and love, of frustration and anger, and most of all, of joy at seeing her child.
Rachel was surprised when Shelby didn't say anything, but she felt her heart crack a bit at hearing her mother cry. Rachel turned her head and looked at Shelby who was staring down at the tabletop, tears streaming down her face. The sight was a foreign one to Rachel. She was used to seeing Shelby so together and calm, not distressed and sad. What made it all worse was that Rachel knew she was the cause of her mother's tears, and the guilt overwhelmed her. She didn't understand how she could feel so angry and hurt and alone while feeling as loved as she ever felt in her life.
"Mom," Rachel choked out, her tears starting again. "Mommy, please don't cry."
Rachel moved down the bench and tentatively leaned in and put her head on Shelby's shoulder. Rachel wrapped her arms around her mom's waist and held on as tightly as she could. Shelby only lasted a moment before she moved her arms to wrap them around Rachel and pulled her daughter close to her. They sat together crying, neither offering any explanations or words of encouragement. They just cried together.
After a few minutes Shelby's tears slowed and she sat up straighter and moved Rachel away from her and kept her hands gripped around Rachel's upper arms.
"Rachel, don't ever do that again," Shelby said sternly and seriously.
Rachel averted her eyes and started to hang her head but Shelby put a hand to her chin and forced Rachel to keep her head up and look at her.
"I mean it. You cannot run out of the house and disappear because you are hurt or upset," Shelby said, never taking her eyes off of Rachel's. "I have been so worried. I've been looking for you everywhere. You will not run out like that again, do you understand?" Rachel started to nod her head, but Shelby gave her a little shake and asked again, "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel said softly.
"Good girl," Shelby said as she pulled her in for another hug.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, neither wanting to break their hold on the other and neither wanting to put a stop to the moment they were sharing. But Shelby knew that they weren't solving anything by simply sitting there.
Shelby sat Rachel up once more and took a moment to wipe away some of the tears still left on her cheeks and, following her lead, Rachel did the same. Shelby picked up her phone and set it on silent mode and then picked up Rachel's phone and did the same. She set them off to the side so neither would be distracted by them and then turned her attention back to Rachel.
"Now you and I are going to have a talk," Shelby told the girl.
"Did Grandpa tell you what I said?"
"Yes he did. And you are not moving in with them."
"But they want me," Rachel whispered out.
"I want you," Shelby said. "I love you. Why can't you believe that?"
"I believe it for right now," Rachel said. She was looking at her hands in her lap, wringing them together. "But…"
"There are not buts, Rachel."
"Yes there are. There always are. You'll walk away eventually. People always walk away. They say they won't and then they do," Rachel told her. "I even think it's kind of easy for them, especially once they get to know me."
"I'm not going to be one of those people."
"You already have been," Rachel told her. "You looked for me and when you found me I wasn't what you were expecting and you walked away. Did you think I'd be really pretty or popular? Would you have stayed if I didn't like to wear my argyle skirts? Is it hard to have a kid who is an outcast and that nobody likes?"
"Rachel, that's not what happened," Shelby tried desperately to explain.
"Is that why you decided to adopt Quinn's baby? Beth is going to undoubtedly be beautiful. She looks just like Quinn after all," Rachel said. "And Quinn is a popular girl and dresses very nicely and has a pretty singing voice. It could be better with proper work, but she's fine. Beth might be really great one day if you help her. You helped Quinn out when she needed it the most, but you just left me standing there. It's no wonder you like Quinn more than me. She gave you the perfect daughter." Rachel's tears had started again and she had to look away. "But I love you so much and that's going to make it that much harder when you do leave. I don't know how I'll be able to handle it."
"Rachel, I'm not going to leave you," Shelby said. She turned Rachel's head so that she would look at her and said it again.
"You say that now-"
"I will say it everyday if I have to. You have to believe that."
"I'm trying," Rachel said.
"Now about Quinn," Shelby said. "Yes, I like Quinn a lot. In fact, I love Quinn." Rachel pulled away from Shelby and hung her head, shaking a bit and hoping Shelby would stop. "I love her in the same way Judy Fabray loves you."
"I know you love her."
"But that is nothing compared to how I feel about you," Shelby said and Rachel snuck a glance at her. "Whatever else you believe today Rachel, you and I are not getting up from this table until you understand this. You are my… everything," Shelby finally settled on when she could quite find the right word. "You and Beth are my hearts walking around outside of me." Shelby once again reached over and turned Rachel's head to make the girl look at her. "I love everything about you. I love your argyle and your voice. I love your personality and your ability to argue and stand up for yourself. I love the way you hold onto your quilt when you're sleeping. I love that you wake up at six in the morning on Saturdays and refuse to admit when you're tired. I love you, Rachel."
"Really?" the girl asked meekly, her tears flowing.
"If I loved you anymore the stars in the sky would sag from the weight of it."
Rachel threw her arms around Shelby's neck and let herself be held. "But Quinn is so-"
"But you're my daughter," Shelby cut her off before she could finish her thought.
"Do you love me even though I'm a troublemaker?" Rachel asked when she pulled away from her mother.
The depths of Rachel's fears and insecurities astounded Shelby. She'd just spent the last few minutes rattling off how much she loved her daughter and while Rachel accepted it one minute she turned around and questioned it in the next.
"You're not a troublemaker, honey," Shelby said. "Why do you think that?"
"You think that," Rachel told her. "You've accepted it. That's why you were so hard on Quinn and spent all that time talking with her after the fight at school even though the whole thing was my fault. If you didn't believe I was a troublemaker and hadn't already given up on me you would have punished me the same way you did Quinn. Or worse since getting the slushie thrown at me is what started it. You said you expected better of Quinn. But not of me."
Shelby was finally at the source of Rachel's anger and Quinn's confusion for the past day. Rachel was jealous, even to the point of wishing she had been punished more just so she would think that Shelby hadn't given up on her.
"Will you really listen and try and understand this if I explain it to you?" Shelby asked. She continued after Rachel nodded. "First of all, the fight was not your fault."
"But-"
"No. Listen. I'm explaining and you're understanding. So let me explain. That boy threw a slushie at you, right?"
"Right."
"And what do you do then?"
"Nothing. I was going to go and get cleaned up like I normally do, but Quinn showed up and pushed him and I couldn't leave her there, especially because he pushed her back," Rachel said.
"Exactly. Don't you see that you didn't do anything wrong?"
"But I'm the one who got slushied.
"Which is that boy's fault. Rachel, you were the victim here. You've been the victim of that kind of bullying for a long time," Shelby said. "Quinn fought back. Quinn escalated a fight. How many slushies did you throw?"
"Just one. The one that hit Coach Sylvester."
"How many did Quinn throw?"
"I don't know. A lot. But she got hit with them a lot too. We all did," Rachel said. "I've never been able to fight back against the slushies like that before."
"I'm glad you stood up for yourself, but involving yourself in a brawl like that is not the answer," Shelby told her. "And that's why I took your driving lessons away for the weekend. Because you deserved a punishment, but nothing all that serious."
"But Quinn-"
"But Quinn has been in situations like that before. Except that she was participating in throwing the slushies and causing the fighting," Shelby said. "Her mother told me that she has talked to Quinn and warned her about the fighting and the slushies. Quinn forced a lot of people into that situation yesterday. She was not in any way the victim. You were. That's why she was given a worse punishment than you. Do you understand that?"
"Yeah, I think so. You were just in there so long and I expected the worse and then you treated it as if it were nothing with me.
"Do you even remember what I said to you?"
"You said that you expected better of Quinn," Rachel answered.
"Next time, Rachel," Shelby said as she gave the girl a couple of taps on the nose with her finger, "listen to the lecture. It was for you to try and learn from. And when I say I expected better of Quinn, I mean that I expected her to be up to your level. You are the better I wanted her to be."
Rachel shook her head as tears formed in her eyes again. That was a statement she didn't think she could believe. "I'm not an example. I can't be. That's too hard. It's too hard to try and be better all the time. No one wants to be like me." She shook her head again and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Ok, Rachel," Shelby said pulling her into another hug, understanding that the girl's low level of self-confidence just wasn't going to buy into this one right now.
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"Shhh, there's nothing to be sorry for," Shelby cooed. Rachel finally released her grip and sat back, furiously wiping at her eyes. "Honey, how would you feel about finding someone to talk to?"
"My dads had a therapist for me, but I didn't like him. I was only a paycheck to me and all it really did was to bring home the reality that my dads couldn't, or wouldn't, talk to me about any major problems."
"We can take our time and find someone you're comfortable with," Shelby said. "I'll come with you whenever you want. Or you can go alone if you need to. And you can always talk to me about anything. I just think that maybe we could find a doctor that would be really beneficial for you."
"You'll go with me?"
"Whenever you want."
"Yeah…ok. I have to find the right person though."
"I understand."
The two sat in silence for a few minutes as the darkness settled around them and the street lights were now illuminating their spot in the park. Rachel shivered against the early evening chill and Shelby knew that it was time to get Rachel home. But before Shelby could suggest they get up and go, Rachel spoke up.
"We broke my star glass."
"I know," Shelby told her. "I cleaned it up."
"I'm sorry. I was just… I couldn't believe she was using it. She had milk in it. She had my mom and then my glass and she wouldn't give them back. And then it broke and I just ran out," Rachel said.
"She didn't have me. And she didn't know the importance of that glass to you. Did you ever think that maybe you should have explained it to her instead of grabbing it?"
Rachel shrugged like a little kid and ducked her head. "I loved that glass," Rachel said sadly. "You gave it to me. My water glass."
"I know, honey," Shelby said, rubbing her back. "I'll try and find you another one."
"Ok," Rachel nodded, bringing her feet up to the bench which gave her the ability to rest her chin on her knees.
"Let's get going- Where are your shoes?" Shelby demanded when she looked down at Rachel's feet which were covered only in socks.
"I didn't have on any in the house and I didn't stop for any when I stormed out."
"No wonder you're cold. I can't believe you ran down here and have been sitting here all this time without any shoes on," Shelby said. She took Rachel's arm and turned her away from the tabletop and stood her up, placing a playful swat on the girl's backside as she did. "What am I going to do with you, Rachel?"
Shelby got to her feet as her threat was once again brought to the forefront of Rachel's mind. Shelby was picking up their phones when Rachel turned back to face her.
"Mom? You're not going to spank me now, are you? For telling Grandpa that I thought you didn't want me?"
Shelby took her in daughter's anxious expression and decided to answer with a couple of questions of her own. "Is that why I could never get you to talk to me? Because you were afraid you would be spanked?"
"No," Rachel answered honestly.
"Then what do you think I should do?" Shelby asked her.
"You should do what you think is best," Rachel said. "I don't want to be spanked, but I don't think it's my decision." Shelby was impressed at Rachel's understanding. "But can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Does it mean that I'll be spanked every time I think something like that? Because I'm still afraid," Rachel said. "I'm trying, but I'm afraid. And I know you may not think so, I do try and talk about it. But it takes me time. And I go about it all wrong. But I want to be able to talk to you."
"I'm not going to spank you, honey. Not for this," Shelby said. "Though I make no promises about regarding any type of trouble you may get yourself into," she said with a laugh, hoping to lighten the mood. "I don't know if I should have ever made that threat to you. I thought maybe you'd see it as me really meaning that I didn't want you to go anywhere. I don't have all of the answers, Rachel. And I am still learning. But I'm going to keep trying right alongside you. But you have to know that you can always come and talk to me, Rachel. Even when you feel you can't, you can."
"I'm trying, Mom. I'm scared to death, but I'm trying."
"That's all I can ask," Shelby said as she pulled Rachel to her side. "Now let's go home."
The drive home was mostly in silence, but it was a comfortable one and they both used the short trip in order to gather their thoughts.
"Rachel, take those socks off as soon as you get inside," Shelby instructed after the car was in the driveway and they were headed up the walk. "I don't want you to track dirt all over the house."
Rachel nodded and opened the door and they both stepped inside. She was leaning down taking off her socks when Quinn appeared with Beth at the doorway.
"Where have you been?" she asked, talking to Rachel. Shelby took Beth from Quinn's distracted arms and moved towards the kitchen. "I was so worried. How could you just run out of here like that?"
"I'm sorry, Quinn," Rachel said, standing on her toes and wrapping her arms around her friend's neck. She was grateful to feel Quinn hug her back, but felt terrible when she realized the blonde girl was crying.
"Your mom took my phone and I couldn't call to try and find you and no one was calling here and you've both been gone a while."
Shelby forgot all about Quinn not having a phone and being unable to reach anyone.
"And Beth cried for like an hour," Quinn continued on, still crying." Shelby looked at Beth who smiled back at her. "She didn't want to eat anything I tried to give her and she doesn't seem to like my singing and I couldn't find a pacifier and she made a huge mess and she threw up all over me. And you were gone," Quinn said pushing Rachel back some.
"Quinn, honey," Shelby said. "Calm down. Everything is ok. Beth is fine and Rachel is back, so please stop crying. There has been enough crying today."
Quinn started to calm down and Shelby ushered them off into the living room instructing Rachel to fill Quinn in. She went into the kitchen and groaned at the ten open jars of baby food on the table with only a few bites taken from each.
"Were you just playing with Quinn because you could, little missy?" Shelby asked. "That wasn't very nice." Beth kicked her feet and squealed when Shelby planted kiss after kiss on her cheek. Shelby then grabbed three bottles of water from the refrigerator and joined the girls in the living room, handing them each a bottle before they sat down.
"Rachel, I would never try and take your mom," Quinn said. "I know what it's like to think your mom doesn't want you, remember? I wouldn't do that to someone else."
Rachel hung her head at Quinn's words, ashamed. She hadn't even thought about how Quinn had been affected by her parents' actions the year before. Shelby sat down with Beth on the coffee table opposite from where the girls sat on the couch and reached out and took Rachel's hand with her free one. She moved their hands over to Quinn's hand and made a sandwich of Rachel's. When the three hands were together, Shelby spoke to them.
"We're going to get through this, girls. And I know you're mom feels the same way I do, Quinn. The four of us, along with Beth, will help each other out."
The sound of the doorbell pulled them from their moment and Rachel got up to answer it, followed by Shelby and then Quinn.
"Grandpa!" Rachel said when she opened the door to reveal her grandparents on the other side, bags in hand.
Paul stepped inside and bent down so Rachel could put her arms around his neck and then he stood up, holding her for the hug. Rebecca joined in and wrapped her arms around Rachel and her husband.
"Thank you," Rachel whispered to her grandfather as he held her.
"Anytime," he whispered before setting her down.
Rachel hugged Rebecca while Shelby stepped up to them.
"What are you two doing here?"
"We came to make sure everything was ok," Rebecca answered. "You didn't expect us to just sit around there and do nothing while you two were in so much pain."
"I'm sorry," Rachel mumbled.
"Stop it right there, young lady," Rebecca said. "I don't want to hear one more apology out of you."
Rachel nodded and then led the way into the living room with Shelby bringing up the rear.
"How long are you here for?" Shelby asked her parents.
"We came for the weekend."
"Great," Shelby enthused. The unexpected house guests would require some bed reshuffling, but Shelby was glad for their appearance. For even in just the few minutes they'd been there, she already had an idea in mind for something she could do for Rachel while they were there.
A/N – I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please leave me a review.