Chapter 37 - My Sister's Keeper

"You're gonna love her - I promise," she hears Shelby say to her new half-sister, Kelsey.

Rachel finally rounds the corner to find Shelby squatting in front of the young girl, fixing her scarf.

"Hi," she greets them and both pairs of eyes look up at her. It's kind of adorable, how they move at the same time, so she smiles. "You must be Kelsey," she turns toward the young girl.

Kelsey smiles up at her new sister and her jaw opens in awe. "You're so pretty!" is the first thing that bursts out of her mouth. "You look like a princess!"

Rachel chuckles, yet surprisingly doesn't exactly hate the compliment. She says, "if I'm a princess, you're the Queen, Kelsey."

At this moment, Shelby places a hand on her shoulder, getting Rachel to stand. "Hi, Rachel," her mother says and pulls her in for a hug. She feels the gratefulness wrap her and squeeze her tight, so she just lets her.

"Hello, Shelby, how have you been?"

"Since that night at the concert? Only doing better, thanks to you girls." With her free hand she caresses Kelsey's soft cheek as she says, "I'm glad I agreed to let you take her out." Then she whispers, "it's all she's talked about since I mentioned it."

"Well, it's my pleasure," Rachel reassures Shelby. She looks at Kelsey, who's grinning, and asks, "are you ready? Because I have such a fun day planned for us that you just have to be ready!"

Kelsey bounces on the balls of her feet, "I am SO ready! Let's go!" Inhibition aside, she grabs Rachel's hand as if she's known her forever and starts to walk away.

"Woah, hold up, Sport," Rachel says with an excited smile. "Say goodbye to your mom," she directs her toward Shelby and waits for Kelsey to give her a kiss.

Shelby looks proud of the moment, but also like she's worrying about whether they'll be okay alone. "Take care of her, Rachel, please," she fidgets.

"Don't worry - I'll bring her back safe and sound." With a quick hug, she says goodbye to Shelby and lets Kelsey pull her in the other direction.

Shelby wasn't immediately okay with Rachel's idea of spending alone time with Kelsey, but after discussing it and after hearing Quinn's input on how great Rachel is with children (Rachel called Quinn after the concert just to establish her point), Shelby relented.

The problem, Rachel thinks, that Shelby had was that even though Shelby is Rachel's biological mother, they're practically strangers. It's not like she could be sure Rachel was normal.

Rachel managed to convince Shelby with help from her girlfriend and finally here they are. She was very excited about spending the day with Kelsey actually.

It's a Saturday - the first rehearsal-free Saturday she's had in months and she didn't want to waste it.

"So Kelsey," Rachel starts, "I hear you're really into soccer."

Kelsey's face lights up and that's really the only thing Rachel says for the next twenty minutes on their walk to central park. Kelsey talks the entire time about the sport and her teammates and how she scored the winning goal last game.

Rachel doesn't mind listening. In fact, it's nice to hang out with a child who actually speaks English. Still, she misses Beth's babbling and hopes to hear it soon.

They stop near a fountain where Kelsey throws a quarter she had in her pocket. "I wished to hang out with you a lot."

It melts Rachel's heart, how honest children are. It's nice to know her sister likes her already, and they haven't even done much yet.

"Would you let me come cheer for you at one of your games?" Rachel asks, leading them toward the mall. "I think that I would be very good at yelling out your name louder than others." She laughs and Kelsey claps excitedly.

"Yes! Totally. Mom yells super loud too but I think she would like a break sometimes."
They arrive at the mall, the automatic doors making way for them. Rachel says, "I thought we could so some shopping and then maybe go to a movie."

"Mom says that I'm to be polite and only buy a few things," Kelsey informs Rachel.
She smiles, "we can buy whatever you want."

So Kelsey, being who she is, leads them to a Dick's Sporting Goods where they spend about two hours looking at every single section the store contains (or so it seems).
Rachel is very entertained with how knowledgeable of sports her little sister is, and wonders if by any chance Shelby put her in athletics instead of Arts on purpose. To eliminate competition between siblings or whatever.

Not that Rachel would care at all. Maybe it was just something innately founded in Kelsey - that she needs sports just as much as Rachel needs music and theatre to live.
They end up buying three things: a new purple soccer ball for Kelsey (purple is her favorite color), and two matching jerseys of Alex Morgan - Kelsey's favorite player on the United States Women's National Team. Rachel wanted to get them something to be a special thing for them, and Kelsey suggested they go with Alex Morgan because she "runs like a horse," apparently.

As they left the store, Rachel pulls out her jersey from inside the bag and stops in the couch area of the mall. "Here, hold this," she hands Kelsey the bags and her own purse.

Kelsey looks adorable trying to hold everything in her tiny arms. Then Rachel laughs and puts the bag on a couch. "I wanna wear mine now, too!" Kelsey says when she realizes what Rachel's doing.

"Now we're matching, like real sisters," Rachel comments once they're sporting the red and white jerseys over their outfits. They don't really match - Rachel's wearing green pants and Kelsey has on a purple skirt - but they feel cool anyway.

"So what movie did you want to watch?" Rachel asks Kelsey.

She looks up, hand on chin to think about it and finally decides, "Despicable Me 2!"
"Of course," Rachel laughs. She thinks about Quinn and Britt and Santana, and figures that they'd love it as much as a child would. She decides she'll buy them each a DVD when it's out. "Let's eat something first, shall we?"

After food and the movie (which was hilarious), Rachel finally takes Kelsey home.
Shelby is already at the door, smiling and holding a large orange bowl. She's mixing something in it. "I'm making cookies. Will you stay for some, Rachel?"

Rachel accepts with a grateful nod and follows Kelsey in. The apartment is not big but it is homey, and there are enough things around that would be a dead give-away to anyone that the people living here love music theatre... And soccer.

On one of the walls there is a poster of Wicked from when Shelby played Elphaba. And now Shelby represents the current Elphaba on the show.

Kelsey leads the conversation by telling her mom about literally everything they did that afternoon - detail by detail. Shelby is really good at listening to her.

They have a blast together, and Rachel promises Kelsey they'll make a habit of hanging out as she's leaving.

She is happy, in the moment. Content about where her life is headed.

She calls Quinn, who picks up rather quickly. "I was just about to call you," Quinn tells her then officially greets her, "hi, baby."

"What were you calling about?" Rachel asks, curious. Then adds, "hello to you, gorgeous."

"I'm just really excited that you're coming home soon. And I kind of spent all day thinking about you and you know-" she laughs, and Rachel's heart bursts with the sound because carefree Quinn is the best. "How was your day with your sister?"

"Amazing! She's - special. I mean, she's just, really great. I'm glad Shelby's letting me get to know her."

"What'd you guys do?" Quinn asks, voice chirping on the other side. Hearing her voice makes Rachel want to melt. "Tell me all about it!" demands Quinn.

"Ah, well. We did some shopping, then we watches Despicable Me 2. It made me think of you and your best friends," Rachel says in a mocking tone.

"Ha!" Quinn laughs loudly, "yeah, I am dying to see that. I can't believe you already watched it." The adorable fake-whine makes Rachel giggle. Quinn continues, "will you watch it again with me when you come home?"

"Of course, Quinn," Rachel says, already making date plans for when she's home.

"I'm glad you're happy, Rach," Quinn tells her. "And I'm so glad that you and your mom are talking... This is good."

"How's Judy?"

"She's grand. Speaking of Judy..." Quinn segues, "I also wanted to talk to you about something else: I got an invitation from her to a Christmas Eve dinner and I was wondering if you'd go with me."

"Honey-"

"Rachel, before you decide." Quinn clears her throat. "I want you to go as my girlfriend. To my mother's house. And be introduced to my grandma and grandpa, and my sister, who's a fucking bigot. It won't be exactly easy for either of us but, if you're willing..."

Rachel's stunned, she doesn't know what to say.

Quinn feels like she has to quickly say something so Rachel doesn't freak, "Rach, you don't have to if you don't want to deal with them. I mean, I wouldn't want to either. It's no big deal, sorry. Forget I asked."

"No! Quinn, wait." Rachel takes a slow deep breath. It got much colder throughout the day since she picked up Kelsey with Shelby in the morning. The wind repeatedly cuts across her face in the brisk evening air of New York. She speeds up her pace to catch a taxi that's dropping off another passenger because she doesn't feel like walking home in the cold. "I want to. I'll go."

Of course she does. She was going to say 'obviously, I will,' anyway, even before Quinn added all that info about her family. And now that she has, Rachel just wants to fucking hug the daylights out of her. This is a huge step for Quinn, one that she didn't expect to be happening so soon. But, still, she's damn proud of her girlfriend for asking her, even knowing that she might get shit from her family because ot it.

"Really?! You will?" Quinn sounds both relieved and excited.

"I was going to say yes anyway. Because I love you and I want to support you whenever you need me to."

"Rachel, they are probably going to be really awful to you and I already apologize."

The cab cuts through other cars rushing down the avenue, right before rush hour peaks. It's been a long day but it's not yet six. Rachel wants to go home and relax to Quinn's soothing voice speaking in her ear. She rolls her head onto the cold glass, thinking about relaxing when her girlfriend just basically warned her to get ready to be bashed on.

The things you put up with for the ones you love.

"I'm not going to let you go alone, dummy," Rachel tells Quinn.

On the other side of the line, Quinn laughs. "Thank you so much for saying yes. I miss you." Being far from Rachel sucks. Moments like this one where she gets to hear Rachel call her silly names makes her feel like the giddiest person alive. "And I love you, too," she says.

"Baby," Rachel whines. "I hate the distance so much. I can't wait until we actually live in the same city."

"That way we'd be able to see each other whenever we wanted, can you imagine that?"

"But it's closer than we think though, right? I mean, you graduate on the 21st!"

She had kind of forgotten, that little detail. She was almost done with school. What would that mean for her? Is it expected of her to know what to do as soon as she's done? Quinn exhales, "I would love to tell you I know what'll happen but-"

"Quinn, it's okay," Rachel reassures her. "I do not expect you to join me in New York so soon. You need to think of Beth's needs first."

"I know."

"But I'm not gonna lie and say I don't hope you do join me."

"I can't wait, Rachel. Until the day I get to tell you I'm ready."

Rachel smiles at nothing, staring out the window as the cab passes building after building, packed closely together. "I dream with that day. But until then, I will wait for you. Take the time you need, I need you to be sure of everything."

"I'm sure of you; us."

"Love has no distance, when it comes to you and me."

Later that night as Quinn gets ready to go to sleep, Hiram and Leroy knock on the door, Hiram holding Beth. "This little one is tired."

"She looks it," Quinn comments while pulling the sheets on her bed. Pillows get thrown to the floor and she smiles at them, "thank you for keeping an eye on Bee while I talked to Rachel."

Hiram says, "oh, you know it's no burden at all. We love this sweet angel."

"Quinn," Leroy says, his concerned tone catching her attention. She stops moving and gives them her full attention. After everything they've done for her, nothing is too much. "We actually wanted to talk to you about a sensitive subject."

The first thought to come to mind is that they're going to ask her to leave, but she knows that's not true. It probably has to do with Rachel, since she is their daughter and her and Quinn are dating. "Okay," she says. "What's up?"

Leroy looks at Hiram who looks at Quinn. "We, well. Rachel's mentioned to us that she's been hanging out with her biological mother," he states plainly.

"That is true," Quinn nods.

Hiram looks back at Leroy who looks at Quinn, "we just... Hoped you'd tell us about that because Rachel hasn't told us anything except for the fact they've talked a couple times."

Quinn feels uneasy. She would love to do that for them, but now she realizes that there is something they could ask her that it's too much. "I wish I could but if Rachel hasn't said anything-"

"No! We aren't asking for details," Hiram's quick to fix. "We just wanted to know if she's okay with everything or if Shelby's done anything to hurt her." He looks truly upset, as if he could puke if Quinn told him that Shelby had hurt Rachel again.

"We're simply concerned, Quinn," Leroy says. The look in his eyes devastate her, "We love her, and even though she is 23, she's still our baby girl. We just don't want Shelby to break her heart."

"Again," Hiram adds. "Break her heart again," he turns from Leroy to Quinn. "I'm sure she's told you about what Shelby has put her through," Hiram assumes and waits for Quinn to agree.

Quinn nods, "well, yeah, but-"

"So you see how we're concerned," he finishes.

"Of coursw," Quinn says. "I get it - I would want to know too. She's okay, though. I think they're getting along better this time around." She smiles reassuringly at them, looking older than their age under the light of her room. She takes Beth from Hiram's arms and kisses him on the cheek. "I can talk to her if you'd like."

Leroy steps up, reaching for a hug. Quinn lets him embrace her and then turns to kiss him on the cheek too. "Will you tell her to be careful?"

"How about it if I scold her for not talking to you guys about this? The audacity on that girl."

"I would be so grateful, but I don't want this to be something that upsets her with us..." Hiram trails off, worried eyes.

They start to get ready to leave, placing last kisses on Beth's head. "But thank you, Quinn," Leroy says for the both of them.

"Don't worry, guys. Rachel having a relationship with her mother won't take her away feom you guys. And you worrying about it won't make her angry at you." Quinn gives Beth a kiss too and lays her on the crib, pulling the blanket to her shoulders. Beth's little eyes close quickly, her head falling to the right as she lets sleep take over.

Quinn turns to the other parents in the room and says, "knowing Rachel, she's probably not talked much about Shelby to protect you guys. She would hate it if her new relationship with Shelby bothered you guys."

Hiram exhales as he admits, "we know. Thank you again, really. Good night." Leroy closes the door after them.

Quinn shoots Rachel a quick text before getting in bed: "dads are worried about Shelby being in your life. :/"

There is no response and she's sure Rachel's already out cold asleep. Her Saturday was chill compared to the rest of the week with rehearsals and workshops for the play she's in. But, the day out with Kelsey plus all the straining from the week has probably exhausted her.

Quinn rolls over and goes to sleep watching Beth and thinking of Rachel.

In the morning she wakes up with her phone vibrating next to her ear - once, twice, three times... She loses count but she knows they're all from Rachel. Her eyes don't wanna open, and it's Sunday so she doesn't have work so she plans on sleeping in. Or, she planned on sleeping in. She does have to study though, so it's not like that was all she was going to do.

Checking her phone - that's actually almost dying because she forgot to charge it overnight - Quinn smiles at the fact that Rachel woke her up with a bunch of pictures of different animals sending kisses. Cute, Quinn admits. She shuts her eyes to try to sleep again but another text comes in.

"Just saw your text. What'd they say?"

"Good morning. They said for you to be careful." Quinn responds and then reaches for the charger behind the night stand. She plugs in her phone and closes her eyes again, hand enclosed firmly around the object.

Her eyes open and fingers fly as soon as she gets a text back: "I am. You told them I am?"

"Of course. But you need to talk to them and tell them what's going on."

"Your girlfriend knows that but she doesn't want them to think she's betraying them."

Quinn laughs and rolls her eyes at the same time. "Dork, why are you texting in the third person?"

"I just wanted to remind you I'm your girlfriend."

"I hadn't forgot since last night, babe."

"Good! Because your girlfriend wants to Skype you later today and you better be there."

"My girlfriend's girlfriend will be there."

Rachel replied, "now that's just confusing, lol. Kisses to Beth. I gotta go or I'll be late for a brunch meeting with some producers from the show."

"She'll be awake soon and I'll let her know. Love you, thanks for all the kisses this morning."

"I love you, Quinn! Talk to you tonight, girlfriend. Xoxo."