MamaGirl98 - I'm sorry you're confused by Rachel spending so much time with her Aunt Amy. If I'm honest, I hit a bit of a wall, and bringing Amy in as a bigger character than I initially intended her to be was the only way I could keep the fic going. In the beginning it was very much a Rachel/Shelby story, but I feel like it's moved on from that now, and it's now a story about how Rachel 'finds herself' and adjusts to a more 'normal' life, and that involves her spending time with people other than Shelby. There's a chapter coming up where Rachel spends a lot of time bonding with her Nana, chapters with her friends, and I have a fairly big storyline coming up that will see Rachel spending a lot of time with Shelby's entire family. I don't think that Rachel bonding with, and learning to trust other people makes Shelby 'weak' and I don't think that it in any way diminishes her relationship with her daughter. I could absolutley make every chapter about Shelby/Rachel if people told me that was what they wanted, but that would probably mean an end to regular updates, and I'd probably quickly run out of ideas & motivation and just stop writing. Being able to use a variety of characters helps me avoid that, but if you have any ideas for Shelby/Rachel situations/interactions that you'd like to see, feel free to let me know, either in a review or by PM and I'll do what I can to work them in!
Shelby woke about an hour later, her mouth dry and her head pounding. "I am never drinking again" she mumbled as she made her way downstairs still in her pyjamas. She frowned slightly when she found the living room empty, but was quite glad of the quiet as she sat on the couch, holding her head in her hands.
Amy and Jimmy were in the kitchen when Shelby came downstairs, Jim holding his wife closely, Amy a little shaken by her conversation with Rachel, upset that they'd scared their niece. "I should go and tell Shelby what's happened" she said quietly when she heard her sister come downstairs, her head tucked into Jimmy's chest as she sat on his lap.
"Okay" he kissed her hair, "but it's not your fault Amy, please don't blame yourself" he told her before releasing his hold on her and letting her go speak to her sister.
"Shel" Amy sat down beside her. "I erm… I need to tell you something, Rachel saw me and Jim in the kitchen earlier…"
"Oh God" Shelby groaned, not lifting her head from her hands, "tell me the two of you weren't…"
"No, no! Well, we did make out a little bit" Amy blushed slightly, "but that wasn't it, we were playing about, I swatted him with the dish towel, he told me I was for it and chased me around the kitchen… he didn't, he started tickling me when he got me, it was nothing… We didn't realise Rachel was there. I think she thought Jimmy was going to hurt me. I've talked it through with her, told her that we were only playing, that neither of us wanted to hurt each other, but she seems a bit, I don't know, confused by it all. She might just be processing things but I thought I should mention it."
Shelby lifted her head and nodded, "okay."
"I'm sorry Shel, she said she was going to the bathroom, but then she didn't come down so I thought she'd gone back to sleep, I didn't realise she was there." Amy cursed her hormones as she felt her eyes fill with tears.
"Oh Amy" Shelby wrapped her arms around her sister, remembering from her sister's previous pregnancies how she cried at everything. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. And I don't know, maybe you did us a favour, you and Jim showed Rachel that people can mess around like that without anyone getting hurt."
"I don't want her worrying that he's going to hurt me" Amy sniffled, "I don't want her to think he's going to hurt her."
"I'll speak to her" Shelby kissed Amy's forehead, "and make sure she knows that, but first I need coffee and painkillers."
"Sorry" Amy chuckled, "I'll get Jim to make your coffee I'll vom if I make it, but I'll get you painkillers and water."
Jimmy had set to tidying up the kitchen as Amy spoke to Shelby, but when he saw Rachel sit down on one of the chairs on the patio, he weighed up his options before deciding to go out and talk to her himself. "Hey" he said softly as he walked over to Rachel, not wanting to startle her, "can I join you?"
Rachel nodded, her gaze not quite meeting his as she whispered, "sure."
Jimmy smiled and took the seat opposite Rachel at the table, not wanting to sit beside her in case that worried her, "I'm sorry" he said gently, "that I made you think I was going to hurt Amy."
Rachel was stunned by his apology, he hadn't done anything wrong, he didn't need to apologise to her. She should be the one apologising to him. "No, it's… you… I shouldn't have been there. I'm sorry."
"Hey no, I want, Amy and I both want you to feel as comfortable here as you do at home. You should be able to stay over, to get some juice, some breakfast or whatever you were doing without being scared by my behaviour."
"Aunt Amy has spoken to me about it" Rachel told him, "she said that you were just playing around, your intention was never to hurt anyone."
"That's right" Jim nodded, "but that includes you, I never intended for my actions to hurt you either."
"I'm okay" Rachel reassured him, "it, I think it just confused me a little. Your words said you were mad but then you didn't act like you were mad."
"I know there's no way I can prove it to you Rachel, but I'm a man of my word, and you have my word that I would never lay a finger on Amy or the kids, or you or your Mom, or anyone for that matter."
"I know" Rachel whispered, "and I'm sorry, that I jumped to conclusions."
"You don't need to apologise" Jim told her, "I know this is all so different to what you were used to in the past but I promise you, things are different now. I've loved Amy for a long time Rachel, I wouldn't hurt her."
"How long have you known her?" Rachel asked nervously.
"We were high school sweethearts" Jim smiled.
"Will you tell me about it?" Rachel asked, "you don't have to though if you…"
"No" Jim shook his head, "I'll tell you how we got together if you want?"
Rachel nodded, "please."
"I'd had a crush on her since sixth grade, but she was one of the popular kids and I was a bit of a nerd, I had braces and acne and she was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen. I didn't even speak to her until ninth grade though. We had a teacher who insisted on us sitting in alphabetical order so Amy sat next to me. I was so nervous it was unreal, but Amy didn't care, she started chatting to me like we'd been friends forever and all I could do was nod in response because I was almost starstruck by her. I used to get butterflies in my stomach if she accidentally knocked my arm, and if I'm honest, even now I get butterflies sometimes, just from looking at her. It's like dweeby teenage me makes an appearance and thinks that this is all some big joke, that there's no way Amy Corcoran ever agreed to be my wife." Jimmy shook his head," I'm getting sidetracked, anyway, we didn't really talk properly until we had to work on a project together. And that's when we hit it off. We started meeting up to work on our project, and I was a little disappointed that we finished it before the deadline because I thought that meant I wouldn't get to see her as much, but she kept inviting me to hang out with her, and I kept saying yes. And then one day we were out, just walking round the park near where we both lived and she grabbed my hand, teased that my palm was sweaty and then told me I was cute. I walked her home and after I said goodbye, she said, "aren't you going to kiss me?" so I did. I kissed her on her front porch. And she told me that if I wanted to kiss her again, I could, but I had to take her on a date first. So I did, the next week I took her for pizza and we went bowling, and I got to kiss her again, and that was that. Nobody expected it to last, especially not me or Amy, and I'm pretty sure everyone expected things to fall apart when I took a job in Chicago and Amy wanted to stay here near her family, but here we are, two kids, a third on the way, a mortgage and 10 years later. And I still look at her and think she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Rachel smiled," that's so sweet. "
"Like a lifetime movie right?" Jim joked. "It hasn't always been good though. We've had our ups and downs, but we've stuck together, we've got through it. We've been through a lot together Amy and I, and, when I see her hurting, for whatever reason" Jimmy's mind was instantly taken back to a day, not so long ago, when he'd picked his sobbing wife off the bathroom floor and carried her to bed to hold her while she cried, "if she's hurting then so am I Rachel, Amy and those kids are my world, and it breaks my heart to see any of them anything but happy, I would never, ever do anything to intentionally cause harm to them."
"I know" Rachel whispered. "Logically, deep down, I know you're not them, you're not like them. And I'm getting better, I just get scared sometimes, it's not your fault."
Jimmy nodded, "I'm glad you know I'm not like them, but, because I'm not like them, you can talk to me. If I do anything or say anything that scares you or upsets you, then tell me, please. Or tell your Mom or Amy so they can tell me."
"I will" Rachel nodded, "I, I don't want to be scared, I want to be able to laugh and joke, I don't…"
"It'll come Rach" Jim said softly, "you just need time to get used to how different things are now."
Amy meanwhile had taken Shelby a box of painkillers and a bottle of water, "can you wait for your coffee?" she asked, "Jim's outside talking with Rachel, from what I can see, they're getting along, Rachel doesn't seem upset or scared so… "
"Let them talk" Shelby nodded as she swallowed two of the pills and gave Amy the box back, "I can make my own coffee."
"When did you get married?" Rachel asked her uncle, "if you don't mind me asking."
"Of course not, we were 18, we got married about 5 weeks after graduation, just a quick ceremony at the courthouse because it was all we could afford. Everyone thought we were crazy, both our parents included. In fact I think the only one who was supportive of us was your Mom."
"Really?"
"Yeah, she told Amy it was her life, and that marrying me might be a mistake, but walking away might be an even bigger mistake, and only she could decide which she'd rather regret, giving things a go and ending up divorced, or walking away and not knowing how happy we could be. And then she came to me and told me that if I ever hurt Amy she'd kill me and nobody would ever find my body" he shrugged, "your Mom can be quite scary when she wants to be."
"She's not that bad" Rachel laughed.
"Maybe not to you" Jimmy winked as the kids finally noticed he was sat with Rachel and Lily raced over.
"You play with us Daddy?"
"Sure" he stood and lifted Lily to his hip, "coming Rach?"
She shook her head as she stood up too, "I'm going to go see if my Mom's awake."
"Okay" he smiled, letting Rachel go back inside as he went to play on the jungle gym with Lily and Max.
Rachel smiled when she saw Shelby sat on the couch, a mug of coffee held in her hands, "hey baby" Shelby smiled, gesturing for Rachel to sit beside her, "are you okay?" she asked.
Rachel nodded and tucked herself into Shelby's side, "I'm okay. Are you?"
"A little hungover" Shelby rolled her eyes, "but I'll live."
"You were really drunk last night, and really, really cuddly" Rachel chuckled.
"Sorry."
"Don't be, it was kinda cute" Rachel teased, "I had to go sleep with Aunt Amy though, I went to the bathroom in the night and when I came back you were snoring really loudly and taking up the whole bed."
Shelby laughed, "you should just have woken me up or pushed me out of the bed or something."
"I thought that if I woke you, you might try and smother me with cuddles again."
"Can you blame me?" Shelby tightened her hold on her daughter, "I've got my beautiful baby girl, of course I'm going to snuggle her when I can."
Rachel smiled and shifted so she could tuck herself closer to Shelby, "I love you Mom."
Shelby smiled and kissed Rachel's forehead, "I love you too baby, so, so much." There was silence for a moment as mother and daughter sat together, Rachel held tight in her Momma's arms, "Amy told me what happened earlier" Shelby finally spoke.
Rachel took a breath, "I'm okay" she told Shelby, "I wasn't, I saw… I thought Uncle Jimmy was going to hurt Aunt Amy, but she told me they were just playing, that he wouldn't hurt her, and Uncle Jimmy, he told me the same, and he told me about how they've been together since high school. He said he was scared of what you'd do to him if he hurt her too" she laughed.
"Damn right" Shelby chuckled before taking a sip of her coffee, "I'd kill him if he hurt her."
"And nobody would find his body, he told me." Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry" Shelby laughed slightly, "I'll be exactly the same when you start dating Rach. But seriously, Uncle Jimmy, he's a good man, I wouldn't… if I thought there was any chance of him hurting anyone I'd do all I could to get Amy and the kids to leave, and I certainly wouldn't let you be alone with him, and I hope that, as you get to spend more time with him, you'll realise that he wouldn't hurt anyone."
Amy came down from her shower and couldn't help but smile as she saw her sister and niece had fallen asleep together on the couch. She took a second to grab the blanket that was folded on the back of the armchair and and laid it over them both before heading out into the garden to her husband and kids.
Rachel and Shelby ate a picnic lunch in the back garden with Amy, Jim, Lily and Max before they decided to watch a movie, Lily was getting tired and the three adults knew that, whilst she might protest going for a nap, she'd probably fall asleep watching whatever movie they put on.
Shelby couldn't help but smile as Rachel tucked herself into her side as they sat on the couch and she kissed her head, "we'll go home after the movie" she promised quietly, she wanted to be sure she'd sobered up enough to drive home safely, but at the same time, she'd missed waking up with her daughter in her arms and, knowing they were having dinner with her parents the next day, she selfishly wanted some time alone with her daughter.
"Okay" Rachel murmured, as much as she'd loved spending time and with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins, she wanted to curl up in her own bed with her Momma for a while."
They were half an hour into the movie when Shelby felt her headache beginning to come back, "I'm going to get another drink" Shelby said quietly as she stood and made her way into the kitchen.
Jimmy said nothing but stood and followed Shelby, "how are you feeling?" he asked as he found her making herself a coffee.
Shelby groaned and rubbed her temples, "repeat this and I'll kill you, but I'm feeling like I probably should have listened to Amy last night when she told me to switch to soft drinks."
Jim laughed, "makes a change for her to be the sober, sensible one"
"It does" Shelby chuckled before taking a sip of her coffee, "do you…" she gestured to the coffee machine.
He shook his head, "I erm, I wanted to talk to you about Rachel" Jimmy said as he leaned back against the counter.
"Rachel?" Shelby frowned, "is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine" Jim said quickly, not wanting Shelby to worry. "I just, I know she's getting more comfortable with us all, and I don't want to step on your toes, so feel free to say no if it's something you want to do yourself or whatever."
"Jim" Shelby raised an eyebrow, silently telling him to get to the point.
"I wondered how you'd feel about me maybe taking her out in the truck, teaching her the basics, it's already a bit beat up so it's not a big deal if she dings it or anything."
"You want to teach her to drive?"
"Only if it's okay with you. Like I said, if you'd rather do it or you'd rather someone else did then that's okay Shel, I won't mind."
"No" Shelby smiled, "I… If Rachel's comfortable with the idea then it's done with me, like you said, better she dings your truck than my car" she winked cheekily.
"Do you want me to ask her or would you rather…?"
"You can ask her" Shelby nodded, "but don't push her, let her know she can take her time to decide if she needs to."
Jimmy nodded, "I want her to be comfortable with me" he told Shelby, "with my new job I'm going to be around a lot more and I, I don't want her to think that me being here means she can't come round and see Amy whenever she wants. I know the two of them are close and I don't want Rachel to think that me being here will change that."
"They are close" Shelby nodded, "and I appreciate you not wanting to come between them, I don't know what it is but they've hit it off right from the beginning, and for whatever reason, I think Rachel trusted Amy before she trusted me. I don't know what it is but the two of them, they have something and Rachel having a strong woman like Amy to look up to is only ever going to be a good thing."
"I know what you mean" Jimmy nodded, "Amy adores Rachel, I'd say she probably loves her just as much as Lily and Max. I know it's not the same, but you and I, we both know what happened to Amy, so maybe to some extent she understands what Rachel's been through. And maybe subconsciously Rachel realises that."
"You could be right" Shelby nodded, "Amy knew what Rachel needed right from the start and they've built from there. Like you said, it wasn't exactly the same, but you're right, after what happened, Amy's probably the best person to know what Rachel needs."
"Whatever it is, I don't want to come between them, so if there's anything I can do to make Rachel feel more comfortable around me then I'd do it in a heartbeat. Hell, I'd even go out every time she wanted to see Amy if I thought it would help."
Shelby shook her head, "she needs to get used to you being around Jim, it'll take time but she'll get used to it, and you're a man, she was scared I'd treat her like they did when she first came to live with me, other than, very occasionally, my Dad and her teachers, she's not really spent much time around men since they left her, once she sees you, sees you with your kids and she gets used to that, she'll realise that you're not like them either."
"I hope so" Jimmy nodded as he made his way back into the living room to let Shelby finish her coffee in peace.
"We're going to get off" Shelby told her sister once the movie had finished, "we're having dinner with Mom and Dad tomorrow so I need some time to prepare myself for that" she chuckled.
"I don't blame you" Amy laughed as she stood from Jimmy's lap, as predicted, Lily had fallen asleep during the movie, but so had Max, the boy's sprawling limbs forcing Amy off the couch and onto her husband's lap as he sat in the armchair. "Are you going to them or…"
"They're coming to us. Rachel's going to cook. She wants to show us what you've been teaching her."
"Oh wow" Amy turned to Rachel, "good luck Pretty Girl, let me know how you get on yeah? And call me if you need any help, I can talk you through a recipe if you need me too."
"Thank you" Rachel hugged Amy tightly before looking up at her, "will I see you soon?"
Amy nodded, kissing Rachel's head as she returned the hug, "of course, I'll text you, we'll go for lunch one day next week when you're not at school."
Shelby couldn't help but smile when she felt Rachel's hand slip into hers on the way out to the car, "what do you want to do when we get home?" she asked, dropping their bag into the back seat and joining her daughter in the car.
Rachel thought fob a moment before asking, "can we get food and watch a movie in bed?"
Shelby's smile grew, the Rachel she first met would never have been so forward, would never have asked for food or suggested they do something, and Shelby felt her heart swell with loveat how much her daughter had come out of her shell over the past few months. "That sounds great" Shelby handed Rachel her phone as she started the engine, "do you want to order us a Chinese or something?"
Rachel nodded and opened the app on Shelby's phone, "sure, what do you want?"
"I don't mind. Order a few things and we'll share."
"Okay" Rachel did as Shelby asked "done" she smiled as she put the phone in the cup holder where Shelby usually left it when she was driving.
"Thank you" Shelby smiled, noticing that Rachel hadn't worried, hadn't panicked, hadn't even seemed to pause for thought, she'd just ordered some food like any normal teenager would."
"They said it would be about an hour so we'll have time to shower and stuff before it gets here, then it won't matter if we don't want to get up again once we're in bed."
"Sounds perfect baby" Shelby reached over to briefly squeeze Rachel's hand. "I love you."
"I know" Rachel smiled, "I love you too Mom."