Keeperofwords here: Thanks for reading and spending time in the Fragile Universe with us. It means everything to both of us. You all have stayed right with us during this journey
And we both truly hope you enjoy the chapter. Its a long one. Both of us tend to write that way and I want to thank again my lovely co-author for writing this series of stories with me. She rocks, trust me. Happy Summer, Enjoy the chapter and please let us know what you think.
Hayley here: I also want to thank my lovely co-author for listening to me go on tangents and for going along with my crazy ideas when I change things up or keep us up until 2 am writing outlines. So much love to her. So much love to the rest of you, as well.
TW: Dedication to Naya Rivera at the end.
Chapter 18: Turn Up the Heat
Shelby caught the time on her bedside alarm clock as she checked herself in the mirror one last time. She had swapped out her housework sundress out for a blush floral sundress to wear to that night's party, which unbeknownst to Cassandra was actually a surprise for her birthday. It had been a tense day so far, so she hoped Cassandra was still in a party kind of mood, but her actual birthday landed on a weekday and they wanted the whole family to be able to be together. They frequently held backyard summer parties as a friend group, so Cassandra was completely oblivious to the notion that it was even for her. Truth be told, Shelby wasn't positive that with everything else going on, Cassandra even realized her birthday was so close.
Though it was only a family gathering of their closest friends, Shelby still found herself wanting to dress up a little. To her, taking a bit of extra time on her appearance, (and spritzing some of Cassandra's favorite perfume), was just the thing to get herself into a better frame of mind after how her day had pulled her dark hair half up into a small bun and smiled, feeling Cassandra slide up behind her and gather her close.
"You are so beautiful, love," Cassandra said, her voice husky as she leaned forward to whisper in Shelby's ear. She breathed in the perfume that the dancer knew was applied specifically for her. "And you smell divine."
Shelby's heart skipped a beat as Cassandra's nose nuzzled behind her ear, and she tilted her head to the side as an invitation for her wife to continue. She soaked up the tiny soft kisses to her neck and bit back a groan, wanting so much more. She had just finished smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress, but made no complaint when it was unzipped and Cassandra's kisses moved lower, into her cleavage.
"I love you so much, sweetheart," Cassandra murmured into Shelby's skin, inhaling deeply. The dancer's eyes danced as she saw that Shelby's body had gone flush. This moment was for slow, sweet, methodical touches- to say with her lips what she could not bring herself to say out loud.
You are my everything. I devote myself to you, and to making you feel worshipped.
"I love you too," Shelby answered softly, clutching at her wife's blonde hair and running her fingers through the tangles. Shelby knew Cassandra loved the feeling, and that meant Shelby loved it too. Things were heating up and the brunette could not bring herself to care that their master bedroom door and bathroom door were wide open. That was, until her nine-year-old daughter's voice yelled up the stairs that Holly was there to start the grill.
"Noooooooooooo," Shelby protested quietly as Cassandra straightened up and reached around her to zip her dress back up. Cassandra smiled and felt the weight of her heavy thoughts lift away, observing Shelby's adorable pout that Rachel had inherited down to the jutting out of her upper lip.
Judging by Shelby's eyes, the woman was all but ready to pull her into the bathroom, lock the door to the world and finish what they had started. She also knew, however, that they had been a little over zealous as of late, and needed to tone it down a little bit.
"I swear to god, Cassie. I told you last fall that we needed to get that gas grill, back when Dee was ragging on us about, "Contributing to destroying the planet using charcoal on that archaic relic that came with this damn mansion"," Shelby said with an eyeroll. Cassandra bit back a laugh at the Corcoran temper that had burst forth from the interruption. Leave it to Holly to arrive a whole hour before everyone else was supposed to show up.
"Awe, is the grill not the only thing that was heating up?" Cassandra flirted, reaching out to lean her forehead into Shelby's. She placed a soft kiss to Shelby's nose before continuing, "As usual, Hol's timing is impeccable for throwing water on the fire." She pulled her wife close and whispered flirtatiously in her ear, "That was an appetizer, my love. This will just have to tide you over until dessert tonight, after our barbeque."
"Don't worry, I'll still be hungry," Shelby teased back, straightening up and grabbing her hair brush to gently brush her wife's blonde hair, which she had messed up in her haste. "I'll make sure to save room."
"Maaaaamaaaa!" Rachel yelled again, "Auntie Holly said if you don't come down here now, she is going to turn the air conditioner up to full blast."
"We're on our way down, Rach!" Shelby answered back, turning to the bathroom mirror and then looking over her wife with a critical eye. Shelby did not want to open up the window of teasing opportunity for Holly and Apri, so she handed her her tube of lipstick to reapply. It was bad enough that Shelby knew she would be wearing this blush to her skin all night, and the sundress accentuated it more than she cared to admit.
"Ready?" Cassandra asked once they were ready again, reaching over to grasp Shelby's hand and lacing their fingers together. "Holly's impatient ass mustn't be kept waiting."
Shelby thought for a moment that giving Cassandra a bit of a heads up would probably work in all of their favor, but thought better of it. Cassandra would know the party's purpose when it was her time to, and maybe a happy surprise was what she needed right now.
"Be nice," Shelby said instead, squeezing the blonde's hand as they climbed down the stairs to get on with their evening. "If you don't behave she will burn your dinner."
Cassandra knew Shelby was totally right. That is something Holly would do if she wasn't careful, but then Cassandra would just have to serve her best friend wine coolers and hide the beer, much to Holly's disdain. The women knew each other too well for either one to ever win a battle like that. Cassandra smirked to herself. It was going to be a good night.
Once the couple made it downstairs, they were greeted by Holly, April (who had insisted on watching Cadence all morning and was now bouncing the smiling child on her hip), Natalie, Dee, and Rachel, the latter of whom was still in her pajamas. Cassandra smiled at the little girl, who rocked back and forth impishly.
"Little star, you've been in your pj's all day," she announced in mock concern, and Rachel giggled. "C'mon, let's get you upstairs and pick out something for you to wear before Stef and Lena show up with the kids, yeah?"
Excited that Cassandra was paying her extra attention, Rachel nodded fervently and practically knocked Shelby out of the way so she could hold Cassandra's hand instead. Shelby laughed and joined the others, reaching her arms out to take Cadence from April so she could help Holly with the food. While that gang went outside to finish setting up the backyard, Cassandra picked Rachel up piggy back style and led her up the stairs and to her bedroom.
Once she got to the room, Cassandra plopped Rachel onto her bed, the little girl giggling with excitement. "What should I wear, Mama?" she asked.
"Stef and Lena are bringing over their slip and slide, do you wanna put on your swim suit under your clothes so that you can play with the kids once we get it set up?" Cassandra suggested, flipping through outfits in Rachel's closet, pressing her lips together then releasing them to make a pop sound as she thought.
Rachel cocked her head to the side in wonder. "What's a slippin slide?" she asked. "What makes the slide so slippery? How is Stefi's car going to fit a slide?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions, huh?" Cassandra asked, laughing lightly as she pulled a sky blue two piece out of a drawer from the dresser in the closet. She decided on a black and white checkered sundress to put on over it until the little girl was ready to play in the water.
"Is that a bad thing?" Rachel asked quietly, turning her gaze down into her lap. Cassandra crouched down in front of her and tilted her chin up, giving her little girl a small smile.
"Absolutely not," she said. "It's good to want to know things. It's good to ask questions and want to learn." she kissed Rachel's cheek and the little girl's smile spread to her eyes. "A slip and slide," Cassandra enunciated each word so that Rachel would hear the separation. "Is basically a long piece of plastic that you connect a hose to and it makes it a slippery type thing that you slide across on the ground. It's fun, the other kids can show you how."
Rachel nodded, hopping off the bed to change quickly into her bathing suit, before lifting her arms so that Cassandra could help slip the sundress over her head and fix it so it was comfy. "Ready to go see the others, little star? I think April is bringing Maddie over…" she let the thought trail at the end of her sentence and Rachel didn't have to be told twice that one of her animal friends was coming.
"What are we waiting for then, Mama?" she asked, grabbing the woman's hand and dragging her towards the door and down the stairs.
Rachel stepped off of the back porch, practically skipping through the grass in her bare feet.
"Maddie!" Rachel squealed with excitement as Natalie dropped a long pink leash and the little white pup pranced over to her friend. She dropped to her knees, patting her knees and beckoning the dog to her. Rachel gathered the white Maltese close, and happily accepted the soft wet tongue licking her face. Maddie was so different from Barbra. Even on the best of days, Barbra would never come running when her name was called, besides when Mommy fed her. Rachel smiled as she watched the little dog's white tail wag back and forth. Rachel greeted Natalie with a half smile as she approached, reaching out her hand to take Natalie's larger one.
"You look so pretty," Rachel told the young teen. "Is that some of the New York clothes you got?"
Not liking the fact she was not getting enough attention, Maddie nudged Rachel's hand before rolling onto her back dramatically and demanding a belly rub. Rachel laughed. Maddie was always a character and in desperate need to be the center of attention, like some other family members Rachel knew.
"Yeah," Natalie answered, lowering herself to the grass to sit across from Rachel so she could make eye contact with her. It was harder for Natalie to feel comfortable in her oversized clothes and large sweaters now. April had told the teen she was having a growth spurt. None of the clothes she had been wearing just two months ago fit her anymore, let alone were they too comfortably big on her. Having new clothes was fun, though, Natalie discovered, as was going to the hair salon with April every couple of months. Natalie's extremely long hair had been shortened to fall at her shoulders and she now sported stylish bangs to match.
"You look amazing," Rachel complimented, moving her hand from Maddie's belly to lean into Natalie and give her a side hug. "You going to play in the water? You wearing swim clothes under that?"
"I don't think so," Natalie answered honestly, a twinge of guilt going through her when she saw Rachel frown. "Hey, it's not you," she added quickly, putting a hand on Rachel's forearm. "It's just that Callie said she would show me how to paint my nails, and I don't want to get wet. Okay?"
Rachel didn't quite understand why. Natalie was not only starting to look and act differently, but she was changing so fundamentally that Rachel wasn't sure she even knew her anymore. It was not bad that Natalie was changing, Rachel decided, she seemed happier and that was important. The little girl couldn't help noticing that almost nothing in their lives was the same, though, even from back when they had first moved in with the women. Lost in her thoughts, Rachel almost didn't hear Natalie's next remark.
"Hey, Rach," Natalie spoke up, reading the expression on her face. "I know things are not like it was. Even when we both came here at Christmas time. But it's better, right? You know that."
Rachel looked away, glancing over towards Cadence in Mama's arms, and then back at Natalie again. Things were different. She knew her life was a lot better than it was before Christmas, and she wasn't ungrateful, but it was all happening much faster than she would have liked. She was struggling to make sense of it all, and she felt like she didn't have the ability to process everything at once or as quickly as Natalie could. Maybe, she thought, something was wrong with her.
Were she and Natalie still sisters? Rachel asked herself before looking back into Natalie's eyes. It was clear that the older girl was expecting her to say something.
"It's better, yeah," Rachel admitted. "I just didn't realize things would be changing all the time, you know?" she confessed. "Before...before, when we were there..." Rachel stopped herself, not sure that Natalie wanted to talk about this. She never did.
"It's fine Rach," Natalie gave her permission to keep going, moving closer so their knees touched and they could clasp each other's hands. "Some things don't change. You can always tell me how you feel, and you will always be my heart sister. You remember what that means, right?"
"Yes..." Rachel answered, licking her lips and forcing herself not to look down. "No secrets. We have each others' backs forever and always, because we love each other."
"Right," Natalie agreed, both girls nodding at each other. "So spill, what were you going to say?"
"I knew what to expect back then," Rachel opened up. "We got up at the same time every day. I knew all the times we had to pray and read the bible verses with the old ladies. I knew Sundays and Wednesdays we stayed at the church. I knew the punishments would come after it got dark at night, especially if I disobeyed the rules. I knew to hide when he was drinking and to lie to the Sunday School teachers who asked why I was walking funny. It was the same thing. Always...Always."
"I don't think I understand Rach," Natalie admitted leaning forward so their foreheads touched. "Yeah, you knew what was coming, but what was coming was awful. We have lives of luxury now. We live in big houses and want for nothing. We have people who love us unconditionally and would never ever hurt us the way that he did. I know you don't want that life back, it was miserable."
"It's better here, Nat," Rachel said, her expression blank. "I don't want it the way it was, ever. But I don't know what to expect anymore. It's all I ever dreamed about to find Mommy. And I did. I got so much more cause I got mama too. But things just keep changing around. Just like you are changing. It's just hard because there is something new every day. No more routine."
"Maybe that's a good thing, Rach," Natalie said, thinking about it. "If we always knew what was happening all the time, that'd be pretty boring. And we'd never learn anything new. Change can be scary, but we need it to learn. Besides, you like to learn, you're always asking questions..."
Rachel blinked at Natalie in awe, wondering if she had heard the conversation she had just had with Cassandra. Or maybe, she thought, Natalie probably just knew her really well, and she had a good point.
"It's okay to be upset about some things being different, Rachie, but eventually you have to move past that and live in the time period that is now. Otherwise...we'll miss everything that's happening right now. And what's happening right now is pretty great, and it won't be like this forever either. Before were past memories. It's time to make now memories with the people who love you. Does that make sense?"
Rachel nodded, and as she did, she saw Callie, Mariana, Jesus, and Brandon run through the backyard gate to greet them. Natalie smiled a wide, goofy smile. "Now, come on, let's go make some now memories while the adults get dinner ready."
"Hi babies!" Stef greeted Rachel and Natalie the same way she always did, with her energy level at a ten. She called Natalie her baby too. It was weird at first, getting love from so many people at once, but Rachel had gotten used to that. Stef was not dressed up like Mommy or Mama was. She was not dressed up at all, but had a black swimsuit on with cut off jean shorts on top of it. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing a ball cap and sunglasses to match. "Rach, a hand please?"
"Sure Stefi, " Rachel quickly rose to her feet, accepting a massive, blue rolled-up bunch of plastic into her arms.
"Brandon, I told you to take out the baby pool from the back of the van! Get away from that grill and don't touch that food until we all sit down to eat," Stef spoke to her oldest in her mom voice.
"Hey Natalie, nice outfit," Stef greeted the young teen, "Callie brought her whole nail kit and I bet she and you can pick the perfect color to complement your vibe. She is helping Lena carry some food stuff to the kitchen if you want to catch up with her."
Natalie gave Rachel a soft smile, reassuring the nine year old one last time that things would be okay, before turning to run into the mansion. Maddie nipped at her heels playfully behind her. The dog, however, had the good sense not to enter into Barbra's domain, and instead made herself a spot by the grill. The smell alone made her give her mistress Holly the most longing looks for a bite of food.
"No Mads. This is for humans, not puppies," Holly waged the tongs at her little pup, disapprovingly. Cassandra smirked.
"She's hardly a puppy," she commented, rubbing her hands together expectantly. "What can I do?"
"You can get the fuck out of my way," Holly said cheekily, smacking the tongs together in Cassandra's face until the blonde backed up. "I got this, sweet cheeks. You can go mix drinks, though, and I wouldn't hate you for it." Holly didn't want Cassandra doing all of the heavy work for her own birthday party, even if she didn't realize that's what was happening.
"Shelbs is already on that," Cassandra said, plopping herself down into a lawn chair next to the grill and crossing her legs, deciding to at least stay and keep Holly company.
"Ugh, a woman after my own heart," Holly decided, turning a few hot dogs so they blackened perfectly, grill lines and all. "Is she getting the chicken kabobs together, too? These dogs are almost done."
"Yeah, April's on it with her in the kitchen," Cassandra nodded, rolling her neck to stretch it, and squinting slightly in the sun. "We got lucky that it's such a beautiful day, it's been so rainy and gross out."
"We can do the corn in the meantime," Holly commented, still thinking about food. "Yeah the weather has been pretty reflective of the general family mood. Are things any better?"
Cassandra thought about it for a minute and then nodded slowly. "We're working on it," she said honestly. "The relationship is suffering from lack of alone time, though."
"I highly doubt that's true, the two of you can't get away from each other since New York. Is Cassie missing her sexy time?" Holly pouted her lip mockingly. "Just do it at 3 am like the rest of us. You've hardly been away from Shelby more than fifteen minutes as it is," she laughed.
"You say that like it's easy. Your kids must sleep. What's that like?" Cassandra teased back. "Someone sounds a little jealous." The sun was warm on her skin and she watched as Stef and Lena struggled to fill the kiddie pool while simultaneously unraveling the fold up slip and slide. "I might have to jump in the kiddie pool or something, my skin isn't used to the sun anymore." Cassandra commented after a lull in the conversation.
"Water fights are hot, I'm sure Shelby would be into that," Holly's tone was suggestive. "Grab the hose and get her before they connect it to the slip and slide."
"She'd murder me."
"She'd have to catch you, first," Holly said pointedly, adding the corn on the cob to the array on the grill with a smug look on her face.
"If I want to have a shot in hell of a quickie in the garage after dinner, I better not risk spraying her with the hose in one of her favorite dresses," Cassandra commented.
"Ohh, I see. Cute that you think I'm going to let you leave the rest of us to fend for ourselves among the kid clan," Holly said. "Besides, we have treats planned after dinner that don't involve eating your wife."
Cassandra raised a curious eyebrow and then brushed the comment off with a shrug. "A girl can dream."
Holly leaned back and yelled into the house, "Shelbs! I need the rest of the food! Stop flirting with my gal!"
Shelby ignored Holly completely and instead looked over at Mariana and Callie, who were sitting with Natalie at the kitchen table and filing their fingernails.
"Sweetheart, would you and the others take these plates of food outside please?" Shelby asked, moving to the sink and grabbing a dish towel to wipe down the kitchen counter.
"Can we come back after that?" Mariana asked. "Brandon bathed in cologne before we left the house so he would smell nice for Cassie."
"Mariana, don't pick on your poor brother when he's not even here to defend himself," April scolded her with a light laugh, her eyes sparkling as she wagged her finger. "Would you rather he not shower at all and smell like the boys locker room at school?"
"Auntie April, he is literally attracting nothing but bees," Mariana answered, exasperated. "Aunt Cassie is grown and would never give him the time of day, rightfully so. Besides, he bought the stuff at the dollar store. The least he could do is use some of that stuff they advertise in the fashion magazine."
"Go now, please, Mariana," Shelby asked again. "Aunt Holly will need you both to carry the food to the table. I trust you can stay downwind."
April kept silent until the kitchen screen door opened and then clicked shut again.
"Speaking of smelling nice," her voice was very sing-song in tone. "You smell lovely yourself..." The doctor leaned into her best friend and inhaled dramatically. "Is that Eau De Cassandra?"
"April!" Shelby shrieked in a controlled whisper. "What do you...I mean, what are you implying? I mean, I don't…" Shelby felt herself blush and she mentally shuddered. Should she have taken a shower? She knew she and Cassie had been going pretty strong lately, but surely it wasn't exceedingly potent?
April knew what she was thinking about, so she only let her suffer for three more blinks of Sheby's expressive green eyes. April winked before leaning over and kissing Shelby's cheek. "Relax Shellby, you're my best friend. Don't you think I would have told you if you smelled like you had been having a sex marathon and hadnt showered in days? If I didn't know any better, by the way you blush I'd think you switched from a top to a bottom."
"I am not a bottom!" Shelby protested, a little too loudly, and then lowered her voice.
April scoffed, "Okay pillow princess," and walked away from Shelby before the woman could protest, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of wine. She then reached into the cabinet and removed two wine glasses. Pouring one for each of them, she handed one to her best friend before taking the other. The doctor said nothing more until Shelby took not one, but two full sips.
"Shelby I know you," April explained, leaning against the kitchen counter. "You wear this specific fragrance when you want to have sexy times with Miss Twinkle Toes out there. It's that fragrance you got in Paris on vacation after you won the Tony."
"Well, I don't...I mean that's...not..." Shelby tried to talk her way out of this, deny it, or at least speak in complete sentences, but April was flustering her too much. "Okay, so maybe I do. Am I that predictable? Is it a bad thing?" she bit her lip in concern.
"You are adorable and Cassie loves it just like she loves you," April assured, rubbing her hand up and down Shelby's arm. "Hey and it seems to work just fine, because you and her were heating things up around here even before Holly got the grill going, yes?"
Shelby opened her mouth to answer, but closed it just as quickly as she had opened it. It's not as if she could deny it. Sexy times with her wife had been few and far between until recently, and they were getting a little carried away since then, but she didn't find any harm in that. Finding time was usually an issue, and during the school year being too tired was a major obstacle. Both were mood killers. Recently, however, a match of desire had struck. Her body had been feeling so dry and parched before New York.
"Shelbs, Shelby," April said, her tone a little more gentle. She put her hands on both of Shelby's shoulders getting her attention. "Lets not overthink anything. I'm just teasing, and you owe me no explanations for being more intimate than usual with Cass. It's been a tough couple of days. Hell, a stressful few weeks," April elaborated. "Thinking back on it, maybe we should have put off the party for a week, but Stef and Hol had to work on Cass's actual birthday…"
"No, no April," Shelby quickly protested, "I'm glad you all are here have not gotten together, I mean all of us like this, since New Years." Shelby looked out of the kitchen window over at her wife. The late afternoon sun bathed her shoulders and caused her blonde hair to shine. Cassandra was out joking around with Holly. Her face was so relaxed now. A total turnaround from that morning. "Look at Cassie out there. I have not seen her smile like that for weeks. Even before the semester ended and we closed the school for break."
"Both of our blondes out there are easy on the eyes girl," April replied cheekily, swishing her hips to bump against her best friend. "And with you wearing that dress and smelling like you do, I know you are going to get lucky tonight. I would keep an eye on Cass, though. You know she gets a little over zealous with alcohol and sex when she's stressed, and the last thing she needs is to continue to over exert herself..."
Shelby nodded, opening her mouth to agree, but Holly's impatient tone cut her off.
"Shelby, bring out the rest of the food!" the lawyer called into the kitchen.
Shelby was grateful for the interruption, not because she didn't feel like she could talk to April about this sort of thing, but because she hardly knew how Cassandra was really doing herself. They didn't talk as much as they communicated with their bodies, and Shelby knew that what April was saying to her held a lot of truth. She also felt the need to visit the perfume counter at the store for a new bottle for herself. The idea that she had become too predictable was something she wanted to put a stop to, even if it was just her best friend noticing.
As they made their way outside to join the rest of the family at the table, Shelby did a quick headcount. "Okay, wait we're missing one," she looked through everyone with her eyes. "Where did Dee go? Is she not eating with us?"
Cassandra scanned the table. There was so much movement everywhere and it took her a second to realize that Shelby was right, Dee was nowhere to be found. "Ummm. I'm not sure, Shelbs, maybe she went to the store or something? Did anyone send her to pick anything up?"
There were scattered no's and Shelby sighed, not wanting to start eating without her aunt but her stomach was growling.
"I give her five minutes, I'm starving," Holly broke the silence.
"I'm with Holly, there'll be plenty left," Stef said, gaining a little tap on the arm in scolding from Lena.
"Well lucky for you, I'm here just in time," Dee announced, walking through the gate and shutting it behind her. "I just picked up some treats for later, that's all." there was a pause which Rachel filled with,
"What kinds of treats?" she was already filling her plate and the other kids were following in her footsteps. Stef and Holly slowly did the same, trying to get by inconspicuously.
"Guess you'll have to see, after dinner, huh?" Dee gave her a wink. Rachel giggled but pouted inwardly, not liking to wait for information. Pulling her long skirt out of her way, Dee took a seat next to Lena, kissing her cheek in greeting before starting a plate for herself as well.
Shaking her head with a nervous smile, (because what could Dee have possibly gone to get?), Shelby sat down and allowed herself to calm down. She realized she was being a little uptight, and that wasn't what the day was supposed to be about. It was hard to relax after months of being on edge.
Lena suggested before they gathered together that they should remove the baby's clothes down to her diaper before she ate. This turned out to be a very good idea, because within a matter of seconds Cadence had food smeared everywhere. Corn was sticking to her bare chest and little pieces of spaghetti noodles from the spaghetti salad were in the toddler's hair. Maddie the maltese had smartly planted herself between Jude and Cadence. The dog's lips smacked as she sucked in a rogue spaghetti noodle, pulling cackles out of the two youngest.
"Shelby," Lena leaned across the table and gave her a reassuring smile, as the more experienced parent. "We will put both of them in the baby pool and clean them up later. Let them enjoy themselves."
Shelby shrugged her shoulders and figured that Lena probably had a point. She decided against running inside to get wet paper towels and fighting with a squirming Cadence, who undoubtedly would end up getting her dress filthy anyways. That mixed with the fact that Cassandra was stealing bites off of her plate before she even started to eat anything, and she was too damn hungry to let that continue.
Once the family finished their feast and the adults took everything inside so it would keep, (but left it out so people could go inside and get more food if they wanted to), Stef officially connected the slip and slide to the hose and got the party started. The older kids ran inside to change into bathing suits, save for Natalie and Callie, who stayed in their regular clothes.
Stef was still in her day clothes too, but that didn't stop Holly from playfully shoving her into the kiddie pool while she was bent over hooking up the slip and slide. With a gasp of protest, Stef wrapped her arms around Holly's upper thigh and dragged her into the pool with her, the cold water a shock to the body but refreshing after only a few seconds. Sputtering, Holly splashed Stef before she could protest and jumped out of the pool, soaked from head to toe.
"Last one down the slip and slide has to clean the whole backyard!" Holly yelled, shaking the water out of her hair before getting a running start and sending herself across the yard on the slippery plastic slide. Stef was quick to follow, grabbing hold of Holly's arm to slow her down. They flew off the end of the material and rolled into the grass together, laughing and pushing each other around.
Cassandar nudged Rachel lightly with her elbow. "What do you say, little star? You wanna try sliding on the slip and slide?"
If Rachel was being honest, she did really want to try the mysterious slippery slide. It looked like a lot of fun, but it also looked really scary and faster than she realized it would be. What if she fell off and hurt herself? What if she landed on her face and bit through her lip or something?
"Do I have to go on my stomach?" She asked tentatively, not wanting to eat a face full of grass and mud if she slid off of the plastic.
"Well, it is kind of the thing you need a running start for, but what if I go first and you go right after, and then I can catch you at the end?" Cassandra suggested. "I'll be Cassie the Brave and try it first to make sure it's okay for my girl to do. Sound like a plan?"
She didn't give Rachel a lot of time to think about it, so the young girl didn't overthink things and upset herself. Instead, Cassandra started counting.
"I'm gonna go, okay?" she said once the path was clear and Stef and Holly were done wrestling each other to stand. "1….2…..3!" she yelled, running and sliding on her stomach to the end. She did have to stop herself with her hands before hitting the grass, but if she sat at the end, she knew Rachel would be fine. Once she did it a few times they would likely not be able to get the girl off of it.
"Okay, Rachel," Cassandra held herself upright so she could wrap Rachel into her arms. "The water is cold, but it's so much fun, you're gonna love it! Mama's right here to catch you, okay?"
To be fair, it was angled sort of downhill, and it was likely a little intimidating to someone with a smaller body. Rachel pressed her lips together in thought. If Cassie the Brave can do it, I'll be okay. Do I trust her to catch me? She asked herself. She looked down the hill at her mama's open arms and couldn't help but smile. Of course I trust her.
"I'm gonna count to three like you did, okay?" she asked.
"Alright, honey. I'm right here, okay? Just run and slide!" Cassandra prompted her, clapping her hands together. "You've got this!"
"1….2…." Rachel felt a surge of anxiety in her gut but she ignored it as she screamed a high-pitched, "THREE!" and booked it, flying down the hill. Her scream quickly turned into a fit of giggles as she landed in Cassandra's arms. "Mama! Did you see me? I was going so fast!"
"I saw," Cassandra said with an overly impressed tone. "Look at you! I'm so proud of you!"
"Can I go again?" Rachel asked, practically jumping. Cassandra looked up and saw that there was now a line of kids waiting for her to get out of their way. She smiled. "If you go get in line, you can take turns with the others, okay?" she kissed Rachel's temple as the little girl shot up like a rocket and ran through the muddy lawn to get in line behind the others.
Meanwhile, Shelby was volleying a ball back and forth across a makeshift net with April, Holly, and Lena. Stef and Dee had disappeared mischievously, but the other adults hadn't noticed. Shelby served deep and April dove to save it but missed, leading Shelby and Lena to high five triumphantly. It was rare they scored against a competitive beast like Holly.
Stef met Dee at her car and they unloaded the things she had gone to get earlier. She'd bought a super soaker water gun for each kid and one for each adult as well. Her plan was to fill them in the kiddie pool and give them to the kids to hunt down the unsuspecting adults (Shelby, April and Lena in particular, since they were the only ones who had yet to play in the water all night).
Dee handed Stef half of the water guns and they carried them unsuspectingly towards the kiddie pool, dropping them all in and filling them casually. The kids were distracted on the water slide and the babies were playing together on a mat next to Cassandra, who was watching the kids to make sure everyone was being fair.
One water gun at a time, Dee and Stef snuck up to the kids in line and passed them off. "Go get Shelby and April and Lena," Stef whispered with an approving nudge. Mariana's eyes widened.
"Are you sure? Mama's gonna kill us," she said, a little worriedly.
"She's giving us permission, stupid, let's go before she changes her mind!" Jesus rolled his eyes, charging at the volleyball players. This was war and they had an advantage by being a surprise attack, but not for long.
Shelby screamed at the cold hitting her back out of nowhere and turned around to a barrage of children spraying her with their respective water guns and giggling their little heads off. Lena was quick to follow and although April tried to run, Holly held her down so Brandon and Mariana could go after her next. Cassandra spied them from across the way, picking up the babies to move the mat closer to the front of the yard so they could still play but could still be looked after as well. After which, she wanted to sneak to the pool but saw Stef and Dee, armed and ready to go, not letting her get anywhere near a water gun.
"That's not fair!" Cassandra protested.
"Life's not fair, baby girl!" Stef laughed, attacked Cassandra with the super soaker. Cassandra saw an opening between where Dee and Stef were standing and dove for it, landing directly in the kiddie pool, grabbing a gun, and running across the yard to help arm Shelby.
"Away, hooligans!" She yelled, spraying all of the kids in one group and jumping in front of Shelby to take the brunt of the attack. "I'm running out of ammo here, Shelbs, I can't hold down the fort for long!"
Holly followed suit with Cassandra's idea, tackling Stef and Dee until both women had actually fallen back into the pool themselves, grabbed a water gun of her own and disarmed Dee, packing two weapons and tossing one to April before helping defend against the kids. When Stef made it out of the pool, she recovered and refilled her weapon and looked across the yard, to the hammock where Natalie and Callie were laying and ignoring the water festivities.
Not for long, she thought to herself, booking it across the yard and spraying the girls down with a big laugh. "If the rest of us go down you go down with us, babies!" she laughed.
At first Natalie was really upset that her outfit was wet, but once she saw that Callie was laughing, a small smile broke out across her face which quickly turned into a laugh. Callie grabbed Natalie's hand.
"Come on!" she said. "Let's go get our own so we can defend ourselves!"
Together they kicked off their shoes and ran across the muddy, grassy lawn, grabbing guns while getting targeted by April and Holly in a fit of giggles, as they had made their way back to the pool for a refill.
Dee, in turn, had gone after Shelby, who had run completely out of water and was left to her own devices, unable to get to the pool around Holly, April, Callie and Natalie.
"No! NO!" Shelby screamed with a smile. Dee picked the girl up and threw her over her shoulder. "Oh, you traitor!" Shelby beat her back, not too harshly, and kicked her legs for leverage, but Dee had a strong hold on her.
"Oh, you're not getting away that easily, Shelbs…" Dee laughed. As she approached the pool, April and Holly cleared a path with devilish smiles on their faces.
"Nooooo please don't, wait," Shelby laughed, tightening her grip in the hopes she was strong enough that she wouldn't fall in. Dee tried to throw her off and Shelby locked her hands together, starting to slip. "Noooo!" she landed in the cold kiddie pool, her sundress sticking to her body and soaking her to the bone. "Oh my god, it's so cold!" she sputtered, standing. "Ugh I'm gonna KILL YOU, COME HERE!" she laughed, chasing after her aunt and wrapping her arms around her waist so that Cassandra could enact her revenge.
"Mommy! Mommy, Mommy!"
Shelby dropped her arms from Dee's waist as Rachel came running over to her at full speed.
"Mommy, you gotta see." Rachel entreated Shelby to be pulled along back to where Jude stood at the side of the pool. "Look! He is peeing in the pool now!"
"Jude dude!" Lena laughed, running to go and get him. "I guess it's time for us to dry off anyways, huh? The sun is going to go down soon, if we wanna get started on that fire?" she turned to look at Stef while carrying Jude away from the pool. "I'm going to have to go change him, and...find a towel for me," she smirked.
"You can wear something of mine," Shelby offered. "You too, Stef, or you can steal some of Cassie's clothes."
Natalie wrung some water out of her brand new clothes with a little pout. The war had been fun, but now she was freezing. "What about me?" she asked.
Holly wrapped an arm around her. "We can run home and change real quick, and then come back to help with the fire pit," she suggested, throwing Shelby a wink that told the brunette she would also be grabbing Cassandra's presents that everyone had been keeping there. "Callie and Mariana, if you need some clothes you might be able to fit some of Natalie's, too." she nodded her head towards the victorian and her clan followed suit, April taking Maddie with them so they wouldn't have to watch her around the fire they intended to build.
Cassandra wrapped an arm around Brandon. "Come on, kiddo, I have a band TShirt you can wear and a pair of sweatpants..." she led him inside and picked up Cadence on the way in so she could put her in something warmer and cover her up before the bugs got bad. Brandon blushed lightly at the idea of wearing Cassandra's clothes, but didn't protest as Shelby gestured for him to go into the bathroom on the ground floor.
Soft music drifted up the stairs as Cassandra supervised getting Brandon and her baby sister dry and providing them with warm clothes. Cassandra put the toddler in a soft lightweight footed sleeper with ballet slippers on the hall, she could hear Shelby getting Rachel changed also. The dancer assumed they could get the fire going soon and settle down for some quiet time as a family.
After finding some clothes for Stef and Lena as well, everyone was dry and comfortable. Shelby got out the bug spray and tiki torches to rid the area of mosquitos. Meanwhile April and Dee carried several wrapped presents out the front door of the victorian, and set them down in front of where they assumed Cassandra would be. The birthday girl in question was too busy carrying Shelby's cupcake platter outside to notice right away. Shelby followed closely behind with the ingredients for s'mores on a large plate.
The family all fixed their lawn chairs around the fire pit while Stef and Holly worked on getting the fire going. Lena grabbed several blankets out of her car, and Shelby went back inside to look for skewers to roast the marshmallows on.
Their massive family dynamic and everyone working together was something that Shelby took a second to revel in. It really did take a village, and the picture in front of her warmed her heart. To save moments like these, she had taken several pictures throughout the day, and continued to do so while it was still light out. To her left, Rachel had moved back to the yard. In the twilight, the lighting bugs were out and her little girl was doing her best to catch one. Shelby never thought she would get a moment like this. A moment watching her little girl play on a summer night with the rising moon. She blinked back a tear. Life had thrown some curveballs as of late, but she was grateful for her support system and thought that their dysfunctional family was actually a lot more functional than it seemed. She felt the love in the circle around the fire pit and thought to herself, This is worth it. This is all worth it.
Cassandra turned around in awe, pointing to the large assortment of gifts by her chair.
"Um, what the hell is this?" she asked, looking accusingly at Shelby. Shelby shook her head and pointed at Holly.
"Don't look at me! This was Holly's idea," Shelby told her. "I just helped her achieve it."
"Well, your birthday is in a couple of days, sweet cheeks," Holly shrugged innocently. "So we thought we'd have a party. Stef and I had to work on your actual birthday, so. This is what you get."
"You act like this isn't more than enough…" Cassandra whispered, trying to process this. "You mean this whole party has been for me? I…holy shit my birthday is in a couple of days? What day is it?"
Shelby took a seat next to Cassandra and set a comforting hand on her upper thigh. "Yeah, baby. Happy birthday," she said kindly. "You deserved a night of fun and we knew that if we framed the whole night as a birthday party you'd overthink it. We wanted you to relax and that's exactly what you did, now," she laid a big, sloppy kiss on her wife's cheek and then clapped her hands together excitedly. "Open up your presents!"
"Wait! Let us sing happy birthday first!" Dee said, pulling out some sparklers from a bag she took out of her car and putting a couple of them into some cupcakes on the platter. "One-two-three!"
An off-key chorus of "happy birthday" was sung by the whole family, and Cassandra giggled at the sound, watching Cadence put her hands up to her ears at the unexpected loud noise. The song was finished long before the sparklers were, but when they fizzled out, the family all grabbed a cupcake in celebration.
Brandon smiled at Cassandra and whispered a shy, "Happy Birthday, Cassie!" with a goofy little smile. Cassandra ruffled his hair and smiled.
"Thanks, kiddo," she said, still trying to process how she hadn't realized it was so close. "You look pretty good in my shirt, I gotta say!"
Am I really that out of touch with reality?
Brandon grinned. He was pretty comfortable in Cassandra's oversized Aerosmith shirt. He moved to start helping Holly prep the skewers so they could roast marshmallows after Cassandra opened her presents.
"Ours first!" Lena begged. Her deep brown eyes were imploring and ever lighthearted.
Cassandra smirked softly. "None of you had to get me anything-"
"Oh, but we have, so shut up and accept them before we change our minds," April teased her.
With a playful eye roll, Cassandra relented. "Okay, okay," she agreed. "Thank you. I'll start with Lena and Stef's, since Lena asked nicely."
She reached for the card with her name written in an elegant, Lena Adams-Foster font. When she opened it she noticed several certificates were carefully placed in the envelope. "What's this?" she asked.
"It's a few deep spa treatments from yours truly," Stef winked at her. "There are a couple of valid certificates there, so every couple of months when you need another one it'll be waiting for you. Massage, mud bath, chakra cleanse, detox, the works. You've more than earned it."
"You have to get rid of all of that tension in a healthy way," Lena added. "We wanted to make that a little easier on you."
"Thank you guys so much," Cassandra said softly. "Genuinely, this is amazing, I can't even begin to explain how much this means to me..."
"And so much more where that came from!" Holly said, putting her gift to her best friend into her hands. "So you can't get sentimental yet, okay? Mine next!"
Cassandra surveyed the bag. "From you and April?" she asked.
"Are you kidding? Like Miss Center of Attention would let us both go in on a gift. She had to get you one herself," April laughed.
Cassandra shook her head in disbelief. She didn't feel like she deserved all of this fuss. She pulled a bow off of a medium sized rectangle box, moved some tissue paper out of the way, and audibly gasped. "You didn't… Holly Rose Holliday, I can't believe you did this…"
Holly shrugged, playing oblivious. "I'm not sure what you mean…"
"Yes you do, shut up, you did not buy me the Dolce dress!" Cassandra's jaw dropped as she unfolded a gorgeous black dress right off the Dolce and Gabanna runway. "This is too much…"
"And I got you the heels to match," April smiled, unable to keep the secret.
"You guys! Why would you do this! This is-" Cassandra felt speechless. Her protest died on her lips.
"Something you totally deserve," Holly cut her off. "And I saw you eyeing it longingly in New York. Allow yourself to be spoiled every once in a while."
Cassandra pulled the matching, strappy stilettos out of their bag. "You guys," she repeated. "Holy shit, thank you!"
"Mine next, Mama! You gotta open mine next!" Rachel insisted, taking a seat next to Cassandra and leaning forward to pick up the one she got special for her Mama while they were in New York, (with Shelby's help, of course). "It's more than one, so be careful it doesn't fall out…" she warned.
"Okay honey," Cassandra nodded. "I promise, I'll be careful." The bag Rachel handed her was also decently sized, and she pulled a shoe box out of it very carefully. She opened it to see a brand new pair of toe shoes and she pouted out her lower lip in adoration. "Rachel, these are beautiful," she stressed the word. "These are perfect, thank you! How did you know I needed new toe shoes?"
Rachel pressed her lips together in a fine line smile. "Mommy might've helped me a little," she admitted with a little giggle. "Go on, there's more!"
Cassandra continued to go through the bag to find a solid gold key chain, a big star its main feature. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Oh, Rachel…" Cassandra whispered.
"I have the little star," Rachel whispered back, feeling shy all of a sudden. There was a hush among the family as they took in Cassandra's gifts. "It's sitting in a bag in my room waiting to be hung on the board next to my school desk, 'cause I didn't want you to see it before you opened yours…" she felt nervous. "Do you like it?"
"I absolutely love it, little star," Cassandra told her honestly, looking into her eyes so Rachel knew she meant it and kissing the little girl's cheek before giving her a big hug. "It's beautiful just like my daughter."
Rachel took in those words her Mama had just said, Just like my daughter. They made her feel special, and made her realize that she truly did have a special place with her Mama. Cadence wasn't Mama's daughter, she was her sister. Rachel was the only one that had the special title, daughter. It made her feel warm and loved. She sat in Cassandra's lap while she finished opening presents.
"One from all of the kids," Stef announced, pointing to one that was wrapped as opposed to being in a box. "And then the bag one is from Dee and the other one is from Shelbs, I think."
"What other one?" Cassandra asked. "There's only two things left here." she eyed her wife suspiciously. Shelby shrugged.
"You'll have to see after you open the other two," she said impishly.
"Shelby, I thought the necklace-" Cassandra started to protest. Her wife shushed her with a kiss.
"Finish opening your gifts, Cassie," she encouraged.
Cassandra reached for the wrapped gift and tore the paper off to reveal a picture of Cassandra that day, playing with all of the kids with the water guns. It was centered in a square frame and the surrounding area was signed by every single kid in the family, even Jude and Cadence, (Cassandra suspected, with more than a little help from the adults of the family). Cassandra nearly teared up at all of the handwritten messages from her babies.
"How did you guys do this so fast? Oh my god, I love you all so much. This is the cutest," Cassandra blew them all kisses, knowing she would get a big bear hug at the end of the night before they all left, or in the morning when they did, depending on how long they all decided to stay up.
"Holly said it was magic," Mariana said. "I wrote in silver sharpie because I know that's your favorite!" she pointed out.
"And I wrote the one with the song lyrics!" Brandon pointed out.
"Mine has a star next to it!" Rachel added.
"I wrote a book quote that reminded me of you," Natalie smiled shyly. "It's about dance and coffee."
Cassandra laughed lightly. "Yeah, that sounds like me," she agreed.
"I drew the little picture," Callie said. "I'm not great with words."
"And I wrote the biggest because I thought it'd draw your attention the most," Jesus said proudly. Mariana rolled her eyes at her brother and he grinned a big, cheesy grin.
"I love it you guys, thank you," Cassandra said. "It's perfect."
There was a small silence while she took care of some of the wrapping paper and regathered her gifts to their proper bags.
"I guess that means mine is next," Dee said, picking up the bag and setting it on Cassandra's free leg. Cassandra reached into the bag and pulled out a massive basket, nearly spilling over it was so full. On top lied a card that read,
"Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting." - Henry V, Shakespeare
"What is this?" Cassandra asked, already grateful for whatever it was.
"It's a self-care basket, if you will," Dee informed her. "There are bath salts, fresh lavender, sage, essential oils, a couple of organic face masks, a new crystal facial roller... that shampoo from the place in the village that you like so much… some other goodies that I think you'll appreciate- some local honey, flowering teas and the like."
Cassandra knew what they were all doing, but she was not ungrateful for it. She knew she was a little on the wild side lately and they were all doing their best to reign her back in and help her calm down before she did something reckless. The sentiment wasn't going unnoticed by her, and she felt her heart melt at all of the work they had all done to pull this off. It baffled her how all of this was accomplished unbeknownst to her, though she figured she probably was not the most attentive as of late.
"Thank you so much, Dee, this is wonderful, I can't wait to go through all of it… all of you, thank you so much, I don't know what I did to deserve…" she started to choke up and Holly noticed immediately, so she stopped her.
"Sometimes we're allowed to spoil you, you know? Especially on your birthday. Well, your almost birthday," she amended. "You're an amazingly strong woman and an incredible mother. You do deserve to be pampered."
Nods around the fireplace agreed and Shelby wrapped her arms around her lover from behind. "It's true, you know," she said, placing a kiss to Cassandra's temple. "You deserve all of this and more. I'd capture the moon for you if I could, and I still don't think that would be enough to show you how much love I have for you."
Cassandra felt herself relax into Shelby's arms, holding her Rachel close as well. She closed her eyes to breathe and then opened them to make eye contact with everyone in her family. She was overwhelmed by their love for her, but not in a bad way.
"We have one more surprise for you," Shelby admitted. "Are you ready for it?"
Cassandra laughed nervously. "Um….truth be told, I'm not sure," she said.
"I think you're going to like it," Shelby smirked, handing Cassandra a small remote. "Pick a color," she said.
Staring at the remote in confusion, Cassandra pressed a random button and watched the back of the house light up technicolor, LED lights running along the porch. Shelby hit a button and the lights started pulsing to music. Cassandra dropped her jaw.
"That is sick," she exclaimed. "Wait what else does it do?" She started hitting all of the buttons and giddily watching the lights change depending on the song that was playing.
"There's another set in the garage, with your pole, because I know you said you wanted to take some time to start working out with it again. In fact, the whole garage was sort of renovated for that purpose. A gift from all of us, I can show you after we put the kids to bed," her tone was only slightly suggestive, she knew her limits around the family.
Cassandra sucked in an excited breath. "You're joking!"
"Honey, in this house we don't joke about pole dancing," April commented. "Or pole working out, or whatever the hell you want to call it."
"That's amazing! That's so cool, oh my god you guys, thank you all so much," she kissed her wife gratefully. "Wow, for someone who forgot it was even her birthday…"
"You just needed some family to remind you, that's all," Stef shrugged it off. "It happens in your old age," she taunted.
"Hey, none of that shit," Cassandra warned, not unkindly.
Rachel watched the new lights on the porch in wide-eyed wonderment. She had helped Shelby test them out earlier, but that was while it was sunny out. They flashed and strobed so much prettier at night. She adjusted her position on Cassandra's lap and cuddled into her.
The rest of the kids got restless and had started making s'mores, passing out the skewers and marshmallows and making a tighter circle around the fire. After a few minutes, Rachel stood and sat in the chair next to her Mama so Cassandra could stand and get her own skewer. When Cassandra moved to sit back down, Cadence started throwing a fit in Lena's lap, so Cassandra passed her skewer to Shelby and pulled Cadence into her lap, in an attempt to console her.
"Mama," Rachel tugged on Cassandra's sweatshirt. "I don't know how to do what we're doing. Why are the marshmallows on sticks?" she scrunched her nose, confused. "The fire is hot," she commented.
"Scooch your chair back a little, Rach," Cassandra suggested. As Rachel did so, she also moved her chair closer to her Mama, feeling vulnerable. "We are going to roast the marshmallows over the fire," Cassandra explained. "Then we put them in between graham crackers with some chocolate, and everything gets mushy and sticky and good."
"Do I have to get close to the fire?" Rachel asked tentatively.
Cassandra shook her head. "Not if you don't want to, one of the older kids or adults can help you."
Rachel paused for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Will you help me, Mama?"
Cassandra was at a loss for words by Rachel's sudden change in character, and wondered if the girl had just let her anxieties get the best of her earlier but released them and loosened up throughout the day. "Sure, honey, I can help you," she said. "When it's our turn I just need you to hold Cady for me for a few minutes, could you do that do you think?"
Rachel nodded with a small smile, a little nervous to hold the baby but willing to try.
"Look at this, no one is ready for this, are you ready for this?" April announced from across the yard, splitting a cupcake from the bottom, flipping the top over so that the icing was facing the "inside" and making a sandwich with the icing, a roasted marshmallow, and chocolate in the middle of the cupcake. The lights from the porch illuminated her face, casting a light blue flood across her face. "Mmmmm," she seemed proud of her culinary creation.
"My teeth hurt watching you eat that," Lena laughed. "SO much sugar..."
"And so worth the calories," April promised, offering her a bite. Lena shook her head in protest, but after a little encouragement took a small bite.
"It's good, but I couldn't eat one by myself," Lena admitted.
April shrugged. "More for me!"
Holding a fussy Cadence was not something that Rachel was thrilled to do. Therefore, she decided she was going to do all that she could to keep Cadence from starting more of that god awful crying that she was prone to. Rachel still felt bad about that morning, and wanted to prove to both of her moms that she was trying to be more accepting of the baby. Cadence seemed tired to Rachel. To tell the truth, Rachel was very tired too, but she would not admit that to any adult of the adults. The last thing she wanted was to be sent to bed before trying one of those marshmallows. Rachel held the baby stiffly, but gently. The nine-year-old was not sure she was going to be able to get back into her chair holding a baby, but Mama was fixing her marshmallow.
"Mommy," Rachel said, clearly struggling.
Shelby sat her wineglass down on the grass, surprised as her two girls stood in front of her. It shocked her that Rachel was willingly holding Cadence in the first place, but didn't make any comment on the matter.
"Can we sit with you mommy?" Rachel asked.
"Of course, sweetheart," Shelby assured Rachel. "Want me to take Cady so you can climb up?"
After Rachel nodded, the singer moved to the side and gathered Cadence into her arms. Rachel sighed as she sat down and snuggled into her mother's side. Her mother was soft, warm and smelled pretty. She was aware that people were talking around her, but she blocked them out. She let her head rest against her mother's shoulder. A blanket was placed over her and that felt even better.
Cadence seemed to like it too, because for once she was also quiet.
Rachel definitely did not want to go to sleep just yet. It was okay for Cadence to, because she was a baby. Rachel was nine, after all, and preferred to stay up with the big kids. However, the humming that Shelby had started for the baby was starting to lull her to sleep as well. That is for the baby, right?
"Mommy, stop the sleeping song," Rachel complained. "I have to stay awake for this part."
"Sorry Rach," Shelby reached up and brushed Rachel's hair out of her face. "Cady is asleep now, so I will stop humming."
"It's done, Little Star," Cassandra said, waking her a little more as she pulled a long skewer from the fire. Rachel looked at it speculatively. It was not much to look at. The previously white marshmallow was now dark in color and significantly more melty than before.
"Mommy, I'm going to Mama now," Rachel said, sliding off the chair and climbing directly into Cassandra's lap. The dancer welcomed her with welcome arms. Her mama's arms were more firm than her mommy's. Her mama was warm and had just the right curves to snuggle into, just like her mommy, though. Rachel fit perfectly in both of their arms, and she knew that couldn't be a coincidence.
"You sure it tastes okay? It's all black..." Rachel judged.
"Well, what if I take a bite first? Would you take a tiny bite, too?" Cass asked, totally enjoying the moment with her mini Shelby. Shelby had also turned her nose up at the first roasted marshmallow the couple had shared after they moved in together after college, because she was picky about them being browned as opposed to being burned.
The two tasted the marshmallow together, regardless. Rachel had to admit, it was not that bad by itself, but it definitely got a whole lot better when Aunt Dee Dee put the chocolate and graham cracker with it.
"Mama! This is great," Rachel exclaimed at a hushed whisper so she wouldn't wake the baby. She liked these moments without Cadence making noise sometimes. She licked her sticky fingers after she finished her piece and then leaned back into Cassandra with a satisfied smile on her face. "I like cook-outs."
It was the last thing out of the little girl's mouth before she drifted asleep in the comfort of her Mama's arms. Shelby held Cadence close, and Cassandra ran her fingers through Rachel's long brown hair. This was what peace felt like, and even if the chaos ensued the next day, the little moments were all Cassandra and Shelby needed to feel that sense of home they had been searching for.
. . .
In loving memory and respect for the talented Naya Rivera, who graced the Glee fandom in a way more lasting and eternal than anyone could have ever imagined. We celebrate her and are grateful for the passionate way she lived her life, and how she paved the way as a pioneer to showing the world that love is love in the medium of television. The lesson is simple: Love is Love. Live it . Embrace it. Sing about it. Then fully live it. Naya did that, and challenges us all to continue and pass it along. Although we know that actors are not their characters, Naya portrayed a character who is near and dear to us for many reasons. Santana helped Hayley get through an incredibly difficult time in her life, and helped her (and many many others) accept her sexuality and embrace who she was to her core. Naya herself was a ray of light. Her smile was infectious and she had the voice of an absolute angel. All of our love goes out to her family and friends, and to her fans. Please leave her family and friends alone during this time on social media as they are mourning and owe the fans no explanation for that. We love you, Naya. Thank you for everything. It is our belief that she and Cory are reunited and looking out for each other, up there. Don't stop, readers. That is the challenge. Rest in peace Naya.