Shelby sighed from the bathroom as she heard her phone ringing, she quickly dried off her hands before running through to her bedroom and grabbing her phone; her annoyance soon fizzled out into happiness when she saw who was calling.
"Hey Rach, how are you?" she answered, unable to keep the smile off her face. Over the past few weeks herself and Rachel had been working on their relationship, slowly becoming closer and getting to know one another better, both desperately hoping to build that Mother-Daughter relationship that they craved so deeply.
"Hey Mom" Rachel replied, the word 'Mom' still feeling a little foreign on her tongue, "I was just calling to ask if it's still okay for me to sleep over this weekend?" she asked, trying not to sound too eager.
"Yes, of course babe. Take everything you'll need to sleep over to school with you on Friday and I'll pick you up" she offered, trying her best to sound casual like Rachel.
"Okay, thanks Shelby" Shelby tried to hide her disappointment at Rachel switching back to using her name rather than calling her Mom, she knew the girl was still coming to terms with it and she didn't blame her for being a little hesitant.
"I can't wait to spend time with you, darling" Shelby said quietly, unsure of how her daughter would take the nickname. Rachel smiled and blushed, relieved that Shelby couldn't see her, "I can't wait either" she replied, pausing for a moment before murmuring a quick "love you" and hanging up before she could hear Shelby's reply.
Rachel took a deep breath and threw her phone on her bed, lying down next to it and staring up at the gold stars stuck to her ceiling, she had nervous butterflies floating around her tummy, but she couldn't help but be excited to finally be building the relationship with her Mom that she had always dreamt about.
Friday came around much too slowly for both Shelby and Rachel, but soon enough the teenager was packing her bag to take with her to Shelby's after school. Rachel placed her hairbrush in the bag and grabbed her toothbrush, throwing that in too before glancing over to her pillow where her beloved blankie laid. She debated for a solid five minutes about whether she should take it with her or not, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully without it but she also felt a little embarrassed to still have a comfort item at 17 years old, and she didn't want Shelby to think it was weird of her.
Eventually, she decided against it and quickly gave it a hug, tucking it safely under her pillow before grabbing her bags and rushing out of the house to head to school, wanting to get there early so she could take full advantage of the empty choir room before her classes for the day began.
The day seemed to drag more than usual for Shelby, who busied herself with tidying the house and getting the spare room ready for Rachel; she planned to let the teenager redecorate the room in any way she wanted so she felt more at home and decided to suggest it to Rachel that evening, maybe they could even go to the store that weekend and pick out paint swatches. Shelby knew she was getting a little ahead of herself, but she so badly wanted to fix her and Rachel's relationship, she wanted her baby girl to be hers again.
Finally, the bell rang to signal the end of the day and Rachel instantly shot up from her chair, running to her locker to grab her things before going out to the school parking lot to find Shelby's car.
Shelby waved with a bright smile when she saw Rachel coming out of the school doors, effectively catching her attention and chuckling to herself when the teenager practically sprinted over to the car. "Hi!" Rachel greeted excitedly as she opened the car door and slipped into the passengers seat, throwing her bag onto the back seat before leaning over and placing a sweet kiss to Shelby's cheek, causing the woman to smile warmly.
"Hey babe, good day?" she asked sincerely, wanting Rachel to know that she genuinely cared about how her day had been.
Rachel nodded, "yeah it was okay, it went so slowly though" she laughed, relieved when Shelby nodded in agreement. "Yeah it did, I was so excited to come pick you up" Shelby laughed, "I'm going to stop at the store on the way home so we can grab some food that you like, is that okay?" she added, pulling out of the parking lot after she received a nod and a smile.
In the store, Rachel walked a little ahead of Shelby looking up and down the aisles to find her favorite foods, she grinned cheekily to herself as they passed the candy aisle and quickly darted down there, grabbing a bag of Twizzlers and taking them back to Shelby. "Mom, may I have these pleeeease?" she begged, dragging out the please and pouting up at Shelby with impossibly wide puppy eyes, a sight she knew the woman would never be able to say no to.
Shelby chuckled, Rachel's facial expression reminded her of a small child, "sure babe. How am I ever going to say no to you?" she asked, more to herself than to Rachel. The teenager simply shrugged and grinned, "thanks Mama, you're the best" she said, wrapping her arms around her waist and giving Shelby a tight hug. Shelby knew Rachel had only called her Mama as a joke but it struck something deep inside her and instantly made her emotional.
She was so happy that she had her teenage daughter, but she couldn't help feeling a little upset that she had missed her younger years and the fact she had missed out on hearing an innocent baby Rachel call her Mama hurt her in a way she couldn't explain.
Shelby quickly cleared her throat and shook off her emotions before Rachel could notice, kissing the top of her head before releasing her from the hug and finishing the grocery shopping.
"Okay, this is the spare room...your room" Shelby informed Rachel as she led her upstairs and into the room on the right; Rachel was taken aback, it was much bigger than she had expected and it was a beautiful grey and white color scheme.
"Oh wow, this is so cool" she complimented as she put her backpack and schoolbag on the bed.
"Thanks honey, I was thinking we could redecorate it however you wanted" Shelby offered, walking over to the en suite and showing Rachel around. The teenager couldn't believe what she was hearing, Shelby would really let her decorate the room however she wanted?!
"Are- are you sure? It's your house Mom" she argued, she loved that Shelby would do all of this for her but she didn't want to invade her home and redecorate it.
Shelby noticed Rachel's surprise, "it's your room and this is your home on the weekends now. It's only right to have it exactly how you want it since you'll be spending so much time here" she reassured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, her eyebrows raising in surprise when Rachel turned to completely bury her face in her chest.
"Are you okay, darling?" she asked softly, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back. Rachel nodded and moved her head to rest her chin on Shelby's chest, looking up at her Mom with a smile and teary eyes, "I just feel so overwhelmed and, and this is everything I ever wanted but I just have so many emotions right now" she explained, hoping that Shelby would understand what she was feeling.
The dark haired woman nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I know, babe. I'm feeling the same, I'm so happy that I have my girl back again. It's all just a little overwhelming for the both of us, I think" she said, wiping the tears from Rachel's eyes with the pad of her thumb, "how about we order a pizza for dinner and just relax with a movie?" she suggested, not wanting to overwhelm her girl anymore than she already was.
"Funny girl?" Rachel asked hopefully, laughing when Shelby replied with "duh, what else would we watch?".
Both Shelby and Rachel loved watching the movie together, they snuggled up on the couch eating pizza and cuddled as close as they could possibly get to one another. "Come here" Shelby offered, patting the space between her legs and holding her arms open when she noticed Rachel trying to bury herself even closer.
Rachel smiled and settled herself between Shelby's legs, lying her upper half on top of her and resting her head on her Mom's chest. The teenager couldn't remember a time she had felt so peaceful and content; she loved the way Shelby wrapped her arms around her and how she would trace soothing patterns on her back. She had spent so many years imagining this moment and now it was finally real...she finally had a Mom.
Shelby yawned as the credits for the movie rolled up the screen, her legs were numb and her back was aching but it was so worth it to see Rachel happy in her arms; she glanced down and tenderly brushed some hair away from her face, revealing that Rachel was passed out asleep against Shelby. Shelby took a moment to just look at her, it was crazy how alike they looked, she would have loved to see what Rachel looked like when she was a child and often wondered if she looked the same as herself at that age.
"Rach, honey. Wakey wakey, let's go to bed" she murmured quietly, being sure not to startle her as she ran her fingers over the sleeping girls features.
"Mama?" Rachel asked groggily, making Shelby's heart leap once again. "I'm here, babe. Let's go to bed, okay? You had a big day" she replied, smiling as she watched Rachel let out a jaw cracking yawn and rub her eyes with her fists.
"Mhm, tired" she muttered, her voice still sleep lined and slightly husky.
Shelby ensured Rachel was settled in and comfortable in her room before saying goodnight and heading across the hall to her own room, she flopped into bed exhausted from all the emotions of the day and fell asleep instantly, not even bothering to turn off her lamp or close the curtains.
It was close to 3AM when Rachel jerked awake panting and sweating from a nightmare, she quickly sat up and looked around the room, groaning when a wave of dizziness and confusion hit her from sitting up too fast. It took her a few minutes to realise where she was, but slowly she remembered that she was in the spare room at Shelby's house.
The darkness of the room and the loud rumbling of thunder and rain was way too scary without her blankie and she suddenly regretted leaving it at her Dads house; she knew Shelby wouldn't have judged her.
She laid down and attempted to fall back to sleep, but the tears just kept falling and all she wanted was for her Mom to comfort her and hold her tight, telling her that everything was okay. Rachel slowly stepped out of bed and tiptoed to the door, trying desperately to keep her breathing and crying under control long enough to navigate her way to Shelby's room, which was only scaring her more and heightening her senses.
"Mom?" she whispered, standing next to the bed and Shelby's sleeping form, she wiped at her eyes with her fists and choked on a sob, "Mama please" she whimpered brokenly with a soft poke at the woman's arm that was uncovered from the sheets.
Shelby frowned as she felt herself being lightly poked at, she went to slap the hand away but stopped herself when she remembered Rachel was sleeping over; another sob brought Shelby completely out of her sleepy state, her heart wrenching at the sound.
"Rach?" she asked, slowly sitting up and shuffling over in the bed so Rachel could slip in beside her; to her surprise Rachel got in but didn't snuggled up like she had expected her to, she looked at Shelby with wide begging eyes as if she was waiting for permission. Shelby knew that this whole mother-daughter thing was still really new to Rachel so she opened her arms and beckoned her closer, "come here, honey. Let's cuddle" she said, followed by "oh, baby, what's wrong?" when the teenager all but launched herself at Shelby and clung to her like she was the last thing holding her to the earth.
All she received in reply was incoherent mumbling, her speech being slurred by Shelby's neck; the woman had no idea what could be wrong, a million thoughts and worries ran through her head as she gently rocked them and whispered soothing words into her distraught daughters ear. Maybe Rachel didn't like it here? What if she hated staying at Shelby's and never wanted to come again? The woman did her best to shake those thoughts away when Rachel pulled her head from her neck and took a deep shaky breath, looking up at Shelby with wide, scared eyes. Although Shelby could see a whole lot of trust within those honey-brown pools.
"It's okay Rachie" she reassured her, not missing the way Rachel perked up, responding instantly to the nickname; "you like that name baby?" Shelby asked, trying her best to engage the girl in a conversation to hopefully distract her and stop the tears.
Rachel nodded, her tears slowing as she relished in the comfort of her Mom, "I-I always i-imagined my Mom giving me a special nickname" she stuttered, tumbling over her words as she shook from both the cold and her nightmare.
Shelby smiled sadly, wishing she could have given her the nickname years earlier, "then my Rachie is what you'll be" she whispered, kissing the side of Rachel's head and gently pulling her down to lie down on top of her. "Now, let's talk about why you're so upset. Do you not feel comfortable here? Is there anything I can do to make you feel more at home?" Shelby asked after a few minutes when the teenagers sobs had stopped almost completely.
Rachel immediately lifted her head to look at Shelby, "no I love it here!" she promised; it was true, she had never felt more at home. "I had a nightmare" she admitted quietly, afraid Shelby would think she was silly for making such a big deal over a bad dream, she was 17 after all.
"A nightmare? Poor Rachie" Shelby pouted sympathetically, she knew she was talking to the girl as if she was a child rather than a teenager, but she noticed the way Rachel responded so positively to the cooing an coddling, it really seemed to get through to her and Shelby was willing to do anything that would make her girl feel better.
"What was it about?" Rachel whimpered and shook her head, causing Shelby to pull her closer, it broke her heart to see her so upset. "Tell Mama, honey" she cooed again, "you can trust me, I'll make it all better" she promised, wanting nothing more than for Rachel to be able to trust her fully, it was the next step the had to conquer in their newly found relationship.
Rachel sniffled and wiped at her face, smiling when Shelby grabbed a tissue from the box beside her bed and gently patted her hands away, cleaning the snot and tears off her face lovingly; she wasn't used to being treated with so much tenderness and it made her feel so wanted. Sure, her dads were amazing but they never knew how to help when she was sad so Rachel had always dealt with it alone. "You went away. I needed you and you left me and never came back" she whimpered, "don't leave me Mama, I need you. I need us" she begged, her voice wavering with emotion as a few tears began to roll down her cheeks again.
"Shh, honey. I'm not going anywhere, I finally have you back and I'm going to keep you forever. I could never leave my girl" Shelby assured her, Rachel's bloodshot eyes studied the woman for a minute or two, as if she was trying to make sure she was telling the truth. Shelby picked up on the doubt and held out her pinky finger towards Rachel, I pinky promise, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere, we're a team now" she promised, relieved when the teenager let a small smile tug at the corner of her lips before wrapping her own pinky around Shelby's.
Eventually, after lots of cuddles and reassuring words from Shelby, Rachel was finally calm and no longer scared by her nightmare; Shelby smiled sleepily when she saw Rachel yawn and whine before curling into her more.
"Let's get you back to sleep, honey" she suggested quietly so she didn't make the girl jump, Rachel whined again and gripped into Shelby's arm, clearly not wanting to go back to her own room.
"It's okay, you can stay i here with me" Shelby told her, secretly loving the idea of getting to catch up on a few of the cuddles she had missed over the years.
"Thank you Mom" Rachel replied, her tone full of relief, she really didn't want to go back into her dark room all alone, "sing to me?" she added hopefully looking at Shelby with tired, half lidded eyes. The older woman smiled and nodded, gently wrapping her spare hand into Rachel's long brown hair and scratching at her scalp, something that her own mother had done to get her to sleep when she was younger too. Rachel sighed in contentment as her Mom's voice and loving touch sent her off into a peaceful and much happier sleep than her previous one.
The next morning, Shelby carefully untangled herself from Rachel, deciding to let her sleep a little longer whilst she showered and got started on breakfast; she was about halfway through making the french toast when she heard her daughter shuffle into the kitchen. Shelby turned around and held back her chuckle, Rachel's hair was sticking out in every direction and the poor girl looked like she was still asleep on her feet.
"Good morning, honey" she greeted warmly, going over to her and running her hands through her hair to flatten it down and tame it a little.
"Hi Mama" Rachel replied groggily, leaning into Shelby's front and sighing happily when the woman began rubbing her back.
"Are you okay?" Shelby asked, noticing that the usually loud and talkative teenager was barely talking; for all she knew this could just be how Rachel was when she was waking up, after all, this was the first time she had been with her daughter in the morning.
Rachel nodded and rubbed her eyes, "hungry" she stated simply, sitting down on a stool at the island and watching her Mom go back over to the toast. "Well then, good thing your breakfast is ready, hungry girl" Shelby teased, plating the food and setting a plate down in front of Rachel before asking what drink she wanted.
"Can I have milk, please?" Rachel asked, thanking her Mom when she set down a glass of almond milk next to her plate.
The two sat in comfortable silence eating their breakfasts, Shelby thinking about what they could do that day and Rachel thinking about how nice it was to not be yearning for her Mom for once. Shelby finished eating first and put her plate in the dishwasher before sitting back down and nursing her coffee to her chest, watching with a fond smile as Rachel ate; the girl had toast crumbs and cinnamon all around her mouth. Shelby didn't remember her being so messy the night before with the pizza but shook it off, finding it unbelievably cute how at ease and comfortable Rachel was around her already.
"Here, baby" she said softly, holding out a napkin as Rachel ate the last bite. She blushed slightly when she realised what a mess she had made, looking at Shelby with those wide, brown puppy eyes, "can you do it?" she asked quietly, giggling when Shelby playfully rolled her eyes and leaned over to wipe her daughters mouth off.
Shelby threw the napkin away and cleaned the kitchen whilst Rachel went upstairs to take a shower and get ready for the day; she couldn't help but notice that something was different about the teenager today. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it is, but she had noticed how the usually independent, mature and talkative girl was a lot more dependent on Shelby, wanting her help with the littlest of things like cleaning off her face, she also noticed she was a lot clingier, wanting to be as close to Shelby as possible.
Shelby didn't mind, in fact she loved it, she loved that Rachel was learning to trust her and would allow her to help with even small tasks... it was like having her baby girl back again. She decided to talk to Rachel about it later, but for now, she would just enjoy her little girl needing her again.
Rachel sighed as she finished getting dressed and looked at herself in the mirror, secretly wishing that she was young enough for Shelby to help her get ready for the day. She absolutely loved that they were building a relationship, but she couldn't help but still be sad that she didn't have a Mom to help her when she was little; she dreamt about Shelby fixing her hair and getting her dressed, feeding her and playing together. She shook off the sadness that was quickly overtaking her and threw her hair up into a messy bun before heading down to watch TV whilst she waited for Shelby to get ready too.
"What do you wanna do today, Rachie?" Shelby asked curiously as she walked into the living room and saw her sitting on the couch. Rachel turned her head to look at her Mom and smiled, she had the prettiest Mama ever!
"Can we just stay home?" she asked, hoping to cuddle, watch movies and revel in the attention Shelby gave her.
Shelby frowned, "are you sure, babe? I don't mind taking you out for the day" she offered figuring Rachel was just trying to be polite. The teenager shook her head and leaned into Shelby's side when she sat down next to her on the couch. "I really just want to hang here with you" she admitted, "maybe we could do some baking?" she added, chuckling when her Mom squealed and nodded eagerly.
"Oh yes! I love baking!" she gasped excitedly, like a child, "let's go to the store and pick up a cake mix" she suggested.