A/N: hi all! A couple of things; first, I'm sorry for the flub I made regarding Quinn's eye color, but it's fixed. Second, a lot of you voiced concern at Quinn's sudden interest in Rachel. I promise, that I plan to dive deeper into that plot of the story, and an explanation is coming! Lastly, I'll also be going into more depth of what exactly Rachel's fathers did to her later in the story. Just hand tight!
Thanks for all the love!!
…
Shelby had felt true, genuine fear only a handful of times throughout her life. When she was five and broke her arm after climbing the tree her mother specifically told her to stay off of. When she was sixteen and had a pregnancy scare because she had been young, dumb and careless. When she was twenty three, and had to call her mom and tell her she had a granddaughter that she would never get to meet. And when she was thirty five and was told if she didn't have a hysterectomy, she would die.
Yes, Shelby had felt fear before. But no one ever prepared her for the fear that began to course through her blood the second she heard her daughter's terrified voice, alerting her to the fact that they were in danger. No one prepared her for the flight of fight instinct that immediately kicked in, or the overwhelming urge she had to protect Rachel at all cost.
"Shelby." Rachel said again, this time more frantically. "They're here. They're in the driveway. In your driveway." Rachel yelled.
Shelby pinched the bridge of her nose and counted backwards from ten before looking up at Rachel and giving her a reassuring smile. "Grab your stuff and wait for me by the garage door. I need to grab a couple of things and we're going to leave." She said surprisingly calm, despite her shaking hands. "Their car isn't blocking me in. We can get into the car and lock the doors before opening up the garage door. It will all be fine."
Shelby watched as Rachel worriedly chewed on her bottom lip before giving her a slight nod. "I'll go wait for you by the door." She said softly.
Shelby gave her a gentle smile before going up to her room and packing her belongings into a bag. They wouldn't be coming back here tonight.
…
Rachel sat quietly in the lobby of the police station. Taking comfort leaning against Shelby's shoulder as the older woman gently rubbed her back.
The car ride here was surprisingly uneventful. By the time Shelby had packed a bag and placed everything in the car, her dads had left, making leaving a lot easier. Shelby had spent the half hour car ride to the police station calling different people. Her lawyer about reinstating her parental rights, a judge she was friends with who she asked to help speed the process along, a family service worker, and another lawyer where she whispered about a contract breach.
Thinking about it all made Rachel's head hurt. She had so many questions, but didn't even know where to start.
"Miss Corcoran, Miss Berry?"
Rachel looked up and found a young looking police officer standing in front of her.
"We're ready for you now. Follow me."
Rachel looked to Shelby for reassurance, and relaxed when she grabbed her hand and didn't let go after they got up. "I'm right here with you." Shelby said softly into her ear, before leaving a whisper of a kiss in her hairline.
The officer led them back to a small room that had three chairs. He gestured to the chairs on the further side of the table and Rachel took that as her cue to sit. She listened as Shelby relayed the series of events that had transpired in the past twenty four hours and the circumstances regarding her relationship to Rachel. Rachel found herself mindlessly nodding along as Shelby spoke, her mind racing a million miles a minute.
"I just want to make sure I'm not going to be charged with kidnapping." She heard Shelby say. "I've already spoken to my lawyers and I have a judge working right now on granting me temporary custody. Rachel came to me willingly."
"You won't be charged with kidnapping ma'am." The officer said politely. "Even if Mr. and Mr. Berry tried to phone in and say their daughter was kidnapped, they would be arrested for child abuse." He paused and looked down at his notes. "Everything is pretty much set, I just need to get a couple statements from Rachel and take a couple pictures of the bruises on her arm and you guys are good to go."
Rachel sucked in a breath and stared down at her lap. She wasn't ready to talk about what her dad and daddy had done to her. Saying it out loud made it real. And Rachel didn't want it to be real. She missed the loving and caring fathers she used to have. Not the men that they had become. A part of her didn't want them to get in trouble, they were her fathers after all. But she knew what she had to do.
Rachel felt Shelby's warm hand on her back again and immediately melted into her touch. "Whenever you're ready, baby"
Rachel nodded and started telling the officer everything she could remember. The very first time she was slapped across the face. The day she got home late and daddy whipped her with his belt. The time she dropped a coffee mug, causing it to shatter into a million pieces and daddy made her kneel on the broken shards. The countless nights without dinner, hot water and everything in between. She talked until her throat was raw. And by the time she finished, Shelby was sniffing quietly beside her, clutching onto her hand as if it were a lifeline.
"Thank you, Miss Berry." The officer said quietly. "I know that couldn't have been easy."
Rachel gave him a weak smile and leaned her head into Shelby's shoulder, who immediately started placing gentle kisses into her hairline.
"If I could just get a picture of the bruises on your arm really quick, once I'm done you and your mother are free to leave."
Rachel nodded and stood up, turning her arm so the officer had a clear shot of the bruises that were placed their by her daddy.
"Thank you." He said after taking a couple shots. "Are there any others?"
Rachel tensed and shot a nervous glance to Shelby before nodding and gently lifting up her shirt.
Rachel didn't know what was worse. The pain that shot through her ribs when lifting up her shirt, or the sob that Shelby let out upon seeing Rachel's torso that was littered with bruises.
"Rach," Shelby said hoarsely. But Rachel cut her off with a quick shake of her head.
"I don't know why I didn't tell you about this if that's what you're going to ask." Rachel said monotonously. "And he did it Friday night, when he found out you were going to be at regionals. I tried to tell him you were going to be there with your team, not to see me, but he didn't listen."
Rachel looked away when she saw a tear slide down Shelby's cheek.
"I don't think anything is broken." The officer said quietly, gently feeling around Rachel's ribs. "Just badly bruised."
Rachel nodded and pulled her shirt back down and went to sit down next to Shelby. She was surprised, however, when she was gently pulled into Shelby's lap. "I love you." Shelby whispered, placing even more kisses to her face before holding Rachel tightly against her.
"I'm just going to make a couple of copies of the report and pictures for you to give to your social worker you're in contact with, and then you're good to leave." He said gently. "Do you have a place to stay tonight? I'm sure we'll make the arrest today, but just in case we have any trouble finding them, I'd rather you be safe than sorry."
"We have a place to stay." Shelby said gently, rubbing her hands up down Rachel's back. "Thank you."
…
Shelby drove the forty five minutes outside of Lima in complete silence, her mind racing a mile a minute. She couldn't stop the guilt that had slowly been building up since leaving the police station. How could she have possibly let those men take her baby? How could she not she see it was all just an act? Why didn't she fight harder for Rachel?
Shelby shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned down the road that led to her parents small cottage. It wasn't much, but it was private and secluded and currently vacant.
"Is this it?"
Shelby nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Rachel's voice. "Shit." She yelled. "You scared me. I thought you were sleeping."
"I woke up when you turned the car off." Rachel said tiredly. "I was thinking before I fell asleep, I don't really have anything with me. Last night I had to borrow pajamas from you. I don't have a toothbrush, or any toiletries for that matter. Plus my book bag is at my dads house and I have school tomorrow and-
Shelby held a hand up to cut off Rachel's rambling. "Honey, relax." She said reassuringly. "I've packed some extra clothes of mine for you, and I also packed you some of my extra toiletries." Rachel nodded, and Shelby smiled as she saw the tension leave her shoulders. "As for school, there's only three days left in the year before summer break. I thought I could call us both off for those three days?"
Shelby watched as Rachel's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "But, you never miss work. Jesse told me you've never called off."
"Well," Shelby said while grabbing her bags from the backseat, "I didn't have a daughter to take care of then, now did I?" She said with a wink. "Come on, let me show you inside and we can get settled."
A couple hours later and Shelby was standing over the stove making stir fry while Rachel sat on the couch in the living room. She had barely said more than three words since they arrived and Shelby was starting to worry. She didn't know what to say to the girl to make her feel comfortable and relaxed, and she was starting to kick herself for not being able to comfort her daughter. This was exactly what she had been afraid of. Sure, she loved her daughter more than anything in the world, but would love be enough?
"Here you go." Shelby said softly a few minutes later, handing Rachel a plate and sitting down on the couch next to her."
"Thank you." Rachel said before eating.
Shelby nodded and chewed her food slowly before speaking. "The social worker called me while you were asleep in the car. With the police report on file, my petition for temporary custody was granted."
"Okay." Rachel said, not taking her eyes off of her plate.
Shelby sighed and put her plate down on the coffee table. "Talk to me, Rach. What's going on in that head of yours?"
"I feel guilty." Rachel said, mimicking Shelby and setting her plate on the coffee table. "I don't want dad and daddy to get in trouble. I know they love me, they just have been really stressed out lately, and sometimes I do deserve their punishments." She said, beginning to cry. "And I feel guilty for throwing your life into an upheaval. You never wanted me in the first place, and now you're stuck with me. You can't even sleep in your own bed tonight because of me."
Shelby's heart broke at the blubbering mess that was her teenage daughter and quickly wrapped her arms around her. "Oh sweetheart." She whispered. "It's okay to feel guilty. Those are still your dads and it's okay to still love them." She said softly, rubbing soothing circles on Rachel's back. "But you know what isn't okay? Thinking you ever deserved to be punished in the way they punished you. There is no excuse for what they did to you. Do you understand?"
She felt Rachel nod against her shoulder and tried not to grimace when she felt her wipe her nose on her shirt.
"You didn't throw my life into an upheaval, baby. Not one bit. I need you to understand that."
Rachel looked up at her with a blotchy face and sniffled. "I'm trying too." She said earnestly. "But ever since the day we said goodbye, I just feel I wasn't what you were expecting. And that you're only doing all of this because you feel obligated." She said softly. "I won't blame you if you decide you don't want me to stay with you."
Shelby hugged the girl closer to her, being mindful of her ribs. "Rachel, I think I need to tell you about the night I was arrested."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rachel asked.
"Just listen." Shelby said, leaning back against the couch, pulling Rachel into her side so she could rest her cheek on her head.
"It was December eighteenth, two thousand and four."
"My first birthday." Rachel said softly.
"Your first birthday." Shelby reiterated with a smile. "I had just moved back from New York. No matter how hard I tried, all I could think about was you." She said sadly. "So I had just gotten back, and I was struggling that day. It was your first birthday and all I could think about was if you were having a party, if you were walking yet, what you looked like." Shelby paused, wiping a stray tear off of her cheek. "So, I made a stupid decision and got really drunk."
"I don't understand. It's not illegal for you to get drunk. Why were you arrested?" Rachel asked.
Shelby sighed, thinking back to that night.
She had just cashed out at the bar and was waiting outside for a taxi. Despite her drunk nature, Shelby still couldn't get her brain to stop thinking about her baby. Her baby was one year old. She had missed out on an entire year of her baby's life. An entire year's worth of memories she would never be a part of.
Shelby wiped her eyes and looked down the street, cursing at the cold. It wasn't until she saw the street sign that she realized where she was and smiled at the idea that popped into her head. Fuck the taxi, she thought, and started walking in the opposite direction.
A few blocks later and Shelby was standing in the driveway of the home she lived in for nine months. The home that housed her baby girl. She felt her breath hitch as she realized that all that was keeping her separated from her daughter was a door. She quickly wiped her eyes and marched determinedly up to the front porch and knocked softly. She heard a baby squeal from behind the door and felt her heart burst with joy. She was finally going to see her baby.
The front door opened and she came face to face with a shocked LeRoy.
"Shelby." He said, worriedly looking behind his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"
"Please let me see her." She said softly, already feeling the tears slide down her cheeks. "It's been a year. I just want to see her. Please."
"No." He said forcefully. "You can't be here Shelby. You need to leave."
"Please." She pleaded, sounding desperate. "I'm begging you. I just want to hold her for a second, please."
LeRoy opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Hiram appearing in the doorway with Rachel on his hip.
Shelby thinks he asked LeRoy who was at the door, but she couldn't be sure. All she could focus on was the beautiful little girl snuggled into him. She had beautiful brown eyes, with a tuft of hair the same color pulled into a little ponytail on top of her head. She made eye contact with Shelby and gave her a toothy grin.
"She's so beautiful." Shelby said, reaching her arm out to stroke her cheek.
She pulled her hand back when Hiram sharply slapped it away. "Don't you dare touch my daughter." He said forcefully. "You're not supposed to be here, and if you don't leave I'll call the cops."
Shelby felt her blood boil. "She's just as much my daughter as she is yours. She's half of me. I just want to see her." She screamed, reaching for Rachel once again only to be shoved back by LeRoy.
"You will never be her mother." He said harshly.
"Your neighbors called the cops because of all the yelling. Once the police arrived and your fathers explained to them that I had no parental rights, I was arrested for disorderly conduct." Shelby said sadly.
"You wanted to see me that bad?" Rachel asked, looking Shelby in the eyes.
"I did." Shelby said, running her fingers through Rachel's hair. "And to this day I don't regret that night, because I got to see you."
Rachel smiled and relaxed back into Shelby's embrace. "Does this mean I'm going to be living with you permanently?" Rachel asked. "I know right now it's just temporary and I-
"Honey," Shelby started, effectively ending Rachel's rambling. "I want nothing more than for you to permanently come and live with me. As long as that's what you want too."
"That's what I want." Rachel said softly.
"Then it's settled." Shelby replied. "But these next couple of weeks are going to be stressful." She warned. "I'm certain there will be a hearing, we're going to have to schedule meetings with lawyers to change the temporary custody to permanent, I'm sure there will be meetings with social workers." Shelby rattled off. "It's going to be rough, but you and I have to stick together, okay?"
"Okay." Rachel said. "It's me and you."
Shelby smiled and kissed Rachel's forehead, settling back down into the couch, reveling in the feelings of holding her daughter. "It sure is, baby. It sure is."
…
A/N: I have rewritten this chapter multiple times and I'm still not completely happy with it. Think of it as a filler. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!