Saviour - What if the men Shelby gave her baby to hadn't been the loving parents she thought they would be
Rating - T
Characters - Shelby & Rachel
A/N -This chapter's a little shorter than usual but it seemed to come to a natural end. I'm going on holiday for a week on Wednesday but I'm hoping to have the next chapter up before I go.
Shelby sat beside Rachel on the sofa after breakfast, "you know you have your appointment with the therapist later?" she asked and Rachel nodded in response, "well we need to call into your school before your appointment."
She saw Rachel pale, "please" Rachel began to beg, "you said you wouldn't make me go back."
"I'm not making you go back" Shelby was quick to reassure her daughter, "we're going to meet with Principal Figgins and Coach Sylvester to talk about what happened on Wednesday and then we're going to speak to Miss Pillsbury to try and figure out how to stop you falling behind whilst you're off school. I will be with you the whole time I promise. You will not be going back there until we are both 100% certain that you will be safe."
"You're staying with me?"
"Of course I am. I know it might be hard for you to believe but sweetheart you're safe here, I would never force you to do anything that might put you at risk, Coach Sylvester and I will be there with you. We're on you're side darling, we just need to talk about what happened before you fell."
"I didn't fall" Rachel whispered quietly, "the hockey players pushed me."
Shelby wrapped her arm around Rachel and kissed her softly, "that's what Coach Sylvester thought happened, she's already looked at the CCTV tapes but that means this meeting is even more important so the people that did this to you can be punished."
"I've spoken to the education board" Sue told Shelby later that afternoon, "Figgins doesn't know this but someone will be in to talk about what happened by the end of the day" Sue said as she walked towards the main office with Shelby and Rachel, "this isn't the first time he's tried to brush something under the carpet and to be honest, I can't see him keeping his job over something like this. He's the principal, he should have dealt with this as soon as it happened but he buried his head in the sand and hoped it would all go away. If you were to show interest in becoming a principal, I would be happy to support you" she suggested.
Shelby chuckled slightly and shook her head, "I don't think so. I resigned at Carmel so I could spend more time with Rachel, I'd probably get to spend less time with her if I was principal here than if I still coached VA at Carmel. Maybe you should go for it though?"
"I planned to" Sue said matter of factly.
"Regardless of who's principal, something needs to be done about the bullying here and if there's anything I can do to help, either as an ex teacher at a school that didn't tolerate bullying or as a parent of, well, you know what happened to Rachel."
Sue nodded, "I'll keep that in mind" she pushed open the door to Figgins' office, "Figgins, we need to talk" she said firmly.
"Sue, this is highly inappropriate, if you want a meeting then you need to schedule some time with my secretary, I think I have an opening sometime next..."
"No" Sue interrupted him, "Rachel was seriously injured in this building a couple of days ago, she's lucky she wasn't paralysed or killed. Emma will be joining us soon along with an officer from the Lima police department so we can get this sorted out, you've seen the CCTV, those brutes need to be punished and you won't do anything about it so I am."
Emma arrived a few minutes after Sue had burst into Figgins' office and a female police officer arrived not long after Emma and immediately set up a tape recorder so Rachel wouldn't have to give a second statement at the police station, "Rachel" the police officer spoke softly after Sue had demanded Figgins' secretary made them all tea, "I've seen the CCTV tapes from Tuesday but I need you to tell me, in your own words, what happened. There's no rush, take your time."
"I, I was in Biology, I'd left my textbook in my locker and Miss Hanson said we'd be using it later in the lesson so she wrote me a pass so I could go fetch it, I, I was walking along the corridor, I didn't even see them coming."
"Them?" the police officer prompted.
"The hockey players" the police officer nodded and Rachel continued with her story , "they were mad that my Mom had found out about the slushies and they weren't allowed to bring them into school any more. They said they'd had to think of a new way to show me where I belonged and I shouldn't be at the top. I didn't even know that we'd walked to the top of the stairs until I felt something on my shoulders. I tried to grab the handrail, I really did but then I was in the ambulance and coach Sylvester was there and I was sick, I'm sorry."
Shelby reached for Rachel's hand, "Baby, you don't need to apologise, none of this was your fault."
The police officer smiled and nodded, "what you've just told me is really helpful but I need to ask you a couple of questions" Rachel nodded and she asked her first question, "what do you mean they were angry that your mom had found out about the slushies?"
"Some of the more popular students like to assert their 'power' by throwing slushies at the students they deem to be least popular. Most teachers like to look the other way but I helped Rachel out after some hockey platers slushied her on Monday, I called Miss Corcoran and she came in to collect Rachel and she told Principal Figgins to do something about it. I believe he gave the students a one day suspension as well as banning slushies from the grounds" Sue answered for Rachel.
"Did you see this happen?" The police officer asked. Sue nodded, "Were the people involved in Monday's incident the same people that came up to you in the corridor on Wednesday?" she turned her attention back to Rachel and she too nodded, "can you give me any names?"
Rachel named a couple of the hockey players including the one that had threatened her before she was pushed, and Sue helped name the rest of the students, "what happens now?" Shelby asked.
"We pay the students you named a visit, I assume we can get their home addresses from your records without the need for a warrant"
"We can't just give out infor..." Figgins began before Sue interrupted him.
"I'll get them for you on your way out."
The police officer thanked Sue, "We pay them a call, probably take them in for questioning, with the CCTV tapes and Rachel's statements, it's looking like an assault charge, the CCTV is really clear so that's going to work in your favour, they'll probably be released until it goes to court, if you're pressing charges that is, but they won't be allowed near Rachel so there's nothing to worry about."
"You won't get away with this" Sue told Figgins once the policewoman had left, "I'll make sure of that." She turned to Shelby, "I've got a few calls to make. I'll call you when I've got more information."
"Thanks" Shelby shook Sue's hand before turning her attention to Rachel, "are you okay?"
"Yeah" Rachel nodded, "I think so."
Emma smiled at the mother and daughter before speaking for the first time since she'd entered the room, "do you want to move into my office?" she could tell Figgins was furious, "I can bring up Rachel's schedule so we can work out how we can keep her up to date."
Shelby nodded, "I think that would be a good idea."
Rachel, Emma and Shelby spent almost half an hour talking before they came up with a way for Rachel to keep up with her school work. The doctor at the hospital had recommended Rachel take at least six weeks off from school to recover from her head injury and Shelby intended to keep her at home until Rachel's safety could be guaranteed. They agreed that Emma would collect Rachel's work throughout the week and Shelby would collect it on a Friday afternoon so Rachel would only ever be a week behind her peers.
In Rachel's opinion the drive to the therapist's office passed far to quickly and before she knew it she was sat beside Shelby in the waiting room. "Sweetheart" Shelby placed her hand on Rachel's trembling thigh, "calm down, you're okay."
"You're coming in with me right?" Rachel tightly clutched Shelby's hand with her own.
"I'm coming in with you" Shelby reassured her, "can you remember what I said? I'd go in with you and stay for a little while until you were settled and then I'd wait right outside the door for you to be done."
"Promise? You're not going to leave me here?"
"No" Shelby shook her head, "I promise I won't ever leave. I will be right outside the door and you can check that as often as you feel you need to. You can walk out with me and see exactly where I'll wait. I promise you sweetheart that I won't be going anywhere."
"Rachel Berry" before Rachel had chance to reply a woman who looked only slightly older than Shelby called Rachel's name.
"Come on" Shelby stood and held her hand out to Rachel, "let's get this done, the sooner you're in there the sooner you'll see it's not as bad as you're worrying it will be."
"You must be Rachel" the therapist said as Shelby and Rachel approached her, "I'm Alice" she held out her hand for Rachel to shake, "you can call me Alice or you can call me Dr Moore, whichever you feel more comfortable with."
"Shelby Corcoran" Shelby introduced herself.
"Ah yes" the therapist said with a smile as she held out her hand for Shelby to shake, "You're Rachel's Mom" she turned her attention back to Rachel, "Do you want your Mom to sit in for a while?"
Rachel nodded and reached blindly for her Mom's hand which Shelby took and squeezed softly. "you're okay" she tried to reassure her daughter.
"Here we are" Alice smiled as she opened the door to her office, the walls were painted in a pale green colour and there were several chairs scattered around the room, "take a seat" she gestured into the room, "wherever you think you'll be most comfortable."
Rachel stood in the doorway for a minute before looking to Shelby, "go on" the mother spoke softly, "where do you want to sit?"
It took a moment but Rachel eventually sat on the white leather sofa in the corner of the room, waiting until Shelby sat beside her and moving to sit as close to her Mom as she could without sitting on Shelby's knee.
"I'd like to go over a few ground rules before we start" Alice said as she moved a chair to sit opposite the sofa, "Everything you say in here Rachel is in total confidence, I won't even tell your Mom unless you ask me to tell her something. If however you told me anything that would make me worry for your safety then I have to tell someone, whether that be your Mom or your Social worker but I will always consult you before I go to someone else okay?" Rachel nodded and Alice smiled, "if you want your mom to sit in on any sessions, either because you want to talk to both of us about something or because you want me to act as a mediator then that's absolutely fine you just need to let me know, similarly if there's something you want to talk to your Mom about but you don't know how to go about it then let me know, we can either bring her to sit in on a session or I can have a word with her and ask her to start that conversation at home."
Rachel nodded, "okay" she whispered slowly.
"I'm on your side Rachel" Alice said with a friendly smile, "I won't ever force you to talk about anything, if you want to sit in silence for a session or you want to talk about what you've seen on tv or what you've had for dinner then we can do that, or if you'd rather I read a journal entry or a letter you've written or anything else then that is absolutely okay. You're in control of these sessions, we can go as slowly or as quickly as you like."
"Thank you" Rachel mumbled.
"Rach" Shelby spoke softly, "I think now's a good time for me to step outside so you can talk to Alice."
Alice watched Rachel's eyes widen in fear, "you're not leaving?"
"I told you" Shelby cupped Rachel's face in her hands, "I'll wait right outside the door" she looked to Alice, "that's okay right?"
Alice nodded, "that's fine."
"I'll be right by the door Rach, I'm not going anywhere without you I promise." She kissed Rachel's head, "I will be right outside, if you're worried you can come check I've not gone anywhere" she reached into her handbag, "I've even bought one of those rubbish gossip mags Amy bought you to read while I wait."
Alice saw Rachel was terrified that Shelby would abandon her and knew that would be something she'd have to address, "how about we do this slowly, this week why don't we go and sit in the corner" she gestured to two armchairs in the furthest corner by the door, "and Mom can sit by the door so she's still in the room, that is if you don't mind her being in here?" She looked Shelby in the eye and was glad to see her nod, signalling she was okay with the suggestion.
"How about that darling?" Shelby asked Rachel, "I'll be just by the door."
"And you won't leave?"
Shelby shook her head, "I'll be just there by the door and you'll be right across the room."
Rachel thought for a moment before nodding, "okay."
"Good girl" Shelby kissed her head, "I love you" she stood to move over to the door.
"I love you too." Rachel said as she reluctantly let go of Shelby's hand and moved to sit in the corner of the room with Alice.
"Hi" Alice smiled softly as Rachel curled herself into the chair
"Hi" Rachel couldn't look the woman in the eye.
"Do you want to jump straight in at the deep end or would you like us to wade in slowly?"
"I don't mind" Rachel mumbled almost inaudibly.
"Is it just you and your Mom at home?" Alice asked, "no brothers or sisters?"
Rachel shook her head, "My, my mom was a surrogate for my fathers, they were, they are gay. They said having me put them off having any more children."
Alice nodded and knew she was probably approaching a minefield, "have you lived with your Mom long?"
Rachel shook her head, "two weeks today."
"If I ask something you don't want to answer then tell me, or ignore me and I'll take the hint and move on." She took a moment before asking, "why do you live with your Mom now?"
"They got sick of me, they left me on her doorstep, I didn't even know who she was. It was pouring with rain and they didn't even know if she was in before they left but she loved me, from the minute she opened the door she's loved me." Thoughts were spilling from Rachel's mouth almost as fast as the tears were spilling down her cheeks and Shelby raised her magazine higher so that Rachel wouldn't be able to see her tears if she turned round.
"Do you want to tell me what things were like when you lived with your fathers?"
Shelby heard Rachel take a shaky breath, "I was only allowed out of the basement to go to school or do chores" she whispered, her head bowed, tears rolling freely down her cheeks, "when I got home from school I had to wait on the back porch until one of them unlocked the door to let me in."
"What if the weather was bad?"
Rachel shrugged, "it didn't matter. Sometimes it was dark before they let me in" she admitted.
Alice nodded, "what happened after you were let in the house?"
Rachel sighed, "I had to do more chores and make dinner for my fathers, once their dinner was made I had to go into the basement, there was no light so I tried to sleep but..."
"But what?" Alice prompted carefully.
"I wasn't allowed a bed, I had some blankets but I had a nightmare and, and" Shelby could tell Rachel was getting worked up, "I had an accident because of the nightmares and they told me I was disgusting, I didn't even deserve the sheets so they took them away and gave me puppy training pads to sleep on."
Alice smiled sadly, "have you had any accidents whilst you've been living with your Mom?" Rachel nodded, her gaze fixed firmly on her knees, "how did she react?"
"The first night, she stripped the bed and gave me some clean clothes to change into but she didn't have any clean sheets so she let me share her bed. She bought extra sheets the next day and a cover for the mattress but, we, erm, I don't have the nightmares when she's there so she's let me sleep in her bed."
"Here's the question you've probably been waiting for since you walked through that door, how do you feel about that?"
"A, about my Mom?" Rachel clarified.
"Yeah" Alice nodded, "if you don't want to talk about it while she's in the room then that's absolutely fine."
"She, she already knows that I think she's doing too much."
"Can I tell you something?" Alice asked, only continuing when Rachel nodded, "your Mom is always going to worry about you, she's got an inbuilt 'Mom switch', once it's turned on there's no turning it off. I'm, well, let's just say I'm more than twice as old as you are and my Mom still calls to check I'm eating properly and to ask if I'm wearing a hat and a vest in winter. She says I'll understand when I have a child of my own."
"My Mom said she doesn't think I'll ever understand how much she loves me until I have my own family"
Alice smiled, "I think she might be right, mom's usually are. Alice glanced at the clock, "our hour's almost up but I think our session's gone really well, no matter what you might think right now, we can get you past this, It sounds like what your fathers put you through was awful and we don't want to brush that aside, but at the same time we need to help you realise that that's not what you deserve, your father's are in the wrong, not you. You deserve all the love you get from your Mom, we'll work on trying to get you to trust her a little more so you don't have to worry that she's going to leave you. We can get you through this Rachel, it won't be quick or easy but we'll get there, things will get better."
Rachel nodded, "that's what my Mom said."
"See" Alice smiled and nodded to Shelby signalling that she could come back over to Rachel, "Mom's are always right."