I'm think I'm going to write some Shelby/Rachel drabbles and oneshots to get some of the ideas out of my head that I don't think I'd be able to make into a longer fic. If you have any ideas or suggestions for a oneshot then feel free to let me know!
Here it is, Rachel's first (half) day back at school. Will things go as smoothly as she and Shelby hope they will? Read on and find out!
Shelby didn't need to wake Rachel for her first day back at school, she'd been tossing and turning for over an hour by the time the alarm went off, Shelby holding her closely, running her fingers through Rachel's hair and humming softly to her to try and relax her a little before they had to get up.
Shelby was glad she hadn't made plans for the afternoon, hoping she and Rachel could both have a nap once she'd picked the girl up from school, "come here" she said softly when she saw Rachel stood in front of the mirror, the girl dressed in the clothes she'd laid out the night before.
"Mom?" Rachel frowned.
Shelby gestured to the bed, waiting for Rachel to sit down before picking up her hairbrush, running it through her daughters long locks. "Up or down?" Shelby asked once all the knots were out of Rachel's hair.
Rachel bit her lip, "down please" she whispered.
"Okay" Shelby reached for her straightener and flicked it on, running it through Rachel's hair, the girls hair naturally straight but the straightener helping tidy up her bed head a little. "How's that?" Shelby asked once she'd straightened Rachel's bangs.
Rachel smiled and glanced in the mirror, feeling slightly relaxed by the repetitive action of Shelby brushing and straightening her hair, not realising that was her Mom's plan all along, "it looks great" she smiled, "thank you."
"It's okay" Shelby smiled, kissing Rachel's head before unplugging her straightener, "now, what do you want for breakfast?"
Rachel stood from the bed, "I don't know if I'd be able to eat anything."
"How about we try some toast?" Shelby suggested, "and you can take some snacks for later."
"Okay" Rachel knew her Mom wouldn't let her go to school without eating anything, "thanks Mom."
As the time for them to leave came closer, Shelby could see Rachel getting more and more anxious, and she could almost feel the nervous energy buzzing around the car as she drove her daughter to school.
As they approached McKinley, Shelby couldn't take any more and she pulled over a few blocks from the school, turning off the ignition and reaching for Rachel's hand, "I know you're scared baby" she said gently, "but that's okay, it's absolutely okay. But you've got people supporting you now, you're not on your own."
"I know" Rachel whispered.
"Miss Pilsbury is going to give you a pass when you go to see her" Shelby told Rachel, the girl being dropped off earlier than she needed to be to give her time to speak to Emma before her first class. "so if you need a break you can leave your class. And she and Coach Sylvester both know that, if you feel overwhelmed, if anything happens, you can call me and I'll be right there" she promised.
"I know."
"This is a big step for you baby, and I'm so, so proud of you for deciding you want to go back, for being strong enough to pick yourself up and try again, but if you can't do it, if you can only make it through first period. If you can only make it through ten minutes, I will still be just as proud as I am now. We can take this as slowly as you need to okay, this is all at your pace, there's no rush."
"I know" Rachel nodded and began to play with Shelby's fingers, "I want to do this Mom, I want to go back to school, I want to be normal again, it's just…"
"It's a big step and you're not sure what to expect?" Shelby finished when Rachel couldn't.
"Yeah" even now Rachel was surprised by how well her Mom could read her.
"That's why we're doing it slowly, like I said, this is all going to be done at your pace. I will be outside of the school when the lunch bell rings, but if you need me before then, then all you have to do is call me okay?"
"Okay" Rachel nodded, "thanks Mom."
"You don't need to thank me" Shelby told her, letting Rachel have a moment before asking, "ready?"
Rachel took a shaky breath, "ready" she nodded.
Shelby drove the short distance to the school, pulling up in the fairly empty parking lot, "I'll be here at lunch time" she promised, getting a silent nod in response, "you've got this baby" she promised, reaching out to hug her daughter, "I love you."
"I love you too Momma" Rachel smiled as Shelby reached into the back to grab Rachel's bag.
"Have a great day" Shelby smiled, kissing Rachel again before her daughter left the car, Shelby waiting until Rachel walked into the building before driving away, hoping the girl's first day went smoothly.
As Rachel made her way into school, Shelby knew she'd have to keep herself busy. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried about Rachel going back to school but Shelby knew she had to try and relax, she had to stop worrying about Rachel and trust that Rachel would reach out if she wasn't okay.
Shelby headed to the store first, there were a few things they needed and she wanted to pick up something nice for dinner that night. She ran a few other errands whilst she was out before heading home, sighing as she pulled onto the driveway, there were still almost three hours before Rachel would be done at school. She threw a load of laundry into the washing machine before going upstairs to change into her workout gear, making sure she had her cell phone and the home phone as she made her way into the basement, hoping a workout and some yoga would distract her mind for a while.
Rachel meanwhile had spoken to Emma, the woman repeating pretty much what Shelby had told her, that she could leave class and take a break if she needed to, that if she wanted to call Shelby then she could, and that the teaching staff were all there to support Rachel however they could.
Emma had planned on walking Rachel to her first class but she didn't need to, they stepped out of her office to find Puck leaning against the lockers, "Berry" he smirked, "good to see you back."
"Noah" Rachel smiled, "what are you doing here?"
"We've got physics together first thing. I thought I could walk you there" he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Well" Emma smiled, "I'll leave you two to it, you know where I am if you need anything" she said, glad that Rachel had the support of her peers as well as the adults around her.
"Berry" Noah shook his head as they reached the classroom and she made to sit at her usual seat in the front row, "come on" he said, leading her to sit beside him at the back.
Their teacher welcomed her back with a smile before explaining that they'd be spending the class working in pairs. Rachel's heart sank slightly, Matt was sat at the other side of Puck and she assumed he'd choose his friend, that she'd be left on her own. But she was wrong, "what's wrong?" he asked with a playful nudge to her arm when he saw the look on her face, "working with me isn't going to be that bad is it?"
Rachel looked up, "with you?"
"Unless you want to work with someone else?"
"No" Rachel smiled, "I'd like to work with you," thank you."
Rachel felt a weight lifted from her shoulders as she left the room at the end of the class, her first period had gone well, and she could only hope that the rest of her day went just as smoothly.
She was walking down the hall when she felt a weight on her back, and she panicked for a moment before she heard a familiar voice and realised Brittany had jumped onto her back, "Puck said you were coming back today, I'm so happy to see you" she beamed as she took Rachel's hand and began walking along side her, "are you going to History now? Will you sit with me? We can sit at the front if you like. I usually sit near the window but I get distracted sometimes, I saw a squirrel last week!"
Rachel smiled, "I'd love to sit with you Brittany, thank you."
Shelby pulled up outside the school almost 20 minutes before the lunch bell, she knew she was early but she'd promised Rachel she'd be there when the bell rang and she didn't want to risk being late. She knew there'd come a day when it wouldn't be a big deal if she got caught in traffic and was five or ten minutes late, but she knew that day wasn't today.
"Hey baby" Shelby smiled as Rachel slipped into the car, dropping her bag into the back seat. "Good day?"
Rachel smiled and nodded as she fastened her seatbelt, "yeah" she smiled, "it was actually."
"Good" Shelby saw Rachel rub at her eyes as she pulled out of the parking space.
"Are we doing anything today?" Rachel asked.
Shelby shook her head, "no, I thought you might be tired or a little overwhelmed after your first day back so I thought we could just relax at home."
"I think I might need a nap" Rachel agreed.
"That's okay, we can have lunch then watch a movie in bed if you want? Then if you fall asleep that's fine, if not then we can just have some quiet time." Shelby had made the conscious decision not to ask Rachel about her day, allowing her to talk about it when she felt ready.
"Will you lay with me?"
"Of course I will" Shelby smiled, reaching for Rachel's hand.
The silence that fell in the car told Shelby that Rachel had something on her mind, but she didn't push her, just gave her the time she needed, and it worked, they'd just pulled onto their street when Rachel spoke, "Mom."
"Yes baby?"
Rachel fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt, "today, Noah and Brittany and the others. They were… they walked me to my classes and sat with me."
"That was nice of them" Shelby turned to face her daughter once the car was parked on the driveway
"I erm. Could I maybe invite them over sometime? I don't know if they'd actually like to come but I thought I could ask and…"
"Baby" Shelby took Rachel's hand. "Of course you can invite them over. It was meant to be a surprise but I ordered a tv and a couch for the basement earlier. I thought that you could have that space, so if you want your own place or if you have your friends over, you can all go down there. I could get you a little refrigerator too to keep soda and snacks in and you'll be able to hang out without me being in your way."
"Momma" Rachel was shocked, "I… that…"
"Of course you and I can still use the basement together, and I'll want to use the piano or work out or something sometimes, but when your friends are over I won't disturb you."
"Thank you" Rachel whispered. "Thank you."
Shelby leaned over and kissed Rachel's forehead, "you don't need to thank me baby, now, the TV and the couch will be here later in the week, so why don't you ask your friends if they want to come over at the weekend, I'll get you pizza or something."
Rachel nodded and smiled, "I'd like that, thank you."
"Good" Shelby smiled. "Now that's sorted, let's get inside and get some lunch, Momma's getting hungry."