Uncle Jimmy makes an appearance in this chapter! If we're imagining Jackie Burns as Amy, is it too much to imagine James Snyder as Jimmy, because there's a video of the pair of them singing 'here we go' from if/then together on youtube and it's the cutest thing!
To the guest who asked about Shelby's brothers, I do have plans to bring them into the story but that probably won't be happening for a while yet, but there is a bit of a misunderstanding between Rachel and Amy's husband in this chapter that will be discused in the next chapter too.
I won't be updating next week, so I hope those of you who celebrate have a great Christmas, and that those of you that don't have an good week anyway!
Amy stirred as she heard a door creak open in the middle of the night, settling again as her brain quickly identified it as the guest room door and not one of her children. She listened as she heard someone enter the bathroom, Rachel she presumed, due to the fact they'd managed to make it without stumbling into a wall or tripping over their own feet. Her eyes fluttered closed again as she heard the toilet flush and footsteps walking back down the hall before the guest room door was pushed closed again.
She was beginning to drift back to sleep when she heard the guest room door open again but she assumed Rachel getting out of bed had woken Shelby and that she too was going to use the bathroom, only this time the footsteps paused outside her door. The door wasn't pushed completely closed, it never was, and Amy briefly wondered if she should say something but she didn't need to, after a moments pause the door opened and Rachel stepped into the room, trying to get her bearings in the darkness. Amy shuffled over onto Jimmy's side of the bed and flicked on the small side light before lifting the covers, her side of the bed being closest to the door. "come on" she yawned, "get in."
"I didn't mean to wake you" she said quietly as she crossed the room and slipped into bed beside Amy. She'd spent a few minutes debating whether or not to go and get in bed with her aunt after she'd returned from the bathroom, she knew Amy had told her she could, but at the same time, she didn't want to disturb her.
"You didn't" Amy flicked off the light once Rachel was settled and pulled the teen close, smiling as she felt the girl relax against her, "I heard you going to the bathroom. I lost my ability to sleep like the dead when Max was born, every little noise wakes me just in case it's the kids and they need something." She gently kissed Rachel's hair, "is everything okay?" she asked, wanting to know why Rachel had left Shelby and come to join her.
"Mom was on her side when I woke, she had her arm across my stomach… I managed to get up without waking her but when I went back she'd rolled onto her stomach, she's stretched out in the middle of the bed and she, she's snoring really loudly."
Amy laughed, "well, you're more than welcome to sleep here" she told her, "I don't snore and I'll do my best not to push you out of bed" she teased.
"Thanks" Rachel yawned.
"No worries" Amy smiled before asking, "was your Mom okay when you got into bed? She didn't try and smother you with kisses or anything?" Amy joked, wanting to know if Shelby had still been upset when Rachel had got into bed but not wanting the teen to worry.
Rachel shook her head, "she was already asleep, she rolled over and put her arm round me but that was it."
"Okay" Amy was relieved Shelby hadn't cried on Rachel the way she'd cried on her, "now I think it's time we took a leaf out of your Mom's book and went to sleep too."
Rachel nodded, eyes already beginning to close, "g'night" she murmured.
"Goodnight" Amy gently kissed Rachel's hair again, rubbing her back as she held her closely, settling her the way she'd settled Lily and Max so many times before, "I'll see you in the morning, I love you" she whispered, waiting until she felt Rachel's body relax against her own before letting her own eyes close once again.
The two were still curled together when Amy woke the next morning, Rachel nuzzled right into her, and she briefly wondered if this was how Shelby woke in a morning. Much like her sister, Amy struggled to understand the Berry men, Rachel was such a beautiful girl, she was caring, intelligent, she was passionate and she had so much love to give. She couldn't understand why anyone would treat a child they wanted so desperately the way those men had treated Rachel.
She was broken from her thoughts of what she'd do to Rachel's 'fathers' if she ever got her hands on them, when the girl beside her began to stir.
Rachel nuzzled closer to her Mom as she woke before frowning slightly, something didn't quite feel right, but her brain hadn't quite woken up enough to pinpoint what it was, and as she felt fingers gently combing through her hair, she realised she didn't actually care that much.
Amy chuckled quietly as she felt Rachel move closer, she wasn't even sure how she'd managed it but Amy didn't mind, she knew Rachel had gone years without being comforted or loved by her fathers, she wasn't going to deny her the same now.
"Morning" Rachel dozed for a little while longer before she finally spoke.
"Morning."
Rachel jumped slightly, that was what was wrong, she wasn't cuddling with her Mom at all, she'd moved into her Aunt's bed in the middle of the night, "I'm sorry" Rachel tried to pull away, "I didn't mean to…"
"Hey" Amy didn't let go of her hold on Rachel, "I don't mind, I don't mind at all, if I did then I'd have moved by now, don't worry about it."
Rachel nodded and settled back down, letting out a content sigh as Amy began combing her fingers through her hair again. "It feels strange sometimes" she whispered.
"What does?" Amy remembered Shelby telling her that Rachel seemed to open up to her most as they laid together first thing in the morning.
"I…" she paused as she thought about how to vocalise her thoughts and Amy didn't push her, allowed Rachel to talk in her own time. "I never had a Mom" Rachel whispered, "I always wanted one but instead I had two… two men who just saw me as an inconvenience, who didn't want a daughter, didn't want me. But now, now I've got my Mom, my real, actual Mom, and I've got you too, and I know you aren't my Mom, but it feels like you love me just like she does."
Amy knew it was her pregnancy hormones to blame when she felt her eyes fill with tears but she screwed her eyes shut, doing her best to hide them so Rachel wouldn't think she'd upset her. "I feel honoured that you see me like that Rachel" she whispered, "and you're right, I might not have given birth to you, but I know I wouldn't, I couldn't love you any more, or any differently even if I had. And I'm so glad that you feel like you can talk to me the way you do, that you can come to me when you can't go to your Mom, either because she's dead to the world asleep or just because you need someone who has a little more distance from a situation."
"It's hard" Rachel began fiddling with the hem of Amy's tank top, the way she did with Shelby, her knuckles brushing against the slight curve of Amy's stomach, "I never used to be able to talk about, well, anything. And I can only imagine how angry they'd have been if I'd have called one of them to talk about my period or cried in their arms like I have with my Mom. And sometimes it's hard for me to open up, but sometimes I just can't stop myself, like I've held it all in for so long that everything just starts overflowing."
"And both of those things are okay" Amy reassured her, "if you're struggling to open up, then we have all the time in the world to sit with you, to do whatever we need to do to make you more comfortable, and if you're finding it easy to talk about things then your Mom and I will always be here to listen to you, to comfort you if you need it and to help you however we can."
"I know" Rachel nodded against Amy's shoulder, "and its getting easier, but sometimes I feel like everyone's just going to get sick of me and leave me again, I know it won't happen but I still, I still worry sometimes."
Amy kissed Rachel's hair and pulled her closer, "nobody in this family will ever get sick of you. We waited so long for you Rach and we're all so, so happy that you're part of our lives now. Those men did a number on you Rachel, mentally and physically. It's okay if you still have doubts, and I promise you, that every time you have one of those doubts, you can go to your Mom, come to me or Jim, or Nana and Grandpa or either of your uncles and they will tell you exactly what I've told you. We love you and we're so, so happy to finally have you with us."
"I don't want my Mom to think I'm not grateful for everything she's done."
"She won't think that. She'll think that you've been through so much already, and that you've had a huge, huge amount of change and upheaval in your life. Your Mom understands that, and she understands that your life now is completely different to how it was before and that might be hard for you to adjust to." She felt Rachel shuffle closer and kissed her hair again, "can I tell you something that your Mom once told me? And I'm telling you because I think it should apply between you and I, just like it applied between me and your Mom when I was your age."
"Yeah" Rachel whispered as she nodded against Amy's shoulder.
"You can tell me anything" Amy promised, "and unless you ask me to, or I think you're in danger, what you tell me will stay between the two of us okay? So if you're struggling but you're worried about telling your Mom, call me. We can talk on the phone or I'll come pick you up and we can go for a drive, whatever you need Rach, whatever you need we can do it and you won't have to worry about your Mom. "
Rachel nodded again, "thank you."
"You don't need to thank me Rach, you never need to thank me, especially not for loving you" she kissed Rachel's head again before telling her, "as much as I love laying here with you, this kid's getting hungry" she rubbed at her stomach, "want to help me make breakfast or do you want to stay here?"
"I'll come down with you" Rachel smiled, "but I need to use the bathroom first."
"Okay" Amy kissed Rachel's head as she stood from the bed, "come down when you're ready."
"Okay" Rachel stretched out in the bed, "I won't be long" she yawned, not protesting at all as Amy tucked the covers around her, despite the fact she said she'd get up.
Amy barely had enough time to take the orange juice from the fridge when she heard the front door open before being slowly pushed closed. "I'm in the kitchen" she called quietly, not wanting to wake the kids upstairs.
"Hey babe" Jimmy grinned as he walked through to the kitchen, pulling Amy close and kissing her fiercely before dipping his head to kiss her stomach, "hey baby". He'd left in the early hours of the morning so could be home in time for breakfast, he'd done it several times in the past, and every time his alarm went off at 3am he considered rolling over and having another couple of hours sleep, but then he got home, he saw his wife and his children and suddenly the early start and the lack of sleep was forgotten.
"Come here you fool" Amy laughed, tugging gently on Jim's hair, pulling his head up so she could kiss him again, leaning back against the counter as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding his wife close as they shared lazy kisses. "Alright" Amy broke the kiss and pushed Jimmy away when her stomach rumbled, "your baby needs feeding."
Jimmy laughed, stealing another kiss before turning towards the refrigerator. "and what does my baby want?"
"Eggs" Amy decided, "and maybe a banana, but not together."
"Good" Jimmy laughed, throwing Amy a banana to eat as he cooked her breakfast, "it's far too early for you to be getting those sort of cravings already" he joked, both of them knowing full well that he'd do whatever it took to get whatever Amy was craving.
"Rachel might be getting up, so we probably should make something for her too." She'd sent her husband a text the night before to let him know that Rachel and Shelby were staying over, and a second text before she went to bed to warn him that Rachel might end up in their bed, not wanting him to come in and scare her if he came home before they were up.
"Might be?" Jim raised an eyebrow, "I'll make your eggs than make some waffles for the kids."
Amy nodded, lifting herself up to sit on the counter before taking a bite of her banana. "Shelby's going to be feeling a bit delicate this morning. Rach got up to use the bathroom in the night but when she went back, Shelby was hogging the bed so she came and got in with me. She said she was going to use the bathroom and then come down but she let me tuck her back in and she looked like she could fall back to sleep, so I don't know" she shrugged.
"Fair enough" Jimmy held an egg over the pan, "scrambled? Fried?"
"Scrambled" Amy answered instantly, "with sourdough toast and avocado please" she smiled sweetly at her husband.
Jimmy laughed and shook his head as he cracked the eggs into the pan and added a splash of milk and a little black pepper, "for the baby right?" he joked as he reached for an avocado and began preparing it for Amy.
Rachel dozed for a little while before her bladder forced her out of bed. She used the bathroom before making her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She froze in the doorway as she saw Amy flick the dish towel in her hands at the back of Jim's thighs, felt sick at Jim's growl of, "I'm going to make you pay for that."
She wanted to run, wanted to hide, do anything to get away but she couldn't move, could only watch as Amy shrieked "no" and ran across the kitchen to get away from her husband.
Rachel briefly wondered if she should go in, if she should do something to try and protect her pregnant Aunt as Jimmy grabbed hold of her but her fear turned into confusion as she saw Jim pull Amy towards him, her back against his chest as he began to tickle her sides, Amy shrieking with laughter as she begged Jim to stop. After she asked him to stop a second time he did, turning her in his arms and kissing her softly, "it's a good job I love you." He mumbled against her lips.
"Mmm" Amy slipped her hands into the back pockets of Jimmy's jeans, tipping her head back as he kissed along her jawline and down her neck, "I think you're lucky that I love you!"
"Yeah" Jim smiled, kissing Amy again before beginning to sway gently with her as she let her head rest on his shoulder, "I certainly am."
Amy made out with Jim in the kitchen for a while, unaware Rachel had seen them, before pushing him away, "I gotta pee" she told him, smiling as he helped her from where he'd lifted her to sit on the worktop. Jimmy turned his attention to making waffles once Amy left, knowing it wouldn't be long until his kids were awake.
Rachel was curled up on the couch, knees pulled up to her chest as she thought about what she'd seen. Amy had completely missed the teen on her way to the bathroom but she saw her on her way back to the kitchen, "Rachel" she said softly, seeing the tears pooling in her eyes, "what's wrong?" Rachel shook her head and Amy sat beside her, taking her hand, "talk to me Pretty Girl."
Rachel looked up, her eyes scanning Amy's face, looking for any hint of pain, for any sign that her uncle had hurt her, "Uncle Jimmy, he… he was going to hurt you?"
Amy flinched slightly at Rachel's words, "no! What gave you that idea, he'd never hurt me Rachel, I promise you."
"He, he said he was going to make you pay."
"Oh God Rachel, no" she pulled her close and kissed her head, "he would never hurt me, he wouldn't hurt anyone, we were just messing about, it wasn't, he has never and would never hurt me Rachel"
"I'm sorry" she whispered.
Amy pulled Rachel into her arms and held her tightly, "you don't need to apologise Pretty Girl, you never have to apologise" she said as she held her close and kissed her hair. "Jimmy and I, we wind each other up, it's what we've always done, we wind each other up just like the kids do but it's always in jest, we never mean it, we're only messing around."
"I, I'm not…" Rachel sighed, "before, it was never playful and I, I guess I'm just not used to it."
Amy kissed Rachel's hair, "I know, and I'm sorry if we scared you, but I promise you Rachel, Jimmy has never, ever, hurt me. I can think of so many times when he's saved me but I swear on everything I have that he has never hurt me or our children."
"I believe you" Rachel nodded.
"Good, now, he's already fed me, but Uncle Jimmy's made waffles if you want breakfast?"
Rachel nodded, "okay."
"Do you want me to send him upstairs out of the way for a bit?"
"No" Rachel shook her head, "I, it's okay."
Amy took Rachel's hand as they walked through to the kitchen, wanting to provide all the reassurance she could to the teen. "Hey Rachel" Jim smiled when he saw her, "did you sleep well?"
Rachel nodded, "yes thank you" she said politely.
"Were the kids okay last night?" he asked as he slid waffles onto a plate and passed it to Rachel, a range of toppings already put on the side for her to help herself to.
Rachel nodded again and added a little chocolate sauce and sliced banana onto her waffles, "Lily fell asleep as I was reading to her and Max fell asleep not long after I'd finished his story."
"She had them in bed before 8 on a Friday" Amy said as she picked up a waffle for herself and covered it in chocolate sauce before taking a bite, not bothering with a plate, "she did better than we do" she laughed as she sat beside her niece.
"They know they're stuck with us" Jimmy laughed, "maybe they thought if they were good, we might go away more often and leave them to have fun with Rachel."
"Maybe" Amy smiled, "they got pizza and ice cream too."
"Oh, they'll definitely want her to babysit again" Jim handed Amy a mug of herbal tea before asking, "do you want some tea Rachel? Or some juice? We've got apple and orange" he glanced at the ceiling as he heard footsteps on the landing, "Lil's up."
"Could I have some Apple juice please?" Rachel asked, just seconds before Lily raced into the room.
"Rachey" she beamed, eyes widening in excitement when she saw Jim, "Daddy!" Amy cleared her throat and Lily giggled as Jim swung her onto his hip, "you always here Momma."
Rachel smiled slightly as she watched her Uncle, he must have left Chicago in the middle of the night to be home in time for breakfast with his family, and Lily seemed so happy to see him, she knew that her Uncle was nothing like her fathers, but she still couldn't shake that doubt. "Let me get some juice for Rachel, then I'll get you some waffles okay?" Jim said as he put Lily down, chuckling when she scurried across the kitchen to get one of her own cups from the cupboard, "I have juice too please Daddy" she grinned as she handed him her cup.
Max was next to come downstairs, both kids chatting happily to their parents as they ate, and, despite the fact that he must be exhausted, Jim was the one who got them everything they needed, allowing Amy a break from the children she cared for single handedly most days of the week.
"Why don't you go get dressed and then play outside for a bit?" Amy suggested once Lily and Max had finished eating, "I'll come up in five minutes and help you if you need it."
Lily looked to Rachel, "will you come play too."
"Sure" Rachel nodded before turning to her Aunt, "if that's okay?"
"Of course it is" Amy tucked Rachel's hair behind her ear, "and if you want to borrow some clothes so you don't wake your Mom, then just help yourself okay?"
Rachel smiled at the thought of borrowing her Aunt's clothes, "thank you" she leant over to hug her Aunt before taking Lily's outstretched hand and letting herself be led upstairs to change.