Almost before they knew it, Shelby and Rachel were both feeling the stresses of the end of the academic year, Shelby because she had assessments to set and grade, Rachel because she had to take the assessments. She was still only attending school part time but she was doing well to stay up to date with all her classes, even those she was only working on at home.
"Let's talk" Shelby said softly as she sat beside Rachel on the couch one evening.
"Wh, what about?" Rachel whispered but didn't stop herself leaning in towards her Momma.
Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and kissed her hair, "I don't know Darling, but don't think I didn't notice how worked up you were earlier, I thought you were going to have a panic attack before you managed to calm yourself down."
Rachel twisted in Shelby's arms, nuzzling into her, "I, I'm scared" she whispered, knowing she couldn't hide her feelings from her Mom, nor did she have to.
Shelby began to stroke Rachel's back, "that's a start" she smiled, "can you tell me what you're scared of?"
"School" Rachel whispered as she began to roll the hem of Shelby's top between her thumb and index finger, "all the exams and the essays and… things have been going so well, I don't want to make you angry if I fail."
"Oh Baby" Shelby kissed Rachel's hair again, "all I ask is that you try your best Darling. Do you…" Shelby thought for a moment, "would it help if I told you what I'd do if you failed one of your classes?" Rachel nodded against Shelby's neck. "First of all, I'd ask for you and I to sit down with your teacher to talk about why you failed. If you made some silly mistakes we could go through some exam techniques, help you learn how to not make those mistakes next time. If you didn't understand how to answer the questions, if you got the wrong end of the stick I'd ask your teacher to explain it to you, to both of us so I can help you where I can. And if you fail because there's a bigger problem, because you're really struggling with a subject, if you don't understand anything then I'd get you a tutor over the summer to help you catch up ready for next year. And when I say I'd get you a tutor, I mean I'd get you someone for an hour or two each week, I want you to have fun and see your friends over the summer, I wouldn't force you to sit with a tutor all day every day."
Rachel nodded as she began to sob, she knew her fathers would have beaten her if she failed a class but all her Mom wanted to do was help her, "I, I…"
"Shh" Shelby continued rubbing Rachel's back, "take some deep breaths Baby, you're okay, I've got you."
"I, I love you Mom." It seemed to be Rachel's default response when she was overwhelmed by the differences between her past and current lives.
"Oh Darling, Shelby kissed Rachel's forehead and held her a little tighter, "I love you too, so, so much." She began to hum quietly and wasn't too surprised when Rachel became a dead weight in her arms, her anxieties and worries had been exhausting her but now, now her Mom had reassured her enough that she'd managed to fall asleep.
Shelby held Rachel for a little while before kissing her head and shaking her gently, "Mom?" Rachel frowned.
"Come on" Shelby said softly, "let's go up and get in bed."
"Momma?" Rachel was adorable when she was sleepy.
"You're tired Baby, let's go get in bed so you can get some sleep."
"But I, it's…"
Shelby smiled and brushed Rachel's hair from her face, "yes it's early, but you're tired, and that's okay Baby, we can go up to bed and you can sleep comfortably." Rachel nodded and tucked herself back into Shelby, beginning to doze back off to sleep again. "Come on" Shelby gently shook Rachel again, "as much as I wish I could, I can't carry you upstairs my love."
"Are you coming too?" Rachel whispered as she forced herself away from the comfort of her Mom's embrace.
"Of course. I need to feed Jasper and lock everything up, you get changed and use the bathroom and by the time you get into bed I'll be up" she told her, "I promise."
With help from Shelby, her teachers, and her friends, Rachel managed to pass all of her classes. Her grades weren't as perfect as Rachel was used to, and despite her reassurances, Rachel was still surprised by Shelby's praises. There was nothing that worried Shelby too much, in fact she'd been surprised at how well Rachel had done especially because she'd spent most of the year being taught at home. Rachel had already made the decision that she wanted to go back to school full time after the summer break and Shelby was sure that Rachel would soon catch up.
Just three days after school ended, Rachel and Shelby spent the night at Amy and Jim's, waking in the early hours for the long drive to the airport. Jimmy had hired a car so the family could drive to Columbus together, Amy, Lily, Max and Shelby fell asleep almost as soon as they left but a combination of excitement and nerves kept Rachel awake, but Jimmy was only too happy to engage his niece in conversation. "Is there anything in particular you're worried about?" he asked her.
"I, I haven't been on a plane since I was about Max's age" Rachel admitted, "I don't… I don't remember much of it, I… what, the security check…"
"The way Amy and I did it last time, I went through first, then Amy sent Max through to me and Lily, she was only tiny so Amy carried her through, we'd never go through and leave the kids behind, we'd never do that to you either. Chances are you'll go through with no problems, but if you do have any issues, one of us will be with you okay?"
"Okay" Rachel nodded.
"We'll be going through the airport together, we're all sitting on the plane together, you won't ever be on your own Rachel, we'll do everything together."
The reassurance from her uncle was enough, and by the time Jim parked up at the airport, everyone else was asleep. Shelby woke as the car stopped and she couldn't help but smile when she saw Jimmy gently squeeze Amy's knee before leaning over to kiss her gently to wake her.
As Jim promised, the family passed through the airport together, they had no issues at security and, despite the early hour, decided to get some food to kill some time.
Amy decided that, because they were on vacation, Lily and Max could choose whatever they wanted for their breakfast, meaning the children had a feast of potato chips, muffins and pretzels, but Rachel was more sensible, choosing a granola bar and a fruit pot, letting her head fall sleepily onto Shelby's shoulder as she ate.
"Okay" Jim spoke as they waited for their gate to be announced, "which of you monsters is sitting with me and who's sitting with Mommy?" he asked Lily and Max, "if you need to argue about it then now's the time to do it."
"But Daddy" Lily pouted, "I want to sit with Rachie."
"I think Rachel might want to sit with Auntie Lelly Lil."
"Aww" Lily crossed her arms and sighed, "no fair."
"Hey" Jimmy crouched down, lifting Lily's chin so he could look her in the eye, "if Rachel wants to sit with her Mom on the plane then we let her do that okay? Because we need to think about what other people want and not just what we want don't we?" he asked, getting a nod from Lily before telling her, "we're going to be on vacation for two whole weeks, you'll get lots of chances to sit by Rachel, just not this time okay?"
Lily sighed, "okay Daddy."
"Thank you" Jimmy stroked Lily's cheek with his thumb, "now, how about we lose that frown, you give me a cuddle and then we take Max to see if we can find you both a new book or something for on the plane?"
"Okay" Lily nodded, holding out her arms to Jimmy, the girl still looking disappointed but no longer pouting.
"Good girl" Jimmy hugged Lily before lifting her to his hip and holding out a hand to Max, "coming buddy?" he asked before asking, "does anyone else want anything?"
"Could you get me some mints please?" Amy asked as she rubbed circles on her stomach, "and a bottle of water?"
"Sure, anything else?" he looked at Shelby and Rachel, "right then," he smiled when they both shook their heads, "we'll be back soon" he said as he walked off with Lily and Max.
"Are you okay?" Shelby asked once they were out of earshot, she'd seen Rachel intently watching the interaction between Lily and Jim and she knew that the girl was probably thinking about how her Dads would have reacted if she'd sulked the way Lily had, Shelby not even needing to ask, already knowing it would have been the polar opposite to the way Jimmy had dealt with Lily.
Rachel nodded, "I erm, I wouldn't mind sitting with Lily if that's okay with you and Aunt Amy and Uncle Jimmy?"
Amy leaned forward slightly so she could see her niece, "you don't have to do that."
"I wouldn't mind" she shrugged, "really."
Amy smiled, "in that case I think you're probably going to have a very happy Lil on your hands."
Jimmy couldn't help but chuckle when he came back, putting his finger on his lips to tell his children to be quiet as he took his phone from his pocket and quickly took a picture, Shelby sat in the middle of her sister and her daughter, Rachel's head on Shelby's left shoulder, Amy's on her right, all three of them dozing peacefully.
"Hey" Amy smiled sleepily, forcing her eyes open as Jim sat opposite her, reaching out to gently stroke her knee.
"Hey" he smiled back, watching as Amy's voice woke Shelby and Shelby shifting slightly was enough to wake Rachel too. "We should be boarding in about 10 minutes or so."
"Good" Amy yawned, standing to stretch her back, swatting at Jimmy when he took the opportunity to kiss at the swell of her stomach. "Lil" she reached out to her daughter when she sat back down, "come here, I want to talk to you."
"What Mommy?" Lily asked as she came to stand in front of Amy.
"Rachel says she'll sit with you on the plane" Lily's face lit up, "so I want to make you a deal."
Lily frowned slightly as she asked, "what deal Mommy?"
"You sit with me" she held up her index finger and raised an eyebrow when she saw the girl go to protest, "you sit with me while the plane takes off, just in case you get scared. And then, if you're okay, I'll switch seats with Rachel and you can sit with her for the rest of the flight okay?"
Lily thought for a minute before nodding, "okay" she grinned.
"You have to be good though" Amy warned her, "if you're messing about and being silly then you'll have to sit with me again."
"I'll be good Mommy" Lily nodded, "I promise!"
Rachel was surprised to find herself following her family into first class as they boarded the plane. Shelby too had been surprised when she was told they'd be travelling first class, but Amy had refused to take any money for the vacation and when Shelby had asked Jim how much she owed him, his response had been "you've supported my family since day one. That's payment enough." Needless to say, Shelby was certain that her sister and brother in law would not be paying for anything once they got off the plane.
They took their seats, Amy and Lily sitting across the aisle from Rachel and Shelby and behind Jimmy and Max," Are you okay?" Shelby asked when she saw Rachel tapping nervously on the armrest between them, "it's okay to be scared" she linked her fingers with her daughter's, "but you know I wouldn't bring you anywhere I didn't think was safe."
"I know" Rachel whispered I just… "
Shelby gestured to the carry on bag under the seat in front of Rachel," did you bring a book?" Rachel nodded, "get it out" Shelby said softly, "let's read."
Rachel wanted to cry when Shelby took the book from her and quietly began reading. She was almost an adult, she was showing herself up in public but her Mom wasn't angry, her Mom didn't care about the other people around them, she wasn't embarrassed by Rachel's anxiety, she just took it in her stride and did what she could to calm her down.
They were served a drink and a small snack before takeoff and Shelby kept reading to Rachel as the plane taxied to the runway, Rachel unaware that, across the aisle, Amy was using the same tactics to distract Lily. "There we go" Shelby smiled, once the seatbelt sign was turned off, "we're up" she swiped at Rachel's tears with her thumbs, "okay?"
Rachel nodded, "I'm okay" she smiled, looking up as she saw Amy stand from her seat and heard her tell Jim she was going to use the bathroom.
"If you want to stay sitting here then you can, Aunt Amy will understand."
Rachel shook her head, "I'll go sit with Lily so Aunt Amy can sit with you when she comes back."
"Okay" Shelby hugged Rachel and kissed her forehead, "let me know if you change your mind though yeah?"
"I will" Rachel promised before picking up her carry on bag, climbing over her Mom's legs and slipping her into the seat beside her cousin.
"Rachie" Lily beamed, "I so happy!"
"That's good" Rachel found her cousin's smile infectious, "are you happy because we're going on vacation?"
"No" Lily frowned, "I happy cos I can sit with you."
Rachel's smile grew, "I'm happy to sit with you too."
When Amy came back, Rachel and Lily were colouring together, the colouring book balanced on the wide armrest between them, she smiled as she watched them for a moment before turning to her sister, "are you going to let me in?" she pouted.
"Really" Shelby raised an eyebrow, "you want me to move for you?" they'd silently agreed that Shelby would have the aisle seat so she could still be close to Rachel.
"Any other time I'd just climb over you, but…" she raised her eyebrows and gestured to her stomach.
Shelby grumbled under her breath as she stood up, "just to be clear, I'm doing this for my niece or nephew, not for you" she teased
"Trust me" Amy laughed as she got comfortable, "I know."