Boris Yeltsin - I've included other characters in many chapters before, and I will in the future, however Shelby and Rachel are currently on vacation and it wouldn't make sense for other characters to just randomly appear.
Maya - I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying the storyline, however, I have to try and balance what people want to read with what I want to write. I tried to keep it a Shelby/Rachel fic but I struggled to keep writing it like that. There's only so much I can do with just two characters and bringing in other characters for Shelby and Rachel to interact with helped me keep writing this fic, and whilst there will be moments where it's just Shelby and Rachel in the future, most of the bigger storylines I have planned include other people, including Shelby and Rachel's wider family.
Thanks to Alice for her input on this chapter, I hope you like it!
Rachel had been a little apprehensive when the idea of spending their last full day on vacation at a waterpark had been suggested. Shelby however had been quick to reassure her, promising her that they didn't have to go, they could stay at the villa or go on a trip on their own if she wanted. Amy had helped reassure Rachel too, she'd shown her the website of the waterpark, let her see the large area for young children, the water barely above ankle height, "this is where me and the kids will probably be for most of the day" she told Rachel, "Lily isn't tall enough for the big slides and I can't go on them because I'm pregnant, so even if your Mom wanted to go on something and you didn't, you'd be able to stay with me."
She'd thought about it for a while, with no pressure from anyone, before ultimately deciding that she'd like to go. Rachel had spent a lot of time looking at the park's website on her own and she'd seen that even some of the bigger slides didn't have deep pools at the bottom and she hoped she'd have the courage to ask her Mom or maybe even her Uncle if they'd go on them with her.
As promised they headed straight for the children's area of the waterpark when they were changed, the shallow water littered with fountains, water sprayers and small slides. Nobody was surprised when Lily and Max all but begged Rachel to play with them, the teen only too happy to splash in the shallow water with her cousins but the adults all stayed close by, not wanting Rachel to feel like she was solely responsible for the children.
After a while, Shelby found Rachel getting closer, "want to go for a walk?" she asked softly, curling her fingers around Rachel's hand when she felt her daughter's hand brush against her own, "we could go get drinks for everyone and take a look around, see if there might be anything else you want to go on later. But if you don't want to go on anything, that's absolutely okay" she added quickly.
"Yeah" Rachel smiled, "I'd like that."
Shelby told Amy she and Rachel were going for a walk, Amy telling her sister they wouldn't leave the children's pool area before they came back, and Shelby and Rachel began to walk around the water park. "If you do want to go on any of the bigger slides" Shelby said softly as she saw Rachel looking at a large tube slide, "a lot of them we can go down together" she said, she wasn't a big fan of waterslides but she didn't want Rachel to miss out, she only hoped that, if Rachel enjoyed the slides, going down them with her Mom would help her gain a little confidence so that later on, Shelby could gently convince her to go on the slides with her Uncle, knowing Jimmy wouldn't mind at all.
"Really?" Rachel looked up at Shelby, "you'd go on with me?"
Shelby nodded, "of course, look" she gestured to one of the slides, "they have rings that we can both sit in" she said as she watched a man carry an inflatable ring shaped like the number 8 up the stairs to a large tube slide.
"What about at the bottom?" Rachel asked nervously, "there's a pool and…"
"Look" Shelby led her over to the edge of one of the pools, waiting for someone to come down the slide so that Rachel could see that, when they jumped off their ring, the water was only waist high, "it's not that deep. It's made so you can walk out of it, you won't have to swim."
Rachel nodded, "okay."
"Okay?" Shelby smiled, "do you want to give it a go before we go grab drinks for everyone?"
Rachel bit her lip before nodding slightly, "I, I think I'd like to try it."
"Let's go then" Shelby grinned, part of her unable to believe that the girl had never been to a water park before, another part of her glad that she'd get to share this experience with her daughter. She'd missed so many of the girls 'firsts' so she was grateful for the ones she did get, even if it was something as simple as 'the first time she went down a water slide.' Shelby grabbed a ring from the pile at the bottom of the stairs, "ready?" she asked, waiting for Rachel to nod before beginning the climb to the top of the stairs. She saw the nervous look on Rachel's face as they waited their turn, "if you're scared" she said softly, "just remember, it'll all be over in a couple of seconds, and I'll help you out at the bottom, you'll be okay."
"I know" Rachel nodded, "I… I'm just glad I get to do this with you."
"Me too baby" Shelby kissed Rachel's hair as they were called forward, "me too."
Shelby heard Rachel scream as they were pushed into the slide and she couldn't help but smile, knowing it was a scream of excitement, not of fear, and their laughter echoed in the plastic tube around them as they twisted and turned through the slide. Rachel gasped as they hit the water at the end of the slide, but as Shelby promised, she slipped from the rubber ring and wrapped her arm around Rachel's waist to steady her as she jumped out too. "Thank you" Rachel smiled, hugging Shelby tightly once they were out of the water, "I, I thought I might be scared but that was really fun!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it baby" Shelby smiled as she put their ring back on the pile, "do you want to go on another one?"
"Maybe later?" Rachel asked, "I think I'd like to get our drinks now."
"Okay" Shelby headed over towards a drink stand, "I'll go on as many slides as you want me to, but I think it would mean a lot to your Uncle if you asked him to go with you. If you'd rather not though then that's absolutely okay Baby., I'm happy to come with you."
Rachel looked up at Shelby as they waited in line, "you think he'd go with me, together like you did?"
"I don't think so Baby, I know he would."
"Maybe I'll ask him later" Rachel smiled.
"Whenever you're ready" Shelby told her, "we've got all day. "
Shelby bought drinks for everyone in 'souvenir' cups, they were more expensive than the standard ones but they also came with free refills and Shelby was sure that she'd make her money back over the course of the day. Rachel helped her carry the drinks back over to the children's splash area, Amy and Jim leading Lily and Max out of the water to sit in the shade when they saw them, "how much do I owe…" Jimmy was cut off by a shake of Shelby's head.
"You don't owe me anything" she told him, she'd insisted on paying for the entrance to the water park too, Jimmy hadn't let her contribute anything to the cost of the flights or the villa so she'd paid for most of their meals and the day trips they'd been on, and of course she'd spoiled her niece and nephew too.
"Wha' you got Rachie?" Lily asked after gulping at the water in her cup.
"I've got water like you" she smiled.
"Good" Lily nodded, "I like be same like you."
Max was happy that Shelby had got him his favourite soda, although Amy had told him that he wouldn't be able to drink soda all day, he'd have to have water too, and Shelby held out the three remaining cups, "Fanta, Sprite or water" she told Amy, "take your pick."
Amy took the water, "thanks Shel".
"Me and Mom went on one of the slides" Rachel told her Aunt and Uncle as they all relaxed for a while, "I thought I might be scared but it was really fun."
"Good" Amy smiled, "I'm glad you weren't scared."
"We saw some slides that we think Lily might be tall enough to go on too" Rachel said, "maybe we could try them later?"
"Yeah!" Lily grinned, "can I Daddy? Can I go on slides with Rachie?"
"Sure" Jimmy nodded. "we can all go on the slides, and Mommy can wait for us at the bottom."
"Okay" Lily grinned, "I'm really excited!"
They spent a while relaxing in the shade, Amy was still a little worried about Max, and whilst she didn't want to be overprotective and stop him having fun, she still wanted him to try and take it easy and not be racing around all the time. Once they'd finished their drinks, Amy went to put the empty cups back in the locker with their clothes whilst everyone else made their way over to a toboggan style slide, Amy promising she'd be at the bottom when they came down. They all grabbed foam toboggans from the bottom of the stairs, Max insisting on carrying his own, Jimmy carrying one for Lily as the toddler took Rachel's hand to help climb the stairs, Rachel realised she was lagging a little when they were half way up the stairs so she picked her up, sitting the girl on her hip to carry her the rest of the way up the staircase.
As she promised, Amy was at the bottom of the slide when her family lined up side by side on the slides, Jimmy counting down from 3, before giving Lily and Max a gentle push as Shelby and Rachel pushed themselves off, Lily's giggles almost as loud as Rachel's excited laughter as they flew down the wavy slides on their stomachs, "Mommy" Lily ran over to her when she saw her, "did you see us? Did you see me? I went really fast!"
"You did" Amy smiled, "I saw you all, you looked like you were having a lot of fun."
"It was a little bit high" Max said as he came over too, "but I wasn't scared, I thought I was flying!"
"You were super fast" Amy nodded, "all of you!" She and Jimmy had brought a waterproof camera before their vacation and she'd managed to get a couple of pictures of them all on the slides, she planned on making scrapbooks for Lily and Max when she got home and she was going to make one for Rachel too, she knew Shelby had taken a few pictures of her daughter, but Amy and Jim had made sure to get plenty of pictures of the two of them too. It was Rachel's first vacation with her Mom and they wanted her to have something to remember it by.
"Can we go again Daddy?" Max asked.
"Sure, are you coming Lil?"
She nodded and bounded over to him, "Rachie, you too? And you Auntie Lelly?"
Shelby shook her head, "I'll wait here with Mommy." She looked to Rachel, "if you want to go again I'll be right here Darling, I won't be going anywhere."
Rachel nodded, "Okay" she turned to Lily and nodded again, "sure, I'll come."
It was only after they'd been down the slide four times that Jimmy asked for a time out, promising they could go down the slide again later, but he needed a break from carrying Lily up the stairs to the top. "Can we go back and splash again? On the little slides?" Max asked.
"Of course" Amy nodded before asking her son, "do you feel okay Max?"
"I'm okay" he nodded, "listen" he took a few exaggerated deep breaths, "see!"
"Okay" Amy laughed, "I believe you."
"I'll tell you if I'm not. I promise" Max nodded before skipping off to join his sister.
"Hey" Jimmy walked over to Rachel, "do you want to go on something else while Amy and your Mom play with the kids?"
Rachel looked up at him, "really?"
"Sure, I don't mind."
"Yeah" Rachel smiled, "okay then."
Rachel and Jimmy went on several different slides together, Rachel's confidence growing each time, until, on the last slide, she went down alone, Jimmy having gone down first, promising he'd wait at the bottom to help her out of the water.
Amy and Shelby meanwhile sat in the shallow water, watching as Lily and Max chased each other, in the ankle deep water, running in and out of several fountains that shot water out of the floor. Amy followed Shelby's gaze, she'd spoken to her sister twice and got no response, smiling when she saw the group of women that seemed to have caught Shelby's attention. "Which one?" she nudged her with her elbow.
Shelby didn't look away, "hmm?"
"Which one are we leering at?"
Shelby finally turned her attention back to Amy, "I'm not leering."
"You're drooling Shel. So, which one? The one in the black bikini's pretty hot."
"Amy!" Shelby gasped.
"Okay, so, not black bikini… green? No, it's the one in the white one piece."
"Amy!"
"It is isn't it."
Shelby sighed, knowing Amy wasn't going to drop it, "pinkfloralbikini" she mumbled quietly.
"Why don't you go say hi?"
"Because I'm not a creep. And before you say anything else, no. I'm not going to hit on a barely dressed, probably straight woman. And you're not going to say anything either. We're going to stay here with the kids and then go get lunch when Rachel and Jim get back."
Amy sighed and rolled her eyes, "spoilsport" she teased, laughing as Shelby rolled her own eyes and pushed herself to her feet and made her way over to Lily and Max.
After lunch, Rachel, Shelby, Lily, Max and Jimmy went on the rapids, all five of them in one raft, Rachel clinging tightly to Shelby's hand, her laughter telling her Mom that she wasn't as scared as Shelby had thought she might be, Shelby glad that Rachel was enjoying her day and had found the confidence to do more than stay in the childrens area of the water park all day.
They met up with Amy again after the rapids, Amy asking if they could go to the lazy river, something she'd be able to join her family on. "What's the lazy river?" Rachel asked Shelby quietly.
"It's the loop of water that runs round the park" she told her, "you sit in one of the inflatable rings and float round, there's nothing scary or too exciting, it's meant to be relaxing and calm."
"Oh" Rachel nodded, "okay."
"Are you going to share with me Buddy?" Jimmy asked Max, grabbing a double ring for himself and his son. Max nodded and Jim looked to Lily, "you need to sit on someone's lap Little Legs, your butt's too small and you'll fall out of this"
Before anyone had chance to say anything, Lily turned to Rachel with a hopeful look on her face, "Rachie…" she smiled sweetly.
"Are you okay with that?" Amy asked her niece, "I can take her if you'd rather."
"I think I'll be okay." Rachel nodded, "she just has to sit on my lap right."
"Right" Amy nodded.
"And if you need to get out of the ring you can just lift her into the water so you gan get out" Jimmy told her, both Lily and Max were wearing life jackets provided by the water park, so they weren't too worried about them in the water.
Jimmy held the ring steady as Rachel lifted herself into the inflatable ring, Rachel holding onto the railings by the stairs so Jimmy could pass Lily to her, the girl making herself comfortable on Rachel's lap. A lifeguard saw Jimmy trying to take a selfie of them all together when they were all in their rings and helpfully took a photo for them before they all floated off down the river together, Lily fidgeting for a while before settling down, laying across Rachel's thighs, her head on the side of the ring, feet dangling into the water as she chatted happily with her cousin.
"Lily" Rachel said softly as she saw a tunnel up ahead, water gently cascading down the entrance. "There's a waterfall coming up," do you want to close your eyes?" Lily nodded, but instead of closing her eyes, she shuffled to sit up on Rachel's lap, burying her face in the crook of her neck.
"Is it scary?" she asked quietly.
"Not at all" Rachel kissed her hair, "it's just like a little bit of rain, and it'll be over really quickly."
"Okay" Lily nodded, wrapping her arm around Rachel's neck, her fingertips playing with a strand of hair that had fallen from Rachel's ponytail. There was a part of Rachel that loved knowing Lily was comforted by her, that her presence was enough to make Lily feel safe, that she could make Lily feel the way Amy made her feel.
"Have you had a good day?" Shelby asked Rachel once they were dried and changed, Rachel had been back down the larger slides with both her Mom and her Uncle, as well as returning to the slides that Lily and Max had been allowed on, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was exhausted and knew she'd probably fall asleep on the hour long drive back to the villa.
Rachel nodded and wrapped her arms around Shelby, hugging her tightly, "I've had a brilliant day Mom, thank you so, so much."
"Oh Darling" Shelby kissed her hair, "I'm so glad you've enjoyed yourself, you don't need to thank me though, and I promise you, we'll do so many more things like this in the future this won't be the last time, I promise."