Ni - This chapter may answer that question for you!
Spawn - Thank you for the suggestion, I think that, even if they go somewhere else this time, a trip to New York will definitely happen at some point!
Mackenzie - You may find my sentence construction 'odd', but it's not odd to me. It's also not the case that 'nobody speaks like that' because I speak like that, as do allthe people around me. The sentences you picked out aren't 'mistakes' they are just instances of me using language in a different way to you, there is no singular 'right' way to form a sentence. Language is a fluid, ever changing concept and, even just here in the UK, there are various differences between regional dialects, including grammar usage, between towns and cities just 50/100 miles apart, and that's before I even start comparing 'English' English to the varients used in the other countries of the UK, never mind American, Australian, wherever English. Its one of the things that, to me, makes language so fascinating. That being said, I will take your comments on board, but it's probably unlikely that I'll change the way I write, as when I read through the chapters, I don't see anything 'wrong' with what I've written (in the way I would spot a typo for example) as I'm using language in the way I'm used to using it.
Thank you for your vacation suggestions, it seems people want Shelby and Rachel to have a more active/city break type vacation, so I'll have to do a little bit of research before I get to writing that part of the story, but your ideas definitely give me a starting point for that. Shelby doesn't have a romantic interest yet, but it is something I have planned for the not too distant future, and I don't think the baby's arrival will be too far away either, so you'll have to wait and see how Rachel feels about that!
Guest - You're right, I'm not from the US, I'm in the UK and those are things I hear or say on a pretty much daily basis, it never occured to me that someone else might find them odd. It's one of the things that intrests me most about language, that we can all take the same language but all use it in a slightly different way!
A week after they returned from vacation Rachel found herself up, dressed and ready to start the day before 7am, something that was usually unheard of, Shelby loved to sleep in when she wasn't working, a habit Rachel had quickly picked up on.
Shelby reached for Rachel's hand, squeezing it gently when she saw her daughter nervously bouncing her leg, "you're going to be fine" she reassured her, "you're going to have an amazing day."
Rachel had been surprised when her friends had talked about visiting a theme park over the summer, even more surprised when she realised she was invited to join them. She'd been terrified of asking Shelby for permission to go, so in the end Puck had done it for her. He'd asked Rachel a couple of times if she'd be going, only to be told she hadn't yet asked her Mom, he'd checked she actually did want to join them before approaching Shelby, "Hey, Miss C, we're gonna go to a theme park for the day over the summer, could Rachel come?"
"If she wants to" had been Shelby's reply, before adding, "and as long as you aren't going when we're on vacation."
As always, Puck was the first to arrive at Shelby's, he knew that, no matter how much time they spent together, how many times she was invited to join them, Rachel still worried that it was all a joke, that nobody wanted to spend time with her, so he made sure to always show up early to stop her worries. The group of teenagers had agreed to meet at Rachel's so they could all leave together for a drive that would take a little over two hours. They planned to leave early to make it to the park for opening time, stopping half way to stretch their legs and get breakfast. "Hey" Puck flopped down onto the couch beside Rachel, "excited?"
"A little" she nodded.
Puck smiled, "you don't need to worry" he reassured her, "there's a big group of us, you're not going to be on your own." Today Tina would be joining Rachel's usual group of friends, she'd recently started dating Mike and nobody had minded at all when he'd asked if he could invite her along.
"I've told Rachel this, but I'm going to tell you this too" Shelby told Noah, "Rachel's curfew is 11.30, but if you lose track of time, if you're stuck in traffic, if you think you're going to be late, I'd rather you just called me and let me know, I don't want you driving like an idiot to try and get home in time."
"Noted" Noah nodded, "Matt usually has to be home by 11 so it shouldn't be a problem to get her home on time."
"I'm glad to hear it" Shelby smiled. She trusted Noah, when he'd first visited Rachel she'd told him that he was lucky to get a second chance, that she hoped he didn't waste it, and as far as she was concerned, he hadn't. He might have once been responsible for some of Rachel's unhappiness, but now, Shelby was sure he was the biggest driving force in encouraging Rachel to try out things that most teenagers would take for granted.
"I know you've got money but I want you to take this too" Shelby handed Rachel her credit card once she'd finished talking to Noah, "for emergencies, you lose your money and need to buy lunch, Noah breaks down and you need to call a tow truck, you want to go mad in the gift shop and spend five hundred dollars on stuff, go for it. I mean it Rachel" Shelby took her hand, "maybe not five hundred dollars, but if you want to get yourself anything I won't mind."
"Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me Baby, I just want you to have a great day."
It wasn't much longer before everyone else arrived, Shelby slipping into Mom mode and asking if everyone had used the bathroom before they left and checking they all had money for lunch. It had been strange at first for the teenagers to be hanging out at their teacher's house, especially this morning when Shelby was still in her pyjamas, intending to have another hour or two in bed once Rachel left, but the consensus between the teens was that Shelby was the 'coolest' of their parents. She seemed able to switch between 'English teacher' and 'Rachel's mom' without any issues and she never hovered when they were there, she gave them their own space and let them do their own thing.
Noah headed for his truck when they were ready to go, giving Rachel time to spend a moment alone with her Mom. "You can call me anytime you need to" Shelby told her, "I'd like to know when you get there, and when you're leaving tonight, but other than that, don't feel like you have to keep me updated. If you want to call or message then that's absolutely fine, but if you're busy and happy then that's absolutely fine too, you concentrate on enjoying yourself Baby."
"I'll do my best Momma" Rachel nuzzled closer, she was a little nervous about spending the day away from her Mom, but at the same time, she was looking forward to spending the day with her friends, to doing something that, at one point, she wouldn't even have dreamed of being able to do.
"That's all I ever ask Darling. Now, go have a great day, I love you and I'll see you tonight."
Rachel smiled and briefly hugged Shelby tighter before letting go, "I love you too Mom" she said before turning and walking towards the truck, trying to fight the urge to go back to the safety of her Momma's arms. It was something she'd talked about with her therapist and she'd encouraged Rachel to try and do things that were safe, but still took her out of her comfort zone.
Rachel and Puck were the only ones going in his truck, there were enough people driving that they could have got a ride with someone else but Noah wanted to take his truck. He hadn't said as much but if Rachel wasn't comfortable at the theme park he wanted to be able to take her home. She hadn't told him much about her life with her fathers but he knew she was still struggling to adjust to 'normal' life and he didn't want to force her to stay somewhere she wasn't comfortable. "Ready?" he asked, waiting for her to fasten her seatbelt before starting the engine.
"Yeah" she smiled, "I am."
"Okay" Noah and Rachel both waved to Shelby as he pulled away from the house, "my phone's there" he gestured to the cup holder, "why don't you pick some music so we can get this road trip started?"
Rachel and Puck fell into easy conversation as he drove, reminiscing about their childhoods, the things they'd done together, the many 'adventures' they'd been on in the confines of Puck's back yard. He told her he didn't mind her taking a nap when he'd heard her yawn, but she'd insisted she was fine, she didn't want to nap, she wanted to remember every minute of her day.
Mike, Matt and Tina were already at the restaurant they'd chosen to eat breakfast at when Puck pulled into the parking lot, Santana pulling up beside his truck just a few minutes later, "can we go inside?" Brittany bounced on her heels, "I really need to pee."
"Miss C asked if we'd all been to the bathroom before we left" Puck teased as the group walked towards the door.
"I went" Brittany pouted.
"She brought car snacks" Santana rolled her eyes, "and drank 3 cans of mountain dew."
The restaurant wasn't busy so the staff were happy to push two tables together to allow the group to sit together, and Rachel found herself sat with Noah to her left and Quinn to her right. "Have you decided if you're going to join the cheerios yet?" Quinn asked as they waited for their food, she, Santana and Brittany had recognised the red duffle bag when they'd been hanging out in Rachel's room and Rachel had explained how Sue had given her the cheerios uniform, wanting her on the team.
"I don't know" she said honestly, "maybe, I don't…"
"You should join" Brittany grinned excitedly, "we'd help you learn the routines. Coach can be a bit tough sometimes but we have so much fun making up routines."
"And your Mom would probably put a stop to some of Coach's more dangerous ideas which would be great for everyone." Santana added.
"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't have to go in that cannon, imagine if my head had fallen off, I'd have had to carry it around in a bag or something" Brittany shrugged, Rachel, Quinn and Santana all sharing a confused look but deciding not to say anything.
"I thought about maybe joining the track team" Rachel admitted as she fiddled with her napkin, "I like to run, but I…" she shrugged," I feel a bit anxious about not knowing anyone."
Puck heard what Rachel said and nudged her elbow gently, "you know Matt" he said, Matt raising his hand in a half wave, "he's on the track team."
"I'd be up for joining too" Quinn told her, "and there's a running group I go out with sometimes, you can come along if you want."
"Really?"
"Sure. Unless you're a sprinter? I prefer longer runs myself, I usually join the running group for a 10k."
"I've never really measured how far I run" Rachel admitted, "but I prefer longer runs."
"I'll send you the details of the running group when we're home" Quinn smiled, "maybe we could do a 5k next week, see how you feel about that before we do anything longer."
"Yeah" Rachel smiled, "I think I'd like that."
Shelby had gone back to bed once Rachel had left and was woken a couple of hours later by a text from her daughter, 'We're at the park, waiting in line to get in. I had waffles and fruit for breakfast xx'. Shelby smiled at the message before typing out her reply, 'That sounds delicious, I hope the line isn't too long. Have a great day, I love you xx'. She showered once she'd received a second message from her daughter, Rachel returning the declaration of love, Shelby dressing and making her own breakfast, although her toast didn't seem as exciting as her daughter's choice of breakfast. Once she'd put her plate in the dishwasher she found herself standing in the kitchen, wondering what she was going to do with her day. She almost couldn't remember what she did with her free time before she had Rachel, but then she remembered, Vocal Adrenaline. It was all she did, she lived and breathed show choir, and now she focused all her time and energy on Rachel instead and she knew without a doubt which one made her happier.
She thought about going to see Amy, but she didn't know how happy Lily would be if she turned up without Rachel, so instead she thought she'd go and visit her parents. She was about to call them to see if they were busy when her phone began to ring, her sister's name flashing on the screen.
"Hey" she answered the call with a smile, a smile that quickly fell when she heard, what sounded like Amy sniffling on the other end of the phone, "Amy? What's wrong?"
"Are you busy?" Amy asked, "Jim's Mom's taken the kids out for the day and I wondered if I could come over, but if you and Rachel have plans…"
"You know you don't have to ask before you come over here Amy, and Rachel's out with her friends, I'm not expecting her home until late tonight."
"Okay, thanks."
"Are you okay?" Shelby was concerned for her sister, "do you need me to come and get you?"
"I'm okay" Amy insisted, "I'll be over soon."
It didn't take long for Rachel and her friends to get into the park, they'd already booked their tickets online which saved a little time, and they headed straight for the biggest coaster, hoping to ride it before the line got too long.
A passerby helpfully took a picture of them all in front of the coaster sign before they joined the line, Brittany linking her pinky with Rachel's, "don't be scared" she told her with a smile, "it'll be fun, I promise" she said before asking her about Jasper, telling her about all the things the kitten had done with Lord Tubbington whilst Rachel had been on vacation.
They sat in long rows on the ride, Rachel between Brittany and Quinn. She let out a scream when the ride started moving but so did Quinn and Brittany, Santana laughed at the three of them but didn't mock them, she just reached out to take Brittany's hand as Brittany and Quinn both grabbed at Rachel's hands, the three of them clinging to each other as the ride climbed to the top of the first hill. The ride paused at the top of the drop and Rachel was sure she'd vomit, she could feel her heart pounding against her ribs and she found herself wondering why she'd agreed to do this. But then the ride surged forwards, flying down the hill, everyone screaming as they dropped back towards the ground.
"Hey" Rachel found Noah's arm around her shoulders as they got off the ride, "Okay?"
Rachel nodded, she was riding a rush of adrenaline, the ride hadn't been quite as bad as she was expecting and, if she was honest, she was looking forward to doing it again, "yeah, I'm okay" she smiled.
They went on a few more rides together before splitting off into smaller groups, agreeing to meet for lunch. Rachel found herself with just Noah for company and she was sort of glad for that, she was feeling a little overwhelmed but she knew Noah wouldn't try and force her to talk, that he'd give her time to try and get used to the new situation she found herself in. "What do you want to ride next?" he asked after they'd walked around the park for a little while.
"Could we maybe go on something not so intense?" Rachel asked, she didn't mind the rollercoasters as much as she thought she would, but she still felt like she needed a brief break from the adrenaline.
"Sure" Puck gestured to the ferris wheel they found themselves walking towards, "what about that?"
Rachel nodded and smiled, "yeah, and then could we go on the carousel?" she asked, "I've never been on one and…"
"You…" he stopped himself expressing his shock at the fact she'd never been on a carousel, "you don't have to ask" he covered his tracks, "we can go on whatever you want."
"The view from up here is amazing" Rachel leaned over slightly to get a better view as they reached the top of the ferris wheel, "I wonder if we can see anyone else?"
Puck couldn't help but smile, he could almost hear the excitement in her voice and he was instantly reminded of the carefree girl he'd known when they were so much younger, "so you're not scared of heights then?" he chuckled.
Rachel shook her head, "no, not really, are you?"
Puck shook his head, "I'm a badass" he winked, "nothing scares me" he held out his hand, "give me your phone."
"Why?" Rachel frowned but handed him her cell phone anyway, "what…?"
"Lemme take a picture of you, you can send it to your Mom, show her you're still alive."
"Do you think she's worried?"
Puck shook his head, "I think she knows you'll be okay, but I bet she'd like to see you enjoying yourself."
"Okay" Rachel's smile returned, "and then could we maybe take a picture together?" she asked nervously.
"Absolutely" Noah grinned, "we can take as many pictures as you want."
I tried to work Amy's visit into this chapter but I couldn't make it work the way I wanted to, so I think I'm going to post it as a sort of 'bonus' chapter before the next update.