Amanda and Amaro started their journey early the next morning along with Cabot to MA where cops there had conveniently picked up Hiram Berry. A detective was needed there to sign him over to their jurisdiction so Olivia sent both of them, while Alex was needed to sign the legal documents because nothing can ever be easy. Amanda honestly didn't care what needed to be signed she just wanted this piece of scum locked behind bars in New York where they could proceed with their case.
Amanda left a voicemail for Shelby to give her a call back but assumed she was busy with Rachel so didn't think much of it; plus, she'd feel better being able to not just confirm they had him in custody in MA, rather in NY where he'd be tried.
Knowing the Marshall service had to drive Hiram to NY, Amanda wasn't going to be overly confident until he was behind their bars—nobody knows what Hiram could have planned as he seemed to be two steps ahead of them so far which the detectives hated. If he had something else up his sleeve that caused Shelby and Rachel more pain Amanda would never forgive herself.
She had been going over everything in her head since the beginning, what they found in Maine, call logs, toll photos, there was a piece of the puzzle that they were missing. Did Hiram really expect to get away with dropping a baby on the streets of NY without any consequence? Not to mention the state her body was in when the baby was found?
And 'fleeing' somewhere so easy to find him didn't seem to add up in the detectives mind; Amanda had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was this strong rage towards Shelby, yet Hiram gave Rachel back to her?
Amanda was afraid the missing piece would result in something bad happening to Shelby because the rage they saw from the house in Maine pointed towards Hiram not being over the fact she was the mother and the fact he wasn't the father. Everything ran deeper than the pieces of evidence they've collected so far.
What Hiram did or didn't have planned, Amanda couldn't figure out though, and it was driving her crazy. She'd been going over every note she has taken for the last hour and couldn't find anything new to go on.
"What has you so worked up? The bastard is locked up, once we get him he's done for," Amaro said.
"We're missing something."
"What do you mean? Yeah we didn't get him the first time, but they got him here so what does it matter if we missed him in Maine?" Amaro was trying to make Amanda feel better but it was getting her more and more worked up. This is why she hated to get personal on cases—when emotions get involved, she couldn't think straight.
No, she didn't have romantic feelings for Shelby—she felt responsible to protect her and Rachel and she was positive they were missing something. Shelby was too sweet and had already been through enough for the detectives to miss something now.
"It's too convenient. How do you 'accidently' let yourself get picked up in MA, his face is everywhere in the surrounding states—this man isn't stupid. He clearly knew we raided his place in Maine…why is he staying so close to New York? If he was truly 'fleeing' you don't jump a few states over and assume you're safe, plus you'd cover your tracks better."
Alex was listening in the backseat and that part irked her too but she didn't say anything to Olivia because her wife always tried to 'see the positive', which in this case, was the fact they had him in custody. Alex, like Amanda didn't think it was that simple either however, to not cause an argument with Olivia, she dropped it.
"I agree with Amanda," Alex interjected. Amanda spun around to look at the blonde—she respected the work Alex did, she was the best prosecutor they had and knew she held her tongue on a lot because of Olivia. "Why 'flee' so close to the state the crime took place in? This man was from Ohio so having his house in Maine may have been his getaway (for whatever reason), but he's a lawyer—he knows his way around the law and knew you'd check there first. He knows a lot of what will be happening and while I can out argue any possible 'explanation' he may have for us, he still knows the law like we do. Plus, look at the pictures," Alex pointed to the page Amanda was looking at.
It was evidence collected from Maine, all had angry red X's over Shelby's face, nasty words written on the pictures, and the message on the 'contract' alone was enough to state he was livid with the young actress.
"If he's so mad at Miss Corcoran, why did he give Rachel back to her?" Amaro asked, trying to see what his partner was getting at.
"I hate to even say this out loud but what if it's to take her away from Rachel? To show the baby how great her mommy is and then try and hurt Shelby so Rachel would be left alone? We already know he left her alone for hours at a time, if not more…" Amanda rambled out, not liking the words coming out of her mouth.
"But he's behind bars right now, are you saying he's working with someone else?" Amaro questioned.
"I'm not saying anything right now besides the fact we are missing something and I refuse to let anything happen to Shelby or Rachel. We are here to protect them and there's something we aren't seeing but believe me, I will figure it out!" Amanda exclaimed ending the conversation.
Alex sat back and thought through everything as well. She agreed with Amanda and was now determined to help her figure it out too. "Should we put an extra detail on them? I know she has her own security, but someone from the station?" Alex asked after a bit of uncomfortable silence.
"I already assigned two more before we left," Amanda said, surprising Alex. Her wife didn't mention anything about that however, they try not to talk about work at home so it wasn't really surprising she didn't know.
The rest of the ride was driven in silence—each trying to think of things they could have missed. Although Alex wasn't a detective, she spent enough time working cases and around her wife to figure out a lot. Sometimes she even surprised herself with what came out of her mouth while in the squad room, especially when she was right.
Katherine and Thomas ate breakfast with Shelby and Rachel then got themselves ready to go out—they were going to get some ideas for Rachel's birthday gifts according to Katherine. Shelby told them to pass the message along to her siblings that she didn't want to overwhelm Rachel with presents, especially because she had so many toys that weren't even opened yet and clothes that still had tags on them.
Katherine just nodded along to what her daughter was saying—of course she didn't want to overwhelm her grandbaby, but she'd definitely be buying her presents even if they kept them at their place in New York and brought them over a few at a time. Thomas took Shelby more seriously stating today they were just looking, and he wouldn't let his wife go crazy. At least, too crazy.
All he knew is they were going out of the house while Shelby had her friends over—not because they didn't like her friends, they just didn't want Rachel to be over stimulated by so many people. Plus, it was nice to be able to see his wife all day—at home, they both worked all day so spending this time with her and him not being sick (which was the last time they spent so much time together) was very nice. It was almost like a vacation for them while being able to spend time with the sweetest little baby and their daughter.
Of course there were hard moments, Katherine had broken down many times already during the trip but Thomas would always be there for her. He himself had broken down as well—it was heartbreaking to see not only his daughter so upset with everything going on because she actually understood but to see his littlest grandbaby so small, so fragile, and seeming to have gone through so much in her young age.
He had an easier time at seeing the future, a future where Rachel was so carefree with the entire family—where she was considered somewhat of a healthy weight (Dr. Robbins had already informed Shelby that even when Rachel reaches a healthy weight, she will always be tiny), where his grandbaby ran into his arms and he could give her a hug and kiss without the fear in her little eyes. His daydream was interrupted by Katherine asking if he was ready to go.
They said 'bye bye' to Shelby and Rachel who was getting the hang of greeting people or sending them off and made their way down to the lobby where they nearly bumped into April. Even in the heels that woman wears she's shorter than a munchkin, Thomas thought to himself before they greeted both she and Holly.
Of course, Holly was apologizing while April was talking a mile a minute about how excited she was to go see little Rachel. They were another couple who balanced each other out very well. They said their goodbyes leaving April and Holly to go up to the 25th floor and April was practically buzzing with excitement.
"Babe you have to calm down or Shelby won't even let us in. Rachel isn't prepared for all your crazy," Holly smiled.
April mocked hurt, "I'm not crazy! Well, only a little crazy, but I can't help myself." She looked up into Holly's eyes and took some deep breaths, "Okay fine, I'm calming myself downnnnnnn," she sang out as she exhaled.
Holly just shook her head back and forth. Please let her be calm—Rachel will not like the state April is in right now.
Shelby opened her door to find two very smiley blondes—normally there were lots of squeals when she and April got together and jumping around however, this was a whole new side of Shelby they were seeing in front of them. Rachel was in her arms, clearly tucking herself away to hide like she had with everyone else—Shelby was rubbing her back whispering soothing words in her ear and placing kisses to her temple then returned the smile her best friends were giving her.
"Are you two going to stand out in the hallway all day or do you want to come in?" Shelby asked, eyebrow perfectly raised.
That seemed to break both Holly and April out of their trance and they walked into the penthouse. "Go ahead and get yourself anything you want to drink, I'll be right back," Shelby pointed towards Rachel's still pj clad body and gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry we're running a bit behind today."
Rachel loved her fuzzy pjs and after making a mess of her pjs from earlier and seeing the shiver run through her body as Shelby was changing her the brunette put her in another pair of fuzzy pjs instead of dressing her for the day. Clearly she thought she had more time than she did though, leave it to April and Holly to be early. April was queen of being late, and here she was early.
"Take your time hunny," April said, already going into the kitchen to get some drinks for everyone. She poured a sippy cup of juice hoping that was okay for Rachel, then brought everything into the living room. Holly did the same thing Cass did, put the new clothes they got Rachel in the wash because Shelby had the baby detergent while April opened the toys.
They were trying to follow the same things Cass did to try not to overwhelm the baby and by the time Shelby and Rachel came back downstairs fully dressed, both blondes were sitting on the floor with the TV now playing Frozen. Shelby internally groaned, they had already watched some of this movie today and just watched it last night.
Were her friends trying to punish her for something? April was the same way with hearing her own voice so she figured the small blonde would understand however it was April who put it on—she wanted it to go with the Frozen theme of toys they brought for Rachel.
"Woah monkey face," Shelby exclaimed, "It looks like mommy's friends brought you some new toys to play with. I think I see some from mommy's movie…" Rachel still didn't understand the movie was called Frozen yet, she would say 'mommy mooie'. "Should we play with them?"
Rachel twisted her little head around to see the toys and Shelby turned her body so Rachel could look at the toys while also cuddling into Shelby's chest—she seemed to do better that way. Rachel gasped seeing the Elsa doll, it was just like her mommy. She squirmed in Shelby's arms and they sat down together on the floor, Rachel in Shelby's lap as the older brunette reached for the doll knowing that's what her daughter wanted.
"Oo mommy?" Rachel pointed to the doll then looked into her mothers eyes.
"Yes baby, that's the same princess mommy plays. You're so smart aren't you?"
Rachel squealed in excitement; forgetting there were others here, she stood up from Shelby's lap leaving the doll to pitter patter over to where her two other dolly's were and picked one up bringing it over to put in Shelby's lap as well, then went to get the other doing the same thing.
They were too cumbersome for Rachel to figure out how to carry both and when she had all three—the one her mommy got her, the one Cass got her, and now the one that Auntie April and Auntie Holly got her, she started to babble away as if the dolls were having their own conversation. She did the same thing with her stuffed animals which Shelby thought to be absolutely adorable.
Shelby smiled watching Rachel play, she knew her friends didn't understand much, if any, of what Rachel was saying so they carried on a conversation over Rachel's little babbling. They watched as Shelby would consistently provide some type of comfort towards Rachel even when the baby wasn't expecting it; running her fingers through her thin brown locks, rubbing her back, helping Rachel sit the doll up, anything to make sure Rachel knew her mommy was still there.
"I'm sorry, this probably isn't what you were expecting to do on your day off," Shelby apologized seeing as they were sitting on the floor talking about random things that were safe for baby ears watching as Rachel played with Frozen on in the background.
"We've been waiting to meet this little peanut for what feels like forever so it doesn't matter what we're doing—just seeing her, gosh Shelbs she's practically your twin. I wanna ask your parents about that baby album again," April joked.
"Oh please don't," Shelby laughed; one time when Shelby and her friends flew out to Ohio, April somehow wound up looking through Shelby's baby album with Katherine. "It's true though, besides the eye color there's no denying she's all me in everyway."
Lunch time came around and they all ate together leaving Rachel more time to study the women in front of her. They kind of reminded her of Cass, but they were different. The one lady who mommy kept calling Holly was much more like Cass…she wasn't as hyper and loud as the other lady mommy called April. She didn't know how to feel about them yet. Rachel wondered if Cass was coming to visit again, she would have to ask her mommy later if she remembered.
Shelby watched her daughter study the women sitting at the table—she could already tell just from Rachel's body language that she wasn't super comfortable with April's energy. Holly was able to calm her wild side which is why Rachel didn't need to study her as long; she eventually took Rachel out of her highchair and sat the baby in her lap so they were chest to chest.
"Do you want to go upstairs with mommy for a little while?" Shelby whispered to Rachel. She hated seeing the uneasiness in her daughters eyes not to mention the fact she barely ate three bites of her lunch.
Rachel rubbed her eyes with her little fists and nodded. She was trying to get along with mommy's friends but she wasn't feeling it today. At first, she was content with her dolls but when they sat down for lunch her mood shifted. Rachel didn't understand it and while Shelby thought it was just the uneasiness with April's high energy (even though it was very subdued) she saw Rachel pulling on her ear.
Shelby frowned—did I get her sick by taking her to the park yesterday? I shouldn't have been so selfish wanting to get Rachel to experience the simple joy of the outdoors…I thought she was plenty bundled. Fuck.
Holly and April watched the mother and daughter however, didn't understand what was going on—if Rachel wanted to go upstairs, it was fine with them. They missed her pulling on her ear though hence why they didn't understand why Shelby was frowning.
"Let's go upstairs baby girl, can you say bye bye to April and Holly?"
Rachel shook her head and started to cry, "Oh baby, it's okay we don't need to say bye bye." I'm sorry Shelby mouthed to her friends. The blondes watched as Shelby disappeared up the stairs and had conflicting feelings. It was so beautiful watching them together, to see Rachel in person and awake, to hear her little laugh…but they hated being the cause of her tears.
While Holly comforted April who had her own tears now because she wanted Rachel to like her and hated herself for causing the baby more pain, Shelby was trying to calm the baby who was now screaming.
The last time Rachel screamed like this was at the doctors office—between pulling on her ear, not eating, and being this upset, Shelby knew her baby wasn't feeling very well. She pressed her lips to Rachel's forehead and sighed when she felt warm. Fuck, this is my fault.
She brought Rachel into the bathroom where she found the Tylenol hoping once Rachel calmed down she could give her a dose and nurse her seeing as she didn't eat her lunch. "It's okay love bug, mommy's got you. Mommy's here, shh, shh, shh. I know you don't feel very well do you?" Shelby knew Rachel had no idea what she was talking about considering her tears were pouring down her cheeks and she was barely listening to Shelby soothe her.
Shelby started to sing 'Let it Go' knowing this was now Rachel's favorite song thanks to her parents insisting they watch the movie. Slowly, Rachel calmed down and fumbled her little hands around until both of them found comfort inside Shelby's shirt.
Shelby grabbed the thermometer and placed it gently in her non-effected ear pulling it away when she saw the flashing light: 100.1. Her little angel was sick.
Rachel rubbed her ear against her mommy's chest hoping that would fix what she was feeling and a new set of tears started when it didn't. Rachel didn't understand the concept of being sick—sure she's been sick before because she remembers feeling the same thing in her ear but nobody was there to make her feel better.
Wasn't her mommy supposed to make her feel better? Rachel didn't get it, why wasn't it working? Her mommy always made her feel better.
Shelby cradled Rachel and stripped the baby of her pants then worked on getting off her little shirt knowing her body was overheating with her fever. "I know baby, this will make you feel better. You have a fever so mommy has some yummies to give you to make it all better." Luckily she had a bottle and sippy cup up in her bedroom that she would put water in for naps or at bedtime just in case it was needed or wanted.
Rachel was now in only her diaper sitting in her mothers lap as Shelby tried to measure the medicine the best she could while rocking Rachel back and forth at the same time. Multitasking at it's finest here. Shit, I should have filled her cup with fresh water first, now this is like a balancing act. Shelby had a lot of 'mom firsts' this past week, and she just learned another one.
With Rachel and the medicine in one arm and hand, she filled the cup with the other. Eventually, Rachel calmed down enough to take the bubble gum medicine and Shelby held up the sippy cup of water for her after. "Good job baby, mommy is so proud of you." Shelby kissed her temple and watched as she drank some of the water.
The sippy cup then flew across the room as Rachel burst into tears again, her mommy said it would make it all better but she still didn't feel right. Unfortunately, medicine doesn't work that fast and Shelby's heart broke knowing Rachel wasn't feeling well. She pulled up her shirt and unclipped her bra, "Do you want some of mommy's milk?"
Rachel's tears turned into little hiccups as she latched on and her eyes fluttered. Maybe it was the immediate comfort of feeling her mommy skin to skin, nursing in general, or she had just worn herself out—Rachel felt better already squeezing the breast she was nursing from as if to say 'more, I want more'. Shelby looked into those brown fluttering eyes and wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks before kissing her temple.
"You're okay baby, mommy's got you." Shelby patted Rachel's diapered bottom and leaned back against the headboard as Rachel nursed; the mother was happy she was getting some nutrients considering she didn't eat lunch but devastated that she was sick. If I got you sick because we went out yesterday, I'm so sorry baby girl. I'm so sorry you're sick in general, but I will make this better and mommy promises to take care of you.
Rachel fell asleep 20 minutes later but Shelby stayed with her for an extra 10 before laying her down on the bed and putting pillows around her. She was hoping the Tylenol would kick in and her fever would be gone by the time she woke up.
Shelby let her tears spill as she walked down the stairs—she was beating herself up about bringing Rachel outside. Even though they weren't out there for very long, it must have been long enough. Holly saw her first and ran over taking Shelby's hand and guiding the brunette to the couch. "What's wrong honey?"
"I—It's all my fault," Shelby cried.
April and Holly looked confused, "What's your fault?"
"Rachel has a fever and she keeps pulling on her ear; I'm the one who took her outside yesterday, if we had just stayed inside, she wouldn't be sick."
The blondes knew all the encouraging words in the world wouldn't take away the feelings Shelby was having so they sandwiched her in a hug on the couch. After letting out all her tears, she asked if they had seen her phone. April ran to grab it and Shelby called the doctors office. Dr. Robbins said she could always be put through, anytime, any day which she felt very grateful for.
"Dr. Robbins," the blonde answered after being paged.
"Hi Dr. Robbins, this is Shelby Corcoran. I know you said I could call anytime…do you have a few minutes?"
"For you, absolutely! What's going on Shelby?"
Shelby took a breath and looked up to stop more tears from spilling, "It's all my fault, I took Rachel outside yesterday. The sun was shining making it a bit warmer than it has been in the past week, she was completely bundled up with a little sweatsuit along with a baby fur lined snow suit, a hat, mittens, and the suit itself has a little hood as well for extra protection…"
Arizona could hear the mother crying and her heart broke for the young mom. "We were only outside for 20 minutes at most. Last night she was fine, this morning she was fine—she was okay up until lunch when I saw her pulling on her ear. I took her upstairs to nurse and realized she had a fever, 100.1. She kept pulling on her ear while she nursed but I was able to give her some Tylenol before she went down for her nap…it's just all my fault. I shouldn't have taken her outside. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Arizona knew she was apologizing to Rachel, even though it was evident the baby wasn't in the room. "Shelby, despite what everyone says, being outside even if it's freezing out which it wasn't yesterday doesn't cause ear infections. The cold effects your ears the same way it does the rest of your body, it makes you, well, cold," she laughed a little trying to ease some of Shelby's stress through the phone.
"100.1 isn't that high, however anytime babies get sick they are more likely to get a fever because their bodies can't fight it the same way we can. Giving her Tylenol will not only help the pain, but reduce the fever. I can't be positive because I haven't seen her ear but if she's pulling on it, it's typically infected—it wasn't your fault though, ear infections are caused by viral infections. Rachel's body isn't strong enough to fight off simple germs the way others are because of her size—she could have picked it up anywhere but they don't come on in 24 hours so she didn't get it from you taking her out. I can pop by with some antibiotics and take a peek in her little ear just to confirm before giving you the medication though."
"I don't want you to go out of your way, I know you have a family to get home to. I could umm," Shelby was thinking about the paparazzi that she knew were downstairs once again because god forbid they find somewhere else to be…
"It's not a big deal, I'm taking a half day and working the rest from home to catch up on some paperwork anyways. I wouldn't offer if I wasn't certain. I'll see you in a half hour."
Arizona was so confident that Shelby agreed. She thanked her once again and felt better by the fact it wasn't her fault, although terrible about the fact her baby was sick. The two blondes looked at her expectantly, "Dr. Robbins is coming over to check on Rachel. Apparently I'm dumb, you can't get an ear infection from being out in the cold, but it doesn't make me feel better about her being sick."
"Of course it doesn't sugarplum, but you aren't dumb. I thought the same thing, it's why I always wear those silly ear warmers so my hair doesn't get messed up but my ears stay protected in the winter," April laughed. Holly just rolled her eyes, they had so many of those stupid ear warmers around the house—April insisted she have them in every color.
"So, you're getting a house call—must be the doctors favorite patient huh?" April teased trying to lighten the mood.
It was Shelby's turn to roll her eyes, "Technically Rachel is getting a house call, your niece is obviously the favorite."
They got lost teasing each other and having some much needed best friend time when Max called up stating Arizona was already here. Damn she's quick it's only been 20 minutes.
April raced Shelby to the door because like always, everything between the two of them was a competition. They were such kids in adult bodies it was unreal. April swung open the door and looked at the fellow blonde, "Well hello doctor," April husked.
Holly covered her face with her hand while Shelby pinched the bridge of her nose appearing behind April. "I'm sorry about her, hi thank you for coming, please come in." Shelby gently shoved April out of the way and let Arizona in.
Arizona had to admit she was a little star struck at the moment. First she was swarmed by paparazzi even though clearly they weren't looking for her, now she's here. Sure, she went through the same feeling seeing Shelby for the first time however, it was at her place of business so she quickly masked the emotion. Now here she was standing inside Shelby's home with April Rhodes standing right next to her.
"I'm," April started to say.
"We know, you're April," Shelby shook her head and pushed the small blonde away again. Holly walked closer pulling her girlfriend back and out of the way, "and this is her girlfriend Holly. They are two of my best friends, guys this is Dr. Arizona Robbins."
"It's nice to meet you," Holly extended a hand.
"You as well, both of you," Arizona shook both of their hands.
"The pleasure is all mine," April winked. God she's awful, Shelby thought to herself. I honestly have no idea how Holly puts up with her, or how I do it either and we aren't even dating.
"Okay, let me show you the patient," Shelby said, getting them out of the entryway. Arizona walked through the penthouse in awe, she had to remind herself multiple times to close her jaw because it kept dropping open especially when she saw Shelby's Tony Award.
She followed Shelby upstairs to what she could only assume was her bedroom because with how concerned she was on the phone, Arizona didn't think for one minute Rachel would be in her own room yet.
"Would it be easier if I woke her up for you or is it okay if she's asleep?" Shelby whispered when they were outside her door feeling stupid for not asking her this when they were downstairs so they didn't have to whisper.
"Keep her asleep, I'll be gentle and with you there too hopefully if she does wake up, it will be fine. She needs the sleep though to fight the infection."
Shelby pushed open the door and the bedroom was beyond gorgeous. Arizona's eyes landed on the little baby sleeping in the huge California king bed sprawled out the way she normally slept—one arm above her head, sucking her pacifier, holding her giraffe.
Shelby was able to move her little body closer to the edge and not wake her as Arizona got to work looking in her little ears. She peeked in both however, only saw an infection in the one Rachel was pulling on. Shelby realized Rachel's body was still warm and frowned. After putting her back into the middle of the bed with a kiss and moving the pillow back in place, they stepped back out into the hallway.
"Simple ear infection, don't worry that her fever hasn't gone down yet; even if she has a fever for the next 24 hours, it's completely normal. Give her this two times a day, one dose tonight then start again tomorrow morning—no need to eat with it. Keep up with the Tylenol for her fever, it will also reduce the pain," the blonde whispered.
Shelby looked like she was going to break down into tears again however was able to school her features quickly. Arizona did her job and she was extremely thankful. Wait, how was she supposed to pay for a home visit? I don't think that gets billed through insurance…do I offer her cash?
"How much do I owe you for the visit and medication?" Shelby asked.
"Don't be silly—take care of that sweet baby. Consider that payment," Arizona stated as she spun on her heel and started to walk down the stairs leaving Shelby standing there, dumbfounded.
The brunette quickly caught up to her at the bottom of the stairs, "I can't expect you to show up here for a home visit with medication for my baby and not let me pay you."
Holly and April were now intrigued to see how this would play out—it was like watching a tennis match. Arizona kept insisting payment wasn't necessary while Shelby said it was necessary because the blonde took time out of her day, it cost her gas money to get here, she paid for a prescription, and practically dropped everything to make sure Rachel was okay.
Arizona informed Shelby she lived on her way home so no gas money wasted. She didn't need to pay for any medicine because they have plenty at the office, she was on her way home anyways to do paperwork, plus she got to meet April and Holly.
"Alright sweet cheeks, just accept you ain't gonna win this one," April interjected and pulled Shelby aside. "She and her wife are fans of the show right?" Shelby nodded not understanding why that mattered at the moment.
April turned back to the blonde, "How about Shelby gives you her comp tickets when she's back on the stage for you and that lovely wife of yours—dinner at D'Almo's her treat before the show. Sound good? Great!" April said, leaving Arizona no room to argue.
Shelby loved how April's mind worked sometimes—although 'paying' the pediatrician with tickets to see her perform seemed a bit strange and self centered... Arizona seemed thrilled by the idea though so she nodded along. "Absolutely, when I'm back on stage I'll have the tickets waiting for you any day of your choosing."
"Thank you," Arizona beamed. She looked back at the prescription and got back into her doctor mode instead of star struck mode, "Remember, twice a day. Rachel will be feeling better within the next 24-48 hours if you're able to keep up with the Tylenol. Make sure she finishes the antibiotic. Call me if you need anything else."
"Thank you so much for coming over on such short notice." They all said their goodbyes and it seemed like right when Arizona left, her parents came walking in.
"Hey sweetie, was that a doctor I just saw? Is everything okay?" Katherine asked.
"Not exactly—Rachel is sick; she has an ear infection. I have her antibiotic right here though so hopefully we can get her feeling better quickly."
Katherine frowned. She knew that ear infections didn't come from being outside in the cold, and the only thing that has changed this past week was her and Thomas coming and going, along with Cass coming over meaning they must have brought home whatever virus Rachel caught and her little body couldn't fight.
"I'm so sorry honey," Katherine patted her shoulder which wasn't like her mother at all. She always went for hugs, especially since being here in New York—Shelby felt like her mother was hugging her constantly when Rachel was asleep. "I'm going to go lay down. It was nice seeing you two again, I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other when Thomas and I move into the apartment here." And with that, Katherine went upstairs.
For the second time in less than 20 minutes, Shelby was left dumbfounded. She looked at her dad who simply shrugged. "I'll go make sure she's okay Shelly-bean, don't worry. You spend some time with your friends while Rachel naps."
All Shelby could do was nod—she didn't understand what just happened. Shelby looked down at the baby monitor and saw Rachel still sound asleep so she decided to not overthink it. Just as she was about to sit down to talk with her friends again, her phone rang.
Seeing Det. Rollins name on her phone she held up her finger to signal she needed a minute and went into the kitchen to answer it. "Hey Amanda, I'm sorry I missed your call last night—I was going to call you in a little bit. What's going on?"
Amanda took a deep breath hating that she had to be the one to make these phone calls, "Shelby, are you and Rachel home right now?"
"Yes?" Shelby answered, confused by the question.
"Stay inside. Olivia is on her way over right now, she will fill you in on what's going on with the case, just please don't leave the house or let anyone in or out until Olivia is there."
"What's going on Amanda?" Holly and April heard the urgency along with the stress in Shelby's voice and ran into the kitchen seeing tears threatening to spill.
"Olivia will fill you in Shelby; she will be there any minute. I just wanted to make sure myself that you and Rachel were home." And safe Amanda added to herself.
"Okay," Shelby agreed, unsure of what to think about this conversation.
"I'll be over as soon as I can be as well, Shelby," Amanda promised. She was going to check on them either way—there was something about this case, Amanda knew it wasn't so simple. She needed to see with her own eyes that they were okay.
"See you when you get here," Shelby replied.
"See you soon."