A/N – Here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for the reviews and messages and alerts for this story. You guys are so wonderful and it means so much to me. Thank you , thank you.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
Shelby felt like a deer caught in the headlights as all of the other adults stared at her expectantly. Rachel was still standing by the stairs and Shelby could see that she had crossed her arms self-consciously. Shelby was usually pretty quick on her feet and she had excelled at improv classes and exercises, but she felt so lost and out of her league right now. She wanted so badly to be liked and accepted by Rachel's grandparents and she felt like she had ruined her first impression.
"Rachel, what is that you're wearing?" Linda asked as she turned away from Shelby to look at her granddaughter.
"My dress," Rachel answered softly.
"Your dress?" LeRoy had turned to look at his daughter as well; they all had.
"I got it yesterday," Rachel said. "Mom bought it for me. Don't you think I look pretty?" Rachel asked in a soft voice. She was trying to get them all on her side.
Any relief that Shelby may have felt when they had turned away from her was short-lived because she was focus once again.
"I told her she couldn't wear it until she was eighteen," Shelby defended herself weakly.
"I didn't know anyone was here yet," Rachel said and all eyes swiveled back to her. "I was just showing Mom how it looks with the shoes."
"Those are new too, I suppose?" Hiram asked.
"Yes," Rachel and Shelby answered at the same time.
"Rachel, go upstairs and change," LeRoy said. "And put the shoes and dress back in the box and bag they came in because they're going back."
"What?" Rachel pouted immediately. "That's not fair. Mom?"
All eyes were once again on Shelby and she searched for help from all of them. She knew she had to speak up, but did they not see how much Rachel wanted it?
"Rachel, you need to listen to your father," Shelby finally squeaked out.
Rachel changed her pout and shot Shelby an angry, hurt glare before she stomped back up the stairs to do as she was told. The six adults in the room who were used to Rachel's storm outs and tantrums didn't think anything of it, but none of them missed the way Shelby's wounded eyes followed her daughter until she disappeared.
"Why would you buy her that dress?" Linda asked once Rachel was gone. "It is not appropriate for someone her age."
"I know," Shelby sighed. "But her friend encouraged her to try it on and she wanted it so badly and asked if she could have it. I told her that she couldn't wear it until she was eighteen."
"Shelby, you can't buy her everything just because she says she wants it, "LeRoy said.
"I didn't," Shelby said. "I'm not. She just- she- I wanted to say no, but she wanted it so badly. I told her she couldn't wear it until she's eighteen. I just thought she'd put it in her closet until then. I know she's too young for it and I know it doesn't fit her properly because she's still growing, but she- and I- And now she hates me."
The grandparents all took notice of how much Rachel looked like Shelby in that moment. It really was uncanny. The woman's eyes were hurt and pleading with them to understand.
"She doesn't hate you," Hiram said. "She's mad she's not getting her way."
"What else did you buy her?" Mary asked. "We saw some of the pictures of you guys together yesterday and there were a lot of shopping bags."
"Some of them were Kurt's," Shelby said. "She just got clothes and books and some music she wanted. I wanted to indulge her. She deserves that from me."
"Stop right there," LeRoy said. "Did she say that to you?"
"No," Shelby answered. "But we were shopping and it's the first thing I've ever been able to do for her."
"So you buy her that dress?" Linda asked.
"Mom," LeRoy said. "We can talk about all of this later." He meant when his parents were gone. Shelby didn't need it from all sides. "But Shelby, you have nothing to feel guilty for or to make up for, ok?"
Shelby nodded slightly. "I guess I'm just not immune to her pout yet." She laughed and put on a smile and was relieved when they all joined in no matter how strained it felt to her.
"We're not as immune to it as you might think," Ephraim said. "We spoil her too."
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Frank said as he took Shelby by the hand and led her towards the living room. "Come on, Ephraim and I will tell you some good stories about when Rachel was little."
The older men knew when they wanted out of a conversation and Shelby would thank them later for rescuing her.
"She seems nice," Mary said when she and Linda were alone with Hiram and LeRoy. "If not completely overwhelmed."
"She's brand new to all of this," LeRoy said. "She doesn't have any other children and we all know how Rachel is. She adores Shelby, but there's no doubt she was doing everything she could to get her way."
"Is all of this a good idea?" Linda asked. It wasn't an unkind question towards Shelby, but rather one of her concern for her family. This wasn't a minor change that was happening in their lives.
"Rachel is over the moon and we've always loved Shelby; you know that," Hiram said. "We probably should have told Rachel a lot sooner than when she found out."
"It's a learning process, and under the circumstances, it's going the best it can," LeRoy said.
"I assume that Rachel is going to be going to New York to spend time alone with Shelby?" Linda asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure she will be," Hiram said.
"Are you going to be able to trust Shelby with her alone?" Linda asked.
"Of course," LeRoy said. "What does that mean?"
"I think what Linda is wanting to know is if Shelby's going to parent her or try to be her best friend," Mary said diplomatically.
"Rachel will try and bring back New York City packed in her suitcase and Shelby will be helping her pack instead of giving her boundaries," Linda said. "She can't tell her no when buying a dress that she's too young for so who's to say she won't say no to taking her to a party she's too young for?"
"We will have that all worked out before any of that happens," Hiram said. "Shelby's just getting her footing; she's going to be fine."
"You can't fault us for being concerned," Mary said.
"We don't," Hiram said. "But you've got to trust us here. Do you think we're going to do anything to put Rachel in jeopardy?"
"Of course not," Linda said.
"Then give it a rest and be nice to Shelby," LeRoy. "She was already nervous before you guys got here and now that's probably doubled."
"Why would she be nervous of us?" Linda asked innocently and Hiram scoffed. LeRoy elbowed him lightly so he didn't say anything.
"I made some coffee and hot chocolate," LeRoy said quickly. "You two go and sit down and we'll bring it in."
"You might want to spike Shelby's," Hiram said when they older women were gone. "She's going to need it."
Rachel sighed dramatically as she returned the dress to the hanger and the bag it came in. She'd just put it away for now and hopefully they'd all forget that they said they were taking it back. And why didn't her mom just tell them that she bought the dress and so she should have say? It was Shelby's decision and as far as Rachel was concerned, her mom had already said she could have it. She'd have to talk to her about it later when they were alone.
Rachel was taking her time to let them know just how upset she was with this whole situation. They'd just have to wait for her to get there now. Kurt gave her a distraction by sending her a text and asking about the history paper they had due the following day. He was done, but wanted to check a source. She, on the other hand, still hadn't started. She had planned to do it this weekend but that was before she knew her mom was going to be her. She wondered if she could use that as a legitimate excuse to get some more time to do the paper. She'd never asked for an extension before, but with all of the upheaval and other things some of the articles were saying, surely she could work that to her favor. It was always good to have a back-up plan, right? Just in case she didn't get it done that evening.
Rachel finally got up and made her way downstairs and found everyone in the living room. They were all laughing and she decided that it was the perfect time to enter because no one looked upset about the dress. She really did have great timing.
"Hey, sweetheart," Frank said as he got up to greet her with a hug. "How's my girl?"
"I'm good, Poppy," Rachel smiled.
She was passed around from grandparent to grandparent until she finally was sitting on the couch next to Shelby with a mug of hot chocolate in her hand. Shelby had watched her uncertainly until Rachel sat down and leaned into her side as she took a sip of her drink. She was worried that the girl was still going to be angry at her, but Rachel's face showed none of the hurt it displayed before.
"What were you guys laughing at?" Rachel asked.
"Oh nothing," Hiram said. "Just some Rachel war stories."
Rachel humphed in offense and annoyance. Why was she never around to defend herself when these stories were being told?
"What did they tell you?" Rachel asked looking over at Shelby.
"Oh… nothing much," Shelby said. "But I've got to admit, I never would have figured you for a kid who liked to play outside naked, especially in the mud. I can't wait to see the pictures."
"Daddy!" Rachel's exclaimed as her face turned red in embarrassment.
Hiram and LeRoy had pictures of their naked two-year-old sitting in the mud playing with her dolls. They'd left her out back for just a couple of minutes and in that time Rachel had shed her clothes and gotten completely filthy. The men loved to tell the story, much to Rachel's chagrin.
"I'm sure you were so cute," Shelby cooed and reached over to pinch Rachel's cheek.
"Stop," Rachel said as she leaned back to try and get out of the way.
"We sprayed her off with the hose before we let her in house," Hiram said, "And she loved it. She thought it was a game and she wanted to do it every time we went outside. I really am glad we finally broke the habit of you wanting to get naked whenever you went outside."
"Dad," Rachel glared at him.
"Don't worry, Rach, I promise not to bring up any of this in any interview I may do," Shelby teased.
"Oh my god, you better not," Rachel said. "I'm serious, Mom."
"I know, baby," Shelby placated. She put her arm around Rachel's shoulders and kissed the side of her head. Shelby's smile faltered slightly when noticed that she was being watched intently by the grandparents. She couldn't tell if they liked her or not, but she was leaning towards or not. She sighed, but made sure her smile was in place when Rachel started in on another story. She could handle this. She performed for audiences for a living and she knew how to win them over. She could do this.
Three hours later, Shelby wasn't so sure.
"They hate me," she said as she stepped into the kitchen with Hiram. "All of them. They all hate me."
"They don't hate you," Hiram said.
"Yes they do. Linda has asked me about six thousand questions about what I like to do in New York and how much I drink. I don't think she believes any of my answers either. I think she wants to strap be into a lie detector test so she can further scrutinize my answers. And now she and Mary are up there with Rachel looking through everything I bought her. I'm sure they're looking for one more inappropriate thing I got Rachel so they can officially kick me out of her life."
"Did you buy her anything else that's inappropriate?" Hiram asked.
"No!" Shelby exclaimed and crossed her arms and scowled at the pacifying smile he was giving her.
"They're overbearing grandparents," Hiram said. "This is why we normally don't let them visit at the same time. They mean well though."
"What happened to you telling me that they all drive you crazy?" Shelby asked.
"They normally do, but their crazy is pointed at you right now so I'm good," Hiram smiled widely.
"Thanks a lot," Shelby sighed. "I want them to like me."
"I think they do," Hiram said. "And don't worry, they'll be leaving soon. Why don't you and Rachel do a song before they leave? They'd love that."
"Why do I always have to sing a song to impress people?" Shelby mumbled more to herself than to Hiram as she left the room.
The question caught him off guard and watched Shelby go and realized how sad she actually looked about his and LeRoy's parents not liking her. He'd heard a similar sentiment from Rachel before. She had told him how the other glee kids only tolerated her because she could sing. He'd never even considered that Shelby might feel the same way. He followed after her so he could talk.
Hiram didn't get a chance because Rachel was descending the stairs with her grandmothers and cut him off before he could reach Shelby who was now sitting on the couch alone.
"Hey, Mom," Rachel said brightly. "They said they had to go soon, but I told everyone that they've got to hear you sing before they leave. Will you sing a song with me?"
"Sure!" Shelby said with a big smile for Rachel. Hiram watched her sadly. "What do you want to do?"
"Rachel, Shelby might not want to sing right now," Hiram tried to cut in.
"But she just said she would," Rachel said with a confused expression. She looked from Hiram and back to Shelby.
"Of course I will," Shelby said. "Pick a song."
"Can we do the one you sing in the show?" Rachel asked. "With Alison Young? I know her part. I know all the parts, actually."
"That would be wonderful," Shelby gave Rachel a genuine smile and tucked some hair behind the girl's ear. She sang a few songs with Alison during the show, but Shelby had a feeling she knew which one Rachel was talking about.
The other adults settled in and watched the mini-show with rapt attention. Rachel started to cry half way through and Shelby dried her tears at the end just before Rachel crushed her in a hug.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Shelby asked softly as the clapping from the grandparents died down.
"I've actually sung that song with you countless times," Rachel said. "With the CD and my iPod. I sometimes can't believe that you're really here with me. My mom is here with me." She whispered that last part so that it was just Shelby who heard her.
"Don't cry, honey," Shelby said. "I'm not going anywhere."
"That was amazing," Ephraim said. "Really powerful."
"Shelby, you're going to have stiff competition when our Rachel gets to New York City," Frank added.
Rachel was wiping her eyes as she looked at her grandfathers and she smiled knowingly. "Don't worry, Poppy, there won't be much competition between Mom and I because we won't be going after the same roles. She's too old…"
Rachel trailed off when she realized she'd actually said it aloud and she turned and looked at her mother and offered an innocent smile. There was burst of laughter and Rachel scampered away leaving Shelby to stand there with her mouth open in shock. She was not old!
"Don't worry, dear, she's just a baby and doesn't know what old is yet," Linda said. "You are far from old."
Shelby smiled and Rachel stamped her foot. She was not a baby!
It wasn't long after the performance that the family started to say their goodbyes. Shelby found herself being pulled into hugs by Ephraim and Frank and even by Mary and Linda.
"Take care of our girl," Linda said seriously.
"I will," Shelby nodded. "I promise. I love her so much."
"And don't buy her anything else that's not appropriate for her," Linda continued. "I would expect to see someone like you in that dress and not a girl."
Rachel sighed because she had hoped it would be forgotten and there was her grandmother bringing it back up again. Shelby looked back to LeRoy and Hiram to see if they could give her a clue as to whether she should be offended by that last statement or not. LeRoy shrugged and Hiram gave a thumbs up.
"I won't," Shelby said as she turned back to the woman.
"Good," Linda said. "I'm sure we'll see you again soon."
Oh fun. Shelby smiled. "Wonderful."
Hiram held back while Rachel and LeRoy walked the grandparents out to their cars.
"Shelby, I didn't mean to imply that the only way you can impress people is by singing," the man said. "I'm sorry."
"It's ok," Shelby said. "It's not a big deal. I just want them to like me for me."
"They do," Hiram said. "So does Rachel. She often doesn't know how to express her feelings and the songs allow her to do so."
"I know how she feels," Shelby said as Hiram pulled her into a tight hug.
Twenty minutes later Rachel had disappeared to her room and her parents were sitting in the living room talking about how they would deal with the dress.
"You already told her that it's going to be returned," Shelby said.
"I know," LeRoy said. "But you should tell her again. And don't let her talk you out of it because she's going to try."
"That's probably what she's doing up there right now," Hiram said. "Working out arguments for why she should get to keep it."
"She's probably working on her homework," Shelby said casually. "She's got a history paper due tomorrow." Both men just stared at her. "What?"
"She has a paper due tomorrow and she's not done yet?" Hiram asked.
"She and Kurt were talking about it yesterday and she said she hadn't started it yet," Shelby explained.
"She hasn't even started?" LeRoy asked. "That's not like her. She usually finishes everything early."
"I imagine she's been distracted," Shelby said. "I told her I would help her with it but then I fell asleep last night. She's exhausting."
"Ok, Mama, now's your chance," Hiram said. "Go up there and tell her about the dress and get her to start on her homework."
Shelby rolled her eyes, but got up all the same.
"Hey, Rach," Shelby said as she knocked on the open door and entered the girl's room. "What're you doing?"
"Texting with Kurt," Rachel answered holding up her phone for Shelby to see. "He wanted to know how the visit went today."
"Oh. What did you tell him?"
"That it went fine," Rachel said.
"Did you tell him about the dress?" Shelby asked as she took a seat on Rachel's bed.
"No," Rachel blushed slightly. I figured we could talk about that tomorrow."
"What happened to not wearing until you're eighteen?" Shelby asked.
"I wanted to show you how it looked with the shoes on," Rachel answered. "I didn't know everyone was going to be early and I thought my dads were getting ready. I didn't think anyone would see me."
"Be that as it may, I'm going to take the dress back," Shelby said. Rachel pouted immediately and Shelby resolved to be strong.
"But I promise I won't take it out again until I'm eighteen like you said," Rachel pleaded her case. It's already hanging up in my closet."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but it's going back," Shelby said. "I was going to tell you that you couldn't have it at first, but I let you talk me into it. But that was a mistake. So I'm going to take it with me when I leave in the morning."
"Fine," Rachel said as she slouched in her chair at her desk. She knew there wasn't any hope anyways; her dads had already said she couldn't keep it. "Do you really have to leave tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I do. But I'll see you again soon," Shelby said with a sigh of her own. "I've got to get back to the show and deal with some of the requests for interviews. And you need to concentrate on school. How's that history paper?"
Rachel raised her eyes to look at her mom, "You remember everything, don't you?"
"Yep, and don't you forget it," Shelby said with a smile. "And I told you I'd help you so here I am. Let's knock it out."
LeRoy went to check on them almost an hour later and he didn't interrupt when he saw Shelby passionately explaining something about the Civil War to Rachel. Rachel was paying attention and taking notes and he smiled. It only took them a few hours, but they finished the paper and Rachel beamed as her mom read it over one more time to check everything out.
"This is great," Shelby said. "You did a wonderful job."
"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said. She took the freshly printed paper and put it safely in her binder for her class the following day. "What should we do now? Let's watch a movie?"
"I think maybe you should start to get ready for bed," Shelby said. She had glanced at Rachel's clock and saw that it was after 10:30.
"What? No," Rachel said. "It's not that late and we've got time. You're leaving tomorrow."
There was that pout again. "I know that, but you've got school and that's more important," Shelby said. "We'll have plenty of time for movies later. Get ready for bed and then come say goodnight to your fathers and me."
"But, Mom," Rachel whined.
"Sorry, Rachel," Shelby said. "Come on." Shelby took her hand stood the girl up and pointed her towards her bathroom. "I'll be downstairs."
"Fine," Rachel muttered as she went into her bathroom and shut the door.
Shelby nodded to herself and left the room only to find Hiram and LeRoy waiting at the door where they had obviously been listening.
"Well done, Mama," Hiram said.
"Thanks," Shelby smiled.
Rachel found them about ten minutes later and kissed each of them goodnight.
"Will you be up in the morning?" Rachel asked. She was hugging Shelby and had her head resting on her shoulder.
"I'll be up," Shelby said. "You won't get to leave without saying goodbye to me."
"Ok," Rachel whispered.
"Goodnight, baby," Shelby said. She kissed Rachel's head before sending her on her way.
The following morning was rough on them and Shelby didn't think she'd have been able to leave except for the fact that Rachel had to get to school. By the time her flight landed in New York City, Shelby felt worn out even though it was only the early afternoon. There were photographers waiting at the exits and she smiled but stayed silent as they relentlessly tossed questions her way. She was so thankful to Meredith for picking her up and final shut her eyes in relief when they were away from the airport.
"Welcome home," Meredith said.
"Thanks a lot," Shelby said wryly.
"I've set up three interviews for you for this upcoming week," Meredith said. "The first is with the New York Times and that's going to happen in a few hours so that it can be printed tomorrow. The second is with Katie Couric. She wants to do sit-down this Friday. You know, a whole thing at your house or the park or whatever other places they do those things in. She said she would love it if Rachel was involved."
"Shocking," Shelby said. "What's the third interview?"
"The View," Meredith answered and Shelby groaned. "That's taping Friday morning. They'd love to have Rachel on as well. Then we'll do People or something and hopefully that'll be the end of it."
"Katie Couric wants Rachel and not her dads?" Shelby asked.
"She said she would love to meet her fathers too, but she understands about time constraints," Meredith answered. "They want to be able to film it Saturday and have it ready to go by Sunday night."
"I'll call them and talk to them," Shelby said. She really needed a Kardashian or that insipid girl from the Jersey show to do something stupid now so the news would move on.
"Great. Let me know as soon as possible so I can get back to everyone."
"I will."
Shelby was happy to see her apartment and even happier to see flowers from Brian on her table. His note told her he'd left some food in her fridge since he knew the last thing she'd want to do when she got home was cook. She groaned with pleasure when she saw that he'd made her favorite meal and left it for her. She definitely could not wait to see him tonight.
Rachel was out of school and home by the time Shelby finished her interview with the New York Times. She called the house phone and smiled when LeRoy picked up.
"Hey stranger," LeRoy greeted. "How was your flight?"
"Not too bad," Shelby said. "Listen, I've got something I need to run by you and Hiram."
They once again put her on speaker phone and she explained about the interviews. The men said they didn't care if they were featured and were happy to give a statement if need be. But there was one concern.
"I don't want Rachel missing a bunch of school," LeRoy said.
"I don't either," Shelby said. "It would just be this Friday and then it won't happen again. I won't allow it. But I do have to give some interviews and people are curious about her. Consider it practice for when she's famous and doing talk shows. And this way I can be there and control it."
"All right," Hiram said.
"Great," Shelby said. "I'll set up a flight and send you the information. I promise she'll be fine."
"We know," LeRoy said. "And Shelby, listen. Please don't buy her the Statue of Liberty and let her bring it home, ok. We don't have anywhere to put it."
"Ha ha ha," Shelby deadpanned. "Thanks, guys. Tell Rachel I'll call her later."
Hiram climbed the stairs while LeRoy worked on dinner and knocked and went into Rachel's room. "Hey, how would you like to go to New York this weekend and spend it with Shelby?"
"Oh my god, really?" Rachel squealed. "Yep. You're flying out Friday morning sometime. They want you to participate in a couple of interviews if you're ok with that. If you're not comfortable, we can still say no."
"Yes, I'm comfortable with that," Rachel said quickly. "Yes, of course. I have to get ready. I need to call Kurt. Dad, will you get my suitcase from the basement so I can start to pack?"
"Whoa, slow down," Hiram said as he took Rachel by the arms and stopped her. "Rachel, everything can be reversed, ok. You don't have to go. This cannot be the only thing you think about. You've got school and glee and I don't want to see either of those things start to suffer. Got it?"
"Got it," Rachel said seriously. "I promise, Dad."
"Ok," he said. "Shelby said she'd call you in a little while with the details. I'll let you know when dinner's ready."
"Ok," Rachel said. She waited about half a second after he was out the door to dive back on her bed to reach for her phone so she could call Kurt.
Shelby felt great as she stood at Brian's door and knocked. She had a key, but she decided to wait. She had just gotten off the phone with Rachel and the flight was all set up and the girl was excited and Shelby was thrilled to be seeing her again so soon. Rachel spending the weekend with her was a dream come true.
"Hey," Brian said with a smile when he answered the door.
"Hey yourself," Shelby said as she pushed him back into the apartment with an aggressive kiss. He didn't need to be told twice.
Dinner was cold by the time they got to it, but neither of them minded having to heat it up. Shelby sipped on her wine and watched him move around the kitchen. This finally could be it. She felt like this was the time.
"Rachel's coming into town this weekend," Shelby said. "She'll be here Friday."
"Oh?" Brian said.
"I can't wait for you to meet her," Shelby continued. "Are you ok with that?"
"Of course," Brian said with a smile.
Shelby matched his expression of love took another sip of wine. All they had to do was get through the stupid interviews and Shelby knew she had the makings of a perfect weekend on her hands.
A/N – I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave me a review if you can. I appreciate your feedback so much. Thanks, you guys!
