I was going to update this yesterday but then I got confused and upsated Saviour instead, doh!
I struggled a bit with the middle of this chapter, I wrote the beginning, and the end but I just couldn't get them to join together nicely, so I hope it reads okay. I've already started the next chapter so hopefully that won't be too long!
When Will woke the next morning he'd rolled away from Shelby, laid on his back on his side of the bed, Shelby on her side with her back to him, her body curled around Rachel's. He could hear Shelby humming under her breath so he rolled onto his side, "morning" he murmured softly, not wanting to startle her.
Shelby couldn't help but smile at the slight hoarseness to Will's voice. "Morning."
"What time is it?" he asked, moving closer and letting his arm drape over Shelby's waist, yawning loudly before kissing her shoulder.
Shelby glanced at the clock by her bed, "almost six."
"Six!" Will hadn't woken this earlier in longer than he cared to remember.
"Mhmm" Shelby hummed, "Rachel's been awake since just after 5. She's been quite settled though. She carefully rolled over to face Will, Will realising that Rachel had been feeding as she let out a quiet squark of protest at being disturbed before quickly settling again as she laid between Shelby and Will, not at all bothered by the fact Will was there, "you can go back to sleep for a while if you want? I can wake you at a more reasonable hour?"
Will shook his head and pushed Shelby's hair from her face so he could kiss her softly, "I don't mind being awake if it means I get to lay here with the two of you."
"I would happily lay here with you all day" Shelby told him, "but I don't know how long she'll want to stay here for, sometimes she'll fall back to sleep when she's done, other times it's like she's had 4 coffees, she has her milk and that's it, she's full of energy."
"Well" Will kissed Shelby again, "let's see how long she lets us stay in bed for."
"That sounds like a plan to me" Shelby smiled, wiping at the corner of Rachel's mouth as she pulled away, "are you done?" she asked as Rachel rolled onto her back.
"Hi" Will gently ran his hand over Rachel's bare stomach, "have you been having some nice cuddles with Mommy?"
Rachel yawned and babbled up at Will before reaching out her hand, Will obliging and letting Rachel's fingers curl around his index and middle finger. Rachel had held Shelby's fingers against her cheek right from the beginning, when she was still confined to her incubator, she'd done her best to curl her tiny fingers around Shelby's, holding it to her cheek until she tired out and fell asleep, Shelby assuming that she found some comfort in the simple action, and it warmed Shelby's heart to know that Rachel felt comfortable enough with Will to seek that comfort from him too.
Will didn't notice Shelby lose herself in her thoughts, his attention was solely on Rachel as he chatted quietly with her, Rachel babbling nonsense in response. "Thank you" Shelby spoke quietly, causing Will to look up at her.
"What for?" he frowned, if anything, he should be the one thanking her.
"For this" Shelby gestured vaguely, "for the fact you're settling my baby back to sleep, for not making a move because I'm topless…"
"Shelby" Will reached out with the hand that had been stroking circles on Rachel's stomach, "I'd never want to make you feel uncomfortable, you're feeding and comforting your daughter. You let me stay here, you didn't have to, you could have let me stay on the couch, you could have sent me back to my Uncle's, the very least I can do is fit in around your routines, and, as for this…" he gestured to Rachel, the baby beginning to lose the fight to keep her eyes open, "I know that the two of you come as a package and I know you'll always put her first and I'm okay with that Shelby, I don't know if you'll ever believe me when I say that but it's true."
"I don't know if I can believe it now" Shelby said honestly, dropping a kiss to Rachel's forehead, "but I think I will, in time."
"That's okay" Will smiled softly, "I've got no plans to go anywhere."
They laid in bed for a while, talking about everything and nothing before Will asked if he could take a shower, reluctantly pulling himself from the bed when Shelby told him he didn't need to ask. "what do you think?" Shelby asked softly, trailing her fingers over her daughter's bare stomach, "you didn't seem bothered by the fact Will was here this morning did you? Would you mind if he was here every morning?" Rachel was still fast asleep so Shelby didn't really expect a reply from her daughter, "yeah" she sighed, "I don't know what to do either."
Shelby was dressed when Will made his way back into the bedroom, she was sat on the bed pulling a pair of leggings onto Rachel, the girl already wearing a tshirt printed with the words, 'Mommy's my BFF'.
"Is she still asleep?" Will asked as he dropped his pyjamas into his bag and used the towel in his hand to rub at his damp curls.
Shelby nodded, "I don't know what you did to get her to sleep this long but you're going to have to teach me your tricks."
Will shrugged and chuckled, "must be beginners luck" he kissed Shelby's cheek, "ready for breakfast?"
"Yeah" she nodded, lifting Rachel into her arms, "I'll…"
"No you won't" Will interrupted, "I'm making breakfast, we made a deal."
"You don't have to Will, I don't mind making us something."
"I know I don't have to but I want to, so, what do you want?"
Shelby gently woke Rachel as Will made a start on breakfast after promising not to set Shelby's kitchen on fire, the girl didn't seem to mind being woken, and it didn't take long for her to be grinning happily at her Mommy, Shelby chatting to the girl as she carried her downstairs and settled her in her highchair ready to eat her breakfast.
Will did his best to not get in the way of Shelby's routine, he insisted on clearing the table despite Shelby's protests that he'd cooked, and he made sure he was ready to leave when she was, he didn't know how long it took Shelby to drop Rachel off at daycare and he didn't want her to worry about being late for class because of him.
Shelby was quiet on the drive to college, Will could tell she had something on her mind but he didn't push her, just hoped she'd open up to him when she felt ready. He kissed her goodbye once she'd got Rachel out of the car, gently tickling the baby's stomach and telling her he'd see her later before he and Shelby went their separate ways, Shelby to drop Rachel at daycare before her first class, Will heading to the accommodation office, not sure if he'd be able to speak to someone then and there or if he'd need to make an appointment.
Shelby and Will didn't see each other again until the class before lunch, both having separate classes in the morning, "how did it go?" Shelby asked as Will slipped into the seat beside her.
"There's a waiting list for dorms and because I've got somewhere else, I'm not classed as an emergency. I've put my name on the waiting list, I think it's just a case of waiting to see if people drop out or whatever, I don't know but they said they'd let me know. I called my Uncle though, he's going to take me and Josh to get the rest of our things tonight so I'll just go over there afterwards we're done at my Mom's" he smiled.
Shelby found herself barely paying attention to the class, and she briefly hoped Will was taking notes she could copy. She tried to force herself to focus but she couldn't, her mind fixed on one thing, over thinking and over analysing every little detail, making a plan and scrutinising it over and over, trying to weigh up the pros and cons to her idea.
She didn't usually pick Rachel up until the end of the day, preferring to spend the time when she didn't have class in the library working on assignments and rewriting the notes she took to make them easier to study from. She'd arranged to meet Will outside the library after his class finished, but instead of the quiet study area, Shelby headed to the daycare building.
As always she took the time to feed Rachel, humming quietly to her as she sat in the rocking chair, "I know you like to go home and snuggle and have a nap, but you're going to see Pop-pop today" she told her quietly, "just for a little while." Shelby glanced at her watch, she'd text her father at lunchtime asking if he was free to watch Rachel that afternoon and, as always, Jerry had jumped at the chance, so Shelby would be meeting him in the parking lot in just fifteen minutes.
As soon as she saw her grandfather, the girl who usually napped on the way home was suddenly full of energy and Rachel almost threw herself from Shelby's arms. "Hello there little one" he chuckled, taking his granddaughter into his arms. "And hello to you too" he kissed Shelby's cheek.
"Hi" Shelby smiled, "thanks for doing this, I know it's short notice but..."
"Nonsense" Jerry interrupted, "you know I've semi-retired now, and that means more time to spend with my grandbabies, I'll take her anytime. Are you okay though you seemed a little off in your messages?"
"Yeah" Shelby nodded, "I'm okay, I just want to talk to Will about something and she can be quite clingy after daycare so I thought it might be easier and quicker for us if you could take her for a little while. She's literally just been fed so she should be settled for you, she'll probably fall asleep in the car, she usually naps for a while when we get home. I usually join her."
Jerry smiled at the thought of his daughter and granddaughter napping together and shifted Rachel so he had a free arm, reaching out to put his hand on Shelby's arm, "Rachel will be fine Darling, it's you I'm worried about, are you sure you're okay? You and Will, it's nothing bad is it?"
Shelby shook her head, "no, it's nothing bad, I, I don't want to say anything before I've spoken to Will but it's not bad."
"You're not…"
Shelby saw Dad glance at her stomach, "Oh God no!" she said quickly, "I don't, that's not a thing I ever plan on having happen again" she told him before explaining, "something happened between Will and his Mom yesterday and he walked out. He came over and he spent the night with us and I erm, I think I want to talk to him about making it a more permanent arrangement, if that's what he wants."
Jerry nodded and saw his daughter looking at him as if she wanted his approval, "I know you Princess, I know you wouldn't do this if you hadn't thought it through, if you didn't think it was good for you and this little lady."
"I think I'm just going to suggest we try it for a little while first, he's got his name on a waiting list for dorms, and his Uncle said he's welcome there, so he has other options if we decide we're not ready to live together."
"That sounds like a good idea" Jerry nodded, chuckling as Rachel's excitement finally wore out and she snuggled into her Grandpa. "I think I'd better get this one into the car before she falls asleep, do you want to come and check this car seat?"
Shelby nodded, "you didn't have to buy your own though Dad."
He shrugged, "it's easier than having to keep borrowing yours, and I've still got some diapers from the last time I watched her and she's got her toys, we'll be absolutely fine sweetheart."
Jerry led Shelby over to his car, showing her the car seat he'd bought for his granddaughter, similar to the one Shelby had herself. He'd followed all the instructions when installing it, but wanted Shelby to double check it was in securely before putting his precious Grandaughter in it. He watched as Shelby climbed into the back seat of his vehicle, she rocked the car seat from side to side, putting her knee into it when she felt it move, using her body weight to push car seat into place and pulled the slack out of the seat belt until the seat didn't move anymore, "that's okay now, want me to…" she held out her arms and Jerry handed Rachel over, watching as Shelby adjusted the straps around the sleeping infant, "Okay, she's good to go" she kissed Rachel's head and brushed her hair back from her face before slipping from the car.
"Thank you, now, don't worry about Rachel, just let me know when you want her back."
"Okay" Shelby nodded, "Will's Uncle is taking him and his brother to get their stuff later so we shouldn't be too long, maybe just an hour or so ."
"That's okay" Jerry smiled, "she's no trouble, we'll be fine" he kissed her cheek, "honestly, don't worry."
"I'll do my best" Shelby promised, rummaging into her bag and pulling out a couple of pacifiers, "she should be okay but you'd better take these just in case."
She said a final goodbye to Rachel and her Dad before heading back to the library, there were still 30 minutes until Will's class finished and, although she doubted that she'd be able to focus on anything, she could at least try.
"Is everything okay?" Will asked when he saw Shelby walking towards him alone "where's Rachel?" whenever she'd driven him home in the past she'd always picked Rachel up before meeting him.
"I asked my Dad to take her for an hour, I erm, can we talk before you go to your Uncle's?"
"Of course" Will reached out to gently stroke at Shelby's cheek, "is everything okay?"
Shelby nodded and forced a nervous smile, reaching up to link her fingers with his, "let's go home."
There was an awkward silence as Shelby drove back to her house, despite the fact that she'd tried to convince Will she was okay, he'd noticed she seemed a little distant, that she'd been stuck in her head for most of the day and he was almost convinced that the encounter with his Mom meant she was going to break up with him.
"Do you want a drink or anything?" Shelby asked once they were home.
"I'm okay" Will led Shelby over to the couch and forced her to sit down with him, "will you tell me what's on your mind?"
"I erm, I've been thinking and I…" Shelby bit her lip and decided to just jump straight to the point, "do you want to move in here instead of going to your Uncle's?" she asked, "maybe just for a month or so to see how we go, and then we can maybe make it a more permanent thing if it works out?"
"I…" Will had been convinced that Shelby was going to break up with him, so the fact that she'd just offered to let him move in had taken him by surprise.
"But before you make a decision" Shely hadn't finished, "there was something else, it came up when I was talking to my dad and I, I think it's only fair that I'm honest with you now and don't just spring it on you later."
"Honest?" Will frowned, "about what."
"It wouldn't be anything that was an issue now, but if we're serious, if this…" she sighed, "I don't want to have any more children" she told him, "after what happened when Rachel was born, I couldn't risk that happening again, I don't know how likely it would be for me to have another premature baby, but I… if it happened again I don't know if I'd be able to go through that again."
"Okay."
"Okay?" Shelby frowned, "it's not, Will…"
He took her hand and squeezed it gently to get her attention, "if I'm honest, I hadn't really thought about having kids, and if I did see myself having them, it wouldn't be for a while yet, I'd want to have a job and, don't get me wrong, I adore Rachel, but I… I don't know if I'm making any sense, but what we have, you me and Rachel, that's enough for me. And if, in the future we decide we want to have a child together, we can look at adoption or foster care or something."
"You're so young Will..."
"So are you Shelby, and I know things might change in the future, and if they do, then we can talk about it when it comes up. I know we haven't been together long but I love Rachel, I know she isn't my daughter, but I guess, if I'm going to be around, and if you'd let me, I'd help you raise her."
"You, you want to raise her with me?" Shelby seemed surprised.
Will nodded and gently squeezed her hand, "if I'm here, if us living together works out, I'm not going to sit back and let you do everything, I'll get a job, I'll share the bills, the chores, and if you want me to watch Rachel, if you want me to get up with her so you can sleep in, if you just want me to keep her entertained while you make dinner or take a shower, I'll do what you need me to do, I'll even make sure that you and Rachel still get plenty of time alone together, I know how important that is to the both of you."
Shelby reached out, cupping Will's cheek with her hand as she leaned in to kiss him softly, resting her forehead against his as she told him, "I know I couldn't say it last night, but I do love you Will."
He couldn't help but smile, kissing her again, "I love you too."