Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Rachel was awake before Scott even got a real cry out. All he did was whimper, and she was awake. Finn, of course, was sleeping like a rock next to her. She was too tired to glare at her husband, so she settled for causing as much movement as she could as she climbed out of bed.

Naturally, Finn didn't even move. Rachel shuffled over to the bassinet and lifted Scott out just as she started to cry. As soon as he was settled against her chest, he quieted immediately. Knowing from experience that it would take at least another fifteen minutes for him to fully fall asleep, Rachel cupped the back of his tiny head and gently rocked back and forth.

The past five months since Scott had been born has been absolutely wonderful. Rachel would even describe them as magical. There was nothing that she loved more than watching her baby boy grow. Rachel didn't think that she would ever forget the first day that Scott smiled at her.

Right now, however, all Rachel wanted was sleep. Scott had fallen into the habit of waking up every three or four hours. It got to the point where Rachel would wake up before baby Scott could get too upset, but that also meant that she wasn't getting much continuous sleep.

Finally, Scott was lulled back to sleep. Rachel gently placed him in his bassinet once again and waited a moment to see if he would wake up. Just like his father, Scott settled into a deep sleep—it was as if he hadn't even woken up.

Rachel dragged her butt back to bed and slid under the covers. She poked Finn repeatedly in the shoulder until he suddenly jerked awake. Blinking drowsily, he looked around with half-open eyes until he saw his wife staring at him.

"Whas goin' on?" Finn slurred.

Satisfied that she had her husband's attention, Rachel curled up on her side and snuggled into her pillow. "The next time the baby wakes up, you can get him," she stated before she immediately fell back asleep.

Rachel made what were (admittedly) pitiful airplane noises in an attempt to get the spoonful of mashed peas into Scott's mouth. All Scott did was blink at her with his wide, brown eyes, and Rachel knew that her son was thoroughly unimpressed.

Just as she was about to try again, someone knocked at the door. Rachel set aside the tiny spoon and small jar of smashed peas (out of Scott's reach—he was in the habit of knowing things over) and jumped up to answer the door. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw that it was Carole Hudson-Hummel standing in her doorway.

"Carole!" Rachel greeted. "You should know that you don't ever have to knock. Please, come in!"

Carole was carrying a laden down with several bags. Every time she came to visit—and it didn't matter if she was with Burt or Kurt or both of them or on her own—she always brought a new outfit for Scott. She also brought several casseroles and dishes, both vegan and full of meat, for Finn and Rachel. At this point, Rachel was pretty sure that there was no one quite as perfect as Carole Hudson-Hummel.

"I wasn't sure what you would all be up to today," Carole said. She set her bags on the counter and hugged Rachel tightly. "How are you, sweetie?" she asked. She held her daughter-in-law at arm's length and frowned in the way that only a mother could. "You look like you haven't been getting enough sleep."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "That's because I haven't," she said. At that moment, Scott chose to let out a shrill screech and he banged his tiny fists on the tray of his highchair. Rachel grinned at her little boy and wiggled her fingers at him, and he giggled in return. "It's worth it, though."

"Of course it is," Carole said. "But I wouldn't expect anything less from a Hudson boy. Despite the way that Finn sleeps now, he didn't sleep all the way through the night for a very long time."

"How did you get through it?" Rachel asked. She sat down in front of Scott and tried to get the spoonful of peas into his mouth once again. He held his mouth open all the way until the last second, and then he snapped his little jaw shut. He giggled at the look of surprise on his mother's face, and Rachel couldn't hide her smile. Sure, this wasn't the ideal way to feed her son, but it was pretty amusing.

"Well, a few months after Finn had been born, my mother stopped by and said that she was going to babysit for the night. She kicked Chris and I out of the house and told us to go get dinner." Carole smiled fondly at the memory. "We called every hour to check on Finn, but it still ended up being one of the best things for us."

Despite her lack of sleep, Rachel caught on to what Carole's visit was really about. "And I'm assuming you're going to be doing the same thing for Finn and me?"

"You got it." Holding her hands out, Carole waited until Rachel handed over the spoon and the peas. She gestured for Rachel to vacate the seat in front of Scott's highchair and then took her place. "Go on and get ready. Finn will be here in two hours to take you out to dinner."

Rachel smiled. "Was this his idea?" she asked.

"It was." Carole winked and then further proved the fact that she had superpowers by successfully getting Scott to eat the mashed peas. "But don't tell him I told you."

"I love that man so much," Rachel declared. Her heart felt full and despite the fact that she was still incredibly tired, she was also undeniably excited for her night out with her husband.

"And he loves you," Carole said. "Now go and get ready."

Rachel spun around and practically ran up the stairs. In her opinion, Carole Hudson-Hummel should have been put up for sainthood a long time again.

Author's Note: FINALLY. I haven't been inspired to write in a very long time (I'm still in a weird post-grad funk), but I managed to get this out. So here's some Carole and Rachel bonding for you all. Thanks for reading and thanks for still reviewing even though I've been lacking with the updates. :)