I am really sorry for having taken this long to update this story. My muse went on strike for a while and I was really struggling with the chapter. I am really really sorry!
Thank you for all the reviews! They mean so much to me.
...
As Rachel laid in bed, she kept replaying everything that had happened that day. For the first time in forever, she truly felt like she had a place in her mother's heart. She felt bad for having let her emotions get the best of her once again and having lost Beth, but she now saw the whole incident as a blessing in disguise. If it hadn't been for that, she wouldn't have started calling Shelby 'mom', and they would still be treating each other as strangers. The young brunette had made a very important step in their relationship and she knew it. She was proud of herself, and she was proud that Shelby had mended her ways and was now ready to become her mother.
Just as Rachel was lost in her own thoughts, her phone began to ring. "Who could be calling me at this time?" she thought, as she adjusted her eyes to the light from the phone and saw who it was.
"Daddy! Hi!" Rachel said, starting to feel a little nervous. "Yes, yes, of course everything is alright. I have been terribly busy these days with school, work and rehearsal and … Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you and dad to get worried. I-I-I have some news, but it can wait … Yes, me too, daddy. I love you"
Rachel stared at her phone and sighed. She knew she should have told her fathers about her living with Shelby, but she didn't know how they were going to react. She was already 18 years old, which meant the contract was no longer valid, but she had suffered a lot when Shelby had rejected her and her fathers had been the ones who had been there to help her get through the disappointment and pain, so she was sure that Shelby was not liked by her fathers.
All that thinking was giving her a headache, so she decided to close her eyes and try to sleep. She figured she could talk to her mom about it ilater.
...
"Good morning, Rach" Shelby said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, mom" Rachel replied.
"That smells delicious. What is it?" Shelby asked.
"It's a spinach frittata. I've already made some juice and there are muffins in the oven" Rachel replied, smiling.
"What time did you get up?" Shelby asked, looking at the clock on the microwave that displayed 8:10 am.
"I've been up since 7. I couldn't sleep. So I thought it would be nice to make you and Beth some healthy breakfast"
"Thank you, honey. You didn't have to cook us breakfast. I am happy to do it" Shelby said.
"I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday." Rachel replied. Now that she had her mom in her life, she didn't want to risk her rejecting her again, so she was planning on getting on her mom's good side again.
"It's all forgiven and forgotten, Rach" Shelby replied, kissing her daughter's head. "How come there are only two places set on the table?"
"I've already had some fruit and I want to get to work earlier so I can talk to Kurt"
"Oh, I'm glad you two are finally making up." Shelby said, ready to be confronted, but she just saw her daughter shrug.
"Wachel! Play with me?" Beth asked, running into the kitchen.
"Hey, miss, no running in the house!" Shelby gently scolded her little daughter.
"Sowwy, mommy. Wachel? Play?"
"I'm sorry, Beth, I have to go to work. I am running late, in fact." Rachel said, glancing at her watch, "I should start looking for another job closer to this apartment. There is no reason why I have to travel by subway all the way to Bushwick to go to work when there are plenty of good diners around the city, where I could apply as a waitress. Of course, I won't have to be a waitress much longer, right?"
The little blond girl stared at her sister and nodded, "Wight!"
Shelby chuckled as she ruffled Beth's hair. "Breakfast is ready."
The little blond girl kneeled on the chair and looked at the strange dish that was being served on her plate. She scrunched her nose and looked at her mom. "What is it?"
"Rachel made us breakfast this morning" Shelby replied.
"It's a spinach frittata with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese" Rachel said, proud of what she had cooked. She was not a good cook, but she had followed the recipe step by step and she was sure the dish was delicious.
Beth tilted her head and looked at Rachel. She had no idea what her sister had just said, but the words spinach, dried tomatoes and goat cheese didn't sound too appealing.
"Mommy, I want pancakes" Beth said, giving her plate a final look.
"Why don't you try your frittata?" Shelby said, trying the dish her eldest daughter had made. She usually didn't like goat cheese, but she had to admit her breakfast was very good. "It's delicious"
"It's healthy, Beth." Rachel added.
The little girl looked at both her mom and her sister and then shook her head. "I want pancakes"
"Mom, you cannot make her pancakes. They are delicious, but they are not as healthy as this dish, and Beth needs the nutrients spinach provides." Rachel said, frustrated that her little sister didn't want to try the dish.
"I know, honey, but she might still be too young for such an elaborate dish. Don't worry, I will eat it all. It is so good that I am having another serving" Shelby replied, not wanting to start an argument with either one of the daughters. She then turned to Beth and said, "Rachel made muffins as well. I am sure they are delicious. How about you have a muffin instead?"
Beth glanced at Rachel and asked, "Chocolate?"
"Yes, they are chocolate chip muffins" Rachel replied, smiling as she got the muffins out of the oven and gave one to her little sister.
"Yummy in my tummy!" Beth said, with a mouth full of the sweet delight.
Both mother and daughter laughed at the same time and stared sweetly at the youngest member of the family who was enjoying her muffin as if it were her last meal.
"What do we say to Rachel, Beth?" Shelby said.
"Can I have another one?" Beth asked, with a smile that showed her chocolate covered teeth.
Shelby chuckled and shook her head, "How about if we say thank you first?"
"Thank you, Wachel" Beth said, standing on the chair to be able to hug her sister.
"You are very welcome." Rachel replied. When she first saw Beth, she wasn't too fond of the girl, because she was the one who had come to take her place as Shelby's daughter, but now, she couldn't be happier about having a little sister. "Mom, I have to go. I'm running late"
"Thank you for breakfast. It is delicious" Shelby replied, getting up to hug her daughter goodbye. "Have a wonderful day"
…
"You look quite cheerful this morning" Kurt said, as soon as Rachel walked into the diner.
"I am very happy. I had always wanted to live with my mom."
"That is … wait, with your mom? You are calling her mom?" Kurt asked in a concerned tone.
Rachel nodded and smiled. "I have a mom and a little sister. Can you believe it?"
"Rachel, are you sure? I don't want you to get hurt again. Ms. Corcoran is not the most reliable person." Kurt added, looking at his friend with a worried look.
"I appreciate your concern, Kurt, but she has proven she is ready to fully commit as a mother. She even has …" Rachel wanted to share why she was so sure Shelby was ready to be her mom, but she stopped herself.
"She even has what?"
"Oh she even has confessed she made a mistake the first time she walked away." Rachel said.
"Then, I am very happy for you. I do have to say I miss you. Living alone with Santana was not what I signed for when I moved to the city"
"I miss you too. I- I felt like I had lost my best friend" Rachel confessed. "I was so afraid."
"You can never lose me. I can get mad or frustrated, but we are kindred spirits, we divas have to stay together" Kurt said, "So, tell me, what is it like living with Coach Corcoran? Is she scary?"
Yes! Rachel thought, but what came out of her mouth was different, "No, not all"
"What is it like living with Beth?"
"She looks like Quinn, so it was very difficult at first. I knew Shelby had chosen Quinn's baby over her own daughter and that made me hate Beth. But once I got to know her, I just could not hate her. She is adorable. I have a feeling she is a magnet for trouble, though." Rachel said.
"It looks like Santana did you a favor, huh?" Kurt replied.
"I guess. I still do not understand why she auditioned, though. I will be talking to the producers."
"Don't …"
The two friends were interrupted by the manager, who said, "I am not paying you to come and chat. There are people waiting to be served."
"We are sorry, sir." Rachel replied, as she adjusted her apron. "Kurt, come to dinner tomorrow. We can talk, then. Shelby will be out"
…
"Mommy, mommy, mommy, I love my bed!" Beth said, jumping on her new bed. It had been delivered that morning and as soon as it was placed in her room, she started jumping on it.
"I'm glad you do, baby, but no jumping on the bed" Shelby said, catching Beth mid-jump.
"It's fun, mommy!" Beth said, nodding and squirming so her mom would put her down and she could go back to jumping on her new bed.
"It's dangerous. I don't want you jumping on the bed." Shelby replied in a serious and firm tone.
"Okay, mommy. We go to the park today?" the little girl asked, soon forgetting about the bed.
"I don't know. It is supposed to rain today." Shelby replied, looking out the window to see if there were any clouds.
"Where's Wachel?" Beth asked. Maybe her sister could talk their mother into taking her to the park.
"Rachel is working."
"Oh" Beth sighed. She didn't want to spend the whole day inside the apartment, especially if she wasn't allowed to jump on the bed.
"I have an idea. We can go to the park for a little while, and then, we can have lunch at the diner where Rachel works. We can surprise her, and I am pretty sure she didn't take an umbrella with her this morning …" Shelby suggested, smiling at her daughter. "What do you say?"
"Yes!" Beth replied, running to her closet to get her little pink umbrella with the picture of some of Rapunzel from Tangled. "I can lend her mine!"
"That is very sweet of you, baby" Shelby told her little girl. She was sure Rachel wouldn't want to use her little sister's umbrella, but she couldn't say that to Beth. She was proud that her daughter was willing to lend one of her most precious things to her sister. "But if Rachel takes your umbrella, how are you going to protect yourself from the rain?"
Beth remained silent for a minute while she thought about the question and then shrugged, "You can lend her your umbrella, mommy."
"That's a great idea!" Shelby said, tapping her little girl's nose. "Let's get ready so we can go to the park before it rains."
…
"Are you okay, Rachel?" Kurt asked, as he listened to his friend clearing her throat for the third time in an hour.
"I am. I just have a tickle in my throat. It must be due to the air conditioning." Rachel replied, taking a sip of water.
"Hey, Berry, I was eavesdropping and I couldn't help listening to your conversation with Lady Hummel here. Are you getting sick?" Santana asked with a smirk.
"I am not getting sick. I do not get sick. The air conditioning is simply bothering my throat, but I will be switching it off, so it does not harm my vocal chords." Rachel answered.
"If you cannot sing, you can count on me to take your place in the show. It'll be my pleasure" Santana said, winking at Rachel.
"That won't be necessary, Santana, because I never get sick!" Rachel added, walking away from the Latina.
"Could you not pick on her every time you see her, please?" Kurt said to Santana in an annoyed tone.
"Oh come on, that is what I do best" Santana replied.
…
Shelby and Beth spent an hour in the park before getting a taxi to go to the Spotlight Diner. Even though Shelby had lived in New York City for several years, she had never been to that part of the city, so she decided to catch a cab instead of driving there.
Rachel was cleaning a table when the door opened and the bell chimed in to announce a new customer had just arrived. As usual, she looked up to see who it was, in case it was a theater producer or a director, but who came in surprised her more than any celebrity.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, walking over to her mother and her sister.
"We got hungry and we were in the neighborhood, so we decided to surprise you" Shelby replied, smiling at her daughter.
"You were in the neighborhood …" Rachel repeated and gave her mom and her sister an incredulous look.
"I want a burger!" Beth chimed in, bored from the conversation Shelby and Rachel were having.
"Miss Berry, why are you keeping these customers standing?" the manager asked, as he led Shelby and Beth to a table. "Please take a seat. This is Rachel. She will be your waitress. If you have any problems with her, please let me know."
"Thank you. There will be no need for that. " Shelby replied politely and then looked at her daughter. "We wanted to see where you worked and I was concerned about you not having your umbrella with you."
"My umbrella? Really, mom?" Rachel asked, shaking her head.
"The weather forecast said it is going to rain this afternoon." Shelby explained, "You need an umbrella."
"Mom, are you serious? The sky is clear. There isn't a single cloud. I don't need an umbrella." Rachel said, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, don't roll your eyes. The sky can turn cloudy any second. I don't want you to get sick." Shelby said.
"Wachel, burger and fries, please." Beth said, getting frustrated at being ignored.
Rachel wrote down Beth's order on her notepad and without glancing up to look at her mother, she asked, "What can I get you, mom?"
"I'd like a green salad." Shelby replied. "We'll continue our conversation when you come back."
Rachel sighed and walked away. "She can be so overbearing sometimes." the young brunette told Kurt.
"What is she doing here?"
"Apparently, she is sure it is going to rain, so she brought me an umbrella. Unbelievable, right?" Rachel said, shaking her head once again.
"She might be right …" Kurt added, as he watched his friend walk away.
As Rachel was placing the order in the kitchen, Santana walked to Shelby's table. "Hello, Coach Corcoran. I am not sure if you remember me …"
Shelby looked at the Latina with a confused look. Of course she remembered her; she had been her coach for a whole semester. "Hello, Santana."
"Oh, you're mommy's friend!" Beth said, looking at the young woman standing by the table.
Shelby gave Santana one of her signature 'you'd better explain what is going on' look and watched the black haired young woman get nervous.
"I just mentioned at the mall that I knew her mom. I mean, I know you, right?" Santana explained.
"Alright, that better be true" Shelby said in a serious tone.
"Of course" Santana said. She had walked over to Shelby with the intention of messing with Beth, but one look from Shelby had made her change her plan. She sighed and walked towards Rachel. "So, what is mommy doing here? She's checking on her precious daughter?"
"What were you just saying to her?" Rachel asked, ignoring Santana's question.
"I was just saying hello."
"Please don't ruin this for me" Rachel begged.
"What do you think I am going to do?" Santana asked.
Rachel didn't reply and went to pick up her order, "A kid's meal for Beth and a green salad for you, mom."
"Thank you. Can you take a break?" Shelby asked.
"I guess I can sit down for five minutes." Rachel said, taking her mom's fork and eating some salad.
"Is it good?" Shelby asked, chuckling.
"Very good" Rachel said, nodding. "You should try it."
"I will once my daughter gives me back my fork." Shelby replied, winking at Rachel.
For the last eighteen years, she had imagined how she would feel if Rachel came back into her life, if she was given the chance to get to know her, to be her mother, but she never thought she could be that happy. Listening to her eldest daughter call her mom was one of the most beautiful sounds she had ever heard. And now, seeing how comfortable Rachel was around her was bringing the widest smile to her face.
"Sorry, mom. I was hungry." Rachel said, giving her mom the fork back.
"What did you have for lunch? I don't want you skipping meals." Shelby said in a motherly tone.
"I haven't had lunch yet, but don't worry, I am not skipping meals." Rachel replied.
"You'd better not. I can bring you lunch every day if you need me to"
"No, mom, that will not be necessary." Rachel answered. She wasn't sure if her mom was serious, but after their conversation the previous evening, she didn't want to doubt her.
"Then, make sure you eat well." Shelby added.
Rachel nodded and got up the table. "I have to get back to work."
"Before you go, Rach …" Shelby started to say, as she handed her daughter the umbrella she had brought for her, "Take the umbrella."
"It won't rain!" Rachel said, grabbing the umbrella and putting it by her coat.
"Your sister is very stubborn." Shelby told Beth, who was too interested in her burger and fries to pay attention to her surroundings.
…
By the time Rachel left the diner, the sky was still clear, so she just took her coat and headed out. She didn't even notice the umbrella that was on the floor by her coat. She took the subway and headed home. After a long day on her feet, she couldn't wait to take a bath and relax.
The trip home took about 40 minutes, and when she climbed up the stairs to get out on the street, she noticed the long parade of umbrellas. "Oh no! Mom was right!" she thought, as she stood by the side of the road and tried to hail a cab, as the rain poured on her.
If hailing a cab was difficult on a sunny day, it was even harder on a rainy day, so after ten minutes of standing in the rain, the young brunette decided to walk home, covering her head with her purse.
The walk home took her nearly fifteen minutes, and by the time she got to the front door, she was soaking wet and was shivering. She took a minute to warm herself up and then opened the door.
"Hey, Rachel, how was -" Shelby's question was interrupted by the sight of her daughter. "What happened? Where's your umbrella?"
Rachel looked down and shrugged, as she shivered in the cold apartment. "I … I left it at work."
"But I …" Shelby was about to lecture her daughter when she realized getting Rachel out of those wet clothes was more important. "Go take a shower and put your pajamas on."
Rachel walked by her mother without saying a word.
Half an hour later, Rachel walked out of the bathroom wearing her flannel pajamas.
"I've made you some tea." Shelby said, handing the warm cup to her daughter. "Let's talk. I gave you that umbrella that afternoon so you wouldn't get wet as you did."
"The sky was clear when I left work." Rachel explained.
"But the weather can change. I told you the forecast said it would rain" Shelby said. She didn't want to be too hard on her daughter, but she felt like she had been ignored.
"I didn't mean to forget it. It wasn't raining when I left work, so I just grabbed my coat and I left." Rachel replied, taking a sip of her warm tea. Her throat was bothering her again, so the warm liquid felt really good as in made its way down her throat.
Shelby shook her head and looked at Rachel, as she gathered her thoughts. She was about to speak when her daughter spoke, "It was just a little fall of rain."
"You were soaking wet when you walked into the apartment, Rachel. That was more than a little fall of rain." Shelby said, forcefully. "You could get sick."
"I don't get sick." Rachel scoffed, even though that tickle in her throat was saying otherwise.
"Finish your tea and go to bed." Shelby added.
"You cannot send me to bed." Rachel said in a defensive tone.
"I'm not sending you to bed, Rach. I am suggesting you go to bed, because you had a long day and you must be tired." Shelby replied calmly. Sometimes Rachel really reminded her of herself when she was that age.
"Oh" Rachel replied, giving her mom a sheepish smile.
"Next time, Rachel, please don't dismiss what I tell you." Shelby told her daughter, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.
…
Shelby was awakened by the sound of someone coughing. At first, she thought it was her imagination, but then the coughing continued. She got up and walked into Beth's room to check that her youngest daughter was asleep, and then, she walked into Rachel's room.
"I'm not sick" Rachel said in a hoarse voice.