I'm so sorry for having taken this long to update this story. May was a very busy and crazy month for me, but I am back. I hope this update is worth the wait.
Thank you so much for all the reviews and the sweet PMs. They mean so much to me.
...
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.
"You were just coughing" Shelby replied, getting closer to her daughter.
"I had something in my throat, but I'm okay" Rachel answered, doing her best not to do it again.
"I'll get you some water."
Shelby was getting some water in the kitchen when she heard the sound coming from her daughter's bedroom getting worse. She shook her head, as she knew that Rachel would not want to admit she was sick. She remembered that conversation they had had when her daughter first arrived in the apartment and how she insisted that she never got sick. As the coughing continued, Shelby went into the bathroom to get some medicine. She found Tylenol for children as well as some syrup that had been prescribed for Beth, but she couldn't find any medication suitable for an adult. All she had was Motrin and she wasn't sure that would help Rachel.
"I have some water and some cough syrup for you" Shelby said, as she walked back into Rachel's room. "The syrup is meant to be for children, but it might help. And we'll get another one tomorrow"
Rachel shook her head as she drank a sip of water. "I don't need it. I'm not sick."
"You have been coughing for over twenty minutes, honey, and that cannot be good for your throat" Shelby said, sitting down next to her daughter and kissing her forehead. She had learned that trick from her mother. Whenever she suspected Shelby might have a fever, she'd kiss her forehead and lingered there to see how warm she was.
"What are you doing?" Rachel asked, flinching as her mother lingered on her forehead.
"I just wanted to give you a kiss" Shelby replied, smiling. She could feel that Rachel was running a fever, but she was hoping it wasn't a very high one. She wasn't sure how Rachel would react to her taking her temperature.
"My dads always …" Rachel's explanation was interrupted by another spell.
"Have some syrup. It will help" Shelby said, pouring some syrup on a spoon.
Rachel turned her head away from the spoon and between rounds of coughing, she said, "I'm not sick."
Shelby sighed and shook her head. "Rachel, I know you are not feeling well and this will help. You think you will win, but you won't. Where do you think you got your stubbornness from? I am not leaving until you have taken some syrup."
Rachel rolled her eyes and glared at her mother. Shelby was right, she was feeling unwell, but she couldn't have the syrup and admit it, because Rachel Barbra Berry never got sick.
"I'm going to try to sleep. You can stay here." Rachel replied, lying down and hoping she wouldn't cough again. Her throat was already very sore and her head was throbbing, and she knew that another hacking fit would make her feel worse. "Good night."
"If I hear even the faintest cough, you will take the syrup" Shelby said, pouring the syrup back into the bottle and getting comfortable on a chair next to Rachel's bed.
Rachel didn't reply, but she did roll her eyes and sighed, even though she was happy that her mother was taking care of her. She had always wanted to have a mom who would look after her when she was sick. Of course, her dads were always there for her, but they weren't as sweet and kind as a mother could be. Every time she got sick when she was a child, her dads let her watch as much TV as she wanted, but she never liked that. All she wanted was to be held and hugged.
The young brunette tried to sleep, but her effort to keep all the coughing inside wasn't letting her get comfortable, so she kept tossing and turning. She tried to swallow, but it felt like she was swallowing blades. Not being able to hold it inside any more, she started to hack up her lungs.
Shelby woke up at the sound of her daughter coughing and poured some syrup back on the spoon. "Open your mouth" she said, as she gave Rachel the syrup. She wasn't going to negotiate or stall this time. She was ready to comfort her daughter and cuddle once she had taken the medication.
"Mom, I …"
"No, Rachel. No more stalling. Open up" Shelby said, giving Rachel the syrup.
Rachel opened her mouth and swallowed the medicine. "That is disgusting, mother. How can you give that to Beth?"
"She has never complained." Shelby said, lying next to Rachel. "Come on, try to sleep. I'll stay here."
"Thank you, mom" Rachel replied, putting her arm around Shelby and falling asleep.
…
Beth was the first one to wake up the next morning and was surprised to see her mother and her sister sleeping on the same bed. She climbed on Rachel's bed and jumped on it. "Mommy, why are you in Wachel's bed?"
"Beth, no jumping on the bed" Shelby said, groggily. "Rachel wasn't feeling well last night"
"Is she dead?" Beth asked poking her sister, as her jumping hadn't affected Rachel and she was still sleeping.
"No, she's just sick" Shelby said, holding Beth in her arms, so she wouldn't continue bothering Rachel.
As soon as Rachel heard the dreaded word 'sick', she opened her eyes and stared at Shelby. "I am not sick. What time is it?"
"It's very early, honey, it's only 7 in the morning" Shelby replied, trying to control a squirming Beth.
"It's already 7? I am late. I have a class at 8 and then rehearsal at 10." Rachel said getting up. "I cannot believe you would let me -" her anger was interrupted by her cough and a feeling of dizziness.
"You are not going anywhere today, Rachel" Shelby said, placing a hand on her daughter's forehead.
"You sick, Wachel." Beth added, backing her mom up.
"Stop saying I am sick. It's true, I was feeling unwell last night, but I am much better this morning. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have to get up and take a shower." Rachel said, getting up and walking towards the door.
"The only place you are going this morning is back to bed" Shelby said, grabbing Rachel's hand and leading her back to bed.
"Mom …" Rachel whined.
"Let me tell you what will happen today. I am going to take Beth to the sitter's, then I'm going to get some proper medicine for you and finally, I am going to come home and take care of you." Shelby said in a serious tone. When Rachel opened her mouth to argue, Shelby just held her hand up and shook her head.
"No sitter, mommy. I stay here" Beth added, not agreeing with her mother's plan either.
"You will have a great time there, baby. And I don't want you getting sick." Shelby said, turning to her youngest daughter.
"Mooom" Beth and Rachel protested at the same time.
"I don't want to hear it. Come on, Beth, let's get you ready to go out, and Rachel, go back to sleep" Shelby said in a firm tone.
"Don't you have to go to work?" Rachel asked, not being in the least intimidated by her mother's tone.
"Not today. Somebody else can run daycare this morning. You are more important" Shelby said, giving Rachel a kiss on her head. "Now, go back to sleep. I'll be back in a couple of hours."
…
As soon as Shelby left, Rachel got up and took a shower. Her head was still throbbing and her throat was feeling worse than the day before, so she browsed through the bathroom cabinet trying to find some medicine to alleviate her symptoms. She figured that having some Motrin could help her get through the day. She realized that she was going against her mother's orders, but she couldn't miss rehearsal and risk being replaced. She shuddered at the thought of Santana taking the role as Fanny Brice just because Rachel hadn't been feeling well one day. She figured her mother would understand her reasoning.
As the young brunette was choosing a warm outfit to wear, she was hit by another fit of coughing that made her chest start hurting. She was sure her lungs were tearing. She tried to clear her throat in an effort to stop it from hurting, and then tried to drink some water to moisturize and soothe her sore throat, but nothing was helping. "I can't be sick. I don't get sick" Rachel thought, as she continued to force herself into feeling better.
After having a spoonful of that disgusting red syrup her mother had given her the night before, Rachel made her way out, wrapping a scarf around her neck and hailing a cab that would take her to the theater.
…
"We'll start with I'm the greatest star" Rupert said, looking at his main actress, who looked like she had been run down by a bus.
"Are you feeling alright, Miss Berry?" one of the stage managers asked.
Rachel nodded and took a deep breath, opening her mouth to start singing, but what came out of her mouth was not the perfect note they were all used to. "I'm sorry. I just need some water for this tickle in my throat."
"Can someone bring Rachel some water, please?" Rupert yelled, as three interns ran backstage to get some water.
"Thank you" Rachel said, forcing a smile. She couldn't believe she was feeling worse than the previous night.
"Maybe we should call Miss Lopez and rehearse some of the scenes with her." the stage manager said.
"No!" Rachel replied forcefully and clearing her throat. "I can do it. There is no need to call Santana, since I will never need her to fill in for me. I never get sick."
Everyone in the theater glanced at one another and shrugged. They were used to ambitious actresses, but Rachel Berry surpassed them all.
"Alright. Let's start from the top." Rupert said, clapping his hands to call everyone's attention.
"I'm the greatest star, I am by far …" Rachel started, but as she was singing the second line, she got dizzy and began coughing up a lung.
"Get me the number of Doctor Jones" Rupert told his assistant. "Rachel, I want you to see Dr. Jones and ask for a B12 drip. You are clearly unwell and we cannot afford to miss another day of rehearsal. You, Miss Berry, are extraordinary, but you are not the only talented young lady in town, and it would kill me to have to cast some other actress to play Fanny Brice."
Rachel nodded and took the card with the doctor's number as she tried to hold back the tears. She couldn't believe she was actually sick.
…
Shelby walked out of the elevator and carefully opened the door to her apartment. She tiptoed into the living room, so she wouldn't disturb her daughter and placed the medication she had bought on the table. Not hearing a single sound, she assumed Rachel was sleeping; and just as she had silently walked into the apartment, she went into her daughter's room to check on her. She opened the door to the guest room and frowned as she noticed the bed was unmade, but Rachel was not lying on it. She walked into the bathroom and found it empty. As she continued walking around the apartment, she grew more and more upset. She couldn't believe her daughter had ignored her and had gone out. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Rachel's number, ready to demand her eldest girl to come home immediately; however, as soon as she dialed the number, she heard ´Defying Gravity´, Rachel's ringtone, coming from the bedroom and her anger got worse.
While Shelby was pacing back and forth in the living room, Rachel hailed a cab to go back to the apartment. In the last hour, she had gone from feeling bad to feeling like she wanted to die. Her chest was on fire, her throat felt as if she had swallowed a hundred pins and even though it was warm outside, she felt like she had just stepped into the North Pole, the chills she was getting were unbearable.
"Good afternoon, miss" the doorman said, as he let Rachel inside the building, but he didn't receive a reply from the young brunette, whose only wish at the moment was to get into her warm bed and sleep.
Because of the way she was feeling, she couldn't focus enough to find the key to the apartment and open the door. She let out a loud groan, which was heard by her mother inside, as she rummaged through her purse. Shelby opened the door and was about to yell at her daughter when she saw the state she was in, and she figured the lecture would have to wait until she was sure Rachel was alright.
"Oh Rachel" Shelby said, shaking her head and wrapping an arm around her daughter's waist. "Go put your pajamas on. I'll be there in a minute."
Rachel nodded as she noticed the look of disappointment in her mother's eyes. She walked into her bedroom and took her pajamas, but she was too tired to put them on, so she just laid in bed and closed her eyes.
Shelby had planned to give Rachel some over the counter medication she had bought, thinking it was just a cold, but now she wasn't that sure. She had never been around Rachel, so she didn't know what the young girl was like when she was sick, but her insistence that she never got sick made Shelby think her daughter didn't see a doctor very often.
"Hello, this is Shelby Corcoran." Shelby said, talking on the phone. "I would like to see if Dr. Robbins would be too busy for a house call. Yes, I'll hold."
"Shelby, hello, what can I do for you? My nurse says you are not feeling well?" Jessica said. She had been Shelby's friend when they were in High School and after finding out she had moved to New York City after graduation, she had also become her primary care physician when Shelby decided to move back to the city.
"It's not me. It's my daughter." Shelby replied with a concerned tone of voice.
"Beth? Have you already called her pediatrician?" Jessica asked, wondering why Shelby was calling her. She knew Beth, but she had never treated her. In fact, she had been the one who had recommended a pediatrician.
"No, not Beth. My other daughter, Rachel. She is 18 years old and we just reconnected, but she is living with me and – it's a long story. She has had a very bad cough since last night. I was wondering if you could come and see her, Jess" Shelby said, almost begging.
"Of course. I have a patient coming in ten minutes, but as soon as I am done, I'm heading to your apartment" Jessica assured her.
"Thank you so much, Jess." Shelby replied.
When she finished the call, she took the thermometer she had just bought out of its case and went into Rachel's bedroom. She noticed her daughter's eyes were closed, but she could tell she wasn't sleeping.
"How are you feeling, Rachel?" Shelby asked, sitting on the bed close to Rachel.
Rachel opened her eyes and gave her mom a pitiful look. "I'll be okay tomorrow."
"This friend of mine, who's a doctor, is coming later to make sure you are not too sick. But in the meantime, let me take your temperature" Shelby said, shaking the thermometer she had in her hand.
Rachel shook her head and said, "No, I don't need a doctor. Please, mom, I'm okay"
"I'm sorry, honey, but this time, you don't have a choice. Come on, let me take your temperature" Shelby replied, getting the thermometer close to her daughter's mouth.
Rachel clamped her mouth shut as she continued shaking her head.
Shelby sighed, "This will only take a minute"
Beth was difficult when she was sick, and Shelby understood that the little girl was scared and she always tried to comfort her, but now she could see that dealing with Beth was a walk in the park compared to Rachel.
"Come on, Rach, I just want to make sure you don't have a fever" Shelby said, trying to remain patient. Patience had never been her forte, and all her students could attest to that, but since she had adopted Beth, she had grown a little more patient. Not too much, though.
"I don't have a fever, I just want to sleep" Rachel replied, turning to her side, giving her back to her mother.
Shelby let out a huff of frustration and slipped the thermometer down Rachel's blouse to place it in her armpit. "Hold it there"
Both women remained silent for a minute. "103" Shelby read, "Luckily the doctor should be here soon"
Rachel turned to face Shelby and pouted. She knew that look made her seem like a little kid, but she didn't want to see a doctor. "Mom, please, I'll be okay tomorrow."
"I'm sure that's what Doctor Robbins will say as well, but we need to make sure it's nothing serious." Shelby said, hugging her daughter. She got comfortable next to Rachel and held her girl closer to her. "Now, Rach, tell me something, why did you go out when I told you not to?"
"I couldn't miss rehearsal" Rachel answered, coughing once again.
"But you are sick, and the director would have understood if you had called him and told him so."
"No, you don't understand!" Rachel said, slightly raising her voice, but her throat protested and she went back to her normal tone. "He told me that if I missed another day, he would cast another actress!"
"If you had listened to me and stayed home, you would've been better tomorrow and you might have been able to go to rehearsal, but now, I don't think you will be able to sing tomorrow." Shelby said in a firm tone.
"Mom, I have to!" Rachel said, looking at Shelby as if she were crazy. "I'm going to rehearsal tomorrow"
"I know you think you are already old enough to make your own decisions, but Rach, I have lived longer than you, I have more experience and you came here wanting a mother, so you have one now. When I tell you not to do something, there is a reason behind it." Shelby explained, looking straight into her daughter's eyes.
"But …" Rachel interrupted.
"No, I'm not done. You getting sick was a consequence of you not listening to me when I told you to get the umbrella because it was going to rain." Shelby said, raising an eyebrow. "You ignored me, so …"
"My throat was hurting before that" Rachel said, interrupting her mother, but when she noticed the look she was being given, she realized it hadn't been the right thing to say.
"Wait, let me get this straight. You were already feeling unwell when you decided that defying me was more important than your health?" Shelby asked in a dangerous low tone.
"I didn't decide to defy you, mother" Rachel said, getting annoyed. She was feeling really sick and the last thing she wanted was to be lectured by her mother. "I didn't think it was going to rain."
"But it did. And then, this morning, I specifically told you to stay in bed. But what did you do? You ignored me once again." Shelby continued.
Rachel rolled her eyes, but the simple movement made her head hurt even more. "Ow. I needed to go to rehearsal"
"No, Rachel, you didn't need to. You could've called in sick."
"I don't want to talk anymore" Rachel said, closing her eyes. She knew that her statement would make a bigger impression if she removed herself from her mother's embrace, but she liked being that close to her.
"Alright. We can talk later" Shelby replied, wiping a few drops of sweat from her daughter's forehead.
Both mother and daughter slept in each other's arms until they were both awakened by the doorbell ringing.
"That must be Doctor Robbins. I'll be right back" Shelby said, untangling herself from her daughter.
Shelby opened the door and smiled at her friend. "Jess, come in. Thank you so much for coming."
"So you have an eighteen year old daughter?" Jessica asked, surprised. She had lost touch with Shelby after High School and they had just reconnected when Shelby moved to New York City and ran into her at the bank.
"I do. Her name is Rachel. I wish the circumstances of you two meeting were different." Shelby said, leading Jessica into Rachel's room. "Rach, this is Dr. Robbins"
Rachel glared at her and between sneezing and coughing, she said once again. "I don't need a doctor"
"This won't take long at all" Jessica said with a big smile, as she opened her kit and got a stethoscope out. "I'll just listen to your heart and lungs, okay, sweetie?"
Rachel looked at Shelby in disbelief. She was being treated like a child. She didn't like that blond doctor in front of her with a cheerful attitude and a big smile. "I'm not three, you know?"
"Rachel …" Shelby said in a threatening tone.
Jessica listened to Rachel's heart and then asked her to lean forward so she could listen to her lungs. As she was doing that, Rachel was hit with a coughing fit that sounded as if she was barking.
"Her lungs are very congested" Jessica told Shelby.
"Is that dangerous?" Shelby asked, concerned.
"No, it means she has a respiratory tract infection," the doctor replied, as she got a flashlight out of her medical bag and turned to Rachel. "Do you have a sore throat?"
Rachel nodded, "I do not understand why I am feeling this way. I never get sick. In fact, the last time I was sick was during my sophomore year and I didn't get a sore throat. I simply couldn't sing, and I was diagnosed with laryngitis. But vocal rest cleared that up"
"Let me see. Open your mouth, please" Dr. Robbins said, still with a smile on her lips.
Rachel was about to protest but one look from her mother made her change her mind and she opened her mouth.
"You have an infection. The tissues around your throat are swollen and they are causing the severe pain you are suffering." Jessica explained.
"Will I be able to sing tomorrow?" Rachel asked.
"Tomorrow? No, I don't think so. If you force your vocal chords, you might damage them."
"But I have to be able to sing!" Rachel told the doctor.
"And you will. This is just an infection that can be cleared with antibiotics. You will be feeling better in no time." Jessica said, turning to Shelby who looked really worried about her daughter. "She will be fine. Now I just need to check if she has a fever and I can give her something so she starts getting better"
After having taken Rachel's temperature and checking her swollen glands, Dr. Robbins looked at the young brunette who was feeling more at ease with her and at her mother, and said, "I can give her a penicillin shot or I can prescribe a round of antibiotics. The pills are a bit slower, but the effect is the same."
Before Shelby could answer, Rachel replied, "I'll take the pills!" She wanted to be able to sing the next day, but she hated injections, so as fast as she could, she weighed in her options and decided that taking pills was better.
"Okay, this is the prescription. You need to take these pills every 8 hours for 3 days. Drink lots of fluids and let your mom spoil you" Dr. Robbins said.
"Thank you so much, Jess." Shelby said, taking the prescription.
"No problem, Shelby. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call" Jessica said, as she let herself out.
Shelby called the drugstore to order the medication that had been prescribed to Rachel and went back to the bedroom. "Do you want to watch a movie?"
"Can we watch Barbra Streisand?" Rachel asked.
"Of course, who else? You can choose the movie while I make you some orange juice" Shelby said, helping Rachel out from the bed and giving her a kiss on the top of her head.
Both mother and daughter watched the movie while cuddled in the couch and enjoyed each other's company. Shelby was thankful she could be there for her daughter while Rachel was grateful she had her mom in her life.
"I'm sick, mom" Rachel finally admitted.
"I know, baby, and I'm staying here with you until you feel better" Shelby replied, hugging Rachel tightly.