Shelby saw Rachel's body fly through the air and then crash through the jump. She quickly ran down to her fallen daughter. She and Holly surrounded Rachel on the ground. Luckily a groom, who had been nearby and saw the whole thing, had caught Wendla so that they could focus their attention on Rachel.
"Rachel. Rachel, Honey, wake up." Shelby tapped her daughter's cheeks lightly.
"Diva, wake up." Holly said.
Rachel started to wake up. First her eyes started to twitch. Along with her fingers. Slowly, her eyes opened. She started to go to sit up but immediately grabbed her head in pain, laying back into the dirt.
"Hold on Honey, give yourself a minute before you get up." Her mom told her.
"Mommy, my head hurts." She complained with tears running down her face.
Both Shelby and Holly looked at Rachel's helmet, which was still on the young girl's head. It had a large dent in it. They looked at the girl, concerned.
"You can get up, but slowly." Her mom finally allowed her to get up out of the dirt. Rachel took of the damaged helmet. "Holly, I am going to take her to the ER to get her head checked out and to make sure the rest of her is okay as well. Can you help me get her to the car?"
"Sure." The blond replied.
They both led the young teen to Shelby's Range Rover. They helped Rachel into the back seat so that she could lay down before carefully buckling the girl's seatbelt and closing the door softly. Both women turned when they heard yelling coming from the other side of the parking lot. The yelling was being directed towards the car that had been the cause of Rachel's fall. Apparently the car had caused some issues with some of the boarders as well.
"Rachel, we'll be right back." Holly said through the open car window.
Holly and Shelby walked over to the commotion. Once they got up close to the car, Shelby recognized the teen in the driver's seat. It was one of her Vocal Adrenaline students. In fact, the only VA student who didn't want Rachel on the team. It was Giselle. The girl was worried that Rachel would take away her lead status. Shelby had to admit, the girl was right. Rachel was better than Giselle and could easily take away Giselle's lead status.
"Giselle, what the hell were you thinking driving up the driveway that fast and blaring music that loud?! There are signs saying "Slow" all the way up the drive. Do you think they are there to look pretty?!" Shelby exclaimed. Just as Giselle was probably going to give a lame excuse, she cut back in. "You know what, I don't have time for this, thanks to you, I now need to go to the hospital to make sure Rachel is alright. And now we have a nervous horse" She said while pointing to a still anxious Wendla. She then turned to Holly, "Will you take care of this?" She asked the blond.
"Most definitely." The blond easily replied with a scary look on her face.
Shelby ran back to her SUV and hopped into the front seat. After looking back at Rachel, she backed out of her parking spot and headed down the drive.
"Mommy, I think I'm gonna be sick." Rachel whimpered pitifully.
Shelby pulled over, got out of the car and opened the back door to help Rachel lean out to puke. After the small teen was done she got back in. This time, speeding just a little bit more than what she had been. She was wracking her head for medical knowledge and knew that nausea with a head injury was not good.
Rachel couldn't understand why the Range Rover was so loud. It had never seemed this loud before. Granted, she knew it was her headache that made it seem louder than normal. She whimpered from where she lay in the seat.
"Mommy are we there yet?" She asked.
"Sorry Boo, not quite. Only a few more miles, you'll be okay. Don't worry, you will be okay." She knew her mom was trying to reassure her. It would be working, that is, if the room would stop spinning. The only thing she could focus on, other than her pain, is her sleepiness.
"Momma, I'm gonna sleep now." She told her mom.
"No Rachel, stay awake. Stay awake for me."
Rachel started to say something back but she blacked out before she could.
"Rachel! Rachel, wake up for mommy, please!" Shelby yelled. She pulled into the Emergency Room entrance and quickly ran inside. "Help me! My daughter was thrown from her horse and was knocked out. Since then, she has woken up, gotten sick, and now passed out again!"
Some ER staff grabbed a gurney and followed her to Rachel. They loaded her on the moving bed, and brought her inside, straight to the back. Shelby moved her car and ran back inside to be with her daughter.
"Hey, isn't that Dr. Berry's daughter?" She heard someone ask.
"Yeah, poor girl. Loses her fathers one day and then gets hurt two days later. The kid just can't catch a break." Another person replied.
"At least she still has her mom." A third person came in. "I'd hate for that poor girl to have to be a ward of the state." They continued.
During that time, she had been filling out the information that the hospital wanted about Rachel. Of course the typical stuff like name, address, medical insurance. Shelby quickly handed that back to the triage nurse who then took her back with Rachel. She started to brush the girl's hair back from her face, carefully avoiding the ice pack that was fixed to the girl's head.
A few minutes later, the doctor came in.
"Hello, I am Dr. Li. You must be Rachel's mom?" He asked.
"Yes, I am." She replied while shaking the man's offered hand.
"Well, Rachel has suffered a concussion and we also found that she has some bruised ribs. You said she was thrown from a horse, right?" He asked.
"Yes, her horse spooked and sent her flying and she crashed through a jump on the way down. Her helmet looks like it has taken most of the beating though." She offered the dented helmet, which she had brought in, for the man to look at.
"Thank goodness she was wearing one. Judging by how much damage was done to this, she is lucky that this is only a concussion." He said, clearly amazed. "I want to keep her overnight for observation. She may be able to go home in the morning. As of right now, we have to keep icepacks on her head. It'll make her head feel a little bit better. We also have her on a drip with anti-nausea medicine."
"Okay, thanks. If you will excuse me, I need to go make a few calls, will you have someone let her know that I will be right back if she wakes up?"
"Of course. I will let the nursing staff know. Someone will be here in a few about having her admitted overnight." With that he left the room.
Shelby kissed Rachel's forehead before leaving the room. She pulled out her phone and called Holly first.
"How is little Diva?" Holly answered.
"She has a concussion and bruised ribs, they want to admit her overnight for observation."
"Poor Diva." The blond mused. "I will take care of the dogs overnight for you so you don't have to worry about that. I will bring them home tomorrow afternoon. I figure a few hours at home without the barking dogs might be good for Rachel to get some sleep."
"Thanks that would be great."
"Which house are you going to go to?"
"I'm going to take her to mine. Less things to remind her of her dads on top of this."
"I will let you get back to Diva. Give her a kiss for me. Bye"
"Bye." Shelby replied, hanging up.
Sighing, Shelby dialed another number.
"Hello, Corcoran residence." A woman answered.
"Mom, its Shelby."
"Oh, Honey, what a surprise to hear from you. How are you?" The elder woman asked.
"Stressed out. Rachel's fathers passed away in a plane crash the day before yesterday, I now have full custody of Boo, and now she is being admitted to the hospital overnight because she was thrown from her horse and now has a concussion."
"Oh my poor grandbaby! Your father and I will be in Lima as soon as we can, okay?"
"Okay momma. Bye."
"Bye Honey." The other line was hung up.
Dialing the phone for the third time, Shelby called Carmel.
"Carmel High School." The receptionist answered.
"Hi Liz, this is Shelby Corcoran."
"Hey Shelby, What can I do for you?"
"I will be taking another day off tomorrow. Rachel is currently in the hospital and I will need to be with her tomorrow." She explained. Luckily, from the times Rachel has visited her at Carmel, she knew Liz. Liz, overtime, became like an aunt to the girl.
"Okay, I will get that straightened out for you." Liz said. "Do you need anything else Shelby?"
"Yes actually, could you get the papers sorted out for me to enroll Rachel in Carmel? I'm pulling her out of McKinley."
"I will get on that straight away."
"Thanks Liz."
"No problem Shelby, give Rach my love." They both hung up.
Shelby walked back into Rachel's room and sat down in a chair by the bed. She rubbed her thumb over the back of Rachel's hand. If anything, to remind herself that Rachel was right there with her. About an hour later, a few hospital staff moved Rachel to a room on the pediatric floor. A few minutes after being moved, Rachel started to wake up.
"Momma?" Rachel called for her mom drowsily and opened her eyes and looked around the room, confused.
"I'm right here, Boo." Shelby brushed Rachel's hair back from her face.
It felt good having her mom running her fingers through her hair. Her mom was carefully avoiding the icepack that was still fixed to her head. It almost distracted her from the fact that she was still in the hospital. Almost.
"Momma, when can I go home, I want to go home." She asked, hoping that she could go home right away. She didn't care which house it was. Her dad's or her mom's. As long as it wasn't the hospital.
"The doctors want you to stay overnight to observe you to make sure you are alright. If they say you can go home in the morning, then you will, not a minute sooner." Shelby replied firmly while raising her eyebrow to show Rachel that she was serious; knowing that her daughter would try to get her to take her home early.
"I hate hospitals!" Rachel cried miserably. Ever since she was little, she hated hospitals, even though her dad worked in one. She especially hated needles and IVs and it was taking all of her willpower to not yank out the one that was in her right arm.
Her mom didn't say anything to answer her cry, she just hugged her.
Shelby's phone started to ring. Her ringtone was the song, Seasons of Love from RENT, courtesy of Rachel. Her mom looked at the caller id before picking up.
"Hey dad." Shelby answered. "Yes, she just woke up. How far are you?" She paused to listen. "Since you are near my house, could you and mom pick up some stuff for me and Rach? Could you get her blanket, ipod, and then clothes for the both of us? Okay, thanks dad, see you in a few." Rachel watch Shelby put up her phone.
"Your grandparents are close by, they are picking up some stuff for us from my house. Then I'm thinking that if you get to go home tomorrow, how about we all go to the lake house? It will be calmer there. It will be less likely for one of my students or someone else to wake you by visiting and Cobalt and Melchior can have fun outside. Maybe I'll get your grandparents to take them for a hike in the woods"
"Okay Momma, that sounds good." Truth be told, Rachel loved being at the lake house. It was her favorite of the houses. Large, airy, calming, not to mention she loved boating. Granted, she knew she wouldn't be getting on any of the boats when they went this time. Even if she wanted to, she knew that her mom would not let her.
"Momma I'm sleepy." She yawned.
"Okay Boo, go ahead and sleep. I will be right here when you wake up."
Rachel snuggled into her pillows and blankets and fell asleep in no time at all.
Rachel slept for a few hours and by the time she woke up, her grandparents had arrived and made themselves comfortable by her bedside with Shelby. The first thing she felt was her soft, fuzzy blanket that she always kept at her mom's house. It had running horses on it. She always cuddled up with it when she was at her mom's. It was a staple on her bed there. Her mom had bought it for her when she was a lot younger and she honestly loved it.
She could hear her mom and grandparents talking and wanted to know what they were talking about, so she stayed laying on her side, the side with the non-bruised ribs, and listened into the conversation that was being had.
"My poor child just can't get a break. First the bullying at school, her dads and now this. I hope nothing else bad happens. I just want to see her happy." Shelby told her parents.
"Shelby, things will be better for both you and Rachel. You just have to let time help. Time will heal the wounds of the bullying and the passing of her fathers, a therapist might help her as well. You've already made a good start by pulling her out of McKinley and transferring her to Carmel." Her grandmother, Kate, told Shelby. "Plus isn't there a thing about bad things happening in threes? That was three things."
"Shelby, I agree with your mother, you just have to see what the future brings you. Maybe as time goes on, things will be better than they were before." Said her grandfather, David. "Plus, by having her go to Carmel you will get to see her more. Plus, wouldn't she join Vocal Adrenaline?"
"I guess you're right about waiting to see what the future brings. Maybe things will get better. Yes, she has mentioned wanting to join VA. Apparently all she gets in the New Directions is grief for all of her other commitments because she doesn't have much more spare time for the glee club. Even her teacher joins in on the bullying. Most of my VA students want Rachel on the team. Sadly it was one of my VA students who caused her horse to spook. She was speeding up the driveway next to the arena, blasting music. It just so happened to be the one student who doesn't want Rach on the team."
"Why doesn't she want Rachel on the team?" Kate asked. "Rachel is a great singer, wouldn't it only benefit the team more?"
"Giselle is the current female lead. She doesn't want Rachel on the team because she feels that Rachel would take her lead status. Honestly, Rachel could outsing her in her sleep. Rachel will most likely end up being my new female lead." Shelby confessed.
Rachel smiled at the confidence her mother had in her singing abilities. Her mom was never one to praise highly for her singing and that was just about the highest praise she had ever received from Shelby for her abilities.
"Honestly though, it won't be long until I am forced to take Giselle's lead status from her. I have wanted to kick her off of the team for a while. She has become a diva and I am tired of it. Not even Jesse, my male lead, is that bad. Yes, we may call Rachel, Diva, and really only Holly calls her that, but we know she doesn't act like one. That, and she knows that if she started to act like a diva she'd find herself in a hell of a lot of trouble."
Rachel was glad that she, for the most part, kept fairly humble. Sometimes she would slip and diva mannerisms would rear their ugly heads in her. She would have to make sure she never slipped near her mother though. She did not want to be in trouble with her mother.
By the time she tuned back into the conversation the topic had changed.
"I still need to get together with her fathers' attorney and discuss the will and funeral arrangements. Then deal with moving Rachel into my house, fully, then just try to deal with everything else." She heard her mother say.
"Weren't her fathers in a different state when the accident occurred?" Her grandmother asked.
"Yes, they were in the Carolinas when it happened. You might as well say it was both because it happened near the borders of the two."
"Shelby. We will help you in any way that we can. Your mother told your sisters the news as well and are planning to be here in the next few days." David said to his sad looking daughter.
"I told Rachel that we'd all go to the lake house so that she can get some rest. That way my students won't bother her by stopping by and making a lot of noise. It also has enough room for everyone to stay there as well." She told them.
"That sounds like a great place for her to get her needed rest, Honey." Kate mused.
"Could you guys possibly take Cobalt and Melchior on walks while we are there?" She asked.
"We would love to take them. You know we love them as well. By the way, who is taking care of them now?" David asked.
"Holly has them, she'll bring them to my house tomorrow. They had come to the barn with Rachel and I. So while I brought Rachel here, Holly was taking care of the barn, the girl who caused the accident, and the dogs."
"Oh, okay." He glanced over at Rachel's still form. He noticed that his granddaughter's breathing changed. It wasn't as deep as it had been when she was asleep. He pointed to Rachel to show Shelby and Kate that she wasn't asleep anymore. They both smirked. "Rachel, we know you are awake." He said, point blank.
She turned and looked at them.
"Grandpa! How did you know?!" Rachel was surprised that her grandpa knew.
"I will never reveal my secrets, Little One." Rachel rolled her eyes.
Shelby moved closer to the bed to brush Rachel's hair back. Rachel looked at her mom.
"How are you feeling, Baby?" Her mom asked, concerned.
"Sore. My head and ribs hurt…Mom…what is on my head?" She asked after a second realizing that something was on her head.
"They have an icepack fixed to your head. Which should probably be changed soon. It's been a while since they changed them out." Shelby mused.
"I don't feel anything cold on my head. So I guess so."
"They have wrapped your ribs to give you a bit more support. That way, once you start moving more, it might not hurt as much. You will still have to be careful."
Rachel nodded. "What time is it?"
"It is almost eleven." Her grandma replied. Rachel groaned.
"What is all the fuss for?" Her grandpa wanted to know.
"I want to go home." Rachel replied sadly. Her eyes were watering with tears from frustration, sadness, and pain.
"You may be able to go home in the morning. But like I said earlier, you will have to wait until the doctor says you can leave. You won't be leaving sooner than what he says." Her mom said while giving her the look that lets her know that she means it.
Rachel, with a pout, rolled onto her side to ignore them and eventually fell asleep.
The next morning Rachel woke up even more sore than she was the night before. Her muscles were all in knots from the fall. She groaned a bit.
"Rach, whats the matter?" Her mom asked.
"I'm just really sore Momma. Please tell me that you still have plenty of Icy Hot at the house. My muscles, and ribs hurt." She replied softly.
"I do have Icy Hot and plenty of icepacks. I'd be crazy if I didn't considering how sore you are after a no stirrup lesson or dance class. Sadly, it's not going to help you all that much with the ribs. You will have pain meds for those." Shelby told her.
As soon as her mom finished talking, the doctor walked into the room looking at a clipboard. "Okay Rachel. Let me check and see how you are doing and we'll see if we can get you out of this place." He looked at her ribs, asked her questions about the pain, gave her some pain medicine before giving her the okay to be released from the hospital. "Okay, Ms. Corcoran, if you'll follow me we can get the discharge papers done."
Shelby got up and followed him out of the room. David started to gather up all of their things to take out to the cars. Meanwhile, Kate was helping Rachel get into some sweats.
Before long, the papers were filled out, everything was loaded into the cars, everyone got into the cars and were headed to Shelby's house in Carmel. Holly was waiting in the driveway when they got there.
"Hey Diva." Holly lightly hugged the girl as said girl got out of the car.
"Hi Holly." She replied quietly.
"I know some boys who missed you." Holly said while walking over to her truck and opening the back door. Both Cobalt and Melchior hopped out of the truck to run over to Rachel. She immediately started petting her dogs. She had missed them so much.
"Thanks for taking care of them Holly." Shelby was grateful for the help from the woman.
"No problem. Those two were great. They even helped scare Giselle a bit." She informed Shelby with a smirk.
"Oh? How so?" Shelby questioned, clearly amused.
"Both clearly didn't like the girl. They might have started growling at her a bit. And then cornered her against her car." She told the woman. "I called them back and they acted like nothing had happened. Giselle was terrified of them both after that. But she doesn't need to know that they are both big softies." They both looked at the two dogs who were clearly excited but were being careful with Rachel and smiled.
"Boo, how about you take the dogs inside and go lay down. We won't head for the lake house for a few more hours. Your grandparents and I will pack."
"Can the dogs lay down in my bed?" She asked her mom.
"Yes, they can. Honestly, I don't think they would leave your side right now." Looking at the dogs, they look like they haven't seen Rachel in years. "Go on up. I'll be up in a few with the Icy Hot, your pain meds, and the icepack for your head."
"Okay. Cobalt, Melchior, come." She said before walking into the house. The dogs, not wanting to be left behind, were following closely behind on her heels.
"The lawyer for Hiram and Leroy is going to visit you at the lake house. He needs to speak to you and I figured that you'd be taking her there after all of this." Holly said.
"Thanks Holly. Yeah, I figured I'd get her away. Let her rest."
"I'm going to have to go. I have a group lesson scheduled in an hour. Let me know if you guys need anything." She got into her truck and left.
Shelby got some of Rachel's belongings out of the car and brought them into the house before getting the girl's medicine, Icy hot and an icepack, along with Rachel's favorite blanket. She then headed upstairs and down the hall for Rachel's room. "Okay honey, I got you some things to make you feel better." She said as she walked into the room where Rachel was curled up in bed with the dogs on either side of her. She gave Rachel her pain meds while she rubbed Icy Hot on the girl. Once she was done the tucked Rachel in using the horse blanket that she had bought for the girl years ago. "Okay Honey, while your grandparents and I pack, you take a nap and in a few hours we will leave for the lake house."
"Okay Momma." The girl slurred due to her pain meds kicking in. Shelby kissed the tired girl on the forehead before leaving the room. Rachel was asleep before she even turned off the light.
AN: I know in the last chapter I posted I said that i would have updated at least twice by now. Sadly, life got in the way. While on vacation I got injured. I strained muscles in my neck and bruised my ribs while tubing. Since then, life has been a little crazy. So, sorry I haven't posted. But at least this chapter is a little longer than normal. I honestly can't tell you when I will post again. Thanks for the reviews and follows. They mean a lot to me. Feel free to post what you'd think would go good in this story.