Chapter 6

A/N This chapter is somewhat very Rachel focused. I apologize for those of you would wanted greater depth. It was intended to be longer and we're going to find out more about Quinn the next chapter and maybe even Santana. Let me know if you do or don't like this chapter. I just thought I'd give you something because I'm not able to post again until Friday at the earliest.

Thank you.

Shelby opened her eyes and turned to look at the clock. She groaned. Three o'clock in the morning. Santana was asleep next to her. Her tear stained cheeks were evident in the evening light. She leaned down and kissed her lightly. Throwing the blankets back silently, she walked through the bathroom and into Quinn's room. The blonde had thankfully stayed in bed. However, Shelby was sure it was only because of the drugs. She sat on the edge of the bed and felt the sleeping girl's forehead. Shelby gave a sigh. The girl was still warm. She knew that the girl would protest about not going to school, but Shelby didn't care. Her body needed rest. Standing up, Shelby closed the curtains to block the sun and closed both the bathroom door and the bedroom door.

Once in the hallway, she heard quiet sobs coming from Rachel's room. She gave a saddened sigh and walked quietly into the room. Her son was rocking Rachel Her tiny body was heaving in his arms as he tried to sooth her. Her arms were wrapped around him and her cheek rested against his shoulder.

"It was just a dream," Noah said quietly.

Rachel spotted Shelby enter the room. She pushed herself up from Noah and leaned against his arms that rested on her back now.

"Hey bug," she said gently.

She ran her hand over Rachel's hair. She gave Noah a kiss on the top of his shaved head.

"Mom, I don't mind," he said as Rachel crawled into Shelby's arms.

"Go to bed, Noah," she said. "You haven't gotten enough sleep."

"Mom, I'm fine," he said. "I really don't mind and I—''

"Noah," she said more sternly.

He sighed and stood up. He put his hands in his sweatpants pockets.

"She'll probably need another neb treatment," he said quietly at the door as he shifted his weight from one side to another. "This is the third time she's woken up tonight." He looked at her with a sad frown. "She slept in my arms for a bit but she kept waking up." He rubbed her back gently. "Bye, bug."

"T-t-t-thank you, Noah," Rachel muttered into Shelby's shoulder.

"Of course," he said kissing her softly on the temple.

"Thanks, sweetheart," Shelby called after him.

She watched quietly as her son left. She could feel Rachel heaving into her chest. She rubbed her back.

"What were you dreaming about, sweet girl?" she asked with her cheek pressed against Rachel's forehead.

Rachel continued to heave against Shelby's chest. Shelby knew that she knew the answer.

"H-h-h-he was after me," she whispered finally.

"You're okay, Rach," Shelby soothed. "I'm right here."

"Is Sanny o-o-okay?" Rachel managed to ask.

"She's okay," she assured her still heaving daughter. "Can you hum with me? Sing a little? It'll help you breathe."

Rachel shook her head. "I want to see, Santana."

She gave a heavy sigh. "Alright," she whispered. "Alright."

Rachel crawled from Shelby's arms and started for the door.

"Sweetheart," she called out. "Do you want to change out of your clothes first? You're still wearing what you wore to school yesterday." She gave her a soft smile.

Rachel looked at her seriously and shook her head. "I want to see, Santana."

"I know you do, bug," Shelby said. "But you need to get out of those clothes. Come here."

Shelby helped Rachel change from her tights and skirt. When she pulled Rachel's top from her tired body, she saw the scars that still lined her back. Eight years later they still made her blood boil. They were faded, but Shelby could always spot them. She helped guide Rachel's arms through her nightgown. She gave a small sigh. She had bought Rachel the nightgown almost two years ago. She still hadn't outgrown it. It actually still looked too big.

"See? That took no time at all," she whispered as she kissed her daughter on the forehead. Rachel's breathing still hitched in her chest.

"Can we see her now?" she asked.

"She's sleeping, bug," Shelby said as she followed her daughter across the hallway.

"I don't care," Rachel said as she opened Santana's door and crawled into bed next to Santana.

Shelby watched as Rachel relaxed. Her chest was still heaving from her sobs earlier. Her cheeks were still wet from tears. Nevertheless as Rachel lay as close as she could to Santana and wrapped her arm around her, her body seemed to release a pressure and anxiety. Shelby eased and laid next to Rachel on the other side. She rubbed Rachel's back as she tried to calm her breathing. She knew that Rachel would need the Nebulizer in the morning, but she also knew that she needed Santana now in the moment. They depended on each other in a way that Shelby was still learning about. Shelby grabbed her phone from her pocket. She herself was still wearing her relaxed clothing from the night before. She set her phone to vibrate in order to wake up in time. She eased next to her daughters and closed her eyes as she hoped tomorrow wouldn't be too chaotic.

…..

Rachel woke with a start. She was curled up next to Santana and had her arm wrapped around her. Even though she knew that she was safe, she was still scared. She couldn't escape those paralyzing feelings that were still caught in her chest. Her face fell still. Her heart was beating faster and faster by the second. She moved her head around in a rocking motion on the pillow. The tears started before she had a chance to register that they were coming.

"Rach?" Shelby asked sitting up when she heard her daughter whimper. "Honey, you're okay."

Santana opened her eyes at the sound of Rachel's sobs.

"Bug," she said softly. "What's wrong?"

Rachel continued to cry but allowed Santana to pull her into her arms. Santana rubbed her back. Her breaths became strained again.

"Rach," Shelby said rubbing Rachel's back. "You need to breathe."

The small girl opened her mouth to try to say something but only strained breath sounds came out.

"Come on, bug," Shelby said reaching out for Rachel. "Let's get you on the neb."

Rachel shook her head into Santana's shoulder.

"I can hold her, Mom," Santana said pleadingly.

"No, San," Shelby said gently. "You need to get ready for school."

"Mom," Santana said looking at her with desperation.

"Santana, we are not arguing about this," Shelby told her firmly. "Come on, Rach."

"I w-w-want...I don-n-n't," she wasn't able to finish her sentence as another hiccup fit off labored breaths interrupted her.

"Come on, bug," Shelby said as she pulled Rachel easily from Santana's arms into her own. She set her on the floor. "Let's go." Rachel leaned into the Shelby's side as they started to walk out of the room. "Get ready, San."

"I'm sorry, Rach," Santana called after her as Shelby led her from the room.

"It's o-o-o-o-kay," she heard her call back.

…

Santana stared at herself in the mirror. She was wrapped in a towel fresh out of the shower. She could still hear Shelby humming quietly to Rachel across the hallway. Her self-loathing had reached a new level. She had caused this breakdown. She did.

"Santana, you need to get dressed?" Shelby said fro the doorway.

Santana jumped. She hadn't realized the humming had stopped.

"I don't want to go to school," Santana said turning to her mother. She motioned towards Rachel's door across the hallway. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Shelby said. "You and I need to talk about last night. You have an appointment with Dr. Jacobs this afternoon."

"Mom, I don't want to see her," Santana said with a huff. "I'm fine. Last night…. Last night I was mad but I won't do that again. –''

"Santana," Shelby said closing the bedroom door most of the way.

"Mom, I swear," she said. "Now, can I please stay home? I'm sure you're letting Rachel stay home."

"Santana," Shelby began again. "You're going to see Dr. Jacobs. No arguing. What happened between you and Quinn will not happen again."

"I just said it wouldn't," Santana said waving her arm.

"Santana, cut the attitude. You're going to school. This is more than just Quinn. You know it. I knew that this wouldn't be easy for any of you and you told me that too. Remember? You need to meet me halfway."

"Mom, I'm fine. I just need to rest. Please let me stay home with her," Santana said. "She needs me."

"And she has you, Santana. You're not missing school. You will get to rest. You don't have Cheerios tonight. Noah will bring you straight home."

"What? Why?" she asked with a frown.

"Sue, sent out an email this morning. Apparently all practices are cancelled tonight for field maintenance and whatnot."

"Mom, Sue has a running practice she was going to lead," Santana started.

"Well, she isn't anymore," Shelby said with a sigh. "It doesn't matter anyway you're weren't going to go. You're going to school and coming home."

"Mom," Santana started again.

"San, knock it off," Puck said from the doorway. "Put on your uniform and let's go. We're going to be late."

Santana scowled. "Butt out, Puck."

He looked over his shoulder at Rachel's door. He stepped closer to Santana. "Get ready, San. Stop this," his voice was calm and eerily serious.

"Noah, back off," Shelby instructed. "Go downstairs."

Shelby watched her son leave. She turned back to Santana. "Get ready now. I'm not arguing with you. Do you want me to stand here to make sure you get ready? Or can I got back to your sister?"

Santana shook her head. "Fine." She frowned and went to grab her uniform from the closet.

Shelby reentered Rachel's room and saw Noah kneeling next to the glider that Shelby had left her youngest in.

"You have a good day okay, bug?" he said

Rachel nodded and started to taken out the nebulizer's mouthpiece.

"Leave it in," Noah said. "I have to go anyway."

He stood up. Rachel reached out and grabbed his hand.

She took it out again. He frowned and reached for her hand. "Rachel, I said leave it—''

"Don't be mad at her," she said quietly.

"Fine," he said. "Now put it back in."

She rolled her eyes. "Please?"

"Alright, bug," he said with a smile. He guided the mouthpiece of the nebulizer back into her mouth. "I'll see ya."

He turned and nodded at his mother and started toward the stairs.

"Noah," she called out to him. He stopped at the top step of the stairs and turned to look at her. "Don't yell at Santana."

"She needs someone to tell her she was out of line," he replied with a hushed huff looking over at Rachel's still open door.

"Yeah," Shelby said putting her hand on his shoulder. "That's my job, not yours." She sighed. "Also, Quinn is staying home today." She saw her son frown. "She's running a low fever and recovering from an infection. That's all you need to know."

…

Shelby watched as Santana and Noah climbed into Noah's car and pulled down the driveway. She hated that she had to remind them so often to be children and not adults.

"Mom, I'm all finished," Rachel murmured quietly from the chair.

Shelby turned to see Rachel looking at her tiredly from the chair. She gave a sigh. She turned of the nebulizer and rested the mouthpiece on top of it. Rachel crawled slowly back into her bed. Shelby leaned next to her silently running her hand through her hair.

"How are you doing, bug? Do you want talk about last night?" Shelby asked carefully.

"I'm okay," she responded quietly.

"Can you tell me what you dreamt about?" the mother asked softly.

Rachel paused for a few moments before she finally spoke. "I dreamt that I was back at the house," she whispered. "I was scared. He was screaming and throwing things. I was hiding and he found me."

Rachel looked up at her mother. "Why did he hate me so much? Why did he hate all of us so much?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Shelby answered trying to reign in her own emotions. "He was a very angry man. He was hateful. You three didn't do anything wrong except exist for all I know." She lifted Rachel's chin to look at her. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh," she said quietly looking at her hands.

"Do you want to tell me what you and Quinn talked about last night?" Shelby asked.

"I just asked her about what her dad did and told her that Daddy is dead," Rachel said barely abuse a whisper.

She gave a deep sigh at her daughter's words. "Rachel, you need to let Quinn have some time. You need to give her a chance to come to you. When she's angry especially, you need to back off and let her be angry."

Rachel thought about this for a moment. Her brow furrowed. She shook her head. "No, Mom, she needs someone. She's all alone."

"But she needs that chance to be mad too, bug," she said quietly. "You shouldn't have been around what happened last night. I know your sister is very sorry and –''

"I know San is sorry. I wasn't mad at her," Rachel said quickly as she sat up to look at her mother. "Does she think I'm mad?"

"I don't think so. She's mostly upset with herself. She's seeing Dr. Jacobs this afternoon. You and Quinn will wait outside with me during the appointment. You can bring that book you're reading for your book report. When is that due?"

"Why is she upset with herself?" Rachel asked. "I'm the one that freaked out. She didn't mean it."

"You need to talk with her about it, but I think she thinks she could have stopped it," Shelby said carefully.

She watched as her youngest daughter frowned. "No, Mom, it's my thing. I'm the one who's broken. The school has to tell you when there's a fire drill or else I panic. I couldn't do the school fair because it was too loud. We had to leave remember? You have to pack me small lunches so that I don't have to stay in the cafeteria for a long time. I feel like a freak. I can't do things other kids like to do. I can't do them because I'm scared."

"Rachel Corcoran, you are not broken," Shelby said firmly. She lifted her chin. "Do you hear me? You are not a freak. You are not broken. You are remarkable, caring and we love you more than you will ever know."

"I just want to be normal, Mom. I'm getting older. This should go away, right?"

"I don't know, bug. I hope so, but if it doesn't that's okay," she said. "You've been doing fine in school, Rach. More than fine."

"Can I go to school today?" Rachel asked.

Shelby gave a smile. "No, bug. You're breathing is still strained. We'll have to do at least one more neb treatment." She poked Rachel's nose. "What do you say? We'll put on some comfy clothes and go watch a movie?"

Rachel gave a slight nod.

…

The ride to school was silent. Neither of them said a word. Santana wanted to pitch a fit about Quinn's absence, but she knew that she had caused the fight so she wasn't going to dig her own grave. His mustang pulled into the parking lot of McKinley and settled into a parking space.

"I'll see you after school," Santana said quietly as she reached for the door.

"Hold it, San," Puck said calmly. "We need to talk."

Santana gave a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. She knew that this was coming. She knew it.

"Santana, what happened last night," he began quietly.

But she cut him off. "I know. Okay? I know," Santana said refusing to look at her brother.

"No, you don't, San. I was up with her all night. You triggered so much for her." He looked over at his sister with desperation in her eyes.

"You don't think I know that?" Santana murmured trying to hide her misting eyes. She looked at him. She shook her head and licked her top lip as if it would subside her guilt. "I mean seriously, Noah. You don't think that I know that I scared her?"

"What is your problem with Quinn?" he asked point blank. "You and I both talked about how we would be better in this situation if Mom ever took someone in. You remember what it was like staying at the shelter and then staying in foster care, and being with out Rach. You remember. We promised each other that it would be better."

"I know," she murmured. "I just….. It can't be her. Okay? I found out some stuff yesterday about what happened. And it's too much. If it were some stranger that I didn't know, I could do it but…" Santana turned away.

Noah shook his head. "So let me get this straight, because you know her, makes you want to hate her more? Because you didn't know what was happening to her at home?"

Santana wiped a stray tear. She looked fiercely at her brother. "Are we done? I'll try to be better, but I'm not doing this with you anymore. Like you're the one to talk."

His look hardened. "Hey, I have never hurt you or Rachel.—''

Santana tried not to flinch at his rarely raised voice. He never did that with her. "But you tortured Karofsky. I'm not the only one who is mad, Noah. You just do a better job at controlling it."

"Don't," he said shaking his head. "Please. You know it's different."

"You know that's crap," she muttered. She reached for the handle of the door.

"Santana," his voice was calm. He was looking seriously at the steering wheel. He turned and looked her in the eye. "She's going to be scared of you now. She won't think so, but she will be. You better fix this."

"I will," she assured.

"San, you know I love you and all that, but you need to let me in, okay?" he said. He gave a small smile. "We're the Mario Brothers, right?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Right." She looked at him. "See ya after school?"

He nodded. "Don't get caught getting into any trouble. Mom, will kill you."

"Of course," Santana smirked and headed into school.

…

Quinn opened her eyes. She looked at her surrounding. She shot up in bed remembering what had happened. The house was quiet. Fuck, she thought to herself. She was late. It had to be past seven. It had to be. Fuck, fuck. She ran into the bathroom and pulled up her hair and threw on her uniform. She ignored the ache in her body and the tiredness in her bones. She wouldn't be late. That would be unacceptable.

She threw open the door and ran down the stairs. She slowed when she saw Rachel and Shelby curled up on the couch watching a movie.

"I need to go to school," Quinn said with her hands on her hips.

She heard her newest mother figure sigh and stand up from the couch. "Can I speak with you in the kitchen?" Shelby asked her politely.

"No," Quinn said annoyed. "I need to go to school." She looked at the clock. "Crap, seriously? It's already 11:00am? I need to go!"

"Quinn, you're staying here and resting. You have a fever. You're fighting an infection. You're staying. Now, let's go back upstairs and tend to your wounds." Shelby tried her best to keep her voice down but she saw her youngest look at Quinn in her periphery.

"No, I'm fine!" the blonde barked. "Trust me I've been to school feeling much worse than this!"

"You can't argue with her, Quinn," said a gentle voice from the sofa. "Mom's mind is already made up. You might as well give in."

Shelby watched with calmed interest as Quinn's face deflated and even softened at the comment.

Quinn shook her head. She wasn't going to feel bad for the girl on the couch. She wasn't. Sure she looked exhausted and Quinn was sure it was due to her and Santana's scuffle the night before, but no. No sympathy. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"Gah! I'm walking to school. I'm not dealing with this," she yelled.

"If you walk out that door, Quinn," Shelby said, but was surprised that she was cut off.

"Quinn, it's over five miles to school," Rachel said again from the couch. "You know you wish to stay here, but you just don't want to give in."

Quinn huffed and stared at the girl. She shook her head but adamantly closed the door. "Fine, but I'm only giving in because we're meeting Jackie in four hours, right? I've already lost most of my school day anyway. And I don't need your help."

Quinn stalked up the stairs. Shelby looked at her daughter in surprise.

"Maybe I should have you talk to her more often," Shelby laughed quietly and followed the blonde up the stairs.

She closed the door behind her and watched the blonde grab clothes to change into. She glared at Shelby.

"I said I didn't need your help," Quinn said.

"Too bad," Shelby said. She motioned toward the duffle. "This afternoon Jackie should have a plan to get the rest of your things. I understand you've only had the duffle for a week." Quinn looked at her but then returned back to the duffle. She wasn't going to say thank you. Shelby continued, "We need to discus last night."

"I said I don't need your help," Quinn said as she grabbed a Q-tip from the bathroom. She pulled up her Cheerio's top and attempted to apply the medication on her back. She couldn't reach it. "Damn it," she bit at herself.

"Are you read to stop being stubborn?" Shelby asked from the bed. "Come and sit over here please." Quinn gave in and sat down next to her. "If you fight again with Santana like you did last night you're off the Cheerios."

"What?" Quinn asked pulling away.

"This isn't a discussion," Shelby said. She handed Quinn her sweatpants. "Why don't you change first." Quinn huffed and gave in. She went into bathroom and changed. "You will be resting for most of the day. I'm glad you remembered the appointment with Jackie today. I will be telling her about your and Santana's fight. You have the choice to leave if you would like to."

Quinn emerged from the restroom with a perplexed look on her face. "What? Seriously?" Shelby saw hope.

"There's no guarantee that you could be placed in the district though, but yes, Jackie will need to know about it."

Quinn scowled and opened her mouth to ask another question but the door crept open.

"Is that…." Rachel started. "Is that what we used to use?"

Quinn pulled away at the question. She scowled at Shelby. "Did you hit her?"

"No!" Rachel said suddenly. "My mom never hit us. Never."

The blonde narrowed her eyes and glared from Shelby to Rachel.

"Rachel, please leave," Shelby said firmly but gently.

"Sorry," they heard the youngest Corcoran whisper and the door close.

"What is she talking about?" Quinn said with a frown.

Shelby looked at her. "I told you last night, Quinn, a lot has happened to them, but it's not my story to tell, just like it's not your obligation to tell them yours. But you do have a lot of things in common. Now turn around so that we can finish this."

…

Brittany spotted her best friend immediately standing with her arms folded against the wall.

"Bad night?" the blond asked leaning next to her best friend.

"You have no idea," Santana said with a sigh. "I have no idea where to begin."

Brittany gave a small smile. "Maybe the beginning? You weren't at Cheerios where did you go?"

Santana tried to form words. She wanted to spit it out. Brittany was her best friend for goodness sakes. She should have been able to just burst all of the information she had learned about Quinn Fabray, but in that moment as her best friend waited for her patiently, it wasn't as easy.

"Quinn had a thing and then we…. We all went home and Quinn and I got into a fight….." Santana pretended not to notice Brittany's scowl as she moved her head and eyes around to avoid her eyes.

"Okay….." Brittany said as she looked at her best friend carefully. "What was the fight about?"

Santana face hardened again. "She got in Rachel's face."

Brittany gave a soft nod. She knew that any threat toward Rachel was a step over the line for Santana. She continued. "Okay," she said. She knew that the brunette was clamming up. She needed to get something from her before she was completely closed in. She needed to bring it back to just her and San. "Are you not talking to me for a particular reason? You always talk to me."

Not about everything, Santana thought immediately. She kneaded her lip in her mouth as she worked on her answer. "I know. I'm sorry," Santana began as she gathered her thoughts. "It's just having her in the house and bringing up so much for me and we fought last night. I went ….. I lost it last night and …" Santana took a deep breath and watched a group of students pass them. She shot them a glare before returning to her best friend. She took a deep breath. "I….um…. I scared Rachel. I scared her because I was so mad."

Brittany released a deep breath. There it was. It wasn't just that there was a nemesis down the hallway, it was that her presence was causing Santana to become a person that she didn't want to be.

"I can't stand her, Britt," Santana said trying to hold in her tears. "But I …. I'm just realizing why and I can't….. I can't let that be the reason why. My family is kinda made at me—''

"Rachel can't be mad at me. I'm sure your mom isn't either and Puck is probably just grouchy," Brittany leaned her head on the top of Santana's. "I think you're mad at yourself more than anyone. Maybe instead of working from hate to why. I would start to focus on where that's coming from as much as you don't want to."

Santana searched her eyes. She shook her head. "I guess so."

"I know so," Brittany whispered. She hooked pinkies with Santana. "And I'll be here every step of the way."

…

Quinn sat up in her room for awhile before she finally wandered downstairs. Shelby was working in the kitchen on what looked to be some lunch. She was surely very domestic and she worked and she was single. There were so many issues that Quinn shook her head and decided to concentrate on the tiny brunette.

"Do you want to watch this seminal Broadway classic with me?" a small voice asked from the couch.

Quinn folded her arms and examined the small girl. She finally sat down next to her. However, she made sure to leave about two feet of space between them.

"So what is this?" she asked with her arms still folded.

"Les Miserables," Rachel said casually. "My mother brought me the original cast DVD for Christmas last year."

"Looks fascinating," Quinn said with an air of annoyance. "Why are you home?" She wanted to know more about the Corcorans and it looked easiest to find out through Rachel.

She tore her eyes away from the screen. "I was sick," she said quietly. Rachel turned back to the screen.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked after a moment's pause.

"I'm fine," Rachel said still focusing her attention on the screen.

Quinn froze as the younger girl leaned back into the couch and rested her head against Quinn's arm.

"This is a classic," Rachel informed. "Do you watch musicals?"

"No," Quinn said with a frown wondering how the girl would react if she pushed her off.

Rachel coughed a few times. Quinn could hear the wheezing in her chest.

"Are you alright?" she asked still stiff with the girl leaning against her.

"I just have asthma," Rachel said quietly. "I'm fine."

Quinn chewed her lip and didn't realize she relaxed into the back of the couch. "Did something set it off?"

Rachel tore her attention away from the television and looked up at the girl.

"Yeah," she said looking away from the girl. "I got scared last night. Yelling and loud noise…. I get scared. It's really stupid…" She trailed off.

The older girl chewed her lip more aggressively. "I'm so sorry about that."

"I know," she muttered back in response as she let out another wheezing cough."

Her attempts to get information suddenly became less menacing. She was just curious. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted.

"Quinn, you're still grounded. No TV. Please come in here and help me with lunch," Shelby called.

Quinn rolled her eyes. Rachel sat up.

"Bug, come in here please," Shelby called out.

Rachel turned off the television and walked into the kitchen. Shelby was standing at the stove heating what looked like soup.

"Come here, bug." Rachel walked over sheepishly to her mother. "Deep breath." Rachel took a big breath of air. Quinn noticed that she hid her eyes from Quinn. She was embarrassed.

The older girl paced away from her. "I can…. Um… get the …. Bowls…."

"Go get the neb upstairs please," Shelby said quietly.

Rachel's shoulders sagged and her face fell. "Mom," she said quietly looking at Quinn.

"Rach, I'm not arguing," Shelby warned.

Quinn watched as Rachel swayed from side to side. She finally saw the swaying girl tug on her mother's arm and whispered something in her ear. The mother gave a sigh.

"Sure," Shelby responded. "I'll get him for you." She turned to the older girl. "Come on, Quinn help me get thing upstairs."

Shelby turned off the gas on the stove and walked up the stairs. Quinn continued to watch her. Didn't she just tell Rachel to go upstairs and get the Neb-thing? "I meant it Quinn. You're grounded. Let's go."

Quinn sighed and followed. At the top of the stairs she opened up with the question on the tip of her tongue, "What are we doing?"

Shelby didn't answer until they were in Rachel's room. "We're getting her neb and her monkey."

Quinn looked around the room. She took in all of the Broadway posters on the wall and the pictures of her little friends and the family. Most of the pictures were recent for the most part. "Wait, I thought you said Rachel should get it."

Shelby looked at Quinn. "She needs this. She's embarrassed. She asked for help," Shelby said simply.

"You baby her too much," Quinn said not realizing that she said it out loud until Shelby paused with the stuff monkey and the nebulizer in her arms.

"Well, it might look that way," Shelby said with a deep breath.
And maybe we do, but she needs this. She needs us and constant reassurance—''

"That might be true," the blond continued to stick up for her verbally vomited challenge. "But it's also true that you baby her."

Shelby sighed. "You don't know what she's been through and –''

"You're right. I don't," Quinn said as she took the nebulizer from Shelby. "But I know I wouldn't want to be babied. I don't want to follow you around like some lost duckling."

"You're grounded, Quinn," Shelby said again. "I told you before that it was a privilege to be alone."

"Is that you answer to everything?"

"Yes, especially when it's the answer. You've added yourself another week. Let's grab your homework that I know you didn't finish. We have about a half hour to finish up and eat a late lunch before the kids get home. Before we head to yours and Santana's appointments."

"Santana's?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, Santana's." Shelby wouldn't say anymore. All she said was. "Let's go."

A/N I promise the next chapter will be better. I'm sorry. Please let me know what you think.