Rachel's birthday came after she'd been living with Shelby for almost two months, luckily it fell on a Saturday so Shelby was able to let the girl sleep in whilst she prepared everything.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Rachel, Happy birthday to you" she sang softly as she opened the curtains and made her way over to sit on the edge of Rachel's bed, "it's time to wake up Birthday Girl" she said as she brushed Rachel's hair from her face.
"My birthday?" Rachel mumbled as she yawned and reached up to rub clumsily at her eyes.
"Your birthday" Shelby confirmed.
Rachel sat up quickly, "it's my birthday?"
"It is, are you going to come downstairs and open your presents or are you going to sit in bed all day?"
"I've got presents?"
"Absolutely, why don't you come and open them while I make pancakes for our breakfast?" Rachel didn't know it yet but a couple of her friends from school would be arriving at lunch time for a little birthday party. Shelby had wanted to do something special for the girl but she hadn't wanted to do too much and overwhelm the girl, so Shelby had secretly arranged for three of Rachel's closest friends to join them for lunch, and then, in the afternoon the be having a 'pamper party' two people from a local beauty salon would be coming to the house to paint the girls nails, braid their hair, give them glitter tattoos and make face masks and bath bombs with them. Shelby was almost certain Rachel wouldn't have had a big birthday celebration in a long time, if ever, and whilst she didn't want to overwhelm the girl, she definitely wanted her to have a special day.
Shelby had laid all Rachel's presents out on the living room floor, not only were there gifts from her but her parents and her sister, who were both yet to meet Rachel, had also sent gifts for the girl. She could tell that Rachel was a little taken aback by the gifts so Shelby decided she'd sit with the girl as she opened her presents, breakfast could wait.
It didn't take long for Shelby to realise Rachel was beginning to feel overwhelmed, so she gently murmured her name to get her attention before telling her, "these gifts are yours, nobody will take them away if you need to take a break and come back to them later."
Rachel nodded, "nobody's ever got me so many nice things before" she said quietly as she ran her fingers down the spine of a book she'd just unwrapped, "I don't know why you've got me these things."
"Because it's your birthday" Shelby said gently, "and I wanted to get you some nice gifts to make you smile."
"But I'm bad" Rachel frowned. "Bad girls don't deserve nice things" she parroted what she'd heard several times from adults in her life.
"No" Shelby reached for Rachel's hand, "you're Rachel, sometimes you have bad thoughts, sometimes you do bad things, you are not bad. And you're kind and helpful, you're polite, you try so hard every single day to be a good person, and good people deserve nice things, they deserve to be happy and they deserve to get gifts on their birthday."
"Can we still have pancakes?" the abrupt change of subject told Shelby that Rachel felt uncomfortable with the praise she'd been given and she didn't push it, the last thing she wanted was to upset Rachel on her birthday.
"Sure" she nodded as she stood to her feet, "blueberry or chocolate chip?"
Shelby struggled to hold back her smile as she heard a knock at the door later that morning, pancakes had been eaten, they'd changed out of their pyjamas and, to keep Rachel calm, they'd decided to colour together in the living room, "want to come and see who it is?" she asked Rachel.
Rachel nodded and followed Shelby to the door, gasping when she opened it to find her friend on the doorstep, "happy birthday Rachel!" She grinned.
Rachel's looked up at Shelby, "why is Quinn here?" she asked, not sure what was happening.
"I thought you might want to see your friends on your birthday" Shelby told her, "why don't you take Quinn through to your playroom and I'll come get you when lunch is ready?"
"You've got a playroom?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, it's really cool" Rachel's confusion was quickly replaced by excitement about seeing her friend, "come on. I'll show you!"
"Bye Quinn!" Quinn's mom called with a chuckle as the girl kicked off her shoes in the hallway and followed Rachel into the house, getting just a raised hand in response. "Here" she handed Shelby a gift bag, "I explained that Rachel might not have had a birthday party before so she might need a little time to adjust, and Quinn said I should give her present to you so you can decide when to give it to her."
"Thank you" Shelby smiled, "she got distracted this morning and hasn't finished opening all her presents yet so I'll put this with them for her."
Shelby was still chatting with Quinn's mom when the other two friends she'd invited arrived within minutes of each other, "Rachel" she called into the house, "can you come here a second please?"
Rachel reached through from the playroom, "wha… Brittany! Santana! You're here too!"
"Happy Birthday!" Both girls held out presents to Rachel, but Rachel just looked up at Shelby.
"How about I put them with your other presents and we can open them later?" Rachel nodded and Shelby smiled, "are you going to say thank you? And take Brittany and Santana to play for a little bit?"
"Thank you for my presents" Rachel smiled before telling her friends, "me and Quinn are playing Mario kart, come on, we can start a new game and you can play too!"
Shelby spoke to the other parents for a little while longer, confirming the time for picking the girls up and double checking they were okay to have the 'beauty treatments' she'd arranged, but eventually she said goodbye and set to making lunch for the four girls.
She laid a large blanket on the floor amongst the balloons and set out an afternoon tea in the middle, several varieties of sandwiches and little slices of cake all stacked neatly on a cake stand. She added bowls of vegetable sticks, pretzels and other small snack type foods before going through to the playroom, smiling at the laughter she could hear as she got closer to the room.
"No Brittany, there's a banana…" she watched all four girls burst into laughter as Brittany hit the banana skin Rachel had tried to warn her about and her kart fell off the edge of the track.
Shelby didn't interrupt them, waited until they'd all finished before telling them, "lunch is ready for you, it's in the living room."
All four girls thanked her as Rachel turned off the TV and hugged Shelby tightly, "this is really fun, thank you!"
"You're very welcome Rachel" Shelby smiled, "now go eat, you've got more fun to have this afternoon"
Rachel couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy, her face hurt from smiling so much, this was definitely the best birthday she'd ever had, she couldn't believe Shelby had done so many nice things for her. She'd had a nice breakfast, Shelby had invited her friends over to play and have lunch with her, and she still had so many presents to open, she couldn't believe that it was real, that she'd been good enough for Shelby to do so many nice things for her!
"Girls, can you come through to the kitchen please?" Shelby smiled as she saw their empty plates piled nearly on the picnic blanket the girls now playing with the balloons on the floor. She couldn't miss the way Rachel tucked herself into her side when she saw the strangers in the kitchen, "these ladies are here to braid your hair, paint your nails and give you a glitter tattoo, and they might have something fun for you to make too" she explained, hoping to put Rachel at ease.
Rachel's friends all expressed how 'cool' that was, and how excited they were but Rachel stayed by Shelby's side, relaxing slightly as she felt the woman's fingers stroke gently through her hair, "are you staying here?" she asked quietly.
"I am" Shelby nodded, "I'll be in this room until you're all finished and then you can go and play for a little bit longer before everyone goes home. I promise you I won't leave."
"Okay" Rachel nodded, "thank you."
"You're welcome, now go see what your friends are up to" she said, gesturing to the kitchen table where Quinn, Brittany and Santana were starting to make their own face masks that would be worn as their finger and toe nails were painted, "I'll make you all some drinks.
It was safe to say the girls loved being 'pampered', and they were over the moon when Shelby presented them with plastic wine glasses filled with fruity 'mocktails' to drink as they had their home spa experience. And, as the two beauticians left, all four girls thanked them gratefully, thanking Shelby too before racing back off to the playroom. Rachel leading the way, the girl no longer worried or anxious, instead she was almost bursting with excitement about spending so much time doing fun things with her friends, and Shelby knew this wouldn't be the last time she had all three girls round together. She didn't mind, it wasn't the first time she'd had a house full of kids and she doubted it would be the last either, and she loved hearing the sound of Rachel's laughter echoing through the house, it was much better than the girl curling herself into a ball on her bedroom floor, too scared to do anything in case she got sent away.
Rachel was tucked into Shelby's side as she said goodbye to her friends, she'd hugged them all and thanked them for coming over and Shelby had promised that they could all come over again, and, if it was okay with their parents, they could even sleep over but she was starting to feel tired, and she hoped that, after everyone had gone, Shelby might cuddle her for a little bit before bed.
"See you soon Rachel, thank you for inviting me Shelby" Quinn smiled politely as she left with her dad, a small bag containing the bath bomb she'd made, a bottle of nail polish, a hair bow and a slice of birthday cake in her hand. Rachel just waved her hand silently in response as Shelby stroked her hair, her head resting against Shelby's side, wanting comfort and affection. All the parents had asked Rachel if she'd had a good time and she'd simply nodded and smiled in response, all the adults recognising a tired little girl when they saw one.
Shelby wasn't surprised that Rachel was tired, the girl had been pretty much buzzing with excitement for most of the afternoon and the crash was inevitable but Shelby didn't mind, she was planning on sending Rachel up to put her pyjamas on after everyone had left so they could spend the evening watching movies together to relax, she'd even bought ingredients so she and Rachel could make their own pizzas for dinner.
"Have you had a good day?" Shelby asked, running her fingers over Rachel's hair once everyone had left.
Rachel nodded and turned to wrap her arms around Shelby, hugging her tightly, "I had the best day, this was the best birthday I've ever had. Thank you for my party, it was so much fun! And I loved my cake, it was so cool! Thank you. "
"I'm glad you had fun, that's all I wanted."
"I'm really sleepy now" Rachel yawned.
"I know" Shelby chuckled, "go put your pyjamas on, I'll get everything out for us to make dinner together and then we can put a movie on and, if you want, you can open some more presents."
Rachel nodded, "are you putting your pyjamas on too?"
"Yeah" Shelby smiled, "once dinner's in the oven I'll go get changed too. We can have a slumber party and practice for when your friends sleep over" she winked playfully.
"Can we bring your big duvet down?" Rachel's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Absolutely" Shelby tapped Rachel's nose, "go get changed and I'll bring it down when I get changed."
Rachel nodded and headed for the stairs, "I'll be right back!"
Shelby made her way into the kitchen as Rachel headed upstairs, getting out pizza bases, sauce, dairy free cheese and several toppings. Since Rachel had been diagnosed as lactose intolerant Shelby had stopped eating dairy products too, she didn't want Rachel to worry about choosing the wrong food from the refrigerator, she wanted the girl to know that everything in the house was 'safe' for her to eat.
"What are we making?" Rachel asked as she made her way into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes with her blankie clutched in her fist. Shelby let her help make dinner a lot, and Rachel really enjoyed helping her, Shelby never got mad if she got it wrong and she was always really patient when she was explaining things, she even helped Rachel use a sharp knife to cut vegetables sometimes and told her that when she was bigger she'd be able to cut them on her own.
"I thought pizzas would go good with movie night!"
"We're making pizza?"
"We are" Shelby nodded, gesturing to the things she'd set out on the side, "but I bought ready made bases to save some time."
"Okay" Rachel beamed, "what do I have to do?"
Shelby talked Rachel through making the pizza, Rachel watching what Shelby did before making her own, carefully spreading the sauce right to the edge before sprinkling on the shredded cheese.
"And now you add the toppings" Shelby said, gesturing to the meat and vegetables she'd chopped.
"Which ones?" Rachel asked.
"Which ones do you want?" Shelby pointed to each item in turn, telling Rachel what it was.
Rachel turned to Shelby, "I get to pick what's on it? I don't have to do them all?"
Shelby shook her head, "you can put whatever you want on, and if you want a lot of pepperoni but just a little onion and a lot of chicken, then that's okay, it's your pizza, you can make it how you want." Rachel seemed to think for a while, studying all the toppings as if she was contemplating her options before she began making what she thought was the perfect pizza. "Done?" she asked a little while later."
"Yeah" Rachel nodded, "does it look good?"
"It looks great!"
"Thank you" Rachel grinned, "yours looks good too."
"Thanks" Shelby returned the smile, "why don't you go pick a movie? I'll put these in the oven, get changed and bring my duvet down."
"Okay" Rachel took a step back from the counter so Shelby could pick up both pizzas, the girl picking up her blankie from where she'd left it on the kitchen table and holding it against her cheek, "do they take a long time to cook?"
Shelby shook her head, "not too long, so we probably shouldn't start the movie until they're done."
"Okay" Rachel nodded, "I'll go pick something!"
As promised, Shelby changed into her pyjamas and pulled her hair back into a ponytail before heading downstairs with her duvet, smiling as she saw Rachel curled into the corner of the couch, blankie clutched in her fist, thumb edging ever closer to her mouth, it was barely 6pm but Shelby definitely had an exhausted girl on her hands, "do you want to open some more presents while we wait for the pizza?" Rachel nodded and slipped from the couch, sitting by the pile of presents, looking expectantly up at Shelby, not needing to ask, Shelby knowing exactly what Rachel wanted and she sat down beside the girl, "what do you want to open?" she asked.
Rachel thought for a moment before reaching for one of the smaller presents, carefully peeling back the paper, "thank you" she grinned when she unwrapped another book, she loved reading and being read to, "will you read it with me?" she asked Shelby.
"Of course, we can read it as soon as we've finished the book we're reading now if you want?"
"I do" Rachel nodded, "thank you so much."
Rachel reached for an envelope next, "is this a card?" she asked.
"Why don't you open it and see?"
"I don't know what it is" Rachel frowned as she studied the small piece of plastic, a bear face printed on the front.
Shelby smiled, "I know you wanted a build a bear" she said, it was the only thing Rachel had asked her for when she'd asked the girl what she wanted for her birthday, and Rachel had been a little disappointed that there didn't seem to be a bear amongst the gifts, "and I was going to get you one, but there were so many to choose from and I didn't know which one you'd want most so I got you a gift card instead. Tomorrow I'll take you to the mall, you can pick out a bear and an outfit and then when you're done, you give the cashier that card and it will pay for everything." she explained,"it's like a promise, I gave you that and you can use that to get the build a bear you want."
"Really? I get to pick a bear?"
"Really" Shelby nodded, "you get to pick a bear or a horse or a frog or a unicorn, whatever you want."
"This is the best" Rachel clutched tightly at the plastic gift card, "thank you!" Rachel was silent for a moment before looking up at Shelby, "I really get to get a bear?"
"Yeah" Shelby smiled, "you really get to get a bear, I'll take you to the mall to get one tomorrow, I promise."