Shelby arrived at Carmel High School and opened the door for San. She put her purse on the top of her desk while the younger brunette placed hers on the couch. She informed the girl that both she and her mother would be checking in on her.
"Alright, Mom," replied the dismissive Latina, gathering her belongings. Her goal was to finish her math assignment and quickly take a nap before her parents discovered her activities.
"I won't repeat myself. You must treat me with respect, or I can easily extend your grounding," Shelby stated, gently holding her daughter's chin.
"I apologize," San replied. "Today has been exceptionally difficult," the Latina admitted.
Carefully observing her daughter, Shelby inquired, "Are you alright? You seem troubled."
"I'm okay, Mom. You don't have to worry about me. You have work to attend to," San replied.
"I can't ignore that, honey. Your mama and I are already occupied with the three of you. We can sense something has been troubling you since last night," Shelby said gently, placing her hands on Santana's and guiding her to sit on her lap, offering a warm embrace.
Santana rested her head on her mom's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her mom's waist. "Can we go home now, Mother, please? I need to talk to you alone," she said.
Shelby tells her, "Let me talk to my principal, and I'll take you home. After our conversation, I'll pick up Quinn and Kitty early instead of at 2."
She kissed the younger brunette on the top of her head and gently told her to lie down on the couch. As Shelby watched, she stood up from her lap and lay down on the couch, closing her eyes.
Mrs. Corcoran July informed her boss about the situation she was facing. He advised her to take the rest of the day off and a few additional days.
Gently waking Santana up, she grabbed both of their bags. As they left her office, she informed Cassie that she was taking the rest of the day off, along with a few extra days. She explained that San was having a tough day at school and planned to pick up Quinn and Kitty earlier than usual. The blonde dancer requested Shells to keep her updated. They exchanged a nod, and the older brunette placed her arm around the younger one. The Latina said goodbye, affectionately calling her "Mama," and departed from the school building with her mom.
At home, Shelby put their bags on the chair. Santana sat down on the couch, and Shelby sat next to her.
"I don't want to go back to McKinley High School," the Latina said, looking at her feet. "It's just a certain teacher there doesn't like me, giving me all kinds of problems for the past two months, blaming me for anything that is going wrong. I'm tired of it, Mom," she said, looking up at her mother's brown eyes.
"Why is your teacher doing this to you?" she asked, filled with concern.
She shrugged and responded to her mother, saying, "I'm not sure, Mom." Turning towards her mother, she rested her head on her shoulder. "Mr. Schue doesn't like me; he talks down to me and disregards my opinions whenever I share my thoughts on the sheet music I want to sing. It bothers me that he lets Rachel and Finn have free rein whenever they want, but when I confront him about his behavior, he kicks me out of the class."
The older brunette put her arm around her. "I'm sorry he did that to you, and he didn't have the right to kick you out of Glee Club for speaking your mind. I just don't understand why you didn't tell us sooner. We would've put a stop to it."
She sighed. "I thought I could handle it, Mom, and I didn't want you to be worried about my problems because you're still mad at me about the other incident at school."
"You were doing so well, and you let two of your classmates upset you when you could easily ignore them and get another teacher, but you chose not to, Tiger. You have to choose your battles wisely."
"Whose side are you on? It seems like you're not on my side," she said angrily.
"I'm on your side, honey. As your mother, I'm going to straighten out your mistakes, along with Quinn and Kitty, to help all three of you succeed in life because I love all three of you girls."
"I know, Mom. It's just hard for me to talk to you and Mama about what's going on at school because I'm getting picked on every day because I have two moms instead of one," Latina said.
"Oh, Honey," she comforted her daughter. "I want you to understand that no one can not help who they fall in love with. Whether it's with a man or a woman, your family will always love you, Kitty and Quinn. Those kids don't know what love is because their parents aren't giving it to them. That is why they're picking on you and everyone else, to make them feel miserable as them. We don't want you three girls to feel that way ever. I also want the name of the person who is bullying you at school."
The younger brunette nodded, revealing it was David Karofsky and a few of his hockey buddies. "Please don't make me go back to that school, Mom," she buried her head in her mom's shoulder, crying.
Shelby held her close, rubbing her back. "I won't, Tiger." She noticed she was crying too wiping both of their tears away.
She rubbed the younger girl's back to calm her down and hummed one of San's favorite songs until she fell asleep in her mother's arms. She put a blanket on top of her, kissed the top of her head, and rubbed her face. Then she called her mother and asked her to watch Santana so that she wouldn't be alone while she picked up Kitty and Quinn from school. Ten minutes later, Stacy Corcoran arrived. "Thank you for coming at such short notice," she said, and instructed Shelby to tell Santana to do her homework if she woke up before she came back. Shelby left and drove to McKinley to see the other two.
At McKinley High, the girls were called to the office for dismissal. Shelby signed out Kitty and Quinn, and they left to go to Figgins's office. "See you tomorrow," Kitty said, rushing out following Quinn out of the Glee Club.
"Quinn, wait up," Kitty said. Quinn turned around. "Not now, Kitty. Shelby is waiting for us at Figgins's office," she said and continued to walk until Rachel called her name, asking her to stop.
"I have to apologize to you, Santana, and Mrs. Corcoran about my behavior," Rachel said.
"You got San in trouble more than enough, and as for your apology, you have to wait because we're in a tight spot because of a certain Latina who isn't at school today because of something that happened. I will talk to S and let you know how it went."
"Are her parents still mad at me?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Quinn said. "Give them a few days to cool down, then come over to the house, and we can hang out."
"Quinn, Shelby is at the door," Kitty said, standing next to her. Kitty moved away from them, standing by Shelby, waiting for Quinn to finish her talk with Rachel.
Rachel and Quinn looked over at them. Quinn wrote down Shelby's address on a piece of paper and passed it to Rachel. "I will call you later," Rachel nodded.
"I know you have to go home early, but I want to ask if you're all still going to the party at my house?" Rachel asked.
"Of course. I can't wait to have fun before the night at sectionals. Cassie already permitted me to go before all of this mess came out," Quinn said.
"Me already finished the setlist today, and since we're one member down, we have to bring our A-game to beat the other schools, especially Vocal Adrenaline. They have the best coach, as you know both of them pretty well: Shelby Corcoran along with the former Broadway dancer. We have to work twice as hard just to beat them," Rachel replied.
"Don't geek out on us, Rach," Quinn put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "We will beat them in three days. If we don't win on Friday, we just have to continue practicing so we can get better," she added.
"Quinn, we have to go," Shelby said.
"I'll be there in a second," Quinn said to the older woman. "I'll call you later, Rach," and she walked away from the girl.
"How was school today, girls?" Shelby asked them as they got in the car.
"It was okay, Shelby," Kitty said from the front seat. "School is school," Quinn said.
Shelby turned the radio on while she drove. "My mom is at the house and staying for dinner. She can't wait to meet you, Kitty, and welcome you into the family officially. She already considers Quinn as one of her granddaughters, and now she has gained three granddaughters," she said happily. "I'm also proud of you two girls for doing well in school. Cassie and I can't wait to see you two perform on Saturday. We will still go out to celebrate if we win or lose, girls.
"I can't wait to meet my new grandma Shelby, and I can tell she has a good heart since she raised you," Kitty said. Shelby smiled and stopped the car. "She is," Shelby responded, running her fingers through the blonde girl's ponytail. "Looks like Cassie is home."
"Um, Shelby," Kitty looked up at the older brunette. "Quinn and I were wondering if we could go hang out with a few Glee Club members on Thursday night. We will be back before our curfew."
"Where are you two girls going? How many members of the Glee Club will be there?" Shelby blurted out a couple of questions to the younger blonde. Looking at the two blonde girls, she asked, "Is there going to be adult supervision there?"
"Yes, Britt's parents will be there," Quinn blurted out. "We're going to be at Britt's. There will only be five of us there hanging out and we can ask Britt's parents to drop us off at home."
"That won't be necessary, girls. Cassie and I will discuss it tonight, and we'll let you know in the morning," Shelby said, getting out of the car.
"Come on, Shelby," Quinn and Kitty complained, walking inside the house behind the older brunette. "We're just going to have some girl's time before Sectionals," Quinn said.
"Girls, Shelby already told you we're going to discuss it later," Cassie said, walking towards them and giving all of them a kiss. "Go put your things away and go say hello to Grandma Stacy. She's in the kitchen making dinner, while San is doing her homework. After dinner, we're going to get your things from your home. I already talked to your parents, and they're allowing us to let you two get your belongings without any problems. After that, we can discuss later tonight.
Santana was feeling empowered by the support of her friends as they all chatted, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. However, they still had homework to finish, and Shelby warned them to complete it or else they would have to write a five-page essay on the importance of homework. The group quickly finished their work, ate a snack, and headed to their bedrooms.
Shelby and Cassie, discussed Santana's situation and decided that she should switch to Carmel High School, where they both work. They also talked about the upcoming sectionals competition and whether or not the two should attend a small gathering at Britt's house before the event. Shelby and Cassie decided to have an open discussion about it with the girls.
Afterward, the family went to retrieve Quinn and Kitty's belongings from their old homes. They had dinner with their Nana and talked about sectionals. Nana reminded the two blonde teenagers that Shelby is their mother first and a coach second, and the children will always come first. The girls hugged Nana and kissed her on the cheek, thanking her. After dinner, the girls cleaned up while Cassie and Shelby put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Everyone said goodnight to their elder, and later on, they helped Quinn and Kitty unpack. Shelby checked the girls' homework, and they had a family meeting to discuss whether Quinn and Kitty should attend the gathering before sectionals, transferring schools, and adoption.
Shelby informed the girls that Santana will not be returning to McKinley High School due to the bullying she endured by a certain student who has a problem with anyone in a same-sex relationship. She will be attending Carmel High School on Monday, and she's going to stay at home with Shelby tomorrow. On Friday, Shelby will stay at home with Santana until sectionals starts. Shelby also informed Quinn and Kitty that they will be transferring to Carmel High as well for their safety. Shelby and Cassie know that the two have their own friends and cheerleading at McKinley High, but the school isn't safe as long as David Karofsky still goes there. They can always bring their friends here as long as Shelby or Cassie approves.
Quinn explained that she is the co-captain with Kitty in the Cheerios and is doing well in school, so she would like to stay at McKinley High. Shelby respected Quinn's decision, but she wanted both of them to be careful and stay safe. On the other hand, Kitty didn't mind going to Carmel High with Santana after this semester. After all, they're sisters.
Shelby and Cassie decided that after the first term ends, both of them will be attending Carmel High with their sister. There will be no discussion, and if anything happens before then, they'll be going to Carmel. The girls understood and agreed to the plan.
Shelby and Cassie also informed the girls that they have custody over them, and their parents' rights were terminated that evening. They asked Quinn and Kitty if they wanted to be officially adopted by them, to which both of them agreed happily. They all hugged each other in a group hug and kissed the girls on their forehead. Shelby said that she would call their lawyer to proceed with the adoption process.
After the discussion, Cassie reminded the girls that it was time for bed, and all of them groaned, kissed Cassie goodnight, and walked slowly up the stairs to their bedrooms. Shelby kissed each girl goodnight before going to her own bed.