Log: Rachel & Shay & The Fathers Berry
Who: Shay, Rachel & The Papas Berry
When: Sunday, 16th October
Where: Rose Hall
What: Meet the Gays
Rachel led her fathers to her floor and down the hallway, regaling them with stories about her morning routine and how she’d be excited to get back to it tomorrow morning, Mid-terms having replaced all other tasks for the past two weeks. As she was about to reach her and Brittany’s room, Rachel spotted a girl further down, just exiting her own room. “Shay!” Rachel called out grabbing her attention.
Turning to her fathers, Rachel made sure to let them know exactly who Shay was. “That’s Shay, Artie’s older sister,” she explained with a smile. “She’s really great.” Returning her attention to the brunette who waved in greeting, Rachel called out again. “Come and meet my parents! I know you’ve been dying to,” she said with a teasing grin. “She really has,” Rachel said over her shoulder to her dads who chuckled in response.
Shay didn’t even have to look up to see who had called her. There was only one person in the dorms who would (and probably could considering Rachel’s vocal training) yell down the hallway like that. She shook her head as Rachel teased her but there wasn’t much she could say back, not with Rachel’s dad’s right behind her. Shay ran a hand through her hair, prepping her appearance slightly, as she moved down the hall toward Rachel. “Mr. and Mr. Berry, hi, I’m Shay Abrams.” She smiled and held out her hand. “I was excited to meet you so it’s great that I’m getting the chance.
Hiram reached around Rachel’s shoulder to take the girl’s hand in his own. “Hiram and Leroy is fine, dear. It just gets far too confusing otherwise,” he said shaking his daughter’s friend’s hand gently. He stood back, his hands finding their way to Rachel’s shoulders as Leroy offered Shay a smile.
“Artie’s sister, huh?” Leroy asked with a slow nod of his head. “We just shared the pleasure of his company,” he said slowly.
Rachel rolled her eyes and reached for her door. “Come on, we were just going to sit and talk for a little while before my dads have to head back. You’re welcome to join us,” Rachel said looking in Shay’s direction and nodding her head toward her room.
“Of course, thank you.” Shay wasn’t sure what to make of Leroy’s comment but she hoped their meeting with her brother hadn’t been too bad. She made sure to wait until Leroy and Hiram were seated before she found her own place.
Rachel took a seat on her bed, moving back to press up against the wall as her dads took a seat on Brittany’s bed. Her blonde roommate wouldn’t mind. She quite liked her dads. Rachel patted the mattress space next to her. “Hurry up,” she said to Shay.
“Okay, okay, only child.” Shay mumbled as she sat down next to Rachel, crossing her legs at the ankle. “Actually...” she smiled over at Rachel. “I guess you’re not anymore. As of Wednesday you have sisters.”
Rachel grinned at Shay. She reached up and felt for the necklace around her neck. She should have taken it off by now, to keep it safe, but she was going to give herself until Halloween, at the latest, before taking it off and keeping it somewhere safe, only to be brought out for special occasions.
“Rachel was telling us she’s a Rose now,” Leroy began, glancing at his husband. “But we’re not sure what that means exactly. You’re a Rose though, too. Rachel’s Big’s, Big, if I got that correct,” he said a little uncertainly, hoping he got the relations right.
“I am. I’m Quinn’s Big and Quinn is Rachel’s Big. The head of the house is Kaylin Deveraux and she’s my Big. We make up the current Blue Rose family.” Shay smiled. “I’m not sure what she told you, but I’m sure it was very detailed.”
Rachel bit her bottom lip. She had been quite detailed about the Roses and Thornes, explaining the history and the ceremonies and tasks they’d completed. She just hadn’t been able to explain properly to them that her Big was the same girl that had accused Rachel of drugging her and Santana. Her father wasn’t entirely over that ordeal.
“That... incident, at the beginning of the school year...” Leroy began, a small frown on his face. “That involved the Roses and Thornes, didn’t it?”
Hiram kept an eye on his husband. Leroy was known to be the hot-headed one out of the two and although he had a reason to be a little apprehensive about their daughter joining the same elite group of students that had accused her of heinous acts, he could also see how important it all was to his little girl and he didn’t want to ruin it for her.
Shay sat up some, a few fingers finding Rachel’s wrist as she replied. “It involved the Roses and by default the Thornes.” She looked to Rachel and then back to her dads. “And, now that she’s a Rose you can expect that all of the Roses and the Thornes will come to her defense, God forbid anything like that ever happens again.”
Squeezing Shay’s hand in thanks, she looked across at her fathers. “I promise Dad, it won’t be like that anymore,” she pleaded with him. They’d had a great weekend together, but she knew her Dad had really been spending the time on campus checking on the other students and talking to a few faculty who had been around. Rachel and her other father had sort of always relied on Leroy to be the family protector and he’d always born a lot of the brunt from Parents groups and school boards while trying to protect Rachel and Hiram from the nasty things that had been said. Sometimes she wished she were more normal, to make it easier for him, but her parents had always loved her exactly as she was and she didn’t want to disappoint them by pretending to be someone she wasn’t. “I promise it won’t be like before,” she added softly.
“How could it be?” Shay asked. “We have to live with her, show tune singing and all. But she has such an amazing voice that I know I can’t complain.”
Shay didn’t know that Rachel had meant that things wouldn’t be like they were before Archbishop, but she appreciated the attempt at lightening the mood. “Well, if you showered when I did in the mornings, you might hear more than a show tune!” Rachel replied nudging Shay in the side.
Hiram nudged Leroy with a grin as if to point out to his husband how happy their daughter looked. Leroy squeezed Hiram’s knee in acknowledgement. “So Shay, when Rachel isn’t bugging you with Barbra’s greatest hits, what do you get up to?” he asked, satisfied for the moment that Rachel was going to be okay.
“Um, I suffer through Rachel bugging me with Wicked, West Side Story, and I know it’s still Streisand, but Don’t Rain on My Parade is on loop.” Shay smiled, leaning away as Rachel playfully swatted at her. “No, I’m kidding. I’m part of the Roses, as you know, and we have super secret activities. I run cross country in the fall. Um, I also sketch and draw and lately I’ve been studying for the SATs. I’m also in the library a lot. I like poetry and I try to read things outside of what’s assigned.”
“Super secret activities?” Rachel and Hiram asked, eyebrows raised and facial expressions matching exactly.
Shay smiled and shook her head. The Roses did have a sort of reputation for being a private group and that could set parents and new members on edge. “Really not so secret. We volunteer and have formal meetings and not so formal get togethers.”
“Oh,” Rachel said. “So no super secret activities to celebrate our sexual awakening?” She asked, her brow furrowed.
“Rachel!” Her fathers exclaimed in unison. Leroy rubbed at his eyes as he spied his daughter’s smirk. “You’re absolutely terrible, Rachel Barbra Berry,” he said with a shake of his head. “I almost feel sorry for these Roses and Thornes.” Leroy winked at Rachel, letting her know he was most definitely joking.
“What?” Rachel asked, drawing out the word, a grin on her face. “Shay knew I was joking.” Rachel thread her fingers through Shay’s and squeezed her hand. She turned to look at her fathers, Hiram with a slight blush to his cheeks. “You two shouldn’t be so concerned. I promise, if I find myself engaging in any sapphic activities, you’ll be the first I call.” Rachel frowned. “Or maybe the second. I should at least call the girl back, first.”
“It’s the least you could do,” Hiram agreed, his cheeks still red, but enjoying the playful conversation.
Leroy nudged Hiram and turned to mutter something that was loud enough for the two girls to hear. “Remind me why we’re lucky to have a daughter?”
“I resent that!” Rachel called out with a huff. “You’d have been so limited in the outfits you could dress me up in as a child and you wouldn’t have the privilege of walking me down the aisle on my wedding day.” Rachel crossed her arms and frowned at her fathers. “Not to mention, I’m the perfect child.”
Shay covered her mouth with her free hand as she laughed, amused by the openness between Rachel and her dads. “Wait wait,” She said, laughter coloring her voice. “Does anyone else find it very telling that she goes from talking about a first time to a wedding day, girl commits. Also, not to get too political, but it’s really surprising that you’d want to be given away.”
“First of all, there’s no use being in a relationship if you’re both not committed,” Rachel said looking toward her father. “Right, Dad?” Leroy nodded and hummed in agreement. “And I don’t see the process of my dads by my side as a change of ownership.”
“It will be more like us pushing her towards her groom saying ‘your turn now’,” Leroy joked, as he motioned with his hands as if he were shooing Rachel off.
“But!” Rachel quickly interrupted, only sending an exasperated look in her father’s direction in response to his dramatics, “The lucky person I choose to spend the rest of my life with, will need to understand that my career comes first.” Rachel looked at each of the room’s occupants in turn. “At least until I’m an EGOT winner and then I can start a family.”
“Or maybe you’ll get lucky and find the person that makes you want to reconsider the plans you made for yourself when you were 14.” Shay shrugged, “I mean if we’re going to talk about this, future plans and that sort of thing” she hesitated, looking around in case anyone wanted to change the subject, “Mine would be... I guess it would honestly depend on what type of museum or show I was curating. Like, if I worked at a kid’s museum I would certainly strongly encourage the young intern to not loose my children if I brought them to work. But, it might not be the best time to have a toddler running around if I’m working with portraits from the antebellum South.”
“And that is a perfect example of why I won’t be having sex until I’m twenty-five,” Rachel announced.
“I fully support you in that decision, Rachel,” Leroy quickly chimed on with a firm decisive nod. Hiram rolled his eyes, crossed his right leg over his left and met Shay’s amused gaze. “Do you see what I have to live with? I finally got rid of one of them,” he joked motioning with his head in Rachel’s direction. “Any ideas on the other?”
Shay turned her head slightly, mumbling to Rachel. “Someone is going to be really disappointed with your decision.” Shay wasn’t romantic enough to think that her brother would be that person so she had no problem teasing Rachel. When Hiram’s attention turned to her she laughed, “I don’t think I can help you with that, sir. I’m still trying to figure out how to handle the one you got rid of.”
Hiram threw his head back and laughed, his left hand slapping his knee. “If I had any words of wisdom, I’d share them with you, but I had her for fourteen years and I still haven’t figured her out.” He shook his head still chuckling at Rachel’s friend. Beside him, Leroy was smirking, but desperately trying to hide it from his daughter. He was supposed to have her side, but his husband had a point. Only time would help Shay deal with Rachel.
Rachel frowned at Shay’s words. Who would be disappointed? she asked herself. But just as she thought the question, she remembered the answer. Artie. Rachel felt a pang of guilt that she’d forgotten she had a boyfriend whom she'd just had lunch with, but they weren’t like that. Their relationship wasn’t carnal or based on sexual undertones. It felt more like good friends who sometimes kissed. Shaking her head to rid herself of her confusing thoughts, she looked at Shay. With a grin, she began to motion toward her own body. “I realize you want to get all up on this, but you have to wait eleven years,” she teased with a giggle.
“Woah woah,” Shay said, playfully serious. “I’m gonna need a date before you start propositioning anything. Plus, I know someone would not approve of me...” Through her own laughter Shay couldn’t even repeat what Rachel had said. Motioning to Rachel’s body with her free hand she leaned over, resting her head on Rachel’s shoulder as she laughed. This was why she’d wanted to meet Rachel’s dads. She’d guessed and hoped that they would be able to talk like this, open and free, with out the sort of repercussions she was used to and feared.
“You’re older. It’s your responsibility to ask for a date,” Rachel replied. “You now have eleven years to plan,” she joked, nudging Shay in the side. Rachel was so happy that this meeting had gone so well. She hadn’t really understood why Shay wanted to meet her dads, not that she minded the request. It was just that not many people cared to meet them and those that had, weren’t always the most accepting. She leaned against Shay and settled in, enjoying her parents company.
When: Sunday, 16th October
Where: Rose Hall
What: Meet the Gays
Rachel led her fathers to her floor and down the hallway, regaling them with stories about her morning routine and how she’d be excited to get back to it tomorrow morning, Mid-terms having replaced all other tasks for the past two weeks. As she was about to reach her and Brittany’s room, Rachel spotted a girl further down, just exiting her own room. “Shay!” Rachel called out grabbing her attention.
Turning to her fathers, Rachel made sure to let them know exactly who Shay was. “That’s Shay, Artie’s older sister,” she explained with a smile. “She’s really great.” Returning her attention to the brunette who waved in greeting, Rachel called out again. “Come and meet my parents! I know you’ve been dying to,” she said with a teasing grin. “She really has,” Rachel said over her shoulder to her dads who chuckled in response.
Shay didn’t even have to look up to see who had called her. There was only one person in the dorms who would (and probably could considering Rachel’s vocal training) yell down the hallway like that. She shook her head as Rachel teased her but there wasn’t much she could say back, not with Rachel’s dad’s right behind her. Shay ran a hand through her hair, prepping her appearance slightly, as she moved down the hall toward Rachel. “Mr. and Mr. Berry, hi, I’m Shay Abrams.” She smiled and held out her hand. “I was excited to meet you so it’s great that I’m getting the chance.
Hiram reached around Rachel’s shoulder to take the girl’s hand in his own. “Hiram and Leroy is fine, dear. It just gets far too confusing otherwise,” he said shaking his daughter’s friend’s hand gently. He stood back, his hands finding their way to Rachel’s shoulders as Leroy offered Shay a smile.
“Artie’s sister, huh?” Leroy asked with a slow nod of his head. “We just shared the pleasure of his company,” he said slowly.
Rachel rolled her eyes and reached for her door. “Come on, we were just going to sit and talk for a little while before my dads have to head back. You’re welcome to join us,” Rachel said looking in Shay’s direction and nodding her head toward her room.
“Of course, thank you.” Shay wasn’t sure what to make of Leroy’s comment but she hoped their meeting with her brother hadn’t been too bad. She made sure to wait until Leroy and Hiram were seated before she found her own place.
Rachel took a seat on her bed, moving back to press up against the wall as her dads took a seat on Brittany’s bed. Her blonde roommate wouldn’t mind. She quite liked her dads. Rachel patted the mattress space next to her. “Hurry up,” she said to Shay.
“Okay, okay, only child.” Shay mumbled as she sat down next to Rachel, crossing her legs at the ankle. “Actually...” she smiled over at Rachel. “I guess you’re not anymore. As of Wednesday you have sisters.”
Rachel grinned at Shay. She reached up and felt for the necklace around her neck. She should have taken it off by now, to keep it safe, but she was going to give herself until Halloween, at the latest, before taking it off and keeping it somewhere safe, only to be brought out for special occasions.
“Rachel was telling us she’s a Rose now,” Leroy began, glancing at his husband. “But we’re not sure what that means exactly. You’re a Rose though, too. Rachel’s Big’s, Big, if I got that correct,” he said a little uncertainly, hoping he got the relations right.
“I am. I’m Quinn’s Big and Quinn is Rachel’s Big. The head of the house is Kaylin Deveraux and she’s my Big. We make up the current Blue Rose family.” Shay smiled. “I’m not sure what she told you, but I’m sure it was very detailed.”
Rachel bit her bottom lip. She had been quite detailed about the Roses and Thornes, explaining the history and the ceremonies and tasks they’d completed. She just hadn’t been able to explain properly to them that her Big was the same girl that had accused Rachel of drugging her and Santana. Her father wasn’t entirely over that ordeal.
“That... incident, at the beginning of the school year...” Leroy began, a small frown on his face. “That involved the Roses and Thornes, didn’t it?”
Hiram kept an eye on his husband. Leroy was known to be the hot-headed one out of the two and although he had a reason to be a little apprehensive about their daughter joining the same elite group of students that had accused her of heinous acts, he could also see how important it all was to his little girl and he didn’t want to ruin it for her.
Shay sat up some, a few fingers finding Rachel’s wrist as she replied. “It involved the Roses and by default the Thornes.” She looked to Rachel and then back to her dads. “And, now that she’s a Rose you can expect that all of the Roses and the Thornes will come to her defense, God forbid anything like that ever happens again.”
Squeezing Shay’s hand in thanks, she looked across at her fathers. “I promise Dad, it won’t be like that anymore,” she pleaded with him. They’d had a great weekend together, but she knew her Dad had really been spending the time on campus checking on the other students and talking to a few faculty who had been around. Rachel and her other father had sort of always relied on Leroy to be the family protector and he’d always born a lot of the brunt from Parents groups and school boards while trying to protect Rachel and Hiram from the nasty things that had been said. Sometimes she wished she were more normal, to make it easier for him, but her parents had always loved her exactly as she was and she didn’t want to disappoint them by pretending to be someone she wasn’t. “I promise it won’t be like before,” she added softly.
“How could it be?” Shay asked. “We have to live with her, show tune singing and all. But she has such an amazing voice that I know I can’t complain.”
Shay didn’t know that Rachel had meant that things wouldn’t be like they were before Archbishop, but she appreciated the attempt at lightening the mood. “Well, if you showered when I did in the mornings, you might hear more than a show tune!” Rachel replied nudging Shay in the side.
Hiram nudged Leroy with a grin as if to point out to his husband how happy their daughter looked. Leroy squeezed Hiram’s knee in acknowledgement. “So Shay, when Rachel isn’t bugging you with Barbra’s greatest hits, what do you get up to?” he asked, satisfied for the moment that Rachel was going to be okay.
“Um, I suffer through Rachel bugging me with Wicked, West Side Story, and I know it’s still Streisand, but Don’t Rain on My Parade is on loop.” Shay smiled, leaning away as Rachel playfully swatted at her. “No, I’m kidding. I’m part of the Roses, as you know, and we have super secret activities. I run cross country in the fall. Um, I also sketch and draw and lately I’ve been studying for the SATs. I’m also in the library a lot. I like poetry and I try to read things outside of what’s assigned.”
“Super secret activities?” Rachel and Hiram asked, eyebrows raised and facial expressions matching exactly.
Shay smiled and shook her head. The Roses did have a sort of reputation for being a private group and that could set parents and new members on edge. “Really not so secret. We volunteer and have formal meetings and not so formal get togethers.”
“Oh,” Rachel said. “So no super secret activities to celebrate our sexual awakening?” She asked, her brow furrowed.
“Rachel!” Her fathers exclaimed in unison. Leroy rubbed at his eyes as he spied his daughter’s smirk. “You’re absolutely terrible, Rachel Barbra Berry,” he said with a shake of his head. “I almost feel sorry for these Roses and Thornes.” Leroy winked at Rachel, letting her know he was most definitely joking.
“What?” Rachel asked, drawing out the word, a grin on her face. “Shay knew I was joking.” Rachel thread her fingers through Shay’s and squeezed her hand. She turned to look at her fathers, Hiram with a slight blush to his cheeks. “You two shouldn’t be so concerned. I promise, if I find myself engaging in any sapphic activities, you’ll be the first I call.” Rachel frowned. “Or maybe the second. I should at least call the girl back, first.”
“It’s the least you could do,” Hiram agreed, his cheeks still red, but enjoying the playful conversation.
Leroy nudged Hiram and turned to mutter something that was loud enough for the two girls to hear. “Remind me why we’re lucky to have a daughter?”
“I resent that!” Rachel called out with a huff. “You’d have been so limited in the outfits you could dress me up in as a child and you wouldn’t have the privilege of walking me down the aisle on my wedding day.” Rachel crossed her arms and frowned at her fathers. “Not to mention, I’m the perfect child.”
Shay covered her mouth with her free hand as she laughed, amused by the openness between Rachel and her dads. “Wait wait,” She said, laughter coloring her voice. “Does anyone else find it very telling that she goes from talking about a first time to a wedding day, girl commits. Also, not to get too political, but it’s really surprising that you’d want to be given away.”
“First of all, there’s no use being in a relationship if you’re both not committed,” Rachel said looking toward her father. “Right, Dad?” Leroy nodded and hummed in agreement. “And I don’t see the process of my dads by my side as a change of ownership.”
“It will be more like us pushing her towards her groom saying ‘your turn now’,” Leroy joked, as he motioned with his hands as if he were shooing Rachel off.
“But!” Rachel quickly interrupted, only sending an exasperated look in her father’s direction in response to his dramatics, “The lucky person I choose to spend the rest of my life with, will need to understand that my career comes first.” Rachel looked at each of the room’s occupants in turn. “At least until I’m an EGOT winner and then I can start a family.”
“Or maybe you’ll get lucky and find the person that makes you want to reconsider the plans you made for yourself when you were 14.” Shay shrugged, “I mean if we’re going to talk about this, future plans and that sort of thing” she hesitated, looking around in case anyone wanted to change the subject, “Mine would be... I guess it would honestly depend on what type of museum or show I was curating. Like, if I worked at a kid’s museum I would certainly strongly encourage the young intern to not loose my children if I brought them to work. But, it might not be the best time to have a toddler running around if I’m working with portraits from the antebellum South.”
“And that is a perfect example of why I won’t be having sex until I’m twenty-five,” Rachel announced.
“I fully support you in that decision, Rachel,” Leroy quickly chimed on with a firm decisive nod. Hiram rolled his eyes, crossed his right leg over his left and met Shay’s amused gaze. “Do you see what I have to live with? I finally got rid of one of them,” he joked motioning with his head in Rachel’s direction. “Any ideas on the other?”
Shay turned her head slightly, mumbling to Rachel. “Someone is going to be really disappointed with your decision.” Shay wasn’t romantic enough to think that her brother would be that person so she had no problem teasing Rachel. When Hiram’s attention turned to her she laughed, “I don’t think I can help you with that, sir. I’m still trying to figure out how to handle the one you got rid of.”
Hiram threw his head back and laughed, his left hand slapping his knee. “If I had any words of wisdom, I’d share them with you, but I had her for fourteen years and I still haven’t figured her out.” He shook his head still chuckling at Rachel’s friend. Beside him, Leroy was smirking, but desperately trying to hide it from his daughter. He was supposed to have her side, but his husband had a point. Only time would help Shay deal with Rachel.
Rachel frowned at Shay’s words. Who would be disappointed? she asked herself. But just as she thought the question, she remembered the answer. Artie. Rachel felt a pang of guilt that she’d forgotten she had a boyfriend whom she'd just had lunch with, but they weren’t like that. Their relationship wasn’t carnal or based on sexual undertones. It felt more like good friends who sometimes kissed. Shaking her head to rid herself of her confusing thoughts, she looked at Shay. With a grin, she began to motion toward her own body. “I realize you want to get all up on this, but you have to wait eleven years,” she teased with a giggle.
“Woah woah,” Shay said, playfully serious. “I’m gonna need a date before you start propositioning anything. Plus, I know someone would not approve of me...” Through her own laughter Shay couldn’t even repeat what Rachel had said. Motioning to Rachel’s body with her free hand she leaned over, resting her head on Rachel’s shoulder as she laughed. This was why she’d wanted to meet Rachel’s dads. She’d guessed and hoped that they would be able to talk like this, open and free, with out the sort of repercussions she was used to and feared.
“You’re older. It’s your responsibility to ask for a date,” Rachel replied. “You now have eleven years to plan,” she joked, nudging Shay in the side. Rachel was so happy that this meeting had gone so well. She hadn’t really understood why Shay wanted to meet her dads, not that she minded the request. It was just that not many people cared to meet them and those that had, weren’t always the most accepting. She leaned against Shay and settled in, enjoying her parents company.