A/N: Well, you guys asked for it and well here it is! Each chapter is going to cover a milestone in Melody's life. It may not be in order, but I decided to start at the beginning for the first chapter cause well, there's no better place right? Anyways, like always I don't own anyone related to gLee but I do own Melody. Chapter 1: On Her Own Timetable
She huffed as she blew through the door to their apartment, Finn hot on her heels. He'd been following her around like a lost puppy the last few days, just wanting to make sure nothing happened to her or their little girl.
Their little girl. Rachel had to smile as she thought about the baby. They were finally getting their perfect thing after so much heartache and sadness. Could she really be blamed for wanting to just get a move on with their perfect life?
Finn followed her into the living room and watched her plop down on the supple couch. She sighed as she leaned her head back against the couch.
"You alright?" He asked carefully. He eyed her up and down and smiled a little as he watched her run her hands over her belly.
"Oh I'm fine." She groaned. "Can you get me a glass of water please?"
"Coming right up" He leaned over her and placed a soft kiss on her sweaty forehead before moving into the kitchen to get her a glass of water.
"Make it ice cold please!" She called back.
"Of course my love" He groaned inwardly. He placed his hands on the counter, allowing his shoulders to sag for a minute. He felt so incredibly tense. He had no idea waiting for her to go into labor would be like this. All the movies he'd seen the woman kind of just...woke up in a puddle of water and that was it. What was taking their baby so long? He sighed deeply and made some noise so she didn't yell at him for taking too long. He walked out into the living room with her glass of water and smiled at her when he saw here sitting there, feet raised on the coffee table in front of her and her shirt lifted to expose her large abdomen. It still caught him off guard every time he saw her, clothed or otherwise that he did that, that was his baby growing inside the woman he loved. That was his child too.
He handed her the water she grinned at him for the first time all day. He sat down beside her as she drank hurriedly from the cup. She handed it to him when she was finished.
"Thanks Finny" She smiled as she looked at him. She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
He was just about to say something to her when the phone rang from the table beside him. She glared at him as it rang a second time. Did he mention at all how fun her mood swings had been the last few weeks?
He snatched up the phone before she could burn a hole in his forehead with the way she was looking at him.
"Hello?"
"Finny! Have you guys eaten dinner yet?" It was his mother. His eye caught the clock on the wall. He hadn't realized it was that close to dinner time yet.
"No, we haven't. What's going on?" Maybe someone would be coming to them with dinner. They'd been apartment bound for the last few days, Rachel refusing to leave the confines of the building in case her water broke. Which he was beginning to think himself was never going to happen.
"Kurt has to work late tonight and Blaine has talked Burt into going to see some macho movie that I really have no interest in seeing. I was wondering if I could bring dinner to you guys?"
Finn looked over at Rachel, who had picked up her bottle of cocoa butter from the table beside her and was busily rubbing it all over her distended belly.
"Let me ask Rach..." He sighed. He moved the mouth piece away from his mouth. "Hey Rach, Mom wants to come by with dinner, is that okay?" Her head snapped up.
"What is she bringing?" He actually saw her lick her lips. He remembered when she used to do that after looking at him. Now the thought of food...
"Not sure." His mother must have heard the exchange because he heard her saying she would pick up whatever Rachel felt like eating. "She says she'll get whatever you want." He watched her ponder for a moment.
"I'd really love a nice grilled chicken sub from that deli down the street from Kurt's. With mustard and pickles." At least it wasn't something disgusting. Memories of salsa and carrots made him shudder. Maybe that was a sign there was going to be an end to this madness soon?
He relayed the message to his mother, along with his own order of a roast beef sub with mayonnaise. When he hung up the phone he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his lap. She whimpered as she collapsed against his chest. He really wasn't comfortable like this, but the sigh she emitted when she settled against him made it worthwhile.
"Mom said she was leaving the apartment now and would be here as quickly as she could." She nodded against his chest, turning as well as she could to bury her face in his chest.
"I'm sorry I'm such a raging lunatic" She whispered, clutching his t-shirt in her hand. He chuckled a little bit as his hand ran up and down her back.
"You're not a raging lunatic. A little neurotic, yes. But you're virtually a week over due with our precious baby girl. If I was in your position I'd be just as unhappy too"
They went to bed shortly after his mother left that night, with the promise that she would call to check on them tomorrow before she went shopping with Leroy and Hiram. He watched from his spot on the bed as she went through her pajama drawer trying to find a pair of pajamas. She ended up settling for an old football t-shirt of his and a pair of the shortest shorts he'd ever seen her. He swore they were from her high school days. She collapsed into the bed beside him and immediately turned away from him cuddling with her pregnancy pillow. It was the only comfortable position for her, and had been for the last two weeks. He immediately slid down and spooned behind her, his large hand coming to rest on her belly. The baby inside her kicked, his hand a welcomed pressure.
"I love you" He whispered against her cheek.
"I love you too" She sighed, closing her eyes as she sunk into his embrace.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier" He kissed her cheek. "I didn't mean to sound so insensitive, when you said you were hot..."
She opened his eyes to look at him and gave him a small smile before reaching up to pat his cheek.
"I know. It's over. It's okay" She sighed.
They did nothing the next day. Nothing. And it didn't really bother Finn at all. He helped her fold the rest of the baby's clothes that she had washed the day before. He vacuumed the nursery, again even though he had done it yesterday. All the while she lay on the couch or wandered around the apartment clutching the small of her back. He had to say she looked cute, because her shirt and shorts didn't quite meet and her belly poked out in the gap.
"I'm so hot Finn" Rachel whined from where she was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He turned to look at her, from where he was making a bowl of ice cream for the two of them. She waved her hands in front of her face as if it would magically make her cooler.
"I know baby" was all he said. She walked into the kitchen and sat down on the stool at the breakfast bar, watching him. He handed her the bowl of chocolate ice cream wordlessly before sitting down beside her and eating his own bowl of ice cream.
"Thanks" She said with a mouthful of melting ice cream.
"Anything for my baby mama" He grinned. They were quiet as they ate, the silence enveloping both of them. Samantha reached back and rubbed the small of her back just as she finished licking the last little bit of ice cream off her spoon.
"You alright?" He asked as he stood up, taking the empty bowl from her.
"Yeah, just a little back pain. It's kind of been happening all day..."
"Babe..." Finn exasperated.
"It's fine. It's nothing. Probably going to be another week..." She shrugged. He sighed.
But four hours later, the pain was becoming more intense.
"How about a bath?" He asked softly as they lay on the bed. He continuously rubbed her back in the area she said hurt. She sighed softly and nodded. There didn't seem to be a better idea, the bath seemed amazing.
"That sounds fantastic..." She whispered. He smiled and got off the bed to go and get it set up. While he was away, Rachel stood up from the bed and almost doubled over when a strong pain ripped through her body. She gasped, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
"Finn!" She called. He poked his head in the bedroom and ran to her when he saw her hunched over.
"Contraction?" He asked softly, his arms coming around her waist to help her stand up.
"Contraction" She sighed, leaning against him.
"Okay, it's okay." He whispered against her head, kissing it over and over. "Let's go, we're gonna go to the hospital..." She nodded against his chest. When he pulled away from her she grabbed for his hand and clutched it hard as another contraction came over her.
He grabbed her bag and led her out of the bedroom and through the apartment only stopping at the front door.
"Finn wait..." She pulled his hand back getting him to stop and turn around, looking at her.
"What is it?"
"I need to change, I can't go out like this." She laughed a little, biting her lip. Finn laughed as he looked at her. He kissed her forehead and left her in the entryway sprinting for their bedroom. He came back a moment later with a t-shirt. He helped her strip off her tank top, taking one last look at her pregnant body before slipping the t-shirt over her head. He kissed her forehead.
"Let's go have a baby" He grinned as he opened the front door and led her out again once more. She was so ready for this.
She'd thought she was ready for this.
It had been 10 hours and the pain was excruciating. It radiated from the tips of her toes to her hairline and ignited every nerve in between. And if Finn told her one more time that it was going to be okay she was honestly going to find a lighter and some gas and light him on fire. She wasn't okay, it wasn't going to be okay until her body decided she'd been dealing with this long enough to just shoot their daughter out. She'd thought being a week overdue would work in her favour in terms of labour, but apparently she'd been wrong. Very wrong. She arched her back as she laid on the bed, fighting off another wave of an intense contractions. But this one was more intense then the rest.
"Finn" She huffed, grabbing his hand tightly. "Finn. I think." She felt a lot of pressure in her lower region, as if the baby was bearing down on her opening. "I think you need to call the nurse..." She panted. She squeezed her eyes closed as the contraction continued. Finn scrambled to his feet and pressed the call button over and over. A nurse was with them in moments, Dr. Wilson following behind them snapping gloves on.
"I neeeeeeeeeeeeed to push" She cried out as she arched up on the bed. Dr. Wilson was over in moments. Rachel dropped her body down onto the bed as Dr. Wilson slid between her legs. Rachel screamed as she felt Dr. Wilson come near her.
"Rachel, I need you to calm down so I can check you..."
"I don't need you to check me I need to push!" She cried. "She's right there, I can feel it..." Finn crossed his body off hers, taking her face in his hands.
"Baby, I know you're in pain and I know you want to just get this over with but you need to calm down...breathe baby. Breathe..." He imitated, and got her to follow his breathing.
"Okay Rachel, you're at 10" Dr. Wilson interrupted from between her legs. "I need you to pull your legs back, okay? Dad's going to hold one and Sarah here will grab the other. On the next contraction, I need you to bear down and push..."
Finn let her go and grabbed her hand in his left hand, bracing her right leg with his other hand. He leaned over and kissed her head just before another contraction started.
"You can do this, I love you so much" He whispered against her already sweaty forehead. She opened her eyes enough to look at him, tears pricking the corners before squeezing them closed again and taking a deep breath.
It was the most intense pain she had ever felt in her entire life. She couldn't imagine doing this without an epidural. She fell back against the bed when she couldn't hold her breath any longer.
"That was good Rachel, go again when you're ready"
She groaned as she sucked in another breath, bearing down as a scream ripped from her lips. Everything burned, everything hurt. It felt like her entire body was being ripped in half.
After her third push, she collapsed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't do this" She cried.
"Yes you can Rachel" Dr. Wilson stated from between her legs. "You can, go again. She's almost here."
She cried as she squeezed Finn's hand tightly. She pushed again and again, over and over until she felt something give. The burning intensified.
"Hold up a second Rachel. Her head is out, we need to clean out her nose and mouth..." Dr. Wilson paused. Finn leaned over and looked around the sheet between her legs. She sobbed on the bed from the pain of not being able to do anything while he felt like he was going to vomit. He looked back at her and bit his lip, pressing his face to hers.
"I love you so much"
"Okay Rachel, one more push and it'll be over..." She lifted her body up and bore down harder than she'd been doing all night.
And it was over. The pain ended and she felt empty. She collapsed against the bed and burst into tears as her daughter did the same. Dr. Wilson held the small infant up over the sheet so both Finn and Rachel could see her. She was screaming bloody murder.
"Here she is!" Finn moved around to cut the cord so that the baby could be given to Rachel. The second he did so the nurse clamped it and brought the squirming, blood covered infant closer to Rachel and placed her on her chest. He felt the tears come to his eyes as Rachel placed a hand down on the baby's back.
"Hi baby. You're finally here" Rachel cried. Finn crowded at the side of her bed, just looking at the baby. A nurse went to take her from them after a moment.
Finn went to protest when he saw Rachel's lip tremble.
"We're just going to clean her up and do the standard newborn tests. She'll be back in no time"
True to her word, they brought the baby back not even 20 minutes later. Finn had slid onto the bed with Rachel after she was cleaned up herself and he felt his heart race as the baby was placed in Rachel's arms.
"Oh hi baby" Rachel whispered as she held the tiny girl in her arms. She moved the blanket a little bit to see the baby's face.
"6 pounds 1 oz. A tiny little things with enormous lungs" The nurse laughed.
"Sounds like Mommy" Finn laughed. He kissed Rachel's head and lowered his face a little to look at the baby.
The nurse chuckled. "I'll be back in a little while to help you feed her." She smiled. "Congratulations"
"Thank you" They said together before turning their attention back to their baby girl. She yawned dramatically. Finn chuckled as he touched her nose.
"She's so gorgeous." Rachel whispered, looking from the baby to Finn and back again.
"Just like her Mama" He smiled. The baby yawned again before opening her eyes and blinking several times. "Oh, I'm sorry did we wake you?" He cooed as he looked at her. The baby blinked several times over, looking in the direction of Finn. "Look at those gorgeous eyes. You got your Mama's eyes" He smiled. Rachel looked down at the baby girl and then at her husband.
"She's pretty perfect huh?" She sniffled.
"The best." She smiled. "So, Melody?" She asked after a quiet moment. "Or Harmony?" Finn looked down at the baby girl.
"Melody." He said with certainty after a few minutes. "Melody Faith Hudson"
Rachel nodded and brought the baby up to kiss her forehead. "Welcome to the World Miss Melody, we've been waiting a long time for you"
Finn felt the tears fall down his cheeks. Rachel looked up at him and kissed him softly.
"Happy?" He whispered as he held them both close.
"So happy" Rachel whispered turning her attention back to the baby. "So incredibly happy."