AN: FOX owns Glee and all character I've used from the show. MCA and Reba McEntire own "The Greatest Man I Never Knew". I own only my own original characters and the plot bunny for this piece of fanfiction.
On a rainy, early winter night in Lima, Ohio, Kurt Hummel was working on his history homework when he heard a knock on the front door. He walked upstairs as his father opened the door, revealing his cousin, Alexandria Connors. Alexandria was the daughter of his late mother's sister.
"Come in, Alex," Burt Hummel told the girl, "What's going on?"
"Ray kicked me out. This was the first place I could think of," she answered, "Can I stay with you, Uncle Burt?" Ray was Alexandria's stepfather.
"Sure, kiddo. Let me just call your mom and let her know you're safe. Kurt, why don't you show your cousin downstairs."
"Sure, Dad. Come on, Alex," Kurt said.
Burt dialed the number of his late wife's sister, Susan, who answered on the second ring.
"Susan, it's Burt. Alexandria showed up at my house, saying Ray kicked her out."
"So, she's safe there?" Susan asked, "Ray did kick her out because she's pregnant and said that Tommy raped her. I believe her, Burt, but Ray refuses to hear bad about his son."
"She's safe here, Susan. She can stay as long as she needs to. I'm buying a new house since I'm getting married to a woman that has a son Kurt and Alexandria's age," Burt told her.
"I'll bring her things tomorrow along with papers giving you and what's your fiancee's name?"
"Carole."
"Carole, then, custody of Alexandria. Honestly, Burt, she'll be happier living with you and Kurt. She's gone to all his performances with his glee club. Her school doesn't have a glee club and she loves to sing."
"Okay, Susan, I'll enroll her at McKinley. Good night."
"Good night, Burt."
Burt hung up the phone, took a deep breath and called his fiancee, Carole.
"Hey, Burt. What's up?"
"Elizabeth's sister, Susan's daughter, Alexandria is having some issues and her stepfather kicked her out, so she's gonna be living here."
"What kind of issues?"
"She was raped by her stepbrother and is pregnant with his child. Her mother believes her, but the stepfather doesn't, so he kicked her out. Her mother is bringing her the rest of her things and signing custody over to you and me."
"Oh, poor girl, of course she should stay with us. I'll take her to Dr. Chin the OB/GYN."
"Thank you, Carole. I have to go talk to her and Kurt."
"I'll talk to Finn."
Burt said goodbye to Carole and went down to the basement. He saw Alexandria sitting on Kurt's bed and Kurt had his arm around his cousin as she cried.
"Hey, Alex, I talked to your mom. You can stay here with us. I do have a question. How far along are you?"
"About 6-7 weeks. I'm due in July."
"Do you have a car?"
"I have a Blazer. That's how I got here. I threw some clothes into duffels, grabbed some other stuff and left."
"I'm gonna enroll you at McKinley. Carole, my fiancee will take you to the doctor. Your mom says you like to sing?"
"Dad, I've already planned to introduce her to Mr. Shue," Kurt told his father.
"Where do want me to sleep, Uncle Burt?"
"You're sleeping down here," Kurt told her, "I'll pull the hide-a-bed out and you can sleep in my bed."
"I'll go get my bags," Alexandria said. She went upstairs to her green Blazer and grabbed her teal and purple backpack, and her blue and purple duffel bags. When she got back downstairs, Kurt had pulled out his hide-a-bed sofa. He grabbed the duffels from her and set him by his bed. Then he hugged her.
"Everything will be fine. I'll be there for you."
"That's why you're my favorite cousin." She rifled through her bags and pulled out her cat pajama pants and oversized cat t-shirt and her skincare bag.
"I'm gonna put on my pajamas and do my skincare routine."
"What is your routine? You've got great skin," Kurt asked.
"I wash with Neutrogena, then I apply a moisturizer," Alexandria told him.
"Interesting," Kurt said. Alexandria went to get ready for bed. She put her pajamas on, washed her face, applied her moisturizer and brushed and braided her hair. She stopped in the living room to say goodnight to her uncle.
"I'm going to bed, Uncle Burt."
"Good night. Tomorrow morning, we'll go talk to Mr. Figgins, the principal at McKinley."
"I'll give Kurt a ride home tomorrow after glee."
"Okay."
Alexandria went back down to the basement. Kurt was already in the hide-a-bed. She climbed into bed.
"I'll give you a ride tomorrow. Good night, Kurt."
"Night, Alex. I'm picking your outfit tomorrow."
"Sure. Kurt," Alexandria said. She turned off the lamp and fell asleep quickly.
Kurt's alarm woke her at 5:30am. Alexandria groaned and sat up.
"Any chance of getting coffee before school?" she asked.
"We can stop at the Lima Bean for a latte," Kurt said with a chuckle. He had forgotten about his cousin's coffee addiction, "Wait, are you supposed to drink coffee?"
"A little caffeine isn't going to hurt. I can have, like, 250mg a day."
Kurt dug through Alexandria's bags and found a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a cream and gold sleeveless tunic and her chocolate brown knee high boots. He found her brown leather jacket. He handed the clothes to her.
"Wear this with your hair down, lightly curled and neutral makeup," Kurt told her.
Alexandria got ready for school, went in the kitchen and grabbed a bagel and cream cheese.
"Dad, Alex and I will meet you at school. I'm gonna take her to the Lima Bean."
"Okay, drive safely."
Kurt and Alexandria grabbed their schoolbags and Alexandria grabbed her baby blue Kathy Van Zeeland purse. They went to her Blazer and Kurt directed her to the coffee shop. Kurt ordered a nonfat mocha and Alexandria ordered a white chocolate mocha. After they got their coffees, Kurt directed her to McKinley High School. They parked and Kurt showed her to Principal Figgins office where Burt was waiting. She registered for classes and headed for Mr. Schuester's Spanish class.
The day flew by quickly. After her last class, Kurt showed her to the choir room.
"Mr. Shue, this is my cousin, Alexandria," Kurt said, "She wants to join Glee."
"Welcome, Alexandria. What would you like to sing for us?" Mr. Schuester asked.
"First off, it's Alex. Second, I'm singing Reba McEntire's 'The Greatest Man I Never Knew'."
She took a deep breath as the band started her selection.
"The greatest man I never knew
Lived just down the hall
And everyday we said hello
But never touched at all
He was in his paper
I was in my room
How was I to know he thought I hung the moon
The greatest man I never knew
Came home late every night
He never had too much to say
Too much was on his mind
I never really knew him
And now it seems so sad
Everything he gave to us took all he had
Then the days turned into years
And the memories to black and white
He grew cold like an old winter wind
Blowing across my life
The greatest words I never heard
I guess I'll never hear
The man I thought would never die
Has been dead almost a year
He was good at business
But there was business left to do
He never said he loved me
Guess he thought I knew,"
When she finished, everyone started clapping. Mr Schuester told her to go take a seat. She sat between Kurt and a friendly black girl named, Mercedes.
The next four weeks flew by. Alexandria stood while her uncle married the mother of her fellow glee-clubber, Finn Hudson. She helped move into the four bedroom house her uncle had bought for them all. She got upset when Kurt informed the club that due to severe bullying, he was transferring to Dalton Academy, but realized that she would still see him after school and on weekends and that he would be safer. Finn took the role of Alexandria's big brother. One day after lunch period, Alexandria was switching books from her locker when a voice caught her attention.
"You need to shut your mouth about me," came the voice of her stepbrother, Tommy. He grabbed her and shoved her into her locker.
"Leave me alone, Tommy. You and I both know what you did to me."
He grabbed her and kneed her and punched her in the stomach. Finn and Glee club members, Noah Puckerman, Sam Evans and Mike Chang came around the corner as Tommy hit her. Finn ran up and pulled Tommy away from her, while Sam, Puck and Mike stood between her and Tommy.
"Touch my sister again and I'll bury you!" Finn shouted, "Alex, who the hell is this?"
"Finn, this is Tommy," she said straightening up.
"As in..." Puck began. He had heard the story.
"Yeah."
Shannon Beiste, the PE teacher and football coach came up, "What's the problem here, Finn?" She asked.
"He punched Alex in the stomach!" Finn yelled.
"Is this true, Alex?" Coach Beiste asked.
Alexandria nodded. Coach Beiste grabbed Tommy by the jacket and hauled him to Principal Figgins office.
"Alex, you should go to the nurse," Finn said.
"Finn, I'm fine. I've got to get to Lit," Alex said, picking up her backpack and walking away. She stopped by the girls' room to fix her makeup. She ignored the twinge in her abdomen as she went to class. She made it through her last three classes, the twinge getting harder to ignore. After the last bell, she made her way to the choir room. She sat in front near Artie Abrams.
"Are you okay, Alex? You look a little pale," said Artie.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Alexandria said. Mr Shue began his lesson on love songs. Alexandria raised her hand.
"Mr. Shue, something's wrong," she said just before she collapsed on the floor. Finn ran to her side as Rachel Berry called 911.
"Quinn, call my mom, Puck call Burt, Mercedes call Kurt, tell them I'm riding in the ambulance with her and to meet us at the hospital."
The paramedics came and loaded her on a stretcher. They wheeled her out to the ambulance. Finn climbed in.
"Her name is Alexandria Connors. She's 17 years old and she's 11 weeks pregnant," Finn told the paramedics.
"What is your relationship to her?"
"I'm her brother," he said.
"What happened today?"
"After fifth period, I was going to history class with three friends and we saw the baby's father hit her in the stomach. I pulled him away from her and told the football coach and she hauled him off to the principal's office. I told her to go to the nurse. She said she was fine and had to get to Lit. She passed out during glee club."
When they got to the hospital, they wheeled her in and directed Finn to the waiting room. Kurt and another boy came running down the hall.
"My god, Finn, what happened?" Kurt said.
"That idiot, Tommy, showed up at school today. He hit her. I pulled him off her and Coach Beiste hauled him off to Figgins' office. She collapsed during Glee."
"The baby?"
"I don't know."
Kurt introduced Finn to Blaine Anderson as Burt and Carole came running up. Finn repeated what he told Kurt. A few minutes later, a doctor came out.
"Family for Alexandria?"
Burt, Carole, Finn and Kurt walked up to him.
"Alexandria suffered a miscarriage. We had to give her fluids. She's a little anemic so she'll need a meal high in iron and to take iron supplements for a week."
"Will she still be able to have children?" Carole asked.
"Yes, she's awake. I want to get a blood pressure in about half an hour. If the systolic is over 100, she can go home and resume normal activities after a weekend's rest. You can go in and see her."
"Does she know about the miscarriage?" Burt asked.
"Yes, she does," the doctor assured him.
The family went into see her as Blaine stood by the door. Alexandria smiled weakly at them.
"Uncle Burt, Aunt Carole, I've been thinking about this for a long time. I want you two to be my parents. I already consider Kurt and Finn to be my brothers. Finn proved he thinks of me as a sister today," Alexandria said.
"I've always wanted a daughter," Carole said.
"I'll get my lawyer to get started on the paperwork on Monday," Burt said.
"You're right, Alex. You are already my sister," Finn said. Kurt nodded his agreement.
"The doctor wants you to eat an iron rich meal and take iron supplements for a week and rest this weekend," Carole told her. Alexandria nodded. She noticed Blaine standing by the door, dressed in his Dalton uniform.
"Who's your friend, Kurt?" she asked.
"Oh," Kurt said, motioning for Blaine to come closer, "Dad, Carole, Alex, this is my friend, Blaine Anderson. We're on the Warblers together."
"I don't want to intrude on family business. I drove Kurt here when he got the call that his sister had collapsed," Blaine said.
"It's okay, Blaine. You're Kurt's friend. I'm glad he had you," Alexandria told the dark haired boy, with a smile.
A nurse came in the room to check her blood pressure, "110/72. That's good. I'll tell Dr. Lewis and he'll get discharge paperwork together."
"What do you want for dinner, Alex?" Burt asked.
"Well, I have to eat something iron rich so a steak and salad made with baby spinach would be awesome."
"Sounds like Old Country Buffet," Burt said, "Blaine, you're welcome to join us."
"Oh please do, Blaine," Alexandria said.
"Well, I guess I can't refuse," Blaine said. The nurse brought in her discharge paperwork, which Burt signed. She handed him a stack of instruction papers. Everyone cleared the room to allow Alexandria to get dressed. She walked back out and saw Mercedes with them, holding her purse and backpack.
"Hey, girl. I thought you might need these. Are you okay?" Mercedes asked.
"I'll be okay. I miscarried, but everything will be fine."
Mercedes was invited to join them for dinner and accepted. They went to the restaurant and ate dinner. Mercedes and Blaine went home and Finn and Kurt made sure Alexandria rested over the weekend. They played cards and watched movies and talked. At the end of the movie Dirty Dancing, Alexandria turned to Finn, "I think you and Rachel would have done a better job with this song. Don't get me wrong, Sam and Quinn did a great job, but they don't have the chemistry that you and Rachel did."
"You know what she did, Alex. She kissed Puck," Finn said.
"And you lied to her about having slept with another girl. And she felt terrible for having kissed him, giving what happened between him and Quinn."
"How do you know?"
"Because unlike almost everyone else in Glee club, I actually talk to Rachel. Yes, sometimes, she annoys me to the point I want to slap the crap out of her, but she's damn talented and she's really smart. And she's completely in love with you," Alexandria told Finn.
Carole came in the den to tell the kids that it was getting late. They all went into their rooms. Finn thought about what Alexandria had told him about Rachel being in love with him.
Monday morning, Alexandria showered, put on a purple sundress with a denim jacket and her black cowboy boots. She pulled her dark chestnut hair back into a messy pony and did her makeup using a purple eyeliner to make her chocolate brown eyes pop.
After she dressed and got ready, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal. As she ate, Kurt came out in his Dalton uniform and hugged her.
"You look amazing! Where did you get those boots?"
"I got them at the mall when I had that last shopping trip with Mercedes and Tina, right before my birthday. I got the dress that trip, too. I thought the dress would be comfortable in a month or too when I was only showing a little," Alexandria answered sipping her coffee. She checked her watch and yelled up the stairs, "Come on, Finn! If you don't hurry up, we're gonna be late! We still have to drop Kurt off at Dalton!" She put a couple Pop Tarts in the toaster and poured coffee, cream and sugar into three travel mugs.
"Was he even awake yet?" She asked Kurt.
"Yes, I'm awake and ready to go," Finn said coming downstairs. Alexandria handed him a coffee cup and the Pop Tarts.
"Thanks, sis," he said, taking a bite. Alexandria checked the back door and grabbed her keys from the hook on the wall. She handed them to Finn, "You drive today." The trio left the house with their school bags, Kurt locking the front door behind them. They piled into Alexandria's Blazer, with Finn in the driver's seat, Alexandria in the front seat and Kurt behind her. They dropped Kurt off at Dalton Academy and Alexandria waved at Blaine, who waved back. Finn drove toward McKinley.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to going to school today, Alex?"
"I'm feeling fine, Finn," she answered.
"If you start feeling weak or dizzy, go to the nurse."
"Yes, big brother," she said with a smile. He parked the Blazer and they went into the school. Alexandria went to Mr. Schuester's office. She knocked on the door and stuck her head around.
"Hey, Mr. Shue. Just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened on Friday," she said.
"Come in and sit down, Alex," Mr. Schuester said, "I know what happened on Friday wasn't your fault. Coach Beiste told me what happened. How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling great, physically. Emotionally, I feel a little sad. I already have a song I want to sing in Glee club today," Alexandria said, "When I found out I was pregnant, I knew in my heart that I was having a little girl, so I want to sing 'In My Daughter's Eyes' by Martina McBride."
"Okay, Alex. I'm glad your feeling better," Mr. Schuester said. Alexandria left his office and went to class. She sang her song in Glee and listened as Mr. Schuester told them about the theme for Regionals being "Anthems". Puck kept looking over at her. After Glee club was over, she went to her locker. Puck came up as she was getting the books she needed for her homework.
"So Saturday, I want to take you out on a date," Puck told her.
"Really, you do realize that there would be absolutely no sex, right?" Alexandria asked, "As you well know, I'm recovering from a miscarriage."
"I know. Nothing will happen unless you want it to happen. Finn's my boy and would kill me if I messed with you. I just want to get to know you better, without anyone else around," Puck responded.
Alexandria looked at him, "You're serious aren't you?"
"Yes, I promise to behave. I think you're pretty, you can sing and you can dance. Plus, you're smart. Please, Alex, go out with me."
"Okay, Puck, I will go out with you on Saturday," Alex said, "Now I have to get to the parking lot, before Finn drives off in my car."
"I'll walk you."
Puck and Alexandria walked out to her car where Finn was waiting impatiently.
"What gives, Alex, you're usually out here first," he asked.
"I had to go to my locker."
"Saturday," Puck said, "I'll pick you up at 7:00pm."
"7:00pm it is, Puck," she said, getting into her car and putting on her seat belt.
"What was that about?" Finn asked, pulling out of the parking lot. Kurt was getting a ride home from, Blaine, so he drove back to their house.
"Puck asked me out for Saturday night," she said.
"I didn't realize that Puck liked you," Finn said, "Be careful, Alex, you know what he did to Quinn."
"I'll be careful, Finn. Believe me I don't intend to get pregnant again so soon after miscarrying. All the books caution against it."
They arrived home and went upstairs to do their homework. After she finished, Alexandria began dinner. She decided on seafood pasta with salad and bread, so she started chopping garlic, onions and red and green peppers. Kurt came home and went to change. She heated up a big skillet with a little butter and dropped the vegetables in and gave them a stir. Then, she started water for pasta. She pulled cream, shrimp and crab out of the fridge. Out of the pantry, she grabbed flour and pasta and bread. She added three tablespoons of butter and flour and let it cook, then added cream. After it was thickened, she added the crab and shrimp. When the water boiled, she put in the pasta and salt. Then put the bread in the oven and made a quick salad. Dinner was ready by the time Carole and Burt came home. She placed dinner on the table and called Finn and Kurt down. Carole smiled as the boys took their seats.
"Thank you, Alex," she said. "It's nice to have a break from cooking occasionally."
"You're welcome, Aunt Carole. I like to cook."
Burt came in and washed his hands. He came and sat in his seat at the table. They served themselves food and Burt cleared his throat, "My lawyer filed the paperwork for us to legally adopt Alex. We have a hearing in three weeks. My lawyer also thought that I could adopt Finn and Carole could adopt Kurt and we could all be Hudson-Hummels."
Finn and Kurt agreed. They all considered that it was the best for everyone.
"Since Alex cooked, one of you boys will clean the kitchen," Burt said. Finn offered since his homework was done. Kurt volunteered to clear the table. After she finished eating, Alexandria went upstairs to read. Her cellphone rang. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Puck. She answered it.
"Hey, Puck," she said, "What's up?"
"Can you help me with the history homework?"
"I can't believe you're asking for homework help," she said, pulling out her history notebook, "What's the problem?"
"Actually, I'm done, I just called to talk to you."
"Okay, you know you can just be honest and tell me that you want to talk instead of pretending to need homework help."
"Will you sing with me?"
"What were you thinking?"
"Richard Marx and Donna Lewis?"
"You mean 'At The Beginning'? I love that song," Alexandria answered.
"So what did Finn say when you told him you were going on a date with me?"
"He said to be careful because of what happened between you and Quinn. Puck, I trust that you aren't going to push me too far too fast."
"You're one of the only girls that I have ever heard say that."
"I saw the wheels tuning in your mind and the anger in your eyes when Tommy showed up at school," Alexandria said.
"I like you, Alex," he said, "I hated him for hurting you, for daring to put his hands on you after what he had done to you. He was the reason you were pregnant, the reason you regarded me with suspicion. You mostly sat by Mercedes, or Kurt or Artie and you were nice to me but never as warm as you were with them."
"Puck, your attitude reminded me of Tommy. The handsome jock that can have any girl he wants. Except Tommy couldn't have me so he forced me."
"I'm happy you got out of there. If you hadn't or if you hadn't gone to Kurt's house, we wouldn't have met and you wouldn't have joined New Directions. You are an amazing singer, as good as Mercedes or Rachel."
"I've always loved singing, I hated that my old school didn't have a glee club. You know, I went to all the New Directions' performances. I still think you guys got shafted at last year's Regional's."
"Good night, Alex. I'll meet you at your locker in the morning. I'll have coffee."
"Good night, Noah. I'll see you in the morning."
They hung up and Alexandria went to bed, wondering if Puck was really interested or just looking to sleep with her.