Hello glee fandom!
So, how is it going? I'm super happy with the last episode, my Samchel heart is definitely happy.
This is a little Samchel one-shot I started to write before last episode and I just managed to finish it! It doesn't contain any spoilers, it's just how I imagine things would be like. (I ship Klaine too, so they do make a few appearances).
Warning: contains miscarriage
Disclaimer: I do not own FOX's and RIB's characters.
A/N: English is not my first language and this story was not beta'd. Forgive my grammatical horr-erm, errors.
Rachel Berry knew what she wanted from life. Broadway, fame, her tv-show long forgotten behind her back, and New York.
What she didn't know she wanted was Sam Evans being part of all of that. They dated for a while, both thinking things wouldn't go further than a few cuddles and kisses, but suddenly they ended up in Sam's small apartment, in his living room, telling each other - the neighbours would've sworn they were yelling - how much they cared for each other, and the first "I love you's" came just a week after.
So when Rachel got a callback for her audition, she suddenly realised where she stood. Broadway on a side, Sam on the other. Because she knew he was happy in Lima and he knew she belonged to New York, so both of them ignored the knot in their stomachs and Rachel left for her new audition, and just two weeks later, she got the role.
xxx
Being apart was hard, none of them liked it but neither wanted to break up. They were honest when they said they loved each other, and they wanted to try to keep together what they had. Sam promised to visit her as much as he could, and Rachel tried to call him almost every night but as the rehearsals of her show started, the phone calls dropped drastically and Sam was left alone, on his bed, staring at his phone he knew wouldn't ring up. That's when he decided to do something with his life.
"I need your help" he said, approaching Coach Beiste. He lifted his eyes from the papers he was reading and gave Sam a funny look.
"With what?" he asked.
"I need to find a job. In New York".
Beiste smiled and took a folder full of papers from his desk.
"I was wondering when you were going to ask" he said, handing Sam the folder. "Here's some jobs you might like".
Sam, quite shocked, took the folder.
"How did you know I wanted to leave? I didn't know it myself until last night!".
"I know you, kid, and I know where your heart belongs".
Sam smiled hearing those words. He played with the folder, his gaze lost, a big smile still on his face.
"Besides, anyone in this school could understand what's on your mind. You've been going around with such a sad face!"
Sam thanked him and ran home. He had some work to do.
Rachel was exhausted, her body was begging her to take a break from every kind of physical or mental exercise. She dropped her bag in the middle of her new apartment - smaller than the loft but it was good enough for her - and then dropped herself on the bed. Something deep inside told her that she had to take the phone and call Sam. It's been a week since she had last heard of him. And then it hit her. A week. A week. They couldn't go on like that. She shook her head and walked towards her bathroom. She would call him after a long and well-deserved bath.
An hour later she was in her pyjama, on her bed, phone in her hand. She was kind of scared to call him. What if he was mad? What if he was already moving on but couldn't find a way to tell her? The last time they talked he sounded kind of sad – or annoyed. She never figured out which one. Once again, she shook her head and called her boyfriend.
"Hello beautiful" he answered. Rachel smiled. He wasn't mad. And it sounded like he wasn't moving on, either.
"Hi. How are you doing?".
"I'm fine. How about you? Rough week?".
"God, I'm so sorry for not calling you, rehearsals are exhausting".
"Don't worry babe, I can only imagine what it's like to be on a Broadway show!".
She laughed, feeling the need to hug him.
"Did you receive my gift?" he asked right away.
"What gift?".
"Something special...".
"The mailman probably left it outside my door, I didn't even check when I came in! Hold on".
She ran to open the door and she almost dropped her phone when she saw Sam Evans on her doorstep with flowers in his hands.
"Surprise!".
Rachel stood there, not sure what to say, for a few minutes.
"Aren't you going to let me in?" he asked after a while. She moved apart and as soon as the door closed behind Sam's back, she jumped on him, not wanting to let go.
"What are you doing here?!" she asked.
"I missed you. And I knew you were busy with your rehearsals, so I figured out, if Rachel Berry will not come to Sam Evans...".
"...Sam Evans must go to Rachel Berry".
She planted a huge and deep kiss on his lips, a kiss that both had missed.
"How long are you going to stay?" she asked when they finally broke apart for air.
"I was thinking for like...forever?" he replied. Rachel blinked, confused. Very confused.
"What..?".
"I got a job here in New York. Beiste helped me find one. I'm starting in a week!".
Rachel stepped away from his arms and now he was the one confused.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I love you" he replied.
"I know but...why? You hate New York!".
"I'll admit it's not my favourite city in the world, but my favourite girl in the world lives here, in New York. Some people belong to cities, other people belong to people. I belong with you".
Rachel wrapped her arms around her boyfriend again and pressed her forehead against his.
"But I belong with you, too".
"Well, some people belong to cities and people".
With a laugh in their hearts, their lips found each other again and soon their clothes were on the floor. Rachel's body had forgotten all the tiredness she had.
xxx
She expected things to get complicated at some point and to eventually and definitely break up. Rachel asked Sam to go and live with her and even if it seemed a bit early to live together, they managed it quite well. Rachel had often rehearsals and as soon as Sam got really involved in his new job, he was almost never home, so they didn't feel like it was too early.
Rachel was always careful, though, waiting for something to break. But months went by, they were happy, their fights always ended up with both of them on the couch, cuddling and laughing. So when almost four years later Rachel found herself staring at a stick with a positive sign on it, she was definitely not expecting it.
They weren't married (yet – she hoped). They had moved into a bigger house just last year and they were really not thinking of breaking up but neither of them talked about starting a family with the other. So when Sam came home that night, Rachel was quite nervous to break the news to him.
"You okay, honey?" Sam asked as Rachel started to clear the table. She was shaking and so were the plates in her hands. "You're kind of shaky".
"Okay, I can't hold this anymore" she said, dropping the plates on the table and taking his hand. She led him into their living room, sat him down and took a few long deep breaths.
When she didn't speak, Sam got worried.
"Rachel, is everything okay? Your silence is freaking me out" he said. "Is it because of the light bill? It's on my to-do list, I was planning to do it tomorrow actually so everything's sorted, you don't have to worry-".
"I'm pregnant".
The bomb was thrown and Rachel closed her eyes, waiting for the sound of the door being closed. She listened and listened and when she opened her eyes, Sam was still there. Smiling.
"Why are you smiling?" she asked. He kissed her on the lips.
"Why? Because you're pregnant!" he said.
"You're happy?".
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?".
"Because we never talked about having a baby".
"That doesn't mean I don't want to start a family with you, because believe me, I do".
Rachel smiled and Sam took her in his arms, rocking her.
"Oh my God" she said after a while. "I'm pregnant".
Sam wanted to tell the world, Rachel wanted to wait and told just their parents and obviously Kurt and Blaine. They were extremely excited and since they already had a little two-year old daughter, they spent an entire dinner talking about what to expect. Rachel's heart skipped a beat when Sam started to play with little Tracey and thought that she couldn't wait to see him with their own kid.
When Rachel was ten weeks along, Sam came home with a shirt for the baby.
"Sam! We said we wouldn't buy clothes until at least the thirteenth week!" she protested.
"I know but look at this" he said and showed her the shirt. It was a light green shirt with "BEST DAD IN THE WORLD" written on it, and with an arrow that was pointing to the top.
"Oh, Sam" she said, kissing him. "You surely will".
What she didn't expect was to wake up one week later with cramps. It was a Sunday morning, both were home, and Rachel just thought about calling the doctor to ask what it was but when she saw a few drops of blood on the bed, she freaked out and shook Sam awake.
"Sam! Sam, wake up!" she almost yelled.
"What...what happened, what's wrong?" he asked. His sleepy face suddenly became worried when he saw Rachel crying. "What's wrong?".
"I...I think s-something's wrong...wi-with the baby" Rachel managed to say. Within ten minutes, they were already on their way to the hospital.
When the doctor came in, after the doctor checked her up, their world crashed down. He explained that miscarriages were more frequent than people thought, and most of them happened around the first 12 weeks, and that's when Rachel stopped to listen. It was gone. Their baby was gone.
The ride home was silent and as soon as they entered their apartment, Rachel buried herself under the covers of their bed and asked Sam to let her sleep. He nodded and closed the bedroom. He sat down on the couch, took his phone and gave the dreadful news to their parents and friends. He managed the brave face with Rachel's dads but lost it when his mother asked him what was wrong. He cried his heart out and eventually fell asleep on the couch, the baby's shirt in his hands.
Sam tried his best to cheer her up. He bought her flowers, cooked her some delicious vegan meals, sang her every night to sleep. Still, Rachel couldn't find it in herself to smile again, or even talk.
"I thought we could watch a movie tonight" he suggested one night. Two weeks had passed since the miscarriage. "How about Funny Girl? It's been a while since we last saw it".
Rachel stared into the air and didn't answer. Sam sighed and sat on the couch.
"I'm sorry" he said. "I know I shouldn't have bought that shirt. It was impulsive and stupid".
Rachel looked up, not expecting those words.
"I'm not blaming you for what I've done, Sam" she said. Sam wasn't expecting her to talk, so it took him a few seconds to understand what she'd said.
"And I'm not blaming you for what happened" he said, taking her hands.
"I miscarried, Sam. I lost our baby, not you".
"Rach, miscarriages happen. You heard the doctor, they happen a lot more than people talk about. It's normal".
"Then why did it happen to me?".
She was crying and that was the first time. Sam wrapped his arm around her and Rachel buried her face in his embrace.
"I don't know, love, but it happened" he whispered.
Rachel kept crying in Sam's embrace, she kept apologizing and couldn't stop whispering "Why did this happen to us?".
xxx
It didn't take Sam long to ask Rachel to marry him. When she finally recovered from their loss, she got a new role in Broadway, one of her dreams finally becoming true: she was playing Evita.
Sam was extremely proud of her and seeing Rachel come home every night with a big smile on his face was making his heart pound with love. That's when he phoned her dads and asked them the permission to marry their daughter.
He of course had to ask Kurt and Blaine for help. He wanted to make this proposal epic and memorable, but also private. He didn't know if Rachel was ready to be a wife and if he had to be rejected, he wanted to be the only one present. So, together, the three of them came up with a pretty simple but powerful proposal.
Rachel entered the theatre for rehearsals, her eyes looking around for her vocal coach. The stage was the only part of the theatre that was illuminated and there was no one around.
"Hello? Jackie? Leo? Is anybody here?" she asked, going up on stage. She jumped back, surprised, when she heard a guitar play in the back of the theatre. But then, Sam's voice guided the music and Rachel smiled.
Sam walked down the theatre singing his heart out, his hands playing Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud. Rachel smiled and suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to see Kurt and Blaine bring a chair for her. She laughed, sat down, and her friends disappeared. She knew they were just hiding in the backstage.
Sam finished the song right in front of her and Rachel clapped her hands, happy.
"That was amazing, Sam!" she said.
"I'm glad you liked it" he said, putting the guitar down.
"Are you trying to get into Broadway, too?" Rachel asked.
"Oh, no, as much as I love singing, I could never be on Broadway" he replied. "No, I'm here to ask you a simple question. And I'm kind of nervous and I'm trying...not to sound like an idiot and...oh God, Blaine is going to kill me".
"Blaine?".
"I practised this speech with him for hours and I can't remember a word".
"What speech?".
"I love you, Rachel. It took us a while to get where we are now but it was a beautiful journey and I'm happy to be here with you. I fell in love with you so many years ago but I still feel like I'm still falling in love with you every single day. And I want to feel like this forever".
He took a box out of his pocket, got down on one knee and Rachel gasped.
"I love you and I will be loving you 'til we're seventy" he said and she laughed. He opened the box. "Will you marry me?".
Rachel flew down the chair and jumped into Sam's arms as she shouted "Yes!".
Sam kissed her and as soon as the ring slipped on her finger, Kurt and Blaine ran outside with a happy Tracey to celebrate that beautiful moment.
Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck.
"And you asked my boss the permission to use this stage to propose?" she asked.
"Oh yeah. And you have no idea how hard it was to ask his permission. He's quite...scary" he replied. Rachel laughed and kissed her soon-to-be husband.
She figured out she was happy. Truly happy. She had been married to Sam for two years now, she had a Tony Award on the fireplace welcoming her home every day and now, she was pregnant again.
They never tried again after the first time. Both felt like the loss of their unborn child hit them so hard that they needed a little pause from that and for a year and a half, they used protections. But when she won her Tony and thought that now everything in her life was complete, she felt like something was missing. And that's when they started to try to have a baby.
So there she was, on the couch, waiting for her husband to come home from some late training.
When she heard the key turn in the lock, her heart jumped.
"Hi" she said.
"Hello darling" he said, kissing her head. "How are you?".
"Good, you? How was the training?" she asked.
"Quite good, kids are getting better" he replied. He put his bag on the ground and stretched his arms.
"I went shopping today" Rachel said, pointing to a single bag on the couch. "Want to see what I've bought?".
Sam gave her a nasty smile and took the bag.
"Why, is it something I'm going to like?" he asked, taking the shirt inside the bag.
"Oh yeah, definitely" she replied and smiled when she saw Sam's shocked face.
"I bought this" he replied, showing her the shirt. "More than two years ago".
"I know" she replied. Sam looked at the shirt, then at Rachel and then at her belly.
"You mean...oh God. You're pregnant?!" he asked. Rachel nodded.
"Ten weeks pregnant" she said. It took Sam a few seconds to register the information and then he threw himself on his wife. He kissed her, hugged her and then he started to cry.
"We're having a baby" he said.
"That's the plan" she replied and he knew what she was talking about.
"It's not going to happen again. And if it does, we'll get through that, together. And we'll have a baby, I promise you" he whispered.
"I know, I'm just super scared" she replied. He kissed her again, and again, and for the whole night, the entire world stopped for them.
Everyone treated Rachel like a princess when they finally made it official. Her dads visited her way too often, Kurt, Blaine and their daughter had dinner with them way too often and suddenly Rachel lost it. Around the fifth month she begged everyone to give them space, that they could handle it and that the baby was fine. Her dads' visits went back to normal but Kurt and Blaine took a little more time to go back to their old routines.
Rachel felt scared until the very last minute, when the nurse told her to give the final push. Then, their baby boy came into the world and Sam fainted. Rachel would forever make fun of him for that.
When they took the baby home, they felt like their family was complete.
"He's so tiny" Sam said. They were on the bed, Rachel holding the baby, both admiring the beautiful creature they had made.
"Yeah, I feel like I could break his bones" Rachel said.
"You won't, darling, don't worry" Sam replied with a laugh, kissing her forehead.
"I never thought we would end up like this" Rachel said, looking up. Sam frowned. "Married, in New York, with a baby boy".
He kissed her nose.
"But here we are now" he said. "Any regrets?".
"Nope" she replied. "I'm happy where I am".
Sam kissed her full on the lips before wrapping his arms around her. Little Matthew made a cute noise and caught his parents' attention, who both smiled.
"He looks like you" Rachel said.
"And like you" he replied. "He's ours".
"Do you think we'll have more kids?" Rachel suddenly asked. Matthew yawned and Sam smiled against Rachel's head.
"Oh yeah. Definitely".
Yeah, this is kind of fluffy. I just love Samchel so much.
Thank you for reading!