To the anon who gave me the prompt: I would like to know Kurt's reaction when he learned that Rachel was pregnant. I blame you for taking over my writing weekend, lol. I actually started a couple of different stories about this, but this one finally won out in the end. I adore Isabelle, so hope you enjoy! :)
Kurt had just finished researching for a piece on the latest model trends on the runway when Isabelle walked into his office. There was a bright smile on her face as she laid out some little outfits across his newly cleaned off worktable.
"I'm trying to pick out some gifts for a friend of mine," said the older woman. "Gucci just sent these over these cute newborn outfits and I can't make up my mind. Think you can help me decide? They're all too adorable."
"Aw, are those little onesies?" said Kurt, coming over to the table and putting a hand over his heart. He yawned lightly as he looked them over. They each came with a short sleeved outfit, a long sleeved coverall, a hat, and booties. "So precious." He paused, thinking. "I think personally I like the soft white & yellow with the light brown details."
Isabelle held it up. "And that would match the Guuci white wool receiving blanket and matching baby bag I'm giving them. Thanks, Kurt."
"Can I see?" asked the fashion writer.
"I would but they're already wrapped and ready to go," said the fashion editor. "I can show you them on the website if you want."
"Maybe later," said Kurt, yawning again. "I think I'm about ready to go home."
"Tired?" asked Isabelle.
Kurt nodded. "Rachel's been restless and not feeling well. She's also being stubborn and not wanting to go to the doctor."
Isabelle chuckled. "Women are good like that sometimes Kurt. We don't want to admit something's the matter."
"Well, she needs to if I'm going to get any sleep," grumbled Kurt, crossing his arms.
"Are you about to leave?" asked Isabelle. Kurt nodded.
"Just as soon as I gather my stuff and shut down."
"Could you do me a favor?" she asked. "I'm meeting someone for dinner, and I have these flowers for them." She looked sheepish. "Would you mind helping me out?"
Kurt raised an eyebrow. "So you want me to play delivery boy?"
"You'd be the cutest delivery man ever," laughed Isabelle. "And certainly the best dressed," she said as she eyed his Westwood pieces with approval. "Come on, it's just around the corner at that little Italian place we always get catering from."
"I suppose. Just for you though," smiled Kurt, picking up his bag and slipping it over his shoulder. "Do I get a tip?"
"I'll let you pick out the hotel when we go to Paris."
"That's only because my French is better than yours."
Isabelle smiled. "As usual, you see right through me." She went back to her office and came back with a jacket and a huge bouquet of white lilies and pink roses with greenery.
"Gorgeous," said Kurt with a nod. She handed him the flowers.
"You're the best," winked Isabelle.
"Say that tomorrow when you're giving me the lead on next month's story on fashion and charity."
"Blackmailer."
"I learned from the best," said Kurt with a light smirk. Isabelle pushed the button for the elevator and they waited for it to appear.
"How is Santana?"
"Enjoying being an actor," said Kurt. He adjusted the flowers in his arm. "She's happy with Brittany out in L.A. I think."
"That's where everyone is these days," said Isabelle. "If you want to be famous."
"So it seems," agreed Kurt. "I just miss them."
Isabelle nodded, but no more was said. The elevator dinged for the first floor and they both got off and headed out with a nod to the security guard at the door. The spring evening air greeted them with the heat of the city as they walked down the sidewalk to the east and towards the restaurant.
"So who are you meeting for dinner? Some famous celebrity or fashion head?"
Isabelle was checking her makeup in a hand mirror as they walked. "Just the wife of one of our fellow employees."
"Oh? Something that plebeian in the life of Isabelle Wright?"
"My life isn't completely fabulous as head editor," chided Isabelle. "I do sit in my apartment and eat Chinese like the rest of New York."
"While watching bad reality shows," said Kurt.
"And my DVR is full," sighed the woman. They approached the restaurant. "I need to make a quick phone call and then I'll be right in. I owe you the biggest favor Kurt."
"You'd better," mused the fashion writer. "And who am I looking for?"
"You'll see her. She sort of stands out," smiled Isabelle. "Now go on."
Kurt arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. He walked into the restaurant. A maître d' was waiting at the door.
"Come on in," the black suited man said with a smile. "We've been expecting you, Mr. Hummel."
"You've been expecting me?" said Kurt in confusion. "How…?"
"Kurt."
He looked up to see Rachel standing at the entry way to the seating area. She was dressed in a soft sky blue dress that came just above her knees with silver sparkles shimmering across the material. Her hair was in curls, cascading down her shoulders. Silver heels adorned her feet.
"Rachel. You look gorgeous honey," said Kurt, going over to her and giving her a quick kiss. "I thought you were laying down?"
"I am feeling better, and so I decided to meet you for dinner," said Rachel.
"But how-? We don't have reservations."
"Yes we do or I wouldn't be here," giggled Rachel. She looked at the flowers in Kurt's hands. "Aww, Isabelle shouldn't have," said the brunette. She took the bouquet from him, and took Kurt by the hand.
"Come on, we have a table waiting," smiled Rachel. They both followed a waiter to their table. It was secluded from most of the others in the restaurant by a sliding wall.
Kurt looked confused as they sat down. "Okay, I know I didn't miss our anniversary. Please tell me you aren't dying, or I'm going to break down right here and now."
"I'm not dying Kurt," said Rachel. "I just thought we could have a nice night out." She sat the flowers down on the table and smiled at them. "I asked Isabelle for her help. I wanted to surprise you."
"Well, it is a surprise," said Kurt with a slight smile. "She acted like I was going to deliver flowers to a friend she was meeting for dinner."
Rachel chuckled softly as the waiter brought water and offered a drink menu. She declined, but Kurt looked over it, ordering a cocktail for himself.
"Not ordering anything?" asked Kurt.
"I don't think anything with alcohol would be good for my stomach at the moment," said Rachel with a sigh, thinking how she was going to spin this lie. "It took all I had to nibble on dried fruit and nuts all day."
Kurt frowned at that. "And now you're going to eat pasta?"
"I am hungry," admitted Rachel. "I'm going to go for something light." Kurt nodded at that, looking at the flowers.
"How was your day?" asked the Broadway diva.
"Fine," said Kurt, waving his hand. "Meetings, phone calls, and research." He smiled and took Rachel's hand. They were seated across from each other and he played with her fingers. "You know, the usual."
"At least it was uneventful."
"That is a good thing," nodded Kurt as the waiter brought his cocktail and their menus.
"Oh, the roasted butternut squash ravioli with spring bean pesto and paramigano sounds wonderful," moaned Rachel. "I think I will be having that."
"That does sound good," agreed Kurt.
"Maybe I'll give you a small baby bite," smirked Rachel. Kurt chuckled.
"Only if you let me indulge," he whimpered, looking at the menu.
"Just stay in our budget please. I saw some of those wine prices."
"Not that," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. "The oyster menu."
"Well, maybe just this once," said Rachel, taking a sip of her water. "It is a special occasion."
"Okay, what are you up to?" asked the fashion writer, putting down his menu. "You asked Isabelle to help you surprise me with dinner and she gives you flowers. And now it's a special occasion?"
"May I recommend the Kumamoto oysters?" said the waiter. "Fresh in this evening from Washington. Gorgeous and cold."
"I think I will," said Kurt, smiling at the waiter. Rachel was glad for the brief interruption.
"Very good," said the waiter. "And for you madam?"
"I'd love to try the smoked eggplant with herbed ricotta and marinated plums," said Rachel. "I don't think my husband has decided on an entrée yet, so we'll need a few minutes."
The waiter nodded and left with their orders.
"Okay, so special occasion," said Kurt. "Just because the waiter took our attention doesn't mean you get to get away from the question."
"After dinner," said Rachel with a smile. "Don't worry."
"Now I am worried," said Kurt. "Please don't tell me Isabelle is firing me via you."
Rachel laughed out loud and squeezed his hand. "I don't think Isabelle would ever fire you honey. She likes you too much."
"I'm still not convinced," said Kurt skeptically. He took a sip of his drink, happy to feel the alcohol and sugar wash over him.
"You had better choose your main course," reminded Rachel as she pulled out her phone. "I'm sure the waiter will be back soon."
"I think I'm going to go for the salt baked branzino on a bed of wild arugula with lemon," said Kurt, setting down his drink. "Now spill. I'm ready to order."
"That doesn't count," teased Rachel. "We haven't eaten yet."
Kurt gave her a pointed look.
"Patience," chided Rachel, rubbing a finger across her glass. "I kind of want to savor this moment before our lives change."
"Okay, now you've really got tell me," said Kurt as the waiter approached with their starting course, looking slightly disturbed. "Rachel, what…"
Rachel dipped a fork in the herbed ricotta after the waiter had taken Kurt's dinner order and left, placing it to her lips and taking a bite. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the flavor.
"Eat, then I will tell you."
Kurt sighed and dipped one of his oysters in the accompanying vinaigrette.
They talked through dinner about their day, with Kurt making side glances at Rachel. She finally got him distracted when she mentioned some gossip on the Broadway blogs that got him interested in some show's big scandal. It wasn't until they ordered dessert: a salted caramel mousse with dark chocolate crema and coffee crumble for him and hazelnut semifreddo with anise mascarpone and grapefruit with a dark chocolate drizzle for her that Kurt brought it up again.
"You've ordered a lot of cheese for dinner," said the fashion writer, eyeing his wife. "You normally don't even eat cheese unless you're being polite."
"I'm blaming you," said Rachel. "I got a craving for it."
"I do like cheese," agreed Kurt, thinking as he took a sip of his water. "But what does that have to do with me and this apparently special occasion?"
Rachel laughed, looking down at her lap. She stood up and moved her chair next to Kurt's, kissing him softly.
"I love you, but you are sometimes so clueless." She wrapped his hands in hers.
"Kurt… I'm pregnant."
"Well, that's nice," said the brown haired male. "You can— wait, what?"
She tweaked his nose. "Burt's getting that grand baby he's been wanting."
"Rachel, are you serious?" said Kurt, his jaw moving back and forth as he processed the news. "How… I mean, I know how, but-"
"I confirmed it with my doctor this afternoon," said the brunette. "Two months. Our baby will be born in November." She paused, staring at his shocked face. "Kurt, say something."
He kissed her instead. Rachel moaned into the kiss before returning the gesture. It had been a reaction she wasn't expecting. Kurt was pulling her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Kurt, what…"
"You're pregnant, Rachel. You're really pregnant," He paused. "I'm going to be a dad." He groaned. "I'm going to be someone's dad. A family. A baby… I mean…"
"I know," said the brunette. "I've been thinking about that too." She pulled back and looked at him. "I thought you'd be more in shock about this."
Kurt fiddled with his scarf before sitting back in his chair with a sigh.
"I know we've talked about it in the past. We weren't in the right place in our lives. And we really were not… stable I suppose. If we hadn't of put in the time and dedication, we wouldn't be where we are. You wouldn't be one of the most talked about leading ladies on Broadway, and I wouldn't be writing for the magazine and the website plus doing Broadway and acting. I had been thinking about… talking about it." He blushed and looked down at his boots.
"Aw Kurt," said Rachel, her eyes softening. "You want to be a dad."
"I am so not ready though," he said with a sigh, placing a hand over Rachel's stomach.
"I'm not sure I'm going to be a good mother," admitted Rachel, rubbing a hand across Kurt's. "You're probably going to be the better parent."
"Of course. They will be well fed and dressed."
"But what if they don't like us?" whimpered Rachel. "Or they are embarrassed by us? What if we're absentee parents? Kurt…"
"And on that note," said Kurt as the waiter approached with their desserts. "My wife is freaking out about our future child. I think I need your strongest single malt scotch. Please."
Rachel gave him a look. "Kurt, you don't need alcohol for that."
"I might need it for your mood swings. Ow!"
The brunette sniffed as she re-crossed her arms after smacking Kurt's shoulder. "You will be right here beside me, going through it as I will."
Kurt sighed. "I guess I don't have to have alcohol, but it would be helpful."
"Kurt."
"Oooh, a motherly tone already."
Rachel rolled her head back and groaned.
"You'd better watch these mood swings Hummel. I might just stab you with a fork."
"At least I will have died happily with good food in my belly and progeny in yours." He moved quickly to get away from Rachel before she smacked him again.
"You are in a mood, aren't you," she mused, a small smile on her face.
Kurt took a bite of his mousse. "You have to admit, it is kind of funny."
"What do you mean?"
"Rachel, in high school, I joked with my dad that he would never have to worry about me getting anyone pregnant. Then you in all your insanity turned my world upside down. Or sideways. Something. Now you're having my baby."
Rachel kissed his cheek. "It was bound to happen sometime. We aren't always careful."
"I suppose once in the seven years we've been together isn't a bad record."
"Well, three actually. I was late a couple of times and I started to wonder."
"Do you want this?" asked Kurt suddenly. "I mean, I know I just admitted that I thought about having kids, but if you're not ready…"
"I don't know. I kind of want this," said Rachel. "I mean, I'm not dancing or anything too strenuous right now on this latest project, so it is kind of good timing…"
Kurt frowned and took a sip of his water. "I hope that isn't the only reason."
"No," smiled Rachel. "I've thought of us having children more a few times. I mean, they will be a little bit of both of us, you know?"
"Let's just finish and go home," said Kurt. He fed Rachel a bite of his mousse.
"I'm so replicating that."
Rachel whimpered at the taste. "Please do."
The next morning, Kurt was still in a bit of daze from the night before. But he was determined to find Isabelle to thank her for helping Rachel. She wasn't in her office yet, so Kurt went back to his own work space to get started on the day's activities. Opening the door, he laughed at the three presents that had mysteriously appeared on his desk. On top of one of the gifts was a note that read:
Okay, I lied a little. They are for a friend and his beautiful wife, who I hope will put them to good use. Congratulations on your new family Kurt.
- Isabelle
Kurt took a picture of the presents and sent it to Rachel with the message:
I think we just got our first baby gifts. Isabelle, of course.
Rachel responded with a smiley face. : -)