A/N: I actually wrote this in June or July during the hiatus so anything that does not line up with season 3 is intentional. This takes place after Born This Way, so Kurt is at McKinley and Blaine is at Dalton. Also, I know the ending is terrible, I just couldn't think up a better one.
Mother's Day in the Anderson household is mostly done out of duty. Like many other suburban families, Blaine and Taylor would make their mother breakfast in bed. Mr. Anderson would smile fondly at his wife and take pictures of her attempting to eat the overly cooked eggs like she always would. Things would be extremely awkward after that as they would dress up to go to church. It was one of the only times they made an appearance of a family, and Blaine hated it. Taylor couldn't care less about any of it and after Blaine fled to the safety of Dalton, the friendships he had were starting to wane. The afternoon was spent separated and preparing for the fancy dinner that their father always arranged.
Like always, the conversation was difficult. Despite Taylor only being a year younger than Blaine, the two had almost nothing in common. Their father only knew how to talk about business deals and golf games with other important CEOs. The only one who tried to keep up conversation was his mother. She'd smile and ask Taylor if he thinks the track team could make it to states and if he has any idea how the football team next year might be. Taylor then led into a joking tale of when one of the trombones from marching band had thought that he was Blaine and was yelling at him. "I wish you could have seen it! He couldn't believe what he did once he realized that I'm not you and can't play the trombone at all! When I asked him why he thought I was you. He couldn't come up with a reason just that I walk like you."
"You boys know I love you, but seriously you to don't have even a freckle in common. Especially considering the fact that Blaine has those black curls and your hair would curl if we tried!" It was true and in some ways, Blaine looks completely different from the rest of the family.
Conversation trickles on from there with his father looking disinterested in all of it until his mother mentions one small detail. "So, Blaine? Are you seeing anyone while you're at school?"
Suddenly his father looks interested and slightly worried. His relationship with his father is barely there. It's been like that since he came out. "Actually, I'm dating an amazing guy named Kurt. I think I love him." He's not sure why he adds as his father raises an eyebrow. Dinner ends soon after and they all go their separate ways once they get home. Taylor has practice tomorrow morning and his father has an important meeting tomorrow. Blaine eventually goes up to his room only for his cell phone to start ringing. For a second, Blaine thinks its Kurt before remembering that Kurt will probably still be at the graveyard having a dinner with his father in honor of Mother's Day.
"Hello, this is Blaine Anderson. May I ask who's calling?" Blaine asks automatically as his father had taught him. There heavy breathing on the other end and just as he was about to hang up the phone he hears a shaky voice sigh.
"Stop celebrating with her. I'm your mother." He didn't recognize the voice, had never heard it before in his life. It was strange, it didn't sound like a prank call made by teenage girls to find humor, this woman sounded real.
"Who are you?" Blaine asks again, his voice slightly aggravated.
"I'm your biological mom, Shelby Corcoran." His mom? Wait, his mother, the one he'd always known was downstairs.
But Blaine wasn't quite sure what to believe. As his own mother had said mere hours ago, he looked nothing like the rest of the family. Actually, thinking back, he can't remember a single relative he looks like. But, he sometimes acted like his grandmother, he needed proof. "Can you prove it to me?"
"It'd be difficult to prove it over the phone, but if you come to the Lima Bean tomorrow, I can show you proof," Shelby says and a small cry can be heard behind her. "Excuse me, your adopted sister gets fussy at this time of day, I'll be right back."
The phone was quiet for a while as Blaine considered what to do. The name nagged at him, he could have sworn that he'd heard that name before. Throughout the entire conversation, Blaine had stood just inside the door of his medium room. Now, as Shelby soothed the infant on the other side, Blaine moved over to his laptop and lifted the top. He opened the internet and decided that a quick google search of the name. After a few failed attempts at her last name, he finally found a clip of her speaking.
She was beautiful with shiny dark hair, sort of like Rachel's. Her voice was harsh in this, but the tone was the same. This woman did not look like someone to mess with. Then again, she was the leader of Vocal Adrenaline and they did tend to play dirty. The Warblers had seen that first-hand last year, but they hadn't made it to Nationals. Plus didn't Kurt say something about a Goolsby guy being in charge?
A few minutes later, he heard a sigh on the other side. "If you don't want me in your life after meeting me for coffee just once, I'll never contact you again. I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, Blaine." Then the phone went dead.
As soon as Shelby hung up, Blaine knows that he has to call Kurt and ask if he has any ideas. After all, they'd gone up against Vocal Adrenaline twice and had lived to tell the tale. He can remember that Rachel had been involved with one of the members and it hadn't ended well.
Blaine was shaking slightly as he walked into the Lima Bean. He knew that he was nervous. Kurt's phone call had revealed some worries he should have with what was going on here. Rachel had been dating the lead of Vocal Adrenaline who was actually only dated Rachel so that he could lead Rachel to Shelby, only for her to dump it all in her face when Quinn had her baby. His adopted sister was Beth. Which made Rachel his sister, which is only more proof that he should stay far, far away from alcohol.
Once he walked in, he saw Shelby sitting in one corner drinking what appears to be tea. After taking his order for coffee, he walks over to her. "Are you Shelby?"
She smiled warily, not quite sure who he is. "And you are?"
He gives her a friendly smile. "I'm Blaine Anderson. You called me last night saying that you are my mom, right?"
There is an awkward silence for a few minutes that neither of them bothers to fill with meaningless words. Blaine is staring at her with a silent question in his eyes and Shelby looks unsure. "Why, why did you try to find me?" Blaine finally asks.
Shelby gulps slightly at that one, clearly not quite sure how to explain, she squirms around in her seat for a couple of minutes. While he could see Kurt or Wes enjoying making her awkward and nervous, he isn't either one of them. He knows how it is to cringe and try to gather your thoughts and admit something to someone who could mean a lot to you. She sighs softly and says, "I want you to know that you have a sister, Blaine, a beautiful talented twin sister. Her name is Rachel Berry, I've heard that you are in the Warblers, perhaps you've heard of her? She's amazingly talented." She paused here and Blaine takes the opportunity to speak.
"I know Rachel, one of the Warblers is a good friend of mine and he used to be in New Directions with her. I've met here a couple of times and I heard her sing at Regionals."
Shelby smiles and takes a deep breath. "I don't know whether you know what happened last year or not, I want to apologize in advance. I know you don't know Rachel extremely well but I told a lie or two about you and I want to say I'm sorry now before I go on.
"When I was about 23, I was living in Columbus giving voice lessons and trying to find a way to New York City. I'd always dreamed of singing on Broadway. But I didn't have any money to get me there or to pay for whatever I'd need once I got there. I was looking in the classifieds to see if there were any odd jobs I could take up when I found an ad looking for a surrogate. So, I took it, not really caring at this point who I was going to be a surrogate for. When I got to Lima, I found the Berry's, a gay couple, who desperately wanted a baby girl.
"They combined their sperm in hopes of an extremely talented baby girl. They were so excited and I got pregnant almost immediately. When I went in for a sonogram, they were hoping it was a little girl, and there she was. Only then, they noticed you, hidden behind Rachel slightly.
"I thought they would be so excited to see you, they got two children out of the deal! But, they only wanted a little girl. We made an agreement, they would take Rachel once I delivered the two of you and I could do what I wanted to with you.
"Blaine, I just want to tell you, had I not been 23 living off of soup and dirt poor, I would have kept you. I wanted to and I've thought about how my life what have been different had I taken you. But when I went into labor, Rachel was born, bright-eyed and screaming. I only saw her as they cleaned her up and as she was leaving she looked at me.
"Then you came out nearly twenty minutes late. You were so small and when you first came out you weren't crying at all. Finally, they gave you oxygen and you let out a small cry. After that, you were fine. I got to hold you while the doctors talked about how you most likely would have mild to severe asthma all your life.
"I knew though, as I was holding you, that I couldn't give you half the life some other couple could give you. So, I begged your adopted parents to let me have your address and phone number so I could call you when you were a little older." She hadn't left Blaine any chance to cut into the conversation, which was actually a blessing. It was a lot to process and it made some sense.
"So, why now?' He whispers.
"I don't know why exactly I chose to talk to you now, but I needed you to know that. I know this isn't a movie, we aren't going to fit right away, but if you let me, Blaine, I'd honestly love to get to know you."
They are silent for a while, each sipping there slightly less warm drinks. Blaine thinks for a while about what to do before smiling.
"I'd love to get to know you. I'm kind of relieved, actually. I'm constantly the butt of jokes about how I stick out like a sore thumb in my family. It's kind of nice to be able to look at someone who I actually share blood with. So, my adopted sister, how old is she?"
Shelby relaxes slightly before talking. They fill up the next two hours with both compassionate silence and talking.
As he drives home, he knows that there are several things he's going to have to do soon. One would be to confront the Berry's about why they abandoned him. Another would be to ask about why his family had led him to believe that he was their child biologically. He knew he'd have to tell Kurt soon otherwise the taller boy would probably kill him. And, of course, the one thing he was dreading, he would have to talk to Rachel.
That seriously scared him. Rachel probably wouldn't believe him at first, but luckily Shelby had his birth certificate that proved it. Things were already awkward between them, ever since she threw that stupid party. After the kiss, things had been tense. She was obviously embarrassed that she had done that.
The first one would be to talk to his parents, they were the ones he was closest to. Talking to the Berry's and Rachel would require an annoying ride through town that he didn't want to deal with. He loves Kurt, but he needs time to think things out by himself first.
He manages to walk into them eating dinner. It's tense and quiet like the dinner's he remembers before opting to board at Dalton. As he walks in, Taylor looks confused but gives him a small smile. His parents just stare at each other for a while before his father asks, "Is there a reason you're home, Blaine? Normally you're at school right now."
He knows what his father is implying, that he isn't wanted, but he ignores it for now. "Can I talk to you and mom in private for a minute?"
"Sure, Blaine. Taylor, would you mind?" His mother asks, using a sugar sweet tone like she sometimes uses on socialites.
As soon as Taylor left the room, Blaine asked "How come you never saw fit to tell me I was adopted? Why did I only know because my real mother called me last night?"
His father's face gets slightly angry. "We didn't tell you because we don't want anyone else knowing about our gay adopted son! We lost some respect when your mother miscarried in secret and we adopted you. At first, we pretended that you were our son, but someone figured it out! I didn't want you going around trying to get some glamourous idea that you could be like those orphans in those highly cheesy, stupid musicals!"
"Okay, so maybe as a child I would have asked like that, but I'm hardly six anymore. You could have told me what she told me and I would have been fine!' Most of the Warblers would be slightly amazed at the attitude Blaine had right now. 'Why can't you accept that not everything works out perfectly? Like the fact that you tried to force me to be straight or that I was your son when clearly, I'm not!"
"THAT'S IT!" Blaine's father bellowed, "I'm about to lose my temper and physically hurt you. Blaine get out of my house now, before I hurt you!" Blaine heard what his father had said, but his feet refused to move. Regardless of the fact that he wasn't planning on staying the night, he couldn't believe his father would kick him out. Although most likely it wasn't permanent considering the gossip that could arise from kicking him out.
"Well, that went well. "Blaine muttered to himself as he walked out the door. He had come out with only a little more success. He shook his head, this wasn't possible. Only yesterday, he had thought his family was the people who just kicked him out.
The week went by quickly and Blaine figured he'd just tell Kurt when they went for coffee on Friday. They were close and he knew Kurt wouldn't be pleased that he'd kept it to himself, but he needed time to digest it.
When he pulled into the Lima Bean, he could feel a smile on his face. Even though he wasn't sure how Kurt what react, he knew how Kurt was always was completely open with him. He heard about every step of the Karofsky drama almost as soon as it had happened. But, he'd always been less willing to give out personal information, even with Kurt. He knew he'd have to tell him.
He found himself arriving after Kurt which was strange, Kurt had always been late before. "You're here early." He said with a smile.
Kurt chuckled at that with a smile. "Glee let out a little early. Mr. Shue had some sort of problem and the football players had a meeting for next year. I think Coach Bieste is really trying to rival what we did last year. So, how did the coffee go with Ms. Corcoran?"
He took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to say what he needed to say. "It was very tense in the beginning. I had no idea that I was adopted and I think she was trying to make sure that she didn't repeat what she did with Rachel with me. Eventually, I asked why she tried to find me now and not before. She started telling me about how she was in her twenties trying to find money to get to Broadway. She answered an ad in the paper to Rachel's dads. They were looking for a talented little girl and when they found out that she was having twins, they didn't want me. Shelby was going to take me but she knew that she couldn't afford to have a child. So, the Andersons took me instead. Then we just sort of talked until Shelby had to leave to pick up Beth from a babysitter. I have her phone number and I'm planning to talk to her again soon.
"I hope you don't mind that I didn't you tell you at first, I just needed time to make sense of all of it. I just can't quite understand why I wasn't worth anything to the Berry's and they didn't even take the chance to know me! But there is one other thing, I got a little hot-headed and demanded why my parents didn't tell me I was adopted. They kicked me out for now. I'm probably going to stop by next week, by then I'll probably be allowed to stay there again. It always goes like that."
There was silence for a while until Kurt asks. "Wait, have they kicked you out before?"
"Yeah, my parents don't really like that I am gay, so I got kicked out when I came out. I stayed with some old family friends. I tried to bring up the bullying a couple times at my school only to get kicked out when I mentioned them at a dinner party. It never lasts more than a couple of days, the worst was after I got the crap beaten out of me. They weren't happy about that, it lasted for almost two weeks."
He can see the disbelief in Kurt's eyes. Kurt has talked about his relationship with his father. Honestly, Blaine is jealous of it. "How can you be so calm about it? Blaine, you don't sound even remotely upset about it. I can't stand it when I fight with my dad but you seem completely fine with it!"
"Kurt, you just get used to it. It hurts when they do it, but I've gotten used to it. They've always been like that, Kurt. I'm used to mostly my dad acting like that. That's part of the reason why I've waited to talk to you, I needed time to think it over and not start screaming at you instead."
Then by silent agreement, the two moved on to less delicate topics; like Rachel's plans for New York or the ridiculous original song that some of the Warblers wrote on a sugar high.
The conversation with Kurt went great compared to the one with his parents. He was the most anxious about the talk with the Berry's that would be the one where he'd be most likely to break down. He needed them to know he was their son and also wanted to know why he wasn't good enough for them. Talking to Rachel would be a different beast entirely and he knew she should come before her dads. Not only would Rachel understand her dads better than he would but like he had when he was driving home after talking to Shelby, this could be the hardest.
The next day, Kurt had arranged a Glee party and had invited him. Blaine figured this would be about the best way to tell Rachel the news without causing extreme problems. He waits until the guys go with Finn to play some sort of video game (he didn't catch the title) and the girls settled in to talk. He walked over to Rachel and gave the best smile he could. "Hey, Rachel. Could I talk to you in private for a minute or two?"
Rachel looked nervous and looked at the other girls in the room. Most looked confused, but he saw Kurt smile and nod at Rachel clearly trying to encourage her. "Is this about that kiss? Because I thought that drama was over." Blaine just smiled and shook his head no.
"I promise you, Rachel, it's not about that. " Then Rachel led them into the kitchen away from the curious glances the others were giving. "I just needed to tell you something I found out on Monday away from the others." As he said that, Rachel's eyes widened drastically clearly interested. "I got a call on Mother's Day from Shelby Corcoran saying that she was my mother and to meet her for coffee the next day. When I got there, she told me something shocking, we're twins." Blaine left out Shelby's backstory since Rachel most likely knew that already.
"What? Blaine that's wrong! Why would my dads lie about me being an only child? Shelby is just messing with your head. She'll drag you into thinking you matter and then suddenly you're second class to some little baby." Rachel said slightly angry at what Blaine was saying.
Instead of using words to elaborate like he normally would, he just grabbed the birth certificate he had been given and a picture of Shelby holding him. She looked slightly defeated at the proof. Before showing them to anyone, Blaine had made sure to check they weren't faked and luckily, they were real. "Rachel, I'm sorry about what happened between you and Shelby and it seems like she's trying to not make those mistakes again. But we are related, which might explain why I felt nothing when you kissed me that one day. Just promise me one thing, even if Shelby and you didn't work out, can you try to be a sister to me? I mean we do share blood, maybe that explains why we are both so short."
"What now?" Rachel asked with a lot less drama.
"Well, first off, I'm going to hug you. Then, I need your help to figure out how to talk to your dads about this. After that, we'll just figure it out as we go along. Okay, sis?" Then wrapped his arms around his sister with a smile.
"Come home with me after this ends and I'll help you talk to them. They know me better and I want to be part of this conversation since they did raise me without letting me know that I had a twin brother."
And so, about two hours later, he is sitting next to Rachel driving to confront the men who are his father. The ride is short but quiet and as they pull up in front of a modest two-story house, he can feel his hands shaking. He shouldn't be this nervous about it and he can see Rachel looking a little scared as well. Probably for good reason, she was about to find out a lot about the lies that were clearly there.
As they approached the house, Rachel grabbed Blaine's hand in comfort and support as they walked into a cozy looking family room where two men were sitting. "Dad, Daddy, this is Blaine." Rachel started out gesturing to him. "And Blaine, this is my dad, Hiram Berry and my daddy, Leroy Berry."
The larger of the two stood and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Blaine. Are you a friend of Rachel's?'
Blaine bit his cheek to keep a laugh from coming out, he really didn't want to give them the wrong idea. "I guess you could say that."
Rachel sighs and noting Blaine's inability to get to the point, she justs starts to talk. "Blaine got some interesting news earlier this week. That's why I brought him home with me. Tell them the news, Blaine." She says giving him a glare that clearly means to say something now.
"I got a phone call on Sunday from a Ms. Shelby Corcoran saying that she is my biological mother even though I hadn't known before this that I was adopted. The next day I met her for coffee where she let me know that I had a twin sister named Rachel Berry. Then she told me that we were twins and that-" Blaine said until Hiram cut him off
"That's not true! How dare she try to send yet another person to tell Rachel she's her daughter only to hurt her more! You should be ashamed."
"Dad, that's not the point of this. I asked Blaine come home with me to talk about the fact that he's not only my brother but my twin! I wanted to be here to know why you lied and why you didn't just take him in too! Is that more than I'm allowed to know about my own family? All these years, I've wanted a sibling and you always said I was enough."
Rachel's face was bright red and there were tears coming out of her eyes, partly out of rage and partly out of sadness. Blaine had to intervene before he was forced to sit through a full out feud between the family. "Sirs, I just wanted to know why you didn't keep me. After that, you can pretend I don't exist, I just want an answer."
There was silence after that with Leroy trying to calm to Hiram and Rachel looking like she is trying to keep from crying. He can tell that he's pushing back all emotion, just like he always does when it gets too much.
"Do you really want to know why? Or are you trying to make things more difficult for us?" Hiram said, still angry.
"Listen, sir, I just want to know. I hadn't known about you being family until now and I want to know why I grew up without my twin sister. I need to know what you had against me before I was even born."
Before Hiram could start attacking them again, Rachel's other dad decided to explain. "Hiram, if you can't stand to hear it, get out of the room now. He is right, we are his fathers. He deserves to know why you insisted on only having a talented little girl." The other man left in an angry flush at this. It was clear where Rachel got her dramatics from as he stormed up the stairs and closed a door with an outstanding slam. "Alright, please don't interrupt me until I can get this done if I stop I'm sure I won't be able to continue." He took a second to let the two teens shake their heads in agreement.
"Hiram's family is known for producing multiple children, so we were aware that it was very possible we'd end up with twins. When Hiram was born, he was one of three triplets. The youngest was stillborn and he obviously never knew him. But you can tell it bugged him that he never knew what that youngest baby was like in life. The one thing that Rachel knows about my husband is that he doesn't like leaving things up to the imagination, so it worried him that he would never know how this little baby was. So, Hiram and the surviving triplet grew up pretty close, until they reached high school. Then the other got into a group of homophobes and when Hiram came out as gay, his brother beat him up.
"When I met him, we were living out in California and ended up getting married when it was legalized. His brother showed up at the wedding to make amends only to have Hiram blow up in his face. He died that night and I think Hiram is a little bitter that he never got an apology out of the situation.
"So, when we found out that we were having a pair of fraternal twins, he was fine until we realized that you were male. I think he thought this could be revenge for his brother being cruel. If you grew up in a homophobic home, imagine the shock you would feel at having to gay dads! Only, of course, I don't think Hiram realized that you were a living, breathing thing with emotions. When we got home from the sonogram, we had a fight and Hiram threatened to leave me if we didn't give you up. I only agreed because I couldn't've handled two babies on my own.
"So, we told your mother she could do whatever she wanted with you, as long as we got Rachel. Had I known about you, I probably would have tried to contact you before now, but when we left, we had no idea where you could be. So, I let Hiram pretend we just had Rachel and you didn't exist, but I know that's wrong. I'm sorry about his little episode and us ignoring you even though you deserved to at least have a vague idea who we are. Even if Hiram doesn't want to know you, if you'll let me, I'd really like to at least have some idea of who the son I never knew is like.
"Just so you know, I am for most types of relationships, but please I don't think I can really stomach the thought of my children having a brief period of an incestuous relationship. So, both of you, promise me that won't happen again."
Blaine took the time to look between the two of them at part of the family he'd hopefully know. "Thank you, sir." He started, then looked down at his feet and blushed, "I'm really sorry, but Dalton's curfew is in ten minutes and I'm here on a partial scholarship and getting caught sneaking into school after curfew wouldn't really be a good thing. Is it possible that I steal your couch for the night?"
Leroy and Rachel looked at each other for a couple of seconds when a third voice could be heard while walking downstairs. "What about your real parents, kid?"
Blaine's eyes became slightly nervous as he saw Hiram coming back into the room. Mentally, he was preparing for the drama that was sure to follow. "They kicked me out when I confronted them about being adopted, but I can probably drive up to Westerville and see if a friend of mine will let me sleep there."
Hiram walked in and started heading toward Blaine who was looking at the plain blue carpet as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. As Blaine saw the only slightly taller man head toward him, he flinched. Suddenly, he didn't feel like he was with family but back at his old high school as a shy eighth grader. He was terrified of Hiram coming and doing what the jocks had done at his old school.
Only instead of hitting him, the man wrapped it in a possibly bone-crushing hug. Blaine tried to whisper an apology for flinching and not trusting him. Hiram cut him off before he could get too hysterical. "Listen to me, kid. Let me guess, you were bullied at some point weren't you?" Blaine nodded not really comprehending what was happening. "What I said to you was wrong. I had some bitter feelings towards my twin brother and I think in some ways Leroy was right. I did think it was some sort of attempt to get back at my brother. I'm sorry you had to grow up like that."
A few seconds later, the man pulled away from the hug, before he was attacked by Rachel. "Of course you can stay here for the night. Daddy, is the guest room clean from when Nana was here last month?" Both men chuckled and nodded before Rachel continued. "Actually, I'm going to force you to stay here tonight. Trust me, you don't really want to see my crazy."
The road to finding his family would be difficult, he knew that. The final blow had happened with his family, as was shown when he turned up one weekend at the Berry house with one bag that contained what he had been able to pack before his family made it very clear he wasn't wanted. Shelby wasn't quite sure how to relate to her two older children but made a point to try and welcome them. After a few weeks, Blaine managed to convince Rachel to try again. He could still remember how mother and daughter had stared at each other for the longest time before Blaine started a conversation about college plans and dreams of New York. After that, Blaine had to fight just so that he could get two words in.
The Berry's worked hard to make up for what had happened in the past. After he was kicked out, the Berry family welcomed him in warmly. At first, it was strange, as Blaine wasn't really used to other's hospitality. By the time he graduated, he felt at home with his dads and with Rachel. Of course, he was regretting becoming part of the family, when his dads would not stop teasing Rachel and him for that little episode.
And of course, nothing really changed with Kurt. They are still in love and are both going to NYU in the fall, even though Kurt was had been hoping for Julliard only to be disappointed by a rejection letter. (Then again, he swears that Julliard doesn't like the New Directions and Ohio since Mike, Tina, Brittany, and Santana all applied and none of them got in.)
But, who knew he could get so much from a simple phone call from a heartbroken mother calling her son on Mother's Day? He certainly wouldn't have it not just happened to him.