Okay, well. First and foremost, as a Finchel shipper, and later a Samchel one, never did I ever think that I'd be writing a St. Berry or Klaine story, but alas, here I am. RIB sucked me in one last time and I really loved the way everything was wrapped up… so much so, that I felt the need to go even further in the future to see where life has taken them in June of 2023.

Also, just started the tumblr thing and I'm probably going to post some stuff there if you'd like to check it out:

I hope you enjoy this! :)

….

"Where in the bloody hell is Rachel?" Kurt fumed as he rearranged the circus themed centerpieces made entirely out of organic candy.

Blaine sighed sympathetically, gripping his husband's shoulder and giving him a comforting kiss on the cheek, "Okay, well, firstly I think you've been watching too much BBC." He shot Kurt a cheeky but knowing look and Kurt shrugged whilst avoiding eye contact. Blaine continued, his tone soft, the one he uses to ease Kurt's sometimes heighted state of stress, "She's never late, Kurt. I'm sure she has a very good reason. Besides, it's only 2, and the party doesn't even have an end time."

Kurt pouted, staring off into their spacious Hamptons yard to where Burt was teaching their son how to swim in the pool. His grimace ticked up into a smile when he caught the look of pure love that Burt gave the flailing little boy.

"It's just that… she's such an important part of his life, she birthed him for god's sake. She should be here."

"Kurt, Sweetheart, don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"

He let out a harsh breath, his hands taking purchase on his hips, "She's been distant lately, Blaine. But, I can't put my finger on why."

Blaine followed Kurt's gaze to their son and smiled, "Well, you know it has nothing to do with him, right? She loves our little guy more than anything…"

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Wonder what?"

"If she regrets it. You know how she felt about her own mother's surrogacy and—"

"Kurt, she gave us the most amazing gift and did so knowing full well what she was getting herself into. Besides, her insecurities with her mother stemmed from the fact that she didn't know her. Hudson knows Rachel and who she is to him. There's no mystery there about how or why he came to be, we made sure to let him know it was out of pure love," Kurt allows a small smile to creep up on his face.

Blaine continues, "Our son is so loved and his conception speaks volumes to that. And, because of that, we have this wonderfully amazing, slightly unexpected extended family."

"You can say that again, who would've thought we'd ever be exchanging presents on Christmas morning with Jesse St. James?" They both chuckle, having both become incredibly close friends with Jesse over the years, but Kurt turns serious suddenly as he leans down to press a kiss against his husband's lips, "Thank you for calming me down and talking some sense into me. You know I can get lost in my own head sometimes…"

Blaine smiles, knowingly, "Yeah, but I'll always be there to pull you out."

Kurt gives Blaine's arm a squeeze just as they hear a commotion coming from their yard. Whatever it is, everyone sounds excited.

All it takes is two seconds of realization and a quick flash of flowing brown hair to know that his best friend and her husband have finally arrived, and all of the guests she's wooed over the years are making a huge fuss over her… as usual.

Hudson's birthdays are always a big deal. It's a day of remembrance and reflection on not only the life of their son, but the unbreakable bond that he, Rachel and Blaine now share. Also, in a way, it's about Finn, too.

He'll never forget the look on Rachel's face when Carole thanked her for giving her the grandchild she had always wanted.

They then decided that they'd name their son for Finn, so he'd always be present in their lives. Hudson's intended first name, Tracy, became his middle one, and Kurt thinks back on it now and is grateful for the change. Now, Hudson would grow up knowing he carried his uncle's name, the name of an extraordinary person that they had all missed terribly and had aspired to be more like.

But, most of all, Hudson's birthday is a celebration of an amazing life that he can't believe he is lucky enough to share with all those people that he loves.

And so, his anger at Rachel for being late completely dissipates when he sees her bright smile as she fishes Hudson right out of the pool and holds him, pressing kisses all over his sweet face, not caring one iota that she's getting utterly soaked.

Blaine gives his hand a yank and leads him over to Rachel, Hudson, and Jesse who has his arm wrapped around Rachel's waist as he talks to Hudson animatedly.

"Glad you two could finally make it," Kurt raises an eye brow to them and smirk ghosts over his face as she frowns openly.

Jesse looks worried, like his little joke is going to actually cause her physical harm or something, and so he speaks up sympathetically, "You wouldn't believe the traffic, Kurt. We tried to get here as soon as we could."

Rachel looks up at her husband gratefully, her eyes shining a watery thanks.

"Wait, you guys left the city today?" Blaine asks, confused.

Hudson starts to get fidgety on Rachel's hip and she strains to adjust him. The instant her face shows an inkling of distress, Jesse fishes the boy out of her arms and holds him in her stead.

Rachel smooths back Hudson's hair before turning to her friends, "Yes, well, we had planned to leave last night but something came up."

Kurt is so suspicious of her. Rachel is a terrible liar, that's for sure, but something in the way that Jesse's even more protective than usual leaves a bad feeling in his stomach.

"Well, we're just glad you guys are here. You're probably hungry, the food is set up in the gazebo and the drinks are all in the decoratively painted circus barrels!" Kurt claps excitedly, finally in the mood to party now that everyone he cares about most is here.

"Auntie Ray, can we do sing songs?" Hudson asks sweetly , his head rested on Jesse's shoulder.

Hudson, being newly three years old, calls their frequent sing alongs, "sing songs" a fact that Rachel refuses to let Kurt or Blaine correct because she thinks it's so cute.

"Of course we can, Sweetheart. But don't you want your presents first?" She smiles, egging him on.

"Rachel, presents are for when everyone else besides you guys, dad, and Carole go home, you know that…"

Rachel shoes him away with her hand and Hudson is squealing in delight, "Presents!"

"Okay, well, Uncle Jesse has the first one in his back pocket," she hints, pulling an envelope from his jeans.

Hudson's brow furrows, obviously, he was expecting a toy.

"Here, Huddy, open it." She hands the boy the colorful envelope and he haphazardly rips it free, only to see a mess of Mickey Mouse-shaped glitter fluttering out.

Kurt instantly knows where this is going, "Rachel…"

Poor Hudson is terribly confused, "You gived me Mickey Mouse?"

"Well, sort of," Jesse smiles, eyeing Rachel, "We got you and your dads a vacation to go to Disney World! How's that sound?"

Hudson looks up at Jesse and then at Rachel in awe.

And so do Kurt and Blaine.

"Guys, this was so generous and sweet, but we can't accept this, "Blaine says, his eyes darting to a trance-like Kurt who looks like he's staring directly into Rachel's psyche.

"Well, you don't have to, because it's Hudson's birthday present. Right, Hudson?"

He nods ferociously, "Fank you Auntie Ray and Uncle Jesse! I love you so much!" He throws his arms around Jesse's neck tightly and Rachel moves to rub his back, "Anything for our special guy," she coos.

Knowing that they can never tell Hudson no now, and not wanting Kurt to do it, Blaine blurts out, "Hey, Hudson, why don't we go tell Nana and Poppy and Grandma about your gift?" He takes his boy from Jesse's arms. He trails off to the patio area as Hudson mutters on about Goofy and Buzz Lightyear.

"Rachel, what the hell was that?" Kurt sneers.

She shoots him a cutting look and once again, Jesse is bracing her, his hands rubbing up and down her arms.

"What was what, Kurt? I can't give my nephew a gift for his third birthday?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and smacked his hand against his thigh, "Of course you can. But what are you going to give him next year, his own private island?!"

"Kurt, with all due respect, you're treating Rachel pretty poorly considering how much time and effort that went into planning this trip," Jesse kisses the top of her head and she squeezes her eyes shut.

Of course, now he's made to feel guilty, noticing how Rachel literally clings to Jesse as if she were face to face with a wild animal rather than her best friend.

"I'm sorry, of course I appreciate it, I—I'm flabbergasted, actually. This is over the top, even for you."

Rachel bites her lip and stares at the floor, "Well, Jesse and I were planning to tag along on your trip, too. We just thought it'd be nice to spend some time together since we haven't been around much lately."

Kurt nods, understanding that aside from love, Rachel's guilt is playing a huge factor in this gift.

"Diva, you both have lives. Blaine, Hudson, and I understand that you can't make it to every dance lesson or soccer game. You don't need to wow us with a vacation to prove your love."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a hired waiter on stilts comes by with a steaming tray of hor'dourves. Before he can even ask anyone if they'd like any, Rachel makes a sour face and darts off as Jesse runs to catch up with her.

Great, Kurt think. Now he's really upset her.

….

It's been over twenty minutes, and he can't find Rachel anywhere. Blaine and Sam are having a blast for themselves captaining opposing volleyball teams in the pool consisting of most of their glee club friends, Carole and his dad are snuggled up on the porch swing with Hudson in between them, Pam's doing shots with Puck, and their Broadway friends are all happily chatting away in their hot tub. The only one at the party who isn't enjoying themselves is him and he knows it's because he can't shake the feeling that there's something else going on with Rachel.

Something big.

He decides he has to find her. He makes his way into the spacious beach home, padding around the first floor and suspiciously seeing no signs of Rachel or Jesse anywhere.

He wonders momentarily if they've left, but he thinks that's too dramatic of an exit, even for Rachel.

He's reassured of this when he hears the toilet flush from one of the bathrooms upstairs. His interest is further piqued as he climbs the stairs and the toilet is flushed once again.

He gets to the top of the stairs and peers down the long hallway and sees one of the guest room doors slightly ajar. He walks up to it and freezes when he hears Rachel and Jesse in the midst of what seems like an incredibly emotional conversation.

She sniffles, "I can't tell them today, Jesse!"

He shushes her in attempt to calm her frayed nerves, "Doll, you're very sick. They're going to find out sooner or later."

"Let it be later, then. This is about Hudson today, okay? I'm not letting anything take away from that."

Kurt suddenly feels nauseas himself. Rachel's… sick? She's so sick that she and Jesse had to hide out in a guest room? Her lateness today is making sense. How they didn't leave on time, how she's been so scarce lately.

She's been sick and she's probably terrified and here he is, making everything that much worse for her.

His heart is racing, the prospective illnesses coursing through his mind. He thinks of his mother, how she wasn't that much older than Rachel when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Could it be cancer? It'd explain her paleness, her weight loss, the vomiting he can hear coming from the adjoined bathroom.

For a second his traitorous mind projects the notion of a possibly Rachel-less world. It's not something he can stomach to think about for a second longer than he does.

He can hear Jesse from the bathroom. She had gone in such haste she hadn't gotten a chance to close the door.

"My poor girl," He breathes, "It'll get better soon, I promise."

She heaves and he can hear the tears in her voice, "No, it won't."

"Rach, you can't think like that…"

He can't do it. He can't sit here and let her fret and worry all because of him.

He busts through the door, their heads shooting over in his direction from the archway of the bathroom door.

"Rachel?" Is all he can say.

He watches as Jesse helps Rachel up and holds her waist steady at the sink as she brushes her teeth with one of their spare toothbrushes.

He leads her out and she's leaning on Jesse so much he thinks she might fall over if he made any sudden movements.

"How much did you hear?" She asks gravely, her voice shallow, no doubt due to her strained throat from all of the vomiting.

"Enough," he answers back, eyes boring into hers.

"So, what do you want to know?" Kurt watches as Jesse's grip tightens on her waist.

"How… how long?"

She closes her eyes and thinks back, "About 10 weeks."

Kurt thinks that's a decidedly odd way to measure time, but who is he to tell a dying woman how to live?

"God, Rachel, I had no idea. I—I'm so sorry. The vacation makes so much sense now, you want to spend time with us because this has made you see how precious time is and, ugh, I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm an awful, terrible friend and I just want to let you know Blaine and I will be here for you through treatments and triumphs and everything in between." He has to catch his breath from talking so fast, and as he does, he catches Jesse and Rachel giving each other animatedly confused faces.

Jesse speaks up, "Wait, Kurt. We think you may have the wrong—"

"Oh god, did I make it seem like you were a victim? You're not a victim, you're a warrior and I love you, Rachel Berry, no matter what." He throws his arms around her and squeezes tightly.

"Kurt, what the hell are you talking about?" She implores, pushing away from him.

"What am I—Rachel, you're sick and I just want you to know how I feel about you…"

Rachel and Jesse's eyes nearly pop out of their heads. Rachel gasps, "Oh my god, I'm not sick!"

"But I heard you say it!" Kurt insists.

"Well, I am sick, but not terminally. Kurt, I had planned on telling you a million different ways but I suppose this is as good a time as any… I'm pregnant."

Kurt's jaw promptly falls to the floor and he lets out an involuntary squeal, "Oh my god! This is amazing!"

He hugs her so hard Jesse reminds him that he has to be gentle with her now that she's in a delicate condition.

He wipes at his eyes and stares at her, "This makes me so happy."

Of course, his tears prompt her own, "You are?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

She whimpers and Jesse's already there with his strong hand at her back, rubbing circles to soothe her.

"I just thought that, well, you'd think this would change things with me and Hudson and I—"

"Rachel, no. I never, ever thought that. I love how much you love Hudson, but he's my child. And now, you're going to have your own and it's okay if you can't dote or hover as much as you used to. Your bond with Hudson is forever, and nothing is going to change that. But now it's your turn to be Mommy instead of Auntie."

"See, Ray? I told you, everyone is going to be over the moon about it," Jesse says as he beams with pride.

Kurt nods in agreement, "I can't wait for a godchild to spoil… and dress. Have a girl this time, will you?"

He nudges her and she laughs, finally.

"You know, you make me want to be your husband," she tells him cheekily, like she did all those years ago in the car when they were so unsure of themselves and their futures.

But now, their futures bright and burgeoning, the sentiment is so different.

"Rachel Berry, if you weren't a female and were slightly less high strung, I'd want to be your husband, too."

Jesse chuckles at the pair, "Speaking of husbands…"

His eyes shoot to the doorway as Blaine stands teary eyed, "Rachel… you're pregnant?! Oh my god, our babies are going to be best friends!"

Jesse has to peel another AnderHummel off of Rachel before they crush her and his unborn, but the outpouring of love for their expanding family quells his overprotective nature… slightly.

After the excitement dies down a bit, Blaine and Kurt realize they need to get back to their son's party.

Blaine wipes a tear from Kurt's cheek, "Alright, we'll leave you two here for a bit. But join us downstairs as soon as you're feeling better, okay?"

She agrees and they walk off hand in hand.

Rachel lets out a breath of relief, sinking back against her husband's chest.

Holding her in his arms, his hands slide to her belly as he presses a lingering kiss on her neck, "I can't wait to get you home later. Just me, you, some Sondheim, and a nice bubble bath."

"That sounds absolutely wonderful. I'm glad we invested in a Hamptons home, it's so peaceful here and it'll be such a good retreat for us and our family from the city."

Jesse agrees, his chin resting on her shoulder, "It's a good thing we went the bigger house, you know. Not only to show up Kurt, which let me tell you, feels great, but because…"

"It's still not processing yet. Two babies at once. We're in for it, me and you," She says, her wide smile directed at him betraying her fearful words.

"Rachel, I've always told you, when I do something, I do it to my best ability. This includes impregnation," he winks at her and she slaps him, giggling at his reference to his former insanely ambitious self.

"Yeah, well, next time don't do it so well. I'm thrilled that we're expecting twin St. Jameses but I'm all about the single births from here on out," she punctuates with a squeezing of his knee.

"You're a pip, you know that? I think the thing I love most about you is how you keep me on my toes. Every day with you is an adventure, Rachel Berry."

His blue eyes bore into hers and she can't help but press her lips against his, needing to make their spiritual connection physical.

"You're not so bad yourself, Jesse St. James. Though, our children might think differently once I tell them that their daddy egged me in the middle of a parking lot…"

He winces and she snorts, loving how easily she can still guilt him over an ancient incidence, "Ray, don't tell them that! They're going to think I'm some sort of villain."

"Well, you were. But then, then you grew up and you took all that passion and drive and intensity and used it for good instead of evil. It's a timeless story, really."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep, "she nods decidedly, "People will write about it someday."

He laughs and shakes his head skeptically before he steals another kiss, "I love you so much."

"And I love you," she promises.

Rachel's brought out of her bubble of pure joy with her husband when she makes a grave realization, "Oh no," she squeaks.

Jesse's on high alert, "What's wrong? Are you okay? Are the babies okay? Do I need to call Dr. Oz? You know I have him on speed dial, he lives just down the street…"

"No, no, no! Jesse… we forgot to tell Kurt and Blaine that we're having twins. I wanted to get everything out in the open all at once and—"

"YOU'RE HAVING TWINS?!" Kurt shrieks from the doorway, promptly dropping the veggie burger he had brought up for Rachel. He runs to the bed and takes her hands.

"Oh, boy." Jesse breathes, snickering as Rachel is once again crying and so is Kurt as they jump up and down, hand in hand, throughout the room.

Jesse pulls out his phone and searches the O's in his contact list until he reaches Dr. Oz's name, he types away as Rachel and Kurt continue their commotion:

Is jumping and/or mild rioting okay for unborn babies and their mothers?

He gets an instant response back from the famed physician:

Yes, Jesse. You need to relax. Everything is going to be just fine.

And, as Rachel sits in his lap and kisses his cheek, he thinks that it really will be.