So, here comes another birthday present. This one is for Gleekforever12345. And it's a bit different from the others, this first part is the birthday present. But it will also have another part which will make it a two shot. It's for two reasons, one because I couldn't fit it all into one part and two, because not even I was evil enough to end a whole story with the line this first chapter ends with. So, anyway. I hope you like this. And Jen- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
"Rachel." Finn's careful sounding voice woke me up while I felt his hand tenderly touching my cheek and his tender kiss towards my lips. "Rachel… Oh Rachel. Oh come on, you've gotta wake up. If you weren't pregnant I'd hit you with my pillow. Oh…" I could feel the movement in the mattress as he moved and then felt him rubbing and putting his cheek down towards my belly. "Hello little one. Little Duncan, or Nicole, or Penny… or maybe Drizzle" There I couldn't hold it and pretend to be asleep anymore.
"I am not naming the baby Drizzle Finn!" I opened my eyes and smiled to Finn where he laid with half of his face towards my huge, pregnant belly and smiling back at me. With a sparkle in his eye that I had only seen ever when we were talking about our baby. "No, if it's a girl. I am not naming her Drizzle. I'm not!" Finn crawled over and laid an arm behind my back to support me to sit up. "Thank you honey." I reached forward and kissed him before I laid my head down towards his shoulder and laid my hand with his towards my belly and the Winnie the Pooh printed maternity pyjama shirt.
"Well, whatever your name will be Little Boo. This is daddy. And he loves you very much. Just like your mother loves you very much, and we love each other very much. And… Rachel? Are you okay? Is it starting? Should I call an ambulance? Or my mum?" Finn wouldn't shut up, and I was fine so at last I just laid a hand towards his cheek and kissed him. In the middle of a word so he wouldn't be able to keep on talking. "Oh… I guess you're fine then." I nodded.
"Well." I turned so I'd sit on the edge of the bed and Finn moved over my bed to give me support. "As good as someone two weeks overdue could be. God little Boo." I turned to my belly and rubbed it. "You should have been here fourteen days ago. Where did you go?" I let go of Finn and started moving towards the bathroom door. "It's fine Finn. I can still go to the bathroom by myself."
While wagging towards the bathroom. Which was a real slow process in my current state and size. And having told Finn I could do it myself I finally got a moment to myself and thought a bit about everything that had happened the past year- and how on earth we were going to move on from this.
It might have been I wanted to make myself a career on Broadway more than anything else during my whole childhood and teenage years. It might have been that I would have wanted to wait a longer time than to twenty one to get pregnant and longer than twenty two than to have a child. It might have been that I hadn't exactly planned to have to move back to Lima and next door to Burt and Carole… But actually, I had never really been as happy and to peace with life as I was nowadays.
"You do know that today is my day? You don't want to cancel it because of what happened yesterday, do you?"
Yesterday we had rushed to the hospital when my water broke. God knows how many tests later we had gone home in the afternoon having been told it would most likely be another couple of days before little one made him- or- herself heard again. And I couldn't tell Finn no on the day he had been nagging and nagging about for the last six months.
"No Finn, it's fine. Will you tell me what we're going to do now?" The door swung open and Finn smiled mischievously at me- oh no, he wasn't. This was still going to be a surprise. And I jokingly pushed him to the side and waddled over to my wardrobe and picked out a pair of denim shorts, a black tank top with the text 'I still fall for you every day' and a long, knitted grey, light blue and black cardigan. Everything was of maternity kinds- but even this was starting to become too small with my belly. Despite that (and the fact that Finn had to help me get the shorts on since I couldn't bend down far enough to do it myself) I felt quite happy with how I managed to even put a good maternity outfit together.
"And then the last piece… Finn, can you help me get those sneakers on?" Finn laughed slightly while I sat down on my bed and then helped me up and lead me waddling out to the car where he gently pushed me down in the passenger seat in the front and tied a blind fold around my head while I giggled.
I didn't giggle fifteen minutes later though when we had been on the road that I couldn't see long enough for me to every time the car hit a bump or a turn in the road my stomach churned and I thought I was going to be sick. I tried to hold out on it for as long as I could since I knew how excited Finn was about everything so at last when I could literally feel the tingling in the back of my throat threating to making me gag and I felt around for Finn's arm and tugged his sleeve.
"Finn. Stop the car for a minute and take this blind fold off because I can't see the road and I'm really car sick."
"It's okay." Finn moved his hand and took mine. "We're almost there."
"FINN. You need to…"
"And we're here."
Just as I was certain that I'd throw up Finn stopped the car and told me to wait for a second. I heard him get out and felt for the door to have something to hold onto. And just a second later I could hear the door being opened and I slowly stepped out. Making sure I didn't do any too fast moves so I one- wouldn't throw up and two- not step towards anything and stumble. If I fell I wasn't too certain that I could get up again.
"Finn I feel really nauseas. I think I'm gonna throw up."
It didn't get better by feeling some sort of cramps in my lower abdomen. God don't let these be contractions! I shook my head and ignored the severe pain flashing through my body. This was Finn's special day- I could ignore this for another while.
While I felt Finn's big, strong hands lead me out of the car gently I felt more nauseas then ever and he tenderly took me in his arms and rubbed my back while I took one deep breath after the other and forced the nausea down my throat not to get sick.
"Honey" Suddenly I heard a female voice and felt another hand then Finn's on my back. "Are you alright?" Before I realized I still couldn't see anything because of the blind fold I turned my head around and then sunk back into Finn's arms back with the nausea I had just managed to push away.
"Carole?" I thought I recognized the voice. But with everything remembering who it belonged to. And just as I had asked I felt someone- and the hands were way too small to be Finn's while she pulled the blind fold off and I could see where we were. But with my stomach once again churning I couldn't really decide where we were or who were here.
"Yes, don't worry honey. Finn! What did I tell you about blind folding her and then go in the car? I told you she'd get sick from it. So would you if you were pregnant for Christ's sake. Come here honey. Come and sit down again." I didn't even bother protesting, before she slowly and carefully led me back to the car and gently pushed me down to sit. "Here." She handed me a water bottle- where on earth did that come from. "Now don't look so surprised honey. I'm the only one here that has been through this before you know! Now drink!" I smiled slightly and took the bottle she reached me and with shaky and weak hands twisted off the lid.
When I drank the water and the nausea finally eased I could finally take the time to look around and check who was here. We seemed to be in a glade with trees all around and a lake. And here were the ones closest to me and Finn, and I hated the worried look on all of their faces. Carole seemed to be the only one who had calmed down, my dads, Burt, Kurt and Blaine were all looking worriedly at me and continued doing so while I got onto my feet and waddled towards where Finn would lead me.
"Are you okay darling?" one of my dads (Leroy) asked while he embraced me and I nodded. "Finn…" I understood by the tone in his voice that he, like Carole would scold him for having me ride the car with blind fold on but before he (Or daddy for that matter) had the time I gestured to them both to just be quiet.
"It's okay dads. I'm fine now. And I'm pregnant- not made of glass."
Dad looked as if he wanted to say more, but I turned away from him and to Finn to get an explanation to what on earth was going on. Finn gestured something. And Kurt held up a paper, where the only thing I could distinguish was a line for someone to sign.
"You know… for us to get married was not an easy thing to plan." Finn started. "You're Jewish, I'm Christian and then we just had to drop it all with the baby. So I came up with this idea. And yes, I thought of everything." He pointed to Blaine who was holding a dress. "So… I guess you need someone to help you. But if you want to. You can get in that dress… and let it be your wedding dress."
"Hold on." I had suddenly realized something in the middle of everything. "Isn't today June the twenty…"
"No!"
"…ninth. Which would also make today…"
"No!"
"…Carole's birthday which means…"
"No!"
"…That our wedding will be…"
"No!"
"The same day as…"
"No!"
"You, Carole turn…"
"NO!"
I couldn't help to laugh at Carole protesting when I almost said how old she would be, and making today her birthday.
"Are you sure it's okay?"
"If what is okay? It's not like today is my birthday or anything. I stopped getting older when he was born." She pointed to her son and there were spread laughing from us others. Then Carole just smiled softly at us. "Of course it's okay. Go on and get married all you like! And then I am going to just stand here and cry you a river because my little boy isn't so little anymore."
"Mum." Finn moaned. He might not be a teenager anymore, but he still found his mum call him such things as 'her little boy' very, very embarrassing. And I would have laughed, if not right then I was in the middle of a cramp worse than any of the others so far and I just forced a smile while Finn and Carole were discussing something that just seemed like blur to me.
"So what do you say?" When the cramp finally eased Finn took both of my hands and smiled. Before he sat down on one knee- even then almost as tall as me. "Rachel Barbra Berry, do you want to marry me?" I couldn't help but smile. And in the corner of my eye I could see Carole pulling up a tissue from her pocket.
"Yes."
Finn smiled and hugged me still sitting on his knees. Then moved back when he and I both could feel the baby moving.
"Hey, little one. Hold on a minute okay? You can't come right now… Mum? If the baby would come right now, you're a nurse. So you would know what to do right? You've done it before…. Well, from both perspectives before… right?"
"Yes, I've been there before. But just the thought of that it's my grandson or granddaughter might make me forget about it all again." Finn looked sort of panicked at that. "Don't worry Finn, the baby won't come right now. Doctor told me it would be another couple of days right?" Finn nodded. "Well, then it will be so don't worry about it. And let's get this party started instead." She gestured over all of us.
Finn smiled goofily at me, and I didn't even hesitate before I first backed- then turned around and grabbed the dress from Blaine and Kurt by the shirt and pulled him with me behind one of the cars and some bushes to get changed. Something that just felt like it took way too much time always, but especially now when I just wanted to throw that damn dress on (close to impossible with my big belly) and run out to Finn waiting with the others. (Even closer to impossible in my state)
While he didn't have to help me, Kurt picked up some flowers from the ground, and he put one in my hair and held the rest to me. While I stood lost in my own thoughts and mostly tried to think away the cramp that was once again wrenching in my body but tried to ignore it when Kurt held the flowers to me and dad and daddy got on either side of me and lead me smiling down to where Finn was standing. While Kurt ran over and grabbed the same papers as before from Blaine who had been holding them while Kurt helped me.
Despite the cramp that had just eased yet another time. When I walked with those new picked flowers down towards the spot where my future husband was waiting. I couldn't help but to feel a big smile- bigger than ever before form on my lips. And it couldn't even be ruined by Finn being sort of pessimistic.
"I know it might not be what you wanted with everyone we've ever know there and so but" Finn started and the way his voice sounded made the butterflies already in my stomach fly wild of nervousity and excitement
"When we had to cancel it to save money for the baby and such. I just had this idea and… It might not be what you wanted and planned from the start but it's something and it's ours and it's…" Finn wouldn't stop babbling so at last I just took his head in between my hands and raised onto the tips of my toes to kiss him and shut him up.
"Finn… I know it's not what we planned but for me to say what I think about it you need to shut up." Finn's lips were wearing a goofy kind of smile that made me feel all weak in the knees. And while I looked at him I felt another cramp start- damn it baby! Not yet, not here, not now. "Can you just wait a while because in this moment I'm just so, very happy with looking at you and holding you?" Finn smiled goofily like just he could once again and while looking at him I tried to hide the pain, but realizing Finn knew me better than anyone else and he'd see it in my eyes I leaned into his touch and let him embrace me with his two, strong arms around my back. He started rubbing my back in just the right spot, and God knows if it was ten seconds or ten years the cramping eased again and I looked up at Finn and smiled and agreed with what he said.
"Let's get married."
"Finn?" He nodded. "I know you said that this isn't what we planned… But it couldn't have been more perfect." I looked back to our families. "Let's get married." Kurt fixed with the papers and the pencil and put them down on the picnic table with the pen ready for us to sign. "I know I haven't got one but did you have a vow?"
"I don't need a vow!"
At first I was kind of confused by what he said- he was the only one who knew about all of this happening so he must have a vow- didn't he? But my confusion run off when he started singing. And once it came to the part I would be singing Finn just smiled while I sung. And none of us would have to say a word- we had been singing this song countless times before. And I knew the parts I would be singing just like Finn knew his like the back of my hand. And just as the song ended Kurt held the papers to us and we signed where we had to and Kurt checked so we had signed it all and then smiled up at us.
"Well… I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mrs. and Mr. Hudson." Kurt's smile went even bigger and he looked to Finn. "How do I do this? Well who cares… you may now kiss your bride." Finn just smiled and lowered his head while I raised onto the tips of my toes to kiss him. More lovingly and passionate than ever.
"Whoa."
When I felt another cramp coming on I lowered onto my feet again and my hand shot towards my stomach while I felt what felt Finn worriedly taking a grip around my shoulders while I tried to breathe and rubbed my belly.
"What is it Rach? Is it the baby?" I nodded. If I opened my mouth I'd probably scream from the pain. "Is it… Is it coming?" I hesitated. "MUM?" Finn wouldn't have had to shout. Carole was already by my side and rubbing my back.
"Are you having a contraction?" I just glared at her- wasn't that kind of obvious? "Have you been having contractions earlier today?"
"Not this bad!"
"Okay. How long was it since the last one before this one?"
"I don't know." I hesitated when another wave of pain hit me. "Maybe… maybe five minutes." The look on Carole's face suddenly changed and when I realized what it meant fear filled my whole body from my head to my toes. And I leaned into Finn's chest when another wave of pain hit me so hard I wasn't so sure my feet would carry me.
"It's okay honey." I could feel one of my dad's hands on my shoulders and gently pulling me backwards. "We'll get you to the hospital. It's okay." I tried to shake him off while the contraction- way too slowly started fading for this time. But my annoyance through the pain- not so much. "What are you doing? I'm trying to help."
"I don't want your help. I want Carole to come with me. Not you" I pointed to Hiram. "And certainly not you." I pointed to LeRoy- who would, pretty much faint at any sight of any kind of body fluids- or someone in pain. Or just someone that sounded like they were in pain!
"Rach… honey. "
"I SAID I WANT CAROLE."
Even in my state. And I felt like I was cut off from the rest of the world I heard everyone go quiet. And it seemed like everyone were quiet until I felt another arm around my shoulders and looked up for my brown eyes to meet the comforting look in Carole's green ones and finally breathed out.
"Are you sure you don't want your dads to come with you honey?" I nodded, then shook my heads. "Okay. Come here then." Slowly, Carole and Finn started leading me through the glade and towards the car. But I stopped abruptly when another contraction ached through my body and I let go of Carole to just cling onto Finn while the pain had me screaming on the top of my lungs.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the movement when Carole gestured something to Finn and then couldn't help but let a small (or maybe not so small) whimper escape my throat when he lifted me up. And then continued towards Carole's car where he carefully put me down across the back seats with my back leaned against one of the doors, he placed himself on the other side of the back seat while Carole got into the driver's seat and hit the gas so hard the gravel flew around the tires.
It crossed my mind how I had never really expected Carole to… do something like this. But the next second, when a new contraction started I had enough to think about without thinking about or even noticing her way of driving. Well, what was more than we were probably far above the speed limit on this forest road between that glade and Lima memorial.
"What is…"
"SHUT UP FINN" I shouted. Before he'd had the time to finish what he was asking. I just had a feeling that he would be asking what was going on and I mean. That part was just obvious! Finn stopped for a moment, and the he opened his mouth and tried again.
"But what am…"
"SHUT UP FINN."
I and Carole had shouted at the exact same time, but right afterwards I felt a new contraction coming on and I fell back towards the seat and the car door again and screamed at the top of my lungs, And if I hadn't been so blacked out by the pain I would have noticed that Finn looked around confused and looked to Carole. And I would have noticed the way Carole nervously looked in the rearview mirror before she turned her vision back to the road and asked Finn something that just seemed like a blur to me. And the way he peaked to look under the dress and looked up with an even more confused look and told Carole something, just as the blur faded and the contractions eased.
"I can see the top of the head mum."
"Shit!" Carole swore loudly and drove onto the side of the road. "Okay, we don't have time to get to the hospital. Finn. Get on the other side and support her back. And call for an ambulance. Rachel." Carole came into the back seat and Finn hurried around the car until he opened the door behind me and supported my back. He talked to the phone, but in my already exhausted state his words just sounded blurry until they seemed to go clearer again.
"I can't do this." I whimpered. "It's too hard."
"Rachel." Carole took my hand and raised so she could look me in the eyes. "It's okay. You are doing so, very well, do you hear me? So very well. And I can tell you this will go fast. So just be ready when the next contraction comes and I'll count to ten and you push while I count, okay?" I nodded weakly. "Okay, you've got nothing to worry about honey. Okay?" When I felt another contraction coming I grimaced and raised slightly. "Okay, here we go. Rachel, push! One, two, three…"
All the while, while she was counting I pushed as if my own life was depending on it. And it felt like hours before she finally reached ten and I slumped back into Finn's arms again. Shaking of exhaustion I felt the contraction fading and I looked to Carole and hoped with all of that I had that she'd say at least that this would go fast- I didn't know how long I would be able to take this!
"Okay, okay. You have to stop pushing now honey. Just pant like this" She showed me how to do it. "And push when I tell you to. Okay?" I nodded weakly. "Good girl" I raised one of my trembling hands to my side and Finn got my wink and took it in his bigger hand. "Okay, an. Now, push…. Just go on like that honey. Almost done… And… Here we go."
I slumped back into Finn's arms when Carole could take the baby in her hands and she seemed to be every piece of as emotional and confused by everything happening as I felt while she lifted the baby to lie on my chest and I just let go and barely even noticed the salt tears streaming down my face while sob after sob wrenched my aching body and God knows what for.
"It's a little boy." Carole let go of him mostly when he laid on my chest and moved her hand downwards while his life's first scream sounded through the car and the forest. "And he's absolutely perfect. Ten fingers and ten toes, just like you wanted him Finn." I felt Finn nod and he reached his hand forward and took his son's other hand in his big- and God, had I ever seen anything as beautiful as the little boy lying here towards my chest?
And that despite everything, and I couldn't help to laugh slightly through all of the emotions.
"This was not exactly how I planned this to happen?" I laughed even worse. "Not one thing of it was how I planned it, or even imagined that it could happen."
"What about?" Carole smiled towards me. "The part about having your mother in law there as the only one who have been through this- from two different sides before, or the part that we're in my car?" I laughed again. "Don't worry about it honey. What matters is that you're both healthy." And that Finn's somewhat because I was certain that he'd faint at least a couple of times when his first child was born.
"HEY!" Finn seemed offended and Carole just smirked at him. "You should be nice to me! Oh…" He turned to his son again instead. "Hello little man… But hey… We can't keep on calling you little guy or little man can we? We need a name? Don't we?" Finn hesitated and when I turned my head and looked up at him it was with an expression filled with love I saw him look down on his child. Maybe… maybe Oliver. Oliver… Oliver Carl"
"Oliver…" I tasted the name. "Oliver Hudson… I like that. It's perfect. But I thought you wanted to use your dad's name as middle name… Didn't you?" Finn shook his head, and looked to Carole who seemed just as confused and exhausted by everything that had happened at once as I felt, and then I understood where he had got Carl from.
"I did but… There's someone else. Someone more important." Carole just smiled through the tears (Of pride and joy) in her eyes and nodded. "If it's okay with her of course." Carole nodded and wiped the tears.
"Oh yes, she'd be honored."
"Oliver Carl…" Finn smiled and his chocolate brown eyes sparkled in that special way that only they could. "Oliver Carl Hudson." He leaned against the back of his seat and took Oliver's tiny little hand in one of his big ones. "Welcome to the world. And happy birthday grandma…" Finn acted like he wanted to say more, but Carole interrupted.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I am not old enough to be called a grandma yet. So don't you dare young man," She turned to her grandson. "And you don't get to call me grandma yet for another few years… or ever. You call me nana okay? Just nana."" I couldn't help but laugh, but it was a weak and tired kind of laughter that I didn't even recognize myself. And while I heard the sirens of an ambulance far away but far too late, I turned to our baby boy and with shaky hands held him still towards my chest with one hand, and stroke his short, soft hair with the other and whispered.
"Happy birthday Oliver."
Smiling, I looked down at my and Finn's son. Filled by love, stronger than ever before my eyes filled with tears once again. Of joy, and of love s strong I didn't even understand how my heart wouldn't stop or even explode by all the feelings coming at once.
"For you to be born right here in the back seat of your grand… nana's car wasn't exactly what I had planned." I couldn't help but smile. "But if that's what was supposed to happen. Then I woldn't have wanted it any other way. Me, you. And two of the people I love the very most. "And that you are going love the most."
"Well," Finn seemed hesitant. "Unless something go as we don't plan it to again." I glanced to Carole, and together we just shouted at him.
"SHUT UP FINN!"
The song they sing at the wedding- Faithfully- Journey
Random fact
I've made all of the birthday presents I have done so far one- shots. When I finally had an idea to this it looked a bit different from the start and I was planning on making it a two- shot. The plans of making Oliver born in the car was a way to do it to keep it a one shot. Since I seriously do not need more multi chapter stories right now. So I hope you didn't hate it all too much haha.