Baby Mine
I'm really, really proud of this. This is my first fanfic so if you could drop a review with what you thought it would be really helpful! Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this little one shot of mine!
Dedicated to Eric, for always being the Finn to my Rachel. I love you.
I:
Rachel comes home half an hour late that night. Finn isn't too concerned; he knows she's working hard in these last couple of weeks of her show, and so he's just waiting patiently at the kitchen table when she walks in, takeout cartons already waiting. "Hey baby-" He begins, but she cuts him off.
"I'm late." She interrupts, her face pale.
He doesn't really get what she means by this at first. "It's okay, I know that you're working super hard for the show and everything-"
"No, Finn," She corrects. "That's not what I meant. I meant that my period is late."
Finn lets this sink in, his brow furrowed as he thinks. "Oh my God." He says finally. "Are you sure?"
Rachel shakes her head. "No," She holds up a CVS pharmacy bag. "I came prepared though." She states calmly and seriously. "I bought fifteen of the most accurate kind."
He nods as she starts off towards their bathroom and when he looks down, he sees his hands are shaking. They've only been married for three years, they're both twenty-five now, she's starring in a Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and he's been busy too, what with his new job teaching middle school music. How are they supposed to juggle a baby in the middle of all that?
Finn shakily stands up and goes to wait for the results in their bedroom. Somehow, he knows it'll be okay. They'll make it work, they always do.
II:
"…What are we going to do if it's positive?" Rachel asks finally, looking at the timer from the corner of her eye as she scoots closer to Finn on the bed.
"Then we'll raise this baby," Finn answers, rubbing circles on her knee. "And we'll love it and protect it and try to be the absolute best parents we can, okay?"
Rachel nods, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile. "I love you." She whispers.
"I love you, too," He replies, pressing a delicate kiss to her cheek. Just then, the timer goes off.
Rachel takes a deep breath and brings the stick back over to them, still facing down. "Together?" She asks.
Finn nods. "Together," He affirms. "On the count of three,"
"One," She breathes.
"Two," He adds.
"Three!"
They flip it over together and she promptly bursts into tears, crying into his shoulder.
He feels like his head is spinning for a second when he first sees the pink plus sign. There's a fetus growing in Rachel's womb right now and in a few months it would be grown into a living, breathing baby, a part of both of them. He reached up to stroke her hair and realizes then that he's smiling. "Are those happy or sad tears?" He asks.
"I don't know…" She manages to choke out, cutting herself off when she lets out a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. "I can't believe this is happening."
Truthfully? Neither does he.
III:
They have their first appointment with the OBGYN the next Friday. Finn can feel his leg shaking as he and Rachel watch the doctor start the ultrasound machine. He's nervous, but honestly who wouldn't be? He can tell from the look in Rachel's eyes she's nervous too. He squeezes her hand reassuringly and she smiles.
"This will be a little cold," Dr. Smith warns as she begins to apply the gel to Rachel's stomach. She winces at first, but then relaxes. Dr. Smith begins to move the wand around, then smiles. "There's your baby," She says, pointing out the black spot on the screen. "I'd say you're about six weeks along. Would you like a copy of the ultrasound?"
Finn looks over to Rachel, but she has tears streaming down her face, so he answers the doctor instead. "Yes, thank you." Dr. Smith nods and leaves the room, smiling as she does.
"Happy," Rachel mumbles, turning to Finn.
He reaches up and wipes the wetness from her face. "What do you mean?" He asks.
"You asked me last time if my tears were happy or sad, and I'm telling you they're happy."
He smiles as she hugs him and he feels his own tears threatening to spill over. Happy, they're happy.
IV:
Rachel is convinced that she will not have any morning sickness; she tells Finn that from the moment they leave her appointment. "It's because of my lack of a gag reflex." She says.
But, two weeks later, when Rachel has just passed her two month mark, Finn wakes up in the middle of the night to find her in the bathroom, slumped over the toilet. He gets up and kneels beside her, holding her hair back. "Lack of a gag reflex, huh?"
She looks up and glares at him, but then she smiles so he knows she's not that upset.
V:
They go home to Lima the next week at Carole's invitation, Finn doesn't have to work since his school is on Spring Break and Rachel's show has finally wrapped so she isn't busy either. Kurt and Blaine come down with them too, the fashion magazine Kurt works for allowed him to take the weekend off and Blaine is self-employed, he owns his own music studio, so he happily gives himself the vacation.
"Should we tell them?" Rachel whispers as they drive into Lima. Kurt and Blaine are kissing in the backseat, which they've being doing even more than usual ever since they were married in the fall, so she doubts they can hear her, and even if they do it's the last thing on their minds.
"We have to eventually." Finn replies. "Might as well do it soon,"
"We'll tell them tonight, I guess." Rachel says with a smile. "They're going to be thrilled."
And sure enough, when Rachel announces she's pregnant over dinner, everyone is thrilled. Carole screams, Burt clamps Finn on the back, Rachel's dads hug their daughter excitedly, and Kurt and Blaine start kissing, again.
Well, at least they know their kid will be the most loved child on the planet. The thought makes both of them smile.
VI:
Quinn and Puck come and spend the weekend with them a few months later. It's a really good setup actually; Rachel and Quinn will go shopping for baby things while Finn and Puck can stay at home and play video games. The girls buy lots of tiny onesies and booties, and Puck mocks Finn for smiling when he sees them, not that he cares.
Rachel opens her mouth to chastise Puck for cursing when he dies on level four, but before she can she runs off to the bathroom, puking her guts out.
"Poor thing," Quinn sighs, moving to sit in Puck's lap as he slaps down the controller angrily. "I've been there."
Rachel comes from the bathroom a moment later, wiping her mouth. "You okay, Rach?" Finn asks her.
She nods. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Sprite and Saltines helps," Quinn advises. "And there are prenatal lollipops you can buy,"
Rachel smiles. "Really, I'll have to buy some." She looks at Finn expectantly; obviously by "I'll buy some" she means "Finn'll buy some."
He sighs. "I'll go to the store later,"
She squeals. "Oh, and can you get some peanut butter ice cream too? I really want some peanut butter ice cream."
"Sure, babe."
Puck snorts. "You're so whipped."
Quinn smacks him on the side of the head and he flinches, bumping into Finn's shoulder. "Shut up!" She says.
"Sorry," Puck mumbles, reaching for his game console again.
Finn smirks. "Oh yeah, and I'm whipped?"
Puck glares at him in response. "You suck, Hudson." It is clear there's something else he'd rather say, another word that rhymes with suck, but doesn't want to get hit by Quinn again.
Everyone simply laughs.
VII:
Rachel really starts showing when she is eighteen weeks along or so, most likely because she is so petite. Still, she isn't huge, just kind of round, but she starts wearing lots of Finn's old T-shirts anyway.
"I don't want to draw any attention to it," Rachel explains. "I mean, I don't really look pregnant."
"You're not fat," Finn assures her, kissing her temple. "You are the most gorgeous woman to ever walk the face of the planet."
Rachel rolls her eyes. "You're my husband, Finn, you're supposed to say that…" She pauses. "But, do you mind saying it again?"
He laughs, but obliges.
VIII:
Rachel has an ultrasound scheduled for the next week, and this is the one where they find out the sex of their baby, so they are super excited. It feels like forever until Dr. Smith comes into the room.
"Are you two excited?" She asks them and Rachel nods.
"But I think that's an understatement," She laughs, looking at Finn.
Dr. Smith moves the wand around on Rachel's stomach and then their baby comes into view. After all of these months, both Finn and Rachel still feel their hearts skip a beat whenever they see the baby. "You wish to know the sex, correct?" Dr. Smith asks.
"Yes," Rachel answers eagerly.
Dr. Smith smiles. "Well, I can tell you I am positive it's a girl. Congratulations." Then, she gets up and leaves the room, giving the two of them some privacy.
Rachel immediately starts crying, of course, and when Finn leans in to kiss her she sees he's tearing up too. "I love you," He whispers. "I love you both more than anything."
"I love you too," She replies, her tears mixing with his.
Finn smiles, glancing at the screen. "You know, I really wanted a girl." He admits, and it's true. He actually did want a girl. A boy would've been fine with him of course, but he'd always pictured their first child being a daughter, and now that dream is finally coming true. "A little girl just like you," He adds.
Rachel beams. "Me too," She gushes.
He laughs, then leans in to kiss her again.
IX:
They're in the middle of painting the nursery. Finn is doing the walls, trying not to get pink on his T-shirt, while Rachel works on painting the border closer to the floor yellow. "Do you think this looks good?" Finn asks, not even turning around. Rachel doesn't answer. "Rach-"
"Oh!" She squeals. Rachel is sitting on the floor, both hands on her stomach, eyes wide. Finn opens his mouth to ask what's wrong, but Rachel cuts him off. "She kicked."
"Oh my God," Finn gasps. He crosses the room in three strides, then sits down besides Rachel, who places his hand on the side of her stomach.
"Kick for Daddy, sweetheart," She coos. Promptly, he feels movement under his fingertips.
"Was that…?" He asks, in awe.
Rachel nods. "She says hi." The baby kicks again and Finn kisses her cheek. "She loves you already, you know."
He smiles. "I love her, too."
X:
Rachel starts talking to the baby a lot in the next couple weeks, and Finn finds it endearing, honestly. She'll have long conversations with her belly and use an old pair of headphones to play Barbra Streisand's greatest hits to her stomach. Once she's gone through the entire CD, playing everything from Funny Girl to Hello, Dolly! to their baby, she brings up singing.
"I think it would be nice if she heard us sing," She explains as they get into bed that night.
Finn smiles at her and wraps an arm around her shoulder, his other hand on her belly. "I think that it is a great idea,"
"Our song?" Rachel asks with a smile.
He nods, and the baby kicks wildly as he begins to sing. "Highway run, into the midnight sun…"
XI:
They decide to go down to Lima for a glee club reunion with Kurt and Blaine when Rachel is eight and a half months pregnant. Finn's a little reluctant at first, since Rachel is due in two weeks, but she insists. They have to drive down, not only because Rachel is too pregnant to fly, but because Kurt has so many suitcases it would just be too expensive to pay for all of them.
They get to the Schuester residence in the early afternoon, just on time. It's super weird calling Mr. Schuester Will and Miss Pillsbury, well, Mrs. Schuester, Emma, but they get used to it.
Rachel is sitting on the couch, listening to Will and Emma's six year old daughter Katie talk animatedly as she plays with her Barbie's. She opened her mouth to speak when she felt wetness trickle down her leg. Oh crap.
"Is everything alright?" Miss Pi-Mrs. S-Emma asks, one year old Matt Schuester on her hip. She sets two glasses of iced tea down on the coffee table, after placing down two coasters, as she's still big on cleanliness even after all of her OCD medication.
Rachel shakes her head. "I need you to get Finn. Cause I think my water just broke."
XII:
Getting to the hospital proves to be quite difficult with all the freaking out people, so it feels like an eternity later when they arrive at Lima Medical. All of the glee club is in the waiting room while Finn and Rachel go into the hospital room. And then, the waiting begins.
"Just get this baby out of me!" Rachel groans as another wave of pain overtakes her. "Oh, I swear to God Finn Hudson, we are never having sex again, do you hear me?" Needless to say, when she finally gets her epidural, Finn is relieved. Then, Kurt spends way too much money on baby things, since everything they have is back in New York, and he is stressed out again.
"Alright Rachel, let's check your progress." The doctor says. Rachel's been in labor for five hours, so she gives the doctor a death glare when she walks in. The doctor checks Rachel out and then smiles. "It seems that you're fully dilated. Are you ready to start pushing?"
Rachel's eyes go wide and she immediately looks to Finn, her lower lip trembling.
"Hey," Finn sighs, bending down to look his wife in the eye. "You can do this, Rach. We're going to meet our little girl today and she's going to be perfect. I'll hold onto your hand the whole time."
She looks up at him, her eyes glassy. "Even when I'm squeezing so hard you feel like your fingers are going to break?"
He can't help it, he cracks a smile. "Even then,"
She grins and turns to the doctor. "Okay, I'm ready to push now."
XIII:
Rachel reaches out her finger and the baby latches on, looking up at her mother. "She's so tiny," She sighs.
"She's perfect," Finn adds, and Rachel has to agree. Their daughter is perfect. She has a full head of dark brown hair, the prettiest light brown eyes and, much to Rachel's relief, her father's nose.
"What are we going to name her?" She asks, turning to Finn. "We can't call her Baby forever."
As soon as she says this, he instantly thinks of back when they'd sing Faithfully to her belly and how they'd always get a lot of kicks in response. "What about Faith?" He asks.
Rachel smiles, knowing right away where the name came from. "I love it. She looks like a Faith."
"You can pick the middle name," Finn tells her. "It can even be Barbra, if you want."
"Actually," Rachel replies. "I was thinking her middle name should be Caroline, like after your mom." He feels his breath catch in his throat when she says this. "Do you like it?"
"Faith Caroline Hudson," He says, trying it out. "A perfect name for a perfect baby,"
XIV:
The baby monitor cracks when the sound of Faith's cries fill Finn and Rachel's room. They're used to it by now. Rachel instinctively moves to get up, but Finn stops her. "I'll get her," He says. "It's my turn anyway." Rachel smiles, then falls back down in bed and rolls over.
Finn makes his way to his daughter's room, leaning over Faith's crib. "What's wrong, sweetie?" He asks, reaching in for her. Faith is definitely Rachel's daughter, as she is a very loud crier, but as soon as he picks the baby up her wails cease. "Did you just want your daddy to hold you?" He coos and she looks up at him with her light brown eyes, her light brown eyes that look exactly like his. "I love you, Faith." He whispers. "You know that, right?" Faith blinks and then yawns, making Finn smile. "I promise Mommy and I will take good care of you." He continues, rocking Faith back and forth in his arms lightly. "We're going to love you and spoil you rotten, I think your Uncle Kurt and Aunt Quinn will help in that department." He can already picture Kurt and Quinn coming to their house with full shopping bags, and the thought makes him laugh. "I'm gonna be here for you and protect you always, Faith. You're my little girl and you always will be."
He hears someone giggle and looks up to see Rachel in the doorway, smiling at them. "You're so cute," She says, walking over to kiss her husband and then her child. Finn wraps one arm around her and pulls her close, she snuggles her head against his chest. "How'd I get so lucky?" She asks with a happy sigh.
Honestly, he was wondering the exact same thing.