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Remind Me
The doorbell rang, and she jumped, even though she had been pacing the floor anxiously waiting for his arrival. She had been questioning her decision to invite him over the entire day, but never more in that moment. She could feel her heart as it pounded against her ribcage, and she placed a hand to her stomach to calm herself. But it did not provide her any comfort in the least. It only sufficed to remind her of her baby.
She swallowed and breathed, straightening her clothes and hair, not because of him specifically. She would have done the same thing even if it was Kurt at the door. Kurt. He reminded her of everything she wanted, and everything that she could never have.
No, not everything she wanted because she did not want Blaine.
Rachel opened the door and adapted a smile on her face that she hope seemed sincere, but as a smile appeared on his face, her smile instantly became real. It lasted for only a moment, until he handed her a bouquet of flowers. He stepped closer to her, straightening one of the flowers. "They're apple blossoms. They are supposed to symbolize hope and good fortune." He looked at her with large, hopeful eyes.
She smiled and looked up to him in disbelief. "Thank you so much, Blaine." She stared at the flowers for a moment in silence. She felt his eyes on her, watching her. She cleared her throat, hoping for the lump to disappear. "I'll go…get a vase for these." She nodded, finally tearing her eyes away from the flowers. She grasped his hand, leading him into the kitchen where she quickly found the vase. Once the flowers were inside the vase, Rachel led him to the dining room table. "You can sit here." She told him, holding her hand out to gesture to the chair; however, she stood in front of him another moment before quickly wrapping him into a hug.
"I'll go get the food." She left him, turning so he could not see her wipe her eyes.
Rachel took his plate, placing it on top of her own. "That was delicious." He stood with a smile. "Here," he stretched out his arm, reaching for the plates. She moved them from his reach before he could grab them.
She grinned at him, her eyes playful. "I am pregnant, Blaine, not incapable."
Behind her there was a gasp and the sound of something cluttering against the wooden floor of her dining room. Rachel's eyes widened, and she spun around quickly. Her stomach fell and her heart seemed to stop. She froze; her body numb in disbelief. Blaine's eyes bore into her. Her fathers, whose reactions matched her own, stood at the doorway. "Excuse me?" It was Leroy who spoke first, as Hiram seemed incapable of speech. "You're…?" He trailed off.
Rachel shut her eyes. Instantly, she was reminded of the way that Quinn's parents had reacted. She could not be kicked out of her house. She was not popular, like Quinn. She would have no place to go, especially since she was not ready for Finn to know yet. And she was still mostly unsure of what she was going to do, and until she knew with one hundred percent certainty, no one could know. But the secret was out.
She opened her eyes, looking at her fathers and then to Blaine for help. He reached out and grasped her hand in his larger one. He squeezed it.
She breathed. "Pregnant. Yes, I'm pregnant." She choked out in a quick yelp. Hiram choked, covering his mouth. His wide eyes quickly filled with tears. He buried his head into Leroy's shoulder. Leroy looked around the room, confused.
For a few minutes, there was silence. Then, Leroy nudged Hiram's head off his shoulder. Their eyes met for a moment before looking to Rachel, whose eyes were filled with tears. Blaine had his arm around her and had her pulled into a half-hug. Rachel buried herself in his chest, choking out gasps.
"Rachel?" It was Hiram who broke the silence.
She moved from Blaine's chest and looked up to them with terrified brown eyes. It did not take a second before they had wrapped her up in a hug, murmuring 'It's okay's and 'Everything will be fine's. Blaine stood awkwardly attached to the group by his arm, which he could not move. He shuffled around awkwardly. They soon broke apart, to his relief, and Rachel leaned on him. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he adjusted his arm around her.
"Rachel, we, of course, have some questions, but we'll wait and ask until you're ready." Leroy told her. Blaine noticed that her tears had dried.
She nodded, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She looked up to Blaine and told him, "You don't have to stay," before trying to move from his embrace.
His arms tightened, however, before she could escape. He could not leave her alone when it could have been him who had gotten her in that position. "I told you I would be here." He whispered despite the knowledge that her fathers could still hear him.
"Are you sure?" She asked, too exhausted to think of his reasons and too grateful to argue.
He smiled.
"Dads, this is Blaine Anderson." She introduced them. "He's a friend." Was that it, then? A friend? The term didn't seem right. After all, their dinner had seemed more and more like a date. He had given her flowers. He had held her when her parents found out she was pregnant. Now, he was holding her hand as she sat with her fathers. And he had comforted her when she had originally found out. No, he could not just be a friend, but if he was not that, then what was he?
Not for the first time, she wished that he was really the father because then, everything would be so much easier. He already knew. He would be there for her. And she was sure that, given the chance, he would be an amazing father.
"Is he the father?"
Rachel choked at the outright question. Her fathers had never been blunt, especially this blunt before. Once she caught her breath, she removed her hand from Blaine's and put her hand to her chest with wide, surprised eyes. Her fathers should have clearly noticed his gayness. Then again, when she had first met him, she had not noticed either. But the first time she met him was also the time she got drunk and made out with him for the entire night. She looked at the ground, remembering their date. Yes, there was no way that they were just friends.
But then she looked to Blaine and his calm reaction to the idea with confusion. How could he react so easily to the idea? Did he…? She blinked and realized her fathers were staring at her, at them, waiting anxiously for an answer. She looked up. Her throat had closed, and she could not even choke out words. Her eyes begged Blaine for help and he looked to her parents before looking back to her quickly.
"Yes."
Her eyes widened and she stared at him.
"Blaine, why did you do that?" She whispered to him on the doorstep of her home. She stared at him with wide curious eyes, almost fearful of the words that were to come out of his lips.
He shrugged and could not meet her eyes, not that she was trying to. He blushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I knew that you did not want to get into that and…" He trailed off, looking into the distance, unable to tell her the truth.
She nodded, looking down at her hands. Her mouth formed into a frown with her bottom lip sticking out slightly. His hand moved to her face, under her chin, lifting it up to get her to look at him. "Rachel..." There was a moment of silence before Blaine leaned down and pressed his lips gently against her own.
And then Rachel was no longer on her doorstep but in her dark room with her lips searching anxiously against his, pulling him onto her bed.
She broke apart from him with a startled gasp.
