Hi! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the Dynamic Duets episode of Glee! Thanks for all your support on the story so far, it means SO much to me. You guys are the best. Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue.

Chapter 8: Parental Issues

"Do you think the baby's okay?" Rachel asked Finn as she sat on the examination table.

"I'm sure the baby's fine," Finn said, holding Rachel's hand.

This was the second doctor's appointment Finn and Rachel were going to. They'd gone two weeks ago, but since Rachel was so small, she was really concerned about carrying a baby and had set up another appointment. She hadn't felt a kick yet, and that made her worried. She was a little over two months along by now and when she was getting dressed this morning, she noticed a small bump. She'd called Finn into the bedroom and showed him. The smile he'd given her when she showed him the bump made her so happy.

Finn was adjusting pretty well to New York. Rachel had felt bad for pressuring him about NYADA when he visited her before, but he was doing well. He'd gotten a job at a local recreation center that paid pretty well and let him work while Rachel was in classes, so they got to see each other a lot. He did work a little on weekends, but Rachel could be with Kurt then.

The nurse came in. "Hi, Rachel. What's going on?"

"I'm just making sure the baby's okay," Rachel said. "I'm more than two months along, and I still haven't felt a kick."

"Rachel, that's pretty normal," the nurse said. "Some women don't feel kicks until halfway through their pregnancy. If you want, I can do a scan and run a test just to make sure."

"I'd appreciate that," Rachel said. She was glad the nurse didn't think anything was wrong, but she wanted to make sure everything was okay.

The nurse turned on the machine and put gel on Rachel's stomach. As the scan began, Rachel soon noticed the baby.

"He or she is growing," Finn said.

Rachel smiled and looked at her boyfriend. "I know." Seeing the baby made her feel better. She couldn't believe that in the fall, she'd be a mother.

"Everything looks okay on the scan," the nurse told the couple. "Would you guys like some photos?"

Finn nodded. "Yes, please."

The nurse took a blood sample from Rachel to make sure everything was okay and left the room, leaving Finn and Rachel alone. When Rachel had wiped her stomach off, Finn put his hand on Rachel's stomach.

"Hey baby, Mommy and Daddy love you so much," Finn said softly.

Rachel smiled. "Yes we do!"

"Do you have any names in mind?" Finn asked Rachel.

Rachel had to admit she hadn't really thought about it. "I was thinking we'd wait until we find out the gender, but at the same time, I do want to be surprised, so maybe we should think of names."

"Well, if it's a boy, I want to name him Christopher, after my dad," Finn said. "I know I found out the truth about my dad... but I still do feel a special connection with him."

"Of course we can," Rachel said. "What if it's a girl?"

"We'll need to think about that," Finn said.

"We do have seven months," Rachel said.

The nurse came back into the room. "Rachel, it looks like everything's okay. Here are the photos from today's scan." She handed Rachel an envelope.

"Thanks," Rachel said. "We'll be back in a few weeks."

Finn and Rachel walked out of the examination room and into the hospital main lobby. Finn wanted a snack from the vending machine, and as he was paying, Rachel noticed someone walking toward them. She nudged Finn. "Finn!"

"What is it?" Finn asked.

Rachel tilted her head in the direction she'd seen the person.

"Isn't that your birth mother?" Finn asked.

Rachel nodded nervously. She wasn't sure if she wanted her birth mother to find out about her pregnancy. The treatment she was getting at NYADA was bad enough. People weren't actively tormenting her other than crude comments from Cassandra or Brody, but people in her classes were often giving her looks.

Before Rachel and Finn made it away from the vending machine, Shelby walked over with a toddler with blond curly hair. "Rachel?" Shelby said.

"Hi, Shelby," Rachel said. "Is this Beth?" She normally felt hurt when it came to the subject of Beth, trying to avoid it when she saw Shelby at McKinley, because she felt like she'd been replaced. However, she'd do anything to take the focus off her.

"This is Beth," Shelby said. "She's going to be three years old soon."

"I remember when Quinn was pregnant with her!" Rachel said. Then her lip quivered. She herself was pregnant now.

"So, you live in New York now?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah, I go to NYADA," Rachel said. "I don't know if you remember my boyfriend Finn."

"Nice to meet you," Finn said.

"Finn, what school do you go to?" Shelby asked.

"I've just been working, but I'm hopefully going to start at Pace in the fall," Finn said.

Rachel held on to Finn's arm. She was worried Shelby would ask them why they were here. "So, when did you come back here?"

"I'm actually an understudy for Evita on Broadway," Shelby said. "Beth and I came here last spring."

"That's great," Rachel said, forcing a smile. "Maybe we'll see you around town."

Shelby gave Rachel a look. Rachel could tell Shelby was looking at the bag in Rachel's hand. Rachel watched Shelby leave and then turned to Finn. "I think she could tell."

"Why?" Finn asked.

"I just got that vibe," Rachel said.

"Rachel... she's your mother," Finn said. "You should probably tell her."

"She's not my mother, except by birth," Rachel snapped. "It's just like for you. Finn, you should understand. Do you still consider the man who helped conceive you your dad?"

Finn thought for a minute. "Well... Christopher's my father, but I really feel like Burt's my dad."

"Exactly," Rachel said. "She may be my birth mother, but she's not my mom."

"Still, Rachel," Finn said. "You need parents during this time."

"I don't need parents," Rachel groaned. "I have you and your parents and Kurt and Quinn, and anyone from New Directions." She did wish she had parents to help her through this though.

"Let's go home," Finn said.

As they got on the train, Rachel looked at Finn. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Finn said.

"Do you miss Lima at all?" Rachel asked.

Finn shook his head. "Not really. I miss my parents and our friends from Glee and being in New Directions, but I always knew I wanted to get out of Lima."

"So do you want to stay here after the baby's born?" Rachel asked.

"I think I do, yeah," Finn said.

Rachel smiled to herself. "But Finn, I want you to want this for you, not for me."

"It's for you and for me and for the baby," Finn said.

Rachel put her arms around Finn. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Finn said.

x

Finn and Rachel arrived home at their apartment. Rachel still felt slightly uneasy after running into Shelby, but she knew she couldn't wait to show Kurt the new photos from the ultrasound.

When they walked into the apartment, Rachel noticed someone else was with Kurt. "Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Let's give the girls some privacy, they're probably going to talk about weird pregnancy stuff," Kurt said to Finn. Finn nodded as they went into Kurt's room. Rachel was sort of grateful, as much as she loved her boyfriend and her best friend. Quinn knew perfectly well what she was going through.

Quinn gave Rachel a hug. "I wanted to surprise you, but you were at your doctor's appointment."

"How have you been doing?" Quinn asked Rachel. "I know it can be hard."

"Well, Brody's been a big asshole," Rachel said. "I thought he was a good guy. I guess I was wrong. Cassandra July's been worse than usual if possible, and people have been talking about me and giving me looks in classes. But when I'm home, things are fine."

"At least you have somewhere to go where you know you'll be safe," Quinn said. "I really wish I could have had that at first."

"I do feel awful about my dads still," Rachel admitted.

"Of course you do," Quinn said. "I'm still mad at my dad for kicking me out. He hasn't contacted me since then, and I'm glad. I never want to see or hear from him again."

"Is it bad that I hope one day they forgive me?" Rachel asked. "I mean, I want to be mad at them, but I do miss them."

"Your relationship with your dads was a lot different than mine with my dad," Quinn told Rachel. "Your dads always have loved you so much. My dad put so much pressure on me all the time."

Rachel sighed. "Quinn, I saw Shelby at the hospital."

"She's here?!" Quinn gasped.

Rachel nodded. "She had Beth with her."

"Did she ask why you were there?" Quinn asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Well, she didn't ask me why I was there, but I could tell she was suspicious."

"Are you going to tell her?" Quinn asked.

"I don't know," Rachel sighed. "Beth's beautiful, though. She looks just like both of you."

"I always knew she was perfect," Quinn said. "Rachel, I really miss her."

Rachel took her friend's hand. "I'm sure you do. Part of the reason why I'm keeping this baby is I don't want to go through what you went through after you gave up Beth."

"Any weird cravings yet?" Quinn asked, clearly trying to bring up a more lighthearted subject.

"Pregnancy can do weird things to you, as you know," Rachel said. "The other day I put chocolate sauce on my french fries."

"Wow," Quinn said. "I can't say I had that one."

"You did mention lollipops and bacon," Rachel said.

"That's true," Quinn said.

"Oh, I got photos of the scan, if you want to see them," Rachel said.

"I'd love to," Quinn said. "How about we get the boys back?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Finn wants to see his baby again," Rachel said. She called out for Finn and Kurt and got out the photos. She sat on Finn's lap on the couch, and Kurt and Quinn sat on either side of them.

"The baby's so tiny!" Kurt said. "I wonder if it'll look like Finn or Rachel?"

"Hopefully it'll get Finn's nose," Rachel said.

"I love your nose!" Finn said. "Don't say that!"

Rachel leaned over and whispered to Finn. "Since they're both here, should we tell them?"

"I think we should," Finn whispered back.

"What's up?" Kurt asked.

"A few days ago, Finn and I were talking, and we want the two of you to be our baby's godparents," Rachel said.

"You do?" Kurt asked, smiling wide.

"Rachel, Finn, that's a huge honor," Quinn said.

"You've been so supportive of us," Rachel said. "I want you two to be involved in our child's life."

"We love you, Rachel," Kurt said. "And Finn."

"We love you both, too," Rachel said, hugging her boyfriend and her two best friends.

Chapter 9 preview: The Wemma wedding takes place. Will it be hard for Finn and Rachel to see their friends from Glee under their circumstances? Also, Finn and Rachel discuss the possibility of a wedding of their own.