It took me a while to get a feel for this chapter...and it kind of got away from me. So warning for homopobic attacks. It's pretty angsty (and even more hormonal!Blaine), but the end is still fluffy. Next is Thanksgiving/telling Burt, which I PROMISE will be up before Thanksgiving! :D
Once Dr. Roberson finished taking attendance she addressed the class. "Okay, kids. Today Blaine is going to take over the class to pick up where we left off on Tuesday. I expect you all to give him as much respect as you do me…I guess I should say a little more than you give me." A few students, Kurt included, snickered at her comment.
Blaine smiled at Dr. Roberson as he stood up from his seat. "Thank you, Doctor," he said before turning his attention to the class. "Since you guys are learning about genetics, my job today is to teach you about some of the different genetic disorders that can occur. Some of them are simply transposed DNA codes while others are issues that have popped up and been passed down for generations."
He started out covering the more widely known disorders: Down Syndrome, color blindness, sickle-cell anemia. It wasn't until he reached his personal highlight that things went south. "Another disorder that has become more widely recognized the last few decades is the Emerick gene mutation. Does anyone know something about that?" Kurt raised his hand first, but Blaine refused to call on him right away. "Yes, Rebecca?" he asked a redhead sitting close to the door.
"Isn't that the one where gay men can have babies?"
Blaine nodded with hesitation. "Not just gay men. It's hereditary so a straight man can pass it down to his son, no matter his orientation."
Mike, one of the 'casual attendees' to class, burst out laughing from the back of the room. "That's impossible. If I had the disease and passed it on to my son, and he turned out to be a fag? I'd kill him."
Kurt turned around in his seat instantly. "Excuse me?" he asked incredulously.
"What, are you one of them? Are you one that's just waiting for some burly bear cub to just pound into you so hard you're knocked up immediately? You can't wait to feel like the woman you look like?"
"Mike, please refrain from any personal attacks on your classmates," Blaine stepped in.
"Come on, you're not really the teacher and you're going on about this fag disease? I bet you're one of them too, huh?"
"My personal life has nothing to do with Dr. Roberson's expectations of my assistance to her. Now, if I may continue on, heterosexual males have been known to conceive and carry their own children, generally through artifi-"
"Please, any man who does that can't be straight," Mike interrupted. "He's just in denial."
Blaine had finally had enough. "Mike, if you cannot sit through the remainder of the lesson without making an offensive comment, I would suggest you leave. And I am fairly certain Dr. Roberson will back me up."
"Yeah, right. You're just pissy I picked on your ladyboy crush you can't keep your eyes off of. You just can't wait to start a family with him, huh? Make him all fat and the perfect housewife for you since no chick in their right mind would go for you."
"Excuse me a moment." Blaine walked out of the classroom before the inevitable tears began flowing. He found an empty lab room around the corner, climbed onto a stool, and collapsed onto one of the large tables. He knew Mike's comments shouldn't have hurt him the way they did. They didn't know he and Kurt were together (and he honestly hadn't realized just how much lecture time he spent staring at Kurt), and they didn't know the truth between them, about who exactly the one who was carrying was. It took him back to when he was 13, when he came out and his parents were forced to tell him about the mutation. He knew back then being gay was looked down upon, but gay and pregnant? He only hoped things would change by the time he was ready for children. A decade later the very fears that hit him then were on their way back.
He heard footsteps barely covered up by his sobs and felt a pair of arms wrap around his stomach. "Kurt, you shouldn't be here," he choked out.
"It's okay, honey," Kurt soothed. "I told Dr. Roberson I wanted to apologize to you for what happened back there. She's going to report him to the dean of Natural Sciences and automatically fail him."
"Good. I just...I'm so pathetic, huh?"
"You are not, Blaine." Kurt hopped up on the other stool. "I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to hold it in if I were in your position, either."
Blaine looked up at him, eyes red and glassy. "I lost control of the class and then ran out. I wouldn't be surprised if that destroyed my own grade now."
"You didn't do anything wrong. He's the asshole in this situation. And you're hormonal and already had things break you down today so it was inevitable. But I still love you, so much. You did everything you could."
"But I should have done more. I failed as a teacher and probably lost her trust."
Kurt shook his head. "Don't even tell yourself that. You were doing a great job in there. You conveyed the material, showed you know your stuff, and were engaging the students. Just because one person can't not cause drama doesn't mean you'd make a horrible professor."
"This isn't my life though, Kurt," Blaine said. "Deb thinks I should take a position after my Master's. But I can't do that…I'd go against everything I've wanted since I found out I had this stupid thing. I've always wanted to find the cause for Emerick's and I can't do that from a fucking college desk."
"So what, you're going to take the baby to New York as soon as you're done and I won't be able to see him or her for the two years I'll still be stuck here?"
Blaine was taken aback by Kurt's question. "What? Why would I ever keep you from them?"
"Well that's how you're acting about getting out of here. Like it or not, I'm stuck here. And if we're going to do this family thing together, a six hundred mile difference between New York and Lima sort of interferes with that."
"Kurt, you can transfer if I get a job in New York, or anywhere else. It's not that big a deal."
"It is to me," Kurt snapped.
Blaine realized he'd gone too far. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "We shouldn't fight right now."
Kurt nodded and reached over to rub his belly. "I know. We can discuss this later when Alex is closer to being here. And there's still about fifteen minutes left of class if you want to head back."
"I don't particularly, but I probably should," Blaine replied. Kurt leaned in and pecked his cheek, making him smile. "Thanks for coming after me."
"I always will." Kurt took Blaine's hand and walked with him back to the classroom. Dr. Roberson stopped her instructing and gave them a glance as they reentered the room. Blaine only dropped Kurt's hand to take his seat at the teacher's desk as Kurt made his way back to where he left his items.
Blaine still felt tense through the final minutes of class. Even though many of the students were looking at him sympathetically, he still felt ashamed for having run out of class because someone was verbally abusive, and not even to him. As the clock reached 1:45 and everyone left the room, he slowly began packing his things away as Dr. Roberson stared at him.
"Do you want to talk about what happened, Blaine?" she asked after the final student departed.
He shrugged. "I'm sorry, Deb. I shouldn't have left in the middle of the lecture like that. I let a student get to me and let you down in the process."
Dr. Roberson sat back on the desk next to him. "You're right. I am disappointed, Blaine. I didn't think that would happen with you. Mike will be reprimanded for his actions, but you shouldn't have taken his attacks personally."
"I know, but…" he looked up at her and realized he needed to come clean about some things. "The reason I'm so interested in genetics and working in the field is because I have Emerick's."
"You do?"
Blaine nodded. "I have the gene and I'm gay, so every word stung. One day I do want to have a child of my own, and sometimes I'm terrified to. I'm going to be bringing it into a world that doesn't even want to let two men wed, let alone raise a family. Even if he was aiming everything towards Kurt…"
Dr. Roberson cut him off with a hug. "It's okay, I think I understand. Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because I was scared of what you would say."
"Blaine, I don't care what your orientation is or if you have the gene. I care that you are a brilliant young man who is bound to make a difference in the world of science. Though I will always leave the offer for you joining the faculty on the table."
He grinned. "Thank you so much. I'll keep it in mind just in case I need other options."
"Any time. By the way, you and Kurt Hummel?"
Blaine's head snapped up. "What about Kurt and me?"
"Is there something going on between you two?" Dr. Roberson asked.
"He comforted me, that's all that happened. I know your rules very well, Deb. I'm not about to break them for a date."
She chuckled. "Blaine, I'm not blind. I put that rule in place when a former grad student found a freshman he was quite interested in and gave her the answers to the midterm. Kurt has been an impressive student the entire semester so I don't need to worry about it from you."
Blaine turned scarlet. "How did you know?"
"Ever since that day when I talked to you about him you've had this look when you're staring at him…it's the same one my husband had when he and I began dating."
"So we're fine?"
"So fine, as long as you don't sneak him old tests. Now go get out of here. You need to go home and rest after an afternoon like this."
"Thank you so much, Deb," Blaine said as he stood up and grabbed his satchel. "See you on Monday."
As soon as he left Michaels he sent a text to Kurt. One secret's out…hopefully she won't go off about the bigger one when she finds that out. Rubbing his stomach, he only wished for the next six months to go by quickly so he wouldn't have any more emotional days like this one.