What If – Chapter 11
Sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office, Finn reached over and laced his fingers with Rachel's. She looked over at him and gave a weak smile. She was so nervous and she knew Finn was as well. His leg hadn't stopped bouncing for even a second since the minute they sat down after signing in. The past two days had been complete hell for the couple, waiting for Rachel's appointment. They tried to go on as if things were normal, but it was nearly impossible. They didn't discuss anything about the baby.. or no baby, after the initial fight/proposal. They both agreed that they would wait until they came to the doctor. Upon arriving they had sent Rachel to the back briefly to give a urine sample and Finn felt as if he was in full on panic mode while she was away from him for the short time. Finn was lost in his own thoughts and didn't hear the nurse call Rachel's name. So when Rachel stood, pulling him by his hand his head shot up before his bodied followed. "Coming." She said before following the woman back behind the closed doorway leaving the waiting area.
"Ok Ms. Berry. We need to get your weight, and then we can get you into a room to see the doctor." The nurse said and Rachel went to step on the scale, but was pulled to a stop when she noticed Finn was standing like a statue, still holding her hand. Once again she had to get his attention, "Finn? You have to let go babe." She said, and she shook his head as if he was waking up from a daze. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." He said, crossing and uncrossing his arms nervously. "First time here?" The nurse said with a small laugh, looking at Finn. "Uh, yeah." He said shyly. Rachel had never been this nervous in her entire life, and if she were feeling like THIS, they judging by the way Finn was acting, he was freaking out way more. "109." The woman said, writing it down on a chart and gesturing for Rachel to step down. She immediately returned to Finn's side, re-attaching their hands. "Right this way." The woman said. They walked into an exam room and stepped inside. "Everything off except your undergarments and put on this gown. The doctor will be in shortly." The woman said before stepping out, shutting the door behind her. Rachel began to change and Finn turned his back to her. "Uh, Finn?" Rachel said, her voice very confused. "Yeah?" "Babe, is there a reason why you are turned around? I mean it's not like this is anything you haven't seen before. If that were the case we most definitely wouldn't be here right now." She said, trying her best to lighten the mood. Finn spun around and shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't feel like myself right now. I haven't been this nervous since my mom took all of my porno mags out from under my bed and let me freak out about it for an entire week before chewing my ass." He said with wide eyes, remembering her blow up vividly. At that story Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "Oh I can easily picture you a nervous wreck waiting for that bomb to fall." Rachel said, turning around so Finn could tie the gown shut. He stood up and walked over to the exam table, placing his hands on her hips and lifting her off the ground as if she were a feather in his arms. He leaned over, resting his head against hers. "Rach.. I want to tell you something before the doctor comes in and tells us what our future has in store." He began and Rachel's heart sank. "Oh God, don't tell me you're having second thoughts. I can't handle that if you—" Finn placed his hand over her mouth, covering most of her face and she stopped her rant. "No! You're crazy. We have already been over this. I wanted to tell you that the past two days I have done nothing but think about this baby… well if there IS a baby. And I thought about what life would be like if we didn't have him or her. How you're schooling would go, how my classes and work would go on as if this never happened. And we would be happy, and we would be ok. We would still get married and have this amazing life together. Because with or without a baby, you and I are end game. You're all I would need in this life to be happy." He said and Rachel interrupted. "But what if—" And again he stopped her. "And THEN I thought about the other scenario. That we DID have a baby. And how that would change things. But it would only change them for a little while. But even though things would change, and it would be hard… God it would be hard, but God it would be SO worth it. To have something that you and I made, that is a piece of both of us all rolled into one…. That is happiness that I could never dream of. So I wanted to tell you, that no matter what comes out of this doc's mouth, WE….WILL….BE…..FINE. As long as we have each other…" He began, but this time she finished his sentence. "Anything is possible."
She leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips as the doctor knocked and poked her head in. "Everyone decent?" She asked before Rachel said 'yes' and the woman came inside. "Hello, I'm doctor Ashton. And you must be Rachel?" She asked, glancing at the name on the chart. "And this is my fiancée Finn." Rachel said as the doctor reached out and shook Finn's hand. "Please, have a seat." She said gesturing for Finn to pull up the spare chair as she reached for the stool on wheels. "Ok, so I have your results, and I have looked over the levels. I have to ask, have you discussed both sides to having a child? If you were to be pregnant, are you set up with proper support systems?" The doctor asked, and they both knew it was because of how young they were. "Yes. We both have hugely supportive families and friend and we have each other." Rachel said, accepting Finn's hand as he squeezed it tight before shooting her a wink. "Ok, so let's jump right in." The doctor said, opening the folder and Finn felt like he was going to throw up. Rachel was squeezing his hand so right her knuckles were white. "Well congratulations mama and daddy. You're about 6.5 weeks pregnant. All of your levels look great, but I want to see you back in 4 weeks to check everything else out. Ok? It's a little early, but let's see if we can't hear a heartbeat. Sometimes I can pick it up with that big machine right over there." She said, pointing towards a large screened monitor. Rachel was watching the doctor, and hadn't said a word. She was so excited and now she might even hear the baby's heart that she hadn't even looked at Finn. When she finally did, he was pale as a ghost. She sat up, propping her weight on her elbows. Waving her hand back and forth in front of his face. "Finn?" She said, but nothing. He stared with blank eyes. "FINN!" She said louder. She mumbled something and Rachel couldn't understand so she reached up and pulled his chin to force him to look at her. "Babe, you're freaking me out." She said and that's when it happened, she saw the tears fill his eyes instantly. Huge tears falling down his face as he leaned over, burying his face into her mid section. Her hands went into his hair, soothing him. "Babe, please tell me you're ok." She begged. The doctor pulled the machine over and stood silent, watching what she had believed to be babies having babies. But this couple was much more mature for their ages. Finn looked up at Rachel, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand. "There's a baby in there." He said, staring at her stomach, his voice cracking at every other word. "Our baby. They are all ours. We did that." He said, so amazed. "I can't describe what I'm feeling, but my heart feels like it's going to explode out of my chest from be so full of happiness. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you." He said kissing her lips and then leaning down to kiss her stomach. "Ready?" The doctor said, smiling at the couple. Finn was the one that answered. "yes." The doctor told Rachel that the gel would be cold, and sure enough she flinched when the goo spread across her bare stomach. The doctor moved around, checking Rachel's ovaries and uterus. "Everything is looking great, these are your fallopian tubes, all looking healthy." She began, pointing towards the screen. Finn thought it looked nothing like what he imagined the inside of a woman to look like. Instead he thought it looked like an old television that went fuzzy. He squinted his eyes and that was when the doctor clicked on the screen. A sound filled the room and Finn sucked in a breath, holding it and not realizing he was doing so. The loud 'swish-swoosh' sound echoed in the room and the doctor pointed towards this tiny, flickering speck on the screen. "That right there, is your baby's heart. See how it's beating? Nice and healthy. Would you like a picture?" She asked. Rachel instantly saying yes please. And Finn asking for two. The doctor was happy to oblige the couple and after congratulating them once more, stepped out of the room to let Rachel get dressed. The second the door was closed Finn scooped her up in his arms, her legs wrapping around him and her around tight around his neck. They didn't say a word, they didn't need to. The beaming smiles on one another's faces said it all. Rachel kissed his lips over and over and over before he pulled her head down and strengthened the kiss. Once he put her down he helped her untie the gown and redress. "Come on daddy. Let's go get our next appointment." Rachel said and Finn's heart swelled. He was going to be a dad and this was the best feeling he had ever felt. He thought the day Rachel told him she loved him was the best day of his life, and he thought it impossible to out do. But right here and right now, he found out how wrong he was. He also felt his love for Rachel multiply. She wasn't just his fiancée any longer. She was the woman carrying his child. And the fierce protectiveness he had already felt for her was now out of this world. He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her down the hall towards the receptionist desk. "Ms. Berry. The visit today will be $45. Will that be cash or check?" The lady asked and Finn pulled out his wallet. "Cash" he said, handing her a 50. "Ok, here's your change, and your next appointment is on the 11th at 9am. See you then." She said.
Walking out, Finn stepped towards the curb to hail a cab, but Rachel pulled him back. "It's beautiful today… we just got incredible news… lets go for a walk." Rachel said, wrapping her arm though his. "Your wish is my command." He said with his sexy grin. "I hope our baby has your smile. Because God it is adorable." She said and he flashed it again before turning a hint of pink on his cheek.
The couple walked around the streets, enjoying the cool day and looked into the windows of different department stores. When they came up to a baby store Rachel swung around and smiled. She didn't even have to ask Finn if they could go in because he smiled from ear to ear and pulled her in behind him. She laughed and jumped with excitement. Stepping inside she walked straight towards a rack with unisex clothing. There were dozens and dozens of outfits and she looked at them. "They are so tiny." She thought, and when Finn picked one up her eyes went wide. "They look REALLY small." She said to herself. Finn smiled at her from across the rack, as he looked through the clothes. He reached up and said, "This one. We have to get this one and send it to my mom. We can find one to send to your dads too." Finn said, holding up one that said, "If Daddy says no, I'll just call Grandma." Rachel laughed, she could practically see Carole's face opening the package with that in it. "That's a perfect idea. But you and I both know that in order to tell our parents this news… we have to go back." She said. "Back to Lima? Babe, with our schedules, I don't know how we will be able to pull that off. I mean the shop won't be able to let me take off that many days." He said, and Rachel knew he was right. She really wanted to tell their parents about the engagement, and now about the baby in person, but Finn had a point. Their finances and their schedules didn't give them much room to do something like that. Finn could see that she was sad and he walked over to her. "Hey you… look at me." He pulled her into his arms, her hands on his chest and she looked up at him. "How about we send the packages, telling them they cannot open them until we tell them to and schedule a skype session with both of our parents at the same time. Then they can open them with us watching. It would be just like we were there. Only we don't have to try to kick them out of our apartment, or we get away from them in their house after we get tired of hearing them gush about all the names we should or shouldn't pick." Rachel's face instantly lit up. "Finn, you my dear fiancé are a genius." She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as her little arms would let her. But their happy moment was cut short when Rachel jerked herself back, her hand over her mouth. "Babe? Are you ok?" He asked, instantly concerned. She kept her hand over her mouth and shook her head from side to side. "You're going to be sick aren't you? Excuse me ma'am! Do you have a restroom my fiancé could use please?" He asked quickly, as he stopped one of the sales associates. She pointed towards the back of the store and Rachel bolted in its direction. Finn debated on going after her, but he knew that she would refuse to open the door. So he paced the small hallway outside of the women and men's room waiting. He hated that she was going through this, and he wished he could take it away. He would gladly be the one upchucking all the time if it meant he could spare Rachel from it. She came out, wiping her face with a wet towel before tossing it into a trash bin. "Babe? Are you ok?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her. She let out a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. It comes and goes and then I'm ok. I'm still so not used to that. It's disgusting." She said and Finn scrunched his nose, knowing she was completely right about that. "Do you want to go home and lay down? We can buy this stuff later. We have plenty of time." Rachel shook, "No, we can get them. This is a special day, and we won't ever get to have this day again. News that we are going to be parents for the first time in our lives is a one time thing. Let's enjoy it. I want to spend this entire day with you. I am going to call into the diner, and I am going to go to the market with my man and get him the biggest steak I can find. Then I'm going to go home and cook you a huge dinner and then we are going to put on your insane OSU jerseys and watch the game. You can drink your beer and I'll enjoy some sprite since drinking is now off the table for me." Finn was smiling brightly. "You're the best future wife EVER! I'll call the shop and tell them that I can't make it. Here's the card, you pay while I call and tell Randy." Finn kissed her cheek and almost skipped out of the store to call his boss. He and Rachel never threw everything to the side like this and forced time for themselves, so this was just one more awesome surprise to their already eventful day.
Rachel paid for the two onesies and walked out of the store to find Finn pacing back and forth, talking away on the phone. She walked up and he mouthed 'Randy' and pointed to the phone. She nodded and took a seat on the bench. She pulled out the sonogram photo and smiled at it. She looked towards Finn and really, really looked at him. She could see his face on their son… if it was a boy that is, and she could see him being beyond adorable. The way Finn's eyes closed almost shut when he smiled wide. Or the way his mouth cocked to the side when he was doing a shy or sexy smile. Both drove her insanely wild when he did them for either reason. She was looking at him talk away to his boss, explaining what was going on, knowing that it wouldn't get back to their family or friends so Rachel didn't mind. He told his boss that he needed the rest of the day to sort some stuff out and hung up. Rachel hadn't stopped staring at him and he looked over at her. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is my hair standing up again?" He said, rubbing his hand over the top of it in an attempt to flatten it. She laughed and stood up. "No. I was just thinking." She said with a smile, reaching for his hand. "Oh yeah? About what?" He ask genuinely interested. "About how adorable it would be to have a little boy that looked like you. Because I never thought I could ever love a man as much as I love you and then I realized…if I have a boy, then I get to have TWO of you. And 4 years ago I never thought I would have even one. And now look." She smiled, meaning every word. "Well ya know… I could say the same thing about having a little girl with your long eye lashes, and caramel hair. Not to mention this adorable nose." He said, kissing the top of it and she pushed him away. This man and his cuteness was going to be the death of her. "Come on sexy, let's get to the grocery store. Someone promised me a steak, some beer, a game and then some hot, HOT sex." Rachel stopped, looking up at him with a smirk, "Who ever said anything about "hot, HOT sex" she said making air quotations around the hot, hot sex comment. "Oh I just thought I would throw that in there. Sounded good and a guy can hope." He said, shrugging his shoulder and pulled her with his arm to start walking again. "Well, you're lucky that I can't keep my hands off of all of this." She waved her hand all up and down the front of him. "Yes. Lucky is my middle name."
Rachel and Finn both laughed before heading off to have a great ending to an AMAZING day.