***Author's note…jumping back to the present and enter Santana…next chapter will be the first meeting between Emma and Will's grandmother and will hopefully be posted this week. Please read and review…I'd love to know what you think! Thanks for reading!
Will had been rendered completely speechless at their ultrasound. His dreams in fact were coming true and in several months, the little girl from his dreams would be born. He said nothing after the moment he told the doctor the baby's name and continued to be in a world of his own while Emma scheduled their next appointment and asked a few questions that she had managed to remember despite the excitement of learning that their little monkey was not only healthy and growing steadily but also the little girl they both dreamed of having.
When they arrived at their SUV, rather than open the door for his wife, he gently pinned her to it and dropped to his knees. Tears pooled in his eyes and he hugged her around her middle, just like he did that day in the hallway at McKinley. He kissed her belly gently and rested his cheek against it trying to hold back the subtle sobs that were welling up in his throat.
"Will, honey," she said resting her arms on his shoulders as he held her closely, "are you okay?"
"I'm over the moon," he spoke softly, "just give me a minute. I want to savor holding you and Avery for the first time."
Emma stared down at him with so much love in her heart. To be the one to have a hand in making his dreams come true is something she's wanted from the moment they first saw each other.
"Sunshine," she said gently as she stroked his hair, "you held us just this morning."
"That was before we knew that she's officially an Avery," he said kissing her belly again, "it's different now."
"You've always known," she whispered, "and you were right…a dream come true. Now come here and pay a little attention to your wife. Your daughter isn't going anywhere for a while."
"My daughter…our daughter," he whispered standing up and hugging her. He lifted her off the ground and carefully swung her around. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and through the excitement, her lips found his.
"Mmm," she whispered into his lips, "I love you."
"I love you too," he said gently pulling away from her and resting his forehead against hers, "Em, we're having a baby girl."
"I know, sunshine," she said, "she's still going to be our little monkey, though."
"Always," he said kissing her again, "you have made me the happiest man alive, do you know that?"
"I can only hope that I've made you as happy as you've made me," she said.
"Oh jellybean, you have! In so many ways. We're married, having a baby…all I've ever wanted is to share this life with you," he said gently setting her back down.
"It's all I've ever wanted too," she said kissing him again, "you know, there's something you can do that will make me even happier."
"What's that," he asked tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Feed us," she said, "Avery and I are starving."
"Halfsies on a PB & J didn't cut it this morning, huh," he said reaching into his pocket for the keys.
"Nope," she said watching him unlock and open the door for her and help get her situated, "Dr. Reynolds said my appetite is going to sky rocket soon so be forewarned, Daddy."
"When did she say that," he asked as he walked around to the driver's side.
"When you drifted off to Never Never Land," she answered as he climbed in the car.
"Yeah, I kind of got lost in the moment," he said turning on the ignition, "sorry about that."
"Don't be," she said, "You just found out that you're going to be a daddy to a little girl. You have every right to get lost in the moment. I get lost in the moment all the time; it's just a bit different for me because she's a part of me right now."
"I guess now we get started on the monkey's jungle nursery, huh," he asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"That's probably a good idea," she said reaching for his hand, "I'd love to have it ready before we head back to school in September and with Santana, Finn and your father to help us…I can't imagine it taking super long."
"May I remind you how long it took you to decorate our bedroom when we moved into the house," he teased, "if the nursery is done by September it will be a miracle."
"It'll be done by September. It has to be or I'll lose it. We both know I will. We just need to get more of the Glee kids to help us," she said rolling her eyes and then taking note of his driving, "now this, Mr. Schuester, is how you should have driven to the doctor's office."
"We're alive and I didn't get a speeding ticket," he said releasing her hand and reaching to run a hand over her hair.
"You're a handful, do you know that," she giggled.
"I'm your handful," he said, "and you love it."
"I love you," she said emphasizing the you.
"Love you too jellybean," he said and then he changed the subject, "so I have a confession to make. We're not having lunch alone."
"What," she asked, "we're not?"
"Nope," he said as the got closer to the restaurant, "and the answer to your next question is, you'll see."
"This isn't some kind of surprise party or anything, is it," she asked nervously.
"God no. I know better than that," he said, "just one person is joining us. You'll be happy, I promise."
"Okay," she said shaking her head and watching out the window. She looked back over at her husband who was biting his lip not to laugh and she knew he had something up his sleeve. "Will…"
"Em, I promise," he said laughing, "it's totally cool. It's not one of our parents, it's not even Rachel Berry."
"As long as there's food," she said, "I'll let this slide."
Will continued to restrain his laughter the rest of the way to the restaurant. He knew Emma would love to see who was waiting for them but he enjoyed the tease. This had been a hard secret to keep but he did have to admit the early morning run story was pure genius and his half-awake wife totally fell for it. Part of him wondered when all was revealed if she would punish him "severely" like she always does when he tries to pull one over on her even though this was the first time it had actually worked.
Before too long, they pulled into the restaurant's parking lot and hunted for a space.
"Too bad there aren't any expectant mother parking spaces here," Will mused.
"I am not broken Will," Emma countered, "We are not going to constantly take advantage of that. I can walk and more importantly, so can you."
"But it's fun," he said, "and I want everyone to know we're having a baby."
"I think just looking at me is a dead giveaway," she said shaking her head, "you amaze me sometimes."
"Again I just have to say, you love it," he said pulling into a parking spot.
"Strangely I do," she said leaning over and kissing his cheek, "why I don't know but I do."
"Because I'm irresistible," he said winking at her and watching her gather up her purse.
"I'm not even going to touch that one," she said opening her car door, "not until we get home anyway."
"Am I going to be punished," he asked.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," she said stepping out of the car and reaching out her hand for him to take.
"I hate it when you say that," he teased.
"No you don't."
Will laughed, shook his head and took Emma's hand…together they walked to the entrance of the restaurant, both glowing. Will opened the door for his wife and whispered in her ear as she passed by him, "You're glowing and you look so beautiful." Emma smiled and reached up to kiss him gently before they proceeded into the restaurant. "Thank you."
Will could see their over the hostess and let her know that their party had already arrived. He waved to them before turning to his wife.
"Come on, momma," he said pulling Emma into the restaurant and passed a few tables, "your surprise is already here."
Emma looked at him with skeptical eyes but followed him happily. Already feeling a bit overwhelmed, she was just a tiny bit hesitant at her husband's latest surprise until she saw who was waiting for them. Santana was sitting at a table by the window texting. She stopped in her tracks, not expecting Santana to be home so early. Santana looked up from her phone, smiled and waved. She stood up excitedly as the two people who had come to mean so much to her made their way to the table.
"I told you it was a good surprise," Will whispered in her ear, "this is the real reason why I was up at four this morning. Santana got home super early."
"Was she downstairs the whole time we were getting ready this morning," she asked as they approached the table.
"Yep," he said with a smile and a kiss to her forehead.
"And the whole run with Doodlebug," Emma questioned.
"I made it up…sorry," he said wrinkling his nose before flashing a huge grin, "when was the last time you remember me going for a run. I get quite a workout in our bedroom…that's more than enough."
"I didn't need to hear that," Santana said hugging her adoptive mother tightly, "Hey Momma Schue, surprise!"
"Hey," Emma said excited to see her, "why didn't you tell me you were coming home early?"
"That would have ruined the surprise," Santana answered and held Emma at arm's length, "wow you look gorgeous. Look at that cute little baby bump."
"Thank you," Emma said running a hand over her belly, "I…I just can't believe you're here. Wow. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. Your room isn't ready yet…I was going to fix it up tonight."
"I took care of it last night when I couldn't sleep," Will said, "she's all set."
"I can't believe the two of you cooked this whole thing up and I never had a clue," Emma said, "I guess pregnancy really does kill brain cells."
"Well, I knew that today was going to be a big day for you guys," Santana said with a laugh as they all sat down, "I wanted to be here. I had to make sure that I got the scoop before everyone else."
"Seeing as you're going to be the baby's godmother," Will said looking over at his wife who nodded in agreement, "I guess that makes total sense that you get to hear about it first."
"Wait, what," Santana said walking back over to her chair.
"We want you to be the baby's godmother," Emma said as Will pulled the chair out for her and helped her sit down…his need to protect his girls still on high alert, "Will, you can bring it down to about a four. I'm not broken…just pregnant."
"A little over protective, are we Will," Santana joked and then turned serious, "you're kidding about me being the baby's godmother, right?"
"Not at all," Emma said reaching for her hand, "we wanted to make you a permanent member of this family somehow."
"Oh my god," Santana said tearing up, "I don't know what to say."
"Say yes," Will teased, "and maybe we'll just tell you what the baby is."
"You found out," Santana said almost choking on her water, "I didn't think you would."
"He talked me into it," Emma said reaching under the table discreetly to rest her hand on Will's thigh.
"More like sexed you into it," Santana said, her way with words had not changed in the two years since her graduation. Both Will and Emma blushed a bit and then rolled their eyes at her comment.
"So what'll it be," Will said prying for an answer, "are you ready to have a godchild?"
"Oh, um," Santana answered, looking back and forth between Will and Emma, "I'd be honored…yes…of course."
"Good," Will and Emma said together sincerely, "thank you. That means so much to us."
"No, this means the world to me," Santana said, "I don't know how to thank you two…for…for all that you've done for me since…since…"
"Sweetie," Emma said reaching for her hand again, "you're a part of our family. You have been since the day you let me have it in my office. You told me off and then turned right around and took care of Will. You've been our biggest cheerleader…I mean aside from Grace…we're the ones that don't quite know how to thank you."
"You just did," Santana said misty-eyed. She reached to squeeze Will's hand too. "All right, all right…enough of this sappy stuff. I hate crying…you know that…even if it's happy tears."
"We know Santana," Will said as a waitress arrived to take their orders.
Will, Emma and Santana ordered fairly quickly and handed the menus back to the waitress with a word of thanks and then Santana quickly turned to topic of conversation back to the baby.
"So what kind of godchild am I having," she asked excitedly.
Will and Emma shared a happy look and Emma's hand immediately went to rest on her belly. Emma looked down and bit her lip before smiling and looking up again.
"She's kicking," Emma said looking at Santana.
"She," Santana said wide-eyed, "it's a girl…just like in your dreams?"
"It's a girl," Will said moving a hand to Emma's belly, "we're so excited. I can't believe that dream is coming true and that our first baby is a little girl."
"Congratulations," Santana said bouncing excitedly in her chair, "shopping is going to be so fun! Just think of all of the cute little girl stuff we can pick out."
"I smell a girl's day out," Will said, "you better include Quinn in that little outing or she'll have a fit."
"Not a problem. I talked to her yesterday and we've already got something in the works," Santana said clapping her hands quietly, "so do you guys have a name picked out? Please tell me that after everything, you're naming her after Grace?"
"We are," Emma said reaching for her purse and pulling out the ultrasound photos. She handed them over to Santana, "say hello to Avery Grace."
"Oh my god," Santana said looking at the photos, "this is really growing inside of you? This is crazy. You guys are having a baby."
"I know," Emma said, "it's the best strangest feeling I've ever felt. It's actually quite magical. I've got a part of Will right here with me and knowing that the love we share has created something so special…"
"It's exciting but overwhelming at the same time," Will said jumping back into the conversation, "I'm already acting like an idiot."
"You," Santana teased, "no way."
"I know," Will said absent mindedly reaching for Emma's purse. He dug through it to find her handy wipes and pulled out a packet of them. He then reached for her utensils and began to wipe them down without a word. Neither Emma nor Santana batted an eye at his actions but both silently admired his thoughtfulness at helping Emma with her OCD issues even though they are much more controlled and even considered to be minor now. "Just wait until the day she's born. I'm going to be a complete mess."
"You'll be fine," Santana said with a wink, "so how's summer vacation going? Have you guys had your usual lazy week?"
"Almost," Emma said watching Will finish wiping off her fork, "thank you honey. We didn't really get started with it until Monday. The weekend was a bit weird."
"How so," Santana said sitting back as the waitress arrived and placed her plate in front of her, "thanks."
"Well, Rachel showed up in my office Friday after school," Will said with a smile for his wife and ran his hand over the back of her head lovingly.
"Rachel…Rachel Berry," Santana said shocked.
"The one and only," Will said, "to say we were shocked would be an understatement."
"Oh my god," Santana said, "wow."
"I think Finn was even more shocked," Emma said placing her napkin on her lap, "I haven't seen him this confused since your senior year of high school. He's been working so hard at school and we're all just so proud of him. To have Rachel show up all of the sudden has really thrown him for a loop."
"They spent all of Friday night at our house," Will said, "we let them in and when Em started to get tired, they left but only got as far as the porch swing. I found them there Saturday morning when I stepped out to get the paper."
"What in the world did they want from you," Santana said.
"Advice," Emma answered, "on relationships. I guess they think we're the best couple for them to come to, we've had just about as many ups and downs as they have."
"So we've been telling them our story," Will said taking a bite of his meal, "starting from the day we all came back from Nationals in New York."
"Oh wow," Santana said, "and how's that going?"
"Um," Emma said picking at her salad, "it's been interesting and very emotional. If anything, though, I think I've fallen even more in love with my husband…if that's even possible…I'm already head over heels in love with him."
"Aww babe," Will said leaning over to kiss her, "same goes for me. I just worry though that with Em's hormones raging and emotions all over the place, certain aspects of the "story of us" might be a bit much for her. We told them that we'd talk in small doses throughout the summer. There's no way we're going to do it all at once and put Emma through all that."
"Are you going to tell them everything," Santana asked.
"No and neither are you," Will said, "you already know too much as it is."
"Yeah but I'm special," Santana teased.
"Yes, you are but please keep what you know just between us. I don't want all the details of our life together out in the open. It would be all over Lima before they even left the house," Will said, "and this town already knows more about us than they should."
"They don't know about our first trip to Florida," Emma said, "meeting Will's grandmother for the first time was so special to me and I'd like to keep the details of that private."
"That was an awesome trip," Will remembered, "we're going to go this summer too instead of going up to the lake like we planned. You know, honey, we should bring Santana with us this time. That way Doodlebug can come too and we can spend a week at the beach as family."
"Great idea," Emma said, "how about it, San…do you want to come with us?"
"A trip to Florida…to stay at a house right on the beach…gee..can I think about it," Santana teased, "that'd be great. I'd love to see Grace too."
"Awesome," Will said smiling. "It will make for a long road trip but with two maybe three people driving it might not be so bad."
"What do you mean maybe three people driving," Emma said sitting her fork down, "I know you're talking about me and I can certainly drive a car, husband. I'm having a baby, that's not a big deal."
"You're having my baby," he said gently leaning over to rest his forehead against hers, "that makes it a big deal."
"Oh my god," Santana said, "if you two are going to act like this the whole time, maybe I'll just stay home. Wait but that would mean I'd be missing out on a trip to the beach, I guess I can turn a blind eye."
"Settle down Santana," Will said with a sigh, "you know we can tone it down. We just don't want to most of the time. Gram will be excited to see you too. She's in for a super surprise. We're not going to tell her we're coming…just like we didn't the first time."