"It's a boy!" Dr. Everett laughs and so do Kurt and Blaine with watery eyes. Each one quiet under the heavy screams of the bloody, but healthy new born. Rachel's lying in her bed, exhausted, but already sobbing into Finn's shoulder at the small life she just delivered. The doctor that delivered Fanny, Court, and Aimee holds the baby up a little higher so they can all see. "Sonogram wins again. Who's cutting the cord on this one?"
This isn't a decision they thought through, and frankly Kurt doesn't care. He's too focused on the screaming new life. The baby's hair is drenched, but Kurt can tell it's going to curl. His skin is almost a dark red. He's darker than either Court or Aimee was, but that made sense when you mixed Blaine's olive tone skin with Santana's Latin tan. It doesn't matter. Kurt feels the same instant spark of paternal love that he felt with his biological children. "Blaine, do you want to do it?"
Blaine smiles and says after he sniffles, "Actually, I was thinking since Finn's been supporting us no questions asked, and giving his time to be here with Rachel through it all, maybe he should get to do it."
Kurt turns to Finn. Finn is staring with wide, humble eyes. "Oh- oh you guys, I couldn't. He's your son…"
"And you're his uncle," Kurt points out. He wipes his eyes and smiles at his brother. "I think it's a great idea."
"You are his godfather too. I think you should do it," Rachel says as proudly as she can muster. Finn doesn't have time to think it over, as the baby's screams grow louder. He chuckles and stands up. Dr. Everett helps Finn cut the baby's cord and he's handed off to a nurse. Then Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, and Finn share words of love and enjoy the moment.
It feels like forever before the doctor brings him back over. "May I present um…."
Blaine wipes his eyes and laughs. "We haven't picked a name yet. Well, more accurately Court and Aimee haven't picked a name out."
"Baby Hummel-Anderson then. Born January 20th- 7.6 pounds, 19 inches. Congratulations." Blaine takes the baby first. The baby still cries, though he's quieter. Blaine strokes a hand through his (sure enough) curly hair.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong? It's your birthday," Blaine teases gently. Kurt rolls his eyes.
"He's just been evicted from the only home he's known for 9 months, probably in one of the least appealing ways. Forgive him for being less than pleased." Kurt says, walking up next to his husband so he can look at the baby over his shoulder. The baby whimpers and opens his eyes. Gorgeous blue eyes that Kurt's positive will change over time. It's just the idea of looking into fresh, pure eyes that makes Kurt teary all over again. The baby closes them and screams again.
Blaine gently strokes his tiny shoulder with a small laugh. "Well, okay, it's been a pretty crappy day for him, but it's one of the best days of my life."
Blaine starts humming as he sways the small boy. The cries grow even quieter as Blaine starts singing actual words. A song Kurt knew from his jokingly dubbed 'baby playlist'.
It's a song that's technically alternative, but plays like a lullaby. Especially in Blaine's soft whisper. Kurt finds himself singing a long and that's when the baby stops crying completely. Blaine starts crying all over again, his arms starting to shake. It's not out of weakness, it's because he's overwhelmed. Kurt moves in front of him and gently coaxes the baby out of his arms. The baby settles into Kurt's arms easily, like he's always belonged there.
"Why don't I go update your dad and the kids?" Blaine says. Kurt nods, not completely listening. He only notices when Blaine kisses Kurt's cheek. "I love you."
Kurt looks up, positively glowing and happy. "I love you too. " The baby coos and Kurt looks back down. He kisses the tip of the baby's nose. "And I love you."
()
"Daddy. Daddy, wake up!" Kurt stirs and opens his eyes, taking a moment to allow them to readjust. It feels even earlier than he's sure it actually is. It takes another moment for him to realize that he was dreaming of an event that happened 7 years ago today.
Today is Stefani's birthday. She's kneeling beside him on the bed with a wide smile. "It's time to get up! I need my hair done, and Papa needs to cook my special birthday breakfast, and…"
"Stef, honey it's…" Kurt looks over at the clock and sighs. "…It's 4:30."
Stefani frowns. "But it's my birthday." She sounds so dismayed, Kurt considers just getting up to appease her. His brain however, shoots down that idea immediately. If he gets up now, he'll be exhausted by the end of the day.
"And it'll be your birthday in a couple hours," he says, rolling on to his side. He reaches his hands out, hoping Stefani will accept the offer to cuddle. Sure enough, she leans into his arms and lies next to him. His mind goes back to the memory he was dreaming of. Kurt hugs his daughter close and kisses the top of her head. He feels like he's holding that baby again, allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the paternal instinct he didn't know he had until his children were born. When he and Blaine decided to have one more child, they had said there was something missing from their family. Kurt thought it was just an expression until his youngest child was born—then he realized how true it was. He can't imagine his life without Stefani, or even remember a time where she wasn't a thought on his mind. All he knows is that he's thankful to have her—no matter what age, gender, or what time in the morning it is.
Still, he thinks with a sigh as he rocks Stefani back to sleep so he can shut his eyes, he wishes she didn't wake up so early.
()
The day officially begins a few hours later. Blaine makes Stefani her special birthday breakfast while Kurt does her hair and helps her pick out an outfit. Her special breakfast is a stack of banana pancakes with warm syrup and a small serving of potatoes. After she's finished eating, she practically throws herself into Blaine's lap, even though he's still eating. "Papa! It's time for my present!"
"Stefani Rae, your father is still eating." Kurt warns, but Blaine smiles and wraps his arms around his daughter.
"You sure you want to do it now? And not before dinner and the skating rink?"
"You know what her answer will be," Court says. Stefani nods frantically anyway. Blaine stands up from the table and goes into the other room. Winnipeg follows after him, and it makes Kurt smile, shaking his head. Winnipeg races back into the kitchen as Blaine brings out the very obviously guitar shaped package. Nonetheless, Stefani jumps up with curiosity and excitement.
Kurt chuckles as Stefani sits down in her chair so Blaine can hand her the present. Kurt briefly considers grabbing his camera to take a picture, but Stefani has the wrapping off before he can blink. Stefani screams happily. "Oh my god, it's a guitar!"
"Really? Kurt, I told you she wanted a pony!" Blaine teases.
Stefani's hair whips behind her as she glares at Blaine. "No, this is exactly what I wanted!" She sets the small, store quality acoustic on the table and throws her arms around Blaine. Blaine lifts her up and swings her around. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now pass me to Daddy!"
Blaine chuckles and walks over to where Kurt is sitting. He drops the girl into his husband's lap. Stefani hugs Kurt tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you Daddy!"
Kurt kisses her cheek and curls his fingers into her hair. "No problem, baby. I'm happy you like your gift. Now you remember our deal, right?"
"I'll practice every day! I promise! Papa can help me practice! Right?"
Blaine playfully pats Kurt's shoulder and chuckles. "Right."
Stefani got $50 that Burt and Carole gave Kurt to give to her. Aimee and Court had gone in together to get Stefani a new Barbie doll—one that had a mermaid tail so it could swim in the bathtub. She's so happy it's contagious. Court even gives Stefani a piggyback ride out to the car. "Watch your wrist!"
"Oh, he's fine!" Blaine calls out from the kitchen. Kurt rolls his eyes, but smiles. With all the drama and sadness that's been going on lately, he's glad they can have a day that's fun and all about their family. Specifically, about the day their family was complete.
()
"Court, phone." Kurt calls out about an hour before they're supposed to go out to dinner. Blaine's sitting on the couch with Stefani, teaching her some guitar basics, while Aimee and Court finish up homework. Court doesn't even look up to answer.
"If it's grandma, tell her it's Stefani's birthday."
"What? What grandma—no, it's Jamie." Court drops his pencil and rushes towards Kurt. Kurt barely lowers the phone to Court's level before he takes it.
"Hi."
"Hey, what's up?" Court answers.
"Nothing much. Grandpa said it was Stefani's birthday today, so I wanted to call and wish her a happy birthday," she says. Court's shoulders lower.
"So, you weren't calling for me? But my dad…"
"Well, obviously I asked to talk to you first," she says with a giggle. Court blushes, and sits down on the floor, with his back against the wall. Kurt is sitting at the table flipping through a magazine and giving Court an entertained look. "Ugh, it's a good thing you're pretty, otherwise, I would have been a dork for kissing you."
"You were a dork before then," Court teases back, which makes Jamie laugh in return. Once the moment pass, Court dares to ask. "So, how has everything been going? Is your mom better yet?"
There's a small noise on the other line before she answers, "She's getting better, I guess. Dad says she is, but he's also doing that annoying adult-thing, where they don't tell you things because they think you're too little, so I don't know… Alex got into Yale though, so we've been pretty excited about that."
"That's cool," Court states. Jamie laughs again.
"It's only the most exciting thing ever! She says she's going to move to this place called New Haven, which isn't far away from New York. So, maybe I could visit you and her some time." Jamie adds the last part quietly, which makes Court smirk.
"That'd be fun, I guess."
"What? You don't want me to visit?" she asks, sounding a little disappointed.
"No! I mean, yeah I want you to visit! Just, you know, it's probably a while away."
"Oh, yeah it is. Alex isn't even moving until summer," she says. It's uncomfortably silent for a moment or so. It's different when they're in person, where they can fill the silence with handholding or brief touching. "What are you guys doing for Stefani's birthday?"
"Dinner, and then ice-skating."
"Don't fall and hurt your wrist again."
Court rolled his eyes. "Gee thanks."
Jamie giggles. "Sorry, couldn't hold back…Well, I should say happy birthday to Stef before you leave. Same time next week?"
"Yeah, sure." Kurt chuckles, which earns him a glare from his son. "I'll go get Stef. Talk you later."
"Bye. Miss you."
Court looks at his dad, and sighs. "You too." Kurt smirks as Court pushes himself up. He takes the phone out to Stefani. Aimee smiles when she sees her brother.
"Is that your girlfriend? OW!" Court hit Aimee's shoulder as he sat on the couch.
"Court Jaden!" Blaine chastises. Court and Aimee share a long glare, before they look away from each other. Court can't help but smile a little bit. He couldn't get away with hitting Aimee any other day than Stefani's birthday.
()
The ice-rink isn't extremely busy with it being a weeknight and mid-January. It's been a few years since Blaine's gone ice-skating—even longer since Kurt has. However, it's only been about a month for Court, so he's the first of the small family out on the ice. Finn's helping Fanny on her skates, while Kurt and Aimee are skating hand-in-hand. She clings onto Kurt as close as she can, while he awkwardly skates beside her. Blaine's helping Stefani lace up her skates on the same bench Rachel's sitting on.
He checks her skates to make sure they're tight. Once he's satisfied she'll be safe, he sits up on the bench and starts putting on his skates. "All right, let me put on my skates on and then we'll go, okay?"
Stefani nods and then turns to Rachel. "Aunt Rachel, aren't you going to skate?"
"I can't sweetie, I'm sorry. I don't want to risk falling and hurting the baby." She explains.
Stefani wrinkles her nose. "You've been pregnant forever. How long until the baby comes?" Blaine smiles at the question as he finishes lacing his first skate.
Rachel smiles too. "Hmm, we still have awhile yet. We won't see Maria until late June." Stefani looks thoughtful for a moment, and then asks.
"Aunt Rachel, why do you only have a girl's name picked out?" Stefani asks. Rachel gives her a curious look.
"Well, because Dr. Everett said that Uncle Finn and I were having a girl. We had a boy's name picked out, but usually, the sonogram's right."
"… if the baby were to end up like me, she—he could have my old name." Blaine and Rachel share similar expressions of surprise. Blaine realizes it's the first time Stefani's even acknowledged her old name. It's been over a year since Kurt and Blaine swore never to call her Dalton unless she asked them to. Since then, Stefani's acted like the name was poison to her ears. If anyone even used the name, she'd shrink away. It's a huge deal for him to hear her offer her old name.
Rachel's shock more likely comes from the very thought (which she probably didn't even consider) that one day her daughter could come out as a boy. He wonders if anyone ever really expects to hear that, and if even having a niece that used to be a nephew could prepare Rachel for that. He smiles; he knows if it did happen, Rachel would be wonderful. She'd be just as loving and supportive as she has been of Stefani. To prove it, Rachel pats her shoulder. "That's very sweet, honey. Any baby would be lucky to be named after you."
Then, there it is- Stefani's smile. The one that was almost a giggle and you could see most of her top teeth. It's the kind of smile he always wants to see.
Blaine finishes lacing his skates and sets himself up. He reaches his hand out and helps Stefani to her feet. Unsteadily, they walk over to the rink. Blaine steps onto the ice first and then helps Stefani get on. She starts to wobble even more. "Papa…"
"You're all right. I got you."
"You won't let me fall?" she asks.
"Well, I didn't say that," Blaine says as reassuringly as he can. Stefani looks a little uncertain. "I won't let go and I promise if you do fall, I'll help you get back up. Okay?"
She bites her lip and nods. Blaine holds on to her hands and starts skating backwards with Stefani skating forwards. Blaine struggles to hold her balance in place. "Okay honey, you need to relax a little bit. Skate slowly and try to get your balance. Stef, I know you're nervous, but—"
Blaine leans down and stops her from falling. Stefani screams in his ear and clutches Blaine tightly. Kurt and Aimee stop nearby, both looking on in worry. Blaine helps her steady up again, but he notices Stefani's eyes are starting to water. "You're doing so great, honey."
"I don't want to fall," Stefani says with a sniffle. Blaine squeezes both her hands.
"If you fall, you'll just get back up. Not a big deal, I promise," Blaine lets one hand go to lift Stefani's chin. "That's how you learn to do it the right way—you have to do it the wrong way and fall, right?"
Stefani nods. "Okay…"
Blaine and Stefani start skating together again. Kurt and Aimee start skating nearby, giving Stefani gentle encouragement. She does fall on her knees at one point, but instead of crying like they thought she might, she lets Blaine pick her up and continues skating. Later on, they're able to skate a little faster, and Blaine even starts to spin Stefani. The fear seems to leave her as she laughs and giggles.
Just as it's getting close to the time to leave, Rachel approaches the rink and holds up a camera. "Everyone get together! Family photo."
Finn stops in front of Rachel and nervously pats down his hair. "How do I look?"
Rachel leans over and kisses Finn's cheek. "Handsome as always."
"What about me?" Fanny yells as she skates by.
"You look fine, come on, let's do it before I freeze to death!" Aimee declares, and Blaine knows it must be true if his daughter is willing to throw appearances aside. Blaine and Stefani skate over to Kurt and Aimee. Court skates up quickly and stops, spraying his family (well, their feet anyway) with ice.
"Okay, one with everyone. Big smiles!" Everyone gets in close—adults in the back, and kids in the front—and smiles. Rachel takes the photo. "Now, just one with the Hummel-Anderson's."
Finn and Fanny skate away, and the family take a few photos together. Some serious, some not. The last one, Kurt and Blaine have their arms wrapped around each other while Aimee and Court lift Stefani up in front of them. Blaine sees Rachel smirk before she snaps the photo. Blaine's sure Kurt will be begging her to send those photos tomorrow, and if he doesn't, Blaine will.
They go home, and get the kids ready for bed. By the time Kurt gets the girls' hair taken care of and Court in and out of the bathtub, everyone is feeling tired. Kurt and Blaine get Court and Aimee into their beds and then go to Stefani's room.
Blaine laughs when they peer into her room. Stefani's already starting to fall asleep, but she's breaking one of Kurt's stricter rules—the puppy not being able to sleep in the bed. Yet, Winnipeg's nestled right up next to her. Kurt crosses his arms. "What is that rat doing in your bed?"
"Winni wanted to sleep with me. Please Daddy?" Stefani sleepily mumbles. Blaine knows it's not even a question. Stefani is going to get her way even without Blaine putting in his input. Kurt sighs, but gives her a small smile. The couple walks over and each parent leans down to kiss Stefani's forehead. "Thank you. I had a great birthday."
Blaine brushes a stray away from her face. "Glad to hear it, Stef. We love you."
"I love you both too," she says through a big yawn. Kurt grabs her blanket and brings it up over Winnipeg and up to Stefani's shoulders. She's asleep before they even close the door.
Kurt kisses Blaine's cheek as they walk into their own bedroom. "I'm exhausted. Our daughter tried to get me up at 4:30, you know."
"Not sure where she gets that from," Blaine says, pulling himself from Kurt and sitting on the end of the bed. Kurt starts taking off his clothes so he can change into his pajamas. Blaine just lays back and relaxes. It's then that he remembers. "Kurt, Stef mentioned Dalton today."
Kurt pauses, his shirt left wide open. "She did?"
"Well, not entirely. She asked Rachel why she didn't have a boy name for Maria and offered for the baby to use Dalton if the baby turned out like her," Blaine says.
Kurt hums, but he's obviously very deep in thought. "Do you think she's starting to be okay with who she used to be?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Blaine and Kurt stare at each other and break into small, knowing smiles. All they've ever wanted for their kids is to be happy and self-assured. They know this will be harder for their youngest child to achieve because she wasn't born in the body she was meant to be. At the same time, they know their little seven-year-old is resilient and strong, and that's one thing that won't change with age.
If she can learn to be comfortable with who she is and keep going even if she falls, then they know they've done their job.
Hey guys! Sorry this is coming close to a month later! I got really busy with the holidays, which I'm sure a lot of you were busy as well. I must admit, some personal work of mine took a bit of the attention away from my fanfiction, but I've been working on a little bit of all the stories these past few days, so we could possibly have a few different updates soon. No guarantees, but I'll try.
Next chapter will take place a little farther into future—at least a month, if not more. We'll see how Danielle and Aimee's friendship has progressed, we'll get an update on Blaine's father, and we'll see more of the upcoming vow renewal.
As always, a very big thank you to my readers, reviewers, followers, and people who have favorited this story. Also, a huge, huge thank you to my beta, irishflute, who is amazing and awesome. She puts a lot of work into making my fanfiction more enjoyable for people, and I appreciate it very much! I hope you all had an excellent time over the holidays. Now let's go out there and 2013 awesome!
Oh, one more thing- just in case anyone was wondering, the song Blaine was humming to the baby, in my head, was 'When You Dream' by Barenaked Ladies, which obviously I don't own. A fabulous song if you haven't heard it!
Jay Li Matsuda- Thank you for the fabulous idea :) Everyone loved it! I can't give too much away, but for the time being, Fanny and Mason are indeed over. I will say that the families will still get together for holidays and for a certain event coming up, so they'll have to at least talk at some point. Oh you did? I hope I didn't spoil anything! If I did, I apologize, I tried really hard not to. Kudos to you for being devoted to those deals! I couldn't dare to part with my beloved sleep. As for Blaine's middle name, Ryan Murphy revealed it on twitter after a fan asked him. I have to admit, Blaine Devon Anderson does have a nice ring to it. It just makes my guess incorrect now—but hey, it's fanfiction, what can you do? You make your best gambles and move on. Lol, reference sex does make me happy happy too. I love imaging them as this middle-aged couple so obviously in love, and still making sweet, passionate love together. Unfortunately, I can't say that things will always be this happy, but with the bad will come the good. Glad you enjoyed the Jamie scenes, as well as the Kurt/Aimee, and Rachel/Fanny scenes :) Sorry, the last two were sad though—I do kind of enjoy writing the sad scenes as much as I like writing happy ones though. It certainly does, and life will be mostly good for the family for a few chapters. Thanks for the review my dear!
The Songbirds Are Singing- Yup :) Granted, it's a little while off yet, but I have a fairly good idea of how it's going to go. Glad you're excited! Thank you for reviewing!
The Irish Gleek- Yeah, lol. In my head, Rachel's wanted to do homebirths without epidurals for all of her pregnancies. In my head, she decided to have Fanny at the hospital since it was her first time giving birth, and ended up getting the epidural. As we saw in Ours, Kurt and Blaine veto'd the idea of doing a home birth, and again, she gave in on the epidural—pretty much the same thing happened when Stefani was born. And with Maria, well, we'll have to see. Aimee and Danielle will appear next chapter, but I did include that Jamie/Court talk this chapter ;) I can't say they'll be no more sad Kurt, but we should be safe for a chapter or two. As for the vow renewal, we're not far away at all. I'd say two, maybe three chapters out. It may well be a two-chapter event too. Thank you for reviewing!
descori- Thank you for the kind words :), but you don't be too hard on yourself. I have the same problem with my personal works. Hope you enjoy the update! Thank you for reviewing!
Orgasmic Bunnies- Awesome! Kurt definitely was—it might have been the punch incident all over again, only via phone (not sure how that would work, but Kurt could find a way). Yes he is, and poor Kurt is right, although he'll be super surprised when he sees his new ring, I'm sure. We'll have more on the Aimee/Danielle situation next chapter, but I'll hint that it will be mostly sweet, maybe a tiny bit of bitter, but mostly sweet. Lol, oh lord, just what the house needs—two guitar-wielding bubbles of energy all over the furniture! I have to admit, as much I do it, I love ending chapters with Blaine and Kurt running off and having sex—so it will probably happen again, lol. Hope you enjoy this update as well :) Thank you for reviewing!
Janice93- I know, poor Kurt, but I promise it will be worth it in the end. I just couldn't let Blaine go without feeling a little bad for taking his husband's ring. I won't say what his exact reaction will be, but he'll be shocked to say the least. I could totally see a future Blaine doing this, nonetheless. Thank you for reviewing!
FerchiColfer- Thank you very much! I know, we haven't had a lot of fighting in this one yet, but…I can't comment too much on this without giving something away though. Let's just say it's going to get a little rough on everybody when Blaine's father takes his downturn. There, that's all I'm going to say! That's awesome! Lol. Winnie use to be my favorite kids show! I honestly think of that show every time I type Winni's name. That, and my accidental reference to AVPM (of course, now that I get it, it's that much more entertaining). Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.