Here's chapter 36! Thank you for all the reviews, favs, and alerts! Only 15 more reviews until this fanfic will have 300! As I said a couple chapters ago, I've started school so that's why the updates have been slow. I might post another chapter tomorrow. If not, I'll get one posted during the week.
I don't own Glee.
Enjoy!
Rachel woke up one morning, hearing Christmas music being softly played in the other room. It was Christmas today, which was always a special occasion. This one was also special because this was Cory's first Christmas with the whole family. She wondered if it had snowed the night before, since the weather forecast said their was a chance for snow. When she got up from her bed, she pulled back the curtains to see small white crystals falling from the sky, covering the grass like a blanket. She always loved it when it snowed on Christmas.
"Are you up, Rachel?" Finn asked from the kitchen. He was probably already up so he could help his mom make dinner. Since Carole and Burt got married, she had moved into the Hummel household and she agreed to help Finn and Rachel with certain finances while they lived alone. Kurt, Burt, and Carole had arrived while she was still sleeping, obviously.
"Yeah!" she shouted, walking into the kitchen and giving him a hug from behind. Finn turned away from what he was doing to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"Your dads and Shelby are coming, right Rachel?" Carole asked while mashing some potatoes.
"Yep. They should be arrived at eleven," she informed, "Is Cory still sleeping?"
He nodded, "Yeah. He has a big day ahead of him, so I figured he should get an extra hour or two of sleep. You can go get him, though." Before Rachel left the room, she felt Carole tap her on the shoulder. When she turned around, she found Finn's mom holding a resent in front of her.
"This is for Cory. I figured you'd want him to wear it today," Rachel tore open the gift like a four year old would on Christmas, and a little elf costume was revealed. There was a green hat with white lining and a bell at the top, a long-sleeved green and white striped polo, green pants, and black shoes with bells at the top.
"Aww! This is so cute! I'm going to go put it on him now. Thank you Carole!" she gave her a hug before darting off into the nursery. When she got in there, she saw Cory's head turned towards her, and he was wide awake.
"Good morning Little Cor!" Rachel exclaimed, placing the outfit on the changing table to pick him up, "It's Christmas! I know you don't know what that is, but it's really fun!"
He giggled, which made her smile. Since he was slowly eating baby food, she decided to feed him first before anything else. She took him into the dining room, set up his high chair, and went to go get him some food.
"Merry Christmas, Cory!" she heard Kurt and Burt say, giving him a kiss on the head.
"Burt, can you go get the presents from the car?" Carole asked in the kitchen.
"Alright. Kurt, can you give me a hand? I want to see when football is on," Burt asked, signalling his son towards the door.
"I'll never understand the significance of football," Kurt muttered to himself, following his dad outside. Rachel laughed one they got outside. At least she had him to talk with once her dads and Shelby arrived.
"Hey Cory," Finn came out from the kitchen to say hello to his son, "Merry Christmas! I'm sure Santa brought you loads of presents!" They had agreed together that they would let Cory choose what kind of religion he'd want tp believe in, instead of them choosing for him.
"Isn't it kinda early for him to believe in Santa?" she questioned.
"It's never too early to start believing, Rach," he answered, giving he a kiss on the lips.
-complicated-complicated-
It was noon now, and everyone had just finished opening their presents. Rachel had gotten mostly clothes, but Finn got her a pair of earrings that were gold stars to match the necklace her dads got her. Finn's mom gave him his dad's suit to permanently keep, which meant a lot to him. As a pair, they received a gift card to a masseuse, courtesy of the Berrys and the Hudson-Hummels. Shelby got them a $25 gift card to a restaurant. They had gotten their parents small trinkets, but they loved them anyways. Rachel got Kurt deluxe editions of a couple Barbra Streisand DVDs, and they both knew that one weekend they were going to make a marathon of Streisand movies. Everyone pitched in to get Cory a motion jumper, which he would hopefully use often in the coming months.
"We have one more present for you guys," Kurt grinned as he walked over to the CD player, waiting for Rachel's cue.
"We'd like to sing you a song," she gave a curt nod, which made Kurt ress "Play" on the CD player.
Rachel, Finn, and Kurt
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging
Not only green when summer's here
But also when it's cold and drear
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Such pleasure do you bring me
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Such pleasure do you bring me
Oh every year this Christmas tree
Brings to us such joy and glee
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Such pleasure do you bring me
Sleep in heavenly, Sleep in heavenly
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Oh ever green unchanging
A symbol of good will and love
You'll ever be unchanging
Each shining light each silver bell
No other light spreads cheer so well
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
You'll ever be unchanging
"That was beautiful," Carole said, beaming with happiness. Even Cory seemed happy to hear his parents and uncle sing. Once dinner was ready, they all headed to the table to eat their delicious feast.
"I know it's Christmas and all, but I have to ask something," Hiram said, "What are your plans for the future you two? Most high school students start to apply for college during their junior year."
"We've been thinking about it," Finn answered, glancing at Cory before explaining, "And Rachel still wants to go to college to pursue her dreams, and I was thinking about waiting a year or so to apply so I can stay home to take care of Cory. He'll be two years old when it's time for college, so taking care of him will be a little bit easier."
"Will you be attending college here or somewhere else?"
"Well..." this time Rachel spoke, "We were also talking to Kurt, and we think between the three of us we could rent a small apartment in New York."
"You'll have to pay for the apartment on your own, but we'll gladly help you with school expenses," Leroy said, finishing his food.
"And we'll help our sons too, no matter what career options they choose," Burt told the group.
"There's also a chance I'll be moving to New York soon, too. So if you need me we'll still be in the same state," Shelby announced. She wondered why her mom was possibly moving to New York? Maybe to start over? It wasn't the place or time to ask, though.
"Thank you guys," the brunette thanked all of them at once. It was nice to see that they had a good support system for their future. It seemed so far away, but she knew it was going to come really fast. It felt like it was just yesterday when she gave birth to Cory. Like her and Finn had talked about last month, they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together and have a couple more kids.
The only thing they really didn't talk about...was marriage. Rachel hoped it was in her and Finn's future together. Cory already had his father's name after all, so why didn't she have it? Maybe he was afraid of getting married while they were still in high school... People would probably wonder why they got married while they were still in school. It wasn't natural for teenagers to do that. Rachel didn't care though, she loved Finn and Cory with all her heart.
Songs used:
O Christmas Tree
The only character I own is Cory Hudson.
Coming up in chapter 37 - Regionals is coming up! When Quinn decides to help Rachel write a song, the brunette discovers something which causes them to get in a huge fight.