Thanks so much for over 900 reviews! I seriously can't get over that I have that many! I'm hoping I hit 1000 by the time I finish this story! This chapter was fun for me to write. I'm sorry that there isn't much Allie in this chapter, but she'll be in the next few a lot, don't worry! Hope you enjoy it and review if you want more!
I can't believe that we've been without Cory for two months now. It still feels unreal. I miss him so much, miss Finn, miss Finchel, miss Monchele. He should be here. He didn't deserve this.
Chapter 55: Power Outage
"Well, what does it say?" Finn asked. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom as Rachel looked at the pregnancy test. They'd been trying to get pregnant and have another baby, and Rachel's period was a few days late. They both had a feeling that she might be pregnant.
Rachel sighed and held up the three pregnancy tests. "They're all negative."
Finn felt his heart sink. They'd been trying for a few months now. "Well, we won't give up, right?"
"Of course we won't give up," Rachel said. They heard some movement in the distance, guessing that it was one of the girls. That meant that now was the time to stop talking about pregnancy.
"Good morning Mommy," Caylie said, coming into their room. "Good morning Daddy."
"Hi Caylie," Rachel said. "Did you enjoy your first night in your new big girl bed?" Yesterday Caylie's new "big girl bed" had arrived and she'd been so excited. She'd even gone to bed early so she could sleep in it, so it made sense that she was up earlier than usual.
"Yeah!" Caylie said. "It's really comfy."
"Good," Finn said. "Now that you're three, you should sleep in a bed made for big girls."
"Yes," Caylie said. "Allie has a big girl bed. Can I wake Allie up?"
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Caylie," Rachel said. "Allie has school today, and it's a little early to get her up."
"In the fall you'll be going to preschool," Finn reminded his daughter.
"Will it be fun?" Caylie asked.
"I'm sure it will be," Finn said. Then he remembered something. "So, Rach, since you'd already left for your show when I got home yesterday, I haven't gotten to see your bridesmaid dress for Katie's wedding yet."
"It's so pretty!" Caylie said. Yesterday, Rachel had gotten her bridesmaid dress for Katie's wedding, which would be in a few weeks. She hadn't shown Finn the photos when they had the initial fitting because she wanted to surprise him, but Caylie had come along for the final fitting.
"I'll go put it on for you," Rachel said. She came back a few minutes later, and Finn was blinded by how beautiful his wife looked. The dress was light pink and came about to Rachel's knees, with a dark pink sash with a flower on it.
"Isn't Mommy pretty?" Caylie asked.
"Yes she is," Finn agreed, giving his wife a kiss. Then he felt his phone vibrate. He looked and saw a text from Sam. "I forgot to text you until now, but Mercedes has a performance in New York tonight. Do you think you guys could come? I have tickets for you guys and the Hummel-Andersons and Lopez-Pierces."
Finn looked at Rachel, who was now headed to the bathroom to change out of the bridesmaid dress and into regular clothes. "Rach, tonight's your night off, right?"
"Yeah," Rachel said.
"I just got a text from Sam, Mercedes has a performance here in New York tomorrow night," Finn said. "Would you like to go?"
"Are you kidding?" Rachel asked. "Of course I want to go!"
"Great, I'll text Sam and tell him we want to go," Finn said. "I'm sure Allie will want to go, too."
"Of course she will," Rachel said.
x
The next night, Finn, Rachel and Allie were sitting in the stands at Carnegie Hall with Sam and James for Mercedes's performance. Mercedes had become quite a successful singer and was now working on her third album. She hadn't won a Grammy yet, but Rachel was sure there was one in the near future for her. Last night, Kurt, Blaine, Brittany and Santana had gone to the performance, and the Hudsons had watched their kids. Caylie was at Santana and Brittany's apartment now.
"She sounds really good!" Allie whispered to Rachel.
"Yes she does," Rachel said. She was glad her friend had become so successful.
"I have one more song I'm going to do tonight," Mercedes said on the stage. "But someone's going to be joining me for this one. Everyone, please welcome my biggest inspiration in music - Beyonce!"
The crowd went wild as Beyonce joined Mercedes on stage. Rachel knew how exciting this must be for Mercedes to get to sing with her musical idol. She herself would have loved to have sung with Barbra Streisand, Patti LuPone or Bernadette Peters. Beyonce took the microphone and spoke to the audience.
"Thank you," Beyonce said. "I'm so honored to be here tonight. I'm a huge fan of Mercedes and her music."
"Let's sing together!" Mercedes said as the music began.
Beyonce (Mercedes): All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
Both: All the single ladies
Now put your hands up
Beyonce: Up in the club, we just broke up
I'm doing my own little thing
Mercedes: You decided to dip but now you wanna trip
Cause another brother noticed me
Beyonce: I'm up on him, he up on me
don't pay him any attention
Mercedes: Cause I cried my tears, for three good years
Ya can't be mad at me
Both: Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Beyonce: I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips
Hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans
Mercedes: Acting up, drink in my cup
I could care less what you think
Beyonce: I need no permission, did I mention
Don't pay him any attention
Mercedes: Cause you had your turn
And now you gonna learn
Both: What it really feels like to miss me
Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Beyonce: Don't treat me to these things of the world
I'm not that kind of girl
Mercedes: Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve
Is a man that makes me then takes me
And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Beyonce: Pull me into your arms
Say I'm the one you want
Both: If you don't, you'll be alone
And like a ghost I'll be gone
Beyonce (Mercedes): All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
All the single ladies (All the single ladies)
Both: All the single ladies
Now put your hands up
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh
At the end of the performance, the crowd applauded and Finn turned to Sam. "Did you know that was going to happen?"
"I had no idea!" Sam said. "I would have thought Mercedes would have told me."
"That was so cool!" Allie said.
x
After the performance, Sam took Finn, Rachel and Allie to Mercedes's dressing room. Mercedes looked excited when she saw the Hudsons. "Hey!"
"You were amazing!" Rachel said as she gave her friend a hug. "What was it like singing with Beyonce?"
"Everything I dreamed it would be and more," Mercedes said. "My agent suggested we call her. I was so happy when she wanted to do it."
"I bet you were!" Finn said.
"You didn't even tell me!" Sam said, giving his wife some flowers.
"Because I knew you'd just tell everyone!" Mercedes shot back.
"That's true," Sam admitted.
"Do you guys want to come to our apartment?" Finn asked. "Allie doesn't have school tomorrow, so she doesn't have to worry about a bedtime."
"We'd love to," Sam said.
"How are you doing, Allie?" Mercedes asked.
"I'm good," Allie said. "One day I'm going to play my viola at Carnegie Hall."
"Yes you are," Rachel said, knowing that would most likely happen.
"Can I hold James on the way home?" Allie asked.
"Of course you can," Sam said. "He might fall asleep, it's pretty late for him."
"Thanks!" Allie said.
"No sleep, Dada!" James said.
Finn, Rachel, Sam and Mercedes all laughed. "He's such a Daddy's boy," Mercedes said.
"Hey, he liked his Mommy's performance," Sam said as they started leaving.
"I want a brother, too," Allie said. "My parents want to have another baby."
"Allie, we weren't exactly going to tell people yet," Finn said.
"You guys should try!" Sam said. "Sons are great!"
"We'd like James to have a little brother or sister, too," Mercedes said.
"Did you know Uncle Rory and Aunt Sugar have a baby now?" Allie asked.
"Of course we do!" Sam said. "Another girl, Alyssa Brianne."
"We saw her picture," Mercedes said. "She's beautiful."
"Girls are taking over this generation of Glee babies!" Finn said.
"Yes we are!" Allie said. "I can't wait to meet her at Uncle Joe and Aunt Kitty's wedding this summer."
"It'll be pretty nice to meet her," Rachel said. She looked out the window, noticing it was snowing pretty hard. "Come on, we'd better get back to our apartment."
The snow was falling down even harder when they left Carnegie Hall. Sam had picked up the Hudsons in the Evanses' minivan before the concert, so there was only one car to drive home in. The ride home was not the easiest. The snow was coming down pretty hard, and Sam was driving pretty slowly, even though not many people were on the road. When they arrived back at the apartment building, Rachel told Finn, Allie and the Evanses to go to the Hudsons' apartment while she went to Santana and Brittany's apartment to get Caylie. When they walked up to the apartment building, the snow was falling hard and Rachel could hardly see. She went straight to Santana and Brittany's apartment and knocked on the door.
"Good thing you're here," Santana said as she opened the door.
"What happened?" Rachel asked.
"The power went out for about ten minutes while you guys were out," Brittany said. "That really upset Caylie. She was crying and asking for her mommy and daddy."
Rachel felt guilty for not being there when something happened that upset Caylie. "Where is she now?"
"She's sleeping in Julia and Emily's room," Brittany said. "I'll go get her."
"Thanks," Rachel said.
"So how was the concert?" Santana asked Rachel.
"Mercedes performed Single Ladies with Beyonce!" Rachel said.
"That's so cool!" Santana said as Brittany came out with Caylie.
"Mommy!" Caylie explained.
Rachel gave her daughter a hug. "I was scared, Mommy," Caylie said.
"I'm here now," Rachel said.
"Can we go home?" Caylie asked.
"Of course," Rachel said, giving Caylie a kiss. "Can you say thank you to Aunt Santana and Aunt Brittany?"
"Thank you," Caylie said, hugging her aunts.
"We'll see you soon," Rachel said as she walked Caylie up to their apartment. Caylie was clutching her hand pretty tightly, but she perked up when they got back to the apartment and saw that the Evanses were there. "Uncle Sam! Aunt Mercedes!" Caylie said.
"Hey," Sam said, scooping up Caylie and giving her a hug.
"Where's James?" Allie asked.
"He's playing with Allie in her room," Mercedes said.
"I want to go, too!" Caylie said running down the hall.
"Allie's so good with little kids," Sam said.
"She is," Finn agreed.
"She loves her little cousins," Rachel added.
"Too bad she's not in LA," Mercedes said. "In a few years, she'd be a perfect babysitter."
"She will be a good babysitter," Finn said.
Before anyone had a chance to say anything, the lights flicked off. Rachel heard a quiet scream as Allie carried James into the living room and Caylie followed.
"Mommy, it happened again!" Caylie sobbed.
"It'll be fine," Rachel said, picking up her daughter. "It's just really snowy."
"I wish that this happened on a school night so school would be canceled," Allie said.
"She really is your kid, Finn," Sam said.
"It's dark, Mommy," James said.
"It is," Mercedes said.
"I want the lights on," Caylie said, clinging to Rachel.
"They'll come back," Rachel said, rubbing her daughter's back.
"Yeah, don't worry," Finn said. "And we do have some flashlights." He turned to the Evanses. "How about you spend the night here, since it's so snowy out. You two can have Rachel's and my bed and the two of us will sleep in the living room, and then we still have Caylie's crib, so James can sleep in that."
"Thanks so much, Finn," Sam said. "You guys are the best."
"Yeah, they are," Allie said. She tickled James. "You're spending the night at our apartment."
"We should get the little ones to bed," Mercedes said. "We do have to get back to California tomorrow."
"I don't want to go to sleep until the lights come back on!" Caylie pouted.
"You always sleep with the lights off anyway, don't you?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Caylie said. "But Mommy, Daddy, can you sleep in my room? Uncle Sam and Aunt Mercedes are in your room."
Rachel looked at Finn. "Of course we can."
SONG: Single Ladies by Beyonce (performed by Beyonce Knowles and Mercedes Evans)
Still deciding what happens in Chapter 57... sorry to keep you hanging :(
