!¡!¡!¡! NYC/Lima – October 2012 !¡!¡!¡!
Sam rolled over in the dark and picked up his phone to see who was calling him so late.
"Hey, Kurt."
There was silence on the other end and then crying.
Sam sat straight up in bed. "Kurt, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"I feel like I'm going to die." Kurt spoke so raggedly that Sam could barely understand him. He sniffled and tried to calm himself. "Blaine came tonight."
"I thought he was going in two weeks."
"He was. He showed up early. He cheated on me." Kurt was still barely intelligible.
"He what? Did you say that he cheated on you?"
Kurt was sobbing. "Yes."
"Take a few deep breaths." Sam guided him through a few breaths. "That's better. Now, tell me what happened."
Kurt went through what had happened during the evening. "Then, he said that he 'needed me and I wasn't there for him' and it's my fault."
"Kurt, breathe." He waited. "Again." He gave Kurt time to take a few deep breaths before he spoke. "This is NOT your fault. You've been really busy. That place you live in was empty two weeks ago. You got a new job. You told me that you'd been Skyping, texting, and talking with him."
"I have been. I just talked to him at lunch today."
"You haven't been ignoring him. He knows not to call you at work or during work, and he's not respecting the rules of the place you work when he does it anyway."
"Well, I broke the rules again today and talked to him."
"Where are you?"
"On the stairs outside the loft door. He's sleeping in my bed."
"That's rude. He should be on the floor or the couch if you found one."
"I did."
"Then he should be sleeping on it."
"He expects me to forgive him. He showed up with a huge bouquet of red roses and acted like everything was fine at first. It wasn't until after we went out and we were on our way back here that I pressed him about why he was acting strange." Kurt sniffed. "I can't do this, Sam. I can't be with someone who would go sleep with someone else when I've only been gone two weeks."
"Wait, he slept with someone else?"
"What did you think I meant by cheating?" Kurt started to cry again.
"I thought he like kissed someone when he was drunk or something."
"No. He had sex with someone else."
"I'm not sure what else to do. I've already become his vice president and spend way more time with him than I want to. I know he's your boyfriend, or WAS I guess at this point. I did what you asked, but I really don't know what you see in him. I'm sorry. That was rude, especially with how upset you are. But you know that I've never thought he was good enough for you."
"You've made that clear numerous times, yes. But I didn't have any other choices and I was tired of being alone."
"I get that. I'm feeling that now. Everyone I was friends with is gone. I mean there's Tina, Artie, and Brittany, but you're gone. I'm already pretty fed up with being Blaine's sidekick. He's acting like he's always been into comics and sci fi and it's all so fake and he broke your heart and I want to kick his ass."
"Please don't. You know I don't believe in violence."
"Only because you're my best friend and you're asking me not to. But now being nice to him is going to be next to impossible. I know I promised you and I won't go back on my word."
"Thank you."
"Don't take him back. I will make you a deal. I will make everyone believe that I am Blaine's bestie if you promise not to take him back."
"I don't know if I can promise that."
"Kurt, listen to me. You can do better. I know you don't want to hear it, but it's true. He doesn't treat you right. He never has. We'll talk about it more once the shock has worn off. Don't tell him that you forgive him or that you're going to consider taking him back. Don't give him any hope or he will be relentless to earn your forgiveness."
"I still love him."
"I know. I still love Mercedes. But sometimes things just don't go the way we want them to. And sometimes that for the best. But either way, it hurts. Be strong. Don't give in to the puppy eyes. Every time you think you might say you'll consider taking him back, remind yourself that he had sex with someone else and blamed you. He made at least a dozen choices to get to the point where some dude was sexing him up. You know that as well as I do. You know that I let Quinn lie to me about what she had done. Don't do what I did. Don't believe his lies. Make a list of steps he had to have taken that were choices. I'll start. He had to have been chatting with another gay guy, which would have been fine, unless they were sexting. But then what?"
"He had to agree to meet the guy."
"He got in his car and drove somewhere. He could have turned back anywhere along the drive. He could have pulled back out of the driveway or parking spot, even after he got there."
"He could have walked back to his car instead of knocking."
"Once the dude opened the door, he could have said, 'I've lost my goddamn mind. I have the most amazing boyfriend that I'm going to see in two weeks.' And turned around and walked back to his car."
Kurt laughed. "Thanks for saying I'm amazing."
"Well, it's true. So, even if he went inside, he could have changed his mind at any point in time and not gone through with it."
"I just felt like I had been sucker-punched in the gut when he said it to me."
"I can only imagine. It felt terrible when Quinn cheated on me and when Mercedes cheated with me. And those were just kisses. Are you sure I can't kick his ass?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You better pull out your best acting skills to pull off being his bestie."
"Do you know how much I love you to even consider doing this for you?"
"Yes. And you know I love you too. I'll agree to your terms. I won't take him back, but you have to try to keep him away from me."
"Find someone new. Someone who appreciates how amazing you are."
"Be gay or bisexual already and I'll have that problem solved."
"Since being straight worked so well for you."
"Hush, you." Kurt laughed.
"Well, at least I got you to laugh."
"You always make me laugh. I miss you."
"I miss you too. And I would totally turn bi if I knew how. You'd be the best boyfriend – way better than any of my girlfriends, even Mercedes."
"I guess I'm stuck with the best bromance then," Kurt said.
"And I have a new fake bestie. Woo hoo," Sam deadpanned. "You should have broken up with him after he practically shouted a breakup song at you."
"You're right. But the list of things I should have done is pretty long. Don't grab for the first girl who is available and willing, Sam. Promise me. I'll get some help. I'll be open to finding someone new and amazing, but you have to promise me not to settle for the first girl that's available. Just remember that you're amazing too. You just have to find someone who sees it. And you deserve someone just as awesome as you are."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Thanks for picking up even though is 2 in the morning."
"I always pick up or call back as soon as I can."
"I'm going to go back in and sleep on the couch myself."
"Good choice. Call me tomorrow or text me at least."
"Will do. 'Night."
"Goodnight, Sam."
!¡!¡!¡! NYC/Belleville, Kentucky – December 2012 !¡!¡!¡!
Kurt collapsed on his bed after remaking the Rachel's bed with the freshly laundered bed linens. He couldn't bring himself to let Blaine sleep in his bed. He let Burt take his room, taking the couch himself. He picked up his phone and called Sam.
"Did you know he was coming?"
"What?"
"Did you know that my dad was bring Blaine for Christmas?"
"I thought your dad, Carole, and Finn went to Zensville, Zaneston, some place that starts with a Z?"
"Zanesville."
'That's it."
"Well, they went and Dad came here with Blaine."
"I had no idea. I left last week, as soon as school let out on Friday."
"Finally, something good happens. I got into NYADA. And then my dad comes to see me and takes me out to see my first real Broadway show. And it was amazing. We left and stopped for hot chocolate…" Kurt paused, willing himself not to cry. "And he told me that he has cancer."
"What?"
"Yeah. He says it's easy treatable. We got back and he gave me an address to go pick up my present. It was an ice skating rink where Blaine was waiting for me. He stayed for two days with me and my dad, watching sports, being all buddy-buddy with my dad. And my dad had told him about the cancer before he told me. And Blaine applied to NYADA for the fall. He clearly thinks my conciliatory overture at Thanksgiving was a green light to consider himself back in line to be my boyfriend again."
"I don't know what else to do, Kurt. I've humored him all semester. God, he's an attention hog. Does he ever listen when someone talks to him?"
"Only if it's about him AND it's positive or framed in a way that's positive initially, like the beginning of the song was great, but then you got a little too loud for the music. That way he can frame the solution in a way that isn't an insult to him."
"I'm ready for the school year to end. If I don't get passing scores on those tests, I'm going back to Kentucky. I may hate it there, but there are no state-required tests to graduate."
"I totally understand that. What are you going to do after you graduate?"
"No idea. No clue whatsoever. I'm seriously considering telling my parents that we can all move back to Tennessee and with all three of us working, we can afford to live where we used to."
"Maybe you all could get a small 3-bedroom place and Stevie and Stacey could share a room until you could save up enough to turn a 1-car garage into a studio for you."
"Not a bad plan. Definitely worth considering." There was commotion in the background. "I'm being called to the other room. I gotta go. I'm sorry your Christmas went so bad."
"Me too. Have fun."
!¡!¡!¡! NYC– February 2013 !¡!¡!¡!
After spending time with Blaine over Christmas, Kurt realized that needed to get professional help. He went to a counselor at NYADA who was giving him the help he needed to learn to set and maintain boundaries. He had made up his mind and that was that.
"I'll say it more slowly so you can follow along better this time," Kurt said in a most sarcastic tone. "I…am…NOT…going…to…Lima...for…Mr. Schue's…wedding."
"But Kurt, everyone will be there," Rachel implored.
"No. And that's final. I'm not getting back together with Blaine and if I go to that wedding, where I've been assigned to sing two duets with him, people will get the wrong idea, most especially Blaine. You broke it off with Finn. Blaine cheated on me after two weeks of me being here." He walked away and repeated, "I'm not going."
!¡!¡!¡! Dalton – Mid-March 2013 !¡!¡!¡!
Sebastian had arrived early to school Monday morning. He went to his first class and took his seat and pulled his textbook and laptop out. His mind wandered from the textbook he was reading while waiting for first period to start. He opened his phone and looked at a photo. Rose Alexandra Smythe. 7lbs 14oz, 21' long. Not much hair, but what there is of it is the same color as mine. Will her eyes be green like mine and Mom's or will they be hazel like Dad's? March 18th, just two days after mine.
He thought back to the previous Wednesday afternoon at the hospital. He had made it there just in time to see her right after she was cleaned up. He spent the whole weekend at home holding her whenever he could.
He let his mind slip away to thinking about how his parents had gone back to celebrate their 20th Anniversary to where they went on their honeymoon. He shook his head slight and smirked. His mom came back pregnant just like she had the first time.
And now, I'm a big brother to baby Rose, who's beautiful and tiny and perfect, he thought. He was head over heels for her and he was planning to spoil her rotten. He looked a few more of the pictures he had taken over her over the weekend. He put his phone away when he heard footsteps.
Jeff came up behind him and thumped him on the shoulder and plopped down in the seat next him. Within a couple of minutes, the classroom was full and the bell rang.
!¡!¡!¡! Lima – Mid-March 2013 !¡!¡!¡!
"Hey, Dad, can we talk for a while?" Kurt plopped down on the other end of the sofa.
Burt hit the mute button on the remote. "Sure, kiddo what's up?"
"Well, I'm really glad your appointment went so well earlier today. I've been really scared. I've tried to keep from making you more stressed by not talking about things, but the counselor I've been seeing this semester talked about my penchant for lying by omission and how this sort of falls in that general vicinity."
Burt took a deep breath and let it out. "Look, Kurt. I've always known that more went on at school that you ever let on about. I didn't know the specifics, but Finn did and has let a few things out of the bag here and there, not knowing that I didn't know what he was talking about."
"Such as?"
"Him and Puck tossing you into the dumpsters and how you forgave both of them and how much that meant to him. Just little things, but those little things added up to me getting a pretty decent picture of what went on."
"I see. Well, there's something I need to tell you."
"Alright."
"Blaine and I are never getting back together. I need you to respect my wishes."
"Oh. That's not the impression I had gotten."
"It may not be because from what I've pieced together, he spends quite a bit of time over here with Sam these days."
"He does. I didn't realize that was a problem."
"It's not a problem for me so long as you know that he's not your future son-in-law and that he's here because he's Sam friend and Sam lives here and not because he's my former boyfriend that I'm getting back together with sometime."
"You were a little stiff at Christmas, but that's pretty much your MO unless it's just the two of us. Is that all you're going to tell me? That it's permanently over? Are seeing someone else seriously? Is that what this is about?"
"I'm friends with a guy, maybe more than friends, but much, much less than boyfriends."
"That doesn't really make sense."
"I know. He wants more. I can't give it to him right now, so we're just hanging out as friends. We go out for coffee. He hangs out at the loft and bakes with me sometimes. But he's British and he's a senior. He doesn't know what he's doing at the end of the semester and I'm not ready to put my whole heart into something that might end in less than two months. He's super sweet and he'd be a great boyfriend, but we're not officially dating."
"Alright. So, it's not because you've fallen in love with someone else."
"Nope. Well, it kind of is. I'm learning to love myself. And in so doing, I can't be in a relationship with someone who doesn't respect me."
"In what way is Blaine disrespectful? You're beating around the bush. I'm figuring that's because you think whatever you're going to say is going to stress me out. Keep in mind that not knowing stresses me out. So, there isn't a 'no stress' option here."
Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Last fall, the first Friday in October, Blaine came to see me in New York."
"Yeah, I know. He got the ticket the day I booked yours. Wait. He planned to go out the middle of October."
"Well, he showed up unannounced two weeks early. And by the end of the evening, he confessed that he had cheated on me."
"Come again?"
"He had sex with someone. I asked him who it was. He said it didn't matter. His exact words were, 'I needed you and you weren't there.' And my world fell apart. I was crushed."
"Oh, Kurt. Why didn't you tell me? I would have never brought him with me at Christmas."
"I was embarrassed. I believed what he said. I took the responsibility upon myself. I thought through every time I could have spent another five minutes texting him or how I could have just stopped after I got my bed instead of spending time looking for other furniture. I nearly drove myself insane trying to figure out how I could have been more available to him. I went to a regular doctor and got a prescription for Ambien because I couldn't sleep. Eventually Isabelle convinced me to see someone. She paid for it because I couldn't afford it. I only went twice. The therapist helped me to see that it wasn't my fault. I read a couple of books on forgiveness and relationships that the therapist recommended since I couldn't keep going. You know that my relationship with Rachel is always rocky because she always so self-focused, so it was hard to turn to her because I can never trust her completely. Losing Blaine broke me. I thought maybe I could eventually rebuild a friendship with him. You bringing him at Christmas was too soon for that. Since I walked on eggshells the whole time trying not to let you see how much him being there bothered me, it gave him the impression that I was okay with him there, you know? That I had already forgiven him and that I was willing to give him a second chance."
"Oh, God, Kurt. I thought you two just split over the difficulty of the distance. I had no idea he had cheated on you. And you're right that I just let him be here all the time because I felt like this was going to be his home eventually. Now, that I know that's not true, I'll treat him like he's Sam's friend, like you said. Once Sam moves on, Blaine will have no reason to be here. And I'll tell Sam that whenever you're here, he and Blaine need to take it elsewhere."
"Thanks, Dad. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth."
"Is that why you didn't come back for the wedding like everyone else did?"
"Yeah. My invitation had a note in it, pairing me with Blaine for two songs during the reception. I knew the only way I wouldn't end up doing something stupid was to stay away. And he's been really annoying while I've been here this week. He skipped school to go to the Lima Bean with me, Mike, and Mercedes. And he keeps making passes at me. I'm sure he'll get into NYADA. I'm not sure how I'll deal with that next year. I did apply some other places last fall when I reapplied to NYADA. I wasn't willing to risk not going to college for another year if I didn't get in. I haven't gotten any of the acceptance or rejection letters from those applications yet. They get sent out in early April. I'll just have to figure that out when the time comes."
"So, you'd leave New York if he gets into NYADA?"
"I don't know, Dad. If he's going to be as persistent and annoying as he has been this week, I just might. I want to learn. I want to be a performer. I should have applied to some schools in Ohio to start with. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"Well, I'm glad you told me all of this. I'll make sure Sam knows not to bring Blaine to dinner Friday."
"Thanks."
"Sam knows, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why's he hanging out with him then?"
"I asked him to."
"I don't get it."
"Sam begged me not to take Blaine back. I asked Sam to keep him away from me."
"No wonder that kid acts so weird sometimes. He's living here keeping your secrets and keeping his word to you too. He's a good friend to you."
"I know."
"Any other important secrets you've been keeping from me?"
"Not that I can think of. I just want to say that I'll try to do a better job of being honest with you. I am sorry."
"I know, kiddo. I know you've tried to protect me your whole life when it was my job to protect you. I'm sorry too. I should have asked you about bring him to New York. Distance or other any other reason for breaking up should have been my cue to not bring him to see you without asking you first. It was disrespectful of me to invite anyone to your place without asking ahead of time."
"Thanks. Oh, one more thing. Blaine keeps asking me to stay through the week and be here for Regionals. Mercedes had already asked me, but if Blaine keeps being so annoying, I may just pay the $50 to switch to an earlier flight."
"I get it. I hope you stick around, but you gotta do whatcha' gotta do."
!¡!¡!¡! Dalton – Mid March 2013 !¡!¡!¡!
"Tell me why we're here. I thought you said you weren't taking him back. That it was completely over."
"It is, Dad. But he won't listen. He thinks 'no' means 'convince me'," Kurt said with a tinge of old venom.
"There's more to that statement."
"There is, but I'm not going to explain. I'm going to get out of this SUV and go in there and tell him 'no' in front of the 50? 100? How ever many people there are here. Sam only warned me of a 3-ring circus, not the exact details because those were being worked out this morning. I'm actually going to attempt to tell him no right out here. You can just stay here. If he grabs my hand or I'm suddenly surrounded and escorted in, push your way to the front of wherever the final destination is."
"Got it."
Kurt took a few steps towards the entrance. A marching band came out on the balcony above the entrance and played the intro to "All You Need is Love". Blaine came out. As he got closer, he said, "Where's the suit I dropped off for you to wear?"
"It's hanging in the coat closet in my parents' house."
"Why?"
The song finally filtered into Kurt's brain. "'All You Need is Love'? Really Blaine?" Kurt looked down at the ground, shook his head, and spoke with absolute contempt, but a little too low for Blaine to actually hear him. "A song about how I'm nothing without YOUR love?" He straightened himself up, stood to his full height, squared his shoulders, and looked down a bit to meet Blaine's eyes. "Actually, the song is the perfect choice."
"Thanks. Come on. Everyone's inside."
"No, I'm not going in. Since October, I've repeatedly told you that we are not together. I've clearly stated on many occasions that we are just friends, but it's obvious that you're not happy with that. I'm not in love with you anymore. We were together for over a year before I took that step with you. And two weeks after I left, you took that step with someone else and blamed me for it. I won't put myself back in that position again." He realized that the New Directions were starting to come out the doors singing and the Warblers were singing on the balcony.
"No one will ever love you the way I do."
"I certainly hope not." He turned to walk away. He glanced back as he opened the door to get into his dad's SUV.
Blaine's face was full of confusion and rage, but he closed his eyes and slipped on his calm and cool dapper performance face before he turned back towards the crowd of show choirs that had gathered.
!¡!¡!¡! Lima – Late March 2013 !¡!¡!¡!
"Rachel!" Kurt said, as he caught her when she fainted.
Sam rushed to pick her up out of Kurt's arms. He carried her to his truck, with Kurt right on his heels.
"It's not locked. Just reach in my pocket and grab my keys so you can drive." As soon as Kurt had his keys and opened the passenger door, Sam climbed in, still holding Rachel in his arms.
Kurt drove them to Lima General as quickly as he could safely do so. He pulled into the emergency parking area. Sam got out and carried Rachel in. They got her inside and into a triage area quickly. When she came to a bit, she heard the nurse say that only one person could stay and she grabbed for Kurt and wouldn't let go. Sam headed back out to his truck to wait. A nurse took down some information and someone came in a few minutes later and drew several vials of blood.
When a doctor finally came back, she asked, "Honey, is this your boyfriend?"
"What?" She was still a bit groggy. "He can hear whatever you have to say."
"Honey, you're pregnant. You passed out because you're dehydrated. Have you had anything to eat or drink?"
"I'm what? I keep throwing everything up. I haven't kept much down for the last week."
Kurt spoke up. "We're back in town from New York for a family member's funeral. We've all be under a lot of stress. I thought she was throwing up because of that."
"That may very well be, but we're going to admit you overnight. Now that you're awake, I'll leave you to undress and put this gown on. Once it's on, we're going to hook up to a drip full of vitamins and electrolytes to get you back to feeling better. I'm going to have the ultrasound technician come in to give you a due date after that." She put the hospital gown and a paper sack for Rachel's clothes on the bed before she left the room.
Rachel spoke softer than a whisper. "Oh, God, Kurt. I'm pregnant. No wonder I've gained five pounds. Don't tell anyone."
"I won't. Who you tell is up to you, not me. I'm going to text Sam so he can go ahead back home. I'm telling him you passed out from dehydration and that otherwise you're fine. And that I'll let him know when we need a ride." He took his phone out and turned his back, giving Rachel a chance to change. "Your dads weren't at the funeral."
"They're on another cruise. They won't be back until next week. You can turn back around." She laid her dress out across the end of the bed and put her shoes and other items in the sack on top.
The nurse returned a few minutes later to put the IV in. Once she left, they sat there in silence for what seemed like a long time. An ultrasound technician eventually came in.
"Do you want your boyfriend to stay?"
Rachel nodded and held Kurt's hand.
The technician covered Rachel's lower abdomen and upper legs with a towel and pushed the hospital gown up. She spread the gel on and began the procedure. After several minutes of running the ultrasound wand over Rachel's abdomen, pausing here and there and taking still shots, she finally spoke again. "You're about six months along already – 26 weeks. You're due on June 23rd."
"I'm too tired to think clearly. When does that mean I got pregnant?"
The tech stood up and used a calendar on the side of the ultrasound machine. "I have a cheat sheet over here," she teased. "I get asked that a lot. Umm, it looks like the beginning of October. Would you like me to know the baby's sex?"
"Yes."
"It's a girl." The technician sat back down on her stool.
"Do you want me to print out the still shots I took?"
Rachel didn't answer.
Kurt said, "Yes, please."
The tech printed them and gave them to Kurt.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Congratulations. An orderly will be down soon to move you to room." She pushed the ultrasound machine out of the room.
Once she was gone, Rachel spoke. "The baby is Finn's."
"I figured so when she said the date of conception. That was the week Finn was with us in Bushwick and I was pretty sure you hadn't slept with Brody at that point in time."
"I hadn't. I can't do this Kurt. I don't want to be a mom or have a baby."
"I think you are too far along to have an abortion unless your life is in danger, which I'm pretty sure it isn't. How did you not know you were pregnant?"
"I actually thought I might be, but one test was negative and the other was just barely super pale. I've been known to have very irregular cycles. And being stressed has caused me to skip months. I should have gone to a doctor. Now what am I going to do?"
Kurt looked some things up on his phone. "Well, you're going to have a baby in three months. You can't get an abortion here or in New York. You're too far along."
"I don't want an abortion either. I just want to not be pregnant."
"I don't have a magic wand to make you un-pregnant. If I did, there would be a lot of people wanting to use it."
She chuckled. "Thanks for not saying you weren't my boyfriend. I didn't want to be alone."
"Well, you know, if I were your boyfriend, you wouldn't be pregnant because no, just no." He scrunched his nose up teasing her.
She played smacked his shoulder. "Hey, I'm a catch."
"Mmm hmm," he teased. "But I'm not fishing."
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
An orderly came in. "I'm here to move you up to your room."
Ten minutes later, she was in a more comfortable bed. A few minutes later, Burt and Carole arrived, surprising both of them.
"Rachel, honey, you scared us half to death. Are you okay? Sam said they were keeping you overnight, so we came to check on you."
Rachel began to cry. Carole sat down on the bed next to her and carefully wrapped her arms around her.
Once her tears stopped enough that she could talk, she said, "You can't tell anyone."
"Okay, honey."
"I'm pregnant with Finn's baby."
Carole pulled her closer and broke down bawling.
"I don't want a baby without him. I don't want to be a mom. I don't want an abortion."
Carole's body wracked with sobs.
"I'll raise her myself," Kurt said. "But it has to be airtight. I can't have you come back and lay claim to her at some point in time."
"What?" Rachel said, as she pulled back from Carole's embrace.
"I'll raise her myself. You can put my name on the birth certificate. No one will contest. You can sign away your parental rights and leave the mother's spot blank. But she has to be completely mine."
"Okay. Okay. I'll do that."
"She?" Carole asked.
Rachel said, "The ultrasound tech said that she's a girl."
Carole nodded.
Kurt said, "Your main challenge is going to be Fanny."
"Rehearsals don't start until this summer. If I'm pressed, I'll tell them that I agreed to be a surrogate before I got the role, but that I won't be pregnant by the time rehearsals start."
"What about NYADA?"
"I'll drop out. I can't do all of that dancing while pregnant. I can't see how I can be Fanny and go to school next fall anyway. I'd already been thinking about it. I was going to finish out the semester, but now… I'll just not go back. I'm going to need some place to go though. I don't want anyone else to know that I'm pregnant."
"We can help you find a small place until after the baby is born," Carole said. "We can make this work. How far along are you?"
Kurt answered, "The due date is June 23rd. The tech said 26 weeks." He handed Carole the box of tissues next to him.
Carole took the box. She and Rachel blew their noses and wiped their eyes.
"Thank you," Carole said.
"For what?" Rachel asked.
"For being willing to see this through. I'm sure there's somewhere you could still get an abortion."
"I can't. I just can't. But I can't raise her either."
"I understand. I'm not sure how you're going to manage to keep this from your dads, but if that's what you want, we'll abide by your wishes."
Rachel nodded. "I don't want anyone to know except the four of us."