A/N: Hi followers! I hope yall are all doing okay, all things considered. Even though it's chapter 2, it's a feel good filler chapter, something I feel that we all need right now. Next chapter the boys finally meet each other. Unbetaed and I still own nothing but a car and a really cute dog.

Chapter 2: Not While I'm Around

"Rachel. I- I can't do it. I can't give her up." Blaine knew in his heart of hearts that this is what he had to do.

"Blaine, I can't keep her. I can't do it. I leave in like two months to New York. I- I can't." A lone tear escaping down her cheek.

"Then don't. I'll keep her. I'll raise her. I can't let her go. I have to do this Rach."

Tears welling in her eyes she turned away and nodded her head. "If you don't mind Blaine, I'd like my dads to come in for a minute."

Blaine nodded and got up with the baby. He went to give her back to Rachel, but she looked away and shook her head, shoulders bobbing, so he placed her in her little plastic bassinet. "I'll be right outside."

Blaine went out to the waiting room, not sure exactly what to say. All four anxiety ridden parents looked up at him as he stood in the doorway. "Misters Berry," he began scratching the back of his head and looking to the floor. Rachel would like to see you now." The two men silently got up and patted him on the shoulder on their way to the room.

Blaine's parents gathered around Blaine. "How are you doing, son?" Richard Anderson asked, wrapping his arms around Blaine's shoulder.

"I- I don't know. I just know I can't do it dad. She's mine. I can't sign those papers."

Pam took Blaine's hands into hers. "She? It's a girl?" She started, attempting to hide her excitement. She watched as overwhelmed tears flooded her son's eyes. "What does Rachel want to do?"

"She doesn't want to keep her."

"Baby, look at me. We understand. We'll figure it out. For now, though, let's go wait for Leroy and Hiram to finish and go meet her."

The three walked down the hall, Richard's arm still wrapped around Blaine's shoulder and Pam holding Blaine's hand on the other side. They waited by the nurse's station for about ten minutes when Carole Hudson-Hummel came out of Rachel's room.

"Blaine, honey, why don't you come with me? Your parents too." Blaine wasn't sure what was going on and his stomach churned with anticipation. Carole lead them upstairs to one of the pediatric floors and down the hall to room 8-217, Anderson, Baby Girl. The room had a couch, bed and rocking chair in it, but was sterile white outside of that.

"Okay, Blaine, there's lots of things that we need to discuss. I'm not sure if you know my role here at the hospital." Carole said as she sat down in the rocking chair motioning the three Anderson's to sit as well.

"Yes ma'am, Finn told me you're a social worker." Carole visibly retracted and took a deep breath and Blaine instantly felt horrible. "I'm sorry." He said quickly.

"Oh honey, it's okay. You did nothing wrong. It's a marathon not a sprint. But let's talk about you." Blaine nodded and his mother's grasp on his hand tightened. "I talked to Rachel and she told me that you want to keep the baby." Blaine nodded and let her continue. "You're both eighteen now, so you're both adults and can make these decisions on your own without any extra provisions. It's a little bit tricky because there is no official paternity, but I have a few forms for you to fill out, first of which is paternity. Rachel has already signed her portion of the birth certificate and the termination paperwork. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving the clerks are going to be short staffed, so I asked them to come in about an hour or two for you to fill out your portion of the birth certificate. She will have to stay for at least 24 hours, but as long as she is healthy, she can go home tomorrow evening. The nurses will be in with her shortly and they will go over all of her care with you." She paused and have a small smile to the clearly overwhelmed young man sitting across from her.

"And I'm sorry that I have to bring this up, but I am mandated to. I can ask your parents to leave if you would like to."

"No, that's okay, you can ask whatever." She asked all of the mandatory 'are you safe' type questions which, in all honesty, were probably the easiest questions to answer all night.

"Okay. I'll stop in tomorrow. Before she can go home, she has to have a car seat and a safe space to sleep when she gets home, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Blaine hugged Carole on her way out and sat back on the couch waiting for the chance to hold his little girl again.

Pam took out her phone and opened her Target app. "Okay, while there's a lot of logistics we need to go over later, Target is open until nine pm tonight and Daddy can pick up some stuff for her so she can come home." Her and Blaine spent the next twenty minutes spending way too much money, and Richard wondering how all of that was going to fit into his SUV.

No sooner did she press submit payment there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Blaine said, his heart ready for what was behind the door.

A nurse dressed in navy blue scrubs came in pushing a little plastic bassinet. "Mister Anderson?" She asked surveying the room.

Blaine stood up in reply and the nurse pushed the baby over to him. His mom had her hands clasped over her mouth and his father anxiously had his hands gripping his knees.

"Here, she is. Everyone make sure to wash your hands!" She said as she scanned the baby's ankle bracelet and then the one that they gave Blaine downstairs. Blaine and his parents then made their way over to the sink quickly to give their hands a good wash and came back over. The three sat back down as the nurse took her out of the bassinet and brought her over to Blaine, whose arms were stretched open. Pam has her phone out and began taking pictures left and right tears flooding her eyes. Someone had to capture this moment and she was pretty sure that was a grandmother's job to do.

"Since the baby is a patient you can stay here tonight. Labor and delivery informed us of your situation, and we want you to know that we are here with any comments or concerns." Blaine just nodded in reply not being able to take his eyes off the baby. "There are diapers, cloth wipes, formula, a pacifier, and more blankets in the drawer of the bassinet. We'll bring more if you need any. We'll also be in every two hours to monitor this beautiful little lady. While you aren't a patient here, parents are welcome to a meal. The menu is on the table next to the bed. Just give them a call about 45 minutes before you're ready to eat.

"She's already had her bath, the CNA loved playing with her hair." She chuckled before continuing on. "She is seven pounds and three ounces, nineteen and a half inches long. Her first hearing test went well. She'll be tested again before discharge. Do you have a pediatrician?"

Blaine looked up and froze. But thankfully his mother quickly replied. "Dr. Foster at Lima Pediatrics." Blaine's pediatrician, thank goodness his mom is here, while he is still completely enthralled with the baby he is in way over his head.

"Okay, great, we will notify the office of the birth and someone from the office will come see her tomorrow morning. And before I go, she should be ready for a feeding in a bit. Don't let her go three hours without a feeding, if she's sleeping wake her up. There's a chart on her bassinet where you put in the time of her feedings and the amount she drank. Throw any unused formula away, we don't want to introduce bacteria. You'll find disposable nipples that screw right on to the top of the formula. She's not going to drink the whole thing, usually only about a half ounce at a time."

Pam listened dutifully as Blaine's face had completely clouded over by now. She knew this was going to be a rough road, but if it's what's right for him, they'll figure it out. She'd also be a liar if she said she wasn't relieved that she was being adopted out.

The nurse finished typing into the medical record on the computer that is in the room and leaves the four by themselves. Blaine looks over at his mom. "Do you want to hold her?" Pam is out of her seat before he is even able to finish the short question.

Pam held the little bundle close to her chest - Oh she's so little. - and placed a kiss to her little hatted head. "What are you going to name her, Baby?"

Blaine looks over to his mom and without much thought, the name came to mind.

"Sierra. Her name is Sierra Elizabeth."

"That's a beautiful name. Sierra. I think it fits her well." Blaine watched as his parents fawned over the baby. His baby. His daughter. He took out his phone to take a picture of the baby and his phone was almost dead from so many notifications going off. His friends all checking in on him, getting worried there was no answer for so long. There was only one that he cared to read right now.

Thank you. I'm okay. I just need some time. I'll call you when I'm ready. Xoxo - Rachel.

He smiled a half smile and went to take pictures of his parents. Their expressions of joy a stark contrast to their looks of grief just an hour before.

"Momma, I want my baby back." Blaine said, arms stretched out. He took her and held her close as he sat in the rocking chair. Jostled the motion her little face squished with a stretch and her little eyes blinked open. For the first time he saw those beautiful blue eyes.

"Hey Moose, I'm your Daddy."

Blaine's father left a little while later, came back with a bag for Blaine and left again to pick up the Target order before they closed for the holiday. His mother decided to set up shop with him for the night. The nurse outfitted her with a hospital bracelet as well and extra pillows and blankets for the couch. The clerk came and went with the birth certificate, promising to make sure the temporary certificate will be delivered the next day. Everything was like a flurry of activity around Blaine, almost like a slow/stop motion video. He only cared about that beautiful little brunette with the pink skin currently lying on his chest, mouth slightly open with the smallest amount of drool coming from between her little lips.

He was certainly grateful his dad brought him some sweatpants and henleys because his clothes were not all that comfortable to wear all night and they weren't soft enough to hold the baby on. Not that he even had the shirts on, one of the nurses came in and told him they skin to skin helps with bonding. So, he reclined back in the hospital bed bare chested, with the tiny little girl lying with just a diaper on and a blanket draped over her sleeping contently. He stroked her hair with one finger mindlessly as he just looked down at her. She hasn't even really cried yet. He's fed her once and almost had a panic attack when it came time to change her diaper. He'd never change a diaper before, much less a little girl's diaper, and well, he personally has a penis. It's a brand-new world now.

Pam watched her son from the rocking chair. She was so proud of him. He may have been an adult by age, but tonight he became a man. It was going to be hard for Blaine. He has seven more months of high school and then he needs to go to college. It's going to be awfully hard on him to do this and still get a job, but she was going to be here to help him as much as she can. She also thought of Rachel, how heartbroken she must be right now. She made the hardest decision of her life, but that was the best decision for her, and that's what matters.

Hopefully tomorrow they will go home and start the new chapter in their lives.

It was the first real holiday without Finn and the Hummel-Hudson household had never felt less like celebrating. Carole decided to take on an extra shift at the hospital. Kurt overheard Carole telling his dad that one of Finn's friends had a baby. That was the last thing he wanted to think of so he excused himself from breakfast and decided to just spend the day working on some of his papers for school. What a better time to get caught up on term papers than to hold yourself away from the world.

It was a sleepless night for Blaine for the most part. Whenever he was able to fall asleep in the uncomfortable bed, the baby woke up. He ended up just holding her and watching reruns of Forensic Files on HLN from two until six am (like mother like son). At 6:30 the pediatrician came in and cleared the baby as far as they were concerned, just to follow up in four days for a weight check.

At eight am the room door opened up to his dad holding balloons and a pink bow tie. Blaine smiled at his dad. His dad wasn't a big talker, but he loved his family and he knew that Sierra would end up being his best friend. His favorite thing is dad had - his coffee. He usually gets a medium but thank goodness for dad realizing he could use the Trenta.

Carole came in not too long later with the rest of the paperwork and a bag.

"Mrs. Hudson, what is this?" He said opening the bag.

"Please, it's Carole and it's just a little something. They will be coming in this morning for pictures and I thought since you really weren't ready for this, so you don't have many clothes for her that you could use this. I washed them last night after I got them."

Blaine opened the bag. In it was a cute princess footie sleeper covered in princess crowns that said 'Daddy's Princess', with a faux tutu, and a matching hat. Perfect for going home. There was also a beautiful rose blanket and matching headband with an oversized tie bow. Blaine was so excited to put her in both. He normally was not one for playing dress up, but he suddenly was ready to look at everything his mom got.

"Thank you, Carole, they're beautiful."

"It's no problem, Sweetie." She said as she bent down to get a closer look at the baby cuddling on her daddy. "Wow, you know, sometimes it's hard to tell with newborns exactly what they'll look like, even in a week, but I can tell she looks just like you. She's beautiful." She laid a hand on the baby's blanketed bottom and smiled.

"Thank you." Blaine gushed.

"Okay, so here's everything you'll need from me. You guys are well on your way to going home this afternoon. Hopefully you guys will still be able to enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner." She said that last sentence with a heavy heart and Blaine tried to be very careful about picking his words.

"Thank you again, Carole. Tell Burt I said 'Hi' please?"

"Absolutely. Bye, Blaine." Carole said as she walked out, Pam and Richard waving to her.

"She said they're coming in for pictures?"

"Of course, whenever babies are born the hospital contracts with a service to do pictures. They're a lot better now than when you were little. You can be in them too.

"Wait what? I can't be in pictures!" Blaine instantly panicked. His hair was caked white with slept in gel and he was wearing his pajamas.

"Not a problem, son. I brought you your white polo and you can wear this." He replied, taking off his pink bow tie. "Now give me my granddaughter and go freshen up. There's a toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom."

Like clockwork, as soon as Blaine was done in the bathroom, the photographer came. Blaine put her in her wrap from Carole and let the photographer pose her and cuddle with her. They wrapped up with a photo of him and the baby. He held her in his arms, her tiny head resting in his hands and smiled at her just an inch from his nose, a few still damn curls framing his face. His mother swooping in to catch the moment on his cell phone since she knew it wouldn't get these pictures back for a few days.

Right as they were about to take a picture with all four of them the door opened, startling Blaine. "Squirt!" Blaine could literally sense the photography swooning at his brother as he rolled his eyes. "You know I wasn't planning on coming home until Christmas, but when momma called me, I got on the first flight I could. You know, I'm offended you didn't tell me."

"Oh please, Coop. I haven't talked to anyone. In case you haven't noticed a lot has changed in the past 24 hours."

"Yea, yea, yea. Let me see my niece." The taller brother picked up the baby, holding her more gently than Blaine even realized Cooper could.

"I'm still Jenny from the block. Used to have a little now I have a lot…" Cooper sang to the baby.

"Coop? She's barely 24 hours old and you're singing her Jenny From The Block?" Blaine asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Well, I mean, it's not like I know any lullabies. Besides, it's never too soon for culture. And pointing. I'll teach you that soon little one. But, first, your headshots." Blaine and his parents just rolled their eyes.

A couple of hours later Blaine and his new little family headed home. He took his favorite picture of the two of them that his mother took of him nuzzling her little nose and opened up a group chat.

I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to any of you guys yesterday, there's been a lot of changes in our lives in the past day. Everybody, meet Sierra Elizabeth Anderson. – [Attached ].

Almost instantaneously his phone started to vibrate.

"OMG! No way! She's so cute!" – Marley

"Bro! I got a niece. Sweet." – Sam

"I must say, you two midgets make a pretty cute baby, Anderson." – Santana

Blaine smiled and put his phone aware. He was ready to start their new life. He sang to her as he sat next to her in the backseat.

"Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around."

Ending notes: Thank you for sticking around. Now more than ever I need an outlet for everything. Stay safe everybody and do what you can do. Use your voices. March in your cities and towns. Vote against legislation adding additional funding to the police department, donate to organizations such as the bail fund, ALCU, BLM and more. VOTE IN NOVEMBER. Remember, that while Biden may not be all of our first choices, we could lose in November. Also, Ruth Bader Ginsberg may need to be replaced within the next four years, if he gets another seat in the Supreme Court it will take our country back 100 years. Also, a good majority of the republican members of the senate are up for reelection. VOTE THEM OUT! Until next week.