An Angelic Delivery
As Sam prepared himself for stardom, and the two men resident in the house in Murray Hill raced homeward, Kurt was facing a grim reality. There was no question about it; the twins were going to arrive any minute, and that meant that he was going to have to step up to the plate and assist Grace. Blaine was back, but there was no way that he could be called upon to do the job; she was his sister-in-law after all, and the very notion of getting that close to her made him feel sick and queasy. Kurt was not exactly ecstatic about the prospect himself, if he was being honest, but he had no alternative. The moment that Grace had finished up her calls, he had taken several deep breaths, and stepped up.
His first priority had been to ensure that she was as comfortable as she possibly could be in the circumstances; he had asked Blaine to bring him cushions, and had moved her gently into a better position. He had then averted his eyes as she removed her undergarments, thankful that she had chosen to wear a dress that morning, as that meant there was one less obstacle to overcome. With her permission, he had then checked what was going on, asking in his head for assistance from other angels who had actual experience of this. He wished that they could have come, but they were busy, and not corporeal as he was, so he was on his own. He braced himself, his brain full of terms such as dilated, and almost gasped when he saw what looked very like the top of a head already visible. Things were progressing far more swiftly than he would have liked… At that moment Grace howled in pain again, and the top of the head moved all the closer…
Blaine looked at Kurt in abject horror as he informed him, through that telepathy that all angels seemed to gain with their wings, that they were probably going to have to be the ones that delivered his brother's children. He shook his head, terrified that something could easily go horribly wrong in the process, and he would never be able to forgive himself, or look Cooper in the face again, if that did happen.
Kurt sensed this, and sighed. "Blaine, I need you to sit next to Grace and take her hand; try and ensure that she is breathing just as they say in the books. I am warning you that from what I remember, her grip will be like a vice. The only bright side is that you are saving Cooper from that pain," he said out loud, and Blaine complied, glad that it meant that he no longer had to see the process taking place; he just had to listen to the sounds.
"Okay, so I think that you are meant to pant…" Blaine began, but he stopped as Grace began to moan, and her grasp on his hand tightened. Kurt's face paled once more, his head full from all those words of advice being given by those observing from a distance. He did not know if it was time for him to tell her to push, or should he ask her to try and hold on?
The sound of a key in the door was a relief, and they all turned expectantly towards it. There was a little disappointment when it was revealed to be Roderick and not the father to be, but it did mean that they could at least now summon the ambulance. As for the young man himself, out of breath after his run, he did a brief double take at the two angels assisting his landlady, then headed over to join them. "Okay, is there anything that I can do to help, apart from dialling 911?"
"I don't think so," Kurt replied, then changed his mind. "Actually, after you've called them, do you think you could call Carole for me? I could really do with having someone on the line, talking me through what I ought to be doing. The fact is that the babies are not going to wait any longer. By the time that the paramedics get here, I think all that they will need to do is check out the condition of mother and children…"
As Roderick made the call to the 911 operator, Grace realised that she was absolutely terrified at the very notion of giving birth to her children in the hallway at home, with no access to pain relief, and with in the eyes of the world, only Roderick to assist. Yet she knew that there was no other choice; the two new lives that had been growing inside her were not prepared to wait any longer… She felt another contraction come, much worse than the last, and she crushed Blaine's hard so much that he screamed louder than she did. Kurt's eyebrows shot up as the pain subsided, and she knew then that he was seeing something that might mean it was only seconds until the sound of crying rent the air asunder….
"The ambulance is on its way, but there has been a big fire downtown, and so they might not be able to get here as quickly as normal," said Roderick. "I guess that means it might well be up to us… Look, I might be wrong, but I do watch that British show on BBC America, the one with the midwives, and I think we are going to need towels, hot water and something to cut the cord…"
"The first and the last are definitely a good idea, but I have no idea why we would need the other one," mused Kurt. Roderick dialled Carole, and then after handing the phone to Kurt, hurried off to the kitchen.
To say that Carole was shocked to hear Kurt's voice on the line was a given; when she found out why he was calling her, it was much worse. "Right, so between you, you seem to have everything in hand. The hot water is quite simply for washing hands and sterilising stuff. You will need to find something to tie off the umbilical cord when you cut it; at worst, use a clothes pin, or even a tightly tied loop of thread as a temporary fix…. I wish that I was closer so that I could do more. All I will say is that if she wants to push, do not stop her. If Cooper does make it, then all well and good. If he doesn't, well I assume he would just be happy that all of them are safe and well…" Kurt had to agree that was indeed his first priority, but nonetheless, he hoped that his brother-in-law would arrive soon…
At that precise moment, the man in question was running along the final block, having abandoned his cab in the snarled up traffic at Lexington Avenue's junction with East 40th Street, assuming that the cause was highway repairs or an accident somewhere nearby. He had paid the driver, leaving him a handsome tip, and had then made quite the spectacle as he ran the last few blocks home, in his full stage make up and costume. He was grateful that events had not happened once they had reached the interval, or he would have been running through the streets dressed in a purple coat, wearing a top hat and gloves, and swinging a cane. All he could think about now was getting back through his own front door to support his wife; to be at her side as his children came into the world. As he turned from the Avenue and into the street, his eyes were instantly drawn to the fact that there was no sign of an ambulance, which meant that he was going to be more or less on his own with her at this most dramatic of live events. That frightened him; he had heard so many tales of what could go wrong in child birth. He did his best to try and dismiss all of the scenarios that flooded his brain at that moment. He was not going to be raising his children as a widower; he was not going to let her die on him. As he drew near his front door, he heard for the first time at close range the sound of his wife howling. Tired as he was, that sound gave him the extra energy he needed to speed up again and race up the steps and into his house…
The sight he was confronted with just inside his front door did nothing to relieve his anxiety. Blaine looked to be in more pain than Grace as she gripped his hand so tightly that her knuckles had gone pure white. Her hair and brow were dripping with sweat, and between her spread legs sat Kurt; the fact that he looked paler than ever made Cooper's heart leap into his mouth. At that moment, Roderick walked back in, carrying the steaming kettle, a bowl with cold water in it, and several cloths over his arm. Cooper was curious as to why, but he had another job to do. He flung off his jacket, and took a seat at his wife's side. "I don't know, Gracie; I leave you alone for five minutes, and look at the trouble you get yourself into," he said jokingly.
"The trouble, as you put it, is 50% down to you, Cooper; I can see now why so many woman opt for a caesarean…" Grace stopped to howl once again as her body made her give another involuntary push, and Blaine squealed as his fingers were crushed again. Roderick had placed one of the cloths in the cold water, and having rung it out, came over to place it on Grace's forehead.
"Okay, so now that Cooper is here, let's get this done," said Kurt, nodding at Roderick as he said those words. "Deep breath's, I think, and start to push down…"
Nick would never know quite why he had decided to pop in and see his sister on his way home from the free law clinic that evening. It was not that far out of his way, and as Jeff was at the diner until 9pm, and had little Wes with him, he saw no harm in the diversion. He had finished at the voluntary clinic earlier than usual, and so he had the time to spare. He was almost there when he heard the banshee wail of the ambulance, which screamed past him at speed before braking and coming to a halt just a little way up the street. It wasn't until the crew came out and ran up the steps into the house that Nick's brain registered that it had just stopped outside his destination. Filled with concern, his stroll turned into a sprint and he dashed up the steps, stepping through the front door as the paramedics began to check his sister over. Roderick was slumped against the wall nearby, his hair tousled and his sleeves rolled up, and on the other side sat Cooper… That was when Nick saw that his brother-in-law was holding two tightly wrapped bundles, one cradled on each arm…
Before he could speak, he felt a slight draught behind him. "Hello, other uncle by blood. That means that you and I take precedence over everyone else in the uncle stakes, including Kurt and Jeff," Blaine whispered in his ear. Nick nodded, saying nothing, fully aware that he could make no reply with the paramedics so close by. "It all happened so fast; your sister bent over to pick a book up, and boom… The problem was that she was home alone at that point, and her phone was sitting on her desk, and she was in so much pain that she could not even attempt to crawl over to get it. Fortunately, she had angels looking out for her, and I came, fetched her her phone, and then sorted out the rest of the cavalry. She did think about calling you, but Roderick was closer to hand, and he had a key, whereas you don't. In the end, things have turned out okay. Cooper got here in time, and was present for the birth of his son and daughter, just as he wanted to be. He did miss his last performance as Willy Wonka, but Sam was actually at the theatre, so he was able to go on instead. Some people might be critical of Cooper being off on his last official night, but when they hear why, the decent ones will understand, and the rest don't matter. So we have a niece and a nephew. Oh, just in case you were wondering, Kurt did the actual delivering, with quite a bit of help from Roderick. Of course, the paramedics think he did it all, and he is quite shy about taking the credit. Worse, he knows that he will be teased mercilessly by all and sundry if it emerges that his guilty pleasure is being a big Call the Midwife fan, so we will keep quiet about that. It did mean that he knew exactly what was needed for a home birth with the most basic of equipment on hand… Right, I have detained you long enough. Go over and see them all before they need to go and get properly checked out at the hospital."
Nick nodded again, then walked further in, heading to his sister first. "Hey, Uncle Nicky," she said tiredly, with a smile, before she pointed him in Cooper's direction. He was beaming with pride as he stared down at his two children, and had every right too. After all, there were now two new Hummel-Warblers in the world…
"They're early! Are they okay?" asked Nick anxiously.
"They are fine, but we will all be heading over to the hospital very soon just to make sure. That of course includes their father," Grace continued, lowering her voice as little as the paramedics moved over to her newborn children. "He has being shifting from joy to stress to panic over the last few minutes. It is quite frightening really, just how quickly they came along in the end. All I can say is that I thank the Lord that you joined the Warblers, and that Cooper had the most amazing brother; without him, the story might have been a little different."
"So I gathered from a very excited Uncle Blaine," Nick replied in an equally low voice. "Right, so how is their mother doing right now?"
"Honestly? Sore, tired and a little apprehensive; as you say, I am a mom now. Don't get me wrong, my career will always be important, but my children will always come first. I mean, I can't leave them constantly with their father over there; he would drive them mad… They are so small, and so beautiful, Nick; my son and daughter…" Grace stopped as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, and began to look around for something with which to wipe her eyes. Nick proffered his handkerchief, and she took it with a smile. Then she realised something, and it faded. "Nick, I haven't told mom what has happened! She didn't even get told I was in labour! She is going to kill me for not letting her know! Where is my cellphone?"
"I do not know, and I will not be looking for it either," said Nick firmly. "I will call mom for you, and let her know that she is a grandmother again, and all the circumstances. All that you need to concentrate on right now is yourself and your three children…"
"My three…? Well, yes, I guess that he is at times, but he is also so responsible when he needs to be. He is going to be a great dad." Nick nodded, then stepped to one side as the paramedics came back to prepare her for the ambulance. He headed over to his brother-in-law, who just smiled and showed off the two babies in his arms.
"Tell me, Nick, does this feeling of euphoria fade? The one of total joy mixed with stress and total panic?"
"Nope, it is all part of being a father. You will have it worse than me because you got yourself a double dose."
Cooper chuckled, and replied, "Yeah, a daughter to protect as well as a son to guide. I am just so glad that we decided on one thing the moment that we knew it was twins and what sex they were; their names. Promise me that you won't tell anyone else what they are, even Jeff, until it is official… Blaine already knows, and as you are the other person related by blood here right now, it is only fair I tell you. This little girl, who will grow up to be every bit as beautiful and smart as her mother, is Lily Pamela Anne, and this young man is Devon Harold Burt…"
"Devon, as in your brother's middle name… That is so nice…"
"We did consider calling him Blaine, but in the end, I decided that I could not have a second Blaine Hummel-Warbler in my life. There will only ever be the one…" Nick had to agree, knowing exactly where the older man was coming from.
Things moved along quickly after that; Grace had already been spirited off to the waiting ambulance, and now it was time for Cooper to get to his feet and walk out to join her inside, his two children held close to him. A couple of the neighbours had appeared, wondering why the ambulance was there, and there was a murmur of approval and congratulations as he walked proudly down the stairs and into the ambulance.
As it pulled away, Nick turned back into the house, and noticed that Roderick had just burst into tears. He hurried over to sit down at his side, and wrapped an arm around him, letting him get all of the emotions he had been hiding out. "When I got the call, Nick, I was so scared for all of them," he eventually said in a whisper. "I knew it was all going to be down to me. Yes, there were two angels to assist, but they could not open the door. If Grace told the paramedics she had collapsed with the pain, then they would wonder how she had managed to get to the door and unlock it, and having done that, why she had then gone all the way back to the spot they found her in. In the end, I will go down on the records as the one that delivered them, even though it was mostly Kurt. It was such a great thing to witness, you know; the moment that the miracle of life outside the womb beginning… It makes me wonder if I am doing the right thing at school; maybe I should have gone into something like medicine. I mean, they even have male midwives now…"
"I can just imagine the look on Sister Monica Joan's face if that had ever happened in Poplar…" replied Nick with a wink. Roderick's eyes widened, and he stared at Nick open mouthed. "Jeff and I stumbled across the show one evening on BBC America too, and it drew us in. We end up watching every episode in the box set. Your secret guilty pleasure is definitely safe."
"Thanks," said Roderick, "and yes, she would have been absolutely horrified at the very notion!"
Nick called his mother next, and knew instinctively to hold the phone away from his ear when he broke the news, expecting the scream that followed. He also knew that she would be on her way to New York that night, leaving Sue's re-election campaign to run itself for a few days. That job done, Nick paused, then wondered out loud, "So did Cooper call his mother, or is Pam still blissfully unaware of her new status?"
As Nick had intended, Blaine heard his words, and flew to the hospital, to approach his brother the moment that he was on his own waiting for the doctors to finish their checks. "Erm, Coop, have you maybe forgotten to do something rather important?"
"No, I brought the bag Grace packed, and Nick or Roderick will lock up…"
"Yes, Nick will after he has phoned his mom…"
Cooper's eyes bulged suddenly as he put two and two together. "OhmyGod I forgot MOM! She will kill me! Grace is going to be a widow!"
"No she won't! Calm down, take a breath, and then fabricate like only you know how. Tell her were you are right now, and why, then act all concerned and stressed. She will forgive you then, and in any case, I think she will just be so happy they are actually here…"
At the theatre meanwhile, Sam had not had time to think of anything other than the show since he had found himself thrust into the spotlight much earlier than he had anticipated. The show had almost begun at the moment that Cooper had found out from Blaine what was going on, and the last minute announcement that "due to a family emergency, CJ Hummel-Warbler is unable to appear tonight" had been greeted with more than a few moans and complaints. Sam resolved at that point that he would give his performance 110% that evening, so that people would not mind the last minute change that much. That was what he proceeded to do. He had played his first scenes mildly, but then, at his big entrance moment from the factory gates, he had let rip, and left the audience gasping at his new, more youthful take on the character. If anything, he managed to make the character look even more maniacal than Cooper ever had; a much more dark and sinister presence, and thus much more true to the original book. He brought out all of the accents that he had used to make people laugh when he was at school, and teamed them up with a host of facial expressions to boot.
By the time he had to escort Charlie up in the glass elevator, the audience was eating out of the palm of his hand. He then proceeded to bring the same level of emotion to his performance of Pure Imagination that Cooper did by picturing a little Blaine, a boy that had been left sad and hurt by life; it was not that hard, as he could recall the tears of his own younger siblings from his own teenage years…
That done, he left the stage for that swift costume change that proceeded the finale, the reprise of It must be Believed to be seen, and his own disappearing trick. As he waited, smiling a little as those in the wings patted him on the back and gave him a thumbs up, he felt a draught, and saw Finn appear.
"Kurt asked me to tell you that Cooper now has a son and daughter; he suggests that you pretend to check your phone and see a message, and then mention it at curtain call. Cooper will not mind…" As Finn vanished as quickly as he had appeared, Sam made his move over to the shelf that his phone lay on at the wing entrance, and faked the check. Then, with a sudden smile, he switched it off again. Then he hurried back on to the stage…
As he stepped out to take his bows that night, it was to loud applause, and he acknowledged it with a massive grin; the goofy smile made the crowd fall even more in love with the young blond. Then as the applause died down, he held up his hand for silence, and stepped right to the front of the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your kind applause on this my first outing in this role. I wasn't supposed to be taking over quite yet, but luckily I just happened to be here when my good friend CJ received an urgent phone call. He has sent me a message, firstly begging that you will forgive him for his absence tonight, and secondly, asking me to let you all know that the reason he had to go was because his wife had just gone into labour a month early, and he wanted to be there for her. I am pleased to say that he made it with minutes to spare, and his twins, a boy and a girl, and his wife are all doing well." Sam paused as the audience had begun to clap, cheer, or just go awww, as had half the cast. "Anyway, thank you all again, and good night!" Sam shouted, before he lead the cast off stage.
Back in his dressing room, he finally checked his real phone messages. There were ones from Rachel, Santana, Sebastian and Mason, all sent during their own show intervals, telling them they had heard, and hoped all was going well for him. He replied to them all quickly, then sent a message of his own to Cooper, congratulating him and Grace, not for a moment expecting a response. One did come in seconds though, thanking him for what he had done, then continuing on with the news that Grace, Lily and Devon were all doing well. Sam grinned at that final name; like Cooper, he would have struggled with a new Blaine Hummel-Warbler, and that option seemed ideal. Then he reached for the cloth, and started to wipe off the greasepaint. That done, and back in his own clothes, he gathered up the boxes of personal effects that Cooper had packed and was to have taken away that night. He could easily go home via Murray Hill to drop them off…
By now the news that Cooper and Grace were parents had spread like wildfire. Pam had not wanted to kill her son when he told her; instead she had jumped straight in a taxi to head to the hospital to be there for him, and greet her two grandchildren just as soon as possible. Cooper had called Burt right after his mom, and the congressman had been just as delighted as Pam for the young man he saw as a son. He also knew that with the election campaign, he would struggle to get to see the newborns, but he was sure Carole would want to head up sooner rather than later. Burt was as yet blissfully unaware that she had actually been helping Kurt with the birth of the babies over the phone.
As soon as he was able to, Mason had hurried from the theatre to see Roderick, knowing that his friend would be in a strange mood; part elation at having helped in the birth, and part stunned that he had had to. Sure enough, his friend was very glad to see him, but the worst was now over, and he actually felt very proud of what he had done…
As for Nick, he had locked the house up and headed home not long after the ambulance had left. He had hastened home, texting Jeff to let him know why he was running late. On walking through the front door, he was greeted by the sight of his husband, and his own son, who on seeing his daddy, walked towards him on his own two feet, more steadily than he had so far. Nick bent down and picked up his boy, and spun him round, leaving little Wes squealing with happiness. As Nick embraced him, he wondered how he would react to having two little cousins…
Everyone had of course been a little concerned about how Cooper would cope with fatherhood, particularly those that could recall how he had been before the tragic early death of his brother. It was true that he had been so much more responsible since then, but that had partially been down to having a job to go to, and a schedule that was crammed full of good works. Now, for at least the next six months, he was going to be a father, and nothing else. Some feared that he would not cope with the pressure of the role, but it was as if a switch had been clicked over inside him; what had begun to manifest itself when he married Grace now was obvious to everyone on a daily basis. She could not have wished for a better husband. He managed the night time feeds, the diaper changes and the vomit without a single qualm.
Pam was also very much a hands on grandmother from day one, arriving like clockwork to help out, something that both parents had initially had some reservations about. These fears turned out to be groundless, and her help was invaluable. One day Grace summoned up the courage to finally ask her why she did, and her response was simple.
"I know just how fortunate I am to be here at all, my dear. If I hadn't sorted myself out and turned my life around, then I wouldn't even know that these two existed. Cooper hasn't informed his father that they were born, and frankly I do not blame him for that. Looking back, the happiest times in my life before now were when my two sons were small boys; Cooper was such a joy to look after, and so was Blaine for that matter. Then somewhere along the line I went wrong, and forgot what was really important. I am the first one to admit that our housekeeper at the time was more of a mother to Blaine than I could ever be. If she hadn't been around, he would have had no-one to support and care for him. In a way, this is my second chance at being a mom. I want to see my grandchildren grow up as well rounded individuals, surrounded by warmth and love; I want to be a part of that. Nothing else matters as much as that task to me."
Grace nodded, and couldn't help but agree. Creating that world of warmth, love and support was going to be the key in ensuring her children turned out to be good, valued people…