Disclaimer-I do not own Glee...I have some words for those who do, but...
Dancing Through Life
by-andthenIfound5dollars
A/N: I'm going to warn for vomiting. Also, this is the first appearance of Rachel and Sam as a couple. I referenced them once before, but just in case you needed reminding.
Kurt chuckled as he watched Blaine rush out the door, calling a quick Love you! over his shoulder as the door shut behind him.
He was supposed to have been spending the day at home, working on the choral arrangements that needed to be fixed for the show he was in workshop for, but Andre had called right as he was settling down at his piano.
Apparently, a high up had snagged a reporter to create a little buzz, and he wanted to talk to all parties involved. He had hurried out the door during breakfast with just a quick press of the lips in goodbye, promising to call Kurt when he had more details.
Kurt wiped the counter down and rinsed off Blaine's dishes before loading up the dishwasher and turning it on. He listened to the morning news playing as he packed his work bag and sipped his cup of tea.
Before heading out the door, he loaded a reusable grocery bag with saltine crackers, a bottle of Ginger-Ale, a Tupperware container filled with the chicken soup he'd made the night before, and a bar of the best Swiss chocolate he'd been able to find, because chocolate always made everything better in his opinion.
"Mel?" Kurt called softly, opening her door and pulling his key from the lock.
He called her name again as he walked down the hallway, finally hearing her retching in the bathroom.
"Poor thing." Kurt murmured as he made her a Ginger-Ale with plenty of ice and headed over to her bathroom.
"Hey sweetie," Kurt called softly. "Can I come in?"
He heard her moan a yes and pushed the door open. He found her sitting on the floor, leaning against the tub with her eyes closed.
"Kuuuurt, why does your baby hate me?" she asked, opening her eyes. Kurt took a clean washcloth from the shelf and ran it under the faucet for a second.
"Aww, honey, are you okay?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
Mel made a face and hurried back to the toilet to empty the rest of her stomach into it. Kurt laid the cool washcloth across the back of her neck and rubbed her back until she sat back and whimpered.
Kurt flushed the toilet while trying to hide a grimace, and used the washcloth to wipe down her sweaty face.
"That has to be it," she moaned, reaching for her bottle of water to rinse out her mouth. "I don't think there's anything left in me to throw up." She blew her nose on the tissue Kurt handed her and leaned against her tub with a sigh.
"I'm so sorry, Mel." His voice full of concern with just a hint of guilt. "Come on; let's get you back to bed." He offered Mel his hand, which she gratefully took.
"I got you some crackers and Ginger-Ale. I rea-"
"Kurt!" Mel interrupted as she climbed back in her bed. "If you tell me you read something I will not hesitate to kick you."
"Oookay…I heard that if you eat something when you first wake up, it can sometimes help a little."
Mel opened one eye and squinted at her friend. She pointed to her nightstand. Kurt looked over and saw a half empty juice glass and sleeve of crackers.
"Says the person with no uterus. I tried that already. I just threw it up."
Kurt huffed out a laugh and hung his head as he tucked Mel in.
"Sorry…can I do anything?"
"Mmm, just talk to me," she groaned, curling herself into the blankets. "I don't have to be anywhere until noon, I just wanna go back to sleep for a little while."
Kurt laughed as he climbed up on the bed next to her and started rubbing her back.
"So, you remember that Sean guy?" Kurt asked, and Mel nodded.
"The intern with no sense of style, always brings up the design after a painting ideas?" she answered sleepily. "Couldn't sew his way out of a paper bag?"
"Right, so he comes over to my desk yesterday,"
Kurt launched into a story about the annoying intern, but after about five minutes he noticed Mel was fast asleep and snoring softly. He smiled and sat up as carefully as he could, trying not to disturb her.
He dashed a quick note about soup being in the fridge before grabbing his bag and heading out.
xoxo
Mel unbuttoned her coat as she walked into City Bakery. She pulled her scarf off and took a deep breath as she caught sight of two people getting up from a table in the corner by the window. Hurrying with the speed only a New Yorker possesses, she rushed over and dropped her bag on the small round table with a satisfied smile. She had barely pulled her coat off when she spied her editor, Leah walking down the sidewalk. Mel called her name as she walked in the door, motioning that she had gotten the table.
"Hey, it's my cash cow." Leah joked as she leaned in to bump cheeks with Mel, pulling off her own coat as she shook the few snowflakes from her long dark hair.
"That gets funnier every time you say it." Mel rolled her eyes.
"Hey, you're the one who can't keep a publicist," Leah reminded her, nudging her elbow. "The line isn't too bad, how about I grab lunch and you keep our table warm?"
Mel nodded and recited how she wanted her salad. "With just a light vinaigrette," she added, sighing and patting her belly slightly as Leah walked away.
Twenty minutes later, Mel was taking deep breaths and hoping the nausea she was suddenly feeling was due to hunger when Leah walked back to their table with two plates of salad, two bottles of water, and a plate piled with two pretzel croissants and two brownies.
"I would never come back to the table without a brownie," Leah laughed when Mel motioned to the dessert plate. "I've known you long enough to know that."
Mel sighed out a small laugh and picked up her fork, thankful that the smell of her salad was making her hungry, and not feeling like she needed to rush to the bathroom. She concentrated on feeding herself as Leah held up her end of their conversation throughout lunch, mostly about work related things. Deadlines and new projects that needed her attention.
"So," Leah started, after she had finished her last bite and wiped her mouth. "What's been going on? Not work related, that is."
Mel smiled as she took a sip of her water and set down her fork. "Well, actually. There is something we need to talk about, as it kind of effects how much I'm going to be able to promote this summer."
Leah gave her a curious look as she reached over for one of the brownies on the plate and took a small bite, raising one eyebrow.
"It's nothing bad," Mel promised. She took another deep breath and smiled. "I'm pregnant."
Leah stared at her for several long minutes.
"I'm sorry, what?" she finally asked.
Mel threw her head back and laughed.
"Are you kidding? Is this a joke?" Leah asked as Mel shook her head and managed to control herself.
"No, I'm sorry, you just looked...I don't know, you just looked so funny." Mel straightened up in her chair and nodded. "I really am, pregnant that is."
Leah's mouth dropped open as she scooted forward on her chair. "Oh my gosh, I didn't even know you were seeing anyone since Eric, what...two years ago?"
Mel recoiled slightly at the mention of her ex's name and reached over for her bottle of water. She shook her head. "I'm not, not seriously anyway."
"Oh, well then...who's the father?" Leah asked, her voice dropping slightly as if she were afraid the question was a touch rude.
Mel grinned and set her water down. "Actually, this baby has two daddies...and no mommies."
Leah tilted her head in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"Kurt and Blaine asked me to be their surrogate, and I said yes." Mel shrugged and smiled again. "I'll be six weeks along on Tuesday."
Leah closed her eyes and shook her head, as if the information was too much for her brain to process and she needed to jiggle everything lose. "Wait," she started, opening her eyes wide. "Six weeks? You're six weeks along, and you're just telling me, now?"
Mel shifted uncomfortably in her chair and tucked a strand of her light brown hair behind her ear. "Well, they didn't really wanna tell anyone right away," she explained. "Kurt's really superstitious, and it's apparently bad luck to tell people before the three month mark...but I guess Blaine talked him into it or something, because they told me last night that they are telling their parents and I could tell mine if I wanted." She paused for a moment before sighing out a laugh. "But I figured I'd wait to tell my dad for a little while, so I thought I'd tell you. I guess you're the closest thing I've got to a boss." She shrugged as she nudged Leah's foot under the table.
"So wait...they just came to you and asked you to be their surrogate, out of the blue? Or is this something you guys have been talking about for a long time?" Leah asked.
Mel took another sip of her water and shook her head. "It's not something we've discussed before, no...and I guess, technically, I offered my 'services' before they asked." She added the air quotes with a laugh but it quickly slipped from her face as Leah continued to shake her head in disbelief. "You know, I'm kind of regretting telling you."
Mel bit her lip and moved to grab her coat.
"No, wait!" she pleaded and reached over for Mel's hand before she could stand up. "I'm sorry, it just caught me off guard a little...I'm sorry."
Mel put her coat down and nodded. "I understand if it caught you off guard a little, but I promise, I wanted to do this. I'm actually really excited."
Leah raised her eyebrow.
"I'm serious." Mel insisted. "I gave it a lot of thought, and doing this for someone I love is something I've thought of before, even if it wasn't necessarily specific to them at the time. It makes me really happy to know that I can give this to them. I could do without the nausea and throwing up all the time, but other than that..." she trailed off and grinned as a slow smile crept across Leah's face.
"Yeah, I don't miss that part at all," she agreed as Mel sighed.
"Oh Leah, you have to tell me everything!" she exclaimed. "You are one of my only friends to ever be pregnant...well, except for my friend Jamie." Mel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Who is pissing me off. She told me when I asked about her pregnancy, that morning sickness is caused by not getting enough fiber, and that if you are eating correctly, you shouldn't be throwing up."
Leah scoffed and pulled apart one of the pretzel croissants. "Yeah, that's not even a little bit true...there are some vitamins that your doctor can prescribe for you, and they make these lollipops that actually taste pretty good and work okay."
Mel nodded as she pulled out her phone to make a quick note.
"I'll pull out my journals from when I was pregnant with Allegra, see if I can find anything that will help you out with what I don't remember."
Mel smiled and thanked her as she locked her phone and slipped it into the pocket of her cardigan. Leah laughed out loud and put her hand in her chin.
"So, how was the..." she paused and tried to gesture with her hands. Mel had to laugh as she looked like she was trying to land a plane.
"Easy," Mel answered after they had both stopped giggling. "They just kind of...squirt it up there." They both dissolved into giggles again as other patrons of the restaurant eyed them curiously.
"So, did they go with a donor egg?"
Mel shook her head. "They offered, but it was important to Kurt that they not use an anonymous donor, he wanted their kid to never have to question where they came from. Apparently his friend Rachel had a bad experience with her birth mother, and they wanted to steer clear of that situation."
Leah shook her head and gave her a look. "Mel, that's...that's a pretty big decision to make. Have you thought about how hard it will be to give your baby away?"
"That's just it, though," she started. "It's not my baby. It's all theirs."
"Okay, look," Leah started, sighing as she put her hands in lap. "I promise I'm being supportive, but I'm worried you aren't thinking this through enough. It will still be your baby...no matter how much you insist it will just be theirs. This child will still be biologically connected to you."
Mel sighed and nodded. "I know that, but..."
"I mean, I was in no way prepared for Allegra, and still, if someone had told me I would have had to give her away at the end of everything, but still watch her grow up...I don't think I could have done it.
"But that's a completely different situation." Mel argued, getting frustrated and wanting to get her point across. "You knew the whole time you were pregnant that Allegra was yours, and that at the end of that journey, you would be a mother, be her mother."
Leah nodded.
"Well, I made the decision a long time ago, that motherhood just wasn't for me. And I've had so many people tell me that 'oh just wait,' and 'you'll change your mind one day'," she paused again and took a deep breath.
"I still haven't changed my mind on any of that, but this? I can do this." She stopped and looked her friend in the eye. "I can do this for two people I love, and give them the thing they want, that I've decided I don't."
Leah sighed, gave Mel a resigned look, but finally nodded. She reached down to pull her computer from her bag and moved her tray aside so they could get to work.
"Okay," she started. "As long as you're sure and happy, I'll support you either way."
Mel bit her lip and nodded. "Thank you."
"Well, I guess we should go over this summer, because this changes things a bit."
Mel nodded as she pushed away her mostly finished salad and reached for her own bag as well.
xoxo
Mel stood in front of the full length mirror hanging on the wall inside her closet. She pulled her shirt up and ran her hand over the flatness of her belly.
"Hey sweetie," she called softly to the general direction of where she assumed the fetus was. "You okay in there? Cause you're kinda driving your Auntie Mel crazy."
She smiled softly as she ran her hand over her belly again and sighed. "We got a long way to go, and Aunt Mel would rather not be throwing up all the time...would that be okay?"
She laughed to herself as she realized what she was saying. She looked up when she heard a knock, then Blaine calling out her name. She dropped her shirt and grabbed her sweater from the closet before closing the door and heading out to the hallway.
"Hey," Blaine smiled when Mel walked into the hallway. "Kurt called, said you were feeling pretty lousy."
"I was this morning," she admitted as he kissed her cheek. She moved aside to let him in. "But I'm okay now…just a little nauseous."
"Are you sure? Do you need anything?" He followed her into the kitchen. She offered him a cup of tea, and he nodded.
"No, I'm okay," she assured him, pouring hot water into two mugs and handing one to Blaine. "I had a lunch meeting with my editor and was actually able to eat most of my salad, so that's good right?"
"That's great," Blaine agreed as they sat down on the couch. "So, are you done for the day? Wanna go to the movies or something? Kurt has a dinner for work and if I spend one more second at my piano I may burn it just for the firewood."
Mel laughed as she leaned back and put her feet in Blaine's lap.
"I am done, but I'm not sure if I should risk a movie…at least not at the theater. There is a very real possibility I would spend the majority of the time puking in the bathroom."
Blaine nodded as he passed the remote to his friend.
"Real Housewives marathon and pizza later?" he asked, raising his eyebrows with a grin.
"Absolutely." She turned on the TV as Blaine continued to rub her calves and socked feet.
xoxo
"Honey? You okay?" Blaine called through the bathroom door.
She had been looking a little green the past few minutes and had abruptly stood up and raced to the bathroom, her hand over her mouth.
"I don't know why they call it 'Morning Sickness' when it lasts all damn day," she moaned and opened the door. She flushed the toilet but didn't stand up just yet. Blaine sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, softly kissing her temple as he continued to rub her arm and back.
"Mourning the loss of food, perhaps?" she mumbled. "The bitch of it is, I'm actually hungry," she whined, putting her head on Blaine's shoulder. "Like I would kill for a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich, with a giant dill pickle."
Blaine laughed. "Well, have one. I'll go get it for you," he offered, but Mel just shrugged.
"What's the point, it'll all just end up in there in anyway," she groaned, motioning at the toilet.
Blaine laughed again. "Well, theoretically, it all ends up there no matter what."
Mel wrinkled up her nose and elbowed him gently. "Ew."
"I mean, it's true though," he argued. "I can totally go get you a sandwich and pickle, if thats what you want. It doesn't sound too bad to me either...and if you throw it up, who cares? At least you will have something to throw up; it might as well be something you wanted to eat in the first place."
"That makes too much sense to argue with," she mumbled, dozing off slightly against him.
Blaine chuckled as he pushed her up to her feet.
"Come on, take a nap on the couch and I'll run down the street. Do you want anything else to puke up later?"
She laughed, but shook her head gently.
"I'll be back soon," he told her and headed out the door.
"Mmmhmm," she hummed, her hand coming up to rest on her tummy again as she heard the door shut behind Blaine.
They spent the rest of the evening watching trashy tv and waiting for Kurt to come home.
xoxo
A few days after Mel's second doctor's appointment, Kurt and Sam met up with Blaine and Rachel for drinks and a late dinner after Rachel and Blaine had finished their evenings: Rachel on the stage and Blaine in meetings.
"So we've been kind of keeping something from you guys," Kurt announced, motioning to his husband as soon as the waitress walked away. "We wanted to tell you guys first since you're our best friends."
"Oh my god!" Rachel called, covering her mouth with her hand. "You're not moving are you? I don't think I could handle you moving!"
"What! You're moving? Where?" Sam cried, hitting Blaine on the shoulder. "You didn't tell me you're moving! What the hell man?"
"Sam, we aren't moving.," Blaine explained carefully, rubbing his shoulder where Sam had punched him unnecessarily. "That's not what Kurt was going to say."
"No, it's most definitely not what I was going to say," Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes. He felt Blaine pat his knee under the table and he took a deep breath.
He looked over at Rachel and smiled.
"Blaine and I are having a baby."
Rachel's mouth dropped open, Sam looked at them like he was confused.
"Like...having a baby?" he asked.
Kurt narrowed his eyes and shook his head at his friend. Blaine just chuckled and put his hand on Sam's shoulder.
"No, Sam. Mel offered to be our surrogate. She is having our baby."
"Wait, you guys slept with Mel?"
"Sam!" Blaine cried. Kurt put his head in his hand. "NO, we didn't sleep with Mel."
"Honey," Rachel interrupted, shaking from her reverie of shock and reaching over to pat Sam's arm affectionately. "Mel is their surrogate, it's a whole medical process with their sperm and an egg and...kinda like my dads and Shelby. Nobody slept with Mel."
"Oh..." Sam nodded, slapping Blaine on the shoulder where he had just punched him. "That's awesome dudes! I mean, that is awesome, right?"
"Yes, Sam." Blaine laughed. "We certainly planned this, we are very excited."
Kurt looked over at his best friend, she was being awfully quiet. "Rach?"
Rachel looked over and her face broke into the biggest grin. She jumped up and pulled Kurt into a hug, tears dripping from her face as she kissed his cheek.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" she cried into his shoulder, squeezing that much harder.
Kurt laughed as he lifted her from the ground a few inches and twirled her around.
"When? When did all this happen? When is Mel due?" Rachel asked, pulling Blaine into a hug as well before going back to her seat.
"We found out for sure about a month ago," Kurt explained, Blaine nodding beside him.
"We had decided to keep it to ourselves for the first few months," Blaine continued. "But we wanted to tell you guys, our best friends. We are gonna tell our parents tomorrow as well, but that's it."
"Oh wow, just us then?" Rachel asked, clearly touched as she held her hand over her heart and grabbed Kurt's with her other. "Thank you so much, that means so much to us."
Kurt squeezed Rachel's hand in return.
"Mel is due middle of November sometime. She's just six weeks along," Blaine told them, the waitress bringing over their drinks.
"Yeah right in the thick of morning sickness, poor thing," Kurt said, taking a sip of his vodka tonic.
"Oh no, is she okay?" Rachel asked.
Blaine nodded, "She called her doctor, who prescribed some meds to combat the nausea. She wasn't really keeping anything down and had actually lost weight since her last appointment before she got pregnant. She's doing a bit better now."
"That's good," Rachel smiled. "You guys! This is so exciting, the first one of our New York friends to start having babies! I always knew it would be you two."
Sam raised his bottle of beer in a toast, "To Kurt and Blaine's rugrat. Who, I'm sure, will be the most fabulous baby ever born, especially if his Aunt Rachel and Uncle Sam have anything to say about it."
"Here Here!" Rachel piped in, clinking her glass of white wine with Sam's beer, Blaine's glass of red, and Kurt's highball of vodka tonic.
Kurt and Blaine laughed along with them, settling their shoulders against one another in the booth.