Chapter Nine: I Gotta Feeling // Black Eyed Peas
February went by as a blur for the Glee Club, but they were prepared. The setlist was complete. The vocals were beyond stellar and the choreography was the best Will had ever put together. New Directions was ready for Regionals.
The friday before the big event they were having a dress rehearsal in their own auditorium. As Emma sat next to Will at the director's table, her mind drifted away from Rachel's superb lead on Christina Aguilera's Candyman, she couldn't believe she was already eighteen weeks pregnant.
There was no hiding the baby bump now, she'd purchased maternity clothes two weeks ago, ready for the day, and today had been the first she found herself wearing pants to work, ever, because none of her skirts were comfortable anymore and she'd run out of appropriate dresses to wear. The dark wash jeans were rather lose and the "kangaroo pouch," as she had deemed the elastic waistband, felt very strange against her usually skinny midsection. Will adored the bump, his fingers constantly brushing over it as if he were touching the baby itself, but Emma was starting to find it slightly annoying as she was typically a side/stomach sleeper and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to fall asleep.
She'd gained back all the weight she lost, but very little more, which concerned Will, as she should have gained an additional fifteen pounds by this point. She was eating normal, but smaller portions as she continued, feeling bloated and nauseated all the time.
Emma liked the Glee Club, she really did. She loved the kids and watching them preform, assisting Will in selecting songs and supporting them in anyway she could. These days, however, she really just wanted to go home so she could sleep. Will could see her growing tired, and though they were supposed to run through the performances twice, he sent the kids home, congratulating them on what was truly an excellent run through, promising one more full rehearsal next week.
He helped her up from the chair and guided her to his office where they'd set their things, "Sorry, Em. I know you're tired. If you want, we can drive separate next week so you can leave early." She buttoned her green coat, thankful it was loose enough to cover the baby, "Are you feeling okay right now?"
A shimmer of annoyance graced her face as she snapped, "Yes, I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm fantastic."
He winced as she whipped around to grab her black bag. Usually if he did something to annoy her, she'd gently offer a solution to whatever the problem was, or if he said something out of line she'd ask him to think about it. She didn't act out or say things in anger or spite. That was his previous marriage.
"Emma..."
She turned back to him and sighed, "Look, I'm just a little tired of being treated like I'm fragile. Just because I'm tired doesn't mean that I'm going to break in half."
Will shrugged, "I love you, Em. I just want to make sure that you're getting what you need and what you want. You don't always say what's on your mind, sometimes it's hard to know what you want." Her fingers grasped the edges of his coat as she refused to make eye-contact with him, "What were you thinking about during the rehearsal?"
She swallowed the lump that was forcing it's way into her throat, "Will, please. Can we just drop it? That's what I want."
Emma was good at that, using people's words against them, counseling training, he supposed. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Yeah, I guess...Sorry."
They walked to the parking lot in silence, only Will felt exceptionally awkward, Emma welcomed the quiet which calmed her headache, one she felt she had for several weeks.
God, what was wrong with her? She couldn't ever remember talking to Will so curtly. She sighed again, glancing at him, taking notice of the confused and slightly upset expression he wore.
Emma laced her fingers into his and leaned against him as they walked, "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just grumpy. I'm wearing pants."
She saw him smile and pull their gloved hands to his lips, "Well, I guess we'll just have to get you out of them as soon as we get home then, huh?"
Home was still their small condo, they'd agreed to wait until after regionals to start cleaning and painting their new house. They could only have so much stress in their lives.
Her thoughts trailed off again, pleased that Will was so forgiving of her bad mood. Hoping to make it up to him, a wild fantasy playing in her head as they rolled out of the school grounds. As of the night previously, Emma was pretty sure she was not only mysophobic, but masochistic as well. Will had accidentally bit her, hard, and she begged for him to do it again and again. Yikes, it was weird to think about, but she wanted it again. While she could defend that it was pregnancy hormones, she knew she would want to feel the pleasurable pain long after she delivered.
Emma plopped herself on the couch upon arriving home, drawing Will to sit next to her, "I really am sorry for snapping at you earlier. You know I don't normally react to things like that."
"It's okay, Em. I know the hormones can make you say things you don't mean."
"You know what else the hormones are telling me right now?" Her eye-lids drooped as she whispered in his ear, "That I want you," she nibbled at his lobe and moved one leg to straddle him, finding it much easier to do wearing pants, "That I need you." She nipped again, then kissed the crook of his neck while loosening his tie.
Will loved the pregnancy hormones. For the past three weeks she'd been dominant in far more then half of their love making. He wasn't going to lie, he really, really liked it when she was in control.
He moved his fingers up her shirt, brushing the cloth-covered baby bump and moving to her back, dancing up and down her spine as she worked on unbuttoning his shirt, her mouth still connected to the sensitive parts of his neck. Will felt his shirt being forced off his shoulders and assisted in wiggling it off his arms, his belt was unfastened and suddenly Emma had them twisted and pushed him flat on his back, hovering over him slightly, her mouth trailing across his neck to his shoulders, fingers gliding down his wire-haired chest.
Emma paused suddenly, sitting up and meeting Will's gaze, "Hi."
He smiled, pulling her into a calm kiss and running a hand along her hipbone, "Hey."
She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat and threaded her fingers into his hair, massaging his scalp.
"Not in the mood?"
She shrugged, "I think I just want to cuddle."
Will's smirk didn't fade as he pulled her shirt off and unhooked her bra, allowing their bodies to connect. He rubbed her back as her eyelashes batted against him, confirming her tired state. He pulled a blanket over them from the back of the couch, "Go to sleep, sweetheart."
"Alright, guys," Will said as he stepped into the wheel-chair accessible bus the following friday for Regionals, "We've got about a two hour drive. The competition isn't until tomorrow, so I want you all to relax and make this fun."
He pulled Emma up from the bottom step as she resisted getting on the bus; her germ-senses were in full swing for the past week. Their kitchen floor was literally sparkling before they left.
"Come on, Em," He wiped their seat down and stared at her with a sad smile, "Honey, it's clean."
Emma took several calming breaths before allowing Will to guide her into the seat. She wanted to be there for the kids and to support her husband, but she honestly was surprised she'd made it. Things had been weird in the last week, both changes in her physical and mental state.
"Be right back," He muttered, walking towards the rear of the bus to double-check Artie's chair was locked into place before giving the bus driver the signal to head out.
Emma squirted a drop of Purell into his hands as he sat down, "Sorry for being a basket-case," She said, her head falling on his shoulder.
"You're fine, sweetheart. I'm surprised you even got onto the bus," He assured her and kissed her hair.
"We're almost halfway through this," She smiled, her hand falling to her stomach, "We really need to start getting things together."
"What do you say next Saturday we spend the whole day getting the new house painted and cleaned? We probably won't finish, but it'll be a start."
"Sounds great. I want to get as much as I can done before I can't bend over or see my toes."
Quinn watched the interaction from the seat next to the couple, her face resting on Kurt's arm, "They are so adorable," She beamed at Kurt, "Don't you wish you were them?"
He nodded, "I wish I were in a loving and stable relationship, even if I weren't so stable. Mr. Schuester knows how to deal with all the little things that she needs. I want that."
"But you gotta fight for it," Mercedes jumped into the conversation from behind them, talking quietly, "They both had to go through a whole lotta hell before they were able to be happy. I mean, Mr. Schue had his nasty ex-wife and Mrs. Shue liked him for a long time before she was able to do anything about it. That's tough."
"They're happy now, though," Quinn said with a contented sigh, "They're in love. They're having a baby and they just bought their first house. I hope that I find something like what they've got someday."
"I hear ya," Mercedes sat and watched as Will's lips met Emma's briefly before staring into each other's eyes and whispering quietly, "That's what love should look like."
The ride continued with random singing and lots of laughs, Emma watched as Quinn happily engaged with her peers and the whole group of guys—Kurt included—were able to joke with one another without destroying feelings or emotional barriers. They had come along way.
Regionals was much more intense then sectionals; they'd discovered that last year. There were more then ten schools competing and that meant the day was significantly tiresome and nerve-wracking. They had left early in the morning the year before and had all been running on low energy; this year they were staying a hotel in order to be better prepared.
"Listen up," Will said standing as they were nearing their destination, "Reminders of the ground rules so we don't have any problems tonight. I trust you guys to behave yourselves so we can do this again in the future without having to worry. It's six-thirty now, we're getting dinner then you're free to do whatever you want until eleven-thirty, we'll be meeting in the boy's room to have a quick meeting and then I want you in your rooms. I'm not going to babysit you because I think I can be responsible. Understand?"
They muttered various responses as they pulled into the parking lot. Will gripped Emma's hand tightly as they entered the hotel, she hated, hated, hated staying in such places. She always brought her own sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, sanitizing devices and refused to step on the carpet barefoot, but for Will, she would go anyways.
They checked the kids in, each small group designated a "responsible" leader to keep track of the key, and they were off to the small hotel cafeteria for dinner. Emma, of course, had brought her own food for herself and Will.
"So what are we doing tonight?" She asked, popping a polished grape into her mouth.
He smirked, "That's a surprise."
She gave him her look, "You know I—"
"Hate surprises, yeah, I know. But trust me, you'll like this."
They finished and the members of the Glee club were off to the pool or arcade—as Artie wouldn't be able to swim, several of the guys and Tina were going to join him—and Will dragged Emma to their room so she could set up her things before he took her out.
"There's just one thing that I want to do first," Emma said before she allowed Will to take her wherever he was planning to.
"And what's that?" He asked, hands on her waist.
She drew his face closer to hers, kissing him passionately, "I love you so much, Will. I know I haven't been the easiest person in the world to be around for the past few weeks. Thank you for...being you."
He kissed her again, "I love you too, Emma. You're carrying our baby, I don't mind you being a little bit..."
"Crazy?" She laughed lightly, "You can say it. I know what you mean."
"Overly-Emma, I'd like to say," She laughed again, "God, I just love you so much. Nothing's ever going to change that, whether you need to scrub the wallpaper in the bathroom or clean the stove with a toothbrush. I don't care, sweetheart. It doesn't bother me," He kissed her once more before winding his way behind her to grab his things, "Ready to get going?"
Emma sighed, "I guess."
"Don't worry, it's not going to make you uncomfortable."
They traveled down the small hallway and stairwell, down to the ground level. Emma wrapped her arm around his elbow, smiling a "hello" as they passed Santana and Britney.
He paused outside a door, "Close your eyes," She rolled them before closing them and giggled as he opened the door and ushered her in, "Few steps forward and...open them."
She gasped as they entered a neatly designed greenhouse, "Wow," She let go of his hand and took a few steps forward, "It's beautiful," Her eyes scanned the place, taking in every exotic flower, each intricately designed tower of vases and architecturally savvy placement of various garden features such as gazeboes, ponds, benches and statues.
"It's usually used for wedding pictures," He smiled, kissing her cheek, "Thought you'd like it."
They wandered for a few minutes when she stopped in her heals, turned and began kissing him wildly, tongue forcing its way into his mouth and fingers grasping his shoulders forcefully. He returned the kiss deeply, changing the direction from fierce to intimate, pulling her close and slowing the pace.
The couple stayed that way for several minutes before Emma pulled back, her eyes twinkling and a wide smile plastered to her face, "I love you."
Will pressed his forehead to hers, "I love you. But this wasn't all I wanted to do with you tonight. Come on."
Emma allowed him to take her further down the hall and through a door leading to a small ballroom, her smile never faltering.
"May I have this dance?" He asked, kissing her fingers.
"Of course," He pressed play on the small CD player he'd set up shortly after dinner, allowing the full recording of I Could Have Danced All Night to play, her face lit up and she nearly jumped into his arms after he bowed and she moved her foot in a cute courtesy.
She sang, he harmonized with her in the refrain, twirling around the room. He bent her over like he had the last time they danced to the song, only this time, they both acted on the feelings they had felt then, pulling into a long kiss before the next song played.
Nearly an hour of spinning and turning was beginning to settle into her stomach. She pulled away slightly after dancing to Will's favorite Daughtry song, "I'd love to keep going, but I think the baby's getting dizzy."
He paused the machine and brought an arm around her shoulders, "Wouldn't want to make baby mad," He joked, kissing her temple as they exited the ballroom. The clock was pushing eleven-thirty and he knew she was more then ready to turn in for the night and he had to meet with the kids anyway...
As they stepped out of the elevator and onto their floor, Emma suddenly stopped and turned, planting a fiery kiss on him and winding her arms around his neck once more, one of his found her waist while the other buried itself in her hair.
They carried on for a moment, Will soaking up her random bursts of passion when the entire glee club began cat calling from several doors down, "Yeah Schuester!"
They broke apart promptly, staring at the kids like deer trapped in headlights, Emma's face became flushed and she hid it in Will's chest as he glared at his students before laughing, "Come on, Em."
The boys clapped his shoulders as he shoed them into their room, sitting them down to give an impromptu speech before the following day.
"I'll say it again tomorrow, but I want you to remember just how proud I am of you all. You've worked so hard, so hard. And our numbers are solid, they really, really are. I think we're going to blow them away with our opener and Puck, you're really going to take us home with Blaze of Glory. Ladies, you're going to crank up the heat with Candyman, and Mercedes, No One can out sing Alicia Keys like you," the group laughed, "Seriously, guys. If we come in second place again, we come in second place. No shame in that. But I think we've got a real good chance at beating those punks from Vocal Adrenaline this year, I really do. So, get in bed. We've got a long, long, long day ahead of us."
The following morning Emma sat up quickly, feeling something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She paused, waiting...there it was again. It wasn't pain. Again. When the realization hit her, she gasped and shook Will awake, "Will!"
He jumped in panic, "Oh God, what's happening?"
"N-nothing, sorry. Nothing bad anyways...Will, I think the baby's kicking!"
His expression changed dramatically as his eyes filled with wonder, reaching to remove her nightgown as he placed his hands delicately on her swollen stomach. Emma had been feeling slight sensations for the past few weeks, but nothing that Will was able to feel—her maternity book had described it as fluttering. She smiled brightly as the baby kicked again.
Will pressed his lips to her bump and rubbed gently, "Hey, baby," he whispered, "It's daddy. I love you," he kissed her again, "I can't wait to see you."
Emma slipped her hand on top of his, stroking his fingers, "It's a really weird feeling. It's like it's trying to escape."
Glancing at the clock, Will sighed, only five more minutes until the alarm went off anyway. He pulled away from her stomach and moved to kiss her lips, "Thank you," he muttered into them.
"For what?" She asked as her face fell into his neck, arms wrapping around him lazily.
"I don't know. Being gorgeous, carrying our child, letting me be apart of it. Waking me up to tell me it's kicking. I really love you."
"I really love you," She pulled away, "Let's get ready."
They stood and began knocking on doors a few moments later, both discovering that none of the teenagers were up. They each took the spare key cards, Will began his attempts at waking sleeping teenage boys and Emma took the challenge of the ladies.
She was a bit more gentle in her approach as she heard shouts from next door, starting with Quinn, she gently shook her shoulder, "Come on, sweetheart. Time to get up," She moved around the room, doing the same to all of the girls, smiling as they moaned and stirred sleepily into sitting positions, blinking to adjust to the light Emma had turned on, "Tina, it's morning, kiddo."
Rachel was the only one who seemed enthusiastic, Emma had barely had to touch her and she was on her feet, "Good morning Mrs. Schuester! Good morning girls!"
They groaned and fell back to the pillows, Emma laughed as Quinn crawled over to Rachel's side of the bed and curled up around Emma's lap. The older woman moved her fingers over Quinn's back, "The baby's kicking this morning."
Her green eyes filled with excitement as all the girls rushed over to Emma, suddenly alert and awake. Quinn's hand reached over, eyes asking for permission and once it was granted, she rested on Emma's bump, waiting until—
"Awe..." The girls squealed and Emma blushed, "Okay, um, well, you've got a little more then an hour before we need to hop on the bus to get to the auditorium. I want to double check your costume bags for all the pieces before we go, and don't worry so much about your hair and makeup, we'll fix it when we get there..." Since the previous year's regionals, Emma had been in charge of picking out costumes and getting the girls ready. They loved her and found it much easier to discuss wardrobe malfunction with her then Will. "I'll be back in here in forty-five minutes." She pulled Quinn off and smiled as she walked out the door.
She poked her head into the boy's room where they were all still face-down in their mattresses, Will attempting to drill-sergeant them into waking up. She smiled sadly and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Try being nicer."
Emma padded over to Finn, one hand tentatively tapping his arm as she sat next to his sleeping form, "Hey, Finn...time to wake up. Big day today."
"...Mom? Whatimesit?"
"Time to get moving," She walked around the room, preforming the same sweet ritual to the boys, gently shaking and watching them wake as they responded with loud yawns. Puck had attempted to snake his arms around her but she laughed, "Not happening, Noah. Get up."
Kurt was last, still completely asleep, "Hey, Kurt...good morning, kiddo."
He shook his head in his sleep, "Mommy, stop...you're not real," He muttered.
Emma looked down at him sadly, knowing his mother had passed a long time ago, "Kurt?" She impulsively placed her hand on his cheek, "Hey." Kurt's eyes batted open and he looked almost disappointed to see Emma, but his expression quickly changed as he reached out and hugged her loosely, "...um..."
"Thank you for waking me up. It's been along time since anyone's done that for me." He pulled away quickly, knowing she really preferred not to be touched, "You're going to be a good mom."
She smiled and turned her attention back to the boys, "Alright, you've got under an hour to get ready. I want to see your costume bags before we go, so I'll be back in a little bit."
She took Will's hand and led him back to their room, where he beamed at her, "Way to be maternal."
Emma blushed again, "Well, do you like to be shouted at early in the morning?"
His mind briefly wandered back to living with Terri, where mornings had been hell, "No...I like waking up to your pretty face, so I suppose they would as well."
She finished getting herself ready for the day, sliding into her favorite dress that fit, a maroon colored, high-waisted sweater dress, along with a pair of matching flats and white beads. Her hair was already near-perfect, how she did it was anyone's guess, and a light coat of makeup to make her eyelashes stand out had her returning to the kids rooms to check their bags.
They slumped onto the bus, still wiping sleep from their eyes and Emma passed out boxes of breakfast bars which were met with happy "thanks." Will kissed her cheek as she sat down next to him and fifteen minutes later, they were at the auditorium for the deciding show.
Will signed them in and took the programs, sighing deeply, "We're last, again," He shrugged, "But that's okay, we're the one's they'll remember most."
"And then we can really bring it to crush Vocal Adrenaline!" Artie cheered.
Will's eyes scanned the list of names, trying to decide when he should get the kids ready, "We'll meet in the green room after Campy Coral...what a name...We'll be able to see our toughest opponents preform and it'll give us plenty of time to get ready. Just relax and stay focused. We've got this, guys."
They filed into the auditorium and waited for the show to start. Almost an hour later, the first group, Joyful Jubilee, an all-girl's Catholic school, sang about angles and Jesus, wearing all-white robes with little response from the audience. Will couldn't help but laugh at the satisfied smiles on his student's faces.
As the rest of the groups began competing, Will was glad he decided to opt out of a show tune, as they'd heard You Can't Stop the Beat twice and a sloppy and clearly rushed version of Thriller made his stomach churn. There were a few groups that were decent, preforming slow ballads and number ones, but they weren't even close to what his kids had.
When Vocal Adrenaline took the stage however, the entire group stiffened, watching as they flawlessly stole the stage with a Fergie song, the ladies showing a bit more skin then he would have his girls preform in. They were good, but he couldn't help but feel they weren't on their game as they had been the year before. When they burst into Kansas, he really felt McKinley had a chance to win. The lead male was slightly flat, and while it wasn't painfully obvious, anyone trained in music would have been able to pick up on it.
Two numbers later and the group received it's usual standing ovation, bowing, they left the stage all smiles.
Puck leaned over with a smirk and smiled at his teacher, "We've got this."
After the next group, Emma lead the ladies into their changing room and assisted them with hair and makeup, Will straightened ties and pleaded with Mike to comb his hair once more.
They were up. They were ready. They were going to be great.
Will told them simply that, smiling brightly and watching their backs as the announcer introduced them.
The lights dimmed as they took their places on the stage, a boy between each girl, Artie on the end. The boys had their right hands up in the air, snapping with the beat as the song started, the girl's were on their hips, moving them in time. The song picked up a little, the group chorused a "Oooohhh..."
Artie burst from the end, spinning into a double turn while singing, "I gotta feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night, that tonight's gonna be a good night, that tonight's gonna be a good, good night. I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night, that tonight's gonna be a good night, that tonight's gonna be a good good night! I gotta feeling!" With each line, another male member of the club turned and filed into a line behind him, arms moving in a rift.
The girls turned to harmonize with them as they side stepped, "That tonight's gonna be a good night! That tonight's gonna be a good, good night! I gotta feeling! Wahoo!" They continued the catchy chorus before dancing all across the stage in separate yet synchronized pairs. They landed in the front, Finn taking the lead with, "Tonight's the night! Let's live it up! I got my money, let's spend it up! Go out and smash it," the rest of the group threw out jazz hands and sang, "Like oh my God!"
Mike and Matt did back flips as the group moved across the stage once more with Finn standing in the middle singing, "Jump off that sofa, let's get, get off!" They clapped on off and Tina joined him as the fergalicious female lead, moving her hips and dancing with Finn holding onto her hips from behind, twirling her while the rest of the group paired into boys and girls with the same choreography.
The group returned to sing in unison, "Fill up my cup! Mozoltov!" They stomped the word, the girls moving up to the front side-grinding and the boys continued, "Look at her dancing!" The girls burst the snaps on their white mock-button tops off, revealing the tops of their sparkly blue dresses, "Just take it off!"
The song continued, shortened from the original version, the group nailing the choreography and vocals better then Will had remembered them doing even in their last few dress rehearsals.
The song ended with them back to their positions in the beginning of the song, and the audience promptly jumped into a standing ovation, something they'd saved for the last number of Vocal Adrenaline's performance. Will hugged Emma tightly from behind as he caught Mercedes eye from the side of the stage, nodding encouragement, seeing her smile as the music picked up once more.
It was a simple song, but when Mercedes had spun her own twist on the Alicia Key's hit No One for a game at their summer get-together, Will knew he wanted her singing it at competition with the rest of the group harmonizing the chorus and dancing slowly in the background.
It was another great crowd pleaser, the audience went crazy as the final chords wrapped up, the group moving into their positions for Candyman, where the ladies were bound to excite the crowed once more. Emma had actually helped him choreograph the steps for the selection, as he had felt exceptionally awkward teaching the girls some of the moderately scandalous moves for the '40s themed song. Lots of hips and shimmying, the boys preforming basic military steps in the background, calling out various phrases as the women danced. They stepped to the front to spin their female teammates, throw down some coffee grinders and side-steps.
Blaze of Glory was last, and halfway through the song, Emma saw the look on the kids faces; it was the same one she had seen on Will's face when she watched the video footage of the Glee Club at the '93 Nationals. They knew they were going to win.
The lights grew dim as they ended in the front of the stage, faces down and right arms outstretched.
For the fourth time, the audience erupted to their feet, stomping and whistling.
The kids took a bow and dashed off of the stage, hot and smiling brightly, tackling the Schuester couple into an enormous group hug, which at first made Emma's eyes grow wide and her mysophobic senses heighten, but she softened, laughing lightly as they squealed and pulled away.
Will shook his head, "I, you were...you guys...I'm speechless. That was truly amazing. If you don't win...then there's something wrong with the judges."
The announcer said it would be a half an hour before all groups would re-assemble on stage to receive the results. Emma watched as Will began pacing excitedly in the lobby, the kids singing Celebration. She tugged him close, kissing his lips, "I don't care what happens in a few minutes. You are amazing Will, they were so great up there. You know that. I'm really proud of all of you."
"I do." He was completely proud, a hand rubbing her stomach as it had that morning, "I really hope we can go to Nationals. That would just be another great story to this perfect year. God, I really don't think that anything bad can happen at this point."
Emma kissed him again as the bell dinged, indicating it was time for the results. All ten competing groups assembled in tightly-packed groups on stage. The announcer turned to them, "After a fantastic day of non-stop singing and dancing, the judges have tallied their scores and comments. Without further ado, third place goes to Soulful Expression from Walton High School!" The group of quirky-looking kids cheered and hugged each other tightly as each member was awarded a bronze medal and a small trophy.
Will saw the kids grasping at each others hands as the announcer prepared to announce the second place winners. He took Emma's tightly, as the balding man declared, "And for second place..." He paused dramatically, "Vocal Adrenaline from Carmel High!"
The typically first-placed group wore dumb-founded expressions as none of them jumped happily, simply staring at the announcer as if he were satan.
The McKinley kids tried their hardest to contain their excitement, but they knew it was coming, "And finally, our first place winners, with near-perfect scores in all categories and a unanimous decision by the judges...the winning group is...New Directions from McKinley High School! They will be competing at Nationals in May! Congratulations!"
The group screamed and hugged each other excitedly as they were presented with a trophy as tall as Artie's chair and gold medals. Will lifted Emma off the ground and spun her around in excitement, kissing her throughly.
Several minutes of group-hugging and shrieking later, New Directions was shoed off stage and met Will in the seating area, "We did it!" Rachel squealed, nearly jumping into his arms, "We really did it!"
"I am so, so, so proud of you guys! We're going to Nationals!"
They settled down enough to change out of their costumes and climb into the bus, singing all the way. They laughed after a pretty terrible rendition of We Run This by Missy Elliot.
"I say party at my house, next Saturday!" Artie proclaimed, the rest of the club agreeing, "Schuesters? You in?"
Will shook his head, arm finding it's way around his wife's back, "Sorry. We just bought a house and we have a lot to do before the baby's born. We were waiting until after Regionals, but now that we've got National's looming over us, we really need to get as much work done as we can."
Puck looked behind him, seemingly asking his classmates a question, to which he received an answer with eye-contact, "We could help you guys out."
Emma smiled, "Oh, you don't have to, that's really not necessary..."
Mercedes moved her arms over the top of the seat in front of her, "After all you guys have done for us, we owe you a solid."
"Most defiantly, what kind of work needs to be done?" Kurt asked.
"Well, we need to paint and clean, but really you don't have to—"
"Painting party at Shcuester's!" Artie declared, making everyone laugh, "We've got your back, Mrs. Schue. Besides, you shouldn't be working to hard in your condition."
She blushed lightly, "I guess we could use some help...probably get the whole place done in one day with fourteen hands..."
"Hey, and my dad works at Home Depot, he could score you guys a monster discount," Matt said from the back.
Emma blushed again, she had not been expecting help, "Th-thanks, kids. Really, I mean it."
Will nodded and watched as his students resumed their singing and chatting. He cuddled Emma close again, kissing her cheek, "And monday, we'll find out of we need pink or blue paint."
Sunday was spent at the Home Depot where Matt met up with the couple, introducing his father, a manager, to them. He insisted that he would not only help them with paint, but anything they would need for the house, "For what you do for the kids, it's the least I can do," He said with a warm smile, then showed them various brands, advising them on what was best and imploring them to take their time and take samples to the new house to see what they liked best.
Will smiled as he watched Emma taking her time and pulling various shades of green, yellow, white, blue and pink off of the wall of many colors. As she had told him many times, he failed at colors and matching, so he let her take the lead on the paint selection, although she was asking for his input, which made him smirk, "Do you like lemon yellow or canary yellow better for the little dining room?" She wasn't feeling the boring white that was throughout most of the house and wanted to spice the place up a bit.
"I honestly can't really tell the difference, Em. Take them both, we'll stop by and compare."
She took several selections and they thanked Matt's father, explaining they'd be back later in the week.
Monday morning Emma practically jumped out of bed, thrilled to start the day so she could see her baby again. The morning was torturously slow, but she was happy Will was giving the kids a week-long break before starting rehearsals for the national competition.
They pulled into their obstetrician's office shortly after four, a perky Terri greeting them from the receptionist desk.
"Hey," She said with a smile which Emma returned, "Aren't you looking cute and pregnant!" Emma blushed, peering down at her bump which seemed somehow larger in a pair of pants then it did in a dress, "How are you feeling?"
"Um, pretty good. I, uh, had a few rough patches, but the past few weeks have been alright."
"Well that's great! Are you finding out the gender today?" Emma nodded, "Where are you going to put the nursery? I don't remember your condo being very big..."
"Well, we bought a house, actually, um...so we've got more room."
Will watched the exchange awkwardly while he leaned forward on the counter. It was just strange that Terri would want to hear about them having everything she wanted, a baby, a house...love. They rambled on for a few more moments before the phone rang and Terri handed Emma a form to fill out with new updates on times of day she was feeling movement from the baby and other such questions.
They were called in moments later as Emma finished writing, following the nurse she had last time to the same room, where she smelled disinfectant. She stepped onto the scale, "One-twenty, well, it's better then it was...alright, we've got four blood tests that we'll do after the Ultrasound so you're not faint and needing to use the bathroom," she smiled, "But for now, we'll let you get into this and Dr. Romano will be in with you shortly.
As the door shut Will untied the string on her cute yellow baby-doll top, taking it off slowly and bringing her in for a slow kiss, "Oh, Will, not now...I'm about ready to pounce you and I don't want to do it here."
"Never fantasized about doin' it on an exam table?"
She slugged him playfully, stepping out of her pants and folding them neatly, covering her skinny arms with the blue hospital gown and allowing him to tie it in the back, "I have been fantasizing about something we may have to do later, though."
"And what's that?" He purred into her ear, nipping lightly.
She blushed, "I kind of wanted to uh...christen the new house, if you know what I mean."
He laughed, "There's no furniture in it yet."
"That's not a problem," she whispered.
The doctor knocked softly, "Hello, hello!" She said, entering.
Will lifted Emma onto the exam table, earning him a quick look as they greeted the doctor as well.
"So, halfway there! Twenty weeks, very exciting."
Emma nodded as Dr. Romano looked over the paperwork, "You've got fluttering and movement, no morning sickness, this is very good...lots of mood swings, that's very normal at this time...looks great, Emma." She approached her and began a physical exam, feeling around the stomach and measuring her bump.
"Ready to see your baby? We've got a 4-D ultrasound if you'd like, it's much clearer and you'll get great footage of your baby...it's covered under your insurance." It wasn't, but for some reason, Dr. Romano had really taken a liking to this particular couple.
"Yes, sure!" Will smiled and took Emma's hand as Dr. Romano squeezed the blue gel onto her again.
"Alright, let's see..." After a few moments, a brownish image appeared, very blurry at first, but after several moments, Emma gasped, feeling tears rush to her eyes.
A perfect picture of her baby graced the screen before her; a beautiful chubby face with closed eyes, a tiny nose and adorable lips. "Oh my God..." She didn't even care about the watery streaks that were making their way down her pale face. "It's beautiful."
Dr. Romano backed up the image, moving downward, "It...is a girl."
Emma gasped and brought her hands to her face, tears flowing freely, she felt a wet spot on her forehead and looked up to see Will crying happily as well. He tore his gaze off the image, kissing her sweetly, then meeting the screen once more, watching as the baby moved her tiny fists over her face, mouth open, "Oh, it looks like she's crying," Emma sputtered.
The doctor smiled, "She may be, babies do all sorts of strange and adorable things in the womb to practice for real life. They yawn and open and close their mouths, like they're eating, they do summersaults and even cuddle with their own umbilical chord."
The little girl yawned, then, turning her face more toward the imaging device, and opened and closed her tiny hand, "It looks like she's waving," Will kissed Emma's forehead without taking his eyes off the screen as the doctor continued to move to see different parts of the baby.
"She's got all her limbs, everything looks normal. I'll give you a few more minutes with her though, do you want this on DVD?"
They nodded simultaneously, "Please," Will said, stroking Emma's hair as he had the first time they saw their little girl.
"She's perfect," Emma sniffed.
After several more minutes, Dr. Romano stopped the ultrasound, allowing Will to help clean Emma up, "Something pretty important to discuss, now Emma. You're halfway there, but the next four months are going to go by very quickly. We need to talk about how we're going to get the baby out of you."
Emma cringed and sat up as the doctor continued, "I am not a huge fan of preforming a C-section unless it is absolutely necessary. I think that natural birth is much safer for both you and the baby and the recovery time is much sooner. However, I want you to understand just how messy labor is. There are a lot of risks when your blood pressure is elevated during the birth and I'm afraid with your condition, it may actually be safer to deliver via C-section. It is major surgery, so that may be hard for you, too. Ultimately, though, I'm leaving the decision in your hands. I'm giving you a packet with information on both, including a movie showing both ways of delivering. I know it's not the most pleasant thing to watch, but I believe it's important for you to see exactly what it is you'll be doing."
Will put a hand on her knee, "We'll decide together, okay?"
She nodded, then listened as Dr. Romano began speaking again, "I'm going to run to my office real quick and pick it up, along with the DVD and images, then I'm going to sit down with you and break down the due date and what I'm going to have you do for the next few weeks before I see you again."
She left and Will pulled Emma into his arms, hugging her with all the love he could, "We're having a girl," she whispered, her tears of excitement falling onto his shoulder.
He pulled her out and kissed her passionately again, "I'm so happy, Em," he crouched in front of her, pulling her gown up again and kissing her belly, "Hey little girl," He smiled, rubbing gently, "I'm so excited to meet you."
"She's going to be daddy's little girl," Emma's eyes sparkled with moisture, "She's going to be so lucky...oh, gosh, Will. I'm so happy. I'm so happy."
"We're going to have to start shopping...guess we can get the pink paint, hm?"
She giggled, drawing him into another hug, "I'm so happy. Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? You're the one carrying my little girl."
"Men pick the gender. You gave me a little girl."
Will kissed her for what felt like the millionth time that day, "I love you, Em."
"I love you too," She sighed happily.
Dr. Romano returned with several stacks of paper, "First of all, your expected due date is July 28th, based off of your measurements, fetal development and possible time of conception. If you decide on a C-section, you'll be scheduled for that day, and if not...well, we'll just stick it out and see. It may be shortly before or after."
Emma nodded and was handed a packet containing the birthing information, "The only real concern I have at this point, Emma, is your weight."
Will nodded, watching as she had her I would rather burst into flames then have this conversation look, "You've really only gained five pounds because of what you lost in the first few weeks. At this point, you should be up to one-thirty at least, then gaining another half-pound or so every week until delivery. I've got a list of foods I want you eating and more often and in more amounts, alright? I know you've got all sorts of food sensitivity and problems, but if you want what's best for the baby..."
She nodded, "Okay."
"Also, you may start noticing stretch marks, especially because you're so skinny to start off with, so I'm advising you start using a lotion on your stomach at least once a day...you're still taking your vitamins...I think you're doing great. I want to see you back in four weeks, and I'll call you if there's anything suspicious in the blood work we're going to draw up once I leave...any questions?"
Emma shook her head as she took another file of nutritional information, and a manila folder with her ultrasound stills and nurse returned shortly to draw the blood, causing Emma to flinch, but it was over soon enough and Will assisted her in the untying process and changing into her other clothes.
"What's the verdict?" Terri asked as they approached the front desk to make the next appointment.
Emma was all smiles, "It's a girl." She pulled one of the pictures of her daughter's face and showed Terri, who had to hold herself together in order to prevent crumpling to the floor in a meltdown.
"Oh, she's perfect..."
Will thought he may have caught a look in her eye, but if he did it was gone as soon as it came.
The couple lay exhausted on the beige carpet of their soon-to-be room at the new house after hormonally crazed sex. Emma didn't even care that she had yet to use the rug-scrubber on this room, she was far to entranced by Will's magical fingers to worry about the messy little details.
He pulled her on top of him, stroking her back lightly, "Hey baby."
She kissed his nose, "Are you talking to me or our little girl?"
"Mm...both."
"Will...we're having a daughter."
"I know," he whispered, kissing her cheek, "I'm so happy for us."
"Can you believe it's already halfway over? Four more months and we'll be laying in here holding her."
A smile plastered his face, "I can't wait."
Emma sighed and rested her head back on his chest, "What are we going to name her?"
"Hmm...Something cute and classy."
"Cute and classy?
"Yeah, like you. You know..."
"No..." She laughed, "I'm afraid I don't."
Will pushed Emma's bangs out of her face, "The way you dress, the way you talk...I don't know. You're adorable. And incredibly sexy."
"I don't really want to give our girl a sexy name, though." She laughed lightly.
"Well, by classy I meant normal. Not something dumb. You are sexy. No one had better be calling our little girl sexy for a long, long time."
"We'll have to start listing. Every day we'll come up with a name, either something we might want or something we certainly don't want."
"Alright...I like...Elizabeth. We could call her Lizzy. Or Beth."
"It's nice. I like...Madeline."
"Like the little red-headed french girl? That's cute..."
"Oh, no. My sister was always teased growing up, people always called her 'Little Orphan Annie' because of her hair. We can not give our child a name that will mess her up for life."
Will sat up, assisting her as well, "I guess Ariel is out of the picture then, too?" She smiled, "Let's get going. I'm sure you want a shower and I want to get our baby up on Facebook for the world to see."
The next day, Will had a framed picture of his baby girl on his desk next to his wife. He smiled, he loved his girls, even if one of them was barely thirteen ounces. He couldn't wait to cuddle them both, kissing his wife passionately and giving his daughter a sweet kiss goodnight after singing softly to her.
He touched her cheek through the glass. It seemed like nothing could go wrong.
I forgot how busy college is...updates will hopefully be once a week. I could produce them slightly sooner, but they'd be much shorter and of a lower quality. No one wants that. (Regionals was a bit lame, but meh. It's done. And Glee had BETTER sing I Gotta Feeling when it comes back. So epic and full of win.)
It's a girl! It was a pretty unanimous decision. I heard a few cries for a boy—I was listening!— but almost everyone wants Will entranced by his two lovely ladies. I love it, and I was pretty sure that's where I was going with this. Thank you for your opinion, it helped to seal the deal! Also, thanks to Permanent Rose who suggested the names I used for "listing" in this chapter. If you have stupid or serious names you think Will and Emma would add to their "lists," go ahead an give them to me, I'd be more then happy to use them!
I want your input again!
In the original outline of this story, I have Chapter Ten listed as an interlude chapter devoted entirely to flashbacks as an episode of Jon and Kate Plus Eight would say, it's a "how we got here" type of deal. I have had one reader express interest in it, and was wondering if you would like that as well. It would be full of fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff and quite possibly, fluff. (Quisas un poco de smut?) If this sounds like good times to you, please include something to the extent of "I want a sheep" in your review if you chose to leave one. I will either decide to scrap the idea (based on lack of interest) and continue with the plot or give you a sheep. In other words, a VERY fluffy chapter. (Because sheep are fluffy, yeah?) It would be a lot of 'filling in' of pieces I wrote before, pancakes, Christmas, etc.
I seriously promise to give this story more plot in the future—they are only halfway through the pregnancy at this point. There are a few individuals who can't wait to mess things up for Will and Emma, plus BIG BABY DRAMA is on the way!
As always, thank you for reading and thank you for being so enthusiastic about this story! I love to hear it!