My thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter. So happy you liked the return of Becca and Brian, of course, the Kurtofsky smut. Very little smut in this chapter, but I hope you'll like it all the same.
Oh, and speaking of smut, I know I'm not on tumblr, but I a heard a rumor that some of you think LucyToo and I should collaborate to write Kurtofsky sexy!times. Considering how AMAZEBALLS I think her writing is, I'm taking it as a compliment of the highest caliber. AND I'M UP FOR IT IF SHE IS JUST SAYIN' :D
And speaking of collaboration, I have to give huge thanks to LizziePoodle for her help with this chapter. I got all confused and she kept me from posting some not only inaccurate, but completely contradictory things. Thanks, hun! {{{hugs}}}
Kurt was heading back from a cake tasting with a client when he got the call. His cell phone rang, and he hit the button on his SUV's dash to activate the Bluetooth. "Sheer Elegance, this is Kurt," he said.
"Kurt?" Stacy's voice rang out through the car. "Kurt, it's time. Becca just called, she and Dave are on their way to the hospital. Where are you?"
"I'm on I-94, heading west out of the city," barked Kurt, looking over his shoulder and jerking the wheel to cross two lanes of traffic at once. Someone honked, but he didn't even spare the energy to give them the finger. "I can be there in twenty minutes." He swerved around a minivan doing, of all things, sixty in a fifty-five mile per hour zone. He noted the Wisconsin license plate, and rolled his eyes. "Tell them not to start without me!"
"I'm sure they'll do their best," said Stacy, dryly. She then disconnected the call, so her boss could focus on driving and get to the hospital in one piece.
As Kurt drove furiously, he couldn't help but think about what an insane, incredible journey it had been to get to this point.
Soon after Becca and Brian's generous offer, Kurt and Dave had their semen analyses done, and it was determined that Kurt would be the one to provide the semen specimen. They were both fertile, but as usual, Kurt just had to be so damn good at everything. Not only was his sperm count unusually high, his swimmers were particularly motile and about as healthy as you could get. The clinic informed Kurt that if he ever had an interest in becoming a sperm donor in the general sense, his profile would be particularly attractive for many of their clients. Kurt was flattered, but considering how hard it had been for him to…perform, in a clinical setting for his own baby, he couldn't imagine doing it for any other reason. He wasn't allowed to come in any way, shape or form for five days prior to egg retrieval day. The porn in the clinic was pretty lame, and even if it hadn't been, Kurt hadn't gotten off to porn since he and Dave moved in together. Not that there was anything wrong with porn, if it floated one's boat; but for him personally, it didn't do much to get his motor running, and had ever only really worked as a band-aid back when he didn't have access to regular sex. He only had an hour to produce before the donor's eggs became less than optimum for fertilization, and the ticking clock was not helping. He finally called Dave on his cell phone in the waiting room, and instructed him to go down to the car for phone sex, stat. Finally, with his husband's deep voice in his ear, telling him in great detail how badly he wanted Kurt to slide his cock inside him, fucking him hard and fast, Kurt ejaculated with a gasp into the specimen jar. It wasn't easy to aim, either; kind of like trying to write his name in a moving car. In any case, he was glad when it was over, and he and Dave met Becca for a celebratory breakfast at Denny's.
The transfer had followed three days later, on a Friday morning. Becca had rested at home for the remainder of that weekend. While Kurt ran a lavish wedding at The Grand Ballroom, Dave stayed with Becca, playing cards and watching old movies. When Monday came, Becca and Dave went back to work, and along with Brian and Kurt, began what they came to know as the infamous TWW – the Two Week Wait. At the end of the two weeks, the clinic would do a pregnancy test to confirm her condition. They were all on pins and needles; Kurt had actually lost a client that week for the first time ever. The bride, even more high-strung and ditzier than his usual client, had asked Kurt for the fourth time if he really thought it was okay that the tablecloths for her reception were eggshell instead of white. Kurt, who had been having trouble focusing on anything besides whether or not the in vitro had worked, had snapped at her. "Of course it's fine," he'd said bitchily. "And even if it wasn't, it's not like it's the end of the world." She'd walked out before Kurt had even really registered what had come out of his mouth, and no amount of apologizing or offers of tremendous discounts could get the bride to return to Sheer Elegance. He tried for a little more objectivity after that, at least at work.
When the two weeks were up, Becca, Kurt and Dave went to the clinic for the blood test. They went back to Dave and Kurt's to await the results, and Brian was able to stop by a few hours later. Everyone's eyes lit up when they got the call several hours later, but it was short lived. Dave had put the phone on speaker, and they all had to hear the bad news through the tinny amplifier – that Becca wasn't pregnant after all. She went over to Dave, throwing herself into his arms. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry it didn't work," she sobbed, as if she'd been personally responsible for the embryos failing to implant.
Kurt felt his eyes fill, but took a deep breath and stepped forward to take Becca from Dave, and fold her into his long arms. "Don't apologize," he said softly. "It's okay, it'll be okay. We knew there was a good chance it wouldn't work on the first try, right?" He needed to be strong, not only for Becca, but for Dave as well. It was obvious his husband was devastated by the news; normally the steadier of the two of them, Dave took it even harder than Kurt had expected. After Becca and Brian left, he'd collapsed onto the floor, weeping like Kurt had never seen him do before.
"I know they were just bubbles," wept Dave, and Kurt began to cry silently, stroking Dave's hair. The clinic had given them a picture of the embryos, and Dave had pointed out that they looked just like bubbles. From that point on, both couples had referred to them as "bubbles". They would pat Becca's flat stomach, ask how the bubbles were doing that day, then laugh. Hearing their inside joke come out of Dave's mouth so brokenly just killed Kurt. He pressed his lips to Dave's temple and kissed him gently, but Dave pulled away. "But they weren't bubbles, Kurt. They were babies!" His voice rose to a shout. "They were our babies, and now they're dead!" He broke down in tears again, and Kurt grabbed him back, squeezing his broad, shaking shoulders as tightly as he could.
It had taken a week before they even discussed the idea of trying again, with the frozen embryos stored at the clinic. The doctors had created ten embryos from Kurt's sperm and the donor eggs. Four had been implanted into Becca for this cycle, which meant they had enough to try one or two more times without starting the whole process over again from scratch. It seemed like it should have been a no-brainer to try again, but it was anything but. They hated to ask Becca to once again go though the physical and emotional upheaval of another transfer. She had to give herself daily injections of hormones, to simulate the natural way a woman's body would prepare itself after conception. The pain of the injections wasn't too bad, but they had side effects and turned the normally unflappable Becca into an emotional, moody mess. Brian had showed up at Kurt and Dave's with a duffel bag one night, looking shell-shocked. They gave him a beer, and in a dazed voice, Brian said, "All I did was ask if the milk in the fridge was still good, or if I should pick up more. She just started screaming about how it wasn't her fault that she hadn't been able to get to the store that day, that I didn't understand anything. She called me an insensitive fuckwad, and told me to spend the night somewhere else. Then she threw a pot holder at me." Of course, within an hour, Becca was at their front door begging Brian to forgive her for being so crazy. It was the worst incident, but hardly the only one, and there were a few that were nearly as bad. So there was that reason. But they also feared the disappointment of the in vitro failing again; in fact, it wasn't even a guarantee that the embryos would survive the thawing process. In a way it seemed like their future baby would be safer in the clinic's freezer, and they were initially terrified to risk losing more embryos by trying again. But after a couple of weeks, and talking to Becca and Brian at length, they made the decision to give it at least one more shot.
Two months later, in March, another four embryos were implanted into Becca, and the TWW began again. Once again, on the fifteenth day post-transfer, they went to the clinic to have a blood test done, then went back to Becca and Brian's to wait for the results. It was the longest six hours of any of their lives. When Dave's cell phone rang with the fertility clinic's ringtone (Baby Love, by The Supremes), they all jumped a mile. Dave answered, turning away from everyone else's expectant faces. If it was bad news again, he didn't want them to be able to tell from his facial expression. Kurt, Becca and Brian stared at Dave's back, listening to every word. "Yes, this is Dave. You do? Yeah, we're ready to hear them." There was a long pause, during which Kurt fumbled sightlessly for Becca's hand and squeezed it. Becca did the same with Brian, and they all stood there holding hands and their breath while they waited for Dave to speak again. Dave's big shoulders heaved in a sigh, and after a moment, said in a completely neutral tone, "I see. Yes, I know. Thank you. Thank you for letting us know so soon." Kurt felt a wave of sadness approach, but just as it was about to crash over him, Dave turned around with a smile so big, it looked like the top of his head might topple right off. "Honey," he said, sweeping his arm to indicate he was applying the term to all three of them, "we're pregnant." The two couples fell into a joyful group hug, kissing and laughing and crying. Kurt had figured it would be the happiest day of his life, up until their baby was born, but he turned out to be wrong on that score.
Since Brian was a well respected colleague at UC Medical center, it wasn't hard to get Becca under the care of one the best OB/GYN's in the country, Dr. Ratika Bharucha. She arranged to see Becca at the hospital instead of her office, so Brian could pop in for the appointments, even if he was working that day. The first week of May, Becca had an appointment that they'd all been looking forward to, the one where they'd hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Becca lay on the table with her shirt pulled up under her breasts, her flat tummy showing no sign of the life she carried within her. Dr. Bharucha held up the Doppler wand. "Now, we can usually hear the heartbeat at nine weeks. But in some cases we can't, and if that happens, don't get worried. Sometimes it's still too faint for the Doppler to pick up, and if that happens, we'll bring in an ultrasound cart. Assuming the heartbeat is there, we'll be able to actually see it that way." Becca took Kurt and Dave's hands, and Brian came behind her to put his hands on her shoulders. Dr. Bharucha applied the wand to Becca's stomach, and they all held their breath as she moved it around, searching. After less than a minute, they heard a rapid wow-wow-wow-wow noise come from the instrument's speaker.
"Is that it?" asked Kurt, tearing up. "Is that our baby's heart?"
"Yes, it is," replied Dr. Bharucha, smiling broadly. "It's fast, you'll notice. Must faster than our heartbeats. An adult resting heartbeat is about seventy beats per minute. The fetal heartbeat is more like one hundred and fifty per minute." She shifted her gaze to the LCD panel on the Doppler. "And your little guy or girl is right at about one fifty-two. Just perfect."
Kurt and Dave leaned over to kiss each other happily, then each kissed Becca on a tear streaked cheek. Dave turned and planted a quick kiss on Brian's lips. "Didn't want you to feel left out, bro," he explained, and they all laughed at Brian's bright red blush." Their humor fled abruptly, though, when they saw Dr. Bharucha frown.
"What is it, Ratika?" asked Brian, his voice concerned.
"There's nothing wrong, exactly," she said, still looking at the monitor. She moved the wand around slightly. "We'll have to get an ultrasound cart in here after all," she said.
"Why?" asked Becca, her eyes wide and worried.
Dr. Bharucha moved the wand again, and turned up the volume on the Doppler. "Listen closely," she said. They strained, and Brian, with his medical training, heard it first.
"Holy shit," he breathed. "There's two."
"Two heartbeats?" said Kurt, even higher pitched than normal. "You mean…twins?" He swayed a little, and Dave let go of his hand to grab his shoulder.
"Like I said, we'll do an ultrasound to be sure," said Dr. Bharucha, and she slipped out to get a nurse to bring the equipment in. About ten minutes later, Becca, Brian, Kurt and Dave got their first look at their healthy and beautiful babies. All of them were simply over the moon with joy at the discovery. When at a later ultrasound it was revealed that both babies were girls, it got even better. Not that they would have been disappointed either way, but secretly, both Kurt and Dave had longed for a daughter. And now, they were going to have two.
Because she was almost thirty-six and carrying twins, technically Becca's pregnancy was considered high-risk. She had to monitor her health - especially her blood pressure - very carefully as the weeks and then months passed. Being married to a doctor was definitely a plus in that respect. Although she had planned to work as usual up until a month or so before the birth, she began referring out her patients once she hit her second trimester, and as a group they decided she'd take the whole third one off. Luckily, her pregnancy was extremely healthy and uneventful, other than getting much bigger much faster than she thought she would. And between her husband and her two best friends, she was spoiled extravagantly with attention and tokens of affection. If Brian was called away in the evening and she called to say she felt lonely, either Kurt or Dave (and sometimes both of them) were at her door in record time. Kurt always brought a bag of Reece's peanut butter cups or Kit-Kats, plus plenty of crazy wedding stories. Dave brought brightly colored flowers and Sudoku puzzle books. And Brian rubbed her feet, even if he was dead on his own from hours of surgery, and shaved her legs for her when her belly got too big to bend over that far herself. She doubted that there was a more pampered and beloved expectant mother on the planet, and it was worth every kick to her ribs and blazing inferno of heartburn to know how much what she was doing was truly appreciated by the men in her life.
Bringing himself back to the present, Kurt flew into the first parking spot at the hospital that he spotted. His phone dinged with an incoming text message, which he checked immediately. We're settled in and all is well - Room 412. NO BABIES YET. Breathe, Fancy. ILY :) Grinning, Kurt slowed his gait minutely and took the elevator to the fourth floor. Becca was only at thirty-six weeks, but Dr. Bharucha had told them from the beginning that twins often came early. And if Dave said everything was fine, it had to be so. Calmly as possible, he made his way to room 412 in the maternity wing, where he found Becca in bed, a fetal monitor strapped to her distended abdomen. Dave was holding her hand, and they were both watching a re-run of Dr. Phil idly. Kurt looked at the two of them with great affection. "I almost took out a minivan from Wisconsin for this?" he said teasingly. "Where's the drama? The boiling water? The mass of attending doctors and nurses?"
Dave snorted, getting up to kiss his husband. "I think we've got a while before that," he said. "Get comfortable, babe, 'cause it sounds like this might take a while."
He wasn't wrong. It took nearly eight hours for Becca's contractions to be close enough together that they even started having a nurse in the room the whole time. Every hour or so, a random intern or occasionally, Dr. Bharucha herself would come in and look under the blanket to see how Becca's dilation was progressing. Both babies were in the head down position, so they were going to try for a vaginal birth. Becca was hooked up to an IV, however, just in case they needed to switch gears and roll her into the OR for a cesarean. Brian had come in early on, and for the most part remained seated, trying to get used to not being the one who needed to take care of the medical situation at hand. It was funny, though, when some of the staff congratulated him on becoming a father when they realized it was his wife giving birth. "Thanks, but I'm not the father," he said grinning. "They are," he said, pointing at Kurt and Dave.
Nearly ten hours after arriving, Becca's labor pains increased dramatically in intensity and frequency, and she began to perspire and moan. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed, after a particularly rough contraction. "It's like the worst period I've ever had, times a thousand. Why did I agree to this again?" Dr. Bharucha bustled in and checked under the blanket. "Six centimeters," she announced. "Five is the price of admission. Becca Potter, congratulations. You have just earned yourself an epidural. Let's call the anesthesiologist in." Becca was a lot more comfortable after that. Up until it was time to push, that is. At that point, things got a little more hairy. Dr. Bharucha didn't want her completely numb; she felt that it was important for delivering mothers to have enough sensation to give feedback, alerting her to any potential problems. The nurses unfolded the stirrups from where they were hidden inside the bed frame (It's like a Transformer! Dave had exclaimed excitedly, before both Kurt and Becca had whacked him). The covers were folded up to Becca's waist, her trembling legs shiny with perspiration.
"Okay, dads," Dr. Bharucha said, looking at Kurt and Dave. "If you want to see your daughters being born, this would be the time to head down this way." They both moved into position, a little warily. Yes, Becca was their friend, and the person who would bring their babies into the world. But at the same time, they were both a little freaked out at seeing…well, all of her.
Sweating and impatient, Becca snorted at their hesitance. "It's a vagina, guys. Not that man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Seriously, just get down there. It's not like everyone else in this…ohhhhhh…this fucking hospital hasn't had a look at my crotch today." As usual, her totally inappropriate but well-needed humor broke the tension. Kurt and Dave finally looked, seeing what was unmistakably the head of one of their babies crowning. From that point on, things moved quickly. Becca started pushing, pretty much everyone in the room voicing encouragement. They weren't sure when it had happened, but there suddenly seemed to be about twenty people in the room who had magically materialized out of nowhere.
"You can do it, baby," said Brian, wiping his wife's brow with a damp washcloth. "You're amazing, you're doing such a good job."
"Fuck you!" said Becca venomously. "Why don't you try squeezing something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a lemon, and I'll tell you how well you're doing. Condescending prick!" Dave and Kurt winced; Brian blanched and shut up entirely. A few minutes later, when Becca was taking a rest from pushing, she apologized. "I'm sorry, Bri," she said lovingly. "It hurts, and I'm being a bitch about it. I love you; you know that, right?"
"Be as bitchy as you want, love," Brian responded. "Whatever you need to get through this. You're so strong, so brave. None of us could do this, right guys?" Kurt and Dave agreed vehemently.
"Stop trying to butter me uuuuuuuuuuup OH HOLY SHIT I WANT TO PUUUUUUSH," Becca cried, feeling intense pressure like never before.
"Okay, this is it," said Dr. Bharucha. "On the count of three. One…two…three…push!"
Becca bore down harder than ever, crying out. Suddenly, without any warning at all, Dave and Kurt realized that the first twin's head had come through. Dr. Bharucha gently turned the baby's head, and asked Becca to push one more time. With a groan, Becca complied, and their first daughter slid free, wailing pitifully. In moments, the next head presented, and Becca pushed again despite her exhaustion. The second twin came out, and Kurt and Dave were relieved to hear that this one had the same strong lungs as the first. Two nurses offered each of them a pair of sterile scissors. "Time to cut the cords, gentlemen," said Dr. Bharucha. "One for each dad. Perfect, right?" Kurt made his snip first, then Dave; then both babies were bundled off to examination cradles for their Apgar tests. They passed with flying colors, and the babies were gently laid on Becca's chest.
She pressed a quick kiss to each baby's head, a single happy tear falling down her cheek. "Give them to Kurt and Dave," she said to the nurses, smiling. "Give them to their parents."
Kurt and Dave found themselves settled into rocking chairs, each with a swaddled infant placed carefully in their arms. Kurt looked down at the baby in his. They had selected an egg donor whose coloring favored Dave, and who had mentioned in her dossier that the men in her family tended towards the stocky, athletic type. Long lashes rested against soft cheeks, and a light brown dusting of hair capped her tiny head. "I think this is Melody," he said to Dave. "Melody Sarah Karofsky-Hummel."
Dave looked down at the baby in his lap, with the same downy cheeks and long eyelashes; but unlike her sister, sporting an outrageous head of silky, nearly black hair. "Then this must be Harmony," he replied. "Harmony Carolemarie Karofsky-Hummel." They had decided to have their daughters' first names reflect their mutual love for music; and for the middle names to honor their respective mothers (and in Kurt's case, his mother and adored stepmother).
"Melody and Harmony," said Kurt. "And Dave and Kurt. That's us, Dave. This is our family, at last."
"It sure is," agreed Dave. "We sure do make pretty babies, Hummel. Is there anything we can't do well together?"
"Not a thing," said Kurt, leaning over to capture his husband's lips in a chaste kiss.
Wheeeee! Kurtofsky babies FTW, ammirite? If you agree, leave a review. Or even if you don't! But seriously, these babies are so cute, how could you not?
Next chapter will be Dave and Kurt getting used to parenting twins, and there just might be some smut along the way. Reviews make it come faster, FYI. XD