This is not the dream I dreamed - Rachel faces up to the fact that her Broadway career could be over before it had chance to begin.
Rating - T
Character - Rachel [and her fathers]
A/N - Just a small part for now, but it seemed like a good place to break it up. Reviews/concrit are loved, and if there's anything you'd like to see happen the let me know and I'll try my best to work it in somehow.I'm from the UK, so if anything American is not quite right, please let me know and I'll fix it.
"Daddy" The scream that left Rachel's mouth was the most terrifying noise Hiram had ever heard.
"Rachel, Ray-ray what's wrong baby."
"It hurts Daddy, really really hurts, it's too soon Daddy, she's too early." Rachel groaned, curling herself into a ball on her bed, begging her daddy to make it stop hurting like he had done so many times when she was younger.
"Okay baby, I'm going to ring an ambulance for you, then I'm going to ring your dad, we'll be there as soon as we can. It'll be okay Ray, I promise."
Rachel whimpered softly, as Hiram used the other phone to dial 911, she heard him give the operator her address before saying the words she'd tried to avoid, "she's just over 31 weeks pregnant, and I think she's in premature labour." Hiram asked Rachel a few questions before relaying the answers to the operator, and telling Rachel an ambulance was on it's way. Rachel listened as her daddy rang her dad, the conversation was short. "I need you to book us on the next flight to New York and meet me outside your office in 15 minutes." He tried to keep up a conversation with Rachel as he threw some clean clothes into a bag, and left the house. He'd just climbed into his car when he heard the ambulance crew arriving at Rachel's house. "Baby, I'm going to collect your Dad, we'll be there as soon as we can. We love you baby." He asked the paramedic which hospital they were taking Rachel to before he hung up and drove to Leroy's office, breaking every speed limit on the way he managed to collect his husband, explain what was happening and arrive at the airport in record time.
"Rachel Berry" Hiram yelled at the receptionist as they reached the maternity department at the hospital.
"I'm sorry, visiting hours are 12-2 and 5-7.30" she pointed to the clock behind her head, currently reading 4.06, "unless one of you is the father of course."
"We are" Hiram said, earning him a raised eyebrow from the receptionist,
"Rachel is our daughter" Leroy explained, "she is in premature labour and we want to be with her."
"Well like I said, visiting hours are . . ."
"No" Rachel's usually calm Father snapped, "My daughter could be having my granddaughter almost 9 weeks early. She is scared and alone, and I want to see her NOW."
"Can I help you?" A doctor approached the angry men.
"We want to see Rachel Berry" Hiram spoke calmly.
"You must be her fathers" The doctor asked, both men nodded, The three men introduced themselves before the doctor spoke again "follow me" he swiped his hospital id and pushed open the door, leading the two men down a long corridor, "she's in there" he pointed to a white door, I don't think she's sleeping, call me if you need anything"
Rachel's fathers pulled her into a hug as they reached the bed, comforting their daughter as she sobbed into their shoulders, "did they, did they say what's happening?" Leroy asked, sitting beside her bed, running his fingers over the back of her hand, trying not to knock the iv line.
"They've given me drugs that have stopped the contractions for now, but I'm already 4cm dilated, they've given me steroids to help her lungs develop, but they can take up to 24 hours to work properly and I'm not allowed to leave the bed."
Hiram sighed, "We should have made you come home, we should have been there for you."
Leroy shook his head, "None of us knew this was going to happen, we all thought Rachel would be home in time to have the baby in Ohio" he said truthfully, there being just three weeks left until he and Hiram had arranged to collect Rachel and her things in a rented truck, to take her back to Lima. "It just turns out that this little thing is as dramatic as her mother and knows how to make an entrance." He tried to lighten the mood slightly, "it's no one's fault."
Rachel shook her head, "I should have taken better care of myself, I've had back pains for days, I ignored it, and then I woke up earlier, and it hurt so much" she began to sob again.
"Hey calm down Sunshine" Leroy said softly, "getting worked up like this isn't going to help either of you." Rachel nodded, and allowed Hiram to climb onto the bed beside her and rock her softly until she finally fell asleep.
The two men woke to find their daughter still sleeping, but writhing and groaning in pain, the line on the machine measuring Rachel's contractions wasn't as still as before, and both men knew it was serious. Hiram stayed in the room to comfort his daughter, whilst Leroy left the room in search of help. He'd just re-entered the room when Rachel woke with a scream, the monitor by her bed reporting the strongest contraction of the night. "Daddy" she whimpered, clutching her stomach just seconds before a damp patch appeared on the sheets.
"Page doctor Ellis." One nurse snapped at another, "and call the neo-natal intensive care unit, we're going to have to deliver."