A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! Here's chapter 15! Hope you all like it and please read and review!
The rest of the week had gone by and Rachel had yet to receive a letter from Carmen. It was Thursday and at this point, Rachel had about given up, realizing that she wasn't going to be performing in the showcase in December.
She sat at table in the kitchen, resting her chin on her arm that lay on top.
"Rachel, what's wrong?" Kurt asked as he walked in, still slightly yawning.
"Tomorrow is Friday and I have yet to get a letter. That just means that I 'm not good enough, Kurt," Rachel said as she kept her eyes on the table, not daring to look into his eyes of sympathy at her pathetic form.
"Come on, Rachel. You know that's not true," Kurt said, taking in her tired eyes.
"Have you even slept at all this week?" he asked, worried that she wasn't take things easily.
"Not much. I've been too stressed about everything else," Rachel replied.
"Well that's not good for you or the baby. You need sleep," Kurt said with concerning eyes, while Rachel quickly glanced up at him, knowing he was right.
"I know but I won't be able to sleep until Carmen hands me that envelope personally," Rachel stated, causing Kurt to slightly frown at her. He hated that this showcase was putting so much pressure on her but he also knew that it was what she wanted and needed in order to achieve her dreams of Broadway stardom.
"Maybe you'll get one today then," Kurt said encouragingly.
"I can only hope," Rachel said as she glanced at the clock, noticing the time. She began to stand up and head to her room, but Kurt stopped her, remembering she had a doctor's appointment today and Quinn arriving.
"Wait, what about your appointment today? Have you heard from Mr. Schue?" Kurt asked, while Rachel sadly shook her head no. He held back a grin of triumph that his plan was working. Rachel still had no idea that Will was coming today despite him not contacting her at all throughout the week.
"You should really call him Will and no, I texted him earlier in the week and called him but nothing. I don't know how to get ahold of him and at this point I may as well just assume he's not coming," Rachel said, slightly frustrated that Will had ignored her all week minus Monday. It just didn't seem like something he would do unless he was falling back into his depression which she hoped with all her heart, he wasn't.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I'll be there for you though, okay?" Kurt said as he looked at her, eyes full of what he hoped compassion. He was trying very hard not to crack under the pressure and tell her of his plan, but he knew he could pull it off at this point and thus held his tongue.
"Thanks, the appointment is at 11," Rachel said quietly, now making her way closer to her bedroom.
"Okay, meet back here after your class?" he asked while Rachel shook her head in agreement. "I'm going to go get ready," Rachel added while Kurt nodded at her as she walked away, slightly jumping with joy that his plan was working like magic. Once Rachel was at school, he and Santana would go pick up Mr. Schue at the airport and make it back in time before their appointment.
While walking, Rachel passed Santana, who was still peacefully sleeping on the couch, not moving a muscle at anything. Rachel wondered how she could be such a light sleeper when she and Kurt had been up hours before her. Things had been relatively smooth with Santana previously in the week though so Rachel let it slide.
As she walked into her room, she jumped into the shower and about fifteen minutes later, walked out and started blow drying her hair.
Glancing into the mirror quickly once she was done, Rachel gave a smile despite her attitude about how the day would play out. Two great things were happening today with or without Will. The baby appointment and Quinn's arrival.
"Be back later," Rachel said as she passed by Kurt, who was still in the kitchen and a now awake Santana at the table.
Once Rachel was gone and headed off to class, Kurt glanced over to Santana.
"What's that look for lady Hummel?" Santana asked.
"We have to go pick someone up from the airport," Kurt said excitedly, proud that he kept his secret from Santana too because he knew if he told her that there would be no chance of a surprise.
"What do you mean? Quinn's coming by train and Schue isn't supposed to be here till Saturday," Santana commented.
"No, we've been in contact and he's coming today to surprise Rachel," Kurt said, face lighting up.
"I thought he was still waiting in DC or whatever," Santana said, sipping on some coffee.
"He was but his letter got approved at the beginning of the week. He just didn't tell Rachel because he wanted it to be a surprise," Kurt explained.
"His flight is coming at nine thirty," Kurt added as he checked the time. It was only eight which gave them plenty of time to get ready and head to the airport.
"When does Q come in?" Santana asked.
"I think in the afternoon. Rachel knows for certain what time so we don't have to worry about her. We just need to get Mr. Schue here before Rachel gets back from class so they can go to the appointment together," Kurt explained, while Santana nodded, actually interested in how this whole surprise was going to play out.
"Does this weird you out at all, even just a little bit?" she asked as she noticed this whole week that Kurt didn't even seem to be bothered by the situation at hand.
"I mean I guess it's a little weird but not totally out of the blue," Kurt said, thinking in his head of how many times Rachel got a solo over him out of clear favoritism. Mr. Schuester always had a soft spot for her even if he never thought he did.
"She was always one of his favorites, you know that," he added. "Anyways, what matters now is that we help them get through this. Not many people are supportive of their act, so we have to be nice and by we, I mean you, so no mean comments to him, please? Kurt asked while Santana folded her arms at him.
"Oh I can't promise you anything," she said, while Kurt rolled his eyes, expecting that answer.
"Okay, well let's get ready so we can pick him up," Kurt said as he dumped his tea into the sink and headed to his room with Santana following behind.
About thirty minutes later, Santana was waiting for Kurt by the door, arms folded across her chest.
"Still trying to pick out a ridiculous outfit to wear?" Santana shouted just as he walked out of his room.
"I was doing my skin care routine if you must know," he said with a scowl as he slid the door open while Santana laughed behind him.
Twenty five minutes later, the two were at the airport, waiting in the baggage claim, watching for Will. They spotted him with his carry on and sunglasses resting on top of his head. He smiled at them while he picked up the rest of his luggage.
"Mr. Schue," Kurt said as he gave him a hug once Will had brought everything over.
"Hi Kurt, Santana," Will said as Santana gave him a small pat on the back, still thinking it was a bit awkward to hug him.
"It's good to see you guys," Will commented.
"You too, although you don't look any different," Santana started to say, leaving Will to stare at her curiously.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I thought that since Rachel took your balls that you would stop wearing the sweater vests, but apparently not," Santana commented, causing Will to stare at her opened mouthed and Kurt in annoyance.
"Santana, we talked about this. I told you to be nice," Kurt whispered but Will heard anyway.
"It's fine, Kurt. I get that this situation is awkward but I'm trying my hardest to make it work between us and not just Rachel and I, but all of us," Will said as he motioned with his hands around the small group circle. "So, that being said, I would like it if you guys could call me Will now. I'm not your teacher anymore and I think it would make this whole thing a bit more comfortable if we were on a first name basis," Will explained.
"Okay, whatever you say, Papi Schue," Santana said with her Spanish accent showing through. Kurt gave Will a look of apology, not knowing what else he could do.
"Well let's get back to the loft before Rachel gets back. It's already ten," Kurt said glancing at his phone. They only had about a half hour before Rachel would arrive back and would want to leave to the appointment. That gave them just enough time to make it back before her.
Will silently nodded and followed the pair outside. They quickly hailed down a taxi cab and soon were on their way back to the loft.
With minimal time to spare, the three rushed up the steps and into the loft, Will quickly making his way back to Rachel's room where he would surprise her.
As Will dropped his luggage down, he let out a breath to calm himself. It was a different feeling being in Rachel's room again than before. Where he was only visiting last time and making her room temporary, this time her room was permanent. This was where he would be living for the next amount of years to come. No more would he need anything in Lima or DC. His life was now in New York and that thought scared him a little bit.
About ten minutes later, he heard the door slide open and he knew that Rachel was back. He heard Kurt and Santana's enthusiastic voices in the hallway, while he noticed that Rachel's was a bit somber. Of course it would be though, he didn't contact her all week. Where he was doing it on purpose to keep things secret that he was coming early, he knew that she must have thought he was ignoring her.
"I didn't get a letter again, Kurt," Rachel said while Will wondered what letter she was talking about. Maybe from someone back home, like Finn or her fathers?
"You still have tomorrow," Kurt said reassuringly.
"I thought I would have it by now," Rachel replied in annoyance.
"I know, but good things come to those who wait," Kurt reassured.
"I guess you're right but I'm tired of waiting," Rachel said as she breathed out.
"So are you ready to go to the appointment?" Rachel added as silence crept into the room. Kurt held back a smile as did Santana. Rachel eyed them curiously, but didn't question.
"Yeah, but first, Rachel you need to go to the bathroom and check out this mark on your face. I think your mascara smudged," Santana said pointing to her own cheek so Rachel could see where on her face.
"What?" Rachel asked confused, pretty confident nothing was on her face and that Santana was just playing her typical practical jokes. Will held back a chuckle as he heard them trying to get Rachel into the room. At this rate, he might as well just walk out himself. As he stood up, she walked in, head turned in opposite direction though.
"Fine, I'll go and see what it is," Rachel said as she turned her head fully forward, shock and surprise appearing on her face.
"Will?" Rachel said speechless. "What? How are you here?" she asked while Will smiled at her.
"My letter got approved and I was let go from the panel," Will explained. "I got your message about the appointment this week but came up with a better plan to surprise you. So I told Kurt Tuesday and he agreed to help me. So here I am," Will said, arms on his hips and a smile.
"So when you weren't answering, you were just trying to surprise me?" Rachel said in relief.
"Exactly," Will said as he now folded his hands in front of him, leaning back on his feet a bit.
"Will Schuester, I thought you were ignoring me," Rachel said with a light tap on his shoulder and a face that showed she was trying to be angry.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I know I should have told you but I wanted this to be a secret," Will said with a smile, amused by her anger.
"Well you had me worried but I'm glad you're here," Rachel replied, leaning in to give him a hug.
"Me too, should we get going to the appointment then? I don't want to be late," Will asked while Rachel nodded at him in approval.
They walked side by side out of her room, greeted by a grinning Kurt and a smirking Santana.
"Have a good appointment," Kurt called out as they reached the door.
"Thanks guys," Will said, sliding the door open and letting Rachel walk out first. "Thanks for helping me pull this off, Kurt," Will said while Kurt just nodded at him.
Once outside, the two walked down and grabbed a taxi.
"So are you nervous?" Will asked while he noticed Rachel playing with her hands.
"There isn't much to be nervous about, is there? I mean, it's the first appointment," Rachel said quickly, making Will reach down and grab her hands.
"You can be honest with me, Rachel," Will said knowing that Rachel was on the verge of a meltdown if she didn't tell him the truth that, yes, she was nervous.
"Okay, I am, just a little bit though," Rachel said as she looked at him, while he gave her a nod.
"Me too," Will commented, surprising her.
"Really?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, that's my future son or daughter and I want them to be healthy," Will said, noticing that Rachel was smiling at him.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm just glad to see you this way. Your old self," Rachel commented, squeezing his hand.
"I told you I was trying," Will said, with a smile, happy that Rachel approved of his attitude changed.
"I know. It's just refreshing to see you actually doing it," Rachel said.
Silence crept into the cab as Rachel continued to hold Will's hand. After what felt like a long journey, the cab finally pulled into the doctor's office. Rachel stepped out while Will paid for the cab and both headed inside.
"Hello, I'm Rachel Berry and I have an appointment at 11," Rachel said to the secretary at the front desk.
"Ah yes, please fill out these forms and we will be with you shortly," the secretary said as she handed Rachel a stack of papers. Rachel took them along with a pen and sat next to Will who was waiting for her.
About fifteen minutes later, Rachel finished filling out all the necessary questions and concerns. She stood up and handed back the papers and then took her seat next to Will again.
"Do you think it will be much longer?" Rachel asked. Will opened his mouth to speak but the door swung open, revealing a nurse.
"Rachel Berry," the nurse said causing Rachel to direct her attention away from Will, however, both stood up and made their way over to the nurse.
"Please follow me and a doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse said while Rachel nodded quietly.
After turning down numerous hallways, the nurse finally dropped them off into a room, Rachel sitting on top of the table and Will next to her in a chair.
After making small talk, a quiet knock on the door signaled that the doctor was ready for them.
"Hello, Ms. Berry," the doctor said sticking out her hand.
"Hi," Rachel shyly replied.
"And you are?" the doctor said looking over to Will.
"Will Schuester, father," Will said as he took her hand, while the nurse nodded her head in understanding.
"Pleasure to meet you both. I'm Doctor Cooper. Now, Rachel, what are we here for today?" Doctor Cooper asked.
"Well I'm pregnant," Rachel said while Doctor Cooper nodded at her.
"And this is your first appointment?" she asked while Rachel nodded yes.
"Okay well just for confirming results, Rachel, I will need you to do a urine test to find out exactly how far along you are," Doctor Cooper said while handing her a cup and a sanitary wipe.
"There is a bathroom right across the hall. I'll be waiting outside when you are done," Doctor Cooper said while Rachel nodded and walked out of the room. Will stood behind and waited patiently.
A couple of minutes later, Rachel was back with Will waiting for the results.
"Okay," Doctor Cooper said about ten minutes later.
"So it looks like that yes you are indeed pregnant," Doctor Cooper said with a smile.
"Well I knew that," Rachel said, while Will nodded in agreement.
"And you are also about four weeks pregnant," Doctor Cooper said.
"Just as I thought too," Rachel said.
"Do you have any questions, Rachel? It's rather early in the pregnancy so we don't normally do an ultra sound but if you have any burning questions, I'd like to answer them to the best of my ability," Doctor Cooper commented, making Rachel think.
"Well I'm not sure. This is my first time being pregnant and truthfully we weren't expecting so I'm not sure what to know," Rachel rambled feeling nervous and unprepared.
"That's perfectly normal for new mothers. Pregnancy is a complicated process that holds deeper questions than most people ask," Doctor Cooper explained.
"I guess I'm just a little nervous about what to expect. Is there anything I should start doing?" Rachel asked.
"Well for now, just eat healthy and take care of your body. Make sure that you are relaxed as over the next three months of the first trimester, your body will experience all kinds of physical and emotional changes," Doctor Cooper said.
"What about morning sickness? I've already started earlier this week. Is there anything I can do to help it?" Rachel asked.
"Try to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and also avoid foods that make you sick. Your taste buds will be changing though so take note of the foods that make you nauseous," Doctor Cooper explained while Rachel nodded in understanding.
"If that doesn't work, there are medications out there that could help but I don't want you to result to that, okay?" Doctor Cooper commented.
"Okay and can I still do physical activity? I'm in a dance class at my school," Rachel said.
"For now, yes, but the further you get along I will advise you to stop any unnecessary movements and lifting," Doctor Cooper said causing Rachel to groan that she would have to tell of her pregnancy to Cassie and Brody. She had avoided it again during dance class, but now it was a given that she wouldn't be able to hold the truth back much longer.
"Okay, thank you. Will, do you have any questions?" Rachel asked, looking over to him. He seemed perplexed and distracted, but he shook his head.
"Um, what should we do about prenatal vitamins?" Will asked, remembering that when Terri faked her pregnancy she had tons of prenatal vitamins stashed away for props.
"We can start you on some but maybe not until the ten week appointment as it is rather early still," Doctor Cooper said.
After a couple of more questions, silence crept into the room; signify that the appointment was almost over.
"Rachel, just remember that it's natural to be nervous but I'm here to help you both through this," Doctor Cooper said as she stood up leading Will and Rachel out.
"I would like to see you back in four weeks so we can do an ultrasound of the heart," Doctor Cooper said handing Rachel a slip of paper to turn into the front desk.
Rachel and Will nodded and both said their goodbyes. They headed out to make the next appointment and once done, both headed back out onto the busy street and hailed down a cab.
"You okay, Will?" Rachel asked as Will seemed relatively quiet throughout the whole appointment. She thought he would have many questions to ask but he seemed distracted and even overwhelmed a bit.
"I just can't believe this is real. I mean up until now, it has only been talk, but now that we've been to the doctor and discussed everything, it's real," Will explained, face showing a mixture of emotions.
"I know it's overwhelming, but we can do this," Rachel said as she grabbed his hand.
"I know we can. I think I'm just overwhelmed because it's real this time. With Terri, it was all fake and I fell for it like an idiot," Will said, Rachel now understanding. With Terri everything was a lie, making it hard for Will to believe in trust or not, which in turn, made things difficult with her. She wasn't going to do that to him though. This was going to be a partnership.
"Will, this is going to be different, okay? I'm not Terri and I will never treat you the way she did. And the biggest difference is that the baby is real this time," Rachel said, now moving her hand to place it on his face.
"And if nothing intimate comes out of this between us, I will still be here with you," Rachel said, gently stroking his jaw line.
Will smiled into her touch and placed his hand over hers, holding it tightly.
"Thank you, Rachel. You always have believed in me, even when I was at my lowest," Will said thinking back to his early days of depression. Rachel was the bright light though that made him change his ways and he was grateful for that.
Realizing the cab had stopped outside the apartment, Rachel and Will got out, Will once again paying the driver. The pair then made their way back up to the loft and Will slid the door open, letting Rachel walk in first.
"How did it go?" Kurt asked as he got up off the couch, making his way over to them.
"Good, it was just some general questions and answers. They weren't able to do an ultrasound though. That will be for the eight week appointment," Rachel said as she walked in, taking a place on the couch where Kurt once was.
"Good, so everything is normal?" Kurt asked.
"For the most part," Will said, taking a seat next to Rachel.
"That's a relief," he said, causing Rachel to nod in agreement. After a pause, she let out an accidental yawn.
"Why don't you go rest for a while, Rachel?" Will commented as he saw her slumped over on the couch, exhausted.
"I can't. I need to pick Quinn up soon," Rachel said. Quickly bolting up at her own words, she panicked.
"What time is it?" Rachel asked.
"12:45, why?" Will asked, concerned to see her sudden spread of worry.
"Quinn! I forgot to pick her up from the train station. Her train came in at noon," Rachel said hurriedly.
"Relax, Rachel. Santana went to go get her," Kurt said, seeing Rachel stop and think.
"Santana?" Rachel asked, confused.
"Yeah, she left about an hour and a half ago," Kurt explained. "She said Quinn tried calling you but you didn't answer, so she called her."
"I'm such a bad friend. I turned my phone off at the doctor's office," Rachel said with a soft sigh.
"Rachel, no you're not. You're just busy with adjusting to the pregnancy," Will commented.
"Will, I forgot to pick her up when we've had this planned for weeks," Rachel said, angrily.
"It's okay though. I'm sure Quinn will understand. She knew you had the appointment today," Will said, trying to calm her down.
"I, I guess you're right. Maybe I should go lie down for a bit," Rachel said as she slowed her breathing down, trying to relax herself again.
"I think that's a good idea," Kurt added in. He knew how stressed she had been this past week and wasn't entirely sure if she had even gotten any sleep.
"Wake me up when they get here, okay?" Rachel said as she went back to her room to lie down, leaving Will with Kurt in the sitting area of the loft.
"Welcome home," Kurt said to Will who just gave a small smile in return, taking in his surroundings of his new loft.