Hey guys. Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter. I really appreciate them. This is definitely one of my favorite chapters and I was excited to post it. Photos of Rachel's dress and the bridesmaid dress are on the Tumblr for this fanfic :) Enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!
Since today is Lea's birthday, this chapter is dedicated to her. Happy Birthday Lea! The Finchel fans love you!
Chapter 42: A Dress And A Ring
Rachel looked out of the window on the plane from New York to Lima. She had to admit she was excited about this trip - she was looking forward to meeting Mr. and Mrs. Schuester's son, she was excited to see her dads and she had made an appointment at the David's Bridal in Lima to go try on wedding dresses with her bridesmaids, who would be trying on their dresses as well. The other bridesmaids were all going to be in Lima this weekend, so it felt like a good time.
Rachel flipped through the photos of the potential wedding dresses she'd looked at on her phone. She'd gone to the David's Bridal near their apartment in New York to look at dresses and had taken photos of some of the ones she liked. Finn peered over Rachel's shoulder, and Rachel closed the album. "Finn, you know you can't see the dresses I have in mind!"
"Are you sure you need a wedding dress?" Finn asked Rachel. "You already have one from last time."
"Yes, I'm sure," Rachel said. "You already saw me in the last one, and they say it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in the dress before the wedding. Look at what happened last time around."
"I guess you do have a point," Finn admitted. "I bet you're excited to pick out the right dress though."
"I'm so excited," Rachel said. "I went to the David's Bridal near us here to start looking at dresses to get ideas, but with Kurt and all my bridesmaids with me, it's going to be different."
"Of course," Finn said. "I know you picked out your bridesmaids, but have you decided who you want as your maid of honor yet?"
"I know we just found out we were sisters last summer, but I really do want Kylie as my maid of honor," Rachel told Finn. "I always wanted a sister, and I was so happy when I finally found out I had one. And we've gotten so close since we found out, it's like we knew our whole lives."
"Siblings often are the maid of honor or the best man," Finn said.
"That's true," Rachel said. "And Kurt is your best man."
"Yeah," Rachel said. "I am excited to try on dresses with the girls this weekend."
"Whichever one you choose, I'm sure you'll look amazing in it," Finn said.
"Thank you," Rachel said. There was something else she wanted to ask Finn about her wedding dress fitting, but was slightly reluctant to. "Finn?"
"Yeah?" Finn said.
"It's customary for the bride's mother to go to the wedding dress fitting, but Shelby really can't go to places like that right now, even if I was getting fitted in New York," Rachel said. "My dads admitted they don't think they'll be much help, so I was wondering - do you think your mom would be willing to go with me?"
"I'm sure she would," Finn said. "My mom really loves you."
"Really?" Rachel asked. "Your mom's really been like a mom to me ever since we started dating."
"I'm sure she'd love to go with you," Finn said.
x
When Rachel arrived in Lima, she spent the first evening with her dads, but she knew there were two things she wanted to do before going to the bridal shop. She drove to Kylie's house first because she was less nervous about asking Kylie than asking Carole. Rachel went to the door and rang the bell, and Kylie came to answer. "Hey," Rachel said.
"Hey," Kylie said. "I'm glad you're here to visit."
"Yeah, I'm glad too," Rachel said. "I'm excited to meet little Daniel Schuester and of course to see you and my dads and everyone else back in New Directions."
"I'm glad you could come," Kylie told Rachel. "I talk on the phone with Shelby a lot, but I wish I could come visit you and Shelby and Beth in New York more, especially with everything that's going on."
"I understand," Rachel said. "Shelby understands, too. You're in school."
"Hopefully I'll be able to come during spring break," Kylie said.
"I'd love that," Rachel said. "So, I actually came over to ask you something."
"What's up?" Kylie asked.
"Well, I already asked you about being a bridesmaid in my wedding, but I've been doing some thinking, and I wanted to ask you before we all get fitted for our dresses if you'd like to be my maid of honor," Rachel said.
Kylie smiled wide. "You want me to be your maid of honor?"
"Of course," Rachel said. "I know we just found out that we were sisters and we've only known each other a year, but it feels like we've known that our whole lives and I'm so glad we found out we're sisters."
Kylie gave Rachel a hug. "I'd love to be your maid of honor."
"Good!" Rachel said. "You obviously know Tina from last year and Santana from New York, and you've met Mercedes, Brittany and Quinn. They're the other bridesmaids. Kurt is Finn's best man, and his groomsmen are Blaine, Sam, Artie, Mike and Puck."
"Cool. So does this mean I plan your bachelorette party?" Kylie asked.
Rachel laughed. "Well - you might have to share that role with Kurt."
"Okay, he'd probably be better at that than I would," Kylie said. The girls spent some time together before Rachel drove to Finn's house. When she arrived, she rang the bell and Carole answered the door. "Hi Rachel!" Carole said, giving Rachel a hug.
"Hi Carole," Rachel said. "How are you today?"
"I'm great, now that the boys are home," Carole said. "Finn's at Puck's now, and Kurt went to Mercedes's..."
"It's fine, I actually came to talk to you," Rachel said.
"Really?" Carole asked, letting Rachel in.
Rachel sat down on the couch. "Yeah. I don't know if Kurt told you, but I have an appointment tomorrow to try on wedding dresses."
"He told me," Carole said. "That's so exciting. I can't wait for you to be my daughter-in-law."
Rachel smiled. "Thanks Carole. I was actually wondering - traditionally the bride's mother goes to the bridal shop to try on wedding dresses. Since Shelby's sick, she probably wouldn't be able to do that with me even if I was in New York. Ever since Finn and I started dating, you've always been like a mother to me, and you've treated me like a daughter. I was wondering if maybe you could come with me, Kurt and the girls?"
Carole took Rachel's hand. "Rachel, I've always loved you like a daughter and thought of you as the daughter I never had. I'd love to come to the bridal shop with you."
"Thank you," Rachel said, giving Carole a hug. "I'm so excited to have you as my mother-in-law."
"I couldn't have asked for a better woman for my son," Carole said.
x
"So, today you're getting your wedding dress," LeRoy said to Rachel. It was the day of the appointment at the bridal shop, and Rachel was having breakfast with her dads before going.
"Yes," Rachel said. "What's the limit this time? I know last time the limit was $200."
"There's no limit this time," LeRoy said. "We did a limit last time because we had a feeling it wouldn't end up happening, but we know that this time you're old enough and mature enough."
"We want you to get the most beautiful and perfect dress you can find," Hiram added.
Rachel gave both of her dads a hug. "Thank you so much!"
"So, the girls are going to help you pick one out?" Hiram asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Kurt's coming, too, and so is Finn's mom."
"Well, she'd probably be more help with finding the right dress than we would," LeRoy said.
"Don't worry, between Carole, Kurt and my bridesmaids, I'm sure I'll find the best dress possible," Rachel said.
"Okay, get a perfect dress!" Hiram said.
Rachel drove to the bridal shop, and when she arrived, Kurt, Carole, Santana, Mercedes, Tina, Quinn, Brittany and Kylie were all waiting there. "Finally!" Kurt said.
"You all beat me here!" Rachel said.
The sales clerk came up to Rachel. "You're the bride?"
"Yes I am!" Rachel said proudly.
"What's your name?" the clerk asked.
"Rachel Berry," Rachel said. "This is my sister Kylie and my friends Santana, Tina, Mercedes, Quinn and Brittany. They're my bridesmaids. I also brought Kurt, my best friend and my future brother-in-law, and my future mother-in-law, Carole, with me."
"You look familiar, have you been here before?" the clerk asked.
So this clerk remembered Rachel from her fitting when she was a senior in high school. Rachel tried to think of the right thing to say. "Yes, I've been here before. The timing just wasn't right then."
"And yes, other than her sister, we are the same group from last time," Mercedes told the clerk.
"Okay then," the clerk said. "Rachel, do you have any idea what type of dress you want? Long, short, long sleeved, short sleeved?"
"I'm not really sure," Rachel admitted, looking around the store. "Last time my dads said the limit was $200. There isn't a limit this time."
"Rachel, go all out this time," Tina said.
"Yeah, this time it's really happening," Mercedes said.
"Okay," Rachel said.
"What about your bridesmaids?" the clerk asked. "What color were you thinking they'd wear?"
"I was thinking blue," Rachel said.
"Good, this time I don't need to make nice with pink," Santana said.
The clerk handed Rachel a color pallette. "These are the colors we offer."
Rachel showed the pallette to the girls. "What do you guys think of these?"
"You pick, Rachel, it's your wedding," Tina said.
Rachel looked at the pallette and then pointed at a sky blue color. "I like this one."
The girls said that they liked that color as well and Rachel told them they could pick out a dress after they chose the wedding dress. Rachel went around the store with Carole, Kurt and the girls, picking up multiple dresses. As Rachel tried on the various dresses, she liked most of them, but was still waiting for the one she knew was right.
After a few hours of trying on dresses, Rachel reached for a long ivory white dress with one shoulder strap and a beaded pattern on it. When Rachel put it on, she thought she looked beautiful in it. She stepped out of the dressing room and stood in front of her friends. "What do you guys think of this one? I love it."
"You look beautiful," Kurt said.
"I think that's the best one so far," Mercedes added.
"You guys really like it?" Rachel asked, looking in the mirror again.
"Finn is going to swoon when he sees you," Tina said.
"Yeah Rachel, this one's my favorite," Kylie said.
"I know my son and that one would be his favorite," Carole said.
"So you guys think this is the one?" Rachel asked.
"Well, you think so, right?" Brittany asked.
"Yes!" Rachel said.
"Then I guess we're all in agreement," Quinn said. "This is your wedding dress."
"Thank you girls so much," Rachel said. "I couldn't have found it without you."
"I am the one who suggested that one," Santana said.
"Thank you," Rachel said. "Now let's find the perfect dress for my lovely bridesmaids."
The girls spent some time trying on dresses before selecting a short dress in the blue Rachel had selected. The dress was somewhat of a wrap dress with a shoulder on the opposite side of Rachel's and came up to the girls' knees. Rachel would have a sash the same color as the girls' dresses on her dress as well. "Not only did you find a perfect dress for yourself, you found the perfect one for us," Kylie said as the girls looked in the mirror.
"Yeah Rachel, I love this," Tina added.
"So much better than the last one," Santana said.
Wearing her dress and seeing the girls in theirs, Rachel now knew that they were close to being ready for the wedding. "I can't believe it!" Rachel said. "We're almost ready for my wedding!"
"Yes," Kurt said. "We're almost ready for your wedding."
x
While the girls went to the bridal shop, Finn went to Mike's house with the other glee guys who'd graduated to play xbox. Usually he was good at xbox games, but today he was having a bit of trouble staying focused and got eliminated after the first level. What had Rachel's dress looked like? Was it different from her last one? Had she picked one yet?
"I just wonder what dress Rachel picked out," Finn said.
"Finn, you know you can't see it," Sam said. "She told you back in New York that it's bad luck. And look what happened last time when you saw it."
"I guess," Finn sighed.
"Speaking of proposals - " Blaine began.
Finn practically dropped his remote control. "When are you going to do it?"
"I was thinking this weekend, when everyone's here," Blaine said. "And I wanted to do a proposal number, like what Mr. Schue did for Miss Pillsbury.
"Do you have a song in mind?" Artie asked.
"I do," Blaine said. "I was hoping you guys would help, and I'm going to ask Mr. Schue if the current New Directions can help out too."
"Of course we'll help out," Mike said. "It's hard to believe that after this happens there's going to be two engaged couples in the alumni."
"I know," Sam said. He looked at Mike. "You're okay with me dating Tina, right?"
"Yeah, you're in New York with her," Mike said. "I've been dating a girl in Chicago, so..."
Finn saw that Mike did look uncomfortable and tried to change the subject. "So, Blaine, where were you thinking of having this proposal?"
"The auditorium," Blaine said. "What I had in mind was me on the stage at first, then you guys join in on the first chorus, then the girl alumni come on stage for the second, and then the current New Directins join us for the last chorus."
"I bet Kurt will like that," Finn said. "Though he'd like any proposal."
"I just want him to get the best," Blaine said.
"That's how I thought about Rachel," Finn said. "I went through so many theoretical proposals in my head before I finally decided how I was going to do it."
"When we go visit Mr. Schue to meet the baby later today, you can ask him," Puck told Blaine.
"Kitty said the baby's really cute," Artie said.
"Well, the pictures we've seen are," Blaine said.
x
Later that day, the New Directions alumni went to Mr. and Mrs. Schuester's house to meet their son Daniel. Finn was hoping that Rachel would manage to show a picture of her wedding dress and he'd get a peek, but he didn't seem to have any luck with it.
Rachel was talking with the other glee girls graduates and some of the current members of New Directions. "Your dress is so pretty, Rachel," Finn heard Marley say.
Finn went over to the girls. "How did you see it?"
"Maybe I should delete the picture off my phone," Rachel giggled.
"Yeah, maybe you should," Kitty said.
Finn pouted. Why hadn't he thought to look on Rachel's phone for the pictures? "You'll see her on the wedding day, Finn," Mercedes said.
"I guess," Finn sighed.
Mr. and Mrs. Schuester came downstairs with their son. "Ready to meet him?" Mr. Schue asked.
Finn went over and looked at the baby his former guidance counselor was holding. "He's so cute!"
"He looks like you, Mr. Schue," Rachel said. "Only with red hair."
"My parents are very happy he ended up having red hair," Mrs. Schuester said. "Everyone in the family's ginger except Will and my one blond niece."
"Yeah, I remember her," Artie said.
The rest of the day was spent at Mr. and Mrs. Schuester's house, giving them presents for the baby and spending time with both old and new New Directions members. Blaine whispered to Finn at one point that Mr. Schue had told them that he'd keep the current New Directions a little longer to work on their part of the proposal number for Kurt.
x
"Finn, why does Blaine want me to meet him in the McKinley auditorium today?" Kurt asked Finn.
Finn knew why. But he couldn't say. "I don't know."
"It's such an odd request," Kurt said.
"Well, I'm sure that he wants to spend some time with you," Finn said. "And the auditorium's a special place for all of us."
"True, I guess," Kurt said. "But just... it's a bit of an odd request."
"Well, I'm sure whatever he has in mind, it'll be great," Finn said. "I have to go run some errands. You have fun with Blaine at the auditorium."
"I will," Kurt said. "Have fun running errands."
Finn left and drove to McKinley, where Blaine was waiting with Sam. No one else had arrived yet. "Was Kurt suspicious at all?" Blaine asked.
"He was wondering why you wanted to meet him in the auditorium," Finn said. "I tried not to give it away..."
"Well, I hope he says yes," Blaine said.
"Of course he will!" Sam said.
The other New Directions alumni eventually arrived, as did the current members of New Directions. When Kurt arrived, everyone was in the wings of the auditorium except Blaine.
"Hi," Finn heard Kurt say.
"Hi," Blaine said.
"What's going on?" Kurt asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," Blaine said. "Actually, I wanted to sing to you about something. And this auditorium is such a special place for us, I wanted to do it here."
"Okay," Kurt said.
Puck, Sam and Artie began playing their guitars as Blaine began singing. The other New Directions male alumni entered the stage at the first chorus to sing backup, Puck, Sam and Artie still playing their guitars and Finn taking a seat at the drums. The female alumni went on stage to join in as backup on the second chorus, and the current New Directions came on stage for the last chorus.
Blaine: Staring out at the rain with a heavy heart
It's the end of the world in my mind
Then your voice pulls me back like a wake up call
I've been looking for the answer
Somewhere
I couldn't see that it was right there
But now I know what I didn't know
Blaine with Finn, Sam, Artie, Mike and Puck: Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, boy
My world has twice as many stars in the sky
Blaine: It's alright, I survived, I'm alive again
Cuz of you, made it through every storm
What is life, what's the use if you're killing time
I'm so glad I found an angel
Someone
Who was there when all my hopes fell
I wanna fly, looking in your eyes
Blaine with New Directions alumni: Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, boy
My world has twice as many stars in the sky
Because you live, I live
Blaine: Because you live there's a reason why
I carry on when I lose the fight
I want to give what you've given me always
Blaine with New Directions and alumni: Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, boy
My world has twice as many stars in the sky
Blaine: Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, boy
My world has everything I need to survive
Because you live, I live, I live
Kurt had his hand on his heart at the end of the song and looked up at Blaine. "Wow, that was so sweet. And you sounded great, and that's how I feel about you..."
"That's how I feel about you, too," Blaine said. "Remember the first time we met, how I took your hand and ran down the hall with you?"
"Yeah," Kurt said. "I remember."
"I usually don't do that with people," Blaine said. "But when I took your hand and we went down the hall together, I loved the way your hand felt in mine, and maybe that was my first clue. When you sang Blackbird, I knew for sure that you were the one I'd been looking for. You are the most amazing man ever, and I feel so lucky to have found you. You're the only person for me, and I know it. You make me feel so loved and so special, ways no one else ever has or ever could make me feel. I want to be the man for you for the rest of our lives. I want to be the one you spend your life with. I want you to wake up every morning forever and know you're with someone who loves you so, so much. So, Kurt Hummel..." Blaine got off the stage and knelt in front of Kurt, reaching into his pocket and getting out the ring. "Will you marry me?"
Kurt teared up and smiled at Blaine. "Yes! Of course!"
Blaine slipped the ring on to Kurt's finger as they kissed and hugged each other and the rest of the group applauded. Even though it hadn't been the right time for Finn and Rachel and Blaine and Kurt to get engaged in the past, now it was, and all four of them couldn't be happier.
Chapter 43 preview: Back in New York, the court date is approaching for the apartment break-in, and the group is preparing to move into their new apartment. Finn and Rachel both receive big news career-wise.
SONG: Because You Live by Jesse McCartney
10 reviews unlock Chapter 43!