Only Time, Chapter Sixteen.

16 Weeks.

It was mid-April now and Regionals was fast approaching, well, in fact, Regionals was just a week away where the Warblers would be taking on the New Directions on their home turf. Wes was even more riled up than usual over the upcoming competition. Apparently the New Directions would have home court advantage which apparently set the Warblers at a disadvantage… mostly the boys has stopped listening to Wes wittering on about the advantages of a home stage; it really wasn’t a big of an impact once he had repeated the same thing over and over.

Nevertheless, this now meant Warbler practice was every night this week and set to be the same for the next week too and it was starting to take a toll on Kurt’s body. The only thing Kurt could be thankful for was that the Warblers choreography was nowhere near as drilling as the New Directions. Personally Kurt thought this would do them no favours in the competition but he didn’t dare voice his opinions on the matter with Wes on his murderous rampage, plus he wasn’t complaining; if it were anymore taxing Kurt was sure his body wouldn’t be able to take it anymore.

However, it seemed that by a little after 8pm on Thursday night, after four nights straight of three and four hour long practice sessions, in which Wes spent the time drilling the boys through every single show choir dance move, whether or not it was used in their chorography or not, Kurt’s body finally protested.

Kurt’s stomach twisted sickeningly and he knew there was no way he was going to make it to the bathroom in time. Instead he hurtled through the group of boys doing a fast paced side-step grape-vine step-ball-change triple-time-step routine (because according to Wes they were not moving in synch tonight no matter how many times they practiced the real choreography for the first number in their set) and threw up violently into the trashcan in the back corner of the room.

The worst of Kurt’s morning sickness had thankfully lessened in light of the anti-nausea medication and some of the little tips Carol had given him the weekend of the confrontation with his father. Yet, now, here it was back in full force and worse than ever. Kurt was shaking violently as he emptied the contents of his stomach painfully. The world felt like it was shaking beneath him and Kurt fell to his knees as they became too week to support him. Moments later he felt warm strong arms encircling him, supporting him where his own body was too week to stay upright despite still throwing up and dry heaving since his stomach had been completely emptied almost instantly with the violence of his sickness.

“Oh my God, Kurt, baby, what’s wrong, talk to me please, honey what happened.” Kurt could hear the pure fear in Blaine’s voice. Kurt felt so small, his body too brittle, as Blaine held him and he began to cry as he continued to dry heave. Kurt fell back into Blaine’s chest and panted; still unable to answer Blaine’s desperate questions as he fought to regain control of his own body.

From somewhere, in what seemed like the far distance, Kurt could hear Wes ordering the rest of the Warblers to give them space, and Nick and Jeff’s worried voices stood out from the buzz of indistinguishable voices saying something about cold towels and water but the words Kurt was hearing made no sense to him; like he could hear but not understand. Suddenly the world tipped sideways and he gaged nauseously as the movement caused his stomach to lurch again and his head to spin. Kurt felt his body being moved was rested somewhere soft and warm, which, as he fought the haze that covered him like a muffling blanket, he recognised to be Blaine’s lap where he would lay to nap some days after class after they had discovered the baby.

Right then all Kurt wanted to do was sleep since he couldn’t possibly throw up anymore. Instead he felt something cool and damp across his forehead and stomach. Kurt had no idea what it was but suddenly Nick and Jeff’s words made sense; wet towels. The cool, damp material felt soothing against his skin; especially at his forehead where it pushed away the dizziness which in turn very much helped the knotting feeling of sickness in his stomach where a second damp towel rested cooling off his distressed body which he had failed to notice was burning up from the physical exhaustion of the sickness.

“Kurt, Kurt, sweetheart please…” Blaine was cooing softly into his ear, but as that foggy haze began to lift he could hear the panic in Blaine’s voice again. Had he passed out? Kurt wondered to himself as he groggily tried to open his eyes and move his limbs. “Blaine?” Kurt called out desperately struggling to gain control of his body now the sickness had passed but he just felt so tired he thought as he began to drift to sleep…

No.

Kurt snapped up into a sitting position, he couldn’t sleep because something was wrong. He clutched his belly and began to cry in heaving sobs as strong, warm arms held him to a firm chest where he felt safe. Kurt tried to speak but his words were oven taken by his own tears, he tried to scream out but all that came was a moan and that made him want to lash out; frustrated at the fact he couldn’t get his words out. Kurt willed himself to calm down, he had to calm down because he could hear Blaine and Wes’s voices coming closer as the fog was almost gone from his mind, but Kurt still couldn’t make out their words and needed them to hear his. The baby, there had to be something wrong, he just knew he shouldn’t be throwing up and breaking down like this.

Willing himself to stop crying, Kurt breathed deeply, trying to listen to the words of the people in the room. Eventually Kurt felt calm enough to try to speak again and so lift his head from where he was buried into Blaine’s chest. “B-Blaine?” Kurt croaked out, his throat rough and dry. Kurt felt the arms around him seize up “Kurt, sweetheart, are you okay, I mean how are you feeling, oh god, baby I'm so glad, I was so scared.” Blaine’s words tumbled almost incoherently out of his mouth and Kurt could only nod but then closed his eyes to take a deep breath.

“The baby, Blaine, what about the baby?” Kurt could feel his tears welling up once more. But then the strong arms pulled him close once again. “Wes has the phone we talked Dr Harrison through it and she wasn’t you to come in just for a check-up, don’t worry” Blaine added the last words seeing the pure fear in his boyfriends eyes. “I promise she said not to worry, I told her about Warbler practice and she thinks it’s just exhaustion, working yourself too hard, but nothing serious, she only wants you to come in just to be sure because she knows how much we were worrying.” Blaine reassured him softly. Blaine’s voice was the only thing that could ground Kurt when he was so terrified.

“You guys want me to give you a lift to the doctors?” Kurt heard Wes asking, but everything except Blaine’s voice still sounded distant; almost dream like. “We’ll be fine Wes, just give him a few more moments then we’ll head out.” Kurt felt a hand leave his body and so followed it with his eyes to where Blaine was patting Wes on the arm. “Don’t blame yourself man, like Harrison said it’s all going to be fine, none of us thought this through or you know for a fact I would never have let Kurt do all of those extra practices, I never imagined…” Blaine trailed off, his voice choking off a little and Kurt frowned sadly, wishing for the strength to tell his friend that he wasn’t to blame for this episode, but Kurt’s mind was consumed with worry, no matter how many reassurances Blaine gave him, and he was just too tired to form the words.

“Sweetheart, do you think you can sit up for me?” Blaine asked, his voice soft and cautious, still holding Kurt to his chest. The fragile boy nodded slowly and tried to adjust his body into an upright position, squeezing his eyes shut willing himself to fight through how faint and week his body felt. Kurt hardly had the strength to force himself up right and all he could do was weekly call out for his love “Blaine, please, help” he gasped, his voice still shaky and rough. Blaine’s arms were tights around Kurt in an instant holding him upright “Okay Wes maybe we do need that lift if Kurt can’t stay sitting up himself.” Kurt could hear the fear return to his boyfriend’s tone after what had sounded so confident and sure when reassuring him about the safety of the baby.

“Okay I’ll go get my car and pull round as close to the doors as I can. Nick, Jeff, stay with these two will you?” Wes was back to his confident commanding head-of-the-Warblers tone. “Sure dude of course” Kurt recognised Jeff’s voice chime in but it lacked a little of his usual loud and cheery confidence. Footsteps echoed away before a new voice spoke up closer to Kurt. “Hey Kurt, try and drink some water yeah?” Kurt opened his eyes with a struggle but found Nick kneeling in front of him with a bottle of water. But Kurt couldn’t do it, he couldn’t keep his eyes open and it made him feel week, helpless even, as he called out to Blaine once more. “I- I can’t” he whimpered as his eyes flickered shut again.

No one ever saw Kurt Hummel week, he never showed hurt in front of others. Not the jocks who had bullied him, not even his family, even his father because he never wanted to put his father through seeing the pain. Blaine was the only one who had seen the pain in Kurt’s eyes and had let him in. Blaine had seen Kurt at his very best and very worst, but Kurt had never felt any physical pain like this, nor emotional pain as deep as the worry held in his heart for the safety of the life of his child. Kurt couldn’t find it in him to care about Wes, Nick, and Jeff seeing him like this, nothing in the world mattered to him right in this moment except his baby.

“Honey, please try and take a drink, I’ll help you if you need.” Blaine whispered into Kurt’s ear. Kurt could do nothing more than nod as he opened his mouth, feeling Blaine holding the bottle for him. Kurt took a few short sips; the cool water burned his throat and alerted him to the foul acid taste in his mouth which made him screw his face up in disgust. Kurt shook his head; unable to drink anymore he relaxed back into Blaine’s chest where he felt safe. The passage of time was something Kurt lost awareness of, it could have been moments or minutes or hours later that Wes’s voice reappeared, cutting off Nick and Jeff’s quiet conversation with Blaine.

“Kurt, sweetheart, do you think you can stand and walk with me?” Blaine asked, the worry still very much evident in his tone. But Kurt could barely keep his eyes open and his limbs felt numb and shaky, there was no way he would be walking anywhere right now. Once again all Kurt could do was shake his head and croak out a weak “help”. “I'm going to carry you okay baby” Blaine whispered and moments later Kurt felt himself being scooped up in Blaine’s strong arms which held him in close to his warm chest. “You okay there?” Kurt heard a worried Wes ask. “Yeah, no I'm fine, he’s so light, I mean three and half months, surely he should have put on some weight.” Blaine was whispering, clearly trying to make sure Kurt didn’t hear him But Kurt did hear and it made his heart pound with worry, and once more he tried in vain from breaking down but he couldn’t stop the tears seeping from his eyes as he clutched at his almost flat stomach where there was a faintest hint of firmness, more like a bloating than his usual abs.

The car ride was just a fleeting disorientated memory to Kurt as the travelled to Doctor Harrisons office in the back of Wes’s car with Kurt laying down, head in Blaine’s lap stroking the pregnant boy’s hair softly. Dr Harrison met the boys at the door with a wheelchair and after a flurry of worried conversation Kurt found himself laying on the same exam table as where they had first seen their baby on the ultrasound.

Dr Harrison appeared by Kurt’s side when he finally caught his grip on his new position half laying down he finally was able to open his eyes for more than a few seconds. On his other side Kurt found Blaine with hair sticking up at every angle due to the slick coating the gel gave but as though he had been repeatedly running his hands through it. Kurt felt his hand in someone else’s, somewhere warm and comforting where they fit perfectly together. Of course it was Blaine holding on for dear life and Kurt gave his boyfriends hand a reassuring squeeze even though he was torn up with nerves himself.

“Okay Kurt, I want to take your vitals and blood work just to be sure but it sounds like a case of over exertion as your body adjusts to the baby but I won’t let you leave until I know you are both fit and healthy.” Doctor Harrison smiled but Kurt could only cringe at the sound of bloods being taken, it made him shudder. He still very much hated anything medical but he knew he had to do this for his child who was relying on him. “Here we go, let’s take the blood first then it should be screened by the time I do the other few tests.” Kurt nodded end held out his arm. “Look at me baby” Blaine said softly, catching Kurt’s eyes and leaning to kiss the back of the hand held in his. Kurt flinched a little at the sting of the needle and scrunched his face up but keeping his eyes locked with Blaine’s honey ones. Oh how Kurt hoped their son or daughter would have those deep hazel orbs that seemed to change colour with Blaine’s emotions.

Quickly the pain was over and a nurse appeared to take away the blood sample. “Now then do you thing you can manage to stand up so I can weigh you and take some measurements?” The Doctor asked kindly, with a concerned expression having obviously heard the full story from Blaine. “I think I might, the dizziness has gone and I don’t feel so sick anymore.” At those words Kurt could visibly see Blaine’s face relax and light up which in turn pulled a small smile onto Kurt’s lips. “How about you sit up and I can measure around your stomach where the baby is then get you on the scales and that should be enough until we get your bloods back.” Kurt mumbled an okay before beginning to shuffle into a sitting position. It took a lot more energy than Kurt ever imagined sitting up could take but thankfully the room only swayed a tiny bit and Blaine was right there hold him. “I think I'm okay now” he said gently testing sitting up by himself. He felt stable for the first time and allowed himself a sigh of relief.

Doctor Harrison wrapped the tape measure around Kurt’s waist with his shirt on then asked him to remove his shirt to do the same again. Kurt felt a little self-conscious with his shirt off, something he had always felt, although he had been very much beginning to battle that once he had Blaine had become more intimate. “Now on the scales please” Dr Harrison prompted after she had written down the measurements she had taken. Kurt slid off the exam table gently and he thanked any and every deity he could think of that the floor remained solid beneath him and the nausea stayed away. Kurt took off his shoes and, still shirtless, stood up on the scales. He heard the doctor hum before telling him he was okay to sit back down and redress.

Once he was sat back on the bed, which, thankfully, Blaine had raised the back of so he didn’t have to lie back down because he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to sit all the way up from a laying position again, Harrison wrote some notes before coming back over to the boys holding each other’s hands firmly. “Right then Kurt, I am fairly sure it was simply a matter of exhaustion, especially now because you are under weight than what we would expect at 16 weeks. You are in your third trimester now and should be putting on weight and you have not improved from the last time we met. What I’d like to do is keep you for a couple of hours and run through an IV to rehydrate you after the sickness then depending on your blood work I may give you extra vitamins just to ensure your baby is healthy. I want you to make sure you are eating enough and refrain from any too rigorous exercise. Light exercise is recommended but nothing that will put too much strain on you.”

Kurt could see Blaine’s worried expression from the corner of his eye and Kurt himself could feel that fear. This was his own fault, he had worked his body too hard, he could have seriously hurt his baby- their baby. Seemingly Doctor Harrison could see their fear because a moment later she was pulling over the ultrasound machine and hooking it up. “Okay boys; let’s see if seeing your baby might help you cool down. Kurt would you roll up your shirt, remember this is cold.” She picked up the bottle of blue gel as Kurt pulled up his shirt and she squirted it onto his abdomen. She moved the probe around for a few moments until she smiled and turned the screen to face Kurt and Blaine.

They were just as speechless as the first time they had seen their little baby. There he or she was, looking more like a baby now than before and bigger too with clearly defined limbs.

“I- It’s-“ Blaine stuttered out, his eyes glistening over. Kurt fairing no better and not even attempting speech as he watched their baby on the screen as the Doctor moved the probe around his abdomen pointing out his or her features. “Perfect” Blaine whispered, leaning to kiss Kurt on the forehead and wipe the tear tracks from his cheeks. Kurt tore his eyes from the picture to meet Blaine’s where silent tears were only just breaking the dam. “I love you Blaine.” He whispered. “I love you too, Kurt. So much you wouldn’t believe, and our baby too I love you so much.” Blaine’s voice cracked with the tears but the smile on his face was something Kurt wanted to capture forever. The pure joy radiating from the face of the man he loved, the father of his baby.

Doctor Harrison then flipped a switch and there it was a faint echoing thrumming was reverberating around the room and Kurt let out a small “oh” with a sharp intake of breath and his eyes instantly searched the screen in front of him and looked up to see the smile on the Doctors face. “That’s your baby’s heart beat” She smiled warmly between the two boys and Kurt began to sob softly and the tears were falling from Blaine’s eyes in earnest now too.

“Everything in the womb seems perfectly healthy though the little on is on the smaller side of what I would like to see. But your womb is developing nice and healthily as it should since as I told you before there was a fully formed womb where as some men have just a small membrane rather than the womb the same as a woman.” Doctor Harrison looked up from her spiel as the nurse returned with the blood test results and nodded in thanks before reading over the papers and the two boys held their breath.

“Looks like everything is perfectly fine.”

Kurt burst into tears again and Blaine pulled him into a tight hug minding the gel that was still across Kurt’s stomach. “I love you, I love you, I love you so much.” Blaine whispered frantically as Kurt held his boyfriend in a death grip hug. “She’s going to be okay Blaine oh God she’s really okay.” Kurt cried into his boyfriend’s neck.

“Yes, all your bloods are fine. Your little one is healthy, just a little underweight so as long as you can get that weight up in the next few weeks you should both be completely fine. Sometimes men’s bodies do take a little more to adjust to the pregnancy but there is nothing to worry about here.” Doctor Harrison confirmed with a smile and misty eyes. “I take it you will want some print outs of the sonogram?” She chuckled as the boys wiped each other’s tears and she passed them a box of tissues before turning her attention to the ultrasound machine.

Once Kurt and Blaine had dried their tears and cleaned up the gel from Kurt’s stomach Dr Harrison handed them both little envelopes of pictures. “Thank you so much Doctor-“ Kurt began but Harrison cut him off with a smile, “call me Jenifer boys, Doctor Harrison makes me sound way too old” the middle aged woman chuckled and pulled them both in for a motherly hug. “Now when you come back in four weeks for your twenty week appointments I want to see you have put on some weight do you hear me?” She said with a stern tone but with a smile on her face. Kurt and Blaine chuckled and Kurt nodded vigorously. “Now get yourselves next door and the Nurse will set up an IV for some fluids for you which should take about an hour so I suggest you get a nap in. You won’t be getting much sleep once the little one arrives.” She smiled and waved them out.

After five awkward minuets of the Nurse setting up Kurt’s IV while he sat uncomfortably in the hospital bed they were finally alone in the silence of the small clinical room where the closed door shut off all the sounds from the corridor; of disgruntled patients and unruly children. Blaine gently kissed Kurt on the forehead before the latter almost jumped off the bed in shock. Blaine chuckled “I didn’t mean to surprise you”. Kurt shook his head “No I just remembered that all of this happened in the choir room, in front of the Warblers.” Kurt’s brow furrowed in worry. He still wasn’t ready to announce this to all of the Warblers, especially since Finn still didn’t know, nor did his girls at McKinley.

Blaine raised his eyebrows in confusion for a moment but then shook his head. “No it’s fine Kurt, Wes got them all out except Nick and Jeff since they know, he told them you had a stomach bug and they seemed to believe it. In fact they seemed pretty glad practice got cut short, so I think they all love you right now.” Blaine chuckled and Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, one less thing to fret over. Though maybe Blaine had been right all along, maybe it would be easier once they told everyone and didn’t have to hid it all. It was easier now his parents and Cooper and Wes, Nick and Jeff knew; they had people to talk to if it became too much, or like today they needed to get to the doctors. But Kurt didn’t think he was quite ready to face the whole world yet.

The pale boy sighed deeply before turning onto his side to face Blaine, being careful not to pull the IV line from his arm. “Come up here with me?” Kurt whispered to his boyfriend who looked cautious for a moment before shrugging and carefully sliding in beside Kurt and putting an arm around his waist. “Sleep baby” Blaine whispered. Kurt softly kissed Blaine on the cheek as his eyes fluttered shut “oh, and I love you too” Kurt mumbled as he fell asleep in his lovers arms.