“So, great practice, Apples!” Adam praised the group.  Kurt smiled at his fellow glee clubbers.  They were an … odd lot, as Adam might say, an assortment of sweet, gentle misfits of all shapes and sizes, rarities in a school made up mainly of of self-perceived superstars with dancers' bodies, models' faces, and rattlesnake's hearts. They reminded him of the New Directions, especially the original group of himself, Tina, Rachel and Artie, and he sorely needed the camaraderie these days.  Rachel had refused to join the Apples once she won her Showcase and her star began to rise at NYADA.  Between his expanding waistline, his fatigue, and the hours he spent keeping hospital-bound Blaine company, he was having trouble fitting in at NYADA and had no other friends here.

Adam clapped his hands together for attention.  “Thank you, everyone.  As you know, the New York Metropolitan Area Collegiate Show Choir Sectionals is in three short weeks.  As you can imagine, we'll be up against some major talent from world-class performing arts colleges in the city.  So … starting this week, we'll be working on our setlist.”  He reached into his canvas bag.  “Which I have right here.  I'll pass this out and I expect all of you to learn your parts by our next practice.”

Kurt raised his hand.  “Will we be trying out for leads next practice, then?”

Adam cleared his throat and handed Kurt a set of sheet music.  “Well … the group is Adam's Apples, Kurt … I'd anticipated singing all the leads …”

Kurt's heart sank.  Here we go again.  Second banana in show choir yet again.

“... but maybe you're right,” Adam finished, with a thoughtful nod and a sly wink.  

Kurt noticed the other Apples looking at each other, seemingly annoyed.

Still holding Kurt's gaze, Adam continued, “I'll tell you what.  The set list has my signature song, ‘Baby Got Back,' of course.  But you'll see from your sheet music, that I've also done acoustic versions of ‘Bust a Move' by Young MC, and ‘It Takes Two' by Rob Base.  You all may submit a rearranged version of one of those two songs, reworking it as a duet backed by the rest of the choir, and submit it to me by e-mail by tomorrow night.  I'll select the best three submissions, and we'll have a sing-off at the next meeting.  Whoever I feel did the best job, will get the duet spot.  Fair enough?”

Kurt felt like he was bursting with excitement.   A chance for a lead vocal in our first competition.  Finally! I'll get right to work on it.  

Kurt began gathering up his messenger bag, stashing the music in the outside pocket, when Adam called out again, “Oh, by the way, all … with Sectionals so close, we can't rely on weekly practices.  We'll have practice three times a week, attendance mandatory.  See you all on Monday, 4:00.”

As the others filed out of the rehearsal hall, Kurt stood frozen in place.   When they were alone in the room, Adam looked up and smiled.  “Hey.  Still here? You're usually out of here so fast it's like you got shot out of a cannon.”

“My cheerleading coach tried that a few times, but never succeeded,” Kurt remarked.  

Adam laughed, and then subsided when Kurt looked at him, eyebrow raised.  “I wasn't joking, I'm sorry to say.”

“Wow.  You must tell me more about this high school of yours.  Listen … do you want to get a cup of coffee or something?  It's still early.”

“Well, I - actually, I needed to talk to you privately about the audition.”

“Sure.  What's up, buttercup?”  Adam asked, leaning on his desk and crossing his arms.

“I - - I can't make it to practice Monday,” Kurt blurted out.  “I have … an appointment.”

Adam looked at him intently.  “Oh.  An audition?”

Kurt felt his face heating up.  “No.  It's a doctor's appointment, actually.”

Adam paused and then reached out, squeezing Kurt's arm lightly.  “Kurt, you had a doctor's appointment last week.  I don't mean to pry; but is everything all right?”

Pulling back out of Adam's grip, Kurt shook his head, already regretting he'd said that much.  “I'd rather not discuss it, but it's nothing serious or life-threatening or anything like that.  Don't worry, Adam.  Really.  I'm fine.”

“So … change the appointment, then.  There's still time, it's only Thursday, I'm sure you can reschedule it.”

“I don't think I can, though,” Kurt said reluctantly.  That was the day of his fetal anatomy ultrasound.  He and Blaine were both looking forward to it so much, and it was important.

Adam sighed and went around the desk, picking up his knapsack.  “Kurt, look.  I can't start making excuses for you even if you are a friend.  You have to realize we're up against some major competition at Sectionals, as tough as any we'll see at Regionals or even Nationals.”

“I know, but this appointment is kind of important,” Kurt tried to explain.  “I'd rather not miss it … but … if it's that big of a deal, I guess I can come straight back here afterwards.  I'd be a little late, but is that okay?”

Adam paused.  “Yeah, I'll overlook it on one condition.  That you treat me to coffee?”

Kurt gulped and looked at the clock on the wall over Adam's head.  If he lingered over coffee with Adam, he'd be late to the hospital to see Blaine … but … he nodded.  “Sure.  Just … gimme a minute, okay?”

“Sure,” Adam said, smiling broadly, as Kurt tapped out a text to Blaine.  I'm stuck @ thing for Apples c u asap.  He shoved the phone in his pocket with a guilty twinge and followed Adam out of the room.

                *        *         *            *         *

Blaine reached up from his wheelchair beside Kurt's exam table to take Kurt's hand.  “You okay, Kurt?  You seem so tense.”   He squeezed Kurt's hand.  “I know you're not used to all this,” he murmured, nodding at the transducer running through the gel over Kurt's belly.

Kurt grimaced and squirmed slightly in his paper gown in the cold room. “I definitely have a new appreciation for what pregnant ladies go through. Quinn would be happy to see me like this, I guess.”

Dr. Shelley hooted.  “This? This is nothing.  Try getting a speculum jammed up in your nether regions and cranked open.  Or passing an eight-pound human through there.  Neither of which you two will have to do.”  She patted Kurt on the abdomen, and glanced over at Dr. Ryan.  “Everything looks fantastic, Kurt.  Right on schedule. And your amnio results are back - also 100% normal.”

Kurt let out the breath he'd been holding, and let the relief surge through him.   On some level, he had feared that the baby might have wings or a tail, or some other magical appendage, given its mystical origins.  Or, even worse, that … that it would be unhealthy in some way.  It just seemed impossible, as a pregnant man, that things could still be normal for his baby.  He struggled to hold back tears, looking at the delicate profile on the screen.   Terror was still there, hiding in the far reaches of his heart, terror at the freakish circumstances, at the immense responsibility and change ahead, at the physical changes still to come.  But at the moment, the doctor's reassurances that little Baby Hummel was developing normally helped soothe those fears.  He studied the baby's features, and pointed at the screen with a shaky hand.

“I think it has my nose,” he whispered.  “And your chin, what do you think?”

Blaine chuckled warmly.  “I think it's beautiful.  Just like you.”  Kurt turned to smile into Blaine's face.  

“Do you boys want to know the sex?”

Kurt looked at Blaine again.  He had wanted to save the sex of this baby as a surprise, but he knew Blaine was dying to know.  And he supposed it would be fun to know.  For clothing and decorating purposes.  “Okay, if you can tell for sure,” he gave in.  Blaine squeaked excitedly.

“It's definitely another baby girl … and there's another aspect we can tell you from the amnio. Something fascinating, actually, if you'd like to know more details,” Dr. Ryan said, clearly bursting to tell them something. “Something beyond medical comprehension, actually.”

Kurt's heart dropped.  Oh no.  There's something weird going on … that can't be good …

He swallowed hard and clutched Blaine's hand against his heart.  “What is it?” he croaked.

Dr. Ryan was all excited smiles, bouncing slightly on his feet, as he scanned a printed sheet of lab results.  “The DNA is entirely, 100% identical with Blaine's baby,” Dr. Ryan announced.  “It's … well, everything about this situation is entirely astonishing, but this … well, there's no scientific explanation for how you two have identical twins growing in separate pseudo-uteruses.  Not that there's a scientific explanation for any of this.”

“That's because of ... magic. We're magic,” Blaine said, his face and voice tranquil.  Kurt smothered a chuckle.   

“Yeah, that's one way to describe it, I guess,” Kurt said, snarky because of the relief that it wasn't anything bad.  In fact, it's … adorable.  I need to start planning coordinating outfits.  Not matching, no, no, that would be tacky, but complementary and baby-chic.  And names.  we can pick the second name now.  

“Something for the scrapbook, Blaine,” Dr. Shelley said brightly.  She held out a sheet of still shots from the ultrasound, and Blaine took them eagerly.  

“Can I have the labs too?” Blaine asked, and Dr. Ryan indulgently handed him a copy.  Blaine slipped all the documents into the file folder he was maintaining for their pregnancy records, and scribbled some notes into a journal he had been keeping.  Kurt doubted Blaine would have time for all this memorabilia once the babies arrived, but right now his formerly energetic, over-scheduled husband desperately needed projects to keep his mind occupied during the long, boring days in his hospital bed.

Kurt smiled at the screen a final time, and then turned back to the doctors.  “Is that it for this visit, then?  Is there anything else I need to do?”  He slipped off the table, holding the edges of his gown together, and looked anxiously at the doctors gathering up their materials.  

“Not a thing; everything in your case is going perfectly, Kurt.  Make sure to keep getting enough rest, eating right, and taking your vitamins,” Dr. Shelley said.   “Time for you to get back to your room, now, Blaine.  You've been sitting up long enough.”

“Can we stay in here and look at the screen a while?” Blaine wheedled.  “Please? I'll stay in my wheelchair.”

Dr. Ryan frowned.  “Blaine, we'll leave the image up for a minute while Kurt gets dressed, but then we'll send in an aide to get you and take you back to your room.  Your blood pressures were up a little bit as it was today, you need to get back on your monitor and lie on your side.  Break time is over.”  

Blaine's face clouded a little at the doctor's tone.  “Ugh, okay, okay.  Quite a vacation, coming down the hallway in the hospital,” he sulked.  

“They're just watching out for you, Blaine.  We all just want you healthy.  Listen, I'll take you back to the room in a minute, is that okay, Dr. Ryan?” Kurt asked, running a hand over Blaine's shiny-smooth hair, still impeccably slicked back even in the hospital.

“Okay, but no monkey business,” Dr. Ryan said, fixing them with a pointed, stern glare.  

Kurt felt his cheeks burning, and his own irritation rising.  “We haven't done anything inappropriate since that one time.  We don't need to keep getting lectured about it.  I'll take my husband back to his room in five minutes, once I'm dressed.”

“Okay, then.  Congratulations, boys.  See you next week for your appointment, Kurt,” Dr. Shelley said, tugging on Dr. Ryan's sleeve and giving them a sympathetic look.

Kurt shut the door behind the doctors.  Turning he saw Blaine's face set in a pout, and sighed.  He shrugged out of his gown and smiled slightly when he saw Blaine watching, clearly distracted from his annoyance and very, very interested.  He took his time slipping on his clothes, enjoying Blaine's eyes on him, even if he couldn't take things any further.  So few people admired him anymore.

“I don't know how you stand it, Blaine.  Really.  Being told what to do all the time, when to do it, getting bossed within an inch of your life …”

“Well, at least I have some time with my handsome husband, even if I have to spend it in my room.  You look really good,” Blaine said, admiring and reaching out to run a hand over Kurt's back as he picked up his shirt.  “Really good.”

Kurt slapped Blaine's hand away playfully. “You do too.  I miss you … I miss our ‘alone time' …”.  He buttoned his shirt and leaned over, placing a lingering kiss on Blaine's upturned mouth.  “Um … but the thing is … I can take you to your room, but I can't stay long.  I have a club meeting.”  Kurt said.  He buttoned his blazer, and reached for the handles of Blaine's wheelchair.  

Blaine leaned back in the chair, picking his feet up to set them on the rest, and Kurt maneuvered it out the exam room door.  “Club meeting?  You mean … Adam's Apples, I guess?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

Kurt swung the wheelchair to turn it into Blaine's room.   “What do you mean, Oh?”

“Well … I thought that was on Thursdays.  When I'm singing with the kids.  This is Monday - it's usually ‘us time'.”

Kurt parked the wheelchair and Blaine stood up slowly, and transferred to the bed.  

“I know, but Sectionals is in three weeks.  Adam's got us practicing more to get ready, and he picked me to audition for a duet today.  I spent a lot of time rearranging “It Takes Two” and practicing my part in it.  If I don't show up, somebody else will get it.”

“The Young MC song?  Who's doing the other part of the duet?”

Kurt shrugged. “Adam.  It's his group, so he's the lead singer.  Kind of like you dominated the Warblers, remember?” he finished, trying for a teasing, light tone.

“Oh.”

Kurt swallowed hard.  “If - if you don't want me to go, I won't, but …” he sighed and helped pull the sheet and blanket up over a very quiet Blaine.  “It's just … I'm not fitting in very well  at NYADA, Blaine.  The truth is, the Apples are really important to me, and I don't want to miss practice and the audition today.  I'm sorry, but that's the truth.”  

He took a breath and avoided Blaine's eyes a moment, picking at the coarse hospital blanket and waiting for Blaine's answer.

Blaine turned toward the wall, onto his side as the doctors had instructed him would help keep his blood pressure low.  “So go.”

Kurt  let out another sigh.  “Thanks for understanding, honey -  - but, you're okay with it, right?” Kurt stroked Blaine's turned shoulder.

“Sure.  Why wouldn't I be?” Blaine's voice came back over his shoulder.  There was a slight quiver in his voice, but he swallowed and continued, his voice steady this time.  “You know, I'm a little tired anyway.”  He reached for the light cord and pulled it, shutting off the light and putting an end to the conversation.

“Blaine, talk to me.  If you're not okay with me leaving or trying out for a duet, then just say so.  We have to talk about stuff like that.”

Blaine kept his back turned.  “I want you to go.  In fact, I'm starting to get a little bit of a headache, and I'm going to sleep anyway.  No need for you to stay just to watch me sleep.”

“If you're sure, then.  I'll tell the nurse about your headache … if you need me, call me, okay?”

Kurt kissed Blaine on the cheek and backed out of the room slowly, in case Blaine changed his mind and asked him to stay.  But he didn't.

Kurt walked slowly down the hallway.  The guilt was rising up, giving him a tightening feeling in his throat, but he pushed it back down.  There was no reason to feel guilty.  If Blaine weren't okay with me going, then he would have said so.  Or he should, anyway.  I'm not a mind-reader.  And I'm entitled to a life, aren't I?  I shouldn't have to feel bad about living it.  If I miss this practice to stay with Blaine, I won't get to audition for a duet part, and I'll be just swaying in the background of another show choir.  I'm not doing anything wrong!

Kurt sighed, pushing the elevator button, because no matter how much he tried to convince himself … no matter how much Blaine had said it was okay …  it felt wrong.