Meeting Dr. Matt

Dr. Matt Foster was one of those people that got along with everybody. He was tall, handsome, and friendly. He was an OB/GYN, but did frequent rotations within the NICU and Pediatrics wards, often with the children of the patients that he started with by saying 'you're pregnant'. He worked at Mount Carmel St. Anne's in Westerville, but was in the process of transferring fully to Lima Memorial. He had gone to Lima to help in their Family Birth Center several times and loved it there, which was great because he'd had enough at St. Anne's...or at least with some of the staff there.

It was during his last week when he met Kurt Hummel.

"Dr. Foster, there's a patient of Dr. Howard's in Room 214 that's here for results. They've been waiting for 30 minutes already."

Matt looked up at the bane of his existence - Dr. Adam Parks, the hospital administrator. He was the main reason why he was transferring. He then looked over at the exam room to see a young boy on the bed with three boys and a man sitting nearby.

"And where is Carla? She doesn't leave patients waiting for that long."

"She's in surgery, she's unavailable. So I'm telling you to take care of the patient in there." He finished with handing Matt the patient's file and started to walk away.

Matt opened the file and quickly called to Parks to stop, almost missing seeing the exam room door open.

"Now wait just a second; did you even look at this file? I can't take care of this patient."

"Look, if you have a problem with the fact it's a pregnant queer, deal with it. You're the doctor on-call, and I have things to do."

Matt could see the man in the exam room narrow his eyes toward the two doctors, and looked between angry and pissed.

"That's not the problem, Adam. There's a note in this file, stating 'female personnel only'. Last I checked, that meant 'please no male doctors or nurses due to personal trauma'. We're supposed to honor the wishes of the patient. I don't want to be the reason a patient is uncomfortable, and there's no reason we can't respect that."

"Look, I don't care. Either you take this file and see the patient, or you get a write-up." With that, the admin walked off, leaving Matt to sigh and rub his forehead.

"How the hell did an ass like that become the administrator?" he wondered aloud.

"That's what I'd like to know." Matt looked up to see the man from the exam room.

"I'm sorry for that, Sir. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful to your son; I don't want to make him uncomfortable. There's a reason notes like that are put into files. I'm Dr. Foster, Matt, please."

"Burt Hummel. I appreciate the honesty. We haven't had much luck at this hospital, but it's closer to Kurt's school and Dr. Howard has been the only good thing about this place, and some of the nurses, too. No offense, but if you didn't start with saying that, I would've probably punched you."

"None taken - I understand - and the feeling is mutual. I'd love to punch his lights out myself. This is my last week here, moving to a different hospital. If you'd like I can reschedule your appointment for Carla. I apologize for the delay on her behalf. She ended up with back-to-back cesarean sections. Dr. Ass should've sent in a nurse to tell you."

Burt looked at Matt for a second before responding, "Would you like to come in the room with me? You seem to care and your smile might persuade Kurt to let you do the exam. He's been worried for the last couple of weeks and I don't think he'd be able to wait another day. And me and the boys are worried for him, too."

Matt looked unsure at Burt, "Are you sure? I don't want those boys coming after me. The two tall ones don't worry me as much as the short, curly-haired one...I'm guessing he's the boyfriend and the others are his brothers?"

Burt laughed, "Not a boyfriend yet, but I don't doubt it happening. The one with the mohawk is a friend, and the other is my step-son. They're all very protective of Kurt, now more than ever." Burt looked at Matt. "I know you haven't looked at his file past the first page. Kurt was raped at his old school, and we found out that day that it was possible for him to get pregnant. The guys in there and his glee clubs are the only guys that can get near him without freaking out too badly. They found him and took care of the bastard that did that to him.

"I would be grateful if you'd at least be able to try and talk to him into doing an exam. If that doesn't work we'll wait for Carla another time. We still need to bring Kurt and Blaine back to Dalton to get their stuff, and Finn and Puck have a football game tonight."

Matt still looked hesitant, but after looking at Burt, and then at Kurt, he said, "I'll give it a shot."

Burt smiled in thanks, and led the way back into the exam room. As soon as Matt walked in, he saw the boy on the bed tense up a bit, but not nearly as bad as he'd anticipated. He was getting slightly narrowed looks from three of the boys, but since they hadn't started yelling yet, he took that as a sign to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Matt Foster- I'm filling in for Carla at the moment. Is it alright if I come in?"

Matt waited patiently in the doorway, he saw the two taller boys look at each other before looking at Kurt, and the curly-haired one just held to Kurt's hand and smiled at him.

"...um, yeah, you can come in. I'm Kurt Hummel. This is Blaine Anderson, Finn Hudson, and Noah Puckerman," pointing to each in turn, "and you've already talked to my dad...um...where is Carla, if you don't mind me asking?"

Matt smiled at them all before redirecting his attention to Kurt, "She had two patients that needed C-sections. I'm sorry you've been waiting in here for so long. Is it okay if I close the door and come closer to the bed?"

Kurt stared for a second, and then nodded. Matt shut the door and grabbed the stool from the corner of the room, bringing it closer to the bed. He put Kurt's file on the side table and for a moment wasn't sure how to proceed. He didn't think he'd get this far into the room. Luckily for him, Kurt started the conversation first.

"Thank you - for what you said out there. I really appreciate you fighting for me, and you don't even know me, so thanks for that."

Matt smiled again, and saw Kurt starting to relax more. "Like I told your dad outside, those kinds of requests mean something; they're important, otherwise why bother. Yours is a common request for someone in your situation. The most important thing for me is to make sure you're comfortable, because if you're not, I'm not doing my job...that and I like it when my patients can tell me anything, whether it's relevant to their care or just because they wanna talk about something.

"By the way, love your outfit - McQueen right?"

At that comment, Matt wheeled over to the counter and missed the shocked looks and dropped jaws from everyone in the room. When he turned around, he did the first thing that came to him - he laughed.

"Betcha didn't expect that one, huh?"

"Can I hug you, right now? If not I'm gonna cry," said Kurt.

If was Matt's turn to be in shock, "Um sure but wh-"

Once he was close to the bed, Kurt leaned over and gave him a quick hug. "How did you know? Those two knuckle heads," pointing to Finn and Puck, "still can't tell the difference between any of my clothes, or even correctly guess one of their names."

"My sister and my boyfriend make costumes and sets for shows and choir groups for half the state. Neal loves trying to take big name designers' designs and tries to replicate it with his own flair to it. Megan is more into painting sets, but Vogue is her favorite magazine. If I haven't picked up a thing or two by now, they would've probably kicked me out of the house."

"Dude, did you say 'boyfriend'? Then why did that idiot out there make those comments earlier?" asked Finn.

"Because he's an asshole who doesn't personally know anybody on staff. We all ignore him anyway, so it doesn't matter." Matt had to brace himself when he got another hug from Kurt - and Blaine.

"I love you, seriously. What am I gonna tell Carla? I told her she's my favorite doctor, and you're quickly taking over the number one spot."

Matt winked at Kurt, "Best not to tell her, then. Wait til I leave the area first." He then got serious for a moment, "So I guess it's okay if I take a look at you, see how you're doing today?"

He got nods of approval from everyone in the room, before he smiled again. "Awesome. First of all, is everyone okay to stay here? Do you need anyone to leave?" Kurt shook his head, no.

"Okay. Now what are you doing here in Westerville? Your file has you previously at Lima Memorial? That's not very close to here."

"We live in Lima. I used to go to McKinley High School; now I go to Dalton. I've always had problems with bullies but it reached new levels this year. I'd been having a hard time with one of the bullies in particular. I finally confronted him about it but it didn't turn out any way that I'd hoped it would."

Kurt started to shake a little, grabbed onto Blaine's hand, and took a few breaths before continuing.

"I was standing in the hallway, looking at my phone. I didn't even see him. He pushed me into a locker and I lost it. I followed him into the boys' locker room. We yelled at each other, I thought he was gonna punch me. He kissed me instead. I tried to fight him off but he's taller and bigger than me. He pushed me down. I hit my head on one of the benches. I couldn't focus on anything. The next thing I know, he's on top of me and hurting me. I tried screaming but he smacked me and everything started spinning. I blacked out for a while. I barely remember the glee club football players walking in. I didn't fully know what happened to me until I woke up in the hospital."

Matt was impressed with how well Kurt was doing. Being able to talk about it without completely breaking down was progress. Kurt's file said he had made little to no progress with the counselor. To him, it looked - and sounded like - he had a good support system, which was better than just relying on a stranger with a degree.

"You were in the hospital for two days? That's not very long. I've seen other people that are here for much longer after a trauma like that."

Surprisingly, Burt spoke up after that. "I had a heart attack not too long before that, ended up in a coma for almost a week. After that, Kurt didn't wanna stay there if he could just recuperate from home. So we did that instead. As soon as he was able to go back to school, he transferred to Dalton; he attends with Blaine and comes home on the weekends."

Matt sighed, "I wouldn't wanna stay in the hospital myself." He gave Kurt a second to gather himself and asked the next question.

"When were you told that you could conceive? That's been recently added to your file. These days, most parents find out after the baby is born, or at least by the time they're in kindergarten, so they are aware of potential health problems in the future."

"Found out after I woke up. They examined me and did a rape kit while I was knocked out. They had done blood work and said that my results were skewed. Carla was the doctor on-call that day at Lima Memorial. She was nice and gentle and let me know what was going on. She did some tests and told me that I had some female reproductive organs. Between that and being told I was raped, I thought she was screwing with me."

"I understand, and I'm not just saying that. Neal was in an accident when we were kids and found out then. That was before anyone really knew how to explain it. When we decided to try for a baby, we were told that our chances for conceiving were low, and to not expect a full-term baby, but Casey was born at 35 weeks, and we're expecting a boy soon, so to that I say, 'how about them apples?'"

"I don't know about Kurt, but you're definitely number one on my list of favorite doctors," said Blaine.

"Why thank you, Blaine. Now Kurt, what brings you in today?"

"I haven't been feeling well lately, and the more we talk about it, the more we're thinking that I'm pregnant."

"What's wrong exactly - cramping, nausea, headaches, fatigue? What were you doing when you felt 'off'?"

"I've thrown up a couple times, but usually I'm just really queasy. We had Sectionals two weeks ago and I almost passed out after we performed. I've been having on-and-off cramps since it happened. I DID pass out during Warblers practice today; it's our last one before winter break. I got really dizzy and I just dropped. Nick and Jeff - friends of mine and Blaine - caught me before I hit the floor."

Blaine took over after that, "Wes and David had to calm me down because I was freaking out. Kurt had looked paler than usual but he said he just had a headache. I tried to get him to sit down halfway through but he was adamant that he was fine. After I got my head back on, I called Mr. Hummel, who was on his way here with Finn and Puck anyway to pick up Kurt. They pulled up to the front steps at the same time we came outside with Kurt. We brought him straight here. They took some blood; waved one of those smelling salts to wake him up. He did, and then threw up. And they told us to hang tight for the results."

Matt waited to see if that was it. "Well, sounds like quite a day. Hang on for a second, and let's see where your results are okay?" He wheeled over to the phone on the wall and pushed a button.

"Hey Tori, it's Matt. I'm waiting on results for a Kurt Hummel." Pause. "Great. Thanks Tori." He hung up the phone and turned back to the group. "Tori will be up in a second. She's got your results."

"Well since we have some time, and those two are too nice to ask - you got any pics of your kid...or your sister?"

"Puck!"

Smack.

"OW! What the hell was that for, Princess?!"

"That's for being a tactless idiot. You don't go around asking new people to see pictures of their family."

"Well why not? I know you wanna see a pic too...don't lie."

"................."

"Ha, thought so."

Matt was full out laughing watching Kurt and Puck argue. Finn and Burt stretched out in their chairs and just watched, while Blaine was checking his phone and grinning. Matt proceeded to pull out his phone and pull up the latest pic of his family.

"Here you go," handing the phone to Kurt, which effectively shut him up, and caused him to tear up a little. "That's from our trip to the park last week."

"Oh she is adorable. How old is she?"

"Casey turned four a few months ago. That's Megan in the background and obviously that's Neal on the blanket with me. He's seven months pregnant now."

Kurt eventually gave the phone to Blaine, who passed it to Burt, Finn, and Puck.

"I gotta say, the kid is cute, but your sister is hot."

"I know, and believe me, she's aware of it too."

A knock on the door interrupted their show-and-tell time. It was Tori at the door with the results.

"Hey Matt, here you go. Sorry for the delay, we got backed up in the lab."

"Thanks Tori." She shut the door and was gone before he even opened the folder.

Matt started reading the results and began to wonder how the next few minutes were going to play out.

"Kurt, did you eat anything today?" Matt figured he'd start with the easier to handle things first.

Kurt had the decency to blush a little, "Not really. I was sick this morning, but managed some toast. I still felt nauseous at lunch, but ate half an apple. We were going home for dinner, but obviously didn't make it."

"Okay, well that explains a few things, then. Your blood sugar is low, which is probably why you fainted, and your iron level sucks too. Are you anemic?"

"Never got a straight answer about that one," Burt interjected, "but his mother was. We always suspected that he was as well, though."

Matt nodded, "Okay, those are an easy fix. Iron supplements and a steady diet will get those numbers back in shape." He flipped to the next page and zipped to the bottom of the page. "A lot of your numbers will improve once you're eating normal again."

Matt took a deep breath before continuing.

"And you will be eating a good diet from now on, especially as according to this - you're pregnant."

The room went silent for a full minute, before a quiet sob broke from Kurt. Blaine couldn't help himself by that point. He sat on the bed and pulled Kurt toward him in a tight hug and just let him cry it out. Burt looked at them with sad eyes. Finn and Puck on the other hand, were doing a good job of being both shocked and pissed off.

Matt wanted to give them all a moment to process the news, but he wasn't done with them yet. He waited til Kurt pulled away from Blaine and wiped his eyes. After a few deep breaths, he nodded at Matt to continue.

"Kurt, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but we still need to talk over a few things, okay?" He waited for another nod. "Okay, now I know this is tough, but I am obligated to talk about your options. If you feel that you can't go through with this, it's still early enough to terminate." That brought on a fresh batch of tears.

"You are in good shape right now, but we'll get you into better shape, should you decide not to terminate. Going that route, if you make it to term, you can give up your baby for adoption, or keep it. We do have to keep in mind that miscarriage is still possible as well."

"Do I have to decide now?" Kurt quietly asked.

Matt shook his head. "There's still time to decide, however your ending window is closing, so the sooner, the better. There is one thing I want to do, and it's in no way to influence you on what you should choose to do. I would like to do an ultrasound and see how the baby is developing, and check to see if it's in a viable position for you."

Finn bit his lip, before asking, "I'm sorry - what do you mean 'viable position'?"

Matt could tell that Finn was worried and a little confused, "If the baby isn't where it should be, it could hurt Kurt. Do you know what an ectopic pregnancy is?" Finn shook his head. "That's when a baby starts to grow outside of the uterus. If this happens, Kurt could end up in a lot of pain or possibly need surgery. This type of pregnancy is usually terminated due to the risk factor that's involved. Before we go any further, I want to check and see. Is that alright, Kurt?"

Kurt still had a death grip on Blaine's hand, but nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, I'm gonna grab the ultrasound machine; I'll be right back."

Blaine got off the bed and settled into the chair next to the bed, but didn't let go of Kurt's hand. Puck and Burt hadn't said anything in a while, both lost in thought.

Matt came back into the room with the machine and put it next to the bed. "Alright, Kurt, I need you to lie back. I'm gonna pull your shirt up a little and your pants down a little, so I can get a full picture."

He waited for another nod before he got the gel and put it on his stomach, hissing at the surprise coldness. Matt turned the machine on and the silence was filled with a strange whooshing noise.

"Matt - what's that noise? Is that normal?"

"That is the baby's heartbeat." Matt moved the wand around some more, "and position-wise, it's where it should be. Size-wise on the other hand, a little small for 11 weeks, but looks to be doing well."

Kurt didn't know what to feel. This was Dave Karofsky's baby, a baby created out of hate. But...it wasn't just Karofsky's.

It was his. He knew before Matt said anything else that he wouldn't be able to get rid of it, and at this stage of the game, he didn't know whether after everything was said and done, if he'd be able to give it up. But he was a junior in high school. How would he be able to take care of a child and go to school for a year? He had to stop before he got ahead of himself.

How about we make it through the first trimester, then worry about everything else later...miscarriage is still very likely at this stage, thought Kurt, but it has a heartbeat already and it's still mine.

The next thing he was aware of was Matt turning the machine off and handing him a towel to clean up with. Matt looked on with concerned, understanding eyes.

"The baby is looking good so far. You don't medically need to terminate, however if you choose to..." he left the sentence hanging. "This is a tough decision; take some time before making a choice." A buzzing in his pocket stopped him from saying much else, except "Oh crap. Excuse me for a second." Matt got up and walked out of the room.

"That's a little rude," commented Puck, who was watching Matt walk towards the nurse's station. "What happened to having a pager - don't docs still use those - oh this is gonna be fun to watch." Puck got up to crack open the door.

"Dude, what are you looking at?" Finn was glancing between the silent Kurt and the suddenly excited Puck.

"Our new favorite person is getting yelled at by the hot sister - I wanna know why."

Burt sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to deter Noah Puckerman from an attractive female. It wasn't worth it, and he was still waiting on Kurt to say something.

Puck and Finn heard 'Neal' and turned to watch the drama in the hallway.

---Outside Kurt's room---

"All I'm saying is that a text message would've been helpful. Neal was worried about getting here late, and then you don't even meet us like you always do. So - what the hell?"

"Sis, have you checked your phone lately? I DID text you - an hour ago - to take your time getting here. I was filling in for Carla, and I figured Neal would be asleep, like usual, and I didn't want to wake him up."

Megan took out her phone and said, "Message my ass. There's no mess - I have 2 missed texts...sonofabi-" She at least had the decency to blush. "My bad, bro, I must've turned off the notifications or something."

Matt sighed in relief, Okay one crisis averted. Now where's - His thoughts were interrupted when he was hit in the legs with a ball of energy.

"Hi Daddy! Where were you? Me and Mama and Auntie Meg were looking everywheres for you!"

"Sorry baby girl, Auntie Meg was being silly, while Daddy was working. Where's Mama?"

"Mama said he had to go potty again."

"Casey you don't have to announce that to everyone, everywhere we go." Ah there he is, though Matt.

"Hey sweetheart-" Matt didn't get any further than that, as Neal decided assaulting him with his mouth was a better greeting. "Well, hello to you too."

"I appreciate you looking out for me, but next time, just text me. Trying to keep your sister in line is exhausting."

"Yes dear. I'm sorry, but I need to finish with a patient first, then we can do your scan. I don't want to leave him hanging for too long, he's a case like yours...is that okay?"

Neal's eyes softened at that, "Of course it's okay. If he wants it, give him my card too; I'd be more than happy to speak to him. We'll wait over here for you. Come here Casey, let's go color."

"I love you. I'll be with you in a bit." Matt turned back to Kurt's room to see Puck leaning against the door frame, wearing a smirk.

"Your sister is better looking in person, but I wouldn't wanna be on her bad side."

Matt laughed at Puck's comment, and walked passed him into the room.

---Meanwhile, in the room during this conversation---

"I can't get rid of it, Dad. It's just a baby. I know it's his but it's mine too. "

Burt finally made a move toward Kurt. "Kiddo, you do whatever you feel is right. Just know you've got plenty of people behind you. You've got us and Carole, everyone from the Warblers, and the New Directions. Don't let any of us influence your decision. This is your baby. We're on your side - never forget that." Burt pulled his son into a hug.

"Your dad's right, Kurt," said Blaine. "If you keep the baby, be prepared for a lot of protectiveness and manly behavior from the guys. I don't know if you realize how much they care about you. They've been really worried about you since Sectionals, but they didn't want to freak you out. Whether you're aware of this or not, you're the current favorite." He finished with a smirk.

Blaine couldn't tell who was more shocked - Kurt or Burt.

I'm so glad he transferred to Dalton. He's really got a great group of friends there, thought Burt.

Kurt just stared at Blaine before starting to cry again. Blaine wasn't sure if those were happy tears or not.

"Oh Kurt, don't be upset! I didn't mean to make you cry!" exclaimed Blaine.

"It's okay, Blaine, I'm not upset - just emotional." Kurt was able to smile at Blaine and gave him another hug, barely hearing Matt say to Neal 'he's a case like yours'.

What does he mean by that? Has Neal been in my place before? Kurt didn't get a chance to mull over that when he saw Matt make his way back to the room.

---Back to Matt's re-entry ---

"I apologize for that. Neal was coming in for a scan, but Meg wasn't paying attention to her texts...can't figure that one out. She's always on the damn thing." He took a seat again, and before he could say anything else,

"What did you mean by 'he's a case like yours'?" Kurt asked quietly.

Matt sighed. "Neal was sexually assaulted at a party, right before we started dating. Unfortunately, that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage - we didn't even know he was pregnant. He talks to patients of mine and Carla's that need someone to talk to; he's a certified counselor. If you'd like, I'll give you his card. Even if you never take up his offer to chat, it's nice to know you have the option."

"Yeah, I'd like that, just in case." Kurt was given two cards: one with Neal's number, and one with Matt's. He looked at him curiously.

"If you need to talk to someone, you can get ahold of me or Neal. If you're in Lima and you need any kind of medical attention, that's your ticket to finding me. There's an awesome Family Birth Clinic there, which is where I'll be working from for now on. We live right outside of Lima, and it'll be easier for me to take care of my family...and my car will be thanking me later, I'm sure. I'm afraid to drive that thing anymore; the noises it's making aren't normal."

Kurt laughed, surprising Matt. "Dad, give him one of your cards, too. I'm sure we could squeeze him in, don't you agree?"

Matt was confused until Burt handed him a card that read Hummel Tires and Lube. Then he laughed too.

"I didn't even put that together. I pass your shop on my way here all the time. Thank you - I'll be stopping by soon, don't you worry." He turned back to Kurt, "Well, I think you're good to go for now, Kurt. Do you have any questions for me?"

Kurt thought for a second and shook his head, then nodded. "Just one - could I get a script for those supplements you were talking about earlier? I'd like to not pass out again, if I can help it," he finished with an anxious look.

Matt was impressed. Kurt Hummel didn't seem like one to give up, and he planned on helping him however he could. He wrote up the prescriptions and handed them to Kurt, wishing him the best.

"Don't forget to call if you have any questions, comments or concerns. I hope to see you again."

Matt watched the group leave the room and head toward the elevator. He went the other way to grab his family and bring them into the room. The ultrasound machine was already in here - might as well use it, right?