Aug. 27, 2012, 5:27 a.m.
A Fresh Start
A Fresh Start: Chapter 23
E - Words: 4,425 - Last Updated: Aug 27, 2012 Story: Complete - Chapters: 36/36 - Created: Aug 25, 2012 - Updated: Aug 27, 2012 1,419 0 0 0 0
"And I thought that WE were the cutest and most sappy couple in all of Lima! You guys are giving Nick and I a run for our money." Jeff grinned as he walked up to where the doctor and nurse were sharing one side of a both, holding hands and gazing into starry eyes.
"Oh, we will far surpass you. Just give us a little time." Blaine reached over and pulled Kurt in for a hug, kissing him sloppily on the cheek. Kurt wiped at his cheek with a sideways glance at his boyfriend.
"You totally took the romance out of that moment with your excessive use of saliva, darling." He scrunched up his face a little with a smile as Blaine responded by placing a much more dry and chaste kiss on the tip of his nose.
"Gah! The cutsey couple meter in this room is spiking to unsafe levels! Quick, babe we can't let them beat us!" Nick had just then entered the restaurant and come up to the other men, only to be grabbed by his husband and dipped backward for a long, deep kiss. Kurt and Blaine laughed out loud at the shocked look on Nick's face along with momentarily flailing arms before he gripped Jeff and happily kissed right back.
Elliott and Addy had come running up in that moment to get Elise so that she could join them in playing. The three children gave their parents placating looks.
"Are your daddies always kissy too?" Elise stood in between the other two children and linked hands as they walked off together.
"All the time." Elliott gave his eyes a roll that was worthy of his father.
"They think they're sneaky but we see them." Addy chimed in with a conspiratorial whisper.
All four men laughed at that as Nick and Jeff slid in to sit across from the other couple. They had chosen a pizza place designed for families, not only to celebrate Elliott's birthday, but so that the kids would be occupied with something fun while the adults talked. Wes and Marie would be joining them with Micah in just a bit, giving them some time to talk about the current legal issues surrounding Blaine's divorce. They watched the three children climb into the tunnels and ball pit in the kid's play area, giggling wildly.
"So, let's just get right to it please." Blaine looked down and tightened the grip he had on Kurt's hand. The doctor gave a reassuring squeeze and looked up to Nick expectantly, steeling himself for whatever they might hear.
"This has become, if possible, an even more complicated issue, as I'm sure you've already realized." Jeff put a hand on Nick's knee and patted it soothingly, knowing that it tore his husband up to not have better news for his friend. "Good news first though, okay?" Blaine nodded, not looking any happier at the prospect. "With the criminal charges against him there is no doubt that you will receive full custody of Addy. So, yay," he exclaimed weakly. Blaine and Kurt offered small smiles. They had figured this much out on their own, but were glad to hear it officially. Nick cleared his throat and went on, "Unfortunately it gets muddled from here. Believe it or not, it is possible to get a divorce from somebody in a coma. It's not easy and judges don't agree to this kind of resolution easily but given the circumstances, again considering the criminal charges, it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility. It will most likely take even longer now though… and that is assuming the judge we have will go along with this plan of action." Blaine let out a resigned sigh and shook his head, slumping down a little in his seat. Kurt immediately grabbed his arms and pulled him up straight again.
"Hey, we're not going to do this. You said so yourself, we're not going down the depressed road. It is what it is. Of course I wish you weren't still married to that asshole but we can't do anything more than we already are. At least we can be together. Nothing is stopping us. Even if we can't be official till it's over…" He blushed brightly realizing what he'd just insinuated.
(Oh lord! I've made it sound like I'm going to propose the moment his divorce is final! Why does that not sound scary in the slightest…)
(Kurt, I am so going to propose to you as soon as I can!) Blaine smiled and blushed a little himself at the thought. "I just can't help but think that if I hadn't been stupid enough to marry him in the first place things would be so much easier now."
"Yes, and then you wouldn't have had Addy." Kurt interjected in his most knowing voice. "You wouldn't have moved to Lima at the last minute to get away from Alex. You wouldn't have gotten a job at the hospital and you wouldn't have brought her into the ER that night we first met." Kurt shot his boyfriend a look that dared him to argue. Blaine just smiled and shook his head, leaning in to place a soft kiss on the doctor's lips.
"You're right. I guess it's just another one of those 'it made me who I am today' situations again, huh?" They both smiled, remembering that night on the hill behind the hospital. The night they had first kissed. For just a moment they forgot everyone else in the room and only saw each other. In that moment they knew that it didn't matter how long this road was or where it led them exactly, as long as they had each other.
Jeff leaned in to Nick, the latter wrapping an arm around his husband, squeezing him close. They watched their two friends with great satisfaction. Things were far from ideal, but that didn't seem to be holding the doctor and nurse back. The married couple didn't know when they had seen their friends so happy. Nick placed a gentle kiss to the top of Jeff's head, breathing in the scent of his almond shampoo and thinking back to the night before.
"Is she finally asleep?" Nick whispered into the dark room, not wanting to move for fear of waking his daughter. Jeff slowly blinked his eyes open, having just drifted off. He carefully scooted over and leaned in to peek at the little girl snuggled onto Nick's chest.
"We have liftoff. I'll carry her back to bed." Standing, he walked over to Nick's side and pulled the child into his arms. Both men smiled as she attached herself to her daddy like a little monkey the moment she felt herself being lifted. Nick watched, feeling like he was overflowing with contentment, as the two blonde loves of his life left the room. Moments later Jeff was crawling back into bed and pulling his husband into his arms. Nick gave a happy sigh and nuzzled into the crook of Jeff's neck and placed a couple of small sleepy kisses before resting his head and closing his eyes, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being held. Jeff let out a small, low laugh.
"I absolutely love the fact that at your office and in court you are this big, tough attorney, but at home you are a just a big softie and a total cuddle whore." Jeff traced patterns on his husband's back with a finger and brushed tiny kisses into the brown hair as he spoke.
"What can I say, you're good for me. If I get too soft though you might have to start denying me cuddles so that I can become tough again. I need to bring in the big bucks to keep you in the lifestyle you've become accustomed too." Nick grinned with his eyes still closed and felt Jeff punch him lightly in the arm.
"Hey now, I may make less money than you but at least I don't screw people over for it."
"Hey now!" Nick gave him a soft punch back at that remark. A playful wrestling match quickly escalated into deep kisses and clothing being stripped and tossed off to the side. Years of practice and knowing each others bodies as well as they knew their own made things smooth and almost effortless. Jeff took a moment to prepare his husband and slid in with ease, taking only minutes before each was reaching their climax, breathing out the others' name into the still dark night.
They had gone through all kinds of phases in their sex life. Back in their teens, they had gone through the stage of everything being slightly awkward, but exciting and new. Each experience causing nervous giggles and no little amount of embarrassment. They had gone through the college phase, especially when Nick had been far away at law school, when they took advantage of every single moment alone and had gone at it like rabbits. Next had come the period of being newlyweds. Confident in each other and their love, they had explored every possible avenue. Trying all sorts of new things, liking some, not liking others, but all the while learning exactly what they enjoyed and what would turn the other on. That was probably their favorite time. Next had come being new dads. That was a particularly sex-free time, much to the irritation of both. They had been warned that it would be this way but both men had thought they would be the exception... until the baby arrived. Six nights of no sleep and fifty-three disgustingly poopy diapers had made them realize that they were wrong. By the time Elise was five month old and sleeping through the night though, things started to make their way back to normal. Now they were in a safe and content place. Loving each other well and often, rarely straying from their routine, but neither minding in the slightest. It was a nice place to be.
"Jeff, have I told you lately how much I love you and how happy you make me... every single day?" They were lying exactly as they had collapsed moments before. Nick on his back, holding Jeff to his chest.
"Honey, you tell me all the time." Jeff smiled and looked up, but his smile quickly faded when he saw how serious his husband was, eyes even looking slightly misty. "Hey! What's up?" Jeff quickly scooted off to the side and pulled the lawyer close, cupping his cheek.
"I just, I've been going over everything with Alex's lawyer for Blaine and..." he hesitated knowing that, friend or not, he couldn't disclose any information to his husband. "It just makes me so thankful for you and for how good we have it. We didn't have to go through anything hard, not like Blaine has anyway. We may have had people telling us we couldn't or shouldn't be together, but we never doubted each other for a moment. At the end of the day I have had you, without fail, since I was sixteen." Nick's voice had gotten a little thick with emotion by the end and Jeff was holding him close, feeling a little teary as well.
"I just don't ever want you to think that I take you for granted is all. You deserve to be told every single day how amazing and loved you are."
Jeff just whispered an "I know, I love you too," and stroked his husband's cheek with his thumb. They lay quietly for a while, just breathing each other in.
"You know," Jeff spoke suddenly, "things may have sucked for our Blainey-bear but look at him now. Job that he loves and is incredibly good at, beautiful daughter and now Kurt and Elliott. Those two love him and Addy like they are already part of their family. Personally, I'm predicting that they will be married within two months of the divorce being finalized." He smiled in a secretive, self-satisfied way at that thought. Nick knew that smile well.
"Don't you do it, Jeff."
"Do what?"
"You know! You do this ALL the time!"
"I have no clue what you speak of, sweetheart."
"Jeff, don't get involved. I'm serious. You match-make and meddle in people's relationships and half the time it ends badly."
"I have never..."
"Yes. All the time. Just let it happen naturally. You can't... Oh no, don't try to distract me... O-Oh god... Oh yes... Jeeefff..."
Jeff smirked, looking up from the position he had scooted down to, mouth full of his husband. (Works like a charm!) He pulled off with a wet pop. "Round two?"
"Mmmm, yes. Switch it up this time?" Nick's eyes grew dark as he drew Jeff up to straddle him.
"Oh yeah, I love when we do a twofer. It's the best of everything in gay love, all in one night."
"Stop talking and let me do you."
Jeff glanced over at his husband with a distinct 'I told you so' look. Nick rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"I do actually have one more thing to discuss with you before Wes and Marie get here." Blaine and Kurt looked over to the lawyer in surprise, almost as if they had forgotten they weren't alone.
"Absolutely, Nick. Go ahead." Blane squeezed Kurt's hand one last time before turning his focus back on his friend.
"You've probably thought of this, but do you realize that, for the time being, you still have medical power of attorney?" Blaine and Kurt had indeed thought of this, and discussed it at length actually. It was an ongoing source of contention and both tensed visibly. Kurt kept his mouth shut, knowing that this was Blaine's decision in the end.
"I know. I don't want to see him though. I don't want anything to do with this. I'll sign off, saying the hospital staff has the right to do whatever they see fit and I'll definitely sign a DNR. I'm not going there and talking to doctors though... I'm not seeing him. It's too much. You can't make me." He was distinctly aware that this last sentence made him sound like a rebellious pre-teen, but he didn't care. Kurt looked down at the table and stayed silent. Jeff nodded in understanding. Nick just stared, feeling uncertain as he spoke.
"Listen buddy..."
Blaine rolled his eyes. (Well, if I didn't feel like a immature kid before, 'buddy' sure did the job.)
"No one at this table is going to tell you what to do in this situation. We don't know what it's like to be in your shoes and we're not going to insult you by pretending we do. God knows you owe him nothing. I just want to say one thing. I think you should go see him, just once." At Blaine's start of an angry response he held up his hands. "Just let me finish." Blaine crossed his arms and gave Nick a look that said 'Fine talk, but what you say isn't going to matter.'
(Apparently this is my day for immaturity) he thought, feeling just a tad guilty. He tried for a slightly more open-minded look.
"I don't think you should do it for him. I think you should do it for you. You are the most sensitive and caring person I've ever known. Vindictiveness is just not in your nature. When you feel things, you feel them deeply and for a long time. Addy totally got her personality from you, man." Blaine smiled at this, looking over at his daughter who was tossing small plastic balls in the air so that they showered down on Elliott's head. "I just think that if he dies soon, you might regret never seeing him again. It's not that I think there is a right or a wrong here, and like I said, God knows he doesn't deserve any special treatment. I just know you... and I don't want you to have to live with a regret that you can do nothing about."
Blaine looked at his two friends and his boyfriend, all watching him with concerned eyes. Those words mirrored what Kurt had been saying to him over the last few days. He sighed, knowing that there was some truth to this. "I'll think about it. Just give me a couple days, okay?" They all nodded quickly, happy to leave it at that.
Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine's cheek, and whispered in his ear, "Whatever, alright? I mean it." Blaine nodded, returning the kiss and giving the doctor a look that showed there were no hard feelings.
"Ball pit!" The four adults turned in surprise at this shout and ducked their heads in embarrassment when Wes ran into the restaurant, kicking his shoes off and dove in with the kids. Marie and Micah walked behind shaking their heads, but simply laughing, more than used to his antics by now.
"Uncle Wes! You're too big to be in here!" Elise looked at him indignantly with her hands on her hips.
"Here's a tip kids, you ready? Never grow up. Life is so much more fun this way." He grabbed an armful of balls and started chasing the kids around the pit, throwing them gently. Micah laughed and jumped in behind his dad, trying to tackle him.
Marie pulled up a chair and sat down with a grin. "Let's hurry and eat before he gets kicked out again."
"He's gotten kicked out of here before?" Blaine asked, knowing he shouldn't be surprised.
"Try every time." Kurt pulled out a menu with an amused look.
"They keep letting him back in?" Blaine was a little incredulous.
"They are less nice about it every time," Marie responded with a grimace.
"Cannonball!" Wes jumped into the air, tucking his knees up into his body, and landing with a huge sploosh of plastic balls.
A manager in a striped button down stalked over angrily. Marie sighed.
"Bring us some leftovers to the parking lot."
"Birthday cake in five, guys!" Carole called out to the rest of the family where they were playing with Elliott's newly opened toys.
"Okay, Carole. Thanks!" Kurt sent back without looking up from the Geo Trax set he was helping his son put together.
"How do you get the back off of this damn thing?" Burt was holding a remote controlled car and a screw driver, trying to fill it with batteries.
"For a mechanic you're having an awful lot of trouble with that thing," Kurt teased glancing up.
"Shut up, kid. Hey, why couldn't Noah be here? He never misses this kid's birthday."
"He had a stakeout for a new job. He sent a BB gun which I immediately confiscated." Kurt rolled his eyes.
Blaine abandoned his place on the floor and let Finn take over building the Harry Potter Lego Hogwarts with Addy and Hailey. He climbed onto the couch next to Rachel, who was rubbing a hand over her stomach absentmindedly. "How long now?"
"Two months. Two long, long months," she groaned. She gasped suddenly, gripping her right side.
"Are you okay?" Blaine sat up, suddenly concerned. Rachel just grabbed his hand in response and pulled it to her side. Blaine felt a movement, something pushing hard at his hand and then twisting away only to push back again even harder. He looked at her in amazement, laughing. His surrogate had been a closed case and he had never had this experience before. So many times as a nurse he had wanted to ask if he could feel the baby move when he had a pregnant patient. Thankfully his better sense always won out and he realized how incredibly creepy that would have been, just in the nick of time. He looked at her questioningly as he held up his other hand. She nodded with a small laugh. He scooted closer enthusiastically and put both hands on her swollen stomach to try and feel some more movement. He let out an excited yelp that had the whole room looking at him when he distinctly felt both babies moving at once, one with each hand.
"Try and contain yourself, sweetie," Kurt joked from his place on the ground, looking like he thought his boyfriend was just too adorable for words.
"This is exciting! I can't help it!" Blaine bounced a little on the couch, finally releasing his hold. Addy came up and leaned on what little was left of Rachel's lap and smiled up at her.
"Daddy and I love babies!"
"Would you like to feel the babies move too?" Rachel looked down at the small girl adoringly. Addy nodded with exuberance and quickly climbed onto the couch to place small hands on the woman's stomach. Rachel helped her find a good position to wait for the inevitable tumbling the twins would do.
"So, do you have a birth plan?" Blaine questioned, apparently unwittingly. The other three men in the room stifled groans. Rachel pointedly ignored them and turned to Blaine, speaking animatedly.
"Oh yes, I have very specific views on how children should be born into the world. It needs to be a very safe and loving environment. I'm going to have a home water birth with my own music and candles, surrounded by comfort and familiarity and the ones I love." Finn smiled at his wife in a loving but slightly long-suffering way. Kurt grinned with look that said she was crazy but he loved her anyway. Burt just covered his face with his hands.
"So, everybody in the family is supposed to be there?" Not quite understanding the tension from the men, Blaine questioned further.
"Yes, and not just present in the room, but specifically in view for when the babies leave the womb." Rachel shot him a look that said 'I know, it's just fabulous, isn't it?' Blaine nodded, not sure what to say. Excited as he was about babies, he wasn't sure he wanted a front row seat for a birth that wouldn't result in his own child. "I WANTED to have 'family only' present. We have a doctor in the family and everything, but SOMEONE is being difficult." She shot a superiorly annoyed look over at Kurt.
"It's not happening Rachel. Drop it," Kurt deadpanned. "First of all, I'm not an O.B. and secondly, you are my sister-in-law. I refuse to touch your private areas unless it is a life or death situation."
"I'm sorry, honey, but I kind of second that," Finn ventured, looking like he desperately hoped to not get hormonally bitch-slapped.
"I just don't see why..." Rachel was cut off by Carole flipping off the lights and entering the room with a blue frosted cake, much to the relief of the men in the room. Four candles were flickering brightly as she started to sing. Everyone cheered as they finished the song and Carole settled the cake in front of Elly.
"Make your wish, baby," Kurt whispered in his son's ear as he crouched down beside the boy. Elliott barely had to consider and blew the candles out quickly with one breath and a huge smile.
"All right, what was the wish, bud." Burt looked to his grandson as he leaned in and swiped a little frosting from the side of the cake. Carole slapped his hand away as she pulled the candles out.
"You can't say wishes to people!" Addy exclaimed nervously from in between her father and Rachel, hands still waiting to feel a baby move.
"Well, we actually do things a little differently in this family, honey." Carole smiled and gave the girl's cheek a loving tweak.
"Yup," Finn pulled Hailey into his lap and addressed the other little girl. "Back when Kurt and I were teenagers and had just become brothers we decided to start a new family tradition. When it's your birthday, you make a wish when you blow out the candles, but you tell everyone after. It has to be something that you can realistically get or something someone can actually make happen. As long as it's not too crazy, we work as a family to make that person's birthday wish come true." Blaine looked around at this family with more than a little awe. They seriously seemed to just get better and better.
"Yeah, remember the year dad wished for everyone to go to a baseball game together and no one could complain?" Kurt gave his dad a look. "I wonder who that could possibly have been directed at?"
"Yeah, remember on Kurt's next birthday and he wished for the whole family to go see Rent and no one could complain?" Burt shot back. "That couldn't possibly have been you getting even, could it kiddo?"
"SO, Elliott," Carole redirected the subject pointedly, "what did you wish for, honey?"
"And we'd better get his wish right. I hear he has a mean right hook," Burt teased, chucking Elliott under the chin and noting the bruised eye proudly.
"I want Blaine and Addy to move in to our house and for Addy to be my really sister and Blaine to be my other really daddy."
Silence.
"Okay, kid. We'll get right on that." Kurt looked at his dad in shock, not believing what the older man had just promised. Burt looked right back at him. "He asked for it. Make it happen daddy."
Finn, Rachel and Carole all sniggered lightly as Kurt looked at Blaine out of the corner of his eye and Blaine, in turn, looked pointedly away from them all, holding Addy's hands as the girl still tried to feel a baby moving.
"I feel it! The babies are moving!" Everyone was momentarily distracted by the little girl's yells and turned to watch her excitement.
Kurt and Blaine met each others' eyes, and in that moment it seemed as if their private thoughts could be heard plainly by each other.
(We ARE going to get married, Blaine.)
(I know.)
"I thought you'd want to know Detective Jones."
"Yes, I do, I mean I did... I just... what does this mean exactly." The young detective ran his fingers nervously through his hair and looked at the doctor sitting on the other side of the desk.
"Well, the patient is starting to show more and more signs that his body might be ready to come out of the coma as he heals. The slightest raise in heart rate. The tiniest bit of eye movement in his sleep. Sometimes randomly, sometimes seemingly reacting to his environment. To be honest I've never seen a case quite like this one. All scenarios of coma patients differ and we can never know what to expect completely. I just think we should be prepared since this man has criminal charges against him. I've tried contacting the husband, but I haven't had any luck yet."
"Yeah, it's kind of a sticky situation. I have a way to contact him. I'll take care of it." The detective shook the man's hand and left the building quickly. Walking to his car he pulled out his cell.
"Puckerman here."
"Yeah, we kind of have a situation..."