"How are you holding on, Rachel?" Blaine asked, as he placed his medical bag on the floor and settled himself on the edge of the bed. Finn was holding Rachel's hand from the other side, while Carole, who had been watching over Rachel when Finn had gone to fetch Kurt and Blaine, had retreated to a chair in the corner of the room.

"It hurts so much…" Rachel whimpered faintly, her eyes scrunched shut. "And… it won't stop any-MOOOOORE!" She yelled, doubled up in the pain of a new contraction.

"How far apart are they?" Blaine asked with a slight frown, turning his gaze to Carole.

Carole shook her head. "Only like a minute or so. Can she really be that far already?"

"It would be pretty fast for a first birth, but then again she's been having back pains for over 24 hours. Those may have been contractions as well." Blaine said.

Rachel exhaled deeply as the contraction faded away. "Take me to the hospital, please." She said numbly.

Blaine opened his medical bag and retrieved his stethoscope and blood pressure monitor. He handed them to Kurt. "Could you check her pulse and pressure, honey?" Kurt nodded and set to work.

After retrieving several other items from his bag, Blaine returned his attention to Rachel and smiled. "Rachel, would you mind if I examined you first, to check your progress?" When he received a silent nod in return, he donned a pair of latex gloves and carefully eased her into the proper position. "This might feel a bit uncomfortable; just tell me if it's too much, okay?" He said gently, while quickly rubbing a lubricating jelly onto his gloved fingers. Apart from a tiny wince, Rachel didn't move a muscle as Blaine carefully examined her.

"Her pressure is 130 over 80; pulse is 86." Kurt said quietly. Blaine nodded, frowning in concentration as he tried to assess Rachel's condition.

"Are those numbers bad?" Finn whispered anxiously. Kurt met his brother's concerned eyes and shook his head with reassuring smile. "No, it's good. She's doing an excellent job, Finn, don't worry."

"Okay…" Finn nodded. "What… what should I do?"

"Whatever she wants." Kurt grinned. "One piece of advice, maybe? Leave her alone when the contraction hits its peak. I imagine it feels like being kicked in the nuts by an elephant, so at that point all she can focus on is the pain." He had to suppress a laugh as Finn paled at the thought.

"Right, um… thanks." Finn said in a small voice. "Blaine?"

Blaine disposed of his gloves and waited for another contraction to tide over, then started to explain. "Well, Rachel, looks like you're going to be a mom any moment now. You're fully dilated and from what I can tell the baby is positioned perfectly, which means you're likely all set for a smooth birth. So…", he gave her a gentle pat on the knee, "how about we get you ready to start pushing?"

Rachel looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "What, like NOW? HERE?" She looked frantically around the room while clawing at Finn's upper arm. "I can't do this here! I need to go to the hospital!"

Kurt scooted closer and used a cool damp cloth to wipe Rachel's sweaty bangs from her brow. "We can't take you to the hospital like this, sweetie. You might end up giving birth somewhere on the side of the road."

Blaine nodded. "Kurt's right; it's safer to keep you here. We'll call an ambulance, but with the bad weather outside it could take some time before they get here, and frankly, I don't think this baby is going to wait much longer. Look… we'll do this together, one step at a time, okay?"

Dropping her head against the pillow, Rachel let out a frustrated groan. "Fine."

"Great." Blaine smiled. "Carole, could you call an ambulance and ask Burt to stay on the lookout? I'm going to need some hot, damp towels too. Oh, and could you please check if Lily is still asleep?"

"No problem sweetie!" Carole answered, already on her way out. Blaine then proceeded to give Kurt some instructions on how to assist him during the birth.

Meanwhile, Rachel came down from another heavy contraction. "Finn… I'm scared." She panted. Her voice was tinged with a mix of fatigue and anxiety. "What if- What if I do it wrong?"

Finn took his wife into his arms and crawled to sit behind her, propping her back up against his chest, and bracketing her tiny body with his legs. "I'm here, sweetheart." He said gently. "Hold on to me, pinch me, punch me, break my hand, whatever you need… I'm right here. I'm going to help you, and so are Kurt and Blaine. Although you probably won't even need it, because you are Rachel Berry. You're strong. You're a star. You can do this. Our baby is so lucky to have you as a mom." He smiled against her temple.

Rachel smiled feebly, lacing her fingers through Finn's. "Oh… oh my God, here comes another one…"

Blaine had been waiting for this cue to take over. "Ok, Rachel, when I tell you to, I want you to take a deep breath and push; then let go when I say so." Rachel answered with painful whine.

"Okay…" Blaine frowned. "Deep breath, chin on your chest… and push… more… very good Rachel, just keep going… just a little bit more…" Rachel let out a strangled cry and gasped for breath while she sagged back against Finn.

"Alright! That went very well." Blaine cheered. "Now take some time to relax, and when the next contraction comes, we'll do the same thing all over again."

Kurt quickly slid the blood pressure monitor over Rachel's arm to check her pressure again. "You're doing fine, Rachel, just try to put less strain on your face while you're pushing. Focus on your abdominal and pelvic muscles."

"Yeah." Rachel answered halfheartedly, and then it was already time to start pushing again. And then again. And again after that.

Exactly 26 minutes later, after carefully navigating through the thick layers of snow, the ambulance arrived outside the house. It was exactly 2 minutes after Rachel had given birth to a beautiful, healthy little baby girl.

"Wow… she's gorgeous." Finn said. He was still sitting behind Rachel, who was in turn cradling their newborn daughter. "Just… wow."

"I know!" Rachel smiled through her tears. "Hey there little girl…" She cooed, bringing the baby up to give her a gentle eskimo kiss. The baby stared up at them with big, curious eyes, while waving her tiny arms into random directions. "Let me introduce you to your family, little Miss Hudson." Rachel chuckled. "I'm you mommy and this is your daddy." She continued, pointing to Finn. "And these two handsome men are your uncles Kurt and Blaine, also known as mommy's heroes…" She threw both Kurt and Blaine an affectionate look.

Kurt perched himself on the edge of the bed. "You did it all by yourself, sweetie, we only took care of the logistics." He tentatively brushed the back of his hand across the baby's cheek, admiring her doll-like face and the dark wisps of hair that covered her forehead. "Congratulations. She's lovely." A small, contented sigh fell from Kurt's lips. "So… what's her name?"

Finn pressed a kiss into Rachel's hair, as if silently prompting her to answer.

Returning her gaze to her daughter, Rachel grinned and ran her finger over the tip of the little girl's nose. "Well… she's a star, so we're going to name her Stella… and because she's born on Christmas morning, I'd thought maybe we could add Natalie?" Rachel twisted her head to look at her husband, her eyebrows raised in question.

"Stella Natalie Hudson. I like it." Finn beamed.

"Wonderful name. Congratulations again, guys." Blaine said. "Rachel, you've done really well, and Stella is doing fine. The placenta is out, so I suggest we get you into that ambulance and to the hospital for a full check up. You're also going to need some stitches."

Finn frowned. "Stitches? Why?"

"There's a small tear in the perineum. Nothing too bad, but it needs to be taken care of."

Finn gasped in horror.

Kurt chuckled. "Glad you're not a woman, huh Finn?"

It was past 2 AM when the peace and quiet had finally returned to the house. Burt had insisted on opening another bottle of champagne to celebrate the birth of Stella and to wind down from all the excitement.

Kurt fell backwards onto the bed, the heels of his hands pressed against his eyes. "God, I'm exhausted…"

"Me too." Blaine said, as he crawled onto the mattress and curled up against Kurt, who responded by draping his arm around Blaine's back and pulling him close. Blaine rested his head on Kurt's chest and sighed. "I can't believe Lily slept through the whole thing. Apparently loud screams from the bedroom don't rouse her from her sleep… we should file that away for future reference."

Kurt slapped him softly against the shoulder. "Horny pervert." He sniggered quietly.

"Nah…" Blaine shook his head. "Not horny, just exhausted. You know… in the past eight hours, we have become engaged, we've sung two duets, we've celebrated Christmas Eve, we've had mind blowing shower sex, and we've delivered a baby… I think it's time to get some sleep now." He almost purred, because Kurt had threaded his fingers through Blaine's hair and was softly massaging his scalp.

A weary laugh escaped Kurt's mouth. "Not for long though; my shift starts at 8." He muttered, as he focused on the stray curl he was currently playing with. Blaine's hair was so fucking adorable. And so much better without that sticky gel.

"Want me to write you a doctor's note?" Blaine asked.

Kurt could feel him smirk against his chest. He shook his head. "No. I'll manage. Besides, if I call in sick, Jenny will call in Rose or Emily, and I don't want to ruin their Christmas plans."

"So generous and caring. That's why I love you, nurse Hummel." Blaine whispered, already half asleep.

"Why thank you, Doctor Anderson." Kurt smiled down at Blaine, seeing that his fianc�'s eyes had fallen shut.

"Mmm… welcome…" Blaine mumbled.

"I love you too. And I was so proud to be with you tonight." He pressed a kiss against Blaine's forehead, only to receive a tiny snore in response.

"Merry Christmas, my love." Kurt murmured. He spent another ten minutes replaying the events of the night; luxuriating in the overwhelming happiness and love he felt, before finally nodding off.

Christmas Day, 3:25 PM

Kurt ran into the staff room and slammed the door shut. "I'm sorry!" He piped as Jenny shot him a disapproving look, before slapping his hand against his mouth and dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" The head nurse asked, returning her attention to her paperwork.

"Smythe as Santa. Have you seen him wobbling around? It's freaking hilarious!" Kurt wiped at his eyes. "I wish I had a camera… oh wait, I can snap a picture with my phone, I'll just-"

"No you won't!" Jenny said sternly. "Leave that poor man alone. We should be grateful, instead of making fun of him."

"Fine…" Kurt pouted mockingly. "You're no fun." He plopped down onto the chair next to Jenny, who eyed him curiously.

"You're awfully frisky today." She remarked.

Kurt shrugged. "Lack of sleep turns me hyper. It also makes everything seem extra funny." He added, biting back another giddy chuckle. "God, I need more coffee!"

"Or sleep." Jenny deadpanned, closing her file and rising from her seat to get her co-worker a fresh mug of liquid energy.

Kurt thanked her and took a noisy slurp. "Mmmmmm, heaven in a mug. Thank you, Jenny."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now, when do I get to see your engagement ring?"

"Oh, soon! I'm going to go shopping for a necklace with an easy clasp, so I can wear my ring at work." Kurt replied. He'd been pretty bummed this morning when Blaine had gently reminded him that the medical staff wasn't allowed to wear any type of hand or wrist jewelry.

Stupid germs with their stupid penchant for bling.

"Damn." Kurt sighed. "Maybe Blaine and I would be better off getting matching tattoos instead of wedding rings." Once again his overactive imagination got the best of him as he pictured a giant tattoo on Blaine's ass, saying 'PROPERTY OF KURT HUMMEL – UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS PROHIBITED'.

Oblivious to Kurt's hilarious musings, Jenny nodded in agreement. "A ring would indeed be a bit impractical, if you plan on continuing your career as nurse."

Kurt arched his eyebrows. "What do you mean 'if'?" Shifting in his chair, he suddenly felt very exposed under Jenny's penetrating gaze.

The middle-aged woman visibly contemplated her words before she opened her mouth to speak. "Well, Kurt, sweetheart… don't get me wrong, okay? You're an excellent nurse, and I couldn't be happier to have somebody like you in our team…"

"But?" Kurt prodded apprehensively.

"But – and I can't believe I'm saying this – I don't think you really belong here." Jenny sighed, her lips turning into a sad smile.

Trying to catch the breath that had been successfully knocked out of him, Kurt just stared at her before uttering an astonished "Huh?"

"I know you, Kurt. I know why you chose to be a nurse, and you made the right choice at the time." She smiled soothingly. "You have become one of the best nurses I have ever worked with; you're skilled, you're great with the kids, and you're a wonderful co-worker and friend, but honey… things have changed these past few months. You have changed."

"What are you talking about? I am still the same!" Kurt insisted, still horribly confused about where this was going. Had he done something wrong?

"But you're not." Jenny shook her head. "These past few months, I have seen you blossom into a happy, lively young man, with hopes and dreams for the future. You need to follow those dreams, Kurt."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked in a hesitant voice.

"I think you know exactly what I mean, sweetheart." Jenny nodded with a grin as she patted his hand. "You're ready for more, Kurt. It's time for you to spread out your wings and fly."

Exactly how was he supposed to spread out his wings and fly when he was deflated and crushed?

Because that was how Kurt was feeling after the discussion with Jenny. Angry and confused too. So much so that the copper taste on his tongue alarmed him of the fact that he had chewed his lip till it bled. With a sigh, he buried his face into his arms, glad that the staff room was now empty and silent, as Jenny had been called away to room 406… or was it 408?

Whatever.

So he didn't belong here? Bullshit… He loved his job. He loved the kids, the hospital, his co-workers… Sure, it hadn't been his lifelong dream, but what did that even matter? His career choice had been the right one, he'd known it from the first day he stepped foot in LCH.

"Alright." Rose paused in front of room 415. "Kurt, since you're new here, I have to warn you… This job can get pretty emotional at times. Some kids don't get better." She pointed at the door. "The boy in here is only 2 years old, and he's dying."

Kurt blanched. "Damn."

"Yeah." Rose nodded sympathetically, before opening the door.

The sight that met him was beyond tragic. A young couple – they couldn't have been much older than Kurt – was sitting next to each other, holding hands. They barely acknowledged the nurses, as their sad eyes were focused on the tiny figure before them.

Kurt followed their gaze to the sleeping child, and for a split second, everything he'd been taught during his education and all the reasons he'd had for choosing this profession, morphed into a sudden realization that hit him like a hammer.

He couldn't do this.

He'd lived through fifteen months of illness, pain and grief with Sam. What part of his wrecked mind had deemed it a good idea to choose a job where would be confronted with more of the same? How stupid and ridiculous had he been?

"Kurt?" Rose's kind voice jolted him from his thoughts. "Could you take Hayden's temperature, please?" She offered, eyeing him with a worried expression.

"Yes, of course, right away." Kurt hurried to answer, as he took the temporal thermometer from the cart and swiped it over Hayden's temple. The movement roused the little boy from his restless sleep. With a soft whimper, he twisted his head to look up at Kurt. The cramped lines on Hayden's face disappeared as soon as their eyes met, and his small mouth relaxed into a smile.

"Hi there." Kurt smiled, hunching over to greet the boy. "I'm Kurt."

"Pretty angel." Hayden answered, then he giggled. "Pretty." He repeated, reaching out to touch Kurt's cheek.

Kurt's smile widened and Hayden laughed as the nurse took his hand and gave it a little squeeze.

Hayden's parents both gasped in shock. "We haven't heard him laugh or seen him smile in weeks." His mom sniffed quietly.

Kurt didn't answer. The same could've been said about him, to be honest. But just like that, again in the blink of an eye, things had changed. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but somehow he'd managed to get a smile out of this sick, dying boy. And it was without a doubt the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of something he hadn't felt since before Sam had died.

Hope.

It was no more than a tiny flutter in his chest… but it was enough to convince him that maybe his heart wasn't broken beyond repair after all. For the first time, Kurt allowed himself to believe that someday, his heart could be healed.

He'd been wrong; he could do this- no, even more… he needed to do this.

Kurt sighed at the memory, staring at his coffee mug while resting his head on his folded arms. It had been the only time he'd seen Hayden – the boy had died only hours later – but Kurt would never be able to forget him, not even if he wanted to – which he didn't. Hayden had been the first of many children who had returned a tiny spark to Kurt's life, one by one bringing him back a small piece of his lost soul.

And then there had been Blaine.

Blaine, who had once jokingly promised Kurt he would fix his heart, and then had gone ahead and done exactly that.

Blaine, who during his very first day at the hospital had stopped Kurt on the stairs between the fifth and fourth floor, introducing himself as the new doctor and asking for directions, and Kurt, who had blushed and stammered something ridiculous about a shortcut to the staff room. There were no shortcuts.

Kurt had been too mesmerized by those hazel eyes to think clearly. He'd felt an instant attraction, but he'd also recognized the danger. It had felt as right as it had been wrong. So he had fought off Blaine's wooing attempts for the longest time, until he was finally forced to stop lying to himself; to stop pretending that he didn't want this just as much as Blaine did.

This place – and more importantly the people in it – had given him so much. This was his home, his family… he belonged here. It was safe and comfortable.

With a frustrated groan, Kurt dropped his forehead against the table. He was Kurt Hummel, for crying out loud… the words "safe" and "comfortable" shouldn't even be in his dictionary. Then he thought about Sam, the fashion student he'd met in New York, and remembered his words.

"…you know what I have learnt through all of this? That it's really never too late to become who you might have been…"

Kurt wasn't sure if Sam had meant it as just a thought, or as advice to him. To be honest, Kurt wasn't sure about anything anymore.

Everybody seemed so keen on telling him that he should spread his wings and fly. And it was so tempting to believe that life was about making choices and following dreams, when in fact, up until then, life had always found a way to keep Kurt from doing exactly that. Besides… Kurt was going to be a husband and a stepdad soon. He had a family. This really wasn't the time to rekindle some silly teenage dream.

A slight throbbing behind his temple warned Kurt for an impending headache, so he quickly straightened his back and took a deep, steadying breath.

"Enough of this." He muttered to himself. "Time to get back to work."

Before he could even reach the door on his way out, the wall mounted phone rang, its screen indicating an internal call. Without thinking twice, Kurt picked up the receiver.

"Oncology, Kurt speaking."

"Hello, Kurt, it's me, Kimmy from HR."

"Hi, Kimmy, what can I do for you?" Kurt knew the secretary vaguely, as she worked for the upper management. She seemed nice enough.

"Kurt, could you come to conference room D on the seventh floor… immediately if possible?"

"I guess so." Kurt said. "What's up?"

"Mr. Anderson would like to speak to you… I don't know what it's about." Kimmy answered hesitantly.

"Oh… okay." Kurt breathed, before hanging up.

Great.

He was going to get fired. He just knew it. Why else would Bruce Anderson want to see him? And Jenny probably knew about it, that's why she had tried to sweet-talk him with that "you're-ready-for-more" crap.

Except that wasn't like Jenny at all. Nope. If Jenny truly would have known anything about a possible dismissal, she would've raised hell by now; because Jenny Ortiz was nothing if not fiercely protective of her cubs.

Still, it didn't ease his worries one bit, and the hand he raised to knock at the door of the conference room shook so badly that he lowered it again.

Calm down. Breathe.

He can't touch you.

Taking another deep breath, Kurt tried to let go of some of the tension and anxiety that had been building up on his way to the conference room. Satisfied that he was ready to face whatever was waiting behind that door, he once again lifted his hand and knocked against the dark wood.

Kurt crossed his arms while waiting for an answer. Instead, the door swept open and left him standing eye to eye with Bruce Anderson.

"Mr. Hummel! Thank you for coming up so quickly! Please come in and have a seat." Anderson said in a chipper tone, stepping back to allow Kurt entrance.

Kurt didn't know what kind of greeting he had been expecting, but that sure as hell wasn't it. If anything, it made him even more uncomfortable. He nodded stiffly in response and took a seat at the oval table, as Anderson returned to his chair at the opposite side.

Crossing his arms once more, Kurt raised his eyebrows and tried to give the other man his iciest look.

Anderson seemed amused. He studied Kurt for a moment, then smirked. "It's actually the first time I see you in your nurse uniform. Pretty color. I guess I can see how that would've drawn my son's attention."

Kurt clenched his jaw, willing away the mortified blush that was threatening to creep up. "What do you want?" He said under his breath.

Blaine's father let out a low chuckle. "You already know what I want, Mr. Hummel." Leaning back in his chair, he pointed at Kurt. "The question is, how am I going to get you to give me what I want." Anderson spread out his hands, palms-up, and shrugged. "So… name your price, Mr. Hummel."

"Excuse me?" Kurt scowled incredulously. "My price?"

"Yes." The older man lowered his hands again. "What will it take for you to get out of my son's life?"

Too shocked to even answer, Kurt exhaled sharply and only shook his head. That son of a bitch was trying to pull the same stunt as he had done with Steve. It was sickening, the way he was once again scheming to ruin Blaine's life.

"Don't you even care about Blaine?" Kurt asked. "Don't you care about his happiness? Why are you so intent on breaking his heart? Stop doing this!" He hissed.

Anderson's amused smirk turned into a nasty glare. "You have a lot of nerve, Hummel… of course I care about my son; that's why I'm doing this. Oh, I've tried reasoning with him, but he's too blinded by his lust to listen. And of course I care about his happiness; that's why I'm trying to prevent his downfall at your hands!"

"Oh God…" Kurt dropped his face in his hands. "This is insane." He muttered.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Anderson sighed. "Too proud to name your price, huh? No problem." He threw a thick brown envelope on the table, right in front of Kurt. The light thud caused Kurt to snap his face up.

"What's that?" Kurt asked, eying the envelope warily.

"It's my offer to you. I'll think you'll find it very generous." The other man said. "First of all, there's a first class plane ticket to New York in there. Second, a recommendation letter that will get you a job in whichever hospital you prefer, and if not, give me a call and I'll pull the necessary strings." Anderson grinned. "Third, the keys to a nice apartment on the Upper Westside. The rent has been paid up front, for an entire year. And fourth, last but not least, a check for one million dollars. The check is postdated and cannot be cashed until January 3rd, the day after your scheduled flight. So basically, you just have to-"

"No." Kurt shook his head vehemently, trying to keep his tears of anger and humiliation at bay.

"No?" Bruce echoed scornfully.

Kurt shoved the envelope away from him. "I don't want any of it. I'm sick and tired of having to justify my relationship with Blaine to you, so I won't even bother, but I am going to say this: there's nothing you can offer me in this entire world that could convince me to leave Blaine. Nothing. In fact, I would give up everything I have just to be with him. That's how much I love him." A tiny tear escaped his eye. Kurt wiped his cheek angrily.

For a moment, as Bruce Anderson nodded silently, Kurt almost allowed himself to believe that that was going to be the end of it. But then Anderson took another much smaller envelope out of his briefcase, and waved it in front of him, in a cruel, teasing way.

"Now what?" Kurt squeaked desperately. He just wanted to go home, to Blaine. Why couldn't this torment just end?

Bruce Anderson's lips turned into a malicious grin that made Kurt's blood run cold. "You say that nothing in this entire world could convince you to leave Blaine? Well… guess again."