Kurt quickly leads Rachel back to room 6, which is hers for the next hour and a half.� In that hour and a half, he has to make all of her dreams come true.

No pressure.

She quickly takes a seat in the plush chair by the door, and Kurt sits on the bench across from her, clipboard still in hand.

“So, Rachel,” he begins, “why don’t you tell me what you envision yourself in for your wedding day.� Do you have any idea regarding style or embellishment?”

Rachel gracefully crosses her legs in front of her, hands resting on her knees as she launches into her ideas.� Once again, her eyes seem to grow impossibly brighter, and Kurt can’t help but smile.� He loves an enthusiastic bride.

“Oh, yes!” she says.� “I’ve always pictured myself in a ball gown style.� I’ve spent a majority of my life competing in dance competitions and performing on stages, so I’ve worn more costumes than I can count.� I need something that can top those outfits.� Preferably with a sweetheart neckline and lots of beading.”� Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she looks a bit sheepish now.� “I’m afraid I have really high expectations for my dress.� I hope that doesn’t end up causing problems.� I’ve seen the show – I don’t want to have to try on twenty dresses and, in the end, just end up settling, you know?”

Reaching over, Kurt wraps up one of her hands in both of his, giving it a gentle pat.� “Miss Berry, we’ve found dresses for pageant queens and movie stars alike.� Trust me when I say that we will find your dream dress.� We’re not going to ever make you settle.� Now, how about price point?”� He releases her hand then, and jots down a few quick notes on his clipboard before looking expectantly up at her again.

Rachel shrugs a bit and smiles, “My dads said not to worry about it.� Like I said, they’re paying, and if I fall in love with a dress, they said they’d find a way to make it happen.� We’re more concerned about style than price.”

Kurt tries really hard not to let his eyebrows hit his hairline.� It’s rare that they get brides that come in with absolutely no budget.� He, personally, has never had one before, and to be honest, he’s not sure what to do with the newfound freedom now that he knows he can literally pull any dress out of that supply room and she won’t object.� Clearing his throat, he focuses his attention back on his bride.� “So, is it safe to say that you want to be the princess on your wedding day, then?”

Her head ducks then, and she toes the smooth carpeting.� “You could say that, yes.”

Kurt stands and grins, thrusting a hand out towards her.� “Then just call me your fairy godfather, sweetie.� I’ve got this under control.”

***

Kurt wanders in to the stock room, but barely gets a row in before Ashley, the interim fashion director, comes waltzing up to him, a big smile on her face.� “I hear you have a tough one today?” she asks, prodding him for details about his current bride.

“Not particularly difficult,” Kurt says, rifling through dresses.� “Though she is bound and determined to have a ball gown, and I just don’t think it’s going to work on her in the slightest.� But if it’s what she wants, then that’s what I’ll give her.� Maybe I can convince her otherwise.”

He finally spots a Dennis Basso gown that he immediately thought of in the appointment room and folds it gently over his arm before turning to Ashley, who’s still staring at him like a lion waiting to pounce.� He’s always glad for her help, of course, but she’s a little overeager sometimes.

“Ashley,” he says, as gently as possible, “can you go get me a dress rack?� I don’t think I can carry all of these around with me back here.� One of the wheeled ones, you know?”

With a quick nod, she scurries off, and Kurt lets out an exhale he hadn’t noticed he’d been holding in.� She’s good at her job, and Kleinfelds is lucky to have her while their actual fashion director is out doing his own show, but she’s – well, her energy is hard to handle sometimes.

He throws himself into finding dresses, hoping to get back to his bride quickly.� Though he recognizes that his vision isn’t flawless, he truly doesn’t believe that ball gowns will work on Rachel’s figure.� And with that nagging thought in the back of his mind, Kurt tries to hurry.� He’s got a lot to do in this short appointment.

It takes him another fifteen minutes to get out of the stock room, and he leaves with four dresses.� All things considered, he’s proud of himself.� He’s getting to the point that he knows that room so well that he can duck in and out quickly (and, he lets himself think, he would have been out in ten most likely if he hadn’t had Ashley chattering enthusiastically by his side about his bride’s lack of budget).

When he returns to Rachel, she’s changed out of her clothes and is perched on the edge of the chair, pink silk robe tied tightly around her figure.

“Okay!” Kurt says, clapping his hands before him with a bright smile.� “I think we’ve got a good starting point here.� Shall we get started then?”

Rachel bites her lip, and Kurt wonders if she already hates the dresses he’s pulled.� But his stomach drops even further when he realizes she isn’t staring at the dresses – she’s staring at him.

“Is everything okay, Rachel?” he asks, cocking his head to the side a bit as he unzips one of the garment bags.

She swallows, and Kurt can sense her unease, so he abandons the bag half unzipped on the hook on the wall.� Instead, he crouches down in front of her, wrapping her hands up in his.� “What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice soft and kind.

Rachel looks down at their wrapped hands.� “It’s just – I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with a male other than my fianc� helping me into clothing.� It seems weird somehow,” she says, looking up to meet his eyes.� “I really like you, Kurt – it’s nothing against you.� It’s just – I mean, are other brides comfortable with you seeing them barely dressed?”

And Kurt visibly relaxes, chuckling softly.� “Sweetheart, I’m gay,” he says, now comfortable enough with himself, especially with a job like this one, that he feels like he can tell people.� “Trust me, there’s nothing you’ve got that’s remotely titillating to me.� Nothing against you – you’re gorgeous, and your fianc� is a lucky man! – but I’m afraid you just don’t do it for me.”� He pats her knee once before standing, offering a hand to her once again.� “Now, if you’re still uncomfortable, I can go and get a female consultant for you, but I promise that I’ll be doing nothing but helping you into dresses, zipping, and clipping.”

Rachel’s face heats up, and she shakes her head.� “No, no, that won’t be necessary,” she insists.� “I just – I didn’t know.� I mean, I didn’t want to assume.”

Kurt walks back over to the first dress with a smile.� “Don’t worry about it.� It’s best not to assume, really – even though it’s probably pretty obvious, isn’t it?” he asks, his nose scrunched up in a smile.

Finally he finishes unzipping the bag and pulls out a Sophia Moncelli gown, unclipping it from the hanger and undoing the zipper so that she can easily slip in.� Once she’s got both feet in, he helps her wiggle the dress up her torso, laughing softly to himself when he sees that she’s blushing yet again from having to cup the dress to her chest as he zips it in the back.� It’s still loose on her (she really is a tiny girl), so he grabs some of the large clips and secures it on her.

“Alright, are you ready to see your first gown?” he asks, smiling down at her.

“I’ve been ready since the day he asked,” she says breathily.� “Can I turn around now?”

Kurt nods, and she spins, facing her reflection in the full length mirror.� It’s like the breath is knocked out of her.� She actually staggers a step back, her eyes wide and her jaw dropping.

“That’s me?” she asks.� And Kurt just nods again.

“That’s you, sweetheart.� Now, I have to tell you a bit about the dress – it’s a Moncelli design.� Sweetheart neckline, dropped waist, full organza skirt.� It’s really not that expensive, but it looks classic, elegant.”

She purses her lips, bringing a hand up over her mouth as her eyes brim with tears.� “It’s beautiful.� Can we – can we go show them?”

Kurt grabs the back of the dress for her in response, helping her head towards the door.� “With a reaction like that, it would be a crime not to,” he says.

***

Kurt helps Rachel walk back out to her pedestal, and feels the balloon in his chest inflate just a bit at all the wowed sounds and gasps coming from her entourage.� He may not personally be sold on the gown shape, but it still makes him proud when his pick ends up being even a bit successful.� Nobody can doubt that he is good at his job.

Once she finally reaches the stand, she steps up on it, and Kurt lets the skirt fall out behind her, full and displaying as much of the detailing as possible.

“Now, I know she wanted beading, but as soon as I saw this one on the rack, I knew I had to grab it for her,” Kurt says, turning to face her friends and family as he talks.� “It’s a classic ball gown shape, so this gives you a feel of the silhouette she wants without having to worry so much about details and particulars yet.� What do you all think?”

One of the girls – Tina, if Kurt remembers correctly – is crying already.� “Oh, Rachel, you look stunning,” she says, dabbing beneath her eyes with a tissue.� One of the other girls beside her is nodding, saying, “It really shows off your figure.� You look so skinny!”

“You think so, Quinn?” Rachel asks, turning a bit to look at herself from the side in the mirror.� “I was thinking the skirt, with all its ruffles, adds a little too much bulk to me, really.”

Kurt watches as she studies herself, knowing well that this is not the dress for her in the slightest.� But still, he turns to the fathers and stage whispers, “And bonus, dads: it’s only $2000.”

They seem to perk up at this, suddenly much more interested in the way the gown enhances all of her best features.

But Rachel isn’t buying it – literally.� “I don’t think this is it,” she says, shaking her head a bit disappointedly.

Kurt just smiles softly at her.� “Hardly anyone finds their dress in the first one.� We’ll find it, Rachel.”� He holds a hand out to her, smiling yet again at how she relaxes a bit at the gesture.� It seems to rapidly be becoming a thing for them.� So, gingerly, she places her hand in his and nods, waving goodbye to her party as they head off to try more dresses on.