Beginnings in Disguise- A Glee AU

Chapter 10

Rachel's POV
(earlier that day)

This week was opening week of my show, so my life has been consumed by work. I haven't spoken to or seen Kurt or Santana all week; I've been staying with Brody since he lives closer to Broadway than I do, and it's sort of a ritual for me to go off of my phone for all of opening week because otherwise I'd just psych myself out by reading reviews and comment sections. Today's the last day of opening week and I have two consecutive shows, so I won't be able to check my phone until this evening. But it's okay. I doubt I'll miss anything important.

"You were amazing, love," Brody says to me after the second act of the second show. He's called me love many times, but it still never fails to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Thanks. You were too."

For the first time all week, I open my phone. Apparently I did miss something important, because I have a ton of unread messages from both of my roommates.

9+ New Messages from: Kurt

rachel you will NOT believe what happened today

so blaine and i were planning our wedding right

and britt came by and she was hanging w us

then all of a sudden her water broke

so i was driving her to the hospital, and the traffic was really bad and long story short she went into labor IN MY CAR

I N M Y C A R

I N ! ! ! M Y ! ! ! C A R !!! !!!

ofc blaine started freaking out, you know how he is w blood and w stressful situations in general

but uh yeah he delivered the baby

honestly thank god santana swooped in at the last second and took brittany to the hospital

btw im at blaine and tinas rn, just to lyk :)

4 New Messages from: Santana

Britt had her baby, Azalea!!!

This is honestly the happiest moment of my life, I can't believe I'm a mom

I'm sure Hummel already gave u the long version, but long story short I sent him and Blaine home. Those two put Brittany through enough

I know you're at work rn but come to the hospital as soon as u can

I take a moment to process all that information. Blaine delivering a baby? The poor guy must be traumatized. Not to mention Brittany; listening to Blaine's incessant screaming on top of the pain of giving birth does not sound fun.

"What's up?" Brody asks one I look up from my phone. "You look... stressed. But somehow relieved at the same time?

"It's just my roommates," I say. "Santana's girlfriend gave birth, so I have a bunch of texts from Santana about how happy she is to be a mom, and then even more from my other roommate Kurt, who was freaking out because Brittany gave birth in his car."

"Oh. Wow. That is... a lot to take in."

"Yeah, tell me about it," I reply with a laugh. "I should probably go visit Brittany in the hospital, do you want to come with?"

"Yeah, why not?"

---
Santana's POV

"Well if it isn't Miss Fashionably Late. It's about time you showed up, Berry. Glad you could join us. Thanks a ton for texting me back to let me know you'd be coming, too. That was awesome of you."

"Hello to you too, Santana," Rachel shoots back, much to my surprise. "Opening week of my show went great, thanks for asking. I'm exhausted from it, though, not to mention having done two consecutive shows today."

I feel like I'm under a tree, all the shade being thrown. "Solid clapback," I say. "Who are you and what have you done with the world's youngest old lady Rachel Berry?"

"Coming from the master of clapbacks, that means a lot. Britt, you doing okay?"

"I'm fine," she says. "Not horrible, but I've definitely been better. I'm still a bit shaken up from everything that went down earlier, but I guess it'll be a fun story to tell Azalea when she's older."

"For sure," I agree. "This is gonna be, like, one of those stories that gets told at every family gathering. Also, Rachel?"

"Mhm?"

"While you're here, I feel like I should tell you that I'm going to be living at Britt's apartment for the time being. Until we find a bigger place. We decided this while you were off the grid, but agreed not to tell you and Kurt until the end of your opening week. I had a feeling you'd throw a hissy fit if you were the last to know."

"Yeah, that sounds like Rachel," says Brody. "She's a total drama queen, but that's part of why I love her." I don't know Brody that well, but from the few times I've met him I cam tell that he's good people. Plus, he really loves Rachel, and Rachel loves him, so I've got nothing against the guy. But him calling Rach a drama queen? It's safe to say I like him a lot more now.

"Aww, I love you too Brody," says Rachel. "And thanks for telling me about that. I completely understand. You and Brittany and Azalea are a family, and you want to be under the same roof."

"Exactly," I say. "I'm gonna stay here with Britt a bit longer, but you're perfectly welcome to go home and get some rest. I can only imagine how tiring this week was for you."

"Thank you, Santana. I was just going to excuse myself and Brody. Congrats again to you and Brittany."

"Yeah, congrats! I'll see you guys around."

---
Rachel's POV

Once Brody and I get back to his apartment and get into bed, I decide to text Kurt letting him know where I am.

You: Hey Kurt, I just wanted to let u know that I'm going to be spending the night at Brody's again so don't freak out when u get home and I'm not there.

Kurt: ok sounds good!!! have fun w brody :)

You: Thx! I will :)

"You texting Kurt?" Brody asks.

"Yep. I just wanted to let him know where I was so he didn't think I was missing and call the police again."

"Your use of the word 'again' implies that that's happened in the past. Has it?"

"Yeah, it has," I say. "One time during our freshman year at NYADA, Finn came to visit me because he had a day off from his ROTC training- it was always his dream to be in the military because his father was a veteran- so I took the day off from classes to be with him, and Kurt absolutely freaked when I didn't show up to any classes. He literally got the police involved, only to later find out that I wasn't a missing person, I was just with Finn."

"Ah. I mean, on the bright side, that means he actually cared about you and was worried that you were missing."

"That's true. I think I'm going to try to sleep now, I'm really tired. Goodnight, Brody."

"'Night, Rachel," he says, snuggling closer to me. "I love you."

"I love you too."