Well, hello there! I don't even know if anyone is still interested in reading this but I sat on this for a while after mulling over it for months and just finished it up and decided to post. Hope you enjoy! There'll only be one more part after this.

Also, disclaimer: I tried to do as much medical research as I could, but the accuracy is probably shoddy at best. Just go with it, will ya?!

Oh, and italics are flashbacks!

…..

"Finn, this is the one." Rachel squealed, bracing his long, strong arm with both of her smaller ones. He and Rachel had been house hunting for the better part of a month and they weren't having any luck finding a place that felt right for them—at the right price. Well, that was before he and Rachel went on their daily walks (it was really Rachel's thing, but he didn't feel right about letting her physically exert herself without him being there. So, now he was fit by association. He'd thank his unborn for the 5lb loss later…) and they happened upon the old Victorian house on Hubbard Street, where this really nice old lady who wore pastel cardigans and always gave out pennies at Halloween had lived. Well… until she passed away last year and apparently none of her relatives had the heart to do anything with the old, cavernous home. The "For Sale" sign blew in the wind, practically begging them to take it.

He took in the dilapidated sight before him and sighed, and then looked down at his glowing girlfriend (not for long, though. He had the ring and everything- A new one, for their new start. He just had to work up the courage after the last time had gone so poorly) and decided no matter how much money this was going to cost or how much time it'd take, he had to do it. He'd do anything that made her smile this wide.

Plus, it'd be pretty cool to live in a house that may or may not be haunted.

"You really love it, huh?" He asked softly, kissing the top of her head.

She was beaming, looking up at him as she rubbed her little belly, "It's perfect. The wrap around porch, the turret, the huge yard… it's like a fairy tale!" His heart warmed as she cheered, clapping her hands excitedly in front of her face. He wondered if that was a learned trait, or one she'd pass down to their little girl. He affectionately put his hand to her under armor sweatshirt clad belly and let himself imagine Rachel and their daughter together.

Ruminations about their new life as a family had also spurred his inclination towards making this ridiculous decision in agreement with Rachel. He could just hear Kurt's screeching over it now. "Are you INSANE, Finn?" "You let RACHEL talk you into home renovation? She doesn't even know what a wrench is!" Chills were running down his spine just thinking about it. He had to admit, the house was gigantic for practically no money at all. They definitely wouldn't be able to afford something of this size if it were turnkey. But despite his deepening anxieties over buying and renovating a house in the same year as they were welcoming their (beloved yet unexpected) first child, for a second he let himself imagine it, five, ten years down the line—Their kids running around the yard, Rachel and him drinking coffee on the porch swing, Christmas mornings in front of the fireplace, throwing a ball with Sam and Puck around back, maybe getting an in ground pool for their spacious yard and getting to see Rachel in a bikini for an entire two months…

"Okay, Baby. Let's do it." He said decidedly. Now, he too was excited. He squeezed her hand and she turned and engulfed him in the tightest hug her body would allow. It was almost unbelievable that just two months ago she was living a whole different life without him in New York.

"I want to be fair about this, Finn. We'll use some of my Broadway money to do it, since it was my idea and it's such a big under taking," she promised, as if reading his worried mind.

"No, Rach—I don't want you to." He insisted.

She stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips, "It's my house, too, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but—" She stopped him in his tracks.

"And, aren't we going to be a family?"

"Rach, you already are my family. Baby or not."

She smiled in spite of herself, "That's very sweet, but you're missing my point. If we're a family, we share—everything, including our money. You buy the house, I pay for the reno. Besides, I have expensive taste."

She winked and he faltered, "I guess. But you know I have no problem doing this, right? I want to do this for you."

"I know. I want to do this for you, too."

He was brought out of his melancholy over the lost months with Rachel when she leaned in and kissed his chest and laid her forehead against it, "Finn, all of our dreams are coming true."

…..

"Honey, how are you doing?" Finn took his attention away from his still unconscious wife to look back at the person who put the warm hand on his shoulder.

He tried to offer her a smile, but it fell pathetically short, "Not so great, Mom," he turned back to Rachel to run his thumb over her pale cheek. "Some birthday," he remarked.

"Finn, she's going to be fine." Carole tried to convince him as she took a seat next to him on the bed, feeling for Rachel's pulse.

"Which one?" He asked gravely.

Carole realized her mistake and quickly tried to remedy it, "Both of them, Finny. I know it's scary now, but I don't think Rachel's in any immediate danger and so long as the labor lasts until the paramedics can get here, the baby will be okay, too. Rachel's contractions are far apart. That's a good thing."

"Then why did she faint? And why is she still unconscious?"

"I'm thinking a combination of stress, anxiety, and you know… carrying and delivering a child. It's not easy, especially when you're Rachel's size. She just needs to rest." She tried to joke.

Finn wasn't biting, "And what if her contractions speed up? What if the baby's born here? She's going to die, then, isn't she?"

"Finn, that's a worst case scenario. But if it comes to that, we'll do it and we'll try our hardest to help her."

"You told me before we were going to need to deliver the baby here."

"I think I got a bit ahead of myself. I'm emotional too, you know. She's my first grandchild." Carole accentuated the fact by squeezing Finn's hand.

"She's going to be your only one."

"Finn, stop talking like that."

"No. I'm never putting Rachel through this again. Ever."

As if hearing him subconsciously, Rachel stirred uncomfortably.

"Finn?" She croaked and both Finn and Carole's eyes snapped towards her.

"Baby!" Finn cried, leaning over and checking her face, as if judging if she were real.

"Is—is she okay?" She asked nervously, her hand snaking down to her still swollen belly.

"She's hanging in there, Rach. She's strong like her mommy." He smiled, leaning down and kissing his wife on the lips.

"I just want to go home," She began to whimper, like a little girl. Finn's heart broke into a million pieces as she continued, "And I just want to be in our bed in your arms, with our little girl still safe and growing… I want to wake up from this nightmare."

Finn's resolve was breaking, "Baby, I wish I could do that for you. I wish I could make this better."

Rachel suddenly gripped the sheets below her and yelped out in pain, "AHHH!"

Finn and Carole scrambled to grab her hands in an attempt to soothe her.

"Squeeze my hand baby, as hard as you need," He called out and she complied.

When the contraction finally passed her head fell back against the pillow and she panted, her face red and strained.

"You're doing so good, Rach." Finn cooed, kissing her temple and rubbing her stomach.

"Wh—what time is it?" Rachel asked, exasperated.

Finn's eyebrows furrowed until he realized why she asked.

"It's 9:58. Your contractions are 20 minutes apart." Carole announced as she wrote something down on a note pad.

"That's encouraging." Rachel sighed, this time in relief.

"20 minutes, that's good?" Finn asked, looking from his wife to his mother.

"It means she probably still has hours to go." She offered him a reassuring grin and he allowed himself to relax.

"Thank God." He cried and reached over to kiss Rachel again.

…

Finn woke up to the sound of his house falling down. Were there even earthquakes in Lima? He rolled over to check on Rachel but found her side of the bed empty, his heart sinking.

"Rach? Rachel?" He called out groggily, peering into their master bath and finding that empty as well.

"Rachel?" He bellowed, making his way down the hall, the house breaking noises growing louder.

He followed the sound down into the kitchen where he watched as his four month pregnant girlfriend swung a sledgehammer at the last wall the contractors didn't have time to get to yet.

"RACHEL!" Finn screamed, quickly ripping the sledgehammer from her arms and placing it far away from her.

She waited with her hands on her hips, clearly frustrated.

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?!" He cried, walking back over.

She stomped her foot, "I was finishing our demo before you stopped me!"

"You can't just be breaking down walls, Rachel. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we have a baby that's going to be here in five months and I don't have time for these contractors to take a personal day!"

"Baby, its Thanksgiving. They have families."

Rachel huffed and rolled her eyes, "I couldn't even prepare anything for your mother's table, Finn. Do you know how useless I feel? I can't even contribute to Thanksgiving dinner!"

Finn wrapped her in his arms, "Rach, it's so sweet that you wanted to help my mom, but trust me, she'd rather you take it easy anyway. Besides, we're supplying all the beer and wine, we more than made up for it."

"But everyone loves my banana bread," She sniffed, rubbing her face against Finn's shirt.

"We do, and next year we can have all the banana bread in the world, okay? This year, you're going to enjoy being a guest and a mama-to-be." He smiled, hand ghosting over her belly.

"Next year we're going to have someone else at the table with us," Rachel cooed, her hand covering Finn's on her stomach.

"I'm so excited, Babe. I just want her to get here already."

"Let's not rush her. I want her to be strong and healthy," Rachel asserted, her voice wavering.

"Of course. Rach… are you alright?"

Rachel shrugged, "Just something the doctor said the other day. About her maybe being premature. I guess it's been bugging me."

"It scared me too."

"It did?"

He nodded, running his hands up and down her back, "I didn't want to scare you, but that's why you can't be swinging sledgehammers."

"I guess that was pretty stupid. I didn't mean to put her in any sort of danger you know that, right?"

Finn let out a breath, "Baby, of course I know that. You just need to relax and relinquish some control. Enjoy being pregnant, let me take care of you."

…..

The pain was taking a toll on Rachel. Her face was pale and drawn and she was barely speaking.

"Have you gotten the EMTs on the phone yet?" Finn asked his mother, looking between her and Rachel.

Carole shook her head, "I'm still on hold. They must have a high volume of people calling in."

Finn grunted, cursing under his breath.

"We have to pick a name," Rachel whispered, lost in her own thoughts.

Finn's head jerked up, a soft smile on his lips, "I thought you said we'd wait until we saw her."

She avoided eye contact, "I just… I want to name her. In case something happens."

The smile fell from Finn's face, "Nothing's going to happen, Rach."

She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head as two tears rolled down, "You don't know that."

"Baby, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

She let out a labored breath, "If it comes down to it and… and you have to choose between us, you have to pick her, Finn. Promise me, swear to me right now that you'll choose her."

Finn's face grew hard, "Rachel, how can you expect me to—"

"You're her father, Finn."

"And you're my wife, Rachel."

"I'm not saying it's an easy decision, but it's the only one. She's our baby, we made her, we have to protect her. She comes first," Rachel explained, gripping both of Finn's hands.

"I can't!" He cried, ripping his hands away from Rachel, "I can't lose you, I won't!"

As if she had just betrayed him, Rachel turned her head and bellowed, "I want you out! Get out of this room!"

"Rachel, think about what you're saying…" He pleaded.

"Get out!" She screamed, sobs wracking her body. Carole ushered him out sympathetically.

"What just happened?" She asked, her arms bracing her son.

"She wants me to choose the baby over her and I can't do that mom, I can't even fathom it. I love my daughter and I don't want to have to choose but I can't just let Rachel die, she's my life, she's—she's everything."

"I can't tell you what to do, Finn. But if those are Rachel's wishes, then you need to respect them. You haven't bonded with the baby yet but Rachel has and if I was in her position, if it were between me and you, I'd choose you every time, Finn."

"Why is this happening?" He shouted, pacing back and forth, "Why my family?"

…..

"So we'll plan the wedding for Christmas, that way everyone's home and they don't need to make a special trip to Lima," Rachel explained, thumbing through the wedding venue brochures they collected.

"Babe that gives us like, less than four weeks to plan this," Finn countered.

Rachel sighed putting her hand to her head, "I know but we're pressed for time as it is with the house and the baby and your job…" Finn noticed her breathing becoming quicker, about to transform into a full on panic attack.

"Hey, hey, relax," He kneeled next to her taking her hands in his, "Everything's going to work out, alright? I'll make sure of it."

She didn't seem quelled by this though, he noted, as she bit her lip and her big eyes watered.

"We're doing everything all wrong," she heaved, her hands making their way from Finn's to her rapidly beating heart.

"Rach, let's just hold off on the wedding. All this stress isn't good for you."

…

"Her blood pressure is skyrocketing," Carole warned, sending Finn's heart into his throat.

"What does that mean?"

Carole sighed, looking over at her flushed daughter-in-law across the room, just out of ear shot.

"It means she could have eclampsia."

"How can we fix this? What do we do?!" Finn pulled at his hair in frustration.

"She needs a C-section."

"Those damn paramedics need to get here! Give me the phone!" He demanded as he stalked out of the room, dialing away.

"AH!" Rachel yelped, clutching Kurt's hand.

Carole ran to her side and took her other one, "Just breathe, Sweetheart. Deep breaths."

"What's the time?! Carole… something's wrong, I can feel it!" She cried.

"It's 10:23. Your contractions are just coming a little more quickly, now. About 15 minutes. Nothing's wrong, just focus on staying calm, okay? That's all you need to do."

She sobbed, "I can't, I'm so scared for her, I—"

Mid-sentence, Rachel's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body shook with convulsions.

"RACHEL!" Kurt screamed, trying to hold his friend still.

Finn came running in at the sound and nearly collapsed himself at the sight, "What's happening to her?!"

"She's seizing," Carole gulped, as Finn pushed his brother aside, taking her now limp body into his arms, "We're getting you help, Baby. I promise, I'm so sorry…"

He kissed her head and she tried to look back at him, "Finn, d—d'you think we should get married?"

"Baby, what are you talking about? We're married, see our rings?" He held her hand up with his ring clad hand.

"We are?"

"Rachel…"

"Finn, I feel funny."

…..

"Rach? Babe? I'm home!" He called out. He found it a little odd that she didn't answer back but given her recent mood swings, she could possibly be planning their divorce at the moment before they were even married. Or, she could be crying while holding the booties Tina knitted her. It was all very strange but he was trying to navigate it as best he could for her.

He walked into the living room and his heart swelled. Poor Rachel's belly had finally popped and it was getting harder and harder for her to find comfortable sleeping positions. So, there she was, curled up on the floor, one pillow between her legs, one under her head, and another cushioning her back, as Cliff nestled into the curve of her body.

They both were snoring.

He pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures, not wanting to ever forget this scene.

She must've sensed his presence because she stirred, her eyes opening to see him hovering over her, a sleepy smile playing on her face.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Finn cooed, kneeling down next to her, placing a kiss to her cheek.

"Mmm… Hey Baby. I was just having the best dream," she was still a little hazy but awake enough to sit up and crawl into Finn's lap.

He ran his hands through her silky hair, "Oh yeah? What about?"

She rubbed her belly affectionately, "The baby. She was so beautiful, Finn."

"That's not a dream, that's a premonition. Baby Girl Hudson's going to be the most beautiful girl on the planet, other than her mama, of course."

Rachel giggled, "It felt so real, I was holding her and she was looking up at me. And she loved you, Finn. She giggled at everything you said."

"That sounds amazing, Rach. Wish I could've gotten inside your head to see that."

She looked up at him, "You will, soon enough."

"Just three more months, it seems like yesterday I found out you were pregnant."

She tensed at the reference to that tumultuous time but he immediately soothed her, "Relax, Baby. It's water under the bridge. All's well that ends well, right?"

He leaned his chin on her shoulder and she nuzzled against him, "I'm still just so sorry about that, Finn. I feel awful about it."

His hands found their way to either side of Rachel's bump, "Don't. This is all that matters now. We're together, we're a family, we're happy. Everything happened like it was supposed to. You've gotta trust fate, Rach."

….

"The good news is that her contractions are still far enough apart," Carole assured them outside of Finn's room where Mercedes and Quinn were sitting vigil at her bedside.

"What does that mean?" Finn asked, not even bothering to lift his head from his hands.

"It means that she's relatively stable until she has another contraction," she explained.

Kurt and Sam exchanged worried glances as Blaine's eyes welled up.

"So, you think she's going to have more seizures?" Blaine whimpered.

Carole let out a breath, "In my professional opinion, Rachel has eclampsia. So yes, it's possible."

"The only cure for eclampsia is birth," Finn deadpanned, everyone's heads whipping over to him.

He had read the baby books. This was worst case scenario.

"Dude, it's not like we can make the baby come any faster…" Sam tried to reason.

"She needs a C-Section." With that, Finn got up from the floor and pushed his way into the room, promptly kicking both Mercedes and Quinn out.

Rachel was exhausted, between the labor and the seizure, keeping her eyes open was a struggle.

Finn took her hands in his and kissed them both, "Hey, hey… look at me, Babe. Stay awake, please."

"Finn, I'm so tired," she groaned.

"I know you are, Angel. I just… I can't do this alone, okay? I need you to be here to make the decisions with me. I don't want to make the wrong one."

She reached out a weary hand to rake through his hair, "You won't. You just have to trust your gut. You're a natural born leader. This is no different."

"It's completely different, Rach. I've never been so emotionally invested in anything in my entire life." He cried, gripping her hands harder.

"We'll be okay. Just… just don't let your heart cloud your brain, okay? I'm sorry I freaked you out before, I was just having a panic attack and I thought of everything that could go wrong and I—"

He silenced her with his lips, kissing her with everything he had. Terrified it could be the last time that they'd do this.

"I. Love. You." He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

"And I love you. More than you'll ever know," she replied hoarsely.

"Ah!" She shrieked, pulling them from their intimate moment.

She threw her head back and gripped at Finn's shirt. He stared down at her helplessly, holding her in his arms, and placing kisses on her head as she cried out in pain.

When silence befell the room and he felt her shake in his arms he knew things had taken a turn for the worst.

"MOM! She's—She's having another seizure!" He sobbed, holding her despite her convulsions.

Carole and Burt appeared in the room just as Rachel came down from the episode, completely spent.

"They're here," Carole breathed.

Finn turned his attention towards the blue and red lights flickering outside of his window.

He looked down at his limp wife in his arms and hoped they weren't too late.