Kurt stares at the door Blaine walks out for a good minute or two, frozen to the spot. His heart falls down into his stomach, cold and harsh and completely confusing. He knows that he did the right thing by his own life, by his job and his lifestyle, but that doesn't make him feel any better. He finally has to shake himself out of his stupor and force himself to move forward. One step at a time, one breath at a time, until he's closing the door to room six behind him. Rachel immediately springs up off her chair, her brows furrowed.

"Where have you been?" she practically shrieks. "I'm almost out of appointment time, and we haven't found anything yet!"

Kurt hangs the two dresses on the hook on the wall and takes a deep breath. He knows she means well, and he can totally understand why she's nervous, but it's honestly the last thing he needs right now. He feels like his heart has been ripped out and run over by one of the dress carts. So he closes his eyes for a moment, gives himself a second to calm down, and turns back to her with a bright smile. He's good at those.

"Sorry, Rachel," he says, unzipping a bag containing a lace Maggie Sottero gown. "I had a little trouble in the stock room, but I really think that I've found the dress here. One of these two will be it, I'm sure of it. Your brother," he says, swallowing harshly around the word, "was a great help."

Rachel cocks her head to the side, studying him for a minute, but she finally relaxes and gives him a bit of a sheepish smile. "Alright. Sorry, I'm just – I'm worried I'm not going to find anything here today. Everything I thought I wanted isn't working."

Slipping the dress off the hanger, Kurt glances up at her, his eyes softening. It's not Rachel's fault he feels so lousy, after all. "I'll let you in on a little secret," he says. "You're my last appointment for the day, and I still have an hour of wiggle room left for the day. If we run over, it's okay."

Rachel let out a deep breath. "Oh, thank goodness," she said, a hand pressed over her heart. "So… what are we trying on next?" she asks, looking much more at peace than she did moments ago.

Kurt holds up the lace gown for her to examine, and if the sparkle in Rachel's eye in any indication, this could be very promising. She nods quickly and enthusiastically, and Kurt helps her step into it, zipping it up behind her.

"Rachel, this dress fits you like a glove," he says, tugging gently on the cap sleeves to pull them back into place. It doesn't need any clips to hold it to her body. Sure, alterations would make a few minor adjustments, but if it was really needed in a pinch? Rachel could walk away with this dress as is and be a fabulous bride. "Just look at yourself." Grabbing her shoulders, he carefully spins her around until she's looking at her reflection, and she just smiles.

"Wow," she says on an exhale. "I – I don't even know what to say about this one."

"Rachel Berry, speechless? My, maybe I am good at this job after all," Kurt teases.

Rachel rolls her eyes and swats playfully at him, but quickly turns her gaze back to her own reflection. "We have to show them," she says, shaking her head like there's no other option. "We have to."

Kurt just smiles. "One step ahead of you," he replies, gesturing to the already open door of the dressing room.

The exact moment Rachel's group sees her come around the corner, holding the delicate lace of the dress in her hands so as not to trip over the hem as she goes, is audible. There are gasps interspersed with soft 'oh, Rachel's and a few brief hiccups that leave Kurt wondering if they're crying already – if maybe this is it.

His bride steps onto the pedestal once again, facing away from her group, the chapel train fanning out behind her, and her reflection says it all. She loves the dress – her eyes are already brimming with tears and she keeps smoothing her hands down the front it, admiring the feel and look of it all. She doesn't turn back around to face the group, but she finally speaks up after a moment.

"Well?" Rachel asks. "What do you think?"

It's a question she's asked them before during this trip, but never with quite so much… uncertainty. Kurt can tell that she needs them to like this dress – she needs their approval – or she can't get it, no matter how much she may love it.

Her fathers both stand, coming to flank either side of her in the mirror. One of them wraps an arm around her waist while the other drapes an arm across her shoulders, and they tuck her in close to their sides.

"You look like a princess," one of them says.

"But like a princess from an old Hollywood movie," the other chips, holding a finger up as if to silence his husband. "Classy and elegant. Sophisticated."

"Old world meets Vogue. Very chic." He gives Rachel a thumbs up in the mirror, winking exaggeratedly at her, which just causes her to grin, tucking her face into his side to hide her smile.

Clearly they're close, and clearly this is where she gets her sense of theatrics from, but Kurt can't help but notice that there's one member of the happy family who doesn't seem so enthused. So he turns to Blaine with a gentle smile.

"Blaine, what do you think?"

Blaine pushes himself up off the couch with a bit of a sigh, moving to come stand beside his sister in front of the mirror, one of their fathers having made room to squeeze him in. Meeting Rachel's eyes in the reflection, he smiles, his hand sliding down to slide into hers.

"I think you look beautiful. Of course you do."

Kurt can see that he gives her hand a squeeze, and he swears that the grip Blaine has is around his heart rather than his sister's hand. He barely manages to squeeze out a "But?"

"But," Blaine begins, turning to give Kurt a look over his shoulder, "I'm just… I'm wondering if it might be a bit too… busy still?"

Rachel snaps her head around to look at him. "What do you mean?" she asks, a slight note of panic seeping into her voice.

Blaine shakes his head quickly, turning to face her and grabbing her other hand in his as well. "No, no, Rach, listen to me. The dress is beautiful, and you are beautiful in it, and for any other type of wedding, this would clearly be the right choice for you."

"Any other type of wedding?"

He sighs. "Sis, you're getting married on a Broadway stage. It's elaborate, it's showy, it's grand. It's everything you've ever wanted, and everything that you deserve to have. But if you also look elaborate and showy and grand… you're just going to look like another piece of the set."

She pouts, turning to glance at her reflection again. "But this is so toned down from the other dresses."

"I know. I know, and that's good," he says, nodding and smiling over at her. "I just wonder if something even simpler would make you stand out even more, you know?" With another sigh, he pulls her into a hug, holding her tight and fierce. Kurt tries to ignore the uneasy ball of jealousy rolling around in the pit of his stomach. "I just want your day to be perfect for you, Rach. It's your day, and you deserve to be the star of your show."

Rachel's crying when she pulls back from her brother, and Kurt wordlessly holds a box of tissues up towards her, waiting to see what her reaction is going to be.

"So what do I do now?" she finally says, dabbing carefully beneath her eyes so as not to mess up her make-up any further than it may already be.

Blaine finally turns to look at Kurt, a bit of a questioning look on his face, and Kurt just nods.

"There's one more dress I want you to try on. For me, okay?" Blaine says, grabbing a tissue himself and reaching up to wipe at a small speck of mascara on her cheekbone. "If you don't like it, then – then go with this one. Because you really do look stunning."

Rachel nods, sniffling a bit. Blaine steps down off the pedestal then, holding a hand out to her to help her down as well.

Note: As usual, the links to the dresses are on my profile. The one in this chapter will be at the bottom of the list. :) Let me know what you think!