Author's Note: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Emma with the baby carriage! A Wemma baby. Just thinking of a child between Will and Emma makes my heart soar. So here's a little story based on the arrival of a baby that will bring joy and happiness to my favourite onscreen couple. All songs are copyright of their respective owners. Thank you to my Beta Jodie!
Something wasn't right.
These ongoing dizzy spells were not making Emma Schuester's life easy.
They would appear unannounced, any time of the day or night. They had no routine, no standard duration, yet the same, unwanted effect each time.
Emma would be at the supermarket, grocery shopping, and suddenly feel the need to pass out. She would stand in line at the bank and would rush to find a chair as her body grappled with the searing pain. Or she would be in bed with her husband, Will, and the room would spin, making her feel extremely uncomfortable, as if she was on the rollercoaster ride of death. It was crippling, debilitating and frustrating.
She had never hugged so much porcelain in her entire life.
For four weeks now, Emma had been suffering. She had visited the doctor when she and Will returned from their honeymoon in the Caribbean. It had been a lot worse when they stepped off the plane in Lima, Ohio. The doctor diagnosed it as a stomach virus and gave her a prescription to help calm her body. They worked for a while and most of the symptoms dissipated, but the dizziness and nausea continued.
There were some days, sometimes two or three at a time when Emma was absolutely fine, convinced she was over her infliction. And then it would start all over again. On and off, niggly, then outright discomfort. Emma hadn't returned to the doctor since the initial appointment as each time the pain subsided, she didn't feel the need to go. Will thought otherwise.
"Baby, I'm so worried about you. I think you need to see the doctor again," Will told her kindly as he cuddled up to her in bed. Her tear-stained face looked back at him, nodding. She then covered her mouth and darted to the bathroom where she threw up for the second time that night. Although, there wasn't much left to throw up. Will rushed to her side, stroking her back and holding her hair.
Emma cried.
Will cradled her into his body, rocking her gently. Her own body was thinner than normal, although she was eating normally, it was getting impossible to keep anything down.
"Make it stop, Will," she sobbed.
"I wish I could sweetie. Why don't you go for another shower and I'll make you some tea." He helped undress her and stood her under the warm water. "We'll see the doctor first thing in the morning."
Will boiled the water for the tea and because Emma's stomach was empty, soft-boiled an egg and made some toast soldiers with butter.
After Emma was settled back in bed, feeling a lot fresher after her shower, Will brought her the tea and food on a tray. He placed his arm around her and kissed her cheek. She felt a bit warm, but that could have been due to the shower.
"My sweet Emma, how are you feeling now?" He dipped a toast soldier into the egg and fed her. She took a small bite and swallowed.
"I'm feeling a little better. Thank you for taking care of me." She bit her lip and smiled.
"It's what good husbands do." He kissed her temple and ran his fingers through her damp ginger hair.
She took a sip of the hot tea. "I'm sorry I've been so sick. This virus doesn't seem to want to budge."
"It's gotten a lot better though, better than how it was when we caught the plane home."
"It must have been something I ate or maybe some bad water."
"It could have been anything baby. But tomorrow, we'll get you checked out again and you'll be back to normal."
"Have I told you how much I love you Will?"
"Yes, but you don't have to tell me. I already know. I love you too."
He watched over Emma as she finished off most of her meal and then returned the tray to the kitchen. Climbing back into bed, he held his new bride against his body.
She yawned. "I'm so tired." Emma closed her eyes, letting her body relax. It was fatigued from fighting.
Will took her hand and spoke softly. "Sleep now Em. You need your rest."
"Mhm. My throat and stomach muscles are sore."
Will put a hand on her stomach, careful not to apply too much pressure in case it made her sick again. "I can imagine they would be. You've been ill a lot. Can I do anything to make you more comfortable?"
"Can you sing to me?" Emma rolled onto her back and stroked Will's face. "Please? It might help me get back to sleep."
Her sad, soulful doe eyes were hard to say no to. "Sure. What would you like to hear?"
"Something soothing."
"Something soothing…" Will thought for a moment. "Okay, sweetie, close your eyes. This song has a very special place in my heart; it's such a beautiful lullaby, one I hope to sing to our children. It's from the Beatles White Album. Good Night, my Emma." Laying her arm across his chest and resting her head on his shoulder, she listened to Will's gentle and calming voice.
Now it's time to say good night
Good night, sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night, sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you
Emma curled up closer, her eyelashes fluttering.
Close your eyes and I'll close mine
Good night, sleep tight
Now the moon begins to shine
Good night, sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you
Emma's breathing became slow and constant: she was finally asleep. Will held onto her hand and kissed her head. "Sleep tight sweetie," he whispered, closing his eyes.
Will was having trouble sleeping. It was 2am and all he could think about was Emma's health. At least there was no school; he could devote all his time to caring for her. It had started out as the most perfect summer either of them had experienced in their lives.
A perfect wedding held outdoors amongst the flora of the botanic gardens. When Emma appeared at the start of the blue carpet dressed in her strapless satin and lace wedding gown, Will broke down in tears. She gracefully walked to the altar, beaming, crying, overcome with happiness, wanting to jump into Will's arms and scream out 'I Do' for everyone to hear. As he lifted her blusher, his heart skipped a beat. Emma looked stunning; absolutely, strikingly beautiful. And Will, in his suit and tie, made Emma swoon. Their vows, heartfelt and sentimental, were their own, reducing the guests to tears.
They said their 'I Dos', emotions building as they struggled to keep from crying. Then, the words everyone was waiting to hear. You may now kiss the bride. Will pressed his lips to Emma's, finally sealing their commitment as husband and wife. He took her by the waist, pulling her against his body as she cupped her hands around his neck, drawing him deeper, lips parting, tears falling, heat rising. Emma held her breath; their lips clung together longingly, delicately. Breaking apart, they heard the clapping from guests and turned to face them all, overjoyed to share this special moment with family and close friends.
The reception, held in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel, ended a magical evening. Slow dancing to Jennifer Rush's 'Power of Love' was intimately sweet and sensual. Emma sung the words quietly to Will as they travelled across the dance floor.
'Cause I am your lady and you are my man
Whenever you reach for me, I'll do all that I can
We're heading for something
Somewhere I've never been
Sometimes I am frightened
But I'm ready to learn about the power of love
The lights low, music filling the room, they concentrated on each other, their eyes expressing more than words could say. Kissing each other softly, they knew destiny had brought them together.
"Just when I thought I loved you as much as possibly could, I look at you today and realise my love for you reaches beyond the stars, beyond the moon. My gorgeous wife, Emma Schuester, you have no idea what you do to me. My better half, my soul mate, my true love," Will told her shakily, clutching her hands as they danced.
Emma kissed his cheek, warmly charged by her husband's words. "I cry happy tears thinking of how much I love you Will. You are the one that stood by me, loved me for who I am, supported me. You are everything I've ever needed in my life. I can't – I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone else but you. I love you so much." Embracing each other, they swayed together, never wanting to let go.
A week-long honeymoon in the Caribbean awaited the newlyweds. Staying at the Sandals Grande Riviera in Jamaica, they decided to splurge and booked the Romeo and Juliet Honeymoon Sanctuary, complete with a private pool. Beautiful views. Private. Peaceful. Romantic. They made love every day. Sometimes twice a day. A culmination of three years of heated glances, hot kisses and restraint made way for something that transcended their wildest imaginings. All their hunger, all their passion for each other freed their bodies into sweet surrender. There was no fear, no hesitation; just Will, Emma and their love for each other.
As their honeymoon drew to a close, Emma began to experience abdominal cramps and nausea. Will self-diagnosed it as Turista, a Mexican term that he picked up and unfortunately was struck down with during a holiday to Mexico. He found a pharmacy and purchased some over the counter medication to help ease the symptoms.
Emma apologised profusely for putting a dampener on their honeymoon. Their last night was spent with Emma in the bathroom for most of the evening as Will packed their luggage for their early flight in the morning. She peeked her head out from behind the bathroom door; she was pale and tired.
"Will I'm so sorry."
"Em honey, it's okay, it happens. Don't be sorry."
"I ruined our honeymoon."
Will stood and walked over to her, taking her hand. "No you haven't. I've had the most amazing week with you. Give me a couple more minutes and I'll help you clean up." He kissed her nose. After he had finished packing, he joined Emma in their roman-styled tub for a sponge bath. She began to relax, allowing Will to dote on her as he had been doing all week. They lay together in the bubbly water, almost falling asleep. They were both exhausted.
Emma struggled on the flight back. The cramps had cleared but dizziness and nausea continued. Will made her take Dramamine partway through the journey home to help her sleep and reduce the symptoms. Once they arrived home, he put her straight to bed and called the doctor, who diagnosed the stomach virus.
But it had gone on for too long.
Will was going to call that same doctor in the morning and make sure Emma saw her as soon as possible. He needed his healthy, thriving Emma back. Shifting his body to snuggle closer to his sleeping wife, Will drifted off to sleep.
Emma woke early and stretched, feeling in good health as opposed to last night. She looked at the clock. 8am. Will was still asleep. She kissed his cheek and nudged his body, stirring him from the deep slumber that he needed. Opening his eyes, he saw a smiling Emma looking down at him.
"Morning sweetheart."
"Morning honey, how are you this morning?"
"Really well."
"I'm still calling the doctor though. I can't have you passing out on me every couple of days."
"I know, Will."
"Want some breakfast?"
"Maybe just a soft-boiled egg again… with the toast soldiers."
"Ahh, you like those?"
"Yes, I do. It was yummy."
They cuddled for a while longer, relishing in a small moment where Emma wasn't going to run to the bathroom. Will then made them breakfast and called the doctor's office, urgently seeking a morning appointment. His persistence paid off. The appointment was in 30 minutes.
Discarding the breakfast dishes in the sink, they hurriedly dressed and zoomed to Lima's business centre where the practice was located. Emma was still in good spirits, but she could feel some light-headedness returning.
As soon as they announced their arrival to the receptionist, they were asked to go straight through to Dr Michaelson's office.
"Will, Emma, please take a seat," the doctor said politely as she closed her door. As they settled themselves, she asked, "So, Emma, what's been happening?"
"Well, most of the symptoms from my virus have gone, but I'm still nauseated and dizzy. I feel dizzy now, actually. I've lost a bit of weight because I have been sick. Sometimes it can be hard to keep food down."
"Mm… is it every day?" The Doctor tapped away at her computer.
"It occurs every other day, sometimes at night, sometimes during the day, no set pattern, no real warning. All I know is, I just want it gone."
Dr Michaelson continued entering data onto Emma's computer file. "It sounds like the tail end of that virus you picked up while overseas, but to be on the safe side, we'll take a blood sample, in case it's anything that requires further testing. It seems to have gone on for a little longer than I thought it would, which is where my concern is. If you go down the hallway, one of the nurses will do that for you now."
Emma grimaced. "I hate needles."
Will put his arm around her. "I'll be with you the entire time, okay? You can squeeze my hand if it hurts too much."
She nodded anxiously.
"In the meantime, bed rest, keep your fluids up, and try to eat please, regardless. You need your strength. And you need to stay hydrated."
"Thanks Doctor," Will shook her hand.
They left Dr Michaelson's office and walked down the hallway to the nurses' station.
A thin, mature-aged nurse greeted the Schuesters. "So, Emma, we'll be taking a sample of your blood today. Come with me, we'll get you comfortable."
"Uh, can my husband come too?" She asked.
"Sure, that's okay. Let's go." The nurse brought them to a curtained off area and asked Emma to sit on the foldaway bed. Will sat next to her, holding her hand.
"Okay, first I'll just swab the area," the nurse chirpily. "Now," she prepped the needle, "I'm just going to put this in your vein here and take a little bit of blood so we can find out what's wrong. What's that out the window there?" She pointed, distracting Emma. As she turned her head, the nurse popped the needle under her skin, drawing out the blood she required. It was too late for Emma to even register the sting.
"There we go, all done Emma."
Will kissed her cheek, clasping his hands around hers.
Emma looked at her arm; the nurse was already putting a medical strip over where the needle was inserted. "Ow," she said meekly.
The nurse laughed. "That's what I do to all my patients. You did very well. We should have the results in a couple of days, so we'll give you a call. You may need to come in for a meeting with the doctor, but we'll confirm that with you at the time."
"Okay, thank you." Emma and Will left the doctor's office and returned home. Following orders, Emma spent the next couple of days in bed, with Will taking over most of the household duties. She felt terrible that he was doing all the work, but it did feel nice to have someone else take care of things.
"You look cute in my apron honey," Emma grinned as Will brought her lunch in bed.
"My baby's feeling better already; I see the adorableness returning, not to mention that cheeky smile." He leaned down to kiss her.
"I am feeling good. This bed rest has really helped me out. And so have you. Not many men would go out of their way to do things like vacuum and laundry and cleaning bathrooms."
Will stretched and flexed. "Ahh… all part of day's work sweetie."
As Emma was about to take a bite of her lunch, the phone rang. Will picked it up.
"Hello? ...Sure, she's right here." He covered the mouthpiece. "Emma, it's for you… the doctors."
"Ooh, thank you. Can you hold my hand please? I may need it." She took the receiver from Will and he sat next to her, holding her hand.
"Hello, this is Emma. Yes… Uh-huh… Oh… Now? Well… yes, I can. Alright, I'll be there soon. Bye." She gave the phone back to Will.
"What's up? Is it serious? You sounded worried."
Emma frowned. "Um… it's not serious; actually Dr Michaelson wouldn't tell me over the phone. She's asked me to come in and see her though."
"Okay, I'll come with you."
She stopped him. She saw how tired he was. "No. I'll go by myself. It can't be that bad. I think you need the afternoon off. Have a rest."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Emma changed into some fresh clothes, grabbed her handbag and drove into town. The Doctor has been quite vague over the phone; Emma couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. A stream of red lights hampered the drive in, but finally Emma reached her destination. Her fate was only one flight of stairs away.
She smiled as she walked through the glass doors to the doctor's office. The receptionist called through to Dr Michaelson and she appeared in the waiting room a few minutes later. The Doctor had an odd smile on her face that Emma couldn't quite read. It was scary but relieving at the same time, for if it was bad news, she assumed there would be no smiles at all.
"Hello again Emma, how are you today?"
"Really well today." She sat down. "Yourself?"
"Oh you know as well as a person is that works in a doctor's office. Haha. Look, we received the results of your blood test today and I thought it best to have you come in instead of telling you over the phone. Is your husband here?" She picked up the file from her desk and flicked through the papers.
"No, I left him at home, he's been doing so much work around the house, I thought he needed a break from me and from housework."
"Oh, okay, I was really hoping he'd be here, but I suppose it would be nice if you told him the news yourself." She placed the file back on the desk and clasped her hands in her lap, smiling again.
"Oh? I guess it's not as serious as I thought."
"No, not serious in that way. It was what we thought originally, a virus, but now, it's something else. I'm just going to ask you a couple of personal questions, if you don't mind. When was the last time you had your period?"
Emma gripped the handles of her handbag. That personal. "Um… I should be due about now, actually I am a little late, but I would put that down to all the travelling and getting sick. That's sure to make it irregular, right?"
"Hmm… yes, that is possible. Have you engaged in sexual intercourse recently?"
She blushed. "Not for a few weeks, but yes."
"Are you on any form of contraceptive, such as the pill?"
"No, I'm-I'm not. We use protection… c-condoms." She furrowed her brow, wondering where the doctor was heading with this.
"You are aware that condoms aren't 100% protective against pregnancies?"
Emma's stomach filled with butterflies. She began to feel light-headed. And this time, it wasn't due to whatever ailment she had. "Y-yes… what are you trying to say?"
The doctor gave a big smile. "Congratulations Emma, you're going to have a baby."