Fic: Higher Education, 18/?
Title: Higher Education, 18/?
Author: knittycat99
Rating: R for language
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Puck/Kurt, with appearances by Will, Shelby, Burt, Carol, Beth and Quinn, plus assorted OCs
Genre: Romance
Warning: Futurefic, AU
Spoilers: all past epsiodes are fair game for backstory, but no real spoilers
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; they all belong to FOX
Author Notes: I hope you all like this part. I knew how I wanted it to end, but the getting there surprised me a bit. In a totally good way.
Summary: Beth's school musical, a surprise birthday party, and there's baby goodness
Word Count: 4,820
Spring, 2026
April, Lima
Noah never took days off from school. Okay, that wasn’t totally true. He’d taken two days off last winter when he’d come down with bronchitis, but that had really been medical necessity because he ended up so doped up on prescription cough syrup that he couldn’t even get out of bed. But this was different. He’d put in for a Friday personal day, and told his classes and written a neat stack of sub plans that he’d left on his desk. He went home Thursday night and picked up Kurt and their luggage, and drove the 15 minutes to the airport. It was a quick trip, in on Thursday night and home on Sunday evening, cheap tickets on a Providence to Columbus flight. It was the last trip they’d make before the baby came, and while they were going to Lima for Beth’s 16th birthday and to see her perform as Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes at McKinley, Noah also had an inkling that the women in his and Kurt’s lives were taking it upon themselves to throw a baby shower. Even though Kurt had made everyone promise that there would be no such thing as a shower.
He mentioned it to Kurt as they lay curled together Friday morning in their room at the Holiday Inn. To his credit, Kurt just smiled. “I know. I want to hate them for it, but I can’t. They’re all so excited.”
“Yeah. As long as they don’t spill the beans about the baby’s sex.” Laura had found out just after Christmas, and had apparently told her moms, and then emailed Leah and Lizzie, Carol, and Shelby and Beth. Noah was pleased that they’d all kept the secret to this point; Kurt had threatened them all with bodily harm if they slipped up. They’d painted the nursery a pale green color, and Laura had gone with them to pick out a light oak crib, dresser, and matching changing table. He and Kurt hadn’t been able to compromise on a theme, though, so they’d been thrilled when Laura showed up for one of their bi-monthly Friday dinners with a big bag from Babies R Us. Her find was perfect, sheets and a baby quilt and a wall runner in sage green, cream, and brown geometric prints. “Gender neutral,” she told them, “which means that you’ll be able to use it again with baby number two.” He and Kurt had just glanced at each other across the dinner table and smiled.
“We should get breakfast,” Kurt said sleepily, interrupting Noah’s thoughts about the baby.
“Yeah. Or we could stay in bed for a while and then see if your dad and Carol want to meet for lunch. Are they coming to the show tonight?”
“And to the party. Dad said they wouldn’t miss it. Even though I’m the only tie they have to Beth, they both think of her like a granddaughter.”
“It’s sweet.”
“We should stay in bed.”
*****
They ended up spending the better part of the day in bed, mostly because they had the rare luxury of doing so and in part because neither Carol or Burt were able to get away for lunch; the four of them met up for dinner instead before heading over to the high school. Kurt felt a little awkward settling down next to Noah in the same auditorium where they had sung and danced their way through their teens. Something about being in that space made him feel like he was 16 again, but the feeling passed as soon as the lights dimmed and Noah took his hand across the armrest of the too-small seats.
The show was solid. The kids were all talented; Beth was spectacular, and Kurt didn’t think that because she was Noah’s daughter. He thought that because she sparkled on stage. She had a rich mezzo soprano, and could belt better than Rachel ever did. There was a nuanced maturity to her performance, and even her dancing was pretty good; he and Noah both knew that she’d never had a formal lesson, though nobody in the audience would likely have been able to tell. They mingled with his dad and Carol during the intermission, and wasted no time jumping to their feet with the rest of the audience at the end of the second act. They watched the normal opening night presentation of flowers to the directors and leads (and smiled as Will and Shelby shared a small kiss at center stage). They waited in the hall outside of the dressing rooms for Beth, who dropped her bag on the floor before launching herself into Noah’s arms.
“No-ey, thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
“For what?” Kurt could hear Noah murmur into Beth’s ear.
“For coming to see the show.”
“It was wonderful.” Kurt found his voice, and opened his arms to Beth for his own hug. When he had her ensconced in his arms, he told her “You have real star quality. You were brilliant.” When she pulled away, he could see a faint blush wandering up her face.
“Thanks.” She looked around the near-empty hallways. “Where are Mom and Will?”
“We wanted to take you out to celebrate, and I think they were both exhausted. And maybe looking forward to having a little kid-free time. So, a late dinner?”
“God, yes. I’m starving.”
Kurt smiled. He’d never been able to eat before performing, either.
“Breadstix?” Noah asked.
“Is there anywhere else?”
They all laughed as they headed to the car.
Kurt wasn’t sure how everyone had managed to hide their cars, but there were no visible signs of the impending party. That was good. When they got inside, Kurt went ahead and let Noah follow behind to motion to the hostess that they were with the party. Shelby and Will had booked the private room, and Kurt ignored Beth’s questions as they walked through the crowded restaurant. He swung the doors open to a crowd of Beth’s friends and family shouting “surprise!” He let his eyes drift through the room, catching his dad and Carol, Noah’s mom. And there, in a far corner, trying to be invisible but standing out anyway in chic but casual clothes and an adorable short haircut, Quinn Fabray.
“Oh. Shit. What’s she doing here?” The words were barely out of Kurt’s mouth when he felt Noah pull up behind him and see her as well.
“Fuck. Who invited her?”
*****
Noah was shaking. Son of a bitch. All these years, he’d put in the effort. He’d written the first letter to Shelby when Beth was four, asking if it was okay for him to write back after he got pictures in the mail. He’d made the first awkward phone call, had worked to keep up the contact because Beth was important to him. He’d built the relationship slowly and carefully, and was lucky that Beth was the kind of kid who understood implicitly that he had given her up because he loved her. She had only asked him about Quinn once, when she was in elementary school. He’d told her what he could, and emphasized that just because Quinn never wrote or called didn’t mean that she didn’t think about Beth; he knew that the opposite was likely true, that the reason Quinn was keeping her distance was because she thought and felt entirely too much. Even so, she was the very last person he’d expected to see at Breadstix this night.
He took Kurt’s hand firmly in his own and watched as Beth made the rounds of well-wishers. Noah took the opportunity to hug Will and Shelby and congratulate them on a show well done. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when Will whispered in his ear “I tracked Quinn down and let her know there was going to be a party. I never heard back, so I didn’t think she’d come. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“No. No, it’s okay. I think . . . I think it’s a good thing.”
“I’m really sorry, though. That’s not a nice surprise to spring on anyone.”
“Will. Stop.”
Will laughed in that slightly insecure, nervous way he had, and turned to talk with Kurt. Noah ran a hand along the length of Kurt’s back and asked him “Drink?”
“Mmmm. Club soda with lime, please.”
Noah wandered over to the bar and ordered a Coke for himself, Kurt’s club soda, and then added a white wine at the last minute. He took Kurt his drink before taking his Coke in one hand and the wine in the other, and weaving his way through the room to where Quinn remained plastered to the wall. Her eyes widened at his approach, and she pushed off the wall with ease to meet him, carefully taking the almost-too-full wineglass from him.
“I hope you like white.”
She smiled faintly at him. “It’s fine. Thank you. You didn’t have to-”
“Thank you for coming.”
“You seem better with it than I’d thought.”
“Shocked.” Noah swallowed around his words, more in an effort to slow his brain than anything else. He tried again. “I was kind of surprised to see you here.”
“Probably about as surprised as I was to get an invitation from Mr. Schue.”
“Are you nervous? Being here, I mean, and meeting Beth.”
“Yes.”
“You look good. LA treating you all right?”
“It’s fine.” Noah had heard through the grapevine that Quinn was working at the LA office of a large financial firm.
“You might be fine, but you’re not really happy, are you?
She looked down into her wine. “You always could see through me.”
Noah laughed at that. “It must be a talent. Kurt says the same thing almost every day.”
“Things are good with you? With the both of you?”
“You haven’t heard.”
“Heard what?”
“We’re having a baby.” Quinn’s eyes went big, and Noah scrambled to explain. “I mean, we’re adopting a baby. The birth mother was adopted herself, by a lesbian couple.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. In about six weeks, I’ll be a dad. Again.”
“Beth’s okay with all of that? This?”
“With me? With Kurt? Me being a part of her life?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s a really unique kid. You and I gave her a lot, mostly her looks and her talent. She was remarkable in the show tonight, by the way. If you have time tomorrow night, you should go see it. But where I was going with this was that Shelby did everything else.” He took a breath, leaned back against the wall next to her and ran his hand over his face. “It wasn’t easy to make that first contact. I was afraid Shelby would tell me that she didn’t want that, and that Beth wouldn’t want to know me. But little kids are funny. The more people they have in their lives, the better. She’s always gotten it. She’s always known she was adopted, and she knows that we gave her up because we couldn’t give her the kind of life she deserved.”
“Do you know that?”
“It took me a long time, but yes.” He leveled her with a look. “Do you?”
“I’m getting there. For a long time, I thought about her every single day. But it’s gotten better over time. I don’t think I’m ready for what you have with her, but I’m glad I came.”
“Good. Do you want to meet her?”
“Yes. Please.” Quinn’s voice was hoarse and her eyes were wet.
Noah took her hand gently in his; it felt strange. The last time he’d done that was sixteen years ago in the fluorescent light of the hall outside the hospital nursery. “C’mon. I’ll bet you the next drink that she knows who you are before I introduce you.”
*****
Kurt watched from across the room while Noah and Quinn talked. It seemed to be going well. When Noah took Quinn’s hand and began to lead her away from the corner they had been talking in, he crossed through the maze of tables to meet them. He hugged Quinn, and told her she looked beautiful before falling into step with them. “Quinn wants to meet Beth,” Noah told him, a subtle note of pride in his voice.
“Good.”
Beth was clustered around the buffet table with a group of kids, a mix of boys and girls. When they reached her, Kurt tapped her on her shoulder. She turned and grinned at him. “Kurt! No-ey! These are some of the kids from Glee. Guys,” she turned back to the kids. “This is my birth father, Noah, and his husband Kurt. They were in New Directions when they went to McKinley.” Kurt smiled when her voice went down to a reverent hush. “They were the group that won Nationals!”
Kurt was swarmed by the kids, who were clamoring over each other to ask him questions, but he pulled away. “Nice to meet you all. Give Noah and me a minute with Beth, and then I’ll come back and you can ask me questions all night, okay?” He breathed a sigh as they moved away en masse, and he used a gentle hand at the small of Beth’s back to usher her to the end of the buffet. Then he stepped back and left Noah and Quinn to it.
“Bethie,” Noah began. “I’d like you to meet-”
Kurt watched as Beth squared her shoulders and said “You’re Quinn Fabray, and you’re my birth mother. Right?”
Quinn nodded. And Kurt’s heart broke to watch Beth close the distance between them, pull Quinn into her arms, and say “Thank you.”
*****
There was dinner, and dancing, and a delicious birthday cake. Noah and Kurt talked for a while with Beth’s Glee friends, regaling them with stories about slushie facials (apparently long a thing of the past), writing original songs (Kurt hummed a few bars of “My Headband”, which sent Noah laughing right off his chair because that had been during Kurt’s time at Dalton; “Britt taught me,” Kurt told him later), and some of Mr. Schue’s crazier lessons (“Proud Mary” in wheelchairs, and the Rocky Horror debacle topped the list). The whole time, though, they both kept a watchful eye on the table where Beth sat talking with Quinn.
“It’s good for them,” Kurt said after the kids had dispersed.
“I know.”
“Are you okay?”
“Actually, yes. I want Quinn to know Beth. I’ve wanted that for a long time, I just never thought it was going to happen.”
“I’m glad it has.”
“Me, too.”
“So.” Noah reached his hand out for Kurt’s. “Should we head out? My mom and Carol want to meet us ‘for breakfast’ tomorrow.”
Kurt snorted. “For the ‘not a baby shower,’ I suppose.”
Noah just rolled his eyes as he pulled Kurt to his feet so they could say their goodbyes.
*****
Breakfast wasn’t a surprise baby shower after all; instead, it was just Kurt’s dad and Carol, Noah’s mom, and Shelby and Will (“Beth’s having breakfast with Quinn,” Will told them in a whisper as they all sat down). There was no real fanfare, and no baby gifts (“We sent them all to the house!” Noah’s mom cackled with laughter at Noah’s expression of fear).
“We just wanted a chance to get together with you boys before the baby comes to tell you how proud we all are, and how excited we are for this next chapter in your lives.” Carol beamed at them over her glass of orange juice.
Talk was light, the meal full of laughter as the parents shared stories of Noah, Kurt, and Finn as little boys. Kurt felt vaguely embarrassed, but laughed along with everyone else. When the group stood to leave, his dad held him close for a long moment. “God, Kurt, you have no idea how proud I am of you. I can’t wait to meet my grandbaby.”
“You’ll be my first call.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
*****
May, Providence
The Wednesday before Memorial Day, Noah was in the middle of handing out exam review sheets to his Intro to Bio kids when his cell began dancing across his desk. He apologized to the kids, said “Give me a minute,” and stepped out into the hall.
“K? What’s going on?”
“Laura just called.”
“And?”
“Meet me at the hospital.”
“I have to finish out this class. I have a free after this, and I’ll need to have someone cover the rest of the day. And the sub plans. And exams. Shit.”
“Noah. Breathe. Are you breathing?”
“Barely.”
“Try harder, and listen. Her water just broke. It’s probably going to take a while. Finish your class. Find coverage, and tell the office. They’ll take care of finding a sub for tomorrow. This is why you put all those plans together over the last few months. We knew this might happen before school got out. We’ll make it work. There’s a reason why my schedule is so flexible. We’ve got this.”
Noah let out a shaky breath. “Yeah.”
“Go. Finish your class and I’ll see you at the hospital.”
“O-okay.”
“And Noah? I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The kids were bouncing in their seats. Noah gulped in a breath of air and finished handing out the review questions with shaking hands. He worked to focus on the lesson at hand, and managed to finish up a few minutes early. That was when he finally stopped moving and leaned against his desk. “Okay,” he told his class with a sigh. “I’m going to be out until Monday. I’ve left plans for the sub, so be on your best behavior. Go through the review sheets and make notes of any questions you have. We can talk about them on Monday.”
Jacob Lewis, a kid who was also in Noah’s advisory, raised his hand. Noah nodded at him to go on. “Mr. P., is it the baby? Is the baby coming today?”
“With any luck.”
The room exploded into excited chatter, and Noah just let them talk until the bell rang. Then he pulled four folders of sub plans out of his bottom drawer and placed them on his desk, gathered his briefcase and jacket and went down to the office. Kendra, the Upper School secretary, was busy feeding papers into the copier. “Kendra?” he called over the click and whine of the machine.
“Noah. What’s up?”
“Kurt called. Laura’s in labor.”
“Oh!”
“Yeah. So, I have a free right now and I really need to get to the hospital. And I need to be off till Monday. There are sub plans on my desk.”
She held up a finger. “How many classes left today?”
“Two. Anatomy and Advanced Bio.”
“Okay. I think . . .” Noah could see the wheels turning in her head; she kept a mental schedule of every teacher in the Upper School. “Yes. I can have Kate cover your classes today; her sophomores are gone all day on a field trip, and I think I have the perfect sub for the rest of the week. Call and let me know how things go, okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“Now. Go be with your family.”
“Thanks.”
“And Noah?”
“Yeah?”
“Good luck.”
*****
Things didn’t go quite as slowly as Kurt had thought. It turned out that while Laura’s water had broken right before she called Kurt, she’d actually been in early labor since the previous afternoon but she’d gutted the contractions out because she’d had a paper due at noon. So by the time Kurt found her on the Labor and Delivery floor, she was already well progressed. He sat with Laura while she called her moms, who assured her they’d be on the first flight they could get out of Indianapolis, but it wasn’t likely they’d get into town before morning. She passed the phone off to Kurt, who assured Susan and Wendy that he’d take care of their little girl and would call them when the baby was born. Then he set her phone to silent and focused on getting Laura through her labor. “Do you want to walk?” The nurse had suggested that it would help things along, and help ease some pain as well; Laura had been adamant to both Kurt and the nurse that she didn’t want drugs.
“Yeah. You’re going to have to help me out of bed, though. I swear. This baby is enormous.”
“I can’t believe you finished that paper. What was it on, anyway?” Kurt made small talk as he led Laura out of the room and into the hallway.
“Lesser-known Puritan-era witch hunts.”
“Uh huh.”
“Maybe I’m just a history geek, but I thought it was interesting. And I kicked ass on it, despite the alien’s intrusion.”
“The alien, huh?”
“That’s what it feels like when it moves around. Like there’s this weird little life form in there. And it doesn’t matter how high-tech the ultrasounds are, I still think it looks like a blob.”
“Blob. Maybe that’s what we should name it.”
“Ha!” Laura barked out a short laugh. “What did you guys ever settle on for names? Especially the last name thing.”
“If it’s a girl, we’re going to name her after my mom, and use Noah’s mom’s middle name for her middle name. And she’d be a Hummel. For a boy, we’re going to use Noah’s maternal grandfather’s name for the first name and my dad’s middle name for the middle name. A boy will be a Puckerman.”
“Complicated.”
“It is that. But trying to hyphenate Hummel and Puckerman isn’t easy. And when Noah and I were in high school, all the couples had these weird nicknames: Finchel, Puckleberry. I didn’t want our kids to end up with a weird last name like Hummelman or Puckell. This whole thing was the compromise we made.”
“Because that would be unfortunate.” They collapsed in giggles as they rounded the nurse’s station, which is where Noah found them. He kissed Kurt on the mouth, and Laura on the cheek. “How’s it going?”
“We’re walking.” Laura’s voice was dry with sarcasm.
“I can see that.”
Laura looked back and forth between Noah and Kurt. “Noah, why don’t you walk with me a little while and let Kurt have a break? I think maybe he should call Burt and Carol.”
“Oh. Okay.” Kurt flashed her a thankful smile before kissing Noah again and making a break for the waiting area near the elevators. It was empty and quiet, so he sunk into a chair and took his first deep breath in three hours before pulling out his cell to dial the garage. The phone was picked up on the second ring. “Hummel Tires and Lube. This is Alex. How may I direct your call.” Who the hell was Alex? Whoever he was, he sounded young.
“Alex. This is Kurt Hummel. Is my father there?”
“Kurt! Oh, you’re Beth’s dad’s husband.”
“Yes. Is my father there?”
“Yes. Hold on.”
He heard fumbling as Alex set the phone down and hollered “Mr. Hummel! Your son is on the phone.”
There was a pause, and footsteps, and then the calming influence of his dad’s voice. “Kurt. Is everything okay?”
“Laura’s in labor. Noah and I are with her at the hospital now.”
“Wow. She’s early.”
“Just two weeks. The doctor said that’s not unusual with young moms.”
“Good. Good. Okay.”
“Dad? Who’s Alex?”
“Oh. He’s one of Beth’s friends from Glee. He needed a job, and a safe place to kind of . . . be himself? He answers the phones, works the counter. He does better at the books than either you or I ever did. He’s a good kid. Reminds me of you.”
“He’s gay.”
“Yeah.”
“And Beth sent him to you because she knew you’d protect him.” Kurt felt tears prick the edges of his eyes.
“I guess. I think it’s good for him, too.”
“Yeah.”
“You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah. A little scared, a lot excited. It’s a little overwhelming.”
“I remember feeling like that when you were born, too.”
“Does it go away?”
“No. You’re going to be a dad. Scared, excited and overwhelmed are about to be part of your daily life.”
“Great.” Kurt let out a shuddery laugh.
“You should get back to Laura. Call me when the baby’s here. Even if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Okay. Bye, Dad.”
“Love you, kid.”
Noah and Laura were heading down the hallway away from him when he turned the corner, and he ran to catch up with them.
“Where are you heading?”
Noah looked at him behind Laura’s back. “Time to rest a little bit.”
“Okay.”
*****
Laura napped for the better part of the afternoon and evening, and Noah and Kurt napped as well, leaning against each other in the hard plastic chairs that were tucked into a corner of the room. Laura’s OB knew about the adoption, and had made the nurses aware as well. Noah was surprised to see Kurt turn into a caretaker supreme, intercepting the nurses before they could wake Laura to check her progress. He kept her eating and drinking between laps in the hallway, and supported her as her contractions got stronger and longer. The three of them had existed in a kind of haze for hours, and Noah was shocked to look outside when the doctor came in and pronounced that it was time to start pushing to see that it was pitch black.
“It’s late,” he blurted to nobody in particular.
“Close to midnight. A beautiful night to have a baby,” Dr. Andrews said, smiling at the three of them. “Are you all ready?”
“Definitely.” Laura shifted in the bed. “Please, let’s have this baby soon.”
“Noah? Kurt?”
“Uh huh.” Kurt looked a little pale, and Noah reached out and took his hand.
“We’re ready,” he told Dr. Andrews with feigned confidence.
“Great. Let’s have us a baby!”
Noah could see why Laura liked her so much. She was gentle and patient, and let Laura direct the process. It was so unlike Beth’s delivery that Noah couldn’t quite believe the end result was going to be the same. Laura was calm and fairly quiet, and strong and beautiful. She rested between pushes, let Kurt feed her ice chips. Noah stood behind her, and supported her through the last few difficult pushes, and she cried out in relief when Noelle Elizabeth Hummel came into the world at 12:04 am on May 25th.
The baby was taken away to be weighed and measured, and Kurt helped Laura into the shower while a nurse changed the bed linens and cleaned up the room. Noah just sat with his head in his hands, marveling about that little girl who was his and not, and the teenager who was his and not, and how funny and strange and random life could be sometimes. He felt Kurt standing quietly over him, so he stood and took his husband in his arms.
They were interrupted by Laura’s nurse holding Noelle, swaddled tight in a pink blanket with a tiny white hat on her head.
“Who wants to hold her first?” The nurse was smiling. Kurt looked at Noah and said “I think we should wait for Laura,” but they were interrupted by her voice, faint from behind the closed door of the bathroom. “It’s okay. I’ve held her for nine months. You guys take a turn.”
Kurt went over and took the baby, and then crossed the room back to Noah. “Here, Papa. Happy Birthday,” he said as he placed Noelle into Noah’s arms. Noah stared back at him, eyes wide with surprise.
“It’s not . . .”
“Yes. It is. Today’s your birthday. And hers.” At that, Noelle opened her eyes and stared up at him before opening her tiny mouth and yawning. She let out a little squeak and closed her eyes again. Noah just held her there, close against his chest, drinking in the clean baby-powder scent of her. She was beautiful and perfect and felt just as right in his arms as if he’d helped create her. When Laura emerged from the bathroom, hair in a wet braid and wearing clean pajamas, he handed Noelle over to Kurt before wrapping Laura in his arms.
“Thank you. Thank you for this gift. She is a miracle.”
“You’re welcome.” Laura laughed in his arms and said “Please let me get back into bed before I fall over.”
“And then you should hold your daughter.” Kurt spoke from behind them.
And that’s how the nurse found the three of them half an hour later when she came to check on the baby: Laura, asleep with Kurt curled around her in the bed while Noah slept in a chair next to the bed with the baby on his chest. She closed the door gently behind her and let the unconventional little family rest.