AN: Sorry for the delay but hours at work are crazy. We aren't filming for the next few days so I'll try to get some more writing done.

February - Part 1

It was chaos everywhere. Blaine's birthday party was in full swing because it wouldn't have been fair to cancel at the last minute and Burt had been looking for their newest family member for nearly twenty minutes now but the boy was nowhere to be found. Burt sent another glare in his wife's direction but Carole was busy in the kitchen leaving him to clean up her mess.

Three days earlier…

When Burt heard Kurt yell he immediately rushed to the door where an unfamiliar woman was standing with a young boy informing him that the boy, Ethan, was his foster child. Burt looked confused because while he and Carole had debated becoming foster parents he was sure he'd told his wife they'd talk about it again in a few months.

Carole had arrived by then as well, and Burt only had to take one look at her to know what was going on. Because Carole looked incredibly guilty. He couldn't believe it. How could she go behind his back like that? This was a child they were talking about after all, not just some stray dog.

His first intuition was to tell the woman to take the boy with her and find someone else to take care of him, because he hadn't signed up for this. But then he caught the boy's expression. He looked scared and defiant at the same time reminding him of Kurt after Lizzy's funeral. He couldn't turn them away, so he did the only other thing he could do – he invited them in.

"Kurt, why don't you take Ethan to the kitchen and see if he wants something to eat or drink," he told his son so he and Carole could talk to the social worker in private.

Once Kurt and the boy had left, Burt and Carole ushered the woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Sanders into the living room. After the woman had sat down she handed them a file with Ethan's information.

"His name is Ethan Jacobs," she started to explain. "Nine years old, in third grade. We removed the boy from his family last night after investigating his situation."

Burt looked at her questioningly.

"Some of his teachers noticed bruises on his arms and legs and didn't buy the old 'I fell' excuse because she had a bad feeling about his parents. The school alerted the authorities and we launch an investigation," Mrs. Sanders continued.

"What … what was going on?" Carole asked looking a little green.

"Ethan's father has been physically and emotionally abusing his son for years according to a statement from a neighbor. The father himself was shouting stuff about just teaching the boy how to be a proper man, when we came by the house last night. Thought he could change his son through violence."

"What about his mother?" Burt wanted to know. Didn't she do anything?

"When we talked to her she was pretty out of it but it seems that she didn't intervene as long as her boyfriend didn't hit her. She definitely neglected him, pawning him off to the neighbor most days. The neighbor had called us before but at the time there was no physical evidence, so unfortunately no action was taken against the parents."

Burt shook his head. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to have children.

"Why us?" Carole suddenly asked and Burt thought that was a good question. Couldn't they at least have started off with an easier case? Maybe a kid with a parent in the hospital or something like that.

"We were following your campaign closely and something you said about your relationship with your son stayed in our minds. How it took time for you to get where you are today. Being able to acknowledge past mistakes and a willingness to learn from them are exactly the kind of qualities we are looking for in foster parents. And there's also that the family suspected Ethan was gay. Now I know he's only nine so who knows, but I think staying with you and your son will be good for him regardless of what his sexuality will be. Maybe it will help him come to terms with his own and maybe it will just turn him into a tolerant teen. It's a win – win for us."

It might be a win – win for the government, but for their family he wasn't so sure. How were they supposed to take care of a child who had been abused by his parents when he spent most of his time in Columbus and Carole and the boys had classes and work as well.

He wanted to yell at Carole for doing something so stupid, but when he looked at her he saw her look happier than she had in a while, while at the same time looking worried. He knew Carole thrived on taking care of people and now that Ethan was in their house she wouldn't let him go.

Burt sighed before he got up to announce he was getting Blaine's room ready for the boy. They couldn't give him the guest room because Ethan needed a desk for his homework and he would probably feel more comfortable in Blaine's room with all the posters on the wall than in their stylish guest room.

The last three days had been eventful the say the least. They had enrolled Ethan in a new school, because his old was in another city, but the boy said he didn't care because he didn't have much friends anyway.

Carole was dotting on him twenty-four seven, but Burt had noticed that Ethan always tried to keep his distance from him and Carole. He seemed to get along with Kurt best, but to his surprise he didn't seem to be scared of Finn at all, even though Finn was nearly twice his size.

Blaine and Finn had taken him to the park the previous day after being kicked out of the house by Kurt and Burt had no idea what they had done there, but they all came back with smiles on their faces.

Ethan's smile disappeared as soon as he saw Burt, but Burt tried not to take it to heart, because it was understandable that the boy didn't trust him or Carole just yet.

And now they were at Blaine's birthday party and Ethan was nowhere in sight. They had asked if he wanted to come down for the party and after Kurt had assured him that only a few friends from school would come by and that there would be cake, the young boy had agreed.

But it must have been too much for him, because no one had seen him for the past half hour. Finally, Burt discovered him hiding behind the living room couch, but when Burt came closer to try to get him to come out, the boy pressed himself up against the wall in an attempt to shield himself from Burt.

Burt was at a loss for what to do, but he knew they boy couldn't stay behind the couch for the rest of the afternoon. Carole was still busy in the kitchen, but he doubted she would be more successful.

Luckily, Kurt came into the living room that moment, and Burt swallowed his pride and asked his son to help out with the kid not for the first time in the past few days.

He backed away from the couch and before he knew it, Kurt had emerged from behind the couch with Ethan hiding behind him.

For now he was content to watch his son deal with his problems but he knew he had to find a way to gain Ethan's trust because Kurt wouldn't be around forever, but if it were up to Carole, Ethan would.

Once he had gotten Ethan out from behind the couch he called out to Blaine, telling him he'd take Ethan to the park for a bit. Blaine immediately got dressed as well, and Kurt felt a bit guilty for taking Blaine away from his party. He told Blaine as much, but Blaine brushed it off, saying this was more important and that Finn would make sure everyone was having a good time while he was gone.

Kurt really had the best boyfriend ever. Before he could stop himself, he had already leaned forward and had captured Blaine's mouth in a passionate kiss.

When they separated, Ethan was standing next to the front door, staring at them with wide eyes. Kurt blushed and quickly busied himself with first putting on his own coat and then checking that Ethan's was properly buttoned up. He had no idea what to say, so he figured if he just ignored it, it would go away eventually.

Blaine looked a bit flustered as well and he kept running his hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was nervous.

They were strolling through the park, while Blaine was looking for the ball Ethan had kicked away, when the younger boy stopped and looked up to him. "Is Blaine like your boyfriend?" he asked in a small voice.

Kurt nodded, not sure what kind of reaction to expect. He didn't know much about the boy because his parents were keeping Ethan's file to themselves. Maybe he had been raised by homophobes and shared their views.

What came out of Ethan's mouth though was, "wow. You're so lucky. He looks just like prince Eric."

Kurt chuckled because finally someone agreed with him. He had tried to get Blaine into a prince Eric costume for Halloween before but Blaine was convinced he didn't look like the Disney prince at all.

Kurt was relieved that Ethan didn't outright hate him but he did notice his frown when he and Blaine started holding hands on the way back to the house. He brushed it off for now though, more intent on making Ethan feel comfortable in their home than worrying about one little expression.

If Ethan truly had a problem with him dating Blaine he would have reacted differently, wouldn't he? And if he had a problem, Kurt would just try to educate him. He was still young, so not all hope was lost.

Finn had been looking forward to spending a few days in New York, but when he saw how his new bro was acting around his parents he knew he couldn't leave him alone with the adults while he and Kurt were in New York.

He would have plenty more opportunities to go up there once Kurt went to college, right? And it would be neat to have a little brother to hang out with. He wasn't too excited about a baby, but a nine-year-old. That was cool. They could play ball and stuff.

Unfortunately Ethan was as much into football as Kurt was. He didn't really know how to play any of Finn's video games because he never had any before and when he was killed the fifth time in a row he threw the controller against the wall.

Finn decided it was time for plan B.

"So what kind of stuff do you like? Cars, action figures? I'm sure we have some of my old toys in the attic." Finn had mad sure his mom didn't throw out all his stuff when they moved first into the new house in Austin and later to Lima.

Ethan shook his head. "I played dress up with some girls in the neighborhood when I was younger but they don't want to play with me anymore because they say boys have cooties.

Finn chuckled. Now that he was older he couldn't believe there had ever been a time when he thought girls were yucky.

"And you don't think so?" Ethan just shrugged and said nothing. Finn didn't really get the younger boy but that was okay. Kurt was a mystery most days as well and they got along well now.

"Any other toys you played with?" he asked again.

"My friend Carrie gave me a doll once but my daddy ripped her head off when he found her and he…" Ethan trailed off and Finn shuddered. He couldn't believe anyone could hit a child for playing with a doll.

"But you liked playing with the doll?" Ethan nodded shyly.

"Okay. You know what? My girlfriend has a younger sister. Why don't I give her a call and see if she can lend us some toys," Finn offered and the small for his age boy nodded enthusiastically, while looking at him like Finn had just offered him the moon or something like that.

Two hours later found Finn on the living room floor surrounded by Barbie dolls, Power Rangers action figures and Playmobile. They were busy marrying Barbie to the Red Ranger while the Playmobile figures functioned as the couple's children.

Finn had never thought he would play with dolls because growing up he was only interested in running around outside or staging fights with his action figures but he had to admit he was having fun playing with Ethan. He also started to wonder if Kurt had been like that when he was younger.

By the time his parents came home from work, he and Ethan had just started their second Disney movie, the Lion King, and both were singing along to the songs.

However, as soon as Burt stepped into the living room, Ethan immediately stopped and curled up on the couch as if he was trying to hide himself from Burt.

"Hey, don't stop on my account. You sounded pretty good there buddy," Burt told Ethan, but it was like Ethan didn't even hear him. Finn looked on helplessly not sure what to do.

His mom, however, saved the situation as always.

"Oh, I love this song," she exclaimed as the first bars of 'Can you feel the love tonight started. "Come on Burt. Sing with me."

Finn barley contained his laughter when he saw his dad's reaction, but one look at Ethan seemed to convince him that he better join his mom. They sounded horrible and Finn wondered again where he and Kurt had gotten their voices from, but it served it's purpose as Ethan slowly uncurled himself and watched the scene with wide eyes.

Dinner was a lot more relaxed that night and Finn noticed the Ethan didn't flinch as much when someone reached for something on the table as he had done the past few days.

The next few days while Kurt was in New York went by in a similar fashion. Finn helped Ethan with his homework after school, glad that he could at least do elementary school math, and afterword they watched movies together, singing along when they knew the lyrics. Ethan still seemed scared around Burt and his mom, who had both taken the week off to be home with their new family member, but things were better than expected.

He could really get used to the role of cool older brother and he hoped Ethan didn't have to leave them anytime soon.

Carole was watching Finn and Ethan on the couch together when Burt came up to her.

"We need to talk," her husband told her and Carole stiffened because this was a talk she dreaded to have. They had been so busy trying to make sure Ethan was being taken care of that they hadn't had time to talk about her transgression yet.

Not wanting the kids to overhear anything they both put on their coats and went outside for a walk.

"I'm so sorry Burt for signing us up without talking to you beforehand, but I thought the paperwork would take forever and we wouldn't get a kid before the boys graduated from high school," she apologized after they'd been walking in silence for a few minutes.

Burt stayed silent and that was worse than him yelling at her. "Say something," she pleaded.

"I don't know what to say Carole. I thought we are a team. I'm not even that angry, more disappointed. You should have told me you wanted this so badly," Burt finally said.

There were a lot of things Carole could have said to that but she didn't want to cause an argument by bringing up old issues like Kurt first moving in with them and Burt never listening to her.

"I'm sorry," she said instead for the second time. She wasn't sorry for having Ethan with them though. The boy needed a stable home and she wanted to provide that for him.

"Just, what are we going to do? You know how much time I have to spend in Columbus and you have work and school as well. It isn't exactly fair to ask the kids to watch him all the time during their senior year," Burt worried and Carole had to agree that she shared his worries.

Because as much as Finn seemed to enjoy spending time with Ethan, who knew how he would react if he were forced into permanent babysitting duties. On the other hand…

"He's nine though so he has school till the afternoon anyway and maybe we can find an afterschool activity for him so the boys can pick him up once they are done with school. We'll find a way to make it work, because otherwise you are the one who's going to tell him we won't keep him," Carole threatened and her husband's eyes widened.

"Alright, he's staying. I'll try to be home more often and you and the boys work something out," Burt agreed and Carole wrapped her arms around him in the middle of the sidewalk no caring who could see them as she kissed him.

Later that night when they were in bed together, Carole put her book down and studied her husband. He still looked worried and she wanted to know what else was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked. Burt sighed and put his own book down.

"What if I can't do it right? I pretty much abandoned Kurt when he was that age, so what if I screw up again?"

Carole scooted over and put her hand on his knee and squeezed it. "Hey, you're not that person anymore, okay? You're not going to try and force Ethan to be someone he's not and most importantly you would never hit him. That alone makes you a so much better choice that the boy's father. The rest, we'll figure out together, because just because I've done it before doesn't mean I'm an expert. Ethan is nothing like Finn was at that age, but it doesn't matter. We'll just have to give it our best," she assured her husband before turning off the light and getting ready for bed.

Yes it was scary to stumble into the situation unprepared but she knew they would deal.

Two days before they were scheduled to leave, Blaine got two letters from Yale and Harvard. Letters in hand he ran downstairs to his room as quickly as he could anxious to open them. It wasn't like he wanted to go to either school, unless Kurt decided to go to school in Boston as well, but getting in would be great for his self-esteem.

After much deliberation he decided to open the one from Yale first because the school would definitely keep him and Kurt apart.

"Dear Mr. Anderson, we regret to inform you," the letter started and Blaine didn't read any further. Harvard was next and Blaine kept his fingers crossed the he would get a different answer.

Unfortunately Harvard seemed to agree with Yale, that Blaine Anderson wasn't good enough. He knew there were still plenty of other schools out there, but the letters got him down nevertheless, because if those schools didn't want him why would Columbia? True he still had to audition for the Columbia music program but what if they decided he sucked. Hell, Quinn had gotten into Yale somehow and he knew she had a slightly lower grade point average than him. If it wasn't his grades, it had to be him that sucked then.

He balled up the two letters and threw them into the trashcan because out of sight, out of mind, right? Blaine knew he should call Kurt and tell him about the rejections, but his boyfriend had enough on his plate as it was with a surprise foster brother and worrying about his own college auditions. No, he would tell him, when they came back from New York. Or when Kurt started hearing back from colleges.

Three days later, Blaine was alone in the hotel room he, Kurt and Rachel had rented. Kurt was in Boston with Mercedes auditioning for Berklee school of Music in case Blaine got into Harvard – and yeah, he definitely should have told Kurt about his letter from Harvard – and Rachel was at a piano bar that was rumored to be frequented by AMDA students to get some insights into the auditioning process.

He wasn't sure how he came to the decision but he realized he couldn't do it, because if he got rejected from Columbia after coming all the way to New York to audition for it, he didn't know what to do. He'd rather not risk the humiliation he decided. Maybe he could just come to New York with Kurt, get a job and play music in coffee shops until he got discovered. Stuff like that happened, right?

He quickly got dressed, checked that he still had his fake ID and looked up a few clubs online – no gay bars though because he didn't want a repeat of Scandals – before he headed out to forget about his worries.

Three gin tonics in at a club that took an obscenely expensive cover charge things were looking up. Who cared if he didn't go to college? Plenty of successful people had never been to college or had dropped out once they got discovered. He didn't need to waste thousands of dollars.

Three drinks later he wasn't feeling so good anymore and Blaine got out his phone. He didn't want to call Kurt because it was late and Kurt was in another city and when he tried Rachel his call went straight to voice mail. He had one more option but he didn't really expect his brother to pick up the phone when he called.

Another hour later he was sitting in a small apartment, Cooper shared with two other 'actors', a cup of coffee in his hand as his brother tried to sober him up. Blaine had told him all about his worries on their way to Cooper's place because drunk people apparently really didn't have a filter and ever since they had gotten inside, his brother had done his best to get Blaine sober.

"Listen squirt, I'm all for dramatic scenes, but you're being stupid here. And a coward." Cooper announced once he thought Blaine was sober enough to listen.

Blaine glared at him. He hated it when people called him a coward because he had called himself one for a long time after his first transfer to Dalton before he understood transferring because his life was in danger was smart not cowardly.

"Am not," he shot back, clutching the cup of coffee a bit tighter. "Yeah you are. And you're going to regret it if you don't show up tomorrow and give it your best. You know how many times I have been rejected? And still I've never given up, because if you really want something you keep trying."

Blaine wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or if Cooper suddenly gave really good pep talks but he had to agree his brother had a point. He would probably regret it if he didn't give it a try. And what would Kurt say, who was auditioning for schools outside of New York in case Blaine didn't get into Columbia. No, his boyfriend deserved better.

He gladly accepted a glass of water and two aspirin before lying down on Cooper's couch, setting three alarms to make sure he would get up in time to go back to the hotel and shower before his audition.

It was time, after all, to stop running once and for all. If he had managed to stay when things got hard with Kurt he could do that as well.

I though it was time to show that everyone makes mistakes ... even Carole. What do you think?