Early in the morning, the sun was barely up over the horizon when Kurt heard a sound. It might be Levi, who was supposed to be in the nursery, but he might have escaped the watchful eye of Mrs. Rose. Kurt closed his eyes and dozed again, not worrying about the noise until the door slammed open. Two people were standing there, staring at Kurt and Blaine as they woke up, naked and barely covered. Kurt pasted himself close to Blaine, Blaine moved to protect his Sub. The light went on and Blaine saw the faces of the people.

"Mom, Dad! What are you doing here?"

Blaine sat bolt upright, forgetting to cover himself or Kurt. He stared at the two people, who stood there and stared back for a long moment, then:

"Does no one in your house ever knock, Blaine?" Kurt whispered.

Blaine cracked up laughing, throwing his arms around his Sub and holding him close for an instant before turning back to face his parents.

"Good morning, Mother, Father. If you give me a moment to get dressed, I'd be happy to meet you in the breakfast room," Blaine said, a little formally but with a hint of glee in his voice.

"Of course, Blaine," Sylvia Anderson said. She turned to her husband and they left, closing the door quietly behind them.

Past the formal dining room, across the hallway from the kitchen was a large room. There were raised flowerbeds around the edges and a myriad of large pots and planters filled with a veritable jungle of exotic flowers and greenery from around the world. In the center of the room were a table and chairs, all made of wicker and painted white. A variety of chairs and sofas, all very comfortable. Carver Anderson called this his Conservatory, but the rest of the family referred to it as the breakfast room.

Sylvia and Carver sat at the table, Sylvia sipping her coffee and Carver reading his newspaper. They had gotten back from Asia that morning and made the decision to go to the old house for some much needed rest before once again jetting to New York and their penthouse off of Seventh Avenue. Carver still owned the law firm and the stock brokerage that bore his name, but he was starting to wind down his day to day involvement with the two enterprises. He had worked hard all of his life, building his father's prestigious law firm into a company that had it's hand in all facets of world banking. At the age of 60, he was getting tired.

He sat observing his wife, wondering what she was thinking. They were surprised to find that Blaine was home. He rarely came home to the house in Ohio, citing how busy he was in New York. They wanted to surprise him, bursting in his room to welcome him and planning a family dinner, but they were the ones surprised as they found him naked and with another man.

Carver and Sylvia knew about the divorce, and while not pleased about it, they hadn't been upset, either. Actually, they hadn't given it much thought. It wasn't like Blaine to throw his affections around, but who knew, maybe he'd been lonely.

After that shock, the Anderson's had stopped by Cooper's room on their way to the breakfast room. Coop was half asleep, but basically told them all would be explained at the breakfast table.

And so, Carver and Sylvia were waiting patiently for their sons to join them for breakfast. Fifi, the maid, came in and asked what they would prefer for breakfast and Sylvia had asked her to bring fresh fruit, muffins and scrambled eggs along with orange juice and coffee.

As they sat quietly in the sunshine, a small boy entered the room. He came to the table, grinning at the two adults and climbing into the chair.

"Good morning," Levi said. "I'm Levi. Is Mrs. Rose going to bring us breakfast?"

Sylvia and Carver were surprised, to out it mildly.

"Ah, is Mrs. Rose here?" Sylvia asked.

"Yes, she has the bedroom next to mine, but she was feeding Holly, so I came in here. I was waiting for Daddy to come down and eat with me," Levi informed them. "Do you know my daddy?" he asked.

Sylvia looked at Carver. "Cooper?" she asked.

Carver gave her a sharp look. "Well, I wonder how long he was going to try to keep this a secret! How old are you, son?"

"I'm three. How old are you?" Levi smiled at the man.

"I'm fifty-nine." He gave his wife a look, amused by this young boy who didn't seem to be afraid of him at all. Carver Wilson Anderson, the CEO that struck terror into the hearts of interns and opponents alike, but was apparently unable to make a dent in this three year old. He smirked in amusement.

"How long have you been here?" he asked the tyke.

"Last night. He said we were going to stay here for a while before we went back to New York. "I like living in New York," Levi said, studying the woman now.

"Are you friends of my Papa?" the little boy asked.

"No, we own this house." she answered.

"It's a nice house, ma'am." Levi said.

Blaine walked into the room, Holly in his arms and Kurt beside him.

"Oh, I see you've met Levi," Blaine noticed as he held Kurt's chair with one hand, then sat down between Levi and his Sub.

"What is your brother up to now?" Carver asked, obviously not amused at finding his elder son's progeny sitting at his table.

"Papa!" Levi crowed, getting down and holding his arms for Blaine to pick him up. Blaine handed Holly to Kurt and picked Levi up onto his lap.

"What?" Sylvia and Carver said in unison. "This isn't Cooper's brood?"

"No. Please allow me to introduce you. Mother, Father, this is Levi and Holly Hummel-Anderson and my husband, Kurt Hummel-Anderson. Kurt, this is my mother, Sylvia Anderson and my father, Carver Anderson," Blaine said, trying and failing to keep a huge grin from his face at his parents' obvious shock.

"It's good to meet you," Kurt said, but they ignored him in favor of interrogating Blaine.

"Yours? These children are yours?" Carver said.

"Yes, they are. And Kurt is my husband," Blaine said again, wondering how this was going to set with his homophobic father. Not well considering the flushed face and angry scowl on his face.

"You had better explain yourself, Blaine. Wasn't your divorce from Arthur just finalized less than a month ago?"

"Yes, father. Three weeks ago to be more exact. I'm surprised you knew that. I haven't spoken to you in over three months. Cooper must have told you, right?"

"Someone call me?" Cooper said, breezing in from the kitchen, carrying a coffee pot and a plate of scrambled eggs with herbs and cheddar cheese sprinkled over it. Mrs. Rose followed with a pitcher of orange juice and a plate of oatmeal muffins. Fifi brought up the rear with a bowl containing grapes, pears, and apples.

Kurt got a plate ready for Levi, setting it in front of his son before taking his own plate. Everyone helped themselves to the food. It was silent for a while as all of the people in the room took stock of each other.

Blaine told them a small bit about how he and Kurt met and that they were now married and the children were legally adopted making them a family in the eyes of the Government.

"I was already Papa's boy before the judge said so," Levi informed his audience before going back to eating his grapes. "Holly is his, too," Levi added, his mouth full.

"Levi, don't speak with your mouth full, young man," Kurt admonished.

"Sorry, Daddy," he apologized, looking at his daddy and getting a smile, which he returned with gusto.

"Levi, since these are my parents and you are my son, what are they to you?" Blaine asked.

Levi thought while he chewed his mouthful of fruit, then his eyes lit up. "Oh! Are they my grandparents now?" he said, his eyes sparkling. "Oh, Papa! I didn't get just a Papa, I got a whole new family!" He got down from his chair once again and rushed over to Carver, holding his hands up to be picked up. Carver looked at the boy and could not help but smile, the boy's enthusiasm was contagious.

"Yes, I suppose I am your grandfather, then, aren't I?" he said, setting the small boy on his lap.

Kurt glanced over at his Dom and got a small nod. Blaine knew what he was asking.

"Mrs. Anderson, would you like to get acquainted with Holly?" he asked her. Sylvia wondered how Kurt had read her mind. She reached up her arms and took Holly as Kurt handed the baby to her. "This is Holly and she is four months now."

"Oh, she is beautiful ...ah...Kurt," Sylvia said. Cooper winked at his brother.

Actually, Blaine was amazed. He had no idea the meeting between his parents with Kurt and the kids could have gone any better. His dad was still being reserved, but that was light years ahead of how Blaine had pictured it to be. He leaned over and planted a big wet kiss on Kurt's mouth. Kurt responded with a surprised squeak but kissed back quickly.

"Hey, your parents seem to be nice. I think Levi likes them, and Holly sure took to your mother," Kurt said. He hadn't felt comfortable with the Andersons, but didn't want to say that to Blaine, who seemed amazed they weren't spitted and roasted on site. All in all, Kurt was very relieved that he would be living in New York and not anywhere near his in-laws.

They spent a week in the Anderson mansion, then a few days back at the Hummel house before making arrangements to return to New York. Kurt was sad to leave his father once again, but it was the right thing to do and he knew they were just a plane ride away. They landed at La Guardia in the evening and Blaine was the first to see Jeffers, waiting patiently at the curb to ferry them home.

"Hello, Jeffers, how is Brent doing?" Blaine asked about his chauffer's partner.

"Very well, sir, very well. Brent's arthritis is doing fine. Todd got his acceptance letter to New York College of Medicine and he'll start in the fall. Thank you and Cooper for writing the letters of recommendation for him. Bridget is home with Brent for a while with the new baby while her young man is at sea. Thank you for asking," Jeffers smiled at his long-time employer.

"Of course I asked, you're like family, Jeffers," Blaine said with a smile for the elderly man.

"How is the baby girl now? All over her ear ache, I bet," Jeffers asked, nodding at Holly.

"She is doing fine. Came through it all with flying colors. She has a strong constitution, that one, just like her daddy," Blaine smiled with pride.

"Am I taking you home or do you have a few stops first?" Jeffers asked.

"Home. I think we need some rest, it's been a whirlwind the past two weeks. Thank you, Jeffers," Blaine said. He made a mental note to send Todd a check for graduation last week before closing the privacy screen.

"Hey, Cooper, do you want to come to my apartment or would you prefer to go home to yours?" Blaine asked.

"I'm bushed, Squirt, I think I'll just go home for now. I have to be up early in the morning to be at a meeting. Nick sent me a text that he needs to meet with us on Wednesday. I want to touch base with him tomorrow morning to make sure we're all on the same page."

"Okay, I think we're just going to put the kids to bed and then head that way, too."

Blaine sat in the back seat, Kurt cuddled up to his side. Levi and Holly were both asleep in their car seats and Cooper was dozing off, too.

The kids were finally in bed, Holly fed and changed and tucked in with her stuffed giraffe, Levi had a story – Goodnight Moon – read by both of his fathers and was sound asleep in his bed. Mrs. Rose was back in her room adjacent to the nursery.

"Ah, what a long, tiring day," Blaine said, stretching his arms up as he yawned. His shirt pulled out of the waistband of his brushed flannel trousers and Kurt took the opportunity to run his hand over the flesh. Blaine practically purred.

"Oh, so I'm detecting a bit of friskiness in someone who told me he was tired to the bone, huh?" Blaine said.

"Blaine, there's always a bit of friskiness in me when I see your skin. I can't keep my hands off of it," Kurt giggled. Blaine scooped him closer, his hands reaching around to hold on to that magnificent ass and squeeze it. He got a surprised whimper that quickly turned into a sexy moan.

"Oh, like that, is it?" Blaine asked, kissing Kurt's neck.

"Oh, yeah...." Kurt said in a low voice, unbuttoning the top buttons of Blaine's shirt.

"I thought you were tired?" Blaine teased.

"It's okay, I'll let you do all the work," Kurt grinned, then ducked and ran, Blaine just a step behind him as they raced through the suite, over the sofa and around the end of the bed until Blaine finally caught up with his Sub when he cornered him in the bathtub.

They fell together, laughing, until Kurt had to hold his stomach he was laughing so much. He leaned his head against Blaine and felt warm, strong arms surround him. Kurt had never dreamed life could be so good.

"Well, since we're in here anyway, let's take a nice hot bath," Blaine decided and they took off each other's clothes, filled the bathtub with warm water and slipped in.

"Blaine, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Blaine answered, his answer a bit garbled because he was sucking on Kurt's neck. Kurt had delighted shivers going down his spine but managed to keep his mind on task, for now at least.

"Ah...this may sound strange but ..ah...what do you do for a living? I thought at first you were a lawyer like your brother, but then you would have been doing our legal stuff yourself. Do you work for your dad?"

Blaine laughed. "I never thought to talk about this with you! I'm sorry. Actually, I inherited enough money to live on, in luxury, for the rest of my life from my grandfather. I do have a law degree from Harvard, but I never sat for the bar. By the time I got the degree, I hated law. No, I am a fundraiser. I work for several large charities helping them get funding. It isn't something I have to work at every day, which is why I haven't been 'at work' since we got together. I do need to make some phone calls this week and have a few meetings, but basically this is the slow season. It will pick up in a few months and I'll be a little busier," Blaine said. Kurt smiled. He wasn't surprised in the least that his Dom would be a champion for people less fortunate than himself.

"Now, I have a question for you, Kurt."

Kurt nodded.

"Do you want to work? I know it isn't usual for a Sub to be the breadwinner, but if you want to do something, I will support it. What have you done?"

"When I was in high school, Rachel and I wanted to be on Broadway. We never thought of anything else, it was our dream. When I married Santana and she got a record deal right out of high school, it just made sense for her to concentrate on her career, so I was her assistant. Not even her manager...then when she died and all the money was tied up, I had to feed the kids. I got a job as a singer in a nightclub. I guess that love of performing had never left me because I loved singing in front of an audience. Maybe one day I could do that again," Kurt said, his eyes avoiding his Dom's in case he was being too forward.

Blaine put a hand on his face to turn him so he could look into Kurt's eyes.

"Baby, if you want to sing, we can pursue that. Do you want to try to get into a college? Or we can hire a manager? I don't want you to ever think that I am holding you back from something you want for your life, Kurt. I do not believe that being a Sub makes it okay for me to make decisions about your life and what you want out of it. Never. I think we can discuss it, I'm always happy to help you make a decision, but the bottom line? That is always your choice, Kurt," Blaine said and Kurt just looked into his sincere eyes. It was too good to be true and Kurt wasn't sure he wasn't dreaming. At the same time, the thought of having to make his own decisions about something so big was sending an icy chill down Kurt's back. He was suddenly very afraid, and it wasn't a good feeling.

"I...I need to think about it, Blaine. As much as you would like to allow me to make my own decisions, you have to understand how difficult that is for me. Blaine, when I brought Holly and Levi home after Santana died, I was all alone. I know people meant well, but they thought I would need time to grieve. I did, but I also had to take care of the children. It was the hardest thing I think I ever had to do in my life. I couldn't even decide what formula to buy for Holly. I had to call Brittany to come and lead me through the routine every day for weeks.

"I did finally learn how to cope with it, but I would think that Levi needed new shirts, he was outgrowing his old ones. I knew that Santana would just get in the car and go buy them, but it took me literally days to make the decision to do it. It was like that with everything. I was able to set a routine and it was everything the kids needed, but I was inflexible. If Levi was sick and I had to take him to the doctor, or I slept in and we were running twenty minutes late, it threw my schedule off so far I'd end up calling my dad to tell me what to do to put it back," Kurt looked desperate, Blaine had an awful feeling in his belly, he could feel the anxiety rolling off his Sub in waves.

"I don't think I would have been able to keep that up for very much longer. Some days I could close my eyes and think about Santana, imagine she was there and telling me what to do. That would work if things were bad, but if I was in a panic state, which I was a lot of the time, I would just freeze. That is why I went home to my family, I knew I was going to endanger my own children because I was so Weak. So...you see why making a decision that would affect all the people in my family is probably impossible for me," Kurt finished. He hung his head, so sad that he was now a disappointment to the man he loved. He didn't know how to fix it because he didn't understand why he was this way. He thought it might be something more than just being a Sub. He didn't know if other Subs had these same problems and he wasn't sure who he could call to ask.

Blaine didn't know how to comfort Kurt in this. He had always believed that a Sub could just make a decision if he wanted to, but this inability of Kurt's seemed insurmountable. Blaine was having trouble wrapping his head around it. Along with the confusion came a new feeling – of being inadequate. Was it possible that he had made a mistake, that he wasn't enough for Kurt? Or worse – that he was bad for him? He'd had that thought often in the first days as they battled the Sub Weakness together. That was unsettling.

"Let's get out and dry off. I'm tired," Blaine said.

After they toweled off and put on their robes, the couple went to their room and got into pajamas. Kurt was worried. He wasn't sure what he'd done to upset Blaine, but he could clearly see he'd done just that. He finished pulling on his pajama shirt and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. He passed Blaine on his way back to bed, but Blaine had a faraway look in his eyes and didn't even seem to notice Kurt.

Climbing into bed, Kurt moved to the far side --as far from Blaine's place as possible.

Blaine came back into the room after washing up and turned out the bedside lamp. He'd been so excited to get home, looking forward to being with Kurt, to loving this man that he just could not get enough of. But now...he wasn't sure of himself any more. And Kurt was on the other side of the bed, his face and body turned away from Blaine, as far as he could get. Blaine understood that Kurt was disappointed in him. He knew it would be wrong to force himself on Kurt, no matter how much he wanted to hold him and tell him he would try harder. He could learn to be better, he could. He would do anything for Kurt. He'd tell him in the morning.

Kurt was trying to go to sleep, but sleep wasn't coming. He wanted Blaine to hold him, to kiss him, to tell him that whatever he had done, there would be a way to fix it. But Kurt didn't know how to fix himself, he was struck by the realization that Blaine was disappointed in him. Oh, why did he have to tell Blaine how broken he was? Now it seemed Blaine didn't want him any more. He was on the bed, still awake but pretending to be asleep. He must be the worst Sub ever, so stupid to tell Blaine all of his shortcomings and making himself undesirable to this man he thought would love him until his dying day. Kurt cried bitter tears into his pillow, trying not to tremble, not to let Blaine know he was awake. He held his breath, forcing the tears to stop and finally fell into an uneasy sleep.

Across the bed, Blaine was grinding his teeth, trying not to just go and hold Kurt, to tell him he would find a better Dom for him, one that understood more about Subs. Blaine had been married, but he had never had a loving relationship with Arthur, who slept in a different bedroom and only had sex when Blaine asked him to, and then it was reluctantly. Arthur who was cold inside because he had wanted to marry Robbie and somehow blamed Blaine for what their fathers had agreed to. Blaine hadn't learned to love a Sub the proper way, and he had very little experience at home since he was raised by a woman that had no mate. He didn't even know if Mrs. Rose was a Sub or a Dom, and it didn't occur to him until now to wonder. Blaine sighed. Life had screwed him up so badly, and his own stupid idea about a union of equal partners, no matter which one was born with certain chemicals in his body.

Blaine couldn't even lay in the bed any more, He was too restless. He got up, heaving a sigh and got his robe, walking out of the bedroom to roam the house so maybe Kurt could get some sleep at least. Blaine found himself walking down the hall to one of the guest rooms when he heard Holly fussing. It wasn't loud enough to be heard on the baby monitor yet, so Blaine went in and took the baby into his arms. He took a clean diaper from the box and walked into the kitchen with her before speaking so Kurt wouldn't be disturbed.

"Hi little one. Papa will get you a clean diaper to wear, honey. There. Now, would you like some milk?" Holly was almost five months old now and starting to try to sit up by herself. She could sit up if propped by pillows and was thrilled to do so, cooing like a tiny dove when she was excited. Blaine set her in her swing that was in the kitchen and fixed her a bottle. He and Kurt had decided to start trying a little cereal with her milk next week. Did Blaine let Kurt decide that? Was it the right thing to do? He wasn't sure about any of it any more.

He took the bottle and got Holly out of the swing, carrying her into the living room to sit in a rocking chair and feed her. She was unusually alert tonight, Most of the time she would wake up around eleven or twelve and Blaine or Kurt would feed her a bottle, she would be sleepy and fall back to sleep as soon as she was done. Tonight she was wade awake and after drinking her bottle, she wanted to sit up in her Papa's lap.

"Do you like sitting with Papa?" he asked. "I like it when you're with me, Little One. I was feeling lonely, now I have you to keep your old Papa company," he said and Holly cooed at her Papa, a little smile on her lips. She was trying to touch his face with her hands and her coordination was improving by leaps and bounds. Blaine was so interested, so excited with every milestone she reached. He had gotten one of those baby books that parents record all the things the baby does: first trip, first tooth, first time they turned over. He eagerly wrote in it with each new step she made. It would break his heart to give her up – but if he wasn't good enough for Kurt, he probably wasn't good enough to be a Papa to Levi and Holly either. That thought ruined his night. He found himself blinking back tears, wondering for the thousandth time tonight what he could do to be good enough for Kurt.

Wait! Kurt had mentioned something the first few days they were together. It was about a dream he was having...about Puck and a whip. Is that what Kurt wanted? Blaine wasn't sure he could do that. He had never struck anyone in anger in his life.

It all came down to one thing: what was he willing to do to keep Kurt? He had no answer. Part of him said that he would do anything. Anything. But was that true? Could he strike Kurt, that creamy soft skin, the sensitive nature of his love....and Blaine knew the truth. No matter if he lost Kurt forever, lost his children, too, he could never, ever strike Kurt with a whip. Blaine hung his head. He was a coward. With that sudden realization, he picked Holly up and cuddled her close to his chest. He rocked her, wrapped warm in her bunny blanket, until she was asleep. He tucked her back in bed, kissed her impossibly soft cheek, and then went to Levi's bed, bent down to kiss his cheek, too.

"I love you, pal," he said and walked to the guest room to try to go to sleep. A few hours later, he finally did.

Kurt walked back down the hall to Blaine's bed. He had heard rustling in the nursery and went to investigate, thinking he would need to feed Holly. He and Blaine took turns with the night bottle. By the time he got to the kitchen, Kurt saw Blaine sitting in the living room in his rocker, feeding Holly. Kurt knew it wasn't right, but he stood in the hall, listening as Blaine spoke to the baby. He couldn't hear the words, but he seemed to be just talking to Holly, happy and content. Then something changed and he looked devastated, quickly rocking her to sleep and hurrying her back to her bed. Kurt was in the hall when Blaine whispered that he loved the children, then hurried to the guest room. Kurt walked back to Blaine's empty bed knowing that whatever he had done, it was bad. For Blaine to feel he had to go to a different bed to get away from Kurt, it must have been the worst thing ever. If he could only figure a way to mend this, to turn back the clock so he could try again – it had to be something he said during the bath. Kurt went back to bed, churning it all through his mind once more to catch the place where everything in his life went straight to hell.

In the morning, Kurt was awakened by Levi jumping on the bed.

"Daddy, Holly and I are hungry!" the little boy said, smiling at his Daddy. "Papa told me to ask you to feed us, then he left."

"He left? Did Papa say where he was going?" Kurt asked in a slight panic. He threw the covers back, creating a little breeze that stirred the note left beside the bed. The note flew behind the bed and settled on the floor where nobody could see it.

"He said he had to see Uncle Cooper for breakfast," Levi said. "He was drinking coffee and poured it down the sink, then talked to Uncle Cooper on his phone. He was in a hurry and he didn't kiss me goodbye," Levi complained.

"I'm sorry, pal. He didn't kiss me, either," Kurt said. "Okay, give me a minute to get dressed and I'll fix you some pancakes, buddy."

"Thank you, Daddy."

Kurt made breakfast for the kids in a daze. He had felt bad last night after the confusing bath with Blaine, but he was fairly confident that with the morning would come new understanding and he could go to his Dom and confess that he was wrong, that he would try ever so much harder. He would beg for another chance.

It wasn't to be. Blaine not only slept in the guest room, but he had left first thing to have a meeting with Cooper, who wasn't just his brother, but was his lawyer. This was worse than Kurt's fertile mind had even imagined. It was hard to be strong in front of the children and he found himself hugging them more, touching and holding them more until even Levi asked him what was wrong.

"Daddy, is somebody going to die?"

Kurt just stood there, frozen. It was bad enough that he had screwed things up with his Dom, but for him to be so careless in his selfish pity party that he made Levi think someone was going to die? Was there no end to the destruction he would cause? He knelt down and gathered Levi into his arms.

"No, Levi. I was sad because I made a mistake, but nobody is dying. I'm sorry I made you think that. It is a grown-up thing, and nothing for you to worry about. Okay, Pal? You know Papa and I love you and Holly more than anything in all the world, right?"

"Yes, Daddy. You just looked like the day Mama died. Your face was sad, and so was your body. Like Eeyore. Will you be happy again if I kiss you?"

"That would be the very best thing ever. That always makes me happy, Levi," Kurt told his son. Levi put his little arms around his daddy and kissed his cheek. Kurt kissed him back and Levi smiled. At least he'd always have his children, Kurt thought.

Mrs. Rose came in just as Levi was finishing his breakfast and Kurt was burping Holly.

"Mr. Hummel-Anderson, I was thinking the children might benefit from some fresh air this morning. We can walk to the library for story time and then to the park, stopping at that small sidewalk cafe that Levi favors. Would that be acceptable?"

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Rose. I'm not feeling well today and I hate to have the children cooped up in the house on such a beautiful day," Kurt smiled in relief at the housekeeper-turned-nanny. "How does that sound, Levi?"

Levi was clapping his hands enthusiastically. "Can we, Daddy?"

"Of course," Kurt told him.

"We will be gone approximately three hours, Mr. Hummel-Anderson," Mrs. Rose said. "Enough time for you to get some rest or to go visiting one of your friends. I believe there was a call from Mrs. Rachel Puckerman this morning. The number is in the office on the pad."

"Thank you, Mrs. Rose. I appreciate it," Kurt told her with sincerity.

"The children will be down for their naps when we return, so if you need to stay until supper..." she added with a smile and a pat on the arm before she left the room, carrying Holly and herding Levi to get them ready for their outing.

Kurt walked back to the office and found the pad with Rachel's number on it.

"Hello, Rachel?"

"Kurt! We're in New York, at our new apartment. You're going to love it. Puck wanted you to be our first guest, so get out your calendar.." Rachel greeted him, but stopped when she heard him crying. "Kurt? What's wrong, honey?"

"Rachel, can I come over now?"

"Yes, grab a cab and come right over. Are you okay?" she asked.

"I...I...oh, Rachel, I'll tell you when I get there. It's so bad...." and he hung up the phone. Grabbing the sheet of paper from the pad, he stuck it in his pocket so he could tell the cab driver the address and walked outside to hail a cab.

Under the bed in Kurt's room was the note that had fallen from his bedside table, unread:

My Dearest Kurt,

I love you so much, more than you could ever imagine. I don't know how to fix this, but I promise I will become the Dom you want and need if you will only give me one more chance. I beg you. I have gone to Cooper to see if he knows what I can do to learn to be a better Dom for you Can you meet me for lunch at La Parisian at twelve-thirty? We can have whatever you want to eat at your favorite restaurant and try to fix this. Please.

I love you, baby.

I do, with all my heart,

your Blaine

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