Natalie surveyed herself in the mirror and frowned. Her hands ran down the denim Bermuda shorts and looked at the dirty converse. "Are you sure dad would mind if I wore something more fashionable?"

Haley grimaced at her own reflection in the mirror. "He would know something was up."

"Well they're going to figure it out right away because your knees have scars on them!" Natalie glanced at the bumps all over Haley's legs, something her father would notice right away.

"I can't help it! I got them when my dad tried to teach me to skate," Haley giggled at the memory, "he actually fell and slid down the road. His pants got a huge hole in them and he even had scratches on his butt!"

Natalie's eyes went wide with shock and she felt her heart rate increase, "Maybe I shouldn't go with him. I…I can't do any of that stuff!"

"Don't worry, neither can I. He said he lost all of his dignity when he had to get Santana to put a band-aid on him every day so I never learned again after that day. You can swim, right?" Haley was starting to feel the panic of her sister, "because we have a pool and he'll expect you to run for it right away."

Natalie nodded slowly and stared, "You have your own pool? We belong to a pool but Brittany only takes me once or twice a summer." She did a little dance, "I love going in the pool!"

"You only go once or twice a summer?" Haley's nose wrinkled, "that doesn't sound like summer to me!"

Natalie shrugged, "You get used to it."

Haley looked over her sister one more time, trying to find anything out of place. She smoothed down her hair for what felt like the fiftieth time, "So let's run over this again. Santana is technically the housekeeper, but she's more like dad's girlfriend that he'll never have feelings for."

"Does she have feelings for him?" Natalie raised an eyebrow, "because if she does, that will not fit into the plan."

"No, she doesn't like him," Haley blushed, "I asked her once and I swear her laughs could be heard in New York."

The sound of tires on gravel alerted both of them to the arrival of one of their fathers. Both men would be arriving a black town car, so they both hid themselves behind the sheer curtains and peaked out from behind them. "That's him!" Haley whispered, "That's…that's our dad?"

Natalie nodded, trying to resist her own urge to run to the man that raised her. "That's him. Okay, I'm going to go out the back door and you just pretend you still hate me." Natalie looked over Haley's outfit and straightened a few things out. When she looked up at Haley, she had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening! Make sure he drinks his orange juice in the morning and make sure he eats dinner. Make sure Brittany doesn't buy the wrong toothpaste. And I'll call you as soon as I possibly can, okay?"

Haley was whiter than Natalie ever was, "What if he doesn't like me? What if he hates me? What if he thinks I'm ugly and horrible and a complete waste of time?"

"He won't," Natalie leaned in and hugged Haley quickly. "He will see that you are amazing. And you aren't ugly and horrible."

Haley hugged her back tightly. In truth, neither girl knew when they would be able to talk to each other again. They knew the switch back would have to happen before summer ended, but the thought of being apart for even a week seemed like an eternity to them.

They had become sisters again after over ten years.

Haley hugged Natalie one last time before Natalie slipped out the back of the cabin with a whimper.

Haley

Haley heard the door creak open, "Natalie!" Haley turned and almost passed out at the sight of the man in front of her. He barely looked different than the photograph she'd carried for years, the other half to the photograph hidden deep inside a trunk.

The one that held the man who raised her.

This man looked so different from the father she was used to seeing. He was pale, and slim, and extremely tall. His eyes bore into hers as he held his arms open. She didn't know how Natalie would react, so for a minute she became Haley again. "Daddy!" she squealed and ran to him, burying her face in his neck.

He smelled like her father.

She pulled back quickly and looked up at him. "I missed you," he said earnestly, running his hands through Haley's hair, "We need to get this touched up," he laughed, "but first I figured we could do some shopping. Maybe you can tell me about the girl you hit?" he raised an eyebrow toward her, "was she completely terrible? Did she have dry nail beds or something?"

Haley tried to laugh, but subconsciously hid her hands. "She wasn't so bad," she shrugged, "we just didn't see things eye to eye."

Kurt grabbed the suitcases in one hand and took Haley's hand, "What was her name anyway?"

She swallowed quickly and immediately lost her train of thought, "What? Oh…uh, Isla."

"Isla?" Kurt choked out a laugh, "Isn't that name a little old for a young girl?"

Haley laughed easily now, already starting to catch onto Kurt's humor, "She was a little strange."

"Well, I still don't think fighting her was the best way to handle the situation. You know I taught you to use that sharp, witty tongue of yours, you got that from me," he winked at her, "and only use your fists as a last resort."

"Trust me, it was," she snipped, and quickly regretted it.

Kurt cast her a weird look, his face wrinkling a little as he smiled, "You seem so different," he wrapped and his arm around her shoulders, "You need to stop changing!"

Haley scooted into the town car and settled into the leather seat. Kurt immediately pulled out his cell phone and scooted closer to her. "Want to see the new line? The one for the fashion show?"

Haley nodded excitedly, "Yes please!"

"Good! Because you are going to draw me something and I'm going to put it in the show. So pay attention," he smiled fondly down at her.

Haley remembered a conversation she had with Natalie a few nights previous about her father using Natalie's first time going to school as inspiration for a whole fashion line. "What was the inspiration?" She was proud of the question; she missed the face Kurt made.

"Oh," he said quietly, shifting. He couldn't stop the pride from swelling in his heart, at least he taught her something. "The inspiration is probably something you won't understand…"

"Tell me," Haley urged, dying to get to know just a little bit of her father.

He sighed, "It's about a breakup. And what did I always tell you about boys?"

Haley panicked, "Uh…uh…."

"They have cooties," Kurt winked, "and the cooties will hurt you."

Haley laughed again, "Oh! I remember! And I have to get the cootie shot!"

Kurt stopped laughing, "And what does that entail?"

Haley grabbed his hand and traced over it lightly with her fingertip, "Circle circle, dot dot, now you have your cootie shot. Circle circle, square square, now I have it everywhere. Circle circle, knife knife, now you have it for all life! So you are protected from cooties forever!"

Kurt laughed, "I send you to camp and you come back knowing all of these new things about performing! I'm so glad I spent that money!"

Haley rolled her eyes expertly.

Kurt laughed and held the phone out to her. "Just scroll through them. Tell me which ones you like.

Haley's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the clothes on the screen. She might know nothing about fashion, but she still loved the clothes she saw. Her father was a genius, she was convinced of it. "Dad," she choked on the word a little, "these look awesome!"

He smiled absently, "Thank you! I do like some of them. Keep looking!"

The men on the screen were all dressed in a similar fashion. She raised an eyebrow, "Blazers?"

"You know, like the kind I used to wear when I went to Dalton," he smiled softly at the memory, "something just triggered it and I realized men don't wear blazers enough anymore. Though these are much more fashionable."

Haley swallowed.

Dalton.

He dads both went to Dalton. Saying a silent prayer to thank God that she at least knew about Dalton.

Was this dad a Warbler too?

She had so many questions that she wanted answered, but she didn't know how to go about asking them without treading on material Natalie had already asked about.

She'd have to start keeping a list.

She continued look at the clothes on the screen, a blue blazer with huge black buttons, a tight fitting black blazer with studs, a simple black blazer lined in yellow, another black blazer lined with different color piping. The men were all wearing bright pants that were tight and rolled at the bottom.

It all looked familiar.

Haley eventually took her eyes away from the phone to glance at her father, who was now nodding off against the side of the car.

She sat and just looked at him intensely for the first time. She could see why her dad had loved him. He was the most beautiful man Haley had ever seen. His hair fluttered over his forehead as he breathed and his hands were lax in his lap.

Haley wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to him, but she didn't think it would be appropriate. Instead, she curled onto her side and faced him, watching him breath until she fell asleep.

Kurt awoke sometime later, the buildings of the city creeping toward him in the distance. He glanced at his daughter, sleeping peacefully, face smashed against the back seat. He brushed a stray hair out of her face.

He knew he was going crazy, but she looked different to him. She looked slightly younger if he was honest, and she looked like a kid for the first time in years.

Maybe the camp was good for her. He never gave her a sibling. Another sibling, he thought bitterly, and she was practically raised in the design House of Kurt Hummel. But now her knees were scraped up, her fingernails were dirty, and her hair was completely frizzy and out of control.

He thought she never looked more gorgeous.

It was times like this when his mind filtered to what she would have been if things were different. If he had allowed her to run in the fields of a California farm. He pushed the feelings away.

He had her, at that was enough for him.

"Dad?" Haley asked as she opened her eyes, "Why are you staring?"

"I was just…you were talking in your sleep," he lied.

"Oh," she blushed, "sorry!"

"It's okay!" Kurt inwardly groaned when he felt his phone start vibrating in his pocket, "Hello, Kurt Hummel?"

"Hi! Kurt! It's Brittany!" her usually happy voice was panicked, "Some really tall guy with weird hair is here to see you and I don't know what to tell him. He says he's modeling for you in California, but I don't understand why he's here if he's supposed to be in California. Kurt are you going to yell at him?"

Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose, "No, I'm not going to yell at him. He needs to be fitted in the blazer for the ending of my show. I told them to have him come tomorrow though. I wanted to spend the day with Natalie."

Haley frowned a little at the sound of the conversation. She had wanted to spend the day with her father.

"Okay, send him to the shop. Yeah, I'll fit him there. I'm not doing any other work though. I'm taking my girl out for dinner." Kurt listened for a minute, "Okay, thanks."

Haley tried to act like she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.

"Natalie," Kurt sighed, "Would you care terribly if we stopped by the shop to fit a model? He's wearing an important outfit, and he is only out here for the next few days."

Haley was actually pretty excited to see her father work, so she nodded quickly, "Sure. What model?" That was something Natalie would ask, right?

"Sebastian Smyth," Kurt said with a frown.

Natalie

Natalie sat and watched the town car leaving the camp, dust coming up around the tires. She shuddered.

What if this was a huge mistake? What if he dad hated her? What if he thought Haley changed for the worse at camp?

Natalie bit at her nails, a horrible habit her father would have lectured her about for hours.

"Why the long face, Buttercup?" a voice said and snapped Natalie to attention.

She looked up and there stood the man she'd only dreamed about meeting. He was shorter than she had pictured, but his face was smiling widely. His hair was a curly mess that she both loved because it was a part of him that she knew, and hated because she had to deal with it every day.

On instinct, she stood and ran to his arms, "Daddy!" she screamed, trying to hide the tears falling down her face.

"Gah!" Blaine laughed as he caught her mid-flight and swung her around before hugging her tightly, "I missed you so much, baby girl!"

"I missed you too, Daddy!" Natalie didn't know why, but she felt like she believed it. She had missed this man, because surely she had known him at some point in her life. For years, she had been subconsciously looking for him.

Blaine placed her down on the ground and looked down at her, "How did you lose your tan here?" he laughed, "too much time in the studio?"

"Dad…" Natalie started, her voice trailing off. She had no idea what to say.

"I know! Sometimes painting is more fun than getting sunshine," he laughed and threw her bags in the back of the car. "Let's go. We have to get moving."

"Are we flying back tonight?" she tried to hide her excitement.

"No," Blaine grinned widely at her, but it did not quite meet his eyes, "We are going to go on a little tour of New York. And then, we're making a pit stop in my hometown."

"Why?" Natalie slid into the car and looked at Blaine who was talking to the driver.

Blaine sat in the back and pulled her close, "Because I have a little reunion to go to. Don't worry, Santana is here so you guys will get some girl time." He wrinkled his forehead and made a dismissive hand wave, "You know, manicures, pedicures, that kind of thing."

She nodded, "Cool!"

"So do you want to tell me why I'm picking you up early from camp?"

Natalie groaned, "Can we not?"

He looked down at her, "Do we ever not talk about things?"

She had no idea. "She was just…mean and rude. She said my paintings looked like something she would see at a preschool." Natalie came up with the first insult she could think of.

"Oh," Blaine frowned, "Can I have her name and address? I would like to meet her and give her a really mean dad glare." He attempted to glare at his daughter, but just broke into a laugh instead.

"Dad," Natalie gave him her best 'you cannot be serious' face.

"Okay, okay. How about we take a little siesta, and then we will get ready back at the hotel. I have big plans for tonight!"

"Big?"

"Huge!"

She laughed and curled up at his side, resting her head on the crook of his arm.

Blaine smiled and held his daughter tight. He knew she was not telling him the whole story about why she left the camp, but he would take her word that everything was okay. Eventually, she would tell him the truth.

His daughter had a way of not being able to hide the truth from him.

Blaine looked up at the sparkling lights of the city, not able to fall asleep. His heart pounded because he knew, somewhere in the millions of people on the tiny island, was the man who stole his heart years ago.

He knew that Kurt and his other daughter lived somewhere.

He wanted to look him up in a phonebook and he wanted to turn around and get to JFK at the same time.

Natalie stirred and looked up at Blaine, "Are we almost at the hotel?" she asked through a groggy fog.

"Yeah. Actually, why don't we walk?" he reached forward and tapped the driver before handing him a huge sum of money. "Thank you!"

It took Natalie a minute, but she quickly caught up with her surroundings.

She was right near the House of Kurt Hummel.

Blaine grabbed her hand and knelt in front of her, "Look, I know you haven't been in many big cities, but you have to hold my hand, okay?"

Natalie nodded quickly and grabbed his hand, hoping she could steer him away from the storefront.

But Blaine pulled her right down the street, and of course he was looking up at every building, reading the signs.

Natalie wanted to scream.

Her father was a tourist.

Somehow, she found it endearing on him though. It was not like he was a tourist in a new place, but rather he was coming back.

And then Natalie remembered it was because he was. Her fathers had lived together in college. In New York.

How much didn't Haley know?

They approached the store owned by her father and Blaine stopped briefly, just staring at the sign. "Oh," he said softly.

"D-did you want to shop?" Natalie asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. I just…he has really nice designs," Blaine finished lamely, still staring at the mannequins and the name in the window.

Natalie didn't know if she wanted to break the spell or encourage her father to go in.

To her young mind, everything would be easier if they just fell back in love right then.

But Blaine was pulling her suddenly, murmuring to himself as they walked quickly toward the hotel. "Now is not the time," was the only thing Natalie could make out.

When they were in their hotel room, in what seemed like no time flat because Blaine was basically carrying her, he turned to her and knelt down again.

Natalie was starting to realize this was when he had something important to say.

"We're going to a gala tonight, okay?"

Natalie's eyes flew open, "Why?"

"Because there's someone I want you to meet and he was invited to the Gala. There is a dress laid out for you in your room. Go take a shower and put gel in your curls. We need to be ready in an hour. Okay?"

Natalie nodded quickly, blinded by the turn of events. "O-okay."

"Don't be nervous, you will be the most beautiful girl in the room."

An hour and a half later, Natalie stood in front of the mirror, a purple kimono-style dress on, her hair pulled back in a bun.

It wasn't what her dad wanted, but she knew it looked better.

She walked out into the room to find her dad pacing and on the phone, "I do not think this is the right time. Just a few more weeks would even be better. She just came home and I cannot help feeling like I'm blindsiding her with everything. I don't…I don't like bringing people into her life unless I know for sure…No! No, I care about you too but I just….you don't understand. You aren't a dad!"

A woman burst into the room in a tight red dress with super high heels, she grabbed the phone from Blaine. "Look, freak, he said you cannot meet her tonight."

Natalie cleared her throat.

The woman, who she now recognized as Santana, smiled widely and dropped the phone, "Oh god! Look at you! You look so grown up! Who taught you how to do your hair?"

Natalie hugged her gingerly, "Camp!" she shrugged.

Santana looked at her strangely before turning back to Blaine, "Come on, Hobs, we have to go."

Blaine looked sad all of a sudden, "He's mad at me."

"Too bad, we're still going. Free food, and you deserve to give your women a night on the town," Santana handed a shawl to Natalie, "Put this on, Haley. It might get cold."
------
The actual gala was interesting. It was filled with older men and their families, with models and designers scattered throughout.

Natalie prayed her other father was not there.

Natalie had been to these events before, and just like always, people barely ate. The dinner was over and music started to play. There were people of all ages there, and Natalie looked on sadly as a girl about fifteen got to dance with her dad. Most of the room was filled with dads dancing with their daughters.

Blaine followed her eyesight and saw what she was looking at. He grinned, "Would you like to have this dance?"

She laughed and nodded as the DJ announced a father daughter dance was coming.

Blaine took her to the middle of the floor and grabbed her, placing the tips of her toes on his feet so he could lead her.

Natalie wanted to cry, because this was something she had always imagined. She wanted to dance with her dad, wanted to feel like she was special, like he loved her.

Even if he didn't know who it really was.

The music played and they danced around the floor, Blaine sometimes moving too much in the arms.

And now all of a sudden
It seemed so strange to me
How we've gone from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' through the glass I think about the man
That's standin' next to me
And I hope he's at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be

Haley was staring up at Blaine with a huge smile on her face when someone tapped her shoulder, "Excuse me, may I cut in?"

"Uhm," Natalie looked up at her father who was staring at the man in shock.

"I'm Sebastian," the man stuck out his hand, "Your father's boyfriend!"

Years later, Natalie would still be talking about how Santana flew across the room to scratch the model's eyes out.