Chapter One:

Kurt Hummel sighed and pushed his glasses farther up the narrow bridge of his nose. It was already past dinner time and he was sure Burt and Carole were getting tired of the little girl that was waiting for him. He scratched a few lines with his pencil and his tongue poked out of the corner of his lip. If he could just finish this one design and have it on Linda’s desk by the morning, he could take a three day weekend to actually spend time with the little girl that is impatiently awaiting him. His phone buzzed beside him and he sighed, tossing his pencil down and smudging the piece of work that he had spent hours on. He looked at the text message and smiled. His beautiful little angel was perfectly asleep on Grandpa’s lap. Kurt sighed and shook his head; he would finish the design at home, he had a daughter to see. Julianne Grace was born to a heroin addicted mother and left at the hospital. Kurt and his ex-fiancé, adopted her right before they realized they were not right for each other at all. Eli was a great guy, but once Julianne came into the picture, everything changed. While Kurt realized he was perfect father material, Eli didn’t. He quickly signed full paternal rights over to Kurt and took off without as much as a goodbye. 

Quickly, Kurt grabbed his briefcase and placed the drawing inside carefully. Was he the latest up and coming designer for Sacks Fifth Avenue, yes, but he was first and foremost a father. He quickly texted his step-mother, telling her he would be there shortly and made his way home. Burt wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of moving to New York, but when Eli left Kurt and his precious grand-daughter all alone, what other choice did he have? Kurt had made enough money to afford a comfortable cottage type house in the New England country side and it was enough for the four of them. Burt and Carole took up most of the downstairs while baby Julia, for short, and Kurt took the upstairs. Their mutual areas were the kitchen, dining room and living room. Once Burt had found a job at a dealership and was fixing some of the world’s most beautiful cars, he was perfectly fine with the ordeal. Carole was placed in a children’s hospital, which put her right at home, and they were both perfectly happy. Carole was just getting in her scrubs when Burt moved to put Julia to bed. 

“No, no, no.” Carole whispered. 

“But she’s dead to the world, Care.” Burt protested. Still, Carole shook her head. 

“Kurt always puts her to bed, dear. It’s one of the only things he gets to do nowadays. Seriously, it’s one of his things.” She sighed and ran her fingers through her grand-daughter’s hair. Burt sighed but smiled and went back into the living room, setting the little girl on the couch and stretching to release the muscles in his back. 

“I swear,” he groaned. “She may only be two years old, but she’s gonna be the one to put my back out.” He pointed down at her and then he couldn’t help grin from ear to ear. This little girl was his little boy’s whole world, and he couldn’t believe the man that helped his son get this little girl just decided to leave them both. He was just about to curse Eli for the millionth time when he heard Kurt open the door. Burt smiled as his son quickly dropped his briefcase and unwrapped the coat from around his waist. 

“She just fell asleep,” Carole smiled, kissing Kurt on the cheek gently. “They were watching American Idol and out she went.” Carole reached for her coat and motioned Burt to hand her the lunch bag in the freezer. 

“I love you,” Burt told her. “Call before you get off so we can unlock the door,” 

“Oh,” Kurt said, picking up his daughter. “I have a sketch to finish, so I wouldn’t be shocked if I’m still up.” He said, looking at the time. If she was going in at eleven and working a four or five hour fill-in, he would very well still be awake. Burt rolled his eyes and opened the door for Carole. 

“I’ll call before I clock out,” She kissed Burt one more time, blew kisses to Kurt, and was out the door. Kurt smiled and held his daughter in his arms, gently singing her back to sleep and rocking with her. Burt flashed back to the night after he and Eli had brought her home from the adoption agency. She wasn’t used to the quite, so Kurt would have to sing her to sleep. At the time, Burt would watch from the webcam as his son and his grand-daughter danced around her nursery. 

“I don’t want you stayin’ up all night, kid.” Burt pulled himself out of his little flashback and followed Kurt up the stairs.

“Dad,” Kurt tried to chastise him, but Burt shook his head while pulling out two different night gowns. 

“Disney Princess,” Kurt whispered, gently moving to get his daughter undressed. Once she was in her night clothes, he leaned down and kissed her sweetly. “Daddy loves you,” He told her and moved to the other side of the room. Once the door was closed and Kurt had made sure she was actually sleeping, Kurt sighed. 

“Long day at the office, kid?” Burt asked, clapping Kurt on the shoulder gently. Kurt nodded and rubbed his neck a little bit. “Come on, I’ll start the coffee.”

----

The next day flew by quickly. He was on cabs to and from the office and meetings he was going to be lucky if he was going to have time to actually sit. But, eventually, the day came to an early end and he was more than pleased when he got to head home to his little girl. He was just getting in the door when he heard it. 

“DADDY!!!!!!” The squeal that made his heart melt. 

“Hi, baby!” Kurt reached down and swooped up his little girl. 

“Daddy, we has a surprise for you!” She pointed toward the kitchen. Kurt took a couple of steps and moved towards the kitchen. 

“What’s going on, baby girl?” Kurt asked, moving towards the kitchen. 

“Just look in the kitchen,” She pointed, giggling and watching around the corner. Once Kurt heard the booming voice of his step-brother, he couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. 

“Finn,” Kurt smiled, walking towards his brother and accepting the one armed hug. 

“What’s going on, baby brother?” He asked, before tickling Julia’s stomach for a minute. 

“Uncle Finn, no!” She giggled and Kurt gladly passed the squirming girl to her uncle. Kurt sighed and made his way over to the medicine drawer. While Finn was keeping his daughter entertained, he had a moment to drown some pain killers and start the next pot of coffee. 

“Gonna be another long night?” Finn asked, sending Julia to go get whatever new toy she wanted to show him. Kurt nodded and took a couple more chugs of water. 

“I really want to take Julianne to see the new Disney movie and have a daddy daughter day, but doing that requires bringing my entire work home for Friday home and doing it all tonight to turn into the office tomorrow.” He sighed. Finn shook his head. 

“Damn, man, and I thought I had it rough.” He laughed. 

“Finn, you’re the leading football coach at OSU, what on earth does that have anything to do with the fashion world?” Kurt smiled and grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet. 

“Man, you know I don’t do coffee,” Finn said. Kurt smiled and reached to the wine cabinet behind him. 

“That’s why I am pouring you a drink while I wait for my coffee,” He smiled, before sliding the glass Finn’s way. The moment Julia came back, Finn moved the drink away and set it aside for later. Right now, it was time to play with his niece. 

Dinner was nice and quick, and thanks to Finn, Julia turned in quickly, which meant that the family could have some catch up time. Finn was well into his story about how he got the coaching job at OSU when Kurt’s cell phone went off. Of course, it was Linda, and of course, she wanted him to come in tomorrow.  Kurt sighed and shook his head. 

“I’m sorry Linda,” He noted. “I have a daughter that I need to take care of tomorrow. Yes, I know you have children but the difference is, your children are eighteen years old, mine is two.” He noted, hating to snark at his boss. 

“Yes, I understand.” He nodded, before hanging up the phone and taking the remaining cosmo out of Carol’s hand. He sighed and watched as Finn shook his head. 

“Man, you need a baby sitter.” Finn noted. Kurt’s ears perked up. 

“I need a what?” He asked. 

“A babysitter. Ya know, someone besides Mom and Dad.” Fine noted. “Someone with a car, or who lives in the city; that way you can see Julia a lot more. She’s only going to be toddlers for another couple of years and, before we all know it, we’re going to be watching her graduate high school.” 

“Whoa, hang on there, buddy.” Kurt held up his finger. “Let me get her past wetting the bed, then we’ll talk about high school, alright?” He asked, watching Finn for a moment. His older step-brother laughed and the family continued with their catching up. 

Later that evening, while working on some of his numbers for some pieces of his collection, he happened across the local registry for baby sitters. He took a deep breath while he looked around the website. He knew he didn’t want the traditional “nanny.” Julia was used to a balanced schedule and has been used to mostly men in her life, as Carole and Aunt Rachel are the only two women she’s ever know. He sighed and clicked on the apply button and started filling out the information. 

What’s the worst that could happen, he wondered, he falls in love?