Chapter Three

Kurt was nervous; no, Kurt was anxious. He had the diaper bag packed and ready to go, Julianne was bouncing happily in her stroller, giggling and calling for her daddy. That was one of the biggest things Kurt had to adjust to when Julia came into his life, how much time he spent getting ready. It seemed like his time was cut in half and the rest of the morning was dedicated to his daughter. Which, after a while, he got used to and learned not to whine. Julianne was almost ready to push herself out the door when Kurt handed his daughter her favorite juice cup, tossed the bag in the under carriage of the stroller and made his way to Central Park. It was a beautiful day, and Kurt dressed his princess to the T. She was wearing one of her cutest toddler dresses, which was sure to be a mess by the end of the day, complete with a cute little cardigan and socks with ruffles on them. As much as he hated to admit it, he took pride in the way his daughter looked most days. Despite when they’re at home and she is usually running around in her Pull-Up’s and one of her favorite Disney Princess or Barbie shirts, Kurt always made sure his daughter was fashion forward. Though the girls her age didn’t care what she was wearing now, they would sure care in ten years, and Kurt wanted his baby girl to be prepared. He slipped his sunglasses off the top of her head and turned his iPhone to her favorite mix of songs, and then they were on their way.

“Come on, Emerson, time for your walk!” Blaine called to his hyper puppy. According to Kurt, if Julianne was going to be spending the majority of the time with Blaine, she might as well meet his puppy so they could get used to each other. Before he put his leash on the puppy, Blaine took a knee, becoming eyelevel with the dog.

“You’re going to be a good boy today, right Emerson?” Blaine asked. An excited bark was his reply. He patted his pup behind the ears and then hooked his leash around his collar. “And you’re going to let Daddy do the walking, right?” He asked, and, of course, another excited bark was his reply. He quickly set his iPhone to his walking playlist, grabbed his car keys and the two of them made their way out of their apartment. Blaine had learned that Emerson was an adventurous walker; he was always finding something to sniff or something to bark at or someone who would stop and pet his head while he licked at their ankles. As much as Blaine loved the fact that Emerson was an active and social dog, today was just not the day to be that way. They were going to meet a potential boss, and if Blaine was going to get this job, his dog had to comply. It took a few stern talking to’s, but after about fifteen minutes, they eventually made it to the pack. They were rounding the corner by the children’s play park, ready to head to the laying grounds, when he heard it. 

“Higher, dada, higher!” The little voice that he swore was from Heaven. When he turned and saw the brunette little girl being pushed in the swing, he looked to see who was the one providing the momentum, and that’s when his heart almost stopped. Now, Blaine would be stupid not to admit that Kurt Hummel was more than attractive when they first met, but rules were rules. You don’t ask a future employer out on a date, especially not when they’re looking for you to take care of something as precious as their child. Emerson had stopped too, and his tail was wagging so hard, Blaine was pretty sure he was going to have a bruise on his shin. 

“Doggie, Dada, doggie.” The little girl pointed to Emerson, and Blaine was pretty sure his cheeks were going to be the color of his pup’s collar; bright red. Kurt stopped pushing his daughter long enough to smile up at Blaine, and then pulled her swing back to stop her in order to pull her out. Instead of setting her back in the stroller, he let her run, or more like wobble, free and race to the puppy. 

“Doggie!” She called again, and Blaine’s heart skipped a beat. Yeah, he was pretty sure he and this little girl were going to make one heck of a team. Blaine took a knee and smiled at the little girl. 

“You must be Julianne,” He smiled. 

“Julia,” The little girl insisted before pointing to Emerson. “Is doggie yours?” She asked. Blaine grinned and told Emerson to sit. 

“Yup, he sure is. Wanna say hi?” He asked, before telling his dog to lie down. Gently, Julia moved to pat the top of Emerson’s head. 

“Good doggie,” She smiled, and then looked at Blaine. “Are you Baine?” She asked. “Dada said Baine is gonna be my new friend.” She said, grabbing her hands and swinging back and forth on her heels. Blaine looked up at Kurt, who seemed to be beaming with pride. 

“Why yes, I am.” Blaine smiled, before standing up and becoming eyelevel with Kurt again. “She’s adorable,” He pointed down to the little girl, who was happily getting her legs licked by her new four-legged friend. 

“Thanks, I try.” Kurt smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for meeting us here, I figured it would be the easiest place to meet since you mentioned you had a dog,” Kurt smiled and looked around for a moment. 

“There’s a, puppy play park just over there,” Blaine pointed behind him. “It has a kids section too; I guess they figured that the two kind of go hand in hand.” Blaine grinned, and watched Kurt. “We can sit and chat while the kids play?” 

“That sounds wonderful,” Kurt smiled. “Wait here while I go and get the stroller.” He asked, and before Blaine had the chance to pull the puppy and Julia away from each other, Kurt was back and ready to go. The three humans and one canine made their way over to the park and found themselves a perfect section to sit before the little ones were released. 

“Be careful with him,” Kurt told Julia, handing her the leash. 

“Tell him to sit and lay if he gets too wild,” Blaine reminded her. The toddle shook her head. 

“Sit,” She looked at Emerson. It took him a moment to translate her command, but once he saw that she was pointing to the ground with her little finger, he obeys. “Good doggie,” She patted the pup behind the ears. “Now, lay down.” She said. Emerson obeyed again and Julia clapped for herself. 

“Come on, pups.” She said, taking his leash and walking with him again.

Kurt sighed and pulled out his water bottle, taking a few sips before sighing. The day was beautiful and perfect for late fall. It wasn’t too cold, or too warm, it was just right. Blaine closed his eyes and let the sun warm his face. 

“I love fall,” He sighed, looking up to watch a maple leaf fall from a giant maple tree. Kurt smiled. 

“It’s my favorite season,” Kurt noted. “All of the fall colors and coffee flavors,” He shivered as a warmth rushed through him. “I always said that if gay marriage ever passed in Ohio, I’d get married there in the fall.” He hummed, not noticing he had just revealed two crucial personal items about himself. 

“Ohio?” Blaine asked. Kurt looked at Blaine and nodded slowly. 

“Lima, actually.” Kurt noted. “Born and raised,” Kurt smiled. 

“No kidding,” Blaine asked. “I’m from Westerville,” 

“As in Dalton Academy, Westerville?” Kurt asked. 

“I am a Warbler, yes.” 

“You’re still a Warbler?” Kurt asked, curious. Blaine smirked. 

“Once a Warbler, always a Warbler.” Blaine smiled and watched as Kurt nodded, reaching into the stroller for a bottle of water. They remained in silence for a few moments, watching as Emerson and Julia learned to play catch with each other. Julia would throw a stick as far as she could, which wasn’t very far, and Emerson, being the good dog he was, would run after it. There were a couple times when they got tangled up in each other, but it was all traded with slurps from Emerson’s tongue and giggles from Julia’s mouth. 

“When can you start?” Kurt asked. 

“As soon as you want me,” Blaine commented, neither of them taking their eyes away from the animal or his two legged friend. 

“As soon as possible,” 

“How does tomorrow sound?”

“What time?”

“I leave for work at seven,” Kurt finally moved his eyes from his daughter to look at Blaine. 

“I have a class from eight to ten, but the nursery would love to take her.” Blaine noted. 

“Oh, no, I don’t want you to have to pay—“ 

“I won’t have to pay.” Blaine smiled, putting his hand on Kurt’s knee. “One of the many perks to New York is that teen moms find an advantage here. They opened the nursery service last year when half of the female population got pregnant.” He smiled. “They have a class size of about six within her age group,” Blaine noted. “She’ll fit right in.” He promised. 

“You knew you were going to get the job, didn’t you?” Kurt asked. Blaine shrugged and smiled. 

“A guy can hope.” 

---

“Come on, Julia.” Kurt picked up his daughter and went to turn on her closet light. He knew that the bedroom light would be too bright for both him and her, but the closet light would provide enough light to get her dressed. Julia protested with a weak cry and Kurt smiled, moving her to her dresser. 

“Do you wanna pick out what you’re wearing to Blaine’s house today or should daddy?” He asked. Julia lopped her head to the side and opened one eye, then closed it again and cuddled into her daddy’s shoulder. “I guess I’m choosing the outfit, then.” Kurt noted, before reaching for her clothes. Once she was dressed, her hair was brushed and put into cute little pigtails; Kurt’s next task was to prepare a “diaper” bag. It had been a while since he had actually packed a diaper bag, and he had nearly forgotten what to include. 

A change of clothes, some pull-ups, a couple of juice cups, some snacks….he was sure he was forgetting something. Julia was bouncing away in her toddle chair at the table, eating her cheerios and drinking her milk when he remembered. Quickly, while Burt was watching her, Kurt ran upstairs to gather her baby blanket. If and/or when she got upset, the blanket calmed her instantly. Carole was a godsend, putting some magic mother touch or something through the weaving she made for the daughter. Once he retrieved it and placed it in the bag without his daughter noticing, he zipped the bag closed. 

“Julianne?” He called. 

“Daddy,” She answered, making her way over to him with a milk mustache and some cheerio crumbs on her face. Kurt smiled and reached down. 

“Are you ready to go to Blaine’s house?” Kurt asked.  She nodded and grinned. 

“I’ma go play with Emerson,” She smiled. 

Kurt nodded. “Yup, come on, baby girl, let’s go.”