Kurt wandered through Greenwich Village, lost in thought. He pulled out his cell phone a couple of times, but couldnt bring himself to call anyone. Finally he found a free bench in Washington Square Park. He sat, taking a pad of paper and a pen out of his bag, and opening the notepad to a fresh page.

He carefully wrote Being with Andrew across the top of the page, and made two columns, labeling the one on the left Pros and the one on the right Cons. His pen scratched across the surface of the page as cons came to him in a steady stream:

- I might never see Dad again.
- I might never see Carole or Finn again.
- I might never see Mercedes, Eddie, or Rachel again.
- I might have to give up fashion.
- I would be in constant danger.
- I would never be able to feel settled/rooted anywhere.

Under the Pros column, try as he might, he could only come up with one item:

- I would get to be with Andrew.

"Hey, howd the apartment tours go?" Eddie asked, leaning back in his desk chair as Kurt entered the dorm room.

"Okay." Kurt dropped his bag by the door. "Thanks again for letting me stay here while I look for a place."

Eddie smiled and turned his attention back to the celebrity tweets on his laptop screen. "Its all good. You find any good prospects?"

"Maybe. Still deciding." He sat on Eddies bed. "Hey Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"Youve been in some serious relationships, right?"

"A couple, yeah."

"Have you ever had to make a sacrifice for a girlfriend? Something really, really big?"

Eddie nodded. "Sure. I once missed a Giants game so I could go to Michelle Salvatores stupid ballet recital. She dumped me two days later, too."

"No, Im talking about a big sacrifice, Eddie."

"It was a playoff game."

Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose, counting to five. "Okay. Say you were dating a girl, and you were madly in love. What would you give up for her?"

"If I really, really loved her?"

"Yeah."

Eddie thought for a moment. "Pretty much anything except beer."

"What about something bigger?"

"Whats bigger than beer?"

"What if she said that if you wanted to be with her, you couldnt ever see your friends again?"

"Psh, no." Eddie shook his head. "No dice."

"This is the love of your life were talking about."

"So? Bros before hos," Eddie said emphatically. "Thats a rule to live by, Kurt. Your friends should always come first. Bros bef–" He paused. "Oh. Itd have to be the opposite for you, wouldnt it. So then, chicks before dicks. Either way, its really good advice."

"So no matter how much you loved the girl, you wouldnt give up your friends to be with her?"

"Any girl who would ask me to make that choice isnt worth the trouble." Eddie turned back to his computer, and Kurt sighed.

The next morning, he made a three-way call to Mercedes and Rachel.

"This must be really important," Rachel said gravely. "For you to call your two closest, most trusted confidantes."

"I need some advice," he admitted.

"Kurt, we are so here for you."

"Yeah, lay it on us," Mercedes said. "We got this."

"Okay, so hypothetically, say I was dating a guy–"

He was cut off by a shrill, ear-shattering scream. "Rach, did you hear that? Hes finally over Blaine!" Mercedes squealed again. "Lord have mercy, I thought itd never happen. I thought our boy was gonna die a spinster."

"I dont know, I thought it was kind of romantic, how he was still pining after all this time," Rachel said wistfully. "There was something poetic about it. Like the Brownings. Romeo and Juliet. Tristan and Isolde. You didnt see Tristan dating again."

"Guys, Im not dating anyone," Kurt insisted. "This is a hypothetical."

"Right," Mercedes said. "I get you. So hypothetically, does this new boy have a fine ass?"

"Mercedes, Kurt is obviously going through a lot of turmoil right now. Let him ask his question."

"Thank you, Rachel," Kurt said. "So lets say I was dating a guy, and he was perfect in every way–"

"Knew he had a fine ass."

"Mercedes! Go on, Kurt."

"So say the new guy was my one true love, but if I wanted to be with him, I might have to give up my relationship with... with everyone else in my life."

There was a brief pause, before the girls started talking over each other frantically. "Uh-uh. Red flag. There is no way that a guy Kurt, you really need to think about what is best for gonna cut my wings, no way no how no way to behave in a relationship, you need to hell to the no, and I say again, hell to as Barbra Streisand once said–"

"Hey," he hollered, and they quieted at once. "So neither of you would ever make that kind of a sacrifice in order to be with your true love? Really?"

"Think about Blaine," Rachel said. "Would he ever have asked you to give anything up to be with him?"

"Yeah, Kurt, think about Blaine. What would he say?"

"Hold out for another Blaine."

"Yeah. Hold out for another Blaine."

Kurt spent most of the day walking around the city. He imagined having Andrew there beside him, holding his hand, tugging him into used record stores and letting Kurt tug him into designer consignment shops.

He thought about the plan theyd crafted years ago, the one that suddenly seemed both attainable and impossible.

The sun broke from behind a skyscraper, and he wondered how Andrews eyes would catch its light.

He climbed to the top of the bleachers in Times Square, finding a seat among the anonymous throngs of tourists. The pro/con list was still clutched tightly in his hand, as he tried to work up the nerve to call his dad.

Dread pooled low in his stomach. Logically, he knew that he could go against Eddies advice. He could even go against Mercedes and Rachels advice. But there was no way he could defy his own father. And yet the prospect of never seeing Andrew again, never knowing if he was okay, never being able to hold him... it was almost paralyzing.

He ran his thumb over his cell phone screen. The motion made the display light up, and when he looked at the time, he realized there were only two hours left until Andrews imposed deadline. Taking a deep breath, he dialed the number for Hummel Tires and Lube. His father answered the call on the third ring.

"Yeah, Hummels. Burt speaking."

Suddenly, Kurts throat felt unbearably tight. How had he ever considered this to be a tough decision? He could never give up having his father in his life – not for Andrew, and not for anyone else. "Dad, hey. Its me."

"Kurt!" Burt exclaimed. "Whats up, kid? You find a place?"

"Not sure yet. Weighing my options."

"Well, just remember, a lease only lasts a year. Youre not exactly making a lifetime commitment."

Kurt didnt know whether to laugh or cry at that. "Yeah."

"Just called to check in?"

"Actually, no," Kurt said, "Id wanted to ask for your advice."

"Advice? From me?" Burt sounded confused, but pleased. "You usually go to one of your girlfriends for that sort of thing."

"I know, I just... wanted your take on it. But its okay. I think I know what youd say. Dont worry about it."

"Dont be silly, you can ask me anything. Im always happy to help if I can." There was a faint squeaking noise that Kurt recognized as the swivel chair in Burts office, and then the quiet click of a door being closed. "Okay, you got my full attention. Whats up?"

"You..." Kurt hesitated. "I mean... remember back when you and Mom were dating?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"And there probably came a point at which you realized she was the right person for you, and you wanted to be with her forever?"

"I realized that pretty quick," Burt said. Kurt could hear the smile in his voice. "Like, third-date quick."

"So once you knew it for sure, that you wanted to be with her and she wanted to be with you... what would you have done for her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like... if youd had to give something up in order to be with her. What would you have given up?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Burt asked suspiciously. "Is someone pressuring you to do something you dont want to do?"

"Nobodys pressuring me to do anything, Dad," Kurt assured him. "I promise. But say you and Mom were dating, and someone said to you, You can be with her forever, but theres a chance that you two would have to leave town and never be able to see your family or friends again. A small chance, but still a chance. Would you have done that for her?"

Burt was quiet for a long, long time. So long, in fact, that Kurt was about to ask if he was still there, when finally he murmured very quietly, "Kurt... are you asking me what I think youre asking me?"

"Im asking what you would have given up for Mom," Kurt said. "Thats all."

Burt blew out a long, slow breath and said, "Well, nothing, I guess."

"What?"

"I wouldnt have given up anything for your mom."

Kurt blinked hard, forcing himself to breathe. "Oh."

"Because in the situation you just described, I wouldnt have looked at it like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Someone says to you, You can have the love of your life, but in exchange, you might lose everything else. I dont look at it as giving up something for the other person."

Kurt squinted at his list. "I still dont understand."

"Somebody gives me the opportunity to be with your mom, with some strings attached. Im not making that decision for her. Im considering what will make me happiest in the long run. Would I choose your mom, even with the small chance Id lose everything? Damn right I would. But Id be making that choice for me."

"Oh."

"Kurt, when you find someone who you love that much, and who loves you back just as much... thats special," Burt said seriously. "It doesnt come around too often in life. And if it happened that I did lose everything else, and your mom and I had to leave town... then I know my parents would have understood. I know they would have wanted my happiness above all else, and I know they knew your mom was my best chance at it. Do you get what Im telling you right now?"

"Yeah, Dad." He felt something lift from his heart. "Yeah, I understand."

"I know how you are. Youve probably got some big pro and con list going, right? But some things cant be compared. Some things cant be measured. And Kurt, I wont be around forever. Im eating all that healthy crap you make Carole feed me, and Im taking walks through the neighborhood every night, and all thats so I can be around as long as possible. But one of these days, Ill be gone. And god help me, I dont want my last thought to be that youll be left all alone, because you chose me over the great love of your life. I want more for you than that."

It felt as though he were flying, soaring. It felt as though hed been forgiven for something he hadnt even done yet. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, no matter what. Always. Okay?"

"Okay." Kurt ripped the pro/con list out of his notebook and crumpled it. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I have my new address, if youve got a pen handy."