“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

~Dr Seuss, The Lorax

“Katura!” Kurt shouted, coming in the front door and seeing his daughter in Puck's arms. She was eating her breakfast, but turned her head to see her daddy. Blaine walked in behind his husband, just as happy to see Katie. He walked over to Noah, noticing the baby was done with her bottle.

“Come to Tatay, honey,” he cooed, slipping her out of her uncle's arms and hugging her tight.

Kurt gave up and limped over to sit on the sofa.

“How was she?” he asked.

“She was fine, kept me up a few nights, but she is eating well and sitting up a little,” he said.

“All by herself or propped up?” Blaine asked, patting Katie's back until she burped.

“By herself. She woke up every morning and was sitting in her crib when I went in to feed her,” Puck preened. He was very proud of her progress and grinned at the two daddies.

“He had a bit of help,” Lenore rolled her eyes as she came into the room, leaning over the back of the chair Puck was sitting in. He looked up at her and smiled. Lenore walked around and Puck pulled her down onto his lap.

“Yes, I did. Between Lenore, Mrs. Warner, and Grandma Sophie – I had to fight to hold her,” Puck corrected himself.

“Is Mrs. Warner still here?” Kurt asked. While he saw both Mr. Warner and Lenore fairly often, Eloise Warner rarely showed her face outside her house up on Warner mountain.

“No, she went home yesterday. I think she isn't comfortable here in town, she's used to the mountain,” Lenore said. “Or Martha's Vineyard...” she added under her breath, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah...she, ah....” Puck didn't finish what he was saying, giving Lenore a look. Lenore sighed.

“Mom found out I'm pregnant. She wasn't exactly happy about it,” Lenore said, turning to give Puck a kiss on the cheek. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged glances but neither said anything.

“Look, guys, you already knew about the baby, and we want to thank you for all your support. You know I am trying my best to get my shit together....but Lenore's folks don't see it that way. I really appreciate all you have done for me, and I think I did pretty well so far, don't you?” Puck asked, looking a bit lost as he looked at Blaine and then Kurt. “I mean....your dad had been so good to me! Teaching me how to run the business, hiring me to manage his shop here. What else can I do?”

“Oh, Noah, don't let them make you feel bad. Mom is just....she was just taken by surprise?” Lenore tried to make it seem better, but Puck wasn't having it.

“She hates me. At least your dad was nice about it....” Puck said. “He did seem put out that I didn't want them to buy us a shop and a house and....well, everything.”

“It's just his way. He wants to help and that is how he thought it would be most appreciated,” Lenore tried to explain.

“Well, I don't need a hand-out. I am a man now, not the child I was when Quinn had Beth. This time is different,” Puck practically shouted. Lenore struggled up off his lap and walked to the doorway.

“I know, honey. I believe in you,” she said. “I'm tired, I think I need a nap.”

“Okay, sweetie. Get some rest,” Puck said, smiling at his girlfriend.

“Good night, Lenore,” Kurt and Blaine called to her as she left to go to her room.

“How are things going, Puck? When is the baby due?” Blaine asked.

“Really great – well, with the exception of Lenore's folks. Baby is due in late May...around the 25th the doctor thinks. The business is going well, I'm showing even more profit since I added motorcycles. With the campus so close and so many students there using bikes, that part of the business has been increasing. I talked to Burt when he was down to see you and he thinks I might need to add another mechanic.”

Kurt grinned. He was so glad his childhood friend had gone into business with his dad. He'd always felt kind of bad that he wasn't more interested in doing that – but his dad had encouraged him to find his own way in life.

Blaine walked over to sit beside his husband and Kurt held out his hands to take Katie from him.

“Come to Daddy, honey-lamb,” he cooed at the tiny girl. He sat her in his lap, stroking his fingers through her auburn hair. “I missed you so much,” he whispered to her.

“Honey-lamb? Really, Kurt? I thought we agreed no baby-talk?” Blaine admonished.

“That isn't 'baby-talk', it's a term of endearment,” Kurt said, giving Blaine a cold look. “You call her 'teeny-weenie bunny' and 'short-stack of sugar pancakes', don't you?”

Blaine gave him one back and Puck, uncomfortable, looked anywhere but at his friends. Kurt noticed and looked back at Blaine, giving in to the grin he'd been trying to hide. Blaine chuckled and gave Kurt a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh....you guys are kidding. Sheesh, tell a guy! I thought I was gonna be in the middle of a world war for a second there...” Puck said.

“Okay...yeah,” Kurt said absentmindedly as he grabbed a baby wipe to dab at Katie's chin. He could change diapers but spit-up was not something he was comfortable dealing with.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you two something....”

Kurt and Blaine gave Puck their attention as he opened a small drawer in the side table. He got out a small box and handed it to Blaine. Inside was a gold ring with a small emerald.

“Oh...that is so pretty!” Kurt enthused.

“I see you took my advice about not getting her a diamond. I think this will be so much better,” Blaine smiled before handing the box back to his friend.

“Yeah, I figured you would know best. I thought this emerald matched her eyes,” Puck said, proud of himself for picking it out.

“That it does, friend,” Blaine said. Kurt felt a pin-prick of jealousy that Blaine knew that about Lenore – his old rival – but nipped it out as soon as he realized. She had tried to take Blaine away from him for months before they got married, but now Kurt and Lenore got along.

“How does she get along with Grandma Sophie?” Kurt asked.

“They get along like a house afire! Grandma is teaching her how to cook some of my favorites – schnitzel, spaetzel, and all kinds of pastries. There is some Muldoshin in the kitchen they made yesterday if you're hungry,” Puck said.

“Muldoshin?” Blaine asked.

“Apple pastry, kind of like....?” Puck said, looking over at Kurt.

“Strudel.”

“Yeah...it's good, Lenore did a wonderful job,” Puck smiled.

“I would love some!” Blaine said, grinning. He loved sweets.

“Kurt?” Puck asked.

“Yes, thank you. Can I help?”

“No, it will just take a minute...”

When Puck left, Kurt smiled at Blaine.

“I think the two of them are going to make great parents, don't you?”

“Yes, if the way they love Katie is any indicator. Maybe it will be a boy and they can grow up together,” Blaine said, a soft smile on his face. Kurt took his hand and squeezed it.

In their mountain home, later that week....

“Blaine?”

Kurt looked around, wondering where his husband had gotten to. Katie had just had her bath and Kurt dressed her in a soft cotton nightie for her afternoon nap. She had fallen asleep quickly, still full from her afternoon bottle. Although she was chronologically 10 months old, Katura was still very tiny – barely the size of a 6 month old. She had been born a bit early, but not anything that might affect her this way. She had just always been very small.

“Blaine?” he called again. Oh, well, he must be out with the goats or walked over to the dining hall to talk with Cookie and Shannon.

The thought of taking a nap himself crossed Kurt's mind, but the drive to get something done while Katura slept was stronger and he went down the hall to his office to sit at the drafting table and get out his tools. He squared the drawing vellum to the table and taped down the corners, quickly drawing the frame on the paper by rote and filling in the information before he started on the actual drawing. After gathering his notes and measurements along with the sketches he'd done, he closed his eyes to visualize what this part of the building would look like before sharpening the drafting lead to begin. He was doing a side elevation of the main foyer today.

The plans for the large Visitor's Centre were coming along, but slowly. Kurt found himself having to do so many things....from cooking and taking care of the goats, milking them and mucking out the shed, gardening, cleaning the house and taking care of Katura. He loved doing these things, loved living in the clean air of the mountains, but what he loved most about it was sharing it with Blaine. He fell in love with the curly-haired boy in the days after Blaine had saved him and had felt more in love with him every day since. The problem was that Blaine was so busy. They used to share the chores, share their daughter's care, share the joys and pains of everyday life together, but Blaine was so busy now it felt as if Kurt never saw him.

Kurt missed making love with his husband, too. It wasn't just the sex – it was being close and snuggling afterwards, sharing themselves with each other more than the gratification of an orgasm. Blaine was gone more than he'd ever been since they had met all those years ago.

There were surveying trips to Mt Russell as Blaine headed up the team that was scouting the mountain, mapping which trees could be harvested and which should be left there. This way of doing things was new to the crews and with Blaine being so young – most of the crew had been lumberjacks when Blaine was still a small boy – it was hard for many of them to trust Blaine to call the shots. Things had changed within the company, Mr. Warner had embraced Blaine's ideas about conservation. He was approaching 75 years and had started backing down from being the one in charge of every harvest, leaving the decisions to Blaine now. These new concepts were sometimes hard for the old crews to understand.

Blaine felt he had to earn his place among the men and so he tried harder, pushed himself to be there to show he was worthy of his position. It was good in some ways, Blaine was good at what he did and his ideas were showing to be constructive ones both for the profit margin and for conservancy of the mountain. He was able to spend more time with his brother, Cooper, out on the mountain, too. Growing up, the brothers had been as close as two brothers could be before Kurt had come along, but Blaine hadn't been able to spend time with Coop since he was a teenager - first being in Ohio with Kurt's family and then at university. This was the perfect way for them to reconnect by working together.

Cooper and Blaine had always known that a large piece of Mt Russell was their legacy from their dad and now being able to work the mountain together was fulfilling a childhood dream for both men. Blaine hadn't told Kurt about owning such a large piece of the business they shared with Mr. Warner, he was saving it for a surprise. One day Blaine hoped that he and Kurt would be able to retire to the mountain to live out their days in paradise.

~

This was an unusual day, Blaine being home with Kurt for more than the weekend. He'd fed Katie her breakfast – applesauce and rice cereal followed by goat milk – but turned her over to Kurt when he got a call from August about some problems with equipment on the current jobsite. Kurt was left to clean up the mess made by the baby and her Tatay.

It turned out to be a bigger problem than usual and Blaine had gone over to Mr. Warner's office to discuss it. After more than a few hours trying to coordinate solutions, making several calls on the satellite phone, and subsequent calls to the crew and to Cooper, Blaine was on his way back to his house and his family.

“Kurt?” he called as he walked into the house, sighing in exasperation that he'd been called away. Kurt was nowhere to be seen and Blaine could hear their daughter crying in her crib. He entered her nursery and opened the curtains to see what the matter was.

“Katura? What's the matter, darling?” he asked as he scooped her from her bed and into his arms. She didn't appear to be hurt, her diaper was dry, and Blaine snuggled her close, kissing her red curls as he walked out of the nursery, bouncing her to get her to stop crying.

“Blaine!” Kurt snapped, giving him a glare.

“What?” he asked, looking innocent and puzzled. He glanced at the floor to make sure he hadn't tracked in any muck from the goat pen. He'd stopped to give Hugo a pet on his way home.

“I just put Katie to bed! She is not to be up before two o'clock. Honestly, she needs her sleep, what were you thinking?” he grouched, taking the baby from Blaine's arms and marching back in to put Katie back in her crib. He kissed her head and gave her the little stuffed lamb Grandpa Burt had sent.

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” he said gently, closing the curtains once again and closing the door as he left.

Blaine was standing in the hallway, staring at Kurt. It might very well have been Katura's nap time, but Kurt didn't have to be so forceful and angry about it.

“Sheesh! I just wanted to hold her for a minute to comfort her. You don't need to get so upset,” Blaine defended himself. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“I get it. You get to be the 'fun' dad and I get to be the disciplinarian. Right?” he yelled in a whisper. Blaine cringed. Was that what Kurt thought?

“No, honey. I wasn't thinking....” he started to say, reaching out a hand to place on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt took a step back to dodge the hand so Blaine couldn't touch him.

“You certainly weren't,” Kurt retorted and stamped back down the hall to the office where he sat at the drafting table, slamming the T-square and triangle back on the paper, picking up his lead-holder and sharpening the lead to a fine chiseled point. He bent his head to his work and drew the line he'd just been measuring when he heard Blaine enter the nursery. He applied too much pressure and the lead broke, making the straight line wobble and go askew across the page, gouging the expensive drawing vellum.

Kurt jerked the vellum from the table, trying to tear it and getting even angrier when it wouldn't rip. He threw it on the floor and stamped his foot on it before he turned and ran back down the hall to the stairs and rushed out the front door.

Blaine stood staring at him, his mouth open. Kurt – his Kurt – wasn't one to throw a tantrum. He had perhaps been like that as a teenager, but he had matured into a kind, wonderful man that didn't show his temper in childish ways. He must be under a terrible amount of stress from this Visitor's Centre project, Blaine thought. Maybe he could help in some way.

Deciding to let Kurt blow off some steam by taking a walk, Blaine got busy and set up another piece of the drawing vellum on the table. Kurt had shown him how to do that when he was in university and Blaine was proud that he remembered how. He set the pieces of equipment on the table and re-sharpened the drawing lead, setting the holder on the pencil-holder at the front of the table.

After a quick peek to see that Katura had gone back to sleep, Blaine made his way down to the kitchen to see what he could do to get supper started. He hadn't made cornbread in a long time and he lost himself making a pan of that along with a rabbit pie and fresh peas with mint.

Kurt ran as fast as he could through the meadow and up the path to the top of the ridge. He wanted to stop and roll in the meadow grass, smelling the star-gazer lilies that grew all around the edge of the meadow; but that was something to do when he felt nostalgic and heavy with love. No, the meadow where he and Blaine fell in love was not a place he needed right now. He needed to feel free and so he went to the top of the ridge so he could see down the craggy side of the mountain, see the river as it tumbled down the rocks into a pool and then to the waterfall that fell a hundred yards down the valley.

He sat on the rock, looking down to the floor of the hanging valley that was shaped by erosion a million years ago. It used to make him feel small and insignificant to look at it, but now it made him feel strong and sure of himself. Instead of thinking of it like an oppressor, he felt proud that he was strong enough to live through the troubled times.

Back in high school Kurt had been bullied. One night after he had sung at a school dance, he was on his way to the parking lot when a gang of bullies came and beat him so badly they thought he was dead. They threw his body in the trunk of a car and drove him to the train yard, hiding him in a railcar and locking it from the outside.

Kurt had been unconscious most of the time, once waking up so thirsty that he sucked filthy rain water off the floor of the railcar. He'd passed out after that, waking up to find a curly-haired angel with big amber-brown eyes looking down at him. The angel took him to a cabin and fed him, then taught him how to survive in the almost-wilderness. Kurt went from being grateful to the 'angel' to falling in love with the boy.

Any way he looked at it, Kurt had lived a charmed life. He might have had some bad times, but he had so much now. His father and step-mother lived close, he still saw his beloved step-brother at holidays. He had the most beautiful daughter he could ever have dreamed of and most of all, he was married to the man he loved more than anything in his life. Blaine Anderson was not only his husband, but truly his angel.

Kurt closed his eyes, knowing he hadn't been fair with Blaine. He knew how important it was for Blaine to do his job – and Kurt was actually so proud of him and so thankful that Blaine had found a way to have a career and still live in the wilderness he loved. And he shared all of this with Kurt.

The man got up, brushing himself off and walked slowly back down to their little log house in the most beautiful forest in the world. He opened the door to see the kitchen all clean and the smell of good food permeating the house. Blaine had made...cornbread. It smelled just like Kurt imagined heaven would smell like. And what was that? Ah..rabbit pie. Blaine had found the dressed rabbits in the cooler then. That was another thing Blaine had taught him – how to not only snare rabbits, but to skin and gut them and make them into a meat pie.

Walking into the great room, a place that combined living room, dining room, and den all into one space, he saw the fire lit in the fireplace. The table was set for supper with a table cloth and silverware, and the candles were lit in the candelabra. It was beautiful and so much more than he deserved after his childish tantrum.

“Blaine?” Kurt called, walking up the stairs to the nursery. He opened the door and peeked in, but Katura was still sound asleep. He started back down the stairs, walking into the kitchen just as Blaine came in the back door – the phone in his hand and tears running down his face.

“Blaine - - what's wrong, baby?” he asked, the loving nickname coming naturally. Kurt rushed to his husband's side, his arms already around Blaine's shoulders.

Blaine held out the satellite phone to Kurt.

“Kurt....It's JoLinda Charles, the family social worker from Adoptions for Love. The one that helped us adopt Katura. She needs to talk to us.”

Author's Note:

I followed this heirloom recipe from Bavaria for making Muldoshin and it tastes just like my great-grandma used to make it! : https://food52.com/blog/9691-muldoshin-german-apple-pastry