“So they had to take Ferdinand home. And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly. He is very happy.”

~Munro Leaf, The Story of Ferdinand

“Waaaahhhhh”

“Waaaahhhhh!!”

“Kurt...Kurt! It's your turn....” Blaine groaned. They had a busy night. The twins had seemed to take turns waking up crying for one thing or another – diaper changes, bottles of milk, rocking, singing back to sleep. Blaine had been the last one to get up at three thirty.

“Okay, okay. I'm getting up,” Kurt groused, his irritation showing all over his face. Blaine turned over to face him, pulling him close and kissing his frown away.

“I will get up with you since they're both crying,” Blaine offered, a sleepy smile on his face. He was always the more cheerful one in the marriage, the one to give in or compromise when Kurt was grumpy or obstinate. It tended to make Kurt feel guilty and then he would try harder to make it up to his husband.

Kurt grinned a teeny bit, thinking of the mural he'd painted in Katura's room. He painted Grumpy, the dwarf, in a corner behind the dresser. He didn't know if Blaine had seen it yet, but he knew his husband would know right away that Kurt was painting a self-portrait. He'd painted Blaine-Dopey beside Grumpy – not because Blaine was less than intelligent, but because Dopey was the most fun-loving dwarf in the story. He'd kidded Kurt once, calling him Grumpy. When Kurt had asked which of the dwarfs he was, Blaine had grinned and replied he was Horney....and went on to prove it.

Kurt yawned and stretched and Blaine reached over to tickle his ribs. Kurt laughed, grabbing his husband and kissing him soundly before getting out of bed and walking into the nursery.

“Dadadadada!” Jordan babbled, holding his hands out to Kurt.

“Tatay! Tatay!” Katura shouted, seeing her other daddy come into the room.

The men picked up their children, smiling at each other as they walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Blaine was slow, the cast on his leg making him step carefully. He'd tripped a few times since getting it and he had learned to watch where he was walking.

The smell of bacon filled the house as the daddies brought their twins to the high chairs.

“Rachel?” Kurt queried, waking into the kitchen.

“No, she's still asleep. I thought I'd make some real breakfast before she comes to tell me that bacon is bad for us,” Finn grinned. He turned to give Kurt a hug and then turned back to tend to breakfast.

“Really? Not tofu-bacon?” Kurt smiled. He'd had Rachel's excuse for the pork he loved and wasn't enamored with it. At all.

“No, it's the real thing for us. I found it in your freezer. Rachel's tofu-bacon is in that pan,” Finn said, putting some bread under the broiler to toast. The men didn't own a toaster.

“Oh, hash browns!” Blaine said, smiling as he looked to see what was in the cast iron pan at the back of the stovetop. He was a big fan of potatoes in any way, shape, or form and these were the kind that Finn had cut up in tiny chunks from raw potatoes, not the frozen kind.

Blaine grabbed a saucepan and added the water and oats to make the children's breakfast. Both enjoyed oatmeal with brown sugar along with a bit of the protein in the form of eggs and bacon that their fathers preferred. Their daddies ate it with honey, but honey – either raw or processed - can cause infant botulism in children under one. They usually got fresh fruit with it, too. Kurt took a small basket and left to pick some ripe blackberries to go with the fresh pears Shannon ordered this week.

As he walked down the path, he encountered Rachel on her way to the log house from where she slept in the cabin.

“Good morning, Kurt!” she crowed, a bright smile on her face.

“How did you sleep, sweetheart?” Kurt asked, feeling happy at her sunny smile.

“So wonderfully,” she answered, then blushed a teeny bit and put her head down. “I am so sorry I have been a bit angry with you these past few years. I was upset that you didn't come to New York. I thought you were...”

Kurt moved quickly to put a steadying arm around her as she stammered.

“I thought you were rejecting me,” Rachel went on. “I can see now it was not only your love for Blaine – it was your love for this place, wasn't it?”

Kurt kissed her hair, hugging her tighter.

“Yes, it was. I feel so at peace here. I think Finn understood that when he came the first time, when he and Dad came to get me. He didn't get angry at me for not being able to contact them sooner, but I think he would have if I had just come home. When Dad brought him here to get me – he could feel how this place had changed my life.

“I could never have left Blaine behind,” Kurt continued, “and he would suffocate in a place like New York. I was - and still am - in love with him, but this place? It was half the reason I came back. I am going to love watching Katura and Jordan grow up here,” Kurt rambled on, speaking in half-thoughts. It was random, but Rachel understood.

She hugged him back, then took his hand and started down a trail.

“Where are we going?” Kurt asked, knowing this only led to Cooper's cabin down a quarter mile.

“Ah...the house?” she sputtered, not sure of herself all of a sudden. Kurt laughed.

“I was going to pick blackberries for breakfast. Want to come?” he asked, pointing down a different deer-track.

“Of course!”

“What's up with you and Rachel? Is she going to be able to stay in this little backwater after living in New York for so long?” Blaine asked Finn as he stirred the oatmeal and Finn pulled the bacon from the pan and added the eggs as he answered Blaine's question.

“She loves it here. I was a little apprehensive, bringing her here, but there weren't a lot of choices. Her dads wanted her to come home to Ohio. I knew that would only pile a different kind of pressure on her. Know where she got her ambition? Straight from those two,” Finn explained. Blaine got the twins' bottles ready with fresh goat milk. He'd have to milk Bossy and Betsy right after breakfast.

“So, you didn't think living with your mom and Burt in Washington was a viable choice? Washington is gorgeous and Kent is a nice suburb of Seattle. That kind of mixes the city with the country, wouldn't it?” Blaine asked. Finn frowned then looked embarrassed.

“Are we imposing? I thought Kurt had talked this over with you, man. I am so sorry!” Finn started, a shocked look on his face.

“Oh! No, Finn, no. You are welcome here! You're family, you are always welcome. I was just thinking aloud and I didn't want to impose my idea on you and Rachel. No, listen....” Blaine back-peddled.

Finn looked over at his brother-in-law and tried to smile.

“Now, I know Rachel has to rest and stay calm, but I wondered how much physical activity she can handle?”

“She is fine, the doctors even encouraged her to do things like walking and other aerobic activity. She should not stay still all day – no staying in bed, but that would never set well with her anyway,” Finn laughed. “She can't lift too much weight, but otherwise the doctors are encouraging her to move and get her heart pumping.”

“Good. I was wondering - we had agreed that you could rent the house in Philomath, but I have a different proposal. If it works out, I was thinking the two of you could stay here in our house and Kurt and I, along with the babies, could go down to Philomath for a month. I can't really work here with my leg in this cast and Kurt's finishing up on his drawings for the Visitor's Center. He'll need to work in the office for a few weeks as they finalize the drawings to be sure they meet all the guidelines the benefactor is asking for,” Blaine explained. He got a dreamy look as he talked about the project that Kurt had been chosen to lead.

“We can live there while you are living in this house,” Blaine finished, happy to have gotten his point across.

“I can see that,” Finn answered, nodding his head. “Are you sure, though? You rented the Philomath house to Puck, so that was space that you had never lived in since your rooms are upstairs. It isn't as personal – but this house? It's your personal space. Are you sure that you and Kurt would be comfortable letting us be here?”

Blaine rolled his eyes.

“I'll be sure to pack up the sex toys to take with us to the other house, okay?” he smirked.

Finn blushed bright red and put his head down. Then he muttered some words under his breath just as Kurt and Rachel walked in the back door.

“Finn? Are you okay, darling? You're all flushed,” Rachel said, reaching her hand up to feel his forehead for a fever. He gently pushed her hand away with a small smile.

“I'm fine, just flushed a bit from cooking breakfast over that hot stove,” he covered, giving her a morning kiss. “And Blaine? We'll be careful to keep ours picked up, too.” He gave his brother-in-law an evil grin and Blaine blushed, too.

“I think we missed something, Rachel,” Kurt ventured, looking back and forth between his husband and brother. Both Finn and Blaine put on innocent faces, not looking at each other. Kurt rolled his eyes and took the blackberries to the sink to wash them.

Finn dished up breakfast, setting the plates and silverware on the table. Kurt sat by Katura, spooning oatmeal into her greedy little mouth while Blaine did the same for Jordan. The babies finished their cereal just as the final dishes of food were set on the table and they dug into the delicious fare. Katura got some bacon and eggs, squishing them between her fingers before trying to feed herself. Jordan was a bit slower with learning to eat since his former caregivers had not started him on solid food, but he was catching up. He got eggs but no bacon.

“Awww, they are so darling,” Rachel cooed. Kurt was surprised that the messy children would still appeal to his friend.

“Thank you,” Blaine replied, happy that his friend thought his children were as adorable as he thought they were.

After breakfast, Rachel grabbed Jordan and Blaine took Katura up for a quick bath and then to get dressed for the day. It was very warm in spite of the season and they were taking the kids to the meadow to practice walking around.

“We can go check the rabbit snares as soon as I've done the washing up,” Kurt offered, smiling at his brother. Finn gave him a nod and placed the platters on the counter beside the sink.

They washed all the dishes, wiped them dry before putting them away in the cupboards. Kurt led the way outside, breathing in the fresh pine air. It had been a few years since Warners had done any sort of harvesting of trees near the camp, so it was very quiet as he walked beside his brother. He led the way to the part of the forest where he had set a few snares last night in preparation for Finn and Rachel. He didn't snare rabbits every day like he'd done with Blaine years ago, but he did crave rabbit stew several times a month.

“Oh, this one's empty,” Finn observed as Kurt led him to the first snare. Kurt just nodded. They went on to the next one.

“What's on your mind, Finn?” Kurt asked. He could feel the anxiety radiating from his brother and figured they might as well get it over with.

“I've been talking with my mom. She told me that Burt isn't doing as well as he was when they moved to Kent. She's really worried about him,” Finn started.

“I was wondering about him, too,” Kurt admitted. He walked stiffly to the next snare and leaned over to release the dead rabbit from the wire. He put it into a canvas bag and reset the snare.

“She told me that you had said one time that you might let them rent the house in Philomath, but she is shy to ask since it was a long time ago,” Finn continued. He had that look on his face that he used to get when Rachel or Quinn yelled at him. Sort of like a whipped puppy trying to make up to it's master. Kurt hated that look.

“Of course the offer still stands,” Kurt said, studying his brother's face. He could see a huge look of relief there.

“She says he went back to work and tries not to do too much, but you know your dad. He just can't help himself – he is back to eating salty, greasy snacks all day, and he has been doing more lifting than is safe for him. Mom thinks if he came here and worked with Puck that he would slow down a bit. What do you think?” Finn asked, playing in the dirt with the toe of his boot like a little child. Kurt smiled, happy that Finn still had so many child-like qualities in spite of growing into a responsible man.

“I can call her. Why didn't she call me herself? She must have known I would say yes,” Kurt wondered aloud. Finn looked away for a minute.

“She doesn't want to bother you with the babies and all. She was just screwing up her courage to ask when I called her about Rachel's heart attack. After she found out we were coming, she didn't want to add any burden to you and Blaine,” Finn said, looking away again.

“It's no bother. He's my dad for Christ's sake! How....what...argh!! In what world would I deny my father anything!” Kurt said, very loudly. He wanted to scream, but knew that would only get him a sore throat and his husband rushing to see what was wrong. He didn't want that.

“Okay, let me confer with Blaine and see what we can do. I think we can find a solution that will work for everyone,” Kurt sighed, feeling overwhelmed. Now he was worried about his dad once more. He walked the rest of the snare line in silence and Finn respected that. He helped take the rabbits and reset the snares as they walked along. At the end of the line, Kurt quickly skinned and gutted the animals, washing them quickly in the stream before placing them back in the bag to take home.

“You okay?” Finn asked and Kurt gave him a genuine smile.

“Yeah, I am – or at least I will be. I need to talk with Blaine, then I'll be okay,” Kurt smiled.

They walked back to the house, talking and joking as they had done as teenagers.

“Hi, baby,” Kurt said as soon as they were back in the house. He reached out to gather Blaine in close and hugged him. He didn't let go for a long time and Blaine pulled back, looking deep into Kurt's eyes.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yes. We need to talk. I asked Finn to look after the twins for a bit. How about I help you milk the goats?” Kurt asked. They usually took the kids with them to the goat shed, letting them climb in the clean hay as they milked Bossy and Betsy. There was a new kid, Betsy's baby, named Patsy. Patsy was very curious about the babies and spent her time sniffing through the fence at Jordan and Katura in the hay pen.

“The babies have been bathed and fed their morning milk, had their diapers changed and gotten dressed. So, they are all yours now,” Blaine said, grinning at Rachel, who swept Katura up in her arms and went to get a storybook to read to the two children. She settled down on the floor, the children watching her with big eyes as she made each voice in the story a different tone.

Kurt and Blaine watched for a moment, their babies fascinated with their auntie.

“Just don't sing to them until I approve the song choice,” Kurt said, a grin on his face. Rachel rolled her eyes but didn't stop reading, her arm around Katura. Finn sat on the floor, too, his arms around Jordan as he sat fascinated.

“So, what's up?” Blaine asked as they walked to the goat shed. He let Hugo out to eat while the female goats stood in the stanchions to be milked. Patsy went in the pen with her father, walking over to munch on a few pieces of hay.

Kurt explained what Finn had proposed that morning, that they rent the house in Philomath to Burt and move him to Oregon. Blaine told Kurt about his idea to let Finn and Rachel stay in their log house here in Warner Camp and they could move temporarily to the house in Philomath while the Visitor's Center was being finalized and Blaine's leg healed.

By the time they had milked both goats and mucked out their pens, leaving the animals out in the fresh air of the corral, everything had been planned. Now, to convince Burt to come to Oregon.

In the end, it wasn't such a hard chore to convince Kurt's dad to sell his auto repair business in Washington and pack up to move to Oregon. He had made friends, but not close ones and Carole was restless. They missed Kurt and Finn. Burt was tired and now wanted to enjoy doing less physical work each day.

Kurt found out that Burt had actually talked to Puck about coming down to do the bookwork and management of his shop there. With Lenore due in a month, Puck wanted to take time off and be with her. Plus, Burt and Carole would be there to spend time with Finn and Rachel while she rested for a few months.

Everything was working like clockwork.

It seemed so good on paper, but the actual implementation of the plan wasn't so easy.

Kurt supervised having some college kids on winter break pack up his parent's house in Kent. He wanted his dad and mom settled in the house in Philomath by Thanksgiving. It looked like it was not going to happen. Rachel started out being fine with living in the great outdoors, but she got restless and wanted to be able to go shopping.

The upstairs rooms in the back west wing of the house in Philomath had worked for Blaine and Kurt when they were in college, they didn't need the space then that they did now with the twins. There were three rooms in that wing that weren't used and needed cleaning and painting and what seemed like a hundred more things and Kurt was beginning to worry about money. He'd been crabby and touchy for days when Blaine decided to sit him down and have a good talk.

One evening Rachel and Finn came in to the kitchen in the log house. Blaine approached Rachel first, asking her if she and Finn could take care of the twins so he could have time with Kurt. She was only too happy to accommodate him. With a sunny smile on her face, she walked back into the dining area. Katie held out her hands to be picked up.

“Aun Ell!” she tried, unable to say her Auntie Rachel's name. Jordan didn't even try to say 'Aunt'. He called her “Ell.” Both of the twins could say “Finn” however, to their uncle's delight. Every time one of the babies would call out his name, Finn would get a huge grin on his face and rush to pick up whichever one had said it. He would give Rachel a self-satisfied smile every time, which had her steaming.

“Let's go out to the meadow, sweetheart,” she said as she cuddled Katura close to her, the child hugging her neck. Rachel was quick to smile or laugh now and Kurt and Blaine could see how this affected Finn. He had a lighter step, a better outlook, and the heavy depression that had stalked the house as soon as Kurt learned of her heart attack had been lifted.

“Want to go out with Auntie and Katie?” Finn asked Jordan. The boy gave him his soft smile and reached up his hands. The twins weren't messy tonight. They'd had cheese and crackers with some steamed asparagus, water chestnuts, and carrots for supper and hadn't even gotten their bibs too dirty.

“Can you say my name?” Finn asked, never tiring of hearing it from the baby's mouth.

“Jor,” the baby said, misunderstanding and thinking his uncle had asked him to say his own name. A bright smile came to each of the three men, having never heard the boy say his own name before.

“Yes! You're Jordan. Say it again?” Finn asked, glad to follow this line of conversation.

“Jord,” he said, now proud of his accomplishment and looking to his daddies for approval.

“Yes, baby, that was so good!” Blaine enthused, coming over to give his son a kiss on his cheek. Kurt was quick to follow, hugging the boy. Jordan smiled and looked at Finn, not wanting his uncle to forget his promised outing.

“Kay-kay?” he asked. “Ray-ray?”

“Oh! That is so much better than 'El'. Smart boy,” Kurt said, patting his son on his back once more.

Jordan kept looking at the door, anxious to get out and play. He turned his liquid brown eyes on his uncle and asked once more.

“Kay? Out?”

“Okay, Sport. Let's go get those girls,” Finn agreed and went out the door, casting a final grin at his brother and Blaine.

“Okay, baby. I think we need to have a heart-to-heart, right?” Blaine asked. He could feel Kurt's nerves and it made him cringe. He hated it when something felt wrong between them and although there had been no actual conflict, no fight, he just needed to clear the air.

Kurt gave him a shaky smile, trying to keep himself together as he led the way to the settee in front of the fireplace.

The piece of furniture was made of sturdy willow, woven into a graceful settee, long enough for both men to sit comfortably, even if one had his legs up on the seat. Sterling Anderson, Blaine's dad, had made it for his mother when they had come to Warner Camp with their tiny son, Cooper. It was a long time later that Blaine was born and his parents had spent a lot of time sitting on it, looking into the fire in the old cabin.

Blaine had sat down on it, kicking off his boot and lifting the heavy cast up so his feet were at the end. He moved his legs apart and pulled Kurt down to sit in front of him. When Kurt had removed his own boots and put his feet up, Blaine pulled him close – Kurt's back snuggled against his chest.

Kurt closed his eyes.

“I remember the first night I spent on this mountain...we were sitting on this very settee and you said we needed to wash up for bed. Then you proceeded to strip off every stitch! I was terrified,” Kurt reminisced.

“Terrified? Of what – my huge cock?” Blaine laughed.

Kurt smiled and turned a bit so he could kiss his husband.

“Did you know then that we would end up getting married?” Kurt asked, looking shy.

“Yeah, I did,” Blaine said, kissing his husband again, settling against him as they melted together. It didn't matter how long they had been together, how long they had been married, they still wanted each other all the time.

“Hey, aren't we supposed to back off on the sex once we've been married for a few years?” Kurt asked.

“Are you saying I'm too demanding? Are you getting tired of me?” Blaine asked, looking surprised.

“Let's see....” Kurt said, taking Blaine's hand and placing it on his erection that was quite evident in his jeans. “Nope, not bored with you yet, honey.”

Blaine gave him a gentle squeeze and then put his arms around his husband.

“We won't ever get bored with one another,” he promised, kissing Kurt again.

“Is this what you wanted to talk about?”

“No...I guess we should get to that while the kids are with their Aunt and Uncle,” Blaine sighed.

“Okay...”

They talked about what their immediate future would look like, where they and their families would live for the next few months. Burt and Carole would move to the house in Philomath and Burt would work with Puck while he transitioned into retirement. Blaine and Kurt would redecorate the house, making the back wing into a friendly place for the children. Finn and Rachel would stay on the mountain in the log house until Blaine's leg was healed and Kurt was done with his part of the blueprints for the Visitor's Center in the National Forest.

“I'm not really comfortable with giving up our whole house here...not that Finn and Rach won't take care of it, but you know...” Kurt said. He'd always been a private person and it just didn't set well with him to have people – any people – in his house when he was gone. He knew he could trust his brother and best friend, but he was worried they might not take care of the things in the same way he and Blaine did.

“Oh, honey. We could let them have the cabin?” Blaine suggested, but Kurt could hear in his voice that Blaine was reluctant to do that, too.

“Maybe we could go over and ask Cooper what he thinks?” Kurt countered. If anyone would have an idea, it would be Blaine's brother.

“Are you up to walking that far or should I get Caesar?” Kurt offered, thinking a ride on the mule might spare Blaine's leg.

“Nah...I can walk. It's less than a quarter mile.”

Half an hour later found Kurt and Blaine holding hands and strolling down the path through the woods to Cooper's house. In the years since Kurt and Blaine met on the mountain, there had been a lot of changes. As the harvesting concerns moved to other parts of the mountain, the camp wasn't used as a headquarters as much. Cookie and Shannon still lived in their quarters in back of the dining hall and the Warner's still lived in the palatial house at the top of the clearing on the other part of the compound. It was surrounded by gardens and still kept in exquisite shape by Eloise Warner's team of gardeners.

The small cabin that was once occupied by the Anderson's was there, and although Kurt and Blaine kept it clean – it was no longer lived in. Kurt had thoughts of turning it into an office for his drafting and Blaine had thought of making it into a place for their children to play, but nobody had done anything towards remodeling it.

Electricity had come to the Camp and most of the cabins had been upgraded to running water and electricity. With Blaine and Kurt's log house – built as a wedding present by the men in the camp – more of the small cabins had been improved. These included the cabins of both Cooper Anderson and August Waverly.

As they entered the clearing around Cooper's cabin, Blaine and Kurt heard loud noises coming from the window.

“What's that?” Kurt asked, turning to look at his husband. Blaine looked bewildered for a minute, turning his head to hear better. Then he got an awful look of shock on his face – followed by a huge grin.

“Me thinks that my brother is having a bit of fun!” he crowed, laughing. Kurt listened to the wails coming from the cabin and a grin crept across his own face.

“I wonder who the lucky lady is?” Blaine said, blushing at the panting moans coming from the window of Cooper's bedroom.

They sat down on the porch to wait and see who came out the door. It did sound as if they were almost done.

Just as twilight descended on the forest, the door opened and Cooper came out, holding his lover in his arms and kissing.....unaware of his visitors.

“Want to go for a romantic walk?” he asked the person in his arms. Both Blaine and Kurt's heads snapped around as they heard the answer from the mouth of Cooper's lover....