"Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow."

~Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Katura had a good day, considering how sick she was. Kurt and Blaine took turns holding her and singing to her or just laughing at her funny faces when she wanted them to give her another cuddle. At three months, she didn't have a real grasp on conversation but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that her two daddies were there with her. She slept a lot and the daddies went to get something to drink or to relieve themselves, but never left her alone. When it got to be around bedtime, Dr Wallace came in.

“Kurt, Blaine – are you still here?” she asked. “Please tell me you ate supper?”

The two daddies looked at each other, then back at the doctor with guilt in their eyes. She shook her head of short red curls and glared a them with her dark brown eyes.

“I'll take that as a no. Blaine. Kurt. Go home. Get some food. Get some sleep. Now.” Her glare was enough for the two to gather their things and get ready to leave. Dr Wallace looked at the monitors that lined the wall beside Katura's crib. She frowned at one monitor and walked over to adjust the probe attached to Katura's wrist. The numbers on the monitor adjusted and the serene expression returned to the doctor's face.

“Is everything all right?” Kurt asked.

“Oh...yes, the probe just needed to be adjusted. It's fine,” she said in her calm voice but Kurt suspected the indicators weren't exactly what the doctor wanted to see.

“I will call you in the morning when I start rounds,” she said and hurried off to the nurse's station.

Just as Kurt and Blaine were kissing their daughter goodbye, Carole and Burt stepped into the room.

“Dad!” Kurt whisper-shouted. His dad was the best thing in his life aside from Blaine and Katura and he had been missing Burt's strong arms in this crisis.

“Hey, kid. Hi, Blaine,” he said, smiling first at Kurt and then at his son-in-law.

“You came,” was all Kurt could say, his arms shaking in relief as he hugged his father. “Carole...thank you for coming.”

“Of course we're here, Kurt. Family comes first, you know that,” Burt said, finally letting go of his son to give Blaine a hug, too.

“How is she?” Carole asked, glancing at the monitors out of habit.

“The earache is better, but she has pneumonia,” Blaine said, looking at his daughter as she shuttered through a ragged breath before breathing easy again. He watched the numbers on the monitors change and wondered what it all meant. Carole didn't look too uneasy, so he assumed it was okay.

“I'm going to take the two of you home and Carole is going to stay with Katura for a while tonight. Otherwise I know you will be back here in an hour,” Burt said. He quickly herded his sons out and kissed Carole goodnight.

“I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart,” Carole said into Burt's neck as she hugged him.

“Call if anything changes. I love you,” Burt whispered before kissing her.

“I love you, too,” she whispered as he left the room. Burt smiled back.

~~

“Grandma, did you stay up for us?” Kurt asked as he entered the house in Philomath.

“I was awake if that's what you mean,” she said in a gruff voice, but the smile on her face told the real story. Grandma Sophie thought of Kurt and Blaine as her own family. “Your parents came an hour ago on their way to the hospital and I fed them supper. There is plenty left for you two – eat up and don't bother with the dishes. I can do them in the morning,” she scolded.

“Thank you, Grandma,” both husbands said, smiling at her. She smiled back and took off her apron, hanging it on the hook by the cabinets and going off down the hallway to bed.

Kurt and Blaine ate the sauerbraten Sophie had cooked, going back for extra helpings of noodles and gravy. They knew they were truly blessed to have Sophie in their lives. Burt went up to bed and the boys followed soon after.

Kurt and Blaine lay in bed, listening to the crickets serenade them through the open French doors. The breeze ruffled Blaine's curls that lay uncombed on the pillow where he was relaxing after a warm shower. The heavy scent of the Stargazer lilies was strong on the current of air, almost masking the other flowers. Blaine breathed in to catch a whiff of petunia, carnation, and especially Kurt's roses.

Kurt walked in, toweling his hair as he walked over to Blaine and sat on the edge of the bed. Blaine turned towards Kurt and his hand went inside the fluffy cotton robe and his fingers ran along Kurt's ribcage and pulled him down close.

“What's up, honey?” Kurt asked as Blaine cuddled him.

“I just....I don't know. It feels wrong to be here, enjoying the night when Katura is struggling to breathe in that iron crib,” Blaine lamented.

Kurt braced himself on his hand and leaned over Blaine to see his face. His other hand automatically went to Blaine's cheek and caressed it, then gently kissed his lips.

“I know. I feel the same way, but Dr Wallace told us to go home and sleep. We're going to need to be healthy and rested when we bring her home,” Kurt said. Blaine nodded in agreement.

“Blaine, you make the crib sound like a torture device – but she isn't touching the iron railings in the crib. Her mattress is firm but they made it softer with the lamb-skin they laid under her. I know she's comfortable in that, baby. She couldn't have better care anywhere – you know that,” Kurt scolded. Blaine's face turned into a guilty frown for a moment but Kurt kissed that away.

“Yes, I know that. I just feel that we need to be there with her,” Blaine said quietly.

“I know. Carole is staying with her tonight and she knows her grandmother. We can be up and over there as soon as we get up. So, let's go to bed and get some shut-eye so we're ready in the morning. Okay, baby?” Kurt asked, his eyes looking as miserable as Blaine felt. He reached up and turned out the bedside lamp, then waited for Kurt to remove his robe and slide between the sheets next to him.

Kurt's arms went around Blaine's neck as he kissed his husband quickly, then turned and burrowed his round ass into Blaine's lap and folded his pillow in half to get comfortable. Blaine chuckled to himself. Kurt always did this – it had started when they shared the little log cabin that Blaine had grown up in. Kurt had been lost that summer: beat up and thrown into a train car because the thugs thought they had killed him and wanted to get rid of the body. He'd been in the train car for a long time and had lapped dirty rain water off the filthy wooden floor to stay alive. He was finally carried off the train when it reached Warner Lumber Camp and Blaine had seen it.

Rushing to help the stranger when the train guards had left him, Blaine took Kurt to his cabin and nursed him back to health. In the process, the boys had fallen in love.

Blaine put his arms around Kurt's waist and pulled his naked body close so they could share the warmth. It wasn't cold here near the shore of the Pacific but in the mountains of the lumber camp they had to conserve heat. Even in the dead of summer, the nights could be pretty chilly.

Resting his cheek on Kurt's warm shoulder, Blaine whispered to Kurt: “I love you so much, babe. I do...”

“And I love you just as much. Good night, Blaine, sweet dreams.”

They were asleep in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

Blaine woke up suddenly and sat up in bed. He was sure he'd heard Katura crying out from down the hall in her room. Looking around made Blaine realize he was in the house in Philomath. Then he remembered Katura's room was far away in the mountains and she was in the hospital. He's been dreaming.

“Hey, babe...what's wrong?” came Kurt's sleepy voice from behind him.

“Nothing...I just had a dream. Sorry to wake you, honey, just go back to sleep,” Blaine whispered, lying back down and taking Kurt into his arms.

Kurt started to relax back into sleep but then tensed up and finally struggled to sit up.

Blaine looked at him in the moonlight drifting in the open French doors.

“Sorry – I just have to use the bathroom,” Kurt said, getting up and padding into the en suite. He was back in a few minutes with a fresh glass of water for each of them. Both drank and set the glasses down on their respective bedside tables and Kurt got back into bed. He felt jumpy and not sleepy in the least, but he knew if he stayed up that Blaine wouldn't go back to sleep, either.

Kurt lay back down, now facing Blaine's back and pulling him in to a cuddle under the covers. His chest was touching Blaine's back from neck to waist and cupping Blaine's ass in just the right place, his cock getting interested as Blaine wiggled closer. He hummed in delight and Kurt tried to stifle a giggle as he acknowledged what Blaine was up to. You didn't marry someone and spend every night for years with them and not learn their secret code. Blaine might be tired but his body had other ideas. Kurt knew that Blaine was just making small overtures to let his husband know that he was ready if Kurt wanted to pursue something tonight.

As tired as Kurt was, he felt almost lightheaded when Blaine wiggled his ass against him. He had every intention of going back to sleep, but now he had all kinds of lovely thoughts going through his head as he felt the blood rushing down to make him hard. The harder he got the more he wanted Blaine.

It was like an addiction – this love he had with Blaine. He had been forced to spend a few nights away from Blaine in the past years, but each time seemed like the worst. He genuinely missed Blaine so much when they were apart that he hurt. His wandering mind came to an abrupt halt when Blaine reached back and took Kurt's cock in hand, stroking it for just a few strokes before Kurt slipped it between Blaine's cheeks and reveled in the warmth as they lay still, just feeling the other was that close.

A few moments later, Kurt reached for the lube they kept in one of the cubby-holes in the headboard. He thought about using a condom, but the truth was that as a married couple they had made the decision to go without the prophylactics most of the time. Kurt reached over to the chair beside the bed and grabbed a towel, gently pushing Blaine back while he smoothed the soft terrycloth on the mattress. He patted it and Blaine was back, lying on his back and pulling Kurt on top of himself.

“How do you want it, baby?” he whispered into Kurt's ear and felt delighted when the hairs on Kurt's arms stood up and he began to tremble. Kurt denied liking it when Blaine would talk dirty to him, but the evidence said otherwise. Blaine hid a smile in Kurt's neck as he began kissing the warm sweet skin that Kurt was trying to hide from him.

“Do you want me to kiss you all over?” Blaine whispered. “I love the taste of you, of your skin. You are so warm, so delicious. I want to run my tongue down your belly to kiss your thighs, then move on to your balls. I love to take them into my mouth, one at a time and caress them with my tongue. Then which way do you want me to go? Forward or back, babe? It's for you to choose...” Blaine's voice was like honey – smooth and sweet in Kurt's ear.

Kurt was too excited to answer right away. It suddenly seemed as if it had been months since they had made love, although it was actually only a few days. Blaine didn't wait for his answer but licked a wide path with his tongue down to Kurt's balls and wove his tongue around first one then the other, taking each into his mouth for a moment and moving it around inside the sac. Kurt loved this and practically growled.

Blaine backed up and rolled Kurt over, climbing over the backs of his thighs to reach up and kiss his neck. He was very gentle at first, just tiny butterfly kisses he gave Kurt – fluttering his eyelashes so they brushed the sensitive skin on the back of Kurt's neck. Kurt tried to be still, but it tickled and that combined with his arousal made the kisses so much more erotic and he trembled.

“You okay, babe?” Blaine asked, kissing the shell of Kurt's ear and letting his warm breath enter. He could see his husband's skin shiver and it went straight to his cock. Surreptitiously, Blaine laid a warm hand on the small of Kurt's back and rubbed softly to reassure him. He moved so his weight was felt all along Kurt's spine. He settled down a bit and Blaine moved slowly off again, only to move up the bed and mouth the skin over his shoulder blade. He kissed and licked the skin, enjoying the very slight tang of salt on Kurt's skin. He smiled to himself, wondering if he tasted the same.

A hand on Kurt's ribs – very firm so as not to trigger a tickling sensation – and he kissed down Kurt's spine with an open mouth. Kurt hummed with anticipation as Blaine moved closer and began to stroke the taut skin of Kurt's round buttocks.

“Ahhhhh, baby, don't stop now,” Kurt mumbled as he settled down into the bed and waited for Blaine to continue.

“I'm right here, my greedy lover. Don't worry, just relax,” Blaine reassured his husband. Kurt made a sound like a purring cat and Blaine just about lost it. He was close and it wouldn't take much on Kurt's behalf to send Blaine into an orgasm.

Blaine very quietly knelt next to Kurt and leaned over to kiss his back, relishing the delicate , soft skin. He followed Kurt's spine down to the luscious curve of his firm ass and gently pulled on each cheek to open Kurt to him. He leaned closer and kissed each side before allowing his tongue to lick along the small pink asterisk he found there. Blaine loved to do this because of the reaction from Kurt. He yeowled like a cat before relaxing in stillness, not wanting to deter Blaine from his chosen goal.

Kurt's world was made up of Blaine and only Blaine right now. He would have missed an earthquake, he was so attuned to his lover. Blaine licked in wide paths, slow and sensual while he hummed in his throat. He could see the skin draw back in gooseflesh down Kurt's arms and felt the subterranean tremble as he increased the pressure. Kurt was making an amazing noise and Blaine was getting so hard it almost hurt just seeing Kurt's arousal.

“Oh....Blaine....” Kurt managed to get out, his mouth not working properly. This sensation was like no other and he was caught up in the joy of the feelings running through his body. He let his muscles relax and depended on Blaine to hold him around his belly as he continued to massage Kurt open with his tongue.

“Are you okay, baby?” Blaine asked, becoming concerned at Kurt's lack of movement.

“Oh, yes...so good, but I need you inside me, Blaine. Please....” Kurt murmured, his eyes closed and his body taut once again with the feeling of getting close to climax.

Blaine pulled back and placed a pillow under Kurt's hips to give easier access. He entered so very gently, his cock slick with expensive lubrication, always with the fear of tearing Kurt again although it had never happened after that first day.

“No....Blaine, I need it harder. Please...” Kurt whined, bracing himself for it. He was not disappointed as Blaine thrust in quick and hard, this new lubrication making it easier than he thought possible. Kurt groaned and grabbed the headboard in his hands, stretched high above his head. This gave him a bit of leverage and he opened his legs a bit to give Blaine more room. Blaine pulled almost out and thrust again, each push bringing him so much tight heat he wondered if he could keep this up long enough to bring Kurt to orgasm, too.

He didn't wonder for long. Kurt gathered up all of his energy and tried to push back as Blaine thrust in for the umpteenth time. As soon as he was all the way in, Kurt tightened his muscles to squeeze Blaine and both men were past the point of no return. Blaine spilled into Kurt for so long his arms were shaking and Kurt's throat was raw from moaning.

~

“Do you think you can sleep now?” Kurt teased and he slid into the bed next to his husband. They had gotten into the shower together and stood under the hot water, washing each other and drying after they were done. The hot water lasted for a long time and each was able to relax in a way they hadn't been able to since Katura came to them.

“Yes, Kurt, I think I can. Thank you, sweetheart, you're the best...” Blaine said as he fell asleep. Kurt smiled in satisfaction and was soon asleep, too.

It was ten long days before Katura was pronounced well enough to go home.

“Dr Wallace said she might have released her sooner, but with the elevation at our house and the cold snap they had up there, she waited a bit longer,” Blaine explained to Burt at the lunch table.

“So, do you have to leave her here in Philomath?” Burt asked, scratching his head. He was so used to wearing his hat that going bare-headed in the house felt funny to him.

“No, she can go back to our house up at Warner Camp. Do you notice anything different?” Kurt asked. Carole and Grandma Sophie grinned. They had noticed as soon as the two daddies came in the door.

“What?” Burt asked, searching over the baby in his arms. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Really, Burt?” Blaine asked, giving Burt a steady look.

Burt lifted the girl and gave her a good look, turning her back and forth to see her at all angles. His sons began laughing.

“Burtie – she isn't wearing the oxygen tubes!” Sophie couldn't keep quiet any longer.

Burt grinned. “How does that feel, little lady?” he asked the baby, but she just gave him a big smile and kicked her feet.

“We still have to put it on at night, but her lungs are so clear that Dr. Wallace thinks she is over most of it,” proud papa Kurt crowed, excited to be able to carry Katura anywhere without having to lug along the portable oxygen or have her at the end of that long tube connected to the huge tank in the nursery.

“Oh, that's so nice. Well, how about a sip of Grandpa Burt's beer, honey?” Burt asked, making a face at his granddaughter.

“Dad! I heard that. No. Babies cannot drink beer, and haven't you and I had the talk about you not drinking beer?” Kurt said with emotion. Puck blanched and tried to sneak out of the kitchen. He was the one that handed Burt a beer as he came in the door earlier.

“Noah Puckerman!” Kurt roared and Puck was gone out the door before Kurt could make his way across the kitchen to do who knows what to his friend.

“Really, Dad? You know better,” Kurt frowned. He was tired of babying his grown father and was trying to figure out how he was going to deal with this when Burt came over to put a comforting arm around his son. He stopped only long enough to pass Katura to her Tatay.

“Kurt, I do know not to over indulge in alcohol. I have maybe three or four beers a month and my doctor is well aware of it. It's fine. I just need to know where to draw the line, how to keep all things in moderation. Okay? I am not senile, nor am I a child. So, quit worrying. My blood work and stress test was fine when I had my physical a month ago,” Burt said with exaggerated patience. Kurt blushed. He had gotten used to nagging at Burt about his eating habits and general health and it was a hard habit to break.

“I know, Dad. I do. I just...I worry and I don't want to lose you. Katura is the luckiest baby alive because she has you as a grandfather,” Kurt said quietly, moving closer to put his arms around Burt and give him a hug.

“Okay, son. Okay,” Burt patted Kurt's back and Blaine got red, swollen eyes trying not to let the tears fall. He missed his own father so much and while he didn't begrudge Kurt his father, Blaine really did miss his own dad.

Nobody noticed and Blaine walked down the hall, calling back to the kitchen that he was going to put Katura down for a nap.

He was just washing his daughter's butt from changing a diaper when he felt arms around his waist.

“You okay?” Kurt asked. He had noticed Blaine's abrupt departure from the kitchen and guessed what was wrong.

“Yeah, I'm fine. She just needed a diaper change and probably a bottle.”

“I brought one...” Kurt said, handing it over to Blaine. They sat on the old porch glider that they'd brought into the nursery when they first brought Katura home. Kurt snuggled into Blaine's side and together they rocked their little daughter to sleep.

It was a few more days before they left for home in the mountains. A lot of their friends that had not been to see the new baby came to visit. The rocky dirt road to Warner Lumber Camp wasn't easy to access and although it was an amazing improvement over the deer trail that it replaced, not everyone wanted to take the trip. That was fine with Kurt and Blaine who liked the secluded mountain hide-way, but it made it tough for some of their friends to visit the new baby.

“I'm just about packed, babe,” Kurt called in from the walk-in closet just off their room.

“Okay, I have all of Katie's things packed, too. I think we can leave by nine,” Blaine added. He zipped the red baby bag that was filled with Katura's toys and a few small blankets. “She just needs a warm sweater just before we leave and I think that's it,” Blaine said, smiling at Kurt as he walked back in to the bedroom.

“Katie?” Kurt asked, his brow arched at the new nickname.

“Yeah – I was just trying it out. I don't really like 'Kat' as a nickname, but Katie sounds like a sweet name for our girl. What do you think?” Blaine asked, zipping the carry-on that contained his daughter's stash of stuffed toys and soft blankets.

“I like it,” Kurt smiled, leaning over to kiss Blaine's cheek. “All we need to do is stop by work and we can be on our way. Dad and Carole are going to stay here for another day so Dad can go over some paperwork with Puck about the shop. He said he'd be happy to watch Katie while we go see Mr. Church.”

Kurt's boss, Mr. Church had called him last night to say they had a new project that he wanted Kurt to go over with him, so Kurt agreed to a meeting.

“Good. I'm anxious to get back to our home,” he said, quietly so nobody else could hear. He loved his family and Noah, too, but he was used to privacy with Blaine and here he felt like they were being watched everywhere.

Blaine grinned and leaned close to kiss Kurt's rosy cheek.

“This is our home, too. We bought this house, so it is ours,” he teased Kurt. Kurt gave him a smile but it didn't reach his eyes. Kurt hated being the butt of a joke – even if it was meant in fun with no ill intentions. Blaine was smart enough to leave it at that.