His pace was devoid of any color and his lips formed the word and stayed that way as his eyes shifted from Mia who sat on his right and then Amie who stood with her parents by the arch that separated the living room from the dining room.

Blaine stood up. “Kurt,” he began.

Kurt shook his head. “No,” he said, “I need to…I need to think.”

He stood up from the loveseat he’d been occupying with Mia mere moments before and Mia tried to grab his hand.

“Just go to your daddy, sweetie,” he said gently, “I’ll show you the rest later, okay?”

Mia nodded. Blaine hated how perceptive she was. She picked up on everything and it was clear across her face that she knew something had happened, even if she didn’t understand what. So, she let Kurt go.

Kurt walked around the loveseat and towards the stairs.

“I’m so sorry,” Blaine heard Amie mutter to him.

Kurt waved her off with his hand.

Amie waited until Kurt had made it upstairs to speak again, her eyes fixed on her parents. “How could you do that?” she asked, “I told you not to say anything – why couldn’t you just listen to me?”

Blaine was sort of in shock. When Nick found out, he remembered the silence that had led them home and then the fight. He remembered how Nick hadn’t even made the connection until much later. It had practically been made for Kurt. He wanted to hate Amie’s parents for how they just spat out just like that.

“Is it true?” Burt asked.

Burt was sat in a recliner, feet propped up and a blanket over his legs. He was in pajamas which was probably the most dressed down that Blaine had ever seen him since he was a child and even that was a faint memory.

“Yes,” he said, “Mia is Amie’s daughter. I asked her to be the surrogate after the break up. A year or two after it, and I still sort of hoped that Kurt and I could get back together. I just – I wanted something or someone to be unconditionally mine and I always wanted to be a father. Amie was the closest thing to having my son or daughter look like the man I loved – love.”

Carole got up from her own chair and crossed the room to his side, “Oh, Blaine,” she said and wrapped him up in her arms.

It was a sort of relief to finally have it out in the open like that for everyone to know, he just wished he had been the one to tell Kurt.

He should have seen it coming, though, from the moment Amie’s parents met Mia. Her mother had been glancing between her daughter and Mia since she arrived as if trying to figure out if she was right. Blaine had seen them talking to Amie and how she’d gotten mad at them. Then, one placed comment later in the night and suddenly Kurt knew and Mrs. Hummel was accusing Amie of keeping her grandchild away, and Amie was telling them she didn’t consider herself a parent and then they were rounding up on Kurt as if it were all his fault.

It was all a mess.

“Go up there, son,” Burt said, “he’ll want to talk you.”

Carole let him go and grabbed one of Mia’s hands and began asking her questions. Mia was distracted and Blaine slipped up the stairs.

Kurt wasn’t in his room, but Blaine stood for a moment just within the room. It had changed since Blaine had really been in it, but it was still Kurt.

“He’s in his work room, Mr. Anderson.”

Blaine smiled at one of the maids, “thank you.”

Blaine walked to the work room whose door was closed and he raised his fist up to knock. He knocked twice and then waited. Kurt opened it after a small space of time and he let him enter at once.

The dress that Kurt had been measuring on Mia earlier was on a mannequin with pins sticking all of it. It was still just as beautiful as it had been when Mia had had it on.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kurt asked, “I mean, don’t I have a right to know that in some way that amazing little girl is mine…because she kinda is, isn’t she? Or – I guess not really but now all I can think about is that she could have been and how she was meant to be. But, there’s Nick and I would never try to get in the way of that and just…you could have told me.”

“I know.” Blaine hung his head, “god, I know.”

Kurt wasn’t looking at him, he wasn’t even facing Blaine. Instead he sat with his back to him, at his desk and seemed to be drawing something.

“Did Nick know?”

“He found out a little while ago, but he didn’t actually know from the beginning. He just – he and I happened accidentally and he just, he became her father without meaning to.”

Kurt pushed his chair back and he turned to look at Blaine, “was he angry?”

“What does it matter what Nick was feeling? When it comes to us, he shouldn’t matter anymore.”

Kurt shook his head. “But he does, because even though you meant for me to be her father, I never will be and Nick got that and I know I don’t have a right to feel – I don’t know – cheated or something.”

“She can still be yours. You’ll be a part of her life for a long time – there’s no way you can’t form any sort of relationship.”

Blaine couldn’t really understand what Kurt was saying. He couldn’t accept it, not when he knew that Kurt hadn’t wanted children back then. Of course, he’d never gone to Kurt after Mia was born and that was probably a mistake, but still. Blaine had been afraid of what would happen if he did go.

“It won’t be the same. I’ll be the step-father, or the friend. I’ve thought about this before, Blaine, it’s not this that brought it up. I was just more okay with it when I thought that she was something you and Nick both talked about and wanted together. But now that I know you picked Amie to be your surrogate deliberately, it makes it hard to accept. Now I’m her second cousin.”

Blaine stepped forward and pulled Kurt by the elbows into him. “Mia will see you in any way she can because of the relationship you form with her and she adores you. She won’t love you any less and I know you love her. I can tell – everything you do for her, she’s never had someone like you in her life and she’ll only benefit from it.”

Kurt held Blaine tightly and dropped his head to Blaine’s shoulder.

“It shouldn’t change anything,” Blaine said, “you know it won’t.”

“Promise you’ll tell everything else, then?”

“No more secrets,” Blaine agreed.

- - -

Kurt sat with his legs crossed on the chair next to his father’s bed. Burt was on the phone and Kurt for his part waited, tapping his fingers to an imaginary beat on his knees. Burt finally dropped the phone next to him on the bed and smiled at Kurt.

“I’m still not sure that you should be worried about working,” Kurt said, “you can leave it up to me and Blaine to do things for you.”

Burt rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Kurt. It was a minor thing and with this diet you have me on it’d unlikely to happen again.”

“I just – I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m just worried you’re not taking the time to rest. You need that too.”

“I’m in a bed, Kurt, I think this as restful as it can get.”

“Fine.”

They were going to keep arguing about it though. Kurt knew that his father was only staying in bed and on the recliner in the living room to appease him and Carole, but he’d be trying to go back to his at home office soon, as well.

“I have the papers,” Kurt said changing the subject, “Blaine went through them and he signed them finally.”

Burt took the folder Kurt had put on the bedside table and he smiled as he looked through it. “I’m glad that’s out of the way. I can retire in peace someday.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, “yes, but that isn’t what we have to deal with right now. What are we going to do about the Smythes? They’re going to find out sooner or later that I took the glass swan and then they’ll do worse than they’ve done so far. What does that even do anything?”

“It’s worthless,” Burt said.

“Then why…”

Burt gulped. “It was your mother’s. The first thing I ever gave her.”

“Why did they have it, then?” Kurt asked.

His father had never given him the full reason for why he hated the Smythes so much, though Kurt knew it had something to do with his mother and her death. He remembered hearing their name when he was younger. Sometimes he thought that maybe he had even known Steve or Sebastian when they were children.

“Their father took it. Your mother was sick, Kurt, you know this…but Smythe thought he had a way to help your mother – he’s always been an inventor of sorts. He killed her.”

Kurt didn’t think he understood. His mother had been sick. He remembered having to be gentle with her, and how weak she’d been getting. How could she have been killed if she was sick?

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Smythe was a surgeon. One of the best, but he was a risk taker and he had a new project. Your mother was the perfect candidate because she was getting better on her own – the doctors said she was going to have at most five years to live more with the treatment but Smythe said he could cure her altogether. We didn’t want to believe. He manipulated and tricked her and…”

He choked back a sob

Kurt reached for his father’s hand. He must have been too young to have known what was really going on.

“After she died on his table, I was distraught. We had a big fight and he admitted that she never signed something – a release form or something. Drew heard. He and your grandfather agreed to take him to court. His license was revoked and he wasn’t allowed to practice medicine in New York by the end of it. His business went down too. He went back to school and became a lawyer after that, and I don’t think he’s gone near a hospital since…”

“And the swan?”

“He took it from her hospital room. When we fought he taunted me with it.”

It was a strange story and Kurt didn’t know how he was supposed to understand it all. He hadn’t expected for his mother’s death to be a big part of it.

“He said she was going to die anyway…but we could have had five more years, Kurt. He took that from us.”

“And now…”

“Now his sons are back to get revenge for the loss of his business and his license. He wants us to fall as much as he did back then, but what he doesn’t understand is that nothing could hurt more than losing my Liz.”

Kurt paused his fingers, “that’s why he was trying to use me, then?”

- - -

When Nick arrived to pick up Mia, Blaine was just coming out of the shower. Mia had accidentally spilled milk on his head when he was on the floor trying to find the shoes she’d taken off at the table the night before. After being laughed at by Kurt who hadn’t offered more than just the roll of paper towels and then taken the shoes from him, because he’d been able to actually head directly into the bathroom.

“Can you get that, Kurt? It’s probably Nick,” he called out.

Kurt and Nick hadn’t seen each other probably since his birthday and Blaine knew it was probably a bad idea that they did see each other, but Blaine was in a towel and that would probably make things even more awkward.

He dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and the first clean t-shirt he saw and then with still dripping hair walked out to the living room.

Mia was twirling in her new dress, showing it off to Nick.

“Kurtie made it!” she exclaimed, “he made it just for me, Papa. It’s one o’ a kind.”

Kurt wasn’t looking at Nick, but Nick stared at him and Blaine knew that had Mia not been there that he might have said something.

“Hey,” he said, “how are you?”

“Oh. Well. I’m doing fine. Is everything in her bag?”

Blaine nodded.

“Alright. Say bye to your daddy,” Nick said.

Mia ran to Blaine. He bent down to hug her and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you in a couple of days, okay.”

She then turned to Kurt who didn’t expect her to hug his less. “Bye Kurtie”

He ran a hand over her hair. “Bye, sweetie.”

Nick grabbed her bag and reached out for her hand and then after a quick goodbye to Kurt and Blaine, left.

“He didn’t approve of the dress,” Kurt said as soon as they were gone.

Blaine shook his head, “it’s not the dress. He disapproved of how fast I’ve let you into her life. It has to hard for him.”

“Right,” Kurt said and reached forward Blaine to tug on a curl, “come on, let’s do something about that hair.”

Kurt hated the gel and Blaine as he got older began realizing how tedious it was to spend so much of his morning working on his hair, but he still used small amounts to keep it tame. Kurt sat him down on the closed toilet in the bathroom and then brought out the hair dryer. Blaine closed his eyes, having Kurt run his fingers through his hair as he got it down to damp was probably one of the best feelings in the world.

“At least you’re using the right kind of shampoo for once,” Kurt said as he turned off the hair dryer. He set it aside and kissed the top of Blaine’s head “actually, you know what, let’s just leave it like this today.”

Blaine shrugged. They weren’t leaving the apartment unless Burt needed either of them, and Kurt had seen his hair in a worst state.

Kurt pulled at a curl again. “Come on, lazy movie day awaits.”

Blaine’s movie collection had definitely dwindled since Nick moved out and since having Mia. The children movies practically took up two shelves of his three shelves of movies.

“You can pick something out,” Blaine told him.

Kurt browsed through them and grabbed something. He himself put it on and then dropped into the comfortable sofa with Blaine, sitting as close as possible to him. Blaine wrapped an arm around his shoulders instinctively and pulled him closer. Kurt dropped his head into the crook of his neck and sighed. Blaine wanted to do this forever He picked up Kurt’s hand and brought it up to his lips.

“I love you,” Kurt said.

“Me too,” Blaine said and frowned at himself, “not, I love me too, but…you.”

Kurt bit down on his lip. “Blaine, I should have told you this a while ago, but I don’t know I felt kind of weird bringing it up. But I just…”

“What is it?”

“It’s about that night. I, um, I know you went looking for the ring afterwards. One of the maids saw you and told dad. I’m pretty sure that’s how he knew everything…but you didn’t find it.”

Blaine nodded. He remembered trying to find the ring he’d given Kurt. He’d sold his own to get back to New York, but he’d never been able to find Kurt’s where he’d thrown it. After almost an hour of looking he’d given up and just assumed it was lost out in the grass somewhere.

“It took me three hours or more, I can’t even remember, but I had to throw out the outfit I got so muddy, but I found it. I’ve kept it. Sometimes afterwards I took out and just stared at it thinking of you. The other night I got it out again but I tried it on. It still fits perfectly.”

Blaine couldn’t believe it. All along Kurt had had the ring, kept it as if his answer hadn’t been no. He couldn’t speak.

“I want it, Blaine.”

“What…you, but you have it.”

Kurt let out a small snort of laughter. “No, Blaine, I want it on my finger again but not because I put it there…and I know it hasn’t been too long and this is just jumping the gun and I don’t mean now or next month even, but maybe in a few months or next year we can try it all again.”

Blaine was still speechless and then he broke out into a grin. “Yes,” he said at last, “to someday.”

- - -

“Nick’s not living with Blaine anymore,” Steve said. He was staring at a text from Kurt yet again cancelling on him and it was becoming clearer to him that he’d never had Kurt Hummel, “he has an apartment and I’m pretty sure they’re broken up.”

Sebastian was drinking a scotch, still in pajamas with bed hair. They were in his rooms again and Steve could see that Sebastian for whatever reason wasn’t bothered by the news.

“That’s why I got Nick fired,” he said matter of factly, “he’ll be hearing about it today. I bought the gallery. I’m not one for art, but mother might like it. Her birthday is coming up, after all.”

Steve gapped at him. “You can’t just spend money like that, Seb,” he gasped out, “you do realize that part of the reason for all of this is dad’s business mistakes.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, “yes, but what’s a little loss when there is much more to be gained?”

“And what the hell are we gaining from this? Nick isn’t important at this point. He and Blaine aren’t together and I’m pretty much sure by now that Kurt and Blaine are.”

Sebastian nodded. “Exactly, and what might mess that up? If Blaine concerned himself with helping poor Nick out. Don’t you think Kurt might be bothered by that?”

“No?” Steve said, “money is the one thing that Hummels have that they don’t mind giving away. To Kurt money doesn’t mean anything and if money stops making Blaine worry about Nick, then Kurt himself might be the one to give it to Nick.”

Sebastian smirked. He set the empty glass down on the table next to him. “Good,” he said, “good. That’s why that isn’t what this is about.”

Steve couldn’t understand why his brother needed to draw out things like these, it was like he wanted Steve to guess just what was going inside his head.

“What is it about then?”

“It’s about a book,” Sebastian said and he was positively giddy. “Nick is writing a book and now that he’s been fired, he’ll have no choice but to take the advance.”

“A book,” Steve said, “and what does a book written by an artist matter anyway?”

It hit him then. It was a book about the Hummels. A tell all, a book that only Nick could write because Nick was that outsider that had been there and seen things that no one else knew about the Hummels. Blaine must have told him a thousand things about work or what new crazy thing was going on with Hummels. Nick probably had numbers and figures to put to things people only speculated about. And if they could somehow use that to their advantage, then maybe their plan wasn’t done yet.

“How do we know it won’t paint them in a good light?”

“Good, you’re catching on,” Sebastian said, “because we’re going to be involved in every part of the publishing of that book and because someone has to talk about who Kurt Hummel really is and we know Nick doesn’t like Kurt.”

“Me?”

Sebastian nodded. “The book doesn’t even have to be published. If we can use it to get what we need…then…”