"Rory, please let me in," the broken voice of his dad said and Rory didn't have the heart to not unlock the door, so he did and then he pushed himself off of it and his dad turned the knob.

"Oh, Rory," his dad said and Rory fell right into his arms. "I miss him too, Sweetheart. It's okay. It'll be okay."

Rory's dad lead him towards the bed and two of them sat down and Rory pulled himself as close as possible as he could to his dad's side and he let out the sobs in earnest.

"I miss Papa," he said through hiccups after he'd gotten most of it out his system.

His dad ran a hand through his hair and kissed the top of his head. "I know, Rors. It's not going to be the same without him and things are going to be different, but we'll get through it."

Rory nodded even though he didn't think that they would. The worst thing was that it was all his fault. If he hadn't needed that specific paper for his project then his Pa wouldn't have driven to the other side of town and that car wouldn't have hit him.

Rory could tell that his dad was just managing to hold it together, somehow trying to give Rory a fa�ade even one that bad for a man that had been on Broadway for a while.

"Do you want anything to eat?" he dad prompted.

Rory shrugged.

"I know how you feel, Rory, you know I lost my mom when I was young. I know it's hard, but right now we just need to be strong."

His dad hugged him tighter and Rory let them comfort rush through him because despite the horrible feeling in his gut that told him that all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry, there was someone there that cared and didn't want him to feel like that. He wrapped his arms around his dad just as tightly, wishing that there was something he could do. There just had to be something. He began to cry again. His dad rocked him and sang softly. It was a mourning song.

"I love you, Rory, so much, and your Papa loves you even if he can't be here anymore," he heard his dad say faintly some time later as his eyes closed. At the end of the sentence he thought his dad's voice broke.

Rory didn't know how he'd managed to sleep, but he had. Ever since the accident and the call that followed it hadn't been something that was possible and he and his dad stayed in his parent's bed together, not sleeping and trying to be as strong as possible for the other and eventually failing. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he hadn't slept more than an hour a night.

He woke to the smell of pizza and slowly drifted out of his room, almost forgetting that he would only find one parent in the other room instead of two and his heart constricted.

"I got pizza," his dad said, "I didn't really want to cook."

Rory hadn't expected him to.

"I also don't think any of those casseroles will actually taste good."

Rory almost cracked a smile.

He ate a full slice, but although on a regular day he would have had more than just that, he felt full and he just leaned back against his chair and didn't know if he should just go back to his room. Instead he watched as his dad forced himself to eat and also stopped after he'd finished his first slice. Papa would have made a joke about how Dad ate like a bird. God, it was all his fault.

Then, suddenly it hit him. He could stop it from happening. The machine hadn't been tested exactly but Aunt Brittany said it worked and if there was ever anyone that could be called a genius it was Brittany Pierce. And if he could go back and delay his dad somehow then he wouldn't be hit by the drunk driver and he'd still be alive.

Rory began planning as soon as he and his dad were sitting in the living room trying to watch tv but not really focusing on the program. He just had to go over to his Aunts' house somehow and he would fix everything, there was only the problem of getting out of the house and making sure that only Brittany was home and not Aunt Santana.

He felt a little lighter knowing that he had a plan of sorts and knowing that if it all went right when he came back then this wouldn't be anything but a bad dream and his Papa would be alive and well making jokes that weren't funny and always staring at his Dad with a lovesick expression that hadn't waned over the years.

Rory didn't get a chance to actually execute his plan until two days later and by then he was back to moping around the house because no matter what he still missed his Papa and a part of him had begun to doubt his brilliant plan, because how was he going to actually accomplish it.

"I have to get back to work, Rors," his dad said, "Only for a few hours and then I'll be mostly working from home."

Although his dad had had a stint on Broadway, it was fashion that had eventually been his calling starting with a line of hats released soon after he finished one of his shows. Then in his off time he'd begun expanding and eventually there had been a fully formed company and suddenly being on the stage wasn't as important, although he'd gone back for a year a few years before to try it out again. So, for the most part he could work from home, except that there were always things he had to sign off and even now he couldn't pass that on to someone else.

"It's alright," Rory said.

He was glad that at least he didn't have school to worry about until Monday when he had to go back.

"Okay," his dad said and then paused at the door, "do you really think you'll be okay home alone? I could take you to Uncle Finn's? Or maybe your Aunt Brittany's? I know you like it there and you wouldn't be alone."

"Aunt Brittany's sounds good," he said after a moment of faked consideration.

So, he was dropped off at his Aunt's house and almost smothered by Brittany who started crying when she saw them. Aunt Santana hugged him next and she was the one that convinced his Dad that he'd be okay.

"We can do whatever you want, Squirt," Aunt Santana said and led him to the living room.

"Can we just do something in the work room like usual?" he asked, "I want things to be normal."

The work room was actually the basement in the house and it was where his Aunt Brittany created things like the time machine that Rory would need to go stop his Papa from getting killed.

Aunt Santana hesitated and then she nodded, "if that's what you want," she said and she let an excited yet slightly solemn Brittany lead him down to her special room.

The room wasn't very technical, though it did contain a lot of devices that looked absolutely complicated and not even Brittany knew what half of them were. He wondered for a moment what she was working on now.

Everyone was surprised when they heard about Aunt Brittany becoming some sort of inventor. Rory thought it had a lot to do with the crazy things she said sometimes especially about her cats. But then Aunt Santana had taken something Aunt Brittany made to someone else and showed them what it did and then suddenly her things were selling and his Aunt didn't really understand the point because for her it was just things that needed fixing.

The time machine had been one of the first things she'd been working on. His dad had told him that she'd started it back when they were still in high school and no one had actually thought she was working on one. And it did work, he knew, because his Uncle Finn had accidentally gone back an hour once. The only problem with it – and there were always problems with Aunt Brittany's creations – was that it didn't have anything to set a time to it. Aunt Brittany said it worked on your wishes or something. Rory wasn't entirely sure, but it was what he needed to find out.

Other than being the business part of everything, Aunt Santana tended to stay away from all of Aunt Brittany's things unless they were completed and functioning. The only thing that hadn't been put on the market was the time machine and that is what he meant by untested. It hadn't, like many of the other inventions been seen by the government and officially patented and reproduced. It was one of a kind and it still had to have its kinks.

He asked some idle questions and tried to sound interested even though he kept eying the corner where the circular disk and panel sat undisturbed and gaining dust. Aunt Santana went back up the stairs as soon as she knew they were okay and Rory was glad when she did.

"So, Aunt Brittany, how does the time machine work? You never showed me."

She looked at him for a long moment before she led him over to it. "It works on magic, Rory," she said, "you step on the circle thing and you turn it on and it takes you where you want to go. Santana says the rest of the buttons should do something, but I don't remember what. But come on, I have something else to show you."

Rory eyed the machine again and reluctantly followed his aunt to one of the tables where a half constructed box sat. It looked just like any ordinary box, but knowing his Aunt It had to be something else entirely.

It was only when she got into continuing her work with the box that Rory managed to get a better look at the time machine. He made sure Aunt Brittany was still focused on whatever she was working on while he got on the disk and pressed the power button she'd showed him earlier. It whirred on, making more noise than Rory had expected and he saw Aunt Brittany stop working. From above he heard Aunt Santana's footsteps. If he was going to do it, he had to do it, now.

The other buttons didn't make sense, there wasn't even a clock or something to input a date on it, so instead he just thought hard about his Papa and that day. He closed his eyes just as Aunt Santana descended the stairs.

"Rory!" she screamed and then, "no! Rory, no! This won't bring back your dad. Please, Rory, no. Think of your dad."

He opened his eyes. He hadn't thought about what would happen if something went wrong, if the machine did something to him. At once all worries and fears rushed in. What if he didn't manage to stop his dad from dying, then what? Or what if something happened to him. His dad would have no one. Rory wondered for a moment what the right choice would be. He could try to save his Papa and succeed, or he could just let things go and eventually get over the death. He couldn't just give up just like that. No. He reached towards the panel and thinking hard about his dad, he pressed the big button that Aunt Brittany had said made everything happen and then the world began to spin.

When Rory came to, he was lying on a cold hard floor in the empty basement that seemed the slightest bit familiar. The light was off and he couldn't even see his hand in front of him, but he got up slowly and leaned against the nearest wall until he could stand by himself, and then he tried to find the stairs. It took him a while and he was sure he'd have a few bruises where he'd run into things, but eventually he made it to the stairs and he climbed them slowly and stiffly, luckily finding the door unlocked.

He peeked out at the kitchen and found it empty. It was the same room, but it was different. The appliances looked old, and there was wallpaper on the walls rather than the yellow paint that Rory was used to. It took Rory a moment before he realized that it couldn't be good, then he saw the calendar.

2011.

He hadn't even been born yet. He walked out of the kitchen to the rest of the house and tried to figure out what to do. He picked up a piece of paper on the coffee table, skimming the first paragraph.

The creek of floorboards made him jump and then a woman appeared, eyes wide.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The woman looked a lot like his Aunt Brittany if a bit shorter. It had to be Brittany's mom. Rory looked between her and the paper in his hand.

"I'm Rory Flanagan," he said, "your exchange student."

"Oh," Mrs. Pierce said, "we didn't expect you for another few days, but okay."

Rory silently freaked out while she led him to the guest room.

"It's lucky I cleaned up in here yesterday for you," she said, "and the school has all your information already, so I guess you could start tomorrow and just settle in today. I was actually on my way out, so I'll be back later," she paused and frowned at him, "Where are your bags?"

Rory bit down on his lip. He hadn't thought about that. "Mishap at the airport?" he said, and it sounded more like a question.

"Oh, you poor dear, we'll have to pick you something up until all of that is solved. We can do that today, if you want to come along."

What Rory wanted was to try and figure out how he was going to get home, but he knew he couldn't just pass this up. He knew that he'd end up curled up in the bed crying about his parents anyway because suddenly it wasn't just his Papa that was gone, but his Dad as well and Rory just wished he had listened to Aunt Santana.

When they got back from shopping and Rory had gotten a few articles of clothing and more importantly underwear, the younger version of his Aunt Brittany was in the kitchen with Aunt Santana. His breath caught when he saw them, because they were both so young. It was only then he realized that his dads had to be somewhere just as young.

Brittany gasped when he walked in. "My leprechaun!"

Rory's eyes widened. He didn't know what to say. Santana rolled her eyes.

Mrs. Pierce didn't even react as she began to put away the groceries she'd bought. Rory still holding onto his bags did the polite thing in greeting the two girls and then he decided it was time he head to the guest room and try to figure some things out. He didn't expect for the younger versions of his Aunts to follow him right into the guest room and close the door behind them.

"We know," Aunt Santana said without preamble, "and boy are you in trouble."

"What?"

"We know who you are and where you come from, okay. Britt was working on the time-machine a few months ago and this girl just falls out of nowhere and she was freaking out and asking about you. We thought she was crazy until she proved who she was and we've been waiting for you."

Rory didn't understand. Who else had come to the past and how had his Aunts known that he was going to appear now? Everything was getting more and more confusing. All Rory wanted was his dads. He gulped.

"The machine doesn't work yet," Santana said, "but Brittany's working on it. You're stuck here with Sugar until she gets it right. So, we came up with a cover for you. You're an exchange student from Ireland."

Rory nodded. "I saw."

It made sense, then, that his name had been on the paper, he'd wondered what the chances were of the Pierce family getting an exchange student with the same first name.

Then he stopped. Wait, Sugar?

"Sugar?" he said out loud.

Sugar was Brittany and Santana's daughter. She was a year older and the most annoying person that Rory had ever encountered. Sugar was the only thing that made Rory wary of visiting his Aunts. And now she was in the past with him. It wasn't fair. He wondered if Brittany and Santana knew she was their future daughter. He didn't want to ask.

"And what am I supposed to do until it's fixed?" He asked, worrying at his lip, "all I wanted to do was save my Papa."

Both his Dad and his Papa had talked about how they were bullied when they were in school, but none of them had really gone farther than to say that. What Rory remembered more was them stressing that he should tell them if anyone ever pushed him around.

So, he didn't expect when he go to school using the Irish accent that Aunt Santana had insisted was his cover and sporting the green hat Brittany had put on his head in the morning because it made him look more like a leprechaun, to be pushed into a locker hard after his first period of the day.

Rory also didn't expect for anyone to come to his rescue. He was supposed to stay out of the way and blend in, he wasn't supposed to attract attention.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Rory would have recognized the voice anywhere. He lifted his head and nodded slowly. His dad helped him to his feet and looked down at his clothes and shook his head a little.

"You're in need of a fashion make over," he stated, "but we can worry about that later, are you new?"

Rory managed a nod and then he spotted him coming behind them, his Papa.

"There you are," he said addressing Kurt, "I was looking for you at your locker."

"Well," Kurt said, "one of the hockey guys pushed him into a locker, I was just making sure he was alright."

Blaine noticed him then he extended a hand. "Hi. I'm Blaine. What's your name?"

He choked out, "Rory. Rory Flanagan." He forced himself to let go of his Papa's hand.

"Well, don't let the bullies get you down, Rory, just stick with us," Blaine said and wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulders, "if you're not alone they won't bother you."

His dad smiled at him and nodded as Rory tried not to lean into his Papa too much and to stop himself from crying because for a while he hadn't thought that he would ever have even the slightest touch from his Papa.

"Anyway, we have to go," Kurt said, "and you probably have to get to class as well. But find us for lunch you can sit with us, alright?"

Then after Blaine had let him go, Kurt reached towards him and fixed the collar on his shirt. Rory stared after them as they began to walk away and then he fall back against the lockers, hissing when a lock dug into his back which was probably bruised from earlier. He couldn't believe it. He'd just met his parents and even this young they acted just like in the future.

Rory spotted Brittany, then. He'd lost her earlier when they first got to school and he went over to talk to her. Aunt Santana had told him that he should act like he was attracted to Brittany which was weird and yet at the same time not, because even though she was hi Aunt in the future, this Brittany was hot. When he got to where she was at her locker, he was startled to see his Uncle Finn at his locker.

Brittany had gotten confused the moment he started using his fake Irish accent and she still didn't seem to understand what he was saying. Somehow though she thought he was a leprechaun and Rory didn't know if she was joking or if she actually believed him. For some reason, he agreed to get her a box of Lucky Charms with just the marshmallow bits.

It wasn't until later that he saw his dads again. They were sitting together in the lunch room when he walked in rubbing at a sore shoulder. He'd been pushed again earlier and this time there hadn't been anyone to help him up. In fact, everyone around him ignored him.

"There he is," he heard Kurt say when he approached their table, "we were wondering if you'd gotten lost," he said to Rory.

Rory set his bag down. "I guess I'll go get something to eat," he said and was annoyed with himself for sounding so nervous.

Blaine stood up. "I'll come with you. It'll probably help if you know what's actually good here."

Rory almost let out a sigh of relief and then he followed his Papa towards the line. Being around them, even though they didn't know what they meant to him helped immensely. He didn't feel as scared, or as alone. When Kurt and Blaine were around he didn't think about how he'd messed up and how in the future he'd come from only Kurt remained.

"How has your first day gone so far?" Blaine asked.

"Alright," Rory said and shrugged.

"Yeah, this place isn't that great," Blaine agreed. "I used to go to another school. I just transferred this year, and if it weren't for Kurt I really wouldn't know what to do with myself here."

Rory knew all about how his Papa had transferred to McKinley to be with his Dad but it wasn't until that moment that he realized just how meaningful that all was.

"That's really…the two of you really care about each other."

Blaine nodded and smiled a smile that Rory knew very well. It was his Kurt smile, the one he got whenever he looked at his husband.

"I love Kurt," Blaine said, "I love him more than anything in the world."

Rory sighed and let Blaine direct him towards the better things of a lunch in the McKinley High cafeteria. They didn't say anything until they got back to table. While they were gone it had filled up and now Kurt saw his Aunt Rachel and Uncle Finn, and there was Tina and Mike who he'd met a few times in the future, and then there was Artie Abrams.

For a long time Rory hadn't believed either his parents of his Aunts when they claimed to have been friends with Artie, but eventually when Artie finally returned to visit from California for the holidays one year he knew they hadn't been lying. Artie was a movie director in his time, one of the greatest directors ever in Rory's opinion.

"Hey, Rory," Finn said when he sat down next to Blaine, "How'd the Lucky Charms thing go?"

Rory shrugged. He'd met Finn earlier while he was working on separating a box of Lucky Charms for Brittany as a thank you for everything she and Santana had done for him.

"What were you doing with Lucky Charms?" Kurt asked, "I hope you weren't eating them."

It sounded just like something his dad would say.

"They were for Brittany," he said, "I'm staying with her family and she thinks I'm a leprechaun."

Saying it out loud for the second time – the first time happening when Finn had asked earlier – made the situation sound funnier than it had been. But they all took it as it if were the most normal thing in the world and he realized that these were Brittany's friends, of course they understood. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all, still though he couldn't help wondering what was going on in his time.