Burt Hummel loved the sounds of his garage. The metallic clash of the tools when he dropped one back into the toolbox, the roaring of the engines, the jingle of the keys when he hung them on the wooden panel behind the counter. It was comforting. It was familiar. It soothed his pain and filled his senses.

Maybe that was the reason why he was getting to the shop earlier every morning and leaving later at night, when he was sure Carole was already back from work. He hated the silence of his empty home, the memories and the fears that troubled him there. He hated that he couldn't stay away from Kurt's old bedroom, that sometimes he sat on the edge of the bed, with his face in his hands and wondered if he would ever get his son back.

His regrets seemed to choke him sometimes. They buzzed white noise in his head and they never left him alone.

He ducked out from under the car he was working on and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he blindly reached for the wrench he needed. But before he could even get close to the toolbox, a hand extended it to him.

"Thanks, Jimmy," he said, thinking it had been one of his employees.

"You're welcome."

Burt turned suddenly at the sound of his son's voice, with his heart thumping inside his chest. Kurt was standing there, with his arms crossed over his chest and looking a bit tense. But he was there, there in front of Burt.

"Kurt…"

"I think we need to talk," Kurt said, without really looking at his father. "I don't think there's much more you can say to explain yourself, but for some reason, I still need to try to understand."

Burt cleaned his hands on a dirty cloth. "Of course. Whatever you want, kiddo. Do you want to talk in my office?"

"No," Kurt shook his head decisively. "If we stay here, we'll be interrupted all the time."

"Home, then?" Burt proposed. When Kurt nodded, he guided him to his truck after letting one of the guys that worked for him know he was leaving. "When did you get back?"

"Yesterday," Kurt answered as he climbed onto the passenger seat. "I'm staying with Blaine."

"Oh," Burt started the car. "Did you two work things out, then?"

"We did, yes," Kurt kept his eyes ahead. Not once did he glance towards his father. "I understand where he stood in this whole thing."

"But you don't understand why I did what I did," Burt replied darkly.

Kurt didn't say anything. He held his hands tightly laced together on his lap and stared out the window. He heard Burt sighing heavily, but they both remained silent for the rest of the drive.

The house hadn't changed at all in the short time that had passed since Kurt had left for college, but he still felt as if everything was different. His life was different. He was different. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was true.

They sat at the kitchen table as they had done thousands of times before, but right now it seemed as if the distance between them was wider than ever. As if a whole ocean of doubts and guilts and blames were between them. For a moment, Kurt looked at the man in front of him and he had a hard time recognizing his father. Burt seemed as if he had aged years in just a few weeks.

"Do you want to eat something?" Burt offered.

"No, thanks. I had breakfast with Blaine," Kurt answered.

Burt took a deep breath. "Okay. So…"

"I have questions," Kurt interrupted, forcing himself to look at his father in the eyes. "And before I ask them, I want to know if you are going to be a hundred percent honest with me or not."

"Two hundred percent," Burt said eagerly. "I promise, Kurt. I'm done lying. I've learned my lesson."

Kurt searched through the long, long list of questions he had, that had seethed in him since he had found out the truth. Questions that had kept him awake every night. Questions that could change everything if he got the answers to them.

"If she hadn't come back…" he started, quietly. "Would you ever have told me the truth?"

Burt closed his eyes. "Probably not. I didn't want to cause you any unnecessary pain."

"Did she ever come back or call after she left? Did she ever ask you about me?" That was one of the hardest questions for Kurt, but he needed to get it off his chest.

"She called about a week after she left," Burt muttered, thoughtfully. "She told me she was sorry and that she wanted to talk to you, to explain… so I told her that you believed she was dead. She was mad, of course, but I didn't think she had any right to be. She didn't call again, except for one other time. It was your sixteenth birthday and she called in the middle of the night. She didn't say anything, she stayed silent. But I knew it was her."

"Before she left…" Kurt whispered, lost in his own thoughts as the new information swirled around in his head. "Did you see or hear anything that made you suspect what she was going to do?"

"No," Burt shook his head heavily. "I thought she was happy. She was always singing and dancing and smiling around you. I guess now, looking back, there were times when I saw she was serious and too quiet, but it was always at night after you went too bed, and I thought maybe she was just tired. She never stopped smiling around you. She was always trying to make you laugh and entertain you…"

"Was I…" he paused, gathering courage. "Was I an accident? Is that the reason she left? Because she didn't want any kids?"

"Kurt, no…" Burt said miserably. "We both wanted you."

"Then what was it? You two were young when you had me," Kurt replied, shrugging as if it didn't matter. "Maybe if she had had more time for herself before I was born…"

"You may have arrived a little earlier than we planned, but that doesn't mean you were a mistake," Burt interrupted, firmly. "Don't try to blame this on yourself. No parent should think their own dreams are more important than their child, than their family. No one should be that selfish."

"But isn't that selfish, too, though?" Kurt mumbled sadly. "Assuming someone will just forget about everything else and live for their family only? What happens when the kids grow up? What would she do now that I'm away at college if she had stayed? Would her life stop having a purpose just because she doesn't have a kid to look after?"

"Kurt, you don't undertand…"

"But I'm trying to," he cut him off. "I'm trying to, Dad."

"No. You're trying to justify her decision. You want to redeem her," Burt took his cap off and put it down on the table.

"You don't think I'm furious with her?" Kurt snapped, standing up. "You don't think I want to show up at that crappy motel where she's staying and yell at her until I have no voice left? Ask her why she didn't realize how much I needed her? Ask her why she couldn't at least be honest with me? Ask her why she didn't make any effort to keep me in her life even if she wanted to leave? Don't you think I want to know why I didn't matter enough to her to make her stay?"

"Kurt…"

"Don't you think I'm absolutely furious that she decides to come back, to try to be in my life again when she's fucking dying? Do you think that's fair? Do you think it's fair that she didn't want mebut that she had another baby?" Kurt could feel himself losing control, could feel the tears falling down his cheeks. He was pacing around the kitchen like a caged animal trying to break free.

"You heard about Kara?" Burt asked causing Kurt to turn to him.

"You mean my baby sister, the one my boyfriend takes care of and is absolutely in love with?" Kurt said, arching an eyebrow at him. "Yes, I've heard of her."

"I didn't know about the girl until Blaine told me," Burt muttered. "Or about Katherine being sick…"

Kurt felt his anger deflating. He dropped down back on his chair. "I don't know what to do, Dad. I don't know what's wrong and what's right anymore."

"No one is forcing you to do anything, Kurt," Burt told him as comfortingly as he could.

Silence hung over the kitchen like a blanket. Kurt was too busy thinking about what his father had just said and about everything else he had found out in the past couple of weeks to talk.

A strangled sob broke that silence, though, making Kurt look up to find Burt with his face buried in his hands.

"Dad…"

"I'm so sorry, Kurt," he mumbled, his voice muffled by his hands. "I've always wanted the best for you. I know I screwed up, but I just wanted to protect you. I know I deserve it, but these past weeks… knowing you were mad at me and not being sure if you'd ever talk to me again, if I'd ever even see you again…"

Of course Kurt was upset. Of course he was still hurt that he had lived half his life believing in a lie. But seeing his father so broken… Burt had always been the strongest man he'd ever met. The defeated, tired man in front of him reminded him of when Burt was in the hospital after his heart attack. That was an image Kurt never wanted to see again.

Before he knew what he was doing, he stood up again and walked to where his father was sitting, kneeling on the floor next to him and tugged his hands from his face so he would look at him. Kurt's eyes were full of tears, too, but the absolute misery on Burt's face couldn't compare to that.

"It doesn't matter how mad at you I am, Dad," Kurt murmured. "I'll always be your son. I'll always be a part of your life. I may need some time to get over this whole thing with mom, but it doesn't mean I'm done with you." He sighed, exhausted.

"You can have all the time you want, Kurt," Burt wiped his tears away roughly with the back of his hand. He smiled slightly. "You can have my credit card, if you want, too. Anything you want."

Kurt smiled a bit, too. "Tempting, but I think I'll pass."

He straightened up and stretched his stiff muscles as he looked at the time on the big round clock hanging on the kitchen wall. Blaine was going to watch Kara that afternoon and Kurt had insisted that Blaine could take care of her as he always did at his house and that he would stay away if he needed to.

Burt cleared his throat, obviously trying to settle himself. "Would you like to have some lunch? We can go to that diner you liked so much when you were a kid."

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew now what he had to do, what he needed to do. "Maybe some other time," he said. "Could you drive me back to Blaine's now?"

If Burt was disappointed, he didn't show it. "Sure, kiddo. Whatever you want."

He needed to stop seeing his new reality through what other people told him about it. He needed to see things on his own, to see the truth and learn how to deal with it.

He needed to meet his sister.

If there was one thing Blaine loved, it was Kara's adorable giggle. And what seemed to make Kara giggle the most lately was climbing all over him and sitting on his stomach while he was laying on the floor amongst a pile of toys that she obviously didn't find as entertaining as he was.

He would pretend to be asleep and Kara would poke his cheeks and boop his nose and tug softly on his hair and when none of those things resulted in Blaine waking up, she would lean down and press their foreheads together, much like Kurt used to do after kissing him. That always made him smile, and then she would laugh.

There were days when she didn't want to stop for a minute, and she was full of energy. Those days it was almost impossible to get her to take a nap, days when she would wander all over the house in her walker with Blaine chasing her, or laugh uncontrollably while she was being tickled, or babble nonsense in such an adorable way that Blaine could never resist the temptation to kiss her chubby cheeks.

Then there were days when she obviously wanted to be held and spoiled a bit. Days when she cuddled against Blaine's chest and quietly listened to him as he read her a fairy tale or sang her a song. Usually, those were also the days when Katherine was sicker. It was as if Kara was looking for comfort, as if she understood what was happening. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that her mother didn't have enough strength to give her the attention she needed. Those days, Blaine bathed her in love, hugging her and kissing her and giving her everything she asked for.

Today was a good day. The little girl kept laughing and trying to play with Blaine's hair. He still couldn't believe how easily she had adapted to him, and it was obvious she loved him as much as he loved her.

"Are you going to make me play on the floor all day, princess?" Blaine asked, smiling up at her.

Kara was comfortably seated on his chest and put a finger on his lips.

"What is this? A finger? A yummy finger! Nom, nom, nom, nom!" Blaine muttered as he pretended to chew on her tiny finger and made Kara laugh, scrunching her cute little eyebrows and her cute little nose.

She grabbed his hand, probably to do the same as Blaine (she seemed to try to immitate what he did all the time), but, after giving it a bit of thought, she nuzzled against his palm instead.

"Aw, are you tired, Kara?" Blaine said, still smiling. "Do you want to take a nap?"

The girl, naturally, didn't answer. She blinked down at him before burying her whole hand in Blaine's hair.

"Ow, no," Blaine sighed. "I'm gonna have to stop wearing hair gel when you come over, missy. Your hand is going to be all sticky now!"

Blaine reached for her bag and searched in it for the baby wipes to clean her hand. Kara's focus now changed to the bag, and she stuck her free hand into it. She found a clean diaper and, after looking at it without interest, she let it fall on the floor before going for the bag again to see what else she could find.

"Stop right there, Kara," he said, sitting up and pushing the bag away from her. "This place is enough of a mess as it is. We don't need to throw more things around."

She pouted at him and Blaine knew he needed to build some kind of self-defense for the times she did that, because it totally melted him.

"You're not going to convince me with that adorable pouty face," Blaine said, trying to sound severe, but completely failing. "Not at all." Kara frowned. Blaine cracked. "Oh gosh, I'm never going to be able to say no to you! You're my doom! I'm doomed!"

He started tickling her and Kara fell on his chest, twisting and laughing so hard that it vibrated through her entire body. Her little feet started kicking and Blaine caught one.

"Here's my desert after that delicious finger! Nom, nom, nom!"

Kara's laugh drowned out the sound of the front door. Blaine didn't hear a thing. He was so busy pretending to nibble on Kara's big toe (which actually was adorably tiny) to look up and see Kurt standing at the doorway that connected the hallway with the living room.

Kara threw her arms around Blaine's neck and cuddled closer to him with a big sigh. Blaine's heart melted again. It tended to do that a lot around her.

He was going to speak again, probably going to make another offer for a nap, but he didn't have enough time.

"You're actually perfect with her," Kurt said, causing Blaine to snap his head to the side, startled. Kurt's eyes were a little wet and his voice sounded a bit hoarse.

"Kurt… hi," he mumbled, a bit surprised. "I… I thought you were going to stay out for a few more hours."

Kurt shrugged and took a couple more steps into the living room. "There was no point. I did what I had to do and decided to come back."

"I can take her somewhere else if you want to stay here and…"

"No," Kurt interrupted. "I… I'd like to meet her, if that's okay."

Blaine smiled softly. "Of course that's okay." He extended his hand in invitation and Kurt took the next steps to grab it. Blaine tugged on it to make him sit on the floor.

Kara turned to face him, curiosity evident in her big, blue eyes.

"Look who's here, Kara," Blaine murmured sweetly in her ear. "Do you see that beautiful boy? That's your brother, baby girl. Say hi. Can you say hi?"

"Bababababa," Kara babbled happily.

Kurt chuckled as a tear trailed down his cheek. "Hi, Kara."

"Do you want to hold her?" Blaine offered.

Kurt's eyes went wide. "Oh, no, no, I don't know how…"

"Honey, I didn't know how until I met her, either," Blaine said soothingly. "And we're both sitting on the floor. It's easy. Don't worry."

"I… okay," he nodded nervously.

Blaine grabbed Kara and sat her down on Kurt's lap. The girl looked at her brother attentively, as if she were studying him carefully.

"I don't think she likes me," Kurt looked at Blaine with worried eyes.

Blaine laughed a bit at that. "You're not going to break her if you touch her, Kurt. Go ahead, do something."

Kurt swallowed, but nodded again and grabbed Kara's tiny hand in his, hesitantly. "She's so little."

"I'm still sort of blown away by how much you two look alike," Blaine commented, watching them fondly.

"I don't think she's going to like me as much as she likes you," Kurt stared down at Kara as if he were almost scared of her.

"I've had more time with her," Blaine shrugged. "You just need to be around her a bit more."

Kurt ran his fingers through the girl's soft brown hair and looked at Blaine, biting his lip. "I have to go back to New York soon. I can't miss too many classes…"

Blaine picked at a loose thread on his jeans. "I know."

Kara seemed to find Kurt's scarf fascinating.

"Hey," Kurt muttered, putting his free hand on his boyfriend's knee. "Thanksgiving break is almost here. I'll be back in no time."

"Of course," Blaine tried to smile bravely.

"I wish all of this wasn't so hard on you," Kurt sighed and leaned against Blaine's chest, with Kara still on his lap. Blaine wrapped his arms around him and hooked his chin on his shoulder, both boys now watching the little girl playing with the scarf. "She isn't even your responsibility and…"

"I don't regret it," Blaine interrupted. "I love you, Kurt. Whatever happens to you, happens to me too."

Kara nuzzled against the scarf and snuggled onto Kurt's chest. She yawned loudly and fisted the soft fabric in her tiny hands. For once, Kurt didn't seem to care about wrinkles.

That night, Kurt went with Blaine and Kara to the motel, but when Blaine parked the car, he realized he wasn't ready to see his mother. Not yet.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Blaine soothed him when Kurt started getting anxious. "Just wait here in the car and I'll take her inside, okay? Just wait here and I'll be back in a few minutes."

He watched as Blaine climbed up the stairs with the girl in his arms.

He wasn't expecting to feel so desolated when he watched Kara go.

Kurt stayed for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, Blaine drove him to the aiport. Kara was with them, since Katherine had been too sick that day to stay with her.

"It's just a few weeks," Blaine told him as he watched Kurt hugging Kara and trying to hold back the tears, obviously not wanting to let go. "You'll be back in a few weeks."

"I know," Kurt muttered, choking on his words a little.

"Will you call as soon as you land?" Blaine asked.

"Yes," Kurt kissed Kara's forehead sweetly. "Bye, sweetie. Be good for Blaine, okay? I'm going to miss you."

Blaine grabbed the little girl when Kurt passed her to him. Kurt cupped his face and kissed him, long and hard, not really caring who saw them.

"Thank you," Kurt mumbled against his lips. "Thank you."

"I love you," Blaine answered and now he was the one wanting to cry. He wished he could throw his arms around Kurt and beg him not to go again.

"I love you, too," one last peck, one last kiss to Kara's soft hair, and Kurt grabbed his suitcase. "Take care of her, Blaine."

"Take care of yourself, Kurt," he said instead.

Kurt walked away. Kara reached her hand, as if trying to bring him back, but when he disappeared into the crowd, she dropped it. Her lower lip started trembling.

"It's okay, princess," Blaine muttered, holding her closer to his chest. "He'll be back soon."

Kara cried all the way back home.

Considering Katherine's situation, the paperwork was less complicated than it might have been. She handed him the papers one night when he went to drop Kara off with her again.

"Just read it and sign it," she said, stopping to cough between words. "Take your time with it, Blaine."

Blaine started flipping the pages, reading a few lines here and there. "Do you have a pen?"

Katherine looked at him, confused. "You're going to sign it now? Don't you want to take it home and read it with your parents? Maybe have it checked by a lawyer?"

"I don't need to," Blaine said. "I trust you."

He could've sworn Katherine's eyes filled with tears.

In those days when Blaine didn't have Kara with him and when he didn't have homework pilling up on his desk, he still went to the garage to see Burt, or joined him and Carole for Friday night dinner.

Things were different now and it felt palpable, floating in the air between them like an invisible wall. Blaine had never felt like that around the Hummels before. They had always been a second family to him. But the sort of thing they were all going through now… it was impossible for everything to stay the same. It was the type of thing that could shake the foundations of their relationship.

Blaine knew Burt didn't understand why he was doing what he was doing to help Katherine, but he didn't really expect him to. Katherine and Burt were, after all, both stading both on opposite sides of years of regret and resentment. All Blaine wanted to do was stand in the middle and try to keep things between them as peaceful as possible.

"Can I ask you just one question?" Burt said, without really looking at him, as they did the dishes together one Friday night. Carole had been exhausted after work and had gone straight to bed as soon as they were done eating, apologizing to Blaine for not staying up a bit longer.

Blaine passed him a plate that he had just rinsed. "Of course."

"Helping Katherine… are you doing that for Kurt? Or is there another reason?" Burt stopped and put his hands on the counter, his eyes fixed on Blaine as he waited for the answer.

Blaine closed the faucet, ending the flood of water falling in the sink and drowning the kitchen in a few seconds of silence before he replied. "I think it's a bit of everything," he confessed, sighing. "I don't think anyone deserves spending the last days of their lives alone, suffering and helpless. I certainly don't want Kara paying for her mother's mistakes. And I don't want Kurt to have any regrets, either. If he doesn't want to see Katherine before it's all over, then okay, it's his decision, but I don't want him to look back in ten years and feel like he should've acted differently."

Burt dried his hands on a kitchen cloth and then turned around, leaning against the counter, looking extremely tired. "Sometimes I don't get you, kid," he said. "Sometimes I look at you and I wonder what happened to that kid who woke up with a hangover in my son's bed, because now all I can see…" he clasped a hand on Blaine's shoulder and squeezed affectionately, "Is an honorable man that I'm really proud of."

Blaine smiled weakly. "I thought you were still mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Burt shrugged as he turned back to the dishes. "I just wish I could let go of my resentment and stop being so bitter about all this…"

"Maybe she's changed," Blaine said. "Maybe all the mistakes she made helped her realize that she was wrong. Maybe she's not the same person who left you and Kurt behind so many years ago…"

Burt sighed, shaking his head slowly. "I don't think I can ever forgive her for hurting Kurt, for abandoning him. You don't know what it feels like seeing pain in your kid's eyes. You don't know what it is to want to protect your child from it, whatever the cost. You don't know how horrible it feels to see him suffering…"

I think I'm starting to know what all of that feels like, Blaine thought, swallowing thickly. He knew it was too soon. He knew he was too young. He knew he still had a long road ahead of him. But Blaine didn't say anything. There was too much he needed to explain to Burt, and for some reason, this didn't seem to be the right moment.

Blaine had been looking forward to Thanksgiving like nothing else in his whole life. He needed to hold Kurt, close in his arms. He had an entire weekend planned for them, including cuddles and a marathon afternoon of sex. Kut had even agreed not to go shopping on Black Friday so they could have some quiet time together to enjoy each other.

But when Kurt called from the airport when he was supposed to already be on a plane on his way to Ohio, Blaine knew, even before his boyfriend had time to say anything, that his plans were already crumbling.

"Blaine, I'm so sorry," Kurt was crying raggedly on the other end. "There's a stupid blizzard and the stupid airlines cancelled all of their stupid flights and I'm going to be stuck in New York all weekend and I…"

"Hey, Kurt, Kurt," Blaine said, soothingly. "Calm down, sweetheart, take a deep breath."

"But I wanted to see you," Kurt sniffed. "I wanted to be with you. We were really looking forward to this time together. And it's not like I can just go next weekend instead. It's going to get really crazy at school until the Christmas break and…"

"We've waited this long, we can wait a bit more," Blaine muttered, though the idea of the extra weeks of waiting made his heart shrink to a stone in his chest. He had Kara on his lap, chewing on a cookie as she watched the movie Blaine had popped on the DVD for her with interest. He hugged her tightly, needing some comfort, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Don't try to sound all brave and cheery for me, Blaine Anderson," Kurt replied softly. "I know you need me just as badly. I know things are hard for you back home and that you're dealing with a lot…"

"It's just that…" Blaine sighed and kissed Kara's velvety hair. "We miss you so much, Kurt."

"Gosh, I miss you, too. Both of you," Kurt exhaled loudly. "How is Kara? Is she with you now?"

"Yeah, she is," Blaine closed his eyes and tried pretending Kurt was there with them, too, but the sounds of New York and people he could hear in the background made it impossible. "We're watching Pocahontas. She likes Meeko."

"And I bet you're watching for Captain Smith, aren't you?" Kurt teased, but when Blaine didn't laugh, he got serious again. "Blaine… I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, honey," Kara looked up then, smiling brightly at Blaine. "What is it, Kara? Do you want to talk to Kurt? Do you want to say hi?"

"Gu!" She screamed excitedly.

Blaine could hear the smile in Kurt's voice. "I wish I could cuddle her right now." There was a pause and the sound on the other end grew louder. "Listen, baby, I have to go if I want to be able to catch a cab to go back home. It's really crowded here and it could be a while if I don't hurry."

"Okay," Blaine said. "Take care, Kurt. Call me later!"

"I will," he made an adorable kissing sound and Blaine felt a pang in his chest. He missed Kurt's kisses. "I love you!"

"I love you, too." Blaine hung up and put the phone down next to him on the couch, feeling a bit miserable. "It seems it's just you and me, baby girl."

"Gu," Kara said again.

On Thanksgiving, Blaine sat alone at home, feeling miserable. Since he had made plans with Kurt, his parents had gone out to visit some family. He thought about calling Burt and maybe joining them, knowing Carole's sisters were going to join them for the day, but he didn't feel like it. instead, he stared at the TV and watched some mindless shows until he remembered there was somewhere else he could be, with someone else who was also alone.

In ten minutes, he was in the car, with the food his mother had left for him and Kurt, driving to the Lima motel.

Katherine was surprised to see him when she opened the door. She was terribly thin and the extreme pallor of her skin was usual these days. Blaine offered her a shy smile.

"Hi," he muttered, swaying the bag with the food a bit. "Uhm. Can I come in?"

"Of course! Yes, Blaine, please, come in," she moved aside to let him into the room. "It's so cold outside. Sit by the heater for a little while, if you want."

"Oh, I'm fine," he replied. "I'm wearing a thick sweater." He removed his coat and scarf and hung them on a chair.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, curiously. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, I just thought we could eat together," Blaine shrugged. "Kurt was supposed to come for Thanksgiving, but he was stuck in New York because of the snow, so…"

Kara was sitting on the bed and started waving her arms in the air and screaming for Blaine's attention.

"Well, hello, princess!" He said happily, scooping her up in his arms.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend today with some family or some friends?" Katherine muttered, unsure. "You don't need to feel like you have to be here with me just because…"

"I am with family," Blaine smiled as he kissed Kara's chubby cheek.

One of the few genuine smiles that he had ever seen appeared on Katherine's lips as she crossed the room to join the other two.

That was the last time Blaine saw Katherine looking even remotely okay.

From that point on, it all went down hill.