"Dude, you made it," Finn grinned, "Hey, sweetie," he directed this at Paige, leaning down to look at his niece.

"Hey Uncle Finn," Paige said quietly.

"She OK?" Finn asked.

"She had a bad night," Kurt answered, stepping inside. Paige had a nightmare during the night, waking up Kurt with her sobbing. It had taken Kurt a while to calm her down and even longer to get her to talk about the dream. She had dreamed of a giant sand monster swallowing her, like on Aladdin. Kurt had picked her up and carried her to his bed, tucking her in and holding her gently. It had taken her a long time to get back to sleep, Kurt singing to her softly. He spent the rest of the night watching over her, making sure she was OK and he was exhausted, hardly in the mood for a barbeque.

Paige tucked her head into Kurt's neck, breathing softly. He carried her outside and quickly took a seat at the table that had been set up.

"Hi Uncle Kurt," Alex greeted, tugging on his pants legs.

"Hi Alex," Kurt smiled, kissing his head.

"Paige, come play," Alex pleaded and Paige shook her head.

"Tired," she mumbled, burying her head further into Kurt's neck.

"Maybe later," Kurt said and Alex pouted. He ran off, going to find Mike to play with instead. Kurt leaned back in chair, holding Paige snugly in his lap and letting his eyes fall closed. He felt someone sit down beside him but he couldn't be bothered to open his eyes.

"Hi, Blaine," Paige greeted softly and Kurt opened his eyes to find Blaine smiling at them.

"I got you something to drink," Blaine told him, indicating to the small juice box.

"Thanks, Blaine," Kurt smiled.

"Thank you, Blaine," Paige murmured. Her eyes slipped closed and Kurt stroked her hair.

"You OK?" Blaine asked quietly, taking in the dark circles under his eyes.

Kurt smiled tiredly. "Long night," he yawned and Blaine winced with sympathy.

"Kurt! You're here," Rachel called loudly and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Shh, Rachel," he snapped. "Paige is trying to sleep."

"What? Why?" Rachel demanded and Kurt sighed.

"She had a nightmare and we didn't get much sleep," he answered her, stroking his daughter's hair again. She murmured something under her breath and her grip on Kurt loosened slightly.

"Oh," Rachel breathed. "Sorry."

Kurt said nothing and just looked back at his daughter. Rachel looked between Kurt and Blaine and smiled, leaving the two of them alone.

"Can I get you anything?" Blaine asked and Kurt turned his head to smile at him softly.

"No, I'm OK. You don't have to sit here," Kurt told him.

"I want to," Blaine smiled. "What was her nightmare about?"

"The sand monster from Aladdin," Kurt winced.

"I've had that nightmare before," Blaine chuckled. "I couldn't watch Aladdin for weeks after that." Kurt chuckled softly and Paige shifted. "Did you sing along with the songs?"

"Hmm, of course," Kurt answered tiredly. His eyes slipped closed and he sighed. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Blaine assured him.

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Kurt knew he had fallen asleep when he woke up on the couch. He bolted upright and looked around wildly. He jumped off the couch and strode out to the back yard. His heart sped up as he watched Blaine entertaining Alex and Paige. His daughter still looked tired, but she was looking at Blaine in awe as he pretended to pull a coin out of her ear.

"Again!" She demanded and Blaine chuckled. Kurt stepped out and looked around. Tina, Mike, Artie and Rachel were still eating, the others spread around the back yard talking. Blaine looked up at Kurt who was headed towards him and smiled. "Daddy!" Paige greeted, grinning.

"Hi sweetie," Kurt smiled, bending down to kiss her head.

"Why don't you bug Puck to get your dad something to eat?" Blaine suggested. Paige nodded, grabbing Alex's hand and dragging him over to Puck. "You fell asleep," Blaine told Kurt, who almost laughed aloud because, well, he'd kind of noticed that. "I hope you don't mind me putting you on the couch, it looked more comfortable than a chair."

"Thank you," Kurt thanked him sincerely.

"No worries," Blaine smiled. "I um – I kept Paige awake. I thought that way she would be tired enough to sleep the whole night through."

"Thank you," Kurt said again, surprised. "That's very thoughtful of you."

"It's no problem," Blaine assured him. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired still, but better," Kurt smiled, "Hungry, too."

"Here you go, Daddy," Paige beamed, holding a plate carefully in her hands.

Kurt took it from her and smiled. "Thank you, sweetie," he said. He headed over to the table and Blaine followed, sitting beside him.

"Good nap, Kurt?" Artie teased and Kurt smirked.

"Great, actually." He cut a piece of the hunk of meat on his plate and popped it in his mouth. Kurt ate quickly; he wasn't lying when he said he was hungry, and listened to the chatter around him. Kurt didn't stay much longer. Paige was starting to get grumpy and he knew he had to get her to bed. "I'm going to get going," Kurt told his friends. "I'll talk to you guys soon."

"Do you have to go?" Rachel pleaded, glancing at Blaine, "Just a little while longer."

"Yes, I do," Kurt confirmed. "I need to get Paige to bed." He called his daughter over and picked her up.

"Bye, Kurt," Quinn smiled and Kurt bade them all goodbye. Blaine jumped up and walked out with him to his car. He watched Kurt place Paige in the back seat, buckling her up and shutting the door gently.

"Have a good trip home," Blaine grinned. "I hope that you get a good night's sleep."

"Me too," Kurt chuckled.

"Umm, Kurt, I was wondering, do you maybe want to have dinner with me one night?" Blaine asked, blushing.

Kurt's breath hitched and his stomach dropped. "I – oh, Blaine, I don't think I can," he whispered.

"Oh. OK," Blaine sighed, taking a step back.

"Blaine, I'm sorry," Kurt whispered and the other man shook his head.

"No, it's OK. I get it," Blaine smiled, though it looked forced. "I'll talk to you later." He turned to go and Kurt bit his lip.

"Blaine," he called out and Blaine paused, looking over his shoulder. "Yes, I will have dinner with you."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Kurt, are you sure?" He asked.

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure," he smiled and Blaine grinned widened. He went to Blaine and pulled out his phone. "You'll need my number and I'll need yours," Kurt smiled. Blaine grabbed his phone out and they switched, entering their number and giving their phones back.

"I'll call you," Blaine promised and Kurt smiled.

"Bye, Blaine," Kurt smiled and headed to his car, slipping behind the wheel and driving away.

Blaine waited until he couldn't see the car anymore before pumping the air with his fist and grinning brightly.

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Paige went to bed easily and Kurt slipped into his own bed. He couldn't believe that he had agreed to go out with Blaine. He liked him a lot, there was no mistaking that. He wanted to move, wanted to fall for someone again but he didn't want to get hurt and go through all the pain for a second time. There was so much on the line this time; he couldn't afford to mess up.

He sighed but couldn't hold back his smile. He was going on a date with Blaine. He groaned inwardly. He would never hear the end of this from his friends when they found out.