Kurt busied himself for a few minutes setting up for their unexpected guests. He pulled the Pack N’ Play out of the closet and set it up in Taylor’s room for Fletcher to sleep in, then folded out the futon in the office for Cooper. He found a swaddling blanket under a pile of towels in the linen closet, and set the baby down for his nap. He left the door cracked open so he could hear if Fletcher started to cry, and then went to the kitchen to make some sandwiches for lunch.

Cooper hovered around, unsure of what to do. “Can I, um, help with something?” Kurt tossed him a bag of baby carrots and he set out a handful on each plate.

Taylor and Naomi burst through the door, a flurry of taking off shoes and putting playground toys back in the bin. “Don’t forget to wash your hands before you touch anything!” Taylor called as Naomi ran into the living room.        She saw Cooper and froze.

“Hi Naomi,” Kurt said in a cheery tone. “Do you remember Uncle Cooper? We saw him at Christmas, remember?”

“Coo-poe,” Naomi said, still suspicious.

“Come on, wash your hands and then we can eat. Sandwiches are all ready.” Kurt turned to Taylor. “Surprise extra baby tonight.”

Taylor raised one eyebrow.

“We’ll talk about it later. He’s napping.”

“Mm-hmm,” Taylor said, sitting down at the table. “Use soap, Naomi, I saw that!”

Kurt’s phone buzzed in the middle of lunch. It was a text from Blaine. Do you need me to come home?

Kurt texted back. We’re fine. Let him sit in the corner and think about what he’s done. Talk to you tonight, love you.

Thank you, you’re an angel. Kurt smiled.

When the kids got home from school, they were overjoyed to see their Uncle Cooper. Kurt stood back, grinning, and let them attack him in a giant pile of hugs. “Whoa! Whoa! Come on! Let a guy breathe over here!” Cooper called out playfully.

Fletcher was playing with a rattle on the floor of the living room. Tess looked at him thoughtfully. “I expected he’d be smaller,” she said.

“Is he our cousin? What’s his name?” Colin asked.

“Fletcher,” Kurt answered. “He’ll be staying here for a little while. I’m not sure how long yet.”

Kurt had to leave for the theater soon after, leaving Taylor in charge of five children and Cooper. “You should take Fletcher with you to pick up Chinese food or something, let Cooper deal with the others,” Kurt whispered to Taylor right before he left. “Take your time. See if you can arrange for Naomi to have a dirty diaper.”

Taylor laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Cooper asked.

“Nothing!” Taylor called.

-------------------------------

Blaine got home before Kurt. He was already lying in bed staring at the ceiling when he heard Kurt unlock the door and tiptoe through the house to the bedroom, trying not to wake anyone. It was around one in the morning, not unusual for a performance night.

“Hey,” Kurt said quietly. “You doing okay?”

Blaine sighed. “No, not really.”

“Let me just change and use the bathroom and then we can talk, okay?”

Blaine nodded.

Kurt slid under the covers a few minutes later, in a t-shirt and boxer briefs. He turned or his side, facing Blaine, and kissed him lightly on the temple before propping himself up on one elbow. He waited, understanding that Blaine would need to vent for a minute before they could have a real discussion.

“I cannot believe him,” Blaine said. “I mean, seriously. How could he? Did he really expect that I’d just say the kid was mine? Was he joking? Has he no … what’s the word I’m looking for? Respect? Decency? Honor? Brains? God, sometimes I can’t even believe I’m related to him.”

“I know, baby,” Kurt said in a soothing tone, patting him on the shoulder.

“Thinking he could just come in here like that and drop off a baby. Jesus.”

“Well, to be fair, that’s pretty much what the girl did to him, so …”

“Yeah, but it’s his, not ours. Not our problem. Not our responsibility.”

“I know,” Kurt said quietly. This would go better if Blaine talked himself around than if Kurt tried to push for the right solution. They’d been married long enough for Kurt to know this.

Blaine pushed his hair back from his forehead and took a deep breath. “Somebody has to be responsible, though.”

Kurt hummed softly.

“I feel sorry for the poor kid, if Cooper tries to raise him,” Blaine said. “He’s a mess, and he’ll be a mess of a father. I mean, he tries. He just doesn’t understand how anyone’s needs could be as important as his own. And that’s a disaster for parenting.”

Kurt nodded.

“Maybe we could help somehow,” Blaine continued. “Maybe just for a little while? I don’t know. Keep Fletcher with us until Cooper can get his act together?”

“Do you think he’ll actually manage to get his act together?” Kurt asked.

Blaine sighed. “I don’t know. But I don’t think I can deal with adopting him outright. Five kids is unthinkable. We could practically stage our own production of The Sound of Music.”

Kurt laughed. “I get to be Julie Andrews.”

Blaine smiled at him, his mood considerably lightened. “You’re just the same as you always were.”

Kurt smiled back. “So are you.”

-------------------------------

In the morning, Cooper agreed to the plan they’d come up with. Fletcher would stay with Kurt and Blaine while Cooper went back to Los Angeles to pull his life together. He would quit acting and find a stable job with a steady salary, either in Los Angeles or maybe back in Ohio. He’d send a token amount of child support each month, which Kurt and Blaine didn’t need, but they wanted Cooper to get in the mindset of providing for his own child. As soon as he felt ready, Cooper would take Fletcher back to live with him. Cooper looked extremely relieved as he left their apartment to head back to Los Angeles.

Blaine got a phone call from Cooper about two weeks later. “I know I said I’d give up acting, but I just found out my name is in the running for the next season of Dancing with the Stars. This could restart my entire career. People have made major comebacks out of this show. I need to stay around, at least see if I can give it a shot.”

It didn’t work out, but then there was another call. “It’s not just one commercial. It’s an entire series of commercials. Steady work. Could last a year, or even more. It’s definitely worth doing.”

“I got cast in a pilot, Blaine! I don’t think you understand what this means! Sure, the show might not get picked up, but what if it does? It would be amazing!”

The child support checks stopped coming after three months. Cooper stopped calling with excuses after six.

Fletcher was a natural showman, even as a baby and toddler. In a house full of people, he always found a funny way to become the center of attention – singing nonsense words and doing a little dance, making sculptures out of his mashed potatoes, telling a joke that was hilarious despite making no sense whatsoever. He wormed his way into everyone’s hearts immediately.

It was five years before Fletcher officially became a Hummel. But he was Kurt and Blaine’s son long before then.