Baby Zoe

Carole loved her husband, there was no question about that, but to say that Burt was worried was a bit of an understatement. It had been a few hours since they had heard from the boys, and while the storm was finally letting up where they were, it still wasn't safe to leave, let alone drive back.

The last time Carole had tried to call Finn, there was no answer. She waited ten minutes and tried Blaine with the same result. At one point, the phones were just going to voicemail, which wasn't reassuring to say the least. Carole knew that last they heard, Kurt was almost eight centimeters. Is he still in labor? Did he have the baby yet? Carole sighed as she walked back to the table Burt was sitting at.

"Here Burt, I got you some coffee."

"Thanks Carole. Did you get through to the boys yet?" Burt sighed in frustration as Carole shook her head. "This is ridiculous." He stood up and started to pace. "I can't take it anymore. What if something's wrong? What if Kurt's hurt? Or something happened to the baby? Or - "

Carole jumped up and tried to get Burt under control. "Burt! You need to calm down. You can't get worked up or assume the worst. For all we know, the kids have everything under control, Kurt is fine, and the baby is fine. Just because we can't get ahold of anyone right now, doesn't mean the end of the world. The storm has died down quite a bit here, and as soon as we have the all-clear, we are out of here."

Burt took a few deep breaths and let Carole lead him into a chair. "I'm just so worried about Kurt. I shouldn't have left him. I should've known something would happen."

"Did you know that he would go into labor today? Did you make that storm move in and make everything an absolute mess? Are you the one messing with the cell towers?" Burt stared at Carole and shook his head. "Then how could you have known how this day was going to turn out?"

"I don't know. Have you ever had a feeling that something was going to happen, but you don't know what? That's how I've been feeling for a few days now."

Carole looked at Burt, "Why didn't you say anything?

"I thought I was just imagining things, figured it was just pre-baby jitters. I was hesitant on leaving in the first place, but Kurt insisted. He said it would be rude to not show up, and it wasn't like we were going to be that far away. I know he's got Finn and Blaine..."

"But they're not you," Carole said quietly.

"Maybe I am worrying for nothing. They know how to handle themselves. Just because we can't get through to them, doesn't mean that they couldn't get ahold of Matt or Neal." Carole sat up at that.

"Burt! I didn't think to call Neal! I'm sure the boys would've had to call him to get ahold of Matt - calling the hospital and leaving a message would've been useless." Carole picked up her cell phone to try calling Neal, but the signal wasn't strong enough. She got up and went to ask the back office to see if the landline was working, not noticing Burt getting up to follow her. Two minutes later, there was finally an answer on Neal's cell.

"Neal, it's Carole. Please tell me you've heard from the boys recently."

"Carole, are you still in Cincinnati?"

"Yes. We're still waiting for the okay to leave. Burt's itching to get a move on. I haven't been able to get ahold of the boys. Our cells can't get a signal, and the landline I'm using just came back up. I tried the house but nothing happened."

"Power went out a couple of hours ago, and the landlines are working sporadically. I spoke to the boys almost two hours ago."

"Are they alright? Last we heard, Kurt was only at 8 and holding steady."

"Puck called me a little while ago in a panic. Kurt was throwing up and hysterical, and the boys weren't prepared for that. He was going through transition and said he felt like pushing. He was in a lot of pain, but I spoke to him and calmed him down. I told Blaine that it was up to him to keep all of them calm. I haven't heard - "

"Neal?"

"Carole, I have Blaine's number coming in. Hold on - I'm going to try and three-way it." Carole heard a click on the phone and heard Neal speak up again.

"You still there, Carole?"

"Yes, and Burt's with me too."

"Okay. Blaine, you still on the line?"

A voice came through the speaker, "Yep still here...hi."

"Blaine, are you all okay? How's Kurt?" Burt asked without hesitation.

An exhausted, but happy voice said, "Hi Grandma and Grandpa." Burt stopped breathing for a few minutes before he was able to speak up again.

"Oh god, Kurt. You had her? Are you two alright?" he asked hurriedly.

Kurt laughed weakly, "We're alright...Dad, she's gorgeous."

Happy tears started to run down Carole's face. "Oh honey, that's great. How does she look?"

"She has a lot more hair than I was expecting. She's significantly calmed down since we got her cleaned up and wrapped up. Finn said she was 21 inches long, and felt a little less than ten pounds. Puck cleaned me up, and Blaine is the best pillow ever."

The adults heard Blaine laugh over the line. "I'm holding him against me and supporting him. He's still shaky and needs help at the moment to hold her."

"He'll be shaky for a little bit yet, until his body realizes what it just went through. Is he still bleeding or contracting?" Carole had been thinking the same thing, but wasn't sure how Burt would handle hearing about that and was kind of relieved that Neal asked.

"It feels like really bad cramps right now," said Kurt.

Blaine piped in, "He was still bleeding a little bit, but Kurt was able to feed her a little, and that's helped."

Now Burt was confused. "Wait - I thought Matt said you wouldn't be able to do that. No offense, Kurt, but you don't have the chest for it."

Neal snorted, "Don't worry, Burt. Even though we don't have breasts and produce milk, we do produce colostrum, which is really important for the baby to get. Unfortunately, we can't actually breast feed."

"I can tell you from experience; it's not always a pleasant. While it is an amazing way to bond, it takes some getting used to. You have to find a way that doesn't hurt mom and the baby gets fed. Kurt will only have to worry about for a few days, and then we'll get her onto formula."

Kurt spoke up, "And if there's one thing I'm grateful for, it's that I can't do that. No offense Mom, but that's a girl thing. Having a baby is as girly as I plan to ever get, thank you very much. Although it was funny to watch how quick Puck and Finn can move when they're uncomfortable. They figured I didn't need an audience and went to placate everyone else."

Everyone on the line laughed at that, though Burt was now picturing his son breast feeding, and that was not an image a father needs to see. In his opinion, breast feeding was a private thing between mom and baby. When Elizabeth took care of Kurt, he excused himself and left them to it, unless she asked for him to stick around. He suddenly realized that the one thing he wanted to know hadn't been mentioned yet.

"Kurt, what's her name?"

"How did I not mention that yet? It's Zoe Elizabeth...do you like it?"

Carole and Neal both said that it sounded adorable, while Burt stared at the phone. He let out a watery smile and said, "It sounds awesome, Kurt. I can't wait to see her."

Blaine asked, "Speaking of which - when will you two be home? Has the storm let up by you yet? The rain's finally started to slow down, and the wind's died down too. Power is still out, though."

Carole and Burt looked around the room and noticed that some people were putting on jackets and heading outside, while others looked like they weren't planning on leaving any time soon. "I'm not sure. It looks like some people are going to attempt to go outside. The storm has stopped for the most part, but I don't know what the roads are going to look like."

"Did you take your truck Burt? You may have better luck getting through any flooding, though you may want to wait until morning, just in case. It's darker than it should be due to the power outages, and it'll be safer."

Neal had a point, which Burt didn't want to agree with. Now that he knew that Kurt was okay, he wanted to leave now so he could see them for himself, but even with the truck, it wasn't worth it to rush.

"We'll probably wait, at least until there's some light out." Carole saw the previous frustration return to her husband's face, and did her best to keep him calm. Luckily Kurt and Blaine noticed as well.

Blaine spoke first, "Burt, we want you both to come home as soon as possible, but please do so when you can. We'll all still be here whenever you get here, and by all, I do mean all of us. We're not letting anyone leave the house until we know it's clear. We've turned the living room into a campground."

"And he means it. There are sleeping bags and blankets everywhere," said Kurt. "I got lucky; at least I got the bed."

"I meant to ask about that," said Neal, "where are you in the house? It sounded like everyone was close by, and I know you all wouldn't fit in the bedroom."

"Before we lost power, Puck was checking on Kurt, who wasn't in the mood to get off the couch and climb the stairs." They heard Kurt huff in annoyance.

"Can you really blame me? I was finally relatively comfortable and he wanted me to move?" Kurt said.

Burt, Carole and Neal could just imagine Blaine rolling his eyes. "Anyway, Mercedes, Sam, Finn, and I set up a corner of the living room to look like an exam room. We got Kurt's partition out of the garage and grabbed the spare bed from Finn's room. It helped to keep everyone together, especially after we lost the lights. Kurt and I stayed on the couch when we weren't walking around during contractions, and moved to the bed before he had to start pushing."

"That's clever. Nice job. Hang on a second." Neal was getting another phone call. "I'm really popular today. That's Matt. I'll put him through too - make this a real party line. Hey honey, how's your day going?"

"Oh my god, I wanna go home. I just got your last message - "

"Was it about me? Because it's old news."

"Kurt is that you? How are you doing? I guess we're on a three-way call, then?"

"More like a four-way call. Mom and Dad are on the line too. They called Neal after they couldn't get ahold of us. We're doing fine. Wait until you see Zoe, Matt- she's so cute! And she's big."

"Personally, I'd be upset if she wasn't a little on the big side. You do not want to see the parent of an overdue baby that comes out weighing six pounds. Neal was pissed when RJ was born and barely weighed seven."

"Well, you'd be pissed off too if you gained 38 pounds, and your baby only weighed a little bit," Neal grumbled.

Carole was pulled away from the conversation by one of her girlfriends. Some of the guests were attempting to go home that lived by. Everyone else was given the option to stay at the hotel down the street, at least until they could also leave.

"So what's the verdict?" asked Burt.

"Some people that live nearby are going to leave, but everyone's been offered rooms down the street, for the night if necessary. They're on a different circuit and have power and working phones. At least half of the guests are taking up the offer."

"Well, I'm glad we packed that extra set of clothes, then...looks like we'll be here for a bit. As soon as we can leave, we will."

"Just stay safe, Dad. We'll still be here when you get back."

"Or at least here with me," Matt said, interrupting Kurt, "Kurt, I put you on an ambulance pick-up list. When one is available, you'll be getting a ride in so I can check both you and Zoe out. And don't think it's special treatment - another one of my patients had a boy earlier. Even though she's a pro by now, since it's her third, they're getting picked up as well."

"We'll let the others know to expect some visitors then," said Blaine.

"And I'll be here if you need a go-between," said Neal.

Burt and Carole hung up and followed the crowd to the hotel. Neal hung up to check on Casey and RJ. Matt stayed on the line with Kurt and Blaine for a few minutes more to ask how the delivery went and to inform Kurt that he could bring one person with him to the hospital. He assured him he wouldn't be stuck there too long if they both checked out fine, so the fewer people there, the better.

Most of the group was asleep or dozing by candlelight, as they were still waiting for the power to come back on, when the ambulance arrived. Thankfully, there wasn't a fight over who was going with Kurt, as Blaine was the obvious choice. The paramedics introduced themselves as Katie and Tim and looked drained, but one look at Zoe seemed to help perk them up a bit.

Kurt was one of the few that hadn't really slept yet, so he was understandably exhausted. Tim asked Kurt a few questions about how he was feeling, but Finn and Puck had more of the answers he was looking for. Kurt didn't put up much of a fight when Tim announced that they were ready to leave, and Katie, who was checking on Zoe, agreed that it was time to go.

Finn and Puck helped Kurt maneuver himself onto the stretcher, as he was still sore from giving birth just a couple of hours ago. Blaine held onto Zoe as they made their way outside. Everyone else was sticking around until morning – no one wanted to attempt going home. They wished Kurt good luck as he was wheeled out the door.

Matt met them outside the hospital and escorted them to a room in the Family Birth Center. Once Kurt was moved to a bed and assured that Zoe would be taken care of, Kurt finally let himself fall asleep. Matt told Blaine to get some sleep as well, and motioned that he could sleep with Kurt in the bed, as long as he was careful. Blaine was happy he could, and joined Kurt in dreamland just minutes later.

Matt checked in on Zoe, who had been relocated to the nursery, and received a good report from the nurses. He was really amazed at how well Kurt and Zoe were doing. When Neal called him and said that Kurt was in labor, there was no way to get assistance to him. Blaine, Finn, and Puck stepped up and took care of everything. Not many people would have been able to handle that. He was confident that he would be releasing both Kurt and Zoe in no time.

As soon as the sun came up, Burt and Carole were making the drive back to Lima. They decided to check on the house first, as they were pretty sure none of the kids would've been able to leave the night before. Carole walked in the door first and signaled Burt to watch his step. It took a few moments for Carole to locate Finn in the mess of bodies on the floor. She didn't see any sign of Kurt or Blaine, so she figured they had already been picked up.

Carole gave Finn a shake and was able to rouse him enough to get him into the kitchen. It took a few minutes for Finn to realize his parents were back, which prompted him to hug both of them, hard.

"For the love of god, never leave us home alone with someone due to have a baby. I can't tell you who was more traumatized by it all: me, Kurt, or everyone else." Carole almost laughed at the expression on her son's face, but felt bad that they'd all had the day from hell.

"I'm sorry you all had to go through with that, and for the record, I don't want to see any more of you expecting a child until you're out of high school."

"Totally doable. Agree with you 100%. We were so worried something was going to go seriously wrong, especially when he was going through transition. Two words: not fun." Finn told them everything that had happened within the last 24 hours. Carole was in shock, while Burt was impressed.

"The ambulance showed up a few hours ago and took Kurt and Zoe to the hospital to get checked out by Matt. Blaine was the plus one. Matt sent me a text not too long after to say that everything looked good, and that they were all sleeping, which reminds me..." Finn took his phone out and handed it to Carole and Burt.

"I forgot you haven't seen her yet." It was a picture of Kurt, Blaine, and Zoe, not long after she was born. Carole 'aww-ed' at the picture. Burt got a little teary-eyed.

"She certainly looks like an overdue baby. Did Matt say how much she weighed?"

Finn yawned and nodded. He took the phone back so he could open up the text. "Yeah...21 inches long and 9 pounds, 11 ounces. Puck and I wrote down what time she was born and how both her and Kurt were doing during the whole delivery and gave it to the paramedics." Finn's phone beeped with an incoming message. "Oh, Matt says we can visit any time after nine, but asked if we could just keep it to the three of us for now."

"He's probably not going to keep Kurt there for long then, maybe just for the next day or so for observation. There's no point in having everyone go to the hospital to visit if he'll be home in a little bit," Carole pointed out.

"Although we may need to bring Jeff with us," said Finn, "he was a big help yesterday too. And somehow I don't think any reasoning from Nick is going to work."

"If we need to, the two of them can come too. Are anyone's parents expecting their kid to come home soon?" asked Burt.

"When we were making calls last night, everyone was told to stay put until it was clear enough to leave. I can start waking them up if you want. That way, the house is cleared up when we go see Kurt."

"That would be great, Finn. You do that, and I'll put more coffee on. Burt, could you go check outside? There's a lot of debris out there still, and I don't want anyone else leaving and hitting something."

"Yeah, there are some branches in the driveway that are caught under the cars. Finn, let me know if anyone tries to be difficult. I'm sure I can get them to wake up."

Finn laughed and made his way back into the living room, contemplating on whom to wake up first. He was tempted to use Wes's gavel, but he wanted to be alive to visit Kurt. That, and Wes was sleeping with it. He made his way over to Puck, Jeff and Nick first. When told there was coffee, Puck got up and went to look for it. Finn told Jeff and Nick they could come with them to the hospital, but everyone else was going to have to wait their turn. To Finn's relief, Jeff volunteered to wake up the girls, and Nick would handle the other Warblers. Within ten minutes, everyone was moving to some degree.

Carole came out of the kitchen with cups of coffee and hot chocolate, which were grabbed for with little hesitation. Everyone was informed of Kurt and Zoe's status and grudgingly admitted that they'd wait until everyone was home from the hospital to visit. Before anyone planned to leave though, they insisted on clearing up their unofficial campground and restoring the living room to its former glory. Sometime later, the house was back to the way it was and everyone was on their way home.

Carole and Burt couldn't wait to see Kurt and properly meet Zoe. Jeff was bouncing off the walls in excitement, and Nick was having a hard time controlling him. Finn had a moment of brilliance and told Jeff that if he didn't tone it down a notch, they wouldn't let him in because he might scare the baby. Jeff was horrified at the thought, so he quickly complied.

It didn't take long to find Kurt's room once they got to the hospital. They were surprised to see Blaine hanging out outside the room, though.

"Blaine, is everything alright?" Burt asked.

Blaine blushed a little. "Yeah, Kurt is awake and feeding Zoe at the moment. One of the nurses mentioned you were coming, so I volunteered to wait out here for you guys."

Burt saw the look on the Warbler's face. "Take it easy kid. Trust me, I know. It's okay if you're uncomfortable with that. Just think, at least it's only for another day or two, right?" Burt laughed as Blaine's face got redder.

Carole gave him a light swat on the arm, "Stop torturing him, Burt. How are you doing, Blaine? Did you get some sleep last night?"

"A few hours. Kurt and I passed out not long after they got him settled. We've only been up for a half an hour or so." Blaine ended that statement with a yawn, "Still tired though." The group turned around at the sound of footsteps to see Matt walking towards them. He looked like he had just woken up.

"Morning everyone. Sorry, I just got up. Best three hour nap I've ever had."

"Well you certainly look better than you did last night, no offense."

Matt smirked, "Why thank you for the compliment, Blaine. Zoe was brought in already?"

"Yeah. Kurt was feeding her. They're probably done by now. I can go check if you want." Matt shooed him into the room and looked at the rest of the group. "I'm surprised no one else snuck in with you."

Carole laughed, "Finn and Burt were very persuasive with the kids; otherwise they'd be here too."

Matt laughed too, "Just as well, I suppose. You can probably take them home tomorrow. Kurt will need to take it easy for a few days, but there wasn't any tearing - which I'm absolutely shocked about - and he's only dealing with some lingering cramps. Zoe is fantastic and I see no reason to keep either of them here longer than necessary." Blaine popped his head out of the room and told them they could come in.

You didn't need to tell them twice.

Burt was the last one to enter the room. He had heard Jeff's barely contained squeals and Carole's not so contained ones. He hadn't really prepared himself to finally meet his granddaughter in person. Blaine had taken a seat on the bed next to Kurt while everyone else was standing around it. Kurt seemed to sense someone was missing and looked up to see his dad hanging behind everyone else.

"Didn't think you were scared of a little girl, Dad. Don't be shy," he added with a smirk.

Burt laughed as he made his way closer to the bed. His breath caught when he saw his son holding his granddaughter. He was trying to stay composed but was slowly losing the battle. He almost completely lost it when Kurt asked, "Want to hold her?"

Later Burt would tell you that he doesn't remember acknowledging Kurt's question. One minute he was staring at Zoe, and the next minute, was holding her. She did whine a little at being moved but seemed to know that no one was going to hurt her, and settled down quickly.

Finn saw the way Burt was mesmerized by the little girl. He looked at his mom, before gently nudging Burt into the chair next to Kurt's bed. Burt didn't seem to notice that he was now sitting down either, until Kurt tried to get his attention.

"So what do you think, Dad? Do I make cute kids or what?" Jeff and Carole agreed with Kurt, while Finn, Nick and Blaine just rolled their eyes. Burt looked up at Kurt, who was startled to see so much emotion in his father's eyes. "Dad?"

"Sorry Kurt. Just thinking. She really is gorgeous." Carole could see that the two needed a moment, and somehow managed to take Zoe from Burt. She motioned the boys to the other side of the room, signaling that they two needed a moment. Blaine gave Kurt a kiss before moving off the bed. Kurt looked back at his father, who seemed to be miles away.

"When you called and said you were in labor, I was angry with myself. I wasn't there and I should've at least been somewhere nearby."

"Dad, none of us could've known she'd pick the worst day ever to be born. I insisted you go to that wedding. I mean, you'd been looking forward to going for weeks. If anyone should be angry, it's me. Hell, I should've been the first to know Zoe wanted out, but I wasn't. Blaine figured it out before me."

Even though Finn had told Burt and Carole how the day had gone, hearing it from Kurt's point of view was something else. Burt took the moment Kurt stopped talking to wrap him in a hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Kurt. Not just now, but for everything you've done and gone through. Granted, I never expected to be a grandfather so young," both of them laughed, "but it's certainly not a bad thing. She's quite the looker."

"Wait until you hear her crying. She loses some of her cuteness when she does that."

"Not that I need a whole lot of details, but how was the delivery? Finn said part of it got a little crazy, and Matt said that he was expecting you to be a little hurt from pushing her out."

"I honestly don't remember most of it. I recall getting sick and Puck, I think, called Neal for help. I just remember Blaine trying to calm me down, but it hurt so much. I'm shocked I didn't need stitches or something. You've seen her, right? She is not a small baby."

"Would you have rather her been a little smaller?"

Kurt just raised an eyebrow and gave Burt a look. "Dad, she was almost ten pounds, and she came out of a very little spot. What do you think?"

Matt sent Kurt and Zoe home the following day. Burt didn't think Matt was serious when he said that Kurt wouldn't be there long. It took both Carole and Matt to reassure him that there was no reason to keep them there any longer. Zoe was doing wonderfully and Kurt just needed to take it easy, and he didn't need to be in the hospital to do that. Matt pointed out that not only would they have Carole - a nurse -but access to three boys that had taken classes. If they needed anything, they were free to call him or Neal.

Carole volunteered to bring Zoe in the house, while Blaine and Finn helped Kurt. He was still sore and shaky, so walking was a challenge. Eventually, they all settled down in the living room; Kurt didn't want to tackle the stairs just yet. He was still noticeably tired but wanted to hold his little girl again. Blaine saw the eagerness in his eyes and gladly pulled Zoe out of her carrier and handed her to Kurt.

Finn stared at Zoe before asking out loud, "Is it okay that she's so quiet? I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the whole not screaming part, but she's freaking me out."

Carole laughed at her son's question. "She's freaking you out because she's quiet?"

"Hey, I went to the nursery and a lot of those babies were crying like there was no tomorrow. I'm surprised she got any sleep in there."

Kurt smiled at Finn and said, "Well don't worry, Finn. She'll probably be waking you up tonight. She probably figured that making a lot of noise in the hospital would've been pointless. You don't always have to yell to stand out." Finn smiled back.

"Forgive me to have to be the one to ask, but how is the feeding thing going to work? Neal explained it a little, but..." Kurt was blushing as hard as Burt, who'd asked the question.

"I'm sure he mentioned that breast feeding isn't going to happen." Burt nodded. "I can still feed her for another day or so, but after that, we can give her formula." Zoe took that moment to make a little noise and curl into Kurt. "She's probably due for another feeding. She nuzzles into me when she wants to be fed." Burt and Finn took that as a good reason to leave the room. Carole laughed and followed them into the kitchen. Blaine looked like he wanted to stay and leave at the same time.

"If you could just get me that blanket first, you can run away too. You don't have to stick around for this part. I know it's unusual..."

Blaine retrieved the blanket and answered Kurt. "Only if you want me to leave. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I know it's not for much longer, but I don't mind keeping you company." Kurt smiled at Blaine, and once Zoe was settled, Kurt leaned his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"You really are the best boyfriend ever...you know that right?"

"Right back at you."

Zoe's first night surprised everyone in the house. Granted, she did wake up every couple of hours, but once someone came into the nursery, she would stop crying. While most of the household had no problem with that, Finn was playing the skeptic. Finn had heard so many stories about babies crying for hours at a time, and at all hours of the day, that he wasn't expecting the opposite to happen. Kurt took it in stride and told Finn that it just proved that his daughter was awesome and to stop acting like a mama bear, as that was his job.

To be fair, if Kurt was honest with himself, he was thinking the same as Finn. He was being cautiously optimistic about Zoe's behavior; he was waiting for her to do a 180 and become a nightmare. But after a week of the same pattern, he began to relax a bit more. He talked to Matt and Rita, one of the nurses that worked in the Nursery, and flat out asked if he should be concerned. Matt assured him the Zoe was in great shape and had passed all of her tests with flying colors. Rita told him that some babies were just more easygoing than others and to enjoy it while it lasted.

There were other things that were interesting to Kurt. Zoe had no qualms over who was holding her, though she did have a harder time with certain people. Wes and Rachel, for example, were only able to hold her for five minutes before she started to fuss. The rest of the girls could hold her for longer, but they seemed to feel better watching than holding. The Warblers and the New Directions boys were already wrapped around Zoe's finger – Puck, Nick and Jeff especially – though they were still denying it. It didn't help their argument when they argued whose turn it was to feed her.

Kurt and Blaine fell into an easy routine quickly. They took turns during the night when Zoe woke up, so neither one was more exhausted than the other. Blaine kept insisting on doing little things for Kurt, until the brunette told him to knock it and that he was fully capable of moving around on his own, even though he still tired easily. Blaine compromised and slowly helped Kurt get back into shape – because the countertenor was convinced that Blaine wouldn't want him with his post-baby body – while still managing to get away with doing things around the house.

The only thing that hadn't really been addressed yet was school. Their senior year was due to start in a few weeks, and nothing had been arranged yet. Kurt was worrying about it more than he let on. As much as he'd love to be able to rejoin his friends at McKinley, Kurt loved being at Dalton, and since he still qualified for a reduced tuition, it was financially doable.

But there was still Zoe to consider.

There was no way Kurt was just going to depend on his parents to take care of her, and she was too little to just leave at a daycare, even though he was told otherwise by the adults. Kurt looked into it anyway and he had decided that if he were to go the daycare route, he'd leave Dalton and use the tuition money for that, and go to McKinley instead, because there was no way he could handle Dalton and having Zoe that far away from him.

And then there was Blaine.

Kurt didn't want to be separated from Blaine like that. It would make more sense for him to board during the week, which meant Kurt would only have him on the weekends, which in turn meant he wouldn't have him to help him with Zoe, especially at night.

What it came down to was a) leave Dalton to attend McKinley; use the money for daycare; and virtually no time with Blaine. Or b) drop out of school to take care of Zoe, and still not being able to see Blaine.

Of course, this was all in Kurt's head. He was starting to resign himself to the fact that come September, he was going to be miserable one way or the other. What he didn't realize was that he wasn't the only one thinking about school.

Anyone with eyes could tell that Kurt was planning something, and from the looks of it, wasn't thrilled with whatever he was thinking about. Burt talked to Blaine about it – who was in the dark as much as he was – and they tried to figure out what Kurt was thinking about. It took a conversation from a concerned Jeff to fill in the blanks.

Jeff had been talking to Kurt and the topic of school had come up. Jeff asked if Kurt knew how school was going to work out now that Zoe was here. Jeff understood the dilemma and though Kurt asked for it to be kept secret, this was one of those times that you had to go behind the person's back and tell someone. Jeff spoke with Blaine and Burt, and they were having a hard time coming up with options that would make everyone happy. Needless to say, it was a surprise when Burt received a phone call from Professor Dippet two days later, who asked if there was a time that they could meet.

He had an idea.

Professor Dippet personally came to the house to discuss the upcoming school year with the boys. Apparently, he'd received several inquiries from the Warblers, wondering if Kurt was going to be allowed back at school with a baby, and were trying to kind of threat the headmaster that they'd start a protest if he would deny Kurt's attendance. He laughed at the looks on the family's faces and explained that there was a suitable arrangement that could be made to appease everyone involved.

Turned out, Jeff was the mastermind of the whole thing.

Jeff had spoken to the headmaster and had a whole proposal ready. What the household didn't know was that there were policies in place for 'special circumstances' which allowed young children to board on campus at Dalton. Thankfully, they hadn't been implemented much over the years, but there had been cases of students who needed to protect or house siblings due to abusive situations, loss of parents, or custody disputes. In those cases, siblings – brothers and sisters – were old enough to attend school, and accommodations had been made to bus them to local schools, or allow them to stay at Crawford.

He proposed that Kurt and Zoe have a room in the dorms – that were rarely used and unknowingly reserved for something like this - and allow Blaine to room with them. Kurt had spoken up before anyone else against that, simply because he didn't want to cause problems with any other couples in the school. A petition that had been signed from every known couple at the school stating that they didn't have a problem with it stopped that argument.

Jeff had even included the notion that would allow specific students, namely the core Warblers minus Wes (who had graduated), to watch Zoe during classes, which took care of daycare. They would focus on who had study halls or independent assignments, so no one would be missing valuable class time. Zoe would be with people she liked and that Kurt trusted, and would be on campus. As long as she was in a good mood, and she usually was, she could attend Warbler practice as well.

Jeff essentially took the ideal of 'it takes a village to raise a child' and made it a functional plan. If it was agreed to, Zoe was taken care of and Kurt would be able to have his senior year at Dalton. It was a win for everyone, although Finn protested that he wouldn't get to see his niece every day and that sucked, which prompted Burt and Carole to say the same. Blaine was as happy as Kurt, because he had been thinking about transferring to McKinley, but had never said anything to Kurt.

For once, things were working out. Now all they needed to worry about was arranging everyone's class schedules and finding out who had open classes when...that, and figuring out what would need to be moved or bought for Kurt's dorm. No one wanted to be dragging lots of baby items back and forth every weekend.

The school year hadn't started yet, and already it felt like it was going to be awesome.