Senior Year Baby Blues

It was official: Summer was over.

Well, that's not totally true. Technically there was still a week left for everyone else. Dalton, though, had to have move-in week before classes started, which cut out any last minute plans. Blaine and Kurt were spending their last week before school figuring out what was staying and what needed to be brought to Dalton with them. Zoe's list was definitely longer than theirs, but that was to be expected - babies needed a lot of stuff.

Kurt meant it when he said that he was not intending to pack up the nursery, just so that he'd have to bring half of it home on the weekends - and that included clothes. Nick had made a comment that it would be funny if Zoe had a uniform too, since the whole school wore uniforms already. The only ones that had any variety were the teachers, but even then, most of them stuck to a pattern - men wore simple suits; women wore pant suits and skirts with nice tops.

The more Kurt thought about it, the better the idea sounded. He did factor in the idea that babies make messes, so he couldn't rely on a five outfit system. Instead, he went through Zoe's collection of outfits and found a good number of clothing that matched Dalton's colors. Cooper heard of the plan and bought several almost identical onesies that he was more than happy to get for his niece. Kurt figured that just because he couldn't dress different every day, didn't mean that Zoe had to.

Toys were easier – they were only bringing a couple of things. Once Zoe could focus and move around more, they'd bring more. Furniture had been trickier. Zoe was still sleeping in a bassinet in Kurt and Blaine's bedroom, and if all went well, could still use it for another month at least. If there was one thing that she didn't like yet, it was the crib. Carole and Neal had said that some babies don't take well to it at first, so using the bassinet for now was fine.

They were worried at first how long it'd last though, since Zoe was not small when she was born. Some bassinets had low weight restrictions. Lucky for them, the bassinet Kurt received at the baby shower from Kevin and Laura was a newer model that was good until the baby reached around 25 pounds or so. It also helped that Zoe, like most newborns, had lost a small amount of weight at first, giving her some extra time to enjoy her bassinet.

Dalton already had closets and dressers in the dorms, but Kurt came up with a different idea for Zoe's stuff. He had gotten some containers and had them arranged on a simple shelving unit. Each one held onesies, outfits, socks, and miscellaneous things, respectively.

They also improvised on a changing table. They had been out shopping and had found one of those benches you would keep at the end of the bed. Instead of using it for storage, they used the drawers underneath to stash diapers, wipes and powder, as well as a pad to use when actually changing Zoe, so nothing got on the seat. This way, they didn't have to drag hers from home, nor did they need to buy a second table.

Kurt had gone over his list and was checking things off as he went. So far, he'd figured out where Zoe was sleeping, how they were organizing her things, and where to change her. He wrote down a note to get his hands on a mini fridge, so that they could keep food and ready-to-use bottles cold. Blaine and himself were sharing the closet and dresser, the desk space, and the bed. There wasn't anything else major that needed to come with them.

He also noted that he'd be using the baby carrier for now as a 'containment zone' for Zoe too; even though he had plenty of volunteers to hold her, he knew that couldn't be her only option. Since she didn't like the crib, the playpen was also out of the question, at least for the time being. Kurt had made a point to Blaine, however, that they'd try weaning her into both when they were at home on the weekends, because like it or not, she'd have to get used to them eventually.

All in all, Kurt was pretty happy with himself. He'd gone to the school the week prior with Blaine to give Zoe a tour and to see their new dorm. With everything on his list more or less taken care of, it was one less thing to stress about. He flipped the page and checked on the schedule that had been set up for 'Dalton-style daycare' as Jeff called it. Zoe would come down for breakfast and lunch, and when she wasn't in the dorms, she'd be with one of the Warblers somewhere around school.

Kurt was still tutoring French, but this semester, only for three nights a week. Depending on what was going on, Zoe would be with someone or come with him. As for Warblers practice, they still needed to see how Zoe would handle it. She seemed to enjoy listening to Kurt and Blaine - and there was that one time that Finn, Puck, Nick and Jeff were jamming out - but the real test would be their first formal meeting with all of the Warblers present.

Even with all of this taken care of, Kurt still had one other thing on his mind. Even though they'd voted for Kurt to replace Wes on the council - they had done an official vote on the last day before summer vacation - he was still contemplating turning the position down. As much as he'd love to be in charge, Kurt was having doubts at being able to do it. He already had tutoring that he was committed to, and with having Zoe at school with him...he wasn't sure if he could handle all of that.

He was worried, simply because he couldn't be as driven as Wes was, or as David and Thad were. It wasn't fair to the rest of the group if he was missing because he had a baby to worry about. Because there was one thing that Kurt was 100% sure about: Zoe would always be his first priority.

David and Thad had told him not to overthink the post. Wes would always be considered as one of a kind, which was probably for the best. The council was basically in charge of keeping everyone on task, assigning parts for songs, minor event planning, and doing what was best for the group. They understood his hesitation and had offered a solution.

Though it wasn't traditional, there had been cases over the years where the council had two or four members. Most of the time, three was enough. David and Thad said that if Kurt wanted to have a fourth council member, or have a co-member to help his spot, that it would be acceptable. They flat out said that before he came, Blaine was always in the running anyway, so if the council was David, Thad, and Klaine, it wouldn't be an issue for anyone.

As far as Blaine was concerned, Kurt was Wes's replacement; he wasn't aware of any of this co-council talk. Kurt had promised the other two that it would be worked out by the time they all met at school. Kurt was actually grateful for the offer. Kurt didn't think he knew enough about being in charge of a group, and since Blaine had been their lead singer for a while, it just made sense to share the position with him. Though Kurt had gotten better, Blaine was the more confident one of the couple, and he knew that every Warbler thought highly of him.

Of course, Kurt still needed to convince Blaine to take the job. He figured he could just surprise him at their first meeting, possible while holding Zoe and pouting. He was sure that would make Blaine take it with minimal fuss if he did all of that.

"Where's this going?" Finn asked, as he and Puck carried in the storage seat/changing table.

"At the foot of the bed. You just need to swing it around before you drop it - perfect! Thanks." Kurt was trying to be more excited at how the room was turning out. Finn and Puck had been recruited to help with the furniture, while Blaine and Nick were bringing up the other stuff from the car. Kurt had tried to bring up a box of their movies and got yelled at. He was told to keep an eye on Zoe and let them handle the hard labor. Puck, of course, had jokingly said that it was the least they could do, considering Kurt did plenty of hard labor a few weeks ago. Kurt had lightly blushed at that, and kept quiet, forcing Jeff to help him put things away as the other boys brought everything up.

Zoe was awake, but starting to doze in her bassinet, which was left close to the bed and out of the way. Kurt had been lucky to convince Finn and Blaine to let him put Zoe's shelf unit together. He wanted to get as much done as he could, as soon as he could, especially while Zoe wasn't screaming for attention. Not that she screamed much, to be honest - she really was a happy baby.

"So that's the last of it, bro. I think Blaine and Nick are bringing up your schoolbags now. Is there anything that's gotta go back in the car?" Finn asked.

"Just these empty boxes, if you don't mind. It's not like we're going to need them anytime soon." Kurt looked around the room and was content with the layout. "Seriously though - thank you for the help."

"No worries, Princess. If you thought we were just going to sit back and watch you try to move all of this yourself, then you're crazier than I thought. Besides, you know I'll do anything for free pizza...and for the little princess." Kurt just rolled his eyes at Puck.

"You know, you're the only one allowed to call me that, but doesn't it get boring after a while? Santana, while insulting, at least rotates between pet names. Even Sue changes it up every once in a while."

"I'll think about it," Puck said with a smirk. "But about that pizza..."

"Do you ever think with anything but your stomach?" Puck opened his mouth, "Don't you dare answer that question Noah."

By the time the pizzas arrived, most of the room was unpacked and put away. Puck, Nick and Finn offered to bring the last few empty boxes down to the car and wait for the pizza delivery. In the meantime, Zoe had woken up and wanted to eat too. Jeff grabbed one of her bottles while Kurt made himself comfortable on the bed. Blaine picked Zoe up and handed her to Kurt, who went from crying to sniffling, just from being placed in Kurt's arms. Jeff handed him the bottle and when the others came back into the room with pizza and soda, Zoe was dozing off again.

"I forgot to tell you that my mom said she's super jealous of you."

"Why's that, Nick?" asked Kurt.

"Jeff and I mentioned how good of a baby Zoe is and my mother went off on a mini rant about how loud and cranky her children were. Couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or really meant it though..."

Jeff smirked, "Oh she meant it alright, and I hope you realized she meant all three of you. She was giving me tips on how to deal with cranky children, though she said that you hadn't really outgrown that phase yet." The rest of the boys laughed at the pout on Nick's face.

"Don't worry Nick; you know your mother loves you. She's just teasing. I admit, I'm still playing the skeptic and waiting for the other shoe to drop. At least I'm not as paranoid as Finn."

Finn shuddered, "Dude, you were not in that baby class with me. I was freaking out; thinking that having a baby home was going to be the worst thing ever! That one woman almost gave me nightmares."

Puck and Blaine looked at each other and asked Finn which woman he was referring to.

"The older woman that came to one class - the rude grandmother? We split into groups one day and we got separated. You two had the fun group and everyone in mine ended up traumatized."

Puck snapped his fingers, "That day that Tyler left early? Teresa told me that woman was psyching him out real bad. I thought she was kidding."

Blaine finally realized who they were talking about, "Oh her. I asked Susan about her and she said that she was a bitter, senile, old woman and kicked her out of the class...told her to take a chill pill before opening her mouth again."

Jeff, Nick and Kurt just stared at the trio before looking at each other. "You mean Crazy Mrs. Grady? She crashed one of my birthing classes. Erin had to call hospital security and kick her out. She was yelling and making no sense - she sent Maria into labor, she was so scared. Luckily, she was due soon anyway, and she and her son were fine."

Blaine looked at Jeff, "When did this happen? I always went with Kurt to his classes."

"Remember when you high on cold medicine a few months ago? I volunteered to take him while Nick made sure you stayed in bed."

"Oh...I don't remember much of that week at all."

"Dude you were so out of it - next time I'm recording you when you're stoned on cold meds. It was hilarious." Blaine blushed at Puck's teasing, who toned it down once he felt the wrath of Kurt's glare.

Not too much later, Finn and Puck headed home, while Nick and Jeff left to get their rooms situated. Kurt was tired and was leaning into Blaine heavily, enjoying the way Blaine ran his fingers through his hair. Zoe was asleep, and would be for, hopefully, a few hours more. Blaine looked at the clock and felt ready for bed, even though it was only 9:30 pm. He made sure Kurt was comfortable on the bed before heading into the shower. After spending the whole day moving, he was looking forward to a hot shower.

He was surprised to see Kurt awake and attempting to get ready for bed when he exited the bathroom. Kurt didn't seem aware that Blaine had reentered the room, too focused on his skin care routine, which had been shortened to a much easier-to-manage routine. Once Kurt entered his third trimester, he had experienced several nights where he had almost fallen asleep at his vanity. Watching him now was hard; it was like his heart wasn't in it.

Blaine was worried about his boyfriend. Kurt seemed to be quieter than usual and often looked like he was not really with it. His appetite hadn't been all that great for a while as well; yeah, Kurt ate when he had food, but Blaine couldn't remember the last time Kurt finished a plate. He'd actually asked Kurt if he was purposely not eating much, as a misguided effort to lose weight, but Kurt had told him that he just wasn't as hungry as before.

The tiredness was expected. Even though Zoe was a good baby, she was still only a month old. She woke up every few hours crying, but it usually wasn't a problem. Granted, Kurt had probably gotten less sleep than Blaine, but not so much more that he should be in the state he's in. Little by little, this new Kurt was getting noticed. Finn and Puck had been suspicious and after talking it over with Burt and Carole, they wondered if Kurt was suffering from postpartum depression, or at least some kind of post baby blues.

Jeff was worried too. He thought that since Kurt seemed fine after having Zoe, that he wouldn't get it. After talking to Carole about it, he found out that postpartum varied from case to case, and sometimes took time before it hit. He wasn't fully convinced that Kurt had it, but he had to admit that Kurt wasn't his happy normal self.

Blaine waited for Kurt to notice he was standing behind him. Kurt finished his bedtime ritual and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He jumped a little when he turned around, confirming Blaine's suspicion that Kurt hadn't noticed him there.

"Geez, Blaine. Warn a guy...I didn't hear you get out of the bathroom."

"Kurt, I've been standing here for ten minutes." Blaine watched Kurt's mouth open and close, not knowing how to respond. Blaine walked up to him and gently pulled him onto the bed. He saw his sweetheart's tired eyes, leaned back against the headboard, and tucked them both in. He wasn't sure what to say, but didn't have to wait long for a response.

"I think something's wrong with me." Blaine looked down at Kurt, not liking the lost look in his eyes.

"What do you mean, Kurt?" Blaine wanted Kurt to tell him how he was feeling, hoping and dreading to hear his answer.

"I don't know. I feel off, I guess. I know some of you have noticed. I'm tired, I haven't been eating well - and not for lack of trying - sometimes it's an effort to feel happy. I don't understand why; I was fine a few weeks ago. I have a wonderful boyfriend and gave birth to an angel of a daughter, so why aren't I happy?"

Blaine kept stroking Kurt's hair, feeling him relax the longer he kept it up. "I think the having a baby part is the main culprit. Your hormones have been all over the place for months, and now your body is trying to get back in sync. This is normal, and we'll handle it just like we've handled everything else."

Kurt was quiet for a few minutes, "You think I have PPD, don't you? I was hoping to avoid that. I was fine until a couple of weeks ago."

Blaine just hugged Kurt closer to him. "Honey, if you had managed to avoid it entirely, I would've been really shocked. I'm just glad you've noticed that you haven't been yourself lately. I was worried about bringing it up. I think you're just a little stressed out right now, and that's why I was grateful that you were okay with moving back here so early in the week."

"How does us being here early help, exactly?"

"Well, it's just the three of us living together. We have a routine that we've been using the last month, and we still need to tweak it for school days. And don't think I've forgotten about the whole separation anxiety thing either. That's why Nick and Jeff are here early too."

"Why? So they can watch me have panic attacks?"

"No. We're going to have a day out tomorrow. You've been spending all your time at home with Zoe and you need a change of scenery. Niff will take care of Zoe, while I take care of you. All I'm asking for is for a few hours to have you to myself. You trust me, don't you?"

"I do, and I'm sorry. You're right - I haven't made much of an attempt to do more than stay home with Zoe, but I'm willing to try."

Blaine smiled and kissed the top of Kurt's head. "I promise this will help, but if at any point you want to come back here, we will. I'm not going to keep you away from your daughter - that would be mean."

Kurt laughed softly, "And planning on kidnapping me isn't?"

"It's not kidnapping if I warn you ahead of time." Blaine couldn't help grinning. "Get some sleep; I'll handle Zoe when she wakes up." Kurt was asleep minutes later, proving how tired he really was. Blaine heard Zoe moving around and knew that was his cue to get his plan rolling. He quietly got out of the bed and made his way over to Zoe, who just needed her blanket adjusted.

Blaine opened the side table drawer and pulled out a pair of familiar headphones. When Blaine put them on Kurt that first time months ago, he thought he was crazy, but they really did help. Kurt had never been a very deep sleeper but during his third trimester, he woke up to sounds that never bothered him before. Blaine had found the headphones in one of the boxes that Cooper had left for him. Blaine had used them to tune out his parents and blast his music as loud as he could stand. It had worked wonders for Kurt, who was finally able to sleep undisturbed.

Blaine maneuvered the headphones onto Kurt's ears, barely moving as he did so. He clapped a few times and Kurt didn't move at all. Zoe did, and Blaine let her cry for a few seconds, further proving that Kurt wasn't able to hear anything. He took care of Zoe and she was back to sleep in no time.

Thus, the first part of his plan was in motion.

Blaine woke up with Zoe only twice during the night, the second time acting as an alarm clock of sorts, since it was a little after seven in the morning. Kurt looked like he hadn't moved at all during the night. Blaine got Zoe fed and cleaned up before he packed up the diaper bag with everything she'd need on her day out. At first, Blaine was just going to have Nick pick her up without Kurt seeing her, but scratched that idea. He was already putting Kurt on edge with his impending 'kidnapping', so having Zoe missing when he woke up probably wouldn't go over well.

Blaine gently took the headphones off of Kurt's ears and put them away. He sat on the bed and began to coax Kurt awake.

"Kurt. Sweetheart, it's time to get up." Kurt reacted by burying his head into his pillow and mumbling something about the time. "Kurt, it's after eight already." Kurt's eyes flew open and he sat up on the bed, not believing Blaine. Sure enough, the clock was showing a time of 8:09 am.

"Did you drug me last night or something? How the hell didn't I wake up at all? There's no freaking way Zoe slept the whole night." Blaine was expecting this, so he took Kurt's hands in his and explained.

"No I didn't drug you. I used the headphones and took care of Zoe when she woke up twice. You actually slept a full ten hours last night, undisturbed...how do you feel?"

Kurt stared at Blaine for a moment, still trying to calm his heart rate. I slept all night? he thought. "Good, I guess. I don't remember the last time I did that."

"That's why that was part one of your day: Getting a full night's sleep. Now, Zoe is up and ready to go, so how about you say good morning and tell her you'll see her later while I call Nick? He's gonna take care of her with Jeff." Kurt opened his mouth to protest. "No - you need a break, and Zoe needs to get used to other people when you're not in the immediate vicinity. Trust me."

Kurt sighed in defeat and nodded. Blaine smiled and passed Zoe to Kurt, who was in a good mood herself. Kurt smiled at her and gently rocked her in his arms. Blaine called Nick and said to come over whenever to pick her up. He hung up his cell in time to hear Kurt gasp.

"Blaine - look!" Blaine came over to the bed and saw the Kurt tearing up again, but he was smiling. He looked at Zoe and found out why.

She was smiling back.

"She hasn't done that yet, has she? Oh look how cute you are, sweetie." Blaine smiled hard and snapped a quick picture with his phone. He had been waiting for Zoe to do that since she was born.

"See - and you were worried that you were doing something wrong. She looks pretty happy to me." Kurt made a noise as if agreeing with Blaine, but he was too focused on Zoe's face to do much else. A few minutes later, they heard a knock on the door. Blaine got off of the bed and opened the door to see a wide awake Nick and a not-so-awake Jeff.

"We're here to take your kid - why are you so happy?" Nick asked as Jeff went over to the bed. He let off a soft squeal and quickly pulled Nick closer to see.

"She's smiling Nick! She is even cuter now!" Nick and Blaine rolled their eyes and laughed at the bouncing blonde. Kurt chuckled before kissing Zoe and handing her off to Jeff. Blaine stared, not expecting him to give her up so easily, but he wasn't about to complain.

"You two better take care of her or no one will be able to find your bodies, understood? I'm going to get dressed and freshen up, and I expect you three gone when I get back. Otherwise, I'm going to back out of Blaine's plans and that would be rude." Kurt kissed Zoe one more time before jumping into the bathroom. The boys stared at each other in shock.

"Did you drug him last night or something?"

"Why do I keep getting asked that?!" Blaine ignored Nick's laughter and threw the diaper bag at his head, before pushing the trio out the door. Kurt seemed genuinely excited to go out, and Blaine was taking full advantage of that.

Blaine didn't have any real plans, simply because he didn't expect to get Kurt out of their dorm in the first place. So he decided to just play it by ear. First thing he did was take Kurt off campus for breakfast. There was a café that they'd gone to before that served pancakes that Kurt said were some of the best he'd ever had, after Blaine's and his mother's, of course. That was Blaine's best bet at getting Kurt back to eating better.

And it worked. Kurt managed to just finish his short stack and seemed pretty happy with himself. Blaine took him out afterwards and they spent the day roaming around Westerville, with no real destination in mind. Kurt did start feeling anxious by mid-afternoon, but a few picture texts from Jeff alleviated some of his anxiety.

Blaine had been watching Kurt since they'd left and was amazed at how well Kurt was handling being away from Zoe. Today's outing would be the longest time Kurt and Zoe had been separated. Blaine's initial idea was to keep Kurt away from Zoe for at least the same amount of time as a typical school day. Since Kurt hadn't been begging to return to Dalton, they grabbed an early dinner at Westerville's equivalent to Breadstix, a nice little place called Aggie's, where Kurt surprised Blaine again by managing to clear his plate and by talking about how he'd been feeling lately.

Blaine sat through dinner and their stroll back to Dalton afterwards just listening to Kurt talk, prompting questions every once in a while to keep things moving. By the time they got back to their dorm room, Kurt could honestly say that his somewhat forced day out was something that he needed, but said that he'd feel even better once he had Zoe back. A quick text to Nick and Zoe was returned, sleepy, content and in one piece. Kurt gave Nick and Jeff his thanks and said goodnight. Zoe fell asleep pretty quickly after that, leaving Kurt and Blaine awake, but tired.

Kurt said that he was going to take a shower and asked Blaine to pick a movie to watch before they went to bed. While Kurt was in the bathroom, he made a quick phone call to Burt and Carole, who had been waiting to hear how Kurt was feeling. Blaine could tell right away that the couple put him on speakerphone, so they could hear each other better. After some quick 'hellos', it didn't take much for Burt to ask how their day went.

"Much better than expected, although the full night of sleep seemed to be the key to a good start."

"How did you get him to sleep?" asked Carole, who shushed Burt and smacked him for muttering something about drugging his son.

"Oh my god, I didn't drug him! Remember the headphones I used while he was pregnant - the noise cancelling ones? Once he fell asleep last night, I put them on him so he wouldn't wake up when Zoe did. I took care of her when she woke up twice, and only had to deal with a slightly panicky Kurt when he woke up. I had Zoe packed up and ready to go before he did, hoping that he wouldn't fight me on doing this whole day out.

"He didn't put up too much of a fight when Nick and Jeff showed up to take Zoe, though he did threaten bodily harm. I think her smiling helped put him at ease."

Carole laughed, "He gets that from Burt - I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Hey!" Burt protested.

"Sorry dear, but it's true. Wait, Zoe smiled? A real smile?"

"Don't worry I took a picture. It was kinda funny actually. After that, Kurt willingly gave Zoe to Jeff, I threw the diaper bag at Nick's head and they were gone before Kurt was dressed."

"Why did you throw the bag at his head?" Carole asked.

"Because he accused me of drugging Kurt. I let it slide with Kurt because, seriously, I would've asked the same thing. Anyway, we got pancakes for breakfast, which he managed to finish, and then we spent the day wandering around town. We made it until around 2:30 or so before he started to get antsy, but Jeff sent a couple of texts proving that Zoe was fine, which seemed to help. We had dinner and talked, and eventually got back here."

"How was the talking part? What was he stressing over?" asked Burt.

"Pretty much what we figured: Zoe, school, Warblers stuff, senior year, us. He finally mentioned something that David and Thad told him to think about regarding the council. The two of us will be co-captains, of sorts. He was concerned that he wouldn't be as focused as he should be for the group and was considering stepping down. Luckily, those two told him he didn't need to be the next Wes, and gave him an out.

"He also didn't think he would've lasted the whole day away from Zoe and he was able to prove to himself that he could, which brought his stress level down some more. We talked about what our daily routines would be like starting next week, and that helped a lot as well."

"Any parent that has to leave their child with others, even if it's someone you know and trust, is a difficult thing to do. It'll get easier, but it's a major adjustment. I'm glad he did as well as he did."

Blaine agreed with Carole, "Yeah, I'm not sure who was more surprised about that part. He was definitely in a better mood by the time we got back. He asked for Zoe and the boys brought her over ready for bed. Kurt's finishing up in the bathroom and we're gonna watch a movie before we go to bed."

Blaine was lost in thought for a minute, thinking over their earlier conversation. "I don't think we need to worry about Kurt having postpartum depression; I think it was all mainly stress. We discussed a lot of things that had been bothering him, but it was mostly him being too hard on himself. He didn't want to let anyone down, and was afraid to really just ask for help. I told him that we loved him and that I don't plan on leaving anytime soon.

"He was also feeling insecure about himself. He thought I wouldn't want to be with him looking the way he does. He's convinced that if he can't get rid of the weight he gained, that I'll leave him. He's so focused on thoughts like that, that he hasn't noticed that he's already lost several pounds as it is. Personally, I think he looks better now; I always felt he was a little on the skinny side."

Blaine heard Burt sigh in relief. "I wish he wasn't so damn independent all the time. Did he really think we were just gonna hang him out to dry?"

"Pregnancy messes with your head and your emotions," said Carole. "Believe me, I understand where he's coming from. The important thing is to remember that we didn't ignore this and it's being taken care of. Blaine will let us know if there are any other problems, and we'll make sure that we keep tabs on him ourselves. As long as Kurt has our love and support, he'll be fine."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself. I'll be sure to let you know if anything comes up. But Burt, can I ask you about one thing? Has Kurt had problems before with his weight? Months ago when he first started gaining weight, he almost had a panic attack about it, and don't get me started on how he reacted when he hit 45 pounds," Blaine heard the shower stop and knew he was running out of time.

"The weight issue started back when Kurt was a baby. You know that he was a preemie. Well, we had a hard time getting him to keep his weight up, and that lasted for most of his childhood. While it slowly got better as he got older, it was still a struggle sometimes to get him to eat. When he got older, some kids in school teased him into thinking that he was fat when they weren't exactly small themselves. That's really when his healthy food phase started, and while it's annoying at times, at least he's eating."

Though Blaine couldn't see them, Carole was staring at Burt in shock. If she was honest, she had always been curious about Kurt's eating habits, since they were so opposite from Burt's. She was going to ask him something, but he shook his head and mouthed 'later', so she let it go for now. Blaine took the moment of silence to end the conversation.

"Listen, Kurt's almost done, so I'm going to hang up. Don't go too far, because I have a feeling that Kurt's going to call you and tell you how his forced day out was."

"We'll be here. Thank you Blaine. Let us know if any of you need anything."

"Thanks. I'll talk to you both later. Night." Blaine hung up and looked over at their bookcase, making a slight mess as if he couldn't decide what movie he wanted to watch, and to make it look like he hadn't just had a deep conversation with his boyfriend's parents.

"You having a conniption or something, honey? Usually you just grab the same movie or two and we spend ten minutes debating which is the better choice." Blaine turned around and grinned at Kurt.

"I didn't know what I was in the mood for, and then I noticed that they weren't in any kind of order, so I was organizing them." Kurt rolled his eyes and made his way over to Blaine and randomly picked a movie.

"We'll watch this. Go take a shower so we can snuggle. Zoe won't be awake for a while yet. I'll probably give Dad a call while you're doing that. I missed his call earlier, and I promised to call him back." Kurt gave Blaine a little push towards the bathroom.

"Alright, alright, I'm going. Tell him I said 'hi'. I'll be right out." Blaine took his time grabbing some pajamas and was laughing to himself as he listened to Kurt tell his father how annoying and endearing his boyfriend was. Kurt hadn't been this animated for some time, and everyone was glad to see him almost back to normal.

Kurt had just hung up when Blaine left the bathroom. The movie was all set so all Blaine had to do was jump on the bed. Kurt got under the covers and had immediately snuggled up to Blaine. They were about a third of the way in, when Blaine heard Kurt sigh.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm better than okay, especially after everything you did for me today. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Kurt. I was worried about you, and I couldn't just sit around and wait for you to tell me what was wrong."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that. I've just been so down lately and I wasn't sure why. I have to admit, getting out and doing something helped; the talking too. I was afraid that I wouldn't make sense, and I didn't want to be a bother."

"See, that's something you always seem to forget about. I love you. If you ever feel overwhelmed or worried, talk to me. I'm here for you, and even though sometimes I wish I was, I'm not psychic. Next time you feel like this, let me know. Just because you're the mama, doesn't mean you're the only one that worries." Blaine laughed as he heard Kurt moan into his chest.

"I had a feeling you were going to say that, and I love you too. My dad said something that got me thinking. He mentioned that my independence is one of those things that's both a blessing and a curse. I never looked at it that way, but he had a point. I've never been good at talking to people about how I feel. Granted, Dad and I have improved since I came out, but you're the only person I feel completely comfortable to talk to - about anything. I don't think I've ever really thanked you for that."

"You never have to thank me, Kurt. We're in this together, and I promise that I'll always be here for you, Zoe too. No matter what happens, I'll always be here to lend an ear, a shoulder, or whatever body part you want. Just remember this: I'll never say goodbye to you. The sooner you get that through your head, the better."

"So we're stuck with each other forever? I think I like the sound of that."

After his little intervention, Kurt was doing much better and feeling more like his normal self. He still wasn't 100%, but getting there. He figured that if he could get through the first full day of school, then that was a sign that this year would be manageable. The routine they were aiming for was something like this:

Zoe would wake them up by six, hopefully after sleeping most of the night through. They would take turns getting ready, so that by a quarter to seven, the three of them were out the door and heading down for breakfast. They were hoping to be up and downstairs by seven, pass off Zoe off to her first sitter of the day, and be in class at eight. They left plenty of time for any unexpected problems - oversleeping, fussy Zoe - so that everyone could be wherever they needed to be on time.

Over the last week as more of the students made it on campus, Zoe was passed around and introduced to all of the current Warblers, causing anyone that met her to instantly fall in love. It turned out that the now sophomore and junior Warblers were surprisingly awesome with Zoe. It was then determined that they could fill in as backups in case anyone else became unavailable to watch Zoe during the day for whatever reason.

The true test came Monday morning.

Zoe, thankfully, didn't put up much of a fuss in being packed up so early. They made a bottle to feed her once they made it to breakfast, and double-checked her bag. Initially, Zoe was going to be staying in the dorms for the most part, but when they were making arrangements, they had forgotten to take into account the distance between the dorms and the rest of the school. So it was decided that it would be easier for one sitter to meet the next one in designated spots. Kurt had memorized the schedule and knew the alternates, as well as when he'd get to see Zoe during the day.

Nick's free period was first. He'd take Zoe from Kurt at breakfast and keep her occupied until he could pass her off to David by the computer lab. David would meet Thad in the science hallway, who'd pass her off to Jeff on his way to Italian. Jeff and Trent would swap Zoe for books - they had split the cost for the reading assignments for English. Trent was in charge of bringing Zoe to lunch or risk Kurt's wrath. Afterwards, Blaine would put her down for a nap in the Warbler hall - since they would have practice three days a week once they got going - and wait for Beatz to come. He probably had it easiest, since she'd be sleeping until Kurt - and whoever else - came to pick her up. If there was rehearsal, they'd stay; if not, they'd find somewhere else to go. The younger Warblers were on standby, just in case.

At breakfast, it was easy to see that Kurt was not giving up Zoe until the last possible second. When it was time to leave, Blaine had to gently pry Zoe from Kurt so that they could get to class on time. Nick told Kurt that it would be lunch in no time, and that she'd be fine until then. It took some doing, but between Jeff and Trent, Kurt was dragged away from his daughter, while Zoe seemed content to just smile at Nick from her carrier.

"Welcome to your first day of school, Zoe. I know it's a bit early for you to be here, but we're going to have fun. But before we go..." Nick grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note on it, placed it on Zoe's lap and snapped a picture. Nick laughed and sent it to Kurt, hoping it would help a little bit.

"I bet Mama is going to like that, what do you think?" Nick got a spit bubble as a response. "Good answer sweetie."

----Meanwhile, on the other side of the school----

"You know what? I've changed my mind - I can't do this." Kurt attempted to turn around, but was stopped by Jeff and Trent.

"Oh no you don't. You can do this. You just have to make it through five classes, and then you can hold her during lunch. She'll be fine. We watched her last week, and that went well."

Kurt bit his lip, "Yeah I know...but at least then, I could go to her. I can't skip classes. What if something happens?" An incoming text interrupted his panic attack. He waited for the picture to load and the other two boys watched as the tension lessoned in Kurt's shoulders. "Never mind...let's go to class." Trent and Jeff were both thinking WTF!? and quickly followed Kurt down the hall. Before either of them could question him, Jeff's phone beeped. Once he saw the picture and shared it with Trent, it became clear.

The picture was of Zoe with a piece of paper that said, real big:

LEARN ME SUMFIN MAMA!! I SEES U L8R!!

What made it unique was the misspelled word and text slang, not to mention that a couple of the letters were backwards. The highlight was of Zoe smiling. Both boys decided that if Kurt was going to make it through today, this was the way to do it. Jeff told Nick to tell David to do something similar and pass it on to the rest of the boys. It was cute and easy to do, and made everyone happy.

Especially Kurt.

By lunchtime, Kurt was less anxious, not just because he was able to see Zoe for the first time since breakfast, but because the boys had made the first day away from her easier to handle. He received good reports from all five boys so far, and Zoe was happy and content. He was so thrilled to have her back for lunch, that when it was time for Blaine to take her, Kurt thought he was joking.

Sadly, Kurt had to hand her over to his boyfriend so he could go to his next class. Jeff once again dragged Kurt away as Blaine packed them up and headed towards the Warblers' room to put her down for a nap. She was almost asleep just from Kurt holding her, so it didn't take long for Blaine to get her settled. When Beatz arrived to take over, Zoe was still asleep. He took the last picture of the day and sent it to Kurt, knowing that as soon as his last class finished, Kurt would be flying in the room within minutes.

Sure enough, six minutes after classes ended for the day, Kurt showed up and ran right up to Zoe's carrier. As if knowing he was there, Zoe started to move around and cry, indicating that she wanted to be picked up and fed. Kurt complied quickly, gently rocking Zoe while Beatz laughed and shook up a bottle for her.

"Hello baby – I missed you so much today." Beatz stood over to the side and mock pouted, "What am I – chopped liver?" Kurt didn't respond right away, too focused on cuddling Zoe. "Kurt?"

"Don't say anything right now, Jon. It's been a long day." Beatz was only a little shocked at hearing his name – the Warblers usually didn't use it– but he let it slide, knowing Kurt had had a long day. Once she was eating, Kurt sighed and looked at Beatz, who was standing by, amused and concerned at the same time.

"Kurt, are you alright? You seemed fine all day. We thought the texts would help you out a little bit."

"Oh they did; believe me they did." Kurt sighed, "I'm sorry. I just couldn't help the feeling that I was abandoning her. I knew she was in capable hands...I just..."

"Don't be sorry. I get it – it's hard. And for the record, she missed you too. You should be proud of yourself for making it through the first day of school in one piece, Zoe too."

Kurt weakly smiled at him as the other boys filed into the room. Blaine walked over to them and saw the smirk on Beatz's face and the look of relief on Kurt's. "I guess someone is happy to be done class for the day."

Kurt slightly glared at Blaine while Beatz just laughed. "Yes I'm happy to be done for the day, smartass. If you were me, you'd be feeling the same way."

Blaine knew it had been a long day for Kurt, so being the good boyfriend he was, he shut up and pulled Kurt into a hug. "I'm sorry - I couldn't resist a little teasing. Just think, four more days and it's the weekend." Kurt groaned into Blaine's shoulder.

"You just had to go there, didn't you?"

"Sorry sweetheart. I love you."

"You know what? I think you should sleep on the floor for that," said Beatz.

Blaine stared at him in shock, "What!?"

Kurt laughed and looked first at Beatz, then Blaine. "That's an idea...unless you can make it up to me."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at him, "And how, pray tell, can I make it up to you?"

Kurt just smirked and said, "I'm sure you can think of something," before walking over to the couch to join Jeff. Blaine's jaw dropped and Beatz was bent over laughing.

"Dude - you should've quit while you were ahead."

"Shut up Jon."

Nick saw a dejected Blaine and made his way over to the two boys. "What just happened over here?"

"Blaine was being smart so I suggested to Kurt that he sleep on the floor. Kurt decided to be sassy and said that Blaine should then find a way to make it up to him."

Nick looked at Beatz for a moment before turning to Blaine, "Make up to him how? Judging by his reaction," pointing at Beatz, "he's thinking in the gutter. I didn't think you two were doing that yet."

Beatz finally stopped laughing and stared at the two of them. "Wait – you and Kurt haven't..."

Blaine blushed in response, "No, we haven't gone that far yet."

Beatz looked a little guilty, "My bad. What did Kurt mean, then, when he said that? I mean, the way he said that..."

It was finally Blaine's turn to smirk, "What? Just because we don't have sex, doesn't mean we don't do plenty of other things in the meantime." After saying that, he walked off, leaving Nick laughing at Beatz's expense.

"I am so confused right now."

Nick clapped Beatz on the shoulder and started propelling him toward one of the chairs. "You'd think by now you'd know when to stop and walk away." The other boy was still mumbling to himself, "They don't have sex but do 'other things'? What the hell does that even mean?"

Kurt noticed the dazed look on Beatz's face as Nick led him to a seat. "Blaine, darling, what did you say to him?"

Blaine smiled sweetly, "Nothing, dear. He's just a little overwhelmed at the moment, that's all."

Nick rolled his eyes and whispered to Kurt what just happened, resulting in a smack to Blaine's arm.

"OW! What was that for!?"

"For implying things and messing with Jon's head. I was talking about a massage or a coffee date, and you just suggest something like that? You're on the floor tonight." With that, Kurt got up and moved to another sofa, leaving a flabbergasted Blaine behind.