Saturday Night Antics

The semester continued on. Zoe had gotten bigger, the couples were still going strong, and the Warblers were sounding better than ever. After his talk with Kurt and Blaine, Sebastian started to come out of his shell more and started to hang out with the Warblers. He even started coming to meals during busy times, and though it was slow-going, he was making progress and hadn't had any panic attacks. Strangely enough, Sebastian was bravest when he was with Zoe.

Actually, most of the guys were different when they were with Zoe.

Kurt first noticed it back when school started. Zoe became a miracle cure for the Warblers. Whenever someone needed to calm down, de-stress or relax, holding her was the equivalent to taking a nap, meditating or taking an aspirin. For obvious reasons, the only time Zoe was not allowed to be used as a treatment, so to speak, was when someone was sick; though Zoe was able to make anyone feel a little better just by smiling.

In any case, Dalton had transitioned well to having a baby girl living on campus. The teachers enjoyed her presence, and there were plenty of non-Warblers that loved her from afar. Kurt felt very lucky to be in a place where he didn't have to worry about walking around - on his own or with Zoe.

Besides Kurt and Daddy Blaine - which is what everyone referred to him as - Jeff, Nick, and surprisingly Sebastian, had become Zoe's favorite people to hang with. The rest of the Warblers came next, and while Kurt would never try to rank them, that didn't stop them from mock-fighting to see who Zoe loved more. That usually resulted in Kurt rolling his eyes and leaving them to argue amongst themselves.

Before anyone realized it, the semester was half over.

"Brittany, sweetie, I'm a little confused here."

"I know you know a lot about food - you cook the best stuff! I just need to know what to feed a leprechaun. Mine hasn't been eating the last couple of days and I'm worried about him disappearing."

It was a typical Saturday morning in Lima. Kurt, Blaine and Zoe had come home the previous night in order to spend the weekend. Blaine was in the middle of feeding Zoe, while Burt, Carole and Finn were eating breakfast. Kurt had woken up in a good mood and had made food for everyone. Brittany had called him to say hi and ask him an important question, which confused the countertenor to no end.

"Honey, can I call you back? Let me check my cookbook, and I'll let you know, okay?"

"Thanks Kurtie! I have to look for Lord Tubbington anyway. I hid his cigarettes and he's probably looking for them."

Kurt said goodbye and hung up with her. Blaine saw his look of confusion and asked what the call was about.

"Well apparently, Lord Tubbington is smoking again," to which Burt and Carole just shook their heads at, "but the main reason she called is because she wants to know what to feed a leprechaun."

"Wait, what?" asked Finn, suddenly more awake than a minute ago.

"Yeah. She said that her leprechaun hasn't been eating well the last few days and she's worried about him. Do you know what she's talking about? Am I missing something?"

"She's probably talking about Rory," said Finn.

"Who's he?" asked Kurt.

"He's an exchange student from Ireland; he's staying with Brittany's family. He's pretty cool. Mike, Sam and I take turns watching him in the hallways. Rory is a new addition to the group."

Kurt sighed, "Well that makes sense now. He's probably just homesick."

Blaine asked, "Did he join New Directions already? How's the group doing?"

Blaine wasn't sure if Finn was actually going to say anything because of Rachel. He'd made that mistake a few weeks ago when they'd met up at the mall. Blaine had just innocently asked how school was going for everyone, and Rachel assumed that Blaine was fishing for details about Glee club and had pitched a fit.

Finn rolled his eyes and answered, "You know us - drama central. We've started to recruit some of the band kids to fill in since we've lost Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes to Sugar's group, and Lauren left. I'm just glad Rory decided to audition. If Kurt was still with us, it would be awesome to hear both of them together."

Kurt looked up from the cookbook he was looking through, "Huh? Why's that?"

"He's a bass-baritone - does that sound right? - but he can sing high like you too. It was pretty cool."

Kurt hummed in agreement, but looked intrigued. Blaine hid a smirk, knowing that if Kurt was interested in meeting the new kid before, he really wanted to meet him now. Kurt's next statement proved it.

"You know, Finn, we should invite Rory over for dinner one night. If Brittany's noticed something wrong, maybe a home-cooked meal he's used to, will make him feel better."

"That sounds awesome. We can ask him later - the guys are coming over to play video games."

"Oh that's right; I forgot," said Kurt, "I'm sure you won't mind introducing us then, before you get sucked into your game?"

"No problem. Blaine, you wanna join in? Kurt usually stays away unless I get stuck and he's sick of hearing me whine...then he steals the controller and gets me to the next level without telling me how he did it."

Blaine smirked as he heard Kurt chuckle evilly to himself. "I may just take you up on that offer, Finn. What are you playing?"

"No idea. We figured we'd decide once everyone got here." Finn got up from the table and put his dish in the sink. "I'm gonna pick up Rory now and grab some snacks for later. Need anything while I'm out?"

Kurt thought for a second, and then shook his head. "I have to get a couple things, but they can wait till later."

"You sure? We're gonna stop at the supermarket." Kurt bit his lip. "Is it for Zoe?"

"Yeah..."

"Diapers? Formula? What?"

"Both...you sure you don't mind? I don't want a repeat of the first time you offered." Kurt wasn't worried about Finn buying the wrong items; Finn knew which size and brands to buy, but he didn't want him to have any problems at the store. Kurt was hesitant, but for a good reason.

The first time Finn went shopping with Kurt, the cashier had made several nasty comments – mostly about stupid teenagers getting pregnant - and Finn almost took the guy out. As luck would have it, the store manager - who happened to be one of their neighbors - stepped in before it got physical. Not only was the cashier fired - that hadn't been the first time he'd gotten into it with customers - but they were given valuable store coupons. Ever since then, Kurt did his best to do the shopping himself, though that wasn't always a feasible option.

Finn rolled his eyes at Kurt. He knew his brother meant well, but that only happened once - Finn had gone with him, and alone, on a few baby runs since then without hassle. "It's really not a problem. We still have coupons, right?"

Kurt smiled and got up from the table, "Yeah. I'll go grab them." Kurt ran upstairs to grab the coupons and some cash to give to Finn, while the tall teen turned to Blaine, who'd been watching without comment.

"Is he always gonna be like that? I feel bad if I don't offer and I really don't mind buying baby-related stuff. It doesn't bother me, and I don't care what people say."

Blaine sighed, "I don't think so, but remember what he was like when that incident happened? He was still in that new parent, semi-depressed, worried-about-everything mindset, and that cashier did nothing to help. Kurt knows that you don't mind, but people talk, and it still bothers him that he was the cause of the problem."

It was Finn's turn to sigh, but in exasperation. "Yeah, well, it wasn't his fault he was off his game. That was the only week Zoe wouldn't sleep and Kurt spent most of that time sick himself."

"We know you can take care of yourself, Finn, but you know Kurt: He's a parent, which means he worries. Don't overthink it." Blaine left it at that, just as Kurt returned with the promised coupons.

"Here, Finn, coupons and cash - don't argue. Thanks, by the way."

"Like I said, it's no problem. I'll be back later with Rory. See you in a bit." Finn walked out of the house, leaving Kurt, Blaine and Zoe in the kitchen, Burt and Carole having left already. Blaine passed Zoe off to Kurt so he could clean up from breakfast.

"So this Rory sounds like fun."

"I'm wondering about the leprechaun comment that Britt made. Do you think she really believes he's a leprechaun?" asked Kurt.

"Well, Brittany thinks that her cat is a smoker, so anything's possible," said Blaine. "What - you think she thinks that he can grant wishes or something?" He laughed until he saw the look on Kurt's face. "Kurt?"

"I love Brittany, but sometimes I wonder about her thought process. I mean, she calls us dolphins because she says they're gay sharks, and since we're gay, there's a correlation. Yeah, she could be calling him a leprechaun because he's Irish, but I doubt that."

"Well how about this: we just ask Rory later. Until then, don't worry about it."

"If you say so."

Rory was a little confused as he and Finn walked into the supermarket. Finn mentioned that they were picking up snacks, but he was curious as to why they were in the baby aisle.

"Hey Finn, why are you buying diapers?" Finn answered, slightly distracted.

"I told Kurt that I'd pick up a couple things for him while we were here for Zoe."

Rory was still puzzled. He remembered Finn mention that he had a step-brother named Kurt, but he didn't remember him mentioning a sister. "Um, who's Zoe?"

"Oh, she's my niece." Rory stopped walking and just stared at Finn. Then it clicked.

"Wait a second - Kurt has a kid? Aren't you guys the same age?" Finn bit his lip, as he contemplated how to answer the unasked question:

Why does Kurt have a kid?

"Look, I'll explain in the car....just not here." Seriously intrigued by now, Rory relented and just nodded in agreement; he could wait.

Finn gave him a small smile and walked to the end of the aisle to grab formula. Rory followed Finn to the checkout counter, watching the way Finn interacted with the cashier. If he was honest with himself, Rory was expecting her to make a comment about the baby items, but Finn just handed her some coupons and money, and before he knew it, they were in the car on the way to Finn's house.

Rory waited, albeit a little impatiently, for Finn to start talking. He could tell by Finn's reaction in the supermarket that Zoe was a sensitive topic, but that just made him more confused. Finn, and the New Directions as a whole, had mentioned Kurt a couple of times since he joined the group, but they'd never mentioned a baby.

Finn knew he'd said that he'd explain, but he didn't know what to say. It always felt strange for him to explain anything in regards to what happened to Kurt; it wasn't his story to tell. But he also didn't want Kurt to be questioned at the door, nor did he want Rory to go in with the wrong idea. Finn took a deep breath and just started talking.

"I don't want you to think that we're keeping a secret from you, dude, but the whole story isn't mine to tell. I'm not gonna go into detail, but you should have some idea about what's going on. Can you deal with that?"

Rory was quiet for a minute, but then nodded. "I understand that, and I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble with Kurt. You don't have to tell me anything, though a hint or two would help. I don't want to offend anyone on accident."

Finn sent Rory a smile as he drove. "I'll give you the short version; if Kurt feels up to telling you more, then he can. You know how you've had a couple of run-ins with the jocks? Well, there was one in particular last year that was always after Kurt. One day things hit a breaking point, he hurt Kurt badly, and Zoe was the result. I hope I don't have to explain what that means."

Rory sat in shock. No, he thought, you don't have to explain what that means. "Oh, god. He did that to Kurt? What happened to him?"

"Me and some of the guys found them before anything more could happen. He was arrested and sent to prison; Kurt was in the hospital for a couple of days, and then home for a little bit after that. Once he was cleared to go back to school, he was enrolled at Dalton - that's where he met Blaine, his boyfriend. We found out he was pregnant before Christmas, and Zoe was born in July."

"Wow. But wait - Kurt's in school, you're in school, your parents work...where does Zoe go during the day?"

"Oh, she boards with Kurt and Blaine at Dalton during the week. The two of them and the Warblers - their glee club - take turns watching her throughout the day. It's been working well so far. Kurt did miss one day of classes cause Zoe was sick, but other than that, it's been going well. I think there are some pics on my phone..."

When they came up to a red light, Finn handed his phone over to Rory, having pulled up a picture. "You can look through them; there's a bunch on there. It'll give you an idea on what everyone looks like, but they don't do them justice."

The first picture Rory saw was Kurt, Blaine and Zoe, right after she was born. Rory could see the exhaustion on Kurt's face, but also saw how happy he looked.

"Wow - did you get to see them right after she was born or something? I thought family had to wait a while."

Finn laughed, "That's part of the epic tale of 'Zoe's birth' - Puck and I helped during the delivery. You should hear it from Kurt's point of view; he's an awesome story teller."

"I'll ask him for it later." Rory skimmed through the pictures and smiled sadly as he went. Just looking at the pictures was making him feel even more homesick that he thought he was. He was the oldest of four - he had two brothers and a sister - and seeing baby pictures reminded him of when Shamus was that little. Granted, he was now a very rambunctious six year old, but he'd helped his mom a lot with him as a baby.

"You okay dude?" Finn asked. He'd been watching Rory in between driving and noticed how quiet it had gotten. Rory shook his head and gave Finn a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just missing home, I guess. Zoe looks adorable." Finn could tell that Rory was upset, but let it go for the moment, as they pulled into the driveway. Finn turned the car off and looked at Rory.

"It's okay to be a little homesick. I got homesick when we went to New York for a few days. You're away from your family for a lot longer than that. No one's gonna make fun of you for that." Finn jumped out of the truck first and grabbed most of the stuff from the back. "Think you can handle the rest?" Rory nodded and grabbed what was left, following Finn into the house.

While Finn was gone, Blaine took it upon himself to get the living room situated for an afternoon of gaming. Burt and Carole had mentioned that they were having a date night and would be back late, so the boys had the house to themselves in the meantime. He pushed the furniture around so that everyone would have a view of the TV, and it also made it easier if they decided to play Rock Band later.

Kurt had already opted out of playing, but had agreed to be pulled in if they got stuck. Finn had a point when he said that Kurt was good at getting out of tough spots. When he was on bed rest and the boredom had gotten bad, Kurt had resorted to playing some of Finn's games, and had become quite proficient at them.

Blaine didn't know if Rory was going to be playing as well, but figured that they'd wait and see. While Kurt had shown an interest to meet the new kid, Finn seemed hopeful that it would be more than that. Finn had mentioned Rory to Blaine a few days ago, and while the jocks were nowhere near as horrible as the previous year, shoving students or knocking their books out of their hands was still going on, which was better than also dealing with dumpster dives, locker-body checks, and slushies.

Finn seemed to be hoping for Rory to become friends with Kurt, and Blaine, so that he'd know other people outside of the McKinley setting; but they were jumping ahead too much.

Everyone still needed to be formally introduced to each other first, and then they could talk.

Blaine was shaken out of his musings when he heard the doorbell ring. Knowing that Kurt was busy upstairs with Zoe, Blaine went to answer the door. He saw Finn's truck from the window and figured he needed help carrying stuff in. Sure enough, Finn had his hands full, so Blaine grabbed some of the bags and started walking towards the kitchen. It was after he'd put them down, that he noticed Rory.

"Hi, you must be Rory. I'm Blaine." Blaine sent the other boy a smile, hoping to make him a little more comfortable. He seemed shy.

"Hi, yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you." Rory smiled back, some of the tension dissolving as he realized that Blaine wouldn't be much of a threat.

"Kurt should be down soon - he was giving Zoe a quick bath. I set up the living room, and your parents have already left, so we have the house to ourselves. Do you know when the rest of the guys are coming?"

Finn was checking his phone while Blaine was talking. "Mike's picking up Artie, and Puck will be here in ten. Sam's finishing up his shift, but he said he might have to bail." Sam's family had - thankfully - been able to resolve their financial issues. They were on their way to moving out of state, but right before the school year started, things had turned around, and the family didn't have to move after all.

None of them noticed Kurt come back downstairs with a freshly bathed Zoe. "Why can't Sam come?"

Finn jumped, "Dude! Can you not do that? Stop being a ninja, geez."

Kurt laughed, "One does not forget the ways of the ninja so easily." He turned to their newcomer and introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rory. I'm Kurt, that goofball's brother, and part-time ninja." Zoe wriggled in his arms, causing him to roll his eyes. "And this little heartbreaker is Zoe. Finn's told us a little about you; I hope he's extended the courtesy."

Finn and Blaine noticed how Rory relaxed once Kurt had entered the room. "Yeah, he's told me a bit about you, and Blaine. I just heard about Zoe today, though. She's adorable."

Kurt laughed, "Adorable should be her middle name, with the amount of times we've heard it, but yes, she's a sweetheart." Kurt looked back at Finn and asked, "Going back to my previous question..."

Finn had to think for a second but then remembered. "Oh, Sam's at work now, but their sitter bailed on them and there's no one to watch Stevie and Stacey." Kurt just rolled his eyes.

"Tell him to bring them over. I was planning on doing some baking later, so they can help me in here while the rest of you play your crazy games. Sam needs a break anyway. If this is the same sitter they had before, she's screwed them over several times since school started. If he doesn't believe you, tell him to call me; I don't mind. Actually..."

"What?"

"Tell Puck to bring Sarah with him too. The more, the merrier. I've been promising her some Sarah-Kurt time for a while anyway, and she gets along with everyone." Finn sent a text and not a minute later, Finn's phone ran with an incoming phone call. Kurt just laughed and held his hand out.

"I've got this Finn. Hello Noah, how are you doing today?"

"Princess - care to explain to me why Finn just sent me a text saying to bring my sister?"

"Is that a problem? I've been meaning to hang out with her anyway, and I'm making cookies - " There was a slight scuffle on the other end of the phone. Before he knew it, someone else started yelling into the phone.

"COOKIES! Can I come with you Noah? PRETTY PLEASE!!"

"Sarah! Give me back my phone! Oh don't you dare give me puppy eyes." Kurt barely held back a laugh, as he heard Puck groan in annoyance.

"Hummel, are you trying to drive me crazy? Cause it's working, dude."

"Oh, since when do I have to try to drive you crazy? And besides, it's not like you have to worry about her - she's gonna be hanging out with me, Stevie, Stacey, and Zoe in the kitchen. So do me a favor and stop whining, okay Puckzilla?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll bring the rugrat with me. I don't need a double whammy of puppy eyes. God, do I regret you two spending time together sometimes."

"Love you too, Puck. See you in a bit." Kurt hung up and passed the phone back to Finn. "They'll be over soon."

"It is so much fun watching you mess with him, Kurt. He can't say no to you, especially when there's puppy eyes involved."

"And the only person he can blame that on is Sarah. That girl is a genius."

"Can I ask a question?" asked Rory.

The boys turned around, almost forgetting that he was still in the room.

"Sure dude," said Finn.

"They all sound fun. I'm just wondering how old they are."

"Stevie is almost nine and Stacey just turned seven; Sarah's twelve. They've helped me bake before and they're great cookie testers."

Finn frowned, "I'm a great cooker tester."

"Finn, you're a great cookie eater. If I left it to you, there wouldn't be many cookies for anyone else." Blaine started to laugh. "And do not get me started on you, Blaine. I don't know where you put it, but you're just as bad as him. Why do you think I made a triple batch of those snickerdoodles a few months ago? That was so the rest of us could enjoy them as well."

Rory snorted, as he watched Finn and Blaine pout quite spectacularly. He couldn't help laughing, especially at the self-satisfied smirk on Kurt's face.

"Would you mind some help then? I always helped Mum when she was in the kitchen, and I keep my cookie dough eating to a minimum." Rory sounded very hopeful.

Kurt looked thoughtful for a second. "You don't want to play with the rest of the guys?"

Rory shook his head, "I'm not that great at video games, but I do enjoy cookies."

Kurt pondered for another minute, before smiling. "Sure, I'd love the help. Thanks Rory." The doorbell went off again, signaling the arrival of most of the group. Finn went to let them in. Zoe started to get a little fussy, causing Kurt to look around the kitchen before sighing in frustration.

"Kurt, what's the matter?" asked Blaine.

"Didn't I bring her pacifier down with me? I thought I did..."

Blaine offered, "Want me to check upstairs? It might've fallen off the nightstand again."

Kurt sighed, "Do you mind? She's due for a nap soon, but you know how much she likes hanging out down here. She'll probably stay up long enough to say hi to everyone first." Blaine took off for their bedroom, leaving Kurt to calm down Zoe. Kurt started singing while Rory watched as her crying became little whimpers.

"You have a nice voice Kurt. I haven't heard that song in a while."

Kurt chuckled, "Are you a Disney buff, Rory?"

Rory blushed, "I'd like to think so, but there are a few I haven't seen all the way through. Which movie was that from? It did sound familiar."

"Tarzan. The song's called You'll be in My Heart. We're gonna have to have a movie night now, you know that right? No friend of mine that is a Disney fan is allowed to walk around not having seen movies from start to finish." Zoe was just making noises every now and then, but Kurt had noticed her looking around and got an idea.

"Hey Rory, are you good with kids?"

"Well, if helping my parents with my siblings count, then yeah. I helped with Shamus the most - he's the youngest - but I still did a lot with Gemma and Emmett."

"Come over here, then." Rory was curious as to what was happening. Kurt motioned for him to take a seat, and before he knew it, Kurt was handing Zoe to him. Rory's arms automatically fixed his hold on her, realizing that she was now quiet and staring at him. Not sure as to what he should do, he smiled and started talking to her.

"Hey there Zoe. My name's Rory and I'm the new kid. You have very pretty eyes, did you know that?" Blaine walked back into the kitchen to see Kurt smiling at a very content Rory, and an even more placid Zoe. He walked up to his boyfriend and whispered in his ear.

"How'd you get her to stop crying? I thought something was wrong, since she didn't have her pacifier."

Kurt whispered right back, "She kept looking at Rory, and I think he secretly wanted to hold her but was afraid to ask. He's had a lot of practice - he has three younger siblings back home. Did you find it?"

Blaine held up the missing pacifier. "Yep, was on the floor, just as suspected. They look good together," he said, as they watched Rory tickle Zoe. "He seems better since he got here."

"Homesickness and nerves will do that to you. I wonder...can you keep an eye on them for a second? I'll be right back." Kurt ran out and up the stairs, pulling out his phone as he went.

"Where did Kurt go?" Blaine turned back to Rory, who'd noticed Kurt's sudden departure.

"Not sure...he'll be back shortly. You're a natural. Kurt said you have siblings?"

Kurt had just gotten off of the phone with Brittany's mother. He mentioned how Brittany had been worrying about Rory and from what he could tell, there was an easy fix. Rory was homesick, so the most logical answer would be for him to go home. However, that wasn't exactly an option right now; so what would be the next best thing?

Phone home.

Or in this day and age, Skype.

Kurt asked Mrs. Pierce for a way to contact Rory's family, and was happy to receive an email address. While a phone number would probably be easier, an email is still cheaper than a long-distance call. Not to mention a better way to explain to Rory's family about Skype and how to use it.

Since he'd left Blaine and Rory confused downstairs, Kurt typed out a quick email and sent it with an explanation and a link, so that if they didn't know of/didn't have Skype, the Flanagan's would know how to set it up. He logged off his computer and made his way downstairs, hearing several more voices than earlier.

Now all he had to do was wait for a response.

Rory noticed right away that Sarah, Stacey, and Stevie had been properly educated on how to approach a sleepy baby. Zoe's eyes had been drooping since Blaine gave her back her missing pacifier, and unlike other curious children Sam's siblings knew not to yell or poke Zoe. They slowly came up and said hi to Zoe and introduced themselves to Rory. Zoe lazily swatted at Stevie as he tried to playfully grab at her pacifier.

Kurt made his way back into the room, and was able to say hi to Sam, Puck, Artie, and Mike, before getting ambushed by Stevie and Stacey, with Sarah waiting her turn. The Evans duo had taken an instant liking to Kurt, as at one point he and Quinn were their only sitters while they lived at the motel. At the time, Kurt was in his third trimester, so between school finishing up, summer starting, and Sam's job, the two of them had spent time at the Hummel-Hudson home and at Dalton, when Sam had to work from a sister store located just outside of Westerville.

When Blaine and Kurt finished at Dalton in June and had moved back to Lima for the summer, Sarah became a godsend. Between Burt and Carole working, Finn helping out at the shop, and Blaine's temporary gig at the theme park – he hadn't been able to get out of it entirely – Sarah had no qualms with keeping Kurt company. This had made everyone feel better since, at the time, Kurt was several weeks away from his due date.

Once Kurt was free of the kids, he went up to Rory to collect Zoe. She enjoyed napping at this time of day, so Kurt decided to take her upstairs and put her down in her crib, which she had finally started to get used to sleeping in. She still used the bassinet at Dalton, but it was nice to not have to pack it up anymore; they had had to the first couple of weekends because Zoe had not liked the crib. Of course, she still wasn't in love with it, but if she was swaddled in her favorite blanket, it certainly made things easier.

Kurt got Zoe settled quickly, and after grabbing the baby monitor, made his way downstairs again. The boys still hadn't picked a game to play and were in the middle of a very serious match of rock, paper, scissors, leaving Rory, Sarah, Stevie, and Stacey off to the side. Kurt rolled his eyes, picked one of the games off of the floor, and threw it at Finn.

"Really guys? It's only noon - I'm pretty sure you're going to be at it all day, so just play whatever I threw at you for an hour or so, then change it. You don't have to waste time playing one game. Stevie, Stacey, Sarah - do you wanna help me and Rory in the kitchen? I was planning on baking cookies."

"Yay! Can we make shapes?" asked Stacey.

"I want chocolate chip!" yelled Sarah.

Kurt just smiled. "We're gonna make a few different kinds - some are staying here and some are coming back to school with me."

"Can we make the spikey ones too?" Kurt looked at Stevie confused. "Spikey ones?"

Sam heard him ask and knew which ones he meant, "Maybe another time, Stevie." He turned to Kurt, "Oh, he means those coconut ones. Isn't Jeff allergic to them?"

Kurt was surprised Sam remembered, "Yeah he is, but if we leave the macaroons for last, and we package them separately, we'll be okay. Thanks for remembering." Sam gave him a mock salute as they headed into the kitchen.

Kurt opened a drawer and grabbed several aprons for everyone to wear, and in no time, the first batch of cookies - chocolate chip - was heading into the oven. Kurt had made a big batch of sugar cookie dough the night before, so he just had to set up the kids with a wide array of cookie cutters, knowing that it would keep them busy for some time. Kurt knew it'd be a while until they were done, so he turned to a now hyper Rory to give him the option of what to do next.

"Now that they're occupied, it's your turn to request a cookie. So far we have chocolate chip, sugar, the macaroons will be last, and I want to make snickerdoodles because they're awesome. Is there a kind you wanna make?"

"That seems like plenty to me. I don't need to pick another one, do I?"

"Well," Kurt started, "you don't have to...but I do have what we need to make ginger snaps or soda bread cookies." Kurt watched as Rory's eyes lit up.

"Oh that's not fair - ginger snaps are great, but I love soda bread."

"We can make one today, and the other later. Which do you want to make now?"

Rory thought for a moment before answering, "Ginger snaps...please."

Eventually, the baking marathon ended. They had just started to clean up when Zoe could be heard crying through the baby monitor. Kurt excused himself and went to tend to his daughter. A quick diaper change later and Zoe was awake and happy. While he was still upstairs, he decided to check his email. He was surprised to see a response from Rory's family already.

Hi Kurt!

My name's Emmett and since Rory may not have told u yet, I'm one of his bros - I'm the cool one :)

Anyway...in case u haven't figured it out, this is my email account - Mum doesn't have one - and since I'm always on the computer, Mum said to use mine.

And what kind of new age teen would I be if Idk what Skype is? I cant believe we didn't think about it b4. Tho I did use ur instructions to make an account...

Did u know we're only about 5 hours ahead of u? I hope u get this b4 it gets too late... I told Mum about this and she's getting antsy and is all worried about her baby - don't tell Shamus but Rory's the favorite.

So do u think we can talk soon...like tonite?

I'll be online until midnite my time (so 7 for u) If u get this, don't bother replying back - just log on before I have to log off. But if it's too late, email me w/a time.

Cant wait to chat :)

Emmett

Kurt could tell that it was one of Rory's siblings just by reading the email. Emmett certainly wrote it like a teenaged texter, but it was still readable. Kurt looked at the clock and saw that it was only three. Emmett had said that he'd be logged on until midnight, but he didn't want to wait too long to call. He noticed that the boys had started another round of Rock Band, so getting them to include Stevie and Stacey for a round or two shouldn't be a problem.

"Kurt? Are you two alright?" Kurt jumped as Blaine entered the bedroom.

"Blaine! Yeah, we're fine. Zoe woke up from her nap and I figured I'd check my email real quick while I was right here."

Blaine cocked his head to the side, "You don't normally do that when there's people over...what's up?"

Kurt explained his idea to Blaine, who readily agreed and said that he'd help keep everyone occupied downstairs. Blaine asked if he'd checked to make sure Emmett was logged on, and sure enough, he was. Blaine volunteered to send Rory up, so while he did that, Kurt clicked on Emmett's name and was faced with an empty chair.

"Um, hello? Anyone there?" Kurt heard a loud yell and was soon greeted with a very hyper teenager.

Followed by two younger kids.

"Hi there...are you Emmett, Gemma and Shamus?" Kurt guessed he was right by the smiles on their faces.

"You have to be Kurt then. I'm Emmett," said the teen in the chair. "Gemma and Shamus have been jumping up and down since I sent that email to you. I'm so glad you got on so soon."

Kurt chuckled, "Well I figured it would be nice if your parents could say hello as well. I didn't want to wait too long. Rory will be here in a second - my boyfriend is getting him from downstairs. I didn't tell him I was doing this. I thought it would be a nice surprise." Zoe apparently didn't like being ignored, so she started to fuss, which got the attention of Gemma.

"Oh is that a baby? I wanna see!" Kurt complied and angled the camera a little. "Aw, what's her name?"

"This is Zoe; she's my daughter." Shamus shoved Gemma so he could get a better look.

"She looks little. Does she have cooties?"

Kurt laughed, "No she doesn't have cooties, and she's three months old."

"Well she looks adorable." Kurt looked up and noticed that two more people had joined in.

"Hello Kurt. It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Rory's mother, Joann, and this is my husband, Damian. I must thank you. I was starting to worry about Rory. His last email had me worried."

Kurt smiled, "It's nice to meet you all too. I just met Rory today and already we're becoming best friends. Now, he has no idea we're doing this, so if you could bear with me for a minute..."

Kurt heard someone coming up the stairs.

"I'm going to minimize the window, but I won't cut off the sound. Just hang tight, and you'll be able to talk for as long as you want." Luckily, everyone agreed, though Kurt saw Emmett putting his hand over Shamus's mouth to keep him quiet. Kurt stood up from the desk, just as Rory knocked on the doorframe.

"Sorry Kurt. The guys asked me to play a round. Blaine said you needed to show me something?"

"Oh, that's alright Rory. You can go back downstairs in a bit, if you want. I do have something to show you, if you don't mind."

Rory looked puzzled, "Um, sure, what?"

"Remember when we were talking earlier about being homesick? Well, it reminded me of how I was when I first moved to Dalton. Granted, I was only a couple hours away from home, but that doesn't mean I handled it well. So I got to thinking: especially since Zoe lives with me at school now, Dad, Mom, and Finn don't get to see Zoe every day. In order to keep the 'Zoe withdrawal level' down, we Skype a few nights a week. It's not the same as seeing each other every day, but it helps out. This got me thinking that it could help you out as well."

Kurt gestured to Rory to take a seat in front of his laptop, before doing anything else. "I talked to Britt's mom and she gave me a way to contact your family. They set up a Skype account, and since I already have one, you can borrow it...at least until we get you set up as well." Kurt opened up the window and said, "Surprise!"

Rory's jaw dropped. When Blaine said Kurt had to show him something, he wasn't expecting to see his family on a computer screen. Rory had heard Finn mention Skype nights during glee club, and had felt a little dumb asking about what it was. Sam and Mike had been nice enough to tell him what Skype was, but Rory never thought that it was something that was free and easy to use.

He believed that it cost money, and was an American thing, so he wouldn't be able to use it anyway. The thought that Finn and his parents could see Kurt, even when he was two hours away at school, saddened him some - even made him a little jealous. So Rory just forgot about it.

"How - I thought - what?" Rory really didn't know how to respond.

So he actually started to get misty-eyed and was trying to keep the tears back.

Kurt was biting his lip, worrying over Rory's mixed reaction. He was expecting at least a happy dance or something equivalent to it, not a half-heartbroken look and tears. Looking at the screen, he saw similar looks of worry on Joanne and Damian's faces, and was hoping for one of them to step in.

"Rory, what's wrong? We thought you'd be really excited about this. We miss seeing you around the house."

"Your father's right, sweetheart. I'd never heard of such a thing, but when Emmett received an email from Kurt and we checked it out, I'm embarrassed none of us thought of this in the first place. I trust you kids to tell your parents about these cool internet things."

Rory was now confused, "What do you mean? I didn't know about Skype until a couple weeks ago. Finn was talking about chatting with Kurt, and I had to ask a couple of the guys to explain it to me. When they started getting technical about it, I just stopped listening. I didn't want you to waste money on it."

Kurt finally figured it out. "Rory, Skype is free to use when it's chats like this. It only costs money if you use it for phone calls. What we're doing right now, is FREE. As long as you remember the time difference, you can talk face-to-face with your family whenever you want. We're logged on my account right now, but later I'll help you set up one. I know Britt won't mind sharing her computer."

It seemed that simple explanation was what Rory was waiting for. After Kurt finished explaining it, Rory's whole demeanor did a 180. He was no longer upset and was excited to talk to his family. Kurt saw the grateful expressions on the Flanagans' faces, and decided to leave them to it.

"Well, now that we have that settled...Zoe and I are going to head back downstairs - someone has to keep an eye on everyone. In the meantime, you all catch up." Kurt grabbed a few things off of his bed and turned to leave the room. "It was nice to meet you all. I'm sure we'll talk again."

Just before he closed the door, Rory stopped him. "Kurt - thanks. You don't know what this means to me."

Kurt smiled at Rory. "Don't worry about it. Enjoy your family bonding. We'll be lounging downstairs with snacks, so join us whenever you're done - no rush, alright?"

Once Kurt had left, Rory finally took a seat in front of the laptop. He was still in shock, but was too happy to think much about it.

"So...how's everything going?" Rory asked, hoping they wouldn't mention his last email. It had been a depressing read.

"Oh don't think you can get out of talking about that last email, mister." Rory groaned, so much for that. "Are you doing alright? Do you want to come home? Don't think you can't; no one will be able to argue with me. I'm your mother."

"Mom...everything's fine now. Obviously coming over today was the best thing for me. I played some video games with the guys from glee club, but I also got to bake cookies with Kurt and Sam's brother and sister. I got to play with Zoe a little too. I was just really homesick, but I'm better now. Please don't make me leave."

Damian laughed, "Don't worry Rory. If you want to stay there, that's fine. We're your parents - we're supposed to worry about you kids, especially the ones that are an ocean away. So tell us how everything's going."

Rory smiled again and proceeded to catch up with his family, telling them about everything that was going on and how he was doing. His siblings were jealous, but his parents were reassured that he was actually doing okay. Rory didn't mention the little bit of bullying he had to deal with, per se, but he did tell them how Brittany thought he was a leprechaun that could grant wishes.

Rory spent the next two hours with his family, and it was the best thing ever.

Blaine had already explained to everyone where Rory was going to be for the foreseeable future by the time Kurt reappeared in the living room. The guys had gotten tired of playing and were now trying to decide on a movie to watch.

Which was going as well as it did earlier with the video game - nowhere.

Kurt left them to argue amongst themselves and went to get Zoe's bottle ready. He'd told Sarah earlier that she could feed her. Blaine entered the kitchen just as Kurt was ready to head back in.

"Hey, how's Rory doing? Was he surprised?"

"That's an understatement. I thought he was going to pass out from shock. He's much better now, so don't be surprised if he doesn't come down for an hour at least."

"Well at the rate we're going, he can join us for the movie, since we still haven't agreed on anything. Most of them want to watch an action or horror movie, and a few of us want Disney." Blaine was interrupted by his phone. He sighed and typed a response back before looking up and seeing Kurt's head tilted to the side.

"What's wrong?"

"Sebastian. His parents are out of town. He sounds lonely."

Kurt felt for Sebastian, so he just said, "Invite him over. It's not like he's that far away. He's the closest Warbler to Lima, even if only by forty-five minutes. And maybe you can persuade him to help the Disney vote." Kurt thought for a moment. "Maybe I should invite Quinn and Tina. I haven't hung out with them much, and I would love to hear from them about whatever the hell is going on with New Directions. I still can't get over the other girls just leaving and joining an all-girl group. Too many divas in one place never ends well."

"No Rachel?"

"She's spending the weekend with her dads in Columbus, and if she did come, I wouldn't be able to talk about glee club drama."

"You make an excellent point; for a moment, I forgot we were talking about Rachel Berry. I'll take care of Seb if you can handle Tina and Quinn?" At Kurt's nod, he said, "Great. He'll be here soon then." Blaine walked out of the room with a bounce to his step. Kurt stared for a second and narrowed his eyes.

"Blaine, honey?" Blaine stopped, but was still trying to inch his way out of the room.

"Um, yeah?"

"Did you already invite him over? Am I going to hear the doorbell in a half an hour?" As he finished his question, as if by magic, the doorbell rang.

"Well, not exactly...more like now?" Blaine grinned sheepishly as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Oh for the love of...you're such a puppy! Go answer the door and I'll deal with you later. And Blaine," Blaine was now hiding behind the doorway, "Sebastian can come over whenever he wants - I don't mind. You seem to forget you live here too." Blaine smiled and ran to the front door, yelling that he'd get it.

Kurt could hear Blaine greeting Sebastian at the door, and he was certainly jumping like a puppy does. He looked at Zoe who was staring at him, smiling. "You have a puppy for a dad; I hope you don't mind. And you're getting spoiled today. You have several of your non-Dalton admirers here, and Tina and Quinn are stopping by too. Whatever are we gonna do with them all?"

Line break

When Rory finally rejoined the group, he was surprised to see that Tina and Quinn had shown up, as well as another boy he didn't recognize. He was confused to see that half of them - Finn, Puck, Sam, Artie, Mike, and the one he didn't know - were pouting, while the rest - Kurt, Blaine, Stevie, Stacey, Sarah, Tina and Quinn - were smirking.

"Um, what's going on?"

Kurt laughed, "Hey Rory. Did you have a nice chat with your family?"

"Uh, yeah, I did actually. Thanks for that...why are the guys sulking? And who's that?" pointing at Sebastian.

"This is Sebastian. He goes to Dalton with Blaine and me. Seb, this in Rory. He's at McKinley with everyone for the year. Be nice and remember what I said."

Sebastian smirked at Kurt before standing up and walking up to Rory. He grabbed one of his hands and gave it a kiss, causing Rory to blush and stammer.

"Hey there Irish. You're certainly a cute one. What say you and I blow this joint and I show you a good time?" Rory didn't get time to form a response; Blaine had jumped up and tackled Sebastian to the floor.

"What did we say?! No flirting or terrorizing the new kid. Let him get used to you first, and don't waste your energy - you're not his type."

While the two of them wrestled on the floor, Rory just stood there, trying to make some sense over whatever had just happened in the last five minutes. Kurt, seeing Rory's expression, gently pushed Rory onto the couch and passed Zoe over to him. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually he regained his senses and looked to Kurt for an explanation.

"Did I just get hit on?"

Tina, Quinn, Sarah, and Stacey giggled at Rory's question, while Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Would it bother you if I said yes? Sebastian can be a little overwhelming at first. He likes flirting with pretty much everyone, but don't worry - he's harmless. Try to think of it as his way of saying 'hi'."

"Oh, no...it's alright. I've just never had a cute guy do that to me before. I don't mind." Rory was interrupted from saying much else, as the two Warblers kept battling on the floor.

"OW! Blaine! That hurt!"

"Oh come on Seb! Don't be a wuss!"

The rest of the room was watching and waiting to see who would win the impromptu fight. However, once Sebastian started pulling Blaine's hair and Blaine had Sebastian in a headlock, Kurt had had enough. Showing off the fact that he was stronger than he looked, Kurt managed to get a hold of each of their arms and yanked them apart.

"Okay! That's enough! Get off the floor or no treats for you! You're teenagers, not children." Apparently, the threat of no dessert worked and the two separated to different chairs. The rest of the boys were a little speechless, not by Kurt getting them apart, but by the fact that it was such a parental move to make.

He even had the finger point and the hands-on-his-hips down pat.

"Now, Sebastian, you apologize to Rory -"

"But Blaine -" Sebastian argued.

"- for making him confused and slightly uncomfortable. And Blaine, you apologize to Sebastian -"

"What!?" yelled Blaine.

"- for tackling him to the floor in the first place. A simple ear tug would have sufficed. He was only messing around. Then Sebastian is going to apologize for pulling your hair -"

"Oh come on -"

"- and he's going to say he's sorry for putting you in a headlock. And if you have any desire to get cookies, apologize for being a bad example in front of the kids. That should cover everything."

Two open mouths met his gaze.

"Well? Any longer, and I'll just send your cookies to Wes; I'm sure he'd love to get some home-baked treats."

The threat of not only missing out on cookies, but losing them to Wes, was reason enough for Blaine to start apologizing. Sebastian was confused - he didn't know who this Wes was - but not wanting to lose out on food, he apologized as well. Kurt was all smiles after that and gladly handed them their prizes. Both boys happily accepted, and in no time at all, they had devoured three cookies apiece.

"Kurt, you have the almighty Mama Bear attitude down wonderfully," said Tina.

"If I didn't think you were parent material before, I would after all that," said Quinn.

"Thank you ladies. As you can see, it's necessary. You should see the other Warblers when we're brainstorming ideas; although those fights usually involve pillows and sheet music. Zoe is often the calmest one in the room."

"You should've seen him while he was still pregnant. You wanna talk about Mama Bear..." everyone looked up to see Burt leaning in the doorway.

"You're one to talk - where do you think I learned it all?" said Kurt with a smirk.

"Dad, what are you doing back so early?" asked Finn. "I thought you and Mom were gonna be home late."

"We won't be long Finn. Carole needed to change her shirt, and I forgot the tickets. While she's doing that, I figured I'd check on all of you in here. I must say though Blaine - those were some nice moves there. And the hair pulling is a classic one, Sebastian. It's an oldie but a goodie."

"Thanks Burt."

"Thanks Mr. Hummel."

"Just do me a favor and keep the bloodshed to a minimum...if you spill any, Kurt will make you clean it up, and trust me, you will not be able to get out of it."