The Tale of Two Families

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Paul Karofsky. He was born and raised in a small town just outside of Columbus, Ohio. When he was fourteen, he and his parents moved to Lima, where he quickly made friends, joined the football team, and met his high school sweetheart, Jean. By the time he was in his mid-twenties, he was happily married with a son, had a good job, and a nice house.

Paul had met Burt Hummel on his first day at McKinley High. They became good friends and teammates and told each other everything. Burt also met his future wife at school, marrying quickly when they graduated, and eventually had a son they both loved very much. It was an awesome bonus that both couples bought homes that just happened to be located a block apart. At the time, it seemed like these two small families were destined to be near each other for a long time, and for a while everyone got along.

Destiny had cruel things in mind, though none would expect what would happen in the years to come.

Jean had been one of the first people to notice that Kurt wasn't like other little boys. At first, she ignored the fact that he was more attached to his mother than his father, and that was only because Kurt was almost a full year younger than her David. She remembered the hard time Elizabeth had while pregnant with Kurt. It was only natural for him to be a bit of a 'mama's boy'.

She ignored the fact that Kurt didn't like to get messy, as she had seen the frequent bouts of illness that Kurt was often afflicted with. She attributed his dislike to dirt was a direct correlation to germs; if he didn't keep himself clean, he'd get sick, and what kid enjoyed being sick?

She even let Kurt's little quirks go, like the tea parties and the bowties. She figured that with Burt out of the house most of the day, and only Elizabeth for company, it was normal for a little boy to do some girly things. David had tried her shoes on once and declared that heels were stupid and he never tried them on again.

When the boys started school – David had missed the cutoff date for kindergarten so he started at the same time as Kurt – Elizabeth and herself walked their kids to school and picked them up. They had play dates and watched Disney movies when it was cold outside. Burt and Paul hung out every now and then, and once in a while, they watched the boys and tried to teach them how to play sports. It was your typical, normal small-town kind of life.

When Elizabeth died, Paul did what he could to help Burt out. He helped with the funeral arrangements and made sure the Hummels ate the food that Jean sent over. He had David keep an eye on Kurt and had explained to him that it was okay for boys to cry, and to do his best if Kurt got a little sad. As time went on, however, the Karofskys and the Hummels started to drift from each other, which would prove to be a horrible mistake in the future.

Jean noticed when David began middle school, that Kurt was not normal. Elizabeth had been gone a few years by then, so she wasn't about to say it had anything to do with that. As far as Jean was concerned, little boy or not, you had to get over a tragic death at some point, and 'man up'. The world was a harsh place to be, and acting unlike your gender was a clear sign that something wasn't right. It was okay to a point when you are five, but at this age, enough was enough.

Paul would admit that he was a bit of a bully in school, but he did more damage verbally, since it was less likely that you'd get caught doing it; that, and it didn't leave physical marks. As he got older, though, he realized that high school was different from the real world, and alienating people for things they couldn't control, was not the way to go. He too had noticed a thing or two about Kurt's behavior, but the kid still had plenty of time to find himself.

He wouldn't realize until it was too late that his loving wife had already begun to poison their son's mind.

Dave – because he didn't want to be called David anymore – had latched onto his mother's opinions, not knowing that he was free to make his own. Jean had warned her son not to become a 'fairy' or a 'fag' like Kurt was. Dave, of course, didn't understand at first. Jean explained that dressing and acting a certain way was not acceptable in their household, and she would not tolerate it. In an effort to please her, Dave began to reevaluate his friendship with Kurt.

By the time eighth grade was underway, Kurt Hummel and Dave Karofsky were no longer the best friends they once were.

Paul and Burt only saw each other at school functions or when Paul's car needed fixing. Both missed the good old days, but felt that it was too late to salvage much of their previous relationship. When Jean was factored in, any hope of being best friends again was decreased that much more, and the newfound hostility of Dave towards Kurt obviously did little to help.

Everything changed one day during the boys' junior year of high school, resulting in a domino effect that would impact the lives of two families for a long time.

Paul had been through a lot in the last year. His son was in jail, he'd divorced his wife, and he was basically on his own. When he'd seen with his own eyes just how much Jean had manipulated Dave, Paul had no desire to stay with her in that house. The day after Dave was arrested - the same day his wife had applauded his horrible actions - Paul had packed up his things and left.

One would think that a man like him would have other family to depend on, but that wasn't the case. What many didn't know about him was the fact that he had been adopted as a child. Now he had nothing against that, but it was private information and he didn't broadcast it. His adopted parents had passed away a few years back, and he'd never met his biological parents. He was an only child in both cases and there weren't any relatives left to contact.

One disadvantage to living in a small town was that everyone knew your business in some way, shape or form. Normally that would've been a problem, but for Paul, it actually helped him when he needed a lawyer. A long time ago, Jean had meant the world to him. As time went by, though, she became a bitter person that Paul no longer recognized as the girl he dated in high school.

He'd had enough of being married to the witch she had become.

Since she had made her opinions of Dave's actions publicly – opinions that Paul in no way endorsed – it was easy to check off the box for "irreconcilable differences". By the time the new year started, he was settled into an apartment, had cut off ties to both Jean and David, and was legally reunited with his birth name - Paul Franklin.

The only thing that bothered him was Kurt Hummel. Burt had been kind enough to tell him when he was released from the hospital and had told him Kurt was being transferred to a new school. He hadn't personally spoken to Kurt since the attack, though he did send him a card wishing him well and apologizing for not noticing his son's behavior. But in Paul's opinion, there wasn't really anything he could do to get rid of the guilt he felt, and no matter how heartfelt the apology was, he wasn't expecting to ever hear from Kurt, and he wouldn't blame him.

That was until Paul received a letter in the mail a week into 2011.

From Kurt.

Paul didn't know whether he should open it or pretend it never came.

Curiosity won out.

When he opened the letter, he was surprised to find that there were no cruel words or threats seeking revenge, yet the more he read, the more he wanted to just throw it away and ignore what was written. He didn't want to believe it, but the attached sonogram printout didn't lie.

He was going to be a grandfather.

'To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you about this. Hell, we didn't even know it was possible until that day. Dad said that he or Carole could explain it to you if needed, but I thought giving you a copy of your first grandkid's photo would be pretty convincing on its own.

'I don't expect you to feel obligated for any reason and I hope you won't be upset, but Dad told me a little about your past. I know what it's like to lose one parent - and almost a second - but I don't know how you've managed losing two sets of parents. It doesn't feel right to keep you from knowing about a new family member. I'm sure I speak for both of us that this is not the way either of us had expected to gain one.

'I don't have any living grandparents, and though the circumstances suck, I'd like him or her to have as much family as possible. Though now that I think about it, they're gonna have a lot of aunts and uncles...

'Anyway - you can keep the photo. You were hurt pretty badly yourself, maybe not physically, but words can hurt a lot more than punches. If it's alright with you, I'd like to keep you up to date on how we're doing. You deserve a little sunshine in your life.'

When Paul had finished reading that first letter, he didn't know what to feel at first. The shock of becoming a grandfather was overshadowed by the actions that occurred for this to even happen. He was wary of getting too involved because what if Kurt or his family changed their minds about him? Then what would he do - pretend that the whole thing was a horrible joke?

Paul did respond back to Kurt with a simple message, stating that he would be grateful for any news, or pictures. Lucky for him, Kurt - and by extension, his family - didn't change their minds about keeping him in the loop. Kurt sent him a new picture every few weeks, and he had run into Burt and Carole several times since then.

Paul had certainly been expecting his granddaughter - he'd been ecstatic to hear it was a girl - to be born early, especially after Burt had shown him a recent picture of Kurt. Paul had apologized in his next letter for passing on his 'big-boned genes'. When Kurt's due date came and went, Paul had been concerned when he hadn't heard from anyone about the new baby. A quick call to Carole gave him an answer, and he felt really bad to hear that Kurt was still pregnant.

It was another week and a half before he was gifted with his new favorite picture, via text.

Burt had later called and given him a brief outline of the events surrounding Zoe's arrival, and promised that once things had settled down, Kurt wanted Paul to come over and meet Zoe. His first reaction was 'no', as he hadn't seen Kurt in person in months; they'd been relying on letters and short phone calls. However, the urge to see his granddaughter was stronger.

Three days later found Paul standing outside of the Hummels' house, trying to pluck up the courage to knock on the door. He was nervous as hell, and kept imagining what would happen when the door opened. Best case scenario meant he got to meet his granddaughter.

Worse care scenario: he would be taken hostage and shot.

Okay, so that was a ridiculous stretch, but could you blame him?

Somehow he'd knocked on the door, and the next thing he knew, he was staring at Burt Hummel, and trying to find a way out.

"I didn't peg you to be so nervous, Paul."

"I'm still trying to convince myself that this isn't a dream, Burt. I almost didn't get this far - I'd turned around twice on my way over here."

Burt laughed at him and assured him that he had nothing to worry about; nobody was about to do anything to him. "Relax, Paul. Come on in." Paul entered the house slowly, hesitant and wary. No one was in the living room, though he could hear movement coming from upstairs.

"The boys will be down in a minute. Just to warn you, Blaine has been really protective of Kurt and Zoe, and Kurt still isn't 100% back to full strength yet."

Paul looked worried at that, "Is he alright? I'm amazed that they were released as early as they were, especially after you telling me about how everything went."

Burt gestured for Paul to have a seat. "Honestly, I thought it was too soon as well, but the fact that both Kurt and Zoe were doing so well meant that there wasn't a good reason to keep them in the hospital any longer than the barely two days they were there. He's still a little sore and tired, but Zoe has been the perfect baby."

"How so? Most parents say that, but don't always mean it."

"She's not really a crier, but if she wants something she makes sure you know it. She doesn't sleep through the night, obviously, but when someone checks on her, she quiets down pretty quickly. Blaine and Finn have been taking turns keeping an ear out at night so that Kurt can sleep. And Zoe gets along with everybody - it's shocking to watch really - though the amount of time she'll let you hold her depends on the person."

Paul chuckled, "I take it some don't have as much luck as others?"

"Exactly. Rachel and Wes - he went to Dalton with the boys - share the record for holding her the shortest amount of time."

Paul tilted his head to the side. "Yeah? How long?"

"A whopping three minutes." Paul and Burt looked up to see Blaine coming down the stairs. "And I can't even tell you which one is more bothered by that."

"Hey buddy," said Burt, "Paul, this is Kurt's boyfriend Blaine."

"It's nice to finally meet you, sir. Kurt's been fretting about introducing you to Zoe all day."

"Paul, please, none of that 'sir' stuff. I've heard quite a lot about you the past few months, and not just from Kurt's letters. Burt and Carole have said plenty as well." Paul looked away from Blaine as he saw Kurt coming down the stairs with Zoe.

"They're you two are. What was the holdup?" asked Burt.

"Someone wanted to be a fussy miss and wouldn't settle until I had her wrapped up just right. Now she's happy as a clam." Kurt saw Paul sitting on the couch and noticed him staring, trying to get a peek at the little girl, but not look too eager. Kurt was surprised to see him so jittery, and figured he was as anxious to meet Zoe as he was to introduce them.

"Hi Paul, I'm glad you came over."

"Thank you for the invite. I must say, though I've enjoyed the pictures you've sent to me, nothing beats the real thing."

"I know the feeling," Kurt said with a smile. "Would you like to hold her?" Paul had barely finished nodding in response before Kurt placed Zoe into his arms. He gave a small gasp as he looked at her, surrendering a finger for her to grab a hold of.

"Kurt, she's gorgeous." Burt, Blaine, and Kurt watched as Paul sat there mesmerized.

"That seems to be the general consensus. She's been dubbed 'gorgeous' and 'adorable' by everyone that's seen her so far. Usually the next comment is about how big she is."

Blaine cut in, "Though if you want to stay on Kurt's good side - don't mention it."

Paul laughed, "Duly noted. Kinda figured that would be a sore spot."

"Well that's one way to put it," murmured Kurt. Blaine smirked and gave him a quick kiss. Kurt sighed and carefully cuddled into Blaine's side.

"How are you feeling, Kurt?" Paul asked. "I have to admit – when Burt told me the story, I almost couldn't believe it."

"I certainly feel a hell of a lot better than I did a few days ago," said Kurt. "I still tire easily, but Blaine and Finn have been awesome. And quite frankly, if we hadn't gone through it, I wouldn't have believed it either. I still don't remember some bits of that night; I've been told that it's better that way."

"I almost wish that I could forget that night; we were really worried for both of you," said Blaine.

"Finn is still a little traumatized. I'm still annoyed that Zoe couldn't wait until we got back from Cincinnati. I mean, really: she was already late. She couldn't wait just one more day?"

Kurt glared at his father. "Speak for yourself. I sure as hell didn't want to wait another day. Although giving birth in the living room isn't something I want to repeat anytime soon. If I ever have to go through that again, I want drugs."

Burt lightly glared at Kurt before sending a harder one at Blaine. "And for all our sakes, I don't want to hear about another baby anytime soon."

Kurt rolled his eyes as Blaine whimpered a little at Burt's glare. "Not that it's any of your business, Dad, but Blaine and I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Yeah," added Blaine, "we're still kinda between first and second base - OW!" Kurt had taken a moment to slap the back of Blaine's head.

"Blaine! Filter, please!" Kurt yelled as he blushed. Burt smirked to himself while Paul just shook his head. He decided to turn his attention back onto Zoe, and was surprised to find her dozing a little in his arms. As Kurt and Blaine were busy messing around on the couch, Burt watched Paul as he smiled at Zoe.

"She really is quite the looker," he said, gaining Paul's attention. "And you can say she's big if you want. Just don't say it when Kurt's in listening distance." The men shared a smile as they watched Kurt try to beat up Blaine, and Blaine making sure Kurt wasn't hurting himself.

Paul couldn't resist asking, "Did she really weigh almost ten pounds? I was really starting to worry when I hadn't heard anything. I know when Jean had David she had to have a cesarean because he was a big baby, but at least he was born on time. I can't imagine giving birth at all, especially naturally with a baby that size." Both of them winced at the thought.

"Yeah, she was over nine and a half pounds. Believe me, hearing that Kurt didn't need stitches was some of the best news I'd ever heard - even Dr. Foster had been amazed. Blaine, Puck, and Finn did an awesome job helping with the delivery. I still feel terrible that I wasn't here, but Kurt keeps telling me to just get over it."

Paul chuckled, "I'd listen to him if I were you. Your son is not someone I'd want to be in trouble with."

"How are you really doing, Paul? I mean, you seem to be doing alright."

Paul thought about how to answer that. "Honestly? Better than I have in quite a while. As terrible as the last year has been, it was probably what I needed in the long run. Jean and I hadn't been doing well as a couple for a long time, and talking to David became impossible once he started high school. Now that I look back, I haven't been happy since he was little."

Burt gave him a sad smile. "Things were better a long time ago, but that doesn't mean they can't get better again. I never thought that I'd get over losing Elizabeth. I never expected that one day I'd be married again to a wonderful woman and gain a second son, let alone a third. And while we agree that the circumstances sucked, there's a baby in the house again. Sometimes we have to go through a lot of bad stuff before something good happens."

"You're a wise man, Burt."

"Do me a favor and spread the word." Paul and Burt stared at each other for a second before they burst into another fit of laughter, finally regaining the attention of Kurt and Blaine.

The couple looked at the adults and then looked at each other. "I think we missed something."

"You think?" Blaine smirked at Kurt's sarcasm and leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Do you want me to distract your dad still?"

"Do you mind? I really think we need a few minutes to talk."

"That's fine. You hungry? We can make some sandwiches."

"Yes, please." Blaine got off of the couch and announced that he was going to make some lunch, and asked if Burt wouldn't mind helping him. Burt seemed to catch on that he needed to leave Kurt and Paul alone, so he too got up and followed Blaine into the kitchen.

Kurt wasn't sure how he wanted to start this particular conversation. It felt odd that he hadn't spoken to this man in person in such a long time. Yes, they have been exchanging letters for months, but the last time they'd seen each other was at the trial, and that hadn't been a good time to chat. Zoe seemed to sense something was up because she had started to nuzzle into Paul, who wasn't sure what that meant.

"Kurt, does her doing this mean something in particular?" Kurt blushed for a moment and cleared his throat.

"That usually means she's hungry. I was hoping she'd wait a little bit longer."

"Why's that?" asked Paul, confused.

"Well...I'm kinda feeding Zoe at the moment, at least for another day or so." It took Paul a second to realize what Kurt meant by that. Once he did, he blushed.

"Oh, well, um...do you want her back then?" At Kurt's nod Paul stood up and passed Zoe back to Kurt, who settled and started to nuzzle into his chest. Kurt sighed in relief when she settled for sucking on his finger for the moment.

"Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable. I didn't think I'd actually be able to do this when Matt first mentioned it."

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. When you first told me about Zoe, I did look up some stuff about the carrier gene - I didn't know what to think - and I was surprised at how much of a male pregnancy is similar to a female one. So you can feed her?"

"Well, you know how at first it's not really milk but it's really important that the baby gets it? Apparently males can produce that, but not much else afterwards. Odd if you ask me. She'll be drinking formula from a bottle all the time within the next day or two. I just don't do it in front of anyone else...except for Blaine."

Paul smiled at that. "That's understandable, Kurt. I'd be a little unnerved with it myself if I had an audience." They both lapsed into silence for a minute or two before Kurt spoke up again.

"Are you going to stick around, be a grandfather to Zoe?" Paul wasn't sure how to answer that. He'd been wondering if now that the baby was here, whether he'd be allowed to see her. If he was in Kurt's position, he'd be wary of any family associated with his rapist. Now that he'd met her and held her, Paul would do whatever was necessary to be able to see her again.

"If you'll let me," he finally said. "I'd get it if you're doing this out of some feeling of duty, but I'd love to be a part of her life. I know you've told me before that this wasn't my fault, but that doesn't stop me from feeling guilty that there could've been a way to stop what happened."

"I'll admit that at first I wanted nothing to do with you, but when I heard how you didn't come to his defense, and that you were completely against what your wife was doing...I couldn't just not tell you anything. I found out I was pregnant before Christmas but it still took me two weeks to send you that first letter; I didn't know what to say, or how to say it.

"Dad had told me that you'd left your wife and that you'd been asking how I was doing. That proved your innocence to me. I figured that if I never heard from you again that either you really didn't care, or that it was too soon to try to repair our relationship. You took care of me when I was a little kid, and you were there for Dad when it counted after Mom died.

"You care a great deal about people - why wouldn't I want someone like you in Zoe's life?" Kurt had no idea he was going to say all of that, but it was the truth. He didn't blame Paul for what happened, and he did want him to keep in touch. He wasn't going to deny him access to his granddaughter; that was a punishment he didn't deserve.

"You know," Paul started. "I said to Burt earlier he was a wise man, and he is. I just didn't realize he had such a smart son. I guess it runs in the family." He gave Kurt a sad smile. "Do you forgive me for how David turned out? I know you said that I need to move on, but maybe hearing you say it will finally get my head and my heart to agree on the subject."

Kurt reached out to Paul and grabbed his hand. "Look at me. There is nothing to forgive. I've moved on, and hopefully soon, you'll do the same. Like I said in that first letter: both of us were hurt. Though the injuries may have been different, the impact was the same. Zoe isn't going anywhere. We'll still be here and I expect you to come over and spend time with her, and I don't just mean on holidays and special occasions. As far as I'm concerned, the two of us," motioning between Paul and himself, "we're good."

Paul laughed and tightened his grip on Kurt's hand. "Thank you, Kurt. Zoe is very lucky to have you as her, what, Daddy, Papa?"

"Mama, actually." At Paul cocked his head to the side, Kurt rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Long story, I'll tell you about it over lunch. Go in the kitchen with Dad and Blaine, and I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm gonna feed Zoe first and put her down for a nap. I won't be long."

Kurt went upstairs to do as he said, leaving Paul to gather his thoughts. He was in a small state of shock, but shook his head and smiled in relief. Kurt and his family weren't going to kick him to the curb, and he would still get to see his granddaughter. With a smile on his face and a new spring to his step, Paul got up and entered the kitchen for lunch, only to find Burt sitting at the table.

"Wasn't Blaine in here with you?"

"He ran upstairs to check on Kurt and Zoe. I take it you and Kurt had a good talk?"

"One that was long overdue, but very much needed." Burt smiled and was happy to see the friend he'd been missing for almost a decade back to his old self.

It's about damn time, he thought.