Big Steps

The rest of the night flew by, and eventually, the group began to settle down for the night. While Wes's house was big and there was plenty of room, having all of them camp out in the living room was a tall order, so it was suggested that they just take over the house. What it became was a sleepover for the boys and a slumber party for the girls. It didn't take long for Sarah, Stacey, Robin, the Silvertones and the New Directions girls to head upstairs to take over a few of the rooms, leaving the first floor for the boys.

It reminded most of them of their memorable summer experience, which the younger Warblers couldn't resist asking about. Some of them had heard bits of the story since school started, but none had heard about everything in one go. None of them could believe that Finn and Puck had helped deliver Zoe, and the fact that Kurt had actually given birth at home without any other assistance was nothing short of amazing to them.

Cooper and Brandon just sat there in shock, as it never occurred to them that there had been parts of the story they missed. The younger Warblers and Stevie had thought it was awesome - though still kind of gross - but they'd agreed that Kurt was now a new level of badass. Kurt had just rolled his eyes and humored them.

The story telling had somehow led into a discussion about college and plans after high school. By that point, though, the amount of people still awake was slowly dwindling. Stevie was asleep, curled up with Sam. Artie and Rory were passed out on the floor with most of the younger Warblers. This left Cooper, Brandon, Wes, Sebastian, and all of the seniors to talk. Wes told them about his first semester away from home and that while he was enjoying his roommates, he still hadn't forgiven them for eating his cookies.

Cooper and Brandon had gone to OSU, but didn't meet until halfway through their sophomore year. They were going for different majors, but often found themselves studying in the same spots on campus. By the time they were juniors, they had become best friends and roommates. They spoke about anything and everything, and it was also thanks to Cooper that Brandon met Robin.

One thing they'd discovered during their conversations was that they both had awesome younger brothers and inattentive parents. Cooper and Brandon had made sure to keep an eye on their brothers once they started college, but sometimes it wasn't enough. Jeff and Blaine were in middle school when Brandon and Cooper first invited them to visit and spend time with them for a weekend.

That turned out to be one of the best ideas ever.

Blaine and Jeff explained that spending time with their brothers became a much needed getaway, and spent whatever time they could with Cooper and Brandon. While they had Sebastian and Nick, respectively, it was nice to be able to rely on family that cared about their well-being. It was also nice that they had friends outside of school to talk to. Jeff and Nick lived in a different district to Blaine and Sebastian, and while the first two went straight to Dalton, the other two went to a public high school. Then the dreaded dance happened and they were separated. The only plus for Blaine was that he knew two people when Cooper used Brandon's advice to send him to Dalton, which explained why while Blaine was good friends with Wes and David, Nick and Jeff were the ones he went to when he was feeling upset about something.

Sebastian was the one to ask if the others had made plans yet about college. Nick and Blaine admitted that they wanted to do something with music, but weren't quite sure what. Mike was hoping to get into a dance program, which was a far cry from pre-med. Finn and Puck had no idea what they wanted to do, but Kurt was quick to tell them that they should seriously consider becoming some sort of birthing coach or nurse-midwife deal; they were already onto a good start considering they'd done the beginner stuff already and already had first-hand experience in delivering a baby outside of a hospital.

Kurt was up in the air as to what he wanted to do. He still on occasion helped Neal and his sister out when they were overloaded with huge costume orders, and he still enjoyed creating his own clothes. Madame Moreau made a point to tell him that he'd make an excellent tutor or teacher, and she didn't just mean for French either. Several people also recommended becoming a counselor or social worker, since he'd helped just about everyone in all three groups by now, whether it was for advice or just acting as a soundboard.

David and Thad wanted to take business courses, but hadn't settled on a specific plan of action. Trent enjoyed event planning and was trying to convince Beatz that he needed him to go to culinary school so that he could hire him; not many knew, but Beatz and Kurt enjoyed having food battles like they do on those shows on the Food Network, and it was often hard for someone to declare a winner.

Jeff had no idea what he wanted to do, but he was considering the possibility of becoming a nurse. When one of the guys asked if there was a specialty in mind, he said he didn't know, though a couple of them suggested he work in pediatrics with the kids. He had admitted to Nick in private that if he ever had the opportunity to become a stay-at-home parent, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Soon enough, no one could hold in their yawns anymore so they mutually agreed to get some sleep. When the girls had gone upstairs, everyone had agreed to share either a late breakfast or lunch - depending on what time they got up - before leaving the next day. This would be the last time they'd see each other as a big group until after New Year's, since many of them were spending time with their families for the rest of the break.

Kurt would've loved to say that they took their time leaving Wes's house, and upon arriving home, was calm and in no hurry to get out of the car. He would've loved to say that he slowly entered the house, put his stuff in his room, and then eventually located his daughter, who was more than happy to see him.

Of course, that's not what happened, but at least he wasn't the only one who was impatient...just the worst.

In the morning, Kurt was the first one packed and ready to head home. He had even started cooking and preparing breakfast before anyone else was up yet. While the coffee was brewing and the water boiling for tea, Kurt cleaned up whatever mess that was left. He moved some of the furniture back into place if it was possible and made sure everyone's stuff was together. By eleven thirty, people were waking up, whether they wanted to or not.

Needless to say, all were shocked to see the state of the house when they made their way into the kitchen. Kurt was trying to play it off by saying that he was normally up early anyway, but most could tell it was just an act and humored him by eating and getting ready to head out. To be honest, everyone was surprised Kurt had held out for this long without some kind of anxiety attack; they were all aware that he was Zoe-deprived and she was the only one to get him back to normal.

Blaine insisted on driving them back because even though Kurt was certainly far more awake than either him or Finn, an anxious Kurt was not a good driver. As soon as they got in the driveway, Kurt had jumped out of the car before it was even off, almost slid on the front steps, and just missed running into Carole, who had been ready at the front door to pass Zoe off to Kurt.

Kurt couldn't help hugging her close and swaying back in forth; Zoe didn't seem to object to the attention. He barely noticed Carole guiding him toward the couch, too focused on holding onto his little girl. It took him several minutes to realize that not only was he sitting down, Blaine was seated next to him and carding his fingers through her hair. Burt was the first to notice that Kurt was back to reality.

"You feel better now, Kurt? See - she's still in one piece and happy to see you." Kurt had the grace to blush and looked up at Carole and Burt, who had entered the room just in time to watch Kurt be the frantic mother hen.

"Yeah...um, hi Dad. Hi Mom."

Burt chuckled as Carole stepped closer, kneeling in front of the trio on the couch. She placed a hand on Kurt's face and locked eyes with him, seeing the way he was holding back tears. Carole and Burt had figured that Kurt was going to be a little crazy when the boys got back, and no one was disappointed. Blaine was also staying close to Zoe, but he was doing a good job restraining himself from taking Zoe for a turn as well.

Carole gave Kurt a nod in Blaine's direction, and though he hesitated for a moment, passed Zoe to her daddy without a word. Blaine gave a soft sigh of relief, though it was hard to tell if it was for seeing Kurt give her up to him voluntarily, or because he missed her that much and hadn't realized it.

Finn had been standing by Burt looking at the little family bonding in front of them. Burt looked at Finn and asked if they had a good time and if Kurt and Jeff liked their present.

"Liked is an understatement. They totally loved it. Everyone definitely had a great time as one big group, though we split up into two groups when we went to sleep last night. Us guys hung out downstairs and all of the girls took over the rooms upstairs. But I'm glad to be home; the last couple of hours were stressful."

"I hope it wasn't too bad for you, though you get brownie points for handling the situation," said Burt. "I have to say I'm impressed. We were betting that Kurt was going to be a total wreck when you guys got home."

"He was worse this morning. When the rest of us woke up, Kurt had cleaned up whatever he could, had made breakfast, and was already packed and set to go. Jeff and Blaine were able to calm him down a little bit, but Artie was the one to suggest he take some of his meds."

Burt had hoped it wouldn't have come to that. "Did he?"

"He wasn't going to, but then Nick convinced him to take at least half a dose to regain some of his sanity. He pointed out that if he was freaking out too much, Zoe wouldn't react well and get upset. Kurt took it on the way home, so that he'd be fine by the time we got here. You know how much he hates taking that stuff."

Burt knew all too well. Kurt was never one to take prescription medications. He was fine with taking Tylenol or ibuprofen when he needed to, but even then, he did as a last resort. Kurt did experience a case of the baby blues right before the semester started, but Matt had determined that he was also dealing with minor anxiety issues as well. He'd been the one to convince Kurt to fill the prescription for them, just in case. It had been a low-dose drug to begin with, and Kurt had yet to make a dent in the bottle.

Kurt had dealt with anxiety in the past, so it wasn't his first rodeo. When he and Artie had been in that accident all those years ago and the weight of the possibility of being wheelchair-bound for life had been a high possibility, Kurt had been given medication to help with the stress of it all. Even back then, he only took it if he absolutely had to.

"I guess that's why he's a little spaced out. Even with the low-dose ones, they still make him feel weird; that's why he doesn't like taking them."

"I guess," Finn agreed. "It was just weird to watch him be all quiet and fidgety in the car. That's why I sent Mom a text when we were close by...figured he'd feel better if Zoe was the first person he saw. How many times did he call last night?"

"Just a couple," said Burt. "I was expecting him to call more, but after we put her to bed together, he never tried to call back...probably didn't want to wake her up, or us. All that matters is that we made it through the first real test of separation and everyone is still relatively in one piece. The first time is always the hardest. It gets easier from here."

Burt was right. The first time was definitely the hardest, but it did start to get easier.

Between Christmas and New Year's, the New Directions girls requested - more like demanded - Kurt's presence, with the stipulation that Zoe was left behind again. Blaine had stayed home though to hang out with Finn and Puck, so Kurt wasn't too worried about leaving her home. He did still call Blaine to check on her though.

Kurt was starting to wonder if his family and friends were conspiring against him, as it seemed like whenever he went to spend time outside the house, Zoe wasn't supposed to be tagging along. There had been a night where Artie had invited the guys to his place to play video games, and since they had heard of Kurt's secret talent to beat the really hard levels, he was told that his attendance was required. Once again, Zoe was left with Burt and Carole, but surprisingly, he only called once to check in on her.

Soon enough, it was December 31st, and as promised, everyone was with their respective families to ring in the new year. Kurt and Carole had spent the early part of the day getting some food made, so that they didn't have to worry about cooking later on. There wasn't anything on the agenda for the rest of the weekend; since it was Saturday, no one had to be anywhere the next day. Carole had work, but not til late Sunday night, so there was no hurry to do anything.

Blaine and Finn were in the living room on the floor playing with Zoe, while Burt and Cooper were watching - what else - college football, though they kept sneaking glances at the trio on the floor. Zoe was determined to crawl, though it seemed Finn was the one getting frustrated. It was only a matter of time before she got moving, as she had mastered the act of rocking her body back and forth. Blaine knew it would probably still be a few weeks before she was doing laps around the couch.

She just hadn't quite figured out yet how to move forward and keep going.

"Come on Zo-bug...we know you can do this." Finn sighed as Zoe cooed at him.

Blaine was lying on his side with his head propped onto his hand. "Maybe she needs a little space...it's not like she needs to be crawling tonight." He smiled as he watched Zoe fall back to sit on her bottom. "And it's kinda cool that she knows how to go from sitting up to all fours and back again. That's an accomplishment in itself."

Finn groaned as Zoe blew a spit bubble at him. "I get that, but don't you wanna see her do more? You guys are leaving on Monday to go back to Dalton. What happens when you guys come back? What if she's walking by then?!"

"You are being overly dramatic, Finn," said Kurt. He walked into the room and knelt in front of Zoe and wiped her mouth. "She'll crawl when she's good and ready. She's nearly there as it is, and that's good enough for me." Kurt smiled as he watched Zoe roll over onto her back. He couldn't resist tickling her and watching her kick her legs.

Blaine laughed and quickly reassured Finn. "Besides, the second she starts moving, we'll be filming it and calling you to get on Skype so you can watch. We wouldn't keep something like that from you guys."

"Thanks dude." Kurt rolled his eyes at the miserable look on Finn's face. Kurt secretly felt the same way, as Zoe really was so close to fully crawling. "I'm gonna go snag some chips. Anyone want anything?" The couple shook their heads, though Burt and Cooper followed Finn into the kitchen. Kurt watched Zoe roll over again and resumed her previous rocking position on all fours.

"He's got a point though."

"Hmm?" asked Kurt.

"She is so close, and you can tell by looking at her she knows what she needs to do. So how come she doesn't just do it already?" asked a slightly whiny Blaine.

"Honey, no offense, but maybe you need a break. Go get a snack and on your way back, make a bottle for Zoe, please. I promise I'll yell if anything happens, alright?"

"Um, sure," he said. "Maybe she just needs less people hounding her. Be right back."

Zoe's eyes followed Blaine as he left the room, and Kurt noticed an increase in her rocking. He got on the floor a little ways in front of her and made sure he had her eyes on him. He mimicked her rocking motion and then proceeded to slowly inch his way toward her. He saw her move one hand an inch forward, before moving it back again.

"I know you can do this, baby girl. This would be a real treat if you could just move a little bit for me. You're driving Daddy and Uncle Finn crazy, do you know that?" He laughed as she smiled and made a noise. "Of course you do. Now, watch Mama. All you have to do is put that rocking to use, and move a hand and a knee at a time." Kurt almost said 'one foot in front of the other', but that wasn't entirely right.

Kurt suddenly had an idea.

"Put one foot in front of the other. And soon you'll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other. And soon you'll be walking out the door."

Kurt quietly sang while he demonstrated for Zoe the proper way to crawl. The family had spent Christmas watching all the classic movies, one of which being Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Zoe in particular loved the little penguin and had been the most excited by that song. She'd been spending the last week trying to crawl since they watched it.

"You never will get where you're going, If you never get up on your feet. Come on, there's a good tail wind blowing - A fast walking man is hard to beat."

Kurt was now a good foot or so away from Zoe and was watching to see if she would make a move. He saw her eyes shift to the side, and he turned to see her teddy bear, which he then picked up and placed in front of him. He made it look like it was dancing to the song and he watched Zoe's eyes light up.

"Put one foot in front of the other. And soon you'll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the oth-" Kurt gasped and almost dropped the toy on the floor, stunned by what he was seeing.

Zoe was crawling.

It wasn't by any means perfected, but she was no longer stationary and coming closer to him. He slipped backwards a bit while yelling for his family to come back into the room.

Blaine was the first one to run in. "Kurt, what's wr-" Blaine's mouth dropped open and he stared at Zoe slowly making her way towards Kurt. Cooper and Finn wore similar looks, while Burt and Carole just looked on with big smiles on their faces. Kurt had stopped moving when they'd entered the room, and as soon as Zoe reached him, he picked her up and cuddled her close.

"What-"

"How-"

Blaine and Finn couldn't put together a coherent thought, so while they tried to get a hold of themselves, Carole lowered herself to the floor.

"I told them she needed a focal point, but no - don't listen to a mother who's done this before." Kurt and Carole shared a laugh, as Blaine and Finn dropped to the floor as well. Cooper took pity on them and asked the million dollar question.

"Don't leave us in suspense, Kurt. How'd you get her to crawl? Those two were trying for over an hour to get her going."

Kurt smiled as he looked at Zoe cuddling her bear.

"She just needed a little push in the right direction."

"Put her down - I wanna see her do it again...please." Kurt almost gave into their puppy eyes - almost.

"She needs her bottle first and a break. Then we'll try again." Finn opened his mouth to protest.

"No Finn."

Zoe did show off a little bit more after her bottle, as promised. Finn and Blaine couldn't get enough of her newest skill, but eventually Zoe got tired of it and stayed in one place on her blanket. They each tried turning her over to get her moving again, but she wasn't having it. When she started to whimper, Kurt decided that enough was enough and rescued Zoe from their evil clutches. Finn and Blaine thought about complaining, but when Kurt replied with his 'mama bear bitch face', they quickly gave up.

Zoe settled down in no time once Kurt situated himself on the couch. Since Blaine and Finn were being 'punished', they were forced to get comfortable on the floor with some pillows. Burt and Cooper each took a recliner, while Carole, Kurt and Zoe were sharing the couch. The threesome made a cute picture, as Kurt was resting his head on Carole's lap, and Zoe was cuddled on his chest. She fell asleep listening to Kurt's heartbeat.

The boys learned their lesson.

When Zoe was placed back on the floor after her nap, they stopped hounding her to crawl, and let her do what she wanted. For a while, she just bat at her little play set, but once she grew tired of it, she rolled over and shuffled out of the way on her belly. Once she deemed herself clear of it, she shifted back onto all fours and slowly but surely started to crawl around the blanket, to the delight of everyone there. Kurt kept an eye on her, but as long as she was smiling, he let her go.

Eventually she ended up in Finn's lap, where he then picked out a book to read to her. Finn made up different voices for the characters and laughed as she smacked the book in his hands. Blaine took advantage of her attention being elsewhere, and cleaned up the few things that were scattered on the floor. Once he saw that he had everything back in its rightful place, he decided that he'd earned the chance to borrow Kurt for a little while.

It was their anniversary, after all.

Stealing Kurt wasn't as hard as he thought it was gonna be. Burt and Cooper were too busy watching the game. Finn had Zoe. Carole was reading a book. With everyone doing their own thing, it didn't take much persuasion on Blaine's part to convince Kurt to come upstairs for a minute...or twenty.

While they had exchanged gifts on Christmas, there was one gift that Blaine kept off to the side. Blaine was a little worried about giving it to him, as it was something he made himself. While he was pretty confident that Kurt would like it, for a moment, he almost wasn't going to give it to him. Kurt walked into the bedroom first, and was confused when Blaine locked the door behind him.

"Blaine, what's going on? Why'd you lock the door?"

"So no one can interrupt us," Blaine said with a smirk.

Kurt stared for a moment, before answering him with a grin of his own. "Oh yeah? And why do we not want to be interrupted?" he asked.

Blaine walked up to Kurt and wrapped his arms around his waist, leaving Kurt to wrap his arms around Blaine's neck. "Because I wanna be selfish and have you all to myself for a little bit. As long as you don't mind, of course."

"Well, seeing as how we're already up here and everyone else is busy..." Kurt smiled as he pulled Blaine in for a kiss. Blaine - not to be outdone - pulls Kurt closer and keeps their lips together until the need for air became a necessity. They were panting slightly as they separated.

"Wow. Not that I'm complaining, but what brought that on?" asked Kurt.

"There's something that I have for you, and I just needed a little courage. I couldn't think of a better way to get it." Blaine grinned as Kurt blushed.

"Like I said - no complaints. What are you so worried about?" Blaine gently tugged Kurt over to the bed and sat him down. Kurt watched as Blaine walked into the closet, coming out seconds later with his hands behind his back. Kurt couldn't tell what Blaine was hiding, but he starting to feel anxious as Blaine came back and knelt on the floor in front of him.

"Kurt. It's been a year already, and it's been one of the best years of my life. I never expected to meet someone like you. You were the first person outside of Dalton that gave a damn about me. I must have played off our first meeting well because I was nervous as hell when you walked over to me and complimented me on my bowtie. My friends and Cooper always made fun of me for them, but even they had to admit that they worked for me.

"When school started, I was afraid that I was never going to see you again. The next thing I know, you're stopping me on the staircase and asked what all the fuss was about. While I had half-hoped you were there to see me, I knew that you were probably sent to spy on us. You saw us perform, but didn't leave, and I knew that I couldn't let this chance slip away.

"Then I did something crazy and asked for your number, and wasn't I surprised when you happily gave it to me. Even though the reason you transferred was horrible, I was so happy that I would be able to spend every minute of every day with you. Then Zoe came along and all I could think of was how awesome it was that the three of us made up the cutest family ever, and from that moment on, I never wanted to think how life would be like without you. "

Kurt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Though Blaine wasn't one for grand romantic gestures, he more than made up for it with his intimate, loving speeches. His heart just about stopped, however, when Blaine revealed what he had been hiding behind his back.

It was a small box.

"Blaine - if that's what I think it is -"

Blaine chuckled. "Breathe Kurt. It's not what you're thinking...close - but not quite."

Curiosity sufficiently peaked, Kurt took the box from Blaine and opened it. His jaw dropped and he once again forgot how to breathe. "Blaine?" he gasped. "What? I don't..."

"Do you like it? It's a promise ring that I made out of gum wrappers - our favorites. I'm honestly not sure if it's totally wearable, but -" Kurt threw his arms around Blaine's neck with enough enthusiasm that he slid off the bed and ended up in front of Blaine. He let go just before they both would have crashed to the floor.

"I don't care. I love it. But what brought this on? What are you promising?"

"To always love you. To defend you whether you're right or wrong. To surprise you. To always pick up the phone when you call no matter what I'm doing. To bake you cookies at least twice a year- more if I can manage it. To kiss you wherever, whenever, and however you want. But most importantly: to make sure you remember how perfectly imperfect you are."

"Oh Blaine," Kurt said with tears in his eyes, "I don't know what to say."

"Just promise me that this year won't be our last. I can't see a future without you and Zoe in it."

"It won't be our last, not by a long shot." Kurt pulled Blaine into another kiss, this one short and sweet. "Just so we're clear - this isn't an engagement, right? Because while I see a fantastic future for us, we're still kinda young for that."

"No fiancé of mine is going to walk around with a ring like this on their finger. Now a ring pop, on the other hand..." Blaine could barely keep a straight face, Kurt rolling his eyes.

"As long as it's a cherry ring pop, or even blue raspberry. I refuse to wear one that clashes with my wardrobe."

Blaine laughed, "Duly noted." He snuck in another quick kiss before helping Kurt off of the floor. "Now, why don't we head back downstairs and enjoy the rest of the evening...we still have some time to kill before the ball drops."

"I have a better idea of how to waste some time, but you're right – we should head back before someone comes up here looking for us."

"Does that mean I can cuddle with you on the couch? The floor isn't that bad, but I miss you." Blaine hoped that pouting and puppy eyes would get him back into Kurt's good graces.

Kurt laughed, "How could I saw no to a face like that? Besides, you need to be close by. Once midnight hits, I expect a kiss from you."

"Sounds like a plan to me. What was your better idea?" Blaine asked.

"You have to wait til later to find out," said Kurt with a smirk.