Blaine had one hand tucked under the bottom of Kurt's hoodie, rubbing slow circles over his stomach while Kurt laid back against him as the pair of them watch Burt, for the second time in a week, on the phone trying to deal with Kurt's past catching up with him.  

“I can feel your heart beating fast…”  Kurt murmured upwards.

Blaine was feeling frantic, that was for sure.  This was one danger a gay prostitute should have never had to deal with.  Blaine could accept the infection risk, and the damage done… but it should be a solely female problem.  And if the kid was really Kurt's, what would Kurt do?  He wasn't old enough or in a place yet to be a parent.  He didn't have a job.  Hell, he was still learning to take care of himself let alone having to care for a small human.  

If Kurt wanted to take care of the kid though, if it was his, where would Blaine be?  Blaine was no more ready to parent than Kurt was.  What would his parents think?  What about school?  This was supposed to be the time in his life that he was free to do what he wanted and a kid would mess that all up.

And if this is what Blaine was thinking about, he couldn't imagine what Kurt was going through inside his mind - even though he could not only hear Kurt's heart, but feel it beating insistently through his skin and clothing layers.

Burt hung up the phone and made a very audible sigh as he walked over to the living room area and sat on the loveseat across from Blaine and Kurt.  “Okay.  Paternity tests will be fast tracked but we need to get you in first thing tomorrow for bloodwork Kurt… and then we'll see about meeting the kid.  He's apparently in a foster home south of here on an acreage right now.”

Kurt nodded and sat himself upright, Blaine's hand being pulled away from him in the process as he looked towards his dad.  “What about if he's not mine?”

“What do you mean Kurt?” Burt lifted a brow.

“Don't get me wrong… I'm insanely mad at Quinn for not being upfront with me… but… she's still my friend… if the kid isn't mine, shouldn't I take care of him anyhow?”

Blaine's jaw dropped right in sync with Burt's, and both men worked to bring it back up - Blaine choking back a breath and Burt shaking his head, “Kurt.  You're a kid yourself.  You… can't just up and be a parent.”

Kurt sighed, “I know… but…”  His head dropped into his hands and Blaine watched as he rubbed his fingers over his temples and then combed them out through his shock of pink hair before looking back up, “That kid shouldn't have to be punished for what Quinn and I did.  Whether or not he's mine… Quinn and I… we went to New York together, did everything together… apparently even…. *that*...”  he spit out the word and Blaine saw just a hint of a shudder go up Kurt's back. “... I should have come back with her.  I should have helped her out from the start and then she wouldn't be in jail…”

“You didn't do a damned thing wrong son.” Burt insisted, face hardening, “As it is I'm angry that you won't press charges against the jerks that put you and her into that situation -”

“- I can't dad.”  Kurt interrupted.  “The last time I saw one of them I froze right up… I just… I'm not strong enough to face them in court.”

“Fine.”  Burt sighed again.  “Look.  Let's focus on the plan for if the kid is yours first… if you want to go down that other path if he ends up not being yours, we can talk it out then.”

Kurt nodded, glancing back at Blaine who forced up what must have been the most awkward smile on the planet.  He was definitely not comfortable talking about this.  Hell, he didn't know what the hell to say about any of it.

So he let Burt talk.

“First off, have you considered letting him be adopted by someone ready to have a kid?”

Kurt looked up at that, and Blaine could see that that particular option wasn't going to fly.

“I'm pretty sure Quinn would have to sign off on that too and she wouldn't… and no dad… I've barely been able to register the news let alone consider my options, and, quite frankly, I don't like that option.”

“Can I ask why?” Burt queried as he looked at Kurt somberly.

“Because if he is my kid, I want to know him.  I don't want him thinking he was some kind of mistake and that I didn't want him because I'd fucked up.  Besides, it's not like gay guys get this sort of thing handed to them easily.”

That didn't mean they were ready for it, Blaine thought to himself as he winced.  Just because it was more difficult for a gay couple to acquire kids didn't mean it was impossible and that they should just throw themselves at the opportunity whenever it arose.  

Burt seemed to be on the same page, because his next question was “Do you honestly think you could offer that kid a better life than someone who's ready for him?  Who would be in your interests - yours or the kid, if you decided to care for him?”

Blaine saw Kurt draw his lip ring into his mouth and suck on it as he thought, one of his tells.  Kurt was making a realization.

“Dad…”  He finally said after moment, “... I guess I'd want it for the both of us.  Me because I couldn't see myself just letting him go if he's mine.. and for him because I want to make the first year of his life up to him.. make sure he knows he's wanted… and has a wonderful grandfather…”

Burt rolled his eyes at the obvious play for his affections, but ultimately it was up to Kurt and both he and Blaine knew that.  “Alright… just… please… go into this with your eyes wide open.  Kids aren't all cuteness and love.  They're sacrifice and occasional torture too.”

“You'd know that for sure.”  Kurt said, a genuine grin crossing his features.

Blaine just kept quiet.  

The next day was bloodwork, after which Kurt whined bitterly that since he's been with Blaine doctors were always demanding his blood even though he was pretty sure they had more of his blood in stock than he had in himself at this point.  Quinn was apparently giving her own blood sample from the jail medical clinic, and Kurt Junior, a name which Blaine wasn't sure how he felt about, would be taken that afternoon.  Then it was a three day wait - even with the rush.

Those three days felt like three years.

First, Kurt immersed himself in reading, though instead of his usual fiction, he was reading parenting books, quoting off points which he must have felt were interesting to Blaine who just tried to keep himself occupied online - reading the news, messaging with old Warbler friends, and watching videos.  

“Did you know baby talk is critical to early development?”
“All those educational videos… total crap apparently…”
“When a dad is involved in a kid's life they're 70% more likely to graduate… huh…”
“Tears contain stress hormones and help calm down a baby….”
“God I hope Quinn breastfed.”
“Oh… personality is developed mostly before a kid is even in kindergarten…”

It all gave Blaine a headache.

Then Kurt dragged Blaine shopping, not for either of them, but for the kid.

“You don't even know that he's yours….” Blaine tried to instill in Kurt as he held several shopping bags filled with enough clothes for a small army of children.

“First of all, I've never gotten to shop for a baby before.  Secondly, if he is mine, I want to make sure I'm ready for him, and even if he isn't… well… we'll deal with that if and when it happens.” Kurt stated simply as he looked between a set of booties and then put both pairs in the cart.

Blaine just reminded himself to breath in, and breath out, breath in, and breath out…

Then, on the day they were going to find out the results, Blaine awoke to find Kurt looking at himself in the mirror, a pile of piercings on the counter before him - all removed except for the gage's in his lobes.

“What… what are you doing Kurt?”  Blaine asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Have to look like a dad if I end up being a dad…”

Apparently that made sense enough to Kurt, and the next thing that happened was Blaine was coerced into helping Kurt dye the pink out of his hair with a box of boring, old brown dye from the store he had picked up at some point.

His boyfriend looked downright odd when he came out of the shower that day.  Blaine wasnt sure if he liked it or not.  It did look like Kurt… but not his Kurt…

Then they waited.  Sitting around the house making awkward and forced conversation as they waited for the call.

Burt's phone buzzed and everyone looked at it.  He answered it and set it to speaker.  “Go ahead Martin.  Kurt can hear you.”

“Well… ah… congratulations?  You're a dad…”  The nasally voice said on the other end.

Blaine's heart plummeted as Kurt's smile grew.  Whatever was said next, Blaine didn't hear because of the thumping pulse of his own blood in his ears.  This was not what he had signed on for.  He wasn't even sure he wanted kids, had never had a chance to think about it, but Kurt was a dad which meant….

Shit.  Blaine was going to have to figure this out.

“Blaine!”  

Blaine shook his head and looked towards Kurt.  Clearly something had been said or asked and he was awaiting a response.  “Come again?”

“I asked if you'd come with us… the foster family said we could go see him this afternoon.”

“Of course Kurt.”

So that's how Blaine found himself sitting in the backseat with his boyfriend, trying to not rub his neck down to the bone as he nervously thought about how he was going to explain this to his mother… his dad… his sister… Wes… What were they going to do with a kid?  Was he going to have to drop out of school to get a job? Was Kurt? They weren't even married… would they have to rush into that right away?  Kurt had never even mentioned kids...

They got to the house way too fast.

Inside was a veritable riot of children, the “mother” explaining that she currently had eight foster kids there along with four of her own in the mix.  Burt muttered under his breath that he would be looking into how the foster system was managed once he got back to work while Blaine just tried to weave between the pair of identical girls running through the room towards him.  Holy hell it was a zoo.  Was this what he could expect?  Was this being a parent?

Then they all stopped in their tracks.  At the table there was several high chairs set up in a row and it didn't take a genius to figure out which one was Kurt Junior.

“Oh my god Kurt… son… he's your spitting image.” Burt said in shock, well before the woman could introduce them.  

The boy at the end of the row was.  He looked like he had been plucked right from one of Kurt's baby photos that Blaine had looked over not a couple weeks before.  Bright blue eyes, a mess of brown hair, pudgy cheeks, and freckles splattered over his nose.  The boy was currently deeply interested in gnawing on a cookie, both chubby hands gripping it tightly as he tried to shove it into his mouth.

“He's a little bit drooly… more teeth coming in and all.”  The woman noted, taking the tray off the chair and unbuckling the belt holding the boy in while he peered up at her, continuing to make a mess of his face with the saliva soaked cookie being pressed against it.  

“Can I… hold him?”  Kurt asked, suddenly timid.

“That's the plan isn't it?” She asked, holding the boy out to Kurt without further ado.

Blaine watched him take his son slowly into his arms, very gingerly holding the small version of himself who seemed completely disinterested in Kurt, or anything else besides the cookie.  Kurt, however, was very entranced.

“He's so small…”

“He'll get bigger son.” Burt said, clapping an arm onto Kurt's shoulder as he looked over his grandson, a twinkle apparent in his eyes.  Carole edged up beside them, smiling widely at the little one as Burt wrapped his other arm around her waist, leaving Blaine the odd man out in the picture.

They stayed for awhile, Kurt marveling in everything his son did (or didn't for that matter) do from eating to rolling around on his back, to changing him (which was disgusting).  Throughout it all, Kurt's attention was given solely to that child, trying to get him to respond with a smile or a laugh to his constant talking, telling his son how happy he was to meet him and apologizing for not being there.

“You okay Blaine?” Carole asked him, sitting beside him at the table where he was watching Kurt.

“I shouldn't be here.” Blaine said softly so Kurt couldn't hear.

“Kurt wanted you here though dear.”  Carole said, reaching over to pat him gently on the back, “You might not be doing much, but it means something to him that you're here for him.”

“I guess…”  Blaine sighed, looking away from Kurt and to Carole, “I have no idea what to do…”

Carole smiled sweetly, as she always did, “Oh honey.  No one really does when these things happen.  Hell, I had nine months to try and figure out what to do when Finn came along and I still wasn't ready for him.”

“What're we going to do?”

She shook her head, “We won't let you boys starve or suffer… don't worry about that.  Burt is set on doing right by Kurt and Kurt Junior… god… of all the names…”

Blaine laughed at that, “Yeah… why would she call him that?”

Carole shrugged, “I get that it's a nice homage to his dad and all… but as if it isn't confusing enough in the house with a Burt and a Kurt… now there's just one more “urt” in the mix..”

“If it was a girl we could've gone with Gert...Gertrude or whatnot… or Myrt for Myrtle…”

“Oh god no sweetie.”  Carole pulled a face.  “Forget what I said.  Kurt Junior is fine.  We'll call him K.J. or Junior or something… “

And for the first time since this whole thing had begun, Blaine let out an honest laugh.