December came with its cold weather, its snow and a very agitated Liz. When she came to see Blaine, one day, she wasn't really there. She was still very professional but her mind was clearly elsewhere. Burt tried to make her talk, wanting to understand what was happening, and to know if he could do anything. But Liz declined the offer with a smile, saying there was this case she was working on that was really heavy.

A week later, she came to the Hummel household for dinner. She was there as a family friend and not as Blaine's social worker. When she entered the house, Burt immediately saw that his friend was not in her best shape. She had circles under her eyes and she looked really stressed and tired. As far as he remembered, Kurt had never seen her that stressed out before.

"Something wrong, Liz?" Burt asked, frowning in concern as Aaron and Kurt were serving the principal dish.

"Yeah... Just that case I have... It's complicated." Liz said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Can we do anything about it?" Kurt asked, always willing to help

"Unless you can take in a heavily disabled girl, no, you can't..." Liz said automatically, almost regretting because she knew that the Hummel would volunteer to take her, even if they had no experience with kids with special needs.

At this precise moment, Kurt gave his father a pointed look that Liz didn't miss. The one look that came with the arched eyebrow. The one look that made Kurt look exactly like Eleanor. The one Burt couldn't say no to.

"We do have an extra room." Burt said.

"Burt! It's not even on the ground floor! She's in a wheelchair!"

"I'm sure we can manage!"

"I can't ask you to take her... That's a heavy case." Liz argued

"We can take care of her without a problem." Kurt said as his father was nodding.

Aaron was just looking at the argument, slightly smiling. He always liked the way the energy changed in the house when there was a newcomer. Even if it was making him shy and making him hide in his room more than usual, he liked the way Kurt was excited and the way Burt always made sure everyone was okay, even more than usual.

Blaine, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how both Kurt and Burt would make the things work if they couldn't even take the kid upstairs to get to bed.

"Are you really sure about this?" Liz asked "You didn't exactly sign up for kids with special needs. And Charlie needs a lot of care and..."

"Yes, we're sure!" Burt said, cutting Liz' ramblings "Under one condition."

"I knew there was some trap." the woman said with a slight smile.

"You have to let Kurt read her file." Burt said "And Blaine too." he added when he saw the boy wave at him. "I can't do everything by myself and they'll need to be informed."

"Deal!"

Liz then opened the messenger bag she always carried everywhere (even when she didn't need it.) She took out a rather large green file and put it on the table beside her plate for the boys to read later.

"Thanks guys! It really means a lot to me that you're willing to help! And by the way, Kurt, Blaine, you never read that file!"

The rest of the evening was smooth. Liz looked less stressed and Kurt was excited by the perspective of having a new kid in the house.

The next day, Kurt read Charlie's file. It appeared that she was not a child anymore; she was sixteen. She was born perfectly healthy, making Cara, her single mom, so proud and happy.

Only, when she was two years old, Charlie got sick. The doctors told Cara that Charlie had meningitis. After months and months going back and forth from home to the hospital, the disease finally disappeared. But it left consequences. Several heavy consequences. Charlie would never be able to talk nor walk. She would never be able to eat by herself or use the bathroom. She also would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Her mother prayed every god that the illness left enough scars so that Charlie would never realize how heavy her condition was, that she would never realize that she was trapped in her own body for the rest of her now shortened life.

Charlie grew up but always stayed awfully skinny. She was not eating much, despite her mother's efforts.

Charlie was cooing and smiling when she was happy. She also was crying when she was uncomfortable or sad.

She liked music but the file did not specify which kind. Kurt promised himself to try different types until he found the one that made Charlie really happy.

The meningitis also left epilepsy. It had been controlled by medication for several years now but a seizure could still happen anytime. Epilepsy is rarely fully controlled and the hormonal or body changes can create an imbalance in the medication and a seizure can happen.

Kurt read more carefully the parts about how Charlie was positioned in her bed when she was sleeping, how she liked her food and what the routine was during bath time.

He then read the last page, about how Charlie ended in foster care.

Liz got on the case when Cara got sick. She had cancer and when she was diagnosed it was already too late. She knew that she would die so she made sure to meet with the social services before her death. She took all the money she was saving and put it in a special account for Charlie, to make sure she would go in a good nursing home. She wanted to be sure to arrange the room to her taste, make sure that Charlie would enjoy and be in good hands. Only, she didn't find one in time and now it was Liz' job to find one with the criterions that Cara described. Places like Cara wanted existed, only, they were full.

Liz took care of Charlie for two weeks, in her own house, before she took her to the Hummel family.

Kurt tried to stay emotionless as he read the file and he hoped that the tear stains would dry off when he would hand the file to Blaine.

When Kurt and Blaine came back from school on Monday afternoon, there were two unfamiliar cars in the driveway. One of them was an abnormally low minivan.

Both were very anxious to meet Charlie, even if in the back of their minds they knew she would not even realize that she was meeting them.

They entered the house to find boxes of adult diapers and a strange looking long chair. There were also two suitcases. They took off their boots and coats and made their ways to the living room from where they could hear voices. There, they found Burt and Liz. There was also a kind looking woman that Kurt recognized as Carole Hudson, Finn's mom.

Another person was there with them, Charlie. She was too small to be sixteen. Her hair were rather short but still in a feminine way.

Less work to take care of it. Kurt thought at the sight of the hair.

She was smiling a smile that could have enlightened the whole east coast.

"Hey boys!" Burt said when he saw Kurt and Blaine entering the room.

"Hey dad!" Kurt responded immediately while Blaine just stood there awkwardly. He hadn't realized that Kurt had taken a seat on the couch next to his father.

It was the first time for him that a new kid entered the house. Aaron had just disappeared in his room, as per usual when this situation was happening but Blaine was supposed to be there, because he'd be helping the Hummels with Charlie.

"Blaine! Take a seat, buddy, Liz needed to talk to us... Explain some basic stuff that wasn't in the file." Burt said, pulling Blaine out of his thoughts.

Liz then managed to explain all the medication that Charlie needed to take. 10mL of Valproic, some Tegretol and Lorazepam pills twice a day and Melatonine just before going to bed to help sleeping. They were kind of lost during all the explanations but Liz reassured them that all of the "cocktail" would be delivered by the drug store every week. The pills would be in a Dispill and 10mL was not that hard to remember. She then handed them a sheet with all the explanations, some basic tips and pictures of the different kind of pills that Charlie need to take to differentiate them.

"It's almost time for her dinner dose, which have to be taken around four. This is why Carole is here, she's a friend of mine and a nurse. She'll help you with the procedure." Liz explained.

Carole showed them how to take some Valproic with the needleless plastic syringe. There was a special cap that needed to be cleaned every few days because the syrup-y medication was really sticky and was clogging the cap when it dried. She showed them how to administer the medication with the syringe, without going too fast to make sure that Charlie wouldn't choke. She then showed them how to give Charlie her pills with either yogurt or applesauce. She showed them to not add the pills too early because the external layer was a barrier for the actual pills to not melt too early in the digestive system.

It would be hard to learn everything but they were all willing to do it.

Carole and Liz also took the time to show them how to transfer Charlie from her wheelchair to the bathtub or the bed with some kid of lift and harness.

Both women taught the boys to carefully place Charlie in the weird long chair that was actually a bath chair, so that she wasn't directly in the bottom of the bathtub and preventing her to be directly in the water. They also took time to show them how to change Charlie's diaper without demolish their backs. They just had to roll her on her side and get the diaper.

They then took their turns in the harness and lift to feel how it was to be lifted in the air with the device. Carole insisted; it was important to know the feeling so that they would always be careful with Charlie.

Finally, Liz took everybody out to show them how the minivan worked. She first showed them how to put Charlie's coat. It was very wide and custom made. It envelopped both the girl and the chair so they didn't have to pull and tug and push to make sure Charlie was kept warm. Afterwards, even Aaron followed, curious about what was inside the van. There was a platform to get Charlie in and several straps and clips to secure her chair where the middle seats should be. The backseat was still there if Burt needed everybody to get into the minivan.

When everything was over and that both Liz and Carole finished explaining, Burt invited them over for dinner. Liz declined the invitation and Carole refused too; her son wouldn't be able to make himself a meal and Kurt couldn't help but agree with her. Nonetheless, she left to Burt her phone number, telling him to call if there was anything.

Liz and Carole left the house in Carole's car – Liz came with the minivan – and everyone went back in the house to have their first night with Charlie.

None would admit it but they were all stressed out about all the things they had to remember to take care of the teenage girl. Still, they were all willing to do their best to make sure she was happy. Even Aaron was willing to help, the most he could.