Blaine checked his watch impatiently as he and Addy sat in the waiting room of Dr. Greenberg's office. It was his lunch break and he had swung by Carole's to pick up his daughter and bring her back with him to the hospital for her appointment at the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Kurt happened to be leaving work early that day and had graciously offered to take Addy back to Carole's for Blaine when they were done since he was headed there anyway to pick up Elliott.

The mere thought of the brunette doctor brought a dizzying smile to Blaine's lips. He thought back over the last week and how they had seemed to become best friends almost overnight. His favorite conversation, by far, had happened that first day as they rode to work together.

"So, does Elliott have a mom... Or another dad?" Blaine had blurted out the invasive question without preamble, figuring it was only fair since Kurt already knew that he was parenting alone.

"Um, no," Kurt had laughed once he had gotten over his momentary shock at Blaine's boldness. "I mean, yes, of course he has a mom, in the biological sense. I'm his only real parent though. His only dad."

Silence as Blaine took this in.

"Just for the record though," Kurt had glanced at the other man out the corner of his eye and smirked slightly, "If there was another parent in Elliott's life it would definitely be a man."

"Good." (Oh my sweet Versace! Did I say that out loud!) Judging by Kurt's expression that was stuck somewhere between amusement and disbelief he was guessing that he had.

"I mean, good for you." (Oh, Lord. That was absolutely no better. Mental note to bang my head against a wall once I'm alone.)

Blaine had taken a deep breath, during which he realized that Kurt had dropped all pretence and was outright laughing at him. Blaine, smiling at his own ridiculousness, had finished simply, "I'm gay too."

"I know actually," Kurt had offered quietly with another side-glance.

Blaine had looked over in surprise. Not that he minded at all, of course. He had been out and proud for a long time now. It was just that he generally didn't come across as the obviously flamboyant type.

"Jeff told us a little about you," Kurt had supplied when he noted the other man's surprise.

"Only good things?"

"I'll never tell..."

"Adelaide Anderson," called the receptionist, pulling Blaine from his thoughts.

Taking his daughter's hand in his own he walked toward the front desk.

"Through the door on the left. They'll show you where to go once you're inside," the receptionist instructed without looking up.

Scooping Addy up into his arms, he entered the office. Blaine snuggled her into his shoulder, knowing her nerves were probably getting the better of her. The brusqueness of the receptionist had not helped. Adelaide was a bit of an old soul and surprisingly sensitive to the emotions and attitudes of those around her. Someone else's happiness could keep her flying high for days while an ill timed word of criticism or simply a bad attitude could make her spirits plummet. He was heart broken for her at times, just wanting his little girl to stay young and be carefree. Oh well, that was part of being a parent. You can't change your child. You just love them for who they are and guide them as best you can.

"This way, Mr. Anderson!" A cheery looking medical assistant called them into the closest exam room.

"How are you this morning beautiful!" Blaine saw Addy visibly relax in his arms at the friendliness of the young woman. Addy chirped a small, "Great!" She clambered up on the exam table with help from her father.

"The doctor will be in shortly." With a smile the girl shut the door leaving the small family alone.

True to her word the doctor bustled into the room less than a minute later. Chart in hand he smiled a greeting and immediately began chatting the small child up to put her at ease. His exam seemed to replicate a clown's performance at a child's birthday party rather than a doctor's exam. It involved a see-thru rubber duck propped onto the end of his exam light, covering his own face in stickers, making all kinds of silly faces and seeing if he could get Addy mimic them while finally pretending to trip and landing in a surprisingly graceful twirl in his swivel chair. By the end, Addy was so at ease and laughing so hard Blaine was fairly certain she had forgotten she was in a hospital.

"All right, my dear Addy. Next door is a play room with tons of cool toys and books. There's also a mirror so you can practice making those crazy faces," Dr. Greenberg told the little girl with a smile. "If it's o.k. with your Daddy, Marcy will take you there now." At that the medical assistant poked her head in through the door and held out a hand to the child. After receiving questioning looks from all three Blaine quickly nodded his consent.

Watching them leave, the doctor turned to Blaine. "Well, Mr. Anderson, from what I can see I'm comfortable leaving her tonsils where they are for the time being. It's been a good six months since she last had strep and one more case isn't quite enough to concern me yet. If it occurs again though we will reconsider. I am concerned with the amount of ear infections though, particularly the severity. Has she had tubes put in before?" Blaine nodded and told the doctor that she had had them at the age of one. They and fallen out though and the perforations had healed this last year. Unfortunately this was her third ear infection since that time. The doctor nodded slowly while listening, then spoke again, "I don't think there is any way around it. New tubes will need to be placed or this will continue to occur."

Blaine sighed with resignation, knowing the doctor was right, and smiled his thanks. "Where do I go to schedule the surgery?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Our scheduling receptionist will contact you at home."

Shaking the doctor's hand and gathering his daughter, Blaine headed down the hall. He was surprised to see Kurt standing there talking with the medical assistant from earlier.

"Here is the full and detailed report on Elliott's tests, Dr. Hummel."

"Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for me, Marcy," Kurt said to the girl gratefully.

"Kurt!" Blaine greeted the man with a gentle pat on the arm that unintentionally turned into more of a caress. Was it his imagination or did Kurt almost lean into the touch with a gentle sigh?

(Nope, must have been my imagination.) Kurt stood straight and, while smiling, he spoke briskly, "I hope you don't mind. I need to leave pretty soon to pick up Elliott so I thought I'd just come straight here to see if you were finished so I could take Addy."

"Just finished now. Thanks again so much for taking her back for me. As it is I've already been gone from the hospital longer than I'm supposed to be." Their hands brushed as Blaine handed over Addy's backpack. Both men felt a jolt of electricity and carefully avoided the others' eyes as they headed out the door.

"So," Blaine cleared his throat, "You didn't tell me why you have to head off so early today."

"Just an appointment. It's no big deal." Kurt spoke shortly and with a sharpness that was brand new to Blaine, and clearly told him that it was a big deal indeed. The immediate regret in Kurt's eyes was obvious and he opened his mouth to speak again, but seemed to have trouble finding any words.

"Hey, we're good. You don't need to say anything. I'm sorry I was nosy and pried." Blaine spoke to his new-found friend kindly, and this time it was definitely a caress on the arm instead of a pat. And, oh yeah, Kurt was definitely sighing and leaning into it this time with an unreadable expression on his face. Slowly one of Kurt's hands came up to settle on Blaine's. Kurt gazed into the other man's eyes with a look that said "I totally understand if you push my hand away but please, please don't!"

Seeing the uncertainty in those blue eyes turned Blaine into a complete puddle and, while he had no intention of pushing the other man away, he decided to take it one step further. He slipped his arms around the taller man's waist and pulled him into a hug.

Kurt was not a naturally cuddly person like Blaine, the man was practically a teddy bear, but being close to those dark curls and hazel eyes and being touched by that olive skin just felt so natural, like he was finally home. Kurt wrapped his arms around the other man's shoulders and they just stood there for a moment, each just breathing the other in.

Small arms wrapping around both of their legs quickly brought them back to the present. They looked down to see Addy joining in on the hug with a blissful smile on her elfin face.

"Alright, little one," Kurt swung his young charge up into the air, eliciting laughter. "Let's get you back to Carole's so your daddy can get to work."

A kiss for his daughter, an intense yet uncertain gaze shared with the doctor, and Blaine was standing on his own in the parking lot watching the SUV pull into traffic. He shook is head in an attempt to pull himself back to Earth and headed toward the main hospital to get back to work. (Shit!) He was running 25 minutes late, he realized, as he pulled out his phone to check the time. He started to jog but then stopped short as he noticed a notification that he had a new text message... from Alex. This was the first he had heard from his husband since he had left over two weeks ago.

To Blaine: I'm coming on Saturday to get my daughter. Have her ready by 9 am. -Alex