CHAPTER 17

It took several months, but they were beginning to settle in, and rely on friends less.  They were able to work, shop and do most basic chores with no more help than they'd had before Ellie's birth, but they realized they were naïve to think that adding a baby into a family with pre-school aged twins would be simple.  They developed routines so they could spend time with the boys outside the apartment at times, while someone stayed with Ellie.  They learned that nannies and friends could handle her, and that while she might prefer to have one or both of her fathers, she would survive.  Things were going smoothly, until a fateful doctor's appointment.

Ellie was at her six month check-up.  Everything seemed fine, and so Kurt and Blaine were a little surprised when the doctor asked to speak to them.  “Well, Ellie is doing quite well.  She's basically caught up developmentally with other babies her age, so we no longer have to take her prematurity into account as much.  She's still quite small for her age, but she is growing and gaining weight steadily; I think she's just going to be a petite young lady.”  So far, everything the doctor was saying sounded good.  They looked at each other, waiting for the other shoe to fall.  “RSV season is officially over, so you can start taking her out, going to public places, that sort of thing.”

“You mean, like shopping?”  Kurt couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

“Sure.  Shopping, out to eat, parks, playgrounds.  Wherever you want.  And she doesn't need the vaccine anymore; she's actually gained enough weight that she won't need it at all next year, and won't need to stay away from public places.”

“I don't know . . . .”  Blaine was a bit hesitant, and looking at Kurt, he knew that Kurt was even more uncertain.

“She'll be fine.”  The doctor assured them.

At home, nothing changed.  Although they didn't discuss it, there was an unspoken agreement between the two that it was too soon; Ellie was simply not ready.

A few weeks later, Santana asked when Ellie would be allowed to go out.  Brianna wanted to play with the boys, and she thought it would be fun for both families to spend the following Sunday evening in Central Park, followed by dinner out together.  Blaine and Kurt exchanged a glance, but before they could protest, Santana caught it and demanded, “Okay.  Something's up.  Spill.”

Looking helplessly at Kurt, Blaine said, “The doctor gave us the all-clear a few weeks ago, but we're both still a little scared of what might happen.”

“Uh-huh.  So, Brit and I will be seeing all five of you in the park around sixish, the playground on the south side.”

“But, we can't!  What about Ellie?”  Kurt protested.

“She'll be fine, Hummel.  See you then.”  Santana swept out of the apartment, leaving no room for further argument.

The following Sunday, they carefully packed a diaper bag and bundled Ellie into her stroller.  They met the Lopez-Pierce's at the appointed place and time, but within a few minutes, Kurt was panicking and ready to head home.  “She's beet red and she has a fever,” he insisted.  “I knew this would happen.  It's the first time she's been out and she's already sick.”

“She's hot.  Give her here.”  Santana reached for the stroller.  She pulled away two blankets, and stripped the baby of a jacket and two sweaters.  Underneath was a long sleeve shirt and pants.  “Good Lord, Porcelain, no wonder she's dying.”  She dug in the diaper bag until she found a sundress.  Pulling off the pants and shirt, she quickly redressed Ellie in the sundress.  Pulling baby sunscreen from her own bag, she rubbed a generous covering into Ellie's skin. 

“She'll get cold!”  Kurt protested.

“Not until the sun goes down, at the earliest, and then we can put a sweater on her,” Santana told him.

Once out of the stroller, and freed of the heavy clothing, Ellie began to enjoy herself.  While Santana, Kurt and Blaine watched the older children, Brittany wandered around with Ellie, showing her things.  She'd always been amazingly good with children; Blaine wondered if it was because she was so child-like herself.  After an hour, the older children began to bicker, and Ellie began to yawn.  The adults recognized the signs that it was time to leave.

The headed out of the park and found a relatively kid-friendly café.  Sitting at a table out on the sidewalk, Kurt pulled a bottle of formula from the insulated compartment of the diaper bag, and the other adults helped the kids figure out what to order.  Dinner went smoothly, with Ellie sleeping through most of it, and afterwards Kurt and Blaine helped hail a cab for the Lopez-Pierce's before walking home.

Once they got home, however, Kurt couldn't stop checking Ellie for signs of illness.  He stayed home for the next several days, sure that she was about to become seriously ill and would need him.  He put the pediatrician and hospital, as well as 9-1-1, on speed-dial.  Nearly a week later, nothing had happened other than Kurt managing to irritate everyone else in the house.

“Baby, I really think she's going to be fine,” Blaine finally said.

“I guess,” Kurt said doubtfully.

Despite his concerns, however, Ellie was fine.  Her first illness of any sort came when she was nearly a year old.  Kurt panicked and rushed her to the doctor, who told him she had a cold.  He left with instructions on how to clear her nose to make her more comfortable and an order to purchase a humidifier for her room.  Other than typical childhood illnesses such as that, she insisted on remaining ridiculously healthy, no matter how much Kurt worried.

* * *

“Hey, Hummel, you've got to help me out.  I don't know what I'm doing here,” Puck's voice came over the phone, sounding slightly panicky.

Kurt was instantly concerned; very little panicked Puck, and even less would have him admitting to not knowing how to handle a situation.  “Calm down, Puck.  Where are you?”

“The baby store, you know, the one you registered at that's closest to your place?”  Puck and Lauren had, after several years in California, moved to New York the previous fall when Lauren got a job with NBC.  Puck had sold several screenplays, and more than a few of them had been successfully produced, so he was in enough demand that he no longer felt the need to stay near L.A. for the contacts, and even though Lauren was still doing freelance work for some production houses in California, she could do most of it from New York.

“What are you doing there?”

“Are you going to come help me or not?  Because if you're not going to come, I need to call Santana and she'll laugh at me but I need someone.”

“Okay, I'm coming; the nanny should be here in five minutes and I'll leave then.”

Arriving at the baby store, Kurt found a very bewildered Puck staring at the massive array of baby gear and supplies.  “Are you ready to tell me what's going on?”

“The agency called.”  The answer seemed to make perfect sense to Puck, but Kurt was still in the dark.

“Excuse me?”

“We registered to adopt a baby from China.  We didn't tell anyone because it's not a sure thing, and we registered two and a half years ago and we were all set but then we moved and they insisted on doing the home study and everything else all over again, and we were beginning to think we'd never get a baby but they called and we leave at the end of the week to go get her and we don't have anything and Lauren's packing and sent me to get what we need and what we have to take and I just don't know what to buy.”  Puck was rapidly working himself into a panic, and Kurt was concerned he was going to pass out just from lack of oxygen since he wasn't pausing for breath.

“Breathe, Puck.  We will make sure we have what you need to bring her home.  What do you mean what you need to take?”

“We need clothes and supplies and a car seat and stuff, and they said it's customary for the adoptive parents to bring a gift to the orphanage, things they can use for the babies who are still there.”

“That makes sense.  How old is she?  And can I call Blaine to help?”

“What?  Sure.  She's six months old.  They also sent an email,” Puck said, fishing in his pocket for his phone.  Pulling up the email, he proudly showed Kurt a slightly blurry, badly lit picture of a chubby baby girl with a head full of black hair.

“She's beautiful.  I can't wait to meet her.  She and Ellie can be friends.  Brianna's about the same age as the boys, and so is Sam and Mercedes' oldest, Tyler, although they live back in Ohio.  I guess Brandon is her age, almost exactly, but of course he's back in Ohio too; providing my daughter with a playmate wasn't enough to get Finn and Quinn to pull up stakes and move to New York.  What are you naming her?”  While he was talking, he was also texting Blaine.  He got a quick reply, and they began to browse the shelves while they waited for Blaine.

“Caroline Jade.”

“It's perfect.”

“I miss him, you know,” Puck said.

“Huh?”  Kurt was confused.

“Finn.  Quinn too.  I always figured I'd never settle down, but if I did I thought I'd be doing this stuff with them, not you, no offense.”

“None taken.”

“But I understand, I guess.  Ohio's always been home for him, and after everything that happened here, I don't think I'd want to be here either.  For Lauren and I, kind of like for you and Blaine, this place is about opportunity and the future and the families we're making, but for him, it was never about his opportunities, and it holds nothing but failure and heartbreak.  The only good things to come out of New York for him were Stephen and Carole Ann, and he still has them in Ohio.” 

Kurt shook his head, wondering when Puck had gotten so perceptive.  Blaine finally arrived, and the three men spent time picking out clothes from preemie size to one year, along with diapers, wipes, toys, baby furniture, and other necessary items.  Kurt explained to Puck that they should leave all the clothes that were too small for Caroline at the orphanage, along with most of the diapers, wipes, supplies and toys, and bring back only what they needed to have on the trip home.  When asked what they would do when they got home if they gave everything away, Kurt just looked at Blaine and smiled.  Puck caught on, and smiled back.

* * *

When Puck and Lauren returned a week and a half later, Kurt met them at the airport to bring them home.  Lauren spoke up from her place beside Caroline in the back of the car when she noticed they weren't going in the right direction.  Kurt told her he had an errand to run on the way, smiling at Puck, who smiled back.  They pulled up outside a restaurant, and Puck helped Lauren get Caroline out, waiving at Kurt who pulled away to park.  Once Kurt returned, they walked inside, only to find most of their friends, going all the way back to high school, many of them with children in tow, and piles of presents.  By the time Kurt and Blaine were really ready to take them home, it took both cars to fit not only the four adults and four children, but all the presents, and Puck and Lauren were fully equipped to deal with the new addition to their family.

* * *

Kurt came home one afternoon to find Blaine with one preschooler under each arm, trying to hit each other, while Ellie cried from her crib.  “What's going on?”  He asked.

“We need a bigger apartment.  We need more bedrooms,” Blaine said.  “They each need separate corners, and their own space.”

“Are you sure?  I mean, we can work it out if we try, can't we?”  Kurt tried.  However, one look at Blaine's exhausted, frustrated face, and Kurt knew any argument would be futile.  Sighing, he looked up the name of the real estate agent they had used when they found their current apartment.

Within months, they had moved, for the last time.

* * *

The differences between Ellie and her brothers were startling.  Like them, she did look as though Kurt and Blaine had managed to combine their DNA:  she remained diminutive, with Kurt's slender build, and she had Kurt's coloring, but her chestnut hair tumbled down her back in a mass of curls.  The boys were open and outgoing, like Blaine, while Ellie was much more reserved.  While Ian was focused on how things sounded and Patrick on how things looked, Ellie was interested in words, written and spoken, and analyzed everything, accepting nothing at face value.  The boys were both pretty relaxed and tended to go with the flow; Ellie was quick to anger, and was not afraid to let everyone know when she was unhappy, her bitch-glare becoming more and more like her Daddy's over time.  Kurt and Blaine didn't expect her to be the same as her brothers, but it often seemed as if she was an entirely different animal.

It was sometimes difficult to balance the needs of three such different children, with the desire for family harmony sometimes coming into conflict with what was best for one or more of them.  Kurt and Blaine regularly incurred Ellie's wrath by refusing to let her boss her brothers around, and she spent more than a few spells in time out when she attempted to issue orders to her fathers.  While the boys were happy to war with each other, they lived in fear of making their little sister angry.  Kurt and Blaine, however, learned to set limits, and to recognize Ellie's need for control.  They allowed her freedom over some areas, such as how her room was arranged, but refused to let her control every aspect of the family's life.  On the other hand, the boys didn't care about control, except within their areas of interest.  It was a constant juggling act, and while the two fathers often felt as though they were constantly dropping balls, everyone who knew them marveled at how well they kept everything in the air.

One place that all three children loved was the theater.  Patrick was fascinated by the sets and costumes, and how to create them.  Ian loved the music; on the rare occasions they went to see non-musical plays, he tended to fall asleep, but if music was at all involved, he was entranced.  Ellie loved the stories, and liked to pick them apart and discuss what would have happened had one thing or another been different.  As a result, Kurt and Blaine took them to see any musical that was even vaguely child-appropriate.  Kurt loved the fact the children were so excited by something that was such a huge part of their parents' lives.  Blaine knew how hard the business could be, and though he and Kurt had found enormous success in the industry, he worried for his children if they chose to follow in their footsteps.  However, his worry couldn't stop him from sharing his passion with his children, and enjoying the childlike delight in Kurt's eyes as he watched his children at each new show.