When Kurt comes into the garage after school again the next week, it’s all Burt can do from saying “What happened now?!” Turns out, that Principal Figgins idiot cancelled the funding for the school musical after pressure from the crazy cheerleading coach that’s running for Congress on a platform of hating the arts. Kurt’s stopping by to say that they’re selling ads in the programme to cover the cost of putting on the show – a total of something around $2000.

It’s incredibly rare that Kurt comes to his dad with a problem that Burt knows how to fix, and that Kurt actually wants help with. Burt’s careful with his money, and he knows that this is verging on “throwing money at the problem” but hey, he can’t help himself.

Burt gets together a bunch of the guys Kurt had already talked to. Undertakers, mainly – what was Kurt doing talking to them? They decide to split the cost of the production amongst them, something like $400 each, in exchange for full page ads in the programme. Burt’s not sure if the ad will actually drive up business for the funeral homes, but it could very well help his own business, and that’s good enough for him.

When they go in to tell Figgins, Sue ambushes them outside of the office after their meeting. Burt really admired all that she was doing for Kurt when the bullying was worse, but he knows that she is caustic even when she’s being nice to people. Even though he knows this, he is amazed by the viciousness (albeit ridiculousness) of her attacks. He does his best to seem nonplussed, reminding her that “bullies don’t have a good track record of messing with the Hummels” and telling her that he would love to see her lose.

When he gets home that night, he’s still thinking about it. When Kurt had a pouty stage when he was six, Burt would always say to him “I know you’re upset, but what are you going to do? Everyone feels upset sometimes, but not that many people are able to actually do something to make things better.” Maybe he ought to take his own advice.

Burt’s never been particularly interested in politics. He finds it frustrating. He came from a long line of Republicans, but hearing what the majority of the party thinks of gay people made him less sure of his place. He’s a strong, hard-working guy with a family and a business. He’s practically the quintessential American man. What if he were to take the chance and run for Congress, too? Surely there are so many other guys that are just like him that would vote for him.

He tells Carole in the most roundabout, vague way he can come up with. It takes him nearly ten minutes to get to the actual point, and then Carole says “You’re going to run for Congress, right? You can just tell me. It’s okay.”

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” Burt asks, somewhat surprised.

“Well, I think you probably don’t quite know what you’re getting yourself into. But you’re passionate, and that’s important. I’m with you one hundred percent, no matter what you decide.”

Of course, this had to be the exact moment that Kurt decided to come into the kitchen. He narrows his eyes suspiciously, taking a moment to stare them down before asking “What are you making a decision about, Dad?”

Burt’s not sure how to answer. He briefly considers saying something about considering hiring a new employee at the shop, but then he remembers how often he’s said that the main rule of the house is honesty. Lying is not an option.

Burt decides that if he’s going to tell Kurt, he’s going to have to go all the way.

“Do you have a few minutes? Burt asks.

Kurt tilts his head to one side, a bit confused.

“Um, sure, Blaine’s coming over in a bit, but I’m good now.”

“Okay, sit down then. I want your opinion on something.” Burt tilts his head towards the kitchen table. He paces a bit as Kurt sits down, watching him curiously. Burt’s not sure where to start.

“You know how Coach Sue is running for Congress?” He asks.

Kurt nods.

“Did you know that she’s got a solid lead on everyone else and is poised to win?”

Kurt cringes and shakes his head, somehow realizing that the less he says, the easier it will be for his dad to talk.

“The way I see it, there’s just two reasons she’s doing well. One, people want something to blame right now, and she’s giving them the arts to point their fingers at. Second, there’s no real legitimate candidate opposing her, so she’s just walking all over the joke candidates. So I’m just wondering, hypothetically, of course, what would happen if a guy stepped forward that most people in this area could identify with and actually had a decent platform.”

Kurt’s eyes have grown wide and he has overcome whatever reluctance to speak he may have had earlier.

“You’re running for Congress. You. Burt Hummel. Running for Congress.”

Somehow, it’s even harder to hear what Kurt thinks than it was with Carole. Burt doesn’t have time to analyse that before Kurt is saying:

“That is amazing. Oh my God. DAD! OH MY GOD!”

And suddenly, Burt’s arms are full of his son, who is somehow trying to jump up and down while hugging him. Carole watches from the doorway, an amused look on her face.

“This is just incredible, Dad! You’re going to be able to change things in this country! Anything I see that bothers me, I can just tell you and you can fix it! We’re not going to lose Glee to Sue’s craziness. Oh my God!”

And since everyone in this strange family has an absurd sense of timing, Finn comes in at that moment.

“What’s going on?” he asks, confusion all over his face.

“DAD’S GOING TO A CONGRESSMAN!” Kurt shrieks. Finn lets out a matching scream.

“EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!” Burt yells. Carole laughs.

“I haven’t decided yet. I am only considering it. I am glad that you are all supportive but there’s still a lot of stuff that I’m going to have to figure out. I can’t just jump into this blindly.”

The boys look at Burt as if he’s a party pooper.

“So just, go upstairs, get out of my way for a bit and I’ll let you know later.”

They do, leaving Burt to his thoughts and considerations. Carole finds out that it’s too late for him to run officially, but that he could still be written in on the ballots and win that way.

He’s mostly decided to run for Congress by the time that Blaine arrives. After saying a quick hello, Blaine heads straight up to Kurt’s room, but comes back down not too long after. He sits down in front of Burt, a concerned frown on his face. Burt is sure that Kurt’s sitting on the stairs, listening to their conversation. It briefly crosses his mind that Blaine’s probably aware of this, too.

“What’s up, kid?” Burt asks. He remembers their conversation the week Blaine started at McKinley, about some problem or other that Blaine refused to talk about. Was he ready to talk now?

“Kurt told me that you might run against Coach Sylvester.” Blaine says softly, looking at his hands instead of Burt.

“Yup.” Burt says, a bit surprised. “Just figuring out how everything will work. Is everything okay? Anything bothering you?”

Blaine shakes his head quickly, but then cringes a bit.

“Somewhat. I, just, have you figured out yet what you’d do if you won? I mean, DC is pretty far away and I – “

“Blaine.” Burt interrupts. He gets it now. “My number one concern right now is how I could possibly do this without disrupting the life of my family. This isn’t a decision I’m making for myself; it’s a decision I’m making for the family.”

Blaine nods, considering this.

“So you wouldn’t move there?” He asks, his voice hopeful.

“I really, really don’t think so.” Burt says. “I haven’t figured it all out yet. I don’t know what we’ll do, but you don’t have to worry. Kurt will still be here.”

Blaine frowns a bit at this. Not exactly the response Burt was expecting. Blaine opens his mouth to say something but closes it again, a slight red tint appearing on his cheeks. He looks away again.

“Hey, buddy.” Burt says softly. “What were you going to say?”

Blaine takes a deep breath, pursing his lips in concentration.

“You wouldn’t be around much anymore.” Blaine whispers. It’s a statement, but to Burt it feels like an accusation. It makes sense now. Blaine’s been a part of this hodgepodge family for nearly a year now. Burt’s been a constant presence in his life for that year, always around for advice and support.

Burt sighs. It’s true. He is going to be away a lot more now than before. Running his own business has allowed him a certain amount of flexibility, to the extent that Burt can’t even count the number of times that he’s dropped everything to respond to some emergency or illness or other.

“Look, things are going to change. I’m not going to lie. But that’s the way things work in life. I can tell you that I will spend every minute I can afford to here, instead of there. Carole isn’t sure yet how often she’d be able to come with me, so she’ll still be around a lot. I’ll always have my phone with me. You’ve got the number for it. And when I am home, we’ll just make the most of it, and really cherish the time we have.”

“You’re really going to do this, aren’t you?” Blaine asks, his frown deepening. It’s not the response Burt expected.

“As I said, I’m still figuring stuff out, seeing how it would work.” Burt replies, his voice hesitant.

Blaine lets out a dark chuckle.

“No. You were speaking in the future tense, not conditional. You’ve subconsciously decided to do this, but you’re just trying to rationalize that decision.”

Burt finds himself getting annoyed, partially because the kid shouldn’t be able to read him so easily.

“So you think I’m making a mistake? That I’m jumping in over my head?” Burt asks, his voice raised. He can hear a noise by the stairs, probably Kurt standing up in case he needs to calm them down.

Blaine begins to recoil slightly, and Burt is ashamed of himself for raising his voice. But then, Blaine straightens, taking a deep breath before replying.

“No. It’s just that I know what it’s like to have a father who puts his family second. And I don’t want Kurt to ever know how just how much that hurts. And I get that you’re doing this for him. Changing Congress for him, but how much of you do you have to give up to do that? I’m sure you’re thinking that he doesn’t need you as much now that he’s eighteen. But this is his last year before he moves away. He’s making so many decisions right now, going through so much. I just don’t think that you’d want to be missing all of that.”

As much as it hurts, Blaine right. It makes Burt respect the kid even more. Not only is he speaking with concern for Kurt, but he’s starring Burt down with a ridiculous amount of conviction and composure.

“You’re right.” Burt finally says. “Thank you for saying all of that. I needed to hear it. I need to think about things more carefully.”

Blaine nods, seeming relieved that Burt’s not yelling.

“Well, I’ll just leave you to think about all that then.” Blaine says, getting up and walking across the kitchen. As he reaches the door to the hall Burt calls out.

“Hey buddy?”

“Yeah, Burt?” He asks.

“When I said that I’m thinking about how this affects the family, that includes you, you know.”

Blaine nods, his expression thoughtful.

“How’s the transition into McKinley going for you? Any better now?” Burt asks.

Blaine shrugs.

“You wanna talk about it yet?” Burt persists.

Blaine’s eyebrows knit together and he bites his lip. He seems to be considering it, but then he shakes his head and leaves the kitchen.

Burt makes a note to remember that, maybe even ask Kurt if he knows what’s going on. He’s gotta look out for every member of his family, after all.