2034

Blaine watched Ava as she whispered something in Eli�s ear that made him and Barbra laugh out loud. It was surprising how good the three of them got along, even though they were all teenagers.

Ava was outgoing and able to connect with everyone pretty easy, but she was somehow guarded with boys at the moment. Eli was one of the exceptions and Blaine was happy about that. Family was important, and noone knew that better than him.

He reached out for Kurt�s hand and squeezed it. Kurt turned around and looked at him, following his gaze.
“Eli, Barbra and Ava are such good friends even though they only see each other a few times a year, right?“

Blaine smiled at him and nodded. “And I�m really grateful for that.“

Both watched their daughter, dorky grins on their faces and both blushing when Ava caught them watching.

She rolled her eyes and stage-whispered to her cousins.
“My dads are looking at me like I�m their princess. One would think I�d get a pony for Christmas then, but no. Not even half a pony and the other half for my birthday.“

Laughter followed her statement and Ava smirked at her parents.

Blaine cleared his throat and winked at Barbra. “Sweetie, I think you�re the only girl who gets vocal training lessons for a whole year as a Christmas present. And by the way, to subtly change the topic, did you know it�s Barbra�s fault that you�re even here?”

Ava looked at her cousin in surprise and shook her head.
“No, how come?”

2020

“Thanks again, Kurt and Blaine. I really don�t know why we haven�t done our Christmas shopping yet. We�ll try to hurry, fingers crossed for no traffic jam.”

Rachel kissed Kurt on the cheek and hugged Blaine, before finally joining Finn in their car. They waved – and then they were out of sight.

Kurt closed the front door and turned around to face Blaine, who was laughing.

“Remind me that – when we have children – just one good-bye is usually enough, especially when the kid�s sleeping.”

Kurt joined in the laughter and slipped his hand into Blaine�s.

They walked into Barbra�s room, where the girl was sleeping in her cot with her thumb between her lips. Kurt reached out to softly brush his finger over Barbra�s dark curls.

“When we have children, hm?”

Blaine tightened his grip, as he turned Kurt around and looked at him with slightly guarded eyes. “Don�t you think about it, sometimes?”

Kurt bit his lip and watched his husband closely. “Yes, I do, especially now that we’re married, and certainly when Barbra was born. I mean, don�t you? I always thought we both wanted children. Or one child, at least.”

Blaine�s earnest expression changed into a happy one.
“A girl, a little baby girl. With your voice and good looks and my....”

“And your big heart and enthusiasm and strength. And intelligence. Even if it�s not possible to have a biological daughter, I think that�s how we would raise her and that�s what we could teach her.” Kurt�s smile was matching Blaine�s now.

“Come on, let�s go into the kitchen, Rachel mentioned hot chocolate and cookies.”

They leant against the fridge, then the microwave beeped and Kurt took the two mugs.

“You may carry the plate with the cookies but don�t you dare to eat one. I counted them. There are exactly twelve of them.”

Blaine smiled and followed his husband – using that word still made him surprisingly happy every single day, even a year after the wedding – into the living room.

Every time they were at Finn and Rachel�s, Kurt looked at the furniture and the Christmas decoration with a mix of amusement and horror. Finn had put his belongings – all the football and hockey caps, his posters and his drums – into the basement, but Rachel ran riot in the rooms upstairs. And it was so clearly Rachel�s style that Kurt sometimes wondered how Finn could stand it. But then again, Finn obviously adored Rachel and they were happy together.

Kurt sat down on one of the couches and put one of the pink velvety cushions as far away as possible. He handed Blaine one of the mugs and snuggled into his warmth, sighing happily.

“You know what, if it were up to me there would be dozens of traffic jams and their shopping could take hours. I don�t care. It�s the first day since the beginning of December that we don�t have any appointments or friends coming over or stuff like that.”

Blaine rested his head on top of Kurt�s and nuzzled into Kurt�s hair. “So true. I�ll tell you something – I really missed this. I really missed you, even though we�re living together.Things have been so busy during the last days and I really counted these days until we were leaving for Lima.”

Kurt smiled against Blaine�s shoulder. “Me too. Love you.”
Blaine hummed in agreement and took another sip of his hot chocolate. They both enjoyed each other�s presence and the warmth of their mugs. Then the baby phone came to life with the sound of Barbra�s babbling.

“I�ll get her”, Kurt told Blaine and got up, placing his mug on the sparkly coffee table.

Blaine listened as Kurt�s voice joined Barbra�s and then they both entered the living room.

The sight made Blaine�s heart jump and he had no idea why he suddenly teared up.

Kurt held the little girl, who looked at him with wide eyes. His smile was tender as he spoke to her. “Look, there�s your uncle Blaine, let�s say hi, shall we?” Kurt took Barbra�s hand and waved.

Blaine waved back and smiled at the girl, who watched him with a curious look on her face. Then she turned around with outstretched arms and shot him a smile so big that Blaine looked at her in awe.

“She already knows how to twist men around her finger, doesn�t she? Go on, take her. She won�t bite.” Kurt helped Blaine to readjust with Barbra on his lap and watched as she lifted her hand to catch one of his curls.

She succeeded and let out a shriek of joy as she pulled at Blaine�s hair. “Puppy!”

Blaine turned to look at Kurt. “What�s she saying?”

Kurt didn�t try to suppress a smirk. “I guess she just called you a puppy.”

Blaine looked at Barbra and shook his head. “No darling, I�m your uncle Blaine.”

Barbra smiled at him and tugged at his curl once more. “Na. Puppy!”
Kurt burst out laughing. “Obviously, she�s made up her mind and you�re just Uncle Puppy. Well, I can�t deny she�s right in some ways. Sometimes you remind me of a puppy too, you know. So, why don�t you play a bit with your niece? I�m sure she�ll enjoy showing you her dolls or... are these instruments? Rachel sure knows how to encourage her child.”

Blaine carried Barbra to the pink carpet in one of the room�s corners and sat her down, choosing a place next to her. Then he bent down and asked his niece: “Do you want Uncle Kitty-Kurt to play with us? I�m sure he�d love to get wrinkles in his pants just for you.”

He looked up with a smirk and patted at the carpet near him.

Barbra smiled at Kurt. “Kitty! M�here!”

Kurt shot Blaine a meaningful look and joined them on the carpet.

“Well then, what do you want to play? With your dolls? Or dress-up?”

Barbra pulled out a box and opened it. “Cars!”

“I think she�s asleep now.” Blaine�s whisper was hardly audible as he took Kurt�s hand and they tip-toed out of Barbra�s room and back into the living room. They both fell onto the couch and closed their eyes, and for a few minutes, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.
“You still sure you want to have a child?”

Kurt just chuckled and turned to his side, opening his eyes to look at Blaine who did the same.

“Yes, in fact – I am. Of course it�s exhausting sometimes, but I guess it�s not like this every day. We�re supposed to spoil our niece, right? Our little girl will be able to play on her own for some time, but we�ll be happy to spend time with her and show her the world, won�t we?”

Blaine wrapped one arm around Kurt�s waist and pulled him closer. “We will. And it�s worth all the sleepless nights and busy days, I guess. When I saw you entering the room with Barbra two hours ago, I felt so.... happy. The image of you and that small child and the expression of love on your face... that, it made me so...”

Blaine�s voice broke and Kurt�s eyes turned softer.
“I know, B. It�s something I can�t explain. It�s one thing to have you and know that you�re the love of my life, but it�s another thing to have a child who looks up to you, who needs you in other ways and who�ll grow up and go its ways some day. I mean, we share so much, we have so much love in our life and I feel like it would be selfish to not share it with anyone else, you know?”

Blaine nodded, still not sure he was able to speak again. So they just looked at each other, slowly realizing that they had just made a big decision. One that would change their lives.

“So, does that mean we�re going to have a... a child? A little baby girl?”

Kurt nodded slowly, his eyes big and excited. “I guess so, yes. I know we�ve talked about this before a bit and I hope we�re still on the same page, because I really want to adopt a girl who needs another chance.”

“Me too. But... when?”

Blaine watched Kurt closely, waiting for the answer he was hoping for. And he should have known Kurt would give it to him.

“Do you think we�re ready? We both have our jobs, we�re financially independent and live in our own apartment in the most wonderful city, next to some close friends. So, I think we�re ready and we could... could do it. Now.”

Blaine felt his voice waver again.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Kurt�s voice was unsteady too now and he watched Blaine as he nodded, steady and sure.

Then they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed, only for a short moment, too happy and excited to do anything else.

“We�ll have a little baby girl”, Kurt whispered in Blaine�s ear and Blaine answered him by hugging him even tighter. “Yes, we will. Love you, so much!”

A loud wail resounded and they broke apart. Blaine stood up and smiled at Kurt.

“I guess we�ll also have to get used to this, right?”

Laughter followed him as he left the living room, but it was a happy laughter; filled with anticipation and joy.

When Rachel and Finn came back home after hours of shopping, loaded with bags and wrapped presents, Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the couch together with Barbra playing on the carpet. The radio was playing and Kurt was singing along, Blaine smiling at him.

Hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
It's the most wonderful time of the year

Rachel put down the bags and hung her coat, sighing exhaustedly. “Thanks so much for looking after her, guys. Remind me to never ever delay Christmas shopping like this again, okay? So, what did you do?”

Kurt looked at Blaine, smiling.

“We were just drinking hot chocolate, playing with Barbra, making life decisions, you know. The usual.”

2034

Barbra smiled at her uncles and turned to look at Ava then. “See, you should thank me and invite me to come to New York soon. I�d love to see another Broadway show and now I know how to blackmail you!”

The grown-ups laughed and Ava nudged her cousin. “You know you�re always more than welcome, you could sleep in my room and we�ll go to Starbucks and I�ll show you my favourite places. Oh, and you can come too!”

She smiled at Eli, who returned her smile.

Blaine and Kurt shared another happy look. Having Ava had been the best decision they�d ever made – since they got married, that was.