Almost a year and a half had passed since Blaine had left for Afghanistan. And a whole year since the funeral. Kurt had gone back to work, made sure Claire was getting to daycare every day, and seemed to be coping fairly well with the assumed death of his fiancé.

He was smiling, laughing even, on a daily basis. He seemed to be doing well. But when he got home, when he went to bed at night after having put his daughter to bed, he had trouble sleeping. He would lay staring at the ceiling for hours before finally falling into a few fitful hours of sleep before he had to get up and do it all over again.

He was getting better though. Falling asleep quicker, smiling more when people weren't around. In fact, Rachel thought he was doing so well, she had started planting the idea of dating in his head. "You haven't seen him for a year and a half, Kurt; I think it's time you got back out there."

Kurt could see what she meant, of course. He had been alone for a long time, just taking care of Claire. But at the same time, he really couldn't see himself with anyone who wasn't Blaine. He just couldn't.

Still, after weeks and weeks of nagging, he finally let Rachel set him up with one of her friends. She stayed in and watched Claire, while he let himself be dragged out the door by a guy named Tom. He was nice enough, and didn't try anything he wasn't comfortable with.

They ate dinner and went to the movies, and Kurt even let him walk him home and kiss him goodnight, but as he went inside, he knew he wouldn't call him back. It had been fun for one evening, but Kurt still had Claire to take care of. And her happiness came before anyone else's. Even Kurt's.

He told Rachel about his night, and though she seemed disappointed it wouldn't lead to anything more, she stopped badgering him.

One day, a few weeks after his date, he was at a park with Claire, sitting at a bench, watching her play. He was smiling softly; amused by the way his daughter never seemed to run out of energy, no matter how much time she spent running around the little playground. Then something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Turning his head, he saw the back of a head covered with short, dark curls, dressed in an army green uniform. Kurt shot up from where he had been standing, and started walking slowly towards the man.

It couldn't be. It just couldn't. But it was. But it couldn't be. He had to be insane.

Claire, having noticed her father's behavior, immediately ran up to him. "Daddy?" she asked, looking up at him before staring towards the direction he had been walking. Spotting the man there, her face lit up with a smile. "Papa?" she asked. Kurt tried to hold her back, but she slipped out of his grasp and started running.

She latched onto the soldier's leg, who immediately spun around to face the little girl. "Papa!"

Kurt caught up with them, grabbing onto Claire's arm and making her let go of the man, who Kurt did not look like Blaine at all, when Kurt saw him up close. "I'm so sorry," he said, picking the now sobbing Claire up off the ground and patting her hair soothingly. "She thought you were someone else," he explained.

The man looked down at the little girl. "It's okay," he said. "She thought I was her father?" Kurt nodded, biting his lip. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with another homophobe today, so he really hoped the guy wouldn't be pissed.

"Is he in the army?" he asked, cocking his head. At least he hadn't been offended. Kurt nodded again. "Yeah, he was," he said, flinching internally at his use of the past tense. "Oh," the guy said, looking down.

"Well," Kurt said. "I'm sorry, again, for my daughter's outburst. She's not usually like this, but she really misses her father," he continued, looking sadly down at his daughter. "No, no, it's not a problem. I get that, of course. Do you mind if I ask, how long has it been since..." he trailed off, looking uncertain.

"A year," Kurt said. "A little more, maybe."

The guy nodded. "I'm sorry. It must be hard for you, raising a kid on your own. And for her too, of course, losing one of her fathers at such a young age."

"Yeah, it's been a tough year, but we're coping." "I'm glad to hear that. I'm Andrew by the way."

"Kurt," he said, offering his free hand to the man in front of him. "And this," Kurt continued, gesturing to Claire who he still held in his arms. "Is Claire, my daughter."

"Nice to meet you Claire," Andrew said. Claire didn't look up. "I think it's time for us to get home," Kurt said, checking his watch. "But it was nice to meet you Andrew!" "You too."

As Kurt left the park, heading home, Claire holding one of his hands as they navigated their way through traffic, he found himself smiling. Yes, he was sure he was going crazy, and yes, he would most likely have a small meltdown later that night over the fact that for about ten seconds, he had thought Blaine was back, but he still couldn't help but smile. That might just be another sign that he was going mad though.

He pondered the events of the day as he sat on the sofa, after having put Claire to bed, twirling the ring on his finger he could never make himself take off. A year and a half. 18 months had passed since Kurt had last seen Blaine. Since Blaine had promised him he was coming back.

There was something about that promise that made Kurt keep the ring on. He knew he still loved Blaine. He knew he would probably love him for the rest of his life. And that was okay.