Kurt's biggest problem was deciding which clothes he couldn't live without. He needed a different outfit for the runway portion of each episode, plus enough clothes to get through the week. Many of his pieces would work in multiple combinations, and the fact that he preferred to wear layers also helped. Most people would notice the vest but not the shirt under it, so he could wear the shirt alone and it would appear to be a new look. The closet space in the apartment was certainly adequate, but he was limited as to the number of suitcases he could bring unless he wanted to pay some hefty fees. He picked up his phone.

"Ms. Klum's office."

"Hi, Blaine. This is Kurt. I was hoping I'd get you."

"Hey, Kurt!" Suddenly Blaine found himself smiling so broadly that his cheeks hurt. "How are you?"

"I'm fantastic. It sounds like you're having a good day."

I am now. "Are you all packed and ready to go?"

"That's actually the reason I was calling. I was wondering if it would be okay for me to ship some of my clothes so I don't have to deal with so many suitcases on the plane."

"I don't know why not. We'll still have to inspect the box, just like we will your luggage, but that shouldn't be a problem. You can address the package to yourself at the Atlas and George will put it in the storage room for you until you get here. He said to tell you that he's very excited that you will be on the show, by the way."

"How is George? Oh, I'm sorry. You're at work and I'm sure you don't have time to visit. I'll let you go now."

Don't go. "Do you have the address?"

Now that the pressure to fit everything into two suitcases was off, Kurt was able to get his wardrobe taken care of. Once he was packed and the three boxes had been dropped off at the UPS office, he spent his time studying for finals, cooking meals to put in the freezer, and practicing for the show. He sketched constantly, and tried to imagine what the challenges might be like. He was pretty sure there would be a Valentine's Day challenge and he drew a number of designs related to love and courtship. He made lists of what he would buy if they had a grocery store challenge or a hardware store challenge, then planned the outfits. He reviewed his design books and took notes. He knew he couldn't take the notes with him, but it helped him remember.

He had been concerned about being away over Christmas, but he and Burt agreed that the opportunity was worth being apart this year. As soon as Becca heard that Kurt would be gone, she invited Burt to spend Christmas day with her family, and Eric claimed Burt for Christmas Eve. Kurt was relieved to know that his dad would spend the time with people he loved.

The designers started arriving on December 13th. Blaine found himself making numerous trips to the airport. Annie and Jen were the first to arrive and they quickly settled into the apartment. Blaine was also sent to get Ernesto and Jonny, since he knew both of them, and Marisol arrived a few hours later. Since the designers hoped to be staying for 12 weeks, they had brought quite a bit of luggage with them. By 4:00, Blaine was a little tired from carrying bags and wished everyone had emulated Kurt and shipped some of their things. At least he didn't have to do the inspections Sandy was responsible for that. She was an expert at finding contraband, even checking watches to be sure they didn't conceal USB drives full of design aids. The contestants were not allowed to bring their laptops with them; it would have been too hard to insure that there was no cheating. Instead, the contestants were furnished with HP tablets that they could use for their design work, if they wanted. Sketch books and pencils were available for those who preferred to go low-tech. Cell phones would be confiscated later, although Sandy inventoried them when she checked the luggage. There would be no access to the internet or e-mail for the duration, except under carefully controlled circumstances.

While Jon had no clue as to the reason Blaine had asked to work with the girls, Heidi knew what was going on as soon as she heard about it. She had seen the footage from that first Saturday night; in fact she had been the one to insist that it be cut because she didn't want Blaine on camera. She liked Blaine quite a bit, and what's more, she had great respect for him. She was one of the few people who knew his age, and she admired what he had been able to accomplish. She pulled up the video clip on her computer screen and hit play, smiling to herself as she watched Kurt pull Blaine around by the tie. Blaine was usually pretty good at dissembling, so it was strange to see his emotions written clearly on his face. Heidi was professional, always, and never pried, but she did want Blaine to be happy. She didn't like what she was about to do -- it was going to make Blaine's life infinitely harder -- but she really didn't have any choice. She buzzed Blaine's desk.

"Yes, Heidi."

"Blaine, would you please send Annie, Jen and Marisol to my office? Thank you."

Blaine brought the girls, wondering once again if he should stay. She said 'send' so I think I'm supposed to leave, but this is my group. Besides, I want to know what is going on. He stood quietly in the doorway. "Thank you, Blaine. We're just going to have a little girl talk," she said, easing him out and closing the door. "Please, have a seat. Ladies, we have a problem. As you know, April is not here. She was forced to drop out, so Kurt replaced her. That gives us 9 men and 3 women, which creates a problem with the housing situation. We can have one of the guys sleep on the couch in one of the other apartments for a week or two until the problem resolves itself, but before we do that, I thought I'd see if any of you would be willing to share a room with a man. Of course, the other two of you would be sharing an apartment with him, so all of you will have to agree to this."

Annie and Jen looked at each other, both hoping the same thing. Annie spoke up first. "Who is it? Is it Kurt?"

"Yes, it's Kurt." Heidi wasn't entirely surprised by the happy squeal from Jen and Annie. The one from Marisol, however, was unexpected. "So all three of you would be willing to share the apartment, I take it. Someone still has to volunteer to share the room."

"I will!" they said in unison.

Heidi rubbed her forehead. "Okay, so the problem is not who has to share a room with Kurt, but who gets to share a room with Kurt?"

The girls laughed. "That about sums it up," said Annie.

"Okay, in that case, assuming it's okay with Kurt, he'll take whichever bed is empty." Heidi didn't have to ask. The looks on all three faces told her that Kurt would be sharing with Marisol.

"When is he arriving?" asked Jen eagerly.

"He'll be in about 10:00 tomorrow morning," Heidi replied, checking her computer. She reached for her phone and dialed.

"Hello."

"Hello, Kurt. This is Heidi."

There was silence from the other end of the line.

"Kurt? Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here. Sorry. You surprised me." Kurt's voice was a little high and sounded nervous.

"First of all, I want to tell you how happy I am that you will be joining us."

"Thank you. But you can't possibly be as happy as I am."

Heidi laughed. "Probably not. I'm going to put you on speaker now, okay?" She turned to the girls still seated in her office. "Ladies, would you like to say 'hi'?"

"Hi Kurt!" they chorused.

"Annie? Jen? Who else is there?"

"It's Marisol, Kurt."

"Kurt, I have a question to ask you, and I wanted the ladies to hear your answer. We have 9 men and 3 women designers on the show." She paused.

"Oh, so with four people to an apartment …"

"That's exactly right. We can bring in another bed or let you sleep on the couch, or you can room with the girls. It's entirely up to you; either way is fine with us."

"How do the girls feel about it?"

Heidi laughed. "I asked them first. I don't think it's a problem."

"Please, Kurt. We really want you to stay with us," said Marisol. "You and I would be sharing, if that's okay with you, because Annie and Jen are already sharing the other room, but all three of us would have been happy to be your roommate."

"In that case, I'd love to," said Kurt happily. "I used to have sleepovers with my girls in high school and I've really missed that. This will be so much fun!"

"Okay, that's settled then. Thank you, Kurt, ladies."

Heidi stood up to usher the girls out. When they had disappeared from view, she turned to Blaine. "Could I see you in my office, please Blaine?"

O...kay? What's going on? Do the girls want a female assistant, maybe Lori or Sandy? "Of course." He entered the office and waited. Heidi closed the door and indicated that he should take the chair closest to the desk.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Blaine. I understand that you asked to assist the girls, but I don't really have any choice."

"It's okay, Heidi. I can see why they might want someone else." Blaine was disappointed, but with any luck, he would get the apartment that Kurt wasn't in, or maybe he could be assigned to ride herd on the models.

"No, that's not it. Kurt is sharing with Marisol."

Oh. … Wait … why is she sorry? "Heidi?" Blaine was hesitant, but he had to know what she was thinking. "Why did you say you were sorry?"

"I know, Blaine. I know how you feel about him." She beckoned him around to her side of the desk so he could see her computer screen and launched the video clip once more. Blaine watched in horror as the events unfolded on the screen.

Oh, my God! Blaine felt sick to his stomach. "Heidi, I …"

She held up her hand to silence him. "This conversation never leaves this room, Blaine. I know that wasn't your fault. I trust you completely. You didn't say anything to him about how you feel, and you won't, as long as he's still a contestant. I know you asked for the girls because you were trying to stay away from him, and I promise, we'll get him moved to another apartment as soon as we can, but if we change your assignment now, it's going to lead to a lot of questions you'd probably rather not answer. The editing staff has seen the clip, but I doubt they realized its significance. No one else has seen it. I had them cut it from the episode because I don't want you to appear on camera, as I told you earlier."

Seeing that Blaine had relaxed somewhat, she continued. "I want you to know, Blaine, that I admire the way you have handled this. You have acted professionally throughout, and I have complete confidence that you will continue to do so. As we always tell the designers, you can't help having feelings. All you can do is refrain from acting on them."

I guess she needs to know the rest. "Heidi, I have to tell you I think his father knows. He didn't say anything directly, but at the airport I think he was trying to let me know he approves. I don't believe he said anything to Kurt, though."

"That doesn't surprise me. Burt is very astute, and he has good taste. He obviously wants the best for his son."

Whoa! That was quite a compliment. I think. "Thank you for understanding."

She smiled and placed her hand on his arm. "You can get through 12 weeks. I hope it isn't but it could certainly be less. And when it's over, who knows what might happen? Now, let's get back to work. Could you get Nina on the phone for me, please?"

"Hi, Heidi. Has Kurt arrived yet?"

"He'll be here tomorrow about 10:00, Nina. When would you like to meet with him?"

"Well, he'll want some time to settle in first. Do you think I should take him to lunch, or meet with him afterwards?"

"I think it might suggest impropriety if you took him to lunch, since you won't be doing that for any of the other contestants."

"You're right, and we've had enough of that already. How about 2:00, then?"

"That sounds good.”

“Your office?"

"Okay. Do you want me there? I can find something else to do, or take a late lunch."

"No, I think you should be there. You need to be there. I need you to be there."

"That's what we'll do, then. And Nina … you're doing the right thing."