"Kiddo, could you help me with this tie? I've worn a suit more often this weekend than I have all year," Burt grumbled good-naturedly. When Kurt had come back from the trip to Mood, he was not at all surprised to find Burt asleep on the couch, football game still blaring from the TV. Kurt had let him sleep, worried that the trip might be too stressful. He had turned off the game and stuck a note on the screen so Burt would know where he was. Then he went up to the fitness room. John had been on duty, and Blaine was right, John was hot. Unfortunately, Kurt could tell after just a few minutes of conversation that John was all muscle and pretty face, and no brain. He was a nice guy, and Kurt enjoyed their conversation, but he definitely wasn't what Kurt was looking for. He plugged in his earbuds and concentrated on his workout. He had about 15 minutes left when Andrew came in, followed by a camera crew.

Andrew turned out to be very entertaining. He was the very definition of 'flamboyant', waving his hands in grand gestures while telling the story of his missing luggage.

"I looked everywhere for that bag. I mean, no one could have taken it by mistake. It was magenta for heaven's sake. Do you know how hard it was to find magenta luggage? Of course, I had carried on the outfit I was showing, but I couldn't wear that! It was a cocktail dress. Now, I can rock a cocktail dress as well as the next man, but not at breakfast. Anyway, Cheryl said we had to go or we would miss the meeting, so I had to trust her. I gave her my sizes and she said someone would leave clothes in my room. Well, I tell you, it was just ridiculous. I was faced with a horrible choice: wear my clothes to bed, or put on the ugliest pair of pyjamas I've ever seen in my life. It's a good thing I wasn't sharing a room with anyone. I would never have lived it down. They were like that dress Maria had in The Sound of Music, you know - when she said 'The poor didn't want this one'. I tell you, if I'd been able to make pyjamas from the curtains, I would have done it, but I don't have my sewing machine. Thank goodness, by the time I got up this morning, the airline had found my poor little missing suitcase and it was back in my room, safe and sound. It went to Los Angeles, can you believe it? Los Angeles! It didn't have the right clothes for LA. It was packed for New York. If they hadn't found it before my interview, I would have … I would have … Well, I don't know what I would have done, but it would have been epic."

When he finally stopped talking long enough to notice John, things got even funnier. It quickly became apparent that John was exactly Andrew's type, although Kurt suspected that Andrew's type might be any man who was willing. After watching several of Andrew's attempts at innuendo go right over John's head and realizing that Andrew was getting less verbal and more physical, Kurt felt compelled to remind him that the camera crew was in the room. Andrew's reaction was to wave his hands at the crew, saying "shoo, shoo" like he was trying to rid the room of chickens. When Kurt left to get ready for supper, Andrew was still trying to convince the crew to 'vacate the premises'.

After he showered, Kurt woke his father and they went down to supper with Aaron and Michele. A buffet had been set up in the lounge again, but there was no meeting this time, and people could eat any time between 5:00 and 7:00, since a few people still had interviews. Blaine had come for Aaron a little before 6:00. Now they were getting ready to go out, and Kurt was excited, to say the least. "We're going to see a show! A Real. Broadway. Show!" he exulted.

"I get it, Kurt. You're happy. But if you don't fix my tie for me, you'll be embarrassed to be seen with me. What show are we seeing, anyway?"

"It's called How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It's a revival. Turn around please." He reached around Burt from the back, watching in the mirror as he retied the tie.

"I know that show! Robert Morse starred in the movie. That's great! You picked a good one, Kiddo."

"Robert Morse - wasn't he in Mad Men? Okay, done."

"Yeah, I think he was. Thank you. I'll be in the living room. I think there's still a game on."

Kurt had chosen his outfit carefully. Since the Broadway trip was a surprise, he hadn't packed anything specifically for it, but he had brought extra clothes. His interview outfit still looked nice, but he didn't want to wear it again. He thought about wearing his Alexander McQueen and had even gone so far as to hang it in the bathroom to steam, when he realized he had the perfect clothes hanging in the garment bag in the closet. He had always regretted not wearing the tux he had made for his junior prom; now he had the perfect opportunity. Fortunately, his growth spurt had occurred before he sewed it, otherwise the pants would be six inches too short. He knew he would be a little overdressed, but he didn't care. He adjusted his bowtie and prepared for the inevitable argument with his dad.

"How do I look?"

Burt's face broke into a smile. "You look fantastic! Very debonair."

Kurt was confused. "You aren't going to try to convince me not to wear this?"

"Of course not. This is an entirely different circumstance. Anyway, I'm not sure I was right to talk you out of wearing it the first time. I just wanted you to be safe, you know?"

"I know, Dad. Thanks." Kurt threw his arms around Burt's neck. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, Kiddo."

"Gentlemen, you both look very dashing. Are you ready to go downstairs?" Michele had also dressed up. Her navy dress was simple, but obviously expensive.

"Michele, you make that gown look elegant," said Burt.

"Absolutely stunning!" Kurt agreed. "Shall we?" Burt extended his elbow to Michele and Kurt held the door.

Sandy greeted them when they entered the lounge. "Hi, guys. Aaron and Blaine should be back any minute. Michele, you and Aaron are seeing Sister Act, right?" When Michele nodded, she continued. "We have a car for you since the schedule is so tight. It's about a 20-minute walk, and we want to make sure you don't miss anything. If Aaron gets back and is ready soon enough, we'll just walk with everyone else, but if not, the three of us have a ride. Let's go wait for him in the lobby."

As he left the interview room, Blaine checked his watch. Good. I think I have time to change before the show. He had stashed his favorite Armani with George that morning, just in case. "Okay, Aaron, let's head out. If we hurry, you'll have time to run upstairs and remove some of that makeup before the show."

Aaron spotted Michele as soon as he entered the lobby. "Mom! Can you help me get this gunk off my face?" he shouted. "This stuff feels awful!"

Michele laughed. "Come on. I've got just the thing." They headed upstairs.

"Hi Steph," Blaine greeted the concierge on duty. "I need to get my suit. George put it in the storage room."

"Oh hey, Blaine. He told me. Go on in. You can change in there if you want; I'll guard the door."

"Thanks! I'm pressed for time, and that would really help out." He changed quickly, coping with the tie as best he could without a mirror. "See you later, Steph. Thanks again," he said as he dashed away.

"Blaine, wait. You need to fix ..." she called after him, her voice trailing off when she realized he didn't hear her.

"Looks like I got here in time," Blaine said as he joined the small group under the How to Succeed sign. Kurt turned at the sound, and Blaine was pleased to see his eyes widen and flicker down, up, and back down again. Is he checking me out? Does he like it? Kurt appeared to be losing some kind of internal battle, struggling to control his face. Is he laughing? Why is he laughing?

"I love the suit, Blaine," Kurt chuckled, "but you must have gotten dressed in a hurry. May I?" When Blaine nodded his assent, Kurt quickly fastened the button Blaine had missed. "I don't think I can fix the tie without starting over." He undid the knot with deft fingers, then adjusted the length so it was more balanced. Grasping both halves of the tie near the collar so it wouldn't shift, he pulled Blaine over to one of the decorative mirrors that dotted the room. He's pulling me by the tie! Does he have any idea how hot that is? Kurt stepped behind Blaine, reaching around and bringing his head in close so they were almost cheek to cheek. Blaine couldn't help but react. He could feel Kurt's breath, warm on his neck; feel Kurt's fingers graze the sensitive skin below his chin as he arranged the silk. In a misguided attempt to slow his heartbeat, Blaine closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Suddenly his olfactory nerves were flooded with a mixture of scents - Kurt's cologne, the faintest hint of the product on his hair, and some indefinable something that must have been Kurt himself. He smells so good! He breathed in once more, trying to imprint the scent on his memory before opening his eyes to glance at Kurt's reflection in the mirror. I don't think he noticed anything. It looks like he's focused on the tie.

Kurt tightened the knot, finally satisfied with the way it looked. He placed his hands on Blaine's shoulders and turned him around. "Okay, let me look at you." He gave the tie a final tug, then ran his fingers down Blaine's lapels, smoothing them out. "Perfect."

Blaine was relieved to see no sign that Kurt had noticed anything untoward, and he was very glad his jacket was long enough to cover the reaction he couldn't control. This is not appropriate. Stop it!

While Kurt had been oblivious to Blaine's struggles, Burt had not. He had seen the emotions flicker across Blaine's face, seen the expression of bliss when he closed his eyes. He had also seen Blaine's look of determination when Kurt stepped away. He liked Blaine, quite a bit in fact, but he wasn't sure he wanted his son's first boyfriend to be older and more experienced, as Blaine surely was. Burt looked him over. He was probably about 25, although there were times Burt would have sworn that he and Kurt were the same age - his unembarrassed recitation of Hoppity, his shy smile when he shared his dreams of performing, his assumption that he wasn't included in the lunch invitation. Kurt and Blaine were kindred spirits; Burt was sure of it. Regardless of Blaine's age however, any relationship now would be inappropriate, and it was clear that Blaine realized it. Blaine's stock rose another notch in Burt's estimation.

Now that Kurt wasn't in such close proximity, Blaine was able to take in his surroundings and he realized Burt's eyes were on him. Does he know? Oh, God, he knows. Okay, Blaine, man up. He returned Burt's gaze, making his face as open and honest as he could. Yes, I'm attracted to your son, but I realize this isn't the right time, and he's not going to know how I feel. He wasn't sure if Burt got the message or not, but he was relieved when Burt suddenly smiled and nodded approvingly at him.

They were headed over to rejoin the group, walking side by side. When Kurt moved ahead of him to make his way through a crowd of people, Blaine got his first good look at what Kurt was wearing. "Kurt, that's stunning."

Kurt spun gracefully, showing off the swirl of the kilt. "Do you like it? I know it's a little much, but I've never gotten to wear it and this seemed like the perfect time."

"I love it. It's fun; it's playful; it's elegant. In short, it's you." And you aren't going to make this easy for me, are you?

"Hi Jonny, Ash. I'm Blaine. I'm sure you all know each other by now. Let's head to the theatre."

They had about 25 minutes until curtain time, but Blaine knew the bright lights and crowds of Times Square would be distracting, so he set a rapid pace for the beginning of the 15-minute walk. Fortunately, everyone was excited and happy to move quickly through the streets. They arrived at the theatre with five minutes to spare.

"Blaine Anderson," he said at the ticket window. He opened the envelope. There were five tickets, arranged in order, all together in the same row. He handed them out, first to Jonny and Ash, then Kurt, and finally Burt, saving the last one for himself. As much as he wanted to, he knew that sitting beside Kurt in the dark theater wasn't a good idea. Burt gave him a quick nod before falling into line behind Kurt. They passed through the door, got their tickets scanned and were directed down front.

Kurt was getting more and more excited as they moved down the aisle. He didn't really care where they sat - he was just happy to be there - so he hadn't looked at the row designation on his ticket. The best he hoped for was mezzanine seating, but they were on the main floor and had already passed the center row of the orchestra section. He had decided that they must be sitting in the less-desirable first three rows, when the usher stopped them, pointing to the five empty seats at the end of the fifth row, center section. "Right here, gentlemen," he said, handing each of them a Playbill. "Enjoy the show."

Kurt bounced on his toes, letting out a small squeal. "Blaine, these are Producer seats." He started to enter the row, then stopped. "Here, Dad, you switch with me so you can be closer to the center." Burt looked at Blaine and gave a small shrug before taking Kurt's seat. Okay, I can do this. I'll just sit here and enjoy the show.

Blaine realized that Kurt was watching intently as Burt examined his Playbill. The cover didn't have any names, just a large color photo of one of the main characters. Kurt waited impatiently as Burt scanned the articles, turning the pages slowly. Finally Burt turned to the Al Herschfeld Theatre page, the one that listed all the people involved in the production. Kurt held his breath.

"Kurt, look! It's Beau Bridges!" Burt's reaction was everything Kurt hoped for. "Look! I can't believe it. I didn't know he was on Broadway." Burt looked suspiciously at his son. "But you did, didn't you? You're not surprised at all. You picked this show because of Beau Bridges. You picked this for me. Thank you, Kurt. It's wonderful." Kurt just smiled and awkwardly reached over to hug his father as best he could in the confining seats. Blaine smiled happily. This will be perfect. He got out his phone to read the text one more time.

It's all set. See you backstage. - Alex

As the lights came down and the music started, he turned off the phone and settled in to enjoy the show.

The judges were tired. They had finished the final interview a little before 7:00 and now, an hour later, they had two open slots and three candidates left. Michael pushed aside the remains of his dinner to make room for the sketchbooks. He paged through each one, comparing designs.

"It sounds to me like you all agree that the three of them are about equal, design-wise," Jon said as he picked up the dinnerware and placed it on the cart. "Maybe we need to look at them in terms of what they can bring to the show."

"I think you're right, Jon," Heidi agreed. "I can't eliminate any of them on the basis of their work."

"Annie's the only one of the twenty with an accent. Audiences tend to love accents," commented Nina.

"Oh, I agree," laughed Heidi. "I credit much of my success to my accent."

"Kurt's a menswear designer. We only have three others doing menswear. One more would make the show a little more balanced," Jon said, looking at the list of designers already selected.

"I don't know." Nina was frowning. "I'm concerned about him on several levels. For one thing, the only person he's ever constructed for is himself. I'm afraid he's a one-note designer who won't be able to adapt to sewing for others."

"That's not entirely true, Nina," objected Michael, passing over Kurt's design book. "Look at this. I think he was outfitting some kind of performing group. There are several sketches of dresses that appear to be the same, but if you look closely, you realize he's modified them to flatter different body types. About two pages later, there's a whole section that's much more subdued than his usual work. The model appears to be an older man - maybe that's his dad."

Nina wasn't convinced. "That's not construction - it's just drawing. I'm also concerned that he is underage. Since Aaron didn't make the cut, he'll be the only one. We'll have to make special arrangements for him. And what if he drinks and it ends up on camera. Is the show liable?"

Heidi considered. "I don't think we have to worry about that. First of all, he didn't drink at dinner, even though Blaine gave him every opportunity to do so. Second, our editors know what they are doing. They wouldn't let something like that slip by. Besides, he's over 18, so we don't have to deal with child labor laws or have tutors on set. I don't see that it's a problem."

Jon hesitated, but decided he needed to speak up. "Kurt seems to have a gift for bringing people together. According to Blaine, he organized a party at lunch today. He invited Sandy's designers, but he also included Sandy, Blaine, Mike and George."

Heidi gave him 'the look'. "He threw a party? Why did I not know about this?"

"It isn't as bad as it sounds. He wanted to cook for his dad because none of the lunches we provided were allowed on his diet. He included the other designers because he didn't want to be rude. And Mike was their driver. Blaine called and cleared all this with me."

"So who is George?"

"You know George. The concierge. He's Atlas staff, so the rules allowed it. I okayed it because, frankly, I didn't think he'd attend. I talked to him afterward. He said everyone had a great time, and they all worked together to make the meal and clean up."

"Hmmm. Sounds like more 'creative thinking' on his part."

"April's a whiner. She's going to blame everyone else for her mistakes and argue with the judges," Tim pointed out.

"That might not be a bad thing," said Heidi.

Nina laughed. "April made Tim say 'masturbate'. Out loud. In public. How can we cut her after that?"

Jon rubbed his neck. "Why don't we take a 10-minute break, stretch our legs, and maybe when we come back, we'll be able to reach a consensus. Nina, will you help me find some fresh coffee?"

Nina looked at him. This was not a normal request. First of all Jon did not get coffee himself. Second, he would never ask any of the judges to help. Clearly, he had another agenda. "Sure," she said slowly.

"Okay, what is it?" she demanded as soon as the door closed.

"You're pushing pretty hard to eliminate Kurt. I wondered why."

"I explained my concerns in the meeting."

"Yes, you did, but they don't seem reasonable, and I'm wondering if there is something else. If your scorecard had been in line with everyone elses, he would have been in the top three to begin with."

Nina looked embarrassed. "All right. But this doesn't go any further. I don't think it's a good idea for him to be away from his father. If the health problems were severe enough for him to stay home instead of going away to college, then he shouldn't be doing this either. I … I had a similar experience when I was about his age. I put myself first … I shouldn't have … It turned out to be a terrible decision … It took a long time for me to be able to forgive myself. I don't want to put Kurt in the same position, of having to choose. I want to take the decision out of his hands, at least for now. He can apply again in a year or two."

The tears in Nina's eyes were perilously close to spilling over. Jon gave he a quick hug. "Okay, I can support that. Take a minute to compose yourself. I'll be back with coffee and we can go in together."