Being a single Dad in New York is not as easy as it might seem, and Blaine knows this very well. Every day, Blaine strives to balance both his work and raising one very special and hyperactive nine-year-old. He never regretted his decision to become a single dad, even if it meant waking up early in the morning just to rush through his shower routine to wake up his daughter, so that they'll be able to get to school on time; which was not an easy task when your kid was interested in everything excepted eating and getting dressed.

It's hard sometimes. When Blaine spent almost every day for four months being woke up in the middle of the night, because Rachel was crying after another nightmare, or when he had to get off from work in the middle of the day because his daughter got a fever so high that she nearly passed out.

But during moments like that, when Blaine felt like it had been too much, when everything was overwhelming him, he always thought about the joy that he felt when he held his little baby girl in his arms for the first time, and how all his problems and worries seemed to suddenly disappear.

So when Blaine got a phone call from Rachel's school in the middle of a very important work meeting, he started imagining all the worst case scenarios.

He got off from work as soon as it was possible, apologizing profusely, but his boss just waved his hand and told him to go take care of the issue.

-

The principal's office was a simple room behind glass door, with diplomas and photos hanging on the walls.

'Ah Mr. Anderson, please take a seat.' the principal gestured the empty seat in front of him.

A moment passed before Blaine noticed that, besides himself and his daughter, there was also a boy - who must have been around Rachel's age - sitting in the room with them. The little boy silently looked around the room, visibly unphased by the whole situation. Rachel, on the other hand, with her flaming red cheeks, looked as though she wanted to hide herself underground.

'Mr. Anderson, your daughter is fine. There is no need to worry,' the principal said, noticing Blaine's distressed expression. 'I called you because,' he paused for a moment, obviously looking for the right phrasing, 'there have been some unexpected behavioral issues.'

Blaine couldn't believe what he was hearing. Rachel had always been well-behaved, and people were constantly gushing about how polite and adorable she was. He was about to ask about the nature of these 'behavioral issues', but the door suddenly opened and a man rushed in.

'Ah, Mr. Hummel, I'm glad that you could join us on such short notice.'

The man - Mr. Hummel - sat down quickly, cheek flushed from the December cold, his hair sticking in various directions, probably from sliding his fingers through it too many times.

In Blaine's opinion, he looked positively stunning.

'Gentlemen, I believe we've found ourselves in a situation here,' the principal said. 'Both of your children have never caused any problems - on the contrary, both their teachers have always spoken very highly of them. Until today. Rachel and Thomas have been removed from their music class after causing a commotion. According to their teacher, your children arranged an impromptu singing contest in the middle of class and, despite warnings, continued the sing-off.'

'It's not my fault, Tom started it! He said that I won't be able to hit a high F!' Rachel said indignantly.

A slight smile appeared on Blaine's lips when he heard her. For a very brief moment, he felt proud of his daughter. Knowing her very competitive - for a nine-year old, anyway - nature, he knew very well that Rachel would never miss an opportunity to show off her vocal talents. However, the disapproving look on the principal's face quickly reminded Blaine that, for now at least, he needed to play the role of responsible adult.

'Rachel,' hissed Blaine, 'now is not the time for this. We'll talk about it later.'

'As I was saying, since it's the first time that such situation has taken place, I'm willing to let your kids go with a warning. This one time. If it happens again, I'll be forced to give them a detention. I also suggest that you have some parent-child talk later.' principal looked at Blaine eloquently.

'Yes, of course. Thank you for your time, Sir. We apologize for the problem,' the other man said. His voice was higher than a regular man's voice, but very firm and full of confidence, and Blaine thought that he had never heard anything more beautiful in his life.

Mr. Hummel gestured for Tom to gather his things, and with a quick goodbye left the office.

-

When they got home, Blaine sat Rachel down on a couch and had a serious talk with her about how being polite and well-behaved makes things in life easier, and how being rude, and acting like a savage, will only cause more harm than good. In the end, he ruffled Rachel's hair and made her promise to be good and to not cause any more problems.

That very same night, while Blaine was lying alone in his bed, he couldn't help but think about Mr. Hummel.

-

Another call from school came exactly a week later, and apparently it was even worse than the last time. This time, Rachel and Tom had decided to start a paint war during art class, and had somehow managed to not only interrupt the lesson, but to also drag the entire class into it.

Besides detention, he, Rachel and the Hummel's would have to spend every weekend for the next two months trying to clean the art room.

Later that day, Blaine was once again forced to have another parental talk with his daughter.

'Rachel, I swear to god, I have no idea what's gotten into you lately. I really need ask Cooper to stop giving you ridiculous acting advice, or advice in general, because this behavior,' he gestured at her 'this isn't you. I thought we were past this whole rebellious phase.'

'I'm so sorry, Daddy, but it's Tom who always bugs me during class. You always say that I shouldn't allow anyone to treat me badly, and I was just defending myself. And I didn't want to inform the teacher because the other kids would laugh at me, and I didn't want them to.'

'Here's what we're going to do, Princess. The next time that Tom bugs you, you have to tell me, okay? Then I'll have a word with his Father. Does that sound good?'

Rachel just nodded.

'Okay, so how do we feel about Mulan and ice cream tonight?' he asked.

-

'Are you even sure that this is going to work?'

'Positive. One more meeting with the principal and they'll be exchanging phone numbers.'

'If you say so...'

'Do you want to help your Daddy or not?'

'Of course I want to.'

'And I want to help mine, so stop complaining and let's do this.