Author's Note: I guess I'm back. Watching all 66 episodes (*cough 310 doesn't exist*) in 4 days will do that to you I guess. Anyway, 98% of this story I had written 'before' but it just needed an ending. So I hope you enjoy.
Oh and I don't own anything, except I guess now I do own a Bethany. That's cool.
"Daddy! Daddy!" the little girl bounded into the room, her blonde pigtails bouncing. "Conor took me camping. It was sooooooo much fun. We went fishing and – "
Kurt's expression froze in a moment of panic.
"Bethany!" Allie called out from the kitchen. "Not right now, okay. Daddy and Jane just got here." She walked into the room, apologetic. "I meant to call you, give you a heads up. Her friend was talking about it, and Conor's always wanted to go…"
Kurt took a deep breath as Bethany looked between her parents confused. "It's fine," he said unconvincingly.
Jane grabbed his hand, gently rubbing her thumb over his fingers. "It's okay Kurt," she said, trying to meet his eye line. Instead he stared straight ahead, his hand clenching tighter and tighter around Jane's.
"Hey, Bethany, why don't you tell them what you learned at school today instead?" Allie offered helpfully.
But Bethany's smile instantly turned into a pout as she said, "But I've been waiting and waiting to tell Daddy about camping!" she insisted. "Conor said I could!"
Kurt turned and glanced at Jane, giving her a small nod. "It's okay, sweetie. I'd love to hear about camping." Keeping one hand intertwined with Jane's, he reached out, pulling Bethany on to his lap.
Bethany snuggled against him, "It was so much fun. Mommy didn't want to come, so she stayed home, and Conor let me stay up late and we told stories at the campfire."
Jane felt Kurt's grip tighten, and she scooted ever closer to him. She felt hopeless as he faced the demons in his memories, unable to do anything more, hoping that just being there helped.
"Mommy, can I show Daddy the pictures?" Bethany asked, she asked, sitting up to call out to her mom. "We made a tent and I even got my own sleeping bag! It's pink and purple."
Allie gave another glance to Kurt as she handed Bethany the phone. She had always worried what would happen as their daughter got older and more memories of Taylor resurfaced. Taylor had been this black cloud hanging over them while they were dating. She'd suggested camping once, and Kurt had stormed out, not talking to her for a week. Then he'd called back, pretending nothing had happened, so she did also. Bits and pieces of the story had come out in the following months, but she never got the full story.
Yet, watching them, she could see things were different this time. No, it would never be easy. She knew Kurt well enough to know that there were some scars that would never fully heal. But it was easier – just as everything had been since Jane came into his life. She watched as Jane held his hand, there for him in a way she never had been. Every touch, every glance, every moment between them seemed to relax Kurt.
Meanwhile, Bethany had started swiping through pictures. "Look Daddy! This is our tent. I got to hammer it into the ground and everything. I did a good job, cause or else Conor said it would fall down on us.
"Then we went fishing. I didn't catch anything, but Conor did. He put it back in the water. We had hotdogs for dinner, not yucky fish." Bethany continuing swiping through pictures narrating her evening camping.
"Then I roasted marshmallows! We made smores, have you ever had a smore daddy? They were so yummy. Can we make smores tonight?"
The words washed over Kurt as he stared at the photo. Her hair was lighter, and her eyes darker, but the image of Taylor still washed over him.
He could remember it as if it was yesterday. Taylor, dancing around the fire, happy and carefree. Her laugh as the marshmallow caught fire, and then the stick. Her shrieks of delight as the sparks flew through the air. "Come on Kurt, let's go!" she said, grabbing his hand, pulling him along. He couldn't help but laugh with her, as they raced around the camp site waving their torches in the air.
"Kurt," Jane's voice echoed in his head. "Kurt?" She pressed a light kiss into his shoulder as he emerged from the memory. She knew what he was going through – it was the same sense of loss and confusion she felt whenever she remembered something new. They were coming less and less frequent now, but they still overpowered her entire system.
Bethany thankfully hadn't noticed – or at least not enough to stop talking. She had moved on to the next picture, one of her smiling in the morning, the sun bright behind her. "Can you come camping too, Daddy?" Bethany said, snuggling back into his arms.
Kurt remained silent, staring straight ahead, still not fully back from the memory.
Jane watched Kurt for another moment before replying. "I don't know, Bethany. Maybe that's something – "
"I used to go camping also," Kurt started speaking, not really to anyone in particular.
"Really? Did you make smores and have a sleeping bag like me?" Bethany asked with delight.
Kurt focused on his daughter for the first time in a while. "Yeah, I did." He pulled her closer. "I loved camping. We had a bright blue tent, and my sleeping bag was brown."
"Did you make smores too?"
"Yeah, I did."
"I want you to come camping with me daddy. And Jane too."
"Maybe one day," Kurt glanced at Jane, the sadness and pain still evident in his eyes.
Satisfied, the little girl hopped up, running off to the kitchen to ask about a snack.
"She's five." Kurt said, the pain evident in his voice.
"Almost six."
Kurt took a deep breath, willing the tears to stay away. "It still feels so unfair."
"It wasn't your fault." Kurt turned to her, ready to give the same response he always did, but Jane cut him off. "Kurt, no. It wasn't your fault. Your father was a monster. What he did to Taylor is unimaginable, but it is not your fault. You are a good man, and a great father."
Kurt rested his head on Jane's shoulder in silence. He heard Bethany in the kitchen, talking with Allie. Jane's hand rested on his, her fingers gently rubbing back and forth. It all seemed like too much – Taylor, Jane, every battle they had fought to get here. But right then, he at least remembered why it was worth it. Jane was right – he was not his father, and never would be. Bethany was safe and loved, and would have a lifetime of happy memories to look back on.