"I'm done."
Julianna Doe-Weller dropped her own colored pencil and craned her neck to peer at her older sister's drawing. She wrinkled her nose.
"No you're not! You didn't even drawed Momma or her big belly with the baby! Look! I drewed them." Jules pointed to her own picture for proof.
"I am too done," Jo grumbled. "And it's 'drew'," she corrected in a haughty, superior tone.
"But you gotta draw Momma!" Jules protested, "it's not a family picture without her and we said we were drawin' family pictures for the fridgerators!"
"This is my family," Jo countered. She pointed to each person in the drawing as she told Jules who they were. "See, that's me. There's my mom. That's dad and that's pa. So my drawing's done."
Jules frowned, her green eyes filling with tears. "But where'm I?"
Jo shrugged. "You're not my full sister so I didn't wanna draw you."
The five-year-old's chin trembled and a few fat tears rolled down her cheeks. She sniffled, "But...but you're my sister! I drewed you in my picture! And Auntie Allie and Uncle Con!"
Jo, feeling bad that her sister was crying, but not bad enough that she would give in, sighed. "Just 'cause you drew them doesn't mean they're your family! My mom's not even related to you!"
"But my daddy is your daddy!" Jules wailed, crying even harder now. Jo was her hero and she didn't understand why her big sister was being mean.
"So?" Jo huffed. "We've got different moms and we're not full sisters. It doesn't count. Stop being a big crybaby."
"I'm not a crybaby!" Jules stomped her foot on the floor. "An' stop bein' mean! We are too sisters. Momma said so!"
Jo went for the final dig, sneering as she said, "Well, Jane's not my mom, so i don't have to listen to her!"
Jules hit her hands on the coffee table and shouted, "Momma!"
Rolling her eyes, Jo picked up a purple colored pencil and scribbled her full name on the paper: Josephine Claire Knight-Fitzpatrick. She appraised the drawing and frowned, eyebrows scrunching together in a mix of guilt and hurt.
"What's the matter, Jules?" Jane asked as she came into the living room, her swollen stomach making her slower than usual. She sunk down to sit on the couch and Jules scrambled to her side.
"Joey says I'm not her full sister and you're not her real momma," Jules cried, throwing her little body onto Jane's lap. Jane stroked her daughter's hair and shook her head. Jo studiously ignored Jane's gaze. Jane chewed at her lower lip, wondering what was going on with the elementary schooler.
"Honey, Jules, baby," Jane murmured, shifting the kindergartener so they could see each other. "I'm not Jo's mom. Remember, daddy and I talked to you about this?"
Jules nodded reluctantly. "Daddy and Auntie Allie had Joey before he falled in love with you."
"Right," Jane nodded, "and remember that doesn't mean your dad loves either one of you less. You're both his girls. He's just known and loved Jo longer."
"But I want Jo to be my sister," Jules wailed. "And she doesn't like me any more!"
Jo dropped her colored pencil to the tabletop and rolled her eyes. Her sister could be annoying. She grumbled, "I still like you, stupid. Stop crying and we can go play Barbies."
"Really?" Jules perked up, tears stopping. Jane was grateful that her little girl could become happy-go-lucky at the drop of a hat, but there was an underlying issue here that she wanted to fix.
"Yeah, really," Jo said, smiling a little. Jules hopped off of her mother's lap and followed her sister back into their shared bedroom. Jane sat quietly until she could hear their happy giggles. She sighed and pushed off of the couch to start dinner.
She was going to have to have a chat with Kurt later.
"Hey," Kurt knocked on the doorframe of Jo and Jules' bedroom. "Can I come in?"
Jo looked up from the Harry Potter book resting open on her lap and shrugged. "Sure, dad. If you want to."
Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He leaned carefully against the wall opposite Jo's bed. His hands stuffed in his jeans' pocket, he said, "So, Jane showed me the pictures you and Jules drew this afternoon."
Jo wrinkled her nose. "It's not...I can't believe she showed you."
"Jules was really upset," Kurt replied mildly. Navigating this mixed family was damn hard sometimes. "And Jane was worried about you."
"Why? She's not my mom," Jo sighed with an eye roll that was a habit picked up from both Allie and Jane.
Kurt's lips compressed in a thin line. They'd worked hard to try and maintain good relationships between Allie, Jane, and both girls. It hurt to see his oldest like this. Jo had been so little when he'd married Jane, and she'd already had Connor around since birth. When Jules came along, they all had really thought it would be good for Jo, especially since Allie and Connor weren't planning on having another kid.
Maybe they'd overestimated Jo's ability to cope.
"She can still worry about you, JoJo," Kurt sighed. "Just because she isn't your mom doesn't mean she doesn't love you."
"Yeah, it does," Jo countered. "She only cares about Jules. 'Cause she's her real kid."
The bitter edge to Jo's tone shocked Kurt a little, but he schooled his features into a neutral expression.
"Hey, don't you think your mom cares about Jules?" Kurt asked, shifting a little.
Jo shrugged. Kurt sighed; she was going to be stubborn about what was bothering her.
"When Jules broke her arm last year," Kurt reminded, "didn't your mom call every hour we were in the ER to make sure she was okay?"
"I guess," Jo offered her response reluctantly. She wouldn't – couldn't? – look up at his face.
"And doesn't your mom babysit Jules when Jane and I are out of town?" Kurt moved to sit on the edge of Jules' mattress.
Jo shrugged, fiddling with the corner of her book's page.
"Kiddo, Jane may not be your mom, but she loves you so damn much," Kurt said firmly. "And Jules worships the ground you walk on. So what's the matter? You've never referred to Jules as anything but your sister before."
"Well she's not," Jo muttered, a grumpy frown forming on her face.
"That's enough," Kurt snapped, causing Jo to look up in surprise. Kurt rarely lost his temper with either girl, so she knew she had messed up. "Something's going on with you and none of us can help if you don't tell us what's wrong."
Jo clamped her mouth shut. Talking would only cause her dad to get even madder and she didn't want that. Besides, she was going back to her other apartment tomorrow afternoon anyway. She could make it that long.
Kurt sighed, "Joey, honey, come on. I'm doing the best I can here. Jules thinks you don't love her. Jane and I are worried. I don't want to tell your mom about this, but I will if I have to."
"No!" Jo exclaimed. "Don't tell Mom! I'll go apologize to Jules if you want."
"It would be nice if you did," Kurt conceded, "But you don't have to. I'd rather you explain why you think you should apologize."
This was the problem with having an FBI agent for a dad, Jo thought. They were persistent and you couldn't get away with anything.
"It's stupid," she muttered, picking at a thread on her sweater.
"Hey," Kurt leaned forward and tapped on her knee, "if it's bothering you, it's not stupid."
Jo looked up at her dad, tears welling in her blue eyes, and let out her problems in a rush of breath.
"You're not married to mom and you're married to Jane and now Jane is having another baby and you're going to have two kids with her and I'm just going to be forgotten 'cause you'll live with them and you won't see me everyday and you won't need a third kid anymore and -"
"Whoa!" Kurt held up his hands, effectively shutting Jo up. Her mouth snapped shut and she swiped angrily at the tears rolling down her cheeks. Kurt's heart broke for his oldest daughter. He'd had no idea she was feeling upset and like she'd be forgotten. It made him feel like the worst dad in the world.
"Jo, honey, a new baby does not mean that I'll love you any less," he got off of Jules' bed and knelt next to Jo's. "I'm sorry that I didn't realize you were upset. Maybe your mom and I should have talked about the new baby with you more. But, Jo, I need you to know that there is nothing in this world that could make me love you less. Just because you don't live with us full time, that doesn't mean..."
Kurt noticed the way Jo was chewing on the inside of her cheek and paused. That was his oldest's tell that more tears were imminent. He sighed and moved to sit on the edge of Jo's bed and then pulled her into a tight hug. She started crying in earnest, shaking in his arms.
"It's okay," he soothed, stroking her hair. "Let it out, baby. It's all going to be okay. I promise."
Father and daughter sat there for a few more minutes, until Jo's tears dried up.
"Feel better?" Kurt asked quietly.
"Yeah," Jo muttered. "I'm sorry I was mean to Jules."
Kurt huffed a little laugh, "I think she'll forgive you. One round of FBI Barbie and you'll be her best friend again."
Jo was quiet for a few beats and then, "Daddy?"
"Mhm?"
"Does Jane get mad that I call her 'Jane' and not 'Aunt Jane' like Jules calls mom 'Aunt Allie'?" Jo fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
Truth be told, Kurt knew it did hurt Jane a little bit. She'd been a part of Jo's life almost since the little girl was born and loved her nearly as much as Kurt and Allie did. She knew that being called 'mom' or any variation of it might be overstepping her bounds and didn't want to step on Allie's toes. Jane also knew that Jo's situation and relationship with Connor was different – they did live in the same apartment full-time – but it did hurt to hear the little girl call her 'Jane'. At the same time, Jane knew there really was no obligation on Jo's part to call her 'Aunt Jane' or anything, really. No matter what Jo called her, Jane knew that she didn't want to be a stepmother from the fairy tales, demanding and unliked. It was a difficult line to tread and Kurt thought Jane did an amazing job at not treating Jo and Jules any differently.
He didn't want to lie to Jo, so he said, "I think that's a conversation you should have with Jane."
She wrinkled her nose, "I guess. I don't want her to be mad at me either."
"Kiddo, Jane loves you a whole lot," Kurt said truthfully. "I think it would take a lot for her to be mad at you. But maybe, instead of bottling up your feelings, you could come talk to us. Any of us."
Jo nodded. "Can I have some ice cream?"
Kurt laughed out loud and ruffled Jo's hair. "Yeah, I think ice cream goes really well with emotional chats, huh? What do you say we grab Jane and Jules and head out to The Creamery?"
"Good idea!" Jo rolled off of the bed and landed on her feet, "I'll go help Jules tie her sneakers!"
Kurt watched as she ran off, shouting her sister's name. He breathed a sigh of relief; for now, Jo's issues were resolved. Jane came into the girls' bedroom a moment later, small smile on her face.
"Ice cream bribery?" she teased lightly, her tone a direct contrast to the serious look in her eyes.
"Yeah," Kurt replied, reaching out and grabbing Jane's hand. He tugged her down so she was sitting on his lap. She scratched lightly at the back of his neck with her free hand.
"Did she talk to you?"
Kurt pressed his face into the crook of Jane's neck and hummed a response. His voice was muffled, "This is going to be impossible when they're both teenagers."
Jane laughed, "You better hope this one is a boy for your sake." She grew serious, "But really Kurt, is Jo okay?"
"She is," Kurt sighed. "She's...maybe we didn't do such a great job of transitioning her to new step parents and half siblings."
"Is there anything I can do, or will I make it worse?" Jane asked, concerned crease forming in between her eyebrows.
Kurt smoothed a hand over her stomach, running his thumb over the spot where the baby kicked. "You're amazing, Jane. Don't do anything differently. Jo may come and talk to you, she may not, but you've been great."
"I don't want any of them to grow up resenting each other or us," Jane rested her cheek against the top of Kurt's head. "I want them to be close, to be a unit. They're going to need each other to complain about us when we ground them and implement unfair curfews."
They were both quiet for a few minutes, the sound of the girls' laughter floating through the apartment. It sounded like Jo was telling Jules a story about one of her classmates. Them getting along was music to both Kurt and Jane's ears.
"I think," Kurt said, pausing as the girls let out a particularly loud burst of laughter, "and mind you, this is just a stab in the dark here, but I think they'll be okay."
A/N: I am SO HAPPY with how this one came out. I've been working on it slowly since we found out baby Knight-Weller is going to be a girl. At first I was annoyed, because I, like most of you I think, wanted baby Doe-Weller to be Kurt's first daughter. Since that was shot to hell, I figured I'd play around with the dynamics of half-sisters.
Let me know what you think :)