A/N: So I finally got around to writing this, it's in the same universe as "In the Blink of an Eye" so it's helpful if you read that first, but not completely necessary I guess. Anyways let me know what you think so far! And thank you for reading :)

*Disclaimer* I don't own Glee, which is probably for the best.


Ever since I was young I've understood that family doesn't necessarily mean blood, it means people who love you and care about you. I guess no one would really call my family traditional; having your gay uncles raise you isn't exactly society's definition of a normal family.

Becca stares at the computer screen before deleting it all. She looks over the college essay question again

A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

How the hell was she supposed to answer that in 250-500 words? She looks at her dog, Diva, curled up next to her; she collapses onto her bed, taking the aging pug in her arms. "It's hopeless." She informs the dog dejectedly.

"How's the college stuff going?" Blaine leans against the doorway, he must have just gotten home. He just started rehearsals for a new show he was joining, he was Officer Krupke in another revival of West Side Story. He walks over to Lizzie who is asleep in her own bed and pulled the covers over her. Becca had continually fought for her own room but had managed to get stuck sharing after Cam's insistence that he was too old to share a room with his sister, luckily Lizzie could sleep through anything which included all-nighters with the light on.

"Maybe I'll bypass this whole college thing, this essay sucks," Becca groans before meeting Blaine's stern gaze "I don't know." She sighs "How was rehearsal?" She looks at the clock realizing it's past midnight and she has to get up at six for their flight to Ohio in the morning for Christmas break.

"Good," Blaine nods "exhausting though. It's sort of weird, Tony was the first part I ever had in a play, back in high school with your mom, makes me feel old."

"Well you are." Becca shrugs "I mean you're like forty aren't you?" She teases shaking her head "That's ancient!"

"It's not that old," Blaine laughs defensively.

"But mom was Maria?" Becca looks up at him seriously.

"I never told you that?"

"No," Becca scrunches her nose as a realization hit her "ew."

"What?"

"You kissed my mom?"

Blaine just laughs "At least those times it was scripted."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Becca looks at him scandalized.

"I'll tell you some other time, its past midnight now."

"Fine, but I expect full details in the morning." Becca informs him.

Blaine smiles "Goodnight, and don't stay up too late, we're leaving for JFK first thing in the morning."

"I won't," Becca sighs closing her laptop and setting it onto her desk "goodnight. I love you."

"Love you too."

XXXX

"So I just took the dog across the hallway to Karen's, and everything's waiting downstairs." Kurt says checking the apartment for last minute details "Lizzie you already said you have your retainer right? And Becca you have Billy Budd for your AP Lit assignment right?"

"Yup," Becca nods unconcernedly sipping her coffee and adjusting her hat.

"We got all the gifts…" He claps his gloved hands together "I think we're ready."

"Cam you aren't bringing the Xbox," Kurt calls as they walk out of the apartment without Cam "come on the taxi's waiting outside."

"Fine," Cam runs out of the apartment adjusting his scarf.

"There's one hidden in the attic at Grandpa and Grandma's." Blaine whispers to Cam making him smile.

"You were trying to bring the Xbox?" Lizzie rolls her eyes at him "You're more delusional than I thought you were."

"Well I'm not the one who packed twenty outfits for three days in Ohio," Cam fires back sticking out his tongue.

"It's not twenty," Lizzie says defensively.

"More like thirty," Cam mumbles.

"Daddy's suitcase was just as full with clothes as mine."

"Pop's a fashion designer, his work revolves around clothes. What's your excuse?"

"You're really making me sit behind them on a plane?" Becca moans to Kurt and Blaine as they get into the taxi "it'll be two hours of nonstop bickering."

XXXX

There was something about Lima, and Ohio in general, that had always fascinated Becca. Maybe it was the fact that this is where her parents had met, the place her dad had always talked about even though he claimed to be content in New York to please her mom. Or maybe it was just that it was so different from New York, even from the Columbus airport it had always been clear. When she was little Becca had made a list of differences between New York and Ohio, it had kept her busy for the two hour car ride from Columbus to Lima as she had stared out the window, she went over the list which had grown over the years in her head.

1. It's greener, with more snow in the winter

2. There are literally no taxies, or as far as she knew much public transportation at all.

3. Less cars on the road

4. Less people

5. More conservative people (from her experience at least)

6. Everyone virtually knows everyone

7. Farms- enough said

8. No apartments

9. There's more sunlight, but no city lights as far as she ever saw

10. It's quieter

Becca could go on forever about the differences between the two; she'd gotten to one-hundred once. Numbers 9 and 10 on the list were the hardest for her though. Becca loved the city at night, the bright marquees shining above entrances of theaters and hotels, the sounds of cars flying down the street and horns honking as music blasted from another apartment building. Becca had grown up with these sights and sounds, and coming to Ohio had always seemed so foreign to her. It was still the same, she thought staring at the window as she was crammed it the back of Carole's minivan staring at the Christmas lights and decorations – that was another thing, people didn't have houses in New York to decorate with Christmas lights and giant snowmen.

"So I was thinking we could go out to dinner at Breadsticks tonight and drive around town afterwards to check out all the Christmas lights." Carole was saying.

"Yeah," Lizzie and Cam agree.

"I was planning on going to a Christmas party with Connor." Becca says hesitantly "You said I could go," She adds to both Kurt and Blaine's glances. She and Quinn's son had grown close in middle school and had become inseparable until Quinn's divorce and subsequent move to Ohio where she'd gotten a job teaching at Lima Elementary.
"It's Christmas…" Blaine starts to say.

"It's the twenty-third," Becca rolls her eyes "It's not even Christmas Eve, it's the Eve of Christmas Eve. I promise it's the only time I'll be out while we're here. Christmas Eve and Christmas will totally be just family." She adds with a pleading look.

"Just be back by eleven." Blaine sighs.

"Seriously? I'm almost eighteen, no one else has a curfew."

"Do you want to make it ten?" Kurt says sharply "Be happy we're letting you go in the first place."

"Now you get to see your boyfriend." Lizzie teases.

"Wait what?" Blaine turns around, he's always been the overprotective one when it came to boys "I thought you said…"

"Connor and I aren't dating," Becca rolls her eyes before elbowing Lizzie in the ribs when no one is looking.

XXXX

Becca's at the party with Connor for five minutes before he pulls her into the bedroom of someone she doesn't know and starts making out with her.

"Just think," Becca murmurs as Connor starts to kiss a spot on her neck "how amazing it'll be if we both ended up going to school back home. We wouldn't have to do this whole long-distance relationship thing."

"Huh?" Connor looks up incoherently "What do you mean?"

"Well you said you were looking at Colombia…"

"Not that, the long-distance relationship thing?" Connor gets off from on top of her and sits next to her on the bed, which she has no idea who it belongs to "I thought I made it clear last time, when we did it, that it doesn't mean anything." He eyes her "Look, I'm sorry Becca but I'm not ready to be in a relationship, I thought you understood that this is a friends-with-benefits sort of deal."

"Where would I have gotten that idea?" Becca asks standing up "You didn't even say anything to me when we did it. You just started making out with me and then the next thing I know…" She doesn't finish the sentence. They both know what happened.

"You said it yourself, I didn't say anything. Then where would you have gotten the idea that we were in a relationship?" Connor asks coldly before Becca walks away. She finds herself back in the living room of whoever's house this is. She looks around, everyone's either drinking or on the couch making out.

"Hey, did you want a drink?" A voice asks from behind her, she turns to see a dark curly haired boy with a beer in his hand, he offers his free hand.

"I'm Drew."

"Becca," She turns away from him "and no thank you. I don't really drink much." It wasn't a complete lie, in New York she'd had a few drinks at parties, but she always found herself being the sober one who helped everyone get home safely. If it weren't for public transportation, she would have been the designated driver almost every weekend.

"I've never seen you before," Drew offers conversationally.

"So you know everyone in this town?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

She looks at him exasperatedly "I came here with a friend; I'm here visiting family for Christmas. I'm from New York City."

"New York City," Drew eyes her "doesn't that make you special? Let me guess, you're daddy is the C.E.O of some big corporate company. You seem like the rich New Yorker type. Probably live in some big fancy New York apartment."

"My dad isn't a C.E.O." Becca says quickly, because it's the only statement she can find fault with.

"What does he do then?"

"He's a Broadway actor," Becca says easily "and my other dad's a fashion designer." She says the word "dad" easily, but she'd never called Kurt or Blaine that, they'd always been "Uncle Kurt" and "Uncle Blaine" and even "my parents" when introducing them, but never dad. It didn't feel weird necessarily, just different. She didn't think she'd be calling either of them that often.

"Ah," Drew nods "even better. Your two loving gay fathers found a surrogate who was more than happy to have absolutely no part in your life which tortures you, and you're a huge gay rights activist. Am I right?"

"What makes you think you can read me so easily?"

"Because I can."

"No. You can't." Becca turns to him to see him wearing an arrogant grin "Because you don't know anything about me. For one, I'm not tortured by a biological mother who gave me up as a baby. My mom's dead. So is my Dad. They died when I was young and I was adopted by my Uncles." She walks away before he has a chance to respond until she walks into the couch where she notices Connor had moved to and is now sitting, talking animatedly with a girl who is in his lap, giggling uncontrollably at something he must have said to her. Now they're making out.

"Look I'm sorry," Drew runs up behind her "I get kind of obnoxious when I'm drunk."

"It's fine," She shrugs, still staring at Connor and this girl. Drew takes notice.

"Connor Harrington is your friend? Dude's a player." He quickly backtracks at the look Becca shoots him "Look, was Connor your ride home? Because I'm headed home if you need a ride, he doesn't look like he's going home anytime soon."

"That'd be great actually." Becca murmurs following him out to his car. She barely has time to register the cop lights before they get pulled over.


"I knew we shouldn't have let her go out tonight. It just snowed yesterday, what if the roads are icy? Connor's only had his license for a year." Kurt paces the kitchen of the Hudson-Hummel house. He's been continually trying to call Becca's cell phone to no response.

"I'm sure she's just having fun. It's not the first time she's been past curfew." Blaine tries reasonably.

"If I kept count of every time you two were out past curfew," Burt adds, making Cam and Lizzie laugh and Kurt and Blaine burst into immediate defenses like when they were teenagers.

"Why don't you too just relax? If she isn't home within the hour and still doesn't answer her cell phone then we'll worry, okay?" Carole says gently as Kurt and Blaine move towards the couch where Cam's groaning about the Christmas Special Lizzie has playing.

An hour later Quinn calls Kurt.

"Hey is Connor not home either?" Kurt answers quickly.

"No, the opposite actually." Quinn responds "He got home and was worried about Becca. He said she wasn't at the party when he went looking for her and she wouldn't answer her phone."

"She's probably hanging out with someone else who was at the party," Burt offers after Kurt finished talking to Quinn.

"She didn't know anyone else at that party," Blaine shakes his head, now starting to pace now, Kurt sitting silently with Lizzie and Cam who are both drifting off to sleep. Carole sits in the kitchen sipping hot chocolate not saying anything. Their thoughts all on the same thing.

XXXX

"They were supposed to be home two hours ago." Blaine murmurs carrying a sleeping Becca and his arms.

"I'm sure they just got caught up in things." Kurt said trying not to sound worried "Just put Becca down on our bed for now, she can sleep there until they get home.

That's when the phone rings.

"Rachel? Finn?" Kurt answered immediately.

"This is Officer Trenton of the NYPD..." Kurt listened as the officer explained how a drunk driver ran a red light at 70 mph and rammed into Finn and Rachel's taxi. How they'd been pronounced dead on scene. Dead. The officer's still talking. He said he needed to go to the hospital to identify the bodies. The bodies, not people, not Finn and Rachel, the bodies. They need to be sure. At that moment he let the phone drop from his ear and clutched it to his chest. That's when Blaine comes walking out.

"Was that Finn and Rachel?" He started to ask before his gaze fell to Kurt who is now on the floor sobbing, the phone clutched to his chest, Blaine sat next to Kurt taking him in his arms "That wasn't them, was it?"

Kurt shook his head as more tears fall "Drunk Driver." He sobbed "Some idiot. They died instantly."

Blaine squeezed Kurt to him, starting to cry too "Becca," He managed "what happens to Becca?"

Kurt shook his head "Thank God though." He said finally "She wasn't with them. We still have her."

XXXX

Kurt's half asleep when the phone rings. He leaps to it.

"Becca?"

"This is Officer Smith,"

"I-Is Becca okay," Kurt sputters.

"Oh she's fine," The officer says easily as Kurt's entire body relaxes "she just needs to be picked up by a parent or guardian, we have her in protective custody at the moment."

"Wait, why?"

"She was in a car with an underage drunk driver tonight."