Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 53rd cycle. Now cycle 54!

"Step Fifty-Four, Make A Home"
Kurt & Brittany & Santana & Baby Harry - Brittana
Paper Heart series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The whole time they were getting ready to leave the hospital, Kurt worried that it might be too cold outside and that no matter how they dressed him, Harry would freeze before they got home. Brittany was remarkably calm, all things considered, and looking at her son in his seat, he looked cosy enough, all warm and covered, sleeping soundly. So finally they had made their way out and got into her parents' car. Harry had his mother and father on either side of him, with Santana in the front passenger seat and Helen Pierce driving. The two grandfathers were leading the way in Burt's car, along with new aunt Melinda.

"Doesn't seem to be bothering him," Brittany commented with a smile, holding the boy's hand as they drove. Harry slept on, never disturbed by the drive.

"They like that though, right?" Santana pointed out from the front. "Driving... My little sister did anyway," she shrugged.

"Maybe he does," Brittany smiled, "Maybe he's just sleeping." She could see Kurt was keeping as close of an eye on him as she was, and it made her smile. If he was always concerned when she was pregnant, then there was a good chance he would continue to worry now that Harry was actually here.

When they pulled up to her house, Kurt helped to get them both out of the car. Brittany almost wanted to wake Harry up so he could see his house, his first of two houses, technically, but she knew that he needed his rest, so she left him as he was. For now they would take him inside and up to the nursery. She could see the three of them, her parents and Burt, looking at her and Kurt like they wanted to ask if they needed help with anything, even though they wouldn't do it. From the moment Harry had been born, even before then, both her and Kurt had made it very clear that they could, should, and would take care of him by themselves to the best of their abilities. There would be times when they needed the extra help, of course, and when those moments came they would not hesitate to call on their parents, but until then, it had to be them, Harry's parents, and them alone… and sometimes Melinda. The younger Pierce girl tagged behind the trio as they carried Harry up to the nursery.

"I can get the door," she moved ahead of them and opened the way. They had all been in the room before, but somehow entering it now with Harry there, it felt brand new all over again. Santana looked to Brittany, and as she had guessed she found her smiling brightly, almost crying.

"Let's get you a bit more comfortable," Kurt got him from his seat. He was just getting to put him down in his crib when he started to give signs that he was waking up. "No, alright," Kurt pulled him back.

"Yeah, he does that," Santana informed him. Brittany took this information in, her face looking like she was asking herself if Harry was having trouble being on his own, now that he wasn't safe with her. "Smart kid you've got," she went on, speaking to Kurt, though she could see the words had stretched a smile on for the new mother.

They had spent the next few hours with Harry, just talking amongst themselves when he slept, trying to entertain him when he was awake. They were already discovering how to handle certain tasks with him, as much as they were figuring him out as a person. He may have been a newborn, but he was starting to show traits. He didn't cry a lot, but when he did there was no way not to hear it. He was easy to calm so long as you talked to him, and when he did hear voices, there was just something else about him like he was happy.

Eventually, they would put him in his crib, to sleep for however long he would. They weren't expecting a full night, but whatever they did get… Brittany had requested that they tell him a bedtime story, so they did, the three of them huddled around him, a wordless promise to keep him safe. When they had finished telling him about a million chameleons, the sleeping boy had been laid out there in his crib.

"Guess I should go," Santana suddenly said, and Brittany looked to her.

"No, stay," she insisted.

"I'm sorry," Santana shook her head, and Brittany smiled, understanding she had to. For Santana it was about so much more than simply needing to put in some face time with her parents and her sister. She may have taken a step in the right direction by coming out to her parents, but she hadn't gotten to speak with Brittany about any of it yet, and in the meantime, a simple truth was coming about, which was that even if she did… what were they going to do? Kurt and her were already having to basically live together, sometimes at his house, sometimes at Brittany's, but then what about her? What was she going to do, move in with them, too, have them stay at her house, too? There were still so many questions, and not so many answers, and this wasn't the time to bring them up.

Once it was just the two of them, Brittany and Kurt had continued on with their evening, both of them showing how they didn't really want to stray far from Harry. They had ended up the two of them sitting on Kurt's bed, scrolling through pictures that had been taken since their son's birth.

"I like this one," Brittany smiled at one of them, showing Kurt holding Harry. Kurt was looking at it, almost rendered speechless to see the look on his own face, captured in the image… He looked like a father, like what he associated to the word. "We should print it, put it on the wall, that way he can see it when he's awake," she suggested as they continued clicking through.

"If we do, then this one has to go next to it," he stopped at one of Brittany now being the one to hold him, with Santana sat at her side, both girls looking on the newborn. Brittany looked at the photo, and it was just like seeing the nursery for the first time again. She was smiling, but almost crying, too.

"It really should," she agreed, sniffling. Kurt looked at her, transfixed, and he wondered if…

"Britt, you okay?"

"I'm not…" her voice fell, and he could see tears roll down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey," he scooted up, touching her arm. "What's the matter?" he asked, and she just kept looking at the screen.

"I want her here," she stated simply. "She should be here…"

"Santana?" he asked, just to make sure they weren't getting their wires crossed.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked, finally looking to him. He offered his pinkie, and her face scrunched.

"Right, that's for you guys," he remembered, switched fingers. "Index swear?" he offered, and she managed a smile, crossing her index with his. "I promise." She breathed out, bowing her head.

"I kind of… I think… Kurt, I love her. Not just like a friend, like…"

"I know," he volunteered the information right away, sparing her.

"You do?" she blinked. "How?"

"I'm observant," he gave her a smile, and she hesitated for a beat.

"Think she knows, too?"

"Maybe you should ask her…" She looked to him, fear showing in her eyes. "Trust me on this."

"She won't think it's like… baby hormones?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"I think you know exactly what you need to do." She breathed out, resting her head to his shoulder, and he took her hand. "Want to stay in here with us tonight?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Can I?"

That night, the two of them slept side by side, got up when Harry woke up, took care of him and got back to sleep after another round of storytelling and a sleepy lullaby. They had made it through the first day.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!