Hey, everyone! This is my Darren Criss and Chris Colfer fic. I hope you like it! Review if you do :)
Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Darren Criss, Chris Colfer, FOX, or Glee.

Darren watched as his breath formed small puffs of white as he breathed in and out. He was in the center of Trafalgar Square waiting for his ex-wife and their daughter, Lea. It was the middle of October but London already felt like being trapped in an ice box. Darren could've sworn he heard Lea's squeal, but when he turned he found a small girl with her mother instead.
"I'm an awful father." It wasn't a lie, yet nor was it the truth. The minute Darren had told Jenna, his ex, he wanted a divorce she had whisked herself and Lea away to London, where her parents are currently residing. That had been the last time he had seen Lea. That was three years ago. Darren had been saving every penny that he could afford to for this trip. It was Lea's fifth birthday and all Lea had asked Jenna for was to see her father. Much to Jenna's dismay, she asked Darren to fly into Heathrow for the party on the 17th of October and promptly leave on the 19th. He had agreed and had spent nearly every waking moment preparing for it. After countless hours of arts and crafts and many phone calls to London to question Jenna about Lea's favorite things, the perfect present was complete. He was sure that Lea would love it.

"Darren." It was an instantly recognizable voice; cold and steady.

"Jenna! Oh man, it's been a long time! How've ya been?"

"Quite all right, thank you." Darren thought he detected traces of a British accent in her voice.

"That's great! You look great! So…where's Lea?" It was the question Darren had been itching to ask Jenna the second her saw her as there was no sight of his brown-haired daughter anywhere.

"You'll see her later tonight at the party. I wanted to meet with you first so that we could go over a few ground rules and so that you could meet my fiancé, Karl." Darren's heart sunk as the thought of another man, another father, watching his daughter grow up here in London, while he was far away in New York. A tall, broad shouldered man appeared out of what seemed like nowhere. He had thin blonde hair that was balding in one spot and a wiry mustache that had flecks of white in it. His plaid shirt looked thin and weather worn and his brown loafers were covered in scuff marks and holes. He was not wearing a jacket of any sort, which Darren thought to be a bit odd considering the temperature was almost freezing.

"Hello! I'm Karl, what a pleasure it is to meet you! I've been hearing about you for weeks and weeks, nonstop! You're all Lea can talk about. Of course, soon I'll be father to her as well, so hopefully she'll brag as much about me as she does you. But, considering I'll always be there for her when you won't…" he let that sink in for a moment and waited for the shame to pass over Darren's face before continuing.

"I'm sure she'll love me just as much, if not more, than you." Darren could have sworn he saw Jenna give Karl a reassuring smile as he stuck out his hand to shake Darren's. Darren merely stepped aside, however.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Karl. I might just be here to stay." Even as the words came out of his mouth he knew they were a lie. There would be no way that he could stay in London. Not with his family back home, his singing job at Ellen's Stardust Diner and his other job as a music teacher in a daycare. Everything was in New York for him and there was no way that he could leave it. Nonetheless, he was enjoying the shocked faces of Jenna and Karl.

"I-I'm sorry? You're moving here?" The look on Jenna's face was pure outrage; it had been clear that she was looking to cut Darren out of Lea's life forever.

"I might…I might. I've been thinking of it for a while now. It would be fantastic to see my daughter every day, considering it's so rare that I ever see her nowadays. But enough about plans for the future, I believe it's party time?" Darren picked up his briefcase that contained the first part of Lea's present and walked to the curb to call a cab.

"I suppose you two will want to take your own cab, yes?" The duo stood with grim faces and nodded their heads once. Darren raised his hand to gesture a goodbye and slid onto the shiny leather seats of the cab.

"Where are you headed, sir?" came the cab drivers crisp voice.

"Uh…hang on; I know I've got it somewhere." He fumbled around in his briefcase as he searched for the address to his hotel and the party.

"Is it all right if we stop at my hotel for a moment and then continue to my other destination?"

"It's going to cost ya another pound, but sure." The rest of the ride remained silent until they reached the St. Giles Hotel & Leisure club. Darren dashed up to his suite and quickly grabbed his microphone (bedazzled with pink jewels for the occasion), the piñata, and the life-size card he had made for her. Everything else was already set up at the party venue that it was being held at. Darren tore out of the room and jumped back into the cab to tell the driver to "please drive to 51 Abbey Street, and fast." It was only a matter of minutes before they arrived at their destination.

"That'll be 5 pounds." Darren passed over the money and a few extra bills.

"Keep the change, thanks so much for the ride!" He bolted out of the cab and into the venue where he found Jenna's parents stringing decorations. The venue was just as he had left it this morning; the pink stage was in the front of the room and the pink and purple circular tables were lined up in front of it. Each table had about ten facts about Lea and a few pictures of her from when she was younger. Jenna had wanted to help plan the party, but Darren had refused. This was his special gift to his precious little girl. Jenna's parents had offered to drive all of the young girls to the venue, however, and Darren accepted this offer graciously. Nancy and John Wolvak were already at the venue when Darren arrived. Nancy was young to be a grandmother, only 54. She had brown hair which she wore in the style of a short bob and kind hazel eyes. She was wearing a pink cardigan over a white top and regular mom jeans with sneakers. John Wolvak was 57. He was one of the smartest people on this planet in Darren's eyes. He had worked as a marine biologist for 27 years before retiring a few years ago. He had thinning grey hair and dark blue eyes which were often hidden behind his glasses. He was dressed in a button down plaid shirt with dark brown trousers. They were the nicest couple that Darren had ever met.z

"Hello, Mr. Wolvak! Oh, and hello to you too, Mrs. Wolvak! Thank you again for helping me put up the streamers. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it in time. The place looks fantastic!"

"You're welcome, Darren. Lea is so excited to see you! This is a wonderful thing you're doing for her, you know." Darren felt his cheeks turn hot. He wasn't used to being praised by adults, after all his parents were hardly there throughout his childhood and his grade school teachers rarely paid attention to the quiet boy in the corner.

"Oh, it's really nothing. I could've come up with something bigger and better if I had more time. I think I really owe this to her though, you know? I haven't seen her in ages. I hope you know that I didn't do that intentionally, however. I never wanted Jenna to take her away from me; I didn't want a separation in our family like this. After the court ordered me to pay 2,000 dollars in alimony each month, I just didn't have the money to support her and Jenna, pay rent on my apartment, still put food on my table, and come here. I wish it wasn't the case, I really wish it wasn't."

"Oh, Darren, we know. We're very upset about the way Jenna has been towards you, and please, believe us when we say that we still think of you as a son-in-law. You've been nothing but kind to us since you came into our lives. You still call to wish us happy birthdays and on holidays, the cards you send, the gifts, and the things you do for Lea are heartening." Darren once again felt the color rising in his face and was glad when Jenna and Karl appeared.

"Lea is just outside now, so Darren you better get ready to do your thing while we bring the girls in." Darren nodded and positioned himself behind the curtain on the stage. He reached for the pink bedazzled microphone with his shaking hands and told himself that everything would go smoothly.

"Where is he? Where is he, Mom? I want to see him! I miss him!" Darren smiled to himself as he heard Lea's protests against having to wait to see him. He heard oo's and ah's from the other girls as they admired the pink and purple decorations that he had picked out earlier in the week.

"Okay, girls, listen up," said Mr. Wolvak.

"Lea's dad is here and he has a special treat for Lea so let's all take a seat at one of the tables in front of the stage!" Darren was getting more nervous by the second. He was waiting for the cue that from Mr. Wolvak that would mean all of the girls were seated and that he could begin. After what seemed like an eternity, the giggles subsided and the room was quiet. Mr. Wolvak cleared his throat quite loudly. It was his queue. The lights in the room dimmed and the black curtains pulled apart. The beat of 'Father and Daughter' by Paul Simon began playing. Darren stepped out and let the neon light wash over him. He spotted Lea almost immediately; she was in the front and center nearly falling off her chair, as if she thought it would lessen the distance between herself and her father. My word, thought Darren, she's gotten so big. And she looks like me! I think…yes, look! She has my curls and my eyes. I'm so lucky to be blessed with her…I hope she likes my song. The intro of the song ended just as Darren flicked on the microphone. Darren sang with his all. He let his heart pour out to the daughter whom he missed so much. I'm gonna watch you shine, gonna watch you grow sang Darren as he paraded around the venue singing. He saw tears fall from Mrs. Wolvak's eyes and they somehow triggered some of his own. Darren was now right in front of Lea. He kneeled down so that they were eye level as he sang the last line. There could never be a father who loved you more than I love you. Claps erupted from all around him. Lea through her arms around her father and locked him in a death grip.

"Daddy, I missed you so much! I'm so happy you're here! I told Mama that all I wanted for my birthday was for you to come to London and now you're here and I'm so happy! I love you, Daddy!" Darren was now crying so hard that he saw no use in trying to stop them. He whisked Lea up in his arms and hugged her.

"I love you too, Lea. I never stopped caring about you and I'm so sorry that I've been gone for so long. But that's going to change now, okay? I'm going to be around for a while." Lea smiled and hugged her father one more time before taking his hand and pulling him over to meet all of her friends. After many piggy back rides and a few more songs that the girls requested (Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana, Mine by Taylor Swift, and Bad by Michael Jackson) it was time for pizza and cake. Darren helped Mr. Wolvak pass out the pizza to each girl as Mrs. Wolvak placed the candles on the cake.

"Where did Jenna and Karl disappear to this time, Nancy?"

"Oh, who knows, John, who knows? It's a shame, though, really. You'd expect Jenna to stay for her daughter's birthday party but I guess not." Darren found this to be odd, too, but chose to brush it off as he took a seat next to Lea.

"Oh my goodness gracious, Daddy! Look at your shirt! It says Lea! That's me, I'm Lea!" Darren laughed at this.

"Yes, yes you are. I made this shirt especially for you, actually. You can keep it if you'd like." Once all of the pizza plates were cleared away the cake was brought out and Darren took the stage for the second time that night to sing 'Happy Birthday'. As soon as he had stepped on stage though, Karl and Jenna came through the door laughing like mad men and stumbling.

"Lea, b-baybay!" Jenna's words were slurred and accompanied by a stutter.

"Jenna Wolvak, what do you think you're doing here when you're intoxicated like this?" Mrs. Wolvak's face was painted with utter shock and disappointment. Mr. Wolvak was trying to get the other girls attention away from the scene. Jenna let her grip on the door handle go and stumbled over to a confused Lea. Darren could only see the worst coming, due to his own experience with drunken parents. He acted without thinking; he jumped off of the stage and swooped down on Lea to lift her onto his shoulders.

"Wee! This is so fun! Don't drop me, Daddy!" This had averted the girls' attention to him. Jenna had once again let go of the object that she was using as her support, but this time she fell straight to the floor.

"Jenna Marie Wolvak! You are not only causing a disturbance at this party but you are also embarrassing yourself greatly!" The look on Nancy Wolvak's face was murderous. Darren was afraid of what she might have done if Mr. Wolvak hadn't grabbed his keys and taken Karl and Jenna home in a hurry. The rest of the party continued on for about an hour longer. Games of freeze dance and twister were played and the piñata wound up being smashed to pieces with one hit by one of Lea's friends, Heather. Mrs. Wolvak was helping the girls into their coats when Mr. Wolvak pulled Darren aside.

"Look, I don't think it would be right to take Lea home to Jenna's tonight. I'm heading back there to make sure that she and Karl stay out of trouble for the rest of the night as soon as I drop Nancy off at our loft. If you'd like, I think it would be a good opportunity for you and Lea to bond if you took her for the rest of the night. If that interferes with any other arrangements that you have already made, however, Nancy says that she will watch her."

"Of course I'll take her! You didn't even need to ask."

"Great! The party is about done now. Lea will want to want to wait until all of the guests are gone before leaving. Why don't you go and tell her the news?" Darren looked over to Lea in her multi-colored striped coat. Her brown hair was in a small bun and she was talking excitedly with her friends.

"I want to be a good dad," whispered Darren.

"You are, Darren. Now, go tell your daughter that she will get to spend more time with you before you leave tomorrow night." Darren stood up and walked over to Lea who was saying goodbye to her last guests.

"AWESOME PARTY! See you at school, Lea!"

"Bye, Heather! Thanks!" Darren smiled for the thousandth time that night. That meant he had done at least one thing right.

"Hey, Lea, guess what?"

"What, Daddy?"

"You're going to stay at my house tonight! My hotel, I mean. Well, no, it's not my hotel but…you know what I mean. You're a smart girl. Oh, and you don't have to stay. Only if you want! It would be really—"

"Daddy, daddy, daddy, no need to ramble," Darren couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's matureness.

"Of course I want to stay at your hotel! We can watch all of my favorite movies and read my favorite stories…" Now it was Lea who was rambling. She rattled off about ten more things that they could do together, but Darren wasn't listening. He was too focused on the fact that his daughter still loved him and accepted him even though he had been gone for so much of her life.