Title: First of Many

Started: 7/27/11 12:35 a.m.

Finished: 8/17/11 2:55 a.m.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its respective characters.

Burt's eyes narrowed on his target, his mouth watering at the bevy of delicious goods on the counter. Kurt always made stellar holiday meals, but since this was the second year in a row he had Carole to help him, everything was almost done already. The prime rib was heating in the oven, and the rest of the Christmas feast included warm au gratin potatoes, sweet corn (for Finn), green beans (for Kurt), bread crumb noodles, dressing, cottage cheese, fresh cranberries, and freshly baked rolls. Of course that was just for dinner. The hors d'oeuvres were spread across the counter, most of which Burt had already sampled, especially the olives. But what he really had his eye on were the twin homemade cherry pies resting on the cooling rack in the middle of the counter. The sweet, tart smell had been wafting through the house for the past few hours, but the moment they were pulled from the oven he'd picked up the scent like a bloodhound. But it was no easy task sneaking past Kurt, and the stubborn kid rarely left the kitchen.

But Burt checked both sides of the room, almost giddy to note that the coast was clear and he was alone. He quietly crept to the counter, his eyes widening in excitement as he approached his prize. His tongue came out of his mouth, licking his upper lip in anticipation and he reached for it, skipping over the forks and serving knives and going right for cherry goodness. His arm stretched out slowly and carefully, and he was almost at the pie when—

"Ow! Jeez, Kurt."

Suddenly standing in the kitchen with him (although where he came from Burt had no idea) was his son. Kurt was glaring down at him with his lips pursed, and holding up a wooden spoon that was dripping cranberry sauce. His other hand was resting haughtily on his slim hip, and a small green apron adorned his waist. For such a skinny kid, and such a domestic outfit, he sure knew how to appear threatening. "No, dad."

He whined, rubbing over his abused knuckles. Every damn time! The kid was like some creepy kitchen ninja. "What? I wasn't gonna eat it, alright. I was just…gonna add some Cool Whip."

Kurt sighed exasperatedly and moved back over to the stove to stir the sauce. "Dad, this year you're lucky I'm even letting you have pie. You can forget about whipped cream. Besides, it's not even dinner yet!"

"Hey, during the rest of the year is one thing but these are the holidays! I don't think one lousy dollop of cool whip on one piece of pie would hurt." He drew himself up authoritatively. "Besides, I'm the adult here. I have a say in what I eat."

His son looked back at him in amusement, using that sweet, sweet smile to say yeah, keep telling yourself that, dad. Kurt respected his father enough not to say it out loud though.

"Well, tell you what. If you give some input for my Christmas party playlist I'll scoop some whipped cream onto your piece myself. But I've gotta get started on the cheese sauce now, and I can't remember where I put the whisk."

"It's in the drawer by the pantry honey," Carol told him, stepping into the kitchen with a smile. She was wearing a cheerful green sweater and a Rudolph pin. "How about I start the sauce Kurt? You and your dad go get some holiday songs rocking the joint!"

Kurt grinned at his stepmother and moved the cranberries to the back burner. "Thanks Carole. Come on dad, I have my laptop ready on the coffee table."

Kurt handed Carole the apron and sped into the living room while Burt patted her arm. "Are you sure you don't want some help?"

She grinned wisely up at him. "If I need anything I'll send for my boys."

He nodded and kissed her cheek. "Good. Don't forget, we've got a meeting later under the mistletoe." He winked.

"I can hardly wait," she giggled, then went to the fridge to grab the ingredients for the au gratin potatoes.

Burt stuffed his hands in his pockets, casually strolling into the living room. He saw Kurt was already at his knees by the coffee table, clicking madly with the wireless mouse and Finn was sitting on the recliner watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Burt took a seat behind his son on the sofa, reading the titles on the computer as the boy talked.

"Now last year we were in the beginning stages of merging our families together, so it wasn't a very good chance to blend our different tastes in holiday songs. But this is a year later, and it's our first Christmas in the new house! A perfect opportunity to create a little medley of all our favorites. So what are some that you'd like to hear, dad?"

Burt only shrugged. "I don't know kiddo; you know the ones I like. Mellencamp's I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus…"

"Yes, I have that one already."

"Okay well um…" He shrugged again. "I guess as long as you've got Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer on there, I'm good."

Finn perked up. "Aw yeah, I love that one!"

Kurt sighed painfully and put his hand to his forehead. "I have to hear it from the both of you now? Besides Finn, you've given your input already! Now come on dad, among the vast myriad of holiday songs don't you have any others that you would like to add?"

"I don't know, Kurt, I…" He paused for a minute and brightened. "Hey, how about this? Carole told me about the one Christopher played every year, and I still remember your mom's favorite. Why don't we add those? You know, sort of a way to include our old families with our new one."

Kurt's stern expression melted into a wide, sweet smile. "I think that's a great idea dad," he said softly.

"Yeah Burt. That'd be awesome," Finn agreed, staring at his step-dad in admiration.

Burt smiled at his boys and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. Kurt quickly turned back to his computer, his fingers hovering over the keys.

"Okay, so what was Christopher's favorite?"

"Blue Christmas, by Elvis," Burt said approvingly. The man had good taste.

Kurt quickly typed in the song and clicked his mouse a couple times. "And…mom's?"

He smiled again, remembering his Lizzie holding their infant son in the glow of the Christmas tree lights all those years ago. Kurt's new teeth were coming in, and the pain was keeping him, and his parents, awake all night. So Elizabeth just took him downstairs to watch the pretty lights on the tree. His little face was scrunched up in pain until Lizzie started singing, swaying back and forth with Kurt swaddled in her arms. Her low, silky voice instantly quieted the baby as she sang her favorite Christmas song in lieu of a lullaby.

"Baby It's Cold Outside," he told Kurt, and saw a sudden flare of surprise light his eyes. He just stared for a minute, his mouth hanging open, and Burt wondered what was wrong.

"That was…mom's favorite?"

Burt nodded, and he frowned at Kurt's red face. "Why?"

His son ducked his head and giggled to himself. "No reason, I'm just…partial to that one as well."

Then they heard the jolly imitation of 'jingle all the way' from the doorbell, and Finn leapt from his seat like a puppy. "Rachel's here!"

Burt chuckled for a minute at his stepson, then saw Kurt disconnect his iPod from the computer and plug it into the iHome. "Um…you did add—"

"Yes, dad, you'll get your precious grandma song," his son said in his usual mix of exasperation and affection. He turned on his iPod, and music filtered into the room, soon echoing throughout the house.

"Great," Burt said enthusiastically, and looked up at the TV just in time to see Chevy Chase decorating his house with 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights.

Finn led Rachel into the living room, and Blaine arrived soon after. With all the kids there being in glee club, it wasn't long before they started singing and dancing to the sounds of Kurt's Extraordinary Christmas Eve Playlist. Burt and Carole only watched or hummed along for most of it, except for Mellencamp and the occasional Tony Bennett number when they would be up on their feet and boogying. Otherwise they just watched the kids, awed at how great they sounded when they hadn't rehearsed. They stopped once in a while to chat or to watch TV, but when a particular favorite came on they would be right back on their feet. Well…most of the time. Rachel and Finn stayed eerily quiet when the boys laughingly danced around to Last Christmas. And a little while later when Baby It's Cold Outside came on Kurt and Blaine stayed rooted to the couch, blushing and grinning for some reason while Rachel painfully directed Finn through the song in a rather awkward duet.

When everyone started to make their way to the dining room, Burt managed to sneak in a kiss with Carole under the mistletoe, making both of their sons groan in embarrassment. And at the dinner table the chatter was virtually endless. If there ever was a lull in the conversation Kurt and Rachel would engage in a friendly debate about glee solos, or Finn and Blaine would talk about football, and everyone would be talking again.

Burt happened to catch Carole's eye while their kids discussed the recent triumph at Sectionals. They paused for a moment and grinned at each other, basking in the warmth that comes with the holiday season in loving families. They had no doubt that their dinner table would be exactly like this for at least ten years to come, maybe with a grandkid or two along the way. It had been a long time since either of them had a holiday like this, where they could think about the memories to be made, not the memories that had been missed out on. Burt reached out and took Carole's hand, deciding that these new Christmases were perfect.

Then the pies were brought out to the table, and he grinned, making a dive for the tub of whipped cream, but he frowned at the label.

"Kurt? What the hell is this?"

His son didn't even look up from slicing the pie. "It's low-fat Cool Whip dad."

"Low fat," he whined. "Where's the normal stuff?"

"I didn't buy any," Kurt admitted cheerfully, and held out a plate full of steaming cherry pie. "So do you want whipped cream or not?"

Burt snatched at the pie, bypassing the low-fat Cool Whip and he grumbled something at his plate about sneaky kitchen ninjas. Okay, their new Christmases were almost perfect.

FIN

EDIT: Thanks for the name corrections guys! It's been fixed now!

I'm well-aware that Kurt's menu for a holiday meal is probably far different from what I do, but I'm sorry, I just had to go with what I know…with a few minor alterations. A shot-in-the-dark for the name of Finn's dad, and I had some grammar issues, but I suppose I'll get that fixed soon. What started off as pointless drabble grew into pointless one-shot, so it's just random family fluffiness. Hope you enjoyed it regardless! :)