A/N: Finn is fondly mentioned throughout this story, since when I wrote it, he was still part of the Hudmel family. He will always be part of the Glee family and we will always miss him. I hope you found peace, Cory.

An Accidental Family

"Family doesn't have much to do with genetics. It has everything to do with love, respect and caring."

Chapter 1 A Stray

May 1998 at the Employee Residences, Crockett Zinc Mine, Alaska

Yay, it was Friday, the end of another long week, working at the motor pool. But to tell the truth, even after another long week of working for the man, Burt would rather have gone into work again on Saturday, rather than spend another mind-numbingly boring weekend alone. At least when he was at work, he got to talk to people, instead of having only his TV to keep him company. This far-northern mining town was the coldest, most unfriendly place he'd ever lived, and it wasn't even the thermometer he was talking about.

Burt had gone to Alaska with a couple of buddies to accumulate a nest egg. He worked as a mechanic in the mining industry, and made some damn good money, but he'd nearly reached his limit with living up here. His friends hadn't even lasted the full term of their first full contract before they'd bailed on him to go back to Ohio to work shifts in a tire factory, but then again, he hadn't had to go a mile underground to work the mines. Burt was still stubbornly hanging in, while a hundred others came and went. Most people here were only focused on making a buck, working all the hours they could get, surviving the isolation by drinking themselves stupid when they were off shift. Nobody bothered cultivating friends, since they were bound to lose touch anyway when they went home.

Burt had already decided that come the end of this contract, he was getting out for good too. Less than a month to go now and he could go back to the land of green grass and corn fields and leave this shack town of contract employees' ugly boxes, scraping an ugly wound into what used to be a pristine wilderness. He had a nice little bankroll saved up and he was ready now to put down some roots somewhere and start a little business, and with any luck, start a family. God knows, he wasn't going to find his future wife here in Crockett, Alaska, with a ratio of 49 guys to one already married woman.

Burt had finished three beers out of his weekly six-pack and eaten half the pizza he'd picked up after work. It sucked cooking just for one, so this was his regular Friday night supper, with the other half of both earmarked for tomorrow's supper. The football game was turning out to be a bust too, with the Buckeyes giving away points like it was Christmas. Burt turned off the TV in disgust and was dozing in his chair, thinking about calling it a night and going to bed, when he heard a sound he'd never heard around here before. It sounded like a kid crying. What the hell?

Maybe it was a puppy wandered away from its mother. Midnight in Alaska was bitterly cold, even in May, so even a puppy shouldn't be outside in this weather. He went to the door to see if he could find whatever creature was crying in distress.

Holy schmoley! What the hell was he doing here?

A little kid was on his porch in the freaking middle of the night, wearing the flimsiest outfit Burt had ever seen. He was shivering in a huddle, and looking at up him with the biggest sad blue eyes Burt had ever seen.

From the first moment he'd seen those enormous blue eyes looking back into his, Burt was a goner. The kid screwed up his face to cry again and Burt panicked. "Oh, No! Don't cry, little buddy." Burt leaned out to look up and down the deserted street, wondering where the boy had come from. He could tell from his tracks in the snow, that the kid's bitty little footprints came up his steps from the roadway, but couldn't trace them farther than that, once they mixed with the tire tracks. His light was the only one still burning on the street, so maybe that's why the kid was attracted to his place.

Burt had lived in this tract of identical housing units for nearly two years and he'd never seen this boy before. He was sure of it. Nobody around here had little kids, especially not ones with eyes like those. The boy couldn't stay outside in the cold for one second longer, that was for sure, so Burt swept the half frozen child up into his arms. The boy wrapped his arms around his neck and hung on for all he was worth, trembling like a leaf. Burt held him, his icy cold little body feeling light as a feather.

"It's okay, little guy. I've got you now. You're safe." Burt murmured to him. He heard the boy sigh and felt him lay his head on his shoulder tiredly, as if he was too exhausted to hold it up any longer. Burt took him inside to his living room, bundled him inside his flannel jacket, then tried to lay him on the couch. He whimpered in distress and climbed right back into Burt's lap and snuggled up against him contentedly. Mmmm… safe …warm …sleepy… His feelings emanated from the child like a radio signal.

"All right, then. I can hold you, if you want, little buddy." Burt felt his heart nearly bust into pieces. He wrapped his arms around the child and rocked him until he was warm again, fast asleep on his chest. My god, his lashes were so long they shadowed his pink freckled little cheeks. Burt held his foundling and wondered what the hell he should do now. Whoever he belonged to must be panicking. On the other hand, who lets a four year old run around in the middle of the night in Alaska with only some kind of pajamas on? They shouldn't be allowed to have kids, if that's how they looked after him.

Somehow Burt talked himself into waiting until morning before he called the authorities, reluctant to have the poor kid hauled back out into the cold dark night when he was obviously so tired. Hey, maybe there was an Amber Alert out for him already. Burt reached carefully for the remote so he didn't jostle the boy and turned his TV to the Emergency Alert channel for the first time in his life. Hmm. There was nothing but a public service message to stay tuned for information in the event of a missing child.

Yeah, got a missing child here, people! His television signal was beamed in from a satellite, so maybe they didn't even have Amber Alerts around here.

Burt held him for another ten minutes, his warm sleeping body cradled on his chest, before he yawned. He decided if the kid was going to stay here tonight, that they might as well both catch some shut eye. He carried the boy upstairs and parked him in his bed, still wrapped in his jacket. He crawled in beside him fully dressed and watched him sleep for a while, overwhelmed at how incredibly precious the little boy was. He smoothed his soft hair down and watched his mouth tilt up in a tiny smile. Burt was still smiling to himself when he went to sleep.

The next day, when he woke, the boy was sitting up in bed watching him sleep, with his arms wrapped around his knees, his jacket lying spread open and empty on his bed. Burt stretched and smiled at him. "Good morning, Scooter. How are ya doing today?"

The boy sent a friendly smile back at him but he didn't answer.

He had been watching the nice man with the kind blue eyes and thinning brown hair sleeping with his mouth open. His tummy was very empty, but he had been reminded repeatedly to stay quiet and not make a disturbance so he waited patiently for the man to wake.

So far, his foundling hadn't said a single word to him. For the first time Burt wondered if he was all there. Maybe the kid was …um… special needs, or whatever they called the slow kids these days. Maybe he didn't talk, because he couldn't. Maybe he ran away because he was autistic or something and didn't know any better.

No matter how he got out, it was extremely likely that Burt was about to be arrested because he hadn't turned the boy in to the authorities. Who would the correct authorities around here even be, Burt wondered? They didn't have a police detachment in Crocket; with almost no crime beyond occasional rowdy drunks, there was no reason to.

Burt got out of bed and turned on the TV in his bedroom and checked the Amber Alert again. The tube was his only entertainment, so he had one in his bedroom too. So sue him. There was still nothing on any missing child. Hmm. He tried the only two radio stations he could get next and there was nothing on there either. Surely someone had missed the boy by now? He needed to get the kid's name, he decided. Maybe it would ring a bell since he knew most of the miners, by now.

He got down on his knees and established eye contact. The boy waited expectantly, looking back at him intently. Well, at least there was somebody home, Burt decided with relief. "Hey Buddy, what's your name? Can you tell me that? Tell me your name, Scooter." Burt smiled encouragingly and put his hand on his shoulder. Just about when Burt had given up, his soft high voice said, "I'm called Kiert. What are you called?"

He would be glad to know what to call the man. He was getting very hungry, but he was reluctant to ask a stranger for something to eat.

Burt blinked in surprise. The child hadn't said, "What's your name". He'd said "What are you called." How odd. Maybe English wasn't his first language, though he spoke precisely. He looked a little foreign in some weird way and his outfit sure as hell didn't come from Target or Wal-Mart.

"I'm called Burt. It sounds a bit like your name, doesn't it? Do you know the second half of your name, Kiert?" Burt said conversationally. Kiert shook his head and waited. He sure wasn't much of a chatterbox, like most little kids his age. Maybe he knew where he lived?

"Where did you come from, Kiert? Where do you live? I'd like to take you back to your Mommy and Daddy. They have to be worried about you."

Kiert just looked back at him with those enormous eyes, and then dropped them and played with the hem of his bluish shirt before he answered softly but clearly. "My mother told me she had to go away from me."

He remembered her frightened eyes, glancing over her shoulder warily before she explained that he would be safe with his escort. She would find him in a bit and then they could be together again. Stay with the guard, no matter what else happens and you'll be safe, understand Kiert? Kiert had nodded that he did understand. But somehow he had lost his guard last night when he told him to hide in the shed, saying he would be back for him soon.

But he didn't come back.

Kiert waited for a really long time and got very cold and sleepy after a while. He waited and waited until he was half frozen, but finally he emerged from the shed, to look for him fruitlessly. He wandered aimlessly for a bit, crying in desolation and fear, until he was attracted to the light and warmth of a house. The door had opened and he had been rescued, held safe and warm in the stranger's arms, so this nice man was his guard now.

Burt's heart squeezed in his chest at the child's dejected face. Oh geeze, the poor little guy. He was probably a kid with divorced parents. "How about your Daddy then? Is that who you live with?" Burt tried again. Kiert merely shook his head in answer.

Well….now what? "What about your Gramma? Nana? Your Oma? …or whatever you call her. Do you live with your grandmother, then?" Burt was running out of ideas. Another shake of his head was all Burt got in answer from Kiert. He was stumped. "Well, what do I do with you now?" Burt asked himself.

Burt's question made Kiert brave enough to tell him his problem. "I'm very hungry. Do you have some food?"

Burt smiled at him, grateful to be able to do something for him. "Yes I do. What would you like to eat? I can make you some toast, or I have two kinds of cereal, and there are some eggs. I have a couple of bananas too. Let's go check it out." He held out his hand and the child took it trustingly and went down to the kitchen with him, his small hand fitting into his perfectly.

Burt showed him all the options and he chose Cheerios with a banana on top cut into coins and a glass of orange juice. He watched the boy carefully balance each banana slice in the exact center of his spoon and eat them, one by one before he ate any of the cereal. That was one weird little kid, Burt decided.

While he ate, Burt checked the radio and TV again. Afterward, the boy finished his orange juice, and slid off his chair to take his bowl and glass to the sink, carefully placing them inside. Then he held his dickie and did the peepee dance, rocking from foot to foot, so Burt showed him where the bathroom was. He used it without any help, thank goodness, and then he washed his hands with just some assistance with reaching the faucets. At least someone had taken good care of him, it was clear.

Kiert thought the man's house was barren and ugly but knew they had to settle for any safe place they could find. Over the last few weeks they had stayed in worse places. He could tell the nice man was doing his best to look after him.

Burt watched the radio and TV all day but nothing ever showed up on a missing kid. He had talked himself into believing that whoever his mother was, she was unfit if she told a little kid she had to leave, and then just forgot about him. If she didn't want him anymore, then surely the boy was better off with him. It didn't take much persuasion to extend the deadline one more day before he contacted the authorities in Nome.

The boy watched cartoons cuddled in his lap that afternoon, enthralled at the characters. His carefree giggles sounded heartwarming to Burt, something about his voice making him laugh with him every time. He was considering making them some lunch when he noticed how quiet Kiert was being. He leaned his head to see the boy was sleeping on his chest again. His heart squeezed tight inside him again. Burt had always loved kids, but he was twenty eight now and hadn't yet met his future wife. Kiert felt like the son he'd always wanted and man, he wished to hell that he could keep him. But that was just crazy…wasn't it?

He laid the boy back in his bed upstairs and covered him again carefully with the jacket he had left there, since he still seemed to feel cool to the touch. Burt figured he most likely had at least half an hour before he woke, but just to make sure, he turned this TV to cartoons too and left the sound turned down low, so he'd have something to keep him occupied in case he woke up. He grabbed his coat and loped down the street to the general store. It was the only place in town, so if they didn't have something, you had to order it and wait till it was shipped.

Did they even carry kid's stuff? Luckily, he found most of what he wanted, most of it company stuff with the mine logo printed on it for the miners to send home to their families, throwing random items into his cart and paying for it all with his credit card. Within the half hour he was back home, with his sacks in hand. He tiptoed back upstairs and was relieved to see Kiert was still sleeping. He had the strongest urge to pet his hair again, but shook it off, afraid of disturbing him.

He went back downstairs and unpacked his purchases and put the food away. When he went back upstairs to check again, he found the boy watching the cartoons, still lying in bed, with his jacket still wrapped around him.

"Hi Kiert. Did you want some lunch?" It was already three o'clock, but Burt was brand new at this parenting thing. The boy nodded eagerly and climbed out of bed, reaching for Burt's hand trustingly as they went downstairs. Burt smiled happily, deciding he could get used to this.

Kiert had woken up alone, but saw the cartoons on the television, and saw the jacket lying over him and understood the man had left them for him, so he was probably close by keeping watch. He stayed where he was, just in case, afraid to find out he was all alone again.

They had lunch together, the boy thoughtfully choosing peanut butter and toast and a desert cup of diced peaches this time. Burt was glad he had guessed right, avoiding canned and processed glop and going for plain and healthy. He had picked up some warmer clothes at the store, deciding Kiert's flimsy sheer outfit wasn't keeping him warm enough. He took off the boy's top, amazed at how pale and milky white his skin was underneath, as if he'd never been in the sun. Burt could see the network of his blood vessels right through his skin. Before he got the new shirt on him, Kiert climbed off the bed, went to the bathroom and eyed the tub with a hopeful inquiring glance back to Burt. Okay then. He nodded, agreeing it was bath time.

Kiert loved having a bath, and felt yucky after nearly a week without one. They didn't seem to be leaving this place just yet, so maybe there was time for one.

Burt was a little uncomfortable about this. What if the kid told people he'd taken his clothes off? They'd lock him up forever and throw the key away. But if he was going to look after him, he needed to do it right and damn the consequences. He filled the tub, while the boy peed in the toilet again. At least he didn't have to worry about toilet training him.

The boy played in the tub for nearly an hour till the water was cool and he was all pruney, slipping and sliding on his belly and blowing bubbles, filling a couple of plastic tubs and dumping them, over and over again. He kept asking for just a little longer, until Burt finally had to drain the water to convince him to come out again, and enveloped him in one of his towels, playing peek a boo to make him laugh, while he rubbed his hair dry.

He dressed him in a T-shirt with a blue hoodie over it that was about two sizes too big, and a pair of jeans, with an elastic waist. They were a couple sizes too big too, so he still had to fold up the legs for a couple of inches to shorten them enough. He was glad he'd remembered to pick up socks and underwear, since he discovered the boy wasn't wearing any, instead wearing some sort of slipper things that went to his ankles. Sheesh, this was Alaska, people. Burt combed his damp shaggy hair for him and then they brushed his teeth with his new Panda bear toothbrush. He giggled when Burt made him spit in the sink, as if being told to spit was hilarious.

Afterward, they built a fort in the kitchen, draping blankets over the table. Kiert spent a lot of time carefully making a nest inside the fort, with several couch cushions and more blankets and then he formally invited Burt to share it with him, like a king in his castle. Burt gladly crawled under the table, pleased at Kiert's acceptance into his world. They shared a contented grin, lying on their bellies together, with their chins being supported in their hands. Burt's feet stuck out into the hallway from the fort, but he didn't care. They both liked the feeling of the cosy refuge wrapped around them.

They coloured for a while after that with a pencil, two pens and two markers, which was all he could find around the house. Burt watched carefully to see if Kiert drew anything illuminating, but he was just little and mostly everything looked like blobs with sticks in them. He hoped he might say something more informative about his pictures, but he was an unusually quiet little kid.

Burt learned at supper that the boy liked fruit and vegetables, but didn't care much for meat, eggs or cheese, which were his favourite food groups. Maybe his parents were vegan? He told Kiert a story when he put him in bed that night, pretending to read it from the newspaper, about a lost bunny who found his way home to his worried mummy and daddy.

Kiert really liked the story, knowing Burt was trying to comfort him by indirectly saying he hoped Kiert would find his way back to his mummy and daddy too. He hoped he would see his mummy again soon, even though the man was very nice to him. He hadn't seen his daddy in a very long time and doubted that he was ever going to see him again. He was very worried that his mommy might be gone now too. Why did he keep losing people?

Burt told Kiert he should go to sleep afterward and he would see him in the morning. The boy fearfully asked if Burt would still keep watch over him, while he slept. Burt patted him and said he would be watching over him all night. Then Kiert curled into himself and it was lights out a few minutes later. He never budged when Burt went to sleep too, a few hours later.

The next day went much like the first. He was the easiest kid to look after Burt had ever met. He never whined or complained and did whatever Burt asked him to. But that night, he knew he was between a rock and a hard place. He had to go to work tomorrow back at the motor pool. He could likely get away with one day off sick, but not much more without running into questions. Where was he going to leave Kiert? Everybody in this god forsaken company town was only here to work. The only person he knew of that didn't work, couldn't look after a kid….or maybe she could. Kiert was no trouble, was he?

Burt dressed Kiert in the hoodie and some hightop runners he'd bought him, and was pleased to see him admire the black trim and silver sparkle laces. He seemed baffled by the mitts, though, shaking his hands like they were dirty and he wanted them off. "Leave them on, Kiert. They'll keep you warmer". Burt got a suspicious side glance, as if he didn't believe him and couldn't help chuckling at the unspoken volumes of scepticism in that look.

Kiert wondered why anyone would want to make their hands so useless, and wondered if the man was playing a trick on him. He left them on anyway, unwilling to blatantly disobey him, but the mittens were stupid.

"Hey buddy, we're going to visit a friend of mine. She's lonely sometimes, so I thought we could keep her company. Is that okay with you?" Kiert nodded agreeably. "Good boy." Burt said, wondering what he was going to say to her, when they got there. He was making this up as he went along.

He carried Kiert down the street a couple units, so his shoes would stay dry, and knocked on the door and went in when he heard her answer, leaving his boots at the door and setting Kurt down in the hall. There was music playing in the living room when they went in and Kiert went right to the speaker and began to sway back and forth to the rhythm, obviously into the beat. Burt was pleased at finding something else that delighted the boy.

The music sounded a chord deep within Kiert, like a hug you could hear!

Deana rolled out of the bedroom in her wheelchair. "Hiya, Burt. What brings you over here? Sorry, Leo is working today, if you were looking for him. My god, is that a little kid? He's adorable! Hi sweetheart. What's your name?" Deana rolled up close and waited for Kiert to answer, with a smile spread across her face. Kiert glommed onto Burt's leg, and stared at her chair with fear in his huge eyes.

That shiny metal was all around her, holding her in its grip!

"It's okay, Kiert. It's just Deana's wheel chair. Her legs don't work right, so it helps her get around. Don't worry, it won't hurt you." Burt soothed him, and was pleased that his hold on his leg loosened a bit, though he kept one hand on him, for now, just in case.

"That's right, Kurt. My chair can give rides to little boys too. You can have one anytime you want. Just tell me when you're ready." She smiled at him warmly and he smiled back a little shyly. Burt had heard what she had called the boy and decided it was easier than his strange variation of it, so he went with 'Kurt' too.

So many things about these people were strange, so Kiert hardly noticed that they said his name wrong too.

"Uh, yeah. Deana, my brother is a single dad and he's sick so Kurt is visiting for a bit. I was hoping he could stay here with you while I go to work. He's really no hassle at all. He can handle the bathroom on his own, and he does whatever you tell him. I can drop off food and stuff for him, and I'd pay you. I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a hand." Burt smiled as engagingly as he could, all but begging. At least if Kurt was here, nobody would see him and turn Burt in for a kidnapper, which was a definite plus. He tried not to think about what he was doing. He'd always been law-abiding until now, but the temptation to keep this child was too strong.

Deana asked if she could spend some time with Kurt and Burt before she made up her mind. After a bit, she noticed Kurt's fascination with music and knew that was the key to his heart. She played her guitar for him and he sat and watched her, with an enraptured smile on his face. He loved the sounds from her guitar. Her voice wasn't as musical, but it didn't matter.

When she was done, she turned on some cartoons and left him watching them there on the couch, while Burt and she figured out the details. He gave her his cell number, saying to call if there were any problems, but he didn't foresee any. By the time they left, Kurt had made another conquest.

Kiert had very much enjoyed meeting Burt's friend and hearing the music she made. One day he wanted to make music too.

Burt left the boy there the next morning, and Kurt seemed fine with it…for a few minutes. His cell phone rang five minutes after he left, when he was only half way to work. He could hear Kurt wailing in the background, obviously in a panic. He came back, picked up Kurt and called in to work sick. Deana apologetically said the boy didn't want to stay at her house, no matter what she said or did, going half hysterical when he realized Burt was gone.

He needed to stay with Burt, his mother said so! She said 'no matter what, stay with your guard', he remembered her voice stressing it.

"Why didn't you want to stay at Deana's, Kurt?" Burt wondered, when they got home.

"There was nobody watching over me, so I was scared." Kurt answered promptly. Burt nodded, understanding now. Something had scared the poor boy silly. What would a sweet little boy like him have to worry about?

Burt impulsively decided he was getting out of this town early, as soon as he could arrange it. Kurt wasn't willing to stay with anyone else, and so far, no one had seemed to miss him. He was going to make a run for it and start a new life with his new son. He knew he could take better care of the boy than who ever had frightened him so badly he was afraid to be left alone.

Burt had to pay a week's pay penalty for every week off his contract, so for three week's pay, he could leave three weeks early, plus the pay he didn't earn, of course. It was a tidy chunk of money at the ridiculous wages he was paid here, but it was worth it to him. He gave his notice, and booked their flights out. It took very little to tie up the loose ends here, even after two years. He packed Kurt's few things into the suitcase with his own, and arranged to ship his tools home by separate cargo plane.

Kurt loved the flight, up on his knees looking out the window for most of the way to San Francisco and at the beginning of the next leg to Columbus. He had a million questions about what he saw under him, with the ocean, the mountains, forests, fields, lakes and cities catching his interest. He seemed to particularly love the mountains, with their snow-capped peaks.

Kiert had seen the big water and the forests before. He'd seen the mountains from below, and seeing them from above was much nicer, because they weren't as dark and scary from there.

Suddenly it grew quiet, with him curled against the window, sleeping again, his mouth open disarmingly. Burt pulled him into his arms and held him close until they were ready to land.

So Kurt was Burt's son now. He'd been pretty nervous about flying with Kurt, but the flight security back then was haphazard, since nobody but employees flew in or out of Crockett; the bored attendant stamped their paperwork routinely with barely a glance. Burt had used the motor pool office computer to scan and edit Kurt's name and birthdate into a copy of his own ID. He chose the day he had found him for Kurt's birthday and made him five years old. It worked like a dream! Burt realized later that if he had found Kurt after 911 he would have never gotten him on a flight, with the upgraded security levels and official identification requirements.

They stayed in a motel near the airport that night, both of them too tired to travel. The next day he rented a car, and drove back to Lima, his home town. His parents had lived there until his mother moved to Florida when his father passed away, and most of his school friends were still there. Burt thought Ohio was the ideal place to raise a kid. Everybody knew their neighbours and looked out for each other. He'd had a million friends when he went to school, and he wanted that environment for his son to grow up in.

At first, Burt rented a room at the Shadetree Motor Inn, for a couple of days, until he figured things a few things out. He had a sizable stack of money saved to live on, so he was good for quite a while, but he'd need a job eventually. He rented a two bedroom apartment, to serve as their home, until he found a job. It took a full two weeks before Kurt would sleep alone in his own room, unconvinced at first that Burt could watch over him from the living room or his bedroom. He'd wake up every morning and find Kurt had snuck into bed with him again.

Slowly, Kiert learned they would be staying here from now on, in their own special safe place, protected by Burt.

One day Burt noticed Davidson's Oil and Lube was for sale and stopped in to talk to the owner, holding Kurt in his arms the whole time to keep him from falling into the grease pit, while the child looked around in wide eyed interest. Old man Davidson was well over sixty and all twisted with arthritis, and his grown kids wanted nothing to do with the shop. Burt made him an impulse offer of fifty thou, for the building, the business, the truck and everything in it, and the old man snapped it up. He told Burt he hoped his son might show more interest in the business than his two boys had, with a hopeful pat on Kurt's shoulder. Burt arranged for the closing to take effect in September after Kurt started school. His tools arrived a month later, and Buck Davidson let him store them at the shop until he took over.

Next, he picked up the Henson's empty house for a song from the bank, a repossession they were happy to sell to him. It was just a tiny little story and a half house, with two small bedrooms upstairs and two rooms and a bathroom downstairs, but it was big enough for the two of them and it was nice and close to Davidson's.

Now they were all set for their future, his son and he.