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 32nd cycle. Now cycle 33!

Hear that little bird twitter! Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!

"Step Six, Strength In Numbers"
Kurt & Brittany, Burt, Mr & Mrs Pierce
Paper Heart #7 (following 'Step Five...')

A/N: For the sake of this series I decided NOT to associate it
with the Sylvesters Series, and so Brittany's parents are
original characters, not Joe & Sue ;)

Kurt had been at his locker, talking with Mercedes, when Brittany came up to him, so suddenly that he didn't see her until she was just inches away from them… They startled.

"I need to talk to you," the blonde looked to Kurt, and by the look in her eyes he knew what about.

"I'll see you in class," he told Mercedes before walking off with Brittany.

"I need your help," she started, her voice trailing as she looked around. "My parents think something's wrong with me, because of how I've been sick so much lately," she explained. "And they made an appointment at the doctor's…" Here she didn't need to go further for him to know what this meant: Any doctor worth their title would see she was pregnant if they examined her… something the Pierces remained unaware of.

"What do you need me to do? Switch something? Bribe someone?"

"I'm going to tell them," she cut him off. "I figure it's right… telling them before someone else does it?" she looked sad and terrified.

"Definitely," he spoke quietly. Her hands fidgeted together.

"Could you… It'd mean a lot to me if you were there… I think I'd be less scared if you were… there…" she repeated herself.

"Of course, I'll be there," he promised, and she breathed out. "Your… dad's not going to hit me, is he?"

"I don't think so…" she shook her head, and he had to say he wasn't exactly put at ease by this statement.

"Okay… Good… How would you feel about a restaurant dinner instead, you, me, your parents, my father… in public…" He'd never met Mr. Pierce, but he could only ever see him in his nightmares, towering over the boy who had gotten his golden-haired child 'in trouble.'

Robert Pierce… was in every way a mild-mannered man, soft-spoken… And when he spoke, Kurt could hear his daughter's tone in his voice… and Kurt knew his vision of him had been all wrong.

Where in manner and voice Brittany may have been her father's daughter, in looks it was clear she was Helen Pierce's girl. Still, looking at the way the woman carried herself, so tall and straight, how she had given birth to a daughter who moved as Brittany did was beyond him… He was even more stunned to find this wasn't merely Mrs. Pierce but Dr. Pierce, who taught as a professor at a college. Taking in both halves of the Pierces though, he could kind see how they were Brittany's parents. He was kind of glad they hadn't brought her little sister… The evening could still degenerate at some point…

The whole drive in, he must have been showing how nervous he was, as he 'activated' his father's story mode. "You know the night I went to ask your grandpa Felix to marry your mom, I think I went through three shirts I was sweating so much. And this was when I had more hair than this, so I just…" he started gesturing at his head but then stopped, realizing the same thing that his son then said:

"Except I'm not asking for her hand, I'm going to sit there as the boy who got their teenage daughter pregnant. The worst grandpa Felix could do was say no…"

"At least you're not planning to still…" He stopped himself, realizing the subject he was about to approach and decided against it, focusing on the road.

"But I want to be a part of this, I need to. I'm not running, I'll take whatever they have to say…" Kurt went on, looking ahead as well.

"Now, hold on, you don't need to let them walk over you either. You've been looking out for her, taking responsibility, and I admire that. But I can see all that guilt on your face. Kurt, you have to let go of that. I'll be the first to say this whole thing wasn't ideal, but when is it ever, really? We're going to get through this, just remember no matter what happens tonight, I'll still be there."

Kurt replayed those words in his mind when he met Mr. & Dr. Pierce. He could tell they were a bit confused as to why they were having dinner with this boy and his father. Robert had asked his daughter beforehand if this was a boyfriend, but Brittany had said no, that Kurt was a Glee Club friend, and that he was gay.

So introductions were made. It turned out Burt and Robert had gone to school together, which broke the ice some. And when Burt recalled Robert's having this girlfriend from the next town over, he dared to ask and by the smiles he discovered two things: that, yes, the girlfriend in the next town had been Helen, now his wife, and that she, too, was no doubt not nearly as scary as Kurt could envision her. But then those two were still unsuspecting as to what their daughter was bracing to tell them… They never knew what that would do…

The dinner had kicked off with the three parents reminiscing of their high school days, leaving the two soon-to-be parents to sit there, quietly waiting for the dreaded moment to come. Kurt could see how very nervous she was; she'd rearranged the sugar packets three times and was angling for a fourth. He caught her eye, sitting across from her, giving a silent smile of encouragement. She returned it, but it was weak. He wondered if she was thinking of the other blonde and pregnant Cheerio in their club, about how her news had gone over with her parents. He didn't really know the Fabrays, but he couldn't imagine the Pierces being in any way like them.

Then their attention was regained when they heard how the conversation had turned and Dr. Pierce was telling Burt how Brittany had been ill recently. Burt wasn't one to lie, especially as they'd soon realize he was already aware of their daughter's secret. But he couldn't say much of anything, and Kurt and Brittany knew… this was it. They had to speak. He tried to grant her one more shot of courage before she spoke.

"Actually…" she started, and she paused right away, when her parents turned to look at her. She bowed her head. "I'm not… sick, I mean… It's not like… I'm just…" Her wheels were spinning and going nowhere, but he had to let her do it, get herself out. He saw her head give a few discreet but decisive nods, and then she looked up, though her eyes still locked on to the table and the sugar packets when she said… "I'm pregnant."

The table was silent. They could hear everything around them. The Hummel men had averted their eyes, not wanting to intrude at this time. At the same time, Brittany did look to her parents. She found them both staring back at her. They both had a face like they'd been punched in the stomach. The air knocked out of them, blindsided… but nothing she'd been afraid to find yet. "I didn't want you finding out when you took me to the doctor, I wanted to be the one to tell you," she went on, her voice relatively steady considering there were tears in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" her father asked, and she nodded, making him breathe out.

"I've known for a couple of weeks now, I just didn't know how to tell you…" Helen Pierce hadn't said a word, but she didn't have to. Her mind had presently bypassed shock as she connected the dots, realizing why this boy was here. Kurt couldn't look away as she looked at him, studied him. She didn't look like she wanted to rip him apart, so he didn't run.

"How did this…" she finally began to say, but then she clarified, "You told me he was gay…" she indicated Kurt.

"He is," Brittany said.

"I am," Kurt spoke at the same time. "It was a confusing time…" he resisted carrying on with 'I promise it won't happen again.'

"Kurt's been really good to me," Brittany opened up again, seeing no one was screaming. "We're not together, but he makes sure I'm okay, that… we're okay." Now the next realization was made by Mr. Pierce.

"You're keeping it," he stated, and she nodded slowly. Silence again. "You know what you're getting yourself into?" Mr. Pierce spoke again.

"We both do. We decided together," Brittany looked to Kurt.

"But you're still…" Helen began, taken with emotion, and now Brittany was crying in earnest. Sitting at her side, her mother gathered her in her arms, couldn't not, while Robert Pierce put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

It was clear after this that Mr. & Mrs. Pierce needed time to adjust before they could talk further on what they were going to do, so dinner dissolved quickly. All things considered though, things had gone better than they could have hoped, so at least they had that.

Before they could leave though, Brittany had pulled Kurt aside, and she hugged him. "Thank you…" she breathed out. "Couldn't have done it without you," she looked back at him.

"Don't worry about it," he promised.

"No, but… I know it's not easy for you either… You don't have to be brave all the time." Now it was him who hugged her.

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!