So yeah, I had the idea of writing a Barole A to Z story. A to Z is in itself not original, but I couldn't find one with Burt/ Carole and they are seriously the sweetest couple ever so I figured, why not? Well, here we go. This first chapter is written from Burt's point of view.

As a note I just wanted to say that the chapters may be slightly AU as I haven't seen anything from the fifth season yet. The biggest things are the same. Finn's dead, Klaine are getting married- but I am making up dates for them and if they're turning up I'll make them "my own". And as I don't know the new characters (Bree and Penny etc.) I won't be using them if the glee club is in it anything. Instead making up new members myself if I need to. Also, I don't think any of my OC:s from other stories, (Cai, Lex etc.) will have parts in this but… you never know.

A is for Alice

I looked to my wife where she was walking right beside me on the sidewalk. It had been months since Finn died- that was in April and now was January. It was months with knowing that my love was suffering worse than I could ever imagine. Months without seeing her smile for real, or hearing her laugh joyfully. Sure she did smile, when I told her something funny or watching a fun movie. Sure she did laugh when I told her about other funny things, myself laughing so bad tears were streaming down my cheeks. But it wasn't real, the smiles never seemed to reach her eyes as they had done before. And there never seemed to be a joyfulness in the laughing like there had been before- and it was soon over as she stopped herself from laughing.

We had been eating dinner out tonight as so many nights before because none of us felt like cooking. There had been a song for some kid turning five and when we had watched the boy getting cake all over himself and his father Carole had smiled just as everyone else in the restaurant. Though I knew she saw Finn before her, and felt worse than mostly- she had smiled at the playfulness that goes with a five- year- old and a birthday cake.

Though her eyes were still holding the same sad look as always. I am not sure anybody who hadn't known Carole before could have told it was there- but I knew her better than anyone else and I could see it just as clear as I could see the color of her eyes. And I knew I'd do anything to take it away. Take all- or at least a little bit of the pain she was suffering. Just so she wouldn't have to deal with it. I would do anything in my power to take the pain away- and it hurt me that I knew I couldn't.

Carole pulled her coat closer around her. I laid my arm around her shoulders- hoping to give her a little bit of my warmth and support when she suddenly stopped and looked past me into a side road, she held out her hand to stop me too.

"What was that?" She almost whispered. I shook my head to show her I hadn't heard it. She held a finger to her lips when I started saying something. Then I heard it too, it was a whimper. A tiny little whimper so quiet I could barely hear it. Carole walked past me and looked behind some old boxes in the ambush. She gasped, put a hand over her mouth and kneeled down.

"Hey girl." She kneeled down, I followed her slowly. Making a vow to myself that if this was a baby. I'd find the one who had left her here, and kill him or her with my own hands. Though when I could kneel down next to my wife, I saw that it wasn't a baby. Though I felt like ripping the one who had done this into pieces.

It was a dog! A dark- brown puppy with white front- paws and chest. Her eyes were big and blue- which I knew would get to brown when she was older. Her fur was slightly curly- and this wasn't some breed I had met before or recognized. She was lying in a carton with only some old magazines. She had snow in her fur and she was wet and so tired she could barely lift her head to look at the two people that had kneeled down next to her.

"Burt." Carole exclaimed and looked up at me. "We cannot just leave her here. She'll freeze to death." I kneeled down, stroke over the dirty fur and felt the icy cold freezing the little dog's body. I shook my head. No- we could not just leave her here. I kept on stroking her fur even though it was making my fingers freezing cold and talked to her in a calm and steady voice as I lifted her up. She whimpered as I lifted her and put her between my coat and my shirt and felt the little one shake towards my chest. Whether it was out of fear or cold I didn't know- probably both. The little one rested her head to my shoulder as I slowly walked home next to my wife.

When we came home Carole placed the little one in the sink in the bathroom while I walked over to the neighbor. I knew the twenty- one year old man- Shane McCullen was studying to a vet- he could probably help us in this. I knocked the door, and a drowsy young man came and greeted me.

"Hello Shane… sorry did I wake you up?" Shane stroke his sleep- ridden eyes, and answered me that it was alright and ask how he could help me. When I told him about the puppy he immediately seemed fully awake, and pulled his coat and shoes on to come with me next-door. I walked into the bathroom where Carole was still bathing the little one- and despite the warm water- she was still shaking cold.

Shane examined the little one as well as he could without the usual- whatever it is vet students use to examine a cold puppy. He frowned during the whole time and I knew Carole was worried he might find something worrying, I took her hand and squeezed it as she leaned against my shoulder. After some of the longest fifteen minutes in my life he looked up.

"She is obviously really cold. And… if I were you… I would be prepared for the fact that she probably won't make it through the night." Carole gasped, I swallowed and heard myself ask how old the puppy might be- and if he thought it would be a wild dog or someone had just left it there. "It's not a wild dog." Shane answered me at first. "She's too secure around people to never have been around them before. I'm not so sure but probably six or seven weeks old… And I'd say she's some sort of waterdog- but I'm not absolutely sure about that." I nodded, not knowing what to say. Shane pulled out a pen and a paper of his pocket and wrote a series of numbers on it before handing it to me.

"You can try to put some warm water in a nursing bottle and try feeding her. Later on if she gets better- though don't hope for too much. You can take small pieces of raw mince, warm it a bit in your hands and feed her them. You could wrap her in a towel or a blanket but if you want to do that her fur needs to be fully dry first, and wrap a hot water bottle in another towel and have it with her." I and Carole nodded at all the information, trying to take it all in if it could help us to save this little one. "Call that number if you need me. But I don't think there's too much I can do now… oh and yeah… if she makes it through that night, I'd call the veterinary clinic the first thing I do on Monday morning and get a time. Good evening."

"Good evening." I and my loved one greeted as Shane went out the door. I stroke the little one's fur, we had managed to get all the snow now, and she wasn't shaking as much. But she still laid down, too weak to even hold her head up.

A while later I and Carole sat down in the living room sofa, Carole holding the little one- wrapped in a towel but still as drowsy. I was stroking her head over and over again.

"Should we give her a name?" I looked up at Carole's question. I shrugged. I wasn't so sure that was a good idea I told her. "We can't just call her little one or girl all weekend or… all night." I smiled slightly, then nodded. I didn't want us to get too attached to the little one- but now it couldn't be helped- and Carole was right. I looked around the room for ideas for names and Kurt's copy of "Alice in wonderland" which he had forgotten when he went home to New York after the Christmas holidays still laid on the table.

"How 'bout Alice?" I asked. Carole stroke the little one and looked down at her. "Alice huh? How do you think that sounds? Sounds good doesn't it?" For the very first time that evening, the little one lifted her head, blinked and looked first to Carole, then to me. Then she laid her hand back down.

"I think that's a yes." Carole said and scratched Alice's head. "I do think it is, yes I do." She rocked Alice towards her chest, and for the first time in so long- I spotted something with Carole's eyes and movement. I couldn't quite put my finger down on what it was. But it was there, and it was back.

I must have fallen asleep because what felt like suddenly I woke up from Carole's first joyful laughter in so very long. I kept my eyes close for another few minutes. Oh laugh more. Laugh joyful so I know that you still know how to do so. At last I slowly opened my eyes to see little Alice holding her head up and licking Carole's chin, neck and cheeks as if her life was depending on it. I smiled- so she'd made it. I sat up and scratched Alice's head, she turned her head to look at me and then jumped out of Carole's grip and over in my lap and started licking me instead. And Carole she laughed so hard she had to put a hand down on the sofa for support not to fall. I smiled- even if it so was only for a moment. Carole- my Carole was back.

"She haven't got a tag, a collar, a chip or anything else saying that she has an owner." The vet told us on Monday forenoon. "She haven't been vaccinated, though seems like one perfectly healthy puppy. She is eight weeks old and a Portuguese waterdog. I've had two of them myself- they're quite easy to recognize. I'd leave her at the dog- shelter, someone might be looking for her." I sighed- I knew that last sentence was coming- and what other choice did we have? I had my work as a congressman- Carole had her work as an ER- nurse- we wouldn't have time for a dog- no matter how much we wanted.

"How much will the vaccinations cost if you'd do them today?" I asked to pull out on time, the vet- Dr. Howle- a man probably around sixty years old- stroke his chin. "Maybe 'bout 150 bucks." I sighed-though it didn't take much hesitating before I'd made up my mind.

"I'll pay for them if you do them now." I pulled out my wallet- that Alice would be a healthy dog meant more to me than any money.

I drove to the dog- shelter later, Alice sat on the seat next to me and when "don't stop believing" by Journey was put on, on the radio she started making sounds to the song just when I was about to turn it off- I had had a hard time listening to this song since Finn's passing. But when Alice started "singing along" I just couldn't turn it off.

"Ey- you're a good singer! Aren't you?" I patted Alice with my free hand- way too soon we were at the dog shelter. I filled up the papers, and then left the building without looking back.

One week passed by, eight days, nine days, eleven. And for Carole- it was like those two days had never happened. She was back to the quiet- depressed self she had been for almost a year now. It was understandable- though I'd have to admit I didn't really like it. I missed Alice- I knew Carole did too, even though she didn't mention a word about the little one. I knew it was two weeks a dog stayed at the dog- shelter. Either someone came and got their missing one, they were bought, or they were put down after two weeks. Fourteen days after I had left Alice at the shelter I drove back. Please let her still be alive. Don't let me be too late.

Carole POV

I sat by the kitchen table- drinking tea and looking out the window when Burt's car pulled up. He had told me over the phone there was something he had to do before he came home so it was already early evening. Burt stepped out of the car, walked around it and reached to lift out something from the front seat and when he walked down the driveway I recognized the dark- brown fur- ball as…

"Alice." I whispered to myself. I stood up and rushed outside, Alice ran up to greet me, as I sat down on the porch steps so that she could climb up on my lap.

"Have someone bought her?" I asked- still not understanding why Burt had brought Alice here. He answered me yes. And though it meant Alice would live- it felt like someone stabbing my heart- would we ever see this little one again? "Who?" I heard myself asked even though I didn't really want to. Burt sat down next to me and laid his arm around my shoulders.

Burt POV

"I did." Carole gasped, pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes with tears rising in hers for a second or two. Then she suddenly hunched forward and embraced me, God knows for how long she held me and I held her and Alice was just jumping happily around us until Carole pulled away and looked me in the eyes again.

"But we won't…" I interrupted. "We'll make it work. If it's what makes you happy then I will do anything to make it work." Carole embraced me again, sobbing against my shoulder. "Tears of joy I hope." I exclaimed. Carole pulled away again.

"Oh you have no idea." I smiled at her- I knew few things could have made her happier than this, but also few things could make me happier than seeing her happy, and I thought a moment before answering her.

"Actually… I think I do."

NUUITVIMÅTTVYYTUUVDJ SO CUTE! Alice is….. kind of a copy of my dog as a puppy, though my Yippie is almost two. And she's only a copy in looks and personality- which you'll see more of later. Alice's story and the story with her making Carole happy like that is made up. I hoped you liked this. I know it's kind of naïve but come on! If it's cute we can let it be naïve.

English is not my first language