Disclaimer: I don't own anything except a spontaneous urge to see Terri Schuester be happy.
A/N: I gave Terri the same last name as Kendra and her husband, because I think it would be hilarious if Kendra had forced her husband to take her name, rather than the other way around, and I wrote this before "Dream On."
Terri sighed heavily, putting her head down on the steering wheel of her pathetic car. It had sputtered to a stop on the way home from one of her jobs; assistant manager at a clothing store in the local mall. She flipped open her cell phone and got on the phone with triple A immediately; she ignored the cars honking at her and thanked the woman on the phone profusely when she said a mechanic would be there in less than half an hour.
Terri flipped down her visor and wiped her eyes. Furious at herself for crying, she reapplied her makeup and tried to avoid thinking about how much of a mess her life had become: Will was dating – no, marrying – that psychotic clean-freak who, as much as Terri hated her for making Will question their love for each other, was adorable in a weird, obsessive way and good for her ex-husband; she was working three jobs and living in a tiny apartment, and even though she was finally realizing what it meant to earn her belongings and enjoy the satisfaction, she was exhausted.
The tow truck arrived within fifteen minutes – not bad – and Terri stepped out of her car to greet the mechanic. He wasn't anything special, but there was a certain spark in his eyes that had Terri giving him a second glance; he had a sort of gruff charm that made Terri smile shyly at him, and the low rumble of his voice brought a faint blush to her cheeks.
He smiled at her as he hooked up the tow, introducing himself as Burt; instead of pointing out that she'd read it on his nametag, she smiled and said, "I'm Terri."
Kurt sat on the second highest bench, his knees pulled up to his chest. He dragged his attention away from the cheerleaders practicing on the field and watched Mike's progress down the track.
The Asian boy was sprinting around the track, wearing a pair of shorts and a loose white t-shirt, but Kurt could barely bring himself to enjoy the view in his current state.
Mike seemed to spot him as he rounded the corner for the third time, and he slowed down when he started approaching Kurt's spot on the bleachers. He leapt up the steps three at a time and sat down next to Kurt.
He nudged him with his elbow, "What's wrong, single lady?"
Kurt didn't have it in him to be disgusted – Mike was sweaty and gross – or offended – he understood the joke, but calling him a lady was so not on – so he settled for a heavy sigh.
"I think my dad is seeing someone."
Mike didn't say anything for a while. "I thought you were okay with your dad dating. Didn't you set him up with Finn's mom?"
"That was when I still liked Finn," he pointed out; it was hardly a secret and he was over it, anyway, "I just wanted in his pants."
Kurt looked sideways at Mike; the taller boy was working his bottom lip between his teeth, staring out across the field, "Well, why is it a problem now?"
Kurt leaned back, keeping his hands on his lap, "I don't know. I just – I never expected him to move on, you know? I know it's been ten years, but she was my mom."
Mike seemed to think about it, "I doubt he wants to replace your mom, Kurt," he paused, turning his head to glance back at Kurt, "Do you want him to be happy?"
Kurt sighed, "Of course I do."
"Then I'm not really sure you have a problem."
"I guess not." Kurt watched Mike stand, sweeping imaginary dirt from the back of his shorts, "Thanks, Mike."
Mike grinned at him, and then turned to leap down the steps, giving Kurt a bright smile and small wave as he started jogging again.
Kurt dropped the dish he'd been washing back into the sink and spun around, "Finally! Who is she?"
His dad stared at him, "You're… happy that I'm dating?"
Kurt resisted the urge to give a dramatic eye-roll, "You mean the woman you've been oh-so-stealthily sneaking out of the house the past five weeks, right?" His dad shifted guiltily, "I've had a couple weeks to think about it, and while I am utterly devastated, I understand that you're not trying to replace mom and if it makes you this happy," he smiled at his dad, "I'm okay with it. So when do I get to meet this mystery woman?"
His dad shifted again, "Well, I think you've already met her."
Kurt blinked at his dad, still smiling, "As long as it's not Sue Sylvester, I don't think I'll have – it's not coach Sylvester, is it!" The smile slipped from his face and he gaped at his dad, who raised his hands to prevent Kurt from ranting.
"No, it's," he paused, as if for emphasis, but Kurt knew his dad was just not that theatrical and assumed this woman must be a total witch if he was afraid to –"Terri Schuester. Well, Terri March now."
Kurt felt his mouth open in shock.
"You're dating my favorite teacher's ex-wife?" His dad nodded, "You're dating the woman who, if I'm not mistaken, faked a pregnancy for months and fed me and my classmates performance enhancing drugs that are a primary ingredient in crystal meth?"
Burt nodded again, cutting Kurt off before he could talk again, "Look, she's not a bad woman, she just loved her husband. She's been seeing a psychiatrist and she's not taking the decongestants anymore. Kurt, she's really mellow now and I want you to meet her."
Kurt raised an eyebrow, lifting his hands in mock surrender, "Fine. I trust your judgment, dad, but if you ever use the word 'mellow' again I will be forced to question it."
Burt grinned, stepping forward to clap a hand on his son's shoulder, "Great. Can you make dinner for three tomorrow night?"
Kurt plucked a sweater off the rack and held it up, grinning when Terri snatched it from his hands to examine it. She looked pleased until she checked the price tag; her smile fell from her face instantly.
"Kurt, sweetie, you know I can't afford this."
"Please, Terri," Kurt kept sweeping through the rack of clothes, barely glancing up, "It's on me. The least I could do is make sure you look stunning tonight. I mean, it's important that you look your best."
She stayed quiet, and when he looked up, she had a confused look on her face. Some form of understanding dawned in her eyes and she met his eyes, startled, "Why is it important that I look good tonight, Kurt?" He turned the other way when she took a step towards him, avoiding the feral look in her eyes, "Kurt, honey, what is your stud of a father doing tonight?"
He groaned, "Please don't call my dad a stud, Terri."
She spun around the corner of a rack and trapped him against a dressing room wall, "Kurt," she reached out and fixed his tie, leaning close, "You may be able to make your dad do and believe anything you want, but I'm not as trusting as him, sweetheart."
Kurt stared past her, the corners of his mouth twitching. He shifted his eyes to hers and quirked his lips into a tiny smile, "Believe me, you do not want me to spoil your surprise."
Kurt entered the living room with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder.
"Hey Dad. Terri. I'm going to sleepover with some of the girls tonight, if that's alright with you guys?" Terri glanced at Burt and then at Kurt; Burt smiled sheepishly at his son. Terri narrowed her eyes at the thin teen, "Well, I'm off."
Terri turned to Burt as Kurt bent to put his shoes on, and he heard her whispering, "Burt, what is going on tonight? Kurt was acting weird all day," and then his Dad was fumbling through an excuse and pecking her on the lips to make her give up, even if all three of them knew she would persist.
Kurt looked up and caught his Dad's eye, shooting him a sharp look that he knew screamed the same message he'd repeated several times in the past week: Don't you dare mess up this proposal or I will disown you as my father – I don't care how much you love me, Dad, you better be perfect to her.
Kurt ignored the strange looks from the Glee clubbers who didn't know where his black eye had come from; even if it was just from Artie throwing a game controller out of frustration and therefore embarrassing, he only trusted five people with intimate details about his life: his dad, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, and Terri.
Mike knew, though; he had asked and Kurt had told him; he was almost positive that Mike had been flirting with him for the last few weeks, and although he had nothing to measure it up against, Mike's reaction had consisted of a cute sparkle appearing in his eyes and a quiet, "I'm glad it wasn't somebody on the hockey team or something."
Schuester was standing at the front of the room, writing something on the board, when a hesitant knock sounded from the doorway. Kurt's eyes darted to see Terri, standing framed in the hallway.
"Terri?" Schue's voice didn't sound pleased, "What are you doing here?"
Kurt had already stood up, taking in the look in her eyes in an instant, "What happened?"
Schue's head whipped towards him, and then back to Terri, "Your dad was in a car accident," he felt something wrench in his gut, "but he's fine, I'm just here to take you to the hospital."
Kurt sagged with relief. Terri stepped past her ex-husband, pulling Kurt into a quick hug. She released him, allowing him to turn to collect his things. His three best friends looked unfazed – they had seen his soon-to-be stepmom around his house – but everybody else was wearing various expressions of disbelief.
"You are taking Kurt to the hospital?"
Kurt turned back around, Schue was staring at Terri incredulously; she had just opened her mouth, but Kurt spoke before she could, "Mr. Schuester, forgive me for not telling you. I didn't think you'd want to know that Terri is going to be my stepmom."
Terri beamed: he was suddenly aware that he had yet to refer to her as "stepmom" in her presence.
Schue gaped at him, "Sorry, Mr. Schue. Mercedes takes fantastic notes, so I won't be behind."
Terri gave him a huge hug when they got outside, "You're an amazing kid, Kurt."
He laughed, tossing his head, "You don't have to tell me that, mama."
"Mama?"
"I'm not going to be one of those disrespectful brats who can't address their parent's spouse without the 'step'. I called her 'mom'," neither of them needed anything more to know who "her" was, "and I'm perfectly fine calling you 'mama'."
Kurt was inexplicably pleased with how happy Terri March looked in that moment.
Kurt felt the happiness flowing in waves off of Terri. His dad straightened on his right and Kurt let his smile stretch further across his face. As much as he wanted to glance at Mike, sitting on the end of the first row with Artie, he kept his eyes glued to Terri.
She looked radiant; Kurt was sure he was the only person who knew how truly nervous she was. Well, besides her father; her knuckles were white on his arm. When she joined his Dad at the top of the aisle, he slipped his hand into his pocket, closing his fingers around a thin wedding band.
He beamed through wedding vows and the "I do"s, letting go of a tiny giggle as his Dad fumbled with the ring; Kurt held his Dad's hand in one of his own and dropped the ring in his palm, using his free hand to close the shaking fingers over it. He met his Dad's eyes and nodded minutely, mouthing "I love you" as subtle as he could manage.
Later, as he watched them walk away holding hands and getting confetti thrown at them, Terri and his Dad turned around at the same time and mouthed it back to him.
He felt tears start to slide down his cheek, but he left his hands at his side. Mike slid up beside him, reaching down and twining their fingers together. They followed Artie and the trickle of guests down the center of the aisle; Kurt glanced back at the flowered arch at the end of the aisle and Mike had to tug his arm to keep him moving. Mike caught his eye and whispered "Someday, babe."