Elizabeth

-xOx-

Silence descended upon the living room. Burt sat unmoving, staring blankly at the television screen with a million and one different things running through his mind. A mix of questions, memories and regrets with one common theme tying them together; Kurt. Or, more accurately now; Elizabeth. When had he changed his name? Burt knew why Kurt had changed his name, and he had to digress that it suited the beautiful man he now was. He was a man now, Burt admitted to himself, swallowing, his throat dry with guilt and shame and sadness.

So caught up with his questions and shock at seeing his son for the first time in 9 years, Burt was oblivious to the shocked and borderline pissed-off look on his wife's face. Carole sat next to Burt, her right hand still clutching at her chest and her eyes blinking rapidly. "I'm...What?" the woman exclaimed.

Burt flinched at his wife's clipped, scolding tone she occasionally used towards himself and Finn when they had done something wrong. Slowly turning to look at Carole, Burt visibly grimaced at the dark betrayal behind his beautiful wife's brown eyes. "I, ah...He's my...he's my son?" he answered unsure, trying to save his own ass.

"You have a son? Why the hell am I only learning of this fact 8 years into our marriage? And what the hell do you mean when you said you 'did' have a son? What did you do?"

Carole's voice had gotten louder and louder with every passing word she spoke, her betrayal and madness justified. Burt sat like a scolded child, his shoulders drooped and head hanging in shame. Carole stood to her feet and started pacing the area in front of the television but Burt kept his eyes trained on the tattered rug on the floor.

"I haven't seen or heard from him in 9 years." Burt spoke quietly, his voice sounding weak and remorseful.

"I don't even know what to say to that, Burt. I'm very disappointed in you for disowning your own child, and for lying to me all of these years-"

"I never lied to you!" Burt defended himself, interrupting his wife.

Carole turned to glare at her husband. "YOU HAVE A SON!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her husband.

Burt deflated. "Look, it ain't my finest hour of parenting, OK? I made a foolish mistake all those years ago and have been too afraid to rectify it. I'm not at all proud of it and there hasn't been a day since I threw him out, that I haven't thought about him and what happened. I screwed up."

"What in God's name possessed you to throw your own child out? That actually makes me sick to think about. How could a father of a child who..." Carole trailed of in thought before her eyes shot open wide with realization. Then turning a death glare towards her husband she gasped out "Elizabeth, as in your ex-wife Elizabeth? Your dead ex-wife Elizabeth?"

Burt's stomach fell and he understood Carole's exclamation about feeling sick. He wanted nothing more than to throw up. "Ye-yeah" he stuttered, hanging his head in shame again.

"You threw out your own chidl. A child who, I'm guessing, had to grow up without his mother and a depressed father, basically taking over the role of adult. Am I right?" she asked, her voice dripping disappointment. Burt nodded. "So he grows up faster than is necessary to, until what? He's 16 and you kick him out?"

"15" Burt mumbled under his breath.

Carole gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. When Burt looked up, her eyes were watering, the hurt and betrayal and motherly instincts shining behind the light brown color. Burt's breath hitched in his throat and he startled when he felt one of his own tears falling from his eye and sliding down his cheek. Before he could think, Burt stood to his feet and fled the room, running down the hall and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Carole sat down on the couch, letting quiet sobs of longing for a child she didn't even know. Her husbands child, whom she didn't even know existed. Looking up at the TV screen with teary eyes at the smiling face of Elizabeth. Her step-son, Elizabeth.

Wiping her eyes with the corner of her sleeve, Carole picked the forgotten remote control up from the seat next to her and clicked to play the screen. She fast-forwarded the commercial break then paused again when the show came back on. Setting the remote down, Carole stood up and made her way down the hall to go get her husband. They were going to sit down and talk, and she was going to get Burt to watch his son's segment.

-xOx-

Splashing his face with water, Burt tried to wipe away the shame he felt, the anger towards himself and the look of utter betrayal that Carole wore. He knew he deserved to feel those things, some sort of karmic justice towards him for what he had done all those years ago.

September 22, 2010

39 year old Burt Hummel pushed the front door of his house open and stepped over the threshold and stood to the side with the door open behind him. Kurt walked in behind his father holding a small ice-pack to his eye and limping slightly, grimacing everytime he put too much pressure on his left foot. Burt's temper abated greatly at the sight of his injured baby boy.

He had been working at the garage when he had received a call from William McKinley High School saying that his only child had been involved in a fight. Burt had felt a jolt of pride for his son, a jolt of something akin to hope for his son, just because he had gotten himself into a fight. He had laughed over the phone, startling the sweet-sounding councilor on the other end of the phone, then said he'd be over at the school in a few minutes to see it for himself.

Upon arriving at his son's school and checking out the nurses office, Burt had felt his hopes and dreams for his child slip from him. Kurt sat up on the bed in the nurses office with a fat lip, clutching his side and one hell of a shiner was beginning to form over his left eye. The sight had made Burt frown in anger, but not directed at the child his anger should have been directed to.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked, startling his slender son.

Kurt had looked up at the loud, booming voice of his father and smiled. His smile fell at the stern, annoyed look on his dad's face. "They jumped me, dad" he said looking down at the ground.

Burt had pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you didn't defend yourself?"

Kurt had looked at his father with a questioning, disbelieving face. He let the look slip and had shook his head. "I tried. There was 4 of them though."

"Get your things, let's go" Burt had replied as he turned and walked out of the nurses station and towards the principles office to discharge his son for the rest of the day.

The drive home had been completely silent except for Kurt's broken breaths from the blows he had received to his ribs. The worst of the injuries had been the nasty bruise covering his ribs, but nothing was serious so he didn't need to be taken to a hospital. Burt rolled his eyes though, at his son's dramatics as his breath hiccuped every few minutes, playing up his injuries until they arrived at their house.

Looking over at his son, Burt closed the door behind him and placed the keys into the small glass bowl on the hall table. "You feeling OK, kid?" he asked.

Kurt turned and nodded his head, the ice-pack in his hand over his eye. "I'm fine, dad. I'll just go to my room to clean myself up then I'll be back up to make dinner."

Burt nodded and Kurt turned back around and headed towards the stairs to the basement in the kitchen. Burt made his way into the living room and sat down heavily in his recliner chair with a sigh. He knew deep down that he should be more upset, should have demanded to have the 4 jocks who had jumped his son be expelled. He knew what he should have done, but all he could think about was how small, how fragile his son had looked. How little and weak his only child was, and would always be. He was 15, though he looked more like a 12 year old milk-maid.

Burt wasn't an idiot, and he had seen the disbelieving look in his sons expressive glasz colored eyes. He hated seeing that look on his son's face, akin to hurt and betrayal. Everytime he saw that look, he knew he had failed his wi...ex-wife.

He had failed his son the most, and Burt knew this. Burt had never been a quitter, and nobody pushes the Hummel's around. But things had been different once Kurt came along. Burt had tried to teach his son how to throw and catch a baseball, but had quit when Kurt began to play the piano instead. Burt had tried to teach his son how to build a fort with sheets and the chairs from the dining room, but had quit when Kurt wanted to use the bedazzler to stick rhinestones and sequins on the sheets first.

And when Kurt was 4 and had asked for a pair of sensible heels for his birthday, Burt had quit trying to force a connection between himself and his only child.

It had benefited noone, and Kurt had picked up on Burt's disconnect and had attached himself to his mothers hip. They were inseparable, and became best friends. And then Elizabeth had passed away from ovarian cancer when Kurt was 8 years old. The sad, traumatized child had been broken, and Burt hadn't tried at all to pick up the pieces. He had left his child to deal on his own, in some vain hope of toughening his boy up.

Resting his head in his hands, Burt sighed loudly again. He had always tried his best, but the thing was that his best wasn't what was best for Kurt. Kurt needed support and comfort and reassurance. Burt just didn't know if he had that in himself. He loved his son so much, he just didn't know how to show it.

Hearing footsteps coming up the basement stairs, Burt lifted his head up and peeked into the kitchen. Kurt walked through and flicked his hair out of his face as he walked into the kitchen. Burt watched as his son slipped on an apron and began to shuffle around pulling various items out of cupboards and drawers. Just like your mom, Burt thought.

"Burt?" Come out of there" Carole's voice sounded from behind the bathroom door,

Burt blinked at his reflection and quickly shook the memories away. Steeling himself and locking gazes with his blue eyes in the mirror, he gave himself a firm nod before turning around and unlocking the door. Pushing his way out into the hallway, Carole simply arched an eyebrow in her way of asking whether he was OK or not. Burt nodded. "I'm fine."

"Good" his wife replied, "Because we're going to watch that show together, and you're going to explain yourself" Burt opened his mouth to reply but shut his mouth when Carole gave him her look of finality. He sighed and she smirked, "Now come. The faster you explain yourself, the faster we can rectify your mistake."

She walked off towards the living room and Burt followed obediently. Purposefully ignoring his wife's last statement, he walked into the living room but froze for half a second when his son's angelic looking face smiled at him from within the TV screen. Steeling himself again, Burt continued on and sat down next to his wife on the sofa and watched with bated breath as she stiffly pressed play on the remote control.

-xOx-

"My next visit, I didn't have to go far for. It was to visit the wonderful designer Elizabeth Evans, right here in New York."

The older guy with grey hair introduced the segment, and Burt's mind raced with the small bit of information he had just received. Kurt was living in New York? The last name threw him though. Why would Kurt have changed his last name to Evans?

"TIM!"

Burt froze at the familiar voice, still as high-pitched as ever, still melodic sounding and undeniably Kurt. He looked up at the screen on the television to see his son throw his arms around the guy named Tim's neck, the two hugging each other fondly, like they were old friends. The last time I hugged Kurt was when he was 10, Burt thought bitterly, angry at himself about that bit of information.

"Do you want to show me what you've been working on?" Tim asked, gesturing around the large space behind himself and Kurt.

Kurt nodded enthusiastically, and Burt watched transfixed as his son walked off gracefully, the camera panning around the room slightly and showing off various piece's of art, mannequins and gowns. The two men on screen walked into a smaller space and immediately started talking about clothing and dresses and collections of something. Burt had no idea what they were talking about, but from what he could see, and the gowns and stuff Kurt was showing the older man, Burt knew he had shitloads of talent.

Carole, who sat silently on the end of the couch, gasped a few times when Kurt would show and talk about an outfit. The Tim guy gave high appraise to Kurt but also gave a few critiques for things that he felt needed to be improved upon. Even though Burt knew zero about fashion, he was in awe at the beautiful looking clothes his son had designed and created.

"Let's go back to my townhouse and you can meet my family and friends" Kurt said cheerfully, linking his arm in with the Tim guys and the two set off, the camera panning the shot after them.

The scene changed and showed an outside shot of a nice looking New York townhouse, three storey's tall. Kurt invited Tim inside with a wide smile and the camera soon followed after Tim and panned around the room again. "Elizabeth! Your house is beautiful!" Tim gasped out.

Kurt blushed. "Thank you. It's been in my husbands family for over 1 hundred years."

Burt's mouth fell open and his eyes bugged out. He turned to his wife who just nodded and motioned for Burt to turn back around. "He's married?" he whispered to himself.

Shocked from that revelation, Burt watched as Kurt ushered Tim into a living room where a dozen or so people were seated, all standing to their feet as the two men walked into the room. Burt watched as Kurt introduced each one of the family and friends to Tim. When a muscular man with short brown hair and green eyes stepped forward, Burt watched stunned as the man's large lips parted into a smile and he wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist and kissed him on the lips. That's my son-in-law? he thought, flabbergasted.

"And this is my husband, Sam" Kurt said to Tim, smiling as he gazed at his husband lovingly.

"Sam" Burt whispered.

His mind was running wild with questions and comments and thoughts. He had learnt so much and was feeling overwhelmed with so many emotions. When the screen continued to show introductions, Burt watched until three children walked up to Kurt and he swooped down to pull them into a hug.

A pretty blonde girl of about age 7 who looked a lot like Sam smiled sweetly as she yelled "Daddy!"

Two toddlers were handed to Kurt and Sam who lifted their small hands to wave at their guest Tim. Burt's mouth fell open again and he blinked at the TV. Were those Kurt's children? "My son has 3 children?"

Before he could react, hot tears began to fall from Burt's eyes. Instead of the disgust and uneasiness he probably would have thought about the idea of two dudes getting married and having children would have made him feel 10 years ago, all Burt could think about was the beautiful grandchildren that he never knew existed, and his grown son who he wanted to get to know. Tears fell freely as he looked upon the scene of his grown son with his husband and three children, smiling and looking perfectly content to have each other forever.

Carole looked over at her husband and saw the tears falling from his tired eyes. She paused the television and scooted over on the couch, her hurt and eager slipping away just a little, enough for her to lay a comforting hand on her husbands arm. "You OK, dear?'

Burt laid his hand over his wife's an squeezed tightly. "I'm so sorry, Kurt, I'm so so sorry."

Burt continued to murmur his apology over and over, every second word catching in his throat as the tears continued to fall. Carole's heart broke at the sight of her strong-willed husband breaking down like that, and she immediately pulled him into a hug and began to rub his back soothingly. Her anger towards her husband remained, the hurt of his lying all these years still raw in her mind. But she could set it aside and deal with the more pressing matter at hand, and that was reuniting her husband with his son.

With a look over her husbands shoulder as he kept sobbing into her chest, Carole looked upon the picture of happiness that was Elizabeth and his family. She smiled at the vision of her step-son and nodded to herself. "It's OK, dear. It's OK."

-xOx-

A/N: First of all, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I received exactly 67 story alerts, 21 story alerts and 10 reviews for chapter 1! What the actual fuck is up with that madness? It was totally unexpected and I had no idea how many people would appreciate this story. I told my friend (the one who inspired me to write this, about her and her mother just beginning to rebuild their relationship) and she was astonished at the response I got. I can't even thank you guys enough. I love you all so much!

Having said that, I do have to apologize in advance. You see, real life has been kind of a fucking bitch to me lately. I'm coming out of a 4 year relationship and we all know break-up's are nasty mofo's. I also had been contemplating a move overseas for a while but have only just been able to finance any sort of plans now, and I've decided that now is as perfect a time as any. I've decided instead of moving to live overseas, that I'm just going to go traveling and visit a lot of the places that I've always wanted to visit. This also means that I won't be posting anything for a while. I will be writing while traveling, but I won't be taking my laptop, so I won;t be posting until I return or unless I find time to type something and/or a computer to type something up on. I'm sorry if that upset's any of you, but I hipe you understand.

Having said that, that's the reason why I've updated with such a weak chapter. I had it half typed out since I posted chapter 1, but I wanted to finish it tonight before I finalize my traveling plans. I had thought I would fit the entire flashback in this chapter, but have decided to hold off for now and only give a teaser. Don't kill me for it! Review and let me know what you guys think as a going away present?

I also won't be giving a hint as to what to expect with the next chapter, because as I'm goign away, I don't know when the next time I'll be able to update will be. I'm sorry, again, if that inconveniences any of you. I do love you all and I appreciate all the support from every who has read my stories!

Until next time, have fun, stay safe and all that good stuff! ily a milli, Dasher :P