Kurt juggled grocery bags and opened the door that lead from the garage to the kitchen. He hoisted the bags on to the island and caught a glimpse of Blaine…with his hands on a woman.

"Blaine Hummel-Anderson, you tramp. Every time I turn around you've got your hands all over that girl. And you, Missy," Kurt continued in mock horror, pointing his finger at a younger, female version of himself "need to stay away from my man. Stop leading him into temptation, you little…"

"Kurt get over here and feel this!" Blaine interrupted. The baby's kicks were swift and frequent. Kurt placed his hands on his cousin Millie's extended stomach and waited to feel the gymnastics of his child-to-be.

"Whoa, baby! Millie, this feels so cool from the outside, but really, doesn't it hurt?" Kurt asked, removing his hands and brushing a strand of brown hair from his cousin's forehead.

"As long as HE or SHE doesn't use my rib cage for monkey bars, it's okay. Last night I watched a hand or a foot travel all the way across my stomach like a mole digging a tunnel in a cartoon. It was quite possibly one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" Millie said while running her hand across her tummy to trace the path, stopping at her navel. "I can't feel my belly button anymore. I mean I can touch it, but it's like the skin is numb. Guess I'm stretched to the max. Time to have this baby!"

"Mills, have we told you lately how much we love you for carrying this child for us?" Blaine asked.

Kurt moved forward and planted a kiss on his cousin's cheek and said, "Yeah, Millie. You don't know how much this means to us. Truly, you are giving us the greatest gift ever!"

"I'm not sure you'll thank me in a week or so, when you are up every hour, on the hour, to feed and change HER or HIM," Millie said with a laugh. "You do know your life is about to turn upside down, right?

~oOo~

Right after their seventh wedding anniversary, Kurt and Blaine announced to their families that they planned to start the process of adoption and become parents. While at dinner with Kurt's family, Kurt's sister-in-law Rachel asked if they'd considered using the services of a surrogate, since she herself was the product of such an arrangement and her vastly superior performance skills and bone structure were certainly the result of her two dads being able to choose the proper woman to carry and give birth to Rachel. Honestly, the thought had never crossed the men's minds and they shrugged off Rachel's suggestion just as they did with most ideas she presented: with a quick, "We'll have to look into that." But a couple of nights later, as Kurt and Blaine were preparing for bed, the topic of using a surrogate came up and the more they talked, the more they began to consider the possibilities.

"I do like that one of us would be a blood relative to the baby," Kurt called from the bathroom as he applied his moisturizer.

"I don't know," Blaine called back, "surrogates seem like kind of a risky situation. I mean, they are basically a hired gun, right? What happens if, after the baby is born, she decides to keep it? We're left empty handed, empty hearted, and crushed. I don't know if I could survive that."

"I'm sure there are all kinds of legalities that have to be considered," Kurt called through the door, "but what's the harm in looking at all the possibilities out there? Hell, if I could carry our child I would, but we all know that's not going to happen."

"Well, there was that guy on Oprah…" Blaine began

"Pretty sure that's not an option for us Blaine. Not transgendered with an extra set of female parts just lying in wait, you know," Kurt said, standing in the door to the bathroom, pointing at himself. Just as he replaced the lid on his bottle of moisturizer, the phone rang. "Who in the world would be calling us at this hour? Somebody better be dead," Kurt said as he made his way from the bathroom to the bed.

"Kurt, that's a horrible thing to say!" Blaine exclaimed, as he glanced at the caller id and answered. "Hey Mills! How's my favorite cousin-in-law? What's shaking?"

"Hi Millie!" Kurt shouted from his side of the bed. It was unusual for his cousin to call so late at night, but he was glad to hear from her.

"Hey Blaine! I'm great. I was wondering if I could talk to both you and Kurt. Can you put your phone on speaker?"

Blaine pushed a button and said, "There you are! We can both hear you now," Blaine said.

"Hi Kurtie!" Millie said, using her childhood name for her older cousin.

"Hi Sweets" Kurt responded, "What's up?"

"Well," Millie began, "I was just got off the phone with Auntie Carol and Uncle Burt and they told me that you were going to start the process of adoption and that Rachel tried to talk you guys into using a surrogate. I don't know much about how it all works and this might be too forward, but hear me out, okay guys?"

"We're with you Mills," Blaine said. "Continue."

"Okay, so here's what I was thinking. I'm 23 years old. I have a year left at NYU, but there is no possible way I can swing tuition for my senior year. You two want a baby; I have a womb for rent, if you will. I totally understand if this is too awkward or weird or whatever and I'm so sorry if I've offended you…" Millie rambled until Kurt cut her off.

"Millie?" he asked quietly. "You'd do that? Be a surrogate? For us?"

"Kurtie, you know you are one of my favorite people on the planet. That Blaine guy you have hanging around is okay too, especially when he keeps that wild mop of hair under control…"

"Hey, leave my hair out of this!" Blaine shouted with a laugh. "Seriously, Millie, you'd do this?"

"Well, yeah!" Millie said. "I think it's a win/win/win situation: you guys get your baby, I get my tuition paid for a year and get to finish at NYU, and we get a new Hummel for the family. The next generation! Besides, if we play our cards right, the baby could have genetics from both of you…think about it."

Both men sad silently on their bed, looking from the phone in Blaine's hand, to each other, and back to the phone.

"Millie, you are a doll and we appreciate the offer, but Blaine and I will need to talk about this. Like talk a lot. Do you mind if we take a week or so and then meet with you over dinner?" Kurt asked.

"Sure! No problem guys. Really, I'm sorry if what I've offered is out of line. I just thought…"

"No!" Blaine and Kurt shouted at the same time. "This is a very generous offer and we're both sort of awestruck at your willingness to help us," Blaine continued. "And why didn't you tell us you needed help with tuition? We'd help you regardless!"

"Awe, thanks. You guys are the best! I'll let you go. Good night to you, my favorite cousins. Love you both!" Millie said.

"Love you too!" Kurt and Blaine said at the same time. "Sleep well Millie," Kurt said before hanging up the phone. Looking at each other, Kurt and Blaine were not sure what to think.

"I…I…don't…I…don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight," Blaine said.

"Me either. Let's sort this out," Kurt said, leaning against the pillows on their bed and pulling Blaine in close. "So, where do we begin?"

At 3:35am Blaine and Kurt shook hands and kissed and laughed to seal the deal. After holding Millie's offer up and looking at it from all possible angles, they decided they'd ask Millie to carry their child, provided they were sure she would handle the process well, especially the giving the baby up part. Since Millie was a Hummel and genetically connected to Kurt, Blaine would be the biological father of their baby. They agreed that, while expensive, artificial insemination would probably be the least awkward way to conceive. "I'm still going to have to see Mills at family functions, you know, and if we did this the traditional way, things could be a little uncomfortable when we gather for holidays."

"Good point," Kurt said. "Besides, you are mine, and I'm not sharing," he said with a laugh.

They decided to arrange dinner with Millie for Thursday night. They still had some questions for her before they were ready to move forward.

~oOo~

"Look, I'm not in a place to be a mother right now. While no one can be 100% sure about anything, I'm 99.999% sure that I'm ready to carry a child for you and give it to you moments after delivery. Like I said earlier, we all win and I feel like this is the biggest gift I could ever give you. You two are like a shining example of what love and acceptance should be. People need to see two men raising a child. Think of this as my contribution to and sponsorship of a statement-making social demonstration," Millie laughed.

"Millie, we are just worried about you. It's easy to say, 'Yeah, I'll give the baby up, no problem' right now, but it might not be that easy after carrying him or her for nine months, you know?" Blaine said.

"I've been thinking about that and I read an article by a woman who has been a surrogate three times. She suggested that a surrogate not think of herself as a mother, but rather as a vessel. That sounds kind of harsh, but the distinction is important, don't you think? It's sort of like owning a plant nursery: the grower nurtures plants from seedlings, but has no intention of keeping them. Does that make sense?" Millie asked.

"In some weird way, yes it does," Kurt said, reaching across the table and covering his cousin's hand with his and giving it a squeeze.

"And while I don't picture myself as plant farmer, I thought I'd picture myself as more of an aunt. I know that technically, I'd be a second cousin, but 'Auntie Millie' seems more appropriate. As far as your child would be concerned, that's all I'd be unless you saw fit to explain more, and I'm fine with that too," Millie said.

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and both gave an almost invisible head nod. Millie answered the questions in the ways they'd hoped she would. And while there was no way to predict that nothing in this process would go wrong, both men felt that all three of them were pointed in the right direction.

~oOo~

"Millie, please make sure you always have your cell phone with you from here on out. I'm in rehearsals all next week, and I need as much warning as possible if you go into labor," Kurt said as Millie gathered her things to head back to her apartment.

"No worries, Daddy 1 and Daddy 2. My entire life is on my phone, so I always have it with me." Millie said. "Besides, Dr. Bateson says that first babies are often a little late, so HE or SHE may not even make an appearance until the week after!"

"Millie, you've been so good about not letting us know about the baby's gender. Thanks for understanding that we really want to be surprised," Blaine said.

"It's been really hard to not tell you two. When I decided to find out, I thought it would be easy. Ha! Big mistake. In fact, I slipped up last week when we met for lunch and I used only one pronoun instead of HE or SHE. Neither of you caught it," Millie said through a grin.

Both men laughed and walked Millie out to her car. "Call us if you need anything," Kurt said as she backed the car out of the driveway. "Love you," Kurt called as the car pulled away.

When Millie's car was out of sight, Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulder and they both turned to walk up the sidewalk and into their home. "Are you scared?" Blaine whispered into Kurt's temple.

"Shitless," Kurt answered with honesty and a respectful dose of fear.

"Me too, baby, me too," Blaine sighed, "but with the two of us, how can we go wrong?"

~oOo~

Exactly eight days from their last visit with Millie, Kurt was in a morning cast meeting at a studio downtown. A few rough spots in the performance had to be reworked and before calling for a full rehearsal, the director wanted the cast to read at the table and make some minor changes. Just after addressing the last item on the director's list, the ring tone for "Havin' My Baby" went off. The entire room went silent, as they all knew what this meant. Kurt kept talking about a slight change he wanted to make in how his character delivered a line and at the same time, he absent mindedly grabbed at his back pocket for his phone.

"Kurt!" Jill, the production's costumer screamed, "That's Millie's ring tone! That's the 'I'm-going-into-labor-so-get-your-ass-to-the-hospital' call!"

Kurt yanked his phone from his pocket, looked at the screen and pushed the button to answer. "Millie!" he yelled into the speaker.

"Not Millie, it's me," Blaine said. "I'm with Millie and we're on the way to the hospital. I suggest you forget your car, grab a taxi and get here now, if you want to meet your child when HE or SHE enters the world."

"On way my…I mean on my way!" Kurt shouted. Kelly, the director's assistant, overhead Blaine's voice on the phone and called for a cab immediately. "I've got to…leave…go to the…" Kurt stammered as he gathered his possessions and shoved them in his messenger bag. Those near Kurt at the table helped him pack up, patted him on the back, and wished him and Blaine and Millie well.

"Cab's here," Kelly called from her post at the window.

"Bye everyone! I'm going to be a dad today!" Kurt yelled as he exited the room.

A volley of voices laughed and called out "Good lucks" and "Call us as soon as you cans" to the leading man from the show. It was smiles all around the table after Kurt's departure. "Kelly, put a call into Kurt's understudy," the director said. "Tell Lawrence to expect to perform in at least the next six shows."

"Already on it!" Kelly said, phone in hand.

~oOo~

Six hours, countless breathing exercises, and only one dicey moment when Millie grabbed a defenseless Blaine by the collar, pulled him directly into her face and hissed, "YOU DID THIS TO ME," August James Hummel-Anderson entered the world with the lungs of a Broadway star. He weighed seven pounds, four ounces and was 20 inches long. There was no doubt that he was Blaine's son, with a shock of curly brown hair, ("Sorry buddy," Kurt heard Blaine whisper to their son as he stroked the wispy curls) and a Hummel with the amazingly clear blue eyes of Millie (and Kurt!). August was swaddled in a light green blanket, snoozing contentedly. The men could not take their eyes off of him.

"He's amazing!" Blaine whispered. He turned his head to face Kurt when he heard the unmistakable sound of a sniffle. Kurt's tears ran down his face, uncontrolled and unashamed. August was beautiful and perfect, and theirs. A car seat waited in the corner of the room. Millie slept, quietly working her way through recovery. She'd spend an additional day in the hospital, but insisted Kurt and Blaine take August home that evening, once all of the paperwork had been signed.

Kurt left his husband and son and moved toward Millie when he saw her stir. "Hey," he called softly, "how are you doing?"

"I'm a little sore…scratch that, a lot sore, but I think that's pretty normal. I'm wicked tired too," she said as she yawned.

"Are you sure you don't mind us heading for home tonight?" Kurt asked.

"No! Not at all. It might be…better, you know?" Millie said

"Hey, you look a little upset…" Kurt began before Millie cut him off.

"Just a little emotion I didn't expect. Take August home and get him settled. I probably won't be around for a while, if you don't mind. I think I'll need to get myself back in the groove once I check out of here. My mom is going to drive into the city, break me out of this joint, and help me get settled into my apartment, so no worries there. No worries anywhere, okay? I do want to start being Auntie Millie as soon as I'm ready, if that's alright with you."

Kurt leaned over and kissed his cousin's forehead and whispered, "I love you Millie. You are the most amazing person I know. Thank you. A million times thank you."

Millie wiped one solitary tear from her check and called out, "Hey, uh, Blaine, sorry about that little grab-you-by-the-shirt-collar incident. I didn't mean to bite your head off."

"Forget about it Mills. I'm sure it was the heat of the moment," Blaine said, his eyes never leaving his son. "You did give the nurses and Doctor Bateson something to talk about though. And here they thought they had the three of us all figured out! Ha! Always keep them guessing, that's my policy!"

Laughter filled the air in a New York City hospital room on the labor and delivery floor. One August James Hummel-Anderson fluttered his eyelashes and tried to focus on the two faces that would be his world. Kurt swore he saw his son grin; Blaine said he read somewhere that a smile in a newborn was a sure sign of gas.

"Again with the ruining the moment! What is with you Blaine?" Kurt asked.

"Come along, little family," Blaine said, carefully lifting August into his car seat. "It's time to go home."