Chapter 2

After the phone call, everything Kurt did was on autopilot. Asking Rachel to fill everybody else in, rushing out of the restaurant and hailing a cab in record time. While he was sitting in the backseat, the words he had never thought he would hear kept repeating themselves in his head.

…I'm so sorry Mr. Hummel…

…there's been an accident…

…your brother didn't make it….

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop himself from crying. He couldn't believe this was happening and he kept hoping that maybe he would wake up, that all of this would turn to be some kind of a cruel nightmare. Unfortunately, the waking up part never came, the truth dawning on Kurt harder and harder with each second, his brother was gone. Before he could completely break down, the cab stopped in front of the hospital, so Kurt paid the driver and bolted out of the car, running inside the building and immediately heading to the nurse station.

"Excuse me?" He asked, a little out of breath. "I'm looking for Emily Hudson? She's nine, she was in an accident…"

After checking his ID making sure he was who he claimed he was, the nurse directed him in the direction of Emily's room. When he reached the door, he stopped, not able to walk in just yet. Through the window he could see the little girl, lying curled up on bed, probably asleep.

"Mr. Hummel?" The voice behind him sounded and Kurt turned around to see a man in scrubs. "I'm Doctor Hale."

"How is she?" Kurt asked, focusing his gaze back on the sleeping girl.

"She's going to be fine. It's just a couple of cuts and bruises, although we'd like to keep her for a day or two, just to make sure." The doctor said, trying to sound optimistic, but they both knew there wasn't a point.

"Has anyone told her yet?" Kurt asked, looking back at the doctor.

"No, we… we thought it would be better if she heard it from a family member." Hale said, smiling sadly. "Do you know if there's a possibility of reaching her mother?"

Kurt shook his head. "No, she's not in the picture. Never been."

The doctor nodded in understanding. "I have to go now, but I'll be back later to check on her." He said and touched Kurt's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Hummel."

Kurt nodded without saying anything, taking a deep quivering breath, feeling the tears once again pooling in his eyes. The doctor tactfully disappeared, for which Kurt was grateful, he had never handled being exposed while vulnerable very well. Bracing himself, he quietly entered the room. He walked around the bed and sat down on one of the chairs standing by the wall, and looked at Emily. As he thought, she was asleep, although Kurt could tell by the distressed features of her face that the sleep was far from relaxing. He eyed the few visible cuts and wondered how the hell she got that lucky, coming out from such an accident with only a couple of scratches. He shook his head at the choice of word. Lucky, he thought bitterly, how on earth could she consider herself lucky when she just lost her father… He leaned back on the chair, the exhaustion of the entire day finally catching up with him, so he made himself as comfortable as he could and slowly drifted to sleep.

He woke up some time later when he felt someone look at him. Stirring, he winced at the cramp in his neck and when he slowly opened his eyes, he noticed Emily was wide awake and was staring at him intently.

"Hi…" Kurt muttered, his voice still hoarse from sleeping. "How are you feeling?"

"Where's dad?" Emily asked right away and Kurt felt his heart drop. "Where is he?" His niece kept asking when he didn't answer, with each question her voice growing louder. "He's dead, isn't he." She stated with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, sweetie, yes, he is." Kurt said quietly, eyes glazed with tears, and his heart broke when Emily started crying, curling up on the bed, the sobs wrenching out of her tiny body. He didn't know what to do, how to comfort her, so he just sat there, his own tears streaming down his face. Eventually, he had to leave, the nurses basically kicking him out and telling him to get some rest and come back the next day. When he got to the apartment, it was late, he completely lost track of time, but it must have been the middle of the night. Checking the time on his phone, he noticed that he had one voicemail. He hit play and froze when he heard the voice of his brother and Emily's laugh in the background.

"Hey, bro, we're running a little late, the traffic is insane! But we'll get there, can't wait to see you, we love you!"

Kurt stood motionlessly for a few seconds and then hastily saved the message, desperately wanting to keep the last words Finn had ever said to him. It was all he had left. After he went to bed and was lying there, staring at the ceiling, the emotions that he had been bottling up for the whole day finally came through his walls. The loss of his brother dawning on him, he lied on his side, curled up under the blanket while the silent tears kept falling from his eyes. He wanted to scream and hit something, to yell how unfair the world was. His sobs became louder when the realization came onto him that, besides Emily, he didn't have any family left and that he was completely alone. And for the first time in his life, he wished he wasn't.

The next day, after visiting Emily in the hospital, he went to work, as always. The moment he entered the restaurant, the staff, currently in the middle of the briefing, fell silent. Kurt looked at them for a few seconds and then headed to the kitchen without a word, hearing the murmurs behind him. A minute later, Tina came in and walked up to him.

"Kurt, what are you doing here?" She asked, looking at him worriedly.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked right back, taking a look at the daily menu.

"I thought you were taking a few days off." She said quietly, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"No, I'm fine." Kurt replied curtly, tying the apron and getting ready for work, still not looking at Tina. It was clear that she wanted to say more, but apparently decided against it because she only nodded and went back to the dining hall, leaving Kurt alone in the kitchen. When it was time to open and the usual bustle began, Kurt had been okay. He was working just like he always did, barking orders, threatening and making everything work like a perfectly oiled machine. Until, completely out of nowhere, his mind drifted back to the documents that were delivered to him this morning. Suddenly, the kitchen seemed too loud, too crowded, too overwhelming and he couldn't breathe. He put away what he was doing, asking Quinn to finish up and quickly went into the cooler room. Sitting down on one of the cases, he took a folded letter out of his pocket and started reading it, even though it felt like he already knew the entire thing by heart.

Hey there, Kurt.

The baby is amazing. She's so small and I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt her or drop her any second, but I already know that she's the biggest love of my life. Keeping her was the best decision I have ever made. Her name is Emily. Raising her on my own will be hard, I know that and it terrifies me every time I think about it. But I can do it, I will do it for her. The reason that I'm writing this letter is because I never want her to be alone. So if anything should ever happen to me you are the only person I would want to have her. I know you'll love my baby girl just as much as I do.

I know she just got here, to this world, and it seems weird to write this kind of letter so soon. But I want to be sure she's safe, no matter what.

I'm not going to tell you about it – you would probably call me insane and tell me that nothing bad would never happen. But it's not how this world works – you and I know that better than anyone.

I love you, bro. (I know you hate when I'm calling you that, dude. Okay, I'm stopping now.)

Finn

Kurt wasn't sure when exactly he started crying, but he was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching the letter in his hands. He had probably read it a thousand times since this morning, when it was delivered by Finn's lawyer, along with the full paperwork that made him Emily's legal guardian in case of her father's death. His whole body was shaking and the tears were flowing, but he couldn't stop. Every time he read Finn's words, everything was becoming more real and it felt like the world was crushing down around him.

Suddenly, the door to the cooler room opened, making Kurt jump and he tried to wipe his tears, but Tina's hand stopped him. When he looked up, she was crouching right in front of him, looking at him softly.

"Kurt…" She started quietly. "I want you to take a week off. It's not a suggestion, it's an order." Not able to talk, Kurt only nodded, knowing that she was right, he was in no condition to run a busy kitchen, he was barely able to get a hold of himself. Taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes, he stood up, folding the letter and putting it in his pocket, and headed back to the kitchen to get changed and grab his things. Then, not having it in him to walk even a couple blocks, he called for a cab and headed home. Back in the apartment, he wasn't sure what to do, so used to his working schedule, so he paced aimlessly through the apartment, feeling hollow and empty inside. He stopped next to the bookcase, looking at the framed photos standing there, his heart clenching painfully at the sight of Finn's smiling face. He sat down on the couch, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, wondering how many times life would decide to cause him pain and when exactly it would decide that he had had enough.

The next day, Kurt got up early to cook something for Emily and then headed out to the hospital, just as the visiting hours had begun. Putting on a brave face, he entered the building, taking the direction to the hospital wing Emily was in.

"Hi." Kurt said with a smile, knocking on the open door to Emily's hospital room. She was sitting on the bed, watching some cartoons on TV, barely looking at him when he walked closer.

"I made you something to eat." Kurt tried again, gesturing at the soup container he brought with himself.

"I'm not really hungry." Emily said quietly.

"That's okay. You can have it later, if you want." Kurt replied, putting the container away and sitting on one of the chairs. "They're going to let you out tomorrow, you know?"

"Yes." Emily replied, her eyes fixated on the TV screen, still not looking at Kurt.

He sighed. "Emily, we have to talk. About what's going to happen now."

"Can I go home?" She asked, turning her head and finally looking at him.

Kurt smiled at her sadly. "I'm afraid not, I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Emily asked, her eyes glazing slightly with tears.

"Well, you'd be completely alone there." When she said nothing, Kurt continued. "Your dad wanted… He asked me to take care of you." He said, even though at every mention of Finn, his heart felt like it was being stabbed. "So you'll be coming home with me, okay?" He didn't get an answer this time either, but he understood. He still remember how it felt when his mother died when he was eight, only a year younger than Emily was now, and he knew that it would take a lot of time for her to deal with the pain.

When he got home that day, he called the moving company and arranged for them to come with all of Emily's stuff in the next few days. Thankfully, back in Ohio, Finn's neighbor took care of packing all of her things and coordinating everything on that end, saving Kurt a lot of trouble of going to Ohio last minute.

The next morning, after being discharged, Emily was free to go home. She had been quiet during the entire ride from the hospital and when they got out of the cab, Kurt could see her looking the building up and down with absolutely no emotion showing on her face. He smiled encouragingly when their eyes met and led her up the stairs to his apartment. After giving her a quick tour, he took her to the guest bedroom. Well, Emily's from now on.

"And this is going to be your room." He said, opening the door. Seeing Emily look around blankly, he sighed. "I know it's looking pretty empty right now, but I'm sure you'll like it more when your things get here." That seemed to catch Emily's attention.

"My stuff?" She asked him, with a hope in her eyes and Kurt smiled.

"Yes. Your clothes, your toys – all of your things, they should be delivered tomorrow."

And sure enough, the next day, in the afternoon, the doorbell rang, announcing the movers' arrival. There were only two of them, so Kurt and Emily went down to help carry all the boxes upstairs. Kurt was stunned by the amount of stuffed animals Emily apparently owned and thought he had seen it all – it was until he was suddenly faced with a huge giraffe, almost as tall as he was. With help of one of the guys from the moving company, they managed to successfully take it upstairs, maneuvering between all the furniture, safely placing it in Emily's room. After they were done and the movers drove away, Kurt found himself having too much time and nothing to do, so he figured it would be a good idea to check on the restaurant and see how the kitchen was doing without him. Knocking on the door, he peeked his head into Emily's room. She was sitting on the floor, arranging the stuffed animals; she had so many of them that they filled almost the entire room.

"Emily, I have to go to the restaurant for a moment." Kurt said when she looked up at him. "Will you be okay for a little while?" She only nodded, not saying anything. "If anything happens call me and I'll be right back, I'll only be a couple of blocks away." He assured her and then showed her the home phone. "The restaurant is under number two on the speed dial and my cell is under number three." Before he left, he made sure to leave some food for her on the counter in the kitchen, hoping that maybe she would eat while he was gone.

When Kurt entered the restaurant and got closer to the kitchen, he frowned when he heard music playing. Italian music to be exact, Andrea Bocelli if Kurt's memory served him right, vaguely recognizing the song. He opened the door and froze. There was a man in the middle of his kitchen, his black hair gelled down, wearing a ridiculous pair of pants with… bowties on them, singing loudly along with the song playing from the small radio that definitely hadn't been in Kurt's kitchen before. What was even worse, it seemed like everyone was having plenty of fun, singing with the man and swaying slightly to the music. When the song was coming to an end, the man stood in the middle of the kitchen, flawlessly belting out the high note, raising his arms above his head, still firmly holding the quail in his hand that he was probably supposed to be preparing instead of doing his little performing routine. Everyone started clapping and, apparently, Quinn was the only one that noticed Kurt standing by the door and when their eyes met, she quickly bit her lip, though it was clear she was trying to hide a smile.

"Who do you think you are?" Kurt asked coldly, making everyone freeze and all eyes turned to him.

The man's head snapped to the side and when he saw Kurt, he smiled. "Blaine Anderson." He introduced himself. "And, before you say anything, may I just say that the world would be a dark and depressing place without your quail in truffle sauce." He said, gesturing at the quail in his hand.

Kurt glared at Anderson for a few seconds and then abruptly turned to Tina who appeared in the kitchen as soon as she saw Kurt come in. "We need to talk." He said, his voice cold and harsh, and he exited the kitchen, not even looking behind his shoulder to see if she was following him.

"You could have at least asked me." He said straight forward, as soon as she joined him in the hall.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait." Tina began in a hushed whisper, trying not to alert the customers. "Blaine became available, so I had to act quickly."

"The last thing I need in my kitchen is some lunatic." Kurt said through gritted teeth, lowering his voice when Tina glared pointedly at him.

"He's not a lunatic, he's enthusiastic!" Tina exclaimed. "Maybe we could use a little bit of that around here."

"The only demand I had when I took this position was that I get to choose who I work with." Kurt said, anger flaring from his eyes. "Quinn would have been just fine."

"Quinn can barely stand up, the woman is eight months pregnant!" Tina retorted, looking at Kurt incredulously. "Give Blaine a chance, he's an excellent cook."

"I know nothing about him, how can I-." Kurt started, not believing what was happening.

"Oh, give me some credit; do you really think I would hire someone incompetent?" Tina snapped, interrupting him. "He was the sous-chef at Il Treviso."

"Italian?" Kurt snorted. "You bring the sous-chef from an Italian restaurant, and I'm the one in therapy?" He exclaimed, angrily following Tina who started heading back to the kitchen.

"Enough." Tina snapped, stabbing Kurt's chest with her finger. "We're lucky to have him; Tropicana offered him a position as an executive chef."

"Then why didn't he take it?" Kurt asked sweetly, though his eyes were burning with rage.

"Because he said he wanted to work with you." Tina said, making Kurt quiet for a moment. He looked around the kitchen and noticed Blaine who grinned and waved when their eyes met, probably not aware of the small fire on the pan next to him. With a raised eyebrow, Kurt pointed his finger at it and Blaine quickly turned around and expertly shook the pan, flipping whatever was on it to get everything under control. With a pointed look to Tina, as if to say we'll see how competent he is, he turned around and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the restaurant, wishing he hadn't decided to come by that evening.

When Kurt got home, he quietly closed the door behind him, assuming Emily was already asleep. Deciding to check on her, he started walking in the direction of her room, but stopped when he heard noises of the TV coming from his own bedroom. Quietly, he tried to open the door, but it budged only slightly, as if something was blocking it. Through the crack, he saw Emily curled up on his bed, the TV being the only source of light in the room. Glad there was another way to his room, through the bathroom, he slowly, not wanting to wake her, walked up to the door. Thankfully, it wasn't locked or blocked by anything, so he quietly entered the room, noticing that the reason he wasn't able to use the door from the hall was the chair propped under the handle. Putting it away, he took the remote to turn off the TV and he lit a small lamp standing on the dresser. When he grabbed the blanket to cover Emily, he saw the photo album lying underneath it. It was open on the photos of Finn, alone, with Kurt or with Emily. Kurt's heart felt like it had been stabbed again, knowing how much she missed him and that she probably fell asleep while watching the photos. After covering Emily with the blanket and making sure she was still asleep, he quickly changed and brushed his teeth, and then quietly lied beside her, the exhaustion after the unpleasant encounters in the restaurant quickly catching up with him, making him fall asleep almost the moment his head hit the pillow.