I know what you're thinking – why hasn't Pink/Purple been updated yet? Now before you start yelling, I can safely say that I'm working on it; I'm just at a standstill at the moment, which is why this is being updated first. However, I need help with Chapter 25.

At my high school, the Spring Musical was put on the first weekend of March, so what if Dalton and Crawford did a joint production? I thought it would be cool if Zoe could be involved, but I'm drawing a blank in regards to a show that has a baby in the cast. If I don't come up with something for her, I'll just leave her out of it, but I couldn't just let the thought slide without trying.

And since I've been watching Mr. Holland's Opus again (one of my all-time favorite movies), maybe the idea of a review of sorts, or a talent show? Hmm…..Otherwise, maybe we'll skip to Regionals. In that case, any song suggestions?

Thanks to all of you lovely people for reading, and to Tristan Thompson, Sarahamanda Klaine, AlexaCardew, miksivad, Jay Li Matsuda, colfercrisscraze29, and Guest for reviewing. Your comments are keeping me warm and fuzzy in this cold December weather.

This chapter will be a little different than most chapters, as one – it's mainly Niff; two – Sebastian and Thad are back; and three – it ends in a CLIFFHANGER! But part two will be along shortly – hopefully by the weekend because I don't have to work! And for bonus points, what is Jeff up to in this chapter?

Still don't own Glee…I do in my dreams though :-)

House Hunting

Jeff knew that finding a new place to live was not going to happen in a day or two, but he'd hoped that at least they would've found a few prospects by now. It had been a few weeks since he and Nick had talked about getting a house, and so far, nothing.

Initially, they started looking online. Unfortunately, the few they went to look at had issues that were not mentioned in the listing, ranging from small details like what part of town they were located in to more serious issues such as water damage in the basement. So, they enlisted the help of a real estate agent, giving her a short list of certain things they were looking for.

Either she didn't know how to read or she was just a ditz.

She emailed them with recommendations every day or two, but none of them came even close to what they were looking for. The places she'd found were either bigger apartments or located almost fifty miles away, when they wanted a house that was at least close to or in Elida. At the rate they were going, a new house was not going to happen before the baby was born.

Nick had noticed that the more they dealt with the real estate agent, the more frustrated both he and Jeff got. Nick would then vent his frustration to Blaine at the store, while Kurt would comfort Jeff during their breaks at the hospital. Ultimately, Nick called the woman back and said 'thanks, but no thanks' because stress was the last things the boys needed to deal with.

Of course, just getting rid of her was easier said than done.

"Linda, I mean no offense, but I've already explained this to you. Both Jeff and I appreciate the fact that you want to help us, however, we've decided to take a break from house hunting. That means we no longer need an agent."

Blaine was keeping an eye on Nick's face, waiting to see when, not if, he'd lose his cool. He was so focused on the conversation, that he didn't notice Sebastian trying to get his attention.

"Hmm? Sorry Seb...what'd you say?"

Sebastian just raised an eyebrow. "What's got Nick so aggravated?"

"One word: Linda."

"Again?" asked Sebastian. "What the hell does she want? I thought Niff fired her."

"They did. Apparently, she's missed the memo. I for one would love to know what her track record looks like because if I had to grade her on her ability to listen to what the customer wants, I'd fail her."

"Does she realize she's entering harassment territory?" asked Sebastian. "If her assistance is no longer needed, or wanted, then she shouldn't be bothering them."

"Well do me a favor: get him off the phone with her and give him this number," Blaine said, handing him a slip of paper. "It's the number for Meredith, Linda's boss. I'd wait, but I have a guitar lesson to give in five minutes."

"Nah, that's fine. I'm gonna go ahead and finish organizing the sheet music rack. I think the last few cases we were missing came in." Blaine threw him a thumbs up and headed to the back of the store where they'd set up a space to give music lessons. It was a visible area, but was private enough that it didn't disturb the customers.

While Blaine was handling a beginner lesson with some preteens, Sebastian started on emptying the last few cases of sheet music that had arrived. During the summer before and including his senior year at Dalton, Sebastian had taken a few courses for college credit. He finished in time to graduate with Kurt, Blaine, Nick, and Jeff, with a major in accounting and minor in business administration. He was taking a break for now, but would start working towards getting his CPA once the fall hit.

Though Nick and Blaine had experience running the store before they took over, the original owner - Mr. Wilson - had been the main one in charge of the books. The duo had suggested Sebastian to him, emphasizing his love for numbers and order. Thankfully, Mr. Wilson had hired Sebastian with their recommendation, and he had happily taken over the store's account and handled inventory for them.

Sebastian jumped when he heard Nick slam the phone down on the counter, turning around to see Nick massaging his forehead and groaning. He gave him a minute before he walked up to him, and slowly slid the paper Blaine left in front of him.

"You okay, Nick? Want anything?"

"If you have something for a headache, I'll take that with some water." Sebastian left and returned with a bottle of water and a couple of pills. Nick took them with a quiet 'thanks' before downing the ibuprofen and chugging half of the bottle. He looked down on the counter and noticed Blaine's note.

"What's this for? And where'd Blaine go?"

"Guitar lesson with the tweens...and that's your salvation right there. It's the number for that ditz's boss. And for the record, if you don't call, I'll gladly do it for you. I'm still waiting for the story about this chick. I only met her once and I couldn't stand her."

"I'll tell you the story, but the call will have to wait - we've got customers to attend to."

"No."

"No?"

"If it gets busy I'll yell for you. I think we'll be fine for five minutes - I don't think you'll need a lot of time to report Loony Linda for harassment." Sebastian further proved his point by pushing Nick back into the direction of the phone. Nick sighed in defeat and did as he was told. The store was still experiencing somewhat heavy business since reopening a few weeks ago, but it was manageable, and it wasn't like they were the only three working there. They'd be fine while Nick finally got rid of the thorn in their side.

Fifteen minutes later, Nick returned to the sales floor a much happier person.

Sebastian couldn't contain his smirk. "All better there, Nicky?"

"Much better, thanks for asking. Talk about a woman you don't wanna piss off. Linda will be getting a lovely reprimand for her boss. Not only that, it sounds to me that someone has to retake a class in listening to what the client wants. Apparently, this was her third strike."

"Surprised that you were told that much."

"Jeff and I met Meredith the first day we decided to involve an agent. Originally, she was going to take care of us, but she had a death in the family and we got stuck with Linda. Meredith's sort of like Professor McGonagall - a strict woman who doesn't like nonsense. Good news is that if we decide to try again, she volunteered her services."

"Well that was nice of her," said Sebastian. "You gonna take her up on it?"

Nick sighed. "I'll have to talk to Jeff about it, but I think we need a break. This has been stressful for both of us, but it's hitting him harder. If all else fails, we'll be fine if we wait until after the baby is born. We've already made plans to have him or her sleep in our room at first anyway...though it would be better to have this all situated before then."

Sebastian just hummed in agreement. Nick looked at him and after several minutes of silence, asked the other man what he was thinking so deeply about.

"I think I may have a solution to your problem," Sebastian asked.

Nick quirked an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Care to share?"

"Thad."

"...okay…would you mind elaborating how your boyfriend is going to help?"

"I was just thinking...you know how Thad flips houses with his friends from college? They don't just do it for fun or their own profit. Sometimes they work with realtors to help increase the value of a house so that it sells faster, and in return, they get a percentage of the commission. I can tell you that it works well, considering I do their books and make sure they stay under budget.

"Thad is usually working on two to three projects at any given time, and it just so happens that their most recently acquired property is a nice family-sized house on one of the cul-de-sacs on the residential side of the tracks. It's actually not that far from Blaine and Kurt's place, from my understanding."

Nick perked up quite a bit, "Really? Do you have any other info about it? While those houses are nice, some are a little bit bigger than what we're looking for."

Sebastian shrugged, "I'm sure Thad would love to tell you more about it. They've only had the house for a couple of days and were waiting for Gary to give them the okay to start working on it. For the most part, the house is in good shape, but it's in need of some updating. It's a four-bedroom with a basement, if I remember right. Is that too big?"

Nick bit his lip, "A little. We were aiming for at least a three-bedroom, though the idea of a basement is tempting."

"If you want, I'll ask Thad when he's going next and you could tag along with him. If this house isn't what you're looking for, you could tell Thad what you do want and he'll keep a lookout for you two."

Nick smiled in gratitude, "That would be awesome. Thanks Seb."

Jeff was listening to Nick tell him about his day while he made them dinner. He was so surprised by the end, that he almost burned the rice - twice. Nick took care of setting the table and eventually pushed Jeff to a seat, as it seemed the blonde was having a hard time grasping all of the news. Jeff wasn't quiet for too long. By the end of the meal, Jeff had had enough of thinking about it.

"So let me get this straight: You fired Linda."

"Yep."

"And Meredith - the McGonagall of real estate - has offered to help us out if we need it."

"Uh huh."

"And not only did we both forget that Thad flips houses, but that he may actually have a house for us to look at?"

Nick nodded.

"Wow...so when can we go check it out?" asked Jeff, excitedly.

Nick laughed. He stood up and he pulled Jeff close, wrapping his arms around the baby bump. "We have to wait for Thad, babe. Seb said one of them would let us know, but hopefully it would be in a day or two. Thad's friend Gary is waiting on the initial inspection, and once that clears, they can start working on it. I have to warn you though - from what Seb told me, it may be more than we're looking for."

"It can't hurt to look though, right? And at least we can trust Thad to understand what we're looking for." Jeff sighed. "I was really starting to worry that we wouldn't find a place. I know we have a backup plan, but I'd rather us not have to use it."

Nick tilted Jeff's head up so he could plant a quick kiss on his lips. "See, this is why I got rid of Linda for us. I hate seeing you stressed out; it's not good for either of you."

Jeff turned himself around and wrapped his arms around Nick's neck. "I knew I kept you around for a reason. My hero."

Nick pouted, "I thought I was your Prince Charming."

Jeff rolled his eyes, "Since when can't you be both? By the way - you in the mood for some dessert?"

Nick looked at him in confusion. "Like what? We're out of ice cream and we finished off that last batch of cookies this morning."

Jeff kissed Nick hard, before pulling away. "That's not the kind of dessert I'm talking about." He gave Nick a 'come hither' look, as he moved toward the bedroom. It took a minute before Nick realized that Jeff wasn't talking about sweets.

Two days later found Nick and Jeff in front of the house that was Thad's newest project. Sebastian met them there, not only to see the house for himself, but to collect measurements and details so that Thad and his band of misfits - as Sebastian called them - could stay within their planned budget. At first, they'd been skeptical, since Sebastian was more of a thinker than one for manual labor. It only took him helping on their second project - after the first almost completely bombed - to convince them that having an extra brain on hand was a good investment.

"This place looks pretty good from the outside," said Nick.

"That it does," said Thad. "The inside actually isn't that bad either, but the couple that lived here before didn't believe in keeping up with the times. Seriously - once you go in, you can't tell me it's not something from a '60s sitcom."

And the house didn't disappoint.

It was a four-bedroom house, but there was a smaller room that could become a bedroom or an office of sorts. It had two-and-a-half bathrooms, one of them obviously newer than the other two. There was a full, but unfinished, basement, and a small attic. The rooms overall were neither too large nor too small. There was a decently sized backyard that was closed in. Besides the fact it needed a little updating, it was certainly better than Nick and Jeff were expecting.

But in the grand scheme of things, it was too much for a soon-to-be family of three.

"Thad, I can't wait to see what this place looks like when you guys get done with it, but it's more than we need now. Even if we have another kid in the future, it would take some time to fill up the house."

Thad scratched his head, "Yeah, I kinda had a feeling that was going to be your response, but I wanted to try. Does it give you a better idea of what kind of house you're looking for though? If you want, Nathan and Daniel will be here in a minute. If you leave a list with them, they'll keep an eye out for you. We just finished at the other houses over the weekend, so this is our only open project. Otherwise, I'd send you over to one of them for a look."

Jeff smiled, "That's okay. We can hang around for them...unless we're in your way."

Gary waved him off, "Nah, you're good to stick around. Those two should be here in a few minutes - probably got stuck by the train tracks again. Just curious, but do you two know of anyone looking for a place like this? Even after we get through with it, it won't be as expensive as you think. The low taxes around here help out."

"You don't have a buyer yet?" asked Nick. "I thought you usually had one lined up."

"Not always. This was a last minute bid in an auction we attended last week," Thad explained. "The couple that lived here suddenly decided to up and move to Florida to enjoy their retirement. They even left a lot of the furniture and appliances behind - most of which will be sold, donated, or thrown out. When we get closer to finishing up, I'll give Meredith a call to see if she can find someone that's interested."

"And before you ask," Sebastian cut off Nick, "yes, it's the same Meredith. That woman knows how to sell a house, unlike the ditz you got stuck with. I didn't realize it until I got home the other night why that phone number looked so familiar."

Jeff had wandered back into the house, missing the second half of the conversation. While he knew this house was too much for them, his mind was coming up with ways as to how he'd change things around. As he walked back up the stairs, he couldn't help thinking how much fun Zoe would have here. Then he remembered the twins and how Kurt had mentioned that while they'd be sharing a room at first, they would like to give each of them their own rooms when they got older.

The basement could be one hell of an entertainment area, whether it was for music, games, or just a place to snuggle as one big happy family watching a movie. The backyard was perfect for barbeques, and with it already fenced in, would be a great spot to send the kids out to run around. Kurt and Blaine lived a few blocks away, and with four kids between them it would be perfect.

When he and Nick had started to look for houses, they found themselves using Kurt and Blaine's home as a baseline. If it didn't have a similar setup, it was ignored. It had three bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths, as well as a small basement, and it too had a fenced in yard. Kurt said that it reminded him a lot of the house he and his parents lived in before Carole and Burt got married and they moved.

Suddenly, Jeff was struck with a brilliant idea; something that would solve several problems at once.

But first he had to talk to Nick about it...then Kurt and Blaine.

"So what do you think?" Jeff asked, as he bit his lip. "Think Kurt and Blaine would go for it?"

Nick was still trying to process exactly what his boyfriend had come up with. In all honesty, it was a brilliant idea, and it would solve a bunch of problems in one fell swoop. And though it might take some convincing, he could see Blaine warming up to the idea, who would then be able to get Kurt on board with it.

"Nicky?" Jeff was starting to panic a little bit. It took a lot to shake up Nick to the point where he would inadvertently ignore Jeff. He let out a sigh of relief when Nick shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Babe, you gotta give me more than a minute or two to think it over. It's really a great idea, though to be honest, you may wanna run it by Blaine first; then you can have him talk it over with Kurt."

"Really?" asked Jeff. "I would've thought the other way around."

"Well think about it this way: What would happen if you tell Kurt about this idea and for one reason or another, Blaine is against it? Moving is hard enough when you're able-bodied and expecting it. Last I heard, they weren't planning on definitely moving right now. Unlike us, they have an available room for the babies when they get here. A new house for them right now might not be at the top of their priority list."

"It kinda is - Kurt's been looking places up online when he's stuck at home."

"Has Kurt flat out said 'we're looking for a new place' or is it more along the lines of 'getting an idea of what's on the market for later' - no Jeff, think for a second." Jeff closed his mouth and thought about the last few weeks' worth of conversations with Kurt.

While his morning sickness had decreased dramatically, there were still days where it hit badly. Not only that, Kurt was experiencing heavier symptoms that were affecting his work, mostly in the form of headaches, dizziness, and lightheadedness. His anemia was also not helping, and there had already been several near-fainting spells. Days where it had been obvious Kurt wouldn't last long, Blaine had been forced to be the bad guy by begging Kurt to stay home and rest.

Lately, Kurt had taken up house hunting online during his forced days off, but the more Jeff thought about it, the more he remembered their talks during breaks. Kurt had started helping Jeff in the first place, often helping him decipher what the details in the listings meant. Once in a while, he'd give his two cents, but always kept in mind they were looking for a place for Jeff, Nick, and baby, not himself, Blaine, Zoe and twins.

Keeping all that in mind, it made more sense to talk to Blaine first to see if this would make things easier on them all. If Jeff could convince Blaine that this plan would be beneficial to everyone involved, it would truly be a win-win.

"Okay, you're right. It makes more sense to talk to Blaine first. But what's worse - hormonal Kurt or puppy Blaine?"

"Puppy Blaine can be contained; hormonal Kurt is not someone I want to deal with. I don't know what scares me more: pissed off-mama bear Kurt or super unhappy, teary-eyed Kurt." Jeff laughed as Nick shuddered.

"Personally, the correct answer is all of the above, and then some," Sebastian piped in. "Your plan sounds awesome, Jeff, and if you can pull it off then mazel tov. Just keep in mind that it's still early, and I'm sure Thad will be able to hook you two up with the house of your dreams before your kid gets here."

"Glad to have your approval, Seb," Nick drawled. "So can you let Thad know we'll get back to him? He looks busy," pointing out the way Thad and Gary were fighting over who would get the honor of destroying the interior first.

Sebastian sighed, "Yeah, I'll let him know. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rescue my boyfriend before Gary whips out his hammer again. I swear - this was funny the first time. Now I think they pull this crap on purpose just to rile me up."

Both Nick and Jeff laughed as Sebastian started yelling at the pair to 'stop being alpha males and get some work done or else'. Nick suggested stopping by to see Kurt and Zoe, as they were - literally - in the neighborhood. If asked, they could say they were just driving around looking at houses, as they'd taken to doing that since firing Linda. Jeff needed no encouragement, and in no time, they were driving the few blocks to see their friends.

Unfortunately, any good feelings they had quickly disappeared. As they pulled up in front of Kurt and Blaine's house, they watched as Kurt was taken out on a stretcher and put into an ambulance, while Zoe was left sobbing on the front step in the arms of a paramedic.