Don't own even a tiny piece of Glee.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed or made suggestions. I love hearing from you. Since this is sort of a holiday story, I'll be posting chapters fairly quickly. As a certain curly-haired performer says, "I hope you enjoyed it. Tell your friends."


They were standing in front of Hummel Tires, but something felt wrong. Kurt glanced around. It was still the same building, the same landscaping, the same …. Oh, the sign. The sign read 'Houston Tires'; was it a misprint? His dad hadn't said anything about getting a new sign. He looked at Dave.

"This is going to be a little rough, Kurt," Dave warned. Kurt steeled himself. It's not real. It's just a dream.

"Your dad doesn't own the tire shop, Kurt."

"What?" exploded Kurt. "Of course he does. He took over when Grandpa died. Hummel's Tires has been in this location for years."

"Tell me about your mother's funeral, Kurt."

A look of horror crossed Kurt's face. "No, no … It can't be," he said weakly. "Please tell me it isn't true. Please tell me I didn't somehow cause her death by being born."

"No, Kurt, no!" Dave was hugging Kurt again. "You had nothing to do with her death. She still died, whether you were there or not. It's okay. Oh, I mean …," Dave stopped in confusion. "I don't mean that it's okay that she died. That was terrible. I just mean it wasn't your fault."

Kurt sighed in relief. "I know it's silly, but when something terrible happens when you are little, you can't help but wonder if it is somehow your fault, if you did something to cause it, or if it happened because you were bad. I guess I still had a little of those feelings left. I remember her funeral. I was so sad and scared. I loved my mother. We played games together, and sang together. She was always ready to play pretend or put on a show. When she died, I couldn't imagine what I would do without her. But afterward, when we were walking away, my dad reached down and took my hand, and I just knew — I was safe and we had each other and he would take care of me." Kurt smiled at the memory.

"Your dad felt the same way. As long as he had you, he had something to live for, a reason to get up in the morning."

"So, since I was never born …." Kurt's voice trailed off.

"That's right. He was alone. He didn't have anything to live for."

"Did he …did he … like you did?" Kurt couldn't even bring himself to say the words.

"No, he was a stronger person than I was," Dave said regretfully. "He just sort of lost interest in things for a while, let things go. By the time he got back on his feet, the tire shop was in bad shape. He had no choice but to sell out. The owners let him keep working there, though. In some ways, he was relieved. He didn't have anyone to leave the shop to so it wasn't so important to keep it in the family, and this way he didn't have to worry about the business end of things."

"What about Carole?" Kurt asked. "And Finn? Wasn't he sorry about the shop then?"

Dave frowned. "I thought you had this figured out, Kurt. How was he supposed to meet Carole if you weren't around to introduce them?"

Kurt was stunned. "What happened to them?"

"Carole dated a few men, but Finn was so adamantly against allowing anyone into their lives that she just gave up. She lives alone, but Finn and Quinn visit frequently. Carole's a wonderful grandmother."

"Finn and Quinn?" Kurt was incredulous. "What happened to Finn and Rachel?"

"Jean's funeral, Kurt. Remember? Never happened?" Dave said, a little impatience showing in his face for the first time. What was it going to take to get through to Kurt?

"But …, but … she was so wrong for him. How have they even stayed together this long?"

"It's been rough for both of them," replied Dave. "They fight all the time. It's really hard on the kids, but neither of them has realized that everyone would be better off if they just split up. They think they should stay together for 'the sake of the children'. Quinn's concerned about her image, too. She's a realtor, and she thinks it looks better for her to be married, even if the marriage is making everyone miserable. I think she's afraid she'll never find another man who wants to be with her if she lets Finn go. Carole sees the way things are, but she just tries to be supportive of everything, especially the girls."

"And Rachel? Is she living in New York by herself?" Kurt felt terrible, thinking about her all alone in the big city.

"Rachel never went to New York."

"But … but … but," spluttered Kurt. "That was our dream — to attend NYADA, make it big on Broadway. NYADA didn't work out, but Rachel is becoming more famous every day. What happened?"

"After the mixer for prospective NYADA students, she was so intimidated by the other kids with their long lists of credits and obvious talent that she just gave up on her dream. Together, the two of you had courage; alone, she just couldn't brave it. If she had been friends with Mercedes it might have been different, but they never conquered their mutual animosity. She lives in Westerville and performs in community theatre from time to time. The Dalton students love her. Her drama classes always have a waiting list. She still pretty high maintenance, though, and hasn't found anyone willing to put up with her for more than a few weeks. I guess men like Finn are few and far between," mused Dave.

"Tell me more about my Dad," Kurt insisted. "It seems like Burt and Carole would have met eventually, whether I was there or not. They are so good together. Surely Fate, or whatever, would have taken a hand and gotten them together sooner or later." Kurt didn't like Dave's expression. Dave looked sad and nervous and reluctant, all at the same time. "What is it, Dave? Is it something bad?" Kurt said, fearfully.

Dave grimaced. This was the one thing he wanted to avoid most of all. It's probably best to just say it and get it over with, he thought. "They might have gotten together, Kurt, but your dad didn't survive his first heart attack. There wasn't anyone there to believe in him, to pull him back from the coma. He just quietly slipped away. I'm so sorry."

It's just a dream. It's not real. It didn't really happen. Dad is fine. It's just a dream... This was becoming Kurt's mantra, keeping him sane. "Oh, Dave …" he sobbed as the other boy pulled him into a hug once more.