Everyone left the next day. Michael told his grandparents just before they left he was gay and seeing a boy, and they reacted very much the same to how they reacted to Stefani. Soon, Blaine was hugging his parents as they got back into their car, then he was telling Cooper and his family goodbye. No one talked about what happened and everyone seemed okay with that. Kurt might have forgotten the news if he hadn't just spend the night consoling his upset husband.
Then family was saying goodbye to Burt and Carole at the airport. Carole had offered to stay another week but Kurt knew she couldn't afford to take any more time from the hospital, nor could Burt close the garage any longer. Kurt assured them they would be fine but Blaine seemed a little more than dead when Burt hugged him.
"Sorry Blaine, that just sucks." Burt whispered since Aimee, Court, and Stefani were still nearby. Blaine offered a grateful smile. Burt then embraced his own son, kissing his cheek. "Take care of him, okay buddy?"
"I will dad, we'll see you in a few weeks. I'll let you know what's going on." As far as Kurt knew, their Christmas trip was still on. Burt nodded and everyone kissed and hugged Carole before the two walked off to their flight. The children were still giddy from the visit itself. Pointing to practically every plane and wondering if Grandma and Grandpa were on it. Kurt didn't bother to tell them that his parent's flight wouldn't be for another few hours but enjoyed the peaceful innocence. Blaine however, stared out the window. He must have been exhausted (Kurt knew he had been up for most the night). Court leaned forward at one after Blaine ignored a question of his. "Papa? Did you hear me?"
"Your father doesn't feel well, Court, I'm sure Uncle Finn can help you sharpen your skates." Kurt muttered. Blaine turned his head just enough to give Kurt a grateful look. The kids were everything to Blaine and normally, all they had to do was ask to get his attention. He just couldn't focus right now, and honestly, Kurt couldn't blame him. Blaine worked differently than he did. They worked similarly in that regard—when something jarred or upset one of them, they didn't like to talk about it at the exact moment. Blaine needed time to process and try to understand it. Especially in this case when they had no idea how to tell their kids.
The first decision regarding Blaine's father had been made. They were going to tell the kids, all of them together. But they weren't going to do it until after Stefani's three-month therapist appointment. After that, life was going to be busy. The kids had their Holiday Extravaganza, they had to plan their Christmas trip, and now they had to figure out how exactly they wanted to deal with everything else.
()
It was about a week later when the men were seated on the same couch they always sat at during these meeting. Dr. Karris sat down came in and sat at his chair. They were within the last 15 minutes of the session. This time was reserved for Kurt and Blaine while Stefani either colored in the far corner, or spent time with Dr. Karris's secretary. For today, Kurt allowed Stefani to spend time with the secretary since they had quite a few things to cover.
"Well, Stefani has a lot to be excited about. She's showed me her choreography for Up on the Rooftop." The therapist said with a smile as he sat himself back down in his chair. Kurt smiled.
"Yes, we've seen it over a dozen times. She's even shown Blaine how to do it so he can practice with her." Blaine chuckled and snapped his fingers three times like Stefani had shown him. Karris nodded along. "Our son has a singing part too. Mimi's more a of director type, go figure."
"Well, it's very good that Stefani wants to get up on stage. It should help her deal with her shyness…She also told me the grandparents came to visit for Thanksgiving. This was the first time either pair saw her as a girl, am I correct?" Blaine's grip on Kurt's weakened slightly at the mention of the parents. Dr. Karris. It must have been a noticeable change as Dr. Karris smiled faltered. "Did it not go well?"
"Well, it didn't go badly regarding Stefani." Kurt said. Blaine tensed back up again and Kurt moved his other hand to grasped Blaine's other hand. "Actually, Ryan, Blaine's father, accepted her very well. However, Blaine's parents made a very startling announcement…" Kurt glanced at Blaine in order to give him the chance to talk. Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand and sighed.
"My father told my brother and I that he only has about a year or so to live." Blaine said quietly.
Then the smile was gone completely from the therapists face. "And how are you dealing with that, Blaine?"
Of all the corny questions he could have asked, it had to be that one. Kurt rolled his eyes. After a week, Blaine wasn't dealing with it. He was hiding within himself. Crying when he found it again, before putting it back in the box to deal with later. Kurt knew how Blaine worked—20 years of being in love already knew what a doctorate degree had to ask.
Blaine shrugged. "It's my dad… I'm upset but…"
"Your dad with whom you have a rocky history with, isn't that correct?"
The tension was growing in the room. Kurt could feel Blaine start to seethe beside him. It was easy for Blaine to be encouraging of Stefani to go see a therapist; but for him, the only therapy he ever needed was a punching back. Kurt got the feeling that Dr. Karris making Blaine his next patient would be too much for him to handle right now.
"We're not sure how to tell the kids. They've never lost someone that close before." Kurt cuts in. Dr. Karris and Kurt have one of their famous eye-fights. Usually, Dr. Karris wins because Kurt can just be so damn over-protective of Stefani. Today, Kurt holds his ground and Dr. Karris reluctantly makes a note on his notepad.
"When do you intend to tell them?"
"Sooner rather than later." Kurt said firmly. "Blaine and I are afraid it might be too much for them to handle but they're—mainly Mimi and Court—are at an age where I think it's important for them to utilize the time they have left."
Dr. Karris eyed Blaine once more, but let it go and spoke to Kurt instead. "Are the children relatively close to this grandfather? I know you said they were very close with your father, Kurt."
Kurt thought about it. They loved Ryan. Maybe they didn't have the easy-going relationship that they had with Burt, but Ryan had always been a good grandfather. Looking back, Kurt remembered sometimes seeing jealousy in Blaine's eyes in regards to how Ryan treated his grandkids as opposed to how he treated his sons.
"They love him." Blaine answered. "He's been a great grandfather to them. In the past we had fears that he would treat Mimi and Court differently because they weren't biologically his grandchildren but…he's loved them all very much."
Dr. Karris nodded. "Well, my usual recommendation would be wait but I'm fairly familiar with your parenting style at this point and realize that maybe difficult for you two." Dr. Karris stated. From anyone else it might have sounded like an insult. Kurt knew it was actually a compliment. "However, I believe you should tell him separately; tell Aimee and Court in one setting and Stefani in another. There may be only a three-year difference between them but a 10 year old certainly registers things differently than an almost 7 year old. Also, from our discussions, I get the feeling that Stefani is much more emotional than your other kids."
Kurt shrugged. "It depends. I think they're just better at hiding it than she is. Court is almost a loose cannon when he's angry, and Mimi has moods like none other. I'm scared for when she turns into a teenager." Blaine smiled a bit at that and Kurt smiled back.
"Even so. They handle things differently than Stefani, and that might be good. They can focus their energy on helping Stefani through it and it will take away from their point. When you talk, it's important that you not only discuss losing Blaine's father, but the concept of death all together. This could possibly be the most difficult thing they've had to face in their lives so far… "
Kurt ponders on that before both men stand and shake hands with Dr. Karris. For Aimee and Court, it would probably be the most difficult thing they've faced in their life. For Stefani—it was hard to say. They've never dug deeper into the moments of Stefani's suicidal thoughts and from what Kurt's knows, most of them have gone away. Kurt has to wonder if Stefani has a better grasp on death than anyone could imagine.
"Ready to go, sweetie?" Blaine asks. Stefani closes the coloring book the secretary gave her and rushes over, flinging her body at whatever man caught her first. It happened to be Blaine. The way she giggles and laughs as Blaine, with little effort, swings her so he can give her a piggyback ride makes it hard for Kurt to believe there's ever been a sad day in his daughter's life.
()
"Are you using the Ferber method?" It was six years ago when Ryan and Abby had made the trip to New York to spend time with their newest grandson. Dalton was 6 months old while Aimee and Court were well into their terrible threes (and god, had Aimee made them terrible). As such, Kurt was busy getting the toddlers into bed for a nap when Dalton started crying—not long after he had been fed and changed either. Nonetheless, Blaine jumped up and picked up the baby from the playpen.
"The what-method?" Kurt asked, returning from the bedrooms very quickly. Luckily, Dalton's cries settled as Blaine held him and swayed with him, humming into his ear. Kurt completely missed Blaine's look of 'don't-even-ask'.
Abby waved her hand. "You know, the Ferber method. Let them cry it out and learn to sooth themselves. That's what we did with Cooper and Blaine."
"That's why they're so independent today." Ryan said a little too proudly. Kurt wanted to roll his eyes but didn't want to start an argument with them about how their inconsistent interest had given Blaine more issues than they'd probably care to know anyway.
Actually, come to think of it—Cooper's constant dramatics for attention, Blaine's anger issues paired with a strong desire not to disappoint—The Anderson's using such a method made a lot of sense. "Between the babies at work and my own babies at home, I don't have the time to teach Dalton how to sooth himself."
Blaine hides his smiles in his son's hair. Ryan seems less than impressed. "Well you're encouraging him to depend on you. What's going to happen when he grows up and you're still paying his way through life?"
"Then we'll just have to cut him off…Yes we will, won't we?" Blaine lifts Dalton away and makes a face. The baby makes a squishy face back and is giggling. Blaine is never happier than he is when he's making his children laugh. And it makes Kurt smile.
"Look, you know we appreciate the advice but we just don't believe in it. We didn't do with Court and Aimee and they don't like it when I cut their food for them. You never know, one day you might wake up and miss the moments when they depended on you."
Abby appears to disagree but doesn't add anything out of respect. Ryan sneers but turns his attention back to whatever is on television. Blaine is holding Dalton above his head and making more faces. Dalton shrieks of laughter aren't loud enough to wake Court and Aimee, so Kurt finds it endearing.
However, Kurt catches Ryan watching out of the corner of his eyes. There's something unreadable there but Kurt almost sees as…envy? Perhaps Ryan was looking at Blaine and wondering why he could be so closer with Court, Aimee, and Dalton and why they were never that close. Kurt has a million answers, many of which have come directly from Blaine himself. Ryan has the power to change it but Kurt doubts the man ever will make a greater effort than acceptance to be closer to Blaine. Because of that, Ryan will never understand why Blaine is so close to his kids.
And in an odd twisted way, it's Ryan's fault he is and maybe, just maybe, Ryan wishes he could take it back.
()
"Why do we take Steffi to see him?" Blaine asked later that night, as they got ready for bed. "He's so…pushy. So arrogant. You saw how he was today, didn't you?"
Kurt pulled the dental floss out and sighed. "It's not any different than how he usually is. Weren't you the one who pushed for us to take her to him?"
"It's just… it irritates me, you know? We're there to talk about Stefani and he's trying to lure another patient!" Blaine threw his head back on the pillows and huffed.
Kurt threw the floss away, and turned off the light, joining Blaine out in the bedroom. "He was only trying to help, Blaine. He didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Besides, it does involve Stefani in a way. Your relationship with your dad effects the kids whether you like it or not." Kurt sat on the edge of the bed and bit his lip. Now wasn't exactly the time to talk about it but… "And you never know, maybe if this things gets too hard…You might want to talk to him about it."
Blaine sits up and Kurt can feel the glare boring into him. "And what's that suppose to mean?"
Kurt shook his head. No, it definitely wasn't the time to talk about it. Kurt sits up enough to throw the covers back, hoping he can avoid the fight if he gets into bed fast enough. "It doesn't mean anything honey, it's just a thought."
"No, it wasn't Kurt. You think I need a therapist, don't you?" Blaine practically spat.
"I said you might need one to help you deal with this, Blaine. It's not exactly a secret that you don't deal with things well."
Blaine crosses his arms and snorts. "Oh, so now I can't deal? This from the man who threw punch in his daughter's friend's face?"
"Blaine, just go to bed before you say something you don't want to say."
His husband shook his head. "I'm sorry I'm not dealing with this as well as you think I should Kurt. We didn't all think he was terrible and mean."
And that accusing tone, that little hint that shouldn't have hurt him at all; it did. Blaine knew Kurt always felt self-conscious about Ryan believing he was ruling Blaine's life. The two men both knew it wasn't true, but Blaine was too angry and grieve stricken to act on kindness. The comment had been meant to bite.
Kurt turned over and glared up at Blaine. "You know what? If you need to say things like that and be hurtful to get through this….Fine, do it Blaine, but keep it in this bedroom because you will not talk around our children that way, do you understand? I know this is upsetting and confusing for you, but it's going to be just as sad and even more confusing for them and the last thing they need is you making an enemy out of me."
Then he turned back over and tried not to get too angry. Kept reminding himself that this wasn't normal Blaine, this was defensive Blaine. He was doing the same thing now that he did in high school—using anger to build a wall. It was an old habit that would die hard if at all, and if Blaine needed a defense mechanism now was better than ever.
But then Kurt heard the suppressed sniffles. The whines that escaped Blaine's mouth and made Kurt's heart break. There was one other thing that came with the anger. It meant Blaine was suffering. Kurt turned back around in time for Blaine to throw his arms around him and start sobbing into his shoulder. Kurt shushed and rocked him, letting the anger dissipate into this reaction.
"Kurt…my dad's going to die." Blaine whispered after a bit. Kurt kissed his temple and stroked his cheek. Hating the longing look in Blaine's face as if he was asking Kurt to make it go away. "And there's so much I let get away from me. So much I never told him or did with him because I was- I was…"
"Baby, you can't do this to yourself, okay? I'm not going to tell you that those things don't matter because clearly they do. Honey, you still have time and you can make the most of the time you have left, but you can't let what you missed ruin that."
Blaine nodded as tears rolled down his face. "I'm sorry Kurt. I'm sorry. You're trying to be here for me and I throw it in your face."
Kurt smiled gently and wiped a few stray tears away. "It was stupid of me to bring it up now, so we're both to blame. Just don't shut me out or make an enemy out of me, okay? I made a promise a long time ago to be here for you and you need to use me okay? I love you Blaine."
Blaine squeezed Kurt close, and nuzzled under his chin. "I love you too. I won't shut you out, I promise."
Kurt hummed contently. "I won't push you to go see Dr. Karris, but you know there's nothing wrong with it right?"
"I know…I just….I don't want to go just yet. Maybe eventually, but not now."
()
That Saturday, the men decided to take Dr. Karris's advice. So Kurt managed to get Stefani to busy herself with a chore. "Just untangle all the necklaces for daddy okay?"
Kurt wasn't exactly sure why he had a large knot just filled with tangled mardi gra beads, but Stefani smiled and started pulling at it. "Okay!"
"Good girl." Kurt said before closing the door to the bedroom and joining Blaine in the living room. Aimee and Court both situated on the couch.
"Okay, so the last time we did this, you were telling us our brother wanted to be our sister… So I'm guessing something big is going on?" Court stated. Kurt took a seat on the chair and rubbed his hands together, unsure of how to begin. Blaine leaned against the wall.
Aimee noticed the aura of the room and frowned. "But something's different this time… is this a bad thing?"
"It is." Blaine agreed. "And we're not telling Stef just yet, so you two need to keep quiet about it until we do, okay?"
Court hitched a breath. "This isn't about Stef, is it?"
Kurt shook his head and both siblings looked very relieved. It made Kurt sick that he had to ruin that relief. "It's about Grandpa Anderson."
"What about him? Did he and Papa have another fight?" Aimee wondered. Blaine by this point just didn't know what to say. Kurt cleared his throat.
"Look, I know you kids are curious but…this is just something we need to get out in the open, okay?" Both Aimee and Court nodded. Kurt took a deep breath and released it. "Grandpa Anderson—he has a tumor in his brain. He's had it for awhile and the doctors have done everything they can to help him but…" Kurt's eyes gazed up at Blaine and he could just see how difficult it was for him not to run off or start breaking into tears. He then turns back to Aimee and Court. "But there's nothing more they can do for him."
Aimee eyes started to water almost immediately. "What?"
"Wait, does this mean Grandpa will have a tumor for the rest of his life?" Court asked quietly. Aimee glared at him and responded in an already broken voice.
"No you idiot, it means Grandpa's going to die!" Then Aimee broke down into sobs. Even drawing her feet up on the couch so she could bury her head within her knees. Court looked to Kurt for confirmation.
"Yes, it does…" Kurt winced as Court's face paled and he visibly started shaking. Aimee's sobs grew louder, almost to the point Stefani might hear. "Now listen, I know this is hard and I'm sorry we all have to go through this, but this is something everyone has to face in their life. Right now, we have to focus on making this easier for Grandpa Anderson and being there for one another."
"Mimi sweetheart, I know…" She cuts Blaine off before he gets any further. She looks up at him and speaks through her tears.
"No, it's not fair! First I lose my best friend and now I have to lose my grandpa too? It's not fair! It's not!" Aimee screamed. She then jumped off the couch and ran to her room. Court was only half-shocked at the outburst while his two fathers exchanged mournful looks. Blaine sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I'll- I'll go talk to her." He said, following after their oldest daughter. Kurt rubbed a hand over his face and got up to sit next to Court. Careful not to startle him, Kurt wraps a careful hand around his shoulder. Court jumps and then looks up.
"You alright Buddy? You've been really quiet." Kurt asked. Court looked down for several seconds and then back up.
"I don't know…I mean, I feel really sad and everything but…I just…I just can't believe Grandpa won't be here. We only see him a few times a year but I can't imagine my life without him." Court said. Kurt smiled gently and squeezed his son's shoulder.
"It's normal to feel that way. It'll probably hit you when it gets closer to his time. Maybe not until after he's gone. It's the Hummel in you." Kurt teased. Court nodded.
"Yeah…Hey Dad, can I go my room? I kind of want to be alone." Court asked with hesitation. Kurt pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head.
"Of course…just know that if you need to talk or if you need anything else, I'm here okay? I love you."
"I love you too, Dad." Court stood up from the couch and slowly started walking towards his room when he stopped. "Dad?"
Kurt looked up tiredly. "Yes Court?"
Court looked over his shoulder, unsure of how to get out what he wanted to say. After several long seconds he managed to get it out. "Thank you…you know, for not treating Mimi and I like babies… It really sucks we have to go through this but I'm glad you told us."
The older man felt such warmth in his heart hearing words he though he wouldn't hear for a long time, if ever. Kurt nodded. "Thank you for handling it like an adult."
Court nodded back and then walked to his room. Kurt leaned back into the couch and took a deep breath. Abby had told him he would have to be the strong one. He didn't realize how right she was or how difficult it would be. It was just a week in too—things were about to get a lot more complicated.
And he had to be strong. For Blaine and for the kids.
And that's the end of that incredibly sad chapter… On the other hand, it was chapter 10! My desire to celebrate is fighting with this feeling of being a total bitch, so not sure how that works. Either way, yay 10 chapters! And I've gotten some time to play around and make covers for the stories (btw, how awesome is it that we can do that now?) and I got around to making one for Dreams! I'm excited but I also think I'm kind of a dork for being excited lol.
But as always, I have to thank the people who keep me going—the readers! Especially the ones who review, alerted, or favorited! Hypothetical high-fives for everyone!
Isabel4014- I certainly geared it up for a fight didn't I? But I thought that would be too predictable so apparently, I decided brain surgery was a good alternative, lol. I'll have to fit Aimee and Court getting all Lima Heights somewhere into the story (I would say Stefani too but I think she's a little too sweet). Out of the two though, I always imagined Aimee being the one yelling in Spanish. In any case, thank you for the review!
Chloeysky- You know, I was worried that it was getting a little too dramatic so I definitely see what you mean. I grew up watching soap opera's so I think I base some of my writing on that (of course we all know soap operas are just outrageous with their dramatics, lol). Although a few of the conflicts will be resolved soon so we should have less of those or if anything else, it should become happier soon. Thank you much for the critique and especially for submitting in a respectful manner! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and thank you for the review :)
scarlettfire- Thank you very much! If it interests you, there's a documentary on YouTube (I think it's called 'Boys Will Be Girls', it's a 20/20 thing) that talks about transgender kids as well. In regard to father Anderson, yes I know, it's not very nice of me, lol. He's like one of those characters that makes you so mad that you say 'Oh I could absolutely kill him!' and then now I'm kind of sad I am. Oh, I totally under the ethnicity/race thing! While it does still get counted, race can mean an abundance of things regarding classification (people living with in a certain area can be considered a race) so I understand the pet peeve and will use ethnicity in the future :) Thank you for pointing that out. I hope you enjoy the update! Yeah, I saw you could do that shortly after I started answering reviews but I kind of like doing it this way so A. if anyone else has similar questions, they can be answered all at once and B. I get distracted very easily so it's easier for me to just do it in one place. Thanks for the review!
Noa- You'll have to let me know if you find anyone! Lol, I know, isn't Tyler just a babe? The weird thing was I didn't even know all that much about him until I started looking for actors for Court (I saw him and I was like 'Yeah, that's Court'. Also, as a side note, I've always imagined an older Danielle looking like Abigail Breslin (you have to look at her pictures with blond hair though) although since she's a child actress, you can see her young pictures too. Thank you for the review!
Shelby- Thank you :) Gosh, the Anderson's get dished a lot don't they? I have noticed that Blaine is the strong one often times, but I've always sort of imagined it as Blaine needing comfort from Kurt more than the other way around. Mostly because I think Blaine has these issues with his emotions regarding family. But I just like writing them there for each other! Thanks for the review and hope you like the new chapter!
The Irish Gleek- The poor girl doesn't know what she wants. Which is unfortunate for Mason, but makes good entertainment for everyone else :) Now if only we had like, Puck son around for Fanny to kiss as revenge anyway. In regards to Rachel getting pregnant, yeah, it's going to get messy, lol. Then again, she is Finn's daughter too so she probably inherited some of his obliviousness. Not a lot of Court and Aimee in this chapter, but the next chapter will have a lot of them (and if I stick with my plan, a fairly cute Aimee and Court scene). Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for the review!
Orgasmic Bunnies- I know, should I feel so terrible for killing off a character we haven't even seen in the show yet? Although I think I feel mostly bad that I'm doing it to poor Blaine. I just felt that them having a problem with Stefani would be too predictable (and really, Blaine's dad having those issues was done in Ours) so I thought this would be a fairly good reason why it wouldn't bother them. I may be crazy, lol. Thanks for the review!
Jay Li Matsuda- I'm sorry! I didn't want to make anyone cry. Don't worry, it won't all be sad (as I've written it, his dad still has about a year so if I just did endless chapters focusing on that, I might lose all my readers. Plus there is a Klaine vow-renewal in the works!), but of course, there will be some pretty depressing scenes coming up. Regardless of all the sad, I hope you enjoy the new chapter and thank you for reviewing.
Klaine Is My Life- Well, can't have my readers guessing my every move, can I? lol. I'm sorry, I have this terrible, terrible tendency to go crazy when I'm trying to be unpredictable. Such as when I play games or if I want to surprise someone, I'll do something extreme (no one but my parents and best friend knew I was getting a tattoo until I did it. My brother was the most surprised). Ah, Mason and Fanny, they're almost like the what-if Rachel and Blaine dated longer couple! Except poor Fanny can't decide if she wants to date him or not. Probably more poor Mason than her though. Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for the review!
Janice93- Thank you very much! Although this time, I might have gone a little mad with unpredictable power. I will say though, usually, I like to go with predictable because A. I like to focus a bit more on the emotions anyway, and B. The predictable is so because that's probably the path the character would take in real life, and keeping characters in character is very important to me. Still, what incredibly sweet things to say! I hope you continue to enjoy my stories and thank you as always for reviewing :)