A/N - So...this is it, the final chapter. I could have kept writing the boys and Em forever, but that would have become boring in terms of plot. There will be an epilogue to come. Thank you to each and every one of you who has followed, reviewed, favourited and read this. When I penned the first chapter, I never imagined that I would be so pleased with the fic, or that it would be finished so quickly.

I also never imagined that I would pick up an amazing new friend/penpal/kindred spirit who would be happy to hear out all of my insane ramblings and offer such amazing help. I'm talking, of course, about Loki Firefox. He saved this chapter from imminent doom in a number of places, and I have lifted a lot of his dialogue directly , so much so that I need to place emphasis on the fact that he practically co-wrote this chapter. Loki, I've said it a number of times, and I probably won't stop saying it any time soon - you are so many levels of awesome. Thanks for putting up with my crazy; it's addictive having someone so similar to talk to. I hope you enjoy the finished piece. :)

And now...onwards!


"So..." Sam prompted the next afternoon as he walked through the park beside Blaine, soaking in the warmth of the sun. "You gonna tell me what happened between you and Puck last night? 'Cos you're smiling like the cat that got the cream, man." He paused and made a face, realising the opportunity he'd left open for a bad dirty joke.

Thankfully Blaine was too busy being caught up in his obvious joy to notice. "It was perfect, Sam," he gushed, pushing Emily's stroller towards their usual bench near the pond. "He apologised and explained and told me he loved me. Then..." He stopped himself from oversharing, the blush creeping up his neck telling more than he needed to. He cleared his throat, pointedly ignoring Sam's wolf whistle. "He told me that he's Emily's Dad too."

Sam beamed at him. "That's awesome, dude. I knew he'd come around. He's not a complete moron after all."

"Yeah, well, he thought that you and I were dating, so..." Blaine trailed off with a shrug. Sam laughed. "What?"

"He was jealous!" The blond crowed. "I told you!"

"Sam, we didn't even go with your stupid plan." Blaine responded, caught between exasperation and amusement in equal measures.

"Seaman's tricks."

"What?"

"You know, when you say something else to mean the same thing I just said. Apparently sailors do it all the time."

"Mean the same thing...wait do you mean 'semantics'?"

"That's it."

"Sam, I don't think sailors-"

"Whatever Anderson," Sam said, waving Blaine's argument away. "He still thought we were together and it made him finally cave and talk to you, so I was still right all along, wasn't I?" They'd stopped by the bench and Sam leant over the pram, pulling Emily out and holding her at eye level. "Your Uncle Sammy," he informed her, "is a genius." She grinned gummily and gurgled at him and he brought her back down, propping her above his hip. "Wanna go see the ducks? Quack quack quack."

"I know someone else who's a quack." Blaine adlibbed, sotto voce.

Sam rolled his eyes goodnaturely, addressing the baby girl in his arms. "Daddy's just pouting 'cos Uncle Sammy outsmarted him."

"Uncle Sammy had a lucky break."

"Daddy should be happy that Uncle Sammy got him and Papa Puckerman to kiss and make up."

"You and Muscles finally got your act together?" Sebastian's voice came out of nowhere, startling both boys, Blaine even jumping a little at the unexpected intrusion.

"What, are you stalking him now, Smythe?" Sam recovered first, glowering in the Warbler's direction while Blaine clutched at his own chest like had suffered a coronary. "Where the hell'd you come from, anyway?"

"Language," Sebastian admonished, gesturing at the dark haired infant. "Little Killer's going to be repeating the things you say soon enough."

"Just answer the damn question."

With a put-upon sigh, Sebastian shook his head. "No, I am not stalking anybody. I was out walking Pongo, my sister's dog," he gestured to the labrador that was sniffing around a nearby tree, "and I saw you two ambling along and thought I'd come say hello."

"Shouldn't he be on a leash?" Sam asked, a little uneasy having the baby around a strange dog, no matter how friendly it seemed.

Sebastian shrugged and made a sweeping gesture. "I'm not too bothered if he runs away. Damn mutt mauled my best pair of Ferragamos. Patent leather Ferragamos, Ken. Can you imagine?"

"I'm sure you'll live." Sam drawled, muttering under his breath, "Unfortunately."

Deciding that the blond wasn't interesting, Sebastian turned back to face Blaine, wrapping his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders and steering him down the path. "So...you and Muscles kissed and made up, hey? I want all the dirty details. No skimping; I'll be able to tell."

Cheeks flushing, Blaine rolled his eyes and pulled up short, trying to keep Emily in his line of vision. "Not going to happen."

"You're no fun at all, you know."

"I'm sorry to disappoint." Blaine didn't sound apologetic at all.

Sebastian sighed and whistled shrilly, getting the dog's attention. It lolloped over obediently, sitting by his feet and nudging his hand with its head. He scratched its ears reluctantly. "You're happy, though, right?" He asked, tone low and genuine. "I mean, you've got a kid, Blaine. Things can't honestly be easy."

Blaine was taken by surprise, unused to seeing Sebastian so serious. "They're not always easy, no," he admitted, watching Sam take Emily down to where a family of ducks were floating in the pond, "but I am happy."

"What about after school? You were going to get out of Ohio. How are you going to do that with your tiny little clone?" He wasn't being argumentative, just curious.

Blaine swallowed. He'd been giving this a lot of thought. He wanted to be the sort of role model for Emily that she could be proud of; one that worked hard and followed his dreams and didn't let people tell him it was impossible, so that one day she would have the confidence and drive to do the same. Yeah, it was going to be difficult with a baby in tow, but he was sure he could manage. He hadn't chosen the easy path when Emily had been left on his doorstep and he was succeeding so far, so why would he give up when it came to their future? "I'm going to work my ass off," he eventually replied. "I'm applying for scholarships and grants, I've been taking AP classes for the last couple of years..." He shrugged. "It's going to happen."

"And this Puck guy, where will he fit in with that plan?"

Blaine dared to hope that Puck would transfer Colleges to be with him and Emily, but didn't voice the thought out loud. Instead, he shrugged, hoping it looked nonchalant. "That's up to him. My priority is Emily. Everything -everyone- else comes second to her."

Sebastian shook his head, clasping a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "I couldn't do it," he admitted, offering the former warbler a self-deprecating smile. "Total narcissist." As Sam neared closer, carrying a whiny infant, Sebastian seemed to return to his usual self. "Besides, kids would cramp my style." He eyed the urchin as she reached for her father. "How old is this one?"

"Three months," Blaine supplied without having to think, tickling her tummy, trying to elicit a giggle.

"Uh huh. And when will it start being, y'know, useful? Clean up after itself, be your personal slave, that sort of thing?"

Sam's expression turned thunderous. "You're saying she's a burden?"

"Not again..." Blaine sighed. "Sam, he's just..." he struggled to find an apt description, "being Sebastian."

"Yeah, Ken. I'm just being me." Sebastian smirked. "Little Killer knows I'm just teasing, don't you, kiddo?' He ruffled her hair and she stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before bursting into tears. He leapt backwards, startling the dog at his feet, looking at Blaine in a panic. "I didn't mean to do that," he rushed to explain. "I mean, I was gentle. And my cousin loves it when I ruffle his hair. And, oh god, make it stop making that noise."

Sam laughed at him while Blaine bounced his daughter, making shushing sounds.

"I'll go get her bottle," Sam volunteered when the crying failed to abate.

"Actually," Blaine said, thinking out loud, "I should get her pacifier. Sam, wait up!" He turned back to Sebastian and transferred Emily into the taller boy's arms before the Warbler had even realised it was happening. "I'll be right back!"

"Don't you dare! Don't...Blaine!" Sebastian glared after the curly-haired boy, awkwardly holding the crying infant. He met her scrunched up expression with one of his own. "Yeah, I like this about as much as you do, kid." She only howled louder, earning him a bemused look from some joggers as they passed by. "I'm going to end you, Blaine Anderson!"

-?-

The following weekend, Puck pulled his truck into the driveway of Hummel's Tyres & Lube, Blaine's car following a few moments later. They were dropping the truck off for an overdue service, and Blaine had plans to take advantage of a few baby free hours by going shopping for Christmas gifts (despite the fact that the Puckerman family were mostly-practicing Jews, they had all sat down and agreed to celebrate both Christmas and Hannuka for Emily's benefit) before dropping Puck back off to collect his truck again in the afternoon.

Burt emerged from the workshop in greasy overalls, wiping his hands on a towel that he slung over his shoulder. "Puckerman," he greeted, extending a clean hand to the boy.

Puck shook it, "Mister H."

Blaine extended his hand. "Mister Hummel."

"Blaine," Burt took Blaine's hand but surprised him by pulling him in for a brief hug, thumping him on the back twice before releasing him. "How are you doing, kid?"

"Um, pretty good." Blaine's smile was a little forced, recalling all too vividly his last meeting with Burt Hummel. He supposed things would never be truly relaxed between them again.

"What about the baby? You didn't bring her along for a visit?"

"Oh, I, uh, Em's fine, but...I, umm, I didn't think-"

"He thought it might still be awkward," Puck supplied, sidling up beside his boyfriend and wrapping his arm around Blaine's shoulders. "And we're gonna take the chance to hit up the mall without her pram holding us up. You know, get in our shopping before the Christmas rush."

Burt nodded, trying to muster a reassuring smile. "I get it," he said. "But some day soon you're gonna bring her over, okay? You're still important to Carole and I. Both of you boys." He'd heard from Kurt -passed on from Rachel, who had learned via her fathers- that Blaine had recently had a rough couple of weeks. And despite what had happened with Kurt, Burt still felt that Blaine needed a father figure to guide him through some of the harder moments in the path he'd chosen. Not knowing a whole lot about the bond that the boy had formed with Rachel's parents, Burt had come to the conclusion that it fell to him to take on that role. So that meant trying to bury the tension between them. "So, even with what happened with Kurt, I'm still here for you. Understood?"

The teens nodded, Puck's grip on Blaine tightening only marginally at the mention of the shorter boy's ex. "How is Kurt?" He asked Burt, keeping his tone light, ignoring the incredulous stare Blaine shot him.

Burt's gaze darted between the teens in front of him. Puck was trying to act as though the mention of Kurt didn't faze him, but Burt could see the tension in his shoulders and jaw. Coupled with the possessive hold he had on Blaine, Noah Puckerman was so busted. "He's doin' good. Comin' home next week for Thanksgiving, same as Finn. They're looking forward to a New Directions reunion, from what I hear."

"What reunion?" Puck asked with a frown. "I haven't heard anything about a reunion."

Blaine cleared his throat and shot his affronted boyfriend a look that said 'Seriously, Puck?' Puck, for his part, had the good sense to grin sheepishly and duck his head, murmuring an apology. Burt watched the exchange with the ghost of an amused smirk playing at his lips.

"Well," Blaine said awkwardly, "You tell Kurt I said hi, okay?"

"Okay," Burt agreed with a nod, knowing not to push the issue. He hoped that one day the boys could be friends again, but it was obvious that Blaine had moved on (just like Kurt had done when he'd left for New York), and pushing them into resolving their issues might actually make things worse.

Besides, Burt realised, it honestly wasn't his place to meddle. Kurt seemed happy, even when Blaine's name came up in conversation, so he couldn't really find any fault in the way things currently were between the pair.

-?-

Thanksgiving arrived before Blaine could blink, and with it came the knowledge that his newfound family was insane. Cooper had turned up on the Puckerman doorstep early in the morning, demanding cuddles from his favourite (only) niece and glaring at Puck across the kitchen table during breakfast. Then the Berry men had phoned, confirming that the entire Anderson-Puckerman family (including Cooper) were going to be attending Thanksgiving dinner at their house.

Bekah had thrown a tantrum of epic proportions when Ruth had demanded she get dressed up until Blaine promised that she could choose a matching outfit for Emily to wear. Then Puck had groaned about having to wear his best dress shirt and slacks, but Blaine had pulled him aside and whispered into his ear just how attractive he found a man in formal wear and (with an additional promise to demonstrate later) Puck was appeased quickly enough.

In short it was bedlam, but Blaine had never been happier.

At the Berry residence, Rachel threw the door wide open with a squeal, bypassing Blaine and stealing Emily from Cooper before anyone could even blink. "Oh my goodness," she gushed, gesturing for her guests to head inside, "Blaine, she's gorgeous. Naturally, I could see that in all the photos you've sent me, but they just can't compare to holding her in person. She's much bigger than I anticipated, too."

"She's perfectly normal, Rach," Puck informed her, pecking a light, friendly kiss to her cheek by way of greeting as they moved into the lounge room. "Her doc says she's in the ninety-eighth percentile in development for her age."

Blaine sent him a look of adoration. He loved it when Puck channelled his inner doting daddy (which was more often than not, really). And when he did it dressed in a crisp white business shirt, slacks and a tie? It was all Blaine could do to restrain himself from dragging Puck into the nearest bedroom and having his way with him.

Rachel continued to coo at Emily until Hiram pulled rank and demanded that he get to cuddle the little girl next. "Fine," the songstress acquiesced. "Blaine and I should indulge in a Sister to Brother chat, anyway."

"Sister? Wait, wha-?"

"Blaine, seriously you need to keep up."

Rachel looked up to sudden quiet and was met with Blaine's confused expression. She sighed, trying not to show how put upon she was in trying to explain the obvious. "Were you being insincere when you told my dads that you think of them as Emily Rose's grandfathers?"

That snapped Blaine out of his, admittedly adorable, stupor. "Wha-what? Of course not!"

Rachel rolled her eyes, giving Puck a look as if to say 'Do you see what I'm working with here?'. "Well if they are Emily Rose's grandparents that makes me her aunt, doesn't it?" She asked slowly, breaking it down like one might to a small child. Honestly, Rachel had assumed that being gay might have cured Blaine from being such, well, such a boy. Clearly she'd been wrong.

She smiled when Blaine nodded. "So if she's my niece, and you look at my dads like they're parental figures for you, then that makes me your sister!" When he blinked at her, she huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "I swear Blaine, it's like I'm talking to Finn right now!"

He sputtered, still trying to formulate a response and she grabbed his hand, dragging him upstairs in the direction of her room. "Now, Brody and I found this cute little shop in the village that had the most adorable little hats, so of course I purchased twenty..."

"Rachel, she's three and a half months old! What is she going to need twentyhats for?"

"Every moment is one for fashion," she told him, parroting Kurt, which he chose to pointedly ignore.

"But...fourteen weeks old, Rachel."

Puck's laughter followed them up the stairs.

-?-

Later that night, once the dinner dishes had been cleared, and after stuffing themselves on two servings of pie, the Anderson-Puckerman clan had pried themselves away from the Berrys and headed home. Cooper lifted a sleeping Bekah out of the car and carried her up to her room, Blaine doing much the same with Emily. Puck grabbed his mother's wrist before they entered the house.

"Hold up, Ma," he said, frowning when her expression morphed into one of worry.

"What's wrong, Noah?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you. 'Cos it's Thanksgiving and I didn't really get to say what I was thankful for."

Expression softening, she reached up and stroked his cheek, pleased to have her boy back to his sweet, unguarded self. "You said you were thankful for Blaine and Emily. Rachel made you repeat yourself while she filmed it, remember? It was sweet."

"Not when she asked me to try a third time using 'more inflection'," he groused, before shaking his head. "So not the point. I mean, yeah, I am thankful for them, but I wouldn't have them without you. I've been a pretty shi...er...bad son and you've stuck by me through all of it. When everyone found out that I knocked Quinn up and Finn kicked her out, you took her in, even though I know you kind of hated her. You did that for me, for Beth, and you never complained. Then you let Blaine and Em stay, even knowing how I felt about him. Especially knowing how I felt." He cleared his throat, finding that voicing the thoughts he'd had those couple of weeks previous was just as emotionally wearing now as it had been when he'd broken down and she'd cuffed him. "I can't think of any other moms who would do all that for their son, especially when he'd never been that great a kid."

"You're a good boy, Noah, and you've grown into a fine young man. You and Bekah, you're my children. I'll do anything for you. I think you understand that now, don't you?"

He did. Regardless of the situation, he would always stand by his kids, Beth and Emily both. They were family, but, more than that, they were his children; people that he had brought into the world (in Beth's case, anyway, though he felt no differently -emotionally or psychologically- about Emily) and made a lifetime commitment to, and he would love them no matter what.

As Puck watched his mother walk inside the house he knew what he had to do. He had to call Shelby. This 'one Skype call a month' business was going to change.

-?-

The rest of Thanksgiving break went by without drama, Blaine sticking to either his brother or boyfriend at any given time, attempting to prevent an inevitable confrontation by allowing them time alone. Sam, when he had visited during the weekend, had thought it hilarious and had pointed it out within earshot of the elder Anderson sibling, earning himself a glower to rival the ones being sent to Puck. Sam had then rolled his eyes when he'd noticed, and stated in a voice intended to be heard that Puck and Blaine made an awesome couple, antagonising Cooper further. But, with both Blaine and Ruth in the room, the actor had pasted on his best show smile and nodded his agreement.

Then Monday had arrived, which meant that Blaine and Sam returned to school, Emily to daycare, and Puck to work. Cooper was leaving for LA later that night, and found that this arrangement suited his plans rather nicely.

After the final school bell had rung for the day, Puck settled himself at Shannon's desk, ready to catch up on the mountain of paperwork he'd procrastinated about for the last few weeks. Blaine was going to be at work, and Emily was staying at daycare and then with Hiram until Leroy and Blaine finished for the day, which left his afternoon open without distraction. Puck had just settled in to a stack of player profiles when a pair of boxing gloves landed on the desk in front of him. He looked up, caught somewhere between confused and annoyed.

Standing in his office was the one and only Cooper Anderson. Puck sighed; he should have expected something like this. He'd known that the older man's silence over the break had been uncharacteristically restrained. He'd expected a verbal lashing: to be told that he'd hurt Blaine and wasn't good enough for him (things that Puck was already well aware of), but when that hadn't happened, Puck had assumed that he might have backed off and just respected Blaine's choices.

'Obviously not.' Puck mused, glancing back down at the gloves on his desk. 'Seriously?'

Honestly, he'd been kind of dismissive of Blaine's brother. Cooper wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and Puck had thought that, despite his obviously ripped body, Cooper was bit of a cream puff. The only reason the guy had any muscular definition was because of vanity, not because he does anything remotely physical.

But right then, with that serious and somewhat intimidating expression on his face, Puck was willing to concede that maybe Cooper wasn't that much of a cream puff after all.

"Lace up." The man said, tone icy. "Be on the floor in five. I already cleared it with your boss." Cooper didn't hang around to see if Puck would follow the instructions and, as he left, Puck finally noticed that he was wearing nothing more than a form-fitting muscle tee and worn sweats.

Swallowing over the sudden lump in his throat, Puck lifted up one of the gloves. He cast another look in the direction Cooper had left. He had Fight Club experience... It couldn't be that bad, right? Cream puff, right?

Having switched to his own gym attire (which he kept in Shannon's office for after school use of the gym), Puck walked out onto the training mats, pulling on his gloves. "You sure about this, dude?" He asked cockily to mask his anxiety. "Cos if I give you back to Blaine all broken, he's gonna have my ass. And not in a good way."

Cooper didn't respond to the goading, standing stoic and somber, waiting for Puck to man up and front him.

This only increased Puck's worry. "Okay," he sighed, still full of bluster. "Just so you know, I'm a card carrying member of the Fight Club here," and he was so hoping that none of the other members were lurking around to hear him break the number one rule, "and I won't go easy on you just 'cause I love your brother."

Cooper continued to stare him down.

"Okay, so, let's do this. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Twenty minutes later found Puck curled up in a ball on the mat, feeling bruises forming in places that he hadnt even known existed. His sides ached, he was winded, and he was relatively certain that he'd lost a good portion of his memories from early childhood. As he sprawled out with a groan, panting with exertion, his mind could only focus on one thing; cream puffs could hit really, really hard.

From somewhere above him, Cooper finally spoke. "Trained in muay thai and kickboxing for six months for a movie. Movie didn't take off but I kept it up." Puck finally focused hard enough to see a pair of feet enter his line of vision. "I trust we won't need to have a repeat of this 'conversation' again, right Puck?"

Puck attempted to nod, despite the fact that he thought his head might fall off, and said yes. Well, he thought he said yes. The sound that came out of his mouth was more a gurgled moan, possibly a "waaarrrggghh".

"Come on," Cooper said in his normal tone, taking pity on the guy and pulling Puck back up to his feet with surprising ease. "Let's get you some ice."

"When I tell this story," Puck said as he limped along next to his decidedly badass brother-in-law, whose strong arm around his waist was the sole reason he was staying upright, "I gave worse than I got, okay?"

"Sure thing tough guy," Cooper allowed with a wry smirk, "Wouldn't want your rep to suffer in your Fight Club tea parties."

"Dude, when I can wiggle my toes again, I'm so gonna take you down."

"Whatever you say, kid. Lets just get you cleaned up and hopefully Blaine won't notice that shiner developing until after I'm back in LA."

Later, when Blaine got home and caught Cooper assisting Puck out of his truck, he wanted to beat both their asses into next week. He was flattered that both men had clearly fought for his honour, but, seriously? Was it really necessary? Hadn't he had the 'violence isn't the right choice' discussion with both men over the last few months? He understood macho posturing as much as the next guy (because he was still a teenage boy, and he still wanted to attend Fight Club nights despite the fact that he, for obvious reasons, didn't anymore), but there was a time when you had to weigh up your responsibilities against everything else.

But Puck and Cooper seemed at ease with each other now, as though they'd proven exactly what they needed to to one another. Cooper had clearly proven that he would follow through on protecting his brother, and Puck had proven that he'd withstand any beating Cooper threw at him because he wasn't going anywhere.

So, instead of letting loose a tirade of indignation, Blaine rolled his eyes at them. "Got it out of your systems now?"

"Yep," Cooper smiled at Blaine. "We're all good."

Blaine shook his head and gave his beaten boyfriend the once over, wincing at some of the visible bruising. He wondered how it was that he'd come out of the exchange so battered; he'd seen Puck fight, the guy wasn't exactly a rookie in the ring. Maybe he'd pulled his punches out of some misplaced sense of guilt? Blaine could only postulate, because no way would Puck ever tell him the truth. He understood the macho code well enough. Noticing the swelling to Puck's nose, and the purplish tint of the skin around his left eye, Blaine spun and socked Cooper in the arm that wasn't holding Puck up.

"Ow!" Cooper exclaimed more in surprise than in pain, giving Blaine a betrayed and wounded look. He wanted to rub his arm where Blaine punched him but he was still the only thing keeping Puck upright. "What was that for?"

"I love you for sticking up for me Coop," Blaine told him seriously, keeping a stoic mask, before breaking into a small smile. "But not the face." Not only was it the second rule of their Fight Club, but Puck was gorgeous. It was, like, a cardinal sin to mar that. "Never the face."

Cooper nodded, catching Puck's gaze as he transferred the guy's weight over to his brother, "You know, Bee," he said, "I really don't think it's going to be an issue again."

A/N - The End. Epilogue to follow. Please review.