All of the kids on stage held their breaths, instinctively they reached out for each other's hands and stood connected to each other.

Emma was the first to break the silence.

"Bravo!" she cheered.

Will joined her and clapped enthusiastically.

"Go Glee!"

More and more people joined in with cheers and applause and by the time Principal Figgins entered the stage to thank the group all twelve kids were smiling.

They had not managed to win over the whole crowd, a lot of jocks and cheerios were still glaring at them, but they were proud of themselves.

They went backstage, still exchanging hugs and high fives.

"Great job, kids!" Will beamed while Emma hugged all of them.

Brittany, Kurt and Mercedes were still so excited they could not keep themselves from jumping up and down.

Will hugged Noah "I'm proud of you, son."

Then suddenly everyone went quiet as Sue Sylvester appeared backstage.

"I'm sorry, Coach. I'll have the uniform back in your office tomorrow morning." Quinn said as she hung her head.

"What are you talking about, blondie?" Sue barked "Even the cheerios who will never leave the bottom of the pyramid have to be appropriately dressed."

She looked at the kids and then back at Will.

"Your little misfits are the worst Benetton ad I have ever seen, butter-hair."

She gave each of the twelve children a long hard look, all of them held her gaze with pride.

"Are you sure they aren't all blood related?" she asked Will before she left.

Will just laughed and hugged the children again.

"Come on, guys." let's make room for the next act.

The school's brass band took the stage.

The younger children were still skipping from one leg to the other and Emma decided to take them all to a bathroom for a pee break. The older ones stayed with Will.

A jock passed the group.

"Coach is putting up the list!" he told Puck and Finn.

Both boys looked at their dad, who simply nodded and they ran off with Quinn and Rachel at their heels.

Emma and the younger ones joined Will again shortly after, they had made a brief stop at a muffin booth and came bearing gifts.

"Yummy!" Will smiled and almost swallowed a muffin whole. All the excitement had really left him starving.

"MUM! DAD!" their two oldest sons came running towards them.

The whole family smiled. This could only mean good news.

"We did it! We made the list!"

"We are on the team!"

"We are probably never going to actually play but we are officially high school football players!"

The boys could not hide their excitement.

Everyone hugged and congratulated them. They were proud of their brothers and friends.

"Let's celebrate!"

"Wait." Emma stopped them. "There is one more thing."

"Please follow me boys."

Finn and Puck looked at each other and followed with confused looks on their faces.

"Mom?"

"Where are we going?"

"It is time to buy your letterman jackets." Emma said with a smile.

"Really?"

"Oh my God!"

"You are the best mom ever!"

"Remember to thank your father, too. I am not paying for these on my own." the ginger smiled.

Finn was so excited he had already picked out his jacket before his mother and brother arrived at the stand.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Noah?" Emma surveyed her son, he looked miserable.

"I can't accept this."

"Why, honey?"

"I don't deserve it. After all the stuff I pulled lately…"

"Noah, you did great today. You were the leader. You stood up for our family."

The boy still did not look too convinced.

"You are a wonderful young man, Noah. And you are an awesome brother to your siblings. Yes, you have been acting up a little lately - and we will have to have a talk about that, you are still grounded - but we love you, son. We are proud of you. Allow us to buy you this jacket."

The teen looked at his mother with tears shining in his eyes.

"Thank you." he whispered hoarsely as he tried on his letterman jacket.

Emma kissed her son's cheek.

"Treat it with respect, we won't be able to afford a new one any time soon." she said to both boys.

Her sons beamed back at her. She could hardly believe how handsome and grown up they both looked, even in the slightly oversized jackets - they were still growing after all.

They rejoined the rest of their family and friends, the teenage boys proudly modelling their purchases.

Their friends and siblings were showering them with compliments, making both boys blush.

"I can't wait to get one of my own!" Sam stated.

"Me, too." Artie agreed.

Nobody discouraged either boy.

"I just want one of those cheerio uniforms. They are hot." Santana was eying Quinn appreciatively.

They decided to split up for a bit, allowing the older kids to run free until it was time to go home.

Artie and Tina accompanied Sam and Mike.

Kurt and his best friend Mercedes stayed with the parents. They both promised Will to join his glee club as soon as they could. They had loved performing on stage.

"When I grow up I want to be a diva!" Mercedes piped.

"Me too!" Kurt agreed with his friend.

Both parents just smiled. These two were just too cute to resist, running around smiling and never letting go of each others hands.

"I am so glad he found such a good friend." Emma sighed happily.

Will nodded and kissed his wife's nose.

Mercedes parents joined them a few minutes later, both smiling proudly as the girl's older brother Marcus had been announced quarterback.

"That is so cool!" Mercedes hugged her sibling.

It was time for the Jones family to leave, so Kurt hugged his friend goodbye, both children blowing air kisses to each other.

"Aren't you a little young for a girlfriend, buddy?" Will asked.

"Mercedes is my best friend." replied the little boy proudly.

"Do all best friends kiss?"

"They do on America's Next Top Model and Project Runway." the child declared.

The parents shared a look but where interrupted by a loud yawn coming from the pale boy.

"Are you tired, honey?"

The little boy nodded and rubbed his eyes with small fists.

"I did not notice until Cedes was gone." he murmured.

"Come here" Will said lifting his youngest son into his arms.

The boy rested his head on the man's broad shoulder.

The other children rejoined their parents and brother only a few minutes later. They were all happily recounting their adventures when two older football players walked past them.

The two looked at Puck and Finn, who had their arms slung around each others shoulders.

"Looks like the team just caught a case of the gay." one said, disgust apparent in his voice.

"Yeah, better watch out in the showers." The other one replied.

The whole family stared after them in shock. The two oldest siblings looking particularly uneasy.

The youngest just looked completely confused, not understanding what had just happened.

They drove home in silence.


Once they were inside their own house the spell seemed to be broken though and everyone began celebrating their victories.

Kurt was really tired, so Will took him up to his room after a while. Both parents agreed it was great how well the boy had bonded with Emma, but the father wanted a bond too, so he took up these parental duties whenever he could.

He tucked the boy and his pink ranger in, allowing the kid to tell him about the day and how much he had loved being on stage again.

Will had begun wondering about the child. He was so different from his other sons. He knew the boy preferred arts to sports, but today it had been even more apparent. While all of the other boys had been gushing about the letterman jackets, Kurt had been sharing chapstick with his friend. Where the older boys had been talking about the different sport teams or admiring the cheerleaders, the youngest had announced he wanted to become a diva.

Will knew the little boy was a little young to be worrying about his sexuality, but the father definitely knew he was different from the other boys and hoped this would not cause him too much grief later on in his life.

The man was about to leave when he noticed the child nervously picking at his blanket, a habit the boy had developed and that meant there was something he wanted to ask but did not dare.

Will sat back down on the boy's bed.

"What's on your mind, kiddo?" he asked.

"Can I ask a question?" the little one whispered.

"Of course!"

"Those two big boys today.."

Will immediately knew who the child was referring to and steeled himself.

"Yes?"

"They said Finn and Puck were making the football team gay right?"

The father swallowed not sure what to say.

"I just don't understand why they sounded so angry. Shouldn't they be happy?" the little one continued.

"What do you mean, sonny?"

"I think they should be grateful if they get to be gay."

Will was confused, this was not the conversation he expected.

"Are you gay, Kurt?" he asked, trying to win time. Where was Emma when you needed her?

"Sometimes." the little boy replied.

"How so?"

"I am gay when I can play with my siblings or when I am with Mercedes."

Will finally thought he knew where this was going.

"What are you when you are not gay, Kurt?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"What is the opposite of being gay?"

"Being sad." the boy replied with a distinct "duh" sound to it.

"Who taught you what the word means?" Will asked.

"My mommy. She always sang this song when she was doing chores. It went like this :

I feel pretty, Oh so pretty

I feel pretty and witty and gay

The boy sang in a crystal clear, beautiful soft voice and Will smiled. They had so much talent in this family.

"I asked my mommy about the words, because I did not know what witty and gay meant. She said witty means smart and gay means happy. Was she wrong?"

Tears were shining in the little boy's eyes, the idea of his mommy being wrong seemed to terrify him.

Will squeezed his foster son's shoulder.

"Your mommy was completely right. She was a very smart woman."

Kurt smiled a teary smile.

"The word gay has another meaning though." Will sighed. How was he supposed to explain this?

"You know how I love Emma?" he asked the boy

"Yes. I love her too."

Will smiled.

"I know you do. I love her a little differently though, because we are husband and wife. I love her like your daddy loved your mommy. Do you understand the difference?"

Kurt nodded. Will was relieved. Now on to the difficult part.

"Well there are some men who don't fall in love with women, they fall in love with other men, like Rachel's dads. And there are some women who fall in love with other women."

Will looked at Kurt waiting for a reaction, but the boy just nodded.

"Those people are called gay."

"Because they are so happy?"

"Uhm.. I don't really know, buddy."

"And those boys thought Puck and Finn are in love?"

"I think they were just trying to tease them."

"Why?"

"I don't know, kiddo." Will felt really stupid.

"They made it sound like a bad thing." Kurt replied.

"There are people who think it is"

"But why?"

"I don't know. Some people are afraid of others being different and it makes them mean."

The boy bit his bottom lip, appearing deep in thought.

"But it is not a bad thing? Being gay?"

"No, Kurt. It is never a bad thing to love and be loved back."

The boy smiled and struggled to get out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Will asked, stopping the boy in the doorway.

"I have to tell Santana!" the boy beamed and ran downstairs.