Chapter 13

Hmmm.

I stared down at the assortment of carrots laid out in front of me. Did I want long and thin, or short and thick? A smile graced my face as I thought of the crude comments Puck would be making behind me if he were here.

It was over a week since we'd heard the result of Sectionals.

The atmosphere on the stage had been almost too much to bear, tension zinging around and making everybody shake with nerves. New Directions were in the middle with The Hipsters on our right, the powerful spotlights glaring down on all of us, showing the floating specks of dust in the air. Trying to stop my hands from violently shaking about I had taken a glance to my left, but for once Blaine wasn't looking my way. His eyes, like the rest of the Warblers, we set dead forward, eyes on the prize we were all fighting for. Regionals.

"And in third place…" The announcer boomed through the hand held microphone he was clutching. He looked like a man in the middle of a divorce, his tie was loosened around his neck from when he'd been wringing it backstage and his shirt had many creases in it from poor ironing.

"The Hipsters." Well that was no surprise. We still clapped them anyway – I suppose in any other competition they could have done really well. But it had always only ever been our race to win. Then the attention turned to the main event. A hand clasped mine and I looked to see Mercedes shaking almost as violently as me, mumbling prayers under her breath.

"And the winner of this year's Sectionals is…" We held our breath, waiting… And then there was a commotion. The announcer looked confused, called to the wings for some assistance. A woman with a headset appeared, muttering something nobody else could hear. They both glanced at the paper, hushed whispers now beginning to rush round the room. What was going on?

"Erm, it looks like…" We all turned to our left, questioning eyes searching for answers. "It looks like it's a draw."

"What?" Mr Shue stepped forward at exactly the same time the Warbler coach did, both of them with indignant expressions.

"The judges couldn't decide. You both progress to Regionals." For a brief second there was total silence. Then the whole auditorium erupted. My hand jerked into the air as Mercedes threw up hers, a high-pitched scream flying from her lips.

"WE DID IT! WE'RE THROUGH!" Slowly the realisation hit and bubbles rose from my stomach, exploding out of me as excited laughter. We'd done it.

"WE DID IT!" Jumping up and down my mind was ablaze with millions of different thoughts, all of them jostling for prime position. But for once I was happy I couldn't concentrate. Suddenly I was hit with something else – hands from behind, strong hands that pulled me into a fierce embrace.

"WE DID IT! TOGETHER!" Turning around I pulled Blaine into a passionate kiss, joy flowing through me like I'd just won the lottery. New Directions had won Sectionals, but so had The Warblers. Neither of us had lost. We'd both won.

Nearly four weeks had passed since I had met Blaine. Four long weeks of excitement, pain, misunderstandings and eventually, happiness. The carrots I was looking at were situated in a small supermarket equi-distant from Lima and Dalton. Blaine had invited me to spend Christmas Eve with his parents and I was retuning the favour for Boxing Day. Now, long or short…

Suddenly I felt a tug on the bottom of my Stella McCartney jacket.

"Daddy?" I spun round, nearly knocking over the 'Fresh vegetables' sign sitting next to the carrots. At first my eyes couldn't see where the voice had come from, but then as I felt another tug I looked down and realised it belonged to a small boy. He could only have been about five, he barely came up to my hips, but he was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. Bouncing curls of black hair framed his face down past his ears, deep hazel eyes set into his rosy-cheeked face with a ridiculously cute snub of a nose. He was also dressed in a pair of dungarees with one of the straps broken and hanging down onto the floor – something I would normally have found dreadfully annoying, but somehow in this situation only seemed to add to his cuteness. Instantly my whole body melted and I crouched down so our heads were at an equal level.

"Hello there little man." I said, almost wincing at the sickly tone my voice had taken on and the way my mouth had flopped into a dreamy smile.

"You're not my Daddy." The little boy's face scrunched up in confusion, almost making me fall over. His tiny hands were clutching ferociously onto a packet of sweets – they looked like Red Vines.

"I know. Where is your Daddy…?" I asked the question, but didn't really make any attempt to look. Whoever this Daddy was, I wanted to ask if I could have his son.

"My Daddy is really tall with brown hair and-" I was enwrapped, but never got to hear the end of my new love's sentence. It was broken by the shout of another adult, an angry shout.

"Darren!" My head jolted up and my eyes widened in surprise as a man who looked remarkably similar to me strode up to us, a worried look on his face.

"Don't you go running off like that again!" Briskly he grabbed the free hand of his son and pulled him towards him protectively. I could see the relief in his eyes as little hands reached upwards.

"Daddy!"

"I guess you found him then." I muttered, surprised at how sad I sounded. The father shot me a dark glance and I returned to my feet rapidly, realising how odd I must look.

"Bye Darren." The words spilled unexpectedly from my lips, accompanied by a rather creepy wave that made me cringe inside. However, the little boy had no interest in me now, ripping open the packet to bring out a long red strip of candy and the father marched them off towards the till, where a female figure stood loading up shopping.

"Kurt?" As I watched the pair leave I was jolted back to reality by a voice behind me. Spinning round I saw Blaine holding a packet of brussel sprouts, his expression questioning.

"These are the ones you said right?"

"Yeah, you put them in the microwave…" My reply was lacklustre and he picked up on it.

"What's up?" Turning back to the tills I gestured towards Darren and his family.

"I want one." Blaine chuckled.

"You know they keep you up all night and puke everywhere?"

"I don't care – I want one. Please?" I glanced back and he grinned, slipping his arms around my waist and kissing me lightly on the lips.

"Maybe in a couple of years."

And then it hit me. One day, when a child tugged my jacket, it wouldn't be mistaken identity. They would be mine. I would be the father chasing after his wayward child, and Blaine would be the partner feeding items through the till. It was an interesting thought – one that scared but excited me at the same time. Because even if I did have to wait a few years like Blaine had said, that would be a few more years with him. A few more blissful years with Blaine Anderson. And I was going to hold on to every second of that happiness with everything I had.

- Fin -

I want to thank everybody who has read this story, especially the people that have reviewed chapters and even promoted me in their fics. I have really enjoyed writing it.

I have at least two more story ideas in the pipeline, one that's nearly finished and should be posted pretty soon and one being written as we speak, so please keep your eyes peeled and continue to read my work.

I didn't ever think people would actually read this, so thank you again for making my day :D

Long live Klaine!

Liz xxx