Hello! New chapter. It's beginning to be Christmas time in this story; and weirdly, I'm publishing it in the most opposite time of year than it can be, but oh well. This chapter contains cookies, ravenous teenage boys, Kurt and Niff bonding, and more pain because Kurt can't catch a break. Read, enjoy the cookies, and leave a review please.

Also, for being such devoted followers, I'll give you teaser for the next chapter. It's titled: Mistletoe, contains a bet between David and Wes, and a few Klaine moments.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

The Warblers return to campus late Sunday morning from Thad's house, where they'd had their crazy victory party, to find that the school has started putting up Christmas decorations. Lights hang from all the roof and trees outside and Douglas fir trees are set up in the lounges of both Dorm halls. The classroom buildings are surely also being decked out similarly.

The joy that Kurt usually feels at the sight of beautiful Christmas decorations is suppressed by the realization of this being his first Christmas alone. His mom loved the holiday season: the music, the food and, especially all the family traditions. After she had died his dad had tried to keep those traditions alive. It became a time to remember her in happiness; and for years it was one of the only times the two of them were in sync. Now, it's all over. And the fact that Christmas is coming just the same, that everyone else will not know a difference in their celebrations from those of years past, it hurts. The other boys run across the frosty ground cheerfully, excited for it all; Kurt walks slowly, thinking of his parents.

Kurt spends the next few days moping around; no one, not even Blaine, is able to cheer him up. It's like it was when he first came to Dalton: he's upset and they don't understand why, they just think it can be fixed with laughter and Christmas songs. Maybe that would work, if it was his dad's laughter and his mom singing as they wrapped presents and made cookies. If only they were here. Voices that sound like theirs in his head tell him that if they were here, they would tell him to stop moping; that he can still laugh and sing and wrap presents and make cookies. That is what they would want him to do. And it may well cheer him up a bit too.

Immaculate, untouched and a little dusty is the state Kurt finds the kitchen in when he enters with his pile of ingredients. Do none of the boys here ever use it? He flips the lights on. Top of the line appliances sit atop the counters, and only the coffee machine and microwave seemed to have ever been used.

Kurt spreads his ingredients out across the counter. He's making simple Chocolate Chippers, his mom's favorite recipe. They are the absolute best cookies in the world. Bar none. And no one would ever be able to convince him otherwise.

It's emotionally liberating for him to just pour and mix the ingredients he's been working with for years. And in seemingly no time at all he's putting the first batch in the oven. He fills the second pan and waits for the first to finish baking. The soft sugary smell of the cooking dough seeping through the kitchen soothes the ever-present ache in his chest.

The scent escapes into the lounge and brings curious noses to investigate. One of the Warblers Kurt doesn't know well, Ethan, asks, "What are you cooking? Because it smells divine."

The younger boy walks over to where Kurt is sitting on the counter top. He tries to dip a finger into the bowl of dough and gets it smacked away by Kurt. "Don't." Kurt admonishes.

Ethan pouts. "Can I have one of the cookies when they're done?"

Kurt considers him. "Sure." He can't eat them all alone, and his mother always loved to share her treats with friends, this will be a good way to honor her. A handful of more boys enter and ask for cookies. Kurt pulls the first pan out and replaces it with the second and the boys are on him immediately. "Woah! Woah! Stop. The pan is hot, back off before someone gets burned. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before you touch any of them." he instructs.

They hover obsessively over the cookies and wait for him to say go ahead. He waits for five minutes before he scoops the cookies off of the hot pan and onto a paper plate. They boys all stare at him expectantly. Has the crowd grown since the last time he looked at it? He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, secretly overjoyed to have them wanting his cookies so bad. "Go ahead." He scoops the remainder of the dough into five more cookies on the hot pan. Moans and gasps and squeals uncharacteristic of an all-boys school fill the room. Kurt looks up to see that all of the first twelve cookies have completely been devoured by the boys. The crowd is definitely bigger than it was 30 seconds ago.

A cacophony of voices bombards Kurt's ears. "This is SO GOOD!"

"Best Cookie ever!"

"Another!"

"Hey! I didn't get one!"

"I want one!"

"Where are the cookies?"

"Kurt, do you have more?" The boys press in on him, begging. Kurt's met maybe four of them. The rest are complete strangers crowding him and demanding he give them treats. He may confess to being a little freaked out by it.

"Kurt? Kurt? Move it people!" Nick pushes through the crowd, with his ever-present blonde attachment in tow. "What's this I hear about you making cookies?" He asks.

"I made cookies." Kurt responds, trying to keep the sugar-crazed boys off his nice clothes.

"I heard. And apparently, they are delicious. So, as your roommate I demand to try one. Where are they?"

"Gone. I made them and they disappeared into the ravenous gullets of all these people. I've got more in the oven. Just give me a few minutes."

Nick turns to the fanatic crowd. "Alright boys back up! If you've had a cookie take your leave! Let the chef work!" He yells.

Unsurprisingly, no one listens to him. They continue demanding cookies and pushing against each other.

If Kurt was able to, he would run away now, forget the cookies and all his precious cooking supplies. Sharing cookies is supposed to be happy and soothing. This is quite scary.

The oven goes off. There are half a dozen boys in the way of Kurt getting into it properly. Still he forces the door open and reaches in for the second pan. He hasn't even got the pan out of the oven before the boys nearest him are cheering loudly "MORE COOKIES!" and everyone farther away shoves forward demanding "WHERE?". The shoving ripples through the crowd to where Kurt is crouched. He loses his balance and falls forward. His right hand and parts of his arm hit the 375-degree oven rack. He jerks back, but only achieves shifting where his arm is touching it as there are still numerous boys pressing in.

He can't help the screams that come from his throat. He fights to get away and finds he is able to this time. Nick and Jeff are yelling at everyone and the others are backing off at the sounds of Kurt's cries. He collapses to the ground, dropping the pan on the floor beside him and cradling his burning arm. "Damn! Damn!" and more colorful words slip from his tongue.

Through his haze of pain, rolling on the floor, he hears his roommate forcing almost everyone out of the kitchen and denying them cookies. Jeff is on his knees hovering over Kurt. Kurt has not yet stopped cursing the burning pain in his arm. The oven mitt protected his hand but beyond it blistered red lines run up his forearm. His fingers are convulsing in the mitt from the nerve messages they are receiving. Nick drops to Kurt's side after slamming the door shut behind Ethan and the other boys who'd attacked Kurt's cookies and barricading it with a kitchen stool. With him he brings a cool wet wash cloth and wraps it around Kurt's arm.

"Are you okay, Kurt?" He asks.

"NO!" Kurt yells. "I've got second degree burns, dammit!"

Nick doesn't get offended. "Right. Okay. We'll get you to the nurse. Just a minute. Jeff, turn off the oven." He instructs.

Jeff and Nick make quick work of picking up the mess and putting it all on the counter to deal with later and they leave a note that says 'DO NOT TOUCH' on it. They help Kurt escape the group of guilty looking boys in the lounge and get to the nurse's office across the campus.

Once there the nurse takes Kurt quickly into the room to examine his wounds. Kurt grimaces at the disgusting look of his arm. There are blisters and holes in his skin that are bright red. The nurse has him hold his arm under a cool stream of water in the sink for about fifteen minutes while she gathers ointments and bandages. She then applies the antibiotic ointment and aloe; she also wraps his arm in gauze and an ace bandage. She gives him some ibuprofen with instructions to come back if it hurts too much.

Nick and Jeff meet him outside the nurse's office; having waited for him while he was getting treated. "Are you okay?" Nick asks.

Kurt nods. "It's not too bad. She says it should heal in the few weeks. I have to reapply the aloe every day and keep it wrapped to prevent infection; but, it's not as bad as it feels. So…" he shrugs nonchalantly.

Nick nods in acceptance. "That's good…Um…do you want us to go clean up your cookies and stuff?"

"Oh! No thanks. I can do it. Besides, I need to finish baking that last pan." Kurt says.

"We can join you!" Jeff suggests. "To keep others from crowding you again." He explains quickly at both Nick and Kurt's bemused looks. Then he tacks on honestly. "And to try your 'magical' cookies."

Kurt chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Of course, you can have some. Sharing them with friends is part of the tradition. Just, only a few people this time. And preferably those I know well."

They head back to the kitchen. Luckily, the lounge has cleared out; the few other boys don't follow the three Warblers into the kitchen. Kurt sorts through his utensils and the leftover cookies and dough on the counter. Nearly all those cookies from the second pan have to be thrown away as they fell on the floor; the five balls of dough he'd put on the first pan are fine though, he can put them into the oven as soon as it is preheated. Nick and Jeff help Kurt clean up the mess and then watch in earnest as he whips up another batch of dough.

Jeff is sitting on the counter, with Nick standing between his legs, tossing chocolate chips into the air and catching them in his mouth. "So, why is this a tradition for you?" He asks. "I mean, my grandma, and sometimes my mom, make cookies at Christmas but…" He trails off, shrugging.

"It was my mom's thing. And when I was old enough, I helped her. Then, after she died, I've kept doing it by myself. My dad and I tried to keep up all our traditions." Kurt says, looking down.

"Oh, right." Jeff mutters sadly.

Nick moves from his boyfriend over to his roommate. He lays one hand on Kurt's shoulder and asks gently, "Is this your first Christmas since he…" Kurt nods and blinks back tears. "That's why you've been so sad this week." Kurt nods again and this time has to wipe a loose tear from his cheek. Nick wraps Kurt in a hug, letting the older boy sodden his shoulder in more rogue tears.

Jeff hops off the counter and joins their hug, wrapping his arms around Kurt from behind and murmuring to him, "You don't have to be alone for Christmas. You can come to my house again; my family would love it."

Kurt pulls out of the hug to turn towards Jeff. "Thanks Jeff, but I'm going to spend Christmas with Carole and Finn at their house, I think." He smiles warmly.

Jeff smiles back and hugs him "That's good. But, just know, that if it falls through, you are always welcome at my place."

"Thanks."

Nick has pulled his phone out and is texting someone eagerly. The phone dings with a returning text and Nick smiles victoriously. "And I think I can help you feel better right now. Sharing the cookies with friends is part of the tradition, right?" He asks rhetorically. "Well, I know the crazy storm of people earlier was too much; but, the three of us is hardly a party. So, I texted Blaine and Wevid to see if they wanted to come down and join us. Just a few more of our closest friends."

Wes and David show up first, just as the last pan of the first batch of cookies is coming out. They bounce over the sweets waiting for permission to gobble them up. Blaine comes in shortly after. "We heard there are cookies down here."

Kurt decides to wait for the next batch of cookies to come out so that the other boys can try the five that are ready. However, Blaine refuses to accept that; he splits his cookie in half and shares it with Kurt. "You two are so freaking adorable, it isn't fair." David says. "Why can't Angela and I look that cute?"

Wes' face scrunches up covetously; but, he's not jealous, at all. Right. Kurt's not judging.

One batch at a time the cookies are eaten by the group of teenage boys until there are none left. The compliments and praises they shower on him make him feel warm and fuzzy the way the holidays are supposed to.