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Will Schuester sat in the waiting room of Dr. Davies' office trying to pass the time while waiting for his youngest son. He was bored. Unfortunately there are not a lot of things in the waiting room of a child psychologist's office that could keep a grown man occupied. He had gone through most of the comic books and found Waldo numerous times, there were a couple of magazines about horses and ponies that he had left untouched, but he was not quite ready to sink that low yet. He sighed dramatically which earned him the attention of the equally bored receptionist.
"You should've brought a book." she smiled.
Will smiled back, not trusting himself to speak and not be rude to her, he simply was not the type to just sit around. Whenever he took Puck or Santana to their appointments he would just wait for them to go into the office and then spend the next fifty minutes down in the music store around the corner. He was always back in time to pick them up, so even though the kids knew he left, they were okay with it. Kurt, like in so many ways, was different. He usually insisted on his mommy accompanying him to his appointments, but Will wanted to spend more time with the boy and this was just one stop in a long day of just the two of them. The father really felt he had to get closer to his son, he was still jealous of the close connection Emma had with the boy and how he called her "Mommy" all the time. Everybody kept telling him how the boy had accepted him as his father, but he still had not called him dad or daddy to his face. In fact he never called for him, if he needed something he called for his mommy or siblings and it was getting to Will more than he was willing to admit. When they arrived at the doctor's office and the little boy had begged him to stay in the waiting room in case he needed him the father had not been able to refuse. It had felt good to be wanted and even though he would hate to admit it, the small child clinging to him with tears in his eyes because he was afraid he might leave had made him proud. He gad gloated in that pride for the first ten minutes Kurt had been gone, but now he was simply bored out of his mind. Maybe the receptionist was right, he should have brought a book or some papers he still needed to grade. He simply had not thought of this. The last time he had taken Kurt to his appointment he had had Santana there to keep him entertained, but that had been the first time and the boy had made wonderful progress with Dr. Davies' help since then, he liked his therapist, Will had been sure to be able to leave today. The man sighed again and stared at the office door his son had disappeared behind.
"Thirty more minutes." the receptionist supplied. The father did not reply.
He wondered what the boy and Dr. Davies were talking about. Was Kurt still talking about losing his parents? About how much he missed them? Will knew the boy still had the occasional nightmare about the day he found his dead father. They did not come as often anymore, but when they did it shook the poor child for days. Only Emma, Puck and Santana were able to comfort him then. Will wished he knew what to do to earn that kind of trust. He prided himself with being close to his children.
Of course there were Finn and the twins, the children he had raised since they were infants, he could not imagine being any closer to them if they were biologically related. He saw a lot of himself as a teenager in his oldest son. The connection to Santana had been built through speaking Spanish, the latina had been relieved to be able to practice her heritage even after she had lost her family. Puck had been difficult to win over, but Will had found the right way to talk to his son and they were really close now. Artie had been shy but trusting and it had not taken him long to accept Will as his father.
Kurt was different in so many ways it worried the father. He had hoped that connecting to the boy would become easier once he had started to open up and speak, somehow it had only gotten even more difficult. The child loved performing and musicals, something that should have been a great base for their relationship, after all music and performing arts were Will's greatest passions. But where Will had been into break dance, Kurt wanted to take up ballet, and while the father still dreamed of playing the male lead on Broadway, his son preferred to sing the classic diva ballads. The teacher did not think of himself as homophobic, but he was worried about his youngest son, about his future, safety and happiness, but also about how him being gay might influence their relationship. How did one raise a gay child? Will felt quite insecure about this and hated himself for his thoughts and the fact that Emma had been able to call him out on it.
He looked at the office door again. Maybe Dr. Davies would be able to give him some advice? He got so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice the time pass anymore and was surprised when the door opened and Kurt walked out.
"Hey buddy." Will said approaching his son. "Is everything okay?"
The boy's eyes were rimmed red which made the father think he had been crying, but they were dry now and the child smiled at him.
"Everything's fine."
Will checked the time just to make sure the boy had not left his appointment early. He was still confused about how the last thirty minutes had gone by so much faster than the first ten. He took a deep breath and made his decision.
"Can you go wait for me in the waiting room for a minute?" he asked his son, gently squeezing his shoulder. "There's something I want to ask Dr. Davies."
"Okay" the little boy replied making a bee-line towards the newest Waldo book.
When Will knocked and entered the office he found the doctor not the slightest bit surprised.
"Mr. Schuester, how nice to see you." the Welsh woman smiled.
Will wondered if he had heard the slightest bit of an accusation in her voice. Did he really let Emma take care of this kind of stuff too much?
"Thank you." he replied. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."
"Of course. Why don't you take a seat."
The father sat down in a giant green chair and looked at the woman expectantly, for some reason he hoped she would be the one starting the conversation, but of course she did not.
"Uhm… I was wondering. How's Kurt doing?" he finally asked.
"He's doing just fine. He is a very bright kid. Full of energy."
Will smiled, this was certainly a good way to describe the little boy.
"That's great. So... there's like nothing we need to worry about?"
"Mr. Schuester, I've had a long day and I've been trained to read children, not grown men. Why don't you just tell me exactly what's bothering you."
Will felt uneasy under her gaze and wondered how much about only being able to read children was true.
"It's about Kurt. We're a little worried about him. He's so different from our other children."
"Your wife never seemed worried to me."
"Okay… well… maybe I'm a little more worried than she is."
"And what exactly is worrying you?"
"You see… I was wondering… do you think he might be gay?" Will blushed.
Rhiannon Davies just looked at him for what felt like a very long time, like she was trying to phrase her words carefully.
"Kurt is only eight years old, Mr. Schuester. As a person who deals with a lot of children I can assure you he is as innocent as they get. Why would you worry about this stuff right now?"
"I don't know. I just worry about him. I don't know how to raise a gay child."
Dr. Davies blinked at that statement, almost like she knew something Will did not, but before he could think about it she began to speak.
"Would it change anything about the way you feel for him if Kurt was gay?" she asked.
"No! Of course not! Not at all!" the man answered.
"Well, then you have your answer, Mr. Schuester. You raise a gay child just like you raise your other ones. With as much love as you are able to give."
As Will left the office he felt better even though his questions had not been answered, he knew it was too early to worry about this stuff and that when the time would come he would be prepared simply because he loved all of is children.
"Come on, buddy." he said to Kurt. "I think I promised you some ice cream."
The little boy ran over smiling and took his father's hand.
When they left the building and Will turned to walk to the park Kurt stopped him.
"Can't we go to the mall first? We need to get my ballet slippers before they close." he whined.
The parents had had a long discussion about their youngest wanting to take up ballet, as with all of their children's interests they were worried about the relation between passion and costs. They could not afford any expensive hobbies, especially not when the children were only interested in them for a very limited amount of time. Like when Brittany had gotten very serious about horseback riding and they had invested in a shared pony, only for her to discover her passion for the flute a few weeks after. Puck had insisted on taking up kick boxing until he discovered most of the other kids were bigger and stronger than him. Santana had been fascinated by knitting for a whole twenty-four hours. Sam had accidentally blown up his science kit after only four days. Artie had been dead serious about archery for a whole two weeks. Finn and his drums were the only success story so far. That is why the Schuesters encouraged their sons and daughters to join school clubs, but of course the elementary school did not offer ballet. So after debating it for quite some time they had deemed it too expensive - until Emma had mentioned it in a phone call to her mother. Victoria had been thrilled that one of the children showed some interest in the "finer arts" and had sent a cheque shortly after. Both parents knew she had a soft spot for Kurt and would have probably not done this for one of the other kids. They did not dare refuse the offer though and that's how the little boy had been enrolled in Mercedes' ballet class. The teacher had been ecstatic to have a boy join her group.
That is how Will Schuester found himself in a shop picking out ballet slippers for his son and deliberately ignoring the clerk's curious gaze. Kurt was happy and that was all that counted.
"They're perfect." the little boy beamed.
The father smiled at seeing his child so happy. It had taken him ages to get his oldest sons to perform with the glee club, somehow he felt it would not take too much convincing for his youngest son to join. He paid for the shoes and it felt weird to spend his mother-in-law's money, he had to remind himself that he was doing it for Kurt.
"Ready for that ice cream now?"
"Yes!" the little boy jumped up and down and clapped his hands excitedly.
They left the mall and got their ice cream at Will's favourite place in the park. They sat down on a bench and Will noticed a father and son throwing a ball not too far from them. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had four sons to practice guy stuff with, if Kurt was different - then so be it. He smiled at the little boy who gave him the brightest smile in return. This was a really good day for the two of them.
Suddenly a ringtone interrupted the little bonding moment.
"Sorry, buddy," Will said before answering his phone and speaking quietly.
When he finished talking Kurt looked at him with wide eyes, probably expecting a message from his mother or siblings.
"That was the garage." Will explained. "They have a question about a spare part for the car that was in the accident."
Kurt's eyes got even wider, the thought of almost losing one of his brothers or father still scared him.
"Would you mind if we stopped by and solved this really quickly?" the father asked. "This is our special day after all."
"It's okay." the little boy replied hugging the box with his new shoes.
They arrived at the garage shortly after and Will was asked to wait while one of the mechanics went to look for the boss. Suddenly he felt Kurt's hand go limp inside his own.
"Are you okay, kiddo?" he asked his son, but the little boy just stared past him.
Will followed the child's gaze. He seemed to be looking at a mechanic at the other end of the garage, a guy of medium height with broad shoulders, who looked about mid-thirty. The man had his back turned to them as he took off his baseball cap and ran a hand over his bald head. Will turned his head to look at his son again, the boy seemed to be whispering something.
"What are you saying, buddy?" he asked slightly worried.
"Daddy." the child said a little louder but still barely audible.
"What?" Will asked feeling his heart beat a little faster.
"Daddy." the boy repeated and before his father could react he had pulled his small hand out of his and was running towards the stranger. "Daddy!"