Chapter 49

"You're ready? Does that mean?..." Blaine felt that he knew, but he needed to hear Kurt say it. This was momentous and he wanted to be sure he understood Kurt and his intentions in the statement. He didn't want to show his true excitement until Kurt confirmed the meaning of his declaration.

Kurt was grinning broadly, his white teeth showing and Blaine noted that his smile reached his eyes, now glittering like blue topaz jewels. Kurt shook his head up and down and Blaine could tell that Kurt's body was shaking with exhilaration, even though it was constrained by Blaine's strong arms.

"Yes, Blaine," Kurt finally spoke while still shaking his head. "I'm ready to start a family." He smiled a thousand-watt smile. "With you." And Kurt lunged forward to kiss his husband. Blaine met him halfway to share in the wonder of the moment. Each man tilted their head slightly, having quickly learned early on in their relationship the exact angle at which their lips fit perfectly. The kiss was sweet and tender. Sparks passed between them, as there were always fireworks whenever they kissed, but these ignited something even more profound and with the promise of fulfillment.

"I'm sure, I'm sure," Kurt repeated between kisses, barely able to get the words out before Blaine recaptured his now swollen lips.

"I love you, baby," Blaine laughed as he missed on the next kiss attack and only caught the smiling corner of Kurt's mouth. "You are just adorable and I want this so much with you."

Kurt laid his head on Blaine's muscled chest and listened to his accelerated heartbeat, knowing he had given this gift to his doctor husband. "Together, Blaine," he murmured, taking comfort in the steady sound. "We will be the best fathers and I can't wait to share this with you."

Blaine was overcome and could only hug his husband as he allowed himself to think about the real possibility of having children. With Kurt. Who was ready to have a child with him, even after the unfathomable experience of losing one.

"Thank you, baby," he whispered into Kurt's soft hair. "Just thank you." He felt Kurt sigh and knew it was contentment in his decision.

They had a lot to talk about now that they knew what they wanted to do. Decisions would have to be made about next steps and options and timing. But for now, they held each other, loving each other and loving their life together.

"Let's start dinner," Kurt began to disentangle himself from his husband's embrace. "We can talk then."

"I love that idea. But only if you want to." Blaine responded. "I realize it's one thing to say you're ready, Kurt, but its another to actually start talking about doing it."

Kurt smiled at his endearing husband. "It's okay, Blaine, I want to talk about this. I am at peace with this decision and now I just want to move forward," he explained. "I want to do this as soon as we can. I'm excited about adding to our family."

Blaine was watching Kurt speak, their hands still linked as they faced each other while seated on the sofa. He continued to search Kurt's face for any hesitation and found none. It seemed that Kurt literally glowed with this new dedication and he was reassured that Kurt really was ready to move forward.

Kurt stood first, keeping one set of hands joined, and walked to the kitchen while his husband bounced behind him.

"Seriously, Blaine," Kurt's chuckled. "You're like a puppy with a new toy!"

"I can't help it Kurt," Blaine laughingly whined. "We're going to be daddies!"

Kurt turned to him and started bouncing, too. "Yes, we are!" Kurt shouted. "Daddies!"

It was a heartwarming sight; two grown men, clapping and bouncing and shouting to no one and everyone. Their enthusiasm was contagious and they delighted in showing their true joy.

Once they calmed down and caught their breath, Blaine kissed Kurt, this one conveying all of his love for the man who had made his life complete.

Breaking away, Kurt swooned with the powerful effects of the kiss and loving that his husband could still do that to him. "We need to eat, my dear," he uttered. "Help me?"

"Always. What can I do?" Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand.

"Start the grill. I've had steaks marinating, and the potatoes are warming in the oven. I'm going to make a light salad. When you come back in, you can saute the mushrooms."

"Done," Blaine stated and started toward the patio. But he didn't get far and Kurt hadn't released his hand yet. Kurt pulled him back for one more quick kiss.

"Daddies!" Kurt murmured into kiss causing Blaine to grin so widely that Kurt couldn't help but laugh. "I love you," Kurt called after his husband who scooted away to light the grill.

XXX

Blaine loved holidays as much as Kurt, but Kurt was a whirlwind so Blaine tried to stay out of his way when his designer husband was focused on the upcoming holiday. For November, Kurt had meticulously prepared a beautiful cornucopia wreath for their front door and scattered a variety of tasteful fall decorations throughout their home. Kurt laughed out loud every time he found a new ceramic or plastic turkey that Blaine had picked up at the hospital gift shop and just had to bring it home to show off alongside Kurt's more refined adornments. Blaine was a child at heart and his whimsical touches were exactly what defined their house as a home. Kurt knew in his heart that any child would be lucky to have Blaine as their father. And Blaine was going to be the best dad.

As the end of the month grew closer, they were getting ready for Thanksgiving Day. Even though the traditional dinner would be celebrated at Burt and Carole's house, Kurt insisted on bringing several dishes. He experimented with different recipes in the days leading up to the holiday so Blaine came home many nights to the wonderful rich smells of pumpkin, apples and cinnamon, all the results of Kurt's cooking and baking efforts.

In addition to their plans for the Hummel-Hudson family dinner, Blaine's parents had accepted their invitation to join Kurt's family in Lima for Thanksgiving dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson planned to arrive on Wednesday and stay through Sunday. Both men were nervous about the pending visit and having Blaine's father and mother in their home for four days. Blaine was as stressed as Kurt. He hadn't spent much time at all with his parents, even when he was younger. They travelled and he attended boarding schools most of his life. Even summers were lonely as a nanny was usually engaged.

Kurt had practically gone mad, feeling that he needed to redecorate the guest bedroom and bath, and if Blaine hadn't been careful, Kurt would have tried to remodel the living room and kitchen. As it was, he was ordering new linens and wanted to repaint both rooms and buy new furniture. Blaine finally had to put a halt to Kurt's crazy and drew the line at new furniture. Kurt pouted for a bit with that restriction, but he was able to transform the two rooms using fresh paint, redirected lighting, colorful fabrics and new accessories. After some serious begging on Kurt's part and the suggestive offer of mind-blowing sex, Blaine did allow Kurt to buy an antique desk and chair to place in the bedroom and admitted it was the perfect touch. Blaine knew he would always give in to Kurt, but it was fun to see what Kurt was willing to do to get his way. And Blaine wasn't above taking advantage of that!

Amidst all of this, the two found quiet moments to talk about their important decision made after their talk that night a month ago. After many follow-up discussions, the couple decided to use a surrogate so the child would a biological child of one of them. They further decided that their sperm would be mixed and they wouldn't know who contributed to the biological make-up until after the child was born. They planned to have more than one child and knew they would have the opportunity to have a biological child from each father. Now they just had to find a surrogate. And tell their families.

They had agreed to wait to start the process until after the stress of the Andersons' visit. They had less than a month to get ready, and Kurt was juggling his attention between his full-time design house, redecorating the rooms in their home for his in-laws, and planning Thanksgiving meal contributions.

Blaine could sense the rising stress rising and made it a point to keep his husband at an acceptable level of feverish energy. He knew the tips and tricks to distract Kurt and get him to relax, starting with the tiny turkeys. He noticed Kurt's childish delight each time he spied a new one so he asked the lady in charge of the hospital gift shop to let him know when any new holiday novelty item was delivered.

Blaine had also long been aware of Kurt's addiction to any form of dark chocolate, so he strategically left bits and pieces near Kurt's work areas and watched as Kurt nibbled unknowingly and relaxed his frame as the chocolate had the desired effect.

On weekdays, Blaine would set his alarm thirty minutes earlier than normal so he could wake up Kurt in a most delicious manner by worshiping the porcelain-skinned body and working the gorgeous male into a sated and boneless state. Kurt couldn't help but start his day relaxed.

As soon as Kurt shut down his studio, Blaine made sure to be home and had a hot bath run. Kurt would slide into the tub, after a little help from Blaine in removing his clothing, and accept the glass of wine that Blaine handed him. While Kurt was giving in to the soothing effects of wine and warm water, Blaine would prepare dinner. As they ate, they would talk about their plans for the evening and the next few days. Kurt always insisted on clearing the dishes since Blaine was cooking, but loved that his husband stayed close and helped so Kurt could move on to his next task.

Kurt was staying up late in an effort to get everything done in the short amount of time. If allowed, he had a tendency to work well into the early morning, but they had come to an agreement after the first late night and a spirited argument about his need for rest. Blaine reminded his mate that Kurt, at one time, had presented the same argument to Blaine about his late night hospital calls and he had respected Kurt's request, so he expected Kurt to understand that Blaine was only looking out for him and his physical and mental well being. Kurt understood when Blaine kissed him on his cheek that it was time to wrap up and join his husband in bed where he knew he would have cuddle time and a strong embrace to lull him into a peaceful sleep.

A week before the Andersons were expected in Lima, it was Blaine who started to show the more extreme signs of stress. His mind was occupied with thoughts of his parents expectations, not even really sure what they were, but he was still worried.

Blaine was concerned about the house, the car, his position at the hospital and wondered if it was all good enough for his father and mother. Would they judge him or support him. They rarely made comments about Blaine's choices, even when it came to his curriculum in the prestigious high school, his participation in the school's show choir, the undergraduate school he attended, or his specialty in neurological medicine. They had accepted his revelation that he was gay without much further discussion, even though they still tried to introduce him to girls. It seemed that they accepted Kurt as his husband; they were coming to meet him after all, but Blaine wasn't sure how they would react to the effervescent Kurt, much less their family news.

Blaine was still making the effort to keep Kurt settled, but now he was lying awake at night after Kurt drifted off, and all the emotions of his childhood and the last several years swirled in his head. He would become restless and it was at those times that Kurt proved to be the master of tending to his husband. Kurt understood Blaine as well as Blaine understood Kurt, and Kurt knew when the restless form of his husband disturbed his own sleep, his talented mouth and tongue were the way Kurt could coax his husband to join him in dreamland. Often, before Blaine realized it, Kurt had buried his head under the covers and engulfed Blaine, working him quickly into forgetting everything and focusing on the tongue that was massaging him to release.

XXX

It was Tuesday morning before the holiday and Kurt was in the kitchen sorting his recipes and making a last minute grocery list. Both men were taking the week off from working and they only carried cell phones in the event of work emergencies. Blaine's parents were due late Wednesday afternoon and Blaine was going to drive to Columbus to pick them up at the airport with the intent of bringing them back in time for dinner in their home. The house was ready except for a last minute cleaning, and Kurt was now focused on preparation for Thursday's dinner at his dad's. He planned to spend Wednesday morning cooking and baking and didn't want to make multiple trips in town for the necessary ingredients. He wanted to get it all knocked out that afternoon so he made a mental note of the stores he needed to visit since some of the recipes called for more sophisticated items than the local market carried.

He could hear Blaine singing in the shower and smiled. His man loved to sing and had a beautiful voice that made Kurt fall in love with him all over again each time he heard the rich tenor tones. Kurt was waiting for his turn, knowing that if both of them showered together, time would be lost and they still had a lot to do that day.

Kurt drained the last of his coffee, ran his fingers through his sleep-mussed hair and closed his eyes to listen for just another minute to his husband's water concert.

"I love that man," he said to himself, dropping his rinsed coffee mug in the dishwasher. Popping a strawberry in his mouth and savoring the sweet juice of the red fruit, he walked toward the bedroom when he heard the water shut off. He didn't make it to the bedroom door before he heard their doorbell.

"That's strange," he thought and turned back to the entryway to check the peephole before opening the door.

His mouth dropped wide open, his eyes grew to saucers and his hands flew to pull at the hem of his tightly fitted t-shirt that barely covered the navy blue thong he was wearing.

"Blaine!" he screeched in a voice that could wake the dead. "I think your parents are here!"

"EARLY!" he shouted for emphasis.