Takes place between seasons 1 and 2.
Maddie is 8 years old and Mackenzie is 6 in this chapter.
Competition season's over and Kurt (Maddie and Mackenzie's dad) is happy to finally be able to stay with the girls for a weekend. It is a rare occasion when Maddie and Mackenzie come to visit him. They are always at the Abby Lee Dance Company training or travelling for competitions. But right now they were on a break from filming Dance Moms, so it was the perfect opportunity to bound with them. Kurt parked his car in front of Melissa's house and rang the doorbell. Maddie answered the door carrying her backpack.
Kurt: Hi, Mad!
Maddie: Hi!
Kurt: How are you? (hugs her)
Maddie: Good.
Kurt: Are you ready?
Maddie: Yeah...
Kurt: Where is Mackenzie?
Maddie: She's coming. She forgot her toothbrush.
Mackenzie (running): Hi dad! (hugs him)
Kurt: Hi, Kenz! Sweetie. (kisses her)
Melissa appears to the door.
Kurt: (to the girls) Go wait in the car. I'm coming.
Melissa: Hi. If you need anything call me.
Melissa's boyfriend appears behind her.
Kurt: Alright. Don't worry about the girls. Have a nice weekend.
Melissa: Oh, I will. (smirks)
Later that evening, Kurt stood in his kitchen cooking dinner while the girls were upstairs in their rooms playing and organizing their stuff. Kurt turned away from the stove, Maddie walked over to him with teary eyes.
Kurt: Princess, what's wrong?
Maddie: I wanna go home. I want mom.
Maddie started to cry, Kurt felt heartbroken.
Kurt: Maddie you –
Kurt sighed at Maddie's crying.
Kurt: You have to be here with me.
Maddie cried harder at Kurt's statement.
Kurt: Mackenzie isn't crying and she is younger than you. What's wrong? You don't like it here?
Maddie (crying): I do. But I want my mom.
Kurt: You'll see her on Monday.
Maddie: (crying) That's a long time.
Maddie continued crying, Kurt sighed taking out his phone. He calls Melissa waiting for an answer.
Melissa: What is it, Kurt? Is Kenzie fine?
Kurt: Hold on for a second.
Kurt handed his phone to Maddie. She held it to her ear, calming down.
Maddie: Mom.
Melissa: Maddie, what's wrong?
Maddie: I wanna go home.
Melissa: (sighs) You are home, with your dad.
Maddie: No, I want my real home.
Melissa: You can't sweetie. Your dad wants to spend time with you.
Maddie starts crying again.
Melissa: Shh, stop crying.
Maddie: (crying) I miss you.
Melissa: I miss you too, but your dad also misses you.
Maddie: (crying) I wanna go home.
Melissa: Can you be a grown-up for me?
Maddie: (crying) Yes.
Melissa: Stop crying.
Maddie calmed herself down, sniffling from crying too hard.
Melissa: I'll see you in two days. I love you.
Maddie: I love you too.
Melissa: Give the phone back to your dad.
Maddie held the phone out to Kurt, he took it.
Kurt: Yeah?
Melissa: If she's not better by morning, I'll come get her.
Kurt: I'm sure she'll be okay.
Melissa: Where is Mackenzie?
Kurt: Playing.
Melissa: Okay, well, I have to go. Take care of my girls, or I'll kill you.
Kurt sat his phone down looking at Maddie.
Kurt: Hey, listen. I know you miss your mom, but I also know that's not the real reason you're crying, is it?
Maddie: (shakes her head)
Kurt: I knew it. You're my big girl; you don't cry for no reason. What is it? You can tell me. Come on.
Maddie: Mom said that you are fighting to get us out of dance. That's why I don't wanna stay here with you.
Kurt: Maddie, I…
Maddie: Is that truth? You don't want us to dance?
Kurt: It's not that simple, Maddie. I worry about your safety. They are making you dance for long hours every day, and you and your sister are always missing school. I don't like that.
Maddie: This is my dream. I want to get a career in this.
Kurt: I know, Maddie. You can't blame me just because I'm worried. You are eight years old. And your sister is only six. I don't get to see you much, because you are always at the studio or travelling for competitions. I just want to check if both of you are doing okay.
Maddie: We're fine! Just leave us alone, please.
Kurt: Please, don't talk like that. I'm your father. I'm allowed to do this.
Maddie: (frustrated) I hate you!
Kurt: Maddie, if you don't say you're sorry, you can go sit in timeout.
Maddie: (shakes her head no)
Kurt lightly grabs Maddie's hand walking her to the stair steps.
Kurt: Sit. That's not okay.
Maddie: (sits on the steps) Go away!
Kurt goes upstairs to check on Mackenzie, who was playing nicely with her toys. Then, he went back to the kitchen and heard Maddie still crying on the steps. He hated to see her cry, but he needs to set limits. He knows Maddie is more of a Momma's girl, but he's not gonna let her disrespect her own dad. After eight or ten minutes, Kurt returns to get Maddie out of timeout.
Kurt: You hurt my feelings, princess.
Maddie cried as Kurt held her close rubbing her back.
Kurt: Hey, you know what? I'm not gonna fight anymore to get you out of dance, ok?
Maddie: (sniffles) Really?
Kurt: As long as your mother assures me that you are doing your school work properly and that they are not pressuring you too much. As long as you're fine and Mackenzie is fine, I'm willing to let you continue.
Maddie: Thanks, dad.
Kurt: You're welcome.
Maddie: I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't actually mean it.
Kurt: It's alright baby girl.
The next day, Kurt took the girls to the mall. They stepped off the escalator.
Kurt: I want to give each one of you a gift.
Mackenzie: YES!
Maddie: Nice.
Kurt: Let's look around.
The girls and their dad enter a big shop.
Kurt: What do you want, Maddie?
Maddie: I don't know. Make-up? Or clothes, I guess.
Kurt: What about a phone?
Maddie: What? You're kidding, right?
Kurt: No, I think you are old enough to have one. Or you don't want it?
Maddie: (huge smile on her face) Of course I want it! Thanks dad!
Mackenzie: Hey, what about me? I want a phone too.
Kurt: You're still little. When you're eight you can have one.
Mackenzie: (pouts) Maddie gets everything.
Kurt: Hey, don't be sad. You can get any toy you want.
Mackenzie: Yeeeah!
Mackenzie got a beautiful doll house and Maddie got her cellphone. The girls enjoyed the rest of the weekend with their dad and went back to Melissa's house on Monday.