A/N Did you know Phyllis Diller, the famous Comedian, was born in Lima, Ohio? Neither did I! We're saying goodbye to a few friends in this chapter, but we are welcoming back another, and meeting a new friend for the first time!

Reviews Always Welcome!

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Celebrations

They went to Disneyland on Saturday, and celebrated Fathers' Day at Disney's California Adventure. Lizzie, Bee and Katie had surprised their dads with a special dinner, and had sung a medley of songs about dads.

The following two weeks were a whirlwind of rehearsals, costume fittings, and recording the songs for the movie. On July third, they flew to San Francisco for Kim Montgomery's wedding. Blaine teared up a little as Wes walked his sister down the aisle, a reminder that the other man also lost his father recently. Blaine couldn't help thinking about his dad.

He'd spent so much of his life hating the man. He still didn't know what to think now. He'd shown Kurt the letter, and they'd talked about it at length. Blaine had let go of the anger and hate, but he hadn't let anything else fill the void they'd left behind yet. Perhaps one day he'd be able to.

Later at the reception, they sat with Annie, while Wes was at the head table with his family.

"You look positively radiant," Kurt said to the older woman. Six months pregnant and she was stunning in the lavender sheath dress she wore. The only other time Kurt had seen her looking this happy was when they had called Johnny's name for Best Lead Actor in a Musical two years ago at the Tony's. She'd been reluctant to attend the award show, so painfully shy. Kurt had taken her to a spa for a full treatment, gotten her hair professionally styled and helped her pick out her dress for the night, and Johnny had bought her a small, understated diamond heart pendant. Even then she hadn't looked as beautiful as she did now.

"I never really thanked either of you. My entire adult life was always about Johnny, about his career and his happiness. You two have always been so kind to me, and made me feel special, like there was more to me than just my son. It was your encouragement that convinced me to take online college courses, to start thinking about myself and my needs and happiness. And then you brought me Wes. You'll never know just how happy he makes me."

Blaine smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "You deserve it. And we're so happy for you."

She looked down and bit her lip. "Wes and I are leaving Lima. We've talked about it, and now that Wes is in a better place mentally, we've decided to move back here, to San Francisco, to be closer to his family. He's moving his company up here, as well. He'll keep the offices in LA, but the base of operations will be here."

Kurt reached out to take her hand. "We figured," he said, smiling softly. "We knew it would only be temporary. Wes has always been devoted to his family. And judging from the way his mother greeted you earlier, they love you already. We'll miss seeing you both, but we'll keep in touch. And you better send us pictures of this little one!" He placed his hand on her belly. Immediately he felt a strong kick against his palm. They both laughed.

"Speaking of which, are you guys going to tell us if it's a boy or a girl?" Blaine asked.

She smirked. "Not yet. We've already agreed on a name, but we want it to be a surprise. You'll be the first to know when they are born."

…

"Happy birthday, Lizzie!"

They were celebrating the fourth of July at the beach, with Wes and Annie and Johnny, who had driven up from LA to join them.

The birthday girl was smiling as she played with her little sisters in the sand, laughing as Bee took picture after picture of them, while Mattie and Phin were holding dad's hands as they played in a tide pool. They'd had a picnic lunch, and cake and ice cream, and were just waiting for Lizzie to open her presents.

She loved the present Bee had created for her, a photo book he'd titled My Big Sister, filled with pictures of her with the little ones, and dad and daddy, and himself, and pictures of her and the science club working on their project and accepting their award for winning first place, a copy of the short story she'd written that had taken second place in a national contest, and pictures of her singing, solo and with the choir. She cried and hugged him.

From the little ones, she had received a framed fingerpainting of each of their hand prints. Wes and Annie had bought her a few new outfits, and Johnny had gotten her a pair of earrings. When she opened the gift from her dads, she beamed. There was a certificate stating that a star had been named after her, and a necklace with a shooting star pendant.

"You'll always be our little star," Kurt said, hugging her.

Blaine kissed the top of her head. "No matter where life takes you, you'll always shine bright in our lives."

"Thank you, dad, daddy!" She kissed both of them on the cheek. "I know I may never be famous on Broadway or TV and the movies, but I will always know I'm loved."

…

Filming officially began on Tuesday, July 6th. It took them the better part of the next four weeks to complete. Bee had actually enjoyed playing the part of little Kris. Not only had he gotten to sing, he'd also had four lines of dialogue with the actor who played grandpa Burt's character, Bart. Lizzie hadn't gotten any lines, but she had been featured prominently in a few of the scenes with Jr. High Kris. Kurt had even gotten a brief cameo as one of the teachers at the high school during the musical number Shine From the Shadows.

They flew back to Ohio on August fourth, just in time to celebrate Belinda's sixth birthday with the promised camp out in the backyard. They'd also invited Joani and Cole Schuester, Alex and Alan Abrams, Ke'Andre and Kendra, Noah Puckerman, and Belinda's sister, Daniella.

Saturday, the entire McKinley circle of friends were invited to the community center to celebrate the wedding of Dave Karofsky and Edward Harris. Both men were escorted down the aisle by their fathers. Kurt, who was Dave's Best Man, couldn't help notice how happy and proud Paul Karofsky was as he handed Dave off with a kiss on his cheek and a whispered "I love you."

Burt officiated the wedding, and Blaine sang Love is Love, by Culture club.

At the reception, Blaine sat with Will and Emma, Marley and Jake, Quinn and Matt, and Tina. Artie was at the head table with the wedding party, as he had been Edward's Best Man.

Will was grinning. "So, you'll be happy to learn I've found a new choir director, not only for the new Jr. High choir, but for the Troubletones, since Mercedes is going back to New York in a few weeks to start work on her next album."

"Oh?" Blaine said.

"Yes. The new coach for the Troubletones will be Angelica Rogers. She came highly recommended. She once coached The Songbirds from that all girls school in Hawaii that New Directions faced off against about ten years ago at Nationals. Her daughter will be attending McKinley as well, and much to her mother's chagrin, has expressed an interest in joining this year's group of New Directions."

Blaine smiled. "What about the Jr. High choir?"

Will smiled even more. "Well, I think I'll keep that a bit of a surprise for now, but I will say it's someone you know and have sung with before."

Blaine's curiosity was piqued, and he tried to wheedle more information out of the older man, but Will just laughed and stood, leading Emma out to the dance floor.

"I know who it is," Marley teased.

"Oh, really?" Blaine said.

Marley laughed. "Yes, and you'll find out on Monday at the district meeting. Until then, my lips are sealed."

Jake laughed with her. "Well then, I guess I'll have to be the one to make the announcement. Marley is pregnant again. She's past the three month mark, and the doctor says everything is looking good."

"That wonderful news!" Blaine said, moving closer to hug her and kiss her cheek. "I'm so happy for you!" Tina and Quinn also hugged her and congratulated them both. The younger couple thanked them all, and then Jake also led his wife out onto the dance floor.

Quinn sighed. "I was going to wait to tell you later this week, but we cut the plea bargain with Janice McMillan. We'll take it to the judge on Monday. Jury selection for Sanders' trial begins in three weeks."

Blaine reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'm sure it was for the best."

She smiled at him. "I still get sick every time I think about what she put that little girl through. If I could, I'd lock her away for the rest of her life, but her testimony will be the nail in her brother's coffin."

Matt pulled her into a hug. "Putting him away for the rest of his life will go a long way towards helping the girl recover. Santana and Britt will do the rest."

…

Kurt had to fly back to DC Sunday night to be back for the new session. Monday, Blaine dropped the little ones off at daycare, and Lizzie and Bee off at Burt and Carole's house before heading to the district meeting. School would officially begin on Wednesday, but there were several policy changes that needed to be discussed, as well as new staff to be introduced, so Will had scheduled this meeting.

They began by going over some things the school board had changed regarding curriculum, as well as announcing that the k through eighth grade teachers would all be receiving pay raises, partially thanks to some minor redistricting changes that had been made over the summer, and also inspired by Kurt's Fair Pay for Educators platform. It seemed it had gotten the Governor's attention, and he'd stepped up to increase the budget for all the schools statewide.

"And finally," Will said, "It's my honor to introduce six new staff members. The first three will be at Phyllis Diller Jr. High. Please Welcome the new seventh grade algebra teacher, Mrs. MacCloud, the new eighth grade science teacher, Mr. Lewis, and the new show choir director, Miss Cassey. Joining the staff at Neil Armstrong Elementary school, new fourth grade teacher, Mr. Franklin. And joining McKinley's choir staff and taking over as coach of The Troubletones, Ms. Rogers. And finally, taking charge of the choir at Lima Jr. High, Unique Adams!"

They had clapped politely as each new staff member was introduced, but Blaine was stunned when Unique was announced, and couldn't hold back the cheer, as Marley, who was sitting beside him, grinned.

Blaine, Marley and Unique went out to lunch after the meeting.

"Of course I had to come back when I heard they were going to start a Jr. High show choir," Unique said. "New Directions taught me to be true to myself, and never let anyone else try to define me. I want to share that with the next generation."

They reminisced about their time in New Directions for a while, when an older woman approached the table. "Hi, we didn't get a chance to meet earlier, I'm Angelica Rogers, but please call me Angie. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, holding her hand out to Blaine.

"Welcome to McKinley and Lima," he said, shaking her hand. "I assume you met Unique earlier? And this is Marley Rose Puckerman. She teaches first grade at Neil Armstrong, and is director of the school choir. Her husband is one of the dance instructors at McKinley."

They each shook her hand and welcomed her to join them for dessert and coffee. "I had to leave Hawaii," she said. "Too many bad memories there. I just got out of a very bad marriage, and I wanted someplace quiet to raise my daughter. Grace will be a freshman this year, and she's hoping to make friends here. My ex husband wouldn't allow her to have friends, always demanding she come straight home from school and do her homework, and then to go straight to Tae Kwon Do. He was determined that she would compete in the next summer Olympics. He pushed her so hard that she ended up breaking her arm last spring during a competition. That was the last straw for me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Blaine said sympathetically. "Why did you choose Lima?"

"Because of your husband, actually," she said with a smile. "I read his book, and it was part of what gave me the strength to leave my husband. The way he refused to let the bullies win. And when I learned he'd moved back here and taken over his father's seat in the House, I wanted to see what was so magical about this place that he would come back to it."

They all smiled at that. "Well, I hope you and your daughter will be very happy here," Marley said.

"I think we will be," Angie said, smiling.