Three months later

Kitty

"Thanks for the lift," she told her brother, Collin, as he dropped her off near Buckeye stadium. "I'll see you at home next week for Thanksgiving."

"We need to figure out when we're having Thanksgiving with dad," he reminded her, as she climbed out of his truck with its excessively large wheels. She adjusted the small backpack she'd packed for the day trip and smirked at him.

"Well, we've got to work around Artie's family and Tina's family," she reminded him. "When are you and Logan ever going to help complicate the holidays?"

"Now that you mention it," Collin grinned, as Kitty proceeded to look genuinely shocked. "Logan started talking to this girl online. She has a twin. We went out with them last weekend, and it didn't go badly, so we've got another double date tonight."

Kitty gaped at him. "Well, I wish you all the best," she said. "Shave off that ugly thing growing off of your chin and she may even want to kiss you."

Collin laughed, while giving a stubborn shake of his head, indicating that he didn't intend to be the good-looking twin anytime soon.

"Thanks for the ride," she told him, as she closed the passenger door and watched him wave and drive off. And now, to find Artie...

She checked her campus map, then looked up to make sure she was headed towards Lawrence Tower. She had to work her way around Remembrance Park and Buckeye Stadium, and even though she'd been dropped off a good distance from Artie's dorm, she was enjoying taking herself on a little tour.

This was a beautiful campus, especially in the fall, and Kitty couldn't wait until next fall, when it would be her turn to be there for good. She'd gotten her acceptance letter already and everything, plus she was promised a scholarship for cheerleading and was still working on getting one more for her grades, as she hung securely in the top ten of her class, at a solid number six. She tucked her scarf a little tighter around her chin, as it was a few degrees cooler here than in Lima.

She'd been hoping to surprise Artie but instead, as she approached the dorm, it was he who surprised her. Instead of wheeling a chair, as he had done every other time she'd ever seen him, he was standing up in the thing that must have been the ReWalk! Kitty saw him before he saw her, and she went running towards him, unable to keep her emotional reaction at bay. Tears pricked her eyes as she looked at him and gingerly reached out to touch his shoulder, careful not to upset his balance as he stood upright. She knew about it, of course, and knew he was using one that belonged to the university as part of his therapy program, but she'd never actually seen him walk in it. Not up close and in person anyway.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked, blinking in surprise. "I mean, it's awesome to see you but... I'm coming home today, you know."

"I know, I took off for a college tour day today," she said, blinking back the tears as she took in the sight of him upright once more. "Seniors can take those and it doesn't count against perfect attendance. Except there's really nothing I wanted to see but you, because you said your classes were cancelled for the Friday before break. Collin was gracious enough to pick me up at home and give me a lift. So now I can ride back with you."

She took a breath after her excessively detailed explanation. Artie was rubbing off on her.

"I could get used to that," Artie answered. He looked like he wanted to do something but all his energy was focused on remaining upright. Kitty took the initiative then to, for the first time ever, rise up on her toes to plant a kiss on him.

"I could get used to that," she said, amazed that she'd just kissed her boyfriend while they were standing face-to-face like this, him being a few inches taller than she was.

"Well, I'm trying to use the ReWalk as much as I can," he said. "Once I recovered from surgery, it really did get easier to be in this thing for long periods of time. They're still letting me take it and keep it in my dorm between sessions. Anyway... check me out..."

He pushed the little button at his wrist and leaned forward on the crutches, as Kitty stepped back to watch in awe. She knew the story of how he'd gotten a bitter taste in his mouth, regarding this new technology, because he'd been given one several years ago that turned out to be defective.

She walked along beside him, going at a quicker pace than she'd expected, taking in every glorious step. Artie explained that he would walk the distance to and from therapy in the ReWalk now, before and after almost every one of his sessions, which was how he'd gotten a lot faster.

"We could go grab lunch," Artie suggested. "But I'd need to get my chair for that. It's just a little... too different, when I take it places, and I get a lot of unwelcome stares. Plus, it's really hard to get it on and off in my car."

Kitty agreed with whatever made him comfortable. They headed back to the dorm, which was empty today, as Zack had gone home early, to travel out of state with his family. Most weekends, Artie was the one who left as quickly as he could, to ensure he could spend plenty of time with August and with Kitty, and Zack was the one with a room to himself.

After taking advantage of this rare opportunity to be alone together, they made out for awhile, long enough to properly work up an appetite for a late lunch. Kitty was pretty sure this was not what her school had in mind, when they gave her a day off to visit college.

"I'm actually supposed to give Mrs. Schuester a written report of my visit when I get back," Kitty said, as they chowed down later, at Artie's favorite sandwich shop on campus. "Except I'm pretty sure I'll be off the hook, because the baby's due the week of the break."

"Oh, yeah?" Artie said, swallowing his mouthful with a quick swig of tea. "I almost forgot. How's that gonna work, with Sectionals? I know they got pushed back to the week after Thanksgiving this year."

"I guess he'll miss them," Kitty said, with a sad shrug. "Maybe he plans to ask Sam to sub."

"Well, I'm glad you don't have to give her a report," he said, pretending to write her report on an imaginary keyboard. "I made out with my boyfriend in his dorm, ate a sandwich, and cut out early..."

Kitty swatted his arm but she was laughing as she imagined handing that one in. "You know, I'm pretty sure that's what everyone does when they skip school for these things. Didn't you?"

"I went to Brooklyn, remember?" Artie said. "Didn't get to make out with anyone. Rachel and Kurt did take me to lunch. I thought I liked it there, too. Can you imagine if I'd gone? Completely not the right path for me."

"I can't even imagine," she said, shaking her head. "I'm glad you're here. I'm glad I'm gonna be here. I'm glad you visit almost every weekend, even if I'm not sure who you want to see more — me or Auggie."

"Yeah, but I just went three weeks without seeing him," Artie said, with a pout. "I feel like I missed a lot. I can't wait to get home and snuggle with my little buddy."

Well, she couldn't deny him his baby snuggles. Since there was really nothing she needed to see on campus, other than him, and he was ready to go, they loaded up the car after lunch and set out for home. Artie talked about baby Auggie nearly the entire way, and Kitty noticed the way he'd recently decided to stop calling the baby 'A.J.' (which had bugged Amy) and now called him 'Auggie,' like everyone else.

"So, what happened to calling him A.J.?" she asked.

"Auggie's cute for a baby," Artie said, with a shrug. "He looks like an Auggie for now. But if he wants to be A.J. when he's older, I'll respect that."

Kitty nodded. "I thought about changing my cute nickname at some point along the way, too," she said. "I've seriously considered being 'Kate' in college."

"Really? There's no way I could call you anything else," Artie commented, as she gave him an exasperated look. "Sorry, it's the truth! It's just who you are."

Kitty smirked. "Could be worse then, I guess," she commented. "I could be named after a dead dog from a depressing movie."

Somehow, this spurred on a hilarious conversation in which they thought of as many ugly names as they could, as they drove into Lima. Then they started naming all of Sam and Amy's future kids.

"They'd need an April and a May and a June," Artie said, as he decided that all their future babies were going to be girls. "That's really it for months. Maybe a Wednesday. Then we have seasonal names. Summer... Autumn..."

"Oh, but Autumn's so pretty though," Kitty interrupted. "I used to have a friend in elementary school with that name. I've always loved it."

Artie thought a minute. "Autumn's definitely not bad," he agreed. "I can't really come up with any reason not to like it either."

By the time they'd inadvertently just named their firstborn daughter, they were pulling into the neighborhood where the Abrams family lived with the new little Evans family still occupying the upstairs and saving for a place of their own in the next year or so.

They'd made it home before Sam and Amy did. Amy had gone back to work this week, after unexpectedly taking a full twelve weeks of leave, most of it unpaid. She just couldn't stand to leave Auggie. Plus, Sam was doing a great job with Next Direction.

Nancy was the only one home, with Auggie left in her care, as was the plan for whenever both parents were working. They found her sitting in the living room, surrounded by various baby gear, trying in vain to console the crying infant with a pacifier.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," Nancy said, sounding a little worn down as she greeted Artie, who rolled down the ramp and straight to the couch to see Auggie. "Oh, and hi Kitty, it's nice to see you."

"Is he hungry?" Artie asked, as he coasted to stop in front of the couch and frowned at poor Auggie.

"Yes, but I'm trying to wait on Amy," she said, with a frustrated sigh. "I know she'll want to feed him as soon as she gets home, so I'm not going to warm up any more of the milk she left in the fridge for him, if he can just hold off."

"He's looking pretty chunky, he can wait," Artie said, with a laugh, as he admired all of Auggie's little rolls. "He's definitely filled out a lot in the past three weeks. And look at how he's holding his head up!"

"And screaming his head off," Kitty commented, with a wince. She liked babies a little more when they were a bit older. They seemed so much happier when they were more mobile, making it easier on everyone.

Five more minutes of Auggie screaming went by and Nancy commented that time was about to be up, when the door flung open and they heard the sound of keys in the basket near the door.

"You didn't feed him, did you? I'm leaking all over my shirt," Amy said, tugging desperately at the damp material and then promptly wrapping her jacket across her chest when she saw her brother and his girlfriend sitting with her mother. "Oh... hi."

"Hi," Artie replied, and Kitty had to give him credit for not even flinching. Amy didn't waste another second, as she made a grab for August and whisked him off to the nearest private room, which happened to be Artie's.

"Finally, now I can start dinner," Nancy said to Artie. "When Dad gets home, which shouldn't be too late tonight, we can eat. We need to celebrate your homecoming. And Kitty, please do stay."

"Thanks, Mrs. Abrams," Kitty said.

As Nancy headed off to the kitchen, the front door opened again and another set of keys clattered in the basket. Sam stepped out of the entryway and grinned when he saw the both of them. He hugged Kitty, then leaned down to hug Artie.

"Hey, guys, good news," he said. "So I covered for Mr. Schue today, because he and Emma checked into to the hospital late last night. Well, I was just on the phone with him now. Baby Schuester arrived safe and sound, about an hour ago."

Kitty squealed happily at the news. She, Marley, and Unique had been able to talk about nothing else all week. Being seventeen, she was much too young to have baby fever, but she could still be excited for all of her friends and teachers.

"So, Kitty..." Sam began, smirking knowingly at the younger girl. "Missed you in glee and Honors Spanish class today. Marley did offer to read for me, though. How was your college tour?"

Sam added a wink, knowing perfectly well that Kitty had just wanted a day off school and her boyfriend. But she'd also stayed with her brothers in their home the evening before! It wasn't completely about Artie. Except mostly... it was.

"I... think I've decided where to go," she said, with a laugh. She hadn't counted on being busted by Sam for this one. "Uh, I just needed to, you know... see it one more time, just to be sure."

Artie gave an unconvincing nod, wearing that obviously stupid smirk of his. "Now she's sure."

"Well, Leah said she knew your solo by heart, so she stood in for you during glee practice today," Sam commented, and Kitty felt a tad guilty for missing a rehearsal. Even if the high school/middle school brundle-rehearsals felt a little chaotic sometimes.

"She's also found a new loophole in the show choir rule book," Sam went on. "According to Leah, it says an eighth grader can perform, should a high school team not have enough members to meet eligibility."

"Better watch your back then," Artie teased. "Sounds like she's got it in for you..."

They chatted about Sectionals for a bit longer, but Artie was obviously growing impatient to see his nephew again. Finally, Amy emerged, wearing one of Artie's Ohio State hoodies and carrying a much happier baby with a full tummy.

"Hey! I meant to bring that back to school with me," Artie complained. "Don't ruin it with your..." It looked like Artie had wisely thought it best not to say "leaky boobs."

"I'm just borrowing it because my shirt was wet and I didn't want to go upstairs to find another one," Amy hissed at him. "Don't mess with me, Arthur Abrams, I had a rough day. Rough week, actually. I spend every break I have pumping in a freaking supply closet with a sign on the door. I feel like a cow. And the assistant principal almost walked in on me."

She promptly handed Auggie to Sam and collapsed in a heap on the couch. As per usual, Artie saw the err of his ways and shut his mouth, but only after he'd made her mad. Kitty could only imagine how hard it would be to leave a tiny helpless human at home and go back to work. Especially if you were his food source, too.

"At least you're off for a week now," Artie offered, as she nodded and smiled a little now, as it seemed to finally sink in with her, that the break had officially started.

"And there's more good news," Kitty added. "Sam just heard from Mr. Schue. Their baby is here!"

"Already?!" Amy looked impressed. "Wow, just yesterday, she was asking me how to know if labor was starting. I guess she figured it out."

"His name is Daniel," Sam announced, reading a text message he'd just gotten. Kitty saw his Adam's apple go up and down sharply, as he read the rest. "Daniel Finn Schuester."

They all fell silent at that one and looked at each other. Grief always felt strangely fresh, in moments like these. Kitty reached for Artie's hand and gave it a squeeze, as he snapped back to reality and acknowledged her with a sad smile.

"That's a really great way to honor him," Amy commented. "I quoted his plaque this week when I was talking with my kids about Sectionals. 'May the show go all over the place, or something.'"

"Maybe Auggie and Daniel will be friends," Artie suggested. He removed his gloves and reached for the small bottle of hand sanitizer on the side of his backpack. "Can I hold him?"

"Yes, but he's going to poop any second now," Sam said, passing Auggie over to Artie. "Fair warning. The show might not be the only thing that goes all over the place."

That launched Amy into the hilarious recount of Auggie's latest big blowout diaper. It had happened in the car seat, so Amy had to take the entire thing apart. She'd ended up using the garden hose on it in the driveway, even though it was freezing outside that day, and she was out of laundry detergent, so she used shampoo to clean it. She had them all in stitches as she told the whole thing in great detail.

"Sorry about all the lies they tell about you, Auggie," Artie told the little guy, as they all laughed and he looked fairly startled by it all. "Hey, guess what? You'll be three months old tomorrow."

In response to that, Auggie pooped, rather loudly, but thankfully, it all stayed contained in his diaper and onesie this time. Artie surprised them all by getting down on the floor and changing the diaper, while Sam gladly brought him all he needed for the rather disgusting chore. Once he was clean, Kitty asked for her turn to hold him, and Artie reluctantly handed him over.

Kitty sniffed the baby's little head, which smelled good. Now that he'd been cleaned up, he had a sweet scent. And he was perfectly content with being passed around and didn't bat an eye when Kitty took a turn with him. He was genuinely smiling now, with a little toothless grin that stretched ear to ear. His mouth was enormous, just like his Dad's. But his ears looked an awful lot like Artie's.

"I guess the next time I'm up for a late night feeding, I can text Emma," Amy said, out of the blue, as she smiled while watching Kitty hold her son. "She'll probably be doing the same thing."

Sam glanced at his phone and took a few minutes to read a text. Maybe longer than most people, but he still accomplished the task. "Will wants me to sub for him the week after the break," he said. "Says he trusts me completely to get the kids ready for Sectionals."

Amy stood behind the couch and read that over her husband's shoulder, then gave him a little hug around his neck. "And why shouldn't he? I know I trusted you to look after my glee club."

"Speaking of which, how's Liam doing?" Artie wanted to know.

"I can't wait for you to see what he's doing for Sectionals," Amy said, beaming. "His choreography skills are very impressive. And he's got a great lower register to carry the song we picked..."

"Left a good job in the city," Sam sang, as Artie's jaw hit the floor. Kitty hadn't been there, of course, but she knew the story.

"You put it on that list you made while I was in labor," Amy reminded him, with a giggle. "The one you gave me afterwards? I saw where you marked through 'Proud Mary' and wrote 'STOLEN.' Well, we've decided to set it right, after all these years. We won't be putting all the kids in wheelchairs, but it's going to heavily feature Liam. Leah thinks I'm playing favorites, because of you, even though she has a solo too."

Artie was, once again, at a loss for words. "Well, I'm beginning to see what twelve years of wheeling has been for," he said, and Kitty had remembered, too, that it would be twelve years come Monday.

"Another kid in a chair in glee club, and all because you paved the way," Kitty said, moving carefully to sit by Artie on the floor, Auggie still in her arms. She gave Artie a quick kiss, then another that was a bit longer, not even caring about their audience. "And you built him a ramp, too."

"Should we have cake this year?" Sam suggested. "On Monday, I mean."

"Most definitely," Artie agreed, without a moment's hesitation, as he adjusted his position on the floor. He reached out for Auggie and, knowing her turn was up, Kitty handed him over.

As she watched Artie cradle his nephew, a million thoughts rushed through her head. It was amazing to Kitty how she'd come full circle, from once being afraid to go public about her relationship with Artie, to then being afraid she'd lost him for good and, now that she had him back, vowing never to lose him again. She looked around at the people she hoped to call family someday.

She was home here.

A/N: Sort of the end, but not exactly. Chapter 50/ Epilogue coming soon!