Sorry for the delay readers. The Glee Finale really, really bummed me out for several days. LOL if you follow me on tumblr you probably saw a barrage of angry posts. I'm feeling marginally better and am reasonably happy with this chapter so here you go!
After dinner they gave the kids a bath (Kurt wasn't sure he'd ever get used to how frequently his life now consisted of naked small children) and helped Roxanne brush her teeth. Roxanne fought Blaine about wearing a pull-up to bed but relented when Blaine showed her that they had little Flounder designs on them and she could wear her "big girl" underwear over them if she wanted. By eight o'clock Kurt and Blaine were ready for bed but it looked like neither of the little ones were on board. It was after midnight once everyone was settled and an exhausted Kurt and Blaine fell into bed and asleep still wearing their day clothes.
The next week was an exercise in patience, endurance and survival. The social worker came on Monday and asked enough personal questions Kurt turned on the air conditioner, both ceiling fans and threw open the windows of their apartment out of anxiety. Tuesday brought doctor's appointments between rehearsals to make sure Joey and Roxanne were healthy and lo and behold it turned out Roxanne was a trooper about the doctors but Joey was fussy the rest of the day and into the night. On Wednesday Kurt called Ambers mom again but she didn't answer. His cast members shot him annoyed glances when Blaine screwed up his cue to enter a scene for the fourth time in a row on Thursday – he was tired: Roxanne had kept them up most of the night because she'd started screaming in her sleep for no apparent reason. On Friday Officer Melken who they'd met with at the police station called to tell them she didn't have any news, and on Saturday Burt and Carole flew in from Ohio.
Kurt and Blaine tried to meet them at the airport but they couldn't get the kids out of the house quickly enough so Burt sent him a text that they were taking a cab.
"Whoa," greeted Carole as Blaine pulled open the door for her and Burt when they arrived about twenty minutes later. Her eyes widened as she scanned the apartment – Blaine and Kurt usually kept a pretty pristine living environment and the apartment was far from awful looking but it was certainly messier than it had ever been. "I mean, hello!"
"Hi Dad, hi Carole," Kurt called from the kitchen; he rounded the corner carrying Joey, a towel draped around his neck like one of his cowl sweaters.
Burt stared at him, Blaine guessed it was probably the first time Burt had ever seen Kurt really hold a baby, but he came back to himself quickly and greeted Blaine and Kurt and Joey with enthusiasm.
"Isn't there a little girl too? Where's Roxanne?" Carole asked after a minute as Blaine cleared a few toys of the couch for them to sit down.
"She won't come out of our room. Usually she's really social – I mean, she always has been but this morning she's feeling kind of shy I guess," Blaine explained, glancing back at their cracked open bedroom door. "Let me see if I can get her."
"So kiddo – wow it's really weird to see you do that – tell me again the current situation with you and Blaine's niece and nephew." Kurt's eyes closed and he seemed infinitely more tired when he reopened them than he had before they'd sat down.
"There's no change. We start our foster parent classes really soon. Blaine's talked to Cooper a couple more times but he's just as flippant about this whole thing as always; Blaine's dad arranged the doctor's office we went to for their checkups this week to do a DNA test to see if they're Coopers kids or not, we're interviewing nanny's later this week because you have to pay for daycare for six months or a year and…."
"…and you guys aren't planning on having them that long, are you?" Burt prompted when Kurt drifted off.
"I don't know," answered Kurt honestly. "Blaine and I aren't….we aren't really prepared for this but they're his family, at least we think they are, but it's only been a week – on the other hand it's been a week and there's still no word from their mother." He paused and put his hands around Joey's ears like he was afraid of him overhearing and glanced at the still empty bedroom doorway. "She could be dead for all we know," he finished in a whisper.
Burt and Carole nodded grimly.
"And even if she's not she might not be in any state to 'mother' when she does turn up," Kurt finished.
"Cooper?" Carole asked.
"Blaine's been talking to him but he's completely freaked out about this so he's acting even more aloof and irresponsible than ever. I don't think there's any chance of him taking them." Carole looked hard at Kurt.
"The children's mother –Amber? – you said she has had some arrests in the past for drugs?" Burt took Carole's hand comfortingly.
"Yes," agreed Kurt tentatively, "I don't really know more than that."
"Well – and this isn't an excuse for everything that's going on – but drugs can make otherwise really wonderful people do – act like people you've never met before." Kurt nodded his understanding. He opened his mouth to reply when Blaine came back into the living room, holding a skittish Roxanne.
"Roxanne," Blaine began carefully, "this is Burt and Carole – their Kurt's parents, can you say hello?" Roxanne shook her head and buried her face in Blaine's chest.
"That's alright," excused Carole kindly, "we can do our introductions later. She's beautiful Blaine."
"Yeah, she is – and smart too, very perceptive."
"Is your dad helping you two get everything you need for their care?" Burt asked.
"Yes. He's not…thrilled by the present situation of course, but yes he's been paying for everything. We're getting the DNA results in two weeks and that's all he can talk about."
"Well, we might not have platinum credit cards like your dad, Blaine, but we're here for you both – whatever you need."
"Thank you Mr. Hum – Burt," Blaine quickly corrected himself, he'd been calling Kurt's dad Mr. Humburt for years now, old habits die hard.
"Dad, do you think there's anything, with your congressional connections – to find Amber?" Burt shook his head.
"I've been looking into that, but so far nothing's really pointed us in a good direction."
"How are you two holding up?" Carole asked.
"We're –"began Kurt and Blaine at the same time. Blaine laughed and motioned for Kurt to continue.
"We're tired, but we're okay. It's basically been just trying to get through each day," Kurt began calmly before pausing, frowning, smiling and then breaking out into cut off, barking laughter, "honestly, we have no idea what the hell we're doing."
"You said a bad word!" Piped up Roxanne from the confines of Blaine's shoulder.
"And I keep doing that!" exclaimed Kurt exasperatedly. "Sorry, Roxanne, you're right I did."
"The longer they're with us, without Amber in the picture, eventually we're going to have to make a decision about their care – but….we've only known them a week, and we've only been trying to do this a week and I just don't want to screw this up," continued Blaine.
"Parenting is a huge, lifelong responsibility," agreed Burt. "Plus this situation is…complicated, to say the least."
"Plus the city could change everything tomorrow and decide to place them with another family, so it's – it's hard to even think about anything past this very moment," admitted Blaine. Joey squirmed in Kurt's arms.
"Oh, diaper change – I think, I'll be right back," he said, carefully standing up and carrying the infant into the bathroom.
"Blaine you know we think of you like a son," Burt started, looking Blaine right in the eye, "so you know we have your back on this – whatever you decided to do."
"Thank you, Burt." Blaine adjusted Roxanne on his lap as she started to relax and shift herself so she could look at Burt and Carole.
"But that doesn't mean that we think you two are ready for this – whatever this is." Blaine ran a hand through his hair.
"I know. Kurt and I have talked about kids a lot, and we want them, and Roxanne and Joey are – they feel like my family – but like, how realistic would it be for us to have them…long term? Kurt could get called into the show full time any day and I have classes again once the fall hits and we were thinking of kids more around our thirtieth birthdays not our twenty-third." Burt nodded.
"I was twenty-three when Kurt was born. Scared like crazy. Emily seemed to know everything intuitively but I didn't have a clue."
"You're Kurt's daddy?" Roxanne asked quizzically.
"Mhmm, that's right," agreed Burt warmly.
"Are you Kurt's mommy?" Roxanne directed at Carole.
"Kind of – I'm Kurt's step-mom, do you know –"
"I miss my mommy," Roxanne grumbled, interrupting Carole.
"I know sweetie, I know," soothed Carole, exchanging a significant look with Burt.
"How long can Amber be….MIA before the court makes a more…permanent decision?"
"The kids have already been in foster care a couple of times before so I think that influences things but I'm not really sure. I don't even know what they'd do if she showed up tomorrow. I hate to think of the kids shuffled around even more than they, especially Roxanne-"
"That's my name!"
"You're right it is. I'd hate to think of them shuffled around more than they've already been, so Kurt and I will have to make a decision eventually if Amber doesn't turn up – we apply for permanent custody or…if they declare Amber to have lost her parental rights, to have the kids adopted by another family. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. We still have to wait for the DNA results and if it turns out that neither of them are Coopers we could lose them altogether because we're not really officially foster parents yet – it's just an emergency next-of-kin designation."
"It sounds like we're just going to have to wait this out," said Burt resignedly.
The next chapter there's going to be some twists and turns so hang on for that.
Thanks for reading, reviewing and being awesome.
Love - Elle aka Blurtitoutalready